System Admin Stuff

Kalshi sues Illinois over new tax on prediction market sports bets

2026-06-30T01:13:02.792+05:30

A fight between states and the federal government over who should regulate sports betting is heating up, as states accuse prediction markets like Kalshi of taking the exact same sports bets as gambling platforms without paying taxes or adhering to stricter controls.

Last Tuesday, Kalshi sued Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Governor J.B. Pritzker, and other officials after the state classified Kalshi and other prediction markets as unlicensed sports wagering operators.

It’s not the first legal battle between a prediction market and a state, but it is perhaps the most urgent for Kalshi, which is the biggest prediction market for sports bets. Across the board, prediction markets just had their biggest week ever, amid major sporting events like the NBA Finals, the World Cup, and the Stanley Cup. If the law stands, Kalshi would owe taxes no other state is charging and could face felony charges if violations are found.

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source https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/kalshi-sues-illinois-over-new-tax-on-prediction-market-sports-bets/

"We’re going to regret that decision for a very long time": RIP to the amazing Steam Machine Portal Companion Cube case Dbrand made without asking Valve first

2026-06-30T00:35:20.491+05:30

As far as skins and cases for electronic devices go, I'd argue that few companies — if any — make products as unique and cool as Dbrand's. Even more than for its edgy and provocative tone on social media, Dbrand is widely known for its premium enclosures that often sport standout and eye-catching designs.

One of these is (or was; more on that below) its Portal Companion Cube case for Valve's newly released Steam Machine that makes the compact gaming PC look exactly like the beloved Weighted Companion Cube from the publisher's legendary puzzle game series. The $99 enclosure quickly went viral and launched to extreme success last week...but ultimately, I'm sad to report that success was very short-lived.

On Monday, soon after fans noticed the Companion Cube case was recently wiped from all Dbrand channels and platforms, the brand announced that the skin has been canceled following a takedown request from Valve. It explained that it neglected to acquire a license from Valve to create and sell a Portal-themed product, leading to the cease and desist.

"The blunt version is that we made the Companion Cube without a license from Valve. Everyone who purchased a Companion Cube will have their refund issued by end-of-day," Dbrand wrote in its statement.

"On November 12th 2025, the day the Steam Machine was announced, we put up a concept render and sign-up page to see if anyone would be interested in a Companion Cube enclosure. It went moderately viral, with over fifteen thousand people signing up to be notified in the first day," it continued. "In the months that followed, we built the idea into something real without ever asking Valve if we could. We’re going to regret that decision for a very long time."

RIP Companion Cube from r/dbrand

Dbrand went on to say that it invested seven months of hard work into the project and was extremely proud of how the case turned out, but also acknowledged that all the time and effort still didn't give it the right to create the enclosure without licensing or permission.

"Unfortunately, being proud of the thing we made did not give us the right to make it. We launched around 3am on Monday, June 22nd. Overnight, it became the second-fastest selling product in our 15-year history, behind only the Switch 2 Killswitch," it said.

"Shortly after, Valve’s legal team reached out. They stated that the Companion Cube is Valve intellectual property, for which dbrand does not have a license," the brand added. "They requested we take down the product and launch film immediately. This was entirely within their rights, and they were direct, fair, and respectful throughout."

Dbrand attempted to see if Valve would be willing to license the case, but it ultimately said no, leading to the project's cancelation. It noted that "Given our backwards approach of building first and asking permission later, it was a fair answer."

"To everyone who was as excited about this project as we were: thank you, and sorry. Refunds are being issued today. If it hasn’t landed in your account by the end of this week, you know how to reach us," the company concluded. "To Valve: thank you for Portal, and sorry for the headache. We should’ve asked first."

It's true that Valve ultimately didn't do anything wrong here, but regardless: I'm really sad that sale of this Steam Machine case has been halted, as it's incredibly cool and undoubtedly one of the sweetest ones we'll ever see for the system.

Would you like to see Valve change its mind and work with Dbrand to license a Portal Companion Cube case for the Steam Machine after all? Let me know in the comments, and in our poll.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Your T-Mobile Bill Might Be Going Up

2026-06-30T00:15:34.515+05:30

If you've been on the same T-Mobile plan for years, listen up: Not only will T-Mobile move you into a new plan this month, you may have to pay more as a result.

As reported by CNET (which is owned by Lifehacker parent company Ziff Davis), T-Mobile will end a number of legacy plans, which will cancel "over 1,100 legacy billing codes." The company has started contacting customers on legacy plans to let them know about these changes. It seems T-Mobile has not specified which plans in particular are on the chopping block, but that some run "10 to 15 years" back. As CNET highlights, that could affect "Simple Choice," "T-Mobile One," "One Plus," and "Magenta" plans. In addition, legacy Sprint plans will likely be affected, if users had plans grandfathered over following Sprint and T-Mobile's merger.

