#Cloud Services Market Demand

[myblogscmi]

Cloud Services Market Is Estimated To Witness High Growth Owing To Increasing Adoption Of Cloud Computing

The global Cloud Services Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 539.9 Bn in 2023 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 12.2% over the forecast period 2023-2030, as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights. Market Overview: Cloud services refer to the delivery of various computing services, including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence, over the internet. These services provide businesses with flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solutions, eliminating the need for extensive IT infrastructure. The advantages of cloud services include reduced IT costs, improved collaboration and accessibility, enhanced data security, and increased agility. Market Key Trends: A key trend driving the growth of the Cloud Services Market is the increasing adoption of cloud computing across various industries. Cloud computing enables businesses to access and store data remotely, providing flexibility, scalability, and cost savings. With the growing need for data storage and processing, organizations are leveraging cloud services to efficiently manage their data and applications. Cloud-based platforms also facilitate seamless integration with various devices, enabling the adoption of technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for business transformation. Additionally, the rise in remote work and the need for on-demand access to applications and data have further accelerated the adoption of cloud services. In conclusion, the global Cloud Services Market is expected to witness high growth due to the increasing adoption of cloud computing across industries. This trend provides businesses with flexible, scalable, and cost-effective solutions for their data storage and processing needs. Furthermore, the rise in remote work and the demand for on-demand access to applications and data further contribute to the market growth. Key Takeaways: The global cloud services market is expected to witness high growth, exhibiting a CAGR of 12.2% over the forecast period (2023-2030), driven by increasing digital transformation initiatives across industries. The demand for cloud services is fueled by factors such as scalability, cost-effectiveness, and the need for remote data access. In terms of regional analysis, North America is expected to be the fastest-growing and dominating region in the cloud services market. The region's advanced technology infrastructure, high internet penetration, and the presence of major technology companies contribute to its market dominance. Additionally, the Asia-Pacific region is also witnessing significant growth, driven by increasing adoption of cloud-based solutions in emerging economies like India and China. Key players operating in the cloud services market include Alibaba Group Holding Limited, Amazon Web Services, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., Dell Technologies Inc., Google LLC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, International Business Machines Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Oracle Corporation, and Rackspace Hosting, Inc. These key players contribute to the market's growth through innovative cloud service offerings, strategic partnerships, and acquisitions.

[poonamcmi]

Cloud Migration Services Market Poised to Witness High Growth Owing to Rising Demand for Scalability and Agility

The global cloud migration service market enables enterprises to migrate traditional workloads and applications from on-premises infrastructure to public, private, or hybrid cloud computing environments. Cloud migration services help reduce infrastructure costs, improve agility and scalability, and enhance data management. The services assist in assessing infrastructure and application portfolios, planning the migration strategy and change management, migrating workloads, optimizing applications for cloud environments, and managing post-migration operations.

The Global cloud migration service market is estimated to be valued at US$ 7.88 Mn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.6% over the forecast period 2024 To 2031. Growing demand for scalable and elastic cloud-based IT infrastructure from enterprises is a key factor estimated to drive the adoption of cloud migration services worldwide.

Key Takeaways Key players operating in the global cloud migration service market are Archer Daniels MidlandCompany, Jungbunzlauer Suisse AG, Basel, Pfizer Inc., Shandong Juxian Hongde Citric Acid Co. Ltd., Delek Group, Cargill, Incorporated, Weifang Ensign Industry Co., Ltd., Tate & Lyle plc., COFCO Biochemical (AnHui) Co. Ltd., and RZBC GROUP. These players are focusing on partnerships, mergers, acquisitions, and new service offerings to expand their market share.

The Global Cloud Migration Service Market Trends popularity of microservices architecture is also creating new opportunities for cloud migration service providers. Cloud migration when combined with containerization and DevOps practices helps businesses develop and deploy applications faster. Furthermore, growing demand from SMBs and greater acceptance of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments are boosting the business case for cloud migration services across regions.

The increasing global expansion of leading public cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and Alibaba is encouraging more enterprises to leverage cloud migration as part of their digital transformation and cloud adoption strategies. Majority of global enterprises now have a cloud-first policy for deploying new workloads.

Market Drivers Rising demand for scalability and agility from enterprises is a key driver of the Global Cloud Migration Service Market Size And Trends Cloud infrastructure provides almost unlimited scalability which helps businesses scale up during high demand periods without over-provisioning. It also improves agility by allowing enterprises to quickly launch new applications, services, and make changes without heavy lifting. This makes cloud-migrating and optimization an attractive proposition for modern digital enterprises.

PEST Analysis ​ Political: Changes in government regulations and policies relating to cloud adoption and usage impact the demand for cloud migration services. Favorable policies promoting digitization drive higher cloud migration.

Economic: The global economic conditions and overall IT spending influence enterprises' IT modernization budgets and investments in cloud migration. Recessions may slow down cloud projects.

Social: Younger workforce prefers digital and mobile working environments. Enterprises adopt cloud to support remote and flexible working and attract talent. Demand for anytime-anywhere access to data and applications drives cloud migration needs.

Technological: Advances in cloud technologies like containers, serverless computing, AI/ML and blockchain enable organizations to streamline operations and deliver innovative services. This prompts more enterprises to move legacy systems and applications to public/private clouds. Continuous technology upgrades also necessitate cloud migrations.

The geographical regions where the market is concentrated in terms of value are North America and Europe. Both regions have high cloud adoption rates with majority of organizations having migrated some workloads to cloud platforms.

The fastest growing region for the global cloud migration services market will be the Asia Pacific region over the forecast period from 2024 to 2031. The APAC countries like China, India and others are rapidly embracing cloud-based technologies and services. Higher rates of digitization initiatives, governmental support for cloud and increasing investments from global cloud players in the region will fuel the demand for cloud migration services. Get More Insights On, Cloud Migration Services Market About Author: Ravina Pandya, Content Writer, has a strong foothold in the market research industry. She specializes in writing well-researched articles from different industries, including food and beverages, information and technology, healthcare, chemical and materials, etc. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravina-pandya-1a3984191

[harshitasoni]

Connecting the Dots: Cloud Service Providers in the US

Unlock the Future with the US Data Center Market! Delve into the dynamic US Data Center Industry, where innovation meets infrastructure. Discover the leading players shaping the market, emerging companies ready to disrupt, and top Cloud Computing Companies providing cutting-edge solutions. Explore the insatiable demand for new data centers, despite the challenges. Uncover the secrets of Cloud Service Providers in the US as they power the digital revolution. In this sector, opportunities abound, and the landscape is ever-evolving. Stay ahead of the game and be part of the data-driven transformation in the US Data Center Sector.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The antitrust case against Apple

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me TONIGHT (Mar 22) in TORONTO, then SUNDAY (Mar 24) with LAURA POITRAS in NYC, then Anaheim, and beyond!

The foundational tenet of "the Cult of Mac" is that buying products from a $3t company makes you a member of an oppressed ethnic minority and therefore every criticism of that corporation is an ethnic slur:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/12/youre-holding-it-wrong/#if-dishwashers-were-iphones

Call it "Apple exceptionalism" – the idea that Apple, alone among the Big Tech firms, is virtuous, and therefore its conduct should be interpreted through that lens of virtue. The wellspring of this virtue is conveniently nebulous, which allows for endless goal-post shifting by members of the Cult of Mac when Apple's sins are made manifest.

Take the claim that Apple is "privacy respecting," which is attributed to Apple's business model of financing its services though cash transactions, rather than by selling it customers to advertisers. This is the (widely misunderstood) crux of the "surveillance capitalism" hypothesis: that capitalism is just fine, but once surveillance is in the mix, capitalism fails.

Apple, then, is said to be a virtuous company because its behavior is disciplined by market forces, unlike its spying rivals, whose ability to "hack our dopamine loops" immobilizes the market's invisible hand with "behavior-shaping" shackles:

http://pluralistic.net/HowToDestroySurveillanceCapitalism

Apple makes a big deal out of its privacy-respecting ethos, and not without some justification. After all, Apple went to the mattresses to fight the FBI when they tried to force Apple to introduced defects into its encryption systems:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/04/fbi-could-have-gotten-san-bernardino-shooters-iphone-leadership-didnt-say

And Apple gave Ios users the power to opt out of Facebook spying with a single click; 96% of its customers took them up on this offer, costing Facebook $10b (one fifth of the pricetag of the metaverse boondoggle!) in a single year (you love to see it):

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/02/facebook-makes-the-case-for-activity-tracking-to-ios-14-users-in-new-pop-ups/

Bruce Schneier has a name for this practice: "feudal security." That's when you cede control over your device to a Big Tech warlord whose "walled garden" becomes a fortress that defends you against external threats:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/08/leona-helmsley-was-a-pioneer/#manorialism

The keyword here is external threats. When Apple itself threatens your privacy, the fortress becomes a prison. The fact that you can't install unapproved apps on your Ios device means that when Apple decides to harm you, you have nowhere to turn. The first Apple customers to discover this were in China. When the Chinese government ordered Apple to remove all working privacy tools from its App Store, the company obliged, rather than risk losing access to its ultra-cheap manufacturing base (Tim Cook's signal accomplishment, the one that vaulted him into the CEO's seat, was figuring out how to offshore Apple manufacturing to China) and hundreds of millions of middle-class consumers:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-apple-vpn/apple-says-it-is-removing-vpn-services-from-china-app-store-idUSKBN1AE0BQ

Killing VPNs and other privacy tools was just for openers. After Apple caved to Beijing, the demands kept coming. Next, Apple willingly backdoored all its Chinese cloud services, so that the Chinese state could plunder its customers' data at will:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/technology/apple-china-censorship-data.html

This was the completely foreseeable consequence of Apple's "curated computing" model: once the company arrogated to itself the power to decide which software you could run on your own computer, it was inevitable that powerful actors – like the Chinese Communist Party – would lean on Apple to exercise that power in service to its goals.

