No, 1Password wasn’t hacked – here’s what really happened | Digital Trends

May 3, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Password managers have been struggling with security breaches in recent months, with LastPass suffering a particularly bad hack as a notable example. So when 1Password users got an alert last week saying their Secret Keys and passwords had been changed without their knowledge, they were understandably panicked. Luckily, all was not what it seemed.

That’s because AgileBits, the company behind 1Password, has just explained exactly what went wrong during that event. And while it wasn’t as bad as everyone first thought, it still doesn’t paint AgileBits in a particularly good light.

Ron DeSantis-aligned oversight board votes to countersue Disney | BBC News

May 2, 2023May 1, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A board appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that oversees Disney’s special district has voted to sue Disney, the latest in an escalating feud between the state’s Republican governor and the entertainment giant.

It comes a week after Disney filed a suit against Mr DeSantis.

The board had “no choice now but to respond”, to Disney’s lawsuit, board chairman Martin Garcia said on Monday.

“We’ll seek justice in our own backyard,” he said, US media reported.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is expected to officially file the lawsuit later on Monday.

The BBC has reached out to Disney for comment.

‘Buy American’ shouldn’t block our progress toward ‘Internet for All’ | TechCrunch

May 1, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The finish line is within sight. “Internet for All,” as the Biden administration put it, will soon be a reality if America keeps its priorities straight.

During his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden set a high bar, “We’re going to buy American,” as the U.S. spends billions of dollars on new broadband connections. This is a smart strategy to create American jobs and boost the U.S. economy, but our leaders must not sacrifice speed in the race to close the digital divide in cases where “Buy American” isn’t yet a realistic option.

AI-Powered Reels recommendations are keeping us on Instagram | Mashable

April 28, 2023April 27, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Unfortunately, it turns out we actually kind of like watching Instagram Reels.

When Instagram first launched Reels and promised to pivot the social media platform to video, users were livid. We threw fits. Kylie Jenner demanded that we “make Instagram Instagram again.” And, at first, Reels flopped as a lame version of TikTok.

But, at Meta’s earnings call on Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg reported that time spent on Instagram had risen by 24 percent, an engagement increase he blames on Instagram Reels.

GDP: The US economy grew at a much slower pace in the first quarter | CNN Business

April 28, 2023April 27, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

US economic growth slowed to an annualized and seasonally adjusted rate of 1.1% in the first quarter of this year, as businesses rebalanced their inventories and pulled back on spending amid punishing rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

The increase in the gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic activity — was far below economists’ expectations of 2% and represents a more moderate pace compared to the previous two quarters, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Commerce.

The January-to-March period was also marked in its later weeks by mounting fears that a meltdown in the banking sector and a pending debt ceiling crisis could trigger a recession.

Adobe Announces Updates to Its Popular Video Tools | Small Biz Trends

April 25, 2023April 24, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Adobe recently announced industry-first innovations for its range of video applications which are designed to address the workflow needs of today’s professional editors and motion designers.

The new innovations will automate time-intensive tasks including AI-powered text-based video editing and automated color tone-mapping capabilities in Premiere Pro. There will also be significant GPU acceleration as well as dozens of workflow enhancements to make the latest version of Premiere Pro the fastest ever released.

SpaceX Starship: Elon Musk’s big rocket explodes on test flight | BBC News

April 21, 2023April 20, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Elon Musk’s SpaceX company’s mammoth new rocket, Starship, has exploded on its maiden flight.

No-one was hurt in the uncrewed test that lifted off from Texas’ east coast on Thursday morning local time.

After two to three minutes into the flight, the rocket – the biggest ever developed – started to tumble out of control and was soon destroyed by onboard charges.

Mr Musk has said his company will try again in a couple of months.

Snapchat’s AI chatbot is now free for all global users, says the AI will later ‘Snap’ you back | TechCrunch

April 20, 2023April 19, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Snapchat’s AI chatbot is now opening up to a global audience, the company announced today at its Snap Partner Summit. Initially launched in February, the feature originally allowed Snapchat’s paid subscribers to chat with an AI chatbot powered by OpenAI’s GPT technology directly in its app. Now it will be available for free. To date, users have sent nearly 2 million messages per day using the chatbot, Snap noted. With today’s global expansion, the feature is also being upgraded with new functionality, including the ability to add My AI to group chats, get recommendations for places on Snap Map and Lenses, and share Snaps with My AI and receive chat replies.

Microsoft kicks Twitter in the teeth | TechCrunch

April 20, 2023April 19, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Microsoft is dropping Twitter from its advertising platform next week, nearly two months after Twitter announced that it will begin charging a minimum of $42,000 per month to users of its API, which include enterprises and research institutions.

Users began receiving emails about its new pricing details in early March, per a Wired report that observed at the time that the new pricing scheme “prices out nearly everyone.”

With its $2.15 trillion market cap and roughly $100 billion cash on hand at the end of last year, Microsoft obviously has the money to pay Twitter what it wants, so the move appears to be a bit of a statement, even as Microsoft is declining to elaborate further about its decision.

Trader Joe’s Cashier Goes Viral for Unexpected Act of Kindness | Entrepreneur

April 19, 2023April 18, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Everyone has had one of those days when nothing seems to go right.

Now, in a teary-eyed video that’s garnered over 57,800 views, a Trader Joe’s employee is being praised by a shopper for an unexpected act of kindness that turned her day around.

TikToker Danielle Blakey tearfully tells viewers that she will only shop at Trader Joe’s grocery stores from now on, explaining how she went into the store to pick up some items at night after having “a really hard couple of days,” although she didn’t specify what was going on.

“I’m normally really good at like masking my feelings,” she explains to viewers. “Clearly I was not tonight.”