Meta now lets Threads users avoid automatically sharing their posts with its other apps. When activated, the opt-out feature prevents Meta’s Twitter clone from sharing posts to Instagram and Facebook without user consent. Software engineer Alessandro Paluzzi spotted early signs of the privacy toggle earlier this month.
Threads users can turn off automatic cross-platform content sharing by heading to their profile page, selecting the menu at the top right, then Privacy > Suggesting posts on other apps, and toggling off Instagram and Facebook individually. Note that changing this feature only prevents your posts from being used in cross-promotions; you’ll still see other people’s Threads posts on Instagram and Facebook, irrespective of your privacy settings.
Some Threads users were upset about Meta automatically sharing their content from the nascent X competitor, mainly because people often use the apps to connect with different crowds (for example, Threads for news and politics with strangers, Facebook for extended family and old friends). TechCrunchhighlighted several comments from people describing Threads posts automatically posted on other platforms as odd clickbait seemingly “designed to get comments” by stripping bold statements of context. In October, the company said it was “listening to feedback” in response to a Threads user’s complaint about automatic sharing to Meta’s more established platforms.
Meta is no stranger to using its existing stockpile of social apps to turbocharge its newest ones. It used easy onboarding and promotion via Instagram to vault Threads to the fastest app to reach 150 million downloads. Although growth appeared to slow after that, CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said Threads had tallied nearly 100 million users. The Facebook founder said he sees a path for the Twitter clone to reach the one-billion user milestone.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/threads-users-can-now-opt-out-of-automatically-sharing-posts-to-facebook-and-instagram-172807726.html?src=rss
Tumblr, a flailing social media site from a bygone era, may be run by a skeleton crew from now on. An alleged internal memo from parent company Automattic has made the rounds on social platforms (including Threads), stating it has “not gotten the expected results from our effort.” The decision appears to mark a sharp U-turn from a separate leak this summer, claiming Automattic was building a TikTok-like algorithmic feed into the aging site.
Although this doesn’t quite appear to be the end of the road for Tumblr, the note doesn’t sound promising for the platform’s future. It says “the majority of the 139 people” will switch to other Automattic projects, leaving a barebones gang of Trust & Safety and support workers to oversee Tumblr’s smoldering embers. Given how many brutal layoffs we’ve seen this year, handling the transition in a way that avoids job losses could be a silver lining.
Automattic, the company behind the blogging tool WordPress, acquired Tumblr in 2019 from Verizon, which landed the platform through its purchase of Yahoo! (Engadget’s parent company) in 2017. It likely didn’t help that its ownership turned into a game of musical chairs, and none of them seemed to find the right formula to get the microblogging network back on its feet. (Its controversial ban on adult content likely had something to do with that.)
“We are at the point where after 600+ person-years of effort put into Tumblr since the acquisition in 2019, we have not gotten the expected results from our effort, which was to have its revenue and usage above its previous peaks,” the alleged memo reads. After throwing in cliches about climbing mountains and being better to try and fail than not to try at all, the note claims the team’s next step is to “reflect and decide where else we should concentrate our energy together.”
Engadget reached out to Automattic for comment and confirmation but didn’t immediately receive a response. We’ll update this article if we hear back.
In addition to WordPress, Automattic’s other brands include the journaling app Day One, the e-commerce plugin WooCommerce, Gravatar and the note-taking app SimpleNote.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tumblrs-staff-is-reportedly-reduced-to-a-skeleton-crew-215853169.html?src=rss
Tumblr, a flailing social media site from a bygone era, may be run by a skeleton crew from now on. An alleged internal memo from parent company Automattic has made the rounds on social platforms (including Threads), stating it has “not gotten the expected results from our effort.” The decision appears to mark a sharp U-turn from a separate leak this summer, claiming Automattic was building a TikTok-like algorithmic feed into the aging site.
