2025-04-01
Sam Altman says that OpenAI’s capacity issues will cause product delays
In a series of posts on X on Monday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the popularity of the company’s new image-generation tool in ChatGPT will cause unspecified product delays. “We are getting things under control, but you should expect new releases from OpenAI to be delayed, stuff to break, and for service to sometimes […]
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Roblox partners with Google on ads
Google on Tuesday announced a new partnership with gaming company Roblox, which will allow advertisers to purchase and scale Roblox’s Rewarded Video and other immersive ad formats. That means marketers who want to reach the younger Gen Z audience that dominates the platform will be able to use Google Ad Manager to place their video […]
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NaNoWriMo shut down after AI, content moderation scandals
NaNoWriMo, a twenty-five-year-old online writing community-turned-nonprofit, announced on Monday evening that it is shutting down. NaNoWriMo — an abbreviation of National Novel Writing Month — is an annual challenge for writers to complete a rough draft of a novel during the month of November. After starting as a Yahoo! mailing list in 1999, the project […]
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Qualcomm acquires generative AI division of Vietnamese startup VinAI
Qualcomm has acquired the generative AI division of VinAI, an AI research company headquartered in Hanoi, for an undisclosed amount, the companies announced on Monday. The move marks Qualcomm’s continued expansion into the AI tooling sector. VinAI, which was founded by former DeepMind research scientist Hung Bui, develops a range of generative AI technologies, including […]
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The Beagle is a new long-range drone with more than one application
When there are damages to energy infrastructure, such as electricity pylons or gas pipelines, expensive helicopters are frequently used to inspect them. Drones have begun to replace some of those inspections, but the flight-time for these can be limited. Now a new company has produced a drone with a very long range to fill this […]
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The Sonos Arc is down to a new all-time low price
If you want to create a cinematic experience at home, then chances are that your TV’s built-in speakers just won’t cut it. Instead, it may be worth investing in a top-notch soundbar like the Sonos Arc, especially now that the Arc has dropped to an all-time low price of $599 ($300 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and directly from Sonos. The all-in-one home theater soundbar delivers powerful audio, with eight woofers, three tweeters, and a pair of upward-firing Dolby Atmos speakers that fill the room with sound. The Arc also features eARC support, allowing it to work especially well...
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Tinder’s new AI-powered game assesses your flirting skills
You know the online dating scene is bad when dating giants like Tinder are now introducing AI personas for users to flirt with. On Tuesday, the company announced a new game powered by OpenAI, allowing users to interact with an AI bot to practice flirting, reenact meet-cute scenarios, and receive scores with suggestions for improving […]
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Searching for the perfect minimalist smartphone
Smartphones are great. They’re also… a lot. The idea of a more balanced device, one that gives you all of the most important and useful features of a smartphone but keeps you out of the infinite-doomscrolling loops, has been an enticing one for a long time. Nailing that balance, though, turns out to be almost impossible.On this episode of The Vergecast, we try and get it right. The Verge’s Allison Johnson joins the show to talk about the new Light Phone III, and then we run through a list of a few dozen things your phone can do and we...
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April Fools’ 2025: Dbrand’s new skins let you ‘touch grass’ without the hassle of going outside
Dbrand’s Touch Grass collection is available for over 100 devices. | Image: DbrandDbrand wants you to feel less guilty about having your face buried in a screen all day and not getting outside to ‘touch grass.’ The company’s latest collection of skins lets you wrap your gadgets in bright green artificial turf so you can touch grass whenever you want and no matter where you are.The Touch Grass collection is available now through Dbrand’s website for more than 100 different devices with pricing similar to its other premium skins: $29.95 for smartphones, $49.95 for tablets, and $69.95...
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Substack says it’ll legally defend writers ‘targeted by the government’
Substack plans to protect foreign writers “residing lawfully” in the US who may be targeted by the government for what they write. The company is partnering with the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) to provide legal support to impacted writers — whether they publish on Substack or not — citing recent attacks on free speech.In their announcement, Substack and FIRE mention the international Tufts University student who was arrested by federal agents last week. Her legal team links her arrest to an opinion piece she co-wrote for the school’s newspaper last...
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Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse swings into theaters in 2027
Though Sony’s initial plans to release Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse in 2024 didn’t quite work out, the film finally has a new premiere date that seems like it will stick.Last night at this year’s CinemaCon expo, Sony announced that it now intends for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse to hit theaters a little over two years from now on June 4th, 2027, according to Variety. Along with the new date and a trailer screened for CinemaCon attendees, Sony released a handful of new images from the film featuring Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), Miles G. Morales (Jharrel Jerome), and Gwen...
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April Fools’ Day 2025: the best and cringiest pranks
Welcome to the worst day on the internet! As Chaim Gartenberg pointed out years ago, brands and a holiday dedicated to hoaxes are rarely a winning combo. If you’re a company with any kind of social media presence in 2025, you really, truly only have four options on April Fools’ Day:Don’t do an April Fools’ joke. Put the time and energy into doing something productive that will materially benefit the world (or, less idealistically, your business) instead. Or just don’t do anything. Abstaining entirely would still be a net positive over the drain of resources and mental energy.Do...
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