Mark Zuckerberg says Meta is testing making posts from Threads accounts “available on Mastodon and other services that use the ActivityPub protocol”
I've been as big a Facebook critic as anybody, but this is a good thing. And reflects that we're entering a new era of the open web, with a chance for things to be more interesting again. Brian Penny...
Twitch now allows some previously prohibited sexual content, including “deliberately highlighted breasts, buttocks or pelvic region”, with a sexual themes label
Twitch is updating the way it responds to sexual content. As part of the change, the streaming platform will now allow …
Intel unveils the Core Ultra H and the Core Ultra U series, its first mobile processors based on the Meteor Lake platform, designed for ultra-portable notebooks
Intel has released their first mobile processors based on their highly anticipated Meteor Lake platform, the Core Ultra H and the Core Ultra U series.
Apple begins selling a $99 USB-C charging case for its second-generation AirPods Pro as a standalone purchase; delivery estimates are for after Christmas
Apple has begun selling the USB-C charging case for its second-generation AirPods Pro as a standalone purchase. But it doesn't come cheap.
Meta launches Threads in the European Union, following the US, the UK, and 100+ other countries, and adds a way for EU users to browse Threads without a profile
Meta's Twitter competitor, Threads, is now available in the European Union, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced.
Cruise dismisses nine key executives, including COO Gil West, as the company continues to investigate an October 2 incident of its vehicle dragging a pedestrian
Three Polish hackers say they fixed trains allegedly bricked by manufacturer Newag because an independent repair shop worked on them; Newag denies bricking them
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Lenovo, MSI, Acer, and Asus launch laptops with Intel's Core Ultra chips, featuring an NPU for “low-power AI acceleration and CPU/GPU off-load” for AI tasks
Emma Roth / The Verge :
Microsoft seizes US-based infrastructure and websites used by cybercrime group Storm-1152 that created ~750M fraudulent Microsoft accounts, after a court order
Relying on a court order, the tech giant seized websites belonging to a top purveyor of fraudulent Microsoft accounts.
After an on-by-default AI toggle caused confusion, Dropbox says user data is only shared with OpenAI if the AI-powered search feature is actively being used
AI feature turned on by default worries users; Dropbox responds to concerns. — On Wednesday, news quickly spread on social media …
Email: Cruise lays off 900 employees, or about 24% of its workforce, targeting non-engineering jobs, as part of a plan to slash costs and revamp the company
Cruise, the embattled GM self-driving car subsidiary, is laying off 900 employees, or about 24% of its workforce …
Adobe reports Q4 revenue up 12% YoY to $5.05B, vs. $5.03B est., Digital Media revenue up 13% YoY to $3.72B, and FY 2024 guidance below est.; ADBE drops 5%+
- Adobe's fiscal fourth-quarter results surpassed expectations, but guidance for fiscal 2024 trailed estimates.
Instagram launches a generative AI background editing tool in the US, letting users change the background for their Stories based on prompts
Instagram introduced its generative AI-powered background editing tool to U.S.-based users Wednesday. — Meta's lead for generative AI Ahmad Al-Dahle posted …
Intel announces Gaudi3, a generative AI chip launching in 2024 to compete with Nvidia's H100 and AMD's forthcoming MI300X, but was light on details
Kif Leswing / CNBC :
Instagram plans to roll out new tools in the coming weeks to flag fake followers and spam content, giving users the option to delete those items in bulk
Malak Saleh / Engadget :
Google plans to start testing Tracking Protection on January 4 on ~1% of global Chrome users to block third-party cookies, ahead of a phased rollout in H2 2024
Google is about to launch its grand plan to block third-party cookies in Chrome that many websites use to track your activity across the web for profit.
Q&A with ESA CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis on why the ESA couldn't save E3, his favorite E3 memory, competition, working with the media, the ESA's future, and more
The Entertainment Software Association finally pulled the plug on the Electronic Entertainment Expo yesterday after years of trying to hold the center of gaming events.
Apple's stock rose 1.7% to close at $197.96 on December 13, surpassing its previous record close in July 2023 and up 52% for the year, for a $3.08T market cap
- Shares surpass July high, putting market cap at $3.08 trillion — Revenue seen growing again in 2024 after falling this year
A deepfake of Putin, built by a student from Saint Petersburg State University, quizzed Putin about AI and doppelgangers during a Q&A session with the public
- The moment saw the Russian president caught uncharacteristically off guard — It came amid his end of year press conference that lasted some four hours
Microsoft releases Xbox Cloud Gaming in beta on the Meta Quest 2, Quest 3, and Quest Pro, for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers
here's how to play Kieron Verbrugge / Press Start : Xbox Cloud Gaming Is Now Available On Meta Quest VR Headsets David Matthews / TechSpot : Meta Quest owners can now play Xbox games on their headsets...
A look at Koolau Ranch, Mark Zuckerberg's 1,400-acre, $270M+ compound in Kauai, Hawaii, with a 5,000 sq. ft. underground shelter, a project shrouded in secrecy
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is building a sprawling, $100 million compound in Hawaii—complete with plans for a huge underground bunker. Threads: @mattnavarra . X: @jackmjenkins , @katiedrumm , @kylebruss...
