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Apple Changes App Store Rules

August 16, 2024

The company faces pressure from governments around the world and complaints from companies that it is still too restrictive.

The Best Field Recorders for Portable Audio

August 16, 2024

Tired of recording on your cell phone? These portable field recorders are fantastic for everything from interviews to concerts.

Margrethe Vestager, Big Tech’s European nemesis, reportedly steps down later this year

August 16, 2024

Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s commissioner for competition, won’t be back for a third term and will be stepping down this year. According to the Financial Times, the Danish government will be nominating a different candidate as EU commissioner after Vestager’s political party didn’t do well in the previous election. Vestager is known for being one of Europe’s top antitrust authorities and has been been tough on big tech companies during her term. The market abuse cases she has filed over the years inspired the creation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is a regulation meant to ensure that large companies don’t abuse their market power.

Apple, Google, Meta and other big players in the industry have had to implement changes to how they conduct business after the DMA came into force. Google, for instance, said it will start displaying price comparison results in Search from external aggregators when looking up services, such as flights or hotels. It will be easier for Android users to change search engines, as well. Apple said it will let companies set up their own app stores for iOS, but it conjured its own stringent rules that developers will have to follow.

The EU, under Vestager, started investigating Apple, Alphabet and Meta in March to look into their efforts to comply with the DMA. In an interview with CNBC afterward, Vestager said that Apple has “very serious” issues when it comes to non-compliance. Vestager also ruled way back in 2016 that Irish tax authorities had given Apple a “sweetheart deal” for over a decade and had ordered the company to pay Ireland €14.3 billion ($15.72 billion) in taxes. EU’s General Court overturned her order in 2020, but the commission had appealed that decision.

The European Commission also fined Google €4.3 billion ($5 billion) for antitrust violations surrounding Android and $2.8 billion for favoring its own comparison shopping services over others in Search under her leadership. More recently, the EU slapped Apple with a €1.8 billion ($1.95 billion) fine for suppressing music streaming services on the App Store that rival its own.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will start interviewing new candidates next week, the Times said. Vestager’s replacement is expected to replace her this autumn.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/margrethe-vestager-big-techs-european-nemesis-reportedly-steps-down-later-this-year-140024124.html?src=rss

Kamala Harris’ Brat Summer Is Almost Over. What’s Next?

August 16, 2024

Writer and critic Hunter Harris has some thoughts on Kamala Harris’ social media strategy and whether the vice president can sustain her moment in the online spotlight until November.

Why the Fiat 500e could be your ideal second EV

August 16, 2024

The phenomenally efficient Fiat 500e is enjoyable to drive.

Turkish parliament descends into fistfight

August 16, 2024

A fistfight broke out in Turkey’s parliament on Friday when an opposition deputy was attacked after calling for his jailed colleague to be freed.

Our favorite ThermoWorks instant-read thermometer is on sale for $79 right now

August 16, 2024

The ThermoWorks Thermapen One instant-read food thermometer is on sale for $79, which is $30 off and nearly a record-low price. This is an Engadget exclusive so act quickly if you wanna snag one before the sale goes up in smoke on August 22. The typical price, after all, is a whopping $109.

Amazon and other retail outlets are filled with meat thermometers so what makes this one so special? It’s incredibly fast, offering precise temperature calculations in under a second. The display is bright and easy to read, and it rotates depending on how you’re holding the gadget so the temp will always be in view.

There are some other reasons why this thermometer made our list of the best grilling gear. There’s a sleep/auto-wake feature to help preserve battery life and this thing even boasts an IP67 rating to protect against spills. That last one is important, as food tends to splatter.

The Thermapen One also made our list of the best small kitchen gadgets, for similar reasons. We called it “the best your money can buy.” The only major downside to this thermometer is the price, especially when compared to some of its rivals. This deal helps alleviate some of that sticker shock, but only until August 22.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/our-favorite-thermoworks-instant-read-thermometer-is-on-sale-for-79-right-now-130028874.html?src=rss

Elon Musk Is No Climate Hero

August 16, 2024

During a live interview with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, the former president literally said, “Drill, baby, drill.” Musk met the statement with … silence.