All publications of Leo Numver . New York , United States of Ame

Mozilla has dramatically changed the look and feel of its browser since the introduction of Firefox Quantum two years ago now — a release that prefaced the arrival of other new features that promote privacy and speed, like an extension that makes it harder for Facebook to track you. And now today, Mozilla is touting a new Firefox browser update that comes with a big speed boost to try and give Google Chrome a run for its money. In the video above, Mozilla explains how Firefox is now better at “performing tasks at the optimal time by deprioritizing the least commonly used features, suspending idle tabs, and faster startup after customization.” In a blog post explaining the changes that come with the update, Mozilla describes how the browser now essentially applies many of the same time-management principles that an ordinary person does when they’re trying to prioritize their own most urgent needs. In order to give Firefox a speed boost — of as much as 80% in some cases — Firefox will now do things like suspending idle tabs. “You shouldn’t feel guilty about opening a zillion tabs, but keeping all those tabs open uses your computer’s memory and slows down its performance,” Mozilla’s post explains. “Firefox will now detect if your computer’s memory is running low, which we define as lower than 400MB, and suspend unused tabs that you haven’t used or looked at in a while.” Of course, you can easily click on the tab and reload a webpage where you left off whenever you want. Additionally, if you’re one of the Firefox users who’ve customized your browser with an add-on like a favorite theme or an ad-blocker, Firefox now skips some work it determines to be unnecessary during subsequent start-ups so the browser will load faster. This Firefox update also de-prioritizes some of the least-used features in order to prioritize scripts for things you need first. As an example, the company’s blog post explains this helps “make the main scripts for Instagram, Amazon and Google searches execute 40-80% faster; scanning for alternative style sheets after page load; and not loading the auto-fill module unless there is an actual form to complete.” Meanwhile, a number of other interesting features are part of today’s update. They include: Personalization of private browsing. More and more users are relying on this feature to hide from third-party trackers, but Firefox wants users to be able to access their favorite extensions, too. “In the Add-ons manager, you can choose which extensions are enabled and which ones aren’t,” the company explains today. Fingerprint blocking. Mozilla has promised that Firefox would tackle practices like so-called “fingerprinting,” which builds a kind of digital fingerprint that follows you around the web. Today’s browser update gives you the option to basically turn on a setting in the browser to protect yourself from that practice, as well as from “cryptomining” — using your computer’s CPU to generate cryptocurrency for someone else’s benefit. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/a-web-browser-you-forgot-existed-might-soon-be-faster-than-chrome/ar-AABKwkQ

You've probably heard "5G" a lot recently. It's been in a lot of stories. It's at the center of America's fight with China's Huawei, which provides cellular equipment for wireless carriers around the globe. 5G is also a big topic for Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T. Those carriers are working to build out the faster networks now, and Sprint and T-Mobile have even used 5G to discuss the competitive landscape in an effort to get merger approval from the Justice Department. Apple recently ended a bitter, years-long legal battle with Qualcomm mainly because the chipmaker makes some core 5G technology that Apple needs to make future iPhones competitive. But what the heck is 5G? Put simply, 5G is a next-generation wireless network that will give you much faster internet connections. But, because of the way it works, it's about to change the way lots of other things connect to the internet, too, like cars and TVs, and even things like connected lights on city streets. Here's what you need to know: Faster connections, and more of them 5G promises much faster network speeds, which means heavy-duty content like video should travel much more quickly to connected devices. Verizon's 5G network, which is live in Minneapolis and Chicago, is already providing speeds in excess of 1Gbps, or about 10x the speeds you might get on a good day with 4G LTE, the current standard offered by wireless carriers in most places. That means you should be able to download an hour-long high-definition video in seconds instead of minutes. The lower latency of 5G also means that it takes less time for one gadget to talk to another. This is important in places like smart cities that are connecting to smart cars, since information needs to be delivered instantly. One day, 5G might be able to tell your car that someone is about to run a red light and that your car needs to slam on the brakes. In that sort of situation, you can't have much delay in the network. The greater bandwidth of 5G means that more devices can use the network at the same time. This means it should alleviate problems at places like sports stadiums or concerts where thousands of people may be trying to place a phone call or upload a picture at the same time. In these instances, a network can get jammed up and stops working for everyone. 