Technologies

Microsoft Offered Sony ‘Call of Duty’ Subscription Option Before FTC Lawsuit, Report Says

The acquisition of Activision Blizzard is proving to be a tough hill to climb for Microsoft.

Before the US Federal Trade Commission sued to block Microsoft’s $68.7 billion purchase of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, Microsoft reportedly offered its competitor Sony the right to sell military shooter as part of its PlayStation Plus service, Bloomberg reported Monday.

The offer would help Microsoft avoid scrutiny by regulators such as the FTC, which are pushing back against the deal.

Sony and Microsoft didn’t immediately respond to a request for confirmation on the offer.

In its lawsuit against Microsoft, the FTC argued that the software giant will «harm competition» among game console makers including Sony and Nintendo.

The FTC said in its complaint that Microsoft had used previous acquisitions, including of ZeniMax Media, to make several high-profile upcoming titles like the space exploration game Starfield and the vampire shooting game Redfall exclusive to devices powered by its software.

«Microsoft has already shown that it can and will withhold content fromits gaming rivals,» Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s Bureau ofCompetition, said in a statement. «Today we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over aleading independent game studio and using it to harm competition inmultiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets.»

Company executives have spent the past couple months making assurances to public audiences and various government regulators around the world that Microsoft would not abuse its position as one of the largest video game publishers and the maker of the Xbox game console.

«We have been committed since Day One to addressing competition concerns, including by offering earlier this week proposed concessions to the FTC,» Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a statement after the FTC’s announcement. «While we believed in giving peace a chance, we have complete confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to present our case in court.»

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick released a statement Thursday saying, «I want to reinforce my confidence that this deal will close.»

The FTC’s move against Microsoft marks one of the US government’s biggest efforts to take on the tech industry, which has witnessed companies like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta becoming some of the most highly valued companies on the planet. Amid all that growth, competitors and regulators have been asking whether the tech industry has too much power and whether companies have been acting as monopolies.

Sony and its PlayStation console division have raised concerns about the deal to regulators in the US and abroad, saying Microsoft’s assurances to keep hit titles like Call of Duty available for the PlayStation aren’t enough.

Microsoft has faced stiff resistance from European Union regulators over this deal. In October, the European Commission asked other game developers for opinions on the acquisition. The commission opened an in-depth investigation into the deal in November, and Microsoft is reportedly ready to make concessions to appease the regulator.

While FTC’s action doesn’t mean Microsoft’s deal is dead, a move like this by a federal regulator can lead to its failure. In 2011, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against AT&T when it attempted to merge with T-Mobile in a deal worth $39 billion. AT&T abandoned the deal later that year.

Technologies

AI Company Tensor Debuts a Robocar You Can Own

The vehicles are slated to ship next year.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 14, #795

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle No. 795 for Thursday, Aug. 14.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has some fun categories. Been to any weddings this summer? If so, you might ace the blue group. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Rear end.

Green group hint: Give it a whack.

Blue group hint: Here comes the bride.

Purple group hint: Doubled up words.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Derriere.

Green group: Used to hit a ball in sports.

Blue group: Component’s of a bride’s ensemble.

Purple group: Rhyming compound words.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is derriere. The four answers are backside, caboose, seat and tail.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is used to hit a ball in sports. The four answers are bat, mallet, racket and stick.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is component’s of a bride’s ensemble. The four answers are bouquet, bustle, train and veil.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is rhyming compound words. The four answers are backpack, cookbook, hubbub and nitwit.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 14 #529

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 529 for Thursday, Aug. 14.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be a stumper. Some of the answers are quite long and tough to unscramble, though all of them match the theme very well. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Honest-to-goodness.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Not fake or phony.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

TONE, GONE, BONE, LONE, LOAM, HALO, HALOS, THAN, RITE, TIRE, DIRE, DIRT, TREE, MATT, CALF

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: