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Accel, an early investor in Indian e-commerce giants Flipkart and Myntra, is preparing a new fashion e-commerce bet in India even as competition intensifies with the recent expansion of Mukesh Ambani’s Ajio platform. Accel is in advanced talks to lead a $15-20 million funding round into Newme, an Indian fast-fashion e-commerce startup, according to four © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Universal Music Group (UMG) is threatening to pull all of its music from TikTok today following a breakdown in negotiations over royalties, the company wrote in an open letter. That would mean TikTok creators would lose access to songs from stars including Taylor Swift, Billy Eilish, The Weeknd, Drake and others.  With UMG's deal with TikTok set to expire, the sides have reportedly been in negotiations for the past year. Such deals are worth billions annually to music publishing firms and are typically negotiated every few years. Universal is the world's largest record label, and if does pull it's music from TikTok, it would be the first time this has happened in recent memory. Universal said TikTok wanted to pay a "fraction" of the rate paid by other social media sites. "As our negotiations continued, TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential g...

Wattpad, a Toronto-based storytelling platform owned by Naver’s Webtoon Entertainment, conducted another round of layoffs earlier this month.  Wattpad has cut around 30 jobs, or roughly 15% of its workforce, a source familiar with the situation told TechCrunch. According to local media outlets, including The Korea Economic Daily, the cut impacted about 30 employees. A spokesperson © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Haters gonna hate, but when it comes to the pornographic AI-generated deepfakes of Taylor Swift, AI companies cannot simply 'shake it off.' Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Giant Ventures, a UK-based VC that has made a habit of investing on both sides of the Atlantic, is launching two new funds, totalling $250 million. It’s previous fund had totalled $100 million. The firm invests across climate, health, and what it calls ‘purpose-driven’ startups and some used to call ‘impact’ or ‘mission-driven’.  Whatever the case, © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Today, we’re venturing into the heart of feudal Japan with the much-anticipated 2024 adaptation of “Shogun.” This series isn’t just a retelling of James Clavell’s famous novel; it’s a reimagining... Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Details are scarce, but Neuralink cofounder Elon Musk says initial results are “promising.” Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Gogoro is best known for its battery swapping tech, but its new scooter may be one of the quickest and highest-tech models available. The flagship Pulse can accelerate from 0 to 32MPH in just 3.05 seconds thanks to the company's "Hypercore" tech that delivers 378nm of torque to the back wheel. At the same time, it's fitted with a 10.25 HD touch display that offers turn-by-turn navigation and more.  The first thing that stands out with the Pulse is the new angular and modern design that differs from past models that were more on the retro side. It also has the benefit of reducing non-essential drag and using airflow to cool the electric motor, according to Gogoro.  The new 9kW Hyper Drive powertrain features a new hybrid water and air dual-cooling system, allowing the H1 motor to hit up to 11,000 RPM. And while it boosts performance, it's also supposed to reduce energy consumption, the company wrote.  Gogoro It uses an active-matrix lighting system with 13 separate...

Immutable, aiming to be the vanguard of blockchain gaming, has launched early access for its Immutable zkEVM Mainnet, powered by Polygon. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Tiger Global and a16z-backed productivity company ClickUp has acquired the calendar app Hypercal to boost its platform offering, TechCrunch has learned. As part of the acquisition, the app’s founder Ricardo Clerigo is also joining ClickUp as Head of Calendar. UK-based Hypercal was founded in 2022 as an app for Mac and offered integration with different © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

