WordPress drama went up another notch on Wednesday after WordPress.org banned hosting provider WP Engine from accessing its resources. “WP Engine wants to control your WordPress experience, they need to run their own user login system, update servers, plugin directory, theme directory, pattern directory, block directory, translations, photo directory, job board, meetups, conferences, bug tracker, forums, Slack, Ping-o-matic, and showcase. Their servers can no longer access our servers for free."
https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/25/wordpress-org-bans-wp-engine-blocks-it-from-accessing-its-resources/
Mozilla’s brand update gives its old T-Rex logo a fresh new look
Mozilla has overhauled its branding to pay homage to its Netscape roots and better distinguish the wider organization from its Firefox web browser. The most notable change is to the company’s logo: what was previously a sans-serif wordmark styled as “Moz://a” has been updated to correctly spell out the Mozilla name, featuring a new customized typeface and an M-shaped flag.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/24/24253028/mozilla-brand-update-tyrannosaurus-rex-logo
YouTube Communities are like mini Discords for creators
The Communities feature, which YouTube launched today at the Made on YouTube event in New York City, is sort of a mix of old-school forum, subreddit, and Facebook group. Once a creator turns on their community, anyone who joins can post, and people can reply to each other.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/18/24247529/youtube-communities-social-comments
As TikTok ban heads to court, ByteDance’s Lemon8 surges
As TikTok heads to court on Monday to argue against a U.S. ban, parent company ByteDance’s newer social app, Lemon8, is once again surging to the top of the App Store in the U.S. The push is due, in part, to increased advertising. Described by TikTok influencers as a cross between Pinterest and Instagram — or more recently, as “Pinterest on steroids” — the app had previously appeared in the App Store’s top charts when a TikTok ban was being discussed by U.S. lawmakers.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/16/as-tiktok-ban-heads-to-court-bytedances-lemon8-surges/
Flappy Bird’s creator disavows ‘official’ new version of the game
A decade after the wildly popular game Flappy Bird disappeared, an organization calling itself the Flappy Bird Foundation announced plans to “re-hatch the official Flappy Bird® game.” But this morning, the game’s creator, Dong Nguyen, posted a characteristically terse comment stating that he has nothing to do with the revival and that he “did not sell anything.” He added, “I also don’t support crypto.”
https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/15/flappy-birds-creator-disavows-official-new-version-of-the-game/
We’re losing our digital history. Can the Internet Archive save it?
Research shows 25% of web pages posted between 2013 and 2023 have vanished. A few organisations are racing to save the echoes of the web, but new risks threaten their very existence.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240912-the-archivists-battling-to-save-the-internet
OpenAI releases o1, its first model with ‘reasoning’ abilities
OpenAI is releasing a new model called o1, the first in a planned series of “reasoning” models that have been trained to answer more complex questions, faster than a human can.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/12/24242439/openai-o1-model-reasoning-strawberry-chatgpt