Healthcare Analytics Market Research Report by Technology, by Component, by Deployment, by Application, by End User – Global Forecast to 2025 -…

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New York, July 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Healthcare Analytics Market Research Report by Technology, by Component, by Deployment, by Application, by End User - Global Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05940834/?utm_source=GNW

The Global Healthcare Analytics Market is expected to grow from USD 11,461.21 Million in 2019 to USD 40,781.56 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 23.55%.

Market Segmentation & Coverage:This research report categorizes the Healthcare Analytics to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:

"The Prescriptive Analytics is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"

Based on Technology, the Healthcare Analytics Market studied across Descriptive Analytics, Predictive Analytics, and Prescriptive Analytics. The Predictive Analytics commanded the largest size in the Healthcare Analytics Market in 2019. On the other hand, the Prescriptive Analytics is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.

"The Services is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"

Based on Component, the Healthcare Analytics Market studied across Services and Software. The Software commanded the largest size in the Healthcare Analytics Market in 2019. On the other hand, the Services is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.

"The On-Cloud is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"

Based on Deployment, the Healthcare Analytics Market studied across On-Cloud and On-Premise. The On-Premise commanded the largest size in the Healthcare Analytics Market in 2019. On the other hand, the On-Cloud is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.

"The Clinical Analytics is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"

Based on Application, the Healthcare Analytics Market studied across Clinical Analytics, Financial Analytics, Operational & Administrative Analytics, and Population Health Analytics. The Financial Analytics commanded the largest size in the Healthcare Analytics Market in 2019. On the other hand, the Clinical Analytics is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.

"The Healthcare Payer is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"

Based on End User, the Healthcare Analytics Market studied across Healthcare Payer, Healthcare Provider, Academic Organization, and Biotechnology Industry. The Healthcare Provider commanded the largest size in the Healthcare Analytics Market in 2019. On the other hand, the Healthcare Payer is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.

"The Asia-Pacific is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"

Based on Geography, the Healthcare Analytics Market studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas region surveyed across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The Asia-Pacific region surveyed across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa region surveyed across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. The Americas commanded the largest size in the Healthcare Analytics Market in 2019. On the other hand, the Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.

Company Usability Profiles:The report deeply explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global Healthcare Analytics Market including Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc., Cerner Corporation, CitiusTech Inc., Health Catalyst, Inc., Inovalon, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation, McKesson Corporation, MedeAnalytics Inc., Optum, Inc., Oracle Corporation, SAS Institute, Inc., SCIOInspire, Corp., Verscend Technologies, Inc., VitreosHealth, Inc., and Wipro, Ltd..

FPNV Positioning Matrix:The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Healthcare Analytics Market on the basis of Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.

Competitive Strategic Window:The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The Competitive Strategic Window helps the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. During a forecast period, it defines the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth.

Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, so for and, the long-term effects projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlaying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report is delivering insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecast, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.

The report provides insights on the following pointers:1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyzes the markets3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and new product developments

The report answers questions such as:1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global Healthcare Analytics Market?2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global Healthcare Analytics Market during the forecast period?3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global Healthcare Analytics Market?4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global Healthcare Analytics Market?5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global Healthcare Analytics Market?6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the Global Healthcare Analytics Market?Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05940834/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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Healthcare Analytics Market Research Report by Technology, by Component, by Deployment, by Application, by End User - Global Forecast to 2025 -...

The 6 Biggest Technology Trends In Accounting And Finance – Forbes

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The explosion in data that has launched the Fourth Industrial Revolution, an era when business will be transformed by cyber-physical systems, has enabled several technology trends to develop. Every business can leverage these important trends and should pay attention to how best to use them, but accountants should really evaluate how these six technologies can be used strategically to achieve the companys business strategy.

The 6 Biggest Technology Trends In Accounting and Finance

1.Big Data

Data is crucial to make business financial decisions. Today, data isn't just numbers and spreadsheets that accountants have been familiar with for years; it also includes unstructured data that can be analyzed through natural language processing. This can allow for real-time status monitoring of financial matters. Data is the fuel that powers other technology trends that are transforming finance and accounting in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Even the audit process has been digitalized. In the financial realm, data produces valuable insights, drives results and creates a better experience for clients. Since everything leaves a digital footprint, the unprecedented digitalization of our world is creating opportunities to glean new insights from data that wasnt possible before. These insights help improve internal operations and build revenue.

2.Increased Computing Power

Just as it is for other companies, all the data created by our digitalized world would be useless or at least less powerful if it weren't for the advances in computing power. These changes allow accounting and finance departments and firms to store and use the data effectively. First, there are the cloud services from providers such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft that provide scalable systems and software to leverage that can be accessed wherever and whenever it's needed. Edge computing has also grown. This is where the computing happens not in the cloud, but right where the data is collected. The adoption of 5G (fifth generation) cellular network technology will be the backbone of a smarter world. When quantum computing is fully adopted, it will be transformative in a way that cannot even be predicted at this point since it

will catapult our computing power exponentially. Quantum computers will be able to provide services and solve problems that werent possible with traditional computers. There will be tremendous value in the financial world for this capability.

3.Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence can help accounting and finance professionals be more productive. AI algorithms allow machines to take over time-consuming, repetitive, and redundant tasks. Rather than just crunch numbers, with the support of AI, financial professionals will be able to spend more time delivering actionable insight. Machines can help reduce costs and errors by streamlining operations. The more finance professionals rely on AI to do what it does bestanalyze and process a tremendous amount of data and take care of monotonous tasksthe more time humans will recover to do what they do best. New technology has changed the expectations clients have when working with companies, and it's the same for accounting. AI helps accountants be more efficient.

4.Intelligence of Things

When the internet of things, the system of interconnected devices and machines, combines with artificial intelligence, the result is the intelligence of things. These items can communicate and operate without human intervention and offer many advantages for accounting systems and finance professionals. The intelligence of things helps finance professionals track ledgers, transactions, and other records in real-time. With the support of artificial intelligence, patterns can be identified, or issues can be resolved quickly. This continuous monitoring makes accounting activities such as audits much more streamlined and stress-free. In addition, the intelligence of things improves inventory tracking and management.

5.Autonomous Robots

Robots don't have to be physical entities. In accounting and finance, robotic process automation (RPA) can handle repetitive and time-consuming tasks such as document analysis and processing, which is abundant in any accounting department. Freed up from these mundane tasks, accountants are able to spend time on strategy and advisory work. Intelligent automation (IA) is capable of mimicking human interaction and can even understand inferred meaning in client communication and adapt to an activity based on historical data. In addition, drones and unmanned aerial vehicles can even be deployed on appraisals and the like.

6. Blockchain

The final tech trend that has significant implications for accounting and finance professionals that I wish to cover is blockchain. A distributed ledger or blockchain is a highly secure database. It's a way to securely store and accurately record data, which has broad applications in accounting and financial records. Blockchain enables smart contracts, protecting and transferring ownership of assets, verifying people's identities and credentials, and more. Once blockchain is widely adopted, and challenges around industry regulation are overcome, it will benefit businesses by reducing costs, increasing traceability, and enhancing security.

To learn more about these technology trends as well as other key trends that are shaping the 4th industrial revolution, you can take a look at my new book, Tech Trends in Practice: The 25 Technologies That Are Driving The 4th Industrial Revolution

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The 6 Biggest Technology Trends In Accounting And Finance - Forbes

Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions Actuators and Radiation Hardened Technology Head Back to Mars on NASA’s Perseverance Rover – Business Wire

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ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions (CAES) announced today that its actuators and radiation hardened (RadHard) microelectronics are heading back to the planet of Mars as part of todays NASA MARS2020 Perseverance Rover Launch. The MARS2020 Perseverance rover mission is part of the NASA Mars Exploration Program's long-term robotic exploration of the red planet. Designed to advance high-priority science goals for Mars exploration, the mission will address key questions about the potential for life and challenges of future human expeditions to Mars.

"We are very excited to head back to the red planet as part of the Perseverance launch. Space is one of our passions at Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions and developing solutions for space and space exploration is in our core DNA, said Shawn Black, CEO, Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions. With the previous NASA Mars Curiosity Rover mission, CAES actuators and radiation hardened integrated circuits completed a 350 million mile journey and three years of daily tasks while withstanding the challenges of the grueling Martian atmosphere, including -120 C temperatures and a volatile dust environment. Our range of low, medium and high torque designs are built to endure a wide variety of motion-related activity and are ready for the mission ahead.

CAES actuators will drive the Perseverance rover wheels and provide steering motion, move the high-gain antenna and perform remote sensing mast deployment. They are also be featured in the instrument pack designed by Malin Space Science Systems. The Perseverance rovers electronics and payloads are based on Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions UT699 LEON microprocessor, which handles the computing functions for the motor controls as well as the UT54LVDS217 LVDS Serializer, UT54LVDS218 Deserializer and a variety of memory devices including the UT8MR2M8 MRAM, UT8Q512K32 SRAM and UT8QNF8M8 NOR Flash.

About Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions Space Portfolio

Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions is a premiere provider of mission-critical technologies for commercial, civil, military, and other government spacecraft. With a space pedigree spanning nearly 40 years and technology on nearly every spacecraft in the free world, CAES offers a full range of solutions for the worlds leading launch vehicles, satellites and space exploration spacecraft. Key capabilities include radiation hardened (RadHard) and high reliability microelectronics, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), electronic manufacturing services, LeanREL components, motion control and positioning, antennas and apertures, radiation effects testing, RF, microwave and millimeter wave microelectronics, motion control devices, power solutions, intellectual property cores, avionic solutions and LEON/SPARC processors. For more information, visit http://www.cobhamaes.com/space.

About Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions:

Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions is the largest provider of analog and radiation hardened technology for the United States aerospace and defense industry. With a broad portfolio of off-the-shelf and customized RF, microwave and high reliability microelectronic products and subsystems, CAES offers a complete range of solutions for the entire signal chain from aperture to digital conversion. http://www.cobhamaes.com

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Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions Actuators and Radiation Hardened Technology Head Back to Mars on NASA's Perseverance Rover - Business Wire

Congress grills Facebook over its acquisitions and feature cloning – Yahoo Tech

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During a massive antitrust hearing, Congress tried to force Mark Zuckerberg to answer some of the toughest questions yet around Facebook's acquisitions.

The companys 2012 deal to buy Instagram for $1 billion came under particular scrutiny when lawmakers quoted from several emails among Facebooks top executives, who talked about the need to neutralize a potential competitor. In another note, Facebook CFO Dave Wehner described the companys strategy as a land grab.

Zuckerberg expanded on the idea in another email. We can likely always just buy any competitive startups. But itll be a while before we can buy Google, he wrote. Later, when asked about the quote, Zuckerberg said he didnt remember writing the note, but said it sounds like a joke.

It wasnt the only incident Zuckerberg claimed not to remember.

Some of the most intense questioning on the subject came from Washington Democrat Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who repeatedly asked Zuckerberg about Facebook's strategy of trying to copy competing apps. It led to a rather incredible exchange, in which Jayapal asked about Zuckerbergs interactions with former Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom and Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel, both of which Zuckerberg said he didnt recall.

Has Facebook ever threatened to clone the products of another company while also attempting to acquire that company, Jayapal asked. Not that I recall, Zuckerberg said, prompting Jayapal to remind the CEO that he was under oath.

She then asked Zuckerberg if he had used Facebook Camera to threaten Systrom into agreeing to an acquisition.

Im not sure what you would mean by threaten, Zuckeberg said.

Were there any other companies you used this same tactic with, she asked, pointing to Snapchat and Zuckerbergs well-documented pursuit of the company.

I dont remember those specific conversations, he said.

Jayapal ended the questioning by calling Facebook a case study in monopoly power.

Your company harvests and monetizes our data, and then your company uses that data to spy on competitors and copy, acquire and kill rivals, she said. Youve used Facebooks power to threaten smaller competitors and to ensure that you always get your way. These tactics reinforce Facebooks dominance, which you then use in increasingly destructive ways. So Facebooks very model makes it impossible for new companies to flourish separately and that harms our democracy.

Zuckerberg wasn't the only CEO in attendance to face questions about his companys acquisitions. Google CEO Sundar Pichai was also hit with tough questions around Googles acquisition, and subsequent merger with DoubleClick.

And Amazons Jeff Bezos was asked about Amazons pursuit of diapers.com, and its plan to win against the competing online retailer, which eventually resulted in Amazon buying the company. Bezos, like Zuckerberg, cited a faulty memory.

Youre asking a lot of my memory, he said.

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Congress grills Facebook over its acquisitions and feature cloning - Yahoo Tech

The cheapest Cam Link clone you can buy actually works pretty well – The Verge

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As The Verges resident live-streaming reporter, I do a lot of streaming on my own time, both because its fun and because I want to know a little about what its like for the people I cover. Thats meant Ive gained a healthy appreciation for the various pieces of gear that make streaming possible because streaming is the opposite of effortless. Things break constantly, and most of the time for no obvious reason. (There but for the grace of god go we, etc.) All of that said, Ive found that upgrading my stream setup is one of the few true pleasures I have left; theres nothing quite as satisfying as adding a new camera or microphone or chat command that might elevate a viewers experience.

It is in that spirit the spirit of perpetual tinkering and perpetual upgrades that I bring you the cheapest, best piece of gear I own. It is a no-brand cam link that retails between $11 (eBay, but beware shipping times) and $26.99 (Amazon). This device is one of those magical things thats made possible by the confluence of online retail, consolidated manufacturing in China, and a global postal service. It simply couldnt have existed before.

As a clone of the popular Elgato Cam Link 4K (which retails for $129.99), all the device does is convert HDMI to USB, which is conceptually simple but technically more complex. The best of these devices do this conversion very quickly and at high fidelities; Elgatos version even handles 4K resolution. Due to the pandemic and the legions of people whove joined Twitch and YouTube, however, the brand name models have become difficult to find, which is where this weird little knockoff model comes in. My colleague Grayson, a motion designer at The Verge, tipped me off to it one day in early June, after he saw an excellent video review of the device from the YouTuber EposVox.

I thought the review was convincing, so I figured Id try it for myself. My friend and fellow streamer MikeAM took the plunge with me; we decided wed try to upgrade our video streams on the cheap because hey, why not? We each bought a 2018 GoPro Hero, some micro HDMI to HDMI cables, a non-HDCP HDMI splitter, and, of course, one of these cards. The difference was instantly apparent. Id been switching between my Logitech C922 and a Panasonic Lumix GH5 (which I borrow to shoot a late-night show on Twitch), and I could immediately see how much clearer the GoPros video was than the C922. (With a splitter, the HDMI converter doubles as an extremely cheap capture card for a console, though Id personally recommend shelling out for the more fully featured Elgato HD60 S.) The experiment worked.

Naturally, the star of the show was the capture card. It has a lot of limitations: it can only support 1080p / 60fps input, and its output maxes at 1080p / 30fps or 720p / 60fps. It also converts the image to MJPEG, which means the colors are sometimes a little wonky. (I used a filter in OBS to desaturate the image.) It also sometimes lags, which is a problem because you cant actually Google how to fix the problem theres no manual, really, and troubleshooting is nonexistent. The other thing to remember is that not all of these cheap cards are created equal; if you pick up one thats billed as USB 3.0, or one that looks a little different, that is an entirely different device.

But if you can work within those limitations, the device is a dream. Its plug n play: the card shows up on your computer as USB Video, and it works anywhere youd put a webcam, which includes Zoom, Discord, OBS, and more. The price point is also unbeatable. Lately Ive been using it with the Lumix. Its always a joy to plug in because I know its going to work. If you want to see what it looks like in action, feel free to follow me on Twitch.

Otherwise, if you have a camera that outputs HDMI and dont want to (or cant) shell out for an Elgato, Id say pick this little guy up. Its a cheap upgrade that, for me, has absolutely been worth it. Go see for yourself.