There’s a lot to like about the Kobo Elipsa 2 compared to something like the Kindle Scribe, especially with today’s discount. | Image: Kobo As much as I like physical books, I’m planning a move and considering consolidating my collection to make that process more painless. You might be in the same boat, or perhaps you want a more convenient way to knock out your beefy reading list for the new year. If that sounds like you, you might want to consider the Kobo Elipsa 2E, which is currently on sale for $349.99 ($50 off) direct from Rakuten Kobo. In addition to reading ebooks on its large E Ink display, you can use the ad-free Elipsa 2E to take notes using the included stylus. In fact, we consider it the best ebook reader you can buy for that purpose — one that’s even better than the Kindle Scribe given you can write directly on any page in any book. (The Scribe only supports... Continue reading… Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The Apple Vision Pro will be missing some major native apps at the outset, including Netflix, Spotify and YouTube. One notable app to which users of the mixed-reality headset will have access when it debuts later this week is Zoom, which will support the Vision Pro's Persona feature. Vision Pro users will be able to create digital versions of themselves. If you have said Persona, others on a Zoom or FaceTime call will be able to see your facial expressions and hand movements via your avatar. So while you may not be using a traditional webcam, other folks might notice your persona cringing at one of your boss' bad jokes. According to Zoom, the app's spatial experience can be "scaled to the perfect size," so it shouldn't seem like you're miles away from someone's Persona. Although Vision Pro users will be represented as a Persona (if they choose to be), those joining the call from other devices will be represented as a floating tile.  Zoom will be one of...

Cap VC is launching a tool for VC firms, and is planning to expand its offering to startups raising money. The idea is to make better investment decisions, faster, using the power of AI. VC is a people-business above all, but as AIs are getting closer and closer to being people, too, there’s a slew © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

It's a strong start for the free tool, and shows a robust appetite among some artists to protect their work from being used to train AI. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Byju’s, the world’s most valuable edtech startup, has cut its valuation ask to $250 million in a rights issue it launched Monday as the Indian firm works to address its working capital needs. The startup is looking to raise $200 million in the rights issue, a capital it said is “essential to prevent any further © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

X has confirmed it’s preventing users from searching Taylor Swift’s name after pornographic deepfakes of the artist began circulating on the platform this week. Visitors to the site started noticing on Saturday that some searches containing Swift’s name would only return an error message. In a statement to the Wall Street Journal on Saturday night, Joe Benarroch, X’s head of business operations, said, “This is a temporary action and done with an abundance of caution as we prioritize safety on this issue.” This step comes days after the problem first became known. X’s handling of the issue from the start has drawn criticism that it’s been slow to curb the spread of nonconsensual, sexually explicit images. After the images went viral on Wednesday, Swift’s fans took matters into their own hands to limit their visibility and get them removed, mass-reporting the accounts that shared the images and flooding the hashtags relating to the singer with positive content, NBC News reported earlier ...

TechCrunch Mobility is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation Sign up here — just click TechCrunch Mobility — to receive the newsletter every weekend in your inbox. Subscribe for free. Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility – the same weekly newsletter you’ve been reading, but with a new name and a few changes. As I mentioned © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Post Davos, we stand at a crossroads where stewardship and innovation can steer us to a future where AI technology amplifies human potential. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

I'm not gonna pretend I've figured you, the Engadget reader, out. Trying to predict what is gonna get your little nerd hearts all a flutter is kind of a crapshoot. But, I'm pretty confident that a Tamagotchi in a guitar pedal is right up your alley. Ground Control Audio showed up to NAMM 2024 with the UwU virtual pet buffer pedal. Now buffer pedals are about the least exciting piece of gear you can buy for your pedal board. Probably even less so than a tuner. But, if you've got a particularly large board or long cables, a buffer can dramatically improve your tone. Basically all it does is take the signal coming in and give it a little boost so you don't lose precious high end to tone suck. Like I said, not exciting. What UwU does is no different, except that it has a Tamagotchi-style virtual pet and a handful of mini-games built in. As you play, your new pedalboard buddy dances and gains experience points. As the little cat like creature gains experience it evolves...

