By Partner Content Do you use YouTube to enjoy your favourite music? If so, you might want to save…
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Microsoft is creating a new engineering group focused on artificial intelligence: Core AI — Platform and Tools. The group combines the company’s Developer Division with the AI Platforms work teams and some employees who previously reported to Microsoft’s CTO. According to The Verge, the group will be led by Jay Parikh, the former CTO at Meta and who joined Microsoft in October 2024.

Core AI — Platform and Tools will focus on building an AI platform and tools for both Microsoft’s own use and for the company’s customers. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote in a blog post that AI will require a record-breaking pace of development, which means Microsoft needs an AI-focused application stack to build AI apps and tools in the future.

“In this world, Azure must become the infrastructure for AI, while we build our AI platform and developer tools — spanning Azure AI Foundry, GitHub, and VS Code — on top of it,” Nadella said. “In other words, our AI platform and tools will work together to create agents, and these agents will work together to transform every category of SaaS application, and to build custom applications powered by software (i.e. ‘service as software’).”

Source:: Computer World

Save me from rich, white men who insist they and their kind are being discriminated against. Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, majority owner (not the founder) of SpaceX, Tesla, and numerous other leading companies, insists that “DEI [Diversity, equity, and inclusion] is just another word for racism.” He screams, “DEI must DIE. The point was to end discrimination, not replace it with different discrimination.” 

Really? I’m an older, relatively well-off, straight white man, and I know darn well that I owe a lot of my success to the fact that, except for my age, everything in the US economy has been set up to benefit me. 

In baseball terms, I started the game on first base. Black men have to get a hit to get on base. Black women step to home plate for their at-bat with two strikes against them. 

Musk and his ilk? He grew up with a millionaire, emerald-mine-owning father in South Africa and started on third base.

It used to be worse in this country. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, while the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 laid the groundwork for equal employment opportunities and non-discrimination in the workplace.

The laws were one thing. Making it a workplace reality was another. 

Over the next few decades, dedicated diversity professionals began emerging within organizations, often holding titles like Chief Diversity Officer. As businesses became more diverse, companies also started recognizing that diversity is good for business.

While DEI is also about basic fairness, it turns out that businesses that adopt it tend to do better than their rivals. Don’t believe me? How about Goldman Sachs — would you believe it? 

The global investment banking giant decided not to take companies public without diverse board representation in 2000. The financial powerhouse did so because evidence showed that companies with diverse boards outperformed those with all-male boards. Specifically, Goldman Sachs noted that companies with at least one woman on their board performed significantly better in their IPOs than those without women. Since then, the company has increased its minimum number of women board members to two. The company has also continued to support black women business owners for solid business reasons, not warm fuzzy feelings. 

This is nothing new. In 2012, the global management company McKinsey found that US companies with diverse boards had a 95% higher return on equity. 

Get the picture? DEI helps businesses do well, and the results are right there in the balance sheets.

Facts, even accounting facts, count for little as American technology leaders bow to Donald Trump. For some, like Musk and Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, it’s all about rising to power on the right-wing wave. For others, it’s simply about preserving their billions. Preserving the gains of blacks, gays, older workers — whoever — is not on their priority list.

So, Amazon has halted some of its DEI programs, Meta is killing them, and Microsoft has quietly shuttered its DEI efforts. While this trend has become more obvious since Donald J. Trump won the 2024 election, it’s been coming for a while now. Google and Meta have both shut their doors to diverse employees since 2023.

That year, the Supreme Court’s Trump-friendly majority struck down affirmative action in college admissions. That decision prompted Republican activists and some state attorneys general to target corporate DEI initiatives as discriminatory. Given a choice between fighting a political battle and quietly shutting down their diversity efforts, all too many businesses have folded their DEI tents.

Others, such as Meta — where Zuck is suffering from a middle-aged crisis with his gold chain, newly curled hair, and sudden weird fascination with “masculine energy” — appear to be on their way to getting rid of their existing diverse workforce. He says he wants to “move out low performers faster.” I expect the upcoming 5% cut to come mostly from people of color, older workers, and LGBTQ+ staffers. 

You get the picture.

What it all comes down to is that if you’re not a straight white guy, the job market is going to become a lot harder for you. As for companies? They’ll suffer as well. I fear, though, that we’re stuck with this trend until cold, hard financial facts convince corporate leadership that right-wing politics leads to poor business decisions. 

Source:: Computer World

By Partner Content Tracking a phone number is easier than ever, and you don’t need to be a tech…
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By Siôn Geschwindt Australian-German startup Quantum Brilliance has raised $20mn in Series A funding as it looks to deploy small, portable quantum accelerators that promise to supercharge the computational power of everything from data centres and robots to satellites. A quantum accelerator is a specialised hardware unit that speeds up specific quantum algorithms, or tasks. They act as co-processors to classical computers, such as CPUs or GPUs, taking on specific quantum calculations.   Austrian deep tech fund Main Sequence, In-Q-Tel (IQT) in the US, and Japan’s Intervalley Ventures led the funding round. “It represents a significant step forward as we advance the design, performance,…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Thomas Macaulay TNW Conference will be born again this summer. Over 18 years of unforgettable events, countless future tech stars have used our stage as a springboard to success. We’ve driven vast investments, showcased endless innovations, and made friends along the way. We’ve also learnt from our mistakes. But don’t worry, fellow kids — we’re not getting old yet. We’re still mixing serious business with festival vibes. We are, however, shaking the party up a bit. To celebrate our coming of age, we’re going back to our roots. Today, we’re relaunching TNW Conference with a renewed focus on our founding mission: elevating…This story continues at The Next Web

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By Deepti Pathak Getting lost in Minecraft can be frustrating, especially when you’ve been exploring. Making a map lets…
The post How to Make a Map in Minecraft? appeared first on Fossbytes.

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Enterprise computers are often the ugly ducklings of the PC world, viewed as dull, slow and less feature-rich than their consumer counterparts. But vendors at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show launched a selection of business machines (alongside their consumer offerings) hoping to capitalize on the rise of generative AI (genAI). 

Despite the focus on AI PCs or Copilot+ PCs, analysts said the vendors might be a bit ahead of the market.

“I liken it to the dot.com era,” said Tom Butler, executive director of portfolio and product management for Lenovo’s worldwide commercial notebook business. “…When the dot.com era kicked off, companies immediately said, ‘I need a dot.com instance.’ …So, it’s very much like that right now. Companies, as we move into this AI PC era, [say] ‘I need an AI PC.’”

Here’s a look at some of the noteworthy business PCs announced at CES 2025 and analysis of whether vendors are hitting the mark for enterprise customers.

Asus

In addition to its Zenbook and Republic of Gamers (ROG) offerings, Asus unveiled the enterprise-focused ExpertBook B5, ExpertBook B3, ExpertCenter P400 AiO, and ExpertCenter P500. Although they’re not Copilot+ PCs (their neural processing unit (NPU) isn’t powerful enough), they qualify as AI PCs; both B5 and B3 laptops include Intel vPro for manageability and have passed the MIL-STD 810H durability tests. Neither is super light, tipping the scales at about 3 pounds.

The B5 supports up to 64GB of RAM and up to a 2TB SSD with RAID support, has an all-metal design, 16-in. screen, and security features including a fingerprint reader, facial recognition, and a smart card reader. 

The B3 has either a 14-in. or 16-in. display, supports up to 64GB of RAM and up to 1TB storage in dual SSDs. And it offers a variety of ports — USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, and even an Ethernet port. (The B5 lacks Ethernet, unless you have a USB dongle.)

On the desktop side, the ExpertCenter AiO (all-in-one) comes in two models, one with a 27-in. display, the other with a 24-in. screen. The P500 is a mini tower supporting up to 64GB of RAM and up to 4TB storage on one SSD and one hard drive. 

