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CBS and Viacom agree to sign $30 billion merger deal
CBS and Viacom have reached a long-rumored merger agreement. The two companies announced today that they will reunite as ViacomCBS. According to The Wall Street Journal, CBS and Viacom hope that, together, they'll be better positioned to fight against cable TV competition and streaming services.
Microsoft has two big Windows 10 updates slated for 2017
While announcing the gradual rollout of its Anniversary update for Windows 10, Microsoft confirmed that there would be two feature updates coming in 2017. This means moving to a twice-a-year schedule the company had previously set up for its "Threshold" updates for Windows 8, which used the codename for that operating system. According to Windows Central, the first update for 10, called "Redstone 2" after this operating system's nickname, will come in early 2017, followed by "Redstone 3" four to six months later in late summer or early fall. The latest internal builds are around the 14900 range, the site said, meaning testers should soon receive bits of Redstone 2 to try out and give feedback.
Leaked image purportedly shows hand-off feature in Windows 10
Even before Windows 10 was released we heard about its first major update, codenamed "Redstone."' Today, a purported screenshot from a recent Redstone build suggests that Windows users will finally get a feature that OS X has enjoyed for two years now: the ability to transfer work progress from a mobile device to a computer or vice versa.
Next year's big Windows 10 update is codenamed 'Redstone'
You know the drill: Microsoft releases a new OS and, roughly a year later, a hefty service pack arrives with a raft of fixes and added features. Neowin is reporting that the company will put out two updates in June and October of next year, both under the codename Redstone. There'll still be the regular patches and updates, but according to ZDNet, Redstone is believed to bring support for "new classes of devices that aren't already part of Windows 10." Naturally, Microsoft has already issued a standard no comment, not that it'd be too eager to distract attention away from this summer's launch. Oh, and before you ask, Redstone is a Minecraft reference in the same way that Windows 10's codename, Threshold, was a nod to Halo. Microsoft is nothing but loyal to its first-party franchises.
Minecraft Redstone Update hits March 13, pre-release out now
Prepare yourself for the Minecraft Redstone Update, which enables exciting additions such as the Redstone Comparator, a daylight sensor, weighted pressure plate, Nether quartz and ore, more detailed death messages, three settings in smooth lighting, and "many, many bug fixes." Minecraft 1.5, the Redstone Update, hits on Wednesday, March 13.Update 1.5 provides a number of changes to Minecraft's Redstone, including variable signal strength, the introduction of a new capacitor block with one input and output each, new minecarts and more.Take a look at the complete pre-release change list below, and grab it directly from Mojang here.
Minecraft 1.5 Redstone Update chips away a January 2013 launch
The Minecraft 1.5 update for PC, titled the Redstone Update, is due to hit in 2013 and mainly addresses – wait for it – redstone ore. The update gives redstone variable signal strength and introduces a new capacitor block with one input and one output. Combining these two objects creates weighted pressure plates and pressure-sensitive detector rails, among other items, Gamespot reports.The Redstone Update brings improved minecarts, including special tracks to unload unwanted livestock and an option to link carts together. The update also adds a daylight detector that can be hooked up to a capacitor to create a solar-panel-type device, a new ore based in the Nether that can be used in capacitors, and fireworks for New Year's Eve. Whether this means 1.5 will hit on New Year's Eve remains to be seen.Mojang is also fixing a few bugs, including the south-east rule. The south-east rule is a glitch that affects some objects based on their compass coordinates, causing them to gather, generally, in the southeast quadrant of an area. This fix may impact some designs that exploit the south-east rule.The Redstone Update is the first in a series of single-feature-focused updates. Mojang plans to launch one of these every two months.
Midway sinks further after Redstone escape
How low can you go? GI.biz reports that Midway's stock has plummeted some 40% since majority shareholder Sumner Redstone cast off his stake in the company to investor Mark Thomas on Monday and ran for the hills. Midway's stock currently trades for around 23 cents a share, an all-time low and reason why the company continues to face delisting by the New York Stock Exchange. As Midway's dance of financial limbo persists, we can't help but look on and place bets when the troubled company's back will simply give out and snap in two.
Redstone to sell Midway stake for $100K
The week begins with more bad news for financially-hobbled Midway. Just days after finding itself on the business end of a delisting notice from the New York Stock Exchange, the company's majority stockholder, Sumner Redstone, is now preparing to row away from the sinking ship entirely. According to the Wall Street Journal, Redstone and his holding company, National Amusements, hope the separation will help breathe new life into the firm's suffocating $1.6 billion in debt. Redstone is expected to inflict sell his 87% controlling stake in the troubled publisher to private investor Mark Thomas -- obviously someone who enjoys a good fixer-upper -- for the bargain basement price of about $100,000, or $0.0012 a share, well below Midway's previous closing price of .38 a share. The WSJ also points out that the sale is but one point in what has become a highlight reel of bad investments for Redstone, who sunk millions into Midway in hopes of the company's heroic return, only to see it do a fatality on his bank account.
Departing Midway CEO bullish on company outlook
Having to fire a CEO is never a good sign for a company, especially when that company has recently seen massive losses and a board restructuring. But there's still one person willing to defend Midway's business strategy, and that person is, surprisingly enough, departing CEO David Zucker.To be fair, Zucker was interviewed before his replacement by an interim CEO yesterday, but if he saw the writing on the wall he didn't let it show. "We expect to significantly grow our revenues in 2008," Zucker told GamesIndustry.biz last week, adding that naysayers have been predicting the company's demise for "for five years or so." Zucker emphasized that a combination of investment in new technology and established franchises like Mortal Kombat and NFL Blitz will provide the company's saving grace. That might well be true, but any turnaround will unfortunately come too late to be the saving grace for Mr. Zucker.
