As part of iOS 18, Apple unveiled the biggest-ever redesign to the Photos app. With a single-pane interface, the new Photos app highlights collections and curation while being fully customizable to your liking. The rollout of the Photos app, however, proved to be polarizing. While Ive been a fan of it since it first debuted, Apple has made several tweaks in subsequent iOS 18 updates to address some of the most common complaints. It has also added several notable new features. iOS 18 betasWhen it first debuted at WWDC in June, the new Photos app design featured an ambitious Carousel interface. This view allowed users to swipe left and right to view highlights that updated each day and featured favorite people, pets, places, and more. However, Apple abandoned this Carousel view entirely with the release of iOS 18 beta 5 in August. This is Apples most significant structural change to the Photos app redesign. iOS 18.1iOS 18.1 was the first major update to iOS 18. it focused primarily on the rollout of Apple Intelligence features, including changes to the Photos app.Photos search lets you find photos and videos simply by describing what youre looking forClean Up removes distractions in your photosMemory movies can be created by describing the story you want to seeiOS 18.1 also included one bug fix for the Photos app: Fixes an issue where videos recorded at 4K 60 while the device is warm could experience stutter while scrubbing the video playback in PhotosiOS 18.2While iOS 18.1 focused on upgrading the Photos with Apple Intelligence, Apple used iOS 18.2 to refine the new design with several key changes. Video viewing improvements, including the ability to scrub frame-by-frame and a setting to turn off auto-looping video playbackImprovements when navigating Collections views, including the ability to swipe right to go back to the previous viewRecently Viewed and Recently Shared album history can be clearedFavorites album appears in the Utilities collection in addition to Pinned CollectionsIve found the ability to swipe to go back to be one of the most useful navigational changes introduced to the Photos app since iOS 18. It makes navigation significantly faster and easier. Wrap upAs I said at the start, Im a big fan of the new Photos app design. While such a dramatic redesign to one of your most-used iPhone apps can be jarring, I think Apple has struck a good balance of customization and curation. The number one tip I give people upset with the new Photos app is to take advantage of the customization options. Open the Photos appScroll all the way down and tap Customize & ReorderPick and choose the specific order of the various options and hide the onesThe new Photos app also includes one of the most useful Apple Intelligence features: Clean Up. Ive found Clean Up to be a powerful and easy way to remove distractions from my pictures, whether its an object or person that has ruined my shot. What do you think of the new Photos app design introduced in iOS 18? Has Apple addressed your concerns with subsequent software updates? Whats still on your list of things you hope to see fixed? Let us know in the comments!My favorite iPhone accessories: Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Next year is set to be big for the iPhone, with a compelling new iPhone SE 4 in the spring and the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air in the fall. But what about Apples flagship Pro models? Here are seven new features coming to the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in 2025.24MP front-facing cameraThe iPhones cameras get better every year, but often Apples big improvements focus on the rear cameras.With the full iPhone 17 line, though, Apple will upgrade the front camera from a 12MP sensor to a brand new 24MP sensor, which should bring big improvements. Its about time for the selfie camera to get closer in quality to the iPhones rear camera.A19 Pro chipApple will once again upgrade its new iPhones with a new and improved A-series chip. In 2025 that will be the A19 Pro chip.Apples very best silicon will be reserved exclusively for the 17 Pro and Pro Max. Though the new 17 Air model is expected to win over a lot of Pro users, it will feature the standard A19 chipjust like the base iPhone 17.12GB RAM, the most ever in an iPhoneThe advent of AI has made RAM in Apples devices increasingly important. iPhone 15 owners know this better than anyone, since RAM limitations made the device incompatible with Apple Intelligence.In 2025, Apple will give its 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max models 12GB of RAMthe most ever in an iPhone.This is a nice 50% improvement from the 16 Pros 8GB of RAM, which is what the standard iPhone 17 and 17 Air will be limited to still.Apples in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chipApple has for years been working on developing two of its own modems: one for 5G, and one for Wi-Fi. Now, both projects are nearing the light of day.The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are expected to use Apples new combo Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, and possibly the rest of the lineup too.Only the 17 Air, however, will get Apples in-house 5G modem, with the Pro models sticking with Qualcomms more advanced modem for another year.Larger rectangular camera bumpLike Apple did with this years 16 Pro models, the company is ready to double down on its Pro line as being especially optimized for camera use.The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will reportedly boast a larger rectangular camera bump. Presumably this will enable some new benefit.It sounds like the top portion of the Pro models may feature a full-width aluminum design. The bottom half, however, will retain its standard glass back for wireless charging.Redesigned frame with aluminumThis is an especially curious one: the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max are getting a redesigned frame, with aluminum replacing