Thurrott Daily: March 31

Thurrott Daily:

Tech tidbits from around the web.

3/31/2016 1:38:01 PM

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Microsoft Edge will not natively block ads

Despite reports that Microsoft Edge would include a native ad blocker plus support extensions for that purpose, Microsoft said today that was not the case.

“We are not building a native ad blocker within [Microsoft Edge], but we will support third-party ad blockers like AdBlock and AdBlock Plus,” tweeted Jacob Rossi, an engineer on the browser team, earlier today.

Brad wrote about this earlier today as well.

Even Microsoft’s own presenters have given up on Windows Phone

TechCrunch isn’t the only one that noticed this, but it’s fair to point out.

Sitting through all the keynotes at Microsoft’s Build, there’s one giant gaping hole in the coverage: Windows Phone was barely mentioned. In fact, it seems like the keynote speakers were actively avoiding the platform in most of the sessions, showing that Microsoft has basically thrown in the towel altogether.

Throughout all of Build, there’s been a whole fat lot of nothing about Windows Phone. Surface? For sure. Xbox? Yeah, why not. Windows 10? Hells yes. IoT? Now you’re talking my language. Windows Phone?

Nope.

Apple fans line up for the iPhone SE

OK, not really. CNET reports.

At the company’s flagship Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan on Thursday morning, there were no lines of customers anxiously waiting to give their tithes to Tim Cook, no Apple retail employees cheerleading the event, and no Apple press representatives telling me I couldn’t stand in that spot. Heck, there was no other media, which made me wonder what I was even doing there.

Thursday’s scene marks the first time that an Apple iPhone launch was just like every other phone launch: completely pedestrian.

Pedestrian. Yes, just like the iPhone SE.

IAR-for-Cardboard-Studio2

Take a tour of Abbey Road Studios with Google Cardboard

I can’t wait to check this out when I get home: There’s a new Google Cardboard app calledInside Abbey Road that lets you take a virtual tour of the famous music studio. It’s out now for Android, with an iPhone version coming soon.

Last year, we opened the doors to the music landmark Abbey Road Studios, where musical legends like the Beatles and Pink Floyd have recorded. With a click of a mouse or a tap of a screen, more than 2 million fans from around the world have stepped Inside Abbey Road to explore the famous studios. Now you can go even further and experience what it actually feels like—and sounds like—inside the studios, using Google Cardboard and your smartphone.

Start your journey with a nine-part guided tour narrated by Giles Martin, the son of the late Beatles producer, George Martin, who shares the history of the studios from the 1930’s to present day.

Google is killing the Google Wallet card

Last year, Google renamed Google Wallet to Android Pay, but kept the Google Wallet brand (and app) around as a way to do person-to-person payments. Less well known, perhaps, was something called Google Wallet Card, which was a pre-paid debit card that you could add funds to electronically and then use out in the world like a credit card. Well.That’s going away.

We’ve decided that we’ll no longer support the Wallet Card as of June 30. Moving forward, we want to focus on making it easier than ever to send and receive money with the Google Wallet app.

If you’re interested in finding a replacement for your Wallet Card, both American Express and Simple offer debit accounts with similar features, including a card. Plus, we’ve teamed up with them so that Wallet Card users will get an added bonus after signing up.

 

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