Although this doesn’t quite appear to be the end of the road for Tumblr, the note doesn’t sound promising for the platform’s future. It says “the majority of the 139 people” will switch to other Automattic projects, leaving a barebones gang of Trust & Safety and support workers to oversee Tumblr’s smoldering embers. Given how many brutal layoffs we’ve seen this year, handling the transition in a way that avoids job losses could be a silver lining.
Automattic, the company behind the blogging tool WordPress, acquired Tumblr in 2019 from Verizon, which landed the platform through its purchase of Yahoo! (Engadget’s parent company) in 2017. It likely didn’t help that its ownership turned into a game of musical chairs, and none of them seemed to find the right formula to get the microblogging network back on its feet. (Its controversial ban on adult content likely had something to do with that.)
“We are at the point where after 600+ person-years of effort put into Tumblr since the acquisition in 2019, we have not gotten the expected results from our effort, which was to have its revenue and usage above its previous peaks,” the alleged memo reads. After throwing in cliches about climbing mountains and being better to try and fail than not to try at all, the note claims the team’s next step is to “reflect and decide where else we should concentrate our energy together.”
Engadget reached out to Automattic for comment and confirmation but didn’t immediately receive a response. We’ll update this article if we hear back.
In addition to WordPress, Automattic’s other brands include the journaling app Day One, the e-commerce plugin WooCommerce, Gravatar and the note-taking app SimpleNote.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tumblrs-staff-is-reportedly-reduced-to-a-skeleton-crew-215853169.html?src=rss
Amazon reportedly plans to remove the Android core from future Fire TVs, smart displays and other devices. Writing for Lowpass, veteran journalist Janko Roettgers cites “multiple sources with knowledge of these plans” along with job listings and other materials supporting Amazon’s alleged move to a new Linux-based operating system. The OS supposedly uses the internal codename “Vega” and runs on devices like Fire TV Sticks, TVs, and other connected devices.
Roettgers says Amazon has been working on the idea for years, with the company supposedly floating the idea to chipmakers as far back as 2017. “Hundreds of people” in Amazon’s Device OS group have reportedly worked on the software, including Zibi Braniecki, a former Mozilla engineer who joined Amazon in 2022. Earlier this year, he allegedly posted on LinkedIn (a comment that appears to have since been deleted) that he was “working on a next generation Operating System for Smart Home, Automotive, and other Amazon Devices product lines.”
The report doesn’t list a release timeline but mentions that “most of the OS development is already done.” Amazon is now apparently focusing on readying an SDK and planning perks to convince developers to invest their time and money.
The alleged move would allow Amazon to cut ties with Google’s Android Open Source Project, which lies at the heart of the current Fire OS. That dependence has led to Amazon’s software falling several generations behind the most recent Android versions. For example, the current-gen Fire TV software is based on Android 9, Google’s big software update from five years ago. Switching to Vega could also let Amazon cut underlying bloat from its OS; Android contains code enabling it to work on many different devices stretching far beyond the relatively minimal needs of Amazon’s smart-home gear.
Lowpass claims the Linux-based Vega would use React Native for app development. The Meta-created framework uses a single codebase for iOS and Android, and Amazon likely hopes that will help with cross-platform development. The report doesn’t specifically address whether the OS will eventually run on Fire tablets, which become much more versatile when users sideload the Google Play Store to run a wider variety of Android apps.
Roettgers’s report says Amazon plans to eventually make a clean break with Android on all new devices. The company allegedly designed Vega to run on systems as diverse as car infotainment systems and “other future hardware products.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-reportedly-plans-to-dump-android-for-a-homemade-fire-os-replacement-200144781.html?src=rss
Amazon reportedly plans to remove the Android core from future Fire TVs, smart displays and other devices. Writing for Lowpass, veteran journalist Janko Roettgers cites “multiple sources with knowledge of these plans” along with job listings and other materials supporting Amazon’s alleged move to a new Linux-based operating system. The OS supposedly uses the internal codename “Vega” and runs on devices like Fire TV Sticks, TVs, and other connected devices.
