Tag Archives: Software

Google’s multi-state lawsuit settlement will cost it $700 million

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On top of fighting (and losing to) Epic Games over Play Store antitrust concerns, Google has been fighting a similar lawsuit filed by 36 states and the District of Columbia in 2021. A settlement for that suit was announced in September, but a judge still had to confirm the terms. Now, Google has announced that it will pay a $700 million fine and make what amounts to fairly minor changes to the Play Store. 

Of that sum, Google will distribute $630 million to consumers who may have overpaid for apps or in-app purchases on Google Play (after taxes, lawyers’ fees, etc.). That covers around 102 million people, according to The Washington Post. It will also pay $70 million into a "fund that will be used by the states," according to Google's blog. 

The other major change is that Google must allow developers to steer consumers toward sideloading to avoid Google's Play Store fees on subscriptions and the like. It'll do that via updated "language that informs users about these potential risks of downloading apps directly from the web for the first time." However, these actions will be time limited to seven years for the sideloading and five years for the updated language, according to settlement's wording spotted by The Verge. 

Google will also include language stating that "OEMs can continue to provide users with options out of the box to use Play or another app store." Starting with Android 14, third-party stores will be allowed to handle future app updates, including automatic installs. It's also expanding user choice billing that will allow Android apps and games to offer their own payment system in the US. "Developers are also able to show different pricing options within the app when a user makes a digital purchase," Google states. 

The company will only be required to make these changes for five or six years maximum (seven years for alternate means to download apps). In other words, it could feasibly cut off access to sideloading or third-party app stores after that point, or make it harder for the average consumer to find the option. 

Another big thing missing is exterior payment links. "Google is not required to allow developers to include links that take a User outside an app distributed through Google Play to make a purchase," the settlement agreement reads. 

The settlement sum represents a miniscule portion of Google's turnover and the other terms are relatively minor changes over what it already does. It also doesn't include Epic Games, which won its own lawsuit against Google earlier this month (Google has vowed to appeal). A court still needs to formally approve the states' settlement.  

Google also argued at its Epic trial that consumers were able to get games by sideloading and other means, but that failed to sway the jury. When the settlement with the states was announced in September, Epic CEO Tim Sweeny said that if it "left the Google tax in place" his company would fight on. "Consumers only benefit if antitrust enforcement not only opens up markets, but also restores price competition," he said at the time.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-multi-state-lawsuit-settlement-will-cost-it-700-million-103512109.html?src=rss

TikTok upgrades its app experience for tablets and foldables

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You can now mindlessly scroll your TikTok’s ‘for you page’ on larger screens and foldable devices. The new update will be available for users worldwide and on devices like the iPad or the various foldable Android phones out there. TikTok, which is traditionally mobile-forward, said it will deliver a clear video feed of content on bigger screens with “enhanced clarity.”

The top and bottom of screens that stream TikTok videos will have a navigation bar that makes it easier to access tabs and featured videos. With this update, clips can also be watched in landscape orientation. This creates new opportunities for video creators to generate content in a horizontal format after years of a vertical-only.

TikTok also said it is going to continue experimenting with features like Topic Feeds, which would allow users to explore videos in specific categories like gaming, food or fashion. The platform has been exploring new ways to deliver content to users and it has been quietly testing the idea of an AI-powered chatbot that can recommend videos to users. While it’s still the leading app for short-form videos, creating unique ways to deliver content to its users can help set the social media company itself apart from competitors in the space, like Instagram’s Reels and YouTube Shorts.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-upgrades-its-app-experience-for-tablets-and-foldables-172456485.html?src=rss

Flipboard is moving to the fediverse

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Flipboard is the latest mainstream app to officially join the fediverse, the collection of decentralized services that run on the ActivityPub protocol. The news reading app, which has been experimenting with Mastodon for nearly a year, now plans to become fully interoperable with Mastodon and the rest of the fediverse.