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The cheapest Cam Link clone you can buy actually works pretty well - The Verge

Former ‘Thone Clone’ Elroy Hefner remembered as caring, conservative legislator – Omaha World-Herald

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The World-Heralds Statehouse reporters round up news highlights from the Legislature and state government into the Capitol Digest a daily briefing for the political newshound with a busy schedule.

LINCOLN Former State Sen. Elroy Hefner of Coleridge one of the conservatives dubbed Thone Clones was being remembered Thursday as a caring and considerate legislator.

Hefner, who represented his northeast Nebraska district from 1976 to 1993, died Sunday at his home from apparent natural causes. He was 96.

His oldest son, Bill, said that his father liked to help people.

He said he once left the dinner table on Sunday to take a phone call from a constituent, and talked issues for a half hour.

Veteran lobbyist Walt Radcliffe said that his clients didnt often agree with Hefners conservative stances. But the senator, he said, was approachable and truly a gentlemen to work with.

There was never anything that was mean spirited about him, Radcliffe said.

Hefner, a Republican, was one of a group of conservative senators who were called the Thone Clones because their views aligned well with then-Gov. Charley Thone, who was governor from 1979-83.

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Former 'Thone Clone' Elroy Hefner remembered as caring, conservative legislator - Omaha World-Herald

Lucasfilm Reportedly Has Plans To Bring Yoda Back Via Cloning – We Got This Covered

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The legacy characters will always be a hugely important part of the Star Wars mythology, but in the recent movies it felt like Disney and Lucasfilm would much rather return to the well over and over again instead of mining the untapped potential of new faces, planets and galaxies that have never been seen in live-action before.

A lot of fans rolled their eyes when it was revealed that Palpatine was coming back to establish himself as the main villain for the third trilogy in a row, and as great as it was to see Billy Dee Williams return as Lando Calrissian, he didnt exactly contribute much to The Rise of Skywalkers plot.

Meanwhile, Han Solo might be one of the most iconic figures in popular culture, but that didnt stop his origin story from bombing at the box office, and theres even been reports that the studio want to bring Luke Skywalker back in a future project despite Mark Hamill making it clear that his time in the role is done. The general consensus is that the Disney era of Star Wars has been sorely lacking in originality and creativity, and if what were hearing now ends up panning out, then things show no signs of changing anytime soon.

According to our intel which comes from the same sources that told us Ahsoka Tano would be appearing in the second season ofThe Mandalorian, and that [SPOILERS] would be revealed as a traitor in The Rise of Skywalker in a future Star Wars movie an as-yet-unnamed villain will attempt and ultimately succeed in cloning Yoda in an effort to turn the benevolent Jedi Master into a puppet they can use for their own nefarious means.

While it cant be confirmed exactly which movie this is said to be happening in, weve heard that it would most likely be the proposed solo outing for Daisy Ridleys Rey rather than the three recently-delayed films that were pushed back to 2023, 2025 and 2027. And the idea of another perennial favorite returning to Star Wars yet again certainly fits in with Lucasfilms approach to the franchise.

That being said, even though Baby Yoda is clearly where the money is, and Mandos companion has also been rumored for a big screen appearance of his own, itd be hard to see longtime fans getting on board with the idea of an evil Yoda. But alas, this is what the studio currently has in mind and itll be interesting to see if they actually go through with it.

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Lucasfilm Reportedly Has Plans To Bring Yoda Back Via Cloning - We Got This Covered

How Star Wars Bounty Hunter Influenced The Clone Wars Canon – Screen Rant

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Released as a prequel to Attack of the Clones, Bounty Hunter deepens the Clone Wars by filling in plot holes and enriching established characters.

Six months after the release of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, LucasArts released Star Wars: Bounty Hunter,a video game prequel that expands on the film. Filling in plot holes and enriching characters, the game is a vital part of Star Wars historyand its relevance extends well beyond the prequel films and intoThe Clone Wars.

Despite having a war named after them, the clones of The Clone Wars have a murky history. While the conspiracy behind the clones' creation is eventually explained, no explanation is ever provided for why Jango Fett served as their template. Attack of the Clones just matter-of-factly states that Jango is a renowned bounty hunter, the template for the clone army, and the father of Boba Fett (who is an unaltered clone of Jango). The lack of detail and Jango's ignominious death make the the entire context appear contrived for the sake of fan service with Jango only existing to shoehorn Boba into theThe Clone Wars. From the perspective of Attack of the Clones, Jango is a throwaway character.

Related: The Mandalorian Is More Like Jango Fett Than Boba

Star Wars: Bounty Hunter fills in the history behind Attack of the Clones, and, in so doing, proves Jango deserves his clone legacy. Jango earns the riches of fathering the clone army by hunting down Komari Vosa, a Jedi-turned-drug lord. Vosa's illicit operations threaten Darth Sidious expanding influence, so Sidious' apprentice, Count Dooku, puts a bounty on Vosa with the intent of offering the victorious bounty hunter, who would then be a verified Jedi killer, the opportunity of being the the template for the Grand Army of the Republic. Jango's selection as template results from an elaborate scheme hatched by Sidious and Dooku, and is justly earned as Jango demonstrates brutal efficiency worthy of acknowledgment by Sith Lords. Star Wars:Bounty Hunter turns a plot hole into riveting drama.

Over the course of Star Wars:Bounty Hunter, players not only see Jangos ruthlessness, but also his loneliness. Jango makes it clear he doesnt trust anyone, yet he still longs for connection. Jango's banter with his partner Roz, as well as his nostalgic attachment to a mentor's ship, imply his desire for relationships. That is why, upon accepting Dookus offer, Jango asks for the unaltered clone, whom he names Boba. No longer just a plot point, Bobas entry into the prequel-era contains genuine pathos.

Aside from legitimizing Jango, Bounty Hunter humanizes Count Dooku. Vosa is Count Dookus former apprentice, and her drug empire became so expansive because, as Sidious puts it, Dooku allowed her to live. Dooku explains his lack of action as an experiment to see what Vosa could do, but its a weak excuse. From his stuttering to the way he tenderly touches her corpse, Dookus mannerisms betray his feelings. This dilemma reemerges in The Clone Wars when Dooku is ordered to kill his newest apprentice, the assassin Ventress, to whom he gifted Vosas lightsabers. Dooku, like he did with Vosa, caves to his masters demands and orders Ventress death, but he voices opposition. Sidious, of course, doesn't tolerate insubordination and uses Dooku's compassion as an excuse to chastise, and even brutalize him. In The Clone Wars episode, "The Lost Ones," Sidious chokes Dooku while mocking his failure involving Vosa, saying "This is not the first time you have proven to be clumsy." Dooku commits countless atrocities bythe end of The Clone Wars but thanks to Star Wars:Bounty Hunter his villainy becomes tragic rather than one-note. Within the Sith Lord once existed compassion, compassion terrorized out of him by Darth Sidious.

Star Wars Bounty Hunter may not be official canon any more, but weighed against its contributions, that is irrelevant. The game takes a seemingly contrived plot and turns it into a gritty story that deepens characters and stories from The Clone Wars. Star Wars:Bounty Hunter is essential Star Warsmedia.

Next: Star Wars: Bounty Hunter Could've Been LucasArts' Uncharted

Joe Rogan Says Gaming Is "Real Problem" & Waste Of Players' Time

Nicholas is a freelance game writer for Screen Rant, a regular contributor to Goombastomp, and former Game Informer intern. A graduate of the University of California San Diego, Nicholas got a degree in philosophy and loves to dive deep into the artistic side of gaming.

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How Star Wars Bounty Hunter Influenced The Clone Wars Canon - Screen Rant

Clone troopers feeling remorse amid execution of Jedi – Dork Side of the Force

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MADRID, SPAIN - DECEMBER 15: A Commander Cody clone trooper figure is exhibited at the 'Star Wars Exhibition' at Telefonica flagship store on December 15, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Eduardo Parra/Getty Images)

Star Wars fans are familiar with the evolution of the grand army of the Republic and the final dreaded outcome that was to befall the clones troopers.

