Microsoft betreibt weiterhin seinen schrittweisen Ausstieg aus dem Smartphone-Geschäft. Jetzt werden 1.850 Beschäftigte entlassen. Der Spartenchef predigt dabei weiter, dies sei ein Abbau, aber kein Rückzug. (Nokia, Microsoft) Month: May 2016
Verbot von Geoblocking: Brüssel will europäischen Online-Handel ankurbeln
Verbraucher sollen beim europaweiten Einkauf übers Internet nicht mehr unterschiedlich behandelt werden. Zudem will die EU-Kommission einen günstigeren Paketversand durchsetzen. (Onlineshop, Studie)
Verbraucher sollen beim europaweiten Einkauf übers Internet nicht mehr unterschiedlich behandelt werden. Zudem will die EU-Kommission einen günstigeren Paketversand durchsetzen. (Onlineshop, Studie) Konkurrenz zu DJI: Xiaomi mit Kampfpreis für Mi-Drohne
Der chinesische Hersteller Xiaomi hat seine erste Drohne vorgestellt, deren Funktionsumfang dem der DJI Phantom 3 ähnelt – doch sie soll erheblich günstiger sein. (Drohne, Technologie)
Der chinesische Hersteller Xiaomi hat seine erste Drohne vorgestellt, deren Funktionsumfang dem der DJI Phantom 3 ähnelt - doch sie soll erheblich günstiger sein. (Drohne, Technologie) Security-Studie: Mit Schokolade zum Passwort
Biete Schokolade, suche Passwort: Statt mühsam mit Viren und Trojaner lassen sich viele Menschen einfach mit Schokolade zur Herausgabe ihrer Kennwörter bewegen – noch dazu freiwillig. (Passwort, Applikationen)
Biete Schokolade, suche Passwort: Statt mühsam mit Viren und Trojaner lassen sich viele Menschen einfach mit Schokolade zur Herausgabe ihrer Kennwörter bewegen - noch dazu freiwillig. (Passwort, Applikationen) Lenovo: Moto G4 kann doch mit mehr Speicher bestellt werden
Lenovo hat es sich doch anders überlegt: Das Moto G4 sowie die Plus-Ausführung können Kunden auch mit mehr Speicher bestellen. Die Speicheraufstockung der Smartphones ist dabei vergleichsweise günstig. (Moto G, Smartphone)
Lenovo hat es sich doch anders überlegt: Das Moto G4 sowie die Plus-Ausführung können Kunden auch mit mehr Speicher bestellen. Die Speicheraufstockung der Smartphones ist dabei vergleichsweise günstig. (Moto G, Smartphone) Netflix, Amazon given quotas for EU-produced video, face new tax
20% quota from European regulators to ensure some content is European in origin.
(credit: Jennifer Baker)
As expected, the European Commission has nixed plans to impose blanket rules on Web-based platforms as part of its Digital Single Market plans—but Netflix, Amazon, and other on-demand video providers will face movie and TV quotas and a tax to help fund EU productions.
Vice president Andrus Ansip said that rather than onerous regulation, problems will be addressed “individually as they arise by sector.”
Although the commission wants to totally eliminate geoblocking for the purchase of online goods and services, for the time being, copyrighted audiovisual content will be exempt from the rules.
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Google Maps goes down scenic route with ad-heavy “promoted pins”
Mobile’s increasing dominance is reason behind more ad goo for Google Maps.
Google plans big changes in the way it delivers ads to users of core services such as Maps and Gmail.
The company said it would bring a feature dubbed "promoted pins" to its popular Maps app, allowing businesses to pay for additional presence when a user makes a relevant search.
Google's senior ads VP, Sridhar Ramaswamy, was careful to make the strategy sound benign. He said in a blog post:
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Microsoft “streamlines” smartphone hardware business to focus on enterprise market
Microsoft has been making smartphone operating systems for just about as long as anyone, and the company started selling its own hardware under the Lumia brand after acquiring Nokia in 2014.
But Android and iOS continue to dominate the smartphone market and Gartner estimates that Windows had a market share of just about 1 percent last year.
So it’s not surprising that Microsoft is making changes. The company has announced it’s eliminating about 1,850 jobs in its smartphone hardware business, taking a $950 million restructuring charge, and shifting focus.
Microsoft has been making smartphone operating systems for just about as long as anyone, and the company started selling its own hardware under the Lumia brand after acquiring Nokia in 2014.
But Android and iOS continue to dominate the smartphone market and Gartner estimates that Windows had a market share of just about 1 percent last year.
So it’s not surprising that Microsoft is making changes. The company has announced it’s eliminating about 1,850 jobs in its smartphone hardware business, taking a $950 million restructuring charge, and shifting focus.
Alle 20 Minuten: EU-Kommission erlaubt deutlich mehr Fernsehwerbung
Brüssel will Fernsehsendern längere und häufigere Werbung in der Hauptsendezeit gestatten. Für genervte Zuschauer hat Digitalkommissar Oettinger ein paar einfache Tipps. (
“When it’s done”: How Blizzard dragged Overwatch across the launch threshold
Discussing betas, balance, and business amid the shooter’s anticipated release.
Even the largest heroes don't feel constrained on Overwatch's maps.
Overwatch goes into full launch this week after one of the most successful beta tests in gaming history, attracting nearly 10 million players in the open beta (and more during a smaller closed beta). Yet deciding to release the game, which was ready for release after more than two years of development, was still tough, Assistant Game Director Aaron Keller told Ars.
"It's really hard to say you're finished with something, especially something you're so invested in and passionate about like the team is," he said in a recent interview. And after announcing the final release date in March, the pressure of the development cycle really came to a head. "After that, it was like 'Oh my gosh, we're not going to get to work on it any more, there's this huge list of features we want to add.' We had to really focus to get everything in that we wanted to."
Despite the expected last-second rush, though, Keller said that the core of Overwatch has changed remarkably little overall over the course of development. "Early on the first hero that we made was Tracer, and the first map we made was Temple of Anubis," he said. "Those were being worked on concurrently. One day we got both of them in, and just with Tracer running around an unfinished map it was fun."
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