Platform Executive

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Google has released an emergency patch for the Chrome browser Google is urging all users of its popular Chrome web browser to update their installations as soon as possible. The emergency update comes just days after the Mountain View, California-based tech titan released the regular monthly security update for the Chrome web browser. The previous update patched a total of 78 security issues in the web browser including high and medium severity issues. The update brings the Stable release version of the browser to 99.0.4844.84. The update is already available for all supported desktop systems and Google notes that it will roll out automatically to all devices "over the coming days/weeks". "Google is aware that an exploit for CVE-2022-1096 exists in the wild," the browser vendor said in an advisory post published on its blog on Friday . The update fixes a single security issue

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Epic Games pledges humanitarian aid for Ukraine Epic Games, which is one of the biggest video games producers in the world has pledged its support to the people of war-torn Ukraine. From the 20th of March through to the 3rd of April, the North Carolina-based games industry player will commit proceeds from its ultra popular title “Fortnite” to humanitarian aid for those impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Epic posted a message about its efforts across its social media on Twitter , Instagram and Facebook . The company plans to support Direct Relief, the UN's Children Fund, its World Food Programme and the UNHCR. In an article posted to its website , the company said "Xbox is joining us in this effort and is committing their net proceeds for Fortnite during this time, so that we can get more aid to the people of Ukraine." “We’re not waiting for the actual funds to come in from

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Android has a brand new taskbar and multi-window function Google’s Android OS was originally designed for smartphones, but eventually found its way to tablets and notable other devices such as Smart TV's and e-readers. The Mountain View, California-based initially positioning Chrome OS as its operating system for laptops such as Chromebooks… but it seems that a new version of Android could be about to change that. A recent look at a beta version of Android 13 has all but confirmed the rumours that had been doing the rounds for the past few months. It seems that Google has started to look into ways of positioning Android on larger screen devices, such as desktop and laptop pc's. For example, the recent Android 12L update added a taskbar and updated layouts for tablet devices and it now appears that the next major release of Android (Android 13) is continuing the trend with a new interface twe

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Microsoft looking to bring advertising into more of its software? It seems Microsoft is getting ready to integrate advertising into more of its products. Some Microsoft power users have noticed an advert in the latest iteration of Windows 11 File Explorer, available last week. The advert is said to promote other in-house products, notably Microsoft Editor. Still, the bigger story here is the fact that ads are being injected into the File Explorer in the first place. The Washington state-based tech titan has had various advertising platforms over the last two decades, with varying degrees of success, but its latest platform seems to be gaining traction over the past few years, as the ROI for clients has been good. Better than many other programmatic advertising networks, where the CPC (cost per click), or CPM (cost per mille) is unacceptably high. Along with its platform, Microsoft has often used cr

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Microsoft looking to bring advertising into more of its software? It seems Microsoft is getting ready to integrate advertising into more of its products. Some Microsoft power users have noticed an advert in the latest iteration of Windows 11 File Explorer, available last week. The advert is said to promote other in-house products, notably Microsoft Editor. Still, the bigger story here is the fact that ads are being injected into the File Explorer in the first place. The Washington state-based tech titan has had various advertising platforms over the last two decades, with varying degrees of success, but its latest platform seems to be gaining traction over the past few years, as the ROI for clients has been good. Better than many other programmatic advertising networks, where the CPC (cost per click), or CPM (cost per mille) is unacceptably high. Along with its platform, Microsoft has often used cr

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Reggie Fils-Aimé is not a fan of Facebook’s metaverse The future potential of the Metaverse, which could best be summarised as a new iteration of Second Life, is a subject that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has identified as a defining opportunity for his company. With much talk of the 'Metaverse' within boardrooms across silicon valley, Zuckerberg become the first notable player to make a formal move and thus created an outline of what the next iterations of the social media giant will look like. To reinforce the move, he renamed Facebook, Meta Platforms . Over the last weekend at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, the former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé talked to Bloomberg reporter Emily Chang about disruption in the entertainment sector. During the discussion, he was asked about his thoughts on the subject. He didn't hold back. Whilst Reggie Fils-Aimé believes cert

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: New Google Messages functionality and features announced Google has just announced a slew of new features that are either coming to coming to Google Messages, or already launched and available to some users. In a blogpost announcing the features, the Mountain View-based company had a dig at its main competitor in the smartphone OS sector, Apple by saying, “when people with Android phones and iPhones message each other, not everything works the way it should. That’s because these conversations rely on SMS, an outdated messaging standard, instead of RCS, a modern, more secure industry-standard Android uses that enables high-quality videos, emoji reactions, end-to-end encryption.” Upon reviewing the functionality announced, the trend seems to be towards building interoperability and synergy between iOS and Android. For example, 'likes' and other reactions sent from one persons iPhone will now

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: File Explorer tabs to return in Windows 11? Over the years, power users of the Windows OS have long asked the Washington state-based tech titan to improve the File Explorer interface, prompting several to create concepts that show what a new version of the interface could look like. Now, to increase the hopes of the community for its return, a recent preview of a build suggests Microsoft Corp is exploring the potential to add tabs to File Explorer. Over the past few iterations, Microsoft has been adding, editing, and in some cases experimenting with aspects of the Windows GUI. The potential return of File Explorer tabs could be part of this ongoing strategy. SEE IF IT STICKS According to a leak by Rafael Rivera, a well known developer in the community, the File Explorer tabs will be returning the next major release of the operating system, Windows 11. However, some of the most prominent testers

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Liquid Funds vs Fixed Deposits If there’s any investment avenue that has been popular for ages, it’s a fixed deposit. There are many reasons behind the inevitable inclination towards this asset class. Risk-free returns, comparatively better returns than the saving deposits, flexible tenor, are some of the benefits of the fixed deposit. This investment avenue follows another popular asset class that’s considered as a better option for investors, i.e., liquid funds. Just like the fixed deposit , liquid funds do have a set of benefits that adds value to the investment made by the investor. As the name says, they are highly liquid, can redeem the funds in T+1-day, generate substantial returns, and have no lock-in period. Though fixed deposits and liquid funds are secured investment options for investors, both of them have plenty of differences too. You can also refer to the SWOT analysis of investment

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Leading platform players reject Russian aggression, stop sales there Game publishers such as Epic Games, Ubisoft, Take-Two and Activision-Blizzard are joining the boycott of Russia by pausing the sale of games in the country. As the pressure from economic sanctions against Russia increases, companies from across the platform economy are joining a vociferous global protest against the invasion of Ukraine. Some of these companies provide vital services, especially within the tech, hi-tech and consumer markets. Last Friday, Microsoft announced that it would stop sales of its new products in Russia as the invasion by Russia of the sovereign state of Ukraine continued. On the same day, Meta Platforms stopped Russian state media from running ads on its platform. Meanwhile, Google barred Russia's state-owned media channels from receiving ad revenue. Apple also announced that it would stop online sa

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Samsung Electronics becomes latest victim of ransomware group Notorious hacking group Lapsus$, which recently threatened to leak source code belonging to Nvidia , has now leaked a massive collection of data from Samsung Electronics. According to tech news and support website Bleeping Computer , Lapsu$ has split the 190GB of leaked data into three files and made them available to download in a torrent. The data leak includes confidential files such as employee communications via WhatsApp, poll results and other information from within the company. At present, it is not known how the hackers obtained the data, or what their motives are. The South Korea-based tech giant is the latest in a long line of companies to be targeted by Lapsus$. As per a description of the leak published by Lapsus$, the archive contains “confidential Samsung source code,” including: Biometric algorithms Source code for eve

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: WhatsApp to launch new group polling functionality WhatsApp is reportedly working on new functionality that will allow its users to create polls in group chats. According to a report by the WhatsApp watchers over at WBI , WhatsApp has submitted a new beta update for its App Store app. The update reveals WhatsApp is reportedly working on a feature that will allow users to create polls in group chats. According to a new report by the website, WhatsApp has submitted a new beta update for its App Store app. The beta update reveals that the Meta-owned messaging platform is developing a group polls feature. At present, group polls are available in other messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, Telegram and others. It has been seen as a strategic weakness for WhatsApp not to have this feature. HOW WILL IT WORK? The report says that WhatsApp users will be able to create a poll for group chats. They will t

