FLOPOU: 24 technology events that marked 2024 3b4ut

After 2023 proved that many tech events can happen, this was actually a preview of what was to come the following year. While organizing the tech events that marked 2024, we ed that a fight between Mark Zuckerberg was even considered by billionaires in 2023 (something that never happened). But you won't believe what happened in 2024. 6v24v

There's everything: astronauts trapped in space, Twitter blocked in Brazil, pagers exploding in Lebanon and even problems for a well-known big tech company. Follow what went wrong in the tech world right now.

iTunes App ib6z

Apple has been promising to discontinue the iTunes app for Windows for more than five years. In February 2024, the company began giving people three options to stop using its music library and purchasing service.

All people who still use the iTunes needed to , separately, the Apple Music, Apple TV and Apple Devices to use the same functions as iTunes that they were used to. Those who still have previous versions will be able to use the application to access and play the media library. 

Are you still using iTunes for Windows or are you part of the team that has migrated to audio streaming services? Let us know in the comments below. Comment, but ing that the list of technology events that marked 2024 is just beginning.

Apple Lay Later s5d6c

Released in October 2023 but never available outside the US, the Apple PayLater (Pay Later, in direct translation) can be explained as a purchase installment service from the Cupertino company that was included in the list of technology flops in 2024, more specifically in June.

Offered by herself Apple , the idea was to allow Americans to make purchases of up to US$1 and pay in up to 4 interest-free installments, with payments in up to two weeks. Apple said in a statement that the service will be replaced by a partnership with banks, which will also allow it to expand to places like Australia, Spain and United Kingdom.

Will we see this in Brazil? We'll just have to wait for the new year to see if it arrives here (or not).

Astronauts “trapped” on the ISS 41396f

This is the kind of story you only believe when you see it. Back in August (this month had several stories), we had the case of the astronauts Suni Williams e Butch Wilmore, who had problems while participating in a Boeing test mission. 

The Starliner capsule, which arrived at the International Space Station on June 6, has experienced problems, and now they will have to wait 9 months to return to Earth. They were initially expected to stay at the ISS for just over a week.

This occurred because the capsule suffered setbacks with helium leaks and thrusters that abruptly stopped working in the initial stage of its first manned test flight. 5 of the 28 reaction control thrusters Starliner stopped working – all but one were eventually recovered.

Boeing engineers spent weeks testing possibilities to see if it would be safe and feasible to return the two astronauts to Earth in the damaged capsule, but it was decided that this would only happen in March 2025. The initial forecast was February 2025.

Despite the great expectation that another company would carry out the work of taking astronauts to the ISS, SpaceX is still the only one that has been successful in this type of task. The rocket Crew Dragon, of the mission crew-9, will be responsible for bringing the two Boeing astronauts. 

Until then, they become full-time of the expedition team, working for NASA at the orbiting laboratory, performing scientific experiments, maintenance tasks and assisting in preparations for spacewalks — including a study on new ways to produce fiber optic cables and grow plants aboard the ISS.

Atlas Robot Retirement 6539y

After 11 years, Boston Dynamics has announced the retirement of the Atlas robot we know and usher in, according to the company, a new era. The company will not necessarily stop producing robots: in fact, it will put aside the hydraulic unit so that an electrically powered unit can take over.

In a video posted on its YouTube channel, Boston Dynamics revealed the new design and, of course, mentioned that it can move more assertively than its predecessor. See it by watching the video below:

In the statement, Boston Dynamics mentions that it used the data collected on the hydraulic version of its robot to improve the electric version. Can you imagine robots doing tasks like you do in reality? Let's wait and see.

The electric version of the Atlas will be stronger, with a wider range of motion than any of our previous generations. For example, our next-generation hydraulic Atlas (HD Atlas) was already capable of lifting and maneuvering a wide range of heavy and irregular objects; we continue to build on these existing capabilities and are exploring several new grapple variations to meet a diverse set of expected handling needs in customer environments.

Atlas on his new robot, now powered by electricity.

