Enterprise News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

Black Friday itself may be beginning to fade into the distance to be replaced by the wonders of Cyber Monday, but we're still finding plenty of deals that look like they're going to stick around a little while longer. This year we've seen plenty of great Black Friday OLED monitor and TV deals, and for those of you that weren't quite sure whether to pull the trigger on the big day the good news is they seem to be hanging on for a bit longer than they might have done in previous years.

Google Meet workspace is rolling out a new feature that will be able to detect hand gestures. The new Google Meet hand raise gesture feature is one of the interesting additions to the platform as it will enable users to physically raise their hand and the application will automatically notify participants that they want to speak. All you have to do is make your hands visible to the device's camera and it will recognize that you are raising your hand. Know more about the Google Meet hand gesture feature here.

2D engine GameMaker is now free to use for developers creating non-commercial titles.

Oh, it’s been a trying time for developers, especially those who’ve been hurt by Unity’s recent new controversial fees. As a result, many have been hightailing it outta there, looking for alternatives. In the midst of all this, one company has decided to engage in some savvy business acumen.

YoYo Games, creator of the popular GameMaker engine, has switched up its pricing model and appears to be much more accessible as a result.

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The OpenAI-Sam Altman saga continues to dominate the headlines in the artificial intelligence space for the 5th day in a row. Today, November 21, reports revealed that OpenAI is now under intense discussions to quell the staff mutiny that saw 500+ employees threatening to resign from the company if Altman was not reinstated. In other news, Wipro and Nvidia formed a partnership to help healthcare companies accelerate the adoption of AI. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

YoYo Games' popular 2D engine, GameMaker, is now free for non-commercial on all non-console platforms.

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Aonic has acquired Synapse and Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord developer nDreams for a total enterprise value close to $110 million, the company announced.

AI is coming to disrupt game art production whether artists like it or not. And Layer AI is the latest startup to raise $1.8 million to bring AI to game art.

As 2023 draws to a close, attention slowly begins to turn to 2024's PC hardware. That means it's rumor time! The launch of Nvidia's next generation Blackwell is still a long way off, so rumors and leaks need to be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. But one of the safer ones is that the cards with the high end GB202 GPU will feature GDDR7 memory, and perhaps less reliably, a 384-bit memory bus.

NVIDIA is bringing a huge acceleration to AI Workloads to millions of Windows 11 PCs powered by its latest RTX GPUs.

NVIDIA has unveiled the first performance teaser of its next-gen Blackwell B100 GPUs which will more than double the performance of Hopper H200 in 2024.

Europe's hope to rival OpenAI, Aleph Alpha, may have just raised close to 500 million euros ($534 million) from investors this week, but its co-founder said Friday the start-up was in a battle to even survive.

The practice of deleting inactive accounts is something that has been around for a long time. Earlier this year, Google talked about how it will start deleting personal accounts that have been inactive for two years. Now, the company has finally announced that the process will start in December 2023.

The various party members of Baldur's Gate 3 are, of course, staggeringly beautiful. Whether we're talking Ventrue Stewie Griffin, Reddit the wizard, or the jolly green fascist, all of them (plus all their pals) could easily take their turn on the catwalk if the mood struck them.

It turns out you can make Baldur's Gate 3's most torturous dungeon a little easier on yourself.

Aethir, a startup focused on decentralized cloud infrastructure (DCI) for games and AI, announced it has launched its testnet on Arbitrum.

OpenAI, which is largely credited for the generative artificial intelligence frenzy that started after the launch of its ChatGPT chatbot, just concluded its first-ever developer conference. The event, DevDay 2023, was hosted from the SVN West facility in San Francisco, the same city where it is headquartered. Company CEO Sam Altman came on the stage at the start of the keynote session and highlighted the major milestones achieved by the company as well as the way forward. Some key announcements were also made during the event, including the new GPT-4 Turbo, and a new GPT Store. Let us check out the 10 key announcements made during the event.

Sony has started notifying users that it will be turning integration with the social media site X — formally known as Twitter — next week.

The great X spiral continued today as Sony revealed on its support site that integration with the social media platform formerly known as Twitter will be disabled on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles next week.

Unity has changed the language of its Terms of Services that best reflect the recent changes to its controversial Runtime Fee policy. 

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is not one to speak purely in PR friendly terms. With his engineering background, he has a deep understanding of Intel's technologies, and isn't afraid to voice his opinion on a variety of subjects—including Intel itself. Gelsinger was asked by Digit about what he considered to be Intel's biggest misses. His answers were somewhat obvious to outsiders but nevertheless illuminating.

