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16.04.2025 01:40 Google announced today that it will no longer be using country code top level domains for searches. Instead, all search services will happen on the google.com URL and local results will be delivered automatically. For example, that means users in the UK will no longer see google.co.uk in their browser's address bar. Google URLs with those country-specific domain endings will now redirect to the main google.com address. Google started using location information to automatically provide search results based on geography in 2017. With that change, it didn't matter whether you entered a query into a local country code URL or into google.com; you'd always see the results version for the place you were physically located. Today's announcement seems to take that initial action to its conclusion by sunsetting those ccTLDs. "It’s important to note that while this update will change what people see in their browser address bar, it won’t affect the way Search works, nor will it change how we handle obligations under national laws," Google noted in its announcement.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-is-retiring-country-specific-domains-for-search-212157490.html?src=rss

16.04.2025 01:40 In 2018, Mark Zuckerberg floated the idea of spinning out Instagram, one of the remedies the Federal Trade Commission will likely seek in Meta's antitrust trial that began this week. CNBC reported on Tuesday that the comments from an email thread with executives came to light in Washington, DC. "I'm beginning to wonder whether spinning Instagram out is the only structure that will accomplish a number of important goals," Zuckerberg wrote in the email. "As calls to break up the big tech companies grow, there is a non-trivial chance that we will be forced to spin out Instagram and perhaps WhatsApp in the next 5-10 years anyway." His estimate, made six years ago, ended up being spot-on. "On the flip side, while most companies resist breakups, the corporate history is that most companies actually perform better after they've been split up," Zuckerberg added in the same email, according to The New York Times. It's Zuckerberg's second day of testimony in the trial, which stemmed from a 2020 government lawsuit against Meta . The FTC argues that the company's purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp hurt competition. If the trial goes the FTC's way, it will likely ask the judge to break up Meta by selling off one or both of the apps. Last April, Meta moved to dismiss the case, but US District Judge James Boasberg allowed it to proceed with a narrower scope. On the stand on Tuesday, the Meta CEO reportedly defended the company's Instagram purchase as the result of a standard cost-benefit examination. "We were doing a build-vs.-buy analysis," Zuckerberg said. "I thought that Instagram was better at that , so I thought it was better to buy them." "Building a new app is hard," he said when asked on the stand why he was intent on buying Instagram. "We’ve probably tried building dozens of apps over the history of the company, and the majority of them don’t go anywhere." Other details that came to light on Tuesday include a 2013 email in which Zuckerberg told executives to block Asian competitors Kakao and WeChat from advertising on Facebook. "Those companies are trying to build social networks and replace us," he wrote. "The revenue is immaterial to us compared to any risk."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/mark-zuckerberg-predicted-metas-antitrust-trial-in-a-2018-email-205719635.html?src=rss

16.04.2025 01:40 Kia has teased that it will have a trio of announcements at the 2025 New York International Auto Show. The car company's presentation is scheduled for 10AM ET on April 16. Luckily for those gearheads who want to know what's next for the brand, Kia will have a livestream of its showcase. The reveal will be hosted live on YouTube, and it's also embedded below. The presentation will feature three debuts, according to the company, including two that are fully electric. Kia unveiled its EV4 hatchback sedan in February, but didn't share info about North American manufacturing at that time. That's a likely announcement during this week's New York event. While the stage presentation will get livestreamed, we don't yet have tech to remotely test the Kia EV9 and EV6 models that will be at the live show. Maybe one day…This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/how-to-watch-kias-new-york-international-auto-show-presentation-on-april-16-195259387.html?src=rss

