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Wix Studio brings Figma designs into the fold with a new tool
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Wix, one of the best website builders, just introduced a new tool, allowing Figma designers to import their work into Wix Studio more easily.

The tool, called Wix Studio Figma, is a plugin that allows designers to create dynamic web experiences more easily. The company claims Studio’s built-in robust native business solutions, as well as AI and agency tools, will help designers, agencies, and professionals, save both time and resources, while building out their solutions. 

Wix Studio is one of the best website builders for agencies, allowing them to build highly customizable and visually appealing websites with ease. Besides advanced design tools and responsive design, Wix Studio allows for code integration, and comes with various collaboration features. Furthermore, it provides a wide array of professional templates and design assets, as well as different SEO and marketing tools. 

It was launched in 2023 and includes a newly-designed development and creation editor, multi-site management workspaces, and access to new monetization opportunities. 

Streamlining production

“We are thrilled to present the new plugin to the design community,” said Gali Erez, Head of Product at Wix Studio Editor. “With its innovative features and intuitive interface the plugin empowers users to craft captivating designs, and swiftly streamline the path from design to production. This efficiency enhances their design and development experience and ultimately drives conversions.”

Figma is a collaborative web application for interface design and prototyping. It is allegedly quite popular among designers and developers thanks to its ability to facilitate real-time collaboration. Since it is cloud-based, professionals can access their work from any device with an internet connection.

Figma combines vector graphics editing and prototyping capabilities, allowing designers to create and iterate on user interfaces efficiently. It supports features such as component libraries, and powerful design systems.

It is also said that its interface and robust tools make Figma a great tool for both beginners, and expert designers.

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ChatGPT fans are furious as OpenAI delays rollout of next-gen Voice Mode
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Ever since OpenAI showed off ChatGPT's new Voice Mode – and incurred the wrath of Scarlett Johansson – fans of the AI assistant have been desperate to take the feature for a spin. Well, they'll have to wait a little longer, as OpenAI says its advanced Voice Mode has now been delayed.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), OpenAI said that Alpha testing for its startlingly lifelike Voice Mode has been pushed back a month so it can focus on “improving the user experience” and also its “ability to detect and refuse certain content.” In other words, it's still not quite ready for the questionable requests the real world might throw at it.

So when exactly will the Voice Mode be pushed out beyond this initial “small group of users”? OpenAI says, “We are planning for all Plus users to have access in the fall.” But there's a slightly worrying caveat that “exact timelines depend on meeting our high safety and reliability bar.” Further delays, then, could well be on the cards.

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This is all a far cry from OpenAI's previous rollout plans. When it demoed the new Voice Mode in May at its Spring event, it said the feature would “be rolling out in the coming weeks.” That's still technically true, but the reality is that it'll now be more like months.

Delays for new tech features aren't exactly new, but ChatGPT subscribers aren't happy. “Biggest rug pull in history,” concluded one X commenter, with others stating that the huge demo “was probably misleading to many” and that they'd also cancel their Plus account until it actually rolls out. 

A casualty of the AI arms race

The outpouring of frustration from ChatGPT fans about this Voice Mode delay might seem disproportional, but it's also understandable. An unfortunate side effect of the AI arms race is the staging of whizz-bang demos with optimistic roll-outs, followed by delays and vague promises of launches in the 'coming weeks' or, even worse, 'coming months.'

OpenAI's explanation of the delays to ChatGPT's most exciting new feature are certainly reasonable on the surface. As it explains in its statement, the new Voice Mode takes us closer to real-time, natural conversations with AI chatbots – and that is a potentially dangerous tool if it goes off the rails in the wild.

Then again, the timing of OpenAI's Spring update event – on May 13, just a day before Google IO 2024 – did seem conveniently designed to steal some thunder from Google's AI announcements. So, the theories that ChatGPT's new voice was demoed a little prematurely do have some credence.

Still, with OpenAI releasing several demo videos (like the one above) on its YouTube channel of the new Voice Mode (with the controversial 'Sky' voice, following Scarlett Johansson's complaints that it sounded a little too much like her AI character in Her), suggest it's far from marketing vaporware.

ChatGPT also remains one of the best AI tools around without it, despite increasing pressure from the likes of Claude's new 3.5 Sonnet model. 

