Meta launches Horizon Worlds in two new countries, Amazon says the FTC is harassing its founder, and workers go on strike at an Amazon freight facility in California.
Meta’s Horizon Worlds virtual reality social platform has launched in France and Spain, expanding its established presence in North America and the U.K. Meta has been refining the platform’s user experience by introducing new safety tools, like granular controls for voice chat and four-foot personal boundaries around the avatars. Despite posting a revenue decline in Q2 and losing $3 billion in metaverse building, the company remains hopeful that it will flourish by 2030. Whether that bet will pay off remains to be seen. In February, Meta said Horizon Worlds has around 300,000 users.
In a legal filing, Amazon accused the Federal Trade Commission of harassing Jeff Bezos, causing business disruptions. As a part of the FTC’s ongoing investigation into Amazon’s alleged misleading tactics for its Prime membership, the commission would issue subpoenas, which is an order for individuals to appear. The filing says that these orders are “unduly burdensome,” and serve no other purpose than to harass the individuals. The FTC, on the other hand, is accusing Amazon of intentionally dragging out the investigation process.
Amazon workers at a California freight hub staged a walkout on Monday, demanding a $5 per hour raise and better temperature controls. The workers formed a group called Inland Empire Amazon Workers United. In July, the group delivered a petition signed by 800 employees asking for better pay due to the rising cost of living. Additionally, the group asked for measures to lower the high temperatures in the facility, which could rise to more than 95F. The scale of the walkout is disputed. The worker’s groups said 160 workers walked off the job on Monday, but an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider that only 74 of the 1,500 workers took part.
Drop, a computer peripheral company, has just released perhaps the most mystical keyboards yet. Its two new keyboards carry keycaps engraved with Elvish and Dwarvish, the languages spoken by two prominent factions in J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. These keyboards are the first to gain Lord of the Rings licensing and cost $169 each. But beyond the legends, the keyboard uses high quality PBT keycaps and the luxurious Holy Panda X mechanical switches. The keyboards are expected to ship in early October.
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