2023年1月14日の記事を編集して再掲載しています。スーパーでは1秒でも早いレジに並びたいもの。でもオランダに700以上の店舗を持つ大手スーパーチェーンのJumboが2019年夏、Vlijmen店で導入したのはファストレーンならぬスローレ…

シドニーのタバコ1箱が約44.50ドル（約7100円）、ドバイのビール1本が約13.60ドル（約2200円）など、税制や地域特有の事情によって日用品の価格差が劇的に広がっています。対して東京は歴史的な円安の影響で「驚くほど物価が安い先進都市」へと変貌を遂げ、iPhoneが世界で最も安く買える都市となっています。

Microsoft Officeが「自動運転」に進化？Wordでの執筆からExcelのデータ分析、PowerPointのスライド作成まで、自律的に動く「Copilot」の新機能をレビュー。AIに仕事を任せるメリットと、人間が使いこなすためのヒントを解説します。

Longtime Slashdot reader neoRUR shares a report from Game Developer: EA Sports FC and Battlefield publisher EA has been taken private by an investor consortium led by Saudi Arabia's sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF). The move means the U.S. juggernaut is no longer a publicly-traded entity and is now majority owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through its PIF investment arm. Other investors include Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, the latter of which was established by U.S. president Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. The $55 billion transaction was financed via a combination of cash from PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners as well as roll-over of PIF's existing stake in EA -- constituting an equity investment of approximately $36 billion. Notably, $20 billion of debt financing was provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank. The deal cleared the necessary regulatory hurdles in July, paving the way for its completion at the close of trading on August 4, 2026. It was approved by regulators in major markets such as the European Union and the United States without incident, despite lawmakers and union leaders in the U.S. calling on the Federal Trade Commission to heavily scrutinize the leveraged buyout over geopolitical and employment concerns.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Bending Spoons has made its first acquisition since going public last month at an $18 billion valuation, agreeing to buy spreadsheet and database startup Airtable for $1.28 billion in cash. Airtable joins a growing portfolio of notable brands owned by the Italian app developer, including Evernote, WeTransfer, EventBrite, and Vimeo. TechCrunch reports: Founded in 2013, Airtable has so far raised more than $1.4 billion over multiple funding rounds. At its peak, during the boom days of 2021, it was valued at over $11 billion, but earlier this year, its shares were said to be trading on the secondary markets at a valuation of $4 billion. With its current net cash-and-cash-equivalents balance, Airtable is now valued at about $2.25 billion, Bending Spoons said. "Airtable is a pioneering brand reshaping how teams organize data and manage critical workflows. The value being delivered is reflected in annual recurring revenue growing over 20% YoY to approximately $480 million as of June 2026, and joining forces with Bending Spoons will accelerate innovation even further," Bending Spoons' founder Luca Ferrari said in a statement.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.