Monthly Archives: October 2024

Short sellers accuse Roblox of inflating user stats and enabling child exploitation

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A research company published a damning report about Roblox on Tuesday, accusing the company of inflating its active user counts and enabling predatory behavior on the platform. Although Hindenburg Research has a somewhat notorious reputation, the report at least raises questions about the platform’s safety and viability.

First, Hindenburg Research is known for taking deep dives into public companies’ practices, finding sketchy behavior and publishing it. However, as noted by Simon Carless, a gaming industry veteran and author of the GameDiscoverCo newsletter, Hindenburg also tends to short-sell the companies’ downfalls, literally betting that its research will lead to their failures. Reuters notes that Hindenburg has previously sunk the share prices of Super Micro Computer and stocks owned by investor Carl Icahn, India’s Gautam Adani.

So, despite making some eyebrow-raising points in the report, you may want to take Hindenburg with more than a few grains of salt. On the other hand, some of its investigations have led to SEC investigations.

As for the specific claims, the researchers say Roblox’s stock price is partly based on misleading data. Hindenburg states that Roblox is inflating stats like user numbers and engagement, conflating daily active users with visitors. “Our research indicates that Roblox is lying to investors, regulators, and advertisers about the number of ‘people’ on its platform, inflating the key metric by 25-42%+,” Hindenburg Research wrote. “We also show how engagement hours, another key metric, is inflated by an estimated 100%+.”

Hindenburg quotes former Roblox employees in its report. One claims the company can track users with alt accounts, but its public user tracking doesn’t adjust for those. “If I have 10 alts [alternate accounts], because I’m farming Pet Simulator on 10 accounts and all of those are running a script on different virtual machines in my computer — they’re all still coming out of the same IP address,” Hindenburg quotes the former employee as saying. “I made all 10 of those accounts. Their names are similar. Their account creation times are similar…I’m still one player, not 10.”

“De-alting” Roblox’s numbers, which means adjusting for alt accounts to get a more accurate picture of player count, would allegedly lead to much lower numbers. One of the former Roblox employees reportedly told Hindenburg, “Let’s say if that number [DAUs] is not de-alted, I think the actual one would be like anywhere between 30 to 20% lower…”

A Roblox spokesperson provided Engadget with a published statement denying Hindenburg’s claims. The company noted that it regularly includes a note to investors explaining how its operating metrics are calculated — and has done so since its initial public filing.

“The financial claims made by Hindenburg are misleading,” Roblox wrote. “The authors are short sellers and have an agenda irrespective of the substance of Roblox’s business model and results.”

Carless also advises taking the researchers’ claims with grains of salt. “Our view on this is that there’s no systemic ‘bad behavior’ by Roblox here,” the former game developer and GDC co-runner wrote. “The game is giant and chaotic, so of course there are going to be bots and weird behavior all over the place.”

Speaking with Reuters, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter went even further, accusing Hindenburg of getting gaming metrics all wrong. “There are many interesting points in that report, but they seem to misunderstand a lot about how games work,” Pachter reportedly said. He said the research firm measured engagement based on a “session.” However, gamers typically log on multiple times daily, playing various games. “The Hindenburg test looks like it measured session length for a single game for each user,” Pachter said.

Hindenburg’s report also accuses Roblox of “compromising child safety in order to report growth to investors.” It even goes as far as accusing the platform of allowing pedophiles to flourish on the platform.

“For the second quarter of 2024, in a push toward profitability, Roblox reported a 2% year-over-year decline in its trust and safety expenses,” Hindenburg wrote, highlighting the company’s shift to AI moderation. “Core to the problem is that Roblox’s social media features allow pedophiles to efficiently target hundreds of children, with no up-front screening to prevent them from joining the platform.”

Roblox’s child safety problems have been reported before.

Hindenburg said it tried to set up an account under “Jeffrey Epstein,” only to find the username was taken, “along with 900+ variations.” One account, “JeffEpsteinSupporter,” reportedly had multiple badges for spending time in children’s games. Others had disturbing usernames alluding to grooming or raping minors. Even if those accounts were made by attention-starved teens or young adults using edgelord attempts at “humor,” those allegations, if true, represent a colossal moderation failure.

