Thoughts Unboxed

Microsoft's Katie Savage - The Program Manager DevDiv Community - have announced the release of a new foundational C# certification in collaboration with freeCodeCamp - a charity based organization that creates free learning resources for Math, Computer Science and Programming. Speaking about the significance of the certification, she said:   Our Foundational C# Certification provides just that — a testament to the time and effort you’ve invested in mastering this versatile language. While no certification can guarantee a job, adding this to your portfolio demonstrates your commitment to continuous growth and your proficiency in C#. Partnering with the esteemed freeCodeCamp, our certification is not just a badge, but a mark of quality education. It’s comprehensive, globally accessible, and free. This ensures that learners everywhere can benefit from a robust C# training on Microsoft Learn.   The Foundational C# Certification is available completely free of cost worldwide. To fac

Short-term attention spans are getting more common and it is infiltrating our day to day activities. Someone could be a hero one day followed by becoming a villain the next day. Soon after the takeover by Elon Musk, X( formerly Twitter) caught itself into a myriad of controversies and is fighting some of them to this day. Those controversies sparked a concerted efforts towards finding an alternative to micro-blogging platform. Most of it was based on the controversial figure that Elon Musk is and to the new policies he had been introducing to the platform since then. Instagram's Threads tried to take advantage of one such moment to give a knock-out punch to perhaps the only other viable competitor to Meta in the social media space - X (formerly Twitter). And its success topped the charts initially again, showing the immense level of short-term attention span of the society in general. Meta itself has been perceived as a Villa

Atari once was among the competing gaming consoles. But that part is now a history. However, seems like the group currently holding the rights to Atari brand has something up its sleeves. The official X account from the group that holds the rights to the Atari Video Game brand has shared a teaser video that looks like a classic Atari Console. The unveil will happen on Tuesday, August 22nd.  Incoming… 👀 pic.twitter.com/IrjDsejlvI — Atari (@atari) August 21, 2023   Analysis Going by the teaser video, seems like we may be getting a retro Atari Console. There are some speculations Atari may be announcing a DLC pack for the recently released 50-games pack for XBox, PlayStation and Switch. It may also be about the new Rollercoaster Tycoons title considering Atari secured a 10-year IP deal for the game. However, Atari may pull the biggest surprise of the year by announcing a completely new gaming console to enter the Gaming Console Arena. We won't have to

If you've installed AdBlocker to skip those pesky YouTube ads, brace yourself for some unfortunate news! YouTube has been intensifying its battle against AdBlockers, and recently, reports have emerged from Reddit users about an intrusive popup notification. This pop-up warns users that their access to videos will be blocked if they persist in using adblockers. Within this warning, viewers are presented with three options: 1. Disable Adblocker 2. Add YouTube to the whitelist 3. Subscribe to YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience     Adding a sense of urgency, a countdown timer is displayed at the top right corner of the popup, indicating the time left for users to make their decision. Users have reported it being 30-60 seconds long. This development marks the next phase in YouTube's strategy to steer consumers towards either paying for a premium experience or enduring a suboptimal ad-laden journey. This new popup progression follows a prior phase in which users were informed

In a move that echoes Microsoft's strategic shifts, the tech giant has officially discontinued the Cortana App for Windows. Launching the App would greet you with the following message: Cortana in Windows as a standalone app is deprecated. The support page further details the discontinuation: We're making some changes to Windows and Microsoft 365 that will impact Cortana users. Cortana in Windows as a standalone app is deprecated. Support for Cortana in Teams mobile, Microsoft Teams display, and Microsoft Teams Rooms will end in the fall of 2023. Cortana in Outlook mobile will continue to be available.     Analysis Cortana's journey commenced during the Windows Phone 8 era and seamlessly transitioned into Windows 10 in 2015. Expanding its reach, Microsoft also introduced the Cortana App for iPhone and Android platforms. This endeavor drew inspiration from the AI hologram of the same name in Microsoft's HALO series. However, Microsoft's attempts to posi

Holiday season is typically a busy season for shoppers, but right now, it's a busy season for the corporate lawyers across the technology industry. We have seen a ton of high-profile lawsuits over the past few months and now, Apple has been dragged into one as well. Daniel Ackerman, Editor-in-Chief of Gizmodo and author of "The Tetris Effect," has initiated legal proceedings against Apple and other parties associated with the Tetris Movie. Ackerman alleges that the movie has unlawfully appropriated elements from his work, "The Tetris Effect." Published in 2016, Ackerman's "The Tetris Effect" seamlessly intertwines historical events with his personal research. The lawsuit contends that the movie improperly borrows from his work, particularly framing the game's release within the context of a "Cold War spy thriller." According to the lawsuit: The movie entitled "Tetris" demonstrated the confiscation of Dan

