Chrome's built-in ad blocker is going live. This means that Google will be making the unprecedented move to block Chrome ads. While the average user may not notice much of a change, publishers are dreading this move.

The ad blocker will not block all ads. Only ads that do not meet the standards set forth by the Coalition for Better Ads. You will receive notification that the ad is being blocked, and then you will be given the choice to view the intercepted ad. All ads are subject to being impeded by the blocker, even Google ads. On a positive note, sites that have ads blocked have increased loading speeds, though minimal and an incidental effect.

Launch of the new Harry Potter game anticipates big Go with $200 million boost

From a fascinating story from the Wall Street Journal we find the creator of Pokémon Go, Niantic, raises $200 million in new funding. There's noted participation from Javelin VC, Founders Fund, Meritech, Megan Quinn from NetEase, Inc. Spark and You & Mr. Jones are all joining in the Series B venture that's raising eyebrows on Wall Street.

Many know Niantic as a key player in games of augmented reality, notably Ingress, the sci-fi spy multiplayer game that came about during its startup days within the Google empire. Niantic then spun away as its own entity in 2015, and shortly afterward launched the much lauded Pokémon Go which attracted all kinds of interest at its launch. Massive gatherings of real-world players came together as part of a very exciting incentivization program which spiked the in-game success of the Pokémon AR game.

Firefox is one of the pioneer web browsing applications in the world. With the growing demand for Internet use, there has been a significant growth in the number of applications one can use in web browsing. This stiff competition has led to a decline in Firefox users over time. The Firefox Quantum browser is an innovation by the company with the aim of reclaiming the browsers lost market share.

Unique attributes of the new browser

Being the 57th version of the browser, the firm had to put in a lot of expertise to distinguish it from the earlier versions. Regarding memory space, the design allows users 30 percent less memory requirement if you are to compare its memory capacity to other browsers.Reviews estimate the browser to be two times faster than that of the predecessor, the Firefox 52.

The user interface has the complete facelift. You can flawlessly shift from one tab to another courtesy of the new Phonton UI. A new engine now powers the browser. As a way of making use of the browser more friendly, the browser suggests top stories, has additional pocket features and also the provision to save content. The new version is compatible with Mac and Linux operating systems. An Ios version will soon be available.

Ford and Domino's are testing self driving cars for delivering pizza.

The two companies are partnering on a test trial with Ford cars to deliver pizzas to Domino's customers. They want to know if customers will react to this idea favorably and be willing to deal with autonomous car service.

The car in question is the Ford Fusion Hybrid Autonomous car, and it will have pizza containers that are outfitted by a third company, Roush Enterprises. The containers will keep the pizzas warm, and the new self-driving cars are programmed to unlock once the customer inputs a unique delivery code. Random customers in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area will be selected to participate in the pizza delivery test trial.

Paypal, the famous online payment website has expanded its services. Venmo, Paypal's newest peer-to-peer payment platform, provides an easy to use app that allows easy financial transactions.

Venmo and Paypal dominate the cyber world of peer-to-peer and b2b payments. The goal of these services, provide easy and flexibility. Today, people are using their mobile devices for all types of payments. Mobile devices, including cellular telephones, are the center from which housewives, entrepreneurs, and executives of all types conduct their business of all types.

Paypal's Venmo app allows users to request and make payments from a mobile device. The easy of use is a major key to Venmo's success.

Paypal's success started a decade ago. When consumers started shopping through websites like Ebay or Amazon they needed a secure way to ensure the transaction was both legitimate, legal, and safe.

There's another lawsuit underway for the folks over at Uber. Apparently started a program they named "Hell". This program allegedly used some black-ops Uber internal software and tracked Lyft drivers, providing information to Uber execs on various statistics about Lyft drivers. Some of these statistics included how many Lyft drivers were out and about at any given time in certain local areas and a gauge as to how much the drivers were charging for rides. The software also allegedly could determine whether drivers worked for both Lyft and Uber (at the same time).

The lawsuit comes from a man named Michael Gonzales, the plaintiff, who drove for Lyft during this period of the "Hell" software usage. He's seeking $5 million in a class action lawsuit, which was filed in Northern California's U.S. District Court. The lawsuit goes directly at Uber, charging them with invasion of privacy of Lyft drivers. The California Invasion of Privacy Act as well as the Federal Wiretap Act were both cited for references in the lawsuit.

With the underwhelming performance of Nintendo's Wii U, it is natural to be leery about the company's latest console: the Nintendo Switch. Skepticism is warranted based on its limited launch library and bare bones functionality, but the games released thus far already provide an amazing gaming experience.

First, the downsides. The Switch's menu is full of empty square blocks that seem to be awaiting functionality in the future. While it is only natural to expect increased functionality as developers spend more time with the hardware, obvious features such as Netflix are currently absent. Any games you have are displayed, but the included eShop offers a total of nine games. If you are not interested in any of them, your options may seem lacking.

Quality is more important than quantity, however, and the Switch has one universally praised gem. Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an extremely versatile title with a large open world that caters to a wide range of playing styles, from combat specialists to stealth fanatics. There is so much to explore that you may not need another game for a long time.

You may groan, but inevitably tax season begins again on January 23rd, and this year filers have until April 18th to file. As always, the IRS has issued some useful reminders to taxpayers, including to keep copies of their tax returns for the last three years, and that the gross income from your 2015 return will be needed if you are changing to a different tax software product. IRS commissioner John Koskinen reminds taxpayers about the thousands of IRS employees that work hard to make the filing and refund process fast and efficient, especially given legislative changes such as the EITC refund date. The IRS has also been committed to working with state revenue departments and the tax industry, to try to reduce fraud and abuse throughout the entire system.

Pokémon Go is now available for iOS and Android in the US

Score! Pokémon Go, the wildly anticipated reality game with a backing from Nintendo, is on its way to Android and iOS devices today.

In May, this fan-powerhouse was released in beta in the U.S. and it also seems to be coming out for many other iOS and Android users same day. At first, the app will be limited to New Zealand and while that seems strange, it is quite common. This first step is often a sign of a worldwide launching with imminent hints at expansion. At the time of this article, this highly-anticipated app is not available in the U.S. or the UK. While these two major markets are being left out currently, we expect that it will be more readily available at some point throughout Wednesday.

Google has released a new feature that allows smart phone users the ability to work with Apps without installing them, its called Google Instant App. Users can click on a link and the phone App will be ready to use almost instantly. So if someone you know has an App installed that they want you to take a look at, but you don’t have the App yourself, click on a link and that the App page is available. Like the way to Internet used to work before everything became App based.

The new feature takes an App and breaks it into smaller parts called Atoms that perform just some features of the larger App. Thus the Atom opens quickly because it is very small in comparison to the complete App, and it performs just like the App because it is an actual piece of it. The links can be passed around and opened in Google Play.