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Finally, macOS Sequoia fixes an infuriating storage problem with App Store downloads
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MacOS Sequoia is one of the most anticipated updates for Apple’s desktop operating system in recent history, adding some pretty cool AI features, iPhone mirroring and so much more.

But a lesser-known change is also in the pipeline with Sequoia – one that’ll fix an annoying storage problem with Mac App Store downloads.

The good news is that macOS 15 will no longer require double the amount of storage to be able to download an application from the App Store. As you may have noticed with macOS in its current form, whenever you grab any app from the store, you need to have double the amount of storage it actually requires (temporarily) to download it – which can be an annoyance if you’re short on drive space (or downloading a huge application, or indeed both of the above).

Size me up

With the new change for Sequoia, the free space requirement will now actually match the file size of the app you’re trying to download – as you’d expect really. So that’ll help those downloading particularly hefty apps, such as creative software or even games. Apple has made a significant push to allow for gaming on Macs and MacBooks, and squashing this odd drive space requirement is great news for prospective Mac gamers (who right now could be looking at ensuring they have tens of Gigabytes of additional free space for no good reason).

According to MacRumors, the macOS 15 beta 2 currently requires just enough space for a game’s final size and a small buffer, in a bid to match free space requirements with the actual game (or app) installation size.

Overall, this change will be warmly welcomed with the macOS Sequoia refresh due later this year, and it removes substantial frustration in some cases with the Mac operating system. 

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One of the most persistent Windows 11 bugs ever keeps telling users they’ve changed their location, when they haven’t – but it’s getting fixed
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Windows 11 has a new bug (that’s also in Windows 10) whereby the operating system keeps telling users that their time zone has changed, when it hasn’t – and repeatedly doing this, driving some users to the point of distraction by all accounts.

Windows Latest flagged up multiple complaints about this bug, which has been acknowledged by Microsoft, and the company is now working on a fix.

Indeed, the tech site notes that it has experienced the glitch itself, whereby a dialog box pops up, warning that “due to a location change a new time zone has been detected.”

Then the user has the choice of clicking ‘Ignore’ to dismiss the prompt, or ‘Accept’ to be taken to the Date & Time settings where there’s actually nothing amiss (the time zone and location aren’t changed, just to clarify).

Essentially, the prompt is appearing by accident, but the real problem is that affected users don’t just see this once. It’s occurring repeatedly and in some cases multiple times per day, or even hour, which is going to get seriously tiresome.

A user hit by the problem complained in Microsoft’s Feedback Hub: “This is the 2nd system where this pop-up about me changing time zones has occurred. After I set the date and time (Central time zone), why does Windows think that I have moved 455 miles to the East? Fix your darn OS Microsoft.”

Analysis: A rare bug apparently – but a seriously annoying glitch

This is a bit of an odd one, to say the least, and while it’s a relatively benign bug – an errant pop-up that doesn’t actually throw anything of a spanner in the works (unlike some of the showstoppers we’ve seen in the past) – if it’s happening regularly, then it’s going to be a headache.

The good news is that Microsoft says the bug is rare, and so presumably the set of Windows 11 and 10 users who are subject to it happening particularly regularly is even rarer. That said, it needs to be fixed, and the problem has been around for a few weeks now.

According to Windows Latest, the fix is already in the pipeline and should (most likely) be applied as a server-side solution, meaning that it’ll happen on Microsoft’s end, and you won’t need to wait for an update to contain the cure if you’re affected by this issue. Fingers crossed that this resolution arrives swiftly, then.

Meantime, if you’re getting these head-scratching time zone notifications, there’s nothing you can do but keep dismissing them.

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Shopify unifies ecommerce with a new platform
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Earlier this week, global ecommerce platform Shopify unveiled its latest update, designed to help merchants be more creative, improve in-store experiences, and support business expansion.

Called the Summer ‘24 Edition, this latest platform comes with a Shopify POS Terminal, Unified Analytics, Markets Solution, and AI Enhancements across the board.

As per a press release shared with TechRadar Pro recently, Shopify described the POS Terminal as a new payment hardware solution that enhances in-store shopping by offering features such as tap, chip & PIN, and swipe payments. The company promises simplified transactions with a customer display, digital receipts, and the ability to capture additional information at checkout. Finally, users can now combine discounts and create buy-x-get-y discounts to further personalize and streamline promotional activities. 

