Latest news with #Frequency
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tyler City Council approves $12.6 million contract to modernize Lake Tyler Pumping Station
TYLER, Texas (KETK) — The Tyler City Council approved $12.6 million contract with Taknek to modernize the Lake Tyler Pumping station. Tyler water line extension gets $2.1 million contract approval Tyler Water Utilities (TWU) will use the money to upgrade the Lake Tyler Raw Water Pump Station, one of the most important links in the City's water supply system. 'We're designing a system that can serve Tyler's growing population and withstand emergencies without skipping a beat,' TWU Project Engineer Jacob Yanker said. 'This investment ensures families can continue to count on clean water, even in the face of rapid growth or unexpected outages.' Raw water has been pumped into Lake Tyler to the Golden Road treatment plant for decades and is responsible for the majority of Tyler's drinking water. The upgrades will modernize with new Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) along with the service equipment. 'There are a lot of trees around Lake Tyler, which has led to a loss of power for the pump station during severe weather,' Yanker said. 'The back-up generator would solve our power issues and keep water flowing.' The upgrades will focus on long-term sustainability and service reliability. Construction is set to begin this summer and will take 36 months to complete. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Verge
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Why one obscure app could help crumble Meta's empire
If the question, 'Who is Meta's biggest rival?' were on a Family Feud survey, TikTok would likely be the winning answer. In the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case against the Facebook and Instagram owner, the government's response probably wouldn't even make the top 10: a small blockchain-based platform called MeWe. MeWe looks a fair amount like Facebook at first glance, except that you make an account using the Frequency blockchain — which the company explains is a decentralized protocol that lets you move your social connections to other (mostly hypothetical at this point) apps that support Frequency. The company says 20 million users have joined, but when I make a MeWe account and log in, I scroll through my autopopulated feed and think, 'Who are these people?' I search for a few of my Verge colleagues, figuring if anyone has tried this obscure app, it might be one of them, but I come up short. I try some public figures: Tim Cook? Jeff Bezos? Mark Zuckerberg? There are some accounts with these names, but it seems unlikely they're the ones I have in mind. The claim that MeWe is a closer competitor to Facebook and Instagram than TikTok might be baffling if you're not steeped in antitrust law or the specifics of the FTC's complaint. Meta CEO Zuckerberg testified he hadn't even heard of the app before this case was filed. But the FTC has spent the past three weeks laying out its logic. Using Meta's own internal discussions about how it views itself and its competition, it says that Meta has historically, and to this day, competed in a market for connecting with friends and family online — and when it saw its dominance in that space threatened by the rise of Instagram and WhatsApp, it bought them to squash the competition. Whether Judge James Boasberg buys this could determine who wins the case — if the FTC can also show that Meta acted illegally through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp to solidify its alleged monopoly power. Antitrust law is supposed to ensure fair competition, which usually means that people have options for a useful class of goods and services — what's known as a relevant market. The FTC says that here, that market is 'personal social networking services,' or PSNs: spaces where a core purpose is helping people connect with friends and family. While there are many online platforms that overlap with Meta's services, the FTC argues that virtually none of them serve that market. If internet users want to find and hang out with people they know — as opposed to, say, watching influencers or making work connections — then it's Mark Zuckerberg's way or… in the government's telling, Snapchat, BeReal, and MeWe. Beyond that core definition, PSNs have some other unique features and norms: The apps feature a social graph of users' friends and family connections, as opposed to mapping users primarily based on their interests. Users can look up and find people they know in real life. And they come to the app to share personal updates with those people. Facebook and Instagram increasingly display videos and photos from influencers and celebrities, but the FTC argues personal social networking remains a core service. It used Instagram chief Adam Mosseri's testimony to most clearly make this point. In that testimony