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Google

Google Drive now caps the number of files you can create

As previously disclosed by Ars Technica and CNET, Google has put a restriction on the number of files you can upload and save to Google Drive. Even though you paid for more storage, the firm announced to The Verge that the update enabled users to generate a total of 5 million items in Drive. Google, however, quickly undid the adjustment and promised to come up with an alternative.

Google
Image Source: bloglenovo.es

We recently rolled out a system update to Drive item limits to preserve stability and optimize performance,” said Google in a tweet. “While this impacted only a small number of people, we are rolling back this change as we explore alternate approaches to ensure a great experience for all.”

Source: theverge.com

Also Read: UBS to cut up to 30% of the global workforce

There was a 5 million file limit, but it only related to the number of files you could create in Drive, not to the total number of files that could be shared with your Drive. In other words, if the files weren’t all your creation, you might have had more than 5 million of them in the system.

Ross Richendrfer, a Google representative, first claimed that the modification was made to ensure high performance and dependability and that it would assist stop misuse of the company’s systems. Richendrfer stated that if you exceed the limit, you will be notified and can approach Google customer support to resolve the situation.

While it would seem ludicrous for a single person to upload 5 million files, some people have exceeded that figure. A customer with 7 million documents in Drive claims, in a Reddit post seen by Ars Technica and CNET, that Google abruptly stopped allowing them to add new files in February, even though they had not yet reached the 2TB storage limit they had paid for.

Several additional users claim to have experienced the file restriction at approximately the same time and that they originally thought it to be a bug on Google’s problem tracker website.

An individual with 2TB of capacity and an aggregate file size of over 400KB would exceed their file cap before when they went out of storage space, as was noted in the Reddit thread. Secondly, unless they choose to reduce their documents into zip folders, some customers may be spending even more space than they utilize.

Also Read: Netflix Might Be Putting Its Video Games on TVs

User responses suggest that Google may not have informed those who would be affected by the new restriction ahead of its deployment, leaving them scrambling to transfer or reduce files once the policy took effect.

While it does indicate that shared Workspace folders can store a total of 400,000 files, it doesn’t appear that Google changed its Google One or Workspace help sites to notice the limit. Google could have at least provided those who do with a proper warning, even if the bulk of users probably don’t have 5 million data held in Drive.

UBS

UBS to cut up to 30% of the global workforce

After wrapping up its acquisition of Credit Suisse, UBS will reduce its employees by 20 percent to 30 percent, eliminating up to 36,000 employees globally, according to a senior UBS manager quoted in the SonntagsZeitung.

According to the Swiss publication, up to 11,000 workers in Switzerland would be laid off. By the end of the previous year, the two lenders collectively employed approximately 125,000 people, with about 3 percent of the overall working in Switzerland.

UBS
Image Source: cnbctv18.com

The anticipated layoffs surpass the 9,000 job losses that Credit Suisse disclosed before UBS’s steady for the past month rescue of the company. Given the significant similarities between the two former competitors, a multiple of that amount of job cuts had been anticipated as the ultimate total.

Also Read: Accenture to Cut 19000 Jobs as IT Spending Slows

An inquiry for comment made by phone outside of regular business hours was not immediately answered by UBS.

UBS has publicly stated that it will be as transparent as it can on job cutbacks. Even though it was obvious that there would be large job cuts, the lender considers talent retention to be an important execution risk for the acquisition.

Firms like Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, & JP Morgan Chase are preparing to hire some wealth managers as well as investment bankers who are certain to lose their jobs.

Credit Suisse bankers looking for work have already descended onto headhunters in droves.

The Swiss administration introduced the 3.3 billion USD emergency purchase of Credit Suisse by its own greater Swiss rival on March 19 following five days of negotiations facilitated by officials.

As per Switzerland’s minister of finance, Credit Suisse had enormous asset outflows as a consequence of several scandals, which could have caused it to implode the coming Monday if no measures were taken.

To force the purchase without needing to get necessary approvals from shareholders, the authorities used emergency law. Hence, even if many irate voices are anticipated at the two institutions’ annual general assemblies, which are this week, the impact on shareholders will be Hence, even if many irate voices are anticipated at the two institutions’ annual general assemblies, which are this week, the impact on shareholders will be minimal.

Major shareholder and Norway sovereign wealth fund, has declared it will not support the re-election of numerous Credit Suisse directors which includes chairman Axel Lehmann.

Also Read: Apple launches ‘buy now, pay later’ service in the US

The report states that because of the intricate, protracted process required to merge the banks, it is anticipated to be one of the most profitable contracts for providing financial services advice at times.

