The PlayStation Network is experiencing issues right now. Its network status page was updated at 7PM Eastern time with a warning that you may not be able to log in, access and edit your accounts, no matter what console you use. We’re also unable to log into the network on our computer or our phone. “We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” the notice reads. “Thank you for your patience.” It’s not possible to create an account at the moment. The service has also warned that you may “have difficulty” firing up games and apps on your consoles and the web, so you may not be able to play some titles or access certain features that need an internet connection.
The network outage, unsurprisingly, affects the PlayStation Store. You’ll have to do your shopping another time — you can’t purchase and redeem vouchers, and you won’t even be able to browse titles and search for specific ones. You can’t start downloading new games and updates either, and if you were downloading anything before the issue began, it may not show any progress until the issue is fixed.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/the-playstation-network-is-down-012237477.html?src=rss
Grants paid by the federal government have two components. One covers the direct costs of performing the research, paying for salaries, equipment, and consumables like chemicals or enzymes. But the government also pays what are called indirect costs. These go to the universities and research institutes, covering the costs of providing and maintaining the lab space, heat and electricity, administrative and HR functions, and more.
These indirect costs are negotiated with each research institution and average close to 30 percent of the amount awarded for the research. Some institutions see indirect rates as high as half the value of the grant.
On Friday, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that negotiated rates were ending. Every existing grant, and all those funded in the future, will see the indirect cost rate set to just 15 percent. With no warning and no time to adjust to the change in policy, this will prove catastrophic for the budget of nearly every biomedical research institution.
A group of House Democrats are pushing Mark Zuckerberg on Meta’s recent policy changes, saying they are “deeply concerned” about the company’s move to loosen its content moderation rules, end corporate diversity programs and ditch third-party fact checking. In a letter addressed to the Meta CEO, four members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee demanded details about the sweeping changes Zuckerberg announced last month.
“These policy changes, the timing of which gives the inescapable appearance of currying favor with the Trump Administration, are abhorrent, inconsistent, and dangerous,” the lawmakers wrote.
Meta so far hasn’t provided many specifics about how it will implement its new policies, which were announced shortly before President Donald Trump took office. The letter asks Zuckerberg to describe how Trump’s “threats of retribution against you” may have influenced the decision to end fact-checking on the platform. It also asks if the Facebook founder has “had discussions with anyone representing the Trump Administration regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust case against Meta.”
The letter further notes that Zuckerberg’s recent statements seem to directly contradict previous remarks he made when the Oversight Board was first created. “The Oversight Board, once touted as a beacon of accountability, is rendered toothless when Meta itself refuses to adhere to the principles of ‘trust and safety,’” it says.
Lawmakers also questioned Zuckerberg about his public statements that corporations need more “masculine energy” calling it “particularly strange in light of the fact that Meta’s long time Chief Legal Officer and its current Chief Financial Officer are both women and the three most important committees of your Board of Directors are chaired by women.”
Zuckerberg was given a February 21, 2025, deadline to respond. “We don’t have anything further to say beyond all we’ve already communicated over the last weeks,” a Meta spokesperson told Engadget when asked about the letter.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/house-democrats-press-mark-zuckerberg-on-metas-policy-changes-235229672.html?src=rss
It’s the year 2000 all over again, because I’ve just spent the past week playing The Sims, a game that could have had a resurgent zeitgeist moment if only EA, the infamous game publisher, had put enough effort in.
A few days ago, EA re-released two of its most legendary games: The Sims and The Sims 2. Dubbed the “The Legacy Collection,” these could not even be called remasters. EA just put the original games on Steam with some minor patches to make them a little more likely to work on some modern machines.
The emphasis of that sentence should be on the word “some.” Forums and Reddit threads were flooded with players saying the game either wouldn’t launch at all, crashed shortly after launch, or had debilitating graphical issues. (Patches have been happening, but there’s work to be done yet.)
The primary contractor for the Space Launch System rocket, Boeing, is preparing for the possibility that NASA cancels the long-running program.
On Friday, with less than an hour’s notice, David Dutcher, Boeing’s vice president and program manager for the SLS rocket, scheduled an all-hands meeting for the approximately 800 employees working on the program. The apparently scripted meeting lasted just six minutes, and Dutcher didn’t take questions.
During his remarks, Dutcher said Boeing’s contracts for the rocket could end in March and that the company was preparing for layoffs in case the contracts with the space agency were not renewed. “Cold and scripted” is how one person described Dutcher’s demeanor.
Health officials in Texas are battling a growing measles outbreak in an area that has some of the state’s lowest vaccination rates and highest non-medical exemptions.
On January 30, officials reported two measles cases in unvaccinated, school-aged children in Gaines County, which sits at the border of New Mexico and is around 90 miles southwest of Lubbock, Texas. Both children were hospitalized in Lubbock and had been discharged.
As of mid-day February 7, the outbreak total reached nine confirmed measles cases in the South Plains Public Health District (SPPHD) that includes Gaines, according to Zach Holbrooks, Executive Director for SSPHD. In an interview with Ars, Holbrooks reported that there were three additional probable cases that are linked to the confirmed cases. These are cases in the same household or family—maybe a cousin or sibling—that are showing measles symptoms but haven’t been tested yet or gotten their test results back yet, Holbrooks said. So far, there have been no other reports of hospitalizations besides those in the first two cases.
On Wednesday, a New York-based app developer named Isaac Gemal debuted a new site called WikiTok, where users can vertically swipe through an endless stream of Wikipedia article stubs in a manner similar to the interface for video-sharing app TikTok.
It’s a neat way to stumble upon interesting information randomly, learn new things, and spend spare moments of boredom without reaching for an algorithmically addictive social media app. Although to be fair, WikiTok is addictive in its own way, but without an invasive algorithm tracking you and pushing you toward the lowest-common-denominator content. It’s also thrilling because you never know what’s going to pop up next.
WikiTok, which works through mobile and desktop browsers, feeds visitors a random list of Wikipedia articles—culled from the Wikipedia API—into a vertically scrolling interface. Despite the name that hearkens to TikTok, there are currently no videos involved. Each entry is accompanied by an image pulled from the corresponding article. If you see something you like, you can tap “Read More,” and the full Wikipedia page on the topic will open in your browser.
There are only two licensed professional sports games included in Wikipedia’s “List of video games notable for negative reception.” Do not be fooled, however: WWE 2K20 and eFootball 2022 are just the outliers, arriving so poorly crafted as to cause notable outcry and an actual change to development plans. Most licensed professional sports games come out yearly, whether fully baked, notably improved, or not, and fans who have few other options to play with their favorite intellectual property learn to make do with them.
Not so with fans of Football Manager, a series that can be traced back in some form to 1992 that has released a game almost every year, minus one ownership shift in the early 2000s. Sports Interactive, the company behind the franchise, released a statement on Thursday (in British time) that says that “following extensive internal discussions and careful consideration,” Football Manager 25 is canceled. The game was “too far away from the standards you deserve,” so they are focusing on the 2026 version.
Trying not to make “the same bloody game every year”
Football Manager 2025 was already delayed twice and is now quite late—as we are now midway into the European football (or what Americans call soccer) season. The game was intended to be a major overhaul.
The Department of Education (DOE) was sued Friday by a California student association demanding an “immediate stop” to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) “unlawfully” digging through student loan data to potentially dismantle DOE.
“The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is enormous and unprecedented,” the lawsuit said.
According to the University of California Student Association (UCSA)—which has over 230,000 undergraduate students as members—more than 42 million people in the US have federal student loans and face privacy risks, if DOGE’s access to their information isn’t blocked. Additionally, parents and spouses of loan borrowers share private financial information with the DOE that could also be at risk, the lawsuit alleged.
The United Kingdom issued a secret order requiring Apple to create a backdoor for government security officials to access encrypted data, The Washington Post reported today, citing people familiar with the matter.
UK security officials “demanded that Apple create a backdoor allowing them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud,” the report said. “The British government’s undisclosed order, issued last month, requires blanket capability to view fully encrypted material, not merely assistance in cracking a specific account, and has no known precedent in major democracies.”
Apple and many privacy advocates have repeatedly criticized government demands for backdoors to encrypted systems, saying they would harm security and privacy for all users. Backdoors developed for government use would inevitably be exploited by criminal hackers and other governments, security experts have said.
If you look back at the creation of the PC in the 1980s, they were just desktop machines that sat in place. They were supposed to be portable but, for the most part, weren’t. Yes, we had PCs from gaming companies like Atari and Commadore, but other than some of us using them for schoolwork, they weren’t taken seriously. IBM PCs and their variants were heavy. The Panasonic I had weighed at a whopping 35 pounds. It came with a printer, and it cost me over $3K then, which would have been $8,514 today if you take inflation into account.
Eventually we got laptop computers, and they were pretty much made by the same people. You had desktop PCs and laptop PCs and sthen came the first smartphone from IBM called Simon (don’t worry; few bought it). After that, we had PDAs that came from a whole different class of company. Palm, Research In Motion (BlackBerry), HP and even Sony got in this market along with Microsoft. Apple, which started the PC revolution with the Apple II, had Newton. On paper it was more capable than the rest, but Jobs killed that and later brought out the iPod. It was just for listening to music, but it gained functions until it morphed into a phone. Over the next few years, it forced even massively powerful cell phone vendors like Nokia, who bet on Microsoft, to their knees.
So why wasn’t the Pocket PC the foundation for the smartphone, which is basically a pocket PC that can make calls? It had nothing to do with telephony and everything to do with execution. And I’m seeing similar execution from Microsoft on AI, suggesting it may be another Zune-like event.
Microsoft’s and Intel’s Recurring Problem
Microsoft doesn’t learn from its successes; it isn’t even clear it learned from its failures. I think that’s because Microsoft turns over key people, and those left in charge just don’t want to consider that their predecessors actually knew what they were doing.
When you look at the greatest product successes Microsoft ever had, (besides Office, which started as a productivity product for Apple), Microsoft has had two massive user successes: Windows 95 and Xbox (Azure is more of an enterprise play). Both used basically the same play book but were run by different people.
The formula for success was to put real marketing people in charge, not ex-military people or some reassigned engineer, but people that understood how to market and then give them the budget they need to be successful. That set up resulted in successes like Windows 95 and Xbox.
