Techflier

The new project, called Material Scale, will initially focus on climate tech startups in the apparel industry. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/hx9OvWz via IFTTT

Robert Duvall. Franco Origlia/WireImage/Getty Actors Robert Duvall, James Van Der Beek and Catherine O'Hara died in 2026. So did "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams, Grateful Dead's Bob Weir, and designer Valentino Garavani. Legendary independent film director Béla Tarr also passed away. Below, we look back at those we lost in 2026, listed in alphabetical order. Scott Adams, 68 Scott Adams. Michael Macor/Getty Images Adams based the character in his beloved "Dilbert" comic strip on his coworkers at the telephone company he worked at in the 1980s. By the end of the decade, the character and his satirical office humor began appearing in comic strips. At its peak, "Dilbert" was syndicated in over 2,000 newspapers. A cartoon series debuted in 1999 and ran for two seasons. Adams gained notoriety when he began writing blog posts praising Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential run. In 2023, "Dilbert" was pulled from newspapers acro...

Edie Leong for The Washington Post via Getty Images Tesla eliminated the option to purchase Full Self-Driving with a one-time fee over the weekend. Previously, Tesla offered FSD as an $8,000 one-time purchase option. Musk has said he plans to hike FSD subscription prices as its capabilities improve. Tesla has shifted its Full Self-Driving feature to a subscription model. Over the weekend, the company removed the option to purchase the feature in the US via a one-time flat fee of $8,000. For years, Tesla owners have been able to purchase the service with a one-time payment that would allow them to use it for the full lifespan of their vehicle. Now, the driver-assist feature is available only via a $99-per-month subscription. Tesla CEO Elon Musk first announced in January that the change would take effect the following month. In the past, Musk has said that Teslas would serve as "appreciating assets," suggesting owners could benefit as the software became increas...

According to a16z, it has eyes around the world in order to spot companies as early as local funds might. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/TiWMNQ4 via IFTTT

Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance after its new video generation model, Seedance 2.0, produced AI versions of its characters. It took a very different approach, however, when OpenAI's Sora did the same. Handout/Getty Images Disney's IP is under siege by the AI industry's 'ask for forgiveness, not permission' culture. Disney sent a cease-and-desist to ByteDance, saying it 'hijacked' its characters with Seedance 2.0. When OpenAI's Sora was used to create Disney characters, however, the House of Mouse struck a deal. No, Disney did not release footage of a never-before-seen fight sequence between Marvel's Wolverine and Thanos (spoiler: Thanos won). That clip, which amassed over 142,000 views on X over 48 hours, was created using Seedance 2.0 , an AI video generation model that ByteDance debuted last week. The tool created a buzz on social media, where one user made a hyperrealistic AI video of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting ...

Sarai Saez Rogers bought a house with her best friend after both got divorced. Courtesy of Sarai Saez Rogers Sarai Saez Rogers bought a house and moved in with her best friend in Utica, New York. Both women have said that this has been the best living situation they've ever had. Living together hasn't affected their romantic relationships with others. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sarai Saez Rogers, a 36-year-old mom. It has been edited for length and clarity. When Claire, my best friend for over 10 years, and I laid eyes on the late-18th-century duplex with a big front yard , we knew it was the perfect house to buy together. We'd gotten to know each other in New Mexico, where both of our husbands were stationed while in the military . For 10 years, we were each other's community. Neither of us had family around, so we had to make our own support systems. We both got divorced My husband and I divorced , and there was a six-month peri...

The author says embracing the chaos of having two kids is the only way to survive. Courtesy of the author Becoming a mom of two has been one of the hardest transitions of my life. Parenting one more child feels like you are parenting about six more. Embracing the chaos has been the only way to survive. When I was a mom of one , I nailed motherhood. I was calm and patient; my child was well-dressed; the car was pristine; the chores were completed; and there was very little shouting. But as a mom of two, I just can't parent to the same standards. Everything is messier, louder, more rushed, less organized, and good enough, just has to be enough. Going from one child to two has, without a doubt, been one of, if not the hardest, adjustments of my entire life . One plus one does not equal two in this scenario. As a mom to a 1.5-year-old, a 3.5-year-old, a 16-year-old stepson, and two needy cats, it sometimes feels like I care for a dozen creatures. I thought I was prepared Wh...