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Apple had also said last month any new lockdowns in China and Taiwan could bring new obstacles in terms of supply and demand in the current quarter. Apple Inc plans to keep iPhone production for 2022 roughly flat at about 220 million units, Bloomberg Newsreported on Thursday, as China's COVID-19 curbs, global supply chain issues, and cooling demand continue to hurt smartphone makers. (Sign up to our Technology newsletter, Today’s Cache, for insights on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, business and policy. Click here to subscribe for free.) An outbreak of COVID-19 in China has kept its financial hub Shanghai largely paralysed by a city-wide lockdown — now in its seventh week. Beijing, meanwhile, has ramped up its quarantine efforts. The iPhone maker's supplier Foxconn has been able to keep its workers on-site in a "closed loop" system to limit the impact on production, but lockdowns in the country have pushed many to sound demand-related warnings. Apple had also said last month any new lockdowns in China and Taiwan, where many parts and iPhones are produced, could bring new obstacles in terms of supply and demand in the current quarter. The developments also comes as investors brace for a drop in consumer spending on tech gadgets and services as the war in Ukraine drives up the cost of oil, food, and other staples. Separately, Nikkei reported on Wednesday that the company had told its suppliers to speed up iPhone development after China's COVID-19 lockdowns hampered schedule for at least one of the new phones. Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/apple-to-keep-iphone-production-flat-in-2022/article65466111.ece

Apple's MacBooks repeatedly top our lists for the best laptops of the year, but the one drawback has always been that they come with a pretty hefty price tag. That's not helped by the fact that Apple almost never drops prices on its own products, so deals on these sleek laptops are pretty slim. But if you're hoping to grab a MacBook at less than list price, you can save big by opting for a refurbished model. Apple sells refurbished devices directly, but right now you can take the savings even further with this one-day sale at Woot. The company currently has a large selection of refurbished MacBooks on sale for hundreds less than the refurb price from Apple, including some more advanced models like the 2020 MacBook Pro. You can see the entire sale selection here: This sale covers quite a few different models and generations of MacBook. If you're looking for the absolute lowest price out there, there are several models that stretch back as far as 2013. For example, the 11-inch MacBook Air from 2014 is on sale for just $200. The drawback on these older models is that, while they may function just fine, software support is going to be pretty limited. If you're after a laptop that you'll be able to use for years to come, you're better off spending a little more money up front and opting for a newer model like this 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2020. It's equipped with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB solid-state drive, and you can grab it right now for just $1,000. It also features Apple's new M1 chip, a major upgrade worth investing in. You can also knock an extra $100 off that price if you elect to have a little less storage (256GB) on that same model. There are 20 different MacBooks available in this deal, including a 2020 MacBook Pro with an older Intel Core i5 chip and a 512GB SSD available for $830. Or if you'd rather opt for a larger screen size, the 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2019 features 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD for $1,350 or 1TB for $1,500. If you're looking for the lowest prices on the newer models, you can snag a 13-inch 2019 MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $650. However, if you don't need all the computing power of a MacBook Pro, an Air is a sleek and portable alternative, and right now you can snag this 2018 model with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD for just $555. There are limited quantities of refurbished models, and some are bound to sell out quickly, so if you're committed to snagging one on sale, we'd recommend acting sooner rather than later.