What was particularly funny about Windows 95 was that marketing did its job well, but operations did not, but Microsoft responded as if the opposite was true. Apparently, operations was better connected because when Windows 95 blew up largely due to poor code choices and horrid customer support, the conclusion was that demand was a bad thing, not poor execution. To this day it is hard for me to understand how they reached that conclusion.
With Xbox, Microsoft again put people who knew how to build demand in charge and took on Sony, a powerfully entrenched consumer electronics company. Xbox would have eventually taken out the PlayStation, but then Microsoft kicked out its lead people and cut the marketing budget. While Xbox is still a powerful platform to this day, it could have been far more. It wasn’t competition that killed it. It was Microsoft’s leadership.
Intel has gone down a similar path, but at least it hasn’t repeated the same mistake over and over again. Intel’s success bloomed under its best CMO, Dennis Carter, who turned an ingredient brand, Intel Inside, into a badge of quality. But he didn’t train his successors, so the amazing brand he built with Andy Grove’s massive support was weakened over time to a point where Pat Gelsinger, who had learned under Grove, also didn’t get the power of marketing and under supported it. I believe that led to his early retirement (termination).
So, had Microsoft executed the Pocket PC and the Windows Phone to the level they’d executed Windows 95 and Xbox they would have been a success, but they didn’t, and the execution around AI is far more similar to their failures rather than their successes.
Wrapping Up: Why Microsoft Is Likely to Fail with AI
AI is kind of like Internet Explorer in that Microsoft was late to the game but licensed a technology to close the gap (the browser was Spyglass; with AI it is ChatGPT) and brought it to market. But execution has again been lackluster. Microsoft had to pull back the strongest feature, Recall, because marketing didn’t position it properly. Apple brought out an identical feature, presented it better, and didn’t have to pull it back.
Both Microsoft and Intel need to up the marketing game significantly if they want to be successful going forward. Microsoft needs to pull from the learnings of Brad Silverberg and Rick Thompson, while Intel needs to pull from Dennis Carter to change its trajectory. Otherwise, both firms are likely to miss the AI wave rather than lead it. These skills are in the companies’ histories, they just need to re-learn them. And they need to learn that marketing isn’t optional. It is a requirement for success.
One final reminder. While I worked there, IBM nearly crashed and took massive brand damage, and IBM’s board fired John Akers, who was one of the most qualified CEOs on paper but who was done in by his staff. IBM didn’t hire an engineer or even pull its own people. Instead, it hired Louis Gerstner. Gerstner knew nothing about tech but was a brilliant marketer and he saved the company by first rebuilding its image and brand.
That’s the power of marketing, and too many tech companies forgot this after the 90s. It is also why Qualcomm’s AI PC effort didn’t reach its potential. The ironic thing is that AI is potentially able to recreate the skills of people who are no longer in the workforce, suggesting these companies could build the talent they need if they can’t hire it. Microsoft’s AI effort reminds me a lot of Zune, a lot of inside belief in success, but not enough outside execution, and I just don’t think it will end well.
The most important thing a beginner trader can do is find a platform that is easy to use, offers the right learning tools, and is a secure place for trading. TradeFT is among the new online trading platforms that claim to be a good option for novice traders who want to enter the financial markets. But how good is TradeFT for a beginning trader?
In this TradeFT review, we’ll examine how TradeFT caters to newcomers by looking at its account types, user interface, educational resources, customer support, and overall accessibility. We’ll also explore its market offerings and how well the platform helps beginners navigate the complex world of trading.
Account Types for Beginners:
The diversity and accessibility of the account types are among the most important things for any trading platform in case of a beginner. TradeFT has several account options to suit various levels of trading expertise, but let’s review the ones which will be the most suitable for beginners.
Basic Account: This is the most appropriate account class for any new trader. This account class offers the basic trading features and tools, which are not too overwhelming for a beginner. The low barrier to entry allows new traders to experiment with the markets and gain experience without having to invest large sums of money. The Basic account provides basic spreads, standard customer support, and is an excellent way to dip your toes into the market with minimal risk.
Silver Account: Designed for traders who have gathered some trading experience and grown comfortable with the basics, the Silver account opens further options like tighter spreads and even access to added tools. But at the same time, this account remains friendly enough for complete beginners who have started their journey into broadening their trade knowledge.
They help the starters just nicely, whereby their newness may be directed through learning the courses while making progress. More importantly, with TradeFT’s flexibility with regards to different accounts, it could definitely mean easy changes toward more sophisticated Gold, Platinum, or even VIP accounts to be used for greater functionality, better suited to serious traders as soon as such novice traders decide that they’ve been more certain and advanced for a certain amount of time.
Trading Platform Ease of Use:
For beginners, the trading platform is usually one of the most daunting parts of getting started. Fortunately, TradeFT has designed its platform to be simple and easy to use. The user interface is intuitive and streamlined, allowing new traders to access key features without feeling overwhelmed by complicated menus or excessive information.
The dashboard is very well-organized, and market data, accounts information, and trading tools are very easy to access. TradeFT’s trading platform supports a wide variety of assets, from stocks, forex, commodities, and indices to crypto, all accessible with just a few clicks.
The ease with which this platform can be accessed, even by novices and those on the go, is made further possible through its mobile-friendly interface. Since a mobile app is not yet provided by TradeFT, their web-based platform is responsive, so flexibility is opened to those traders who would wish to trade right from their smartphones.
