Slack puts out full-page ad just as Microsoft readies to enter team-based chat service

Photo from the Verge

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

In a move reminiscent of old-school passive aggressive tech company taunting, Slack took out a full-page ad on the New York Times to "Welcome Microsoft," and offer some advice as the Redmond Giant unveiled its competing Microsoft Teams collaborative chat service.

Slack is the darling communications app of the technology teams and one of Silicon Valley's most beloved services and it was long rumoured to be in Microsoft's sights as a company to be acquired. There may have been some back-channel negotiations that somehow fell through. Anyway, when a company pulls a stunt like this, they're not really just talking to the recipient (in this case, Microsoft), but the world at large in order to tout their features and brag about their achievements. 

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Twitter tried out ‘muted words’ feature on iOS then pulled it out

Twitter seems to be experimenting a new feature to help curb harassment and bullying on its platform. A number of iOS users spotted a new “muted words” feature that lets you block certain keywords, phrases, and hashtags from showing up. The feature was then pulled. According to a source, it was enabled earlier than it was scheduled to appear but the option will supposedly be available in future iterations of the app. Based on the screenshot above, the feature can be enabled or disabled from the Notifications menu. We just have to wait and see if Twitter does plan to introduce this to a larger audience.

Source: The Next Web

Facebook might be venturing into e-sports

Facebook is leaving no stone unturned in the online world. According to The Information, Facebook plans to delve deeper into the world of professional gaming. They have partnered with the likes of Activision Blizzard to bring daily content to its Live streaming service. Now, they are supposedly holding “extensive talks” with Super Evil Megacorp, the developer behind mobile e-sport game Vainglory. Facebook reportedly wants them to stream professional matches on its platform. According to Kristian Segerstrale, chief operating officer of Super Evil Megacorp, the deal isn’t set in stone just yet.

The report also claims Facebook is holding talks with Activision as well to stream more e-sport competitions on Facebook’s platform. Facebook has been pushing its Live platform intensively since it launched last year. It makes sense they want to go up against the likes of Twitch and YouTube for a slice of the professional gaming pie.

Source: Engadget

Seagate outs external SSD for the Xbox

Since the Xbox One can’t swap out hard drives, Seagate thought of the next best thing to help gamers out: an external solid-state drive for the console. Coming in a black and green enclosure and bearing the Xbox logo, you won’t mistake it for anything other than an accessory for the Xbox One. The Game Drive for Xbox SSD comes with 512GB capacity that should offer faster install and load performance than the stock 5400rpm hard drive in the Xbox. If having a matching HD for your console is something you want, it’ll set you back US$199.99 (around CA$260).

Source: The Verge