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Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 12m

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Sean Hollister @seanhollister.bsky.social · 1h

My Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X review.

The top phrases running through my mind while testing it:

"Someone's getting fired for greenlighting this launch"

"This is not an Xbox"

"If this is the future of Xbox, Xbox is screwed."

Went with the middle.

www.theverge.com/games/799698...

This is not an Xbox

Microsoft’s first “Xbox” handhelds are shipping not fully baked.

www.theverge.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 42m

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Shira Ovide @shiraovide.bsky.social · 1h

Apple can just announce new versions of products without a 60 minute overhyped video and staged clapping?

www.apple.com/newsroom/202...

(In 2023 and 2024 Apple did 30+ minute events to announce updated Macs and iPads.)

Apple unveils new 14‑inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip

Apple today unveiled a new 14-inch MacBook Pro, featuring the incredibly powerful M5 chip.

www.apple.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 2h

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Patrick Galey @patrickgaley.bsky.social · 3h

Even as the LLM-powered Gen AI bubble is about to burst Blackrock, the UAE and Nvidia are throwing $40bn of their clients' money onto the bonfire of data centre build out www.ft.com/content/f7f0...

BlackRock, GIP and MGX in $40bn data centre takeover to power AI growth

Buyer consortium also includes Nvidia and Microsoft and plans to expand Aligned Data Centers to meet computing demand

www.ft.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 2h

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Tom Warren @tomwarren.co.uk · 2h

Xbox Ally and Ally X review: this is not an Xbox. While these handhelds are comfortable to use, they run Windows and they rarely let you forget that. Microsoft's Xbox + Windows combo needs a lot more work. Our Xbox Ally / Ally X review is live now 👇 www.theverge.com/games/799698...

This is not an Xbox

Microsoft’s first “Xbox” handhelds are shipping not fully baked.

www.theverge.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 2h

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Michael Love @elkmovie.bsky.social · 2h

10% speed bump and the same price = they're going to sell like 9 of these, I'm not sure why they're bothering except that maybe they feel like they have to keep it sort-of alive until their glasses launch?

Techmeme @techmeme.com · 2h

Apple updates the Vision Pro with an M5 chip, rendering 10% more pixels, and a Dual Knit Band for a more comfortable fit, available on October 22 for $3,499+ (Apple)

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Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 2h

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Sung Kim @sungkim.bsky.social · 11h

LMSYS.ORG's NVIDIA DGX Spark In-Depth Review: A New Standard for Local AI Inference

TLDR. It’s built to bring AI experimentation to your desk, albeit very slowly.

lmsys.org/blog/2025-10...

NVIDIA DGX Spark In-Depth Review: A New Standard for Local AI Inference | LMSYS Org

<p>Thanks to NVIDIA’s early access program, we are thrilled to get our hands on the NVIDIA DGX™ Spark. It’s quite an unconventional system, as NVIDIA rarely ...

lmsys.org

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 2h

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Hannah Neumann @hneumannmep.bsky.social · 6h

Investigative research on surveillance company First Wap showing once more that industry self-regulation doesn't work. First Wap enables illegal tracking of state leaders & civil society worldwide, using a workaround for export rules on sanctioned entities:

The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you

Inside the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.

www.motherjones.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 3h

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SpinningHugo @spinninghugo.bsky.social · 3h

Great.

Techmeme @techmeme.com · 5h

Waymo plans to launch a fully driverless robotaxi service in London, starting in 2026, its first European launch; human-supervised cars will first collect data (Andrew J. Hawkins/The Verge)

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Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 3h

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Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 3h

Robotaxis on the way to Europe. Wondern when/if/how European carmakers will respond and how quickly they come to EU cities (asking from Berlin).

Techmeme @techmeme.com · 5h

Waymo plans to launch a fully driverless robotaxi service in London, starting in 2026, its first European launch; human-supervised cars will first collect data (Andrew J. Hawkins/The Verge)

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Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 3h

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 4h

"The video is part of a paid Israeli government campaign of posts on Google-owned YouTube that 'focus on whether or not a famine is taking place in Gaza,' according to an internal Google email reviewed by The Washington Post." wapo.st/47dlXDu

As famine struck Gaza, Google let Israel run YouTube ads claiming, ‘There is food’

An internal Google email said it received many complaints about Israeli government YouTube ads about food access in Gaza, but ruled they could remain online.

wapo.st

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 4h

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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 22h

"Operating from their base in Jakarta, where permissive export laws have allowed their surveillance business to flourish, First Wap’s European founders and executives have quietly built a phone-tracking empire, with a footprint extending from the Vatican to the Middle East to Silicon Valley."

Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 23h

1/Stop everything and read/watch/bookmark this massive investigation between @motherjones.com @lighthousereports.com Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Paper Trail Media a vast global surveillance empire used to target politicians, journalists, tech CEOs, and... Jared Leto.
ow.ly/2LUF50Xb7KE

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 4h

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Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 4h

OpenAI is on track to make $13B this year and has committed to spend $1T on AI infrastructure from AMD, Nvidia and Oracle.

