Apr 25, 2025Ravie LakshmananVulnerability / Data Breach Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed three security flaws in the Rack Ruby web server interface that, if successfully exploited, could enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to files, inject malicious data, and tamper with logs under certain conditions. The vulnerabilities, flagged by cybersecurity vendor OPSWAT, are listed below - CVE-2025-27610 (CVSS score: 7.5) - A path traversal vulnerability that could be used to gain access to all files under the specified root: directory, assuming an attacker can determine the paths to those files CVE-2025-27111 (CVSS score: 6.9) - An improper neutralization of carriage return line feeds (CRLF) sequences and improper output neutralization for logs vulnerability that could be used to manipulate log entries and distort log files CVE-2025-25184 (CVSS score: 5.7) - An improper neutralization of carriage return line feeds (CRLF) sequences and improper output neutralization for logs vulnerability that could be used to manipulate log entries and inject malicious data Successful exploitation of the flaws could permit an attacker to obscure attack traces, read arbitrary files, and inject malicious code. "Among these vulnerabilities, CVE-2025-27610 is particularly severe, as it could enable unauthenticated attackers to retrieve sensitive information, including configuration files, credentials, and confidential data, thereby leading to data breaches," OPSWAT said in a report shared with The Hacker News. The shortcoming stems from the fact that Rack::Static, a middleware that's used to serve static content like JavaScript, stylesheets, and images, does not sanitize user-supplied paths before serving files, leading to a scenario where an attacker can provide a specially crafted path to access files outside of the static file directory. "Specifically, when the :root parameter is not explicitly defined, Rack defaults this value to the current working directory by assigning it the value of Dir.pwd, implicitly designating it as the web root directory for the Rack application," OPSWAT said. As a result, if the :root option is either undefined or misconfigured relative to the :urls option, an unauthenticated attacker could weaponize CVE-2025-27610 through path traversal techniques to access sensitive files outside the intended web directory. To mitigate the risk posed by the flaw, it's advised to update to the latest version. If immediate patching is not an option, it's recommended to remove usage of Rack::Static, or ensure that root: points at a directory path that only contains files that should be accessed publicly. Critical Flaw in Infodraw Media Relay Service The disclosure comes as a critical security defect has been unearthed in the Infodraw Media Relay Service (MRS) that allows reading or deletion of arbitrary files via a path traversal vulnerability (CVE-2025-43928, CVSS score: 9.8) in the username parameter in the login page of the system. Infodraw is an Israeli maker of mobile video surveillance solutions that are used to transmit audio, video, and GPS data over telecommunications networks. According to the company's website, its devices are used by law enforcement, private investigations, fleet management, and public transport in many countries. "A trivial Path Traversal vulnerability allows it to read out any file from systems for unauthenticated attackers," security researcher Tim Philipp Schäfers said in a statement shared with The Hacker News. "Furthermore an 'Arbitrary File Deletion Vulnerability' exists that allows attackers to delete any file from the system." The flaw, which enables login with a username like "../../../../," affects both Windows and Linux versions of MRS. That said, the flaw continues to remain unpatched. Vulnerable systems in Belgium and Luxembourg have been taken offline following responsible disclosure. "Affected organizations are primarily advised to take the application offline immediately (since, despite early warnings, no manufacturer patch is available, and it is considered possible that the vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the near future)," Philipp Schäfers said. "If this is not possible, systems should be further protected with additional measures (such as using a VPN or specific IP unlocking)." Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter  and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post. SHARE    

About PerspectiveOur mission is to enable passionate people to grow the businesses they love. We are doing this by helping 6.000+ entrepreneurs with the fastest and easiest growth marketing platform. So you work work directly impact thousands of entrepreneurs & their customers.We're 100% bootstrapped & profitable. With less than 40 people we were able to scale our company to over €10M ARR. Now we are on our journey towards 100M ARR – and we believe by staying a small team with highly talented people we will get there fastest. 🌟We're in an exciting phase, expanding internationally and maturing our product and culture at the same time. We prioritize great execution and high impact - we strive for highest quality in what we do, as we believe the world doesn’t need more mediocrity.We foster a culture of ownership and freedom in a fully remote environment across Europe, enabling us to build the lives we want while making maximal impact. Come join our team of extraordinary people! 