Tag Archives: author_name|Peter Cao

Google unexpectedly sells its domain-hosting business to Squarespace

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Google Domains is a quick and simple way to get a jumpstart on building your website, but now the company will soon leave that business. Today, Squarespace announced that it will acquire approximately 10 million domains from the search giant. The company expects the transaction to close in the third quarter of 2023.

Under the purchasing agreement, Squarespace says that it will honor existing customer pricing for at least 12 months following the completion of the purchase. The company claims that it will use Google’s infrastructure to ensure a "seamless transfer of domains."

Once everything is set and done, Squarespace will become the exclusive partner for anyone looking to purchase a domain alongside their Google Workspace domain. For existing customers, Squarespace says that it will provide billing and support for Google Workspace customers who’ve already purchased domains through Google Domains. But as time goes on and as subscriptions start to renew, these customers will likely be forced to migrate to Squarespace’s billing system.

Squarespace is already a behemoth in the websites and domain space, so it’s not surprising it had an interest in acquiring Google Domains. It’s a little more surprising that Google is selling, though the company is notorious for abandoning established products at any time. Meanwhile, Squarespace is constantly adding new features to its platform, including the ability to add a "Members Area" (more commonly known as a paywall) to new and existing sites.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-unexpectedly-sells-its-domain-hosting-business-to-squarespace-183001176.html?src=rss

Intel drops ‘i’ processor branding after 15 years, introduces ‘Ultra’ for higher-end chips

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Today Intel is cleaning up its processor branding, hopefully making it easier to understand. Starting with the new Meteor Lake generation of processors, the company is moving from its traditional "i3/i5/i7/i9" branding to a simpler "Core 3/5/7/9" concept. Intel says the rebranding “better aligns to customer requests” to simplify its processor names and that the change will be reflected in text and on the badge. This is significant as Intel has been using the "i" branding for its processor for well over a decade.

Intel’s higher-end processors will include "Ultra" in their branding before the number — in practice that would look like “Intel Core Ultra 9." And for those who want more information, Intel says generational information will continue to be tacked on to the end ("Intel Core 9 processor 1300AB," for example.) The company stated that both the standard Core and Core Ultra processors can be paired with its Intel Arc graphics.

As far as what hasn't changed in Intel's processor branding, the higher number still denotes a faster processor. Naturally, Core Ultra models will come packed with additional speed and power. At the time of writing, Intel has yet to announce a release date or specifics for its new Meteor Lake processors. Though, rumors suggest that they’ll be coming sometime this year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/intel-drops-i-processor-branding-after-15-years-introduces-ultra-for-higher-end-chips-130100277.html?src=rss

Google’s ‘Katamari Damacy’ easter egg lets you roll up your search results

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Google has a long history of building in easter eggs into its search engine, whether that’s minigames or animations when searching specific keywords. The company is continuing the fun with a built-in minigame when you search for "Katamari" (via Kotaku), a game series that originally launched on the PlayStation 2. The minigame lets you roll everything on the page into a virtual ball. To start, you click on the Katamari ball icon on the right side of your screen. You play the game by using your keyboard’s arrow keys if on a desktop or laptop or with your finger if on a mobile device.

The easter egg is likely referencing the recent remaster of We Love Katamari earlier this month. The game, which was originally released on PlayStation 2 in 2005, got a remaster titled: We Love Katamari Reroll+ Royal Reverie. The title was made available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and on Steam.

The Katamari series is developed by Bandai Namco and revolves around a series of puzzle-action games where you play as the Prince of All Cosmos. In the surreal series, you’re tasked with rolling up a ball of random things such as cats, cars and more – those balls replace the stars in the sky that were destroyed by your father, The King of the Cosmos.

