Quick hits: May 2019

Microsoft enters the ‘billion-dollar club’. It is the third company to cross the threshold after Apple and Amazon. The Microsoft title flies to Wall Street and the Redmond giant founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen enters the club for the first time, exceeding a market value of one thousand billion dollars. Until now only Apple and Amazon were successful, while the other giant of the web and hi-tech, Google, is still pursuing the goal. To push Microsoft in the Olympus the excellent results of the first quarter of 2019, obtained above all thanks to the rebound of the sales of the operating system of the house of Redmond, Windows.

Turin becomes ‘technology capital’ with the Italian Tech Week

Turin wants to become the Italian capital of technology. The Italian Tech Week sets this ambitious goal, with four focuses: Industry, Impact, Investments and Ideas. Two elements in particular of the Italian Tech Week approach are significant: first of all the idea that innovation is not just digital. Technology is applied to manufacturing (to continue producing in Italy), it is new ways of financing business ideas, it is still new answers to society’s questions, or even new ways of producing art. The second point is the organizational structure: the Italian Tech Week experiments with a widespread and plural organizational method. There is no ‘owner’: the SEI (School of Entrepreneurship & Innovation) of Turin coordinates the work but in fact there are 11 promoters of the events and about twenty partners. The event is on the agenda from 25 to 28 June 2019. First black hole picture: a breakthrough look from across the universe Thanks to the Event Horizon Telescope and an international project involved, the historic image of the black hole in the center of the M87 galaxy was captured.

Scientists have unveiled an image of this object, a supermassive black hole that has the same mass of 6.5 billion suns. A circular black void surrounded by a slightly lopsided ring of light, this historic photo is our first vision of the shape of a black hole, an image that approaches the inexorable edge of the mouth of the black hole.

Nintendo Switch Online has almost reached 10 million users Although only available since last September 2018, Nintendo Switch Online is already enjoying huge success. According to the latest financial data released by Nintendo, in fact, the service that allows access to the multiplayer features of the games has reached more than 9.8 million subscribers. In the count there are both the passes made with the free trial and those of the Family Membership. Based on the latest Switch sales figures, around one third of console owners have subscribed to the service. An excellent result for the big N that could push it to further improve its offer.