It's not just SAG-AFTRA calling for laws to change in the wake of the rapid spread of AI imagery from generator models and programs. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Welcome to Greenground, your go-to destination for the latest in movies, TV series, and tech! Today, we’re diving into the heart of a cinematic marvel set to take the world... Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Hey, folks, and welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular newsletter covering notable happenings in tech over the past few days. On the agenda for this edition is Disney’s innovative VR treadmill, OpenAI fixing its “lazy” AI and MIT’s high-capacity, fast-charging organic battery tech. We also cover Apple’s new stolen device protection feature, AI © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Annapurna is delaying the release of its upcoming narrative adventure game, Open Roads, by a few weeks so the team can do a little more refining. It’s now scheduled for release on March 28 instead of the originally planned date of February 22. The decision was made to “ensure the most polished experience for players,” a spokesperson for Annapurna told Engadget.  Open Roads, which we had a chance to preview earlier this month, is a nostalgia-heavy experience that follows 16-year-old Tess Devine (voiced by Kaitlyn Dever) and her mother, Opal (Keri Russel), on a road trip to explore their family’s past. It features hand-drawn animations and, of course, carries the promise of deep, dark family secrets to unearth. It’ll be available for Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/narrative-game-open-roads-has-been-delayed-by-a-month-221217266.html?src=rss Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Nomad’s minimalist Base One Max 3-in-1 is on sale for $95. | Image: Nomad Fancy phone chargers are nice, but they’re often too expensive to justify the cost. Nomad’s Base One Max 3-in-1 is one of those rare unicorns that delivers a lot of value for your money, however, thus making it worth the splurge. After all, the device can simultaneously charge a MagSafe-compatible phone, your Apple Watch, and a pair of AirPods (or another Qi-compatible device) — that’s something not even Nomad’s forthcoming Qi2 charger can do. What’s even better is that Nomad is currently selling the hefty, MagSafe-certified charger in both black and silver for its Black Friday price of $95 ($55 off). Designed with metal and glass, Nomad’s minimalist slab will look slick on any desk or bedside table. It’s also powerful, delivering up to... Continue reading… Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has resigned from the e-commerce group’s board, the two said Saturday. Sachin Bansal, the Bengaluru-headquartered startup’s other co-founder, left the board in 2018 after scuffle with the investors. Binny Bansal, who reserved the rights to stay on Flipkart’s board for as long as he preferred, cited conflict of interest with his © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

ElevenLabs, an AI startup that offers voice cloning services with its tools, has banned the user that created an audio deepfake of Joe Biden used in an attempt to disrupt the elections, according to Bloomberg. The audio impersonating the president was used in a robocall that went out to some voters in New Hampshire last week, telling them not to vote in their state's primary. It initially wasn't clear what technology was used to copy Biden's voice, but a thorough analysis by security company Pindrop showed that the perpetrators used ElevanLabs' tools.  The security firm removed the background noise and cleaned the robocall's audio before comparing it to samples from more than 120 voice synthesis technologies used to generate deepfakes. Pindrop CEO Vijay Balasubramaniyan told Wired that it "came back well north of 99 percent that it was ElevenLabs." Bloomberg says the company was notified of Pindrop's findings and is still investigating, but it has alre...

Among the changes in iOS 17.4 is support for auto-generated transcripts in the Apple Podcasts app, making it easier for listeners to follow along to their favorite shows. Transcripts will only appear for English, French, German, and Spanish-language podcasts. It’ll be available in over 170 countries and regions. Similar to how lyrics work in Apple © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

January has thus far seen 23,670 known tech layoffs, sourced from 85 known reductions, and hitting tech shops big and small. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Buyers are scrutinizing purchases more and sellers are under pressure to provide value in every buyer interaction. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Apple is on a roll when it comes to having its hand forced by state entities and governing bodies: Alternative payment methods, stripping features from existing hardware, allowing alternate app stores and genuine browser default competition – everywhere you turn it seems to be satisfying some reversal, owing either to trial judgements not going its © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Badge operates on a cryptographically zero-knowledge basis, not trusting any party with sensitive data, and offers quantum resistance for future-proof security. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Perhaps then it is not surprising to see calls from lawmakers in the U.S., Swift's home country, to further regulate the technology. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

GM's driverless Cruise division is under investigation by both the Department of Justice (DoJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), The Washington Post has reported. The probes follow an incident last year in which a jaywalking pedestrian was struck by a Cruise autonomous vehicle and then dragged 20 feet, worsening her injuries. At the same time, yesterday Cruise released its own third-party findings regarding the accident, which took place on October 2 and involved another vehicle (a Nissan). The company said it "failed to live up to the justifiable expectations of regulators and the communities we serve... [and] also fell woefully short of our own expectations," adding that it's "fully cooperating" with investigators. According to its own findings, that's an understatement to say the least.  According to the report, Cruise withheld crucial information from officials during a briefing the day after the accident. Specifically, the company failed...

