Internet & Websites - Page 2

Google is planning on removing one of the most popular ad blockers available on Chrome, as the company informs users who now attempt to download it that it "may soon no longer be supported."

That ad blocker is uBlock Origin, and according to reports Google has been informing ad blockers such as uBlock that it will be severing support for them after it rolled out the Chrome Manifest V3 extension update. uBlock appears to be included in that as BleepingComputer reports Google's Chrome Web Store is now warning users uBlock may soon be removed "because it doesn't follow best practises for Chrome extensions." Additionally, Google's support bulletin cited user privacy and security as one of the reasons why uBlock is being removed.

BleepingComputer reports that uBlock Origin is not invasive or insecure and that Google's mention of privacy and security has to do with its deprecation of the Manifest V2 extension in favor of Manifest V3. Google's introduction of Manifest V3 ruffled the feathers of extension developers as V3 presented technical challenges, particularly with those such as ad blockers that require greater control over web browsers.

The exponential growth fueled by the demand for even more sophisticated artificial intelligence-powered models has resulted in supporting technologies getting an upgrade as well.

One of those sectors is networking, as these AI models need consistent, low-latency communication capabilities, fast data transfer speeds, and programmable features. AMD has unveiled a new solution to this growing problem, and it's called the Pensando Pollara 400. This fully programmable Ethernet-ready network interface card (NIC) is capable of pushing 400 Gbps and is specifically designed for AI cluster networking, which predominantly comes in the form of large-scale large language models (LLMs).

Unfortunately, the expansive, power-hungry nature of AI systems is outpacing the developments of Ethernet, meaning manufacturers are now turning to AI-tailored networking solutions such as the Pensando Pollara 400. According to AMD, its new NIC is designed around GPU-to-GPU communication and is tailored for data transfer within AI networks. Moreover, AMD believes its Pensando Pollara 400 will be capable of providing buyers with up to sixfold performance boost for AI workloads.

Streaming services have become an essential part of how we consume entertainment. Whether it's catching the latest episode of your favorite TV show, binging on an entire season in a weekend, or listening to music on demand, subscriptions power much of our everyday digital activities. From Netflix and Hulu to Spotify and Apple Music, these services offer unparalleled convenience and endless options.

It's not just entertainment either - news outlets, fitness apps, software, and even grocery deliveries have entered the subscription model. At first, it seemed like an exciting way to get everything you wanted, whenever you wanted it. But for many people, what began as a handful of convenient services has snowballed into a mountain of subscriptions. With the average person juggling multiple streaming platforms, productivity tools, and other recurring payments, it's no wonder people are starting to feel the weight of this overload.

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of subscription services you're paying for - or maybe even forgot you were subscribed to some - you're not alone. This phenomenon, known as subscription fatigue, is increasingly common as people manage more and more digital services.

The latest study from the CTIA - The Wireless Association, a non-profit trade organization that represents the wireless communications industry, found wireless data usage across the United States increased the most it ever has in a single year in 2023.

The association published its 2024 Annual Wireless Industry Survey, which states Americans consumed an astonishing 100 trillion megabytes of wireless data throughout 2023, which is 100 billion gigabytes for those who don't want to manually do the conversion. The CTIA states in its survey that last year was the single largest increase it has seen in wireless data usage over a year, with Americans consuming 36% more data compared to the year prior, and nearly double the data in 2021.

The CTIA also found there was a sharp increase in the number of devices that are 5G compatible, which the association attributes to the skyrocketing rise in wireless data usage. According to the survey, nearly 40% of all wireless devices had a 5G connection in 2023, an increase of 34% compared to 2022. In total, there are 558 million wireless connections in the US, which means for every single American, there are 1.6 wireless connections. How? Wireless connections can count for devices such as smartphones, watches, tablets, etc

Google Search is about to get a fantastic improvement through a new partnership between Google and The Internet Archive, a non-profit research library that preserves large portions of the Internet for future accessibility.

The new partnership announced via an Internet Archive Blog explains that Google Search will now list archived versions of web pages with a simple link to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. A user can access this feature by performing a normal Google Search, navigating to a link and the three dots located next to the link, and selecting the "More About This Page" option. After selecting this option, a user will be presented with a Wayback Machine link that showcases previous versions of a webpage.

