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An essential part of business culture is that only a small portion of founded companies survive. The rest go bankrupt or their business just quietly shuts down.

Now these companies, whose business never really took off, have come up with a completely new trick to make a nice slice of money for their owners (or debtors).

Financial magazine Forbes reports (paywall) how defunct companies have started selling their former employees' email messages, Slack messages, and Teams messages as training material for AI companies' language models.

Apparently, AI companies are very interested in paying quite a nice sum of money for real, company-internal discussions. Presumably, this is because there is very little public material available from real working life that could be used for training language models.

According to Forbes, actors have already emerged in the market who help in shutting down a company - and at the same time also help sell the old company-internal messages to the highest-paying AI company. According to information, payments for company message collections range between $10,000 and $100,000, depending on the size of the message history and the number of employees.

Google has decided to bring badly behaving websites under better control and has announced a new change affecting visibility in its search engine.

Starting June 15, Google will automatically reduce the visibility in its search results of sites that "hijack" the user's browser back button for themselves.

The practice is quite common on even slightly dubious sites. It works so that when you try to go back from the site - for example to the search engine results - tapping the back button instead opens the site's front page, a prompt asking "are you really leaving our site", or perhaps an advertisement.

Google describes the problem in its own blog as follows:

When a user clicks the "back" button in the browser, they have a clear expectation: they want to return to the previous page. Back button hijacking breaks this fundamental expectation. It occurs when a site interferes with a user's browser navigation and prevents them from using their back button to immediately get back to the page they came from. Instead, users might be sent to pages they never visited before, be presented with unsolicited recommendations or ads, or are otherwise just prevented from normally browsing the web.

Anyone who has ever done a clean install of Windows on their computer knows that it is not a particularly smooth or fast-moving process.

But the update released for Windows 11 in April 2026 speeds up the installation of Windows significantly compared to before.

The trick is done simply by allowing the user, during the Windows installation, to choose that Windows updates will be installed only after the computer is already up and running.

Until now, the installation process has always required that the latest software and security updates are downloaded at the same time during installation - and installed as part of the Windows installation.

According to Windows Central, which reported on the matter (link in English), Microsoft nevertheless reminds users of the risks involved (link goes to X/Twitter): for example, security updates will not be up to date immediately when the computer is taken into use if installed this way.

Only this week we reported how the European Commission was touting its new age verification app as "technically ready" and top-class in terms of privacy. Now, however, the app has come under heavy criticism after a security researcher demonstrated that its protections are almost non-existent.

Security consultant Paul Moore says he bypassed the app's protections in under two minutes. According to him, the app's technical implementation contains elementary design flaws that make it an easy target for any technically savvy user.

Moore's analysis reveals that the app's trust model is based on local files that the user can edit themselves. Although the app is open source - something Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented as a guarantee of transparency - this appears to have backfired by exposing its flimsy architecture.

According to Moore, the app stores the PIN code on the device, but it is not tied to the user's actual identity vault. By deleting certain values from the app's configuration file, an attacker can set a new PIN code and still gain access to the previous credentials.

Google has released the fourth beta version of Android 17, which is according to the company the last planned beta for Android 17.

The release of the fourth beta version signifies the operating system's development moving into the finalization phase: platform APIs are now locked, the biggest new features are already included, and all that remains is bug fixing before the stable version, which is expected to arrive in the summer for Pixel phones and later for other manufacturers.

Android 17 Beta 4 is available for all supported Pixel devices, starting from the Pixel 6 series and extending to the latest models. All foldable Pixel phones and the Pixel Tablet are also supported.

Unlike earlier betas, Android 17 Beta 4 no longer brings visible major updates to the user interface or features. The most significant changes for users came earlier: a revamped messaging system, support for large screens, improvements to privacy indicators, and several security updates. And now, with all functionalities locked down, the fourth beta allows app developers to start testing their applications in an environment that very closely resembles the final Android 17.

Microsoft has decided to discontinue its lighter Outlook Lite email app for Android. The app will stop functioning completely on May 25, 2026.

After that date, even an installed app will no longer fetch new messages, nor will its core functions be usable. Users must switch on Android to the full Outlook app or to alternative email programs, such as the open-source Thunderbird.

