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Tech News Today for July 6, 2017

Tech News for Thursday July 6, 2017

The rumored layoffs at Microsoft were announced today. CNBC says the company will lay off 10 percent of its sales force in an effort to reorganize the way it sells its cloud platform, Azure. The jobs will likely be mostly outside of the US and some affected workers will be given other jobs within the company in what Frank Shaw, corporate VP of communications and jargon says are intended to evolve the skill sets Microsoft needs. Currently there are 71,000 Microsoft employees in the U.S. and 121,000 employees worldwide. Read more at cnbc.com.

In other layoff news, SoundCloud is laying off 40 percent of its staff, according to a blog post by the company's founder, Alex Ljung. The decade old music and podcast streaming service will close offices in San Francisco and London, but Ljung says SoundCloud will still be available in 190 countries globally. Rumored purchases of the company first by Twitter and then Spotify apparently fell through earlier this year, forcing SoundCloud to borrow 70 million dollars to remain in business. Read more at bloomberg.com.

Tesla’s stock has fallen almost 17 percent this week, despite the news that that the cheaper Model 3 is three weeks ahead of schedule. The Wall Street Journal notes that delivery of Model S cars and Model X sport-utility vehicles were lower than analysts expected due to a battery supply issue, causing many promintent analysts to give the company a sell rating. At the close of trading today Tesla’s market cap was down to $50.7 billion, which knocks them out of the top spot on the list of most valuable US automakers. General Motors market cap is now at $52.6 billion. Read more at wsj.com.

No place is safe from convenience commerce, even the back seat of your Uber or Lyft. Mashable reports that a new startup called Cargo lets Uber drivers sell you necessities like energy bars, lightning cables, aspirin and even condoms, right from inside of the car. You can also use the service to tip your driver. It's free for the driver and some of the items are even free for you, and the driver gets paid when you take these free items. Which doesn't necessarily sound like the business plan for a successful startup. Cargo makes deals with companies, so don't expect to see a wide variety of different mints since Cargo has made an exclusive deal with Altoids. Read more at mashable.com.

If you've ever wanted a third thumb, then this is the story for you. The Verge says an artist named Dani Clode designed a wearable with an extra thumb that you can attach so you have one on each side of your hand. You can carry more objects, play more complicated chords on the guitar and maybe type on one of the new iPad Pros with one hand. You control the prosthetic with a bluetooth pressure sensor that attaches to your shoe and adjusts the extra thumb with the movement of your foot. Read more at theverge.com.

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