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February 8, 2024, 7:30 PM
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| David Pierce / The Verge: |
Google debuts Gemini Ultra 1.0, its largest and most capable LLM, renames Bard as Gemini, debuts a dedicated Android app, and plans to add Gemini to its iOS app — Google is famous for having a million similar products with confusingly different names and seemingly nothing in common.
More: The Keyword, The Keyword, Google on YouTube, 9to5Google, Reuters, CNET, TechCrunch, XDA Developers, Australian Financial Review, CNBC, Financial Times, Fortune, AndroidGuys, Engadget, Phandroid, Wired, Gizmodo, Investing.com, CBS News, Fox News, MobileSyrup, Search Engine Journal, SlashGear, Android Headlines, ExtremeTech, SD Times, TechSpot, ITBusiness.ca, Metaverse Post, TalkAndroid.com, Futurism, TechCircle, Analytics India Magazine, TestingCatalog, How-To Geek, Droid Life, Android Authority, PCWorld, The Information, The Hindu, BreakingNews.ie, GSMArena.com, ZDNet, CRN, France 24, Neowin, Techpoint Africa, TechRadar, Wired, PhoneArena, Digital Trends, BGR, SiliconANGLE, IndraStra Global, and Google DeepMind
Threads: @thatadamguy, @daveleebbg, @fredericl, and @gwestr
X: @mkbhd, @mishaalrahman, @mishaalrahman, @mishaalrahman, @googledeepmind, @jackk, @artemr, @jeffdean, @googledeepmind, @graadient, @marie_haynes, @marie_haynes, @jackk, @marie_haynes, @google, @haydenfield, @carnage4life, @jackk, @jackk, @aravsrinivas, @marie_haynes, @google, @marie_haynes, @stevesi, and @google
LinkedIn: Aaron Lax, Christophe Dubos, Vikas Kansal, Lisa Cohen, Guillaume Leygues, Emil Protalinski, and Greta Krupetsky
| Ethan Mollick / One Useful Thing: |
Google Gemini Advanced hands-on: clearly a GPT-4 class model, but doesn't obviously blow away GPT-4 in benchmarks; Gemini is better than GPT-4 at explanations — And then there were two. — Right around the time you are getting this email, Google finally released their long-awaited powerful AI …
More: Computerworld, Android Police, The Algorithmic Bridge, Pocket-lint, Decrypt, VentureBeat, MSPoweruser, Tom's Hardware, The Decoder, Android Authority, Tech Monitor, Fast Company, BetaKit, and Ars Technica
Mastodon: @nicola@fosstodon.org. X: @ralphbrooks, @carnage4life, @paulroetzer, @emollick, and @andrewcurran_
| Abner Li / 9to5Google: |
| Lauren Goode / Wired: |
More: Benzinga, Mashable, TechStartups, Hindustan Times, CryptoGlobe, and Business Insider
Threads: @laurengoode and @sundarpichai
X: @wired and @alexmacgregor__
| Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer: |
LastPass warns users about a fake copy of its app on Apple's App Store, with a similar name and logo, likely used as a phishing app to steal users' credentials — LastPass is warning that a fake copy of its app is being distributed on the Apple App Store, likely used as a phishing app to steal users' credentials.
