Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is urging a full return to the office by the beginning of 2025. After working in the office three days a week for the past 15 months, employees will now be required to be in the office five days a week, with only exceptional circumstances allowing for remote work. Despite the push from Big Tech executives for employees to return to the office, the mandates have faced resistance from some tech workers.
U.S. tech giant Cisco has recently laid off thousands of employees in its second round of layoffs for 2024. The technology and networking company plans to reduce its workforce by 7%, around 5,600 employees. This comes after an initial layoff in February which saw approximately 4,000 employees let go. Despite these layoffs, Cisco reported its second strongest year on record in August. If you were affected by these layoffs, we would like to hear from you.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max offers a glimpse into a more intelligent future with a price tag of $1,200. TechCrunch’s Brian Heater highlights several new features in the iPhone 16 line, such as a Camera Control button, the A18 Pro chip, significant improvements to Siri, and various Apple Intelligence features. The question remains: do these features, along with the fear of missing out (FOMO), justify an upgrade?
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News
The next big thing — literally: Snap’s new Spectacles bring impressive AR capabilities to developers for $99 per month. These large-sized Spectacles offer a middle ground in AR hardware design between headsets and portable smart glasses. Read more
A Citi Bike side hustle: Resourceful individuals have found a profitable way to leverage Lyft’s Citi Bike “Bike Angels” program through “station flipping.” While Lyft has denounced this practice, some Bike Angels have managed to earn thousands of dollars per month. Read more
Hello, iOS 18: iOS users can now update to iOS 18 and customize their home screens, benefit from RCS support for easier texting with Android users, and enjoy a tab-free Photo app. However, advanced AI features are still limited. Read more
Reject modernity, embrace tradition: Following the release of iOS 18, some users long for the previous look and feel of the iOS Photos app. LateNiteSoft has introduced Photon Library, offering the familiar appearance of the previous app version. Read more
Your Discord messages just got more secure: Discord has announced end-to-end encryption for audio and video calls within the platform, ensuring user conversations remain private. Read more
Mozilla says goodbye to the fediverse: Mozilla will be discontinuing its Mastodon server experiment. Users can download their data or migrate their accounts to another Mastodon server before the shutdown of Mozilla.social on December 17. Read more
John Mulaney roasts Dreamforce: Comedian John Mulaney entertained attendees at Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference with a comedic set mocking San Francisco tech culture and AI. Read more
Sam Altman departs OpenAI’s safety committee: Sam Altman is stepping down from the internal commission at OpenAI tasked with making critical safety decisions related to the company’s projects. The committee will transition into an independent oversight group. Read more
Never pay for inflight Wi-Fi again: United Airlines is teaming up with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer Starlink internet service on its flights, providing free Wi-Fi access to passengers starting in 2025. Read more
Analysis
LinkedIn’s games are fun, actually: As games become more prevalent across various platforms, LinkedIn has introduced daily puzzles to engage users during their job search. Amanda Silberling explores the appeal of these quick brain teasers and why they resonate with users. Read more
