Microsoft

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Judge Rejects FTC Move to Halt $69B Microsoft-Activision Deal

With clock ticking to get the deal closed, court hands Microsoft a major victory

(Newser) - A federal judge has handed Microsoft a major victory by declining to block its looming $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard. US District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said in a ruling that the Federal Trade Commission "has not shown a likelihood it will prevail on its...

FTC Sues to Block Microsoft&#39;s $69B Activision Takeover
FTC Sues to Block
Massive Tech Deal
Jun 12, 2023 5:11 PM CDT

FTC Sues to Block Massive Tech Deal

Agency seeks injunction to stop Microsoft's $69B Activision takeover

(Newser) - The Federal Trade Commission has sued to block Microsoft from completing its deal to buy video game company Activision Blizzard, the latest antitrust challenge to the proposed merger but one that could hasten its conclusion. The FTC's Monday filing in a federal court in San Francisco seeks a restraining...

UK Just Nixed the Biggest Tech Deal in History

Microsoft's $69B attempt to buy video game maker Activision scuttled over fears of stifling competition

(Newser) - British regulators have blocked Microsoft's $69 billion deal to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard over worries that it would stifle competition in the cloud gaming market. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority said in its final report Wednesday that "the only effective remedy" to the significant...

Ads Enter Bing Chat Responses, to Much Confusion

Tech journalists question if chatbot is now giving sponsored answers

(Newser) - Microsoft is slipping more ads into the AI-powered Bing chatbot , which could add to the "already difficult cognitive load of determining whether you can trust a given response," writes Jay Peters at the Verge . Ads have been appearing within the Bing interface since its launch in February. In...

Microsoft Adds AI Tools to Its Office Software

Google is doing the same with its Workspace applications

(Newser) - Microsoft is infusing artificial intelligence tools in its Office software, including Word, Excel, and Outlook emails. The company said Thursday the new feature, named Copilot, is a processing engine that will allow users to do tasks like summarize long emails, draft stories in Word, and animate slides in PowerPoint. Microsoft...

Internet Explorer&#39;s Nearly 30-Year Run Is Officially Over
Another Web Browser
Bites the Dust for Good
in case you missed it
Feb 19, 2023 7:10 AM CST

Another Web Browser Bites the Dust for Good

Microsoft retires its Internet Explorer, which will now automatically redirect to Microsoft Edge

(Newser) - Netscape Navigator, Ask Jeeves, and other now-defunct online entities that were inextricably linked to the mid-'90s will have to make room for one more retiree. In what CBS News calls "heartbreaking news" for devotees delivered just in time for Valentine's Day, Microsoft pulled the plug Tuesday on...

Microsoft: We're Working on Fixes for 'Belligerent' Bing Bot

Company says too many questions can 'confuse' the AI-driven search tool

(Newser) - The reviews are in on the upgraded Bing search engine, now powered by artificial intelligence, and they've ... definitely been mixed. While there's been some praise for Bing's capabilities, this week saw a slew of reviewers (even some who'd initially offered that praise) alarmed at what they'...

Surprise: Long-Ridiculed Bing May Out-Google Google
Reviewers Are Stunned
at How Good Bing Is
tech reviews
Feb 9, 2023 11:07 AM CST

Reviewers Are Stunned at How Good Bing Is

Techies test the new AI search engine, which is still being rolled out

(Newser) - Kevin Roose is a tech columnist for the New York Times , and he's as surprised as you are that he concludes his latest column like so: "I'm switching my desktop computer's default search engine to Bing. And Google, my default source of information for my entire...

Google Unveils Rival 'Bard' to ChatGPT

Company hopes to keep up in the AI race

(Newser) - ChatGPT has been making headlines lately, but now it's going to have to share that media real estate: On Monday, Google owner Alphabet announced its new chatbot service, Bard, as well as plans to pump more artificial intelligence into its search functions and open up some of its AI...

Microsoft Added 40K Jobs in 2022. Now, an About-Face

Company on Wednesday announced 10K jobs would be cut

(Newser) - Add Microsoft to the ever-growing list of tech companies announcing 4- and 5-figure layoffs. The company on Wednesday said it would lay off 10,000 employees, or roughly 5% of its 221,000-person workforce, by the quarter ending March 31, with layoffs beginning this week, reports CNBC . CEO Satya Nadella...

