SpaceX’s Starship Achieves Orbital Velocity in Historic Test Flight #1730



In a momentous event, SpaceX’s colossal Starship, the world’s largest and most powerful rocket, achieved orbital speed for the first time today. This significant milestone occurred during its third test flight, marking a historic day for SpaceX and space exploration enthusiasts. Despite not completing its intended splashdown, the test was deemed successful as it accomplished several key objectives, advancing SpaceX’s ambitious space travel goals.

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YouTube Designed A Richer Experience For Your TVs



More than ever before, viewer are turning to the largest screen in their homes — their TVs — to watch their favorite YouTube content from dogs, to video games, to sports highlights and more, YouTube posted on their Official Blog.

And while watching television has historically been considered a passive experience, one where you can sit back and enjoy your favorite programs we’re building one that is uniquely YouTube that gives viewers the opportunity to engage with the content they’re watching, even on the big screen. As watch time on TVs has grown to more than 1 billion hours per day, we’re faced with a fun challenge: How can we bring familiar YouTube features and interactivity to the living room while ensuring that the video remains at the center of the experience?

Finding the balance

While we wanted to introduce more interactivity for viewers, we need to ensure that the primary video actions (pause, rewind, fast forward) remained easily accessible and intuitive – after all, content is the core of YouTube.

Finding this balance meant simplifying user interactions to accommodate the remote control, while simultaneously making sure the new design would be applicable to a wide range of use cases.

What we learned from our users was: 

The new design works for features that require equal or more attention than the video itself (e.g. comments, description, live chat) but obscuring the video would be detrimental to the viewing experience.

We need to continue to prioritize simplicity over the introduction of additional lightweight controls.

A one size fits all solution may not be the best approach, as features such as live chat and video description benefit from different levels of immersion.

The Verge reported YouTube is constantly tinkering with its app design across different platforms and screen sizes, and shared the latest changes coming to its TV-optimized app. There’s a clear focus on making the viewing experience more interactive and giving greater prominence to chapters, comments, and video descriptions — without getting in the way of the video you’re trying to watch.

The new new shrinks the video down slightly to make space for the description, comments, and other elements around it. It’s not YouTube’s new default look, since many people will still prefer a full-screen layout. But you can easily click into the more interactive interface from the standard video player screen.

By shifting interactive features to the right side, YouTube is also making a renewed effort to bring shopping to the TV screen. You’ll see a “products in this video” section appear whenever creators include what’s being featured in their content. But YouTube hasn’t quite reached the stage of letting you complete an entire transaction from your TV; instead, the app will display a QR code that you can scan to finish buying an item on your phone. Not exactly seamless.

In my opinion, it appears that YouTube might be hoping to become the next Home Shopping Network. Right now, the best YouTube can do is post a QR code for those who want to buy something they saw in a video that they are currently watching.


House Passes TikTok Crackdown That Could Ban App In U.S.



The House overwhelmingly passed a measure Wednesday to force TikTok to split from its parent company or face a national ban, a lightning offensive that materialized abruptly after years of unsuccessful negotiations over the platform’s fate, The Washington Post reported.

The legislation, approved 352 to 65 with 1 voting present, is a sweeping bipartisan rebuke of the popular video-sharing app — and an attempt to grapple with allegations that its China-based parent, ByteDance, presents national security risks. The House effort gained momentum last week after President Biden said he would sign the bill if Congress passed it.

But it’s fate now rests in the Senate, where some lawmakers have expressed concerns it may run afoul of the Constitution by infringing on millions of Americans’ rights to free expression and by explicitly targeting a business operating in the United States.

Though TikTok is incorporated in the United States and has headquarters in Los Angeles, its ties to Beijing-based tech giant ByteDance have long triggered fears the app could be weaponized by Chinese government officials to snoop on Americans or shape their political views. The company says it has never shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government and would not do so if asked, and its critics have yet to present evidence to the contrary.

According to The Washington Post, Wednesday’s vote is the first time a chamber of Congress has approved legislation that could lead to the platform’s prohibition throughout the country.

The bill lacks a companion measure in the Senate, where lawmakers have pushed for competing approaches for months to tackle concerns over apps viewed as security threats. The dynamics signal a tougher and probably slower path to passage.

CNBC reported the House approved a bill Wednesday that calls for China tech giant ByteDance to divest TikTok or the popular social video app will effectively be banned in the U.S.

The measure passed with a resounding 352-65 vote with one member voting present.

