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Today — 23 December 2024Tech News

Google could be accused of antitrust practices in Japan

23 December 2024 at 05:00

Around the world, government organizations are calling out Google for monopolistic practices. The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) will reportedly announce Google is in violation of the country's antitrust laws in regards to its search engine, Chrome, and issue a cease and desist letter, Nikkei Asia reported. The watchdog started an investigation into Google's practices last October.

The JFTC reportedly accuses Google of requiring smartphone manufacturers to sign a contract stating Chrome will be not only pre-downloaded on all devices, but that it will be placed in a certain spot on the screen. The manufacturers are allegedly forced to do this in order to have the Google Play available on their devices. 

In the US, federal judge Amit Mehta ruled in November that Google "is a monopolist" in the search engine industry. The Department of Justice (DoJ) then called for Google to sell Chrome as it "will permanently stop Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet." The DoJ also called for Google to cease favoring Chrome on Android. Google recently released a proposal to appease the DoJ, but stated it will appeal the judge's ruling before a hearing scheduled for April. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-could-be-accused-of-antitrust-practices-in-japan-130039793.html?src=rss

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© SOPA Images via Getty Images

WEST BENGAL, INDIA - 2024/09/14: In this photo illustration, a Google Chrome logo seen displayed on a smartphone with a Google Logo in the background. (Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Marketers Believe AI Will Eliminate Jobs — Just Not Theirs

23 December 2024 at 03:00
In a year filled with headlines documenting the rise of artificial intelligence, one of the many questions that remains unanswered is how the technology will affect the job market. Will it enhance human productivity or make people obsolete? Figures from an exclusive poll of more than 350 ADWEEK readers revealed 46% of respondents believe AI...

Branding’s Year of Fear: A Look Back at Six Blatant Backlashes from 2024

23 December 2024 at 03:00
It was the poet John Lydgate who's believed to have said that you can't please all people all of the time. Does it matter that he uttered those words in the 15th century? Not at all. The maxim is as true today as ever. Faced with seemingly intractable problems including climate change, economic disparities, racial...

How US Brands Can Keep Up With the Live Commerce Gold Rush

23 December 2024 at 03:00
Live shopping and video commerce are exploding, driven by growing consumer interest and the success of global disruptors like Shein and Temu. These international players dominate their markets with highly engaging, frictionless shopping experiences and have expanded aggressively into the U.S., raising the stakes for domestic brands. This evolution parallels the introduction of TikTok in...

The Biggest TV News Departures and Shake-Ups of 2024

23 December 2024 at 03:00
Change doesn't always happen overnight... sometimes it takes an entire year. And you don't have to be an expert reader of tea leaves to recognize that 2024 has been a pivot point for TV news. The steady accumulation of resignations, promotions, job changes, and corporate reorgs--as well as a few notable passings of celebrated journalists--over...

Amazon, Boobs, and Gen AI: The 10 ADWEEK Stories Readers Loved Most

By: Ryan Joe
23 December 2024 at 02:00
It was a wild year for the ad industry, with disruption coming from everywhere: the culture wars, politics, and gen AI. Those themes surfaced a lot in the top 10 stories that were most popular with ADWEEK readers in 2024. Here they are: X owner Elon Musk 10. Comcast, Disney, and IBM Are Among Advertisers...

App Store has hundreds of ‘risky’ apps rated as appropriate for kids, says report

23 December 2024 at 04:15

Even a brief review of the App Store revealed more than 200 “risky or inappropriate” apps rated as ok for children, according to a new report. They had collectively notched up more than 550 million downloads.

Two child safety groups say that more than 25% of the child-rated apps they reviewed gave cause for concern, suggesting that the total number of problematic apps is very much higher …

more…

The Morning After: Apple’s next AirPods Pro could offer heart rate and temperature monitoring

By: Mat Smith
23 December 2024 at 04:15

Apple is working on the next generation of AirPods Pro, and they may have some new health features, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman – although it’s a rumor we heard before, back in 2021.