Unsurprisingly, the Chinese state's appetite for deputizing Apple to help with its spying and oppression was not sated by backdooring iCloud and kicking VPNs out of the App Store. As recently as 2022, Apple continued to neuter its tools at the behest of the Chinese state, breaking Airdrop to make it useless for organizing protests in China:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/11/foreseeable-consequences/#airdropped

But the threat of Apple turning on its customers isn't limited to China. While the company has been unwilling to spy on its users on behalf of the US government, it's proven more than willing to compromise its worldwide users' privacy to pad its own profits. Remember when Apple let its users opt out of Facebook surveillance with one click? At the very same time, Apple was spinning up its own commercial surveillance program, spying on Ios customers, gathering the very same data as Facebook, and for the very same purpose: to target ads. When it came to its own surveillance, Apple completely ignored its customers' explicit refusal to consent to spying, spied on them anyway, and lied about it:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Here's the thing: even if you believe that Apple has a "corporate personality" that makes it want to do the right thing, that desire to be virtuous is dependent on the constraints Apple faces. The fact that Apple has complete legal and technical control over the hardware it sells – the power to decide who can make software that runs on that hardware, the power to decide who can fix that hardware, the power to decide who can sell parts for that hardware – represents an irresistible temptation to enshittify Apple products.

"Constraints" are the crux of the enshittification hypothesis. The contagion that spread enshittification to every corner of our technological world isn't a newfound sadism or indifference among tech bosses. Those bosses are the same people they've always been – the difference is that today, they are unconstrained.

Having bought, merged or formed a cartel with all their rivals, they don't fear competition (Apple buys 90+ companies per year, and Google pays it an annual $26.3b bribe for default search on its operating systems and programs).

Having captured their regulators, they don't fear fines or other penalties for cheating their customers, workers or suppliers (Apple led the coalition that defeated dozens of Right to Repair bills, year after year, in the late 2010s).

Having wrapped themselves in IP law, they don't fear rivals who make alternative clients, mods, privacy tools or other "adversarial interoperability" tools that disenshittify their products (Apple uses the DMCA, trademark, and other exotic rules to block third-party software, repair, and clients).

True virtue rests not merely in resisting temptation to be wicked, but in recognizing your own weakness and avoiding temptation. As I wrote when Apple embarked on its "curated computing" path, the company would eventually – inevitably – use its power to veto its customers' choices to harm those customers:

https://memex.craphound.com/2010/04/01/why-i-wont-buy-an-ipad-and-think-you-shouldnt-either/

Which is where we're at today. Apple – uniquely among electronics companies – shreds every device that is traded in by its customers, to block third parties from harvesting working components and using them for independent repair:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/yp73jw/apple-recycling-iphones-macbooks

Apple engraves microscopic Apple logos on those parts and uses these as the basis for trademark complaints to US customs, to block the re-importation of parts that escape its shredders:

https://repair.eu/news/apple-uses-trademark-law-to-strengthen-its-monopoly-on-repair/

Apple entered into an illegal price-fixing conspiracy with Amazon to prevent used and refurbished devices from being sold in the "world's biggest marketplace":

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/10/you-had-one-job/#thats-just-the-as

Why is Apple so opposed to independent repair? Well, they say it's to keep users safe from unscrupulous or incompetent repair technicians (feudal security). But when Tim Cook speaks to his investors, he tells a different story, warning them that the company's profits are threatened by customers who choose to repair (rather than replace) their slippery, fragile glass $1,000 pocket computers (the fortress becomes a prison):

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/01/letter-from-tim-cook-to-apple-investors/

All this adds up to a growing mountain of immortal e-waste, festooned with miniature Apple logos, that our descendants will be dealing with for the next 1,000 years. In the face of this unspeakable crime, Apple engaged in a string of dishonest maneuvers, claiming that it would support independent repair. In 2022, Apple announced a home repair program that turned out to be a laughably absurd con:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/22/apples-cement-overshoes/

Then in 2023, Apple announced a fresh "pro-repair" initiative that, once again, actually blocked repair:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

Let's pause here a moment and remember that Apple once stood for independent repair, and celebrated the independent repair technicians that kept its customers' beloved Macs running:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/29/norwegian-potato-flour-enchiladas/#r2r

Whatever virtue lurks in Apple's corporate personhood, it is no match for the temptation that comes from running a locked-down platform designed to capture IP rights so that it can prevent normal competitive activities, like fixing phones, processing payments, or offering apps.

When Apple rolled out the App Store, Steve Jobs promised that it would save journalism and other forms of "content creation" by finally giving users a way to pay rightsholders. A decade later, that promise has been shattered by the app tax – a 30% rake on every in-app transaction that can't be avoided because Apple will kick your app out of the App Store if you even mention that your customers can pay you via the web in order to avoid giving a third of their content dollars to a hardware manufacturer that contributed nothing to the production of that material:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/save-news-we-must-open-app-stores

Among the apps that Apple also refuses to allow on Ios is third-party browsers. Every Iphone browser is just a reskinned version of Apple's Safari, running on the same antiquated, insecure Webkit browser engine. The fact that Webkit is incomplete and outdated is a feature, not a bug, because it lets Apple block web apps – apps delivered via browsers, rather than app stores:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/13/kitbashed/#app-store-tax

Last month, the EU took aim at Apple's veto over its users' and software vendors' ability to transact with one another. The newly in-effect Digital Markets Act requires Apple to open up both third-party payment processing and third-party app stores. Apple's response to this is the very definition of malicious compliance, a snake's nest of junk-fees, onerous terms of service, and petty punitive measures that all add up to a great, big "Go fuck yourself":

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/06/spoil-the-bunch/#dma

But Apple's bullying, privacy invasion, price-gouging and environmental crimes are global, and the EU isn't the only government seeking to end them. They're in the firing line in Japan:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Japan-to-crack-down-on-Apple-and-Google-app-store-monopolies

And in the UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-wins-appeal-in-apple-case

And now, famously, the US Department of Justice is coming for Apple, with a bold antitrust complaint that strikes at the heart of Apple exceptionalism, the idea that monopoly is safer for users than technological self-determination:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1344546/dl?inline

There's passages in the complaint that read like I wrote them:

Apple wraps itself in a cloak of privacy, security, and consumer preferences to justify its anticompetitive conduct. Indeed, it spends billions on marketing and branding to promote the self-serving premise that only Apple can safeguard consumers’ privacy and security interests. Apple selectively compromises privacy and security interests when doing so is in Apple’s own financial interest—such as degrading the security of text messages, offering governments and certain companies the chance to access more private and secure versions of app stores, or accepting billions of dollars each year for choosing Google as its default search engine when more private options are available. In the end, Apple deploys privacy and security justifications as an elastic shield that can stretch or contract to serve Apple’s financial and business interests.

After all, Apple punishes its customers for communicating with Android users by forcing them to do so without any encryption. When Beeper Mini rolled out an Imessage-compatible Android app that fixed this, giving Iphone owners the privacy Apple says they deserve but denies to them, Apple destroyed Beeper Mini:

https://blog.beeper.com/p/beeper-moving-forward

Tim Cook is on record about this: if you want to securely communicate with an Android user, you must "buy them an Iphone":

https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/7/23342243/tim-cook-apple-rcs-imessage-android-iphone-compatibility

If your friend, family member or customer declines to change mobile operating systems, Tim Cook insists that you must communicate without any privacy or security.

