PopCap Layoffs; 300M Apple Store Visitors; Foxconn Working Conditions Improve

Topping tech headlines Tuesday, gaming company PopCap laid off 50 employees from its Seattle office, and may be cutting more in Ireland.

The firm announced Tuesday that the reorganization was prompted by the rapid shift to free-to-play, social, and mobile games. PopCap co-founder John Vechey said that the company needs to stay in business, improve efficiency, and maintain a profit in order to keep games like Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies running. PopCap is in talks with its Dublin team to work out a "path to profitability" that will keep the office open.

Meanwhile, the most valuable company ever is performing well financially, as well as in customer volume. Apple Stores counted 300 million global shoppers in just the past 10 months. Cupertino boasts 375 stores worldwide, two of which opened in Canada over the weekend. The Loop's Jim Dalrymple predicted that by October, Apple Store traffic could approach 311 million to round out the 12-month period.

In other Apple news, the Fair Labor Association (FLA), which has been working with Apple on an audit of Foxconn, said Tuesday that Apple's top supplier has made progress on improvements to overtime and working conditions. Following March's report of excessive overtime and unsafe conditions, Foxconn began implementing a number of FLA-recommended changes. FLA President Auret van Heerden on Tuesday said that the Association is satisfied that Apple "has done its due diligence thus far."

Also, Skype released updates for its iOS apps, adding a new photo-sharing feature and improving overall performance. The latest version allows iPhone and iPad users to send and receive photos through the app.

Also making headlines Tuesday:

• iPhone 5 Search Traffic Skyrockets Amidst Rumors: Not surprisingly, the various rumors surrounding the release of Apple's next iPhone and the possible iPad mini have prompted a huge jump in the number of people searching for details about the much-anticipated products.
• Tesla Museum Campaign Tops $850K Online Funding Goal: Artist Matthew Inman on Tuesday surpassed his goal of raising $850,000 for a museum dedicated to electricity pioneer Nikola Tesla.
• Microsoft Opens Windows 8 Upgrade Registration: Microsoft on Tuesday started accepting registrations for Windows 8 upgrades.
• Report Tips October iPad Mini Launch: According to a new report, you will probably get your hands on the iPad mini by October.
• Samsung Teases Galaxy Note II in New Video: With just two weeks to go before Samsung's Mobile Unpacked event, the phone maker posted a video to its YouTube channel hyping up what it intends to unveil.
• Microsoft Puts out Call for Xbox Live Beta Testers: Microsoft on Tuesday put out the call for volunteers to test out the next version of Xbox Live.
• Vogue Publisher Launches Fashion Game for iOS: Conde Nast delivered an iOS game focused on the ups and downs of the world of fashion models called Fashion Hazard.
• Amazon Launches Glacier Cloud Storage Service: Amazon launched a low-cost storage service which is optimized for data archiving and backup.
• Jawbone Jambox Now Comes in Customizable Colors: Are you interested in the Jawbone Jambox speaker but not psyched with the current color options? Good news ? you can now customize it to your own preferences.
• Security Firms Work to Protect Cars From Cyber Attacks: A handful of virus-fighting companies, including Intel Corp's McAfee, are working to secure vehicles from cyber attacks.
• Sony Rolling Out Updated Version of ICS to Xperia Phones: Sony announced that it will roll out an updated version of Android Ice Cream Sandwich to several Xperia phones that already have the OS, as well as a few phones still running Gingerbread.
• NASA Unveils InSight, Next Mission to Mars: With Curiosity still getting the lay of the land on Mars, NASA this week announced that the next mission to the Red Planet will blast off in 2016 via InSight.
• Everything Everywhere to Roll Out U.K.'s First 4G Network: U.K. regulators on Tuesday awarded highly coveted 4G spectrum to Everything Everywhere (EE), which will be the first provider to offer 4G service in the U.K.
• 19 Million American Still Without Broadband Access: Approximately 19 million Americans, or 6 percent of the U.S. population, do not have access to acceptable broadband Internet services.
• Google Play Gift Cards Head to GameStop, RadioShack, Target: Google officially announced the availability of its Google Play gift cards, which come in denominations of $10, $25, or $50.
• Public Can Vote on Robot Hall of Fame 2012 Class: WALL-E, BigDog, and Rosie from The Jetsons are among a dozen candidates for enshrinement in the Robot Hall of Fame's next class, with online voting open through Sept. 30.

For more from Stephanie, follow her on Twitter @smlotPCMag.

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2408761,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05079TX1K0000992

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