The former president’s lengthy, record-breaking address clocked in at 93 minutes as he formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination.
The former president’s lengthy, record-breaking address clocked in at 93 minutes as he formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination.
Starting on August 23 this year, when someone clicks on a goo.gl link, it could first take them to a page with a warning that says the link “will no longer work in the near future” before taking them to the website they want to visit. Google shut down its goo.gl URL shortening service way back in 2018 and stopped users from being able to create new links. Now, the company has announced that it will stop supporting all existing goo.gl links altogether: The URLs will return a “404 page not found” result by August 25, 2025.
Google is giving developers ample time to move to other shorteners by displaying the aforementioned warning page to visitors over the next year. It will only show up for a percentage of existing links at first, but that percentage will keep growing until it appears for most, if not all, goo.gl links by their shutdown date. The company warns that the interstitial warning pages could cause disruptions and prevent users from getting to the URL they actually want to go to, so it’s advising developers to change their shortened links as soon as possible.
The goo.gl link shortener service joins quite a large number of old features and services in Google’s ever-growing product graveyard. They include the Hangouts chat app, the Stadia cloud gaming service and Google+, which once tried to take on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-is-turning-off-its-googl-shortener-links-next-year-130030435.html?src=rss
The ‘Vanderpump Rules’ star has withdrawn his lawsuit against Ariana and insisted that he has ‘no ill will’ toward her.
The ‘Vanderpump Rules’ star has withdrawn his lawsuit against Ariana and insisted that he has ‘no ill will’ toward her.
In a powerful Instagram statement, Shaikha Mahra called out her now-former-husband for having ‘other companions.’
In a powerful Instagram statement, Shaikha Mahra called out her now-former-husband for having ‘other companions.’
Microsoft has made changes to its Xbox Game Pass service that are “exactly the sort of consumer harm” from its Activision acquisition that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was worried about, the agency wrote in a letter addressed to the US Appeals Court. The FTC’s letter focused on a recent price hike for the Xbox Game Pass and pointed out that the Game Pass Ultimate now costs $20 a month, which is $3 more per month than before and represents a 17 percent year-over-year increase.
In addition, the agency called attention to Microsoft’s decision to discontinue the $11 Console Game Pass plan. The agency added a new Game Pass Standard tier, but it costs more at $15 a month. While it’s a step up from the barebones Core plan, it doesn’t include access to day-one releases, leading the FTC to call it a “degraded product.” Microsoft will fully discontinue the Console tier just before the launch of the next Call of Duty game, the FTC said. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be playable via Game Pass from its release date on October 25, which means subscribers who want to access it on day one will have to pay for the $20-a-month tier.
The company promised that the “acquisition would benefit consumers by making [CoD] available on Microsoft’s Game Pass on the day it is released on console (with no price increase for the service based on the acquisition),” the FTC wrote. But Microsoft’s actions show a firm that’s “exercising market power post-merger,” it noted.
The FTC repeatedly challenged Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, but a judge rejected its request for an injunction. At the time, the judge ruled that the FTC failed to demonstrate how the merger would lessen competition and even said that there was “record evidence” pointing to “more consumer access to Call of Duty and other Activision content.”
Microsoft, which officially closed the $69 billion deal in October 2023 after that ruling and after the blessing of regulators in the EU and the UK, now officially owns Activision Blizzard. But the FTC still isn’t done opposing the merger and filed an appeal in an attempt to the block the already-closed deal, telling the court that it can prove its case by showing that Microsoft has the ability and incentive to withhold Activision’s games. Back in February, the agency also accused Microsoft of going against its pledge to allow Activision Blizzard to operate independently post-acquisition after the company laid off nearly 2,000 employees in its gaming division.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-ftc-is-as-mad-about-the-xbox-game-pass-price-increase-as-you-are-120031248.html?src=rss
When you’re living the college life, every penny counts. Thankfully, there’s a plethora of free software, services and tools you can use to get through your day-to-day on campus, whether you’re doing coursework, trying to better manage your time or just finding some entertainment. Our job at Engadget is to figure out which of these things are actually good, so below we’ve recommended a few of our favorite apps and services that are totally free. Each should help you save cash for extracurricular fun, and all of them are significantly better than the main thing you get for free when attending college in America: debt.
