Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft announces the first voluntary retirement program in its 50-year history, for US staffers whose combined years of service added to their age totals 70+  —  Microsoft is also changing its rewards program to recognize ‘high performance.’  —  Microsoft is changing up its annual rewards …

The expansion adds an estimated 10-hour story with new sea creatures, a different restaurant, a puppy to play Duck Hunt with, and more digital cards.

Reuters:
Sources: Thoma Bravo prepares to hand over customer experience management company Medallia to creditors, leading to a ~$5.1B wipeout for Medallia's investors  —  Private equity firm Thoma Bravo is nearing an agreement to hand over software firm Medallia to its lenders, wrapping up months …

This is Lowpass by Janko Roettgers, a newsletter on the ever-evolving intersection of tech and entertainment, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the original iPod. With its monochrome display, mechanical scroll wheel, and 5 GB hard drive, Apple's pioneering music player now looks like the […]

Microsoft is changing up its annual rewards and performance programs today, and offering long-serving employees in the US the ability to voluntarily retire. It's the first time in Microsoft's more than 50-year history that the company has offered such a voluntary retirement program. "Many of these employees have spent years, and in some cases, decades, […]