Three years on, the €4.34 billion fine continues to be the European Commission’s largest ever antitrust fine. When the fine was first handed down, European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager found Google imposed three types of restrictions onto Android device manufacturers and network operators to ensure traffic on Android devices went to Google’s search engine. The European Commission found that Google: Required manufacturers to preinstall the Google Search app and Chrome as a condition for licensing Google’s app store – the Play Store; made payments to some large manufacturers and mobile network operators on the condition that they exclusively preinstall the Google Search app on their devices, and prevented manufacturers from preinstalling Google apps onto devices that ran on Android forks, alternative versions of Android that were not approved by Google....

The massive expansion of its capabilities will see it crossing over with Google Pay, which will remain a discrete service in the US, India, and Singapore. The other 40 countries where Google Pay is available will see their localized versions of the app and platform replaced by a unified Google Wallet app. Those in the trio of aforementioned countries, however, will still be able to pay at POS terminals with the credit cards they have stored in either app....

Since 2020, Google has run an open-source Kubernetes-based Capture-the-Flag (CTF) project called kCTF which allows researchers to connect to its Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) instances, and try to hack them to capture a flag. Every ‘flag’ caught so far has been a container breakout through a Linux kernel vulnerability. Now Google has built a set of mitigations it believes will make most of the vulnerabilities and exploits it has received this past year more difficult to exploit....

Battery bugs. Notifications bugs. Random performance and usability issues. What’s interesting is that most people have concluded that the bug they are suffering is an Apple bug. A bug in iOS, the operating system that powers the iPhone. That’s not true. Most of the time, the bug is down to apps or settings – or perhaps accumulated settings – on the iPhone. Must read: Don’t ever buy an iPhone in July And the problem is that when people create a backup, then wipe their iPhone, but then reload that backup back onto the iPhone the problem manages to jump back onto the hardware....

The Level Lock+ is one of only two smart locks in the US market that supports Apple Home Key. This makes the Level Lock+ an absolutely seamless fit for a HomeKit smart home, like mine, and the single most convenient smart lock I’ve tested to date. Also: The best home security systems Smarts aside, a lot of the beauty in the Level Lock+ lies beneath the surface. This is one of the most compact smart locks available, with no built-in keypad or visible indication of it being a smart device; all you see is a deadbolt from the outside and a thumb-turn from inside your home....

Deliveries and in-store availability will begin one week later, on Friday, July 15. The new MacBook Air users Apple’s latest M2 processor, which promises improved performance across the board. However, that’s not the biggest news about the MacBook Air. For the first time since its original design, Apple has completely redesigned the MacBook Air. It’s still impressively thin but now includes a 13.6-inch display and has a 1080p HD FaceTime camera that’s located in a notch cutout at the top of the display....

In addition to unlimited bandwidth and databases for your website, you will have access to a free domain, 100GB of SSD storage, and an email account. So if you’re planning on building your brand, you can opt to have this email account be your go-to. You’ll also get free SSL – a $12 value – and Cloudfare-protected nameservers for peace of mind. As a free bonus, the website will back up weekly, so if there are any major errors or glitches as a result of, say, a massive internet outage, you’ll be able to recover your website data with ease....

More than 95% of Americans consume caffeine, whether it is food, soda, or coffee. In fact, the average U.S. adult consumes up to 260 milligrams each day. With coffee vying for the spot of America’s favorite drink, it brings up an important question: how much caffeine is in coffee, and how much is safe for your health? Using today’s latest studies and statistics, this is what we found. Also: Best espresso machine That morning cup of coffee could be costing you more than you realize....

Unfortunately, not every browser is capable of handling security in a way that can keep our data out of the hands of those who should not see it. What can you do? Thanks to DuckDuckGo, there’s an add-on available for every major browser on the market, and it can greatly enhance built-in security measures. That add-on is called DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials. What does DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials do? Here’s the shortlist:...

