On Version History: David Imel and Adi Robertson debate if the OLPC XO-1 was innovative hardware or just a bad idea.
Google’s latest attempt to reinvent the laptop will require everything the company does well — and a few things it doesn’t.
A new wave of AI-enhanced consumer creep-tech disregards the privacy of everyone but the wearer. The people have had enough.
With AI, he says, ‘in order to save you, they’ve got to hurt you first.‘
‘Pervert glasses.’ Thousands of lawsuits. Mark Zuckerberg wants to sweep it all away with a new bid on AI.
App casting, handoff, and seamless file sharing make Googlebooks feel (almost) obvious with an Android phone.
The 24.5-megapixel camera ditches some of the Z5 II’s premium features but shaves $450 off the original’s price.
The new Meta VR Glasses offer immersive experiences in a shape that’s much easier to actually wear.
The $79.99 Surface Mouse will start shipping on October 13th.
The new Copilot merges AI chat, coding, and Autopilot agents.
Meta wants to stuff this guy into everything and entrust it with productivity, health, and relationship goals.
Air-gapping AI to keep it away from real-world targets makes testing safer, but less useful.
‘The group will advise on the review and communication of emerging results.’
The latest changes at Microsoft’s gaming division signal a further retreat from the Xbox brand.
Another round of cuts leaves big questions over the future of Game Pass and the Xbox platform.
The Xbox reset continues with major studio changes, layoffs, and more.
Microsoft’s controversial Xbox One bets are paying off more than a decade later.
The KickerSeptember 27
Minecraft Dungeons 2 is coming out on September 29th with the first new Minecraft dimension in 14 years: The Sift. But Microsoft has confirmed that you’ll also be able to check out the new realm in both the Java and Bedrock editions of Minecraft in 2027.
The Charm can access your account if you let it and perform actions on your behalf. But despite having a built-in camera, it won’t have a dedicated Instagram app or native access.
On Version History: David Imel and Adi Robertson debate if the OLPC XO-1 was innovative hardware or just a bad idea.
Plus, in this week’s Installer: New Meta glasses, Remedy’s Control sequel, Microsoft’s updated Surface Mouse, and more.
Apple’s Taptic Engine was found to infringe on two of Taction’s patents.
He’ll play a character named Joey who wasn’t in the games. Ian Alexander, who voiced Lev in The Last of Us: Part II, will play opposite him as another original character, Paco. Laura Bailey, who voiced Abby in the game, will join the cast as Elizabeth, a leader of the Seraphites cult.
Following backlash, YouTube posted on X that when the trailer was “submitted as an ad, it was temporarily restricted by our system. Following review the ad has been cleared to run.” Meta spokesperson Alex Dziedzan said, “This was an error,” and will now run the ads.
Update September 26th: Added statement from Meta.
Earlier this month, the board of WordPress.com’s owner put its CEO, Matt Mullenweg, on paid leave in an effort to oust him. Two days later, he was back at the helm. And now, two weeks after the failed coup, the board has been replaced.
It would be easier to name the tech CEOs who didn’t show up to the state dinner being held for China’s president this week. Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Jensen Huang, Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and AMD’s Lisa Su. Also in attendance, but not pictured below, were reportedly Satya Nadella, Michael Dell, Zoom’s Eric Yuan, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, and, of course, David Ellison.
Blocked from other social media, middle schoolers have had to get creative.
OpenAI keeps uncovering incidents of its models behaving in ‘unexpected or concerning’ ways.
YouTube, TikTok, and Meta have all apparently rejected the trailer for Alex Gibney’s documentary, scheduled to hit theaters on October 9th. It’s not surprising that X has refused to take distributor Bleecker Street’s calls given its owner’s notoriously thin skin. But as The Hollywood Reporter notes:
The unwillingness of platforms to accept even paid advertising is sure to raise concerns about free speech and the dwindling number of companies that control many of the platforms in this country — and ironically provide a proof-text for the very point the film is coming to make. Gibney’s doc is a four-hour look at a title character who attempts to control the conversation in various ways, including with alleged suppressions on X, which he bought in 2022.
Update September 26th: Both YouTube and Meta will now reportedly run the ads.
[The Hollywood Reporter]
There’s a lot to read in Remedy’s Control sequel, even just in the menus. It’s worth taking the time to pore over it all.
8
Verge Score
On Friday, OpenAI said its “misaligned models” review after the Hugging Face hack would take months, but has mostly found mundane research activity. Then it mentioned 53 incidents of the bots uploading “user-provided” images (anonymized content from personal accounts that haven’t opted out or organizations that opt in) to image-hosting sites.