Thankfully, Google’s version is a little less stress-inducing. There’s no goal or time limit per-se, you just roll a Katamari ball till your heart’s content (or if you have nothing left to catch). I spent more time than I’m willing to admit "testing" the game on my computer and it runs pretty well in my experience. Mobile, on the other hand, is a bit rough. The game seems to have a decent amount of input lag which makes the experience less than desirable. But as a little easter egg, Katamari fans should still get a laugh out of this.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-katamari-damacy-easter-egg-lets-you-roll-up-your-search-results-220033724.html?src=rss

Grubhub lays off 15 percent of its employees

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The technology industry has been hit hard by layoffs this year, and GrubHub is the latest to cut staff. The company’s CEO Howard Migdal announced today that the company will be letting go of roughly 400 employees, or 15 percent of its corporate workforce. The layoffs will supposedly help Grubhub stay "competitive" with the market.

He said, "Over the last few months, I met with Grubhub teams to learn about the business from the ground up; I spoke to restaurants and diners to understand their needs – and challenges – when using our service." Impacted employees will be "notified over the next several hours." Migdal goes on to say that he understands that this will be a difficult time for all employees. For those who are keeping their jobs, he claims that more details about “our future together” will surface in the coming days.

Back in March of this year, Grubhub’s then CEO Adam DeWitt announced that he would be stepping down at the start of May amid increasing economic pressure. With Migdal as the new CEO, it’s not terribly surprising that his first move would be to try and reduce operating costs due to the continued economic pressure.

Grubhub isn’t the first and likely isn’t the last delivery service to start to cut employees. Late last year, DoorDash announced that it would be laying off nearly 1,300 employees due to "operating expenses." The company’s CEO Tony Xu said that DoorDash increased hiring during the pandemic and that operating expenses would continue to outgrow sales.

The big difference between DoorDash and Grubhub is that the former offered those who were laid off 13 weeks of compensation along with four weeks of severance pay. Grubhub’s announcement today did not mention any sort of compensation or severance pay for those who are being laid off.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/grubhub-lays-off-15-percent-of-its-employees-190005627.html?src=rss

Amazon is reportedly planning an ad-supported tier for Prime Video

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Amazon is reportedly planning to introduce an ad-supported tier to its Prime Video platform. The Wall Street Journal reports that discussions are in the early stages and have been going on for the past several weeks.

The report goes on to say that advertisers are eager for Amazon to jump on board, as other players such as Netflix, have recently added an ad-supported option to their lineup. Services such as Hulu, Max and Peacock have had ad-supported options since the beginning. WSJ says that ad buyers "want more access to premium movies and programs that have remained largely ad free, content that often garners more buzz."

Amazon has already made moves in the past to bring more ad-supported programming to the platform. Some of its shows have product-placement based ads and its sports programming comes with advertising. Amazon is also reportedly in talks with Warner Bros, Discovery and Paramount to include ad-supported subscriptions through Prime Video Channels. Users can currently use Amazon’s Channel feature to subscribe to a whole host of streaming services, which include ad-free versions of Paramount+ and Max.

Amazon Prime Video is currently $8.99 per month on its own or as part of an Amazon Prime membership. In comparison, Netflix’s Standard plan runs you $9.99 per month, which unlocks HD video, two screens at a time and offline downloading. The company’s ad-supported tier is $6.99 per month and strips away offline downloading. It’s unclear when Amazon plans on introducing this ad-supported plan or what pricing may look like, but it should help lower the cost for those looking to subscribe to Amazon Prime Video and don’t mind ads.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-is-reportedly-planning-an-ad-supported-tier-for-prime-video-201032287.html?src=rss

Apple’s developer betas are now free to download and install

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Those with free Apple developer accounts will finally be able to access developer betas for the company's latest software at the same time as those who pay. Pointed out by user iSoftware Updates on Twitter and confirmed by Apple’s developer program comparison page, OS beta releases can now be installed without needing to pay the annual $99 fee for the Apple Developer Program. This means that eager users will be able to install the various betas starting today, including iOS 17, for free versus having to wait until July for the public beta. That is, as long as they have an Apple Developer account.

After WWDC yesterday, Apple released the iOS 17 developer beta, and unlike previous years, those on the free tier now have access. While it previously appeared as if opening up access to free accounts meant that the public could also download these, we now understand that not just anyone can access the developer betas. You'll need to have an Apple ID or account that's enrolled in the Developer Program. The $99 barrier to entry, though, has been removed.

