Microsoft Upgraded Skype for Web With New Features

Microsoft is working hard to make its communication platform 'Skype' the biggest communication platform in the world; it is going in the right direction.

On March 15, 2016, Microsoft Corporation announced new features for its video and voice calls platform, Skype. The browser version for the technology giant’s most popular communication network was introduced last year and now it can be seen with a number of new features. The addition of these new features comes as the company aims to bring the browser version of the communication platform in line with the desktop and mobile versions.

With the addition of the new features, Skype users can now invite non-Skype users into their conversations. Some of the functions allow users to view videos on YouTube from the browser version. Microsoft Corporation stated that these changes have been brought on the request of the users and it helped the company to realize which features had to be rolled out first in comparison to other.

Skype users will be able to make direct calls to landline as well as smartphone but they will need to subscribe or purchase Skype credit in order to make those calls. If a person has subscription or Skype credit, he/she can simply sign in through browser and simply make a call to destinations.

Watching YouTube videos on Skype will be as easy as it is to watch it on the website itself. They videos will include an embedded link that the user will be able to play on Skype (browser version) with the sound along with the full-screen option – exactly how it is on YouTube’s website itself.

Skype for Web can easily be accessed by users with the following URL (web.skype.com) and then sign in to use all the new features available for them. Initially, the service lacked a number of features that the customer craved for; but with the feedback provided to the company, they have been able to act on it quite efficiently. Presently, browsers that support this service include Google Chrome, FireFox and Internet Explorer.

Furthermore, the technology company has also expanded its public switched telephone network (PSTN) and has made it available in over 17 countries. It stated that the service is likely to be in over 100 countries by the end of June 2016. Cloud Connector Edition of Skype for Business Server will also be made available by the organization in April this year.

Microsoft has high plans for its communication platform for the future. Skype is continuously growing its user base and is presently the most popular communication platform in terms of video and voice calls. The two biggest rival of the communication platform are WhatsApp and Viber – as the former is currently working on introducing video calling on its platform as well, which is likely to give Skype a tough time in the market. 

Facebook, Google and Snapchat To Up their Security Game

The social networking websites have decided to provide even stronger security platform to its customers amid Apple and FBI's battle.

Caught in a battle between Apple, Inc. the FBI and the US Government over encryption, a number of technology companies have decided to increase security on their platform. These technology companies include, Google, Snapchat as well as Facebook Inc.

Facebook Inc. wants its users to feel as secure as possible; the social media network already encrypts its WhatsApp, instant-messaging app’s messaging but it is now working on applying encryption to the voice calls as well as group messaged. As per a report by The Guardian that was published on Monday, the social networking website is also working on increasing the security on its Messenger chat tool. The service presently has over 1 billion users, and it wants to make sure that they are on a network on which they feel safe and have their photos, videos and call private.

Another social media app, Snapchat, which is a video messaging app, is also working on building an enhanced security feature for the application, as per the report by The Guardian who cited two people close to the matter. On the other hand, all of these tech giants have signed a ‘friend of the court’ brief showing support for Apple Inc., as the iPhone maker fights a battle with the government authorities over accessing data on a terrorist iPhone that was involved in the San Bernardino attack.

Additionally, Google is also working on making its platform more secure, for now, its investigating on whether encryption can be applied to other products that the search engine giant has been using as part of its End to End Project. Back in 2014, Google has revealed that it was working on its End to End email encryption Project with one of the oldest search engine websites on the internet, Yahoo! Inc. however they were constantly running into obstacles while implementing it.

Facebook is looking at making its instant messaging app, WhatsApp more secure as it is likely to be a part of a wiretapping lawsuit. This case could be quite similar to that of Apple Inc. and the FBI as the Federal Bureau would force the social networking platform for decrypt the messages or even the voice calls to disclose the communication that might have took place between the terrorists. Last month, as part of a drug investigation a Facebook executive was jailed because he failed to supply certain information regarding the instant messaging app to the officials.

