Drake says UMG and Spotify used bots and payola to make ‘Not Like Us’ seem popular
Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage
Musically speaking, I’d say Drake lost the tit-for-tat feud this year between himself and Kendrick Lamar, which culminated in Lamar’s hit song “Not Like Us.” But Drake (real name: Aubrey Graham) doesn’t seem to want to accept defeat that easily. In a petition filed in New York’s state Supreme Court on Monday, Drake is accusing Universal Music Group — the label that’s represented him for his entire career and also represents Lamar — and Spotify of shady business practices aimed at making “Not Like Us” more of a hit than it already was:
In 2024, UMG did not rely on chance, or even ordinary business practices, to “break through the noise” on Spotify, and likely other music platforms. It instead launched a campaign to manipulate and...
Google and the DOJ make their final arguments in the ad tech monopoly case
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
Google and the Department of Justice met one final time in an Alexandria, Virginia courtroom to debate the future of Google’s online ad tech juggernaut.
Over about three hours of closing arguments, attorneys for each sidedelivered their last arguments before US District Court judge Leonie Brinkema, who is expected to rule on it by the end of 2024. If she declares Google’s ad tech system a monopoly, the case will progress to a second trial for remedies — a process currently playing out in a separate DC District Court case over Google search.
Many of the arguments were familiar to any Google trial watcher. The DOJ argues Google used a suite of ad tech products, particularly Doubleclick For Publishers (DFP) and the AdX exchange, to s...
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
“Previous reports suggested that the Chinese snoops, after breaking into the telcos' networks, accessed the wiretapping backdoor-like systems used for court-ordered surveillance and targeted phones belonging to people affiliated with US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, as well as Republican president-elect Donald Trump and VP-elect JD Vance.” [2/2]
https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/18/tmobile_us_attack_salt_typhoon/
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
‘FBI and CISA noted that the cyber-attacks the telecoms providers resulted in the "theft of customer call records data, the compromise of private communications of a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity, and the copying of certain information that was subject to US law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders."’ [1/2]
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
@evacide So basically, if the motive was there, China may have the ability to take down the entire US without firing a shot.
That could make the orange face go pale if he could understand the consequences.
The only available communication left might be ham radio.https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/18/tmobile_us_attack_salt_typhoon/?td=keepreading
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
the reality that The Fat Orange One is not going to be held to account for using an armed mob to attempt a coup is disgusting.
and I must tell you, as someone who once upon a time held a security clearance, the fact that he will also not be held to account for treating classified documents in that manner just plain pisses me off.
no justice is happening here, but rather two-tiered impunity & injustice. I guess Orwell was right: some animals really *are* more equal than others.
ifixcoinops@retro.social ("Dan Fixes Coin-Ops") wrote:
🐹 Dan, you know coin-ops, I run a small business and would like some coin-ops in there, how does that happen?
🦝 That depends on the sort of coin-op.
PINBALL
🐑 The whitest man you've ever seen hands you a business card. After mulling it over you call the number and a pinball machine shows up. It develops a fault within three days. Within two weeks you have eight machines and weekly tournaments, during which your bar is full to capacity but nobody buys any beer. Two of these machines work at any given time.FRUIT MACHINE / GAMBLING
🐻 A large stranger turns up with a large cabinet. He places it somewhere inconvenient, plugs it in, points at the plug, says "See that? Touch that, you're fucking dead," and leaves. You mind your own business.JAPANESE RHYTHM GAMES
🐿 These are delivered by a trans woman you met on Discord. She brings five friends to help. Setup takes longer than planned and you want to close and go home. They offer to finish the job and lock up. In the morning they're still updating firmware. Their pizza boxes attract mice. You have to remind them periodically that they're not allowed to sleep here.ARCADE / VIDEO, GOLDEN AGE
🐨 A man in his fifties asks if you want a Pac-Man. You say sure. Next week there's a Pac-Man, all good. The week after, it glitches out, and he puts in a 60-in-1 emulation board as a temporary measure while he fixes the Pac-Man board. The 60-in-1 brings in way more money. You feel you have to persuade him not to fix the legit board. This discussion becomes far more heated than the situation warrants.ARCADE / VIDEO, 90's
🐍 These are delivered by a green-haired guy you met on Discord. There's no firmware to update but he still brings five friends and wants to sleep there. The Japanese rhythm games lady is his ex but they're on friendly terms.CRANE / CLAW PRIZE GAMES
🐐 These are delivered by a big hard-faced woman with places to be, but not so quickly she doesn't pause for a cigarette before unloading the truck. She explains the scam and you would prefer if she hadn't; you feel robbed of your innocence and complicit in something seedy. You ask her to set the payout as high as possible, to soothe your conscience. As she pours cuddly toys from a big black bin bag she tells you people have more fun if it doesn't win as often, but if you really wanted, she could set it to give a toy every time and you would both still make money. She smiles as she says this, and calls you "Honey." You feel dirty.GUMBALL / BULK VENDING
Scenario 1: 🦊 a man in his fifties with a moustache and Willy Wonka energy talks you into a single gumball machine and then two months later you're selling Pokemon cards.
