On October 9, 2022, a gamma ray burst brighter than any before seen swept across Earth and space-based detectors. A team scrambled to take follow-up observations at radio wavelengths, and they confirmed that the burst was about 70 times brighter than anything recorded previously.
The return of Pixar shorts is something we’ve been waiting for, and Carl’s Date is a fitting choice—not least of all because it’s a wonderful homage to the late, great Ed Asner, the voice of Up’s Carl Fredricksen.
We now know why Twitter’s algorithm seems to recommend some users’ tweets so often. Newsletter Platformer reports that the company has a secret VIP list of a few dozen accounts “it monitors and offers increased visibility” in its recommendation algorithm. The accounts include Elon Musk, as well as a handful of other prominent Twitter users.
The revelation comes as Musk has repeatedlypromised to make Twitter’s recommendation algorithms open source. He also recently stated that soon only paid subscribers to Twitter Blue would be eligible to have their tweets displayed in the algorithmic “For You” feed. It’s not clear if that change would also affect the VIP list of users who regularly get a boost in the feed. Some of the accounts on the list, like President Joe Biden and YouTuber Mr Beast, are currently verified but don’t pay for Twitter Blue. Twitter no longer has a communications team to respond to questions.
According to Platformer, the VIP list was “originally created to monitor the engagement received by Twitter power users” as the company has tried to allay suspicions that its “shadowbans” certain users to reduce their visibility on the platform. “Our ‘algorithm’ is overly complex & not fully understood internally,” Musk recently tweeted.
But the list, which reportedly is only 35 accounts in addition to Musk, is also telling about who Musk believes should benefit from Twitter’s algorithm. Platformer didn’t publish the entire list, which includes LeBron James, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, venture capitalist Marc Andreesen, Tesla fan account @teslaownerssv and conservative personality Ben Shapiro. It also includes @catturd2, an account recently described by Rolling Stone as the “Sh-tposting King of MAGA Twitter.”
It’s also not the first time that a report has surfaced about how Musk has tweaked Twitter’s algorithm to boost his own tweets. Last month, Musk said the company was fixing an issue that caused users’ For You feeds to be overwhelmed with dozens of Musk tweets. Platformer later reported that Twitter employees had changed its algorithm to favor Musk after the CEO was mad that his Super Bowl tweet didn’t receive as much engagement as Biden’s. Musk reportedly fired an engineer who suggested the lack of engagement was due to declining interest in his tweets.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/twitters-secret-vip-list-is-the-reason-you-see-elon-musks-tweets-so-often-181735784.html?src=rss
“She really fought for this role and earned it through and through,” director A.V. Rockwell says of Taylor’s first starring role in a feature film.
A few months after a Russian crew capsule sprung a leak while docked to the International Space Station, the MS-22 returned to Earth carrying cargo but with no crew on board.
Fans of the Child’s Play movies will want to seek out new documentary Living With Chucky—an affectionate portrait of the cult-beloved horror franchise that features interviews with most of its major players, including creator Don Mancini. The movie itself is a bit uneven, but the love it has for its source material…
It took nearly a year, but Apple’s pay-over-time system is here. The company has launched Apple Pay Later for US customers in a “prerelease” version that requires an invitation. If you’re included, you can split your online Apple Pay purchases (made with an iPhone or iPad) into as many as four payments spread over six weeks. You can’t apply for loans larger than $1,000 and have to link a debit card, but there are no fees or interest payments. This also won’t hurt your credit score, and Apple says it won’t share data with third-party marketers.
Apple Pay Later is part of the Wallet app in iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4, and includes a calendar to help you track your next instalment. You’ll also get app-based and email notifications for looming payments to be sure you’re on time.
The feature should reach every eligible user in the “coming months,” Apple says. Businesses that use Apple Pay don’t need to do anything on their end due to a Mastercard partnership — if you can use Pay Later, you’ll see the option during checkout either on the web or in apps. Apple will report Pay Later loans to American credit bureaus starting in the fall, and hopes they’ll “promote responsible lending” for both borrowers and lenders.
Apple first previewed Pay Later at WWDC 2022, and was rumored to be working on the option in 2021. It was supposed to arrive alongside iOS 16 in September, but Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman heard that it was pushed back due to technical challenges. The company hasn’t officially explained the wait.
Staggered payment systems aren’t new, of course. Companies like Affirm and Klarna have been operating for a while, and they aren’t tied to specific platforms. However, Pay Later represents a significant expansion of Apple’s financial ambitions. It already offers a credit card (managed by Goldman Sachs) and money transfers, and plans to provide savings accounts. Now, the company is making lending decisions. While Apple is still far from a bank, it can easily play a large role in your financial life.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-pay-later-is-finally-available-in-the-us-but-only-with-an-invite-161503288.html?src=rss
The football officials’ bizarre interaction made a splash on social media.
The Smartflower solar energy system is a sculptural array of solar panels in the form of a flower that follows the sun throughout the day. Due to the system’s movement, it’s able to collect as much as 40% more energy than a comparably sized static solar panel. Plus, it looks way more like a flower.
The solar petals tilt and turn to ensure maximum efficiency at all times, and the system can be coupled with a smartphone app to track its energy generation. In high winds, the flower will close, and when closed, the flower uses brushes to sweep its panels clean to ensure debris doesn’t hinder its performance. Impressive!
The Smartflower is available in three different models: the standard, the Plus, which includes a battery, and a model specifically designed for charging EV vehicles. Awesome, now I just need to get an electric vehicle with a custom license plate that reads ‘RNSONSN,’ and maybe Captain Planet will finally come and give me a pat on the back.
[via DudeIWantThat]
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