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Lilbits: Your next Android phone could have ads on the lock screen, MacBook Air with M2 is almost here, and the GPU shortage is over (for now)

by Brad Linder 4 Comments on Lilbits: Your next Android phone could have ads on the lock screen, MacBook Air with M2 is almost here, and the GPU shortage is over (for now)

For the past few years it’s been hard to get your hands on a current-gen desktop graphics card without paying well above the asking price due to a combination of factors including supply chain shortages and growing demand from cryptocurrency miners. But prices have fallen recently and it’s easier to find cards in stock… just […]

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Lilbits: Microsoft breaks Windows 11 with an ad, Apple is doing something with RISC-V

by Brad Linder 6 Comments on Lilbits: Microsoft breaks Windows 11 with an ad, Apple is doing something with RISC-V

Windows 11 begins rolling out to the public on October 5th, but folks in the Windows Insider program have been beta testing preview builds for months, and Microsoft is continually rolling out new features to insiders. One of the latest… basically broke the operating system. What Microsoft describes as “an issue with a server-side deployment” […]

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Lilbits: the Pixel 6 won’t ship with a charger in the box and Samsung ditches in-app ads

by Lee Mathews 3 Comments on Lilbits: the Pixel 6 won’t ship with a charger in the box and Samsung ditches in-app ads

When the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro arrive, they’ll be the first to ship with Google’s own Tensor processor. What they won’t be shipping with is a USB charger. The recently-launched Pixel 5a, it seems, will be the last in the line to package a charger. Google mentions a couple of reasons for the […]

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Mozilla teases “Firefox Ad-free internet” for $5 per month

by Brad Linder 22 Comments on Mozilla teases “Firefox Ad-free internet” for $5 per month

Online advertising is often described as the “original sin of the Internet.” We’ve become used to getting content for free, but ad tech has emerged in ways that many feel violate their privacy and sometimes even safety (advertising has been used to deliver malware). Anyone that’s ever used an ad blocker also knows that most […]

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Google to turn on Chrome’s (partial) ad blocker Thursday, Feb 15

by Brad Linder 9 Comments on Google to turn on Chrome’s (partial) ad blocker Thursday, Feb 15

As promised, Google has confirmed that this is the week its Chrome web browser will start blocking ads from some websites. The move may seem odd for a company that makes most of its money by selling internet ads. But it makes sense for a company that wants people to keep looking at some ads, because […]

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Google Chrome 64 brings “mute site” feature, Spectre and Meltdown patches

by Brad Linder 3 Comments on Google Chrome 64 brings “mute site” feature, Spectre and Meltdown patches

The latest version of Google’s Chrome web browser is here and, as expected, it includes some security and privacy enhancements including patches to help protect you from the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities and a feature that prevents scripts from unexpectedly redirecting you to a different website. Chrome 64 is also the first version of Google’s web […]

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Wileyfox drops its smartphone prices… in exchange for ads on the lock screen

by Brad Linder 3 Comments on Wileyfox drops its smartphone prices… in exchange for ads on the lock screen

Amazon may have been the first major company to offer customers a chance to save money on a smartphone by purchasing models with advertisements on the lock screen. But Amazon Prime Exclusive phones aren’t the only models available with lock screen ads anymore. British phone maker Wileyfox has announced it’s now selling versions of its […]

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Google bans (most) apps with lock screen ads from the Play Store

by Brad Linder 4 Comments on Google bans (most) apps with lock screen ads from the Play Store

When you install a free app on your phone to use as a file browser, keyboard, or photo editor, you might expect to see some ads in the app. Developers have to get paid somehow, right? But you probably don’t expect to see ads show up outside the app. A few years ago Google banned developers from […]

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Ads appear in default keyboard app for some HTC phones (Updated)

by Brad Linder 9 Comments on Ads appear in default keyboard app for some HTC phones (Updated)

One or the nice things about Android smartphones is that if you don’t like the one-time screen keyboard, home screen launcher, or other default apps that come with your device, you can probably replace them. Usually the best be reasons to do that have to do with personal preferences. Maybe you want a different layout, […]