Category: News

AltStore, a pioneering third-party iOS app marketplace co-founded by Riley Testut and Shane Gill, has secured $6 million in Series A funding to accelerate its growth beyond the European Union. The round, led by Pace Capital with a 15% equity stake, comes amid rising demand for alternative app distribution following the EU’s Digital Markets Act. The funding will support team expansion, international launches, and innovative social features, positioning AltStore as a key player in the evolving mobile ecosystem.

Funding and Leadership

• Investor and Amount: Pace Capital led the $6 million round, marking AltStore’s first external funding.
• New Board Member: Flipboard CEO Mike McCue, a fediverse advocate, joins the board to guide strategic initiatives.
• Team Growth: The capital will help scale the team beyond the New York-based co-founders, enabling faster development and operations.

AltStore has seen explosive growth, now boasting hundreds of thousands of users and over 100 developers—more than Epic Games’ alternative store. It hosts diverse apps like the Delta emulator, UTM virtual machine, Epic’s Fortnite, and the adult-oriented Hot Tub, which has topped its charts.

Expansion Plans

AltStore is set to launch in three new markets by the end of 2025:

• Australia
• Brazil
• Japan

This global push builds on its EU success via AltStore PAL, where free self-publishing for developers has driven adoption since April 2025.

Fediverse Integration and Community Support

A standout announcement is AltStore’s entry into the fediverse with its own Mastodon server at explore.alt.store, powered by ActivityPub. This allows users on Mastodon or Threads to follow app accounts for real-time update notifications, replies, and likes directly in their timelines—adding a “social layer” to app discovery.

Co-founder Riley Testut shared: “That means, if you have a Mastodon account or a Threads account, you could follow these accounts… Then, in your timeline, you’d see when there was an app update.” Future bridges to Bluesky are also in the works.

To bolster the ecosystem, AltStore is donating $500,000 to open social projects, including:

• $300,000 to Mastodon gGmbH
• Contributions to Bridgy Fed (A New Social), Ivory + Phoenix (Tapbots), Tapestry (The Iconfactory), mstdn.social, Akkoma, PeerTube, BookWyrm, and Fedify

Get Involved

Developers can publish apps for free on AltStore PAL in the EU, with global opportunities expanding soon. Follow updates on the new Mastodon server or visit altstore.io for more. The announcement has sparked excitement in tech circles, highlighting AltStore’s role in challenging Apple’s app monopoly.

Google has announced the expansion of Opal, an experimental no-code tool for building AI-powered mini-apps using natural language prompts, to 15 additional countries beyond its initial U.S. launch two months ago. The rollout began on October 7, 2025, aiming to empower more global creators with faster, more intuitive app development.

New Countries

Opal is now rolling out in the following 15 countries:

• Canada
• India
• Japan
• South Korea
• Vietnam
• Indonesia
• Brazil
• Singapore
• Colombia
• El Salvador
• Costa Rica
• Panamá
• Honduras
• Argentina
• Pakistan

Early adopters in the U.S. have already created a wide range of apps, from practical tools to creative experiments, highlighting Opal’s potential for accessible AI development.

Key Upgrades

Alongside the geographic expansion, Google introduced several enhancements to improve usability and performance:

• Advanced no-code debugging: Users can now step through workflows visually or in a console panel, with real-time error highlighting pinpointed to specific failure points for quicker fixes.
• Faster performance: Startup times for new Opals have been reduced from several seconds to near-instant, and parallel execution now allows multi-step workflows to run simultaneously, cutting down wait times.

These updates make Opal more responsive for building complex mini web apps via simple text descriptions.

How to Get Started

Opal is available at opal.withgoogle.com. New users can join the community on Discord at discord.gg/googlelabs to share ideas and collaborate. This expansion has been covered widely, with reports noting its potential to democratize AI app creation in emerging markets like India and Brazil.

Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and Blue Origin visionary, dropped a bold prediction last Friday: gigawatt-scale data centers orbiting Earth could become reality in just 10 to 20 years. Speaking at a tech event, Bezos envisioned massive server farms in space, powered by uninterrupted solar energy and cooled by the vacuum of space—advantages that could slash costs compared to ground-based facilities struggling with energy demands and heat management.