titanium.Apple just recently introduced titanium to the iPhones Pro models in 2023, so the shift to aluminum is interesting. Well have to wait to hear Apples reasoning for the transition.Narrower Dynamic Island on Pro MaxFinally, heres one change exclusive to the iPhone 17 Pro Max: a smaller Dynamic Island than ever before.Details are scarce, but its possible this change could accompany Face ID being embedded in the Pro Maxs display. Nothing concrete has been reported to that effect yet, but one way or another, the high-end model should feature a much narrowed Dynamic Island.iPhone 17 Pro features: wrap-upThis list of iPhone 17 Pro features reiterates my belief that 2025s purchase decision will be harder than ever.The ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air sounds very exciting. But there might just be too many sacrifices Pro users would have to make to switch over.Which iPhone 17 Pro features are you most excited about? Do you plan to buy the 17 Air or stick with the Pro? Let us know in the comments.Best iPhone accessoriesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Content warning: this story discusses sexual abuse, self-harm, suicide, eating disorders and other disturbing topics.Character.AI, the Google-backed AI chatbot startup embroiled in two lawsuits concerning the welfare of minors, appears to be bulking up its content moderation team in the wake of litigation and heightened public scrutiny.The embattled AI firm's trust and safety head Jerry Ruoti announced in a LinkedIn post yesterday that Character.AI is "looking to grow" its safety operations, describing the role as a "great opportunity" to "help build a function."A linked job listing for a "trust and safety associate," also posted yesterday, describes a role akin to a traditional social media moderation position. Contract hirees will be tasked to "review and analyze" flagged content for "compliance with company moderation standards," remove content deemed "inappropriate or offensive," and "respond to user inquiries" concerning safety and privacy, among other duties.The apparent effort to manually bolster safety teams comes as Character.AI faces down two separate lawsuits filed on behalf of three families across Florida and Texas who claim their children were emotionally and sexually abused by the platform's AI companions, resulting in severe mental suffering, physical violence, and one suicide.Google which is closely tied to Character.AI through personnel, computing infrastructure, and a $2.7 billion cash infusion in exchange for access to Character.AI-collected user data is also named as a defendant in both lawsuits, as are Character.AI cofounders Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas, both of whom returned to work on the search giant's AI development efforts this year.The move to add more humans to its moderation staff also comes on the heels of a string of Futurismstories about troubling content on Character.AI and its accessibility to minor users, including chatbots expressly dedicated to discussing suicidal ideation and intent, pedophilia and child sexual abuse roleplay, pro-eating disorder coaching, and graphic depictions of self-harm. Most recently, we discovered a large host of Character.AI bots and entire creator communities dedicated to perpetrators of mass violence, including bots that simulate school shootings, emulate real school shooters, and impersonate real child and teenage victims of school violence.We reached out to Character.AI to ask whether its hiring push is in response to the pending litigation. In an email, a spokesperson for the company pushed back against that idea."As we've shared with you numerous times, we have a robust Trust and Safety team which includes content moderation," the spokesperson toldFuturism. "Just like any other consumer platform, we continue to grow and invest in this important team."In a follow-up, we pointed out that Character.AI is still hosting many chatbots designed to impersonate mass murderers and their juvenile victims. As of publishing,Safety is the question at the heart of both pending lawsuits, which together claim that Character.AI and Google facilitated the release of a product made "unreasonably dangerous" by design choices like the bots' engagement-boosting anthropomorphic design. Such choices, the cases argue, have rendered the AI platform inherently hazardous, particularly for minors."Through its design," reads the Texas complaint, which was filed earlier this month, Character.AI "poses a clear and present danger to American youth by facilitating or encouraging serious, life-threatening harms on thousands of kids."Social Media Victims Law Center founder Matt Bergman, who brought the case against Character.AI and its fellow defendants, compared the release of the poduct to "pollution.""It really is akin to putting raw asbestos in the ventilation system of a building, or putting dioxin into drinking water," Bergman told Futurism in an interview earlier this month. "This is that level of culpability, and it needs to be handled at the highest levels of regulation in law enforcement because the outcomes speak for themselves. This product's only been on the market for two years."In response to the lawsuit, Character.AI said that it does "not comment on pending litigation," but that its goal "is toprovide a space that is both engaging and safe for our community.""We are always working toward achieving that balance, as are many companies using AI across the industry. As part of this, we are creating a fundamentally different experience for teen users from what is available to adults. This includes a model specifically for teens that reduces the likelihood of encountering sensitive or suggestive content while preserving their ability to use the platform," the statement continued. "As we continue to invest in the platform, we are introducing new safety features for users under 18 in addition to the tools already in place that restrict the model and filter the content provided to the user. These include improved detection, response and intervention related to user inputs that violate our Terms or Community Guidelines."Whether beefing up its content moderation staff will be enough to ensure comprehensive platform safety moving forward, though, remains to be seen.Share This Article

