Democrats’ historic victories in this week’s U.S. midterm elections could also transform the tech industry. The public voted on 41 data center-related ballot measures on Tuesday — in all but one, the majority voted to impose more restrictions on data center development. And even when data centers weren’t on the…
4 things I wish everybody knew about Dolby Vision
There are a few HDR formats available on 4K Blu-ray, and it’s important to know the difference between them. The default option you’ll see on the vast majority of discs is HDR10. If you have a 4K TV, you have HDR10, so there’s not much you have to do here.…
Fox completes its $22B acquisition of Roku
Fox has completed its $22 billion acquisition of Roku, wrapping up one of the biggest media deals in recent years and giving the company a major boost in the streaming and connected TV space. Announced Friday, the deal brings the streaming company founded in 2002 formally under Fox’s ownership. Fox…
After blocking Muse, Amazon now lets users text Alexa to help them shop
Amazon is jumping on the currently most popular bandwagon for interacting with AI agents: texting. The company on Friday said it is launching a feature that lets customers chat with its Alexa AI agent over text messages to help them shop, much like you can with AI agents like Muse…
Underdog shows off a 32MB speech model in new demo
AI companies across the world are racing to make bigger and better models, but the problem is all of them need massive amounts of processing power. On the other end, some researchers and startups are creating smaller models that can run on edge devices, like your phone or computer. One…
I love DVDs and Blu-rays because they solve these streaming and digital download problems
Watching movies and TV shows on DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K discs instead of through streaming services and digital downloads solves many problems. Some of them are relatively obvious. For example, you may understand that a title won’t always be available on a given streaming platform. Similarly, even if you’ve purchased…
Tesla will stop making the Cybertruck in 2027
Tesla will stop making the Cybertruck next year, according to CEO Elon Musk, who said on X that the company will use the factory space to build more two-seater Cybercab robotaxis. The decision to wind down the futuristic, steel-clad EV comes after just a few short years of underwhelming sales.…
Ad-free streaming is unaffordable on purpose and its about to get worse
Price hikes have become a regular fixture in the streaming world, but Disney’s latest round includes a detail that’s a little more interesting than the headline numbers. Ad-free Disney+ Premium now costs $21.49 a month, up from $18.99 since Sept. 23, and the ad-supported version has risen to $12.49. The…
OpenAI president Greg Brockman says company could be IPO ready in 2027
OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman said the company would be ready for an IPO in 2027, noting that its enterprise revenue has been growing. Speaking at a Wall Street Journal tech conference on Wednesday, the executive touted how the company had been gaining ground in the enterprise market, where…
OpenAI released a new cybersecurity model. Is that enough?
Max Justicz, the chief technology officer and co-founder of the startup Charge Robotics, used an OpenAI model to find a severe vulnerability that — if exploited — could allow hackers to take control of servers running Ubuntu, a widely used open source Linux-based operating system. Justicz, who has a hobbyist’s…