More: The LastPass Blog, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Ars Technica, The Register, App Store, TechCrunch, Mashable, The Boston Globe, Malwarebytes, Tom's Guide, The Mac Security Blog, PCMag, Hackread, RestorePrivacy, BGR, The Verge, and AppleInsider
Mastodon: @nickheer@c.im, @mike@libertynode.net, and @hagen@mastodon.social
Bluesky: @marypcbuk.bsky.social and @emilprotalinski.bsky.social
X: @patrickwardle, @krzyzanowskim, @gcluley, and @lastpass
Forums: r/apple and MacRumors Forums
| Thomas Claburn / The Register: |
PWAs no longer work as standalone apps in iOS 17.4 betas, presumably as part of Apple's preparation for EU DMA which forces it to allow alt browser engines — PWAs demoted to OWB: Operating Within Browser — Apple has argued for years that developers who don't want to abide by its rules …
More: MacRumors, Bruce Lawson's personal site, 9to5Mac, Open Web Advocacy, Danny Moerkerke, and Mysk on YouTube
Mastodon: @uliwitness@chaos.social, @rileytestut@mastodon.social, @slightlyoff@toot.cafe, and @owa@mastodon.social. Bluesky: @marypcbuk.bsky.social
X: @firt, @openwebadvocacy, @mysk_co, @mysk_co, @firt, @firt, @brucel, @mysk_co, @firt, @dannymoerkerke, @firt, @passle_, and @timsweeneyepic
Forums: Hacker News and MacRumors Forums
| Cory Weinberg / The Information: |
Source: Disney's $1.5B investment in Epic Games will give Disney a 9% stake in Epic at a valuation of $22.5B, down ~29% from its 2022 valuation of $31.5B — Disney's $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games values the Fortnite maker at $22.5 billion, a person familiar with the matter said.| David Shepardson / Reuters: |
The US says 200+ entities, like OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Meta, Google, Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, and Palantir, are joining the AI Safety Institute Consortium — The Biden administration on Thursday said leading artificial intelligence companies are among more than 200 entities joining …
More: U.S. Department of Commerce, AppleInsider, The Hill, Engadget, Computerworld, About Amazon, CIO Dive, Bloomberg, NVIDIA, PYMNTS.com, NIST, The Decoder, FedScoop, PCMag, Neowin, Mashable, Nextgov/FCW, VentureBeat, PhoneArena, SiliconANGLE, Cleveland Clinic Newsroom, eeNews Europe, and LFAI & Data
| Leah Nylen / Bloomberg: |
Filing: Microsoft says Activision had planned layoffs before the merger, responding to the FTC's claims that the layoffs contradict Microsoft's court statements — - Xbox maker cutting 1,900 workers, including at Activision — Tech giant responds to Federal Trade Commission over layoffs
More: The Verge, Gizmodo, BBC, Android Headlines, Press Start, Game World Observer, The Information, Polygon, games fray, MSPoweruser, HotHardware, The Verge, Pocket Gamer.biz, Wccftech, Game Rant, GameSpot, Push Square, PC Gamer, and Engadget. Bluesky: @zitron.bsky.social
| Diane Brady / Fortune: |
Mozilla CEO Mitchell Baker steps down to focus on AI and internet safety as the chair of the nonprofit; board member Laura Chambers will step in as interim CEO — Mozilla has named a new CEO effective immediately. — Mozilla Corp., which manages the open-source Firefox browser …
More: The Mozilla Blog, Thurrott, Phoronix, and Phandroid
Threads: @fredericl. Mastodon: @mozilla@mozilla.social, @ploum@mamot.fr, and @mozilla@mozilla.social. LinkedIn: Laura Chambers
Forums: Hacker News, r/privacy, and Slashdot
| Molly White / Citation Needed: |
In his new book, a16z GP Chris Dixon fails to identify a single blockchain project that has successfully provided a non-speculative service at any kind of scale — As with many other web3 evangelists, Andreessen Horowitz general partner Chris Dixon has identified some problems with the web.| Jordan Pearson / VICE: |
Chris Dixon's book becomes an NYT Best Seller but with a dagger icon denoting bulk orders; a16z and some startups linked to it gave the book to staff and others — Motherboard found that firms linked to a16z and general partner Chris Dixon bought numerous copies of his new book promoting cryptocurrencies …
More: New York Times and The Verge
X: @kantrowitz, @quinnypig, @wendysmithe62, @smc90, @avichal, @neuwaves, and @iandaos
| Brian Fung / CNN: |
The FCC outlaws scam robocalls featuring fake, AI-created voices, giving state AGs more legal tools to pursue illegal robocallers that use such voices — The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it is immediately outlawing scam robocalls featuring fake, artificial intelligence-created voices …
More: Associated Press, Federal Communications …, Wired, TechCrunch, The Verge, The Hill, 9to5Mac, International Business Times, The Record, Axios, New York Times, StateScoop, HotHardware, ExtremeTech, PYMNTS.com, Reuters, CoinGape, GovTech, Fast Company, New York Daily News, SiliconANGLE, New York Post, The Register, Engadget, HealthcareInfoSecurity.com, Semafor, NPR, Broadband Breakfast, Newser, Tech Xplore, PCMag, and Nextgov/FCW
Mastodon: @b_fung@masto.ai. X: @agrobbonta, @racheltobac, @jonathanuriarte, @fcc, and @rakeshlobster
| Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat: |
Take-Two reports Q3 net bookings down 3% YoY to $1.34B, net revenue down 3% YoY to $1.37B, and plans cost reductions “more robust” than in 2023; TTWO drops 9%+ — Take-Two Interactive reported results for the third fiscal quarter ended December 31 that fell short of its expectations … | Chance Miller / 9to5Mac: |
Xiaolang Zhang, a former Apple engineer who pled guilty in August 2022 to IP theft of Apple's car project, is sentenced to 120 days in prison and a ~$147K fine — For the last six years, we've been following the case of Xiaolang Zhang, a former Apple engineer who pled guilty to stealing Project Titan trade secrets.