Scenario 2: 🐺 a man in his seventies arrives with a small girl in a brown vest. He says 🐺 Go on honey, ask. She mumbles something about how her 🐇 troupe's raising money and can we please put one of these on the counter please. He says 🐺 good job honey. He has a kind and careworn face. Thirty years ago he told a man "Touch that, you're fucking dead."
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
Justice delayed is justice denied. But justice simply denied is even worse.
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
that seems a reasonable small scale stress test: no slowdown complaints, no burps, proper recovery from clients disappearing, etc etc. 👍
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
well, a classroom full of grad students banging on my seekrit project for a half hour (and 241 story requests) only complained about a menuing system inconsistency (which I fixed immediately)… nobody reported successfully producing not-child-safe stories. no cursing reported, nor sex, drugs, or rock & roll. just 5th grade reading comprehension level & child-safe story & play ideas.
🎉
Attachments:
Inflation is outta control. I blew fifteen bucks on just under a pound of turkey.
Sure, it's 101, but damn.
Google is inserting search links into webpages in the Google App now
Illustration: The Verge
The Google App for iOS can automatically convert some website text into links to Google Search results, as announced in a community post that SERoundtable spotted.
Google calls the feature “Page Annotations” and says it “extracts interesting entities from the webpage and highlights them in line,” which can then take you out to Search results when you tap them — inserting links without explicitly asking the user or the site owner first. It seems like a curious move for a company embroiled in antitrust fights over both its search and advertising businesses.
Image: Google
A screenshot shows what the links, er, “Page Annotations” look like.
Google has a form for web publishers to opt out of the links. According to...
YouTube shares a final blog post from Susan Wojcicki on fighting lung cancer
Photo: Dennis Troper (Facebook)
YouTube has shared a final blog post from Susan Wojcicki, the company’s former CEO and one of Google’s earliest employees, detailing her unexpected diagnosis and two-year battle with lung cancer. Wojcicki wrote the message in the last weeks of her life and had planned to publish it this fall, according to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. Wojcicki died unexpectedly in August.
In the blog post, Wojcicki discusses life with the disease, along with her efforts to support cancer research, both before and after her diagnosis. Wojcicki writes that women die from lung cancer more than any other cancer and says that two-thirds of non-smokers diagnosed with the disease are women.
Her message begins:
At the end of 2022, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. I...
Thieves Steal $1.5 Million Worth Of Oculus VR Headsets
A whole bunch of Oculus VR headsets were allegedly stolen by a group of men who would wait for truck drivers to leave their vehicles to get some food or go to the bathroom and then would hop in and drive them away.
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:
Supreme Court wants US input on whether ISPs should be liable for users’ piracy - Ars Technica:
"In Sony Music Entertainment v. Cox Communications, the major record labels argue that cable provider Cox should be held liable for failing to terminate users who were repeatedly flagged for infringement based on their IP addresses being connected to torrent downloads." https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/supreme-court-may-decide-whether-isps-must-terminate-users-accused-of-piracy/
Congress Has One Month to Save a Key Medicare Benefit
When Gwen Williams’ mother was dying, taking her to an in-person appointment to get more medicine seemed impossible. So Williams made a telehealth appointment with the doctor—a video call. It was that easy. “Her comfort was paramount,” Williams, who lives in Minnesota, recounts. “My mother wasn’t conscious during the visit, but [the doctor] was able […]
I have some notes on Sam Altman’s note-taking advice
A gadget with no subscription fee and no terms of service.
Nilay’s main love language is trolling, and so he sent me this video of Sam Altman talking about note-taking, because he knew it would annoy me.
Now I recognize there is a school of thought which will say something like “Whatever it is that will get you to successfully take notes is correct.” This is true if you are some kind of loser who doesn’t care about pens and paper, in which case, vaya con dios I guess.
Let’s start with what Altman is doing right: physically writing stuff down. I love my colleague David Pierce, but he is hideously wrong about basically every productivity tool because he insists on using a computer. At this...
Reblogged by xor@tech.intersects.art ("Parker Higgins"):
davidho@mastodon.world ("David Ho") wrote:
A person on a bicycle is by far the most energy-efficient among animals and machines per distance traveled relative to body weight. The bicycle is magic.
Attachments:
Meta’s mixed-reality attempt at a Wii Sports knockoff is coming
Home Sports remembers that bowling was the best part of Wii Sports. | Image: Meta
A new game called Home Sports is coming to the Meta Quest 3 and 3S on December 11th, and from its aesthetic to its music, this $19.99 title is clearly trying to be the Wii Sports (or Nintendo Switch Sports if you like) for mixed reality.
Images: Meta / Nintendo
That logo looks very familiar.
