Dustin Moskovitz, one of four Facebook co-founders and roommate to Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard, seems to be glad he's out of the social networking game.

In an interview with Business Insider on Wednesday, Moskovitz described the upsides of working in enterprise tech, rather than consumer tech. Moskovitz has been the CEO of Asana — a cloud-based software service that lets workers collaborate on projects and assign tasks — since leaving Facebook in 2008.

"I do think it's nice to have a straightforward business model where you create something valuable for companies and they pay you for it," Moskovitz told us. "There's a lot fewer rough edges, I guess, since we're not a content platform. We're really providing infrastructure."

Those "rough edges" have become increasingly rough for Facebook and his former roommate this year with the Cambridge Analytica scandal, reports of genocide in Myanmar, a data breach of 30 million users, and more.

Read more: Internal Facebook emails reveal execs discussed charging and cutting deals with companies for access to user data

The problematic position Facebook finds itself in today — a company that makes its money from user data in a social climate where more people are increasingly concerned about their privacy — is perhaps why Moskovitz has stayed at Asana and in the enterprise space for more than a decade.

When asked his thoughts on Facebook's current situation, especially as it relates to privacy issues, Moskovitz deflected, saying: "Asana is a fast-growing business. We have 400 employees. My energy and attention is pretty much 100% consumed with this project so I don't spend a lot of time thinking about consumer net."

Perhaps that's true.

Asana did just raise a $50 million Series E, bringing its valuation to $1.5 billion. The company is growing internationally — opening up an Australia office next week and a Japan office next year — and says its revenue is growing 90% year-over-year. Moskovitz also tells us Asana plans to increase its team of 400 to 600 by the end of 2019.

But for someone who learned PHP in his dorm room to help build an early version of "thefacebook.com," it's hard to imagine Moskovitz doesn't spend at least some of his time reflecting on the influence, good and bad, of the product he created almost 15 years ago.

Shoppers in the U.S. spent more than $250 million on Nintendo products during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend, breaking multiple company sales records in the process.

The company's newest video game console, the Nintendo Switch, saw a 115% increase in sales compared to Black Friday 2017 and sold better than any Nintendo console ever during the holiday weekend, the company said. Nintendo also sold more than one million games during the holiday weekend, an increase of 78% from last year.

However, despite the record-setting weekend, some analysts are not confident in the Switch's future and the console appears to be lagging behind Nintendo's own sales goals. The company expects to sell 38 million Switch consoles worldwide by March 2019, but research notes from multiple analysts compiled by Bloomberg project sales of 35 million, falling short of that benchmark.

Is a lack of innovation hurting the Switch?

Nintendo

Switch sales are still slowly growing over time, but the console hasn't had the same mainstream impact of its predecessor, the Nintendo Wii. The Nintendo Switch actually sold faster than the Wii did at launch, selling 4.8 million in the U.S. its first 10 months compared to the Wii's 4 million. But sales have slowed after the initial excitement died down, leaving the Switch at 8 million units sold in its first 20 months, compared to more than 10 million Wii consoles sold in the same period, according to the NPD Group. Nintendo's follow-up to the Wii, the Wii U, sold just over 3 million in its first 20 months, qualifying it as a flop.

Read more:The Nintendo Switch is having a surprisingly weak second year

The Wii became massively popular for its motion controls, which helped make the console more appealing for non-traditional gamers. The primary innovation for the Switch is its hybrid nature; it has the power of a home console but can also be taken on the go as a portable gaming system. Nintendo's handheld systems, including the Game Boy and 3DS, have always been successful and the Switch feels like a logical next step for the company; but it doesn't seem to have the same level of innovation that created a cultural phenomenon around the Wii.

More high-profile games will help boost sales

"Super Mario Party" is fun, but the Switch needs more exciting games to bring new buyers on board. "Super Mario Party"/Nintendo

A lack of major titles has likely impacted Switch sales as well. After releasing Switch games for its two biggest franchises, "The Legend of Zelda" and "Super Mario," in 2017 and bringing some of the more successful Wii U games to the new console, Nintendo slowed its release schedule. Sales have still been healthy thanks to titles like "Super Mario Party" and "Kirby Star Allies" selling more than three million copies combined, but few of the new games are the kind of high-profile releases that help sell consoles.

The two biggest Switch games of 2018, "Pokémon: Let's Go" and "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" are releasing less than one month apart. Nintendo reported more than 1.5 million copies of the new Pokémon games have been sold in the U.S. within the first 10 days of release, and the December 7th launch of "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" is even more highly-anticipated. The holiday release of both games will help boost Switch sales through the end of the year and push Nintendo closer to its March 2019 goal of 38 million sold — and it feasible could hit its sales goal if the Switch out-performs analysts' projections.

While the Switch may not be the console that defines the next generation of video games, it continues to see steady growth and hasn't disappointed early adopters. The original Wii and the Wii U both suffered from a lack of third-party titles. When Nintendo wasn't delivering their own games, other developers hesitated to commit to Nintendo's unusual hardware and outdated online features. A healthy install base and overhauled online offerings have kept major publishers and indie studios invested in releasing their games on the Switch, including more mature rated titles, which were a rarity on the Wii.

