Hello there, tech fans. Writing to you from New York, I'm Jordan Parker Erb. We've officially entered the purgatory between Thanksgiving and the rest of the holiday season, where it can feel like no real work gets done.
Some studies have shown that productivity slumps in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so if you're feeling particularly demotivated, you're probably not alone.
To help you through the productivity slog, we've got all kinds of tech stories that will fascinate and educate (and, perhaps, help you procrastinate). From Elon Musk's war with Apple to the rise and fall of a pharmacy startup, it's a packed edition.
Let's get started.
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1. Elon Musk is going to war with Apple. The world's wealthiest man slammed the world's biggest tech company, questioning if Apple "hates free speech" and suggesting that it's threatening Twitter's presence in the App Store. A look at what we know:
- Musk accused Apple of censorship and monopolistic practices in a series of tweets, claiming that the company "mostly stopped" advertising on Twitter and questioning whether Apple and its CEO Tim Cook "hate free speech in America."
- Musk also knocked the 30% fee that Apple takes from most sales through the company's App Store, tweeting a meme of a highway sign with two options: "Pay 30%" or "go to war," with a car choosing the "go to war" path. The tweet was later removed.
- Smaller companies have previously slammed Apple's 30% App Store fee, which is the subject of an ongoing legal battle between Apple and "Fortnite" video game maker Epic Games.
- This isn't the first time Musk has sparred with Cook. According to a book, Cook swore at Musk after he asked to be the CEO of Apple.
Inside Musk's feud with Apple.
In other news:
2. Snap employees must work in the office at least four days a week next year. The company is ending its pandemic-era "remote first" policy, according to plans announced during co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel's weekly chat with employees. Everything we know so far.
3. VCs shared which AI and big-data startups are worth watching. Insider spoke with more than 20 investors in the space to hear their real thoughts on some of the buzziest AI and data startups, including which are edging out the competition and which are ripe for acquisition. Here's what they told us.
4. Want to WFH? These are the best companies for workers' flexibility. According to career site Indeed, tech companies Intuit, Google, and Apple offer the most flexibility in terms of where and when employees are expected to work. See the other companies leading the work-life-balance charge.
5. Medly wanted to disrupt the pharmacy industry. Instead, it grew faster than it could handle, leaving patients in the dark. Company insiders and documents say the startup had a plan for a national reach — but not enough cash to support it. Now, half its staff have been laid off, and many patients have been left unable to get their medications. Inside the pharmacy startup's rise and fall.
6. "I was pro-Musk but it didn't save me." Ikuhiro Ihara, an engineer at Twitter, was fired from the night before Thanksgiving. The firing shocked Ihara, who supported Musk's "Twitter 2.0" vision of "hardcore" working — but he said he doesn't hold a grudge against Musk. Here's what else the former Twitter employee said.
7. Execs at Netflix, HBO, Hulu, and more offer their advice for getting ahead. We asked 20 of the entertainment industry's rising stars to share their best career advice. From obsessing over your passions to being the spokesperson for your own achievements, here's what they told us.
8. What's on your bedside table? If you're Elon Musk, the answer appears to be two replica guns, four empty cans of caffeine-free Coke, and a picture of George Washington. In a bizarre tweet, the new Twitter owner posted what he said was a photo of his nightstand. We explain each of the objects in the photo.
Odds and ends:
9. An Insider reporter shares seven reasons she'll never buy an iPhone. Android smartphones may never be as "cool" as Apple's, Grace Dean writes, but she doesn't care. From their price to "batterygate," here's why she won't join the iPhone club.
10. December is coming. That means new shows on Netflix. New movies like "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" and seasons of "Emily in Paris" will be arriving, but some shows will be removed, like "A Clockwork Orange" and all the "Men in Black" films. Everything coming to — and leaving — Netflix next month.
What we're watching today:
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Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.
