iab-software and applications

26Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Sony’s PlayStation Access controller offers a new social lifeline for gamers with disabilities

CNN — Grant Stoner said that he has loved playing video games his entire life, and that his earliest memory is of playing Super Nintendo in his parents’ bedroom at roughly 3 years old. “Gaming, for me, has always been a social activity,” Stoner, a Pittsburgh native who has spinal muscular atrophy type 2, a neuromuscular disorder, told CNN. “Because I’ve never really, physically, been able to participate in schoolyard events or sporting events or what have you, so I would bond with family and classmates through gaming.” For people with disabilities, Stoner said gaming has served as a lifeline for forming friendships and community. But for years, he adds, the technology underpinning the gaming secto...

16Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Families urged to delete TikTok, social media ahead of possible Israeli hostage videos

New York CNN — Schools in Israel, the UK and the US are advising parents to delete their children’s social media apps over concerns that Hamas militants will broadcast or disseminate disturbing videos of hostages who have been seized in recent days. A Tel Aviv school’s parent’s association said it expects videos of hostages “begging for their lives” to surface on social media. In a message to parents, shared with CNN by a mother of children at a high school in Tel Aviv, the association asked parents to remove apps such as TikTok from their children’s phones. “We cannot allow our kids to watch this stuff. It is also difficult, furthermore – impossible – to contain all this content on social media,”...

Microsoft to widely offer an AI feature into outlook that can write emails for you

15Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Microsoft to widely offer an AI feature into outlook that can write emails for you

New York CNN — Artificial intelligence could soon be writing more company emails in Microsoft Outlook, as the company expands its rollout of AI tools for corporate users. The Microsoft 365 Copilot tool – “your everyday AI companion,” as the company bills it – will help users write their emails to “keep your sentences concise and error-free.” The tool also summarizes long email threads to quickly draft suggested replies. Users with Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscriptions will get more advanced AI help through Microsoft Editor, an intelligent writing assistant. The update will include suggested edits for “clarity, conciseness, inclusive language and more” to help workers create more “polished a...

Microsoft-Activision Blizzard takeover closes after UK removes final hurdle

14Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Microsoft-Activision Blizzard takeover closes after UK removes final hurdle

CNN — Microsoft has completed its takeover of Activision Blizzard, the maker of “Call of Duty” and other hit video games, closing one of the biggest tech deals of all time. The company said in a filing Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that Activision (ATVI) had now become a wholly-owned subsidiary. Earlier on Friday, UK antitrust officials approved the planned acquisition, removing the final regulatory hurdle to the deal closing. The Competition and Markets Authority said the merger had been cleared after the companies agreed to give up certain cloud gaming rights. The concession is “a game-changer” that will allow “competitive prices and better services,” the CM...

13Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

How to block graphic social media posts on your kids’ phones

New York CNN — Many schools, psychologists and safety groups are urging parents to disable their children’s social media apps over mounting concerns that Hamas plans to disseminate graphic videos of hostages captured in the Israel-Gaza war. Disabling an app or implementing restrictions, such as filtering out certain words and phrases, on young users’ phones may be sound like a daunting process. But platforms and mobile operating systems offer safeguards that could go along way in protecting a child’s mental health. Following the attacks on Israel last weekend, much of the terror has played out on social media. Videos of hostages taken on the streets and civilians left wounded continue to circulate ...

Apple rejected opportunities to buy Microsoft’s Bing, integrate with DuckDuckGo

6Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Apple rejected opportunities to buy Microsoft’s Bing, integrate with DuckDuckGo

CNN — Since 2017, Apple has turned down multiple opportunities to chip away at Google’s search engine dominance, according to newly unsealed court transcripts, including a chance to purchase Microsoft’s Bing and to make the privacy-focused DuckDuckGo a default for users of its Safari’s private browsing mode. The previously confidential records, unsealed this week by the judge presiding over the US government’s antitrust lawsuit against Google, illustrate the challenges that have faced Google’s rivals in search as they’ve tried to unseat the tech giant from its pole position as Apple’s default search provider on millions of iPhones and Mac computers. It’s a privilege for which Google has paid Apple at least $10...

5Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Microsoft, Amazon facing UK antitrust probe over cloud serivces

London CNN — Microsoft and Amazon could be in hot water over apparently making it difficult for UK customers to use multiple suppliers of vital cloud services. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the country’s antitrust regulator, said Thursday it was launching an investigation into the UK cloud infrastructure services market to determine whether players were engaged in anti-competitive practices. Cloud computing firms, such as Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS), use data centers around the world to provide remote access to computing services and storage. This “cloud infrastructure” forms the foundation for how software applications, such as Gmail and Dropbox, are developed and run. ...

Antitrust Trial: Microsoft CEO warns of impact of Google’s search monopoly on AI

3Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Antitrust Trial: Microsoft CEO warns of impact of Google’s search monopoly on AI

CNN — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned on Monday of a “nightmare” scenario for the internet if Google’s dominance in online search is allowed to continue, a situation, he said, that starts with searches on desktop and mobile but extends to the emerging battleground of artificial intelligence. Nadella testified on Monday as part of the US government’s sweeping antitrust trial against Google, now into its 14th day. He is the most senior tech executive yet to testify during the trial that focuses on the power of Google as the default search engine on mobile devices and browsers around the globe. Taking the stand in a charcoal suit and tie, Nadella painted Google as a technology giant that has block...

Apple working to fix iPhone 15 overheating issues

3Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

Apple working to fix iPhone 15 overheating issues

CNN — Apple is working on a software fix following reports that some of its new iPhone 15 models are overheating. The company told CNN the current overheating issues are not a safety risk and will not affect the long-term performance of impacted iPhone models. It also emphasized that iPhones have internal protections for components to help regulate the temperature if it gets too high. Apple also told CNN there are several circumstances that are causing its next-generation lineup to heat up. User complaints started to circulate after the latest iPhones hit stores on September 22. “We have identified a few conditions which can cause iPhone to run warmer than expected,” Apple told CNN in...

PlayStation head Jim Ryan is stepping down

1Oct

By adminNo Comments

Technology

PlayStation head Jim Ryan is stepping down

New York CNN — PlayStation boss Jim Ryan is stepping down from the company, Sony announced Wednesday. The Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO will be retiring in March 2024 after 30 years in the PlayStation business. Sony Group Corporation president, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki will assume the role of SIE chairman next month to “support” the transition, and will take over as interim CEO once Ryan retires. Ryan joined SIE in 1994 and was appointed CEO in 2019. He had previously held senior positions at the company including president of SIE Europe, head of global sales and marketing at SIE and deputy president of SIE. Ryan led the launch of the PlayStation 5,...