Samsung debuts the $1,200+ Galaxy S23 Ultra, similar to the S22 Ultra but with a 200MP camera, more robust optical image stabilization, and better battery life  —  The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is an S22 Ultra with an extra layer of polish — figuratively speaking.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT Plus, a pilot plan with access in peak times, faster response times, and priority access to new features, in the US for $20 per month  —  Aiming to monetize what's become a viral phenomenon, OpenAI today launched a new pilot subscription plan for ChatGPT …

Netflix details its password sharing rules; the company won't block “trusted devices” that connect to the “primary location” Wi-Fi at least once every 31 days  —  After months of warning subscribers that anti-password sharing measures were coming to Netflix, the company appears to be finally set to unleash them.

Intel cuts employee compensation to preserve cash for a turnaround plan, including 25% for CEO Pat Gelsinger, 15% for leadership, and 5% for mid-level managers  —  Intel Corp., struggling with a rapid drop in revenue and earnings, is cutting management pay across the company to cope …

Sources: a US judge denies the FTC's bid for a preliminary injunction to block Meta's Within acquisition and gives the agency a week to decide whether to appeal  —  Meta Platforms Inc. won court approval to buy virtual reality startup Within Unlimited, defeating an effort to block the deal …

AMD announces Ryzen 7000X3D pricing: $699 for the 7950X3D, $599 for the 7900X3D, both available on February 28, and $449 for the 7800X3D, available on April 6  —  3D V-Cache to the masses.  —  AMD announced three new Zen 4 Ryzen 7000X3D processors for its AM5 platform at CES 2023 …

Nvidia is working on an OTA update to fix a Discord bug that slows the memory clocks by up to 200MHz on some of its GPUs, including the RTX 3080 and RTX 3060 Ti  —  Discord is slowing down graphics card memory clocks on some Nvidia GPUs.  A recent Discord update has introduced a bug that slows …

The UK government shares its plans to regulate crypto, including measures to strengthen rules for lending, disclosures, financial intermediaries, and custodians  —  - The U.K. laid out plan to regulate the cryptocurrency industry.  — The proposals include strengthening rules on crypto lending …

The Biden administration's NTIA report describes Apple and Google as “gatekeepers” of mobile app stores and suggests legislation to spur competition and choice  —  A new Biden administration report describes Apple and Google as “gatekeepers” of mobile app stores and suggests legislation …

Netflix adds spatial audio to its $20 per month Premium plan, available on 700+ of its most-watched titles; Standard and Basic plans will get limited support  —  Listen to this: Netflix is hoping audiophiles will upgrade to the $20-per-month Premium tier to gain access to the streamer's full collection …

Drug discount app GoodRx agrees to pay $1.5M to settle with the FTC, which said the company wrongfully gave intimate health info to Facebook, Google, and others  —  The popular drug discount app deceptively shared details on users' illnesses and medicines with ad firms, regulators said in a legal complaint.

Netlify, a cloud service for automating web development projects, acquires its competitor Gatsby, which had raised $46.8M to date, for an undisclosed price  —  Web development platform Netlify today announced that it has acquired its competitor Gatsby, the company behind the opensource GatsbyJS framework.

Apple launches MLS Season Pass in 100+ territories, giving soccer fans access to all MLS matches, playoffs, Leagues Cup, and more for $14.99/month or $99/year  —  Today, Apple launched MLS Season Pass in over 100 territories, giving soccer fans access to all MLS matches, Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs …

Sources and documents: Google asks employees to test potential ChatGPT competitors, including Apprentice Bard, a chatbot that uses its LaMDA conversational tech  —  - Google is testing ChatGPT-like products that use its LaMDA technology, according to sources and internal documents acquired by CNBC.

Meta's Ready at Dawn studio plans to close Echo VR, one of the best-rated and most popular free Quest games, after Meta layoffs, to focus on “our next project”  —  As a parting gift, players can claim lots of premium cosmetic items for free  —  The Entire VR Industry in One Little Email

Decentralized social network app Damus debuts on the App Store with E2EE for DMs; the app uses the Nostr protocol, which Jack Dorsey backed in 2022 with ~14 BTC  —  Another decentralized social networking application to challenge Twitter has hit the App Store.

Tel Aviv-based Addressable, which claims to have used digital fingerprinting to match 17M crypto wallet holders with their Twitter accounts, raised a $7.5M seed  —  Marketo, which was developed - among other things.- to enhance marketing around social media users, ended up being acquired by Adobe.

Pakistan “degrades” Wikipedia in the country for 48 hours for not removing “sacrilegious contents” and warns of a full block if the nonprofit fails to comply  —  Pakistan has “degraded” Wikipedia in the country for 48 hours for not removing “sacrilegious contents” …

A US judge amends Sam Bankman-Fried's bail terms, prohibiting him from contacting any current or former FTX or Alameda employees and using Signal and other apps  —  The tentative order was granted by a New York court on Wednesday after prosecutors asked the former FTX CEO's bail conditions to be amended last week.

Meta reports Q4 revenue down 4% YoY to $32.2B, net income down 55% YoY to $4.7B, and family daily active people up 5% YoY to 2.96B; stock jumps 15%+  —  Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META) today reported financial results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2022.

Sources: UMG is in talks with Tidal and others to overhaul streaming economics to pay artists more; ideas include a “bonus pool” and “superfan” subscriptions  —  Group looks into options such as cracking down on bots and adding ‘superfan’ subscriptions