​​Earlier this year, Apple made a change to how it distributes betas to developers. Previously, developers had to download and install a configuration profile on a per-device basis. But the system now allows users to install betas by simply checking an option within the software update settings directly on their devices. Despite the change, Apple still required you to pay $99 per year in order to gain access to the developer betas. Now, users that don’t want to pay the fee won’t have to wait for the public beta, which was always available for free but typically is released later than developer betas. This year, Apple says the public betas should arrive in July.

We highly discourage running betas on your main devices as there can be bugs and issues, especially early on in the cycle. These betas are intended for developers, who typically have secondary devices to test their applications against the new software. Certain betas, such as those for watchOS 10, tvOS 17, HomePod 17 and AirPods prevent you from rolling back to public, stable software. For those platforms, as soon as you install the beta, you’ll be stuck on it until the next public release comes out, which is typically available later in the fall. Definitely install these betas at your own risk. But those who aren’t risk-averse and are part of the developer program can download these now.

Update (at 10:15pm ET): This article was updated to clarify that while the developer betas are now available to those with free accounts, it was not an accident.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-developer-betas-are-now-free-to-download-and-install-213626729.html?src=rss

Apple’s developer betas are now free to download and install

Posted on by

Those with free Apple developer accounts will finally be able to access developer betas for the company's latest software at the same time as those who pay. Pointed out by user iSoftware Updates on Twitter and confirmed by Apple’s developer program comparison page, OS beta releases can now be installed without needing to pay the annual $99 fee for the Apple Developer Program. This means that eager users will be able to install the various betas starting today, including iOS 17, for free versus having to wait until July for the public beta. That is, as long as they have an Apple Developer account.

After WWDC yesterday, Apple released the iOS 17 developer beta, and unlike previous years, those on the free tier now have access. While it previously appeared as if opening up access to free accounts meant that the public could also download these, we now understand that not just anyone can access the developer betas. You'll need to have an Apple ID or account that's enrolled in the Developer Program. The $99 barrier to entry, though, has been removed.

​​Earlier this year, Apple made a change to how it distributes betas to developers. Previously, developers had to download and install a configuration profile on a per-device basis. But the system now allows users to install betas by simply checking an option within the software update settings directly on their devices. Despite the change, Apple still required you to pay $99 per year in order to gain access to the developer betas. Now, users that don’t want to pay the fee won’t have to wait for the public beta, which was always available for free but typically is released later than developer betas. This year, Apple says the public betas should arrive in July.

We highly discourage running betas on your main devices as there can be bugs and issues, especially early on in the cycle. These betas are intended for developers, who typically have secondary devices to test their applications against the new software. Certain betas, such as those for watchOS 10, tvOS 17, HomePod 17 and AirPods prevent you from rolling back to public, stable software. For those platforms, as soon as you install the beta, you’ll be stuck on it until the next public release comes out, which is typically available later in the fall. Definitely install these betas at your own risk. But those who aren’t risk-averse and are part of the developer program can download these now.

Update (at 10:15pm ET): This article was updated to clarify that while the developer betas are now available to those with free accounts, it was not an accident, nor is it open to just anyone. You will need to have an Apple ID or account associated with the developer program to be able to download the developer betas.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-developer-betas-are-now-free-to-download-and-install-213626729.html?src=rss

Passkey support for 1Password arrives in beta today

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1Password’s previously announced passkey feature is rolling out to users starting today. Passkey is the proposed solution to end passwords for good that’s finally starting to gain some momentum. The technology uses your device’s biometric sensors – whether that’s fingerprint or facial recognition – to authenticate you. It’s not too dissimilar to using biometrics to unlock your phone.

Announced via a press release, 1Password says that starting today, you’ll be able to add passkey logins via the password manager. For example, when you create a passkey for your Google account, 1Password will detect that and add it to your 1Password account. Then, when you need to log in to your Google account next, 1Password will automatically log you in. So, as long as your fingers aren’t wet or your face isn’t obscured, you won’t need a password. 