16.04.2025 01:40 Whether in Ancient Greek parodies, Shakespeare's subtle jabs at the haughty upper class or Jon Stewart's takedowns of the latest Washington absurdities, humor can be a razor-edged weapon that shapes public opinion. Last weekend, we were reminded again of comedy's ability to strike at the rich and powerful when someone hacked Silicon Valley crosswalks to play synthetic voice impersonations of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. "Hi, this is Elon Musk," the voice impersonating the Trump ally and federal government dismantler said. "Welcome to Palo Alto, the home of Tesla Engineering. You know, they say money can't buy happiness. And… yeah, okay… I guess that's true. God knows I've tried. But it can buy a Cybertruck, and that's pretty sick, right? …Right?? Fuck, I'm so alone." "Hi, this is Mark Zuckerberg, but real ones call me the Zuck," the synthetic voice of Meta's CEO said over one crosswalk speaker. "It's normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every facet of your conscious experience. And I just want to assure you, you don't need to worry because there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. Anyway, see ya." The videos have accumulated over 100,000 likes on TikTok and nearly 400,000 views on X . Palo Alto Online reports that they could be heard in downtown intersections in Redwood City, Menlo Park and Palo Alto but had been removed beginning on Saturday. "Hi, this is Elon Musk," another crosswalk speaker emitted. "And I'd like to personally welcome you to Palo Alto. People keep saying cancer is bad, but have you tried being a cancer? It's fucking awesome." "Hey, it's Zuck here," another voice said. "I just wanted to tell you how very proud I am of everything we've been building together. From undermining democracy to cooking our grandparents' brains with AI slop to making the world less safe for trans people, nobody does it better than us. And I think that's pretty neat. Zuck out!" Finally, a Palo Alto speaker conducted armchair psychology on the Tesla CEO. "Hi, I'm Elon. Can we be friends? Will you be my friend? I'll give you a Cybertruck, I promise. Okay, look, you don't know the level of depravity I would stoop to just for a crumb of approval. I mean, let's be real. It's not like I had any moral convictions to begin with, right?" This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/someone-hacked-silicon-valley-crosswalks-to-spoof-mark-zuckerberg-and-elon-musk-191822645.html?src=rss

16.04.2025 01:40 With America's long-term economic prospects shifting on Eric Cartman-like whims, some internet providers have begun offering multi-year price guarantees to provide a little stability amid the chaos. A couple of weeks after Verizon introduced a three-year price lock, Comcast has followed suit with a five-year pricing guarantee for new Xfinity residential customers. On the bright side, the deal isn't linked to an annual contract requirement. Comcast says that the following plans are available to be used with the five-year guarantee : 400Mbps – $55/month 600Mbps – $70/month 1.1Gbps – $85/month 2.1Gbps – $105/month This plan includes unlimited data and a free rental of the Xfinity Gateway router — but if you want to bring your own hardware, unlimited data will cost an extra $30 per month. And despite the fact that the Xfinity shopping page says these deals run through June 23, a Comcast spokesperson let us know they'll extend beyond that date. The locked-in price doesn't cover installation, taxes, fees or other charges, which Comcast notes are subject to change during and after the promo. Finally, if you don't enroll in and maintain paperless billing and automatic payments, you'll pay an extra $10 each month . After reading the fine print, you may find it amusing that Comcast's press release frames the price guarantee as being about simplicity. "Our new price guarantee removes complexity," Comcast COO Steve Croney wrote. Still, with Americans increasingly being forced to check their 401 s and stock portfolios like gamblers check a high-stakes sports score, any small oasis of financial stability is at least something. Update, April 15, 2025, 3:08PM ET: This story and its headline were updated to provide additional details about the different plans and availability of Comcast's five-year guaranteed rates.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/comcast-rolls-out-a-five-year-price-guarantee-for-new-internet-customers-173421830.html?src=rss

16.04.2025 01:40 Anthropic announced that its Claude AI can integrate with Google Workspace. This tie-in allows the AI assistant to access any information in Gmail, Google Documents and Google Calendar. Enterprise-level customers even get a special cataloguing option for Documents that aims to offer even better speed and accuracy when retrieving information. This update could make Claude more helpful when it comes to using the chatbot for scheduling or accessing information within the Google ecosystem. The blog post with the announcement specified that the Enterprise option comes with special security controls for confidentiality, but doesn't detail if or how other users might be able to keep Claude from accessing sensitive information that might be stored in an email or document. Google Workspace integration is available in beta now for all paid Anthropic customers. Anthropic is also adding a Research feature. Queries in this mode are intended to offer thorough answers to queries that "explores different angles of your question automatically and works through open questions systematically." Claude's responses in Research will include citations for fact-checking. Anthropic says this feature can be combined with the Google integration for analyzing information stored across multiple different locations, such as notes about complicated work or school projects. Research is available in the US, Japan and Brazil as an early beta for users on the Max, Team and Enterprise plans.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropics-claude-can-now-read-your-emails-181511019.html?src=rss

