The Web

Navigating the digital landscape through updates on internet trends, big tech, social media, cloud computing, streaming and more.

YouTube at 20: The Video-Sharing Site That Conquered the Internet

FEATURE By Alex Connock, April 24, 2025, 11:51 PM TechSpot The Web

YouTube is now 20, from scrappy startup to $450 billion media giant. Once an afterthought in digital TV debates, it now rivals Netflix, fuels billion-dollar creators, and reshapes entertainment.

Software The Web

Google Chrome abandons plans to phase out third-party cookies

Google's u-turn leaves digital advertising industry in limbo

By Skye Jacobs, April 23, 2025, 12:03 PM 9 comments

Google The Web

OpenAI wants to buy Chrome if Google is forced to sell

The big picture: If Google really is forced to sell Chrome – as proposed by the DOJ after the company was ruled a monopoly in its antitrust trial – OpenAI could emerge as a potential buyer. The ChatGPT maker has admitted it's interested in acquiring the world's most popular browser and turning it into an "AI-first" experience.

Full story By Rob Thubron, April 23, 2025, 10:28 AM 8 comments

Industry Apple

Apple and Meta hit with combined $797 million fine for violating EU's DMA antitrust rules

Fines follow Trump's warning of retaliation against nations targeting american companies

By Rob Thubron, April 23, 2025, 7:42 AM 20 comments

Security The Web

AI is enabling cybercriminals to act quickly - and with little technical knowledge, Microsoft warns

Fake stores, deepfakes, and chatbots: AI fuels new wave of scams

By Rob Thubron, April 22, 2025, 9:29 AM

Trivia The Web

Guess who said this in 2004: "Two years from now, (email) spam will be solved"

Who was the tech exec that made this overconfident claim 20 years ago?

By TechSpot Trivia, April 21, 2025, 3:04 PM

Tech Culture The Web

New Star Wars movie starring Ryan Gosling set for 2027, Lucasfilm confirms

Star Wars: Starfighter takes place 5 years after The Rise of Skywalker

By Kishalaya Kundu, April 21, 2025, 10:48 AM 28 comments

The Web AI

ChatGPT gets scarily good at guessing photo locations, sparking doxxing concerns

Simple photos could reveal real-world locations

By Rob Thubron, April 21, 2025, 7:16 AM 11 comments

The Web Hardware

HP agrees to $4 million settlement over inflated PC prices on its website

Similar lawsuits have been filed against other major retailers

By Skye Jacobs, April 18, 2025, 11:36 AM

The Web Google

Judge rules Google built illegal ad monopoly, DOJ threatens another breakup

"We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half" says Google

By Daniel Sims and Julio Franco, April 18, 2025, 10:52 AM 11 comments

Google The Web

Google offers free Gemini AI tools and 2TB storage to US college students

AI companies are fiercely competing to win over the highly sought-after student userbase

By Skye Jacobs, April 18, 2025, 8:08 AM

Security The Web

Discord begins experimenting with face scanning for age verification

The test is limited to the UK and Australia where limitation to online platforms is pretty strict already

By Alfonso Maruccia, April 17, 2025, 12:50 PM 10 comments

Security The Web

EU provides burner phones to officials traveling to US amid espionage concerns

Washington isn't Beijing, but you can never be too careful

By Shawn Knight, April 16, 2025, 1:26 PM 46 comments

The Web AI

OpenAI is quietly working on a social network similar to Twitter, powered by ChatGPT

One goal of OpenAI's prototype is to gather real-time user data

By Skye Jacobs, April 16, 2025, 8:29 AM

Security The Web

New Chrome update to fix a long-standing bug in user privacy for visited links

The problem has plagued the web for 20 years

By Alfonso Maruccia, April 15, 2025, 1:58 PM

The Web Software

Mark Zuckerberg considered deleting everyone's Facebook friends in 2022, admits platform's focus has shifted

"The 'friend' part has gone down quite a bit"

By Rob Thubron, April 15, 2025, 8:41 AM 17 comments

The Web Mobile

Google Chrome update for Android expands on-screen space for websites

But Google is going to introduce compatibility issues on its mobile OS, again

By Alfonso Maruccia, April 14, 2025, 9:01 AM

The Web Software

Netflix is testing AI search powered by OpenAI

Search for titles based on your mood

By Rob Thubron, April 14, 2025, 7:43 AM

The Web Industry

Four years in, Meta has burned through $45 billion chasing its metaverse dream

Internal chaos, unqualified leadership, and lack of a clear plan has allegedly contributed to losses

By Zo Ahmed, April 13, 2025, 1:26 PM 40 comments

AI The Web

ChatGPT nears one billion users as Ghibli-style AI images double weekly actives

ChatGPT was the world's most downloaded app in March

By Rob Thubron, April 13, 2025, 8:04 AM 9 comments

Gaming The Web

PC gamers report hackers have taken over Star Wars Battlefront II

Battlefront II multiplayer modes are unplayable, EA silent on fix

By Daniel Sims, April 12, 2025, 2:24 PM 9 comments

The Web AI

Sophisticated bot uses OpenAI to bypass filters, flooding over 80,000 websites with spam

AkiraBot exploits contact forms and live chat widgets with "personalized" messages

By Skye Jacobs, April 12, 2025, 12:17 PM

The Web Security

Whistleblower tells Congress Facebook worked with China on censorship and data access

"It's been happening for years, covered up by lies, and continues to this day"

By Skye Jacobs, April 12, 2025, 8:46 AM 17 comments

Security The Web

Researcher uncovers network of risky Chrome extensions with over 4 million installs

Many ironically promise to scan Chrome for sketchy browser extensions

By Cal Jeffrey, April 11, 2025, 3:03 PM

Software Microsoft

Microsoft says Edge 134 is up to 9% faster with real-world performance boosts

New features include an AI-powered scareware blocker

By Kishalaya Kundu, April 11, 2025, 10:36 AM 11 comments