We’re going to see aggressive growth moves from OpenAI over the next few years. A TikTol for deepfakes (Sora), erotica in ChatGPT and more sycophantic AI are just the beginning

OpenAI has five years to turn $13 billion into $1 trillion | TechCrunch

Some of America's most valuable companies are now leaning on OpenAI to fulfill major contracts, notes the FT.

techcrunch.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 4h

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Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 4h

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Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 5h

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Alex Hern @hern.bsky.social · 5h

weyyyyyyyy

Techmeme @techmeme.com · 5h

Waymo plans to launch a fully driverless robotaxi service in London, starting in 2026, its first European launch; human-supervised cars will first collect data (Andrew J. Hawkins/The Verge)

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Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 5h

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Der @KleineMaulwurf @kleinemaulwurf.bsky.social · 5h

Ye-e-e-s, tell uncle Altman your innermost, most private sexual desires. Nothing bad could come from this *at all*, amirite...

Techmeme @techmeme.com · 22h

Sam Altman says OpenAI plans a ChatGPT version with a "personality that behaves more like what people liked about 4o" and will add "erotica for verified adults" (Sam Altman/@sama)

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Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 6h

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Adam Christopher @adamchristopher.me · 8h

Feels like it's getting to the stage where we actually need to do something about this, rather than just waiting for the bubble to burst. Not sure what, but... something. www.ign.com/articles/jap...

Japanese Government Calls on Sora 2 Maker OpenAI to Refrain From Copyright Infringement, Says Characters From Manga and Anime Are 'Irreplaceable Treasures' That Japan Boasts to the World - IGN

The Japanese government has made a formal request asking OpenAI to refrain from copyright infringement. This comes as a response to Sora 2’s ability to generate videos featuring the likenesses of copy...

www.ign.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 8h

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Michael Mechanic @michaelmechanic.bsky.social · 19h

“You need to be tracking everyone that is close to them. If you know their bodyguards, if you know their spouses, if you know their kids. All those phones are very essential for the eventual killing of someone, you know.”

This really is one helluva story.

The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you

Inside the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.

www.motherjones.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 8h

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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 23h

“What’s happening here is a very specialized industry that’s enabling some of the world’s worst dictators and despots to undermine the foundational pillars of liberal democracy.”

The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you

We uncovered a massive data trove. It revealed the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.

www.motherjones.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 8h

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Ron Deibert @rondeibert.bsky.social · 1d

The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

A stunning investigation by @lighthousereports.com of what I call "despotism as a service"👇

The surveillance empire that tracked world leaders, a Vatican enemy, and maybe you

We uncovered a massive data trove. It revealed the hidden world of First Wap, whose untraceable tech has targeted politicians, journalists, celebrities, and activists around the globe.

www.motherjones.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 8h

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Dhruv Mehrotra @dmehro.bsky.social · 20h

Come for the incredible reporting, stay for the “I think I felt like shitting my pants or something”: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfWy...

This Secret Tech Tracked World Leaders, a Vatican Enemy, and Maybe You

YouTube video by Mother Jones

www.youtube.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 8h

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Jordan Novet @jordannovet.bsky.social · 10h

"A senior Indian official told Reuters the government believed AI would ultimately have little impact on overall employment. ... Jefferies predicted in September that India's call centers would face a revenue hit of 50% ... from AI adoption over the next five years." www.reuters.com/world/india/...

Meet the AI chatbots replacing India's call-center workers

Rather than pump the brakes as AI threatens jobs built on routine tasks, the country is accelerating, wagering that a let-it-rip approach will create enough new opportunities to absorb those displaced.

www.reuters.com

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Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 8h

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Lawrence Vulis @lvulis.bsky.social · 13h

This seems like an easy way to get bad purchases and customer dissatisfaction.

corporate.walmart.com/news/2025/10...

Walmart Partners with OpenAI to Create AI-First Shopping Experiences

Walmart’s new partnership with OpenAI will allow customers and members to shop with ChatGPT, creating an AI-first experience where shoppers can simply chat and select.

corporate.walmart.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 9h

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🎃It was a Hotblack night🦇 @invalid-handle.com · 22h

Get your own infinite improbability drive for $4k

They should have called it the heart of gold…

Nvidia sells tiny new computer that puts big AI on your desktop

The one petaflop DGX Spark system runs AI models with 200 billion parameters locally for $4K.

arstechnica.com

Techmeme Chatter @chatter.techmeme.com · 9h

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Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 12h

Amazon plans to cut 15% of HR staff. I guess it makes sense that if all you’re doing is layoffs and ignoring people’s feedback about RTO, then you probably can replace your HR department with AI.

Amazon is planning a new wave of layoffs, sources say | Fortune

Amazon's 10,000-plus employee HR division, which includes recruiters, is expected to be among the hardest hit in the job cuts.

fortune.com