Krutrim, an AI startup founded by Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal, said it has raised a funding round that values it at $1 billion. The startup, founded last year, is the fastest to become a unicorn in India, it claimed in a press statement. It’s also the first Indian AI startup to become a unicorn, it © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Words in a transcript will light up as the episode progresses. | Image: Apple Apple’s first-party Podcasts app is getting support for transcripts in the forthcoming iOS 17.4 update. The company says transcripts will be automatically generated by Apple’s software, will appear for English, French, German, and Spanish-language podcasts shortly after they’re uploaded, and will be viewable across “over 170 countries and regions.” The feature should make it far easier to find and skip to the point in a podcast you’re most interested in. Transcripts can be searched for specific words and phrases which can be tapped to go directly to the corresponding point in the episode. You can also read along with a transcript as an episode plays, and watch each word be highlighted as it’s said out loud. Per 9to5Mac, the feature is... Continue reading… Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Researchers at MIT have developed a rapid 3D-printing technique that uses liquid metal to allow for extremely fast prints. The process can manufacture large aluminum components in minutes, whereas many pre-existing techniques would take hours to finish the same build. The technology has already been used to create table legs, chair frames and related furniture parts. It’s called liquid metal printing (LMP) and involves directing molten aluminum along a predefined path into a bed of tiny glass beads. These beads quickly harden into a 3D structure. Researchers say the new process is at least ten times faster than comparable metal manufacturing techniques. However, there is one major caveat. This process sacrifices resolution for speed and scale. This is why the researchers have used it to create low-resolution items like chair legs and not, say, intricate parts with complex geometries. MIT researchers say this trade-off still makes the technology useful for creating “components of large...

The firm intends to deploy capital into between 30 and 35 companies with this new fund. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

We're not even one month into 2024 and it's already been anther brutal year for workers in the video game industry. Microsoft is the latest company to announce a major round of layoffs in its gaming division as it's cutting around 1,900 workers from its Xbox, Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax (aka Bethesda) teams. That brings the total number of video game layoffs this year to around 6,000 already. There were around 9,000 layoff in the industry in all of 2023, according to some estimates.  "As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business. Together, we’ve set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we’re all aligned on the best opportunities for growth," Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer told employees in a memo obtained by The Verge. "As part of this process, w...

With Trump's nomination all but inevitable, the former president's most fervent far right supporters are already debating who should join the 2024 ticket. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

A low-cost model of Tesla will launch in 2024, CEO Elon Musk told investors. It could help the EV maker compete with BYD and other surging Chinese automakers. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Veterans of Xsolla and MyGames Venture Capital (MGVC) today announced the launch of a Narwhal Accelerator. This new accelerator aims to connect up-and-coming gaming companies and startups to support, resources and investment funding. Dmitrii Filatov, formerly Xsolla’s funding lead and MGVC’s executive producer; and Grigory Bortnik, former MGVC investment associate and investment director at Owlcat  Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

While many organizations are pushing for their employees to return to offices, Microsoft suggests trying a new type of "hybrid" working. The company has announced the launch of Microsoft Mesh, a feature that lets employees' avatars meet in the same place, even if the actual people are spread out. The virtual connection platform is powered through Microsoft Teams.  Microsoft has tested out Mesh on companies like consulting firm Accenture and pharmaceutical-focused Takeda. "The world of work continues to evolve at a rapid pace, but the importance of human connection has never gone away. Lunchtime conversations, hallway catch-ups, coffee chats — they often hold the key to both workplace success and employee happiness," Takeda's chief technology officer Leo Barella explained in a statement. He claims their meetings have been "more collaborative and immersive." Mesh provides a series of pre-made spaces that companies can customize with everything from i...

