• Microsoft Shuttering Surface Financing Program
    Microsoft is shutting down its Surface financing program for regular folks, ZDNet reports. “Microsoft posted a notice on its Surface Plus information page noting that the company has decided to end new enrollments to the Surface Plus Program, starting August 31, 2018,” it writes. “The business version of this program, known as Surface Plus for Business, doesn't seem to be shutting down -- at least based on its web page.”
  • YouTube Adds 'Giving' Tools
    YouTube has started rolling out fund-raising tools to help users encourage their friends and followers to give to good causes. “You’ll now be able to catch glimpses of the beta version of the ‘YouTube Giving’ suite on select non-profit channels, including Hope for Paws, an LA organization known for rescuing homeless and abused animals,” Engadget reports.
  • Line Launches Crypto 'Token'
    Expanding its crypto ambitions, messaging app Line just launched its own “token,” TechCrunch reports. “Link -- Line’s token -- isn’t being minted through an ICO, instead, it’ll be given out to Line users as an incentive for using certain services,” TC writes.” Line hasn’t said exactly how it can be earned yet, although it is likely that it’ll be tied to specific activities to promote engagement.”
  • Microsoft Details Next 'Windows 10' Update
    Microsoft is revealing details of its next Windows 10 update. Set to debut in October, the update is fittingly named “Windows 10 October 2018 Update.” As The Verge reports: “It will include a number of new features for devices, like a new cloud clipboard that syncs across machines, a dark File Explorer, an updated snipping tool, improvements to Microsoft Edge, and performance information in the Xbox Game Bar.”
  • Secret Google, Mastercard Partnership Comes To Light
    Bloomberg details a data-sharing partnership between Google and Mastercard -- one that their consumers were never made aware of. “For the past year, select Google advertisers have had access to a potent new tool to track whether the ads they ran online led to a sale at a physical store in the U.S.,” it writes. “That insight came thanks in part to a stockpile of Mastercard transactions that Google paid for.”
  • Firefox To Block Web Trackers By Default
    The Firefox Web browser will soon block Web trackers by default, Mozilla just announced. “In conjunction, Firefox will also let users control what information they share with sites,” VentureBeat reports. As VB notes: “Web trackers are used mainly for targeted advertising and broad user data collection.”
  • Google Assistant Adds Additional Language Support
    The Google Assistant can now simultaneously support multiple languages. “Starting today, you’ll be able to set up two languages in the Google Home app and the Assistant on your phone and Google Home will then happily react to your commands in both English and Spanish, for example,” TechCrunch reports.
  • Apple Watch Series 4 Boasts Bigger Display
    Pictures and specs for the forthcoming Apple Watch Series 4 were leaked to 9To5Mac. “The biggest change is the all-new edge-to-edge display,” it writes. “Apple has been rumored to be working on 15% bigger displays for both sizes of Apple Watch -- that rumor has been confirmed in the images we’ve discovered.” What’s more, it said, “we’re also looking at a brand new watch face capable of showing way more information.”
  • Trump Unblocks More Twitter Followers
    In light of a ruling by a federal judge in May, Donald Trump continues to unblock more followers of his official Twitter account. As Reuters reports: “U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan ruled on May 23 that comments on the president’s account, and those of other government officials, were public forums and that blocking Twitter Inc users for their views violated their right to free speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
  • Salesforce Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates
    Salesforce’s second-quarter financial results beat analysts’ estimates, ZDNet reports. “The CRM giant delivered non-GAAP earnings of 71 cents per share on revenue of $3.28 billion, up 27 percent year over year,” it writes. “Wall Street was looking for earnings of 47 cents per share with revenue of $3.23 billion. Salesforce stock was down roughly one percent in late trading.”
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