15.04.2025 20:20 Anthropic announced that its Claude AI can integrate with Google Workspace. This tie-in allows the AI assistant to access any information in Gmail, Google Documents and Google Calendar. Enterprise-level customers even get a special cataloguing option for Documents that aims to offer even better speed and accuracy when retrieving information. This update could make Claude more helpful when it comes to using the chatbot for scheduling or accessing information within the Google ecosystem. The blog post with the announcement specified that the Enterprise option comes with special security controls for confidentiality, but doesn't detail if or how other users might be able to keep Claude from accessing sensitive information that might be stored in an email or document. Google Workspace integration is available in beta now for all paid Anthropic customers. Anthropic is also adding a Research feature. Queries in this mode are intended to offer thorough answers to queries that "explores different angles of your question automatically and works through open questions systematically." Claude's responses in Research will include citations for fact-checking. Anthropic says this feature can be combined with the Google integration for analyzing information stored across multiple different locations, such as notes about complicated work or school projects. Research is available in the US, Japan and Brazil as an early beta for users on the Max, Team and Enterprise plans.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/antrhopics-claude-can-now-read-your-emails-181511890.html?src=rss

15.04.2025 20:20 It looks like OpenAI is building its own X-like social media network, according to a report by The Verge. We don’t have many specifics, but we do know there’s an internal prototype that adds a social feed to ChatGPT’s image generation tool. It remains unclear if OpenAI will launch this social network as a standalone app or if it will be integrated within the ChatGPT app, which is what the prototype indicates. The report does suggest that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been asking for feedback about the social network from people outside of the company. One potential reason for this step is that the app would allow OpenAI to gather real-time data from users to train its AI models. It’s also a potentially diversifying move for the company. Although it’s uncertain if this project will ever see the light of day, one thing is probable — it’ll likely get under the skin of Elon Musk, who owns X. Altman and OpenAI have been at odds with Musk for some time. The company rejected his offer to buy OpenAI, instead offering to "buy Twitter" for just $9.7 billion dollars. It’s worth noting that the offer is four times lower than what Musk paid for the platform and that Altman purposefully used the word Twitter and not X. no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want— Sam Altman February 10, 2025 OpenAI has also recently countersued Musk, accusing the billionaire of staging press attacks and malicious campaigns against the company on X. The suit also accuses Musk of making "harassing legal claims," referring to his initial suit, and a "sham bid for OpenAI's assets." The company also published an email from Musk’s time at OpenAI in which he suggested merging with Tesla. Altman and his crew have stated that Musk was present during talks about OpenAI going for-profit and that he suggested he be given majority equity, control of the board and the CEO position. Musk left OpenAI in 2018 and founded xAI, which somehow just bought X in some kind of shady ouroboros of corporate tomfoolery.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-is-apparently-making-a-social-network-175842370.html?src=rss

15.04.2025 20:20 With America's long-term economic prospects shifting on Eric Cartman-like whims, some internet providers have begun offering multi-year price guarantees to provide a little stability amid the chaos. A couple of weeks after Verizon introduced a three-year price lock, Comcast has followed suit with a five-year pricing guarantee for new Xfinity residential customers. On the bright side, the deal isn't linked to an annual contract requirement. But, as you might expect from a massive broadband company, there's plenty of fine print. First, the offer only applies to 400 Mbps home internet plans with one year of Xfinity Mobile Unlimited — a package that starts at $55 monthly . Then, if you want unlimited data, you'll need to use an Xfinity Gateway, which requires a monthly rental payment, or pay an extra $30 monthly to enjoy it with your own modem. The locked-in price doesn't cover installation, taxes, fees or other charges, which Comcast notes are subject to change during and after the promo. So, at least in theory, the company has some wiggle room to raise the price without technically raising it. Finally, if you don't enroll in and maintain paperless billing and automatic payments, you'll pay an extra $10 each month . After reading those two paragraphs of fine print, you may find it amusing that Comcast's press release frames the price guarantee as being about simplicity. "Our new price guarantee removes complexity," Comcast COO Steve Croney wrote. Still, with Americans increasingly being forced to check their 401 s and stock portfolios like gamblers check a high-stakes sports score, any small oasis of financial stability is at least something. Comcast's offer ends on June 23.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/comcast-rolls-out-a-five-year-price-guarantee-with-plenty-of-fine-print-173421738.html?src=rss

