Apple TV+’s adaptation of Victor LaValle’s novel The Changeling wrapped up last week with “Battle of the Island.” The episode ended the season—overall, a fascinating exploration of parenthood, grief, folklore, and the hidden realms of New York City—with several gigantic question marks.
Source: Gizmodo – The Changeling’s Baffling Finale Was Engineered to Make Viewers Say ‘WTF?’
Looks like that password sharing crackdown worked: Netflix has reported adding nearly nine million new customers this quarter, bringing its total number of subscribers to 247.2 million as of September 30. Some customers, however, will find their plans are about to go up in price.
Source: Gizmodo – Things Are Going Great at Netflix, So It’s Raising Prices
Enlarge (credit: Westend61 | Westend61)
Kiwi Farms—a website credited with launching a range of targeted harassment campaigns, which Cloudflare considers its most dangerous customer ever—has remained online despite immense pressure to dismantle the website. But now it looks like Kiwi Farms may be facing its biggest threat yet. This week, an unexpected court ruling has shown “how copyright law could be a Kiwi Farms killer,” tech law expert Eric Goldman wrote in his blog.
Goldman’s blog analyzed a judgment issued Monday by the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, which reversed a lower court’s decision to dismiss a copyright lawsuit filed by Russell Greer. According to Greer, Kiwi Farms targeted him with a harassment campaign so extreme that he wrote a book to explain why the harassment should stop. Kiwi Farms then uploaded the book and a song that Greer wrote, allegedly sharing his copyrighted materials to encourage users to continue mocking Greer.
Greer’s troubles with Kiwi Farms started when he sued pop star Taylor Swift in 2016. That’s when Kiwi Farms users “began ‘a relentless harassment campaign,'” Greer alleged, including “direct harassment via phone, email, and social media.” Kiwi Farms’ “schemes” allegedly “successfully got him fired from his workplace and evicted” and led to “the creation of ‘false social media profiles that impersonate him with names … that mock his physical and developmental disabilities.’” Kiwi Farms frequently targets people with physical and mental disabilities, Greer told the court.
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Source: Ars Technica – Kiwi Farms ruling sets “dubious” copyright precedent, expert warns
After slogging through years of delays and redesigns, the Tesla Cybertruck can finally be seen on public roads this holiday season, the company announced. Deliveries of the long-awaited luxury EV SUV will begin to select customers starting November 30, before the vehicle enters full production next year at its Texas Gigafactory.
Q3 Shareholder Update → https://t.co/sXBSeLibSL
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HighlightsCybertruck production remains on track for later this year, with first deliveries scheduled for November 30th at Giga Texas.
Production of our higher density 4680 cell is progressing as planned & we continue building… pic.twitter.com/FqpseLujaA
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 18, 2023
At the same time, the vehicle’s electrical architecture is reportedly now being redesigned to accomodate an 800-volt standard, up from the 400V its existing Tesla lineup. A lot of luxury, performance and heavy duty EV models — from the Audi e-Tron to the GMC Hummer EV — utilize the 800V architecture, it’s what enables EVs with large battery capacities to charge at a higher rate (thereby reducing charging time) without reducing the vehicle’s wiring harness to slag. Big difference of course is that most automakers don’t announce that particular design change decision in the same breath as initial vehicle deliveries.
For its existing model lines, Tesla’s production and deliveries are both down this quarter, about seven percent or roughly 30,000 units compared to Q2, but still significantly higher year over year, up ~100,000 units, over 2022. The EV automaker has slashed the prices on its vehicles repeatedly this year, first in March, then again in September (taking a full 20 percent off the MSRP at the time) and once more in early October.
The Model X, for example, began 2023 retailing for $120,990 — it currently lists for $79,990. The models S (now $74,990), Y ($52,490, down 24 percent from January) and 3 ($38,990, down 17 percent) have all seen similar price drops. In all, Tesla reports its cost of goods sold per vehicle decreased to ~$37,500 in Q3.
Musk had previously explained his willingness to drop prices and endure reduced margins if it translates to increased sales volume. “I think it does make sense to sacrifice margins in favor of making more vehicles,” he said in July.
“A sequential decline in volumes was caused by planned downtimes for factory upgrades, as discussed on the most recent earnings call. Our 2023 volume target of around 1.8 million vehicles remains unchanged,” Tesla wrote in an October press statement. The company delivered some 435,059 vehicles globally in Q3.
The company continues to increase its investments in AI development as well, having “more than doubled” the amount of processing power it dedicates to training its vehicular and Optimus robot AI systems, compared to Q2. The Optimus itself is reportedly receiving hardware upgrades and is being trained via AI, rather than “hard-coded” software.
