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Annasha

Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more

THEATRICAL

TROLLS WORLD TOUR’S DIRECT JUMP TO VOD PLATFORMS QUESTIONS THE RESPECT OF THEATRICAL WINDOW

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Movie theatres are the conventional and most authentic ways of releasing movies. The advent of Netflix has brought a tad bit of changes in how the entertainment industry works nowadays. But, irrespective of all the VOD platforms, the impact of a theatrical release hits the market with unbound thrust. Unfortunately, some of the renowned film studios are failing to respect the principles of the cinematic world. According to Regal Cinemas (owned by Cineworld), Universal has shown disrespect to the theatrical window. The release of the Trolls World Tour directly on digitally exclusive platforms skipping the theatrical window has raised many questions. Cineworld warned Universal of its desperate actions without paying hit to the customary theatrical release. On the other hand, infuriated AMC theatres decided to bar all the Universal movies for their unapologetic attitude.

Reaching customers directly

The decision of reaching directly to the customers has caused tension and sour relationship between film studios and movie theatres. But, it seems like the Universal haven’t taken the warning much seriously and justified their decision. Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, said that the company didn’t consider theatrical release. They directly decided to reach out to the customers through VOD platforms. The consequence of this act might cost beyond prediction during the post-pandemic phase.

trolls world tour 2020
Image Source: Google

 Odeon Cinemas, a part of the AMC Company in the United Kingdom has also banned Universal. Movies are supposed to remain within the boundaries of theatres for 90 days. But, Universal bypassing the procedure of movie theatre release streamed it in the digital window. It is natural to growing concern among the film studios due to the shutdown of cinema halls due to the outbreak of COVID-19. But, while the other film studios wanted to negotiate about shortening the time of 90 days, Universal responded differently.

Trolls World Tour made millions without theatres

The other film studios have asked to shorten the period due to the crisis. But, they will be again back to following the normal policies when everything becomes normal. The response of Universal was different though. It is planning to carry out both theatrical release and direct-to-consumer distribution models. They said their action will take courses depending on what is better for the company and its audience.

Universal has got a strong point to make as the recent release of the Trolls World Tour brought almost $100 million in house. And, the company was able to make such a large amount of money without any theatrical release. The film made this much money within the last three weeks through digital sales. It has brought a serious threat to the movie theatres and their existence. The largest cinema chain in the United States, AMC Theatres are standing bereft of any revenue generation currently. Moreover, with people locked up in their houses, Netflix and Disney Plus have turned out to be strong rivals.

Importance of theatrical release

Though the digital era has come upon us, the primitive way of movie screening is still appreciated. The movie theatres have witnessed a lot of changes during the past century. But, that doesn’t mean eradicating the movie theatres from the face of the entertainment industry. And, during this crisis, both the film studios and cinema chain should cooperate and try to maintain peace. Companies are so tensed about the economic condition, that they are making desperate moves.

Universal has said that they believe in the authentic theatrical experience and have no statements on the contrary. But, seeing the great demand and enthusiasm for the movie among the audience, they released it digitally. They also believe that they made the right move and consider it in the future as well. But, with movies going straight to digital platforms, they are losing money and respect.

Other upcoming movies

While AMC banned the Universal, it isn’t only Trolls World Tour that escaped the theatrical release. Scoob, a Warner Bros movie is also being released on video on demand before it is streamed on HBO max. Disney has also moved Artemis Fowl to a Disney Plus exclusive without considering playing it at the theatres. If gradually all the blockbusters get shifted to the digital platform, the cinema chains will be in serious threat.

The biggest upcoming movies during the next couple of years, F9 and the third installment of the Jurassic World franchise have a ray of hope for theatres. But, both of them are Universal movies. So, it would be a loss for the theatres if they don’t allow them for theatrical release.

THUAN PHAM

THUAN PHAM, CTO OF UBER DECIDED TO RESIGN FROM THE COMPANY

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Many companies are facing the biggest loss in their history due to the outbreak of COVID-19. And, one of the badly hit companies is those associated with transportation. The lockdown has caused a major cease in the transportation business, shaking them up like anything. In this crisis, they cannot find another way to continue their business as the shutdown is active around the globe. Uber is facing one of the toughest times since the journey of the company started. The devastating outcomes of the pandemic started hitting them from March. Core members of the company are deciding on a 20% layoff, but nothing is official yet. Amongst this chaos, Thuan Pham, the current CTO of the company announced his resignation yesterday.

