Bits: The Byteside Blog
Sea of Thieves finds some chill for casual good times
Safer Seas aims to make Sea of Thieves more welcoming for beginners and laid-back veterans by excluding pesky human pirates from being a concern.
All the attention on AI might give VR/AR/XR more breathing room to keep iterating and get us somewhere exciting in coming years. Like HTC Vive Ultimate Trackers adding positional data for your limbs for more detailed immersion in virtual spaces. A nice add-on.
Commonwealth Bank has significantly reduced incidents of abusive transactions (where money is sent to someone to send them a threatening message) over recent years. Now it's sharing its machine learning code via GitHub to help other financial institutions do the same. Nice one, CBA.
The LG StanbyME is a very clever smart TV you can wheel to wherever you need it around the home. A 27-inch Full HD touch screen with webOS offering all the important streaming apps built-in. It rotates and tilts to suit your needs and just generally oozes cleverness. At $1,999 it feels like a high utility extra TV that is quite an alternative to sticking an iPad on the kitchen counter.
My relationship with Magic has been all about how much I like a set theme or not. There's so many sets these days it's hard to keep up with every release, but when the right set catches the eye I'm keen.
Wilds of Eldraine is one of those 'love this vibe' sets for me.
It's safest to assume you're about to be scammed online these days. For the less technical, it's hard to keep up with all the types of attacks you need to be wary of and what to watch out for.
Norton's "Phictionary" is a nice way to get an overview of what's what out there. Well worth a look and a share with family members you're worried about.
A fascinating look at the less obvious pop culture wars playing out online.
Aja Romano
Ever heard of Cuboro? These marble tracks made of beautifully machined wood blocks are amazing.
Sadly, they're wildly expensive so I'll just enjoy watching other people's fancy setups.
Valve pulled off a solid anti-cheat switcheroo that saw over 40,000 accounts banned for using a third-party cheating client. After fixing the cheat, Valve added a special honeypot to identify exactly who was running the cheat before dropping the hammer. Solid crackdownery.
Nicole Carpenter
Great summer reads
16 great links to some of the best stories around the web that help you stay on top of what's next in digital.
What will the Canva of AI copy mean for writing?
Every industry has its practitioners who over charge and under deliver. Both graphic design and copywriting have more than their fair share.
Maintaining a clear sense of the future
In 1999 I completely dismissed the importance of flash memory cards as a storage medium for the future. It taught me big lessons on how to consider a technology's long-term potential.
Building a 21st Century knowledge engine
ChatGPT reveals the potential for a Knowledge Engine that can speed up our ability to learn.
Heavy the bird nest
At the end of the first week of Musk's Twitter, it's hard to put a finger on which part of the chaos engine has been the most damaging to the brand.
Saving Twitter from Twitter
There's never been a company with such a wide gap between its cultural impact and its economic success. Maybe a little chaos makes sense right now?
💡 Weekly: Is anyone *not* getting hacked out there?
News rounded up from Google, USB 4, Medibank, Spotify exclusive pods, positive social apps for teens, and AI bias issues in the jobs market.
PAX Australia 2022 looked different, but does it hurt the show's future?
The biggest platforms and developers weren't on the show floor in 2022. But does the spirit of PAX protect it against the changing nature of games marketing?
Google Pixel 7 & Pixel 7 Pro review: because you love Google's brains
The same price in an inflationary market and some solid updates in camera and features makes it a good year to upgrade if you've been waiting for a few years.
14 great articles to close out the week
14 great articles from across the web that capture some of the biggest ideas in tech and digital culture from the first half of October.
💡 Weekly: September 30, 2022
New gear from Amazon, Optus breach still a confusing mess, plus a host of news updates and juicy articles to enjoy.
