There are nearly two million apps on the iOS App Store, and a lot of them aren't worth your time. That's why many of us, when considering a new app, turn to reviews: You want to see what other users' experiences were like with the appwhether they loved it, liked it, or loathed it. Personally, the current review system works fine for me. I scan some reviews, and generally get a sense of whether the app is right for me. If I'm feeling particularly analytical, I'll even adjust the filters, perhaps to see which reviews are most critical (so it's not just a bunch of fluff) or ones that are most recent, to see what customers thought of the latest version of the app. But it's 2025, which means one thing: AI. We can't continue to live in the past. We must embrace the future of artificial intelligence, so say the tech companies. Why do 30 seconds of scanning, when the AI can cut that work down to 20 seconds? Perhaps even 15?Apple's AI App Store review summariesWith iOS 18.4, currently in beta, Apple is testing AI-generated summaries for reviews in the App Store. According to Apple, these summaries pull from "highlights and key information" from reviews for apps and games and are updated at least once a week, if the app or game has enough reviews to support it. These summaries will appear directly beneath the rating for the app or game, under the heading "Reviews Summary."Apple says review summaries are currently only available in English for a "limited number of apps and games" in the United States. The company plans to expand the feature to more countries and languages over the year.Here's the thing about features like this: they're largely ignorable. If you love them, great! You can take a peek at the AI-generated summary and decide for yourself whether you'd like to read the reviews further. If you don't like them, also great! Scroll right past to the reviews.That latter approach is likely the one I'd take. For one, I don't trust AI to get the gist right, even if the situation is relatively low-stakes. But, like I alluded to earlier, I also don't think it saves that much time to read an AI summary versus scanning the reviews yourself. You might even miss some interesting insights the AI thought wasn't important enough to make the review, or see some nuance that went over the AI's, uh, "head." Apple is far from the only company to summarize reviews with AI. Google, Amazon, even NewEgg have all dabbled in this practice, so it's not like Apple is breaking the mold here. But it does slightly rub me the wrong wayif we start relying on AI to summarize content like this, who is the original content being written for? Hundreds if not thousands of people are writing reviews of their experience, but if you only read the summary, those people are really writing their reviews for the AInot other human beings.iOS 18.4 is due out sometime in April. You can experience these summaries now if you install the beta, but if you'd prefer not to risk running temperamental software on your iPhone, you can simply wait until next month.