It’s been over seven years since Apple found the “courage” to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone, in turn forcing wireless headphones into the limelight. To this day, listening to hi-res lossless music on a phone usually means a hunt for a rare handset with a 3.5mm jack or accepting your new dongle life. As if from nowhere, a new breed of wired headphone has emerged, and it promises audiophile quality on any phone with no need for a dongle. Of course there’s a marketing term to go with it: True Lossless Earphones (TLE). You might not have heard of Questyle, but the company has been making hobbyist HiFi gear for years. Last November, the company tried something different with its NHB12 Lightning headphones. The IEM-style buds incorporate a digital audio converter (DAC) capable of handling Apple Music’s top-tier Hi-Res Lossless files (192kHz/24-bit). Ahead of CES this month, the company released a USB-C version — the $350 NHB15 — bringing its all-in-one hi-res digital headp...

Who says webcams can’t be fun? | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge At this point, I think it’s pretty safe to say that remote work is here to stay in at least some capacity, even if Meta, Apple, Google, and a host of other companies have rolled out more stringent WFH policies over the past year. Thankfully for those of us who work from home and still find ourselves knee-deep in Zoom calls, Insta360’s Link is on sale at Amazon, B&H Photo, and direct from Insta360 for $249.99 ($50 off), which marks a new low on the auto-swiveling webcam. Although auto-framing is nothing new — Apple introduced its Center Stage feature with the iPad Pro in 2021 — Insta360 has taken a more novel approach to keeping you centered in the frame with its latest webcam. Whereas most digitally pan and zoom, the 0.5-inch Sony... Continue reading… Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Meta has lost a claim in its legal battle with an Israeli tech firm, Bright Data, which it sued last year for scraping data from Facebook and Instagram via the web. The tech giant, which has a long history of suing data scraping businesses, claimed that Bright Data’s data harvesting was a violation of its © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

A view of Meta’s data center in Clonee Co Meath, Ireland. Picture date: Tuesday June 13, 2023.  | Photo by Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images Data centers could gobble up twice as much electricity by 2026 thanks in large part to cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). We rely on data centers to store all our emails, photos, cat videos, and everything else floating around in the cloud. More and more, data centers are cropping up to mine Bitcoin and train AI. That’s already triggered backlash over the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies and AI tools like ChatGPT, since all those data centers are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions tied to their electricity use. The world will need a lot more renewable energy to clean up pollution from power grids and satiate skyrocketing electricity demand from data centers at the same time. That growth is equivalent to adding an extra country’s worth ...

Lumiere was trained on a dataset of 30 million videos, along with their text captions, and is capable of generating 80 frames at 16 fps. The source of this data, however, remains unclear at this stage. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Researchers found that the smallest of perturbations, such as adding a space at the end of a prompt, can cause an LLM to change its answer. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The latest tech giant impacted by the economy is eBay, which announced earlier today that it is reducing its workforce by around 1,000 roles. That apparently equates to roughly 9 percent of the company's full-time employees. US employees are asked to work from home on January 24, and those affected will be notified "shortly." Unlike Discord and Riot Games, though, eBay's post stopped short at sharing severance or benefit details. The company also plans to scale back the number of contractors over the coming months. eBay's impact scale matches that of Unity and Google from earlier this month, which doesn't paint a pretty picture for the tech scene right at the beginning of 2024. Like its peers, eBay blamed this round of layoff on having hired too many people in recent years. "While we are making progress against our strategy, our overall headcount and expenses have outpaced the growth of our business," president and CEO Jamie Iannone said in the memo....

Roblox launched its Creator Store, a new digital store for creators that replaces the previous Creator Marketplace. The user-generated content platform said the goal of the Creator Store is to foster an ecosystem where creators can safely exchange high-quality assets and solutions including models, plugins, meshes, images, fonts, audio, and video that accelerate creation on  Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

In its Q4 2023 earnings report from earlier today, Netflix announced that starting in Q2 2024, its cheapest ad-free "Basic" plan will be completely gone in Canada and the UK. You haven’t been able to sign up for this tier since last July, but now, even current subscribers will no longer be able to keep their 'Basic' plan, which was originally $10 or £7 per month but bumped up to $12 or £8 in October. In other words, you'll basically be forced into one of the two more expensive ad-free packages (from $16.49 or £11 per month) or the cheaper ad-supported plan ($6 or £5 per month). It'll be interesting to see which side the current user base will lean towards when they eventually have to make their decision, but it's clear that Netflix wants to boost its ad business. After all, the ads plan currently accounts for 40 percent of all Netflix sign-ups in its ads markets, according to the earnings report. We wouldn't be surprised if the same will be applied to ...

