Google employees plan May 1st sit-in to protest retaliation claims

Google employees say they will be holding a sit-in tomorrow, May 1^st, to protest alleged retaliation against workers who protested back in November 2018 against the company’s handling of sexual harassment allegations. According to a tweet from the organizers of last year’s walkout, the sit-in will happen at 11 am. The tweet reads: “From being told to go on sick leave when you’re not sick, to having your reports taken away, we’re sick of retaliation. Six months ago, we walked out. This time, we’re sitting in. 11am tomorrow.”

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Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is resigning from Alphabet’s board

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Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO, will not be seeking reelection to the board of directors of Google’s parent company. Schmidt plans to step down from Alphabet’s board after his term expires on June 19^th. He will, however, continue to serve the board in an advisory role. Schmidt first joined Google as CEO in 2001. He has slowly been making his exit from the company in the past few years. Back in 2017, he stepped down as executive chairman of Alphabet’s board so he can devote time to his family’s foundation. His departure also comes at a time when Alphabet has been falling short of its earnings goals.

Aside from Schmidt, former Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene is also leaving the board this summer. She stepped down as CEO of Google Cloud back in November. Meanwhile, Robin L. Washington, the current Executive Vice President and CFO of Gilead Sciences, will be joining the board.

After 18 years of board mtgs, I'm following coach Bill Campbell's legacy & helping the next generation of talent to serve. Thanks to Larry, Sergey & all my BOD colleagues! Onward for me as Technical Advisor to coach Alphabet and Google businesses/tech, plus…..

— Eric Schmidt (@ericschmidt) April 30, 2019

 

Source: Engadget

Facebook Portal is coming to Canada this June

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Facebook’s Portal video chat devices are coming to Canada soon. The company just announced that it’ll be bringing both the Portal and Portal+ here in June. It’ll also be heading to Europe in the fall. On top of that, the devices are getting WhatsApp support soon. What’s available now is you can turn these into a better photo frame. You can add your favorite photos from Instagram and Facebook to Superframe. There will be a new mobile app coming out in the summer where you can send photos straight to Superframe from your camera roll. You will also later be able to stream through Facebook Live later this year.

Source: The Verge + Engadget

The Energizer phone with enormous battery fails to reach crowdfunding goal

The Energizer phone from Avenir Telecom with the gigantic 18,000mAh battery has proven that getting press doesn’t translate to sales. The P18K Pop got tons of mileage at Mobile World Congress for that comically-large battery and its equally comically-large size (think the thickness of three iPhones). But that press didn’t mean people wanted to get it. The phone’s crowdfunding campaign asked for £927,873 to hit its target (around CA$1.6 million) and only reached one percent of its target. It only got 11 backers, who contributed a total of £11,602 (around CA$20,000). The perks ranged from one P18K unit at £425 (around CA$740) to a three-pack at £1,227 (around CA$2,100). It was supposed to deliver the phones in October, but it’s highly unlikely that they will do that now. As Engadget points out, the huge target might mean that this could just be a marketing stunt, because asking for that much money for this really hefty phone seems like too much of an ask.