1. Uber and Lyft Face Increasing Investor Skepticism
After weeks of controversy and poor earnings, it’s no surprise that Uber and Lyft are now facing scepticism from investors. Uber shares recently closed at $29.15, whereas Lyft shares recently closed at $39.57, slightly below from their previous lows of $30.29 and $40.84 respectively. The new all-time lows represent the pessimistic sentiments of many investors, despite assurances from both firms that they will be able to bounce back from their various problems.
However, both Uber and Lyft are not the only ones affected by the growing scepticism. Investors are also questioning the viability of billion dollar market caps of large companies that recently went public. Unlike traditional tech companies, which primarily produce software, newer tech IPOs, like Lyft and Uber, offer different types of services, many of which face growing scepticism among many investors.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/01/uber-closes-at-record-low-worth-less-than-50-billion.html
2. Sony Reduces the Price of Playstation by Half; Starts Streaming Game Services
Sony is upping the ante. Starting next Tuesday, the cost of a PlayStation subscription will be cut in half to $9.99 per month. According to Sony, the new price policy was driven by the need to provide a service that is “comparable to other entertainment streaming services on the market.”
Sony’s decision to cut its streaming prices in half reflects a general trend among entertainment and gaming companies to cater to the streaming market. From music and movies to TV shows and video games, streaming services are the driving medium of sales on phones, tablets, laptops and consoles.
Moreover, the popularization and development of streaming services has led many consumer demographics to drop older cable and gaming services in favor of streaming solutions, leading to the growth of well-known streaming brands, such as Disney, Amazon and most notably Netflix.
Sony’s decision to cut the cost of its Playstation streaming service reflects the growth of other similar services in the games and entertainment industries.
https://www.cnet.com/news/sony-halves-price-of-playstation-now-streaming-games-service-to-go-up-against-microsoft-google/
3. AMD Announces New Ryzen Pro 3000 Series CPUs For 4th Quarter
AMD recently announced that their 3rd generation Pro processors will be available for purchase this 4th quarter. The new Pro CPUs were designed for both small business and commercial desktop computers, and they will feature up to 12 cores.
The new Ryzen Pro CPUs were supposedly based on the Zen 2 “Matisse” microarchitecture, introduced earlier this summer. They will also support all of AMD’s Pro-series features, such as the TrustZone security Processor, DASH manageability, Secure Boot, Content Protection and more.
Additionally, AMD also has a little something for streamlined PCs that prioritize integrated graphics over CPU cores. Their new Ryzen 3000 Pro APUs will feature the quad-core Ryzen 5 Pro and Ryzen 3 Pro as well as the dual-core Athlon Pro 3000-series CPUs, all of which include the integrated Radeon Vega graphics
https://www.anandtech.com/show/14922/amd-ryzen-pro-3000-series-cpus-in-q4
4. Amazon’s New Echo Devices Add Virtual Assistants in Glasses, Jewelry and Even in Your Ear
Amazon takes another step towards Sci-Fi with its Echo devices. The new products will allow Amazon to install Alexa into common accessories, such as glasses and rings, and even inside people’s ears.
One of the Echo devices, Echo Studio, is a music-focused speaker that is capable of playing high definition audio. Another device – the Echo Flex – puts Alexa inside a plug that can be attached into locations where large speakers don’t fit.
