Tag Archives: author_name|Kris Holt

Most of OpenAI’s staff threatens to quit unless the board resigns and reinstates Sam Altman as CEO

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The OpenAI chaos took another twist on Monday morning as most of the company's staff threatened to quit unless the board resigns and reinstates former CEO Sam Altman and ex-president Greg Brockman. According to Wired and Kara Swisher, around 500 employees — including several executives — signed the letter at the outset. 

By Monday afternoon, the number of signatories had swelled to more than 700, according to Bloomberg. That's almost all of the company's approximately 770 employees. Several staff members, including Chief Technical Officer Mira Murati (who held the company's top job on an interim basis for less than a weekend), wrote on X early Monday that "OpenAI is nothing without its people."

The letter to the board is the latest development in a series of events that started on Friday afternoon, when OpenAI's board fired Altman. The board claimed Altman had not been "consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities." As such, the board felt it no longer had "confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI." Brockman told OpenAI staff in an email on Friday that he was resigning as chairman "based on today's news." 

Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap later said in a leaked internal memo that Altman was sacked due to “a breakdown in communication,” not “malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety, or security/privacy practices.”

Altman and Brockman held crunch talks with OpenAI's board over the weekend in an attempt to get their jobs back. But those discussions did not work out in the favor of the former CEO and chairman. It emerged late Sunday night that the board had instead opted to hire former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear as OpenAI's interim chief executive.

There was yet another major development late Sunday/early Monday morning, as Microsoft hired Altman, Brockman and several of their former OpenAI colleagues to head up a new advanced AI research team. Microsoft is OpenAI's biggest investor and it's using the company's tech to help power its generative AI-driven products such as Copilot. The news of Altman's firing reportedly caught Microsoft by surprise. Even though there were suggestions that Satya Nadella has effectively acquihired OpenAI for free, the Microsoft CEO said his company remains "committed to our partnership with OpenAI."

Although Nadella says Altman, Brockman and others now seemingly have new positions at Microsoft, that may not yet be a done deal. According to The Verge, Altman and Brockman may still get their jobs back at OpenAI if the board steps aside. 

If Altman and Brockman don't return to OpenAI, hundreds of employees may end up joining them at Microsoft. In their letter, OpenAI employees accused the board of acting against the best interests of the company.

"Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI. We are unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgement and care for our mission and employees," the letter reads. "We, the undersigned, may choose to resign from OpenAI and join the newly announced Microsoft subsidiary run by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join. We will take this step imminently, unless all current board members resign, and the board appoints two new lead independent directors, such as Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, and reinstates Sam Altman and Greg Brockman."

Ilya Sutskever, an OpenAI board member and the company’s chief scientist, was reportedly the person who coordinated the coup against Altman. However, Sutskever has now expressed regret for "my participation in the board's action" and pledged to do "do everything I can to reunite the company." Sutskever is one of the letter's several hundred signees.

Update 11/20 2:33PM ET: Updated to reflect that more than 700 OpenAI employees have signed the letter. Also noted that Altman and Brockman's move to Microsoft isn't necessarily a done deal.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/most-of-openais-staff-threatens-to-quit-unless-the-board-resigns-and-reinstates-sam-altman-as-ceo-142138044.html?src=rss

Half-Life’s big 25th anniversary update includes four new multiplayer maps and much more

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Half-Life is one of the greatest video games of all time and just ahead of its 25th anniversary on Sunday, Valve has released a major update for the first-person shooter. For one thing, the base game now includes Half-Life Uplink. This was a demo of Half-Life, but most of its content doesn't appear in the original game.

Uplink was initially available on CDs that came free with magazines (remember those?) and hardware like sound cards. It's also been available on the internet for a while for those who know where to look. But now players can access it by clicking the New Game button in Half-Life itself.