Dell

While Dell’s rebranding plans, announced at CES, might be a bit perplexing, the company did introduce several new Dell Pro models “designed for professional-grade productivity.” They come in several flavors: Base, Plus, and Premium, and all qualify as Copilot+ PCs, based on their specs.

At the Base level, there are the Dell Pro 14 and Dell Pro 16, designed to “deliver essential performance for everyday productivity,” Dell said. They feature Intel Core Ultra 5 processors, 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and screen resolution of 1920×1200 pixels. 

The company also announced Dell Pro desktops, powered by either Intel or AMD processors, available in micro, slim, and tower form factors. They are, Dell said, the company’s first commercial desktops with NPUs.

One step up are the Dell Pro 13/14/16 Plus, with up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. They come in laptop or 2-in-1 form factors and use the same system BIOS to make ordering and management easier for IT departments. Dell claims up to 18.2 hours of battery life for the Pro 14 Plus, and 12.6 hours for the Pro 16 Plus.

At the top of the heap are the Dell Pro 13/14 Premium models. They’re the slimmest and lightest member sof the Pro portfolio, starting at 2.36 pounds. The Dell Pro 13 Premium offers up to 20.8 hours of battery life; the Pro 14 Premium provides up to 21.2 hours. Each can be ordered with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, up to 32GB RAM and up to 1TB of storage. 

HP

HP’s EliteBook line expanded with the company’s announcement of a trio of Copilot+ PCs. The HP EliteBook Ultra G1i Next Gen AI PC is, HP said, designed for executives, with its 14-in. UWVA OLED screen on the Intel-powered model. (The Qualcomm model offers WLED screen technology.) They can have up to 32GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage for the Intel version, or 1TB of storage for the Qualcomm version. HP touted “studio quality” microphones and a 9-megapixel camera for high quality video calls.

The HP EliteBook X Flip G1i Next Gen AI PC has multiple use modes, including laptop, tablet, and tent configurations, with up to 32GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage. Like the Ultra G1i, it has a 14-in. screen, although touch comes standard (it’s an option on the G1i) and it’s a WLED display, not OLED. 

The HP EliteBook X G1i Next Gen AI PC is powered by either Intel or AMD chips. The Intel model can hold up to 32GB of RAM; the AMD version offers up to 64GB. Both models can have up to 2TB of storage.

The EliteBook X machines will be available in March, with HP saying only that the Ultra G1i is “coming soon.”

Lenovo

Lenovo launched an impressive array of devices, and the two models specifically aimed at businesses both contained surprises.

The ThinkPad X9 14- and 15-in. Aura Editions are sleek, thin and light notebooks tested to meet MIL-SPEC 810H standards. Lenovo claims all-day battery life,and says the machines are designed to allow easy servicing of the battery and SSD. They offer up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

One thing, however, is missing: the X9 is the first ThinkPad to forego the trackstick. Lenovo hastened to note that it’s just for this model — other ThinkPads will continue to have the trademark red nub in the middle of their keyboards.

Two years ago, Lenovo showcased a laptop concept with a rollable screen; this year, that concept became a reality. The ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable’s 14-in screen expands upwards at the touch of a button, growing to 16.7 inches and providing 50% more screen space. As with the other new models, it offers up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

It is not a budget-friendly device, though; prices start at $3,500.

AI a gimmick?

As for whether these systems meet enterprise needs, analysts weighed in on what they’re seeing in the current PC market — and they were somewhat dismissive of the AI hype.

“Current AI features are over-hyped and largely invisible or are seen as ‘that’s nice to have’ to business unless the users are proactive in finding more detailed features,” said Ranjit Atwal, senior director analyst at Gartner. “All in all, businesses are unlikely to pay more than 5% above normal prices for an AI PC.”

“I think the AI laptops are a gimmick for the most part, efforts by the OEMs to stay relevant and bottle lightning if they can,” said Jeremy Roberts, senior research director at Info-Tech Research Group. “I have yet to have any of my enterprise or mid-market clients profess to be excited or tell me they’re changing their refresh cycle or anything to incorporate AI features at the PC level.”