Furthermore, despite of being in an intense argument with the Federal officials, Apple Inc. is planning on taken drastic measures to develop an even stronger security system for its iPhones. In the upcoming models, it is safe to say that even the tech organization itself will not be break down the security on the future iPhones.

Yahoo! Inc. Appoints Two New Directors; Fueling a Proxy-Battle with StarBoard

The search engine company recently appointed two new director without the consent of hedge fund activist StarBoard Value.

Amid the transitional phase that Yahoo! Inc. currently in, the search engine organization announced yesterday that they have just appointment two new directors to its board. The bold move by the internet company clearly avows how fixated it is to battle investor activists.

The new additions to the Yahoo family include Catherine Friedman who is a former managing director of Morgan Stanley, along with Eric Brandt, who is the former finance chief of Broadcom Corp, a semiconductor company. In the past few months, two of Yahoo’s board members Max Levchin and Charles Schwab had resigned due to other professional commitments but with the addition of these two members, the count comes back to nine members.

As for current CEO Marissa Mayer, she is working hard on keeping her job. According to a recent interview on the ‘Charlie Ross Show, Ms. Mayer mentioned the sale of the company and added that she hopes that this strategic alternative still leaves a play for her in the internet company and furthermore said that even if the company is privatized and acquired by a private equity firm, they would still honor the commitments of their shareholders.

However, the activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP has been quite critical of Mayer’s efforts throughout as they believe that she failed to live up to her promises of turning around the core business of the company and most her plans failed to deliver. Furthermore, they believe that she did not manage to restore growth and generate enough returns for the investors.

People familiar with the matter stated that there is a potential proxy fight on its way which could possibly lead to Starboard Value completely restructuring the board with new directors. However, the CEO has expressed her faith in the latest turnaround plan. She believes that the success is on its way and might take as much as five and seven years; and also believes that the company’s core business going private can serve as an opportunity for her as well as the search engine giant as it will be away from the public eye and at least they will not have to worry about maintaining a good public image, for a while.

The turnaround plan includes cost cutting strategies so that the organization can put its resources and investments to better use such as investing in better opportunities to drive efficiency. These cut costing strategies could lead to more job cuts. On Friday, the company also announced that it will be shutting down its messaging service, LiveText as well by the end of the month.

Yahoo stock is currently at $33.81 up by 3.02% while the market capitalization of the search engine company is at $32.30 billion. 

GoPro Inc. Faces Temporary Glitch In The Stock Price

The action camera maker is been struggling for a while now however in the past four week the stock price was seen perform well, we believe that it was just a temporary drop.

In early trading hours on March 8, GoPro Inc.’s stock plunged as much as 10% due to an overall sell-off in the technology sector. This drop in the stock price of the action camera maker created a sense of confusion amongst the shareholders. Additionally, Ambarella, the action camera maker’s supplier also dropped by 8% along with a number of other tech companies in the industry that witnessed a decline of as much as 5%.

2016 has been a rough year for the action camera maker; with an already declining stock price this was just cherry on top. Ever since the start of the current year, the stock has plunged by as much as 30% and in the past twelve months, it has gone down by 70% which has left the company as well as its investors in a state of utter confusion and distress.

The action camera manufacturer had hoped for the holiday season to be a turning point as most of the tech giants in the industry witnessed the most sales during the period, however to its disappointment the company failed to perform well. GoPro’s latest Hero Line failed to woo the target audience due to which the company reported poor earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015 along with weak guidance for the current fiscal year.

The latest drop in the stock price came as a surprise to the followers of the organization as in the past four weeks, it was observed that the camera maker’s stock was gaining back its momentum in an upward trajectory – it witnessed an increase of 15% in stock price during the period. This increase was a result of positive news by the management which helped the company’s investors be more optimistic towards the company.

