News

Microsoft Is Resurrecting Clippy With Its New 3D Emoji

All new emoji are rendered in beautiful 3D, and the majority of them are animated to make them even more fun to use.

Published

3 years ago

July 22, 2021

microsoft is resurrecting clippy with its new 3d emoji

Remember Clippy, the whimsical paperclip assistant included in older versions of Microsoft Office? Well, Clippy is back. Well, kind of.

Microsoft understands that most people were happy to see the interactive animated character disappear from their office suite of choice. Still, the company’s designers just couldn’t resist included it in the refreshed set of 1,800+ emoji that will soon make its way into Windows, Office, and other Microsoft 365 products, including Teams.

clippy replaces the old and flat paperclip

All new emoji are rendered in beautiful 3D, and the majority of them are animated to make them even more fun to use when instant messaging with friends, discussing work with colleagues, or planning the new next family get-together.

“Body language, subtle forms of humor, or environmental conditions — while we can see and respond to those cues those in-person, the loss of them in digital contexts impacts our communication greatly. With emoji, however, a few pixels can telegraph our thoughts and feelings in ways that are fun, clear, and emotionally resonant,” Claire Anderson, Art Director & Emojiologist at Microsoft, commented the role emoji have come to play in our modern lives.

The design principles that guided the look and feel of Microsoft’s new emoji revolve around emotional honesty and playfulness. The goal is to empower all users of Microsoft products to express themselves as openly and naturally as possible, even when separated by borders or even entire continents.

Also Read: Windows 11 Is Coming: Here’s What To Expect

Microsoft’s design principles are based on a substantial body of research suggesting that play encourages innovation. It will be interesting to see how the users of Microsoft products from around the world will put the new emoji set to use. Perhaps, it will really help them unlock their creative potential and nurture stronger relationships with the people they communicate with on a regular basis.

News

Paymob Extends Series B Funding To $72M Amid Continued Growth

The financial services provider has secured an extra $22 million after strong performance in its core market of Egypt.

Published

21 hours ago

September 12, 2024

Nour Nasir

paymob extends series b funding to $72 million amid continued growth

Leading financial services provider Paymob has secured an additional $22 million in a funding extension, bringing its Series B total to $72 million.

The funding was spearheaded by EBRD Venture Capital, with support from Endeavor Catalyst. Existing backers such as PayPal Ventures, BII, FMO, A15, Nclude, and Helios Digital Ventures also participated, reaffirming their confidence in Paymob’s business model and potential in the regional fintech industry.

This extension comes on the back of Paymob’s strong performance in its core market of Egypt, where it has experienced 6x revenue growth since the initial Series B in Q2 2022. With the Series B extension and continued profitability in Egypt, Paymob is well-positioned to further its expansion strategy across the MENA region.

Islam Shawky, Co-founder and CEO of Paymob, commented: “We are very excited by our strong prospects in Egypt – where we hold a market-leading position – and the significant traction experienced in the UAE since launching operations there. This funding will help Paymob fully capitalize on the momentum in our established markets, as we accelerate our GCC roll-out. We remain committed to creating cutting-edge infrastructure enabling SMEs across the region to thrive in the digital economy and are proud of our continued impact”.

Also Read: Zoho Expands Qatar Operations & Releases New Survey Data

The expansion into GCC markets has been driven by Paymob’s initial Series B funding of $50 million, raised in 2022 and led by Kora Capital, PayPal Ventures, and Clay Point. The investment fueled Paymob’s growth, allowing it to launch its mobile app in 2023 and grow its merchant base by 3.5 times, now serving nearly 350,000 merchants across MENA.

Paymob has also expanded its payment acceptance suite to offer 50 payment methods through its gateway, POS terminals, and the Paymob app, providing the region’s most comprehensive fintech solution. The company recently introduced embedded checkout services for Shopify and WooCommerce, further demonstrating its commitment to empowering small and medium businesses across the region.