Bicoastal Tool of North America and managing director Phillip Detchmendy have parted ways. No word yet as to a successor to Detchmendy…..Longstanding London production house Godman is slated to close its doors in the next month or so. Plans call for the company to complete its current slate of projects before winding down operations. The shop intends to honor all of its financial obligations…..Southwest Productions, with offices in Albuquerque and New York, has added comedy director Alan Blake, formerly of Blake & Co., London. The move marks his return to commercial production after having worked on longform TV and movie projects. Blake now resides in Connecticut….Director/digital cinematographer John Allardice has joined Sway Studio, Los Angeles. He previously was at Digital Domain, Venice, Calif., where he ran previsualization on spot projects and had some feature project involvement as well…..
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