Tech Digest daily roundup: Rare Apple trainers at auction for $50,000
A pair of rare Apple trainers are being sold by auction house Sotheby’s for $50,000 (£38,969). The shoes were custom-made for employees only in the 1990s and were a one-time giveaway at a conference. A pair have never been sold to the public before. Featuring a predominately white leather upper, “a standout detail” is the old rainbow Apple logo on both the tongue and next to the laces and will be “highly coveted”, said Sotheby’s. The retailer described them as “one of the most obscure in existence”, highlighting the rarity of the sneakers and their value on the resale market. BBC
Microsoft has beaten Wall Street expectations, posting better than expected revenues as its cloud computing and office software business grew amid increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI). Revenue rose to $56.2bn (£43.56bn) in the fourth quarter, the three months up to the end of June – up 8% on the same period a year ago. It is greater than the 7% expected by analysts. The company chairman and chief executive, Satya Nadella, said Microsoft was “focused on leading the new AI platform shift”, as tech giants compete to develop AI products and companies seek to quickly adopt AI. Sky News
Alphabet stocks rose in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the Google parent company’s second-quarter profits exceeded Wall Street expectations, amid a rebound in advertising dollars and the growing boom in artificial intelligence. The company reported net profits of $1.44 a share for the April-June period, compared with estimates of $1.34 a share. Revenue for the quarter stood at $74.6bn, compared with estimates of $72.82bn, according to Refinitiv data. That growth is attributed in part to steady demand for Google Cloud services. The Guardian
Elon Musk has taken over the @x Twitter account without paying its owner as part of the social network’s ongoing rebrand. Gene X Hwang, a photographer in San Francisco, was behind the social network’s “@x” handle until Tuesday night when it was changed to the official account for X, Mr Musk’s new name for Twitter. Mr Hwang had said he had been willing to entertain a sale of the @x account, which was registered in 2007, but that he simply received an email on Tuesday saying that it was being taken over by the company….Mr Hwang said he had been offered some X merchandise and a meeting with the company’s management, but was not offered any financial incentive. Telegraph
Elon Musk may face legal difficulties after rebranding Twitter to X, trademark experts have warned, with tech rivals Meta and Microsoft both owning intellectual property rights for the letter. The tech billionaire renamed the social network on Monday, nine months after taking over the company in a $44bn deal. The name change forms part of his plan to turn the platform into an “everything app”, which will offer services akin to China’s WeChat and India’s PayTM. X chief executive Linda Yaccarino said the company wanted to “transform the global town square” to integrate payments, banking and create a “global marketplace”. Independent