Like Nintendo’s simplistic motion control-based sports series, Home Sports offers several games: hockey, badminton, pickleball, mini-golf, and bowling. It’s playable solo and multiplayer, where your Meta avatar represents you in a match. Meta says the game can adapt to your play space, but it also uses the Quest boundaryless mode for those with access to wide-open spaces.
A blatant knockoff of Nintendo’s Sports seriesit...
cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen") wrote:
Of course, saying no can often take a lot more effort than not. Example here of Professor Bender taking on the marketing push to have educators use ChatGPT:
https://dair-community.social/@emilymbender/113527025958937616
If Brandolini's law holds, just imagine how all those observations about how wasteful generative "AI" is should possibly have an order of magnitude correction...
Reblogged by xor@tech.intersects.art ("Parker Higgins"):
roadside@tech.intersects.art ("old roadside pictures") wrote:
lobster statue, trenton, maine, 1985
Attachments:
The Consequences of Refusing to Serve in Israel's Military
Israel has mandatory military services for citizens over the age of eighteen that meet certain requirements, and refusing to serve, which has always been controversial is even more contentious now that the country is fighting in Gaza and Lebanon. We meet one young person choosing to go to jail rather than serve in the military. Support NPR and get sponsor-free episodes of State of the World. Sign up for NPR+ at plus.npr.org Or donate to NPR this Giving Tuesday at donate.npr.org
Planet Coaster 2, As Told By Steam Reviews
Like most Frontier Developments’ games, including Planet Zoo, Planet Coaster 2 retains much of the charm and freedom that allow many players—though not me—to creatively construct a park that virtual visitors actually want to spend time and money exploring. Thankfully, alongside the freeform building mechanics, the…
Jack Smith Makes It Official: Donald Trump Got Away With Everything
Donald Trump has gotten away with causing a violent attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as part of scheme to overturn the 2020 election, hiding top secret documents from the federal government, and other alleged crimes. Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday made official what Trump’s election victory made clear, moving to dismiss […]
Anthropic launches tool to connect AI systems directly to datasets
Image: The Verge
Anthropic has released a new open-source tool to connect AI assistants directly to the information they need to inform their responses or carry out tasks. The new Model Context Protocol (MCP) provides a universal connection to all sorts of data sources, which Anthropic says will improve performance.
Earlier this month, OpenAI started testing a new “Work with Apps” feature that lets the Mac version of ChatGPT directly connect to certain coding apps. Anthropic’s tool, on the other hand, aims to work across all AI systems and data sources.
As noted by Alex Albert, Anthropic’s head of Claude relations, developers currently have to create custom code for each dataset they want their AI model to draw from. With Anthropic’s MCP, Albert says...
Fortnite's Next Chapter Seemingly Leaked, Confirms Godzilla Is Coming
Fortnite’s Chapter 6 Season 1 has seemingly started to leak online via promo artwork and images. And if the leaks are accurate, which they seem to be, then Godzilla, as well as Baymax from Big Hero 6, might be arriving in Epic’s popular free-to-play shooter next month.
Next Game From Mass Effect Director Cancelled As Studio Shuts Down
In 2021, former BioWare general manager Casey Hudson announced a new studio called Humanoid Origin. It was working on a sci-fi blockbuster and hiring for an ambitious future. On Monday, however, the studio announced it was shutting down just a few years later, having failed to acquire the funding needed to continue.
Reblogged by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
vidak@social.solarpunk.au wrote:
reject tradition - computers for money/war
embrace modernity - computers for human flourishing
The best Black Friday gaming deals you can shop right now
Console deals like one that takes $75 off a Switch OLED are in rare abundance, and there’s even more to shop. | Image: Nintendo
Black Friday is brimming with great deals on new games, including older titles you can purchase for pennies on the dollar and recent hits that might be hard to justify at full price. You can usually find great deals on gaming accessories, too, from controllers and headsets to expanded storage for consoles like the Xbox Series X / S.
We’ve combed through all of the early Black Friday gaming deals to bring together the best of the bunch in one convenient spot_._ Tons of games are discounted right now, as we’re seeing the lowest prices to date on recent hits like Astro Bot and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. You can also find discounts on lesser-known gems like Metaphor: ReFantazio, which is on sale for $40 in one of its first...
GM has a deal to bring a new Cadillac F1 team to the grid
GM design rendering of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team concept. | Image: GM
General Motors has a deal to join Formula 1 under the Cadillac brand and participate in the FIA Formula One World Championship for the 2026 season, the automaker announced on Monday. Formula 1 says it has accepted in principle and will move GM and Cadillac's application forward to become the 11th team on the grid — making it the first new team to join since 2016.
Formula 1 says it’s been in talks with GM and its partners at motorsport company TWG Global about “the viability of an entry following the commercial assessment and decision” the organization made in January. The announcement mentions that GM will come on as an engine supplier later, and while The Race reports it will join initially as a Ferrari customer, that has not been...
