Monthly Archives: September 2022

The EU wants to enforce better phone battery life and spare parts

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The European Commission is seeking to improve phone and tablet battery life and spare parts availability. In draft proposals published this week, European regulators are planning to force phone manufacturers to supply at least 15 different parts to professional repairers for five years after a device first goes…

Microsoft pleads for its Activision Blizzard deal as UK regulator signals in-depth review

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is publicly pleading for its Activision Blizzard deal to go ahead, just as the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has expressed concerns. Microsoft surprised the gaming world earlier this year with its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion deal, by far the biggest ever in gaming. Now regulators…

Learnsoft bags first external financing to expand its corporate upskilling platform

In the corporate sector, upskilling (teaching employees additional skills) and reskilling (training employees on an entirely different set of skills in preparation for a new role) are being prioritized across whole organizations, with much of the interest driven by various pandemic-fueled resignations and a desperate need to retain top talent. One recent report from the…

Alloy leans on fraud prevention to land new $1.55B valuation

When Alloy was founded in 2015, its mission was to help banks and fintechs make better identity and risk decisions using its single API service and SaaS offering.  Since that time, the startup has evolved that offering to not only automate onboarding identity decisions but to also automate transaction monitoring and credit underwriting. And today,…

Software giants may use eco projects as a cover for price rises

If you’re using dedicated collaboration software or productivity software for your business, chances are you’ll be paying a third-party to supply it. A new Gartner analysis suggests that significant price increases could be on the way, citing eco projects as a key contributor. Over the next 36 months, software as a service (SaaS) vendors are…

The US helped Ukraine plan its long-awaited counteroffensive, which has pushed back Russia after a lengthy stalemate, report says

Volunteer Ukrainian soldiers training outside Kyiv on August 27, 2022. AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko The US helped Ukraine plan its counteroffensive against Russia, sources told CNN. This reportedly included encouraging Ukraine to limit the operation’s scope so it wouldn’t get overwhelmed. It also ran through multiple scenarios with Ukraine to see how many troops were needed,…

The US wants to seize a $45 million jet owned by a Russian oil giant after it violated sanctions by flying ‘into and out of Russia’

A Boeing 737-7EM similar to the jet owned by Russian oil giant Lukoil Getty Images US officials have been granted permission to seize a $45 million jet owned by a Russian oil giant. The Boeing, owned by Lukoil, violated sanctions by flying into and out of Russia, per the DoJ. The plane is believed to…