Tech

It's a tentative time for the tech industry. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, tech sector employment fell by 11,184 positions in February. Overall, this can be viewed as a modest reduction of 0.2% of the total tech industry workforce, which numbers more than 5.5 million. Unemployment is creeping upwards, rising from 1.5% in January to 2.2% in February. While we're not facing a critical situation, there are signs that things are slowly but surely starting to take a downturn. However, we know that during times of uncertainty or even recession, not all tech jobs are affected equally. In fact, many tech roles are predicted to grow over the next decade, including fields such as data science (36%), information security (35%), and web development (30%). With this in mind, it helps to stay on top of the latest industry trends and needs. By continuously upskilling and growing your skillset, you can safeguard your career long into the future. Discover 2023's most in-demand … [Read more...] about These are the three most in-demand tech skills this year

Roku Inc will lay off 6% of its workforce, or 200 employees, in its second round of job cuts , the U.S. streaming device maker said, sending its shares up nearly 3% before the bell on Thursday. In a bid to lower expenses, the company also decided to exit and sub-lease office facilities that it did not currently occupy. Roku had in November cut 200 jobs in the United States, where companies, led by technology giants such as Meta Platforms and Amazon.com Inc, are bracing for a potential economic downturn amid rising borrowing costs around the world. Job cuts in U.S. tech sector hit 63,000 in the first two months of the year, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Roku, which had about 3,600 full-time employees as of Dec. 31, expects to incur charges of between $30 million and $35 million related to the restructuring. Majority of the restructuring charges will be incurred in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, while the job cuts will … [Read more...] about Streaming device maker Roku to cut 200 jobs in second round of layoffs

As soon as Lars Ruiter steps out of his car, he is confronted by a Microsoft security guard, who is already seething with anger. Ruiter, a local councillor, has parked in the rain outside a half-finished Microsoft data center that rises out of the flat North Holland farmland. He wants to see the construction site. The guard, who recognizes Ruiter from a previous visit when he brought a TV crew here, says that’s not allowed. Within minutes, the argument has escalated, and the guard has his hand around Ruiter’s throat. The security guard lets go of Ruiter within a few seconds, and the councillor escapes with a red mark across his neck. Back in his car, Ruiter insists he’s fine. But his hands shake when he tries to change gears. He says the altercation—which he will later report to the police—shows the fog of secrecy that surrounds the Netherlands’ expanding data center business. The heated exchange between Ruiter and Microsoft’s security guard shows how contentious Big Tech’s … [Read more...] about These angry Dutch farmers really hate Microsoft

Microsoft announced in 2021 that it will bring 3D avatars to Teams and in October last year, the company opened the Private Preview Mesh avatar. These avatars are aimed at helping people represent themselves in meetings at times when they don’t want to turn their webcam on. The company has now announced that Avatars for Microsoft Teams are beginning to roll out for public preview. “Starting today, you can represent yourself the way you want with customizable avatars and reactions,” the company said in a blog post. Why are Avatars needed Microsoft said that it found in a research that video usage is highly correlated to meeting participation, inclusiveness, and effectiveness. “However, only about 30% of participants meet with their video on. Avatars for Microsoft Teams offers an alternative to the current binary option of video or no video,” it noted. Avatars for Teams are meant to give users “that much-needed camera break.” What’s … [Read more...] about teams: Microsoft Teams Avatars are rolling out for public preview: What’s new, launch date and more

Meta-owned Instagram has launched a new feature that aims to enable users to share and save images at a dedicated space. Called " collaborative collections ", the feature is sort of an extension of a bookmarking that allows users to organise the posts they save for easy access at a later time. " Collections are one of my favourite features on Instagram — and we just do it so that you can make collections with friends," head of Instagram Adam Mosseri said in his Channel on the photo and video sharing platform. How to use 'collaborative collections' Just like "collections", this feature will allow users to organise the posts they save into private groupings for easier access, 'collaborative collections' will allow a group of friends or relatives to share and save posts in one such group for accessing them at a later time. Read Also Meta launches subscription service in US Now when users save a piece of content on Feed or from DMs, … [Read more...] about instagram: Instagram launches Collaborative Collections: What is it, how to use and more

