Tumblr launches its interest-focused Communities out of beta

A year after initial tests began, the web blogging site Tumblr, now owned by WordPress.com parent Automattic, is launching its Communities feature out of beta. Communities offer semi-private spaces on Tumblr where people can network around topics of interest, similar to Reddit’s forums known as subreddits or X’s Communities. The …...Read More

ChatGPT now understands real-time video, seven months after OpenAI first demoed it

OpenAI has finally released the real-time video capabilities for ChatGPT that it demoed nearly seven months ago. On Thursday during a livestream, the company said that Advanced Voice Mode, its human-like conversational feature for ChatGPT, is getting vision. Using the ChatGPT app, users subscribed to ChatGPT Plus, Team, or Pro …...Read More

OpenAI 2024 event: How to watch new ChatGPT product reveals and demos

OpenAI is in the holiday spirit, it seems. The ChatGPT series of reveals, called “12 Days of OpenAI,” will be streamed live at 10 a.m. PT each weekday through December 23. So far, we’ve seen the launch of ChatGPT Pro, OpenAI’s $200 per month subscription plan, the full version of …...Read More

Google wraps 'blue links' search test, lobbies for less maximalist application of EU's DMA

Google has ended a test in which it was returning basic “blue link” search results for hotel-related searches in a handful of markets in the European Union, in response to compliance complaints related to the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). These blue links appeared instead of visually richer results, where …...Read More

Microsoft anchors $9B renewable energy coalition

Big tech companies spent several months this year touting their investments in nuclear power. Now, the tide is turning to renewables. Google announced on Tuesday that it was funding $20 billion worth of renewable power projects across the U.S. On Wednesday, it was Microsoft’s turn, helping to launch the Climate …...Read More

Elon Musk's X still struggles to grow subscription revenue

Elon Musk’s plan to reduce X’s dependence on advertising revenue by increasing paid subscriptions is still not taking off. According to a new, third-party analysis of the X Premium subscription service by app intelligence firm Appfigures, X has pulled in approximately $200 million in in-app purchase revenue across iOS and …...Read More

Internal blog post reveals Automattic's plan to enforce the WordPress trademark using 'nice and not nice lawyers'

Matt Mullenweg, the WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO, has been embroiled in a very public and legal fight with WP Engine these last few weeks over the use of WordPress as a trademark, and fees Automattic believes WP Engine owes to the WordPress project – sparring that has resulted in …...Read More

Some Americans are still using Kaspersky's antivirus despite U.S. government ban

At the end of September, Kaspersky forcibly uninstalled and replaced itself with a new antivirus called UltraAV on the computers of around a million Americans, many of whom were surprised and aghast that they were not asked to give their consent for the change. The move was the end result …...Read More

Google adds new features for Pixel along with Android 15 rollout

Google is rolling out Android 15 today to Pixel devices. It is also adding new features through the October Pixel drop, including improved low-light photography on Instagram and support for underwater photography and video. Android 15 has a private space feature that lets you hide and lock apps behind a …...Read More

Instagram’s latest feature is a digital business card for your profile

Instagram is rolling out a new “profile card” feature that is essentially a digital business card for your profile. The official launch comes a few months after the Meta-owned social network was spotted testing the feature with select creators. The new two-sided profile cards are designed to make it easier …...Read More