Microsoft to Sell , Activision Blizzard Streaming Rights to Ubisoft , in Bid for UK Approval.
Microsoft to Sell , Activision Blizzard Streaming Rights to Ubisoft , in Bid for UK Approval.
In a blog post on Aug.
21, Microsoft revealed that it is restructuring its merger proposal with Activision Blizzard, Engadget reports.
.
In a blog post on Aug.
21, Microsoft revealed that it is restructuring its merger proposal with Activision Blizzard, Engadget reports.
.
By including rival Ubisoft, Microsoft hopes to ease any concerns that it would dominate cloud gaming if the deal goes through.
.
Those concerns caused the
U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to block the deal earlier this year.
As a result of the agreement with Ubisoft, Microsoft believes its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard presents a substantially different transaction under U.K. law than the transaction Microsoft submitted for the CMA’s consideration in 2022, Microsoft President Brad Smith, via blog post.
Ubisoft will compensate Microsoft
for the cloud streaming rights to Activision Blizzard’s games through a one-off payment and through a market-based wholesale pricing mechanism, including an option that
supports pricing based on usage, Microsoft President Brad Smith, via blog post.
Ubisoft shared the news as well.
With a single subscription to Ubisoft+ Multi Access, players will soon be able to play their favorite Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard games across multiple platforms including PC, Xbox consoles and Amazon Luna, and on the PlayStation platform through Ubisoft+ Classics, Ubisoft's Daniel O'Connor, via blog post.
The CMA will take a look at the restructured deal and make a decision by Oct.
18, Engadget reports.
.
The CMA will take a look at the restructured deal and make a decision by Oct.
18, Engadget reports.
.
This is not a green light.
We will carefully and objectively assess the details of the restructured deal and its impact on competition, including in light of third-party comments, Sarah Cardell, CMS chief executive, via statement.
Our goal has not changed — any future decision on this new deal will ensure that the growing cloud gaming market continues to benefit from open and effective competition driving innovation and choice, Sarah Cardell, CMS chief executive, via statement
Amazon Reaches $2 Trillion , in Stock Market Value.
On June 26, Amazon became the 5th American company to join the $2 trillion club, NPR reports. .
Amazon shares ended the day up nearly 4%, giving the company a $2.01 trillion stock market valuation. .
Within the past year,
Amazon's stock has gained 52%.
Part of that gain can be attributed
to investors' enthusiasm about the
company's AI endeavors, NPR reports. .
A big part of the valuation boost has
been cloud and AI. Amazon is going to
be a major player in the AI revolution, Dan Ives, Wedbush tech analyst, via NPR.
Amazon currently has a chatbot called Q, which businesses that use AWS have access to. .
Amazon currently has a chatbot called Q, which businesses that use AWS have access to. .
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently said that
AI has rejuvenated the growth of AWS.
The cloud computing unit is reportedly on pace to bring in $100 billion in annual revenue.
Amazon recently invested in Anthropic, a California
AI company, "to develop so-called foundation models
that underpin generative AI systems," NPR reports. .
Amazon also makes its own AI chips.
The other four U.S. companies that
belong to the $2 trillion club are
Google, Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia. .
The other four U.S. companies that
belong to the $2 trillion club are
Google, Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia. .
The other four U.S. companies that
belong to the $2 trillion club are
Google, Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia. .
The other four U.S. companies that
belong to the $2 trillion club are
Google, Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
Google Uses AI to Add , Over 100 New Languages to Translate.
Google Translate continues to get better,
as the company has used AI to add 110 new languages to the feature, Engadget reports. .
According to Google, the new languages represent over 600 million speakers,
or 8% of the worldwide population. .
Google referenced its LLM, PaLM 2, as "a key piece to the puzzle, helping Translate more efficiently learn languages that are closely related to each other," .
... "including languages close to Hindi, like Awadhi and Marwadi, and French creoles like Seychellois Creole and Mauritian Creole.".
Isaac Caswell, senior software
engineer for Google Translate, issued
a statement about the development.
As technology advances, and as
we continue to partner with expert
linguists and native speakers, we'll
support even more language varieties
and spelling conventions over time, Isaac Caswell, senior software engineer
for Google Translate, via Engadget.