In a statement to Android Authority, T-Mobile explains its reasoning behind the changes. These plans are the company's oldest, many of which were designed for the "3G and 4G eras." In addition, customers transitioning to current plans will have access to a five-year price guarantee. T-Mobile won't be shutting the lights all at once. These changes should take place over the coming weeks, and will be reflected by the following billing cycle. If your plan is affected by these changes, you should receive word either by text or through the T-Life app as soon as today.

How much more will customers pay on new T-Mobile plans?

The immediate downside to losing your legacy plan is, of course, losing your previous rate. While there are no guarantees at this time, it does seem like users who T-Mobile moves to a current plan will largely pay more than they did on their previous plan.

The good news is that the new plan may not be that much more expensive. T-Mobile's statement to Android Authority says that some customers' plans won't change at all, while others will see a "modest adjustment." Android Authority says that T-Mobile confirmed that the "average" change customers will see will be $4 per line.

What do T-Mobile customers have to do?

According to T-Mobile, nothing. The company says it will be automatically enrolling legacy plan customers into current plans. In fact, Allan Samson, T-Mobile's chief marketing officer, said that "absolutely nothing is required of the customer, and it just is going to happen."

T-Mobile will supposedly move you to a "comparable" plan, including "Essentials," "Essentials Saver," "Experience More," "Experience Beyond," and "Better Value." While these may come with new features, they may, of course, come with that added price tag. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem you can contest the change, and must wait until T-Mobile takes action before you know what plan you've moved to.

If you're on a legacy plan, my advice is this: either wait and see what T-Mobile picks for you, or contact the company and negotiate. There's no guarantee what it might offer you, but once you know what your choices are, you can decide whether to move to another provider, or take what T-Mobile is offering.

Sysadmin broke hardware worth more than he made in a month – and lied his way out of the mess

2026-06-29T12:33:48.287+05:30

WHO, ME? The world of work is basically broken, which is why The Register uses Monday mornings to remind readers of that foul fact in a new instalment of “Who, Me?” – the reader-contributed column that shares your mistakes and reveals how you recovered from them. This week, meet a reader we’ll Regomize as “Hank” who told us his career started in the 1990s with a gig as sysadmin for a small town poultry factory that was an outpost for a larger company. “I was brimming with excitement to work on the latest tech, Novell NetWare 4.1!” he told The Register. One of the first things Hank was asked to do was a storage upgrade for a pair of servers. “We bought a pair of very expensive 750MB disks and since I was the sole IT person at the plant, head office sent me the drives and put me in charge of the upgrade.” Hank was excited when the drives arrived, so he unboxed them and spent a little time fondling what was then just about the most capacious and expensive storage device money could buy. “Who would not want to touch 750MB SCSI drives with blazing fast reads courtesy of 10,000 RPM spindles?” he asked. “It was cutting edge!” It was also rather slippery, because after removing one of the drives from its anti-static bag, Hank dropped it. “Panic set it shortly after,” he admitted. “This drive was worth more than I made in a month. I was still new and on probation. Visions of unemployment and having to move back in with my parents danced through my head.” Hank’s solution was to tell a big fat lie. “I called my boss told them I thought one of the drives was making a strange sound and might have an issue.” Then Hank played his trump card, offering the wise-beyond-his-years suggestion that it would be a waste of time to do the upgrade with a bad drive. His boss agreed and told Hank how to contact the vendor to have a new drive delivered overnight. “The new drive arrived the next day and the upgrade went off without a hitch,” Hank said. “And I learned to sit down when handling expensive hardware.” Have you broken hardware and blamed it on something else? If so, break your mouse by clicking here to send email to Who, Me? We’d love the chance to share your story! ®

source https://www.theregister.com/storage/2026/06/29/sysadmin-broke-hardware-worth-more-than-he-made-in-a-month-and-lied-his-way-out-of-the-mess/5262711