Google puts a lot of effort into creating and enforcing policies to prevent abuse while enabling publishers and businesses to thrive in the digital world. In 2022, Google added or updated 29 policies for advertisers and publishers to protect users from fraud and scams, block and remove harmful content, combat misinformation, respond to the war in Ukraine , and prioritise child safety. Google's financial services certification program was expanded to 10 new countries, and additional restrictions were placed to prevent spammers from creating thousands of accounts to spread malware. Over the past few years, Google has implemented comprehensive measures to address misinformation and unreliable claims in our advertising ecosystem. Among these measures are our policies that prohibit harmful health claims and claims that are demonstrably false and could weaken trust and engagement in elections. Google blocked or removed over 5.2 billion ads, restricted over 4.3 billion ads, and … [Read more...] about How Google is fighting ad spam on internet

Apple CEO Tim Cook used his first public remarks on his visit to China to praise the country for its rapid innovation and its long ties with the US iPhone maker, according to local media reports. Apple CEO Tim Cook on Saturday used his first public remarks in China in recent years to praise the country for its rapid innovation and its long ties with the US iPhone maker, according to local media reports. Cook is in Beijing to attend the China Development Forum, a government-organised event being held again in full force after the country ended its COVID controls late last year. Besides Cook, the event is being attended by senior government officials as well as CEOs of firms such as Pfizer and BHP . "Innovation is developing rapidly in China and I believe it will further accelerate," Cook was quoted by The Paper news outlet as saying. His visit comes at a time of rising tensions between Beijing and Washington and as Apple has been looking … [Read more...] about apple: Apple CEO praises China’s innovation, long history of cooperation on Beijing visit

Google introduced ‘Google Reviews and Development’ (GRAD), a new rating system that will help managers avoid paying low-performing employees bonuses and stock grants. Now Facebook owner Meta is also bringing a rating system according to which the bonus payouts will be awarded. Citing an internal memo, Wall Street Journal reported that Meta is planning to lower bonus pays for some employees and assess staff performance more frequently. The report also mentioned that employees who get a rating of "met most expectations" in their 2023 year-end reviews, will receive a smaller percentage of bonuses and restricted stock award due in March 2024. Read Also Meta launches subscription service in US Changes in grading The WSJ report mentioned that the bonus multiplier for the grade has been cut to 65% from 85% earlier and Meta will restart assessing staff performance twice a year. "We are making changes to our performance process, taking into account … [Read more...] about meta: Facebook parent Meta is bringing Google-like review system for bonus payouts: Report

Meta Platforms Inc on Friday launched its subscription service in the U.S., which would allow Facebook and Instagram users pay for verification in the same vein as Elon Musk-owned Twitter. The Meta Verified service will give users a blue badge after they verify their accounts using a government ID and will cost $11.99 per month on the web or $14.99 a month on Apple's iOS system and Google-owned Android, Meta said in a statement. The service, which Meta said it was testing in February, follows in the footsteps of Snap Inc-owned Snapchat as well as messaging app Telegram and marks the latest effort by a social media company to diversify its revenue away from advertising. After a $44 billion buyout by Musk last year, Twitter had rolled out its Blue subscription service which lets people pay for the blue check mark previously limited to verified accounts of politicians, journalists and other public figures. The initial launch of Twitter Blue in … [Read more...] about Meta: Meta launches subscription service in US

FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken, February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo The tech ethics group Center for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy is asking the US Federal Trade Commission to stop OpenAI from issuing new commercial releases of GPT-4 , which has wowed some users and caused distress for others with its quick and human-like responses to queries. In a complaint to the agency on Thursday, a summary of which is on the group's website, the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy called GPT-4 "biased, deceptive, and a risk to privacy and public safety." OpenAI, which is based in California and backed by Microsoft Corp., unveiled the fourth iteration of its GPT (Generative Pre-tr ai ned Transformer) AI program in early March, which has excited users by engaging them in human-like conversation, composing songs and summarizing lengthy documents. The formal complaint to … [Read more...] about gpt: US advocacy group asks FTC to stop new OpenAI GPT releases