Image: The Verge Meta’s Twitter competitor, Threads, is now available in the European Union, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced. “Today we’re opening Threads to more countries in Europe,” Zuckerberg wrote in a post on Threads. The launch follows the service’s debut in the US and over 100 other countries across the world, including the UK,
Read MoreJon Porter / The Verge: Meta launches Threads in the European Union, expanding on the US, the UK, and 100+ other countries, and adds a way to browse Threads without a profile — Meta’s Twitter competitor, Threads, is now available in the European Union, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced.
Read MoreJavier Espinoza / Financial Times: The CJEU upholds overturning an EU order to Amazon to pay back €250M in taxes to Luxembourg, ending an ongoing case since 2017; the ruling cannot be appealed — In a defeat for the EU, judges confirm 2021 ruling that overturned an order for US tech group to repay €250mn
Read MoreWill Shanklin / Engadget: Privacy-focused developer Proton launches a Windows and macOS app that includes Proton Mail and Proton Calendar in beta ahead of a wider early 2024 launch — Proton finally has a desktop app. The Swiss company, known for its privacy-focused alternatives to the Google Workspace apps …
Read MoreA new era of open digital ecosystems or opening a can of worms?
Read MoreSubrat Patnaik / Bloomberg: Apple’s stock rose 1.7% to close at $197.96 on December 13, surpassing its previous record close in July 2023 and up 52% for the year, for a $3.08T market cap — – Shares surpass July high, putting market cap at $3.08 trillion — Revenue seen growing again in 2024 after falling
Read MorePhoto by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Tax prep company H&R Block released a new conversational AI chatbot that answers taxpayer questions. AI Tax Assist, accessed through paid versions of H&R Block’s DIY tax software, lets users ask questions on tax rules, possible exemptions, and other tax-related issues. It also points people to
Read MoreGoogle’s Nest Renew service for its thermostats will soon be under new management. | Image: Google Google’s Nest Renew service is leaving Google and merging with the OhmConnect energy management platform to form a new company called Renew Home. Venture capitalist firm Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP), which backs OhmConnect and is putting $100 million into
Read MoreMillennials may have popularized Pinterest, but Gen Z is pushing the platform to new heights.
Read MoreCoco Feng / South China Morning Post: Amazon introduces a slew of initiatives to help Chinese merchants sell abroad, including opening an innovation center in Shenzhen, the first in the Asia-Pacific — – An innovation centre in Shenzhen will integrate Amazon’s industrial, expert and supplier sources to help merchants ‘build brands, promote products’
Read MoreIt is hard to describe the Brother SuperPowerNote. It looks like a big old Z80-based laptop, but it says it is a notebook. The label on it says (with lots of exclamation marks) that it is a word processor, a communications system, a personal scheduler, and a spreadsheet organizer. Brother also promises on the label
Read MoreBenj Edwards / Ars Technica: After an on-by-default AI toggle caused confusion, Dropbox says user data is only shared with OpenAI if the AI-powered search feature is actively being used — AI feature turned on by default worries users; Dropbox responds to concerns. — On Wednesday, news quickly spread on social media …
Read MoreFinancial Times: Air cargo and logistics executives say booming demand in Western markets for goods sold by Chinese companies like Temu and Shein is buoying air freight rates — Logistics groups see sustained demand for fast delivery of goods from China to western markets — Booming western demand …
Read MoreCredit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority Google Photos users are seeing a $100 discount code for the Pixel 8 series in their inboxes. The discount applies over and above Google’s holiday deals, so you can save even more on the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro than before. Only US Google Photos users seem to be
Read MoreDean Takahashi / VentureBeat: Q&A with ESA CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis on why the ESA couldn’t save E3, his favorite E3 memory, competition, working with the media, the ESA’s future, and more — The Entertainment Software Association finally pulled the plug on the Electronic Entertainment Expo yesterday after years of trying to hold the center of
Read MoreCredit: Ryan Haines / Android Authority Google is offering a 40% discount on the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and Pixel Tablet to Gold tier members in the Google Play Points rewards program. Users have found that you can subscribe to Google One’s 2TB membership for complimentary Gold tier in Play Points to take advantage
Read MoreIf you want to talk to a typewriter using something other than your fingers on the keys, you could do a lot worse than to pick up a specimen featuring a Centronics parallel port. That’s what happened to [mlupo], who came across an old Swintec 1146 CMP and decided to hack it into an art
Read MoreCredit: C. Scott Brown / Android Authority Beeper Mini and Beeper Cloud were again down, and users could not receive iMessage texts. Beeper says Apple is deliberately blocking iMessage texts from being delivered to its users. However, the platform has a way to fix the ongoing issue. Beeper is still struggling with Apple’s attempts to
Read MoreAndrew Deck / Rest of World: How the rise of Japanese news aggregator SmartNews, valued at $2B in 2021, in the US came to a halt in 2023, leading to CEO Ken Suzuki’s departure in November — Former SmartNews employees point to failed product launches and far-right obsession of former CEO.
Read MoreAllowing a standalone purchase, Apple has begun selling the USB-C charging case for its second-generation AirPods Pro. for $99. For those who have already started switching all their gadgets to USB-C and own a pair of 2nd generation AirPods Pro with the Lightning case — you’ve already upgraded with a less expensive option. Many have
Read MoreNatasha Singer / New York Times: A Stanford survey of 40+ US high schools finds ChatGPT didn’t increase cheating rates in 2023 versus prior years, suggesting the alarm may have been overblown — A.I. tools like ChatGPT did not boost the frequency of cheating in high schools, Stanford researchers say.
Read MoreCredit: Adam Birney / Android Authority Ford has confirmed that it’s “committed” to keeping Android Auto and Apple’s CarPlay in its cars. CEO Jim Farley said Ford customers love these features due to safety-related reasons. The statement comes after a GM executive reportedly said it was ditching these solutions due to safety. General Motors (GM)
Read MoreCredit: Apple Apple is finally selling the MagSafe USB-C AirPods Pro 2 case separately. The case costs $99 if you want to upgrade. It features an IP54 rating for protection against dust and water splashes. Apple has finally made the USB-C AirPods Pro 2 charging case available as a separate accessory.
Read MoreAndrew Deck / Rest of World: How the US rise of Japanese news aggregator SmartNews, valued at $2B in 2021, came to a halt in 2023, leading to the departure of CEO Ken Suzuki in November — Former SmartNews employees point to failed product launches and far-right obsession of former CEO.
Read MoreImage: Beeper Here we go again: After investigating reports that some users aren’t getting iMessages on Beeper Mini and Beeper Cloud, Beeper says that Apple seems to be “deliberately blocking” iMessages from being delivered to about five percent of Beeper Mini users. The company says that uninstalling and reinstalling the app fixes the issue and
Read More