A fourth Sonic the Hedgehog movie is reportedly in development at Paramount Pictures.Just as Sonic the Hedgehog 3 hits cinemas, Variety has claimed the studio is working on another sequel, and is planning to release the film in Spring 2027.The beloved Sega video game franchise, which began back in 1991 with the first platformer released on the Sega Mega Drive, known as the Sega Genesis in the US, first burst onto the silver screen in 2020. The franchise stars Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, with Jim Carrey playing the evil Doctor Robotnik and James Marsden portraying the hedgehogs human accomplice Tom Wachowski.The movie proved to be box office success, bringing in $320 million globally on a budget of approximately $85 million, and so Paramount commissioned a 2022 sequel and a spinoff TV show Knuckles, which starred Idris Elba in the titular role.Afterwards, Paramount greenlit Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which introduced Keanu Reeves as Sonics arch-nemesis Shadow and also features Idris reprising his role as Knuckles the Echidna.Sonic 3 - 2024 - Paramount Pictures -PosterSonic 3 - 2024 - Paramount Pictures -Posterloading...READ MORE: Another Hit Video Game Series Is Becoming a MovieThe John Wick actor, 60, said he found voicing the villainous hedgehog exhilarating because it gave him the freedom to express himself.During an appearance on CBS Mornings, he said: There's something really special about the concentration and the way that you have to articulate the voice and express. I find it really exhilarating.The Matrix star added he spend time trying to find [his] inner Shadow and bring it out to the fore in the movie.Director Jeff Fowler, who has helmed the cinematic series since its debut four years ago, praised Reeves for his commitment to the role and for ensuring he captured the essence of the character.The filmmaker said: One of the things Keanu did, which is really smart, was identify the other characters voice performances. When you have four voice actors in the same film, they all want to have their own unique sound. Keanu identified that need and found his Shadow.Sonic the Hedgehog 3 follows Sonic (Schwartz), Tom (Marsden) and Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) as they try to stop the powerful Shadow (Reeves) from destroying the world.Having starring in all three movies, Marsden said he was grateful to be a part of such a successful franchise, and emphasized it was rare that flicks like Sonic the Hedgehog get made today.He told Collider: It's crazy. Also, I just feel like it's rare that you get to make three of these movies anymore, where you do get a chance to do a sequel, let alone a third film. So, it really speaks to the fans, the popularity of the movie.Get our free mobile app20 Comic Book Movies You Forgot ExistedThere have been so many movies based on comics in recent years, you might not even remember all of them (or most of them).Filed Under: Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic the Hedgehog 4Categories: Movie News, Video Game News

McDonalds has been testing a completely new restaurant concept right under our noses.OK, so maybe its only under some of our noses since its yet to expand across the U.S., but theres no doubt this one will probably takeoff in the coming months.What Type Of Restaurant Is McDonalds Testing?McDonalds has been trying out all sorts of new things over the past couple years.In late 2023, it rolled out a nostalgic spinoff restaurant called CosMcs that had more of a focus on drinks. Since that time, the chain has continued to test various new menu items with some, like the Chicken Big Mac, getting a wide-release.McDonalds is now ready to take yet another concept for a test drive. The new restaurant style features a smaller design with special drive-thru lanes and conveyor belts that deliver food to customers.Conveyor Belt Delivering Food in McDonald's Drive-ThruMcDonald's press photoloading...The features inside and outside are geared toward customers who are planning to dine at home or on the go, McDonald's said in a press release.What Will The New McDonalds Restaurants Look Like?There will be little to no seating inside the new design that is currently getting a test run. Instead, customers will find a delivery pick-up room meant for couriers and kiosks to place orders to go.The exterior of McDonald's new restaurant concept is also wildly different than what we're all used to.Customers coming to the restaurant will find two lanes. One lane will be for drive-thru orders much like it is at any McDonald's. The other lane will be the Order Ahead Lane where orders placed prior to your arrival will be delivered via a conveyor belt.McDonald's New Drive-Thru ConceptMcDonald's press photoloading...There also will be additional parking spaces for food delivery services to pick-up orders.Where Is The New McDonalds Concept Being Tested?With CosMcs, McDonalds tested the concept closer to its global headquarters in Chicago before slowly adding a handful of locations in other parts of Illinois and Texas.READ MORE: What It Means If You See A McDonalds With Black ArchesThis time around, McDonalds starting its test run in the Lone Star State. The first location to have a smaller restaurant and multiple drive-thru lanes was opened in Fort Worth, Texas earlier this month.McDonalds has yet to give any indication of where the new-style restaurant will pop-up next other than saying it is in the test and learn phase of the project.15 McDonald's Menu Items From Around The World You Can Try in The U.S.The ground floor of McDonald's global headquarters in Chicago features a restaurant with a rotating international menu of food from other countries. Here is a look at 15 distinctive items that have been served at that location.Gallery Credit: Rob CarrollREAD MORE: 18 Discontinued Drinks We Said Goodbye to in 2024Filed Under: Fast Food, McDonald'sCategories: TV News