TradeFT Education Resources
For rookie traders, the key is education. Education will help them understand how the markets work, the different trading strategies, and basically how things go within financial markets. TradeFT goes that extra mile in ensuring that through its educational resources, beginners have a solid foundation.
The TradeFT blog is full of articles ranging from the very basics a trader should know up to some tips and current market analysis. The language is simple and easy to understand, hence even the most complex ideas and strategies can be digested by beginners. From risk management to how the markets trend, this educational blog adds value to traders of all levels.
Economic Calendar: It is important for any trader to know the greater events in store for the markets. The TradeFT economic calendar shows real-time information on upcoming events, including earnings reports, economic data releases, and geopolitical events that could potentially move markets. This tool will be useful for a beginner trader interested in being well-informed and timely with his decisions.
There is lots of jargon involved when trading, and for a fresher, many times it may get very hard to keep up. TradeFT’s dictionary is such a wonderful tool that it explains the commonly used terms of trade. It always remains helpful in having a glossary for more confidence in understanding terms among beginners while trading.
Download Centre: TradeFT also includes a download centre that provides a set of useful resources such as trading guides, educative eBooks, and video tutorials. From these, a beginner will learn the very basics of trading and further develop his skills.
These learning tools allow for a holistic approach to learning and give novice traders a platform on which they can lay a proper foundation for trade. This care, among others, assures the beginners of some necessary care as they embark on the trade journey.
TradeFT Customer Support
When it comes to trading, having access to prompt and reliable customer support is vital, especially for beginners who may have questions or face challenges while using the platform. TradeFT offers 24/5 customer support, so help will always be there when needed.
Support is available through multiple channels, including live chat, email, and phone. The live chat feature is really helpful for beginners to get answers to specific questions fast. TradeFT’s support team is very knowledgeable and responsive with everything from technical issues to account management. Be it questions regarding trading tools, some technical glitch, or how to go about on the platform, beginners can be assured that help is available.
Second, TradeFT has a very extensive and comprehensive FAQ section, answering most of the questions related to account creation, deposit/withdrawal problems, trading options, and tools. That’s nice self-service for beginners who won’t wait for an agent to get the simple issues sorted out.
Interface and Speed of Operation
One of the most important aspects of trading is the speed of execution, which may either make or break a beginner’s experience. Slow execution translates to missed opportunities and frustration, especially for a beginner trying to learn the ropes.
Thankfully, TradeFT offers high execution speeds, resulting in quick order fulfillment. This proves very helpful for those desiring to enter volatile markets of cryptocurrencies or Forex, where everything is decided based on time and speed. Giving the opportunity for fast execution, TradeFT instills confidence in the beginnings, knowing one can get into and out of positions with as little delay as possible.
Conclusion:
So, how good is TradeFT for a beginner trader? It’s good for new traders, considering it has a friendly web-based interface, account types available to all, and solid education. The presence of the Basic account makes access quite easy, while the beginners can go further with the confidence gained and explore additional features and tools available on higher-tier accounts.
TradeFT’s focus on education through the blog, dictionary, economic calendar, and download center helps beginners build a strong foundation, while 24/5 customer support assures one of always getting support whenever the need arises. Moreover, the mobile-friendly interface and fast transaction speed ensure ease and swiftness for new traders to start trading online.
After this TradeFT review overall, TradeFT would be a great option for young traders seeking a sound and supportive environment in 2025. As long as you take your time to research the educational tools and practice some risk management, TradeFT can be an enabling atmosphere for growth and learning. Due to its user-oriented design, solid support, and helpful features, TradeFT can be the ideal platform for any aspiring trader looking to enter the financial markets.
On February 2, local time in the United States, Evan Ryan, the wife of former United State Secretary of State Antony Blinken publicly stated that she had joined and invested in Genesis Cloud Mining.
Genesis Cloud Mining, headquartered in Denver, USA, is a world-renowned TRX mining platform. The company has signed a multi-year cooperative operation agreement with the United State Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Financial Money Service Provider (MSB), establishing its legitimacy and professionalism. As one of the most influential, secure and legal TRX mining platforms in the world, Genesis Cloud Mining has attracted widespread attention with its excellent technology and robust operating model.
Evan Ryan believes that Genesis Cloud Mining has broad prospects in the field of blockchain and cryptocurrency technology, and its strong strategic development capabilities and clear development core make it a highly potential industry leader. She particularly emphasized that Genesis Cloud Mining has always been helping people achieve stable employment as its core mission, and this sense of social responsibility will help the company win more support and trust from users.
Evan Ryan further pointed out that driven by the policy environment and user demand, TRX currency has greater room for appreciation in the future. To this end, she announced that she would invest $300,000 in TRX and choose to invest it in Genesis Cloud Mining, which is not only a support for the development of local United States enterprises, but also an expectation of obtaining considerable returns.
Finally, she expressed her good wishes for Genesis Cloud Mining: “I hope that Genesis Cloud Mining can continue to grow in the future, accelerate the pace of business globalization, cover more countries and regions, and become a global benchmark in the field of blockchain technology.”
Online trading has revolutionized how people participate in financial markets. The days of requiring large capital, knowledge of complex systems, or even proximity to trading hubs are long gone. Today, individuals can trade stocks, forex, cryptocurrencies, and more directly from their devices. The ease of access and wide range of assets available means that anyone with an internet connection can become an active market participant. However, with this convenience comes the need for a robust and secure platform to manage trades effectively.