as well as posts to his own Instagram account, Mosseri said that it's still important for the app to connect users with their friends. The FTC argues that even if that use case is a smaller portion of what Meta's apps do these days, it's still a significant need users have that can virtually only be fulfilled by Facebook and Instagram. While someone might connect with people they know in real life on LinkedIn, they likely won't primarily share personal updates there. And while they also could follow and interact with people they know on TikTok or YouTube, they're more likely to passively watch videos from people they don't. Meta says this is an entirely wrong way to think about it. Social media platforms compete for users' time and attention, so whether a particular app is squarely aimed at so-called friends and family sharing is beside the point. Facebook and Instagram have evolved to show more content from people like influencers, shifting further from the use case the FTC says Meta has illegally dominated. The company has already landed some important points that could help its case, and it will get more time to push back on the agency's framing when it calls its own witnesses in the coming weeks. But as the FTC's case-in-chief continues into its fifth week, its argument for Meta's dominance is becoming a lot clearer. Why do people use Facebook? When defining a market, each side is trying to answer a key question: why are people choosing one particular company's product? A lot of goods and services compete with each other in some sense, but this doesn't mean they serve the same niche. In the case of sodas, for example, 'you could buy lemon-lime, but many people would never see that as a close substitute for buying Coke or Pepsi,' says George Washington Law professor and former FTC Chair Bill Kovacic. In the tech world, Netflix has claimed its biggest competitors are Fortnite and sleep — but those comparisons probably wouldn't stand up in court. The FTC says that outside of Facebook and Instagram, only apps like Snapchat and MeWe can fulfill a users' desire to broadcast personal updates with friends and family online. To make its case, it brought in a string of executives from other social media companies to explain why their apps can't quite scratch the same itch for users. Strava's former VP of connected partnerships Mateo Ortega testified that sure, users of the fitness-tracking social media app could share baby photos on the platform, but they probably wouldn't unless it was in a running stroller. 'It's all about fitness, and while you can post other stuff, it just doesn't seem as relevant,' he said. 'You could buy lemon-lime, but many people would never see that as a close substitute for buying Coke or Pepsi' Pinterest's former head of user growth Julia Roberts testified that users who come to Pinterest 'expecting it to be like other social media apps … tend to be confused about how to use the product.' That's because the app is so much not about connecting with other people that it works much differently from other social media platforms. Pinterest is more about finding things users are interested in, she said, so 'following is not a big part of the Pinterest experience.' TikTok has a tab where users can watch videos from their friends — identified as people who mutually follow each other. But head of operations Adam Presser testified only about 1 percent of videos watched on the platform are there. The company doesn't think of itself as competing with Meta's apps for personal social networking, he testified. And even though side-by-side screenshots of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts look identical, Presser said, 'when you click out of this view for these other platforms, you would get to essentially what I think of as their core business,' which for Instagram, includes a feed and stories that often contain at least some content from family and friends. At times, Meta's cross-examination of rival company executives showed the limits of apps' similarities. When questioning Apple director of product marketing Ronak Shah, Meta sought to show that group chats in Apple's messaging feature could serve as a social media feed for friends and family sharing. But Shah testified that feed would be limited to 32 people at most, and users can't just look up each others' profiles like they would on social platforms. Still, Meta pointed out, Apple's messages app is listed under social media on its own app store. However, Meta also made important arguments about why the judge should question the FTC's framing. It pointed out that some documents from TikTok and YouTube owner Google claiming their products are very different from Meta's were submitted to foreign officials to try to avoid getting drafted into potentially frustrating regulations. It also pointed out when TikTok briefly went dark in the US ahead of a (now-aborted) ban, users flocked to Meta apps, showing consumers see it as a substitute on at least some level. That's because, Meta argued, competition for users is really about winning their time and attention. But X VP of product Keith Coleman testified it's not that useful to think about competition this way. Instead, 'it's much more helpful to understand what people are trying to accomplish in their lives and to try to help them accomplish that.' Under former CEO Jack Dorsey, then-Twitter leaned into focusing on news and users' interests, Coleman testified, because that's why people were coming to the platform. Coleman was later surprised at how his own website characterized the product in its help center as a 'service for friends, family, and coworkers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages.' 'I can't believe that's on the website,' he said. 'That's pretty wacky.' This point was 'a caution that not everything a company writes down or says is necessarily decisive in establishing what the boundary of a market is,' Kovacic said. Companies can 'sometimes make mistakes. They misjudge who their users are.' There are real ramifications for internet users here. Going back to Netflix's comparisons, if the streaming video service went down, some people would probably be happy to play a video game or get a few hours of shut-eye instead. But others would be frustrated that they couldn't watch a movie, which is why it's good that Hulu, HBO, and Amazon Prime Video also exist. The FTC's argument isn't that Meta owns the only social apps on the internet, it's that the company faces little competition for a service many people specifically want — so the fact that you probably don't know anyone using MeWe is sort of the point. How will the judge decide? Ultimately, Boasberg's market definition — whether it's Meta's, the FTC's, or his own — will come down to a few things: how Meta views itself, how competitors see it, and his own intuition, says Kovacic. 'Notice how much the FTC has been questioning Meta witnesses on the basis of its own internal documents,' he says. 'Does the story in the courtroom match the story of your own internal documents?' So far, the documents have shown that Meta has clocked that at least some portion of users come to its products to connect with family and friends, but also that the rise of TikTok has had it looking over its shoulder. In September 2020, Meta told its board that Instagram revenue would be 'meaningfully lower' than planned in the second half of the fiscal year because TikTok was drawing users' attention. But other internal documents have shown Meta's well aware that at different points in time, users have come to its apps to connect with family and friends, and worriedly took note of other apps entering that space. In a 2018 presentation, Meta found that the highest percentage of surveyed users said they come to Facebook, Instagram, and Snap to 'see daily casual moments' and 'see special moments.' By contrast, users came to Twitter's feed for news and YouTube's for entertainment. And even as Instagram expands into entertainment, the FTC notes that it still advertises its sign-up page as a place to 'see photos and videos from your friends.' 'Instagram will always need to focus on friends' In a 2018 email, Zuckerberg told Mosseri that 'Instagram will always need to focus on friends.' And even though a lot has changed in the social media landscape since then, Mosseri testified that to this day on the app, 'friends are an important part of the experience.' Even though users may share fewer of their own updates on Facebook and Instagram, Mosseri admitted that two friends talking in the comments of a public figure's post counts as an interaction between friends — and one that Instagram actively tries to facilitate. Meta has argued that this special focus on friends and family sharing makes up a shrinking portion of its offerings as it works to compete with fierce rivals like TikTok. But the FTC says it's still significant enough to monopolize. It's a scenario that came up in another major tech monopolization case, Kovacic says: the late-1990s lawsuit US v. Microsoft. In that case, Microsoft argued the Justice Department was ignoring how computing would soon move beyond the personal computer to the Internet of Things, meaning it couldn't truly lock up the computing ecosystem as much as the government alleged. 'Judge Jackson in the Microsoft case said, yeah, those things are happening, but not happening fast enough to deny you real market power in this PC and laptop-based market that the Justice Department is emphasizing,' Kovacic says. Still, he adds, a market niche can at some point become so small that it's no longer significant in the eyes of antitrust law. 'You can have a process of change that ultimately renders the market segment unimportant,' he says. 'And the hard task of analysis for the judge is to say, has it already happened?'
Cision Canada
24-04-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Hollyland Unveils Solidcom SE Pro: Enhanced Wireless Intercom for Diverse Professional Applications Français
SHENZHEN, China, April 24, 2025 /CNW/ -- On April 24, Hollyland, a leading provider of professional wireless intercom solutions, officially launched the Solidcom SE Pro, an upgraded version of the Solidcom SE. This new iteration offers comprehensive enhancements in communication stability, noise reduction technology, and user experience, catering to a wide range of scenarios such as film and video production, small live events, and maritime operations. The Solidcom SE Pro stands out for its use of the 1.9GHz frequency band, offering stable communication with ultra-low latency and strong anti-interference capabilities. This is crucial in film production, particularly in outdoor or complex environments, where reliable communication is essential. Its high-quality sound and ENC (Environmental Noise Cancellation) features ensure clear communication even in noisy settings. Furthermore, the Solidcom SE Pro can support up to eleven users and features a multi-channel full-duplex system, allowing directors, cinematographers, lighting technicians, sound engineers, and other crew members to communicate simultaneously. This significantly enhances team collaboration and boosts efficiency. Another notable feature of the Solidcom SE Pro is its reliable communication range of up to 400 meters, which now allows crew members to operate over a wider area. Additionally, its omnidirectional antenna allows for both forward and reverse wearing without affecting communication distance. By utilizing the 1.9GHz frequency band and Hollyland's advanced Auto Frequency Hopping technology, the Solidcom SE Pro minimizes interference from other devices and ensures stable transmission, even in complex wireless environments. This is especially advantageous for maritime operations or seaside shooting in drizzly and windy weather, where reliable long-range communication is essential for effective crew coordination. Moreover, the Solidcom SE Pro's USB-C port can be connected to a 3.5mm headset using Hollyland's USB-C to 3.5mm adapter. This setup allows users to wear the Solidcom SE Pro headset around their neck, use its microphone while using the 3.5mm headset to listen to audio. This flexible headphone usage accommodates various user preferences and situations, addressing the issues of discomfort and headaches caused by wearing over-ear headphones for extended periods. The Solidcom SE Pro ensures uninterrupted use over long periods with its swappable battery system and USB-C charging. Users can easily replace the battery or connect to a power bank, eliminating worries about running out of power. Meanwhile, users don't need to worry about any discomfort from wearing the Solidcom SE Pro headset for extended periods. Prioritizing user comfort, the headset is lightweight, weighing less than 186 grams, which allows it to be worn comfortably for extended durations without causing ear fatigue. This makes it an ideal choice for lengthy shooting sessions or events where continuous use is required. Additionally, its pre-paired setup allows for immediate use straight out of the box—simply lower the boom mic to start communicating. Launched on April 24, 2025, Hollyland's Solidcom SE Pro is now available through local distributors and on the Hollyland Amazon store. Pricing is as follows: About Hollyland Hollyland is a leading provider of wireless products, specializing in wireless intercom systems, video transmission systems, monitors, and wireless microphones. Since 2013, Hollyland has been serving millions of users around the world in various sectors, including filmmaking, telecasting, video production, live events, exhibitions, theaters, houses of worship, and individual content creators. It has built a sales network covering approximately 120 countries and regions with support from dozens of localized operation offices worldwide. For more information, please visit Hollyland Facebook, and Hollyland Instagram.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Metamaterial Market Analysis Report 2025 - Global Forecast to 2029 with Kymeta Pivotal Commware, Echodyne, ALCAN Systems, Metalenz Leading
Robust growth is spurred by advancements in telecom, healthcare, and aerospace & defense sectors. The drive for 5G infrastructure, metamaterials in antenna design, and demand for lightweight, energy-efficient materials in automotive are pivotal forces. Key product segments like Lenses and Optical Modules, essential for AR/VR and advanced optical systems, anticipate significant growth. Europe captures notable market share due to advancements in telecommunications and aerospace. Major players include Kymeta Corporation, Pivotal Commware, and Echodyne Corp. The report provides valuable insights into market trends, drivers, and competitive dynamics. Metamaterial Market Dublin, April 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Metamaterial Market by Antenna, Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS), Lenses and Optical Modules, Sensors and Beam Steering, Anti-Reflective Films, Electromagnetic, Terahertz, Radio Frequency (RF), Optical and Region - Global Forecast to 2029" has been added to offering. The metamaterial market is poised for significant growth, projected to escalate to USD 1.38 billion by 2029 from USD 0.22 billion in 2024, at a robust CAGR of 44.8% over the forecast period. This report aids market leaders and newcomers by providing approximate revenues for the overall metamaterial market and related segments. It offers insights on the competitive landscape and assists stakeholders in strengthening their market positions and planning strategic