The news reading app is starting with the accounts of about two dozen publishers, including Polygon, Medium, Semafor, Kotaku and Mental Floss, whose Flipboard content will be discoverable across the fediverse. By next month, the company expects all public Flipboard accounts will be federated, meaning anyone on an ActivityPub-powered app will be able to view their posts and interact with them.

And beginning in April, according to Flipboard CEO Mike McCue, all fediverse content will also be readily available within the Flipboard app itself. This means users will be able to use Flipboard browse content shared to Mastodon, Pixelfed (a photo sharing app kind of like Instagram), PeerTube (a decentralized video platform) and the rest of the apps that make up the fediverse.

Flipboard’s official entrance into the fediverse comes at a moment where there is increasing enthusiasm for ActivityPub within the social media industry. Last week, Meta announced that it was taking its first steps toward making Threads compatible with Mastodon and the rest of the fediverse. “I think you’ll probably have more than 150 million people in the fediverse by the end of the next year,” McCue tells Engadget, “You have millions of Flipboard users, millions of Threads users all joining this network ... it’s not going to take very long before this becomes the largest social network.”

McCue’s enthusiasm for Mastodon and the fediverse is especially notable given his once close ties to Twitter. The Flipboard CEO was a member of Twitter’s board between 2010 and 2012, and reportedly considered selling Flipboard to the company in 2015. But Elon Musk’s takeover of the company, and the disintegration of its API, prompted him to begin experimenting with Mastodon and Bluesky integrations earlier this year.

He now believes that momentum for the fediverse is so strong, Twitter may ultimately end up supporting ActivityPub too. “More and more companies will have to look at ActivityPub,” he predicts. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Twitter ultimately decides they’re going to have to do this.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/flipboard-is-moving-to-the-fediverse-170426320.html?src=rss

NordVPN comes to the Apple TV

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Apple’s recently-released tvOS 17 update allows for native VPN apps and big-name providers are wasting no time. ExpressVPN dropped an app a couple of weeks ago and now the same is true of one of its primary competitors. NordVPN now has an official Apple TV app available for download.

This is the real deal and works with your current NordVPN subscription, if you have one. The setup is simple. Just download the app and sign in. If you’re new to the service, download the app and create an account. Once connected, you’ll have access to the company’s global array of secure servers.

The app encrypts all network traffic and uses the company’s NordLynx protocol to speed up the connection, which should offer an optimized streaming experience with minimal buffering. Of course, this will likely depend on the locations of your actual network connection and virtual network connection.

Back when Apple first announced that native VPNs would be coming to tvOS 17, NordVPN expressed doubts, telling The Verge that the company was “concerned that there may be some limitations.” It looks like it got over those doubts.

So, why would you even want or need a dedicated VPN on your Apple streaming box? There are a couple of reasons, all of which involve traveling with the diminutive device. You can customize settings, like preferred server location, which helps get around geographic restrictions regarding streaming content. Nobody’s gonna stop you from binging Foundation while on vacation. Even without geo-restrictions, bringing your Apple TV into a hotel room will allow you to stream whatever you want instead of relying on, gag, cable.

Before tvOS 17, you couldn’t configure a VPN on these devices. You’d have to install a VPN client on the router, which is notoriously complicated. Kudos to Apple on this one. NordVPN isn’t the only available VPN on the Apple TV App Store. There’s the aforementioned ExpressVPN, PureVPN and several more. You can install VPN apps on Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K devices, running tvOS 17 or later.

Speaking of tvOS 17, the company just dropped an update. The latest and greatest tvOS 17.2 brings a redesigned interface and the ability to answer FaceTime calls directly from the TV.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nordvpn-comes-to-the-apple-tv-162030095.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Apple tests App Store discounts

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Apple says it’s testing a new App Store feature called contingent pricing to lure customers into cheaper subscriptions based on their other purchases. This contingent pricing model will let developers offer discounts to customers who already have subscriptions to other services, be it those developers’ own apps or connected partner apps.

According to 9to5Mac, Apple says these bundled discounts will be highly visible to customers both on the App Store and “in off-platform marketing channels” — so elsewhere too. It’s starting with a select group of participants before rolling out to more developers “in the coming months.”

It’s been a year of increased scrutiny into Apple’s App Store and how it handles in-app purchases. Just this fall, Apple asked the Supreme Court to reverse the previous ruling that required it to allow developers to use outside payment systems, circumventing Apple’s 30 percent transaction fee. This is a way, of sorts, to get back in developers’ good graces.

— Mat Smith

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Baldur’s Gate 3 will never come to Xbox Game Pass

So says developer Larian Studios.

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Larian Studios

According to Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke in an interview with IGN, Game of the Year, Baldur’s Gate 3, won’t come to Microsoft’s Game Pass. Vincke also noted this was always the plan, and the title had never been considered for Microsoft’s subscription gaming platform. Vincke says Baldur’s Gate 3 is a “big game” available for a “fair price.” He also touted the title’s lack of microtransactions and its complete story, saying “you get what you pay for.”

Continue reading.

Meta Quest headsets join the exciting world of Microsoft Office apps

Mmm, virtual Word.

Meta Quest users can now write reports, edit spreadsheets and create presentations — if they even want to do any of those tasks on a VR headset. Support for the basic Microsoft Office suite has arrived on the original Oculus Quest, the Meta Quest 2, the Quest Pro and the Quest 3. Users can now download Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint from the Meta Quest store for free. That said, typing on the Quest’s onscreen keyboard is not particularly easy, so you might want to bring your Bluetooth keyboard along for virtual office hours.

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Engadget Podcast: RIP E3

And diving into The Game Awards.

This week, Engadget Senior Editor Jessica Conditt joins Cherlynn and Devindra to talk about the death of E3 and what it means for the gaming industry. They also explore some of the highlights (and low points) of last week’s Game Awards, which couldn’t quite balance celebrating video games and functioning as a marketing tool. We’re particularly excited for Light No Fire, the next ambitious game from the folks behind No Man’s Sky. (Oh, you should check out Jessica’s video on the subject.)

Listen here.

The Chinese EV with 650 miles of range

From a 150kWh battery.

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Nio

Chinese manufacturer Nio is about to start selling an EV with a “semi-solid state” 150kWh battery (140kWh usable). That’s the biggest battery of any passenger EV so far. Nio CEO William Li drove a prototype version of the ET7 1,044km (650 miles) in 14 hours, a distance surpassing many gas-powered vehicles. The ET7’s 150kWh battery will only be available on a lease separate from the car, much as we’ve seen with some cars sold in Europe. We’re unlikely to see this specific battery pack in the US, however. With the Biden administration’s latest rules, some US cars, like Tesla’s Model 3 Long Range, that use specific Chinese battery components will no longer receive the full $7,500 tax credit.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-apple-tests-app-store-discounts-121517653.html?src=rss

Apple is testing App Store discount packages so developers can pull users into more subscriptions

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Apple says it has begun piloting a new App Store feature called “contingent pricing” that will help developers lure in customers with cheaper subscriptions based on their other purchases. The contingent pricing model will let developers offer discounts to customers who already have subscriptions to other services, be it those developers’ own apps or participating partners’. It’s starting with a select group of participants before rolling it out to more developers “in the coming months.”

“Contingent pricing for subscriptions on the App Store — a new feature that helps you attract and retain subscribers — lets you give customers a discounted subscription price as long as they’re actively subscribed to a different subscription,” Apple wrote in a post on the Apple Developer website. “It can be used for subscriptions from one developer or two different developers.” Per 9to5Mac, Apple further explained that these bundled discounts will be highly visible to customers both on the App Store and “in off-platform marketing channels” so they can easily find and get in on the perks. 

It comes at a time of ongoing scrutiny into Apple’s practices with its App Store and how it handles in-app purchases, which came to a head in Apple’s battle with Fortnite owner Epic Games. Just this fall, Apple asked the Supreme Court to reverse its previous ruling that required it to allow developers to circumvent its 30 percent transaction fee by supporting outside payment systems. But it's still looking for ways to get back in developers' good graces. The company says it will release more information on the new program next month.

