Enlarge / Yes, there are bigger monitors, but is there a better way to have a tri-monitor setup? (credit: Getty)

In a technical disclosure published this month, HP explored a Micro LED monitor concept that would enable consumers to easily use various multi-monitor configurations through the use of "Lego-like building blocks." HP has no immediate plans to make what it has called "composable Micro LED monitors," but its discussion explores a potential way to simplify multitasking with numerous displays.

HP's paper [PDF], written by HP scientists and technical architects, discusses a theoretical monitor that supports the easy addition of more flat or curved screens on its left, right, or bottom sides (the authors noted that top extensions could also be possible but they were "trying to keep the number of configurations manageable"). The setup would use one 12×12-inch "core" monitor that has a cable to the connected system. The computer's operating system (OS) would be able to view the display setup as one, two, or multiple monitors, and physical switches would let users quickly disable displays.

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  The illustration shows a monitor made of a core unit and two extension panels viewed as three monitors (left), two monitors (middle), and two monitors with different orientations (right). [credit: HP/Technical Disclosure Commons ]

Not a real product

HP's paper is only a technical disclosure, which companies often publish in order to support potential patent filings. So it's possible that we'll never see HP release "composable Micro LED monitors" as described. An HP spokesperson told me:

Enlarge / Spotify's Car Thing in a car. (credit: Spotify)

Spotify will refund owners of Car Thing, its Spotify-playing device that mounts to car dashboards, Ars Technica confirmed today. On May 23, Spotify announced that it would brick all Car Things on December 9.

Spotify started notifying customers via email on May 24 that they could reach out to this support channel if they have questions about Car Thing's discontinuation. The email doesn't explicitly guarantee refunds, though, which could leave some thinking they have no way to get reimbursed for the gadget that initially sold for $90. Further, Spotify's support page for Car Thing doesn't mention refunds and only tells owners to reset and properly dispose of or recycle the gadget.

A Spotify spokesperson declined to confirm to Ars if Spotify would offer full refunds to everyone who showed proof of purchase or if there were further requirements. The representative said that owners should contact Spotify via the above link about refunds.

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  8BitDo's IBM-like M Edition keyboard. [credit: 8BitDo ]

8BitDo is releasing an IBM-inspired look for its $100 wireless mechanical keyboard. Keyboard enthusiasts love regaling normies with tales of IBM’s buckling spring keyboards and the precedent they set for today's mechanical keyboards. But 8BitDo's Retro Mechanical Keyboard M Edition doesn't adopt very much from IBM's iconic designs.

8BitDo’s Retro mechanical keyboards come in different looks that each pay tribute to classic tech. The tributes are subtle enough to avoid copyright issues. Similar to 8BitDo's ‘80s Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Commodore 64 designs, the M Edition doesn’t have any official IBM logos. However, the M Edition's color scheme, chunkier build, and typeface selection, including on the Tab key with arrows and elsewhere, are nods to IBM’s Model M, which first succeeded the Model F in 1985.

Of course, the keyboard’s naming, and the IBM behemoth and floppy disks strategically placed in marketing images, are notes of that, too:

Enlarge (credit: Spotify)

Owners of Spotify's soon-to-be-bricked Car Thing device are begging the company to open-source the gadgets to save some the landfill. Spotify hasn't responded to pleas to salvage the hardware, which was originally intended to connect to car dashboards and auxiliary outlets to enable drivers to listen to and navigate Spotify.

Spotify announced today that it's bricking all purchased Car Things on December 9 and not offering refunds or trade-in options. On a support page, Spotify says:

We're discontinuing Car Thing as part of our ongoing efforts to streamline our product offerings. We understand it may be disappointing, but this decision allows us to focus on developing new features and enhancements that will ultimately provide a better experience to all Spotify users.

Spotify has no further guidance for device owners beyond asking them to reset the device to factory settings and “safely” get rid of the bricked gadget by “following local electronic waste guidelines.”

Enlarge / HP's new OmniBook X laptop (left) and EliteBook Ultra G1q (right) will start at $1,200 and $1,700, respectively. (credit: HP )

HP is rebranding its consumer and commercial computers. The company will no longer use branding like Spectre and instead use Omni for all of its consumer-facing laptops, desktops, and all-in-ones (AIOs). Similarly, it will no longer refer to its commercial laptops as Dragonfly.

