New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against banks behind the Zelle payment platform, alleging its insecure design enabled over $1 billion in scams from 2017 to 2023. The suit claims Early Warning Services (EWS), owned by major banks, rushed Zelle to market without proper fraud safeguards, including weak registration verification allowing scammers to impersonate officials. Despite warnings, EWS allegedly failed to act promptly on fraud reports or reimburse victims timely, falsely promoting Zelle as safe. Zelle denies the accusations, calling the lawsuit a political stunt. Attorney General James seeks restitution for affected New Yorkers and damages for Zelle's security failures.
Starlink has introduced a $5 monthly fee for its pause feature on the Starlink Mini, which was previously available for free. The change affects Roam, Residential, and Priority subscribers in the US, most of Europe, and Canada, with several exceptions. The new 'Standby Mode' offers unlimited low-speed data designed for backup and emergency use. While SpaceX markets this change as an upgrade, many see it as a bait and switch, especially for users who purchased the Starlink Mini with the expectation of a pay-as-you-go model.
With the Google Pixel 10 launch event just a week away, leaks continue to emerge. New images from Dutch outlet NieuweMobiel reveal what appear to be Google's 'Pixelsnap' cases featuring a central ring, indicating possible support for the Qi2 wireless charging standard. This would be significant, as only a few Android phones currently support Qi2 magnetic charging natively. The leaked cases come in multiple colors, including blue, black, green, and light blue for the Pixel 10, with the Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL expected in gray, green, and white. Previous leaks also showed a wireless charging puck for the Pixel 10, supporting the Qi2 charging rumor.
Apple is advancing its AI capabilities with new products including multiple robots, a smart home display, and an enhanced Siri powered by large language models (LLMs). One notable project is a tabletop robot resembling an iPad on a movable arm, designed to follow users around and interact in a more natural, conversational way with an animated Siri. Apple aims to launch this device by 2027. Additionally, plans include an Amazon Astro-like wheeled robot, discussions around humanoid robots, and a smart home display expected by mid-next year. The new display will support smart home control, media playback, note-taking, and video calls, featuring face recognition for personalized content and a new Siri interface that could be animated or Memoji-based. Apple is also working on a suite of security cameras and home-security products with new hardware and software. These initiatives mark Apple's focus on making AI central to the smart home experience, despite earlier delays in Siri upgrades.
In Geneva, during high-stakes negotiations for a global plastics treaty, Greenpeace detected microplastics in the air surrounding the United Nations offices. This discovery highlights the pervasive presence of microplastics, even in places dedicated to addressing plastic pollution. The presence of microplastics in the air underscores the urgency for effective environmental and health policies, as delegates work toward a groundbreaking agreement to curb plastic pollution worldwide.
A Reddit user has shared images of what appears to be a prototype for a new Amazon Kindle with a color screen, possibly named Kindle Petit Color. The prototype reportedly features improved color quality compared to previous models, with adjustable intensity and saturation for individual colors. Its design is similar in bezel size to the entry-level black-and-white Kindle but slightly smaller than the 11th-generation Kindle. The user interface is designed to utilize the color E Ink screen effectively, allowing customization of icons and dynamic color transitions in ebook text to indicate reading progress. These details remain unconfirmed and should be viewed cautiously.
Stripe, a major payment processor used by millions of businesses including itch.io, apologized after reports emerged that some of its support agents incorrectly told customers that LGBTQ+ products were banned. A Stripe spokesperson, Casey Becker, confirmed in an email to The Verge that the information provided by the support team was completely wrong and that Stripe has no rules against selling LGBTQ+ content or goods. The confusion arose as customers contacted payment processors on behalf of creators whose adult content had been removed from search results on itch.io.
Kodak has warned investors about its current financial challenges, specifically a $500 million debt due soon, as disclosed in a regulatory filing. Despite these concerns, Kodak shared a statement clarifying its strategy to address the debt. The company plans to utilize funds from its U.S. pension fund, expected to be received in December, to pay off a large portion of the debt. Denisse Goldbarg, Kodak's CMO, emphasized that while accounting rules require a 'going concern' note due to the timing of the debt, Kodak expects to emerge with a stronger balance sheet after refinancing or extending the remaining obligations. The pension fund reversion isn't fully within Kodak's control, which affects accounting classification, but once completed, Kodak aims to be virtually net debt free.
Since the debut of ChatGPT, AI companies have intensified efforts to establish presence within government sectors. Recently, this strategy includes offering significantly reduced prices for government access to their AI chatbot products. Last week, OpenAI and Anthropic introduced special pricing—offering their generative AI chatbots ChatGPT and Claude to federal agencies for a nominal fee of $1 for the first year. Additionally, xAI launched its Grok for Government product in mid-July. Anthropic also distinguished its offer by extending availability across all three branches of the government.
Perplexity has made an unsolicited offer to purchase Google Chrome for $34.5 billion, a figure that significantly exceeds the AI startup's own valuation of around $18 billion. The proposal follows Perplexity's previous statements about buying Chrome if regulatory authorities mandate Google's divestment of the browser. Despite the substantial bid, Google has not indicated any intent to sell Chrome, and no court order has been issued to enforce such a sale. Perplexity's chief business officer, Dmitry Shevelenko, confirmed that major investment funds are prepared to fully finance the acquisition, and the startup plans to invest over $3 billion in Chrome and Chromium development within the next two years if the deal proceeds.