Correction, December 17, 2023, 3:30PM ET: This story originally stated that contingent pricing allowed developers to offer cheaper plans than competitors. It actually only works between participating parties. We apologize for the error.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-app-store-developers-contingent-pricing-for-subscriptions-222205906.html?src=rss

Microsoft Office apps arrive on Meta Quest VR headsets

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Meta Quest users will now be able to write reports, edit spreadsheets and create presentations — if they event want to do any of those tasks on a VR headset, that is. Android Central reports that support for the basic Microsoft Office suite has arrived on the original Oculus Quest, the Meta Quest 2, the Meta Quest Pro, and the latest model, the Meta Quest 3. Users can now download Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint from the Meta Quest store for free.

The company first revealed that it was going to launch Microsoft 365 app experiences for its headsets during its Connect 2022 event. It also promised users access to Outlook, Teams and a Windows experience as part of its partnership with Microsoft. To be able to use the basic Office suite apps on their device, users will need to have and log into their Microsoft account. The app files are pretty small because they run on the cloud, so they're quick to download and can run side by side for the multitaskers out there. 

According to The Verge, though, the apps aren't exactly optimized for virtual reality, so users may have to contend with tiny icons and other elements that don't work as well in the environment. In addition, it's not easy typing on the Quest's onscreen keyboard, so users may have to link Bluetooth accessories if they need to get some serious work done. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-office-apps-arrive-on-meta-quest-vr-headsets-123030297.html?src=rss

Instagram now offers AI-generated backgrounds on Stories

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Every day, there seems to be new generative AI news, and while it can often be serious and quite technical, this time around it's just plain fun. Instagram has launched a new generative AI-powered tool called backdrop that lets you create a new image in the, yes, background of your Story. Meta's generative AI lead, Ahmad Al-Dahle, announced the feature on Threads alongside a video tutorial.

Instagram's backdrop tool appears once you upload or capture content for your Story. It sits alongside existing icons at the top of your screen, like text and music, represented by an image of a person with a rectangular frame behind them. To use backdrop, just click on that icon, and the image's entire background will go checkered (similar to picture editors like PhotoShop) along with a text box prompting you to "describe the backdrop you want..." From there, you can add anything from "surrounded by puppies" to "chased by dinosaurs" — very different vibes — and the AI tool will generate it in the background.

Don't expect people to actually think you're hanging out under the aurora borealis (another possible prompt), as your Story will get tagged with AI·Backdrop by Instagram, along with a sticker saying try it and your description in quotation marks. Currently, Instagram's backdrop tool is only available to users in the United States.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instagram-now-offers-ai-generated-backgrounds-on-stories-115054259.html?src=rss

Threads finally launches in Europe

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Meta's Threads has finally arrived in Europe, over five months after rolling out in the US, UK and elsewhere around the world. Following a countdown and Instagram teaser invitation, the app is now officially on the web, with the iOS and Android apps also widely available after a short delay. 

I was able to sign in using my Instagram account and Meta also offers access without creating a profile — but you can't post or interact with content in that case. Once I agreed to use Instagram and chose my profile, it asked if I was okay with it being public and if wanted to follow the same people I do on Instagram. A few more clicks and I was in. 

Threads finally launches in Europe
Steve Dent for Engadget

The delay was reportedly due to the EU's upcoming Digital Markets Act (DMA) set to take effect in 2024. As one of seven tech giant "Gatekeepers," Meta wanted to ensure it's in compliance with the DMA, particularly around rules for sharing data between apps. In compliance with EU policies, the app also allows users to access the platform without needing to create a profile.

Threads launched July 5 on mobile with a basic feature set and required users to sign in using their Instagram accounts. It was much like Twitter (now X) when it launched, with support for text posts up to 500 characters, along with photos and five-minute videos. It also supported reposts and quote posts, while allowing users to limit their replies and block/report other users.

