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Asus has announced a new ASUS Open concept in the Nordics, bringing laptops completely without an operating system to the market.

The reform gives users free rein to choose and install the operating system they want on their device, whether it's Windows or a Linux distribution like Ubuntu, Debian, or Fedora.

According to the company, ASUS Open is a continuation of the ASUS PURE concept launched in 2016, which brought the first laptops free of unnecessary pre-installed software, or so-called bloatware, to the market.

Now Asus takes the idea a step further by removing even the operating system from the devices. With this concept, computers are delivered completely clean, without resource-consuming trial versions.

Asus' Nordic Country Manager Karl Isaksson says the company has noticed a strong group of knowledgeable users in the market who want to define their computer's user experience themselves.

According to Isaksson, the new concept is designed precisely for power users who deeply understand operating systems and demand complete control over their device.

The new sales model is not limited to just one device, but covers a range of Asus laptops, from more affordable basic models to high-end devices for heavy creative work and gaming.

Google has unveiled a completely new computer category, named Googlebook.

According to the company, this is the most significant change in the laptop sector since the launch of Chromebooks over 15 years ago.

While Chromebooks were originally built around cloud services, Googlebook has been designed from the ground up with the company's Gemini AI at its core. Google describes the new device not as a traditional operating system, but as an "intelligence system".

Googlebook combines Android ecosystem applications and the familiar web browser from the ChromeOS world into a seamless whole.

AI is deeply integrated into the device's usage, and one of the most prominent innovations is the Magic Pointer feature. It brings Gemini AI directly to the mouse cursor: by waving the mouse, the user receives contextual suggestions about things visible on the screen.

For example, pointing to a date in an email allows for the creation of a calendar entry with a single click, and selecting two images enables the AI to instantly visualize them together.

Another key software innovation is "Create your Widget," which allows users to create customized widgets for their desktop using only text prompts.

Google's new Gemini Intelligence platform was one of the most interesting novelties released at today's Android I/O event.

Gemini Intelligence is an AI layer integrated into the operating system that sees what is happening on the screen and can control all applications found on the phone. This means it can be used to create independently operating agents for various purposes.

A prime example of this could be an agent that, just before waking up, reads all notifications, emails, and instant messages that arrived on the phone during the night - and creates a summary of them, gathering the truly important things from the flood of notifications. The same agent could also be configured to make calendar entries automatically if the incoming messages contained something clearly belonging to the calendar and worth remembering later.

So, with Gemini Intelligence, Google aims to change the way mobile phones are used, where the user regularly performs some repetitive routines between different applications - by automating them into self-operating background agents. What's also interesting about the feature is that the agent can also automatically react to what is visible on the screen, meaning it doesn't need to receive a "trigger" from any notification or event for it to initiate a desired process in the background. Processes can also involve the automatic use of several, even dozens, of different applications by the AI.

Google and Apple have together improved support for RCS messages. Now, even RCS messages sent between iPhone and Android travel end-to-end encrypted.

The update arrived for iPhones today in the released iOS 26.5 update, and thanks to the update, most "basic" messages now also travel fully encrypted. RCS technology began replacing traditional text messages on Android a few years ago, and by the end of 2024, Apple also started supporting this standard.

Apple still uses its own iMessage communication by default for communication between iPhones, but in communication between different operating systems, we are now entering the RCS era. In the Android world, RCS messages have gradually replaced text messages almost entirely, provided that both parties in the conversation have at least a somewhat modern Android phone.

However, the use of RCS messages also requires that the participants' own operators support it - meaning that mere operating system support is not enough for using RCS.

A months-long contract dispute between the Finnish telecommunications giant Elisa and the broadcaster MTV has reached a breaking point.

MTV has officially terminated its distribution agreements, meaning that starting tomorrow, May 13th, MTV's free-to-air channels -- MTV3, MTV Sub, and MTV Ava -- will no longer be available as live broadcasts for Elisa's cable TV and Elisa Viihde IPTV customers. This massive blackout will affect approximately 800,000 Finnish households, representing roughly one-third of the entire country.

AfterDawn was the first media outlet in Finland to report on the termination of these distribution agreements and the looming threat of a blackout back in late February.

At the time, Elisa assured the public that it would inform customers about the situation and any potential service disruptions well in advance.

However, that promise seems to have fallen short, as the final confirmation of the live broadcast termination was delivered to customers only today, just 24 hours before the channels are set to go dark.

The timing of the blackout is particularly critical for Finnish viewers, as the Ice Hockey World Championships -- a massive annual event in the country -- are about to begin.

Generally speaking, ad-funded websites want as many visitors as possible to their pages.

But after a certain scale, some sites want to know much more about their visitors, and merely visiting the site itself is no longer enough.

The reason for this is, of course, money, as "large enough" sites can effectively utilize additional information about their readers for better-targeted ads - and higher ad revenue. The best-known examples are likely Meta's services, which strongly push visitors to log in or download an app instead of just a quick visit.

Now, the internet's largest discussion forum, Reddit, appears to be taking steps in the same direction.

For example, technology publications Ars Technica and Futurism both recently noticed that Reddit no longer allows all users to access its websites.

The block affects some mobile users who have landed on a Reddit page using their browser. A notification appears stating that to view the content, the official Reddit mobile app must be installed on the phone.

The popular video service TikTok has released a paid subscription option, which allows users to browse the app completely without ads, The Sun reports. The distribution of the new subscription, named TikTok Ad-Free, began today, but according to the company, the feature will become available to users gradually.

The price for the new ad-free subscription in Britain has been set at £3.99 (appx. €4.6 / $5.4) per month. The subscription is aimed exclusively at adults, as its age limit has been set at 18 years. The feature can be found and activated directly through the TikTok app's settings menu.

In exchange for the monthly fee, users will get rid of in-app advertisements completely. Additionally, the data of users who choose this subscription model will not be used for ad targeting.

It is noteworthy, however, that the payment does not bring any other new features, privileges, or additional content compared to regular free users; it is purely about removing ads.

Switching to the paid version is entirely voluntary. The basic use of the app will continue to remain unchanged and completely free for users who accept the display of targeted advertising in their feed.

Apple may be returning as a client to its old partner Intel in chip manufacturing. According to several sources, the companies have signed a preliminary agreement under which Intel would begin manufacturing some of the processors used in Apple's devices. The news was first reported by Bloomberg, and the existence of the agreement has since been confirmed by sources including The Wall Street Journal and Engadget.

The agreement is the result of negotiations lasting over a year, which have gradually progressed towards concrete cooperation. According to sources, this is a so-called foundry model: Apple designs its own Arm-architecture-based chips, and Intel manufactures them on its own production lines, similar to how Taiwanese TSMC does for current Apple Silicon chips. It is not yet clear which products Intel-manufactured chips would end up in, but estimates suggest that it could initially be for more affordable M-series chips, and later possibly also for iPhone chipsets.

In recent years, Apple has relied almost entirely on Taiwanese TSMC's manufacturing processes for the production of all its own chipsets. However, the company has repeatedly emphasized its desire to diversify its supply chain so that it is not so tied to one supplier - and potential problems with that company. In its latest earnings release, CEO Tim Cook stated that the availability of iPhone 17 models was limited because Apple did not receive enough A19 and A19 Pro chips from TSMC. The fierce demand from AI servers and clients like Nvidia has tied up a significant portion of TSMC's capacity, which has weakened Apple's negotiating position and increased the need for alternative manufacturers.

Google is discontinuing a popular method for backing up photos from a computer to Google Photos via the Google Drive desktop application. The change particularly affects power users and photographers who have utilized the Drive app for automatically transferring large photo and video libraries to the cloud.

Until now, the Google Drive desktop application has offered a dual role: it has synced files to Google Drive and simultaneously been able to upload photos and videos directly to Google Photos. Users could select folders on their computer for the app to monitor, after which the content would automatically transfer to the cloud in the background without separate actions. This has been particularly useful for those who transfer images from DSLRs and other standalone cameras first to a PC and then to their Google Photos library.

Google's support pages and emails sent to users state that the Google Photos integration in the Google Drive desktop application will be removed in two phases. The first change takes effect on June 15, when new folders for backup can no longer be configured for Google Photos via the Drive app.

European taxi company Yango, part of Russian Yandex group, has been convicted of unauthorized transfer of customer data to Russia.

The decision was issued jointly by the Finnish Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman and the data protection authorities of Norway and the Netherlands.

In a press release, the Finland's Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman states that the penalty fee has been imposed on MLU B.V., registered in the Netherlands, which was responsible for processing Yango's personal data in Europe. MLU is part of the Yandex group.

The investigation originally began already in 2023, when both the Norwegian and Finnish data protection authorities started to investigate whether Yango's customer data was being transferred to Russia and whether customers' personal data was adequately protected.