15.04.2025 20:20 Following a limited, four-month preview, Google is making its Veo 2 video generation model available to more people. The company has begun rolling out the tool to Gemini Advanced users, who can use it to create 720p clips that are up to eight seconds long. "The more detailed your description, the more control you have over the final video," Google says of the model. For the time being, Gemini will only generate footage in 16:9 landscape orientation, meaning it won’t be great for creating social video. That said, Google notes you can upload videos directly to TikTok or YouTube through Gemini's share sheet, and any footage you create through the chatbot will automatically be formatted as a MP4 file. Relative to the model’s iteration, Google says Veo 2 has a better understanding of real-world physics and human motion. If you want to start using Gemini to generate video clips, you'll need Google's $20 per month One AI Premium Plan. Once the company completes the roll out of Veo 2, video generation will be available in every language you can use Gemini on both on the web and mobile. Separately, Google is bringing Veo 2 generation to Whisk. For the uninitiated, Whisk is an experimental AI application the company offers through its Google Labs beta platform. It allows you to generate images from both text and image prompts, and with Veo 2 now baked in, you can use Whisk to animate what you create through the app.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-brings-veo-2-video-generation-to-gemini-advanced-170014422.html?src=rss

15.04.2025 20:20 There are physical editions of the iconic shooters Doom and Doom II coming out, thanks to Limited Run Games. All editions ship with both games, but the highlight is something called the Will it Run Edition. This one comes with all kinds of extra goodies, including a game box that actually runs the original Doom. You read that right. Box play Doom. All you have to do is connect a USB controller, as the box also has a port. It costs $666, which is a nod to the devilish source material, and is being kept to a limited run of 666 copies. It comes with the aforementioned screen-enabled game box that runs Doom, but that’s just the beginning. The combo pack ships with the soundtrack on cassette, a certificate of authenticity and a trading card park with five cards. It comes with a couple of toys based on one of the franchise’s most iconic enemies. There’s a detailed three-inch Cacodemon that connects to a five-inch base, which looks pretty nifty. There’s a smaller handheld Cacodemon that, you’ll never guess, also runs Doom. Limited Run Games This edition is available for Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The PC version, however, ships with a download code and not physical copies of both games. Preorders start on April 18 and end on May 18, with a release sometime after that. If $666 is too rich, or demonic, for your blood, there are also cheaper editions available. The Big Box Edition costs $100 and ships with both games, a really big box, a trading card set and the soundtrack on cassette. The Standard Edition only includes the games and costs $30. Get ready to mow down demons in this definitive collection

15.04.2025 20:20  Larian Studios has deployed the final major update for Baldur’s Gate 3. It's a pretty spicy one too, as the developer is adding a bunch of the community's most-requested changes. Among them is full cross-play support. So, no matter whether you're playing on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S or Mac, you can squad up with your buddies and help each other get through the huge RPG. Another welcome arrival is that of a built-in photo mode. This will be available during most parts of the game, including cutscenes. You can also slap stickers on your snaps and apply several effects to them. Along with those updates, Larian has added 12 new subclasses, and it says each of them offer new ways to play the 2023 hit. The additions are as follows: Bard — College of Glamour Barbarian — Path of Giants Cleric — Death Domain Druid — Circle of Stars Fighter — Arcane Archer Monk — Way of The Drunken Master Paladin — Oath of the Crown Ranger — Swarmkeeper Rogue — Swashbuckler Sorcerer — Shadow Magic Warlock — Hexblade Wizard — Bladesinging Larian says each of the subclasses has fresh abilities, animations, visual effects and summons. The latest Paladin subclass comes with new voiced dialogue for the Oathbreaker Knight, the studio says. Steam Trading Cards are new to Baldur's Gate 3 too, enabling Steam players to craft badges and unlock profile backgrounds and emoticons for their accounts. On top of all that, Larian has added support for partial level editing for current characters, items and triggers to its modding toolkit, as well as some quality-of-life updates. The studio says it's passing the reins to the community to make future updates as it's moving onto other projects, which will not include the next game in the series. While it's beavering away on other games, Larian plans to release weekly videos about Baldur's Gate 3 and development of the game on YouTube.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/baldurs-gate-3-gains-cross-play-a-photo-mode-and-more-in-its-final-major-update-155317724.html?src=rss

