Twitter Is Removing User Profiles' Backgrounds

Twitter has removed customized backgrounds and the feature from user profiles

Twitter Inc. is the social media network giant which is currently working to get back its market status. It is known that the company performed terribly in the market and posted poor results as well. Hence, it is undergoing a transition process to turn tables in its favor. Previously, the social media platform allowed users to choose their own backgrounds and put any image they want to make their profiles attractive. This feature was tremendous and users loved it. However, users can no longer choose their own wallpaper.

As reported in accordance with Twitter updates, the social media giant is removing the backgrounds of existing users’ profiles and is eliminating the feature of choosing your own background to design the layout. According to sources, it was an announced move and the company will no longer allow you to customize your profiles. Tech Crunch questioned Twitter regarding its decision to remove the feature.

According to latest Twitter news, the spokesperson of the company replied, “We’re removing background images from the home and notifications timelines on web for all users. Now, background images are only available where logged-in users will see them publicly (Tweet pages, list pages and collections pages). You can find help center content about customizing your design and where it’s visible on Twitter here.”

The company is just bolstering its advertising segment and it is an ongoing process to improve monetization on its platform. It failed to attract big name advertisers and is now miles behind Facebook and Google when it comes to ads and advertisers, advertisement revenues, and monetization.

From the company’s end, there has been no reasons or justification given as of yet for this announced move. However, many tech experts and professionals believe that this could be done to have more control on their ad display experience in the coming times. For instance, the company can now set up an ad on the home page of users, it could not have done if the customized backgrounds were still here.

According to Tech Crunch, “Similarly, Twitter can now design features for the home and notification page without worrying about colors clashing with unknown customizations, ala MySpace. One of the biggest reasons that MySpace got so popular was because of the crazy customizations you could hack into your profile, but that wildcard irritated its designers and advertisers to no end. That could be the case here.”

The company desperately wants to create a revenue stream from advertisements and take on Facebook and Google in the same sector.

China Mobile Boss Sees IT-Driven Consumption Hitting 3.4 Trillion Yuan In 2015

Bullish statement comes amidst Chinese telecom giant nearing 200 million 4G subscribers.

China Mobile (NYSE:CHL), the leading Chinese telecom industry leader, says that the ambitious drive for “Internet Plus” campaign will prove to be instrumental in creating jobs and wealth for the world’s second largest economy. According to chairman, Xi Guohua, IT driven consumption is likely to reach around less than $550 billion.

Li Keqiang, Chinese Premier, stated that he wants to associate the traditional sector, such as agriculture, manufacturing, and property, with growing advanced technology that can help to restructure the economy, which the Chinese leadership is undertaking without having to go for a hard landing. Economic growth and job creation are seen as top challenge for President Xi Jinping and his subordinates.

As more Chinese get education, whether at home or abroad, graduates are complaining about difficulties in obtaining high paying jobs. This trend will prove to be a threat for the Chinese Communist Party, but Xi sees a positive aspect in this, as he plans to turn this into an opportunity for rapid progress in China Mobile, which could translate into several opportunities, ranging from online shopping to logistics support.

Mobile data traffic is likely to grow 300-fold in China by the mid 2020's in line with increasing demand for wearable devices, smartphones, and tablets. Smartphone users are expected to be numbered at more than 913 million, or less than 70%, out of the total estimated 1.5 billion mobile connections.

Similarly, 4G connections have reportedly breached past 190 million users, and is set to be on track to reach its 200^th million customer by the end of this year. In fact, according to a new industry research report, users of 3G and 4G smartphones in China are on track to constitute about two-thirds of the nation’s mobile connections before the current year closes.

At a current rate of 25% penetration rate, there still is more room for growth. China Mobile is investing big in the area of 4G, with almost less than a million 4G nodes, which account for over 40% of all nodes in the whole of this planet. This is likely to generate stronger revenues, as ARPU for 4G users is about 1.5 times as compared to an average user.

Mr. Li said that in addition to the 4G, the company is also gearing itself up for researching 5G, though that is a long way ahead, and not likely to hit the commercial arena till the next decade.