Apple has released its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, ending on July 1, 2023. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $81.8 billion, down 1 percent year over year, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.26, up 5 percent year over year.   Let's dive into the numbers and analyze the performance of the company during this period. Revenue Overview Overall, Apple's revenues for the quarter were $81.797 billion, showing a slight decrease compared to $82.959 billion from the same period last year. This marks the third consecutive quarter with a year-on-year revenue decline for the company. Net Income Growth Despite the slight dip in revenues, Apple's net income for the quarter experienced a modest increase, reaching $19.881 billion, compared to $19.442 billion during the same period in the previous year. Revenue Breakdown by Product Categories Despite breakdown of the revenue by product categories, Apple doesn't provi

Amazon Clinic, the virtual message and video based medical consultation service from Amazon for more than 30 common health conditions has gone mainstream. The company announced the availability of the service across all 50 states and Washington DC in a blog post by Dr. Nworah Ayogu - Chief Medical Officer and General Manager of Amazon Clinic. In the post, Dr. Nworah Ayogu said: Last November, we introduced Amazon Clinic , a virtual health care marketplace that makes it easy for customers to quickly get the care they need for more than 30 common health concerns like urinary tract infections, pink eye, and erectile dysfunction.   He further said that the customers who have taken advantage of the trail service are generally satisfied with the service giving it a 96% approval rating. He also shared Amazon Clinic reviews: I woke up with pink eye and had prescription eye drops called in to my pharmacy within 15 minutes. I had the eye drops in ha

Samsung is gearing up for the second part of its highly-anticipated bi-annual Unpacked event, scheduled for July 27th at 7AM ET. The first part of this event took place back in February when Samsung unveiled its impressive S23 lineup alongside the Galaxy Book series, including the flagship Galaxy Book3 Ultra. However, the absence of the Galaxy Tab S9 series left fans eager for more. The upcoming event has been teased with the tagline "Join the Flip Side" in Samsung's marketing material, heavily hinting at the launch of the next generation of foldables, which includes the Galaxy Flip5 and Galaxy Fold5.    How to Watch the Event? The Galaxy Unpacked event will be live-streamed on Samsung's official website , as well as their YouTube account . For your convenience, we have included a direct link to the live stream in this post, so you can easily tune in and catch all the action. Here is the timings for various regions: 7:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) 4:00 AM Pacific T

According to information from undisclosed insiders, Microsoft has ceased production of the Surface Duo 2, as reported by Windows Central. Although a limited number of devices might still be available at select retailers, no new units will be manufactured. While the phone is slated to receive Android security updates until at least October 2024, prospects for further Android OS updates, specifically beyond 12L, appear highly doubtful. Windows Central's attempts to obtain comments from Microsoft regarding their intentions to update the phone to Android 13 or the subsequent Android 14 have been unsuccessful. In addition to this, Windows Central's report suggests that a "majority" of the software team for the Surface Duo 2 has been reassigned to work on the Android version of Teams Rooms. Earlier this year, online reports claimed that Microsoft had abandoned plans to make the Surface Duo 3, and had instead decided to work on a true foldable phone. However, there has been

Magenta carrier T-Mobile has recently implemented several changes to its service offerings, affecting various aspects of its accounts. One area that has been impacted is the auto-pay discount available to users. This discount provides credits for each line when users set up automatic bill payments. While the change was announced some time ago, it is now gradually rolling out to more users. Change Details Many users have begun receiving texts and emails requesting them to update their auto-pay method or risk losing their auto-pay discounts. Please refer to the attached screenshot for an example of the email notification.      New Requirements Moving forward, T-Mobile will only consider debit cards and bank accounts as valid payment methods for receiving auto-pay discounts. Any other payment method will void the auto-pay discount.  Concerns While T-Mobile claims that this change is intended to benefit customers, some speculate that it might be primarily aimed at avoid

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today denied the Federal Trade Commission's petition seeking injunctive relief against Microsoft. This ruling paves the way for Microsoft to proceed with its acquisition of Activision Blizzard in the near future. Microsoft's President Brad Smith welcomed the swift decision. He said in a statement: We appreciate the Ninth Circuit’s swift response denying the FTC’s motion to further delay the deal. This brings us another step closer to the finish line in this marathon of global regulatory reviews. While the court's ruling is a significant victory for Microsoft, a major obstacle remains in the form of the United Kingdom's Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA), which has already rejected the proposed merger. Citing concerns over potential unfair advantage in the emerging cloud gaming sector, the CMA has been engaged in negotiations with Microsoft to explore alternative terms for the merger. With a deadline of

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was unsuccessful in its attempt to obtain a temporary injunction blocking Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. Federal judge Jacqueline Scott Corley denied the petition earlier this week , allowing Microsoft to proceed with the acquisition by July 18th. There was speculation that the FTC might drop its lawsuit entirely, but surprisingly enough, the FTC is appealing the federal judge's decision and has filed an opposition to the judge's ruling . The FTC has lodged its appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court and is once again seeking to halt the deal. In its appeal, the FTC has claimed the judge made several judgemental mistakes. Various objections raised by the FTC can be summarized as: Aplying an incorrect legal standard to the FTC's request for a preliminary injunction. Making a legal mistake by finding that Microsoft was likely to impede competition in the market for multi-game subscription library servic