IDC’s Ryan Reith, group vice president, Worldwide Device Trackers, said he saw some interest in AI PCs early in 2024, but noted it has since waned.

“What we gathered throughout most of last year, especially  around the middle of the year, is that large enterprises and most developed markets around the world were allocating budget for these genAI PCs,” Reith said. That enthusiasm declined in the second part of 2024 amid concerns that Microsoft and its partners had not delivered on expectations.

What’s important to enterprises

According to Roberts, genAI features have not excited the enterprises he deals with. “Things that excite enterprises are Autopilot compatibility for seamless deployment, TPM chips for encryption, specialized screens to limit viewing angles, decently powerful CPUs/GPUs depending on the use case, and repairability,” he said. 

“I don’t think AI features even make the top 10,” Roberts said. “Most organizations won’t be consuming AI features locally anyway — they’ll use cloud services like CoPilot or Gemini.”

Reith cited feedback from the head of commercial sales for a large OEM who said with tightened budgets and uncertainly about what can be achieved with genAI PCs, companies are shifting their spending to mid-range computers. They don’t qualify as Copilot+ devices, but are still very good PCs.

“If you get 200 PCs at a mainstream level, as opposed to 50 at a premium level, they’re going more towards the 200,” he said.

Roberts agreed: “Modern laptops are generally more than capable of handling the typical knowledge worker’s day-to-day. A Dell Latitude 5000 or 7000 (Dell Pro now?) series or a run-of-the-mill ThinkPad from Lenovo won’t struggle with Slack, Teams, or PowerPoint.”

As for what corporate users want, size and weight are often key, Reith said — and companies are now listening to their employees rather than choosing what they think they want.

 “The thin and light PCs are the trend,” Atwal said, adding, “businesses essentially want to future proof their PCs with AI capabilities so [want to] have them include an NPU.”

Lenovo’s Butler said the configuration sweet spot has shifted; it’s now 32GB of memory and a minimum 512GB of storage. And screen sizes have edged up.

“Most business laptops are in the 14- to 16-in. range,” said Roberts. “Anything smaller is quite cramped. Anything larger can be cumbersome to lug around — not to mention more expensive.”

Whither AI PCs, then?

Reith and Roberts differ on the fate of the AI PC/Copilot+ PC.

“AI PCs are a solution looking for a problem,” Roberts argued. “Most end user computing managers won’t be swayed by this branding and additional feature set. … AI will continue to be delivered primarily via the cloud. I expect the CoPilot+ PC will go the way of the Ultrabook: branding attached to computers that are only marginally relevant to the people who buy and use them.”

Reith, however, believes it’s more an issue of timing. “There’s a necessity to have on-device AI,” he said. “It’s just getting pushed forward a little bit to when that inflection point really starts to kick in.

“…I’m trying to use my words cautiously, because we do not believe that this is dead in the water. It was a good chance that then passed. It’s just that the timing was really bad, which no one could have predicted. … But nobody’s really backing off of the developments. Supply side is now just shifting some of their business plans around products. 

“…Whatever we thought was going to be the genAI PC volume in 2025, it’ll be slightly less than that, in our opinion,” Reith said. “But a lot of that will just get pushed forward to a ramp up that’s maybe more towards the end of this year, and certainly into 2026.”

Source:: Computer World

Smart glasses attracted a lot of attention at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show, with a range of devices on display that combine lightweight frames with functionality such as heads-up displays and AI-powered assistants. 

These contrast with the mixed-reality headsets that created a buzz early in 2024, including Meta’s Quest 3 and Apple’s Vision Pro – both of which are much heavier devices designed for shorter periods of use.

Apple’s Vision Pro headset captured a lot of attention in 2024, but lighter-weight smart glasses were the rage at CES 2025.JLStock / Shutterstock

“This year, the focus definitely seemed to be more on smart glasses than on headsets, in part because the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses were a huge hit last year,” said Avi Greengart, president and lead analyst at Techsponential. 