🚀About the roleAs our Talent Acquisition Specialist at Perspective, you will take our business growth and success to the next level by finding the best A-players for our teams. You will be part of a data driven team that values ownership & performance. We stand for modern recruiting approaches and are at the forefront of hiring strategies and processes – while still caring deeply about our culture and the humans we bring onboard. We will help you grow in your role and you will love our culture.What you will be doingEnd-to-end ownership of recruiting processes from kickoff to signingBuild and manage your pipeline – incl. sourcing, outreach & job postingsHost screening calls with our candidates and guide them through the processKeep track & analyze your KPIs to evaluate and improve our processesRepresent our brand authentically and attract top talent with your winning mannerStay closely aligned with specialists & hiring managers throughout the processWho you areYou have 2+ years of recruiting experience in SaaS companiesYou excel in active sourcing and are able to close 2–3 roles monthly, while taking less than 60 days from kickoff to signing per roleYou’re a proactive, charismatic communicator with strong ownership and a hands-on mindsetYou learn fast, work independently and consistently deliver across recruiting challengesYou’re empathetic, people-savvy and naturally build strong candidate relationshipsYou’re fluent in English (German is a plus)What you can expect at PerspectiveRemote & Freedom | We strongly believe that every work environment needs to be ideal and fitted to the person. For this very reason, all our team members work remotely – in their own much needed way. That's how we can ensure that all our talents have much freedom to create the best results possible.Responsibility, Ownership & Impact | At Perspective, all our team members have a voice. We value every opinion and encourage all to speak their mind. Only with team effort, we can create something great. We believe in our team and therefore, give them much responsibility. Even if we fail, we learn from it, get back up and continue to succeed. It is part of the game and we know it.Personal & Professional Growth | Your development is our priority. With our intensive onboarding, feedback talks and trainings, we foster your personal and professional development. One of our core value is "Keep Growing" which we portray in everything we do.Best Equipment & Remote Budget | Our company is build on the USP of quality and we want to keep it that way. To keep up the quality, we only provide the best equipment to our team: For example, every new team member receives an Apple MacBook for their work and a monthly remote working budget.Team Events | We know working solely remotely can make it difficult to build a strong team spirit. However, at Perspective we focus deeply on team building by hosting various team events throughout the year. We understand the need of interaction face-to-face and strongly encourage it.Cordial & passionate team | Last, but not least, we are the most cordial team you can imagine. We love working together, respect each other and always value each others opinions. We care deeply about our team members and are always down for a good virtual after work hangout.

Despite the geopolitical chaos and market collapses triggered by President Trump’s announcement of broad tariffs on international goods, some supporters still hope the strategy will produce a “golden age” of American industry. Trump himself insists, “Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country.” While it’s possible that very targeted tariffs could help protect some nascent sectors of domestic manufacturing, the belief in the power of blunt tariffs flies in the face of manufacturing reality. And it’s not just the idea of a speedy return to economic prowess thanks to smoke-belching factories and the sudden ability to cheaply assembled armies of iPhones that strains credulity. The sweeping tariffs ignore the complexities of today’s supply chains and the way technology advances are shifting how and where goods are made. In fact, the high and crudely designed tariffs set out by the administration could damage a recent rebound in US manufacturing. Building factories and the supply chains they run on takes years—even decades—of steady investment. Meanwhile, tariffs have the immediate impact of boosting costs for critical supplies, many of which come from overseas—helping to raise prices and, in turn, slowing demand. None of that is good for those planning to invest in US manufacturing. “Tariffs, in general, as a tool for encouraging the type of manufacturing we want in the US are a terrible instrument,” says Elisabeth Reynolds, a professor of the practice at MIT. Reynolds, who was an advisor to President Biden on manufacturing and economic development, says the Trump tariffs will raise the costs of US manufacturing without providing incentives for “strategic investments in the technologies we care about for national and economic security.” Willy Shih, a professor at Harvard Business School, says the tariffs feel like “random acts of violence” in how they hurt manufacturing and supply chains. Because the tariffs proposed so far “are so scattershot and change so often,” he says, “it’s basically freezing up investments. Who is going to make any kind of investment commitment when things are changing so fast?” There are already indications that the prospect of widespread tariffs could be harming the US manufacturing boom. One closely scrutinized survey called the Purchasing Managers’ Index, or PMI, showed troublingearly signs of rising costs for manufacturers due to the tariffs. Other indicators watched carefully by policy wonks, including surveys of manufacturers by theNew York Federal Reserve Bank, the Richmond Fed, and thePhiladelphia Fed, also show a loss of confidence among US producers and drops in new orders and hiring. The longer-terms effects of the tariffs are, of course, unknown. For one thing, the specifics—how large, how long, and on what countries—seem to be constantly shifting. And that’s a big part of the problem: For manufacturers and investors, uncertainty is the killer of plans for expansion, new factories, and even the R&D that feeds into new products. It’s that uncertainty, above all else, that could derail a reindustrialization still in the early stages for much of