Spotify's Car Thing 4o2651

Does the idea of ​​having a screen in your car, just to play Spotify and control the music volume, excite you? Well, it does. The world's most used music streaming platform announced Car Thing in February 2022, with the idea of ​​allowing people to listen to music in their cars, in addition to ing voice controls.

Despite the idea soar Interestingly, a smartphone had to be paired with the device, and without that, it wasn't even possible to use the Car Thing.

It's interesting to note that it was also quite limited: its four-inch screen was only used to display Spotify's interface and nothing more. Weather information? No. Traffic data where the was? No. And buyers of the device, which cost US$89,99, mentioned that voice commands were not well understood.

After noticing a huge drop in sales, Spotify announced that it would stop ing Car Thing as of December 09, 2024. The company also thanked all customers for their , and stated that a second generation will not be released in the future.

This decision was not made lightly, and we want to assure you that our commitment to providing a superior listening experience remains unchanged. We deeply recognize and appreciate the and enthusiasm you’ve shown for Car Thing. It’s been an incredible journey, and we’re grateful for all the miles we’ve shared. After December 9, 2024, Car Thing will be discontinued and will no longer be operational.

Spotify on the end of Car Thing.

In the announcement, made in May 2024, the company emphasized that everyone who made the purchase, even if they still had the device, would no longer be able to use it. Refunds were not given to the (few) buyers and the company also emphasized that everyone should format it and “dispose of it consciously”. It is, in fact, one of the biggest flops in technology in 2024.

Meta Celebrity Chatbot 3v5241

Meta could not be left out of our 2024 retrospective. Its participation includes AI (but of course it does): announced in September 2023, the company developed a service that simulated the personalities of famous people, such as American football player Tom Brady and famous influencer Charlie D'Amello. The announcement was made in August 2024.

The company explained that it wants to change its strategy regarding the use of artificial intelligence and, on the same day that it canceled its service based on the personality of celebrities, it also announced AI Studio. This is a tool that will, in the future, allow content creators (which also includes celebrities) to develop their own personalized chatbots.

The idea is only available in the US at the moment, with no further information on when it will be rolled out to other countries. People with famous profiles will be able to train chatbots based on what they post on Instagram, as well as being able to select topics that should not be commented on and even choose the links that should be sent by the chatbots.

Would you use AI Studio to create a second version of yourself on the internet? Comment with us at the end of the post.

23andMe Bankruptcy 6t2v2c

A 23andMe appears on our list of technology events for the second year in a row. The first time was due to a data breach that affected no less than seven million Americans.

In case you’re not familiar with the company, it’s in the genetic science industry and became famous for its Personal Genome Service, where you basically ordered a sample (for a modest $999), had it collected at home, and sent it back to the company to learn about your health, ancestry, genetics, and more. They also offered rapid and more traditional tests.

At the time, it was a success: the company, founded in 2006, announced in 2024 that 14 million people had already taken the tests. But back in 2023, the data leak left its mark: a class action lawsuit filed by now former customers resulted in a loss of 30 million dollars.

In September 2024, seven independent directors of the company after the founder announced that he was considering taking it private, claiming that it had never actually made a profit.

The big question is: what will be done with customers' genetic data? The company's CEO, Anne Wojcicki, said it is committed to customer privacy and will “maintain the current ,” which basically allows customers to choose whether their data will be kept in the database and whether it can also be used, without direct identification, in research. Four out of five customers agreed to give their data to medicine. And there is the possibility of requesting the deletion of the and, of course, of the genetic samples that are in their name.

But it is clear that the company can do whatever it wants with the data it has in its database, and some people have even reported receiving calls from 23andMe partners. The full privacy statement also states that if the company goes bankrupt, people's information may be "accessed, sold or transferred."

Bowery Bankruptcy z136m

Developed by Bowery, a startup founded by Irving Fain, who wanted to grow lettuce vertically, with the of robots and LED lights, with what they called vertical farming. The founder claimed that his idea was 100x more productive than traditional farms, because the shelves were mounted 12 meters high. With good marketing that should have remained only in theory, Irving raised $700. Yes.

In case you’re wondering where the problem lies: the high costs of maintaining facilities like these have driven up the final price. Are you willing to pay more for lettuce grown vertically? Many people aren’t.

Business analytics firm CB Insights called it the biggest startup failure of the year. Bowery closed nine years after entering the market. In addition to the end product being more expensive than people are used to paying, the vertical farming company’s facilities were infested with pests that led to the company’s bankruptcy.

Several producers who previously made purchases in different parts of the US stopped placing their orders and, as expected, the company went bankrupt in November 2024. Who knows, when this becomes more accessible, we might see a vertical farming idea succeed (or not).

Redbox Bankruptcy 261u3p

This time, the company affected is Redbox, a company that rents DVDs and physical game media. On July 10, 2024, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, the company's parent company, said that the company would soon stop renting games, as mismanagement by the majority shareholder had stopped paying employees, causing them to also lose medical benefits.

Redbox became famous among enthusiasts who don't like to subscribe to video and game streaming services to watch/play online. But, after the coup, it had to lay off more than 1000 employees because there was no more money to keep them doing what they did. It was also necessary to sell the more than 24 kiosks that served as pickup points for game or movie discs.

It is speculated that the lack of more recent releases was also one of the problems for Redbox declaring bankruptcy. Do you think this would work here in Brazil?

CrowdStrike Failure 39186t

On July 19, 2024, companies that used Windows in their services experienced several problems. CrowdStrike, a company that provides cybersecurity, updated its Falcon platform, which has several modules to prevent leaks and hacker attacks. However, in an update, the CrowdStrike indicated that Microsoft's Windows operating system was malicious software.

The detection error caused the famous blue screen of death in companies across a range of sectors: banks, airports and more. Crowdstrike's CEO acknowledged the problem and even recommended that s not turn off their machines. Those who were not affected were advised not to turn on their computers that day.

The flaw has since been patched and Microsoft claims that around 85 million Windows PCs were affected, but that could be much higher since not all companies share this data. It was one of the most talked about tech stories of 2024. Have you experienced it?

End of ICQ 5t2y10

Responsible for shaping instant communication, ICQ lasted a long time: launched in 1996 by the Israeli company Mirabilis, it was bought by AOL in 1998 and reached its peak in 2001. The current owner of the VK application, closed the application in June 26 from 2024.

Alternatively, she suggested using her apps VK messenger e VK Workspace. ICQ messages and other data were deleted and the famous Uh-oh notification sound was heard for the last time in the middle of the year that left us. Will you miss it?

Fossil Smartwatches 6u2k72

Known as an option for those who don't like to use smartwatches Apple e Samsung, Fossil, on January 29, announced its exit from the smartwatch market, claiming that high competition was one of the reasons for this decision, according to a spokesperson, in an interview with The Verge. Look:

As the smartwatch landscape has evolved significantly over the past few years, we have made the strategic decision to exit the smartwatch business. Fossil Group is redirecting resources to our core strength and key segments of our business that continue to provide strong growth opportunities for us: deg and distributing traditional watches, jewelry and leather goods under our own brands as well as licensed brands.

Fossil spokesperson Amanda Castelli on the brand's exit from the smartwatch market

The company will continue to offer for its older models: the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition was the last one to be released by the company: it features Wear OS 4, a hybrid watch face and a promised battery life of two weeks. The company does not have official sales in Brazil, but it is possible to export it via AliExpress ou Amazon.

Google Chromecast 4t2t48

With the debut of Google TV Streamer, o Google officially discontinued the Google Chromecast, which opened the door for smart TVs without an intelligent system to run audio and video streaming services and even games. The company stopped manufacturing the device to now focus its efforts on the new product.

Despite no longer replenishing stock, Google has announced that it will still buyers through operating system updates, so it won't be completely useless. One of the coolest features is the ability to turn it into a smart device controller, which goes by the name Home Runtime and will work with devices that the Matter protocol.

