Technology | The Guadian

"Threads is just deadly dull:  Have twitter quitters found what they are looking for on other networks?"

Views expressed in this science and technology update are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 19 August 2024, 0006 UTC.

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Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencejournal.blogspot.com).

 

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‘Threads is just deathly dull’: have Twitter quitters found what they are looking for on other networks?

Bluesky gains UK users amid X decline

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30Technology / 12h

There’s been an exodus of users from X, propelled by Elon Musk’s lurch to the far right, but the alternatives have drawbacks too “Being on @Threads this week has been a bit like sitting on a half-empty train early in the morning while it slowly starts to fill up with people jumping on with horror stories about how bad the service is on the other line,” posted the actor David Harewood on Meta’s Tw

AI-generated parody song about immigrants storms into German Top 50

29Technology / 11h

Artist Butterbro accused of walking fine line between parody and discrimination and helping make racial slur mainstream A song about immigrants whose music, vocals and artwork were entirely generated using artificial intelligence has made the Top 50 most listened to songs in Germany, in what may be a first for a leading music market. Verknallt in einen Talahon is a parody song that weaves modern

Ambulances called to Amazon’s UK warehouses 1,400 times in five years

500+Technology / 1d

GMB union urges Health and Safety Executive to investigate ‘shocking’ figures revealed by the Observer Ambulances have been called out to Amazon warehouses more than 1,400 times in the past five years, the Observer can reveal. The figures, which were described as shocking by the GMB trade union, raise fresh questions about safety at the American giant’s UK workplaces. Amazon centres in Dunfermlin

Yesterday

Elon Musk says X will pull operations from Brazil after ‘censorship orders’

X ceases operations in Brazil

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200+Technology / 1d

Judge Alexandre de Moraes had ordered X to block certain accounts as he investigated fake news and hate messages Elon Musk announced on Saturday that the social media platform X would close its operations in Brazil “effective immediately” due to what it called “censorship orders” from the Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes. X claims Moraes secretly threatened one of its legal representatives in

‘The party is back’: rise in European music festivals banning smartphones

58Technology / 1d

This summer organisers are asking festival-goers to stop filming the event and live in the moment instead Many partygoers who attended Amsterdam’s No Art festival this summer will have had the time of their lives – but you wouldn’t be able to tell that from their social media channels. At the gates of the all-day dance event at the Dutch city’s Flevopark in July, ticket holders were told to drop

‘Software for witches’: tarot readers fight rampant online impersonation with their own tech

25Technology / 1d

Impersonators love tarot readers. Regulators and social media companies don’t care. Mystic practitioners fight back with Moonlight, ‘software for witches’ Since tarot practitioner Rebecca Scolnick first began reading cards professionally in 2018, she has been impersonated more than 50 times on Instagram. The scams typically follow a similar pattern: someone creates an account that mirrors hers, u

Brain implants to treat epilepsy, arthritis, or even incontinence? They may be closer than you think

71Technology / 1d

Startups around the world are engaging in clinical trials in a sector that could change lives – and be worth more than £15bn by the 2030s Oran Knowlson, a British teenager with a severe type of epilepsy called Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, became the first person in the world to trial a new brain implant last October, with phenomenal results – his daytime seizures were reduced by 80%. “It’s had a huge

Aug 16, 2024

The good hacker: can Taiwanese activist turned politician Audrey Tang detoxify the internet?

97Technology / 1d

As the ‘civic hacker’ who became Taiwan’s first transgender cabinet minister, she is used to breaking boundaries. What can the rest of the world learn from her vision of a happy and inclusive web? Audrey Tang didn’t have the easiest of starts in life. The Taiwanese hacker turned government minister was told at the age of four that she had a 50-50 chance of dying unless she had a major operation t

‘It looked like a stage set’: Gideon Mendel’s best phone shot

Technology / 1d

A lockdown bike ride through central London with his son led the photographer to a moment of serene, sunny solitude Celebrating his 19th birthday with a six-hour bike ride through London’s deserted streets was not the plan when photographer Gideon Mendel’s son, Jonah, began university. “He started the autumn before the first Covid lockdown and was flourishing and enjoying his social life,” Mendel

A week in tweets: Elon Musk doesn’t stop posting but what is he saying?

100+Technology / 1d

There is method to the apparent madness of the tycoon’s prolific 24-hour output Elon Musk doesn’t stop tweeting. Over just seven days last week, he made nearly 650 posts to the social network he bought in November 2022 and half-heartedly rebranded as X. In addition, he spent nearly three hours battling through technical problems he would later attribute to an unproved hacking attack in order to h

Iranian group used ChatGPT to try to influence US election, OpenAI says

OpenAI disrupts Iranian misinformation campaign

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50Technology / 2d

AI company bans accounts and says operation did not appear to have meaningful audience engagement OpenAI said on Friday it had taken down accounts of an Iranian group for using its ChatGPT chatbot to generate content meant for influencing the US presidential election and other issues. The operation, identified as Storm-2035, used ChatGPT to generate content focused on topics such as commentary on

Blow to ESPN and Fox as US judge halts sports streaming venture

Judge blocks Fox Disney sports service

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Technology / 2d

Fubo TV accuses Venu Sports – which also involves Hulu and Warner Bros Discovery – of anti-competitive practices The launch of Venu Sports will be delayed after a federal judge granted FuboTV’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the planned sports streaming venture by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery. US district judge Margaret M Garnett in New York said in her 69-page ruling that Fub

Funko Fusion: cute capers take you from Hot Fuzz to Jurassic Park

Funko Fusion targets younger gamers

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Technology / 2d

The creators of the Lego Star Wars and Lego Harry Potter games bring similar energy and humour to this gentle action-adventure Ever since they first clambered into shops in 2010, Funko Pop figures have been an unavoidable part of pop culture fandom, lending their black-eyed large-headed charm to everything from Ms Marvel to Mr Bean. After a couple of minor smartphone releases it was inevitable th

‘Mistakes are romantic’: the revival of point-and-shoot cameras

400+Technology / 2d

Models, athletes and TikTokers shun phone cameras as 35mm sales surge and a new Pentax film camera is launched This week, a new range of Google smartphones capable of AI image generation has been launched. But for an increasing number of people, the appeal of a less cutting-edge piece of equipment is proving hard to resist: the point-and-shoot camera. The US footballer Megan Rapinoe was seen snap

‘Very demure, very mindful’: why everyone’s jumping on the modesty bandwagon

TikTok embraces demure mindful trend

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100+Technology / 2d

Jools Lebron has become TikTok’s satirical Emily Post, with etiquette for everything from job interviews to drag shows Rest in peace, brat summer . There’s a new buzzword-slash-ethos hitting TikTok, and it’s basically the opposite of Charli xcx’s party-girl character. Now, it’s all about being demure. At least, that’s according to Jools Lebron , the content creator behind the catchphrase, who adv

Aug 15, 2024

A slice of Raspberry Pi: how to build your own retro games machine

79Technology / 2d

With a £34 mini computer and an emulator, gaming’s entire back catalogue opens up to you to play. But there are important points to consider – not least questions of legality In the past, whenever I have written enthusiastically about a modern retro console such as the Nintendo Classic Mini: SNES or the Analogue Duo , there have been a smattering of comments below the article asking why people do

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