UN climate negotiations were a major bummer
Activists protest against fossil fuels and for climate finance on day 11 at the UNFCCC COP29 climate conference on November 22nd, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. | Photo by Sean Gallup / Getty Images
Maybe it was the host of the UN climate summit in Azerbaijan this month calling oil and gas a “gift of God.” Or the US, the world’s biggest oil and gas producer, reelecting a president who says “we don’t have a global warming problem” just before the conference. Then again, the biggest outcome — or disappointment, depending on how you look at it — was an incremental increase in the amount of climate aid wealthier nations committed to less affluent countries dealing with the consequences of other people’s pollution.
“We have seen the very worst of political opportunism”
Any way you look at it, the summit (called the Conference of the Parties, or COP) that fizzed out over the weekend was exasperating, particularly for delegates from parts...
This Stalker 2 Quest Will Test Your Morals
Upon completing the game’s prologue and finally stepping foot into the Zone proper, you’ll head for Zalissya, this game’s version of the rookie town. There, you’ll encounter a handful of characters who will help propel the story forward, along with merchants, technicians, and even your first up close and personal…
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
looks like Bluesky is getting overwhelmed yet again… they are not actually decentralized in any meaningful fashion, so they can only scale up by throwing bigger hardware at the problem.
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
predictable, but still disgusting
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:
Will Threads try to hop on the AT Protocol bandwagon? Or will they launch a competing protocol? I've suspected for a while now that they're working on the latter.
But if they're seeing a big migration from Threads to Bluesky, they'll need to stop the bleeding somehow.
Meta is gonna do something bold.
Reblogged by keul@fosstodon.org ("Luca Fabbri"):
Em0nM4stodon@infosec.exchange ("Em :official_verified:") wrote:
To everyone when they see horrible privacy news about Microsoft replying with:
"I don't care, I use Linux"
Sure, you do. But does your medical clinic do? Does your therapist do? Does your family member typing a personal email to you in Word before sending it do too?
This is a systemic problem.
You cannot protect your own data only by using Linux yourself. You must also demand stronger regulations and enforcement to obligate organizations around to protect your data as well.
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
jwildeboer@social.wildeboer.net ("Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:") wrote:
Should you read about a patent case somewhere, here are the things you should know:
- design patents are NOT patents. They are more like registered designs.
- the *only* important thing about a patent are the claims. You can safely ignore all the descriptions, graphics and other stuff. Read the claims. The first one is the most important
- Patents expire after 20 years (or missed fee payment, whichever comes first)1/2
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
macrumors ("MacRumors.com") wrote:
Apple Reportedly Plans to Remove iPhone's SIM Card Tray in More Countries Next Year https://www.macrumors.com/2024/11/25/iphone-17-esim-only-in-more-countries-report/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
privacyint@mastodon.xyz ("Privacy International") wrote:
EdTech systems are often less about teaching than they are monitoring.
Read more about the increasing web of surveillance children are experiencing in schools.
https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/5463/studying-under-surveillance-securitisation-learning
Don't Let Your Weapons Decay If You Want To Survive Stalker 2
It happens to the best of us: You’re delving into a dank, decrepit bunker in the post-apocalypse searching for rare loot, casually popping off shots at the various rat-like mutants scurrying through the dark when your weapon jams. In a moment of panic, you attempt to reload and clear the jam, but your weapon is so…
Xbox Removing Avatars Because You All Forgot About Them
Microsoft has quietly confirmed that it is ditching avatars on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S consoles next year after a decade of support. You might have assumed avatars had already been killed off in the past, but nope. Apparently they were still around, but not for much longer.
'I think of my body as a teacher,' says Marine who struggled with disordered eating
During her years as a military linguist, Bailey Williams pushed her body to extremes. Her new book is Hollow: A Memoir of My Body in the Marines.
iPhone 17 ‘Slim’ rumors are still floating around
It’s no iPhone 13 Mini (pictured above), but maybe the 17 “Slim” will capture a bit of the small phone magic anyway. | Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Apple engineers are wrestling with where to put the SIM card, battery, and thermal materials in the rumored iPhone 17 “Slim,” according to The Information. Although US iPhones haven’t had SIM cards for a couple of years now, they’re required to in China, making it a tricky, but necessary hurdle to get over.
The 17 Slim’s single, center-mounted camera will reportedly be surrounded by a rectangular bump that’s made of aluminum instead of glass. It also says the iPhone Plus will leave the lineup, something that’s been rumored off and on alongside whispers about this new phone.
Other rumors around the 17 Slim (or Air, or whatever Apple names it) include that it will feature a 6.6-inch (or 6.55-inch) display and an aluminum frame. It could...
