YouTube says over 25% of its creator partners now monetize via Shorts

With TikTok potentially poised for a U.S. ban, YouTube is touting how well its own TikTok competitor, YouTube Shorts, is paying off for creators. The company on Thursday said its short-form video platform now averages over 70 billion daily views and over 25% of channels in YouTube’s Partner Progam monetize their videos through revenue-sharing on […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on YouTube says over 25% of its creator partners now monetize via Shorts

Amazon One launches new app to scan your palm for checkout

Amazon announced Thursday the launch of its new app for Amazon One, its contactless palm recognition service that allows customers to hover their palm over a device in order to purchase from select places, including over 500 Whole Foods Market stores, Amazon stores, and more than 150 third-party locations. Instead of signing up for Amazon […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on Amazon One launches new app to scan your palm for checkout

888 agrees to the sale of certain United States B2C assets to Hard Rock Digital

Global gambling group 888 Holdings parts ways with several business-to-customer (B2C) assets after a strategic business review.
Hard Rock Digital benefits from 888’s move that the company is calling a “controlled exit of its remaining US B2C operations”.
Hard Rock Digital is one of the United States’ leading sportsbook and online gaming operators. The company has been quick to pounce on the 888 assets after the company conducted its review.
888 sells B2C assets
The operator’s review earmarked the sale of their American-based assets after a rocky 2022 and 2023. The company reported a £115.7 million ($141m) loss in 2022 and £121.3 million ($151m) pretax loss in 2023 respectively.
Per Widerström, CEO of 888 said that “in the US, the intensity of competition and requirement for scale means huge investment is required to reach profitability.”
The leading man at the gambling operator said that despite some U.S. gambling markets doing well, “we (888) have concluded that achieving sufficient scale in the US market to generate positive returns within an accelerated timeframe is unlikely.”
888 concluded that as a “result of the review the Group has agreed the sale of selected assets to Hard Rock Digital (“HRD”), completion of which is conditional upon, amongst other items, relevant regulatory approvals. It is expected that the disposal will be completed in a number of phases, with final completion expected in Q4 2024.”
The dynamic of the U.S. gambling and online gaming market is only continuing to become more complex as 2024 unfolds.
Other than existing businesses giving up their territory in the U.S. market there are limited opportunities for gambling operators to expand their existing markets. This is unless a state allows for more gambling options to be present.
The biggest operators in the U.S. are ready to capitalize in states that have no form of gambling legislation.
An example is the state of Missouri. The home of the current Superbowl-winning champions the Kansas City Chiefs. The football team and other sports teams in the state are lobbying for an ease of the current restrictions on gambling. These established brands are looking to benefit from lucrative sports betting partnerships with brands such as Hard Rock Digital.
Image: Ideogram.
The post 888 agrees to the sale of certain United States B2C assets to Hard Rock Digital appeared first on ReadWrite.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on 888 agrees to the sale of certain United States B2C assets to Hard Rock Digital

Sam Bankman-Fried to be sentenced to jail time

Sam Bankman-Fried, owner of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, will receive sentencing in New York today (March 28) after his convictions for fraud and conspiracy last year. District Judge Lewis Kaplan could level a sentence of up to 110 years of jail time.
Prosecutors are pushing for 40-50 years, whereas the defense is seeking leniency due to Bankman-Fried being a non-violent first-time offender. They are lobbying the judge for a sentence closer to six and a half years.
Victims of the collapse of FTX have been writing to the judge to provide their thoughts on the issue and to attempt to convey the impact fraud of this scale has had on them.
Sunil Kavuri, a British investor, said to the BBC “He has shown no remorse so why would any judge show any mercy?” At the time of FTX’s collapse, Kavuri had over $2 million worth of holdings on the exchange site.
Arush Sehgal, an entrepreneur from Barcelona, and his wife had around $4 million in dollars and Bitcoin in FTX – their life savings. He described it as them having “lost everything.”
Canadian Angela Chang had about a quarter of a million dollars in FTX, and its fall has led to her taking out credit card debt and ultimately selling a portion of a claim to an investor. She believes that victims of the crimes committed by Bankman-Fried are being minimized due to being in the crypto industry. “People think that crypto is criminal and so they have sympathy for this guy… But I’m not a criminal,” she said to the BBC.
How will Sam Bankman-Fried’s sentence be determined?
Making a sentencing decision such as this is a complex matter. The scale of the crime and its effects are contested at a huge scale, according to Columbia Law professor Daniel Richman. “Any judge or lawyer will tell you that one of the best things the defendant can do before being sentenced is really, really show he’s on the right path, show some remorse, and show some degree of self-knowledge as to his offense,” said professor Richman, continuing, “Here you not only have a defendant who went to trial but you have one who really, at least the judge believed, was obstructive prior to trial.” Bankman-Fried had his bail revoked last year after rumors of witness tampering and intimidation reached Judge Kaplan.
Part of the case for leniency stems from the fact that through the bankruptcy filings, most people who had holdings in FTX stand to regain their money. However, this does not account for losses sustained due to being unable to participate in the market as Bitcoin hit its record high before beginning to fall again.
There are also those reaching out to beg for leniency in sentencing, including Bankman-Fried’s mother, Barbara Fried. She is a former law professor and describes the US justice system as “punitive”. “I have no illusions about the redemptive power of prisons,” she wrote in a letter to Judge Kaplan. “Being consigned to prison for decades will destroy Sam as surely as would hanging him.”
Despite the pleas from family and friends and the fact that Bankman-Fried is a non-violent first-time offender, Professor Richman believes it would be “really surprising” for the Judge to come anywhere close to the defense’s request of 6.5 years.
Featured image: Generated by Ideogram
The post Sam Bankman-Fried to be sentenced to jail time appeared first on ReadWrite.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on Sam Bankman-Fried to be sentenced to jail time

