Crypto needs a killer app more than a chastened Binance

Temu, the Chinese e-commerce company whose app is now attracting longer engagement times than Amazon, is Apple’s most downloaded free app in the U.S. for 2023. The Cupertino-based tech giant today released an App Store feature that showcases the top iPhone apps of the year, free and paid, as measured by app installs — its proxy for overall popularity. This year, apps from Chinese-based companies have taken over spots previously held by U.S. tech giants like Meta and Google, as CapCut and TikTok, which hail from Beijing-based ByteDance, came in at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively.

Bitcoin delivered another bout of its notorious volatility in a brief but sharp tumble toward $40,000 amid a broader crypto selloff.

For months, X (formerly Twitter) users have seen hilarious screenshots of Grok AI patiently, waiting for their turn to come. The generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot with humor and sarcasm is a product of xAI, an AI firm owned by Elon Musk. So far, it was in beta testing and only a select few verified X Premium Plus users, the highest tier of the subscription, had access. But now, Musk has announced the wider roll-out of the chatbot in the US to all X Premium Plus users, bringing the funny and “spicy” AI tool to the general public. With the launch announced, here are 10 things about Grok AI that you should know.

The Game Awards is back for its 2023 edition, signalling that time of the year when the industry and fans gather together to celebrate the best in video games. Marking the 10th iteration of the Geoff Keighley-hosted show, the annual event is held in high regard by developers worldwide, who will be competing in 31 categories that acknowledge games across genres. As usual, the ceremony will be spruced up by big announcements and trailers for upcoming titles, backed by a dedicated musical orchestra conducted by returning composer Lorne Balfe. There haven't been as many leaks this year, so anticipation is high as gamers keep their fingers crossed hoping for the biggest reveals.

Meta Platforms Inc. is betting artificial intelligence will convince people to spend more time on its social media apps next year and is using the technology to make the biggest changes across its platforms since introducing short-form video Reels in 2020.

By Chris E. Hayner on

One of the world's footballing greats, Cristiano Ronaldo, has been named in a class action lawsuit in the US for his promotion of the crypto exchange Binance. Binance was in the news most recently after the CEO stepped down and both he and the company pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in the US and accepted a whopping $4.3 billion fine.

Do Kwon, former crypto darling and now fugitive, was arrested in Montenegro this March while attempting to flee to Dubai. The High Court in Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital, has now given approval for Do Kwon's extradition, though whether he'll be off to South Korea or the US, both of which have open arrest warrants for him, remains to be decided.

Tumblr underwent a redesign in July 2023 when the platform announced it would improve its content discovery as well as ease the process of creating a page. The company claimed the changes were implemented based on user feedback. Now, taking another step in its feedback-focused process, it will also be removing the Tumblr Post Plus subscriptions. It allowed creators to share content behind a paywall for those subscribers who paid for the subscription. The company has said that it will be removed starting January 2024.

A report by the Entertainment Software Association has found that 72% of children in the US want games-related products for Christmas, but only 22% have asked for physical games.

The remake just brought an SNES classic back in freshened-up form, but it's not the only game from the system that deserves a new treatment. The Nintendo Switch version is loyal to the original style and material of, redoing isometric art in a direct polygonal recreation with a bit of extra detail and fluidity in movement. Remakes can often be controversial due to bugs, abandoned features, or lost atmosphere, but this is one example of how effective doing things right can be.

Several console generations have passed since the release of, but the world still deserves a — just not one that uses as a basis. Like a number of titles released by Rockstar Games, courted controversy thanks to its subject matter, which put players into the shoes of a juvenile delinquent to take a look at the vicious world of a boarding school. An open-world format and a focus on misdeeds made «in school» a reasonably accurate pitch for the game, but it might be best for apotential to move away from that concept.