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| Here's a look at today's Tech briefing: - Disney to launch combined Disney+ and Hulu app next month.
- Omegle, the anonymous video chat service, has shut down.
- Sony reports drop in operating profit amid weak image sensor sales.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Disney will launch a beta version of a combined Disney+ and Hulu app in December. The app will merge Disney+ and Hulu content into a single experience for bundle subscribers. A full launch of the app is expected in spring 2024. More: - CEO Bob Iger announced the app's launch during the company's Q4 earnings call on Wednesday.
- Iger expects the combined app will boost engagement and reduce churn, as well as offer more advertising opportunities.
- The company currently offers a discounted bundle of Disney+ and Hulu with ads for $9.99 per month ($19.99 per month without ads), but customers need to use separate apps.
- Disney recently announced plans to buy Comcast's Hulu shares for $8.6B, making Disney the sole owner of Hulu and allowing for the combined app.
Zoom out: - Iger said Disney's streaming business is expected to be profitable by Q4 fiscal 2024, which ends Sep. 30, 2024.
- After three straight quarters of losing subscribers, Disney+ gained 7 million paid users in Q4 2023, bringing its total to 150.2 million, though it still trails behind Netflix and Amazon in the streaming market.
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| 2 | | Omegle, the video chat service that anonymously matched users with strangers, has shut down following years of reports that it was used by predators to target minors. The company recently settled a lawsuit that accused the platform of pairing an 11-year-old girl with a sexual predator. More: - The site, which had no age verification, claimed 73 million monthly users in February.
- A BBC investigation found an uptick in instances of users, including minors, exposing themselves on Omegle chat.
- The BBC also found that Omegle was cited in over 50 legal cases against pedophiles in 2021 and 2022.
Zoom out: - In a letter on the site, Omegle founder Leif K-Brooks attributed the shutdown to the "stress and expense" of attacks from those wanting the site to fail.
- He acknowledged that some people were using the platform to "commit unspeakably heinous crimes."
- Omegle worked with law enforcement agencies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to gather evidence against wrongdoers, he noted.
- The founder still argued that "every tool can be used for good or for evil," and warned users that the shutdown was the beginning of an end to "active participation and genuine human connection" online.
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| 3 | | GM's Cruise, the autonomous vehicle company, is laying off an undisclosed number of workers in its driverless fleet. The move comes after Cruise paused all of its driverless operations in the U.S. after California's DMV suspended its robotaxi permit in the state. More: - In an internal meeting this week, CEO Kyle Vogt confirmed the layoffs, which are initially impacting contingent workers in its self-driving fleet.
- The workers, employed by a third party, have handled vehicle maintenance and cleaning as well as customer support.
- The company is managing the fallout from an Oct. 2 incident, in which a pedestrian was hit by another vehicle in San Francisco. A Cruise self-driving car stopped and attempted a pullover maneuver while the pedestrian was dragged beneath the vehicle for more than 20 feet before braking.
- After the incident, Cruise halted its driverless operations entirely. This week, GM issued a recall for Cruise's entire 950-robotaxi fleet.
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| 4 | | Sony reported a 29% drop in operating profit for the July-September quarter, citing higher expenses and weaker sales of its image sensors for smartphones. The company continues to uphold its PS5 sales goal of 25 million units for the financial year, now that the supply shortages of the console have been resolved. More: - Sony provides camera chips to tech giants like Apple, which incorporates the semiconductors into its iPhones.
- Profit in that chip division fell by more than 28% in fiscal Q2.
- Meanwhile, the company sold 4.9 million PS5 units in Q2, reaching a total of 46.6 million units sold since November 2020.
- To meet its target of 25 million units for the fiscal year, Sony needs to sell 16.8 million more consoles.
- The company reported strong sales of its exclusive PS5 game, "Marvel's Spider-Man 2," which sold over 2.5 million copies in its first 24 hours.
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| 5 | | Google is expanding its experimental AI-powered search platform to another 120+ countries and territories. The platform, called the Search Generative Experience (SGE), is only available to try out via Google's Search Labs program. More: - SGE, the version of Google search with generative AI capabilities, is available to test through the Google app on Android and iOS and Chrome on desktop.
- Google is also expanding SGE to support four new languages — Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and Indonesian — in addition to English, Hindi, and Japanese.
- SGE users can now ask follow-up questions directly from the main results page.
Zoom out: - Google launched SGE earlier this year as a rival to Microsoft's Bing AI.
- It's currently an early-stage experiment but could one day roll out to all users of its search engine.
- In August, Google announced that SGE could now summarize articles and other long-form content.
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| 6 | | Valve will release an updated version of its handheld gaming PC on Nov. 16. The Steam Deck OLED, with an upgraded screen, is the "first handheld with HDR OLED," according to Valve. More: - The new Steam Deck has a 7.4-inch, 90Hz OLED custom Samsung screen, up from the previous 7-inch 60Hz IPS LCD.
- The latest version also boasts more storage, a longer battery life, and a longer power cord.
- The gaming device, which starts shipping Nov. 16, starts at $549 for the 512GB version.
Zoom out: - Valve released the first Steam Deck console in February 2022.
- According to Valve product designer Lawrence Yang, the company is working on a Steam Deck 2 with a "next-generation" power upgrade, which is expected to launch in 2-3 years.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Bike Friday is on! Upway sells discounted e-bikes from top brands, rigorously inspected and certified by master mechanics. Get discounts of up to $1000 on a selection of e-Bikes!*
- Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, 73, was hospitalized after fainting on Wednesday before a scheduled event in Mexico City. Mexican media reported a possible stroke, while TMZ sources hinted at a less severe episode of vertigo.
- Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, laid off nearly 20 product managers as part of a reorganization to streamline operations and reduce overhead costs.
- Google's Fitbit is discontinuing sales in multiple countries across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and South Africa, part of an effort to make its hardware portfolio better align with the regional availability of Pixel devices.
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Term of the Day Social democracy: Social democracy is a political ideology that seeks to promote economic and social justice through government intervention. Question of the Week What perks would convince you to return to the office? Join the conversation |
 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is an editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters, with a career spanning journalism since 2007. She has written for publications including The Arizona Republic and USA Today and authored a book on the solar industry in 2016. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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