Posts

Digg’s open beta shuts down after just two months, blaming AI bot spam

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It's only been a year since Digg founder Kevin Rose, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, and a few others announced the link-sharing site would relaunch, promising a "social discovery built by communities, not by algorithms." Now, two months after opening its Reddit-like platform to the public, Digg is announcing a "hard reset" that's shutting down operations and will "significantly downsize the Digg team." When they announced its relaunch, Rose told The Verge that AI could "remove the janitorial work of moderators and community managers." Now, the new Digg's CEO Justin Mezzell writes in a note pinned to the homepage that, "We knew bots were … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/AHgoLN4

Instagram is getting rid of end-to-end encrypted DMs that ‘very few’ people used

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Instagram will no longer support end-to-end encrypted messages starting May 8th. In a statement to The Verge , Meta spokesperson Dina El-Kassaby Luce says the platform is discontinuing the feature because "very few people" were using E2EE in their DMs. Instagram has begun notifying impacted users about the change inside its app, and has also posted an update to its support page , suggesting that users download E2EE chats and images before it discontinues the feature, as spotted earlier by PiunikaWeb . "Anyone who wants to keep messaging with end-to-end encryption can easily do that on WhatsApp," El-Kassaby Luce adds. After bringing E2EE to Wh … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/Ytw6IPh

Google Pixel 10A review: Just buy the 9A

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I'm not entirely sure why the Pixel 10A exists. Google hasn't upgraded the chipset, cameras, or battery in the new phone, and the tweaks it's made elsewhere are minimal at best. The flatter camera island is good, I guess! In one sense this isn't a big problem: The Pixel 9A is an excellent device , and for the last year was easily the best phone you could buy for $500 in the US . The new 10A is available to buy now at that same great price ($499 for 128GB of storage or $100 more for 256GB), but with the 9A still on sale, and dropping in price, there's one big question: Why not just buy the 9A - which is almost the same phone - for $50 less? G … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/vYMgdwy

Google Chrome is coming to Arm-powered Linux devices later this year

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You can download Chrome for Linux, and you can download Chrome for Arm devices - but if you've got a computer running Linux on Arm, not so much ! Now, Google says it's finally bringing Chrome to ARM64 Linux machines in Q2 2026, following Chrome for Arm Macs in 2020 and Chrome for Windows on Arm in 2024 . Why Arm + Linux now? In a blog post , Google only says that it "addresses the growing demand for a browsing experience that combines the benefits of the open-source Chromium project with the Google ecosystem of apps and features." What we're left wondering is whether Google's talking about existing demand, or demand yet to come. There's cert … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/GYS8Mt6

KPop Demon Hunters is getting a sequel, obviously

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The girl group is coming back. Get ready to get even more K-pop, demonier, and as huntery as possible. Netflix's smash-hit, Oscar-nominated animated film KPop Demon Hunters is returning for a sequel, with the fictional Korean girl group HUNTR/X coming back to lay down pop hits and smash evil boy bands (and/or other demons). Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans will once again direct their first project in an "exclusive multiyear writing and directing partnership" with Netflix. Seeing as the first movie was Netflix's self-reported most-popular film of all time, the company's widest theatrical release and first ever box office No. 1, nominated in both the Best Animated Film a … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/WOYiSrx

Valve says it will fight New York’s loot box lawsuit

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Valve wants players to know that it plans on fighting New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit, which last month accused the company of promoting "illegal gambling" through its in-game loot boxes . In an email sent to Counter-Strike 2 , Dota 2 , and Team Fortress 2 players in New York, Valve says it's "disappointed" in the lawsuit's claims , arguing that mystery boxes are "widely used" across other games and also exist in the physical world with baseball cards, Pokémon, and Labubu. Since 2023, Valve says it has worked with the AGs to explain how its virtual items and mystery boxes work. It argues that players "don't have to open mystery … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/F5qcz6S

The Live Nation settlement has industry insiders baffled

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Instead of moving forward with a jury trial against Live Nation-Ticketmaster as expected, the Justice Department announced a settlement Monday that omitted what used to be on the top of its wish list: a breakup . What the DOJ did get was a series of concessions that some industry stakeholders found unsatisfying and even baffling. There are a few bright spots, those who spoke to The Verge said: a 15 percent cap on Ticketmaster service fees at Live Nation-owned or operated amphitheaters, for instance, and a pledge to give artists more transparency on their own ticket sales. But they remained unconvinced the deal would usher in the large-scale … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/O3Me0La