Malaysia ponders regulating management of IP addresses

2026-06-29T10:34:12.906+05:30

Wants to revive the lost art of the National Internet Registry, which APNIC has deprecated and isn’t keen to bring back The government of Malaysia has commenced a consultation on whether it should regulate management of IP addresses and autonomous systems numbers, over objections from regional internet registry the Asian Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC). Malaysia announced its consultation in June, when the nation’s Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) posted a paper [PDF] in which it explains that a lot has happened since passage of the 1998 Act that governs its activities – so it probably needs an update. One of the proposed changes would see Malaysia create a statutory authority with the power to manage electronic addressing “including the management of IP addresses, AS numbers and associated fees.” “This is to support the development of a National Internet Registry model and to ensure a transparent and sustainable administration of electronic addressing resources in Malaysia which will be overseen by the Commission,” the consultation paper states. “This will contribute to a more robust and well-governed digital infrastructure environment in Malaysia.” APNIC says its talks with the MCMC saw the Malaysian entity express a desire for “full operational and technical autonomy over resource assignments” – powers that existing NIRs don’t have. National Internet Registries (NIRs) are a relic of the time before regional internet registries came into being. Only APNIC and LACNIC, the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry, allowed NIRs – and only nine exist, covering China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Mexico, and Brazil. APNIC stopped accepting applications for new NIRs in 2012, and in 2024 made the moratorium on new applications permanent. In 2024, APNIC’s executive chair Kenny Huang explained: “NIRs are a historical feature of the APNIC membership structure, recognizing that some IP address registries were already operating at a national or economy level when APNIC started, and some were in formation.” “In the past, particularly while IPv4 address space was being rapidly allocated and needed careful management, NIRs provided important support to a fast-growing Internet with high demand for number resources and registry services.” The internet governance community long ago decided that internet resource distribution and management works best when handled by sizable organizations which operate at regional scale, and that if every country had an NIR it would create unhelpful risks and overlapping authorities. If Malaysia presses ahead with its desire to create its own National Internet Registry (NIR) and have it assume some of APNIC’s functions, it will therefore challenge the status quo. If it actually gets an NIR into operation, that would likely revive debate about whether national governments should have a role in allocating internet resources given the potential for such power to be used for political purposes such as denying resources to groups that a government opposes. The United Nations last year had its say on that idea by re-affirming its support for multi-stakeholder governance under which governments are one of many voices that participate in debate about the future of the internet. Kenny Huang has written [PDF] to the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), pointing out that it’s currently not possible to create a new NIR and that APNIC won’t revisit its policy on the matter – but he also notes that it’s always possible to commence a consultation and policy process that would see APNIC debate a new position. But that process could only start after the conclusion of work on ICP-2, the major revision of the rules that govern the operation of RIRs. The current ICP-2 timeline calls for a revised document to be in place by the end of 2026. If MCMC decides to pursue creation of an NIR, it will be in conflict on a collision course with APNIC. In the past, most collisions in the world of internet governance occurred at low speed and involved mostly civil debate that plays out over years. ®

source https://www.theregister.com/networks/2026/06/29/malaysia-ponders-regulating-management-of-ip-addresses/5263460

Australia investigating five social media giants for not enforcing ban on kids

2026-06-29T09:34:06.665+05:30

Australia’s government has decided to double the fines it can levy companies that don’t take appropriate steps to enforce the country’s ban on children under 16 accessing social media – and said Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube are under investigation for possible non-compliance. The decision to increase fines came after publication of a study that found around 80 percent of kids in Australia continue to use social media despite the ban, mostly because age verification tech hasn’t blocked their accounts. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday announced the increased fines, saying that while social media companies have deactivated or restricted access to five million accounts since the ban came into force last December. The PM thinks that’s a decent start but feels Australia’s cyber-regulator, eSafety, “needs more tools in their belt to take on these billion-dollar social media companies and hold them to account.” Those tools include the ability to demand information about a platform’s attempts to enforce the ban, including third-party information from age assurance or app-store providers. “Social media companies have a social responsibility, and they must uphold their legal responsibility in Australia to keep under 16s off social media,” Albanese said. The new fines can reach AU$99 million ($68.25 million) for systemic failures – back of the sofa money for the social media giants. Qualcomm builds throttled-for-China datacenter chips Qualcomm last week launched a new range of datacenter chips, and CEO Cristiano Amon later told Japanese outlet Nikkei the company has already created versions of them compliant with US export rules. “There are very clear guidelines about how you can ship products to China, and we have versions of all of our products that comply with those guidelines, " he said. "We are engaged in conversations and are positively optimistic about the reaction we're getting." Rumors suggest Chinese social media giant ByteDance might be one source of those positive reactions. Chinese chip champ delivers another modest machine Chinese chip designer Loongson has delivered another server CPU that won’t scare AMD or Intel. The 16-core Loongson 3C3000 hums along at 1.5 to 1.8GHz while consuming 40 watts. It uses Loongson’s proprietary instruction set architecture that draws on MIPS and RISC technology. Chinese media report that each core packs 64KB of private L1 instruction cache and 64KB of private L1 data cache, and that the chip shares 16MB of L2 cache among all cores. The memory controller is 2×72-bit DDR4-2400, supporting ECC verification. The company says it’s a low-cost CPU suited to everyday workloads such as file servers, database servers or web servers. Intel and AMD continue to make 16-core server CPUs, but with faster clock speeds and superior specs compared to the latest Loongson offering. The one thing those American CPUs lack is Beijing’s blessing: China’s government encourages local organizations to buy Chinese hardware whenever possible. Japan extends Air Force’s mission into space Japan’s government last week ordered a name change and re-org for its Air Self-Defense Force, which as of next year will be renamed the "Aerospace Self-Defense Force." Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the changes are needed because reliance on space-based services like GPS navigation mean Japan needs to defend its orbital interests. The re-org means Japan’s government will upgrade its Space Operations Squadron into a full Space Operations Command, staffed by 880 personnel. Japan is one of just ten nations – plus the European Union – that has the capability to launch payloads into orbit. Iran’s internet ends in tiers Internet Governance Researcher Imad Payande has published updated research on the state of Iran’s internet, which he says now offers tiers of access to different users. “In the first one to two weeks of the conflict, relatively unrestricted connectivity appeared limited to specific groups – primarily journalists and individuals with institutional affiliations. For the broader population, access to the global Internet was largely unavailable,” he wrote. In the second week of the war he saw “configurations” go on sale – “custom connection profiles enabling access to the open Internet.” Payande said those connections “relied on alternative protocols and tools rather than standard VPNs, suggesting a different underlying infrastructure and possibly a limited number of controlled gateways.” “Alongside these informal markets, more institutionalized models of access emerged. Telecom operators introduced restricted SIM cards under frameworks often described as ‘Pro Internet.’ These were made available to selected users – such as companies and researchers – through screening processes. However, access remained limited to a narrow set of services, prioritizing stability over openness.” He thinks Iran’s government now regulates internet access at the infrastructure level, with access allowed for some and not for others. And those who can get online pay for the privilege. Another week, another WiseTech mess Already beset by allegations of CEO sleaze, odd share trades, and human trafficking, Australian SaaSy logistics outfit WiseTech now has major software flaws to address. Infosec outfit Searchlight Cyber last week published research after finding hard-coded master keys in the company’s products that made it possible for an attacker to log in without a password and impersonate real customers and partners – and then enjoy access to data such as financial documents and contact details for users’ staff. Searchlight Cyber says its researchers informed WiseTech of the vulnerabilities prior to publication, and that the Australian company made a round of fixes but is “still working on further mitigations.” ®