Google Meet is rolling out a significant update for its enterprise Workspace users, introducing the ability to make direct one-on-one calls without the need for cumbersome links. This feature, previously exclusive to personal users, is now extended to Workspace customers, simplifying communication within organisations.

Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, has called for a boycott of game commerce platform Xsolla over links to Russia.

Saudi Arabia’s ambitious NEOM Company threw its support behind Web3 in a big way today with a $50 million investment into Animoca Brands.

The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) — all 66 pages of it — was activated almost exactly a year ago, became generally applicable this year on May 2, and will start to be enforced around March of next year. Its aim, of course, is to regulate major online platforms and gatekeepers, and the goal is to establish fair competition, consumer protection and data privacy. It’s pretty certain that the online global gaming industry, in which developers and game studios are profoundly affected by platform dynamics, will feel the brunt of the changes wrought by the DMA.

In recent years, Microsoft has been taking big steps towards bringing artificial intelligence (AI) to its suite of products. At the Build 2023 event, the tech giant announced that it was bringing the Microsoft 365 Copilot, an AI assistant developed for Microsoft 365 applications and services, to Microsoft Teams. At its Inspire conference in July, the company also unveiled the Bing Chat Enterprise, a business-oriented version of its AI chatbot with GPT-4 capabilities. Now, Microsoft has announced that it is finally launching the 365 Copilot for businesses and enterprise customers. Let us take a closer look.

Portalis.AI has emerged from stealth mode to unveil its avatars that are aimed at enhancing interaction and communication between humans and AI.

The shift to cloud infrastructure has become a massive trend for the internet. But moving generative AI and gaming applications to the cloud can strain computing resources.

Advanced Micro Devices reported that revenue in its third quarter was $5.8 billion, up 4% from a year earlier and 8% sequentially as as new products, AI chips and data center tech grew in the quarter.

An enterprising Final Fantasy 14 fan has set out to complete the MMO’s story content using only a party of healers, with additional rules thrown in to make the task more difficult. They were quickly made to regret the decision. 

It might be the last day of October, and Halloween, but artificial intelligence stops for no one. In today's big news, Microsoft's enterprise Copilot, the Microsoft 365 AI assistant, will be rolling out to businesses tomorrow, November 1. This tool will enable organizations to automate a number of time-consuming tasks such as summarizing video calls, drafting emails, and more. In other news, Elon Musk will do an interview alongside the UK PM Rishi Sunak. The Tesla CEO will also be participating in the UK AI Summit. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let us take a closer look.

There was a time when print media and pixel art were like peanut butter and jelly. Before the advent of polygon-based graphics and online storefronts, nearly every game was made from chunky grids of color, and at retail, every game came with a printed instruction manual showing how to play it.

China has stepped up spending to replace Western-made technology with domestic alternatives as Washington tightens curbs on high-tech exports to its rival, according to government tenders, research documents and four people familiar with the matter.

MAUI, Hawaii—At Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit 2023, PCMag sat down with two of the company’s senior leaders for a conversation around the star attraction of the first day’s keynote: Snapdragon X Elite, the first PC-compute iteration of the company’s new Snapdragon X family of mobile processors. Qualcomm has made some bold performance and efficiency claims around X Elite. They stand in stark contrast to the relative paucity of Snapdragon laptop-processor design wins to date (compared with Qualcomm's commanding position in smartphone chips). Many of the initial claims throw down the gauntlet to today’s big-three laptop chip makers (AMD, Apple, and Intel).

I've been very intrigued by the concept of a foldable PC, so when I got the chance to use HP's version for the past couple of weeks, I jumped at the opportunity. The HP Spectre Foldable PC has a 17-inch foldable OLED panel, and it offers the ability to use it in a variety of ways, with the included Bluetooth keyboard. You can have the whole panel folded out, flip down a kickstand, and use it as a desktop. You can lay it flat and use it as a tablet, with an included pen. Or you can fold it in half, put the keyboard on the bottom, and use it like a 12.3-inch laptop. Alternatively, you could just put the keyboard on the lower half of the folded area, and get a larger 14-inch laptop, albeit one in which the lower part of the display is flat while the top part is vertical.

