Back in 2021, Uber purchased Drizly for $1.1 billion shortly after it reported that its food delivery segment kept its losses manageable during the pandemic. Three years later, the company is shutting down the US-based alcohol delivery service, Axios has reported. Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber's SVP of delivery, told the publication that the company has decided to close the business and to focus on its "core Uber Eats strategy."

In SEC's announcement of the acquisition, Drizly was described as a service that "works with thousands of local merchants to provide consumers with an incredible selection of beer, wine, and spirits with competitive, transparent pricing." Uber integrated Drizly's offerings into its Eats app, but the alcohol delivery service maintained a separate application of its own. 

"After three years of Drizly operating independently within the Uber family, we've decided to close the business and focus on our core Uber Eats strategy of helping consumers get almost anything — from food to groceries to alcohol — all on a single app," Gore-Coty said in a statement. "We're grateful to the Drizly team for their many contributions to the growth of the BevAlc delivery category as the original industry pioneer."

It's unclear if Drizly's cybersecurity issues played a role in Uber's decision. Drizly previously confirmed a data breach in 2020 that exposed the information of 2.5 million customers. After Uber's acquisition, the Federal Trade Commission found that Drizly CEO James Cory Rellas was alerted about the company's security issues way back in 2018. The agency determined that the delivery service failed to implement the proper safeguards to protect its users despite claiming it had done so and that its poor security practices made the data breach possible. It ordered Drizly to destroy any personal data it collected that had nothing to do with its services and to refrain from collecting them in the future. The FTC also required Rellas to implement information security programs at any company he joins or forms where he takes on the role as CEO. Either way, Drizly is gone, but Uber seems to intend to continue delivering alcohol to its customers. 

As the US gears up for the 2024 presidential election, OpenAI shares its plans on suppressing misinformation related to elections worldwide, with a focus set on boosting the transparency around the origin of information. One such highlight is the use of cryptography — as standardized by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity — to encode the provenance of images generated by DALL-E 3. This will allow the platform to better detect AI-generated images using a provenance classifier, in order to help voters assess the reliability of certain content.

This approach is similar to, if not better than, DeepMind's SynthID for digitally watermark AI-generated images and audio, as part of Google's own election content strategy published last month. Meta's AI image generator also adds an invisible watermark to its content, though the company has yet to share its readiness on tackling election-related misinformation.

OpenAI says it will soon work with journalists, researchers and platforms for feedback on its provenance classifier. Along the same theme, ChatGPT users will start to see real-time news from around the world complete with attribution and links. They'll also be directed to CanIVote.org, the official online source on US voting, when they ask procedural questions like where to vote or how to vote.

Additionally, OpenAI reiterates its current policies on shutting down impersonation attempts in the form of deepfakes and chatbots, as well as content made to distort the voting process or to discourage people from voting. The company also forbids applications built for political campaigning, and when necessary, its new GPTs allow users to report potential violations.

OpenAI says learnings from these early measures, if successful at all (and that's a very big "if"), will help it roll out similar strategies across the globe. The firm will have more related announcements in the coming months.

Almost a year since Microsoft launched its ChatGPT-powered Bing Chat — which is now just called Copilot — the company is announcing its next major AI moves. First, it's launching Copilot Pro, a $20 monthly subscription that gives power users access to the latest ChatGPT releases, as well as access to Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps and other new features. Additionally, the Copilot iOS and Android apps are now available to everyone, following a limited launch last month.

And that's not all! Microsoft also introduced Copilot GPT, a new feature that will let you tweak Copilot around specific topics like "fitness, travel, cooking and more," according to Microsoft EVP and Windows head Yusuf Mehdi. Copilot Pro users will also be able to create their own Copilot GPTs eventually. (And yes, the name is certainly confusing, but this appears to be Microsoft's version of OpenAI's standalone GPTs.)

Microsoft says that Copilot Pro users will have access to GPT-4 Turbo at peak times starting today, and eventually they'll be able toggle between different GPT models. The subscription also grants you better AI image creation, which will be faster and deliver higher image quality, with optional landscape formatting. It's also worth noting that Copilot Pro is $20 a month per user — plan to shell out more if multiple people in your household need access. 

