Apple apologized on Thursday for a new iPad Pro commercial that featured several creative objects—including a piano, video cameras, and cans of paint—being destroyed by an industrial crusher, telling Ad Age that it “missed the mark.” The ad was met with fierce backlash from people who thought Apple’s ad was at odds…
io9 is proud to present fiction from LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE. Once a month, we feature a story from LIGHTSPEED’s current issue. This month’s selection is “We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” by Caroline M. Yoachim.
Just in case there was any doubt about how Jack Dorsey really feels about Bluesky, the former Twitter CEO has offered new details on why he left the board and deleted his account on the service he helped kickstart. In a characteristically bizarre interview with Mike Solana of Founders Fund, Dorsey had plenty of criticism for Bluesky.
In the interview, Dorsey claimed that Bluesky was “literally repeating all the mistakes” he made while running Twitter. The entire conversation is long and a bit rambly, but Dorsey’s complaints seem to boil down to two issues:
He never intended Bluesky to be an independent company with its own board and stock and other vestiges of a corporate entity (Bluesky spun out of Twitter as a public benefit corporation in 2022.) Instead, his plan was for Twitter to be the first client to take advantage of the open source protocol. Bluesky created.
The fact that Blueksy has some form of content moderation and has occasionally banned users for things like using racial slurs in their usernames.
“People started seeing Bluesky as something to run to, away from Twitter,” Dorsey said. “It’s the thing that’s not Twitter, and therefore it’s great. And Bluesky saw this exodus of people from Twitter show up, and it was a very, very common crowd. … But little by little, they started asking Jay and the team for moderation tools, and to kick people off. And unfortunately they followed through with it. That was the second moment I thought, uh, nope. This is literally repeating all the mistakes we made as a company.”
Dorsey also confirmed that he is financially backing Nostr, another decentralized Twitter-like service popular among some crypto enthusiasts and run by an anonymous founder. “I know it’s early, and Nostr is weird and hard to use, but if you truly believe in censorship resistance and free speech, you have to use the technologies that actually enable that, and defend your rights,” Dorsey said.
A lot of this isn’t particularly surprising. If you’ve followed Dorsey’s public comments over the last couple years, he’s repeatedly said that Twitter’s “original sin” was being a company that would be beholden to advertisers and other corporate interests. It’s why he backed Elon Musk’s takeover of the company. (Not coincidentally, Dorsey still has about $1 billion of his personal wealth invested in the company now known as X.) He’s also been very clear that he made many of Twitter’s most consequential moderation decisions reluctantly.
Unsurprisingly, Dorsey’s comments weren’t well-received on Bluesky. In a lengthy thread, Bluesky’s protocol engineer Paul Frazee said that Twitter was supposed to to be the AT Protocol’s “first client” but that “Elon killed that straight dead” after he took over the company. “That entire company was frozen by the prolonged acquisition, and the agreement quickly ended when Elon took over,” Frazee said. “It was never going to happen. Also: unmoderated spaces are a ridiculous idea. We created a shared network for competing moderated spaces to exist. Even if somebody wanted to make an unmoderated ATProto app, I guess they could? Good luck with the app stores and regulators and users, I guess.”
While Dorsey was careful not to criticize Musk directly, he was slightly less enthusiastic than when he said that Musk would be the one to “extend the light of consciousness” by taking over Twitter. Dorsey noted that, while he used to fight government requests to take down accounts, Musk takes “the other path” and generally complies. “Elon will fight in the way he fights, and I appreciate that, but he could certainly be compromised,” Dorsey said.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/jack-dorsey-claims-bluesky-is-repeating-all-the-mistakes-he-made-at-twitter-234326121.html?src=rss
Motorola just introduced the latest iteration of its midrange stylus phone, the Moto G Stylus 5G, with significant enhancements and a refreshed design. Priced at $399, this model brings new features including wireless charging, an upgraded screen, and retains classic elements like a headphone jack and microSD card slot.
The device sports a sizable 6.7-inch 1080p display, with an improved refresh rate of up to 120Hz compared to its predecessor’s 6.6-inch LCD screen. Powering it is a robust 5,000mAh battery, supporting both 30W fast wired charging and 15W wireless charging. While it retains the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset from the previous model, it now offers 8 GB of RAM, an increase from the previous 6 GB.
Enhancements extend to the stylus functionality, with Motorola implementing a larger contact area and software updates to enhance user experience and reduce latency. The camera setup sees improvements, with a 50MP main sensor with optical image stabilization, an updated 13MP ultrawide lens, and a 32MP selfie camera utilizing pixel binning for improved low-light photography.
