Amazon introduced a new Kindle.

Amazon is introducing an entirely new lineup of Kindle devices, including the first-ever color Kindle, a reimagined Kindle Scribe, the fastest Kindle Paperwhite ever, and a new entry Kindle in a fun, new Matcha color.

The new Kindle Scribe offers a first-of-its-kind in-book writing experience and a more powerful notetaking experience. With Active Canvas, you can write your thoughts directly in the book when inspiration strikes. Your note becomes part of the page, and the book text dynamically flows around it—if you increase the font size, change the font style, or the book layout changes, the note remains visible exactly where you want it so you never lose any meaning or context.

Coming soon, you’ll also be able to write your notes in the side panel and easily hide them when you are done. The all-new, built-in AI-powered notebook enables you to quickly summarize pages and pages of notes into concise bullets in a script font that can be easily shared directly from the notebook tab.

Apple plans to overtake Amazon in developing home devices.

For years, Apple Inc. has sold the go-to devices for our pockets, wrists, backpacks and desks. But it has struggled to achieve that kind of success in other key areas: the car, the face and the home.

But now the company is setting out to conquer the smart home with an aggressive new strategy: putting Apple screens and software throughout the house in a way that creates an end-to-end experience. The renewed effort follows years of mediocre performance in this category, with Amazon. com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google taking the lead. One reason Apple has struggled is its focus on making premium products that work in a closed ecosystem. That hasn’t been an effective strategy in the smart home, where consumers want equipment that can work with a wide range of other products.

For Apple’s next slate of home hardware to be successful, it has to support as many accessories as possible — and the company is preparing to do just that. It helped develop a smart home protocol called Matter that allows Amazon, Google and Apple devices to all play nicely together.

Amazon announced financial results for its second quarter 2024.

Net sales increased 10% to $148 billion in the second quarter, compared with $134 billion in second quarter 2023. Excluding the $1 billion unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 11% compared with second quarter 2023.

North America segment sales increased 9% year-over-year to $90.0 billion. International segment sales increased 7% year-over-year to $32 billion, or increased 10% excluding changes in foreign exchange rates. AWS segment sales increased 19% year-over-year to $26 billion.

A Bitcoiner sued the city mayor for $647 million for banning trash dumping.

About 10 years ago, the guy's ex-girlfriend accidentally threw away his hard drive with 8,000 bitcoins, which are now valued at half a billion dollars. And for many years now, he has been coming to the city landfill in search of the lost disk.

The man has assembled a whole team of “gold miners” who turn over the landfill day and night, but the city mayor recently officially forbade him from going there.

Amazon has started building mini nuclear power plants.

Data centers consume energy like Netflix consumes your evening — continuously and without remorse. Wind turbines and solar panels? That's last century. Amazon, Google, Microsoft — they’re all in on it: small nuclear reactors (SMRs) are now the main characters in the technological drama.

$500 million. All for what? So that your cat photos keep loading in the cloud. By 2039 — 5,000 megawatts. For reference, that’s the amount of energy needed for an entire city with a population of 2.5 million people in a single day! Not a month, not a year — a day. Imagine — a whole metropolis powered by nuclear energy, all just to keep your servers from overheating and to ensure AI continues generating pictures for you.

Amazon helps fight cybercriminals.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed criminal charges against two leaders of a highly disruptive cybercriminal operation, which targeted hospitals, government agencies, telecommunications services, cloud providers, and a range of other organizations.

The DOJ acknowledged contributions from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its security experts to the effort to bring the leaders of this group, named Anonymous Sudan, to justice. Anonymous Sudan is one of dozens of cybercrime-for-hire operations that AWS security teams have been instrumental in disrupting over the past two years. This group, in particular, deployed distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks for money.

A Seattle entrepreneur shared how he works with Amazon.

For six years now, the entrepreneur from Seattle has been working with the Amazon Flex program.

