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Google's iOS App Now Injects Links On Third-Party Websites That Go Back To Search: 9to5Google's Ben Schoon reports: Google has introduced a new feature on iOS that injects links on third-party websites that take users back to Google Search. Recently, Google announced new "Page Annotations" within the Google app on iOS. This feature, as Google explains, "extracts interesting entities from the webpage and highlights them in line." Effectively, it creates links on a website that you've opened through Google's browser that the website's owner did not put there. The links, when clicked, then perform a search on Google for that subject and open the search in a pop-up window on top of the third-party website. The feature, Google says, will offer an opt-out for website owners through a form. It's pointed out by SERoundTable that opting out can take up to 30 days, while the feature is live now. Further reading: US Says Google Is an Ad Tech Monopolist, in Closing Arguments Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Supreme Court Wants US Input On Whether ISPs Should Be Liable For Users' Piracy: An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Supreme Court signaled it may take up a case that could determine whether Internet service providers must terminate users who are accused of copyright infringement. In an order (PDF) issued today, the court invited the Department of Justice's solicitor general to file a brief "expressing the views of the United States." In Sony Music Entertainment v. Cox Communications, the major record labels argue that cable provider Cox should be held liable for failing to terminate users who were repeatedly flagged for infringement based on their IP addresses being connected to torrent downloads. There was a mixed ruling at the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit as the appeals court affirmed a jury's finding that Cox was guilty of willful contributory infringement but reversed a verdict on vicarious infringement "because Cox did not profit from its subscribers' acts of infringement." That ruling vacated a $1 billion damages award and ordered a new damages trial. Cox and Sony are both seeking a Supreme Court review. Cox wants to overturn the finding of willful contributory infringement, while Sony wants to reinstate the $1 billion verdict. The Supreme Court asking for US input on Sony v. Cox could be a precursor to the high court taking up the case. For example, the court last year asked the solicitor general to weigh in on Texas and Florida laws that restricted how social media companies can moderate their platforms. The court subsequently took up the case and vacated lower-court rulings, making it clear that content moderation is protected by the First Amendment. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Crypto Miners In Texas' ERCOT Region Required To Register, Report Power Demand: A new rule passed in Texas requiring cryptocurrency miners using the grid maintained by the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to register and report key details about their facilities. CoinTelegraph reports: Under the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT) rule (PDF), passed on Nov. 21, Bitcoin miners must share the location, ownership information and demand for electricity of their facilities with the state agency. Miners have only one working day after the date their facility connects to the ERCOT grid to register and must renew every calendar year on or before March 1. ERCOT is an independent system operator representing 90% of the state's electric load. According to PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson, the new rule was designed to help manage the power grid as more mining facilities come online. "To ensure the ERCOT grid is reliable and meets the electricity needs of all Texans, the PUCT and ERCOT need to know the location and power needs of virtual currency miners," he said. Bitcoin miners who fail to register under the PUCT rule will face a Class A violation, which can result in up to $25,000 in daily fines. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Indonesia Says Apple's $100 Million Investment Proposal Inadequate: Indonesia rejected Apple's $100 million investment proposal to build an accessory and component plant, stating it was insufficient to lift the current ban on iPhone 16 sales in the country. Indonesia banned sales of Apple's iPhone 16 last month after it failed to meet requirements that smartphones sold domestically should comprise at least 40% locally-made parts. Reuters reports: "We have done an assessment and this (proposal) has not met principles of fairness," Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita told a press conference, comparing the proposal to Apple's bigger investments in neighboring Vietnam and Thailand. Apple has no manufacturing facilities in Indonesia, but has since 2018 set up application-developer academies, which Jakarta considers a way for the company to meet local content requirement for the sale of older iPhone models. Agus said Apple had an outstanding investment commitment of $10 million it should have carried out before 2023. He also wanted Apple to commit to new investment until 2026. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