Even where Apple tries for security, it sometimes fails ("security is a process, not a product" -B. Schneier). To be secure in a benevolent dictatorship, it must also be an infallible dictatorship. Apple's far from infallible: Eight generations of Iphones have unpatchable hardware defects:

https://checkm8.info/

And Apple's latest custom chips have secret-leaking, unpatchable vulnerabilities:

https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/03/hackers-can-extract-secret-encryption-keys-from-apples-mac-chips/

Apple's far from infallible – but they're also far from benevolent. Despite Apple's claims, its hardware, operating system and apps are riddled with deliberate privacy defects, introduce to protect Apple's shareholders at the expense of its customers:

https://proton.me/blog/iphone-privacy

Now, antitrust suits are notoriously hard to make, especially after 40 years of bad-precedent-setting, monopoly-friendly antitrust malpractice. Much of the time, these suits fail because they can't prove that tech bosses intentionally built their monopolies. However, tech is a written culture, one that leaves abundant, indelible records of corporate deliberations. What's more, tech bosses are notoriously prone to bragging about their nefarious intentions, committing them to writing:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/03/big-tech-cant-stop-telling-on-itself/

Apple is no exception – there's an abundance of written records that establish that Apple deliberately, illegally set out to create and maintain a monopoly:

https://www.wired.com/story/4-internal-apple-emails-helped-doj-build-antitrust-case/

Apple claims that its monopoly is beneficent, used to protect its users, making its products more "elegant" and safe. But when Apple's interests conflict with its customers' safety and privacy – and pocketbooks – Apple always puts itself first, just like every other corporation. In other words: Apple is unexceptional.

The Cult of Mac denies this. They say that no one wants to use a third-party app store, no one wants third-party payments, no one wants third-party repair. This is obviously wrong and trivially disproved: if no Apple customer wanted these things, Apple wouldn't have to go to enormous lengths to prevent them. The only phones that an independent Iphone repair shop fixes are Iphones: which means Iphone owners want independent repair.

The rejoinder from the Cult of Mac is that those Iphone owners shouldn't own Iphones: if they wanted to exercise property rights over their phones, they shouldn't have bought a phone from Apple. This is the "No True Scotsman" fallacy for distraction-rectangles, and moreover, it's impossible to square with Tim Cook's insistence that if you want private communications, you must buy an Iphone.

Apple is unexceptional. It's just another Big Tech monopolist. Rounded corners don't preserve virtue any better than square ones. Any company that is freed from constraints – of competition, regulation and interoperability – will always enshittify. Apple – being unexceptional – is no exception.

Name your price for 18 of my DRM-free ebooks and support the Electronic Frontier Foundation with the Humble Cory Doctorow Bundle.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/22/reality-distortion-field/#three-trillion-here-three-trillion-there-pretty-soon-youre-talking-real-money

[soon-palestine]

Workers said Project Nimbus is the kind of lucrative contract that neglects ethical guardrails that outspoken members of Google’s workforce have demanded in recent years. “I am very worried that Google has no scruples if they’re going to work with the Israeli government,” said Joshua Marxen, a Google Cloud software engineer who helped to organize the protest. “Google has given us no reason to trust them.” The Tuesday protest represents continuing tension between Google’s workforce and its senior management over how the company’s technology is used. In recent years Google workers have objected to military contracts, challenging Google’s work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and its role in a defense program building artificial intelligence tools used to refine drone strikes. Workers have alleged that the company has cracked down on information-sharing, siloed controversial projects and enforced a workplace culture that increasingly punishes them for speaking out.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Tuesday protest and workers’ concerns over Project Nimbus. The Israeli Finance Ministry announced its contract with Google and Amazon in April 2021 as a project “intended to provide the government, the defense establishment and others with an all-encompassing cloud solution.” Google has largely refused to release details of the contract, the specific capabilities Israel will receive, or how they will be used. In July 2022, the Intercept reported that training documents for Israeli government personnel indicate Google is providing software that the company claims can recognize people, gauge emotional states from facial expressions and track objects in video footage. Google Cloud spokesperson Atle Erlingsson told Wired in September 2022 that the company proudly supports Israel’s government and said critics had misrepresented Project Nimbus. “Our work is not directed at highly sensitive or classified military workloads,” he told Wired. Erlingsson, however, acknowledged that the contract will provide Israel’s military access to Google technology. Former Google worker Ariel Koren, who has long been publicly critical of Project Nimbus, said “it adds insult to injury for Palestinian activists and Palestinians generally” that Google Cloud’s profitability milestone coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Nakba — which refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians following creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

In March 2022, The Times reported allegations by Koren — at the time a product marketing manager at Google for Education — that Google had retaliated against her for criticizing the contract, issuing a directive that she move to São Paulo, Brazil, within 17 business days or lose her job. Google told The Times that it investigated the incident and found no evidence of retaliation. When Koren resigned from Google in August 2022 she published a memo explaining reasons for her departure, writing that “Google systematically silences Palestinian, Jewish, Arab and Muslim voices concerned about Google’s complicity in violations of Palestinian human rights.” Koren said Google’s apathy makes her and others believe more vigorous protest actions are justified. “This is a concrete disruption that is sending a clear message to Google: We won’t allow for business as usual, so long as you continue to profit off of a nefarious contract that expands Israeli apartheid.” Mohammad Khatami, a YouTube software engineer based in New York, participated in a small protest of Project Nimbus at a July Amazon Web Services conference in Manhattan. Khatami said major layoffs at Google announced in January pushed him to get more involved in the Alphabet Workers Union, which provides resources to Khatami and other union members in an anti-military working group — though the union has not taken a formal stance on Project Nimbus. “Greed and corporate interests were being put ahead of workers and I think the layoffs just illustrated that for me very clearly,” Khatami said.

[ecosmining]

What Equipment to Use for Mining Bitcoin Profitably After the Halving?

In April 2024, the next Bitcoin halving took place. The reward for mining one block was reduced by 50% and is now 3.125 BTC. Due to this, some may begin to doubt mining — will this activity continue to bring in a decent income? Based on our extensive experience, we can confidently say that mining can and should remain profitable even after the halving. In this article, we will discuss how to organize Bitcoin mining most rationally and what equipment to choose for this.

Bitcoin Price Will Definitely Rise After the Halving

Since the launch of the first cryptocurrency, its halving has occurred approximately every four years. In 2024, this happened for the fifth time. Throughout all these years, the price of BTC, its market capitalization, and audience have steadily increased. The popularity of mining is also growing, and new technologies are being developed to increase its efficiency.

The person or team behind Bitcoin came up with halving to control inflation and maintain demand for the coin. Halving benefits Bitcoin and in no way deprives miners of their well-deserved reward. The rarer the asset, the higher its value — this rule works after each halving. That’s why starting mining right now is an excellent idea.

Three Secrets to Keep Mining Profitable

To make money mining BTC after its halving in 2024, you need to:

Buy or rent the latest generation equipment

Reduce expenses

Find a reliable hosting provider

Let’s take a closer look at all these points.

Today, one of the best ASICs for mining Bitcoin is the Antminer 21 series. It stands out for its high hashing power combined with relatively modest energy consumption. The Antminer 21 significantly outperforms miners of previous generations. The manufacturer of this series, Bitmain, is one of the most well-known in the industry. This is a reliable brand with a very strong team, extremely popular among crypto professionals.

To increase revenue, you can purchase multiple devices and combine them into a mining farm. However, this may require too high initial costs. Additionally, you will need to find a place to host the equipment. It not only consumes a lot of energy but also makes a lot of noise. To reduce the noise level, you can buy ASICs with a water cooling system — but they are more expensive than regular ones.

To cut costs, you can rent a miner instead of buying it. Remote providers can afford the most modern ASICs. You will be able to choose one or several machines with suitable characteristics. The provider will take care of the installation, maintenance, and repair of the equipment. Their staff has all the necessary knowledge and skills. Your involvement in mining will be minimal, and you will be able to receive truly passive income.

Another option is to try cloud mining, a more modern and accessible alternative. You will be renting not an ASIC but hashing power. First, you will purchase a contract on the most comfortable terms for you. After that, your task will be reduced to regularly transferring the commission to the provider — and they will take care of everything else. You will start receiving income on the rise in the price of Bitcoin. If you want to increase your profits, you can buy multiple contracts.

Each halving forces mining providers to rethink their strategies and optimize their activities. Some of those who cannot cope with these tasks close down. That’s why it’s important to check the provider’s history — the longer they have been in business, the better.

The second important parameter is customer reviews. It’s not a problem if some of them are negative — the main thing is that the majority are positive. The contract terms of a good provider are detailed and transparent. The support service is polite, informed, and responds promptly to customer inquiries.

ECOS meets all the criteria of a first-class provider for remote mining. This company is located in the free economic zone of Armenia, where cryptocurrencies are legal, and miners are exempt from taxes for 25 years. The Razdan power plant provides stable access to cheap energy. The security of the territory where the equipment is located is guaranteed by armed guards. The equipment downtime is close to zero. If an ASIC breaks down, it will be promptly repaired on-site, without wasting time sending it to the manufacturer’s service center.

ECOS clients can choose a cloud mining contract from existing options or create their own, individual one. The selection of equipment rental or purchase options is also very large. Clients appreciate ECOS for its transparent terms, reasonable prices, and quality service. This is an ideal provider for beginner miners who are just taking their first steps in the industry. Experienced miners note the exceptional reliability of ECOS, honesty, and timely payment of rewards.

ECOS Client Case

To confirm the above theory, let’s consider a real case of one of the ECOS clients. Let’s denote him by the nickname anto******duate.org.

Immediately after the previous halving in 2020, he bought an Antminer T17 for $699. The hashing speed of this miner was 38 terahashes per second. Four years ago, this model was considered advanced, one of the best on the market.

From November 25, 2020, to November 1, 2021, anto******duate.org earned 0.08026213 BTC with his Antminer T17, which in fiat currency amounted to $5,327. Hosting and miner maintenance costs were only $1,080. The client received a net profit of $3,548. Mining turned out to be a more profitable activity for him than buying bitcoins. If he had bought bitcoins, his profit would have been only $2,900.

To estimate your upcoming expenses and profits, you can use the calculator on the ECOS website. We hope that with the help of this tool, you will see that mining BTC can still be profitable even after the halving!

[vabroapp]

Embrace the Future with AI 🚀

The AI industry is set to skyrocket from USD 2.41 trillion in 2023 to a projected USD 30.13 trillion by 2032, growing at a phenomenal CAGR of 32.4%! The AI market continues to experience robust growth driven by advancements in machine learning, natural language processing, and cloud computing. Key industry player heavily invests in AI to enhance their product offerings and gain competitive advantages.

Here is a brief analysis of why and how AI can transform businesses to stay ahead in the digital age.

Key Trends:

Predictive Analytics: There’s an increasing demand for predictive analytics solutions across various industries to leverage data-driven decision-making.

Data Generation: Massive growth in data generation due to technological advancements is pushing the demand for AI solutions.

Cloud Adoption: The adoption of cloud-based applications and services is accelerating AI implementation.

Consumer Experience: Companies are focusing on enhancing consumer experience through AI-driven personalized services.

Challenges:

Initial Costs: High initial costs and concerns over replacing the human workforce.

Skill Gap: A lack of skilled AI technicians and experts.

Data Privacy: Concerns regarding data privacy and security.

Vabro is excited to announce the launch of Vabro Genie, one of the most intelligent SaaS AI engines. Vabro Genie helps companies manage projects, DevOps, and workflows with unprecedented efficiency and intelligence. Don’t miss out on leveraging this game-changing tool!

Visit www.vabro.com

[exeggcute]

good stuff from wired. it's far too easy to forget that all of the data you send and receives goes somewhere—real tangible servers that people have to build and maintain, supported by both digital and physical infrastructure with not-at-all negligible financial and environmental costs—including the post you're reading right now.

some highlights:

[The tech industry has] trained us to upload, download, stream, post, and share to infinitum. In turn, we have come to expect seamless and instant access to digital content anytime, anywhere, as if data were immaterial. [...] A typical data center spans about 100,000 square feet, but I have been inside of facilities that are the size of a small home or as large as a university campus. The average data center can consume as much electricity as a small city in order to power and cool its computing equipment, drawing energy from electrical grids that in many parts of the world are coal-fired. To maintain our expectations for constant availability without as much as a hiccup, data centers run diesel generators in a state of hot-standby to supply power in the event of an electrical grid failure. [...] The International Data Corporation, a “global provider of market intelligence” for IT professionals and executives, estimates that digital data storage capacity may have to double or triple by 2030 to meet rising global demands for data storage. By the end of this decade, some estimate that cloud infrastructures will gobble up 20 percent of the world’s energy resources. (These figures, however, are speculative, provisional, and reliant on quantification schemes that are themselves highly contested given the opacity of the privately owned infrastructures behind the cloud and the complexity of variables involved.) [...] The cloud, as I have seen it, is already broken, already breaking. There are no easy techno-fixes that can save us, because the problem we are facing is not an engineering problem, but a cultural one. We suffer from a deficit of imagination because capitalism has conditioned us to think of the digital as inexhaustive and instant, to think of ourselves as consumers rather than stewards, to think of the cloud as a service rather than a community.

[riggro-digital]

How to Start a Radio Station

Starting your own radio station—whether online or on traditional airwaves—can be a rewarding venture that allows you to reach a wide audience with your content. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to get started:

Step 1: Determine Your Format and Audience Before anything else, decide what type of radio station you want to create and who your target audience will be. Your format could range from music genres like rock, jazz, or pop, to talk shows, news, sports, or educational content. Understanding your audience will help you tailor your content and engage listeners effectively.

Step 2: Choose the Right Platform Decide whether you want to start an online radio station or a traditional broadcast station. Online radio is more accessible and cost-effective, while traditional radio requires licenses and more equipment. For an online station, platforms like Shoutcast, Icecast, or cloud-based services like Radio.co can provide the tools you need to stream your content live or on-demand.

Step 3: Acquire the Necessary Licenses If you're broadcasting music, it's essential to obtain the appropriate licenses to avoid legal issues. For traditional radio, you’ll need a broadcast license from your country’s regulatory body (e.g., the FCC in the U.S.). Online radio stations typically require licenses from organizations like ASCAP, BMI, or PRS for Music, depending on your location.

Step 4: Set Up Your Broadcasting Equipment Invest in quality broadcasting equipment, including microphones, mixers, headphones, and broadcasting software. For traditional radio, you'll need transmitters, antennas, and studio equipment. Online stations can be set up with a good computer, reliable internet connection, and streaming software.

Step 5: Create and Schedule Your Content Plan your programming schedule, including music playlists, talk shows, interviews, and advertisements. Content is key to attracting and retaining listeners. Use automation software to schedule your broadcasts and ensure that your station runs smoothly even when you’re not available to manage it live.

Step 6: Promote Your Station Marketing is crucial to building your listener base. Utilize social media, your website, email newsletters, and word-of-mouth to promote your station. Collaborate with influencers, local businesses, or artists to increase your reach and attract more listeners.

Step 7: Monitor Your Station's Performance Use analytics tools to track your station’s performance, such as listener numbers, popular content, and peak listening times. This data will help you refine your programming and improve your station's appeal over time.

Step 8: Expand and Innovate As your station grows, consider expanding your offerings. You might add new shows, host live events, or collaborate with other content creators. Innovation will keep your station fresh and engaging, attracting new listeners and retaining your existing audience.

[anniekoh]

elsewhere on the internet: AI and advertising

Bubble Trouble (about AIs trained on AI output and the impending model collapse) (Ed Zitron, Mar 2024)

A Wall Street Journal piece from this week has sounded the alarm that some believe AI models will run out of "high-quality text-based data" within the next two years in what an AI researcher called "a frontier research problem."  Modern AI models are trained by feeding them "publicly-available" text from the internet, scraped from billions of websites (everything from Wikipedia to Tumblr, to Reddit), which the model then uses to discern patterns and, in turn, answer questions based on the probability of an answer being correct. Theoretically, the more training data that these models receive, the more accurate their responses will be, or at least that's what the major AI companies would have you believe. Yet AI researcher Pablo Villalobos told the Journal that he believes that GPT-5 (OpenAI's next model) will require at least five times the training data of GPT-4. In layman's terms, these machines require tons of information to discern what the "right" answer to a prompt is, and "rightness" can only be derived from seeing lots of examples of what "right" looks like. ... One (very) funny idea posed by the Journal's piece is that AI companies are creating their own "synthetic" data to train their models, a "computer-science version of inbreeding" that Jathan Sadowski calls Habsburg AI.  This is, of course, a terrible idea. A research paper from last year found that feeding model-generated data to models creates "model collapse" — a "degenerative learning process where models start forgetting improbable events over time as the model becomes poisoned with its own projection of reality."

...

The AI boom has driven global stock markets to their best first quarter in 5 years, yet I fear that said boom is driven by a terrifyingly specious and unstable hype cycle. The companies benefitting from AI aren't the ones integrating it or even selling it, but those powering the means to use it — and while "demand" is allegedly up for cloud-based AI services, every major cloud provider is building out massive data center efforts to capture further demand for a technology yet to prove its necessity, all while saying that AI isn't actually contributing much revenue at all. Amazon is spending nearly $150 billion in the next 15 years on data centers to, and I quote Bloomberg, "handle an expected explosion in demand for artificial intelligence applications" as it tells its salespeople to temper their expectations of what AI can actually do.  I feel like a crazy person every time I read glossy pieces about AI "shaking up" industries only for the substance of the story to be "we use a coding copilot and our HR team uses it to generate emails." I feel like I'm going insane when I read about the billions of dollars being sunk into data centers, or another headline about how AI will change everything that is mostly made up of the reporter guessing what it could do.

They're Looting the Internet (Ed Zitron, Apr 2024)

An investigation from late last year found that a third of advertisements on Facebook Marketplace in the UK were scams, and earlier in the year UK financial services authorities said it had banned more than 10,000 illegal investment ads across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok in 2022 — a 1,500% increase over the previous year. Last week, Meta revealed that Instagram made an astonishing $32.4 billion in advertising revenue in 2021. That figure becomes even more shocking when you consider Google's YouTube made $28.8 billion in the same period . Even the giants haven’t resisted the temptation to screw their users. CNN, one of the most influential news publications in the world, hosts both its own journalism and spammy content from "chum box" companies that make hundreds of millions of dollars driving clicks to everything from scams to outright disinformation. And you'll find them on CNN, NBC and other major news outlets, which by proxy endorse stories like "2 Steps To Tell When A Slot Is Close To Hitting The Jackpot."  These “chum box” companies are ubiquitous because they pay well, making them an attractive proposition for cash-strapped media entities that have seen their fortunes decline as print revenues evaporated. But they’re just so incredibly awful. In 2018, the (late, great) podcast Reply All had an episode that centered around a widower whose wife’s death had been hijacked by one of these chum box advertisers to push content that, using stolen family photos, heavily implied she had been unfaithful to him. The title of the episode — An Ad for the Worst Day of your Life — was fitting, and it was only until a massively popular podcast intervened did these networks ban the advert.  These networks are harmful to the user experience, and they’re arguably harmful to the news brands that host them. If I was working for a major news company, I’d be humiliated to see my work juxtaposed with specious celebrity bilge, diet scams, and get-rich-quick schemes.

...

While OpenAI, Google and Meta would like to claim that these are "publicly-available" works that they are "training on," the actual word for what they're doing is "stealing." These models are not "learning" or, let's be honest, "training" on this data, because that's not how they work — they're using mathematics to plagiarize it based on the likelihood that somebody else's answer is the correct one. If we did this as a human being — authoritatively quoting somebody else's figures without quoting them — this would be considered plagiarism, especially if we represented the information as our own. Generative AI allows you to generate lots of stuff from a prompt, allowing you to pretend to do the research much like LLMs pretend to know stuff. It's good for cheating at papers, or generating lots of mediocre stuff LLMs also tend to hallucinate, a virtually-unsolvable problem where they authoritatively make incorrect statements that creates horrifying results in generative art and renders them too unreliable for any kind of mission critical work. Like I’ve said previously, this is a feature, not a bug. These models don’t know anything — they’re guessing, based on mathematical calculations, as to the right answer. And that means they’ll present something that feels right, even though it has no basis in reality. LLMs are the poster child for Stephen Colbert’s concept of truthiness.

[trupti]

In the era of digital transformation, cloud computing has emerged as a pivotal technology, reshaping the way businesses operate and innovate. Pune, a burgeoning IT and business hub, has seen a significant surge in the adoption of cloud services, with companies seeking to enhance their efficiency, scalability, and agility. Zip Crest stands at the forefront of this revolution, offering comprehensive cloud computing services tailored to meet the diverse needs of businesses in Pune

The Importance of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing enables organizations to leverage a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than relying on local servers or personal computers. This shift provides several key benefits:

- Scalability: Businesses can easily scale their operations up or down based on demand, without the need for significant capital investment in hardware.

- Cost Efficiency: Cloud services operate on a pay-as-you-go model, reducing the need for substantial upfront investment and lowering overall IT costs.

- Accessibility: Cloud computing allows access to data and applications from anywhere, at any time, fostering remote work and collaboration.

- Security:  Leading cloud service providers offer robust security measures, including encryption, access controls, and regular security audits, to protect sensitive data.

Zip Crest: Leading Cloud Computing Services in Pune

Zip Crest is committed to empowering businesses in Pune with cutting-edge cloud computing solutions. Our services are designed to address the unique challenges and opportunities that come with the digital age. Here’s how we can transform your business operations:

1. Cloud Strategy and Consulting:

At Zip Crest, we begin by understanding your business objectives and IT infrastructure. Our experts then craft a bespoke cloud strategy that aligns with your goals, ensuring a seamless transition to the cloud and maximizing the benefits of cloud technology.

2. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):

Our IaaS offerings provide businesses with virtualized computing resources over the internet. This includes virtual machines, storage, and networking capabilities, allowing you to build and manage your IT infrastructure without the need for physical hardware.

3. Platform as a Service (PaaS):

With our PaaS solutions, developers can build, deploy, and manage applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. This accelerates development cycles, enhances productivity, and reduces time to market.

4. Software as a Service (SaaS):

Zip Crest offers a range of SaaS applications that can streamline your business processes. From customer relationship management (CRM) to enterprise resource planning (ERP), our cloud-based software solutions are designed to improve efficiency and drive growth.

5. Cloud Migration Services:

Transitioning to the cloud can be complex. Our cloud migration services ensure a smooth and secure migration of your applications, data, and workloads to the cloud, minimizing downtime and disruption to your business operations.

6. Managed Cloud Services:

Once your infrastructure is on the cloud, ongoing management is crucial to ensure optimal performance and security. Our managed cloud services provide continuous monitoring, maintenance, and support, allowing you to focus on your core business activities.

Why Choose Zip Crest?

Choosing Zip Crest for your cloud computing needs comes with several advantages:

- Expertise: Our team of certified cloud professionals brings extensive experience and deep knowledge of cloud technologies.

- Customized Solutions: We understand that every business is unique. Our solutions are tailored to meet your specific requirements and objectives.

-Proactive Support: We offer 24/7 support to ensure that your cloud infrastructure is always running smoothly and efficiently.

- Security Focus: Security is at the core of our services. We implement robust security measures to protect your data and applications from threats.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cloud computing is transforming the way businesses operate, offering unprecedented levels of flexibility, scalability, and efficiency. Zip Crest is dedicated to helping businesses in Pune harness the power of the cloud to achieve their goals and stay competitive in today’s fast-paced digital landscape. By partnering with Zip Crest, you can ensure that your business is well-equipped to navigate the complexities of cloud computing and reap its many benefits. Embrace the future of technology with Zip Crest and revolutionize your business operations with our top-tier cloud computing services.

Get In Touch

Website: https://zipcrest.com/

Address: 13, 4th Floor, A Building City Vista Office Park Fountain Road Karadi Pune Maharashtra 411014

Email: support@zipcrest.com / sales@zipcrest.com

Call: +912049330928 / 9763702645 / 7020684182

[tajmirror]

Same Day Taj Mahal Tour by Car By Taj Mirror Company

Taj Mirror Company's Same Day Taj Mahal Tour by Car is an amazing opportunity to visit one of the world's most iconic monuments in a single day. Same Day Taj Mahal Tour by Car This tour is great for those who have limited time but want to see the Taj Mahal.

The excursion begins in the early morning with a comfortable pickup from your hotel or a predetermined place in Delhi. A skilled and courteous driver will accompany you in a well-maintained, air-conditioned vehicle, assuring a smooth and enjoyable travel to Agra, which is roughly 3-4 hours away.

When you arrive in Agra, you will be greeted by your professional tour guide, who will lead you on a fascinating tour of the Taj Mahal's history and architecture. This UNESCO World Heritage site, created by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, is a Mughal architectural masterpiece featuring magnificent white marble inlaid with precious stones.

After visiting the Taj Mahal, the group continues to the Agra Fort, another UNESCO World Heritage site. For years, the Mughal rulers' principal residence was this towering red sandstone fort. Your guide will explain the fort's history and strategic importance.

A delicious lunch at a respected local restaurant follows, where you may sample traditional Indian cuisine. The journey next continues to the Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah, sometimes known as the "Baby Taj," another stunning specimen of Mughal construction.

After a day full of historical treasures and cultural encounters, the tour closes with a relaxing journey back to Delhi. You will be dropped off at your hotel or another predetermined place, bringing an end to a great excursion.

Taj Mirror Company's Same Day Taj Mahal Tour by Car is a well-organized, hassle-free method to witness the timeless grandeur of the Taj Mahal and other Agra attractions. It provides an ideal combination of history, culture, and comfort, making it a must-see for any visitor to India.

ALSO READ-

CrowdStrike is a renowned cybersecurity firm that specializes in endpoint protection, threat intelligence, and cyberattack response services. CrowdStrike, founded in 2011 by George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovitch, and Gregg Marston, has quickly established itself as a powerful force in the cybersecurity market. The corporation is based in Sunnyvale, California.

CrowdStrike's core product, the Falcon platform, uses AI and ML to detect and respond to threats in real time. The technology gives extensive visibility into endpoint activity, enabling enterprises to quickly detect and remediate any security breaches. Falcon's cloud-native architecture provides scalability and ease of deployment, making it a popular choice for businesses of all sizes.

CrowdStrike's role in detecting high-profile intrusions, such as the 2016 Democratic National Committee (DNC) hack, is one of its most notable accomplishments. The company's competence in threat intelligence and incident response has made it a reliable partner for both government agencies and private-sector businesses.

CrowdStrike's business strategy is subscription-based, with several service tiers to meet different corporate demands. This concept has been successful, as the company's revenue has grown rapidly and its customer base has expanded abroad. CrowdStrike went public in 2019, reinforcing its market position.

The company's commitment to innovation is demonstrated by continual updates to the Falcon platform and the incorporation of new technologies to battle increasing cyber threats. CrowdStrike's focus on proactive threat hunting, along with its comprehensive threat intelligence capabilities, enables enterprises to stay ahead of adversaries.

To summarize, CrowdStrike has evolved as a cybersecurity leader thanks to its cutting-edge technologies, strategic threat intelligence, and effective incident response. Its Falcon platform continues to set industry standards, equipping enterprises with the capabilities they need to defend against complex cyber threats.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

How Apple could open its App Store without really opening its App Store

Last week, Mark Gurman published a blockbuster story in Bloomberg, revealing Apple’s plan to allow third-party Ios App Stores to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act. Apple didn’t confirm it, but I believe it. Gurman’s sourcing was impeccable:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-13/will-apple-allow-users-to-install-third-party-app-stores-sideload-in-europe

This is a huge deal. While Apple’s “curated” approach to software delivers benefits to users, those benefits are unreliable. As I explain in a new post for EFF’s Deeplinks blog, Apple only fights for its users when doing so is good for its shareholders. But when something is good for Apple shareholders and bad for its customers, the shareholders win, every time:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/12/heres-how-apple-could-open-its-app-store-without-really-opening-its-app-store

To see how this works, just consider Apple’s record in China. First, Apple removed all working VPN apps from its Chinese App Store, to facilitate state spying on its Chinese customers:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-apple-vpn/apple-says-it-is-removing-vpn-services-from-china-app-store-idUSKBN1AE0BQ

Then Apple backdoored its Chinese cloud servers, to further facilitate state surveillance of Chinese Iphone owners:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/technology/apple-china-censorship-data.html

Then, just last month, Apple neutered Airdrop’s P2P file-sharing in order to help the Chinese state in its campaign to stamp out protests:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/11/apple-limits-iphone-filesharing-feature-used-by-protesters-in-china

Apple claims that its App Store is a fortress that protects its users against external threats. But the Iphone is designed to block its owners from choosing rival app stores, which means that when Apple betrays its customers, the fortress walls become prison walls. Governments know this, and they rely on it when they demand that Apple compromise its customers to totalitarian surveillance:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/11/foreseeable-consequences/#airdropped

Now, there’s an interesting contrast here. When the DFBI demanded that Apple backdoor its devices to aid in the prosecution of the San Bernardino shooters, Apple took its customers’ side, bravely refusing to compromise its devices:

https://www.eff.org/cases/apple-challenges-fbi-all-writs-act-order

That was the right call to make. Does it mean that Apple doesn’t value privacy for its Chinese customers’ privacy as much as it values it for American customers? Does it mean that Apple respects the CCP more than it respects the FBI?

Not at all. It just means that China was able to threaten Apple’s shareholders in ways that the DoJ couldn’t. Standing up to the Chinese government would threaten Apple’s access to 350 million middle-class Chinese potential customers, and an equal number of Chinese low-waged workers who could be tapped to manufacture Apple devices under brutal labor conditions at rock-bottom prices.

Standing up to the FBI didn’t threaten Apple’s shareholders the way that standing up to the CCP would, so Apple stood up for its American users and sold out its Chinese users.

But that doesn’t mean that US Apple customers are safe. In the US, Apple defends its customers from rival commercial threats, but actively prevents those customers from defending themselves against Apple’s own commercial threats.

Famously, Apple took its customers side over Facebook’s, adding an amazing, best-in-class, one-click opt-out to tracking, which is costing Facebook $10 billion per year. You love to see it:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/facebook-says-apple-ios-privacy-change-will-cost-10-billion-this-year.html

On the other hand…Apple secretly continued to its customers’ clicks, taps, gestures, apps and keystrokes, even after those customers explicitly opted out of tracking, and used that data to build nonconsensual dossiers on every Ios owner for use in its own ad-targeting business:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Apple defended its customers against Facebook’s predation, but not its own. When Apple’s shareholder interests are on the line, Apple’s App Store becomes a prison, not a fortress: because Apple controls which software you can install, it can (and does) block you from installing apps that extend its block on commercial surveillance to Apple itself.

Then there’s the app tax. Apple charges app makers a 30% commission on all their sales, which means that certain businesses literally can’t exist. Take audiobooks: audiobook sellers have 20% gross margins on their wares. If they sell their audiobooks through apps and pay a 30% vig to Apple, they lose money on every sale. Thus, the only Ios app that will sell you an audiobook is Apple’s own Apple Books.

Apple Books requires authors and publishers to wrap their books in Apple’s DRM, and the DMCA makes it a felony to supply your own readers with a tool to convert the books you published to a rival’s format. That means that readers have to surrender every book they’ve bought on Apple Books if you switch platforms and ask them to follow you. It’s not just social media that turns creators into digital sharecroppers.

It’s not any better when it comes to the businesses that can eke out an existence under the app tax’s yoke. These businesses pass their extra costs on to Apple’s customers, who ultimately bear the app tax burden. Because every app maker has to pay the app tax, they all tacitly collude to hike their prices. And because mobile is a duopoly, the app tax is also buried in every Android app, because Google has exactly the same app tax as Apple (Google will also be forced to remove barriers to third-party app stores under the DMA).

All this to say that it is a terrible error to impute morals or values to giant corporations. Apple and Google are both immortal colony organisms that view human beings as inconvenient gut flora. They are remorseless paperclip-maximizing artificial life forms. They are, in other words, limited liability corporations.

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/paperclip-maximizer

“If you’re not paying for the product, you’re the product” sounds good, but it’s absolutely wrong. You can’t bribe a paperclip-maximizing colony organism into treating you with dignity by spending money with it. Companies’ treatment of you depends on what they can get away with — not their “personalities.” Apple doesn’t respect privacy — it thinks it can make more paperclips by giving some of its customers some privacy. As soon as Apple finds a way to make more paperclips by spying on those you (say, by starting its own internal adtech business), it will spy on you, and the $1000 you spent on your Iphone will not save you.

Once you understand that corporate conduct is a matter of power, not personality, then you understand that the way to prevent companies from harming you is to meet their power with countervailing power. This is why tech worker unions matter: organized labor has historically been the most important check on corporate power, which is why tech companies are so vicious in the face of union drives:

https://www.epi.org/publication/unions-decline-inequality-rises/

Beyond labor, two other forces can discipline corporate conduct: regulation and competition. The biggest threat to a business’s customers is that business’s own shareholders. A company might defend its customers against a rival, but they will never defend its customers against its own shareholders.

Regulation and competition both impose costs on shareholder who abuse their customers: regulation can punish bad conduct with fines that come out of shareholder profits, and competition can create a race to the top as businesses seek to poach each others’ customers by offering them progressively better deals.

Which brings me back to the DMA, the EU’s pending regulation forcing Apple to open its app store, and Apple’s leaked plans to comply with the regulation. This is (potentially) great news, because rival app stores can offer Apple customers an escape hatch from mandatory surveillance and price-gouging.

But the devil is in the details. There are so many ways that Apple can use malicious compliance to appear to offer a competitive app marketplace without actually doing so. In my article for EFF, I offer a checklist of fuckieries to watch for in Apple’s plans:

• Forcing software authors in Apple’s Developer Program. Not only does this force developers to pay Apple for the privilege of selling to Iphone owners, but it also forces them to sign onto a Bible-thick EULA that places all kinds of arbitrary limits on their software. It’s not enough for Apple to open up to rival app stores — it also must not sabotage rivals who produce competing SDKs for Ios.

• Forcing App Store criteria on rival app stores. Apple mustn’t be permitted to turn legitimate vetting for security or privacy risks into editorial control over which apps Ios users are allowed to use. Apple may not want to carry games that highlight labor conditions in high-tech manufacturing sweatshops:

https://venturebeat.com/games/apple-drops-uncomfortable-sweatshop-hd-game-from-app-store/

And it may object to apps that track US drone killings of civilians abroad:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/aug/30/apple-blocks-us-drone-strike-app

But those arbitrary editorial conditions shouldn’t be imposed on rival app stores.

• Taxing rival app stores for “security vetting.” Apple is not the only entity qualified to assess the security of apps:

https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2022/01/letter-to-the-us-senate-judiciary-committee-on-app-stores.html

and it’s just as capable as its rivals of making grave errors:

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/apple-fixes-exploited-iphone-zero/

It’s fine to say that app stores must submit to third-party security certification, but they should be free to choose Apple out of a field of qualified privacy certifiers.

• Requiring third-party app stores to process payments with Apple. The app tax should be disciplined by competition. Allowing Apple to extract 30% from transactions in its rivals’ app stores would defeat the whole purpose of the DMA.

• Arbitrarily revoking third party app stores. It’s foreseeable that some third-party app stores would be so incompetent or malicious that Apple could revoke their ability to operate on Ios devices. However, if Apple were to pretextually shut down third-party app stores, it could sour Iphone owners off the whole prospect of getting apps elsewhere.

