Microsoft is starting the long process of winding down sales of Windows 10 with the announcement that it plans to stop selling the operating system from its own site on January 31st. The software will likely continue to be available from third-party sellers and come pre-installed on laptops and PCs for a while yet, but it’s a significant step towards phasing out the venerable OS.
Meanwhile, Apple announced two new MacBook processors last week (the M2 Pro and M2 Max), which naturally means it’s time to start looking ahead to the inevitable M3 lineup. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the next-generation processor could arrive later this year or in early 2024 in a new MacBook Air and / or iMac. Expect performance and power efficiency improvements if Apple’s previous chips are anything to go by.
And finally, Wordle-clone Quordle has been acquired by Merriam-Webster, and is now accessible on the publishing company’s website. It’s an impressive move for the online word game, whose unique selling point is that it asks you to find four words simultaneously. It follows the acquisition of Wordle by The New York Times a year ago.
For now, here’s a silly tweet to start your day:
Stay tuned, as we continue to update this list with the most important news of today: Monday, January 23rd, 2023.
Jan 24, 2023, 7:03 PM UTCMitchell Clark
iOS 16.3 is now available with a big focus on security
The update adds the ability to protect your Apple ID with a physical key.
Jan 23, 2023, 10:52 PM UTCCharles Pulliam-Moore
Harley Quinn wants you to get yours this Valentine’s Day
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are making sure everyone gets their rocks off in A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special coming to HBO Max.
Jan 23, 2023, 10:51 PM UTCMitchell Clark
Lightyear has stopped production on its solar-powered EV after three months
It says it plans to focus on producing a less expensive car aimed at the mass market.
Jan 23, 2023, 10:22 PM UTCJennifer Pattison Tuohy
Two new Wyze cameras appear to be in the works
A new Wyze Cam Floodlight Pro and Wyze Cam Outdoor Pro have been spotted. Both sport improved 2K resolution over their predecessors.
Jan 23, 2023, 8:46 PM UTCUmar Shakir
The big banks that brought you Zelle are building a new digital wallet
At launch, The Wall Street Journal reports customers can use it by typing in their email address. Once they’re logged in, it will pull up eligible cards to use for payment as an alternative to payment setups from Apple Pay and PayPal.
- MDid CNET’s AI copy its homework?
A report from Futurism notes some striking similarities between the AI-written articles published on CNET and other articles from Forbes, Investopedia, and even Bankrate, which is operated by CNET’s parent company. The outlet has paused its push for AI-written articles, and it’s likely to face some serious scrutiny if it wants to reintroduce them.
Jan 23, 2023, 8:17 PM UTCAlice Newcome-Beill
The Razer Kishi V2 is now compatible with touchscreen-only games
A free update has made the smartphone controller more versatile for Android users.
Jan 23, 2023, 8:09 PM UTCAdi Robertson
Supreme Court puts off showdown over internet moderation bans in Texas and Florida
The court will still hear arguments for a major Section 230 case in February.
- ECrypto honcho Vitalik Buterin has just realized privacy is important.
Everything that happens on the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains is public. Now, after several years of law enforcement using those public transactions to prosecute, it seems crypto enthusiasts have decided privacy matters.
- AThe HDMI spec continues to be pretty busted.
The idea of HDMI is you shouldn’t have to worry about bandwidth or VRR or any other part of the alphanumeric soup that makes up the HDMI spec. You should just care about HDMI 2.0 or 2.1 or 1.4 or what have you. But as the video below explains, loopholes exist that make buying the right TV to plug all your HDMI 2.1 gadgets into pretty dang difficult.
If you were hoping most 2023 TVs would have the best version of HDMI 2.1 on every input, you’d be wrong.
- AElon Musk expects us to believe that his weed joke wasn’t really a weed joke.
The guy who named his cars a specific way so it would spell “S3XY” really just testified — under oath — that his “[a]m considering taking Tesla private at $420 a share” was just a funny coincidence. Amazing stuff.
Jan 23, 2023, 5:53 PM UTCJay Peters
Fortnite on iOS is about to become even more limited
The game hasn’t been updated for more than two years because it was pulled from the App Store. But starting next week, players won’t be able to spend V-Bucks and will have to be older than 18 years of age to play.
Jan 23, 2023, 5:45 PM UTCSean Hollister
Dbrand Nintendoes what Valve Nintenwon’t
Dbrand: ‘I am once again asking for your lawsuit.’
Jan 23, 2023, 4:43 PM UTCEmma Roth
Messenger’s encrypted chats get themes, emoji reactions, and more
Meta’s also expanding its test of default end-to-end encryption to more users.
- CLooks like Gulikit is taking a swing at the PS5’s DualSense controller.
Following the announcement of their (currently sold out) driftless Joy-Con sticks, Gulikit responded to a reply on Twitter saying they’re working on replacement sticks for Sony’s Dual Sense controllers, starting with the modular DualSense Edge. Good! I have a KingKong 2 Pro controller and that thing rocks. There’s no excuse for stick drift any more!
- MMembers of a Facebook group for parents didn’t know the FBI pulled the page’s data for a murder investigation.
After the murder of a pregnant woman in Arkansas, the FBI asked Facebook for data related to a private group for local parents, according to a search warrant. The FBI believes the killer found the victim in the group.
But some admins of the group say they had no idea their data was searched by the FBI, and that Meta never notified them.
- RGreen light.
News of layoffs continues to echo throughout the tech industry, and the latest company on the list is Spotify. Meanwhile, Microsoft has, as expected, announced a new AI deal.
We’re live with reviews of both the new Mac Mini and 16-inch MacBook Pro, but I’m also thinking back about what third-party apps did to make Twitter what it is today.
Jan 23, 2023, 2:14 PM UTCTom Warren
Microsoft extends OpenAI partnership in a ‘multibillion dollar investment’
Microsoft says it has invested billions into OpenAI in a multiyear deal that will see the software giant become OpenAI’s exclusive cloud provider.
Jan 23, 2023, 2:01 PM UTCAsh Parrish
Forspoken is better than its bad name implies
There’s a fascinating story and incredible parkour action buried under lackluster combat and a game lacking technical polish.
Jan 23, 2023, 2:00 PM UTCCameron Faulkner
Sony’s DualSense Edge is a pro controller done (mostly) right
Slightly worse battery life aside, I’m a big fan of almost everything Sony did to improve on the already-great DualSense.
Jan 23, 2023, 2:00 PM UTCMonica Chin
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) review: the core count grows
Apple’s new MacBook Pro 16 with M2 Max has exactly one significant upgrade from the 2021 model: a more powerful chip.
Jan 23, 2023, 2:00 PM UTCChris Welch
Apple Mac Mini (2023) review: Mac Studio junior
With two processor choices — one for everyday computing, the other for conquering creative work — Apple’s littlest Mac has never been more appealing.
Jan 23, 2023, 1:09 PM UTCJames Vincent
ChatGPT users report $42 a month pricing for ‘pro’ access but no official announcement yet
OpenAI says it’s exploring ways to monetize ChatGPT
- JThese ugly sweaters make you invisible to AI.
We’ve known for years that certain visual patterns known as ‘adversarial images’ can’t be seen by AI object recognition algorithms. A few individuals and organizations have made T-shirts with these patterns, but Italian startup cap_able is the first we know of to try knitwear.
You can watch a video of the clothes in action here, but be warned: prices start at €285 for a T-shirt.
Jan 23, 2023, 12:30 PM UTCJon Porter
Spotify is laying off 6 percent of its global workforce, CEO announces
The cuts follow layoffs at other tech giants in recent month. Content and ad chief Dawn Ostroff is also leaving the company.