Business

27 Nov

Philips Hue’s Festavia string lights are up to $158 off just in time for Christmas

hightechz.net0 CommentsBusiness, Products

If you want your house to be the one everyone slows down to look at this holiday season, Philips Hue’s Festavia lights can make that happen. They aren’t cheap, but thanks to an early Black Friday sale at Amazon, you can pick up a 65-foot string for $145.19 (about $97 off) or a 130-foot strand for around $237.60 (about $158 off), which is the lowest price we’ve seen on either strand since they were first introduced. Philips Hue Festavia string lights Where to Buy: $241.99 $145.19 at Amazon (65-foot) $395.99 $237.6 at Amazon (130-foot) $241.99 $145.19 at Philips Hue (65-foot)…

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25 Nov

Campbell’s promises its soups are not made with 3D printed meat

hightechz.net0 CommentsBusiness, Products

Campbell’s is insisting that its soups aren’t made with 3D-printed chicken, lab-grown chicken, or bioengineered meat. The food giant issued the explanation on its website after leaked audio allegedly captured Campbell’s vice president of information technology saying the company’s meat “came from a 3D printer.” “A recent video contained false comments about our ingredients,” Campbell’s writes. “The comments heard on the recording about our food are not only inaccurate, they are absurd. We do not use lab-grown chicken or any form of artificial or bioengineered meat in our soups.” It adds that the company only uses chicken from “reputable” suppliers…

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25 Nov

Warner Music Group partners with Suno to offer AI likenesses of its artists

hightechz.net0 CommentsBusiness, Products

Warner Music Group has struck a licensing deal with the AI music creation platform Suno. Under the agreement, WMG will allow users to create AI-generated music on Suno using the voices, names, likenesses, images, and compositions of artists who opt in to the program. WMG, which owns record labels that have signed musicians like Ed Sheeran, Twenty One Pilots, Dua Lipa, and Charli XCX, says participating artists will have “full control” over how their likeness and music are used, though it doesn’t share how.  “These will be new creation experiences from artists who do opt in, which will open up…

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25 Nov

RAM prices are so out of control that stores are selling it like lobster

hightechz.net0 CommentsBusiness, Games, Products

Michael Crider’s headline at PCWorld today perfectly captures how ridiculous the PC memory shortage has become: stores like the San Francisco Bay Area’s Central Computers are beginning to sell RAM at market prices, like you’d pay for the catch-of-the-day at a seafood restaurant. “Costs are fluctuating daily as manufacturers and distributors adjust to limited supply and high demand,” reads a message posted in the store’s display case, as spotted by Steve Lin. “Because of this, we can’t display fixed prices at this time.” Micro Center is apparently doing the same: “Due to market volatility, we ask that you please see…

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24 Nov

DOJ settles with RealPage over its software’s alleged rent price fixing

hightechz.net0 CommentsBusiness, Trending

The Department of Justice has announced a settlement with RealPage, the widely used rent-setting software that it accused of engaging in collusion to drive up rent prices by sharing previously private information from competing landlords. The settlement puts limits on RealPage’s ability to collect and use that data, and blocks it from being used to set rents. Last year, the DOJ and several other states filed an antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, claiming that the company’s rent-setting software combines data from competing landlords to provide daily rental price suggestions. “As competitor-landlords increase their rents, RealPage’s software nudges other competing landlords to…

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24 Nov

ChatGPT shopping research builds you a buyer’s guide using AI

hightechz.net0 CommentsAI, Business

OpenAI is making it easier to plan out holiday shopping with ChatGPT’s latest feature, called “shopping research.” Any shopping question in ChatGPT will trigger this new feature, which is rolling out to all ChatGPT users on free and paid plans on mobile and web, with “nearly unlimited usage” available during the holiday shopping season. Now, if you ask ChatGPT for “best TVs in bright lighting,” for example, as the company’s announcement video shows, the response will end with a button asking if you want to do additional research. This is where the “personal shopper” aspect comes in, although the blog…

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23 Nov

About This Account reveals the scale of X’s foreign troll problem

hightechz.net0 CommentsBusiness

It’s long been known that X (and Twitter before it) is a major venue for foreign influence campaigns to meddle in American politics. Much of the focus has been on Russian troll farms, which the US government has targeted on several occasions. But the launch of X’s About This Account feature may have revealed the scope and geographical breadth of its foreign troll problem. Almost immediately after the feature launched, people started noticing that many rage-bait accounts focused on US politics appeared to be based outside of the US. Profiles with names like ULTRAMAGA🇺🇸TRUMP🇺🇸2028 were revealed to be based in…

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23 Nov

X’s messy About This Account rollout has caused utter chaos

hightechz.net0 CommentsBusiness, Technology

Yesterday X started rolling out a new About This Account feature, which included what country the account was created from and what country the account is “based” in (which is different from “connected via”). Head of product at X, Nikita Bier, was quick to say that there were “a few rough edges,” but promised they’d be resolved by Tuesday.  There have definitely been complaints about inaccuracies. The company even ended up removing information about where an account was created, saying the data “was not 100 percent,” especially for older accounts.  The reaction from users on X was, of course, totally…

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23 Nov

Sony’s last-gen XM4 headphones are over 50 percent off for Black Friday

hightechz.net0 CommentsBusiness, Products

The current discount takes nearly $200 off the original list price. More than five years after making their debut, Sony’s WH-1000XM4 remain an excellent pair of noise-canceling headphones. And right now, Best Buy is offering a doorbuster deal that drops them to just $159.99 ($190 off) for a limited time, which is the lowest price we’ve seen this year. If you prefer the latest tech, you can also snag the newer XM6 for about $398 ($60 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. Sony WH-1000XM4 Where to Buy: $349.99 $159.99 at Best Buy $349.99 $189.99 at Sony $349.99 $348 at…

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22 Nov

Sony’s entire DualSense lineup is $20 off, including the limited edition models

hightechz.net0 CommentsBusiness, Products

Black Friday isn’t here quite yet, but that hasn’t stopped Sony from kicking off an excellent holiday promo, which runs through December 18th. The ongoing sale spans everything from PlayStation 5 consoles to Sony’s latest accessories — including Sony’s standard DualSense Wireless Controller, which is now matching its all-time low of $54.99 ($20 off) in multiple colors at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. Although the aforementioned deal price applies to Sony’s base models — including the go-to black and white variants — you can also pick up limited edition models inspired by Astro Bot (Walmart / Best Buy), God of…

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