Amazon has announced the fourth quarter of 2022 as the launch date for the first two prototype satellites in its Project Kuiper Internet-from-space enterprise. The retail giant’s move follows SpaceX, which already has almost 2,000 Internet-beaming satellites orbiting at a cost of about $10 billion on behalf of its competing Starlink venture. Amazon says it plans to spend a like amount. In 2019, Amazon shared its goal of deploying 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit. These prototypes will essentially field-test Kuiper’s technology design before Amazon sends its flock of thousands skyward. Read more

President Biden and other world leaders who gathered for the Group of 20 summit in Rome formally endorsed a new global minimum business tax Saturday in what is presented as a historic achievement after months of negotiations, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The new global minimum tax rate of 15 percent is intended to reverse a decades-long reduction in corporate tax rates across the world. The agreement, which was previously endorsed by finance ministers from each country and would have an impact on Big Tech, now faces the formidable task of being turned into multinational legislation. Read more

While the arthouse cinema business has been pushed to the edge of extinction in recent years, production company and streaming platform Mubi is offering movie lovers hope. Featuring an eclectic mix of films, the monthly digital subscription service Mubi Go comes with a weekly invite for New York City members to experience a film in select theaters. Mubi expects to expand the theatrical component to Los Angeles next year, and from there to select markets throughout the U.S. Mubi Go launched in Britain in 2018 and has since teamed with more than 150 arthouses. Read more

Spotify has announced that for the first time its podcast service has overtaken Apple Podcasts in U.S. listenership. Speaking on the company’s Q3 2021 earnings call, the company cited Edison Research and internal tracking to proclaim Spotify the No. 1 podcast platform in the nation, surpassing Apple in monthly listeners. While the company didn’t break-out numbers for its podcast listeners, it said monthly active users for Spotify overall were up 19 percent year-over-year, totaling 381 million for the quarter. Spotify Premium subscriptions also increased 19 percent, to 172 million, up from 165 million in 2020. Read more

The global computer chip shortage is worsening and expected to extend through next year, with longer delays for receipt of orders, rumors of hoarding and companies like Amazon and General Motors reporting lower than expected sales as a result of products or parts being unavailable. Apple warns that supply-chain disruptions negatively impacting manufacturing of iPhones and other products could affect the holiday shopping season. With semiconductors integral to making everything from televisions to washing machines, production shortages are creating myriad problems for factories already running at full capacity. Read more