On top of that, Valve has added four spanking new multiplayer maps. Some might seem familiar, such as one based on an abandoned Xen outpost and another set at an old orbital satellite launch facility. "If we could switch on the oxygen lines, power, and fuel, we might just be able to light this candle," Valve said. The company has added three other maps that were originally available on a disc called Half-Life: Further Data.

You can now, at long last, play the original Half-Life in widescreen without having to resort to mods or the fan remake Black Mesa. Valve has added controller support along with a string of other under-the-hood updates, UI tweaks and bug fixes. Steam Networking support should make multiplayer smoother too.

Although it's a critical part of Valve's history, Half-Life hadn't been Verified for Steam Deck until now. It instead bore the Playable label. "We finally put our game through our own 'Verified' tests, and... we failed super hard," Valve wrote. "So we fixed it! After re-testing the game, Half-Life gets to officially wear the green checkmark." So, that means it should run on your new Steam Deck OLED without a hitch.

Best of all, in case you somehow don't already have it in your library, Half-Life is free on Steam until November 20. Various Half-Life and Valve bundles are on sale too, while Half-Life Alyx is 66 percent off at $20.39.

It's worth noting that Valve now considers the anniversary edition of Half-Life "to be the definitive version, and the one we'll continue to support going forward." As such, Valve says Half Life: Source will be less prominent on Steam, but it will remain available so modders can continue using its assets.

"We launched Half-Life on November 19, 1998. We are very proud of what we built back then and we remain extremely grateful for the community of players who have been enjoying it ever since," Valve said. "The game hasn't received as much attention in recent years as many other titles in our catalog, so we thought this milestone was a great opportunity to spruce up the player experience and add some fun new ways to play the game."

Last but not least, Valve has released a new documentary to mark the 25th anniversary. The 65-minute film features developers and Valve co-founders discussing the company's early days and their memories of working on Half-Life. Happy birthday, Mr. Freeman.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/half-lifes-big-25th-anniversary-update-includes-four-new-multiplayer-maps-and-much-more-193932590.html?src=rss

Apple Black Friday deals include up to $200 off the M3-powered MacBook Pros

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It has only been a couple of weeks since Apple debuted its M3-powered MacBook Pros, but most variants are already on sale for Black Friday. For instance, you can snap up the base 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro for $1,449 in a great Apple Black Friday deal. That's $150 off the standard price.

This model, to which we gave a score of 90 in our review, sits between the MacBook Air and more powerful MBPs. The standard M3 chip has an eight-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. It should handle basic tasks without any issue, as the chipset is fast and efficient. The 14-inch MBP has a gorgeous Liquid Retina XDR display, while Apple's keyboard and trackpad remain great.

Unfortunately, this model only comes with 8GB of RAM. That could prove a problem for those who like to keep several apps open or have a bunch of tabs in their browser at the same time. We'd definitely add more RAM before recommending it as the best MacBook for creatives. There's also one fewer USB-C port than you'll get in more expensive variants.

So, you may want to stump up some extra cash for a more capable version. A model with a more powerful M3 Pro chip (11‑core CPU and 14‑core GPU), 18GB of RAM and a third USB-C/Thunderbolt port is also $150 off at $1,849. However, it still has 512GB of storage.

Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch from the front
Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Meanwhile, if you're looking for a model with a larger screen, you can opt for a 16-inch M3 MacBook Pro. Those are typically $200 off for Black Friday. The 16-inch MBP is much the same as a 14-inch one, albeit with a larger screen and spec bump.

A variant with an M3 Pro chipset that has a 12‑core CPU and 18‑core GPU, a 16.2-inch display, 18GB of memory and 512GB of storage will run you $2,299. That's eight percent off the usual price of $2,499. This version is also available in the eye-catching Space Black colorway.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-m3-macbook-pros-are-up-to-200-off-for-black-friday-175043898.html?src=rss

The 10th-gen Apple iPad is at its lowest price ever in an Amazon Black Friday deal

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There’s a good iPad deal to be found if you're looking for an entry-level model. The 10th-generation iPad has dropped to its lowest price ever. The 64GB WiFi variant is down to $349 for Black Friday. That's $100 off and $30 less than the previous low. You can take your pick from the pink, blue, silver and yellow hues, since they're all available for $349.