After three long years of war, clone troopers across the galaxy dropped their Jedi comrades like a bad habit in an instant and without warning once Order 66 was issued by Palpatine.

But did at any given point in time any of the clone troopers feel guilty and/or full of remorse before, during or after the slayings?

Not likely.

We are familiar with Rex and other clone troopers that were not included in the mass killings of the Jedi. But for those that partook it was just like flipping a switch, one second your fighting alongside the Jedi and the next you are blasting them away.

A key thing is that only the Jedi (and still the separatists) were targeted by the clones. Any senators or other beings who were sympathetic to the Jedi were kept alive as long as they didnt fight with the troops. As we see is the case with Bail Organa at the Jedi Temple, when he asks whats going on.

Bail Organa arrives at the Jedi temple upon seeing the smoke. He exits his speeder and is greeted by clone troopers. Whats going on here, asks the senator.

Theres been a rebellion,sir, dont worry the situation is under control, replies one of the troopers, who then aims his blaster at Organa and states, Im sorry sir, its time for you to leave.

Bail Organa replies, and so it is. He turns to leave as a young Jedi attacks the clones, but alas the numbers are too much and the youngster is killed. Senator Bail Organa cries out in horror and bails into his speeder and doesnt look back. He later recounts this harrowing scene to masters Yoda and Kenobi.

Interesting then that the trooper is able to differentiate Jedi and Organa, after he has just blasted down many Jedi in the temple. There likely was no remorse for the Jedi because Order 66 was akin to a switch being flipped. An order implanted since day one. Only Sith would be truly evil enough and posses ruthlessness and cunning needed enough to organize a mass extermination of Jedi and have it play out more than a decade later.

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Clone troopers feeling remorse amid execution of Jedi - Dork Side of the Force

TV and Film Review: The Clone Wars Season 1: The Gungan General – Fantha Tracks

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When The Clone Wars first aired back in late 2008, Lightsabre.co.uk guest reviewers looked at the show, giving their initial gut impressions on that groundbreaking first season but not every review was completed, and so those reviews written at the time were never published. In a brand new article, Adam Lamping looks back at the twelfth episode of season one The Gungan General.

Fail with honor rather than succeed by fraud.

Dooku held for ransom! After escaping capture by Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the villainous Count Dooku fell into the clutches of pirates led by the brigand Hondo Ohnaka. Eager to get custody of Dooku, the Republic agreed to pay Hondo a hefty sum in exchange for the Sith Lord.

But Anakin and Obi-Wan had not counted on the treacherous cunning of Ohnaka and his band.

Adam Lamping

Picking-up right from where the previous episode, Dooku Captured left-off, The Gungan General opens with Obi-Wan and Anakin waking-up in a prison cell and chained to Count Dooku, having been drugged by Hondo. With the impending arrival of the ransom for Sith Lord, Hondos crew, led by Turk, seek to double-cross the pirate captain, and take the spice for themselves. Jar Jar accompanies Senator Kharrus to Florrum, and as he is so often prone to do, becomes more of a hindrance than a help, seemingly contributing to the senators death when the Republic gunship is shot down by the pirates. As a result, Jar Jar becomes the highest-ranked individual in the group, with Commander Stone and the Clone Troopers all looking to him for leadership.

Amidst a constant stream of bickering between the Jedi and Sith, Dooku engineers an escape for the three of them, though their freedom is short-lived, and they are returned to their cell. You can never keep a good Jedi down though, and its not long before Obi-Wan has used the Force to influence a weak-minded Weequay to open the prison door, allowing him, Anakin and Dooku to make a break for it.

Then it is back to the skirmish between the pirates and the Republic party, with the former getting the upper-hand, allowing them to make-off with the spice. Jar Jar makes a smart observation about the indigenous skalders, who sense when it is safe to hide within the acid geysers, and subsequently following the lead of the creatures to climb out just before the geyser erupts! It is not long before the group are seen riding the beasts, catching-up with the pirates and regaining the ransom.

Meanwhile, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Dookus efforts to evade Hondo are once again unsuccessful, resulting in the two Jedi being tortured, much to the delight of the pirate captain.

Turks desperation to obtain the spice sees him taking three tanks in a show of force, while Jar Jar accepts the responsibility of being the one to go out and negotiate with the pirates. Cue more clumsiness from the Gungan, which, as weve seen before, ends-up working out for the best, resulting in the destruction of the tanks and the power lines that service Hondos base.

The loss of power to the prison door means that Dooku is able to walk out of his cell and overcome his guard, while Anakin and Obi-Wan are also freed and quickly regain their weapons to turn-the-tables on Hondo. In the process of making his escape on one of the pirate ships, Dooku shows no mercy to Turk, while the Jedi, displaying more noble traits, allow Hondo to live another day.

One interesting point to make about this episode, is that it is one of a few where Jar Jar is voiced by B.J. Hughes, and not Ahmed Best.

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TV and Film Review: The Clone Wars Season 1: The Gungan General - Fantha Tracks

Thousands of these self-cloning ticks now in Kentucky – Frederick News Post

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Pet and livestock owners be aware: an invasive species of tick that can reproduce without mating and is known to attack animals in large numbers has been found in Kentucky.

The Asian longhorned tick has been found in Martin and Floyd counties in Eastern Kentucky and in Metcalfe County in south-central Kentucky, according to a news release from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

This tick is an aggressive biter and frequently builds intense infestations on domestic hosts that can cause stress, reduced growth and severe blood loss, Jonathan Larson, UK extension entomologist, said in the release. One reason for their rapid buildup is that the female ticks can lay eggs without mating. It only takes a single fed female tick to create a population of ticks. Potentially, thousands can be found on an animal.

While small numbers of the ticks have been found on elk in Martin County and black bear in Floyd County, the Asian longhorned ticks in Metcalfe County were discovered in large numbers on a bull, according to the news release issued Tuesday.

The Metcalfe County ticks were submitted by a veterinarian who answered a call about a bull so infested that it was showing signs of severe fatigue, Anna Pasternak, a UK entomology graduate student who manages the Kentucky Tick Surveillance Program, said in the release.

The UK Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed Asian longhorn ticks in the sample from the veterinarian, and Pasternak and a student from the UK College of Public Health found more of the ticks in the field.

With the first two findings being in Eastern Kentucky, the Metcalfe County finding is particularly troubling as it means the tick may have already spread farther across the state, Pasternak said.

Aside from cattle, livestock including horses, sheep, goats and chickens can be affected by the ticks, as can cats and dogs, according to UK.

UK said that as they become more established in Kentucky, Asian longhorn ticks are also likely to negatively affect deer and other wildlife populations. They are known to bite deer and elk, as well as raccoons, possums, coyotes, foxes, groundhogs, Canada geese, cottontail rabbits, red-tailed hawks and skunks, UK said.

Research is being done to determine what diseases the ticks might spread among animals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Asian longhorned tick appears to be less attracted to human hosts compared to other ticks commonly found in the United States.

More study is needed to determine how likely they are to pass diseases on to humans, according to the CDC.

There are two kinds of Asian longhorned ticks, according to Rutgers University. One form has both males and females, but the other reproduces through parthenogenesis during which females are able to essentially clone themselves, laying eggs that develop into mature ticks without the presence of a male.

The Asian longhorned ticks in the United States as well as the populations in Australia and New Zealand where they have caused significant losses to cattle farmers are the self-cloning kind, which allows them to spread efficiently, according to Rutgers. A recently-published study led by Rutgers researchers found that the U.S. populations likely began with three or more female ticks from northeast Asia.

Once in the United States, they were probably carried from place to place by wildlife, livestock and pets. The researchers said dogs in particular are effective carriers that allow ticks to cross state and international lines.

Many countries require dogs to be treated for ticks and other parasites before entering the country, but the United States does not. We urge greater awareness of this issue to prevent future exotic tick introductions, said Dina Fonseca, the studys senior author and director of the Rutgers University Center for Vector Biology.

Asian longhorned ticks were first discovered in the United States in 2017 in New Jersey, though they had likely been here for several years previously. They also have been found in Arkansas, Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, according to UK.

