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Posts tagged as “Shutdown”

Microsoft to shutdown Skype this May 2025

March 1, 2025

Microsoft will be shutting down Skype this May 2025. The company said that the service will remain available until May 5, 2025.

Microsoft explained that during this transition period, Skype users will have the ability to sign-on to Microsoft Teams (Free) on any supported device, this will transfer any skype chats and contacts to Microsoft Teams. At the same time, Skype users will be able to call MS Teams users and vice versa.

If skype users does not want move MS Teams, they will have the ability to export their skype data including chats, contacts, and call history. Then import the information their preferred video chat and messaging service.

With the impending shutdown, Microsoft added that the company will “no longer offer paid Skype features to new customers, including Skype Credit and subscriptions that allow users to make and receive international and domestic calls. Current Skype subscription users can continue to use their Skype Credits and subscriptions until the end of their next renewal period. Skype Credit users can also continue to use their remaining Skype Credit. After May 5, 2025, the Skype Dial Pad will be available to remaining paid users from the Skype web portal and within Teams.”

Launched in 2003, Skype is a P2P IP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. The company was acquired by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion and used it to replace their Windows Live Messenger.

Twitch to shut down business in Korea

December 6, 2023

In a surprising announcement, Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch has announced that it will shut down operations in South Korea effective February 27, 2024. The company cited a “prohibitively expensive” operating costs and network fees as the primary reasons for this decision.

Twitch has been operating in Korea for several years, but it has faced ongoing challenges due to the country’s high network usage fees. These fees, which are significantly higher than in other countries, have made it difficult for Twitch to operate profitably in the country.

In an effort to reduce costs, the company experimented with peer-to-peer streaming and also limiting stream quality to 720p, but Twitch’s financial burden of operating in Korea is still 10 times more expensive than in most other countries.

This decision is a significant blow to the Korean gaming community, which has relied on Twitch as a platform for streaming and watching esports competitions. Twitch has also been a valuable source of income for many Korean streamers, who will now need to find alternative platforms to broadcast their content.

The shutdown of Twitch in Korea is a reminder of the challenges faced by global technology companies operating in countries with high network usage fees. It also highlights the importance of Korea’s internet service providers in ensuring that the country remains an attractive destination for technology companies.

The closure of Twitch in Korea is expected to have a significant impact on the country’s gaming community. Twitch has been a popular platform for Korean gamers to stream their gameplay and watch esports competitions. With Twitch gone, Korean gamers will need to find alternative platforms to watch and participate in the gaming community.

There are several alternative streaming platforms exist for Korean gamers, including YouTube Gaming, AfreecaTV, and Kakao TV. However, these platforms do not have the same global reach as Twitch, and they may not be as popular among Korean gamers.

It is unclear what will be the future of Twitch in Korea. The company has not ruled out the possibility of returning to Korea in the future, but it is unclear when or if this will happen.

In the meantime, Korean gamers will need to adapt to a new streaming landscape without Twitch. It is possible that the closure of Twitch could lead to increased popularity for other streaming platforms in Korea. However, it is also possible that Korean gamers will simply watch and participate in the gaming community less often.

Department of Migrant Workers shuts down operations of unlicensed Maritime Firm

March 30, 2023

Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople has ordered the closure of a maritime consultancy firm JCB-Success Maritime Consultancy Services, a maritime consultancy firm in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

The closure of the firm came after Manuel Jericho L. Ramos, one of the victims, complained that the firm was able to deliver their promised deployment after asking “him and three other applicants to pay P75,000 each as placement fee and encouraged to convince other colleagues to apply for positions offered by JCB.”

In addition to the filed complain, JCB is operating without any permit from the DMW. JCB operations is to offer jobs as deck seafarers, able engine seafarers, oilers, engineers, and yacht stewards. When a potential applicants/victim submitted the requirements like Seafarer’s Identification and Record Book (SIRB), passport, resume, skill certifications, etc. They (victims) are then referred to an “international manning agency” for deployment. This is where the applicants are duped in “gettug” an offer and deployment, this is where the collection of fees are initiated.

It was determined that even those unqualified applicant were “promised jobs.”

JCB claimed that they have been deploying applicants since November 2022.

With its closure, JCB-Success Maritime Consultancy Services, its owner, employees, and officers will be included in the DMW’s list of persons and establishments with derogatory records. They will be barred from participating in the government’s overseas recruitment program.

The DMW will file illegal recruitment cases against the firm’s owner and officers.

Under Republic Act No. 8042, as amended by Republic Act No. 10022, any act of hiring Filipino workers, undertaken without license or authority from the DMW, is considered illegal recruitment.
Illegal recruitment victims may contact the DMW’s Migrant Workers Protection Bureau directly through their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/airbranch/ or email them at airbranch@dmw.gov.ph.