US Army 2.0: Soldiers Get Upgrade, As Microsoft Prepares Order Of 120,000 Hololens Augmented Reality Headsets For Use...

Microsoft is still bringing in big military profits because the US Army has ordered 120,000 augmented reality headsets - along with the final approval of the cloud-based $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract is awaiting. 

According to Microsoft, the deal could be worth $21.88 billion over ten years... 

Microsoft announced today that in recent years, the U.S. Army and the IVAS army have transitioned from prototyping to manufacturing HoloLens 2 based integrated vision enhancement system (IVAS) headsets. In 2018, Microsoft announced that it had won a two-year contract worth $480 million to manufacture IVAS prototype headsets for the military. 

The headset is based on HoloLens technology, which has been enhanced by Azure cloud services...

The IVAS system is designed to improve situational awareness and enable soldiers to fight, drill and train on one platform. These systems provide sensors for night, high temperature and high sensitivity integrated screen resolution.

The system also uses mixed reality and machine learning to create a "realistic mixed reality learning environment." Said the army.

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Author: Don Kennedy
New York Newsroom

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Nintendo Collaborates With.... Build-A-Bear!?

Build-A-Bear Construction Workshop collaborated with Nintendo to create cute versions of two characters in "Animal Crossing: New Horizons", designed for the game lovers.

In addition to Tom Nook and Isabelle, the series also includes clothing and accessories inspired by the popular game Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Nintendo Switch, which was released last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Before the Switch game, Animal Crossing was released in 2001. 

The series opens to the public at 10 am on Tuesday morning. CST and enthusiastic customers can enter the sales waiting room half an hour ago. Before delivery, everyone waiting was randomly assigned a seat. Although the prospect of the new version caused joy among customers who saw the "pen premiere", others were disappointed with the choice of characters. 

If you plan to buy a Build-A-Bear, then you should probably stop reading this article and get one, they will soon be sold out.

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Author: Don Kennedy
New York Newsroom

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Google Disrupts Higher Education: Students Take Classes and Receive Certificates, For High Paying In-Demand Skills - For Under $300...

This morning Google announced its plan to dismantle the world of college education. This includes the introduction of a new certification program designed to help people fill gaps in qualifications in areas of high-performance, high-paying developer jobs - specifically ones with no degree required.

This new tool may change the game for the growing number of people who think the education system is broken or for the millions of Americans who are currently unemployed following the Covid19 pandemic.

Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in an interview that "The pandemic has led to a truly horrible year, but it has also created profound shifts along the journey to digital transformation in ways no one could have imagined."

The program includes:

• Launch of three new Google scholarships in Coursera in operations management, data analysis and user experience (UX).
  
  
• Design new content for developers of Android applications.
  
  
• Partner with more than 130 employees who work with Google to hire graduates on Google Certificates Google's new search engine makes it easy to search for a job educationally, with no qualifications or experience.

Most applicants will close within 6 months, some can even be completed in three months. The average US student will spend about $240.

You can actually find and enroll in some of these now...

Google already offers basically the same thing though online learning platform Coursera, courses that end with people receiving a certificate of completion from Google.

So it's no surprise that the Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda is playing an important role in helping Google launch the new initiative.

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Martin Tello
Silicon Valley News Team

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Apple iPhone 13 - New Features LEAKED...

It seems like the iPhone 12 just dropped, but there are new speculations about what to expect from the iPhone 13 Pro, the iPhone 13 Pro Max, and the newer iPhone 13. There are rumors that it focuses on design improvements, internal improvements and perhaps the introduction of a new more powerful camera.

Soon we expect to hear more new iPhone 13 features as well as release dates. 

Video Courtesy of Everything Apple Pro

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iOS 14.5: What's New? A Look At The New Features Of The iPhone and iPad Upgrade...

In June 2020, Apple introduced the latest version of its iOS operating system, iOS 14, which was released on September 16. iOS 14 is one of the largest iOS updates from Apple to date. It includes changes to the home screen design, major new features and updates to existing apps, Siri enhancements, and many other improvements that streamline the iOS user interface.

• First of all, iOS 14 features a redesigned home screen that for the first time supports widgets.
  
  
• Widgets can be dragged from the Today view directly onto the home screen and can be pinned in different sizes. With a smart stack function, the iPhone can use the intelligence on the device to display the correct widget based on time, location and activity.
  
  
• Each home screen page can display widgets related to work, travel, sports, The Today section, which stores widgets, has also been redesigned.
  
  
• There's also a widgets gallery where users can select new widgets from apps and customize those widgets.
  
  
• Swiping to the end of the app pages on an iPhone opens the new app library, an interface where all of the apps on your iPhone iPhone to see everything at a glance.
  
  
• Apps are organized in your folder system, but there are also Apple-made Apps folders like Suggestions and Apple Arcade that cleverly display apps.
  
  
• New app downloads can be added to your home screen or saved in the app library to keep the home screen cleaner. 

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Nancy Pelosi Set To Profit BIG - Speaker Grabs Tesla Stock Right Before Biden Announces Electric Car Incentives...

It was revealed over the weekend that House Speaker and California Representative Nancy Pelosi had acquired 25 call options for Tesla Inc (NASDAQ : TSLA) purchased at a share price of $500 and are set to expire March 18, 2022. Pelosi reportedly paid between $500,000 and $1,000,000 for the Options.