Comment requests made outside of business hours were not answered immediately by UBS, BCG, Bain, McKinsey, or Oliver Wyman.

Apple

Apple wins U.S. appeal over patents in $502 mln VirnetX verdict

In the long-haul dispute between the two corporations regarding privacy-software technology, Apple Inc. convinced a U.S. appeals court to retain a patent tribunal’s decision that would jeopardise a 502 million USD award for patent licencing company VirnetX Corporation on Thursday.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s judgement to invalidate the two rights that VirnetX claimed Apple had violated was upheld by the U.S. Appeals court for the Federal Circuit.

Apple
Image Source: communicationstoday.co.in

The ruling was disappointing, according to VirnetX Chief Executive officer, Kendall Larsen, and the corporation is thinking about asking for a rehearing or trying to appeal to the US Supreme Court.

Also Read: Apple launches ‘buy now, pay later’ service in the US

After that decision was made, VirnetX stock dropped more than 14 per cent by Thursday afternoon. Immediately following the company’s announcement that it will distribute a special cash dividend to its stockholders and expected a possible future payment from the Apple lawsuit, the stock had increased by 55 per cent before the decision had been made public.

A call for comment from an Apple spokesperson elicited no immediate response.

The 13-year legal conflict between the two firms has involved numerous trials & challenges. After finding that Apple violated the VPN (virtual private network ) rights question in Thursday’s verdict, an East Texas court fined VirnetX 502 million USD in 2020.

Apple has filed a separate appeal of the judgement on its own behalf, although the Federal Circuit has not yet made a decision. Both sides argued that maintaining the decree cancelling the patents would probably also invalidate the jury verdict when the court heard mixed statements in the two cases in September.

“If the court upholds the (USPTO’s) decision, we have a big problem,” VirnetX attorney Jeff Lamken of MoloLamken said at the September hearing. “I don’t think we have an enforceable judgment.”

Source: finance.yahoo.com

Also Read: Apple announces new classical music app

On Thursday, the Federal Circuit upheld findings made by the USPTO’s Patent Trial & Appeal Board that the rights were ineligible due to prior works that had similarly described discoveries.

In a different case, VirnetX triumphed against Apple in 2016 with a 302 million dollar judgement that was subsequently enhanced to 440 million dollars in an East Texas court. The case involved claims that the technology giant had incorporated its internet-security technology into functionalities like FaceTime video conversations.

Netflix

Netflix Might Be Putting Its Video Games on TVs

Netflix has gradually increased the number of video games it offers, but at the moment, only mobile device users can access them. However, it appears that may soon change as a recent leak indicates that users might soon be able to play games on computers and televisions.

Scott Moser, an iOS developer, claims that the Netflix iOS app contains code that indicates the inclusion of a function that will let users use their iPhones as controllers for video games.

Netflix
Image Source: netflix.com

Netflix users will have to make do with the current way for the time being, though, as this has not yet been formally announced. Currently, there are about 55 titles in the Netflix library, but 40 more games will be released over the course of 2023.

Also Read: E3 2023 has been canceled. But Why?

In 2021, the dominant streaming service introduced its gameplay platform for Android, iPhones, and iPads. Due to guidelines established by Apple and Google, mobile users need to download games only from the App Store or from Google Play.

However, because the goal of these games is to improve user engagement and retention, they can only be accessed with an active Netflix subscription and can be started via the Netflix app.

These titles are noticeably missing from the app for TV. It’s unclear how the business plans to set up gaming on TVs or whether users will need to download the video games in order to enjoy them.

But according to Netflix’s VP of game development Mike Verdu, the company is “seriously exploring a cloud gaming offering” and plans to release more than just light-hearted games for television.

Expanding the number of platforms on which games are available may increase their appeal to users. A little over one percent of Netflix subscribers, according to a report from last year, regularly play the company’s games.

There are a number of possible explanations for this, one of which is the likelihood that many subscribers are unaware that they can stream games using the service. A significant portion of players also has no interest in engaging in mobile games.

Expanding the number of gadgets that support Netflix games could be extremely beneficial in both cases. Despite these difficulties, Netflix continues to develop its gaming strategy by acquiring in-house companies to produce exclusive titles and by providing new games to play.

Also Read: Netflix founder Reed Hastings stepping down as co-CEO

Lovers of Netflix’s games will currently just have to wait in anticipation to find out if and when this new feature might be released. Right now, Netflix Games serves more as a fun bonus than as an enticing feature for Netflix.

That might change, though, if more people start playing those games. Corporations like Google have had a difficult time converting players to video game streaming, which continues to be in its infancy.