15 Things We Noticed In The New Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Trailer
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 got a new trailer this morning, and it really underlines how this movie is an adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2. We knew it would be taking pieces of the Dreamcast game, such as introducing Shadow the Hedgehog and delving into his tortured past, but this new trailer really brings home that some of…
Dr Disrespect veers right into Rumble
Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images
Rumble, the video streaming platform that’s become the home for right-wing personalities like Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, and Tim Pool as well as full-throated racists like Nick Fuentes, has a new member joining its ranks: Dr Disrespect. The streamer announced the news via social media and Rumble confirmed it in a press release, stating that the streamer will provide a mix of free and paid content for the platform as well as “acting as an advisor and helping to build the Rumble Gaming community.”
The move to Rumble is the latest development in the Dr Disrespect streaming saga that began four years ago. In 2020, Dr Disrespect, whose real name is Herschel “Guy” Beahm, was banned from Twitch with little explanation mere months after...
Given Automattic's self-immolation, do I need to be concerned about ratfuckery in the recent WordPress 6.7.1 release?
Prosecutors file motion to dismiss Jan. 6 case against Trump
The move was widely expected after Trump's election victory, and is in line with longstanding Justice Department policy that says a sitting president cannot be indicted or tried on criminal charges.
slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:
There are reasons to continue to hack on React codebases, but we should adapt our understanding of this legacy tech to be legacy tech and, therefore, squint dimly over our nosetip-perched glasses at anyone proposing React for new work.
It's a tell. Proposing a new React project in this decade is either a sign that they are:
- too junior to know better (bless)
- too comfortable in the status quo to study explore better options
- willing to spend your money like it's going out of fashion
Ed Sheeran and Fuse ODG rebuke Band Aid charity song. We ask Kenyans to weigh in
The singers have criticized "They Don't Know It's Christmas" for perpetuating "damaging stereotypes" of Africans as a charity case. Bob Geldof defends the song. We went to Kibera for comments.
slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:
At absolutely no point in the 2020s should you, or anyone you don't hate, start a project with React.
There are a lot of reasons for this -- that it's legacy tech built for a world where IE 6 still had measurable share, that the Reactor community has been wrong about everything all the time for a decade+, that the money you'll save can be measured in truck-loads -- but the *most* important is that it will opt you out of the godforsaken React discourse.
Be free! Never look back. Do engineering.
slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:
One of the incredible things about the CWV data set is that we can now see how the claims of "better performance" and "moving faster" were all garbage. If the literal poster children can't get out of "needs improvement" territory, and the incidence of ambush-by-JS isn't going down in teams I consult with, maybe the problem is the Reactor dogma that's holding this bad status quo in place?
https://treo.sh/sitespeed/www.instagram.com?formFactor=phone&mapMetric=r&metrics=lcp%2Cr
https://treo.sh/sitespeed/www.airbnb.com?metrics=lcp%2Cr&formFactor=phone&mapMetric=r
https://treo.sh/sitespeed/www.threads.net?metrics=lcp%2Cr&formFactor=phone&mapMetric=r
https://treo.sh/sitespeed/m.facebook.com?mapMetric=r&metrics=lcp%2Cr
Reblogged by kornel ("Kornel"):
fsfe ("Free Software Foundation Europe") wrote:
𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲
Why is software created using taxpayers’ money not released as #FreeSoftware under a #FOSS licence? If it is public money, it should be public code as well!
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
good luck with that:
“The OpenAI-funded research at Duke University aims to develop algorithms capable of predicting human moral judgments, addressing the complex challenge of aligning AI decision-making with human ethical considerations…”
Threads will finally let you set the following feed as your default
Illustration: The Verge
Threads will now let users decide what feed they want as their default when opening the app. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the news in a post, saying that you’ll be able to choose between For You, Following, or any custom feed that you’ve set up. Zuckerberg’s post notes that Threads is “testing” this option and will make the choice “more visible” in the app.
It took over a year to get here, but Threads is finally doing the obvious thing and allowing people to use the app however they prefer. To set your default feed, open the Threads app and tap and hold on any feed at the top. From there, choose “edit feeds,” and that’s where you’ll be able to reorder them. Whichever feed you put in the first slot will appear whenever you open...
Cars are polluting less — but for how long?
Photo by Kevin Carter / Getty Images
Cars are getting more efficient and less polluting, resulting in better air quality for everyone, according to a new report from the Environmental Protection Agency. But with a new administration coming in that has made climate change and air pollution less of a priority — and drilling for more fossil fuels more of one — it’s unclear how sustainable this trend will be.
In the US, new model cars are traveling further on less gas, the EPA reports. Real-world fuel economy improved by 1.1 miles per gallon of gasoline to a “record high” of 27.1 mpg for model year 2023 vehicles. That’s an improvement of 13.1mpg since 1975, when the EPA first began gathering fuel economy data.
These gains in fuel economy do not take into account the EPA’s...
