[0.07] Used to be a king, you know, [1.25]
[1.25] but I abdicated the throne [3.32]
[3.32] for one very simple reason. [5.53]
[5.53] I wanted to focus on bringing you the tech news. [8.65]
[8.65] Still gonna tax you, though. [10.45]
[10.45] Mozilla has ignited controversy among Firefox users this week by, [14.97]
[14.97] primarily, [15.81]
[15.81] being bad at marketing. [17.49]
[17.49] See, the company's been trying to build a new framework for online advertising [21.34]
[21.34] that depends less on collecting people's personal information. [24.39]
[24.39] They acquired Anonym, a company working on just that, in June, [28.65]
[28.65] before announcing Privacy Preserving Attribution in August. [32.77]
[32.77] PPA supposedly encrypts and aggregates data [36.02]
[36.02] about how many users engage with an ad [38.44]
[38.44] without collecting any info about those users, [41.85]
[41.85] preserving privacy while still letting websites generate revenue. [45.63]
[45.63] And I think it sounds good [48.47]
[48.47] when you say it like that. [49.79]
[49.79] Unfortunately, yesterday, [51.37]
[51.37] Mozilla's relatively new CEO [53.14]
[53.14] started off her blog post about PPA by saying the company is [57.38]
[57.38] going to be more active in digital advertising, [60.73]
[60.73] while an official forum post talked about making ads and privacy coexist, [65.33]
[65.33] causing concern among the particularly ad-averse [68.39]
[68.39] that Mozilla was going through that phase [70.06]
[70.06] when you think Don Draper is a good guy in Mad Men. [72.81]
[72.81] You don't like the first five seconds of the first episode? [75.77]
[75.77] While some Firefox users simply want no ads on the internet, period, [81.09]
[81.09] others are trying to explain how PPA could balance privacy and sustainability. [86.57]
[86.57] The problem is, this isn't even Mozilla's first marketing blunder for PPA. [91.99]
[91.99] Adblock users were already mad about PPA being enabled by default in July's Firefox 128.0 release, [98.89]
[98.89] which led EU privacy organization, NOIB, [101.99]
[101.99] which stands for [103.44]
[103.44] NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, [105.67]
[105.67] the spit is silent, [108.11]
[108.11] to file a complaint over Firefox's new feature which tracked users. [113.39]
[113.39] Side note, [114.15]
[114.15] NOIB is no joke. [115.75]
[115.75] Another of their complaints just led to a [117.76]
[117.76] top EU court imposing limits on Meta's data collection. [121.34]
[121.65] Do not rub NOIB the wrong way. [124.47]
[124.47] But they do appreciate it if you rub them the right way. [128.43]
[128.43] They call it NOIBing. [129.97]
[129.97] Turns out that early PPA rollout was a limited developer test [133.16]
[133.16] and did not collect any user data, [135.29]
[135.29] but Mozilla did admit last week [137.77]
[137.77] they could have been more open about what they were doing, [140.74]
[140.74] only to fumble the ball again this week, [143.41]
[143.41] the same week they flagged the uBlock Origin Lite Firefox add-on [147.4]
[147.4] as collecting user data and using machine generated code, [151.65]
[151.65] causing developer Raymond Hill to pull it from the add-on store [154.65]
[154.65] after getting fed up with Mozilla support. [156.65]
[156.65] Listen, [157.1]
[157.45] I want Firefox to be better at marketing [159.49]
[159.49] so more people use it, [160.72]
[160.72] but right now they're at like 7% market share. [162.63]
[162.63] So proportionally, [163.46]
[163.46] I spent way too much time talking about this. [165.63]
[165.63] YouTube has announced a bunch of changes to how shorts work, [168.59]
[168.59] starting with how they're not gonna be so short. [171.99]
[171.99] You still have to put them on one leg at a time. [174.17]
[174.17] Starting October 15th, [175.64]
[175.64] shorts can be up to three minutes. [177.4]
[177.4] Meaning any video with a square aspect ratio or taller [181.5]
[181.5] that's less than three minutes [183.13]
[183.13] will be seen as a short by YouTube. [185.31]
[185.31] The change will only apply to videos uploaded after that date though, [189.29]
[189.29] so don't worry, [190.13]
[190.13] vertical doom scrollers [191.64]
[191.64] won't suddenly be hit with your experimental artsy student film. [195.43]
[195.43] The square is a box that represents society. [200.09]
[200.09] And the black and white represents my soul. [203.63]
