Meta CEO Says Apple’s Success Is Restricted to the iPhone While Calling It Out For Limited Innovation

Mark Zuckerberg’s recent podcast appearance is causing a stir online, especially after his comments on Apple.

The Meta CEO did not shy away from speaking his mind on yesterday’s Joe Rogan podcast. This is where he was asked to comment on an array of different topics including the upcoming Trump administration and content moderation. However, what really got people’s attention was the discussion on Apple.

Zuckerberg is no fan of Apple’s stringent policies and we’re all quite aware of this. In his latest interview, the Meta CEO shared how 15 to 30% of all the fees that the iPhone maker charges for its App Store is a means to disguise the massive sales it makes for iPhones. If that was not brutal enough, Zuckerberg also limited the Cupertino firm’s success to just iPhones with limited innovation in terms of any new product.

Apple made use of this device to help place several rules on what it feels is arbitrary. They don’t think they’ve really created anything in a long time. It’s almost similar to the likes of Steve Jobs who devised the iPhone and now they are sitting on its success for the past two decades.

Zuckerberg also shared how he was not aware if they were doing great in the iPhone department either as he suspected sales to be on the declining end of the spectrum. Every generation you do get a device but that does not mean it’s better than the one launched previously, he continued. Therefore, so many users don’t feel the need to undergo the upgrade, he continued.

When asked what his perspective was about the company making more money each year, the logic put out by Zuckerberg here was interesting. He mentioned that this might be linked to hiring more people as developers and taking a 30% tax from them.

Another leading issue that seemed to be on his mind was AirPods and how the company refused to give the Facebook parent firm access to iPhones linked to the Meta Ray-Ban glasses.

While AirPods were called out as a great product, what’s the purpose when you cannot enable another archrival to build another great product that links to this device in the same manner.

So AirPods have exclusive capabilities to get linked to iPhones only so only they connect and no one else. It’s like a very seamless connection that gets enabled but not anyone else can use this kind of protocol. If they tried, there would be a lot of great people competing with AirPods in the end.

Meta has been trying long and hard to get Apple to give it some access to better its connectivity for the Meta Ray-Ban glasses but clearly it’s a big no. Apple does not allow this and feels it violates user privacy and safety. Zuckerberg blamed the creators at Apple for the poor design of the device that compromises user safety and therefore blames others for it.

In the end, Zuckerberg showed great optimism about Apple being dethroned from its top position soon because their game in regards to innovation is certainly not top-notch for now.

The next topic of discussion was Google and RCS for iPhones and how Apple failed to approve both security and encryption for messaging instead of designing its own. The RCS Universal Profile is yet to be adopted but they do hope that it’s coming soon.

When asked about the VisionPro, he said Apple failed miserably in that department. A product that pricey had no chance of competing with Meta’s Quest version that came at $300 or $400. He feels that the second and third generations will hopefully be better than the first but only time can tell because right now, it’s just not working.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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• Marketing Salaries Surge as AI Skills Drive Demand in Creative and Strategic Roles
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Marketing Salaries Surge as AI Skills Drive Demand in Creative and Strategic Roles

According to a report from Robert Half research, the median annual salary of a corporate chief marketing officer in the US is $200,250. Nowadays marketing professionals with AI experience are much needed as using AI tools can boost work efficiency and lessen the workload. Because of this new added skill, there's an increase in salaries in marketing professionals. Professionals from marketing, content and PR professionals also have flexibility to work in remote and hybrid environments.

The report also talked about different salaries by profession in the US. The average salary for a creative director with advanced qualifications and skills is $163,500 while employees at starting positions get $101,750 median salary of $101,750. The creative services manager new to their role gets a $76,500 median salary while a professional gets a salary of $113,250.

69% of the marketers agree that advancements in AI are reshaping the skill sets needed in some roles. When managers were asked where they use contract talent the most, 42% said digital marketing, 41% said traditional marketing and 33% said that they use contract talent for content strategy, development and management. 57% of the marketers say that their top priority is a hybrid work arrangement, with managers saying that their ideal working plan is 4 days on-site for staff.

There are some specific skills that need to increase in salaries in marketing and creative fields. The most potential for a salary increase is in creative development and art direction (37%), UX and UI design (34%) and content strategy (26%). 52% of the managers said that they bridge the skill gap through upskilling, 50% pay for professional certifications and 45% reskill employees for new skills to bridge their skill gap. The most sought-after marketing and creative jobs right now are copywriter, digital marketing manager, digital project manager and graphic designer.

