After launching in the US and select other regions earlier this year, YouTube Premium Lite is now expanding to a few more countries – here’s the full list.
A capuchin named Joker started the apparent trend, leading researchers to suspect "there was something a little quirky about him, or that he was kind of lonely in a way.”
Topsort, a four-year-old advertising tech startup, announced three new ad products today aimed at simplifying retail media ad buying. The products include a sponsored listing-focused ad exchange called Toppie, a […]
A year ago Xbox president Sarah Bond revealed that Microsoft was planning to launch a new Xbox mobile web store in July 2024. That never happened. I’ve been wondering what the hold up has been over the past year, and it seems we might have an answer: Apple.
Microsoft filed an amicus brief late on Tuesday, in support of Epic Games’ ongoing fight with Apple’s control over the App Store. The brief takes issue with Apple’s attempt to overturn the injunction that allows Epic and other developers to freely advertise alternative payment methods in their apps, and not have to pay Apple additional fees for purchases made outside of apps.
It’s a key ruling that has already allowed Fortnite to return to the App Store in the US, complete with the ability for Epic Games to link out to its own payment system inside the game. Microsoft has wanted to offer a similar experience for its Xbox mobile store, but it says its solution “has been stymied by Apple.” Here’s how Microsoft explains it:
The district court’s injunction allows Apple to maintain its in-app exclusivity but at least should have enabled Microsoft to offer consumers a workable solution by launching its own online store — accessible via link-out — for in-app items to be purchased off-app and used in games or other apps. And that is what Microsoft wants to do. But even this solution has been stymied by Apple. Prior to the district court’s most recent order, Microsoft had been unable to implement linked-out payments (or even inform customers that alternative purchase methods exist) because of Apple’s new anti-steering policies that restrict Microsoft’s communication to users and impose an even higher economic cost to Microsoft than before the injunction.
The court ruling makes it possible for Microsoft to now launch its Xbox mobile store, but it’s clear that the software giant also wants to ensure Apple’s appeal against the ruling isn’t successful. If Microsoft did launch its Xbox mobile store and then Apple won a temporary stay, it may have to pull that store pending the appeal process.
Microsoft even notes in its filing that “Apple makes no argument that the technical or policy changes cannot be undone,” so it’s urging the ruling to be enforced pending Apple’s appeal. “Microsoft’s own experience managing app stores confirms that Apple’s policies could be restored if Apple ultimately prevails on appeal.”
The court ruling also impacts Microsoft’s main Xbox mobile app. “Similarly, Microsoft has long sought to enable Xbox app users on iOS to both buy and stream games in the app from the cloud or their other devices,” says Microsoft in its filing. “Apple’s policies have restricted Microsoft’s ability to offer these functionalities together; the injunction allows Microsoft to explore this possibility.”
Microsoft started rolling out the ability to purchase games and DLC inside the Xbox mobile app last month, but it had to remove the remote play option to adhere to Apple’s App Store policies. You can’t currently buy an Xbox game in the Xbox mobile app on iOS and then stream it inside that same app. You have to manually navigate to the Xbox Cloud Gaming mobile website on a browser to get access to cloud gaming.
Sarah Bond also announced plans to let players purchase and play games within the Xbox app on Android in October, just days after a court ruled that Google must crack open Android to third-party app stores. The feature was supposed to arrive in November, but Bond then blamed a “temporary administrative stay” for holding it back.
The original Wheel vertical turntable was a bust, the Wheel 2 redemption, and now the small mom and pop team at Miniot is back for a victory lap with the Wheel 3. It can play your record collection upright on its stand, laid flat on a table, or hung on a wall.
Inside the handmade Wheel 3 turntable you’ll find a new optical stylus that the company says “blows away anything you’ve heard before!” It also features a new “bespoke, high-end” amplifier and redesigned linear tonearm that moves up-and-down the spinning record instead of side-to-side like the Wheel 2 I reviewed back in 2023.
The volume and playback slider is still embedded in the rim at the top near the dimmable display, giving you precise digital control over your analog music track selection.
The new slimmed-down design also looks more cohesive, if colder. It’s made from two parts: a solid composite on the back married to a polished aluminum unibody front. A Wheel 3 Special Edition will feature a solid wooden back for fans of Miniot’s organic roots.
Amazon is issuing refunds to customers who’d returned products but never received their money back, in some cases from as long ago as 2018.
“Following a recent internal review, we identified a very small subset of returns that were unresolved because we could not verify that the correct item had been sent back to us,” Amazon said in emails to customers, according to Bloomberg. “We could have notified these customers more clearly (and earlier) to better understand the status and help us resolve the return. Given the time elapsed, we’ve decided to err on the side of customers and just complete refunds for these returns.”
Amazon had hinted refunds were coming during its most recent earnings call on May 1st. CFO Brian Olsavsky confirmed that the company was reporting a one-time charge of $1.1 billion, partly attributable to “some historical customer returns,” along with the costs of stockpiling inventory in preparation for Trump’s tariffs.