  The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) of the UK may be changing its position on Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. The authority has expressed openness to reconsidering its decision to block the merger if Microsoft can address the concerns raised in CMA's final report. CMA was the first antitrust authority to block the merger, citing concerns about the potential impact on the future of cloud gaming. Microsoft has challenged this decision, and a hearing is scheduled for July 28. However, Microsoft, Activision, and CMA have agreed to pause the litigation in the UK. This pause will allow the three parties to work on a satisfactory restructuring of the transaction. CMA's change in stance follows the FTC's loss of a motion for a preliminary injunction against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. Brad Smith, Microsoft's representative, responded to the decision, saying: After today's court decision in the U.S., our focus now turns ba

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has lost its motion for a preliminary injunction to halt Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. The case involved presentations from both parties over a span of five days, with the federal judge tasked with deciding whether to grant the FTC's request for an emergency injunction to prevent the deal from closing. While the FTC still has the option to file an appeal with the federal appellate court, it remains to be seen whether they will pursue that route or drop the lawsuit entirely. In her decision , Federal Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley stated: This Court’s responsibility in this case is narrow. It is to decide if, notwithstanding these current circumstances, the merger should be halted—perhaps even terminated—pending resolution of the FTC administrative action. For the reasons explained, the Court finds the FTC has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its claim this particular vertical merger i

Twitter has been facing challenges and declining user engagement for years. Recent developments, including its takeover by Elon Musk, have added to the woes of the embattled micro-blogging platform. Amidst this backdrop, new competitors are vying to seize a piece of Twitter's pie, with Meta's Instagram Threads emerging as a potential instant threat.   According to Apple's App Store Listing, Instagram Threads is set to launch on July 6th. An early listing on Google's Play Store was also discovered over the weekend. Interestingly, Meta has taken a cautious marketing approach, presenting the app as "Instagram Threads" rather than "Meta Threads," likely aiming to leverage Instagram's popularity while avoiding Facebook's negative publicity. A web portal, threads.net, displays a countdown timer for the app launch, scheduled for 9 AM CST on July 6th.   Instagram Threads could gain substantial traction given Twitter's ongoin

Sony's fierce opposition to Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision-Blizzard has been no secret since the announcement last year. The gaming giant has been lobbying extensively against the deal's approval. In an attempt to assuage Sony, Microsoft offered a guarantee of Call of Duty's availability on Sony's PlayStation platform. Recent developments have shed light on a twist in the tale. According to a Twitter post, Sony's CEO, Jim Ryan, purportedly made a counteroffer to Xbox Boss, Phil Spencer, as a condition to green-light the deal. The counterproposal laid out several demands, as follows: Ensure that all existing and future Activision Blizzard games are still available on PlayStation & have parity with Xbox. Don't make PlayStation Activision Blizzard games more expensive than Xbox. Treat all Activision Blizzard games equally on subscription services of Xbox and Playstation. Upon comp

In what can only be described as a dream season for corporate attorneys, FTX has stepped into the legal arena by filing a lawsuit against its former compliance officer, Daniel Friedberg. The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Friedberg's actions were the catalyst behind the misappropriation of billions of customer funds by individuals such as Sam Bankman-Fried and others. FTX suffered a major setback towards the end of last year when the excitement of the crypto boom came crashing down, and life slowly returned to normal in the post-COVID era. Here are the allegations as laid out in the lawsuit: Friedberg and others facilitated the routing of billions of dollars in purported profits of the FTX Group to the FTX Insiders, and their families, friends, and other acquaintances through purported personal ‘loans,’ bonuses, ‘investments,’ and all other means of transfer, including real estate purchases and hundreds of millions of dollars in charitable and

Day 1 - June 22nd, 2023 Highlights The first day of the FTC v. Microsoft hearing sparked a heated battle between two gaming giants: PlayStation and Xbox. As the case unfolded, it became apparent that the FTC, seemingly donning the mantle of Sony, the unrivaled leader in the gaming world, was pitted against Microsoft's Xbox, a brand still striving to recover from the infamous Xbox One fiasco nearly a decade ago. FTC's Opening Statement According to James Weingarten, the counsel for the FTC, Activision is responsible for developing some of the most significant video games in the United States, including popular titles like Call of Duty, Diablo, and Overwatch. Weingarten emphasizes that both Microsoft and its competitors require high-quality content, referred to as triple-A, for their gaming consoles. As a result, they not only license Activision's content but also pay a premium for it. Weingarten further asserts that the evidence to be presented by the FTC in the coming days

In the cutthroat world of business, companies often aim to strike their rivals where it hurts the most. As Microsoft faces challenges in gaining approval for its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, Google saw an opportune moment to deliver a potential knockout punch to Microsoft's Azure division, a direct competitor to its own Google Cloud division. Background In March 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) called for businesses to provide input on the business practices of major cloud providers such as Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon AWS. Recently, Google responded to this call by leveling accusations against Microsoft and Oracle, alleging unfair practices in the cloud industry, CNBC reports. Google's Complaint Against Microsoft Within its complaint, Google specifically targeted Microsoft, claiming that the company, through its dominant Windows Server and Microsoft Office products, creates barriers for clients to explore alternatives to its Azure cloud infrastruct