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Twitter to start charging developers for API access

Twitter will stop providing free access to the Twitter API on February 9 and instead will release a paid version as the mini-blogging platform owned by Elon Musk tries new ways to profit from the platform.

The Twitter Developer account announced in several tweets that the company will be discontinuing assistance for both the legacy v1.1 as well as the latest v2 Twitter APIs. It did not say how much it intends to begin charging for API usage right away.

The change comes after Twitter suddenly changed the conditions of its API over the past weeks, the API seems to have been used by many famous Twitter service users, including Tweetbot and Twitterrific. The majority of third-party Twitter applications have discontinued their mobile apps.

“Twitter data are among the world’s most powerful data sets. We’re committed to enabling fast & comprehensive access so you can continue to build with us,” the Twitter Dev account said Thursday. “Over the years, hundreds of millions of people have sent over a trillion Tweets, with billions more every week.”
Source: techcrunch.com

In light of recent modifications which saw Twitter shutter third-party customers, several other application developers became wary of how they progressed development atop the Twitter API. This new change may force some devs to give up their brands or pass the expense on to their consumers.

Also Read: Why major advertisers are leaving Twitter?

Large numbers of developers use the Twitter API for a variety of purposes, including monitoring Twitter accounts and providing alerts. These are enjoyable side projects for those who are unwilling to pay service charges for something which they are not monetizing.

Then there’s yet another type of Twitter API user, the researchers. Twitter’s latest revelation could have an influence on research in a wide range of sectors, such as hateful speech and online harassment.

Academic institutions frequently use Twitter to understand human behavior in various regions. Limiting free API usage could also deter companies from developing methods to detect the dissemination of false information on Twitter.

Ever since its founding, Twitter has had an odd relationship with developers. But, even though there was an inconvenience, both parties benefitted from the relationship.

Also Read: What Does Twitter 200 Million User Email Leak Actually Mean?

Third-party companies were frequently the ones releasing new services and features for Twitter, and the social media platform helped by not charging people for API usage.

Twitter has even aimed to improve relationships with developers in recent times by introducing new programs such as the Twitter toolkit for app discovery. Several of these initiatives have been halted under the new administration.

Suhani Jain

I am a student pursuing my bachelor’s in information technology. I have a interest in writing so, I am working a freelance content writer because I enjoy writing. I also write poetries. I believe in the quote by anne frank “paper has more patience than person

Why Apex Legends Mobile is shutting down?

For years, Need for Speed, FIFA, and Apex Legends have been produced by Electronic Arts and its affiliates for consoles, personal computers, and mobile devices. Since its release last year, the battle royale shooter Apex Legends Mobile has gained popularity.

In fact, it most recently took up the Google Play Store’s prize for the best overall game. However, the game has struggled to maintain its momentum in terms of user growth and popularity.

Apex Legends Mobile is sadly being discontinued by the corporation, and it hasn’t even been around for a year. For the following three months, gamers can still access the game and fight their final battles. Additionally, the company has decided to stop working on Battlefield Mobile, a move that suggests mobile FPS games aren’t as popular as they once were.

Also Read: The iPhone may get a microLED display. What does that mean?

Apex Legends Mobile was first released in May 2022 by Lightspeed & Quantum Studios, a Tencent company, and Respawn Entertainment, which is owned by EA. It was made more accessible by the game’s ability to play Apex on devices other than computers and gaming consoles. Just before its first anniversary, on May 1st of this year, Apex’s developers declared a suspension for the mobile edition in a recent post.

The official shutdown is scheduled to begin at 7 PM ET. According to The Verge, gamers will not be able to make any more in-app purchases after Tuesday at 4 PM ET. Unfortunately, the creators have no intention of issuing refunds for any already placed transactions. It is recommended that users use any remaining in-game currency and play the game as much as possible while it still exists.

Players enthusiastically embraced the release of Apex Legends Mobile, according to EA’s announcement. The future battle royale game had two mobile-only legends (characters) and frequent updates that enhanced the characters’ skills and introduced new game modes, but it was shut down due to the content stream falling short of quality standards.

Also Read: Why are so many tech companies laying people off right now?

The decision to shut down Apex Legends Mobile ultimately came down to money because the company’s finances were being negatively impacted by the rapid spike and decrease in player numbers. After a certain point, investing further in fresh Apex Legends Mobile content to draw and keep players became unfeasible for EA and its partners.

We can probably safely predict that the firm won’t start extensively promoting mobile shooters anytime soon. Therefore, before the doors permanently close, be sure to stay in touch with all of your Apex Mobile pals on other platforms in the upcoming three months.