What Thuan Pham has to say?

Thuan was one of the company’s executives that served for a very long time. He joined Uber in 2013 and bid goodbye after seven years. But, what is the reason behind his departure? The media didn’t spot any light about his planning on departure earlier. This means the decision might be all of a sudden or he just kept it to himself.

He informed the company about his decision to resign on 24th April 2020 effective as of 16th May 2020. While making his resigning statements, Thuan mentioned that the engineering team of Uber is at peak performance and productivity. So, he is relieved to sign off at a situation when Uber has a strongly built system and proper stability. He also said the team is ready to face every threat or challenge that the future awaits and he is proud of being a part of it.

The company under Thuan Pham’s leadership

Thuan became a part of the company in 2013 when CTO Travis Kalanick brought him into the house. He has lasted more than Kalanick’s serving time at the company who was forced to resign in 2018. Pham was a very intelligent student who struggled a lot to reach the pinnacle of his career. He fled from Vietnam with his family at a very young age and spent almost a year at a camp in Indonesia.  

But, luckily his intelligence ended him up at the doorsteps of MIT. He worked with HP for many years followed by Silicon Graphics. Before joining Uber, he worked at VMWare for eight years. In Uber, Thuan made the best engineering team possible and made more than $200 million from Uber’s 2019 IPO.

But, this is not the first time that an executive is resigning from the company all of a sudden. It is impressive to witness Thuan leaving in good terms as many of them fall victim to the scandal. Ryan Graves, one of the first employees of Uber discontinued his service last May and Eric Alexander, Uber’s president of business in Asia was fired in 2017 with serious charges. These are only a few examples of scandals that have affected the reputation of the company.

Cutting off employees due to the company’s loss

But, the company’s biggest news is not only the resignation of its CTO but also a 20% layoff. The information about the company planning to cut costs first came from The Information. And, they are planning to do it by cutting off the employees. When asked an Uber spokesperson refused to enlighten the audience about the 20% layoff. But, the spokesperson mentioned that they are trying to fix the current situation and come out of the crisis becoming stronger. The company is suffering a huge setback exclusively due to the novel coronavirus. It is crystal clear that it will cut off cost anyway.

The planning for the employee cutoff has been going on for a few weeks now. When everything is finalized it will affect 20% of 27,000 employees of Uber which will consist of 800 from Thuan’s team. Due to the pandemic, Uber expects an impairment charge of $2.2 billion in the first quarter. The current CTO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, mentioned that the gross booking of Uber in major cities went down by 70%. The situation is getting worse as the newly acquired food delivery brand; Uber Eats is unable to make up for the losses.

If everything goes haywire, the company has made a model for it as well. It is called “an extreme edge case” in which trip generation falls to 80%. The company said that it will still be able to come out of this crisis with $4 billion in unrestricted cash at the end of the year.

Google Search Console

A SMALL YET SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT APPEARED IN GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE

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Every company is striving to make its product better and user-friendly. Some software or websites might work in complex ways, but a simple user-interface is better for any online platform. So, in responding to recent feedback from users of the Google search engine, the company decided to add a new feature. Yesterday, the company’s official webmasters tweeted that now there will be an additional icon to copy the URL.

The announcement 

Google’s webmasters officially announced that an additional icon has been added to the Google Search Console to copy a URL. The icon will appear when the user hovers over the URL. By simply clicking it, copying the URL to the clipboard takes place. So, now there will be three icons while you hover over a URL, namely, open in a new tab, inspect element, and the newly added “copy to clipboard”.

The webmasters have said that they received suggestions from many people for a long time. So, the company has finally made this change to their website. They are expecting a rapid increase in productivity after the addition of this new feature.

Advantage of the new icon

Though this slight modification may look very negligible, many of us will be benefited. Honestly, we can all save some time as we don’t need to highlight it and copy it. This will boost our productivity at many levels, and also hovering over and copying is much more time-efficient. Now that the feature has rolled out, it is surprising to think how such a basic feature wasn’t introduced at the very beginning.