The company says that support will start with beta extensions for Safari on macOS, as well as Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Brave on macOS, Windows and Linux. You'll also be able to view, edit, move, share and delete passkeys on 1Password for Mac, iOS, Windows, Android and Linux. 

With the wide adoption of biometrics on phones, tablets, and laptops, this seems like a logical next step. If you were using a password manager like 1Password, you were likely already using biometrics to autofill logins on websites and apps. It sounds like passkeys will remove the step of having to autofill a username and a password, in addition to having to press the login button entirely.

Because 1Password is platform agnostic, it will work for those who regularly switch operating systems or entire ecosystems. Unlike Apple or Google’s current implementations, 1Password works and syncs across ecosystems. And just like any other item in 1Password, you’ll be able to share your passkeys with friends and family, and even set time limits on how long they’ll have access.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/passkey-support-for-1password-arrives-in-beta-today-183010530.html?src=rss

Passkey support for 1Password arrives in beta today

Posted on by

1Password’s previously announced passkey feature is rolling out to users starting today. Passkey is the proposed solution to end passwords for good that’s finally starting to gain some momentum. The technology uses your device’s biometric sensors – whether that’s fingerprint or facial recognition – to authenticate you. It’s not too dissimilar to using biometrics to unlock your phone.

Announced via a press release, 1Password says that starting today, you’ll be able to add passkey logins via the password manager. For example, when you create a passkey for your Google account, 1Password will detect that and add it to your 1Password account. Then, when you need to log in to your Google account next, 1Password will automatically log you in. So, as long as your fingers aren’t wet or your face isn’t obscured, you won’t need a password. 

The company says that support will start with beta extensions for Safari on macOS, as well as Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Brave on macOS, Windows and Linux. You'll also be able to view, edit, move, share and delete passkeys on 1Password for Mac, iOS, Windows, Android and Linux. 

With the wide adoption of biometrics on phones, tablets, and laptops, this seems like a logical next step. If you were using a password manager like 1Password, you were likely already using biometrics to autofill logins on websites and apps. It sounds like passkeys will remove the step of having to autofill a username and a password, in addition to having to press the login button entirely.

Because 1Password is platform agnostic, it will work for those who regularly switch operating systems or entire ecosystems. Unlike Apple or Google’s current implementations, 1Password works and syncs across ecosystems. And just like any other item in 1Password, you’ll be able to share your passkeys with friends and family, and even set time limits on how long they’ll have access.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/passkey-support-for-1password-arrives-in-beta-today-183010530.html?src=rss

Twitter’s head of brand safety and ad quality has left the company

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Twitter lost its executive in charge of content moderation on the platform, Ella Irwin, earlier this week. In another sign of instability in Twitter's upper ranks, it looks like yet another top executive is leaving the company. The Wall Street Journal reports that A.J. Brown, who was in charge of Twitter’s brand safety and ad quality, decided to leave the company on Friday. Brown was reportedly in charge of making sure Twitter was a safe place for advertisers to place their ads. At the time of writing, she has not officially given a reason as to why she has decided to exit the company.

Since Elon Musk took over, Twitter has struggled to keep advertisers on the platform. It was reported earlier this year that over 500 of the company’s top advertisers have paused spending on the platform. At the time, Twitter owner Elon Musk said that the company planned to break even within the year.

It’s not just advertisers that have concerns about the future of the platform. Some brands and users have ultimately decided to abandon Twitter entirely over concerns over how Musk handles content moderation on the platform.

The departure leaves incoming CEO Linda Yaccarino in an interesting spot. Yacacarino, previously in charge of ad sales at NBCUniversal, has said in the past that brand safety is a top priority for advertisers. Given that advertising is Twitter’s main way of making money, it’ll be interesting to see how she handles this situation.

After Elon Musk’s takeover last year, Twitter seemingly has been in a scramble to try and keep the social media platform afloat. The company has reportedly let go of a vast majority of its workforce and cut off third-party app support. Not to mention, Twitter is charging an exorbitant amount of money for those who want to use its API and is trying to get users to pay $8 per month for a “premium” experience on the platform.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitters-head-of-brand-safety-and-ad-quality-has-left-the-company-191401704.html?src=rss