In recent time, the action camera maker has received increased competition from the smartphone and drone industry. However, GoPro Inc. is trying its best to come up with new and exciting products for its consumers. Recently, it acquired two startup companies which include Stupeflix and Vemory; the aim of acquiring these two startups was to develop the instant video editing app on which the company has been criticized numerous times.

Stupeflix is a Paris based technology company that created Replay App while Vemory is a Texas-based tech organization that created iPhone Slice app. Both the startup organizations were worth $105 million, mainly to create a better software interface for GoPro’s customers. Many a times, the American camera maker had been criticized over its video editing options as initially they were so advanced that they were suitable for videographers while general public was having difficulty in making in work.

Nick Woodman, the CEO of GoPro, later got around to the point that the business needs to introduce technology that the general consumer can work with if it wants its sales to go up and hence conducted these two acquisitions so create a user-friendly editing application for the camera. Additionally, this month the company is expected to roll out its desktop version for its customers as well, with the help of which they will be able to capture and post their moments on to their social media profiles.

Is Blackberry Ltd Back in the Game?

The Canada based smartphone make's future prospects seem promising however we're yet to find out whether it missed an opportunity at the MWC or it was smart move by the company.

Curently, Blackberry Ltd is still in a transitional phase but with its recent endeavors it can be seen that many investors are quite optimistic on its future growth prospects. Despite the fact that the Canadian firm has managed to capture the attention of investors to boost their stake in the company, it missed a perfect opportunity to showcase its next android powered smartphone at the Mobile World Congress.

After the unexpected success of the Blackberry Priv, the audience was looking forward to getting a chance to see a glimpse of what the company is working on currently, more specifically the launch of another android based smartphone. However the attendees were disappointed when Blackberry didn’t come forward to showcase a new handset.

Last year in December, John Chen announced that the Canada based smartphone maker will be launching its next series of android powered phone in 2016. The Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona is the most important event on the tech calendar where all kinds of smartphones, processors and technologies are introduced. For Blackberry, who is currently in a struggling phase, it was the perfect platform and occasion to introduce the world to its second phone. From where the Canadian firm is standing right now, it should not miss golden opportunities like these to showcase its capabilities.

For a few months now, there have been rumors regarding Blackberry Vienna, another android based smartphone that the company is planning on launching however no such specifications have been given regarding the product. According to speculations, it is likely to be a 5.8 inch device with a 4.4 display along with an 18 megapixel camera. Furthermore, it is said to have a 3GB RAM and is expected to have Android Marshmallow as its operating system.

There was a time when Blackberry and its operating system were among the most popular device that anyone could have, but evidently times have changed and most of the market has been captured by smartphone competitors including Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics. In order to retrieve its honor, the Canadian smartphone maker made a smart choice of ditching its in-house operating system for the android operating system. Because of this canny decision, the smartphone industry along with all the other competitors has started to take Blackberry seriously, once again.

Furthermore, at the time Priv was released, the CEO John Chen stated that in case this product fails in the market, BBRY will leave the smartphone industry and focus on its other more profitable businesses which include software solutions. However, it is still hard to predict exactly how well the Priv performed as the company did not disclose numerical details in its latest earnings report. The only information provided by the technology company was the total unit sold whereas more suitable would’ve been the product based break-up.

The price tag on the Priv clearly suggested that it was putting itself in direct competition with Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy however it is expected that the latest product (if any) will be targeted at a much more convenient and mid-tier market. Another bunch of people believe that by not showcase its latest product at the MWC was a smart move by the company as standing up against Samsung, LG and many others would have been difficult for BBRY as it is still currently in the transitional stage.

Google Is Working Tirelessly On The Self-Driven Cars

Google is working hard to make its autonomous cars a success.

Alphabet Inc. is one of those companies that makes sure whatever it does is top notch. The company is gearing up to enter the lucrative market for self-driven cars thus it is making sure all the add on in this car make it a pleasant experience for the user.

