Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 09/01 – Twitter Edit Button Arrives

Episode Date: September 1, 2022

At long last, an edit button has come to Twitter. Nvidia and AMD say the US has imposed restrictions on exporting chips for AI-related applications to Russia and China. How Apple is gonna handle its new holepunch configuration. Disney wants its own Prime. And an AI art-creation bot you can try, right now, for free. Links: Twitter starts testing an edit button, but you have to pay for it (The Verge) Nvidia, AMD warned of new US export restrictions on AI chips (Protocol) Source: iPhone 14 Pro display cutout to show camera plus microphone privacy indicators; redesigned Camera app also coming (9to5Mac) Disney Explores Membership Program Like Amazon Prime to Offer Discounts and Perks (WSJ) Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Fold Gen 2 is bigger, better, and way more powerful (XDA Developers) An AI-Generated Artwork Won First Place at a State Fair Fine Arts Competition, and Artists Are Pissed (Motherboard) Stable Diffusion is a really big deal (Simon Willison's Weblog) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 4th, 2023, around 2 in the morning, a man was found stabbed multiple times on a sidewalk in downtown San Francisco. Hey, who did this to you? What happened next turned the story into a political firestorm. Reports have identified the victim as Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App. From Bloomberg Podcasts, this is Foundering, the Killing of Bob Lee, beginning April 16. Welcome to the TechMeme right home for Thursday, the first day of September 2020. I'm Brian McCullough today at long last. An edit button has come to Twitter.

Nvidia and AMD say the U.S. has imposed restrictions on exporting chips for AI-related applications to Russia and China. How Apple is going to handle its new Whole Punch configuration. Disney wants its own prime. And an AI art creation bot you can try right now for free. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. Y'all finally got your wish. Twitter has begun testing an edit button as part of Twitter blue, giving users 30 minutes to make several edits to tweets. Edit labels will also include a complete history of edits, quoting the verge.

The feature is currently undergoing internal testing and appears to mimic Facebook in its edit style with a linked edit history for tweets that we saw in leaks earlier this year. Tweets will be able to be edited a few times in the 30 minutes following their publication, according to a Twitter blog post. Edited tweets will appear with an icon, timestamp, and label, so it's clear to readers that the original tweet has been modified, end quote. The edit label will include a complete history with past versions of the edited tweet. Twitter says it's testing editable tweets with a small group internally,

initially, to capture any early issues. This includes how people might misuse the feature. You can never be too careful, says Twitter. Once the initial internal testing is complete, The edit tweet feature will expand to some Twitter blue subscribers later this month. The test will be localized to a single country at first and expand as we learn and observe how people use edit tweet, explains Twitter. Twitter is only talking about editable tweets for its blue subscription, which recently raised its price in the U.S. to $4.99 per month from $2.99. That means we probably won't see an edit button for regular users anytime soon.

Other features available to Twitter blue subscribers include an undo feature to recall tweets before. you send them, a customizable navigation bar, a list of top articles shared by people you follow, and even NFT-Hexagon profile picks, end quote. NVIDIA and AMD say the U.S. has imposed restrictions on exporting chips for AI-related applications to Russia and China, including NVIDIA's A-100 and AMD's MI-200 chips, quoting protocol. Nvidia disclosed Wednesday that it had received a notification from the U.S. government that new licensing requirements are being implemented that affect sales of its advanced line of server GPUs to Russia or China.

AMD confirmed that it received a similar notification from the U.S. for its line of GPUs that are suited for performing AI-related computing. Nvidia's disclosure indicates that the fresh export controls are not aimed at the specific chips themselves, but at the performance thresholds that are closely associated with Nvidia a 100. processors, the current generation of chips deployed in the field. The controls affect AMD's competing product, the MI-200. Wednesday's disclosure is another sign that the U.S. is undergoing a significant shift in its approach to China and its ability to make and use advanced chips. Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Commerce Department has implemented a new rule that could block the export of chip design software that's necessary to build the next generation of chips. Part of the administration's

thinking revolves around its plan to choke off access to technology needed for AI-related applications. The administration also plans to hamper China's ability to manufacture chips with a current generation of transistors called FinFETs, known as FinFETs, known as FinField-Effect transistors by choking off access to the equipment needed to fabricate such chips. FinFET designs have been common for years and are currently found in the latest smartphone and server processors. China represents a significant portion of Nvidia's sales, and according to an SEC filing, could affect as much as $400 million in quarterly sales. In a statement, Nvidia said that it was working with customers in China

to divert its purchases to alternative products and may seek a license where replacements wouldn't work. AMD sells far fewer AI chips into China and does not believe the restrictions would have a material effect on its revenue, end quote. According to a source, the space between the iPhone 14 Pro displays pill and hole-shaped cutouts for the cameras on the models that we should be seeing next week, will be bridged by software and show microphone and camera privacy indicators, quoting 9-5 Mac. The big Apple news of the day is that the iPhone 14 Pro will apparently use software to make the two new display

