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Recent discussions on Reddit are no longer showing up in non-Google search engine results. The absence is the result of updates to Reddit’s Content Policy that ban crawling its site without agreeing to Reddit’s rules, which bar using Reddit content for AI training without Reddit’s explicit consent.

As reported by 404 Media, using "site:reddit.com" on non-Google search engines, including Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Mojeek, brings up minimal or no Reddit results from the past week. Ars Technica made searches on these and other search engines and can confirm the findings. Brave, for example, brings up a few Reddit results sometimes (examples here and here) but not nearly as many as what appears on Google when using identical queries. A standout is Kagi, which is a paid-for engine that pays Google for some of its search index and still shows recent Reddit results.

As 404 Media noted, Reddit's Robots Exclusion Protocol (robots.txt file) blocks bots from scraping the site. The protocol also states, "Reddit believes in an open Internet, but not the misuse of public content." Reddit has approved scrapers from the Internet Archive and some research-focused entities.

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The Amazon business unit that focuses on Alexa-powered gadgets lost $25 billion between 2017 and 2021, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported this week.

Amazon claims it has sold more than 500,000,000 Alexa devices, which included Echo speakers, Kindle readers, Fire TV sets and streaming devices, and Blink and Ring smart home security cameras. But since debuting, Alexa, like other voice assistants, has struggled to make money. In late 2022, Business Insider reported that Alexa was set to lose $10 billion that year.

WSJ said it got the $25 billion figure from "internal documents" and that it wasn’t able to determine the Devices business's losses before or after the shared time period.

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Smart TV owners have been subjected to an increasing amount of ads and tracking. Ad fatigue, only worsened by a trend that sees streaming providers trying to force customers into subscriptions with commercials, is understandable. We’re at the point where someone would rather use a broken laptop dangling off a TV than be subjected to the watchful eye of the TV's native operating system.

Earlier this month, as spotted by Tom’s Hardware, a blogger named Carl Riis, who says he’s a software engineer, shared his DIY project, a Linux-based “smart TV.” Riis’ project doesn’t stand out because it’s the most unique, clever, or clean. In fact, if you’re the type of person willing to pay a lot for TVs with strong aesthetic appeal, like TVs that can look like artwork or appear transparent, you’ll be put off by the EarlGreyTV. The system uses an old Lenovo laptop that has a broken keyboard and is attached to a TV by a string. As Riis wrote: “This may look a little insane, but it has been a great way to keep things neat while retaining access to the laptop."

The backside of the DIY smart TV. (credit: Carl the Person/YouTube)

The laptop is broken because Riis spilled tea onto the keyboard years ago. The keyboard stopped working, making it hard to turn the laptop on and off. “I have to short two specific pins where the keyboard connects to the motherboard. For this reason, I have the back removed, which probably also helps it run less hot,” Riis wrote.

Enlarge / A marketing image for the Galaxy Buds3 Pro. (credit: Samsung)

Samsung is delaying the release of the $250 Galaxy Buds3 Pro in the US from July 24 to August 28, per its website. The third-generation earbuds have Samsung moving from a bean-like shape to an Apple AirPods Pro-like design, including silicone ear tips. But some users have claimed that the new tips rip too easily.

Samsung confirmed to Android Authority today that it has temporarily stopped shipping units to stores. The devices were no longer available for preorder on Amazon or Best Buy as of this writing.

Samsung’s statement to Android Authority noted “reports relating to a limited number of early production devices” and asserted that it's taking the problem “very seriously.” The statement continues:

Enlarge / Ad-free Basic subscribers will be crane-kicked off the plan soon. (credit: Netflix/YouTube)

Netflix today confirmed suspicions that it will stop letting people pay $12 per month to stream without commercials.

The ad-free Basic plan was the cheapest way to watch Netflix without commercials. The plan limits users to 720p resolution and one device and lets people download content. Netflix stopped offering the Basic plan to new subscribers in January. In June, Netflix started booting subscribers in the UK and Canada off the plan and automatically put them onto a cheaper subscription plan with ads.

In a letter to shareholders today [PDF], Netflix confirmed publicly for the first time that it “will now start” to phase out the ad-free Basic plan in the US and France. This will make the cheapest commercial-free Netflix plan $15.49/month in the US. That Standard plan supports up to two devices, downloads, and 1080p resolution.

Enlarge / The Charge 5 (pictured) has been a source of contention for Fitbit customers. (credit: Getty)

Since the acquisition closed in 2021, the Google-fication of Fitbit has largely meant a reduction in features and a focus from Google on getting people onto the Fitbit app. Long-time users have flocked to Fitbit—sometimes upon Fitbit's request—to share hundreds of complaints about recent changes. However, Google has been mostly unresponsive to customer feedback.

Web app discontinuation angers users

In June, Google announced it was discontinuing Fitbit.com's online dashboard. After July 8, users seeking similar features that the web app provided must download the Fitbit mobile app. On Fitbit’s Community forum, a company representative confirmed that users’ “details and logging for activities, nutrition, sleep, and weight” would remain available via the app. However, the change inconvenienced users who preferred or needed to access such data on a bigger screen than that on a phone. Worse, the app lacks some of the features of the online dashboard, such as food logging.

Despite these obvious user drawbacks, the need to Googlize Fitbit seemed to drive the change. Announcing the news on the Community forum, a Fitbit company rep said:

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Video streaming providers have a big churn problem. While many streaming companies are not profitable yet, the entire industry is grappling with high and fast cancellation rates.

