Meta open sources code to let you make Muse AI gadgets
Meta now lets you make your own Muse gadgets that feature the company's new AI agent with code that the company open sourced. The company suggests projects like loading Muse on a color E Ink display to show reminders, adding it to an HDMI stick so you can display Muse on a big screen, or putting Muse on a small touchscreen device to make what looks kind of like a DIY Muse Charm.
"Muse gadgets are open source devices you build yourself," Meta says. "Program an off-the-shelf ESP32 board or set up a Raspberry Pi with our SDKs, then connect Muse to your displays, buttons, sensors, actuators, and whatever else you've got lying on your workbench. …
Netflix is pivoting away from prestige
Many of Netflix's biggest critically acclaimed hits have been the products of its multiyear production deals with noted directors like David Fincher and Shawn Levy. In the past few weeks, though, the streamer has brought some of those partnerships to an end in a way that feels indicative of a larger strategic shift. With rival studios Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery on the verge of a megamerger that will reshape the entertainment landscape, Netflix is clearly thinking about how it can continue to hold its own in the ongoing streaming wars. But as the company charts its path forward, its plan to court subscribers might not put so much em …
Apple will limit Mac disk access as AI agents ‘substantially’ increase risk
Apple will add new limits for "full disk access" on Mac in response to risks posed by AI agents, as reported earlier by TechCrunch. In an update on Friday, Apple says it's rolling out new controls to "ensure that users who genuinely wish to grant an app this extraordinary level of access can only do so with very explicit user action."
The change comes just weeks after Inc's Jason Aten found that Meta's Muse AI somehow knew the contents of his messages, despite not giving the chatbot explicit permission to access them on his iPhone or Mac. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone pushed back on this report, saying access to Messages is "entirely opt-in. …
Sling TV drops its one-day cable passes
Dish-owned Sling TV will no longer be offering its Sling Pass feature that allowed people to buy a single day of cable TV programming at a time, as reported by The Desk.
The feature was announced last year and offered a day pass, a weekend pass, and a week-long pass option to be able to watch channels like ESPN and CNN without a full-month cable subscription. But soon after it launched, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery sued Sling TV over Sling Pass, though a federal judge ruled against Disney in its request for a preliminary injunction to block the feature.
"Sling was built to give our customers the ultimate control over their entertainme …
OpenAI’s Dot agent is enterprise software that can also order your dinner
It's a tale as old as last week: OpenAI's new agent platform, called Dots, is full of cute little guys who can do your bidding.
But unlike the ultra-approachable Meta Muse, Dots feel very much like using workplace software that happens to be able to order you a burrito - emphasis on work.
OpenAI announced Dots earlier this week. Like Muse, Dots have blobby, anthropomorphic avatars and customizable names. In the future, OpenAI says you'll be able to have multiple Dots, but right now you get one. I named mine Dotty McDotface.
The interface looks similar to Muse's; you chat with the agent in one window and follow its work in another as it …
Breaking up (with Elon Musk) is hard to do
In a throwback to MySpace-style internet drama, Shivon Zilis announced that she and the father of her four children, Elon Musk, had broken up on X.
To do so, she quote-tweeted a post from "Big Tech Alert," an account that, among other things, monitors what accounts are following and unfollowing each other. That post noted Musk was no longer following her on X. It was also sponsored by Kalshi, because everything in this relationship is totally fucking cursed, dude.
In her statement, Zilis wrote, "It's hard to go from in love to let go in a week with no warning, but that's just how it is sometimes."
"Uh, you know."
Zilis, in addition to h …
Rivian’s sales pop as the company’s big R2 bet starts to pay off
Rivian had high hopes for its more affordable R2 vehicle - and so far, those hopes appear to be paying off.
The company released its third-quarter production and delivery numbers today, reporting 19,751 vehicles produced and 19,248 delivered. That represents an 85 percent year-over-year increase in production and a 45 percent jump in deliveries. (For a direct-to-consumer automaker like Rivian, deliveries serve as a proxy for sales.) The company also reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance, expecting to deliver 65,000 to 70,000 vehicles.
Rivian's sales surge is a rare bright spot in a struggling industry. A year after President Trump and Re …
Beehiiv creators are buzzing about a new price increase
Beehiiv, a creator platform that has risen in popularity as an alternative to Substack, is increasing its prices - and many users aren't happy. In a post explaining the increase, Beehiiv cofounder and CEO Tyler Denk says it will allow the company to "continue investing in our core platform experience."
As part of the change, Beehiiv is changing the name of its midrange Scale plan to Lite, which has gone up by at least $10 per month depending on subscriber count. For someone with up to 10,000 subscribers, for example, Beehiiv will charge $139 / month instead of $109. Meanwhile, the Pro plan (formerly Max) will cost $239 / month for up to 10, …
Nacon’s new PS5 controller can mix audio from your phone and console
Nacon announced what the company is claiming is the world's first officially licensed PlayStation 5 controller with a built-in screen for adjusting settings like joystick sensitivity or remapping buttons right on the gamepad. The Revolution 5 Unlimited's screen can also be used to mix audio from multiple sources so while using a pair of headphones connected to the gamepad with a cable you can listen to music from your phone and sounds from the game you're playing at the same time.
The Revolution 5 Unlimited is available for preorder starting today for $229.99 through Nacon's online store and is expected to ship sometime later this year. Whi …
Dots get up in Muse’s business
OpenAI's answer to Muse arrived this week, and it looks a whole lot like Muse dressed up in a suit and tie. Dots is a business-first product - for now, at least - costing a minimum of $100 per month. And sure, you can make a cute little Dot character, just like you can make a cute little Muse character. But OpenAI's early marketing is all about how you can use it to do Business Things: launch websites, reschedule calls, build slide decks for board meetings. Muse, on the other hand, keeps reminding me to buy a jacket I looked at.
This week on The Vergecast, we're talking about Dots and the current state of agentic assistants. Our conversatio …