Tech News Feed
Health Firm 'Grail' Wrongly Told Hundreds of People They Might Have Cancer
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Samsung to Host Galaxy Unpacked Event in Seoul for First Time - CNET
Healthcare Org With Over 100 Clinics Uses OpenAI's GPT-4 To Write Medical Records
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Apple Makes Developer Betas Free To Download and Install
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
SEC Asks For Emergency Order To Freeze Binance US Assets Anywhere In the World
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
OpenAI CEO Has No IPO Plan Due To 'Strange' Company Structure
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Apple's New iOS 17 Will Warn You If Someone Tries To Send Unsolicited Nudes
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Microsoft To Pay $20 Million Settlement For Illegally Collecting Children's Personal Data
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Engadget Podcast: Trying out Apple's Vision Pro headset
We’ve survived day one of Apple’s WWDC 2023, and we’re ready to talk about the company’s new Vision Pro mixed reality headset. In this bonus episode, Cherlynn and Devindra dive into their thoughts on Apple’s spatial computing play, as well as Devindra’s 30-minute hands on session with the headset. It’s undoubtedly the best AR/VR experience we’ve seen yet, but there are still plenty of issues Apple needs to solve.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
Subscribe!Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien
Redditor Creates Working Anime QR Codes Using Stable Diffusion
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Apple’s developer betas are now free to download and install
Today, Apple updated its developer program to allow anyone access to the beta operating systems. Pointed out by user iSoftware Updates on Twitter and confirmed by Apple’s developer program comparison page, OS beta releases can be installed without needing to pay the annual $99 fee for the Apple Developer Program. This means that eager users will be able to install the various betas starting today, including iOS 17, for free versus having to wait until July for the public beta.
Earlier today, Apple "accidentally" released the iOS 17 beta to the public, allowing those who weren’t part of the developer program access. This may have been an intentional move by Apple to prepare for the bigger change, allowing anyone access to the beta program.
Earlier this year, Apple made a change to how it distributes betas to developers. Previously, developers had to download and install a configuration profile on a per-device basis. But the system now allows users to install betas by simply checking an option within the software update settings directly on their devices. Despite the change, Apple still required you to pay $99 per year in order to gain access to the developer betas. Now, users that don’t want to pay the fee won’t have to wait for the public beta, which was always available for free but typically is released later than developer betas. This year, Apple says the public betas should arrive in July.
We highly discourage running betas on your main devices as there can be bugs and issues, especially early on in the cycle. These betas are intended for developers, who typically have secondary devices to test their applications against the new software. Certain betas, such as watchOS 10, tvOS 17, HomePod 17, and AirPods betas prevent you from rolling back to public, stable software. For those platforms, as soon as you install the beta, you’ll be stuck on it until the next public release comes out, which is typically available later in the fall. Definitely install these betas at your own risk. But those who aren’t risk-averse can download these now.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-developer-betas-are-now-free-to-download-and-install-213626729.html?src=rssReddit Laying Off Employees and Slowing Hiring Amid Restructuring
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
First Steps Agreed on Plastics Treaty After Breakthrough at Paris Talks
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Apple bought the AR company behind the tech in Nintendo’s ‘Mario Kart’ ride
Apple has reportedly bought AR startup Mira. The Los Angeles-based company makes the AR headsets for Super Nintendo World’s Mario Kart ride and has contracts with the US Air Force and Navy. You may also remember the Mira Prism, the company’s smartphone-based AR headset that Engadget tried in 2017. Of course, Apple finally revealed its long-rumored AR headset, the Vision Pro, at its WWDC 2023 keynote on Monday.
The Vergereports that the acquisition was verified through posts on the private Instagram account of Mira CEO Ben Taft and that Apple also confirmed it. It isn’t yet clear what Apple paid for the startup — or what its plans are with the company. (Talent and patents are logical candidates following the Vision Pro announcement.) The Verge also reports that Apple has brought at least 11 of Mira’s employees into the fold and that former design chief Jony Ive once advised the startup.
Mira’s Air Force contract reportedly involves supplying the company’s Prism Pro headset for pilots at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California, allowing them to display augmented equipment instructions. Meanwhile, the AR device built for Nintendo World portrays virtual characters and animations from the game to make the ride feel like you’re inside the classic racing title.
In his 2017 hands-on with the Mira Prism, Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar found the phone-based device to be surprisingly immersive for its price (relative to that era). “Even though I only had a few minutes with the Prism, I was impressed with what I saw,” he said. “I’m used to trying on headsets that are too expensive for most people to buy, so it was a bit of a shock that it worked at all.” Fast-forwarding to this week, Hardawar describes the Apple Vision Pro as “the best mixed reality (VR/AR) experience I’ve had yet, delivering an unparalleled sense of immersion” while holding out reservations. “And yet, it’s still just a VR headset, with many of the issues endemic to the entire category.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-bought-the-ar-company-behind-the-tech-in-nintendos-mario-kart-ride-203228366.html?src=rssInstagram may roll out its own AI chatbot in the near future
We're seeing artificial intelligence chatbots pop up all overthe place, and soon enough you may very well have access to one in Instagram, too. Reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi claims the platform has an AI agent in the pipeline. According to screenshots he shared (as spotted by ZDNet), the chatbot will be able to answer questions and give advice. You may have as many as 30 personalities to choose from too.
The chatbot could give those who find it difficult to write messages some help. It also seems you'll be able to bring the chatbot into a conversation you're having with someone by @-mentioning it.
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) June 5, 2023It's too early to say exactly when or even if Instagram will roll out this feature, but there's no smoke without fire. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in February that the company had a team working on "AI personas" for Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. Paluzzi has a good track record, too. He spotted evidence of a paid verification system in Instagram only a couple of weeks before Meta announced it.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/instagram-may-roll-out-its-own-ai-chatbot-in-the-near-future-200631539.html?src=rssExcel Spreadsheet Error Leads Austrian Party To Announce Wrong Leader
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Apple Buys AR Headset Startup Mira
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
These Savings Accounts and CDs Are Offering 5% APY or More Right Now - CNET
Why Millions of Usable Hard Drives Are Being Destroyed
Read more of this story at Slashdot.