Firefox's latest experiment encourages you to explore the internet with article suggestions

Although the internet is a pretty big place, most of us won't see everything it has to offer throughout our day to day lives.
Sticking to the same websites -- such as Reddit, YouTube, or your social media platform of choice -- has pretty much become the norm for many web users.

Microsoft and Walmart strike up partnership to take on mutual rival Amazon

Microsoft and Walmart on Tuesday announced a strategic partnership designed to further accelerate the retailer’s digital transformation.
As per the five-year agreement, Microsoft will become Walmart’s preferred cloud services provider, utilizing both Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 enterprise-wide alongside projects focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning and data platforms.
Dig a bit deeper, however, and you’ll arrive at a core component of the partnership – a shared rivalry with Amazon.

Just last month, a report surfaced suggesting Microsoft is developing a cashier-free system similar to Amazon’s Go concept. Walmart was named in the report as a partner of interest.
If you recall, Amazon opened its first cashier-free grocery store to the general public earlier this year in Seattle. The store uses a dizzying array of technology which allows shoppers to walk in, grab what they need and walk out without having to wait in line to check items out at a register. Instead, purchases are automatically charged to a shopper’s Amazon account.
Amazon plans to open six more Go stores by the end of the year.

Google's Fuchsia OS is building momentum internally, could replace Android in the coming years

Google has quietly been working on a new operating system called Fuchsia for more than two years. The internal project, which aims to one day replace Android and Chrome OS, has been picking up steam with more than 100 people now working on it according to Bloomberg.
With Fuchsia, Google could look to right a lot of things it got wrong with Android a decade ago and distance itself from conflict. The European Commission earlier this week slapped Google with a $5 billion fine for antitrust violations related to Android.
The OS is reportedly being designed to better accommodate voice interactions and frequent security updates. Google would also like it to have a uniform look and feel, making it suitable for deployment across a wide variety of connected devices.
It could also give Google the opportunity to regain some of the control it has given to device makers and wireless carriers over the years. Device makers don’t have much of an incentive to push out updates today as they’d rather you simply buy new hardware. Carriers have their own set of priorities.

Addressing Android’s abysmal fragmentation issues and bringing OS adoption in line with iOS certainly has to be appealing to Google. As of May, Android 8 Oreo’s distribution sits at just 5.7 percent while more than 80 percent of iOS devices are running the latest version, iOS 11.
It’s clear that Fuchsia is more than just a side project at this point but whether or not it’ll evolve into Android’s successor is still up in the air. Some internal debates over design, deployment and privacy still need to be hammered out, sources say, and some believe it may be little more than a ploy to keep veteran coders who like a challenge on the payroll. One person that has talked with Fuchsia staff said it’s “a senior-engineer retention project.”
Google’s official stance on the matter is that it views open-source experiments like this as an investment in innovation – nothing more, noting less at the time. Fuchsia is said, however, to have the support of Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Assuming Fuchsia was to graduate to something serious, one shouldn’t expect it to replace Android and Chrome OS overnight. A slow transition would likely be in order, in part to properly acquaint customers with the new OS and to reduce the shock and instances of incompatibility that would surely arise with a sudden shift.

Android and Chrome OS are based on Linux but Fuchsia uses a different kernel called Zircon (formerly known as Magenta). As such, there could be some compatibility issues on devices that run today’s operating systems.
Sources tell Bloomberg that engineers would like to see Fuchsia on connected home devices like voice-controlled speakers within the next three years before eventually moving to larger machines like laptops. A full transition to Android, ideally, would happen in the next half decade, one source said.

HTC is on a downward spiral with 68 percent decline in sales

HTC was one of the original smartphone makers leading the charge into 4G LTE adoption and produced a few phones competing for top ratings. All that happened circa 2011 when the HTC Thunderbolt was running Android 2.2 and the iPhone 4S debuted without LTE support, although the HTC Evo was the first 4G smartphone in 2010.
Now, HTC isn't in such a favorable position. Sales are down over 68 percent in June marking the largest decline in over two years. Increased competition from Chinese manufacturers and the struggle to compete with the likes of Samsung and Google is taking a toll. Although Apple was a competitor to HTC several years ago, consumers considering HTC devices probably are not looking too closely at iPhones anymore.
Throughout June, HTC managed only $72 million in sales. According to an analyst from Trendforce, the Taiwanese smartphone maker has had lower sales than expected in the high-end segment and only mediocre sales figures in the middle- and low-end categories due to a lack of improved hardware. Rival Samsung excels in the mid-range and lower cost segments with dozens of different smartphones available worldwide at practically every price point.

Last week, HTC announced layoffs of over 1,500 employees from its manufacturing facilities. This year, total production volume is expected to be less than 2 million units. Considering that rivals sell more than that on a single launch day, times are quite bleak for HTC. Year to date, HTC stock prices have plummeted nearly 30 percent.
Although it is possible to operate as a small niche smartphone maker, there are many challenges to doing so. Mainly, low volume production costs become a problem. For HTC, there will be many downsizing pains for the foreseeable future.

Essential reveals its second modular accessory: a magnetic headphone jack

Last month brought the not entirely surprising news that Android co-founder Andy Rubin’s Essential company was in trouble, which makes today’s announcement a bit unexpected. The phone maker has revealed the second attachment module for the PH-1 handset, a magnetic 3.5mm headphone jack dongle, is on its way. It follows the 360-degree camera mod that launched alongside the phone in August last year.

Called the Audio Adapter HD, the module also features a built-in “audiophile-grade” amp “crafted from machined titanium for exceptional durability,” and a high-resolution ESS Sabre DAC (digital-analog converter).
Essential has announced that its handset is now Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) certified. A software update brings support for MQA, which give songs the lossless audio quality that artists intended without using up a huge amount of device space or cellular data.
The company also said it has teamed up with Tidal for a new partnership. The music streaming service has one of the largest catalog of MQA songs, and Essential phone owners can experience the new audio quality by signing up for three free months on its HiFi tier, which usually costs $19.99 per month.
The Essential Phone didn’t exactly set the industry on fire last year. In the six months following its release, the handset sold fewer than 90,000 units. While the established players offer a number of different handsets and have been around for years, that figure’s still a long way off what Apple and Samsung boast—both move about 75 million handsets each quarter. However, in addition to its recent price drop, Essential is giving people another reason to buy the PH-1 by offering a free pair of its USB-C earphones with the device. Normally costing $99, the Earphones HD will be bundled with the phone in a new $499 package.
No word on how much the Audio Adapter HD will cost, but Essential said it goes on sale later this summer. The 360-degree camera, the first Essential module, cost $200 when it launched. The future of the company may be uncertain, but it isn’t giving up on its handset just yet.