As Apple is set to roll out a major iOS update today, which makes digital distractions available on the iPhone’s lock screen without even having to unlock the device, Astrohaus’ distraction-free digital typewriters seem like even more of a must-have for those who write for a living. The latest model, the Alpha,…
Kia’s 2023 Sportage Hybrid may look like just another striking crossover, but its electrified drivetrain has a secret weapon to save you money at the pump.
Chick-fil-A is the ultimate morality test for millennials and Gen Z. While their waffles fries are easily the best fast food fries in existence and their chicken sandwiches are second to none, the company does orchestrate a well known financial relationship with anti-LGBTQ+ groups. With this elephant in the room, some…
In 2016, Meta (then but a simple country Facebook) launched its open-source AI research library, the Pytorch framework. Six years and 150,000 projects from 2,400 contributors later, Meta announced on Monday that the Pytorch project will soon spin out from the company’s direct control to become its own entity, the Pytorch Foundation, a subsidiary within the larger Linux Foundation nonprofit hegemony.
Over the last half decade, Pytorch has grown to become a leading standard for the AI research community with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg noting in Monday’s press release that some 80 percent of “researchers who submit their work at major ML conferences, such as NeurIPS or ICML, harness the framework.”
“We have built libraries that support some of the principal domains of the AI field, such as torchvision, which powers most of the world’s modern computer vision research,” Zuckerberg continued. “The framework will continue to be a part of Meta’s AI research and engineering work.”
But Pytorch isn’t just Meta’s baby, it serves as a technological underpinning to much of Amazon’s Web Services work as well as Microsoft Azure and OpenAI. As such, the Pytorch Foundation, “will boast a wide-ranging governing board composed of representatives from AMD, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Meta, Microsoft Azure, and Nvidia, with the intention to expand further over time.” And to ensure that the fledgling foundation does not lose sight of the values that it embodies, the new organization will adhere to four principles of “remaining open, maintaining neutral branding, staying fair, and forging a strong technical identity.” Apparently “don’t be evil” was already taken.
Despite being freed of direct oversight, Meta intends to continue employing Pytorch as its primary AI research platform and financially support it accordingly. Zuckerberg did note however, that the company plans to maintain “a clear separation between the business and technical governance” of the foundation.
Roku is expanding its lineup of wireless speakers with a new, more affordable subwoofer. The Roku Wireless Bass, which costs $130, is $50 less than the Roku Wireless Bass Pro. It has one 5.25-inch subwoofer, compared with the Pro’s 10-inch subwoofer, and is front-firing instead of downward-firing. The Wireless Bass has less oomph as well, with 120W of peak power against the Wireless Bass Pro’s 250W.
Still, Roku says the speaker will deliver “deep, dynamic bass” and “rich depth” to movie, TV and music playback. It has a slim design and it can be positioned anywhere within 30 feet of your TV. You’ll need to pair it with a Roku Streambar, Streambar Pro, Smart Soundbar or Roku TV with Wireless Speakers. It’s available for pre-order as a standalone item or as part of a $250 bundle with the Roku Streambar. It will ship on November 7th.
Roku also revealed a new version of its entry-level streaming media player, Roku Express. The latest model comes with dual-band WiFi, which will likely improve streaming performance. The $30 device streams video in 1080p quality, so you’ll need to consider other models if you want to watch TV and movies in 4K. The Roku Express also comes with the company’s simple remote, which doesn’t have a headphone jack. The new Roku Express is up for pre-order and will ship on October 13th.
Meanwhile, Roku previewed the next version of its operating system, which introduces more content discovery features and will roll out to compatible devices in the coming months. Roku OS 11.5 will add a new feature called The Buzz to the home screen. There, you’ll find posts with trailers, interviews and clips from various streaming channels. You can follow channels to keep up to date with news, save content promoted in the posts to watch later or start streaming the show or movie right away.
A Continue Watching feature (found on the What to Watch screen) should make it easier for you to resume something you didn’t finish on Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount+, The Roku Channel and other supported apps. Also on the What to Watch menu and the Roku mobile app, you’ll find a Save List. You’ll be able to save movies and shows to watch later from various apps and access them all from the Save List.
Elsewhere, Roku will bring its private listening mode to the latest Roku Ultra, Roku Streambar and Roku Streambar Pro. You’ll be able to connect Bluetooth headphones to these streaming players directly. Until now, private listening has only been available through the Roku mobile app and by connecting headphones to the company’s higher-end remotes, so this should simplify things a bit. Among other updates, Roku OS 11.5 will rebrand the channel store as The Roku Store and introduce categories to the live TV guide.
“I’m just not going to leave,” he reportedly told one aide in the days after his 2020 defeat, according to a new book by journalist Maggie Haberman.
David Harbour teases a new look for Red Guardian in Thunderbolts. There’s bad news for Amazon’s Paper Girls. Plus, Susan Sarandon talks Blue Beetle, what’s coming on Primal, and a new look at Mike Flanagan’s The Midnight Club. To me, my spoilers!
As the maxim goes: If at first you don’t succeed, try again. And again. Elon Musk made a third attempt to back out of his messy, ongoing $44 billion acquisition of Twitter on Friday. The company turned around and denied the claim on Monday.
This is not a drill (or a tweet from a phony Nintendo account). Nintendo has at long last revealed when its next showcase takes place. It has set a Nintendo Direct for September 13th at 10AM ET. You can watch it on Nintendo’s YouTube channel or below.
Expect around 40 minutes of announcements, updates and trailers this time around, with a focus on games coming to Nintendo Switch this winter. Expect the likes of Bayonetta 3 to feature. Fingers crossed for more details on the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as well, including the actual name of the game and a firm release date.
There will surely be a bunch of surprises. It’s always fun when Nintendo announces a game at a Direct and releases it on the Switch eShop on the same day. Here’s hoping Vampire Survivors is one of them. Maybe the Advance Wars remake will get a new release date too.
This marks the second full-fledged Nintendo Direct of the year. There have been several more narrowly focused Nintendo events in recent months, including an Indie World Showcase in May, followed by Directs focused on Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Splatoon 3 and third-party games.
“When I was searching for encouragement and answers, I found so much doom and gloom.”
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