poland
Latest
Intel plans to build a $19 billion chip plant in Germany
It'll invest up to $88 billion in Europe over the next decade.
Netflix's latest mobile games have nothing to do with its shows
The library of five games is only available in Poland, Spain and Italy for now.
Netflix starts testing Stranger Things games in its Android app
The test is limited to users in Poland for now, but Netflix plans to expand it in the coming months, including on iOS.
Google Stadia is now available in eight more European countries
Players in Portugal, Switzerland and Slovakia among others have access starting today.
Vivo phones are coming to Europe
Vivo has expanded its reach and announced its entry into the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain. The Chinese tech manufacturer has also presented its first European line-up at an online media briefing broadcast from Dusseldorf, Germany, revealing that it’s hoping to win new fans in the region with the Vivo X51 5G. Aside from the new flagship, Vivo is making its European debut with a series of mid—range smartphones: the Y70, Y20s and Y11s.
Netflix tweaks 'Devil Next Door' documentary after Polish PM complains
Netflix distributes content in nearly every country around the world now, which has meant making edits to content in some places based on local laws. In the case of a Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj episode that was critical of Saudi Arabia's government, the streamer pulled it entirely in the country, while continuing to maintain that it believed in "artistic freedom." This week, just after CEO Reed Hastings commented on the Saudi Arabia incident by saying "we are not in the truth to power business, we're in the entertainment business," it faced a different complaint from Poland's government. A documentary series added this month called The Devil Next Door is about an John Demjanjuk, who was living in Cleveland until Holocaust survivors identified him in the as a notorious Nazi death camp guard and he was later extradited to stand trial. He was eventually convicted, and died while the case was being appealed in 2012.
US and Poland agree to rigorously evaluate foreign 5G equipment
The US and Poland declared today that suppliers of 5G network equipment should be rigorously evaluated for foreign government control. Vice President Mike Pence and Polish President Andrzej Duda signed an agreement to tighten guidelines of 5G network security, The Wall Street Journal reports. The deal didn't name Huawei specifically, but it's the latest move in Washington's attempt to exclude China from 5G networks.
Poland challenges EU's new copyright law over censorship fears
The EU's contentious copyright law is already facing some opposition from one of its existing members. Poland has submitted a complaint to the European Court of Justice arguing that the law's requirement for filtering content had the potential for censorship. This would violate both the Polish constitution as well as EU treaties, Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski told TVP Info.
Huawei fires employee arrested in Poland over alleged spying
Huawei doesn't want further whiffs of suspicion around its motivations, even in cases where it's not directly implicated. The Chinese tech giant has fired Weijing Wang, an employee arrested in Poland over spying allegations despite security officials saying the espionage wasn't directly tied to Huawei. The staffer brought the company into "disrepute," according to a statement. Police also arrested a Polish citizen in connection to the case.
Amazon warehouse workers in Europe stage protest on Prime Day
Amazon warehouse workers in Germany, Spain and Poland are hoping to call the e-commerce giant's attention to their plea for better working conditions by going on strike on Prime Day. The workers for the company's fulfillment centers are protesting the increase in working hours even though they don't receive bonuses, as well as the lack of protection against illnesses. Stefanie Nutzenberger from German labor union Verdi, which called for the strike, said "The message is clear -- while the online giant gets rich, it is saving money on the health of its workers."
LG will build Europe's biggest EV battery factory next year
As the auto industry fatefully moves into electric vehicles, Europe's major car-makers need high capacity batteries. Until now, companies like VW, Volvo and BMW have had to import batteries from Asia. LG's forthcoming car battery factory in Poland, the first in Europe, hopes to fulfil that growing demand. "The company has chosen Poland as the most competitive location for production to satisfy the needs of European and global car producers," said Chang-Beom Kang, vice president at LG Chem. The facility will cost $1.63 million, based in the city of Wroclaw which is close to the country's border with Germany. (In case you didn't know, Germany is a major car manufacturing country.)
EU raids banks over attempts to block financial tech rivals
You'd think that governments were waging a war against financial technology given reports of crackdowns and tighter regulation, but the opposite is true in Europe. EU officials have confirmed that they recently raided the offices of bank authorities in multiple countries, including the Netherlands and Poland, to investigate antitrust "concerns" that banks are stifling tech-driven newcomers. The banking establishment is allegedly preventing fintech companies from accessing account info despite customers granting permission, pushing people back to conventional services.