French small launch developer Latitude has closed $30 million in new capital as it eyes the first flight of its Zephyr rocket in 2025. While other rocket companies are going bigger, developing even more massive rockets, Latitude is taking a different approach: light, small, and hopefully cheap enough to beat out competitors. Its first rocket, © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

After working together at corporate venture capital firm Xerox Ventures, Chris Fisher, Tim Chiang and Dean Mai form Myriad Venture Partners.  © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Balancing protective measures, like data protection protocols, with progressive strategies, such as AI-driven product rollouts, is essential. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Forta Health aims to democratize access to healthcare by utilizing AI tools, including large language models, to empower caregivers and enhance clinical treatments. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

X, formerly Twitter, today announced support for passkeys, a new and more secure login method than traditional passwords, which will become an option for U.S. users on iOS devices. The technology has been adopted by a number of apps as of late, including PayPal, TikTok, WhatsApp, and others. Today we’re excited to launch Passkeys as © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Meta's Oversight Board has raised concerns over automated moderation while overturning a decision by the company to leave a Holocaust denial post on Instagram. Holocaust denial is deemed hate speech under Meta's policies. The post in question depicted Squidward from SpongeBob Squarepants and purported to include true facts about the Holocaust. However, the claims "were either blatantly untrue or misrepresented historical facts," the Oversight Board said. Users reported the post six times after it first appeared in September 2020, but in four instances Meta's systems either determined that the content didn't violate the rules or they automatically closed the case. In early 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, Meta started automatically closing content reviews to lessen the workload for human reviewers and free up bandwidth for manual review of high-risk reports. All the same, two of the Squidward post reports were also deemed non-violating by human reviewer...

Intuit is once again facing consequences for misleading advertising that claims it offers "free" services. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is banning TurboTax's maker from claiming services are free when most customers will end up having to pay. "We find that Intuit's ads on their face, expressly or by strong implication, conveyed to reasonable consumers the message that they can file their taxes with TurboTax for free," the FTC concluded. "Respondent's claims of free filing are false for roughly two-thirds of U.S. taxpayers, who do not meet Intuit's simple tax return qualifications and are therefore ineligible to file for free with TurboTax." The FTC further emphasized that companies can't describe a product as "free, free, free" when most people will have a "fee, fee, fee" — a warning that's just waiting to be turned into an intimidating jingle. The regulatory body stated that Intuit must clearly state perce...

Philips Hue is expanding its outdoor smart lighting lineup with a new model called Dymera that beams both up and down, allowing dramatic effects for your home's exterior (or interior). The lights feature a black design and two individually controllable beams, letting you set illumination and individual colors for each using the Philips Hue app. You can also use the app's scene gallery to create a more cohesive look. The Dymera lights go on sale February 27 for $220.  The brand (now under the Signify umbrella) also launched the Philips Hue pendant cord ($50, February 2024) designed to work with the Philips Hue filament bulbs. The idea is to create a lighting feature above a coffee or dining table, for instance, with colors and light levels controlled by the Philips Hue app. It's 3D printed with with bio-circular materials and comes in black or white and two sizes to best match your decor.  Philips Hue Also new are a couple of Perifo connectors ($35, April 2024) that expand w...

