Barbara Ortutay
@blanka.bsky.social
Technology writer for The Associated Press.
[email protected]
https://apnews.com/author/barbara-ortutay
[email protected]
https://apnews.com/author/barbara-ortutay
Pinned
Barbara Ortutay
@blanka.bsky.social
· Jan 31
Do you work at Meta? How is it going? Would love to hear from you -- Signal (646)378-8843 or [email protected] if you have anything to share, anonymity protected as always.
While the website was processing my payment for plane tickets (like the circle going around and around) I got a notification that the price increased by $70. This is insanity. Has this happened to anyone else?
November 25, 2025 at 12:03 AM
While the website was processing my payment for plane tickets (like the circle going around and around) I got a notification that the price increased by $70. This is insanity. Has this happened to anyone else?
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
We asked Roblox's CEO about child safety on the platform. It got tense www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/p...
We Asked Roblox’s C.E.O. About Child Safety. It Got Tense.
www.nytimes.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:47 PM
We asked Roblox's CEO about child safety on the platform. It got tense www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/p...
Because the horror movies didn't warn us enough...
Advocacy groups urge parents to avoid AI toys this holiday season
Children’s and consumer advocacy groups are urging parents not to buy AI-powered toys during the holiday season.
apnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Because the horror movies didn't warn us enough...
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
"Believing that the only constant in the world was change, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus posited that no man can ever step into the same river twice. In the online world of social media, the current runs fast, too." -- Judge James Boasberg, ruling in favor of Meta.
Meta prevails in historic FTC antitrust case, won't have to break off WhatsApp, Instagram
Meta has prevailed over an existential challenge to its business that could have forced the tech giant to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp after a judge ruled that the company does not hold a monopoly ...
apnews.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:32 PM
"Believing that the only constant in the world was change, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus posited that no man can ever step into the same river twice. In the online world of social media, the current runs fast, too." -- Judge James Boasberg, ruling in favor of Meta.
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
October 29, 2025 at 3:03 PM
New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
Of course women don't like the Cybertruck.
Women only want one thing, and it's the Trabant 601.
Women only want one thing, and it's the Trabant 601.
October 16, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Of course women don't like the Cybertruck.
Women only want one thing, and it's the Trabant 601.
Women only want one thing, and it's the Trabant 601.
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
Krasznahorkai has said of his work: ‘You will never go wrong anticipating doom in my books, any more than you’ll go wrong in anticipating doom in ordinary life.’
In 2012, we recorded a 94-minute conversation with Colm Tóibín for our Bookshop podcast:
www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/podcasts-vid...
In 2012, we recorded a 94-minute conversation with Colm Tóibín for our Bookshop podcast:
www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/podcasts-vid...
László Krasznahorkai in conversation with Colm Tóibín | London Review Bookshop
Our first Literary Friendships event brought together Colm Tóibín with his friend László Krasznahorkai. Described by the Guardian as a ‘visionary writer’,…
www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk
October 9, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Krasznahorkai has said of his work: ‘You will never go wrong anticipating doom in my books, any more than you’ll go wrong in anticipating doom in ordinary life.’
In 2012, we recorded a 94-minute conversation with Colm Tóibín for our Bookshop podcast:
www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/podcasts-vid...
In 2012, we recorded a 94-minute conversation with Colm Tóibín for our Bookshop podcast:
www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/podcasts-vid...
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.
buff.ly
October 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
The only LLM I need.
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.
October 1, 2025 at 5:59 PM
The only LLM I need.
"Way back in 2012, the internet wasn’t yet the angry, shrieking wasteland it has become. A simple story about a no-nonsense lady in North Dakota could break through the noise." www.wsj.com/us-news/mari...
Marilyn Hagerty, Whose Column on Olive Garden Went Viral in 2012, Dies at 99
It was a simpler time online, her son recalls—and his no-nonsense mother broke through the noise for all the right reasons
www.wsj.com
September 19, 2025 at 6:53 PM
"Way back in 2012, the internet wasn’t yet the angry, shrieking wasteland it has become. A simple story about a no-nonsense lady in North Dakota could break through the noise." www.wsj.com/us-news/mari...
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
The passing of Paul Newman (2008), Sean Connery (2020), Sidney Poitier (2022), and now Robert Redford (2025) signals the slow disappearance of a certain type of 20th century figure: men who embodied classic style in a way that reflected their taste, rather than a professional stylist.
September 16, 2025 at 10:28 PM
The passing of Paul Newman (2008), Sean Connery (2020), Sidney Poitier (2022), and now Robert Redford (2025) signals the slow disappearance of a certain type of 20th century figure: men who embodied classic style in a way that reflected their taste, rather than a professional stylist.
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
PSA: If you do not wish to mistakenly see the graphic video of Charlie Kirk getting shot and have an iPhone best to turn off video autoplay. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion, and then disable "Auto-Play Video Previews." This is the default setting. A per-app setting is also on the menu.
warning and fyi: there is a VERY GRAPHIC close up video of the Charlie Kirk shooting out there. It is not the one you’ve probably already seen on here. This is what the first frames look like if you want to avoid it:
September 10, 2025 at 7:56 PM
PSA: If you do not wish to mistakenly see the graphic video of Charlie Kirk getting shot and have an iPhone best to turn off video autoplay. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Motion, and then disable "Auto-Play Video Previews." This is the default setting. A per-app setting is also on the menu.
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”, released as a single 34 yrs ago today
“No one had any psychic foresight .. that the song would go on to do what it did,” said Grohl. “We just fuckin’ rocked it in a little rehearsal space that was like a barn. .. We just thought it was another cool song for the record.”
