Techmeme
October 25, 2023, 6:10 PM

Top News

Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Apple raises the monthly US price of Apple TV+ from $6.99 to $9.99, News+ from $9.99 to $12.99, Arcade from $4.99 to $6.99, and Apple One from $16.95 to $19.95  —  Apple today announced that it is increasing the prices of some of its subscription-based services, including Apple TV+ …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple plans to release AirPods Max and two redesigned fourth-generation AirPods with USB-C in 2024, and AirPods Pro with new chip and design in 2025  —  - Company readies updates to entry-level, Pro and Max models  — After initial skepticism, AirPods are now a critical category
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Researchers reveal an attack forcing iOS and macOS WebKit browsers to divulge secrets, like passwords and email content, of users who visit a malicious website  —  iLeakage is practical and requires minimal resources.  A patch isn't (yet) available.  —  Researchers have devised an attack …
Meta Investor Relations:
Meta reports Q3 revenue up 23% YoY to $34.15B, net income up 164% YoY to $11.58B, and family daily active people up 7% YoY to 3.14B for September 2023  —  Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META) today reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.
Victoria Song / The Verge:
A look at Apple's double tap gesture rolling out with watchOS 10.1, letting Series 9 and Ultra 2 users interact with their watch without using its touchscreen  —  Swipes and buttons are the norm, but Apple's double tap gesture opens a future where your smartwatch could be even less dependent on your phone.
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Amazon launches a generative AI tool in beta that lets advertisers create “lifestyle imagery” backgrounds or scenes around the products they are hoping to sell  —  Amazon is beta testing AI image generation tools for its advertisers, offering an easy way to create backgrounds …
Jordan Middler / Video Games Chronicle:
Sony's optional PS5 Slim disc drive requires an internet connection to pair with the console for the first time, likely due to the DMCA's piracy prevention rule  —  THE ONLINE REQUIREMENT HAS RAISED PRESERVATION CONCERNS  —  The upcoming optional disc drive for the PlayStation 5 will require …
Bloomberg:
Sam Bankman Fried's lawyers say SBF plans to testify in his own trial when they start their case later this week, after damaging testimony from his inner circle  —  - Former crypto mogul fighting portrayal as criminal mastermind  — Decides to go for risky move often avoided in criminal cases
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Google rolls out “About this image”, a tool that provides background information and context about images in Google Search, to English-language users globally  —  Google is starting to roll out its new “About this image” tool, which aims to provide essential background information and context about images in Google Search.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: one year after lending Elon Musk ~$13B to acquire Twitter, seven US banks still hold the debt and expect to take a 15%+, or ~$2B, hit when they sell  —  Banks have begun preparations to try to unload at least some of the $13 billion of debt they underwrote, at a steep discount
Washington Post:
Sources: a Biden EO on AI is expected on October 30, requiring assessments of AI models before federal worker use, easing highly skilled immigration, and more  —  Tackling immigration and safety, the order would require advanced AI models to undergo assessments before they can be used …
Tim Ingham / Music Business Worldwide:
Sources: Spotify plans major changes to its royalty model in Q1 2024, including a threshold of minimum annual streams before a track starts generating royalties  —  Exclusive: Music Business Worldwide details Spotify's plans to introduce a number of new measures in Q1 2024 - and shift $1 billion towards ‘working artists’.
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Google adds foundation and hair dye options to its AR shopping tool for trying beauty products, and expands the tool to mobile browsers and Google Shopping ads  —  Google is expanding its augmented reality (AR) shopping feature that allows people to virtually wear beauty products before purchasing …
Wayne Ma / The Information:
Sources: Apple employees have discussed using Vision Pro to diagnose and treat mental health issues; eye-tracking and cameras could measure a person's “affect”  —  So far, Apple has pitched its upcoming Vision Pro mixed-reality headset as a tool for working and enjoying various forms of entertainment.
Bloomberg:
How telecoms and media giant Altice, led by billionaire Patrick Drahi, became weighed down by scandals and debt-fueled acquisitions from a low-interest-rate era  —  He built his telecoms empire in an era of low interest rates.  Now, with soaring debt costs and a corruption case in the corporate suite …
Scott Nover / Slate:
US v. Google: Judge Amit Mehta has repeatedly accepted Google's requests to redact docs and hold closed-door testimony, alarming press advocates and reporters  —  U.S. v. Google was supposed to be the “antitrust trial of the century”—the highest-profile, and potentially the most consequential …
Rania Aniftos / Billboard:
TikTok announces TikTok in The Mix, its first live global music event, set for December 10 in Mesa, Arizona, with Cardi B, Niall Horan, Anitta, and Charlie Puth  —  The event will take place on Dec. 10 at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz.  —  TikTok is continuing its foray into the music world …
Financial Times:
Microsoft, OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic pick Brookings' Chris Meserole to run their new Frontier Model Forum, which plans to commit $10M to an AI safety fund  —  Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic and Google pick a US think-tank expert to head up their joint forum
Dan Milmo / The Guardian:
The Internet Watch Foundation warns that generative AI is being used to create new types of CSAM, and finds nearly 3,000 AI-made abuse images that break UK law  —  Internet Watch Foundation finds 3,000 AI-made abuse images breaking UK law  —  The “worst nightmares” about artificial …
Bloomberg:
China says its Foxconn probe is “normal law enforcement” activity and urges Taiwanese firms to play a more active role in promoting “peaceful” cross-strait ties  —  - Beijing makes its first comment on inquiry into Apple partner  — China denies it is intervening in Taiwan's presidential race
The Verge:
Mark Zuckerberg says Threads has hit “just under” 100M monthly users since it was released in early July  —  The rumors of Threads' early demise have been exaggerated.  —  Meta's competitor to Elon Musk's X has hit “just under” 100 million monthly users since it was released in early July …
Supantha Mukherjee / Reuters:
AWS plans to launch a sovereign cloud in Europe for governments and customers in regulated industries, storing data on EU servers and launching first in Germany  —  Amazon (AMZN.O) Web Services (AWS) said on Wednesday it will launch a sovereign cloud in Europe for government and customers in highly regulated industries.

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 6:10 PM ET, October 25, 2023.

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