initiatives. The report also provides information on market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges. This expansion is largely attributed to breakthroughs in telecommunication, increased healthcare applications, and a heightened demand for high-performance materials in aerospace and defense. The evolution of 5G infrastructure and the integration of metamaterials with antenna design for effective signal transmission are pivotal growth drivers. Furthermore, the automotive sector's demand for lighter, energy-efficient materials-particularly in electric and autonomous vehicles-propels market demand. Innovations in materials through AI and government-led initiatives to foster research will further enhance the market size in electronics, automotive, and aerospace sectors. The lenses and optical modules segment is anticipated to register the second highest CAGR, owing to a rising demand for high-performance optical systems in automotive, medical imaging, and consumer electronics. Metamaterial technology advances are enabling the miniaturization and functional embedding of lenses, offering improved focusing abilities and light manipulation in lightweight modules. Augmented and virtual reality technology is set to see rapid advancements, fueling a need for sophisticated optical modules delivering superior image quality and expansive fields of view. The integration of metamaterials in optical systems heralds innovation, with flat lenses and superlenses set to revolutionize lens design, producing thinner, more flexible optics. In response to these demands, manufacturers will focus on efficiency and performance, driving growth to meet evolving optical industry needs. In the aerospace and defense sector, metamaterials will obtain the second largest market share during the forecast period due to their ability to enhance performance and efficiency in critical applications. Unique properties like electromagnetic manipulation and lightweight structures are pivotal in modern aerospace systems, including antennas, sensors, and stealth technology. Defense applications require enhanced radar signal absorption and improved signal management. Energy-efficient and durable aircraft designs achieved through metamaterials ensure their growing importance. Market expansion is expected as companies innovate materials for next-generation aerospace technologies, aligning with heightened performance and safety standards. Europe is projected to capture the second largest market share, driven by substantial advancements in telecommunications, healthcare, and aerospace sectors. The region demands high-performance devices, such as antennas for 5G networks and advanced imaging systems, accelerating metamaterial adoption for precise electromagnetic wave manipulation. Germany, France, and the UK lead in R&D, fostering metamaterial applications like cloaking technology and sensors. Their environmentally-friendly performance boosts adoption across various applications. Collaborative efforts in material science will solidify Europe's vital global metamaterials position. The report provides insights on the following pointers: Analysis of key drivers, including enhanced wireless communication demand and optical metamaterials advancements; restraints such as high production costs and complex manufacturing processes; opportunities like the renewable energy sector expansion; challenges including scaling production for mass markets. Product Development/Innovation: Insights into upcoming technologies, research activities, and new solutions in the metamaterial market. Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative markets and analyses across regions. Market Diversification: Information about new services, untapped areas, and recent investments. Competitive Assessment: Evaluation of market shares, growth strategies, and offerings of major players, including Kymeta Corporation, Pivotal Commware, Echodyne Corp., ALCAN Systems GmbH i.L., and Metalenz, Inc. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 270 Forecast Period 2024 - 2029 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $0.22 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2029 $1.38 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 44.8% Regions Covered Global Market Dynamics Drivers Growing Demand for Enhanced Wireless Communication Systems Advancements in Optical Metamaterials Challenges Scaling Up Production of Metamaterials for Mass Markets Limited Availability of Resources Stringent Regulatory Hurdles Opportunities Expansion of Renewable Energy Sector Advancements in Thermal Metamaterials Growing Integration of Nanotechnology with Metamaterials Case Studies Alcan Systems Addresses Mmwave 5G Rollout Challenges with Liquid Crystal Smart Antennas Pivotal Communications Transforms Mmwave Deployment with Pivotal Turnkey University of Exeter and Virginia Tech Collaborate to Harness Acoustic Metamaterials for Enhanced Noise Control Company Profiles Kymeta Corporation Metalenz, Inc. Alcan Systems GmbH I.L. Echodyne Corp. Pivotal Commware Greenerwave Edgehog Metamagnetics Fractal Antenna Systems, Inc. Lumotive Teraview Limited 2Pi Inc. Meta Materials Inc. Moxtek, Inc. Plasmonics Inc. Sintec Optronics Pte Ltd. Phononic Vibes S.R.L. Phoebus Optoelectronics LLC Applied Metamaterials Amg Radi-Cool Sdn Bhd Metaboards Jem Engineering Metasonixx Thorlabs, Inc. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Nil Technology Zte Corporation Metashield LLC For more information about this report visit About is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment Metamaterial Market CONTACT: CONTACT: Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@ For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900Sign in to access your portfolio
