Apps

US increases efforts to ban TikTok and other apps

New bill faces vote later this month

Published

March 8, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

Millions of users are fans of TikTok. However, the American government is clearly not. Over the years, the country’s officials have experimented with ways to ban the platform from the American tech space. While past efforts haven’t materialized into anything concrete against the Chinese platform, a new bill might finally pave the way to ban TikTok (and other apps) for good.

Today, American senators have introduced a bipartisan bill which will give the government the necessary authority to ban TikTok from American companies. As always, the new bill is concerned about TikTok’s potential as a gateway for Chinese surveillance. If passed, it will prohibit the app from being offered through the App Store and the Play Store on American soil.

If you’ve followed the drama all this time, you might be wondering what’s new this time. Unlike other efforts in the past, the new bill isn’t just limited to TikTok. In fact, it doesn’t even name the app explicitly.

Instead, it aims to introduce a system which will ban other potentially dangerous apps from “adversarial countries” such as China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela. When the next Huawei or TikTok rears its head, the government will have an established way to deal with the company, rather than going through years of discussions.

The bill must still pass through a vote later this month, so it’s still an open playing field. However, it isn’t the only effort to curb the platform. A recent act, the Deterring America’s Technological Adversaries Act, aims to deal with the app directly.

Apps

ShopeePay now available for Apple services

Additional payment method

Published

March 20, 2023

GadgetMatch

ShopeePay, the integrated mobile wallet of the e-commerce giant, is now available as a payment method for Apple services.

That means in the Philippines, one’s ShopeePay account may be used to pay for App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV app, and iTunes Store purchases, iCloud storage and more.

Using ShopeePay as an Apple ID payment method eliminates the need for a credit card while still having a secure and easy way for one-tap purchases from iPhones, iPads, Macs, and more.

Customers can manage their Apple ID payment information in Settings on iPhone and iPad, or on their Mac or PC.

On the Shopee app itself, ShopeePay has been a convenient payment option for users to buy products, as well as to pay bills, top-up load, and more.

Apps

Google is working on a Video Unblur tool

Possibly for the Pixel 8 series

Published

March 18, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

The Pixel 6 series introduced one of the most useful tools for smartphone cameras: Magic Eraser. With a simple swipe of a finger, users can erase distracting elements from a photo. Additionally, the Eraser came with other features which improved editing for photographers. Now, Google might be adding some tools for videographers.

As spotted by 9to5Google, Google is reportedly working on a new feature called Video Unblur. The feature already has code in a recently released APK. Unfortunately, though the feature can be forcibly enabled, doing so doesn’t do anything yet. The developers are still clearly working on the new feature.

However, it’s a clear indication that Google is confident about its software enough to work on videos. Presumably, Video Unblur will sharpen the detail of any videos that come out blurry.

Since the Pixel 7 series, Google already introduced Photo Unblur, a feature that does the same but for photos. If Google’s release history is any indication, the company might launch the Video Unblur tool for the Pixel 8 series. We might even get some hint of the feature during the I/O event this May.

In the meantime, Google’s newest suite of photo-editing tools is already available to both Pixel users and Google One subscribers on any platform.

SEE ALSO: Google confirms date of I/O 2023

Apps

Microsoft Copilot will infuse Word, PowerPoint with AI

AI meets business

Published

March 17, 2023

Luigi Leonardo

As one of the primary moving forces of AI today, it’s no surprise that Microsoft is quickly infusing its services with a healthy dose of the technology. Today, Microsoft has announced Copilot, a new way to integrate AI with how the world works.

During an event today, the company introduced Microsoft 365 Copilot, based on large language models. It isn’t an entirely new product. Instead, the new technology will improve the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity apps.

For one, Copilot in Microsoft Word can automatically write and edit content while a user works. It will do the same in PowerPoint, streamlining the creation process with workers.

On the other hand, Copilot will ease how users engage with Excel, Outlook, and Teams. In Excel, the technology can easily understand and create insights for users, rather than the latter spending chunks of time poring over spreadsheets. In Outlook, the feature can manage a user’s inbox, allowing users to see what’s most important. Finally, in Teams, it can create real-time summaries as a meeting is going on.

Amid all of these integrations, Microsoft is also introducing Business Chat, a way for Copilot to collate everything it learns from the suite to create results for a team. The company even claims that the technology can create action plans for a team based solely on what it creates with users.

Right now, Copilot is still in testing with a few partners. It might take a while for the technology to reach other consumers.