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Trump posts AI-edited photo to brag about White House restoration work

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President Donald Trump posted a series of photos on Truth Social showing off renovations to the White House - but one of them appears to be modified with AI. The picture, which compares an old White House column to a "restored" one, has several discrepancies and was flagged by Google's AI detector as "made or edited with OpenAI." As pointed out by users on Reddit , the picture of the "restored" column has an uneven number of steps on both sides of the structure. The number of steps also doesn't match up with the ones in the "before" photo. Additionally, the before and after photos appear nearly identical in angle and detail; the reflection i … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/XTtxq8w

Withings now charges $100 per year to sync your data to other apps

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If you're a new user of Withings' fitness-tracking smartwatches or smart scales and want to sync and access your health data through third party apps like Apple Health or Google Health it's now going to cost you. According to a discussion on Withings' support forums spotted by MacRumors , new Withings accounts created from October 13th, 2026, and onwards will require a Withings Plus subscription to use the "automatic sync to third-party apps" feature. The subscription costs $9.95 per month or $99.50 per year but Withings' devices come with a free one month trial that includes the option to sync their data to third-party apps. When the trial … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/CPJva9i

Meta and Apple team up to make Muse AI models run better on Macs

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The new Muse Spark Open AI model can work on M5 Ultra Mac Studios. | Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta announced the Muse Spark Open AI model today , claiming that it's the "most capable US open-weight model to date." But the company also says that it's the "the first model in its class" that can "run on your desktop using two Apple M5 Ultra Mac Studios with the latest MLX framework." Meta and Apple, typically rivals , worked together on the launch and are publicly supporting each other. "Muse Spark Open - weights releasing today - runs great on new Mac Studios thanks to work with @johnternus and Apple," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on X . "Congrats to the team!" new Apple CEO John Ternus said in a reply . "Amazing to run a model of Muse … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/8KX6pMx

Save up to 20 percent on gift cards for REI, Barnes & Noble, and more

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While we cover a lot of deals on specific products, it’s rare that we find worthwhile savings on gift cards that let you save on essentially anything the store sells. However, until October 19th, you can save up to twenty percent on gift cards when you buy them through the Google Play store . There are a variety of discounts and retailers available, including 20 percent off $50 at Barnes and Noble , 20 percent off $100 at REI , and 10 percent off $100 at GameStop . You don’t need an Android phone or tablet to save, but you’ll need to sign up for a Google Play account if you don’t have one already. In addition to the gift cards, Google is offering discounts on subscriptions like Calm and DuoLingo , as well as bonuses on in-app purchases in games like Pokémon Go and PUBG Mobile . from The Verge https://ift.tt/w6MeLvF

Rivian spinoff Mind Robotics hires Doug Field as president

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Rivian spinoff Mind Robotics announced the appointment of Doug Field as president in a major coup for the EV company's secretive robotics startup. Field was a VP of special projects at Apple, where he was the de facto head of the company's ultimately unsuccessful Project Titan effort to make an autonomous electric car. He had a previous stint at Apple as VP of Mac hardware engineering, but he left the company in 2013 to become Tesla's chief vehicle engineer, where he helped oversee the Model 3 sedan . He left Tesla in 2018 and rejoined Apple . In 2021, Field was hired by Ford to run the automaker's electric vehicle and software division, a p … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/82mbYWq

All the news from Apple’s ‘Welcome Home’ event

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Apple’s October 13th launch event — given the tagline “Welcome Home” — is all about its efforts for the smart home. The event was headlined by the debut of the HomeView, Apple’s first smart home display. It also launched a collection of smart home devices, including cameras, thermostats, and a smart lock, in partnership with other companies. On top of the new device categories, Apple also refreshed two familiar ones. The HomePod Mini 2 was announced with support for Siri AI, and the Apple TV 4K also received a Siri AI-focused refresh. You can follow along with all of our coverage right here. Watch Apple’s reveal video for the HomeView The new Apple TV 4K has built-in microphones so you can talk to Siri AI Apple announces the HomePod Mini 2, but it isn’t ready for Siri AI at launch The new Apple Home Collection includes a video doorbell, smart lock, and more A...

Character.AI files for bankruptcy

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Character.AI, one of the first breakout startups of the generative AI boom, has filed for bankruptcy and is selling some of its assets to Disney. The company, which builds various online bots for users to chat or roleplay with, has faced mounting scrutiny and lawsuits over the safety of its chatbots , but has continued releasing updates and products in recent months. In a press release and blog post published Monday, Character said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US to facilitate the sale of the company and its assets. "Over the past year, we've taken meaningful steps to sustain and improve our business amid signific … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/oOdXJQU