Amazon Flex is a program that allows individuals to work with Amazon as independent contractors to deliver packages. Drivers can sign up for the program, using their own vehicles to deliver orders. They have access to a mobile app where they can choose delivery blocks (typically 2-4 hours) and deliver packages to customers.

Amazon Flex workers can deliver various items, including:

📍Packages from local Amazon distribution centers,
📍Groceries and items from Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods,
📍Products from other Amazon partner services.

This allows people to earn flexibly by choosing convenient working hours, with pay depending on the number of packages delivered and the time spent on deliveries.

Amazon has stocked an Advent calendar for fishermen.

This advent calendar for adult teens contains 10 hard lures, 8pcs spoon lures, 6pcs soft lure worm. Each day unveils a thrilling, high-quality bait, promising an unforgettable December.

Chinese Hackers Broke Crypto — and no, this is not just a sensational headline.

Scientists from China, using a quantum computer, have cracked algorithms used in the banking sector and cryptocurrency.

They employed the quantum annealing method and attacked AES-256, one of the most secure encryption standards today.

Experts are raising alarms: the threat is real, and by 2027, quantum machines could be capable of breaking cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin.

Apple admitted its two-year lag in the field of AI.

The company acknowledged that their Apple Intelligence is at least two years behind competitors, according to Apple insider Mark Gurman. According to internal company research, their voice assistant Siri lags behind ChatGPT by 25% in terms of accuracy and question coverage.

Currently, there are three possible ways to close the gap: the company will either develop AI on its own, bring in external developers, or acquire ready-made technologies.

Although Tim Cook claims that for Apple it is more important to be "the best, not the first," the company will need to address this issue in the near future, especially because by 2026 Apple wants to integrate AI into all its devices.

Apple May Halt Vision Pro Production by the End of the Year.

According to The Information, Apple has informed the assembler of Vision Pro headsets about a potential production halt in November. However, the company is leaving open the possibility of resuming production in the future.

It is reported that production of the Vision Pro significantly slowed down as early as the summer, with factories assembling only 1,000 devices per day. This is due to low demand for the devices, driven by their high price and the lack of content for the headset.

Apple has now shifted its focus to developing a budget version of the headset. However, the company does not anticipate overwhelming demand at launch, with plans to produce only 4 million units throughout its lifecycle—half the initial production target for the Vision Pro.

Amazon urged employees dissatisfied with working in the office to quit.

Amazon urged employees dissatisfied with the five-day office work schedule to quit. This message was delivered by Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman, according to CNBC.

During a general meeting at the company’s headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, a representative of one of the largest companies in the world stated that working in the office helps teams interact better and be more efficient.

"At Amazon, we want to work in an environment where we collaborate together, and we believe that this collaborative environment is incredibly important for our innovation and our culture," Garman emphasized.

The company plans to abandon remote work, which was introduced during the pandemic, in order to keep up with competitors like Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google. Initially, Amazon required employees to spend at least three days a week in the office, but in September 2024, it completely eliminated the option to work from home.

Amazon One Medical launches AI tools to help doctors get back to focusing on patient care.

Amazon’s technology teams work hand in hand with Amazon One Medical providers to develop effective, real-world AI solutions that simplify provider workflows while enhancing patient experiences. Amazon One Medical’s proprietary electronic health record system, 1Life, enables Amazon’s technology teams to continuously iterate, test, and refine the tools available to Amazon One Medical providers.

Here are some of the ways Amazon One Medical’s AI technology, powered by AWS generative AI services including Amazon Bedrock and AWS HealthScribe, helps doctors save time:

✅ Visit notes at conversational speed
✅ Medical history, summarized
✅ Responsive patient communication
✅ Seamless care team collaboration

Telegram founder Pavel Durov released several rare Halloween gifts.

Candy: 300,000 pieces — 25 Stars
Potion: 120,000 pieces — 15 Stars
Eye: 120,000 pieces — 15 Stars

Let’s recall that Telegram has allowed the conversion of "Stars" into Toncoin.