5G should prevent that from happening. 5G will change the way you get TV and internet at home Right now, you probably have a cable wire running from the telephone poles on your street to your house. It might come in the attic and then, thanks to some drilling done by the cable guy, snakes its way from room to room connecting to cable boxes. Those cables also need to connect to a modem and/or router to provide wireless internet to your house. That means even if you "cut the cord" and ditch cable, you still need the same coaxial cable line for internet at home. 4G LTE is fast but not quite fast enough for an entire house of people to play games and stream 4K movies at the same time. It makes a poor replacement for wired broadband. According to proponents, 5G will be fast enough for that, and you can forget the cords. It's supposed to be just as reliable as the wired broadband internet you're used to, and it could save you a lot of headaches. Verizon has already talked a bit about how this will work. Instead of giving you a bunch of cable boxes and other gadgets, it's going to simply give you an Apple TV 4K and a wireless modem. Since Verizon isn't going to run a standard cable line to your house, it's also going to include a subscription to YouTube TV, YouTube's streaming service that will provide access to TV channels. YouTube TV normally costs $40 per month, but Verizon's deal is likely only a limited-time offer. You'll still have a modem at home, but it'll connect to Verizon's wireless 5G signal and then serve as a home Wi-Fi router, complete with standard Ethernet ports. This is how devices like the Apple TV 4K, your smartphone, computer and other internet gadgets will connect to Verizon's 5G wireless network. What phones support it? It's still super early in 5G days for phones, but things are about to take off quickly. Verizon and AT&T already have some 5G markets active, and Sprint and T-Mobile will begin rolling them out this year. Verizon is now selling the first 5G phone in the U.S. -- the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G -- in just two markets. Meanwhile, Sprint's LG V50 ThinQ 5G launches on May 31 for its first markets. AT&T isn't selling a true 5G phone just yet, but it's signed up to sell the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G later this year, as are T-Mobile and Sprint. These are all Android phones, but Apple is expected to have its first 5G iPhone ready in 2020. How does 5G impact Sprint and T-Mobile's merger? 5G also plays a role in the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. Earlier this week, FCC chairman Ajit Pai recommended that the FCC approve the $26.5 billion merger because he argues that it'll speed up how quickly the two carriers are able to activate 5G in the U.S. "Two of the FCC's top priorities are closing the digital divide in rural America and advancing United States leadership in 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity. The commitments made today by T-Mobile and Sprint would substantially advance each of these critical objectives," Pai said. But the decision is up to the DOJ, which has anti-trust concerns if the two companies join. Trump says 5G is a race America must win Even President Trump is all in on 5G. In April, President Trump said that 5G is a race that America "will win." He said 92 5G markets will be up and running by the end of the year, which will be ahead of South Korea, which is said to have 48 live at the same time. "According to some estimates, the wireless industry plans to invest $275 billion in 5G networks, creating 3 million American jobs quickly, and adding $500 billion to our economy," President Trump said in April. At the same time, the FCC announced new rules that will make it easier to deploy next-generation networks, including hub and relay antennas, to spur the advancement of 5G. The FCC also announced a $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity fund to bring faster 5G networks to rural areas, and a new spectrum auction that opens up 3,400MHz of wireless spectrum for carriers to bid on. The spectrum can be thought of as a highway: the more lanes you have, the more customers you can support and the faster you can go. 5G, Huawei and the U.S. trade war 5G has also played a role in the U.S. trade war with China, because of concerns that Huawei's equipment and phones can be used to spy over wireless networks. Earlier this month, the Trump administration blacklisted Huawei's equipment for use in America's 5G rollout. Huawei wants U.S. business, however, and has argued that our 5G networks won't roll out quickly if we don't use its equipment. Following the blacklist, Google cut ties with Huawei, though it has since granted a 90-day reprieve after the U.S. Commerce Department announced on Monday that U.S. companies can work with Huawei for that window of time to make sure security risks are sealed up before August 19. This will allow Google to help make sure people who own Huawei Android phones have the latest privacy patches installed on them. The ban on working with Huawei also hit chip businesses that work with the company, including Broadcom, Intel, Xilinx and Qualcomm, some of which also have a hand in building out 5G networks and modems. Those firms will be missing out on new business as Huawei works to expand 5G networks outside of the U.S. If Google doesn't supply its version of Android to Huawei, it makes Huawei's phones a lot less appealing in the company's markets outside of China, like Europe, where it already sells highly competitive phones with full access to Google services like search and the Play Store. (Huawei can use a more basic version of Android, which is open-source and not controlled by Google and is already in use in China, but it won't have Google services included.) Some analysts, including Evercore's C.J. Muse, think that Trump's ban on Huawei may have been a tactic to bring China back to the trade negotiations table. "The clear risk here is that while President Trump believes he has achieved leverage in the negotiations, we may have pushed China past the precipice and that the current technology cold war gets engrained and accelerates," Muse warned. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/5g-explained-why-its-such-a-big-deal-for-america/ar-AABKyuX

Across Europe, voting begins Thursday in European Parliament elections, which will continue through Sunday. The elections are hotly anticipated across the continent, with many people wondering how the results will affect the future of the European Union and the bloc’s dealings with the rest of the world. With the help of our correspondents in Europe, we answer five key questions about the elections and the legislative body. What is the European Parliament? The 751-member legislature is most notable for being, as Deutsche Welle puts it, “the only democratically legitimized supranational institution in the world.” In other words: It is the only assembly made of various countries where the people of those countries can directly vote for their representatives. It is also notable for the large numbers of voters in its elections. More than 370 million people are eligible to vote, making these the second largest elections in the world, behind India’s. Members of European Parliament are sent as representatives of the 28 countries in the E.U. Each country decides how the elections are held. Anything goes as long as the ballots are secret and women and men can both vote. (The voting age is 18 everywhere but Austria, where it is 16.) Seats are apportioned to each country according to the size of its population. Germany, the E.U.’s most populous state, has 96 representatives, while small countries like Cyprus, Malta and Luxembourg have six each. That said, members of the European Parliament — or MEPs — do not always vote along nationality lines. Once elected to the European Parliament, they join larger parties and coalitions. MEPs are elected to five-year terms and have a say in the bloc’s finances, international presence and general direction. Since the Lisbon Treaty of 2009, which expanded the body’s powers, the European Parliament has appointed the head of the European Commission, the E.U.’s executive body, approved or rejected international agreements such as a recent trade pact with Singapore, and decided on the E.U.’s full budget. The body is involved in decisions on a vast array of topics, including agriculture and fisheries, environmental issues and migration policies. Who are the key players to watch for in these elections? There are eight political groups in the European Parliament. Forming a group requires at least 25 members from at least seven countries. The largest groups are the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the center-left Socialists and Democrats. Both are expected to lose seats as voters show an appetite for more-extreme views on the left and the right. The EPP is likely to lose seats to more-nationalist and Euroskeptic parties. This will be especially crucial in the case of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party. The EPP suspended Fidesz in March over its rejection of E.U. migration policies. Now Orban is calling for the group to join forces with far-right parties such as Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s League party, and French politician Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. The head of the EPP has already ruled out such an alliance, but, as Politico noted, Orban has said “he would find it hard to stick with the EPP if it forms an alliance with ‘pro-migration’ parties on the left.” It’s also worth keeping an eye on the fortunes of Britain’s Euroskeptic Brexit