Some goo.gl URLs will live to fight another day
In 2018, Google cut off the ability to create new shortened links. But it kept existing URLs active as a courtesy to those who relied on them. Then, a year ago, the company said its bit.ly rival would shut down completely on August 25, 2025. That appeared to be the final nail in the coffin. Not so fast.
That brings us to Google's change of heart today. "We understand these links are embedded in countless documents, videos, posts and more, and we appreciate the input received," the company explained.
You'll know yours is shutting down if it currently shows a warning message. ("This link will no longer work in the near future.") If it redirects to the destination without that detour, it will live to fight another day. Google says the survivors were chosen based on whether they showed activity in late 2024.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Tom's Guide
30 minutes ago
- Tom's Guide
Tom's Guide Awards 2025: The brands, innovations and products that excite us the most
We've covered a wide range of products, devices and services across 12 different categories for this year's Tom's Guide Awards. However, we've saved the best for last and our Hero Awards recognize the best of the best from the latest innovations to cutting-edge design and impressive sustainability efforts. The winners of this year's Hero Awards stood out to our team here at Tom's Guide for changing the course of the world of technology as a whole, breaking ground with new innovations and going the extra mile when it comes to making the devices we use everyday more sustainable. Join us in celebrating the achievements of all of this year's Hero Awards winners and the lasting impact these companies and their products will have on the future of technology. AI is everywhere these days, and Google's Gemini is absolutely dominating the space right now. While the AI software has a lot of features to boast, Gemini Live has quickly stood out as one of its best. Google describes it as a more natural way to chat to Gemini. Open up the Gemini app and you can start a video chat with it, showing Gemini your surroundings and chatting away to the AI bot. It's not just video, share documents, images and files with Gemini and live chat with the bot as it identifies what it is looking at. This feature has been advertised heavily by Samsung, and for good reason. It turns your smartphone into an all-knowing chatbot with eyes. It can translate menus, explain documents, teach you how to change a tire and identify what kind of laptop you have. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Sure, this kind of feature isn't entirely unique, competitors like OpenAI have their own version, but Gemini stands out as the most intuitive, understanding context and situational awareness far better than anyone else. The Asus ROG Flow Z13 started its life this year in controversial fashion — being announced with no dedicated graphics card. Instead, you're getting an AMD Ryzen AI Max APU with…integrated graphics? Asus promised me it was powerful, but I was suspicious. Fast forward a few months later to launch, and I can safely confirm that Strix Halo is the real deal — I'm absolutely blown away by what this 2-in-1 can do in the gaming space. I'm talking about Cyberpunk 2077 with topped out settings at over 90 frames per second, and even Black Myth: Wukong at 92 FPS. And all of this in what is essentially a tablet!? And a damn good looking one at that with a bright, colorful and buttery smooth 180Hz Mini-LED display, a slim and sleek design, and a battery life that frankly embarrasses other high performance laptops? I've been waiting for this moment for years — where gaming notebooks can be ultraportable without compromising performance. And now, it's happened. Thanks to its mission-driven approach to building safe and trustworthy AI, Anthropic deserves the award for Best Company. Founded in 2021 by a team of former OpenAI researchers, the company has quickly risen to prominence with its Claude AI models, most notably Claude Sonnet 4 and Claude Opus 4, which have surpassed competitors in productivity tasks like writing, summarization and even code generation, leading in SWE-Bench benchmarks. With massive backing from Amazon and Google and $4 billion in revenue to show for it, Anthropic's Claude is quickly becoming one of the most influential AI platforms in the what really sets Anthropic apart is its focus on AI safety, transparency and model explainability, qualities that are increasingly critical as AI tools move into our daily lives. In a fast-moving industry where hype often outpaces impact, Anthropic's steady, safety-first strategy is earning real-world trust, and that's why it's our top pick. I've been reviewing laptops for decades, and the Framework Laptop 12 is the most accessible, sustainable and upgradable 2-in-1 I've ever seen. Sure, it can't match the elegance and power of more expensive laptops, but the fact that you can crack it open and start swapping out parts yourself makes the Framework Laptop 12 the most sustainable laptop I've used all year. And since the cute, chunky 2-in-1 comes in five color schemes (including bubblegum and sage) it could be a huge hit with kids, students and families. That's great for sustainability because like all Framework laptops, the Framework Laptop 12 is designed to be easy to learn thanks to embedded QR codes inside the laptop which take you right to Framework's step-by-step guides. If the Framework Laptop 12 proves popular with families and schools it could help a whole generation feel more comfortable modifying and tinkering with their devices, and that could be a huge win for the future of sustainability. This is it. Samsung has done what we didn't think possible. Make a foldable phone that's just as sleek as a regular slab smartphone. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is a revelation in design. Measuring 8.9 mm when folded and 4.2mm when unfolded, this device is only slightly thicker than the Galaxy S25 Ultra and even lighter. This is thanks to a redesigned Armor FlexHinge with an enhanced water droplet design. As a result of this and other enhancements, the Z Fold 7 is 48% thinner than the original Galaxy Z Fold and 26% thinner than last year's Fold 6. Even with this huge leap in portability, the Z Fold 7 boasts an even larger 8-inch main display. Plus, there's a new multi-rail structure that reduces the visibility of the crease. And there's a bigger 6.5-inch screen up front, too. Yes, Samsung ditched S Pen support to achieve this thinner design. And you don't get dust resistance. But overall, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is the best foldable I've ever held and used. And it's easily the best designed gadget of the year. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.


Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Tim Cook Says He's 'Open to M&A that Accelerates' Apple's AI Plans
Tech giant Apple (AAPL) is changing its strategy on artificial intelligence, with CEO Tim Cook saying that the company is now willing to spend more in order to catch up to competitors. Interestingly, this could involve building more data centers or even acquiring a larger AI company, which would be a big shift from Apple's usual practice of buying smaller firms. The move comes as Apple falls behind Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOGL), which have already spent tens of billions on AI chatbots and assistants that now have hundreds of millions of users. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. So far, Apple has mainly relied on outside data centers and focused on developing its own AI technology. But progress has been slower than expected, with Siri's upgrade pushed to next year. As a result, during Apple's Q3 earnings call, Cook told analysts that while the company has acquired seven smaller firms this year, it is also open to larger deals if they help speed up Apple's AI plans. 'We're very open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap,' he said, with CFO Kevan Parekh adding that this spending will rise 'substantially,' but not at an out-of-control pace. It is worth noting that these plans come at a critical time for Apple. Indeed, its multibillion-dollar deal with Google to keep it as the iPhone's default search engine is at risk due to U.S. antitrust lawsuits. In addition, new AI startups like Perplexity are working with phone makers to challenge Google's dominance, with Bloomberg even reporting earlier this year that Apple had discussed buying Perplexity to improve its Safari browser. At the same time, Apple is preparing to spend more on data centers so it can use its own chips to process AI tasks while protecting user privacy. Is Apple a Buy or Sell Right Now? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 13 Buys, 12 Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AAPL price target of $230.97 per share implies 13.7% upside potential.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Leaked images reveal Google's new budget earbuds
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Quick Summary A new leaked render has appeared which shows off a new set of earbuds from Google. Those could be the Google Pixel Buds 2a, and may launch at the upcoming Google event. With the Google Pixel event now just a matter of weeks away, it should come as no surprise that the rumour mill has been spinning furiously. Fans are eager to understand what is coming, to try and get a feel for just how much of an upgrade is coming. We've already seen leaked renders of the Google Pixel 10 Pro, as well as those for the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Those Android phones are likely to be among the most highly anticipated at the event, with the brand's offering growing substantially in recent years. Now, the same leaker has shared an image of a new set of earbuds. That is listed as the Google Pixel Buds 2a, which would make them a successor to the brand's current budget buds – the Google Pixel Buds a. The image was shared by Android Headlines, and shows the buds in a pale Lilac hue. The colour – which the report suggests is called 'Iris' – is seen in the innards of the case, which has a white outer casing. It looks like the case is designed to reveal a little sliver of that colour when closed, too. There appears to be a band which will be visible on the outside, ensuring your carefully chosen style can still be seen. You might have noticed I'm dwelling slightly here, dear reader, and that's because there isn't an awful lot more to tell you. While the leaked render gives us a good look at the device, there is no accompanying information to make any suggestions about the specs or pricing. With little else to go on, we'll just have to wait for the official launch to offer further comment. Still, with that set to take place in just a few short weeks, we shouldn't have long to wait.