SUSE Unveils Major Rebranding, New Data-Protecting AI Platform: An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet, written by Steven Vaughan-Nichols: At KubeCon North America, SUSE announced a significant rebranding effort, several new product offerings, and the launch of SUSE AI, a secure platform for deploying and running generative AI (gen AI) applications. SUSE has renamed its entire portfolio to make product names more descriptive and customer-friendly. Notable changes include: - Rancher, SUSE's Kubernetes offering, is now SUSE Rancher. - Liberty Linux, the company's Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)/CentOS clone and support offering, becomes SUSE Multi Linux Support. - Harvester is rebranded as SUSE Virtualization - Longhorn is now SUSE Storage. [...] Also, like everyone else, SUSE now has an AI offering: SUSE AI. This isn't an AI chatbot, like Red Hat's Lightspeed AI tool. No, it's a secure platform for deploying and running gen AI applications. This new offering addresses key challenges faced by enterprises as they move from AI experimentation to deployment, particularly in areas of security and compliance. These are SUSE AI's top features, as highlighted by Vaughan-Nichols: 1. Security by Design: SUSE AI provides security and certifications at the software infrastructure level, along with zero-trust security tools, templates, and compliance playbooks. 2. Multifaceted Trust: The platform ensures that generated data is correct and private customer and IP data remain secure. It supports deployment across various environments, including on-premise, hybrid, cloud, and air-gapped setups. 3. Choice and Flexibility: SUSE AI allows customers to select and deploy their preferred AI components and LLMs. 4. Simplified Operations: The platform provides simplified cluster operations, persistent storage, and easy access to pre-configured shared tools and services. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple Snubs AI in Its 'iPhone App of the Year' Finalists: An anonymous reader shares a report: On Monday, Apple's list of finalists for its coveted "iPhone App of the Year" award once again reveals how the iPhone maker is downplaying the impact of AI technology on the mobile app ecosystem. As it did last year, Apple's 2024 list of top iPhone finalists favors more traditional iOS apps, including those that help iPhone users perform specific tasks like recording professional video (Kino), tailoring their running plans (Runna), or organizing their travels (Tripsy). Other AI apps like ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Microsoft Copilot, and those that create AI photos or videos were not nominated for iPhone App of the Year. Given the popularity of ChatGPT, also now an Apple partner for its Siri improvements, it's surprising to find the app has not earned any official year-end accolades from Apple's App Store editorial team, despite its adoption of clever new features in 2024, like an Advanced Voice Mode for chatting with the AI virtual assistant and a web search feature that challenges Google. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

US Says Google Is an Ad Tech Monopolist, in Closing Arguments: Lawyers for the United States on Monday said that Google had created a monopoly with its services to place ads online, closing out an antitrust trial over the company's dominance in advertising technology that could add to the Silicon Valley giant's mounting woes. From a report: The legal case concerns a system of software that is used by advertisers to place ads on websites around the internet. Aaron Teitelbaum, a lawyer for the Justice Department, told Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that the company had linked its products together in a way that made it hard for publishers and advertisers to use alternatives. "Google is once, twice, three times a monopolist," he said. "These are the markets that make the free and open internet possible." Google's lead lawyer, Karen Dunn, countered that the government had failed to offer the evidence to prove its case and was on shaky legal ground. "Google's conduct is a story of innovation in response to competition," she said. The arguments conclude U.S. et al. v. Google, an antitrust suit that the Justice Department and eight states filed against Google last year. (More states have joined the suit since then.) The agency and states accused the internet giant of abusing control of its ad technology and violating antitrust law, in part through the acquisition of the advertising software company Doubleclick in 2008. Next, Judge Brinkema will decide the merits of the case in the coming months. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Nvidia Claims New AI Audio Generator Makes Sounds Never Heard Before: Nvidia has introduced Fugatto, an AI music editor that can generate never-head-of audio combinations, including instruments mimicking animal sounds. The tool processes both text and audio inputs to create music, sound effects, and modified speech. The system can isolate vocals, swap instruments, and alter voice characteristics. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

QNAP NAS Users Locked Out After Firmware Update Snafu: A firmware update has left QNAP network-attached storage device owners unable to access their systems, with standard reset procedures failing to resolve the issue. The problematic update, QTS 5.2.2.2950 build 20241114, was released last week before being partially withdrawn, according to user reports on QNAP's community forums. QNAP, the Taiwan-based storage manufacturer, has not specified which models are affected by the faulty firmware. Read more of this story at Slashdot.