Enlarge / Samsung Galaxy Chromebook. (credit: Samsung) Chromebooks, which are powered by Chrome OS, are generally viewed as a simpler alternative to Windows and macOS systems. But as more Chromebooks flirt with four-figure price tags—take, for example, the Asus Chromebook Flip C436 , Samsung Galaxy Chromebook , plus recently announced Acer Chromebook Spin 514 —consumers […]
Enlarge / Never put a GriftHorse on your phone. (credit: John Lamparsky | Getty Images) Google has taken increasingly sophisticated steps to keep malicious apps out of Google Play. But a new round of takedowns involving about 200 apps and more than 10 million potential victims shows that this longtime problem remains far from solved—and […]
The Microsoft Surface Duo. It’s very big. [credit: Ron Amadeo ] If Microsoft wants to be taken seriously as an Android manufacturer, one of the things it will need to establish is a track record of reliable, on-time software updates. But as the company launches a second generation of the Surface Duo and the company’s […]
How Linux gets to a phone: the Linux LTS kernel gets forked by Google for the Android Common Kernel, then that gets forked by an SoC vendor for each chip, then that gets forked again by a device manufacturer. [credit: Google ] The Linux Plumbers Conference is this week, and since Android is one of […]
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Samsung is using artificial intelligence to automate the insanely complex and subtle process of designing cutting-edge computer chips . The South Korean giant is one of the first chipmakers to use AI to create its chips. Samsung is using AI features in new software from Synopsys , a leading chip design […]
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto ) Apple and Google seem to be worried about legislation that would force iOS and Android to be more open to third-party app shops and sideloaded apps. US Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn. ), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn. ), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn. ) introduced their Open App Markets Act yesterday. […]
Enlarge / Despite the encryption, Stingle Photos is a distinctly minimalist app which comes closer to the simple feel of an analog album than most of its competitors do. (credit: Kohei Hara / Getty Images ) With Google Photos killing off its Unlimited photo backup policy last November, the market for photo backup and sync […]
Enlarge (credit: Andri Koolme / Flickr ) Yesterday, dozens of state attorneys general sued Google on antitrust grounds, alleging that the company worked to “preemptively quash” competing app stores (most notably the Samsung Galaxy Store) and maintain its monopoly on Android app distribution. The lawsuit alleges that Google engaged in a range of anticompetitive practices, […]
Enlarge (credit: Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Google has given the boot to nine Android apps downloaded more than 5.8 million times from the company’s Play marketplace after researchers said these apps used a sneaky way to steal users’ Facebook login credentials. In a bid to win users’ trust and lower their guard, the apps […]
Enlarge / A screenshot of the Netflix downloads page on a smartphone. (credit: Netflix) The ability to download videos in their entirety to a mobile device has been one of the unsung features of Netflix and similar services for a few years now, but the experience has not been without its frustrations. A new update […]