The new feature will be available starting today, and it will, at its most fundamental, add historical context to webpages, enabling more thorough research to be conducted on topics and, ultimately, Google Search results to be more valuable. The Internet Archive celebrated the new integration, writing the new partnership "underscores the importance of web archiving."

Technology has evolved at a breakneck pace over the past few decades, transforming from clunky computers to powerful smartphones and from basic internet connections to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and smart devices. For older generations, like Baby Boomers, the analog world was the norm for most of their lives, with rotary phones, snail mail, and typewriters shaping their daily routines. Meanwhile, Millennials grew up during the tech boom, embracing new tools like email, instant messaging, and social media with ease.

The shift toward a hyper-connected, digital world has been more natural for Millennials, who saw the birth of smartphones, Wi-Fi, and social media in their formative years. In contrast, Baby Boomers, who had to adapt later in life, often find technology more daunting. Despite this gap, both generations are now fully immersed in the digital landscape, but their comfort levels and usage patterns reveal some striking differences.

A recent survey from ExpressVPN sheds light on the vast generational gap in tech familiarity. The survey, which included respondents from the U.S., UK, France, Spain, and Italy, reveals that while Millennials generally have a solid grasp of technology, Baby Boomers struggle to keep up.

It's nearly impossible to imagine life without digital devices in today's day and age. From smartphones to laptops, screens are integral to how we work, play, and communicate. But as our digital lives expand, a growing number of people are advocating for something different: digital minimalism. This trend, which focuses on reducing screen time and being more intentional with technology use, is gaining traction worldwide. Yet, despite its benefits, cutting back on screen time is often easier said than done. Let's explore why.

Digital minimalism, a term popularized by author Cal Newport in his book "Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World," is all about simplifying our digital lives. The core idea is to use technology in ways that enhance our well-being rather than detract from it. Digital minimalists advocate for decluttering our digital spaces, limiting screen time, and focusing on activities that genuinely enrich our lives.

This philosophy is becoming more popular as people seek to reclaim their time and mental space from the constant demands of digital devices. The ever-present notifications, the pressure to be always available, and the endless scrolling can lead to stress, anxiety, and a sense of being overwhelmed. As a result, more individuals are choosing to prioritize meaningful, offline experiences over digital ones.

Titan's Hypercasket is described as the world's toughest casket, with a design inspired by the Tesla Cybertruck. Yes, you read that correctly - the Hypercasket is a coffin with a design reminiscent of the Cybertruck. As far as Cybertruck products go, this will probably be the strangest we've encountered.

The similarities are so close that the Hypercasket product page carries a disclaimer that states it's "an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or in any way connected to Tesla, Inc., or Elon Musk." Adding, "Any similarities in design elements are for creative expression and do not imply any association or partnership."

Built from 12 gauge steel, it's apparently three times thicker than a standard casket and 'impact resistant' - not that you'd need a casket to stop bullets. As grim as the concept is, there's a definite sense of fun surrounding Hypercasket's marketing and design. Titan Casket's Creative Director, Elan Gale, says that part of the goal with the Hypercasket and the company is to "normalize conversations about death."

Lawmakers will soon be voting on the implementation of an internet "kill switch," which will bolster the nation's effort to enhance digital security.

The lawmakers pushing the new legislation are from Malaysia, and according to a recent statement from Minister Azalina Othman Said, the proposal contains provisions that are designed for the "the procedure and enforcement of the kill switch." Said didn't specify the powers of the kill switch and what it was linked to, or in this case would be used to block, nor did the minister elaborate on the circumstances when such a technology would be used.

Said did take a jab at social media platforms for what the minister considers a lack of responsibility for the crimes that are committed on their platforms. Said stated the Malaysian government wants social media platforms to do more to prevent crimes such as fraud, child sexual abuse material, sexual harassment, and solicitation, along with bullying.

If you don't use Google as your search engine, then you won't get the full benefit of the experience of Redditors when it comes to search results.

