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Microsoft Creeps on Minecraft | Tech Talk Today 58

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Microsoft has bought Mojang, the creators of Minecraft. We discuss how this will impact the community, Linux users, independent developers & gamers.

Android One starts to ship, and the details are fascinating. Plus more details on a recent NSA leak & more!

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Microsoft buys Mojang, Minecraft: Five reasons it makes strategic sense | ZDNet

Microsoft on Monday confirmed the $2.5 billion acquisition. The company said that the company will be break even on earnings in fiscal 2015. Mojang will join Microsoft Studios.

Here’s why the deal, which will be panned by some, makes strategic sense.

  1. Mojang gives Microsoft an asset and community that could cultivate a younger demographic. If you’ve ever seen an elementary school kid go into a Minecraft coma you know the power that Mojang has. To younger customers, Microsoft’s core brand is really Xbox. If Microsoft is going to have an installed base to up sell as these customers move to smartphones to tablets to PCs to enterprise applications and cloud Minecraft is a good place to start.

  2. The future of Microsoft revolves around mobile and cross-platform applications. Office is about iOS and Android as much as it is Windows Phone and Windows. Microsoft’s enterprise applications may have some perks for Windows, but also need to play across all mobile platforms. Skype is cross platform too. Minecraft gives Microsoft a property that plays well on the desktop, iOS and Android. And since Minecraft will be owned by Microsoft at least there will be a Windows Phone version too.

  3. Minecraft could be the next Lego-like franchise. It won’t be hard to find a group of people that’ll say that Minecraft has peaked and Microsoft is paying too much for a declining asset. However, Minecraft could be the digital equivalent of Legos, which spark the imagination and have become an introductory course to robotics and engineering.

  4. Mojang would make an Xbox spin-off more feasible should Microsoft go that route. Yes, we know that Microsoft has noted that it is keeping Xbox, but Minecraft would give the gaming unit another key title to go along with games like Halo. The addition of Mojang makes Xbox stronger whether Microsoft decides to keep the unit or spin it off to focus on the enterprise and cloud.

  5. Microsoft gets to use its overseas cash pile. Based on current tax laws, Microsoft’s overseas cash can’t be brought back into the U.S. without a hefty hit. As a result, U.S. companies are increasingly buying international assets. Microsoft’s purchase of Mojang is its fourth international company acquisition in 2014. Most of the acquisitions were of the plug-in variety to add features and or services to existing product lines.

According to the Bloomberg story, Xbox chief Phil Spencer has been wooing Persson in person, flying out to have dinners with the Mojang founder. According to one source, Microsoft thinks that it can expand Minecraft’s reach in both the game and licensed property. A Minecraft movie is currently in the works, and Mojang has already licensed books, toys and a plethora of other merchandise.

The software company’s Windows Phone system has only 2.5 percent of the world’s smartphone market, and its Surface tablet barely more, according to tech research firm IDC. Growth is hampered because many app and game developers ignore it.

It seems like Microsoft is looking at Mojang and Minecraft as a way to tap into this enormous cultural phenomenon,” said Dave Bisceglia, Chief Executive of independent game studio Tap Lab. “If you look at iOS, Minecraft has been a top-grossing game for quite some time, if Microsoft could on Windows phones give players a unique and compelling experience that you can’t get on the other platforms, that could be a driver to sell devices to existing Minecraft fans.”

Snowden Documents Indicate NSA Has Breached Deutsche Telekom – SPIEGEL ONLINE

A program called Treasure Map even has its own logo, a skull superimposed onto a compass, the eye holes glowing in demonic red, reminiscent of a movie poster for the popular “Pirates of the Caribbean” series, starring Johnny Depp.

Treasure Map is anything but harmless entertainment. Rather, it is the mandate for a massive raid on the digital world. It aims to map the Internet, and not just the large traffic channels, such as telecommunications cables. It also seeks to identify the devices across which our data flows, so-called routers.

Furthermore, every single end device that is connected to the Internet somewhere in the world — every smartphone, tablet and computer — is to be made visible. Such a map doesn’t just reveal one treasure. There are millions of them.

The breathtaking mission is described in a Treasure Map presentation from the documents of the former intelligence service employee Edward Snowden which SPIEGEL has seen. It instructs analysts to “map the entire Internet — Any device, anywhere, all the time.”

Android One smartphones released in India by three companies

The handsets provide a minimum set of features determined by Google, which has sourced several of the components to help cut manufacturing costs.

The company has also teamed up with a local network to make it cheaper to download Android updates and new apps.

The first Android One devices are made by Micromax – already India’s bestselling mobile-phone maker – Karbonn and Spice.

To meet Google’s minimum standards they all have:

In addition, they have been tailored to suit the local market by including a micro-SD (Secure Digital) slot, a replaceable battery, a built-in FM radio and the ability to support two Sim cards simultaneously.

The first batch of phones could be offered for as low as 6,399 rupees ($105; £65) if bought contract-free.

About 400 million smartphones will be sold in India over the next five years, according to a forecast by PricewaterhouseCoopers, with the majority bought at Android One’s price point.