There’s no denying that Chromecast has made history: its first version was released in 2013 and, until it was discontinued, around 100 million units had been sold worldwide. Are you one of the people who already had this device?

google-jamboard 5f5i3r

The Google Jamboard is a $4.999 device that can be explained as a 55-inch digital whiteboard with 4K resolution and touch . The idea was launched in 2017 and, although you may not know much about it, it was still active today.

All companies that have made the acquisition will be able to save/ files until December 31, 2024, but the transition has been happening since September, despite having a seven-year lifespan. The company no longer plans to allow all files to be saved in the cloud (which also required payment), but the large screen will still be able to be used for basic drawings.

The company knows that the share of people using paid Google Workspace plans and Jamboard is relatively low, but it has partnered with companies like FigJam, Lucidspark and Miro to ensure that popular services can be used by these people, even as Jams (as the projects were called) become unavailable.

Google OneVPN 6z6y28

Launched as an option that would later gain a “big brother,” Google One VPN was a feature available to those who subscribed to plans for more storage on Google Drive. There was just one problem: a small percentage of people were using it.

The idea was to launch a service that was like an “extra layer of online protection for your Android phone” and “peace of mind that your data is safe.” Despite Google One having over 100 million subscribers, it was no longer being used.

On April 11, the company announced that this would no longer be valid. Despite everything, the Pixel VPN, available on devices manufactured by Google (which unfortunately are not sold in Brazil), will remain active and with the same functionality that we know.

OpenAI Implosion 214d33

In November 2023, Sam Altman was unexpectedly fired from OpenAI. The company's official statement on the matter at the time indicated that the Board opted to fire the CEO for breach of trust.

Rumors, also from the time, alleged that Sam acted without transparency with the Council and with a lack of caution, with the purpose of developing an “artificial general intelligence”, or AGI, in the English term, the name given to artificial intelligence that achieves a level of cognition equal to or greater than that of humans.

At the time, although the reason for the resignation was not confirmed, the attempt was unsuccessful and the CEO returned to the board, subsequently reforming it. Now, a year after this major change, OpenAI has undergone a new overhaul, led by Altman, which is transforming it from a non-profit artificial intelligence research center to a traditional company, focused on profit and with generous bonuses for the CEO.

Such changes are causing several leaders to leave the company. On September 25, 2024, Mira Murati, the company's chief technology officer, decided to leave the company. OpenAI with the justification that “he needed to create time and do his own explorations”.

Two other big names leaving OpenAI are Bob McGrew, who ran the research division, and Barret Zoph, who led the new AI models team. In the same month that he took leave, another co-founder and key leader, John Schulman, left to Anthropic.

With that, in addition to Altman, the only remaining member of OpenAI's board is Greg Brockman, who ed Sam when he was fired in 2023. However, brockman has been on personal leave since August and is not expected to return until 2025.

The major change in OpenAI's definition places the remaining professionals in a new work purpose, which no longer exclusively aims at the “good of humanity”, as previously proposed, but also at generating profit.

The importance of the “security issues and practices to prevent loss of control of artificial intelligence” developed by the company is therefore unclear. Watch our video summary on the subject and get up to date:

Intel in crisis 6b662t

2024 was a very atypical year, but even more atypical for Intel. The company found itself losing the fight to have more powerful AI PCs than companies like Qualcomm and AMD, and, from one day to the next, the current CEO, Pat Gelsinger Announces Retirement.

And it doesn't stop there: the Intel Foundry, created to help American companies reduce their dependence on Asian manufacturers in the production of high-tech chips, has generated high costs: in the second quarter of 2024 alone, it recorded a loss of US$ 2,8 billion.

A Qualcomm e AMD even thought about making an acquisition of Intel, but this was put aside due to lack of interest from both. On November 20 of this year, Christian Amon, CEO from Qualcomm, in an interview with Bloomberg, said the company“has not identified any major acquisitions that are necessary".

Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Monitoring 6h6r41

We reported the first chapter of this story in November 2023, when Apple stopped selling the Apple Watch 9 and Ultra 2 in the US. The problem? The Masimo, a non-invasive patient monitoring technology company, accused the Apple of plagiarism.

