The U.S. House of Representatives antitrust report on Big Tech reportedly includes a “thinly veiled call to break up” the tech giants, according to a report by Reuters.
The House antitrust subcommittee could publish its report on Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet this week. However, while it’s not been published yet, it’s already causing controversy.
New rules don’t seem intended to bring the Google Stadia cloud gaming service to iPad any time soon. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple laid out new rules for streaming games services hoping to be listed the App Store. But it’s not clear if the changes will result in Microsoft, Google Facebook and others actually introducing iPhone and iPad versions of their services, which are already available for other platforms.
Don't suffer spotty Wi-Fi connectivity. Photo: Google
Sick of spotty Wi-Fi connectivity around your home? Fix it with the excellent Google Nest Wi-Fi router. It blankets your home with mesh Wi-Fi coverage, ensuring you get the best connection everywhere.
Google was a big winner on iOS in July. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
As the company behind Android, Google is frequently positioned as one of Apple’s biggest enemy when it comes to smartphones. But it’s actually doing incredibly well thanks to iOS — as a new Sensor Tower report makes clear.
Published Monday, the report notes that Google was the no. 1 mobile publisher in the App Store for July 2020, based on total number of installs. Google’s top apps include YouTube, Google Hangouts, Gmail, Google Calendar, and others.
Google Maps fans can now get turn-by-turn directions on their Apple Watch. Photo: Cult of Mac/Google
A version of Google Maps for the Apple Watch starts rolling on Monday. The goal of this app is to allow users to navigate by car, bike, public transit or on foot, without having to look at an iPhone.
Also, Google Maps for Apple’s CarPlay Dashboard got some convenient new features today.
This massive bundle of lessons will teach you how to connect your brand or products with the widest possible audience. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
Marketing moved online long ago, and every week that goes by, it becomes more fundamental to the ways we buy and sell. Facebook, YouTube, Google and Amazon have become the core of our modern economy. So if you’ve got a product, brand or anything else you want to connect with customers or audiences, you’ve got to learn the ins and outs of digital marketing.
Despite a beta test, the Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming service isn’t headed for iPhone. Photo: Microsoft
Google Stadia and Microsoft Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming services aren’t debuting on iPhone or iPad anytime soon. And the holdup isn’t for technical reasons. It’s about Apple’s App Store policy.
These services could bring desktop-level games to Apple mobile devices. But Microsoft’s offering definitely won’t debut in the App Store this autumn, and Google’s isn’t available, either.
YouTube videos can look a lot better thanks to macOS Big Sur Beta 4. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
Apple released the public beta of macOS Big Sur beta 4 Thursday, and the hottest new feature is very high-resolution YouTube videos. Once Mac users get their hands on the OS upgrade this autumn, they’ll be able to stream video from this service in 4K.
It’s surprisingly easy to make a copy of everything in your Gmail account. Photo: Killian Bell/Ed Hardy
There are lots of reasons you might want to make a copy of everything in a Gmail account. Maybe you’re done with Google and are switching to an Apple email account. Or you’re leaving a job or school where you were issued a Gmail account. You don’t want to leave behind years of messages.
Fortunately, it’s easy to back up everything in a Google email account. But it’s not quick. Plan accordingly.
Automatic backups to Google One are coming soon for iPhone users. Photo: Google
Google on Wednesday committed to a free iOS app that lets iPhone users automatically back up photos, videos, contacts and calendar events. This goes into the 15GB of free storage offered by this company.
This will compete with a service offered by Apple to do the same.
Tim Cook will testify before a congressional antitrust subcommittee this week. Photo: Mark Mathosian/Flickr CC
When the CEOs of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google take questions Wednesday from the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, they likely will face intense scrutiny of their companies’ business practices. But just how tough will the questioning get?
Scott Galloway, a NYU Stern School of Business marketing professor who wrote the best-selling book The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, thinks he knows what Congress will ask the executives. In a new article, Galloway laid out the questions Apple CEO Tim Cook and the others should expect.
Some browsers are better than others on older machines. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Got an old Mac that’s crawling to a halt every time you browse the web? It might not be your hardware that’s in need of a change. Before splashing out on new components, try switching browsers instead—or considerwhat to do with old MacBook to give it a new lease on life.
Gmail users can finally enjoy the benefits of Split View multitasking. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Google finally lets Gmail users read their email while also displaying another app. Apple introduced Split View multitasking way back in 2015, but it’s just now coming to this popular email application.