The company has reportedly started testing features like temperature sensing and heart rate monitoring for the earbuds. Apple has found that the Apple Watch still does the latter better, but the AirPods “aren’t terribly far off” in their readings.

The company may have also revived its idea of putting cameras into AirPods, a rumor we’ve heard a few times over the last year. But it’ll still probably be years before any camera-equipped AirPods appear.

– Mat Smith

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The biggest tech stories you missed

Intel Arc B580 review

The new king of $250 GPUs (for now).

TMA
Engadget

Intel’s Arc B580 is a rarity: A $250 GPU that delivers solid 1080p and 1440p gaming, even with a bit of ray tracing. Faster than a Radeon 7600 and RTX 4060 from the dominant GPU players, and Intel’s XeSS upscaling works well, even if it’s not as well supported as DLSS 3. According to our review, it’s a clear win for Intel – until we see what’s new from AMD.

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James Bond (the movie franchise, not the spy) may be in deep jeopardy.

The Broccoli family is not happy with Amazon.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon and Barbara Broccoli, the producer who inherited the franchise from her father and film producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, are in the middle of a fight that’s halted production on the next Bond film. Apparently, Barbara doesn’t trust Amazon with her family’s famous film franchise.

Broccoli was quoted telling some of her friends that the people who run Amazon’s media empire are “f—ing idiots.” When Amazon purchased MGM, executives started thinking of ways to expand the Bond film franchise to other mediums like a Moneypenny spinoff series for Prime Video or a separate spy film or TV show in the Bond universe. Broccoli refused to let any of these projects go forward. She also took umbrage with Amazon entertainment executive Jennifer Salke’s use of the word “content” to describe new James Bond projects. (I love that.)

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121512095.html?src=rss

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© Billy Steele/Engadget

Despite the unchanged design, Apple has packed an assortment of updates into the new AirPods Pro. All of the conveniences from the 2019 model are here as well, alongside additions like Adaptive Transparency, Personalized Spatial Audio and a new touch gesture in tow. There’s room to further refine the familiar formula, but Apple has given iPhone owners several reasons to upgrade.

Pavel Durov says Telegram is now profitable

23 December 2024 at 04:04

Telegram founder Pavel Durov said Monday that the company is now profitable. Durov said the chat app’s total revenue surpassed $1 billion in 2024. The company, which launched its premium subscription service in 2022, now has 12 million paid users. Durov also said that the app is finishing the year with more than $500 million […]

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WhatsApp scores historic victory against NSO Group in long-running spyware hacking case

23 December 2024 at 03:52

A US judge ruled that the Israeli spyware maker breached hacking laws by using WhatsApp to infect devices with Pegasus

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Film Technica: Our favorite movies of 2024

Editor's note: Warning: Although we’ve done our best to avoid spoiling anything too major, please note this list does include a few specific references to several of the listed films that some might consider spoiler-y.

This was the year that Marvel Studios hit the pause button on its deluge of blockbuster superhero movies, after rather saturating the market in recent years. It proved to be a smart move: the only Marvel theatrical release was the R-rated Deadpool & Wolverine, a refreshingly irreverent, very meta take on the genre that delighted audiences and lit up the global box office. Perhaps audiences aren't so much bored with superhero movies as becoming more discriminating in their choices. Give us a fun, fresh take and we'll flock back to theaters.

Fewer superhero franchise entries meant there was more breathing room for other fare. Horror in particular had a stellar year, with numerous noteworthy offerings, touching on body horror (The Substance), Satanic Panic (Late Night with the Devil), psychological horror (Heretic), hauntings (The Oddity), a rom-com/revenge mashup (Your Monster), an inventive reimagining of a classic silent film (Nosferatu), and one very bloodthirsty child vampire with a wicked sense of humor (Abigail). Throw in a smattering of especially strong sequels (Inside Out 2, Dune: Part 2), a solid prequel (Furiosa), and a few hidden gems, and we had one of the better years for film in recent memory.

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