Breaking: Microsoft confirms intent to purchase GitHub for $7.5 billion in stock

Chris Wanstrath (left), Github CEO and co-founder; Nat Friedman, Microsoft corporate vice president, Developer Services; Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO; and Amy Hood, Microsoft Chief Financial Officer.

GitHub will retain its developer-first ethos. Operate independently and remain an open platform. -Microsoft

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Further to the earlier report that Microsoft is purchasing code repository and developer community hangout GitHub, we now have confirmation from Redmond that Microsoft intends to purchases GitHub for $7.5 billion in Microsoft stock.

Microsoft says that the "two companies will empower developers to achieve more at every stage of the development lifecycle, accelerate enterprise use of GitHub, and bring Microsoft’s developer tools and services to new audiences."

"The era of the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge is upon us. Computing is becoming embedded in the world, with every part of our daily life and work and every aspect of our society and economy being transformed by digital technology.Developers are the builders of this new era, writing the world’s code. And GitHub is their home," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated in a blog post. 

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Samsung Galaxy Note 9 likely coming in August with updated Bixby features

There's still nothing quite like the Samsung Galaxy S9 in terms of power, size and functionality specially when you consider the SPen lacks any analogs or competing products. Reports say the Galaxy Note 9 will be launched by August and while it will look very similar to the Note 8, it will likely have updated specs and migth introduce a new and improved Bixby personal assistant.

The Bloomberg report says an event will be held in New Yotk to launch the device which will also have a brand new Qualcomm processor and improved camera hardware and functionality. What features do you want the next Note device to feature?

Source: 9to5Google

Microsoft reportedly buying code hosting repository GitHub

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Microsoft is reportedly buying GitHub which is a leading resource for global software development. "GitHub hosts code for 27 million software developers working on 80 million repositories of code,” according to Bloomberg. The deal is apparently expected to be a billion dollar blockbuster deal which is expected to get a formal announcement tomorrow June 4.

GitHub is a critical service used to help develop everything from iPhone apps to websites. Microsoft owning this resource gives it a powerfull foothold in the future of software development. While GitHub is a huge code repository used by Apple, Amazon, Google and many others. Microsoft is also a major contributor to GitHub and a natural fit as a steward of the service.

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Pro Tip: Use Firefox to narrate website content to you

Voice is increasingly becoming a viable interface with voice assistants and speech synthesis improving with each generation. A lot of users will avoid reading long stories but they will watch a video and it is quite likely they will listen to a podcast. If you are a Firefox browser user, you can tap on the Reader Mode which strips formatting and focuses on text and some images. On the left-hand side of this mode is an option to invoke a narrator that will read the contents of the website to you.

Even if you're a content creator, it helps to try and 'hear' your posts to see if they are long winded. This also comes in handy if you're wearing headphones and are tired of reading (or are on your phone simultaneously). The voice and technology is quite good and a great option which should be on every browser.