cutouts look like one seamless cutout. Why is Apple making this change? A source with knowledge of Apple's plans tells 9-5 Mac that the space between the two cutouts will be used to show privacy indicators for the microphone and camera. The change will also help with a redesign for the camera app itself. The rumor today is that the pill and hole-shaped cutouts in the iPhone 14 Pro display will be bridged by software. Apple will essentially black out the area between the two cutouts. This will give the illusion that it's one wide pill-shaped cutout, according to Bloomberg. While it initially seemed like this would essentially be dead space, that's not actually the case. According to a source familiar with Apple's plans, the company will use this space to make

its privacy indicators for the camera and microphone more visible. Currently, Apple places a very small orange dot in the upper right corner of the display when an application is using your iPhone's microphone. A green dot appears when an app is using your iPhone's camera. On the iPhone 14 Pro, Apple will move these indicators and make them far more visible. The dead space between the two display cutouts on the iPhone 14 Pro will be used to show these green and yellow privacy indicators. Apple's goal, our source is to make the experience more similar to a MacBook, which features an always-visible green LED when the camera is in use. This will also allow Apple to show both the green and orange dots at the same time when the camera and microphone are both in use. Currently, Apple only shows the green

dot, even if an app is accessing the camera and microphone both. Additionally, Apple currently plans to let users tap on these indicators to see a clear list of which applications are using and perhaps have recently used the microphone and the camera. Finally, 9 to 5.5,000, Max Source adds that Apple is also planning a redesign to the camera app where most of the controls are moved to the top portion of the screen. Controls such as the flash button and live photo button are now positioned in the status bar, while more granular photo and video settings are directly below the display cutouts. This change will give users a larger view of the camera preview by shifting the controls upward and moving some of them into the status

bar, end quote. This is one of the first big ideas that Matthew Ball turned me on to many years ago when he was just known as the best blogger on the streaming wars, but it looks like at long last it might actually happen. Sources are telling the journal that Disney is exploring a membership program akin to Amazon Prime, bundling streaming, theme parks, and merchandise into the program, and adding a commerce feature to Disney Plus. Quote, the program would be somewhat akin to Amazon Prime, which offers advantages such as free shipping, discounts at Whole Foods, and a complimentary streaming video service for a monthly or annual fee, the people said. Internally, some executives have referred to Disney's initiative as Disney Prime, although that won't be the name of the program, one of the people said.

Discussions at Disney are in the early stages. It couldn't be learned how much the company would charge for membership and how long it would take to launch. Such a program, Disney already has a special program for super fans, the D23 official fan club, which costs $99 to $129 a year, and comes with access to exclusive events and merchandise. That program offered members a discounted three-year subscription to Disney Plus in 2019. A new membership program would be different in that it would be targeted at more casual Disney fans and customers. As an early step to better link Disney products and services, Disney is working to enable subscribers to its Disney Plus streaming service to buy merchandise such as T-shirts, themed accessories, and children's costumes associated with some of its shows by scanning a QR code on the service that links to the shop Disney website, people familiar with the plan said.

One example that executives have discussed as a possible merchandise tie-in is offering an exclusive toy version of a Dark Sabre, a weapon from the Star Wars theme series The Mandalorian, for sale only to Disney Plus subscribers, a person familiar with the plan said. The company expects to introduce the retail feature on Disney Plus as soon as this year. A membership program could help Disney learn more about its customer's behavior by collecting data about which shows. they watched, trips they took, and merchandise they purchased. Ultimately, Disney's goal is to harness that data to make recommendations based on customers' preferences some of the people said, end quote. Well, they weren't kidding when they said all the OEMs are working on foldable laptops. Lenovo has

unveiled the ThinkPad X1 Fold Gen 2 with Intel 12th Gen processors and a 16.3 inch foldable OLED display with 600 Nits, available in November 2022 from $2,49, quoting XDA developers. The processors in the ThinkPad X1 Fold Gen 2 are Intel 12th Gen U9 processors. Lenovo hasn't confirmed skews, but you'll likely see the Core I7-1250U and Core I7-1260U, both of which are 9 watt 10 core chips with 2 P-Cores, 8E cores, and a total of 12 threads. There's also a big boost in graphics. The Iris XE graphics included have 96 execution units, and it's clocked at 950 megahertz. This all means that while the original thinkpad X1

fold was more like a toy that you could show your friends, this one is built for proper productivity. The OLED screen is now 16.3 inches, which is huge compared to the 13.3 inch display on the original. It's still 4 by 3, and the new resolution is 2560 by 2024. The reason that it's 4x3 is the same. If you fold the screen into a clamshell orientation, you get a 12-inch 3x2. Also impressive is that the brightness comes in at 600 nits, which is always nice. The larger screen also comes with a broader redesign. The screen closes close to flat now, whereas previously there was enough of a gap to fit the keyboard inside of the folded PC. Now, there's a bit of space around the bezel so the screen isn't lying flat against itself.