[203.63] In an ode to TikTok's CapCut templates, [206.38]
[206.38] YouTube's also adding a remix ability [208.92]
[208.92] with the use template button, [211.25]
[211.25] which will let you participate in that most storied of human traditions. [215.04]
[215.45] Doing it for the meme. [216.89]
[216.89] There's also a new trends page for shorts, [219.02]
[219.02] and later the shorts feed itself will show previews [222.16]
[222.16] of comments before you even click through to the video. [225.57]
[225.57] Which comments? [226.35]
[226.35] Oh, [227.07]
[227.07] the worst ones, obviously. [228.59]
[228.59] YouTube's obviously hoping the new features [230.18]
[230.18] will help it compete with TikTok, [231.63]
[231.63] and it's already beating it in at least one way, [234.25]
[234.25] the new YouTube feature that lets you [236.02]
[236.02] temporarily hide shorts from your YouTube home feed altogether. [240.3]
[240.39] I wish I could do that on TikTok. [242.37]
[242.37] I also wish I wouldn't be spied on by the Chinese government. [245.02]
[245.23] Meta has revealed Meta MovieGen, [248.13]
[248.13] its own photorealistic video generator [250.14]
[250.14] capable of creating 16 second videos with a twist, or else I wouldn't be telling you about it. [255.97]
[255.97] Though it's not available to the public, [257.55]
[257.55] Meta's demos showcase the ability [259.34]
[259.34] to edit existing videos using only text, [262.61]
[262.61] as well as impressively realistic simulations of bad, Halloween costumes. [267.42]
[267.42] But here's the twist. [268.54]
[268.54] With a single photo, [270.03]
[270.03] MovieGen can make a video deep fake of anyone DJing an impromptu set next to a cheetah. [275.89]
[275.89] Only that scenario. [277.12]
[277.12] But is the cheetah dancing? [278.37]
[278.37] No. [278.73]
[278.73] Is it Chester Cheetah? [280.03]
[280.03] Maybe. [280.47]
[280.47] I'm out. [281.26]
[281.69] I hate that guy. [283.67]
[283.67] And even more impressively to me, [285.61]
[285.61] it can generate music and audio synced up to the action in the video. [291.05]
[296.75] Meta says MovieGen could usher in a new AI-enabled era of content creators. [302.7]
[302.7] As an example, [303.34]
[303.34] they ask you to imagine sending your friends some fresh-baked AI slop for their birthday. [309.59]
[309.59] That'll be kind of funny. [311.06]
[311.06] The first time I made this for you. [313.6]
[313.6] No, you didn't. [315.53]
[315.74] You bitch. [316.6]
[316.6] What about using AI to help you edit a nice heartfelt note instead? [321.04]
[321.04] Using our sponsor, [322.7]
[322.7] [CUT] [353.68]
[353.67] Not many people know this, [354.94]
[354.94] but QuickBits is actually a nickname. [357.55]
[357.55] It's short for Quitchard Bits Gerald. [360.11]
[360.11] Now, you know, [361.11]
[361.11] A man I killed in 1973. [363.94]
[364.37] Microsoft has finally killed WordPad, [366.86]
[366.86] the rich text editing word processor [368.91]
[368.91] that debuted on Windows 95. [371.71]
[371.71] Microsoft has added it to its list of removed features and functionality. [376.02]
[376.02] It'll be gone from all editions of Windows, [377.64]
[377.64] starting with Windows 11 version 24H2, [380.52]
[380.52] which started rolling out this week. [382.85]
[382.85] We are witnessing the death of a legend, [384.82]
[384.82] so pour one out, [385.81]
[385.81] but not just any drink, [387.57]
[387.57] something classy. [388.79]
[388.79] Something fit to celebrate the life of a program born in the 90s, [392.16]
[392.16] an aged can of Surge. [394.82]
[394.82] A few days ago, [395.5]
[395.5] Amazon's Ring sent an email out to Protect Plus subscribers, [400.0]
[400.0] reminding them that they would be migrated to the Protect Pro plan next year, [405.16]
[405.16] doubling their subscription fee. [407.61]
[407.61] That reminder comes with heavy air quotes [410.37]
[410.37] because The Verge tracked down when Ring sent its original notification, [414.46]
[414.46] which turned out to be a tiny fine print footnote [417.71]
[417.71] in a September 2021 email with the subject line, [420.67]
[420.67] important, your plan name has changed. [424.0]
[424.0] The email said, quote, [425.59]
[425.59] don't worry, everything else is staying the same. [428.74]
[428.74] Ring sent a similar email to Canadian Ring Home Standard subscribers this week [433.29]
[433.29] with the heading, new name, new features, same great price. [437.4]