Roblox wrote that it takes user trust and child safety seriously. “Every day, tens of millions of users of all ages have safe and positive experiences on Roblox, abiding by the company’s Community Standards,” the company wrote in a statement. “Roblox takes any content or behavior on the platform that doesn’t abide by its standards extremely seriously, and Roblox has a robust set of proactive and preventative safety measures designed to catch and prevent malicious or harmful activity on the platform.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/short-sellers-accuse-roblox-of-inflating-user-stats-and-enabling-child-exploitation-205635537.html?src=rss

This portable toothbrush sanitizer keeps bristles super dry and sterile for complete oral care

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Toothbrush is a holy grail personal care accessory we all need to keep our teeth clean because it’s the first thing in the morning and the last one before going to bed we invest our trust in. For all possible reasons, this product needs to be 100 percent hygienic and clean for oral health. After all your mouth is one of the easiest entryways for harmful pathogens to infect your body.

Thus, it is imperative to invest in a toothbrush sanitizer to maintain oral hygiene as well as prevent any unwanted health hazards. Monsoons can be a hindrance in this motive due to unwanted buildups, and excess humidity which can be breeding ground for pathogens in the brush’s bristles. That’s where this portable toothbrush sanitizer excels compared to other advanced products in the market touting premium oral hygiene.

Designer: Biu Biu

Designed with the motive to give you complete peace of mind while traveling or at home, the Clea toothbrush sanitizer is aesthetically pleasing too. The HG accessory comes with a two-part housing that has a UV sanitizer on one half and a turbofan on the other. The latter keeps the bristles dry at all times, thereby enhancing the anti-bacterial effect. It is also equipped with a smart reminder when it’s time to change the toothbrush based on the longevity of use and the amount of biological buildup.

Clea Toothbrush sanitizer leaves nothing to chance as it displays the level of sanitization and amount of moisture in your brush. Being completely portable makes it ultra-hygienic on travel trips where you can lose track of where your toothbrush is resting in the backpack or on the shelves of your Airbnb. Although it is only a concept for now, materializing it as a real-life product doesn’t seem like a herculean task. So, expect to see the Clea Toothbrush Steriliser elevate your oral health in the near future.

The post This portable toothbrush sanitizer keeps bristles super dry and sterile for complete oral care first appeared on Yanko Design.

Viewers don’t trust candidates who use generative AI in political ads, study finds

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Artificial intelligence is expected to have an impact on the upcoming US election in November. States have been trying to protect against misinformation by passing laws that require political advertisements to disclose when they have used generative AI. Twenty states now have rules on the books, and according to new research, voters have a negative reaction to seeing those disclaimers. That seems like a pretty fair response: If a politician uses generative AI to mislead voters, then voters don't appreciate that. The study was conducted by New York University’s Center on Technology Policy and first reported by The Washington Post.

The investigation had a thousand participants watch political ads from fictional candidates. Some of the ads were accompanied by a disclaimer that AI was used in the creation of the spot, while others had no disclaimer. The presence of a disclaimer was linked to viewers rating the promoted candidate as less trustworthy and less appealing. Respondents also said they would be more likely to flag or report the ads on social media when they contained disclaimers. In attack ads, participants were more likely to express negative opinions about the candidate who sponsored the spot rather than the candidate being attacked. The researchers also found that the presence of an AI disclaimer led to worse or unchanged opinions regardless of the fictional candidate's political party.

The researchers tested two different disclaimers inspired by two different state requirements for AI disclosure in political ads. The text tied to Michigan's law reads: "This video has been manipulated by technical means and depicts speech or conduct that did not occur." The other disclaimer is based on Florida's law, and says: "This video was created in whole or in part with the use of generative artificial intelligence." Although the approach of Michigan's requirements is more common among state laws, study participants said they preferred seeing the broader disclaimer for any type of AI use.

While these disclaimers can play a part in transparency about the presence of AI in an ad, they aren't a perfect failsafe. As many as 37 percent of the respondents said they didn't recall seeing any language about AI after viewing the ads.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/viewers-dont-trust-candidates-who-use-generative-ai-in-political-ads-study-finds-194532117.html?src=rss

Uber starts offering $18 shuttle rides between Manhattan and LaGuardia Airport

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Uber has come up with a relatively low-cost way of getting to and from a New York City airport: a shuttle bus. Starting today, the company is offering rides between LaGuardia Airport and transit hubs in Manhattan for $18 a pop. For the first month of the service, Uber is offering half-price rides for $9, The Wall Street Journal reports.

This would be far cheaper than a cab for a solo traveler. It's also more expensive, but perhaps less of a hassle, than taking public transit — there’s a free shuttle between the airport and the subway. 

One route will take passengers between Penn Station and the airport, and the other will run between Port Authority, Grand Central Terminal and LaGuardia. If you're Manhattan-bound, you’ll still need to make your way to your home, hotel or Airbnb after you get to the drop-off point.

The vans can transport 14 passengers at a time. The service will run between 5AM and 10:45PM ET every day with trips leaving every half hour or so. You can book a spot in a shuttle up to seven days in advance and bring a personal item and a 50-pound bag on board. Before you get on the van, you'll need to show the driver a QR code and PIN that Uber sends you. An Uber shuttle-fleet partner called EPS is operating the rides, but the shuttles have Uber branding.

Uber shuttles have been available in various locations since 2019, but this is the first time the company is offering such trips to and from an airport. Earlier this year, Uber started running shuttles to and from concerts and sports games. It plans to offer shuttles to more airports in the coming months and years.

The company announced the service as part of its Go-Get Zero event, at which it highlighted some new sustainability efforts. Among those is a new EV-only option that will debut in 40 cities in which Uber has enough electric vehicle drivers available.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/uber-starts-offering-18-shuttle-rides-between-manhattan-and-laguardia-airport-193520618.html?src=rss

Microsoft’s ill-fated Surface Duo 2 recieves one final security patch

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Pour one out for the Surface Duo 2. As Windows Central points out, Microsoft has pushed out what will almost certainly go down as the device’s final software update, a security patch, ahead of its October 21 end-of-support date.

When Microsoft debuted the Surface Duo 2 in October 2021, the company pledged to provide three years of software updates for the dual-screen device. Since then, the company has released just one platform update for the Duo 2, upgrading it from Android 11 to Android 12L. By comparison, Surface Duo users were more fortunate. They got to see their devices make the jump from Android 10 to Android 11 and then later to Android 12L. I’ll note here that the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system is Android 15.

By modern standards, the Duo 2’s run is particularly bad. Some Android manufacturers, including Google and Samsung, now promise to provide up to seven generations of platform updates. Consider also that Microsoft priced the Surface Duo 2 at $1,500 on release. Most of all, it’s a shame since software was always the Achilles heel of the Duo line. As Engadget Deputy Editor Cherlynn Low noted in her review of the device back in 2021, the device offered more compelling hardware but was still plagued by an inconsistent user experience.

Of course, none of this is surprising if you’ve been following Microsoft in recent months. As the company has shifted its attention to AI, its Surface portfolio has seemingly fallen to the wayside. In fact, according to a report Business Insider published last year, part of the reason Panos Panay left Microsoft was because the company had canceled some of his unit’s more ambitious projects.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/microsofts-ill-fated-surface-duo-2-foldable-recieves-one-final-security-patch-192001469.html?src=rss

Coperni x Disney tie-up unveils water-printed Ariel Swipe Bag

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As someone who always carries a lot of stuff wherever I go, I am not that much a fan of small bags. But if ever there will come a day when I’ll be comfortable just bringing a phone, small wallet, and a lipstick with me, the Coperni Swipe bag is on my shortlist of bags I’d like to have. Their latest version was unveiled at the Spring/Summer 2025 show held at Disneyland Paris, and it is a watery creation.

Designer: Coperni

The Ariel Swipe bag is inspired by The Little Mermaid and the “stunt” here is that it was created underwater. Through gravity-free 3D printing by Rapid Liquid Print, the bag is created from platinum-cured, recyclable silicone and is printed inside a water-based gel. The process differs from other traditional 3D printing methods as they “draw” the objects that are suspended in the gel so these soft, stretchable designs are not weighed down by gravity.

A video shows the printing process with a thin and sharp needle pushing through the gel and starting to create the shape of the bag that is of course, colored blue. When it reaches the top, the two loose ends are joined together to create the handle. A hand then reaches out to pull the bag from the gel and thus, the Ariel Swipe bag is born an supposedly ready to use. They say there’s no extensive post-processing needed so it saves materials and time.

There is no news yet when the bag will be available in its brand store and retail stores. But it’s sure to be another Coperni x Disney best-seller, just like the Mickey Mouse swipe bag that they previously released. It will probbly be around that price as well which is of course pretty expensive.

