Tech Digest daily roundup: Reddit to go public
Social media platform Reddit has announced that it has started the process to sell its shares on the stock market. In a confidential filing, it did not reveal how many shares it planned to sell or the price of the shares. In August, the company said it had raised $700m (£528m) in new funding, valuing it at more than $10bn. Reddit was at the centre of the so-called “meme stock” phenomenon earlier this year. “The initial public offering is expected to occur after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions,” Reddit said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. BBC
It has been purchased more than 200m times and after 10 years it’s still one of the most played video games in the world – now the block building sim Minecraft has passed another milestone: YouTube videos of the game have passed one trillion views, making it the most-watched game on the platform. Originally released in 2009, Minecraft has always been popular on the video-sharing site, thanks to its open and highly creative nature. Players can build whatever they like in the blocky landscape, and talented modellers have flooded YouTube to show off their most impressive creations, from scale models of Hogwarts and the Starship Enterprise to working computers. The game also proved immensely popular with the first generation of superstar YouTube influencers – the likes of Stampy Cat, DanTDM and PewDiePie. Guardian
As predicted a week ago, Apple’s HomePod 15.2 software update is here and it adds support for Apple Music Voice Plan, Apple’s newest and cheapest Siri-based music streaming option. Essentially, you can now listen to Apple Music on Apple’s original HomePod and newer, smaller HomePod mini using your voice, for just £4.99 / $4.99 / AU$5.99 per month – that’s half the price of the Individual Plan at £9.99 / $9.99 / AU$11.99. Apple said of the update, “Software version 15.2 includes support for Apple Music Voice Plan, a new subscription tier designed to access music using Siri”. The update also extends Siri voice recognition to new languages in certain regions (Dutch in both Belgium and the Netherlands; French in Belgium; German, French and Italian in Switzerland; Russian) and includes performance and stability improvements. What HiFi
A taxi firm in Paris has suspended the use of Tesla Model 3 cars in its fleet after one of the vehicles was involved in an accident which killed one person and injured 20 others. G7 said it would halt the use of 37 of its Tesla vehicles until a police investigation had been completed into Saturday’s accident in the French capital. Sources close to the investigation said three people were in a serious condition in hospital. According to French media reports, the car collided with a cyclist, three pedestrians and a van. Sky News
Last week, we reported that game developer CD Projekt was negotiating to settle a class-action lawsuit over the infamously botched launch of Cyberpunk 2077, a game that came riddled with bugs and poor enough performance on consoles that Sony pulled it from the PlayStation Store and many storefronts offered refunds. CD Projekt says those negotiations are now concluded, and here’s how much it’s agreed to pay: $1,850,000 USD. While the settlement will likely have to be approved by a court, it sounds like the lead plaintiffs and their lawyers negotiated for a fairly tiny sum here in exchange for “relinquish[ing] any and all claims against the Company and members of its Management Board.” The Verge