the country. In fact, US manufacturing in the years following the covid pandemic has been booming—or at least the groundwork for such a boom is getting built. Until the most recent few months, spending on the construction of factorieshad been soaring. New facilities to build batteries, solar cells, semiconductors, electric motors, and other new technologies are springing up all around the country—or wereuntil very recently. “We never had more construction starts in the United States than we’ve had in the past four years,” says Milo Werner, a partner at the venture capital firm DCVC. “We’re at this amazing moment where we could actually rebuild Main Street America and bring back the industrial base.” The move to bolster US manufacturing was fueled by a sense during the beginning of the pandemic that the country must regain the ability to make critical products and technologies. Thedecline of US manufacturing had become obvious. Federal support torebuild the industrial base came in a series of bills passed during the Biden administration, including the CHIPS and Science Act and the climate bill. At the same time, opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and automation breakthroughs have spurred an appetite for new investments among many manufacturers. Many of those technologies are just starting to be deployed, but they promise a way for US producers to finally become more competitive with those in low-wage economies. If the Trump tariffs slow or even reverse such progress, the impact on the country’s economic and technological future could be devastating. There are a lot of reasons to want a stronger US industrial base. But it’s not mainly about whether we have countless well-paying jobs for those with only a high school diploma and little technical training, despite what you will hear from many politicians. Those days are mostly long gone. Manufacturing jobs account fora little under 10% of total jobs in the US. That percentage hasn’t changed much over the last few decades—nor is it likely to grow much in coming years even if manufacturing output increases, because automation and other advanced digital tools will likely cut into the demand for human workers. Still, manufacturing is critical to the future of the US economy in other ways. The invention of new stuff and production processes greatly benefits from an intimate connection to manufacturing capabilities and expertise. In short, your chances of successfully creating a new type of battery or AI chip are much greater if you’re familiar with the intricacies of manufacturing such products. It’s a lesson that was often forgotten in the 2000s as companies, led by such Silicon Valley giants as Apple, focused on design and marketing, leaving the production work to China and other countries. The strategy created huge profits but severely crimped the United States’ ability to move ahead with a next generation of technology. In 2010, Intel cofounder Andy Grove famouslywarned, “Abandoning today’s ‘commodity’ manufacturing can lock you out of tomorrow’s emerging industry.” Prompted by such concerns, in 2011 I visited manufacturers across the country, from industrial giants like GE and Dow Chemical to startups with exciting new technologies, and wrote “Can We Build Tomorrow’s Breakthroughs?” Over the next few years, the answer to the headline’s question proved to be no. GE and Dow gave up on their most innovative manufacturing ventures in batteries and solar, while nearly none of the startups survived. The US was great at inventing new stuff, it turns out, but lousy at making it. The hope is that this situation is changing as the country builds up its manufacturing muscles. The stakes are particularly high. The value of producing strategic goods and their supply chains domestically—biomedicine, critical minerals, advanced semiconductors—is becoming obvious to both politicians and economists. If we want to turn today’s scientific breakthroughs in energy, chips, drugs, and key military technologies such as drones into actual products, the US will need to once again be a manufacturing powerhouse. Limited tariffs could help. That’s especially true, says DCVC’s Werner, in some strategically important areas marked by a history of unfair trade practices. Rare-earth magnets, which are found in everything from electric motors to drones to robots, are one example. “Decades ago, China flooded the US economy with low-cost magnets,” she says. “All our domestic magnet manufacturers went out of business.” Now, she suggests, tariffs could provide short-term protection to US companies developing advanced manufacturing techniques to make those products, helping them compete with low-cost versions made in China. “You’re not going to be able to rely on tariffs forever, but it’s an example of the important role that tariffs could play,” she says. Even Harvard’s Shih, who considers the sweeping Trump tariffs “crazy,” says that far more limited versions could be a useful tool in some circumstance to give temporary market protection to domestic manufacturers developing critical early-stage technologies. But, he adds, such tariffs need to be “very targeted” and quickly phased out. For the successful use of tariffs, “you really have to understand how global trade and supply chains work,” Shih says. “And trust me, there is no evidence that these guys actually understand how it works.” What’s really at stake when we talk about the country’s reindustrialization is our future pipeline of new technologies. The portfolio of technologies emerging from universities and startups in energy production and storage, materials, computing, and biomedicine has arguably never been richer. Meanwhile, AI and advanced robotics could soon transform our ability to manufacture these technologies and products. The danger is that backward-looking policy choices geared toward a bygone era of manufacturing could destroy that promising progress.