The post Coperni x Disney tie-up unveils water-printed Ariel Swipe Bag first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Boring Company’s Vegas Loop is a comedy of trespassing errors

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The Vegas Loop, underground tunnels built by Elon Musk’s Boring Company that snake underneath Sin City, hasn’t been the traffic or even technological game changer the company promised it would become. It was supposed to be a futuristic, autonomous people mover that looked like public transit from the Tron universe. Instead, Las Vegas just got a bunch of underground tunnels where people are transported by ordinary Tesla vehicles that didn’t really solve any of the city’s traffic problems.

Apparently, it’s not just Tesla vehicles in the tunnels either. Fortune filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority on incidents involving the Tesla tunnels going back to 2022. The records revealed that the tunnels have seen at least 67 trespassing reports going back to 2022 and 22 instances of vehicles following Teslas into the tunnels and stations.

Boring’s monthly reports to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority also showed several instances of “property damage, theft, technical issues, or injuries, near-misses and trespassing or intrusions,” according to Fortune.

The cars that wandered into the stations appear to mostly be just accidents in which drivers followed the Teslas into the unauthorized areas. The trespassing incidents are a bit more egregious and Fortune described them as “a headache for the Boring Company.”

Some of the more notable instances include a skateboarder who snuck into the tunnels through a passenger pickup station, two people who were spotted sleeping in one of the tunnel stations and a man who tried to remove a license plate reader at a station. In each case, Boring security escorted the trespassing out of the tunnels and stations but there are no records showing they were reported to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.

Even the construction of the tunnels had more than a few sketchy moments but not nearly as amusing. Former Boring Company construction crew members spoke with Fortune back in February including one who said, “We have consistently flirted with death.” During a six month period last year, Boring reported 36 injuries to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials including heat exhaustion, contusions and crushed hands and elbows. One tip sent to OSHA’s Nevada field office reported that 15 to 20 employees were burned with accelerant chemicals while working in the tunnels.

Somehow, none of these incidents have stopped the city and Clark County’s desperate hope for the transit system that the Boring Company promised but never delivered. County commissioners approved a plan last May to expand the underground Tesla vehicle tunnels to 65 miles and add 69 passenger stations.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/the-boring-companys-vegas-loop-is-a-comedy-of-trespassing-errors-191025432.html?src=rss

EU residents will have a new way to dispute content moderation decisions by Facebook, YouTube and TikTok

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European Union residents will have a new place to turn to settle disputes with Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. A new Appeals Centre, certified by Irish regulators, will soon begin accepting complaints about content moderation decisions.

The concept is similar to Meta’s Oversight Board, which weighs in on content moderation decisions across Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Meta has long suggested that other social media companies should use its Oversight Board, though there’s been little incentive for them to do so. Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA) changed that calculation somewhat, as it enabled the creation of Out-of-Court Dispute Settlement (ODS) bodies that have the ability to help resolve user complaints.

And while the Appeals Centre is a separate entity, there are some notable links between the two organizations. The new Appeals Centre will be led by Thomas Hughes, who was previously the CEO of the Oversight Board Administration. The Oversight Board Trust, which oversees the board's budget, also helped fund the new Appeals Centre with a “one-time grant,” according to a statement from its chair of trustees, Stephen Neal. And, the first non-executive trustees of the Appeals Centre are also trustees on the Oversight Board.

The Appeals Centre says it expects to be up and running “in late 2024,” at which time individuals and organizations will be able to request appeals through its website. Users wishing to appeal a moderation decision from Facebook, YouTube or TikTok will be required to pay a “nominal fee” that will be refunded if the group rules in their favor, according to information posted on its website.

However, it’s not clear exactly how this process will work or how many cases the group will be able to take on. Meta’s Oversight Board, which has been up and running for years, received nearly 400,000 appeals and issued just 53 decisions in 2023. The Appeals Centre may also end up being less influential than the Oversight Board. A press release from Ireland's media regulator notes that “the decisions of ODS bodies are not binding.” Still, it could increase the visibility of the kinds of content moderation issues that often frustrate users and give some hope that their situation may be reconsidered.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/eu-residents-will-have-a-new-way-to-dispute-content-moderation-decisions-by-facebook-youtube-and-tiktok-190221606.html?src=rss

OpenAI partners with Cosmopolitan and Elle publisher Hearst

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Hearst has become the latest major US publisher to sign an agreement to license its content to ChatGPT creator OpenAI. As part of a partnership announced on Tuesday, content from more than 60 Hearst-owned publications will appear in ChatGPT and other OpenAI products. Some of the publisher’s more notable properties include Esquire, Cosmopolitan and Elle. It also owns newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle. When Hearst content appears in ChatGPT, the software will provide citations and direct links.

