Table of ContentsTable of ContentsMarch 4 eventNothing Phone 3, or 3a?Big year for NothingNothing will launch a new device on March 4, this much seems certain. However, exactly what it will reveal on the day, or how many devices it will have in hand, is still unknown due to the extensive rumors and teases regarding the event. Heres what we know so far.Nothing did not release a major flagship phone in 2024, and instead updated its Phone 2 range with the Phone 2a and Phone 2a Plus. Nothing founder Carl Pei confirmed the Nothing Phone 3 would arrive in 2025 and come with a new AI-powered home screen and other new software features.Recommended Videospic.twitter.com/9MmuzleJai Nothing (@nothing) January 28, 2025Please enable Javascript to view this contentIn January 2025 Nothing announced an event for March 4, with the tagline Power in Perspective, on social media. An accompanying video showed what appears to be a triple camera system, complete with Nothings trademark Glyph lighting effect to highlight it. Nothing phones have so far come with two camera lenses.A further official tease from Nothing repeats the March 4 date, but does so in a video of Pei where we see the camera zoom in from a distance, complete with a noticeable switch between lenses. Pundits are linking this with the upcoming phone having a telephoto camera, a first for the brand.Nothing Phone 2a Plus Andy Boxall / Digital TrendsWhile we can be certain Nothing will launch a phone on March 4, its not clear what phone it will be. The Nothing Phone 3 seems like the logical name, but rumors about the specification of the phone have mentioned a Nothing Phone 3, a Nothing Phone 3a, and a Nothing Phone 3a Plus. Its possible Nothing will launch more than one phone on March 4.A spec list for the Nothing Phone 3a suggests it will have a 6.8-inch AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 5,000mAh battery with 45W charging, and a triple camera made up of two 50-megapixel cameras for main and telephoto duties, and an 8MP wide-angle camera. The early indication is all new Nothing phones will all use a Qualcomm processor, most likely the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3.Nothing will likely update its Nothing OS software to version 3.1, which will be based on Android 15 and contain the AI features Pei discussed in his 2024 video.Nothing Phone 2a Andy Boxall / Digital TrendsIt appears Nothing is ready for a big 2025, with the potential of multiple new phones hitting stores. In a leaked email said to be from Pei, the founder called the Phone 3 a flagship, and said it would be a landmark smartphone launch for the brand. The email also revealed the companys camera and software development teams had expanded to help create the new device.The March 4 event will take place during Mobile World Congress 2025, although its not known whether Nothing will host it in Barcelona, Spain with the rest of the mobile world, or at another location.Editors Recommendations

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Chuck Gordon, CEO, StorableJanuary 29, 20254 Min ReadJennifer Miranda Lobijin via Alamy StockAs businesses plan their 2025 technology investments amid stabilizing interest rates, many are restarting digital transformation initiatives that were paused or scaled back in recent years. Despite global digital transformation spending set to reach $3.4 trillion by 2026, McKinsey reports a sobering reality: seventy percent of these initiatives failto deliver their intended results.In today's environment, where businesses face increasing pressure to modernize while optimizing costs, an even more concerning trend has emerged: companies operating in a dangerous middle ground between analog and digital operations.Picture two businesses: One runs entirely on legacy systems, the other operates on a patchwork of modern and outdated technology. Counter-intuitively, the fully legacy business often outperforms its partially modernized peer. Why? Because partial digital transformation creates complexity without delivering efficiency. It's like trying to drive a car that's half electric, half gasoline.This isn't just an enterprise problem. From local facility managers to global technology corporations, organizations are discovering that incomplete digital transformation creates more problems than it solves. The challenge isn't the technology itself; its the growing complexity of managing systems that don't work together.Related:The False Security of Half MeasuresPartial transformation is common when businesses implement new customer-facing technology without updating their core operations. Think of a modern payment portal connected to paper-based billing systems, or an automated booking platform trying to sync with manual inventory management. These disconnects create daily operational friction that technology was supposed to eliminate.These types of half measures create an illusion of progress while actually increasing operational complexity. Leaders often start with the best intentions: Let's modernize gradually or We'll transform the customer-facing parts first. But this approach is like building a bridge halfway across a river; you invest significant resources without reaching the other side.Critical Failures of Partial TransformationThe integration burden.In every disconnect between modern and legacy systems