source https://www.theregister.com/public-sector/2026/06/29/australia-investigating-five-social-media-giants-for-not-enforcing-ban-on-kids/5263439

2026-06-29T01:13:30.223+05:30

German physicist Max Planck was one of the pioneers of quantum mechanics in the early 20th century, earning the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of quanta. There has never been a whisper of scandal about the man's integrity or his scientific work. So a pair of science historians were puzzled when they discovered that a scientific journal had inexplicably retracted two of Planck's papers from the 1940s.

The journal in question is Naturwissenschaften, now known as The Science of Nature. The journal typically adds a large RETRACTED notice across digital papers that have been retracted, leaving them available for download. But it has removed the two Planck papers entirely, leaving just a blank page (and empty PDFs) with a brief note saying the articles had been "withdrawn due to article violation.”

Physics historian Yves Gingras of the University of Quebec in Montreal was browsing the blog Retraction Watch's list of Nobel Prize winners who have had scientific papers retracted, just out of curiosity. Gingras was shocked to see Planck's name on the list, and enlisted fellow historian Mahdi Khelfaoui, of the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivieres, to investigate why the two papers had been retracted. They outlined their findings in a preprint posted to the physics arXiv.

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source https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/why-did-this-journal-retract-two-1940s-papers-by-max-planck/

2026-06-28T14:18:36.338+05:30

The realme C100 Series officially launches in the Philippines with up to an 8000mAh Titan Battery for "One Charge, Endless Power", rugged durability, and value-focused pricing for everyday users.

Battery Endurance: The realme C100 Series puts long-lasting power front and center, featuring up to an 8000mAh Titan Battery, reverse charging capabilities, and long-term battery health guarantees for users who need dependable everyday performance.
Built Tough: Durability takes a major leap with IP69 Pro protection on the realme C100, military-grade shock resistance, ArmorShell™ Glass, and Rain Touch Mode for more reliable use in real-world conditions.
Value-Focused Choices: With multiple variants, aggressive launch promotions, online discounts, offline freebies, and Home Credit payment options, the lineup aims to make big battery smartphones more accessible to Filipino consumers.

The realme C100 Series has officially arrived in the Philippines, giving Filipino consumers two new smartphone options that focus on what many users value most today: longer battery life, dependable durability, and practical everyday performance.

Carrying the campaign tagline "One Charge, Endless Power," the new lineup consists of the realme C100 and realme C100i, both designed to deliver extended battery life and reliable everyday performance across different price segments.

realme Philippines officially launched the series during a media event held at Bigger Pictures in Mandaluyong City on June 18, 2026. Members of the media, content creators, and industry partners gathered for the unveiling, where the brand showcased the devices' battery-focused innovations, durability features, and value-driven positioning for the Philippine market.

