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Xbox Hardware Sales Slips As Software, Subscriptions Make Up Gap

Xbox Hardware Sales Slips As Software, Subscriptions Make Up Gap

Microsoft has released its Q3 earnings, and it suggests the current console generation is slowing down and ready for another refresh. Xbox console sales fell by 33% year-over-year, which the company attributes to a simple decrease in sales volume. In other words, people are simply buying fewer Xbox consoles.

However, the news wasn't too grim for Microsoft. Overall game revenue actually increased by 5% year-over-year, thanks to strong third-party software sales and subscriptions. Xbox Live's monthly active users hit 63 million, up 7% from last year. Altogether the games division raised $2.36 billion in revenue for the quarter, an YOY increase of $112 million.


The Xbox One is more than six years old now, so the decrease in console sales suggests Microsoft is hitting a saturation point. That's when console manufacturers tend to eye a new generation, and Microsoft may start to explain its vision for the next Xbox at E3. In the meantime, it introduced the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, a new SKU of the console that lacks any disc drive and only plays downloaded games.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's competition has gotten first to the gate in starting to explain its plans for the coming generation. PS4 architect Mark Cerny began to outline some details on the next generation of PlayStation, including backwards compatibility, a solid-state drive, and other tech specs. It won't be disc-less, which may set it apart from the next Xbox, but that remains to be seen. Microsoft is planning a streaming service that likely will integrate with its future console plans.

References: gamespot

Jokic displayed greatness in Game7

Mike Malone praises Nikola Jokic after Denver Nuggets Game 7 win over San Antonio Spurs

Denver coach Mike Malone believes Nikola Jokic displayed his "greatness" as the center's triple-double led the Nuggets to a Game 7 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night.

The second-seeded Nuggets had been pushed to a decider by the Spurs, but ultimately advanced to play the fourth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers in the conference semifinals.

Having scored a career-high 43 points in Thursday's Game 6 defeat in San Antonio, Jokic maintained his fine form with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists as the Nuggets held on for a 90-86 victory.
"I think it speaks to Nikola's greatness," Malone said of Jokic's performance.

"I think it speaks to him never being afraid of the moment or never being overwhelmed."


Spurs coach Gregg Popovic gave a short but telling reflection on Jokic's series, which he ended with averages of 23.1 points, 12.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists.

"He's magnificent. Magnificent," Popovich said. "I'll just leave it at that."

Popovich's seventh-seeded Spurs were close to pulling off a major upset as they closed to within two points in the final minute, having trailed for the entire game.

However, Jamal Murray, who led the Nuggets in scoring with 23 points, made a clutch floating jump shot to ensure the home team held on.


"Even late when they made their run, with their two veterans Demar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge taking over the game, we never lost our composure," Malone said.

The Nuggets have minimal time to prepare for their series against the Blazers, with Game 1 to take place on Monday night in Denver.

"Obviously you're extremely happy and proud of your guys," Malone said. "It's a hell of a moment, but as I told our players, 'enjoy it for a few minutes'.

"It's quick turn around. We've got Portland in two days."

Game 1 of the Nuggets' Western Conference semifinals series against the Portland Trail Blazers takes place in the early hours of Tuesday morning (3:30am).

References: skysports

Facebook given TED Talk Challenge

Facebook challenged to give TED talk on political ads


The investigative journalist who revealed the Cambridge Analytica scandal has demanded answers from tech giants about political ads.

In her TED talk, Carole Cadwalladr called on the executives of Facebook and Twitter to come to the conference and discuss their role in influencing elections around the world.

Twitter boss Jack Dorsey is due to speak later this week.

TED curator Chris Anderson also invited Facebook to address the conference.

Alongside staff of the New York Times, Cadwalladr was named as a finalist for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for journalism for her work on the Cambridge Analytica story.

It involved the discovery that an academic at the University of Cambridge used a personality quiz to harvest up to 87 million Facebook users' details.

