Google is reportedly considering charging for premium AI-powered Internet searches as the company fears that AI chatbots are undercutting its search engine. Advertising-Funded Google, up until now, has relied mainly on an advertising-funded business model (Google Ads) as a way to collect data and monetise its market-leading search. However, it seems that fears around users asking queries via generative…
Microsoft’s announcement that it will sell its chat and video app Teams separately from its Office product globally is likely to cause considerable headaches for IT departments and managed service providers. Why Unbundle? Teams is to be unbundled and sold separately globally (it’s been unbundled in the EU since last October) in response to an antitrust lawsuit and to…
As part of its compliance with EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules, Apple has announced a change in its App Store rules to allow emulators for retro console games globally. The change allows an option for downloading the titles, but Apple has warned the developers of such emulator apps that need to follow copyright rules. Android users already enjoy…
A researcher from Swiss security firm, Pentagrid, has reported discovering that the self-service check-in terminal at a German Ibis budget hotel could be easily fooled into leaking hotel room keycodes. This has prompted fears that similar systems in hotels around Europe could be at risk. The researcher reported that, simply by inputting a series of six consecutive dashes (——)…
Space Solar’s plan is to be able to power more than a million homes by the 2030s using a mile-wide complex of mirrors and solar panels – a solar farm – orbiting 22,000 miles above Earth. Panels Must Rotate Towards The Sun For the space-based solar farm to work effectively, the panels must be able to rotate towards the…
This week’s Social and AI news video-update explains how to stop those annoying messages where you’re included in a group mailing in Facebook.
If you need an easy way to explain to others the nature of a technical issue or the steps to take to solve that issue, Windows has an often overlooked, built-in ‘Steps Recorder’ to help you. As the name suggests, it records the series of steps you take on your computer, including screenshots and detailed descriptions, which you can…
As part of a deal to resolve a class action lawsuit in the US dating back to 2020, Google has said it will delete the incognito mode search data of millions of users. What Lawsuit? In June 2020 in the US, three Californians named Chasom Brown, Christopher Castillo, and Monique Trujill (along with William Byatt of Florida and Jeremy…
With Google Maps now one of the most popular mapping services globally, used by millions of people every day, plus having new features regularly being added, here we look at a dozen top Google Maps (Android) tricks to help you on your way. Driving Since Google Maps can be extremely useful in the car, the first few tricks are…
OpenAI has announced the preview of its (two years in the making) ‘Voice Engine’ voice cloning tool, although there’s no firm release date yet. What Can It Do? OpenAI says Voice Engine uses “text input and a single 15-second audio sample to generate natural-sounding speech that closely resembles the original speaker.” OpenAI says this “small model” with a single 15-second sample can…
