Techmeme: Microsoft releases three Phi-3.5 models designed for basic/fast reasoning and more, available for developers to download, use, and fine-tune on Hugging Face (Carl Franzen/VentureBeat)

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August 21, 2024, 8:15 AM

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Wes Davis / The Verge:

Google updates Gemini in Gmail to add a Polish feature to edit existing drafts, on top of Formalize and Elaborate, for Google One AI Premium and Workspace — Google is upgrading its Gemini writing tools in Gmail to help you polish drafts that you've already written.

More: Google Workspace Updates, Business Standard, Android Authority, WinBuzzer, Moneycontrol, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, PhoneArena, Android Police, Droid Life, 9to5Google, and NewsBytes

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:

Samsung unveils a new Odyssey gaming monitor lineup that uses eye-tracking tech to convert 2D visuals into glasses-free 3D, set for release “within this year” — Samsung has announced a new Odyssey gaming monitor lineup at gamescom that uses eye-tracking technology to convert 2D visuals into glasses-free 3D.

More: Samsung Newsroom, PC Gamer, OC3D, XDA on YouTube, and SamMobile

X: @tomwarren and @kylebrussell

Carl Franzen / VentureBeat:

Microsoft releases three Phi-3.5 models designed for basic/fast reasoning and more, available for developers to download, use, and fine-tune on Hugging Face — Microsoft isn't resting its AI success on the laurels of its partnership with OpenAI. — No, far from it.

More: Hugging Face, InfoWorld, The Decoder, WinBuzzer, AIM, Maginative, and Neowin

X: @rohanpaul_ai, @yampeleg, @terryyuezhuo, @reach_vb, and @altryne

Katharine Gemmell / Bloomberg:

The UK CMA closes its Google Play Store and Apple App Store investigation and expects to reconsider the case under a new digital rules regime, set for fall 2024 — - CMA's digital market powers set to come into force this fall — Regulator expects early work of rules to focus on app stores

More: AppleInsider, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, Reuters, GOV.UK, City A.M., Proactive, Developer Tech News, and The Mirror. X: @cmagovuk

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:

Linux users say Microsoft's recent Windows patch leaves dual-boot devices unable to boot into Linux when Secure Boot is enforced; Microsoft hasn't commented — Microsoft said its update wouldn't install on Linux devices. It did anyway. — Last Tuesday, loads of Linux users …

More: The Verge, Windows Central, and BleepingComputer

Mastodon: @dangoodin@infosec.exchange and @epidiah@dice.camp

Forums: r/technology and Ars OpenForum

OpenAI:

OpenAI launches fine-tuning for GPT-4o, letting developers customize a version of the model with their own datasets to improve domain-specific performance — Fine-tune custom versions of GPT-4o to increase performance and accuracy for your applications — Today, we're launching fine-tuning …

More: WinBuzzer, Gizchina.com, The Decoder, The Rundown AI, Cointelegraph, GSMArena.com, Nairametrics, PYMNTS.com, VentureBeat, SiliconANGLE, Neowin, Inc.com, Bloomberg, CoinGape, and Constellation Research

X: @_jamico, @shyamalanadkat, @peteskomoroch, @sherwinwu, @michpokrass, @svpino, @stevenheidel, and @openaidevs. LinkedIn: Leonard Park. Forums: Hacker News

Stephanie Stacey / Financial Times:

After rivals' criticism, CrowdStrike President Michael Sentonas says no vendor can “technically” guarantee their software won't cause a similar incident to July — Botched update that hit millions of computers leads to claims of ‘ambulance chasing’ by competitors

Bluesky: @radiobeartime.com. X: @chirag_mehta, @starcourse, and @lukolejnik. LinkedIn: Lance McGrath

Nick Turner / Bloomberg:

Filing: chipmaker Microchip Technology says its servers were breached by an unauthorized party, causing its operations to run at “less than normal levels” — - Nvidia, GlobalWafers have also been attacked in the past — Breach comes as nations are competing for chip dominance

More: Microchip Technology, Silicon Republic, CSO, BleepingComputer, Cybernews.com, Phoenix Business Journal, The Cyber Express, Cyber Daily, SecurityWeek, The Register, Reuters, Benzinga, and DigiTimes. X: @thetranscript_

Ryan Browne / CNBC:

PIP Labs, which is developing the blockchain Story Protocol to track IP usage, raised an $80M Series B led by a16z Crypto, sources say at a $2.25B valuation — San-Francisco-based startup Story said Wednesday that it raised $80 million of funding for a blockchain designed …

More: The Block, TechCrunch, and Forbes

Bloomberg:

Didi reports Q2 revenue up 4.1% YoY to ~$7.1B and ~196M net profit, after ride-hailing transactions hit a record, as Didi recovers from a $1.2B US fine in 2022 — - The business is recovering after years of instability — Didi is said to be preparing for an eventual Hong Kong listing

More: Reuters and Didi Global

Zofeen T Ebrahim / The Guardian:

WISPAP says Pakistan's internet speeds have dropped 30%-40% over the past few weeks; many in tech believe the government is testing an internet firewall — Government denies new cybersecurity measures responsible for up to 40% drop in internet speeds across the country

More: BBC, New York Times, Associated Press, The Diplomat, DevX, and The Register

Amy Or / Bloomberg:

Sources: Walmart, JD.com's largest shareholder, is raising about $3.6B by selling its stake in the Chinese e-commerce firm; JD falls 9%+ — - Partnership that started in 2016 winds down with share sale — Walmart is focused on expanding its own operations in China

More: Barron's Online, Forbes, Financial Times, New York Times, The Information, Reuters, and Fargo | KFGO

X: @concotzias. Forums: r/China and r/wallstreetbets

Jay Peters / The Verge:

In a Reddit AMA, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence says Sonos won't rerelease its old app, after testing showed that doing so “would make the problems worse, not better” — If you want the old Sonos app back, it's not coming. In a Reddit AMA response posted Tuesday …

More: AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, Android Police, T3, The Ambient, r/sonos, iPhone in Canada Blog, iMore, TechIssuesToday.com, Mashable, Thurrott, MacRumors, and Digital Trends

Threads: @0xjessel and @chriswelch

Forums: Hacker News, r/sonos, and MacRumors Forums

Financial Times:

Chinese government data: China is unleashing billions in lending to tech startups using intellectual property as collateral, up 57% YoY to ~$58.8B in H1 2024 — Beijing ramps up use of intellectual property as collateral to try to revive credit growth — China is unleashing billions …

X: @zacharykeck, @chinabeigebook, and @tanarrowz

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From Mediagazer

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Trump says Stephen Colbert is a “pathetic trainwreck” and “CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW”; earlier CBS aired the Kennedy Center Honors, hosted by Trump

Zachary Leeman / Mediaite:

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller calls for CBS staff who “revolted” over Bari Weiss' decision to postpone 60 Minutes' CECOT segment to be fired

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Comcast extends Mike Cavanagh's contract through January 1, 2029, and grants a ~$35M performance-based stock package; he's set to become co-CEO in January 2026

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More News

Wall Street Journal:

Since 2023, Chinese investors, including Alibaba and Tencent, have valued 6+ China-based startups developing LLMs, dubbed “Little AI Dragons”, at $1B+ each

More: Benzinga. X: @jchengwsj

Bloomberg:

Xiaomi reports Q2 revenue up 32% YoY to ~$12.5B, above ~$12.2B est., and a ~$715M net income, above ~$533M est., as its core smartphone business recovers

More: Reuters and Xiaomi Corporation

Aisha S Gani / Bloomberg:

The UK's new rules to curb online payment scams, rolling out in October 2024, face backlash from the finance industry, including over a lack of time to adjust

X: @aishagani

Reuters:

A look at Rockbridge, a Silicon Valley-backed right-wing donor group co-founded by JD Vance to influence US politics; docs and sources: its 2024 budget is ~$75M

X: @wendysiegelman, @randoigno, @wendysiegelman, @reuters, @ppopiel, @davidch80671676, @josephax, @renenutt, @bazmaniandevil, and @wendysiegelman

Forums: Hacker News, r/politics, r/technology, and r/inthenews

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:

New York-based Trunk Tools, which provides automation tools to organize unstructured construction documentation, raised a $20M Series A led by Redpoint

More: Pulse 2.0, FinSMEs, Start by Redpoint, Trunk.Tools, and VC News Daily

X: @redpoint, @ericabrescia, @ericabrescia, and @itsmeeraclark. LinkedIn: Josh Rapperport

Samantha Cole / 404 Media:

Shein sues Temu for copyright infringement, accusing the company of stealing trade secrets and masquerading “as a legitimate e-commerce ‘marketplace’”

More: The Register, CNBC, Proactive, PYMNTS.com, The Verge, Forbes, and Chain Store Age

X: @robertfreundlaw, @robertfreundlaw, @josephfcox, @broderick, @stockmarketnerd, and @samleecole. Forums: Beehaw

Eric Newcomer / Newcomer:

In a letter to investors, Bolt says it is finalizing a $450M Series F at a $14B valuation; documents show the deal terms are bewildering and hard to believe

Daniel Wiessner / Reuters:

A US district judge in Texas strikes down the FTC's ban on worker noncompete agreements, due to start September 4, after temporarily blocking the rule in July

Earlier Picks

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:

A US appeals court revives a class action suit by Google Chrome users who say Google collected personal info even if Chrome was not synced with a Google account

More: The Verge, Silicon Republic, MSPoweruser, Cybernews.com, Chromium Blog, Washington Post, Android Police, Android Headlines, RTL Today, Benzinga, MediaPost, NewsBytes, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Billboard, Mashable, and Bloomberg Law

X: @balancecrafting, @jason_kint, and @jason_kint

Kate Knibbs / Wired:

Condé Nast agrees a multiyear deal with OpenAI, letting ChatGPT and SearchGPT surface stories from The New Yorker, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Bon Appetit, and Wired

More: CNBC, Cybernews.com, The Decoder, Blockonomi, BBC, Status, Business Insider, SiliconANGLE, Decrypt, Al Jazeera, Neowin, Benzinga, Cryptopolitan, The Guardian, Engadget, The Wrap, TechCrunch, Variety, Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, and The Verge

Threads: @edmundlee. X: @claremalone, @goodbyealma, @clarajeffery, @bigblackjacobin, @nyguild, and @claremalone. LinkedIn: Katie Drummond. Forums: Hacker News