More: AppleInsider
| CNBC: |
Arm closed up 47.89% after issuing a strong profit forecast, adding ~$38B to its market cap, with $34B+ of that accruing to SoftBank, which owns 90% of Arm — - Shares of chip designer Arm climbed 48% on Thursday. — The company reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter, and issued an optimistic forecast.
More: PitchBook, CNBC, Fast Company, Proactive, Bloomberg, and Financial Times
| Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer: |
The Danish data protection authority orders schools to stop sending student data to Google via Chromebooks and Workspace, after an over four-year investigation — The Danish data protection authority (Datatilsynet) has issued an injunction regarding student data being funneled to Google through …
More: The Verge, TechSpot, and The Privacy Dad's Blog
Mastodon: @reay@mastodon.social, @jdelacueva@mastodon.social, and @lightweight@mastodon.nzoss.nz. Forums: Hacker News
| Clothilde Goujard / Politico: |
TikTok joins Meta in challenging the EU's DSA in the General Court, arguing the levy is unfair as some pay nothing; Meta was told to pay €11M of the ~€45M total — Social media giants Meta and TikTok are suing the European Union over a levy that bankrolls the enforcement … | Jonathan Vanian / CNBC: |
Pinterest reports Q4 revenue up 12% YoY to $981.3M, vs. $991M est., MAUs up 11% to 498M, vs. 487M est., and a weaker-than-expected Q1 forecast; PINS drops 5%+ — - Pinterest missed on sales but beat on earnings in its fourth-quarter earnings report. — The company also issued a weaker-than-expected forecast.
More: Pinterest, PYMNTS.com, The Information, Search Engine Land, Bloomberg, Reuters, and NBC 7 San Diego
X: @richlightshed and @thetranscript_
| Shirin Ghaffary / Bloomberg: |
A profile of OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap, tasked by Sam Altman with striking a deal with Axel Springer, which may offer a road map for additional media deals — Brad Lightcap helped seal the startup's deal with publisher Axel Springer. Now he's experimenting with the company's business model.| Taylor Soper / GeekWire: |
Expedia says CEO Peter Kern will step down after four years in the role and names its president for business, Ariane Gorin, as CEO, effective May 13, 2024 — Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern will step down in May, the travel giant announced Thursday. He will be replaced by Ariane Gorin, currently president of Expedia for Business.
More: Bloomberg, Seattle Business Journal, Expedia, Business Wire, Reuters, and Skift
X: @rafat and @thetranscript_
| The Information: |
Sources: Flexport lost at least $2M/month in 2023 on its air freight deal with Apple, started in late 2022 to ship products from some Asian factories to the US — For Flexport, a logistics company billing itself as the future of trade, it's hard to think of a more impressive client than Apple, the poster child of globalization.
X: @ilirsela, @anngehan, and @theo_wayt
| Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority: |
A leaked image allegedly shows the Google Pixel Fold 2, including a narrower cover screen, a squarer inner screen aspect ratio, and redesigned camera bump — Here's a very early look at what could be Google's second-generation foldable phone. — • — TL;DR
More: Ars Technica, XDA Developers, Engadget, ZDNet, TalkAndroid.com, SamMobile, HotHardware, Creative Bloq, Pocketnow, KnowTechie, and T3
Mastodon: @MishaalRahman@androiddev …. Forums: r/GooglePixel, r/Android, r/PixelFold, and Ars OpenForum
| Jordan Novet / CNBC: |
Cloudflare reports Q4 revenue up 32% YoY to $362.5M, vs. $353.1M est., net loss of $27.9M, vs. $45.9M YoY, and Q1 revenue guidance above est.; NET jumps 17%+ — - Cloudflare's revenue and adjusted earnings surpassed expectations, as did quarterly guidance.| Jessica Hagen / MobiHealthNews: |
Unlearn, which helps researchers run small clinical trials by creating digital twins of participants, raised a $50M Series C, taking its total funding to $130M+ — The California-based company will put the funds toward its workforce, growing its data and further investing in R&D initiatives and engineering capabilities.
More: FinSMEs, Axios, Business Wire, and HIT Consultant
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