Facebook and Apple feud, Amazon's retail revenue growth slows | TECH(feed)

HEY EVERYONE, WELCOME BACK TO TECH FEED I’M JULIET BEAUCHAMP. TODAY WE’RE TALKING AMAZON REVENUE, FACEBOOK AND APPLE’S DISPUTE AND MORE. STAY TUNED.

AMAZON RELEASED ITS FOURTH QUARTER EARNINGS LAST WEEK: ITS RETAIL SALES GROWTH HAS SLOWED SLIGHTLY, BUT THE COMPANY’S CLOUD COMPUTING AND ADVERTISING BUSINESSES CONTINUE TO DRIVE PROFIT. COMPETITION FROM OTHER RETAILERS INCREASES AND PRIME MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS HAVE MOSTLY STAY THE SAME. HOWEVER ACCORDING TO FOURTH QUARTER REPORTS, AMAZON WEB SERVICES GREW FORTY-FIVE PERCENT COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, WITH SEVEN POINT FOUR BILLION IN SALES AND TWO POINT TWO BILLION IN OPERATING INCOME. AMAZON ALSO COLLECTED ABOUT THREE POINT FOUR BILLION IN REVENUE FROM ITS AD BUSINESS DURING Q4.

ORACLE IS FACING A PAY DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT THAT ALLEGES THE COMPANY GAVE BLACK, ASIAN AND FEMALE EMPLOYEES LOW-LEVEL, LOWER-PAYING ROLES AND UNDERPAID THEM FOUR HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS. THE LAWSUIT ALSO ALLEGES ORACLE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST INTERNATIONAL WORKERS WITH VISAS. THIS PRACTICE ALLEGEDLY GOES BACK TO 2013. THE SUIT WAS FILED THROUGH THE U-S DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OFFICE OF FEDERAL CONTRACT COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS.

FACEBOOK HAS BEEN PAYING SOME USERS TWENTY DOLLARS A MONTH TO USE A VPN SMARTPHONE APP THAT HANDS OVER EVERY BIT OF DATA TO THE TECH COMPANY. AND IN AN ACT OF CONDEMNING FACEBOOK FOR VIOLATING USERS’ PRIVACY, APPLE SHUT DOWN A NUMBER OF APPS FACEBOOK EMPLOYEES RELY ON FOR VIEWING CAFETERIA MENUS AND SHUTTLE BUS SCHEDULES. APPLE HAS SINCE RESTORED ACCESS, AND FACEBOOK PULLED THE I-O-S VERSION OF THE APP. THE FACEBOOK RESEARCH VPN APP WAS SIMILAR TO ITS ONAVO PROTECT APP, WHICH APPLE BANNED LAST YEAR DUE TO PRIVACY CONCERNS. TRUE TO FORM, FACEBOOK CLAIMS IT DID NO WRONG AND ONLY COLLECTED DATA WITH USERS’ CONSENT.

AND IN OTHER DATA NEWS, AETNA INSURANCE CUSTOMERS WILL SOON BE ABLE TO RECEIVE PERSONALIZED HEALTH AND FITNESS GOALS ON THEIR APPLE WATCHES. A NEW APP, CALLED ATTAIN, WILL ALLOW AETNA MEMBERS TO SHARE THEIR ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS WITH APPLE. IN TURN, USERS WILL GET RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP MEET THEIR UNIQUE HEALTH GOALS. THOSE THAT TAKE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE REWARDED WITH POINTS THAT CAN BE REDEEMED FOR A NEW APPLE WATCH OR GIFT CARDS. WHILE THERE’S LITTLE EVIDENCE THAT WEARING FITNESS TRACKERS ACTUALLY LEADS TO AN INCREASE IN OVERALL HEALTH, AETNA HAS POINTED TO A STUDY THAT SHOWS AN INCREASE IN ACTIVITY LEVELS WHEN THESE TRACKERS ARE PAIRED WITH A REWARDS SYSTEM. THIS IS ALL PART OF A LARGER TREND OF PEOPLE SECURELY SHARING THEIR HEALTH DATA--BY 2020, IT’S ESTIMATED THAT ONE IN FOUR PATIENTS WILL BE PARTICIPATING IN A “BRING YOUR OWN DATA” HEALTHCARE SCENARIO.

THANKS FOR WATCHING--BE SURE TO GIVE THIS VIDEO A THUMBS UP AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL. AND LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS WHAT REWARD YOU’D WANT IN EXCHANGE FOR MEETING YOUR APPLE WATCH HEALTH GOALS. SEE YOU NEXT TIME.