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Tech
Industry, products, and the wires that hold it all together.
740 stories archived
ClickFix attacks infecting PCs and Macs are going viral
Simplicity—combined with the difficulty of getting stuff done—makes ClickFix ideal.
What happens when quantum mechanics and relativity meet?
Experiment put atoms in a superposition of trajectories to find out.
Could United Launch Alliance's money problems finally force its owners to sell?
ULA is preparing to resume launching the Vulcan rocket in the coming weeks.
Rocket Report: Europe joins the commercial launch club; a Ravn X sighting?
"We felt like now is the time to pour gas on that fire."
Raiding the past: Lara Croft relives her first adventure in Legacy of Atlantis
We have a first play of the forthcoming Tomb Raider remake and speak with its developers. Can they improve on the gameplay without losing what made the 1996 original such a classic? We join Lara Croft in St Francis’ Folly – inspired by the Unesco-listed monasteries of Meteora in Greece – as the light shines through the cracked ceiling and a flock of bats glide across the vast ruins below. When Lara leaps down to the monastery’s crumbling pillared courtyard, it becomes clear that these screeching, leathery creatures aren’t just set dressing. As they lurch towards her with unpredictable movements, she dispatches the swarm with a flurry of gun fire and panicked punches. It’s a suitably cinematic reintroduction to our heroine and her very first adventure. Co-developed by longtime Lara custodians Crystal Dynamics and Polish studio Flying Wild Hog, Legacy of Atlantis is a reimagining of the classic 1996 game Tomb Raider, and this familiar cliffside location is now brimming with new life and believable detail. Yet while our reunion gets off to an auspicious start, I have my concerns. It feels like reconnecting with an old friend at the pub, only for them to begin spouting conspiracy theories two pints in. Continue reading...
Anthropic details how criminals and scientists misuse its AI for cyberattacks and surveillance
The 154-page report comes two days after former employee Jacob Coxon resigned due to Anthropic racing to improve its models that would cause human extinction by 2030 Criminals, state-sponsored groups, spyware vendors, scientists and propagandists have attempted to use Anthropic’s powerful artificial intelligence models to design missiles and bombs, create deadly pathogens and surveil dissidents, according to a threat intelligence report the company published on Thursday. “The cases we share here aren’t typical misuse, but rather examples of the most notable and novel threat activity we’ve identified to date,” Anthropic wrote in its 154-page report. “We’re publishing this work because we believe we have a responsibility to disclose malicious misuse of our services.” Continue reading...
Boy developed "toasted skin" condition from using a laptop every day
Laptops don't usually get hot enough to burn—but they can still be harmful.
LinkedIn beats "BrowserGate" lawsuits over scanning users' Chrome extensions
Judge tosses lawsuits, says plaintiffs didn't allege any real privacy violation.
Europe will go it alone on Venus mission after NASA yanks radar instrument
Europe is looking inward, and perhaps to China, as the White House tries to cancel some NASA partnerships.
Android can now securely migrate your logins between password managers
App support is slim right now, but Google says more are coming.
Panic builds over bankrupt Spirit’s looming data sale to Google
"Bankruptcy cannot become the new land grab for AI.”
Physicist does the math on Star Trek’s “Picard maneuver”
The trick from Next Generation would be even more effective in real life.
Kimmel's ABC show won't air interview with Democrat because of Trump FCC threats
Talarico talk to be on YouTube to save ABC stations the hassle of dealing with FCC.
Drones deliver food and remove bodies after Nepal’s flood disaster
DJI drones that already supply Mount Everest camps assist Nepal’s flood relief.
I turned off my algorithm for 24 hours. Is this how social media used to be?
Thanks to a little-known feature in Instagram, I attempt to travel back to 2012, before everything on the internet was an ad Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast I have a confession. I love my social media algorithm. It is a perfectly curated window into my insane and inquiring mind. It knows precisely which videos will tickle me and which memes will gently distract me from the slow collapse of humankind. On Tuesday the Australian government announced “world-leading” reforms that would force social media platforms to allow users to opt-out of algorithms, dubbed “my feed, my way” . On the same day, I was delighted to be confronted with a video on Instagram of a woman accidentally spilling a bucket of eels on a Chinese train. Dozens of eels slithered among the passengers, who appeared not as surprised as I would have expected. Continue reading...
