In its lawsuit, the US Department of Justice alleges that Apple is abusing its control of the iPhone app store to keep its users.

Furthermore, it gives the impression that the company is making its competitors’ products less available and appear less attractive to consumers.

Apple denies all accusations. This case is becoming one of the most serious problems facing the company. Complaints against its practices have increased in recent years.

The complaint alleges that Apple uses a series of policies to restrict access to its hardware and software. The company is said to be focusing on increasing its income by increasing prices for its customers and is trying to prevent its competitors from innovating.

“Apple has maintained monopoly power in the smartphone market not simply by staying ahead of the competition on the merits but by violating federal anti-trust law”. “Customers should not have to pay higher prices because companies break the law.” Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a press conference announcing the suit.

The complaint lists 5 areas that the US Department of Justice says the company is infringing.

According to the US, Apple is preventing the development of super apps and streaming apps because it fears that they will drive users away from their need for the iPhone.

In addition, the lawsuit alleges that the tech giant prevents syncing between iPhones and smartwatches made by competing companies.

Additionally, the complaint describes Apple not allowing banks or financial companies to access iPhone payment technology. This action provides revenue for the company, which earns billions in fees for processing transactions through Apple Pay.

Apple, for its part, says that according to American law, the company is free to choose which business partners to cooperate with. The tech giant says its rules have been tweaked for security and privacy reasons.

“We believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law, and we will vigorously defend against it,” the company announced.

Apple representatives announce that they will fight to have the court dismiss the complaint.

DBOS (Database Oriented Operating System) reports that the initial amount invested in the product is $8.5 million, with the financing process led by the following companies: Engine Ventures, Construct Capital, Sinewave and GutBrain Ventures.

The activity of DBOS is expressed in the implementation of operating system services on high-performance databases. The company creates a fault-tolerant and secure cyber foundation for cloud-based applications. In addition, the organization provides the ability to save information in SQL tables.

The first product the company offers is DBOS Cloud. This is a FaaS platform. Its appearance marks an extraordinary advance for developers who are determined to explore the capabilities of the DBOS operating system.

What is DBOS Cloud for?

The purpose of DBOS Cloud is to make it easier to create applications and work on serverless functions. Developing the DBOS-based platform enables developers to reach a framework designed to streamline processes while improving operational efficiency.

Linking the platform to DBOS makes the user experience different by simplifying traditional development operations. The benefits of using DBOS Cloud for developers is that they have the ability to work in an environment that aims to make the platform easier to use. In addition, developers are making progress in the field of cybersecurity.

“The cybersecurity implications of DBOS are truly transformative,” said DBOS co-founder and former Head of Cybersecurity Practice at BCG Platinion, Michael Coden.

These advantages lead to the conclusion that applications that are built on DBOS Cloud have protection against cyber-attacks. Also, they are adapting to the rapidly evolving digital environment.

In the GPT Store, users will be able to sell and share custom AI agents that are based on OpenAI’s major language models, OpenAI said in an email to people registered as GPT Builders.

Email sent to GPT Builders // Source: The Verge

Also in the email, users were asked to double-check that what they would be selling and sharing met the requirements, and were reminded to make the status of their GPT files “public” .

OpenAI initially revealed during its November developers conference that it would permit individuals to build AI agents, referred to as GPTs, utilizing its GPT-4 large language model.

This capability is exclusively accessible to ChatGPT Plus and enterprise subscribers, enabling users to develop personalized iterations of ChatGPT-style chatbots. These customized GPTs cover a spectrum of topics, from explaining Gen Z memes to guiding individuals through negotiation processes.

Although OpenAI’s pre-built custom GPTs can be found in the explore tab of ChatGPT Plus, the introduction of the store facilitates users in sharing and potentially monetizing their own GPT creations.

The company said that in the future it would be looking at paying GPT creators based on how much their Al-agents are used in the store. However, OpenAI has not yet disclosed the details.

The store was originally supposed to launch in November, but had to be delayed due to the drama of CEO Sam Altman’s firing.

As reported by VGC, the UK’s specialist competition court has granted permission for the claim to proceed to trial. This lawsuit, initiated by consumer rights activist Alex Neil in August, represents 8.9 million PlayStation customers. The suit alleges that Sony, using its dominant market position, has engaged in an unfair practice of charging exorbitant prices on the PlayStation Store.

According to the lawsuit, the company used its near-monopoly position to sell digital games and additional content for PlayStation consoles. It is alleged that Sony does this in order to impose strict conditions on game developers and publishers.

The legal action further asserts that these terms empower the company to dictate the pricing of digital content and impose a 30% commission on each transaction. The lawsuit contends that such a practice leads to consumer prices that are deemed “excessive and unfair,” surpassing the reasonable costs incurred by Sony in providing these services to its customers.

“This is the first step in ensuring consumers get back what they’re owed as a result of Sony breaking the law. PlayStation gamers’ loyalty has been taken advantage of by Sony who have been charging them excessive prices for years. It is significant that the competition court has recognised Sony must explain its actions by ordering them to trial. With this action, we are seeking to put a stop to this unlawful conduct and ensure customers are compensated”, said class representative Neill.

Previously, Sony sought to dismiss the lawsuit, contending that the case was “flawed from start to finish.” Nevertheless, the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal authorized class representative Neill to proceed to trial with the claim against the Japanese company.

The claim alleges that UK developers are being deprived of money that could be spent on research and development to drive innovation in apps.

The claim is a class action, and this means that UK-based developers do not have to register to be included in any profits. The amount of compensation for each developer will be calculated based on their iOS app business – so the amounts paid out can vary widely and in some cases can even run into millions of pounds.