GameSir X2s Mobile Controller: Turn your mobile phone into a Switch lookalike

GameSir announced the X2s a few weeks back and it certainly raised a lot of interest. An upgraded version of the X2 from a couple of years ago, especially now new iPhones all rock a USB-Type C port having ditched the Apple Lighting port opens up a whole new audience as well as the Android crew who could already utilize a device such as this.
Combine this with an increased interest in mobile gaming, and a wider offering with things such as Xbox Cloud Gaming, could mean that the stars align for little hand-held controllers like this that you can just throw in your bag and whip out when you need to.
GameSir sent us over an X2s for review, so we didn’t need to stump up the £50 asking price, but we will get into that later on. First, the controller itself.
So, what is the GameSir X2s?
With no device attached, the X2s is barely bigger than an iPhone 15 Pro Max
There are lot of nice things about the X2s, despite its small appearance the body stretches out to fit a mobile phone up to 168mm long in between its buttons.
My phone is an iPhone 15 Max Pro which is around 160mm long. Throw on an Apple case for another couple of millimeters and I am getting towards the top end of tolerance.
The USB connection is at one side, so, orientating my phone that was and fitting it in was a little fiddly. The connector moves up and down (deliberately on sort of a rocker mechanism, which is quite cute, but with it moving while I was trying to connect didn’t make things easier.
Having inserted the USB as best I could I stretched out the other side to fit my iPhone in which was a push. I did accidentally let go before it was in properly and it snapped closed again, but that was my fault. The spring, after a few goes doesn’t seem quite so violent, either that or I just stopped being stupid, and now connection is a breeze.
Once you have a solid connection the only real indication that things have gone to plan is a tiny LED that will light up showing that the unit is drawing power from your phone. There are no batteries here so using it will drain your phone battery.
Thankfully it does have a USB passthrough connector on the bottom of the controller so you can always throw a charger or power bank in there as you play.
How does it feel?

Gaming with the X2s was a really pleasant experience to be fair. The joysticks are Hall-Effect switches, meaning they have magnets inside that measure resistance and are far more accurate and sensitive than what we normally get on this type of device. Also, they should not suffer from any dreaded Stick Drift and would be a welcome addition on the next set of Joycons Nintendo comes up with.
The buttons themselves are very small, those of us with big fingers may not enjoy fighting games on the X2s, but if you are looking to play racers, shooters, or even platformers you will be well served here. Just maybe avoid anything with a tricky combo.
The X2s in truth is barely bigger than my smartphone so is easy to just have with you for all the times on the bus or train you might feel like playing a game properly. The controller is responsive and it doesn’t seem as though it is a big battery hog. It just works, I was looking for some indication that it was even connected and operational, but once I loaded a game everything was seamless.
It has a retro styling like an old Nintendo handheld but the grey and lilac color scheme may not appeal to everybody. We think it still looks great though. Its biggest selling point is definitely the joysticks, which even come with rubber caps (and a spare set at that) to make it a bit more grippy.
Conclusion
An iPhone 15 Pro Max stretches the X2s towards its upper limits.
At £50 it is not a throwaway purchase that a casual mobile gamer is likely to make to see if they like it. You are paying for a very neat little technology package but you have to be in the market for a good mobile controller.
Having said that other offerings from the like of Razer have been considerably more expensive, but you can still get a legit Xbox controller for less, although granted it doesn’t offer the same handheld convenience.
If you want to get in on the handheld gaming craze, don’t want to drop big money on a Switch, ROG Ally, or a Steam Deck, and want to utilize that stupidly powerful computer you carry around in your pocket every day instead, the X2s will certainly not let you down. Playing games console style is a huge step up from touchscreen controls and it is unlikely that if you buy this, you won’t come to love it very quickly.
It just depends on what you play and how often. You can order the X2s direct from GameSir’s website.
The post GameSir X2s Mobile Controller: Turn your mobile phone into a Switch lookalike appeared first on ReadWrite.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on GameSir X2s Mobile Controller: Turn your mobile phone into a Switch lookalike

YC-backed Pelago, a virtual clinic for addiction treatment, raises $58M Series C

Pelago Health,  Y Combinator-backed telehealth company that uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help treat people with tobacco, alcohol and opioid addictions, said Thursday it had raised a $58 million Series C round.  The recent funding, which brings its total raised to $151 million since being founded in 2017, comes two and a half years […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on YC-backed Pelago, a virtual clinic for addiction treatment, raises $58M Series C

Metaview’s tool records interview notes so that hiring managers don’t have to

Metaview integrates with apps, phone systems, videoconferencing platforms and tools like Calendly and GoodTime to automatically capture the content of interviews.
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on Metaview’s tool records interview notes so that hiring managers don’t have to

Price Drop: Make Better Diagrams With Microsoft Visio Professional 2021, Now $24.97

Create org charts, flow diagrams, mind maps, SWOT analysis and even floor plans with user-friendly controls and over 250,000 preset templates.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on Price Drop: Make Better Diagrams With Microsoft Visio Professional 2021, Now $24.97

French deep tech spinout Diamfab crystallizes hopes for diamond semiconductors to support green transition

Its long-term goal is to make more efficient semiconductors with a lower carbon footprint, while supporting what its CEO refers to as “the electrification of society,” starting with transportation.
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Posted in Tech | Tagged | Comments Off on French deep tech spinout Diamfab crystallizes hopes for diamond semiconductors to support green transition

The White House Puts New Guardrails on Government Use of AI

Vice President Kamala Harris says new rules for government AI deployments, including a requirement that algorithms are checked for bias, will “put the public interest first.”

Posted in Business | Tagged | Comments Off on The White House Puts New Guardrails on Government Use of AI