New York-based Guava has hired 3D animator Steve Talkowski as its director of animation. Talkowski brings over a decade of experience as an animator to Guava, most recently with New York’s Hornet, where he also served as animation director…Absolute Post Production in London reported that Chris Allen–previously senior producer at London’s Moving Picture Company–will join Absolute in January as executive producer…. New York-based design/post boutique Perception has added Curt Neumann as art director. Neumann joins Perception after having worked with the company as a freelance designer for the past year on projects for Bravo!, AMC, ABC Sports and ESPN….Burbank-based post house FotoKem has signed an agreement with Sohonet, the London-based provider of private network services for film and television, to establish a Point of Presence (POP) on FotoKem’s Burbank campus. Sohonet’s dedicated high-speed network will allow the rapid exchange of media data between FotoKem and major production centers worldwide. Sohonet maintains a high bandwidth transoceanic connection between the London Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) and points in Rome, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney and Wellington, NZ. The network provides scaleable bandwidth, currently up to one Gigabit/sec, for the transfer of digital media of all types such as film dailies, visual effects files, audio, uncompressed 2k or 4k files or any digital media. Sohonet currently provides point-to-point connections to more than 150 clients worldwide, including London’s Shepperton and Pinewood studios.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More