Crystal Group, Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of rugged computer and electronic hardware, announced today its release of the first GPU-accelerated substation servers designed to bring cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to the utilities market. With the flexibility to integrate the precision and power of NVIDIA RTX GPUs based on the NVIDIA Ampere architecture across the Crystal Group Energy Series™ (ES), energy companies now have the ability to adopt and deploy AI technologies across their substations. Crystal Group GPU-accelerated substation servers, including the ES3604L24, expand utilities capabilities with AI technologies for optimal, real-time substation performance. (Photo: Business Wire) Combining Crystal Group’s hyperconverged, virtualization-enabled substation servers with the NVIDIA RTX™ A5000 GPU introduces a new array of AI capabilities across a utility’s substation network. Real-time image parallel processing of at least 10 simultaneous 4K streams Enhanced security monitoring with inference capability Predictive substation analytics Substation health monitoring with hypervisor failover capabilities Software-agnostic hardware designed for the demanding requirements of the power industry "With more than 55,000 substations in the U.S. to upgrade and modernize, Crystal Group is developing scalable, multi-faceted solutions to enable a more resilient, reliable and secure smart grid," said Lindsay Palma, business development manager at Crystal Group. "Adding the versatility and value of AI into their transformation efforts now equips them to meet today’s immediate needs with the flexibility to accommodate future demands." "As utilities add more distributed resources to the grid, and as complexity increases at the substation, engineers are going to need high-performance, edge compute solutions with GPU-level processing speed and accuracy to unlock real-time optimizations at the substation," said Marc Spieler, head of Global Energy Business Development at NVIDIA. "Integrating NVIDIA GPUs with Crystal Group ES servers provides utilities with the optimal AI platform to protect, manage and secure remote substation installations." The GPU-accelerated substation servers are software-agnostic, hyperconverged systems that combine real-time automation, remote management, cybersecurity, auto failover, and zero-trust security features. The NVIDIA RTX A5000 GPUs combine the latest RT Cores, Tensor Cores, and CUDA core technology with 24 GB of graphics memory and a PCIe Gen4 system interface for rapid data transfer. These state-of-the-art visual computing capabilities accelerate deep learning, data science and compute-based workloads. This comprehensive, ready-now solution supports and simplifies utilities’ current and evolving development needs, including virtual protection relay applications. Crystal Group will provide a first look of its GPU-accelerated substation server in booth #735 at DISTRIBUTECH International 2022 in Dallas, Texas from May 23 through 25. Crystal Group ES servers and embedded computers are IEC 61850-3-certified and feature industrial design standards for intelligent virtualization platforms. With rugged chassis built and tested to withstand the intense conditions inherent to remote locations from extreme temperatures, shifting weather conditions, moisture and dust to electromagnetic interference and power transients the ES line provides long, in-field operational life, seamless operation and reliable accuracy. https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/crystal-group-brings-ai-power-152300907.html

The governor’s races of bygone years were a lot more fun and colorful than today's. We would have 10 to 15 candidates. There would be three or four favorites, but we would have 10 others who would make an effort to crisscross the state and have fun and cut up a little bit to garner publicity. The “also-rans” could not afford the expensive, crowd-drawing country music stars from Nashville like the frontrunners — George Wallace, Big Jim Folsom, Jimmy Faulkner could. This year’s gubernatorial race has not been interesting because a po[CENSORED]r incumbent governor was running for reelection. Kay Ivey did attract eight opponents, but only two, Lindy Blanchard and Tim James, really mounted a campaign. The six others seem to not do anything, and nobody really knew who they were. The six no-name candidates were Stacy Lee George, Dean Young, Dean Odle, Donald Trent Jones, Dave Thomas, and Lew Burdette. When Burdette qualified, he looked like he had the potential to be a viable candidate, but he seemed to never get out of the gate. If he was running a getting-acquainted race, it was unsuccessful. He would probably have as much name identification as a baseball player from the 1960s, who had the same name. As a boy, I had a baseball card of Lew Burdette, who was a pretty good pitcher for the old Milwaukee Braves. Jones probably was hoping that folks would think he was the golf course developer for our famous state links. Dave Thomas was maybe hoping that voters would think he was the founder of the Wendy’s hamburger restaurants. Today, what we need in the “also-ran” category or what I call “run for the fun of it” candidates is another Shorty Price. Most of you do not remember Shorty Price. Ole Shorty was the king of the "run for the fun of it" candidates. He ran for governor every time and really didn’t care how many votes he got. He just ran for the fun of it and, boy, was he fun to watch and visit with. He brought new meaning to the word colorful. Shorty was a native of Barbour County, which, by the way, is George Wallace’s home county. In fact, Wallace and Shorty grew up together as contemporaries around Clio. Shorty would campaign vehemently and viciously against Wallace, his nemesis, probably because he was jealous of Wallace’s success as a politician. By the way, Barbour County is called the “Home of Governors” because it has had more governors than any other county in our state’s history. Shorty was maybe the most colorful political clown to ever appear on the Alabama political stage. He not only ran for governor every time, he also ran for numerous offices every time there was an election. That is how he would make his living. He would travel from town-to-town, mostly in southeast Alabama and panhandle for contributions and soon after collecting the few dollars that folks would give him, he would convert his campaign contributions into a purchase of a Budweiser beer. In fact, one of his campaign slogans was “Smoke Tampa Nugget cigars, drink Budweiser beer and vote for Shorty Price.” In one of Shorty’s campaigns for governor, his campaign speech contained this line, “If elected governor, I will reduce the governor’s tenure from four years to two years. If you can’t steal enough to last you the rest of your life in two years, you ain’t got enough sense to have the office in the first place.” Shorty would use recycled campaign signs to save money. He would just change the name of the office he was running for that year. Ole Shorty usually got about 2% of the vote and usually finished last. He was really kind of proud of his usual last-place finish. Indeed, one time Bob Ingram, the venerable political columnist, mistakenly stated that Shorty finished 13th out of 14th in a particular governor’s race. Shorty blasted Ingram and said, “That’s a blasphemous lie, I finished 14th out of 14.” As stated, Shorty hated Wallace. One year, he was one of many candidates running against Wallace. Shorty coined the slogan, “Shorty, Shorty he’s our man, George Wallace belongs in a garbage can.” None of the six “also-ran” gubernatorial candidates in 2022 were nearly as good as Shorty. I bet if Shorty were still alive and running today, he would have beaten all six of them. I wish ole Shorty were alive and running in this governor’s race. This governor’s race would have been a lot more fun to watch. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/shorty-prices-colorful-campaigns-put-110049792.html

Protesters scaled the Darlington Farmers Auction Mart in the early hours with huge banners condemning farming and agriculture Animal rights protestors have scaled the roof of a major meat industry event - leading to chaos. The activists climbed onto the the building where a major beef industry event will be held today. The protesters scaled the Darlington Farmers Auction Mart (DFAM) in the early hours with huge banners condemning farming and agriculture. The National Beef Association (NBA) 2022 Expo is the largest of its kind in the UK - with industry leaders, DEFRA representatives and 5,000 beef farmers expected to attend over the weekend. The stunt has already caused chaos - with one activist hospitalised with a suspected broken finger having been allegedly assaulted by farmers on the roof. A spokesperson for Animal Justice Project said: "Climbers have been up there for hours and are determined to stay there to make their message heard. Animals have rights and current farming practices infringe on these day in, day out within the dairy, meat and egg industries. "Today is not a celebration of the 'Best of British', but a farming event that glorifies the exploitation and killing of animals. An industry that has yet to be held accountable." As attendees of the event arrive at DFAM today they will see 15m banners that read 'end animal agriculture’ and ‘farming violates the rights of animals’. The protesters say they plan on staying up there indefinitely despite chaos after one was taken to hospital. An Animal Justice Project spokesperson said their aim is not to be po[CENSORED]r, but to advocate for the rights of animals." They added: "Our message to the agricultural sector is that there is no future in animal farming”. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/animal-rights-protestors-cause-chaos-7139397

Who doesn't love a good origin story, right? If you would've told us that Property Brothers star Jonathan Scott and New Girl actress Zooey Deschanel were destined to meet while singing karaoke, we'd call you crazy. But, we stand corrected because the dynamic duo have been going strong ever since and just took fans on a trip down memory lane. Let's throw it back to August 2019. Jonathan, 43, and Zooey, 41, were single and invited to film an episode of Jame Corden's Carpool Karaoke. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLdizYZYH14 The two were immediately smitten with each other and even Jonathan admitted that his heavy flirting with Zooey was edited out of the episode by producers. Fast-forward to 2022 and the two are back where it all started. Jonathan posted this adorable Instagram of the two with the caption, "Back to where it all started with my partner in crime @zooeydeschanel @latelateshow @carpoolkaraoke." The duo did a little dance for the camera while Eminem "Without Me" played in the background. We wouldn't suggest either going on Dancing With the Stars, but we'll let the dance moves slide this time since they're so adorable! The shoulder shimmies sure didn't stop fans from flooding the TV star's comments either. he two are making an anticipated return to the driver and passenger seat in the upcoming season of Carpool Karaoke: The Series on Apple TV+. The fifth season has one heck of a lineup that includes Zooey and Jonathan (of course), TikTok star Charli D 'Amelio, the cast of Hulu's The White Lotus and more. Although, the series originated on James Corden's late night show, the Apple TV+ version doesn't feature the host, but instead groups different celebrities together for a ride like no other. https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/entertainment-celebrity/fans-flip-after-jonathan-scott-and-zooey-deschanel-share-major-news-on-instagram/ar-AAXPBh3?ocid=BingNewsSearch

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Today’s digital businesses run on data, and persistent storage of that data is at the heart of most service offerings. Yet many service providers spend unnecessary resources mitigating challenges that fundamentally stem from storage, including efficiency, integration in multi-tenant scenarios and the ability to align investment to incoming revenue while predictably managing growth. Storage platforms need to deliver the performance, availability, scalability, reliability, efficiency, and simplicity that service providers need, with consumption models that meet the financial needs of today’s service providers. Storage solutions are central to service providers’ ability to deliver the ‘Everything as a Service’ (XaaS) model that has become ubiquitous today. As such, storage is typically one of the largest categories of infrastructure costs for shared services offerings, and choosing the right solution is imperative. Even more importantly, beyond the direct costs, the indirect costs of poor storage decisions can add up to major impacts on the ability to scale a service, operational manpower needs, OPEX costs, and drive new revenue and margin opportunities. Key for service providers is the ability to leverage the performance scalability that allows them to bring together many diverse applications and workloads, therefore storage consolidation or dense storage workload consolidation is essential for reducing costs. These lower costs are realised through increased infrastructure densities, ease of management, lower energy and floor space consumption, as well as many secondary benefits. Studies show that consolidating storage can significantly reduce the total cost of ownership. Importantly, service providers need a solution that can leverage the benefits of storage consolidation without compromising availability and performance. This requires an architecture that is built around this notion of scale, multi-tenant, high-performance platforms, together with intelligent software and a 100% data availability guarantee to ensure no compromise on performance, availability, manageability, cyber resilience, or cost when consolidating. Simplicity and flexibility are key When operating at petabyte scale, as service providers typically do, manual administration tasks such as performance tuning are simply not feasible. It is important for the storage platform to offer a ‘set it and forget it’ approach, where the system itself handles these types of tasks automatically and autonomously via intelligent software with algorithms that consistently deliver the performance required by the applications without any administrative effort. Furthermore, service providers cannot afford to wait for additional capacity to be delivered and installed when they need to scale rapidly. It is necessary for the storage platform to have all the anticipated storage capacity installed on the data centre floor, ready to be consumed when required. However, instead of the traditional CAPEX model where they are required to purchase and pay for all this capacity upfront, there are different consumption models available that are more aligned with service provider business models. Storage and consumption on demand In today’s increasingly complex and competitive business landscape, service providers should be focussing on business innovation and growth, rather than worrying about infrastructure. An elastic pricing purchasing model that allows them to pay for storage with a combination of CAPEX (base capacity) and OPEX (burst capacity) assists in uncertain market conditions by providing flexibility and predictable costs. This means that service providers can depend upon budget constraints and business needs, self-provision additional base capacity or burst capacity, and convert burst capacity to base capacity at any time without fees or penalties to balance the conflicting demands for flexibility and cost-effectiveness. Service providers that want to do away entirely with having to acquire or configure storage infrastructure up to multi-petabyte scale, can benefit from a pure OPEX based consumption model. This will encompass an all-inclusive subscription and pay-as-you-go scalability (up or down), hardware