Samsung Moves to Google Messages; TSMC US Chip Plant Delay; Meta Settles Decade Old Cookie Use Suit; Microsoft Unveils Amazon Appstore Preview

Finally throwing in the towel on their own Samsung Messages, Samsung is making Google Messages the default messaging app on Samsung Galaxy phones in the US…starting with the new Galaxy S22 series. According to 9to5google.com, this will bring enhanced RCS messaging to users. Note that you could always download and install Google Messages, but many people tend to go with the default app on the phones they get. This will put Samsung in a much better position to compete with Apple’s default messaging app. This should also energize other Android handset makers to move the same direction, to get closer to parity with Apple’s widely used and liked Messages app. 

Construction of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s 1st advanced chip plant in the US…being built in Arizona…is now 3 to 6 months behind schedule due primarily to a labor shortage and the on-and-off surge in COVID-19 variants. When finally built, the plant will be TSMC’s most advanced plant outside its home territory. After the plant is built, and equipment moved in, the expectation situate it will take another year to get production lines qualified and ramped up. The company had initially built in some time for delays, so they still say they should be able to begin production by the first quarter of 2024. 

Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook (with props to the late artist formerly known as Prince, has settled a 10 year plus old lawsuit over its use of cookies…to the tune of $90 million. According to Variety, the complaint was that Facebook was tracking users’ internet use even after they had logged off the platform. The settlement still must be approved by the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The settlement will be distributed to plaintiffs who submit verified claims. Expect lawyers to hoover up a third of it plus expenses…so you will probably get a $5 coupon to use on Facebook Marketplace. (OK, I made that up…but no matter…no plaintiff will get much out of this…they never do.)

Last fall, Microsoft started testing Android Apps on PCs running Win 11. Now, techcrunch.com reports that the company is opening up access, with the Amazon Appstore Preview in the Microsoft Store, which will offer over 1,000 more apps and games. Redmond has also rolled out some Windows Taskbar improvements, a redesigned Media Player, and Notepad. For the Taskbar, which had been criticized by users, you will now be able to add your own shortcuts (again), and it will display the clock and date on the Taskbar of a secondary monitor, and live weather content in the left corner of the bar.