Now the New York Times confirms that other unusual behavior found includes pulling public data from the Census Bureau and the SEC, while with the Education Department, it “tried to hack the website to gather data from the department’s civil rights office but failed.”
It claims its new Smart Charging Station offers its “fastest production-ready charging performance” yet, and also includes a new system that can “gradually fix” EV battery degradation from fast charging:
The Group has additionally developed lithium-ion pulse restoration technology, which uses micro-pulse currents to reactivate lithium ions accumulated at the negative electrodes during repeated fast charging. By combining AI charging management with battery restoration technology, Geely is able to increase battery cycle life by 20%.
That revamped Trump admin app (now offering access to Trump TV) apparently bounced up to the top of the News list this week.
You might think that securing access to the Strait of Hormuz or really anything else would be the federal government’s focus, but hey, it had the number one app in a category, and as David Pierce wrote in February, the very best thing about that is “being able to tell people you were number one.” The app has since slipped to #2 in news behind X, and to #96 overall.
It’s reportedly testing an alternative to Windows based on the Dutch Linux distro NixOS, according to Tweakers. It’s part of DAWO, a program aimed at reducing the Dutch government’s reliance on non-European tech, including things like office and collaboration apps. Earlier this year, France’s government also announced a switch to Linux.
NBC News released this clip from a Meet the Press interview with Gates that will air on Sunday, where he said, “No one thinks self-regulation is enough” around AI.
Saying that AI is “certainly powerful enough to drive events that, you know, cause a billion deaths,” he suggested, “You need law enforcement and the politicians to get into the discussion about what safeguards and monitoring look like… And that has to be a required thing. And it will be a little bit of overhead for the industry, but not a dramatic slowing of what they’re doing.” Everyone agrees someone should do it, but who, and how?
Robert O’Callahan is quitting his work on AI chips for Google Deepmind, saying “…my team’s goal is ultimately to make AI much cheaper and lower-latency, and I don’t think that’s good for people right now.”
While he says it’s not related to recent AI warnings and resignations, he listed some concerns:
However, I am not convinced the chance of ASI doom is 100%. Rather, I think the risk is real but uncertain… I’m also very concerned about other AI-related issues: cognitive surrender, AI-induced psychosis and loneliness, power concentration, economic disruption, cybersecurity, lack of accountability, and so on
This time the finding is in connection to Meta’s claims about privacy, and enforcement of its misinformation policies. The case stems from a 2021 lawsuit brought by the state’s attorney general at the time, over claims related to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. The judge will determine penalties next.
We also found discounted DJI Osmo Nano bundles, the first sale on the Nothing Phone 4A Pro, and a $35 Ember warming mug.
Googling “Googlebooks” doesn’t pull up any info about Google’s upcoming laptops. It’s an entire page of links, and even an AI overview, about Google Books — a search index of actual books. Not ideal for potential customers looking for information on new products launching soon.
Google is great at names.
On The Vergecast: Meta Connect, Muse, Googlebooks, and more.
Moment Pro Camera II and Blackmagic Camera don’t limit you to just four aperture settings like the iOS’ camera app.
Tesla’s humanoid robot reportedly still needs humans to manually assemble its hands.
Muse will now gladly zip up its entire filesystem for you to download without hesitation.
The next HomePod Mini will be available in new colors while the new iPad mini’s FaceTime camera has been relocated.
Sony and UMG’s latest lawsuit against Suno accuses the company of ‘model laundering’
I chatted with Charlie Warzel over at The Atlantic to try to untangle this moment of massive outrage over smart glasses and Flock cameras. In August I reported on the service workers who encounter Meta glasses at their jobs, and the harassment — and social media clout — that sometimes follows.
The original 1986 NES Castlevania is available for free on iOS and Android until October 24th, arriving ahead of the newest title in the series, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, launching on October 15th.
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The new Cricut StickerPix machines might be the cheapest way to launch your Etsy shop.
As distressing as it is to see the mutants in Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil up on the big screen, it’s very cool to see the experimental stunt work that went into the monsters’ creation.
Resident Evil and Silent Hill are both thriving with new spins on survival horror.
After a recent software update, the custom EQ option is now available on a handful of supported AirPods, 9to5Mac reports. You can find it in the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac — on my MacBook Air the new Equalizer feature was under Audio & Routing in my AirPods Pro 3 settings.
