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Google announced today that it will no longer be using country code top level domains for searches. Instead, all search services will happen on the google.com URL and local results will be delivered automatically. For example, that means users in the UK will no longer see google.co.uk in their browser's address bar. Google URLs with those country-specific domain endings will now redirect to the main google.com address. Google started using location information to automatically provide search results based on geography in 2017. With that change, it didn't matter whether you entered a query into a local country code URL or into google.com; you'd always see the results version for the place you were physically located. Today's announcement seems to take that initial action to its conclusion by sunsetting those ccTLDs. "Its important to note that while this update will change what people see in their browser address bar, it wont affect the way Search works, nor will it change how we handle obligations under national laws," Google noted in its announcement.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-is-retiring-country-specific-domains-for-search-212157490.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
In 2018, Mark Zuckerberg floated the idea of spinning out Instagram, one of the remedies the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will likely seek in Meta's antitrust trial that began this week. CNBC reported on Tuesday that the comments from an email thread with executives came to light in Washington, DC. "I'm beginning to wonder whether spinning Instagram out is the only structure that will accomplish a number of important goals," Zuckerberg wrote in the email. "As calls to break up the big tech companies grow, there is a non-trivial chance that we will be forced to spin out Instagram and perhaps WhatsApp in the next 5-10 years anyway." His estimate, made six years ago, ended up being spot-on. "On the flip side, while most companies resist breakups, the corporate history is that most companies actually perform better after they've been split up," Zuckerberg added in the same email, according to The New York Times. It's Zuckerberg's second day of testimony in the trial, which stemmed from a 2020 government lawsuit against Meta (then still known as Facebook). The FTC argues that the company's purchases of Instagram (for $1 billion in 2012) and WhatsApp (for $19 billion in 2014) hurt competition. If the trial goes the FTC's way, it will likely ask the judge to break up Meta by selling off one or both of the apps. Last April, Meta moved to dismiss the case, but US District Judge James Boasberg allowed it to proceed with a narrower scope. On the stand on Tuesday, the Meta CEO reportedly defended the company's Instagram purchase as the result of a standard cost-benefit examination. "We were doing a build-vs.-buy analysis," Zuckerberg said. "I thought that Instagram was better at that [than Facebook's Camera app], so I thought it was better to buy them." "Building a new app is hard," he said when asked on the stand why he was intent on buying Instagram. "Weve probably tried building dozens of apps over the history of the company, and the majority of them dont go anywhere." Other details that came to light on Tuesday include a 2013 email in which Zuckerberg told executives to block Asian competitors Kakao and WeChat from advertising on Facebook. "Those companies are trying to build social networks and replace us," he wrote. "The revenue is immaterial to us compared to any risk."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/mark-zuckerberg-predicted-metas-antitrust-trial-in-a-2018-email-205719635.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Kia has teased that it will have a trio of announcements at the 2025 New York International Auto Show. The car company's presentation is scheduled for 10AM ET on April 16. Luckily for those gearheads who want to know what's next for the brand, Kia will have a livestream of its showcase. The reveal will be hosted live on YouTube, and it's also embedded below. The presentation will feature three debuts, according to the company, including two that are fully electric. Kia unveiled its EV4 hatchback sedan in February, but didn't share info about North American manufacturing at that time. That's a likely announcement during this week's New York event. While the stage presentation will get livestreamed, we don't yet have tech to remotely test the Kia EV9 and EV6 models that will be at the live show. Maybe one dayThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/how-to-watch-kias-new-york-international-auto-show-presentation-on-april-16-195259387.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
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