Author: Geek Planet

Windows 11 has a continuity trick called the Windows 11 Resume feature, and it has mostly been invisible. The idea is simple, do something on your Android phone, then your PC suggests where to pick it back up. That sounds a lot like the handoff flow between an iPhone and a Mac. But on Windows, the list of supported apps has been so short that plenty of people have never seen the feature fire outside of a couple familiar names. Microsoft is now signaling that Resume should be able to work with more third-party Android apps, as long as there’s…

For LG, the future of advertising isn’t flashy ad tech or buzzworthy partnerships — it hinges on something far more mundane. The TV menu. The South Korean electronics giant has quietly bet its ads business on turning its smart TVs into the starting point for viewers’ streaming habits.If LG Ad Solutions can make its home screen the default gateway to Netflix, Hulu and YouTube — not just a pass-through but the pace where browsing begins — it can claim a greater slice of the ad dollars flowing through connected television. “Even though we don’t report the numbers, this year will be…

After adding a few shopping features to Gemini late last year, Google is now taking things a step further. The company recently announced a new standard called the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), which enables a more comprehensive shopping experience in the chatbot and Search’s AI Mode. The UCP covers everything from discovery to after-sales support, aiming to streamline shopping for Gemini and Search users. Walmart has now confirmed that it’s among the first retailers to adopt the standard, allowing users to browse, compare, and purchase Walmart and Sam’s Club products without leaving the chat interface. In response to shopping-related queries,…

Marketers may be expecting, and prepared for, chaos but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to navigate yet another round of economic uncertainty — especially when the last one was just a few years ago. The replanning, re-forecasting and expected budget cuts has the marketing community on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop.While President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs are currently on pause for 90 days (aside from the 145% China tariffs, the 10% global tariffs and those on aluminum, steel and cars), there’s an expectation that could change any minute. The repercussions, should there be a change in policy, would…

Two deals stood out during the Q1 wave of consolidation in the ad tech and martech landscape, with activity from agency holding companies piquing interest: Publicis Groupe bought Lotame, while WPP acquired InfoSum.These deals were notable as they represented holding companies writing big checks for ad tech or martech assets — let’s put the pending InterPublic Group (read Acxiom) merger with Omnicom to one side for now — rare occurrences in recent years, compared to similar M&A in the 2010s.  In both cases, the Madison Avenue stalwarts bought close bedfellows (see below), in quick succession. As one source, who requested anonymity…

Snapdragon X2 Plus benchmarks are starting to paint a clearer picture for anyone thinking about a Windows laptop upgrade this year. In a batch of synthetic CPU and GPU runs shared by PCMag, Apple’s M4 beat Snapdragon X2 Plus in four of five tests. If you’ve been waiting for Snapdragon to deliver Mac-like punch in a thin Windows notebook, this is a useful check on expectations. It’s not the whole story, but it does suggest Macs still have a comfortable lead when you’re measuring straight performance. One big caveat is that these Snapdragon X2 Plus results came from a reference…

When the economy wobbles, most marketers ease off the gas. Amazon is telling them to floor it — on its ads, naturally.It’s a predictable pitch from a media owner. But Amazon isn’t just any seller of ad space. It can draw a straight line from impression to impact — be it a sale or a sentiment shift. That’s compelling in any climate but especially when every marketing dollar has to prove its worth.  “The depth of Amazon’s customer data and its massive scale and reach are substantial advantages in this environment,” said Sky Canaves, principal analyst, retail and e-commerce at eMarketer. Amazon…

The consumer tech industry is facing an ongoing memory crisis. Due to rising demand from enterprise customers (for building AI data centers), memory makers are directing much of their inventory to these clients, leaving little for consumer-centric product manufacturers. This has led to a rise in price (or a reduction in the total memory) on PCs and smartphones. In the near future, the memory shortage is also said to impact television sets, tablets, smartwatches, and pretty much every other device that uses RAM. The situation, according to Micron’s VP of Marketing, Mobile and Client Business Unit, Christopher Moore, might not…

As more vendors rebrand automation as agents, established giants and startups alike are challenged to show agentic AI delivers real business value — not just hype.Among the most ambitious is Salesforce, which aims to do for AI what it did for enterprise software.  Last week, Salesforce highlighted growth for its Data Cloud and Agentforce platforms, reporting $900 million in annual recurring revenue for fiscal 2025 and 3,000 net-new Agentforce deals in the fourth quarter. The company is pitching these tools as the foundation tapping into what it sees as a potential $6 trillion “digital labor market” — which comprises AI…

The digital advertising industry has spent the last five years preparing for a cookieless future. This week, they’re looking for ways to make that feel less like a wasted effort, following Google’s latest policy reversal.Facing legal challenges and industry pushback, Google has opted to retain the cookie in its popular Chrome browser after all, instead allowing users to manage settings through its existing privacy tools. Google’s own Privacy Sandbox initiative, which aimed to enhance privacy while supporting digital advertising, will stick around, at least for now. The decision has prompted a collective eye-roll from media experts. “It’s a little disappointing…