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
there is still interesting work being done with math
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/what-are-the-potential-practic-C36z6fGPTVCuFozpy4I4ng
Gladiator II May Have Starred Timothée Chalamet If Not For This Hulu Series
The next time someone tries to tell you nothing productive comes from binge-watching TV, just point them to Gladiator II. In a Hollywood Reporter feature on the making of the Ridley Scott-helmed film, it was revealed that the director binge-watching Paul Mescal’s Hulu series Normal People is what helped the actor land…
xor@tech.intersects.art ("Parker Higgins") wrote:
I think the follower migration process might be pummeling my server but hopefully that's it and everything will be fine again soon 🫡
Nvidia claims a new AI audio generator can make sounds never heard before
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images
Nvidia says its new AI music editor can create “sounds never heard before” — like a trumpet that meows. The tool, called Fugatto, is capable of generating music, sounds, and speech using text and audio inputs it’s never been trained on.
As shown in this video embedded below, this allows Fugatto to put together songs based on wild prompts, like “Create a saxophone howling, barking then electronic music with dogs barking.”
Some other examples shared by the company include the ability to produce unique sound effects based on a description, like “Deep, rumbling bass pulses paired with intermittent, high-pitched digital chirps, like the sound of a massive sentient machine waking up.”
It can even transform the sound of someone’s voice,...
Reblogged by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
shansterable@c.im ("Shannon Skinner (she/her)") wrote:
Charlotte, NC airport workers who clean airplanes, remove trash, and help with wheelchairs at hourly wages of $12.50-$19 an hour went on strike today, the start of Thanksgiving holiday week, generally the busiest US air travel period each year.
“We’re on strike today because this is our last resort. We can’t keep living like this,” ABM cabin cleaner Priscilla Hoyle said in a statement. “We’re taking action because our families can’t survive.”
#USPol #USPolitics #UnionStrong #Union #Solidarity #Charlotte
https://apnews.com/article/charlotte-airport-workers-strike-3a00ed15aedfdd8b5e2383feab53cb5a
xor@tech.intersects.art ("Parker Higgins") wrote:
I think I've got all my bots migrated from botsin.space to this instance. I'm going to keep an eye on them for a bit to make sure they don't misbehave and then do an updated pinned post
Hitman Ditching Conor McGregor After Civil Jury Finds Him Liable For Sexual Assault
Hitman developer IO Interactive is distancing itself and its popular franchise from controversial mixed marital arts fighter Conor McGregor following a recent Irish High Court ruling in which a jury found him liable for sexually assaulting a woman in 2018.
Instagram DMs add live location sharing and nicknames
Instagram added new stickers and is letting you give friends nicknames and your location. | Image: Instagram
Instagram is adding the ability to share your live location with friends in your DMs for up to one hour at a time so you can find each other when arriving at concerts, outings, and other gatherings. The feature works within Instagram’s direct messages, which also gets a few other new features, including sticker packs and nicknames.
Instagram says you can share your location privately with others through DMs, either one-to-one or within group chats, and the feature is off by default. It’s similar to the location-sharing features in Snapchat’s SnapMap, which includes the ability to share pictures with friends on a map. For now, these features are only available in “select countries” (Instagram does not list where.)
Image:...
Dr Disrespect Joins Right-Wing, Anti-Cancel Culture Streaming Platform Rumble
Controversial video game streamer Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm is officially joining Rumble, the right-wing streaming platform online personalities like Russell Brand go to when no one else will have them. The “alt-tech” platform announced the former Twitch star will receive equity and be an advisor despite admitting…
Bluesky is breaking the rules in the EU
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
The European Union says Twitter alternative Bluesky violates the EU Digital Services Act rules around information disclosure, reports Reuters. But since Bluesky isn’t yet big enough to be considered a “very large online platform” under the DSA, the regulator says it can’t regulate Bluesky the way it does X or Threads.
The Financial Times quotes European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier, who told reporters about the violation during a Monday press briefing:
“All platforms in the EU . . . have to have a dedicated page on their website where it says how many users they have in the EU and where they are legally established,” said commission spokesman Thomas Regnier. “This is not the case for Bluesky as of today. This is not followed.”
...
Tulsi Gabbard Keeps Starting Up PACs. Where Is the Money Going?
In March 2024, Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman and failed presidential candidate whom Donald Trump has tapped to be director of national intelligence, created a political action committee called Defend Freedom, Inc. The group posted a bare-bones website featuring photos of Gabbard and declared it “was organized to elect patriots who will fight to […]
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:
One thing I'm excited to learn is if an App View ever gets VC funded.
What if funding no longer considered the dev team and leadership, and approached social media like they would tequila— associate it with a pop star.
Like if Taylor Swift wanted to make her own branded social media, could she get ten million from Silicon Valley to launch an AT Protocol-based app view? Make it look pretty, call it Taylor Nation, bada bing bada boom.
Macy's says an employee hid as much as $154 million in expenses
The employee "intentionally made erroneous accounting accrual entries" to hide millions of dollars, Macy's said. The error forced the company to delay reporting its third quarter results.
GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani on the enduring power of the website
Photo illustration by The Verge / Photo: GoDaddy
Despite everything, websites are still a pretty neat idea — but what if AI builds them?