This is due to a new agreement between Google and Reddit, and it means that Bing, and other search rivals, will no longer get to plug into Reddit and flag up useful posts on the platform as answers to search queries - or at least not recent posts. Only older content (like 2+ years old, from what we can tell via Bing) will be surfaced from Reddit when using any search engine save for Google, according to a report from The Verge.

It's an important move, because Reddit is a useful source of tips and advice, plus, shall we say, lively debate (mind you - where on the web isn't, these days, when it comes to the latter).

Google has announced that it will no longer continue with its plan to completely phase out third-party cookies on its Chrome browser and will instead take a more user-friendly approach.

Google's Privacy Sandbox VP Anthony Chavez wrote the announcement and explained Google has received concerns from developers, privacy advocates, regulators, publishers, and others about the removal of third-party cookies. Google has heard this feedback and has come up with a new plan that won't include the complete removal of third-party cookies, which allows companies to serve targeted advertisements to users based on the activity of the user around other parts of the internet.

Notably, Google said back in 2020 that it was working toward blocking all third-party cookies in 2024, and the company even tested the removal in January when 1% of Chrome users had all third-party cookies blocked. The concerns from regulators come from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, which is likely concerned Google will favor its own profits in advertisements if third-party cookies are blocked.

NATO is preparing most of its undersea internet cables in case of an attack. If communication systems are attacked through hostile actions like a terrorist attack, they'll automatically reroute subsea internet and data traffic to satellites.

Most regular people think internet communications are mostly done through satellite, but it's mostly transmitted through undersea cables, which has forced researchers from the US, Iceland, Sweden, and Switzerland are working with NATO to build a system that would automatically reroute internet data and traffic from subsea cables, to satellite communications if they were attacked.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Science for Peace and Security Programme has approved a grant of up to $433,600 for the $2.5 million project, with research institutions providing in-kind contributions, reporting Bloomberg. Eyup Kuntay Turmus is an advisor and program manager at the NATO program, confirmed the project was recently approved, and told Bloomberg by email that the project will start "very soon".

ISPs or Internet Service Providers are generally not the biggest fans of Torrent traffic on their networks. Popular peer-to-peer traffic accounts for a large percentage of all web traffic, with most Torrents relating to pirated copies of media - games, movies, music, and TV shows. Several ISPs worldwide have resorted to things like throttling or outright blocking specific port traffic to combat the nonstop flow of peer-to-peer data.

That's not the case for South Korean ISP KT, which created a new division to interfere with customer data transfers and distribute malware. Yes, an ISP deliberately infected 600,000 of its customers. KT Corporation is one of the largest telecommunication companies in the country, and this was only discovered after a lengthy investigation that began in 2020.

Webhard, a popular Korean cloud service and BitTorrent peer-to-peer file-sharing provider thought it was dealing with malicious hacking attempts when users began reporting issues. However, upon closer inspection, Webhard noticed that all affected users were KT customers.

The Internet Archive is an invaluable resource, a digital library for the planet that gives people free access to digitized books, magazines, software, music, and even websites (thanks to the Wayback Machine). It preserves humanity's collected works for current and future generations.

However, thanks to a recent US court decision that ruled in favor of major publishers in a copyright infringement lawsuit, over 500,000 of half a million books are being removed from the Internet Archive's Open Library project. The organization is appealing the decision, but the books cover the works of publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, and Wiley - the big boys.

So, many known books are unavailable in the Open Library. The good news is that the verdict doesn't affect the Internet Archive's accessibility program, so the affected books are still available for those with print disabilities.

AMD partnered with Vindral to show off some incredible 8K 10-bit HDR live streaming technologies on its Alveo hardware, with ultra-low latencies and all viewers in sync at the NAB Show 2024 in Las Vegas.

The companies noted that the AV1-powered 8K 10-bit HDR quality live streaming tier, with ultra-low latency and all viewers in sync. The demo at the NAB Show 2024 was running as a full on-premise setup of the Vindral CDN, located locally at NAB in Las Vegas, powered by an Alveo MA35D from AMD.

