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Recent updates to Microsoft Edge have sealed the browser deal
It’s not even on my current desktop. After more than a decade of using what is inarguably the world’s most popular web browser, Google’s Chrome doesn’t even have a spot on my taskbar. I switched to Microsoft Edge and I’m not looking back.
What started as a flirtation with Microsoft’s Edge browser and its meme-inducing name has turned into a rock-solid relationship, one that solidified when Microsoft swapped its proprietary engine for Chromium.
The truth is, I’d been looking for years to get out of what I considered a demanding browser relationship. Google’s Chrome is smart, compliant with virtually every…
Tech Shortcuts for Life
Scan anything with the Google Drive app — if you use Android
Tech Shortcuts for Life is a weekly column from Thomas Smith on Debugger exploring the apps, automations, gadgets, and other tech tricks that can make your life more efficient.
I own a photography agency that digitizes historical archives. In my home office alone, I have $9,850 worth of scanners and other digitization equipment. Yet none of this high-end equipment ever allowed me to go paperless. Instead, it was a free app from Google that finally got me there.
If you use Google Drive to organize your digital documents (or your entire life), you already know how glorious it is. You…
And here’s how you can do it too
As a superuser of Google goods and services, the last few months, like 2020 in general, has had me rethink how I approach my digital life. Of all the things I use my smartphones for, music and photos are near the top of that list. I’ve had a system that works, and recent changes by Google have forced me to reevaluate my options.
Requiem for Google Play Music
Back in 2013, Google introduced Google Play Music, a music streaming service with an incredibly ample library at launch. It also had an awesome trick up its sleeve in the form of a cloud music locker where…
Behold, a digital assistant you’ll actually use
At Google’s annual September hardware event Wednesday, the company took the wraps off its latest phone, the Pixel 5. The changes are what you might expect: a few extra new features and hardware tweaks that improve upon last year’s device, but amount to an iterative update.
What stood out more than the Pixel hardware itself were software changes that make the device helpful in meaningful new ways that you’ll actually notice. Case in point: an update to Google Assistant called “Hold for Me.” When you call a business and get put on hold, the feature allows you to toggle an…
It’s been a surprisingly long journey to this point
In 2010, Google announced Google TV, an online streaming service that promised to change the way we interact with our TVs. Instead of using a clunky old remote control, users would be able to search for shows with a keyboard or whatever this “10,000-button nightmare” was. They didn’t catch on. When Google launched the Chromecast hardware three years later, it skipped the remote entirely, and users had to control the device through their phones.
But at a hardware launch event on Wednesday, Google evidently decided to throw in the towel on its control gimmicks, announcing a new model of the…
Google and Facebook’s ad business might not survive Amazon
Google has long been known to monitor basically everything you do, and use the data it gleans to target banner and search ads. Facebook integrates ads into users’ news feeds, Groups, and other parts of the platform, which recently landed the company in hot water for running ads next to hate speech.
But there’s a relatively new, rapidly growing player in the online advertising world: Amazon. The company’s advertising revenue has grown from almost nothing a few years ago to over $10 billion in late 2020. Revenue is expected to quadruple by 2023. …
Here’s what happened
For many years, Google Adsense has provided a platform for anyone to purchase ad space for their business or service. These ads can live almost anywhere on the internet, from a personal blog to a YouTube video. For the most part, it is an efficient system for creators to monetize their work as well as businesses to market themselves. However, with any automated system at this great size, some weird things can fall through the cracks.