Design-wise, the Moto G Stylus 5G undergoes a notable transformation, abandoning its previous design for a more visually appealing look. The back panel features a soft-touch vegan leather finish, available in two color options: caramel latte and scarlet wave:
| Specs | Details |
|---|---|
| Display Size | 6.7” FHD+ (2400 × 1080), 395ppi, 120Hz |
| Processor | Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 chipset |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Memory | 256 GB built-in l up to 2 TB microSD |
| Cameras | Main: 50MP with OIS Ultrawide: 13MP Selfie: 32MP |
| Battery | 5,000m Ah |
| OS | Android 14 |
| Dimensions | 162.56 × 74.752 × 8.295 mm |
| Weight | 190g |
| Price | $399 |
The Moto G Stylus 5G is set for commercial release on May 30th, offering an unlocked option for consumers at a competitive price point.
Upgraded Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G Unveiled With Wireless Charging And More
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io9 is proud to present fiction from LIGHTSPEED MAGAZINE. Once a month, we feature a story from LIGHTSPEED’s current issue. This month’s selection is “We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” by Caroline M. Yoachim.
It’s that time of year again. Google’s annual I/O keynote is upon us. This event is likely to be packed with updates and announcements. We’ll be covering all of the news as it happens and you can stream the full event below. The keynote starts at 1PM ET on May 14 and streams are available via YouTube and the company’s hub page.
In terms of what to expect, the rumor mill has been working overtime. There are multiple reports that the event will largely focus on the Android 15 mobile operating system, which seems like a given since I/O is primarily an event for developers and the beta version is already out in the wild.
So let’s talk about the Android 15 beta and what to expect from the full release. The beta includes an updated Privacy Sandbox feature, partial screen sharing to record a certain app or window instead of the whole screen and system-level app archiving to free up space. There’s also improved satellite connectivity, additional in-app camera controls and a new power efficiency mode.
Despite the beta already existing, it’s highly probable that Google will drop some surprise Android 15 announcements. The company has confirmed that satellite messaging is coming to Android, so maybe that’ll be part of this event. Rumors also suggest that Android 15 will boast a redesigned status bar and an easier way to monitor battery health.
Android 15 won’t be the only thing Google discusses during the event. There’s a little acronym called AI you may have heard about and the company has gone all in. It’s a good bet that Google will spend a fair amount of time announcing updates for its Gemini AI, which could eventually replace Assistant entirely.
Back in December, it was reported that Google was working on an AI assistant called Pixie as an exclusive feature for Pixel devices. The branding is certainly on point. We could hear more about that, as it may debut in the Pixel 9 later this year.
Google’s most popular products could also get AI-focused redesigns, including Search, Chrome, G Suite and Maps. We might get an update as to what the company plans on doing about third-party cookies and maybe it’ll throw some AI at that problem too.
What not to expect? Don’t get your hopes up for a Pixel 9 or refreshed Pixel Fold for this event, as I/O is more for software than hardware. We’ll likely get details on those releases in the fall. However, rules were made to be broken. Last year, we got a Pixel Fold announcement at I/O, so maybe the line between hardware and software is blurring. We’ll find out soon.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-watch-googles-io-2024-keynote-160010787.html?src=rss
Universal Pictures’ latest horror release Abigail is now available to watch on-demand at home, for those who missed it in theaters or wanted to wait for a scary movie night in. The kidnapped vampire ballerina romp directed by Radio Silence filmmakers Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin is a bloody bonkers ride…
After some recent casting announcements that came with no details attached (Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich), Marvel’s Phase Six entry Fantastic Four—which already has Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the main heroes, plus Julia Garner as Silver Surfer—has just unveiled a doozy: g…
Dead by Daylight‘s next chapter isn’t too far away and it’s another crossover rather than an original creation. Behaviour Interactive likes to keep fans on their toes with some unexpected partnerships and the latest one is no exception. This time around, Dungeons and Dragons is entering the fog. It’s a bit of a surprising turn as D&D isn’t normally associated with horror, but there’s enough connective tissue for it to make sense.
Behaviour revealed the crossover in a short teaser trailer with no further details about what to expect. It remains to be seen what the chapter will bring in terms of a killer, survivor and/or map. But you won’t have to wait too long to find out.
Listen closely to the voice in the darkness… pic.twitter.com/krNbZQnanH
— Dead by Daylight (@DeadbyDaylight) May 9, 2024
The Dead by Daylight anniversary stream will take place on May 14, starting at 11AM ET (for what it’s worth, a new player test build will go live that day). You can tune in to find out more details about the Dungeons and Dragons chapter as well as what’s ahead for Dead by Daylight as a whole in the coming months. Perhaps we’ll find out a bit more about the spinoff games that are in the works. And given Behaviour’s track record, it may just have some other surprises in store…
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/dungeons-and-dragons-is-coming-to-dead-by-daylight-161537165.html?src=rss
The sonic background of Star Wars is almost unmatched for legendary, immediately recognizable callouts. The snap-hiss of an igniting lightsaber. The penetrating wail of a TIE Fighter shrieking into view, the alien cacophony of Mos Eisley cantina. The prequels added to this catalogue massively, from the quivering bass…
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