Well‚ that was fast. Just a year after Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger launched their first post-Instagram project -- the personalized social news aggregator app Artifact -- they abruptly decided to call it quits‚ having come to the conclusion that "the market opportunity isn't enough to warrant continued investment" in the product. That announcement on Friday certainly came as a shock to many (but not all) of Artifact's small but loyal user base‚ many of whom had been attracted to everything from the app's slick UI to its myriad innovations‚ like the ability to create AI-generated images for posts inside the app as well as the ability to mark news articles as clickbait (at which point AI would rewrite the headline). Plenty of Artifact's users‚ meanwhile‚ took to social media to claim they weren't surprised at all that the app is shuttering‚ given the tough road faced by what was largely a content aggregation app starting from scratch in an overly-saturated marketplace. We can certainly debate all day long about what Artifact‚ which was initially presented as a kind of TikTok for text‚ got right and wrong. But right now‚ at least in my mind‚ there's a much more interesting question that Artifact's users are asking in comments and posts everywhere from X to Reddit over the last day or so: Where do we go now? Many of those users‚ and I suppose I'll include myself in this group‚ had flocked to Artifact to begin with in the wake of volatility at Elon Musk's X. Does it necessarily follow that those users are now going to just return to the Wild West of X‚ as Artifact winds down in the coming weeks? I don't think so. As I see it‚ there are two very solid apps that are worth Artifact's users migrating to (if they aren't there already): Apple News‚ and Flipboard. Both of which will be attractive to Artifact users for very different reasons. We'll start with a particular kind of user that X has run off -- people who just want a daily dose of information‚ in the form of a drip feed that shares the most interesting and important updates from accounts they follow‚ minus the drama you get from the trolls and crazies that dominate X. Many of those disaffected X users migrated over to Artifact in the hopes of a straightforward news app. Which it was‚ for a time. If that's largely what you want -- a vertically scrolling stream of headlines and just the facts‚ ma'am -- then‚ in my opinion‚ Apple News is the app for you. Apple News Image source: Apple There are no social features whatsoever‚ of the sort that Artifact users eventually started to complain about. The basic functionality is that you follow as many publishers or topics as you want‚ and your feed will be populated with an infinitely scrolling collection of content. Furthermore‚ there are two settings you can enable to even more granularly control your feed: You can restrict stories with explicit content‚ and you can also limit Apple News to only showing you content from sources that you actually follow (rather than the app showing you content from sources you don't follow but that the app thinks you might like). The second app that I think Artifact users ought to switch to is Flipboard -- and it's partly because some of you say you want a newsreader app‚ but you don't really mean it. Artifact‚ for example‚ got lots of negative comments both in the app as well as via reviews left in the Apple and Google app stores expressing frustration at seeing news that the user didn't agree with or like (which is not necessarily the app's fault) and also frustration over seeing too much news (like all those Russia updates from Newsweek that it felt like Artifact was flooded with every time I opened it). Flipboard on the web Image source: Flipboard If you're more in this latter camp‚ then the kind of app I suspect you want is one that's good at delivering you news -- albeit‚ within the context of your interests. That‚ my friends‚ is Flipboard. "It’s always tough to hear about a startup shutting down its service‚" Flipboard head of content and communications Marci McCue told me Friday via email. "Of course we think many people who used Artifact for curated news would also love Flipboard‚ and we hope they try it out. "We’ve built a system that blends human curation with algorithms where our editors and users curate the most important stories for people every day. They are sure to find topics they care about on Flipboard. But beyond that‚ this year we’re opening Flipboard up to the larger Fediverse ecosystem where millions of people can engage with any of the stories shared on our platform. As we federate our service‚ everyone on Flipboard can be a part of this growing community and find new connections around the content they love." The other great thing I'll say about Flipboard is that while it has the human element‚ the curation‚ and the community that Apple News lacks‚ Flipboard also hasn't gone overboard in building the kind of wild‚ hard-to-moderate space for user-generated content that Artifact was starting to turn into. It's simply a collection of the best of the web‚ delivered inside a beautiful reading experience. In fact‚ perhaps the best thing I can say about Flipboard‚ as a longtime user‚ is that I've never once closed the app after spending any amount of time using it and felt unsatisfied‚ like I'd just wasted a few precious minutes. The difference between apps like Flipboard and Artifact is the difference between sitting with a book you love in front of a cozy fireplace‚ versus listening to people vying for your attention by clamoring about‚ say‚ Elon‚ AI‚ and crypto inside a bar while you're trying to figure out where to sit. Don't Miss: Today’s deals: $199 Apple Watch SE‚ $1‚000 off Anker SOLIX F3800‚ $20 space heater‚ Sony TVs‚ more The post RIP Artifact: 2 app alternatives now that it’s shutting down appeared first on BGR. Trending Right Now: How ‘Let’s Go‚ Brandon’ became the right’s favorite Joe Biden insult iPhone 15 Pro Max review: Better in every way How to enable Copilot in Windows 11