The Switch also has a greater commitment to offline multiplayer gaming compared to other gaming consoles, and has no shortage of games to friends play together on a single Switch, or multiple Switch consoles. Nintendo's first-party games like "Pokémon: Let's Go" and "Super Mario Odyssey" have also included special cooperative modes so family members can share play time, or a more casual gamer can help out a friend without having to learn how to play a brand new game.

If Nintendo remains consistent in bringing its fan-favorite series to the console and maintains support from third-party developers, the Switch should have a healthy future ahead — even if it doesn't change the way we play games.

Verizon's initial test cities have been lit up with 5G, and we're already getting an indication that disruption is underway.

The telco giant began offering its 5G Home service to customers in four initial markets — Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, California — in October, choosing cities where Verizon is not the incumbent carrier, meaning there is room for growth in the market.

At a sell-side analyst event at Verizon's New York City office, Verizon management spoke about the initial results of the offering, sharing that about half of the customers who signed up for 5G Home were not previous customers to Verizon, "which they have been surprised by considering the notable discount for Verizon customers," Cowen analysts wrote in a research note.

Verizon did not share underlying details about what type of companies they were stealing share from, whether that be cable companies or telcos that offer service in the area, according to Cowen. Verizon declined further specifics about the service when contacted by Business Insider.

But the share stealing from other companies was likely welcome news to Verizon execs, as it reinforced a similar point they've been making all year.

"Verizon 5G Home is ideal for consumers looking to 'cut the cord' or upgrade from their current cable service," Verizon wrote in a release in September.

Cable companies provide fixed-line broadband to homes, or internet delivered through cables that connect to a modem. 5G fixed-wireless broadband uses radio signals and the installation of an antenna outside of the home to deliver internet.

Offering fixed-wireless broadband may be a potential way for telcos to fight back against cable companies, which are increasingly stealing broadband customers away. Bolstered by a strong economy and a growing necessity for a fast, persistent, in-home internet connection, analysts see continued growth opportunities for cable.

"Telco should lose the long-term battle [for broadband] with an inferior price-value proposition as consumers will demand higher speeds," Cowen analysts wrote in an October report.

Typically, cable companies have faster, more reliable service than telcos because of the underlying technology.

In the telecom sector, the cheapest option for broadband access is typically DSL. DSL — digital subscriber line — is a service that's provided over a copper wire. This type of service is slow and unreliable with limited ability for streaming. The cheapest option at cable companies, on the other hand, is offered over a coaxial cable. That means faster speeds and more reliability, but often at a higher price. Fiber is the fastest and most costly option, and is offered by both cable and telecom companies.

But 5G could be a game changer. Verizon has promised that 5G Home customers should expect typical speeds of about 300 Mbps, with peak speeds of 1 Gbps. It currently costs $70 a month, $50 a month for Verizon customer.

Verizon's 5G broadband offering isn't the only strategy that seems aimed at disrupting the cable industry.

Verizon announced that it would include a free Apple TV 4K and three months of free YouTube TV service along with 5G service to customers in each of its four initial markets. The bundling of residential broadband service and live TV implies that customers would be able to cut linear-TV subscriptions to get similar programming for free.

"When we started to design the 5G, we decided we'll have a cordless world," Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said on CNBC in August. "You're going to get the connectivity that is 100% all of the time and the speed that you have never seen before wireless."

Amazon say that Cyber Monday smashed the company's records to become the biggest shopping day in history.

The company did not release hard figures but said 2018 was "the single biggest shopping day in the company's history with the most products ordered worldwide," a company press release said on Tuesday.

Amazon also said that the period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday — known as the Turkey-five — also broke the company record for the most sales worldwide, selling "millions" more products than the same period in 2017.

Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer said: "Black Friday and Cyber Monday continue to break records on Amazon year over year, which tells us that customers love shopping for deals to kick off the holiday shopping season."

2018's Cyber Monday was tipped to be the biggest-ever by experts, who predicted that $7.8 billion would be pulled in from sales, which would be 18% more than 2017, according to a report from Adobe Analytics.

The whole holiday weekend could confirm that people are changing the way they shop, according to Ray Wimer, an assistant professor of retail practice at Syracuse University. He told Business Insider that Black Friday and Cyber Monday had merged as shoppers' habits shifted online.

"Black Friday is really no longer a one-day shopping extravaganza, it really signals a kickoff to a four-day promotional period that concludes on Cyber Monday," he said.

Though Cyber Monday looks to have broken records, it is eclipsed by Singles Day, a Chinese shopping event that attracts almost four times the sales volume.

With $30.8 billion made in sales over 24 hours this month from a single company — the e-commerce platform Alibaba — Singles Day celebration is easily the biggest shopping event on earth.

US President Donald Trump's threats about slapping tariffs on iPhones sent Apple's stock tumbling, while his barbs about Brexit sent the pound lower.

In a chat wth the Wall Street Journal, Trump threatened to escalate the trade war further, saying it is "highly unlikely" that the US and China will reach a deal to prevent the 10% tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from increasing to 25% on January 1.

He also said that if weekend talks with Xi at the G20 summit in Argentina do not go well, more tariffs could be on the way. Global stock markets posted minimal up and down moves, despite the comments.

"If we don't make a deal, then I'm going to put the $267 billion additional on," Trump said.

