Thoughts Unboxed

There have been numerous optimists who predicted the arrival of the "Year of Linux on the desktop." However, the exact timing of that day remains uncertain. Nevertheless, nobody could have imagined a "Year of the Bing" in their wildest dreams. Microsoft's search engine has long been considered an afterthought in the realm of search. Microsoft itself shares some of the blame for this perception, as even searches related to its own products often yield better results on Google than on Bing. However, things took a drastic turn late last year with the introduction of ChatGPT and its subsequent integration into Microsoft's Bing Search Engine. The conversational API was an instant hit, propelling Bing and ChatGPT into the spotlight. Google was caught off-guard by this surprise reception and quickly launched its own competitor, Bard. Unfortunately, Bard was not fully developed, and its launch was botched, resulting in a highly n

  Samsung has paused its internal review of replacing Google with Bing as Default Search Engine on its Mobile Internet Browser, reports The Wall Street Journal . In report published last month by The New York Times , it was reported the Samsung was planning on switching to Bing as the default Search Engine for its mobile browser. The news came as a big surprise, and it could have cost Google around $3B in annual revenue. Details are scarce regarding why Samsung was planning to drop Google as default search engine before course correcting it later.  TU believes the decision may have to do with the success of ChatGPT and its inclusion in Bing. This AI aspect of Bing put into a limelight that Microsoft's search engine has never enjoyed in the past. Samsung may have sensed an opportunity to utilize Bing's new AI features within its Smartphone lineup. However, the plans might get dropped later with fears of severing ties with Google.  Google may have a sigh of relief for no

Good Twitter, Bad Twitter Since the take-over by Elon Musk, Twitter has been in the news in one way or another. This time it is a letter sent to the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, reported by The New York Times (paid content) . According to the letter, Twitter has accused Microsoft of allegedly:  Not paying Twitter for data it uses Using more data than mutually agreed upon Sharing data with government agencies without Twitter's permission It is the last accusation that should raise eyebrows. If Microsoft is really illegally using Twitter's Data and sharing it with government agencies, it could be a red-herring.  Twitter has not explicitly identified which countries and government agencies were involved in this data sharing. The letter doesn't threat any legal action from Twitter against Microsoft for now. All Twitter demanded Microsoft was to share a report by next month indicating: How much data from Twitter Microsoft uses across it various products including B

  Another day, another Microsoft news to hit the wire. After an expected yet surprising victory in EU over Activation-Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft hits another road. This time surrounding its Cloud Business - Azure. According to a Bloomberg report , EU's antitrust watchdog has opened an informal probe into Microsoft's Azure Cloud Platform over anti-competitive practices.  It should be clarified that this probe has nothing to do with the recently concluded EU's probe into Microsoft's proposed Activision-Blizzard acquisition. Customers and competitors contacted by the EC have until May 16th to respond and have been asked to submit any non-confidential evidence of Microsoft’s abuses. This, Bloomberg says, indicates that the EC is close to announcing a formal investigation.  According to EC: The commission has received several complaints regarding Microsoft, including in relation to its product Azure, which we are assessing ba

  In an anticipated yet surprise win for Microsoft, EU Regulators have approved the proposed acquisition of Activision-Blizzard by Microsoft. However, it is not a completely free lunch for Microsoft. The regulators have imposed some conditions.  In a nutshell, the regulators found: Microsoft would have no incentive blocking Activision's games from Sony's PS Consoles In a scenario where Microsoft did withdraw Activision's games from PlayStation Console, it would not harm Sony in a significant way Regulators also put certain conditions for the merger to be approved: 10-year commitment for CoD to be on PlayStation Gamers in EU would get a free license for all current and future Activision's Games for the Cloud-Streaming Service of their choice provided they already own the license of those games. Cloud Streaming services would also be given free licenses to stream Activision's Games in EU countries

  FTC Chair Lina Khan has reiterated her commitment to protecting the future by implementing measures that create obstacles in the present. In a surprising interview with CNBC, Khan briefly discussed the Microsoft-Activision acquisition. She stated:   This matter is currently under active proceedings, so there are limitations to what I can disclose. However, the FTC filed a separate lawsuit to block this deal in early December. The Complaint highlights various concerns the Commission has, particularly in the console market, as well as the expanding and evolving cloud and subscription markets.   The Complaint focuses on multiple markets, including those that are still experiencing rapid growth and development.   We have witnessed time and again how these emerging markets require enforcers to prioritize safeguarding competition and innovation, ensuring incumbents do not stifle competition and innovation.   Considering the FTC's decision to exclude Nintendo from what it considers the