Did something happen a week ago? In a post to the service by the official Bluesky account the burgeoning social media platform announced it had added a million users since the US election. It's the largest weekly growth the service has experienced since launching. Not long ago the service saw a spike of 500k users in a single day, which coincided with Twitter's (X) announcement to allow previously banned users back on the platform. Despite now servicing a tick under 15m users it's a distant second to Meta's Threads, which recently racked up 275m monthly users. Built off the back on Instagram's shoulders users are seemingly frustrated by Threads continued efforts to push them towards an algorithmic listing feed of the much-lamented chronological listing of posts.
Those whacky kids over at LG Display have been let loose to demonstrate the latest iteration of their "stretchable display". The 12" screen can be bent, twisted and stretched up to 18". This new version is significantly more malleable with 50% more stretchiness than the prior version shown in 2022. The display is made up of microLEDs (40 micro-metres) with a 100PPI and offers a rich, bright RGB experience. They demonstrated the unit on what could be a car's centre console, which when switching to different services, the radio for example a mechanism would rise beneath the display to emulate a large circular button that the display appears to vacuum wrap itself around. The user can then touch the "button" in a turning motion to control the volume emulating a tactile experience through a touch interface. I'd love for this to become a real thing as my disdain for pure touch interfaces, especially in cars is second to none.
Crypto bros are popping champagne corks this morning as Bitcoin sets a new all time high record of US$82k (AUD$125k). Why you ask; sadly it's most likely linked to Trump and his crypto-crony Bernie Moreno, the newly elected Republican senator for Ohio. Moreno made a boat load cash with a Web3 scheme trying to put car titles on the blockchain before running for the senate, which was funded largely by crypto leaders. His election is seen as a path to a larger adoption of virtual currency and the relaxing of any sanctions currently being drafted by the Democrats.
Choice have announced their 2024 Shonky awards this morning and unsurprisingly Meta is top of the pops. The main gripe they had was their failure to remove scam ads in a timely manner, instead earning a few more ad dollars serving it up to unwitting Aussies days after being reported. They also took aim at NIB for being dogs to single parents whom need to pay more than couple adding a dependant, the Daily Juice Co for their dodgy green juice that doesn't have a single vegetable in it, a knock off vacuum cleaner and some socks that look so dodgy I can't believe anyone would buy them in the first place.
One of five cartoon stickers Kodak used to promote their products to school children. Limited numbers were sent to selected schools in Victoria and NSW to test reaction, they were also introduced into Kodak Consumer Service Centres. This cartoon shows a child kneeling to take a photo of a koala on a branch. This document belongs to the Kodak collection of products, promotional materials, photographs and working life artefacts collected from Kodak Australasia in 2005, when the Melbourne manufacturing plant at Coburg closed down. (Museums Victoria)
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