When managers were asked how they use AI, 47% use it for data analysis and reporting, 45% use it for customer service and 44% use AI for email marketing. The emerging AI marketing roles are prompt engineer, AI graphic designer and AI trainer.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Meta CEO Accused of Permitting Training of AI Models on Copyright Material Without Consent

The number of copyright lawsuits against tech giant Meta is growing. A new legal case has sprung up that happens to be one of many speaking about Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg permitting the team to use copyright content for training its AI Llama models.

The case in question Kadrey Vs Meta really opened many people’s eyes to Zuckerberg’s actions without fearing the repercussions that this could have. On most occasions, Meta keeps speaking about how it’s shielded from enjoining in pirated activities despite the American doctrine speaking otherwise.

It states how companies only have the right to use copyrighted material to produce new products that are accurately transformed. Plenty of creators reject this argument and feel the tech giant is using its mighty power to rid people of their copyrights and hard work without consent and compensation.

The new files that were sent to the District Court in Northern California add how the plaintiffs entail some big names from the world of journalism. They recounted the exact moment when Meta’s CEO showed up to approve a dataset for AI training of LLama.

This provided the company access to copyright material from various publishers such as Cengage Learning and Pearson Education, amongst so many more. Moreover, LibGen was sued on several different occasions and even forced to undergo a shutdown. Let’s not forget the growing number of fines worth tens of millions for matters like infringing copyright laws.

As per the testimony, Zuckerberg cleared the company of using content online that was protected by copyrights for Llama models. He gave the green signal even though several top AI executives felt that this was not the right way to go about training AI models.

This eyebrow-raising filing quoted how Meta’s workers were well aware of their actions entailing pirating material. They even flagged that using it could undermine its negotiating power with different regulators.

The case also brings into light a memo sent to top decision makers at Meta where the matter got escalated to Zuckerberg and how it was approved to use LibGen. So all details in this filing line up to the case published by the New York Times that says Meta did everything and anything in its power to produce book summaries and consider purchasing Simon & Schuster. In this case, executives felt it might take a long time to come to a deal for licensing. They even tried to find solid reasons in defense of the illegal actions.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

PayPal Phishing Scam Tricks Users with Authentic Emails: Are You at Risk?

Fortinet’s head of security, Carl Windsor, says that cybercriminals have created a new phishing attack using PayPal. It is a latest PayPal linked social engineering scam in which the attackers use an email address and URL which seems exactly like PayPal’s. Most people know to not check emails from unknown senders and some also check if a link is legitimate or not before clicking on it. Cybersecurity experts also recommend people to never open links if they are in emails sent from unknown companies or brands. If they want to check if the link is legitimate, just copy and paste the link in the browser.

Now the new PayPal phishing attempt isn't like traditional phishing attacks. Everything that the scammers are using, from URLs to the emails, are completely valid. So how is it possible? Windsor says that attackers are requesting money using a genuine PayPal address by circumventing the system. It is being said that scammers registered a MS365 domain and then created a distribution email with emails of victims. After that, the attackers went to Request Money from Anyone portal on PayPal and pasted all the email addresses from the distribution list. These emails then do not get flagged as malicious as they pass through all the authentication tools.

Inside the email, there is a PayPal link that seems legitimate and when users click on it, it takes them to the sign-in page of PayPal. Most of the time, users get panicked after receiving an email from PayPal and log in to their accounts to check their money. When the user logins their account, that's when the attackers link their accounts too. It is a neat trick by which scammers can easily take over a victim's account without them having a clue.

Fortinet CISO says that users should become a Human Firewall and get themselves trained that they should never open an unsolicited email no matter how real it looks. Even though some people cannot become Human Firewalls, they should still be suspicious of every email that comes your way.

Image: DIW-AIgen

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Can Microsoft’s New Data Centers Truly Balance Water Savings and Energy Demands?

Microsoft is taking steps to reduce water consumption in its next-generation data centers. These new facilities will recycle water in a closed-loop system, cooling servers without requiring additional water after construction. This approach could save over 125 million liters of water per year for each data center.

The new design eliminates the need for water evaporation to cool servers, which has been a standard practice. Instead, liquid cooling solutions provide precise temperature control and reduce water use. The new data centers will operate in Arizona and Wisconsin starting in 2026. However, existing data centers will continue using current cooling systems that combine air and water technologies.

Microsoft reports a 39% improvement in water efficiency since 2021, with an average Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) of 0.30 liters per kilowatt-hour. This progress is attributed to ongoing efforts to reduce water waste, expand operating temperature ranges, and utilize reclaimed water in areas like Texas and Singapore.

