Blue Sky gets post-election boost, Apple Vision Pro headset production scaled back
Social media platform Bluesky says it has gained 700,000 new users in the week following the US election. Bluesky, which was originally conceived as part of Twitter by its former chief executive Jack Dorsey, says the new sign-ups are largely from the US and UK. The company has increased its membership from 9 million people in September to 14.5 million in the week and to 12 November. “We’re excited to welcome all of these new people, ranging from Swifties to wrestlers to city planners,” Bluesky spokesperson Emily Liu said. Sky News
The struggling genetic testing company 23andMe says it will cut 40% of its workforce, or 200 jobs, as it fights for survival. The once-popular DNA-testing site will also halt work on therapies it was developing. Last year, the company said hackers had managed to gain access to personal information of millions of its users. 23andMe’s share price has fallen by more than 70% this year, as its co-founder and chief executive Anne Wojcicki tries to turn the business around. The company said it expected to incur one-off costs of $12m (£9.3m), including severance pay, for the plan that will result in savings of $35m. BBC
Apple has made a quiet, tactical retreat from augmented and virtual reality, scaling back production of its $3,500 Vision Pro headset. One employee at Chinese manufacturer Luxshare — which is under contract to perform the final assembly for Vision Pro — revealed that the tech giant informed them that manufacturing of the product may need to ‘wind down’ by November’s end. Luxshare, according to this source, has already cut assembly rates in half: putting together about 1,000 Vision Pro units/day, down from a high of 2,000 units/day. Daily Mail
Elon Musk’s influence on a Donald Trump administration could lead to tougher safety standards for artificial intelligence, according to a leading scientist who has worked closely with the world’s richest person on addressing AI’s dangers. Max Tegmark said Musk’s support for a failed AI bill in California underlined the billionaire’s continued concern over an issue that did not feature prominently in Trump’s campaign. However, Musk has warned regularly that unrestrained development of AI… could be catastrophic for humanity. The Guardian
Donald Trump has been a late convert to crypto. “I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air,” he said during his first term. “We have only one real currency in the USA … It is called the United States dollar!” However, during his victorious run for the White House this year, Trump’s tune changed dramatically – to the benefit of tech bros around the world. Telegraph
The M4 Mac mini was supposed to turn heads with its sleek new design, but instead, everyone has been buzzing about one major issue: the power button placement. Laptop Mag reports that some have even gone as far as 3D printing extenders just to make it easier to press. Since the redesign dropped, the power button has basically stolen the spotlight. Reactions are all over the place. A lot of people are not happy about having to tip or lift the mini just to turn it on or off, especially when it is all hooked up to cables. NeoWin
