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Discord opens Activities, in-app games and features, to all developers

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Discord opens Activities, in-app games and features, to all developers

Discord announced today that it is opening development for Activities, its in-app ecosystem of apps and games, for all creators. This means that any developer can create, distribute and monetize apps on Discord via its Embedded Apps Software Development Kit. This means that Discord offers all developers an ecosystem on which to launch games and other software.

Discord first launched a developer preview of its Embedded Apps SDK earlier this year, with some early partners launching games and apps such as Death by AI, Farm Merge Valley and Krunker Strike FRVR. Developers can not only build and distribute their apps within Discord, but also monetize: Activities supports in-game or in-app purchases and marketplaces. Discord also offers different tiers of growth, with its platform fees going from 30% to 15% for the first $1 million in gross sales generated by a developer’s app.

GamesBeat spoke with Ben Shanken, Discord’s VP of product, about what opening up Activities means for both Discord itself and its users. Shanken noted that Discord has been building to the launch of its developer platform for sometime, even acquiring cloud startup Ubiquity6 with that specific intention: “This has been a multi-year project going back two, almost three years. From a very early point, we were committed and believed in the vision that we would have games embedded into discord that people could play before the game, after the game, during the game, so to speak.”

Earlier this year, Discord announced its intention to refocus on gaming and related hobbies, with CEO Jason Citron saying the company would “narrow our focus from broadly being a community-centric chat app to being a place that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests.” Now the games and shared interests will have a direct pipeline to Discord’s communities.

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What Discord brings to users and developers

Shanken noted that Discord offers something that most other platforms don’t: The gamers themselves. Discord has largely catered to and been focused on gaming communities. “Discord is where all the gamers are. It’s built by gamers, for gamers, it’s where we have 200 million monthly active users, and 90% of them play games every week. So if I’m a developer, and I’m building a game right now, and I’m already using Discord, I’m thinking, ‘This is where we already are, where the gamers already are.’ That’s the core value proposition.”

Shanken also added that Discord offers a direct way for developers to communicate with gamers. “Something we’re seeing happen more and more is that developers want to talk to their users. They can come up with new concepts. They can play, bounce ideas off of them and get unique feedback.”

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He also noted that Discord’s communities were all interconnected. “The typical way that games grow virally is by getting people to share links with their friends, to invite all your friends to a game. Discord is unique in that there’s this like web of people that are connected together from group to group to group to group. When I’m playing, say, Farm Merge Valley, and my friends see that I play it, that presence will sort of broadcast across the system, causing these games to just sort of hop around. That doesn’t really exist in any form outside of Discord.”

Joshua Lu, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz on its a16z games team, also spoke with GamesBeat on what Discord offers to game developers they might not find elsewhere. “One thing that has been an ongoing challenge for the last few years in games is distribution. There are only a few distribution channels. They are more and more saturated all of the time, with thousands of games that launch every single year. It’s very hard for players to find games that they’d love to play or their friends would love to play.”

Lu added that Discord offers both discoverability amongst a large social platform, and developers can build upon their existing network on the platform when distributing the game. “Discord is the intersection of a platform that allows social communication, social interactivity, with a community that’s really excited to play games together. That, I think, is the big opportunity.”


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$1m prize for AI that can solve puzzles that are simple for humans

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$1m prize for AI that can solve puzzles that are simple for humans
New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Can you solve this puzzle?

Mike Knoop

A set of puzzles that will challenge even today’s most sophisticated artificial intelligence models, while being relatively easy for people, aims to encourage AI developers to create new techniques. Any AI that solves the puzzles will net its creators a share of a $1 million prize fund.

Companies like OpenAI already claim that their AI models, like GPT-4, exhibit “human-level performance” on real-world tests, such as university admission exams or the bar exam for lawyers. But this isn’t because the models are reasoning intelligently like humans, says Mike Knoop at…

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Cisco UCS Blade Server – What you need to know

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Cisco UCS Blade Server - What you need to know



A Brief Demonstration of how the Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Series hardware works including Servers, Hard Drives, Memory, Power Supplies, IO Modules and Fans.

Simple, Easy and Efficient!

The Cisco UCS 5100 Series Blade Server Chassis is a crucial building block of the Cisco Unified Computing System, delivering a scalable and flexible architecture for current and future data center needs, while helping reduce total cost of ownership.

Cisco’s first blade-server chassis offering, the Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Server Chassis, is six rack units (6RU) high, can mount in an industry-standard 19-inch rack, and uses standard front-to-back cooling. A chassis can accommodate up to eight half-width, or four full-width Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers form factors within the same chassis.

The Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Server Chassis revolutionizes the use and deployment of blade-based systems. By incorporating unified fabric and fabric-extender technology, the Cisco Unified Computing System enables the chassis to:
•Have fewer physical components
•Require no independent management
•Be more energy efficient than traditional blade-server chassis

This simplicity eliminates the need for dedicated chassis management and blade switches, reduces cabling, and allowing scalability to 40 chassis without adding complexity. The Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Server Chassis is a critical component in delivering the simplicity and IT responsiveness for the data center as part of the Cisco Unified Computing System. .

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A virus infected more than 11 million Android devices. Here’s what we know

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A virus infected more than 11 million Android devices. Here's what we know

According to statistics, it’s expected that people will download 143 billion apps in 2026 alone. That’s a lot of people and a phones, so it’s no surprise that bad actors have pinpointed the Play Store as an ideal distribution center. According to security researchers at Kaspersky SecureList, the infamous Necro malware has been found in Android, with more than an estimated 11 million devices infected.