The CDC says researchers are looking for the ticks to determine where they have spread and what types of environments they prefer.

Asian longhorned ticks are small and reddish-brown, and they lack distinctive markings.

People who find a large number of ticks on pets or livestock should contact their veterinarian, and people who think they may have found an Asian longhorned tick should work with their county extension agent to get the tick submitted to UK entomologists for testing, the UK release stated.

People can use tick repellents and check themselves and their pets after outdoor activity to reduce the likelihood of tick bites.

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Thousands of these self-cloning ticks now in Kentucky - Frederick News Post

THE BAD BATCH TV Show On Disney+ Could Include THE CLONE WARS And REBELS Hero Captain Rex – CBM (Comic Book Movie)

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The Bad Batch promises to follow a group of clone troopers as they take on missions as mercenaries following the events of Revenge of the Sith, and given its unique setting in the timeline, fans are hopeful that certain characters will make cameo appearances along the way.

Recently, writer Brent Friedman - who penned the original "Bat Batch" story arc in The Clone Wars - teased that Captain Rex is likely to show up. Why? To explore the conversation between him and Echo in the final season of that show,which was never fully explained by the animated series.

No writing team has been announced for The Bad Batch beyond Dave Filoni, but it seems logical thatFriedman will have some input.

Rex's story, meanwhile, is intrinsically tied to that ofHunter, Crosshair, Tech, Wrecker, and Echo, and there are plenty of gaps in the beloved clone's life which could be filled in before we found him in Star Wars Rebels. Five's discovery of the inhibitor chips is pivotal for all these characters, so his legacyand Rex's conversation with Echo are all bound to be part of this show in some way.

Click HERE for more The Bad Batchnews from CBM!

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THE BAD BATCH TV Show On Disney+ Could Include THE CLONE WARS And REBELS Hero Captain Rex - CBM (Comic Book Movie)

Tick that can clone itself is found on cattle in Southern Ky. and wildlife in Eastern Ky.; it’s also a threat to pets, and hard to identify – The…

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The Asian longhorned tick, which preys on a variety of hosts including humans and wild and domestic animals, has been found in Kentucky. This new tick is known to attack animals in large numbers and will be a concern to livestock producers, wildlife enthusiasts and pet owners.

This tick is an aggressive biter and frequently builds intense infestations on domestic hosts that can cause stress, reduced growth and severe blood loss, said Jonathan Larson, UK extension entomologist. One reason for their rapid buildup is that the female ticks can lay eggs without mating. It only takes a single fed female tick to create a population of ticks. Potentially, thousands can be found on an animal.

The tick has been found in small numbers on elk in Martin County and black bear in Floyd County. It was found in large numbers on a bull in Metcalfe County in the south-central part of the state.

The Metcalfe County ticks were submitted by a veterinarian who answered a call about a bull so infested that it was showing signs of severe fatigue, said Anna Pasternak, UK entomology graduate student who manages the Kentucky Tick Surveillance Program. Pasternak and Monica Cipriani, a student in the UK College of Public Health, sampled the Metcalfe County field and found more Asian longhorned ticks.

The Metcalfe County finding is particularly troubling, Pasternak said. It means the tick may have already spread farther across the state.

The tick was found in the U.S. in 2017. It has also been confirmed in Arkansas, Tennessee, the Carolinas, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

In addition to wildlife, the asian longhorned tick preys on cats, dogs, horses and chickens. Humans also are a host. It is a known or suspected vector of several important livestock viral, bacterial and protozoan agents. Scientists are conducting tests on ticks collected in the United States, and it is likely that some ticks will contain germs that can be harmful to animals.

The tick is hard to identify because it has no distinctive markings and unfed adults are smaller than other common adult ticks in Kentucky.

If you find an unusually large number of ticks on a pet or livestock, contact a veterinarian. If you think a tick might be an Asian longhorned tick, work with your county extension agent for agriculture and natural resources to submit the sample to UK entomologists for positive identification.

Ticks are a bigger problem than they once were, Kentucky Health News reported recently. UK has information on tick-bite prevention and removal at https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef618 and at county offices of the Cooperative Extension Service.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

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Tick that can clone itself is found on cattle in Southern Ky. and wildlife in Eastern Ky.; it's also a threat to pets, and hard to identify - The...

Breath of the Wild "clone" Genshin Impact gets release date – KitGuru

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Genshin Impact received a lot of attention when it was first announced back in June 2019. The open-world action-RPG appears to take heavy inspiration in its visuals from titles such as Breath of the Wild. After many closed betas and much anticipation, the games developers MiHoYo have now announced that Genshin Impact will be released for iOS, Android and PC before October.

In an update post to its socials, MiHoYo announced that Genshin Impact will officially open its doors on iOS/Android/PC platforms before October! Travelers will then be able to freely visit the continent of Teyvat to start an adventure of their own, telling fans to stay tuned to announcements from our official channels for the exact release date!

Genshin Impact was previously announced to be releasing for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, though currently there is no release date for either platform. That being said, MiHoYo did provide an update on the PS4 release, announcing that In order to provide all Travelers with a smoother, higher-quality Genshin Impact experience on PlayStation 4, we will once again hold a closed beta test for the platform on July 30.

Though the inspirations for Genshin Impact are clear, the game has forged its own identity over the course of its development, and so itll be interesting to see how reception shapes up when it releases later this year and whether itll be able to shake its reputation as a Breath of the Wild clone.

Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.

KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to Genshin Impact? Did you manage to get into its previous betas? What platform will you play the game on? Let us know down below.

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Breath of the Wild "clone" Genshin Impact gets release date - KitGuru

Pet Clones Market Review with 2025 Forecast Global Analysis by Types, Applications, Regions, Size & Trends, Top Players – Market Research Posts

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The Pet Clones Market 2020 report is a comprehensive, professional and in-depth research of market that delivers significant data for those who are seeking information for the Pet Clones industry. The market report delivers the specification, key strategies, future prospect and cost structure of the industry. The report also highlighted the future trends in the Pet Clones Market that will impact the demand during the forecast period.

This report encloses comprehensive analysis on the market and are assessed through volume and value data validated on three approaches including top companies revenues. It concludes with precise and authentic market estimations considering all the parameters and market dynamics. Every crucial and decisive detail for the development and restriction of the market is mentioned in fine points with solutions and suggestions that may affect the market in near future. Segmentation of the market are studied specifically to give profound knowledge for supplementary market investments.

Request a sample of this premium research: https://www.bigmarketresearch.com/request-sample/3567376?utm_source=Nilesh-MRP

Pet Clones Market: A Competitive Perspective

Competition is a major subject in any market research analysis. With the help of the competitive analysis provided in the report, players can easily study key strategies adopted by leading players of the Pet Clones market. They will also be able to plan counterstrategies to gain a competitive advantage in the Pet Clones market. Major as well as emerging players of the Pet Clones market are closely studied taking into consideration their market share, production, revenue, sales growth, gross margin, product portfolio, and other significant factors. This will help players to become familiar with the moves of their toughest competitors in the Pet Clones market.

Top Companies are covering This Report:- Sinogene, ViaGen Pets, BioArts International, Sooam Biotech, Boyalife.

Pet Clones Market 2020-2025: Segmentation

Pet Clones Market is segmented as below:

Breakup Product Type:Cloned CatsCloned DogsOthers

Breakup by Application:Application A, Application B, Application C.

Geographic segmentation1) North America (United States, Canada, Mexico),2) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines),3) Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia),4) Central & South America (Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Columbia),5) Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Iran, South Africa, Israel, Egypt, Nigeria, Iraq),6) Other Regions (Australia, New Zealand).

The study objectives of this report are:* To analyze Pet Clones status, capacity, cost, price, demand & supply, production, profit, and competition.* To study Pet Clones industry based on components (solutions and services)* To present the Global Pet Clones development at Regional and Global basis.* To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies.* To study competitive developments such as mergers and acquisitions, new partnerships, new contracts, and new product developments.