You’re probably going to need a productivity suite at school. Thankfully, the days of having to buy an expensive software bundle are long gone. Google Docs can handle the document creation you’ll need over a semester, whether it’s writing term papers, crunching data in spreadsheets or whipping up group presentations. Automatic cloud saves can spare you the heartache of losing progress.
You may want to subscribe to a Google One plan if the free 15GB of Drive storage proves too limiting. And as capable as Docs may be, there may be some classes where professors insist on paid services like Microsoft 365. If you’re free to choose your work tools, however, Docs is an easy choice — particularly if you already rely on Calendar, Meet and other parts of the Google ecosystem. — Jon Fingas, Former Reporter
Student life is defined by time management. You’ll likely have to juggle multiple assignments, study sessions and a personal life (remember that?) without missing a beat. Todoist is our pick for keeping yourself on track. You can not only create the usual to-do lists, but set up task boards, set priorities and even delegate items to others — helpful if it’s a roommate’s turn to buy dinner.
The free Todoist plan will likely be enough for school with support for five active projects, five collaborators and 5MB file uploads. You’ll only want to shell out $48 per year (or $5 per month) for a Pro account if you have many on-the-go projects (up to 300), need to upload large files or want to set reminder alerts. Whatever you need, this might be key to getting it all done on time. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Reporter, Buying Advice
It used to be that free image editors were underpowered or ungainly, and you could generally forget about web versions. That’s not the case with Photopea, which is more or less an unofficial, online Photoshop clone. Can it fully replace that ultra-popular app? No, it’s slower to process many tasks and it’s missing some of Adobe’s more advanced features. But just about all of the essentials are here, and its web-based interface should immediately feel familiar to anyone who’s used Photoshop before. (It’s much simpler to grok than other free alternatives like GIMP, for one.) For spot heals, crops, light and color touch-ups, background removals, adding text and graphics, layering or most other common edits you might need for a presentation or photography class, it should be enough. It’s compatible with a host of file formats, too, including Photoshop’s PSD, PDF, AI and various RAW camera files. The whole thing is ad-supported by default, with a $5-per-month Premium tier available to remove those and increase online storage from 0.5GB to 5GB. You can also connect to cloud storage services like Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox. — J.D.
You might not have to pay for a costly video editing package to make it through film school. Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve provides an in-depth bundle of editing, color correction, audio and effects tools at no cost. You could make a short film for class using the same core tools used to produce Hollywood blockbusters, complete with multi-user collaboration.
In fact, you’ll likely have little need for paid editing products unless your coursework has very specific requirements. You’ll only want to think about spending $295 for DaVinci Resolve Studio if you want to edit footage beyond 4K at 60 frames per second, work with more video formats or rely on advanced 3D, AI and HDR tools. Unless your professors demand that you use a rival tool like Final Cut Pro or Premiere Pro, this should be enough to learn the fundamentals. — J.F.
If you’re creating 3D artwork for games or videos at school, you’ll want a strong modeling suite — and one of the more capable packages happens to be free. Blender provides a wide range of modeling, animation and sculpting tools for 3D content, while budding movie producers can take advantage of built-in compositing, motion tracking, story art drawing and simple video editing. You might have everything you need to create a CG short film.
You’ll want to be sure that Blender can fulfill your class requirements, and you might want more focused software like Natron (an equally free compositing tool) to supplement your work. With that said, Blender’s open source code and extensible design work in its favor. It’s easy to find a bevy of free or low-cost add-ons that can meet your needs, and you can even write your own extensions if you’re comfortable with scripting. — J.F.
Some courses may need an audio editor, whether it’s to create a podcast, tweak game sound effects or finesse a song. If you’re in that boat, Audacity can sometimes do the trick. The free, open source editor gives you the essentials for capturing and editing multi-track recordings, including support for effects and plugins.