The legislation, dubbed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications App, was introduced March 5 by Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Two days later, House members on the Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously to approve the bill, which refers to TikTok as a threat to national security because it is controlled by a foreign adversary.

The bill now heads to the Senate where it faces an uncertain future as senators appear divided about the legislation, and other federal and state-led efforts to ban TikTok have stalled.

Although House members who drafted the bill have previously said that it “does not ban TikTok,” the legislation in its current form requires ByteDance to divest TikTok within roughly six months in order for the app “to remain available in the United States.” If the bill is enacted, app store owners such as Apple and Google along with internet-hosting companies would be prohibited from supporting TikTok and other apps that are linked to ByteDance,

In my opinion, I think the Senate is not going to fall in line with the legislation created by two House committees. In general, what comes from the House goes to the Senate, and it is currently unclear how the Senate will view it.


Bluesky Launches Ozone



Bluesky posted: Today, we’re excited to announce that we’re open-sourcing Ozone, our collaborative moderation tool. With Ozone, individuals and teams can work together and review and label content across the network. Later this week, we’re opening up the ability for you to run your own independent moderation services, seamlessly integrated into the Bluesky app. This means that you’ll be able to create and subscribe to additional moderation services on top of what Bluesky requires, giving you unprecedented control over your social media experience.

At Bluesky, we’re interested in safety from two angles. First, we’ve built our own moderation team dedicated to providing around-the-clock coverage to uphold our community guidelines.

Additionally, we recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to moderation — no single company can get online safety right for every country, culture, and community in the world. So we’ve also been building something bigger — an ecosystem of moderation and open-source safety tools that give communities power to create their own spaces, with their own norms and preferences. Still, Bluesky feels familiar and intuitive. It’s a straightforward app on the surface, but under the hood, we have enabled real innovation and competition in social media by building a new kind of open network.

In designing these moderation services, Bluesky operated by three principles:

Simple and Powerful: Give users a pleasant default experience, with customization options under the hood.

User Choice: Empower users and communities to develop their own moderation systems.

Openness: Create an open system that increases trust in the governance of our digital spaces.

Decentralized Twitter/X rival Bluesky announced on Tuesday that it’s open sourcing Ozone, a tool that lets individuals and teams collaboratively review and label content on the network. The company plans to open up the ability for individuals and teams to run their own independent moderation services later this week, which means users will be able to subscribe to additional moderation services on top of Bluesky’s default moderation, TechCrunch reported.

In a blog post, Bluesky said the change will give users “unprecedented control” over their social media experience. The company’s vision for moderation is a stackable ecosystem of services, which is why it will start allowing users to install filters from independent moderation services on top of what Bluesky already requires. As a result, users will be able to create a customized experience tailored to their preferences.

The Verge reported Bluesky will soon let users customize how its content is moderated in their feeds. The social platform announced that it’s open-sourcing its moderation tool, Ozone, to let developers create additional moderation services that can be selected by users.

As an example, Bluesky says someone could use Ozone to create a moderation services that specifically blocks images of spiders. A user could then subscribe to that service to remove photos of spiders from their feeds. They can also report any spider images that fall through the cracks, allowing the moderation service’s creator to review them.

In my opinion, Bluesky is doing something innovative that other social media sites have ignored. Giving users control over what they want to see — and to suppress things they don’t want to see (such as spiders), will make the platform much more friendly.


Elon Musk Says xAI Will Open Source Grok This Week



Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI will open source Grok, its chatbot rivaling ChatGPT, this week, the entrepreneur said, days after suing OpenAI and complaining that the Microsoft-backed startup had deviated from its open source roots, TechCrunch reported.

xAI released Grok last year, arming it with features including access to “real-time” information and views undeterred by “politically correct” norms. The service is available to customers paying for X’s $16 monthly subscription.

Musk, who didn’t elaborate on what aspects of Grok he planned to open source, helped co-found OpenAI with Sam Altman nearly a decade ago as a counterweight to Google’s dominance in artificial intelligence. But OpenAI, which was required to make it’s technology “freely available” to the public, has become closed-source and shifted focus to maximizing profits for Microsoft, Musk alleged in the lawsuit filed last month.

According to Elon Musk, xAI will open source its Grok chatbot, Engadget reported. The founder of the company, whose AI assistant is available to Premium+ subscribers on X, hasn’t revealed any other details about the decision, which is slated to take effect this week.

It’s hardly the first time a Musk company has opened up access to its knowhow. Tesla open sourced its patents a decade a go, and now practically ever major car manufacturer has adopted its electric vehicle charging connector. X, meanwhile, published the code that powers its “For You” algorithmic feed last year, though we didn’t learn much from it.

