Weekly Issue: 2026-39

Chrome vs Firefox in 2026: speed, Gemini AI, ad blocking, privacy, VPN, tabs, and mobile compared, so you can pick the right browser.

Linux 7.2 involved contributions from 2,652 developers, compared with 2,134 developers for Linux 6.18, released in November 2025.

AI is now part of journalism, with 82% of journalists using at least one AI tool. Meanwhile, 10% of people across 48 markets use AI chatbots for news each week.

Ever since Google pulled the curtain back on the new Googlebook fleet, two lingering questions have hung over its suite of Gemini Intelligence features: privacy and long-term cost.

One of the most interesting hardware touches on the newly announced Googlebook lineup is the return of the iconic Glow Bar.

The Beta channel is being updated to OS version 16820.11.0 (Browser version 155.0.8059.18) for most ChromeOS devices.

Hi everyone! We’ve just released Chrome Dev 156 (156.0.8072.0) for Android. It’s now available on Google Play.You can see a partial list of the changes in the Git log. For details on new features, check out the Chromium blog, and for details on web platform updates, check here.

The Dev channel has been updated to 156.0.8072.0 for Windows, Mac and Linux.A partial list of changes is available in the Git log. Interested in switching release channels? Find out how. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug.

Following on the heels of our deep dive into why the Duet m wasn’t delayed by bugs or software regressions, reliable leaker Evan Blass shared a fresh set of high-resolution renders showing off the upcoming 2-in-1 in crisp detail.

The Stable channel is being updated to OS version 16765.51.0 (Browser version 152.0.7977.132) for most ChromeOS devices.

In this episode of The Agent Factory, we explore the reality of building with autonomous agents alongside Ryan Lopopolo, a software engineer at Google Cloud and the person who coined the term agent harness.

Una and Bramus dive into the latest advancements in CSS with state-based container queries. Learn how to create responsive and dynamic user experiences by querying the scroll state of UI elements, including ‘stuck,’ ‘snapped,’ and ‘scrollable’ states.

From managing complex research projects to minimizing digital distractions, Chrome has the tools you need to succeed this school year.

Google is rolling out some new Chrome browser features that are designed to make it easier to research and study complicated topics.

When Google first introduced Google Vids as part of the Google Workspace suite, it was positioned almost exclusively as a workplace tool for teams to quickly assemble presentations, onboarding modules, and project recaps without needing high-end desktop editing suites.

If you have spent any real time in the ChromeOS ecosystem over the last decade, you probably have a soft spot for Google’s original “Text” app.

Earlier this week, we discussed the oddity around the Lenovo Googlebook Duet m and MediaTek being absent from Google’s launch event.

Entire database engineering careers have been spent on a single question: How do you scale an OLTP workload without compromising the system of record that owns the data? Exadata answered the question by offloading queries into a scale-out storage tier beneath the database, removing the network as the bottleneck.

Enterprises rely on mission-critical operational databases where performance slowdowns simply aren’t an option. Yet when even a few agents execute dense reasoning loops, the unpredictable surge in queries can easily overwhelm traditional architectures.

Google Cloud has become the platform of choice for startups building AI.

The availability of resources for AI workloads can be challenging across the industry, especially accelerators. This can slow your AI workload deployment if it’s built around a specific type of accelerator.

More than 50% of Notion’s annual recurring revenue came from AI-enabled customers by the end of 2025, while users built over 1 million Custom Agents by May 2026.

 Hello Everyone! We’ve just released Chrome 155 (155.0.8059.16) for Android to a small percentage of users. It’ll become available on Google Play over the next few days. You can find more details about early Stable releases here.This release includes stability and performance improvements.

Jev-powered Slop Mop demonstrates another great use case for probabilistic, non-chatty AI model

 The Stable channel has been updated to 155.0.8059.12/.13 for Windows and Mac as part of our early stable release to a small percentage of users. A full list of changes in this build is available in the log.You can find more details about early Stable releases here.

If you have been eyeing one of the newly unveiled Googlebooks after Monday’s massive reveal, Best Buy just gave early adopters another compelling reason to pull the pre-order trigger.

Hi everyone! We’ve just released Chrome Beta 155 (155.0.8059.16) for Android. It’s now available on Google Play.You can see a partial list of the changes in the Git log. For details on new features, check out the Chromium blog, and for details on web platform updates, check here.

With the official unveiling of the Googlebook hardware fleet, most of the immediate attention has centered on the hardware: gorgeous OLED panels, haptic trackpads, Intel and Snapdragon silicon, and featherweight builds from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo.

Hi everyone! We’ve just released Chrome Beta 155 (155.0.8059.16) for iOS; it’ll become available on App Store in the next few days.You can see a partial list of the changes in the Git log. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug.

Ever since Google pulled back the curtain on Googlebook in New York City, most demonstrations focused on headline keynote features like Magic Pointer cursor gestures, Rambler speech-to-text cleanup, and Android phone continuity.

The Beta channel has been updated to 155.0.8059.12 for Windows, Mac and Linux.A partial list of changes is available in the Git log. Interested in switching release channels? Find out how. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug.

Earlier this year, we announced native support for Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) custom metrics. This milestone allowed you to scrap external adapters and instead collect autoscaling metrics directly from your pods.

Now a private company, Jamf opened its big annual event for Apple enterprise management teams, JNUC, by taking big steps to exploit artificial intelligence in the management of Apple fleets.

For years, the workday looked remarkably consistent. Employees logged into devices, opened browsers and toggled across a dozen disconnected applications. Users acted as the bridge between apps, copying from one tab and pasting into another.

Googlebook, Googlebook, Googlebook. Google’s mysterious new Android- and ChromeOS-combining laptops have been the talk of the town here in the land o’ Googley matters for much of this year already — and their name also makes for an incredibly challenging tongue-twister to say, as an added layer of intrigue.