Audacity won’t replace heavy-duty digital audio workstations like Audition, Logic Pro, Pro Tools or Reason. Those offer non-destructive editing, and often include a slew of effects generators and other tools aimed at music and video production. This is a good place to learn some basics, though, and may well be all you need if a class isn’t particularly demanding. — J.F.
Paper is still a reality in the classroom, whether it comes in the form of a handout, a sketched diagram or a friend’s handwritten notes. But you won’t have to worry about how you’ll digitize them. There are a number of free document scanning apps available, and Evernote Scannable is one of the best. You just have to point your camera at documents to produce easily readable PDF and JPEG files you can share with the rest of the class. While you can sync content with Evernote (which is clearly the intended idea), it’s not required.
That said, Scannable is limited to iPads and iPhones as of this writing, so you’ll want to look to alternatives like Microsoft Lens or Adobe Scan if you prefer Android or use devices across platforms. Microsoft’s app is a particularly nice pick if you want to export scans in Office formats or convert handwritten text. Either way, you might not have to worry about lugging a binder around campus. — J.D.
Let’s be frank: you’re going to need some study music, and Spotify still provides the best free soundtrack for those lengthy learning sessions. The no-charge tier will periodically interrupt your listening with ads, but you can create playlists, follow podcasts and enjoy much of the core Spotify experience. You can stream songs on mobile and smart speakers, too, so the music won’t stop when you leave your desk.
You may still want to pay for service, as Spotify’s mobile app makes you listen to all but a handful of playlists in shuffle mode and gives you a limited number of skips per hour unless you use the desktop app. For paid users, Apple Music is the top pick in our guide to the best music streaming services: It offers higher-quality audio (if you have a good set of headphones), a generally cleaner interface and a greater emphasis on curation, with a handful of live radio stations hosted by actual people. It’s reportedly better about paying artists, too, though it’ll work best if you own an iPhone. Mercifully, Apple sells a student plan for $6 per month, the same as Spotify, so you’ll still get a nifty discount. — J.D.
There’s a distinct possibility you’ll encounter PDF documents at school, whether it’s a research paper or the class syllabus. You won’t have to pay for apps like Adobe Acrobat to edit those files, at least. PDF Candy offers a free web-based editor. You can modify PDFs, convert to and from common formats (including Word and PowerPoint), extract images and otherwise take control. This might do the job if you need to flesh out scanned class notes or extract a quote from a scientific study.
There are time and size limits for the free version (up to 500MB per task), and you should also consider the $48 yearly or $99 lifetime plans if you want faster web processing or the Windows app’s offline editing. Alternatives like Acrobat are also better if you need commenting, mobile editing and other advanced features. Still, the free web tool is difficult to beat for basic utilities. — J.F.
There’s no real way around it: If you want to keep up with the films and shows in the current zeitgeist, you need to pay for a streaming service or two. (Or utilize less scrupulous methods we can’t recommend here.) Given that new apps and price hikes seem to pop up every other week, that sucks. Still, there are a number of free services you can use to cobble together some decent entertainment on the cheap, including Amazon Freevee, Tubi, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Crackle, and Sling Freestream, among others.
All of these force you to sit through ads, most have pretty sloppy UIs and each is absolutely loaded with trash content. But think of them like the old Blockbuster bargain bin — you may have to do some digging, but every now and then you’ll find a gem. If we had to pick one, Freevee is probably the standout: Shows like Schitt’s Creek, The Good Wife and The Twilight Zone are still great, while the original mockumentary Jury Duty is one of the funniest things in recent memory. You can catch up on older seasons of The Boys — but not the latest one, natch — and the more people we can get to appreciate Columbo, the better. But it’s worth digging through the others noted above if you’re really strapped for cash and can’t hawk a login. We’ll direct you to our guide to the best live TV streaming services for more details. — J.D.
Not enough people, college students or otherwise, take full advantage of their local library. Libby is an easy way to change that. So long as you have a library card, this clean little app lets you check out ebooks, audiobooks and magazines to your phone, tablet, computer or ereader at no cost. It works across iOS, Android and web browsers, and you can sync your progress between multiple devices. You’re still at the mercy of the selection your library actually has available, and you’ll still have to finish your rentals within a set period. But if you like to read for pleasure between classes, Libby will ensure you never run out of material. — J.D.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/free-stuff-for-college-students-143051840.html?src=rss
The mining of technology nostalgia is unrelenting. Earlier this week, we had an unofficial return of the iPod, not to mention Tamagotchis and now Discman. Well, not an actual Discman, which is a Sony brand, but the portable CD player is back.
