‘Divine’ is a Jack Dorsey-backed Vine reboot for 2025

Nearly a decade after going offline, Vine is (sort of) back and, in a truly bizarre twist, Jack Dorsey is at least partially responsible. An early Twitter employee has released a beta version of a rebooted Vine — now called "Divine" — that revives the app's six-second videos and includes a portion of the original app's archive. 

The project comes from Evan Henshaw-Plath, a former Twitter employee who goes by "Rabble," and has backing from Dorsey's nonprofit "and Other Stuff," which funds experimental social media apps built on the open source nostr protocol. Rabble has so far managed to resurrect about 170,000 videos from the original Vine thanks to an old archive created before Twitter shut down the app in 2017. In an FAQ on Divine's website, he says that he also hopes to restore "millions" of user comments and profile photos associated with those original posts as well. 

But Divine is more than just a home for decade-old clips. New users can create six-second looping videos of their own for the platform. The app also has many elements that will be familiar to people who have used Bluesky or other decentralized platforms, including customizable controls for content moderation and multiple feed algorithms to choose from. The site's FAQ says Divine plans to support custom, user-created algorithms too.

Divine is also taking a pretty strong stance against AI-generated content. The app will have built-in AI detection tools that will add badges to content that's been verified as not created or edited with AI tools. And, according to TechCrunch, the app will block uploads of suspected AI content.

"We're in the middle of an AI takeover of social media," Divine explains on its website. New apps like Sora are entirely AI-generated. TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram are increasingly flooded with AI slop—videos that look real but were never captured by a camera, people who don't exist, scenarios that never happened. Divine is fighting back. We're creating a space where human creativity is celebrated and protected, where you can trust that what you're watching was made by a real person with a real camera, not generated by an algorithm."

While all that may sound intriguing, Divine has a long way to go before it can accomplish all that. The app hasn't made it onto either app store yet, though it's already added 10,000 people to an iOS beta, according to its founder. In the meantime, you can also browse some of the app's videos, including some old Vine posts, on its website, though not all of the videos are working properly at the moment.

Still, any kind of reboot is good news for fans of the original, who have long hoped the app might make a comeback. Elon Musk has suggested more than once that he would revive Vine in some way, but has yet to follow through.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/divine-is-a-jack-dorsey-backed-vine-reboot-for-2025-192307190.html?src=rss

Subnautica publisher transforms into ‘AI first’ company and introduces voluntary resignation policy

South Korean games publisher Krafton recently announced its transformation into an "AI first" company, which typically means that human jobs are about to go on the chopping block. To that end, the company is now trying to slash its workforce by offering voluntary resignations, according to a report by Eurogamer.

Krafton is a giant company with tentacles in numerous development studios, including the folks that make PUBG and Subnautica. The organization says this isn't a plan to lay off its human workforce, but will "support members in proactively designing their growth direction and embarking on new challenges both inside and outside the company amid the era of AI transformation." Yep. Those are certainly words.

The company also says it will "support members in autonomously deciding whether to continue the direction of change internally or expand externally." That's corporate speak for "my way or the highway."

CFO Bae Dong-geun said during a recent earnings call that "individual productivity must increase at the company-wide level." Oh yeah. It's worth noting that Krafton recently noted record profits. It looks like these profits will not be going to the staff, but rather will be funnelled into large-scale investments in AI. It's a tale as old as time, or at least modern AI.

The company plans to "automate work centered on agentic AI" including the development of an "AI-centered management system." It's freezing all hiring except for those "developing original intellectual property and AI-related personnel."

Agentic AI systems have, so far, proven to be underwhelming when tasked with taking the reins. A recent MIT study noted that 95 percent of these efforts fail. Another study predicts that 40 percent of agentic AI projects will be cancelled by the end of 2027. In other words, good luck in your forthcoming endeavors, Krafton. You're gonna need it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/subnautica-publisher-transforms-into-ai-first-company-and-introduces-voluntary-resignation-policy-181042212.html?src=rss

The Sims-like Paralives is delayed until May 2026

Folks who are looking forward to a fresh flavor of life simulation in the form of Paralives will have to wait a while longer before they can jump into the Sims-like game. The game was supposed to hit early access on Steam on December 8, but lead developer Alex Massé and the team at Paralives Studio have pushed back the release date to May 25.

