Computer Act!ve - UK (2022-06-08)

9

IN BRIEF

ANDROID APPS SHOW

‘ACCESSIBILITY’ LABELS

Google will soon add

accessibility labels to apps

on its Play Store to indicate

how easy they are for

disabled people to use.

They’ll appear under the

‘About this app’ heading and

cover categories including

visual and hearing assistance,

learning disabilities and

motor assistance. Read

more and see examples on

Google’s blog: http://www.snipca.

com/42058.

‘OBSCENELY LARGE’

EDGE MENU TO SHRINK

Microsoft is

planning to

reduce the size

of the right-click

menu in Edge

in response to

criticism that

it’s “obscenely

large”. Currently,

right-clicking in the browser

can show as many as 16

options (pictured). Microsoft

admitted this was “too long,

too wide” (www.snipca.

com/42074), and said it will

start to fix the problem in

the Canary preview version

of Edge (www.snipca.

com/42075). Any changes

are likely to be added to the

full version in time.

PARAMOUNT PLUS TO

LAUNCH IN JUNE

TV-streaming service

Paramount Plus (www.

paramountplus.com) will

launch in the UK on 22 June, it

has been confirmed. It costs

£6.99 a month or £69.90 a

year, though it’s free for Sky

Cinema and Q subscribers. It

will be available on the usual

range of services, including

Android and iOS, Apple,

Amazon, Google, Roku and

Samsung.

M

icrosoft has said that

Russia’s invasion of

Ukraine is “the first major

hybrid war” because it’s being

fought in cyberspace as well

as on land, sea and air.

The company’s president

Brad Smith (pictured) revealed

that it had identified potential

attacks against Ukraine being

launched shortly before the

physical invasion took place.

He added that Microsoft’s

security team helped Ukraine

defend itself by assisting

government departments and

key Ukrainian companies to

move their systems online.

Smith was speaking at

Microsoft’s Envision event in

London, a forum for “thought

leaders” across

different industries.

He claimed it was

essential for

Ukraine’s security

to shift its cloud

infrastructure

outside the country.

This was aided, he

said, by Microsoft having

spent $12 billion building

datacentres across Europe.

“You are most safe when

people don’t know where

your data is,” he said.

He also revealed that the

time passing between a cyber

and ground assault has

shrunk from days to hours,

highlighting one physical

attack on a nuclear power

plant that followed a hack

just hours earlier.

With the war now in its

fourth month, Smith said

Microsoft will focus on

disrupting Russian

disinformation, protecting

citizens on the ground, and

making sure it could collect

evidence of war crimes.

Watch his talk at http://www.

snipca.com/42055.

Microsoft defending Ukraine in

‘first major hybrid war’

Millions of phone users could win

compensation for ‘overpayments’

C

onsumer group Which?

has won permission to

represent 30 million UK

customers in a mass legal case

against US firm Qualcomm.

It alleges the company, which

makes smartphone components,

abused its position as the

market leader by charging

manufacturers, such as Apple

and Samsung, inflated costs.

These were passed on to

consumers in the form of

higher smartphone prices.

The Competition Appeal

Tribunal ruled in May that

Which? could proceed

with the case, which seeks

£500m compensation for

“overpayments” made on

Apple and Samsung phones

bought since 1 October, 2015.

Which? estimates that

customers could win an

average of £16 to £17, with the

exact amount depending on

the specific phone bought.

The Tribunal dismissed

individual basis.”

Qualcomm rejected these

claims as “meritless” and

said they “recycle allegations

in an old case brought by the

Federal Trade Commission

in the US”, which Qualcomm

won.

To find out whether you’re

eligible for the claim, visit

http://www.smartphoneclaim.co.uk

then scroll down and answer

the seven-part questionnaire.

You’ll be automatically

included in the case unless

you tell Which? you don’t

want to be.

The Tribunal will set a date for

the trial in the next few weeks.

Qualcomm’s argument that

the cost of bringing the claim

outweighed any financial

benefit. It ruled that “given the

cost of living challenges faced

by many consumers” £16-£

isn’t small enough to deter

people from taking part.

Anabel Hoult, Which? Chief

Executive, said: “If Qualcomm

has abused its market power it

must be held to account. This

judgement ensures that it can

be. Which? brought this claim

on behalf of millions of

affected UK consumers, as it

would not have been realistic

for people to seek damages

from the company on an

Issue 633 • 8 – 21 June 2022