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Russia resorts to desperate World War One defence technique to protect its oil refineries — floating barrage balloons failed to curtail V1s and are unlikely to succeed against UAVs

Russia has updated the concept of barrage balloons to defend oil refineries Barrage balloons were first deployed over 100 years ago to defend against air raids It is not clear what the measures are defending against, as they only appear suitable for disabling smaller drones Russia has deployed barrage balloons around its oil refineries to defend against Ukraine drone attacks – but the demonstratio…

Sources: OpenAI is in early talks to buy Trail of Bits, which finds and fixes vulnerabilities in open-source software; founded in 2012, it has 40+ employees (The Information)

The Information : Sources: OpenAI is in early talks to buy Trail of Bits, which finds and fixes vulnerabilities in open-source software; founded in 2012, it has 40+ employees — OpenAI, which is trying to develop a substantial cybersecurity business, is in early talks to buy Trail of Bits …

An OpenAI Employee Allegedly Used a Chatbot to Help Plant a Recording Device at the Office

Chatbot prompts reveal the engineer’s alleged efforts to set up a covert listening device days before one was found in a meeting room used by high-level executives.

Science Corporation implants its vision-restoring chip in its first Stargardt disease patient

Max Hodak, the former president and co-founder of Neuralink, detailed on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt how his company's work with PRIMA is part of its path toward a novel brain-computer interface (BCI).

Cerebras CEO says we’re nearing a future where everyone has a personal AI assistant at home

Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman predicts a future where personal AI assistants become as commonplace as household appliances, running partly on local devices and partly in the cloud.

Tencent raised ~$5.7B via US dollar and offshore yuan debt offerings, drawing $23B+ in orders; source: it had initially been expected to raise at least $4.5B (Reuters)

Reuters : Tencent raised ~$5.7B via US dollar and offshore yuan debt offerings, drawing $23B+ in orders; source: it had initially been expected to raise at least $4.5B — Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) has raised about $5.7 billion through US dollar and offshore yuan debt offerings on Tuesday …

NYT Strands hints and answers for Wednesday, October 14 (game #955)

Looking for a different day? A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, October 13 (game #954) . Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Word…

NYT Connections hints and answers for Wednesday, October 14 (game #1221)

Looking for a different day? A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, October 13 (game #1220) . Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clev…

Quordle hints and answers for Wednesday, October 14 (game #1724)

Looking for a different day? A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Tuesday, October 13 (game #1723) . Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still goi…

Apple TV 4K 2022 vs. 2026: What's new and is it worth the $100 jump?

The 2026 model is faster and can hear you from afar, but the 2022 box gets Siri AI as well. The 2026 model is faster and can hear you from afar, but the 2022 box gets Siri AI as well.

How to improve your online privacy and security in Google Chrome

Google has much to gain by collecting data from you through your activity on Chrome, but you can make it harder. Google has much to gain by collecting data from you through your activity on Chrome, but you can make it harder.

Industrial Next wants factory robots to switch tasks in minutes, not weeks

Industrial Next helps manufacturers automate complex, delicate tasks that have traditionally required human labor.

Martin Shkreli livestreamed himself violating lifetime pharma ban, FTC says

Martin Shkreli—the ex-pharmaceutical executive infamous for illegally hiking the price of a lifesaving anti-parasitic drug by more than 4,000 percent and getting a seven-year prison sentence for the fraudulent scheme he used to do it— has been under a lifetime ban from the pharmaceutical industry since 2022. However, according to the Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of seven stat…

Two teens allegedly used a humanoid robot to sexually harass a 16-year-old girl

Generative AI is enabling a tidal wave of nonconsensual intimate imagery and child sexual abuse material . Social media algorithms are exacerbating online harassment and the doxxing of rape survivors . Now, humanoid robots are making the offline world more unsafe for girls and women. Two teen boys are under investigation by German authorities after allegations that they used a walking bot to grope…

Cerebras CEO pushes back on AI doomsday warnings

Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman has a message for AI leaders spreading doomsday warnings: Maybe stop talking? At TechCrunch Disrupt, he argued that the industry's focus on AI's risks is drowning out its potential benefits.

