Victoria Fox's Blog, page 163
December 13, 2023
Telefónica toughens its offer for the ERE and confirms that it cuts the maximum departures to 4,000
Telefónica has reduced the number of people who could be affected by the Employment Regulation File (ERE) that it proposes for its three companies in Spain – Telefónica Móviles, Telefónica Soluciones and Telefónica España – to 3,959, according to union sources.
Telefónica and the unions met again this Wednesday at the negotiation tables of the three legal entities of Telefónica in Spain ( Telefónica España, Móviles and Soluciones ) for the negotiation of the ERE proposed by the company, which initially amounted to 5,124 surplus positions, almost a third of its total workforce.
During today’s meetings, the company has reduced the departures from its ERE to around 4,000 workers, as EXPANSIÓN announced on December 11. The specific number of maximum departures has been estimated at 3,959 workers from non-critical areas, while these will not affect those considered critical, which include commercial areas or the development of new technologies. This figure would represent around 25% of the total workforce.
Although the telecom’s new position represents a concession with respect to the initial number of casualties proposed, since it is reduced by 23% compared to the first proposal, Telefónica has nevertheless tightened the negotiation in economic terms by presenting the unions with certain conditions. much less generous remuneration than in the three PSI plans (Individual Separation Plan) that it proposed in 2016, 2019 and 2021. If in the first two (2016 and 2019) it ended up offering to pay 68% of the regulatory salary annually – which includes fixed salary, plus the variable salary and plus other additional concepts such as food checks, for example – already in 2019 that figure dropped to 65%. The negotiations of the PSI were proposed in a climate of great agreement, but the negotiation of this ERE is being proposed in a much tougher format, as usually occurs in the negotiations of any ERE, leaving behind the previous atmosphere of agreement and consensus. Telefónica’s proposals appear to be due to the intention to substantially reduce the unit cost of departures, which in the last PSI of 2021 rose to 464,500 euros per worker.
Now, Telefónica proposes for those born in 1968 (55 years old) to receive 60% of the regulatory salary until the age of 63 and 30% until the age of 65. For older workers, who in the past refused to benefit from PSI, conditions are gradually worsening. Thus, for those born in 1967, 1966 or 1965 (56, 57 or 58 years old) it offers 55% of the salary until age 63 and also 30% until age 65. And finally for those born in 1964 or earlier (59 years or plus) offers 50% of the regulatory salary up to age 63 and 30% up to age 65. In addition, the teleco would pay the benefits of the special Social Security agreement up to age 63 and would cover 40% of the cost of the basic health policy and risk insurance up to age 61.
UGT has described this offer as “nonsense”, and points out that “it is very far from any type of agreement in line with previous exits”, predicting that with this proposal “there will be no agreement.” The union has demanded from Telefónica “a serious proposal with economic amounts that improve the provisions of the previous exit plans” and has reiterated its request that these be voluntary and allow access to retirement.
Finally, he insisted that “in no case” will there be an agreement if the company’s new collective agreement is not signed, after this table also met today without any notable progress.
Telefónica – which has not reported on the negotiations – and unions will meet again tomorrow to continue negotiations.
Telefónica appoints two new directors
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Or sign up with your Google account in two clicksGigabyte brings Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3 to the desktop with PCIe x1 card
Good news for those who have an older system and want to get started with WiFi 7. The GC-Wifi7 has appeared on the Gigabyte website, a PCIe plug-in card that, in addition to WiFi 7, also includes Bluetooth 5.3. Thanks to the use of a PCIe x1 slot, it should be able to be used in many systems, provided there is a PCIe slot and sufficient physical space.
The GC-Wifi7 is the thickness of one expansion slot and takes up about half the height. Nearly all major WiFi 7 features are supported, including mu-mimo, 4k-qam, mru and mlo. A bandwidth of up to 5,800 Mbps is supported via 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz. The included 2Tx2R antenna is compatible with both directional and omnidirectional signals and can be easily set up via the magnet at the bottom. Thanks to Bluetooth 5.3, it should also be possible to connect to other devices such as speakers or headphones.
It is currently unknown when the plug-in card will come to our region. According to Wccftech, it is currently being sold in Hong Kong for the equivalent of 71 euros.
Sources: Gigabyte, Wccftech, Tom’s Hardware
Ex-developer Rockstar speaks out about delayed PC release GTA VI
On December 5, Rockstar Games unveiled the first trailer for GTA VI. This has revealed that the game will be released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2025. As with its predecessor, it looks like PC gamers will have to wait longer to get started. A former Rockstar employee explains on YouTube what could be the reason for this delay.
It is not clear when the game will be released on PC.
According to Mike York, who worked as an animator on GTA V, a AAA developer like Rockstar mainly wants to prioritize the platform that generates the most money. For this reason, the focus was initially on the PS3 version, which was released in September 2013. The game was only released on PC in April 2015.
With this extra time it should be possible to refine the PC variant. This is not just referring to bugs. Thanks to the extra computing power, new elements can be added that are not present in the console version, such as NPCs or adjustments to the environment. In addition, there are countless combinations of PC parts, which makes it difficult to make optimizations.
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Sources: York Reacts (YouTube), PCGamesN
Google Play Movies & TV app will be permanently retired in early 2024
Google announced in a blog post that support for Google Play Movies & TV will be permanently discontinued from January 17, 2024. In September, the company announced that the service would end-of-life on October 5. This date may have been aimed at US users. Depending on the region, customers will have to switch to another Google service for playing movies and TV shows in the coming weeks.
Google is transferring more and more functionality to YouTube.
For example, users with TVs and streaming devices running Android TV will be directed to the Shop tab. Decoders and set-top boxes with Android TV must use the YouTube app, desktop users can also visit YouTube.
A side note: while it is possible to rent or buy films via YouTube in many countries, the functionality in the field of series is rather limited. For example, only users from Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, the UK, the US and Switzerland can currently rent shows. Moreover, series are only for sale in Japan.
Sources: Google, Android Police
Huawei wants to produce billion devices per year in Europe
Huawei has announced that the company has started building its first factory outside China. The location of the factory should be in the northeast of France, in the Alsace region. The location in Brumath, a French municipality close to Strasbourg, will employ approximately 500 people and produce one billion devices per year.
It is not yet clear which products Huawei will produce in the company’s new facility, but the company may want to make 5G and EV components for the European market, among other things. The intention is for the factory to be very sustainable, including through the use of solar panels. About 200 million euros would be invested in the project by Huawei to complete the project, once the factory is ready it should have room for 300 employees and provide a total of 500 jobs in the region. From 2025, the entire European market should be able to be served by the new French location.
If Huawei manages to regain trust, cell towers could start using the company’s products again.
It is somewhat striking that the Chinese company has chosen France to place its first expansion outside China. From 2028 onwards it will be prohibited to use the company’s 5G equipment in the country and it must therefore be removed by the telecom companies before then. Huawei’s deputy director, Minggang Zhang, indicates that he hopes to regain confidence in the company by maintaining close contacts with the ANSSI (Agence Nationale de la Sécurité des Systèmes d’Information), the IT security agency in France. The company’s 5G products are also not welcome in the core systems of Dutch telecom networks in the Netherlands.
Source: Notebookcheck
iOS 17.3 beta should better protect iPhones against theft
Barely a day after the release of iOS 17.2, Apple has already made the first beta of version 17.3 available to developers. This update contains a feature that should better protect iPhone users if their device is stolen.
For example, Stolen Device Protection adds an extra layer of security to the settings menu. Once enabled, this will cause the iPhone to require authentication via Face ID or Touch ID when users want to view saved passwords or make other important changes.
Even when the smartphone is not in a known location (such as at work or at home), security is increased. Sensitive actions such as changing the Apple ID password or phone passcode not only require biometric authentication: after an hour, users must reconfirm their identity via Face or Touch ID.
In a statement to The Verge, Apple stated that the data from a stolen iPhone cannot be accessed without knowing the passcode. In “the rare” cases where a thief can see or otherwise obtain the code and then steals the device, Stolen Device Proction should provide an “advanced new layer of protection.”
Source: The Verge
December 12, 2023
Artificial Intelligence: Was that it with my intelligence?
If artificial intelligence surpasses humans, it will probably feel similar to that moment in the game of the AlphaGo program in March 2016: Back then, the machine competed against the strongest Go player in the world. In the second game she made a strange move that seemed to break every rule. Experts suspected a bug in the program. It was only as the game progressed that the genius of this 37th move became apparent: it turned out to be a far-sighted victory move that had never been seen before in the history of the game of Go. In the end, man didn’t stand a chance, and AlphaGo was awarded the highest master rank by the South Korean Go Association, saying it had reached “almost divine realms” of the game.
Competition process: “Fortnite” developer wins lawsuit against Google for market monopoly
The US video game developer Epic Games has won the competition against Google. A jury in the Californian city of San Francisco ruled that Google had formed an illegal monopoly with its app marketplace Play Store and the payment system there. “Victory over Google!” wrote Epic boss Tim Sweeney on Platform X after the verdict.
The court must now decide what consequences arise from the jury’s verdict. Google immediately announced an appeal against the ruling.
Epic Games went to court against Google in 2020. The trigger was the fees of around 30 percent that Google withholds from app sales. The Fortnite developer accused Google of an illegal monopoly.
Epic Games also sued the technology company Apple in 2020. In this case, a California federal judge ruled in 2021 that Apple had to open its App Store’s payment system to developers. At the same time, the judge rejected Epic Games’ accusation that Apple had a monopoly. The trial against Google only began at the beginning of November.
Apple and Google believe fees are justifiedThe Apple and Google operating systems, iOS and Android, run on the majority of smartphones. Epic Games took on the two companies in 2020 and released an update with its own payment system that bypasses Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. The two technology companies then blocked the Fortnite app for mobile devices, and Epic Games took the dispute to court.
Unlike iPhone manufacturer Apple, Google allows Android users access to other platforms to download apps and games. However, Epic Games argues that the system is actually hardly more open than Apple’s iOS. One way Google secures its market power is through contracts with other companies.
Apple and Google repeatedly argue that the commission on app sales of 30 percent is in line with the market. The income generated is necessary to guarantee the security of the app marketplaces and payments.
The US video game developer Epic Games has won the competition against Google. A jury in the Californian city of San Francisco ruled that Google had formed an illegal monopoly with its app marketplace Play Store and the payment system there. “Victory over Google!” wrote Epic boss Tim Sweeney on Platform X after the verdict.
The court must now decide what consequences arise from the jury’s verdict. Google immediately announced an appeal against the ruling.
Epic Games went to court against Google in 2020. The trigger was the fees of around 30 percent that Google withholds from app sales. The Fortnite developer accused Google of an illegal monopoly.
Meta Quest 3: What Meta's new headset can really do
Some things don’t change the world. But they make our everyday lives a little more pleasant. Or they are just nice to have. Or even both. The ZEIT-ONLINE series “ nice and useful ” is about these gadgets and apps.
This is what the future must feel like. I’m typing these lines in the air in front of me, on a virtual keyboard that floats in front of my face, in a text window that floats in front of my face. And yet I still see my colleagues sitting at the desk next to me. I type in mixed reality. Admittedly, much slower than in reality – but it works.
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