It’s taken over a year, but starting today, British Chrome users can access Google’s chatbot interface directly in the Chrome browser to compare information across multiple tabs, summarize content, and ask questions about what’s on their open web pages. It still isn’t available in the EU, however.
So far, there have been exactly zero great AI-first gadgets. But that hasn’t stopped the tech industry from trying to figure out what shape and size these new gadgets might take, and whether any of them can best the device in your pocket. The Verge’s Allison Johnson and Victoria Song join David to rank all those shapes, from pendant to smartwatch to rectangle, to see whether there is actually a next big thing out there.
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watchOS 27 feels like a culmination of several years of smaller updates.
Its full capabilities require heavy developer support, but the public beta version is a glimpse at how capable Apple’s assistant could become.
Intel has put chips in many a spacecraft. Until 2012, the International Space Station had 16MHz Intel 8086 chips as its primary brains, then received an “EPIC” upgrade to 266MHz Intel Pentium. Now, Intel is publicly marketing cut-down Panther Lake chips for private space industry too.
The latest evolution in prediction market technology is Kalshi’s “professional-grade desktop trading workstation,” a web UI now available publicly in a beta test that takes its styling cues from stock trading terminals instead of sportsbooks.
According to the company, Kalshi Pro is part of its “transformation from a retail app for prediction market trading into a full-service financial exchange for all types of investors.”
Federal immigration agents shot a 26-year-old Colombian man in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday morning, the Portland Press-Herald reports.
Nationally, it’s the second fatal shooting involving immigration agents in less than a week — and just like last time, agents weren’t wearing body cameras.
ICE claims that the unnamed victim “attempted to flee in a vehicle in the direction of the officer,” but an eyewitness told NBC News that he heard the man, who was bleeding from his head, say “I tried to stop.”
As telegraphed earlier this year, Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation today creating a $3,500 point-of-sale rebate for the purchase of a new electric vehicle priced up to $50,000. Used EVs sold for up to $25,000 get a $1,750 rebate. Automakers headquartered in California aren’t subject to price caps. Naturally, Tesla fans are mad.
Hisense has started teasing an e-paper smartphone with a detachable LCD, instead of the other way around. I guess that’s one way to drop your Instagram Reels consumption.
Waymo is lobbying for a bill that would legalize robotaxis in the District of Columbia. Uber opposes the bill, arguing it would displace human drivers. The bill was up for debate during a marathon hearing today (I just checked; it’s still going), but don’t expect a vote any time soon. As TechCrunch notes, the bill is exposing fractures in the Waymo-Uber relationship that could deepen as more big cities confront similar debates.
The RPG franchise will have a Saturday session and is mentioned in the first paragraph of a blog post about the event’s schedule. Perhaps we’ll finally get a Kingdom Hearts 4 release date?
Here’s what the session, set for August 15th at 7:30PM ET, will be about:
Join us for a journey through light and darkness as we commemorate 25 years of KINGDOM HEARTS. Discover how this saga united Disney, Pixar, and Square Enix, with insights from the creative minds, character voices, and more behind the magic.
Over the weekend, the three-year deal for Flock Safety’s 138 pole-mounted surveillance cameras came to an end, as the LA Times reports the LAPD CIO says it ended the arrangement while working on a new contract that has “very clear terms” about who owns the data collected and what happens to it.
An unnamed spokesperson for Flock told media outlets that unspecified “misconceptions” led to the pause.
[Los Angeles Times]
The 41-page complaint details how OpenAI allegedly ‘coached’ Apple employees on how to avoid security checks and asked for ‘show and tell’ during job interviews.
Both ABC7 and KTLA 5 report that on Saturday afternoon, police arrested this man for vandalism after he was seen smashing up a Waymo at an East Hollywood intersection on Saturday.
They didn’t know if anyone else was inside the vehicle at the time, and Waymo hasn’t issued a statement about the incident.
If you catch just one run from Summer Games Done Quick, watch this all-timer Balatro run.
But GDQ had to deal with some controversy shortly after the weeklong marathon ended: following community backlash, it canceled a stream sponsored by SNK, a company that’s majority owned by the Saudi crown prince’s foundation, as it was happening, Kotaku reports.
Xinzhou Wu on autonomy, Chinese cars, and if we really need lidar.
This Windows Central rumor says Windows 11 could add a dedicated flyout menu for the phone companion to show your phone’s status and things like DND status or “find my phone.” Other possible updates could bring a standalone SMS syncing app and sync your clipboard history beyond just the last entry.
Two teenagers who were drinking alcohol and shooting a toy gun out the window of their Waymo were arrested last week after being tricked by a remote operator into thinking the vehicle had mechanical problems.
Until recently, the debate around Waymo’s remote operators has mostly centered on where they are located: here in the US or overseas? Now we also have to contend with duplicitous remote operators snitching you out to the cops. (But really, don’t shoot water pellets out of your robotaxi. That’s just stupid.)
The Japanese space agency flight tested its RV-X prototype for the first time, with the reusable rocket rising 36 feet and moving 52 feet horizontally before touching back down, as reported by the Associated Press. China also successfully launched and recovered its reusable rocket last week in a bid to compete with SpaceX.
Tom Blomfield, former CEO and cofounder of British fintech Monzo, announced a leave of absence from startup accelerator Y Combinator to join the company’s AI compute team. He’s the latest big-name hire in recent months, following Google’s Nobel winner John Jumper and former Tesla Boss Andrej Karpathy.
Neill had starring roles in Peaky Blinders and the Oscar-winning film The Piano. He is best known for playing Dr. Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park. News of his death was announced on his Instagram page.
Our first few looks at the upcoming feature film debut from Casper Kelly, the deranged human behind Too Many Cooks, played it completely straight. But with the first official teaser, it’s clear that Kelly is taking the “horror” part of “horror comedy” seriously.
Every Sunday, we drop a recommendation for something to watch, read, or (more often than not) listen to. But I also want to know what you’re into. I’ve already discovered one of my favorite albums of the year thanks to a reader recommendation and am eager for more.
The infamous wormwood liqueur has enjoyed minor viral fame for its… let’s say unique flavor profile (frequently compared to bile). But, basic Malört reaction videos are old hat. The truly adventurous (or masochistic) are infusing Malört with ranch dip, brisket, and even Malört-flavored candy.
Don’t get too excited, but Mark Gurman says the styluses are being updated alongside new iPad Pros next year. In February, new EU rules go into effect that require batteries to be user-replaceable with basic tools. So maybe the next-gen Apple Pencil will be less of a nightmare to fix.