Google to face massive UK class action lawsuit over search dominance
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
Google must face a £7 billion (around $8.8 billion) class action lawsuit in the UK that accuses the company of harming consumers by abusing its dominance in search. On Friday, the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled that the case can move forward, adding to the growing number of legal conflicts Google has to confront worldwide.
The class action case was initially filed in September 2023 by consumer rights advocate Nikki Stopford. It alleges that Google’s anticompetitive practices made it more expensive for companies to advertise on the platform, leading to higher prices for millions of consumers across the UK.
The lawsuit argues that Google “forced” Android phone makers to ship their phones with Google Search and Google Chrome,...
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
(Total 154,500,077)
Harris (D)
74,563,603
48.26%Trump (R)
77,034,011
49.86%[difference: 2,470,408]
Stein: 778,227
Kennedy: 751,646
Oliver: 640,262
...
Deno v. Oracle: Canceling the JavaScript Trademark
Oracle is holding the JavaScript trademark hostage, and we’re pursuing legal means to #FreeJavaScript. Here’s a brief update.
Troy Baker Will Be In The Last Of Us Director's Next Game
Naughty Dog’s next game is still steeped in mystery, but another tease has been plucked from the ether. Troy Baker, one of the best-known faces in video game acting following his performance as Joel across The Last of Us Part I and II, is on deck to appear in director Neil Druckmann’s next project.
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
jalefkowit@vmst.io ("Jason Lefkowitz") wrote:
“At this point the Royal Society Council opted to consult a top lawyer to determine whether Musk's behaviour breached their Code of Conduct. The problem with this course of action is that if you are uncertain about doing something that seems morally right but may have consequences, then it is easy to find a lawyer who will advise against doing it. That's just how lawyers work.”
http://deevybee.blogspot.com/2024/11/why-i-have-resigned-from-royal-society.html
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
workingclasshistory ("Working Class History") wrote:
#OtD 25 Nov 1915 thousands in Chicago attended the funeral of martyred @iww union organiser and songwriter Joe Hill. He had been fitted up for a crime he did not commit and was executed. Learn more about his life and works in this book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/joe-hill-the-iww-the-making-of-a-revolutionary-workingclass-counterculture
Attachments:
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
@vrandecic :"Fixing wrong answers in Wikidata is easy. Fixing wrong answers in LLMs is near impossible". Interesting point. #swib24
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
Today in History: Virgil Thomson, American composer and critic, born in Missouri, 1896
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
Today in History: Johann Strauss, Jr., writes 'On the Beautiful Blue Danube', 1867
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
Today in History: "The Last Waltz" concert by The Band at Winterland, 1976
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
Today in History: Alfred Nobel invents dynamite, 1867
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
policies and laws have consequences, and in this case those policies and laws are creating deaths and life-changing trauma.
https://www.propublica.org/article/porsha-ngumezi-miscarriage-death-texas-abortion-ban
Raspberry Pi announces a $7 Pico 2 with built-in Wi-Fi
The Raspberry Pi Pico 2 now comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. | Image: Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi has announced an updated version of the Pico 2 microcontroller board with an onboard Wi-Fi chip. Called the Pico 2 W, it’s powered by RP2350 microcontroller, which you can find in all manner of nerdy DIY gadgets and fun devices like the minuscule Thumby Color GBA clone. Best of all, it costs $7, up just two bucks from the $5 Pico 2.
The Pico 2 W’s Wi-Fi chip adds a 2.4GHz signal using the Wi-Fi 4 (aka 802.11n) standard and brings Bluetooth 5.2 along for the ride. Wi-Fi 4 is an older, low-bandwidth standard that’s still used in a lot of smart home products today, from basic sensors to security cameras to smart speakers like the HomePod Mini.
The Pico 2 W also features a single USB 1.1 port. Tom’s Hardware notes in its...
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
'Hegseth appears to argue that the US military should ignore the Geneva conventions and any international laws governing the conduct of war, and instead “unleash them” to become a “ruthless”, “uncompromising” and “overwhelmingly lethal” force geared to “winning our wars according to our own rules”.'
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/25/pete-hegseth-book-attacks-nato-alliances
The Chao Garden lives in Sonic 3’s new trailer
Paramount
There are a handful of details Parmount’s third Sonicfeature needs to get right in order for it to feel like a proper adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2, and the movie’s latest trailer makes it look like it has the Chao Garden (arguably the best part of the game) on lock.
Though it features a few more shots of the Robotniks (Jim Carey) and Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves) plotting to obliterate the earth, the highlight of Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s new trailer are its new shots of the Chao Garden. While Sonic Adventure 2’s Chao Garden was basically a daycare to raise magical little creatures, the movie reimagines it as a Chuck E. Cheese-like restaurant where Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and his crew like to hang out as Chao mascots dance around on...
California is ready to pick a fight with Trump if he kills the federal EV tax credit
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images
California Governor Gavin Newsom vowed to bring back the state’s rebate for new electric vehicle purchases if President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to kill the federal tax credit.
