The Cyberpunk 2077 game disc is shown with the Playstation 4 console. Jaap Ahrens – Nour Photo/Getty Images
Monday was not a good time to be a PlayStation Network user, especially one who only downloaded versions of the games he played.
As mentioned in numerous panicked Reddit threads and “I can’t believe it’s not Twitter” threads. SupportsYesterday, Sony Gaming Network hit many PSN users with permanent suspension notices, for no apparent reason. Many people were able to log in again after several hours, although some appeared to have been locked out for longer.
What frustrated those affected was that Sony did not explain the cause of the accident. At press time, the company had not publicly acknowledged this. But whatever the reason, this confusion has prompted many PS4 and PS5 users to discuss the downsides of switching to the digital-only version. As one Reddit user said: “This is why I always buy the disc. Once something happens to your PSN account, all that money is gone.
Now, physical media obviously has its downsides too, as anyone who’s sworn by a crappy CD or DVD player will attest – and funnily enough, Latest Post From the official PlayStation North America support account, it’s about PS5 disc troubleshooting, rather than yesterday’s disc-less debacle. Discs can get scratched and can rot. Downloading or streaming content is much more convenient, especially on the go.
But going the digital-only route means giving up control of the things you’ve bought — you generally can’t resell them, and if it requires network approval to work, you’re reliant on the service provider for ongoing access.
I’ve had several uncomfortable encounters with this phenomenon recently, in the music realm. On one occasion, I had the urge to listen to one of my favorite German bands, Grossstadtgeflüster (“Big City Whisper”) on Spotify, only to discover that their second album, and arguably their best album, was missing from their catalog there. On the other hand, I remembered an album by an Australian indie band that I listened to in the 90s — Frente’s. appearance— but I found that the version on Spotify contains different edits of some of my favorite tracks, leaving the nostalgia thirst only partially intact.
Fortunately, I have both of these albums in my CD collection, which have been sitting in the boxes for the past decade or so. I no longer have a CD player, but I copied my collection before storing it, so I wouldn’t lose the music. And one day, if I become an obsessive old person who only listens to the music of my youth, I might even be able to stop paying streaming subscription fees. Now that’s convenience.
More news below.
David Mayer
Want to submit ideas or suggestions to Datasheet? Underline here.
Newsworthy
Intel patent victory. Intel (which needs all the good news it can find right now) has prevailed in its fight to overturn a $2.18 billion patent ruling against it. Two years ago, a jury found that Intel had infringed a patent for “minimum voltage operating memory technology,” owned by VLSI Technology LLC, a one-off chip maker that these days focuses on IP licensing and lawsuits. As Reuters reported, the appeals court decided there was insufficient evidence that Intel infringed one of the two patents in this lawsuit, and problems with analyzing damages related to the second patent, which Intel did infringe — so one needs to go back to trial.
Sam chips. OpenAI has signed a non-binding agreement to buy $51 million worth of AI chips from Rain AI, a startup backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Wired Reports indicate the deal was struck in 2019, but OpenAI says it has “not initiated next steps.” Rain could reportedly start delivering its chips as early as next October.
Age verification in the UK. UK regulator Ofcom has proposed guidelines on how to verify the age of visitors to pornographic websites. A variety of methods are acceptable, from scanning credit cards, uploading passports to digital ID wallets, and AI-powered facial age estimation. As reported by TechCrunch, Ofcom is aware that children may for example use their parents’ credit cards to access sites, and says it is “so seeking input on what evidence is available around the risks of circumventing different age assurance methods, and what practical steps can be taken to manage appropriate… These risks.”
Important people
5%
-the Twilio employee layoff rate The final round of tech job cuts will be announced. That’s 295 people. The cloud communications provider already fired 17% of its employees earlier this year.
In case you miss it yourself
IBM, Meta and More than 50 Others Launch Alliance to Challenge Dominant AI Players, by Ben Weiss
Deepfakes are another front in the war between Israel and Hamas that risks unleashing more violence and confusion in the future: ‘This is moving incredibly fast’, by Vivian Walt
Nvidia promises to help Japan get the AI chips it needs with a whole network of new factories, By Lionel Lim
Andreessen Horowitz Adds Large California Retirement Funds to Its LP Base for First Time, Records Show By Jessica Matthews
A new tool backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman will help parents get paid leave, by Emma Hinchliffe
Hacker stole data of 6.9 million 23andMe customers and then offered it for sale online, according to Bloomberg
Spotify is canceling two high-profile podcasts, adding to a list of cuts that also includes a third round of job cuts this year, via Bloomberg
before you go
New artificial intelligence applications. the guardian Reports on two innovative uses of artificial intelligence. The first is a machine learning tool that makes it possible to tell when wine sellers are passing off cheap wine as something valuable, by relying on gas chromatography to determine the chemical signature of each estate’s wine. “There is a chemical signature specific to every chateau, regardless of vintage,” said Alexandre Puget, a professor at the University of Geneva. “It is the general pattern of concentrations of many, many molecules that characterizes the sarayas. Each one is a symphony: not a single note distinguishes it, but the whole melody.”
Somewhat more importantly, researchers from the University of Glasgow have developed a laser camera that monitors someone’s heartbeat remotely, without the need for a stethoscope. In this case, AI is used to filter out other, stronger vibrations that the laser also encounters, such as those from breathing. Congratulations to the team on the name of the startup they founded to commercialize this technology: LightHearted AI.
In the ever-evolving world of gaming, Sony’s PlayStation has become a cornerstone for millions of gamers worldwide. However, the recent suspension of PlayStation accounts due to the absence of physical discs has highlighted potential downsides to the shift towards disc-free gaming. As digital downloads and streaming services continue to gain popularity, the limitations and risks associated with this format are coming to light. This situation has sparked a debate on the consequences of relying solely on digital content, and the implications it may have on the gaming community.