Britain finally gave its approval for Microsoft to buy Activision earlier in the day. This was after making the Xbox owner sell the streaming rights to ease worries about competition.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stopped the deal in April because it could give the big American tech company too much power in the new cloud game market.

After Microsoft decided to sell Ubisoft Entertainment the streaming rights to Activision’s games, the regulator threw out its playbook and reopened the case. This was done to make sure that the terms could be enforced.

It was the first time since Britain left the EU that the CMA had to deal with a tech giant on a world scale.

It said that “sticking to its guns” even though the companies that were merging criticized it had led to a better result for competition, customers, and economies.

The CMA called Microsoft’s decision to give in on streaming a “gamechanger” and said it was the only competition body in the world to have achieved this result.

“The new deal will stop Microsoft from locking up competition in cloud gaming as this market takes off, preserving competitive prices and services for UK cloud gaming customers,” it stated in a statement.

Microsoft announced the deal in early 2022. It wanted to speed up its growth in console, mobile, PC, and cloud games to go up against companies like Tencent and Sony, which owns PlayStation.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission was against the deal, but they were not able to stop it. This left the CMA on its own.

The FTC is still suing, but Microsoft has said it won’t let that stop the deal from going through.

In May, the European Commission agreed to take Microsoft up on its offer to license Activision games like “Overwatch” and “World of Warcraft” to other platforms.

‘STUCK TO OUR GUNS’

The CMA’s block in April made the parties that wanted to merge very angry. Microsoft said that Britain was no longer open for business.

The British government didn’t give the CMA much help. The Finance Minister, Jeremy Hunt, said that regulators should focus on getting people to spend, but he didn’t want to weaken the CMA’s independence.

Sarah Cardell, CEO of the CMA, said that the agency had “send Microsoft a clear message that the deal would be blocked unless they fully address our concerns, and we stuck to our guns on that.”

She said that the CMA made choices “without political influence” and that corporate lobbying would not “sway” them.

“Businesses and their advisers should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA,” she stated.

“Microsoft had the chance to restructure during our initial investigation but instead continued to insist on a package of measures that we told them simply wouldn’t work.”

Ben Barringer, an equity expert at Quilter Cheviot, said that the CMA would see it as a win, but that it would need to be careful not to regulate the tech sector too much.

“There are fears the UK is a bad place to do business and the tech industry in particular will be watching its moves closely,” he stated.

Microsoft said that it was “thankful for the CMA’s careful review and decision.”

Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said, “We have now cleared the last regulatory hurdle to complete this acquisition, which we believe will be good for players and the gaming industry around the world.”

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Activision Blizzard stated: “The CMA’s official approval is great news for our future with Microsoft, and we look forward to becoming part of the Xbox Team.”

The European Commission said that Microsoft’s new promises to the CMA did not make its EU promises less clear.

The post An industry-record transaction occurs when Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. appeared first on Republic Aeon.

MICROSOFT PROJECT ELLORA

If a Hindi speaker needs to search for content on the Internet, they can either input a query in Devnagari script on their phone or speak the same inquiry. However, what about those who communicate in languages that are spoken by fewer than a million people or have little to no online presence? Microsoft Research’s Project ELLORA (Enabling Low Resource Languages) is assisting these languages in India.

“We utilise technology to work with low-resource languages, but we believe that these marginalised populations are aware of their own needs and wishes. Microsoft Research’s Kalika Bali told indianexpress.com, “We engage with them to identify their pain spots and determine how technology can help.” Bali is an expert in Natural Language Processing, which combines linguistics and artificial intelligence to teach computers how to comprehend spoken and written languages.
The primary objective of ELLORA, according to Bali, is to ensure that these languages, which have very few written resources and no digital presence at all, are not left behind by recent advances in language technology brought about by artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced natural language models. Moreover, a digital presence could assist some of these languages in surviving the extinction threat.

Microsoft Research (MSR) has decided to first concentrate on three of them. Nearly three million people speak Gondi in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. Mundari is spoken in Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal.
According to Bali, the company has completed some of its longest projects in Gondi and collaborated with CGNet Swara in Chhattisgarh. CGNet Swara is an online service that enables Gondi speakers to telephone in local news in their language.

“We’ve assisted with items such as Adivasi radio, which served as a hub for getting information by phone in Gondi. “We have also collaborated with them to develop a machine translation system, as access to information in their native languages is one of their greatest challenges,” stated Bali.

