Author: Mobile Syrup

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Mobile Syrup

Stable Diffusion creators release StableLM language model for text and code generation

StabilityAI, the research group behind the Stable Diffusion AI image generator, is releasing the first of its StableLM suite of Language Models.

The new open-source language model is called StableLM, and it is available for developers on GitHub. “Developers can freely inspect, use, and adapt our StableLM base models for commercial or research purposes, subject to the terms of the CC BY-SA-4.0 license,” wrote StabilityAI in a blog post.

StableLM works similarly to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and is trained to generate text and code. It is trained on a larger version of the open-source dataset known as the Pile. “The richness of this dataset gives StableLM surprisingly high performance in conversational and coding tasks, despite its small size of 3 to 7 billion parameters (by comparison, GPT-3 has 175 billion parameters),” wrote StabilityAI.

In addition to StableLM, StabilityAI is also releasing research models “that are instruction fine-tuned,” and use a combination of five recent open-source datasets for conversational agents: Alpaca, GPT4All, Dolly, ShareGPT, and HH.

Check out some examples of StableLM’s capabilities below:

A demo version of StableLM is available to try out now on HuggingFace. Learn more about the new model here.

Image credit: StabilityAI, Shutterstock

Source: StabilityAI

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Mobile Syrup

Elon Musk personally pays for some Twitter Blue verification badges

Earlier today, Thursday, April 20th, Twitter went ahead with what it had been planning for a while. It got rid of almost all legacy verified checkmarks.

I say “almost all” because some notable accounts that were originally legacy verified still have the Blue checkmark on their accounts with the prompt “This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number.” The interesting thing, however, is that some of these accounts haven’t paid for Twitter Blue.

First spotted by The Verge, one such celebrity is LeBron James, who has been a vocal critic of Twitter’s paid verification system, insisting that he will not pay the Twitter Blue fee. In a statement given to The Verge, James’ media advisor confirmed that the NBA star had not paid the monthly fee for Twitter Blue.

It was later revealed that Twitter CEO Elon Musk himself is “paying for a few [accounts] personally.”

Other notable celebrities in the same boat as LeBron include author Stephen King and rapper Ice T. Both of them have been vocal about not paying a monthly fee to be verified on Twitter, and yet, they retain their badge. “My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t. My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t,” wrote Stephen King, while Ice T wrote “The fact that we’re even discussing Blue Check marks is a Sad moment in society. Smh lol.”

It is currently unknown how many other celebrities have received a free verification badge courtesy of Elon Musk, though it is certain those vocal about not paying for Twitter Blue, and yet receiving the Blue badge would speak out soon.

Source: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Seagate fined $300 million for selling hard drives to Huawei

The U.S. Department of Commerce has fined the American data storage company Seagate a hefty $300 million USD (about $404 million CAD). The agency claims that Seagate sold over seven million hard drives to Huawei between August 2020 and September 2020.

“Even after Huawei was placed on the Entity List for conduct inimical to our national security, and its competitors had stopped selling to them due to our foreign direct product rule, Seagate continued sending hard disk drives to Huawei,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod.

The Commerce Department blacklisted Huawei in early August 2020, meaning that Seagate was selling its hard drives to the Chinese company after tech export restrictions were already in place.

Over the two months that the hard drives were being sold, Seagate reportedly made around $150 million in profits.

Seagate has reached a settlement with the Commerce Department, agreeing to pay the fine in instalments of $15 million per quarter over five years. In a statement, Seagate CEO Dave Mosley acknowledges its settlement with the American agency, “we believe entering this agreement with BIS and resolving this matter is in the best interest of Seagate, our customers and our shareholders.”

The ongoing technological cold war between America and China rages on. Aside from Huawei, the Commerce Department lists dozens of other Chinese tech companies on its Entity List.

American companies remain blocked from exporting products and from doing business with Huawei.

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce Via: Gizmodo,

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Mobile Syrup

Report finds Canadian Tire stores violated privacy laws with facial recognition technology

Several Canadian Tire stores that used facial recognition technology have been found to have violated privacy laws.

As reported by The Globe and Mail, British Columbia’s privacy commissioner, Michael McEvoy, published a report revealing that the stores that used facial recognition technology did not adequately notify their customers or obtain consent to collect their personal information.