Marvel’s Wolverine review – a gloriously conflicted lead is let down by crude, boring battling
PlayStation 5; Insomniac Games Logan is well realised by Liam McIntyre and some exquisite character art, but there are lapses in narrative and emotional arcs and some of the combat feels like a chore It was always going to be difficult to follow Spider-Man. Insomniac’s three games based around the web-slinger are masterpieces of superhero wish fulfilment, allowing you to swoop above a depiction of Manhattan alive with graffiti artists, roving journalists and gun-toting gangsters. If anyone should be up to the task, it’s Wolverine. A beloved Marvel stalwart, his life much darker and bloodier than Peter Parker’s, he seems the ideal protagonist for a moody action adventure. Yet somehow this well-made game falls short of its potential. Set years before the founding of the X-Men, Marvel’s Wolverine sees a disenfranchised Logan falling back in with Sabretooth and Mystique when their mentor Nathaniel Essex is kidnapped by mutant-hating billionaire Bolivar Trask. This archetypal tech bro has a disturbing plan for world domination and the X Team are out to stop him – but there is a secret buried in Wolverine’s past that’s about to cause an eruption. It’s a decent setup, filled with the sort of intrigue, violence and Freudian tension we expect from the X-Men. Continue reading...
Elon Musk attacks film-maker behind documentary about him
Tech mogul calls director Alex Gibney a ‘bitter old man’ who has ‘zero integrity’ in series of posts on X Elon Musk has issued an angry tirade at the film-maker behind a four-hour documentary about his life and influence, labelling director Alex Gibney a “bitter old man” who has “zero integrity”. Gibney, who has previously made films about the collapse of Enron, WikiLeaks and Vladimir Putin, premiered his Musk documentary at the Venice film festival this week. He said he believed the world’s richest man was “extremely dangerous”. Continue reading...
OpenAI not on track to reduce risk of ‘catastrophic’ loss of control, says board member
US government adviser Paul Christiano warns of risks to AI industry as he joins OpenAI’s non-profit foundation OpenAI is not on track to reduce risks of “catastrophic” loss of control to an acceptable level, a member of its non-profit board has warned, amid spreading public and political concern that super-advanced AIs could one day wipe out humanity. Paul Christiano, a US government technology adviser, said “there is a meaningful risk that rapid acceleration in AI capabilities leads to catastrophic and irreversible loss of control in the very near term.” Continue reading...
Artemis II commander and pilot become NASA's first astronaut emeriti
"Artemis II is done."
Pixel 11 Pro review: Google’s best pocket camera goes customisable
Solid battery life, snappy performance and quality software make for a great smaller phone with a killer camera Google’s latest Pro phone is out to prove it has the best camera on a smartphone while embracing customisation, allowing you to change the look and feel of your photos far beyond simple filters even if that means making them technically worse. The Pixel 11 Pro packs the best of Google’s hardware and software into a still-pocketable and easy to handle frame, instantly making it a contender for best smaller phone of the year. Screen: 6.3in 120Hz QHD+ OLED (495ppi) Processor: Google Tensor G6 RAM: 12 or 16GB Storage: 256, 512GB or 1TB Operating system: Android 17 Camera: 50MP + 48MP UW + 48MP 5x tele; 42MP selfie Connectivity: 5G, eSIM, wifi 7, UWB, NFC, Bluetooth 6, Thread and GNSS Water resistance: IP68 (1.5m for 30 minutes) Dimensions: 152.7 x 71.9 x 8.4mm Weight: 204g Continue reading...
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg Put on 'Leave of Absence'
Mullenweg, co-founder of Wordpress, wrote in a company-wide Slack channel on Wednesday that board members "conspired" behind his back to vote to put him on leave.
4 groups caught using the same Chrome and Windows exploit kit
A patch gap and the hastened pace of AI-based vulnerability discovery are likely contributors.
Europe may finally have found a space entrepreneur who is meeting the moment
"We will not be relevant without a massive rocket at a massive cadence."
Six Chinese AI firms accused of aggressively copying US frontier models
US urges AI firms to ID, then secretly switch, Chinese users to less-capable models.