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Google's ridiculous war against ad blockers is confusing everyone
Google's image is in tatters thanks to its insane war on ad blockers
YouTube made waves on the interwebs recently when it appeared to slow to a crawl for millions of users. It turns out the cause was a bug for users with ad blockers. Whether intentional or not, Google remains tight-lipped about the incident and shows no sign of stopping its losing war on ad blockers.
Business is often conducted on the go these days, and this has never been more viable on your favorite Android phone. In conjunction with the best apps on Android, business apps can make the earth move in terms of productivity, connectivity, and financial stability. AP loves the best management and tycoon games, but if you're looking to invest time in optimizing a real business, today's roundup is one that you won't want to skip.
Google Maps steps up efforts to limit abuse during Russia's invasion of Ukraine
This after people were able to pin the tail on the Russian insurgency
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Ukraine is entering its fifth day fending off the invasion of Russian aircraft, artillery, and troops. War turns many priorities upside down: businesses are shuttered and shelters with bread lines take their place. In response to those rapid changes, Google Maps has made a few of its own in the country.
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Nothing is safe from a price hike these days from food to Netflix and, just announced through its quarterly earnings release, Amazon Prime. Starting this month, subscriptions will cost 15% more than they have been.
Paying off your new Verizon phone will now take 3 years
AT&T payment plans went up to 36 months last year
Phone contracts aren't what they used to be and are continuing to change, at least at Verizon. The wireless carrier has just extended its installment plan terms for all new device purchases from 24 or 30 months to 36.
Apple and Samsung are surviving the global chip shortage in ways only they can
Well, it's actually the global 'everything' shortage
Those on a tight budget for a new phone these days are facing the crises surrounding the global pandemic head-on. From lengthening lead times to a never-ending chip shortage, manufacturers are coping by putting number one first. And a new report indicates that consumers will be in for another year of this mess.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai was aware of anti-competitive ads deal with Facebook, Texas AG alleges
Meta's Zuckerberg and Sandberg also knew about 'Jedi Blue'
Court filings from the Texas attorney general's office which have just been unsealed allege that top executives at Google and Facebook (now Meta) knew of and supported a deal that gave the social media giant a sweetheart deal on internet ads. They're the latest revelation in the midst of a multi-state antitrust lawsuit against the search giant.
Jack Dorsey steps down as CEO of Twitter, will leave board in May
He faced pressure to resign last year
Jack Dorsey has announced his resignation as CEO of Twitter, the shortform social media platform he co-founded in 2006. He made his intentions known to staff in an email which he tweeted out publicly this morning.
Samsung is making a $17 billion bet on Texas that could help alleviate the chip shortage
But this new factory won't be chipping in for a few years
Amidst the many economic threads of the current pandemic story that's still being written, Samsung is adding to the subplot by announcing that it will invest $17 billion in building a new semiconductor foundry in Texas.
Google throws devs a bone and lowers the Play Store's cut of subscription fees across the board
Commissions stand at 15% for all subscriptions
Tensions between app developers and the platforms they serve have never been at a higher pitch with the ongoing disputes Epic Games has with Apple and Google. But these explosive distractions and the government legislation being signed into law in their wake have motivated the sleeping giants into catering for the publishing masses.
Who even uses Bing? Google, apparently — when it needs to weasel out of massive fines
Drops a nice stat, but it may be irrelevant
Google's claiming pure superiority over other search engines as the reason why it should not pay $5 billion to the European Union. The company is in the middle of appealing the commission's record fine from 2018 when it was deternined that the online search giant was able to ensure the dominance of its services over competing ones through the popularity of Android devices.
Google just bought a big building in New York City for 2.1 Instagrams
That's $2.1 billion in boring American dollars
News of the city's death seems to be greatly exaggerated as Big Tech is acting on plans to cut down on remote work and open up their urban bases in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. Google, for one, is doubling down on its presence in New York City, splashing out $2.1 billion for an office building near the SoHo neighborhood.
Epic Games may be on the hook for a whopping $3.6 million if it loses appeal against Apple
A narrative shift may toss out rules that would cost Epic the money
Last week's ruling in Epic Games v. Apple which basically allowed app developers to direct customers away from the App Store payment platform for in-app transactions was praised and panned across the spectrum. But in the view of Epic, it did not go far enough in stopping what it alleges to be Apple's harmful practices on its iOS app distribution monopoly. So it went on Sunday as the gaming giant filed an appeal.
Get ready for a price hike on your favorite electronics. Again
With no end to the chip shortage in sight, technology prices are about to climb even higher
The global chip shortage has been going on for entirety of 2021, keeping electronics in hot demand off store shelves, prices riding high, and scalpers making a living out of your desperation. While seemingly everything's been affected to one degree or another, GPUs have been among the hardest hit, together with latest-generation consoles like the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. In the smartphone world, some phone companies have had to plan around this chip shortage in order to actually sell their devices, as CPU-daddy Qualcomm has been among those impacted. And while the situation seemed to have been getting better for a while, with GPU prices even going slightly down for a bit, now it all might be about to spiral back out of control.
T-Mobile has been working on expanding both its cellular and retail coverage to rural areas in the country. Some weighty events have helped spread its network out like the merger with Sprint and 5G deployment on 600MHz. As for the brick-and-mortar situation, it appears that the company will be standing on the shoulders of giants Best Buy and (eventually) Walmart.
Foldable phones have arrived, and Samsung has the pre-order figures to prove it
Acknowledge the folding smartphone before it takes over the world
Samsung's big pitch for the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Flip3 appears to have landed a hit. The company has confirmed that it has logged the most global pre-orders for the new foldable phones ever, eclipsing sales of existing Galaxy Z models year-to-date. Unofficial numbers from South Korea may give us an idea of how big this stack actually is.
Google Phone knows you prefer messaging businesses over calling them (APK Download)
Start chatting right away from within the app
I don't know about you, but I prefer texting over calling businesses — who likes listening to some crappy hold music for minutes on end?! Google probably knows this and is happy to bundle a messaging feature into yet another one of its apps. The Google Phone app now lets you text businesses.
EA tests the limits of good taste, purchases Glu Mobile for $2.1 billion
Bigger pipeline, bigger revenues
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Perhaps Electronic Arts figured it was about time to start milking the cash cow that is mobile gaming: it has announced its intent to buy publisher Glu Mobile, known for its freemium all-encompassing titles like "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood," "Cooking Dash," and 2013's "Frontline Commando: D-Day," for $2.1 billion — a 36% premium on its market capitalization up to today.
RIP LG: South Korean giant officially exits the smartphone market
Software support extended until... whenever
After months of rumors, LG has made it official: it will exit the smartphone business on July 31.
While Huawei remains shut out of the US smartphone industry, the company is seeking to bring in revenue through new methods. On Tuesday, Huawei announced its intention to begin charging companies like Samsung and Apple royalties for access and use of its 5G-related patents.