Emma Roth

News Writer

Emma RothNov 3, 2023

YouTube’s ad-blocker crackdown is causing chaos in the ad-blocker business.

Earlier this week, YouTube confirmed “a global effort” to crack down on ad blockers — and it’s already affecting the ad blocker business. A new report from Wired suggests that the crackdown is causing users to uninstall and install ad blockers at a record pace as they search for one that actually works:

Previously unreported figures from ad blocking companies indicate that YouTube’s crackdown is working, with hundreds of thousands of people uninstalling ad blockers in October. The available data suggests last month saw a record number of adblockers uninstalled—and also a record for new ad blocker installs as people sought alternatives that wouldn’t trigger YouTube’s dreaded popup.

YouTube’s Ad Blocker Crackdown Spurs Record Uninstalls

[WIRED]

Emma RothNov 3, 2023

Google AdSense is doing away with the pay-per-click model.

Starting early next year, Google will start paying publishers per impression instead of by how many times someone clicks an ad. That means publishers will get paid every time an ad is displayed. Google says the change will “provide a more uniform way for paying publishers for their ad space.”

Updates to how publishers monetize with AdSense

[Google]

Emma RothNov 3, 2023

Arm just bought a slice of Raspberry Pi.

Chip design company Arm has acquired a minority stake in Raspberry Pi. For years, Raspberry Pi has been adding Arm CPUs to its microcomputers, including the recently released Raspberry Pi 5. Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton says the investment marks an “important milestone” in their “longstanding partnership.”

Raspberry Pi Receives Strategic Investment from Arm, Further Extending Long-Term Partnership

[Arm Newsroom]

Emma RothNov 2, 2023

Paramount Plus gained 2.7 million subscribers over the past few months.

After raising its prices and merging with Showtime, Paramount Plus gained more subscribers and saw shrinking losses this quarter. During an earnings call on Thursday, Paramount CEO Bob Bakish said this quarter represented a “significant step:”

We’re clearly advancing on the path to streaming profitability, and this continued DTC [direct-to-consumer] improvement will be a key driver of the total company earnings growth we expect next year.

The streaming service now has 63 million global subscribers, while Paramount’s streaming division, which includes Paramount Plus and the free-to-stream PlutoTV, lost $238 million this quarter — far less than the $438 million predicted by analysts.

Paramount (PARA) Global Tops Estimates as Streaming Losses Narrow

[Bloomberg]

Emma RothNov 2, 2023

Jurors have begun deliberating Bankman-Fried’s fate.

The 12-person jury will decide whether Bankman-Fried is guilty of seven criminal charges, including two counts of wire fraud. If convicted, Bankman-Fried faces over 100 years in prison.

The Verge’s Elizabeth Lopatto has been tracking the case from the courtroom, and from what she’s seen so far, it doesn’t look like Bankman-Fried’s defense has brought too many convincing arguments to the table:

The closing arguments made clear was how lopsided the case was. Bankman-Fried’s defense appears to be that he is a nice boy who would never do anything to hurt anyone on purpose... Bankman-Fried is right to be frightened. He brought excuses. The prosecution brought receipts.

Jurors in Sam Bankman-Fried criminal trial begin deliberations

[CNBC]

Futurama got renewed, so you can expect 30 more episodes on Hulu

Emma RothNov 2, 2023

Microsoft’s smaller — and more efficient — Phi 1.5 AI model just leveled up.

The open-source model is now able to view and interpret images, Microsoft researchers tell Semafor. That marks a milestone for Microsoft, as it proves that you don’t need a massive (and expensive-to-run) model, like OpenAI’s GPT-4, to add more advanced capabilities.

Here’s Microsoft Research’s Sebastien Bubeck on the upgrade:

This is one of the big updates that OpenAI made to ChatGPT. When we saw that, there was the question: Is this a capability of only the most humongous models or could we do something like that with our tiny Phi 1.5? And, to our amazement, yes, we can do it.

Microsoft pushes the boundaries of small AI models with big breakthrough

[www.semafor.com]