Recap: Here’s what happened in Google’s search antitrust trial

Recap: Here’s what happened in Google’s search antitrust trial

The great Google spinoff While Google certainly doesn’t want to lose Chrome, there may be a more fundamental threat to its business in the DOJ’s remedies. The DOJ argued that Google’s illegal monopoly has given it an insurmountable technology lead, but a collection of data remedies could address that. Under the DOJ proposal, Google would…

Linux to end support for 1989’s hottest chip, the 486, with next release

Linux to end support for 1989’s hottest chip, the 486, with next release

It’s not the first time Torvalds has suggested dropping support for 32-bit processors and relieving kernel developers from implementing archaic emulation and work-around solutions. “We got rid of i386 support back in 2022. Maybe it’s time to get rid of i486 support in 2022,” Torvalds wrote in October 2022. Failing major changes to the 6.15…

Kids are short-circuiting their school-issued Chromebooks for TikTok clout

Kids are short-circuiting their school-issued Chromebooks for TikTok clout

Schools across the US are warning parents about an Internet trend that has students purposefully trying to damage their school-issued Chromebooks so that they start smoking or catch fire. Various school districts, including some in Colorado, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Washington, have sent letters to parents warning about the trend that’s largely taken off…

Echoing Xbox, prices are going up for high-end Surfaces and some accessories

Echoing Xbox, prices are going up for high-end Surfaces and some accessories

While the Surface Pro and Laptop get price hikes that aren’t technically price hikes, some Surface accessories have had their prices directly increased. The Surface USB-C Travel Hub is now $120 instead of $100; the Surface Arc Mouse is now $90 instead of $80, and a handful of replacement parts are more expensive now than they were, according to recent…

Google hits back after Apple exec says AI is hurting search

Google hits back after Apple exec says AI is hurting search

The antitrust trial targeting Google’s search business is heading into the home stretch, and the outcome could forever alter Google—and the web itself. The company is scrambling to protect its search empire, but perhaps market forces could pull the rug out from under Google before the government can. Apple SVP of Services Eddie Cue suggested…

Matter update may finally take the tedium out of setting up your smart home

Matter update may finally take the tedium out of setting up your smart home

There is no product category that better embodies the XKCD take on standards than smart home. With an ocean of connectivity options and incompatible standards, taming this mess has been challenging, but Matter could finally have a shot at making things a little less frustrating. The latest version of the standard has launched, offering multiple…

Cue: Apple will add AI search in mobile Safari, challenging Google

Cue: Apple will add AI search in mobile Safari, challenging Google

Apple executive Eddie Cue said that Apple is “actively looking at” shifting the focus of mobile Safari’s search experience to AI search engines, potentially challenging Google’s longstanding search dominance and the two companies’ lucrative default search engine deal. The statements were made while Cue testified for the US Department of Justice in the Alphabet/Google antitrust…

Broadcom sends cease-and-desist letters to subscription-less VMware users

Broadcom sends cease-and-desist letters to subscription-less VMware users

Broadcom has been sending cease-and-desist letters to owners of VMware perpetual licenses with expired support contracts, Ars Technica has confirmed. Following its November 2023 acquisition of VMware, Broadcom ended VMware perpetual license sales. Users with perpetual licenses can still use the software they bought, but they are unable to renew support services unless they had…

Open source project curl is sick of users submitting “AI slop” vulnerabilities

Open source project curl is sick of users submitting “AI slop” vulnerabilities

Ars has reached out to HackerOne for comment and will update this post if we get a response. “More tools to strike down this behavior” In an interview with Ars, Stenberg said he was glad his post—which generated 200 comments and nearly 400 reposts as of Wednesday morning—was getting around. “I’m super happy that the…

Apps like Kindle are already taking advantage of court-mandated iOS App Store changes

Apps like Kindle are already taking advantage of court-mandated iOS App Store changes

As of an update released today, the iOS app still doesn’t allow books to be purchased directly in the app, but you can search Amazon’s virtual bookstore inside the app and tap a new “Get Book” button that automatically pops you over to Amazon.com in your phone or tablet’s default browser. This is not as…