Connect with us

Android

Free Adobe Reader out, subscription-based Acrobat Document Cloud in

blank

Published

on

Free Adobe Reader out, subscription-based Acrobat Document Cloud in

Edit: Forgot to specify but Adobe Reader is now Document Cloud only on iOS and Android. The PC version has remained unchanged.

Original story:

I never thought I’d see the day when Adobe Reader would be leaving us for good, and yet it does. Starting today, the long-running software is going away, perhaps on a much needed holiday. Don’t be too sad just yet though, because you’ll still be able to open all your PDF files with the new software that’s here to replace the old timer. On one hand, this is more akin to a name change since Adobe Reader will from this day forward be known as Acrobat Document Cloud, or Acrobat DC for short. But on the other hand, DC brings forth a brand new interface along with some new features, so in a way it’s like looking at a completely different software even if it does serve a similar function as its predecessor.

As you might have already guessed, Acrobat DC is being developed by good old Adobe and will continue to offer its main feature for free to anyone with PDF files that need to be opened. In that sense, DC is identical to Adobe Reader, the former go-to free software for opening said type of files. Unlike Adobe Reader however, Acrobat Document Cloud offers a number of features that are not available for free, so make sure to prepare your wallet if you want to benefit from all of them. Specifically, you will have to fork out about $25 for a monthly subscription that grants you access to all of the features. Alternatively, you can just opt in for the PDF creation tool that costs $10 a month, or for the PDF exporting feature that will set you back just $2 a month.

The Adobe Reader replacement is not called Document Cloud for nothing, as the company behind it is also offering a new and nifty feature called Mobile Link. With this feature you can store your documents in the cloud and have access to them from smartphones and other mobile devices. This particular feature does indeed seem very helpful and is definitely worth the monthly subscription fee if you need access to your important documents at all times. You can find more details in regards to all these changes at this blog post right here.

Although George has many hobbies, he likes nothing more than to play around with cameras and other photography equipment.

Android

Pixel 8 Pro runs Google’s generative AI models

blank

Published

on

blank

Rick Osterloh, Google’s SVP of devices and services, says the Pixel 8 Pro will be the first hardware to run Google’s generative AI models.

At an event today, Osterloh said the Pixel 8 Pro’s custom-built Tensor G3 chip, which accelerates AI workloads, can run “distilled” versions of Google’s text- and image-generating models to power image editing and other apps.

Osterloh said, “We’ve worked closely with our research teams across Google to take advantage of their most advanced foundation models and distill them into a version efficient enough to run on our flagship Pixel.”

Google improved Magic Eraser, its photo-editing tool, to remove larger objects and people smudge-free using on-device models. Osterloh claims that this improved Magic Eraser creates new pixels to fill in shot gaps, producing a higher-quality image.

Osterloh says a new on-device model will “intelligently” sharpen and enhance photo details, improving zoom.

On-device processing benefits audio recording. The Pixel 8 Pro’s recording app will soon summarize meeting highlights.

Gboard will use a large language model on the Pixel 8 Pro to power smart replies. Osterloh claims that the upgraded Gboard will provide “higher-quality” reply suggestions and better conversational awareness.

Osterloh said an update in December will add on-device generative AI features except for Magic Eraser, which appears on the Pixel 8 Pro at launch.

Continue Reading

Android

Telegram launches a global self-custodial crypto wallet, excluding the US

blank

Published

on

blank

Telegram, with 800 million monthly users, is launching a self-custodial crypto wallet. The move will solidify its presence in the vibrant crypto community that has grown from its chat platform and may attract more people to crypto.

Telegram and TON Foundation announced TON Space, a self-custodial wallet, on Wednesday at Singapore’s Token2049 crypto conference, which draws over 10,000 attendees.

Telegram has a complicated blockchain relationship. After the SEC sued Telegram over a massive initial coin offering, the chat app abandoned its Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain project in 2020. The Open Network Foundation (TON Foundation), founded by open-source developers and blockchain enthusiasts, supports the development of The Open Network (TON), the blockchain powering a growing number of Telegram applications, including the wallet.

The Open Platform (TOP) and TOP Labs, a venture-building division, created the TON-based wallet.

TON Space will be available to Telegram users worldwide without wallet registration in November. The U.S., which has cracked down on the crypto industry and promoted many crypto apps to geofence users, is currently excluded from the feature.

Continue Reading

Android

Google’s massive antitrust trial begins, with bigger implications

blank

Published

on

blank

The Justice Department’s landmark antitrust case against Google began in court today, setting off a months-long trial that could upend the tech world.

At issue is Google’s search business. The Justice Department claims that Google has violated antitrust laws to maintain its search title, but the company claims that it does so by providing a superior product.

The Justice Department sued Google for civil antitrust in late 2020 after a year-long investigation.

“If the government does not enforce the antitrust laws to enable competition, we will lose the next wave of innovation,” said then-Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen. “If that happens, Americans may never see the ‘next Google.’”

A large coalition of state attorneys general filed their own parallel suit against Google, but Judge Amit Mehta ruled that the states did not meet the bar to go to trial with their search ranking complaints.

The search business case against Google is separate from a federal antitrust lawsuit filed earlier this year. The Justice Department claims Google used “anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful means” to neutralize threats to its digital advertising empire in that lawsuit.

Justice Department attorney Kenneth Dintzer set the stakes for the first major tech antitrust trial since Microsoft’s late 1990s reckoning on Tuesday. “This case is about the future of the internet, and whether Google’s search engine will ever face meaningful competition,” Dintzer said.

Beginning the trial, the government focused on Google’s deals with phone makers, most notably Apple, that give its search product top billing on new devices. Dintzer claimed that Google maintains and grows its search engine dominance by paying $10 billion annually for those arrangements.

“This feedback loop, this wheel, has been turning for more than 12 years,” he said. “And it always benefits Google.”

Google lawyer John Schmidtlein refuted that claim, hinting at the company’s legal defense in the coming weeks.

“Users today have more search options and more ways to access information online than ever before,” Schmidtlein said. Google will argue that it competes with Amazon, Expedia, and DoorDash, as well as Microsoft’s Bing search engine.

Google planted the seeds for this defense. According to internal research, Google Senior Vice President Prabhakar Raghavan said last year that more young people are using TikTok to search for information than Google Search.

In our studies, almost 40% of young people don’t use Google Maps or Search to find lunch, Raghavan said. “They use TikTok or Instagram.”

Google will be decided by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in the coming months. We’re far from that decision, but the company could be fined heavily or ordered to sell parts of its business.

The trial could change Google’s digital empire if the Justice Department wins. Other tech companies that dominated online markets in the last decade are also watching. If the government fails to hold an iconic Silicon Valley giant accountable, big tech will likely continue its aggressive growth trajectory.

If the Justice Department succeeds, the next decade could be different. The industry-wide reckoning could cripple incumbents and allow upstarts to define the next era of the internet, wresting the future from tech titans.

Continue Reading

Trending