FTC Sues to Block Microsoft's Takeover of Activision Blizzard

But Microsoft has good shot of winning a legal challenge

(Newser) - The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it is suing to block Microsoft’s planned $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard, saying it could suppress competitors to its Xbox game consoles and its growing games subscription business. The FTC voted 3-1 to issue the complaint after a closed-door...

Pentagon Splits Up Disputed Cloud Contract

Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle will each have a piece of potential $9B deal

(Newser) - The Pentagon announced Wednesday that it has resolved the long-running battle among tech giants for its cloud computing contract by giving everybody a piece of the pie. Google, Oracle, Microsoft, and Amazon each won part of the deal that could total $9 billion by the time the Joint Warfighting Cloud...

Embedded in Clippy&#39;s Source Code: Letters &#39;TFC&#39;
Embedded in Clippy's
Source Code: Letters 'TFC'
longform
Aug 30, 2022 8:47 AM CDT

Embedded in Clippy's Source Code: Letters 'TFC'

It's a reference to a NSFW nickname within Microsoft during its development

(Newser) - Poor Clippy. The much-maligned paper-clip icon that Microsoft rolled out in the 1990s didn't get much love within the company itself during development. As an entertaining story at Seattle Met recounts, the internal nickname for the animated helper was "the f---ing clown." It stemmed in no small...

Netflix Has More News on Ad-Supported Tier

It's teaming up with Microsoft for the lower-cost option

(Newser) - The move Netflix long resisted is getting closer and closer: After announcing in April that it was considering adding a lower-priced, ad-supported subscription tier, the streaming company announced Wednesday that it is teaming with Microsoft to make that idea a reality, Deadline reports. "Today we are pleased to announce...

Goodbye, Internet Explorer, We Hardly Liked Ye

Microsoft stops supporting the once-dominant browser today

(Newser) - Internet Explorer is finally headed out to pasture. As of Wednesday, Microsoft will no longer support the once-dominant browser that legions of web surfers loved to hate—and a few still claim to adore, per the AP . The 27-year-old application now joins BlackBerry phones, dial-up modems, and Palm Pilots in...

Modern Workers, Welcome to the 'Triple Peak Day'

Microsoft detects surge of activity at about 9pm

(Newser) - Once upon a time, white-collar workers went to the office and had two predictable peaks of productivity—just before lunch and just after lunch. Two years after the pandemic upended our world, Microsoft has detected a third burst of activity, this time at night. In a blog post , its researchers...

Microsoft CEO&#39;s Son Dies at 26
Microsoft CEO's
Son Dead at 26
Mar 2, 2022 12:30 AM CST

Microsoft CEO's Son Dead at 26

Zain Nadella had cerebral palsy

(Newser) - Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's young adult son died Monday, the company announced in an email to executive staff later confirmed by news outlets. Zain Nadella, who was 26, was born with cerebral palsy and needed care throughout his life, People reports. His parents, Satya and wife Anu, are grieving,...

Microsoft Goes Shopping, Will Be No. 3 Gaming Company

At least by revenue; firm is buying Activision Blizzard

(Newser) - Microsoft is buying the gaming company Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, gaining access to blockbuster games like Call of Duty and Candy Crush. The all-cash deal will let Microsoft, maker of the Xbox gaming system, accelerate mobile gaming and provide building blocks for the metaverse, or a virtual environment,...

This Year's Stock Market Rise Has a Potential Hitch

It hinges on 5 big stocks, which makes investors worried

(Newser) - If your 401(k) has done well in 2021, a Goldman Sachs analysis points to five key reasons:
  • Apple
  • Microsoft
  • Nvidia
  • Alphabet (Google)
  • Tesla

Profits at Google's Parent Firm Jump 68%

Rebound in digital ad spending meant big bucks for Alphabet

(Newser) - A continued rebound in digital ad spending at Google drove its parent company's profit up 68% in the third quarter. Alphabet Inc. said Tuesday that it earned $18.94 billion, or $27.99 per share, in the July-September period. Revenue rose 41% to $65.12 billion, more than $1....

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