For Unified Analytics, Shopify said it revamped the tool to provide real-time, detailed insights. The new dashboard comes with pre-built reports, helping merchants get answers to all the biggest questions, such as sales comparisons or average order value changes. 

“Seamless integration”

Markets is a solution that was reimagined “from the ground up”, and now acts as a central command center within Shopify Admin. Merchants can thus manage cross-border, B2B, and physical retail selling, all from a single location.

Finally, when it comes to AI enhancements, Shopify said its Media Editor, Shopify Magic, and Suggested Replies, are all now powered by AI, helping merchants get their work done faster, and with more quality.  

“Merchants depend on Shopify to not just work, but to solve the pain points they didn’t know they had,” said Deann Evans, Managing Director, EMEA, at Shopify. “This can only happen when everything is seamlessly integrated and works together. Shopify brings every aspect of commerce under one roof. It’s more than simply centralizing and synchronizing our products. We’re consolidating infrastructures, reducing inefficiencies and welding features together so that merchants can focus on growing their business and connecting with shoppers in a way that only a truly unified commerce platform can deliver.”

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Google may be making AI versions of celebrities for you to chat up in YouTube
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Google is working on creating artificial intelligence-powered chatbots mimicking famous people and fictional characters, according to a report from The Information. These AI celebrities, YouTube influencers, and imaginary people will also serve as a template for users to build their own generative AI chatbots with customized personalities and appearances.

At first glance, these chatbots sound similar to the recently released Gems, a customized version of the Google Gemini language models. But Gems are designed to handle a specific task, such as coding software or designing a fitness regimen. The chatbots described in the report focus on mimicking the personalities and responses of whichever character or celebrity they are based on. 

Google appears to be imitating and attempting to surpass companies like Character.ai, an early proponent of custom chatbots based on famous and fictional people. That’s also what Meta and its Celebrity AI chatbots have pursued, with its official partnerships producing AI recreations of people like Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg.

Where will they be?

Google may look to incorporate its generative AI chatbots through YouTube instead of using them as standalone. The obvious benefit is that it would let popular YouTube creators promote the service with their own AI personas. That’s what major YouTube star Mr. Beast already does on Meta. Presumably, Google would figure out a monetization method that would link to engagement and other YouTube metrics. 

The report doesn’t mention which celebrities Google might use, but connecting it to YouTube personalities and their popular pages may help the chatbots avoid the disinterest Meta’s celeb chatbots face. The Snoop Dogg dungeon master has only 14,600 followers on Instagram, for instance, compared with 87.5 million followers on the actual Snoop Dogg account. The same goes for Paris Hilton, who has 26.5 million followers compared to her AI detective character’s Instagram page, with just 13,300 followers.

Though there’s no confirmation from Google or an official rollout timeline yet, you can probably expect to see Google’s customizable chatbot platform on the Google Labs page if you want to be an early adopter of chatting with an AI celebrity clone or making an AI version of yourself to talk to.

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AI music makers face recording industry legal battle of the bands that could spell trouble for your AI-generated tunes
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Artificial intelligence music makers Suno and Udio have been hit with major lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and major music labels for copyright infringement. The suits mark the latest battle over generative AI and synthetic media and the debate over whether they represent original creations or infringement of intellectual property rights.

The RIAA was joined by Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings, Inc., and Warner Records, Inc. in the lawsuits. Suno was sued in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, while Udio developer Uncharted Labs, Inc., was sued in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaints allege that both companies have copied and exploited copyrighted sound recordings without permission.

Both Suno and Udio translate text prompts into music, much like other tools can create images or videos based on a user’s suggestion. While there are plenty of other music AI developers, Suno and Udio were likely picked because of their relatively successful products. Suno AI is part of the Microsoft Copilot generative AI assistant, while Udio went viral for the creation of “BBL Drizzy.” The recording agencies say the music generated by the AI models is not original but just a reworking of copyrighted material. Notably, the groups suing are making an effort to sound like they aren’t against the tech, just how it’s used by those companies. 

“The music community has embraced AI and we are already partnering and collaborating with responsible developers to build sustainable AI tools centered on human creativity that put artists and songwriters in charge,” RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier said in a statement. “But we can only succeed if developers are willing to work together with us. Unlicensed services like Suno and Udio that claim it’s ‘fair’ to copy an artist’s life’s work and exploit it for their own profit without consent or pay set back the promise of genuinely innovative AI for us all.”

Press pause

This could be pivotal in the fight over music AI, which has been escalating for a while. The viral deepfakes of Ghostwriter and his multiple synthetic songs with voice clones of real artists attest to the growing interest, and to the RIAA, danger, of this technology. 

TikTok and YouTube have also been drawn into the fray. Earlier this year, music by UMG artists, including Taylor Swift, was temporarily removed from TikTok due to unresolved licensing issues, partly driven by concerns over AI-generated content. In response to similar issues, YouTube introduced a system last fall to remove AI-generated music upon the request of rights holders. In May, Sony Music issued warnings to hundreds of tech companies about the unauthorized use of copyrighted material, signaling the industry’s proactive stance against unlicensed AI-generated music.

The RIAA wants the courts to rule Suno and Udio infringed on their copyrights, get them to pay for it, and stop them from continuing to do so. Unsurprisingly, the companies being sued disagree. 

“Our technology is transformative, it is designed to generate completely new outputs, not to memorize and regurgitate pre-existing content,” Suno CEO Mikey Shulman said in a statement. “We would have been happy to explain this to the corporate record labels that filed this lawsuit (and in fact, we tried to do so), but instead of entertaining a good faith discussion, they’ve reverted to their old lawyer-led playbook. Suno is built for new music, new uses, and new musicians. We prize originality.” 

The lawsuit won’t immediately affect Suno and Udio and their customers barring some unlikely early ruling from the courts. But, a legal battle at this level suggests any easy compromise is off the table. The move may speed up the timetable for the creation of a regulatory framework and accompanying laws to back it up, however.

Depending on how that goes, people using Suno, Udio, and other AI audio makers may have to remove the music from anything they have published. I wouldn’t stake everything on the current AI music scene staying the same, but the technology will almost certainly still be around regardless of the lawsuit, just perhaps with new controls and official approval of any songs for training AI models.

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YouTube’s Stable Volume is now on Android TV devices – here’s everything you need to know about the update your ears may love
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Weird audio mixing is a really annoying problem. How many times have you watched a video or movie where the audio sounds fine only for the dialog to be super quiet? 

Google is helping audiences out by expanding YouTube’s Stable Volume feature from the mobile app to “Android TV and Google TV devices.” It's a handy tool that automatically adjusts “the volume of videos you watch,” all without requiring you to pick up your remote, according to 9To5Google.

That story explains that 'Stable Volume' ensures a consistent listening experience “by continuously balancing the volume range between quiet and loud parts” in a video. After installing YouTube version 4.40.303 on their Android TV display, they discovered the feature. 

If you select the gear icon whenever a video is playing, you should see Stable Volume as an option within the Settings menu. It’ll sit in between Captions and the playback speed function.

Stable Volume on Android TV

(Image credit: Google/9To5Google)

It’s turned on by default, but you can deactivate it at any time just by selecting it while watching content. 9To5Google recommends turning off Stable Volume while listening to music or playing a video with a “detailed audio mix.” Having it activated then could potentially mess with the sound quality. Plus, YouTube Music isn't on Android TV or Google TV hardware, so you won't have a dedicated space specifically for songs.

We should mention that the official YouTube Help page for Stable Volume states it isn’t available for all videos, nor will music be negatively affected. We believe this note is outdated because it also says the tool is exclusive to the YouTube mobile app. It’s entirely possible the versions on Android TV and Google TV could behave differently.

Be sure to keep an eye out for the patch when it arrives. It joins other YouTube on TV features launched in 2024 such as Multiview and the auto-generated key moments.

Check out TechRadar's list of the best TV for 2024. We cover a wide array of models for different budgets.

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ChatGPT wrote a movie and yes, it freaked people out and forced a big change to its launch plans
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The Prince Charles Cinema in London canceled the world premiere of “The Last Screenwriter” after receiving complaints over the use of ChatGPT to write the film’s script.