Massé explained that the team expanded its playtests in the lead up to the early access period, "and the latest feedback we received made us realize the game isn’t up to the standard we wanted it to meet for release." While the character creator and in-depth home builder modes seem to be in a solid place, playtesters encountered "impactful bugs" in the live mode and it appears that there isn't yet quite enough to do in the town. "We feel it is necessary to work on these before delivering the product to the community," Massé wrote. The team plans to improve the game's onboarding experience too.

Paralives has been in development for six years, and the team has grown from two or three people in the first couple of years to an average of 10. Having such a small team meant that the developers "had to alternate long stretches of development” between the three parts of the game, Massé wrote. "We are so proud of what we have built, but now, we just need a bit more time to polish the simulation part of the game. This would ensure Paralives offers a great first experience when it launches, making players come back for every exciting free update and expansion that we will put out afterwards."

Paralives Studio will stream 45 minutes of gameplay on its YouTube channel at noon ET on November 25. Massé said you'll get to see what the game looks like now, including some of the current features. The team will provide more details on aspects it plans to improve before the early access release. You can expect more streams and videos in the coming months. It's expected that Paralives will remain in early access for two years while the team adds the features and content it plans to.

Paralives is an indie alternative to the likes of The Sims and InZOI. There are other life sim games on the way before Paralives debuts, such as Pokémon Pokopia. Animal Crossing New Horizons is getting a major update and a Switch 2 version in January. However, EA will shut down The Sims Mobile that same month.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/the-sims-like-paralives-is-delayed-until-may-2026-174922059.html?src=rss

You can’t pause your game in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s always-online campaign

While most of the enormous Call of Duty audience buys each annual entry without hesitation for its multiplayer offering, the single-player campaign is also a big part of the experience. CoD campaigns are often big on popcorn silliness and refreshingly tight. Some people just like to start a game and see its credits roll within a weekend, you know? But judging by the early impressions of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 that are beginning to surface online, it sounds like this year’s campaign comes with some pretty major caveats.

I admittedly haven’t played the game myself yet, but IGN is one of the outlets that has gone live with its 6/10 review, which reveals that the campaign’s always-online nature means it can’t be paused, and if you’re idle for what the game deems to be too long it’ll boot you out. For a mode that is traditionally offline and totally separate from the online portion of the game, this might come as a shock to some players.

It gets worse. While the official website for Black Ops 7 states that the campaign can be played solo or with a "squad," it definitely emphasises its co-op nature first. A campaign that facilitates co-op is usually a good thing, but here it sounds like very few considerations are made for single players. You can’t fill in spots in the four-person squads with AI companions, so if you don’t have three friends handy, you’re not getting the desired experience. 

Objectives clearly designed for multiple players are reportedly tediously repetitive when you have to do all of them on your own. Many games are built entirely around co-op and that’s fine, but it seems like a pretty dramatic departure for a series that has always accommodated the solo player. According to IGN’s coverage there are no checkpoints either, so if you don’t finish a mission in a single sitting — not always possible for people with busy lives — you’ll lose all your progress. As you presumably will if your Wi-Fi dies.

For groups willing to live with all these potentially very awkward conditions, the Black Ops 7 campaign promises "high-stakes challenges across a wide spectrum of environments, from the neon-lit rooftops of Japan to the Mediterranean coast, and even into the deepest corners of the human psyche." Presumably that last bit doesn’t refer to the rageful thoughts of someone who just lost all their progress because they had to answer the front door.

As you’d expect, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 also offers the traditional multiplayer and Zombies modes that will no doubt keep you busy until next year. It’s out today on Xbox (included with Game Pass), PS5, PS4 and PC.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/you-cant-pause-your-game-in-call-of-duty-black-ops-7s-always-online-campaign-172707048.html?src=rss

You need a fabric shaver — this one I use is down to $13 for Black Friday

If you, like me a few months ago, didn't know fabric shavers existed, I'm willing to bet you're not alone. Not too long ago, I went looking for something, anything, that could help get rid of the pilling on some of my most loved pieces of clothing. I stumbled upon the Philips Fabric Shaver in my search and was pleasantly surprised to learn such a device existed — and in such a cute, compact form. I decided to give it a shot and now it's an essential piece of tech in my house. Thanks to Black Friday deals, you don't have to pay as much as I did for it now that it's on sale for only $13.

Sure, it may not seem revolutionary — especially if you already knew of the wonders of such devices — but it was for me. I have a lot of T-shirts, joggers, sweaters and more that I've had for at least three years and wear regularly. We also have a bunch of throw blankets around the house, partially because I love a good throw, and partially because my cat demands soft spots on which to sleep. All of those well-worn, well-loved fabrics have pilled over time, and I was tired of picking at the pills myself.

This Philips Fabric Shaver makes it so I never have to do that anymore. It runs on two AA batteries, has a simple on-off switch and a shaving head with three sized holes that, as you glide it over your sweater or blanket, catches the pills and shaves them right off. It's literally as simple as that; after I tried it the first time on a pair of joggers, I spent far too much time running around my house and through my closet de-pilling as many things as I could. All the little fabric bits collect in a removable chamber that you simply empty as often as you need into the trash. If you're like me and try to make the most of the wardrobe you have and not buy new clothing all the time, this little gadget will keep the pieces in your closet looking fresh.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/you-need-a-fabric-shaver--this-one-i-use-is-down-to-13-for-black-friday-163402337.html?src=rss

Apple Black Friday deals: Get a four-pack of AirTags for a record-low price

Good deals on Apple products are generally harder to come by throughout the year than with other brands, but sale events are usually the best time to look around. And sure enough, for Black Friday, Apple’s AirTags are cheaper than ever. You can pick up a four-pack of these handy Bluetooth trackers for $63, a record low price, at Amazon and Walmart. Bear in mind that this deal brings the price per AirTag down to about $16 if you were to buy them individually, and when not on sale they usually cost $29.

If you use Apple devices and are prone to losing stuff, AirTags are the obvious choice of Bluetooth tracker to buy. Adding one to your account requires little more than a single tap, and with Apple’s Find My network offering such extensive coverage these days, it’s never been easier to find missing belongings.

Tracking down a still nearby misplaced item is as easy as using your iPhone to trigger a sound from the AirTag’s built-in speaker, or alternatively you can use Precision Finding to pinpoint its location through Find My. You just follow the instructions on your iPhone’s screen, paying attention to its vibrations as you get closer.

If you only need a single AirTag, they’re also on sale right now for $18, another record low. It works out a bit better as a deal if you purchase the four-pack, but if you just want to attach one to your keys or backpack, $65 might seem like a stretch. Just remember that AirTags can’t be attached to items right out of the box. You’ll need to add an accessory in order to turn one into a keyring, or even attach it to your pet’s collar.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apple-black-friday-deals-get-a-four-pack-of-airtags-for-a-record-low-price-161756513.html?src=rss

Our favorite action camera is up to 30 percent off with these Black Friday deals

Action cams make great gifts, or if you're a photographer, a solid addition to your kit. Black Friday deals usually mean you can pick up new cameras and accessories for less, and this year is no different. One of the best deals we've found is on the GoPro Hero 13 Black action cam, which is down to $310 for Black Friday. That's a discount of 23 percent or $90.

This model topped our list of the best action cameras, and for good reason. It's a fantastic device with all kinds of bells and whistles. It's the most versatile Hero camera that GoPro has ever made. There's a new family of modular lenses and it can shoot up to 5.3K and handle 2X optical zoom.

The battery is bigger than ever before and offers around 90 minutes of continuous shooting in 4K/30FPS. The camera is waterproof up to 10 millimeters, so don't worry about puddles. The full-color front screen is vivid and makes it easy to review footage without getting a computer involved.

There's no internal storage here, but it accepts microSD cards. There's a camera bundle on sale right now that includes a 64GB microSD, three batteries, a dual charger and a case. That pack costs $349, which is a discount of 30 percent.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/our-favorite-action-camera-is-up-to-30-percent-off-with-these-black-friday-deals-160154682.html?src=rss

Engadget Podcast: Did Valve just reshape PC gaming again?

This week Valve surprised us all with the announcement of three new devices: The tiny Steam Machine PC gaming desktop, the Steam Frame VR headset and a new Steam Controller. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget's gaming reporter Jessica Conditt discuss how these devices fit into the PC gaming world, which has already been reshaped by Valve's Steck Deck portable. Also, we discuss our favorite games of 2025, as well as the upcoming titles we're looking forward to.  