Read more: Trump is ready to go all-out in the trade war with China, and even the iPhone may not be spared

Trump's comments came towards the end of a strong day for US stocks, with companies boosted by what was expected to be the biggest online shopping day in US history, Cyber Monday.

The day saw all three major US indexes close more than 1% higher, while European stocks also rallied, shored up by waning tensions over both the Italian budget crisis and Brexit.

That optimism might be tested on Tuesday, with minor declines in tech stocks and US futures.

Apple shares fell 1.4% in early morning trading before markets opened on Tuesday, after the president signalled a willingness to place tariffs on items such as Apple's iPhone and laptops imported from China. Apple had previously been spared from the tariffs after lobbying the administration, but Trump may have changed his mind.

Also falling: The British pound, after Trump made a series of less than reassuring comments about any possible future trade deal between the UK and US after Brexit.

"We have to take a look at seriously whether or not the UK is allowed to trade, because you know, right now if you look at the deal they may not be able to trade with us, and that wouldn't be a good thing," he told reporters on Monday evening.

Those remarks sent the pound lower by about 0.5%, trading at 1.27 against the dollar.

British and Dutch regulators on Tuesday fined ride-hailing service Uber for failing to protect customers' personal information during a 2016 cyber attack involving millions of users.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in Britain slapped a £385,000 ($490,759.50) fine on the firm, while the Dutch Data Protection Authority imposed a fine of €600,000 ($678,780.00) on Uber. The combined total is around $1.17 million.

Uber revealed last year that around 2.7 million people in the UK were affected by the 2016 data breach that it kept secret until 2017. The records of almost 82,000 drivers based in the UK were also taken, the ICO said.

Read more: Uber has estimated 2.7 million people in the UK were affected by its massive data breach

In total, hackers stole details belonging to 50 million riders and seven million drivers, as well as customer information.

"This was not only a serious failure of data security on Uber's part, but a complete disregard for the customers and drivers whose personal information was stolen," said the ICO's Director of Investigations Steve Eckersley.

"At the time, no steps were taken to inform anyone affected by the breach, or to offer help and support. That left them vulnerable."

Earlier this year, Uber paid $148 million to settle the hack in the US after failing to disclose it properly. The company reached the agreement with all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Business Insider has contacted Uber for comment.

While online shoppers celebrated Cyber Monday deals, NASA researchers cheered the successful landing of a new probe on Mars.

The roughly $830 million mission is called InSight— short for "Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport."

NASA rocketed its 789-pound robot toward Mars on May 5, along with two briefcase-size satellites called MarsCubeOne that trailed the spacecraft to help record and relay crucial landing data.

InSight completed a treacherous 14-minute-long descent to the Martian surface around 2:54 p.m. ET on Monday, then confirmed its safe arrival with a beep — a moment that sent scientists and engineers jumping and screaming for joy in mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

Today's Mars landing was the first since the nuclear-powered Curiosity rover reached the red planet's surface more than six years ago.

Read more: 13 incredible facts you probably didn't know about Mars

Now that NASA has a new high-tech robot on the Martian surface, planetary scientists are eager to put InSight to work. But they'll have to wait until Monday night to know for sure that InSight is healthy.

"We're going to kick up a lot of dust when we land, and we need to let that dust settle before we want to unfurl our solar arrays," Tom Hoffman, the InSight mission's payload manager, said during a live broadcast by NASA. "We're 100% solar-powered, so it's very important that we get those out."

NASA expects to confirm the solar panels are deployed around 8:30 p.m. EST. Assuming all goes well, the spacecraft will be poised to probe Mars over the next two Earth years in ways researchers had only dreamed about.

"InSight's a very different mission in the sense that it is peering into the past by studying, really, the interior of Mars," Robert Braun, NASA's former chief technologist and a technical consultant for National Geographic's "Mars" series, previously told Business Insider. "In doing so, we're going to learn about Mars, but also about the early history of the Earth."

Here's what NASA hopes to discover with InSight now that the probe has arrived safely.

Why NASA landed InSight on a flat Martian plain

A simulation of Elysium Planitia on Mars.NASA/JPL-Caltech

InSight landed on Mars at a place known as Elysium Planitia. It's a relatively flat region that's free of boulders, craters, and other potentially mission-ending obstacles.

The location might seem boring — certainly compared to the ancient mountain that Curiosity is now climbing — but researchers say InSight is well positioned to pull off an unprecedented scientific mission.

Elysium Planitia sits just north of Martian equator, where the sun's rays are relatively strong year-round. Using two circular solar panels to capture that free energy, InSight could operate for two Earth years (or one Martian year).

NASA landed its InSight robot at Elysium Planitia near the Martian equator.NASA; Business Insider

That's a huge difference from InSight's nearly identical predecessor mission, the Phoenix Mars Lander.

Phoenix landed in 2008 and dug for water ice near Mars' north pole. But the robot died after a few months because sunlight was too feeble to warm its electronics.

InSight is equipped with different scientific instruments from Phoenix, though, and researchers think the soil at Elysium Planitia will be loose enough to allow the robot to pound a heat probe deep into the ground.

This will help InSight perform the first-ever "checkup" of the 4.6-billion-year-old planet.

"InSight's goal is to study the interior of Mars and take the planet's vital signs, its pulse, and temperature," NASA says on its mission website. "To look deep into Mars, the lander must be at a place where it can stay still and quiet for its entire mission. That's why scientists chose Elysium Planitia as InSight's home."

