Intel faces Q2 challenges amid trade tensions, with CEO Tan planning cost cuts and a shift to four-day workweeks. Alphabet reported 12% revenue growth to $90.2 billion in Q1. OpenAI launched gpt-image-1 via API, while Apple plans to move US iPhone assembly to India by 2025. Facebook is tackling spam accounts, Baidu upgraded its Ernie AI models, and Ziff Davis sued OpenAI for copyright infringement.
▶️ Open Source
Author Mails for GPL v2, Receives v3 Instead
Author requested the GPLv2 license text by mailing to the address in the license notice and received a GPLv3 license reply, highlighting version ambiguity and historical mailing practices.
- Author contacted the GPLv2 license address in 2022 and received a reply in five weeks
- The response included the full GPLv3 license text on five sheets of US letter-sized paper
- The original license notice did not specify GPL version; the received license was GPLv3, not GPLv2
▶️ Management and Leadership
Intel lowers Q2 forecast amid trade tensions; CEO plans cost cuts and TSMC collaboration
Intel’s Q2 revenue and profit forecasts are below estimates due to trade war concerns, chip stockpiling, and regulatory risks; CEO Tan plans cost cuts, factory review, and collaboration with TSMC.
- Intel forecasted second-quarter revenue ($11.2-$12.4 billion) and profit below Wall Street estimates amid trade tensions
- Tariff fears led to chip stockpiling in Q1, impacting Q2 outlook; Intel plans cost cuts, reducing operating expenses to ~$17 billion in 2025 and capital expenditure targets to $16 billion in 2026
- CEO Tan met with TSMC CEO Wei and former CEO Chang to explore collaboration; Intel is reviewing factory footprint and delaying a $28 billion Ohio factory until 2030; received $1.1 billion in US government grants under the CHIPS Act
Big Tech’s Slowness Due to Feature Complexity and Wicked Features
Big tech companies are slow because the exponential growth of feature interactions and wicked features increases development complexity, not due to engineer inefficiency or poor processes.
- Big tech companies’ slow development is primarily due to the complexity of managing numerous interdependent features, not engineer incompetence or process inefficiencies
- Each new feature interacts with existing features, creating combinatorial complexity that increases development time
- Wicked features, such as adding new user types or deployment environments, significantly amplify this complexity and are often highly lucrative
Intel to Shift to Four-Day Workweek Amid Restructuring
Intel will implement a four-day office workweek from September 2025, cut organizational layers, reduce costs, and accelerate workforce and manufacturing restructuring under CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
- Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan announced employees will return to a four-day in-office workweek, increasing from three days, starting September 1, 2025
- The company aims to reduce bureaucracy, streamline teams, and cut non-essential administrative tasks, with workforce reductions beginning in Q2 2025
- Intel plans to save an additional $0.5 billion in 2025 and cut $2 billion in capital expenditures; Q1 2025 net loss was $0.4 billion on $12.7 billion revenue
▶️ Technology
Alphabet Q1 Earnings Jump 12% to $90.2B, Driven by Google Search, YouTube Ads, and Cloud Growth
Alphabet Q1 2025 earnings show 12% revenue growth to $90.2 billion, driven by Google Search, YouTube ads, and Google Cloud’s 28% increase, with net income up 46% to $34.5 billion.
- Alphabet Inc. reported Q1 2025 revenues of $90.2 billion, up 12% YoY (14% in constant currency), driven by Google Search, YouTube ads, subscriptions, platforms, devices, and Google Cloud.
- Google Services revenue increased 10% to $77.3 billion; Google Cloud revenue grew 28% to $12.3 billion, led by core GCP products, AI Infrastructure, and Generative AI solutions.
- Operating income rose 20% to $30.6 billion with a 34% operating margin; net income increased 46% to $34.5 billion, EPS up 49% to $2.81; dividend increased 5% to $0.21 per share; Board authorized $70 billion share repurchase program.
OpenAI Launches Multimodal gpt-image-1 Model Via API for Developers
OpenAI introduced gpt-image-1, a multimodal image generation model in the API, enabling high-quality, customizable images with safety safeguards, available globally with detailed pricing and integration guides.