included for life, a 100% data availability guarantee, built-in cyber resilience, and an end to the risks and costs associated with data migrations. This model includes the unmatched performance, availability, and security of on-premises storage, with a cloud-like consumption model, while the storage vendor manages the system, and the service provider simply manages the data. A competitive market Service providers that are trying to compete effectively against hyperscale vendors face strategic questions about how they will sustainably drive profit and revenue. Storage choices play a significant role in those decisions that extend beyond the simple total cost of ownership of the storage system itself. Storage platforms should be uniquely designed to maximise key values relevant to the service provider community, including efficiency, scalability, availability, cyber resilience, and comprehensive integration. When those technical advantages are paired with flexible business models, the result is a compelling value that enables service providers to align investment models with client revenue and reach new clients. With the right solution, service providers can stop worrying about storage infrastructure and shift resources toward innovation. https://www.itnewsafrica.com/2022/05/why-storage-lies-at-the-heart-of-effective-xaas-delivery/

Leading Software company Infosys has decided to raise its CEO and MD Salil Parekh's salary to Rs 71 crore per annum after announcing a sharp hike of 43%, according to reports. The surge in the salary of Salil Parekh's has come because of stock incentives awarded in the last financial year 2021 along with a boost in the performance-based variable pay. The surge in the salary of Salil Parekh's has come because of stock incentives awarded in the last financial year 2021 along with a boost in the performance-based variable pay. Earlier, Parekh took home approximately Rs 49.7 crore in the 2020-21 and Rs 34.27 crore in 2019-20 financial year. According to the annual report, the CEO's compensation for the current financial year 2021-22 includes Rs 38 lakhs retiral benefits, Rs 5.69 crore base salary, Rs 12.62 crore variable income, and Rs 52.33 crore in perquisites as a result of the stock option exercised. With today's revision in salary of Salil Parekh he will be counted among one of the highest paid executives in India. Meanwhile, Infosys justified the sharp rise in the salary and cited the company's strong growth in the recent years. The company provided a detailed explanation of the salary hike in its annual report released today on why the CEO rewarded so substantially. https://www.goodreturns.in/news/this-software-company-s-ceo-salary-jumps-to-rs-71-crore-per-annum-after-43-hike-1250575.html

It's been a tough few years for Berlin-based femtech hardware startup Inne, which came out of stealth R&D in the fall of 2019, shortly before COVID-19 hit Europe. By January 2020, founder and CEO Eirini Rapti tells us she was busy making final inspections ahead of the launch of its debut product -- a connected device it calls a "minilab" for at-home, saliva-based hormone testing to support fertility and cycle tracking -- but then, in just a few weeks, the region was plunged into lockdown and everything changed. Hardware startups are rarely smooth sailing at the best of times. But the coronavirus pandemic created a cascade of new challenges for Rapti and her team around supply chain and logistics -- upsetting their careful calculations on unit economics. The pandemic also called a halt to a major piece of research work the startup had lined up with a U.S. university to study its hormone-tracking method for a key contraceptive use case -- a product it had intended to prioritize but could not bring to market ahead of the study, which is required to gain regulatory approval. In a matter of weeks, Inne was forced to freeze its big launch as it tried to figure out how best to move forward -- and, indeed, whether it should launch the product at all in such a challenging reconfigured environment. "Due to COVID-19 we've had to really shift around our plans," says Rapti, talking to TechCrunch via video chat. "We had loads of unpredicted supply chain issues … There were so many [CENSORED]ups that came up with COVID-19! It's unbelievable what happened. "I remember our last interview [in October 2019], I was super optimistic -- I'm still very optimistic -- sort of really looking forward to get all of our tech out to the world. We were setting up our production line when I spoke to you. We had John Hopkins [research university] agreeing to our contraceptive study. Like, the world was my oyster … And then I came back from a last inspection of the goods coming off the production line in January 2020 and we were hearing about what was happening in China but we were not really conscious of it and then we were so busy with pre-sales and whatever. "And then of course a month later we didn't know if we were going to get raw materials from China. We didn't know if the factories that were working within Europe were going to even be able to have people in the factory. " The start of the planned contraception study also kept being postponed, as the U.S. research institution which had agreed to conduct it, pre-pandemic, understandably prioritized work related to COVID-19 itself. The upshot