Probing the ancient secrets of Mars — and Earth, too

A cutaway illustration showing what scientists think the interior of Mars might look like.NASA/JPL

The InSight mission's ultimate goal is to figure out how Mars formed and what happened to the planet since then. Scientists know that Mars once generated an atmosphere-protecting magnetic dynamo, as Earth still does today. But the Martian core's dynamo eventually shut down and the planet's protective shield faded, which allowed the sun to blow away Mars' atmosphere and oceans of water.

Now that InSight is powered up and in touch with Earth, it will use its robotic arm to pluck a dome-shaped instrument off of its landing platform and gently place it on the Martian surface. The dome contains six sensitive vibration-detection devices called seismometers.

Seismometers on Earth and the moon (Apollo astronauts deployed some on the lunar surface) have recorded earthquakes and moon quakes, which have helped scientists figure out the internal structure of those rocky worlds. On Mars, NASA researchers hope to accomplish a similar feat: listening for Mars quakes.

Whenever a meteorite strikes Mars, or there's a landslide, or a big blob of magma suddenly shifts, or there's tectonic movement, InSight's seismometer should detect such vibrations. The devices can even record seismic activity from all the way across the planet.

Over time, data about Mars quakes could reveal hitherto unknown information about the internal structure of the planet.

The other device InSight will deploy is a mole-like heat probe. The 6.5-lb probe will hammer itself into the soil, stopping every so often to heat up. An onboard sensor will then detect how long it takes that warmth to dissipate.

An artist illustration of the InSight lander on Mars. NASA/JPL-Caltech

The probe is expected to dig 16 feet down — far deeper than any previous Mars mission has ever reached with scoops, shovels, or drills.

"When we get down that deep, we'll get away from all of the temperature variations of the surface," Suzanne Smrekar, the mission's deputy principle investigator, said during a press briefing in October. "That tells us about the heat coming out of the planet — that energy that's available for driving geologic activity."

The data will help Smrekar and others calculate how quickly energy in Mars' core can escape — the equivalent of taking the planet's temperature.

Such warmth is left over from Mars' formation some 4.6 billion years ago, though it also comes from the decay of radioactive elements. These measurements are critical for decoding the red planet's past, as well as that of Earth's and other rocky planets. That's because heat flow from the core can help drive plate tectonics, a factor believed to separate habitable worlds from dead ones.

Researchers can also use the data to figure out whether underground pools of warm water could exist on Mars. Such pools, if present, may support microbial alien life (and provide rich targets for future astronaut missions).

Back on the surface, InSight will also use a sensitive radio science experiment to see how subtly Mars wobbles during its orbit around the sun, which takes about two Earth years. This data should tell researchers what is going on in the deepest parts of the planet's core.

The lead scientist on the InSight mission to Mars, Bruce Banerdt, speaks during a press conference on October 31, 2018.NASA/Bill Ingalls

In probing Mars' history, scientists think we're bound to learn about our own planet's origins.

"Earth ... is a big planet that holds a lot of heat, a lot of energy, and it's been very geologically active over its entire history. So most of the record of the early processes that formed the Earth have been erased," Tom Hoffman, the InSight mission's payload manager, said during NASA's October press briefing. "We'd like to have a planet that's just a little bit calmer and that can retain that that evidence."

This makes sedate Mars, which is similar to Earth but has remained almost frozen in time, the perfect place to go looking.

He Jiankui, largely unknown until yesterday, is an associate professor at Shenzhen's Southern University of Science and Technology of China (南方科技大学 or SUSTC).

The Guangdong province-based researcher said he used gene-editing tool CRISPR on embryos of seven different couples during IVF treatment, resulting in the birth of twin girls this month.

CRISPR is a molecular tool that allows scientists to edit sections of DNA. Many researchers are interested in using the technology to eliminate or treat genetic diseases, as Business Insider has previously reported.

The result He claims, was newborn twin girls, who have been bestowed with immunity to HIV through CRISPR edited DNA.

According to an Associated Press report, He Jiankui said the father had the disease and the mother did not. He said his ultimate goal was to alter the babies' genes in a way that would protect them from future HIV infection.

The Shenzhen university distanced itself from He in a statement Monday that said the researcher had been on unpaid leave from February 1, 2018 and was not expected to return until January 2021.

He's academic board said He had "seriously violated academic ethics and norms."

"Our school will immediately hire authoritative experts to set up an independent committee to conduct in-depth investigations and publish relevant information after investigation," SUSTC said in the statement.

Read more: A Chinese researcher claims that the first gene-edited babies have been born, and scientists are disturbed

Caixin reports that He also heads six companies in China, mostly in the genetics sector.

When contacted by the Chinese magazine, a representative of Shenzhen Hanhai Genetic Biology Technology Co. Ltd. — one of the companies He runs — refused to say if they were aware of the project, but told Caixin the experiment was not conducted on their premises.

The experiment has in no way been verified or published in any academic journal.

China's state-run People's Daily published an online article about it on Monday but later removed the story.

There has been a follow up article in the English language version of the Communist Party mouthpiece, distancing itself from the controversy.

If it is true, the experiment is deeply controversial.

Gene-editing of this nature is illegal in many countries including the United States and according to Caixin, such experimentation is also banned by a Chinese regulators.