Many people, especially the SEO community have demanded this tiny modification for a long time. Some of them have also tweeted about it. The SEO experts are very happy when they finally see it getting added to the Google Search Console.

Tweets from SEO experts

Fili Wiese, a renowned SEO expert, and author at Search Engine Land tweeted about it last night. He said that continuous request to Google for adding this simple basic feature has finally paid off. He is also a former employee of Google. Another SEO strategist, Benas Leonavicius tweeted that he was waiting for ages for this one simple icon.

Positive Response and Feedback

Apart from the SEO experts and the publishers, many users have said that it will improve the workflow. The overall productivity will be increased to a great extent due to this new feature. Moreover, it is not only the “copy to clipboard” option that can increase the quality of workflow. Since the three icons can be displayed if a user hovers over, all functions can be performed quickly. It is the opinion of many analysts that when they needed to click the inspect element, it disrupted the flow of analysis. But, that won’t be happening anymore.

The flow of work is very important at any professional level. So, lack of certain tools that can disrupt the work quality is a disgrace in today’s world. The fact that Google has finally decided to include this new feature will be very advantageous for the working community. Because with a better user experience the positivity of a working culture increases as well.

Gates

The Gates Foundation is Solely Working To Fight Off This Pandemic Dropping Other Important Projects

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The Gates Foundation has been working for twenty years now. There are three trustees of the foundation, namely, Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett. For the past twenty years, the prime goal of the foundation has been eradicating poverty, improving healthcare facilities, enhancing educational developments, etc. The Gates Foundation is the world’s largest private foundation having assets worth more than $40 billion.

The foundation shows a great deal of interest in fighting infectious diseases and donates a significant amount of money for the same. And, currently, the outbreak of novel coronavirus has successfully secured the foundation’s attention. Gates has declared a donation of $250 million to fight the global pandemic and also leveraging partnerships to put an end to this mayhem.

Every life is important

The Gates Foundation works for many projects in the field of smart e-learning, educational scholarship, hygiene projects, agricultural developments, etc. But, due to the pandemic, the foundation will be exclusively working to fight off this infectious disease. Though the consequences will be disastrous in the upcoming years, the foundation should stick to its true motive. The foundation also said that every life is equal and unless and until the disease is wiped out, we should fight to stop it.

The Donation

During an outbreak of infectious disease, it is not only the medical care that the world needs. The necessities for the poor people, proper protection for the medical professionals, etc has to be taken care of as well. The Gates Foundation donated the money especially for diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics. It is mainly focusing on the African and South Asian health system conditions and working for their upliftment.

It is also working to dilute the social and economic impact of the disease in developing countries. The Gates Foundation has collaborated with WHO and some other healthcare organizations around the world to fight coronavirus. Bill Gates also said the WHO needs us more than ever now. So, we should support WHO during this pandemic instead of not having its back. He also made a tweet about it saying that the gesture of Donald Trump suspending funds for WHO is not an appreciable one during such a crisis.

Proper usage of resources 

During a pandemic, a lot of sectors need special attention. But, since the economically backward people are hit the most, the foundation has decided to donate for their well-being mostly. The foundation is working according to a theory called “catalytic philanthropy”. Since it is a non-profit foundation, it just focuses on the development and proper nourishment of the society and expects nothing in return. So, while they delve deeper into protecting the poor people, the government can focus on how to save the economy henceforth.

The struggle is tougher for the poorest of communities. This is because they are mostly daily wage laborers. So, if their main source of income is cut off, chances are they might starve to death. So, even if they are not the victim of this infectious disease, they are the victims of poverty. This is the reason, Gates targeted the African countries, some of the Asian countries, and poor U.S. communities for serving basic needs.

Better R&D facilities

The Gates Foundation has co-founded Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation in 2017. This is helping to accelerate the testing of vaccines and new potential treatments through the COVID-19 Therapeutic Accelerator. The rate at which trial of vaccines work is relatively much slower than the rate at which the disease spreads. So, the foundation is trying its best to make necessary developments, so that once a medicine is created (preventive or cure) it can be mass-produced. Because inventing a vaccine or cure is useless if that can’t be reached to the affected once. So, it should be affordable as well.

