Your Tech Story

Tech Story

Microsoft

Did the U.K. Just Kill the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard Deal?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By

In response to concerns that it would impede competition in the rapidly expanding cloud gaming business, British regulators on Wednesday rejected Microsoft $69 billion acquisition of video game developer Activision Blizzard. This prevented the largest tech deal in history.

Microsoft
Image Source: bbc.com

In its final report, the Competition and Markets Authority stated that “the only effective remedy” for the significant loss of competition “is to prohibit the Merger.” The organizations intend to file an appeal.

Due to concerns that Microsoft would gain control of well-known game franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush, rival Sony vigorously opposed the all-cash transaction, and regulators in the United States and Europe closely examined it.

Also Read: Amazon is working to boost the capability of Alexa. Here’s how

Concerns raised by the U.K. watchdog centered on how the transaction might impact competitiveness in cloud gaming, which involves streaming games to smartphones, tablets, and other devices. Players no longer need to purchase pricey consoles and gaming laptops as a result.

According to Martin Colman, chair of the Competition and Markets Authority’s independent expert panel looking into the agreement, cloud gaming has the potential to transform the industry by offering players more flexibility over how and where they play. In this new and fascinating sector, he continued, “It is critical that we protect competition.”

The transaction still has our full support, and we will appeal, stated President Brad Smith in a statement. The watchdog’s judgment, according to him, “rejects a pragmatic path to address competition concerns” and deters tech investment and innovation in the UK.

Smith stated, “We’re especially disappointed that, after a lengthy decision, this decision appears to reflect a flawed understanding of this market and the way the relevant cloud technology actually works.” Likewise, Activision retaliated, stating that it will “work aggressively with Microsoft to reverse this on appeal.”

Last month, regulators raised their objections to the agreement, stating that it wouldn’t be advantageous for Microsoft to restrict Call of Duty to its Xbox gaming platform. The agency said on Wednesday that it had looked “in considerable depth” at Microsoft’s suggestions to allay competition worries, but that it had concluded that those remedies would necessitate its supervision, whereas blocking the merger would enable cloud gaming to evolve naturally.

Regulators came to the conclusion that if the acquisition went through, it would strengthen Microsoft’s edge by giving it ownership over important game franchises, given its dominant standing in the cloud computing sector.

Late last year, the US Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit to stop the agreement between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. The FTC action is still in the document discovery phase, and a hearing to present evidence is set for August 2.

Amazon

Amazon is working to boost the capability of Alexa. Here’s how

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By

Amazon Alexa, the voice-activated assistant, has quickly become a household name since its debut in 2014. It has evolved from a simple device that could answer basic questions to a fully-fledged platform that can control smart homes, plays music, set reminders, order groceries, and more.

Amazon
Image Source: wired.com

But Amazon is not stopping there. The company is working on boosting the capability of Alexa even further in several ways. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy revealed Monday that the company is developing a more “generalized and capable” large language model (LLM) to support Alexa.

Also Read: Amazon sees cloud slowdown in April, shares erase gains

Although Alexa has been powered by an LLM from Amazon, according to Jassy, the tech giant is currently developing a new LLM that will be more powerful. Jassy is certain that the addition of a better LLM will aid Amazon in its mission to create “the world’s best personal assistant,” but he also noted that it will be challenging to do so across a variety of fields.

“Large Language Model” (LLM) refers to a type of artificial intelligence technology that is used to process and analyze natural language data. Large Language Models are a type of deep learning model that uses neural networks to process large amounts of text data and generate outputs, such as text or speech.

Some examples of LLMs include OpenAI’s GPT series, Google’s BERT, and Facebook’s Roberta. These models are trained on massive datasets, often consisting of billions of words, in order to learn patterns and relationships in language. They use this knowledge to perform a variety of natural language processing tasks, such as language translation, sentiment analysis, and text generation.

LLMs have a wide range of applications, from language translation and sentiment analysis to chatbots and voice assistants. They are particularly useful in situations where a large amount of text data needs to be processed quickly and accurately.

Jassy emphasized that while Amazon has had years to invest in AI and LLMs, small businesses do not have the resources to do so, which is why the business released Bedrock earlier last month.

By using pre-trained models from firms like AI21 Labs, Anthropic, and Stability AI, Bedrock offers a method to create generative AI-powered applications. Bedrock also provides access to Titan FMs (foundation models), a collection of models that AWS has internally trained and is available in a “limited preview.”

Also Read: Amazon plans to trim employee stock awards amid tough economy

ChatGPT has taken over the internet and grown in popularity since its debut last year. Given the hype associated with ChatGPT, it should come as little surprise that top technology businesses are attempting to improve their own products using LLM in order to keep up with the rapidly evolving AI market.

The Information stated recently that Apple is creating Siri upgrades based on LLM. Google is probably taking similar steps with Assistant.