Since then, it has added a web version, along with both "following" and "for you" feeds, the ability to send Threads posts on Instagram, following list sorting, liked posts on your profile page and more. In short, it's become a robust rival to X, Bluesky and its other short-form social media apps.

In addition, yesterday Meta started testing the ability to make Threads posts available on Mastodon and other fediverse apps. That compatibility with the decentralized "ActivityPub" service, and the ability to cross-post to other apps, was a key promise Meta made when it introduced Threads. 

Threads' rise came with the steep decline of Elon Musk's X, now seen as more polarized than ever. Among much other drama, the platform recently lost a number of key advertisers after Musk boosted an antisemitic conspiracy theory. In response to that, Musk delivered a new message for advertisers pulling back from the platform: “Go fuck yourself.”

Threads is still in a precarious spot, though. It was an instant hit, crossing the 100 million signup mark just five days after launch and counted 141 million users as of November 10, according to research company Quiver Quantitative. However, engagement is another issue — the number of daily active users has fluctuated and dropped steeply a month or so after launch. It should get a massive boost now that it's in Europe, though, and Meta easily has the might (and money) to make it work and crush both established and potential rivals. 

Update 12/17/2023 8:59 AM ET: Story updated to indicate that the iOS and Android apps are now widely available in Europe. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/threads-finally-launches-in-europe-110747780.html?src=rss

Proton Mail now has a desktop app in beta

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Proton finally has a desktop app. The Swiss company, known for its privacy-focused alternatives to the Google Workspace apps, revealed a Windows and macOS application on Thursday that includes Proton Mail and Proton Calendar. The desktop app is currently available in beta for subscribers on the most expensive premium tier, but the company says it will launch for all Proton users in early 2024.

The company says the desktop app has a modern design with a clutter-free experience. Proton views the move as providing a leg up over Google. “While many people use email on desktop in a browser, desktop apps can still provide certain advantages such as better offline support,” Proton CEO Andy Yen wrote in a press release. “For this reason, we have decided to launch a desktop app, something that even Gmail does not provide.” The desktop app now gives Proton apps on all major platforms.

Marketing image showing the
Proton

In addition to the desktop app, Proton is launching several new features for all platforms, including auto-forwarding email rules. Messages sent this way will be encrypted between Proton accounts, and it supports unencrypted auto-forwarding to non-Proton accounts. In addition, Proton Mail now integrates with customer relationship management (CRM) and customer support software as the company looks to grow its footprint in the business world.

Proton says encrypting forwarded messages while maintaining the security the company brands itself on was an enormous challenge. “Messages sent between Proton Mail accounts are always end-to-end encrypted by default,” Proton CTO Bart Butler wrote. “But to maintain end-to-end encryption for messages forwarded to other Proton users presented a huge technical challenge. We needed to figure out how to re-encrypt messages for different recipients without the server being able to access the content.”

Attachment previews are also available for all Proton Mail platforms. Previously, you had to download email attachments locally before viewing them. It now lets you see them directly from the inbox with one click. Proton says it does so without compromising security.

Marketing image showing a screenshot of the Proton Mail desktop app with a pop-up asking to
Proton

You can also now snooze Proton Mail messages in another catch-up move for the encryption-focused company. In addition, it spruced up the Proton Calendar with searches on the web while adding public holidays. The company has had a busy year, also launching a native Windows file-syncing app in July and a password manager in April.

Before it officially launches early next year, the Proton Mail desktop app is available now in beta for Proton Visionary subscribers. That tier was previously locked to legacy supporters, but the company has reopened registrations from now until January 3. (The plan isn’t cheap, though, at $40 monthly or $360 annually.) Meanwhile, auto-forwarding is available now for paid users on any plan, while attachment previews, snoozing and calendar improvements are here for everyone with a Proton account.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/proton-mail-now-has-a-desktop-app-in-beta-110021703.html?src=rss