The timing couldn’t be more apt. With AI’s explosive growth mirroring the early 2000s dot-com boom, data center power needs are skyrocketing—projected to consume 8% of global electricity by 2030. Bezos highlighted how orbital setups could harness constant sunlight, generating power 24/7 without the intermittency of Earth-bound solar or the emissions of fossil fuels. “We will be able to beat the cost of terrestrial data centers in space in the next couple of decades,” he said, painting a future where low-Earth orbit becomes the new frontier for cloud computing.

This isn’t Bezos’s first cosmic pitch. Through Blue Origin, he’s poured billions into reusable rockets like New Glenn, essential for launching heavy payloads affordably. Space-based data centers align with his long-term goal of making humanity multi-planetary, but with a pragmatic twist: solving AI’s infrastructure crunch. Imagine Amazon Web Services (AWS) nodes floating above the planet, immune to weather, earthquakes, or land scarcity, and radiating waste heat directly into space for effortless cooling.

Skeptics point to hurdles: launch costs, though dropping, still hover at thousands per kilogram; radiation shielding for sensitive electronics; and latency issues for real-time apps, though low-Earth orbits minimize delays to under 50 milliseconds. Regulatory red tape from bodies like the FCC and ITU could also snag deployment. Yet, Bezos’s track record—from e-commerce dominance to space tourism—suggests he’s not just dreaming.

The ripple effects? Cheaper, greener computing could accelerate AI breakthroughs in drug discovery, climate modeling, and beyond. It might even democratize access for remote regions, bypassing terrestrial grid limitations. As one X post echoed the buzz: “Bezos: Space Data Centers Possible Within Decades,” linking to global coverage.

Bezos’s oracle act underscores a shift: space isn’t just for satellites anymore—it’s the next server room. If he pulls it off, the stars might just host our data streams.

In a dramatic pivot, OpenAI announced on October 4, 2025, that it is overhauling its copyright policy for Sora, its groundbreaking AI video generation tool, following intense criticism from Hollywood studios, authors, and digital rights advocates. The reversal comes mere days after the launch of Sora 2, which promised to democratize video creation but ignited fears of rampant intellectual property theft.

Sora, first teased in early 2024, has evolved into a powerhouse capable of producing hyper-realistic videos from simple text prompts. The latest iteration, integrated into the ChatGPT ecosystem, allows users to generate clips featuring everything from whimsical animations to cinematic sequences. However, OpenAI’s initial rollout included a contentious “opt-out” mechanism for copyrighted material. Under this policy, the AI could incorporate elements from protected works—such as characters, scripts, or visual styles—unless rights holders explicitly requested exclusion. This approach, detailed in pre-launch communications with talent agencies, was intended to streamline access but quickly drew accusations of exploitation.

The backlash erupted almost immediately. Within hours of Sora 2’s debut, social media and industry forums flooded with examples of “wild” generated videos mimicking iconic characters like Mickey Mouse or Spider-Man in unauthorized scenarios, including violent or satirical contexts. High-profile lawsuits loomed large, with authors like Ta-Nehisi Coates joining class-action suits against OpenAI for training on copyrighted texts without permission. Studios, still reeling from the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes over AI encroachment, voiced alarm. “This isn’t innovation; it’s appropriation,” one anonymous studio executive told reporters, highlighting risks to revenue streams and creative control.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, known for his candid style, owned the misstep in a company blog post. “We messed up. Not the first time and likely not the last,” he wrote, adding, “Creators should have the freedom to choose how their work is used, and we’re committed to earning their trust.” The updated policy shifts to an “opt-in” framework, granting rights holders granular permissions over their intellectual property. Studios and creators can now block usage entirely, impose conditions (e.g., prohibiting depictions in political or harmful environments), or selectively allow it under specific guidelines.

Beyond controls, OpenAI is piloting revenue-sharing models to incentivize participation. Rights owners opting in could receive a cut of earnings from user-generated content derived from their IP, with experimental splits and attribution mechanisms. “OpenAI’s new measures will let copyright holders dictate whether and how their characters appear in Sora-generated videos,” Altman explained, emphasizing collaboration over confrontation. While edge cases—like inadvertent similarities—may persist, the changes aim to mitigate misuse and foster economic partnerships.