Like many other companies, Microsoft developed lighter versions of its apps in the 2010s (thus, the "lite"), aimed primarily at consumers using inexpensive and low-powered phones. But over the years, even budget phones have become powerful enough that demand for stripped-down, lightweight versions of apps has dwindled year by year. That said, Outlook Lite did manage to accumulate over 10 million downloads in the Google Play Store, so there was clearly demand for it at one time.

According to Microsoft's official announcement, the phase-out of Outlook Lite will proceed in two stages: no new users have been accepted for Outlook Lite since October 2025 - and now the app will be discontinued for existing users as of May. The change will not affect users' email accounts or their contents; account data will remain on the servers as normal.

A month ago we reported how the United States completely banned the sale of routers manufactured abroad.

The ban imposed by the U.S. communications authority, the FCC, applied to all new routers intended for consumers.

The ban is absolute, meaning it makes no difference if the company manufacturing the routers is itself American; even such routers have been prohibited since the decision came into force.

Thus, the FCC's ban did not target only China or other countries considered competitors of the United States, but applies to every country in the world: routers manufactured in Canada, Europe or, say, Taiwan are all prohibited.

Manufacturers can, however, apply for an exemption for their own products, in which case the exemption request is evaluated by the FCC.

Now the first router manufacturer has received such an exemption: the American company Netgear received an exemption granted by the FCC and Homeland Security (PDF) on March 14, 2026, for its own products, even though they are not manufactured in the United States.

A sequel to the iconic Spaceballs movie, has been awaited for almost 40 years.

Spaceballs, which parodies Star Wars - with permission - has garnered cult status for decades, and a sequel has been rumored for years now. And of course, the original film did allude to a sequel, albeit as a joke.

Now, however, the sequel is finally coming, as Spaceballs: The New One will premiere in a year, on April 23, 2027. So the name did not turn out to be the originally planned Spaceballs: The Search for More Money.

A small teaser for the upcoming film has already been released, in which the director of the original film, the legendary Mel Brooks, talks a little about the upcoming film - though not an awful lot..

The teaser can be watched below:

Allbirds rose to become one of the most well-known environmentally friendly shoe brands in the late 2010s. The company chose the corporate form of a public benefit corporation and recorded environmental protection as the company's mission. In US public benefit corporations, the tasks recorded in the articles of association are also legally binding on the company, meaning Allbirds was legally required to develop environmental protection in its operations.

The ethical shoe company's message worked excellently in the market, and the company was listed on the stock exchange in 2021. Unfortunately, the life after the IPO wasn't all that successful, as the company's stock price plummeted almost immediately after the IPO and never again rose close to its valuation level at the time of the IPO. The company's co-founder/CEO left the firm in 2024.

In March 2026, the company then made a perplexing decision and sold its entire shoe brand to AAmerican Exchange Group, which owns several fashion brands. After that, Allbirds remained listed on the stock exchange, but without any business operations.

The European Union approved legislation in 2022 which made USB-C a mandatory charging connector in all mobile phones sold in Europe.

The law came into force for mobile phones in 2025, and as a result, Apple switched to using the USB-C standard in its iPhones already in 2024. The requirement was an excellent example of the legislation's "stickiness," as even though there was no similar requirement in other countries around the world, Apple voluntarily adopted USB-C elsewhere as well.

Now, based on the same law, the next phase is being entered, as from April 28, 2026, all laptops must have a charging capability using a USB-C connector.

Manufacturers are still allowed to offer other charging options in their computers, but the computer must also be able to be charged with a standard USB-C charger. If the computer supports any kind of fast charging technology, it must also support the standard USB PD fast charging technology.

In practice, the change means that, for example, on a business trip, you no longer need to take more than one USB PD standard-compliant charger, as the same charger can be used to charge both a mobile phone and a computer.

The European Commission has announced that the age verification app is now technically ready. The app is part of the EU's broader effort to protect minors online and provides a way to verify age without revealing the user's identity.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and executive vice president Henna Virkkunen provided more information about the app today. The app was first heard about last summer. In a few countries, testing of the first version of the app had already begun last year.

