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Windows Update orchestration platform will deliver a unified experience for app and driver updates. Microsoft announced the "unified future for app updates on Windows" this week. The tech giant created the Windows Update orchestration platform to bring together app updates and other updates on your PC. At the moment, apps, drivers, and other components are updated separately using different methods. This fragmented approach creates more work for IT admins and anyone who manages devices. The current setup can also cause CPU usage spikes and other issues, which Microsoft outlines in a recent blog post. "Updates across the Windows ecosystem can feel like a fragmented experience for IT admins managing applications that have their own update orchestrators (e.g., line of business) and commercial management tools that handle their own download, install, restart, and notifications today," said Microsoft. "To solve this, we're building a vision for a unified, intelligent update orchestration platform capable of supporting any update (apps, drivers, etc.) to be orchestrated alongside Windows updates." The newly announced Windows Update orchestration platform makes it possible to have app updates run through Windows Update. The platform is now in private preview. Windows Update currently handles updates to Windows 11, some OEM updates, and certain drivers. The Windows Update orchestration platform will result in a more unified update experience for apps and drivers. The Windows Update orchestration platform also benefits developers by enabling change logs to appear directly within Windows Update. Microsoft detailed that the new setup also allows for eco-efficient scheduling, a simplified notification experience, and admin policy support for deadlines. Microsoft Store failings The Microsoft Store manages app updates and uses Windows Update on its back end. (Image credit: Future) A centralized method for app updates managed by Microsoft — hasn’t that been around for a while? The Windows Update orchestration platform looks like a genuinely useful tool for IT admins and businesses. It also highlights that Microsoft cannot convince developers to embrace the Microsoft Store. The Microsoft Store uses Windows Update on its back end and has been around for well over a decade. These facts were also pointed out by Legacy Update on Bluesky. Admittedly, using the Microsoft Store to manage updates has had limits, but even those have gotten looser over the years. Late in 2024, Microsoft started testing the option to have the Microsoft Store's update system work with apps that are not hosted on the Microsoft Store's servers. That change affected "provided and updated apps," which are listed in the Microsoft Store but sourced from the server of the app's developer. The update turned the Microsoft Store into a "one-stop shop for all app updates on your system," as explained by our Senior Editor Zac Bowden. But it still requires apps to be within the Microsoft Store. The Windows Update orchestration platform provides a unified experience and works with apps and components not available through the Microsoft Store. Between improvements to the Microsoft Store, the release of Windows Package Manager, and the upcoming Windows Update orchestration platform, there is a collection of tools to get apps onto PCs. That's great for IT admins and consumers. It just feels like some of Microsoft's efforts are only needed because the tech giant cannot convince developers to embrace the Microsoft Store. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Earlier this month, we wrote a news piece about Windows 11 KB5058411 installations failing with various error codes. The KB update was released for Windows 11 24H2 PCs and we noted how the company's support guide for such error codes proved helpless in such a situation. Microsoft has not released official word on the 24H2 issues. However, the tech giant confirmed today similar installation-related problems regarding Windows 11 22H2/23H2 KB5058405, which was released simultaneously with KB5058411 as part of the May 2025 Patch Tuesday. The company notes that affected users will find that they will run into a "0xc0000098" hex error code in Windows recovery after the update fails to install. The error also reveals that the issue is related to a corrupt Windows ACPI.sys system driver. The ACPI or Advanced Configuration and Power Interface is part of the processor power management that helps control various power states (P-states and C-states) on Windows, meant to run a CPU efficiently. Microsoft says that you may see the following error during recovery: Your PC/Device needs to be repaired The operating system couldn't be loaded because a required file is missing or contains errors. File: ACPI.sys Error code: 0xc0000098 Aside from the error confirmed by the Redmond giant itself, users online are running into other issues too, like one with "0x8007007e" code (via Reddit). Once again, Microsoft's guide does not help. About the documented 0xc0000098 failure issues, Microsoft adds that home users are unlikely to run into such issues. The company has added that the problem is seen "primarily on devices running in virtual environments" like Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Virtual Desktops, and On-premises virtual machines hosted on Citrix or Hyper-V. The issue is currently being investigated and thus no workaround as of such has been provided. You can find the issue here on Microsoft's official Windows health dashboard website. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Windows Insiders with PCs enrolled in the Canary Channel of the Insider program can download build 27868. Today's update is not very big, but it still has some notable improvements and fixes, such as a reworked Voice Access in-product experience. Microsoft will use the latter to announce new features and enhancements, helping users to discover and learn about the latest changes for these important accessibility features. Microsoft also fixed a bug that caused pen input to stop responding on some PCs and another one that caused some apps like Spotify to fail at launch or when installing from the Microsoft Store (error 0xc80070032). Also, developers resolved system crashes with the SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED message and Group Policy Editor not rendering correctly on systems with certain languages like Chinese. That is pretty much everything that build 27868 has to offer. Before you update, mind the following known bugs: [General] [IMPORTANT NOTE FOR COPILOT+ PCs] If you are joining the Canary Channel on a new Copilot+ PC from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel or retail, you will lose Windows Hello pin and biometrics to sign into your PC with error 0xd0000225 and error message “Something went wrong, and your PIN isn’t available”. You should be able to re-create your PIN by clicking “Set up my PIN”. You may see an Administrative Templates error message when opening Group Policy Editor. If you click OK you should be able to proceed as normal. We’re investigating an issue where the taskbar is unexpectedly not showing acrylic material after upgrading to this build. We’re working on the fix for an issue where audio devices with high sampling (like 192Hz) and multiple channels aren’t producing sound after upgrading to this build. Thanks Insiders that provided detailed information in your feedback! [NEW] When Virtualization Based Security is enabled, applications dependent on virtualization, such as VMware Workstation, lose the ability to run unless the “Windows Hypervisor Platform” Windows optional component is installed on the system. Previously, installing the optional component was not required. [Task Manager] Search and other options, such as filtering in Task Manager, do not work. You can find the announcement post on the official Windows Blogs website. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

WhatsApp Status updates are getting beefed up, thanks to a new feature drop announced by the company. The Meta-owned instant messaging platform will soon roll out four new Status update features, which will be available to all users in the coming months. For starters, you can create a photo collage of up to six images using the Layout feature and arrange them in your preferred way. It's complemented by a new Photo Stickers feature that turns a photo into a custom sticker, which you can add to your status update. Again, you can edit, resize, or reposition a custom photo sticker directly from the Status post creation interface. Just like Layout, Instagram's Add Yours sticker format is also making its way to WhatsApp Status. You can choose an image, write a prompt, and invite your friends to respond by sharing it as their WhatsApp Status with their take on the topic. WhatsApp already lets you add music to status updates with photos or videos. Support for soundtracks, similar to Facebook and Instagram, was added to WhatsApp earlier this year. Now, it's building on the experience with a new tool to post Status updates focused entirely on a particular song. You can share a song as your status or turn that song into a sticker and add it to a separate status post. You can try out these new features when they arrive on your Android or iOS device. WhatsApp Status is like the Stories feature on Instagram; it disappears after 24 hours of posting. It's accessible via the Updates tab in the WhatsApp app. The new features have arrived just days after WhatsApp launched its native app for iPad. In recent updates, WhatsApp has also added a new Advanced Chat Privacy feature designed to keep conversations within the instant messaging app. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Canonical, the maker of Ubuntu Linux, has announced that it will be introducing monthly snapshot development builds in addition to the beta, release candidate, and final release. The company is beginning to use these snapshot releases starting today, May 29. There will be four snapshots in total during the Ubuntu 25.10 development cycle with snapshot 2 arriving on June 10, snapshot 3 arriving July 15, and snapshot 4 arriving on August 19. The reasons for the change are to do with the underlying release processes that go on behind the scenes. The company said that over the last 20 years, it has developed a release process with various safeguards, but it’s mostly a manual process that requires the input of seasoned Ubuntu veterans. Canonical has recently put together the Canonical Ubuntu Release Management Team which will work with the Ubuntu Release Team, composed of the veterans, to develop a new process for releasing Ubuntu versions. The snapshot releases are designed to give the new team a better understanding of the existing processes. The company said that these monthly snapshot releases for Ubuntu are not fully-fledged releases but curated, testable milestones from the development stream. It’s also important to clarify that Ubuntu is not moving to monthly releases or adopting a rolling release model. For the meantime, Canonical is committed to its six-monthly releases with a Long Term Support (LTS) release every two years. For anyone out there who likes to get their hands dirty trying the latest development versions of Ubuntu, these snapshots will give you more stuff to try out. For average Ubuntu users, snapshots allow more people to try out Ubuntu releases during development and this could lead to less buggy Ubuntu public releases if more issues are detected during development. You can get snapshot 1 now from Canonical. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Developers at Push On reveal gameplay for Alkahest, an RPG with a stylish combat system that combines swordplay with alchemy. On May 22, 2025, IGN showed off a teaser trailer for a new upcoming Xbox title with a similarly upcoming PC port named Alkahest. This game, developed by Push On and published by HypeTrain Digital, is a first-person RPG set in a medieval, dark fantasy world where the player must wield an arsenal of weapons and dangerous alchemical potions to defeat hordes of vicious monsters. The teaser trailer released by IGN gives us a glimpse of what Aklahest's combat will look like, and so far, it looks insane. The teaser trailer (as well as its reveal trailer shown in June 2024) showcases the player character utilizing the environment, performing acrobatic swordplay, and conducting deadly potions in the middle of combat to slay their foes. As for what the story is about, Alkahest takes place in Kadanor, a kingdom embroiled in civil war between three powerful noble houses. You play as the youngest son of a petty lord destined to rot in obscurity. To defy your fate, you embark on a quest across the kingdom to make a name for yourself by exploring the land for long-lost treasure, taking on jobs for locals, and quelling an unusual rise of goblin raids on the county border. The developers state on the game's Steam page that Alkahest's combat system will feature advanced melee combos and a large focus on interacting with the environment, like cutting down trees or using nearby siege equipment to slay enemies. Additionally, another huge component of Alkahest's gameplay will be Alchemy. By locating various recipes on their travels, players will be able to create all kinds of alchemical items like flammable grenades, healing potions, and weapon oils. You can even sneak in some poison in an NPC's pocket to take out stealthily. Will Alkahest's gameplay at launch live up to the hype of these trailers? What's interesting is that, according to the developers, Alkahest is inspired by games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Dishonored. While I haven't played the former, I have played the latter, and I definitely see some of Dishonored's melee combat in Alkahest. Aside from that, the combat looks unbelievable, maybe too unbelievable. After all, for all we know, these trailers could be pre-rendered cutscenes, and the final game could look totally different. But then again, people have said the same thing about the combat trailers for Black Myth: Wukong when that game first revealed itself, and the final product lived up to the hype (despite some jarring level design choices we found in our review of Black Myth: Wukong). Will Alkahest's combat system be just as fun to play as it is to watch from the trailers? We'll have to wait to find out when Alkahest eventually launches on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Windows and Steam. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

A former employee of a disc manufacturing company in Memphis has signed a plea agreement, in which he admits stealing and distributing numerous DVD and Blu-ray discs. They include “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which subsequently leaked online before its official release. As part of the agreement, the U.S. will recommend a relatively low sentence. Three years ago, pirated Blu-ray copies of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” began circulating on pirate sites, weeks before its official release. Such high-profile leaks are rare, and the source of the breach remained unknown until earlier this year. In February, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted 37-year-old Steven Hale from Tennessee, a former employee of a disc manufacturing and distribution company in Memphis. While working at the unnamed