Kevin Costner reportedly quits Yellowstone, capping months of feuds
Season 5 will supposedly be Costner’s last on the show
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Season 5 will supposedly be Costner’s last on the show
A defamation case brought against Tesla chief executive Elon Musk by critic Randeep Hothi is coming to a close, reportedly costing the billionaire ten big ones. Lawyers representing Hothi, a vocal member of the TSLAQ short-seller community on Twitter, said in a statement that Musk asked to settle the nearly three-year-old case back in March. […]
Elon Musk reportedly settles defamation suit after saying he’d never ‘surrender an unjust case’ by Harri Weber originally published on TechCrunch
Apple is reportedly working on its most significant software overhaul to watchOS in recent memory. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company is redesigning the Apple Watch’s user interface to make widgets a “central part” of how you will interact with the wearable. In describing the new UI, Gurman says it brings back elements of the Glances system that was part of the original watchOS while borrowing the “style” of widgets Apple introduced alongside iOS 14 last year.
He adds the new interface will be “reminiscent” of the Siri watch face that the company introduced with watchOS 4 in 2017 but will function as an overlay for whatever watch face you wish to use. “It’s also similar to widget stacks,” Gurman adds, referencing the iOS feature that allows you to scroll through widgets you’ve placed on top of one another.
https://t.co/2UFGI17khPhttps://t.co/uCw0TO072wpic.twitter.com/RTSyWLCirl
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) April 30, 2023
Simultaneously, Apple is reportedly testing a tweak to the Apple Watch’s physical buttons. With the interface redesign, pressing down on the digital crown could launch the operating system’s new widgets view instead of taking you to the home screen like the dial currently does with watchOS 9.
With the likelihood that the redesign will be jarring for some, Gurman speculates Apple plans to make the new interface optional at first. Additionally, he suggests the overhaul is an admission that an iPhone-like app experience “doesn’t always make sense on a watch – a place where you want as much information as possible with the least amount of poking around.” With WWDC 2023 a little more than a month away, it won’t be long before Apple shares more information about what Watch users can expect from its wearable’s next big software update.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-is-reportedly-redesigning-watchos-around-widgets-162720331.html?src=rss
Apple devices can already offer health insights, but they might soon tell you just how to improve. Bloombergsources claim Apple is developing an AI-based health coach, nicknamed Quartz, that draws on Apple Watch data to create personalized programs for exercise, diet and sleep. The offering will reportedly require a subscription and launch sometime in 2024, provided nothing changes.
In the near term, the Health app may become more useful. Apple is finally bringing Health to the iPad with this year’s iPadOS 17 release, the insiders say. A further update will supposedly help you track your mood by answering questions about your day. You may also use Health to manage vision issues like nearsightedness. A recent rumor also hinted that Apple may release a journaling app to help document your days, much like Day One.
Apple has already declined to comment. If the claims are accurate, you’ll most likely hear about all but the coach at WWDC on June 5th. The company is expected to unveil its long-expected mixed reality headset at the developer event, and rumors suggest the wearable may offer health-related features like a VR edition of Fitness+ and a meditation tool. This initial product would be aimed at developers and power users, but a more affordable follow-up is believed to be in the works.
A coaching app wouldn’t be shocking. Apple is still leaning heavily on services to improve its bottom line, and Quartz may be appealing to those who would otherwise pay for a human coach to rethink their habits. Apple has already made health a major selling point for its devices, particularly the Apple Watch. Of course, the coach could further entrench Apple users — you may be less likely to switch to Android if you have to give up your watch and digital trainer at the same time.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-is-reportedly-developing-an-ai-health-coach-for-apple-watch-212515646.html?src=rss
Microsoft has agreed to stop bundling its Teams remote collaboration software with its Office productivity suite, according toFinancial Times. The company’s move attempts to head off an official EU antitrust investigation as it deals with its most significant regulatory concerns in over a decade.
FT’s sources say companies will eventually be able to buy Office with or without Teams installed, “but the mechanism on how to do this remains unclear.” Talks with EU regulators are reportedly ongoing, and “a deal is not certain.” Microsoft told FT, “We are mindful of our responsibilities in the EU as a major technology company. We continue to engage cooperatively with the commission in its investigation and are open to pragmatic solutions that address its concerns and serve customers well.”