While Copilot and Microsoft's onslaught of AI announcements throughout 2023 led to plenty of publicity — it actually made us care about poor old Bing again! — it remains to be seen if it actually ends up being useful to general users. That may explain the rush to monetize Copilot for power users so quickly. Copilot queries are expensive, both in terms of computation power and energy use, so Microsoft needs a way to actually recoup some of those costs from its most aggressive users. The company also needs to make good on its $13 billion investment in OpenAI, which gave it a 49 percent stake in the AI firm (and once again raised regulatory scrutiny).

Given how strongly linked they are, it's no wonder Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was instrumental in getting OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman re-instated as CEO, following a dramatic battle with the company's board of directors.

Alongside Copilot Pro, Microsoft says that Copilot for Microsoft 365 is now widely available to small companies with its "Business Premium" and "Business Standard" subscriptions. The pricing hasn't changed from its earlier enterprise launch, though: It's still $30 a month per person (except now you can buy between 1 and 299 seats).

Ubisoft is revamping its games subscription service by offering a premium multi-platform plan and adding a less-expensive tier on PC. The company is merging Ubisoft+ Multi-Access and PC Access into Ubisoft+ Premium. The new PC tier is called Ubisoft+ Classics. Ubisoft says there will be no automatic changes for existing PC Access subscribers, whose plan will remain the same at current pricing.

Ubisoft+ Premium will run you $18 per month (that's $1 more per month than Game Pass Ultimate, fact fans). It includes access to the premium versions of Ubisoft games, all expansions and monthly rewards. Most importantly, you'll be able to play new Ubisoft games on the day they drop. Select games will be available in early access too. For instance, if you sign up now, you can immediately check out Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, which Ubisoft won't officially release until January 18.

What's more, an Ubisoft+ Premium subscription works across Xbox, PC and Amazon Luna. So you might chip away at Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora on your PC during the work day (we won't tell your boss), continue where you left off on your Xbox after dinner and then wind down for the day by flying around on the back of an ikran on your phone when you're in bed.

Alongside the Ubisoft+ Premium shake up, the company has unveiled Ubisoft+ Classics on PC. This includes access to a collection of "popular back-catalog and live games" for $8 per month. Titles available include Far Cry 6, Rainbow Six Siege and Watch Dogs: Legion. It's worth noting that PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers have access to the Ubisoft+ Classics lineup at no extra cost.

Ubisoft's head of subscriptions, Philippe Tremblay, says that Ubisoft+ has outperformed the publisher's expectations in terms of membership numbers. "We've seen millions of players since launch, and they've enjoyed over 600 million hours of play," Tremblay told the Ubisoft blog. Tremblay added that the company decided to introduce Ubisoft+ Classics as "we think it's a strong offer at the price point, and the catalog will only grow as we keep adding games to it as time goes on, so players can discover even more of our worlds.”

While the pricing of the respective services may be off putting for some, it's worth bearing in mind that Microsoft sold the cloud gaming rights for Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft in an attempt to appease regulators (it worked). Back in August, Ubisoft said the agreement meant that its subscribers will eventually be able to stream Activision Blizzard games. Ubisoft hasn't yet shared a timeline for adding those titles to its service. "We're working on the offering right now to make sure it's the best possible experience for our subscribers, and we'll have more to share later," Tremblay said.

It seems that Apple will be able to bypass an import ban on Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 devices and once again sell those products in the US after dropping a key feature. According to a letter to an appeals court judge from Masimo, a company that's been involved in a patent dispute against Apple, the latter can skirt the ban by removing the Blood Oxygen app from Apple Watch units it sells in the US going forward.

Per the letter, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) determined that "Apple’s redesign falls outside the scope" of the International Trade Commission's (ITC) import ban on the two devices. Apple told CBP that its "Redesigned Watch Products definitively do not contain pulse oximetry functionality.” Other details related to the CBP decision are confidential and, as things stand, "no public version of the decision exists," Masimo's letter states.