With large-capacity batteries, enhanced protection features, smooth displays, and competitive introductory pricing, the new C Series smartphones aim to address the needs of students, young professionals, commuters, and everyday users who want a dependable device that can keep up with their daily routines.

The realme C100: Built for Maximum Endurance

Leading the lineup is the realme C100, which is positioned as the more premium offering in the series. The device is equipped with an 8000mAh Titan Battery, making it one of the smartphones with the largest battery capacities available in its price segment.

realme also backs the device with a 7-Year Battery Health guarantee, ensuring that the battery retains at least 80% of its original capacity after seven years of use.

To complement its large battery, the smartphone supports 45W SUPERVOOC Charging, allowing users to charge from 0% to 50% in just 46 minutes. It also features 10W Reverse Charging, making it possible to power compatible accessories and devices when needed.

Durability is another major focus of the realme C100. The device carries IP69 Pro certification, covering IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K standards. According to realme, it can withstand high-pressure water exposure and submersion of up to six meters for 30 minutes.

The smartphone is also equipped with MIL-STD-810H Military-Grade Shock Resistance and ArmorShell™ Glass protection. realme rates the device for drop protection from heights of up to two meters.

For everyday convenience, the realme C100 supports Rain Touch Mode, allowing the display to remain responsive even when used with wet hands or in light rain.

On the design front, the device features a Blooming Design complemented by a Customizable Pulse Light. It also sports a 6.8-inch 120Hz display protected by ArmorShell™ Glass.

Powering the smartphone is the MediaTek Helio G92 Max processor paired with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage. Dynamic RAM Expansion and microSD card support are also available for users who need additional memory and storage flexibility.

realme C100 Variant	SRP
realme C100 (4GB+256GB)	PHP 16,999
realme C100 (8GB+256GB)	PHP 19,999

The realme C100i: Affordable Power for Everyday Users

For consumers looking for a more accessible option, the realme C100i delivers many of the series' core strengths while maintaining a lower price point.

The smartphone is equipped with a 7000mAh Titan Battery and comes with a 6-Year Battery Health certification. It supports 15W charging and 6W reverse charging.

According to realme, the battery is capable of delivering up to 53 hours of calls, 24 hours of WhatsApp usage, and 21 hours of YouTube playback on a single charge.

Like its sibling, the realme C100i features a 6.8-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate and ArmorShell™ Glass protection.

The device also supports Rain Touch Mode and includes military-grade shock resistance for added durability. It carries an IP64 dust and splash resistance rating for protection against everyday accidents and environmental exposure.

Entertainment is one of the device's highlights thanks to its 300% Ultra Volume Speaker, designed to provide louder audio output for videos, music, and calls.

Under the hood, the realme C100i is powered by the Unisoc T7250 processor. Storage options go up to 4GB RAM and 256GB storage, with Dynamic RAM Expansion and microSD card support included.

realme C100i Variant	SRP
realme C100i (4GB+64GB)	PHP 8,999
realme C100i (4GB+128GB)	PHP 11,999
realme C100i (4GB+256GB)	PHP 13,999

Promo Prices During Online Launch Period

To make the realme C100 Series even more accessible, limited-time offers are available on all realme e-commerce platforms, including Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop from June 18 to June 30, 2026.

Model	Promo Price Starts At
realme C100i (4GB+64GB)	PHP 6,313
realme C100i (4GB+128GB)	PHP 7,379
realme C100i (4GB+256GB)	PHP 8,199
realme C100 (4GB+256GB)	PHP 11,195
realme C100 (8GB+256GB)	PHP 14,000

Offline Promos and First Selling Offers

The realme C100 and realme C100i will also be available with exclusive promos at official realme concept stores, kiosks, and partner stores nationwide.

Product	Promo Period	Retail/Offline Offer
realme C100	June 18-25 (Pre-Order)	FREE SKG Neck Massager, FREE Privilege Card with 6-month Extended Warranty and 6-month Screen Damage Protection, plus PHP 2,000 discount upon claiming, with total freebies worth PHP 6,498
realme C100	June 26-July 5 (First Selling)	FREE Privilege Card and PHP 2,000 discount, with total freebies worth PHP 3,499
realme C100i (4GB+128GB and 4GB+256GB)	July 6-9 (Pre-Order)	FREE TechLife Smart Band and PHP 2,000 discount upon claiming
realme C100i (4GB+128GB and 4GB+256GB)	July 10-19 (First Selling)	Up to PHP 2,000 discount on select variants

Home Credit Payment Options

For customers who prefer flexible payment options when purchasing at official realme stores and partner retailers nationwide, the realme C100 (4GB+256GB) and realme C100 (8GB+256GB) are also available through Home Credit's 0% Interest Program from June 18 to July 5, 2026, with installment terms of up to 18 months under standard down payment terms.

