The (WGA) strike is over!
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has officially called to lift its strike order, 148 days after the Guild first began to waylay Hollywood’s production, according to a report from Variety. The East and West boards of the WGA unanimously voted to lift the strike late on Tuesday, after coming to a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
As of Wednesday, 27 September, writers are officially allowed to return to work – before the final ramification vote takes place. Great. One down, two to go, huh?
The WGA released a revised 94-page contract and summary of the changes coming to the industry; including wage gains, minimum staffing requirements and most importantly – major protection against the implementation of AI. That includes a number of new rules, like studios being unable to force the implementation of AI in a writers’ room unless explicitly discussed and agreed upon by all parties. Better yet, it includes language that means AI cannot write or rewrite any literary materials.
The most crucial change involves the WGA’s decision to “reserve the right to assert that exploitation of writers’ material to train AI is prohibited by MBA or other law,” per the Guild’s summary. That could end up being the straw that breaks the AI-camel’s back within Hollywood – with studios being unable to train AI to a point where it is commercially viable.
There are more changes, plenty more, which you can peruse in the 94-page contract available here.
WhatsApp’s getting a new face
If you haven’t heard the news, WhatsApp is getting a redesigned UI for the first time in years. But you probably already knew that if you’re a Stuff reader. So, what’s new? Thanks to WABetaInfo and a new version of the WhatsApp beta for Android (version 2.23.20.10), WhatsApp’s continued to add to the refreshed UI, giving us our clearest look at the interface yet.
We’re not quite as enthralled by WhatsApp’s various colour changes across the home page, with a new green pigment dominating both the app’s light and dark modes for a more unified look. A different green hue has been splattered across the app’s floating action button, matching the revamped chat bubble colour.
What interests us more is that the same changes are showing up in the most recent WhatsApp beta for iOS 23.19.1.72 update, receiving the same new chat filters, updated top bar and profile button that we saw in the last beta for Android.
At the time of writing, there’s no word from WABetaInfo or WhatsApp on when we can expect a full public rollout of the refreshed UI.
Huawei’s new EV is a real Chery, bru
Chinese tech giant Huawei is moving towards the EV industry, and it’s enlisted the help of Chery Autos to make that happen. The partnership has already borne fruit, arriving in the form of the Luxeed S7, an EV that’s reportedly set to launch in China this November, according to South China Morning Post.
Huawei’s supplying the tech, with Chery Autos supplying, well, the autos. And despite a lack of information surrounding the Luxeed’s price, range or accompanying tech, Huawei’s got a bit of swagger to throw around. “It will be superior to Tesla’s Model S in various aspects,” said Richard Yu Chengdong at an event.
That’s a bold claim, especially considering Tesla’s tenure within the industry. Without much concrete information, aside from the fact that the car is making use of Chery’s E0X platform – built for two-motor, all-wheel drive EVs – it’s hard to take Huawei at face value.
Regardless, there’s a good chance we’ll be forced to watch Huawei’s EV ambitions from afar – better than the Model S or not, with neither Huawei nor Chery confirming a release outside of China.
Goodbye Google Podcasts. You, uh, won’t be missed
Google Podcasts is officially retiring in 2024, and Google is corralling all its users towards YouTube Music, soon to be the only home of Google-powered podcasts, according to a blog post. The search giant will help users complete the transition when the time comes, offering several solutions to appease its users.
Google Podcasts officially became a thing in 2018, offering an alternative to Spotify’s podcasts at the time. Google spelt the Podcast app’s death back in April when it brought podcast support to YouTube Music, offering better controls like offline and background listening and the ability to switch to audio or video.
If you’re an existing Google Podcasts user, use can use Google’s migration tool to make the switch for you. There’s also the option of simply adding your podcast RSS feeds to YouTube Music. Or if you want to move away from Google altogether, you can download an OPML file containing your subscriptions, and upload it to another app entirely.
If you’re in one of the countries still awaiting YouTube Music’s podcast support, fear not. Google has promised that Podcasts on YouTube Music will be made globally available before the end of 2023. Google also said it would release clear instructions on the migration tool closer to the day of reckoning.
