Apple lawsuit filed by UK developers
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 by Freeman Lightner
A leading competition law expert pursuing a class action lawsuit against Apple on behalf of UK app developers has been told his case can go ahead, with the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) certifying his claim for £785m (just over one billion US dollars) on behalf of UK app developers. Today, the CAT made the collective proceedings order, confirming it...
Microsoft misconfigurations expose millions of records globally
Monday, November 18, 2024 by Freeman Lightner
In September 2024, significant data exposure was discovered within Microsoft Power Pages, a low-code SaaS platform, due to misconfigured access controls. The exposure, which potentially affected millions of individuals, highlights the risks associated with excessive permissions granted to the platform's "Anonymous" and "Authenticated" user roles....
Optimizing lighthouse score alone is insufficient for achieving a fast website
Friday, November 8, 2024 by Richard Harris
In the digital age, where speed is synonymous with user satisfaction, website performance is a critical factor for success. Web developers and site owners often turn to tools like Google Lighthouse to gauge their site's performance. Achieving a perfect Lighthouse score of 100% can be a moment of triumph. However, a flawless score does not necessarily equate to a fas...
Power of spreadsheets across industries
Thursday, November 7, 2024 by Austin Harris
In an era where digital tools are evolving at an unprecedented pace, the humble spreadsheet remains a steadfast ally in various fields. Despite the proliferation of specialized software designed to cater to specific needs, spreadsheets continue to be an indispensable part of the professional toolkit. Frederick O’Brien eloquently captures this sentiment, noting tha...
Bottom-up design improves site accessibility
Tuesday, November 5, 2024 by Richard Harris
In the digital age, accessibility is a cornerstone of effective website design, ensuring that all users, regardless of their abilities, can navigate and interact with online content seamlessly. The adoption of a bottom-up design approach is gaining traction as a means to improve site accessibility, offering a more inclusive online experience. This method emphasizes atte...
User interfaces and handling risky actions
Monday, November 4, 2024 by Richard Harris
In the digital realm, where user interfaces serve as the bridge between humans and technology, the potential for error is ever-present. This is aptly summarized by Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." The challenge for designers and developers is to anticipate these potential pitfalls and design interfaces that prevent errors or minimi...
Github Spark introduces a tool for creating web apps using plain English
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 by Freeman Lightner
GitHub has announced a groundbreaking tool, GitHub Spark, designed to empower developers by enabling the creation of web applications through plain English instructions. This innovation marks a significant stride in the evolution of coding, as it allows users to describe the desired functionality of an app in natural language, and the tool translates these descriptions ...
Game patching tech from EA
Thursday, October 24, 2024 by Austin Harris
Video games are getting bigger. File sizes are increasing for good reason. World-class storytellers and artists are creating more incredible experiences than ever before, allowing players to dive into beautiful, rich worlds filled with immersive environments and fully realized characters while participating in beloved games from the biggest franchises.
Breakthrough g...
Video game sales by Capcom to pass 50M in 2024
Monday, October 21, 2024 by Austin Harris
Capcom is one of the biggest video game developers/publishers in the world. The Japanese company has witnessed healthy growth in its sales numbers in recent years, and this trend is going to continue in 2024. According to the numbers presented by NoKyc.com, Capcom expects to sell about 50 million games in FY 2024.
Capcom targets 50 million vi...
Developers threatened by DOJ proposals says Google
Monday, October 21, 2024 by Richard Harris
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has shared a broad outline of radical changes it may demand as part of its lawsuit regarding search distribution. This marks the beginning of a lengthy process, and Google plans to respond in detail to the DOJ's ultimate proposals as it prepares its case in court next year. However, concerns have arisen that the DOJ is signaling ...
ChatGPT lacks kid suitability
Thursday, October 17, 2024 by Brittany Hainzinger
While large language models (LLMs) like GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 have made incredible
advancements in natural language processing, they come with significant challenges, particularly in children’s education. These models often generate biased content or produce language that is too complex or inappropriate for younger audiences. Studies have shown that LLMs can perpetua...
Reeder app update introduces folder support
Monday, September 30, 2024 by Richard Harris
The latest update to the Reeder app, version 2024.9.2, released on September 17, 2024, introduces several significant features and enhancements that cater to the evolving needs of its users. This update primarily focuses on folder support, which has been one of the most requested features by the Reeder community. Users can now easily organize their feeds into folders, i...
