A group of news organizations, camera makers, and technology companies have joined together to create a web tool called Verify for checking the authenticity of images for free. If the image has a digital signature, the site will display the date, location, and other credentials for the image. The authentication technology is now adopted by Nikon, Sony, and Canon.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/camera-companies-are-working-on-technology-to-watermark-real-images
The oldest version of Mickey Mouse will become one of the youngest members of the public domain when the copyrights covering the cartoon rodent’s cinematic debuts expire in the last instant of 2023. While the 1.0 release of Mickey that graced screens in 1928 will become collectively owned on Jan. 1, newer versions of the mouse remain Disney property. And Disney’s continuing trademark for Mickey means you can’t suggest your fanfic is a Disney production or otherwise endorsed by the company.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/get-ready-to-remix-mickey-mouses-10-release-enters-the-public-domain
Apple is now scheduling two-day classes to start sometime in January 2024. The pricey headset will reportedly only be available in stores so buyers can be guided through the setup process, which includes getting a custom fit on the device. The first-gen Vision Pro is being targeted at developers and enterprise customers, though anyone can purchase one. Those who spend that $3,499 will be able to tap into the "spatial video capture" that rolled out today via iOS 17.2 for iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, which have cameras powerful enough to record videos in three dimensions.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/apple-store-employees-start-vision-pro-training
TikTok is launching a new set of labels for videos that were made with or significantly edited by artificial intelligence, which is intended to help creators better comply with a "synthetic and manipulated media" policy TikTok refreshed earlier this year.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/tiktok-to-more-clearly-label-videos-that-are-ai-generated
In January, the alliance released its 1.0 spec to allow that connectivity using cloud-to-cloud communication between Wi-Fi-connected appliances, shortly after the launch of Matter, an "industry-unifying" standard from Amazon, Apple, Google, and others. Samsung and LG plan to roll out their implementations of the HCA spec during Q4 in eight countries: the US, United Kingdom, Korea, Italy, France, Spain, and Turkey.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/control-your-samsung-fridge-with-lg-app
Regular users of Lyft need to prepare themselves for a barrage of ads hitting the ride-hailing service's app this week. It's hard to believe someone would look at the Lyft app enough to make ads a viable money-making exercise. However, according to the company's chief business officer, Zach Greenberger, Lyft users check the app an average of nine times per ride. Combine that with detailed (anonymized) user data, and the potential for targeted advertising to generate additional revenue is there.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/your-next-lyft-journey-will-be-full-of-ads
“After an incredible 25-year run, we’ve decided to wind down DVD.com later this year,” says Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. “Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members but as the business continues to shrink that’s going to become increasingly difficult.”
https://www.pcmag.com/news/end-of-an-era-netflix-retiring-dvd-by-mail-service-in-september