company between 2021 and 2022, Hale allegedly stole numerous “pre-release” DVD and Blu-ray discs from his employer. These stolen discs contained many high-profile movie titles including “Spider-Man: No Way Home”. Hale Pleads Guilty Hale initially pleaded not guilty to two criminal copyright infringement charges and an additional charge of interstate transportation of stolen goods. This week Hale changed his plea, admitting guilt to one of the charges, and signing a plea agreement with the prosecution. Hale entered his guilty plea to Count Two of the indictment. The charge relates to his distribution of ten or more copies of copyrighted works, including pre-release movies, for commercial advantage and private financial gain. This includes the pre-release ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ disc, which is likely the source of the leak. The other films covered by this count are ‘Jungle Cruise,’ ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage,’ ‘Encanto,’ ‘Eternals,’ ‘The King’s Man,’ ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,’ ‘Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City,’ ‘Marry Me,’ ‘Sing 2,’ and ‘The Matrix Resurrections.’ Plea Agreement Lower Sentence, Limited Damages As part of the agreement, the prosecution agreed to drop two other counts and the Justice Department will recommend that the court awards the maximum available sentence reduction because Hale accepted responsibility. It will also recommend that the defendant is sentenced at the low end of the guideline range. For the remaining count, Hale faces a potential maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. In addition, he has also agreed to pay restitution to all identifiable victims who suffered losses due to his criminal conduct. Interestingly, for sentencing guideline purposes, the plea agreement puts the “infringement amount” between $15,000 and $40,000. That’s lower than the tens of millions of dollars in estimated losses mentioned in the indictment related to ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home. The final damages amount has yet to be determined by the court. 1,160 Blu-rays and DVDs The plea agreement doesn’t add much detail to what is already publicly known. Importantly, however, it does reveal that law enforcement seized approximately 1,160 Blu-rays and DVDs from the defendant on or around March 14, 2022. This means that the authorities had tracked down Hale as a potential suspect just days after the ‘Spider-Man’ movie leaked online. After that, it took nearly three years before the defendant was indicted. Why the indictment took so long is unknown, but the case may have been part of a broader ongoing investigation. Speculation and Sentencing While one can only speculate beyond this point, it is worth pointing out that the early online leaks of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” were shared publicly by the infamous release group EVO. This group was known for distributing pre-release content. A few months after the authorities tracked down Hale, EVO was dismantled by the Portuguese authorities. There is no evidence to suggest that these two cases are connected, but it’s not impossible either. What we do know for sure is that Hale will be sentenced by the District Court of Tennessee later this year. This sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place at the end of August. — A copy of the Plea Agreement, signed by all parties and submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee is available here (pdf). Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

The results of the latest consumer surveys, carried out by Mediavision in the Nordic countries, are a mixed bag of bad news, and slightly less bad news. On one hand, consumption of pirate IPTV services in Sweden has dropped two points, from 16% of all households in 2024 to 14% in 2025. On the other, 30% of over 15-year-olds consume content illegally every month, a figure that rises to over 50% among men under 35. Describing Sweden as a country with a serious pirate IPTV problem is technically accurate, but lacking in all-important context. As a member of the European Union, Sweden is among 27 member states experiencing broadly similar difficulties. The main drivers usually boil down to lots of content being accessible from one supplier, at a price people can afford or are willing to pay. There are variables across the bloc, from consumer demand for specific types of often expensive regional content, to rightsholders’ ability to take action, and/or convince local governments to commit scarce resources towards solving the problem. In broad terms, the problem today is worse than it was pre-2020. No combination of industry measures, legal amendments, or government investment, has delivered anything close to a solution, anywhere in the EU. Even when positive news does arrive, it’s often met with cautious suspicion. 