As the April 15 tax filing deadline approaches, it's important to separate fact from fiction when it comes to preparing your returns. "Tax laws are often summarized for [the] sake of quickly explaining a potential benefitor conflict," says Andy Phillips, Vice President of H&R Blocks Tax Institute. "When details are omitted, its easy to misinterpret law or consider the advice of a trusted friend versus taking time to do firsthand research." Blindly following someone elses bad tax advice could cost you precious time and money. "I can file my tax return with the details from my last paycheck stub."The figures listed on your last paycheck stub may be close to what will be released on your W-2, but its not guaranteed that the numbers are always right. Plus, as Phillips explains, this is technically not allowed. "Your last pay stub is not considered an IRS-recognized document for filing. Its common for calculations to be slightly off throughout the year and not be accounted for until end of year. Payments such as bonuses and commissions can easily be forgotten, and no one enjoys the process of filing an amended return." Phillips' advice: Wait for your employer-prepared W-2. He adds that you should "be wary of return preparers who advertise paystub filing, which is against the rules." The employer should have issued your W-2 by Jan. 31 at the latest."Being unemployed means I dont have to pay taxes."If you receive any form of unemployment benefits either from the city, state, or federal level, then thats considered income. All income should be reported on your tax return. Unemployment benefits paid are typically reported with a Form 1099-G. This form functions similarly as a W-2, outlining how much you were paid and if taxes were withheld."Any money that I give counts as a charitable contribution."Of course, giving without the expectation of repayment is an admirable gesture. However, Phillips notes that only charitable gifts and donations made to IRS-qualified tax-exempt institutions are tax-deductible. Typically, a receipt is provided when a tax-deductible gift is received. If you recently made a donation and are unsure if your donation was made to a qualifying organization, use the Tax Exempt Organization Search Tool located on the IRS website.Furthermore, you must itemize to deduct charitable contributions, meaning those claiming the standard deduction are not able to deduct those donations even if made to a qualified organization. If I work from home I can take a deduction for my home office. With the rise of remote work in the last few years those that work from home may think they can claim the home office deduction. Unfortunately, as Phillips explains, if you are an employee, you cannot claim the deductionthe deduction for employee business expenses was suspended beginning in 2018. On the other hand, if you are self-employed and have a home office it is likely that you can claim the home office deduction. This social media post told me that I can claim ... As I wrote last week, certain tax "loopholes" may go viral, but that doesn't mean they're good for your specific tax situation. All across social media, I see creators telling people they can claim tax benefits that are either nonexistent or that theyre not eligible for. Philips concurs: Taxpayers should exercise caution when relying on claims made on social media and should ensure they only use reliable sources when making tax decisions."A tax filing extension gives me more time to pay my balance due."Unfortunately, an extension of time to file does not give you more time to pay. Phillips says that "you should try your best to pay your estimated balance due when you request an extension." If you cant pay, filing a tax return is the first crucial step to determine your eligibility to enroll in an IRS-approved installment payment plan. As Phillips explains, neglecting to file on time subjects you to a failure-to-file penalty, which starts at 5% of your unpaid taxes per month, up to five months. If the return is more than 60 days late, a minimum penalty applies. For this year, the minimum penalty is the lesser of 100% of the unpaid tax or $510.On the other hand, the penalty for just failing to pay is only 0.5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month the tax remains unpaid. "This is why its so important to file a return, even if you cannot pay the full amount due," Phillips urges. As long as you file, these penalties combined wont exceed 25% of your unpaid taxes.Phillips also notes that interest also begins to accrue after the due date on the amount you owe IRS. By steering clear of these common tax myths, you can avoid costly mistakes and headaches this filing season. As always, it's best to consult a qualified tax professional who can look at your specific situation and give you legitimate, tailored advice.

Google is once again in the crosshairs of Republicans in Congress because of alleged censorship, Bloomberg writes. The House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed Google's parent company Alphabet and CEO Sundar Pichai for evidence of communication between the tech company and the Biden administration.The subpoena specifically asks for documents covering communications between Alphabet and the executive branch, along with discussions Alphabet might have had internally or with third-parties about those communications. The Committee hopes to snowball the discovery that the Biden administration made requests to Meta to remove COVID-19 misinformation into a case for "new statutory limits on the executive branchs ability to work with Big Tech to restrict the circulation of content and deplatform users," the subpoena says.None of these concerns are particularly new. Pichai and other tech CEOs have been brought in front of Congress to explain things like content moderation, censorship and bias before. In the past, it's mostly seemed like a way for members of Congress to get sound bites, but the aggressive, retaliatory nature of the Trump administration might give these new demands more teeth. Helping to pay for Trump's inauguration and showing up for photos didn't get Google protection in the end, assuming it doesn't manage to wriggle out of the ongoing antitrust case against it.Tech companies might be getting attention from Congress, but the idea that the current administration might want to make censorship demands doesn't appear to be a concern. President Trump has expressed interest in using the Take It Down Act, a bill designed to hold websites liable for hosting and not removing Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII), to eliminate any kind of speech he dislikes. The disastrous potential misuses of the law have been outlined by activists before, but the bill passed in the Senate and is now waiting to be taken up by the House.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/house-republicans-subpoena-google-over-alleged-censorship-212115140.html?src=rss

ChatGPT on macOS is about to become more useful for coding. With the latest update for the app (version 1.2025.057), ChatGPT can now edit code directly within an integrated development environment no need to copy and paste. You can find the full list of supported IDEs on OpenAI's website, but some of the more notable inclusions are Apple's own Xcode, Visual Code Studio and offshoots of Jetbrains like Android Studio and PyCharm.According to OpenAI, IDE integration has been one of the most-requested features from macOS users since the company released its "works with app" framework back in November. If you're a Plus, Pro or Team subscriber, you can start using the integration today. As for Enterprise, Edu and Free users, look for the updated app to arrive next week.ChatGPT for macOS can now edit code directly in IDEs. Available to Plus, Pro, and Team users. pic.twitter.com/WPB2RMP0tj OpenAI Developers (@OpenAIDevs) March 6, 2025 Perhaps unsurprisingly this feature arrives just as "vibecoding" enters the popular lexicon. For the uninitiated, vibecoding is a form of coding that involves using AI tools like ChatGPT (and the power of vibes, of course) to program apps and games. While it might seem like a meme, vibecoding is very much a real thing. In a video titled "Vibe Coding is the Future," Jared Friedman, a managing partner at Y Combinator, said a quarter of the startup accelerator's W25 cohort have a code base that was 95 percent generated by AI."This isn't a fad. This isn't going away. This is the dominant way to code. And if you are not doing it, you might just be left behind," Garry Tan, the CEO of Y Combinator, added in the same video.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/chatgpt-for-macos-can-now-directly-edit-xcode-projects-201904659.html?src=rss

Microns latest SSD nearly doubles PCIe 5.0 speeds, yet the ecosystem isnt ready for mainstream deployment.

Someone is spoofing LinkedIn's InMail notification emails to distribute the ConnectWise RAT malware.

Management said execution wasn't perfect across the board in the January quarter.

Broadom reported earnings and revenue that topped analysts' expectations.

