We could be getting that Godzilla Apple TV+ show sooner than you’d think. Get another new look at the Kaiju No. 8 anime. Plus, a look at the anime adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s unfinished manga, Phoenix, and what’s coming on Quantum Leap season 2. Spoilers now!
China has widened a ban on the use of iPhones and other imported devices by government officials, according to The Wall Street Journal. State employees were reportedly told in chat groups and meetings not to bring foreign-branded device into the office or use them for work, according to “people familiar with the matter.” The aim is reportedly to reduce reliance on foreign technology and improve cybersecurity.
If you’re experiencing deja vu, it’s because Beijing has previously blacklisted Apple and other foreign products for government departments, most recently in 2019. Back then, the government was planning to phase out western gear over a three year period in favor of local alternatives. The aim at the time was to keep data within its borders and ensure tech was “secure” and “controllable,” all as part of the 2017 China Internet Security Law.
Apple has managed to stay above the fray, likely because Foxconn and other suppliers in the nation employee millions of people. It also has followed China’s laws, removing thousands of illegal apps like VPNs. However, it’s also more vulnerable than other companies. On top of the manufacturing dependence, the country accounts for around 19 percent of Apple’s total revenue.
Following bans by the US against Huawei and other Chinese companies, Beijing followed suit with a similar embargo on chip-maker Micron. The story had a further plot twist earlier this week, when Chinese electronics company Huawei released the Mate 60 Pro smartphone using 7-nanometer homegrown chips found by a teardown to be more advanced than expected. China also unveiled a $40 billion fund for its chip industry, following continued trade sanctions with the US.
Tesla is another US company vulnerable to changes in China’s policies. The nation reportedly accounted for a large chunk of its sales in its first quarter, and it’s the only foreign automaker to gain market share in the first half of 2023. China recently restricted the use of Tesla vehicle by military staff and employees of state-owned companies, according to an earlier WSJ report.
Apple is set to release the iPhone 15 in less than a week, reportedly with thinner bezels, a titanium frame, USB-C charging and more. Apple has not responded to this story, but Engadget has reached out to the company for comment.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/china-intensifies-its-crackdown-on-officials-using-iphones-132419856.html?src=rss
“The truth was, I didn’t want ‘help,’ I wanted a partner who took equal responsibility for our shared life.”
While traditional giants like Northrop Grumman and United Launch Alliance continue to contribute to space exploration with decades of experience, a new wave of ambitious and pioneering companies is rising.
After introducing the generative AI capabilities it was developing for Slack at World Tour NYC earlier this year, Salesforce has revealed as part of its Dreamforce announcements that it’s now gearing up to pilot the new features this winter. Slack AI, as the capabilities are collectively called, is built natively into the platform to make it easy to access. One of its abilities is to instantly generate channel highlights that can immediately tell users the most important part of conversations, which they can then use for reports or to simply read what they might have missed.
Slack AI can also generate summaries for threads in just one click for people who just want to get the gist of specific conversations and not the channel a whole. As shown in the image above, AI-generated summaries don’t just come with highlights, but also lists of what next steps users can take based on concerns, comments and suggestions posted by people in the conversation. In addition, Slack AI can produce elaborate answers when people search for information on the platform. At the moment, searching on Slack can only bring up messages, files and channels with the keyword, but Slack AI can wrap all those information up in a package with a summary that makes them easier to parse.
Salesforce’s latest announcements come nearly a month after it started rolling out a new look for its business-focused messaging app. The redesigned interface is meant to help users focus more by removing clutter that may be distracting to some people. Slack’s new sidebar, for instance, collapses all of a user’s workspaces into a single tile and adds buttons for Home, DMs and Activity, as well as buttons for Search and Create. The dedicated DM tab lists a user’s private chats and allows them to preview the most recent message for each conversation without opening it. Users can also toggle on an option to only see unread messages if they want to get rid of more clutter.
The company is expected to reveal more about Slack AI and other new products at its Dreamforce event, which will take place from September 12 to September 14 and will be available to stream on Salesforce+.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/slack-ai-will-summarize-your-work-chat-starting-this-winter-130046724.html?src=rss
In “The Cottage,” Bundy and playwright Sandy Rustin deliver a “beautiful feminist message” through sexy and hilarious high jinks.
Google has tentatively settled with the alliance of attorneys general that filed a lawsuit in 2021 alleging the search giant abused its dominance on Android app distribution through the Google Play store. Officials claimed Google was leveraging “its monopoly power with Android to unlawfully maintain its monopoly,” saying that 90 percent of all app sales took place through Google Play. Bloomberg reports that the matter has been referred to a judge who, if happy, can confirm the settlement and cancel the pending courtroom battle. It’s a smart move on Google’s part as it has faced a number of antitrust lawsuits over its dominance and power in recent years, with outcomes including a €4.3 billion ($4.6 billion) fine and threats to break up its advertising business.
