Max, a.k.a. “Mr Goxx”, the hamster that found Internet fame through outperforming many human cryptocurrency-traders, has died.

Experiment With ‘Wheel’ Results

The hamster’s life as a crypto trader was down to him being used as part of an experiment by an anonymous German lecturer and prototyping specialist duo who set out to demonstrate the randomness of the crypto markets.

How?

Max’s cage (“office”) contained an ‘intention wheel’ used to select different crypto-currencies, and two tunnels, one for ‘buying’ and one for ‘selling’. A run on the wheel, followed by which tunnel he chose to walk through, decided which cryptocurrency would be bought/sold. His ‘office floor’ activities were shown on ‘Twitch’ (a video live streaming service).

Live Fast, Die Young

The hamster’s financial predictions only began in June this year but in his short time as an unsuspecting crypto-trader, he occasionally came out slightly ahead of Bitcoin, gained followers around the world on Twitter, and even attracted the attention of multi-billionaire Elon Musk.

Finished On A High

Following his last trading session on 20 November, Mr. Goxx was reported to have been up 19.72 per cent, apparently outperforming Warren Buffet’s company, Berkshire Hathaway.

The Point

The duo behind the experiment, who always stressed that Mr Goxx’s predictions should not be taken as any kind of real financial advice, were making the point that for most people, the world of cryptocurrencies is baffling, and lacks transparency. For example, the pair are quoted as saying that “It seems like most people from our generation see no other chance than throwing a lot of their savings on the crypto market, without having a clue what’s going on there”.

One-Third of Investors Know Little To Nothing About Crypto

The point of the Mr Goxx experiment is also illustrated by a report from Cardify (March 2021) which showed that only 16.9 per cent of investors who have bought cryptocurrency “fully understand” its value and potential. The survey also showed that 33.5 per cent of buyers have either little or zero knowledge about cryptocurrencies and would describe their understanding of the subject as “emerging.”

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Many businesses are likely to share the view that despite much of the hype and news about the benefits and the apparent volatility of cryptocurrencies to date, there is still a lack of clear information and guidance about how crypto-currency investment can be undertaken successfully, and how it can be used to benefit businesses. Whereas blockchain (the technology behind cryptocurrencies like bitcoin) is already being used successfully in multiple business sectors, if the random choices of a hamster can outperform the deliberate moves of renowned investors business, trust in crypto-trading is likely to remain very low, scepticism will remain high, and all things crypto-currency are likely to remain a mystery. For those businesses already involved or thinking of getting involved in crypto-currency investment, some of the suggested guidance includes setting limits on investment amounts and which currencies, having a diverse portfolio, taking a long-term view, as well as using automated purchases, and possibly using trading bots. Without the knowledge and understanding of crypto-currencies, however, many may be tempted to seek the help of professionals in crypto-investment.

Vodafone’s announcement that it aims to deploy self-powered ‘Eco-Tower’ mobile masts across the UK could mean connections for remote areas as well as environmental benefits.

Wind and Solar Powered

The new masts will be self-powered, using wind turbine technology, combined with new solar and battery technologies developed through Vodafone working with renewable energy technology specialist Crossflow Energy over the last two years.

Most Remote Sites Can Now Be Connected

One of the big civil engineering challenges of expanding phone networks with new mast sites has been, up until now, the need to connect them to the grid. Being able to generate their own power on-site, anywhere, means that the new masts are a promising way to provide connections to even very remote areas. This could help people in rural communities and help Vodafone to grow its network while achieving its energy-saving ambitions (reducing Vodafone’s energy consumption), and provide a more environmentally friendly and sustainable solution to connection challenges.

Other Benefits

Vodafone has highlighted other possible benefits of the self-powered Eco-Towers as being:

– Reducing the environmental impact of each site by using locally generated renewable power.

– A reduced reliance on diesel generators for back-up power thanks to the increased renewable contribution from the combination of wind and solar, together with battery storage systems on-site.

– The ability to be sited in the most sensitive of sites, including Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, because of the quiet, bird-friendly turbine of each Eco-Tower.

– A more secure power supply. I.e. it will not be affected by problems associated with the grid.

Helping Vodafone To Meet Targets

The Eco-Towers also provide a way for Vodafone to meet two important targets, which are:

– The Shared Rural Network (SRN) initiative, whereby all four mobile network operators have agreed to deliver 95 per cent combined coverage across the whole of the UK by the end of 2025.

