PC shipments fell by more than 28% in Q4 2022, the sharpest quarterly drop since the 1990s, according to Gartner, Canalys, and IDC data. The numbers further confirm that the pandemic buying boom has ended as vendors deal with softened demand and higher inventory levels. However, shipments throughout 2022 were still higher than before the pandemic, IDC noted. More: - The data covers shipments of desktop and laptop computers running macOS, Windows, or Chrome OS.
- During Q4 2022, PC makers shipped 67.2 million computers, down over 28% from the same quarter in 2021, according to IDC data.
- Overall shipments in 2022 were down 15.6%.
- However, 2021 had nearly record levels of PC shipments, "so any comparison is going to be distorted," said Ryan Reith, group vice president with IDC's Worldwide Mobility and Consumer Device Trackers.
- The market could see some steps toward recovery in 2023 and more so in 2024, he said.
By the numbers: - All manufacturers saw their PC sales volumes decrease in Q4 2022.
- Apple was the least impacted, with losses as low as 2.1%, IDC data shows.
- Dell sales fell by 37%, the largest decline, according to data from all three market research firms.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 
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Apple is working on adding touchscreens to Mac computers, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. While not finalized, Apple could potentially release its first MacBook Pro notebook with a touchscreen as early as 2025. More: - Apple engineers are now "actively engaged" in bringing touchscreens to Macs.
- If successful, it's likely that the first MacBook Pro with the technology would have an OLED display instead of the current Mini LED technology.
- The device would allow for touch input and gestures, like an iPhone, but retain the standard trackpad and keyboard and still run macOS.
- Apple could add the touch input to other Mac models over time, according to Gurman.
Zoom Out: - Microsoft, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and others have already released laptops with touch screens.
- The move would be a reversal of Apple's philosophy so far. In 2010, Steve Jobs called touchscreens for laptops "ergonomically terrible," saying that touch surfaces are not great for vertical screens as users "start to fatigue" and eventually "your arm wants to fall off."
BLOOMBERG
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 A MESSAGE FROM LACEWORK Discover cloud insights and harden your security posture In the latest installment of the Cloud Threat Report series, Lacework Labs covers the significant increase in efficiencies used by cybercriminals. Get insights into these trends that cover how: - Attackers are automating key discovery and exploits, taking advantage of momentary mistakes
- Simple mistakes turn into misconfigurations that attackers use to compromise your cloud identity infrastructure
- Vulnerabilities continue to stick around for months (sometimes even years) and attackers quickly exploit any new vulnerabilities
- Cryptojacking continues to be a staple in cybercriminal tool belts
Discover detailed intelligence about ongoing infrastructure compromise activities and best practices for hardening your cloud security posture. Read the Lacework Labs Cloud Threat Report, Vol. 4 today. GET THE REPORT
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For the first time since 2011, Apple and Meta were excluded from Classdoor's 100 Best Places to Work list. Newcomer Gainsight, a software company based in San Francisco, came in at #1. To create the 2023 annual ranking, Glassdoor analyzed anonymous feedback from employees working at larger U.S. companies from October 2021 to October 2022. By the numbers: - Apple has made the list every year since Glassdoor first created it in 2009.
- Apple came in at #56 in the 2022 list and #31 in 2021.
- Meta, formerly Facebook, has been on the list since 2011, when it debuted at #1.
- The company also took the top spot in 2013 and 2018. It was #47 in 2022 and #11 in 2021.
- Tech companies in this year's top 20 included Nvidia, Google, Microsoft, Adobe, and LinkedIn.
Zoom Out: - The 2023 list focuses on themes like flexibility, transparency, and communication, as well as how employees feel about their employers' economic outlook and financial health, according to Glassdoor lead economist Daniel Zhao.
- This is "not to say that Meta and Apple are bad places to work, they just have fallen a little bit given how competitive the list is this year," Zhao said.
- He noted that Apple and Meta have dealt with challenges. Apple faced pushback when it announced new return-to-office policies in 2022. Meta has experienced a strategic shift, including its rebranding in late 2021 and push toward the metaverse, along with recent layoffs affecting 11,000 workers, the largest in company history.
