Software

AllWinner and RockChip, two Chinese companies, power several Amazon-sold Android TV boxes. Android-powered TV set-top boxes are cheap and customizable, combining multiple streaming services into one device. They have thousands of five-star reviews on Amazon. Security researchers say the models are preloaded with malware that can launch coordinated cyberattacks. Daniel …

Three years after buying Giphy for $400 million, Meta has found a buyer. Today, Shutterstock signed an agreement with Meta to buy Giphy for “$53 million of net cash paid at closing,” indicating Facebook’s parent company has recovered only 13% of its money. Shutterstock expects the sale to be finalized …

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a TikTok ban last week. The corporation is now suing to keep the app in Montana. TikTok claims Montana’s ban violates the Constitution by restricting its freedom to host and distribute user-generated material. TikTok also claims that Montana is overstepping its position by legislating national …

Today, WhatsApp announced message editing, a long-awaited feature. Mark Zuckerberg announced on Facebook that users can now edit messages within 15 minutes. Press and hold a message and tap “edit” to change it. Edited messages will be marked “edited” next to the time stamp. The app won’t save corrections. Edited …

In the past six weeks, Salesforce, Adobe, Ada, and Forethought have announced generative AI initiatives. Box AI, the latest to announce its own version of the technology, will partner with OpenAI to launch the platform’s first tools. Like many of the other companies making these announcements, they are working with …

It is unknown who is currently evaluating Meta’s platforms in sub-Saharan Africa, as the social media behemoth has been prohibited from using its primary content review partners in Africa to provide moderation services. A Kenyan court issued temporary injunctions prohibiting Meta from hiring its new partner, Majorel, and reserving that …

Canal+, a leading French premium TV channel and streaming service, and Apple have signed a multi-year deal. All Canal+ subscribers in France and some other European countries will be able to stream Apple TV+ content for free starting on April 20. Canal+ isn’t just offering Apple TV+, so this is …

Amazon enters generative AI. Instead of building AI models, it’s recruiting third parties to host them on AWS. Amazon Bedrock lets developers build generative AI apps using pretrained models from startups like AI21 Labs, Anthropic, and Stability AI. Bedrock offers AWS-trained Titan FMs (foundation models) in a “limited preview.” “Applying …

Snap has expanded its Sounds library, which lets users use song clips in Snaps and Stories, with several music labels. The company listed US-based UnitedMasters, Netherlands-based BUMA/STEMRA, and SUISA Digital Licensing AG as participating labels. SUISA: Switzerland, AKKA/LAA: Latvia, Albautor: Albania, Armauthor: Armenia, Autodia: Greece, COMP: Pakistan, EAÜ: Estonia, GCA: …

Google’s Android development cycle runs on a rather predictable cadence these days. Today, after two developer previews, the company launched the first of four planned public beta releases of Android 14. As with previous versions, the first beta is also the first release that anyone can install over-the-air, assuming they …