Thoughts Unboxed

The time has arrived. Google Domains has joined many Google Products in the Oblivion-yard. Starting September 7th, Google has stopped taking new domain registrations. Current owners would be transitioning to Squarespace in the coming months.  If you visit Google Domains site right now, you would be welcome with the following message: On September 7, 2023 Squarespace acquired all domain registrations and related customer accounts from Google Domains. Customers and domains will be transitioned over the next few months   The page also has a big blue link "Get a new domain from Squarespace" that would take you Squarespace for new domain registrations. It is fun that Google would still be taking a piece of the cut if you do so. The page indicates the link to the Squarespace is an affiliate link. So, even though Google Domain is dead, Google is still taking this grim opportunity to squeeze out every single penny off the platform. Here

If you've installed AdBlocker to skip those pesky YouTube ads, brace yourself for some unfortunate news! YouTube has been intensifying its battle against AdBlockers, and recently, reports have emerged from Reddit users about an intrusive popup notification. This pop-up warns users that their access to videos will be blocked if they persist in using adblockers. Within this warning, viewers are presented with three options: 1. Disable Adblocker 2. Add YouTube to the whitelist 3. Subscribe to YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience     Adding a sense of urgency, a countdown timer is displayed at the top right corner of the popup, indicating the time left for users to make their decision. Users have reported it being 30-60 seconds long. This development marks the next phase in YouTube's strategy to steer consumers towards either paying for a premium experience or enduring a suboptimal ad-laden journey. This new popup progression follows a prior phase in which users were informed

In the cutthroat world of business, companies often aim to strike their rivals where it hurts the most. As Microsoft faces challenges in gaining approval for its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, Google saw an opportune moment to deliver a potential knockout punch to Microsoft's Azure division, a direct competitor to its own Google Cloud division. Background In March 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) called for businesses to provide input on the business practices of major cloud providers such as Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon AWS. Recently, Google responded to this call by leveling accusations against Microsoft and Oracle, alleging unfair practices in the cloud industry, CNBC reports. Google's Complaint Against Microsoft Within its complaint, Google specifically targeted Microsoft, claiming that the company, through its dominant Windows Server and Microsoft Office products, creates barriers for clients to explore alternatives to its Azure cloud infrastruct

The post-COVID aftershocks are still in full swing. This time, the victim is Google Domains. It is always like walking on eggshells to cling on to anything Google that is not Search or Android. Google Domains used to be a quick way for anyone to not only purchase a domain but also build a website using various options, including Blogger and Google Sites. In a surprise announcement on Friday, June 16th, Squarespace announced the takeover of Google Domains, including approximately 10 million domains. The transaction is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2023. Squarespace also commits to honor existing customer pricing for at least 12 months. While this may not seem like a significant announcement considering a domain is typically registered for at least a year, it aims to ensure a seamless transfer of domains by leveraging Google's infrastructure. The purchase will also see Squarespace becoming the exclusive partner for anyone looking to purchase a domain alongside Goog

Ivy Ross, the head of design for hardware products at Google, recently confirmed the existence of a second foldable phone that was ultimately canceled. This revelation came to light during a recent episode of the Made by Google Podcast. During the podcast, Ross admitted that the design of the device did not meet Google's high standards and was deemed unsatisfactory. As a result, the project was abandoned before it could reach the production stage. According to Ross, the team wanted to release a product that was " better than what was out there already ". He said in the podcast: I’m really proud of the team because there was another foldable model that we had created that we had the discipline to say, “nope, it’s not good enough yet,” and really wait until we felt we could do something that was good enough or better than what was out there already. So it’s really a tes

There have been numerous optimists who predicted the arrival of the "Year of Linux on the desktop." However, the exact timing of that day remains uncertain. Nevertheless, nobody could have imagined a "Year of the Bing" in their wildest dreams. Microsoft's search engine has long been considered an afterthought in the realm of search. Microsoft itself shares some of the blame for this perception, as even searches related to its own products often yield better results on Google than on Bing. However, things took a drastic turn late last year with the introduction of ChatGPT and its subsequent integration into Microsoft's Bing Search Engine. The conversational API was an instant hit, propelling Bing and ChatGPT into the spotlight. Google was caught off-guard by this surprise reception and quickly launched its own competitor, Bard. Unfortunately, Bard was not fully developed, and its launch was botched, resulting in a highly n

  Samsung has paused its internal review of replacing Google with Bing as Default Search Engine on its Mobile Internet Browser, reports The Wall Street Journal . In report published last month by The New York Times , it was reported the Samsung was planning on switching to Bing as the default Search Engine for its mobile browser. The news came as a big surprise, and it could have cost Google around $3B in annual revenue. Details are scarce regarding why Samsung was planning to drop Google as default search engine before course correcting it later.  TU believes the decision may have to do with the success of ChatGPT and its inclusion in Bing. This AI aspect of Bing put into a limelight that Microsoft's search engine has never enjoyed in the past. Samsung may have sensed an opportunity to utilize Bing's new AI features within its Smartphone lineup. However, the plans might get dropped later with fears of severing ties with Google.  Google may have a sigh of relief for no

  Supreme court ruled in favor of Google and Twitter over the lawsuits filed based on Anti-Terrorism Act by the families of those who were killed during two different terrorist attacks. The first lawsuit was filed by the relatives of Nawras Alassaf who alongside other 38 victims was killed during the Reina Nightclub shooting in Instanbul on January 1st, 2017. The lawsuit alleged Twitter failed to police its platform of ISIS related accounts that resulted in the shooting incident. The second lawsuit was filed by the family of the exchange student killed in Paris during 2015 shootings . The family alleged Google's YouTube platform should be held liable for the incident. In both cases, the court sidestepped the requests to limit a Section 230, a law that protects social media platforms from lawsuits over content posted by their respective users. In case of Twitter, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote: Plaintiffs' allegations are insufficient to establish that these defendants aided and

If you have a burner Google account that you created more than 2 years ago for one-off signups never to be revisited again, you may be up for a surprise coming this holiday period. This is according to the recently updated Inactive Account Policies . Ruth Kricheli, The VP of Product Management at Google recently announced the changes on company's blog. According to Ruth, untouched accounts are at risk of getting compromised despite best security practices. The reason being old or unprotected or common passwords being used for such accounts.Ruth also detailed the approach company is taking to remove inactive accounts. According to Ruth: The policy has taken affect immediately but the account deletion would defer till December 2023 It would be a phased approach where accounts that were created but never used would be cleaned up first For each affected account, the company would try to communicate via the account's email and alternate email addresses before the actual delet