European union

After five weeks of striking, the QA testers at Raven Software, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, have formed one of the first unions in a AAA game publisher. The union, known as the Game Workers Alliance , was formed in association with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) , a labor union that represents telecommunications and digital media workers. Back in December, 12 QA workers were laid off , sparking a walkout at the Call of Duty support studio. Since then, some members of the QA department engaged in a sustained strike at Raven Software, prompting the creation of a GoFundMe to support the striking members . “We formed the Game Workers Alliance (CWA) because my colleagues and I want to have our voices heard,” said Brent Reel, a QA lead at Raven, in a CWA press release. The union is asking for formal recognition from parent company Activision Blizzard, who, in recent SEC filings related to the company’s pending acquisition by Microsoft , failed to … [Read more...] about Employees at Activision studio Raven Software formally organize union

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine on Monday dismissed the U.S. State Department’s withdrawal of the families of U.S. embassy staff in Kyiv as “premature” given the lack of “drastic change” in tensions between the country and Russia. The State Department announced it would withdraw the families of staffers and encourage private American citizens in Ukraine to leave because of an alleged imminent threat of invasion of the country by Russia. Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a decade ago, in 2014, and continues to colonize Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula to this day. The Ukrainian government also accuses Moscow of being heavily involved in the ongoing war in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, which the Kremlin insists is a civil war that has nothing to do with it. Concern for Ukraine escalated last week after President Joe Biden announced that his administration would not intervene in the event of Russia committing a “minor incursion” into Ukraine and appearing resigned to Russian leader Vladimir Putin … [Read more...] about Confused Ukraine Calls Biden Diplomatic Pullout ‘Premature,’ ‘Excessive’

Le Parlement européen, l'organe législatif de l'Union européenne (UE), a voté en faveur du projet de législation Digital Services Act (DSA), une série de mesures efficaces qui vise à limiter le pouvoir des géants américains de l'internet tels que Facebook, Amazon et Google. Le vote - 530 pour, 78 contre et 80 abstentions - est la dernière salve en date des régulations de l'UE visant à limiter ce qu'elle considère comme l’hégémonie de sociétés Internet devenues trop puissantes - la précédente souhaitait encadrer le pistage des mineurs. La loi sur les services numériques s'applique aux plateformes et services en ligne, dont beaucoup possèdent leur siège aux États-Unis mais disposent d'une base d'utilisateurs considérable dans l'UE et sur les marchés voisins. Cette législation, telle qu'approuvée par le Parlement, régule spécifiquement le ciblage publicitaire basé sur des données personnelles sensibles. " Le vote montre que les députés européens et les citoyens de l'UE … [Read more...] about Le Parlement européen adopte des mesures drastiques contre le pistage des publicités

Audio player loading… On January 8, 2022, arguably humankind’s greatest engineering achievement came to fruition about a half a million miles behind our planet. After 20 years in development, $10 billion spent, and 14 nail-biting days of exquisite hi-tech origami in space, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was fully deployed. After successfully launching from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana on Christmas Day while folded-up in the fairing of the Ariane 5 rocket, engineers remotely controlled 50 moving parts and 178 release pins. Everything had to happen correctly, in sequence, to put Webb in its final configuration. It worked. This Monday, January 24, after a 30-day journey into space, Webb arrives at its final destination. A dream realized? Not yet. This is what happens next. What is Webb? Webb is the biggest and the most advanced space observatory ever constructed. About 100 times more powerful than Hubble, Webb is the size of a 70-foot tennis … [Read more...] about NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has reached its destination. Now what?

The US is considering restricting the flow of semiconductors into Russia to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine. The move would prevent the Russian military and much of the nation’s economy from advancing technologically. The details of the sanctions are still being decided, but they would rely on similar restrictions that kneecapped Huawei, the Chinese tech company. Though most semiconductors are made overseas, US companies control huge swaths of the larger market, from chip design and manufacturing equipment to process and quality control. By restricting access to those companies' products and services, the US can effectively limit Russian access to the latest chips, even if they’re made in other countries. “It’s one of the tools that the US has come to prefer because it’s painful, but it doesn’t involve the use of force,” James Andrew Lewis, senior vice president and director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and … [Read more...] about “Death Star” response from US would lock Russia out of 5G, advanced chips

Audio player loading… For any fans of the Kobo ereaders out there, this is good news! The Japanese-Canadian company's ebook subscription service is finally making its way out of its native Canada and is slowly being made available in more markets. It's now available in Australia and New Zealand, costing AU$13.99 / NZ$14.99 a month after a 30-day free trial. It's not yet available in the US, but an FAQ page (without pricing information unfortunately) on Kobo's US website indicates it might just be a matter of time before it makes its way to American users. There's no indication yet on when Kobo Plus will be available in the UK, although it's been available in the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal since 2020, so again, it might just be a matter of time. What is Kobo Plus? Kobo's ebook subscription service is similar to Amazon's Kindle Unlimited . Once subscribed you can add any book from the Kobo Plus catalogue to your digital library, with no restrictions on … [Read more...] about Kobo Plus is the new all-you-can-read alternative to Kindle Unlimited