Shank Mods’ winding tale about rescuing the behemoth Sony PVM-4300 from a recently closed restaurant on the other side of the globe is a delight from start to finish. (And getting the TV is only part of the story.)
All I will think about for the rest of the day is playing 4-player Mario Kart: Double Dash!! on this beauty.
A new Wall Street Journal story detailing two nonprofits’ discovery of hundreds of iOS apps inappropriately rated for kids identifies a possible reason so many apps that seem to clearly defy Apple’s guidelines end up in its App Store anyway:
[The app review team has] several hundred reviewers who work long hours and struggle to keep up with the large numbers of apps coming in everyday, according to former employees ... Apple expects [them] to move quickly through a certain number of apps a day, making it difficult to spot potential problems, the former employees said.
[The Wall Street Journal]
I talked to Allison Johnson about my home screen for her guide to living off the iPhone app grid. But I forgot to mention something: one reason I use iOS Shortcuts icons on my home screen is so I can remember what badly-named apps do.
Take the “Library” Shortcut below. It opens “CountyCat,” my local library’s app. Why is it called CountyCat? Who approved that? Doesn’t matter; it’s just “Library” to me.
My colleague Elizabeth Lopatto spotted a bit of shade thrown at Elon Musk’s X by yesterday’s New York Times crossword puzzle.
It got me wondering: What other answers would work here?
Just in time for New Year’s Eve celebrations, sending certain emoji in the iOS beta version of the app triggers a confetti animation, according to WABetaInfo.
The outlet spotted the feature being tested in the Android beta version of WhatsApp in November, too.
Blumhouse teased the movie in social media posts yesterday morning. Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin will write and direct The Mummy, which is set for release on April 17th, 2026, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
We reported in October that OpenAI could launch its GPT-4 successor, codenamed Orion, this month. Now, The Wall Street Journal reports the behind-schedule model’s training is a struggle that’s racking up “enormous” costs.
When it will be ready is apparently a feel thing. WSJ writes:
It’s up to company executives to decide whether the model is smart enough to be called GPT-5 based in large part on gut feelings or, as many technologists say, “vibes.”
So far, the vibes are off.