The studio expresses its continued optimism for “mobile as a platform” in a blog post and states that it “looks forward to new opportunities to serve players there in the future.” Players can use their existing Syndicate Gold to play the game without any problems, but they won’t be able to perform any in-app purchases that cost real money.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

ChatGPT creator made a free tool for detecting AI-generated text

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Suhani Jain

The firm behind the renowned ChatGPT, OpenAI, has launched free software, that it claims can differentiate between text written by humans & text created by AIs. In a press statement, it warns that the classifier is not yet fully reliable.

So, we should not use it as a main decision-making tool. As per OpenAI, it can be useful in determining whether an individual is intending to pass off the obtained text as human-written text.

The tool which is known as a classifier is easy to use, but you require a free OpenAI account to begin using it. Simply insert text into a box, press a button, and it will show you if the content is very unlikely, unlikely, unclear if it is, possibly, or likely generated by AI.

Also Read: China’s Baidu to launch ChatGPT-style bot in March

In its press release, OpenAI says it trained the model powering the tool using “pairs of human-written text and AI-written text on the same topic.”
Source: theverge.com

However, It includes a variety of concerns regarding how to use the tool. The firm stated some drawbacks above the text box:

A requirement of a minimum of 1,000 characters, or roughly 150-250 words, is placed.

The classifier may not always be correct; it can classify both AI-generated as well as human-written text incorrectly.

AI-generated content can be easily edited to avoid detection by the classifier.

Since it was trained mainly on English text written by grownups, the classifier is susceptible to errors when reading text written by kids or text written in a language other than English.

The firm also claims that it will occasionally imprecisely but confidently Identify human-written content as AI, particularly if it deviates greatly from any of the training data. It emphasizes that the classifier is currently a work in progress.

Also Read: BuzzFeed will use ChatGPT bots instead of writers

OpenAI is not the first to create a tool that could detect ChatGPT-created text. Some websites such as GPTZero, created by a student named Edward Tian to identify AI plagiarism, appeared nearly quickly after the chatbot hit the internet.

One area where OpenAI is concentrating its efforts with this detection technology is education.

According to the press release, identifying AI-generated text has been a main concern among educators, as education systems have reacted to ChatGPT by prohibiting or embracing it. According to the firm, it is interacting with educators in the United States to learn what they perceive from ChatGPT in their schools and is asking for feedback from anybody associated with education.

Suhani Jain

Is Apple really coming out with a foldable iPad?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By Suhani Jain

As per Ming-Chi Kuo, a Supply chain analyst, Apple could launch a foldable iPad as soon as the next year. Kuo anticipates that it will be joined by a redesigned iPad Mini, which will go into large-scale production in the initial days of 2024.

Kuo didn’t reveal much new information about the rumoured iPad foldable, but he did say it will have a carbon fibre kickstand manufactured by Chinese component producer Anjie Technology.

“I’m positive about the foldable iPad in 2024 and expect this new model will boost shipments and improve the product mix,” he tweeted.
Source: theverge.com

A 2024 launch date is much sooner than the most notable foldable iPad estimation, made by Ross Young who is a Display Supply Chain Consultant analyst last February. He claimed that Apple is working on a foldable iPad/MacBook combination with an approximately 20-inch foldable display, however, it will not be released until 2026.

Afterwards, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman revealed that Apple is looking into a dual-screen foldable, with the bottom half of the screen serving as a virtual keyboard whenever the gadget is utilized as a MacBook-style carrying case.

Also Read: Is 2023 the year for Apple to launch its mixed-reality headset?

Gurman did not provide a specifically planned release estimation but did say in October that Apple’s folding iPad could arrive eventually a bit late in the decade.

This is not the first occasion where Kuo has placed a timeline on an Apple foldable prediction. About two years ago, he predicted a foldable iPhone would be available in 2023.

However, it appears that this gadget will be much smaller, with a display size of 7.5 to 8 inches. Gurman even claims that Apple has addressed the release of a foldable device having a display size roughly comparable to the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Considering the recent absence of rumours about a foldable iPhone, it’s difficult to envision it launching in 2023, as Kuo predicted previously.

Also Read: Why are so many tech companies laying people off right now?

Shortly, Kuo predicts a decline in iPad deliveries of between 10 per cent and 15 per cent year on year in 2023. Given the increase in sales appreciated by most customer technology firms amid the covid shutdowns, as well as the declines many have recently suffered, a drop in tablet deliveries this year would not be surprising.

Finally, Kuo predicts that Apple’s next iPad will be the iPad Mini. He anticipates that a new model will go into manufacturing in the first quarter of 2024, following its last refresh in 2021.

