The minister in charge of Dutch climate change and sustainability policy wants to examine the possibility of setting a maximum tariff for smaller-scale consumers using heating networks or

A federal judge yesterday ordered Google to open up the Google Play Store and its collection of apps to third-party app stores as part of a US-wide injunction stemming from Epic Games' antitrust victory over the company. The injunction is scheduled to take effect on November 1, though Google will have up to eight months to implement certain provisions. For three years, Google will have to let third-party Android app stores access the Google Play Store's catalog of apps "so that they may offer the Play Store apps to users," said the injunction issued by US District Judge James Donato of the Northern District of California. App developers will have some control over which app stores their software is distributed on. "Google will provide developers with a mechanism for opting out of inclusion in catalog access for any particular third-party Android app store," the injunction said. Read full article

Meta’s take on a Twitter/X rival, Instagram Threads, may be inching further into its competitor’s territory with the development of a communities feature that would presumably allow users to better organize their discussions on the platform by topics. At least that’s what references in the app’s code seem to imply. The code mentions a new […]

Musi, a free music-streaming app only available on iPhone, sued Apple last week, arguing that Apple breached Musi's developer agreement by abruptly removing the app from its App Store for no good reason. According to Musi, Apple decided to remove Musi from the App Store based on allegedly "unsubstantiated" claims from YouTube that Musi was infringing on YouTube's intellectual property. The removal came, Musi alleged, based on a five-word complaint from YouTube that simply said Musi was "violating YouTube terms of service"—without ever explaining how. And YouTube also lied to Apple, Musi's complaint said, by claiming that Musi neglected to respond to YouTube's efforts to settle the dispute outside the App Store when Musi allegedly showed evidence that the opposite was true. For years, Musi users have wondered if the service was legal, Wired reported in a May deep dive into the controversial app. Musi launched in 2016, providing a free, stripped-down service like Spotify by displaying YouTube and other publicly available content while running Musi's own ads. Read full article

When you talk to a chatbot like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, your responses are largely linear. You often have to ask follow-up questions to get more information. For instance, when you are planning a trip, you might first ask the chatbot about the place and follow it up with questions on meal planning, activities, tips […]

Unify, an AI-powered startup that uses data to reach prospective buyers, has raised a $12 million Series A led by existing investors Emergence Capital and Thrive Capital. OpenAI Startup Fund, Neo, Abstract, 20Sales, and AltCap also participated in the round. The 20-month-old company went through OpenAI’s Converge I accelerator last year and, following that program, […]

After Wegovy and Ozempic by pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, Netherlands residents will soon also have access to another weight loss injection.

Comb jellies, technically known as ctenophores, are one of the weirdest creatures on Earth. They appeared in the seas over half a billion years ago and have maintained to the present day the comb-like rows of cilia they used to move around. Their transparent bodies and internal bioluminescence give them looks that rival gaming computers. But there’s something that makes them even weirder. When a comb jelly is injured, it can regenerate at an amazing rate. But it can also attach a body part of another injured comb jelly and integrate it near-seamlessly into its own body. (Those who have played Elden Ring can enjoy comparisons to Godrick The Grafted.) “I’ve been observing ctenophores for a long time, so it was easy to spot an unusually large specimen. Some of the anatomical features were doubled, so I realized what I’m looking at is actually two individuals that have fused together,” said Kei Jokura, a marine researcher at the University of Exeter and lead author of a recent Current Biology paper on the integration of fused ctenophores. Read full article