for Inne was a shock freeze on its best laid plans -- plans Rapti had been working toward since 2017 when she founded the business and kicked off R&D to get the at-home hormone testing product to market. "2020 for me started on this big high -- we had our final products, we got our approval [to sell the device in Europe], we are launching pre-sales. I think we had 200 people buy the product and then we kind of had to stop because we didn't know if we were even able to deliver these 200 … This is how bad it was," she adds. As well as having shelled out to set up a production line it suddenly had to suspend, Inne had also doubled the size of its team to prepare for scaling. But suddenly the message from the investment world was 'slow everything down,' recounts Rapti. "So I was like why didn't you tell me two months ago?! … My whole strategy came crumbling down." The supply chain and logistics disruption -- some of which has lingered even while pandemic lockdowns have eased -- also forced Inne to concentrate most of its effort on the German market in Europe -- "because we wanted to contain, as much as possible, the logistical nightmare," as she puts it. "Electronic chip shortages of course are affecting everyone … but it's also as simple as backlog on logistics," she explains, discussing how COVID-19 has dialled up difficulties for the fledgling hardware business. "Your shipments take longer or your air freight is much more expensive and all of a sudden your price per unit becomes really high -- and for a small company like us, for a startup, if you cannot demonstrate your unit economics and your growth what can you demonstrate? And quite frankly I was sitting there for a few months -- and I think it was the first time I froze in my career where I felt I have no idea what I will be able to show in the next six months!" By summer 2020, Rapti was facing a big decision over how to move forward while the business was still mired in uncertainties around supply chain resilience and with no new date on when it would be able to launch contraception as it still hadn't found a replacement partner to do the study. https://www.yahoo.com/news/femtech-startup-inne-rebooted-hardware-103913702.html

Today the world is witnessing that India means business and this is the achievement of not only the government but also the youth and graduates from institutions like ISB, he said. India is the fastest growing economy among the G-20 nations, besides boasting of several other achievements including in the start-up environment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday. Addressing graduating students of the Indian School of Business (ISB) here, Modi said last year the country attracted record amount of Foreign Direct Investments. "Today, India is the fastest developing economy in G-20. India is in the second position when it comes to internet users. India is in second position in global retail index. India has the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world. There are several such achievements," Modi said. Today the world is witnessing that India means business and this is the achievement of not only the government but also the youth and graduates from institutions like ISB, he further said. He said the "Reform, Perform, Transform" mantra redefined the governance of the country. India has sent Covid-19 vaccine to over 100 countries, he said while speaking on the viral pandemic. https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/india-fastest-growing-economy-among-g-20-nations-pm-modi-at-isb-122052600896_1.html

A recent investigation has revealed the shocking conditions animals are exposed to at an Aldi chicken supplier. An undercover investigator for Mercy for Animals, a non-profit animal protection charity, captured the footage at a contract farm for the supermarket chain. This comes soon after the charity exposed the names of major retailers that are lagging behind in their efforts to address welfare issues associated with chickens raised for meat. Aldi is among the companies that ranked the lowest for standard practices in the chicken industry. Animal cruelty on chicken farms The hidden-camera footage shows tens of thousands of chickens packed into overcrowded sheds, forced to live in waste-soaked litter for weeks. The investigator also documented countless birds, including day-old chicks, suffering from severe open wounds, twisted necks and beaks, and other serious injuries. Many of these conditions arise from the way chickens are routinely bred to grow unnaturally large over a short space of time. This inflicts a huge amount of physical and mental stress on the birds. In the hard-hitting video, workers are seen hurling sick and injured live birds into buckets to die. Some were crushed under the weight of corpses piled on top of them. In light of the footage, Mercy for Animals is calling on Aldi to adopt meaningful animal welfare standards for all its chicken suppliers. The charity is urging Aldi to undertake the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), which requires extra space, litter, and lighting, as well as environmental enrichments. As a way for individuals to take action, Mercy for Animals encourages eliminating animal products altogether. It states on its Aldi Uncovered website: “We can end this cruel, unsustainable system. By choosing plant-based foods, we can build a food system that is good for animals, people, and our planet.” https://plantbasednews.org/culture/ethics/investigation-exposes-animal-cruelty-aldi-supply-chain/