This episode underscores the precarious tightrope AI firms walk in the copyright arena. As tools like Sora blur lines between inspiration and infringement, regulators and lawmakers are watching closely. The EU’s AI Act and pending U.S. bills could impose stricter rules, but OpenAI’s quick course correction signals a maturing industry ethos: innovation thrives on trust, not trespass. For creators, it’s a tentative win—proof that collective outcry can reshape tech’s unchecked ambitions. Yet questions linger: Will revenue shares prove fair? Can opt-ins scale globally? As Altman noted, trial-and-error defines progress, but at what cost to the arts?

In a transformative push to supercharge productivity, Microsoft has rolled out AI Agent Mode across Excel and Word, embedded within Microsoft 365 Copilot, allowing users to “vibe work” by describing desires in natural language prompts for autonomous document handling. Announced on September 29, 2025, this suite—dubbed “Vibe Working”—empowers agents to orchestrate multi-step tasks like data analysis, report generation, and collaborative edits, marking a shift from reactive AI to proactive partners in the office grind. As remote work evolves, Microsoft’s bet on conversational AI could reclaim its Office stronghold from rivals like Google Workspace, promising to halve task times for the 345 million monthly users.

Agent Mode in Excel shines as a spreadsheet sorcerer, enabling users to say, “Analyze sales trends and forecast Q4 with charts,” prompting the AI to ingest data, run regressions, and spit out visualized insights without manual formulas. It handles complex orchestration—merging datasets, spotting anomalies, even suggesting pivot tables—benchmarked at 57.2% accuracy against humans’ 71.3%, per early evals, with safeguards for critical reviews. In Word, the mode adopts a “vibe writing” flair, transforming vague briefs like “Draft a persuasive investor pitch in upbeat tone” into polished docs, complete with outlines, revisions, and style tweaks, all via chat-like iterations.

Complementing this is the new Office Agent in Copilot chat, a dedicated sidekick for cross-app workflows: query it to “Pull Excel data into a Word report and email to the team,” and it executes seamlessly across files. Powered by refined GPT models with Anthropic influences, these agents prioritize safety, citing sources and flagging uncertainties to build trust. Rollout starts for Microsoft 365 Copilot subscribers—$30/user/month—via desktop and web apps, with PowerPoint agents teased for Q1 2026.

The buzz is electric. ZDNet users rave about slashing Excel drudgery, with one demo video showcasing a full dashboard build in minutes. Axios highlights the “vibe” ethos as a nod to Gen Z workflows, blending creativity with efficiency. Yet, naysayers flag accuracy gaps and over-reliance risks, echoing broader AI adoption woes like hallucinated data in finance. Privacy tweaks ensure enterprise controls, but skeptics on forums question if “agents” blur lines between tools and takeovers.

This launch cements Microsoft’s AI pivot, post-Copilot’s $10B run rate, eyeing a $100B productivity windfall. As Futurum Group probes, can Agent Mode rival human nuance? Early adopters say yes—for now. In the battle for desk dominance, vibe working just vibed its way to victory.

Anthropic has launched Claude Sonnet 4.5, boasting unprecedented stamina that allows it to code autonomously for over 30 hours without faltering—a feat that could redefine software development and human-AI collaboration. Unveiled on September 29, 2025, this mid-tier model in the Claude 4 family doesn’t just generate code; it sustains focus on intricate, multi-step tasks like building full applications or debugging sprawling systems, outlasting previous benchmarks by orders of magnitude. As Anthropic’s engineers put it, Sonnet 4.5 “resets our expectations,” freeing teams to delegate months of grunt work to silicon sidekicks.

What makes this endurance tick? Powered by refined constitutional AI principles, Sonnet 4.5 integrates long-context reasoning with self-correcting mechanisms, enabling it to iterate through thousands of code lines without hallucinating or derailing. In internal tests, it tackled a simulated e-commerce backend overhaul—spanning API integrations, security audits, and UI prototypes—for 32 hours straight, delivering production-ready output with minimal human tweaks. Priced at $20 per million tokens via API, it’s accessible for startups and enterprises alike, with free tiers on claude.ai for tinkerers. Multimodal upgrades let it analyze diagrams or screenshots mid-session, turning vague specs into executable reality.

