Month: August 2024
Microsoft Teams’ new single app for personal and work is now available
Illustration: The Verge
Microsoft is finally launching a single unified Microsoft Teams app that will allow you to switch between personal and work accounts. The new app has been in testing for most of the year, and Microsoft is now rolling it out for Windows and Mac users today.
This app update not only supports work, personal, and education accounts in a single Teams app, but it also improves the experience of switching between different Teams tenants. “You can also join as a guest without signing in,” explains Amit Fulay, vice president of product at Microsoft. “Whether you’re joining a call to connect with a customer or discuss your school’s fall fundraiser, simply select your preferred account the moment you join the meeting.”
Image: Microsoft
Personal and work accounts can now be open side by side in a single Teams app.
Microsoft has had a long and messy history supporting work and personal accounts with Teams. Windows 11 first integrated Teams into the taskbar, but the app only worked with personal accounts. Microsoft then removed this integration from Windows 11 last year, leaving users to have to install two separate Teams apps to access personal or work meetings. It was rather confusing to have Microsoft Teams (free) and Microsoft Teams (work or school) installed and have to make sure you launched the correct version.
Thankfully, the confusing double app situation all goes away with today’s update, so you can simply see personal and work accounts side by side. Notifications are also being improved with this updated app so that you can easily tell which team a notification has come from.
If you already use Microsoft Teams on Windows or Mac, then it will be automatically updated; otherwise, you can download the new app over at Microsoft’s site.
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Illustration: The Verge
Microsoft is finally launching a single unified Microsoft Teams app that will allow you to switch between personal and work accounts. The new app has been in testing for most of the year, and Microsoft is now rolling it out for Windows and Mac users today.
This app update not only supports work, personal, and education accounts in a single Teams app, but it also improves the experience of switching between different Teams tenants. “You can also join as a guest without signing in,” explains Amit Fulay, vice president of product at Microsoft. “Whether you’re joining a call to connect with a customer or discuss your school’s fall fundraiser, simply select your preferred account the moment you join the meeting.”
Image: Microsoft
Personal and work accounts can now be open side by side in a single Teams app.
Microsoft has had a long and messy history supporting work and personal accounts with Teams. Windows 11 first integrated Teams into the taskbar, but the app only worked with personal accounts. Microsoft then removed this integration from Windows 11 last year, leaving users to have to install two separate Teams apps to access personal or work meetings. It was rather confusing to have Microsoft Teams (free) and Microsoft Teams (work or school) installed and have to make sure you launched the correct version.
Thankfully, the confusing double app situation all goes away with today’s update, so you can simply see personal and work accounts side by side. Notifications are also being improved with this updated app so that you can easily tell which team a notification has come from.
If you already use Microsoft Teams on Windows or Mac, then it will be automatically updated; otherwise, you can download the new app over at Microsoft’s site.
Authors sue Anthropic for training AI using pirated books
Image: The Verge
A group of authors has sued Anthropic, accusing it of training its models on pirated books, as reported by Reuters. The proposed class action lawsuit was filed in a California court on Monday and alleges Anthropic “built a multibillion-dollar business by stealing hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books.”
In the lawsuit, the authors say that Anthropic used a sprawling, open-source dataset known as “The Pile” to train its family of Claude AI chatbots. Within this dataset is something called Books3, a massive library of pirated ebooks that includes works from Stephen King, Michael Pollan, and thousands of other authors. Earlier this month, Anthropic confirmed to Vox that it used The Pile to train Claude.
“It is apparent that Anthropic downloaded and reproduced copies of The Pile and Books3, knowing that these datasets were comprised of a trove of copyrighted content sourced from pirate websites like Bibiliotik,” the lawsuit reads. The authors want the court to certify their class action lawsuit as well as require Anthropic to pay proposed damages and prevent the company from using copyrighted material in the future. Anthropic didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.