Following a relatively quiet third quarter, games industry investment and deals are expected to rise steadily over the next 12 months.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the 7th Edition of the India Mobile Congress, at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

It’s easy to look at something and see its success, and say, “Well, that industry is going to be doing well forever!” Or that it would “take something big to bring it down!” That perception can be described as “gilded” because all you see is the glitter, not the darkness underneath. The video game industry is in a good place overall right now, and there’s plenty of potential for growth in the future. However, by that same token, we’re already seeing some not-so-good practices, and one former PlayStation boss highlighted that in a recent interview where he called out certain things.

Nimo Planet has unveiled its spatial computing system for productivity apps that you can use in a private multi-screen virtual workspace.

In a move that may bring new meaning to the term «cloud-computing», HyperScale Nexus Holding Corp, a business centred around providing Nvidia H100 GPUs for AI and HPC markets, entered into an agreement to acquire the Colorado based American Cannabis Company inc last month. The company describes itself as providing industry specific advisory and consulting services, manufacture of cultivation products, and facilities for cannabis startups.

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden has once again issued a warning to the games sector, this time around the trend towards consolidation.

NVIDIA has joined hands with AMD to offer the world's most powerful AI workstation PCs featuring Threadripper 7000 CPUs.

It's all well and good to talk about technology trends, but what really concerns most CIOs and other business leaders is what they need to accomplish in the year ahead. So at Gartner Symposium, I was interested in the various takes that different analysts presented in various sessions, often based on surveys the firm has done of different groups.

Advanced Micro Devices unveiled its AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7000WX-Series workstation processors and 7000 Series high-end desktop processors today.

Revenue generated by Swedish games companies in the country has grown 13% year-on-year, reaching €3.1 billion in 2022, according to the annual report from Sweden's games trade body Dataspelsbranschen.

In a significant move aimed at making technology more accessible to a broader spectrum of consumers, HP has introduced its refurbished laptop program in India. This initiative seeks to provide affordable computing options to both retail customers and businesses. HP's refurbished laptops will be made available in the country through a certified partner, marking a pioneering step to boost PC adoption, especially in smaller towns and rural areas where access to personal computers has been a challenge.

Nvidia and Foxconn are teaming up to create a new class of data center focused entirely on artificial intelligence workloads.

AI is the theme of the year, and it was certainly in evidence at Gartner's annual IT Symposium conference in Orlando, which started this morning with a keynote titled "We Shape AI, AI Shapes Us." In the keynote, Gartner analysts began by imploring the audience of CIOs and technology executives to focus on the profound shift in the relationship between humans and machines brought about by the emergence of AI.

The University of California at Berkeley and SKS Partners unveiled a $2 billion research and development hub at the NASA’s Ames Research Center.

Microsoft Flight Simulator is a known quantity by now. An immaculate and widely acclaimed aircraft simulator with the sort of pedigree that almost no other modern gaming franchise could compare with, and one that’s due for a comprehensive 2024 update to make it even better. But that’s not even close to the full story, as Parallel 42’s wacky Juice Goose third-party DLC can attest to. Indeed, it would appear that some enterprising devs have been working in the background to redefine what Microsoft Flight Sim can and cannot do.

The edge of the network isn’t always where you find the most powerful computers. But it is the place where you can find the most ubiquitous technology.

If you're a Google Cloud or Workspace customer experimenting with the company's generative AI tools, the company this week promised to protect you against any potential copyright claims.

Video game voice actor Ken Lally has died at the age of 52 on Tuesday, October 10. At time of writing, the circumstances of his passing haven't been revealed, but it was confirmed by actor Eva La Dare, who worked with him on Capcom's Resident Evil 5.

You ever feel like Starfield's best drops are a bit thin on the ground? Specifically, that its toughest elite enemies seem only ever to drop fairly naff rare and epic weapons instead of the legendary drops that come with three gameplay-altering modifiers? You're not alone, but now, as spotted by GamesRadar, one enterprising player has applied the scientific method to the conundrum.

The shift to a hybrid work environment has led to the emergence of online communication platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and more. While most of these existed before the sudden demand for them during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is now healthy competition to become the number one workspace provider in the market. Consequently, developers keep rolling out new features to keep users from switching to alternate platforms. Earlier this year, Google Meet brought 1080p video calling to one-on-one video chats, and now this feature is being introduced in group calling as well.

Mini PCs have a dedicated following. Count me among them! When news came that Intel was handing over the reins of its NUC (Next Unit of Computing) business to Asus, I was definitely intrigued by the possibilities. Consumers aren't the only market for NUCs though, as Asus is courting commercial and enterprise clients with custom NUC devices designed for a wide variety of use cases.

