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Launcher-like pinned tabs, pop-over glance view, and more make Zen my go to browser. | Image: Zen Browser I know many of you are mourning the loss of the Arc browser, and I get it. It felt like the first app in a long time to really offer a new approach to browser design . Atlassian bought the company last year and shifted its focus to developing Dia , its even more AI-focused browser. And soon enough, Arc will officially be no more , leaving dedicated users in a lurch. But I abandoned Arc quite some time ago for the Zen Browser and haven't really missed it. If you're willing to deal with some minor inconveniences, I think you'll find Zen is the Arc replacement you're looking for. Zen unabashedly rips off all the best bits of Arc. Visually, they'r … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/1018275/zen-browser-arc-replacement

The stick and face buttons are too close for comfort. | Photo: Cameron Faulkner / The Verge The Crkd Nitro Deck was a saving grace for the original Nintendo Switch. The slide-on $59.99 accessory brought Hall effect sticks to drift-plagued consoles - no need to open up your Joy-Con for a complicated repair. The Nitro Deck 2, made for both the original Switch and the larger Switch 2, continues the tradition of having better sticks than what Nintendo puts in even the newest Joy-Con (though these aren't Hall effect or TMR). But it doesn't feel as essential, and there's one thing I really can't stand about it. It's too difficult to use the Nitro Deck 2's ABXY face buttons without the right stick getting in the way. The stick-to-button … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/1017508/crkd-nitro-deck-2-nintendo-switch-2-controller-case-hands-on

Instagram is continuing its expansion into living rooms with Instagram for TV, for Apple TV . The company first started testing a version of the platform focused on Reels, live streams, and other video content, blown up for a bigger screen in December of last year. Then, in June, it launched a slew of new features for the app, which is available for Amazon's Fire TV, Samsung Smart TVs, and Google TV. Now Meta is bringing the app to Apple TV, though there's been little fanfare. MacRumors spotted an updated Instagram app in the App Store that added Apple TV to its list of compatible platforms on October 23rd. Archived versions of the app page … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/1018253/now-you-can-watch-instagram-reels-on-your-apple-tv

The mods at r/opensource posted new submission rules that, among other things, banned projects that use AI. The post made Saturday evening opens by saying, "If your project uses AI, is made by AI, or is intended for AI, it's not welcome on r/opensource. AI, as it exists today, is incongruent to this Open Source community." The new rules have set off a firestorm in the comments, and even spurred the creation of a rival sub r/trueopensource . Moderator Wolvereness has waded into the comments to explain that there's nuance and room for selective enforcement, such as "software that incidentally has accessibility features that use AI," including … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1018217/reddit-opensource-ai-ban

This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more about AI's impact on the web, follow Emma Roth . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started The digital publishing industry has relied on Google for a very long time. Many outlets spent time and money optimizing their webpages to show up at the top of the search engine, with the goal of getting readers to click on their articles or discover their websites for the first time. For years, the relationship between Google and publishers was largely reciprocal; online pub … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/column/1017983/google-ai-search-online-publishing

BBC's Blue Planet III is looking to prove its authenticity by leaving in the less-than-perfect shots. Previous incarnations of the nature series were defined by their gorgeous, crystal-clear footage that seemed almost too good to be real. But one dead giveaway of AI is when things look too polished and seamless. To counter that, Blue Planet III goes warts and all. Executive Producer Elizabeth White told The Guardian in the past, "the amount of plankton and things" floating in the water would have caused them to cut a shot. Or "we might have framed out a boat or a buoy or gone: 'Oh, actually … the water conditions are not really good enough … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1018205/blue-planet-iii-authentic-organic-ai