Smart glasses require “purposeful compromise,” when it comes to balancing functionality with a lightweight form factor, and “different vendors are making different decisions,” to achieve this, said Greengart. 

Halliday’s smart glasses, for example, project text and images  directly into the wearer’s field of view. This is perceived as a 3.5-in. screen that appears in the upper-right corner of the user’s view, and remains visible even in bright sunlight, Halliday claims. A “proactive” AI assistant — which requires a Bluetooth connection to a smartphone —  enables features such as real-time translation in up to 40 languages, live navigation for directions, and teleprompter-style display of notes. 

Halliday’s smart glasses come in three different colors.
Halliday

At 1.2 ounces, they’re even lighter than Meta’s glasses (which at 1.7 ounces are only marginally heavierthan regular Ray-Bans). Halliday’s smart glasses are available for preorder for $489, with shipping expected to begin at the end of the first quarter of this year. 

Even Realities also offers a minimalist take with its G1 smart glasses, which start at $599. These include a micro-LED projector that beams a heads-up display onto each lens, while an AI assistant enables live translation and navigation when paired with a smartphone. 

Another vendor in the space, Rokid, recently announced its Glasses, a  lightweight (1.7 ounces) aimed at continuous use through the day. In addition to a simple green text display and intelligent assistant, Rokid’s device also packs a 12-megapixel camera for image and video capture into the frames.

Nuance Audio — owned by Meta’s Ray-Ban partner, EssilorLuxottica — has an even more focused product: glasses that integrate a hearing aid into the frames. “When you need a bit more help hearing someone, you turn them on and the glasses amplify the sound of the person you are looking at and direct it to speakers on the glasses stems that are aimed at your ears,” said Greengart.

Meta is rumored to be have an updated version of its Ray-Ban devices slated for release later this year. They his will reportedly feature a simple display to show notifications and responses from Meta’s AI assistant. Meta has sold more than a million Ray-Ban smart glasses to date, according to Counterpoint Research stats. 

“Most of these glasses are ones that I wouldn’t mind wearing out in public,” said Ramon Llamas, research director with IDC’s devices and displays team. “We’re finally seeing designs that look and feel less bulky, and we’re getting into a bunch of styles instead of the usual wayfarer design.” 

Other glasses, such as Xreal’s One Pro and TCL’s RayNeo X2 (marketed as “augmented reality” rather than “smart” glasses), are heftier and act as a portable display, with the ability to watch videos and access apps when tethered to a laptop or smartphone.

Although demand for smart glasses is still in its infancy, shipments are expected to see a compound annual growth rate of 85.7% through to 2028, according to recent IDC stats. These “extended reality” devices will soon be the second largest category within the broader AR/VR market, IDC predicts, with several million devices sold each year. 

Mixed reality headsets – such as Apple’s Vision Pro and Meta’s Quest products – will continue to account for the largest share of the AR/VR market, according to IDC, with extended reality smart glasses in second place.
IDC

Though many of the devices shown at CES are largely aimed at consumers, some smart glasses are also being tailored to enterprise customers (Vuzix being an example). 

As the technology matures, Llamas sees a growing range of business use cases for smart glasses: capturing visual information hands-free, for instance, or live translation, which could also be useful for business travelers. 

“This is where having access to business apps can help, especially if you can speak into those apps to execute a task and the smart glasses can handle that,” said Llamas. “I think we’re still a ways off from that actually taking place, so for now, expect smart glasses to be mostly within the realm of consumers — specifically tech enthusiasts and cognoscenti.”

