Techmeme
November 15, 2023, 6:40 PM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft rebrands Bing Chat as Microsoft Copilot to take on ChatGPT, pitching Copilot as the free version and Copilot for Microsoft 365 as the paid version  —  Microsoft launched its big AI push earlier this year as part of its Bing search engine, integrating a ChatGPT-like interface directly into its search results.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft unveils Copilot Studio, a no-code tool that lets companies customize Microsoft 365 Copilot or integrate custom ChatGPT chatbots made with OpenAI's GPT  —  Last week OpenAI announced its new GPT platform to let anyone create their own version of ChatGPT, and now Microsoft is following …
Kevin Okemwa / Windows Central:
Usama Jawad / XDA Developers:
Wes Davis / The Verge:
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple extends free Emergency SOS usage on the iPhone 14 for two more years, to September 2025; the company has not yet announced how much the feature will cost  —  Apple today announced it is extending the free usage period for Emergency SOS satellite features for iPhone 14 users.
Salvador Rodriguez / Wall Street Journal:
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Google debuts Notes, a Search Labs experiment that lets users annotate search results, including with images and colorful fonts; notes show up “within minutes”  —  Ever wanted to add your own annotations to search results you find on Google?  With Google's new “Notes” experiment …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google launches two Titan Security Keys with FIDO2 that can store up to 250 unique passkeys, and commits to giving 100K security keys to high-risk users in 2024  —  Google has been selling its own line of Titan Security Keys for several years now, and new USB-C and USB-A models with NFC today let you store passkeys.
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Pew: 30% of US adults regularly get their news from Facebook; 26%, from YouTube; 16%, Instagram; 14%, TikTok; 12%, X; 8%, Reddit; and 5%, Nextdoor and LinkedIn  —  Facebook may be ready to divorce the news business, but it's still the No. 1 source of news on social media for Americans.
Washington Post:
Meta calls for legislation requiring app stores to get parental approval for kids aged 13 to 15 to download apps, pushing Google and Apple to play a bigger role  —  The tech giant is calling for legislation requiring that parents approve teens' downloads on app stores like Google and Apple
Kristi Hines / Search Engine Journal:
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Meta rolls out new Instagram filters, and says it's testing letting users create custom stickers from their photos and videos, improvements to Reels, and more  —  Instagram is changing a lot these days, especially when it comes to the ways in which we can share our content with others and segment different audiences.
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Google updates Google Maps to add transit directions for “lowest cost”, “less walking”, “fewer transfers,” and more, emoji reactions, and collaborative lists  —  Google announced a slew of updates to Maps, including improved transit directions, emoji reactions, and collaborative lists.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google rolls out new Google Photos features, such as AI auto-grouping Photo Stacks and improved recognition and categorization of screenshots and photos of docs  —  Following the big app redesign, Google Photos is rolling out a trio of new features, like auto-grouping Photo Stacks.
Ryan Tracy / Wall Street Journal:
Thomas Wilde / GeekWire:
Amazon plans to merge its Comixology app with Kindle on December 4, and automatically integrate all comics that Comixology users own into their Kindle libraries  —  Amazon will merge its digital comics storefront Comixology with Kindle on Dec. 4, which will also involve the official end of service for the standalone Comixology app.
Daniel Cooper / Engadget:
Amazon launches Astro for Business, letting US SMBs buy its Alexa-powered Astro security robot for $2,350 per unit for sites no larger than 5,000 square feet  —  Astro for Business aims to automate nighttime patrols.  —  It's been a couple of years since Amazon first showed off Astro …
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
US v. Google raises the question of how antitrust law handles a company becoming dominant due to offering a far superior product, especially if the DOJ wins  —  I've noted my skepticism regarding the antitrust attacks on the current Google antitrust trial regarding how it pays to have its search placed …
Nico Grant / New York Times:

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Rest of World:
Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Eyal Press / New Yorker:
Nicola Davis / The Guardian:
Bloomberg:
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica: