๐ Microsoft Challenges, US Bans Huawei, LPCAMM2 Launches
Midweek Update: Stay ahead with our latest analysis on the evolving tech and AI scene.
Todayโs pick
Microsoft employees spent years fighting the tech giant's oil ties. Now, they're speaking out.ย
US Revokes Intel, Qualcomm Licenses to Sell Chips to Huawei
LPCAMM2 Is Finally Here, and It's a Big Deal.
Bluesky to add DMs, video support and in-app custom feed curation.
Space Tech Startup Xona Raises $19M Series A for its Cutting-Edge Satellite Navigation Service
Letโs dive in
Microsoft employees spent years fighting the tech giant's oil ties. Now, they're speaking out.ย
Grist
Holly Alpine, a former Microsoft employee, resigned in January 2024 due to ethical concerns over the company's involvement in enhancing oil extraction, which she believed contradicted Microsoft's sustainability efforts.
Despite Microsoft's commitment to becoming carbon negative by 2030, the company continued to develop and provide AI and cloud computing services to the fossil fuel industry, raising internal employee concerns about the contradiction between sustainability goals and business practices.
Employee advocacy, particularly from the Sustainability Connected Community, influenced Microsoft to implement "energy principles" focusing on low and zero-carbon energy, although critics argue these measures insufficiently address the broader environmental impact of continued fossil fuel production.
๐: Scoop for @grist: For years, employees at Microsoft have been pressuring management to stop creating AI-based tools to help fossil fuel giants extract more oil. With the company failing to budge, they're now speaking out publicly for the first time - Maddie Stone (@themadstone)
US Revokes Intel, Qualcomm Licenses to Sell Chips to Huawei.
By Mackenzie Hawkins via Bloombergย
The US has revoked licenses for Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. to sell semiconductors to Huawei Technologies Co., intensifying export restrictions on the Chinese telecom giant.
This ban will affect the supply of chips for Huawei's smartphones and laptops, with expected negative impacts on Intel's revenue for the second quarter.
The revocation is part of a broader US strategy to prevent China from advancing in the development of artificial intelligence technologies.
๐: Why does the Biden administration hate US companies so much that it is sanctioning them out of the largest market on the planet? I can only conclude that people who claim Beijing Biden is a CCP agent are correct. Had China done this to Intel and Qualcomm it would pay a dear price world wide. But since Biden is doing it, China gets it without the cost. - Nik Stankovic (@nikstankovic_)
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LPCAMM2 Is Finally Here, and It's a Big Deal.
By Carsten Frauenheim via iFixit
LPCAMM2 introduces a new era of modular, upgradeable, and repairable memory standards for laptops, leveraging LPDDR chips for enhanced efficiency and performance.
Pioneered by Micron in partnership with Lenovo, this technology promises compatibility across different manufacturers, aiming to standardize memory modules for easy upgrades and repairs.
The launch of LPCAMM2 not only challenges the trend of non-serviceable, soldered memory components but also aligns with sustainability goals by promoting longer device lifespans and easier maintenance.
๐: In the world of DRAM, @CrucialMemory and @MicronTech announces LPCAMM2, the second generation CAMM module, set to be used in Lenovo's ThinkPad P1 Gen7. Running at LPDDR5X-7500, it comes in 32GB and 64GB densities, with the 64GB module priced at $330. - ๐ท๐. ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ข๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ (@IanCutress)
Bluesky to add DMs, video support and in-app custom feed curation.
By Ivan Mehta via TechCrunchย
Bluesky is expanding its features to include direct messaging (DMs), video support, and enhanced tools for custom feed curation within its app.
The decentralized social network plans to introduce an in-app mechanism for creating and managing custom feeds, improving feed discovery and moderation.
These updates, part of Bluesky's new product roadmap, aim to enrich user interaction and content personalization while integrating new anti-harassment tools and an OAuth login system.
Space Tech Startup Xona Raises $19M Series A for its Cutting-Edge Satellite Navigation Service.
PR Newswire
Xona Space Systems successfully raised $19 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by Future Ventures and Seraphim Space to expand its high-precision satellite navigation services.
The funding will accelerate the deployment of Xona's PULSARโข satellite service, designed to provide robust precision guidance for autonomous technologies in unstructured environments.
Xona aims to enhance global geolocation services with its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, offering significant improvements over traditional GPS in accuracy, availability, and security.
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