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Friday, September 24, 2021
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Starbucks Delivery App to Hit Market in 2015

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Starbucks Delivery App

Starbucks CEO, Leonard Schultz revealed yesterday during a conference call with investors that Starbucks is entering the app market in 2015. Starting next year, people in some areas in the U.S. will have the possibility to download and use the Starbucks delivery app which will bring them the coffee they choose right at their doorstep.

Starbucks customers in the U.S. will no longer have to wait in line for their coffee, Schultz wants Americans to know. Associated Press revealed that the most popular coffee franchise in the world will make available for its clients a pre-order/pick-up app at the beginning of next year. An exact date wasn’t made available, but rumors are saying that the Starbucks delivery app will be available around March.

The app will have you choose your coffee, order it and have it deliver it to wherever you are. The areas where the Starbucks delivery app will get you coffee to your doorstep have not yet been made available.

Schultz spoke about the Starbucks delivery app during the conference call with investors:

Imagine the ability to create a standing order of Starbucks delivered hot to your desk daily. That’s our version of e-commerce on steroids.

Analysts are saying that this new Starbucks business venture is just Starbucks’ way to heat up business. Starbucks isn’t doing very well, and the re-launch of one of its most popular drinks, the Pumpkin Spice latter, failed to help business, as the company’s shares went down almost 5%.

Schultz revealed during the same conference that Starbucks’ decrease in popularity was not because of the coffee itself or other internal issues:

This is not a Starbucks issue. There is nothing external in terms of competitive issues.

He believes that the reason people aren’t coming to Starbucks anymore has to do with the rise of online and mobile shopping. Schultz said that the digital world is keeping more and more people inside their homes. A Starbucks delivery app would help improve sales and bring the brand more popularity.

More details about the upcoming Starbucks delivery app haven’t been made available.

 

Twitter Sued the U.S. Justice Department for Right to Free Speech

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At the beginning of September we saw a new feature announced by Twitter, the Buy button and today we have the latest Twitter news: it appears that Twitter sued the U.S. Justice Department for the right to reveal surveillance information gathered by the government from their customers to their customers.

Twitter Sued the U.S. Justice Department

It does seem like something out of a spy movie, doesn’t it? A company wants to tell all the dirty secrets of an organization and the organization won’t let it. Well, the organization is, in this case, the U.S. government, and the dirty secrets is their surveillance of Twitter’s clients.

Twitter sued the U.S. Justice Department because it won’t let it tell its customers the amount of information the government has on its users. There are government gag orders that simply do not let the Internet industry reveal information about how much the government is spying on the population through the internet.

Twitter Sued U.S. Justice Department

Twitter, as well as other Internet companies, aren’t even allowed to say whether or not the government requests security user information. Twitter believes this is a violation of the Constitution’s First Amendment, the freedom of speech, and hopes to win so that its users know how much they’re being monitored. Twitter said in a statement:

This is an important issue for anyone who believes in a strong First Amendment, and we hope to be able to share our complete transparency report. […] We’ve tried to achieve the level of transparency our users deserve without litigation, but to no avail.

Twitter has around 271 million monthly users and have been known to challenge government censorship requests.

What are your thoughts on the fact that Twitter sued the U.S. Justice Department? Feel free to comment in the section below. We would love to hear from you.

Facebook’s Shuttle Drivers are Seeking Help

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Google finally put security guards on their payroll, letting go of outside contractors which deepened the wage gap between two kinds of Google employees. Facebook is now coming under fire after a letter to Mark Zuckerberg emerged in which attention was drawn to Facebook’s shuttle drivers and how hard it is for them to make a living in the Facebook environment.

Facebook’s Shuttle Drivers

Facebook uses a company called Loop Transportation to hire shuttle drivers that transport Facebook workers to the Facebook campus in Menlo Park, California. If you’re thinking that it’s a sweet job, think again. The Facebook shuttle drivers are being paid $18 to $20 an hour, which isn’t enough to sustain a family in the California area.

Facebook’s Shuttle Drivers

Principal Officer of the Teamsters Union branch in Northern California, Rome Aloise, is speaking on behalf of Facebook’s shuttle drivers about the blatant inequality and the need for reform. He is encouraging the drivers to seek union representation and has even go so far as to write an open letter to Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Here’s an excerpt of the letter:

While your employees earn extraordinary wages and are able to live and enjoy life in some of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the Bay Area, these drivers can’t afford to support a family, send their children to school, or, least of all, afford to even dream of buying a house anywhere near where they work. This is reminiscent of a time when noblemen were driven around in their coaches by their servants.

Zuckerberg is asked to encourage Loop Transportation to recognize a union for Facebook’s shuttle drivers, so that they can fight for a fair contract. Up until now, Facebook hasn’t released any comments or statements on this.

What are your thoughts on this news? Drop us a line in the comment section below and share your thoughts with us.

Facebook Finalizes Purchase of WhatsApp

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Facebook is expanding! Just yesterday we saw how it is planning to introduce friend-to-friend payments through its mobile app, Facebook Messenger. Today, we learn that Facebook finalizes purchase of WhatsApp for almost $22 billion!

Facebook Finalizes Purchase of WhatsApp

When Facebook announced back in February of 2014 that is was beginning the long and arduous purchase of WhatsApp, nobody thought it would take too long. But here we are, at the beginning of October when Facebook finalizes purchase of WhatsApp for the price of $21.8 billion (including cash, stock and restricted stock given to employees at WhatsApp).