– Vodafone’s own commitments to remove all carbon emissions from its own operations from 2027, remove all carbon emissions from its operations and the energy it purchases (across 21 countries) by 2030, and reduce all its global carbon emissions to net zero by 2040.

Sustainability

Andrea Dona, Chief Network Officer, Vodafone UK, said: “Our approach to managing our network as responsibly as possible is very simple: we put sustainability at the heart of every decision. There is no silver bullet to reducing energy consumption, but each of these steps forward takes us closer to achieving net zero for our UK operations by 2027.”

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

This is likely to be good news for businesses in rural areas that have struggled to get any reliable phone connections due to their distance from the grid, and any masts. It also provides a promising way for Vodafone to meet its environmental targets and commitments, as well offering a source of competitive advantage for Vodafone. The company also plans to deploy a new 43 per cent more energy efficient 5G radio unit which could decrease the energy consumption of its future 5G network once deployed, thereby giving it even more efficient operations going forward. Whilst the environmental and practical benefits of Eco-Towers are clear, Vodafone customers may hope that an expanding network won’t contribute to higher bills and that the efficiencies of the new 5G radio unit may also be a way to keep prices down.

Microsoft Hello offers a way for Windows 10/11 users to get a more personal (and secure) way to instantly access Windows 10 devices using a PIN, facial recognition, or fingerprint. Here’s how to set it up:

– In your device, Select “Start > Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options”.

– Select “Manage how you sign in to your device”.

There are three choices to sign in with Windows Hello:

– Select “Windows Hello Face” to set up facial recognition sign-in with your PC’s infrared camera or an external infrared camera.

– Select “Windows Hello Fingerprint” to set up sign-in with a fingerprint reader.

– Select “Windows Hello PIN” to set up sign-in with a PIN.

Please note: you will need to set up a PIN as part of setting up fingerprint or facial recognition sign-in. The PIN is associated with just one device.

Apple has announced a new ‘Business Essentials’ service that enables small businesses to easily manage every employee’s iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Device Management Solution For Small Businesses

Aimed at business with up to 500 employees, Apple says that ‘Business Essentials’ has been designed to make it easy to manage every aspect of the Apple devices in the customer’s organisation as the organisation grows. Apple says this device management package for small businesses “makes managing Apple devices as easy as using them,” and that it’s “like having the big IT department, without having the big IT department.” Apple says that Business Essentials will allow a small business to easily configure, deploy, and manage Apple products from anywhere.

What Is Included With ‘Business Essentials’?

The service is described as a “complete solution” and includes help with setup, onboarding (described as being “as easy as logging in”), backup (using iCloud), security (built-in), support (24/7 with AppleCare), repairs, and updates. Apple stresses that the service will make it easy to get replacements and update devices.

There is also a new Apple Business Essentials app that employees can use to install apps assigned for work and to request support.

Collections

Within Business Essentials, ‘Collections’ enables IT personnel to configure settings and apps for individual users, groups, or devices. This means that when employees sign in to their corporate or personally owned device with their work credentials, Collections automatically pushes settings such as VPN configurations and Wi-Fi passwords. Also, Collections will install the new Apple Business Essentials app on each employee’s home screen, where they can download corporate apps assigned to them, such as Cisco Webex or Microsoft Word.

Security

Business Essentials allows IT managers to enforce critical security settings such as FileVault for full-disk encryption on Mac, and Activation Lock to protect devices that may be lost or stolen. Apple Business Essentials also ensures these can’t be turned off by mistake. For BYOD, when employees use a personal device at work, ‘User Enrolment’ creates cryptographic separation for work data, to ensure employee data remains private while company data remains secure.

Support and Repairs

Apple says businesses have the option to add fast and reliable service for employee devices with prioritised Apple Support. Also, when a business adds AppleCare+ for Business Essentials to their plan, they will receive 24/7 access to phone support, training for IT administrators and employees, and up to two device repairs per plan each year. One aspect that may be particularly appealing in the world of remote and hybrid work is that with Business Essentials, Employees can initiate repairs directly from the new Apple Business Essentials app, and an Apple-trained technician will come onsite in as little as four hours to fix their device.

When?

Business Essentials is currently only available for small businesses in the U.S. with up to 500 employees but potential users can apply to try Apple Business Essentials before its release in spring 2022 by enrolling here: https://smb.apple.com/essentials/ .