- OpenAI launched
gpt-image-1, a multimodal image generation model accessible via API on April 23, 2025 - The model powers features in ChatGPT and is now available for developers, supporting diverse styles, custom guidelines, world knowledge, and text rendering
- Usage pricing: $5 per 1M text input tokens, $10 per 1M image input tokens, $40 per 1M image output tokens; approximately $0.02, $0.07, and $0.19 per image respectively
“Facebook Cracks Down on Spam Accounts Amid AI Concerns”
Meta announced on April 24, 2025, that Facebook will reduce reach and monetization eligibility for spammy accounts, targeting behaviors like excessive hashtags and fake engagement amid AI spam concerns.
- Facebook will lower the reach of accounts sharing spammy content and disqualify them from monetization, announced Meta on April 24, 2025
- The company is increasing efforts to remove accounts coordinating fake engagement and impersonation
- Crackdown targets behaviors such as excessive hashtags, unrelated captions, and spam networks creating identical content, amid concerns over AI-generated spam
Baidu upgrades Ernie AI models to compete in China’s market
Baidu upgraded its Ernie AI models to Ernie 4.5 Turbo and Ernie X1 Turbo, enhancing speed and reducing costs to strengthen its position against rivals like Alibaba and DeepSeek.
- Baidu announced upgrades to its Ernie AI models, releasing Ernie 4.5 Turbo and Ernie X1 Turbo
- The new models are faster and more cost-effective than previous versions
- Prices for these models have been significantly reduced to compete with Alibaba and DeepSeek in China’s AI market
Apple Relocates iPhone Assembly to India Amid Tariff Concerns
Apple aims to relocate all US iPhone assembly to India by 2025 to mitigate tariff risks and diversify supply chains, targeting over 60 million units annually, doubling Indian capacity.
- Apple plans to shift assembly of all US-sold iPhones to India by 2025, aiming to double Indian production capacity.
- The move responds to Donald Trump’s trade war and tariffs, with the goal to source over 60 million iPhones annually for the US from India.
- Currently, most iPhones are assembled in China via third-party manufacturers like Foxconn, with India producing a smaller share.
Solving the Largest TSP with 81,998 Stops in South Korea Using OSRM Data
Solved the largest TSP to date—81,998 stops in South Korea—using OSRM data, with a total walking time of 15.39 million seconds, confirming the route’s optimality.
- Solved a TSP to visit 81,998 bars in South Korea with a total walking time of 15,386,177 seconds (178 days, 1 hour, 56 minutes, 17 seconds)
- Computation used OSRM to build a 3,361,795,003 point-to-point travel time table, producing a provably optimal route
- Largest road-map TSP instance solved to optimality, surpassing the 57,912-stop Netherlands tour solved in 2021; computations conducted at Roskilde University and University of Waterloo
Zuckerberg admits decline in personal interactions on Facebook and Instagram
Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that social media has shifted from personal communication to mass content, challenging monopoly claims amid industry diversification and AI-driven content proliferation.
- Mark Zuckerberg testified that social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have shifted from interpersonal communication to content consumption, with time spent viewing friends’ posts declining from 22% to 17% on Facebook and from 11% to 7% on Instagram over two years.
- During the FTC antitrust trial, Zuckerberg admitted that social media now resembles traditional media, featuring celebrity videos, AI-generated content, and mass broadcast material, reducing social interaction.
- The FTC alleges Meta maintains an illegal monopoly through acquisitions like Instagram (2012) and WhatsApp (2014), but the case faces challenges due to broad industry definitions and lack of direct consumer harm, as platforms are free to users.
Ziff Davis sues OpenAI over copyright claims
Ziff Davis filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for copyright infringement and trademark dilution, accusing the company of copying over 45 media properties’ content, including Mashable and PCMag.
- Ziff Davis sued OpenAI on April 24, 2025, alleging copyright infringement and trademark dilution
- The publisher claims OpenAI “intentionally and relentlessly reproduced exact copies and derivatives” of its works
- Ziff Davis owns over 45 media properties, including Mashable, PCMag, and Lifehacker, with 292 million monthly visitors