More on this topicNet zero carbon buildings standard to launch by end of 2025  The NZCBS or ‘the standard’, was issued in draft as a ‘pilot’ version last September. The standard is voluntary and is designed to guide the UK’s built environment towards net zero carbon buildings by 2050 through a series of energy and carbon emissions targets or ‘limits’ for construction projects. These limits reduce year-on-year as we approach 2050. The standard has the potential to transform carbon reduction across the built environment industry by giving a framework for emissions reduction. But it is currently held back by several serious flaws. These are possible to fix, and I believe that these improvements will help make the standard more accessible, more usable and more consistent with the UK’s 2050 trajectory to net zero carbon.   The first three letters ‘NZC’ or ‘net zero carbon’ suggests a focus on carbon. However, the standard’s focus is on energy use, plus construction or ‘upfront’ emissions. It is proposed that this will change in the future to ‘lifecycle embodied’ emissions, but at no stage will there be limits for ‘whole life carbon’ (WLC) – in other words, for the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with a building throughout its entire life cycle, encompassing both embodied and operational emissions.Advertisement The standard appears to deliver on whole life carbon – but actually doesn’t This is both illogical, because the standard asks for the information necessary for WLC to be reported, and confusing. It puts the standard at odds with the intent of the RICS whole life carbon professional standard (RICSPS), and the way carbon reporting is evolving across the built environment industry. The standard has numerous references to the RICSPS and in fact specifically states ‘The standard covers the whole life cycle of a building…’ but then fails to pull this together. This is inherently conflicted. The standard appears to deliver on WLC – but actually doesn’t.  The solution is for the standard to focus on two limits for every project; energy use, measured in kWh, and WLC, measured in kgCO2e. This would ensure that minimising energy use and carbon reduction are on an equal footing for every project. There would also be continuity between design stage assessments, which are WLC-focused, and post-completion assessments. Such reform would also ensure that the limits in the standard for the built environment align with both the UK’s net zero carbon trajectory, and national energy efficiency requirements. Crucially these two limits would be simple, clear and comprehensive.  WLC reporting has the benefit of being a clear concept that answers the simple question ‘What is the carbon cost of my building?’ Strangely, the standard asks for all the elements of WLC reporting but does not then require them to be aggregated, nor does it provide limits. The current ‘upfront embodied only’ limits distort the design process, as they embed short-term thinking. Advertisement Further, the separate limits for energy use and embodied carbon promote siloed thinking. These two strands must be brought together to optimise carbon reduction and resource efficiency over the entire life cycle of a building. WLC assessment and reporting specifically promote this holistic approach.   Another key improvement would be to have a single combined limit for both new build and retrofit for every use type. In the pilot version, the standard has separate limits for retrofit and new build. This unintentionally encourages demolition. The emissions costs per square metre of comprehensive retrofits can be very similar to new build. However, in the standard the retrofit square metre limits are up to 30 per cent lower than new build, making them more difficult to achieve. Therefore, where there is a choice between an extensive retrofit, or a new build, it is easier to get compliance by choosing the new build route. In this scenario, a new build will comply whereas a retrofit will fail Separate limits prop up business-as-usual and present an opportunity for those who wish to demolish because it allows them to game the system. They would achieve this by showing that a maxed-out retrofit scheme will not meet the standard’s retrofit limits, whereas a new build will meet the (easier) new build limits. In this scenario, a new build will comply whereas a retrofit will fail. In reality, retrofit is almost always the lower carbon route and should be encouraged. A single WLC limit would make retrofit the easier route to compliance and would also have the virtue of simplicity and clarity. The pilot version of the standard has a complex series of adjustments for different retrofit scopes which would all become unnecessary. It may superficially seem sensible to have separate limits, but this is not born out by practical experience.  Another issue that is not addressed at all by standard is the comparative total carbon costs of a retrofit vs new build on a given site. The standard focuses on square metre rates (kgCO2e/m²). What this ignores is that it is the total carbon emissions of a development that really matter. Invariably, the reason for demolition is to develop a new building that is much larger than the existing. This means that even if the square metre rate for a retrofit was higher than the new build, the retrofit may still be lower in terms of total emissions as the scheme will be smaller. In addition, whatever the carbon emissions, reuse of buildings is generally a much more resource-efficient and circular approach, compared with new build.  My suggestions would help make the standard less complex, more accessible, and more relevant. The pilot version has several areas that I believe are unnecessarily complicated and consequently are a barrier to take-up. For example, there is a section on ‘RPEP’, ‘ERP’ and ‘ORP’ (do you know what these are?) which is very complicated and difficult to understand and surely could be simplified. It would also be less confusing if the standard aligned directly with the RICSPS, rather than having a number of divergences. These discrepancies just confuse and undermine the consistency and authority of WLC assessment and reporting. This is detrimental to the goal of maximising carbon reduction. The standard’s assessments only take place once a building is operational, which is quite a burden for bother owner and occupier. The standard should therefore be made as accessible and as simple as possible or it won’t be used. Only a major edit will resolve these issues.  For a more detailed analysis of the NZCBS, see www.TargetingZero.co.uk Simon Sturgis is a leading authority on whole-life carbon design who served on the carbon accounting task group developing the Net Zero Carbon Building Standard   2025-04-25 Simon Sturgis comment and share

Here are the hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 214, for April 25.

Ubisoft has finally given an update on its plans to add an offline mode into The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest, which it first confirmed back in September 2024. Read more

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here There is a lot to look forward to with The First Descendant. Right now, eligible players can get bonus gold following the new update, meanwhile, in May, the game is finally set to receive “jiggle physics”. Then, after May, we are set to get TFD Season 3 in June. We don’t know much official about the upcoming chapter yet, but The First Descendant developer has begun teasing a “bikini skin” and more for the “large-scale” Season 3 update. The First Descendant dev teases “bikini skin” and more for Season 3 Nexon are currently conducting an AMA with The First Descendant fans on Discord. This is set to last until April 30th, so it’s possible we could receive more exciting revelations from the developer. Everyone is eagerly awaiting Season 3. All we know so far is that it will arrive in June, and it’s also when the game will become literally unplayable on PS4 and Xbox One consoles. However, as part of the Discord AMA, TFD_Director_Jooms has revealed that Season 3 is a “large-scale update,” and it will be revealed as part of PAX EAST in May. Image credit: The First Descendant Discord While they can’t reveal too much about Season 3 yet, Jooms has shared a few details. The director shared that “the Axiom Field in Season 3 is planned to include higher difficulty tiers than current content,” and Nexon are “preparing content that will allow you to slightly reduce research time through ‘specific activities’”. In addition, Nexon “plan to expand systems that allow for further growth and tuning of successor builds”. Image credit: The First Descendant Discord One of the most exciting parts about Season 3 is that it will introduce new swimsuit skins to the game. These will probably arrive in August or September rather than right away in June, and the unfortunate news is that Nexon cannot resell skins from 2024 for new players who missed out. However, in better news, there will be an assortment of new swimsuits, including for newly added characters. As part of the AMA, TFD_PD_Lee told fans to “look forward to Serena’s bikini skin”. Serena has become a hugely popular character amongst the community since her recent arrival in Season 2 Episode 2, and the producer also shared that Nexon are “considering adding an in-game option to toggle Serena’s wings on/off”. Image credit: The First Descendant Discord For more The First Descendant, we have a guide to the best skills and loadout for Viessa, along with the best skills, gear, and mods for the hugely popular Bunny. We also have a guide for Freyna along with fundamental tips for beginners. The First Descendant Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X Genre(s): Action, Adventure, RPG 5 VideoGamer Related Topics The First Descendant Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share