China Mobile’s stock price ended the day at $62.28, a gain of 0.65% the previous day.

Halliburton Witnesses An Increase in Share Value

The oil digging firm has shown increase in share price but received a hold rating from analysts due to more weaknesses

Halliburton has reportedly been doing well on the stock index given how the share price of the oil company has increased by around 3.19 percent, which has been recorded as a massive positive change to have occurred in the firm’s image on the index.

The share price has managed to reach around $42.01 and the rise has taken place due to the unexpected rise in the oil prices.The price of crude oil has also gone up by around 0.53 percent which has helped the price of one barrel reach around $52.81 whereas on the other hand, Brent crude oil is now being sold at a price of $57.26 per one barrel, presented in reports submitted by CNBC.com index.

Halliburton oil firm has been enjoying the high share price due to the crude oil in the United States was seen to shut down way before its usual time which raised massive concerns among the analysts and the investors in the company. The China and Greece crude market has shown to come at a standstill given how much the firm has come close to being bankrupt. The oil digging company has received a rating of ‘hold’ from the analysts of The Street along with a C+ rating which is being taken as quite a bearish factor by the analysts.

The Street analysts believe that the reason such a negative rating has been granted to the oil field services providing company is that the weaknesses that have emerged on the surface have shown to weigh more than the strengths. Moreover, the hold rating shows how the analysts cannot decide whether the oil firm deserves a positive rating or a negative one, as there is very less evidence which will help them know the true position of the firm and where it is headed in the stock market.

The strengths of Halliburton can be seen on how it is currently showing lot of positivity on the financial side where it seems to be stronger than before. However, there are some things that cannot be ignored which include the shaky net income of the firm which has made the analysts believe that negativity is up next in the game for the firm to face. As for the equity return, it is also expected that the oil company might go deeper in the dip for how low the profit margin has been in the previous weeks.

Californians Need To Qualify An Interview To Buy Toyota Mirai

Phone interviews will be conducted to shortlist potential candidates for Toyota Mirai

Toyota Motor Corp. has finally revealed the procedure to buy a Toyota Mirai in California. As reported, clients who wish to buy this car in California will now have to file application after which an interview will be conducted on phone. On the basis of that, the company will judge whether the customer is actually eligible for the car reports Fortune. This offer is limited to California only and those who live outside it will not qualify to buy the hydrogen fuel cell powered car.

Toyota recently announced recently that the company is all set to take pre oders for Mirai, accroding to recent Toyota news. The process is likely to commence from 20^th July FY15.  It is said that that the car has an driving range the accumulates to 312 miles that will be possible on a single fill of hydrogen. The hydrogen fuel cell car will hit the roads by October.

Toyota has started to market this product according to which they have devised a slogan that states, “we’re looking for the bold and the few.” Many analysts at this point consider it to be Toyota’s assessment of their consumer base since they have set rules that govern the eligibility of Mirai. This vehicle by Toyota is likely to be priced at $57,500, as reported by latest Toyota updates.

The manufacturers of Toyota Prius have thus drafted an application form that will lead to a phone interview so that they can evaluate who actually delivers to get their hands on this beauty. The eligibility criteria is merely set so that they can govern whether the owner’s residence is situated close to the fuelling station along with several other questions related to driving preferences. Moreover, the eligibility and availability of the car at the dealership stores will also be taken into consideration while they gauge when a client can actually buy this car reports Toyota.

However at this point, one thing that Toyota is taking quite lightly is that Toyota’s hydrogen cell cars will embrace an issue with the infrastructure. To date it has been estimated that there are 12 hydrogen fueling stations for the masses in the United States where 10 are situated in California. This makes it the only preferable market which Toyota can capitalize on.

Toyota has plans for the future where it wishes to establish 46 hydrogen fuelling stations in California according to data shared on their website. However, the company at this point does not have any plans to establish more hydrogen fuelling stations outside of California which will make traveling long distances relatively difficult.

Toyota's CCO Resigns Following Her Arrest

The CCO of the auto makers in Japan has resigned following her arrest for making illegal import of medicines

The most recent Toyota news is all about its female executive being arrested for the purpose of making an illegal import of painkillers in the country which were not allowed to be imported without permission in the state. The first ever executive of hybrid auto making giant, Julie Hamp, observed her position as the chief communication officer for the firm for only a small period of three months before getting herself into trouble with making the illegal imports. The whole incident has not only surprised the CEO of the Japanese auto giant but it has also put a negative impact on his plans of offering higher positions in the management of the company to females along with the males.

Julie Hamps was recorded to send in her resignation on Tuesday, June 30, resigned from the position of CCO in Toyota business. This marks not only the fact that she was the first even female who secured such a high position in the company, especially she being a non- Japanese woman. The resignation of Hamps was duly accepted by the smart car makers and the reasons that were presented by the firm were of the issues that the arrest had caused.

According to Business Finance News, Toyota Motors has been working towards making the jobs in its management available to people from all around the world and as much to the women as it offers to the men. However, the whole incident, as per the analysts’ belief is going to discourage the firm to carry out similar tasks in the future as it has put them in quite a shock.

The whole ordeal that the firm has been made to go through is also being looked at as something that the Prime Minister of Japan will not like much, as it has always been his idea to empower more and more women and offer jobs to them on an equal basis as to the men in the country. The PM has initiated a new campaign in which he wishes to see Japan empowering women in the best possible way, offering them more and more positions in the industry. He also believes that if Japan wants to modernize itself, it should observe equality in the industries between the men and women.

According to reports, he has also declared the companies in the industry to fill up around 30 percent of their workforce with women as soon as possible, given a time period of around ten more years. Furthermore, it is now being discussed by analysts that executives from the other countries will now think twice before applying for job positions in companies in Japan.

Alibaba Expands E-commerce Logistics Cooperation With SingPost

The Chinese online seller has collaborated with SingPost to expand e-commerce logistics cooperation.

The Chinese ecommerce giant, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., has collaborated with the Singapore Post Limited (SingPost). Alibaba news reported that both companies have jointly proclaimed a series of measures for expansion and cooperation following the ratification of a joint venture agreement. The announced measures would not only deepen the business relationship that was initiated last year, but also develop an online selling platform to serve the enterprises across Asia pacific and beyond.

Alibaba news today disclosed that the online retailing enterprise would invest approximately US$67.85 million in the 34% shares of the Quantium Solutions International (QSI). The Singaporean organization would control the rest of the stock. Press sources indicated that SingPost-owned QSI is currently known for providing logistics support to the Asia Pacific region. Its infrastructure caters to more than 10 countries.

Alibaba breaking news exclaimed that QSI would re-establish its business and become a part of the two companies’ venture. This will allow it to speed up its process of developing its e-commerce logistics network and services. The Chinese enterprise would acquire 107,553,907 ordinary stocks amounting to 5% of the existing share capital of SingPost for US$138.6 million. The transaction would increase the Asian giant’s deemed interest by 3.28%.

Both Asian businesses have also jointly developed a strategic business development platform to further enhance integration and effectiveness of ecommerce logistics solutions. The enterprises would share their knowledge and work with each other strengths across the trading logistical chain.

Chairman of SingPost, Mr. Lim Ho Kee, has stated that SingPost has transformed at a steady pace. As a postal service, it is suffering from falling mail revenue due to trends, such as lifestyle changes and electronic substitution. He further added that both companies have benefitted from the deal, as they share similar objectives and their operations are connected to each other.

CEO of Alibaba Group, Daniel Zhang, has stated over the past 12 months, the two organizations have collaborated to identify cross border opportunities and created a set of logistics solutions for various markets. He added that this additional investment highlights the commitment to dominate the global world, which would in turn, let Chinese enterprises and global brands supply more to the world.

Professionals have claimed that the partnership between the Asian enterprises would not only help to extend their customer base, but also improve their reputation in the modern digital world. The management of both partners should now formulate plans to develop high-tech solutions in the most effective manner or their collaboration might fail to appease their customers.

