Meta quietly launches an AI fashion app called Style Sketch
Technologyvia TechCrunch
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The app connects to Instagram to build a virtual closet from photos you’ve already shared, or lets you add items manually by snapping a photo, recording a quick video, or uploading images from your camera roll.
The app connects to Instagram to build a virtual closet from photos you’ve already shared, or lets you add items manually by snapping a photo, recording a quick video, or uploading images from your camera roll.
In the future, you won’t be able to use Reddit without logging in. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman confirmed the impending change in a letter (PDF) to shareholders today about Q3 performance. He said that Reddit is shifting “to a logged-in-only experience," adding: Moving to primarily logged-in will ensure our users have the best Reddit experience possible, and can find the content and communities most relevant to them. It is better for our business because we will have more signals for ads targeting, and being logged-in leads to higher engagement generally. It also allows us to protect access to Reddit’s extremely valuable corpus of data, and helps us better adapt to emerging regulations around the world. Huffman also said that the login requirement will help Reddit better retain new users.Read full article Comments
Microsoft is beginning the rollout of a Windows 11 preview update that finally addresses a persistent power user complaint with the operating system: the right-click menu that obliterated years of muscle memory on command locations and hid others behind an additional click. The timing is notable, as the announcement comes alongside Microsoft's quarterly financial report, which showed a continued decline in the business of selling Windows licenses for new PCs. The preview update, KB5127936, is cumulative for Windows 11 versions 26H2 and 25H2. The update will be a gradual rollout before eventually moving on to a normal rollout for all Windows 11 devices once it reaches general availability. The highlight of the new update should calm annoyed users who have spent years with custom scripts and services in an attempt to shape Windows the way they would prefer it. Users will get a "customize menu" button that controls what commands appear when they right-click their mouse. Users can toggle built-in commands such as Send To or Create Shortcut on or off, rearrange what appears on the main menu, and control which third-party extensions show up in either the main or submenus. The gripe with the right-click menu had been that Microsoft hid familiar command locations behind a top row of icons while moving other familiar commands under the "Show more options" submenu. Now, Windows users can customize the whole thing around their habits. The original Windows 11 right-click menu is a mess. Credit: Microsoft The new preview also highlights a new Windows feature called Cloud Rebuild, a recovery option that can reinstall Windows 11 directly from the cloud, even when an existing Windows 11 fails to boot. Cloud Rebuild will pull the Windows 11 image and needed system drivers directly from Windows Update. Users will not need a custom recovery image or external media to reinstall Windows. There is an important distinction to note, however. Microsoft classifies Cloud Rebuild as a recovery option, but it behaves more like a fresh Windows install than a repair, as existing applications and files will not be included. Those worried about data security can sanitize entire system drives prior to reinstalling. For a full list of improvements coming to Windows 11, including changes to Xbox mode and settings, you can view the official Microsoft release announcement.Read full article Comments
The Pentagon inspector general's office declined a request from US senators to investigate restrictions recently imposed on the Ukraine military's use of SpaceX's satellite network. Ukraine, which uses SpaceX's Starlink service and the military version known as Starshield, said earlier this month that military drones lost satellite connectivity when traveling above 161 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour). The limit was removed after about 10 days. Five Democratic and four Republican senators sent an October 15 letter to Department of Defense Inspector General Platte Moring, asking for a probe into the reported disruptions of Starlink and Starshield. The letter asked, among other things, "whether any restrictions on Starlink or Starshield services were directed, authorized, or implemented by SpaceX, the Department of Defense, or other US government entities; whether such restrictions were consistent with applicable US government contracts, and what actions, if any, the Department of Defense took in response."Read full article Comments