The award-winning documentary Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields details the life of the child actress Brooke Shields‚ who played the trafficked daughter of a prostitute in Louis Malle’s 1978 movie Pretty Baby. The film received backlash due to controversial scenes Brooke had to do‚ including one where she appeared nude. The documentary’s synopsis on ABC’s website reads‚ “‘Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields’ follows Shields through her extraordinary childhood and complex relationship with her mother and manager‚ Teri Shields. Brooke Shields’ professional career began at only 11 months old‚ working as a child model before starring in Louis Malle’s controversial film Pretty Baby at the age of 12.” Brooke Shields controversial role in ‘Pretty Baby’ — A Reflection PRETTY BABY: BROOKE SHIELDS‚ Brooke Shields‚ 2023. © Hulu /Courtesy Everett Collection Having been unaware of how controversial her role was at the time‚ Brooke considered Pretty Baby “the most beautiful movie I’ve ever made” and “the only real quality film I’ve ever been in.” RELATED: Brooke Shields Gets Candid About Having To Kiss A Grown Man At 11 “I value that movie in such a different way and wrote my thesis on it. I’m fascinated with that journey of innocence to experience and who owns it‚” she told The New Yorker last year. “Do they become a victim to it? Or do they not?” PRETTY BABY‚ from left: Brooke Shields‚ Keith Carradine‚ 1978‚ © Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection She did more leading roles in movies like The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love‚ but none came close to Pretty Baby in her heart. “It’s very interesting to me‚ that movie. You couldn’t make it today‚ obviously‚” she added. After her hiatus from the spotlight to attend college‚ Brooke returned to film as a “more confident and more proud” adult who‚ without her degree‚ would not “have been able to adapt or reinvent.” Brooke sought validation from Susan Sarandon Brooke worked 12 to 15 hours daily as a 12-year-old while filming Pretty Baby and faced abuse on set. She had to wear antique footwear that broke her skin and got hit multiple times by her co-star Susan Sarandon‚ whose approval she craved very much. “I wanted so much approval from her— as a woman‚ as an actress‚ as a mom‚” Brooke admitted. “She was a maternal figure for me in the film‚ and she was very serious.” PRETTY BABY‚ Brooke Shields‚ Susan Sarandon‚ 1978‚ ©Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection However‚ after receiving nine consecutive slaps from Susan‚ everything changed for Brooke. “I never felt like I got approval from her. I was a golden retriever puppy. That was me off-camera. On camera‚ Violet has this very stoic reaction to her mother‚” she said. “During the slapping scene‚ I remember that’s when I switched the way that I reacted toward her.” Click for next Article The post Why Is Brooke Shields’ Role in 1978 Movie ‘Pretty Baby’ Considered Controversial? appeared first on DoYouRemember? - The Home of Nostalgia. Author‚ Peace A

A federal judge has delivered a major victory for supporters of the Second Amendment. According to Reuters‚ U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ruled Friday that a federal law barring individuals […] The post Major 2A Win as Judge Rules Anti-Firearm US Law Is Unconstitutional appeared first on The Federalist Papers.

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