Silicon UK Pulse: Your Tech News Update: Episode 15
Welcome to Silicon UK Pulse – your roundup of the latest tech news and developments impacting your business for the week ending 25/08/2023.
Welcome to Silicon UK Pulse
This is your weekly round-up of the top tech news stories.
Every Friday, Silicon UK surveys the week’s tech news.
Stay up-to-date with what’s happening in your industry or sector.
I’m James Marriott with all the big technology news from the last week.
Welcome to Silicon UK Pulse
I’m James Marriott with all the big technology news from the last week.
Microsoft’s made a major concession as it bids to finally win UK approval for its takeover of games maker Activision Blizzard.
It’s restructured some parts of the deal to try to appease the Competition and Markets Authority, or CMA, which is the world’s last remaining regulator opposing the acquisition.
Now it is all a little complex, unsurprisingly, but the changes mean Microsoft wouldn’t obtain all the cloud rights for some existing games over the next 15 years.
The CMA is now due to reach a decision on the new proposal by mid-October.
Meanwhile US games company Rocket Science Corporation has announced its new European HQ will be in Wales.
It’ll employ over 50 people there.
The firm has worked on big titles, including Call of Duty and Fortnite.
The Cardiff office will join its existing studios in New York and Austin in Texas.
PayPal has revealed it plans to stop British users from buying Cryptocurrencies.
It’s described as a ‘temporary pause’ – beginning on the 1st of October and running until early 2024.
The decision comes as the UK’s financial regulator, the FCA, is expected to introduce stricter rules for crypto, including how it’s promoted or advertised, from September.
A council in the UK has been hit by a suspected cyberattack.
St Helen’s Council has launched an investigation into what looks to be a ransomware incident.
It says services through its website are still working but some internal systems have been affected.
Now, you remember Threads, right?
The Meta rival to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
It launched to a big fan fare but has since seen traffic dwindle.
Now, Threads is launching a web app, in the hope to attract users back to the platform.
It follows several updates to the smartphone app to introduce a raft of new features.
Speaking of X – Elon Musk has announced plans to remove the option to block other users.
He says the feature ‘makes no sense’ – instead suggesting that people should use the ‘mute’ function instead.
But – we will still be able to stop people from sending us private messages.
Plenty of people posted on the platform itself to oppose the idea, saying it would make it difficult to remove abusive or offensive content from their timelines.
The other big X news this week surrounds how news links appear on the platform.
Elon Musk has personally ordered a change that could impact news publishers
Essentially X will no longer display headlines and other text from news links – instead only showing the main image and limiting a user’s ability to see the contents before clicking.
Musk posted to say it was his idea and would ‘greatly improve aesthetics.’
A pioneering ship set sail on its maiden journey this week.
It’s fitted with huge British-designed sails, which are designed to cut fuel consumption and bring down the carbon footprint of the shipping industry.
The 37.5-metre WindWings were designed by BAR Technologies and are projected to be able to cut cargo vessels’ fuel expenditure by up to 30%.
Busy week in space!
India successfully landed a spacecraft near the south pole of the Moon.
It took six weeks for them to reach it.
That came days after a Russian moon landing mission ended in disaster.
Its spacecraft span out of control and crashed into the lunar surface.
It was Russia’s first Moon mission since 1976.
We talk about fancy new tech here, so here’s some slightly more traditional technology news.
BT’s planning to scrap a couple of old red phone boxes in Dorset.
It says one was only used six times in the past year and the other one 29 times.
And the voice of Nintendo’s famous Mario character is to sep down from the role after 27 years.
Charles Martinet took on the job of voicing everyone’s favourite Italian Plumber in 1996.
He is staying on as a Nintendo ‘ambassador’, though.
No word yet on a replacement, although if you’re listening to Nintendo – I do a mean Italian accent – the door is open!