As the popularity of digital assets and online trading continues to soar, Muxcap.com has emerged as one of the noteworthy platforms offering these trading opportunities. Now, let’s explore what makes Muxcap stand out in this crowded landscape.
What Is Muxcap?
Muxcap is an online trading platform that offers users access to multiple financial markets, including stocks, forex, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. Designed for traders of all experience levels, the platform emphasizes user-friendly features, advanced trading tools, and competitive spreads. Muxcap aims to provide traders with a comprehensive experience, allowing them to diversify their portfolios and explore new investment opportunities in an intuitive environment.
With a strong focus on security and transparency, Muxcap operates under strict regulations to ensure users’ funds are protected and all trades are executed with high integrity. As you will see in this Muxcap review, the platform’s range of tools, assets, and customer support options make it an appealing choice for traders worldwide.
Range of Markets on Muxcap
One of the standout features of Muxcap is its wide range of markets available for trading. Whether you’re interested in traditional assets like stocks and commodities or the booming world of cryptocurrencies, Muxcap provides a diverse selection for traders to explore. The platform allows users to trade:
Stocks: Access a variety of global stocks across major markets such as the NYSE, NASDAQ, and more.
Forex: Trade currency pairs from the most liquid markets worldwide, including major pairs like EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and emerging market pairs.
Commodities: Invest in precious metals, oil, and agricultural products, helping traders hedge against inflation or capitalize on global trends.
Cryptocurrencies: Muxcap also supports cryptocurrency trading, offering access to popular coins like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and a range of altcoins.
The platform’s broad asset offering provides traders the opportunity to diversify their portfolios and take advantage of multiple market movements, making it suitable for a variety of trading strategies.
Margin Trading on Muxcap
For traders seeking higher potential returns and willing to take on more risk, Muxcap offers margin trading. This allows users to leverage their positions, controlling a larger trade with a smaller initial deposit. Margin trading can amplify gains, but it also comes with increased risk. Here’s how it works on Muxcap:
Leverage Options: Muxcap offers competitive leverage, allowing traders to multiply their potential profits (or losses) by borrowing capital.
Risk Management Tools: The platform provides several risk management tools to help protect traders from significant losses, such as stop-loss orders and take-profit levels.
Flexibility: Traders can apply margin trading across multiple asset classes, including forex, stocks, and crypto.
While margin trading can be a powerful tool for experienced traders, beginners should approach it cautiously and fully understand the risks before engaging in leveraged trading.
Customer Support
Strong customer support is critical when choosing a trading platform, and Muxcap places a high priority on providing responsive assistance to its users. The platform offers:
24/5 Support: Muxcap’s customer support team is available around the clock to assist with any technical or account-related issues.
Email Support: For more detailed inquiries or non-urgent issues, users can reach the support team via email, typically receiving a response within a few hours.
Extensive Knowledge Base: Muxcap provides a comprehensive knowledge base with guides, FAQs, and educational materials to help traders navigate the platform and understand trading strategies.
With a commitment to ensuring traders have the tools and resources they need to succeed, Muxcap provides a reliable support infrastructure that can assist users at every stage of their trading journey.
Account Opening Process
Opening an account with Muxcap is quick and easy. The platform aims to provide an accessible process for traders at all levels, and here’s how it works:
Sign Up: Create an account by providing basic personal information, such as your name, email, and phone number.
Verification: For security and regulatory purposes, Muxcap requires identity verification. Users will need to upload proof of identity and address documents.
Fund Your Account: Once your account is verified, you can deposit funds using various payment methods, including bank transfers, credit cards, and e-wallets.
Start Trading: After funding your account, you can start trading across the markets offered by Muxcap.
The process is streamlined to ensure that users can quickly begin trading while maintaining compliance with regulatory standards.
Alternatives to Muxcap Platform
While Muxcap is a competitive option, there are several other trading platforms available that offer similar features. Some alternatives include:
eToro: Known for its social trading features, eToro allows users to copy the trades of experienced investors. It offers a wide range of assets, including stocks, cryptocurrencies, and commodities.
Binance: A major player in cryptocurrency trading, Binance offers a huge range of crypto assets and trading pairs with competitive fees.
MetaTrader 4/5: Popular for forex and CFDs, MetaTrader is used by millions of traders globally. It offers advanced charting, technical analysis tools, and automated trading.
Interactive Brokers: Best for advanced traders, Interactive Brokers offers a wide range of assets, margin trading, and sophisticated trading tools for professional investors.
Each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses, so traders should carefully evaluate their needs and preferences when choosing an alternative.
Final Thoughts: Is Muxcap the Right Platform for Your Trading Goals in 2025?
Muxcap offers a comprehensive trading experience with a wide range of markets, margin trading options, and excellent customer support. Whether you’re looking to trade stocks, forex, or cryptocurrencies, the platform provides the tools and flexibility needed for traders at all levels. The easy account setup and regulatory compliance add an extra layer of trust and security for users.
However, like any platform, Muxcap is not without competition. Alternatives like eToro, Binance, and MetaTrader provide unique features that may appeal to specific types of traders. Ultimately, the best platform for you will depend on your trading goals, asset preferences, and risk tolerance.If you’re seeking a platform that offers a user-friendly interface, advanced tools, and diverse asset options, as you’ll see in this Muxcap review, Muxcap is a solid choice to consider in 2025 and beyond.
Intel had their earnings call this week and the Co-CEOs did an amazing job. Losing a CEO like Pat Gelsinger in an unplanned fashion is never easy. Gelsinger was well connected to Intel’s founding team, so he was more well regarded than most. The next CEO(s) already has a number of things to overcome, including animosity for his predecessor’s firing. But succession wasn’t solid in Intel, so instead of one replacement, two people were selected to run the company. This is the second time Intel has done this, and it didn’t work out well the first time. This means that the co-CEOs, who are temporary, have significant command and control problems because they aren’t permanent, and they aren’t one person. Intel was both undergoing a turnaround and significantly expanding its manufacturing capabilities that were tied to funding from the U.S. government which has largely killed that support. This is all to say the degree of difficulty is off the charts.
In short, this is not a job I’d wish on anyone, but despite that, Intel’s initial showing in its quarterly earnings report was impressively well done.
The Goal of the First Quarterly Report
With the departure of a well-regarded CEO (well, any CEO actually), there are three audiences that need to be effectively addressed, or the company will bleed valuation and revenue. Those three audiences are customers, employees and investors. These are the three critical legs of the stool, and you can’t ignore any of them.
These audiences will be highly skeptical of success, so setting a tone that comes across as honest, candid and humble without appearing weak while telling a credible story of impending future success is a huge ask, and few do this well. Of course it does help that the quarterly results beat expectations.
Generally, you measure the success of this kind of effort by the coverage it gets, and the coverage has been surprisingly good given the condition people expected Intel to be in given the removal of its CEO. For instance, CNBC, which was the most negative, still said, “Intel issues weak forecast, but beats on fourth-quarter results”. While the weak forecast is a concern, it establishes credibility, and beating the street with your results is always beneficial to the company reporting. Reuters just focused on the positive by headlining, “Intel’s quarterly revenue tops expectations as investors await new CEO”. Bloomberg was in line with the headline, “Intel Fourth-Quarter Sales Beat Estimates During Turnaround,” again focusing on the positive and avoiding most of the negative entirely.
This is all reflective of the fact that the executives presented themselves, and Intel, extremely well during the quarterly report presentation, and the financial media was more than satisfied with what they heard and saw. They clearly knew Intel was in trouble, but by the end of the call, they were generally on board with Intel’s direction and temporary leadership.
The Co-CEOs Performance
Michelle Johnston Holthaus went first and did an excellent job setting the tone for the presentation. She was candid, direct and stayed in her lane, which gave her co-CEO a strong foundation for his talk. Women CEOs are problematic given the current environment. They generally have to work harder, longer and under far more difficult circumstances as executives because large company executive teams and boards tend to be old white boys clubs. Intel has done a decent job over the years, and I think the semi-conductor industry at large has been better than most. AMD’s highly respected and recognized CEO Lisa Su is an example of that. While not all women CEOs are well trained (they are often selected because the job was badly screwed up by a male predecessor), that hasn’t been the case recently. In this market, Holthaus comes across as extremely well qualified and competent.
One thing Holthaus said really stood out as well thought through and delivered: “As co-CEOs, you can expect us to be very straightforward and direct. We will only make commitments we are confident we can deliver. We firmly believe that what we say is not nearly as important as what we do. And everything we do must be in service of our customers. Innovating to solve their most pressing challenges is the surest path to creating shareholder value.
This is the mindset I have brought to my position as the CEO of Intel Products. This is a great business with great people, partners and IP (intellectual property) to design world-class products from edge to cloud. I take nothing for granted, but I firmly believe that the core x86 architecture and the ecosystems we have built and invested in over the decades create a solid foundation for success.”
This was humble, helped establish a foundation of trust and made what followed all the more credible.
Dave Zinsner, the other co-CEO, addressed the elephant in the room: What was going to happen with Pat Gelsinger’s pet project to expand Intel manufacturing to become a strategic asset for the U.S.? His presentation was more nuts and bolts because Holthaus set such a strong foundation he didn’t need to build trust. That had already been done. He simply stated the progress, and that Intel continues to move to establish an independent subsidiary for Intel’s foundry business and why this business remains important to U.S. national security.
Because of the concerns that Intel is unique in having both FABs and foundry, he did spend some time talking about the importance of both efforts, while also pointing out that the company is focusing on reducing costs to improve overall financial performance, which again built trust and set in place some milestones that the financial media accepted.
Wrapping Up:
Intel’s co-CEOs Michelle Johnston Holthaus and Dave Zinsner had a strong performance for this quarter’s report, helped by Intel’s solid results and overshadowing a relatively weak forecast by providing direction that made it clear Intel was recovering and making progress. They were credible and did an excellent job of focusing their audiences on a stronger and brighter future for Intel.
They did an excellent job, and credit goes to the folks in Coms who helped write the presentations and the solid work done by the co-CEOs. Overall, this was very nicely done.
Executive Summary: DeepSeek was founded in May 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who previously established High-Flyer, a quantitative hedge fund in Hangzhou, China. Liang, an AI enthusiast with a background in computer science from Zhejiang University, began his entrepreneurial journey with High-Flyer in 2015, focusing on AI-driven trading strategies. By 2021, High-Flyer was exclusively using AI for its trading, amassing over 10,000 Nvidia A100 GPUs before US export restrictions on AI chips to China were imposed.
