Tech

Google will let Android power users bypass upcoming sideloading restrictions

Apps, developers, Google, Tech / Kris Guyer / November 13, 2025

Google recently decided that the freedom afforded by Android was a bit too much and announced developer verification, a system that will require developers outside the Google Play platform to register with Google. Users and developers didn’t accept Google’s rationale and have been complaining loudly. As Google begins early access testing, it has conceded that “experienced users” should have an escape hatch.

According to Google, online scam and malware campaigns are getting more aggressive, and there’s real harm being done in spite of the platform’s sideloading scare screens. Google says it’s common for scammers to use social engineering to create a false sense of urgency, prompting users to bypass Android’s built-in protections to install malicious apps.

Google’s solution to this problem, as announced several months ago, is to force everyone making apps to verify their identities. Unverified apps won’t install on any Google-certified device once verification rolls out. Without this, the company claims malware creators can endlessly create new apps to scam people. However, the centralized nature of verification threatened to introduce numerous headaches into a process that used to be straightforward for power users.

This isn’t the first time Google has had to pull back on its plans. Each time the company releases a new tidbit about verification, it compromises a little more. Previously, it confirmed that a free verification option would be available for hobbyists and students who wanted to install apps on a small number of devices. It also conceded that installation over ADB via a connected computer would still be allowed.

Now, Google has had to acknowledge that its plans for verification are causing major backlash among developers and people who know what an APK is. So there will be an alternative, but we don’t know how it will work just yet.

How high is your risk tolerance?

Google’s latest verification update explains that the company has received a lot of feedback from users and developers who want to be able to sideload without worrying about verification status. For those with “higher risk tolerance,” Google is exploring ways to make that happen. This is a partial victory for power users, but the nature of Google’s “advanced flow” for sideloading is murky.

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Microsoft releases update-fixing update for update-eligible Windows 10 PCs

Tech, Windows 10, windows 10 22h2 / Mike M. / November 12, 2025

Officially, Windows 10 died last month, a little over a decade after its initial release. But the old operating system’s enduring popularity has prompted Microsoft to promise between one and three years of Extended Security Updates (ESUs) for many Windows 10 PCs. For individuals with Windows 10 PCs, it’s relatively easy to get an additional year of updates at no cost.

Or at least, it’s supposed to be. Bugs initially identified by Windows Latest were keeping some Windows 10 PCs from successfully enrolling in the ESU program, preventing those PCs from signing up to grab the free updates. And because each Windows 10 PC has to be manually enrolled in the program, a broken enrollment process also meant broken security updates.

To fix the problems, Microsoft released an update for Windows 10 22H2 (KB5071959) this week that both acknowledges and fixes an issue “where the enrollment wizard may fail during enrollment.” It’s being offered to all Windows 10 PCs regardless of whether they’re enrolled in the ESU program “as it resolves an issue that was preventing affected customers from receiving essential security updates.”

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The Mac calculator’s original design came from letting Steve Jobs play with menus for ten minutes

1982, 1984, Andy Hertzfeld, Apple, calculator, Chris Espinosa, classic mac, computer history, Folklore.org, Mac OS, Macintosh, QuickDraw, retrocomputing, retrotech, software development, Steve Jobs, tales of tech, tales of tech history, tales of tech lore, Tech, user interface design, Vintage computing / Mike M. / November 11, 2025

Rather than continue the endless revision cycle, Espinosa took a different approach. According to Hertzfeld, Espinosa created a program that exposed every visual parameter of the calculator through pull-down menus: line thickness, button sizes, background patterns, and more. When Jobs sat down with it, he spent about ten minutes adjusting settings until he found a combination he liked.

The approach worked. When given direct control over the parameters rather than having to articulate his preferences verbally, Jobs quickly arrived at a design he was satisfied with. Hertzfeld notes that he implemented the calculator’s UI a few months later using Jobs’s parameter choices from that ten-minute session, while Donn Denman, another member of the Macintosh team, handled the mathematical functions.

That ten-minute session produced the calculator design that shipped with the Mac in 1984 and remained virtually unchanged through Mac OS 9, when Apple discontinued that OS in 2001. Apple replaced it in Mac OS X with a new design, ending the calculator’s 17-year run as the primary calculator interface for the Mac.

Why it worked

Espinosa’s Construction Set was an early example of what would later become common in software development: visual and parameterized design tools. In 1982, when most computers displayed monochrome text, the idea of letting someone fine-tune visual parameters through interactive controls without programming was fairly forward-thinking. Later, tools like HyperCard would formalize this kind of idea into a complete visual application framework.

The primitive calculator design tool also revealed something about Jobs’s management process. He knew what he wanted when he saw it, but he perhaps struggled to articulate it at times. By giving him direct manipulation ability, Espinosa did an end-run around that communication problem entirely. Later on, when he returned to Apple in the late 1990s, Jobs would famously insist on judging products by using them directly rather than through canned PowerPoint demos or lists of specifications.

The longevity of Jobs’s ten-minute design session suggests the approach worked. The calculator survived nearly two decades of Mac OS updates, outlasting many more elaborate interface elements. What started as a workaround became one of the Mac’s most simple but enduring designs.

By the way, if you want to try the original Mac OS calculator yourself, you can run various antique versions of the operating system in your browser thanks to the Infinite Mac website.

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Google says new cloud-based “Private AI Compute” is just as secure as local processing

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Google, Google Gemini, NPU, Tech / Tim Belzer / November 11, 2025

NPUs can’t do it all, though. While Gemini Nano is getting more capable, it can’t compete with models that run on massive, high-wattage servers. That might be why some AI features, like the temporarily unavailable Daily Brief, don’t do much on the Pixels. Magic Cue, which surfaces personal data based on screen context, is probably in a similar place. Google now says that Magic Cue will get “even more helpful” thanks to the Private AI Compute system.

Pixel 10 flat — Magic Cue debuted on the Pixel 10, but it doesn’t do much yet. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

Google has also released a Pixel feature drop today, but there aren’t many new features of note (unless you’ve been hankering for Wicked themes). As part of the update, Magic Cue will begin using the Private AI Compute system to generate suggestions. The more powerful model might be able to tease out more actionable details from your data. Google also notes the Recorder app will be able to summarize in more languages thanks to the secure cloud.

So what Google is saying here is that more of your data is being offloaded to the cloud so that Magic Cue can generate useful suggestions, which would be a change. Since launch, we’ve only seen Magic Cue appear a handful of times, and it’s not offering anything interesting when it does.

There are still reasons to use local AI, even if the cloud system has “the same security and privacy assurances,” as Google claims. An NPU offers superior latency because your data doesn’t have to go anywhere, and it’s more reliable, as AI features will still work without an Internet connection. Google believes this hybrid approach is the way forward for generative AI, which requires significant processing even for seemingly simple tasks. We can expect to see more AI features reaching out to Google’s secure cloud soon.

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Ryanair tries forcing app downloads by eliminating paper boarding passes

airlines, Europe, Policy, Software, Tech / Tim Belzer / November 11, 2025

The policy change is also meant to get people to do more with Ryanair’s app, like order food and drinks, view real-time flight information, and receive notifications during delays.

Brady said Ryanair selected the November 12 start date because it’s during what is “traditionally a slightly quieter time for travel following the busy mid-term break period.”

Inconvenience preparing for takeoff

Eliminating paper boarding passes may create numerous inconveniences. To start, not everyone wants Ryanair’s app on their personal device. And many future customers, especially those who don’t fly with Ryanair frequently or who don’t fly much at all, may be unaware of the change, creating confusion during travel, which can already be inherently stressful.

Also, there are places where Ryanair flies that don’t accept digital boarding passes, including some airports in Albania and Morocco. In these instances, Ryanair still requires online check-ins (either via Ryanair’s website or app), and then the airline will provide paper boarding passes.

People who are less technically savvy or who don’t have a smart device or whose device has died won’t be completely out of luck. Ryanair says it will accommodate people without access to a smartphone with “a free of charge boarding pass at the airport” if they’ve checked in online “before arriving at the airport.”

“Nobody’s going to get stranded. Nobody’s going to get left behind,” O’Leary said, per The Telegraph.

Despite this, some travel experts are worried about potential chaos.