Additionally, buyers can enjoy a PHP 2,000 brand discount plus an additional PHP 500 Home Credit discount using the discount code 1REALMEHC500, bringing the prices down to PHP 14,499 for the realme C100 (4GB+256GB) and PHP 17,499 for the realme C100 (8GB+256GB).

With its combination of large batteries, durability-focused features, smooth displays, multiple storage options, and aggressive launch pricing, the realme C100 Series enters the Philippine market aiming to provide dependable everyday smartphones for users who want more power and protection without stepping into premium territory.

source http://www.techpinas.com/2026/06/realme-C100-C100i-Series-Philippines-Launch-Promo-Prices.html

2026-06-27T01:13:44.751+05:30

Recently, my father called me in a panic. There were just a few minutes until Netflix would start streaming a live MMA event, and he couldn’t get into my account. For a while, my father had accessed Netflix as an add-on member with his own profile through my household’s account. On this day, however, he was logged out and couldn’t use my login credentials to watch Netflix. Instead, he saw a prompt asking him to “Add an email address to your profile” in order to continue.

A Reddit user shared this image of the notification that affected profile owners are seeing. Credit: Scotti_Dev/Reddit/Netflix

After some frantic phone troubleshooting and a couple of password resets, we realized that my father had to create his own login to continue using the extra profile that I paid for. Although I was able to get him set up in time (for some disappointing bouts), the situation was confusing and inconvenient.

More users have been encountering this situation as Netflix has gradually required that each profile under a Netflix subscription have a unique email address. When setting this up for my father, I was also asked, but not required, to provide a first and last name.

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source https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/netflix-now-requires-every-user-profile-to-be-tied-to-unique-email-address/

Polymarket customers lose $3 million in supply-chain attack

2026-06-27T00:24:35.660+05:30

Polymarket says it will fully reimburse customers who lost an estimated $3 million after hackers injected a malicious script into the platform's frontend following a breach at a third-party vendor. [...]

source https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/polymarket-customers-lose-3-million-in-supply-chain-attack/

2026-06-27T00:15:24.660+05:30

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Anyone who has ever worked in an office (or imagined themselves working in one) immediately connects with The Office. In fact, we connected with that show so hard we still watch it today, more than a decade after the series finale. While things like the fire drill, the dinner party, and the reveal that Jim has always been an Asian man will never not be hilarious, you might need a little more variety in your viewing life. If you’ve already burned through the shows that bring that Scranton vibe, here are the books, movies, podcasts, and games that will scratch that itch.

The best books like The Office

Whether you want some deep background about this innovative and hilarious sitcom, or you want to linger in a similarly absurd fictional universe, books have got you.

The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History, by Andy Greene

Then We Came to the End, by Joshua Ferris

Several People Are Typing, by Calvin Kasulke

I Hope This Finds You Well, by Natalie Sue

Lucky Jim, by Kingsley Amis

The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History, by Andy Greene

Need to know how something as perfect as The Office actually happened? Check out Andy Greene’s book. Billed as an “oral history,” it details the development and production of the show through interviews with the people actually involved. From its BBC origins created by Ricky Gervais through nine seasons on NBC here in America, you’ll get all the insider tea about background struggles, attempts to cancel the show, and how some of the most hilarious moments came to be.

Then We Came to the End, by Joshua Ferris

If you’re looking for an absurdist, hilarious story set in an office that hides a lot of humanity and emotion under its humor, Then We Came to the End is the ticket. Set in a Chicago advertising agency going through a tumultuous period of layoffs, you’ll find the quirky, belligerent staff in these pages is the ideal substitute for the Scranton gang. Arguments over chairs, incoherent personal grudges, and a growing sense of desperation as the firings continue until morale improves all mix together to form the perfect Office replacement.

Several People Are Typing, by Calvin Kasulke

The Office was never afraid to bend reality a little for a good joke. Several People are Typing goes a lot further into the crazy than the show ever did, but the tone is spot-on. Gerald works for a grim PR firm, and has somehow been absorbed into its Slack channel. No one else in his office believes he’s trapped inside their chats, however, and Gerald has to turn to everyone’s least-favorite AI, Slackbot, for assistance. It’s grimly hilarious and hits all the late-stage capitalist horrors that The Office thrived on.

I Hope This Finds You Well, by Natalie Sue

Have you ever wondered what it must be like to be Dwight Schrute? Read I Hope This Finds You Well. Jolene has never fit in at her office, and she knows people mock her. To cope, she begins writing snarling insults to people in small, white font at the end of her emails. When her passive-aggressive stunt is exposed, new security is installed on her computer—but the new software also allows her to read all of her coworkers' emails and messages, and she immediately begins weaponizing the information for personal gain. Like The Office, it all leads to a surprisingly warmhearted ending.

