Author: Anna Galvez

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Tech

Amazon Stepped Up and Donated $1 Million to Wikipedia

Wikipedia is the renowned free online encyclopedia owned by Wikimedia that exists thanks to donations, but very few people invest in it. It is an excellent service, and one example for that is the digital assistants which rely on Wikipedia to generate answers to the users’ questions, but the devs, on their part, are not really grateful to Wikipedia. However, Amazon has just stepped up and donated $1 million to Wikipedia.

Over the time, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft have made some small efforts to support this free online encyclopedia by making some small investments in Wikipedia. At most, each of the before-mentioned companies gave about $50,000 which, given their profits, seems very low.

Now, Amazon has stepped up and donated $1 million to Wikimedia to thank them for the excellent free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, and also to reward them for their Wikipedia API which Amazon uses to improve the quality of its service.

Amazon is committed to supporting Wikimedia and donated $1 million to Wikipedia

Wikipedia is the most-known free online encyclopedia and the source used by many sites and digital voice assistants of big companies such as Google, Microsoft, or Apple. However, Wikimedia, the owner of Wikipedia, is not monetizing its site and only operates on donations.

Now, Amazon, the retailing giant behind the smart speakers Amazon Echo, has just made a generous donation of $1 million to the Wikipedia.

In the press release, Amazon acknowledges that the Wikipedia free online encyclopedia has played a “crucial role in the success of his voice assistant.” However, the Amazon’s representative also stated that Wiki is just one of the “hundreds of sources” the company uses to build its assistant’s answers.

This announcement comes just days after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos himself announced the creation of a $2 billion fund to support education. According to Bezos, Amazon is pleased to share the same visions with Wikimedia, to “share knowledge globally.”

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Tech

Microsoft Ignite 2018: Azure IoT, Artificial Intelligence, and Cortana Updates

Microsoft took advantage of its Microsoft Ignite 2018 conference in Orlando, Florida, to present a plethora of announcements about its Cloud, AI and IoT (Internet of Things) features contained in Azure. The Internet of Things is obviously a central sector for the renowned company that wants to stand out in this highly competitive market.

Azure Digital Twins to launch in October

Azure Digital Twins provides the companies with the tools to create their own digital twins of their machines, infrastructures or products. The objective is to facilitate the visualization of “the relationships between the processes that connect people, places and services,” according to the firm’s press release.

In other words, this means helping developers to understand the equipment in factories and connected buildings better. To do this, Microsoft provides test and analytical tools for predicting asset behavior without making any physical changes. This new service, which is already available on other IoT platforms, should help Microsoft attract interested businesses.

Microsoft Azure Digital Twins will be launched in its preview mode on October 15th, 2018.

Microsoft also announced Azure Sphere and Azure IoT Central

The second major announcement of the Microsoft Ignite 2018 conference is the launch of Azure Sphere. This cybersecurity solution based on components certified by Microsoft is now available in public beta, and accredited microcontrollers distribution have begun.

The IT giant also announced the worldwide availability of Azure IoT Central, a program to help companies get started in the Internet of Things industry. Another new feature is that Azure IoT Central now supports Google’s Android.

Microsoft Ignite 2018 also talked about the Microsoft artificial intelligence

In particular, the company presented updates to Azure Machine Learning, a product that allows data scientists and developers to build and train “artificial intelligence models more quickly.” Upgrades include automated machine learning to identify the most efficient algorithms, model optimization for FPGA chips, and a new SDK in Python.

Finally, the professional skills development kit for Cortana is now available, Microsoft Ignite 2018 announced. Companies can develop their own custom applications based on the Microsoft’s voice assistant. The idea is to use Microsoft’s natural language comprehension services to help companies increase their productivity.

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Crypto News

Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) Issued New Guidelines For Crypto and Blockchain Technology Companies and Banks

According to Reuters, the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) issued a guide recently for banks that want to do business with crypto-related companies to solve out issues regarding the access for firms related to cryptocurrencies into the Swiss banking sector. The guidelines were built with the support of the Crypto Valley Association (CVA), to maintain Switzerland as a center for businesses based on crypto and blockchain technology.

According to the press release, just a few of the 250 Swiss banks have agreed to receive funds raised through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), while Switzerland’s fourth-largest bank, Zuercher Kantonalbank (ZKB), closed the accounts of more than 20 crypto startups so far this year.

CVA Director Oliver Bussmann said that about 530 startups related to crypto and blockchain technology had been established in the Swiss Crypto Valley, in Zurich and Zug. These companies need access to banking services to make their operations viable. However, the banks claim that, by signing contracts with these companies, they could violate their anti-money laundering (AML) rules as well as other regulations. Bank sources argue that some of the startups that carried out ICO did not adopt the necessary controls to their investors.

