Daily Tech News 15 June 2023

• Google is getting a lot worse because of the Reddit blackouts. (The Verge)
  
  It says a lot about the state of the internet when Reddit is one of the more valuable resources.
  
  
  
• Reddit admins - that is, Reddit's own employees rather than the volunteers who keep the communities alive - have taken over two major subreddits, r/AdviceAnimals and r/Tumblr, and brought them back out of the Shadow Realm. (Twitter)
  
  The total disregard Reddit has shown for its users matches so exactly Digg's own self-immolation back in 2010 - the event that pushed the much smaller Reddit into the spotlight - that Digg should be able to sue for trademark infringement.

• Razer's new Blade 14 - which despite the name is a laptop - has upgradeable memory and storage. (AnandTech)
  
  Up to 64GB of RAM, plus an AMD 7940HS, an RTX 4070, and a 14" 2560x1440 display.
  
  Still no Four Essential Keys, but it's a step in the right direction after last year's model with soldered RAM.
  
  
  
• Microsoft is selling spare parts for its Surface devices. (Thurrott)
  
  Screens, keyboards, storage, and batteries are available to brave souls who want to repair their own devices, plus detailed repair guides and tool kits if you don't already have one of those 1001 screwdriver bits kits from Amazon.
  
  Just, looking at the price list, try not to break the screen on your Surface Studio.
  
  
  
• Scientists have for the first time created synthetic human embryos without going through all that tedious business with parents. (The Guardian)
  
  Could we not?
  
  Just for one brief minute, could we not?
  
  

  Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented the Torment Nexus as a cautionary tale
  
  Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi novel Don't Create The Torment Nexus

  — Alex Blechman (@AlexBlechman) November 8, 2021

  
  
  
  
• A report from McKinsey finds that generative AI (like ChatGPT) could add $2.6 to $4.4 trillion per year to the global economy. (VentureBeat)
  
  The authors caution that if the AI goes rogue and eradicates all life on earth the gains could be on the lower end of that range.
  
  
  
• Accenture plans to grow its AI workforce to 80,000 just months after firing 19,000 people who actually did things. (The Register)

  "Over the next decade, AI will be a mega-trend, transforming industries, companies, and the way we live and work, as generative AI transforms 40 percent of all working hours," Paul Daugherty, group chief executive, Accenture Technology, predicted in a statement.

  If you own shares in Accenture, sell. If you use their services, seek alternatives. And if you work for them, keep your resume up to date at all times, but maybe fudge things a little and claim you were doing time in a Turkish prison for heroin trafficking.
  
  
  
• The Nokia T21 tablet is now available in the US for $240. (Liliputing)
  
  It's a basic decent large Android tablet, with one neat trick: It supports Wacom drawing pens. I don't know how well it supports the pens, or what drawing software is like on Android these days.
  
  I bought a Huion Kamvas Pro recently - like a Wacom Cintiq but much, much cheaper - but it's still in its box so I don't know yet how good it is. Better than my artistic skills at least, I would hope.
  
  This tablet is cheaper again, but the Kamvas connects directly to a PC and comes with a pen, so there's no messing around.
  
  
  
• Twitter is being evicted from its Boulder office over unpaid rent. (Tech Crunch)
  
  Boulder is not yet San Francisco and there is still the possibility of another tenant showing up, so yes, that will happen.
  
  I would say that Twitter has no need for a Boulder office, but if, like Google, you want employees to show up in person at the office, you rather do need an office for them to show up at.

posted by Pixy Misa at 04:15 AM

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