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Italy's Undercover Pizza Detectives

As pizza's popularity spreads around the world, a group of top-secret agents are travelling the globe on espionage missions to determine what "real" pizza is. On a sweltering day bleached by the fearsome southern Italian sun, a group of international travellers have gathered a stone's throw from Naples' San Gennaro catacombs, named for the city's patron saint. But these visitors aren't here to venerate the ancient martyr; they've come in service of something equally important to the city's ide

Leonardo Chiariglione: “I closed MPEG on 2 June 2020”

I needed an organisation that would create digital media standards for consumers to seamlessly communicate and industry operate in a global market of interoperable products, services and applications. I conceived that organisation in 1987, established it in 1988I, and called Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). In four years, MPEG had ushered in the digital media age with MPEG-1, a standard for interactive media used in Video CD, digital audio broadcasting (MP2), and personal music (MP3). Starti

"I closed MPEG on 2 Jun '20 when I left because obscure forces had hijacked it."

I needed an organisation that would create digital media standards for consumers to seamlessly communicate and industry operate in a global market of interoperable products, services and applications. I conceived that organisation in 1987, established it in 1988I, and called Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). In four years, MPEG had ushered in the digital media age with MPEG-1, a standard for interactive media used in Video CD, digital audio broadcasting (MP2), and personal music (MP3). Starti

Clay confirms it closed $100M round at $3.1B valuation

In Brief Sales automation startup Clay has raised a $100 million Series C at a $3.1 billion valuation in a round led by CapitalG, confirming TechCrunch’s report from June. The financing follows a $1.25 billion Series B round from six months ago and a $1.5 billion Sequoia-led tender offer announced a couple of months ago, which allowed most employees to sell some of their shares. The latest deal brings Clay’s total funding to $204 million. Existing investors Meritech Capital, Sequoia Capital,

Why Professionals Say You Should Think Twice Before Using AI as a Therapist

Amid the many AI chatbots and avatars at your disposal these days, you'll find all kinds of characters to talk to: fortune tellers, style advisers, even your favorite fictional characters. But you'll also likely find characters purporting to be therapists, psychologists or just bots willing to listen to your woes. There's no shortage of generative AI bots claiming to help with your mental health, but go that route at your own risk. Large language models trained on a wide range of data can be un

The Age of Bronze and Steel

The age of bronze and steel Here's a story I heard last night about 3D printing. (I'm not in the 3D-printing scene. I know people who are, though. And it's an interesting story, what the hell. If I can blog about dirty sea shanties, I can blog about the additive manufacturing industry.) A couple of months ago I retwooted this message about the end of a particular 3D-printed-metal process: Binder jetted steel with bronze infiltration is no more: the last source has discontinued the technology

GNOME's new AI assistant can even run Linux commands for you - here's how

Pakpoom Makpan/Getty ZDNET's key takeaways Newelle is an AI assistant for the GNOME desktop. It's capable of standard chats and even running commands. However, Newelle does require Flatseal to run commands on Linux. There's a new AI assistant available for the GNOME desktop, and it just reached version 1.0 status. That new AI assistant is called Newelle, and it's already proven to be a worthy contender for your desktop. Newelle isn't just another large language model manager, but a full-bl

Former X CEO Linda Yaccarino takes helm at digital health company eMed

Linda Yaccarino, the former chief executive of Elon Musk's social media platform X, is pivoting into health care. The digital health company eMed Population Health on Tuesday announced it has appointed Yaccarino as its new CEO. EMed is developing a population health management platform for the blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs called GLP-1s, the company said. It had raised a total $22 million as of 2022, according to PitchBook. Yaccarino, who rose rose to the top of NBCUniversal's glo

Illinois is the first state to ban AI therapists

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed a bill into law banning AI therapy in the state. This makes Illinois the first state to regulate the use of AI in mental health services. The law highlights that only licensed professionals are allowed to offer counseling services in the state and forbids AI chatbots or tools from acting as a stand-alone therapist. HB 1806, titled the Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act, also specifies that licensed therapists cannot use AI to make “th

Motorola, Swarovski Debut a New Razr Phone Adorned with Crystals

After teasing a new Motorola and Swarovski collaboration a few weeks ago, the companies on Tuesday are debuting new editions of the Razr phone and the Moto Buds Loop that are adorned with crystals. The phone and the earbuds are being sold in a $1,000 bundle called The Brilliant Collection, which features both devices in their new Pantone Ice Melt models. Motorola says that this edition of the Razr will have a leather-inspired finish that includes 35 Swarovski crystals, including one larger crys

