Success in the TV industry used to mean selling as many TV sets as possible. But with smart TVs becoming mainstream and hardware margins falling, manufacturers have sought new ways to make money — and their TV operating systems look to hold the answer. Over the past few years, TV makers have seen rising financial success showing viewers ads and analyzing their responses through their smart TV OS. But what implications does an ad- and data-obsessed industry have for the future of TVs and the people watching them? @Ars Technica has more.
Ars Technica
Your TV set has become a digital billboard. And it’s only getting worse.
TV software is getting loaded with ads, changing what it means to own a TV set.
 #TV #Television #Advertising #Data #SmartTV #Tech
Roblox is the biggest game in the world. On an average month, 380 million users log on to play, which — even when you take platform duplication into consideration — would be more than the entire AAA ecosystem combined. So why can’t it make a profit? Over the last twelve months it has reportedly averaged $138 in costs for every $100 in revenue. Tech investor Matthew Ball takes a deep dive into the figures on his blog, along with thoughts on how this much-loved game could finally make it into the black.
MatthewBall.co
Roblox is Already the Biggest Game In The World. Why Can't It Make a Profit (And How Can It)? — MatthewBall.co
With 380MM MAUs, Roblox probably counts more players than the entire AAA gaming ecosystem, is more played than Disney+ is watched, and is starting ...
 #Roblox #Gaming #Tech
Popular iPad design app Procreate has won praise from the creative industry by vowing against ever introducing generative AI tools into its products. “Generative AI is ripping the humanity out of things. Built on a foundation of theft, the technology is steering us toward a barren future,” Procreate said on the new AI section of its website. “We think machine learning is a compelling technology with a lot of merit, but the path generative AI is on is wrong for us.” Here’s more from [@theverge](
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The Verge
Procreate’s anti-AI pledge attracts praise from digital creatives
“The path generative AI is on is wrong for us”
 #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #GenerativeAI #Creativity #Design #Tech
British tech magnate Mike Lynch is among several missing after their luxury yacht sank during a freak storm off Sicily early Monday. AP reports:
AP News
Search continues for British tech magnate and 5 others after luxury superyacht sinks off Sicily
British tech giant Mike Lynch, his lawyer and four other people are among those missing, Italian authorities said.
 #Tech #Technology #MikeLynch #UK #Sicily
OpenAI thinks there’s a risk of people developing an “emotional reliance” on GPT-40, its latest generation chatbot that speaks aloud in its own voice. The AI’s ability to have a naturalistic conversation with the user may also heighten the risk of anthropomorphization, which could lead people to form a social relationship with it. Vox has more:
Vox
People are falling in love with — and getting addicted to — AI voices
Even OpenAI warns that chatting with an AI voice can breed “emotional reliance.”
 #Tech #AI #Technology #ArtificialIntelligence #OpenAI #Chatbots Follow [@Vox](
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HR startup Rippling is now valued at $13.5 billion, yet its founder and CEO Parker Conrad still approves every expense report over $10. That’s what Conrad means when saying founders should “go all the way to the ground” to run their companies. TechCrunch has more:
TechCrunch
Rippling’s Parker Conrad says founders should ‘go all the way to the ground’ to run their companies | TechCrunch
Parker Conrad thinks founders should embrace the things they aren't good at and earn the right to have an opinion on their company.
 #Tech #Technology #FinTech #Rippling #Startups #Business Follow [@Techcrunch](
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X says it is ending its operations in Brazil, although the service will remain available to the country's users. The announcement comes amidst a legal battle with Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who sought to block certain accounts on X as part of an investigation into election disinformation and “digital militias.” Read more from TechCrunch:
TechCrunch
X says it’s closing operations in Brazil | TechCrunch
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, said today that it's ending operations in Brazil, although the service will remain ava...
 #Tech #Technology #Twitter #SocialMedia #Brazil Follow [@Techcrunch](
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Cars losing a chunk of cash the minute they’re drive off the dealership forecourt is nothing new, but a new investigation by [@WIRED](
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WIRED
EVs Are Losing Up to 50 Percent of Their Value in One Year
Some electric car brands are hemorrhaging value, with the worst losing as much as $600 a day. In this investigation, WIRED outlines which models to...
 #ElectricVehicles #EV #Cars #Automotive #Tech
Bitcoin has become a hot topic ahead of the U.S. election following Donald Trump’s recent endorsement of the cryptocurrency. Part of the Republican Party’s crypto embrace hinges on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) — the dangers to financial privacy they could pose and how to stop them. But what if Bitcoin presented the real privacy threat for citizens, and would government backing make that worse? Decrypt digs a little deeper.
Decrypt
As Governments Embrace Bitcoin, Could It Become a Privacy Threat? - Decrypt
Bitcoin advocates have raised concerns about the technology being used by oppressive governments to surveil citizens. Are they right?
 #Crypto #Cryptocurrency #Bitcoin #DonaldTrump #Election #Tech
It’s been a slog getting here, but Fortnite is finally back on iPhones. In the EU, at least. Following four years of legal battles over payments and the resulting launch of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), forcing Apple to allow third-party app stores in the EU, Epic Games’ flagship title has reappeared on the newly launched Epic Games Store on iOS. But can it can convince the public that the water’s safe outside of Big Tech’s ecosystem? [@theverge](
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The Verge
Welcome back, Fortnite
Is this the tipping point that causes third-party iOS app stores to take off?
 #Apple #Epic #Fortnite #Gaming #iOS #Tech