ICEBlock developer sues Trump administration over App Store removal
ICEBlock developer sues Trump administration over App Store removal Joshua Aaron, the developer of the ICEBlock app, is suing Attorney General Pam Bondi, US Homeland Security Secretary Kirsti Noem, acting director of ICE Todd Lyons, White House “Border Czar” Tom Homan, and other federal officials over the Trump administration’s “unlawful threats” made against Aaron and […]
HP OmniBook 5 14 review: an OLED is almost enough
HP OmniBook 5 14 review: an OLED is almost enough That vivid OLED display is one of the OmniBook’s biggest draws. You know what I love more than OLEDs? Cheap OLEDs. And that’s exactly what drew me to the 14-inch HP OmniBook 5. It’s a $700 Windows laptop with a Snapdragon X Plus processor and […]
Facebook and Instagram will let European users see fewer personal ads
Facebook and Instagram will let European users see fewer personal ads Meta will soon give Instagram and Facebook users in the European Union the option to limit personalised ads, in an effort to comply with the bloc’s tech rules. The European Commission announced that the new advertising options will be rolled out in January 2026, […]
OpenAI says it’s disabled ad-like app promotions in ChatGPT
OpenAI says it's disabled ad-like app promotions in ChatGPT OpenAI has turned off some promotional app messages in ChatGPT after users complained that the chatbot was showing them ads. In a post on X, OpenAI’s chief research officer, Mark Chen, said that the company is working to improve the experience after showing ChatGPT users in-app […]
Square’s product chief on the death of the penny and the future of money
Square's product chief on the death of the penny and the future of money Today, I’m talking with Willem Avé, who’s head of product at Square. You know Square — it was started by billionaire Jack Dorsey, of Twitter fame, more than 15 years ago, and it got big on the back of that little […]
Segway’s new Myon e-bike will straddle past and future
Segway's new Myon e-bike will straddle past and future Segway’s modest e-bike lineup is about to gain a new entrant. The Ninebot-owned brand, once known for its pioneering self-balancing scooters, currently only sells two e-bikes: the moto-styled Xyber and the low-step Xafari. Now it’s getting a third, Myon, which it plans on officially debuting at […]
Stop, Shop, and Scroll
Stop, Shop, and Scroll In 1914 Joseph Pilates was sitting in a World War I-era internment camp watching his fellow inmates waste away when he had an idea. As he later recounted to a journalist, the skinny prison courtyard cats kept spry and limber, stretching and moving even as they starved — could the German […]
X cuts off the European Commission’s ad account after being fined €120 million
X cuts off the European Commission's ad account after being fined €120 million Friday, the EU slapped X with a €120 million fine (about $140 million) for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). It was the first time that a company had been hit with a penalty for running afoul of the law. Elon Musk […]
What Google Glass got right — and really, really wrong
What Google Glass got right — and really, really wrong Google didn’t invent the concept of smart glasses, but it did help make them mainstream. In retrospect, 13 years after their launch, this is both a good and bad thing. Glass made a lot of people dream about new ways to use computers without staring […]
Starlink made ‘work from home’ possible from anywhere — now, I’m ready for a change
Starlink made 'work from home' possible from anywhere — now, I'm ready for a change This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on how to work anywhere, follow Thomas Ricker. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The […]