HP announced today that it will no longer release computers under consumer PC series names like Pavilion. Instead, every consumer computer from HP will be called either an OmniBook for laptops, an OmniDesk for desktops, or an OmniStudio for AIOs. The computers will also have a modifier, ranging from 3 up to 5, 7, X, or Ultra to denote computers that are entry-level all the way up to advanced. For instance, an HP OmniBook Ultra would represent HP's highest-grade consumer laptop.

HP's new naming convention for consumer computers. (credit: HP)

"For example, an HP OmniBook 3 will appeal to customers who prioritize entertainment and personal use, while the OmniBook X will be designed for those with higher creative and technical demands," Stacy Wolff, SVP of design and sustainability at HP, said via a press announcement today.

Enlarge (credit: Getty)

Stuff posted on Reddit is getting incorporated into ChatGPT, Reddit and OpenAI announced on Thursday. The new partnership grants OpenAI access to Reddit’s Data API, giving the generative AI firm real-time access to Reddit posts.

Reddit content will be incorporated into ChatGPT "and new products," Reddit's blog post said. The social media firm claims the partnership will "enable OpenAI’s AI tools to better understand and showcase Reddit content, especially on recent topics." OpenAI will also start advertising on Reddit.

The deal is similar to one that Reddit struck with Google in February that allows the tech giant to make "new ways to display Reddit content" and provide "more efficient ways to train models," Reddit said at the time. Neither Reddit nor OpenAI disclosed the financial terms of their partnership, but Reddit's partnership with Google was reportedly worth $60 million.

Enlarge (credit: Intel)

Intel this week announced new Thunderbolt software made for connecting two PCs. Thunderbolt Share will require Intel-licensed hardware and is looking to make it simpler to do things like transferring large files from one PC to another or working with two systems simultaneously.

For example, you could use a Thunderbolt cable to connect one laptop to another and then configure the system so that your keyboard, mouse, and monitor work with both computers. Thunderbolt Share also enables dragging and dropping and syncing files between computers.

The app has similar functionality to a KVM switch or apps like PCmover, Logitech Flow, or macOS' File Sharing and Screen Sharing, which enable wireless file sharing. But Thunderbolt Share comes with Intel-backed Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 5 speeds (depending on the hardware) and some critical requirements.

Enlarge (credit: Getty)

In an ironic twist, cable TV and Internet provider Comcast has announced that it, too, will sell a bundle of video-streaming services for a discounted price. The announcement comes as Comcast has been rapidly losing cable TV subscribers to streaming services and seeks to bring the same type of bundling that originally drew people away from cable to streaming.

Starting on an unspecified date this month, the bundle, called Streamsaver, will offer Peacock, which Comcast owns, Apple TV+, and Netflix to people who subscribe to Comcast's cable TV and/or broadband. Comcast already offers Netflix or Apple TV+ as add-ons to its cable TV, but Streamsaver expands Comcast's streaming-related bundling efforts.

Comcast didn't say how much the streaming bundle would cost, but CEO Brian Roberts said that it will “come at a vastly reduced price to anything in the market today" when announcing the bundle on Tuesday at MoffettNathanson’s 2024 Media, Internet and Communications Conference in New York, per Variety. If we factor in Peacock's upcoming price hike, subscribing to Apple TV+, Netflix, and Peacock separately would cost $39.47 per month without ads, or $24.97/month with ads.

Enlarge (credit: Getty)

A study analyzing Apple, Microsoft, and SpaceX suggests that return to office (RTO) mandates can lead to a higher rate of employees, especially senior-level ones, leaving the company, often to work at competitors.

The study (PDF), published this month by University of Chicago and University of Michigan researchers and reported by The Washington Post on Sunday, says:

In this paper, we provide causal evidence that RTO mandates at three large tech companies—Microsoft, SpaceX, and Apple—had a negative effect on the tenure and seniority of their respective workforce. In particular, we find the strongest negative effects at the top of the respective distributions, implying a more pronounced exodus of relatively senior personnel.

The study looked at résumé data from People Data Labs and used "260 million résumés matched to company data." It only examined three companies, but the report's authors noted that Apple, Microsoft, and SpaceX represent 30 percent of the tech industry's revenue and over 2 percent of the technology industry's workforce. The three companies have also been influential in setting RTO standards beyond their own companies. Robert Ployhart, a professor of business administration and management at the University of South Carolina and scholar at the Academy of Management, told the Post that despite the study being limited to three companies, its conclusions are a broader reflection of the effects of RTO policies in the US.