The app is a direct response to the requirements of the Digital Services Act (DSA). In recent months, the Commission has tightened its grip especially on large adult entertainment websites and social media platforms, such as TikTok and Meta, accusing them of insufficient age verification and addictive design.

One of the app's key technical features is the so-called zero-knowledge proof. According to Virkkunen, this means that the user retains full control over their data.

Google has made its desktop application for Windows widely available. The application, Google app for Desktop, brings the search giant's AI services directly to the Windows desktop without the user needing to open a separate browser.

Unlike normally with Google's new innovations, the application is immediately available in all countries - although its user interface currently only works in English. The application works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

The core idea of the application is to bring the entire operating system under one search - strongly reminiscent of macOS's Spotlight. The keyboard shortcut alt + spacebar opens a small floating search bar on the screen, through which one can search simultaneously from multiple sources. From the same search field, one can, of course, perform web searches using Google, but in addition, the search can also find files on the computer's hard drive, applications installed on the computer, and information stored on the user's own Google Drive cloud storage.

Blackmagic Design released a new version of its flagship video editor, DaVinci Resolve. The public beta version of the upcoming v21 is an interesting one, as it also caters quite a lot of tools for photographers now.

The new Photo tab brings advanced "node-based" tools, familiar from the video side, to photographers. This means that Hollywood-level color processing can now be applied directly to images. The Photo tab also includes full support for RAW images, albums, and direct camera connection (tethering) with Sony and Canon cameras.

These features seem like an open attack against Adobe Lightroom, as noted by many people on social media since the announcement.

Another significant thing about the version 21 is that it brings tons of new AI tools for video editing. To mention some, AI Face Age Transformer allows aging or rejuvenating faces with a slider and AI CineFocus is an AI-powered post-capture focus adjustment.

AI UltraSharpen and Motion Deblur improve low-resolution footage and remove motion blur. This means that a potentially failed clip can be subsequently improved with the help of AI.

In addition, DaVinci Resolve includes an AI Speech Generator, meaning speech can be created from text. The program can clone the user's own voice based on just a 10-second sample.

In addition, the update brings numerous improvements to graphics tools and audio, such as Fairlight folders to facilitate track management. All new features and the beta download link can be found on Blackmagic Design's website.

Sony's next-generation game console, the PlayStation 6 - codenamed "Orion" - has been the subject of several leaks this week, which have begun to reveal upcoming details about the PS6. The leaks are quite consistent with each other, so they can be considered relatively reliable.

According to the information, the PS6 is indeed scheduled to launch already in the fall of 2027, even though it was recently speculated that due to the component crisis, the release of the PlayStation 6 might be delayed by several years. The internals of the upcoming console are most clearly presented by the Moore's Law Is Dead YouTube channel, considered a fairly reliable leaker, as well as Kepler_L2.

At the core of the PlayStation 6 is said to be a partially customized AMD Orion system-on-chip, manufactured using TSMC's 3 nm process. At the same time, the console's power consumption has reportedly been improved, and according to claims, the PS6's total power draw would be limited to 160 watts (the PS5's figures are about 200-220 watts). This would also reduce the console's physical size and make cooling easier. On the graphics side, the Orion chip would be based on AMD's upcoming RDNA 5 architecture, offering computing power of about 34-40 teraflops (PS5: 10.28 teraflops and PS5 Pro: 16.7 teraflops).

One of the world's largest hotel accommodation booking sites, Booking.com, has fallen victim to a data breach.

The site has already sent a warning to some of its customers that their personal data has ended up in the hands of the attackers. However, the company emphasizes that, among other things, credit card details did not leak in connection with the data breach.

According to The Guardian reporting, the company has not revealed how large a share of its customers the breach affects - nor what specific customer data has fallen into unauthorized hands.

Although Booking.com is a subsidiary of the American company Booking Holdings, Booking.com's head office is located in Amsterdam. Because of the location of its headquarters, the company's obligation to report data breaches is very clearly defined under EU legislation. The company informed the Dutch authorities about the breach only 22 days after it occurred, and therefore it will have to pay a fine for the delayed notification.

According to the company statement, the PIN codes for upcoming hotel night reservations have been changed for all customers whose data was involved in the breach.