A look at Twitter's culture before Elon Musk's takeover, when employees focused on improving the health of online conversations rather than growth at all costs
Sensor Tower: 51 of the top 100 US advertisers on X in October 2022, when Elon Musk bought the platform, have ceased ad spending on X as of November 2023
Big U.S. companies including Walt Disney and Comcast increased advertising spending on Instagram after pausing commercials on X last month …
Temu sues rival Shein in the US over “intensified” anti-competitive practices, reviving a legal fight after both had dropped earlier lawsuits against each other
Sources: LinkedIn shelves its effort, announced in 2019, to relocate its data centers out of its physical facilities and into Azure, a setback for Microsoft
- LinkedIn called off a plan to move technology to Microsoft Azure, a setback for its parent company, which is chasing Amazon Web Services.
Google launches a Pixel Diagnostic App and English-language repair manuals in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and European countries where Pixels are sold
Besides the new Repair Mode introduced with Android 14 QPR1 and the December Feature Drop, Google is widely launching a new Pixel Diagnostic App and repair manuals in English.
Axel Springer signs a multiyear deal with OpenAI, which plans to offer ChatGPT news summaries and use Politico, Business Insider, and others to train AI models
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal :
The CJEU upholds overturning an EU order to Amazon to pay back €250M in taxes to Luxembourg, ending an ongoing case since 2017; the ruling cannot be appealed
Javier Espinoza / Financial Times :
Stanford survey of 40+ US high schools: cheating rates in 2023 didn't increase over prior years, suggesting the alarm over AI chatbots may have been overblown
not simply as this uncontrollable temptation that undermines everything. There's so much more that could and should be talked about in schools,” said Victor Lee, an associate professor at the GSE and...
Filing: Adobe says the US FTC is investigating its subscription cancellation rules and that a settlement may involve “significant monetary costs or penalties”
Adobe's subscription rules are under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. …
Privacy-focused developer Proton launches an app in beta for Windows and macOS that includes Proton Mail and Proton Calendar, ahead of a wider early 2024 launch
Will Shanklin / Engadget :
Amazon successfully validates Project Kuiper's optical inter-satellite links, which use infrared lasers to move data 30% faster than terrestrial fiber cables
Aria Alamalhodaei / TechCrunch :
Sources: sparked by Spotify's complaint in 2019, the EU may fine Apple in 2024 and plans to ban its anti-steering App Store rules used on music streaming rivals
Coinbase rolls out spot crypto trading on its international exchange, starting with BTC-USDC and ETH-USDC pairs via API access for non-US institutional clients
Etsy plans to lay off ~11% of its workforce, or ~225 employees, as the e-commerce website grapples with slow consumer spending and rivals like Shein and Temu
UK regulator Ofcom investigates TikTok over concerns the company supplied “inaccurate” information about its parental controls; TikTok blames a technical issue
Cristina Criddle / Financial Times :
Google says its Nest Renew service will merge with the OhmConnect energy management platform to form the company Renew Home, with $100M from Alphabet-backed SIP
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge :
The US, the UK, and Poland say that, since September 2023, state-backed Russian group APT29 has targeted servers hosting Czech firm JetBrains' TeamCity software
https://dashboard.shadowserver.org/ ... If you receive an alert from us, make sure to investigate for signs of compromise! …
Air cargo and logistics executives say booming demand in Western markets for goods sold by Chinese companies like Temu and Shein is buoying air freight rates
Financial Times :
Sources: the UK is considering a crackdown on social media access for kids under 16, including potential bans, and is planning a consultation as soon as January
- Government plans consultation as soon as January, person says — Comes as National Crime Agency warns parents about Facebook X: @matthewlesh , @kitty_donaldson , @bmlbod , @kitty_donaldson , @willgu...
Bengaluru-based B2B e-commerce startup Udaan raised $340M led by UK retail bank M&G, its first equity raise since 2021 and one of India's largest rounds in 2023
Manish Singh / TechCrunch :
Mexico City-based Kapital, which offers financial visibility tools to SMBs, raised a $40M Series B and $125M in debt, after raising a $20M Series A in May 2023
Christine Hall / TechCrunch :
Sources: Google plans to use Gemini across its entire line of products, including an AI assistant called Pixie that will be exclusive to its Pixel devices
For Google, it was a moment to savor its apparent triumph over the doomsayers. — Last week, the company released the first version … Bluesky: @dead.place Bluesky: Flynn / @dead.place : Google Assist...
Abu Dhabi-based Andalusia Labs, which offers risk management services for digital assets, raised a $48M Series A led by Lightspeed at a valuation “north of” $1B
UK-based Qogita, an e-commerce wholesale marketplace for the health and beauty sectors, raised an €80M Series B led by Dawn Capital, for €119M funding in total
Mike Butcher / TechCrunch :
Amazon introduces a slew of initiatives to help Chinese merchants sell abroad, including opening an innovation center in Shenzhen, the first in the Asia-Pacific
Coco Feng / South China Morning Post :
Amazon launches Your Books, a feature that lets users organize all their books, including print, Kindle, and Audible titles, while providing recommendations
A profile of Nandini Jammi, a co-founder of Check My Ads, a nonprofit using social media to call out companies whose ads appear on far-right creators' websites
How the rise in the US of Japanese news aggregator SmartNews, valued at $2B in 2021, came to a halt in 2023, leading to CEO Ken Suzuki's departure in November
https://restofworld.org/... X: @restofworld : Japan's SmartNews was growing fast in the U.S. What went wrong? Once valued at $2 billion, the news app has been hit by heavy layoffs. Former employees te...
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