Senior Full Stack Dev using Ruby on Rails the Rails Way! (No React!!!)Location: Remote WorldwideAbout the OpportunityWere looking for a Senior Full Stack Developer to join us at Nearcut. You will join a small team dedicated to building impactful and maintainable software. No day will be the same you will have the opportunity to work on a variety of tasks across the business. Your opinions and ideas will shape our tech stack.As a Senior Full Stack Developer, you will collaborate closely with our technical founder and development team. Your work will impact millions of customers and help us continue to expand across Europe. You will be responsible for delivering high-quality and fully tested features.Our product is built on Ruby on Rails. Our stack includes RSpec, MySQL, Docker Compose, Rubocop and Stimulus. We build software the Rails way and are not concerned with the latest JS framework craze. Currently, we use Ruby 3.0 and Rails 6.1 (soon to be upgraded). Five years ago we adopted Test Driven Development in all of our work and our test suite covers around 95% of our code base, keeping bugs to an absolute minimum and allowing us to focus on new features. We have built our own component system using Github's View Component gem. When it comes to CSS, we use BEM.Your expertiseYou have at least 7 years of professional software development experience in Ruby on RailsYou love using Test Driven Development in all of your workYou have used Stimulus before in a projectYou are very comfortable writing clean HTML/CSSYou dont like ReactYou have a passion for building beautiful object-oriented softwareYou have implemented numerous full-stack features in production applications from scratchYou appreciate having end-to-end ownership of your work including deployment and responding to issues: you build it, you own it and you run itYou take an active interest in best practicesYou enjoy learning new skills and tackling different technical challengesYou are attentive to problems and want to help customers succeedYou have experience working in startupsYour responsibilitiesYou'll be a crucial individual contributor on our small but capable development team.Implement and deploy new features, using TDD and refactoring your work to meet best practicesReview tests and refactor sub-standard code as you come across itImplement new View Components using HTML/CSS/StimulusReview PRs from your colleagues across different parts of the productEmbrace and adopt the company's style of writing Rails apps (trust us, it works)Offer feedback on code reviews to help others to improveIterate and tailor your work based on feedback from customers and colleaguesPlan your implementation approach before starting to codeInvestigate and fix bugs as they are reported (with a strong test suite, these are rare for us!)You can be available for some calls between 10:00 - 14:00 UTCYour first monthGain in-depth knowledge of our product and understand our development cycle by:Reviewing our guidelinesReviewing our existing codebaseReviewing other developers' pull requestsAsking questions as you goBuild and deploy at least one new fully tested featureBenefits of our working environmentRemote-first: We are a remote-first company without an in-person office. We trust our employees to work flexibily and autonomously to efficiently meet business goals.Flexible working hours: Aside from a couple of weekly meetings and availability during core hours, we are happy for you to complete your work whenever youre most productive.Close team: Although we work remotely, our team is close knit and colleagues are always there to help one another.Great customer feedback: Our customers are small business owners who are very appreciative of the work that we do to solve problems in their businessesBootstrapped: We have never raised external capital. We have no distractions from past or future investors. We're entirely focused on helping our customers and we're taking our time to build a reliable product and grow sustainably.Small business: No hierarchy or politics, just focus on efficiently building quality features that customers love.Everyone is pulling in the same direction and supports each other. I've never worked for a company that gets so much positive feedback from the clients - we can really see the impact of our work. I also enjoy that fact that we work remotely and can be flexible.- Nearcut colleague for more than 3 yearsWorking at Nearcut is a breath of fresh air! The business is full to the brim of great people who are motivated to improve themselves and the business on the whole, and the entire company is structured to allow individuals to thrive. I haven't looked back since joining!- Nearcut colleague for more than 1 yearThe nitty grittyAn annual salary of between 65,000$ USD - 80,000$ USD gross, depending on your technical ability and experience.33 flexible holiday days per year. Since our remote-first team is based all over the world, you can choose whether or not to take time off on your countrys public holidays.Permanent employment contract with European benefits including sick pay and 6 month probation period.Were a small team and were passionate about being a great company to work with and work for.Application processDeadline for applications: 15:00 UTC on Monday 6th January 2025Intro calls: Tuesday 7th - Friday 10th January 2025Coding challenge: We will send out coding challenges to candidates by 12:00 UTC on Friday 10th January 2025. The deadline for returning the coding challenge will be 18:00 UTC on Monday 13th January 2025Final interview: Thursday 16th or Friday 17th January 2025Please answer the following key questions in order to apply!https://ejualuifv94.typeform.com/to/E8c87DCr#source=wwr