TravelPerk, a business travel management platform targeted at SMEs, has raised $105 million in a fresh equity-based round of financing led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. Existing investors including Kinnevik and Felix Capital also participated in the round. The funding gives TravelPerk a valuation of $1.4 billion, just a fraction over the $1.3 billion valuation © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Beijing has quietly pulled the proposed curbs on the video game industry from the official website, weeks after the draft guidelines wiped tens of billions of dollars off the market value of local titans. The link to the draft rules was no longer accessible as of this morning, as first reported by Reuters. Shares of © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

TikTok is one of the latest companies to be hit by layoffs sweeping across tech industry over the past year. A spokesperson from the short-form video platform told NPR that the company laid off around 60 employees, mostly from its sales and advertising division across its various offices in the US — Los Angeles, New York, Austin — and abroad. They told the media organization that the layoffs were part of a routine reorganization, but NPR said the company decided to let them go to cut costs.  ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, reportedly cut hundreds of jobs at Marvel Snap developer Nuverse last year. According to previous reports, TikTok itself did a round of layoffs in mid-2022 due to global restructuring efforts and then again in early 2023 to let its recruitment staff in Dublin go. This round affects just a tiny fraction of ByteDance's global workforce that's around 150,000 strong, but as NPR notes, it's a "sign of pain in the tech industry." Google CEO Su...

Entrepreneurship is all about taking risks. It means innovating without fear of failure, stepping into the unknown, and pursuing ambitious ideas. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Korg launched its Nu:Tekt line of DIY kits in 2019 with the NTS-1. It was basically just the programmable digital oscillator from the Prologue and Minilogue XD in a cheap dedicated box. Over the years it's gotten a few more members, including an oscilloscope and headphone amps. For NAMM 2024 the company is updating the originator with the NTS-1 mk2 and adding the NTS-3 Kaoss Pad to the mix. The NTS-1 mk2 is the same size and shape as the original, and still comes as a solderless DIY kit. There's still a single monophonic digital oscillator as well, built on the LogueSDK. But that's about where the similarities end. Inside is a new, more powerful processor driving an updated version of the SDK which includes new oscillator types and effects, and the ability to use incoming audio as a modulation source. The ribbon keyboard has been swapped for an 18-key multitouch capacitive keyboard that looks far more playable. Korg has also added an eight-step sequencer, MIDI out and moved...

Journal app Day One is introducing Shared Journals, a new social feature that lets you share stories and memories with your friends and family. Shared Journals are a private space where you and your friends can share life updates with each other. It’s kind of like a small social network where you can share experiences © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Apple has released iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3 to users. This is a modest refresh, so don’t go looking for anything too crazy. There is, however, a new feature called Stolen Device Protection. This isn’t used to locate a stolen iPhone or iPad, but rather to keep the thieves from accessing your personal data. The feature first popped up in the developer beta of iOS 17.3 and it’s actually pretty handy. If someone manages to steal your iPhone or iPad, and you are updated to OS 17.3, you can lock them out of the system by forcing Face ID or Touch ID access. This works even if they have your passcode, so they won’t be able to put in their own biometrics and lock you out. The software automatically mandates a one-hour security delay before changing the passcode if the phone or tablet is recognized as being in an unfamiliar location. Stolen Device Protection won’t stop thieves from doing their thing, but it will make things harder for them. The tool’s available for both iPhones and iPads. The up...

Shamba Pride has since 2016 worked to enhance last-mile distribution for farm inputs and tackle price exploitation and quality issues for farmers through its merchant network dubbed digishops. The agtech has, so far, built a network of merchants (agro-dealers) extending across 24 counties in Kenya, which represents just over half of the country. It now © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Metaplay has launched a Unity software development kit (SDK) that enables mobile games to scale with their growth. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Covering companies' growth from the seed stage gives reporters a glimpse of what investors must feel like. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Amazon upgraded its Echo Show 8 display late last year to give it a sleeker design and faster Alexa responses, and you can get it right now at the lowest price we've seen it hit. The third-gen, 2023 Echo Show 8 is 40 percent off on Amazon, bringing it down to just $90. It normally costs $150. The display comes in two colors, Charcoal and Glacier White, and the discount applies to both. The 2023 Echo Show 8 brought upgrades inside and out to the smart home gadget. It has spatial audio with room calibration that should make for much fuller sound than the previous models were able to achieve. The improvements carry over to video calling, which benefits from crisper audio and a 13-megapixel camera. Amazon debuted its new Adaptive Content feature alongside the 2023 Echo Show 8, which changes what’s shown on the screen based on where you are in the room. If you’re standing far away, it’ll display easily digestible information in large font, like the weather or news headlines. As you get...

