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February 20, 2024, 9:40 PM
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Top News

Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Messaging app Signal finally rolls out usernames in beta, letting users conceal their phone numbers; Signal still requires inputting a phone number to register  —  We tested the end-to-end encrypted messenger's new feature aimed at addressing critics' most persistent complaint.  Here's how it works.
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
Authorities arrest two LockBit operators in Poland and Ukraine, issue arrest warrants and a decryption tool, seize 200+ crypto wallets; US indicts two Russians  —  Law enforcement arrested two operators of the LockBit ransomware gang in Poland and Ukraine, created a decryption tool …
Bloomberg:
Law enforcement agencies from 11 countries, including the FBI and UK National Crime Agency, disrupt the LockBit group and seize 11K domains used for ransomware
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Gary Geaves, Apple's longtime VP in charge of acoustics, is stepping down, replaced by Ruchir Davé, adding to the hardware engineering group's upheaval  —  - Apple acoustics chief Gary Geaves is stepping down from role  — Executive has been key to development of AirPods and HomePod
Jacob Pramuk / CNBC:
Walmart agrees to acquire TV maker Vizio for $2.3B, or $11.50/share, to boost its ad business via Vizio's SmartCast OS, which lets users stream content with ads  —  Walmart's acquisition of Vizio for $2.3BN was confirmed today.  The European Commission rejected Amazon's acquisition of iRobot for $1.7BN.
Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo:
Demos from AI chip maker Groq go viral after the company's inference engine shows remarkable speeds running LLMs, including with real-time conversations  —  Two AI companies are claiming the science fiction term, “Grok,” as their own, but only one is turbocharging the AI industry.
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple debuts a monthly Apple Music Replay, offering insights like total listening time, top songs, artists, and albums, and releases 2024's Replay Mix playlist  —  Apple today updated the Apple Music Replay experience, available at replay.music.apple.com, with visualizations of your favorite music habits …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Google engineers hacked a Sony PlayStation Portal, which can only stream PS5 games, to run games locally via a PPSSPP emulator using a “software based” exploit  —  Sony's new PlayStation Portal has been hacked by Google engineers to run emulated games locally.
John Voorhees / MacStories:
A look at ways to play games on Apple Vision Pro: spatial and iPad App Store games, streaming via MirrorPlay for PS5, NDI, Macs, browsers like Nexus⁺, and more  —  The lack of any kind of port significantly limits the type of gaming you can do in the Apple Vision Pro - or does it?
More: 9to5Mac, iMore, Six Colors, and The Verge
Threads: @viticci.  Mastodon: @viticci@mastodon … and @johnvoorhees@mastodon ….  Forums: r/apple

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The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Arkansas PBS severs ties with the PBS network, the first state public TV system to do so since Congress cut CPB funds, citing the annual $2M+ membership cost

Sam Roberts / New York Times:
Arthur L. Carter, who started a Connecticut newspaper in 1981, bought and sold The Nation, and founded the New York Observer in 1987, has died at 93

Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney's Zootopia 2 surpasses $1B at the global box office, the fastest PG-rated film to do so after just 17 days in release

More News

Tom Wilson / Reuters:
Circle says it will no longer mint USDC tokens on the Tron blockchain, effective immediately, to “ensure that USDC remains trusted, transparent, and safe”
Larry Dignan / Constellation Research:
Palo Alto Networks reports Q2 revenue up 19% YoY to $1.98B, vs. $1.97B est., and lowers its full-year guidance for billings and revenue; PANW drops 19%+
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Adobe launches AI Assistant in Acrobat in beta, to summarize PDFs, answer and recommend questions, and more, letting paying users “easily chat with documents”

Earlier Picks

Antonia Mufarech / Bloomberg:
Tinder plans to roll out its new ID checks in the US, the UK, Brazil, and Mexico, after tests in Australia and New Zealand, to combat AI scams and dating crimes
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Samsung details its Auracast, 360 Audio, and Auto Switch features, rolling out to Buds 2, Buds FE, the S24 series, Neo QLED and OLED TVs, Book laptops, and more
HouseFresh:
How some big publishers are inundating the web with subpar product recommendations without testing the products, and how Google is helping them through inaction
Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
The European Commission opens an investigation into whether TikTok breached DSA rules meant to protect children, the second DSA investigation after one into X
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