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AppWizard
December 24, 2024
The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, along with Roskomnadzor, is considering imposing restrictions on voice calls made through messaging applications due to a rise in fraudulent activities. Two scenarios being evaluated include blocking voice traffic from abroad and a complete ban on voice calls within these apps. Roskomnadzor has acknowledged its authority to restrict such calls if they violate Russian law but the Ministry has stated it is not currently drafting regulations for this purpose. Fraudulent calls via messaging apps have surged to about 40% of total traffic, up from 1% three years ago. MegaFon, Russia's second-largest mobile operator, has stated it lacks the technical capabilities to analyze calls from these apps and suggests that additional software on users' smartphones is the only effective way to mitigate fraudulent calls.
TrendTechie
December 23, 2024
Crimea has been discussed as a potential hub for computer piracy, particularly after the imposition of sanctions in 2022, which created opportunities for a resurgence in digital piracy. Experts suggest that lifting sanctions might lead to a decline in piracy as the region could shift towards legitimate digital content distribution. In 2018, Yatsenko, the Minister of Information for the Donetsk People's Republic, proposed creating a digital ecosystem to rival Western offerings, though implementation faced challenges. The ongoing conflict and prioritization of traditional industries over the tech sector may hinder progress in fostering a digital piracy landscape. Historical examples, such as lobbying by Latvian fishing interests in Moscow, raise questions about the potential for IT sector lobbying in Crimea. There is speculation about the possibility of a virtual pirate republic or a unique Russian iteration reflecting local culture and identity.
AppWizard
December 20, 2024
Google Keep is being elevated to the status of a system app in the latest Android 16 Developer Preview 2, meaning it will be embedded within the operating system and cannot be uninstalled without root access. This change indicates a renewed commitment to the app, which has recently seen enhancements, including integration with Google Tasks. The upgrade suggests potential for enriched functionalities and tighter integration with other core Android features.
AppWizard
December 18, 2024
Eyeblossom flowers in Minecraft come in two variants: Open and Closed. Closed Eyeblossoms appear gray and upright during the day, while at night they bloom to reveal a glowing orange eye. Players can craft suspicious stews from these flowers, with the Open variant producing a stew that causes Blindness and the Closed variant causing Nausea. Eyeblossoms can also be used to create dyes: Open Eyeblossoms yield Orange dye and Closed Eyeblossoms yield Gray dye. Additionally, Eyeblossoms can communicate with each other when within a 3-block radius, sending out orange particles to signal blooming or closing. In bee-friendly environments, Open Eyeblossoms attract bees at night, which become poisoned upon contact for 1.25 seconds, although they can still pollinate the flowers.
Winsage
December 18, 2024
In 2024, Windows 11 on ARM has improved significantly due to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite series of chips, making it a strong competitor to Intel and AMD devices. Developer Michael Niehaus has reported that Windows 11 operates smoothly on a Snapdragon X Elite laptop, particularly with an ARM64 Linux distribution, indicating progress in the ARM ecosystem for software development.
Winsage
December 18, 2024
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that Google earns more revenue from the Windows operating system than Microsoft itself. He highlighted the success of Google's Chrome browser compared to Microsoft's offerings and noted Microsoft's historical victory over Netscape in the browser wars, followed by its loss to Google. Nadella discussed the advantages of Windows as an open system that encourages innovation and competition among AI tools. He mentioned his unsuccessful attempts to secure a search partnership with Apple but expressed satisfaction with OpenAI's success in doing so. Nadella characterized the competition among tech giants like Google, Amazon, Meta, and OpenAI as intense but unlikely to result in a single dominant entity. He pointed out the shift from traditional search engines to AI-powered tools and expressed optimism about Microsoft's potential to reclaim market share in the browser space. Nadella's comments followed his testimony in a 2022 antitrust trial, where he raised concerns about Google's dominance in the search market.
Winsage
December 17, 2024
The end-of-support date for Windows 10 is October 14, 2025, after which users will not receive any updates, including security fixes. Microsoft will not extend support, and the final version, 22H2, will receive monthly security updates until that date. Users can choose to continue using Windows 10, buy new hardware, transition to a Linux distribution, pay for Extended Security Updates (ESUs), or attempt to upgrade incompatible hardware to Windows 11. ESUs are available at a cost, with pricing increasing over three years. There are methods to upgrade to Windows 11 on incompatible systems, including registry edits and using tools like Rufus.
AppWizard
December 14, 2024
Russia has officially blocked access to the Signal messaging app, making it non-functional without the use of a VPN. Additionally, Russian authorities are considering a ban on WhatsApp.
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