The Verge – Page 5

Google is letting some people change their @gmail address

If you’ve been saddled with some awful Gmail address you chose in high school (looking at you, LazySexyCool3030), help appears to be on the way. According to a Google account support page in Hindi the company is allowing some people to change their email address. The updated support page isn’t showing up in English, and the option to change your Gmail address hasn’t appeared for any Verge staffers yet. According to 9to5Google the feature is “gradually rolling out to all users.”
https://www.theverge.com/news/850237/google-change-your-gmail-address

Apple fined $116 million over app privacy prompts

Apple has been fined more than €98 million (about $116 million) by Italy’s antitrust regulator over the “excessively burdensome” privacy rules it imposes on third-party apps. The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) says that Apple abused its dominant app store market position by burdening developers with “disproportionate” terms around data collection that exceed privacy law requirements, compared to rules for native iOS apps.
https://www.theverge.com/news/849528/apple-italy-antitrust-fine-att-app-privacy

The ChatGPT app store is here

OpenAI launched an App Directory to browse all the tools currently available and opened its SDK for developers to build new interactive experiences that operate within the bot’s UI. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said last month that “We are planning to build the obvious features that you would expect for a robust platform over time,” and opening an app store is certainly a huge step in that direction.
https://www.theverge.com/news/847067/openai-app-store-directory-sdk-chatgpt

Google wants its AI assistant CC to replace your morning scroll

Google wants you to start your day with AI. Google’s AI, to be specific, which is why the company is launching an experimental agent to comb through your emails, calendar, and documents to deliver a briefing to your inbox every morning. The new feature, called CC, delivers a daily “Your Day Ahead” briefing to your inbox each morning. The personalized briefing — which Google describes as “one clear summary” — outlines your schedule for the day ahead, along with any key tasks or updates you should be aware of, like bills you need to pay or appointments to prepare for.
https://www.theverge.com/news/845280/google-cc-morning-briefing-gemini-ai-agent

Mozilla’s new CEO is doubling down on an AI future for Firefox

Mozilla is in a tricky position. It contains both a nonprofit organization dedicated to making the internet a better place for everyone, and a for-profit arm dedicated to, you know, making money. Mozilla is not going to train its own giant LLM anytime soon. But there’s still an AI Mode coming to Firefox next year, which Enzor-DeMeo says will offer users their choice of model and product, all in a browser they can understand and from a company they can trust.
https://www.theverge.com/tech/845216/mozilla-ceo-anthony-enzor-demeo

No one knows what to call these things

It turns out “smart glasses” is out as a term. The term “AI glasses” is in. Kind of. Actually, it seems no one’s fully on the same page. Regardless of definitions, one thing is becoming clear: there’s a fundamental shift happening here.
https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/841536/smart-glasses-ai-glasses-xr-ar-headsets-terminology-wearables

Meta’s Hyperscape is ready to turn your real living room into a VR hangout

Meta’s impressive, photorealistic digital replicas of real places built using its “Hyperscape” capture tech, which uses the cameras on a Quest 3 or Quest 3S VR headset to scan a room, have so far been solitary spaces. But beginning this week, Meta is rolling out the ability to share links that will let other people visit Hyperscape rooms with you in a Quest 3 or 3S VR headset or via the Meta Horizon mobile app.
https://www.theverge.com/news/825705/meta-hyperscape-social-links-capture-scan-metaverse