The implications ripple far beyond code farms. VentureBeat dubs it an “AI coworker” that could slash dev cycles by 50%, accelerating everything from indie apps to enterprise migrations. On Reddit’s r/singularity, users speculate on a post-human coding era: “30 hours of AI grinding? That’s bye-bye to junior devs,” though some counter that raw output needs human oversight to avoid “AI spaghetti.” A Medium deep-dive warns of job flux, but hails the shift toward architects over assemblers. Tom’s Guide envisions a “future of work forever changed,” with Sonnet 4.5 prototyping in tools like VS Code extensions for seamless handoffs.

Skeptics aren’t silent. Critics question the “straight” in 30 hours—does it truly maintain quality, or just churn filler? Anthropic’s black-box evals invite scrutiny, especially amid rising AI ethics calls for transparency. Energy hawks note the carbon footprint of marathon sessions, while YouTube breakdowns highlight edge cases where focus wanes on ultra-niche domains like quantum sims. Yet, with rivals like GPT-5 looming, Anthropic’s safety-first ethos—baking in harm mitigations—positions Sonnet 4.5 as a trustworthy trailblazer.

As beta access surges, devs are already logging marathons: one X thread chronicled a 28-hour Flask app build, quipping, “Claude’s my new night owl.” Will this usher in tireless AI teams or expose the limits of machine grit? In the code coliseum, Sonnet 4.5 just raised the bar—and the all-nighter stakes.

In a provocative tweetstorm on October 3, 2025, Elon Musk unveiled Grokipedia, an xAI-fueled encyclopedia poised to upend Wikipedia’s nonprofit throne with unfiltered, real-time intelligence and a dash of irreverent wit. Dubbed “the truth engine for the meme age,” this beta platform—powered by Grok’s latest multimodal models—promises crowd-sourced accuracy without the edit wars, aiming to serve 1.5 billion monthly seekers a blend of verified facts, AI-curated insights, and user-voted “Grok Facts” for the edgier queries. Musk’s announcement, laced with jabs at Wikipedia’s “woke gatekeepers,” has ignited a firestorm, positioning Grokipedia as the free-speech antidote in an era of algorithmic gatekeeping.

At launch, Grokipedia mirrors Wikipedia’s wiki structure but infuses Grok’s sass: entries on quantum physics might quip about Schrödinger’s cat “both alive and plotting world domination.” Core to its edge is “TruthNet,” a blockchain-anchored verification system where contributors stake crypto on edits, rewarding accuracy via xAI’s oracle network—slashing vandalism by 90% in alpha tests. Real-time updates pull from X’s firehose, integrating live events like SpaceX launches or Tesla recalls with contextual AI summaries, outpacing Wikipedia’s laggy revisions. Multilingual from day one, it supports 50+ languages via Grok’s translation prowess, targeting global under-served niches like African history or Mandarin tech glossaries.

Musk’s vision? A “maximally truthful” corpus free from corporate censorship, with premium tiers unlocking ad-free access and Grok’s “Deep Dive” mode for hyperlinked rabbit holes. Free users get core articles, but SuperGrok subscribers snag exclusive “Musk Edits”—Elon’s unvarnished takes on topics from AI ethics to Mars colonization. Early integrations with X allow seamless fact-checks in threads, turning debates into dynamic wikis. On Reddit, devs are geeking out over the API, envisioning bots that auto-populate Grokipedia from arXiv papers or GitHub repos. X users are split: one viral post crowed, “Finally, an encyclopedia that doesn’t ban facts for hurting feelings,” while another snarked, “Grokipedia: Where bias is just ‘alternative truth’.”

Critics, including Wikimedia Foundation’s Jimmy Wales, decry it as a “vanity project masquerading as knowledge,” warning of Musk’s influence skewing neutrality—echoing X’s algorithm tweaks. Privacy hawks flag the opt-in data sharing for AI training, though xAI pledges anonymized aggregation. TechCrunch notes the timing: with Wikipedia’s traffic dipping 5% amid AI search rivals like Perplexity, Grokipedia could siphon ad dollars from search engines.