Users who sign up for streaming services only to cancel a few months later, likely because they watched what they wanted to already or are trying to save money, has created huge churn concerns for streaming companies. Those companies are largely responding with packages that bundle their services with other services, including rival streaming platforms. But with streaming subscribers already pushed to their financial limits, it's time for streaming providers to earn their keep, not piggyback on others.

This week, media research firm Hub Entertainment Research published its 2024 Monetization of Video report with findings from June interviews of 1,600 TV viewers ages 16 to 74. The respondents reportedly each watch at least one hour of TV weekly, and the sample is “US census balanced,” per Hub. When Hub asked respondents if they will "still have/use" their video streaming services a year from now, 85 percent of those using ad-free services said they definitely or probably will, compared to 74 percent of subscribers of streaming services with ads. Further suggesting that ad-free subscription tiers garner more loyalty, 15 percent of ad-free subscribers said they "might/might not" or "probably/definitely won't" have their subscription next year versus 26 percent of ad subscribers.

Enlarge / An example of an 8-inch floppy disk. It's unclear which brand disks the German Navy uses. (credit: Cromemco, CC BY-SA 4.0)

The German Navy is working on modernizing its Brandenburg-class F123 frigates, which means ending their reliance on 8-inch floppy disks.

The F123 frigates use floppy disks for their onboard data acquisition (DAQ) systems, as noted by Tom’s Hardware on Thursday. Augen geradeaus!, a German defense and security policy blog by journalist Thomas Wiegold, notes that DAQs are important for controlling frigates, including power generation, "because the operating parameters have to be recorded," per a Google translation. The ships themselves specialize in anti-submarine warfare and air defense.

Earlier this month, Augen geradeaus! spotted a tender for service published June 21 by Germany's Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology, and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) to modernize the German Navy's four F123 frigates. The ships were commissioned from October 1994 to December 1996. As noted by German IT news outlet Heise, the continued use of 8-inch floppies despite modern alternatives being available for years "has to do with the fact that established systems are considered more reliable.”

Enlarge / A Redbox movie rental kiosk stands outside a CVS store. (credit: Getty)

Since 2004, red DVD rental kiosks posted near entrances of grocery stores and the like tempted shoppers with movie (and until 2019, video game) disc rentals. But the last 24,000 of Redbox's kiosks are going away, as Redbox's parent company moved to chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy this week. The end of Redbox marks another death knell for the DVD industry at a time when volatile streaming services are making physical media appealing again.

Redbox shutting down

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which owns Redbox, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 29. But on Wednesday, Judge Thomas M. Horan of the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved a conversion to chapter 7, signaling the liquidation of business, per Deadline. Redbox's remaining 24,000 kiosks will close, and 1,000 workers will be laid off (severance and back pay eligibility are under review, and a bankruptcy trustee will investigate if trust funds intended for employees were misappropriated).

Chicken Soup bought Redbox for $375 million in 2022 and is $970 million in debt. It will also be shuttering its Redbox, Crackle, and Popcornflix streaming services.

Enlarge / Nike announced the Adapt BB as "a Self-Lacing Basketball Shoe" with app-controllable LEDs. (credit: Nike)

In 2019, Nike got closer than ever to its dreams of popularizing self-tying sneakers by releasing the Adapt BB. Using Bluetooth, the sneakers paired to the Adapt app that let users do things like tighten or loosen the shoes' laces and control its LED lights. However, Nike has announced that it's "retiring" the app on August 6, when it will no longer be downloadable from Apple's App Store or the Google Play Store; nor will it be updated.

In an announcement recently spotted by The Verge, Nike's brief explanation for discontinuing the app is that Nike "is no longer creating new versions of Adapt shoes.” The company started informing owners about the app's retirement about four months ago.

Those who already bought the shoes can still use the app after August 6, but it's expected that iOS or Android updates will eventually make the app unusable. Also, those who get a new device won't be able to download Adapt after August 6.

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Amazon is bricking all Astro for Business robots on September 25. It first released the robot about eight months ago as a security device for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) for $2,350, but the device will soon be a pricey new addition to Amazon's failed products list.

Amazon announced Astro in September 2021 as a home robot; that version of the device is still only available as a $1,600, invite-only preview.

In November, Amazon pivoted Astro to SMBs. But as first reported by GeekWire, Amazon on Wednesday sent emails to employees working on Astro for Business and customers telling them that the devices will stop working on September 25. At the time, Amazon's email to customers said: "Your personal data will be deleted from the device. Any patrol or investigation videos recorded by Astro will still be available in your Ring app until your video storage time expires or your Ring Protect subscription ends." According to The Verge, the email adds:

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About two years after the country’s digital minister publicly declared a “war on floppy discs,” Japan reportedly stopped using floppy disks in governmental systems as of June 28.

Per a Reuters report on Wednesday, Japan's government "eliminated the use of floppy disks in all its systems." The report notes that by mid-June, Japan's Digital Agency (a body set up during the COVID-19 pandemic and aimed at updating government technology) had "scrapped all 1,034 regulations governing their use, except for one environmental stricture related to vehicle recycling.” That suggests that there's up to one government use that could still turn to floppy disks, though more details weren't available.

Digital Minister Taro Kono, the politician behind the modernization of the Japanese government's tech, has made his distaste for floppy disks and other old office tech, like fax machines, quite public. Kono, who's reportedly considering a second presidential run, told Reuters in a statement today: