Eggs In Apple Baskets
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| Eggs In Apple Baskets | |
| Number | 3707 |
| Broadcast Date | JANUARY 29, 2020 |
| Episode Length | 30:50 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang |
| Guests | Scott Johnson |
Apple’s valued net worth is greater than Germany DAX’s. We sift through Apple’s earning results and see what’s working and what isn’t.
Guest
Quick Hits
- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will meet with EU officials next month to address antitrust and privacy concerns over how it handles user data. Facebook said in a statement that Zuckerberg will meet with “European decision-makers in Brussels to discuss a framework for new rules and regulation for the internet." The European Commission is expected to overhaul liability rules for platforms, with a proposal slated for the end of the year.
- Samsung announced a 5G version of its Galaxy Tab S6, set to go on sale in South Korea Thursday for KRW 999,900 ($850). Samsung didn't say when the device would be launched in other markets. Those who buy the tablet by March 31 will get a free Samsung Book Cover keyboard. The Galaxy Tab S6 5G has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor as the 4G and Wi-Fi only versions, but also uses the Snapdragon X50 5G modem. The tablet has a single configuration with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage.
- Google announced it's paid out over $21 million since launching its bug bounty program in November 2010, and in the past year paid $6.5 million to 461 different security researchers. $800,000 went to Google Play bugs, $1 million for Chrome, $1.9 million for Android, and $2.1 million across other Google products. In 2019, the biggest single reward was $201,000, up from $41,000 in 2018.
- Cloud services company Microsoft reported revenue up 14% on the year, net income up 38% on the year and earnings per share of $1.51 beating expectations of $1.32. Digging down, Office 365 Commercial revenue grew 27%, Azure grew 62%, Office Consumer products and cloud services grew by 19% and Dynamics 365 grew 42%. LinkedIn grew 24%. Microsoft also makes non-cloud stuff. Surface revenue grew in the single digits and Xbox digital products fell 11% on the year.
Top Stories
- Monday, The US Federal Communications Commission approved four companies including Google and Sony to become Spectrum Access System administrators of 3.5GHz spectrum. The companies will prevent interference among users. Existing users including the US Navy get priority, followed by companies that buy rights at auction. Bottom priority goes to free use by open access users. The frequencies in the spectrum can deliver LTE at faster speeds and let 5G service reach farther than millimeter-wave frequencies. The spectrum is already used in Japan and Europe so phones can already access it.
- The Information's sources say Google may unify its existing communication services into a workplace-oriented app to compete with Slack and Microsoft Teams. The unified app is said to include Gmail messaging and the company's two Hangouts apps, Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet, plus Drive access so teams can share content more easily, offered as a part of G Suite.
- As vehicle security becomes better, thieves more frequently target car parts. So people who pay for high-quality parts like alloy wheels secure them with locking nuts that require a special key to loosen. But thieves can often get ahold of a key that works. So Ford is developing 3D printed locking nuts that are unique to the user. Software takes the sound wave of your voice and converts it to a printable pattern. That pattern is turned into a circle and used as the locking nut's indentation and key. The nut and key are then 3D printed in acid and corrosion-resistant stainless steel. The nuts are designed with gradually widening ribs and indentations so wax molds break when pulled away, preventing one way a thief might try to make a key.
- The Electronic Frontier Foundation announced that Ring's Android app uses multiple embedded third-party trackers from Branch, ApplsFlyer, MixPanel, and Facebook. Each app gets different data. For instance, Facebook gets time zone, device model, language preference and screen resolution as well as the app actions open, close and lock due to inactivity. Branch gets much of the same info like device model and screen resolution as well as IP address. ApplsFlyer gets even more info including wireless carrier info and sensor data like gyroscope and accelerometer. MixPanel is the only one that actually gets user names, email addresses along with other drive info. Only MixPanel is on Ring's list of services it works with.
- Jody Hunt, Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Justice Department Civil Division, announced its first-ever enforcement actions against two groups that facilitated hundreds of millions of robocalls per month. The Justice Department is seeking court approval to stop the organizations from operating, which include two Arizona-based companies: TollFreeDeals.com, SIP Retail and their owner-operators, plus New York defendants Global Voicecom, Global Telecommunication Services, KAT Telecom and their owner-operators. The DoJ says the companies serve “gateways” for fraudulent call operators and get paid for facilitating the calls and passing them into the regular U.S. telecommunications network using digital voice over IP technology.
Discussion
- Apple reported its first quarter earnings, with revenue at $91.8 billion, well above analyst expectations of $88.43 billion. And earnings per share of $4.99, over the expected $4.54 per share. Products brought in the lions' share of Apple's revenue at $79.1 billion, with the iPhone bringing in $56 billion. Tim Cook highlighted that the company posted “all-time records for Services and Wearables.” Services revenue came in at $12.7 billion, up from $10.9 billion a year ago. Wearables came in at $10 billion, higher than Mac at $7.2 billion and iPad at $6 billion.
- Already looking ahead to the rest of 2020, TF International Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo also predicts Apple will launch Ultra Wideband tags, high-end wireless headphones, a 4.7-inch iPhone, refreshed iPad Pro models, refreshed MacBook Pro and/or MacBook Air models and a small wireless charging mat.
- Tim Cook acknowledged the company has suppliers in China's Wuhan region, where the coronavirus first emerged, but that Apple has alternative sources for those components. What he says that is less clear is how the coronavirus will impact suppliers in other parts of China. The Chinese government extended the New Year holiday break from the end of January to Feb. 10, which will delay the startup of Apple supplier factories. Cook also said disruptions to sales in China were also figured into projections, at $63 billion to $67 billion, a bigger range than what it normally provides.
Mailbag
- I work in accounting for a growing civil engineering firm with multiple offices and we outgrew our office space. As a solution just over a year ago, our accounting team all volunteered to become testers of remote work.
The technology and improving availability of high speed internet in rural Utah has made remote working very feasible for us. Prior to our going remote we already had those Polycom IP phones that can be plugged into any network switch and connect with the 3-digit extension so that have helped us remain connected. Additionally due to having multiple locations, our firm has utilized Zoom and Microsoft Teams for communication for video, voice and text chat.
Due to the success of how our accounting group and the entire firm has adapted to having remote workers we now have been able to hire engineers living in remote, rural areas to better serve clients and also involve students who we hire on a part-time basis while they are studying engineering to gain experience and often come on full-time once graduated. It does take the right person to work remotely and setting personal boundaries with routines. We do also get together a time or two during the month in person where a remote worker will travel to the nearest office for meetings.
The success of remote workers who reduce the need for physical office space and commutes along with being available to better service clients, family members who require additional care, or just have better personal lives are all great reasons to consider remote workers. The cost savings that remote work can bring – both in dollar cost and mental-health benefit – should be an on-going driving force in proliferating high-speed internet to everybody. - Sent by Kevin
- I work in accounting for a growing civil engineering firm with multiple offices and we outgrew our office space. As a solution just over a year ago, our accounting team all volunteered to become testers of remote work.
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| Preceded by: "Remote Work is so Close" |
Eggs In Apple Baskets |
Followed by: "Facebook Doesn't Want to be Liked" |