Posts Tagged: started

Google has started disabling third-party cookies for Chrome users

Google has just disabled third-party cookies for one percent of Chrome users, years after it first introduced its Privacy Sandbox project. The company announced late last year that it will kick things off by disabling cookies for a random one percent of Chrome users globally on January 4. Chrome owns more than half of the worldwide browser market share, and according to Gizmodo, that means Google has killed cookies for 30 million users. 

People included in this rollout will see a notification when they launch their browser telling them they're one of the first to experience Tracking Protection. It also explains that Tracking Protection limits sites from using third-party cookies to track them as they browse. Since this rollout is bound to break a few websites that have yet to adapt to a change that will affect most people who go on the internet, Google will allow users to temporary re-enable third-party cookies. They can do so by clicking on the eye icon that's now on their browser bar to toggle off the new feature. 

Google's Privacy Sandbox initiative, just like its name implies, was designed to be an alternative to cookies that will allow advertisers to serve users ads while also protecting their privacy. It assigns users to groups according to their interests, based on their recent browsing activities, and advertisers can use that information to match them with relevant ads. The system is supposed to be less invasive than cookies — all data and processing take place on the device itself, and Google says it will store user interests for three weeks. The project has caught the attention of regulators over concerns that it will make the company even more powerful than it already is. But if all goes well, Google will continue rolling out Tracking Protection over the next few months until it has disabled third-party cookies for all Chrome users by mid-2024. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-has-started-disabling-third-party-cookies-for-chrome-users-060955481.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Twitter has supposedly started paying its Google Cloud bill again

Twitter has resumed paying its Google Cloud contract, according to Bloomberg. If you missed the initial news of the impending showdown, Platformer reported on June 10th that Twitter had been refusing to pay Google for its cloud services ahead of their contract’s June 30th renewal date. The possibility of losing access to Google’s infrastructure led to a frantic rush at Twitter to migrate as many of its services off of Google’s servers. However, that effort was reportedly “running behind schedule,” opening the door for some of the company’s in-house tools to go offline come the end of the month.

Now it appears Twitter has found a way to avoid that scenario. Bloomberg reports Linda Yaccarino, the company’s newly appointed CEO, “helped get the relationship back on track.” In fact, the two companies are reportedly negotiating a broader partnership that could include advertising and Google’s use of Twitter’s paid API. Twitter does not operate a public relations department Engadget could contact for comment.

Twitter’s Google Cloud contract dates back to 2018. According to Bloomberg, the contract has cost the company between $ 200 million and $ 300 million annually and was one of the early targets of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting. Google reportedly “struggled” to get in touch with the billionaire to talk about Twitter’s unpaid bills, and at one point attempted to reach him through SpaceX, which also does business with the tech giant.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitter-has-supposedly-started-paying-its-google-cloud-bill-again-213824844.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Best Buy’s Presidents Day sale just started — TVs, laptops and more

The Best Buy Presidents Day sale is finally here, giving you chances to enjoy significant discounts when buying TVs, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and more.
Digital Trends

Twitter is reportedly done with job cuts and has started hiring again

Twitter won’t be firing and laying off more people, Elon Musk reportedly told the staff members who remained after asking employees to commit to an “extremely hardcore” Twitter during an all-hands meeting. According to The Verge, which heard a partial recording of the event, the company is even actively looking for people to fill roles in engineering and sales. Musk apparently made the announcement on the same day layoffs hit the company’s sales and partnerships teams. Robin Wheeler, Twitter’s head of ad sales, and VP of partnerships Maggie Suniewick were reportedly fired for opposing Musk’s directive to cut more employees. Of course, these all happened after the website’s new owner ordered layoffs that cut the company’s workforce in half.  

Musk didn’t specify which roles Twitter is hiring for during the meeting, The Verge said, but he did say that “[i]n terms of critical hires, people who are great at writing software are the highest priority.” Since this all-hands was also the first time Musk met with staff members following his takeover, employees asked him questions about the company’s future, including whether Twitter will move its HQ to Texas like Tesla did. Musk replied that there are no plans for Twitter to move, but that being “dual-headquartered” in both states could make sense. 

He also said moving to Texas would “play into the idea that Twitter has gone from being left-wing to right-wing.” Musk said that’s not the case. “It is a moderate-wing takeover of Twitter… to be the digital town square, we must represent people with a wide array of views even if we disagree with those views,” he added. As The Verge notes, Twitter recently fired people who called out Musk through tweets and through other avenues. 

