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Microsoft says blue screen incident affects 8.5 million devices worldwide; Meta and Google reportedly bid for Ray-Ban parent company; WPS denies sharing documents with ByteDance to train AI

Shirley2024/07/22

Summary

CITIC Securities said that "Robot Run" has begun to have commercial landing capabilities; Musk: It's time to send astronauts to Mars; "Catching Dolls" became the first box office in the summer season

Many users found that WPS was suspected of sharing documents with ByteDance to train AI, but WPS denied it.

On July 22, many users recently posted on Weibo and Xiaohongshu that Kingsoft WPS Office software is suspected of sharing user-written documents with ByteDance's Doubao for artificial intelligence training. The main evidence is that the documents written by users have not yet been released, but ByteDance's Doubao AI can already give the document content.

Those who posted feedback included contracted authors on the Tomato Novel platform. For these authors, the content of their novels is usually very long, and the updates to the books they wrote locally have not yet been released. How could Doubao AI obtain the content? The only reasonable guess is that Kingsoft WPS shared the user content with ByteDance.

Kingsoft WPS's official Weibo account denied the rumor, saying that it takes strict measures to prevent unauthorized disclosure of user information, and that all user documents will not be used for any AI training purposes or in any scenario without user consent. Kingsoft WPS also emphasized that the company has not conducted any AI-level cooperation with Doubao AI under ByteDance, and that there is no case of documents being used for AI training. (Source: Blue Dot Network)

Google, Meta reportedly in competition to buy Ray-Ban's parent company

On July 22, there were reports that Google was in contact with EssilorLuxottica (the company behind the Ray-Bans brand) and planned to cooperate in the production of smart glasses equipped with the Gemini model. Foreign media The Verge revealed that Google plans to further purchase shares of EssilorLuxottica to obtain more bargaining/control rights.

It is reported that EssilorLuxottica is an Italian-French vertically integrated multinational company headquartered in Paris. It was formed on October 1, 2018 by the merger of Italy's Luxottica and France's Essilor. The group designs, produces and sells ophthalmic lenses, optical devices, prescription glasses and sunglasses.

EssilorLuxottica has previously cooperated with Meta to launch two generations of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The latest news is that Meta also plans to spend billions of dollars to acquire approximately 5% of EssilorLuxottica's shares to deepen cooperation. It can be said that the two giants are eyeing EssilorLuxottica.

In May this year, Google accidentally revealed a pair of AR glasses when demonstrating Project Astra. The glasses are similar to Google Glass, which was launched in 2013. They are mainly used as a user's life assistant. In the video demonstration at that time, the presenter asked Gemini: "Do you remember where you saw my glasses?" Gemini replied: "Yes, I remember. Your glasses are on the table, next to the apple." (Source: IT Home)

The "Microsoft Blue Screen" incident affects about 8.5 million Windows devices worldwide

On July 21, the "Microsoft Blue Screen" incident still dominated the technology media. The latest news showed that the incident affected about 8.5 million Windows devices worldwide. Tesla CEO Musk called it "the biggest IT failure in history."

Microsoft's blue screen usually refers to the phenomenon that the screen displays a blue error message during the operation of the Windows operating system, which is usually accompanied by a system crash, seriously affecting the user's work efficiency.

This incident has caused problems and troubles for retailers, banks, airlines and many other industries, as well as everyone who relies on these Windows devices. For example, it has affected the production of Tesla factories. Musk was very angry about this and called it "the biggest IT fail ever." (Source: TechWeb)

Musk: It's time to send astronauts to Mars

On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 spacecraft was successfully launched, the first manned spacecraft in human history to successfully land on the moon. On July 20, local time, SpaceX CEO Musk posted a reply to the "55th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing" and said that it is time to send astronauts to Mars to take the United States to new heights.

It is understood that Musk said in April this year that according to the current level of technological development of civilization, it will only take 20 years to achieve self-sufficiency on Mars. If our civilization can become a multi-planet civilization and eventually a multi-star civilization, then our civilization will be able to last for millions of years, not just a few hundred years.

It is worth mentioning that Musk has previously revealed his wish - he hopes to die on Mars in the future. He said that it would be very cool to be born on Earth and buried on Mars. In order to achieve the goal of "migrating to Mars", Musk and SpaceX have invested a lot of energy and resources. (Source: Fast Technology)

Meta reportedly cuts spending on Reality Labs

On July 21, according to The Information, Zuckerberg's Meta is significantly cutting its investment in the Metaverse project. The report quoted a former manager of Meta's Reality Labs department, which is responsible for VR, AR and the Metaverse, as saying that the department's hardware team has been asked to cut spending by nearly 20% from this year to 2026.

The department reportedly carried out layoffs last year, mainly targeting mid- and senior-level managers, including a dozen vice presidents and directors who were laid off last month.

Meta has invested more than $40 billion in the Metaverse, which is a key project of Zuckerberg. However, as the company faces economic pressure, Zuckerberg has to re-examine this high-risk investment. He once said that the Metaverse is a long-term bet, but the company needs to improve efficiency and ensure the rational allocation of resources. (Source: The Information)

CITIC Securities: Baidu's "Carrot Run" has begun to have commercial landing capabilities

CICC Research believes that Baidu's "Carrot Run" has maintained a service volume of more than 800,000 times per quarter in the past three quarters, and has begun to have the ability to be commercialized. Currently, it mainly uses the dual stimulation of low prices and novelty after subsidies to enhance consumer sentiment.

Through mid- to long-term cost reduction, "LuoBoKuaiPao" is expected to achieve an average daily profit of 25.4 yuan per vehicle in the medium term, with a payback period of 6.17 years; and an average daily profit of 133.04 yuan per vehicle in the long term, with a payback period of 2.72 years.

If "Carrot Run" can be promoted in pilot cities/first- and second-tier cities/nationwide, the market space under neutral expectations can reach 42.6 billion yuan/52.9 billion yuan/155.3 billion yuan, corresponding to profits of 14.2 billion yuan/17.6 billion yuan/51.6 billion yuan. (Source: 36Kr)

Porsche reportedly considering buying a minority stake in VARTA to protect potential investment in V4Drive battery business

On July 21, according to the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Porsche is considering acquiring a minority stake in VARTA to protect potential investment in the troubled battery manufacturer's large lithium-ion battery business.

Varta announced on the 4th of this month that it is in talks with Porsche on investment in V4Drive, a large lithium-ion cylindrical battery. According to the plan, the business will be transferred to V4Drive Battery GmbH, and Porsche will be involved through capital increase.

FAZ reported today that in order to maintain this plan, Porsche can also hold a minority stake in V4Drive's parent company Varta AG. Varta, which currently has a market value of about 440 million euros, declined to comment. Porsche did not immediately comment on the news. (Source: IT Home)

AR startup Magic Leap cuts sales and marketing teams, shifts focus to technology licensing

On July 21, Bloomberg reported that multiple sources revealed that AR startup Magic Leap has laid off its entire sales and marketing team of about 75 people. The company currently plans to shift its business focus to licensing its optical technology for AR headsets rather than continuing to manufacture new products.

Magic Leap CEO Ross Rosenberg responded to the layoffs, but a company spokesperson told Bloomberg that the layoffs were to "better adapt to market dynamics and emerging opportunities." (Source: Bloomberg)

Bandai Namco x Lao Feng Xiang "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" gold jewelry, on sale July 26

On July 21, Bandai Namco China announced that it would start a cross-border cooperation with Lao Feng Xiang to launch the "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" IP joint gold jewelry, which will be officially released on July 26. The pre-heating poster shows that the new joint products will include a necklace in the style of the FAITH (Tactical Integration Adaptation Headquarters) badge.

Note: "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" is the 9th Gundam series television animation, broadcast in Japan from 2002 to 2003. The sequel "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny" was broadcast in Japan from 2004 to 2005.

The movie version of "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM" was released in Japan on January 26, 2024, and the global box office has exceeded 32 million US dollars (IT Home Note: Currently about 233 million yuan). (Source: IT Home)

2025 Audi A3/A3L unveiled: 1.5T engine

On July 21, it was reported that FAW Audi's 2025 A3 and A3L family models will soon be launched on the market. They have been unveiled at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. According to the latest reports, these two new models are planned to be officially launched within the year.

Compared with the current model, the most striking change is that the new model will mainly use a 1.5T four-cylinder engine, which is highly anticipated. At present, the official guide price range of the FAW Audi A3 series is RMB 203,100 to RMB 251,300. (Source: Fast Technology)

The 2024 summer box office exceeded 5.5 billion, and "Catch the Doll" surpassed "Silent Killer" and took the first place

According to real-time data from online platforms on July 21, as of 17:00 on July 20, the total box office (including pre-sales) of the 2024 summer season (June to August) exceeded 5.5 billion yuan. At present, the box office of "Catching Dolls" has surpassed "Silent Killing" and jumped to the top of the box office during the period.

"Catching Dolls" is a new film co-produced by Shen Teng and Ma Li. It achieved a box office of 640 million yuan in just one day after its official release. The film tells the story of Ma Chenggang (played by Shen Teng) and Chunlan (played by Ma Li), a wealthy businessman living in Xihong City. They do not take the usual path and hope to cultivate their son into a talent by raising him in poverty. The couple disguised themselves as a poor family, and a series of ridiculous stories happened over the past ten years.

According to the forecast of Maoyan Professional Edition platform, the final box office of "Catching Dolls" is expected to reach 3.7 billion yuan, which will surpass "Hot and Sour" in the Spring Festival and is expected to become the box office champion of 2024. (Source: Fast Technology)

Microsoft Musk carrot run