Tool has promoted sr. interactive developer Vincent Toscano to the role of tech manager. The company has also added sr. interactive developer Simon Lindsay. For the past two years Toscano has been with Tool where he helped to execute digital projects ranging from Capitol One’s “2014 Mascot Challenge” to Sundance Channel’s “Be Original.” In his role as tech manager, he will be responsible for overseeing the technology infrastructure and working directly with agency/client tech directors. Lindsay joins the company following stints with Resn, Firstborn, and Fantasy Interactive. He will be based in NYC….Bicoastal VFX studio Ntropic has brought Kathrin Lausch aboard as executive producer of its NYC office. Lausch brings two decades of experience as an EP to Ntropic, having worked with a strong roster of production and post companies that includes B-Reel, Partizan Entertainment and Compass Films, on clients as diverse as Puma, Perrier, and Infiniti….
A Closer Look At Proposed Measures Designed To Curb Google’s Search Monopoly
U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.
The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.
Here's what it all means:
What is the Justice Department's goal?
Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.
"The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."
Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."
It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More