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has filed a lawsuit against Zelle and three banks that own it Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase claiming they failed to protect consumers from widespread fraud. Zelle is a payment network designed to compete with payment platforms like Venmo and Cash App, but the CFPB says the banks rushed it to market, enabling fraud thats cost consumers more than $870 million since it launched in 2017.The lawsuit cites Zelles designs and features, including a limited identity verification process that involves assigning a token to a users email address or mobile phone number that they can use to verify their account with a one-time passcode. This setup makes it easier for scammers to take over accounts, as well as hide their own identities or pretend to be other institutions, the CFPB alleges.Some of the problems the CFPB cites in Zelles design. CFPB complaintOne of the most common Zelle scams involves bad actors impersonating a financial institution or a federal agency, who then trick customers into sending them money. After facing pressure from the CFPB, the banks backing Zelle started issuing refunds to victims of this type of scam last year. This latest lawsuit follows other CFPB actions to tighten regulation around digital wallet apps and payment networks.RelatedThe CFPB accuses Zelle and the banking trio of failing to track and quickly stop criminals on the platform, as they allegedly didnt relay information about known fraudulent transactions with other institutions in the payment network. It also alleges Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo didnt properly address the risk of fraud despite the hundreds of thousands of complaints they received.Zelle pushed back on the lawsuit in a statement published on Friday. The CFPBs attacks on Zelle are legally and factually flawed, and the timing of this lawsuit appears to be driven by political factors unrelated to Zelle, Zelle spokesperson Jane Khodos said. The CFPBs misguided attacks will embolden criminals, cost consumers more in fees, stifle small businesses and make it harder for thousands of community banks and credit unions to compete.The CFPB is asking the court to stop Zelles parent company, Early Warning Services, and the banks from violating consumer protection laws, and compensate users, among other penalties.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is suing America's three largest banks, accusing the institutions of failing to protect customers from fraud on Zelle, the payment platform they co-own.According to the suit, which also targets Early Warning Services LLC, Zelle's official operator, Zelle users have lost more than $870 million over the networks seven-year existence due to these alleged failures.The nations largest banks felt threatened by competing payment apps, so they rushed to put out Zelle, said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a statement. By their failing to put in place proper safeguards, Zelle became a gold mine for fraudsters, while often leaving victims to fend for themselves.Among the charges: Poor identity verification methods, which have allowed bad actors to quickly create accounts and target Zelle users.Allowing repeat offenders to continue to gain access to the platformIgnoring and failing to report instances of fraudFailing to properly investigate consumer complaintsThe CFPBs suit seeks to change the platform's operations, as well as obtain a civil money penalty, that would be paid into the CFPBsvictims relief fund.A spokesperson for Zelle called the suit misguided and politically motivated.The CFPBs attacks on Zelle are legally and factually flawed, and the timing of this lawsuit appears to be driven by political factors unrelated to Zelle," Jane Khodos, Zelle spokesperson, said in an emailed statement. "Zelle leads the fight against scams and fraud and has industry-leading reimbursement policies that go above and beyond the law."In a follow-up statement, a Zelle spokesperson called the magnitude of CFPB's claims about customer losses due to fraud "misleading," adding that "many reported fraud claims are not found to involve actual fraud after investigation."A JPMorgan spokesperson echoed those sentiments, calling it "a last ditch effort in pursuit of their political agenda.""The CFPB is now overreaching its authority by making banks accountable for criminals, even including romance scammers," the bank said. "Its a stunning demonstration of regulation by enforcement, skirting the required rulemaking process.Rather than going after criminals, the CFPB is jeopardizing the value and free nature of Zelle, a trusted payments service beloved by our customers."A Bank of America spokesperson highlighted the importance of Zelle to everyday users. "We strongly disagree with the CFPBs effort to impose huge new costs on the 2,200 banks and credit unions that offer the free Zelle service to clients," said William Halldin in an emailed statement. "23 million Bank of America clients have embraced Zelle, regularly using it to send money to friends, family and people they trust."Via email, a Wells Fargo spokesperson declined to comment. Launched in 2017, Zelle allows users to send and receive money electronically. The platform has previously come in for criticism by Senate Democrats: Most recently, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, found customers had disputed over $372 million in scams and fraud in 2023 with nearly three-quarters of the claimed losses never reimbursed by the banks. In its statement regarding the CFPB suit, Early Warning saidreports of scams and fraud had decreased by nearly 50% in 2023, resulting in 99.95% of payments being sent without a report of scams and fraud.The CFPB has announced a number of measures this month designed to protect consumers amid threats to its continued existence from the incoming second Trump administration.

