ASAP IT Technology Blog

Intuit recently released Quicken 2016, the newest version of its 32-year-old personal finance program. The release was met with much fervor, despite the fact that Intuit intends to sell its hallmark product. As Intuit looks to focus more on cloud-based financial solutions, it must shed some of its older properties in order to prepare for the future. That being said, it was with a heavy heart that Intuit decided to part ways with its Quicken software suite. It simply made little financial sense for Intuit to hold onto Quicken, as the desktop computers software had seen minimal growth over the past decade and only represented 2% of Intuit’s total revenue in 2015. Essentially, the revenue generated by Quicken did not justify the amount of resources that Intuit was putting into it. Read more >>

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella delivered a message at the Microsoft Government Cloud Forum in Washington DC this past Tuesday, stating Windows’ new security system is the safest operating system on the market. Read more >>

In a move that has been long overdue, Microsoft has finally pulled the plug on its struggling Zune music streaming and downloading service. Microsoft has confirmed that it will retire all Zune services on November 15, 2014. Although Zune devices themselves will still function as rudimentary MP3 players, users will no longer be able to stream or download music from the Zune Marketplace or the Zune Music Pass subscription service. For anyone still holding on to their Zune Music Pass subscriptions, these accounts will be automatically switched to Microsoft’s Groove Music Service. Read more >>

Ericsson announced a partnership with Cisco in order to boost sales. Both companies are considered leaders in the networking, mobility, and cloud industries. Together, they plan on collaborating in order to create the future of networks. As the world becomes more focused on the cloud, Ericsson and Cisco plan to make their cloud secure, quick, and autonomous. Read more >>

Activision Blizzard has announced that they are buying out King Digital for $5.9 billion. King Digital is known for the popular mobile game, “Candy Crush Saga.” Activision Blizzard is publisher of popular games such as World of Warcraft, Destiny, Guitar Hero, Skylanders, and Call of Duty. Activision has a weakness in the mobile market but by buying King Digital, it may have a plan to change this. Read more >>