Despite these advancements, the "zero-water" claim may oversimplify the reality. The system still uses water for non-cooling purposes like restrooms and kitchens. Plus, switching to mechanical cooling increases energy consumption, raising concerns about sustainability trade-offs. While Microsoft says these systems will operate with renewable energy, critics question whether the added power demand offsets the water savings.

Microsoft’s efforts reflect a shift towards sustainable operations, but the balance between water efficiency and energy use remains a challenge. As the company expands its data center fleet, reducing environmental impact will require ongoing innovation and transparency.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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• Reddit Outshines Search Engines in Product Research, Study Reveals
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Reddit Outshines Search Engines in Product Research, Study Reveals

A Reddit study reveals that 47% of social media users struggle with irrelevant search terms during online product research. Frustrated by traditional search engines and ads, many turn to platforms like Reddit for personalized recommendations and engaging discussions.

71% of the respondents in the study said that Reddit is one of the best social media platforms because it has all the answers for even the most specific questions.

The study shows that Reddit is impacting the purchase journey of users by helping them find products and giving them reviews of products they are about to buy. Users on Reddit create discussions about brands, which also increase brand visibility. The study also found that there are an average of 3,500 views for every 1,000 ad impressions on Reddit, and advertisers get about two organic posts. 23% of the recommendation posts on Reddit also make users buy products they hadn't considered buying before. This happens when a user asks the Reddit community for recommendations or advice about their needs.

The study also found that users trust Reddit’s suggestions and recommendations more than any other platform. Even though Reddit recommendations are ranked a little below expert review sites, Reddit reviews and recommendations still stand out among influencer posts and social media ads. This shows that many people are more trusting of community-driven recommendations and don't really trust traditional advertisements.

Reddit’s reach is also being compared to influencer marketing, with claims that it is even higher than that of influencers. It was found that the audience on an endemic review site gets about 82 Reddit posts. The audience of an influencer on Instagram with 100,000 followers sees six Reddit posts, while the audience of a TikTok influencer with 100,000 followers sees eight Reddit posts. 25% of the Reddit posts are related to recommendations, and this means that there's a lot of potential on the platform.

Consumers want trust and authenticity, and Reddit is perfectly delivering this to users. This results in more engagement on Reddit for recommendations, as it gives solutions to user frustrations when they cannot get their desired results on traditional search engines.

Image: DIW-Aigen
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From Supercomputers to Self-Driving Trucks: Nvidia’s CES 2025 Announcements Redefine Innovation

CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, unveiled some new technologies and products at CES 2025, and announced a $3000 desk sized supercomputer, some foundational models, robotics innovations and many visions of the company related to AI. Jensen Huang also revealed RTX 50 GPUs which have high performance, as well as Cosmos foundation models which can generate photo-realistic videos and can help in the training of self-driving cars and robots. The announcement that attracted people the most was of an AI computer the size of Mac Mini and worth $3000. This AI supercomputer by Nvidia can handle 200B parameters, and Nvidia claims that it is 1000 times more powerful than regular laptops and computers.

The supercomputer is powered by GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip and has 4TB storage and 128 GB memory. The supercomputer is also going to run on Linux based NVIDIA DGX OS and it can deliver 1 petaflop of AI performance because of FP4 precision. The memory architecture of this supercomputer which is named “Project Digits” as of now is similar to that of Apple’s M-series chips.

The Nvidia supercomputer is expected to release in May 2025, but users can register themselves beforehand. This is going to change how we access and work with AI as a lot of computing power is going to be available in desk sized computers now. Nvidia is also going to become the first $4 trillion market cap company soon because of its capabilities in chip making and AI computing. Nvidia’s share prices are also increasing with increase in investors too.

Huang has also introduced the Isaac GR00T Blueprint for robotics which will help in the development of humanoid robots. Developers will be able to train robots quickly through that blueprint. Developers will also be able to create large datasets for training humanoid robots through different learning models. Nvidia is also working with Aurora, Toyota and Continental to develop self-driving trucks and other autonomous vehicles and aims for the automotive industry to grow up to $6 billion by 2026.

All of robotics and automotive is expected to make Nvidia’s revenue reach $449 million in the recent quarter while $30.8 billion will be gained from AI data center chips. Amazon and Microsoft are also competing with Nvidia in AI chips, so Nvidia is also working on making the company more than just an AI chip maker. Nvidia has a strong vision for AI, robotics and automotive vehicles but it should also be kept in mind that most of the technologies unveiled at CES never see the light of the day.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World