AI Audit tool launched by Cloudflare for content creators
Saturday, September 28, 2024 by Richard Harris
Cloudflare, Inc., the connectivity cloud company, announced the launch of AI Audit, a suite of tools designed to help websites of all sizes analyze and manage how their content is utilized by artificial intelligence (AI) models. This initiative enables website and content creators to quickly understand how AI model providers are using their content and to control whethe...
OceanGate Titan sub tracking relied on hand-typed Excel spreadsheet
Friday, September 27, 2024 by Russ Scritchfield
In a series of hearings and testimonies surrounding the tragic implosion of the OceanGate Titan submersible, key insights have emerged that shed light on the events leading up to the incident. OceanGate’s founder, Stockton Rush, is currently facing scrutiny as multiple stakeholders examine the safety protocols and operational decisions made by the company. During ...
Free trials have high customer conversion rate
Thursday, September 12, 2024 by Richard Harris
New data shows 30-day free trials had the highest customer acquisition (32%) and conversion rate (56%) and are shown to be 28 times more effective than free products. However, despite its effectiveness, nearly 3 in 4 ecommerce sellers didn't use the approach in 2023.
Free trials have high customer conversion rate
These findings come from the ‘Optima...
Garmin Satellite SOS on Google Pixel smartphones
Friday, September 6, 2024 by Austin Harris
Garmin recently announced the integration of its satellite SOS emergency response coordination service into Google’s Android smartphone ecosystem, beginning with the latest Pixel 9 smartphones in the U.S. Under the agreement, Pixel users in the U.S. may be able to connect with Garmin ResponseSM emergency response coordination services when cellular and Wi-Fi ...
Stolen funds recovered by Binance
Thursday, August 29, 2024 by Russ Scritchfield
Binance, the leading blockchain ecosystem behind the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, is proud to share that its security team has recovered or otherwise frozen over $73 million in user funds from external hacks as of July 31 this year. This surpasses the approximately $55 million secured throughout 2023.
Over $73M in stolen funds recovered by B...
AI regulations in software development
Tuesday, August 27, 2024 by Richard Harris
AI is rapidly changing the software development field, making clear regulations essential to prevent risks like data breaches and ensure ethical practices. These regulations are also key to reshaping developer roles while preserving the need for human expertise.
AI regulations in software development
The implementation of formal AI policies within companies is cri...
Arena Breakout Infinite early access launches on PC
Friday, August 23, 2024 by Austin Harris
Global game developer MoreFun Studios announced that Arena Breakout: Infinite (PC) is available now exclusively on the official website, arenabreakoutinfinite.com. Jump into the early access version of Arena Breakout: Infinite for free, no strings attached, and experience an immersive tactical extraction shooter in the war-torn region of Kamona.
Arena Breakout Infini...
Paris 2024 Olympic apps ask for dangerous permissions
Monday, August 12, 2024 by Austin Harris
As Paris city attracted a large number of sports tourists, the apps for the Olympic Games 2024 are tracking them, extracting private data, and peddling it to advertisers and big tech.
According to a report from the Cybernews research team, which selected 12 Android apps relevant to the Olympic Games attendees in Paris and tested their permissions, the apps designed t...
Apps with highest install rates (CPI) revealed in latest report
Wednesday, August 7, 2024 by Richard Harris
SplitMetrics, an app growth solutions company, has released its latest report, ASO Benchmarks & Mobile Trends Report 2024, offering a comprehensive analysis of App Store Optimization (ASO) benchmarks and mobile trends for 2024. The report delves into three key app categories: finance, shopping, and utilities.
Apps with highest install rates (CPI) revealed from
S...
Top crypto unicorns in 2024
Friday, August 2, 2024 by Austin Harris
The number of unicorns, or privately held startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more, has been growing over the past few years, reshaping our understanding of success, innovation, and entrepreneurship. With four recent newcomers in 2024, cryptocurrency companies are some of the youngest members of the exclusive club. Using data from the business analytics platform ...
App review guidelines updated by Apple
Friday, August 2, 2024 by Richard Harris
Apple recently announced significant updates to its App Review Guidelines, Apple Developer Program License Agreement, and Apple Developer Agreement. These changes are intended to align with updated policies, introduce upcoming features, and provide greater clarity for developers.
Apple updates iOS app review guidelines and developer agreements
One of the notable u...
