Condé Nast, the media giant that owns The New Yorker, Vogue and Wired, has sent a cease-and-desist letter to AI-powered search startup Perplexity, according to The Information. The letter, sent on Monday, demanded Perplexity stop using content from Condé Nast publications in its AI-generated responses and accused the startup of plagiarism. It comes a month after Forbes took similar action.
Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch has warned “many” media companies could face financial ruin in the time it would take for litigation against generative AI companies to conclude. Lynch has called upon Congress to take “immediate action.”
— Mat Smith
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A more reliable connection than Bluetooth.
Right in the middle of BBQ season, ThermoWorks, makers of the Thermapen, is upgrading its wireless meat probe. The RFX Meat uses radio technology rather than Bluetooth to transmit data. The company explains its “patent-pending sub-GHz RFX wireless technology” provides a more reliable connection with up to 2,132 feet of direct line of sight range. When placed inside a grill or smoker, it should work at up to 659 feet of range, ThermoWorks says. The $159 RFX Meat starter kit is available for pre-order. Shipping starts September 10, so, arguably, not quite in time for BBQ season.
The advertising industry can heave a sigh of relief.
Google won’t kill third-party cookies in Chrome after all, the company said on Monday in a blog. Instead, it’ll introduce a new experience in the browser that will allow users to make informed choices about their web browsing preferences. Killing cookies, Google said, would hurt online publishers and advertisers.
Over the past few years, multiple delays and regulatory hurdles have hit Google’s plans to eliminate third-party cookies. Initially, the company wanted to phase out these cookies by the end of 2022 but pushed the deadline to late 2024 and then to early 2025 because of various challenges and feedback from stakeholders, including advertisers, publishers and regulatory bodies, like the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The company says it will now focus on giving users more control over their browsing data, including additional privacy controls, like IP Protection in Chrome’s Incognito mode, and ongoing improvements to Privacy Sandbox APIs.
The best cheap Android phone.
Google’s Pixel 8a is the best Android phone for less than $500, and now it’s even cheaper than usual, making it the best Android phone for less than $450. Like past A-series devices (usually the best cheap Android phones in their time), it takes most of the headline features from last year’s flagship Pixel phone — the Pixel 8, in this case — and puts them in a slightly cheaper design. You still get a bright and vivid OLED display with a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and superb camera performance.