Coinbase x402 enables instant stablecoin payments over HTTP

Person sat on a pile of coins as Coinbase has just pulled the wraps off x402—an open standard that dusts off and gives new purpose to the long-dormant HTTP "402 Payment Required" status code. The big idea is to let developers, and even AI agents, slot stablecoin payments right into the back-and-forth of web interactions.

Coinbase has just pulled the wraps off x402—an open standard that dusts off and gives new purpose to the long-dormant HTTP "402 Payment Required" status code. The big idea is to let developers, and even AI agents, slot stablecoin payments right into the back-and-forth of web interactions.

Traditional payment systems were bolted onto the digital world rather than being born from it. They're often slow, can sting with unexpected costs, are fenced in by geography, and frequently...

7 May 2025 | Blockchain

Google improves Gemini 2.5 Pro ahead of I/O 2025

Logo as Google pushes early access to a souped-up Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview ahead of their I/O 2025 developer conference in a couple of weeks.

Google has pushed early access to a souped-up Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview ahead of their I/O 2025 developer conference in a couple of weeks.

Why the hurry? Well, Google put it down to "overwhelming enthusiasm" and the "amazing things" developers were already cooking up with the previous version of Gemini 2.5 Pro. It seems they're champing at the bit to get these beefed-up capabilities into the wild.

This isn't just a fresh lick of paint. The company is championing this new...

6 May 2025 | Artificial Intelligence

Android adds OpenID support for simpler digital credentials

A request for access to virtual identity data as Google gives Android an OpenID upgrade to make handling digital credentials like virtual driving licences much easier and more secure.

Google has given Android an OpenID upgrade to make handling digital credentials like virtual driving licences much easier and more secure.

With native support for OpenID standards, Android apps and services can talk the same language when it comes to verifying who you are digitally.

This update uses Android's existing Credential Manager system (specifically, the DigitalCredential API) to bring in support for OpenID4VP (for showing your credentials) and OpenID4VCI (for...

1 May 2025 | Android

Court slams ‘ludicrous’ App Store injunction arguments by Apple

Gavel as a US District Court delivers a sharp rebuke to Apple, criticising the tech giant’s interpretation of a court injunction in strong terms and rejecting its arguments for a narrow, literal reading of the order in ongoing legal proceedings led by Epic Games.

A US District Court has delivered a sharp rebuke to Apple, criticising the tech giant’s interpretation of a court injunction in strong terms and rejecting its arguments for a narrow, literal reading of the order.

The court’s findings signal trouble for Apple, suggesting its attempts to comply with only the strictest letter of the law – while ignoring its underlying purpose – will not suffice.

The core of the dispute centres on Apple's compliance with an...

1 May 2025 | App Stores

Apple adds official Vision Pro support to Godot game engine

Photo of an Apple Vision Pro headset as the company begins contributing official support to the Godot game engine.

Apple has begun contributing official support for its Vision Pro headset to the popular Godot game engine. Ricardo Sanchez-Saez, a senior iOS engineer working on Apple's visionOS team, announced the effort via a pull request (PR) submitted to the Godot project on GitHub.

This first contribution lays the foundational groundwork for running Godot applications natively on the visionOS platform.

"We're really excited to be working with the Godot community on adding visionOS...

24 April 2025 | Development Tools

EU DMA: Apple and Meta hit with first major fines

Man punching as the EU flexes its regulatory muscles under the new Digital Markets Act (DMA), imposing hefty fines on Apple and Meta for non-compliance over App Store and personal data practices.

The EU has flexed its regulatory muscles under the new Digital Markets Act (DMA), imposing hefty fines on Apple and Meta for non-compliance. In its first enforcement actions of this kind, the Commission levied a €500 million fine against Apple and a €200 million fine against Meta.

The EU Commission found Apple breached its obligations regarding "anti-steering" practices within its App Store, while Meta was found to have failed to provide users with adequate choice concerning...

23 April 2025 | App Stores

Endor Labs deploys AI agents to counter vibe coding risks

Bright text as Endor Labs expands its application security (AppSec) platform with agents to address development risks posed by AI and vibe coding, including what the company claims is the industry’s most comprehensive security dataset.

Endor Labs is expanding its application security (AppSec) platform with agents to address development risks posed by AI and vibe coding.

Bolstered by agentic AI and what the company claims is the industry’s most comprehensive security dataset, the platform moves beyond mere risk identification to prioritise threats, propose solutions, and even implement fixes automatically.

The move comes amid a dramatic shift in software development practices. The rise of AI coding...

23 April 2025 | Approaches

Mozilla open-source tools help developers build ethical AI datasets

Smiling cookies as Mozilla and EleutherAI unveil open-source tools to help developers build ethical AI datasets and avoid training models on copyrighted material.

Mozilla has unveiled open-source tools to help developers build ethical AI datasets and avoid training models on copyrighted material.

The reliance of many popular large language models (LLMs) on vast datasets scraped from the internet, often encompassing copyrighted works used without permission, presents a significant ethical and legal challenge.

A growing contingent within the developer community believes creating high-quality, ethically sound alternatives is not only...

22 April 2025 | Artificial Intelligence

Google found guilty of ad tech monopoly in antitrust case

Screenshot of Google search homepage as a US District Court delivers a verdict in a major antitrust case, finding Google liable for monopolising key segments of the digital advertising technology (ad tech) market.

A US District Court has delivered a verdict in a major antitrust case, finding Google liable for monopolising key segments of the digital advertising technology (ad tech) market.

The ruling, following a three-week bench trial, concluded that Google unlawfully acquired and maintained monopoly power in the markets for publisher ad servers and ad exchanges for open-web display advertising. Furthermore, the court found Google illegally tied its publisher ad server, DoubleClick for...

17 April 2025 | Developer

JetBrains debuts free AI tier and Junie coding agent in IDEs

A digital being helping a human developer as JetBrains announces the integration of its AI tools – including the upgraded AI Assistant and new coding agent Junie – into its IDEs under a single subscription model, complete with a free tier.

JetBrains has announced the integration of its AI tools – including the upgraded AI Assistant and new coding agent Junie – into its IDEs under a single subscription model, complete with a free tier.

Love it or loathe it, there’s no denying that AI is disrupting the software development industry. JetBrains, for its part, views it as an opportunity to redefine developers’ roles.

“AI is taking care of basic coding tasks,” JetBrains states, enabling developers to...

16 April 2025 | Artificial Intelligence