Last week, AD100 designer Ken Fulk’s San Francisco headquarters lived up to its Magic Factory moniker, amassing more than 175 industry guests for a night of sips and splendor. AD West Coast editor Mayer Rus and Bay Area AD PRO Directory members were among those in attendance to celebrate the unveiling of the 14,000-square-foot location’s new retail space. “Ken Fulk’s studio has been the site of so many legendary parties over the years,” says Rus of the leather goods factory turned design studio, which also houses Fulk’s 90-person team of interior designers, architects, and events and branding specialists.The Magic Factory has always been an entrance into the enchanting world of Ken Fulk—now it’s a shoppable one too. The new retail space assembles the designer’s product collaborations with The Rug Company, Pierre Frey, and The Urban Electric Co., as well as small-maker selects across home, gardening, jewelry, and more. Regular visiting hours are by appointment only, which can be made at shop@kenfulk.com. The studio’s latest debut, an exclusive fragrance emitting notes of cedarwood and jasmine petal, emanated through the room during the evening affair.Event cohosts Mayer Rus and Ken Fulk at the Magic Factory Drew Altizer PhotographyThe shop’s new custom scent, Ken Fulk No. 176 candle Drew Altizer PhotographyKen Fulk and Douglas Friedman The San Francisco showroom marks the second retail concept for the studio in a few short months: Ken Fulk launched his first LA outpost in West Hollywood last fall, dreaming up wood-paneled and treillaged interiors inspired by “my fellow Virginian,” Bunny Mellon, Fulk told AD PRO at the time. The basil green coating the property’s façade welcomes visitors into the San Francisco shop as well, leading into multiple vignettes grounded with vintage furniture and Ken Fulk exclusives.Photographer Douglas Friedman and designers Tineke Triggs and Scott Formby were among the partygoers—as were Fulk’s beloved canines. Guests were treated to springtime cocktails, delicious bites by Mill Valley chef Jennifer Carvaly, and DJ tunes. “Ken demonstrated once again why he’s the ultimate host,” says Rus. A proven purveyor of retail and a good time.APPLY NOWGrow your business with the AD PRO DirectoryArrow

Ryan King Art writes: In this Blender tutorial we will create this Procedural Chipped Paint Material. Source

Perplexity doesn’t just want to compete with Google, it apparently wants to be Google.  CEO Aravind Srinivas said this week on the TBPN podcast that one reason Perplexity is building its own browser is to collect data on everything users do outside of its own app. This so it can sell premium ads. “That’s kind of one of the other reasons we wanted to build a browser, is we want to get data even outside the app to better understand you,” Srinivas said. “Because some of the prompts that people do in these AIs is purely work-related. It’s not like that’s personal.” And work-related queries won’t help the AI company build an accurate-enough dossier. “On the other hand, what are the things you’re buying; which hotels are you going [to]; which restaurants are you going to; what are you spending time browsing, tells us so much more about you,” he explained. Srinivas believes that Perplexity’s browser users will be fine with such tracking because the ads should be more relevant to them.  “We plan to use all the context to build a better user profile and, maybe you know, through our discover feed we could show some ads there,” he said. The browser, named Comet, suffered setbacks but is on track to be launched in May, Srinivas said.  He’s not wrong, of course. Quietly following users around the internet helped Google become the roughly $2 trillion market cap company it is today.  That’s why it built a browser and a mobile operating system. Indeed, Perplexity is attempting something in the mobile world, too. It’s signed a partnership with Motorola, announced Thursday, where its app will be pre-installed on the Razr series and can be accessed though the Moto AI by typing “Ask Perplexity.” Perplexity is also in talks with Samsung, Bloomberg reported. Srinivas didn’t flat-out confirm that, though he did reference on the podcast the Bloomberg article, published earlier this month, that discussed both partnerships. Obviously, Google isn’t the only one watching users online to sell ads. Meta’s ad tracking technology, Pixels, which is embedded on websites across the internet, is how Meta gathers data, even on people that don’t have Facebook or Instagram accounts. Even Apple, which has marketed itself as a privacy protector, can’t resist tracking users’ locations to sell advertising in some of its apps by default. On the other hand, this kind of thing has led people across the political spectrum in the U.S. and in Europe to distrust big tech.  The irony of Srinivas openly explaining his browser-tracking ad-selling ambitions this week also can’t be overstated.  Google is currently in court fighting the U.S. Department of Justice, which has alleged Google behaved in monopolistic ways to dominate search and online advertising. The DOJ wants the judge to order Google to divest Chrome.  Both OpenAI and Perplexity — not surprisingly, given Srinivas’ reasons — said they would buy the Chrome browser business if Google was forced to sell.