For its part, Apple continues to reject accusations that it is profiting at the expense of developers. The company claims that the fees it charges allow it to provide iOS users with a premium experience, noting that store administration includes reviewing apps for security and privacy, among other quality checks.

Aside from Gears 5, there are plenty of other Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda titles coming to GeForce Now. Deathloop, Grounded, and Pentiment will be released on May 25 (Thursday). Nvidia says more Xbox games will be added regularly.

Although the first Xbox PC games will need to be purchased from Steam to be available on GeForce Now streaming, Microsoft and Nvidia are working on support for the Microsoft Store. It’s unclear if this will include PC Game Pass support. Nvidia also says that support for this store should “become available in the coming months”.

As you already know, earlier this year Microsoft struck a 10-year deal with Nvidia to license Xbox PC games for GeForce Now as part of a broader effort to appease European regulators over Activision Blizzard’s proposed deal. The EU approved the deal recently in the wake of similar 10-year deals offered to other cloud competitors. The deals also include access to Activision Blizzard titles if Microsoft’s proposed acquisition is approved by regulators.

If the giant deal with Microsoft falls through, Nvidia spokesperson Steffi Ngo claims to The Verge that the agreement with Microsoft and Xbox PC gaming will go ahead regardless of the outcome of the acquisition.

“We want to be in a position to offer Xbox and content from both us and our third-party partners across any screen where somebody would want to play,”

Spencer told the FT.

According to Microsoft’s Xbox head Phil Spencer, Microsoft will take advantage of an upcoming EU law that will break the monopoly of the two major smartphone platform holders.

Apple and Google dominate the smartphone market. But the two companies have also been investigated for abusing their position by applying unfair and anti-competitive policies.

In March 2024, the EU is due to introduce a Digital Markets Act in a bid to tackle the problem. Under the legislation, Apple and Google will be obliged to open their app store platforms to third parties.

“The Digital Markets Act that’s coming – those are the kinds of things that we are planning for. I think it’s a huge opportunity”,

added Spencer.

In a letter to lawmakers last year, cybersecurity expert Bruce Schneier said Apple’s concerns about sideloading are “unfounded” and that it is “simply not true” that legislation like the EU’s puts consumer privacy and security at risk.

Microsoft ran afoul of Apple’s App Store rules after it was blocked from releasing its own app for its Xbox cloud gaming service. Microsoft has released such an app for Android, but for iOS it is forced to stream cloud games using the web browser.

Following the passage of the EU Digital Markets Act, Microsoft will finally be able to offer its own Xbox cloud gaming app on iOS – even if it has to be distributed through its own store on the platform.

The rumors were true: Facebook’s parent company Meta is preparing to launch a Twitter Blue-like subscription service called Meta Verified. On Sunday morning, Mark Zuckerberg took to his newly launched broadcast channel to share the news.

He said the subscription service will give users a blue badge, additional impersonation protection, and direct access to customer service.

“This feature is about enhancing the authenticity and security of our services.”

Zuckerberg said

He added that Meta will test the subscription first in Australia and New Zealand before rolling it out to other countries. Meta Verified will cost $15 per month when users subscribe through the company’s iOS and Android apps. On the web, where app store commissions don’t apply, the service will cost US$12 per month. The subscription will cover Instagram and Facebook accounts, Engadget wrote on the subject.

12 bucks a month to be verified on Facebook… I wonder if people will keep that same Twitter Blue outrage energy 😅 pic.twitter.com/ZPJsIHBerO

— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) February 19, 2023

Users will have to meet certain eligibility requirements before they can sign up for Meta Verified. Specifically, the company told Engadget that the subscription will only be available to users aged 18 or older.

Meta will also require potential subscribers to share a government-issued ID that matches the name and profile picture on their Facebook or Instagram account. Once verified, you can’t change your account name, username, date of birth or photo without going through the verification process again. Accounts that were verified prior to today’s announcement due to their notoriety will remain verified.

In order to follow some of Russia’s government sections, however, the company put on hold other forms of its business. Microsoft also announced that it will assist Ukraine and provide the country with cyber-security support. The purpose behind this action is to protect it against cyber-attacks possibly set up by Russia.

In a blog post, Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, said:

“Since the war began, we have acted against Russian positioning, destructive or disruptive measures against more than 20 Ukrainian government, IT and financial sector organizations.”

He also shared that the company is constantly keeping in touch with its employees in Ukraine, giving its best to support them however it can.

Other tech companies have also made similar decisions. Some of them have already restrained Russia’s state-controlled media such as Sputnik or RT. For example, Microsoft has already removed RT’s mobile applications from the app store for Windows.

Microsoft is not the only one which restricts Russia.

Facebook, Google and Youtube impeded Russia’s state media in order to stop it from making money from ads on their platforms.

Also, companies such as Cisco, Oracle, Netflix and Spotify also took actions and withhold operations in Russia.

ll bookings in Russia and Belarus have been stopped by Airbnb. It is said that the company even offered free housing to 100,000 refugees.

In a tweet, Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said that even more tech restrictions for Russia are being expected.

On the Boom app, the main function is that users and creators can create their Boom account to browse through news or share their opinions about the current crypto market. Users are able to follow news that is published by Whales or KOLs and creators are able to share information or ideas on their account privately or publicly.

With the recent updates, Boom came out with a function which allows users to display their NFTs or Token into their profile as they wish. With this function, while users read through articles and posts by KOL or Whale’s, they are able to verify the credibility of the info based on the asset they hold.

As Boom is a community-centric-based application, they have also launched a $1M Creator Fund with the idea to provide better support to content creators.