Victoria Fox's Blog, page 129

Second-hand shopping: How much second-hand is in your wardrobe?

My son placed an order with me this winter as soon as it got cold: He would like a black jacket filled with down from an outdoor brand. No crap. I found it on Vinted for 50 euros instead of 200 euros (that would have been the new price). After my search on the second-hand app, he had a choice of five different models, all matching, all apparently in very good condition. He decided on one from The North Face. He wears them every day.

Many people are like me: Germans buy more second-hand goods than in previous years; according to the management consultancy PwC, this figure is now almost 60 percent of adults. When it comes to outdoor fashion, the figure is significantly higher, with almost 80 percent of consumers also looking for used jackets, sweaters and trekking trousers. In addition to Vinted, there are a number of platforms where you can buy second hand online: Sellpy, Farfetch, Vestiaire Collective, Momox Second Hand, Ebay and of course classifieds. But with 14 million registered users (many of them regularly active), Vinted has a special position on the German market.

We’re interested in what experiences you’ve had with second-hand platforms: Do you have your closet full of Vinted finds? Has your purchasing behavior changed as a result of second-hand fashion? And why do you even buy second hand? In your opinion, what sets Vinted apart from other platforms? What advantages or disadvantages do you see compared to other platforms? We are also interested in bad experiences: Have you ever not received what was shown in the photos? Were there any concerns about the quality of the goods? Have you even become a victim of trademark counterfeiting? And: How many dresses, jackets and trousers, bags and watches have you bought or sold second hand?

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In short: write to us! Tell us beautiful, funny, absurd, annoying experiences. Via the form, in the comments or by email to community-redaktion@zeit.de. We want to publish selected articles on ZEIT ONLINE, anonymously if desired.

My son placed an order with me this winter as soon as it got cold: He would like a black jacket filled with down from an outdoor brand. No crap. I found it on Vinted for 50 euros instead of 200 euros (that would have been the new price). After my search on the second-hand app, he had a choice of five different models, all matching, all apparently in very good condition. He decided on one from The North Face. He wears them every day.

Many people are like me: Germans buy more second-hand goods than in previous years; according to the management consultancy PwC, this figure is now almost 60 percent of adults. When it comes to outdoor fashion, the figure is significantly higher, with almost 80 percent of consumers also looking for used jackets, sweaters and trekking trousers. In addition to Vinted, there are a number of platforms where you can buy second hand online: Sellpy, Farfetch, Vestiaire Collective, Momox Second Hand, Ebay and of course classifieds. But with 14 million registered users (many of them regularly active), Vinted has a special position on the German market.

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iMessage: Apple's quantum leap

According to many experts, quantum computers are still a few years in the future. At least those that are not only suitable for individual, very specific tasks, but can also be used as general computers and can handle tasks where conventional computers fail. Nevertheless, companies like Apple are already preparing for the future. For good reasons.

On Wednesday, Apple announced in a blog post a new security procedure called PQ3 for its in-house chat service iMessage, which will be gradually integrated into the various operating systems with iOS 17.4, macOS 14.4 and watchOS 10.4 from March. Apple calls it “the most significant cryptographic security upgrade in iMessage history.”

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Reddit IPO: Profit Before Principles

If you ask Reddit users what they think about a possible Reddit IPO, you will get answers like this in the relevant forums: “I can’t imagine that Reddit could have any value. The platform is neither attractive for companies , nor for celebrities and politicians. Half of the user base consists of bots and the majority of human users are depressed, worn-out teenagers and students,” writes someone under the pseudonym Shredding_Airguitar.

Those responsible at Reddit around CEO Steve Huffman see it differently. On Thursday they filed an application for an IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Shares could be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RDDT as early as March. The company is seeking a valuation of at least $5 billion, as The New York Times reports with reference to insiders, but the amount could change in the coming weeks.

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This is Jensen Huang, the golden boy of Wall Street

At 61 years old, and with his unmistakable leather jacket, the founder of Nvidia is considered the best CEO on Wall Street and is the fashionable figure this week after presenting historic results. There are those who already define him as “the greatest visionary of our era.”

He is the fashionable man on Wall Street. There is no investor who does not look for a way to coincide, even for a minute, with “the greatest visionary of our era” , as analysts such as television’s Jim Cramer have begun to define him this week, who

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Why Palo Alto is a Nasdaq star despite the stock market crash

Palo Alto had a spectacular stock market rise, but a slight cut in the forecasts – it has just announced a growth for this year of only 16% compared to the 25% that analysts expected – caused a stock market crash of more than 25%. Despite this stumble on the stock market, Palo Alto is a star value on the Nasdaq.

The company has multiplied its capitalization by five in five years , rose more than 100% in 2023 and this year it appreciated 27% before the fall. It is a world leader in cybersecurity and one of the best positioned companies in artificial intelligence.