there is a point where someone must manually bridge the gap. What starts as a simple connection between systems often evolves into a complex web of workarounds and manual processes.Consider a facility management operation where online payments flow into a modern accounting system, but unit availability is still tracked in spreadsheets. Staff spend hours reconciling these systems daily, creating more work instead of less. As organizations plan their 2025 technology budgets, these inefficiencies threaten to consume an ever-larger share of resources.Related:At our company, we've observed these integration challenges across thousands of facility operators -- from family-owned businesses to large enterprises. What often begins as a well-intentioned effort to modernize specific processes, frequently results in staff maintaining multiple systems in parallel, creating more complexity rather than less. The most successful operators tackle transformation holistically, ensuring their core operational systems can communicate seamlessly before they add new capabilities.The data disconnect. When new systems can't properly communicate with older ones, businesses face a constant challenge maintaining accurate information across operations. Modern cloud systems expect data to flow freely, but legacy systems often hold this data in rigid, isolated structures.For example, when a customer makes an online reservation but the on-site management system doesn't update in real-time, you create confusion and disappointment instead of convenience. This challenge becomes particularly acute as modern customers expect increasingly seamless experiences.Related:The innovation ceiling. When organizations believe theyve gone digital because they've implemented modern interfaces over legacy systems, they often stop pushing for comprehensive change. This creates what I call an innovation ceiling. Its the growing gap between what modern technology could deliver and what your hybrid systems actually allow.More critically, maintaining these patchwork systems consumes resources that could fund complete transformation.This doesn't just limit technical capabilities; it fundamentally constrains business growth and competitive advantage.Break Free from Partial TransformationAs organizations finalize their 2025 technology roadmaps, the path forward requires a new approach:Start with core operations: Begin transformation at your operational core, not just customer interfaces. Focus first on the systems that run your daily business rather than just the ones customers see. This creates a solid foundation for future innovation while minimizing day-to-day complexity.Design for future change: Implement new systems with the flexibility to evolve as technology advances. This approach treats transformation as a continuous journey rather than a one-time project. Build with the understanding that today's modern system will be tomorrow's legacy system.Build organizational alignment: Create clear guidelines that align your entire organization around consistent modernization goals. This reduces the risk of creating new operational gaps during transformation and ensures that every change supports your long-term vision.The Path ForwardAs leaders plan for 2025, we must resist the urge to layer new technology over outdated business models without addressing fundamental operational challenges. Whether you're leading a startup or a Fortune 500 company, a physical or digital business, the principles remain the same: transformation must be comprehensive to be effective.The cost of partial transformation isn't measured just in technical debt. It's measured in lost market opportunities, diminished customer experience, and reduced competitive advantage. As we navigate an increasingly digital future, the question isn't whether to transform; it's whether we're willing to do it right. The organizations that thrive in 2025 and beyond will be those that commit to holistic transformation, understanding that fragmentary solutions create more complexity than they solve.About the AuthorChuck GordonCEO, StorableChuck Gordon is CEO of Storable, a supplier of various products and services for the self-storage industry including cloud-based access control, management software, marketing and website services, payment processing, tenant insurance, and others. In 2018, Chuck cofounded SpareFoot, an Austin, Texas-based company that provides listings for self-storage units.See more from Chuck GordonNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

Earlier this month, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta will cut back on its content moderation efforts and eliminate fact-checking in the US in favor of the more democratic approach that X (formerly Twitter) calls Community Notes, rolling back protections that he claimed had been developed only in response to media and government pressure. The move is raising alarm bells, and rightly so. Meta has left a trail of moderation controversies in its wake, from overmoderating images of breastfeeding women to undermoderating hate speech in Myanmar, contributing to the genocide of Rohingya Muslims. Meanwhile, ending professional fact-checking creates the potential for misinformation and hate to spread unchecked. Enlisting volunteers is how moderation started on the Internet, long before social media giants