For example, by default, Gmail usually displays five tabs: Primary, Promotions, Social, Updates, and Forums. How do you change this to a layout more conducive to your idea of efficiency? Let me show you. Gmail offers a few customization options, such as: Layout: How much information is displayed in the left pane.Theme: The global theme applied to UI.Inbox Type: The actual layout of the UI.Reading Pane: How the Reading pane is displayed....

As you can imagine, those contacts became a mess. Not only did I have multiple entries, but I also had contacts with little or no personal information (even missing phone numbers and email addresses). Even so, every new Android device I used imported that wonky list of contacts, eventually creating a beautiful mess for me to deal with. Also: How to enable UWB on your Android phone (and why you should) Imagine how much of a challenge it would be to go through each of those contacts manually....

Another common way to increase performance, or at the very least free up extra storage space, on an Android phone is to clear an app’s cached data and clear Chrome’s cached data for websites you visit. Also: The best tablets (aren’t all iPads) Below I’ll walk you through both processes, which don’t take very long at all. The hardest part is figuring out where to look, and that’s exactly what I’m going to show you....

But… but… but… why would you even need such a thing? Does anyone actually use .txt files anymore? Actually, they do. Consider these cases: Configuration filesContainer manifestsSource codeSimple listsREADME files You’d be surprised at how handy a text file can be. Any use case where you need a document that doesn’t contain the formatting (and other bits) associated with traditional documents is where text files shine. And within the Google Drive ecosystem, there are two ways to generate a plain text file....

As the new calendar year approaches, another challenge arises: Filing taxes. How does the passing of a spouse affect income taxes? Does it change one’s filing status? What financial matters need to be accounted for on tax returns? These are difficult questions, and your best approach is to consult a tax attorney, accountant, or tax preparer or to use a trusted tax preparation software package. Let’s walk through tax issues you need to consider if your spouse died during the past year....

Worried about your ISP snooping on you? Is someone on your coffee shop’s Wi-Fi looking your network shoulder? Or, is Joe A Hacker bugging your internet? A virtual private network (VPN) can help protect your privacy. See also: What is a VPN and why do you need one? A VPN uses encryption technologies, such as IP security (IPSec), Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)/IPSec, and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS), to create a virtual encrypted “tunnel” between your device and a VPN server....

Although the company attended the event virtually, like so many others, it offered revamped models and new additions for its headset, controller, mouse, and keyboard lines. Mouse There’s only one mouse on offer within this year’s lineup, but it’s a major step for HyperX: its first entry into the ultra-light wireless mouse category. The Pulsefire Haste Wireless Gaming mouse closely mirrors its successful wireless predecessor in shape and size, with a price bump from the wired version’s $50, to a slightly higher $80....

The officially licensed gamepad features dual trigger locks, remappable rear buttons that can be customized to gamers’ preferences, and a pair of rumble motors for immersive feedback. The controller also features an included 3.5mm stereo jack for connecting your gaming headset to your Xbox. Also: HyperX’s new line of 3D-printed accessories starts with a Cozy Cat The HyperX Clutch Gladiate is expected to begin shipping in March for $35. Alongside its new gamepad, HyperX revealed that its hit Pulsefire Haste gaming mouse is getting a second generation....

Haven’t caught one of these cool clips? Feast your eyes on this gem. Also: What is Lemon8 and why is everyone talking about it on TikTok? The concept is simple yet brilliant: use these “welding wizards” to fuse tiny metal staples into the fractures of cracked plastics – anything from rugged tool cases to the abundance of plastic adorning modern vehicles – and give a fresh lease on life to once-broken items....

To a time when everything made more sense, a time when humans seemed to quite like each other. You’d go to your local Starbucks for a quick chat with a barista and even people you regularly saw in line. But along came isolation, which only fueled the dependence on apps. Chats were out, and speed was in. Starbucks was perhaps the earliest to understand that this was the way things were going anyway....

Also: What is Google Bard? Here’s everything you need to know ChatGPT has the ability to write code, hold conversations, pass benchmark exams, co-edit papers and so much more. Its biggest limitations are that it doesn’t have access to the internet and is limited to information before 2021. With that in mind, in theory, an AI chatbot with access to the internet should make the chatbot just that much more capable than ChatGPT....