The two companies have been "working closely" to make a viable implementation, quality-secured, and scalable. Daniel Alinder, CEO at Vindral, said: "After our AV1 initiative, the next obvious step was to look to the next frontier. And that's 8K. Not many devices can display it yet, nor can they decode the video, but as a brand aimed to be ahead of the curve it is an important step for us".

An April Fools' gag can be amusing, cringeworthy, miss the mark, or fall flat in that 'meh' way. In the case of the popular social, chat, and online community platform Discord, its little April Fools was seen by 17% of the world's total population in 24 hours.

Discord's April Fools' gag is a simple joke: a short clip announcing that Loot Boxes are coming to Discord - a funny enough gag that would have been funnier during the height of videogame Loot Boxes, around 2017. You can watch it above.

So, how did this video get 1.4 billion (that's right, billion) views on YouTube, making it one of the most popular videos ever? A figure that makes the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer we all watched in December look like a clip from a niche channel that posts the odd instructional video on how to, I don't know, untangle headphone cables? Apparently, it was a software error.

A class-action lawsuit launched against Google is forcing the company to promise to delete all of the data it collected through its Incognito web browser.

The lawsuit was filed back in 2020 and required Google to pay $5 billion in damages, but according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Google has decided to instead destroy "billions of data points" it improperly collected. Additionally, the company has said it will update its data collection disclosures and maintain a setting that prevents Chrome's third-party cookies by default for the next five years.

The lawsuit alleged that Google misled Chrome users by telling them its Incognito browser was private despite it still monitoring user activity, which Google pushed back on, saying it informed users that Incognito didn't mean "invisible" and that sites were still able to see their activity. The lawsuit levied federal wiretapping and California privacy laws and asked for $5,000 in damages per user for the alleged offenses. In 2021, Judge Lucy Koh concluded that Google "did not notify" users that the company was still collecting user data in Incognito mode.

For many people around the world home internet connection speeds are a problem, but scientists now believe they can solve this issue and it all has to do with a new chip design.

It's likely that people have put together that Wi-Fi connections slow down when there is more devices connected to that specific network, and this same principle applies for even larger networks such as ones provided by cell towers. An example of this is terrible connection speeds, or a lack of connection at sporting events. These rudimentarily called wireless traffic jams, but now researchers have an idea of solving it.

Typical Wi-Fi networks are powered by a "planar" processor, which produces signals at a flat or two-dimensional range. Due to these signals being emitted in a flat range there is a limited number of frequencies, or connections that can pair with the network at any given moment. To solve this researchers have proposed creating a 3D Wi-Fi chip that would enable the hardware to handle multiple frequencies at the same time, significantly reducing the congestion on the network, thus increasing speed.

How many hours did you spend online this year, huh? According to data analyst group Domo, users spent an absolutely astonishing 1,300,000,000,000 -- or 1.3 trillion -- hours online in 2023 alone... and the year isn't even finished yet.

The statistics are eye-opening, users sent a massive 241 million emails per minute this year, up from 231.4 million in 2022, while people Google searched at 6.3 million queries per minute, which is a 6.7% increase year-over-year.

Domo founder and CEO Josh James explains: "This year's findings reflect the ever-changing and fast-paced digital landscape, which has only been heightened by the rapid popularity of AI models such as ChatGPT. Data drives everything we do, from a quick search online or sending an email to checking the latest headlines on our way to work".

Netflix has been playing around with its ad-supported plan for 12 months now, taking in a considerable amount of feedback from users and its partnership with Microsoft Advertising, and its continuing to evolve the ad-supported tier with downloads in the coming days.

The streaming giant published a new article explaining its last year in Netflix ads, where it's pointed out that it's enhanced the member experience with upgraded features within their ads plans to include 1080p versus 720p video quality, two concurrent streams, and now downloads will be available "by the end of this week".

Netflix says that every member of their ad-supported plan will be able to download their favorite TV shows and movies, which will make Netflix the first -- and only -- ad-supported streamer to offer downloads. On top of that, the streaming company explained that starting in Q1 2024, their advertisers across the planet will be using their new binge ad (wt) format that has been analyzing the behavior of watching multiple episodes in a row. We'll see streamers enjoying 4 episodes in a row without ads versus the 3 in a row after which you're presented with an ad. That changes in the coming months.