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Topics

  • Valve reshapes PC gaming with a new Steam Machine, Steam Frame VR headset and updated Steam Controller – 1:10

  • It’s not just Silksong! A look at our favorite indie games of 2025 with Jess Conditt – 25:25

  • Michael Burry places his next big short on Palantir and NVIDIA – 46:09

  • WSJ Report: OpenAI faces 7 lawsuits claiming ChatGPT encouraged user suicides – 50:57

  • Apple unveils Digital IDs for iPhones, to hold passports and other IDs – 59:35

  • Deezer-Ipsos survey says 97% of people can’t tell if music is AI generated – 1:01:37

  • Around Engadget – 1:07:18

  • Working on – 1:08:42

  • Pop culture picks – 1:09:10

Credits

Host: Devindra Hardawar
Guest: Jessica Conditt
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/engadget-podcast-did-valve-just-reshape-pc-gaming-again-143000931.html?src=rss

Anthropic’s AI was used by Chinese hackers to run a Cyberattack

A few months ago, Anthropic published a report detailing how its Claude AI model had been weaponized in a "vibe hacking" extortion scheme. The company has continued to monitor how the agentic AI is being used to coordinate cyberattacks, and now claims that a state-backed group of hackers in China utilized Claude in an attempted infiltration of 30 corporate and political targets around the world, with some success.

In what it labeled "the first documented case of a large-scale cyberattack executed without substantial human intervention," Anthropic said that the hackers first chose their targets, which included unnamed tech companies, financial institutions and government agencies. They then used Claude Code to develop an automated attack framework, after successfully bypassing the model’s training to avoid harmful behavior. This was achieved by breaking the planned attack into smaller tasks that didn’t obviously reveal their wider malicious intent, and telling Claude that it was a cybersecurity firm using the AI for defensive training purposes.

After writing its own exploit code, Anthropic said Claude was then able to steal usernames and passwords that allowed it to extract "a large amount of private data" through backdoors it had created. The obedient AI reportedly even went to the trouble of documenting the attacks and storing the stolen data in separate files. 

The hackers used AI for 80-90 percent of its operation, only occasionally intervening, and Claude was able to orchestrate an attack in far less time than humans could have done. It wasn’t flawless, with some of the information it obtained turning out to be publicly available, but Anthropic said that attacks like this will likely become more sophisticated and effective over time.

You might be wondering why an AI company would want to publicize the dangerous potential of its own technology, but Anthropic says its investigation also acts as evidence of why the assistant is "crucial" for cyber defense. It said Claude was successfully used to analyze the threat level of the data it collected, and ultimately sees it as a tool that can assist cybersecurity professionals when future attacks happen.

Claude is by no means the only AI that has benefited cybercriminals. Last year, OpenAI said that its generative AI tools were being used by hacker groups with ties to China and North Korea. They reportedly used GAI to assist with code debugging, researching potential targets and drafting phishing emails. OpenAI said at the time that it had blocked the groups' access to its systems.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropics-ai-was-used-by-chinese-hackers-to-run-a-cyberattack-142313551.html?src=rss

WhatsApp enables interoperability with two other messengers in the EU

Meta has announced that BirdyChat and Haiket are the first third-party messaging services that will have interoperability with WhatsApp in the European Union. The company has been working on enabling third-party chats since 2023 after the rules of the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into effect. It apparently held small scale tests over the past few months to make sure WhatsApp does work with BirdyChat and Haiket, and it will roll out integration with the services across Europe “soon.”

Users will be able to send messages, images, voice messages, videos and files between the messaging services whether they’re on Android or iOS. To those wondering, any messaging service Meta teams up with will need to have the same level of end-to-end encryption as WhatsApp under DMA’s rules. Users will see a notification in their Settings tab on WhatsApp over the coming months when BirdyChat and Haiket integration becomes available, telling them how they can opt-in to third-party chats. They can choose not to enable the feature at all or to switch it off anytime they want.

When Meta released details detailing how WhatsApp will work with other messengers, the company said that users will be able to create group chats with their friends on its partner apps. That feature won’t be available at launch, though, and will come later when Meta’s partners are ready to support the capability. Meta also said that it will continue expanding WhatsApp’s interoperability with more apps, as it’s required to do so under the DMA.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/whatsapp-enables-interoperability-with-two-other-messengers-in-the-eu-140000835.html?src=rss