The writers suing Anthropic include Andrea Bartz, the author of We Were Never Here; Charles Graeber, who wrote The Good Nurse; and Kirk Wallace Johnson, the author of The Feather Thief. While the lawsuit acknowledges that Books3 has been removed from the “most official” version of The Pile, the original version is still allegedly available elsewhere online. A recent investigation also found that companies like Anthropic and Apple trained their AI models on thousands of scraped YouTube video subtitles available within The Pile.
Last year, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and other authors filed a similar lawsuit against Meta, Microsoft, and EleutherAI — the nonprofit behind The Pile — over allegations their work was pirated and used to train AI models. George R.R. Martin, Jodi Picoult, Michael Chabon, and several other authors have also sued OpenAI for its alleged use of their copyrighted content.
Image: The Verge
A group of authors has sued Anthropic, accusing it of training its models on pirated books, as reported by Reuters. The proposed class action lawsuit was filed in a California court on Monday and alleges Anthropic “built a multibillion-dollar business by stealing hundreds of thousands of copyrighted books.”
In the lawsuit, the authors say that Anthropic used a sprawling, open-source dataset known as “The Pile” to train its family of Claude AI chatbots. Within this dataset is something called Books3, a massive library of pirated ebooks that includes works from Stephen King, Michael Pollan, and thousands of other authors. Earlier this month, Anthropic confirmed to Vox that it used The Pile to train Claude.
“It is apparent that Anthropic downloaded and reproduced copies of The Pile and Books3, knowing that these datasets were comprised of a trove of copyrighted content sourced from pirate websites like Bibiliotik,” the lawsuit reads. The authors want the court to certify their class action lawsuit as well as require Anthropic to pay proposed damages and prevent the company from using copyrighted material in the future. Anthropic didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.
The writers suing Anthropic include Andrea Bartz, the author of We Were Never Here; Charles Graeber, who wrote The Good Nurse; and Kirk Wallace Johnson, the author of The Feather Thief. While the lawsuit acknowledges that Books3 has been removed from the “most official” version of The Pile, the original version is still allegedly available elsewhere online. A recent investigation also found that companies like Anthropic and Apple trained their AI models on thousands of scraped YouTube video subtitles available within The Pile.
Last year, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and other authors filed a similar lawsuit against Meta, Microsoft, and EleutherAI — the nonprofit behind The Pile — over allegations their work was pirated and used to train AI models. George R.R. Martin, Jodi Picoult, Michael Chabon, and several other authors have also sued OpenAI for its alleged use of their copyrighted content.
Procreate defies AI trend, pledges “no generative AI” in its illustration app
Procreate CEO: “I really f—ing hate generative AI.”
Enlarge / Still of Procreate CEO James Cuda from a video posted to X. (credit: Procreate)
On Sunday, Procreate announced that it will not incorporate generative AI into its popular iPad illustration app. The decision comes in response to an ongoing backlash from some parts of the art community, which has raised concerns about the ethical implications and potential consequences of AI use in creative industries.
“Generative AI is ripping the humanity out of things,” Procreate wrote on its website. “Built on a foundation of theft, the technology is steering us toward a barren future.”
In a video posted on X, Procreate CEO James Cuda laid out his company’s stance, saying, “We’re not going to be introducing any generative AI into our products. I don’t like what’s happening to the industry, and I don’t like what it’s doing to artists.”
How Fabric plans to make advanced cryptography ubiquitous
Fabric has developed a custom RISC-V-based chip that is optimized to run the algorithms necessary to establish zero-knowledge proofs and enable fully homomorphic encryption.
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Fabric has developed a custom RISC-V-based chip that is optimized to run the algorithms necessary to establish zero-knowledge proofs and enable fully homomorphic encryption.
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Former Spotify star Alex Cooper signs multi-year deal with SiriusXM
Image: The Unwell Network
Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper has signed a multi-year advertising and distribution deal with SiriusXM. The press release doesn’t spell out the specific terms of the deal, but Variety reports that it’s worth as much as $125 million and will be in place for a bit more than three years.
Call Her Daddy used to be exclusive to Spotify, and it remains one of the most popular podcasts on the platform, but Spotify let the show get wide distribution earlier this year as part of a broader shift to in its podcast strategy. With this SiriusXM deal, Call Her Daddy will still be available on other podcast platforms. SiriusXM also gets advertising and distribution rights for the shows on Cooper’s Unwell Network.