The keyboard and new kickstand magnetically attaches to the back of the folded PC. You can also use the PC in more modes. You can stand it up horizontally, and now you can stand it up vertically. The Bluetooth keyboard also attaches magnetically if you want to, so it's not just standing out there in the open. Of course, if you fold the screen, you can place the keyboard inside, and the screen will automatically adjust to show its contents in the top portion. What's nice about a larger display is that it can now fit a larger keyboard. This keyboard is full size and the keys are a proper 1.35 millimeters. I was told that it's the same keyboard that you'd find on a thinkpad X1 nano. If you're really looking forward to getting your hands on a Lenovo thinkpad X1 fold gen 2,

you won't have to wait for that long. It's going to be available in November. It's not going to be cheap, though. It's going to start at $2,49. While that does sound expensive, it's the same price as the original thinkpad X1 fold. and given that the pricing of computers is increasing across the board, the price can be considered a bit of an improvement, end quote. By the way, Lenovo also this morning announced the IdeaPad 5I, its first 16-inch Chromebook,

and refreshed its Tab P11 and Tab P11 Pro Android tablets with updated internals and displays. Finally, today, an artist using Mid Journey to create AI-generated art won first place at Colorado's State Fair Fine Art Competition, leading to criticism from other artists. Goating motherboard. I won first place, a user going by Syncarnate, said in a Discord post above photos of the AI-generated canvases hanging at the fair. Syncardate's name is Jason Allen, who is president of Colorado-based tabletop gaming company Incarnate Games.

According to the State Fair's website, he won in the digital art category with a work called Theatre D'Opera Spatial. The image which Alan printed on canvas for submission is gorgeous. It depicts a strange scene that looks like it could be from a space opera, and it looks like a masterfully done painting. Classical figures in a Baroque Hall stare through a circular viewport into a sun-drenched and radiant landscape. But Alan did not paint Theatra D'Opera Spatial. AI software called Mid-Journey did. It used his prompts, but Allen did not wield a digital brush. This distinction has caused controversy on Twitter where working artists and enthusiasts accuse Alan

of hastening the death of creative jobs. TLDR, someone entered an art competition with an AI-generated piece and won first prize. Artist Janelle Jumalan said in a viral tweet about Alan's win, yeah, that's pretty fucking shitty, end quote. Quote, we're watching the death of artistry unfold before our eyes, a Twitter user going by Omnimorphos said in a reply that gained over 2,000 likes.

If creative jobs aren't safe from machines, then even high-skilled jobs are in danger of becoming obsolete. What will we have then? End quote. According to Alan, his input was instrumental to the shaping of the award-winning painting. I have been exploring a special prompt that I will be publishing at a later date. I have created hundreds of images using it. And after many weeks of fine-tuning and curating my gens, I chose my top three and had them printed on canvas after unshackling with Gigapixel AI. He wrote in a post before the winners were announced. Alan said that his critics are judging the art by the method of its creation, and that eventually the art world will recognize AI-created art as its own category. What if we looked at it from the other extreme? What if an artist made a wildly difficult and complicated series of restraints in order to create a piece? Say, they made their art while hanging upside down and being whipped while painting, he said. Should this artist's work be evaluated differently than another artist that created the same piece normally?

I know what will become of this in the end. They are going to create a artificial intelligence, art category, I imagine, for things like this, and quote, by the way, if you've ever been eager to do something like this, to try this sort of thing out for yourself, I encourage you to read this piece from Simon Willison, because there's a new one of these out there that all of us can currently try for free, quote, stable diffusion is a really big deal. If you haven't been paying attention to what's going on with stable diffusion, you really should be. Stable diffusion is a new text-to-image diffusion model that was released to the public by Stability.A.I. six days ago on August 22nd. It's similar to models like OpenAIs Dali, but with one crucial

difference, they released the whole thing. You can try it out online at beta.dreamstudio.com currently for free, type in a text prompt, and the model will generate an image. You can download and run the model on your own computer if you have a powerful enough graphics card. You can use it for commercial and non-commercial purposes. under the terms of the Creative ML Open Rail M license, which lists some usage restrictions that include avoiding using it to break applicable laws, generate false information, discriminate against individuals, or provide medical advice, end quote. So there you go. I just gave you something interesting to do over the long weekend coming for those of us in the U.S. tonight, Twitter space, 8 p.m. Eastern.

Notice we're doing an hour earlier. 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific. We're going to talk Snapchat. You okay, bro? And also check in with Substack and the creator economy more generally. Do it up. Talk to you tomorrow.