How Much?

There are three different Business Essentials plans available which can be customised to support each user with up to three devices and up to 2TB of secure storage in iCloud, starting at $2.99 per month, with optional AppleCare+ for Apple Business Essentials.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

With many different SMBs now using Apple devices for employees, and perhaps employees using their own Apple devices for work, and businesses operating remote and hybrid working practices, this sounds like a valuable service. Not only does it offer security and control, but the fact that it offers training and support and promises to be easy to set up and operate is likely to make it attractive to many businesses that are getting used to subscription-based everything, and who may not have the tech expertise in-house. It also sounds flexible enough to grow easily with businesses as they expand and change and provides a manageable way for them to move from BYOD (while ensuring data security) to IT deployed. For Apple, it is a way to get more enterprise business, learn more about its SMB customers and their needs going forward, and be immediately on hand when new devices are needed thereby retaining its customers and their loyalty.

‘Right to repair’ campaigners finally had something to celebrate last week as Apple announced its “self-service repair” programme, aimed at “customers who are comfortable with completing their own repairs.”

Initial Phase

Apple says that the initial phase of the programme, beginning in the US early next year, will be for iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models, and will focus on the most commonly serviced modules, such as the iPhone display, battery, and camera.

How Will It Work?

The programme, which Apple says is “intended for individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices” relies firstly on the customer reviewing the Repair Manual. From here, Apple expects the customer to place an order for the necessary Apple genuine parts and tools using the Apple Self Service Repair Online Store. After the repair, any customers who return their used parts for recycling will receive credit toward their purchase.

Access To 200 Parts and Tools

Those choosing to attempt their own repairs via the “Self-Service Repair” programme will join the global network of 5,000 Apple Authorised Service Providers (AASPs) and 2,800 Independent Repair Providers who already have access to Apple parts, tools, and manuals. Those in the initial phase of the programme, however, will only have access, via the new store, to the 200 parts and tools which are commonly used for iPhone 12 and 13 repairs.

Next Phase

The wider roll-out of the programme is due to take place beyond the US to “additional countries” throughout 2022. Apple’s plan for the next phase of the programme is to provide Self-Service Repair for Mac computers featuring M1 chips.

Professional Repairs Still Best For The Majority

In its announcement of the new programme, Apple acknowledged that “For the vast majority of customers, visiting a professional repair provider with certified technicians who use genuine Apple parts is the safest and most reliable way to get a repair.”

Devices To Landfill A Big Problem

Devices such as phones contain precious elements that can be extracted and recycled, but vast numbers of phones simply go to landfill, adding to pollution levels. For example, a recent assessment by the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) showed that 151 million or more phones per year (approximately 416,000 per day) are incinerated or landfilled and that 40 per cent of heavy metals in US landfills come from discarded electronics.

Right To Repair Movement

The ‘right to repair’ movement has grown in recent years with the basic idea being to help tackle built-in obsolescence, thereby prolonging product life cycles, creating better value and saving money for consumers, reducing the number of products going to waste, and helping the environment. There have been calls for rules/legislation to be passed that force manufacturers (e.g., of appliances, electrical products, white goods and more) to make parts (and information) available to end customers, and not just approved/authorised repairers, and technicians, so that it is possible for end-users to fix the product at home.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

In reality, it seems unlikely in what has become a society used to simply “throwing away and replacing” (rather than repairing products) that many users will attempt home repairs on what are relatively complicated, delicate, high-value, and important daily-use items. Nevertheless, being seen to give the right to repair is likely to be really valued by some people and viewed positively by many. Apple has gone from the low-point scandal of being fined (for using a software update to slow down some old iPhones and not telling people how to fix the problem and prompting a battery replacement) to what appears to be the complete turnaround with this transparency and positivity of giving customers the power, means, and choice to fix their own devices rather than forcing them to only use approved technicians. Many businesses are aware of the need for improved environmental credentials and use Apple devices. This could mean a positive rub-off value for them and, coupled with the recent announcement of offering a Business Essentials full device management service, businesses now have some good reasons to view Apple in more positive light.

In this tech-insight, we take a brief look at billionaire Elon Musk’s usage of Twitter, how and why he makes such use of the platform, and what Mr Musk’s interactions can teach businesses about using Twitter.

Who Is Elon Musk?

