Here are a few of the stories I’ve found interesting in a busy couple of days in the tech world.
Google Says it will Stop Targeted Advertising. Will it?
On the surface, this sounds like a huge announcement. Google says that it wants to build what it calls a “privacy first web” by getting rid of the hyper targeted advertising that Google has used to fuel so much of its revuens over the years. So, since Google obviously isn’t going to torpedo its own revenue model what does this mean?
Google announced over a year ago that it would be removing third party cookie support in Chrome, something that Safari and Firefox already do. Third party cookies are the primary source of targeted advertising across the web currently. Instead, google is creating what the company is calling a “privacy sandbox” that will still allow for targeted adversiting, but at a wider demographic instead of hyper targeted like advertising was.
Again, Google won’t be sinking its own revenue model, so obviously it things that this privacy sandbox is still targeted enough, and still lucrative enough for the advertising business. It remains to be seen what kind of effect that this will actually have on the web.
Google Announces Flutter 2.0
This one is a bit on the technical side, but could have far reaching effects on apps on our devices. The Google championed Flutter programming language has hit version 2.0, and with it there is now support for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and web apps. This is another in a long line of promised “write once, run anywhere” programming languages that are designed ot make app development simpler, and cross platform. Flutter has a chance of succeeding because it does use industry standard tools to do this work.
Flutter 2.0 does also offer platform specific features, notably it claims to allow much easier coding of apps on Android on devices with folding displays like Samsung’s Galaxy Z lineup, or devices with two displays like Microsoft’s Surface Duo. With this support, we could see more apps that take better advantage of those newer category of devices. That’s the part that’s most exciting to me
https://www.thurrott.com/dev/247767/google-unleashes-flutter-2-and-a-new-era-of-apps
Small Group of US Senators Calls for 100mbit Internet Standard
I don’t usually like to report on US specific news, but better internet is something that is important for everyone. A group of 4 US Senators, including one Republican is calling on the Biden administration to make internet speeds of 100 megabits per second the standard for broadband internet access. Currently, the standard is 25 megabit. More crucially, the Senators are also calling on the administration to make 100 megabit upload speeds standard. The current standard for uploads is 3 megabit. As millions of people have learned over the past year, upload speeds are as important as download speeds, and uploads are where Internet providers have often lagged behind. Most cable internet providers, for example, offer extremely slow upload speeds compared to download. My own internet connection offers 300 megabit download speeds, which is more than good enough for my household, but upload speeds are limited to 15 megabit, which is very slow comparatively. To me, the push to make upload speeds symmetrical with download speeds as a standard is a big deal, and one that should be implemented.
Google Accelerates Chrome Release Schedule
Google has been updating its Chrome web browser every 6 weeks for several years now. This meant that the browser was getting new features on a regular basis, and Google could keep updating the browser on a rapid pace. Now, that pace is about to get more rapid. Instead of a Chrome version release every 6 weeks, beginning in Q3 of this year Google will be releasing updates to Google Chrome every 4 weeks, or once a month.
For most users, there won’t be a huge change. Chrome updates silently in the background to the point where most users don’t even notice the updates, so while most users may not notice a change day to day, it will mean more features more often for the browser.
Interestingly, Google will also be offering an “extended stable” option where the browser updates only once every 8 weeks. This is meant for businesses that like to manage software and updates.
Starship SN10 Successfully Lands, Then Takes Off Again. Explosively.
SpaceX’s third Starship test went almost perfectly. The SN10 test vehicle took off, then fell back to Earth in its unique belly flop maneuver, and unlike the SN8 and SN9 before it, SN10 actually landed intact, albeit a bit lopsided as the landing gear didn’t work quite right.
Then it blew up and launched back into the air.