Samsung
Samsung to Stop Using Plastic Packaging
The switch to environmentally sustainable materials for packaging will start this year and ramp up through 2030.
Apple
Apple Lays Off 200 Employees From Autonomous Vehicle Group, Project Titan
Nobody really knows what Project Titan is, and it seems not even Apple really knows following a decision to lay off over 200 employees working on the project.
Microsoft
Microsoft Pledges $500M for Affordable Housing in Seattle
The pledge is intended to help tackle the low and middle-income housing crisis in Seattle, but also to encourage policy change, new investment by the state, and to support organizations that help the homeless.
Computers
We're Getting a Full-Size Commodore 64 in 2019
It will include a working keyboard and, hopefully, fix all the problems the C64 Mini had.
Amazon
Amazon Blames Human Error for Sharing 1,700 Alexa Audio Files
One Alexa user's audio recordings were sent to another Alexa user by mistake.
Technology
Ford Created a Noise-Canceling Doghouse
Ford took the noise-canceling technology used in its Edge SUV and repurposed it for use in a doghouse.
7-Eleven
Tokyo 7-Eleven Lets You Pay With Your Face
Paying for items could be as easy as looking at a camera every time you shop.
Tesla
Police Catch Tesla Autopilot Driving Home Sleeping Drunk
It took the police officers in two vehicles seven minutes to outsmart Tesla's Autopilot system.
Starbucks
Starbucks to Block Public Wi-Fi Porn in 2019
The coffee company promised to look into content filtering for its US locations back in 2016, but nothing has happened yet. Now a petition with over 26,000 signatures seems to have spurred Starbucks into action.
YouTube
Most YouTube Originals Will Be Free to Watch in 2019
Google decides to ditch the requirement of a YouTube Premium subscription in order to watch YouTube Originals. Instead, in all but a few cases they will be free for everyone to view and supported by ads.
News and Trends
Jeff Bezos: 'I Predict One Day Amazon Will Fail'
When asked about Sears recently going bankrupt, Jeff Bezos surprised everyone by predicting Amazon will most likely also fail and go bankrupt.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk Walks Full Length of His Boring L.A. Tunnel
According to Musk, it's 'disturbingly long,' but things look on track for it to open on Dec. 10. In reality, we're getting 2 miles of tunnel and hopefully a good idea of whether this can really work as an alternative method of transportation.
Amazon
Amazon Boosts Minimum Wage to $15 Per Hour
All of Amazon's U.S. workers will benefit from the minimum wage increase, which means more than 350,000 staff spread across all of Amazon's business ventures (including Whole Foods) should be better off beginning in November.
Amazon
Amazon Opens 4-Star Store in New York City
In case the name isn't a big enough giveaway, the only products you'll find in this brick-and-mortar store have a four star or higher rating on Amazon. It's a clever way to fill shoppers with confidence that everything they buy won't disappoint.
The Boring Company
Xbox Controller Support Added to Elon Musk's Boring Company Machines
Those tunnels being dug in L.A., Washington, D.C., and Chicago may well be completed using Xbox controllers. Is it a genius move or a case of what has Elon Musk been smoking?