Accusations 

A few weeks ago, common citizens of Europe and America went violent burning down cell towers. And, many people have linked Bill Gates and the infectious disease along with 5G networks. Social media was flooded with criticism of how Bill Gates has caused a pandemic for his interests. Though this man and his foundation are trying so hard to help people during the crisis, allegations are never-ending.

Back in 2015, Bill Gates in one of his interviews said that even nuclear war is not as much a threat to humanity as an infectious disease. Now, people are trying to use that comment against him to try to prove he conspired such a pandemic.

TDK CORPORATION

TDK CORPORATION- ONE OF THE LEADING ELECTRONIC COMPANIES IN JAPAN

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Many Japanese companies have transformed from small scale industries to business tycoons over time. The quality of work and employees, both are highly appreciable in Japan. Moreover, the country has made some exceptional developments and pushed its threshold over the past century. With electronics and telecommunication reaching higher potential, a Japanese company, TDK Corporation unleashed its true power.

The establishment of TDK Corporation took place back in 1935 in Shiba-Ku, Tokyo city. The company developed soon after Yogoro Kato and Takeshi Takei invented the magnetic material, Ferrite. So, TDK Corporation received the patent for producing the world’s first ferrite cores and that’s how the journey began. Currently, the TDK headquarters are based on Nihonbashi, Tokyo. And, the company’s main products are electronic components, power supplies, and sensors.

The Founding History of TDK Corporation

In 1930, the invention of the ferrous magnetic material, ferrite took place. And, after a few years, the launch of the company, Tokyo Denki Kagaku Kogyo K. K. (Tokyo Electric Chemical Industry Co. Ltd) took place. The company received the patent of it and thus started the production of ferrite. The CRT tubes of television used the ferrite for deflection in yoke cores. Thus, the production increased and common people started buying televisions.

Expansion through the early 1900s

In 1937, Tokyo established the Kamata Plant as with the demand for colored movies, the demand for ferrite ores increased. After a couple of years, the Japanese Naval Institute of Technology expressed its interest in the product for use in marine radios. So, another plant was constructed in Hirasawa-Cho. In April 1945, the production came to a halt due to an accident in the Kamata plant.

And, when it restarted late in the same year, the company showed interest in the modern communication industry. In the late 1940s transistors came into the market and the production increased for IF transformer cores. In 1951, the company also started the production of ceramic capacitors. For the next few years, new types of capacitors were designed for some of the world’s new inventions. This led to the establishment of another plant for the company for producing hard disk drives.

Growth in the international market 

In 1961, the company was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for the first time. The company made a breakthrough when it introduced “Synchro Cassette Tapes” in 1966. Everyone loves music and with this new product, TDK grabbed everyone’s attention. During this time, TDK expanded its business to the USA and established an office in New York. Also, in 1968 the world witnessed the development of TDK Taiwan Corporation followed by entering the European market in 1970.

For the next decade, many new products were launched including multilayer ceramic chip capacitors, switching power supplies, multilayer chip inductors, etc. With every new invention in the world, a product of TDK rolled out in the market. In 1982, the company got listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the next year the company’s name changed to TDK Corporation. Before the company rushed into a new century, it opened a subsidiary in China and acquired SAE Magnetics, a Hong Kong-based company.

The digital era

In 2000, the company acquired Headway Technologies, a company based in the United States. The company also acquired a polymer lithium battery manufacturing company, Amperex Technology in 2005. The same year, TDK also acquired the Lambda Power Division, a part of a London-based business. After a couple of years, Imation Corporation acquired the sales department of TDK brand recording media.

In 2008, the company acquired a German-based company, EPCOS. The next decade started with TDK implementing its Environmental Action 2020 Plan. In 2014, TDK stepped back from the recording media business. And, the first product of TDK, that is, ferrite was recognized as one of the top 100 innovations in Japan after the war.