realized that centralized efforts were necessary. And volunteer moderation can be successful, allowing for the development of bespoke regulations aligned with the needs of particular communities. But without significant commitment and oversight from Meta, such a system cannot contend with how much content is shared across the companys platforms, and how fast. In fact, the jury is still out on how well it works at X, which is used by 21% of Americans (Metas are significantly more popularFacebook alone is used by 70% of Americans, according to Pew). Community Notes, which started in 2021 as Birdwatch, is a community-driven moderation system on X that allows users who sign up for the program to add context to posts. Having regular users provide public fact-checking is relatively new, and so far results are mixed. For example, researchers have found that participants are more likely to challenge content they disagree with politically and that flagging content as false does not reduce engagement, but they have also found that the notes are typically accurate and can help reduce the spread of misleading posts. Im a community moderator who researches community moderation. Heres what Ive learned about the limitations of relying on volunteers for moderationand what Meta needs to do to succeed: 1. The system will miss falsehoods and could amplify hateful content There is a real risk under this style of moderation that only posts about things that a lot of people know about will get flagged in a timely manneror at all. Consider how a post with a picture of a death cap mushroom and the caption Tasty might be handled under Community Notesstyle moderation. If an expert in mycology doesnt see the post, or sees it only after its been widely shared, it may not get flagged as Poisonous, do not eatat least not until its too late. Topic areas that are more esoteric will be undermoderated. This could have serious impacts on both individuals (who may eat a poisonous mushroom) and society (if a falsehood spreads widely). Crucially, Xs Community Notes arent visible to readers when they are first added. A note becomes visible to the wider user base only when enough contributors agree that it is accurate by voting for it. And not all votes count. If a note is rated only by people who tend to agree with each other, it wont show up. X does not make a note visible until theres agreement from people who have disagreed on previous ratings. This is an attempt to reduce bias, but its not foolproof. It still relies on peoples opinions about a note and not on actual facts. Often whats needed is expertise. I moderate a community on Reddit called r/AskHistorians. Its a public history site with over 2 million members and is very strictly moderated. We see people get facts wrong all the time. Sometimes these are straightforward errors. But sometimes there is hateful content that takes experts to recognize. One time a question containing a Holocaust-denial dog whistle escaped review for hours and ended up amassing hundreds of upvotes before it was caught by an expert on our team. Hundreds of peopleprobably with very different voting patterns and very different opinions on a lot of topicsnot only missed the problematic nature of the content but chose to promote it through upvotes. This happens with answers to questions, too. People who arent experts in history will upvote outdated, truthy-sounding answers that arent actually correct. Conversely, they will downvote good answers if they reflect viewpoints that are tough to swallow.r/AskHistorians works because most of its moderators are expert historians. If Meta wants its Community Notesstyle program to work, it should make sure that the people with the knowledge to make assessments see the posts and that expertise is accounted for in voting, especially when theres a misalignment between common understanding and expert knowledge. 2. It wont work without well-supported volunteers Metas paid content moderators review the worst of the worstincluding gore, sexual abuse and exploitation, and violence. As a result, many have suffered severe trauma, leading to lawsuits and unionization efforts. When Meta cuts resources from its centralized moderation efforts, it will be increasingly up to unpaid volunteers to keep the platform safe. Community moderators dont have an easy job. On top of exposure to horrific content, as identifiable members of their communities, they are also often subject to harassment and abusesomething we experience daily on r/AskHistorians. However, community moderators moderate only what they can handle. For example, while I routinely manage hate speech and violent language, as a moderator of a text-based community I am rarely exposed to violent imagery. Community moderators also work as a team. If I do get exposed to something I find upsetting or if someone is being abusive, my colleagues take over and provide emotional support. I also care deeply about the community I moderate. Care for community, supportive colleagues, and self-selection all help keep volunteer moderators morale high(ish). Its unclear how Metas new moderation system will be structured. If volunteers choose what content they flag, will that replicate Xs problem, where partisanship affects which posts are flagged and how? Its also unclear what kind of support the platform will provide. If volunteers are exposed to content they find upsetting, will Metathe company that is currently being sued for damaging the mental health of its paid content moderatorsprovide social and psychological aid? To be successful, the company will need to ensure that volunteers have access to such resources and are able to choose the type of content they moderate (while also ensuring that this self-selection doesnt unduly influence the notes). 