When the pandemic hit three years ago, Amazon was one of the few businesses that thrived.

Customers flocked to the online commerce site amid global lockdowns. But even when those lockdowns eventually lifted and Amazon's sales slowed as people returned to stores, the company could still count on its massive cash cow: Amazon Web Services.

Apple has a long history of designing products that aren't the first to be introduced in a particular category but still redefine the market. With the company unveiling a headset equipped with virtual and augmented reality technology already available in other devices, here is a look back at some of Apple's other breakthrough products:

THE MACINTOSH COMPUTER, UNVEILED JANUARY 1984

The European Union is pushing online platforms like Google and Meta to step up the fight against false information by adding labels to text, photos and other content generated by artificial intelligence, a top official said Monday.

EU Commission Vice President Vera Jourova said the ability of a new generation of AI chatbots to create complex content and visuals in seconds raises "fresh challenges for the fight against disinformation."

Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumored headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination.

After years of speculation, the stage is set for the widely anticipated announcement to be made Monday at Apple's annual developers conference in a Cupertino, California, theater named after the company's late co-founder Steve Jobs. Apple is also likely to use the event to show off its latest Mac computer, preview the next operating system for the iPhone and discuss its strategy for artificial intelligence.

A California bill that would force Big Tech companies to pay media outlets for posting and using their news content cleared another critical hurdle Thursday.

The measure is among hundreds of bills that passed in the state Senate and Assembly this week before Friday — the last day a bill can pass out of its original chamber and get a chance to become law later this year.

The hottest thing in technology is an unprepossessing sliver of silicon closely related to the chips that power video game graphics. It's an artificial intelligence chip, designed specifically to make building AI systems such as ChatGPT faster and cheaper.

The Chinese government on Wednesday defended its ban on products from U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. in some computer systems after Washington expressed concern, adding to strains over technology and security.

The security review of Micron products was "conducted in accordance with the law," said a foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning.

Wish you could reword that snarky text message you just sent?

WhatsApp is allowing users to do just that, for up to 15 minutes after they send a message. The popular chat app announced in a blog post Monday that users can correct misspellings, add more details or otherwise change what they have sent to friends, family and coworkers.

The European Union slapped Meta with a record $1.3 billion privacy fine Monday and ordered it to stop transferring users personal information across the Atlantic by October, the latest salvo in a decadelong case sparked by U.S. cybersnooping fears.

The penalty of 1.2 billion euros is the biggest since the EU's strict data privacy regime took effect five years ago, surpassing Amazon's 746 million euro fine in 2021 for data protection violations.

Britain's government unveiled its long-awaited semiconductor strategy Friday, catching up with similar efforts by Western allies seeking to reduce reliance on Asian production of the computer chips that are essential to modern life.

Under U.K. plan, the country's semiconductor industry will get up to 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) in government investment over the next decade. The amount is dwarfed by the U.S. Chips Act, which provides $52 billion in government incentives, and the European Union's $43 billion euro ($46 billion) chip program.