Apple chief Tim Cook will testify before Congress, and he’ll be joined by the CEOs of Amazon, Facebook and Google. Screenshot: Apple
The CEOs of four of biggest tech firms will testify in the House of Representatives’s probe into antitrust activities. That includes Apple’s Tim Cook, along with the heads of Amazon, Facebook and Google.
This is part of an ongoing investigation by the House Judiciary Committee into whether the largest tech companies play fair with smaller competitors.
Apple News+ could be about to get fresh competition from a premium version of Google News. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Google will pay publishers so it can create “a new news experience launching later this year,” the company said Thursday. While the announcement is vague, Google seems to be putting together a rival for Apple News+, a subscription news-aggregation service for Mac, iPhone and iPad.
Why are you still using your mouse?! Photo: Florian Krumm/Cult of Mac
You’ll be amazed at what you can do with keyboard shortcuts on YouTube. There’s a key for almost everything you could ever need while watching videos. Learn them all in this how-to.
If you use Gmail inside Mail on macOS, you may have noticed an extremely frustrating bug that can cause the app to randomly shove itself in your face. It’s particularly annoying when you’re using another app in full screen mode.
You don’t have to suffer that anymore. In this how-to, we’ll show you an easy fix that permanently prevents unwanted Mail popups from occurring.
Great image search, plus it doesn’t track you. Image: DuckDuckGo
Even though Google pays a hefty sum to stay the default iPhone search engine, an industry analyst suggests Apple should buy rival DuckDuckGo anyway.
That likely wouldn’t be the end of Google and Apple’s cooperation on search, according to AllianceBernstein’s Toni Sacconaghi. But it would strengthen Apple’s bargaining position.
Second thoughts on Apple/Google contact tracing by NHS? Photo: World Health Organization
Great Britain’s National Health Service reportedly asked the developers of its COVID-19 app to investigate switching to Apple and Google’s contact-tracing approach even as its U.K. launch approaches. The move came after widespread concerns over privacy issues and battery life, according to a published report Wednesday.
New guidelines are meant to help developers create easy-to-understand contact tracing apps. Photo: Apple/Google
Apple and Google released additional details about their coronavirus contact-tracing system Monday, informing public health officials that they will not be able to use Location Services to track people. The companies also said they will limit use of the contact-tracing API to one per country.
Both companies also showed off what an app might look like on people’s smartphones — and shared sample pieces of code local governments could use in their own mobile apps.
Insiders detail how Apple and Google created a COVID-19 contact-tracing system in just weeks. Photo: Timon Studler/Unsplash CC
A handful of Apple and Google employees turned a novel approach to fighting COVID-19 from a spark of an idea to a pandemic-fighting tool in less than a month. The tech giants combined forces in March, intent on creating a contact-tracing app capable of monitoring the movements of people who might have come in contact with someone infected with the coronavirus.
CNBC reported inside details Tuesday on how Apple’s initial contact-tracing project — code-named “Bubble” — went from two employees to dozens, and enlisted the help of others at Google.
The first version of Apple and Google’s contact-tracing API will reportedly roll out April 28, Apple CEO Tim Cook says.
As noted by French language website iGeneration, Cook revealed the launch date to European Commissioner Thierry Breton, who then shared it during a press conference held Wednesday.
Senator Hawley is concerned about Apple and Google's privacy for contact-tracing data. Photo: Apple/Google
Sen. Josh Hawley wants Apple and Google to have some skin in the game when it comes to keeping data private in their joint coronavirus contact-tracing project. Hawley’s idea? That the Apple and Google CEOs — Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai, respectively — should take personal responsibility for ensuring the data is kept private.
“If you seek to assure the public, make your stake in this project personal,” the Republican senator from Missouri wrote Tuesday in a letter to Cook and Pichai. “Make a commitment that you and other executives will be personally liable if you stop protecting privacy, such as by granting advertising companies access to the interface once the pandemic is over.”
Apple's new platform just won't cut it. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
France is calling on Apple to loosen its Bluetooth restrictions on iPhone that are said to be holding back a government contact-tracing app designed to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
Apple currently prevents iOS apps from using Bluetooth connectivity in the background under certain circumstances. Its policy blocks France from moving forward with its app, a Tuesday report reveals.
Privacy groups want to make sure contact tracing technology keeps your data safe. Photo: MIT Lincoln Lab
The American Civil Liberties Union said Friday it is cautiously encouraged by a commitment to privacy by Apple and Google as they develop Bluetooth-based contact-tracing technology to track the spread of COVID-19.
But the civil liberties group says the two tech giants must resolve “certain important privacy-related questions” key to winning trust from a public growing wary about who sees their data.