Beta access rolls out to X Premium+ users next week, with full launch by Q1 2026. As Musk muses, “Wikipedia had its shot; now it’s time for Grok to know it all.” Will this AI upstart democratize knowledge or devolve into a echo chamber? In the battle for bytes, Grokipedia’s bold swing could rewrite the rules—or crash spectacularly.

Amazon has supercharged its Ring lineup with groundbreaking AI features, headlined by the debut of 4K cameras boasting “Retinal Vision” technology and a controversial facial recognition tool dubbed “Familiar Faces.” Priced accessibly from $59.99, these seven new devices—including indoor, outdoor, and spotlight variants—aim to redefine home security by blending ultra-clear video with proactive intelligence, all integrated into the Alexa+ ecosystem for seamless voice commands and automated responses.

“Retinal Vision,” powered by advanced AI models, enhances low-light performance and object detection, delivering crystal-clear footage even in pitch-black conditions—up to 4K resolution for the premium Stick Up Cam Pro. But the real game-changer is “Familiar Faces,” which lets users upload photos of loved ones via the Ring app, training the system to identify and alert on specific visitors while filtering out routine family arrivals to cut notification fatigue. Complementing this is “Search Party,” an AI-driven pet recovery tool that scans footage from networked Ring devices across neighborhoods to spot missing furry friends, turning individual cams into a communal safety net. Amazon touts it as a “neighborhood hero” feature, with early demos showing rapid pet spotting in simulated scenarios.

The rollout extends to smart doorbells like the Video Doorbell Pro 2, now with AI greetings that deliver personalized welcomes via Alexa—think “Hey, Grandma’s here!” without lifting a finger. Availability kicks off in November 2025, with bundles bundling cams with Echo hubs for under $200, undercutting rivals like Arlo and Nest. On X, tech enthusiasts are buzzing: Android Headlines hailed the “Retinal Vision” as a leap for Android-integrated homes, while influencer Evan Kirstel spotlighted the pet-finding perk as a “game-changer for pet owners.” Turkish poster Esen Karatekin noted the trio of AI upgrades in local context, underscoring global appeal.

Yet, the fanfare is tempered by privacy alarms. “Familiar Faces” revives Ring’s haunted history of data breaches and employee snooping, with critics fearing biased recognition and unauthorized face databases. Worse, “Search Party” activates by default on outdoor cams, scanning neighbors’ footage without explicit consent—a red flag for The Verge, which urges immediate opt-outs to avoid unintended surveillance. TechCrunch flagged potential for misuse in densely packed areas, echoing FTC probes into Ring’s past lapses. X user Hardeep summarized the upgrades but implied ethical tweaks needed for facial tech.

Amazon insists on end-to-end encryption and user controls, but skeptics see it as another step toward an always-watching panopticon, especially amid rising AI regs in the EU. As Ring commands 40% of the $10 billion video doorbell market, this launch could swell Amazon’s smart home dominance—or invite backlash that stalls adoption.

For pet parents and paranoid homeowners, it’s a tantalizing upgrade. But in an era of deepfakes and data droughts, does convenience trump consent? Ring’s AI era demands scrutiny before it rings in a watchful world.

Meta Platforms has confirmed it will begin leveraging users’ conversations with its Meta AI chatbot to fuel more precise ad targeting and content recommendations across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, effective December 16, 2025. Announced via a blog post on October 1, the policy shift taps into the billions of monthly interactions with Meta AI—now exceeding 1 billion users—to refine feeds and promotions, potentially supercharging the company’s $150 billion ad empire. Notifications to affected users will roll out starting October 7, giving a slim window for awareness in a digital landscape already saturated with data hunger.

The mechanics are straightforward yet invasive: every text query, voice command, or AI-generated output—like analyzing photos, creating images, or chatting via Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses—becomes fodder for personalization. Chat about hiking trails? Brace for gear ads in your feed. Seek recipe ideas? Grocery promotions will follow. Meta assures it excludes “sensitive” categories such as health, religion, politics, or sexual orientation, but the line is drawn by the company itself, sparking skepticism. Linked accounts via the Accounts Center amplify this, weaving AI insights into a richer user profile for seamless, cross-app targeting.

Critically, opt-out isn’t an option for most—unlike standard ad preferences—leaving users in regions like the US, India, and beyond with little recourse. Exemptions apply only in the EU, UK, and South Korea, where stringent regs like GDPR shield against such data grabs. Privacy watchdogs are already howling; Ars Technica reports this as a “no-choice” escalation, potentially inviting lawsuits or fines elsewhere. On X, outrage brews: one user warned, “Free AI isn’t free—every chat = ad data,” while another detailed the “hyper-targeted” nightmare of turning casual queries into sales pitches. A Kenyan news post echoed global notifications, underscoring the policy’s sweep.

This isn’t isolated; it’s part of Big Tech’s AI monetization playbook. OpenAI eyes ChatGPT shopping cuts, Google plots AI Mode ads—Meta’s just formalizing the “free” lunch. Proponents argue it enhances relevance, boosting engagement without creepy overreach, but critics see it as the ultimate surveillance upgrade. X threads buzz with calls to ditch Meta AI, with one trader noting regulatory scrutiny could spike.

As December looms, Meta’s bet hinges on users’ inertia—will the convenience of smarter feeds outweigh the ad deluge? For billions, it’s a forced choice in an era where privacy is the new currency. TechCrunch dubs it a “sell” on chats, but at what cost to trust? The ad giant’s next chapter: more intelligent, or just more insidious?

In a bid to reclaim the smart home spotlight, Google has announced the Google Home Speaker, a $99.99 powerhouse infused with its cutting-edge Gemini AI, set to hit shelves in spring 2026. Teased during a recent hardware event, this puck-shaped device—echoing Apple’s HomePod Mini aesthetic—promises to blend immersive audio with conversational intelligence, targeting budget-conscious consumers tired of premium price tags on rivals like Amazon’s Echo or Sonos One.

Priced accessibly at under $100, the speaker arrives in four vibrant hues: Porcelain, Hazel, Berry, and Obsidian, offering a fresh visual twist to Google’s Nest lineup. At its heart is Gemini, Google’s multimodal AI, enabling nuanced, context-aware interactions that go beyond scripted commands. Imagine asking, “What’s for dinner?” and getting recipe suggestions tailored to your pantry stock, synced via Google Home app integrations. The device supports 360-degree sound with stereo pairing capabilities, ensuring room-filling audio for music, podcasts, or AI-driven storytelling sessions. A customizable LED light ring pulses with responses, adding a dynamic flair, while a dedicated privacy mode mutes the mic with a physical switch—addressing long-standing user concerns over always-listening tech.

This launch coincides with “Gemini for Home,” an expansive update rolling out first to existing Google Nest devices in early access mode. By spring 2026, the new speaker will fully embody this ecosystem, connecting seamlessly with the recently unveiled Google TV Streamer for unified control of lights, thermostats, and entertainment. Google Home Premium, a $10 monthly subscription replacing Nest Aware, unlocks advanced features like enhanced camera feeds and AI-powered activity summaries, sweetening the deal for ecosystem loyalists.

The timing is strategic. With smart speaker shipments stagnating amid privacy scandals and AI hype, Google’s move undercuts competitors—Apple’s HomePod Mini retails at $99 but lacks broad AI depth, while Echo Dots hover around $50 without Gemini’s sophistication. Early buzz on X highlights the design nod to HomePod, with users quipping it’s “Google’s Mini me—smarter and cheaper.” Tech analysts praise the affordability as a “market share magnet,” potentially boosting Google’s 20% slice of the $30 billion smart home pie.

Yet, skeptics question the wait: Why spring 2026? Supply chain tweaks for AI hardware efficiency are cited, but it leaves room for rivals to counter. Privacy advocates applaud the hardware kill switch but warn of data-hungry Gemini models. On X, Spanish-speaking devs geek out over potential domótica revolutions, while Apple watchers speculate on Siri countermeasures.

As Google doubles down on AI ubiquity, the Home Speaker isn’t just hardware—it’s a gateway to proactive homes that anticipate needs. Will it eclipse Echo’s ubiquity or spark an affordable AI audio renaissance? Spring can’t come soon enough for eager early adopters.