Researchers Press Pause on AI Therapy Bot After Reports of AI Psychosis in Similar Products

A vitiligo research group has "hit pause" on its forthcoming AI therapy bot after learning about negative mental health effects that other chatbots have been having on users. The Vitiligo Research Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness and helping sufferers of the pigment-loss skin condition, cited recent news stories about so-called "AI psychosis" — the unofficial group of symptoms, including paranoid delusions, that AI seems to induce in certain users — as its rationale for pa

Motorola Razr 2025 gets a Swarovski treatment but without the sticker shock

Motorola TL;DR Motorola has announced a new special edition of the Razr 50 studded with Swarovski crystals. The crystal-laden flip phone is paired with a new color of the Moto Buds Loop earbuds, also studded with Swarovskis. The “Brilliant Collection” will be available in the US later this week for $999.99. Motorola is no stranger to the glitz of the fashion world. From its partnership with Paris Hilton for a hot pink edition of the Motorola Razr 2024 to the classic gold-plated Moto Razr V3i

After a Deluge of Mental Health Concerns, ChatGPT Will Now Nudge Users to Take ‘Breaks’

It’s become increasingly common for OpenAI’s ChatGPT to be accused of contributing to users’ mental health problems. As the company readies the release of its latest algorithm (GPT-5), it wants everyone to know that it’s instituting new guardrails on the chatbot to prevent users from losing their minds while chatting. On Monday, OpenAI announced in a blog post that it had introduced a new feature in ChatGPT that encourages users to take occasional breaks while conversing with the app. “Starting

ChatGPT can no longer tell you to break up with your boyfriend

Elyse Betters Picaro/ZDNET ZDNET's key takeaways OpenAI adds reminders to take a break. ChatGPT will also have improved functions for mental health support. The company is working with experts, including physicians and researchers. As OpenAI prepares to drop one of the biggest ChatGPT launches of the year, the company is also taking steps to make the chatbot safer and more reliable with its latest update. Also: Could Apple create an AI search engine to rival Gemini and ChatGPT? Here's how

OpenAI Admits ChatGPT Missed Signs of Delusions in Users Struggling With Mental Health

After over a month of providing the same copy-pasted response amid mounting reports of "AI psychosis", OpenAI has finally admitted that ChatGPT has been failing to recognize clear signs of its users struggling with their mental health, including suffering delusions. "We don't always get it right," the AI maker wrote in a new blog post, under a section titled "On healthy use." "There have been instances where our 4o model fell short in recognizing signs of delusion or emotional dependency," it

A webcam that’s almost like a real camera

is a news editor covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 92, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, I’ve kept my phone case on all week, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) I also have for you: a new Elgato webcam, LG’s next

Best Stores for Buying MP3 and Digital Music You Can Keep Forever

CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review products and services. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. With streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, accessing your favorite albums and songs is affordable and easy. But there's a few drawbacks: the rights holders can remove your favorite tracks at any moment, plus it doesn't help to finance anyone but the labels and the really big artists. However, there are a number of ways

Bronze Age Humans Got High on Psychoactive Betel Nuts

Long before Ethiopian monks in the 9th century discovered that coffee tree fruit helped them stay awake during evening prayer (according to legend, anyway), communities in Southeast Asia have been chewing betel nuts—the seeds of the areca palm and a stimulant that heightens people’s alertness, energy, euphoria, and relaxation—since antiquity. But new research indicates that betel nut chewing has been practiced for even longer. By studying ancient dental plaque from Bronze Age individuals in Tha

When Flatpak's Sandbox Cracks

Introduction Flatpak promises a secure runtime for Linux applications through container-like isolation, relying on bubblewrap namespaces, syscall filtering, and portal interfaces. In theory, each app should operate inside a strong sandbox, disconnected from the host system. But in reality, experience shows gaps, tiny cracks through which apps may escape with serious consequences. The Sandbox Promise… and the Reality Flatpak applications begin life in a highly-restricted environment: no networ

OpenAI reportedly raises $8.3B at $300B valuation

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has raised $8.3 billion at a $300 billion valuation, reports The New York Times. The deal is part of OpenAI’s broader strategy to secure $40 billion this year. The oversubscribed round came months ahead of schedule, per the NYT. OpenAI initially raised $2.5 billion from VC firms in March when it announced its intention to raise $40 billion in a round spearheaded by Softbank. The AI giant had planned to take on an additional $7.5 billion by the end of the year, but beat itse