We increasingly live in enclaves. We live our lives inside digital ecosystems configured by the collection and analysis of our personal data. Most of us, in one way or another, rely on Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon and other digital platforms to live our lives nowadays. The business models of the tech firms that run these platforms are designed to lock us into their enclaves, to rely upon their services and products and to hand over our personal data to build their algorithms. Consequently, they want us to stay in their enclaves. If we do leave, they’ve found ways to digitally stalk us around the rest of the web through cookies, application programming interfaces and other plugins. And this is where the federal government’s new Online News Act comes in. The act is an attempt to address the consequences of this individual retreat into our respective enclaves. The growth of platforms like Facebook and Twitter has led to a precipitous fall in the news media’s advertising revenues. The big tech firms that run sites like Facebook and Google receive 75 to 80 per cent of online advertising revenues and 50 per cent of total advertising revenues in Canada. This market concentration has seen a corresponding shrinking in the advertising income received by Canada’s news media, threatening their survival, as pointed out by Bob Cox, former president of News Media Canada. Big tech has seized control of the “assets” that used to underpin advertising in news media: the viewers, readers and users. Google and Facebook, for example, are now key intermediaries in online advertising, able to charge significant “middlemen” fees when auctioning off online advertising space, thereby reducing the money that news media get from ads. Moreover, big tech’s market power has had a significant impact on referrals to news media sites, since small changes in the algorithms of search engines or news feeds can significantly change online traffic. Some commentators, like Michael Geist from Ottawa University, argue that the Online News Act represents a self-serving approach to dealing with big tech. For Geist, news media simply want a greater share of the digital advertising revenues they lost over the last decade or so, but it’s not clear what unintended and negative consequences could result. So, does it make sense for news media to get a bigger slice of the big tech advertising pie? Perhaps, but it might not solve anything. The biggest issue is that the big tech digital advertising model is not particularly healthy. News media may simply be setting themselves up for more grief in the medium and long term. To understand this requires an appreciation of how digital advertising works. And, increasingly, how it’s not working – in fact it’s creating a whole series of problems of its own. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/may-2022/big-tech-news-ad-troubles/

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Last February, Nintendo announced that it would be shutting down the eShop supporting the 3DS and Wii U consoles as of March 2023, but the closure would actually be rolled out in stages. While the store itself will remain in operation for the next little while, today is the last day you’ll be able to add funds for either your Wii U or 3DS wallets. "As of May 23, 2022, it will no longer be possible to use a credit card to add funds to an account in Nintendo eShop on Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems," reads Nintendo’s Q&A page for the upcoming closure. The site notes that you can still fund your eShop wallet using Nintendo eShop Cards until August 29, at which point those too will stop working. Game codes will remain redeemable until March 2023. After that, the eShop disappears forever, but your money doesn’t have to disappear along with it. Nintendo notes that you can link your Network Nintendo ID wallet (which was used for the Wii U and 3DS) with your Nintendo Account Wallet (which is used for the Switch) in order to continue making purchases on the Wii U and 3DS until March 23. After that date, whatever balance you had remaining on the Wii U and 3DS wallet will only be available to make purchases on the Switch. Nintendo's announcement to close the Wii U and 3DS eShops was met with condemnation by both fans and video game historians, who accused Nintendo of backing lobbies which prevent video game preservation. A former Nintendo of America employee also revealed that the company had been looking at strategies to shut down the eShop since 2014, giving its consoles at least 10 years of full operation. Nintendo claims that user libraries for the Wii U and 3DS will still be available for some time to come, which is why one indie developer was rushing to get their games released on the discontinued consoles. Seven Silver Falls games were rushed onto the Wii U and 3DS due to "significant fan demand," with Sungrand Studios partnering with Nintendo "as a way to celebrate those consoles and the eShop." https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/wii-u-and-3ds-eshops-will-stop-accepting-new-funds-today/ar-AAXCuI7?ocid=BingNewsSearch&cvid=e87793a64d2f437ab24f3f919e29a135#image=1