“There will be absolute havoc when that takes effect,” Irish travel commentator Eoghan Corry told RSVP Live in January.

Ryanair will be the first airline to do away with paper boarding passes. It already has a history with being on the ground floor of controversial digital-forward policies. Ryanair was the first airline to require people to check in online in advance or else pay a fee, as noted by The Independent.

“There’ll be some teething problems,” O’Leary said of moving to digital-only boarding passes.

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Google announces even more AI in Photos app, powered by Nano Banana

AI, AI images, Artificial Intelligence, Google, google photos, Tech / Rejus Almole / November 11, 2025

We’re running out of ways to tell you that Google is releasing more generative AI features, but that’s what’s happening in Google Photos today. The Big G is finally making good on its promise to add its market-leading Nano Banana image-editing model to the app. The model powers a couple of features, and it’s not just for Google’s Android platform. Nano Banana edits are also coming to the iOS version of the app.

Nano Banana started making waves when it appeared earlier this year as an unbranded demo. You simply feed the model an image and tell it what edits you want to see. Google said Nano Banana was destined for the Photos app back in October, but it’s only now beginning the rollout. The Photos app already had conversational editing in the “Help Me Edit” feature, but it was running an older non-fruit model that produced inferior results. Nano Banana editing will produce AI slop, yes, but it’s better slop.

Nano Banana in Help me edit

Google says the updated Help Me Edit feature has access to your private face groups, so you can use names in your instructions. For example, you could type “Remove Riley’s sunglasses,” and Nano Banana will identify Riley in the photo (assuming you have a person of that name saved) and make the edit without further instructions. You can also ask for more fantastical edits in Help Me Edit, changing the style of the image from top to bottom.

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Apple TV execs dismiss introducing an ad tier, buying Warner Bros. Discovery

ads, Apple, Apple TV, streaming, Tech / Kris Guyer / November 10, 2025

Focused on original content

Another obvious way to grow Apple TV is through more subscribers. With talk of Warner Bros. Discovery considering a sale, it’s worth wondering if Apple TV may try to grow through acquisition. But the execs Screen International spoke with seemed focused on building out Apple TV’s library with originals. Cue noted that “at least in the timeframe that we’re thinking about right now, we’re not looking at licensing any content or adding anything to our service.”

“We’re building an all-original services; we’re not building on the back of pre-existing IP or library,” Jamie Erlicht, one of Apple’s heads of worldwide video, said.

More directly, when asked if Apple might buy Warner Bros., A24, or Disney, Cue pointed out that Apple hasn’t historically done “a lot of major acquisitions.”

“We do very small acquisitions in general, not related to Apple TV, so I don’t see that happening because we like what we’re doing,” Cue said.

Since its 2019 debut, some have questioned whether Apple TV is an authentic attempt to improve streaming options for customers, or if Apple TV is a “vanity project,” as Screen International put it, or if the service is merely a tool for getting people to buy other Apple products. Naturally, the interviewed executives claimed that the service is built on a commitment to distributing unique and premium shows and movies.

The interview provided more insight into how Apple TV leadership defines the latter. Zack Van Amburg, one of Apple’s heads of worldwide video, said:

A core tenet of everything Apple does is the notion that humanity needs to be at the center of it, and that’s everything from app design to hardware engineering, to everything in between. We try to think a little more deeply about that.

Our shows and our movies tend to be about the emotional experience, the stakes involved, even when we’re doing a comedy.

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Commercial spyware “Landfall” ran rampant on Samsung phones for almost a year

android, malware, samsung, Security, smartphones, spyware, Tech / Tim Belzer / November 7, 2025

Before the April 2025 patch, Samsung phones had a vulnerability in their image processing library. This is a zero-click attack because the user doesn’t need to launch anything. When the system processes the malicious image for display, it extracts shared object library files from the ZIP to run the Landfall spyware. The payload also modifies the device’s SELinux policy to give Landfall expanded permissions and access to data.

Landfall flowchart — How Landfall exploits Samsung phones. Credit: Unit 42

The infected files appear to have been delivered to targets via messaging apps like WhatsApp. Unit 42 notes that Landfall’s code references several specific Samsung phones, including the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S23, Galaxy S24, Galaxy Z Flip 4, and Galaxy Z Fold 4. Once active, Landfall reaches out to a remote server with basic device information. The operators can then extract a wealth of data, like user and hardware IDs, installed apps, contacts, any files stored on the device, and browsing history. It can also activate the camera and microphone to spy on the user.