Engadget also reported that The Wall Street Journal points out, Musk may be hoping that, by letting third-party developers and researchers dig into Grok’s code, there could be an increased uptake of the model. The developer community may also provide feedback that could be used to improve Grok.

After suing OpenAI this month, alleging the company has become too closed, Elon Musk will release his “truth-seeking” answer to ChatGPT, the chatbot Grok, for anyone to download and use,WIRED reported.

“This week @xAI will open source Grok,” Musk wrote on his social media platform, X today. That suggests his AI company, xAI will release the full code of Grok and allow anyone to use or alter it. By contrast, OpenAI makes a version of ChatGPT and the language model behind it is available to use for free but keeps its code private.

Musk has previously said little about the business model for Grok or xAI, and the chatbot was made available only to Premium subscribers to X. Having accused his OpenAI cofounders of reneging on a promise to give away the company’s artificial intelligence earlier this month, Musk may have felt he had to open source his own chatbot to show that he is committed to that vision.

It seems to me that Elon Musk is very interested in allowing Grok to become an open source application. Previously, Grok was available only to those who were paying a subscription fee on X. I cannot help but wonder if Mr. Musk was always intending to allow more people to use Grok, and whether or not that would come with a fee. 


Airbnb’s Indoor Camera Ban: A Win for Privacy #1729



Airbnb has taken a significant step to enhance guest privacy by prohibiting indoor cameras in rental properties. The new policy, aimed at ensuring guests’ peace of mind, extends to limit the use of outdoor cameras, requiring hosts to disclose their presence and ensuring they do not invade private spaces. The company’s decision to ban indoor cameras, previously allowed in communal areas, responds to privacy concerns. This move clarifies rules around surveillance and outlines strict consequences for hosts violating these guidelines, including potential removal from the platform. Airbnb’s updated privacy measures are set to take effect on April 30, emphasizing the importance of reviewing rental listings for disclosed surveillance devices.

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TikTok Crackdown Shifts Into Overdrive With Sale or Shutdown On Table



Legislation that would ban TikTok in the U.S. or force its sale is hurtling toward a vote in the House following months of behind-the-scenes efforts on Capitol Hill. The new push caught the service off-guard, ratcheting up interest from possible buyers and raising the possibility that one of the most popular apps in the country could soon be shut down, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Already, U.S. tech and media titans are circling. In recent days, some executives have discussed buying TikTok if ByteDance agrees to sell. Bobby Kotick, the former chief executive of videogame publisher Activision, has expressed interest to ByteDance Executive Chair Zhang Yiming, according to a person familiar with the situation. Any price tag is estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

Kotick is looking for partners. At a dinner at an Allen & Co. conference earlier this week, Kotick floated the idea of partnering to buy TikTok to a table of people that include OpenAI Sam Altman, according to people familiar with the situation. OpenAI could use TikTok to help train its AI models if a partner such as Kotick could raise the capital for such an acquisition.

TikTok sees two ways to stop the bill from becoming law, according to a person close to the company. The first is the Senate, where some senators have already expressed opposition to legislation that could effectively ban the app in the U.S., citing wanting to protect free speech and a desire not to meddle in business.

Should it pass both the House and the Senate and be signed by President Biden, TikTok could also challenge the legality of the bill, arguing that it violates the First Amendment.

Forbes reported that there is a real possibility that the US government will pass legislation that China’s ByteDance must divest itself from TikTok or risk being banned in the US entirely. Its making its way through congress and Joe Biden himself said he would sign it if it reached his desk.

As such, US buyers are potentially circling, including a recent departure from the gaming industry, former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

According to Forbes, Kotick left Activision shortly after Microsoft acquired it, ending a tenure marked by scandal involving a culture of sexual harassment at the company with some accusations even leveled at him personally. But he ended up escaping with enormous amounts of cash, and is now trying to find partners to potentially buy TikTok should ByteDance actually be forced to divest.

Engadget reported Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard who stepped down at the end of last year, is apparently interested in buying TikTok as a new bill in the US threatens to ban the app or force its sale.

According to Engadget, Kotick’s alleged interest in TikTok comes at a tumultuous moment for the immensely popular platform after lawmakers introduced the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications app” last week.

In my opinion, having Bobby Kotick (and whomever he partners with) to buy TikTok was not something I expected to happen. His potential partner, Sam Altman, appears to want to use the data of TikTok users to train his AI models. This will not be good for TikTok users.