More than 120 Chinese scientists signed a letter condemning the claim by He.

"The project completely ignored the principles of biomedical ethics, conducting experiments on humans without proving it's safe," said Qiu Zilong, a neuroscience researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (中国科学) in Shanghai who wrote the letter.

"We can only describe such behaviour as crazy."

According to the South China Morning Post, the letter was published on social media on late Monday and was signed by scientists at some of China's leading research universities, such as Peking University and Tsinghua, as well as overseas institutions, including Stanford in the US and Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research.

Like most shopping holidays at Amazon, Cyber Monday is intense. There are thousands of deals spanning virtually every shopping category, and new discounts drop and expire every minute.

To make Cyber Week on Amazon less overwhelming and more impactful for you, we're logging the best deals below for easy reference: Amazon devices, robot vacuums, Instant Pots, HDTVs, and pretty much anything else you could need — and actually want — all in one scrollable place.

Below are the deals currently active to shop. We'll be updating this article as more deals become available. Bookmark this page and check back in if you want to be kept up-to-date.

If you have limited time, we've curated a list of the current 23 best Cyber Monday deals of 2018 you'll find on Amazon below. Otherwise, keep scrolling to see all the Cyber Monday deals that are going on now.

Looking for more deals? We've rounded up the best Cyber Monday deals on the internet.

To potentially save more on Cyber Monday, you can visit Business Insider Coupons to find up-to-date promo codes for a range of online stores.

Jack Ma, creator of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, and the country's wealthiest person alive, has been outed by state media as a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Speculation about Ma's ties to the Chinese government has long been discussed, though he has often kept his distance from Beijing in his public comments.

And while his e-commerce company has previously raised money by selling shares to firms linked to the CPC, Ma has described his relationship with the government as: "Love them, but don't marry them."

But on Monday, state-run People's Daily wrote that the CPC would be honoring 100 people, including Ma and two other internet-tech moguls, for their contributions to China's economy.

The publication specifically referred to Ma as a "CPC member" and said that Ma had been listed as a "huge driving force for domestic demand" as head of Alibaba Group.

"Under his leadership, Alibaba ranks among the top 10 global companies in terms of market value, making China a leading player in the international e-commerce industry, internet finance and cloud computing, spawning a large number of entrepreneurs and start-ups," People's Daily wrote, citing a government statement discussing the award.

The article also lists Robin Li, CEO of Baidu, China's top search engine, and Pony Ma, chairman of internet giant Tencent Holdings, as recipients of the honor. The article specifically refers to Li and Ma as "non-partisan."

Bill Bishop, publisher of China newsletter Sinocism, says the revelation about Ma isn't surprising to many who have followed Alibaba's successful catapult into the global market.

"No one doubted that Alibaba had to be close to the CPC to survive," Bishop told Business Insider, though he noted that other Chinese tech moguls have been able to build successful companies without pledging their support.

Bishop added that while Ma decided to step down as chairman of the e-commerce giant in September 2019, the revelation of Ma's close ties to the Chinese government will likely continue through Alibaba.

"It's just another reminder that Alibaba has to be close to the CPC, and given how President Xi Jinping is pushing the party back into every aspect of business and life," Bishop continued, "it will only give ammunition to regulators who are already worried about Chinese firms."

Cyber Monday is here, and we've combed through thousands of deals from several stores to make sure you see the very best ones before they sell out.

But some deals deserve special attention, and right now you can save $60 on a bundle that includes an Amazon Echo and a Sengled Smart Bulb Starter Kit. Unlike some Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, this one is only available today.

The Echo is our pick for the best voice-controller smart-home hub. Its built in Alexa assistant lets you control smart-home accessories, get answers to your questions, and increase the Echo's functionality through free third-party skills.

The second-generation Echo included in this bundle has an improved speaker, which is more than good enough for listening to music casually in a living room or kitchen.

Sengled's Smart Bulb Kit includes two smart light bulbs that can be screwed into any full-sized light fixture, and a hub that you connect to your Wi-Fi router over Ethernet. Once Sengled's hub is plugged in, you can control the bulbs through an app on your phone, or a smart-home hub like the Echo.

You can turn the bulbs on and off, dim or brighten them, or set them on a particular schedule, so they're always on when you get home. Being able to control your lights via an app is convenient, but doing it with your voice is even more simple.

If you're shopping for someone who's been dying to start their smart home, and has been particularly interested in smart lighting, this is a deal you shouldn't pass up. The entire bundle costs $79, while the Echo normally costs $99.99 on its own, which should give you a sense of how good it is.

But remember, because it's a deal of the day, you'll only have about 12 more hours before it disappears. It could also sell out beforehand, so your best bet is to act sooner than later.

Amazon Echo With 2 Smart Bulb Starter Kit by Sengled, $79 (originally $139.98) [You save $60.98]

In the last few years, a lot of online mattress startups have popped up. They've taken out the middlemen and the accompanying costs of showrooms. As a result, the same or superior mattresses are offered for less money and hassle than the brick-and-mortar store.

Of the many startups out there, Casper may be king.

The company has become synonymous with successful online startups, and has expanded from its first mattress sale in 2014 to begin selling sheets (which we reviewed here), pillows (find our review here), and even dog beds. (you bet we had one of our dogs try the bed). It also doesn't hurt that every mattress comes with a 100-night money-back guarantee and a 10-year warranty, which is pretty much par for the course in the industry.

In other words, Casper is a grown-up cult-favorite, and the company owes a lot of that success to a really great mattress, the convenience of no-hassle home delivery, and pretty awesome prices.

On a regular day, you can get the company's best-seller, The Casper, from $595 for a twin size, and the streamlined Essential mattress from as low as $350. The upgraded high-end mattress, The Wave, comes in at $1,250 to start.

For Cyber Monday, Business Insider readers can get an exclusive 15% mattresses when they apply the code "BICM15" at checkout. So, for example, if you add a queen-size Casper Wave Mattress ($2,250) to your cart, you'll save $337.50 on your purchase.

If you've been meaning to get a new mattress — or bedding of any kind — now is a great time to act. Casper's prices are already low to remain competitive, and sales don't happen often.

Get 15% off Casper mattresses with the code "BICM15"

If you're interested in learning more before committing to a Casper mattress, these guides will help you out:

Looking for more deals? We've rounded up the best Cyber Monday deals on the internet.

Shayanne Gal / Business Insider

The best deal roundups

The best individual deals

The chief business officer of WhatsApp is leaving, the latest in a line of high-level departures at Facebook and its associated apps.

Neeraj Arora, a seven-year veteran of the encrypted messaging app, announced on Facebook on Monday that he was stepping down, saying he planned to spend more time with his family.

"It is time to move on, but I cannot be more proud of how WhatsApp continues to touch people in so many different ways every day. I am confident that WhatsApp will continue to be the simple, secure & trusted communication product for years to come," he wrote. "I'm going to be taking some time off to recharge and spend time with family."

Arora's exit comes as Facebook lurches from scandal to scandal, and in the wake of a number of high-profile executive exits. Earlier this year the two cofounders of Instagram, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, left the Facebook-owned photo-sharing app, and Oculus cofounder Brendan Iribe made his exit in October.

WhatsApp has proved particularly contentious for Facebook. WhatsApp's cofounder and CEO Jan Koum bailed out in April 2018, reportedly as a result of privacy concerns. And in September, WhatsApp's other cofounder, Brian Acton, went public with allegations of fiery clashes with Facebook's leadership over monetization. (He has also previously called on people to #DeleteFacebook.)

Do you work at Facebook or WhatsApp? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via Signal or WhatsApp at +1 (650) 636-6268 using a non-work phone, email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Telegram or WeChat at robaeprice, or Twitter DM at @robaeprice. (PR pitches by email only, please.) You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

WhatsApp is among Facebook's most widely-used products, though the company has moved slowly in efforts to monetize the free-to-use app.

Arora, a former Google employee, joined WhatsApp in November 2011 and served as its chief business officer. After Koum's resignation, there was some speculation that Arora would be made the app's next chief exec — but that role ultimately went to Chris Daniels, formerly VP of internet.org, Facebook's internet connectivity efforts.

"Time flies for sure but not memories. It is hard to believe that it has been seven years since Jan and Brian got me onboard at WhatsApp, and it has been one hell of a ride!

"I've been blessed to work with a small set of talented people and see how maniacal focus can create something magical which is loved by billions of people. It is time to move on, but I cannot be more proud of how WhatsApp continues to touch people in so many different ways every day. I am confident that WhatsApp will continue to be the simple, secure & trusted communication product for years to come.

"I'm going to be taking some time off to recharge and spend time with family. I am deeply indebted to Jan and Brian, who entrusted me to be their business companion for so many years and I am thankful to each one of you who has supported me along the way and made this exciting journey possible."

It's Cyber Monday deals week, and one of the best deals we've seen so far today is from Hulu.

Until November 26, new and lapsed subscribers (people who haven't had an active Hulu account in over 12 months) can get a one year of Hulu for $0.99 per month.

This deal applies to Hulu's Limited Commercials subscription, which means you'll still need to watch some ads, but it's a great deal considering the subscription usually costs $7.99 per month. You end up saving $84 over the course of a year.

Hulu is one of the highest profile video-streaming services, and sets itself apart from Netflix in one big way. In addition to carrying a wide catalog of classic shows (Seinfeld, The X-Files), exclusive shows (Handmaids Tale, I Love You, America), and movies (Akira, Transformers: The Last Night), Hulu also lets you watch new episodes of hit cable TV shows shortly after they air. Episodes of new shows are typically made available on Hulu the day after they air.

Hulu has over 150 currently airing shows in its catalog, and it includes everything from Blackish, to The Good Place, to Rick and Morty. If your favorite shows are currently airing on a major network or cable channel, chances are they'll be available.

You can watch these shows on your computer, or through Hulu's app, which is available on iOS and Android or the Apple TV, Fire TV, and Roku.

If you've been wanting to give Hulu a try, or you canceled your subscription over a year ago, don't pass up this Cyber Monday deal. It'll cost you less than a cup of coffee a month, and you'll get cheap access to all of your favorite shows for an entire year.

Sign up for one year of Hulu for $0.99 per month here >>

Google has paid $1 billion to buy a large business park near its Mountain View, California, headquarters, according to a Mercury News report on Monday.

