monopoly
Latest
What does the end of Elizabeth Warren's campaign mean for big tech?
Amazon, Facebook, Google and the rest of the US tech giants can breath a little bit easier today. Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren has dropped out of the race to be the Democratic party's presidential nominee, leaving just Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden as plausible candidates to be on the ballot come November.
Sonos CEO will testify at a House antitrust hearing next week
A day after his company sued Google for allegedly stealing some of its speaker tech, it emerged Sonos CEO Patrick Spence will testify at an antitrust hearing. The House Antitrust Subcommittee, which is broadly investigating the market dominance of tech giants, will hear from more witnesses next week.
FTC may block Facebook's integration plans for WhatsApp and Instagram
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reportedly weighing an injunction against Facebook to stop it from integrating WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger into its own services, according to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. The news follows reports that the the FTC has been investigating Facebook as part of an antitrust investigation, on the grounds that it's policies are anticompetitive.
The best tech toys and STEM kits
There once was a time when a toy section of the Engadget gift guide would have been a hodge-podge of toys that happened to take batteries, light up and make enough noise to annoy even the most patient of parents. (Yes, that means we probably would have been into the Hess truck.) But times have changed and now that everything is smart -- baby onesies, diapers -- our standards are higher. When it came time to curating our annual holiday toy list, the bar wasn't: Is this electronic? It's now: Is this thing fun? And most importantly, will this thing still be engaging after a kid has played with it for five minutes? We've had the better part of the year to answer this question. Some of the biggest toy makers have been teasing their wares since Toy Fair back in February. Since then, we've been keeping a running list of the things so clever, we might have wanted them ourselves if we were still school-age. From a lightsaber with built-in coaching to app-connected Hot Wheels, we homed in on the toys that don't just throw in tech for tech's sake, but that are actually better because of all the sensors inside.
Hitting the Books: How big tech might monopolize AI
Welcome to Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought provoking books on science and technology we can find and delivering an easily digestible nugget of their stories.
Monopoly Voice Banking isn’t that smart, but it makes the game tolerable
Monopoly is one of the best-known board games... and one of the most reviled. Games take forever to finish and can end in tears or fisticuffs. But that hasn't stopped Hasbro from churning out version after version, with themes ranging from Mario Kart to broke millennials. The latest variant, Monopoly Voice Banking, would seem to be another gimmick capitalizing on the recent uptick in smart home devices. But it actually removes a lot of the pain points, boiling down Monopoly into the parts that are actually fun.
The latest version of Monopoly is voice-activated
We've seen a ton of different Monopoly versions over the years, including ones based on Fortnite, Mario Kart and Overwatch. Now, Hasbro is releasing the franchise's take on voice-assisted technology. Seriously. The Monopoly Voice Activated Banking Game turns Mr. Monopoly into a voice assistant, giving him the task of keeping tabs on your money and properties. Yes, Rich Uncle Pennybags speaks and answers your questions in this version of the game through a device shaped like his top hat.
House antitrust subcommittee will investigate internet competition
The US government is about to intensify its scrutiny of tech giants. The House Antitrust Subcommittee has launched a bipartisan investigation that will gauge the level of competition in online markets. It's concerned that a "handful of gatekeepers" have extensive control of the internet, and it wants to know if these companies are abusing their power or otherwise stifling others. Politicians will also determine whether or not existing antitrust laws, policies and enforcement are enough to correct behavior.
Apple: The App Store isn't a monopoly 'by any metric'
This morning, the Supreme Court decided to allow iPhone owners to proceed with a lawsuit against Apple. The plaintiffs claim that Apple has a monopoly through the App Store. Apple tried to argue that developers are the ones who pay Apple's commission, so they would need to file a lawsuit on the issue. But the Supreme Court has ruled that the case may continue as is. In a statement, released to CNBC this afternoon, Apple says it is confident it will prevail when the facts are presented.
'Overwatch' action figures and Monopoly are coming this spring
Hasbro is about to give you many, many ways to flaunt your Overwatch fandom beyond the occasional Nerf gun. It's launching a series of toys and games themed around the character-driven shooter, including Monopoly Overwatch Collector's Edition. The $50 board game turns maps into properties, cards into loot boxes and player pieces into familiar characters like D.Va and Winston. However, that's really just the start of the collection -- the action figures in particular stand out.