MSR hopes to test this machine language-based translation system in the field in the near future, and if successful, Gondi speakers will be able to access any information available in Hindi in their own tongue. MSR is collaborating with Pratham books to build a digital dictionary for the Idu Mishmi language in Arunachal Pradesh.
MSR has collaborated with IIT-Kharagpur and GIZ, the German Development Fund, on Mundari. In Mundari’s situation, the assignment is specific: design educational materials for the youngsters due to the paucity of accessible resources. “The objective is to construct the complete pipeline.” We are working on developing a text-to-speech model that would enable the system to speak Mundari. We are also developing a model for machine translation. In reality, we have a tiny machine translation model available,” said Bali, adding that they are now evaluating the model and will also work on speech recognition.

The ultimate goal is to have a whole system in place for Mundari so that speakers may access information or use technology by speaking, listening, or typing into their phones in their native language. Bali further emphasised that their models for Mundari-like languages do not rely on word-for-word translations. Instead, they request that native speakers translate Hindi sentences into their own language, so creating the resource and data set that will be used to feed the computer model.

Interneural Machine Translation (INMT) is a technology they developed as part of their work that can predict the next word when translating between various languages, for example from Hindi to Mundari. “It provides me with predicted suggestions in Mundari. “It’s similar to the predictive text feature on smartphone keyboards, but it works in two languages,” Bali noted, adding that such technologies will also boost the effectiveness of human translators.
Obviously, there is also the difficulty of ensuring that the models function on low-end phones. Given that members of marginalised communities have access to lower-end phones, the models must be optimised with this crucial issue in mind. “One of the major issues is that we want these models to function on mobile devices. “We have spent a great deal of time figuring out how to reduce, condense, and quantify these models so that they can operate on a mobile phone,” Bali added.

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Regarding the current buzz surrounding Large Language Models (LLMs) and their importance in translation systems, Bali stated that they had also conducted research on publically available LLMs. However, additional effort will be required to enable these models to function with such languages that have minimal or no data sets. “It is an open research subject as to how these LLMs may be adapted to function with some of the smaller languages. And, you know, the solution may lie in constructing an additional layer on top of this technology. Or the issue may be a lack of sufficient data to feed into the foundation models. I do not believe we are really certain. It is a matter of open study to see how we can do this,” she stated.

Currently, the ultimate objective of Project ELLORA remains unchanged: “That the gap between linguistically privileged and disadvantaged does not widen.”

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Microsoft confirmed layoffs. The tech company is cutting 10,000 jobs, or 5% of its workforce. “Macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities” are causing thousands of layoffs. The tech giant hasn’t disclosed India layoff numbers.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emailed employees that “less than 5% of our total employee base, with some notifications happening today” would be laid off. Microsoft informed employees of the layoffs in a recent regulatory filing. Amazon, Twitter, Meta, and others have laid off large numbers of employees in recent months before Microsoft.

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“While we are eliminating roles in some areas, we will continue to hire in key strategic areas,” Nadella told employees in the same email. Nadella stressed the need for a “new computer platform” using AI. He added, “We’re also seeing organisations in every industry and geography exercise caution as some parts of the world are in a recession and others are anticipating one.”

Microsoft CEO stated in the email that affected employees will receive full support. We will treat our people with dignity and transparency. These tough choices are necessary. They’re hard because they affect our colleagues and friends. “We will support all those whose roles are eliminated during these transitions,” he wrote in the mail.

“Above-market severance pay, continuing healthcare coverage for six months, continued vesting of stock awards for six months, career transition services, and 60 days’ notice prior to termination, regardless of whether such notice is legally required,” Nadella said. “Benefits for employees outside the U.S. will align with the employment laws in each country,” Nadella said, but he didn’t specify India-related benefits. “We are taking a $1.2 billion charge in Q2 related to severance costs, changes to our hardware portfolio, and the cost of lease consolidation as we create higher density across our workspaces,” the Microsoft CEO said.

28,000 layoffs today between Microsoft and Amazon—two behemoth companies that are still raking in *obscene* amounts of money even in the midst of this recession. My thoughts are with all the folks affected. Man. This is heartbreaking and fucking bleak.

— Jessica Cogswell (@awildjessichu) January 18, 2023

Nadella announced layoffs and said Microsoft “will continue to invest in strategic areas for our future, meaning we are allocating both our capital and talent to areas of secular growth and long-term competitiveness for the company, while divesting in other areas.”

The post Microsoft fires 10,000 workers, CEO Satya Nadella says company focusing on future opportunities. appeared first on Republic Aeon.

Microsoft is laying off 10,000 people, or about 5% of its staff, due to “changing macroeconomic conditions and customer objectives.” “CEO Satya Nadella confirmed the news in a company-wide email sent Wednesday.
The company said in a regulatory filing that it had just informed employees of the layoffs, some of which are effective immediately.
In a message to staff, Satya Nadella expressed confidence that Microsoft will emerge from its current predicament, but noted that “it requires us to take steps based on three goals.”

The business stated that it will also modify its hardware portfolio and consolidate its leased office sites in an effort to save approximately $1.2 billion.