Amazon once came up with an interesting product development method called Working Backwards.

You write a press release for a product as if it has already been launched, and you need to present it to news outlets.

Inside, you describe:

Target Audience
Who will use this product? Who is it designed for?

Problem
What problem or customer need does this product solve?

Solution
How exactly does the product solve the stated problem? What are the key features and benefits it offers?

User Experience
What will the product look and feel like for the customer? What will their experience be?

Value
What is the main value of the product for the customer? Why is this product important to them?

How to Get Started
How can the customer obtain and start using the product?

Quote
Includes a quote from a leader or developer that highlights the significance and uniqueness of the product.

Example

Smart Speaker: Amazon Echo
Target Audience
Anyone looking to simplify everyday tasks and improve their life with voice control.

Problem
In today's world, people find it difficult to manage multiple tasks simultaneously. Managing household devices, searching for information online, and organizing personal time can be exhausting and time-consuming.

Solution
Amazon Echo is an innovative device with the voice assistant Alexa, allowing you to control all your devices and access information using simple voice commands.

User Experience
Simply say "Alexa" and ask your question. Amazon Echo will respond, play your favorite music, control smart home devices, create to-do lists, set alarms and reminders, and provide many other useful features.

Value
Amazon Echo saves your time and simplifies everyday tasks. It’s a convenient and multifunctional assistant that is always ready to free up your time for more important matters.

How to Get Started
Simply connect the device to Wi-Fi, download the Alexa app on your smartphone, and follow the easy setup instructions.

Quote
"Amazon Echo is more than just a smart device. It's your personal voice assistant that makes your life easier and more convenient. With Alexa, you can focus on what truly matters."
— John Smith, Vice President of Product Development at Amazon.

In Summary
On a single page of a press release, you focus on user needs and experience, creating a valuable and desirable product.

Overall, the Working Backwards approach from Amazon can be a good tool for task description. Yes, you’ll need to put in some thought and effort at the start, but it saves you from disappointment later with a weak product in production.

Amazon’s investments contribute to local communities across the United States.

A recent study from Oxford Economics examined counties nationwide with significant employer investments and featured an Amazon facility in Wilmington, Delaware, as a case study.

Oxford Economics’ analysis concluded the following:

New business formation increased by 3.6%. For the average county, that means nearly 100 additional businesses were formed in the five years after a large company invests in a given area.

More people are working. Unemployment went down and labor-force participation went up. The average county in the study with large company investments saw a sustained 0.4 percentage point decrease in unemployment and a 2.1 percentage point increase in labor-force participation. Not only were the unemployed getting jobs, but people who had dropped out of the labor force were being drawn back in, potentially by the renewed economic climate.

Violent crime dropped by nearly 10%. Counties with large business investments saw an 8.1% decrease in violent crime over five years, which Oxford Economics cites may be linked to decreased unemployment.

Wages increased by an average of almost $630 annually. Employee earnings in counties that saw investments increased by an average of 1.4%, demonstrating a link between corporate investment and improved incomes.

People moved off public health insurance like Medicaid, and onto their own insurance. Invested-in counties saw an average increase of 1.3 percentage points in private insurance coverage, which equates to nearly 1,200 people per county—suggesting that the boost in jobs and opportunity is making fewer people rely on assistance from Medicaid and other social welfare programs.

The Russian company Wildberries intends to compete with Amazon.

There are two strong players in the UAE — Amazon and Noon. We don’t compare ourselves to them, but we see our advantage in our strategy of opening pick-up points, which currently don’t exist in this country.

Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim

The Netherlands topped the ranking for the share of e-commerce users in Europe.

Starting our review of the comprehensive European E-Commerce Report 2024, which is divided into sections according to geographic regions. But first, let's look at the pan-European data.

✅ Percentage of adult Europeans who made online purchases in 2023: 71%. For 2024, this is forecasted to reach 72%.

