Wes Davis

Former Weekend Editor

Wes DavisJun 17, 2023

The subreddit protests may have had a small yet significant impact on Reddit’s traffic.

The subreddit blackout may have ended for many, but data from SimilarWeb may show that it has had a real impact, according to Engadget today — one that could explain threatening messages mods received this week.

The outlet saw documents showing a total 6.6 percent drop in daily visits from the day before the blackout’s June 12th start to the end of June 13th (about 57 million down to 52 million) as well as falling engagement time that Engadget says is a three-year low.

Reddit’s average daily traffic fell during blackout, according to third-party data | Engadget

[Engadget]

Google’s ‘smart chips’ now let you view third-party app data inside Google Docs

Wes DavisJun 17, 2023

Meta is rolling back its covid-19 misinformation rules in the US

Wes DavisJun 17, 2023

Meta says its new speech-generating AI model is too dangerous for public release.

Meta announced a new AI model called Voicebox yesterday, one it says is the most versatile yet for speech generation, but it’s not releasing it yet:

There are many exciting use cases for generative speech models, but because of the potential risks of misuse, we are not making the Voicebox model or code publicly available at this time.

The model is still only a research project, but Meta says can generate speech in six languages from samples as short as two seconds and could be used for “natural, authentic” translation in the future, among other things.

Wes DavisJun 17, 2023

Florida has banned direct-to-consumer auto sales, but electric-only automakers get a pass.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a law, written by dealer lobbyists, banning direct-to-consumer auto sales in the state, effective July 1st, 2023 (via Jalopnik).

The law lets electric-only manufacturers like Tesla sell directly, but older companies’ electric cars must go through dealerships. Floridians will still be arguing with dealers about factory-installed sealants.

DeSantis Signs Bill Blocking Direct-To-Consumer Car Sales (With A Carveout For Tesla)

[Jalopnik]

Wes DavisJun 17, 2023

Twitch star Félix “xQc” Lengyel has signed a $100 million deal with rival platform Kick.

Lengyel’s two-year deal with Kick is for about $70 million, with incentives making up the rest.

The deal isn’t exclusive — Lengyel says he will still be streaming on Twitch, though “not nearly as often” as before he signed this deal.

Meanwhile, Twitch walked back unpopular changes this month and introduced a new 70/30 split revenue sharing program as other platforms have begun to more aggressively court streamers.

Twitch Star Signs $100 Million Deal With Rival Platform

[The New York Times]

Kim Dotcom is ‘not giving an inch’ after sentencing of two Megaupload execs

Wes DavisJun 17, 2023

The Windows Mail and Calendar apps you don’t use are being replaced by web-based Outlook next year.

Windows 11 is losing those apps starting in 2024, the company announced yesterday (via XDA Developers).

Microsoft has been testing the new Outlook for some time, and starting next year it will be the default on new Windows PCs. To test it now, look for the “Try the new Outlook” toggle in the current Mail or Calendar app on an up-to-date Windows 11 PC.

Outlook for Windows: The Future of Mail, Calendar and People on Windows 11 - Microsoft Support

[support.microsoft.com]