15.04.2025 20:20 Dune: Awakening, the open-world MMO inspired by Frank Herbert's novels and Denis Villeneuve's films, has been delayed. Developer Funcom said on Tuesday that it needs "a bit more time to cook." Previously slated for May 20, the game has a new release date of June 10 on Steam. Funcom says the three-week delay will allow it to "act on a lot more of the feedback we know is important to our beta testers." The game is in a closed one now, but the developer says it will roll out a larger-scale beta test in May. Further details on that are coming "soon." Although June 10 is the new launch date for those who buy the $50 standard version, Funcom is launching a head-start incentive for those who plunk down $70 or $90 on the Deluxe or Ultimate edition. Those versions will unlock on June 5. Funcom Although Dune: Awakening is set in the familiar Duniverse on Arrakis, it uses an alternate timeline. In this "what if?" version, the Fremen have disappeared, Paul Atreides was never born and Lady Jessica gave birth to a girl. You start as a prisoner taken to the planet but soon "learn the true meaning of desert power," rising to become an agent of the Atreides or the Harkonnen. You can get a jump on things today with a character creator, launched in February, that lets you build your hero and take the Gom Jabbar test. You can use your character when the game launches. Dune: Awakening will only be available on Steam when it arrives on June 10. You can pre-order it now. It's also coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, but those versions don't yet have a release date. $50 $50 at Steam This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/dune-awakening-gets-pushed-back-to-june-155059951.html?src=rss

15.04.2025 20:20 It looks like that long-rumored remake of Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is actually real, according to a report by Eurogamer. There are actual screenshots of the game in action that were published on developer Virtuos' website. Even cooler? Eurogamer suggests that the game will be shadow-dropped next week for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The same report also indicates it’ll be available on Game Pass. Fans on Reddit and elsewhere began poking around on the developer’s website and reportedly found a treasure trove of in-game images, which included comparison screenshots to the original game from 2006. Eurogamer has collected these images on imgur to preserve them for posterity. It has also been corroborated that the screenshots do come from Virtuos’ server. We’ve reached out to Bethesda and will update this post when we hear back. Virtuos This remake has been bouncing around the rumor mill since 2020. Initial reports pegged it as a simple remaster, but a former Virtuos employee claimed it was a full remake back in 2023. It’s reportedly being built using Unreal Engine 5. That same employee also suggested that several gameplay systems have been completely reworked, including stamina, archery, sneaking, blocking and hit reaction. The HUD has also supposedly been remade. All we can do now is wait for next week and see if Microsoft does indeed surprise-drop the game. If not, there’s an Xbox summer showcase on June 8. Maybe we’ll get some clarity at that event.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-elder-scrolls-4-oblivion-remake-is-real-according-to-developer-screenshots-151955341.html?src=rss

15.04.2025 20:20 Riot Games has unveiled details about the next season for League of Legends. This chapter of the MOBA is themed Spirit Blossom Beyond, and it will bring a temporary new look to Summoner's Rift and several floral cosmetics for the champions. Season 2 will also involve some notable gameplay changes, as well as introducing an all-new game mode called Brawl. LoL is a perpetual balancing act, and the team at Riot have pared back the emphasis on early- and mid-game objectives this season so players can focus more on laning at the start of a match. Void Grubs are getting nerfed, with only one trio of grubs spawning per game. The reward for securing all three will be a single Void Mite to aid in your tower takes. Rift Herald has been slightly retuned, removing the Shelly's Gaze debuff to make the camp easier to solo. Atakhan is getting overhauled for Season 2. With this streamlined approach, he will only have one form that expands on the Bloody Petals mechanic introduced in Season 1. Killing the new Thornbound Atakhan will grant a team all remaining Bloody Petals that have spawned on the map with an increased buff amount. The team will also get a permanent buff for the rest of the match called Spiritual Purification: when an enemy is killed, opponents in the surrounding area will be slowed and take damage. Riot intended this Atakhan design to match the seasonal theme as well as nixing the unpopular mechanics like the team-wide Withdraw buff from the Voracious version of this new neutral camp. Riot Games As the name implies, the new Brawl mode for LoL is all about fighting. It's a 5v5 matchup that removes much of the strategic burden from typical bouts, with no towers and only a handful of neutral buffs available to claim. Instead, teams score points by taking down enemy champions and by shepherding minions into the rival gate on a new map designed just for this mode. Riot is positioning these bite-sized, 10-minute matches as on-ramps for newer players still building their basic skills or as a mental break from the regular solo queue grind. As with any big new content release, there are plenty of other tweaks to balance and quality of life that will be fully detailed in the patch notes. Season 2 for League of Legends kicks off on April 30.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/league-of-legends-season-2-hello-brawls-bye-bye-voracious-atakhan-150028605.html?src=rss