Weekly Tech Recap - № 268 - Microsoft buys Bethesda, Always Home Cam, Amazon Echo, Swift on Windows and Edge on Linux
Microsoft acquires Bethesda
Fallout 76. © Bethesda Softworks LLC.
Microsoft is buying ZeniMax Media, the corporate parent of Bethesda Softworks, the owner of game franchises like Dishonored, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Starfield, Quake and Prey. At 7.5 billion dollars cash, this transaction is one of the richest ever in the video game industry. The announcement comes as Microsoft is preparing to launch two new consoles, the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S. Bethesda had already announced the launch of two new PlayStation 5 and Windows exclusive titles, Ghostwire: Tokyo (Tango Gameworks) and Deathloop (Arkane Studios). The head of the Xbox division, Phil Spencer, confirmed that Microsoft would honor existing exclusivities, but that future games would be available on platforms other than the Xbox “on a case-by-case basis”. Already a leader in the platform market with the Xbox and Windows, over the last few years, Microsoft has turned into a behemoth for content with the purchase of Minecraft and several studios like Double Fine Productions, Undead Labs, Playground Games, Ninja Theory and Compulsion Games. One thing emerges clearly from this development: the Bethesda acquisition makes the Game Pass an even better deal, which is probably a top priority for Microsoft as it launches its next generation of consoles in November.
⇨ Ars Technica, Kyle Orland, “Microsoft purchases Bethesda Softworks in industry-changing acquisition.”
Always Home Cam
Always Home Cam. © Ring/Amazon.
Ring has unveiled the Always Home Cam, an autonomous security drone for your home. It autonomously flies around your house or apartment, then returns to its docking station to recharge its battery. The advantage of this device is that it provides multiple viewpoints throughout the home without requiring the use of multiple cameras. The Always Home Cam is fully autonomous, but owners can tell it what path it can take and where it can go. Ring says the on-board camera can be used for simple things like checking if a stove was left on or a window left open, or if a door is locked when you’re away from the home. It features obstacle avoidance technology to allow it to avoid objects in its path and its shrouded propellers prevent damage to property or hurting a pet or person that might collide with the drone. To secure your home with a drone, while terrorizing the cat or dog, you’ll have to stump up USD250 and wait until next year.
The Ring drone stops a hapless burglar in his tracks in this ad.
⇨ YouTube, “Next-Level Autonomously Flying Indoor Security Camera | Ring Always Home Cam.”
⇨ The Verge, Dan Seifert, “Ring’s latest security camera is a drone that flies around inside your house.”
New ball-shaped Echos
Echo. © Amazon.
Amazon announced the launch of the fourth generation of its main smart speaker, the Echo, with a new spherical design and better sound. Thanks to the AZ1 Neural Edge, a processor developed in collaboration with MediaTek, Alexa can now respond faster to queries by performing voice recognition locally, right on the machine. The new Echo will come in three colours: charcoal, chalk and steel blue, will still cost USD100 and will ship as of 22 October. Pre-ordering is already available on Amazon. The standard Echo is joined by the Echo Dot, which is also ball-shaped, and which also stays at USD50. Not to mention the clock display version, for USD60, which could make a great bedside companion, and an Echo Dot Kids model for USD60, with cute animal faces (tiger or panda).
⇨ Engadget, Devindra Hardawar, “Amazon’s latest Echo speaker has an all-new spherical design.”
Swift does Windows
© Readdle.
Announced in a blog post on Tuesday, the release of Swift 5.3’s toolchain enables developers to build, run and debug code directly on Windows 10. With the announcement, developer Saleem Abdulrasool provided a demonstration with a small app, a basic calculator created with Swift and Visual Studio 2019, which delivers CMake, Ninja and Windows SDK. Swift Package Manager support on Windows is coming along, and it will soon be possible to get the application building using swift build without needing CMake or Ninja. This is of course just a first step for Swift Windows: many libraries still need to be brought over, including Swift Standard; but this is all very encouraging, and will enable the porting of macOS and iOS apps to Windows.
⇨ AppleInsider, “Developers can now build and run Swift code on Windows.”
⇨ Swift.org, Saleem Abdulrasool, “Introducing Swift on Windows.”
Edge on Linux
Edge on Linux. © Microsoft.
Microsoft is planning to launch a preview version of its Edge browser for Linux next month. After officially confirming plans for Edge on Linux earlier this year, Linux users will be able to download a preview of the browser in October. The preview will be available from Microsoft’s Edge Insider site or through the native Linux package manager. Microsoft isn’t discussing how many features found on the Windows and macOS versions of Edge will be available on Linux just yet, but it’s likely that the vast majority of features will make their way across. Just another proof of the love that the Redmond giant bears for the penguin.
⇨ Engadget, Devindra Hardawar, “Microsoft’s Edge browser is arriving on Linux in beta next month.”
Aussi, cette semaine, si vous vous intéressez au développement mobile, ne manquez pas l’imposante “Ars Technica Review” d’Android 11 !