Additionally, the company announced that all US and Canadian Hertz rentals will have access to the Tesla App, allowing them to use their phones as key fobs. Customers who already have a Tesla profile set up can apply those settings to their Hertz rental as well.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-begins-cybertruck-deliveries-on-november-30-210430697.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – Tesla begins Cybertruck deliveries on November 30
Robo-advisors have one key purpose: to simplify the investment process. These automated digital platforms use algorithms to provide investment advice, portfolio management, and other services with little to no human intervention. But are they right for your needs? They’re the ultimate “set it and forget it” strategy…
Source: LifeHacker – When to Use a Robo-Advisor (and When to Avoid Them)
Good news skater punks: The recently released Steam version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 is now playable offline. But in totally wack and weird news: This offline mode is only for Steam Deck users.
Source: Kotaku – You Can Now Play Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Offline, But There’s A Catch
Government-backed hackers from Russia and China exploited a known vulnerability in outdated versions of WinRAR, the world’s most popular compression tool with over 500 million users. Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) said Wednesday it observed a number of government-backed hacking campaigns utilizing the WinRAR bug…
Source: Gizmodo – You Need to Update WinRAR, Right Now
On the heels of Netflix trimming its own animation division in favor of bringing in third-party content—as reported by Variety on October 11—we now know one of the new sources joining the fold: Skydance Animation, which was previously partnered with Apple TV+ and released Luck on the streamer in 2022.
Source: Gizmodo – Skydance Animation Shifts Slate From Apple TV+ to Netflix
With a fully stacked Starship on the pad awaiting a license to launch, SpaceX has seemingly lost its patience with the regulatory process governing its rockets. The company is calling on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to increase its efficiency in issuing launch licenses, according to media reports.
Source: Gizmodo – SpaceX Blames Understaffed FAA for Starship Regulatory Delays
The Oraimo OSV-225A cordless stick vacuum really sucks. Get it? Because it’s a vacuum cleaner? I’m kidding, of course, but in another way, I’m dead serious: This cordless vacuum sucks up dirt, cat hair, detritus, mites, dust, little bits of things, and just about anything else bedeviling your carpets, floors, and…
Source: LifeHacker – This Oraimo Cordless Stick Vacuum Sucks (in a Good Way)
Enlarge / Pras Michel performs during the Roots Picnic at The Mann on June 3, 2023, in Philadelphia. (credit: Getty Images | Taylor Hill )
After being convicted of federal crimes related to a foreign influence campaign, rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel says he should get a new trial because his lawyer “used an experimental AI program to write his closing argument.” In a motion for a new trial filed Monday, the Fugees rapper’s new lawyers say Michel’s previous representation used “an experimental AI program in which they had a financial stake to write the closing argument, resulting in a frivolous and ineffectual closing argument.”
Michel was represented at trial by defense counsel David Kenner, who is accused of failing to provide a cogent defense and misattributing two songs to the Fugees. The allegations about Kenner’s use of AI are reminiscent of a previous incident in which a lawyer admitted using ChatGPT to help write court filings that cited six nonexistent cases invented by the artificial intelligence tool.
According to the motion for a new trial, “Kenner failed to familiarize himself with the charged statutes, causing him to overlook critical weaknesses in the Government’s case,” and he “did not understand the facts or allegations.”
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Source: Ars Technica – Rapper Pras’ lawyer used AI to defend him in criminal case—it did not go well
When Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 hits the PS5 at the end of the week, Spidey fans will catch up a little while into Peter Parker and Miles Morales’ tenure as the Spider-Men of New York. But even with that time difference, a lot has happened to these versions of these characters you might have forgotten about since the…
Source: Gizmodo – Everything You Need to Remember Before Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Enlarge / A view of the stage at TED AI 2023 on October 17, 2023, at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco. (credit: Benj Edwards)
SAN FRANCISCO—On Tuesday, dozens of speakers gathered in San Francisco for the first TED conference devoted solely to the subject of artificial intelligence, TED AI. Many speakers think that human-level AI—often called AGI, for artificial general intelligence—is coming very soon, although there was no solid consensus about whether it will be beneficial or dangerous to humanity. But that debate was just Act One of a very long series of 30-plus talks that organizer Chris Anderson called possibly “the most TED content in a single day” presented in TED’s nearly 40-year history.
Hosted by Anderson and entrepreneur Sam De Brouwer, the first day of TED AI 2023 featured a marathon of speakers split into four blocks by general subject: Intelligence & Scale, Synthetics & Realities, Autonomy & Dependence, and Art & Storytelling. (Wednesday featured panels and workshops.) Overall, the conference gave a competent overview of current popular thinking related to AI that very much mirrored Ars Technica’s reporting on the subject over the past 10 months.