Fastest AI laptop ever built keeps its crown for now as Nvidia unleashes RTX mobile workstations — $18,600 Dell Pro Max 18 Plus laptop doubled in price in 14 months, and it could be unseated within days

Dell Pro Max 18 Plus leads current local AI rankings, yet Nvidia's launch could unsettle results RTX Spark offers 128 GB shared memory for larger locally run models Spark's 300 GB/s bandwidth trails Dell's graphics memory at 896 GB/s The Dell Pro Max 18 Plus still holds the title of fastest AI laptop, topping local AI rankings ahead of every other machine tested. Its RTX PRO 5000 chip reached 185.…

See the ‘heartbreakingly poignant’ Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 winning photo

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 winners announced Federico Veronesi takes top prize with elephant carrying a dead calf photo Winning photographs showcased at the Natural History Museum, London, from 16 October 2026 The winners of the 62nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year have been announced, and once again the selection gives us a fascinating insight into our planet's animal behaviour and…

Are Chromebooks still worth buying after the Googlebooks release?

Googlebooks represent a huge upgrade over Chromebooks, but the older devices still have their place. Googlebooks represent a huge upgrade over Chromebooks, but the older devices still have their place.

Apple’s HomeView ad is confusing to everyone except parents

Nothing like a little family togetherness in the morning. | Image: Apple Apple's ad introducing its new HomeView smart display is a little unusual. It's fast-paced and unruly, depicting a family of five as they rush through the morning routine. There's yelling and mess, misplaced keys and discarded eggshells. Apple's typical vibe is clean, simple, orderly; this commercial is chaos. But the spot ha…

Everyone Hates ‘Digger.’ It’s the Perfect Climate Movie

The deeply uncomfortable film forces audiences to confront what types of stories we tell ourselves about who has economic and political power.

Our pick for the "best QLED TV for most people" is over $1,300 off at Amazon

SAVE $1,302: As of Oct. 13, the 65-inch TCL QM8L SQD-Mini LED 4K TV is down to $1,197.99 at Amazon. That’s a 52% discount off the $2,499.99 list price on Mashable’s "best QLED TV for most people." Opens in a new window Credit: TCL TCL 85-inch Class QM8L Series TV $1,197.99 at Amazon $2,499.99 Save $1,302.00 Get Deal Shopping for a new TV often feels like a dizzying exercise in decoding…

VisionQuest creator reveals why his Tony Stark cameo dream fell at the first hurdle

VisionQuest 's creator briefly floated the idea of a Tony Stark cameo in the Marvel TV show The series has numerous ties to Robert Downey Jr's iconic MCU character Terry Matalas knew it was a non-starter, so it never moved forward VisionQuest 's showrunner has admitted he'd have liked to have included a Tony Stark cameo — but was well aware that he was "not going to get" Robert Downey Jr to appear…

5 clever ways Gemini can automate everyday tasks

If you're not using some of these skills, you're missing out on a chance to streamline your days, keep up to date and more. If you're not using some of these skills, you're missing out on a chance to streamline your days, keep up to date and more.

An AI image of Mia Goth sparks Instagram fan account controversy

AI-generated images can now give celebrities entire social media moments they never took part in. For Mia Goth, that meant a supposed response to her divorce — right down to a T-shirt and breakup soundtrack. After news of the Pearl and MaXXXine actress's divorce filing from Shia LaBeouf a few weeks ago, an Instagram post appeared to show Goth wearing a shirt that read "MY EX IS MY BIGGEST FA…

A look at OpenAI's safety concerns over loop transformers before shipping its next major model; Microsoft accidentally confirmed GPT-6.1 Sol uses the technique (The Information)

The Information : A look at OpenAI's safety concerns over loop transformers before shipping its next major model; Microsoft accidentally confirmed GPT-6.1 Sol uses the technique — OpenAI is grappling with fallout from its use of a controversial innovation in AI design as it works to get its next unreleased model …

ESA targets Anbernic emulation handhelds as "superfake" piracy enablers

For years, Chinese hardware manufacturers have carved out a market niche with an array of handheld Android gaming devices focused on retro emulation and/or more modern game-streaming capabilities. Now, though, a major game industry trade group is targeting one of those manufacturers, Anbernic, asking the US Trade Representative (USTR) to add the company to its list of "Notorious Markets" that "eng…

An OpenAI engineer is charged over a listening device in the boardroom

An OpenAI engineer has been arrested over a listening device found behind a television in an executive conference room, and is charged with endeavouring to intercept oral communications. OpenAI says no model weights, source code or customer data were taken. An OpenAI engineer has been arrested over a listening device found at the company’s San […] This story continues at The Next Web

OpenAI says it found a 'sophisticated recording device' hidden in its offices

The company asked its AI models to figure out what the device was. The company asked its AI models to figure out what the device was.