Here is what Satya Nadella wrote to Microsoft employees in light of the loss of 10,000 jobs:

These are the types of difficult decisions we have taken over our 47-year history in order to remain a significant firm in an industry that punishes those who fail to adapt to platform transitions “email was read.

Nadella stated, “We will continue to invest in important areas for the company’s future, which means we will allocate both resources and personnel to areas of secular growth and long-term competitiveness, while divesting in other areas.”

Microsoft will incur a $1.2 billion charge in the second quarter due to severance expenses, hardware portfolio changes, etc.

“Our cost structure will be aligned with our revenue and consumer demand.
Today, we are implementing adjustments that will reduce our workforce by 10,000 positions by the end of Q3 of fiscal year 2023 “Satya Nadella confirmed the layoff in an email.

The third priority will be to handle those who will lose their jobs with respect and candour.
“These choices are challenging, but vital.
They are especially challenging since they influence the lives of individuals — our coworkers and friends.
We are committed to providing full support to those whose positions are removed during these changes.
Employees eligible for US benefits will receive a variety of benefits, including above-market severance pay, continued healthcare coverage for six months, continued vesting of stock awards for six months, career transition services, and 60 days’ notice prior to termination, regardless of whether such notice is legally required.
The benefits for non-American employees will comply with the employment rules of each country “Nadella’s mail added.

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Microsoft is cutting 10,000 workers, almost 5% of its workforce, joining other tech companies that have scaled back their pandemic-era expansions. https://t.co/9TCq17U9Nu

— KTVU (@KTVU) January 18, 2023

Microsoft is cutting 10,000 workers, almost 5% of its workforce, joining other tech companies that have scaled back their pandemic-era expansions. https://t.co/cJkmSXEX6v

— BakersfieldNow (@bakersfieldnow) January 18, 2023

The post Nadella writes in an email that Microsoft will lay off 10,000 employees because “hard choices to remain.” appeared first on Republic Aeon.

California: According to the Seattle Times, Microsoft and Facebook parent company Meta are both leaving office buildings in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington. This is the latest indication of how the IT industry is changing and how the local office market is softening.
According to the Seattle Times, Facebook confirmed intentions to sublet its offices at the six-story Arbor Block 333 in downtown Seattle and the eleven-story Block 6 of the Spring District in Bellevue on Friday.

The social media behemoth based in Menlo Park, California, claimed to be reviewing contracts for more office buildings close to Seattle. A period of the economic cycle known as a “soft market” is one in which there are more sellers than buyers and prices are low.

On the same day, Redmond-based Microsoft confirmed rumours that it wouldn’t extend its lease at the 26-story City Center Plaza in Bellevue when it expires in June 2024, according to the Seattle Times.

The Seattle Times said that the announcements came as the demand for office space in Seattle and elsewhere has been reduced by the continuous rise in popularity of remote work and a tech slowdown that has resulted in several layoffs.

According to the daily newspaper, Microsoft and Meta have both embraced remote work while reducing their workforces when the IT sector tanked. Meta announced the layoffs of 726 employees in the Seattle area in November.

According to Tracy Clayton, a representative for Meta, the company’s shift toward remote or “distributed” work was the main factor in the leasing selections, according to Seattle Times. However, he noted that Meta was also “trying to be… financially prudent” “given the economic context”.

In Seattle, Meta currently takes up the entire Arbor Block 333, and if Block 6 had opened later in the year, Meta would have done the same. The Seattle area continues to be the company’s second-largest technical base behind its Menlo Park headquarters, with offices in 29 buildings housing close to 8,000 employees.

Microsoft’s decision about City Center Plaza, according to a company spokeswoman, was made as part of an ongoing assessment of the company’s “real estate portfolio” to ensure that it offers its employees a top-notch workplace and fosters better community and cooperation.

As office rentals drop significantly in the city of San Francisco amid remote work and massive layoffs, #Meta (formerly Facebook) and #Microsoft are now vacating office buildings in Seattle and Bellevue in Washington State.https://t.co/xFmuFLtMlG

— Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) January 15, 2023

The decision about City Center Plaza is also made in the midst of a significant renovation of Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters, some of which will be finished in late 2023. The Seattle-area office market is expected to struggle against economic headwinds and the slow return of remote office workers, according to the daily newspaper, which added Friday’s news to an already pessimistic prognosis.

According to a recent survey by commercial real estate firm Colliers, that battle is most evident in downtown Seattle, where total office vacancy is currently at 25%.

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According to The Seattle Times, even occupied offices are sometimes just half full because of remote work. According to smartphone location data from Placer.ai shared by the Downtown Seattle Association, since last summer, only 40% of the workers present in downtown Seattle have been present.

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