Facebook changes corporate logo
Motorola brings back the iconic Razr flip phone
Open Application Network pushing blockchain platform for app development I t’s time to stop talking about blockchain and to start using it instead. That’s the message from the chief executive of the Open Application Network (OAN), a Toronto- based startup that is pushing a blockchain platform for app development, with the goal of providing an alternative basic architecture to the one driving most internet companies today. “I think we should probably move away from, ‘How does it work?’ because then we start getting into a rabbit hole,” OAN CEO, Matthew Spoke told the Financial Post in a recent interview. Blockchain technology burst into the public consciousness in 2017 when the price of Bitcoin, which is based on blockchain took off, however the difficulty in explaining just how the distributed ledger technology works in layman’s terms has slowed the adoption of the technology by the masses.
Microsoft unveils new Surface laptops
F acebook Inc. owns Instagram and WhatsApp and wants everybody to know it. The social media giant has created new corporate branding and a new logo for Facebook Inc. to distinguish Facebook the corporation from the company’s popular social network with the same name. The new logo, which is the word “Facebook” spelled out versus the white or blue “f” Facebook has used for years, will appear in places like the login screen and the settings page of Instagram and WhatsApp. Facebook began this effort earlier this year when it added “Instagram from Facebook” and “WhatsApp from Facebook” to both apps, but the new branding makes the message even more pronounced. The point is to ensure that people who use those products know they’re owned by Facebook, said Chief Marketing Officer Antonio Lucio.
M otorola is rebooting the iconic Razr flip phone as a 6.2-inch smartphone with a foldable display that gives the Lenovo-owned brand a unique selling point against Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.’s finest. The new device reprises the Motorola Razr name and looks like a modernized version of the original. Launched in late 2004, the first Razr became a cultural icon in the U.S., sold 130 million units and was the face of the phone industry before Apple launched the iPhone in 2007. Motorola’s new model has a shot at some fame as well, as it’s set to become the first true foldable phone on the market, every other device so far could more properly be described as a foldable tablet.
M icrosoft Corp. unveiled several new versions of its Surface devices, including a new laptop and an update to its Surface Pro hybrid laptop and tablet, freshening up the company’s hardware lineup. The new Surface Laptop 3 will have an aluminum exterior finish, “instant on” and a bigger trackpad. The device will be available with a 15-inch screen and fast charging. According to Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay the new Surface is three times more powerful than Apple Inc.’s Macbook Air.
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DECEMBER 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • DECEMBER 2019
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