Tag: microsoft
ShinyShiny snippets: Amazon’s Book Depository to close down
UK-based online store Book Depository is being closed down by its parent company, the US technology giant Amazon. Book Depository has told customers it will cease operations later this month after almost two decades in business. It comes after Amazon announced plans to cut thousands of jobs as it shakes up its businesses globally. The…
ShinyShiny snippets: Macbook Pro models offer ‘unrivalled power’
The new MacBook Pro models are here. While they look just the same as the ones released in late 2021, the performance has been enhanced, thanks to the latest additions to the Apple-made silicon chips. Until last week, if you wanted a MacBook pro in 14in or 16in screen sizes, you could choose between the M1 pro…
ShinyShiny snippets: Microsoft to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide
Microsoft will cut 10,000 jobs in the latest round of staff redundancies to hit the tech industry. It will affect up to 5% of its global workforce and cost the business $1.2bn (£972m) in severance and reorganisation costs. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said that while customer spending had grown during Covid, more people were…
ShinyShiny snippets: Microsoft to face possible EU Antitrust warning over Activision deal
Microsoft (MSFT.O) is likely to receive an EU antitrust warning about its $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O), people familiar with the matter said, that could pose another challenge to completing the deal. The European Commission is readying a charge sheet known as a statement of objections setting out its concerns about…
ShinyShiny snippets: Dyson air-purifier headphones to set you back £749
Dyson has announced that its Dyson Zone air purifying headphones will indeed be on sale in early 2023 as rumoured. Prices start from $949/£749. Note the ‘start from’ – Dyson says that exact pricing will be confirmed closer to launch. The crazy headphones go on sale from January in China and March in the US, UK,…
Bosses believe workers aren’t as productive at home, Microsoft report shows
A major new survey from Microsoft shows that bosses and workers fundamentally disagree about productivity when working from home. Bosses worry about whether working from home is as productive as being in the office. While 87% of workers felt they worked as, or more, efficiently from home, 80% of managers disagreed. The survey questioned more…
ShinyShiny snippets: Twitch announces partial gambling ban
Twitch has announced a partial gambling ban, targeting slots, roulette and dice games. The Amazon-owned livestreaming platform will bar videos of gambling sites not licensed in the US or "other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection". The ban includes cryptocurrency gambling sites such as Stake.com, based on the Caribbean island of Curacao. It will take…
ShinyShiny snippets: Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard in $69bn deal
Microsoft has agreed a deal to buy the troubled Call of Duty and Candy Crush gaming firm Activision Blizzard for $68.7bn (£50.5bn). The all-cash takeover will give the Xbox maker a leap into the mobile gaming sphere and "play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms," according to Microsoft boss Satya Nadella. The…
ShinyShiny tech stories: Twitter prohibits image sharing without consent
Twitter is prohibiting the sharing of private images and videos without the consent of the people involved. Although publishing private information is already banned on the platform – as is sharing private nude images – the new policy covers images and videos of people in ordinary settings too. It has raised questions about the ability for…
ShinyShiny tech news: O2 to reintroduce EU roaming charges
One of the UK’s biggest mobile phone networks has announced roaming charges for Britons travelling to the EU, in a blow to Boris Johnson’s Brexit celebrations. Customers of O2 have been told they will be billed £3.50 for every gigabyte (GB) of data used above a new limit of 25GB, from August. The move comes after the Christmas Eve trade agreement…
