|
Apple users in China won't be able to find and download WhatsApp and Threads from the App Store anymore, according to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. The company said it pulled the apps from the store to comply with orders it received from Cyberspace Administration, China's internet regulator, "based on [its] national security concerns." It explained to the publications that it's "obligated to follow the laws in the countries where [it operates], even when [it disagrees]."
The Great Firewall of China blocks a lot of non-domestic apps and technologies in the country, prompting locals to use VPN if they want to access any of them. Meta's Facebook and Instagram are two of those applications, but WhatsApp and Threads have been available for download until now.
|
|
There is a catch, however: Meta would really like to continue improving Meta.ai, and to do so it's only offering image generation if you sign into your Facebook account.
Meta joins other LLMS or AI chatbots like Google Gemini, Microsoft's various flavors of Copilot, Anthropic's Claude AI (used within Discord), and other sites offering AI solutions. Meta.ai feels like more of the same, though with some limitations: It can't accept uploaded documents, but it can summarize websites or web pages. Of course, it has creative purposes, too: It can also be used to write or rewrite text, as many other services can as well.
Technically, Meta is upgrading Meta AI as well as launching the site itself. Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the addition of the Meta.ai site on Threads — which is also owned by Meta — as well as the upgrade to the LLaMA 3 model. Meta launched LLaMA in February 2023, and publicly re
|
|
 As anticipation builds for Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 series, the rumor mill has highlighted some potential camera upgrades that could change how we use our iPhones for photography.
|
|
The bill that could lead to a ban of TikTok in the United States appears to be much closer to becoming law. The legislation sailed through the House of Representatives last month, but faced an uncertain future in the Senate due to opposition from a few prominent lawmakers.
But momentum for the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" seems to once again be growing. The House is set to vote on a package of bills this weekend, which includes a slightly revised version of the TikTok bill. In the latest version of the bill, ByteDance would have up to 12 months to divest TikTok, instead of the six-month period stipulated in the original measure.
That change, as NBC News notes, was apparently key to winning over support from some skeptical members of the Senate, including
|
|
In May, Microsoft will host its annual Build conference in Seattle. Microsoft will open that conference with a presentation from chief executive Satya Nadella to "share our AI vision across hardware and software," according to Microsoft. That presentation is expected to introduce the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 5 for consumers, both featuring Qualcomm's surprisingly powerful Snapdragon X Elite processor, based on the Arm architecture. Microsoft has already launched versions of both devices with Intel processors inside, for businesses.
But it's the "software" version of Microsoft's AI vision that's intriguing. Microsoft's last feature update of Windows 11 may have introduced AI PCs, but Microsoft is moving more aggressively to a future where AI is more tightly integrated into the operating system. Microsoft appears to have a more formal definition of an "AI PC" waiting in the wings, and we know that it includes a
|
|
Users of Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger will be able to turn to the new technology, powered by Meta's latest artificial intelligence model, to obtain information and complete tasks.
|
|
Price When Reviewed5 devices: $89.99/yr
Best Prices Today: McAfee Total Protection
Retailer
Price
|
|
 While the iPhone 16 series is still months away from launching, another rumor has already surfaced about the two-generations-away iPhone 17 lineup.
|
|