Indeed, some of the TED AI speakers covered subjects we’ve previously reported on as they happened, including Stanford PhD student Joon Sung Park’s Smallville simulation, and Yohei Nakajima’s BabyAGI, both in April of this year. Controversy and angst over impending AGI or AI superintelligence were also strongly represented in the first block of talks, with optimists like veteran AI computer scientist Andrew Ng painting AI as “the new electricity” and nothing to fear, contrasted with a far more cautious take from leather-bejacketed AI researcher Max Tegmark, saying, “I never thought governments would let AI get this far without regulation.”
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Source: Ars Technica – At TED AI 2023, experts debate whether we’ve created “the new electricity”
Netflix announced price hikes on two of its plans today. As the company relayed its quarterly earnings, tit said it’s increasing rates for its Basic and Premium plans. The Basic plan, which Netflix killed earlier this year, moves from $10 to $12 for grandfathered customers, while Premium rises from $20 to $23.
Netflix said its ad-supported and Standard plans will remain the same at $7 and $15.49, respectively. Before Wednesday’s news, the company last raised prices in early 2022.
“While we mostly paused price increases as we rolled out paid sharing, our overall approach remains the same — a range of prices and plans to meet a wide range of needs, and as we deliver more value to our members, we occasionally ask them to pay a bit more,” Netflix wrote in its earnings report. “Our starting price is extremely competitive with other streamers and at $6.99 per month in the US, for example, it’s much less than the average price of a single movie ticket.”
The company’s move to limit password sharing appears to have paid off. Paid memberships are up to 247.15 million, a significant 10 percent annual increase. Paid net subscriber additions were 8.76 million for Q3, the biggest increase of the last year. In addition, Netflix’s advertising-supported plan seems to be off to the hot start it expected as it accounted for 30 percent of all new sign-ups in countries where it’s available.
Netflix has shifted its strategy as it adjusts from its peak-pandemic highs while facing increased competition. In addition to its price hikes, ad-supported plan and password-sharing crackdowns, the streaming service is even taking the peculiar step of moving into retail.
Netflix is hardly alone in raising prices. Disney+, Hulu and Max have all issued increases in the past 12 months. That isn’t limited to direct rivals: Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus, Spotify, YouTube Premium and Apple Music all jacked up their subscription costs in the last year.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-jacks-price-premium-plan-201116492.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – Netflix jacks up the price of its premium plan to a month
Best Buy is currently having a Capcom sale of digital video games for up to 83% off. You can find Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, and Dead Rising games for the Nintendo Switch and Xbox starting at $5. Here are the games that are available, their price history, and how much they cost at other retailers.
Source: LifeHacker – These Capcom Games Are up to 83% Off at Best Buy
NVIDIA has introduced an update to its RTX Video Super Resolution feature that enables VSR support on GeForce RTX 20 series GPUs. Labeled VSR 1.5, the new update not only provides additional GPU support, but also incorporates image quality improvements that enhance the upscales’s de-artifacting capabilities. The update is now available with
Source: Hot Hardware – NVIDIA’s RTX Video Super Resolution Now Supports GeForce RTX 20 Series GPUs
Oracle released today VirtualBox 7.0.12 as another maintenance update in the latest VirtualBox 7.0 series of this open-source, free, and cross-platform virtualization software for GNU/Linux, macOS, Solaris, and Windows systems.
Source: LXer – VirtualBox 7.0.12 Adds Initial Support for Linux 6.6 and openSUSE 15.5 Kernels
Two movies, both about the apocalypse, both comedies, both hitting theaters in the summer of 2013. Looking back on it now, Edgar Wright’s The World’s End and Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg’s This Is the End couldn’t be more different. But before release, at least one person wasn’t so sure, and the story of what happened…
Source: Gizmodo – How the X-Men Forced This Is the End to Change Its Title, With an Assist From Edgar Wright
Google released the Pixel Buds Pro last year, but the company is still making a big push with its wireless earbuds, which offer active noise canceling, sweat and water resistance, and touch controls that make it easy to put them in and control your music without opening up your phone.
Source: LifeHacker – The Google Pixel Buds Pro Are Still Worth the Money
Convicted Fugees rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michél said his former lawyer bungled his trial with a closing argument written by AI. It’s another bizarre twist in a sprawling case that saw the hip hop icon charged with conspiracy, acting as a foreign agent of China, and illegal attempts to influence two US presidential…
Source: Gizmodo – The Fugees’ Pras Michél Says His Lawyers’ Use of AI Sent Him to Prison