Removing the spyware is no easy feat, either. Because of its ability to manipulate SELinux policies, it can burrow deeply into the system software. It also includes several tools that help evade detection. Based on the VirusTotal submissions, Unit 42 believes Landfall was active in 2024 and early 2025 in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Morocco. The vulnerability may have been present in Samsung’s software from Android 13 through Android 15, the company suggests.

Unit 42 says that several naming schemes and server responses share similarities with industrial spyware developed by big cyber-intelligence firms like NSO Group and Variston. However, they cannot directly tie Landfall to any particular group. While this attack was highly targeted, the details are now in the open, and other threat actors could now employ similar methods to access unpatched devices. Anyone with a supported Samsung phone should make certain they are on the April 2025 patch or later.

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Higher prices, simpler streaming expected if HBO Max folds into Paramount+

HBO, HBO Max, mergers, paramount, paramount plus, streaming, Tech, warner bros. discovery / Tim Belzer / November 7, 2025

If a company acquires any form of HBO, one of its top challenges is expected to be streamlining operations while maintaining HBO’s premium brand. This could be especially difficult under a “more mainstream umbrella like Paramount+,” Alderman noted.

Streaming has already diluted the HBO brand somewhat. Through streaming, HBO is now associated with stuff from DC Comics and Cartoon Network, as well as reality shows, like 90 Day Fiancé and Naked and Afraid. Merging with Paramount+ or even Netflix could expand the HBO umbrella further.

That expanded umbrella could allow a company like Paramount to better compete against Netflix, something WBD executives have shied away from. HBO Max is “not everything for everyone in a household,” JB Perrette, WBD’s streaming president and CEO, said this spring.

“What people want from us in a world where they’ve got Netflix and Amazon [Prime Video] are those things that differentiate us,” Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, told The Wall Street Journal in May.

A “stress test” for more streaming mergers

Aside from the impact on HBO Max subscribers, WBD’s merger talks have broad implications. A deal would open the door for much more consolidation in the streaming space, something that experts have been anticipating for some years and that addresses the boom of streaming services. Per Clark, discussions of a Paramount-WBD merger are “less about two studios joining forces and more about a stress test for future M&A.”

If WBD accepts a Paramount bid and that bid clears regulatory hurdles, it would signal that “premium content under fewer umbrellas is back in play,” Clark said.

A Paramount-WBD merger is likely to speed up consolidation among mid-tier players, like NBCUniversal, Lionsgate, and AMC, Alderman said, pointing to these companies’ interest in scaling their streaming businesses and in building differentiated portfolios to counter Netflix and Disney+’s expansive libraries.

If Paramount and WBD don’t merge, Clark expects to see more “piecemeal” strategies, such as rights-sharing, joint venture bundles, and streaming-as-a-service models.

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Gemini Deep Research comes to Google Finance, backed by prediction market data

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Google, Tech / Rejus Almole / November 6, 2025

Bet on it

Financial markets can turn on a dime, and AI can’t predict the future. However, Google seems to think that people make smart predictions in aggregate when there’s money on the line. That’s why, as part of the Finance update, Google has partnered with Kalshi and Polymarket, the current leaders in online prediction markets.

These platforms let people place bets on, well, just about anything. If you have a hunch when Google will release Gemini 3.0, when the government shutdown will end, or the number of Tweets Elon Musk will post this month, you can place a wager on it. Maybe you’ll earn money, but more likely, you’ll lose it—only 12.7 percent of crypto wallets on Polymarket show profits.

Google Finance prediction markets — Credit: Google

Google says it will get fresh prediction data from both sites, which will allow Gemini to speculate on the future with “the wisdom of crowds.” Google suggests you could type “What will GDP growth be for 2025?” into the search box. Finance will pull the latest probabilities from Kalshi and Polymarket to generate a response that could include graphs and charts based on people’s bets. Naturally, Google does not make promises as to the accuracy of these predictions.