Further, according to the report, even if the stores using facial recognition technology obtained customer consent, they would still need to provide a valid reason for collecting the information. The report found no reasonable reasons.

A total of 12 Canadian Tire stores used the technology for about three years, quoting precautionary measures against theft and safety. The systems were subsequently removed when Canadian Tire learned that the privacy commissioner was investigating four of its stores using the technology.

The report also revealed that the systems collected sensitive biometric information between 2018 and 2021, and that the stores would have needed to make a compelling case to justify the collection of such information. Further, the commissioner recommended that the stores develop and maintain a robust privacy management plan, while the British Columbia government should change the laws that regulate the sale of biometric technology and create additional obligations for organizations that use it.

He emphasized that retailers must carefully consider the privacy rights of their customers before implementing new technologies that gather sensitive personal information.

Source: The Globe and Mail

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Mobile Syrup

New Diablo IV beta hits consoles and PC on May 12

Blizzard is launching what it’s calling a ‘Server Slam‘ before the launch of Diablo IV on June 6th. It will take place from May 12th (at 12pm PT/3pm ET) to May 14th, allowing everyone to play the title, including users on PC, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4. You can even play couch co-op, cross-play and cross-progression on all platforms.

The Server Slam will let players try out Diablo IV one final time before it launches. The Prologue and all of Act 1 will be available, and you can play as all five classes: Diablo, Druid, Necromancer, Rogue and Sorcerer.

The Server Slam also has a few added nuances worth mentioning, like players now being able to level up their character to level 20 but being unable to gain Ability Points afterward, and that the Legendary item drop rate has been altered. You can learn more about other nuances and about the Server Slam here.

Early download for the Server Slam starts on May 10th (at 12pm PT/3pm ET). Console players can head to their perspective online stores and download the Diablo IV-Server Slam from there. PC players can grab it from the Battle.net Client.

You can check out our impressions of Diablo IV’s first beta here.

Source: Blizzard

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Mobile Syrup

DeepMind and Google’s Brain team to merge as Google DeepMind

The artificial intelligence company DeepMind is joining Google’s Brain team to merge as one company, Google DeepMind. According to Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the combined groups will “significantly accelerate our progress in AI.”

The CEO of Google DeepMind will be Demis Hassabis, the CEO of DeepMind. Pichai will be in charge of developing the company’s AI systems. Jeff Dean, Google’s former senior vice president of Google Research and Health, will take the role of the company’s chief scientist.

Google DeepMind’s plans are clear from the start, with ambitions to do some big things in the AI space. “We have a real opportunity to deliver AI research and products that dramatically improve the lives of billions of people, transform industries, advance science, and serve diverse communities,” said Hassabis in a memo to employees.

The collaboration comes after a history of disputes between the two companies. In 2021, DeepMind reportedly lost its bid to gain more independence from Google after it began to push DeepMind towards commercializing its work.

In March 2023, Google launched early access to its AI chatbox, Bard. So far, the reception has been poor, especially among current and former Google employees who have recently been found to be pleading with the company not to release the service officially.

It’s safe to say that with Google taking big steps towards developing a presence in AI, it will need to put its past differences aside and use all the help it can get.

Image credit: Deepmind

Source: Google Via: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Google pushes out Android 13 QPR3 Beta 3 to Pixel phones

For supported Google phones enrolled in the Android Beta for Pixel program, the third beta for the QPR3 release is now available.

The update is being distributed over-the-air, and is available for the Pixel 4a (5G), 5, 5a, 6, 6 Pro, 6a, 7, and 7 Pro.

The change log for this beta release is focuses on squashing bugs. Issues with Wi-Fi calling and system UI crashes are among the fixes.

The new build also highlights a known issue that is is still being worked on. According to Google, “the list of Recent apps sometimes becomes unresponsive if the screen orientation is changed while the list is open.”

These “quarterly platform releases” arrive four times a year, and are marketed on Pixel phones as “feature drops.”

The stable version of QPR3 is expected to arrive in June. It will be the final quarterly platform release for Android 13. The next major version of Google’s mobile operating system, Android 14, is also in beta testing right now.

System images for QPR3 are also available from Google on its developer website.

Source: 9to5Google Via: Google

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Mobile Syrup

Razer Viper Mini Signature Edition firmware update delivers 8,000Hz polling rate

Razer has announced a firmware update for its Razer Viper Mini Signature Edition, a high-end wireless gaming mouse with a magnesium alloy exoskeleton weighing only 49g.

The update enables the mouse to achieve true 8,000Hz wireless polling rates, which means it can communicate with the PC every 0.125 milliseconds, resulting in unparalleled accuracy and responsiveness.

It’s worth noting that the industry standard for gaming mice polling rate is 1,000Hz, which means the Viper Mini Signature Edition can achieve a polling rate eight times higher than the industry standard.

The mouse already boasts Razer’s Focus Pro 30K optical sensor, which according to the company, provides 99.8 percent resolution accuracy, and optical mouse switches that can withstand up to 90 million clicks. With the addition of 8,000Hz polling rate, the Viper Mini Signature Edition easily retains the top position in the gaming mouse market.

The firmware update is available for download here and will be effective starting Monday, April 24th, 2023, after which users will be able to adjust the Viper Mini Signature Edition’s polling rate between 125Hz and 8,000Hz.

Learn more about the Razer Viper Mini Signature Edition here.

Image credit: Razer

Source: Razer

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Mobile Syrup

Twitter starts removing legacy verified checkmarks

Elon Musk and Twitter have been adamant about removing legacy verified checkmarks from users’ profiles. The social media platform’s CEO first intended to initiate the removal of legacy checkmarks on April 1st, but that never happened.

This time around, however, Twitter’s official account shared that starting 4/20, only those who sign up for Twitter Blue would retain their Blue checkmark, and the social media company wasn’t kidding.

We can confirm that legacy verified checkmarks have been removed from user profiles. For reference, MobileSyrup‘s legacy checkmark has been pulled.

The company’s former leadership had assigned verified blue check marks to accounts as a means of distinguishing accounts of noteworthy individuals and public organizations. Now, however, anyone can get a Blue checkmark on their Twitter profile by paying $10/month or $105/year.

During the checkmark removal process today, certain users, including MobileSyrup staff, experienced perplexing glitches where their blue check marks vanished, reappeared, and disappeared again.

This comes soon after Twitter Blue expanded worldwide.

Image credit: Shutterstock

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Mobile Syrup

Dead Island 2 costs almost $10 more digitally than other games in Canada for some reason

The official sequel to 2011’s zombie-slaying action RPG, Dead Island, is set to release on April 21, 2023. Interestingly, those looking to explore the undead-infested world of Dead Island 2 might need to fork over a little bit cash more, depending on where and how they play.

There’s been some confusion over just how much the title will cost at launch as the game’s release date gets closer. It seems the pricing for the base version of the game varies depending on the console, as well as if users purchase a physical copy or prefer to own it digitally.

Modern video games are no stranger to increases in price, including when Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom briefly appeared for $89.99 on the Canadian Nintendo eShop.

Currently, Dead Island 2’s price ranges anywhere from $79.99 to $98.99, depending on the marketplace. Below is a list of prices from some of the popular retailers:

  • Epic Games Store — $79.99
  • Xbox Microsoft Store (digital) — $98.99
  • Sony PlayStation Store (digital) — $93.49
  • GameStop Pulp Edition (includes bonus pre-order content, physical) — $89.99

Dead Island 2 also offers two separate editions of the game at launch, a ‘Day One Edition’ and a ‘Hell-A Edition.’

Day One Edition includes the base game along with one pre-order exclusive, the ‘Memories of Banoi Pack.” The Hell-A Edition includes the base game along with a whole slew of in-game and physical perks, such as an exclusive SteelBook, an expansion pass, tarot cards, pins, badges and a golden weapons pack among more.

Both of these editions are unavailable in Canada for launch, but the physical copies retail for $94.25 and $134.65 respectively, when adjusted from USD.

Confusing? Maybe a little bit, but so is fighting off hoards of brain-eating, flesh-devouring zombies.

Dead Island 2 releases in Canada on April 21st, 2023.

Thanks, Mark

Image credit: Deep Silver

Source: Dead Island, GameStop, Walmart, Epic Games