During the campaign, Trump vowed to eliminate President Joe Biden’s “EV mandate” on “day one” of his presidency. And now with this transition underway, his advisors have already discussed including a measure to kill the $7,500 tax credit for new EV purchases as part of a broader tax reform package.
If Trump succeeds, Newsom says he’ll step up and revive the state’s recently phased out Clean Vehicle Program, which offered rebates from $1,000 to $7,500 for the purchase or lease of new, eligible zero-emission vehicles, including electric,...
pzmyers@octodon.social ("pzmyers 🦑") wrote:
The Royal Society attaches those laurels with glue, apparently.
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2024/11/25/they-let-just-anyone-in/
Attachments:
Ocean explorers hoped they photographed Amelia Earhart's plane. Turns out it's a rock
Earhart, her navigator and their plane disappeared during their attempted 1937 circumnavigation of the globe. A deep sea exploration company thought it might have solved the mystery, but it lives on.
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
heydon@front-end.social ("Large Heydon Collider") wrote:
I am available for new contract work.
I have 20+ years 😩 experience in web design and development and I’m still learning. I have written courses and books that have influenced interface design across the industry. I love prototyping, writing documentation, creative coding, and I do everything with accessibility and inclusion in mind.
👋
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
zachleat@zachleat.com ("Zach Leatherman :11ty:") wrote:
bernie sanders would love web components—no I will not elaborate at this time
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
mattdsteele@carhenge.club ("Matt Steele") wrote:
@zachleat “every react app is a policy failure”
Build your next PC like it’s 1999
Silverstone’s new FLP01 PC case looks like a relic from the late ‘90s. | Screenshot: X
SilverStone’s new FLP01 PC case looks it was created in a time when desktop computers had turbo buttons and bragging rights were earned by having a Pentium chip inside.In reality, the retro beige box is launching next year for all your modern PC-building needs, doubling as a stand for a monitor that’s probably not a 30-pound CRT.
The Japanese company SilverStone has been making PC components and cases since it launched in 2003, and last year, during its 20th anniversary, it shared the first details and images of the FLP01 on X timed to coincide with April Fools’ Day.
明日の準備中…
いつもの場所でお待ちしております。#SILVERSTONEEXPO2024~LEGACY~ pic.twitter.com/S5E9ONrUmG— SilverStone JP (@SilverStoneJP) November 15, 2024
Over a year later, at an expo...
Reblogged by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻"):
@fromjason Isn't open source, like, really just a state of mind, man? Like, the vibes from those Bluesky folks are totally open, so yeah, I'm feeling like it's open source. Don't ruin the mood. It's got the juice.
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:
"And then there's Bluesky's servers, which I'm pretty sure it's open source. I'd be surprised if it wasn't."
My nerd in Christ, the premise of your entire video is that it _is_ open source. It's literally in the title of your video.
I'm losing it you guys. IM LOSING IT.
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:
I have completely lost the definition of "open-source"
It's really astonishing. There's an entire army repeating claims that Bluesky is open-source without ever defining the term or doing any leg work to verify the claim's validity.
I'm still holding a lot of space for the possibility that I'm completely missing something. I would think that big tech influencers would be more cautious with their reputations. It's a long walk back after we learn what Bluesky's definition of open source is.
Star Wars Outlaws And Assassin's Creed Valhalla Don't Work With The Latest Windows Update At The Worst Possible Time
Star Wars Outlaws finally came to Steam last week. Unfortunately, there’s also an issue with the latest version of Windows that makes it so the sci-fi open-world adventure and other Ubisoft games don’t work. Microsoft has acknowledged the issue and is pausing the update in the meantime.
Roku is building its content into Google TVs
The Verge
Roku is making it easier to find and watch its programming on Google TV without jumping between apps. Users can soon search for content from The Roku Channel — Roku’s free streaming app — directly on Google TV, providing quick access to Roku’s library of over 80,000 movies and TV shows.
New category tabs are coming to the Google TV home screen that will suggest recommended Roku content, alongside the ability to jump back into unfinished TV shows and movies from The Roku Channel. The integration will also bring more than 500 of Roku’s FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channels to the “live” tab on Google TV. According to Roku, these channels will include free programming across “news, sports, cooking, DIY, music, and more.”
...
New Sonic 3 Trailer Is A Nostalgia Trip For Sonic Adventure 2 Fans
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is just under a month away, and that means we are a mere three weeks from hearing Keanu Reeves voice Shadow the Hedgehog. Today, Paramount has released the second trailer for the film, and we get to see a little bit more of Shadow and the returning cast, as well as get a better sense of how the…
Comic D.J. Demers jokes a lot about hearing loss — but won't be 'the hearing aid guy'
Demers was diagnosed with hearing loss when he was 4 years old. As a kid, he saw nothing funny about it — but then he learned to make people laugh. He just dropped his fourth stand-up special.