✅Total European e-commerce turnover (excluding Estonia) could reach €958 billion this year.

✅This represents an 8% year-over-year increase in absolute terms and a 5% increase accounting for inflation.

✅Given that the previous two years saw online sales growth lagging behind inflation, this is a positive outlook.

Country Breakdown

✅The highest e-commerce user percentages are in the Netherlands (92%), Norway (91%), and Denmark (89%).

✅Leading countries in terms of people buying from local sellers: Serbia (98%), Romania (96%), and Albania and Bulgaria (both at 95%).

✅Those who most frequently buy from sellers within the EU are in Cyprus (81%), Luxembourg (70%), and Austria (69%).

✅Top countries for purchases outside the EU are Malta (55%), Cyprus (47%), and Ireland (37%).

What Europeans are Buying

✅In the past three months, 98% of EU residents purchased at least one physical item online.

✅The most common categories include fashion items (70%), food delivery (30%), cosmetics (28%), and home and garden items (26%).

✅Additionally, subscriptions to services (48%), tickets to events (36%), and movies or TV shows (35%) are also frequently bought online.

Western Europe is the most important region for European e-commerce.

We continue our review of the European E-Commerce Report 2024, focusing now on regional data.

Western Europe Overview
In 2023, this region generated 64% of all European e-commerce revenue, amounting to €613 billion. It also ranks second in terms of e-commerce user share at 82% (forecasted to reach 83% in 2024).

🇧🇪 Belgium
The percentage of online buyers in 2024 could reach 76%. Most purchases are made locally (84%) or on other EU markets (62%). Significant e-commerce growth is mainly driven by tours, event tickets, and transportation services. Belgian retailers and manufacturers are increasingly launching their own B2B marketplaces, such as BEES by AB InBev.

🇫🇷 France
The e-commerce customer share here is higher than in Belgium (78%), but the share of those preferring local and EU sellers is lower (76% and 39%, respectively). The French online market has reached a significant level of maturity, yet growth in the grocery segment is driven by price-sensitive consumers.

🇩🇪 Germany
Germany is one of the few countries where the share of online buyers was notably higher in the past (79% in 2024 vs. 83% in 2020). Most Germans prefer buying from local sellers (79%).

The e-commerce market here is contracting due to simultaneous increases in prices and wages, leading Germans to save rather than spend. A noticeable trend is the shift of local consumers to budget goods from Chinese marketplaces like Temu.

🇮🇪 Ireland
The e-commerce customer percentage has been stable since 2021 — 87%. The frequency of local purchases is lower than in most other countries (74%). Irish retail is increasingly adopting AI and AR technologies, and Irish consumers are shifting from UK platforms to continental ones.

🇱🇺Luxembourg
The share of online buyers is declining (79% in 2024 vs. 80% in 2023 and 81% in 2021-2022). The most common destinations for purchases are neighboring EU countries (70%).

🇳🇱Netherlands
The Netherlands has the highest share of e-commerce users (93% in 2024). Most prefer local sellers (92%). The proportion of online and offline sales has remained stable over recent years. Online players are voluntarily taking on environmental commitments ahead of the implementation of new "green" regulations.

🇬🇧United Kingdom
The percentage of online buyers here reaches 91%.

A rising star has appeared in the TON universe.

Chick Coop is building a SocialFi experience on TON blockchain, starting with a simple yet strategic farming game. It’s more than just a game—it’s the beginning of a SocialFi Gameverse. Chick Coop’s vision is to create a fun, easy-to-play game that encourages healthy competition among individuals and teams.

Players can click, hatch, and upgrade their way to victory in Chick Coop. The game is about tending to virtual farms and earning rewards through the Play to Earn Airdrop model. Players can receive mini-airdrops throughout their gameplay and enjoy a larger reward at the end of their farming journey.

It seems that a new hero is set to replace the hamster from Hamster Kombat. We predict that soon, marketplaces will be filled with t-shirts and caps featuring the chick.