Roettgers says Amazon has been working on the idea for years, with the company supposedly floating the idea to chipmakers as far back as 2017. “Hundreds of people” in Amazon’s Device OS group have reportedly worked on the software, including Zibi Braniecki, a former Mozilla engineer who joined Amazon in 2022. Earlier this year, he allegedly posted on LinkedIn (a comment that appears to have since been deleted) that he was “working on a next generation Operating System for Smart Home, Automotive, and other Amazon Devices product lines.”
The report doesn’t list a release timeline but mentions that “most of the OS development is already done.” Amazon is now apparently focusing on readying an SDK and planning perks to convince developers to invest their time and money.
The alleged move would allow Amazon to cut ties with Google’s Android Open Source Project, which lies at the heart of the current Fire OS. That dependence has led to Amazon’s software falling several generations behind the most recent Android versions. For example, the current-gen Fire TV software is based on Android 9, Google’s big software update from five years ago. Switching to Vega could also let Amazon cut underlying bloat from its OS; Android contains code enabling it to work on many different devices stretching far beyond the relatively minimal needs of Amazon’s smart-home gear.
Lowpass claims the Linux-based Vega would use React Native for app development. The Meta-created framework uses a single codebase for iOS and Android, and Amazon likely hopes that will help with cross-platform development. The report doesn’t specifically address whether the OS will eventually run on Fire tablets, which become much more versatile when users sideload the Google Play Store to run a wider variety of Android apps.
Roettgers’s report says Amazon plans to eventually make a clean break with Android on all new devices. The company allegedly designed Vega to run on systems as diverse as car infotainment systems and “other future hardware products.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-reportedly-plans-to-dump-android-for-a-homemade-fire-os-replacement-200144781.html?src=rss
Reverb has refurbished Native Instruments Maschine MK3 units on sale now for half off the sticker price in an early Black Friday sale. The device’s interface is friendly to beginner and advanced beatmakers, providing music-making software and hardware in one package. Typically costing $599 new, Reverb’s “great quality” refurbs of the standalone groovebox cost $299 and come with a 90-day warranty.
NI describes the Maschine line as “whatever you want it to be — a standalone groovebox, a compact drum machine, a versatile synthesiser, or a fully fledged production system.” It can create entire songs on the device or pair it with a desktop DAW like Logic Pro or Ableton for finer tuning after laying down a foundation on the all-in-one controller.
The standalone system includes a sampler, arranger, mixer and “pro-quality” FX like a filter, EQ, delay, reverb and compressor. Its built-in sounds include thousands of drum kits, synth presets and loops, and it supports up to 12 expansions. On the device’s face are 16 “ultra-sensitive” drum pads, two color displays, touch-sensitive knobs, a smart strip, and more.
The Maschine MK3 is compatible with Mac (10.13 or higher) and Windows (7 and up) using a bundled USB 2.0 cable.
Reverb says its refurbished models are cleaned and tested as fully operational, and they include a 90-day warranty in case you run into any problems. The online retailer also accepts returns within seven days of delivery — but only if it’s “lost, damaged, or doesn’t match its description.” (So don’t expect Reverb to accept a buyer’s remorse return if the Maschine MK3 works as advertised but doesn’t quite do it for you.)
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/take-half-off-a-refurbished-native-instruments-maschine-mk3-for-black-friday-182541536.html?src=rss
Reverb has refurbished Native Instruments Maschine MK3 units on sale now for half off the sticker price in an early Black Friday sale. The device’s interface is friendly to beginner and advanced beatmakers, providing music-making software and hardware in one package. Typically costing $599 new, Reverb’s “great quality” refurbs of the standalone groovebox cost $299 and come with a 90-day warranty.
NI describes the Maschine line as “whatever you want it to be — a standalone groovebox, a compact drum machine, a versatile synthesiser, or a fully fledged production system.” It can create entire songs on the device or pair it with a desktop DAW like Logic Pro or Ableton for finer tuning after laying down a foundation on the all-in-one controller.
The standalone system includes a sampler, arranger, mixer and “pro-quality” FX like a filter, EQ, delay, reverb and compressor. Its built-in sounds include thousands of drum kits, synth presets and loops, and it supports up to 12 expansions. On the device’s face are 16 “ultra-sensitive” drum pads, two color displays, touch-sensitive knobs, a smart strip, and more.
The Maschine MK3 is compatible with Mac (10.13 or higher) and Windows (7 and up) using a bundled USB 2.0 cable.
Reverb says its refurbished models are cleaned and tested as fully operational, and they include a 90-day warranty in case you run into any problems. The online retailer also accepts returns within seven days of delivery — but only if it’s “lost, damaged, or doesn’t match its description.” (So don’t expect Reverb to accept a buyer’s remorse return if the Maschine MK3 works as advertised but doesn’t quite do it for you.)
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/take-half-off-a-refurbished-native-instruments-maschine-mk3-for-black-friday-182541536.html?src=rss
YouTube is adding a new For You section to creator channels. The TikTok-like feature will be personalized to each visitor, recommending content from a channel based on each viewer’s watch history. The company’s support account on X posted (viaThe Verge) about the upcoming feature, which launches on November 20.
Creators can prepare for the For You section by confirming their options before its release date. You can toggle the feature’s availability and change its settings in YouTube Studio by selecting Customization > Layout and then checking each of the prompts under the For You section. It allows you to toggle whether full-length videos, shorts and livestreams are available for the feature.
✨ introducing the “For you” section of your channel Home tab that recommends a mix of content from your channel to viewers based on their watch history
🚨 creators: review your settings & select formats before we roll out to viewers on 11/20
The company had already teased the feature in a May video posted to its Creator Insider channel, a hub where YouTube employees have “direct conversations” with YouTubers. In that clip, product manager Ann Katrin Kuessner framed the feature as an alternative to the static home page. “You’re trying to find a configuration that is one-size-fits-all since the channel page looks the same today for every person that visits it,” Kuessner said, summarizing a problem creators face. She said the feature’s personalization “will be especially effective if your channel has multiple topics, languages, or content formats.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-will-soon-show-visitors-a-personalized-for-you-section-on-channel-pages-213402443.html?src=rss
Microsoft allegedly plans to bring Copilot, its generative-AI-powered personal assistant, to late adopters. Windows Central’s Zac Bowden reports the Copilot button and sidebar from Windows 11 will “soon” arrive in Windows 10. The AI assistant for Windows 11 launched in beta in August and officially in September.
Bowden says the Windows 10 Copilot will include plugins that work across both operating systems. “I understand the experience and capabilities of Copilot across Windows 10 and Windows 11 will be roughly the same, including plugin compatibility across both versions of the OS,” the editor reported.
The move would add significant numbers to Copilot’s user base, as Windows 10 still runs on around one billion monthly active devices. Meanwhile, Windows 11, launched over two years ago, has around 400 million monthly active devices. Bowden suspects the move will also help Microsoft nudge developers into making Copilot plugins: “Microsoft will also have an easier time selling developers on the idea that they should build plugins for Copilot when they can say Copilot is available on 1.4 billion devices, compared to just 400 million on Windows 11.”
Engadget contacted Microsoft for comment but didn’t immediately receive a response. We’ll update this article if we hear back.
Bowden’s report also mentions that Microsoft is revisiting its strategy of moving on quickly from Windows 10. The company reportedly plans to add “select new features and services” previously exclusive to Windows 11 to the older OS. Windows 10 support is set to expire in October 2025, but Bowden’s sources say the company is having ongoing internal discussions about possibly extending that.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-reportedly-plans-to-bring-its-ai-powered-copilot-to-windows-10-202010100.html?src=rss
A group of Google employees has published an open letter on Medium calling out an alleged double standard in the company related to freedom of expression surrounding the Israel-Palestine war. The essay condemns “hate, abuse and retaliation” within the company against Muslim, Arab and Palestinian workers. The employees who penned the letter, which doesn’t include specific names out of fear of retaliation, demand that CEO Sundar Pichai, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian and other senior leaders publicly condemn “the ongoing genocide in the strongest possible terms.” In addition, they urge the company to cancel Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion deal to supply AI and other advanced tech to the Israeli military.
