Microsoft Wants Game Pass On PlayStation, Nintendo, And "Every Screen" Possible
https://archive.is/0oYMd
>"It's a bit of a change of strategy. Not announcing anything broadly here, but our mission is to bring our first-party experiences [and] our subscription services to every screen that can play games," Stuart said. "That means smart TVs, that means mobile devices, that means what we would have thought of as competitors in the past like PlayStation and Nintendo."
Gears of War reportedly also being considered for PlayStation release
https://archive.is/1Gund
>That's according to Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb, who made the claim in the latest edition of his Game Mess Mornings podcast (thanks VGC). Addressing the recent spate of rumours about first-party Xbox games heading to PlayStation - which so far include Starfield, Sea of Thieves, Hi-Fi Rush, and Bethesda's upcoming Indiana Jones game - Grubb said, "The other one that I've heard that's definitely under consideration...is Gears of War".
>"It doesn't mean that it's going to happen," he added, "but it's in talks".
Microsoft weighs launching Indiana Jones on the PS5
https://archive.is/4vKkW
>Bethesda’s upcoming Indiana Jones game is also tentatively set to launch on Sony’s PlayStation 5 console. We got our first glimpse of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle during Microsoft’s Xbox Developer Direct event last month, where it was announced for Xbox and PC. A source familiar with Microsoft’s plans tells The Verge that Bethesda is also considering bringing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to PS5.
>A new multi-platform approach for certain Xbox games is emerging inside Microsoft, we’re told, with the company weighing up which titles will remain exclusive and others that will appear on Switch or PS5 in the future. Indiana Jones appears to be part of this new wave of multi-platform games.
Investors in Japan Drain $4.5 Billion as They Exit ESG Funds
https://archive.ph/7S6B6
>Japanese retail investors are abandoning ESG mutual funds.
Investors pulled a total of 660 billion yen ($4.5 billion) from funds last year, according to the research firm Morningstar. That’s more than four times the outflows of 150 billion yen in 2022.
>The shift is due to investors favoring mutual funds focused on specific investment themes rather than sustainability goals related to ESG funds. In 2021, ESG funds boomed in Japan with total inflows of 1.8 trillion yen. Now investors are more interested in areas such as foreign index funds.
>“Rather than being a response to investor demand for sustainable investments, ESG was seen as a theme,” said Daisuke Motori, director of manager research at Morningstar Japan
>Investors are still pouring money into mutual funds, with inflows exceeding outflows for 11 months of the last year.
>The outflow of capital from ESG funds has hammered the industry’s growth. According to a Morningstar report, there were no new ESG products launched between October and December of last year.
>Interest in ESG funds among retail investors is unlikely to recover, according to Kai Ebisawa, fund analyst at Matsui Securities. He expects the shift to other investment areas to continue.
Cloudflare's estate breached by suspected state-sponsored threat actors
https://archive.is/g7kqp
>The attackers exploited unrotated access token and service account credentials obtained from an Okta breach in October
>Internet security firm Cloudflare disclosed last week it had fended off a sophisticated cyberattack launched by state-backed hackers aiming to infiltrate its extensive global network.
>The attempt, detected on US Thanksgiving Day, 23rd November, underscored the relentless efforts of malicious actors to breach critical internet infrastructure.
How a mistakenly published password exposed Mercedes-Benz source code
https://archive.is/psCvX
>“The GitHub token gave ‘unrestricted’ and ‘unmonitored’ access to the entire source code hosted at the internal GitHub Enterprise Server,” Mittal explained in a report shared by TechCrunch. “The repositories include a large amount of intellectual property... connection strings, cloud access keys, blueprints, design documents, [single sign-on] passwords, API Keys, and other critical internal information.”
>“We can confirm that internal source code was published on a public GitHub repository by human error,” Liesenfeld said in a statement to TechCrunch. “The security of our organization, products, and services is one of our top priorities."
>“We will continue to analyze this case according to our normal processes. Depending on this, we implement remedial measures,” Liesenfeld added.
Japan’s government finally says goodbye to floppy disks
https://archive.is/9vYhc
>The country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry put out an announcement last week, finally removing the need to submit digital documents using physical media. Taro Kano, Japan’s Minister for Digital Transformation, announced his “war on floppy disks” in August 2022, ARS Technica reported at the time. Until the law changed last week, nearly 2,000 government procedures required citizens and businesses to use floppy disks, CDs and Minidisks for document submission.
>But Japan was an outlier because a large part of the entire country still uses floppy disks, largely due to the public sector. It is not uncommon for cutting-edge business laptops to still have a floppy disk drive and CD/DVD drive. Perhaps that will eventually become a thing of the past as well since the country woke up to the new millennium around two decades later.
Apple says UK could 'secretly veto' global privacy tools
https://archive.is/b7RDL
>A government spokesperson said: "We have always been clear that we support technological innovation and private and secure communications technologies, including end-to-end encryption, but this cannot come at a cost to public safety."
Apple faces ‘strong action’ if App Store changes fall short, EU’s Breton says
https://archive.is/tuLdG
>In a move designed to comply with the EU’s incoming Digital Markets Act (DMA), the company will soon allow software developers to distribute their apps to Apple devices via alternative stores.
>Asked about Apple’s plans, EU industry chief Thierry Breton exclusively told Reuters: “The DMA will open the gates of the internet to competition so that digital markets are fair and open. Change is already happening. As from 7 March we will assess companies’ proposals, with the feedback of third parties.”
Ex-CIA software engineer sentenced to 40 years for giving secrets to WikiLeaks
https://archive.is/wfYl9
>Joshua Schulte, who prosecutors said was responsible for agency’s largest data breach, also guilty of possessing child abuse images
NYC wants to create a first-of-its kind department to regulate app-based delivery
https://archive.is/wLfAO
>Across the country, cities are filling up with e-bikes, cargo bikes, delivery robots, and even drones—micromobility options meant to provide a way to move restaurant meals, groceries, and packages in a quick, environmentally efficient manner.
>But for all their benefits, including fewer emissions and reduced car traffic, these innovations have also come with downsides, including issues around worker pay and safety, clogged bike lanes and sidewalks, and a general lack of city oversight or accountability.
behind KOSA, the controversial kids online safety bill
https://archive.is/Ca2Rm
>On the eve of Wednesday’s Big Tech hearing (both Big Tech and a big hearing — five CEOs are testifying as we speak), Microsoft stepped up to back a controversial bill that aims to protect children from the dangers of social media. In the early hours of the hearing, X CEO Linda Yaccarino also climbed aboard.
>“Senator, we support KOSA and we’ll continue to make sure that it accelerates and make sure to continue to offer community for teens that are seeking that voice,” Yaccarino said when asked if X, formerly Twitter, will support the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). The question came when KOSA co-sponsor Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) went down the line of tech CEOs asking if each company would back his legislation.