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…
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…
After announcing in February that Skype would be discontinued, Microsoft has officially killed off the once-popular communications platform. Users accessing any of Skype’s services will now be encouraged to use Microsoft Teams instead. Microsoft originally bought Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011 to replace its own Windows Live Messenger platform. Skype was founded in 2003…
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…
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…
Should Apple have abandoned its lawsuit against Israeli mercenary spyware vendor NSO Group — the company it once described as, “21st century mercenaries who have created highly sophisticated cyber-surveillance machinery that invites routine and flagrant abuse.” Perhaps not, but it’s still heart-warming to learn NSO has been slammed with a huge $168 million fine for spying on WhatsApp. Mercenaries in…
Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group must pay almost $168 million in damages for exploiting WhatsApp to deploy its notorious Pegasus spyware against users worldwide, the jury in a US court said Tuesday. An eight-person jury granted Meta $444,719 in compensatory damages to cover the costs of addressing the breach, plus an additional $167.25 million in…
At Meta’s first LlamaCon AI event last week, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said AI now writes up to 30% of the company’s code — and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that his company is developing an AI model to create future programs for its AI systems. “Our bet is sort of that in the next…
A note-taking app can be helpful, especially if it enables you and your co-workers to collaborate on ideas. Microsoft OneNote is an excellent tool for the job. It’s pre-installed on Windows 10 and 11 and is included with a Microsoft 365 subscription. But anyone can download the app and use it for free. This guide…
A modern Windows PC works great with a high-resolution display — or with multiple displays. But even so, it’s easy to find yourself squinting at small elements on your screen while you’re working. You don’t have to put up with that, though. Windows has a whole slew of settings that can enhance your experience, enlarging…