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Robotic Automations

Mark Zuckerberg says Threads has 150 million monthly active users | TechCrunch


Meta’s Twitter/X rival Threads is growing at a stable pace. The social network now has more than 150 million monthly active users — up from 130 million in February — Mark Zuckerberg mentioned during the company’s Q1 2024 earnings call.

Since the last quarterly earnings call, Threads has notably taken steps towards integrating with ActivityPub, the decentralized protocol that powers networks like Mastodon. In March, the company allowed U.S.-based users over 18 to connect their accounts to the Fediverse so their posts would show up on other servers.

The company also plans to release its API to a wide set of developers by June, allowing them to build experiences around the social network. However, it is still not clear if Threads will allow developers to make full-fledged third-party clients.

Last week, Meta launched its AI chatbot across Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Threads was a notable exclusion from this list, possibly because of the lack of native DM functionality.

On Wednesday, Threads also released a test feature to let users auto-archive their posts after a period of defined time. They can also archive or unarchive individual posts and make them public.

Threads is roughly nine months old, and Meta has steadily built out the audience. However, it is strictly not an X alternative, as Instagram Head Adam Mosseri said in October that Threads won’t “amplify news on the platform.” But Meta’s social network is still gaining steam. Earlier this week, Business Insider reported that according to app analytics firm Apptopia, Threads now has more daily active users in the U.S. than X.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

Robotic Automations

Ford's hands-free BlueCruise system was active before fatal Texas crash | TechCrunch


The driver of a Mustang Mach-E who crashed into a stationary car in Texas in February was using Ford’s hands-free driver-assistance system, BlueCruise, according to data obtained by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

It’s the first known fatality resulting from a crash involving the use of BlueCruise, which Ford first announced in 2021. The system allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel on pre-mapped highways and uses eye-tracking to determine whether drivers are paying attention to the road.

The NTSB’s announcement that BlueCruise was active during the Texas crash comes just one day after the safety board announced it’s probing a second fatal crash near Philadelphia where Ford’s driver-assistance system may have been active. Ford told TechCrunch at the time that it reported the Texas crash to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and that it was “actively researching all available information.” The company declined to comment further on Thursday.

That second crash also involved the Ford impacting two stationary cars, raising questions about whether the automaker’s driver-assistance system has a similar problem to what Tesla has dealt with for years with Autopilot. The NHTSA has spent nearly three years investigating more than a dozen crashes where Tesla drivers using Autopilot have crashed into stationary emergency vehicles.

The February crash happened just outside San Antonio. A 1999 Honda CR-V was stationary in the center lane of Interstate 10 with no lights on at around 9:50 p.m. CT, when the Mustang Mach-E crashed into the back of it. The Honda flipped over and wound up in the left lane. The safety board said Thursday that the Mustang driver “had been operating the vehicle in BlueCruise mode before the crash.” The 56-year-old driver of the Honda died after being transferred to the San Antonio Military Medical Center, according to the police report, while the driver of the Mustang sustained “minor injuries.” Police found no signs of intoxication in the Mustang driver. The NTSB said another driver missed the Honda moments before the Mustang crashed into it.

The NTSB released on Thursday what’s known as a preliminary report and is still investigating the crash. A spokesperson said a final report is likely to be published within 12 to 24 months. The NHTSA is also probing the Texas crash, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This story has been updated to note that Ford declined to comment on the new information from the NTSB.


Software Development in Sri Lanka

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