News Meta Considers Offering Paid Ad-Free Versions of Facebook and Instagram in Europe Macro Strategist: James Sterling Those who opt for the paid subscriptions would experience Facebook and Instagram without advertisements. This move aims to address privacy concerns and regulatory scrutiny from EU authorities.
News Microsoft Is Retiring WordPad After Nearly 30 Years Macro Strategist: James Sterling WordPad, which has been a part of the Windows operating system since Windows 95, allowed users to create and edit formatted documents and often served as a free, built-in alternative to Microsoft Word.
News Google Adds Short Videos to Play Store to Help Users Discover New Apps Macro Strategist: James Sterling By presenting app recommendations through video content, users can gain a deeper understanding of the apps and games available on Google Play, all while being entertained and informed.
News Chrome Browser Adds Quick Video Screenshots Feature Macro Strategist: James Sterling To use this feature, simply open a video on platforms like YouTube using your Chrome browser. Right-click on the video, and you'll now see an option that says "Copy Video Frame." Click on it, and you'll have a clean image in your clipboard.
News Microsoft Unbundles Teams from Office in Europe Amid Regulatory Scrutiny Macro Strategist: James Sterling Starting from October 1, enterprise customers in the European Economic Area will have the option to purchase Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscriptions without Teams at a reduced price.
News Spotify Will Cut Ads on White Noise Podcasts to Focus on Profit Macro Strategist: James Sterling White noise podcasts have been a lucrative niche for some creators, with some reportedly earning as much as $18,000 per month. However, these podcasts tend to have passive listeners who use them for background noise, making the advertising less effective.
News Firefox Introduces a New Built-In Email Masking Tool for Enhanced Privacy Macro Strategist: James Sterling Relay creates a disposable email mask that can be used for site registrations and form submissions. This innovative approach ensures that the user's real email address remains hidden and protected from potential data breaches.
News X (Formerly Twitter) Introduces a Job Listings Feature for Verified Organizations Macro Strategist: James Sterling Although Twitter hasn't yet officially announced this feature, some verified companies have already taken advantage of it, adding job listings beneath their bios. Interested applicants are directed to the respective company's website.
News Meta Unveils a Multilingual AI Model for Seamless Translation and Transcription Macro Strategist: James Sterling By merging speech and text translation in a single system, SeamlessM4T improves translation efficiency, accuracy, and quality. Released under a research license, this model empowers AI researchers and translators.
News YouTube Is Testing a Hum-to-Search Feature for Song Identification Macro Strategist: James Sterling Although this feature is currently limited to a small number of Android users, its potential widespread implementation could revolutionize how people search for music and interact with the platform.
News Google Will Ask Users to Verify Suspicious Actions on Gmail to Enhance Security Macro Strategist: James Sterling If the system detects potentially suspicious activity, it will require additional identity verification, such as entering a code from an SMS or secondary email. If verification fails, a notification requesting confirmation will be sent to trusted devices.
News Meta Unveils Its Own AI Tool for Coding Called Code Llama Macro Strategist: James Sterling Code Llama comes in three variations: the foundational Code Llama model, Code Llama-Python specialized for Python, and Code Llama-Instruct fine-tuned for comprehending natural language instructions.
News Threads' Daily Active User Base Declined Significantly Since Launch Macro Strategist: James Sterling Despite its promising start, Threads seems to be grappling with user engagement, especially when it lacks certain features that Twitter users find valuable, like desktop functionality and the capability to search for topics.
News Google Chrome Introduces AI-Powered Summaries for Web Articles Macro Strategist: James Sterling Users will be able to access AI-generated key points from an article by tapping on an icon located at the bottom of the screen. This feature is designed to work exclusively with freely available web articles, excluding paywalled content.
News Stability AI Unveils ChatGPT Rival Called Stable Chat Macro Strategist: James Sterling Currently in its testing phase, Stable Chat is built on the foundation of the recently released Stable Beluga model. While the service is open for testing, registration or signing in through a Google account is required.
News Stability AI Announces the Release of Its Code-Generating LLM StableCode Macro Strategist: James Sterling StableCode is a generative AI tool that assists programmers in coding while also serving as a learning aid for aspiring developers. With three models catering to different coding scenarios, StableCode aims to enhance both efficiency and expertise.
News Startup Minimis Introduces Smart Glasses That Can Display Stats and Maps Macro Strategist: James Sterling These glasses, enabled with eSIM support, offer information about ongoing workouts and assist with real-time navigation. Moreover, users can sync Minimis Glass with wireless headphones to stream music via Spotify.
News Google Search Now Automatically Blurs Explicit Images Macro Strategist: James Sterling Users retain the flexibility to adjust or deactivate the SafeSearch blur setting in their account configurations, unless the setting has been locked by a guardian or a school network administrator.
News Apple Patent Says That the Company Is Teaching Siri How to Read Lips Macro Strategist: James Sterling The patent application, titled "Keyword Detection Using Motion Sensing," outlines a system where data from motion sensors, like accelerometers and gyroscopes, is used to record a user's mouth, face, head, and neck movements as they speak a command.
News YouTube Is Testing AI-Generated Video Summaries Macro Strategist: James Sterling This test feature, currently limited to specific English-language videos and a selected user base, aims to provide brief overviews of video content without replacing the original human-written descriptions.
News Stability AI Announces Stable Diffusion XL 1.0 Image-Generating Model Macro Strategist: James Sterling The new model promises more vibrant and accurate colors, improved contrast, lighting, and shadows compared to its predecessors. Generating images in 1-megapixel resolution now takes mere seconds.
News Facebook Has over 3 Billion Monthly Active Users Macro Strategist: James Sterling Despite facing a decline in popularity among younger users, Facebook continues to show growth in daily active users, with 2.064 billion people engaging with the platform daily, up from 2.037 billion in the previous quarter.
News OpenAI's Sam Altman Launches Worldcoin Crypto Project Macro Strategist: James Sterling The project includes World ID, a digital identifier for verifying a person's uniqueness, World App, an application for purchases and money transfers using digital assets and fiat currencies, and a Worldcoin (WLD) token.
News Apple Is Reportedly Developing Its Rival to ChatGPT Macro Strategist: James Sterling Although Apple has not yet announced any concrete plans for its chatbot's release to consumers, internal use cases have been identified. Apple's employees are currently using the chatbot for tasks such as prototyping future features, text summarization, etc.
News Apple's First M3-Powered Macs May Launch This Fall Macro Strategist: James Sterling According to renowned insider Mark Gurman, an October event is likely to follow Apple's iPhone 15 series announcement in September, with a focus on new Macs featuring the powerful M3 chip.
