Morning Brew - ☕ Trying to connect

Some consumers are reportedly opting to not connect their internet-enabled devices at all.
March 24, 2023

Emerging Tech Brew

AT&T

Welcome to Friday. People keep asking if we’re back with a new edition of weekend reads. Yeah, we’re thinking we’re back.

In today’s edition:

Jordan McDonald, Kristen Parisi

SMART DEVICES

Missed connections

Abandoned college mini fridge Francis Scialabba

Smart homes are only as smart as the tech that occupies them. Whether it’s a smart speaker, fridge, or garage-door opener, each device is reliant on a strong connection to the internet or the cloud.

However, some consumers are reportedly opting to not connect their internet-enabled devices at all. According to a recent article from the Wall Street Journal, a conundrum is sprouting up for smart-home appliance manufacturers.

  • Customers are using internet-enabled appliances without connecting them to the internet, frustrating manufacturers who might want to use the data gathered from users as a way to potentially drum up additional revenue through things like replacement parts and subscriptions.
  • Smart appliances could help manufacturers like LG, Samsung, and Whirlpool to “transform their businesses” from mostly one-time interactions to more long-term relationships with customers through subscriptions and interaction with internet-enabled products, per the WSJ.

“Smart appliances have always been at the tail end of adoption, since the smart home’s inception. Most other smart-home devices have done well, because their value centers around their entertainment, or security and safety at home, or reducing household energy consumption or reducing household costs,” Adam Wright, research manager for IDC’s smart-home and office devices program, told Tech Brew.

Keep reading here.JM

        

TOGETHER WITH AT&T

Don’t get mad trying to stay connected

AT&T

You need to stay on top of the score no matter where you are. So you need a network you can depend on—one that lets you take the game on the road and never miss a single minute.

AT&T covers more roads than any other carrier, so you can keep up with all the madness—all the tournament upsets, busted brackets, buzzer beaters, and social media mishaps—all while you’re on the go.

Don’t miss another minute of the action. See if you are eligible for a free trial of AT&T In-Car Wi-Fi today.

STRATEGY

(Mobile) game on

Illustration of a Call of Duty skeleton with Microsoft logo in his eyes Illustration: Dianna “Mick” McDougall, Photo: Call of Duty/Activision

Will mobile gaming help Microsoft crack open competitor app stores? The Verge reported that Microsoft’s Xbox mobile gaming store, which it announced last year, could release on mobile devices as early as 2024.

Microsoft’s Xbox mobile gaming store is a piece of a larger strategy that aims to enable gamers to find Microsoft games across all devices, whether it’s streaming, Xbox, PC or mobile devices.

  • As Tech Brew previously reported, Microsoft is looking to a licensing-first strategy as a way to help catapult it to becoming, if the Activision Blizzard deal goes through, what it claims would be the third-largest gaming company in the world.
  • The success of Microsoft’s mobile store play largely hinges on Google and Apple playing friendly with it, The Verge noted.

If approved, Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition will position the company to not just own some of the most popular titles on mobile platforms—including Call of Duty: Mobile and Candy Crush Saga—but also draw on Activisition’s gaming expertise.—JM

        

LABOR

Wanted: Green jobs

The top of a globe with a phone, notebook, laptop, glasses, iPad and coffee cup floating above it Francis Scialabba

New jobs in sustainability and green technologies are being created faster than workers can be trained to do them—and unfortunately, learning by osmosis is not currently an option (no matter what Garfield says).

Where in the world? Europe is facing a growing knowledge and skills gap in green technology, according to a recent survey of more than 12,500 European businesses, and the Financial Times reported that the personnel deficit is preventing the region from properly investing in green technology.

The demand for these workers will likely only increase, as the World Economic Forum predicts the global green economy will create more than 10.3 million new jobs by 2030.

Keep reading here.—KP

        

TOGETHER WITH REMOTEBASE

Remotebase

Hiring that isn’t tiring. Remotebase helps clients hire the top 1% of remote developers in just 24 hours. Candidates are pre-evaluated using a Silicon Valley standardized vetting process to ensure they’re a perfect match. It’s borderless hiring that offers access to a versatile talent pool, saving you time and $$$. Start your free 2-week trial.

COOL CONSUMER TECH

A drawing of a horse, becoming increasingly child-like from left to right. Imgflip

Usually, we write about the business of tech. Here, we highlight the *tech* of tech.

Visualizing AI text: Microsoft announced that its Bing Chat AI tool now has the ability to generate images. The tool uses an advanced version of the DALL-E image generation model, but Microsoft emphasized its image generation capabilities are still in the early stages. As of now, the tool is being released in phases and is only available to select users.

The uncanny valley no more: Epic Games unveiled its new motion capture, machine learning-powered tech, called MetaHuman Animator, which it said is able to scan and then virtually animate facial models in minutes. The company’s MetaHuman facial modeling tool, introduced in 2021, has been used to create millions of faces. This week’s announcement was accompanied by a demo illustrating the speed and fidelity of moving from capture to 3D animation.

BITS AND BYTES

Smartphone with "CHATGPT" word on the screen SOPA Images / Contributor/Getty Images

Stat: Games on the Xbox Series X use an average of 122 watts of energy, with the most energy being pulled by games that operate at 4K 60fps. Higher-fidelity games can operate at 180 watts, while pause menus average 137 watts and multiplayer lobbies pull an average of 122 watts.

Quote: “No one’s ever attempted to launch a 3D-printed rocket into orbit, and, while we didn’t make it all the way today, we gathered enough data to show that flying 3D-printed rockets is viable.”—Arwa Tizani Kelly of Relativity Space, on the company’s launch of the first 3D-printed rocket

Read: Employees are embracing ChatGPT as a way to potentially save time at work, while some companies are banning access to the tool.

Test more: In-house QA can take years to scale. QA Wolf takes weeks. QA Wolf will build, run, and maintain your automated end-to-end test suite—and get you to 80% test coverage in 4 months. Learn more.*

*This is sponsored advertising content.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

  • Ubisoft announced a tool that uses AI to generate dialogue for non-playable characters.
  • Google released Bard, its answer to AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Bing Chat
  • Amazon’s palm-scanning technology will be deployed at Panera Bread locations throughout the US for digital payment.
  • Virgin Orbit is likely to make a deal for a $200 million raise from a private investor, following a failed satellite launch and a disappointing third quarter, per Reuters.

GOING PHISHING

Three of the following news stories are true, and one...we made up. Can you spot the odd one out?

  • The SEC sued Tron founder Justin Sun and a host of celebrities including Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, and Soulja Boy for allegedly promoting crypto without disclosing their stakes in it.
  • Bill Gates announced that he is investing $600 billion to fund the Artemis Moon Program through a joint partnership with NASA.
  • Bay Area startup Good Meat received a letter from the FDA affirming “the safety of its process” for creating cultivated-meat.
  • A Chinese tech firm unveiled a machine that enables long-distance lovers to kiss through the phone with the help of silicon lips.

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GOING PHISHING ANSWER

Bill Gates has not announced any partnerships with NASA or expressed a desire to fund a moon mission.

         

Written by Jordan McDonald and Kristen Parisi

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