Reddit vs Wall Street

This week Reddit users trolled the heck out of sharks of Wall Street. A hedge fund wanted to earn money by betting that Gamestop stocks would fall. Reddit users noticed that and started buying out the stocks. This caused the rise of stock value by over 1700%. As a result, the hedge fund bankrupted because it couldn't repay all the debts.

This is the first time something like this happened. This whole situation is being compared to French Revolution - "poor and small" people/investors turned against the rich people using their own tactics and tools against them.

Apple is doing just fine

Apple released financial reports for last quarter, and it looks like it  just broke its quarterly revenue record earning $111.4 Billion in Q1 2021. The revenue mostly comes from iPhones (42%) but iPad also gained a lot (in total 7%), and almost matched the Macs (8%).

SpaceX carpooling?

SpaceX launched Falcon 9 rocket with record breaking 143 satellites. This was done under the SmallSat Rideshare Program which is basically a space carpooling. Small businesses can share a flight with other companies instead of buying an entire rocket at a much higher price.

With such program, SpaceX has done just another step into affordable space exploration.

Image credits: Clay Banks

iPhone 12 Pro more popular than iPhone 12 mini?

According to rumors, Apple decreased the production of iPhone 12 Mini in favour of  iPhone 12 Pro. The shift in production is a response to increased demand for iPhone 12 Pro.

Streaming services even more popular

Netflix surpassed the 200 million subscribers. Although those are impressive numbers, Netflix will have work hard to keep those users, as other services gain in popularity, especially Disney+.

No unsigned iOS apps on Apple Silicon

Apple started to block users from sideloading iPhone apps on Apple Silicon Macs. The only way to install an iOS app is through the AppStore.

Image credits: Todd Diemer

CES 2021

Due to pandemic, the CES 2021 was different. First of all it was virtual. Second, it was smaller, much smaller. Not many products ware introduced, but couple of them were interesting:

• Razer's RGB Mask,
• TLC 's rollable tablet,
• Samsung Bot Handy,
• myQ Pet Portal,
• Toto Wellness Toilet.

Samsung Galaxy S21 family

Samsung announced the next version of the flagship phone. Here is the spec of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra:

• 6.8-inch AMOLED 120Hz display (1440 x 3200 px),
• Snapdragon 888,
• 12 or 16GB of RAM,
• 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB of Storage,
• Triple back camera system: 108 MP (wide), 10 MP (telephoto), 12 MP (ultrawide),
• 40 MP selfie camera,
• 5000 mAh Battery,
• Support for S pen,
• Starting at $1199.

Return of the King?

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, next MacBook Pro might return to its glorious days. If rumors are true, the new MacBook Pro will get not only the ARM processor, but also new form factor, and new display. The TouchBar will be gone, and the MagSafe will return with additional ports. This is too good to be true.

Lucasfilm Games

Lucasfilm announced that all future Star Wars games will be released under the Lucasfilm Games brand. It looks like, EA lost their exclusivity right to Star Wars games. Bethesda is working on Indiana Jones game, and Ubisoft is making an open world Star Wars game. Despite the fact EA lost exclusivity rights, it's still working on the new Star Wars games, including sequel to the Jedi Fallen Order.

Wikipedia anniversary

Wikipedia turned 20. Yeah, It's hard to believe, but Wikipedia is helping us for two decades now. It definitely helped me when I was a student, so I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this awesome project.

Microsoft plans to replace Outlook with new Universal Client

According to Windows Central, Microsoft plans to replace all the current versions of Outlook with one, web based, universal client. This new client - codename Monarch - is based on the Outlook Web app already available available in a browser today. There is no information when the actual switch might happen.

10th years of the Mac App Store

The Mac App Store launched exactly 10 years ago, on January 6, 2011. Although it is the easiest way to install an app on the Mac, it never gained the popularity. The 30% Apple tax and not clear app review rules caused that many developers never sold their apps through the AppStore or even abandoned the AppStore.

Hopefully the new and lower Apple Tax for small businesses and upcoming investigations regarding Apple's monopoly will make the AppStore a better place for developers.

Google workers plans to unionize

A group of Google workers plan to unionize. The Alphabet Workers Union will be available to all employees and contractors that work for Google's companies. So far about 400 workers joined the union out over 130K people working for Google. The union might be small, but it is determined to solve the issues that has been reveled in recent months.

Image credits: Microsoft

2020 in review

This year was crazy and it's finally over. I looked back on what happened over last 12 months and picked top 3 news from each month.

January

1. CES 2020,
2. SpaceX Crew Dragon Launch Escape Demonstration,
3. End of support for Windows 7.

February

1. Fake trafic jam on Google Maps,
2. Samsung Unpack #1,
3. iPad turned 10.

March

1. Coronavirus takes the world,
2. Apple's hardware update,
3. Apple's software updates.

April

1. Apple and Google partner on COVID-19 contact tracing technology,
2. One Plus 8 & iPhone SE,
3. Apple acquired Dark Sky.

May

1. SpaceX first maned mission with Crew Demo-2,
2. Unreal Engine 5 reveled,
3. Samsung announced “Samsung Money”.

June

1. WWDC 2020,
2. GitHub went down,
3. The Last of us 2 released.

July

1. F1 was back racing,
2. Intel’s Thunderbolt 4 announced,
3. Nasa launched Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover.

August

1. Epic goes to war with Apple,
2. Samsung Unpacked #2,
3. Windows 95 is 25 years old.

September

1. GeForce RTX  30 Series announced,
2. Apple Event #1 - Apple Watch & iPad,
3. Xbox Series S announced.

October

1. Apple Event #2 - iPhone 12,
2. Pixel 5 announced,
3. Mandalorian Season 2.

November

1. Apple Event #3 - ARM Macs,
2. SpaceX Crew-1 launched,
3. Xbox Series X and Playstation 5 launched.

December

1. Cyberpunk 2077 released,
2. Salesforce bought Slack,
3. AirPods Max.

That's all folks. I hope next year will be better and we can get back to a normal life.
Happy New year and see you guys soon!

Image credits: Immo Wegmann