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Instead, Google will have to provide search index data and amalgamated user metrics to at least some of its competitors. Judge Amit Mehta ruled that the government prosecutors couldn't prove that Google's dominance in the browser space—just under 70 percent of market share, at the time of writing—was essential to its illegal monopoly in search, as Ars Technica reports. Ditto for Google's operation of the Android mobile operating system, which it will also get to keep.
And so the biggest shakeup in online power in decades won't happen, at least not now. Things were starting to look interesting, too. OpenAI, the current juggernaut of the "AI" space thanks to ChatGPT, stated an interest in buying Google's browser. Perplexity, makers of a competing "AI" search engine, made a public declaration of intent to buy Chrome if it became available, offering about $35 billion (which, incidentally, is about double the evaluation of the company, which had only 52 employees in 20
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But with August 2025 behind us, Microsoft has been hit with a rude awakening. While Windows 11 still sits ahead of Windows 10 in total market share, the gap has shrunk.
Get Windows 11 Pro for cheap
Windows 11 Pro
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 Less than a week ahead of when Apple plans to unveil the Apple Watch Ultra with satellite capabilities, Garmin introduced its own smartwatch with satellite connectivity.
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The secret is to start slow, and to invest in a few solid products that will have the most impact, I'm talking electrical outlets, lighting, climate control, and the like. In other words, you can probably get by without a smart washing machine, but installing a smart thermostat will be a game changer for both your comfort and living expenses.
Insist on interoperability
One of the keys to successfully getting a smart home up and running is to ensure everything you install is fully compatible and interoperable. Many smart home ecosystems were originally designed around a central hub and wireless protocols that were supposed to hit it big, but that either never really took off or have faded in importance and mainstream appeal.
While there are plenty of these systems still on the market (Philips Hue remains popular, despite requiring a proprietary hub to achieve the best performance), you no generally longer need a hub to get all your gear working together on a single platform if you plan things properly.
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Kuwait is cracking down on cryptocurrency miners throughout the country, as reported by Reuters. Officials have blamed the practice for blackouts and for causing stress on its power grid. The country started this crackdown just before the onset of summer, which experts say could reach scorching temperatures of 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
Kuwait's Ministry of Interior said in a statement that it has been conducting a "wide-ranging" security operation that targets homes suspected of being used for cryptocurrency mining. The government agency went on to say that crypto mining is illegal, as the country's Capital Markets Authority banned the practice in 2023. Crypto trading was also banned at that time.
The crackdown has been targeting homes in the Al-Wafrah region of Kuwait, which is located in the southern part of the country. The region's electricity ministry has said that around 100 homes were being used for mining operations, often consuming up to 20 times the normal power levels. To that end, energy consumption in the area dropped by 55 percent following the operation, according to a government statement.
It's no secret that cryptocurrency mining gobbles up vast amounts of computing power and, as such, electricity. Kuwait isn't the only country to regulate or outright ban the practice. Russia has banned crypto
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