3. It cant work without protections and guardrails Online communities can thrive when they are run by people who deeply care about them. However, volunteers cant do it all on their own. Moderation isnt just about making decisions on whats true or false. Its also about identifying and responding to other kinds of harmful content. Zuckerbergs decision is coupled with other changes to its community standards that weaken rules around hateful content in particular. Community moderation is part of a broader ecosystem, and it becomes significantly harder to do it when that ecosystem gets poisoned by toxic content. I started moderating r/AskHistorians in 2020 as part of a research project to learn more about the behind-the-scenes experiences of volunteer moderators. While Reddit had started addressing some of the most extreme hate on its platform by occasionally banning entire communities, many communities promoting misogyny, racism, and all other forms of bigotry were permitted to thrive and grow. As a result, my early field notes are filled with examples of extreme hate speech, as well as harassment and abuse directed at moderators. It was hard to keep up with. But halfway through 2020, something happened. After a milquetoast statement about racism from CEO Steve Huffman, moderators on the site shut down their communities in protest. And to its credit, the platform listened. Reddit updated its community standards to explicitly prohibit hate speech and began to enforce the policy more actively. While hate is still an issue on Reddit, I see far less now than I did in 2020 and 2021. Community moderation needs robust support because volunteers cant do it all on their own. Its only one tool in the box. If Meta wants to ensure that its users are safe from scams, exploitation, and manipulation in addition to hate, it cannot rely solely on community fact-checking. But keeping the user base safe isnt what this decision aims to do. Its a political move to curry favor with the new administration. Meta could create the perfect community fact-checking program, but because this decision is coupled with weakening its wider moderation practices, things are going to get worse for its users rather than better. Sarah Gilbert is research director for the Citizens and Technology Lab at Cornell University.

An EY report has underlined that DEI strategies can help boost workforce innovation and improve productivity.The report provides recommendations for businesses on how to best implement DEI initiatives.It comes a week after President Trump cut federal DEI programs and pushed the private sector to follow.A new report from the Big Four professional services firm EY has underlined the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategies in improving productivity and workforce innovation.The report, titled "DE&I interventions that deliver," considers the impact of inclusive policies in the context of the "economic slowdown and uncertainty" that have characterized the past few years.Developed in partnership with leading diversity campaigns and DEI specialists in the UK, it recommends the top approaches for improving DEI in the workplace.The recommendations include taking a data-driven approach to workforce analysis, targeted recruitment strategies to attract diverse candidates, and providing flexibility on when and how roles are performed.EY's report comes a week after President Donald Trump rolled back DEI programs for federal government workers during his first week in office. In his executive order, the president encouraged private-sector companies to do the same.The president wants federal agencies to identify "the most egregious and discriminatory DEI practitioners" across public companies and nonprofits for possible civil investigations.Target, Meta, Walmart, and other major US companies have been altering or cutting their DEI programs, in line with Trump's messaging.Others like Costco and JPMorgan are standing by DEI and have publicly defended their diversity initiatives. 61% of Americans support DEI practices, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll last April."Diversity, equity and inclusion are not just ethical values they are critical drivers of innovation, productivity, and economic growth," said Anna Anthony, EY's UK & Ireland Regional Managing Partner.Creating inclusive workplace cultures and amplifying the voices of underrepresented groups creates a business environment "where creativity flourishes, individuals thrive, and everyone benefits," Anthony said.She said that the findings aimed to provide insight to UK companies, as well as to EY itself."The fact that there are questions being asked about the value of diversity and inclusion programmes is a sign, not that we should do less, but that we should do more and do better," said Sir Trevor Phillips, Chair of Change the Race Ratio, one of the groups that contributed to EY's report.

