VW to buy back 500,000 Diesel cars in the US in $10 billion deal

VW is looking to buy back affected diesel Jetta, Golf and the Audi A3 cars sold since 2009 that were covered by the Dieselgate scandal involving the 'defeat device' that gamed emissions tests. VW's vehicles had software that made their cars pass emissions tests while generating up to 40 times the legally allowable emissions.

VW will pay cash compensation to owners who either sell their vehicles back or get them fixed, one of the people briefed on the matter said. Owners selling back their vehicles will get an additional cash payment on top of receiving the estimated value of the vehicles from before the emissions scandal became public in September 2015.

U.S. Judge Charles Breyer said the settlement is expected to include a buyback offer for 482,000 2.0-litre vehicles and a possible fix if regulators agree on it, or cancel an outstanding lease.

Source: Reuters

Owners are expected to have around two years to decide whether to sell back vehicles or get them repaired. It is not clear whether VW will be allowed to resell vehicles they buy back, the source said.

Google Search might soon include live TV listings

Today, I’m excited to announce that, coming soon, Google Search will have live TV listings. So now when you’re looking for The Big Bang Theory, we’ll not only show you the apps and sites where you can find the latest episode, but also show which channel you can turn your tv to later in the evening or week to catch it live.

Looks like Google Search will help solve one of the most infuriating things about live TV, which is how hard it is to sometimes find what you want to watch. Turning Google Search into an intelligent, high-tech and localized TV Guide, will enable viewers to find the shows they want on cable and live TV, apps and streaming services they subscribe to. Ther's no indication of when the feature will be enabled and if it will be made available outside of the USA, but it definitely holds promise as one of the features users will rely on a daily basis.

A feature like this could be the tip of the iceberg if enabled on devices like Chromecast or Nexus Player which can now act as conduits for searching and playing back a lot of this content on demand, which could be the revolution that set top boxes have been waiting for.

Source:Google via Android Authority

Microsoft stops making Xbox 360 consoles

Microsoft has announced that the 10 year run of the XBox 360 console has come to an end. The company announced that they will stop manufacturing the Xbox 360.

“Xbox 360 means a lot to everyone in Microsoft,” Head of Xbox Phil Spencer notes in a post to the Xbox Wire blog. “And while we’ve had an amazing run, the realities of manufacturing a product over a decade old are starting to creep up on us. Which is why we have made the decision to stop manufacturing new Xbox 360 consoles. We will continue to sell existing inventory of Xbox 360 consoles, with availability varying by country.”

XBox 360 was kept on despite the existence of the XBox One which suffered from weaker sales when compared to the PS4. With a newer, smaller XBox One expected to be announced at E3. Microsoft will continue to support XBox Live, 4,000 game titles are available for the now classic console, hardware will continue to be supported indefinitely and various Xbox 360 games are now compatible with Xbox One. Read more about it here.

Source: Thurrott.com

BMO launches “Next Big Idea in Fintech” with the DMZ at Ryerson University

Around the world, financial services technology is evolving rapidly and the pace of change is accelerating.  Canada has become a leading source of new ideas, and BMO Financial Group wants to ensure that the next big idea gets the support it needs to make it a reality and benefit Canadian consumers.

 BMO today announced a partnership with the DMZ at Ryerson University that will help identify those innovative minds that will create these new technologies, and then provide support to their start-up enterprises.

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