Tech Digest daily roundup: Charities disappointed by closure of AmazonSmile

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Amazon Smile
Charities have told the BBC of their disappointment at Amazon closing its charity donation scheme by 20 February. The BBC has spoken to several UK charities about the end of AmazonSmile, a scheme that allows customers to donate to a charity of their choice when purchasing items on Amazon. The firm said the scheme had not had the impact it had wanted it to. But charities have said they are sad to see it go, with one saying small charities will suffer the most. BBC 

Elon Musk “doesn’t seem like” the right person to own Twitter, the social media platform’s co-founder has said, adding that improvements to morale and content policies at the business have been reversed under its new proprietor. In an interview with the Guardian, Biz Stone said positive changes he had helped oversee in recent years had been unwound by the Tesla chief executive. Guardian 

Never mind ChatGPT — music might be the next big frontier for AI content generation. Google recently published research on MusicLM, a system that creates music in any genre with a text description. This isn’t the first AI music generator. As TechCrunch notes, projects like Google’s AudioML and OpenAI’s Jukebox have tackled the subject. However, MusicLM’s model and vast training database (280,000 hours of music) help it produce music with surprising variety and depth. You might just like the output. Engadget

Tech hipsters, brace your digital souls. A robot barista could be whipping up your daily flat white at a Silicon Roundabout coffee shop in the near future. A droid that can make 20 different drinks to order, including custom coffees, has been launched in South Korea by the country’s biggest phone network, SK Telecom. The AI Barista Robot, which uses a robotic arm powered by “advanced artificial intelligence”, can even close your cup lid when serving beverages, according to its creators. Evening Standard

Well, it’s officially here – you can now play GoldenEye 007 on your Nintendo Switch! Provided you have access to the Expansion Pack service, your mission begins now. Rare’s famous licensed FPS first arrived on the N64 in 1997. In this new and slightly updated version, players can now participate in online multiplayer. The Switch Online + Expansion Pack service also allows users to save and load game states at any time – making playthroughs a lot easier. Nintendo Life


Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Book3 series of laptops will arrive alongside the Galaxy S23 series at the company’s February 1 Unpacked event, and it’s shaping to be an equally exciting lineup. Now we can add some finishing touches thanks to these leaked high-quality renders. They’re of the Galaxy Book3 360, the Galaxy Book3 Pro, and the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360. All three models will have 2880x1800px (16:10) Super AMOLED touchscreen displays, backlit keyboards, Intel’s 13th-gen processors, allowing for two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. GSM Arena

Chris Price
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