Some of this was subsequently shared with the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which used it to target political advertising in the US.
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  • Early Cambridge Analytica fears revealed
Cadwalladr, who writes for the Guardian and Observer, used her TED talk to directly address who she called the "gods of Silicon Valley".
Many of the top executives of technology firms attend the TED conference in Vancouver, Canada.
"We are what happens to a Western democracy when elections are disrupted by technology," said Cadwalladr, referring to how voters in the Brexit referendum may have been influenced by online political campaigns.
"Technology has been amazing but now it is a crime scene," she added.
She said the technology giants had acted as "accessories to spreading lies".

'Wrong side of history'

She challenged Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg to come to TED and criticised his refusal to address the UK parliamentary committee tasked with investigating Facebook's role in the Brexit referendum.
The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has suggested that the government makes major changes in electoral law to ensure future online campaigns are more transparent.

Cadwalladr said that there were still questions for Facebook to answer.
"The whole referendum took place on Facebook and we have no idea who saw what ads, who placed them and what money was spent," she said.
"Facebook is on the wrong side of history in refusing to give answers," she added.
The BBC asked Facebook for its response but it has not replied.
The social network has changed its rules around political ads in the UK, asking anyone placing them to verify their identity and location, and prove who is paying for the advert.
People buying the ads must provide their identity by submitting ID, which will be verified by a third party. They must also demonstrate that they have a UK address.
After Cadwalladr's talk, TED curator Mr Anderson promised to "hold a space" at the conference for Facebook executives, some of whom he said "were watching".
A challenge like this has been met before. In 2014, former National Security Agency (NSA) worker Edward Snowden was a surprise guest at TED, appearing by telerobot from an undisclosed location in Russia.
After his talk, a representative of the NSA also made an unscheduled appearance at the conference, offering to be more transparent about its surveillance work in future.
References:  BBC

Uber aims for $90bn stock market debut

Uber aims for $90bn stock market debut

Uber has revealed that it is seeking a valuation of $90bn (£70bn) in its much anticipated stock market flotation.
The taxi-app firm has said that its shares will be priced at between $44 and $50 each, with the share issue set to raise about $10bn.
As part of the offer it will sell $500m worth of shares to payment giant, PayPal.
Uber warned earlier this month that it may never make a profit.
The IPO price values the company below the $100bn some had expected it to aim for.
As well as the original "ride-hailing" business, Uber is developing driverless cars, and has a food delivery business, Uber Eats.
Alongside details of the Initial Public Offering (IPO), Uber also revealed its latest quarterly figures.
These showed that its drivers made 1.5 billion passenger journeys during the first three months of 2019, but the company reported a net loss of about $1bn.

Disappointing

Earlier this month, shares in rival US taxi-hailing giant Lyft started trading in New York. However, after a strong start, its share price sagged and is now 20% below the initial price paid by investors.
Uber, which has been in business for 10 years, is selling 180 million shares in the offering, with a further 27 million sold by company insiders.
The company will spend the next 10 days marketing itself to investors, to drum up interest and avoid following the disappointing path set by Lyft.

As well as PayPal, Uber already has some high-profile stakeholders.
These include Google parent, Alphabet, Japan's Softbank, and the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
Uber's founder, controversial businessman Travis Kalanick, also has a significant stake.
Uber's nearly four million drivers have been offered "appreciation awards" which can be taken in cash, or in the new shares.
Investors will press the company on its best guesses for future profitability, the state of its relations with the cities in which it operates and its drivers, as well as its progress on developing driverless vehicles.
Uber's drivers in seven US cities are planning protests to coincide with the expected start of share trading.
They say they are paid below minimum wage levels required by some states and barely above national rates.
References:  BBC

Taylor Swift Announces New Single 'ME!' Ahead of Midnight Release

Taylor Swift Announces New Single ‘ME!’ in Robin Roberts Interview Hours Before Release


Sharing her secrets! Taylor Swift joined Robin Roberts for an interview hours before the highly anticipated release of her new single.

The singer confirmed on Thursday, April 25, that her new track — titled “ME!” — will feature Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie. The song, as well as its music video, will be out at midnight on Friday, April 26. 

“‘ME!’ is a song about embracing your individuality and really celebrating it and owning it,” she hinted. “I think that, with a pop song, we have the ability to get a melody stuck in people’s heads, and I just want it to be one that makes them feel better about themselves.”