Lucky Jim, by Kingsley Amis

The trope of the clueless, casually offensive man in a position of authority has been around for a long time—and Amis’ 1954 novel is a perfect companion to the show. Jim Dixon is a college lecturer trying to secure a permanent job at the university where he works—but everything Jim touches goes hilariously wrong. From scholarly papers that are stolen and translated into Italian to drunkenly burning down buildings, Jim’s misadventures are very Michael Scott-coded.

The best movies like The Office

The Office wasn’t just terrific comedic writing—it was also collectively one of the best comedic performances of the modern TV age. If you want more visuals with your office-based comedy, check out these hilarious movies.

Office Space (1999)

The Office often pivoted off the absurdities and frustrations of working in an office with a group of people you might not have chosen to hang out with for eight hours a day. Office Space lives in that precise mood. When a hypnosis session leaves programmer Peter Gibbons freed from any concern over his job, he begins living and working in a more joyous, free way. Even as the effect fades, it leaves Peter’s eyes open to the way work has robbed him of life. It’s a sharp satire of modern work that fans of the show will absolutely love. Rent Office Space on Prime Video.

Office Space (1999)

$3.99 at Prime Video

Nine to Five (1980)

Want more narratives about terrible bosses? This film, starring a powerhouse cast including Lili Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Dabny Coleman, tells the story of three women working under a sexist boss who thinks way too highly of himself. The comedic scenes depicting the women’s violent fantasies of revenge remain hilarious, and anyone who has ever wished that someone would finally teach Michael a lesson about how awful he can be will enjoy the way the story plays out. Stream Nine to Five on Fubo or rent it on Prime Video.

Nine to Five (1980)

$3.99 at Prime Video

Waiting for Guffman (1996)

What would life be like if Michael Scott had actually made Threat Level Midnight for real, or actually pursued his improv comedy more seriously? Waiting for Guffman (or, honestly, any of Christopher Guest’s “mockumentary” films) might be close. In the small town of Blaine, Missouri, the local community theater troupe plans a performance to celebrate the town’s 150^th birthday, led by director Corky St. Clair, who is Michael Scott-levels of deluded when it comes to his talent and capabilities. Like The Office, it’s a character-driven story where the humor comes from the bizarre-but-lovable personalities of everyone involved. Rent Waiting for Guffman on Prime Video.

Waiting for Guffman (1996)

$3.99 at Prime Video

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

The Coen Brothers’ least successful film is a stealth gem, and its story of a deluded, kind of dim man’s rise from the mailroom to the boardroom of Hudsucker Industries echoes Michael Scott’s rise from salesman to regional manager. The Hudsucker Proxy has a different tone—it was inspired by 1930s screwball comedies and it’s set in the 1950s—but if you love watching a Clueless Michael Scott bumbling his way through his job, you’ll love Tim Robbins unfolding a drawing of a circle and earnestly saying “You know—for kids!” Stream The Hudsucker Proxy on The Roku Channel or rent it on Prime Video.

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

$3.99 at Prime Video

The Apartment (1960)

The office has been a rich source of humor and pathos since forever. This classic 1960 film written and directed by the legendary Billy Wilder is set at an enormous insurance company in New York City. Employee C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) is a bachelor who offers up his apartment to executives to use for their extramarital affairs in order to get promoted, and, yes, hijinx ensue. Just like The Office, the humor is offset by a warm and affectionate core that sees the humanity in every character, and the script remains sharp and hilarious six decades later. Stream The Apartment on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video.

The Apartment (1960)

$3.99 at Prime Video

The best video games like The Office

Looking for a hands-on experience that will give you that Office vibe? Believe it or not, there actually was an official PC game based on the show released in 2007, and there was an announced game for the Meta Quest VR headset that appears to have been hindered by the fact that no one actually owned Meta Quest VR headsets. If you’re looking for games you can actually play, these will stand in for The Office nicely.

The Office: Somehow We Manage

This official mobile-only game is a cozy way to dive into the Scranton office, playing as an actual salesperson working for Dunder Mifflin. The game is free, but is a bit cluttered with in-app purchases and advertisements. Each level of the game is based on a classic Office episode, however, and all the beloved characters are represented here, so it’s a great lo-fi way to play The Office.

Platforms: Android, iOS

The Office: Somehow We Manage

at East Side Games Studio

Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies

Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies is a blend of The Office and the survival video game Among Us. You play as an employee of the titular company—but you also have another role: Manager, Specialist, or Slacker. Managers have been tasked with figuring out who’s slacking off on the job, Specialists are just trying to do their job, and Slackers are gonna slack. Managers try to figure out who the Slackers are and fire them, Slackers try to evade that and maybe get their coworkers to vote out a manager, and you can engage in various pranks and other fun stuff. It’s as close to playing The Office as you can get.

