Google usually holds its annual I/O developer conference in the spring, and with January almost behind us it’s time for the company to start looking ahead to its big event. To kick things off in an unsurprisingly Google way, the search giant launched a way for interested developers and fans to get details by solving …
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Microsoft has triggered anger by announcing that an upcoming version of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus will change Chrome users’ default search engine to the company’s own Bing. The change — which in less generous terms is called “search hijacking” — will start reaching Chrome users in February and will eventually show up in the Firefox browser, too. The change is …
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Chromebooks released this year will get eight years of software support and automatic updates compared to the previous average of six years, Google said Tuesday. The company said the move is intended to extend the lifespan of 40 million devices used by students and teachers — and at the same time it has increased the list price of the Chrome …
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Google has revealed a bunch of new tools to help people “find a better balance with technology” through its well-being project. One of them, Envelope by Special Projects, asks you to put your phone inside a paper envelope to minimize distractions, as spotted earlier by 9to5Google. The two types of envelopes — one for calls only and one for camera …
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YouTube TV, a cord-cutter-friendly live TV streaming service designed to replace traditional cable TV, is now available on PlayStation 4 consoles. The move comes a week before Sony’s own such service, PlayStation Vue, is due to close down. YouTube TV’s tweet announcing the debut of the service declares that the PS4 controller is now “your new TV remote.” It should be noted that …
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Verizon has a new promotion to lure customers to switch to its fastest Fios home broadband service: a free Google Stadia bundle for those who get the company’s Fios gigabit internet. The new deal, which goes live next week, on Jan. 29, will have Verizon include a free Google Stadia Premiere Edition with the internet service. The usually $129 Premiere bundle …
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Browser maker Opera’s expansion into money-lending services in Kenya, India and Nigeria apparently violates Google’s rules against short-term loans, a report from research and investment firm Hindenburg Research concluded. The news has pushed Opera’s stock 22% lower since Wednesday, a move that should help Hindenburg make money because it bet that the company’s share price would fall. The Hindenburg report …
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CEO of Google and Alphabet Sundar Pichai is convinced that AI must be regulated in order to prevent the potential negative consequences of tools including deepfakes and facial recognition, he said in an op-ed for the Financial Times on Monday. “There is no question in my mind that artificial intelligence needs to be regulated,” Pichai wrote. “It is too important …
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Samsung’s mobile chief, Dong-jin Koh, has stepped down from running the company’s day-to-day operations. Instead, Tae-moon Roh will take over management of the smartphone business while Koh focuses on the company’s long-term business strategy. Koh, better known as DJ, has handed over the title of head of Samsung’s mobile communications business to Roh but remains president and CEO of Samsung’s …
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We’ve all been there — you’ve got 20 tabs open, and one of them seems to be playing music or rolling a video. You’re driving yourself crazy clicking around to find out which one it is, and now you’re starting to get mad. Fortunately, Google’s got a new button for the Chrome desktop browser that lets you pause (and play) …
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