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Twitch seeks to ban creators that share ‘misinformation’ on the Internet The move by Amazon.com-owned video streamer Twitch comes as other platform players are also seeking to crackdown on the spread of propaganda and fake news from Russian media outlets. Twitch says it will ban creators and users who share 'misinformation' on or off its platform under new rules. The policy covers lies about COVID-19 vaccines and election fraud, as well as conspiracy theories. It sees these primarily as precautionary measures. For the platform to take action under these rules, channels must meet several criteria, Twitch has just updated its misinformation policies and says it will ban those who frequently share falsehoods. Under the new rules, the platform will block who it and its partners decide are “harmful misinformation super spreaders who persistently share misinformation on or off of Twitch”. “Ever

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: TikTok rolls out support for 10-minute videos, challenges YouTube TikTok, the viral platform that became wildly popular because of its once ubiquitous short-video model, is now allowing a select number of creators to upload videos up to 10-minute long. “We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience,” said a TikTok spokesperson in a statement to tech news publication The Verge . “Last year, we introduced longer videos, giving our community more time to create and be entertained on TikTok. Today, we’re excited to start rolling out the ability to upload videos that are up to 10 minutes, which we hope would unleash even more creative possibilities for our creators around the world.” By adding support for longer videos, TikTok just responded to Google's YouTube , which recently incorporated short videos (YouTube Shorts) to its platform to capi

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Google’s Pixel smartphones get Fast Emergency Dialler Google is rolling out the new fast emergency dialler to its Pixel smartphone models. With the feature, you’ll be able to access local contact information for police, fire, and medical services quickly. The Mountain View-based company explained the new feature on a Support page. The company says, “You can quickly dial emergency services while on your phone, even when it’s locked.” That’s useful for when you’re home, but the feature also works when you’re traveling, as it finds emergency numbers automatically based on your location. In the majority of western nations, people are accustomed to dialling 911 (in the US), or 999 (for the UK) being the number of emergencies, but as you travel around the world, that number isn’t always the same. If you’re in an emergency, the last thing you want to do is waste time trying to figure out what number to cal

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Instagram utilizes AI in captions to make videos more accessible Meta Platforms-owned Instagram has introduced automatic captions to videos in an ongoing effort to make content on its platform more accessible. Starting today, automatic captions will be turned on by default, though users can still opt to turn the feature off. The feature is similar to TikTok’s auto-generated caption functionality, which was introduced to the platform last April. “It’s a long time coming, but we’re excited to share a new tool that empowers those in the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. Videos on Instagram will now have auto-generated captions, where you have the option to turn them off or on" Instagram's Chief Executive Officer Adam Mosseri wrote on social media platform Twitter . Previously, users would have to add captions to their content in the editing phase to make it accessible to Deaf users and h

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Advocacy group to challenge the iOS browser status quo Apple is being challenged by a group of developers to end WebKit's dominance and allow other browser engines on the tech titans iPhone and iPad devices, following accusations that the current situation amounts to anti-competitive conduct. For those unfamiliar with WebKit, Apple's browser engine powers Safari and other areas of the operating system where web content is displayed. Apple requires all third-party browser apps on its mobile devices to use WebKit, but many browser developers are not happy with the limitations this causes. The latest pushback comes in the form of "Open Web Advocacy" or OWA, a project launched by British software developers who want third-party access to all the features that Safari enjoys. "The motive of the group is to try to persuade Apple that they need to allow other browser engines on iOS,

The full version of this article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Epic Games continues acquisition spree by acquiring Bandcamp Epic Games is continuing its habit of buying innovative creator-friendly companies. The US-based video game giant has announced plans to acquire the online music platform Bandcamp. Founded back in 2007 by Ethan Diamond, Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, Bandcamp is a well-loved service that allows artists and musicians to sell their music directly to fans. The company has said that it will continue to operate independently post-acquisition, and that its team and mission will remain unchanged. This move is just the latest in a long string of acquisitions for Epic Games . In the past few years, they've bought up companies like Psyonix (makers of Rocket League), Kamu (a game security provider) and most recently, Houseparty (a viral social media app). Epic Games' had this to say about the acquisition: ""an importan