Swift, 29, has been teasing fresh music for weeks. An insider told Us Weekly earlier this month that the Grammy winner would drop the first single from her new album on Friday. She set tongues wagging on April 13 when she shared an Instagram Story photo of a countdown clock set to Friday’s date.

Fans theorized in February that the “Look What You Made Me Do” songstress would soon release her new project. The most devoted found clues in Swift’s Instagram posts, which signaled that her seventh studio album was on the horizon. One such hint included an Instagram post of six palm trees, along with a caption that featured seven palm tree emojis.

The songwriter, furthermore, added pastel accents to her wardrobe as of late. Swift was even spotted wearing a sweatshirt with her name printed on the sleeve on Monday, April 22, which some believed could be merchandise to accompany the album.

In March, Katy Perry opened up about the possibility of collaborating with her former rival. “I’m open,” the American Idol judge told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “Open. Open. Open.”

Swift completed her Reputation Stadium Tour in Tokyo in November. The “Blank Space” singer got real about her fears surrounding the endeavor in a March essay for Elle magazine. “After the Manchester Arena bombing and the Vegas concert shooting, I was completely terrified to go on tour this time because I didn’t know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe over seven months,” she admitted. “There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense and effort put into keeping my fans safe.”


References: usmagazine

SAS pilot walkout leaves thousands stranded

SAS pilot walkout leaves thousands stranded

Scandinavian airline SAS has cancelled hundreds of flights globally leaving thousands of passengers stranded after pilots in Norway, Sweden and Denmark went on strike.
SAS said 673 flights would be cancelled on Friday affecting 72,000 passengers.
It said it was "deeply regretful" about the negative impact on customers.
The pilot walkout comes after negotiations over pay and work schedules - which began last month - broke down.
Most domestic, European and all long-haul flights have been cancelled. The strike does not affect flights operated by SAS partners, which make up approximately 30% of all departures.
Customers who have a flight booked, are advised to check if their flight is affected by the strike.

'Negative consequences'

SAS said it wanted to "reach an agreement to end the strike as soon as possible", but warned if the pilots' requirements were met it would have "very negative consequences" for the airline.
Pilots are trying to secure a 13% wage increase. They currently earn an average of 93,000 Swedish crowns (£7,500) a month.
The SAS Pilot Group, a union representing 95% of the airline's pilots in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, said work schedules, and not wages, were the main focus of the negotiations.
"Many SAS pilots have no control over when and how long they have to work. In a worst case scenario, they risk having to work seven weekends in a row," the pilots' trade body said in a statement.
The pilots' walkout comes against a backdrop of tough business conditions for SAS. It is currently in the middle of renewing its aging plane fleet and faces rising competition from budget carriers such as Norwegian, Ryanair and Easyjet.
The airline reported a bigger-than-expected loss for its first quarter in February, but said it still expected to record a profit for the year.
References:  BBC

Persona 5 Royal Launches October 2019 In Japan, 2020 Worldwide For PS4





Persona 5 Royal Shows Its New Characters And Scenes, Set For 2019 In Japan, 2020 Worldwide On PS4


At the end of the first night for the live concert special Persona Super Live 2019, a full trailer for the updated version of Persona 5, called Persona 5 Royal, was shown. There was a ton of new content revealed including the new party member for the Phantom Thieves, additional areas for social activities, new attack animations, an extra Confidant, and a whole bunch more. As for release date, Persona 5 Royal is set to launch in Japan on October 31, 2019 and worldwide sometime in 2020 exclusively for PlayStation 4.

In the trailer, you can hear a new theme song and watch gameplay from areas that were not included in the original version. Particularly, you can roam around Kichijoji, engage in new social scenes with characters, visit an aquarium, and play pool and darts with the whole team at a game bar called Penguin Sniper.

You can see additional attack animations as well, specifically one featuring Haru firing her grenade launcher atop Morgana as a speeding bus in a sort of partner attack similar to those added in Persona 4 Golden. In another own shown in the trailer, Makoto is seen throwing lightning-fast fists Kenshiro-style after Ryuji sets up the attack. It also appears that there may be an additional palace based on a brief shot of a new animated cutscene. Joker himself uses a hookshot to get around different areas of existing palaces and solve new puzzles.


