Y Combinator's funding strategy has raised questions about its support for startups duplicating existing ideas, with data showing a history of backing similar products in areas like AI code editors and restaurant point-of-sale systems. The trend has sparked debate among founders, with some viewing competition as beneficial and others seeing it as detrimental.
** Browser extension developers share strategies for growing their user base, with many relying on community-driven tools and services to increase visibility in the Firefox and Chrome stores.
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** SmallRig's Articulating Magic Arm: A Versatile Clamp for Photographers and Action Camera Users. ZDNET recommends it for its stability, strength, and affordability.
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** BJ's Wholesale Club Offers Discounted Membership for New Members
BJ's Wholesale Club is offering a discounted membership deal for new members, priced at $20 (regularly $55). This promotion allows individuals to save on grocery store prices, fresh foods, produce, deli items, household goods, tech, toys, furniture, and more by buying in bulk. BJ's Gas also offers cheaper prices compared to regular gas stations. With over 210 locations across the US, new members can shop online, take advantage of free curbside pickup or same-day delivery, and find digital coupons.
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** Hyundai and Kia Recall 208,000 EVs Due to Potential Power Loss Issue
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Source: https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/22/hyundai-and-kia-recall-208000-evs/
"Black Friday gaming PC deals live now, with retailers offering discounts on high-end desktops and accessories. ZDNET's recommendations are based on thorough research and testing, ensuring accuracy and fairness in the presented information. The holiday shopping season is a prime time for discounts, but consumers should be cautious of scalpers and resellers. Only reputable brands and retailers are featured in this list."
Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-black-friday-gaming-pc-deals-11-22-2024/
** New Wireless Carrier, Cape, Promises Ultra-Secure Mobile Phone Service with Network-Level Protection
Cape, a Washington D.C.-based mobile provider, offers premium 4G/5G coverage and unlimited talk and text. Its service is built on security and privacy, leveraging its own software to manage customer data and control authentication processes. By addressing network-level weaknesses alongside device threats, Cape aims to provide broader protection against sophisticated mobile attacks.
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Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-new-wireless-carrier-promises-ultra-secure-mobile-phone-service/
A new social media tool called Sill aggregates popular links from BlueSky and Mastodon, aiming to provide a clear picture of what's happening in users' networks. The platform is open-source and has a small but powerful feature set, with plans for additional features and paid plans in the future.
Source: https://www.tylerjfisher.com/blog/post/2024/11/20/introducing-sill
** Niantic's Pokémon Go Collects Billions of Images, Creating a 3D Map of the World
Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go, has been collecting billions of images from users' phones to create a detailed, 3D map of the world. Since its release in 2016, the game has amassed over a billion downloads and generates hundreds of millions of new scans per week. These images are used to train neural networks, which can compress thousands of mapped images into digital recreations of real-world spaces.
This technology could have various applications, including improving augmented reality products, autonomous systems, and navigation. However, concerns may arise regarding data collection and usage.
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Source: https://jalopnik.com/pokemon-go-was-a-plot-to-use-your-data-to-fast-track-an-1851706279
** AI Chatbot Rivalry Heats Up: Google's Gemini Ties with OpenAI's GPT-4o in Chatbot Arena.
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Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-there-could-be-a-new-ai-chatbot-champ-by-the-time-you-read-this/
Nintendo Switch fans, rejoice! Black Friday deals are live now on Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Get the best discounts on games, accessories, and console bundles, including a Nintendo Switch bundle with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and more. Other popular titles like New Super Mario Bros U: Deluxe and Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are also on sale.
Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-25-best-black-friday-nintendo-switch-deals-2024/
"Anker's MagGo Wireless Charging Station, leveraging Qi2 technology, offers a compact and portable 3-in-1 charging solution for iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. The station delivers fast charging speeds, with an iPhone 15 Pro reaching 20% in 15 minutes. Available on Amazon at a discounted price of $82 (originally $109), this product is suitable for those within the Apple ecosystem seeking a convenient and reliable charging solution."
Black Friday deals on PlayStation 5 consoles, games, and accessories are now available at retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The discounts include PS5 Pro consoles with 2TB storage, Samsung 990 Pro storage upgrades, and Razer Kaira Pro wireless headsets.
Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-black-friday-playstation-5-deals-11-21-2024/
** Claude AI Enhances Analytical Capabilities with Google Docs Integration
Anthropic's Claude AI has gained a new feature that allows it to analyze and offer feedback on Google Docs. Users can add files from Google Docs to their Claude AI chat or project, enabling the AI to summarize content, answer questions, and provide insights. This integration is available for users on Claude Pro and Claude for Work plans. However, there are limitations: Claude can only extract text from documents, not images or comments, and requires access permission to view synced documents.
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** YouTube Introduces Dream Screen, AI-Powered Background Generator for YouTube Shorts
YouTube has launched an experimental feature called Dream Screen that uses AI to generate images or videos as backgrounds for YouTube Shorts. This tool is available in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and allows users to enter text-to-image prompts with style options. However, the company warns about safeguards against creating inappropriate content.
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Apple's M2 MacBook Air is on sale for $749, a 25% discount from its original price. The deal applies to the 13.6-inch laptop in Midnight or Space Gray with 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD. This model was praised by ZDNET as a solid machine with competitive specs that rival newer laptops.
Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/apples-m2-macbook-air-is-down-to-749-for-black-friday/
AI progress continues, with Anthropic's Michael Gerstenhaber stating that advancements in language models are driven by self-correction and reasoning capabilities. Despite concerns from AI skeptics, the company reports steady improvements, unlocking new use cases with each model revision.
Perplexity Pro Subscription Offers Free Yearly Access through Xfinity Rewards and Educational Partnerships
Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/two-free-ways-to-get-a-perplexity-pro-subscription-for-one-year/
"Bluesky users can now convert Starter Packs into curated lists using the Pack2List web app. This tool, developed by a third-party developer, allows users to transform a recommended set of users from a Starter Pack into a Bluesky List in just a few steps. Unlike Starter Packs, which are meant to drive follows, Lists can be used for various purposes, such as tracking specific accounts or blocking unwanted users."
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/22/how-to-turn-a-bluesky-starter-pack-into-a-list/