The business park Google will acquire in the deal is larger than the Googleplex headquarters located a few blocks away, according to the report. The land parcel is also larger than the Google's planned "Charleston East" campus that will feature futuristic domes and canopies.

The deal is the latest big-ticket real-estate purchase by Google and parent company Alphabet, as the internet giant's aggressive expansion plans swell its headcount. As of September 30, Alphabet had 94,372 employees, an increase of roughly 16,000 employees from one year ago.

And with more than $100 billion worth of cash and short-term securities on its balance sheet, Alphabet can afford to go on a real-estate shopping spree.

Read more: Here are the latest plans for Google's crazy new campus

The $1 billion purchase is the largest Bay Area real-estate deal in 2018 and second largest in the US to only Google's $2.4 billion acquisition of Chelsea Market in Manhattan, New York, according to the report.

Google's newest land acquisition, known as Mountain View's Shoreline Technology Park, is a 51.8-acre site with 12 buildings. Currently, the only other tenant besides Google is Alexza Pharmaceuticals.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

It's not every day you see smartphones on sale, but Cyber Monday is chock full of great prices on excellent phones, including ones from Samsung, Apple, Google, Motorola, and Honor.

Below, we break down the specs for each smartphone that's on sale so you know which one to choose. We've actually tested nearly every phone on this list, so you can rest assured that these phones are worth your money.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

The OnePlus 6 is all the phone you really need. Its normal price is already impressively low for a phone with these kinds of high-end specs, and now that it's on sale, it's an absolute steal. The OnePlus 6 boasts a beautiful, 18:9, 6.28-inch, AMOLED screen with almost no bezels. It looks quite a bit like the iPhone XS from the front because it has the same small notch for the 16-megapixel selfie camera.

Inside, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip and 6 or 8 gigabytes of RAM power the phone. The phone's battery life is impressive, and OnePlus' Dash charge tech will give you a full charge in just 30 minutes. The dual lens camera on the back has two sensors — one 16-megapixel and one 20-megapixel — which take excellent pictures and produce the coveted blurred background effect in photos. We think it's one of the very best smartphones you can buy.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

The Galaxy S9 was Samsung's 2018 flagship phone, so it's a great buy even though it will soon be replaced by the S10 in the new year. Because it's on sale, you really can't go wrong. The 5.8-inch screen is absolutely gorgeous and it doesn't have a notch, so if those notches infuriate you, you'll like the S9's lovely screen. It's also waterproof.

Tech reviewer after tech reviewer has taken gorgeous photos with the S9 and S9 Plus cameras. The processor is speedy, it has solid battery life, and you can even expand the storage with a MicroSD card — what's not to love? We call it the best Samsung phone in our buying guide.

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 is bigger and arguably better than the Galaxy S9 we mentioned above. It comes with a massive 6.4-inch screen that is also mercifully notch-free. The cameras are excellent, and the S-Pen stylus is better than ever, so those of you who like to draw, take notes, and use the S-Pen for other important things will be very happy with this phone.

The Note 9 has a whopping 128GB of storage built in and you can expand it even further with a MircoSD card. Its processor is zippy and fast, it holds a charge much longer than most other flagship phones, and it can juice up wirelessly. The cameras are, needless to say, spectacular as well.

LG

Amazon's Prime Exclusive phones come with a "pre-installed selection of Amazon apps, including the Amazon Widget, Amazon Shopping, and Amazon Alexa." They also have ads here and there, but if you don't mind Amazon all over your phone, you can get a great deal with the LG V35 ThinQ.

It has a 6-inch QHD+ OLED, 18:9 aspect ratio screen that looks bright and color-rich. There's no notch on this beauty, either. Inside you get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip, 6 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of storage that you can expand to 2 TB with a MicroSD card. The dual 16-megapixel standard-angle and wide-angle rear cameras take excellent pictures, as does the 8-megapixel wide-angle selfie cam. The V35 ThinQ also has facial recognition and a fingerprint sensor for added security.

Given it's lower price tag this Cyber Monday, it's a very good deal.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

Razer is known for its gaming tech, but it has also made a few phones, including the Razer Phone, which is currently on sale. It has a crisp 5.7-inch, 2,560 x 1,440 pixel resolution screen with no notch in sight, though it does have chunkier bezels than new flagship phones.

Inside, it's running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip and has 64GB of storage inside that you can expand with a MicroSD card. The battery life is good and it's an effective phone, though perhaps not one of the best. Still, at this price, it's a good buy.

YouTube/MKBHD

Although Apple never puts its phones on sale, carriers often have good deals on the latest and greatest phones from Apple.

Right now, you can get an iPhone XR, XS, or XS Max for $300 off when you add a new line on a device payment plan with a trade-in, or you can get $100 off when you upgrade and trade in your old phone at Verizon. It's not the best deal, but hey, it's a deal. On an iPhone. And not just any iPhone — the new ones!

We highly recommend the iPhone XR, which costs a relatively reasonable $750, but still includes the most important new tech on any phone: the latest processor. We also love the iPhone XS and XS Max. They're higher end and thus they are great buys for tech addicts who want the absolute best, shutterbugs who love high-end camera tech, and people who want a larger (Max) or smaller phone (XS).

