BardTech

The post Microsoft no longer taking new enrollments for its Surface Plus financing program appeared first on BardTech . Microsoft has quietly ended its Surface Plus financing program about a year after it launched. In a message on its site, the company said it stopped taking new enrollments on August 31 “after much thought and consideration.” The change does not affect existing customers, however, who will still be covered by their current financing plans. Financed by Klarna, a Stockholm-headquartered online financial services provider, the Surface Plus financing program launched in August 2017 . It targeted students and other people who wanted an affordable way to own a Surface device, allowing them to spread payments over 24 months. The Surface Plus plan also enabled customers to upgrade to the latest device after 18 months, as long as they returned their previous device in good working condition. In a FAQ, Microsoft said existing customers will still be able to upgrade their...

The post The Village Voice will no longer publish new stories appeared first on BardTech . The Village Voice is dead — at least, as a functioning journalistic organization. Starting today, the legendary alternative newspaper will no longer publish new stories. Gothamist reports that at a staff meeting, owner Peter Barbey said that about half the team would be laid off, while the other half would remain on-board for now to “wind things down” and work on creating a digital Voice archive. Barbey acquired the Voice in 2015 and took the paper online-only last year. In a statement released today, he said: In recent years, the Voice has been subject to the increasingly harsh economic realities facing those creating journalism and written media. Like many others in publishing, we were continually optimistic that relief was around the next corner. Where stability for our business is, we do not know yet. The only thing that is clear now is that we have not reached that destination. The ...