On Sunday night, Canadian musician Grimes tweeted that she would split 50 percent royalties on "any successful AI generated song" that uses her voice, reports The Verge. As an independent artist, Grimes says anyone can use her voice without penalty. "I have no label and no legal bindings," she says.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/04/grimes-says-anyone-can-ai-generate-her-voice-without-penalty/
In an absolutely delightful new experiment, a team of scientists was able to show that once taught how, pet parrots can and will FaceTime their parrot friends. During a three-month experiment, the researchers taught a total of 18 pet birds how to "engage in video-calling other parrots" to see if such a system can improve their lives. And as it turns out, the parrots loved their new parrot-to-parrot video-calling system.
https://futurism.com/parrots-video-chat-study
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Twitter has removed the “government-funded” and “state-affiliated” labels that led several news outlets to stop tweeting on the platform. When asked why Twitter has dropped the labels, Elon Musk says it was a “suggestion” from Walter Isaacson, the author of his upcoming biography, according to NPR reporter Bobby Allyn. Neither NPR, PBS, nor CBC have said whether they will resume their activity on Twitter now that the labels are gone. In a statement provided to The Verge, CBC spokesperson Leon Mar says the organization is “reviewing this latest development and will leave our Twitter accounts on pause before taking any next steps.” NPR and PBS didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment, but we’ll update this article if we hear back.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/21/23692449/elon-musk-twitter-government-funded-media-labels-removed
Chromebooks have become a key part of many students’ educational lives, but like our smartphones, they aren’t built to last. It’s worse than that, though: They have an expiration date, one that creates a big problem with e-waste down the line. That’s a problem that has long been known about these low-end machines, but it’s something that “Chromebook Churn,” a new report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) Education Fund makes clear.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjv8mw/chromebooks-are-trash-literally
“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
Twitter informed business users Tuesday it is now conducting business as X Corp., confirming a transition previously indicated in court filings as the firm’s billionaire chief, Elon Musk, continues to reshape the social media company toward his ultimate vision of the X “everything app.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/04/18/twitter-tells-corporate-partners-its-now-x-corp-amid-switch-to-everything-app/
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in early April that the AR/VR headset is the "last hope" for persuading investors that AR/VR devices will become the "next star product in consumer electronics." Other devices from companies like Meta have lacked appealing software, and this is a major hurdle that Apple will need to overcome.
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/04/18/apple-ar-vr-headset-app-development/