For years, quantum computing has been the preserve of academics. New advances, however, are pushing this potentially revolutionary technology toward practical applications. At the Q2B conference this month, quantum computer makers Google, IBM, Honeywell, IonQ and Xanadu detailed specific steps they expect by 2024 that will push their machines further down the road of commercial …

With the next version of Chrome, Google is moving ahead with a plan to improve privacy and security by reining in some abilities of extensions used to customize the browser. The move had angered some developers who expected earlier it would cripple ad blockers. Manifest v3, the programming interface behind Google’s security plans, will arrive with Chrome 88 in mid-January, …

Adobe on Tuesday released a version of its popular Lightroom photo editing program adapted to Apple’s new M1 Macs, a key addition to the catalog of software needed to make the recently introduced machines more useful. The Lightroom updates also support Apple’s new ProRaw format for photo enthusiasts who want more editing control over shots taken with the iPhone 12 …

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 888 processor won’t support a much ballyhooed video compression technology developed by Google, Netflix and other technology giants, dealing a blow to data efficiency and streaming quality improvements for the next-generation of Android phones. Judd Heape, a Qualcomm vice president for product management, says the mobile chip leader couldn’t include AV1 technology in the new chip because …

Intel unveiled on Thursday its Horse Ridge 2 processor for controlling quantum computers, an important milestone in making the potentially revolutionary machines practical. The Horse Ridge 2 isn’t a quantum processor itself but is designed to solve the challenges of communicating with future quantum processors with thousands or more qubits. The processor is the second generation of a family that …

With its Snapdragon 888 processor, Qualcomm wants to bring your next phone a step further into the modern era of photography with new speed and new AI smarts. The new chip adds a third image processing module that allows flagship smartphones to handle three simultaneous video streams, all in 4K resolution with high dynamic range imagery. And for photos, the …

Google is loosening control over the core of its Chrome browser, a move that helps Microsoft, Samsung and Brave build competitors while advancing the search giant’s vision of the web. Over the past six months, Google welcomed a new outside developer into the leadership of its Chromium project, the software that powers the similarly named browser. The Alphabet subsidiary is …

I’ve used Google Pixels and Apple iPhones for my daily smartphone photography needs for years. I’ve mostly relied on Pixels because of Google’s pioneering computational photography software, which wrings superior image quality out of limited hardware. My current iPhone, the XS Max, has been relegated to occasions when I’ve needed a telephoto lens. But two recent smartphone launches — of Google’s …

If you’re still using Adobe’s Flash Player, you’ve got 55 more days until Mozilla fully banishes it from Firefox. Firefox 83, released Tuesday, is the penultimate version of the web browser that will run Flash software, and Firefox 85 will completely disable it when it arrives on Jan. 12, 2021. Flash expanded browser abilities with features like streaming video and …

Apple’s custom-built M1 processor and the new MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros and Mac Minis that use it are a problem for Intel. The divorce proceedings will last about two years as the prestigious customer gradually ejects Intel’s chips from its personal computers.  But Intel isn’t doomed. The Santa Clara, California, company has some advantages and options in the PC market …