Swiss director Peter Luisi employed the generative artificial intelligence chatbot to write the film and gave the AI the screenwriting credit. Aptly enough for a script composed by an AI, “The Last Screenwriter” is about a famous screenwriter dealing with an AI scriptwriter named “ChatGPT 4.0,” outperforming him and somehow understanding humanity better than the actual human.

Luisi produced the screenplay through a series of prompts to ChatGPT, starting by asking it to “write a plot to a feature-length film where a screenwriter realizes he is less good than artificial intelligence in writing.” He followed up with the AI by asking it to compose outlines and scenes, as well as name the movie’s characters. With some editing, the script was complete. 

The movie’s press kit even includes a statement from ‘the screenwriter,’ who comes off as very proud of the screenplay.

“As the screenwriter of 'The Last Screenwriter,' I am excited to bring this thought-provoking story to life on the page,” ChatGPT is quoted as stating. “At its core, the film explores the intersection between technology and human creativity, and asks the question: can machines truly replace the human experience when it comes to art and storytelling?”

That almost sounds too human.

Fade to black

However, just before the premiere, the cinema canceled the event, citing a deluge of audience complaints. While trying to avoid this specific controversy, the theater did make a point about the question of AI in entertainment being a larger issue than just this one film and one theater’s policy. 

“The feedback we received over the last 24hrs once we advertised the film has highlighted the strong concern held by many of our audience on the use of AI in place of a writer which speaks to a wider issue within the industry,” the Prince Charles wrote in its statement. 

Proponents of AI in entertainment say it can offer innovative solutions and new perspectives. However, many worry about what it might mean for creative employment and even the future of storytelling.

Generative AI and its uses were at the core of the recent writer and screen actor union strikes, and both settlements addressed how companies should approach the technology. Even so, it’s not likely to be a settled issue when the technology itself is evolving so rapidly.

Don't cry for ChatGPT. Director Luisi still held a family and friends screens. Plus, there are plans to release the movie for free online on June 27 and post the screenplay and how it was created by ChatGPT.

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Rumored Apple and Meta collaboration might make the iPhone 16 a better AI phone
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Apple may be augmenting its new Apple Intelligence Artificial Intelligence (AI) features with models built by Meta, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The two tech giants are supposedly discussing incorporating Meta's generative AI services into iOS 18 and the next generation of iPhone models. 

The WSJ report cites conversations Apple has begun with most of the big names in AI, including Google (Gemini), Anthropic (Claude), and OpenAI (ChatGPT). Plans for Apple Intelligence to include free ChatGPT access and GPT-4o integration were mentioned among the deluge of Apple Intelligence news at WWDC this year. That is clearly a non-exclusive arrangement if a Meta collaboration is underway. 

Apple's interest in Meta's Llama 2 and Llama 3 large language models makes sense on both ends of any deal. Meta would get to bring its AI to the massive global network of iPhone users, while Apple could cite Meta's AI features as another selling point for the iPhone. And while both Meta and Apple have some deals with OpenAI and its main funder, Microsoft, an alliance between the two might help build a competitive alternative even as OpenAI and ChatGPT may be what people first point to as generative AI. 

Mutually beneficial

For Apple as a hardware platform, it's especially good to widen the available AI model choices. That way, Apple can pitch iPhones as an AI hub, switching among models depending on what people want the AI to do. Apple explicitly pointed toward that goal at WWDC this year when announcing the deal with OpenAI to provide ChatGPT on Apple products.

“We wanted to start with the best, and we think ChatGPT from OpenAI and their new 4o model represents the best choice for our users today,” Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi explained at the event. “We think ultimately, people are going to have a preference perhaps for certain models that they want to use – maybe one that great’s for creative writing, or one they prefer for coding, and so we want to enable users ultimately to bring the model of their choice and we’re going to look forward to doing integrations with models, like Google Gemini for instance, in the future.”

Any speculation on how Apple Intelligence will change thanks to Meta is premature, but the fact it's happening at all might surprise some. Meta's advertising income took a beating after Apple changed its policies to give users more control over their data in 2021. Requiring user permission before tracking data across other apps and websites cost Meta billions of dollars and prompted Meta to release a method for advertisers to avoid Apple's service fee for boosting ad posts. The stakes of those business battles are apparently no match for Apple and Meta's anticipated AI earnings, and both now seem happy to let bygones be bygones. 

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