Party, which is led by Nigel Farage. A recent poll showed the Brexit Party has more support than Britain’s mainstream liberal and conservative parties combined — a little bit ironic considering that if the party had its way, Britain would already be out of the E.U. and not be represented in European Parliament at all. Meanwhile, on the left, other parties are expected to gain ground. According to the Associated Press, polling in April showed that the progressive Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, backed by French President Emmanuel Macron, is projected to gain eight seats, bringing its number to 76, and that the Green party could win 57 seats, five more than it now holds. Ultimately, the new Parliament could reflect what is occurring in governments all around Europe: a weakening of the center that is forcing political realignment on the major issues shaping the world. Wait, there’s a Brexit Party? What does that mean for Brexit? (From the London bureau’s William Booth and Karla Adam) Yep. This is an election few thought would occur in Britain, given that the country voted three years ago to leave the E.U. and was to have quit the bloc two months ago. The questions are understandable. Will Britain’s 73 new representatives to the E.U.’s legislative body serve for days, weeks or years? Who knows? The chaos is made more sensational by the forecast that this nascent, single-issue party is going to blow everyone else out of the water, with the potential to influence how Brexit turns out and how long Prime Minister Theresa May stays in office. The demands of the Brexit Party seem simple: Get us out of the E.U. Now. Honor the 2016 referendum result. A big win for the Brexit Party could push May and her Conservatives to hurriedly pass a deal before parliamentarians take up their seats in July, or, as Farage prefers, leave the E.U. with no deal. Writing in the Guardian, former Labour prime minister Tony Blair described the stakes: “This is not a vote to choose a prime minister or a government. It is a vote for the Farage Brexit — or against it.” Alternatively, a good showing from the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats or Change UK might embolden those in the British Parliament who want a second referendum on Brexit. What about the far right? What does it hope to gain? (From Brussels bureau chief Michael Birnbaum and Berlin bureau chief Griff Witte) Since the last election in 2014, the E.U. has been hammered by a refugee crisis, multiple mass-casualty terrorist attacks, a vote by the British people to exit the bloc, a security scare fueled by the Kremlin and a fitful economic recovery after the global financial crisis. Such issues are pulling voters to the fringes, and far-right and other parties that are hostile to the E.U. appear poised to control more seats than ever before. From grand palazzi in Rome to Art Nouveau villas in Budapest, Europe’s anti-migration right-wingers have been prepping their battering rams to knock down the doors of the European Parliament. No one expects them to win a majority, but their aim is less to legislate than to obstruct. A greater far-right presence could have a disproportionate effect on how the E.U. functions, putting the far right in a position to play spoiler. And a legislature with less ability to get things done would feed the narrative of the E.U.'s nationalist critics, who argue that the bloc is fundamentally broken. But for Europe’s critics to wield maximum influence, they will need to work together — something they have failed to do so far. With all these Euroskeptic players involved, is there a threat of Russian interference in these elections? (From Brussels bureau chief Michael Birnbaum) It doesn’t seem likely. At least yet. Parliament, politicians, security services and social media companies that were bracing for an onslaught from Russia have been surprised that, so far, they seem to have avoided one. Experts are cautious about saying Russian interference has been neutralized, but the anxiety has shifted somewhat inward, as many of the disinformation tactics pioneered by Russia have been domesticated and are being replicated on both extremes of the political debate in Europe. That said, Russia is still working openly to promote political division in Europe. The Sputnik news agency has offered wall-to-wall coverage of the “yellow vest” protests that have shaken France. The German-language homepage of RT, formerly Russia Today, recently featured a banner debunking “myths” that the former West Germany was superior to communist East Germany. But the scale of what has been identified is nothing compared with the past — or with what the Europeans had anticipated. In part, far-right parties in Europe have not needed Russia, because some of their domestic supporters have mimicked Russia’s strategy of promoting disinformation and amplifying it through the use of automated social media accounts. Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/five-things-to-know-about-europes-surprisingly-dramatic-parliamentary-elections/ar-AABN6L6