Key Question Answered in Pet Clones Market Report What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Pet Clones Market? What are the different marketing and distribution channels? What is the current CAGR of the Pet Clones Market? What are the Pet Clones Market opportunities in front of the market? What are the highest competitors in Pet Clones market? What are the key outcomes of SWOT and Porters five techniques? What is the Pet Clones Market size and growth rate in the forecast period?

Who should buy this report?This study is suitable for industry participants and stakeholders in the Pet Clones market. The report will benefit:

* Analysts, researchers, educators, strategy managers, and academic institutions looking for insights into the market to determine future strategies.* To understand the most affecting driving and restraining forces in the Pet Clones market and its impact on the global market.* Learn about the market policies that are being adopted by prominent organizations.* To understand the future outlook and prospects for the Pet Clones Market.* Obtain the most up to date information available on all active and planned Pet Clones Market globally.* Understand regional Pet Clones Market supply scenario.* Identify opportunities in the Pet Clones Market industry with the help of upcoming projects and capital expenditure outlook.

To conclude, the Pet Clones Market report will provide the clients with a high-yielding market analysis assisting them to understand the market status and come up with new market avenues to capture hold of the market share.

Our analysis involves the study of the market taking into consideration the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please get in touch with us to get your hands on an exhaustive coverage of the impact of the current situation on the market. Our expert team of analysts will provide as per report customized to your requirement.

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Table of Content: Chapter 1 Industry OverviewChapter 2 Major Segmentation (Classification, Application and etc.) AnalysisChapter 3 Production Market AnalysisChapter 4 Sales Market AnalysisChapter 5 Consumption Market AnalysisChapter 6 Production, Sales and Consumption Market Comparison AnalysisChapter 7 Major Manufacturers Production and Sales Market Comparison AnalysisChapter 8 Marketing Channel AnalysisChapter 9 Industry Chain AnalysisChapter 10 Global and Regional Market ForecastChapter 11 Major Manufacturers AnalysisChapter 12 New Project Investment Feasibility AnalysisChapter 13 Conclusions

About Us:Big Market Research has a range of research reports from various publishers across the world. Our database of reports of various market categories and sub-categories would help to find the exact report you may be looking for.

We are instrumental in providing quantitative and qualitative insights on your area of interest by bringing reports from various publishers at one place to save your time and money. A lot of organizations across the world are gaining profits and great benefits from information gained through reports sourced by us.

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Pet Clones Market Review with 2025 Forecast Global Analysis by Types, Applications, Regions, Size & Trends, Top Players - Market Research Posts

10 Video Game Clones That Kicked Your (Own) Ass – WhatCulture

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Clones. Am I right?

It's a tried and tested trope for TV, Film and especially comic books, and with good reason. After all what better foe to fight against than yourself, especially if that version is nefariously evil and has a great laugh. In the medium of video games especially clones can create some of the best boss encounters or hurdles for the player to overcome as they know all your moves and all of your weaknesses.

These mirror matches can be arduous slogs as you are forced to think outside the box at the best of times, but what if the clone is actually superior to the original? You'll see a lot of examples where it might not be a spitting image but that's because version 2.0 over here is rocking more beef that a butchers window.

Here you have an even tougher fight ahead of you, because if you can't beat yourself then how in the hell are you going to beat your doppelganger who's been hitting the gym more than twice a month? HOW!?

--

Article adapted from a script on WhatCulture Gaming. Watch here!

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10 Video Game Clones That Kicked Your (Own) Ass - WhatCulture

Black Friday Is Capitalism at Its Most Beautiful | Cole Webb Harter – Foundation for Economic Education

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I went to a Daily Mass on Black Friday last year. The priest didnt waste too much time with the homily, but he made a few comments about Thanksgiving and a statement about Black Friday which I found hopefully refreshing.He said, This is a day for the poor. Of course, hes right, but how often do we think of Black Friday in those terms? As Thanksgiving and Black Friday approach once again, let us reflect on this concise but incredibly profound statement.

Black Friday is a day when the fruits of our labor are more abundant and more available for more people. Black Friday is truly one of the most beautiful examples of capitalism we have around these days.Its a day when everyone gets richer. The producers get richer because more people are buying their wonderful products, and the consumers get richer because they both come into possession of something they greatly value and because they save a little of their hard earned money in the process. This is what capitalism is all about: mutual enrichment through mutual gift-giving.

Judging by his accent and the color of his skin, this priest is almost certainly an immigrant from a very poor country.He definitely understands poverty, and the fact that he sees something charitable and Christian in a day so often sneered at by Catholics and upper-middle-class Americans in general for its apparent celebration of consumerism and materialism is extremely enlightening. The truth is Black Friday benefits the poor and the working class most of all. The rich dont need a discount. They buy what they want regardless of the price.

But Black Friday is a day when the fruits of our labor are more abundant and more available for more people. Think about this next time you mock some single mother on food stamps for taking part in a "doorbuster" crowd while trying to get a discount Christmas present for her children.It can be tumultuous, but its also a glorious celebration of the humanitarian implications of the free market.

That is the beauty of voluntaryism and capitalism: it is a descriptive, and not a prescriptive, worldview. Its very easy for people to sit back on Black Friday and exempt themselves from the rat race, to hold themselves above all those plebs scrambling for a television at half-price.The neo-Marxist left, and regrettably some libertarians, like to tsk-tsk at these people for being so foolish as to think useless junk like TVs and childrens toys and gaming consoles are worth such revelries.

This is the great tragedy of the political philosopher, who thinks he knows whats best for everyone. You dont reallyneedthat TV, you dont reallyneedthat new pair of shoes.To these people I say, get off your morally superior high horse. Who are you to say what people need and dont need? That is the beauty of voluntaryism and capitalism: it is a descriptive, and not a prescriptive, worldview. Nobody is required, let alone qualified, to decide whats best for everyone else. In a truly free market, free from government coercion and cronyism, everyone is able to allocate for themselves what resources, goods, and services they deem most valuable and essential.

Mostly we think of Black Friday as a day of crass consumerism, of greed, and irrational attachment to material goods. But just look how good life is. The free market has yielded a surplus unthinkable to even the richest members of society as recent as two hundred years ago. So stop judging and celebrate abundance.

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Black Friday Is Capitalism at Its Most Beautiful | Cole Webb Harter - Foundation for Economic Education

Big Techs Backlash Is Just Starting – The New York Times

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This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays.

Wednesdays five-plus-hour congressional probing of the bosses of Americas tech giants did not reveal a singular gotcha moment or smoking gun email. Weve heard many of these examples of Big Tech abuse before.

But the power of this hearing and others like it was the cumulative repetition of tales of abusive behavior, and evidence of the harm this has had on peoples lives.

The spectacle also showed that the impact of congressional investigations is the digging that happens when the C-SPAN cameras are turned off.

Worries about Americas tech stars have swirled for years. Its clear now that this isnt going away. In world capitals, courtrooms and among the public, we are wrestling with what it means for tech giants to have enormous influence on our lives, elections, economy and minds.

And while what happens to the future of Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook is anyones guess, it was clear from Wednesdays hearing that Congress was pointing the way for other branches of government to pick up the digging from here.

We saw on Wednesday old emails and texts from Mark Zuckerberg, worried about Facebook losing ground to Instagram and suggesting that buying competing apps is an effective way to take out the competition. The big deal here: Trying to reduce competition by purchasing a rival is a violation of antitrust law. (Zuckerberg said that Instagrams success wasnt assured when Facebook bought it.)

Representatives said that their interviews with former Amazon employees backed up news reports that the company used private data from its merchants to make its own version of their products.

The subcommittee discussed their conversations with companies that claimed Google funneled web searches to services it owned rather than to rivals like Yelp. Through company documents and questioning, members of Congress picked apart Apples stance that it treats all app developers the same.

My colleague Kevin Roose wrote that the tech bosses seemed to be taken off guard by the rigor and depth of the questions they faced.

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are also investigating whether these companies abuse their power, and I bet they watched closely. The U.S. governments antitrust case against Microsoft more than 20 years ago was built, in part, on the emails of Bill Gates and other Microsoft executives discussing how they planned to kill upstart competitors.

