Moxie Pictures has brought on Katrin Aul as East Coast sales representative. Aul's background includes sales rep duties at Smuggler, and other top production houses including Station, Academy and HSI. A native of Germany, Aul began her career in London, later moving to New York where she worked for Smuggler and Rabbit as an in-house sales rep. After a stint as an independent rep, Aul was offered the sales post at Moxie….Indie firm Nikki Weiss & Co. has added two new entries to its roster for Midwest representation: Oil Factory; and director Warren Kushner of K Films….Chad Cooper has become director of business development for hybrid CGI, interactive, 3D company Speedshape. Cooper, who brings 13 years of experience in advertising and postproduction to his new post, will head-up client services and new business at the company's Detroit-based flagship facility. In addition, he will oversee the growth of its East and West Coast satellite divisions as Speedshape expands its staff and services to accommodate its growing national client roster in the commercial, broadcast, digital media and film arenas. Previous positions as VP/partner at Milagro Post, a creative editorial and finishing spot house, and CloudSparks, a digital firm specializing in custom web development–as well a brief stint as associate director of operations at Leo Burnett–enable Cooper to traverse the advertising, broadcast, film and interactive markets….Dattner Dispoto and Associates has signed DP Autumn Durald….
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