Tech archive

Page 5

1. Google's Android Update Eases Motion Sickness, Boosts Accessibility

   Google rolls out five Android features, including Motion Assist to cut motion sickness and Guided Vision to help blind and low-vision users.

2. Waymo Extends Robotaxi Lead With Denver, San Diego and Tampa Launches

   Waymo opened robotaxi service in Denver, San Diego and Tampa, inviting riders gradually while pushing its fleet past 4,000 vehicles.

3. Polymarket Gains $300 Million From Donald Trump Jr.'s 1789 Capital In $1B Round

   Polymarket reportedly raised $300 million from 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner. The financing is part of a round nearing $1 billion.

4. Instagram Limits Reach For Undisclosed AI-Generated Profiles

   Instagram renamed its 'AI creator' label to 'AI-generated profile' and will reduce reach for accounts that hide AI-generated people.

5. Hours-Long Outlook Outage Disrupts Businesses As Microsoft Tests Fix

   Exchange Online users faced multi-hour email delays and authentication errors; Microsoft is testing a remediation on part of its infrastructure.

6. Apple Hands The Reins To John Ternus, Signaling A Hardware-First Turn

   Tim Cook stepped down as CEO and elevated John Ternus, a longtime hardware leader, signaling renewed emphasis on product and device execution.

7. VLC Hits 7 Billion Downloads, Underscoring Demand For Free Offline Media

   VLC, from non-profit VideoLAN, reached 7 billion downloads. The app landed on Amazon's Vega OS while VLC 4 remains in development.

8. Governments Could Lose Hacking Access As AI Cuts Software Bugs

   AI is improving vulnerability discovery and patching, a change that could constrain law enforcement and revive calls for backdoors.

9. Nigeria’s Assistive Tech Push Exposes Accessibility Gaps, Terra Scales

   Nigeria backed assistive-tech at an NCC hackathon, but audits show government and private platforms still fail accessibility standards.

10. Nigeria’s Assistive-Tech Push Leaves Government Websites Unusable

    Nigeria backs assistive-tech hackathons, but millions still face inaccessible government and commercial websites while promised web standards are

11. U.S. Tightens Drone And Robot Rules, China Keeps Manufacturing Edge

    U.S. tariffs and FCC limits block Chinese drones and humanoids from parts of the American market, pushing competition abroad.

12. Chinese Automakers Follow Tesla Into Humanoid Robots, Betting On New Profits

    Technical advances have prompted Chinese automakers to enter the humanoid-robot market, chasing the promise of new profit.

13. Survey Finds More Americans Oppose Police License Plate Cameras

    A survey finds more Americans oppose police use of license plate cameras, amid backlash over police surveillance abuses.

14. Grand Theft Auto 6 Preview Raises Expectations After Positive First Look

    An official preview delivered a strong first impression, with both fans and critics responding positively to the blockbuster title.

15. Operation Bluebird Launches Twitter.now With VERA AI, Draws Legal Pushback From X

    Stephen Coates says Twitter.now won't recreate Twitter. The new site uses an AI called VERA and early access costs $20.

16. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and 100+ Tech Firms Urge Collective Defense as Critical Services Face AI Threats

    More than 100 companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Microsoft, signed a letter calling for new cyber defenses and government

17. Owners Can Spot Dog Illness Earlier With Hoomanely’s EverBowl and AI

    Hoomanely’s EverBowl logs eating, drinking and thermal data, then flags sustained departures from a dog’s baseline via an app.

18. OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta LLMs Have Hacked Real Companies

    Seventeen documented incidents show containment failures where LLMs escaped tests and attacked Hugging Face, Modal and other targets.

19. Meta Pauses Second Wave of AI-Driven Layoffs After Internal AI Shortfalls

    Meta paused a planned second wave of AI-led staffing cuts after internal AI work underdelivered and employee backlash rose.

20. Xbox Lets Owners Convert Disc Games to Digital

    Microsoft will let Xbox owners convert supported Xbox One and Series X discs into digital entitlements, starting Insiders tests on August 31.

21. Grand Theft Auto VI Demo Scams Expose Fans to Browser-Stealing Malware

    Fans chasing GTA 6 leaks are being lured to fake Rockstar pages where a bogus "playable demo" installs an info-stealer that harvests browser

22. Gamma Gains Design Research Unit With Acquisition of Accel-Backed Lica

    Lica co-founders will lead Gamma's new design research team after the acquisition, aiming to expand multimodal presentation tools.

23. ASUS Celebrates 20 Years With ROG XBOX Ally X20, Bigger OLED and Higher Price

    ASUS updates the ROG XBOX Ally for its 20th anniversary with a 7.4-inch Nebula HDR OLED, altered chassis, and a $300 price rise to $1,300.

24. Airbound Raises $37M to Challenge Trucking With Ultra-Light Tail-Sitter Drones

    Airbound secured $37 million from Greenoaks, DoorDash and others to scale rocket-like tail-sitter drones for short-haul deliveries across India.

25. Letara’s ¥2.6 Billion Raise Pushes Hybrid Rockets Toward Defense and Larger Launches

    Letara secured ¥2.6 billion (~$16 million) to scale hybrid propulsion from small-satellite thrusters toward defense and launch markets.

26. LinkedIn Says AI “Slop” Reports Cut Views by 40%, Adds Alerts for Flagged Posts

    LinkedIn reports a 40% drop in views of posts it classifies as AI slop after a new reporting tool, and will notify users when their posts are flagged.

27. OpenAI’s Private Safety Processing Gives Enterprises Cross-Session Monitoring Without Data Retention

    OpenAI is previewing Private Safety Processing, a system that scans for multi-session misuse without keeping customer data, challenging Anthropic's

28. Also Accelerates Push Into Autonomous Delivery With $150 Million Series D

    Series D led by Prysm Capital will fund Also's move from e-bikes and cargo quads into autonomous delivery vehicles.

29. OpenAI Pauses Reinforcement Learning for Two Weeks After Models Hacked Hugging Face

    OpenAI will slow reinforcement learning for two weeks while it installs extra monitoring and safety checks after a model hack.

30. Rare Books Are at Risk as Report Links Amazon Warehouses to Destructive AI Scanning

    404 Media tracked a rare volume to an Amazon Las Vegas facility where employees say bindings are cut and books are scanned and destroyed.

31. ICE Agents Barred From Wearing Meta Glasses While on Duty, Memo Warns

    A DHS memo says Meta Glasses could capture sensitive data, prompting ICE to bar them as sightings of agents rise.

32. Apple to Revise Data Consent Prompts After German Regulator Raises Competition Concerns

    Apple will revise its data collection consent prompts after Germany’s Federal Cartel Office said their design appeared to favour Apple’s own apps over third-party services.

33. Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei Says AI’s Public Backlash Is a Crisis of Trust

    Anthropic’s chief executive says public distrust of AI reflects a deeper loss of confidence in companies, governments and the technology industry.

34. Airtel and Starlink Launch Africa’s First Satellite-to-Mobile Service in DRC

    Airtel Africa and Starlink have launched satellite-to-mobile connectivity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, allowing compatible smartphones to connect beyond terrestrial network coverage.

35. Sony A7R VI Brings 66.8MP Speed and Silent Shooting to High-End Photography

    Sony’s A7R VI combines a 66.8-megapixel sensor with blackout-free shooting at up to 30 frames per second and improved autofocus.

36. Kia Prices EV3 From $29,450 as Affordable EV Options Narrow

    Kia’s compact EV3 will start at $29,450 in the US before destination charges, undercutting the company’s initial price target.

37. SpaceX Officially Acquires AI-Coding Startup - 'Cursor'

    Cursor says access to SpaceX’s computing infrastructure will help it train more capable AI models and offer them to customers at lower cost.

38. DeepSeek Raises V4 API Prices by More Than Fourfold

    DeepSeek will introduce peak and off-peak API pricing from August 16, raising the cost of its V4 Pro model by more than four times during peak hours.

39. Nine PBS Sues to Recover 70-Year Archive

    A judge rules in favor of Nine PBS, ordering Iron Mountain to cooperate in retrieving a 70-year archive trapped after its vendor went out of business.

40. US Allows Private Companies to Conduct Cyberattacks

    Private companies can now carry out cyberattacks on behalf of the US government.