Chris Klimas funds his Twine game engine through a per-release model on Patreon, getting paid only when he’s actively developing Twine. Unlike a flat monthly subscription, it’s a “simple and guilt-free” way to work part-time. But Patreon’s phasing out that model so Apple won’t kick it off the App Store — and Klimas is mulling whether it’s still worth staying.
After years of phaseout, Meta is shutting down the once-powerful social media research tool for good today. Academics and journalists aren’t all that happy with its replacement — a tool called MCL, which is available to far fewer people.
The Wall Street Journal delves into a loose network of TikTok accounts churning out videos with AI-generated voiceovers making ridiculous claims — both positive and negative — about Donald Trump. A political motive is possible, but it sounds likely they’re less a coordinated operation than a bunch of people ripping each other’s content off for views, and Trump is simply the best engagement-bait around.
WordStar is a beloved MS-DOS-era word processing tool known as a favorite of writers like George R.R. Martin. And thanks to author Robert J. Sawyer, there’s a new archive designed to help you run its final 1992 release on modern computers.
[sfwriter.com]
Joking aside, Oculus and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey made good on his promise to announce a new head-mounted display during a talk at Augmented World Expo. He said little about the new project, though, except the quote above — and he suggested it’s still in the early stages.
Luckey also mentioned “adult entertainment” could be the most promising VR hardware niche for a small company, since mainstream companies won’t touch it. He emphatically did not say that’s what he’s working on here.
