Reading List
The most recent articles from a list of feeds I subscribe to.
Katie Notopoulos Bids Farewell to Sora: ‘You Were Too Beautiful and Stupid for This World’
Katie Notopoulos, my favorite Sora user, at Business Insider (paywalled, alas, but available via News+):
Eventually, my friends all seemed to get bored with the app. As I do at most parties, I stuck around longer than everyone else, but eventually I, too, found that the novelty had worn off. I rarely opened the app after the second week.
This was, I imagine, a problem: making videos of yourself is fun, but watching videos that strangers make of themselves is not fun. The idea of a social feed of AI-generated videos is simply not something that people are interested in. Around the same time, Meta also tried this with an app of AI videos, and it was even more boring.
It’s hard to see how anyone thought Sora would have staying power, or could ever justify the apparently exorbitant cost of running it. OpenAI burned a ton of money on what was effectively a stunt.
OpenAI doesn’t appear to be a well-oiled machine at the moment.
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn release date update announced alongside closed beta
MacOS 26.4 Adds ‘Slow Charger’ Indicator for MacBooks
Tim Hardwick at MacRumors:
macOS Tahoe 26.4 includes a new slow charger indicator that tells MacBook users when their charging setup isn’t delivering full power. As described in an updated Apple support document, a “Slow Charger” label now appears in orange text in the battery status menu and above the Battery Level graph in Battery settings. The indicator is accompanied by an info button for more details.
Apple says that to charge more quickly, users should use a power adapter and cable that deliver at least the minimum wattage recommended for their MacBook model.
This might be especially useful in Europe, where MacBooks no longer come with power adapters. Regular people often have no idea how power adapters work, and presume one charger is as good as another, if it works at all. After I posted this item back in October about the new MacBook Pros not shipping with chargers anywhere in Europe (not just the EU, even though it’s an EU law that requires products to be available without included chargers), a bunch of readers regaled me with tales of a family member complaining about their MacBook losing battery life even while plugged in, only to discover that they were using wimpy 5- or 10-watt USB-C adapters.
Meta stock fell 8% on Thursday after juries in two US trials found the company failed to adequately warn or protect young users (Reuters)
Reuters:
Meta stock fell 8% on Thursday after juries in two US trials found the company failed to adequately warn or protect young users — Meta Platforms (META.O) shares dropped 7% on Thursday after two verdicts holding it liable for harm to young users sparked fears the social media giant …