Amazon is killing off Prime Invitee Program and replacing it with Amazon Family


If you are an Amazon Prime customer who has been sharing account benefits – such as free shipping – with your friends, things are about to change. Amazon has announced that Amazon Family is replacing the Prime Invitee Program, and it is not just a name change.
Starting next month, it will only be possible to share Prime benefits with people who live in the same household as the account holder. This echoes the stricter rules being enforced by Google to prevent the sharing of YouTube Family Premium with people who live at different addresses.
Securing Kubernetes in the enterprise [Q&A]


As more organizations scale up containerized workloads they’re also facing increasing security and compliance challenges.
Kim McMahon part of the leadership team at Sidero Labs to discuss the vulnerabilities enterprises are encountering when scaling up Kubernetes on traditional operating systems and what they can do to counter them.
Google will not be forced to sell Chrome – but it has work to do


A judge has ruled that Google will not have to sell its Chrome browser after the Department of Justice proposed this last year. But as part of the ruling, the court says that the company will have to change some things about the way it operates.
The short version is that Google will no longer be allowed to make exclusivity deals relating to search, Google Assistant, Gemini, or Chrome. In the ruling, Judge Amit Mehta said that the US government has “overreached” when pushing for Chrome to be sold off.
Microsoft PowerToys 0.94 adds shortcut conflict detection, fuzzy search and more!


Microsoft has released PowerToys 0.94 with the joyous news that the v0.94 release cycle is “focused on new features, stability, optimization improvements, and automation”.
This is a big release – PowerToys 0.94 has a lot of new stuff in it, but there are two things that stand out. The first is a shortcut conflict detection feature which helps track down duplicated keyboard shortcuts. The second is fuzzy search within PowerToys Settings – which is important as the suite of tools is now a colossal collection. But, of course, there is more. Much more.
Ashampoo releases Photo Organizer Pro 26 with enhanced sorting and support for large collections


Ashampoo has released Photo Organizer Pro 26, an updated version of its photo management software.
The program handles large image collections across local storage and cloud services and new features in this release include support for WebDAV, a classic folder tree view, batch processing for keywords and locations, and an improved import function with duplicate detection.
Over half of UK SMEs set to adopt AI in the next year


A new report shows that 52 percent of UK SMEs are already using or plan to adopt AI tools within the next 12 months.
The study, from fintech company SumUp, is based on a survey of 750 business owners and decision makers within small UK businesses and finds that 27 percent see AI mostly as an opportunity, highlighting its potential to drive growth or increase efficiency.
Dolby Vision 2 could make dark TV scenes finally watchable


Dolby Laboratories has introduced Dolby Vision 2, a new version of its picture technology designed for modern televisions. The announcement includes support from Hisense, which will be the first manufacturer to adopt the format, and CANAL+, which confirmed it will deliver content in Dolby Vision 2.
Dolby Vision was first introduced over ten years ago as a high dynamic range format. Dolby said the updated version is intended to reflect changes in display capabilities and to provide new creative tools. It described the release as part of its broader efforts to improve picture quality across entertainment devices.
New fully open and transparent large language model launches -- it’s Swiss, of course


The Swiss have something of a reputation for being methodical -- particularly when it comes to things like banking -- so it’s no surprise that they take a similar approach to creating a large language model.
EPFL, ETH Zurich and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) have today released Apertus, a large-scale, open, multilingual LLM. Apertus -- Latin for ‘open’ -- the name highlights its distinctive feature, that the entire development process, including its architecture, model weights, and training data and recipes, is openly accessible and fully documented.
'The deal ESPN and Disney don't want you to know about': $4.99 gives you 24 hours of unlimited Sling Orange


Sling TV has announced a new subscription option designed to give viewers short-term access to live sports and entertainment.
The company rolled out the new $4.99 Sling Orange Day Pass today, which provides 24 hours of streaming without contracts, bundles or hidden fees. The announcement comes as the college football season begins, a time when fans often look for affordable ways to watch major games.
GIMP 3.1.4 is here -- the best free Photoshop alternative gains link and vector layers


When people ask whether Linux can run Photoshop, the answer is usually no. But many users discover that GIMP is not only a capable alternative, it offers features that stand on their own. The latest development release, GIMP 3.1.4, moves closer to the upcoming 3.2 milestone, introducing early versions of two highly requested features, along with a wide range of updates across the full application.
GIMP 3.1.4 marks the second development release leading up to GIMP 3.2 and adds link layers and vector layers, both designed for non-destructive editing.
Windows 11 gains clipboard sharing with Android devices


Microsoft has gone all in with its embrace of Android and its various moves towards making Windows 11 play nicely with Google’s mobile operating system.
We’ve already seen the Link to Windows app get some serious attention, and most recently Microsoft added a very Apple-like option to resume using a mobile app in Windows. An as-yet unannounced feature is clipboard sharing, and this has been unearthed in a preview build of Windows 11.
Firefox is finally getting MKV playback support


The MKV format (Matroska Video) is one that has been around for a very long time now, and it is loved for its high quality and flexibility. It has been supported by many web browsers, and even Windows 10, for quite some time, but not Firefox.
But now Mozilla is taking action to address this. Some eight years after a Bugzilla post requested the addition of MKV support to the browser, a developer has been assigned the task of implementing MKV playback in Firefox. So, what happens now?
Do Americans dream of AI?


Artificial intelligence is making its way into more and more areas of our lives and it seems that includes our dreams.
New research from Amerisleep.com, shows that one in five Americans have dreamed about AI and 16 percent are doing so several times a month. While these dreams may reflect curiosity, some reveal anxieties about the role of technology.
Google Maps in Android 16 is getting an amazing Live Updates feature


For many people, Google Maps is absolutely indispensable, and Google is about to make the navigation tool even more useful in Android 16. Taking advantage of a new feature introduced in the latest version of its mobile operating system, Google Maps is gaining useful Live Updates support.
Live Updates are a new type of notification that are used in very specific circumstances – such as flight tracking, delivery tracking, or navigation. Google is experimenting with Google Maps integration and, if it is done correctly, it could be a game-changer.
Google hits out at ‘entirely false’ claims of a major Gmail security issue


Google has taken the unusual move of addressing claims about a major Gmail security issue – claims the company says are “entirely false”.
Insisting that “Gmail’s protections are strong and effective”, Google does not specify which claims it is referring to or where they stem from. What is clear, though, is that the company has been rattled by whoever has tried to bring into question the security of its email platform.
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