Apple must not be permitted to use its power to shut down app stores in an anti-competitive way, but distinguishing pretextual shutdowns from bona fide ones is a time-consuming, fact-intensive process that could leave customers in limbo for years.

One way to manage this is for regulators to dangle massive fines for pretextual shutdowns. In addition to this, Apple must make some provision to continue its customers’ access to the apps, media and data from the app stores it shuts down.

All of this points to the role that regulators pay, even (especially) when it comes to disciplining companies through competition. The DMA is overseen by the EU Commission, which has the power to investigate, verify and approve (or reject) the standards that Apple sets for privacy, security, and app stores themselves. The Commission should anticipate and fund the regulators needed to manage these tasks quickly, thoroughly and efficiently.

Finally, Europeans shouldn’t have all the fun. If Apple can do this for Europeans, it can do it for every Apple device owner. If you bought an Ios device, it’s yours, not Apple’s, and you should have the right to technological self determination that Europeans get when it comes to deciding which software it runs.

Image: Electronic Frontier Foundation https://www.eff.org/files/banner_library/eu-flag-11.png

CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/

[Image ID: An EU flag. The blue background has a fine tracery of etched circuitry.]

[masllp]

Streamline Your Business with Outsource bookkeeping services in USA by MAS LLP

Introduction: In today's fast-paced business environment, staying on top of your financial records is crucial. However, managing bookkeeping in-house can be time-consuming and costly. That's where outsource bookkeeping services come into play. If you're looking to Outsource bookkeeping services in USA, MAS LLP offers comprehensive solutions designed to meet your business needs. In this blog, we'll explore the benefits of outsourcing bookkeeping and how MAS LLP can help streamline your financial operations.

The Benefits of Outsourcing Bookkeeping Services

Cost Savings Outsourcing bookkeeping can significantly reduce your overhead costs. By partnering with MAS LLP, you eliminate the need for hiring full-time staff, training expenses, and costly accounting software. This allows you to allocate resources more efficiently and invest in other critical areas of your business.

Expertise and Accuracy At MAS LLP, our team of professional bookkeepers possesses extensive experience and knowledge in managing financial records. We ensure that your books are accurate, up-to-date, and compliant with the latest regulations. With our expertise, you can avoid costly errors and ensure your financial data is reliable.

Time Efficiency Outsourcing bookkeeping frees up valuable time for you and your team. Instead of spending hours on data entry and financial reconciliations, you can focus on core business activities such as sales, marketing, and customer service. MAS LLP takes care of your bookkeeping needs, allowing you to concentrate on growing your business.

Scalability As your business grows, so do your bookkeeping needs. MAS LLP provides scalable solutions that can adapt to your changing requirements. Whether you're a startup or a large corporation, our services can be tailored to meet the demands of your business at every stage.

Advanced Technology MAS LLP utilizes cutting-edge accounting software and technology to streamline bookkeeping processes. Our cloud-based solutions offer real-time access to your financial data, ensuring transparency and enabling you to make informed decisions quickly. Why Choose MAS LLP for Outsource bookkeeping services in USA?

Comprehensive Services MAS LLP offers a wide range of bookkeeping services, including accounts payable and receivable, bank reconciliations, financial statement preparation, payroll processing, and tax filing. Our comprehensive approach ensures that all aspects of your financial management are covered.

Customized Solutions We understand that every business is unique. MAS LLP provides customized bookkeeping solutions tailored to your specific needs and industry requirements. Our personalized approach ensures that you receive the support necessary to achieve your financial goals.

Reliable Support At MAS LLP, we pride ourselves on delivering exceptional customer service. Our dedicated team is always available to address your queries and provide the support you need. We build strong relationships with our clients, ensuring that your business receives the attention it deserves.

Compliance and Security Maintaining compliance with financial regulations is critical for any business. MAS LLP ensures that your financial records are in line with the latest standards and regulations. Additionally, we prioritize data security, employing robust measures to protect your sensitive financial information. How to Get Started with MAS LLP Getting started with MAS LLP's outsource bookkeeping services is simple. Here's a step-by-step guide: Initial Consultation: Contact us to schedule a consultation. We'll discuss your business needs and determine how our services can best support you. Customized Plan: Based on our discussion, we'll create a customized bookkeeping plan tailored to your specific requirements. Onboarding: Our team will guide you through the onboarding process, ensuring a smooth transition to our services. Ongoing Support: Once onboard, you'll receive continuous support and regular updates on your financial records. Conclusion Outsource bookkeeping services in USA with MAS LLP can transform the way you manage your business finances. With cost savings, expert accuracy, time efficiency, and scalability, our services offer a strategic advantage for businesses of all sizes. Contact MAS LLP today to learn more about how we can streamline your financial operations and help your business thrive.

[coderower]

The Future of Software Development: Top Trends to Watch in 2024

Introduction:

The field of technology is always changing, but software creation is still at the cutting edge of brand-new ideas. As 2024 approaches, the trends that will shape the future of software development become more apparent. These trends will bring both exciting possibilities and challenges for businesses and workers. This blog post will talk about the most important trends to keep an eye on in 2024, covering everything from cloud-based solutions to custom software creation.

1. Custom Software Development

Custom software development is still an important part of modern businesses because it lets them make solutions that fit their exact needs. In 2024, we expect a huge increase in the need for unique software solutions as companies try to stand out in very competitive markets. Custom software development is the most adaptable and adjustable way to improve customer experiences or streamline internal processes.

2. Software Development Services

People are still looking for software development services because they need help and professionals to make cutting-edge apps. Outsourcing software development has become a smart choice for many companies, from startups to large corporations, that want to cut down on development time and time to market.

3. Mobile App Development

Since smartphones and other mobile devices are becoming more popular, companies that want to connect with customers while they’re on the go still put a lot of emphasis on mobile app development. We think 2024 will be a big year for user-centred design and making new technologies like augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) work well.

4. Developers of Web Applications

Developers of Web applications are moving toward making experiences that are more engaging and flexible. Progressive web apps (PWAs) and single-page apps (SPAs) will likely become popular in 2024 as companies try to make the web faster and more interesting on all devices.

5. Cross-device App Development

Making apps that work on multiple devices without any problems is possible with cross-platform app development, which has become more popular in recent years. By 2024, cross-platform tools like React Native and Flutter should have even better features, allowing developers to reach more people with less work.

6. Full-Stack Development

As of now, workers who are skilled in both front-end and back-end platforms are in high demand for full-stack development. They are seen as versatile and knowledgeable. There will be a greater need for full-stack coders who can offer complete solutions in 2024, so training and upskilling programs will be a big focus.

7. Web Design and Development

Web design and programming are very important for shaping the user experience and getting people to interact with your site. We expect to see a move toward simple and easy-to-use designs in 2024, with an emphasis on making things accessible and open to everyone. The digital world will also continue to change as new design trends like dark mode and neomorphism become more popular.

8. Cloud-Based Solutions

Modern infrastructure is built around cloud-based solutions, which are scalable, reliable, and cost-effective. We think that there will be even more movement toward cloud-native designs in 2024, with a focus on serverless computing and containerization. Multi-cloud and mixed-cloud methods are also becoming more popular, which will give companies more freedom and stability.

9. Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)

Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) techniques have changed the way software is developed by making it possible for teams to make code changes quickly and accurately. We expect a lot of people to use CI/CD processes in 2024, with a focus on automation, teamwork, and feedback loops. Employing CI/CD in their work processes can help companies release software more quickly and with higher quality.

10. Software testing and product testing

Software testing is still an important part of the development process because it makes sure that apps work as planned and meet quality standards. Automated testing systems and AI-driven testing tools will become more popular in 2024, making it easier for coders to find problems and fix them. For the whole development process, using shift-left testing methods will also help build a mindset of quality.

11. Custom Web App Development

When businesses hire custom web app developers, they want solutions that are made just for them and the problems and chances in their fields. Custom web apps are flexible, safe, and quick, and they can be used to make management systems inside the company or sites for customers. It’s going to be very popular to have custom web apps made in 2024 because companies will want to stay ahead of the competition and focus on digital change projects.

12. Web Solutions

Many tools and services can be used to make web experiences that are live and engaging. Web tools, like e-commerce platforms and content management systems, help companies connect with customers, run their businesses, and grow. Developer tools, content management systems, and hosting services are likely to keep getting better in 2024, which will allow businesses to make web apps that are strong and flexible.

13. Develop Mobile Apps

Mobile apps are now essential for companies that want to reach people while they’re on the go and make the user experience better. Native mobile app development will be a big deal in 2024. To make sure users have a smooth and fast experience, developers will use platform-specific features and functions. Additionally, makers will be able to make new, feature-packed mobile apps by combining cutting-edge technologies like machine learning and blockchain.