Elon Musk

Did Elon Musk unwittingly expose his alt-Twitter account?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By

Elon Musk on Twitter recently introduced a feature that allows content creators to request that Twitter users subscribe in order to access their unique content. The chosen account must be subscribed to on a monthly basis by each user.

Elon Musk
Image Source: gizmodo.com

Elon Musk stated in a message to content creators, “Content creators may wish to enable subscriptions on this platform. Just tap Monetization in Settings.” The profile photo next to Musk’s, though, was what got people’s attention online. This profile photo showed that Musk had multiple accounts open on his personal device.

Also Read: Why is Amazon shutting down Halo Division?

When internet users started looking around, they discovered an account with the exact same profile picture as the one in Musk’s tweet. The username of the account is @ErmnMusk, and the profile image is of Musk’s son. It is obvious from the account’s Twitter bio that it was set up in November 2022. Even though the account only occasionally tweets, there are a lot of responses. and frequently lack logic.

Elon Musk pretends to be his son, who is close to three years old, in a few tweets from the account. “I will finally turn 3 on May 4th!” the most recent tweet reads. On December 6 of last year, another tweet reads, “For the love of God, can someone follow me.”

The majority of the tweets are completely meaningless and arbitrary, though, thus it’s possible that this account was formed with the express purpose of shitposting, according to a brief peek at the “Replies” section.

The account additionally responded to a tweet that included Caroline Elliso, the former CEO of Alameda Research, in its image. Alameda Research was a trading firm that specialized in cryptocurrency. The company suffered severe losses in October 2021.

According to reports, a cryptocurrency market crash cost Alameda Research about $2.8 billion in losses in a single day. The trading company submitted a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in November 2022.

People are responding to the tweets as the account steadily attracts the curiosity of a growing number of online users. One person suggested, “Ask dad to give you $8 for a blue cheque,” and another said, “Can you ask your father when Tesla is going to buy more Dogecoin?”

Also Read: How to send a secure email in Gmail?

Elon Musk’s purported alt account has about 48,000 followers. It should be emphasized that Musk has not formally asserted that he is the one uploading offensive content from this account.

Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, is known for his frequent online shenanigans. His Twitter page is a regular topic of attention, with posts ranging from contentious statements to updates and announcements on what is happening at his numerous firms.

Penny Streeter

From Homeless to Millionaire: Penny Streeter Success Story

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By

Penny Streeter, Entrepreneur and creator of the A24 Group, which includes the companies Ambition 24 Hours, Arabella Health Staffing, & NS Health Staffing, was born in England on the 1st of August 1967. In 1996, Penny Streeter with her mom Marion founded a healthcare staffing company in Sutton, England.

Penny Streeter
Image Source: pennystreeter.net

25 years back, the past beautician was a pregnant single mother who was homeless, penniless, and had £20,000 in debt from her unsuccessful recruitment agency. She also had a broken marriage.

Nobody could be more in awe of Penny Streeter’s journey from poverty to affluence than the mega-millionaire businesswoman herself. She admits that she also has a hard time believing this.

Also Read: The success story of Howard Schultz: From Rags to Riches

Peter Stiff, a best-selling author from South Africa, & Marion Hewson were the parents of Penny Streeter. Penny graduated from Alberton High, Johannesburg, in 1983 after leaving Zimbabwe in 1979. when she was 12, she and her mother Marion moved from South Africa to the United Kingdom. After finishing high school at age 15, she began working in the recruitment industry under the Youth Training Programme.

After she failed in her recruitment business, she spent some time working in other people’s recruitment businesses.

Streeter attempted again in 1995 with a new firm, supported by evenings moonlighting as a children’s party performer. A nursing staffing company called Ambition 24 Hours was established in 1996.

After experiencing rapid expansion, the company launched more UK facilities and broadened the range of services to include temporary doctors, health care professionals, carers, social service providers, & teachers or lecturers throughout the course of the following ten years.

The Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate which is a South African wine vineyard & dwellings property situated on the lagoon at Walker Bay, Hermanus, was acquired by Streeter in 2013 and is now under development.

In 2016, Streeter acquired Mannings Heath Golf Club located in West Sussex by purchasing the Exclusive Group’s majority stake. This was promptly followed by her purchase of Leonardslee Gardens, also present in West Sussex, in 2017.

Also Read: The Journey of a Plumber’s Son to Become a Billionaire

After developing new hotel rooms in October 2021, Streeter established Restaurant Interlude located at Leonardslee House in October 2018. This establishment gained its initial Michelin Star under Chef Jean Delport in August 2019.

Her story is truly inspiring for people who think failure is the end. It motivates people to not lose hope and wait for success to come to them.