It is speculated that the search engine giant will come up with driverless cars that will be aided with bucket seats made of Corinthian leather, moon roofs and fuzzy upholstery.

At this point of time, it is quite early since the robo-cars are mere prototypes; however the company is striving hard at its workspace to come up with answers for some of the basics questions. This can be governed via the recent job postings,

At this point of time, GOOG is looking for a Lead who will be responsible for their Automotive Interiors Engineering. This individual will be responsible to weigh on the concepts regarding industrial design and come up with interior systems for the car.

Along with the basic skills required as well as the necessary qualification, he will also be responsible for "product development experience covering instrument panels, hard moldings, soft moldings, seating and interior lighting from program concept through to product launch within the transportation industry."

Other than this, the job posting also claimed, "You will be working with Industrial Design and the engineering teams to establish interior themes and define design criteria for vehicle interior systems.”

This job posting published by the company is a clue regarding the company’s vision for the future of self-driven cars. These cars are currently being manufactured under Google X which is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., - parent company of Alphabet.

At various instances, the tech giant has laid emphasis on the fact that it is not interesting in making autonomous cars itself. The company is going to collaborate with an automotive company to manufacture the self-driven cars.

Since the software will only be designed by Google, it is not their domain to be concerned about the interior and other external features. However, the company does not just want to streamline its focus on the internal technology but is concerned about all aspects of the vehicle.

The company has an extremely hands on approach when it comes to the look of the car- particularly focusing on the exterior and interior of the vehicle.

It needs to be taken into consideration that the self-driven cars do not feature steering wheels, pedals for acceleration and other conventional car specs. Thus, it makes a lot of sense that a lot of time needs to be invested on the design process.

Ironically, Google has never done justice to the design part when it comes to its products. Moreover, particularly in the automotive sector, there are numerous other companies that have experience of centuries when it comes to consumer preference.

Google is taking a lot of interest in its driverless car technology. The autonomous cars are likely to take the industry by a storm in the times to come. It is important that all aspects of these cars are given due attention so that consumers get forced to invest in it. Google is trying its best to make a difference in this domain, thus it is making sure that it comes up with nothing but the best.

Boost required for Nike

Nike has constantly taken inspiration from athletes and sports men when it comes to their endorsement and sponsorship mechanism. They have incorporated many big names for their campaign such as Ray Rice, Tiger Woods, Adrian Peterson etc. in order to give limelight to their products. Even at times their product range has been launched under the name of an athlete such as Nike Air Jordan Retro XI sneakers. But since the company has experienced incidents of misconduct from athletes then this mechanism has become a source of vulnerability for the firm as well as stakeholders. It is high time now the company comes up with a new strategy.

In order to get the wow factor in your campaign and a slight edge it is necessary that you outshine. Generally people will not talk about you unless you give them something to talk about. Things that are exceptional tend to attract people and thus make a mark. For Nike, their strategy was to add glamour to their merchandises through sports celebrities. The aura is outcaste through these stars who endorse such brands. The issue arises when people consider these icons as a reflection of their brand and do not discriminate that they are average humans with a life hence they end up developing negative feelings for the brand if anything goes wrong with them. When such a scenario occurs then the positive advertisement becomes a negative one and a marketing issue arouses.

This is not something new then why it has become something of massive concern now as compared to the past. The reason is quite simple. There are two things that have fueled the situation. Firstly, many devices have been installed at various locations that give no room for privacy of these celebrities. Secondly, social media boom has lead to widespread of information without checking the credibility resulting in mayhem.

The point I make here is not that companies such as Nike should stop marketing themselves through the face of celebrities but it should not become their identity.  Using celebrities as a medium is fine but launching product ranges under their name is just insecurity and lack of faith in your own brand.

Hence in a nutshell, Nike does not need to completely change its strategy but amend it in a manner that they do not become totally reliant on celebrities. Brands should have their own presence.