The ability of members of the U.S. Congress to buy and sell stocks has been contentious over the years. One of the most prominent members made some purchases in December that could benefit from the new Biden administration.

Right After Nancy's Move Into TSLA,  Biden Makes Announcement Causing Share Price To Rise...

Wow - Nancy sure has perfect timing! 

Tesla shares increased from $640 at the time the calls were bought and went up to $890 today. The call options were valued at $1.12 million.

Biden's push for electric vehicles, which could include lifting the cap on sales, would give buyers tax credits, to Tesla's advantage. Biden also floated the idea of a program that exchanged used vehicles for a larger credit towards the purchase of an electric car.

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While Most Citizens Will Never Hear About This, Others Are Frustrated By The Apparent Corruption...

Pelosi's conflict will continue, and even intensify as clean energy initiatives that her family could benefit from will soon be on her desk, possibly in several segments.  Each bill passed will equal a big personal payday for the speaker.

Online, global warming activists were seen saying on a forum "This basically hands talking points over to the republicans.  I can hear it already 'Sure, Nancy is worried about the environment - and it just happens she gets rich if go along with her agenda, right?'.

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Author: Don Kennedy
Austin Newsdesk 

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Home Security Company 'ADT' Employee Arrested, After Spying On Over 200 Customer's Home Cameras...

Telesforo Aviles, a 35-year-old, was working as a support technician for ADT, a provider of home security services.

Aviles's job involved installing home video surveillance cameras at customer premises and configuring the devices to work exclusively with the ADT Pulse application.

But prosecutors said that Aviles strayed from company policy, and started adding his personal email address to clients ADT Pulse accounts.

Prosecutors said Aviles accessed more than 200 customer's home CCTV systems on more than 9,600 occasions...

Aviles was charged in April 2020 and pleaded guilty yesterday.

He currently faces a sentence of as long as five years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000, as indicated by court archives. . He was conditionally released earlier this week.

ADT notified its customers of the incident when they became aware. The New York Post revealed that the organization attempted to persuade clients to consent to a privacy arrangement in return for money, so word of Aviles' activities wouldn't hit the web.

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Martin Tello
Silicon Valley News Team

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While AirBNB Goes Full Paranoia Mode, Canceling DC Reservations For The Inauguration - Competitor VRBO Steps In...

VRBO has no plans to cancel reservations in the DC area during the inauguration next week, although competitor Airbnb has already done so.

VRBO first reported in a blog post on Friday afternoon that it was "encouraging" hosts to cancel bookings during that time "if they believed a guest was violating their policies but stopped short of blanket cancellation.

Following the January 6th attack on the Capitol, officials said they encouraged Americans to "virtually attend" the inauguration. 

VRBO confirmed in his blog post that officials reported "the potential for violence and armed protests" in DC and in state capitals over the coming weeks. "The safety of our guests and hosts is of the utmost importance to us," says the blog post. “If you plan to travel during this time, please follow local regulations and check the latest news for updates. “

Airbnb is blocking all reservations in the Washington, DC area during Housewarming Week. Airbnb announced that there were reports of "armed militia and known hate groups" wanting to come to DC. 

So They Did What Anyone Would Do... Assume All Their Customers Were Nazis. 

Existing Airbnb reservations were canceled in order to issue guests full refunds, and Airbnb said this would Compensate hosts - the owners of the rental property - for the amount they would have made for the canceled bookings. 

Airbnb had previously said it was working to ban members of the mafia who attacked the Capitol from its platform and had banned some people who were part of the mafia or were connected to hate groups.


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Author: Garrett Kain
Silicon Valley Newsroom

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What's Up With WhatsApp?! Company Gives More Details On How Much Data They'll Collect, To Help 'Confused' Users.

WhatsApp has extended the deadline by which its two billion users must either agree to its updated terms and conditions or stop using the service.

The original deadline was February 8, but users now have until the 15th. May to act.

They want to end any "confusion" about their stance...

Since the announcement and notifications have been broadcast on its platform, millions of people around the world have downloaded alternative encrypted messaging apps such as Signal and Telegram.

Originally, WhatsApp said personal messages have always been encrypted and will be kept private, adding that its practice of sharing certain user data with Facebook was nothing new, and was not going to be extended.

 "The update includes new options that people will have for messaging a business on WhatsApp, and provides greater transparency on the how we collect and use data” he said. 

In an FAQ article, WhatsApp explained that the data it already shares with other Facebook companies includes: phone number and other information provided during registration (such as name)  information about your phone, including make, model and mobile company your IP address, which indicates the location of your internet connection  all payments and financial transactions made through WhatsApp.

However, this does not apply in Europe and the UK, where privacy laws already ban some of the practices.

So, what WhatsApp is doing seems pretty clear - now decide if you're willing to be a part of it. 

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Martin Tello
Silicon Valley News Team

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There's A New, High Tech, Anti-Virus 'Smart Mask' That People May Actually WANT To Wear....

It's called Project Hazel and it was developed by Razer. It is the world's smartest mask and it just debuted at CES 2021.

Designed to provide a safe, social, sustainable, comfortable, and personalized experience, it gives the wearer the highest degree of safety and peace of mind with the best quality of life enhancements.

Considering masks and cell phones are the two things everyone has with them when they leave the house, it's no surprise people are already looking for their own "mask 2.0".  

Unfortunately, they'll still have to wait since this isn't for sale to the public yet.

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