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2024-03-25 14:15:59| Engadget

There was once a time when you went to one place for music, another for education, and so on, but many companies are now attempting to turn themselves into a jack of all trades to compete for survival. The latest example is Spotify, which has announced a test for video-based learning courses. The new feature joins the platform's music, podcasts and audiobooks lineup.  Spotify has teamed up with a range of content partners: BBC Maestro, PLAYvirtuoso, Thinkific Labs Inc. and Skillshare. They offer content in four main categories: making music, getting creative, learning business and healthy living. "With this offer, we are exploring a potential opportunity to provide educational creators with a new audience who can access their video content, reaching a bigger potential swath of engaged Spotify users while expanding our catalog," Spotify stated in the announcement. The platform claims that around half of users have "engaged" in self-help or educational podcasts.  The test courses are available only to UK users, with free and premium subscribers receiving at least two free lessons per course. The series will range in price from 20 ($25) to 80 ($101), regardless of a person's subscription tier. Users can access them on mobile or desktop. Exact pricing and availability might change if the feature moves past the test phase.  This forays into video-based courses follows shortly after Spotify introduced music videos in beta. They're available on select tracks and, like the classes, aren't available to US subscribers (the UK is among the 11 countries with access). This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spotify-launches-educational-video-courses-in-the-uk-131559272.html?src=rss


Category: Marketing and Advertising

 

2024-03-25 14:00:05| Engadget

Last summer, TikTok said it planned to form a youth council of teens to advise the company as part of a broader push to beef up safety features for the apps youngest users. That group is now official, and they have already started meeting with the company, including CEO Shou Chew, the company announced. The announcement comes as TikTok is fighting a bill that would force parent company ByteDance to sell the app or face a ban in the United States. As part of that effort, the company has tried to mobilize its users, many of them teens, to oppose the measure. TikToks critics often cite youth safety as one of the most significant risks posed by the app. Its not clear if the newly-formed youth council will do much to counter that perception. But the company says the group has already influenced an upcoming media literacy campaign in the US that will focus on misinformation, AI-generated content, and more. The council, made up of 15 teens from the US, UK, Brazil, Indonesia, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, and Morocco, has also weighed in on the apps youth portal feature, which provides in-app privacy and security resources. According to TikTok, the council is meant to advise on the safety policies and issues that often impact teens. The group also collaborates with UK online safety organization Praesidio Safeguarding, which helped select the councils teenage members, all of whom are paid, according to TikTok. The company notes that CEO Shou Chew attended the most recent meeting in February, when the youth council asked TikTok to share more details about how reporting and blocking work in the app. While its not yet clear how much, if any, influence TikToks youth council will ultimately wield over the companys policies, it underscores just how important teens are to the platform. TikTok is one of the most dominant apps among teens in the US, currently the companys largest market. The company has also leaned on them to oppose the bill that could lead to a ban of the app, though those efforts may have backfired.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktok-turns-to-teenage-youth-council-as-part-of-its-latest-safety-push-130005305.html?src=rss


Category: Marketing and Advertising

 

2024-03-25 13:41:47| Engadget

Uh oh. Apple, Meta and Google could be in hot water in Europe over their attempts to stand within the letter, if not exactly the spirit, of the bloc's sweeping new Digital Markets Act (DMA).  Core to the probe are concerns Google parent Alphabet and Apple have not given sufficiently allowed "app developers to steer consumers to offers outside the gatekeepers' app stores, free of charge," according to the European Commission (the European Union's executive arm). As things currently stand, the new rules from these tech companies may "constrain ... developers' ability to freely communicate and promote offers and directly conclude contracts, including by imposing various charges."  The European Commission said it also believes Alphabet's search may still engage in self-preferencing of Google-owned services, like Google Flights. Apple, it said, may not be allowing users meaningful choice in selecting alternatives to default iOS services or preferences the ability to uninstall any pre-loaded app, for instance. Also caught up in the probe is Meta, in relation to its new EU scheme wherein users can opt out of ads, but only for a price.    The European Commission had, in the lead up to these probes, been hinting at a possible investigation into Apple and Google. In January, Apple announced a raft of App Store changes to comply with the DMA, which required it to (among other things) enable alternative app marketplaces on iOS in the EU and to let developers direct users to third-party payment systems. Included in Apple's updates was a new "core technology fee" of 0.50 that developers will have to pay per user per year after the first 1 million installs of an app even if a user downloads the software from a third-party marketplace. Google is also charging developers fees in the EU if they bypass the Play Store. Many of Apple's rivals slammed the App Store changes. Some criticized the company's fees for third-party payments in the US too. The EU, perhaps unsurprisingly, is keeping a close eye on how companies subject to DMA rules are complying (or not) with them. "There are things that we take a keen interest in, for instance, if the new Apple fee structure will de facto not make it in any way attractive to use the benefits of the DMA," antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager told Reuters on March 19. "That kind of thing is what we will be investigating." Today's announcement also hints that Apple's "new fee structure" for alternative app stores may still be on the docket for future intervention, along with, apparently, Amazon's possible self-preferencing in its digital storefront.  In statements to press Apple has said it's "confident our plan complies with the DMA" while Alphabet has said it will "continue to defend our approach in the coming months." A Meta spokesperson called its paid, ad-free option "a well-established business model across many industries." News of the sweeping probe comes soon after the US Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. The government and more than a dozen states accused Apple of fostering a mobile app monopoly, claiming the company makes it too difficult for rivals to compete with its own products and services.  It might be a while before we learn the outcome of the EU probes. According to Bloomberg, EC investigators try to reach a final decision within a year of starting a formal investigation. If officials determine that these companies aren't complying with the DMA, they face hefty penalties.  Under the law, the EU can fine a company up to 10 percent of its total annual revenue, and up to 20 percent for repeated violations. Such penalties could make the $2 billion that the EU recently fined Apple for allegedly suppressing iTunes and Apple Music competitors like Spotify look like pocket change.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-eu-is-investigating-apple-meta-and-google-over-fees-and-self-preferencing-124147179.html?src=rss


Category: Marketing and Advertising

 

2024-03-25 12:15:18| Engadget

According to Rabbit, the first batch of US pre-orders will ship on March 31. But stay patient, as itll take a few weeks for the devices to get to their destinations. The company estimates the first R1 orders will be in customers hands around April 24. The Rabbit R1 generated equal amounts of hype and questions regarding next-gen AI hardware and whether it can deliver on the heady demos and press releases. I will say, though, the R1, co-designed by Teenage Engineering, is a pretty piece of tech. Mat Smith The biggest stories you might have missed Studio Ghibli Fest will bring 14 movies back to theaters this year, so start planning The 4 best air fryers for 2024, tested and reviewed China bans Intel and AMD processors in government computers Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 review You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! Apple Silicon has a hardware-level exploit that could leak private data The odds are fairly low that youll have to worry about it. University security researchers found a chip-level exploit in Apple Silicon-powered Macs. The group says the flaw can bypass the computers encryption and access its security keys. However, hackers would need to circumvent Apples Gatekeeper protections, install a malicious app and let the software run for 10 hours in addition to other complex conditions. As long as you have Apples Gatekeeper turned on (the default), you wont be able to install such malicious apps anyway. Continue reading. Senators ask intelligence officials to declassify details about TikTok and ByteDance Lawmakers have participated in classified briefings about the app. As the Senate considers a bill that would force the sale or ban of TikTok, lawmakers have heard directly from intelligence officials about the apps alleged national security threat. Now, two senators are asking the office of the Director of National Intelligence to declassify and make public what the agency has shared. Continue reading. Instagram porn bots new low-effort tactic works Posting ass and insect? REUTERS / Reuters Instead of a suggestive tease, spam bots in the Instagram universe are now more likely to post a single, inoffensive, completely irrelevant-to-the-subject word, sometimes accompanied by an emoji or two. Thats partially because Instagrams word filters wont catch them, but its simply a numbers game. Cheyenne MacDonald takes a closer look. Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-rabbit-r1-starts-shipping-next-week-111518284.html?src=rss


Category: Marketing and Advertising

 

2024-03-25 07:58:59| Engadget

China has introduced guidelines that bar the the use of US processors from AMD and Intel in government computers and servers, The Financial Times has reported. The new rules also block Microsoft Windows and foreign database products in favor of domestic solutions, marking the latest move in a long-running tech trade war between the two countries. Government agencies must now use "safe and reliable" domestic replacements for AMD and Intel chips. The list includes 18 approved processors, including chips from Huawei and the state-backed company Phytium both of which are banned in the US.  The new rules introduced in December and quietly implemented recently could have a significant impact on Intel and AMD. China accounted for 27 percent of Intel's $54 billion in sales last year and 15 percent of AMD's revenue of $23 billion, according to the FT. It's not clear how many chips are used in government versus the private sector, however.  The moves are China's most aggressive yet to restrict the use of US-built technology. Last year, Beijing prohibited domestic firms from using Micron chips in critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, the US has banned a wide range of Chinese companies ranging from chip manufacturers to aerospace firms. The Biden administration has also blocked US companies like NVIDIA from selling AI and other chips to China.  The US, Japan and the Netherlands have dominated the manufacturing of cutting-edge processors, and those nations recently agreed to tighten export controls on lithography machines from ASL, Nikon and Tokyo Electron. However, Chinese companies, including Baidu, Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo have already started designing their own semiconductors to prepare for a future wherein they could longer import chips from the US and other countries.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/china-bans-intel-and-amd-processors-in-government-computers-065859238.html?src=rss


Category: Marketing and Advertising

 

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