We’ve got a pair of PlayStation stories to start your day this Thursday. First is the news that Sony’s latest console is rolling out support for Discord voice chat to beta testers, which is great news for anyone who’s online gaming friends are organized around the chat service. Between this latest update and the news that the PS5 just had its best quarter of sales yet, it feels as though Sony’s console is finally starting to hit its stride two years after its initial release.
But you know what isn’t hitting its stride? Amazon’s drone delivery business, which has reportedly served fewer than 10 households since launching in California and Texas around a month ago. As my colleague Sean Hollister explains, that probably has a lot to do with the restrictive drone safety rules the company has to follow.
Finally, here’s a pretty neat looking concept EV from Nissan, which has made the jump from renders to an in-person showing. There’s no word on when this concept might turn into a production car, but Nissan hopes to produce 23 new electrified vehicle models by the end of the decade.
And 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: Friday, November 18th, 2022.
- RMicrosoft’s next use for OpenAI tech is to write sales emails.
Besides summarizing Teams meetings, Bloomberg reports that Microsoft will plug OpenAI GPT 3.5 tech —that it’s investing billions in — into its Viva Sales tool that works with Microsoft Office to generate emails.
It can generate personalized text, pulling from customer records and emails in Office, with pricing details and other info, presumably making schmoozing current / prospective clients a bit easier.
Your favorite Twitter bot might die next week
Twitter’s planned API changes hit one of its best features hard.
- RMultitasking on a Mac, the Windows way.
Maybe you agree, or maybe you disagree with my take on macOS multitasking (I‘m not a fan, and for my tastes, it relies too heavily on knowledge of arcane gestures or third-party add-ons to efficiently handle the work I do).
But if you’re a Windows-first user on a Mac, this AltTab add-on (via LifeHacker) might be worth trying out. With this, Option + Tab works the same way as your usual Windows shortcut.
AltTab - Windows alt-tab on macOS[alt-tab-macos.netlify.app]
TikTok is testing a way to reset your For You page
TikTok’s mega-specific For You page algorithm takes in data like a users’ watch history and past interactions. The platform says it’s testing a way for users to start fresh.
Get ready for ads in the Microsoft Store
The company is encouraging developers to start advertising their apps in the Windows app store. That hasn’t always gone well.
Here’s how Samsung’s Galaxy S23 lineup stacks up against the iPhone 14
Samsung’s Galaxy S23 offers a few features Apple’s flagship handset lacks (and vice versa).
Why hundreds of thousands of Texans lost power in another cold snap
This isn’t a repeat of 2021, but the grid still needs work.
SimpliSafe’s new camera lets agents talk to intruders inside your home
The home security company is testing a camera with an optional live guard feature: if the alarm goes off, monitoring agents can view the camera stream and tell intruders to scram.
- RNASCAR banned the video game-inspired “hail melon” pass.
Cup Series driver Ross Chastain explained that this ridiculous wall-riding maneuver he used to vault his way into the sport’s postseason was something he and others used to try while playing NASCAR 2005 on the Nintendo GameCube,
Now that we know it can work in real life, Polygon reports NASCAR explicitly banned it ahead of next season, and will assess a time penalty if anyone tries to pull off something similar.
Amazon's latest Kindle Paperwhite is already on sale in its new colorways
We also found deals on a pair of top-notch streaming devices from Nvidia as well as Samsung’s new Galaxy S23 phones.
- RGreen light.
We have all the news from Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event sorted for you, including an edited ten-minute video running down the highlights from yesterday’s presentation.
Today, it’s more earnings news. Sony is already done, with some more stats on PS5 sales, while we’ll also have business updates from Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Ford, GoPro and Qualcomm.
CNET pushed reporters to be more favorable to advertisers, staffers say
CNET built a trusted brand for tech reporting over two decades. After being acquired by Red Ventures, staff say editorial firewalls have been repeatedly breached.
Twitter replaces its free API with a paid tier in quest to make more money
The platform will soon introduce a ‘paid basic tier,’ with more details expected sometime next week.
Apple and Google face mounting pressure to remove TikTok from app stores
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) wrote directly to Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai Thursday calling on their companies to remove downloads of the app.
Discord arrives on PS5 for beta testers today
The PS5 also gets VRR support for 1440p and a host of dashboard improvements.
Sony’s PS5 just had its biggest quarter of sales since release
The Japanese electronics giant shipped 7.1 million of the consoles in the three months ending December 31st, its most yet.
Amazon’s delivery drones served fewer than 10 houses in their first month
Checking in on Bezos’ aerial delivery dream.
Nissan shows off a real version of its rad-looking Max-Out electric convertible concept
The automaker rolled out a physical version of its electric convertible to celebrate its Futures event at its global headquarters. The Max-Out looks every bit the concept, but it could find a home in Nismo’s motorsports lineup.
