Apple Fellow Phil Schiller regularly rotates through five different Macs, he said in a post on Threads. I can’t say I’m that surprised, given who it is and the company he works for, but that’s still a lot of computers!
He also uses his iPad Pro “a ton” for things like reviewing photos and playing games. He’s also a Right Dock fan, which, as a Left Dock user, I can respect.
Skoda, the Czech car brand that’s also owned by Volkswagen, is building the AI chatbot into its voice assistant in newer vehicles. Drivers will be able to use the ChatGPT-enabled assistant to control the infotainment system, navigation, and air-conditioning, as well as use it to “answer general knowledge questions,” according to Skoda.
The Meta CEO’s habit of pivoting the company in new directions — AI being the latest example — is irking its employees, who are getting are sick of fighting for coveted places on Zuckerberg’s ever-changing passion projects.
As reported by Bloomberg:
Morale at Reality Labs in particular has plummeted. People who scrambled to get on the project that was supposed to define Meta’s future are dismayed to find they’re not Zuckerberg’s favorite team anymore, say employees. Even members of the Instagram Threads team—who enjoyed favored status when the product’s July 2023 introduction was an immediate hit and Zuckerberg was in the mood to fight Elon Musk—have recently felt neglected.
Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, who worked on games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077, is now the creative director at Rebel Wolves. Its first game, a dark fantasy RPG, is in “the alpha stage of development,” according to a press release, and Rebel Wolves “plans to share more about the game later this year.”
The studio appeared on the scene in February 2022, and at the time, it said it was aiming to release its first game in 2025.
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg suggested Tumblr’s unloved Live service wasn’t long for this world last year, and it’s now shutting down January 24th. Users can transfer any in-app currency they bought to the video chat service MeetMe, which uses the same underlying tech. The Tumblr userbase, unsurprisingly, seems pleased.
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DesFit, a leading voice in the fitness device space on YouTube, has a preview of the new Garmin Connect app and website that’s currently in beta for select users. This major overhaul will hopefully correct one of the main pain points that comes with using Garmin’s information dense devices. Des likes the emphasis on swiping panels, but says the at-a-glance screens will take time to get used to and the website still needs polishing.
What do you think?
A product listings for a mysterious “V2” DualSense has cropped up on Best Buy’s Canadian store. Although it’s priced the same, the listing mentions an included charging station, and that the controller offers “exceptional 12-hour battery life,” which, if true, would represent a moderate step up from the 7-8 hours we’ve been getting from the existing model.
Update January 11th, 10:24AM ET: We found a similar listing on EE’s online store, but it’s now been edited to remove the “V2” mention. Here’s a screenshot of how it looked before.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced $623 million in grants for electric vehicle charging projects today. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will benefit 47 EV charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure projects across 22 states and Puerto Rico. Back in September, DOT authorized another $100 million in funding to fix broken EV chargers that dot the US.
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Ikea is recalling its Åskstorm 40W USB charger after finding that degradation of the cable may cause thermal burns and electrical shocks. “Ikea urges all customers... to stop using it and to contact Ikea for a full refund.” No receipt required.
TikTok might be the trendsetter these days, but we’ve been at this a while.