Fast forward to the following year, more specifically in January, the company Cupertino has put its watches back on the market, but without blood oxygen monitoring. Those who lived in the US and tried to use the functionality when they got a new device saw the message that the monitoring service was no longer available for use.

In October 2024, justice in Delaware decided that, in fact, the Apple was copied by Masimo. However, it was decided that a small fine would be imposed: just $250. The judge ruled that only a charger and module design were copied by Masimo, but the W1 Freedom products had already been discontinued.

With this, the Apple Watch 9 and Ultra 2 continue to be sold in the US with the oximeter disabled. Tim Cook said in an interview that this is not a reason for people to stop buying an Apple Watch.

Moxie Robot 413754

Launched in 2020, the Moxie Robot was designed to be a companion for children aged 5 to 10 who, in addition to having his own voice, had arms and animated expressions displayed on a screen. He could also perform various fun activities and could answer questions that little ones asked.

Well, now we jump to December 2024: abruptly, the Embodied, founded in 2016, announced that the robot will stop working due to high infrastructure costs. In order to function intelligently and also improve over time, the robot needed to its manufacturer's AI servers directly. The price to have access to the toy was not low at all: US$ 799 (R$ 4.949,80 in direct conversion).

The startup said it had a major investor who would keep it going, but “at the last minute, this investor decided not to invest any more money in the company.” The statement was sent on December 10, and several videos of parents warning their children that the robots would “die” in the coming days are going viral. Check out some of them below:

Embodied, Inc., the company behind the AI ​​robot Moxie, is shutting down and this father had to break the news to his daughter. 🥲

To a kid this feels like a death of a family member.

We're going to have to deal with AI friends disappearing soon. pic.twitter.com/AUiBKJviaM

— Zero State Reflex (@ZeroStateReflex) December 3, 2024

https://www.tiktok.com/@heatherfraziertiktok/video/7448294862300073262?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7420456670322836998

Pagers exploding in Lebanon 3pi6m

In September 2024, we were surprised with the news that pagers, very common in the 80s and 90s, exploded in Lebanon. Around 2.700 people of various ages were injured and 8 died, including a child. The extremist group Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attacks, which affected several areas of the country.

The incident was described as unprecedented, with devices exploding in different areas at almost the same time. Local authorities and witnesses reported chaos in several parts of the country, with ambulances overwhelmed, hospitals on alert and citizens fearing that more explosions could occur. The situation was made worse by the fact that pagers are widely used by of Hezbollah and other organizations in Lebanon.

The group, which maintains a strong presence in the affected regions, has vowed retaliation and said Israel will be punished. This aggressive rhetoric raises fears of an even wider military conflict between the two sides, something that has already been seen in recent weeks.

In addition to the direct accusation against Israel, the Lebanese government, through the Prime Minister Najib Mikati also condemned what he called a serious violation of Lebanese sovereigntyMikati called the attack a crime by all standards and said Lebanon would take all necessary measures to defend its people. The Israeli military, for its part, remained silent and did not issue any statements about the accusations, but the history of conflicts between the two sides suggests that new developments could soon occur.

Problems with AI Pin 1z6d21

When it was just a concept, we even bought the idea of ​​Humane, founded in 2019 by Bethany Bongiorno e Imran chaudhri, who had a career in Apple .

O AI Pin was defined as a wearable device that displayed holograms in the palm of the 's hand. Whoever bought it could have access to an AI device with computer vision that would (supposedly) be useful in several everyday tasks, in addition to performing real-time translation. Like this here:

The price to have access to this was not at all affordable: US$ 699 (R$ 4.235,31 in direct conversion). And with such a high price, a lot was expected from the device. And this is where the company started to have problems. Firstly, the battery of the device did not last long enough, which left s with nothing more than a decorative item on their clothes.

And you also had to sign up for a monthly internet plan to do your internet searches. More expenses for a device that wasn't all that great. When the first reviews by market experts came out... it was terrifying. Days before the device's official launch, which took place in April 2024, the founders said in a meeting with employees that they would need to prepare for the worst. And they were right.

