
Figma is going public
Figma, the platform that specializes in collaborative interface design, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO). The company will trade under the ticker symbol “FIG” as it prepares to “double down” on its investments in AI. Figma was nearly acquired by Adobe for $20 billion in 2022, but the two companies scrapped the deal in 2023 after facing pressure from regulators in the UK and the European Union. Last year, Figma CEO Dylan Field hinted at going public last year during an...
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X opens up to Community Notes written by AI bots
X is launching a way for developers to create AI bots that can write Community Notes that can potentially appear on posts. Like humans, the “AI Note Writers” will be able to submit a Community Note, but they will only actually be shown on a post “if found helpful by people from different perspectives,” X says in a post on its Community Notes account. Notes written by AI will be “clearly marked for users” and, to start, “AIs can only write notes on posts where people have requ...
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Google makes it easier to let friends and kids control your smart home
Google’s 4th-gen Nest Learning Thermostat. Google Home’s latest update will make it easier to decide who in your household can control your smart home. It comes with a new feature, which Google first started testing last year, that will let you assign people “Admin” and “Member” roles. People with Admin status have full control of all the devices, services, and users within their smart home, while Members can only use “basic” device controls, like watching the live v...
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The GOP’s big spending bill could kill renewable energy projects
Senate Republicans today passed a sweeping spending bill that narrowly avoided punitive tax measures on renewable energy but still threatens to stall its growth in the US. After wrangling over hundreds of amendments for more than 24 hours in a so-called “vote-a-rama” on Monday and Tuesday, Senate Republicans advanced the bill with provisions that make it near impossible for many renewable energy projects to qualify for tax incentives Congress passed in 2022. But a last-minute amendme...
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Grammarly wants to become an ‘AI productivity platform’
Grammarly plans to acquire the buzzy email app Superhuman, according to a press release. Email is already the “number-one use case” of Grammarly for professional users, the company says, with “the AI assistant helping to revise over 50 million emails per week across more than 20 email providers.” Buying Superhuman makes some sense, then: it gives Grammarly its own email app to showcase its product. But based on the press release, Grammarly has broader ambitions – which, like ma...
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Laptop Mag is shutting down
Laptop Mag is shutting down after nearly 35 years of providing consumers with in-depth information about laptops and other technology. In a staff meeting seen by The Verge, Faisal Alani, the global brand director at Laptop Mag owner Future PLC, said, “After careful consideration and a review of our long-term strategy, we’ve made the decision to close the Laptop Mag business effective today.” Laptop Mag has gone through many evolutions over the years. It started as a print publica...
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Nothing’s over-ear headphones are all about the buttons
Nothing has launched its first pair of over-ear headphones, imaginatively named the Headphone 1. At $299, these are priced to compete with flagship fare, distinguished primarily by their distinctive Nothing design language — right down to the buttons. While the boxy outline calls to mind Apple’s AirPods Max, the semi-transparent detailing on the outside of each earcup is all Nothing. So are the buttons, all differently shaped, with some you press, some you flick, and some you toggl...
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AT&T now lets you lock down your account to prevent SIM swapping attacks
AT&T is launching a new Account Lock feature that’s designed to protect wireless users against SIM swapping attacks. The feature, which you can enable from the myAT&T app, prevents unauthorized changes to your account, like phone number transfers, SIM card changes, and updates to billing information. SIM swapping attacks have become increasingly common in recent years. They occur when a bad actor gets ahold of a victim’s phone number, sometimes with social engineering t...
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