App Builder updates from Infragistics
Thursday, August 1, 2024 by Austin Harris
Infragistics has announced an array of new features in its App Builder, the cloud-based WYSIWYG drag & drop low-code software tool that enables all skill levels - from professional and novice developers to business stakeholders and decision-makers - to easily create modern business web applications.
"App Builder is a game-changer in the app de...
OpenAI acquires Rockset to enhance data capabilities
Monday, July 15, 2024 by Brittany Hainzinger
OpenAI has acquired Rockset, a company that specializes in real-time analytics databases, for almost $200 million. The acquisition has drawn attention and various reactions from influencers on the social media platform "X", revealing the Social Media Analytics Platform of GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
OpenAI acquires Rockset, the real-ti...
Multi platform apps are becoming more popular
Tuesday, June 18, 2024 by Brittany Hainzinger
Candy Crush Saga is one of the world’s most popular video games, with more than 5 billion downloads. That’s partly because gamers can play it anywhere. It offers versions for multiple platforms, including Android, iOS, and Windows: a practice known as multihoming.
Smaller developers, however, often decide not to pursue multiple platforms because it&r...
NFT activity continues to decline
Thursday, June 13, 2024 by Richard Harris
The last two years have been rough for the NFT market, and 2024 doesn't look much better. With falling sales and investors losing appetite for digital artwork, market projections became less optimistic, showing only a modest 2.6% annual growth by 2028, twenty times less than this year. Moreover, the entire market faces a substantial user drop, showing that global in...
Is NET MAUI the future of cross platform development
Tuesday, May 28, 2024 by Richard Harris
With .NET MAUI poised to replace Xamarin in the tech sphere this May, dive into the architectural differences between the two, the revolutionary impact .NET MAUI is expected to have and the importance of exploring alternatives frameworks like Flutter and React Native. Uncover key insights into the suitability of cross platform development frameworks for different develo...
Mobile game store launching from Microsoft in 2024
Monday, May 13, 2024 by Richard Harris
Months on from its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has revealed plans to launch its own mobile game store, with content including Minecraft and Candy Crush set to be available on the platform. Per Xbox president Sarah Bond, the store will be an alternative to the Apple App Store and Google Play, with its launch allowing Microsoft to break away from the res...
No code test automation powered by GenAI from SmartBear
Monday, May 6, 2024 by Richard Harris
SmartBear has added no-code test automation powered by GenAI to its Zephyr Scale, the solution that delivers scalable, performant test management inside Jira. By using GenAI, any tester, including those without technical skills, can quickly convert manual tests into automated tests without coding, directly in Zephyr Scale, one of the fastest-growing apps on the Atlassia...
ATT user opt in insights from AppsFlyer
Tuesday, April 30, 2024 by Richard Harris
Since the rollout of Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) in April 2021, the landscape of user privacy and advertising in apps has significantly evolved. As of Q1 2024, there's a noticeable increase in user opt-in rates, with 51% of gaming app users and 46% of non-gaming app users consenting to tracking, reflecting rises of 10% and 3% respectively. Alongside ...
Social engineering takeover attacks are on the rise
Thursday, April 18, 2024 by Brittany Hainzinger
OpenSSF and the OpenJS Foundation (home to JavaScript projects used by billions of websites worldwide) are alerting open-source project maintainers of social engineering takeover attacks, following new attack attempts they’ve witnessed similar to the XZ Utils incident.
The OpenJS Cross Project Council received suspicious emails, imploring OpenJS to update one o...
Apple shifts position on AI and aquires Darwin AI
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 by Brittany Hainzinger
Apple Inc. is strategically advancing its position in the artificial intelligence (AI) domain, signifying a pivotal shift in the company's approach to integrating AI into its core operations and product ecosystem. The recent innovations and acquisitions underscore the Cupertino-based tech giant’s focus on bringing AI to its offerings while prioritizing user pr...
GPT app store revenue and API insights
Tuesday, March 26, 2024 by Freeman Lightner
GPT stands for "Generative Pre-trained Transformer." It refers to a class of artificial intelligence models developed by OpenAI that use transformer architecture for natural language processing tasks. These models are pre-trained on vast amounts of text data and can generate human-like text based on the input they receive.
It has been two months since...
Epic Games defeats Apple in court
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 by Richard Harris
Apple’s iron-clad grip on its developer program may be losing its hold. Every day, Apple turns away hundreds of developers trying to enter their program. However, Epic Games wasn't folding to Apple. "Epic Games has entertained and benefited millions of users with Fortnite, Genshin Impact, and other games. Their application to have their flagship store on ...