We gave the 10th-gen iPad, which Apple released just over a year ago, a score of 85 in our review. It's a complete redesign compared with the 9th-gen model. The Home button has vanished, Touch ID is integrated into the lock button and there's a larger, 10.9-inch display. Apple has also moved the front-facing camera to the landscape edge, which is far more sensible, particularly for those who take video calls on their tablet.

We found that the 10th-gen iPad offers better performance and battery life than the previous model, though its A14 Bionic chip is not as powerful as the M1 or M2 that you'll find in a current iPad Air or iPad Pro. The display pales in comparison to those on other types of iPads too. However, if you're looking for a relatively inexpensive Apple tablet on which you can browse the web, answer emails, stream TV shows and movies, take notes and maybe even take care of some light photo editing, the 10th-gen iPad will fit the bill.

Meanwhile, the 9th-gen iPad has been available at a record low price of $249 for a while. It's our pick for the best budget iPad, though the performance and battery life improvements on the 10th-gen iPad may make that worth the upgrade given the current sale price. However you slice it, the 9th-gen iPad is the least expensive Apple tablet around, and it's still capable enough when it comes to casual tasks.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-10th-gen-apple-ipad-is-at-its-lowest-price-ever-in-an-amazon-black-friday-deal-160553943.html?src=rss

Google’s Pixel Tablet is $100 off in an early Black Friday sale

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Tablets are always going to be popular items during Black Friday sales. They make for great gifts, and it's as good a time as any to pick one up for yourself if you've been on the fence. Google's Pixel Tablet is a solid choice, especially if you lean more toward Android than iOS (or iPadOS).

The 128GB version of the 11-inch Pixel Tablet has dropped back down to its all-time-low price of $399 at Amazon ahead of Black Friday. That's $100 off the regular price. If you opt for the porcelain variant with 128GB of storage, you can get a case (which is normally $80) at no extra cost. Either way, the tablet comes with a charging dock. Meanwhile, the 256GB model is also $100 off at $499 — there's no SD card slot to expand the storage, unfortunately.

We gave the Pixel Tablet a score of 85 in our review in June. Being able to plop the tablet onto the dock (which has a built-in speaker) is a big selling point as that effectively turns the tablet into a smart display. In this mode, you can use the tablet to stream music and video, control and monitor smart home devices, display your favorite photos and more. Thanks to Google Assistant, you'll be able to do much of this hands free. That said, the dock perhaps doesn't position the tablet at the most flattering angle for video calls. The case that you can get for free with the 128GB model handily has a kickstand.

The performance is fairly snappy thanks to the Tensor G2 chipset, while the 2,560 x 1,600 LCD display is decent enough (although being limited to a 60Hz refresh rate is a drag). You should get a full day of use out of the tablet before you need to recharge the 5,000mAh battery. Google is also promising OS updates through at least June 2026 and security updates for two years beyond that at minimum.

On the downside, the lack of a headphone jack is galling. During our review period, we ran into a few software hiccups while the tablet was in Hub Mode as well. Overall, the Pixel Tablet isn't quite as compelling as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series when it comes to our pick for the best Android tablet. However, it's still a strong choice for a more budget-friendly Android tablet. It's significantly less expensive than Samsung's models, especially during this sale.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-pixel-tablet-is-100-off-in-early-black-friday-sale-164321754.html?src=rss

Apple extends free emergency SOS satellite access for existing iPhone 14 owners

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It has been a year since Apple enabled emergency SOS via satellite on all iPhone 14 units in the US. The feature lets users text emergency services for help when they don't have cell service. The company is offering two years of free access upon activating an iPhone 14 or iPhone 15.