“No one had any psychic foresight .. that the song would go on to do what it did,” said Grohl. “We just fuckin’ rocked it in a little rehearsal space that was like a barn. .. We just thought it was another cool song for the record.”
September 10, 2025 at 11:20 AM
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”, released as a single 34 yrs ago today
“No one had any psychic foresight .. that the song would go on to do what it did,” said Grohl. “We just fuckin’ rocked it in a little rehearsal space that was like a barn. .. We just thought it was another cool song for the record.”
“No one had any psychic foresight .. that the song would go on to do what it did,” said Grohl. “We just fuckin’ rocked it in a little rehearsal space that was like a barn. .. We just thought it was another cool song for the record.”
"Over the past quarter century, American tech companies to a large degree designed and built China’s surveillance state, playing a far greater role in enabling human rights abuses than previously known, an Associated Press investigation found."
US tech companies enabled the surveillance and detention of hundreds of thousands in China
U.S. technology firms such as IBM, Dell and Cisco largely designed and built China’s surveillance state, an AP investigation finds. The tech companies deny wrongdoing.
apnews.com
September 9, 2025 at 6:06 PM
"Over the past quarter century, American tech companies to a large degree designed and built China’s surveillance state, playing a far greater role in enabling human rights abuses than previously known, an Associated Press investigation found."
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
I'm seeing a social media trend where people are sneaking pics of men reading books in public and making fun of them as "performative males"
And while I love a good dunk, I don't think you guys want men to be reading even less than they are now. Just saying
And while I love a good dunk, I don't think you guys want men to be reading even less than they are now. Just saying
September 4, 2025 at 2:48 PM
I'm seeing a social media trend where people are sneaking pics of men reading books in public and making fun of them as "performative males"
And while I love a good dunk, I don't think you guys want men to be reading even less than they are now. Just saying
And while I love a good dunk, I don't think you guys want men to be reading even less than they are now. Just saying
I have honestly many times thought about purchasing one of those bulletproof backpacks or whatever, but then I think about the burden of carrying that to school every day, putting that burden on our children, that physical and mental burden of having to remember why you are carrying that backpack.
August 28, 2025 at 9:33 PM
I have honestly many times thought about purchasing one of those bulletproof backpacks or whatever, but then I think about the burden of carrying that to school every day, putting that burden on our children, that physical and mental burden of having to remember why you are carrying that backpack.
The trouble with age verification
Online age checks are proliferating, but so are concerns they curtail internet freedom
Online age checks are on the rise in the U.S. and elsewhere, asking people for IDs or face scans to prove they are over 18 or 21 or even 13.
apnews.com
August 28, 2025 at 6:26 PM
The trouble with age verification
“If a tool can give suicide instructions to a child, its safety system is simply useless."
Study says AI chatbots need to fix suicide response, as family sues over ChatGPT role in boy's death
A study finds that AI chatbots often avoid answering high-risk suicide questions but are inconsistent with less direct prompts.
apnews.com
August 26, 2025 at 6:41 PM
“If a tool can give suicide instructions to a child, its safety system is simply useless."
Here's a recent story (and photos) by Mariam Dagga, about children in Gaza:
August 25, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Here's a recent story (and photos) by Mariam Dagga, about children in Gaza:
"At her funeral Monday, relatives and colleagues caressed her cheeks through tears. Her body lay shrouded in white, a single red flower placed gently beside her face."
Mariam Dagga, AP freelance journalist in Gaza, was killed by an Israeli strike
Mariam Dagga, a visual freelance journalist in Gaza for The Associated Press, was killed by an Israeli strike on a hospital. She was 33.
apnews.com
August 25, 2025 at 7:04 PM
"At her funeral Monday, relatives and colleagues caressed her cheeks through tears. Her body lay shrouded in white, a single red flower placed gently beside her face."
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
This is Tuffy. He is the only example of taking up the whole sidewalk that is not only justifiable, but encouraged. 14/10 (IG: mypittuffy)
August 21, 2025 at 10:17 PM
This is Tuffy. He is the only example of taking up the whole sidewalk that is not only justifiable, but encouraged. 14/10 (IG: mypittuffy)
I am sorry I will never be able to read a story about Uranus and not laugh. It's just how it is.
The Webb Space Telescope has spotted a new tiny moon orbiting Uranus. NASA announced the discovery on Tuesday. The moon appears to be just six miles wide.
NASA's Webb telescope finds a new tiny moon around Uranus
The Webb Space Telescope has spotted a new tiny moon orbiting Uranus. NASA announced the discovery on Tuesday. The moon appears to be just six miles wide.
bit.ly
August 19, 2025 at 8:45 PM
I am sorry I will never be able to read a story about Uranus and not laugh. It's just how it is.
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
“Small children from poor or middle-class families who watch ‘Sesame Street’ do better on cognitive tests and in first grade than children who do not watch it,” Renata Adler wrote, in 1972.
The Invention of “Sesame Street”
Renata Adler’s 1972 review of the program that revolutionized children’s television.
www.newyorker.com
August 15, 2025 at 4:05 PM
“Small children from poor or middle-class families who watch ‘Sesame Street’ do better on cognitive tests and in first grade than children who do not watch it,” Renata Adler wrote, in 1972.
Reposted by Barbara Ortutay
AOL’s dial-up internet is finally taking its last bow. Yes, while perhaps a dinosaur by today’s digital standards, dial-up is still around.
AOL is finally shutting down its dial-up internet service
AOL’s dial-up internet is finally taking its last bow. Yes, while perhaps a dinosaur by today’s digital standards, dial-up is still around.
bit.ly
August 11, 2025 at 11:00 PM
AOL’s dial-up internet is finally taking its last bow. Yes, while perhaps a dinosaur by today’s digital standards, dial-up is still around.