The Magic Mouse’s new shoe. | Image: Wes Davis / The Verge This past Christmas, there was a box in my stocking that held something I had half-jokingly added to my wishlist: an “ergonomic” grip that raises, widens, and adds wireless charging to Apple’s Magic Mouse 2. It’s like a little boot with a Lightning adapter tongue that plugs right into your Magic Mouse’s underbelly. Best of all, it’s magnetic, making it perfect for use with a MagSafe puck. Does this thing totally ruin the sleek Apple aesthetic? Absolutely! And I’m not even remotely convinced by its cheap-feeling plastic that it will last longer than a few months before it just stops working. Yet, somehow, it’s exactly what the Magic Mouse needs. What it’s called doesn’t really matter, because this isn’t a product any company you’ve ever... Continue reading… Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Distinct from the Ripple network and protocol, the XRP Ledger is a decentralized public ledger with an open-source code base that anyone can contribute to or use. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

TechCrunch Mobility is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation Sign up here — just click TechCrunch Mobility — to receive the newsletter every weekend in your inbox. Subscribe for free. Welcome to TechCrunch Mobility – the same weekly newsletter you’ve been reading, but with a new name and a few changes. Don’t worry, this © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Join Alvin on GreenGround as he takes you on a spine-chilling journey into the heart of the upcoming horror-thriller movie, 'Abigail'. Set for release in 2024, this film is turning heads with its unique twist on the vampire genre, blending suspense, horror, and an unexpected narrative. Dive into the details of the plot, the star-studded cast, and the creative minds behind this eagerly anticipated movie. Hit subscribe for more riveting reviews and updates in the world of movies, TV series, and tech. Don’t forget to comment and share your thoughts – are you ready to face the terror of 'Abigail'? #AbigailMovie, #HorrorFans, #VampireThriller, #MovieNight, #NewRelease2024, #FilmBuff, #CinemaLovers, #SuspenseThriller, #MovieReview, #GreenGroundChannel Remember, if you want to stay updated with the latest trends, news, and tech reviews, don’t forget to like and subscribe to Greenground! Follow up on our website https://www.greenground.it or follow up on our social #fyp, #fory...

Pssh. Who needs an SpO2 sensor, anyway? | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Lately, it seems like all the talk regarding the Apple Watch seems to revolve around Apple’s ongoing patent dispute with medical device maker Masimo — a legal battle that has resulted in Apple recently removing the blood oxygen features found on the Series 9 and Ultra 2. Sales have continued uninterrupted for the latest Apple Watch SE given it lacks the SpO2 sensor, however, and now the second-gen smartwatch can be had for as little as $179 ($50 off) at Walmart. To be honest, most healthy individuals are not missing out on the SpO2 sensor, nor are first-time smartwatch buyers likely to complain about the SE’s lack of an always-on display or some of the fancier health tracking features found on the Series 9. Apple’s latest entry-level... Continue reading… Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Welcome, folks, to TechCrunch Week in Review (WiR), a digest of the past few days in tech happenings. As I write this, snow’s gracing New York City — an increasingly rare treat thanks to our changing climate. And that feels fitting in light of the Apple Vision Pro’s imminent launch. After all, one of the © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

If you're going to purchase the Apple Vision Pro, you may want to get a case for it, as well. Based on the company's repair and service page for the device as first noticed by AppleInsider, getting it repaired can be very costly, even when you have AppleCare+. If the headset's cover glass cracks, it'll set you back $799 to get it replaced. Other types of damage could cost you up to $2,399, which is only $1,100 less expensive than a brand new base unit.  The repair prices don't sound as outrageous if you pay for AppleCare+, but they're still not cheap. A damaged cover class or any other type of repair will cost you $299, on top of the extended warranty's $25-a-month fee. While you could get it fixed by a third-party, it could cause you issues if you send it to Apple for another repair in the future, and those services might not have the components you need. Apple has been supportive of the right-to-repair movement lately, though, and has an existing self-repa...