President Donald Trump on Thursday postponed 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month amid widespread fears of the economic fallout from abroader trade war.The White House insists its tariffs are about stopping the smuggling of fentanyl, but the taxes proposed by Trump have caused a gaping wound in the decades-old North American trade partnership, and Canada has felt compelled to quickly take aggressive countermeasures. Trumps tariff plans have also caused the stock market to sink and alarmed U.S. consumers.In addition to his claims about fentanyl, Trump has insisted that the tariffs could be resolved by fixing the trade deficit and he emphasized while speaking in the Oval Office that he still plans to impose reciprocal tariffs starting on April 2.Most of the tariffs go on April the second, Trump said before signing the orders. And then we have some temporary ones and small ones, relatively small, although its a lot of money having to do with Mexico and Canada.Trump said he was not looking to extend the exemption on the 25% tariff for autos for another month.Imports from Mexico that comply with the 2020 USMCA trade pact would be excluded from the 25% tariffs for a month, according to the orders signed by Trump. Imports from Canada that comply with the trade deal would also avoid the 25% tariffs for a month, while the potash that U.S. farmers import from Canada would be tariffed at 10%, the same rate at which Trump wants to tariff Canadian energy products.Roughly 62% of imports from Canada would likely still face the new tariffs because theyre not USMCA compliant, according to a White House official who insisted on anonymity to preview the orders on a call with reporters. Half of imports from Mexico that are not USCMA compliant would also be taxed under the orders being signed by Trump, the official said.Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum has planned to announce any retaliatory measures on Sunday, but Trump credited her with making progress on illegal immigration and drug smuggling as a reason for again pausing tariffs that were initially supposed to go into full effect in February.I did this as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum, Trump said on Truth Social. Our relationship has been a very good one, and we are working hard, together, on the Border.Trumps on-again, off-again tariffs threats have roiled financial markets,lowered consumer confidence, and enveloped many businesses in anuncertain atmospherethat could delay hiring and investment.Major U.S. stock markets briefly bounced off lows after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick previewed the month-long pauses on CNBC on Thursday. Significant declines already seen this week resumed within an hour. The S&P 500 stock index has fallen below where it was before Trump was elected.Sheinbaum said she and Trump had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed that our work and collaboration have yielded unprecedented results, on a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.Mexico has cracked down on cartels, sent troops to the U.S. border and delivered 29 top cartel bosses long chased by American authorities to the Trump administration in a span of weeks.At a press conference, Sheinbaum elaborated on her call with Trump Thursday, saying that she told the president that Mexico was making great strides in fulfilling his security demands.I told him were getting results, Sheinbaum said. But the U.S. imposed the tariffs, so she asked Trump how are we going to continue cooperating, collaborating with something that hurts the people of Mexico?She added that practically all of the trade between the U.S. and Mexico will be exempt from tariffs until April 2.She said the two countries will continue to work together on migration and security, and to cut back on fentanyl trafficking to the U.S.From January to February, the amount of fentanyl seized at the border dropped more than 41%, according to Sheinbaum, citing data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She cited the dip as meeting a commitment made to Trump.Ontario Premier Doug Ford, the leader of Canadas most populous province, said that starting Monday the province will charge 25% more for electricity shipped to 1.5 million Americans in response to Trumps tariff plan. Ontario provides electricity to Minnesota, New York and Michigan.This whole thing with President Trump is a mess, Ford said Thursday. This reprieve, weve went down this road before. He still threatens the tariffs on April 2.Fords office said that the tariff would remain in place even if theres a one month reprieve from the Americans. Ford has said that so long as the threat of tariffs continue, Ontarios position will not change.Lutnick said that he will be watching fentanyl overdose deaths in the U.S. as a key metric he will focus on when evaluating Canada and Mexicos efforts to combat the synthetic opioid.In hisspeech to a joint sessionof Congress Tuesday night, Trump portrayed tariffs which he has also levied on China at 20% due to their role in fentanyl production as a source of increasing wealth and power for the United States.Yet most economists expect the import duties to send prices higher, slow the economy, and potentially cost jobs.The Yale University Budget Lab has estimated that the tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico would increase inflation by a full percentage point, cut growth by half a percentage point and cost the average household about $1,600 in disposable income.Trump appeared to acknowledge Tuesday night that there could be some pain: Therell be a little disturbance, but were okay with that. It wont be much.Christopher Rugaber and Josh BoakAssociated Press writers Rob Gillies, and Megan Janetsky contributed to this report.

Efforts to hollow out the federal workforce by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have resulted in a dramatic rise in layoff announcements.The latest monthly data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows that employers in the United States announced more than 172,000 layoffs during February, which was an increase of 245% from January and the highest monthly total since mid-2020, during the pandemic. Further, it was the highest number of layoffs for the month of February since 2009, in the middle of the financial crisis and subsequent Great Recession, when more than 186,000 layoffs were announced.So far, through the first two months of the year, employers have cut a total of 222,000 jobs, an increase of 33% over last year.Which industries have been hardest hit?DOGEs slashing of the federal governments headcount meant a huge increase in government layoffs. In fact, through February, the report notes that 62,530 government jobs have been eliminated, which was an increase of 41,311% year-over-year.Meanwhile, the retail and technology sectors continue to see significant cuts. Further, almost 39,000 jobs were lost in the retail sector, 14,554 in technology, and 13,804 in the services and consumer products sector during February.Private companies announced plans to shed thousands of jobs last month, particularly in Retail and Technology," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president and workplace expert for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in a statement included with the report. "With the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] actions, as well as canceled Government contracts, fear of trade wars, and bankruptcies, job cuts soared in February." Interestingly, the report also notes that hiring plans are on an uptick for many employers, too.So far this year, companies plan to hire 40,669 workers, an increase of 159% from the 15,693 hiring plans announced during the same period last year, the report reads. This is the highest number for February since 2022, when companies announced 215,127 new hires.