Purchase of WhatsApp

At the beginning of the year the deal was struck between the two companies, but there was a different price that they agreed on: $19 billion. Part of the reason this happened was the fact that Facebook shares have been rising in price. Yesterday, CEO and co-founder of WhatsApp, Jan Koum, was welcomed to Facebook’s board.

This purchase is not only the largest acquisition made by Facebook, but it’s also bigger than any deals made by Apple, Microsoft and Google! It’s a sign that Facebook’s not only doing well, but it’s expanding at an extraordinary rate.

WhatsApp has more than 500 million users and it’s a huge hit in developing countries, such as India, Mexico, Brazil and Russia. The reason behind it is that it allows users to chat with their phone contacts over Internet. You can also send voice recordings and photos and even call overseas, through your Internet connection. WhatsApp is also ad free and free to join and use for the first year. After your first year, it costs $1 per year!

Facebook plans to keep Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp separate for the time being, but we’re guessing it’s planning a merge in the future.

What are your thoughts on the fact that Facebook finalizes purchase of WhatsApp? Drop us a line in the comment section below.

Apple Bankrupts Sapphire Glass Makers, GT Advanced Technologies

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After breaking sale records during opening weekend, iPhone 6 is finally available in China which means more money for the tech giant. Today we found out that Apple bankrupts sapphire glass makers, GT Advanced Technologies, after new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus did not feature sapphire glass displays.

Apple Bankrupts Sapphire Glass Makers

Apple Bankrupts Sapphire Glass Makers

When Apple announced its new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones back in September, it made no mention whatsoever of sapphire glass display. Everyone was expecting the new iPhones to have sapphire glass display, as there were countless rumors of Apple stocking up on it, but the new phones had Gorilla glass displays. It’s true that Apple did not use the words Gorilla glass, but the description fits the bill.

Now, GT Advanced Technologies, parts suppliers for the California-based tech giant, has filed for bankruptcy yesterday. It listed its assets of $1.5 billion and $1.3 billion liabilities. This comes as quite a shock, as in the fall of 2014, Apple signed a$578 million deal in which GT Advanced Technologies would make sapphire glass displays for iPhones.

What happened between the signing of the deal that would have put sapphire glass on every iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and the introduction of the new iPhones with Gorilla Glass displays? Well, in our opinion, something had to have gone wrong between the two companies for this to have happened.

Just a few months ago, in July, GT Advanced Technologies was worth $2.8 billion, but as a result of the bankruptcy, the stock fell more than 90% and reached a new low of 75 cents.

Some are saying that GT Advanced Technologies had become too dependent on Apple and when their relationship suffered, the company simply could not recover. What are your thoughts on the fact that Apple bankrupts sapphire glass makers? Share them with us in the comment section below.

HP Will Split into Two Businesses

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Back in March we talked about how Meg White, HP’s CEO was announcing that the company was going into 3D printing and today we’ve got the latest HP news: it appears that HP will split into two businesses this year.

HP Will Split into Two Businesses

The news that HP will split into two businesses came this weekend, from an unidentified source within the company. The Wall Street Journal reported on this first and now the internet is on fire. HP is planning to split in two: one company that sells PC and printers and another one that sells hardware and services for corporations.

HP Will Split into Two Businesses

HP has had a slew of failed products, including their HP TouchPad which was only present in stores for one month in 2011, before being pulled. The product sold so badly and was so poorly constructed, that many were wondering if HP even gave a damn about its products anymore.

HP’s Chief Executive, Meg Whitman, is believed to be the head of the new PC and printer company, as PC have been HP’s money makers for decades. Whitman revealed that the sales are improving, but the PC business is still declining, overall.

For any company to survive, changes need to take place, but HP has never been a groundbreaking company, bold enough to make earth-shattering decisions. HP likes things to stay pretty much the same, which is why this news that HP will split into two business came as a shock to many.

HP hasn’t announced anything just yet, but they are expected to make a formal announcement very soon.

What are your thoughts on the fact that HP will split into two businesses? Do you think that this move will help save the company from certain death? Drop us a line in the comment section, we would love to hear what you have to say on this subject.

CVS Caremark Has Stopped Selling Tobacco Products

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A while back we talked about how the FDA proposed new regulations for e-cigarettes and today we’ve got more nicotine and tobacco news: it appears that CVS Caremark has stopped selling tobacco products.

Starting today, CVS Caremark has stopped selling tobacco products and experts are hoping that other major drugstore chains will follow CVS’ lead.

The decision was made because CVS needs to strengthen its image as a health care company. It also plans to change the company’s name to CVS Health, but the stores will not suffer any name changes.

CVS Caremark Has Stopped Selling Tobacco Products

CVS Caremark Has Stopped Selling Tobacco Products

CVS has around 7,700 retail locations, which makes it the second-largest drugstore chain in the U.S.

The American Pharmacists Association has urged drugstores in March 2010 to stop selling cigarettes and many small chains have done so, but CVS Caremark is the first large chain to take notice and change.

Mark Myers, the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids had this to say about CVS’ decision:

CVS’ announcement to stop selling tobacco products fully a month early sends a resounding message to the entire retail industry and to its customers that pharmacies should not be in the business of selling tobacco. This is truly an example of a corporation leading and setting a new standard.

CVS is also going to release a quit smoking campaign that will include medication support, coaching and an assessment.

CVS Caremark CEO’s, Larry Merlo, father died of tobacco-related cancer. Merlo said about how CVS has stopped selling tobacco products:

The contradiction of selling tobacco was becoming a growing obstacle to playing a bigger role in health care delivery.

What are your thoughts on the fact that CVS Caremark has stopped selling tobacco products? Do you think this decision was a long time coming? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

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