The Morning After: Microsoft’s big bet on AI in 2023
Will leaning into AI help Microsoft?
Microsoft, a notoriously conservative and slow-moving giant, is bringing artificial intelligence right into the heart of Windows. But, after investing a total of $13 billion in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI (and acquiring a 49 percent stake in the process), will AI actually make its products better?
Microsoft went to town. Bing Chat officially kicked off its year of AI, while Copilot, assisting with its AI smarts, subsequently launched on Edge, Microsoft 365 products like Word and Powerpoint and eventually Windows 11.
While the AI interactions aren’t perfect, the one constant around AI is that everything is changing incredibly quickly. Microsoft has already announced Copilot will be upgraded with the more powerful GPT-4 Turbo and Dall-E 3 models.
– Mat Smith
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Amazon's Prime Video will start serving ads on January 29, 2023
You'll have to pay $3 a month on top of your subscription to get rid of commercials.
Amazon is telling its Prime Video subscribers that they have to pay extra if they don't want their viewing experience interrupted by commercials. It will start showing "limited advertisements" with its service's movies and shows starting on January 29. If they want to keep it ad-free, they’ll have to pay an extra fee of $3 a month on top of their Prime subscription or their standalone $9-a-month Prime Video membership. The company says it’s all for “increasing investment” in its shows and movies. Lord of the Rings doesn’t pay for itself.
Apple appeals ban on Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2
It went into effect today, but the company says it's taking “all measures” to reverse course.
Apple filed its appeal to the International Trade Commission (ITC), attempting to reverse a ban on US sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, according to court records. The company is also requesting an emergency stay on the ban until a decision is reached regarding proposed redesigns of both smartwatch models. The matter even went before President Biden, with Apple hoping in vain for a veto. The ban officially goes into effect today, though Apple started pulling smartwatches from its digital and physical storefronts last week.
Fan-made Fallout: London is finally coming this April
It has been described as a ‘DLC-sized mod for Bethesda’s Fallout 4.'
An impressive-looking Fallout: London mod has been on our radar for a couple of years, and now the fan-made adventure has an official release date of April 23. The team behind it claim it’s a “DLC-sized mod” for Bethesda’s Fallout 4, built from the bones of the 2015 sequel. The trailer shows off a post-apocalyptic London, with iconic locations like Big Ben, Shakespeare's Globe and Trafalgar Square.