The new party member goes by the name of Kasumi Yoshizawa, and she's also a transfer student at Shujin Academy who's a rhythmic gymnast; she's shown elegantly dancing in an animated cutscene. You can see her in combat through a critical hit animation in the trailer for a brief moment as well--she uses a rapier-style sword and a Winchester-type rifle. Kasumi is going to play a major role and change up the original storyline and seems to be closely tied to Joker and Goro Akechi. There's another major character by the name of Takuto Maruki, who is a school counselor at Shujin and a new Confidant that appears after the Kamoshida debacle.


And if the original game wasn't long enough for you, there will be a third semester in the storyline along with extra events throughout the game. There will also be new story beats towards the end of the game to help flesh out the conclusion. You can catch a glimpse of it below, where the whole crew is celebrating New Year's Day and Yusuke appears to be setting up the perfect group picture.


There is a lot more to breakdown, which you can expect from us soon. In the meantime, watch the new trailer for the Japanese version of Persona 5 Royal above.

References: gamespot

UK at odds with cyber-alies over Huawei

Huawei: Why UK is at odds with its cyber-allies

After months of uncertainty, the UK appears set to allow Huawei's telecoms equipment to be part of the country's 5G networks - with some limitations.
The move would put the UK at odds with the US, which has been pressing other nations to ban use of the Chinese firm's kit on security grounds.
It could also cause tensions with Australia, which last year blocked its networks from using Huawei's 5G gear.
The country also barred another Chinese firm, ZTE.
While Theresa May is reportedly willing to give Huawei the green light, this would not mean the prime minister's cyber-advisers have disregarded the threat of a future Chinese cyber-attack.
That concern still preoccupies many security officials' minds, since much of our critical infrastructure - from power stations to automated transport - is likely to be dependent on the next-generation communications technology.
Rather, there is a belief that restricting Huawei's equipment to certain parts of the UK's network means that the risk can be managed.
At the heart of the matter, there seems to be a critical disagreement: Canberra and Washington believe that there are fundamental differences between 5G and 4G, which mean an outright ban is the wiser choice.
  • What is 5G and what will it mean for you?
To make sense of all this, it is worth exploring first why Australia came to its conclusion.

But it is worth saying up front that, for its part, Huawei has denied it would ever compromise a client's network because it had been ordered to do so by Beijing.
It has said that it has been "targeted by a sustained campaign of ill-informed accusations that its involvement in 5G infrastructure somehow poses a threat".

Why did Australia ban Huawei?

Australia concluded in August that it was impossible to "mitigate" the national security risks involved in allowing Huawei to form any part of its 5G network, because next-generation networks would operate in a different way to their predecessors.
  • UK to let Huawei help build 5G network
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The reason for this, it added, was that the relationship between two distinct bits of the network would change.
The first part - "the core" - it said was where the "most sensitive functions occur", including device authentication, voice and data-routing and billing.
The second - "the edge" - referred to equipment including antennae and base stations that is used to capture the radio signals emitted by wireless devices and send them into the core.
The key phrase in a ministerial statement then explained: "The distinction between the core and the edge will disappear over time."
One of the country's spy chiefs, Mike Burgess, later expanded on this, saying that as 5G technologies matured, the expectation was that the distinction between the edge and core "collapses" because "sensitive functions" would begin to move outside of the protected part.
Part of the reason for this, he explained, would be to take advantage of the lower latencies 5G offers - the lag between issuing a command and getting a response. This, for example, could help make it safe to direct surgical robots or remote-controlled vehicles from afar.

But, Mr Burgess added, the consequences could be dire if the 5G kit was then compromised and used to mount an attack.
"Elements of the power grid may not work, water supply [and] sewage pumps may not work - it has the potential to impact our country greatly," explained the director general of the Australian Signals Directorate.
And Huawei was considered a company that could be "subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law".
In other words, the fear was that it could be compelled to facilitate a Beijing-mounted cyber-attack.