Suhani Jain

The iPhone may get a microLED display. What does that mean?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By Sandhya Gupta

According to a recent report, Apple plans to start producing its own internal mobile displays in 2024 in an effort to lessen its reliance on Samsung and LG. This move will purportedly bring the benefits of microLED, a screen technology that is even more powerful than the OLEDs already in use, in addition to cutting prices and providing the corporation greater leeway in how it designs its products.

Reputable leaker-analyst Mark Gurman claims in a piece for Bloomberg that the plan will initially have a bearing on the Apple Watch, whose premium Ultra edition will receive an in-house bespoke MicroLED with its 2024 update. The displays will eventually be added to the iPhone as well as other Apple Watch devices if there are no technological difficulties.

It’s important to keep in mind that the term “in-house” in the report has some nuances. The distinction would be that Apple will retain more design control; these displays will probably still be produced by an outside supplier.

Also Read: Tesla is getting cheaper. Is it a good move by Elon Musk?

Currently, Apple creates its iPhone and Apple Watch screens using current Samsung and LG technology and calibrates them to the company’s requirements. Now that the display itself will be created and designed by Apple, the company would have more influence over the final product.

Samsung presently manufactures microLED displays, however, they are only applied to their premium televisions. Within the next few years, MicroLED might overtake OLED as the standard display technology. It performs better than OLED in a variety of aspects, including. It is slimmer, making a low-profile and lightweight smartwatch possible.

With apparent advantages for battery life, it is nearly twice as power-efficient (more specifically, it is predicted to take half as much energy to achieve a comparable brightness). In the future, it will be possible to achieve numerous thousand pixels per inch with microLED, which is capable of providing a screen resolution that is many times higher.

Also Read: Is Google bringing its own ‘AirTags’?

In addition, it may produce images that are superior in practically every regard, including color, contrast, and brightness. The displays, according to Bloomberg, are already in testing and “make content appear like it’s painted on top of the glass.”

Additionally, it is less susceptible to display burn-in, which can be a problem with OLED panels. Without a certain, users won’t see any of these features on a 2-inch display, but engineers working on different Apple mobile products would regard them highly.

What we can actually anticipate for this year is that the iPhone 15 will reportedly maintain the 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch OLED panels that we’ve encountered on the iPhone 14 range and earlier devices.

The new iPhones should be a worthwhile investment for the majority of people in need of a phone upgrade because of additional upgrades like a periscope telephoto camera on the iPhone 15 Pro and the latest iPhone 15 Ultra model with a new titanium body and haptic, solid-state buttons.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Facebook Bug Allows 2FA Bypass Via Instagram

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Suhani Jain

A flaw in Meta’s latest centralized system for users to maintain their Facebook and Instagram account logins might have permitted cybercriminals to disable a user account’s two-factor authentication merely by knowing one‘s mobile number.

Gtm Mänôz who is a Nepalese security researcher discovered that Meta did not impose a limit on how many attempts whenever a user inputs the two-factor code utilized to log into one‘s accounts on the latest Meta Accounts Center, which allows users to connect all of their Meta accounts, which include Instagram and Facebook accounts.

A hacker would access the centralized accounts center, enter the victim’s mobile number, connect that phone number to their own Fb or Instagram account, and afterward using brute force can guess the two-factor authentication code. This was the most important step since there was no constraint to how many tries somebody could make.

Also Read: Why major advertisers are leaving Twitter?

When the attacker correctly entered the code, the victim’s phone number was connected to the hacker’s Facebook account. A successful attack still would lead to Meta sending a notification to the victim stating that their two-factor authentication had been disabled because their phone number had been linked to a different account.

“Basically the highest impact here was revoking anyone’s SMS-based 2FA just knowing the phone number,” Mänôz told TechCrunch.
Source: techcrunch.com

Provided that the target no longer had two-factor activated, a hacker might possibly attempt to obtain the victim’s Facebook account simply by spoofing the password.

Also Read: Will the metaverse be good for society?

Last year, Mänôz discovered the flaw in the Meta Accounts Center & revealed the issue to the firm in mid-September. A few days back, Meta resolved the bug and provided 27,200 USD to Mänôz for disclosing it.

“If the phone number was fully confirmed and 2FA enabled in Facebook, then the 2FA will be turned off or disabled from victim’s account,” Mänôz wrote. “And, if the phone number was partially confirmed (that means only used for 2FA), it will revoke the 2FA, and also the phone number will be removed from [the] victim’s account.”
Source: darkreading.com

According to Meta spokesperson Gabby Curtis, the login system was still in the early stages of a limited public test at the time of the flaw. Curtis also stated that once the bug was revealed, Meta carried out an investigation and discovered no indications of mistreatment in the wild, as well as no sudden increase in the utilization of that particular function, indicating that nobody was misusing it.

Suhani Jain

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