The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) new guidelines make a difference between ICO-financed blockchain technology companies and those crypto-related firms finance with fiat money

“We believe that, with these guidelines, we will be able to establish a basis for discussion between banks and innovative startups, simplifying dialogue and facilitating the opening of accounts,” said Adrian Schatzmann, the Strategic Advisor at the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA).

Both the SBA and the CVA are confident that the new rules will create clarity for banks about the assessments they must make, and for crypto and blockchain technology companies about the information they must provide when opening a bank account. In this sense, the guide distinguishes between companies based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) that raise capital through ICOs and those that do not use this mode to raise funds.

The new guidelines also make a distinction between companies that are financed with cryptocurrencies, usually Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) and those that are funded through fiat money. According to the text, blockchain technology-based companies that do not receive financing through ICOs should be treated under the same parameters as any other commercial company.

Startups that use ICOs, on the other hand, should adhere to particular criteria depending on whether the financing is through fiat currency or if it is through cryptocurrencies.

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Crypto News

Blockchain Technology Implemented For Payments Processing by Dubai’s Department of Finance

Smart Dubai, the developer of Dubai’s Blockchain Strategy technology program, announced the upgrade of the DubaiPay mobile payment application. The new version of the app includes a real-time payment settlement system backed by a blockchain system developed by Smart Dubai.

The new payment system aims to streamline transactions and enable real-time payment processing through a network whose operations can be backed up by a blockchain. This update constitutes the inclusion of the Dubai’s Department of Finance (DoF) in a supposed decentralized system of cryptocurrency that Smart Dubai has been developing for over a year. However, the technical characteristics, such as privacy, algorithm, and developers involved, are still unknown.

Smart Dubai states that the new upgrade of DubaiPay will provide “visibility of the funds; immediate disputes and resolution of claims” in the operations of the Dubai’s Department of Finance (DoF). These features will serve to reduce the 45-day period it takes to settle payment in DoF, where currently workers must manually and physically verify the payments collected, make deductions, and reconcile the documents.

Dubai takes significant steps towards becoming a smart country based on blockchain technology

The project, developed by Smart Dubai and the Department of Finance (DoF), requires the collaboration of several government entities to operate. At present, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) have already been included, as the agencies participating in the test. And it is expected that the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), the Department of Tourism and Trade Marketing (DTCM) and other customs and municipal agencies to start working with decentralized technology, too.

“Guided by its leadership’s vision for the future, Dubai has been a pioneer in adopting cutting-edge technologies – especially those of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – and adapting them to meet the needs of our citizens, residents, and visitors, in a bid to transform Dubai into the happiest and smartest country in the world. Blockchain technology is one of the most promising technologies, attracting more investments each year. The new strategy seeks to increase government efficiency by transferring 100% of government transactions to the blockchain network,” said Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, General Manager at Smart Dubai.

Categories
Tech

Instagram Founders And Leaders Announced Their Resignations

According to the US news portals, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger would not have appreciated Mark Zuckerberg’s growing investment in their application business. In yet another hard blow for Facebook, the two founders and leaders of Instagram, the photo-sharing application acquired by the world’s most extensive social network, Facebook, in 2012, have announced their resignation and will leave the company “in the upcoming weeks.” Sources close to the two men report strained relations with Mark Zuckerberg as the main reason for their resignations.

Kevin Systrom, Instagram’s CEO, and Mike Krieger, Director of Technology Affairs, informed the rest of the management team and Instagram’s parent company, Facebook, on Monday, of their decision, but without giving a clear explanation, as revealed by the New York Times, before the two founders confirm the news via an official statement.

“We want to take some time to explore our curiosity and creativity again,” writes Kevin Systrom, who points to the need for him to “step back” before launching new projects. Facebook, for its part, has not yet commented on these departures.

Instagram founders and leaders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, resigned due to strained relationships with Mark Zuckerberg, some sources said

While the two Instagram founders and leader did not give an apparent reason for their resignation, yet, several sources from Facebook have told Bloomberg that both Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger had strained relationships with Mark Zuckerberg because of controversies regarding Facebook boss’s investments in Instagram.

This announcement comes when the Instagram application is fortifying its position as the leader of the social networks.

Created in 2010 and bought by Facebook in 2012 for $1 billion, Instagram has primarily monetized its audience in recent years, adding ads and other sponsored content to the application. In June, Instagram announced that it had passed the billion-user mark, benefiting in particular from the growing popularity among young people, a target that Facebook is now struggling to reach.

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