The estimated download count comes from the researchers taking a look at the different infected apps. There are several that are confirmed infected, including Wuta Camera and Max Browser. There are also WhatsApp mods from unofficial sources that carry the malware, as well as a Spotify mod called “Spotify Plus” — yes, like the premium service. The report also touches on a number of infected mods for games like Minecraft and Melon Sandbox.

According to the report, the malware was part of Wuta Camera from version 6.4.2.148 until its discovery and removal in version 6.4.7.138. Max Browser has since been removed from the app store, but it had been downloaded and installed more than a million times and contained the Necro loader from version 1.2.0 forward.

Security shield on Android phone.
Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay

The Necro malware is designed to generate revenue for the attacker by running processes in the background of your phone. You might notice a performance hit, but the malware is built to go undetected. In short, it opens and clicks advertisements to create ad revenue, but it does so through invisible windows.

In an interview with Fox, Google stated that all known infected apps had been removed already, and that most users should have been protected by Google Play Protect, the default antivirus on most Android devices.

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If you’re concerned that your device might have caught the Necro malware or another nasty bit of software, use a reliable antivirus scanner. There are multiple different antivirus programs available for Android devices, and we have a handy guide on how to remove malware and viruses from an Android phone.






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HP Rack Server AMC Vendor India | HPE ProLiant Server AMC Cost/Price

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HP Rack Server AMC Vendor India | HPE ProLiant Server AMC Cost/Price



TieDot Technologies offers comprehensive maintenance (AMC) Annual maintenance contract for HPE Rack Server HPE ProLiant DL580, DL560, DL388, DL385 DL380, DL360, DL325, DL180, DL160, DL120, DL20 Gen9/10 Servers in India – Bangalore for AMC Cost and AMC Price Call: +91-9035020041

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Only 5,000 people are using the Rabbit R1

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In an interview with FAST COMPANY, Lyu admitted that the Rabbit R1 launched prematurely in 2024. It failed to meet the high expectations for this piece of AI hardware. Despite the initial backlash, the device got 16 OTA updates in an effort to fix bugs and improve functionality. As of now, around 5,000 people use the Rabbit R1 daily, but this is a far cry from the 100,000 pre-ordered units. Early adopters have expressed disappointment as the device has struggled to deliver on its promises.

The AI hardware landscape

The Rabbit R1 is part of a larger conversation surrounding the emerging and uncertain field of AI hardware. It is still in its experimental phase, much like the early days of mobile phones. While the device features some good hardware, the real challenge lies in delivering a compelling, everyday use case for consumers. Lyu and industrial designer Robert Brunner both acknowledge that complexity but see it as essential to advancing technology.

Why did the Rabbit R1 user base shrink?

Despite the hype and a promising start, with over 100,000 pre-orders and $20 million in revenue, the Rabbit R1 has seen its user base shrink significantly. The device failed to meet the high expectations it set, largely because of several critical flaws.

Software bugs, short battery life, and limited functionality tanked performance on this device. Tech expert Mishaal Rahman discovered that theRabbit R1’s interface is essentially a single Android app, which led many to question why dedicated hardware was necessary at all.

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The device currently supports only four apps—Spotify, MidJourney, DoorDash, and Uber— most of which you can manage with your phone. This redundancy, especially for a $200 product, makes the device’s value questionable. Rahman even installed the Rabbit R1’s software on a Google Pixel.

Some of the key features that Rabbit promised during the launch (like the “Teach mode” that would allow users to create their own agents) have yet to materialize. Lyu’s vision of a personalized computing experience where the Rabbit R1 would be the “simplest computer you don’t need to learn how to use” is far from a reality right now.

The future of the Rabbit R1

While Lyu has announced plans for updates, including a “Teach mode” and other features, the fate of Rabbit’s fledgling device remains unclear. Without some strides, the Rabbit R1 might be relegated to the growing category of hit-and-miss AI gadgets, just like the Humane AI Pin.

Lyu, however, views these initial missteps as a necessary part of the product’s evolution. He believes that launching early and learning from user feedback is crucial for startups in the fast-paced AI hardware industry. Despite the setbacks, he remains optimistic about the Rabbit R1’s future.

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YouTube blocks songs from artists including Adele and Green Day amid licensing negotiations

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YouTube blocks songs from artists including Adele and Green Day amid licensing negotiations

Songs from popular artists have begun to disappear from YouTube as the platform’s deal with the performing rights organization SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers) approaches its expiration date. As reported by Variety, certain songs by Adele, Green Day, Bob Dylan, R.E.M., Burna Boy and other artists have been blocked in the US, though their entire catalogs aren’t necessarily affected. Videos that have been pulled, like Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” now just show a black screen with the message: “This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country.”

A black screen with the message: Video unavailable. This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country

In a statement to Engadget, a YouTube spokesperson said the platform has been in talks with SESAC to renew the deal, but “despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an equitable agreement before its expiration. We take copyright very seriously and as a result, content represented by SESAC is no longer available on YouTube in the US. We are in active conversations with SESAC and are hoping to reach a new deal as soon as possible.” According to a source that spoke to Variety, however, the deal hasn’t even expired yet — it’ll reportedly terminate sometime next week — and the move on YouTube’s part may be a negotiation tactic. SESAC has not yet released a statement.

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