Technology

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1266677/rental-ripoff-new-york-mayor-zohran-mamdani-is-targeting-deceptive-ai-made-apartment-lis

Editor’s note: … In this article, we discuss the technical challenges of building an orbital data center constellation: launching all of it, dissipating heat in space, dealing with radiation, and addressing latency issues in orbit. Read part one here.

I find the napkin math interesting, especially putting into light that given expected longevity of such satellites, 5 to 7 years, they will have to do 10 to 42 launches per day. SpaceX will need $1.5 to $10 trillions to make it happen. All of that so the slop machine doesn’t have to run into obstacles like democracy ? So it can destroy communities and the environment freely? What are we doing?

Today, our hearts are undoubtedly heavy and mixed with emotion. As part of the proactive global strategy adjustment, OnePlus has decided to conclude new product rollouts in Europe and North America.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1265806/musk-s-xai-sues-grok-user-over-sexualized-deepfakes-of-children

Legal document, PDF.

Elon Musk’s xAI sued a user on Tuesday, alleging he used the Grok chatbot to create child sexual abuse materials. It’s one of the first lawsuits filed by a tech company against users who allegedly create explicit content with AI.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1265656/tiktok-under-investigation-from-ofcom-uk-regulator-for-failing-to-protect-children-from

Big changes are coming to Android apps, but they're not the changes Google wanted. The settlement between Google and Epic that aimed to put to rest the companies' long-running antitrust battle is being withdrawn, and that means third-party app stores are coming to the Play Store. Google has confirmed that it will begin distributing rival app stores next week, setting the stage for competing platforms to take a bite out of Google's Android revenue stream.

This case has the potential to upend software distribution on Android, and it's all because of V-Bucks. In 2020, Epic Games was frustrated that it had to pay a 30 percent cut to Apple and Google every time someone bought a bundle of V-Bucks in a mobile version of Fortnite. The publisher added a direct purchase option to the game in violation of both Apple's and Google's rules. Naturally, Fortnite was pulled from the App Store and Google Play, kicking off the antitrust lawsuit that is only now reaching its conclusion.

While Apple suffered little penalty in its Epic case, Google was tripped up by its anti-competitive management of the supposedly open Android ecosystem. Google used its market position to discourage device makers from promoting or pre-loading non-Google app stores and attempted to hide that conduct. The remedies set by Judge James Donato included lower fees, mirroring Google Play apps in other stores, and most vitally, placement of alternative app stores in Google Play.

"Those royalties are going to the artists that listeners love, that they're listening to, artists that we all love, those verified artists, those human, authentic artists.

"When we look at the sort of entirely AI-generated music that people worry about, music that's industrially produced, less human input, we see [and] every other streaming service sees well under 1 per cent of consumption is going to those tracks.

"Listeners don't want it … and we're really seeing low consumption there.

"What we're hearing from fans and what we're seeing on our service is people want to listen to and are seeking out authentic human music."

121 countries are unable to make PSN accounts, which means that they are unable to use the PlayStation Store. In a digital-exclusive future—which looks likely for the PS6 after Sony announced plans to cease production of game discs in 2028—that means everyone in those countries will be locked out from purchasing titles on the platform.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1264750/linus-torvalds-tells-ai-haters-to-fork-off-linux-supremo-says-contributors-opposed-to-ai

This is getting out of hand.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1264137/microsoft-blocks-browser-choice-for-1-4-billion-windows-10-11-users-page-84-study-finds

Full Report(PDF).

Note: The number in the headline is the total number of Windows 10 and Windows 11 users mentioned in page 84 notes in the report.