Competing remote-work platform Slack, now owned by Salesforce, complained to EU regulators in 2020, asking officials to make Microsoft sell Teams separately from its ubiquitous Office suite. Slack’s general counsel said at the time, “We’re asking the EU to be a neutral referee, examine the facts and enforce the law.”
Microsoft is facing its first regulatory issues in a decade. The company agreed to a settlement with the European Commission in 2009, agreeing to offer European customers a choice of web browsers; it was then fined €561 million in 2013 for failing to adhere to that consistently. Of course, its most famous antitrust shakeup came around the turn of the millennium when it was initially forced to break up into two companies, a ruling later overturned by an appeals court. Microsoft and the DOJ settled in 2001, agreeing to restrictions like sharing APIs with third-party developers and letting PC manufacturers install non-Microsoft software on their products.
In recent months, the company has been scrambling to receive regulatory approval for its planned $69 billion purchase of game publisher Activision Blizzard. The company is reportedly expected to receive a green light from the EU and UK, and it has until July to appease the US Federal Trade Commission. Microsoft offered 10-year legal agreements to provide Call of Duty on Nintendo consoles and cloud-streaming platform Boosteroid to help ease those concerns. Sony reportedly declined a similar offer.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-will-reportedly-unbundle-teams-from-office-to-avoid-antitrust-concerns-183139403.html?src=rss
Blizzard Entertainment is reportedly being sued by former Chinese publishing partner NetEase after servers shutdown in January when the two failed to reach a continuation agreement. NetEase is seeking ¥300 million Yuan (roughly $43.5 million) in damages, which the company says will be put toward issuing refunds for discontinued games and recouping investments from unsold merchandise inventory.
The suit has multiple components. NetEase says Blizzard was supposed to handle customer refunds with regard to discontinued games and that it got stuck with the bill. NetEase also alleges that the original contract was worded in such a way as to grant Blizzard “unequal terms and conditions” in favor of the publisher’s “unilateral rights,” as reported and translated by MMO-focused gaming website Wowhead. A representative from Blizzard’s parent company Activision told Engadget that it has yet to see any formal paperwork announcing the lawsuit and said that NetEase is “contractually responsible” for refunds and anything else that falls under the “operations” umbrella.
NetEase also alleges that it provided Blizzard with a large advance to make future titles. The Chinese developer says that not only were these titles never finished or released, but that Blizzard never returned any of the seed money. Again, Activision had no comment as it has not seen the suit.
Blizzard and NetEase were successful partners for the past 14 years before negotiations broke down to renew the long-term licensing agreement. This led to a complete cessation of all Blizzard games and services in the region, including popular properties like World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2, Starcraft and Diablo III, among others. Millions of Chinese players lost access to their accounts and related data. Some started fresh with new accounts in other regions, but most (112 million people) opted for a refund.
The agreement did not end amicably, with reports of NetEase staffers tearing down the Blizzard offices and livestreaming the destruction of a World of Warcraft statue. NetEase’s president of global investment and partnership, Simon Zhu, also seemed to call out a high-ranking Blizzard staffer as a “jerk” in a LinkedIn post. Now there’s an alleged lawsuit to add even more fuel to the fire. This is a developing story so we will update this post when and if Activision/Blizzard receives a copy of the lawsuit.
Update, 4/24/23, 3:30PM ET: This story and its headline have been updated to indicate that this lawsuit hasn’t been confirmed yet, as Activision itself nor Engadget has seen a copy of the lawsuit yet.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/blizzard-sued-by-former-chinese-partner-after-messy-breakup-175023726.html?src=rss
UK-based semiconductor design company Arm is reportedly looking to team up with manufacturing partners to develop its own prototype semiconductor, targeted for use in mobile devices, laptops and other electronics.
The prototype chips are meant to showcase advances that the company is making, in an attempt to increase the company’s value and attract new customers ahead of its expected IPO later this year, according to a report in the Financial Times, citing multiple sources at the company
Arm has created a new solutions engineering team to lead the development of the new prototype chips, according to the report. The team will be headed up by Kevork Kechichian, who joined Arm in February and who previously oversaw the development of the Snapdragon chip at Qualcomm.