MKBHD or Marques Brownlee, also known as “Mark Brownlee”, even said that this was the worst product he has ever tested (so far), as you can see in the video below. The tech expert’s reach is huge: he has over 19 million subscribers on his YouTube channel.

In the first week of April, only 10 thousand units were ordered from Humane. The company's estimate was to sell 100 units in the first wave of sales.

In June, the company began recommending that some s stop using the device’s charger due to the risk of the battery catching fire. Current and former employees say that from the beginning, AI Pin faced the issues that were later identified by reviewers.

A Humane, however, did not give up on the technological pin and said that their ambitions regarding the device have not changed, but they also itted that there is a big difference between testing a device and actually using it. Who would have thought, right? the video announcing the new product:

It is also said that the company even had the financial resources to deliver a functional device that was truly worth the investment, but it chose to make more profit. And it turned out well. The company has implemented new features, such as the integration of OpenAI's newest chatbot system, GPT-4o; and a problem that can reduce energy consumption by 25%. They are trying to get somewhere, the only thing left to do is to know where.

when we entered the company website, it is still possible to purchase the device. Whether it will be useful for your daily life or not, that is another story.

Rabbit R1 considered fraud 5z444b

One of the highlights of CES 2024 was also considered one of the technology flops of 2024. The idea of Rabbit R1 was supposed to replace your smartphone by being a large personal assistant with computer vision, a 2,88-inch touchscreen, and for AI features. The big problem with this is that, despite being cheaper than the AI ​​Pin and having been a success (it costs $199), its operating system is actually an app for Android.

The software engineer Mishaal Rahman, who is also the editor of the website Android Authority, received the APK file ready to be installed on a smartphone, from an unknown source. He tested it on a Google Pixel 6A and, despite some limitations, the main features worked well. Watch the video below:

This feat was expected by some people and underscores the idea that these AI boxes are actually smartphone emulators, rather than replacements. CES 2025 is just around the corner, and we’ll definitely see devices like these there. The question is: how many of them will make it onto our list of tech flops in 2025?

Sam Altman vs. Scarlett Johansson z6556

We didn't have a fight between millionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, but we did have a fight between Sam Altman and Scarlett Johansson.

On May 13th, we had the launch ofAI voice with Scarlett Johansson's, who also voiced Samantha in the film HER. Compare below:

The story gets worse for Sam Altman after Scarlett’s statement: she claimed in a press release that the CEO of OpenAI had ed her about licensing her voice for the Sky system, which she denied. Two days before the voiced language model was due to launch, Altman ed Johansson again, and once again she denied it. But it was too late for any changes to be made.

On May 13, Altamn went to X to publish only the word “her”, referring to the film and also to Scarlett Johansson.

here

- Sam Altman (@sama) May 13, 2024

The voice was taken off the air and nowadays, other voices can be used on the Chat GPT. But the video below features AI Sky narrating the Black Widow actress's note to the press. Check it out:

X/Twitter is blocked in Brazil 5v2j4

2024 was one of the most important years for X/Twitter in Brazil and everyone knows the reason: on August 30, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the social network owned by Elon Musk to be blocked after failing to comply with court orders. Before that, on August 18, the social network closed its office in Brazil, which left the social network without a legal representative in Brazil.

We quote all the chapters of this true soap opera in our special article on the subject, but following it closely was interesting. First, Elon Musk did not believe that De Moraes would block the social network in Brazil. Which is what actually happened.

Then we had to create an so that Musk expose the crimes (which he invented) of Alexandre de Moraes against the Brazilian constitution. None of this worked and the Supreme Court Justice did not make things easy. We only had a first change after almost 20 days, in which the s indicated by Alexandre de Moraes were deleted.

The story came to an end after 39 days, more specifically on October 11, 2024. Elon Musk paid the fines, appointed a legal representative for X in Brazil and also blocked the s appointed by Alexandre de Moraes.

tell us Comment: Which of the technology events that marked 2024 caught your attention the most?

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Text proofread by: Daniel Coutinho in 24 / 12 / 2024