SiriusXM’s move follows its $100 million deal in January for SmartLess, which used to be signed with Amazon. SiriusXM is also home to other big podcasts like Pod Save America (which signed a big deal with the company in 2022) and Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.
Image: The Unwell Network
Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper has signed a multi-year advertising and distribution deal with SiriusXM. The press release doesn’t spell out the specific terms of the deal, but Variety reports that it’s worth as much as $125 million and will be in place for a bit more than three years.
Call Her Daddy used to be exclusive to Spotify, and it remains one of the most popular podcasts on the platform, but Spotify let the show get wide distribution earlier this year as part of a broader shift to in its podcast strategy. With this SiriusXM deal, Call Her Daddy will still be available on other podcast platforms. SiriusXM also gets advertising and distribution rights for the shows on Cooper’s Unwell Network.
SiriusXM’s move follows its $100 million deal in January for SmartLess, which used to be signed with Amazon. SiriusXM is also home to other big podcasts like Pod Save America (which signed a big deal with the company in 2022) and Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.
A24’s ‘Y2K’ has teens battling old-school computers and bloodthirsty Tamagotchis
Once upon a time in the tail-end of the last century, there was something called the Y2K bug. This bit of computer code was supposed to herald a global robot apocalypse at the stroke of midnight when 1999 became the year 2000 because of, uh, clock dates or something. Anyways, nothing happened. Or did it?
That’s the premise behind A24’s new horror comedy, the appropriately-named Y2K. The film imagines a New Year’s Eve of 1999 in which the computers really did turn on humanity. It’s written and directed by SNL alum Kyle Mooney, who made the fantastic and underrated Brigsby Bear.
As you can see from the trailer, it’s a 1990s teen party comedy, like Can’t Hardly Wait, but also an apocalyptic horror film. This particular hodgepodge brings to mind This is the End, in which Seth Rogen and other celebrities fight off a demonic horde.
However, instead of a demonic horde, these teens will be fighting for their lives against VCRs, old-school computers and, of course, murderous Tamagotchis. Also, Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst is somehow involved. The cast is composed primarily of unknown teenagers, but the adults are played by Tim Heidecker, Alicia Silverstone and Mooney himself. The movie hits theaters on December 6.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/a24s-y2k-has-teens-battling-old-school-computers-and-bloodthirsty-tamagotchis-164537560.html?src=rss
Once upon a time in the tail-end of the last century, there was something called the Y2K bug. This bit of computer code was supposed to herald a global robot apocalypse at the stroke of midnight when 1999 became the year 2000 because of, uh, clock dates or something. Anyways, nothing happened. Or did it?
That’s the premise behind A24’s new horror comedy, the appropriately-named Y2K. The film imagines a New Year’s Eve of 1999 in which the computers really did turn on humanity. It’s written and directed by SNL alum Kyle Mooney, who made the fantastic and underrated Brigsby Bear.
As you can see from the trailer, it’s a 1990s teen party comedy, like Can’t Hardly Wait, but also an apocalyptic horror film. This particular hodgepodge brings to mind This is the End, in which Seth Rogen and other celebrities fight off a demonic horde.
However, instead of a demonic horde, these teens will be fighting for their lives against VCRs, old-school computers and, of course, murderous Tamagotchis. Also, Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst is somehow involved. The cast is composed primarily of unknown teenagers, but the adults are played by Tim Heidecker, Alicia Silverstone and Mooney himself. The movie hits theaters on December 6.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/a24s-y2k-has-teens-battling-old-school-computers-and-bloodthirsty-tamagotchis-164537560.html?src=rss
After an Epic Summer, Travis Kelce Isn’t Going Anywhere
With Taylor Swift concerts and part-time TV jobs, it appears the Kansas City star could become an even bigger celebrity after his N.F.L. career.
With Taylor Swift concerts and part-time TV jobs, it appears the Kansas City star could become an even bigger celebrity after his N.F.L. career.