60,000 Swedish Households Say “No” to IPTV Stockholm-based consulting firm Mediavision conducts regular surveys to assess consumption trends in the Nordic countries. Its report for Sweden covering several months in 2024 could hardly have been worse. In the period bridging spring and the fall of last year, pirate IPTV subscription rates increased by a record 25%, with an estimated 700,000 households (one subscription = one household) regularly consuming from illicit sources. On face value, however, the numbers in Mediavision’s latest report seem to indicate progress. “The use of illegal IPTV is still high and it is now estimated that 640,000 Swedish households pay for illegal IPTV services,” says anti-piracy group Rights Alliance (Rattighetsalliansen). When a 60,000-household reduction warrants such a frosty reception (Rights Alliance says it’s too early to celebrate), the rest of the figures may not be encouraging either. 2.3 Million Swedes Use Illegal Source Every Month The new Mediavision survey estimates that 2.3 million Swedes aged 15 to 74-years-old, consume movies, TV shows, or live sports, from illegal sources, at least every month. Sweden is a relatively small country where 2.3 million people represent 30% of the population. Studies regularly show that infringement rates are higher among younger people; Sweden continues the long-standing trend here. Among citizens aged 15 to 34, over half say they regularly use content from illegal sources. As expected, piracy rates are highest among younger men and when every other person is already a subscriber or regular viewer, word tends to spread especially fast. Organized Crime The Rights Alliance graphic below shows that another large number is also causing concern. In 2019, the European Union Intellectual Property Office estimated that pirate IPTV services were generating close to a billion euros in annual revenue, in the EU alone (pdf). At the time, the Netherlands and Sweden had the highest percentage of IPTV users in the bloc, with 8.9% and 8.5% respectively. To put Sweden’s pirate IPTV growth into perspective, today’s 640,000 households can be placed alongside 616,700 individuals in the six-year-old EU report. In 2018, revenue generated by pirate providers from Swedish sales was an estimated 490,000 euros. The 1.4 billion figure above is in Swedish Krona; at today’s exchange rate that’s €137.6 million (US$154.8 million) “1.4 billion SEK directly from Swedish households into the criminal economy is unacceptable. Organized crime is fueled, and the damages to rights holders are much bigger than this,” Rights Alliance says. An investigation launched in Sweden a year ago is still ongoing. Alongside an assessment of financial damage to the film and TV industries, advice on whether action against IPTV subscribers is required (including a ‘ban’ on IPTV itself) is expected in the final report. Rights Alliance believes that more can be done immediately. “There is a need for increased resources and enhanced expertise among police and prosecutors,” says Rights Alliance lawyer and former police IP crime investigator, Alma Shawwaf. “Several actors can also do more to make it harder for criminals, not least payment providers and search engines such as Google.” Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Discord moves further away from being ad-free. Discord is further distancing itself from its ad-free beginnings by offering users a new virtual currency for clicking on in-platform advertisements. Acoording to a blog post this week by Peter Sellis, Discord’s SVP of product, a “small group” of Discord users around the globe can now earn "Orbs" through Play Quests, which Discord announced in March 2024 and let users earn in-game rewards by getting people to watch a stream of them playing a sponsored game. With enough Orbs, Discord users can purchase items in Discord's shop, including customization options for their profiles and credits for Nitro, a subscription add-on that offers features like 500MB uploads and HD resolution streaming. The goal is to fuel Discord’s advertising business by making clicking on ads more appealing. Advertisers also benefit by associating their ads with the ability to get desirable rewards. “This means that users will have the flexibility to use Orbs on many different rewards, making Quests even more relevant,” Sellis wrote. "This is particularly great for users who want to try Nitro without a current subscription." Sellis said that Orbs will be available to “many more” Discord users “soon” but didn’t specify when. “We will continue to add new ways for users to claim rewards using Orbs in the future and for Nitro subscribers to continue to receive better rewards and deals across our ecosystem,” Sellis wrote. Sellis also announced that Discord is working with brand measurement firm Kantar to help advertisers track ad success. With Kantar technology, advertisers can measure things like “awareness, recall, and intent,” Sellis said. The partnership further underscores Discord's growing reliance on advertising revenue. “Our partnership with Discord is helping marketers better understand Discord as an advertising platform for new generations,” Nicole Jones, Kantar’s chief commercial lead, said on Discord’s blog. Rethinking ads Discord also announced this week that it will soon sell Play Quests to more advertisers. The announcement follows the company's introduction of