Audiophile brand FiiO has launched the DM13, a portable CD player with modern touches, like high-fidelity wireless and a built-in battery. No more AAs! The CD Player will go on sale in September for $179 (£179 in the UK). It begins shipping only in a silver finish, but FiiO says red, blue, titanium and black variants will arrive later in the year – enough time to find my folder of NOW compilation CDs.
— Mat Smith
Bangladesh is experiencing a ‘near-total’ internet shutdown amid student protests
Netflix will drop a new multiplayer game when Squid Game season 2 premieres this year
How to install the iOS 18 public beta
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Unable to get into Outlook this morning? You’re not the only one. Microsoft has also suffered an outage with its Azure services and Microsoft 365 app suite. Then, a faulty update from security giant CrowdStrike forced PCs and servers into an unrecoverable boot loop. The issue forced Delta, Frontier and other airlines to ground flights and impacted the UK’s London Stock Exchange and Sky broadcaster.
“We have widespread reports of BSODs on Windows hosts, occurring on multiple sensor versions,” CrowdStrike wrote in a pinned Reddit post. “[We have] identified a content deployment related to this issue and reverted those changes.” It’s a great Friday morning for all involved.
Apple launched public betas across all its platforms, and while you’ll have to wait for the official release in fall, lots of features are stable enough for most folks to play with. While I got to grips with everything out there on iOS 18, there was a big missing piece: Apple Intelligence.
Arguably the most interesting things Apple showed off at WWDC hinged on AI, but none of those features are available for testing yet. Read on for what we like so far.
It’s not a Pixel leak without Google following up with fewer images and less information. Following a couple of leaks on four Pixel 9 phones apparently coming up, Google revealed the camera unit on the Pixel 9 Pro, and it is chonky.
Back in 2013, Microsoft decided to create a live-action Halo television series — back when Halo was one of the biggest gaming properties in the world. It took about ten years to happen, but only two years — and series — for Paramount+ to cancel it. According to an unnamed Variety source, the show creators plan to shop the project around and search for a new home for Master Chief.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-age-of-the-retro-cd-player-is-here-111606809.html?src=rss
A massive Microsoft Windows BSOD (blue screen of death) outage has impacted multiple companies worldwide including airlines, broadcasters and others. The problem was a caused by a faulty update from security giant CrowdStrike that forced PCs and servers into an unrecoverable boot loop. The change has since been rolled back, but many machines are still affected.
“We have widespread reports of BSODs on windows hosts, occurring on multiple sensor versions,” CrowdStrike wrote in a pinned Reddit post. “[We have] identified a content deployment related to this issue and reverted those changes.” The company went on to describe a workaround, which involves booting Windows into Safe Mode and deleting a specific driver.
The issue forced Delta, Frontier and other airlines to ground flights, and impacted UK broadcaster Sky and the London Stock Exchange. On a Reddit thread, dozens of commenters stated that their companies were effectively offline due to the problem.
“Even if [CrowdStrike] fixed the issue causing the BSOD, I’m thinking how are we going to restore the thousands of devices that are not booting up,” one user noted. “Let me explain to someone who is not tech savvy and is working from home how to boot their machine into safe mode,” another wrote.
Reddit users including many IT managers from Australia, Malaysia, Japan, India, the Czech Republic and elsewhere have said they’re fighting through the issue. “Here in the Philippines, specifically in my employer, it is like Thanos snapped his fingers. Half of the entire organization [is] down due to BSOD loop. Started at 2pm and is still ongoing. What a Friday,” said one.
CrowdStrike is a US-based security firm that provides real-time protection against security threats to corporations. One of its key products is Falcon, described by the company as “providing real-time indicators of attack, hyper-accurate detection and automated protection” from threats. A CrowdStrike spokesperson said it was likely an issue with Falcon that caused the incident.