According to Reuters, however, the CBP decision may be upended if the ITC disagrees. Apple is said to already have shipped modified Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 units to its US locations, but stores were reportedly told not to open or sell the new versions until getting the green light from higher ups.

Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget

In October, the ITC upheld a prior ruling that Apple violated Masimo patents concerning blood oxygen functions on the Apple Watch. The ruling led Apple to pause sales of the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the US through its own website and Apple Stores by Christmas Eve. An emergency interim stay of the ITC ruling in late December enabled Apple to start selling the wearables again in the US.

According to 9to5 Mac, Apple's concession won't affect those who already have an Apple Watch with pulse oximetry features. Apple has offered the Blood Oxygen app on its wearables since it released the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020. It's possible that Apple will roll out a new version of the Blood Oxygen app to affected units once it resolves the patent problem.

Soon after Apple said it would stop selling the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 to adhere to the ITC's order, it was reported that the company's engineers were working feverishly on a software update. Those efforts were said to focus on changes to the Blood Oxygen app and its algorithms to ensure the devices violated Masimo's patents.

That said, according to Bloomberg, nixing the app altogether was seen as the quickest (and likely easiest) way to avoid having the ban reinstated, though removing what was once a highly touted feature of the Apple Watch is a significant concession. A federal appeals court could hear an Apple motion to extend the stay (which was granted pending an appeal) on the ban as early as this week.

Masimo has claimed that Apple hired its former employees and used its pulse oximetry tech in Apple Watch devices. Apple countersued Masimo, arguing that the company's own smartwatch copies patented Apple Watch features.

We're just a couple of weeks into 2024, but the layoffs that plagued the gaming industry last year are back. An undisclosed number of employees at Lost Boys Interactive have been laid off across seemingly "all disciplines at all levels," terminated producer Jared Pace told Aftermath. Lost Boys Interactive is responsible for games like Tiny Tina's Wonderlands — which is launching on PlayStation Plus.

The news was initially reported by both terminated and remaining employees. Lost Boys Interactive eventually released a statement to Eurogamer confirming the news, blaming "headwinds facing the industry right now." It continued, "Unfortunately, this does mean we will separate from some of our team members and we're working closely with those affected. We know this is a hard time for this talented and experienced group of people and will provide support and assistance through this transition to those leaving."

These layoffs are just the latest set from its parent company, Embracer (Gearbox technically owns Lost Boys Interactive but is, itself, owned by Embracer). In September, Embracer laid off about 900 employees, equal to about five percent of its staff. Only two months later, it laid off another 50 or so employees at Fishlabs, developers of Chorus. The company has also shuttered some of its studios and is rumored to be selling Gearbox, which it bought in 2021 for $1.4 billion. Embracer blames the tremendous restructuring and layoffs on the dissolution of a potential deal that would have brought $2 billion in revenue over six years.

Engadget readers like yourself are probably more tech savvy than the average person. That means you may get roped into helping older family members with email woes, new phone setups, or deciphering if a message is legit or a phishing scam. In my family, I’ve become my mother’s unofficial IT support hotline, which makes me wonder about older adults with adult kids who are short on time. Turns out there are a number of resources staffed with actual people who will calmly walk seniors through just about any tech trouble they may face. Many local libraries and senior centers host classes and even one-on-one tech assistance to seniors for free, but if they can’t make it to a live session or there aren’t offerings in their area, phone hotlines and online services may be the answer.

For the past couple weeks, I used my mom and her frequently asked questions to try out a few of the senior tech hotlines out there and found three services that are refreshingly helpful, two of which are completely free and a third that includes a free option. If you know a senior who could use help with their tech, directing them to one of these services won’t feel like pawning them off, but rather like you’re sending them to an IT pro with endless patience.

Top three free senior tech support companies

AT&T is raising its Unlimited plan prices a bit on March 5, 2024, though users will at least get more hotspot data, CNET has reported. Prices for all plans are going up by 99 cents per line per month, but users on AT&T's old Unlimited Elite plan will see no change. 