The last time Translate had a sizeable number of languages added to it was in May of 2022.
At the time, the company utilized the help of Zero-Shot Machine Translation, which
"allows a model to learn a new language" without viewing examples, Engadget reports. .
Later in 2022, Google announced its
1,000 Languages Initiative.
The Initiative seeks to develop AI models that can learn the 1,000 most common languages spoken around the world. .
The Initiative seeks to develop AI models that can learn the 1,000 most common languages spoken around the world.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
Amazon Prime Day 2024 , Dates Announced.
This year, Amazon Prime Day will fall
on July 16 and 17, Engadget reports. .
It will begin at 3:01 a.m. ET on July 16.
Thousands of deals on electronics, household items, fashion and more will be available to members only. .
Historically, Amazon Prime Day
has helped the retail giant to gain
more subscribers, Engadget reports. .
However, the price of a subscription has nearly doubled since 2005, when the service debuted. .
At launch, a Prime subscription was $79.
Now it will cost you $139.
Although July's Prime Day has been Amazon's
most significant shopping event for a while now.
the company has also offered a "fall Prime Day" in recent years, Engadget reports. .
It's likely that a similar event will return in the fall this year, but those dates have yet to be announced.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
Apple Is Reportedly Building , a Dedicated Passwords App.
On June 6, Mark Gurman from 'Bloomberg' reported that Apple intends to build next-gen iPhones and Macs with a built-in password management app.
On June 6, Mark Gurman from 'Bloomberg' reported that Apple intends to build next-gen iPhones and Macs with a built-in password management app.
The new app will be called Passwords, Engadget reports.
The app will be revealed at the
Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
While Apple already offers password
services via the iCloud Keychain.
it can be tedious to find
or change passwords with it.
A dedicated passwords app would make the whole process easier and likely encourage some people to stick with Apple.
Similarly to subscription password managers 1Password and LastPass, Apple's app will
split passwords into categories.
Similarly to subscription password managers 1Password and LastPass, Apple's app will
split passwords into categories.
Such categories include "accounts, WiFi networks and Passkeys," CNBC reports. .
Users will be able to
import passwords from other apps.
Two-factor verification codes
will also be supported.
It's not clear if Passwords will let you
store files and images as its rivals do.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
Netflix Requires Some Customers , to Upgrade Apple TV Box.
Netflix will stop supporting second- and third-gen Apple TVs on July 31, Engadget reports. .
So if you want to keep watching what Netflix has to offer, you'll need to upgrade.
The company reportedly notified customers about the change via email.
Requiring updated equipment ensures
that the company can "maintain the best possible Netflix experience," it said.
Both the second- and third-gen Apple TVs debuted over a decade ago.
Older hardware is often
unable to support newer codecs.
Engadget reports that Apple TV 4K
boxes are on sale right now.
The 64GB version is currently $90.
That's $40 less than its normal price
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
![Amazon Reaches $2 Trillion in Stock Market Value [Video]](https://video.newsserve.net/300/v/20240627/1379785948-Amazon-Reaches-Trillion-in-Stock-Market-Value.jpg)
![‘AI is not creative, you are’: How AI will change the way we work, according to Microsoft [Video]](https://video.newsserve.net/300/v/20240621/1379164796-AI-is-not-creative-you-are-How.jpg)
![Google Uses AI to Add Over 100 New Languages to Translate [Video]](https://video.newsserve.net/300/v/20240628/1379902504-Google-Uses-AI-to-Add-Over-100-New.jpg)
![Amazon Prime Day 2024 Dates Announced [Video]](https://video.newsserve.net/300/v/20240626/1379684876-Amazon-Prime-Day-2024-Dates-Announced.jpg)
![Apple Is Reportedly Building a Dedicated Passwords App [Video]](https://video.newsserve.net/300/v/20240607/1377790072-Apple-Is-Reportedly-Building-Dedicated-Passwords-App.jpg)
![Netflix Requires Some Customers to Upgrade Apple TV Box [Video]](https://video.newsserve.net/300/v/20240605/1377526990-Netflix-Requires-Some-Customers-to-Upgrade-Apple-TV.jpg)
