Meta’s Threads launches in EU, GCHQ tests kids on puzzle skills
Meta’s social media app Threads has launched in the European Union, five months after its release in other parts of the world. It debuted to much fanfare as a rival to Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter. But it was not made available in the EU, which has strict rules around data and big tech. Meta will hope it will drive interest in the platform, which gained more than 100 million users in its first week before those numbers drifted down. Boss Mark Zuckerberg announced the news with a post on Threads, welcoming new users from across Europe. BBC
Axel Springer, the publisher of Business Insider and Politico, said on Wednesday it was partnering with OpenAI, which will pay the German media group to allow ChatGPT to summarize current articles in responses generated by the chatbot. “ChatGPT users around the world will receive summaries of selected global news content from Axel Springer’s media brands,” which also includes the German tabloid Bild, the two companies said in a statement. The Guardian
Schoolchildren across the country will put their puzzle-solving skills to the test after the UK’s spy agency launched its annual Christmas Challenge. GCHQ has sent its Christmas card with the challenge, fronted by a rare image of a snow-covered Bletchley Park, to more than 1,000 secondary schools. It includes seven increasingly complex puzzles that test skills such as codebreaking, maths and analysis, and encourages pupils to work as a team to reveal the final festive message. Sky News
The rumors are true. If you need to replace or switch to a USB-C charging case for your Apple AirPods Pro, you will no longer have to spend $250 on a new pair. Apple is finally selling its new USB-C AirPods Pro USB-C charging cases separately for $99 (first spotted by The Verge). Apple is no stranger to finding ways to make you spend extra on top of its products. It makes zero sense to go with a different port for your product line when there is already an industry standard port that literally every manufacturer uses. Gizmodo
According to the latest report from a Korean news outlet, Samsung is planning to sell its Galaxy S24 trio at the same prices as its predecessors, the Galaxy S23 lineup. Additionally, a separate report seemingly confirms the emergency satellite texting feature for the S24 series. We’ve heard rumors about the latter quite a few times now, but this leaked screenshot will likely clear all doubts. It clearly states that the unnamed Galaxy S24 phone supports emergency texting via satellite connection, just like the latest iPhones and some Huawei phones. GSM Arena
Your friend mentioned the address of the restaurant you’re meeting at on WhatsApp the other week. But by the time you’ve scrolled through hundreds of WhatsApp messages to find it, you’re already two hours late for that brunch date. Well, now you can just stick a virtual pin in all these messages to save yourself from doing a marathon scrolling session. WhatsApp, the message service used by more than two billion people, has added the ability to pin a message to the top of both individual and group chats for up to 30 days. Metro
Claire Coutinho has cancelled a pioneering trial of hydrogen heating in a northeast town following a backlash from local residents. A proposed test in Redcar would have seen Northern Gas Networks (NGN) supply hydrogen, instead of natural gas, to as many as 2,000 homes for heating and cooking.But a government document published by Ms Coutinho, the Energy Secretary, said the Redcar trial would no longer go ahead because of difficulties acquiring hydrogen supplies in time for the scheme. Telegraph