[437.4] The email then informs users that their subscription [439.81]
[439.81] will no longer include alarm professional monitoring and SOS emergency response, [444.74]
[444.74] because now calling the cops costs extra. [447.32]
[447.32] Do you think calls to the police grow on trees? [449.54]
[449.54] Mm. [449.65]
[449.65] Someone's got to pay him. [450.92]
[450.92] The government, who? [452.24]
[452.24] Google is testing the use of blue check marks [454.95]
[454.95] as a way to protect users [456.37]
[456.37] from fraudulent links in search results. [459.44]
[459.44] Hovering over the check mark explains [460.71]
[460.71] that Google is pretty sure the business is who they say they are. [465.22]
[465.22] An example of this, also from The Verge, [467.3]
[467.3] depicts a notice that says, [468.52]
[468.52] Google can't guarantee the reliability of this business or its products. [473.04]
[473.04] But to be fair, the business in question was Apple. [476.28]
[476.28] Ba-doom. [478.02]
[479.06] Fruits! [479.74]
[479.74] Oh, the symbol, I needed the symbol. [482.44]
[482.44] Ba-doom. [483.34]
[484.45] That's a new rim shot. [485.9]
[485.9] Ba-doom, fruits! [487.4]
[487.4] Speaking of unreliable products, [488.82]
[488.82] Google searches AI overview feature [490.89]
[490.89] will now be getting ads that are relevant to your question. [494.34]
[494.34] Finally, [495.12]
[495.12] Gemini won't just tell you to eat rocks, [497.2]
[497.2] but also recommend the tastiest ones. [499.42]
[499.42] I like igneous rocks the best. [501.43]
[502.25] Samsung issued a faulty software update two days ago [505.29]
[505.29] that bricked many older Galaxy smartphones globally. [509.18]
[509.18] Even worse, [509.7]
[509.7] the issue seemed to have been caused by an update to Samsung's SmartThings Framework app, [514.66]
[514.66] an automatically installed app [516.19]
[516.19] for controlling compatible smart devices. [518.66]
[518.66] I feel like users still rocking Galaxy phones from 2019 [522.71]
[522.71] aren't splurging on a smart fridge. [524.64]
[524.64] We're not sure whether this was necessary. [526.42]
[526.42] They're buying sensible things, [527.95]
[527.95] like basically anything else you can buy. [530.58]
[530.58] Cabbage. [531.44]
[531.44] which you put in a dump fridge [533.92]
[533.92] But the smart fridge enthusiasts watching this video may be excited to know [538.07]
[538.07] that Apple fixed the update that was bricking M4 iPads. [541.97]
[541.97] What a transition. [543.05]
[543.32] I'm not saying only smart fridge owners own M4 iPads, [547.05]
[547.05] but I'm pretty sure they could afford one. [548.68]
[548.68] I want a fridge I can watch TikTok on. [551.17]
[551.17] And a court has dismissed a shareholders lawsuit [553.69]
[553.69] against Tesla over Elon Musk's exaggerated claims about its full self-driving feature. [559.88]
[559.88] Of course, the case wasn't dismissed [561.4]
[561.4] because those claims were true, [563.05]
[563.05] but rather because, according to Tesla's own lawyers, [566.0]
[566.0] the statements were nothing more than corporate puffery, [569.9]
[570.26] AKA bullshit [571.23]
[571.23] that no reasonable investor would have taken seriously. [575.43]
[575.43] I mean, come on guys, [576.68]
[576.68] we're all just, this is just locker room talk, like. [579.11]
[579.11] But Elon had less success in Australia, [582.14]
[582.14] where a court upheld a $418,000 fine against Twitter, [586.2]
[586.2] which the corporation formerly known as Twitter [588.57]
[588.57] fought on the grounds that, [590.08]
[590.08] following its merger with X Corp, [592.7]
[592.7] Twitter no longer exists. [595.24]
[595.24] Twitter, who's that? [596.94]
[596.94] Twitter, I never even met her. [598.36]
[598.36] Twitter, I never even met her. [600.37]
[600.37] Look, Elon, [601.34]
[601.34] just because somebody gets married [602.67]
[602.67] and changes their name, [604.02]
[604.02] doesn't mean they no longer exist. [606.34]
[606.34] And it definitely doesn't mean they don't owe me money. [608.92]
[608.92] Like how you owe it to yourself [610.19]
[610.19] to come back on Monday for more tech news. [612.64]
[612.64] You also owe it to me, like a little bit. [615.36]
[615.36] I mean, I gave up a crown for you. [618.68]
[618.68] I was bossing people around, it was great. [621.51]
[622.12] Few assassination attempts. [623.31]
[623.52] I was executing peasants. [625.34]