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

You can get the Google Pixel 3 for $200 off at Best Buy with Verizon, or you can get the Pixel XL 2 for $400 off. Both are great deals. The Pixel 2 XL may not be the newest model, but it is still an excellent phone — it was our top pick for the best Android phone before the Pixel 3 launched. The 6-inch Quad HD OLED screen looks great and it doesn't have a notch.

The processor is also zippy and fast, but the star of the show is the Pixel 2 XL's cameras. The main camera sports a 12.2-megapixel sensor and cannot be beat on auto-mode — especially in low-light. It remains one of the best cameras you can find on a smartphone.

We highly recommend picking one up — $400 off isn't a deal you see every day, and we doubt you'll find a Pixel for this good of a price any time soon.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

The Moto G6 is the best budget phone for most people with its low price, solid camera, and clean Android software. It's a great deal at Best Buy this Cyber Monday. Its 5.7-inch Full HD (1080p) screen is sharp and clear, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor is fast when paired with 3GB of RAM. The 32GB of storage is decent as is the option to expand it via a Micro SD card up to 256GB. The phone also has a fingerprint sensor and face unlock for security.

The G6 has an improved 12-megapixel and 5-megapixel dual-lens camera setup, which is quite good, and selfie-takers will be pleased with the 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The battery should last you a full day, and it charges up quickly with Motorola's TurboPower charging, which promises to give you six hours of use after 15 minutes of charging.

Honor

The Honor View 10 is a solid mid-range phone with a very good price tag this Cyber Monday. It has a 5.99-inch screen with an 18:9 display ratio with no notch. It comes in very nice black and blue colorways and has the look of a high-end flagship phone.

The Kirin 970 chipset and 6GB of RAM make for a reasonably fast phone and the 128GB of storage is very high for a phone in this price range. The View 10 also has an excellent set of dual cameras on the back, including a 20-megapixel monochrome lens and a 16-megapixel RGB lens.

It's a good deal, but you can only use it with your SIM card if you have T-Mobile or AT&T in the US, as it's a GSM-only phone.

Honor

The Honor 7X is made by the same company as the Honor View 10 we mentioned above. It, too, only works on GSM networks like T-Mobile and AT&T in the US. If you're on one of those networks, you're in luck, because this sale price is quite good.

The 7X has a 5.93-inch, 2,160 x 1,080 pixel resolution screen and no notch. The dual-lens 16-megapixel and 2-megapixel cameras on the back take decent photos that won't disappoint you. Inside, you get a Kirin chip, 3GB RAM, and 32 GB storage, which is expandable with a MicroSD card.

Although it's not a high-end phone, it is a good budget phone that's on sale for a reasonable price.

Looking for more deals? We've rounded up the best Cyber Monday deals on the internet.

Shayanne Gal / Business Insider

The best deal roundups

Yes, the social-media giant has been facing a slew of scandals this year. And, yes, its growth has slowed and its costs have gone up as CEO Mark Zuckerberg has tried to refocus the company on combatting fake news and other problems. But the precipitous drop in the company's shares of late — Facebook's shares are off 37% since hitting their all time-high in July — have made them the biggest bargain on the block, Mahaney says.

The 22% drop in Facebook's shares just since the end of August has been among the steepest of all the large-cap internet stocks. Thanks to that decline, the ratio of the company's enterprise value to its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) is about 10. That's at the low end of the four-year range for that ratio, Mahaney notes in the report.

Meanwhile, as of the close of trading Friday, the company's stock was just 4% above its 52-week low.

That valuation seems way out of line with where Facebook is as a business in Mahaney's eyes. If anything, Facebook has become more dominant than ever this year, since it owns four of the top social-networking and messaging services and is grabbing an ever-larger share of online advertising.

Even though many tech companies have been beat up lately, Facebook still "stands out," says Mahaney, who has a $190 price target on the company's stock. Facebook's shares closed Monday at $136.38.

Amazon workers are told that Jeff Bezos considers himself the least important person at the company.

That's according to a seasonal worker, who wrote an anonymous column for The Guardian in which they described their introductory talk from a fulfilment center manager.

They said that the manager drew a line down the side of an image of an inverted pyramid, and wrote "least important" at the bottom and "most important" at the top.

He reportedly asked the new employees: "Where do you think Jeff Bezos sees himself on this chart?"

The manager then pointed at the bottom of the pyramid and said: "Jeff sees himself as the least important person in the company. What this company cares about is the customer promise, and putting our customers first."

He went on to say that customers rank top, closely followed by "fulfilment associates," the job position the anonymous worker had just taken working in the warehouse.

But according to the Amazon worker's account, the inverted pyramid image was quickly soured by their new colleagues. "Did they give you the pyramid crap?" one asked, adding: "That's a load of sh-t."

The anonymous op-ed proceeded to tear into Amazon's working conditions, and said workers are treated like "disposable parts."

Read more: 'They treat us like disposable parts': An Amazon warehouse worker is waging war on working conditions in a new anonymous newspaper column

They're not the only Amazon staffer to speak out over workers' rights. T housands of Amazon workers went on strike on Black Friday this week, incensed by the "inhumane" conditions inside warehouses.

Amazon said it maintains a high level of safety. "All of our sites are safe places to work and reports to the contrary are simply wrong," a spokesman told Business Insider.

Business Insider contacted Amazon to ask if the inverted pyramid image is commonly used by managers to train staff, and whether Jeff Bezos truly considers himself to be the least important person at the company.