Devin Coldewey
Writer & Photographer
The Latest from Devin Coldewey
Sony announces investment and partnership with Discord to bring the chat app to PlayStation
Sony and Discord have announced a partnership that will integrate the latter’s popular gaming-focused chat app with PlayStation’s own built-in social tools. It’s a big move and a fai
Computer vision inches toward ‘common sense’ with Facebook’s latest research
Machine learning is capable of doing all sorts of things as long as you have the data to teach it how. That’s not always easy, and researchers are always looking for a way to add a bit of “
‘Returnal’ is a frantic, familiar pleasure — but spurns mainstream appeal to its peril
Returnal, released today for the PlayStation 5, is an action adventure that has you exploring an alien world that reconfigures itself whenever you die, bringing you back for another shot at escaping.
Microsoft’s new default font options, rated
Calibri, we hardly knew ye. Microsoft’s default font for all its Office products (and built-in apps like WordPad) is on its way out and the company now needs your help picking a new one. LetR
SLAIT’s real-time sign language translation promises more accessible online communication
Sign language is used by millions of people around the world, but unlike Spanish, Mandarin or even Latin, there’s no automatic translation available for those who can’t use it. SLAIT claim
Deepfake tech takes on satellite maps
While the concept of “deepfakes,” or AI-generated synthetic imagery, has been decried primarily in connection with involuntary depictions of people, the technology is dangerous (and intere
Satellite Vu’s $5M seed round will fuel the launch of its thermal imaging satellites
Earth imaging is an increasingly crowded space, but Satellite Vu is taking a different approach by focusing on infrared and heat emissions, which are crucial for industry and climate change monitoring
Lina Khan’s timely tech skepticism makes for a refreshingly friendly FTC confirmation hearing
One never knows how a confirmation hearing will go these days, especially one for a young outsider nominated to an important position despite challenging the status quo and big business. Lina Khan, ju
This is your brain on Zoom
We all know these constant video calls are doing something to our brains. How else could we get tired and frazzled from sitting around in our own home all day? Well, now Microsoft has done a little br
Deep Science: Introspective, detail-oriented and disaster-chasing AIs
Research papers come out far too frequently for anyone to read them all. That's especially true in the field of machine learning, which now affects practically every industry and company.
Sen. Wyden proposes limits on exportation of American’s personal data
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has proposed a draft bill that would limit the types of information that could be bought and sold by tech companies abroad, and the countries it could be legally sold in. The
Twitter bans James O’Keefe of Project Veritas over fake account policy
Twitter has banned right-wing provocateur James O’Keefe, creator of political gotcha video producer Project Veritas, for violating its “platform manipulation and spam policy,” sugges
Amira Learning raises $11M to put its AI-powered literacy tutor in post-COVID classrooms
School closures due to the pandemic have interrupted the learning processes of millions of kids, and without individual attention from teachers, reading skills in particular are taking a hit. Amira Le
Another milestone for in-space servicing as Northrop Grumman gives aging satellite new life
Northrop Grumman hit a new milestone in extending the life of active spacecraft as a purpose-built spacecraft, MEV-2, docked with Intelsat’s IS-10-02 satellite to give it another five years of l
Docugami’s new model for understanding documents cuts its teeth on NASA archives
You hear so much about data these days that you might forget that a huge amount of the world runs on documents: a veritable menagerie of heterogeneous files and formats holding enormous value yet inco
Wonder Dynamics raises $2.5M seed to equip indie filmmakers with AI-powered VFX
Practically every film production these days needs some kind of visual effects work, but independent creators often lack the cash or expertise to get that top-shelf CG. Wonder Dynamics, founded by VFX
Ocean Solutions Accelerator doubles down on blue economy with new track for later-stage companies
The planet-loving folks at the Sustainable Ocean Alliance started an accelerator a couple years back focusing on very early-stage companies, but this year they’re expanding the program to accept
Epic cries monopoly as Apple details secret ‘Project Liberty’ effort to provoke ‘Fortnite’ ban
The Epic v. Apple lawsuit alleging monopolistic practices by the latter will begin next month, and today the main arguments of each company were published, having been trimmed down somewhat at the cou
Biden proposes gun control reforms to go after ‘ghost guns’ and close loopholes
President Biden has announced a new set of initiatives by which he hopes to curb the gun violence he described as “an epidemic” and “an international embarrassment.” Among othe
Signal tests payments in the UK using MobileCoin
Encrypted chat app Signal is adding payments to the services it provides, a long-expected move and one the company is taking its time on. A U.K.-only beta program will allow users to trade the cryptoc