South African-born, business magnate Elon Musk, is the CEO, early investor and Product Architect of Tesla Inc, and Chief Engineer at SpaceX, as well as co-founder of Neuralink, and OpenAI. Musk formed bank X.com, which merged with Confinity in 2000 to create PayPal which was bought by eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion. Musk also set up the tunnelling and engineering company called ‘The Boring Company’ which is reported to be working on hyperloop transport projects. Elon Musk is ranked second on the Forbes rich list with an estimated 151bn, although other lists rank his wealth as much higher.

Twitter Trouble

Elon Musk is known for his Twitter interactions, some of which have had seismic results. For example, back in 2018, Musk was reported to have made what turned out to be the most expensive tweet in the world. The tweet(s), about taking the Tesla company private using ‘secured’ funding cost him not just his role as Chairman for 3 years, but also a $20m (£15m) fine, and some damaging accusations of fraud.

Musk also faced a defamation trial after a short Twitter spat with a British cave diver who played a leading role in the rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand. It was reported that after the cave diver labelled Musk’s offer to provide a mini-submarine for the rescue a ‘PR stunt,’ Mr Musk made a series of tweets aimed at the rescuer, one of which referred to him as “pedo guy”. Musk apologised for the tweet.

Climate Carbon Crisis Cash?

Back in January, Musk famously took to Twitter to pledge a prize of $100 (£73 million) prize, through Xprize Foundation, to whoever could develop the best technology to remove carbon dioxide (which is generated from burning fossil fuels) from the air.

Recently – Sanders Showdown & Customer Service Tweets

Some more recent Twitter battles that Musk has been involved in include:

– Going after U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders after Mr Sanders tweeted that the extremely wealthy should pay their fair share of taxes. Musk’s replies made the point he doesn’t take a cash salary or bonus, but only has stock, which means that the only way for him to pay taxes personally is to sell stock. Mr Musk then held a Twitter poll among his followers to decide whether he should sell some stock. After his followers said he should, Musk sold nearly $7bn of shares in Tesla, which resulted in a fall in the Tesla share price.

– Personally tweeting a reply within 3 minutes of a complaint by a Korean owner over a problem with the Tesla app. Musk also came back with an update about the issue 5 hours later.

What’s Happening?

Despite Mr Musk’s lawyer arguing in a defamation case that Twitter is “infamous for invective and hyperbole,” and that Twitter users expect to hear opinions and not facts, Elon Musk makes frequent use of the platform, often to make Tesla announcements. Some of the reasons why Musk tweets in the way that he does may include:

– Instant, direct reach to all interested parties, including investors. Elon Musk has around 30 million followers. The platform’s effectiveness in bypassing traditional media (so that opinion must follow the message rather than shape it) was shown by how former US President Donald Trump used Twitter.

– Brand communications value. Unlike advertising, tweeting is free and with millions of followers, Musk can have a huge impact for (very) low cost.

– Strengthening an image. The way that Musk tweets (e.g., with sometimes controversial comments) and with the expectation that he could personally comment in anything from a single customer complaint to comments from politicians appears to strengthen his image as maverick and someone with an innovative, entrepreneurial spirit, strengthen his own brand image (and value), retain investor interest, and keep him in the public eye.

– Taking risks. For a billionaire, whose words can have an enormous impact on the value and brands of companies, taking to Twitter can be a risk (e.g., of saying the wrong thing). It could be argued that perhaps this risk is part of the attraction and/or it could be a way that Musk can feel/show himself to be an equal to and have the same freedoms in some ways as anyone else by allowing himself to express his own opinions freely online.

– Creating a buzz. Expressing opinions in an informal way can create not just a media buzz about Musk and his companies but can also stir up debate.

– Getting instant market intelligence and opinions. With so many followers, Musk can use Twitter as an instant gauge of opinion that can feed into making important business decisions.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Although Elon Musk’s wealth, fame, and audience size make him by no means a typical Twitter user, his use of the platform highlights both its value as a low-cost, direct, impactful communications channel to an opted-in, interested audience, but also how tweets should be thought about carefully first (e.g., where they concern a business and its investors) and how entering into personal spats can be damaging.  Its instant, conversational nature can, therefore, help businesses to respond quickly in a way that is helpful to customers but can also be risky if used too spontaneously. Twitter can help build the personality aspects of a company and can help stakeholders feel more in touch with a company.