Weekend Wrap-Up: Microsoft to Cut 18,000 Jobs; Amazon Launches Kindle Unlimited

Hola, readers! We hope you’ve all had a great weekend so far. While it’s not quite Monday yet, we are ready to leave the previous week’s news in the past. But if you weren’t able to keep up with all the happenings in tech, don’t worry — we’re going to catch you up right now.

Microsoft to Cut 18,000 Jobs

It isn’t news that things at Microsoft haven’t been all that peachy the past few years. A lot has changed in technology, and while the company is still well positioned in many areas, it’s found itself trailing in others it once led. The company will take a new approach under new CEO Satya Nadella, but it’ll come with a cost — 18,000 of Microsoft’s employees will be let go in what the company calls a “workforce realignment.” We wish the best to those affected.

Amazon Launches Kindle Unlimited

We have all-you-can-eat streaming services for music and movies, and now, thanks to Amazon, we have a $9.99 per month subscription service for e-books. Amazon launched Kindle Unlimited this past week, a service that lets you pay one flat fee to read as many books as you want. There is a catch, though; at this point in time, the five biggest book publishers aren’t on board, which might mean some of the books on your must-read list won’t be available. There’s always the library, right?

Xbox One Sales Double, but Sony’s PlayStation 4 Still Leads

Microsoft has to be pretty pleased with the latest numbers coming out for Xbox One sales. The company announced that the console’s June sales numbers doubled those of May, which is a pretty significant jump. Could the hop be contributed to the $399 Kinect-less Xbox One model, or perhaps gamers finally making the leap into next-gen for titles like Watch Dogs? Either way, the improvement in sales figures wasn’t enough to overtake the current leader, the PlayStation 4, which remained the top-selling console in June.

Netflix Tries Out a Private Viewing Mode

Ever wanted something like “Incognito Mode” for your Netflix account? The company has heard your wish, as well as the wishes of many others, and has started testing such a feature. Viewing a movie or TV show in this private viewing mode would mean no trace of your activity would show up in Netflix or elsewhere; no evidence left behind in the “Recently Watched” section, and no blurting out your video watching secrets to your Facebook friends. Netflix won’t commit to this feature being a permanent part of the experience, but it’s one a lot of people wouldn’t mind having.