The pivot to DeepSeek came from a desire to delve into Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) research, separate from High-Flyer’s financial operations. This move was catalyzed by the global interest in AI following the advent of models like ChatGPT. DeepSeek was initially part of High-Flyer before becoming its own entity in May 2023.
DeepSeek’s approach has been distinct, focusing on open-source AI models and prioritizing innovation over immediate commercialization. Its first significant release was DeepSeek Coder in November 2023, followed by DeepSeek LLM in November of the same year. The company’s breakthrough came with DeepSeek-V2 in May 2024, which not only showcased strong performance but also initiated a price war in China’s AI sector due to its cost-effectiveness.
By December 2024, DeepSeek-V3 was launched, trained with significantly fewer resources than its peers, yet matching top-tier performance. This model, along with subsequent releases like DeepSeek-R1 in January 2025, has positioned DeepSeek as a key player in the global AI landscape, challenging established tech giants and marking a notable moment in AI development.
Akihabara News — In what has been dubbed the “Sputnik moment” of Artificial Intelligence, a Chinese startup named DeepSeek has catapulted to the forefront of the global AI race, challenging the long-held dominance of American tech giants. The launch of DeepSeek’s latest AI model, DeepSeek-V3, has not only surprised Silicon Valley but also sparked a significant reevaluation of the strategies and investments in AI development worldwide.
DeepSeek, based in Hangzhou and backed by the Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer, has unveiled an AI model that rivals, and in some cases outperforms, leading Western models like those from OpenAI, Meta, and Anthropic. Remarkably, DeepSeek-V3 was trained using a fraction of the resources typically required, spending less than US$6 million in contrast to the billions invested by US companies.
This achievement has led to a market rout, with shares of major tech companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Meta experiencing sharp declines as investors digest the implications of this disruptive technology.
The DeepSeek model’s efficiency is attributed to innovative techniques, including the use of Nvidia’s H800 chips for training, which are less powerful than those typically used in the United States but still enabled DeepSeek to achieve high performance levels. This has raised questions about the efficacy of US export controls aimed at restricting China’s access to advanced semiconductor technology, highlighting a potential gap in strategy that might not hinder China’s AI progress as intended.
The narrative around AI development has shifted dramatically, with DeepSeek’s success suggesting that the future of AI might not lie in sheer computational power but in smarter, more efficient use of existing resources.
This “Sputnik moment” echoes the shock and awe the United States felt when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, pushing America to accelerate its space program. Similarly, DeepSeek’s advancements are seen as a call to action for US tech leaders to innovate beyond the current paradigm of AI development, focusing on cost-effective and resource-efficient approaches.
Moreover, DeepSeek’s open-source approach to its models amplifies its impact, allowing developers worldwide to build upon and refine these technologies. This openness contrasts sharply with the proprietary models of many Western companies, potentially democratizing AI development and fostering a new wave of global collaboration and innovation. However, this also raises concerns about the control and ethical implications of AI, especially given the different regulatory environments in China compared to the West.
The implications for the global tech industry are profound. Not only does DeepSeek challenge the market dominance of US AI companies, but it also casts doubt on the sustainability of the current AI boom, which relies heavily on investments in expensive hardware. As AI models become more accessible and less costly to develop, the barrier to entry for new players decreases, potentially leading to a more diverse and competitive AI landscape.
In response, there’s a palpable sense of urgency in the United States to adapt and innovate. Discussions are already underway about how to strengthen AI research and development, with some suggesting a need for new strategies that could include more aggressive investments in foundational AI research, revising export controls, and fostering innovation in AI infrastructure that doesn’t solely depend on cutting-edge hardware.
As the dust settles on this AI Sputnik moment, the industry watches closely. DeepSeek has not only set a new benchmark for AI efficiency but has also initiated a global conversation on the future direction of AI technology development, spotlighting the need for agility, innovation, and perhaps, a rethinking of the entire AI development model.
Akihabara News — Samsung Electronics has ceased the supply of its AI chips to Baidu, a significant move prompted by stringent US export controls aimed at China. The decision, which took effect on January 22, involves the cessation of packaging for the AI chip known as “Kunlun.” This development impacts Baidu’s high-performance computing (HPC) capabilities, as the Kunlun chip was crucial for their AI initiatives.
The Kunlun chip was part of a collaboration between Samsung and Baidu since its introduction in 2019. The halt in supply reflects the broader implications of the escalating tech tensions between the United States and China, with the US government implementing increasingly tight regulations on advanced technology exports to China.
This strategic pivot by Samsung underscores the delicate balance the company must maintain between business opportunities and compliance with international trade laws. For Baidu, the cessation of the Kunlun chip supply could potentially slow down its AI development projects, pushing the company to seek alternative solutions or accelerate its own chip development efforts.
The move is part of a series of actions following US export restrictions on advanced semiconductors, which have been expanded to include more countries and technologies. These restrictions aim to limit China’s access to cutting-edge technology, particularly in areas like AI and high-performance computing, which are seen as critical for both economic and national security reasons.
