Google is reportedly required to delete the data it gathered while millions of users of its Chrome web bowser were in Incognito mode as part of settling a lawsuit.
Moving forward, the company will continue to track Chrome users in Incognito mode — while making it clearer that is what is happening.
Apple could use Google Gemini to power the generative AI features reportedly coming this year in iOS 18. Apple and Google are reportedly in “active negotiations” about the possibility, but have not yet finalized a deal. If it happens, it would be the first time in years that the two tech giants have collaborated so closely.
Apple also held talks with OpenAI and considered using ChatGPT, according to Bloomberg’s report.
Privacy-preserving URL protection and beefed-up password protection are coming to Google Safe Browsing for the popular Chrome browser for macOS and iOS, Google said Thursday. The Chrome security update comes to Macs, iPhones and iPads first. Android devices will see them later in March.
Google Chrome uses artificial intelligence in a new experimental tool that makes it easier to start writing or improve something already written online. “Help me write” can punch up the content of any text field in the browser.
It’s coming to Mac and Windows, and is just the latest AI addition to Chrome.
When it comes to deploying artificial intelligence in products, companies like Google might seem quicker on the draw than Apple. But no major tech company bought more AI startups than the iPhone-maker in 2023, according to a new report.
That suggests Apple might soon become a leader in generative AI rather than playing catch-up.
The description of Chrome’s Incognito mode will soon be changed to make it clear that Google tracks people who use the web browser. It also will warn users that websites can gather data about them as well.
This means the only people blocked from knowing your browsing history when using Incognito mode are family/friends who use the same computer.
Epic Games convinced a federal jury that the Google Play store for Android applications is an illegal monopoly. The decision might have wide repercussions.
Apple won its court battle with the game-developer over the same issue, but Google’s loss could nevertheless eventually affect the iOS App Store.
Google plans to purge old accounts starting in December. However, you can keep your Google account active and prevent it from being deleted. You have until the first day of December to save any inactive Google accounts.
What’s being cleaned out? Any Google account that’s been inactive for two years. If you received an email about a dormant account, you know for sure that you need to take action. However, that’s not foolproof. If your dormant account doesn’t have a recovery email set up, you’d never be notified in the first place.
If you have a bunch of alternate, backup Google accounts — as many do — here’s what you need to do.
Perhaps you’ve heard an expression often used in sports commentary — “so-and-so is running a clinic on this,” meaning showing anyone and everyone how it’s done.
Today’s featured computer setup comes from an Apple administrator who clearly knows how it’s done, if “it” is setting up a rock-solid and highly functional workstation.
Apple made Google the default search engine for the Safari web browser on iPhone and Mac because it’s the best option, not because Google paid billions of dollars for the prime placement, according to a top Apple executive.
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, made the claim Tuesday during testimony in the antitrust trial United States et al v. Google LLC. Cue also told the court that Apple’s deal with Google doesn’t violate his company’s oft-stated position on protecting user privacy.
September 21, 1999: A little startup called Google comes out of beta, with the launch of a website that will let the general public easily search the internet for information.
To Apple, which is embracing the internet with its twin iMac G3 and iBook products, Google seems like the perfect ally. Sadly, the relationship between the two companies won’t remain rosy for long.
August 19, 2004: Google floats its initial public offering on the stock market. Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin turn into instant billionaires as the Google IPO cements the company’s status as a tech giant.
Relations between Google and Apple are good at the time, with Steve Jobs serving as a mentor to the company’s two young founders, and Google’s Eric Schmidt soon to join Apple’s board of directors. However, the peace won’t last long.
The owner of today’s MacBook Pro setup chose two Studio Displays over one Pro Display XDR to suit his workflow and because he realized he could bag one of the monitors at half price. Lucky him.
Several folks on social media noticed the damage, and some said they’d grab that deal, too, if they could.
Google thinks Apple’s Find My network is so clever it’s “borrowing” the idea. But the upcoming extension of Android’s Find My Device network to tracking tags has been delayed — and Google says it’s all because of Apple.
The snafu supposedly stems from the companies working together on a scheme to prevent stalkers from misusing tracking tags made for the two rival platforms.
California introduced a COVID-19 exposure-notification system that used iPhone and Android to track interactions with infected people. And now that the U.S. government says the pandemic is over, CA Notify is shut down.
It’s possible Apple will eventually remove the underlying technology from iOS.
In a move it calls “the beginning of the end of the password,” Google began rolling out passkeys for its accounts Wednesday. The move means that users of Apple devices can sign into these accounts using Face ID or Touch ID rather than a password.
The underlying tech already comes built into iPhone, Mac, etc.
Apple and Google jointly proposed an industry specification Tuesday to help fight the misuse of Bluetooth location-tracking devices. Their proposal would make it easier for both iPhone and Android users to detect that they are being surreptitiously followed by a tracking device.
The proposal enjoys support from other makers of location trackers, too.
YouTube will soon get support for SharePlay, as well as videos with higher bitrates. And queuing up videos and jumping between devices will get easier, too.
The enhancements are part of Google efforts to get more subscribers for YouTube Premium.
Google is bringing one of the key Pixel-exclusive camera features, Magic Eraser, to the iPhone. The feature is now available on all smartphones as a part of Google One.
Using Magic Eraser, you can erase unwanted people and objects from your photos with a tap.
You can use Google reverse image search to find a higher-resolution (and higher-quality) original version of an image online. If you’re putting together a presentation, making a YouTube video or writing a blog post, you want the highest quality versions of every image. You might feel stuck if you only have a low-quality picture and you need to fill a bigger space.
Google reverse image search will let you upload a photo and find matches all around the web. You can find out where it’s from to cite the source and save the uncompressed original image. Let me show you how Google Reverse Image Search works.
Some budget computer setups look the part — cheap, utilitarian, uninspired, incomplete — and others don’t. Today’s featured setup falls in the latter category. You look at the well-equipped workstation and the word “cheap” doesn’t occur to you.
Against a DIY desk and pegboard, the setup features an M1 MacBook Air, dual Dell displays, some nice AV gear and plenty of nice touches.
Google tweaked the desktop version of Chrome so that background tabs take up less memory. The widely used browser will also use less power when a laptop’s battery is getting low.
The changes are coming soon to the macOS version as well as other desktop OSs.
Google upgraded the iOS YouTube application with a number of enhancements, including pinch to zoom in videos and a new way of showing thumbnails while rewinding will make it easier to find an exact location.
There are other changes too, and some of the enhancements are coming to the desktop version.
Google Stadia cloud gaming service is being shut down. It allowed Mac, iPad and iPhone users to play console-quality games, but its developer admits it never found an audience.
Other cloud-gaming services remain, including Microsoft’s online version of Xbox and Amazon Luna.