PepsiCo’s Tony West is now Uber’s chief legal officer

Lonnie Tague/United States Department of Justice

Uber’s newest hire has a lot of work to do. The ride-sharing company just hired Tony West as its new chief legal officer. West has served as PepsiCo’s general counsel and was the former assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice under former President Barack Obama. He comes in at a time when Uber is facing a series of investigations by the US government (including the DOJ) and a major lawsuit with Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit. West replaces Salle Yoo, who has been Uber’s chief legal officer since 2012. He officially becomes the company’s top lawyer next month.

Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced the hire in an email to staff on Friday. He wrote, “As a former federal prosecutor and senior Department of Justice official in the Obama Administration, [West is] well equipped to handle the investigations into our past practices. And at Pepsi, he has emphasized diversity on his team and across the company. But perhaps most importantly, Pepsi has been named one of the world’s most ethical companies 10 years in a row,” he continued. “Under Tony’s leadership, I’m confident that we will one day join this list.”

Source: Recode

Unboxing the Xbox One X

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

I had a rare opportunity to try the new Xbox One X today. This super console is the most powerful gaming machine ever made. The spec sheet of this console is simply staggering. It has up to 40 per cent more computing power than any other console. It is designed for 4K gaming as well as HDR output on compatible Ultra HD televisions. 

Specs include an 8-core Custom AMD CPU is clocked at 2.3GHz to bring enhanced AI. It has 12 GB of RAM as well as 1 Terabyte of RAM. It is capable of six teraflops of calculation per second (a terfalop is composed of a trillion calculations).  This console will play Xbox One titles (and original Xbox titles as well) with less latency and quicker loading in full 4K and is likely tuned for future VR and AR experiences. 

What's remarkable about the Xbox One is that it is also the smallest console Microsoft has ever made, which is remarkable considering (it does feel dense and powerful, like a dwarf star). Microsoft Canada kindly provided me with an XBox One X review unit. My impressions, based on my unboxing, are that it is similar in size as the Xbox One S but feels more solid and is notably heavier. 

Click to read more ...

Netflix Original Series Stranger Things 2 is turning our world upside down again

Things just got even stranger for the launch of Stranger Things Season 2. We pick up in the year 1984 when hanging out at the Arcade to play video games was fun and Ghostbusters was released in theatres. We really don't want to spoil anything but all you know is that Hawkins is getting darker. If you haven't watched any of the series, please, please go and start at Season 1. You need the background info to move on.

If you've binged through the first season and ready to jump right into Season 2, be prepared to be stuck on your couch for a while unless you're like many other Netflix members who like to sprint through episodes as fast as you humanly can! Yes, all of Season 2 can be streamed of this series because the show's directors and producers  probably know that we need answers after each show. But again, we won't give anything away but it seriously fun for those who grew up in the 80s and all the references from cars to shoes to food. Keep a close eye! And the soundtrack to this series is so good! 

Click to read more ...

Rogers reports tremendous excitement for iPhone X and good demand for iPhone 8

Apple's iPhone X went up for pre-orders in Canada earlier today and quickly sold out of existing online stock. Rogers reportedly stated, "tremendous customer excitement" and strong pre-orders for the iPhone X. The carrier also changed its tune on the iPhone 8, which the company says now has good demand. More importantly, it now says overall demand for the iPhone 8 is "good" after initially saying initial demand  for iPhone 8 was 'anemic'.

In an exclusive interview with Axios reporter Ina Fried,  Rogers executive VP Raj Doshi said "we're seeing tremendous customer excitement for iPhone X with strong customer pre-orders."

"We're also seeing good demand for the iPhone 8. We expect the two together will be very popular with our customers this holiday season with iPhone 8 being a major contributor," he added. The uptick in iPhone 8 demand could be a result of the iPhone X's halo effect.

Click to read more ...