There have been reports of the belated refunds from Amazon customers on Reddit, X, and LinkedIn for over a week, with one poster claiming to have received almost $1,800 this week for a TV returned to the retailer in 2018. Others claim to have received money from Amazon with no explanation why, and some report receiving refunds for products they never returned in the first place.
The company is currently facing a potential class action lawsuit that alleges it systematically failed to issue refunds to customers, or reversed refunds that had been issued. The suit was filed in 2023, but this April a judge rejected Amazon’s move to have it dismissed. It’s currently awaiting certification, a necessary step before other Amazon customers can join the class action.
Microsoft’s head of security for AI, Neta Haiby, accidentally revealed confidential messages about Walmart’s use of Microsoft’s AI tools during a Build talk that was disrupted by protesters.
The Build livestream was muted and the camera pointed down, but the session resumed moments later after the protesters were escorted out. In the aftermath, Haiby then accidentally switched to Microsoft Teams while sharing her screen, revealing confidential internal messages about Walmart’s upcoming use of Microsoft’s Entra and AI gateway services.
Haiby was co-hosting a Build session on best security practices for AI, alongside Sarah Bird, Microsoft’s head of responsible AI, when two former Microsoft employees disrupted the talk to protest against the company’s cloud contracts with the Israeli government.
“Sarah, you are whitewashing the crimes of Microsoft in Palestine, how dare you talk about responsible AI when Microsoft is fueling the genocide in Palestine,” shouted Hossam Nasr, an organizer with the protest group No Azure for Apartheid, and a former Microsoft employee who was fired for holding a vigil outside Microsoft’s headquarters for Palestinians killed in Gaza.
Walmart is one of Microsoft’s biggest corporate customers, and already uses the company’s Azure OpenAI service for some of its AI work. “Walmart is ready to rock and roll with Entra Web and AI Gateway,” says one of Microsoft’s cloud solution architects in the Teams messages. The chat session also quoted a Walmart AI engineer, saying: “Microsoft is WAY ahead of Google with AI security. We are excited to go down this path with you.”
We asked Microsoft to comment on this protest and the Teams messages, but the company did not respond in time for publication.
Both of the protesters involved in this latest Microsoft Build disruption were former Microsoft employees, with Vaniya Agrawal appearing alongside Nasr. Agrawal interrupted Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, former CEO Steve Ballmer, and CEO Satya Nadella later during the company’s 50th anniversary event last month. Agrawal was dismissed shortly after putting in her two weeks’ notice at Microsoft before the protest, according to an email seen by The Verge.
This latest protest comes days after Microsoft announced last week that it had conducted an internal review and used an unnamed external firm to assess how its technology is used in the war in Gaza. Microsoft says that its relationship with Israel’s Ministry of Defense (IMOD) is “structured as a standard commercial relationship” and that it has “found no evidence that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies, or any of our other software, have been used to harm people or that IMOD has failed to comply with our terms of service or our AI Code of Conduct.”
At yesterday’s I/O conference, Google announced plans to start putting its AI chatbot, Gemini, in a variety of different places, including cars. Today, Volvo said it was shoving its way to the front of the line to be the first to receive the new tech.
Volvo said it was expanding its preexisting partnership with Google — the Swedish automaker was one of the first to adopt the built-in Android Automotive operating system for its vehicles — to include the integration of Gemini across its model lineup. Drivers will be able to have more “natural” conversations with their car, including language translation, navigational help, and finding specific locations. They’ll even be able to ask the AI assistant to answer questions about their vehicle’s user manual. Volvo framed it as easing the driver’s “cognitive load” so they can keep their eyes on the road.
Drivers will be able to have more “natural” conversations with their car.
Earlier this month, Google said that it would make Gemini available to cars that support Android Auto, the company’s popular phone mirroring program. But whereas Android Auto users will get access to Gemini in the coming weeks, vehicles with Android Automotive — marketed as Google built-in — won’t get access until later this year.
Drivers and passengers will be able to use Gemini send texts, get directions, play music, and basically all the things that Google Assistant has been able to do. The main difference is users won’t have to use stilted, robotic commands, instead relying on Gemini’s natural language capabilities.
Volvo will also now serve as one of Google’s reference hardware platforms for the development and testing of future automotive technology. That means Volvo’s vehicles will get “new features and updates” from Google before they are added to the main Android codebase.
“Through this partnership with Google, we are able to bring the very latest features and capabilities from the leading consumer eco-system into our products first,” Alwin Bakkenes, head of global software engineering at Volvo Cars, said in a statement. “With our expanding partnership, we’re collaborating on cutting-edge solutions that shape the future of connected cars.”
Google’s annual developer conference, held at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California, was all about Gemini this year. And the car is quickly emerging as an important platform for the chatbot, especially with its myriad of challenges — namely steering a 2-ton metal box through a complex environment riddled with pitfalls.
Google is positioning Gemini as a team player with the other core parts of the vehicle’s operating system. “Navigation apps can integrate with Gemini using three core intent formats, allowing you to start navigation, display relevant search results, and execute custom actions, such as enabling users to report incidents like traffic congestion using their voice,” Ben Sagmoe, developer relations engineer, wrote on the Android Developers Blog.