Samsung and Baidu have not issued further statements on the matter beyond acknowledging the halt in supply, and no additional details regarding the impact on their respective operations or future collaborations have been disclosed.
Akihabara News — In a bold move signaling renewed faith in the United States under the second term of President Donald Trump, Masayoshi Son, the CEO of SoftBank Group, has announced an ambitious initiative that promises to significantly bolster the American economy. This follows a series of high-profile meetings and public appearances with Trump, highlighting a deepening partnership between the Japanese billionaire and the US administration.
On the first full day of Trump’s second term, Son stood alongside the president at a press conference in the White House, where he announced a staggering investment plan aimed at developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the United States. This initiative, dubbed “Stargate,” is not only a continuation but also an expansion of previous commitments. Son pledged an initial investment of US$100 billion, with an ambition to reach $500 billion over the next four years, targeting the creation of over 100,000 jobs in AI and related sectors.
The relationship between Son and Trump has its roots in the billionaire’s first promise back in 2016 when he committed US$50 billion to the United States, which included investments in companies like WeWork, although with mixed outcomes.
This time, the focus is sharply on AI, leveraging partnerships with tech giants like Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and OpenAI, where SoftBank will finance and OpenAI will handle operations.
Son’s announcement was met with enthusiasm from the Trump administration, which has been vocal about revitalizing American industry, particularly in cutting-edge technologies. President Trump himself praised Son’s commitment, playfully urging him during the press conference to “double down” on his investment, a nod to their previous interactions where similar jests had led to larger investment pledges.
This new initiative is seen as a testament to the “Trump Effect”–the perceived boost in investor confidence following Trump’s electoral victories.
Posts on social media platforms like X have celebrated this move, with many users likening it to the dawn of a “Golden Age” for America, echoing Son’s own optimistic rhetoric about the future of AI in the United States.
However, this partnership isn’t without its skeptics. Critics point to SoftBank’s past investments, where high expectations did not always yield the anticipated results, questioning how this massive financial commitment will translate into tangible job creation and technological advancement. There’s also scrutiny over how this investment will be funded, with analysts suggesting a combination of SoftBank’s balance sheet, new debt, or asset sales might be necessary.
Nevertheless, the immediate market response was positive, with SoftBank shares jumping following the announcement, indicating investor confidence in this venture. As Trump begins his second term with promises of economic rejuvenation, Son’s pledge is one of the first significant endorsements of that vision, setting a tone for what could be a transformative era for US tech and industry, underpinned by international investment and cooperation.
Project Stargate is both fascinating and extremely frightening if you, like I did, grew up with movies like Colossus: A Forbin Project, WarGames, Terminator, and The Matrix. All of these movies foretold what would happen if we birthed a global-level AI badly. Stargate, named after a movie and series that had nothing to do with AI likely because Skynet would have been too much on the nose, is a $500B project with global implications.
As those movies showcased, a lot of thought and effort needs to go into assuring the ethics, quality and goals of the AI before it is turned on as it promises to become the biggest and most powerful Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) when it is completed, if OpenAI’s timelines are to be believed.
As a result, the company leading this effort must be one that knows large-scale monolithic deployments, understands AI from a realistic standpoint (in other words knows both its positive and negative potential and how to avoid the latter), and has demonstrated it can be trusted.
The Risks of Project Stargate
There are a large number of risks when bringing out a project as aggressive as Stargate appears to be. First, even if the project is completed flawlessly, which is unlikely given how new the technology will be and how complex it will become, it will be a huge magnet for bad behavior. The data it will have access to alone could be worth trillions to companies that want to exploit it, and hostile countries, should they gain control or are able to crash the AI, would have the power to bring the U.S. to its knees in a way that might be unrecoverable should Stargate be connected to much of the U.S.’s military with a growing number of autonomous systems, and given it will also be connected to U.S. infrastructure management.
Everything from utilities to traffic management could be disrupted were it hacked or poorly programmed, making the risks associated with this project potentially greater than its short-term benefits. This project would need to reflect all of what we’ve learned from AI, its tendency to become biased, its tendency to hallucinate data making for bad decisions, and its tendency to become corrupted by its users.
The level of security, quality control, checks and balances, and the critical need for an extremely secure off-switch should this thing go off the rails are all critical and need a company that understands the critical nature of these things to be in charge of the project.
Wrapping Up: Why IBM Should Be in Charge of Project Stargate
IBM is over a century old, and it is decades older than the companies currently planning to run Project Stargate. In addition, IBM started working on AI decades ago. Through its partnership with NVIDIA, IBM knows the technology likely to be used to create Stargate intimately.
Earlier this month I saw a presentation from IBM on its SAP partnership and the number of banks that continue to rely on IBM above all other providers, choosing Power and Mainframes over more common platforms because of a vastly greater need for security and portability of applications between on-premise and the cloud.
These are all things even more critical to Stargate, and IBM over and over again demonstrates that when security, quality, reliability and uptime are critical, and with Stargate, the word “critical” is inadequate to cover something that has global implications for the survival of the race, let alone U.S. competitiveness.
IBM appears to be the only company with the experience, reach, focus on ethics, focus on quality and with the culture to prioritize quality and safety over revenue and speed that is needed on this project.
IBM’s executives are formally trained, and IBM takes security far more seriously than their peers, making them the best, if not only, choice to run Project Stargate if we want it to improve the world, not end it.