This excerpt originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.A few weeks ago, Big Tech had several topics to address during earnings. Now, only one seems to matter: DeepSeek.The Chinese AI startup's chaotic introduction has left investors and the tech industry scrambling. But DeepSeek's timing is also opportune. Big Tech companies begin reporting earnings today after the closing bell, giving analysts a chance to press them on the impact DeepSeek might have, writes BI's Jordan Hart.DeepSeek's more-with-less approach to AI model development won't affect Big Tech all the same way. Here's what to look out for among the Magnificent Seven stocks as they report earnings.January 29Microsoft: As the biggest backer of OpenAI, which sits at the center of the DeepSeek drama, Microsoft will likely get some pointed questions about whether it's rethinking things. CEO Satya Nadella has already taken a rising-tide-raises-all-ships view, referencing a technological and economic belief that increased efficiency will boost consumption.Meta: Mark Zuckerberg hasn't backed down from his pledge to make more than $60 billion in capital expenditure investments this year, with a strong focus on AI. That might raise investors' eyebrows considering DeepSeek showed what's possible with fewer resources. But the silver lining is DeepSeek's potential validation of open-source models over proprietary ones, which is something Meta already subscribes to. Meanwhile, TikTok's uncertain future could be a benefit for Meta.Tesla: AI plays a key role in Tesla's future plans, specifically around autonomous vehicles, but Elon Musk will likely face a lot of other questions. From his ongoing pay dispute, to Tesla's first year-over-year decline in sales, to what the new administration, one he is deeply involved with, means for the EV maker.January 30Apple: Sometimes,will likely help Apple, analysts told BI, as its focus is on integrating AI models into products instead of building them.February 4Alphabet: Just like Microsoft, Alphabet spending big to build out proprietary models means the DeepSeek news may have put them on the defensive. Still, the threat of China surpassing the US in AI could be a chip Google can play as a judge mulls how to resolve its antitrust violations.February 6Amazon: Much like Apple, Amazon has tried to take an agnostic approach to AI development by offering clients a diverse set of AI models. It's already seen customer interest in checking out DeepSeek. Its willingness to tout other companies' wares could help it gain more cloud market share early as companies look to experiment with different model providers and avoid getting locked in.February 26Nvidia: The AI chip giant fell the hardest on Monday, and will also have the longest time to assess the situation. Improving efficiency could just increase demand for compute power, which would be good for Nvidia. But DeepSeek using older chips potentially throws a wrench in Nvidia's ambitious plan of launching a new chip every year. And the potential for tariffs on chips made in Taiwan would also be a massive headache.

After one analyst suggested GTA 6 could be priced at $100 to help 'save' the video game industry, another has called the suggestion 'ridiculous and 'a bridge too far'

While players look to gain access to the Nintendo Switch 2 early, fans have been commiserating each other missing out on the opportunity via the early access lottery system

The Switch 2 is hitting the road (Nintendo)Some people with Nintendo Switch 2 Experience tickets are trying to sell them for extortionate prices, but buying them is a very bad idea.Following the reveal of the Switch 2, Nintendo gave everyone the chance to try out the console early through the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience.The worldwide console tour will see people go hands-on with the Switch 2 at select locations from April to June. If youre only just hearing about this, unfortunately the prize draw closed on Sunday, with successful entrants being notified by email earlier this week.Despite Nintendos FAQ page explicitly stating the tickets are non-transferable, that hasnt stopped some winners from trying to sell them for eye-watering prices on eBay.As shared by users on X, listings for the US event in New York appeared on the website selling tickets for $1,000 (805).While these listings have been taken down since, there are, at time of writing, still tickets being sold for the event in Milan. Listings for London and Madrid are also popping up but in most cases are taken down shortly after.If you were unsuccessful in the prize draw, Nintendo is set to open a waiting list from today (Wednesday, January 29) at 3pm GMT for a chance to grab any cancelled tickets. You can check out the registration page here.https://twitter.com/Nintendeal/status/1884320784765837592The Nintendo Switch 2 Experience is set to officially kick off on April 4, 2024, with events in Paris and New York. It will stop at various other cities across Europe, the US, Oceania, and Asia over the following two months.The tour will be preceded by a Nintendo Direct presentation for the Switch 2 on April 2, where the company is expected to show off games (including the already confirmed new Mario Kart), the console itself, and the launch date, which is rumoured to be somewhere around June.More TrendingNintendo officially revealed the Switch 2 earlier this month, following an abundance of leaks, although we still know very little about the console itself. Some retailers, however, are already preparing for pre-orders. A listing for the Milan event on eBay (eBay)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy