Fast Company posts tagged: Tech Forecast | Fast Company

Tech Forecast

What’s next for hardware, software, and services.

Amazon stock explodes again after another blockbuster earnings report

It looks like the president’s anti-Amazon tweets weren’t enough to doom the company’s financials. Sad! Amazon just reported its first-quarter 2018 earnings, easily beating analyst estimates on revenue and profits. We’ve been eagerly waiting to see if political tumult and angry rhetoric from President Trump would have any impact on the company’s business. Now that the … Continue reading “Amazon stock explodes again after another blockbuster earnings report”

Amazon stock explodes again after another blockbuster earnings report

Nintendo’s stellar year—profits soar, Switch sales skyrocket

Nintendo is reaping the rewards as its Nintendo Switch console sets sales records. The company’s profits jumped 505% to 178 billion yen (roughly $1.6 billion) in the 2017 fiscal year, thanks largely to 15 million Switch sales. To date, Nintendo has sold 17.7 million Switch units (the console went on sale in March 2017, a … Continue reading “Nintendo’s stellar year—profits soar, Switch sales skyrocket”

Nintendo’s stellar year—profits soar, Switch sales skyrocket

Amazon Earnings: Things To Watch As Stock Tries To Recover From Trump

Will Jeff Bezos and company deliver another blockbuster quarter in the wake of Trump’s escalating anti-Amazon rhetoric?

Amazon Earnings: Things To Watch As Stock Tries To Recover From Trump

Facebook earnings: 5 things to watch in first post-Cambridge Analytica report

This afternoon, Facebook will release its first-quarter earnings. Here are five things we’ll be watching for from the social-networking giant: This is Facebook’s first earnings report since the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke last month. It will be interesting to see how the controversy–which involves the misuse of over 87 million users’ data–affects the company’s bottom … Continue reading “Facebook earnings: 5 things to watch in first post-Cambridge Analytica report”

Facebook earnings: 5 things to watch in first post-Cambridge Analytica report

Comcast’s NBCU is missing “Get Out” but at least there’s Harry Potter

Philly cable giant Comcast reported first-quarter earnings this morning, and the results for its NBCUniversal unit were mostly magic—with a little bit of horror thrown in for good measure. The company’s “filmed entertainment” division, which includes Universal Pictures, saw decreased revenue of 16.3% to $1.6 billion. The lower results were largely due to tough comparisons from … Continue reading “Comcast’s NBCU is missing “Get Out” but at least there’s Harry Potter”

Comcast’s NBCU is missing “Get Out” but at least there’s Harry Potter

3 things we’re looking for in Twitter’s Q1 earnings report

Twitter’s stock has skyrocketed in the last year, doubling to a share price of about $30. That’s a bigger surge than we’ve seen from tech stalwarts like Google and Amazon. Of course, context is everything: Those companies boast stock prices upwards of $1,000, and Twitter’s stock growth is largely the byproduct of its first profitable … Continue reading “3 things we’re looking for in Twitter’s Q1 earnings report”

3 things we’re looking for in Twitter’s Q1 earnings report

Why Facebook’s engagement surged after Cambridge Analytica

In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the #DeleteFacebook movement got a lot of press. But to date, there’s been scant evidence of users actually closing their accounts. In fact, a new study suggests user engagement on Facebook actually spiked after the scandal broke–but not for reasons Facebook will love; in fact, it was … Continue reading “Why Facebook’s engagement surged after Cambridge Analytica”

Why Facebook’s engagement surged after Cambridge Analytica

Opioid take back day: This map shows you where to return your unused prescriptions

Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, which is part of a DEA program that allows Americans to safely dispose of their unused medication. Pharmacies and police departments all over the country are participating in the event. To help people find drop-off locations in their area, the group New America has teamed up with … Continue reading “Opioid take back day: This map shows you where to return your unused prescriptions”

Opioid take back day: This map shows you where to return your unused prescriptions

McDonald’s is trying to figure out how to stop sucking

Straws suck and McDonald’s is trying to do something about it. Environmental groups estimate that we use more than 500 million plastic straws every day in the U.S. alone. Plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds every year, as well as more than 100,000 marine mammals, and by some estimates, plastics in the … Continue reading “McDonald’s is trying to figure out how to stop sucking”

McDonald’s is trying to figure out how to stop sucking

Microsoft has paid $7M to Minecraft content makers since June

One year ago, Microsoft announced plans to make a business out of Minecraft content, with a Marketplace program that lets creators sell their own maps, mini-games, and aesthetic tweaks. Now, the company tells me it’s paid $7 million to Minecraft creators since the program launched last June. That’s up from $1 million in payouts as of last … Continue reading “Microsoft has paid $7M to Minecraft content makers since June”

Microsoft has paid $7M to Minecraft content makers since June

Amazon’s top-secret “Vesta” program is for building home robots

Amazon’s next big product may be a talking robot that follows you around the house, courtesy of a secret program being overseen by its Lab126 hardware R&D division, reports Bloomberg. Lab126 is where a number of Amazon’s current hardware products originated. Those products include hits like Amazon’s Echo speakers and Fire TV set-top boxes (though Lab126 … Continue reading “Amazon’s top-secret “Vesta” program is for building home robots”

Amazon’s top-secret “Vesta” program is for building home robots

For $300K, you can own a piece of Bruce Springsteen’s immaculate handwriting

Calling all Bruce Springsteen fans. If you have an extra few hundred thousand dollars, then I recommend you boogaloo down Broadway to Sotheby’s–or just visit the website. This June, the auction house will sell an original handwritten manuscript of The Boss’s worshipped anthem “Born to Run.” The piece of torn, lined paper (it ain’t a … Continue reading “For $300K, you can own a piece of Bruce Springsteen’s immaculate handwriting”

For $300K, you can own a piece of Bruce Springsteen’s immaculate handwriting

Flying cars turned out to just be small airplanes

The flying cars we were promised by all those 20th-century sci-fi writers are finally here, but they don’t look like they did in The Jetsons or Back to the Future. In fact, they look a lot like small airplanes—but we’ll take ’em for now. A new electric-powered airplane debuted today over the skies of Fresno … Continue reading “Flying cars turned out to just be small airplanes”

Flying cars turned out to just be small airplanes

How the Met museum is becoming more inclusive with Facebook Live

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has come up with a clever way to make art more accessible to art lovers who happen to be deaf. Like many museums around the world, the Met has hosted tours with guides who offer commentary in American Sign Language since at least 2001, but as Hyperallergic points out, it is now using … Continue reading “How the Met museum is becoming more inclusive with Facebook Live”

How the Met museum is becoming more inclusive with Facebook Live

Meet The Battery Guru Who Will Help Keep Uber’s Sky Taxis Flying

Having gotten Teslas to a 300-mile range, Celina Mikolajczak now must push Uber’s electric air taxis to 60 miles of flight and 15-minute recharges.

Meet The Battery Guru Who Will Help Keep Uber’s Sky Taxis Flying

California’s monster net neutrality bill just survived its dicey first hearing

California is not the first state to consider a law that would pick up the net neutrality protections recently dropped by the FCC. Washington and Oregon have new laws, for instance. But California is a much bigger state, with a much bigger bill to match. That complexity came out today in the first hearing on … Continue reading “California’s monster net neutrality bill just survived its dicey first hearing”

California’s monster net neutrality bill just survived its dicey first hearing

Thousands Of Advertisers Shun Breitbart, But Amazon Remains

Sleeping Giants’ efforts to embarrass brands that appear on Breitbart have proven uncannily effective. Yet some key affiliate relationships remain in place.

Thousands Of Advertisers Shun Breitbart, But Amazon Remains

Heineken still hasn’t recovered from Chance the Rapper calling its ad racist

If you’ve ever doubted the needle-moving power of Twitter influencers, pour one out for Heineken. The Dutch beer brewer suffered a significant dip in consumer sentiment after one of its commercials was called racist by Chance the Rapper, and more than two weeks after it pulled the ad out of rotation, the company still hasn’t … Continue reading “Heineken still hasn’t recovered from Chance the Rapper calling its ad racist”

Heineken still hasn’t recovered from Chance the Rapper calling its ad racist

This lidar startup is challenging Velodyne for the autonomous car business

The death of Elaine Herzberg, who was hit by one of Uber’s autonomous test cars in Arizona in March, has forced a rethink of the entire self-driving industry. All aspects of the technology (and the propensity for human error) have a ways to go. But the nighttime crash has focused interest on lidar, laser-scanner technology … Continue reading “This lidar startup is challenging Velodyne for the autonomous car business”

This lidar startup is challenging Velodyne for the autonomous car business

Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony by the numbers

Mark Zuckerberg’s two days of testimony in Congress left most viewers with a strange feeling: The more he talked, the less we understood about Facebook. The social network’s CEO and founder dodged and feinted when confronted about its misdeeds and asked about its future plans. He also tossed out plenty of empty platitudes and repeated … Continue reading “Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony by the numbers”

Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony by the numbers

Impact

U.S. billionaires got $845 billion richer since the start of the pandemic

This whale-detection tech helps cargo ships avoid deadly crashes

Mastercard will spend $500 million to expand financial access in Black communities

News

When is the best time to get a flu shot? Experts weigh in

Trump vs. Biden on COVID-19 relief and economic stimulus: Here’s what they’re promising

Sexuality researchers say this is the most effective way to flirt—with men, at least

Co.Design

Kamala Harris made a splash in Converse. Can the company keep the magic going?

LeBron James’s More Than a Vote and NAACP launch recruitment ad for election poll workers

Rent the Runway cuts unlimited subscription model

Work Life

Why building a muscle for uncertainty is the most important thing you can do

The single collaboration tip your virtual team needs for remote productivity

6 types of bad bosses and how to deal with them