AI is the hot topic in tech right now, and Adobe is using its Max conference this year in Los Angeles to promote its own Firefly image-generating AI technology.

Weeks after upsetting developers with a proposed runtime fee, only to quickly backtrack on the idea, Unity announced today that CEO John Riccitiello was stepping down from his multiple roles as president, CEO and board chair, going from having a ton of responsibility to having a lot of time on his hands.

Epic Games will start charging for the use of Unreal Engine outside of video game development.

Epic Games is raising the price of its Unreal Engine for developers outside the gaming industry.

Pre-registrations have gone live for Konami's Silent Hill: Ascension, an interactive drama for mobiles - I know, shush, I'm sure it'll come to PCs eventually - which follows a cast of characters around the world who are being tormented by monsters from the eponymous Town of Woe.

Google announced the new Pixel 8 series along with the latest Android 14 update. The new version has various new features which offer to enhance the Android user's experience. The Android 14 has introduced some features to its Work Profile that can come in handy for business and enterprise users. This new addition will enable users to swiftly switch between their personal and work accounts easily. Know how the feature works.

There's an irrefutable uniqueness to Melanie Perkins' approach towards running a tech company. The 36-year-old Australia based co-founder and CEO of Canva, a multi-platform designing suite, likes to make early bets on technology trends and indeed people who will use that tech. Unlike some of their competitors, premium subscriptions aren't priority, or a barometer of success.

The task management tool called Microsoft Lists, will now be made available to users across all devices on iOS, Android, and Web. The app was launched back in 2020 for businesses and enterprise users so they can track information and organize tasks effectively. Users with Microsoft accounts can now access the app and utilize its benefits. Know more about the Microsoft Lists here.

A law normally used to prosecute organized crime is being invoked to go after Facebook’s parent Meta, Google, and H&R Block for allegedly sharing and mining users' tax information. 

A Chromebook is not necessarily just a Chromebook anymore. Google, in concert with four of the major system OEMs, is introducing a new, special tier of the web-centric laptops today.

Intel threw a lot of information at us a couple of weeks ago at its Intel Innovation 2023 event in San Jose, California. The company talked a lot about its manufacturing advances, its Meteor Lake chip, and its future schedule for processors. It felt like a heavy download of semiconductor chip information. And it piqued my interest in a variety of ways.

Alientrap, the devs behind Cryptark, are back for more. This time, it’s taking its experience with procedural generation and giving it a first-person twist with a sequel titled Gunhead. Described as an “FPS Jetpack Roguelike,” the team’s latest is now locked in for November 8 on PC and PlayStation 5. The release date was announced today during the Realms Deep digital event. You can see how it looks in action in the new trailer below.

This Week in Business is our weekly recap column, a collection of stats and quotes from recent stories presented with a dash of opinion (sometimes more than a dash) and intended to shed light on various trends. Check every Friday for a new entry.

The generative AI platform ChatGPT can now fetch data directly from the internet and gather up-to-date information in real-time, its creator OpenAI said Wednesday, in a major milestone for the software.

OpenAI announced on Twitter that it's brought back ChatGPT's ability to browse the internet so the popular chatbot can provide you with «current and authoritative information.» Answers to queries will have more up-to-date information while giving the proper linking to sources. The news comes after a recent update gave ChatGPT the ability to have a back-and-forth conversation with you. 

Talespin, which uses spatial computing to train workers, announced the launch of its extended reality (XR) learning app on Meta Quest.

After doing a terrible job of communicating a controversial new pricing scheme (which culminated in an allegedly self-inflicted bomb threat), Unity Technologies has again apologised for the "confusion and angst" caused and walked back some of its terms. Looking at responses from developers in the community, it doesn't seem like nearly enough.

Campfire, which makes 3D collaboration tools for virtual reality, announced its platform for enterprises will debut on the Meta Quest 3.

Update: Meta’s moved the start time by 30 minutes to 10:30AM PT/1:30 PM ET. No explanation why, but the sun’s blazing on the presentation area, and crowds are milling about. If you’re virtual, you have a few options for watching. The most accessible appears to be Meta’s developers page. (Original article continues below.)

Meta’s Quest Pro arrived to a mixed reaction when it launched late last year. The consensus – if one can be found – was that the headset presented some impressive technological leaps over its consumer predecessor (the Quest 2), but the $1,500 price tag was ultimately prohibitively expensive. If that sounds at all familiar, it’s because that’s more or less the same feedback we see every time an intriguing new headset his the market.