In just a bit over a month, legacy HBO Max subscribers paying for ad-free streaming will be losing a couple of perks they’re enjoying. One of those is 4K streaming. According to The Verge, the streaming service has started sending affected subscribers an email, notifying them that they won’t be able to stream in 4K anymore after December 5th. Warner Bros. Discovery promised existing subscribers when it rebranded the service into “Max” back in May they they would still have access to their plan’s features over the next six months. After that period ends, their only option to retain 4K streaming is to let go of their $16-a-month subscription plan to switch to Max’s Ultimate Ad-Free tier that costs $20 a month.

The service introduced the tier when Max launched, promising users access to 1,000 4K movies and TV show episodes, some of which support Dolby Atmos and Vision. Subscribers who choose to keep their legacy plan will have to make do with Full HD resolution. In addition, legacy subscribers will no longer be able to stream on three devices at once, because Max will only allow them access to two concurrent streams. Both changes bring the legacy $16 subscription in line with the new Max Ad Free tier, which costs the same amount.

An Ultimate Ad Free subscription allows subscribers to stream on up to four devices at once, aside from giving them access to 4K content. It costs quite a bit more than the regular ad-free subscription, but those who want higher-quality streaming and can afford to plunk down $200 in one go will be seeing their yearly expenses for Max go up by just a few cents per month. Max also has a $10-a-month ad-supported tier for those who don’t mind their viewing experience interrupted by commercials.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/legacy-hbo-max-ad-free-subscribers-will-lose-access-to-4k-streams-soon-092315829.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Legacy HBO Max ad-free subscribers will lose access to 4K streams soon

Intuit is shutting down its free budgeting app Mint, which had 3.6 million active users in 2021, Bloomberg reports. The company will absorb users into its other service called Credit Karma when Mint disappears on January 1, 2024 — less than two months from now. 

“Credit Karma is thrilled to invite all Minters to continue their financial journey on Credit Karma, where they will have access to Credit Karma’s suite of features, products, tools and services, including some of Mint’s most popular features,” Mint wrote on its product blog. The company noted that Mint’s product team and some features have already shifted over to Credit Karma. 

Mint helps users manage their budget, track expenses and keep track of subscriptions and monthly bills so you don’t pay late fees. Intuit acquired the company in 2009 for $170 million, with Mint saying the acquisition would help bring the app to millions more users. 

Intuit will shift users to Credit Karma (a company it acquired in 2020), even though they’re not exactly the same. Credit Karma is more like a banking app that lets users view transactions, monitor credit and see multiple accounts, but lacks the budget tracking features that make Mint attractive to many. Intuit specifically notes on a support page that “the new experience in Credit Karma does not offer the ability to set monthly and category budgets,” instead helping users “build awareness” of their spending. However, Mint’s net worth feature was recently ported over to Credit Karma.

Mint users will be able to transfer their accounts by logging into Credit Karma from the Mint app, after which they’ll lose access to their Mint profiles. They can also download or erase any Mint data if they’d rather not switch. 

Some Mint users on Reddit don’t seem thrilled with the switch, with one saying that without the budgeting feature, “Mint is just a glorified checkbook register.” Intuit, meanwhile, was recently ordered to pay $141 million for deceiving millions of low-income Americans into paying for tax services that should have been free. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/intuit-is-closing-down-mint-its-popular-free-budget-tracking-app-054145229.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – Intuit is shutting down Mint, its popular free budget-tracking app

A federal jury has found FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried guilty on all seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, which he was charged with following the downfall of his cryptocurrency exchange. According to The New York Times, he faces a maximum sentence of 110 years in federal prison. SBF, as he’s now infamously known, was arrested in the Bahamas back in December 2022 after the Department of Justice took a close look at his role in the rapid collapse of FTX. The agency examined whether he transferred hundreds of millions of dollars when the exchange filed for bankruptcy. (The company claimed it was hacked after around $600 million disappeared from its funds.) The DoJ also investigated whether FTX broke the law when it moved funds to its sister company, Alameda Research.

During SBF’s trial, which took place over the past month, prosecutors argued that he used FTX funds to keep Alameda Research running. The fallen entrepreneur also founded the cryptocurrency hedge fund, which was ran by his girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who was aware that he used FTX customers’ money to help Alameda meet its liabilities. Bankman-Fried previously denied that he deliberately misused FTX’s funds. 

The Times says his lawyers tried to portray him as a math nerd who had to grapple with “forces largely outside of his control,” but the jury clearly disagreed after the prosecution called Ellison and three of Bankman-Fried’s former top advisers to the witness stand. Ellison and all of those advisers had pleaded guilty, with the Alameda Research chief admitting that she committed fraud at Bankman-Fried’s direction. The FTX founder himself took the stand and said that he “deeply regret not taking a deeper look into” the $8 billion his hedge fund had borrowed from the cryptocurrency exchange. 

Bankman-Fried was charged with committing wire fraud against FTX customers; wire fraud on Alameda Research lenders; conspiracy to commit wire fraud against both; conspiracy to commit securities and commodities fraud on FTX customers; as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28, 2024 by US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who also presided over the FTX trial. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-found-guilty-on-seven-charges-of-fraud-and-conspiracy-012316105.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty of fraud, faces up to 110 years in prison

TikTok is pushing back on critics who claim the video app is falling short in its content moderation duties amid the Israel-Hamas war. In a statement, the company offered new details about the number of accounts and videos it has taken down since the October 7th attacks by Hamas.

According to TikTok, it removed more than 925,000 videos “in the conflict region” and millions more “pieces of content” from around the world. The company also said it’s experienced “spikes in fake engagement” in recent weeks. “Since Oct. 7, we’ve removed more than 24 million fake accounts globally and more than half a million bot comments on content under hashtags related to the conflict.”

The new details come as TikTok has faced increasing scrutiny over how its app is recommending content related to the ongoing conflict. According to NBC News, some lawmakers have recently stepped up their calls for the app to be banned amid allegations that TikTok’s algorithm is disproportionately promoting pro-Palestinian content. In its update, TikTok said that such claims were based on “unsound analysis” of its data. 

“Unfortunately, some misinformed commentators have mischaracterized our work to prevent the spread of hate speech and misinformation surrounding the crisis in Israel and Gaza, especially as it relates to antisemitism,” the company said. “Over the last few days, there has been unsound analysis of TikTok hashtag data around the conflict, causing some commentators to falsely insinuate TikTok is pushing pro-Palestine content over pro-Israel content to U.S. users.” The company added that, in the United States, the hashtag #standwithisrael had been viewed 46 million times since October 7, while #standwithpalestine had been viewed 29 million times.

TikTok isn’t the only platform to face increasing scrutiny over its moderation policies as tensions surrounding the conflict spill over onto social media platforms. Meta has faced accusations that it “shadowbanned” Instagram accounts that posted about conditions within Gaza, which it attributed to a “bug.” X, formerly known as Twitter, is dealing with a European Union investigation into its handling of misinformation related to the conflict.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-says-its-removed-millions-of-fake-accounts-since-start-of-israel-hamas-war-231851792.html?src=rss

Source: Engadget – TikTok says it’s removed millions of fake accounts since start of Israel-Hamas war