A judge in Brazil has blocked Starlink’s bank accounts in the country amid a deepening dispute with X. The move comes as the same Supreme Court judge has threatened to shut down X in the country, and is a direct response to the ongoing legal battle with the social media company, Reuters reported. X owner… Continue reading Starlink’s local bank accounts are frozen as X prepares to be shut down in Brazil
Author: Engadget Online News
ChatGPT has doubled its weekly active users to 200 million
ChatGPT now has 200 million weekly active users, according to OpenAI. That represents a doubling of the weekly audience of 100 million the company announced last November. A representative from the company told Engadget that API usage has also doubled since the July release of GPT-4o mini. User numbers aren’t the only big growth OpenAI… Continue reading ChatGPT has doubled its weekly active users to 200 million
The world’s largest TV and movie piracy streaming ring is dead
The highly illegal but very popular media streaming site Fmovies and an affiliated network of pirated movie and TV show websites have been shut down. The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a global coalition of movie studios and entertainment companies including Disney, NBCUniversal and MGM, announced the dismantling of the illegal streaming site, several… Continue reading The world’s largest TV and movie piracy streaming ring is dead
OpenAI and Anthropic agree to share their models with the US AI Safety Institute
OpenAI and Anthropic have agreed to share AI models — before and after release — with the US AI Safety Institute. The agency, established through an executive order by President Biden in 2023, will offer safety feedback to the companies to improve their models. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman hinted at the agreement earlier this month.… Continue reading OpenAI and Anthropic agree to share their models with the US AI Safety Institute
Spotify says Apple ‘discontinued’ the tech for some of its volume controls on iOS
The latest round in the Spotify vs. Apple battle concerns volume controls. The streaming service says Apple “discontinued the technology” that allowed it to employ the volume buttons on iOS devices to make level adjustments when using Spotify Connect. Spotify says it’s working on a solution, but for now, you’ll have to use the volume… Continue reading Spotify says Apple ‘discontinued’ the tech for some of its volume controls on iOS
The Alan Wake and Control universe may expand to film and TV
The Oldest House could be coming to a big screen near you. TV and film adaptations of Control and Alan Wake may be on the way after Remedy Entertainment struck a deal with Annapurna Pictures. Annapurna is stumping up half of the development budget for Control 2 and in return it snapped up the rights… Continue reading The Alan Wake and Control universe may expand to film and TV
These robots move through the magic of mushrooms
Researchers at Cornell University tapped into fungal mycelia to power a pair of proof-of-concept robots. Mycelia, the underground fungal network that can sprout mushrooms as its above-ground fruit, can sense light and chemical reactions and communicate through electrical signals. This makes it a novel component in hybrid robotics that could someday detect crop conditions otherwise… Continue reading These robots move through the magic of mushrooms
Apple event 2024: What to expect at the iPhone 16 keynote in September
The biggest day of the tech world’s autumn calendar is nearly here: Apple’s iPhone 16 event will take place on September 9 at 1PM ET. We’ll be live-blogging the news, and you can watch it live via the company’s website or on YouTube. The biggest news from the Apple event will almost definitely involve the… Continue reading Apple event 2024: What to expect at the iPhone 16 keynote in September
EU officials believe Telegram lied about user numbers to skirt regulation
Not only is Telegram CEO Pavel Durov facing criminal charges in France, the company he founded could be in hot water with the European Union as well. EU officials are looking into whether the platform lied about its user numbers to avoid being regulated under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Joint Research Centre —… Continue reading EU officials believe Telegram lied about user numbers to skirt regulation
The best power banks and portable chargers for every device in 2024
This power bank guide was one of the first projects I took on after joining Engadget in 2022. Over the past two years, there’s nearly always been a portable charger silently refilling a phone or tablet somewhere in my office. I’ve tested nearly three dozen portable batteries thus far, taking them on long train rides,… Continue reading The best power banks and portable chargers for every device in 2024