“We are Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab Google employees joined by anti-Zionist Jewish colleagues,” the letter opens. “We cannot remain silent in the face of the hate, abuse, and retaliation that we are being subjected to in the workplace in this moment.”
The letter cites specific examples of emotionally charged and inappropriate workplace behavior. These include unnamed Googlers accusing Palestinians of supporting terrorism, committing “slander against the Prophet Muhammad,” and publicly calling Palestinians “animals” on official Google work platforms. The group describes leadership as “standing idly by” in the latter two cases, and it says Google managers have called employees “sick” and “a lost cause” for expressing empathy toward Gaza residents.
The employees say Google managers have publicly asked Arab and Muslim people in the company if they support Hamas as a response to their concern for Palestinian families. “There are even coordinated efforts to stalk the public lives of workers sympathetic to Palestine and to report them both to Google and law enforcement for ‘supporting terrorism,’” the letter reads.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Other examples cited include “heartfelt appeals” to donate to a charity for Gaza citizens being “met with multiple comments dehumanizing Gazans as being ‘animals,’ disregarding their plight and calling upon Googlers to boycott relief work for civilians due to the fact that Palestinian schools and hospitals were being used for ‘terrorism.’” The letter also accuses Google managers of using their rank to “question, report, and attempt to get fired Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian Googlers who express sympathy with the plight of the besieged Palestinian people.” It describes one manager endorsing “surveillance of Google employees on social media,” and then openly harassing them on Google work platforms.
“You have to be very, very, very careful, because any sort of criticism toward the Israeli state can be easily taken as antisemitism,” Sarmad Gilani, a Google software engineer who tells Engadget he did not take part in the letter, said in an interview with The New York Times. “It feels like I have to condemn Hamas 10 times before saying one tiny, tiny thing criticizing Israel.”
In an emailed statement to Engadget, Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini wrote, “As we’ve shared, this is a highly sensitive time and topic in every company and workplace, and we have many employees who are personally affected. The overwhelming majority of those employees are not engaged in internal discussions or debate, and many have said they’ve appreciated our fast response and our focus on the safety of our employees.” The company said the situation involves a small number of Googlers whose views don’t represent the entire workforce. It encourages employees to voice concerns to HR, and it adds that it has taken action within the last month when conduct violates company policy.
The tensions inflamed in the last month by the Israel-Palestine war have resurfaced resentments about Google’s involvement in Project Nimbus. In 2021, Google and Amazon workers penned a similar open letter calling on their companies to pull out of the deal, which they said would enable surveillance of and unlawful data collection on Palestinians. Today’s letter echoes that sentiment. “We demand that Google stop providing material support to this genocide by canceling its Project Nimbus contract and immediately cease doing business with the Israeli apartheid government and military,” it reads.
In response to the Project Nimbus concerns, Google spokesperson Mencini wrote to Engadget, “This is part of a longstanding campaign by a group of organizations and people who largely don’t work at Google. We have been very clear that the Nimbus contract is for workloads running on our commercial platform by Israeli government ministries such as finance, healthcare, transportation, and education. Our work is not directed at highly sensitive or classified military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services.”
Update, November 8, 2023, 11:04 PM ET: This story has been updated to correct an error that interpreted the NYT interview with Sarmad Gilani as indicating he participated in the letter. However, he clarified to Engadget that he was not involved with the letter to Google management. We regret the error and apologize to Mr. Gilani.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-workers-publish-letter-criticizing-companys-israel-palestine-double-standard-181516404.html?src=rss