The new plans are now up on AT&T's website, showing the Unlimited Starter SL plan (replacing the old Unlimited Starter plan) now priced at $65.99, but offering 5GB of hotspot data, up from 3GB. The Unlimited Extra is now the Unlimited Extra EL plan, and costs $75.99 per month with 30GB of hotspot data rather than 15GB. Finally, the new Unlimited Premium PL option supersedes the old Unlimited Premium plan and bumps the hotspot data by 10GB to 60GB (all prices are for one user). 

The company is also boosting the price of its Value Plus VL (previously Value Plus) plan by 99 cents to $50.99. Hotspot data still isn't permitted, but you're now allowed up to 10 lines instead of just one. 

"We are bringing new benefits and added value to our best Unlimited plans," a spokesperson told CNET in a statement. "Customers on our current Unlimited Starter, Extra, Premium and Value Plus plans will receive the additional benefits starting in March [presumably along with the higher rate]. Existing customers will be notified of these changes in the coming days and will have several weeks prior to the effective date to update their plan or make other changes if they'd like to."

AT&T's Unlimited plans compare to T-Mobile's Go5G plans and Verizon's MyPlan options. All get considerably cheaper as you add lines, and include perks like Netflix, Disney and other subscriptions. Last year, the United States ranked 219th in global mobile data affordability, or 19th worst in the world, just ahead of the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu. 

If you're looking for a new tablet to keep track of all your 2024 goals on (or just for fun), now is a great time to buy. A range of Amazon Fire Tablets are currently on sale, including the new Fire HD 10 tablet. A 42 percent discount brings the 64GB Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet to $105 from $180 — the lowest price we've seen it at. The 32GB model is also on sale but, at $95, you might as well pay the extra $10 for double the storage.

The 2023 Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet is a solid upgrade from its predecessor, with 25 percent faster performance and 3GB of RAM. Its 10.1-inch HD touchscreen has a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution to easily view anything from a good book to a favorite game. The Fire HD 10 tablet also has 5MP front and rear-facing cameras and the option to expand storage by up to 1TB through a microSD slot. 

If you want something a little more advanced, the Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet is also on sale — the 128GB model is down to $200 from $280. The 11-inch screen is a touch bigger and better, with a 2,000 x 1,200 resolution. Other notable features include 8MP front and rear-facing cameras and 4GB of RAM. This version comes without lock screen ads and is currently only $5 more than the 64GB model with lock screen ads. 

Rounding out the Amazon Fire tablet deals is the 32GB Amazon Fire HD 8 Plus tablet, with a 38 percent discount, dropping it to $75 from $120. It comes with a 2MP front-facing camera and 5MP rear-facing cameras. It has 3GB of RAM and works 30 percent faster than its predecessor. Notably, this sale is on the lock screen with the ads model, but another $15 will give you an ad-free user experience. 

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Nikon has taken its imaging and AI prowess in a unexpected direction with a new system that can warn farmers when a cow is about to give birth, Kyodo News has reported. It's designed to reduce the need to constantly check large numbers of pregnant cows during busy birthing seasons, helping farmers improve efficiency.

The system, which costs 900,000 yen per year ($6,200) for a farm with around 100 cows, consists of a security-style camera married to an AI system. It uses a dedicated smartphone application that sounds an alert when a calf is due, allowing farmers to spring into action if required. 

Nikon started training the AI in the fall of 2021, then running proof-of-concept tests on four farms in southwestern Japan in February 2023. The system picks up on signs exhibited by pregnant cows about five hours ahead of labor, like increased movement and the beginning of the release of the calf's amniotic sac. "We want to be able to also detect when a female cow is in heat and other behavioral patterns," said Nikon's Kazuhiro Hirano. 

The system apparently does the job well, according a livestock owner who participated in the tests last year. "We deliver about 60 calves per year and had to check the mothers every few hours from around a month before they are due. This system has been a great help," said Keita Higuchi. 

Nikon is best known for its consumer cameras, but it also manufactures microscopes, X-Ray systems, semiconductor systems, robot vision, virtual production studios and more. The company uses AI tech to aid microscope imaging, but has also recently fought against misuse of fake AI images via new electronic watermarking technology.