The organizations did not disclose the financial terms of the agreement. Unlike the partnership OpenAI signed with Dotdash Meredith in May, its deal with Hearst doesn’t appear to include a plan for the two firms to collaborate on ad tech.

“As generative AI matures, it’s critical that journalism created by professional journalists be at the heart of all AI products,” said Jeff Johnson, president of Hearst’s Newspapers unit. “This agreement allows the trustworthy and curated content created by Hearst Newspapers’ award-winning journalists to be part of OpenAI’s products like ChatGPT — creating more timely and relevant results.”

The announcement comes less than a week after news broke that OpenAI had recently raised a record-breaking $6.6 billion in new venture capital funding. Since the start of 2024, OpenAI has signed licensing agreements with The Financial Times and Condé Nast, the owner of publications like Vogue, The New Yorker and Wired. At the same time, not every publisher has been so keen to work with the AI giant. At the end of last year, The New York Times sued OpenAI, with Alden Global Capital publications like The Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News, later launching a suit of their own.

Update, October 8, 6:50PM ET: This article was updated after publishing to clarify that Alden Global Capital publications are suing OpenAI, rather than Alden Global itself.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-partners-with-cosmopolitan-and-elle-publisher-hearst-180517248.html?src=rss

The Roli Airwave is a high-tech keyboard teaching tool inspired by the theremin

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Roli is no stranger to quirky musical instruments. After all, it pioneered the idea of a “squishy” MIDI controller. The company’s latest tool, however, could be its weirdest. The Roli Airwave is an AI-infused piano teaching gadget that also doubles as a digital theremin. Yes, the same high-pitched theremin that has appeared on hit records like The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” and Erykah Badu’s “Incense.”

The Airwave is basically a tall stand with a camera on top. This camera points downward to track the player’s finger movements on a connected MIDI keyboard. Movements are tracked in real time and beamed to a tablet, which then displays visuals to teach users how to correctly play a song and fix any mistakes they are making. It'll even try to fix bad playing posture. 

The Airwave uses machine intelligence and computer vision to track the player’s hands and to offer its advice on where those hands should be placed. There’s some machine learning baked into this system when analyzing live footage to come up with accurate teaching methods.

The affiliated app also integrates with ChatGPT, allowing for natural language queries. For instance, users can ask relevant questions about the song being learned or general-use queries about music theory. Being as how a player’s hands would be occupied when in the midst of a piano tutorial, these questions can be asked by voice instead of by typing into a virtual keyboard. This won’t beat interacting with a real piano tutor, but it’ll likely be easier than hunting for a needle in the YouTube video haystack.

“Basically, 100 percent of your time when you practice, you're going to practice correctly now,” Roli’s CEO, Roland Lamb, told Wired. “So you'll be developing good habits over time.”

The Airwave isn’t just for students. The device is also being marketed as an outlet for experimental music-making. There are five inputs that adjust various parameters via hand movements. This means that players can use one to radically change the sound of the instrument being played.

“With the simple raise of their hands, creators can transform a piano into a full orchestra, just as a conductor would, or morph mellow synth pads into searing leads with a tilt of a wrist,” Roli wrote in a press release.

Now onto the caveats, and there are a few. This is nifty tech, of that there’s no doubt. However, there’s a significant barrier of entry. First of all, the Airwave itself will cost $300 when it releases in February. The device cannot be used on its own. It requires a pre-existing Roli keyboard, like the $1,400 Seaboard Rise 2 or the much cheaper Lumi (now called the Piano M.) Also, to access the teaching tools, users will need to bring in their own tablet. There are apps for both Android and Apple devices, but only newer iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab models will be supported.

Finally, budding piano players will also have to fork out $15 a month to access the Roli Learn music education subscription service. If money’s no object, this looks like a fairly novel way to learn the piano.

Roli says the Airwave is just the first release in what it’s calling its Music Intelligence (MI) platform. The company writes that the “Roli MI platform will be the foundation of a roadmap of future intelligent products, starting with Airwave.” Preorders for the Airwave are available right now.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/the-roli-airwave-is-a-high-tech-keyboard-teaching-tool-inspired-by-the-theremin-172342147.html?src=rss