video ads to the Discord mobile app in June. Video Quests, as they’re called, allow advertisers to show trailers, announcements, and other types of content. Overall, Discord’s new ad-friendly approach to business is very different than its previous strategy, which kept Discord ad-free from its 2015 launch until last year. Because the company is expected to go public soon, its leaders have determined that it’s no longer sufficient to rely completely on premium add-ons and subscriptions. Discord isn’t profitable, forcing the firm to reconsider its use of ads, which cofounder and CEO Jason Citron felt were too intrusive as recently as 2021. Currently, Discord’s ads are limited to clickable sidebars within the platform and offer direct benefits to users. Introducing ads can be a slippery slope, though, especially for social media companies that prioritize ad revenue to please investors. On the other hand, another social media company, Reddit, has seen success by boosting its ad business. Reddit went public in March 2024 and became profitable in October 2024 after reporting a 60 percent year-over-year increase in ad revenue. Reddit has hinted at plans to introduce new and more types of ads, and we can expect Discord to consider the same after its IPO, which a March Bloomberg report suggested could happen as soon as this year. Advance Publications, which owns Ars Technica parent Condé Nast, is the largest shareholder in Reddit. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

While industry experts and customers criticized Apple for little change in its iPhone 16 series, the latest data indicates that Apple's newest iPhone lineup is selling like hotcakes—at least in Q1 2025. The top three best-selling smartphones in the first quarter of the year belong to the iPhone 16 lineup, followed by the iPhone 15 base variant. According to a new report by Counterpoint Research, the iPhone 16 was the best-selling smartphone in Q1 2025. After a two-year gap, the standard iPhone 16 has again secured the top spot in the list. The device recorded its highest growth in the Japanese market, while Middle Eastern and African customers also favored Apple's latest iPhone over competitors. The iPhone 16 Pro Max also ranked second in the list, while the iPhone 16 Pro came third. Apple's strong presence in the top 10 best-selling phones in the first quarter continues with the iPhone 15 base variant. iPhone 16 Pro models accounted for nearly half of Apple's iPhone sales in the first quarter despite facing growing competition in China. The iPhone 16 Plus also ranked 10th in the list. Moving away from Apple, Samsung's budget-friendly Galaxy A16 5G and Galaxy A06 were the fifth and sixth best-selling smartphones in Q1 2025, respectively, which demonstrates strong demand for affordable Samsung phones in the market. Interestingly, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra comes seventh in the list, a slight decline from the S24 Ultra's fifth spot in Q1 2024. This is mainly due to the S25 Ultra's shorter sales window, and the premium device could secure better spots in the next quarters. Also, the Xiaomi Redmi 14C 4G ranks eighth in the list, demonstrating a 43 percent YoY growth over its predecessor. Xiaomi's devices face strong demand in the Middle East, Africa, and LATAM. Finally, the ninth spot in the list belongs to another mid-range phone from Samsung, the Galaxy A55 5G. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Pixel fans in India have purchased new devices only from third-party online and offline retailers. That is about to change, as the search giant has launched its official Google Store in India, allowing customers to purchase Pixel products directly from the company online. Google's existing distribution network spans over 2,000 stores nationwide, with fixtures in more than 200 stores. To expand its physical and digital footprint, it has partnered with leading names, including Flipkart, Reliance, and Croma. However, selling Pixel products to Indian customers directly "represents a cornerstone of Pixel’s strategy in India," Google said. As one of the largest smartphone markets globally, India remains a key focus for Google. Google has previously committed to investing billions of dollars in India. It was reported earlier this year that Google might select India as the location for its first physical store expansion outside the United States. The freshly updated Google Store sells a variety of Pixel-branded devices, including smartphones, watches, wireless earbuds, and official accessories. Google has partnered with leading banks to offer no-cost EMIs and instant cashback. Users can also exchange their old devices for bonuses or store credits that can be used for future purchases, similar to Apple. Google Store's checkout page offers various payment options, including debit and credit cards and India's home-grown Unified Payments Interface (UPI). However, the online store is yet to add payment wallets, which are also quite popular in the country. Unlike its US counterpart, Google doesn't sell the Pixel Tablet and Nest-branded smart home devices on its online store. The latest digital expansion brings Google several steps closer to Apple, which already operates an online store in India. In 2023, Apple launched two physical stores in Delhi's Saket and Mumbai's BKC. Google is also ramping up post-sales support for Pixel devices, offering same-day repairs at 20 service centers. These include three Google-owned service centers launched last year, which contribute to the search giant's small brick-and-mortar footprint in the country. Google notes that 7 out of 10 Pixel phones are repaired on the same day, adding that the Google Store now offers users a self-serve interface to raise repair requests and schedule pickups directly from the website. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Anna’s hummingbirds have evolved to have longer, larger beaks to access backyard feeders in urban areas. It could be a step toward becoming a “commensal” species that lives alongside humans, like pigeons. Some species of hummingbird are adapting to urban life by undergoing evolutionary changes in their anatomy, influenced by the proliferation of artificial drinking fountains. According to some biologists, this might show that these birds are on their way to becoming commensal with humans—benefiting from living closely alongside them—like pigeons have in urban areas. A recent study found that the size and shape of the beaks of Anna’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna), a species native to North America, have changed. A hummingbird’s beak is naturally long and slender in order to access nectar located in deep inside flowers. However, in recent decades, the beaks of urban Anna’s hummingbirds have evolved to be significantly longer and larger to better access sugar-laced drinking fountains installed outside of homes, which have proliferated in urban areas. This adaptation suggests that these feeders offer hummingbirds more food than nectar-filled flowers. The study, which looked at reported sightings of the birds as well museum specimens from the past 160 years, also found that males are developing sharper, more pointed beaks, possibly to compete with other hummingbirds for access to these sugar-filled fountains. Populations of these hummingbirds expanded northward in California at the same time as the establishment of urban centers where feeding could take place. The researchers discovered that the population density of Calypte anna has also increased over time, and found that this appears to be linked to the proliferation of feeding fountains and nectar-producing eucalyptus trees, both of which were introduced to the region by humans. These morphological changes to the hummingbirds have occurred rapidly. According to the study, Calypte anna populations in 1930 were very different from those in 1950, when the birds’ bills had already begun to grow. In just 20 years, equivalent to about 10 generations of these birds, evolution left its mark, the authors note. To conduct the research, the team used sighting data for the species in all 58 Californian counties between 1938 and 2019, in addition to analyzing specimens preserved in museums. They also turned to old newspaper advertisements to estimate the number of feeders in use during the last century. Finally, they developed a computational model to predict hummingbird expansion, taking into account assisted feeding and the presence of eucalyptus trees. An Anna’s hummingbird in flight. Teresa Kopec/Getty Images “They seem to be moving where we are going and changing quite rapidly to succeed in their new environments. We can think of the Anna’s hummingbird as a commensal species, similar to pigeons,” says Nicolas Alexandre, coauthor of the study and a geneticist at Colossal Biosciences, a biotechnology and de-extinction company based in Dallas, Texas. Hummingbird feeders or drinkers use sugar water to attract hummingbirds and provide food during seasons when flower nectar is scarce. According to the journal Science, one of the oldest records of these devices dates back to 1928, although they were probably in use much earlier. In general, they do not pose a risk to the species, as long as they are cleaned regularly to avoid the proliferation of bacteria and fungi that can affect hummingbirds. Another species of bird, the common pigeon (Columba livia) has also adapted to living in cities. Pigeons can be found in urban spaces around the world, taking advantage of the plentiful nesting sites and food that cities have to offer. They exist in urban environments without having a significant impact on human activities, this being a clear example of commensalism, where one species gains advantages by linking with another without directly harming it. Columba livia originally inhabited rocky areas of Europe, Asia, and North Africa. However, it was domesticated more than 5,000 years ago as a source of food and due to its excellent sense of direction, which meant the birds could be used for carrying written messages. As a result, many were released into new habitats, with some choosing to live in cities, becoming part of the urban fauna. Today, they are one of the most common birds in the world. This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend