Google were trying to closw down the platform with the mandatory registration of developers, but they also knew that they needed to be seen by (mainly European) regulators to have a security justification for doing so. The degree of opennes/closeness of app stores and the charges applied therein is the battle for control of computing today. I believe that Google realised they were over-reaching and corrected their direction, by allowing sideloading but by making it as complex and annoying as possible. This helps them in keeping Android as closed as possible and it also helps them to claim they were making these changes "for user safety" all along. The end result is acceptable for me, as I can continue installing the apps of my choice while having a phone that works for banking apps and the like.

I was thinking, will Tesla change their design, for China only? Or for everyone else too? It is not a minor change. Interesting test of the power of the Chinese market in shaping (literally) electric cars going forward

I have a Fairphone 4 (FP4). FP4 has stable 20.04 channel on Ubuntu touch, but I never bothered investigating it because of the ease of using Android and f-Droid giving me so many apps that are good and are actively maintained

Google overplaying their hands with power users will mean that, finally, enough people will have had enough of Android - as people said, what's the point of Android if you can't install the software you want?

(Dramatic dum roll)

The year of the Linux phone has arrived

Yes! And my whole family comes over to Apple alongside me, from grandma down to everyone else.

...as yet another example of potentially dangerous micro-plastics, once it is dumped into a stream or the sea, and it travels through the food chain to humans.

".... but you are not really intelligent, you failed the Touring test...."

This is a way to force their AI onto users... And the users will be mere pawns for the digital overlords at Microsoft.

I expect that if the Courts were to step in and help enforce copyright, the US Gov't would make sure that the AI companies can continue to take everything for free (or nearly free), otherwise the US "would lose the AI war to China". IMHO this is an example of an industry "too big to fail"

most important word: self-reported. for what we know, their actual critical thinking skills may even have got better! or not changed at all!

Italians detain Iranian citizen. Iranians want their citizen back, who is waiting for extradition from Italy to the USA. Iranians detain Italian journalist https://apnews.com/article/ita...
Meloni meets Trump: "Meloni met US president-elect Donald Trump at the weekend, when the journalist's detention is thought to have been discussed" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/art...
Italian journalist released https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/art...
Meloni gives massive Italian Government contract to Musk (this post)
--> Expect release of Iranian detainee to close the circle

I am not sure about the "gesture of goodwill" thing. they probably just thought they could lose a suit and set a bad (for them) precedent.