Alibaba is known for its struggles to enter other nations, including USA. It has realized the potential of global markets, but it should keep an eye out for the rising challenges along with it.

Gilead Sciences Inc. Recent Bull Pattern Might Not Last Long

The bullish pattern of the leading biotech company’s stock has been continuing since early May; it has however come to an end with the recent hit on June 25

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is the definite leader of the rapidly increasing Hepatitis C market, but with growing competition against its best seller Harvoni and Sovaldi, Hepatitis C drugs, it would see its bull period reaching to an end quickly.

Since the start of last month, Gilead Sciences stock has gained roughly 18.89%, and earlier this month the bull pattern increased as the share price surpassed its last year’s high and reached a new record high of $123.37 last week. The stock of the company has also been substantially outshining the shares NASDAQ Biotech index, which has gone up by 11.72% from the beginning of May till June 26.

Gilead share has gained a heavy 18.89% in the similar period. The Gilead's stock was also expressively more than the S&P 500 Index that has only gained 0.77% during the similar time period. However, June 25^th marked an extreme hit to the top biotechnology stock as it captured around 2% to reach the lowest stock price of $119.81, followed by a large number of stock selling, the upside potential stock trader has been much below the mean since it touches its lowest stock price.

The latest hit to the Gilead stock can mainly be due to the increasing success rate of its biggest competitor, AbbVie Inc.’s HCV drug namely Viekira Pak. The latest results from a late stage clinical test shows a 100% cure rate for the use of Viekira Pak, whether or not it is used in combination with ribavirin. This development is the biggest threat to Gilead Sciences Hepatitis C drug , Sovaldi, which has to be administered along with ribavirin only.

The stock is going down since then, the company’s share traded low on Friday and closed at $119.50. The momentum of the stock is dying out now, showing the fact that shareholders are not interested to bid higher stock prices.

The hit shows the level of the blow rivals’ progress in the HCV field can trouble Gilead in the upcoming years as well. Another rival of Gilead, Merck & Co. is planning to introduce a shorter treatment drug for HCV, which is most likely to impact the company’s stock when it will get launch.

However, the sell side firm is significantly bullish on company’s stock. Almost 28 analysts covered Gilead stock, out of which 23 gave it a Buy, 4 assigned a Hold; while just one recommend a Sell rating. The twelve month stock price recommended by analysts stands at $123.79.

Why GoPro Stocks Got A Buy Rating?

Analyst at Raymond James have reiterated a Buy rating on GoPro stocks

According to the investment company Raymond James, in a recent research note that has been given to investors and clients have actually given GoPro Inc. stocks a bullish rating. Mr. Travis McCourt analyst has clarified that the revelation of the data by Google Trends clearly indicates that the search terms of GoPro, the action camera giant does not really adhere to the decline in sales of the company.

Mr. McCourt on the other hand has associated this decline to a year over year anomaly of data that has been in accordance to the IPO results that are extremely higher than the search related comparables in FY14. Apart from that, the sales and ownership of GoPro products has also seen an upward trajectory that is a positive sign for them. Moreover analyst at Raymond James also believes that the company’s entry into the drone business is an optimistic growth sign for the company. This is because many consumers are actually very interested in this domain.

Previously in May, Nick Woodman the chief executive officer of GoPro Inc. has announced that the firm is currently working on a “quadcopter” that is likely to hit the market in FY16. Apart from this, the CEO also talked about a camera rig that will have a six sided spherical rig that will ensure the development of content featuring augmented reality. Both these products are likely to be launched parallel to each other. Moreover, they are also working on their cloud software domain which is in its alpha phase currently.

Considering all these prospects, the company has reiterated an outperform rating on the company’s stock with a price target of $63. This bullish approach on GoPro stocks is relatively recent since previously it gave a market perform rating to them in April.

According to Raymond James, this is the breaking point for GozPro to expand its services in the complimentary goods market. Mr. McCourt further stated, “Kolor demonstrates the potential for GoPro to ultimately move beyond its current form factor capture devices and to leverage its substantial brand to create new product markets or enter existing markets within the video capture category."