Amazon advised US government on a portal that could make it billions
A key Amazon executive and former Obama administration official privately advised the US government on a procurement portal that could be worth billions to the company, the Guardian reports. Director of Government Anne Rung corresponded with an official at the General Services Administration (GSA) about how the government could create a purchasing portal, even before the legislation -- called the "Amazon Amendment" -- was created.
In 'Fortnite' Monopoly, Tilted Towers is the new Boardwalk
How do you get Fortnite-obsessed kids to play an old-school board game? By putting Fortnite in the board game, of course. Epic and Hasbro have revealed a Fortnite version of Monopoly that replaces the usual property trading with elements from the battle royale shooter. Island locations replace buildings (popular drop point Tilted Towers is the new Boardwalk), while health points replace money. Don't just call it a cosmetic change, though -- there are genuine changes to the game mechanics.
'Mario Kart' Monopoly will have you racing to buy properties
Hasbro's Super Mario Bros.-themed Monopoly looks delightful enough as it is, but it might feel a bit lacking if you prefer the kart-driving version of the beloved Italian plumber. The good news is that you won't have to make do with the ordinary Mario Monopoly -- not when toy and board game giant has released Monopoly Gamer: Mario Kart. Like its predecessor, it incorporates Kart characters and twists into the game. You can choose from the Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi and Toad Mario Kart tokens, which all have specific powers and abilities. When the Toad token player rolls a Power-Up Boost, for instance, all players must pay them one coin.
FCC watchdog is investigating Pai's moves before Sinclair merger (updated)
Last April, the Federal Communications Commission, led by its Trump-appointed chairman Ajit Pai, eliminated a restriction that had capped how many stations media companies could own. Weeks later, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced a long-suspected deal to acquire Tribune Media for $3.9 billion. Anyone finding that timing suspicious wouldn't be alone: For two months, the FCC's internal watchdog has been investigating whether Pai and his aides improperly pushed to change the rules and timed it to help Sinclair, Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) confirmed to The New York Times.
EU fines Qualcomm $1.23 billion for abusing Apple partnership
Things just get worse and worse for Qualcomm. The European Commission has fined the company €997 million ($1.23 billion) for "abusing its market dominance" in LTE baseband chipsets. According to the Commission, Qualcomm prevented rivals from competing in the market by making hefty payments to Apple on the condition it wouldn't buy from anywhere else, which is illegal under EU antitrust rules.
Sen. Al Franken slams Facebook and Google's control of the press
Al Franken has again raised alarms about how Facebook and Google are misusing the "unprecedented power" they wield over how the public gets information. In a speech yesterday, he pointed out that while the firms control 75 percent of all news traffic referrals, both allowed Russia to interfere in US politics despite obvious signals. "The government has a responsibility to ensure that these corporations do not endanger our national security, our democracy or our fundamental freedoms," Franken said.
You wanted more Switch games, so you got 'Monopoly'
As the Nintendo Switch was gearing up to launch back in March, fans worried that it would go the way of the big N's prior consoles: Spectacular first-party games with minimal third-party support. But after a tenuous few months when Zelda: Breath of the Wild seemed like the only thing worth playing, the floodgates have opened. Titles of all stripes are coming to the console, from Doom to Shin Megami Tensei V -- and so, it seems, has Monopoly.
Mario 'Monopoly' adds power-ups to the tired classic
If there's one thing that Super Mario Bros. and Monopoly share, it's their innate ability to engender family arguments in otherwise placid households. Which is why it's such a delight to see the pair reunited in the new Gamer Edition of Monopoly, thanks to a partnership 'twixt Hasbro and Nintendo. Unlike previous Mario-themed versions of Monopoly, the rules here have been tweaked to offer a twist on the traditional formula.
The internet picked a T. rex as one of the new 'Monopoly' tokens
Tasking the internet to pick something for you can go horribly awry. Just ask Boaty McBoatface. When board-game maker Hasbro asked for suggestions to update the Monopoly game pieces, it likely didn't expect that the hivemind would pick a trio of, well, rather tame new tokens to update the capitalism training simulator.
'Monopoly' is killing the thimble and it's all your fault
Monopoly's venerable thimble is not passing Go and it won't collect $200. The sewing accessory has been part of the board game since 1935, but voters decided to ditch it during a recent contest for a more modern replacement.