To add to the pain, Microsoft appears to have also suffered a separate outage with its Azure services and Microsoft 365 app suite. “Users may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services,” it wrote. It’s not clear which, if any, of the outages are related to this instead of the CrowdStrike problem.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/faulty-cybersecurity-update-takes-out-banks-airlines-and-other-major-companies-worldwide-085142264.html?src=rss
Google has confirmed in a teaser video that its upcoming line of smartphones includes a new foldable model. The company called the Pixel 9 Pro Fold a “foldable phone built for the Gemini era” in its promo tweet, and it even focused on its gen AI chatbot in the video. Similar to the non-foldable Pixel 9 Pro, this model also has a prominent camera bump. Its lenses are arranged vertically near one side of the phone, so the camera bump is mostly there and doesn’t take up the whole width of the folded device.
A foldable phone built for the Gemini era.
Out with the old. In with the Fold.
Learn more and sign up for #MadeByGoogle updates: https://t.co/7zTWktAvWk pic.twitter.com/UZDudLiUWB
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) July 18, 2024
While Google has yet to formally unveil the model, a previous leak, courtesy of Android Authority, has already revealed a lot of details about the upcoming Pixel 9 models. Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) uploaded galleries of each phone — Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL and 9 Pro Fold — to its archives. Some of those photos feature an unfolded 9 Pro Fold, showing how Google moved its selfie camera to the inside screen for a wider field of view. They also show that the model has a reduced fold crease on the display, which measures 250mm or just under 10 inches.
The NCC’s leak revealed that the upcoming devices need bigger chargers, as well. Their charging rates are generally faster than previous models based on the agency’s tests, though the Pixel 9 Pro Fold was the slowest of them all. We’ll be able to confirm those details when Google launches its new smartphones at the next Made by Google event that’s happening on August 13.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-confirms-the-pixel-9-pro-fold-with-a-teaser-video-030440420.html?src=rss
Bangladesh is experiencing a complete internet shutdown as its government attempts to clamp down on widespread student protests that have resulted in the deaths of at least 32 people, according to AFP. The unrest is centered around the country’s quota system that requires a third of government jobs to be reserved for relatives of veterans who had fought for Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971.
On Thursday, several thousand protestors in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, had reportedly stormed state broadcaster BTV, smashed windows and furniture and set offices on fire, trapping “many” people inside, according to a post on BTV’s official Facebook page. 17 people died on Thursday amid clashes with police, reported Al Jazeera. To control the situation, Bangladeshi authorities shut down internet and phone access throughout the country, a common practice in South Asia to prevent the spread of rumors and misinformation and exercise state control. NetBlocks, a global internet monitor that works on digital rights analyzed live network data that showed that Bangladesh was in the middle of a “near-total national internet shutdown.”
⚠️ Confirmed: Live network data show #Bangladesh is now in the midst of a near-total national internet shutdown; the new measure follows earlier efforts to throttle social media and restrict mobile data services, and comes amid reports of rising deaths at student protests 📉 pic.twitter.com/nMwwS0MDnC
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) July 18, 2024
Internet shutdowns are a popular way to crack down on conflict in countries around the world. According to internet watchdog Access Now, the number of shutdowns around the world continues to rise each year. In 2023, 39 countries collectively shutdown internet access more than 160 times for a variety of reasons including protests, exams and elections.
Bangladesh has frequently blacked out the internet to crack down on political opposition and activists. At the end of 2023, research tool CIVICUS Monitor, which provides data on the state of civil society and freedoms in nearly 200 countries, downgraded Bangladesh’s civic space to “closed,” its lowest possible rating, after the country imposed six internet shutdowns the previous year. That made Bangladesh the fifth-largest perpetrator of internet shutdowns in 2022, Access Now said.
The country’s telecom regulator had pledged to keep internet access on through Bangladesh’s general elections at the beginning of 2024, but that electoral period is now over. Despite the pledge, Bangladesh blocked access to news websites during its elections.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bangladesh-is-experiencing-a-near-total-internet-shutdown-amid-student-protests-235907085.html?src=rss