The investigation revealed that Yango's customer data was transferred to Russia without the safeguards required by the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). According to the authorities, MLU could not guarantee that Russian authorities would not have access to its customers' personal data.

Discreet, completely screenless activity trackers have become hugely popular, especially in the United States, but also in Europe. At the forefront of the trend has been the American Whoop, whose products have their own cult-like fanbase, but others, like Polar and Amazfit have also introduced their own, similar activity trackers.

Now advertising giant Google wants its own slice of that market and the company released a new, screenless Fitbit Air activity tracker. Like its competitors, Fitbit Air focuses on collecting health and wellness data as discreetly as possible, without screen notifications and visual clutter. The device automatically recognizes exercise activities and everything else worth tracking, meaning running or cycling sessions are not started or stopped, but the device deduces everything itself with its built-in sensors.

At the same time, Google discards the traditional Fitbit app and replaces it with the new Google Health mobile app, to which Fitbit Air also connects.

Fitbit Air weighs 12 grams with the strap (without the strap, the device weighs only 5.2 grams) and is promised water resistance up to 50 meters deep. The battery is promised to last for a week while continuously monitoring the user's health, sleep, and activity.

We reported a couple of weeks ago on how digitally purchased PlayStation games would in the future regularly require online verification.

The findings showed that both PS4 and PS5 games required the console on which the game is installed to go online. At the time, this was interpreted to mean that the console would have to be connected to the internet at least once every 30 days or the game license would be revoked.

Now Sony has clarified the matter in a response it gave to GameSpot.

According to the company, games purchased digitally from the online store do indeed require a subsequent online verification even after the purchase.

But the check is carried out only once after the purchase. Apparently, the console should go online once, and this visit must take place within the first month from the purchase date, but after the end of the cancellation period for the game purchase - at least according to gaming media IGN .

Over the past couple of months, some strange things have been coming out of Microsoft's gaming division. And specifically in a positive sense.

The leadership of the gaming division was completely replaced with new faces over the winter and after that things have started to happen, quite a lot in fact.

First, in March, the first hints were announced about the upcoming next-generation Xbox, i.e. Project Helix.

Then in April, the leadership of the gaming division explained how players and games are being put back at the center of everything as the next steps for Xbox and Microsoft's entire gaming business are planned. In the same shake-up, the Microsoft Gaming unit was renamed back to simply Xbox - and Xbox Game Pass prices were lowered.

And now the rapid moves continue, as the head of the Xbox division, Asha Sharma, said this week (link goes to X/Twitter) that Microsoft's AI assistant Copilot will be completely removed from the Xbox platform and its development for Xbox will be discontinued immediately.

The world's most popular browser, Google's own Chrome, is now automatically downloading a huge additional file to every computer it's installed on.

The four-gigabyte weights.bin file automatically downloads to the computer and places itself in the same directory path where Chrome is installed.

This file is essentially the weight file for Gemini Nano, Google's own AI's local model, which tells the local AI model how it should function and what it can do.

So, in simple terms: a local Google AI model, running on the user's computer, is downloaded to (almost) every single computer with the Chrome browser installed.

It should be noted in this context that almost all: if the computer is too slow, has too little memory, or is otherwise incompatible with Gemini Nano, the local AI model will not be downloaded.

The issue was first noticed by The Privacy Guy, who wrote about it on his blog after first figuring out what was going on.

Chrome will henceforth use local AI to perform the browser's AI functions, such as suggesting what to write on social media or which tabs should be grouped together.

Microsoft has, over the past decade, delved into its history and released as open source some of the company's most important early products.

Previously, the giant has released as open source, among others, MS-DOS 4, released in 1988 and developed in cooperation with IBM, as well as the company's very first product, Altair BASIC.

Now the company has released a version of its DOS operating system that offers a glimpse into the events that ultimately led to the creation of the MS-DOS operating system, which grew into Microsoft's empire.

Microsoft, at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, was still a relatively small technology company. However, it had managed to secure a deal with the gigantic IBM to supply an operating system for IBM's soon-to-be-released, entirely new Personal Computer concept, which would use the 8086 processor.

Microsoft simply didn't have such an operating system in existence.

But another software company did: Tim Paterson had developed the 86-DOS operating system (formerly known as QDOS), which already ran on the 8086 processor, albeit in a different configuration than what IBM would later release.