Thoughts Unboxed

The inevitable has happened. Apple has finally come under serious scrutiny from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) after the latter has sued the company for illegal monopoly over the smartphone market. The lawsuit is filed by the Justice Department alongside 16 other state and district attorney generals. The lawsuit alleges Apple has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by monopolizing or attempting to monopolize the smartphone market. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, accuses Apple of maintaining a monopoly over smartphones through contractual restrictions on developers and withholding critical access points. Apple's actions hinder the development of apps, products, and services that could reduce reliance on iPhone, promote interoperability, and lower costs. The company leverages its monopoly power to extract more money from consumers, developers, and various other entities. The Justice Departm

Microsoft's Katie Savage - The Program Manager DevDiv Community - have announced the release of a new foundational C# certification in collaboration with freeCodeCamp - a charity based organization that creates free learning resources for Math, Computer Science and Programming. Speaking about the significance of the certification, she said:   Our Foundational C# Certification provides just that — a testament to the time and effort you’ve invested in mastering this versatile language. While no certification can guarantee a job, adding this to your portfolio demonstrates your commitment to continuous growth and your proficiency in C#. Partnering with the esteemed freeCodeCamp, our certification is not just a badge, but a mark of quality education. It’s comprehensive, globally accessible, and free. This ensures that learners everywhere can benefit from a robust C# training on Microsoft Learn.   The Foundational C# Certification is available completely free of cost worldwide. To fac

Apple has released its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, ending on July 1, 2023. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $81.8 billion, down 1 percent year over year, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.26, up 5 percent year over year.   Let's dive into the numbers and analyze the performance of the company during this period. Revenue Overview Overall, Apple's revenues for the quarter were $81.797 billion, showing a slight decrease compared to $82.959 billion from the same period last year. This marks the third consecutive quarter with a year-on-year revenue decline for the company. Net Income Growth Despite the slight dip in revenues, Apple's net income for the quarter experienced a modest increase, reaching $19.881 billion, compared to $19.442 billion during the same period in the previous year. Revenue Breakdown by Product Categories Despite breakdown of the revenue by product categories, Apple doesn't provi

Magenta carrier T-Mobile has recently implemented several changes to its service offerings, affecting various aspects of its accounts. One area that has been impacted is the auto-pay discount available to users. This discount provides credits for each line when users set up automatic bill payments. While the change was announced some time ago, it is now gradually rolling out to more users. Change Details Many users have begun receiving texts and emails requesting them to update their auto-pay method or risk losing their auto-pay discounts. Please refer to the attached screenshot for an example of the email notification.      New Requirements Moving forward, T-Mobile will only consider debit cards and bank accounts as valid payment methods for receiving auto-pay discounts. Any other payment method will void the auto-pay discount.  Concerns While T-Mobile claims that this change is intended to benefit customers, some speculate that it might be primarily aimed at avoid

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has lost its motion for a preliminary injunction to halt Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. The case involved presentations from both parties over a span of five days, with the federal judge tasked with deciding whether to grant the FTC's request for an emergency injunction to prevent the deal from closing. While the FTC still has the option to file an appeal with the federal appellate court, it remains to be seen whether they will pursue that route or drop the lawsuit entirely. In her decision , Federal Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley stated: This Court’s responsibility in this case is narrow. It is to decide if, notwithstanding these current circumstances, the merger should be halted—perhaps even terminated—pending resolution of the FTC administrative action. For the reasons explained, the Court finds the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger i

The Reddit Saga continues to generate attention in the blogosphere, but unfortunately, not for positive reasons. In what can only be described as a devastating blow to Reddit moderators, the CEO has unleashed a formidable weapon in an attempt to quell the protest against API policies — forced eviction . In an interview with NBC News, the Reddit CEO stated his intention to implement changes that would enable users of a Reddit community to vote out the moderators, effectively weaponizing the very communities these moderators have dedicated countless hours to build and maintain.   Reddit clarified its stance in a fact sheet released on Thursday , stating that it is "not shutting down discussions or unilaterally reopening communities." The admin account u/ModCodeOfConduct also commented on the moderator removal policy, stating: If a moderator team unanimously decides to stop moderating, we will invite new, active moderators to keep t

Twitter's new CEO, Linda Yaccarino , has officially entered the arena!. In her first memo titled "Building Twitter 2.0 Together," she emphasizes the need to transform Twitter into a "global town square," aligning with Elon Musk's vision for the company. Yaccarino recognizes the successful transformations led by Musk in industries such as space exploration and electric vehicles, and she highlights that Twitter's global town square also requires a similar level of transformation. Her memo emphasizes the importance of facilitating unfiltered information exchange and open dialogue on topics that matter most for driving civilization forward. Here is the complete memo: Building Twitter 2.0 Together     Hello Twitter! People keep asking me: Why Twitter? So, I’ll tell you. From space exploration to electric vehicles, Elon knew these industries needed transformation, so he did it. More recently it has become