Reel-y impressive tech: Amazon is dropping six new AI models. Reel turns simple text prompts into short videos. Here’s a little snippet. I’m impressed! For now, three text-generation models are live for certain developers. The rest drop for everyone else to try early next year.
23 years ago
Enron went bankrupt. After more than two decades, they’re making a comeback. This week, “Enron” launched a rebranded website and press release about their return, now featuring crypto. Unbelievable, right? Yup. It’s a parody site for “entertainment purposes only.” Talk about an En-runaround!
It twerks: People are turning to TikTok to pay off medical bills. Some creators can earn cash from videos over a minute long, and viewers only have to interact once. A mom turned a live dance party with her kids into $2,500 to pay off her 3-year-old’s medical bills. It works!
A wicked amount of money: A mom is suing Mattel for $5 million. The “Wicked” movie doll she bought for her daughter had a link to a p*rn website instead of the film’s official page. Mom says visiting the site caused lots of emotional distress for them both … that only money can help.
📺 Ads as far as the eye can see: Walmart just spent $2.3 billion to buy Vizio. Why? Because they want to put their ads right in your living room, track what you watch and sell your data. Over 19 million people use Vizio’s SmartCast system. Here’s how you can turn off the tracking on your TV, Vizio or otherwise.
The FBI is sounding the alarm: I’ve been saying this for years: For sensitive convos, always use end-to-end encrypted apps. It took a massive telecom cyberattack from Communist China for the Feds to say it. Signal, WhatsApp, Google Messages and iMessage work for both calls and texts. PSA: RCS messages between iPhones and Androids aren’t encrypted.
$20,100.10 Cheeto puff
Sold on eBay. The single puff duct-taped to a wall was Frito-Lay’s cheeky response to a similar “art” piece of a banana that sold for $6.2 million. At least the winner of this auction got a supply of Cheetos worth their bid’s price — about 450 8.5-ounce bags. Orange fingers for life.