Amazon

Why is Amazon shutting down Halo Division?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By

Amazon sent out a note to Halo customers today announcing that it is shutting down its Halo Health division, effective July 31. Included in the announcement is news of layoffs, as well as full refunds on hardware purchased over the past 12 months.

Amazon
Image Source: businesstoday.in

That includes Amazon Halo View, Halo Band, Halo Rise, and a bunch of accessories. That’s not an unprecedented move (Google did something similar when it recently shut down Stadia), but it’s a sign of goodwill for customers and a tacit acknowledgment that the hardware won’t be worth a hell of a lot when its associated services shut down. The company will also be ending subscription fees and refunding those that were pre-paid.

Also Read: OpenAI rolls out ‘incognito mode’ on ChatGPT

In a letter addressed to “Halo Member,” the company says, “At Amazon, we think big, experiment, and invest in new ideas like Amazon Halo in our efforts to delight customers.” All of the above-mentioned products will stop working at the start of August. Additionally, Amazon has included instructions on how to recycle the hardware and save scan images to a phone’s camera roll.

The corporation announced 9,000 layoffs at the end of last month, bringing the total to 18,000 since January. The first round had a disproportionately negative effect on Amazon’s hardware divisions, with the Alexa/Echo team receiving a lot of attention.

When the first Halo tracker went public in August 2020, privacy advocates reacted negatively. The range continued to expand swiftly, including the Halo View, an $80 Fitbit rival, along with other fitness and nutrition programs, in late 2021. It unveiled the Halo Rise, a nightstand sleep tracker, in September of last year, and it went on sale in December.

Amazon Halo is a fitness wearable device and accompanying app that was launched by Amazon in August 2020. The device is designed to help users improve their overall health and wellness by tracking various aspects of their lifestyle, including activity levels, sleep, body fat percentage, and even their tone of voice.

The Amazon Halo device is worn as a wristband and features sensors that can track a user’s heart rate, motion, and temperature. The device also has a microphone that can be used to analyze a user’s tone of voice and provide feedback on their communication style.

Overall, the Amazon Halo is designed to be a comprehensive health and wellness tool that can help users make positive changes to their lifestyle by providing personalized recommendations and insights.

Gmail

How to send a secure email in Gmail?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By

Email is an essential communication tool in today’s digital world. Sending a secure email is, therefore, crucial to protecting our privacy and security. Gmail is one of the most popular email services globally, and hence it’s important to know how to send a secure email in Gmail.

One can enable Two-factor Authentication (2FA) in Gmail. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a security feature that requires users to provide two forms of identification before accessing an account. This extra layer of security makes it difficult for cybercriminals to gain access to your Gmail account even if they have your password.

Gmail
Image Source: pcmag.com

To enable 2FA in Gmail, go to your Google Account settings, click on “Security,” and then enable “Two-Step Verification.” You can choose to receive a verification code via SMS, a phone call, or an authenticator app.

Also Read: Is Microsoft going to unbundle Teams and Office?

A strong password is crucial in keeping your Gmail account secure. Avoid using easily guessable passwords such as “password,” “123456,” or your name. Instead, use a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.

Additionally, do not reuse passwords across multiple accounts. You can use a password manager to generate and store strong passwords for your Gmail account. Use Encryption to Protect Email Content

Encryption is a method of encoding data to make it unreadable to unauthorized users. Gmail uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt email content in transit. However, if you want to add an extra layer of security, you can use end-to-end encryption.

End-to-end encryption encrypts email content from the sender’s device to the recipient’s device, making it difficult for anyone to intercept or read the email content. You can use third-party tools such as ProtonMail, Tutanota, or Virtru to send encrypted emails in Gmail.

Gmail’s Confidential mode is a feature that allows you to add an extra layer of security to your email. When you enable Confidential mode, you can set an expiration date for the email, and you can also choose to require a passcode to open the email. Additionally, Confidential mode emails are protected from forwarding, copying, printing, or downloading.

To use Confidential mode in Gmail, compose your email as usual, but before you hit send, click on the lock icon located at the bottom of the compose window. This will enable Confidential mode, and you can set the desired settings before sending the email.

Avoid Clicking on Suspicious Links and Attachments. Phishing emails are a common tactic used by cybercriminals to steal sensitive information. Always verify the authenticity of the email before clicking on any links or attachments. Additionally, you can use anti-malware software to scan any attachments before opening them.

Regularly updating your Gmail account and devices is crucial in keeping them secure. Software updates often include security patches that fix vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit. Make sure you update your Gmail account settings, software, and devices regularly to stay protected.

Also Read: What is Auto-GPT and why does it matter?

In conclusion, sending a secure email in Gmail is crucial in protecting your privacy and security. By enabling two-factor authentication, using strong passwords, encrypting email content, using Gmail’s Confidential mode, avoiding clicking on suspicious links and attachments, and regularly updating your Gmail account and devices, you can keep your Gmail account and email content secure.