Salesforce buys Slack for US$27.7 billion

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There's another significant acquisition in the business software segment. Cloud computing giant Salesforce is buying workplace chat app Slack for US$27.7 billion, making it Salesforce's biggest acquisition yet. According to a press release from both companies, "Under the terms of the agreement, Slack shareholders will receive $26.79 in cash and 0.0776 shares of Salesforce common stock for each Slack share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $27.7 billion based on the closing price of Salesforce's common stock on November 30, 2020."

While we don't know what this would mean for the app, it seemed like this acquisition was a long time coming as the company hasn't been profitable in recent years, even as COVID-19 has forced more and more companies to focus on remote and online work. Slack continues to face intense pressure from competition like Microsoft Teams. Maybe this acquisition will make it easier for both companies to go against their competition.

One thing is certain, a Salesforce-backed Slack now has the latitude to be a dominant player in the business-software space. Not only do we expect tighter integration between Slack and Salesforce products and services, the staggering Salesforce partner ecosystem will be opened up to Slack which can potentially be the nerve-center of a businesses communication and activity. We're talking project management, marketing, sales, CRM, support and other functions piped into Slack. The future is bright and the software landscape had definitely changed because of this acquisition.

Source: The Verge

'Black Mirror' creator will make 2020 mockumentary for Netflix

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Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker is adept at writing about dystopian worlds. So, it makes sense he wants to take on a year defined by a global pandemic. Brooker is working on a mockumentary about 2020 for Netflix, with Hugh Grant playing a "repellent" historian with a wig in the show. The actor shared the details accidentally during an interview with New York magazine for HBO's The Undoing.

Brooker did something similar in the past with his Annual Wipe series for the BBC that ran from 2006 to 2016. It was a darkly comic look at the news events and cultural moments of the year. Brooker released another one this year, too. It was called Charlie Brooker's Antiviral Wipe, a 45-minute special for BBC Two with its focus was on the news coverage and public reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. We don't know yet when this mockumentary will come out. But we're going to want to watch it, just to find something humorous in this very trying time.

Source: Deadline

Google routers can prioritize video conferencing or gaming traffic

An update to Google's Nest Wifi and Wifi routers will allow you to choose what traffic the devices will prioritize automatically. Using the Home app, you can select if it should prioritize activities like video conferencing or gaming. The feature arrives with the Q4 firmware update (v13099.118.19), and it requires version 2.31 of the Home app.

Heading into the Wi-Fi settings of the app, you should see the new Preferred activities option. The two choices are currently focused on the two activities mentioned above. For gaming, it will prioritize Stadia. While for video conferencing, it prioritizes apps like Google Meet and Zoom. It isn't clear if this network prioritization option only applies to the mentioned apps.

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'Doom Eternal' will land on the Nintendo Switch on Dec. 8

The Nintendo Switch version of the Doom Eternal is finally arriving next week on Tuesday, December 8. The release will be digital-only, though, and available through the Nintendo Switch eShop and digital codes from other retailers. According to Bethesda's FAQ for the game, those who pre-ordered the game may have their orders cancelled. You could reach out to your retailer if your order got cancelled. Doom Eternal's storage size is 18.8GB. Its The Ancient Gods: Part One downloadable content will be available at "a later date."

Source: Polygon