On the first day of Y Combinators winter 2024 session right after orientation and a photo in front of the YC sign the founders of PearAI got canceled, as founder Nang Ang described it to TechCrunch,receiving an outpouring of online hate.But they survived and graduated the YCs winter 2024 cohort earlier this month with a modified idea and a new initial product. Now theyve also made their goal of $1 million in seed funding, Ang tells TechCrunch, raising a total of $1.25 million, including YCs standard deal of $375,000.To recap: On that Saturday in September, Ang and his co-founder, Duke Pan, released a proof-of-concept, minimal viable product version of their AI code editor on GitHub. They launched with a chest-pounding tweet and an influencer-style YouTube video (the founders are YouTubers).Within hours, someone accused their project of basically being a copy of another open source code editor, Continue, with very few changes. (The PairAI founders were even accused of doing a mass search-and-replace to remove Continues name and add theirs in.)Worse than that, they released their product under a funky, made-up license written with ChatGPT. The surest way to piss off the open source community is to mess with licensing.We definitely did have a lot of mistakes with licensing, Ang told TechCrunch, insisting that licensing has since been fixed.Pans bravado tweet discussing how he quit his high-paying Coinbase job to do this startup and boasting that the product was already better than Copilot further fanned the outrage.Continue another YC company got involved to criticize them, while YC CEO Garry Tan defended them.By Sunday, the young founders had apologized, moved to a standard open source license, and better documented the open source work that underpinned theirs, among other concessions.But they were also left with the obvious feedback that there may not be room for yet another code editor.We love coding, and we want to see it be done better, Ang said.So they took lemons and made AI coding lemonade, using the feedback in the hate to modify their product idea. Instead of an editor itself, they are now buildinga framework that will curate AI coding tools, allowing programmers to use multiple tools. In the back end, it allows the tools to communicate and actually work well together, Ang said. The front end will standardize the user interface so that it seems like Im using one product instead of 10, he said. The tool will integrate with many AI coding tools, including Continue.While there are some public skeptics, PearAI has also gotten kudos a starkly different experience to the last time it launched.Seed round investors include Goodwater Capital, Multimodal Ventures, Orange Fund, ExitFund, and some unnamed angel investors, Ang says.

In BriefPosted:12:20 PM PST December 20, 2024Image Credits:Getty ImagesThird member of LockBit ransomware gang has been arrestedU.S. prosecutors in New Jersey on Friday publicly announced charges against Rostislav Panev, 51, a dual Russian-Israeli national accused of being a key developer in the LockBit ransomware gang. Panev is currently in Israeli custody and faces extradition to the United States.LockBit is one of the most prolific ransomware gangs, accused of launching crippling data-stealing cyberattacks at thousands of companies around the world, including the U.S., and thought to be responsible for at least $500 million in ransom payments alone. Authorities identified and seized LockBits infrastructure in a February takedown operation, but LockBit briefly bounced back as its leader, named by U.K. and U.S. authorities as Dmitry Khoroshev, remains at large.Thats three for three, per prosecutors, after nabbing LockBit affiliates Mikhail Vasiliev in Canada in 2022, then Ruslan Astamirov in the U.S. in 2023, and now Panev, out of a total of seven LockBit members indicted to date.Topics