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Telefónica's income grows 1.6% and registers losses due to million-dollar provisions

Telefónica’s revenues in 2023 grew by 1.6% to 40,652 million euros, a record since 2020 and with improvements in revenues and margins in all major countries. Plus, it meets all your financial goals. However, its results are conditioned by multimillion-dollar provisions – of 3,106 million for the ERE in Spain and the accounting adjustment in the United Kingdom – which cause the net result for the entire 2023 year to go from a figure, without extraordinary items, to 2,369 million. euros (+17% year-on-year) to losses of 892 million after applying the extraordinary ones. Telefónica has also confirmed the dividend of 0.30 euros/share for 2024. As of mid-morning, the stock is up 1.74%.

These strong provisions – 1,320 million for the ERE in Spain and another 1,786 million for the adjustment in the United Kingdom – also have a substantial impact on the gross operating margin (oibda). Thus, the underlying oibda, without extraordinary items, would reach

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Espionage: China probably lets private companies spy and monitor them

The Chinese government appears to be increasingly relying on private companies to spy on governments and companies abroad and to monitor their citizens at home. This is reported by the New York Times , citing a data leak from the Chinese company I-Soon. Three experts interviewed by the newspaper confirmed the authenticity of the documents, the authors write.

According to the newspaper, the documents show the extent to which companies working for the Chinese government have been hacking governments and telecommunications companies abroad for eight years. Neighboring Asian countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and India are primarily affected.

At the same time, according to the New York Times, the data shows the extent of surveillance primarily of minorities and gambling companies in China itself. I-Soon worked for the Ministry of State Security, but also the Chinese army and police.

According to the research, the leaked data that I-Soon apparently collected includes email correspondence and flight data from abroad. The data also shows how detailed the Chinese government monitors the behavior of its citizens on social media. According to a cybersecurity expert, it is said to be the largest data leak to date and shows how much a private company is hacking and spying for the Chinese government.

The strategy of letting private companies hack and spy for themselves is not new: Iran and Russia have also been using private hackers for their political goals for years.

The Chinese government appears to be increasingly relying on private companies to spy on governments and companies abroad and to monitor their citizens at home. This is reported by the New York Times , citing a data leak from the Chinese company I-Soon. Three experts interviewed by the newspaper confirmed the authenticity of the documents, the authors write.

According to the newspaper, the documents show the extent to which companies working for the Chinese government have been hacking governments and telecommunications companies abroad for eight years. Neighboring Asian countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and India are primarily affected.

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Artificial intelligence: OpenAI boss warns of possible election manipulation by AI

The head of ChatGPT developer OpenAI, Sam Altman , expects more content created by artificial intelligence (AI) than human-made in the future. Society must also deal with the negative consequences of AI and prepare accordingly, said Altman. Artificial intelligence could, among other things, have potentially negative effects on elections in the foreseeable future.

Risks such as cybersecurity and bioweapons are also being taken more seriously, said Altman. Artificial intelligence will “not just be a good story.”

According to Altman, positive effects of AI include support in scientific research, the medical field and education. The bottom line is that there will be a positive development with AI, he was convinced. However, even more important than with other technologies is a regulatory role for governments.

According to Altman, regulations should come quickly

Regulations for artificial intelligence need to come as quickly as possible, while AI models are still relatively weak, Altman said. It should not happen that, for example, OpenAI secretly develops an AI that is smarter than humans and suddenly releases it onto the world. Society and its institutions must be given enough time to gradually prepare for development.

The chatbot ChatGPT sparked a hype about artificial intelligence in November 2022. Such AI chatbots are trained with large amounts of information and can formulate texts at the linguistic level of a human, write software code and summarize information. However, chatbots sometimes give completely wrong answers, even if they were only based on correct information.

Newer AI like OpenAI’s Sora system can create images and even videos in addition to more complex texts.

The head of ChatGPT developer OpenAI, Sam Altman , expects more content created by artificial intelligence (AI) than human-made in the future. Society must also deal with the negative consequences of AI and prepare accordingly, said Altman. Artificial intelligence could, among other things, have potentially negative effects on elections in the foreseeable future.

Risks such as cybersecurity and bioweapons are also being taken more seriously, said Altman. Artificial intelligence will “not just be a good story.”

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Espionage: This is how China hacks

On January 15, someone registered the encrypted email address I-SOON@proton.me. A month later, on February 16, the person began uploading around 570 mostly Chinese-language files to the GitHub software platform. It is not known who is behind the account. Where the data comes from now seems to be almost certain: it is most likely leaked documents from the Chinese IT security company I-Soon (Auxun). And they provide insight into how the Chinese government uses private companies and hacker groups to attack targets at home and abroad.

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Julian Assange: The Invisible Defendant

Anyone who passed through the British High Court in London in the past two days could not miss the case that was being heard there. Demonstrators had been stationed there since early Tuesday, demanding the release of the founder of the whistleblowing platform WikiLeaks with loud chants of “Free Julian Assange” and drumming. There were speeches, for example from the former British Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Assange’s supporters had been mobilizing for this day for weeks – because inside the courthouse, Assange’s case might be heard for the last time in a British court. And so the face of Assange, who became world famous with the publication of US secret documents on his platform WikiLeaks in 2010, was present everywhere in front of the courthouse: on T-shirts, posters, masks and paintings.

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