Source:: Computer World

By Siôn Geschwindt Coming from South Africa but living in Europe, I can tell you that sending money to family and friends back home is a bit of a nightmare. Typically you must use a traditional bank, which can take a week or more, or payment apps like PayPal or Wise, which charge high fees.  The antiquated nature of remittance payments is something that immigrants are all too familiar with. Demand for better alternatives is giving rise to a new cohort of fintech companies looking to streamline the process. One of them is London-headquartered LemFi. Founded in 2021, the financial services platform enables…This story continues at The Next WebOr just read more coverage about: Fintech

Source:: The Next Web

By Deepti Pathak Making paper in Minecraft is essential for crafting many items, like books, maps, and fireworks. It’s…
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By Kirstie McDermott More than half of knowledge workers now use generative AI weekly, according to a recent piece of research from Asana’s Work Innovation Lab, in partnership with Anthropic. The study also found that takeup ramped up by 44% over nine months in 2024. And those who use AI daily benefit most. Eighty-nine percent reported a productivity boost, whereas casual monthly users only saw a 39% increase in productivity. The report also found that knowledge workers believe generative AI has the potential to automate 31% of their job responsibilities. And the more ways they use AI tools at work, the more possibilities…This story continues at The Next Web

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By Deepti Pathak Blox Fruits is one of the most popular games on Roblox. It offers players an expansive…
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By Siôn Geschwindt Eindhoven-based startup Photon IP has raised €4.75mn in seed funding as it looks to scale up its unique method for creating energy-efficient photonic chips.   AI systems, data centres, fibre-optic networks, and even some sensors rely on photonic chips to send and receive information using light. These chips are a big deal because they’re faster and use less energy than typical semiconductors, which transfer data through electricity.  But to make these high-performance, light-speed chips you need special compounds called III-V materials, such as indium phosphide.  “These materials are relatively scarce and expensive though, so the industry has been looking at ways of…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

Microsoft plans to force-install its new Outlook client on Windows 10 computers in conjunction with a new security update being released Feb. 11, according to Bleeping Computer.

The change affects Microsoft 365 users and the new Outlook client will run alongside the classic Outlook app. It will not change a user’s default settings or any configurations.

Microsoft says that while it’s not possible for Windows 10 users to block the installation, it is possible to remove the application afterwards.

Source:: Computer World

By Siôn Geschwindt In 2018, after decades of research and tens of millions in funding, Russian astronauts attached a wildlife-tracking receiver to the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS). The device received data from tagged animals across the planet and beamed it to a ground station in Moscow. From there, it went to an open-source database called Movebank.  The space tracker was the final piece of the puzzle for the ICARUS project, an international effort led by German biologist Martin Wikelski to track the migratory patterns of wildlife from space. It was a game-changer for conservationists, who could monitor the journeys of…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

On the day the UK government confirms an AI future for the country (we’ll see how that goes), Apple’s App Store pricing model has gone on trial in London.

Apple is accused of overcharging consumers for software sold via the App Store in a £1.5 billion class-action lawsuit bought by Rachael Kent-Aitken on behalf of 20 million UK consumers. (That equates to about $1.8 billion in US dollars.)

She’s chasing down Cupertino, claiming it is abusing its market dominance by levying up to a 30% fee on download sales, calling the levy “excessive and unfair.”

The trial began today before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal. The lawyers at Hausfeld represent Kent-Aitken in the case, the costs of which appear to be underwritten (if that’s the appropriate word) by Vannin Capital.

What is Apple accused of?

The accusation is that Apple abused its dominant position by:

Imposing restrictive terms that require app developers to distribute exclusively via the App Store using Apple’s payments system.

Charging excessive and unfair prices in the form of commission payments, which are ultimately paid by the device users.

Apple, of course, calls the claims “meritless,” pointing to the fact that the vast majority of developers do not pay a 30% levy on software sales, that those who offer apps at no charge (around 80% of all available apps) pay no levy at all, and that the fee is intended to see the costs of running the store borne by those who generate the most cash from selling software through it. 

In related news, the European Commission has begun fresh scrutiny of the core technology fee Apple charges some developers in Europe in response to the Digital Markets Act.

Senior Apple leaders head to court

Apple appears ready to field an all-star cast of witnesses during the trial with around three days of witness time booked. What is known is that Apple will field some witnesses who will travel from the US, with both Apple Fellow and App Store leader Phil Schiller and Apple Senior Vice President for Software Craig Federighi named in a pre-trial note (pages 24/25). Apple’s newly-appointed Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh will also be forced to give evidence.

The company will also be told to share unredacted versions of some documents used during the European Commission trial against it; there are three days in which Apple has secured witness time for the case, according to one document, though it is not known if that is definite at this stage. Apple witness statements should begin Wednesday afternoon, though it is not known if the witnesses Apple plans to bring will remain the same. 

Apple has previously said: “We believe this lawsuit is meritless and welcome the opportunity to discuss with the court our unwavering commitment to consumers and the many benefits the App Store has delivered to the UK’s innovation economy.” 

It’s worth noting that Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the UK in December. While there he met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and hosted an event at Apple’s Battersea HQ with King Charles.

Apple now supports 550,000 UK jobs through direct employment, its supply chain, and the iOS app economy. 

Is it all about legality — or profitability?

In the end, and as I’ve pointed out before, even some of the company’s critics levy similar fees on sales through their platforms, which means it isn’t a matter of fee/no fee, but a question of how much fee is legitimate for Apple’s storefront, or any storefront, to charge. Even big brick-and-mortar grocery stores charge for shelf placement, after all. 

“The commissions charged by the App Store are very much in the mainstream of those charged by all other digital marketplaces,” Apple said when the case began. “In fact, 85% of apps on the App Store are free and developers pay Apple nothing. And for the vast majority of developers who do pay Apple a commission because they are selling a digital good or service, they are eligible for a commission rate of 15%.”

What happens next?

The litigant at one point claimed Apple made $15 billion in App Store sales on costs of around $100 million, though those costs seem to ignore research and development, OS development, security, payments, and associated investments Apple makes in its ecosystem.

Kent’s lawyer, Hausfeld partner Lesley Hannah, at one point said: “Apple has created a captive market where people who own Apple devices are reliant on it for the provision of both apps and payment processing services for digital purchases.”

Apple will likely argue that the market is larger than just iOS apps (think online services and other mobile platforms) and observe that it is not dominant in the device market. That matters, because it means consumers do have choice and most consumers choose different platforms. (Kent is also involved in similar action against Google.)

Right or wrong, it’s hard to avoid that in general the direction of travel when it comes to App Store encounters in court means the current business model now seems tarnished. Perhaps Apple could introduce a different model in time?

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Source:: Computer World

By Digital Trends Staff On this week’s episode, we catch up with the Digital Trends team from CES 2025 as they share their favorite tech from CES 2025.

Source:: Digital Trends

Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg said his decision to reduce his team’s weekly hours working on WordPress by 99% , from 4,000 hours to 45 hours, was designed to pressure WP Engine to drop its lawsuit against Mullenweg and Automattic

“They don’t actually make WordPress. They just resell it,” Mullenweg told Computerworld Friday evening. “If what they are reselling is no longer getting all of the free updates, they have less stuff to sell.” 

“It doesn’t make sense for Automattic to pay people to work on all of these things,” he said. “We are under attack and we are circling the wagons. Our number one goal is for WP Engine to drop their expensive lawsuits against me and Automattic.”

WP Engine was asked for comment, but did not respond.

Asked whether the move would also hurt users of WordPress, which is behind about 60% of the world’s web sites, Mullenweg said that he didn’t think it would. 

“WordPress is great software. It doesn’t change anything that WordPress already does,” Mullenweg said. “How does this affect the timeline? For new stuff, it might slow it down, it might not. It depends on who shows up and commits code. In terms of new functionality, the scope will be smaller.”

He added, “I love WordPress and will continue to put in hours, nights, and weekends to help however possible.”

Mullenweg also stressed that the 45 hours his team will continue to work on WordPress will make sure that security updates/patches are maintained. 

“Security is never going to be an issue. We will always maintain security,” he said. “No one would ever stop a security update.”

Automattic controls WordPress.com, while the project site, WordPress.org, is controlled solely by Mullenweg.

The cutback in hours had been considered last month when Automattic announced a holiday shutdown of some WordPress services and Mullenweg later said that the shutdown might last all of 2025. Instead, Automattic management opted to implement this severe development hours cutback.

On Thursday, Automattic announced, “we’ve observed an imbalance in how contributions to WordPress are distributed across the ecosystem, and it’s time to address this. Additionally, we’re having to spend significant time and money to defend ourselves against the legal attacks started by WP Engine and funded by Silver Lake, a large private equity firm.”

“Automatticians who contributed to core will instead focus on for-profit projects within Automattic, such as WordPress.com, Pressable, WPVIP, Jetpack, and WooCommerce,” the statement said. “As part of this reset, Automattic will match its volunteering pledge to those made by WP Engine and other players in the ecosystem, or about 45 hours a week that qualify under the Five For the Future program as benefitting the entire community and not just a single company. These hours will likely go towards security and critical updates.”

The implication is that the labor reallocations would be reversed were WP Engine to drop its lawsuit. Mullenweg said recent changes that WP Engine has made has altered his demands. He is no longer asking for money, for example.

His original demand had been for payment; in late October, Mullenweg said WP Engine “could have avoided all of this for $32 million. This should have been very easy,” and he then accused WP Engine of having engaged in “18 months of gaslighting” and said, “that’s why I got so crazy.” 

But on Friday, Mullenweg said he is no longer seeking money because WP Engine made extensive changes to its web site and is no longer violating Automattic trademarks, which was apparently what the payment was for.

“They have stopped violating the trademark. They have cleaned up,” Mullenweg said. “To use someone else’s trademark, you typically license it. For more than 18 months, we were trying to do a deal there. They obviously never did one. I realized that they were just stringing me along.”

Analysts and members of the WordPress user community, who made their comments to Computerworld prior to Mullenweg’s interview, were mixed. Some said they were worried that these latest WordPress changes might exacerbate enterprise IT worries about sticking with WordPress.

“This is a massive number of hours that they are planning on cutting back. The community is not likely to make up those hours. They are going to direct their resources to a legal battle and the platform will not be stable,” said Melody Brue, VP/principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “Users have to plan for the likelihood that they cannot take up the slack. WordPress users are already panicking. They can’t trust him now. They will turn off automatic [WordPress] updates.”

Brue said that Mullenweg’s tactics have yet to work. 

“This has become a spiteful game that he is playing. Part of his whole game is that he makes these big tantrums and threats to get attention,” Brue said. “So far, that hasn’t worked.”

Michelle Rosen, an IDC research manager, said that she was not sure whether this move would ultimately hurt WordPress.

“Automattic has been the largest contributor to WordPress by far, so this decision has to hurt the project’s ability to evolve and improve,” Rosen said. “That said, WordPress has been around for a long time and many users rely on it only as the core of their CMS solution, with other components built on top. In this context, the impact may be lower, especially if Automattic continues to handle security issues.”

Users’ reactions were also mixed.

Jack Prenter, the CEO at WordPress site Dollarwise, said he was somewhat concerned. 

“There is a general loss of confidence. I don’t know if there’s a lot you can do. That’s why the situation is so painful,” Prenter said. “There is such a large ecosystem built around it that people are not going to let it fall apart. It can technically continue to function, but you can cancel all of the future roadmap. Nothing new is going to happen.”

Another WordPress user, Ben May, managing director of The Code Co in Australia, is less concerned. “I suspect this latest statement is ratcheting up the WPE campaign, I guess in an effort to change the hearts and minds of people sympathetic to WPE. I don’t see it as an existential threat to WordPress and am not losing any sleep over it for the time being,” May said. “From what I’ve seen online already, the community is big enough and willing enough to step in and fill in the gaps that would be left with the reduced contributions.”

Source:: Computer World

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Source:: Digital Trends