- Based on reviews, "employees are still unsure about how that is going to play out," Zhao said.
CNBC
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Twitter has weighed the idea of auctioning off user names in order to generate more revenue, sources told The New York Times. Under the proposal, the company would hold online auctions for people to bid on user handles, most likely those freed up through the deletion of inactive accounts. More: - In December, Twitter owner Elon Musk said the company would begin to free up 1.5 billion accounts.
- He specified that they are “obvious account deletions with no tweets & no log in for years.”
- Currently, a Twitter policy prohibits users from buying and selling user names, though it's been done on the black market and through hacks for years.
- While Twitter has held talks on the auction idea since at least December, it remains unclear if the project would move forward, the sources noted.
- In addition to mass layoffs and other cuts, Musk has reportedly been exploring new revenue streams, which so far include the revamped Twitter Blue subscription plan for verified accounts and lifting its years-long ban on political ads.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
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 A MESSAGE FROM MASTERWORKS A Banksy got everyday investors 32% returns? Mhm, sure. So what's the catch? We know it may sound too good to be true. But, it's not only possible – it's happening – and thousands of investors are smiling all the way to the bank. Thanks to the fine art investing platform, Masterworks. These results aren’t cherry picking. This is the whole bushel. Masterworks has built a track record of 8 exits, the last 3 realizing +13.9%, +17.8%, and +21.5% net returns each – even while financial markets plummeted. But art? Really? Ok skeptics, here are the numbers. Contemporary art prices: - Outpaced the S&P 500 by 131% over the last 26 years.
- Have the lowest correlation to equities of any asset class
- Remained stable through the dot-com bubble and ‘08 crisis
Got your attention, yet? Inside readers can skip the waitlist with this exclusive link. SKIP THE WAITLIST See important Regulation A disclosures.
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JPMorgan Chase has sued the founder of Frank, a fintech startup that the banking giant acquired for $175M in 2021. JPM claims it was defrauded when Frank vastly overinflated the number of users who had signed up for its services. More: - Frank, founded in 2017 by Charlie Javice, was a college financial planning platform that offered software to improve the student loan application and financial aid process.
- In its lawsuit filed last month, JPMorgan Chase accused Javice of lying to the bank about its number of users.
- JPMorgan claims Javice said 4 million users had signed up via Frank to apply for federal aid, even hiring a data science professor to help fabricate a list of "fake customers" to back its claim.
- In actuality, Frank had just under 300,000 users at the time, according to the suit.
- Javice attorney Alex Spiro called the suit "nothing but a cover" for a "bad faith" termination.
CNBC
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Koko, a mental health support service, has faced accusations of unethical behavior after it tested an AI chatbot without first notifying users. The peer-to-peer service used a GPT-3-powered chatbot to provide counseling to 4,000 customers as part of an experiment, according to Koko co-founder Rob Morris. More: - Koko connects people seeking mental health support to human volunteers through Discord and other messaging apps.
- In the case of the GPT-3 experiment, the volunteers had the option to respond on their own or use OpenAI's large language model to craft a reply. Users were not notified that they were messaging with a chatbot.
- The test drew criticism over concerns that Koko violated the federal informed consent law requiring human subjects in research to give their consent.
- Morris said users did provide consent to use the service and the test was exempt from the law because he does not plan to formally publish any results. He did note that the AI responses were "rated significantly higher" than human-written messages on their own.
ARS TECHNICA
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- OpenAI has opened a waitlist for a paid premium version of ChatGPT.
- At CES 2023, the beauty brand L'Oréal debuted Brow Magic, an AR-based technology that prints brows onto its user's face.
- Oxbotica, a U.K.-based autonomous driving software startup, raised a $140M Series C funding round with participation from Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance, software company Trimble, and oil refiner Eneos.
- MacRumors shared what users can expect from Apple's iOS 17 after it's unveiled during WWDC in June. For example, an update to iOS 17 could allow for "alternative app stores" on iPhones.
- There’s a new email automation strategy that’s helping mailers double, even triple their email open rates.*
*This is a sponsored post. |
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