Tesla's Factory In Reno, Nevada, Is Influencing The Region

Tesla's battery manufacturing plant is positively affecting Nevada.

The construction of Tesla’s battery-manufacturing factory is affecting the region. Tesla news exclaimed that the production facility has started to positively affect the region, as its employees have not only begun to settle in the area but also enroll their children in its schools. The region’s farm-to-table Campo restaurant has welcomed the automaker by offering a 10% discount to its employees. The company’s Model S sedans are being distributed by Siena Hotel and Casino.

Commercial sources indicated that the development of the plant might prove to be highly useful for Northern Nevada, as the organization’s decision to construct the plant in its territory is giving it an opportunity to diversify. President and CEO of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, Mike Kazmierski, has stated that Tesla’s decision has helped to get an excellent international and national recognition. He added that everyone is asking about what is happening in the region.

Tesla news today exclaimed that Reno was founded in 1868. More than 230,000 people are residing in the city. A number of high-tech organizations, such as Apple and Amazon, have been attracted by the city. Tesla’s entrance in the region would lure other employers and manufacturing organizations who are interested in sticking around for the long term.

John Boyd, who is known for helping companies to find locations for expansion, has stated that Tesla could prove to be very useful for the city, as it could do what the German automaker, Baversiche Motoren Werke (BMW), did with Spartanburg, S.C. He added that suppliers would try to locate themselves near the Californian business, as they did in Fremont, where it manufactures its electric powered cars.

Tesla Motors news disclosed that the company would invest more than $37,000,000 in the state’s K-12 education system. In the latter part of this year, an engineering school of the University of Nevada at Reno would begin offering a course in Batteries and Energy Storage technologies. The car producer’s chief technology officer, JB Straubel, would address a gathering at the UNR College of Engineering in October.

Industry experts stated that the introduction of the factory would not only help the organization to expand in the largest economy of the world, but also improve its reputation. It is probable that the development of the new plant would improve the ties between the Nevada’s administration and the company, which has previously benefited from state provided tax incentives.

Market analysts and experts are eyeing on the company’s future endeavors. Tesla’s executives should now only speed up the process of constructing the battery-manufacturing plant in order to achieve their targets, but also take steps to enhance the motivation levels of its employees. The geographical expansion might bring additional challenges and issues as well.

Google AI Might Just Not Offer Jobs to Women

The search engine giant has yet again been targeted by the analysts for not offering the same number of jobs to the females as to the males, hence being biased

The most recent news about Google business is that the tech giant is currently not following the theory of gender equality in providing jobs in its business which is making quite a lot of concerned eye brows being raised. The analysts and audience of the industry have not taken the fact well that the firm has been avoiding women workforce for the jobs in the company which has also made them receive quite a lot of criticism over the past few weeks.

Recently, in an incident in which showed an artificial intelligence robot calling a couple ‘gorrilas’, the whole industry went fanatic and accused the firm to be not only racist but also sexist. The couple was actually a black couple which was deemed incorrectly by a huge difference by the AI technology that the tech giant is reportedly working on and analysts tried to look back to the track where they believed the problem initiated.

Following this scene according to latest Google updates, Google software firm has also announced that it will not be offering the same number of jobs to women. It should also be noted that the search engine giant has always kept the executive positions in the company for the males only, never offering them to the females. Many raised eyebrows have been directed towards this activity of the company by the analysts in the industry. If women were looking for a job in the tech company, it is very likely that higher positions in the firm are offered to them due to the policy of the management of the search engine giant.

In another Google news, it has been recorded the Google advert platform has been using information of health without the consent of the users, just to make their advertising more impactful. Recently, a research was made by scientists of Mellon University who gathered the information about how the firm is way over on the chauvinist side which was resulting in them being biased towards the females.