The new AI features of Google Finance are coming to all US users in the next few weeks, and starting this week, the service will make its debut in India. Likewise, the predictions market data will arrive in the next couple of weeks. If that’s not fast enough, you can opt-in to get early access via the Google Labs page.

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YouTube TV’s Disney blackout reminds users that they don’t own what they stream

Disney, DVR, Google, streaming, Tech, youtube, youtube TV / Rejus Almole / November 5, 2025

“I don’t know (or care) which side is responsible for this, but the DVR is not VOD, it is your recording, and shows recorded before the dispute should be available. This is a hard lesson for us all,” an apparently affected customer wrote on Reddit this week.

For current or former cable subscribers, this experience isn’t new. Carrier disputes have temporarily and permanently killed cable subscribers’ access to many channels over the years. And since the early 2000s, many cable companies have phased out DVRs with local storage in favor of cloud-based DVRs. Since then, cable companies have been able to revoke customers’ access to DVR files if, for example, the customer stopped paying for the channel from which the content was recorded. What we’re seeing with YouTube TV’s DVR feature is one of several ways that streaming services mirror cable companies.

Google exits Movies Anywhere

In a move that appears to be best described as tit for tat, Google has removed content purchased via Google Play and YouTube from Movies Anywhere, a Disney-owned unified platform that lets people access digital video purchases from various distributors, including Amazon Prime Video and Fandango.

In removing users’ content, Google may gain some leverage in its discussions with Disney, which is reportedly seeking a larger carriage fee from YouTube TV. The content removals, however, are just one more pain point of the fragmented streaming landscape customers are already dealing with.

Customers inconvenienced

As of this writing, Google and Disney have yet to reach an agreement. On Monday, Google publicly rejected Disney’s request to restore ABC to YouTube TV for yesterday’s election day, although the company showed a willingness to find a way to quickly bring back ABC and ESPN (“the channels that people want,” per Google). Disney has escalated things by making its content unavailable to rent or purchase from all Google platforms.

Google is trying to appease customers by saying it will give YouTube TV subscribers a $20 credit if Disney “content is unavailable for an extended period of time.” Some people online have reported receiving a $10 credit already.

Regardless of how this saga ends, the immediate effects have inconvenienced customers of both companies. People subscribe to streaming services and rely on digital video purchases and recordings for easy, instant access, which Google and Disney’s disagreement has disrupted. The squabble has also served as another reminder that in the streaming age, you don’t really own anything.

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Google settlement with Epic caps Play Store fees, boosts other Android app stores

Apps, epic, Google, Google v. Epic, play store, Tech / Tim Belzer / November 5, 2025

Under the terms, Google agrees to implement a system in the next version of Android that will give third-party app stores a way to become officially registered as an application source. These “Registered App Stores” will be installable from websites with a single click and without the alarming warnings that accompany traditional sideloads. Again, this will be supported globally rather than only in the US, as the previous order required.

The motion filed with the court doesn’t include much detail on how Registered App Stores will operate once installed. Given Epic’s aversion to the scare screens that appear when sideloading apps, installs managed by registered third-party stores may also be low-friction. The Play Store can install apps without forcing the user to clear a bunch of warnings, and it can update apps automatically. We may see similar capabilities for third parties once Google adds the promised support in the next version of Android.

epic harmful installation — This is the kind of “friction” the settlement would avoid. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

Importantly, Google is allowed to create “reasonable requirements” for certifying these app stores. Reviews may be carried out, and Google can charge fees for that process; however, the fees cannot be revenue-dependent.

The changes detailed in the settlement are not as wide-ranging as Judge Donato’s original order but still mark a shift toward openness. Third-party app stores are getting a boost, developers will enjoy lower fees, and Google won’t drag the process out for years. The parties claim in their joint motion that the agreement does not seek to undo the jury verdict or sidestep the court’s previous order. Rather, it aims to reinforce the court’s intent while eliminating potential delays in realigning the app market.

Google and Epic are going to court on Thursday to ask Judge Donato to approve the settlement, and Google could put the billing changes into practice by late this year. The app store changes would come around June next year when we expect Android 17 to begin rolling out. However, Google’s Android Canary and Beta releases may offer a glimpse of this system earlier in 2026.

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