So why would the UK want to use Huawei?

The Australians' argument never convinced many senior figures involved in the UK's telecoms industry.
While they accept there are issues with using Huawei's kit in the core, they believe it would still be relatively safe to use its radio access network (Ran) equipment - which allows individual devices to wirelessly connect to mobile data networks via radio signals transmitted over the airwaves.
Huawei's Ran gear is seen to be more advanced than that of its competitors - Nokia and Ericsson - at doing things like maximising the amount of data that can be handled at once. The Chinese firm also has a reputation for being more willing to provide customised solutions.
But critically, there is also a belief that there is no reason for the distinction between the core and Ran to disappear over time, so long as the networks involved continue to respect standards that define a border between the two.
"One of the key features of 5G is the ability to... distribute [the core] more broadly across the overall network infrastructure," explained Vodafone UK's chief technology officer Scott Petty.
"However, that core network is still protected from the radio base stations by security gateways and capabilities."
There has, however, been some reluctance to openly contradict the Australians.

When BBC Panorama spoke to the technical director of GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre earlier this year, he sought to suggest both views could be right.
"From a purely technical point of view, geography matters in 5G," Dr Ian Levy explained.
"Because you have these very, very quick turnaround communications, you are limited about where certain things can physically be - limited by the speed of light.
"UK and Australia have very different geographies - so our laydowns will be very different to Australia's laydowns. So, we may have exactly the same technical understanding, but come to very different conclusions."

How does the US come into this?

Washington has been leading the campaign against Huawei, both in terms of making the case about the supposed security threat it poses, but also pursuing legal cases alleging the firm has engaged in systemic intellectual property theft and fraud - claims that Huawei denies.
Earlier this month, one of President Trump's top cyber-security officials made it clear that the US believes it is not safe to use Huawei kit in any part of a 5G network.
"We view there to be no relevant distinction between the core and the edge of a 5G network," said the US State Department's Ambassador Robert Strayer.

"That distinction had existed in 4G networks because you basically had a smart core - where the intelligence and the software ran - and the edge was dumb, because it was just for the transmission of data to the core.
"In a 5G network, much of the smart computing capacity... will move to the edge."
When the BBC asked him whether geographic differences might mean this would not be an issue for the UK, he made clear this was not a consideration.
"Due to the configuration of 5G networks with computing at the edge and reliance on those networks for the provision of critical services, untrusted equipment should not be allowed in any part of the network," he answered.

What might the consequences be for this split?

The UK, Australia and US are three members of an intelligence-sharing pact called the Five Eyes alliance.
The other two members are New Zealand - which has also barred one of its networks from using Huawei's 5G equipment while it continues to evaluates the risks involved - and Canada, which is still on the fence.
A decision by the UK to allow at least partial use of Huawei's kit could encourage New Zealand and Canada to do likewise, as well as sending a wider signal out to other countries that there is no reason for an outright ban.
But Washington has warned there could be repercussions.
"It would be very difficult for the United States to share information the way that we have in the past if we are having to rely on unsecure networks," Mr Strayer told the BBC.
"[As Secretary of State] Pompeo has said - if the risk exceeds the threshold for the United States, we simply won't be able to share that information any longer."
Some experts are not convinced, however, that the US would really stop sharing intelligence.
"I am surprised at some of the rhetoric from the US," commented Prof Alan Woodward, from Surrey University.
"If sensitive information is being passed across any public network, you have to assume someone is attempting to intercept it. Hence, you layer on your own security to a level appropriate to the sensitivity of the data being transmitted.
"The greater concern with 5G is the potential for disruption of the network, not necessarily espionage."
A formal UK decision on Huawei is still not expected until after the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport shares the results of its own review into the matter with the country's National Security Council.
In the meantime, Huawei is not taking anything for granted.
"We welcome reports that the UK government is moving towards allowing Huawei to help build the UK's 5G networks," said a spokesman for the firm.
"While we await a formal government announcement, we will continue to work co-operatively with the government, Ofcom and the industry and their evidence-based approach to network security."
References:  BBC