Summary
Overview
This TechLinked episode covers major tech industry developments including Microsoft Edge's controversial move to disable uBlock Origin ad blocker, Epic Games' ongoing antitrust battles with both Google and Apple, NVIDIA's ambitious $500 billion GPU financing scheme that's drawing comparisons to Enron, and various other stories ranging from data center heists to AI agents engaging in digital warfare.
Microsoft Edge Kills uBlock Origin, Firefox and Brave Fight Back
Microsoft announced that Edge will transition from Manifest v2 to v3 extensions, effectively breaking popular ad blockers like uBlock Origin by limiting their ability to intercept ads. Firefox publicly declared support for uBlock Origin since it's not built on Chromium, while Brave browser committed to hosting the extension on its own servers to circumvent the restriction. The move is officially framed as a security improvement, though it conveniently benefits the advertising industry that dominates the modern economy.
- Microsoft Edge will transition users off Manifest v2 extensions starting this month, completing the move by end of 2026
- The update limits the API capabilities that ad blockers use to intercept and block advertisements
- Firefox can continue supporting uBlock Origin since it's not built on Chromium
- Brave will dodge restrictions by hosting uBlock Origin on its own servers
" And as an added bonus for the advertising megacorps who run our economy, it will stop ad blockers like uBlock Origin from functioning properly by limiting the capability of the API they use to intercept and block ads. "
Google Faces Judge's Wrath Over Bad-Faith Antitrust Compliance
In the Epic Games versus Google case, a judge gave Google a one-week deadline after determining the company was technically following antitrust orders but doing so in the most obstructive way possible. Epic's lawyers demonstrated how searching for competing app stores resulted in confusing banners and buttons designed to create friction. Judge James Donato called Google's implementation unacceptable, cringe-worthy, and ordered immediate fixes to search results, buttons, and misleading banners.
- Searching for competing app stores like Aptoid doesn't actually provide the store, instead showing confusing banners
- Judge ordered Google to fix search, replace sketchy view buttons with normal install buttons, and remove friction banners
- Judge called the implementation 'cringe' and 'friction with no purpose whatsoever'
" It is ugly. It offends my sensibilities. It is cringe, which he called friction with no purpose whatsoever. "
📚 6 more sections below
Sign up to unlock the complete summary with all insights, key points, and quotes
Get this summary + all future TechLinked episodes in your inbox
100% Free • Unsubscribe Anytime
Sign up now and we'll send you the complete summary of this episode, plus get notified when new TechLinked episodes are released—delivered straight to your inbox within minutes.