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Apple reportedly plans to launch a redesigned MacBook Pro this summer following a surge in Mac sales
In this articleAAPLThe 2020 MacBook Air on the left versus the 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro on the right.Todd Haselton | CNBCApple is planning to release redesigned MacBook Pro laptops with an updated version of its in-house processor sometime this summer, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.The update will be followed by new versions of the MacBook Air, the Mac Pro desktop and the entry-level MacBook Pro, likely later in the year, the report said.It shows how Apple is quickly working to capitalize on using its own chips after announcing last year it would transition away from Intel processors. The Apple M1 processor made its debut in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini last year and is also used in the new iMac, which launched this spring. The computers will reportedly use newer and more powerful versions of Apple’s processor.Apple’s MacBook customers seem to like the new chip so far. Paired with the at-home work environment of the pandemic and a crop of new M1 computers, Apple’s fiscal Q2 Mac revenue jumped 70.1% year over year from $6.86 billion to $9.1 billion. Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC last month that he expects the business to continue to perform well, even
How Google's $150 billion advertising business works
In this articleGOOGLThe Google logo is seen January 8, 2020 at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada.ROBYN BECK /AFPAlphabet’s market capitalization of over $1.5 trillion makes it one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world, trailing only Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.Created in 2015, Alphabet is essentially a holding company for Google, which generates nearly all of its revenue and profit. Google has always portrayed itself as a tech company and has invested in many far-reaching areas of technology — such as internet search, mobile phones, artificial intelligence, self-driving cars and health technology. Its conference for software developers, Google I/O, which kicks off Tuesday, typically intersperses deep tech talk with far-reaching visions of the future.But Google’s main business is online advertising. In 2020, Alphabet generated almost $183 billion in revenue. Of that, $147 billion — over 80% — came from Google’s ads business, according to the company’s 2020 annual report. Google has been the market leader in online advertising for well over a decade and is expected to command nearly a 29% share of digital ad spending globally in 2021, according to eMarketer. Number-two Facebook is expected to capture less than 24%, while Alibaba is
Home construction sees biggest drop since pandemic hit. Here's why
Despite a historic shortage of homes for sale, homebuilders are actually slowing production, handcuffed by skyrocketing commodity prices and shortages of land and skilled labor. Single-family housing starts dropped more than 13% in April compared with March, the U.S. Census reported Tuesday. That’s the sharpest decrease since last April, when the pandemic shut down the economy. “I have to blame the difficulty in procuring lumber and other products, along with labor issues for the miss, in addition to likely cancellations due to skyrocketing costs for single family starts,” said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. Prices new and existing homes are at record levels, and the increases are accelerating at the fastest clip in over 15 years. Nearly half of all builders say they are adding escalation clauses to their sale prices because of rising material costs, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Home Builders. “Escalation clauses specify that if building materials increase, by a certain percentage for example, the customer would be responsible for paying the higher cost. Including such a clause allows all parties to be on notice that the contract costs could change if materials prices change due to supply constraints outside the builder’s
Hackers behind Colonial Pipeline attack received $90 million in bitcoin before shutting down
In this photo illustration, a bitcoin logo is seen displayed on an Android smartphone with a hacker in the background.Miguel Candela | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty ImagesLONDON — DarkSide, the hacker group behind the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, received a total of $90 million in bitcoin ransom payments before shutting down last week, according to fresh research.Colonial Pipeline was hit with a devastating cyberattack earlier this month that forced the company to shut down approximately 5,500 miles of pipeline, crippling gas delivery systems in southeastern states. The FBI blamed the attack on DarkSide, a cybercriminal gang believed to be based in Eastern Europe, and Colonial reportedly paid a $5 million ransom to the group. DarkSide operates what’s known as a “ransomware as a service” business model, meaning the hackers develop and market ransomware tools and sell them to other criminals who then carry out attacks. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that’s designed to block access to a computer system. Hackers demand a ransom payment — typically cryptocurrency — in return for restoring access.On Friday, London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said it had identified the bitcoin wallet used by DarkSide to collect ransom payments from its victims.
The new iMac is great if you want a beautiful desktop computer to show off in your home or office
In this articleAAPLApple iMac M1 2021Todd Haselton | CNBCApple just gave the iMac its the first major redesign since 2012, and I’ve been testing one out for a week.It’s insanely thin. Like the 1999 iMac, it ships in a bunch of colors. But most notably, this the first time Apple’s all-in-one desktop computer is using the same M1 chip as the iPad, following the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini, which received the processor last year.It’s a heck of a time to launch a new Mac. Apple’s Mac sales have continued to grow through the pandemic and were up 70% year over year in its fiscal Q2 as people worked, learned and played at home. That growth may slow as people continue to get vaccinated and head back to our commutes (and our clunky work-issued computers), but the iMac is so nice it may help push Mac sales for people who still need a computer at home.Here’s what you need to know about it.What’s goodSource: Apple Inc.The iMac is just crazy, crazy thin. It’s sort of like a giant iPad with a big bottom chin sitting on a metal stand. It’s also surprisingly light, which means you can easily
Home equity hits a record high — here's how to tap your house for cash
Whether it’s a kitchen remodel or dedicated work space, after a year of staying in, most homeowners have at least entertained the idea of a home renovation project.Yet anyone who has tried to tap their house for cash might be in for a surprise.Skyrocketing home prices have resulted in a record amount of home equity on hand. By the end of last year, roughly 46 million homeowners held a total $7.3 trillion in equity to tap, the largest amount ever recorded, according to Black Knight, a mortgage technology and research firm.Still, it’s not always easy to access that money. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, several large banks stopped offering home equity lines of credit altogether to lower their exposure — or risk — during uncertain economic times.More from Personal Finance:Many Americans can’t afford an emergency expenseA Roth IRA could help you buy a home. Here’s what to knowWill your child’s school mandate Covid vaccinations?Up until last year, a HELOC, which is a revolving line of credit but with better rates than a credit card, had been a popular way to borrow against the equity you’ve accumulated in your home. The average interest rate on this type of credit is
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