Heres one more sign that the backlash against Big Tech has only just begun: The shouty tech critics in Congress and the tech bosses all seemed to agree that these four companies have a meaningful impact on many peoples lives.

The tech bosses focused on the good that comes from their companies size, reach and influence. A New York bakery finds customers by buying advertisements on Google. Merchants can thrive by selling their products or apps on Amazon or Apple.

The representatives pointed out examples of the dark side of Big Techs size, reach and influence. In the pin drop moment of the hearing, a House member played an audio recording of a book seller saying her family was struggling because of a change Amazon apparently made that dried up her sales there.

The subcommittee chairman said these tech powers can pick the winners and the losers. That might be stretching it. But both sides demonstrated that these four companies have a profound say in who wins or loses.

Lawmakers of all political stripes seemed uncomfortable with the knowledge that four companies have this much influence. Beyond the legal antitrust questions at issue, its this feeling of discomfort that makes it hard to imagine that nothing will change for these tech superpowers.

Wednesdays hearing was really two hearings. The Democrats mostly asked the four tech chief executives about ways their companies wielded their power and influence. Republican members largely asked about persistent concerns that Google and Facebook in particular censor right-leaning viewpoints or treat conservative figures unfairly.

Some Republican politicians complaints about political bias arent backed by credible evidence. Regardless, suspicion of bias is a thorny problem for these companies.

In a 2018 Pew Research survey, Americans who described themselves as Republicans or Republican-leaning overwhelmingly said that they believed that tech companies censor online information for partisan reasons. (A smaller, but still majority, share of Democrats said that they believed this, too.) Since then, polling has shown a growing mistrust of tech companies, particularly among conservatives.

This doesnt seem to have hurt the tech companies businesses. In fact, some Republican members on Wednesday argued that even though people dont trust Big Tech, they have no choice but to continue using these services because these companies have so much influence. It was an effective way to connect bias concerns to investigations into tech company market power. (Yes, I said earlier this week not to pay attention to bias claims. But maybe pay attention a little?)

Even if allegations of bias dont cause the companies to lose customers, the loss of faith among a large share of Americans should worry them.

Its also a problem if the tech companies overcorrect. Facebook employees and critics have said fears of being accused of bias have made the company reluctant to crack down on people, including President Trump, who spread dangerous or inflammatory messages online. Its a fine line to walk.

The really important stuff from the Big Tech hearing: House plants and bookshelves. My colleague Mike Isaac rated the tech bosses choices of backgrounds for their webcast testimony. Mike gave Amazons Jeff Bezos, who sat in front of wooden shelves with a sprinkling of books and tchotchkes, a score of 8 out of 10 for his cool Pacific Northwest dad office vibes.

Example infinity of technology as a flawed virus surveillance: A Wall Street Journal technology columnist reviewed smart watches, internet-connected thermometers and other gizmos that say our heart rate readings or other bodily data can provide early warnings of coronavirus infections. Spoiler alert: Some of this stuff holds promise but needs further research, and we still need more laboratory virus testing.

If you feel like screaming when you watch TV: Rolling Stone has a hilarious and smart rage fest on why the video streaming services can be so infuriating to use.

Best wishes forever to this tiny rabbit peeking out of a canvas bag.

We want to hear from you. Tell us what you think of this newsletter and what else youd like us to explore. You can reach us at ontech@nytimes.com.

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Big Techs Backlash Is Just Starting - The New York Times

Antitrust Showdown In Congress: Big Tech, Meet Big Government – Forbes

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Theres a contradiction in the Trump, and by extension Republican, deregulatory agenda that could inadvertently threaten the recovery of an already wavering economy.

That aberration is the continued reflexive embrace of antitrust regulation, an original sin of the administrative state with vast, potentially destructive societal costs.

With antitrust intervention, politicians and bureaucrats do not merely push companies around; they also directly or indirectly dictate business models and can even inappropriately influence the trajectory of entire economic sectors in non-market directions.

A picture taken on August 28, 2019 shows the US multinational technology and Internet-related ... [+] services company Google logo (top L), US online store application Amazon (top C), US online social media and social networking service, Facebook (top R) and US multinational technology company Apple logo application (down C) displayed on a tablet in Lille. (Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP) (Photo credit should read DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images)

The big tech news this week is a hearing in the House Judiciary Committees Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law.

Called "Online Platforms and Market Power: Examining the Dominance of Amazon AMZN , Apple AAPL , Facebook, and Google, GOOGL " the hearing will feature the CEOs of each, appearing remotely: Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, and Mark Zuckerberg, respectively. This hearing is the committees sixth in a series.

Its bad news when both parties favor economic regulatory intervention and thats the state were in now with antitrust. While international regulators and state attorneys general have their sights on these companies, all are targets of federal antitrust investigation by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission in the Trump administration. (Attorney General Bob Barr, separately testifying in Judiciary this week, is taking a lead role.)

In a joint statement, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-R.I.) said:

Since last June, the Subcommittee has been investigating the dominance of a small number of digital platforms and the adequacy of existing antitrust laws and enforcement. Given the central role these corporations play in the lives of the American people, it is critical that their CEOs are forthcoming. "

The subcommittee will ultimately issue a report based on more than a year of information gathering, but will likely downplay letters for the record and inconvenient testimony from antitrust skeptics. How do we know that? A headline on Drudge referred to an APPLEFACEBOOKAMAZONGOOGLE Reckoning. Other articles refer to the CEOs facing a "grilling."

The very notion of monopoly power in intangible code, in ones and zeros, seems perverse, though. And here we observe not one monopoly but four companies (other giants could have also been invited to testify) vigorously competing against one another in various ways. That would seem to exemplify competition rather than the stifling of it with which big tech stands accused.

The chief internal contradiction of antitrust is that it decries bigness and excess power but then urges that the biggest and most powerful entity of all the government wielding the life or death power over all the CEOs domains impose a subjective remedy.

And government enjoys that power not just in the present case, but enjoyed it in all those that came before, and will in all those interventions to come after. That is a truly awesome power.

So we go through this theater with the dominant firms of the day every so often (AT&T, IBM IBM , Microsof MSFT t). Google is accused of favoring its own content in search results, Apple of downlisting rival apps, Facebook (and non-invitee Twitter, too) of suppressing conservative speech. Other gripes will be aired.

If the companies are so bad and the claimed consumer harm the only condition that could justify intervention is real, the more honest approach of the grandstanders would simply be to directly forbid consumers from using any of these companies services. Consumers would surely thank Congress for its protection, right?

An antitrust subcommittee doing antitrust stuff is one thing; whats more striking is the degree to which Trump himself has energized and legitimized tech attacks, especially regarding issues like content moderation that will ride along at what is ostensibly an antitrust-centric hearing. (One GOP member wants the aforementioned Barr to investigate Facebooks Zuckerberg for allegedly lying about to Congress about anti-conservative bias in prior hearings.)

On the one hand, and consistent with the Trump administrations well-known and broad deregulatory agenda to energize business, the administration took early steps to cut merger review times overall, and to speed up bank merger approvals via internal streamlining at the Federal Reserve and at the Comptroller of the Currency.

But often, President Trump has threatened antitrust action against tech and telecom firms, a stance conflicting with that deregulatory agenda and an especially dangerous tinkering with the marketplace and peoples portfolios and 401(k)s in todays crisis-rocked world.

We could see it coming, though. As a candidate, Trump proclaimed, AT&T T is buying Time Warner, a deal that we will not approve in my administration because it is too much concentration of power in the hands of too few. We will look at breaking that deal up and other deals like it. The Justice Departments attempt to block the merger ultimately failed.

Similarly, Trump tweeted in 2018 thatComcast CMCSA may be violating antitrust laws. However, after mulling it over (such delays of business transactions themselves impose heavy regulatory costs, something Trump recognized with respect to infrastructure approvals during his July 2020 White House South Lawn deregulation celebration), the Justice Departmentultimately did not investigatethe Comcast-NBCUniversal alliance.