Apple has not said how much it will charge for the feature when the free access period ends. However, users won't have to worry about that for a couple more years. Apple says existing iPhone 14 users (i.e. those who activated their phone before Wednesday in a country where the service is available) will get free access for an extra year.

"Emergency SOS via satellite has helped save lives around the world. From a man who was rescued after his car plummeted over a 400-foot cliff in Los Angeles to lost hikers found in the Apennine Mountains in Italy, we continue to hear stories of our customers being able to connect with emergency responders when they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to," Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of worldwide iPhone product marketing, said. "We are so happy iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users can take advantage of this groundbreaking service for two more years for free."

Apple is extending the free access period for many users not long after it emerged that Qualcomm's bid to offer a similar feature on Android devices has sputtered out. Iridium, its partner on the Snapdragon Satellite project, said smartphone makers have opted not to include the tech in their devices. Qualcomm noted that OEMs are looking for "standards-based solutions." The costs involved in the initiative may have put them off too.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-extends-free-emergency-sos-satellite-access-for-existing-iphone-14-owners-183256442.html?src=rss

Meta calls for legislation to require parental approval for teens’ app downloads

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Meta has called for legislation that would require app stores to get parental approval before their teens download any app. That would effectively put more onus on parents, as well as Google and Apple, to protect younger users from apps that have the potential to cause harm.

"Parents should approve their teen’s app downloads, and we support federal legislation that requires app stores to get parents’ approval whenever their teens under 16 download apps," Antigone Davis, Meta's global head of safety, wrote. The company is proposing a plan that would see app stores notifying parents when their teen wants to download an app, in a similar way to how they are alerted when a kid wants to make an in-app purchase. The parent would then approve or deny the request.

Meta says its approach would let parents verify their teen's age when they set up a phone, rather than requiring everyone to verify their age multiple times across various apps. The company suggests legislation is needed to make sure all apps that teens use are held to the same standard. 

It notes that states are enacting "a patchwork of different laws," some requiring teens to get parental approval for different apps and others mandating age verification. However, "teens move interchangeably between many websites and apps, and social media laws that hold different platforms to different standards in different states will mean teens are inconsistently protected," Davis wrote.

Under current proposals, Meta argues that parents would need to navigate different signup methods and provide "potentially sensitive identification information" for themselves and their teens "to apps with inconsistent security and privacy practices." Indeed, experts say that such age verification practices threaten the privacy of all users.

Utah is enacting legislation that will require social media apps to obtain parental content before a teen can use them. That state and Arkansas both passed social media age verification laws. Following a lawsuit from tech companies, a federal judge struck down the Arkansas legislation a day before it was set to take effect in September. The Utah laws are scheduled to come into force in March.

In its call for federal legislation, this could be seen as a case of Meta trying to pass the buck to parents and app stores. A judge this week rejected attempts by Meta, YouTube parent Google and TikTok owner ByteDance to dismiss lawsuits blaming them for teens' social media addiction. In October, 41 states and the District of Columbia sued Meta for allegedly releasing "harmful features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children and teens to their mental and physical detriment," among other things.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-calls-for-legislation-to-require-parental-approval-for-teens-app-downloads-171016744.html?src=rss

The Analogue Pocket will soon come in eight Game Boy Pocket/Advance colors

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The Steam Deck OLED isn't the only new handheld gaming variant you can snap up this week. The Analogue Pocket will soon be available in eight fresh colorways. Analogue says they're color matched and manufactured in eight classic Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Advance colors: blue, green, indigo, spice orange, pink, red, silver and yellow. They all look just lovely.

Pre-orders will open up on November 17 at 11AM ET on Analogue's website. The company will start shipping these models on November 20. So, if you want to gift one of these versions to a (very special) someone this holiday season, it should arrive with plenty of time to spare.

However, you'll surely need to act fast if you want one of these Classic Limited Editions. As with other special-edition Pockets, these will probably all be snapped up quickly. The Glow in the Dark model sold out in just two minutes. Even so, the limited-edition models may be your best chance of getting an Analogue Pocket anytime soon. The standard version is rarely in stock, and even when it is, it often takes quite some time to ship.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-analogue-pocket-will-soon-come-in-eight-game-boy-pocketadvance-colors-160009109.html?src=rss

You can now limit Instagram posts and Reels to Close Friends

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Instagram is expanding its Close Friends feature from Stories and Notes to feed posts and Reels. As such, you'll be able to share Reels and feed posts with a smaller, perhaps more trusted audience instead of everyone who follows you.

The Instagram team says folks use Close Friends "as a pressure-free space to connect with the people that matter most." By expanding the Close Friends option to Reels and feed posts, the developers hope you'll have "more ways to be your most authentic self on Instagram while having more choices over who sees your content."

Sharing a Reel or feed post only with Close Friends is pretty straightforward. When you're creating one, hit the Audience button, select Close Friends and then tap Share. The post or Reel will have a green star label, so those on your Close Friends list who see it will know they're part of an exclusive club. To highlight the expansion of the feature, you might see the app's plus button turn into a green star icon today.

It's worth noting that the Close Friends list will be the same group of people across all Instagram features. However, Instagram has been looking at other ways for everyone to share things with smaller audiences. Last month, Instagram head Adam Mosseri revealed that his team was experimenting with a way to let users share Stories with different subsets of followers. Facebook users have long been able to set up many different lists of friends and choose which one to share a post with.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/you-can-now-limit-instagram-posts-and-reels-to-close-friends-181123680.html?src=rss

Uber is cracking down on users who give bad ratings just to get refunds

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Uber drivers (and riders) need to maintain a high rating to keep using the app, but bad actors can pull that score down. Some may even give a driver or courier a poor rating for a perfectly fine ride or food delivery just so they can get a refund. Uber says it's doing more to tackle that problem and to make the platform fairer and safer for riders and couriers.

The company says it has established new systems to pinpoint users who make complaints solely in an effort to get a refund or other appeasement. Uber says any allegations that these flagged users make will not impact a driver's rating or play a factor in account deactivation decisions. The company notes that this builds on a policy it's had since 2017 to discard low ratings for issues that are outside of a driver's or courier's control, such as heavy traffic.

Elsewhere, drivers and couriers will receive clearer information as to why Uber deactivated their account. They'll be able to ask Uber to review the decision and include any details that may help their case, such as video or audio recordings. In addition, drivers in the US who have been accused of operating their vehicle under the influence of drugs will have the option of taking a test to prove their innocence. Uber will cover the cost of the drug test.

These are part of a number of measures Uber is bringing in to make the platform safer and fairer for drivers. For one thing, the company is expanding its Record My Ride feature to more cities in the US. Drivers in more locations will be able to use their iPhone's front-facing camera to capture video of their trips. As with the audio recording feature that's now available nationwide, no one will have access to an encrypted video capture unless a driver sends it to Uber for review.

In another safety-oriented update, Uber says that in 2024 it will "significantly expand verification of rider identities to compare rider account details against trusted data sources or an ID document." Eventually, it will start informing drivers whether the rider they're set to pick up is verified. The idea is to give drivers more peace of mind before they accept a trip.

Other updates Uber has announced include Android Auto integration so the Uber Driver app can be accessed on a larger screen. That builds on previous CarPlay integration.

Drivers will soon be able to share real-time traffic and route information that other drivers can access, while information on roadworks, crashes and lane closures that are sourced from TomTom are automatically factored into Uber's suggested routes. Meanwhile, couriers can now see if there's free parking close to their destination and they can access more information about their drop-off point, including photos of the building or door.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/uber-is-clamping-down-on-users-who-give-bad-ratings-just-to-get-refunds-164045280.html?src=rss