14. App Development

The process of making apps for different devices, like phones, the web, and computers, is called app development. We expect a coming together of technologies and methods in 2024, which will make it easy for coders to make apps that work on multiple platforms. With the rise of low-code and no-code development platforms, companies can speed up the process of making apps and give regular people the tools they need to help make new solutions.

15. Emerging Technologies

Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), bitcoin, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are just a few of the new technologies that will drastically change the way software is made in 2024. These technologies could completely change businesses, make tasks easier to do, and generate new ideas in all areas. AI and ML will be used more for predictive analytics, personalized experiences, and automating regular chores in 2024. Similarly, blockchain technology will keep shaking up old ways of doing business by making deals safe and clear, while IoT devices will make it easier to connect and gain insights from data.

16. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Development

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have become powerful tools that could change many fields, from fun and games to education and healthcare. Hardware, software, and content creation tools will get better in 2024, which will lead to a lot of new AR and VR releases. AR and VR will be used more and more by businesses to make events more engaging, improve training programs, and connect with customers in fresh new ways.

17. Integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

AI and ML are going to be very important in the future of software development, allowing smart automation, predictive analytics, and customized experiences. We expect to see more AI and ML built into software in 2024, as companies use data to make better decisions and run their businesses more efficiently. AI and ML will continue to change how software is made, used, and implemented, from robots and virtual helpers to recommendation engines and systems that look for scams.

18. Quantum Computing

Quantum computing is a big change in the way computers work. It can do processing that has never been seen before and could help solve hard problems that regular computers can’t. Future progress in quantum computing is expected to continue in 2024. This will have effects on software development in areas like security, optimization, and science modelling. Quantum computing isn’t being used by most people yet, but developers and businesses are starting to look into how it could be used and what it means for the future of software development.

19. Edge Computing

The rise of edge computing has made it possible for real-time processing and low-latency apps. Edge computing brings computer power closer to where the data is created. Edge computer technologies are likely to become more popular in 2024, especially in fields like IoT, manufacturing, and self-driving cars. Edge computing is an important part of the future of software development because it processes data closer to where it is created. This means that decisions can be made faster, bandwidth is used less, and dependability is improved.

20. DevOps and DevSecOps Practices

DevOps and DevSecOps practices are becoming more popular in software development because they help teams simplify processes, speed up delivery, and make security better. Further use of DevOps and DevSecOps methods is expected in 2024, due to the need for more cooperation, automation, and flexibility. DevOps and DevSecOps allow teams to create high-quality software faster and more safely by combining development, operations, and security into a single process. This meets the needs of today’s digital world, which is changing quickly.

21. Data Privacy and Security

Businesses and customers both care a lot about data privacy and security. Strong security measures are needed because of rising online risks and laws. Data protection and security will still be important in software development in 2024, with a focus on encryption, identification, and compliance. Developers will be very important in keeping private data safe and defence against new threats. They will do things like secure code, security testing, and vulnerability evaluations.

22. Low-Code and No-Code Development Platforms

Low-code and no-code development platforms have made software creation more accessible to everyone, letting business users and citizen coders make apps without needing to know a lot about coding. As businesses try to speed up their digital transformation efforts and meet the growing demand for custom software solutions, we expect the low-code and no-code market to continue to grow in 2024. Low-code and no-code systems help businesses quickly adapt to changing customer wants and market conditions by hiding complexity and cutting down on development time.

23. Ethics and Responsible AI

As AI and ML become more common, people are becoming more aware of the moral and social effects they can have. We think that ethics and responsible AI will get more attention in software development in 2024. Developers and companies will take more steps to make sure that AI-driven systems are fair, open, and accountable. Researchers will have to think about how their work affects other people and put ethics first throughout the whole development process. This includes methods to reduce bias and ethical AI models and standards.

24. Remote Collaboration and Distributed Teams

The move to working from home has completely changed how teams work together and talk to each other. In software development, distributed teams are now the rule. As companies get used to mixed work models and see the benefits of remote work, we expect them to put more money into tools and platforms for online teamwork in 2024. With tools like virtual whiteboarding, videoconferencing, project management, and version control, online collaboration platforms make it easy for teams to work together even when they are in different places. This encourages creativity, innovation, and efficiency.

25. Diversity and Inclusion in Tech

Inclusion and diversity have become very important issues in the tech industry, as more people realize how important different points of view and experiences are for fostering creativity and innovation. We expect that more will be done in 2024 to support diversity and inclusion in software development. For example, mentoring programs, diversity training, and hiring methods that are open to everyone will be given top priority by companies. Businesses can get the most out of their teams and encourage an atmosphere of innovation and success by making the workplace more fair and open to everyone.

In conclusion:

In 2024, the future of software development will be marked by new ideas, quick changes, and a never-ending quest for perfection. To stay competitive in today’s digital world, businesses and workers need to keep up with the latest trends and changes in everything from new technologies like AI and quantum computing to well-known practices like DevOps and data security. Software engineers can change the future of technology for years to come by being open to change, encouraging teamwork, and putting ethics and fairness first.

[techhy-simpson]

Smart Growth: Cost-Saving Expansion Tactics for Startups

For any growing startup, scaling up in a cost-effective way is a dream and a dilemma. These young businesses aim to boost their reach and operations. The big question is: Can they increase their team size without burning through their budget? This is where staff augmentation comes in. It's a practical, flexible method that lets startups grow without breaking the bank.

A Look at Startup Expansion Pitfalls

Take a fictional startup, ByteWave, as a case in point. Three university pals had a fantastic idea for a cloud-based service and ByteWave was born. After a year, their user base ballooned to 50,000. This explosive growth brought a heap of operational headaches. ByteWave's tiny 12-member team was swamped, battling to stay afloat amidst demands for customer support, software updates, and fresh feature rollouts.

Traditional hiring seemed the logical move. However, it's a costly option. The Society for Human Resource Management estimates the average cost of recruiting a new U.S. worker is $4,129, taking an average of 42 days. For a startup like ByteWave, this approach was simply out of reach in terms of time and budget.

The Benefits of Staff Augmentation

Staff augmentation is a far more efficient solution. It gives startups the flexibility to temporarily hire skilled personnel for key roles. ByteWave could quickly bring in specialist developers and customer service agents for specific projects. This gave the founders the ability to dynamically scale their team, tackling particular problems without the delays and costs of full-time recruitment.

A Smart Financial Move

Staff augmentation brings significant savings. Deloitte's research shows businesses can save as much as 30% in labor costs by adopting flexible staffing models. These cost cuts result from reduced essential overheads like benefits, office space, and training costs. Plus, it speeds up time-to-market. Deloitte's study also discovered projects are completed 20-25% quicker with staff augmentation, giving startups a crucial competitive edge.

Success Stories

Numerous real-world examples demonstrate how startups have used staff augmentation effectively:

Airbnb: To boost user appeal, Airbnb brought in freelance photographers to produce quality property listings, enhancing the platform's appeal without having to recruit full-time photographers.

Slack: During a critical period of rapid growth, Slack used remote contractors to provide 24/7 customer support, avoiding the costs of a large, permanent team.

Uber: Expanding into new locations, Uber used local contractors for tasks such as driver onboarding and market research, allowing fast growth without the long-term overheads of permanent local staffing.

Steps to Implement Staff Augmentation

If you're a startup considering staff augmentation, follow these practical steps:

Be Transparent: Define the needed skills and roles. This helps you find the right talent.

Choose Wisely: Partner with reliable staffing agencies or platforms that are familiar with your industry. They can quickly hook you up with vetted professionals.

Foster a Team Spirit: Treat augmented staff as integral team members. Make sure they attend meetings, have the necessary tools and keep communication lines open.

Be Clear: Set out the scope, deadlines, and deliverables for each project. This ensures all parties are on the same page and promotes effective collaboration.

Share Knowledge: Ensure the knowledge and experience that the temporary staff bring is shared with your permanent team.

Challenge Navigation

Staff augmentation, while beneficial, is not without its obstacles. Here's how to address them:

Building the Team: Temporary staff might not naturally fit into your company culture. To bridge this gap, include them in team activities and clearly communicate your values and aims.

Maintaining Standards: Keep high-quality work by setting clear quality benchmarks, and conducting regular work reviews.

Data Protection: Safeguard critical information with strict NDAs and limit access to crucial systems.

Employee Relations: Permanent team members might feel uneasy about temporary staff. Be clear about the roles of augmented staff and stress that they are an additional resource, not a threat to the core team.

The Way Forward

The move towards flexible work arrangements is increasing. An Upwork study predicts that by 2028, 73% of all teams will include remote workers. This factors make staff augmentation an appealing option for startups. Tools for remote project management and communication like Trello, Asana, and Slack are helping facilitate this shift, allowing efficient collaboration regardless of location.

Conclusion

Staff augmentation can be a lifesaver for startups trying to expand while preserving their budgets. It permits them to bring in specialized skills as needed, accelerate growth, and compete effectively without long-term financial commitments.