Topgolf saved over $11.3 million after leaving VMware

Topgolf’s VMware costs were going to increase by 400 percent under Broadcom. To avoid that cost, the sports entertainment company moved 12,000 virtual machines (VMs) to VergeIO’s VergeOS and has saved over $11 million so far. Before migrating, Topgolf’s VMware connection “ran very deep,” Scott Forehand, Topgolf’s global infrastructure manager, told Ars Technica. Topgolf has over 100 locations worl…

Beyond AI: what Europe’s flagship customer contact event revealed

Amsterdam, early October. Customer Contact Week Europe 2026 brought together around 700 attendees and 50 exhibitors over three days to talk about the future of customer contact. As the industry’s flagship event in Europe, it carried a certain energy that is hard to replicate, the kind that comes from having the right people in the […] This story continues at The Next Web

Apple v. OpenAI: a US judge partly grants Apple's motion for expedited discovery, ordering OpenAI to hand over forensic images of devices and other documents (Annelise Levy/Bloomberg Law)

Annelise Levy / Bloomberg Law : Apple v. OpenAI: a US judge partly grants Apple's motion for expedited discovery, ordering OpenAI to hand over forensic images of devices and other documents — Apple Inc. convinced a federal judge in California to force OpenAI Inc. to expedite turning over documents concerning its alleged theft …

Helix Carbon says it can make iron cheaper by recycling blast furnace pollution

The steel industry is a big polluter, but Helix Carbon can upcycle pollution from blast furnaces to drive down emissions and improve margins.

Nvidia announces billion-dollar investments in European tech

The FBI says it worked with CrowdStrike to dismantle 40+ laptop farms across Texas used to help North Koreans get remote US tech jobs under stolen identities (Dustin Volz/New York Times)

Dustin Volz / New York Times : The FBI says it worked with CrowdStrike to dismantle 40+ laptop farms across Texas used to help North Koreans get remote US tech jobs under stolen identities — F.B.I. investigators worked with the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike to dismantle so-called laptop farms that steal American identities to earn cash for Pyongyang.

Asus ProArt GR1X joins a crowded RTX Spark field sans a price tag, while AMD's Gorgon Halo boxes already offer 192GB

Asus confirms the ProArt GR1X will use the 20-core RTX Spark N1X, mainly in 64GB and 128GB configurations, shipping before year-end via premium retailers The GR1X matches Asus's Ascent GX10 on size, weight, fans, and power brick, and joins RTX Spark boxes from Microsoft, Dell, Acer, Honor, amongst others The GR1X still has no price, while Microsoft's Dev Box lists at $5,999, DGX Spark at $6,950, a…

Unitree CEO says GPT-7 might ‘directly crack’ the problems of robotic AI

Unitree’s CEO says robotic AI could soon see a huge breakthrough Such a change could happen ‘next year,’ the CEO believes That could happen thanks to OpenAI’s upcoming GPT-7 model AI is revolutionizing the world of software on a daily basis — you only need to look at how far vibe coding has come to see proof of that. But big changes could also be coming to robotics, with one company leader predict…

I love my Apple TV 4K, but there's nothing compelling about the more-expensive new model

I love my Apple TV 4K, which I think is the best streaming device you can buy if, like me, you're already all-in on Apple. But while my Apple TV 4K (2022) is great, it's also four years old. That's an eternity in TV tech, so I was excited to see what new features and capabilities the new Apple TV 4K announced today would bring. Unfortunately, there are hardly any new features or capabilities. But…

FBI arrests OpenAI employee accused of planting hidden recording device in conference room

It's not clear exactly for what purpose the recording device was used, but FBI director Kash Patel said the scheme was to "capture sensitive communications about the company’s super intelligence technology."

OpenAI employee arrested for allegedly planting a bug in a conference room

An OpenAI engineer was arrested after the company said it discovered a "sophisticated recording device" hidden in one of its offices. The employee, 35-year-old Abdulrahman Alfozan, is charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, according to a report from The San Francisco Standard . OpenAI's post about the incident says it used its AI models to "understand th…

Musician Raye reveals the scale of reseller AI bots buying up concert tickets

Raye is a British singer-songwriter who planned on holding an intimate one-night concert for her fans next week. The event's venue has capacity for 5,000 attendees. There were 1.8 million sign-ups for tickets. It sounds like a good problem to have, right? Having that many fans? One problem. The vast majority of those sign-ups were AI bots, according to Raye, run by profit-seeking resellers hoping…