Ferrari Status

Is Ferrari a car company? The obvious answer is yes, but not according to its CEO, Benedetto Vigna, who recently described the company’s business model saying, “We are not – we are not – a car company. We are a luxury company that is also doing cars.” That’s their differentiator. Their brand. Their “schtick.” And, it works, but not because it’s a marketing ploy. It works because Ferrari backs it up with its actions. How so? By adhering to its founder Enzo Ferrari’s “scarcity dictum” that de

How founders are ditching VC norms and finding capital on their own terms at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, happening October 27–29 at Moscone West in San Francisco, a candid conversation is coming to the Builder Stage — one that unpacks what startup funding looks like beyond the venture capital echo chamber. Funding routes that don’t start in the Valley Founders today have more capital paths than ever. But how do you navigate them — and know which one actually supports your growth? In this session, hear from Erik Allebest, the CEO and co-founder of chess.com; Gale Wilkin

Meta, Microsoft roar higher on strong earnings as AI spending booms

Shares of Meta soared 12% and Microsoft popped 5% on Thursday, after the companies reported better-than-expected earnings that beat on top and bottom lines. Microsoft topped the $4 trillion market cap benchmark with the move, joining Nvidia in the club. Both Meta and Microsoft have been investing heavily in artificial intelligence infrastructure in recent years, and the companies said they expect to continue to shell out billions in capital expenditures. Meta said capital expenditures will ra

150 years of Hans Christian Andersen

There once was an ugly duckling, so despised by the other birds that he fled the farm to explore the wider world. But because of his very great ugliness he was taunted there too, until one day he caught his image reflected in a pond and he had turned into a beautiful swan. The Ugly Duckling, first published in 1843, was one of Hans Christian Andersen’s many autobiographical fairy tales: “It matters nothing if one is born in a duck-yard,” he wrote, “if one has lain in a swan’s egg.” Andersen’s s

Lyon Is Replacing Windows and Microsoft Office with Linux and OnlyOffice

Jumping Rocks/Contributor/Getty Is it something in the water? First, it was Denmark bidding Microsoft adieu. Then it was the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Now it's Lyon, France's third-largest city and a leading economic hub, sweeping Microsoft Windows and Office suite away to replace them with Linux, OnlyOffice, NextCloud, and PostgreSQL. Also: Ready to ditch Windows? 'End of 10' makes converting your PC to Linux easier than ever So, why is Lyon making this move? Well, it's not due to

ReproZip – reproducible experiments from command-line executions

ReproZip ReproZip is a tool aimed at simplifying the process of creating reproducible experiments from command-line executions, a frequently-used common denominator in computational science. It tracks operating system calls and creates a package that contains all the binaries, files and dependencies required to run a given command on the author's computational environment (packing step). A reviewer can then extract the experiment in his environment to reproduce the results (unpacking step). Q

Peacock feathers can emit laser beams

Peacock feathers are greatly admired for their bright iridescent colors, but it turns out they can also emit laser light when dyed multiple times, according to a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports. Per the authors, it's the first example of a biolaser cavity within the animal kingdom. As previously reported, the bright iridescent colors in things like peacock feathers and butterfly wings don't come from any pigment molecules but from how they are structured. The scales of chitin

TernX Review (2025): Travel With Young Kids Just Got Easier

I procrastinated flying anywhere with my son until he was almost 3. There were so many things needed—a car seat! Stroller! In-flight entertainment! His own luggage! A crib when we landed!—that it felt like too much to coordinate. And who can blame me? It's just parenting in a new location, after all, rather than a vacation. Still, a trip we wanted to take finally presented itself. We booked a long weekend in San Francisco and the nearby wine country to see family and friends we haven't seen sin

It Doesn't Take Much Conversation for ChatGPT to Suck Users Into Bizarre Conspiratorial Rabbit Holes

Earlier this month, venture capitalist and OpenAI backer Geoff Lewis posted an alarming video on X-formerly-Twitter, prompting concerns among his peers. Lewis, the managing partner of the multibillion-dollar investment company Bedrock, spoke of an inscrutable "non-governmental system" that "inverts signal until the person carrying it looks unstable," which he had supposedly uncovered using ChatGPT. He went as far as to claim that this mysterious system was responsible for numerous deaths, in c