Through the research, the scientists came out with the results that in the job offering department, the firm was seen to offer less jobs to the females and as for the males, jobs for higher positions were offered that were not made available for the women. The researchers have also exclaimed that this issue cannot be blamed directly on Google but it is possible that this is taking place due to the ever increasing advertising platform that is being carried out by the tech giant which it might just have lost control over. 

iTunes 12.2 Released With Support For Apple Music And Beats1 Radio

The wait is finally over for desktop users; you can access Apple Music from your Mac right now

While Apple released iOS 8.4 along with Apple Music earlier today, desktop users were left waiting for access to the service due to the lack of the corresponding iTunes update, which would add support for the music streaming service. Now, Apple has finally released iTunes 12.2, exclusively for OS X Yosemite users, leaving PC users waiting.

The latest iteration of iTunes can be downloaded right now through the Mac App Store’s Software Update system. The Windows version of iTunes 12.2 will also be released shortly. According to latest Apple news, it's new advertisement glorifies the multiple aspects of Apple music.

The new iTunes 12.2 adds a number of new sections within the Music tab of iTunes, mirroring the ones found in Apple Music on iOS. One of those sections is “For You,” which shows you generated tracks which you might like listening to, with the selection based on your entered preferences whilst going through the initial setup of the service along with your entire listening history and music purchase history linked to your Apple account, so if you purchased a song 4 years ago, the system will even take that into account while generating the track list. The update also adds a “New” section which shows you the new and trending music from across the world.

Additionally, there’s a new AAPL Apple Music Connect section, which takes you to Apple’s artist-centric social network. Using the Connect sections, you’ll be taken to a Facebook of sorts for your favorite artists, where you’ll be able to see their text updates, along with images, videos and more. The final “Radio” section gives you access to the new 24/7 live worldwide internet radio station Beats1 along with other radio stations which are based on various songs and artists or others which are directly compiled by music experts.

After the launch of iTunes 12 late last year alongside OS X Yosemite, iTunes 12.2 is the second major update to Apple’s music application, according to latest Apple updates. The previous major iteration, iTunes 12.2, added support for a Notification center widget along with major performance tweaks.

iTunes users can get the Apple Music service for free by opting for a trial period of three months. When the trial period ends, however, you can either opt purchase an individual subscription which will set you back $9.99 or a family subscription which can be purchased for up to six users for $14.99. The new Beats1 radio station along with the normal iTunes radio stations are available for no cost or subscription fees.

Facebook Testing A GIF Sharing Feature In Messenger

Facebook comes up with GIFs for Messenger app

Facebook Inc. is extremely keen about making use of GIFs in its messaging app, Messenger. The company has recently unveiled a new set of GIF applications belonging to the third party that will work alongside Messenger. This will be a part of the initiative to bolster Messenger but now the company has plans to expand its capacity through a series of pilots that will allow them to interlink Messenger with GIFs without the need for third party applications.

Firstly, according to latest Facebook news, the company is all set to test a button dedicated to GIFs which will allow users to locate and send images that are in motion in the two taps. This is relatively easier than the prevailing setup since it has a relatively good amount of friction. In order to download content, users have to utilize an app along with Messenger in order to share content.

The Messenger currently has a user base of 700 million users who observed a GIF button on the app. The app has the potential to go through various GIFs that are trending available on Riffsy and Giphy.  These two companies have played a substantial role in producing application for Messenger. This allows users to share with ease without the need for the Messenger app.

The best part is that once these GIFs are sent, they come up with a download option so that the GIF can be obtained on Messenger from Giphy or Riffsy, according to current Facebook updates.

However it is extremely early to predict the type of response Facebook Messenger will get from consumers for this new feature. Many analysts believe that the response is likely to be positive since those who enjoy GIFs will like this feature but those who don’t won’t really be bothered by them. Tech Crunch, the popular tech website asked Facebook products to comment on the issue. However, no response has been observed by them.

“GIFs have seen success as a rich media format within Messenger,” a company spokesperson told us. “With this feature, we’re testing various ways to make it even easier to send great content — like GIFs — with just a few taps.”

Hence Facebook is trying its best to come up with new and engaging features for Messenger so that more individuals are encouraged to use the platform. The company has been trying its best to intrigue and has succeeded in doing so to a great extent where more people are now interested to use this platform to connect to their friends and family.