'Civilization VI' adds Poland to the fray
Civilization VI was rightly lauded as a return to form for Firaxis following the unfortunate diversion that was Beyond Earth. But, as you'd expect from the first iteration of a complex 4X strategy game, things haven't been perfect. An update last month brought DirectX 12 support and a considerable interface upgrade, along with the standard balancing and AI improvements. This month, the game's developers are adding more features, refinements and, for a price, a new civilization to toy with. For full notes on what's new, you can head to Firaxis' website. There's no headline item per se, but the addition of an "Alert" action that lets you sleep units until they see an enemy, and killing the bug that had Great Admirals randomly spawning on top of wonders (making them functionally useless). Rest assured there are plenty of balancing, AI tuning, aesthetic and bug fixes that should add some polish to the game.
LG's phones are the first to get an Android Lollipop upgrade (updated)
So much for Google's Nexus phones being the first to get Android 5.0 Lollipop. LG has announced that it's rolling out the sweetened software upgrade to G3 users in Poland this week, ahead of seemingly every other smartphone on the planet -- yes, including the LG-made Nexus 4 and 5. As you might imagine given the timing, LG isn't reinventing the interface. Most of the improvements are either straightforward or under the hood, such as the new notifications and the ability to unlock your phone with nearby devices (such as an Android Wear watch).
Polish town builds a $14,000 statue in honor of Wikipedia
Most people show appreciation for Wikipedia by donating a bit of money to keep it running, but the folks in one Polish town have come up with something bigger: they've built a monument in its honor. It all began when Colegium Polonicum professor Krzysztof Wojciechowski decided he wanted a place where he can literally drop to his knees before Wikipedia. See, he was in awe with what the crowdsourced online encyclopedia has accomplished for people worldwide -- Polish speakers, in particular, have more than a million Wiki pages they can read. The town authorities of Slubice where his college is located then agreed to take up his suggestion, making his idea a reality.
The secret to this interactive hologram tech is water vapor
It's 2014 and while we don't have flying cars just yet it looks like interactive holographic displays could be a reality rather soon. The not-so-cleverly-named Leia Display System (LDS) uses a combination of light, water-vapor and air to provide a transparent canvas for projected images while sensors track movement and touch inputs from users. The videos we've embedded below show all manner of poking and prodding by users, a bit of Minority Report-style pinching and zooming things in mid-air and even using gestures to rotate and flick stuff out of the way. There's even a sample with a Mercedes sedan driving through the curtain and it "shattering" around the vehicle as it passes through.
CD Projekt RED opens new Polish studio
The Witcher developer CD Projekt RED announced today it has opened a new studio in Cracow...Krakow?...the city with two K sounds prior to a -ra and -ow, Poland. Spelling confusions aside, the new studio will support the Warsaw studio's development of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077. "We want to continue to make better and better RPGs and the new studio is another big step in that direction. Cracow, one of the cultural and scientific centers of Europe, is a really special place that will leave a significant mark on our games," said Adam Badowski, Head of CD Projekt RED. Cyberpunk 2077 could launch in 2077 for all we know at this point. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is tracking Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC for a 2014 launch.
T-Mobile Poland to ship Firefox OS-powered Alcatel One Touch Fire starting tomorrow
We knew good and well it was coming, and now we've both a date and a launch partner to hone in on: that's "tomorrow" and "T-Mobile Poland," respectively. After going big (as opposed to home) at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, Mozilla has just announced that the Firefox OS-powered Alcatel One Touch Fire will ship tomorrow in Poland for 1 zloty (practically free, for those curious) in combination with "a very attractive tariff." Market launches in additional European countries will follow in the fall, with German handsets to be marketed via Deutsche Telekom's second brand congstar. DT's subsidiaries in Hungary (Magyar Telekom) and Greece (COSMOTE) will also initiate sales of the handset this fall, but pricing in those regions has yet to be revealed. As for word on a US release via Sprint? Still waiting, sadly.
Google Maps brings biking navigation to six European countries
Summer is the prime season for European cyclists, whether they're racing the Tour de France or just embarking on voyages of self-discovery. It's a good thing, then, that Google Maps' biking directions have reached six more European countries. Those in France, Ireland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Poland can now plot pedal-friendly routes using their phones and the web. Google may miss a hidden trail or two when it's crowdsourcing the data through Map Maker, but the upgrade should still help riders avoid the inevitable crush of tourist traffic.
PSA: iPhone 5 available in 22 more countries, on Cricket and US regional carriers galore
Disappointed that your country or favorite carrier missed the initial cut for the iPhone 5 launch? Odds are that you're all good now. Worldwide, 22 more countries have joined the mix as of today, including wide swaths of Europe as well as New Zealand; you'll find the full list in the release here. Americans also don't have to turn to the big carriers, as they can now opt for prepaid carrier Cricket in addition to a slew of extra providers that include C Spire as well as regionals like GCI and nTelos. In some cases, you'll even snag a discount by going with one of the smaller networks. If you bagged an iPhone in Barcelona, or caught one on Cellcom, let others know how it's going in the comments. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
