TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have filed suit against the US government to challenge the constitutionality of a recently-signed law that the companies say will "force a shutdown of TikTok". The law technically gives the companies the option of selling or spinning off TikTok so it is no longer Chinese-owned. However ByteDance says this "is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally." This is in part because the Chinese government "has made clear that... Читать дальше...
Google has announced the Pixel 8a, this year's more-affordable Pixel model. It offers several small hardware improvements over last year's 7a, and new AI software features, but is otherwise quite similar to the 7a. The design has more rounded corners. The "Actua" display is 40% brighter and the refresh rate gets a bump from 90 to 120 Hz. There's also a new 256 GB storage option. An upgrade from a Google Tensor G2 processor to the newer G3 chip enables new software features like Best Take for group photos... Читать дальше...
TextNow, purveyor of free mobile service supported by ads, is expanding from voice and texting to free data. The new TextNow Free Essential Data offering lets customers access email (Gmail, Outlook, Exchange, etc.), navigation (Google Maps, Waze, etc.), and rideshare (Lyft, Uber) apps for free. The only charge is a one-time purchase of a SIM card for $5. Voice and texting are also free and unlimited. When customers need mobile data for other apps, they can purchase general data passes for $1/hour, $5/day, or $40/month. Читать дальше...