Not everyone is pleased about the latest deal, with Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney tweeting Epic isn’t included in the settlement. The games developer sued Google in 2020, alleging the latter had made deals with other big games publisher to box out rival app stores. Sweeney is also, as usual, grumbling about other stores asking a cut of each transaction to pay for the running costs of those stores.
Epic’s trial against Google is set for November 6th, but Sweeney tweeted: “If Google is ending its payments monopoly without imposing a Google Tax on third party transactions, we’ll settle and be Google’s friend in their new era. But if the settlement merely pays off the other plaintiffs while leaving the Google Tax in place, we’ll fight on. Consumers only benefit if antitrust enforcement not only opens up markets, but also restores price competition.” The exact amount Google must pay and any necessary changes required have yet to be disclosed, but could be made public at an October 12th hearing.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-tenatively-settles-with-us-antitrust-probe-into-play-store-dominance-101450315.html?src=rss
“We are engaged in a race against time to protect the children of our country from the dangers of AI,” the attorneys general wrote in an open letter to Congress, asking for increased protective measures against AI-enhanced child sexual abuse images.
Using image generators like Dall-E and Midjourney to create child sexual abuse materials isn’t a problem, as the software has guardrails to stop those prompts. However, when open-source versions of the software and similar tools without guardrails or oversight arrive, it could be a major issue. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has stated that AI tools would benefit from government intervention to mitigate their risk.
– Mat Smith
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Disney+ tempts new and returning subscribers with a $2-per-month teaser offer
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor patch promises ‘solid 60 fps’ performance on consoles
Cyberpunk adventure game Stray will be adapted as an animated movie
Facebook’s News tab is going away in the UK, France and Germany
Alone in the Dark reboot delayed to the oh-so-spooky month of January
China plans $40 billion fund for its chip industry
United Airlines issued a nationwide ground stop because of a “computer issue.” “United Airlines asked the FAA to pause the airline’s departures nationwide,” the Federal Aviation Administration told Engadget. United said a software update “caused a widespread slowdown” in its technology systems, but airborne flights still carried on to their destinations during the pause.
United had a similar issue in the UK just last week. An air traffic control glitch led to the cancellation of a fifth of UK departures and 27 percent of flights due to arrive the day of the issue.
Android 14 is fast approaching. But before Google releases the next big version of the mobile operating system alongside its latest Pixel devices, the company has revealed a refreshed Android logo. Yeah, it hasn’t exactly reinvented the wheel, or the droid, as it were. Android consumer brand management director Jason Fournier said the company wanted the bugdroid to “appear as dynamic as Android itself.” Sounds like a self-burn The plan is to ensure the bugdroid looks consistent across digital and real-world environments.
There’s also a useful-sounding accessibility feature coming to Android soon. It’s called Image Q&A on Lookout. You’ll be able to use voice commands or type questions to find out more details about AI-generated audio descriptions of visual content. A new widget called Assistant At a Glance is also inbound, to bring weather alerts, event reminders and travel updates.
Since smartphones obliterated the casual photography market, camera manufacturers are focusing on building models designed for very specific uses. Mirrorless cameras continue to improve in autofocus, video and more, while lens ranges expand yearly. Action cams provide sharp, fluid video, compact cameras target both tourists and vloggers and DSLRs are available at some of the best prices we’ve seen. If you’re considering a camera upgrade, this is a particularly good time to do so. Engadget’s Steve Dent walks you through the options.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-50-attorneys-general-urge-congress-to-fight-ai-generated-child-sexual-abuse-images-111525174.html?src=rss
Duolingo is best known for its language learning app, but it recently branched into teaching math and will soon offer music learning, the company announced. Through a series of “hundreds of bite-sized lessons,” users will be able to learn notes and how to play tunes from a library of over 200+ songs. Using the app’s gamified learning experience, the Music course “teaches you to read and play music anytime, through interactive lessons,” according to Duolingo.
“We know math and music, much like language, transcend cultures and connect people,” Duolingo cofounder and CTO Severin Hacker. “Soon you will be able to learn math and music in the same Duolingo app — all with the same fun, engaging, and effective experience you know from learning languages with us.”
Several screenshots show musical notation paired with piano keys (above), along with games like “fill in the blanks” and “match the pairs.” The app will appear alongside languages and math at the top of the main Duolingo screen. The math app is already available for iOS, with levels ranging from elementary to more advanced, all using interactive, gamified lessons.
A job posting spotted earlier this year provided hints that the company was working on a music app. Duolingo didn’t give many details other than a few screenshots, but did say that “the course is free, fun and effective. It plans to reveal the app fully at its Duocon conference on October 11th.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/duolingo-will-soon-offer-gamified-music-lessons-120010824.html?src=rss
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