In addition to addressing questions about the inner workings of the company, Musk announced during the meeting that Twitter might not be relaunching paid verification before this month ends, after all. If you’ll recall, the website had to pause its $ 8-a-month Blue subscription with verification shortly after it was launched due to a steep rise in impersonation and fake accounts on the website. 

Musk previously said that Blue Verified would return on November 29th. But now he told employees and has also announced that Twitter won’t be relaunching the subscription system until the website is confident that it can stop impersonation. Also, Twitter might ultimately give individuals and organizations different color checkmarks, which will make it apparent if users are interacting with a company’s or org’s actual account. Twitter already has a gray “Official” checkmark reserved for organizations, but it looks like it wants to make the indicator more visible and recognizable as a way to prevent people from being duped by impersonators.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Climate change has Seville so hot it’s started naming heat waves like hurricanes

The city of Seville is trying something new to raise awareness of climate change and save lives. With oppressive heat waves becoming a fact of life in Europe and other parts of the world, the Spanish metropolis has begun naming them. The first one, Zoe, arrived this week, bringing with it expected daytime highs above 109 degrees Fahrenheit (or 43 degrees Celsius).

As Time points out, there’s no single scientific definition of a heat wave. Most countries use the term to describe periods of temperatures that are higher than the historical and seasonal norms for a particular area. Seville’s new system categorizes those events into three tiers, with names reserved for the most severe ones and an escalating municipal response tied to each level. The city will designate future heat waves in reverse alphabetical order, with Yago, Xenia, Wenceslao and Vega to follow. 

It’s a system akin to ones organizations like the US National Hurricane Center have used for decades to raise awareness of impending tropical storms, tornadoes and hurricanes. The idea is that people are more likely to take a threat seriously and act accordingly when it's given a name. 

"This new method is intended to build awareness of this deadly impact of climate change and ultimately save lives," Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, the think tank that helped develop Seville’s system, told Euronews. Naming heat waves could also help some people realize that we're not dealing with occasional “freak” weather events anymore: they’re the byproduct of a warming planet.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Two US carriers started the Android 11 update for Samsung Galaxy Note 20 smartphones

Two US carriers started the Android 11 software update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra smartphones – AT&T and T-Mobile. Carrier customer devices may have received the update to their device before unlocked device customers. Android 11 for the Note 20 family also includes the update to the One UI 3.0. […]

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The Morning After: Apple started the public beta for watchOS 7

If you wanted a Microsoft Hololens but thought that headset was just too big, then maybe the Nreal Light glasses are for you. They advertise mixed reality tech in a much smaller package, and mostly deliver on it. They’re more stylish than Google Glas…
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[TA Deals] Get started with machine learning with this comprehensive masterclass bundle!

Machine learning is the next big thing in cutting edge technology and development, and if you don’t know how to take advantage of it you’re going to be left behind. We’re offering a discounted masterclass bundle that will help you out, covering everything you need to know to get started. This bundle includes 8 courses […]

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NASA’s OSIRIS-REx has started orbiting asteroid Bennu

After NASA's OSIRIS-REx arrived at asteroid Bennu in early December, its ground team quickly started measuring and mapping out the celestial body. They needed all the information they could get in order to enter Bennu's orbit, since the asteroid has…
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[TA Deals] Get started making apps with the 7-day Android Pie App Bootcamp with Kotlin (93% off)

It’s never too late to learn to develop apps, and Talk Android Deals has a discounted bootcamp bundle to help you get started. These courses will teach you how to create your own Android Pie-compatible app using Android Studio, Java, and Kotlin, even if you don’t have previous Android development experience. This bootcamp bundle includes […]

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The only guide you need to get started with Android Wear

Got a new Android Wear smartwatch, but don’t know how to set it up or use it properly? Here’s how to add music, customize the watch face, block unwanted notifications, and carry out a host of other actions.

The post The only guide you need to get started with Android Wear appeared first on Digital Trends.

Wearables–Digital Trends

A Japanese firm has started selling a tiny one-person smoking room for the office

Heavy smoker? Fed up with having to leave the office every time you want a ciggie? In that case, you might want to get yourself this one-person smoking room launched recently by a company in Japan.

The post A Japanese firm has started selling a tiny one-person smoking room for the office appeared first on Digital Trends.

Cool Tech–Digital Trends

Willing to spend at least $1,100? Apple has started selling the Hermès Apple Watch online

Apple announced its partnership with Hermès in 2015, and in early 2016, the retail store exclusivity ended with Apple selling the watch through its online store. Good news for fashion fans, but the bad news is you’ll still need at least $ 1,100 to buy one.

The post Willing to spend at least $ 1,100? Apple has started selling the Hermès Apple Watch online appeared first on Digital Trends.

Wearables–Digital Trends