With respect to the big tech players in the hotseat now, the president said in 2018 that Google, Facebook, and Amazon may be in a very antitrust situation, and said he was in charge and looking at it. Even then, politicians and pundits across the political spectrum were calling for thebreakupof these companies. Forcible breakup calls for an even bigger entity to wield the axe, as noted; but one will not likely find that contradiction expressed in grillings.

Some Republicans wanted Twitter at the Judiciary hearing also. Trump fought bitterly earlier this year with that company and has on numerous occasions threatened to regulate social media. In May, he followed though by issuing an executive order targeting their alleged censorship.

The online speech debate and the antitrust debate are highly intertwined, and in addition to cutting big tech down to size, both the right and left want to change underlying rules that protect platforms from liability for user postings. This battle too will doubtlessly emerge at the hearing and continue thereafter.

While the Judiciary committee was conducting the months of investigations culminating in this weeks Super Bowl hearing, the administration was doing similarly. Back in early 2019, the Federal Trade Commission announced a technology task force to assess tech sector antitrust violations and to go beyond current practice in scrutinizing transactions. In the wake of that, and in contrast to the administrations recognition of agency misuse of regulatory guidance documents elsewhere, the FTC is now in the process of drafting guidance on how the antitrust laws apply to the technology sector and defending its own role in policing it.

In other antitrust developments, this year, the FTC requested data from top tech companies on their business acquisitions over the last 10 years. The commission is also pondering an injunction against Facebooks procedures for interoperability across platforms, and is in the early stages of investigating Amazon, having started interviews in 2019 with businesses that sell on the site.

Still other signals point to a potentially expanding Trump administration antitrust agenda by the Department of Justice and FTC beyond big Internet tech firms. The FTC, for example, has been challenging an aquisition transaction in DNA sequencing.

While the DoJ and FTC did issue a Joint Antitrust Statement with respect to collaborative activities among firms during the pandemic, expedited advisory opinions still constitute playing Mother-May-I.

America may have some real troubles right now, but so-called monopoly power among competing firms in media and online sales and services are not threats to the country calling for coercive intervention from this unfortunate alliance of Democrats and Republicans.

The reality is that the infrastructure needed in tomorrows world of smart cities, autonomous vehicles, robotics and artificial intelligence, and space travel and more will require firms of far larger scale than any that we today call big tech and fret over.

These giants of the future will likewise be competitive non-monopolies, unless government grants them monopoly power or license.

Having just celebrated years of regulatory cuts at the White House, now would be a good time for President Trump back off his counterproductive flirtations with one of the worst forms of economic intervention, antitrust regulation. Congress? Thats not so simple.

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Antitrust Showdown In Congress: Big Tech, Meet Big Government - Forbes

Lawmakers keen to break up ‘big tech’ like Amazon and Google need to realize the world has changed a lot since Microsoft and Standard Oil – The…

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Big tech is back in the spotlight.

The chief executives of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google testified before Congress on July 29 to defend their market dominance from accusations theyre stifling rivals. Lawmakers and regulators are increasingly talking about antitrust action and possibly breaking the companies up into smaller pieces.

I study the effects of digital technologies on lives and livelihoods across 90 countries. I believe advocates of breaking up big technology companies, as well as opponents, are both falling prey to some serious myths and misconceptions.

Arguments for and against antitrust action often use earlier cases as reference points.

The massive 19th-century monopoly Standard Oil, for example, has been referred to as the Google of its day. There are also people who are recalling the 1990s antitrust case against Microsoft.

Those cases may seem similar to todays situation, but this era is different in one crucial way: the global technology marketplace.

Currently, there are two big tech clusters. One is in the U.S., dominated by Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple. The other is in China, dominated by Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei and TikTok-maker ByteDance.

This global market is subject to very different political and policy pressures than regulators faced when dealing with Standard Oil and Microsoft. For example, the Chinese government has blocked most of the U.S. companies from entering its market. And the U.S. government has done likewise, blacklisting some Chinese outfits over perceived national security threats while discouraging others.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese government has doubled down on championing its own technology companies.

U.S. companies size and data accumulation capabilities give the country economic and political influence around the globe. If the U.S. technology giants are broken up, the result would be a vastly uneven global playing field, pitting fragmented U.S. companies against consolidated state-protected Chinese firms.

There are two main views of antitrust action among legal experts.

One focuses on consumer welfare, which has been the prevailing approach federal lawyers have taken since the 1960s. The other suggests that regulators should look at the underlying structure of the market and potential for powerful players to exploit their positions.

Those two sides seem to agree that price plays a key role. People who argue against breaking up the tech giants point out that Facebook and Google provide services that are free to the consumer, and that Amazons marketplace power drives its products costs down. On the other side, though, are those who say that having low or no prices is evidence that these companies are artificially lowering consumer costs to draw users into company-controlled systems that are hard to leave.

Both sides are missing the fact that the monetary price is less relevant as a measure of what users pay in the technology industry than it is in other types of business. Users pay for digital products with their data, rather than just money.

Regulators shouldnt focus only on the monetary costs to the users. Rather, they should ask whether users are being asked for more data than is strictly necessary, whether information is being collected in intrusive or abusive ways and whether customers are getting good value in exchange for their data.

There arent just two ways for this debate to end, with either a breakup of one or more technology giants or simply leaving things as they are for the market to develop further.

In my view, the best outcome is right in the middle. The errant company is sued to make necessary changes but isnt broken up. The very fact that the government filed a lawsuit leads to progress with other companies. That is exactly what happened in past cases against the Bell System, IBM and Microsoft.

In the 1956 federal consent decree against the Bell System telephone company, for example, which settled a seven-year legal saga, the company wasnt split up. Instead, Bell was required to license all its patents royalty-free to other businesses. This meant that some of the most profound technological innovations in history including the transistor, the solar cell and the laser became widely available, yielding computers, solar power and other technologies that are crucial to the modern world. When the Bell System was eventually broken up in 1982, it did not do nearly as much to spread innovation and competition as the agreement that kept the Bells together a quarter-century earlier.

The antitrust action against IBM lasted 13 years and didnt break up the company. However, as part of its tactics to avoid appearing to be a monopoly, IBM agreed to separate pricing for its hardware and software products, previously sold as an indivisible bundle. This created an opportunity for entrepreneurs Bill Gates and Paul Allen to create a new software-only company called Microsoft. The surge of software innovations that have followed can clearly trace their origins to the IBM settlement.

Two decades later, Microsoft was itself the target of an antitrust action. In the resulting settlement, Microsoft agreed to ensure its products were compatible with competitors software. That made room in the emerging internet marketplace for web browsers, the predecessors of Apples Safari, Mozillas Firefox and Google Chrome.

Even Margrethe Vestager, the European Unions top antitrust official and frequent tech-giant nemesis, has said that antitrust prosecutions are part of how technology grows. But that doesnt mean they all have to achieve their most extreme ends and be broken up.

The current pandemic has highlighted the value of the technological innovations of the big tech companies.

Americans are relying more than ever on the internet and online shopping and delivery, while mobility data has been critical in gauging social distancing behaviors and guiding policy. Digital tools for tracking coronavirus cases, deaths and social distancing behaviors in the smallest counties have circulated widely, and social media and smartphone videos were crucial to the recent protests and calls for social justice.

Altogether, this has led to a softening of public opinion toward big tech and calls for an end to talk of breaking them up.

But the pandemic has also revealed numerous digital fault lines: differences in access by country, race and region; the ability of tech companies to exploit labor; and potential for new kinds of misuse of data.

Far from giving the technology industry a free pass, the pandemic is an opportunity to take a more balanced view. Yes, lets celebrate the Silicon Valleys value, but lets not turn a blind eye to the problems they create or worsen.

During the hearings, youll likely hear politicians accentuate the bad stuff, while the tech CEOs will paint an overly rosy image of themselves. Antitrust is complicated enough without misconceptions clouding their judgments as well.

This is an updated and expanded version of an article originally published on July 17, 2019.

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Lawmakers keen to break up 'big tech' like Amazon and Google need to realize the world has changed a lot since Microsoft and Standard Oil - The...