David Risher

Lyft Co-Founders to Resign; David Risher Is Named CEO

As the Transportation Network Service company battles to compete with larger opponent Uber, Lyft Inc. announced on Monday that its founding members Logan Green & John Zimmer would resign as CEO & president, respectively. Instead, council member David Risher will assume those positions.

Prior to joining the board of Lyft in 2021, Risher, a former executive at both Microsoft and Amazon, oversaw the non-profit Worldreader for more than ten years.

David Risher
Image Source: neowin.net

A dismal quarterly prediction increased worries that price reductions made to compete with larger rival Uber, which has a stronger price advantage, a global footprint, and a delivery service for food, will compress earnings. This led to a change of leadership at Lyft.

Also Read: Twitch CEO Emmett Shear to step down

David Risher stated service for riders as well as drivers would be their main focus and also, the cost of rides.

“One of the first things we’re very focused on is making sure we are matching Uber on price,” Risher said in an interview.

Expanding the business to food and grocery delivery was not an open option because of what it could do to the rider or the driver experience, he added.

Source: finance.yahoo.com

Over three-quarters of Lyft’s worth was wiped out in 2022, and stocks are dropped approximately 13 percent this year. Uber is now up 24 percent.

During Monday’s after-market trade, Lyft stock increased by nearly 3 percent.

Even with its operations ceasing during the epidemic, the firm, which was created in 2012 and became public in 2019, is still waiting to record an annual profit but it has reduced liabilities over the years.

“Lyft needed to do something … to begin rebuilding investor trust,” Gordon Haskett analyst Robert Mollins said. “We believe today’s announcement means a sale is unlikely – at least in the near-term – as David will likely be given a fair amount of time to improve (or at least attempt to) the company’s competitive and financial position.”

Source: finance.yahoo.com

Also Read: YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki steps down after nine years

As the leader of the nonprofit Worldreader, Risher worked to promote children’s reading habits by facilitating the delivery of around 75 million ebooks to 21 million kids.

On April 17, Risher will take over as CEO of Lyft. According to the business, he will receive a $3.25 million transfer fee in addition to a $725,000 yearly wage.

Green, who arrived in the Bay Area at the age of 23 and took a job on Lyft in a 125-square-foot cubicle, will assist as the company’s chairman and Zimmer will be the vice chairman.

Accenture

Accenture to Cut 19000 Jobs as IT Spending Slows

In the coming 18 months, Accenture PLC will eliminate around 19,000 employees, or 2.5 percent of its staff, as the professional services company strives to reduce expenses and increase operational efficiency in the face of a slowdown in IT spending.

Accenture
Image Source: wsj.com

In a statement on Thursday, the firm, which provides IT consulting as well as other business services, stated that the majority of the workers anticipated to be impacted will be in nonbillable corporate functions. To meet its “strategic growth initiatives,” Accenture stated it is currently hiring.

Also Read: Amazon to Cut 9,000 More Jobs, Deepening Biggest Pullback Ever

The corporation stated that it anticipates spending around $1.5 billion on its business optimization plan between the remaining months of the present fiscal year and fiscal 2024, primarily from employee termination.

According to Chief Financial Officer KC McClure, Accenture employs around 738,000 employees worldwide and has grown by 28,000 over the past two quarters. Beyond what it stated in a 10-Q filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), the corporation declined to comment on the cutbacks.

The consultancy business “recognized a chance to pursue more fundamental costs as per The Chief Executive of Accenture Julie Sweet. She added that Accenture has been addressing the issue of accumulating pay escalation through pricing, cost-saving measures, and digitalization.

The IT consultancy firm’s layoffs are associated with a recent wave of job losses as businesses in tech, manufacturing, and some other areas seek to reduce costs in the midst of concern over higher interest rates, ongoing inflation, and other economic issues.

However, until now, large technological businesses such as Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc., & Meta Platforms Inc. mainly shielded IT positions from the massive job cuts.

For the very first time in over two years, the employment market for IT experts fell in January, an indication that as businesses cut spending, IT staffers are receiving the same level of scrutiny as employees in other jobs and industries.

Also Read: Google begins opening access to its ChatGPT competitor Bard

According to Victor Janulaitis, the CEO of consultancy firm Janco Associates Inc., a notable portion of the IT jobs getting eliminated or digitized are in data center operations and telecommunications, while there is still a significant skills deficit in fields such as cybersecurity & software development.

What we are seeing is still a big demand for IT skills,” said Ray Wang, founder and principal analyst at IT consulting firm Constellation Research Inc. “While Accenture is managing to its shareholders, there are a large number of firms with 20% to 30% attrition that is happy to pick up folks from Accenture.”

Source: wsj.com