Apple After Apple introduced its amazing M2 Mac mini , I caught up with one of the world’s biggest Mac mini customers, MacStadium , for some insights into how the company views the new systems. “I’ve never been more optimistic for the Mac platform,” said Chris Chapman, MacStadium’s CTO. “When we first started, the rate of change for Macs was something like five to seven years per model. It was specific. "Their proliferation into the business and enterprise market was still a little fuzzy because iPhones were new, and Macs were good for specific people," he said. “This has changed — they are becoming the de facto standard for laptop, desktop, and phone and you’re really starting to see it become pervasive. It starts with the consumer but has grown to pervade business and enterprises everywhere.” We agreed that this is another illustration of the need to keep enterprise tech consumer simple, but enterprise capable. The pandemic drove many to switch to Macs for professional work, and the move to Apple Silicon accelerated that existing trend. “It’s amazing how much cheaper and how much more performant these things are becoming, generation over generation, it’s providing an Incredible platform for […]

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Washington CNN — For the better part of 15 years, Google has seemed like an unstoppable force, powered by the strength of its online search engine and digital advertising business. But both now look increasingly vulnerable. This week, the Justice Department accused Google of running an illegal monopoly in its online advertising business and called for parts of it to be broken up. The case comes a couple of years after the Trump administration filed a similar suit going after the tech giant’s dominance in search. Google said the Justice Department is “doubling down on a flawed argument” and that the latest suit “attempts to pick winners and losers in the highly competitive advertising technology sector.” If successful, however, both blockbuster cases could upend a business model that’s made Google the most powerful advertising company on the internet. It would be the most consequential antitrust victory against a tech giant since the US government took on Microsoft more than 20 years ago. But even though the lawsuits drive at the heart of Google’s revenue machine, they could take years to play out. In the meantime, two other thorny issues are poised to determine Google’s future on a potentially shorter […]

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McDonald’s exec slams the FAST Act in open letter. The FAST Recovery Act could raise minimum wage for California fast food workers to $22 an hour. A coalition led by chains like McDonald’s have secured a referendum vote in November 2024. This week, a top McDonald’s exec slammed lawmakers for passing the law in an open letter. Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go. Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . The president of McDonald’s USA threw shade at California lawmakers for passing a fast-food law that he said would make it "all but impossible to run small business restaurants" in the state, Joe Erlinger said in a January 25 open letter . AB 257, dubbed the FAST Act, signed into law last year, could raise hourly restaurant wages to $22 an hour in the state. The open letter was published after the state approved a referendum […]

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CNN — ChatGPT is smart enough to pass prestigious graduate-level exams – though not with particularly high marks. The powerful new AI chatbot tool recently passed law exams in four courses at the University of Minnesota and another exam at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, according to professors at the schools. To test how well ChatGPT could generate answers on exams for the four courses, professors at the University of Minnesota Law School recently graded the tests blindly . After completing 95 multiple choice questions and 12 essay questions, the bot performed on average at the level of a C+ student, achieving a low but passing grade in all four courses. ChatGPT fared better during a business management course exam at Wharton, where it earned a B to B- grade. In a paper detailing the performance , Christian Terwiesch, a Wharton business professor, said ChatGPT did “an amazing job” at answering basic operations management and process-analysis questions but struggled with more advanced prompts and made “surprising mistakes” with basic math. “These mistakes can be massive in magnitude,” he wrote. The test results come as a growing number of schools and teachers express concerns about the immediate impact […]

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Aditya Datta spearheaded the formation of the Business Fraternity Diversity Council last fall Aditya Datta (left), Ekow Asomaning (upper right) and Eswar Chelliah (bottom right) are members of Penn State’s new Business Fraternity Diversity Council. UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — During a breakfast for Chapel Executive Interns last fall, Aditya Datta, a third-year Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar majoring in economics, pitched the idea of creating the Business Fraternity Diversity Council to Clarence Lang, Susan Welch Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts. As a member and former director of diversity, inclusion and community engagement for the Delta Sigma Pi professional business fraternity, it was important to Datta that the business fraternities at Penn State provide an inclusive culture and reflect the school they serve, he said. Datta, a Lansdale, Pennsylvania, native, said he knew that for this venture to be successful, he would need access to leaders in professional networks and a scalable idea. Lang put Datta in contact with Melissa Landrau Vega, the director of the Multicultural Resource Center, which opened pathways to communicate with Charles Whiteman, the dean of Smeal College of Business, and Olivia Lewis, the director of diversity enhancement in Smeal. “When we came […]

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Jan 26 (Reuters) – Russia’s finance ministry, economy ministry and central bank all oppose plans by mobile operator Veon Ltd (VON.AS) to sell its Russian business, Vimpelcom, the Kommersant newspaper said on Thursday. Last November, Amsterdam-listed Veon (VON.AS) said it would sell Vimpelcom to senior members of the Vimpelcom management team, led by CEO Aleksander Torbakhov, for 130 billion roubles ($1.87 billion). Kommersant, citing unidentified sources, said the deal in its current form did not suit the holders of Veon Eurobonds and had been sent back for revisions. Separately, Tass news agency cited a source saying the government had sent the deal back so changes could be made, but did not give any details. Kommersant said it had not received responses to requests for comment from Vimpelcom, Veon or the two Russian ministries. ($1 = 69.6505 roubles)

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Confluent Inc. is cutting 8% of its staff and is reportedly losing its chief revenue officer. The Mountain View company announced the layoffs Thursday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission . The provider of data management software is making the cuts — which amount to about 220 workers — to help it reach profitability more quickly, co-founder and CEO Jay Kreps said in a letter to employees it also filed with the SEC. Due to economic uncertainty, it’s taking longer for the company to close sales, so its growth is slowing, Kreps said in his letter. At the same time, it’s under increasing pressure to stem its losses, he said. "To many, I’m sure this news (of the layoffs) comes as a shock, though those following the broader tech ecosystem closely may be less surprised," Kreps said. "Ultimately, we had optimized some aspects of our operations for a very different world than we found ourselves operating in," he continued. "The responsibility for that falls squarely on me." In addition to the cuts, Larry Shurtz has left his position as Confluent’s CRO, The Information reported . Shurtz, who formerly worked for Salesforce Inc. as its executive vice […]

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WILLIAMSON, W.Va . (WSAZ) – Two businesses are reporting losses because Frontier services have been out for days at a time. Paul Price is the CEO of Precision Heating, Cooling, and Electric. One of his locations is situated on Williamson’s West Side. Along with Appalachian Tire Company across the street, the two businesses say they are experiencing significant losses when calls cannot be accepted. “All three of our phone lines are out, this is an ongoing problem a total of two and a half weeks since November that our phones have been and it’s critical our customers can’t in touch with us,” said Price. Those lines are how customers get in touch with Precision Heating, Cooling, and Electric. It is a number known well to Southern West Virginians, 304-235-2000, but employees at their location on Third Ave cannot pick up the phone. That number and the others for the company are connected to Frontier services. Price said when the internet and phone services began going out in November his losses were so great he decided the company should get internet services with another service in addition to Frontier. WSAZ reached out to Frontier about the outages. A spokesperson with […]

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Ransomware has lately been the primary method of monetization for threat actors. Still, research has revealed a slight decrease in ransomware attacks and ransomware payments this past year, suggesting cybercriminals are evolving their strategies. Mariano Nunez Threat actors have been leveraging more discreet techniques to make a profit by directly targeting an enterprise’s crown jewels—enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications. We’ve already seen threat groups entering business applications and staying undetected for months while quietly siphoning millions of dollars. As enterprises accelerate their digital transformation projects, protecting their business-critical applications from threats directly targeting them should be of utmost importance. But while many organizations are prioritizing ERP application security, others are instead focusing on and investing heavily in traditional cybersecurity tools that only address more common threats, like ransomware. As ERP attacks increase this year, more organizations must ensure their security strategy takes these applications into account to keep their sensitive data and files. But first, it’s crucial that they understand what risks are threatening their ERP applications. There are numerous security risks that can leave business-critical applications vulnerable to cybercriminals. Here are three common business application security risks organizations should keep an eye out for this year and specific […]

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EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Jan. 27, 2023) – The Triad Business Journal has named three North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alumni to its 2023 class of 40 Under 40 award winners – Alana V. Allen ’07, Bryle Henderson Hatch ’08, ’10, ’18, Ph.D., and Oliver M. Thomas ’06, Ph.D., M.Div. All honorees are accomplished leaders older than 21 and younger than 40 who are leaving an indelible mark not just in their workplaces but also across the region. In addition to their professional achievements, they are active in many local nonprofits and civic causes, addressing issues ranging from education to poverty to social injustice to bolstering the quality of life in the Triad. Allen earned a B.S. in journalism and mass communications with a concentration in public relations from N.C. A&T, where she is director of alumni communications director of alumni communications under the Division of University Advancement. Allen also is also founder and executive director of I Am A Queen, a youth development nonprofit based in the Greensboro-High Point area of North Carolina. For 14 years, she has cultivated a thriving year-round mentorship program for girls ages 10-18 that focuses on building their self-esteem and leadership skills. […]

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