2016 witnessed the acquisition of two companies, namely Micronas Semiconductor Holdings AG and Hutchinson Technology Inc. The company came into a joint venture with Qualcomm in 2017. Faraday Semi LLC is the latest acquisition of TDK Corporation. The company also has its museum which reopened in 2017 after renewal.

Future Plans

The company is currently focusing on automotive products and wants to decrease the sale of mobile phones. Shigenao Ishiguro, CEO, and President of TDK Corporation said that it is not very productive to invest in a product that has already reached a saturation point of innovation. The company is currently working on several automotive projects especially focusing on magnetic sensors.

Sharp

TOKUJI HAYAKAWA- A SUCCESSFUL JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN WHO FOUNDED SHARP CORPORATION

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We have heard many stories about big businessmen and how they achieved success. Though the path of success is never an easy one, few of us always have some privilege. And, it is truly an advantage to be a part of a financially affluent family and pursue your dreams. Because, the ones who are suffering from poverty, cannot dare dream big. But, many people have overcome the obstacles and harsh adversities of life. They are now successful and remembered as some of the inspiring personalities. Tokuji Hayakawa, a successful Japanese businessman started from nothing and built a masterpiece empire. He founded the company Sharp Corporation. But, before that, he invented a belt buckle that can be fastened without perforating and “Ever-Ready Sharp” mechanical pencil. This invention led to the establishment of his own company. And, currently, Sharp Corporation witnesses annual revenue of more than ¥2 trillion. He founded the company in 1912 in Japan. It now serves people worldwide.

Early life struggles

Born into a family in 1893 in Tokyo, Tokuji suffered from a great family crisis. Later, he came to know that an Ideno family adopted him. His family went through a tough time, and due to poverty, Tokuji was unable to complete his basic education. He left schooling when he was studying in the second standard. And, to meet the need of his family he started working for an ornament maker.

But, even if he was quenched with the sadness of not being able to go to school, he worked hard. Tokuji’s hardworking nature and sheer interest led him to learn new skills very quickly. And, with time he gained the trust of his master.

The invention of “Tokubijo”

In the 19th century, the demand for belts suddenly increased. Because, previously, it was only boys who used the belt for trousers. And, with the advent of new fashion styles, the craze for belts increased for both men and women. This caught Tokuji’s attention one day as he saw the belt of a film actor had come undone. This gave him the idea to invent a new kind of belt that can be fastened to any length.

After he came up with this new kind of belt, his master pushed him to launch a patent and the outcome was surprisingly good. The demand for this type of belt increased and he decided to go independent. Thus, in 1912 he opened his industry to carry out the production and started hiring laborers.

The business world

After he established his business in 1912, it came to know as Hayakawa Metal Works in 1924. In 1913, he received a patent of a water faucet which turned the future of his business. After a couple of years, he was able to come up with a prototype of a sharp mechanical pencil from which it got its name. Eventually, Tokuji expanded his business in the sphere of electronics manufacturing, televisions, calculators, home appliances, etc.

Sharp Corporation

The main products and technologies of the company include LCD panels, solar panels, mobile phones, air conditioners, CMOS and CCD sensors, flash memory, and many more. The company, for the first time, started producing televisions in 1953. In 1964, the company built the world’s first transistor calculator. The company’s name was changed to Sharp Corporation in 1970.

In 2000, the company’s mobile communication division launched the world’s first commercial camera phone. The company gained so much popularity that it stood as a strong competitor for Apple and Sony. In 2007, the company acquired a part of Pioneer Corporation and in 2009 they came into a joint venture.

After the company celebrated its 100th anniversary, it hit the biggest loss in its history. Due to this, the company was a force to cut jobs, and finally, it bounced back in 2014 making a net positive profit. In 2013, Samsung invested in Sharp Corporation. Currently, the company has responded to the crisis of COVID-19 pandemic. And, it will be producing surgical masks inside one of its TV factories.

Awards and Honors

Tokuji has been the recipient of many prestigious awards both from his homeland and abroad. He received the Medal of Honor with Blue Ribbon in 1960 and Award from the City of Osaka in 1968. In the 1970s, Tokuji received Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star, Second Class, Okochi Production Award, Osaka Cultural Awards, and so on. He passed away at the age of eighty-six.