Platforms: Steam

Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies

$7.99 at Steam

Dispatch

Yes, this is a superhero game (of sorts), but don’t let that fool you: The tone and gameplay are perfect for fans of The Office. You play as Robert Robertson, a former superhero working in the emergency call center for the Superhero Dispatch Network (SDN), managing a bunch of reformed supervillains trying to make the city a better place. Its tone is very reminiscent of The Office, with a lot of comedy and office family interactions. If you’re looking for something to replace the show in your life, check it out!

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Steam

Dispatch

$29.99 at Steam

The Stanley Parable

If you want to lean into the absurdity of working in an office, selling off years of your life in exchange for just enough money to get by, The Stanley Parable is the delirious answer to your prayers. You play as Stanley, employee 427 at an unnamed company. When your computer crashes one afternoon, you wander out of your office and discover that the whole place has been abandoned. A sardonic narrator accompanies you as you sink into an increasingly weird and consistently funny adventure that definitely goes in directions you won’t expect.

Platforms: PlayStation, Xbox, PC, macOS, Nintendo Switch, Steam

iam8bit The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe - Switch

$48.50 at Amazon

Last Man Sitting

If your favorite parts of The Office were the times the employees stopped working and just had some silly fun by staging an Office Olympics or engineering an elaborate prank, play Last Man Sitting. It’s ridiculous—and ridiculously fun. This rogue-like game where you play as workers in an office, riding swivel chairs like chariots and using a wide variety of weapons to fight each other. There are robots, an evil presence, and lots and lots of carnage as you destroy corporate settings—so maybe there’s a cathartic aspect to this one as well.

Platforms: Steam

Last Man Sitting

$9.99 at Steam

The best podcasts like The Office

One of the best parts of The Office is re-watching, discussing, and quoting it with, well, everyone (because everyone knows at least a little Office). Podcasts are the perfect way to extend that experience a little more.

Office Ladies

Credit: Podcast logo

If you’re a fan of The Office and you haven’t been listening to Office Ladies, what are you even doing? Hosted by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey (who were, you know, actually on the show), this is the ultimate insider podcast. The Ladies revisit every episode and drop tons of insider knowledge, hilarious backstage stories, and generally entertaining conversation that wanders all over the place. After examining every episode in detail, they’ve moved on to deep dives into characters and even discussing the new Office spinoff, The Paper.

The Michael Scott Podcast Company

Credit: Podcast logo

In its current incarnation, The Michael Scott Podcast Company covers a lot of films and TV shows, but it started as a dedicated Office recapping podcast, hosted by three friends (Sean Roney, Edwin Janes, and Alex Ward) who simply loved the show. It’s got that hangout vibe that makes a podcast feel like aural comfort food while also providing lots of interesting analysis and hilarious moments that every fan of the show will appreciate.

The Office Deep Dive

Credit: Podcast logo

If you love the behind-the-scenes aspect of Office Ladies and want more of that, Brian Baumgartner’s The Office Deep Dive is your jam. It’s an expansion of his terrific An Oral History of The Office, and it not only includes Brian’s unique perspective on every aspect of every episode, it also manages to pull in plenty of other actors and crew members who are happy to spill their tea for an old friend. It’s the perfect way to really become the Office Trivia Authority in your neck of the woods.

Wooden Overcoats

Credit: Podcast logo

If you want to replicate the joyous insanity of The Office in audio form, check out Wooden Overcoats. This British podcast production is set in a small Channel Islands village, where the Rudyard and Antigone Funn have been running the sole funeral home for years. When a new undertaker opens a rival business, the Funns are thrown into chaos. Many of the Funn siblings’ schemes to triumph over their new competition will give you that Michael Scott vibe—in the good way, not the Scott’s Tots way.

The Teacher’s Lounge

Credit: Podcast logo

Love the way Michael Scott’s incompetence, social awkwardness, and self-importance generated consistent hilarity in Scranton? Check out the four teachers at Hamilton High School portrayed by Drew Tarver, Dan Lippert, Jon Mackey, and Ryan Rosenberg on The Teacher’s Lounge. They’re not dedicated and they’re not very good at the job of teaching our kids, but they are reliably funny as they recount their deranged adventures in podcast form.

2026-06-27T00:13:18.409+05:30

Antibiotic resistance has loomed over humans since the moment we started using antibiotics. In the 20th century, the drugs downgraded potentially life-threatening bacterial infections to mere inconveniences—a miracle of modern medicine, it seemed. But the drugs aren't really a human invention; we mostly swiped them from microbes, which have been locked in an arms race with each other for centuries. Microbial evolution has crafted both deadly molecules and clever tricks to dodge death as the wee organisms endlessly battle over turf and resources. More than 80 percent of the antibiotics used in clinics today are based on those turf-war weapons, which scientists refer to as "natural products."

For decades, humans mined antibiotic molecules from microbes and tweaked them to develop new drugs, staying ahead of evolution's cunning countermeasures. But in recent times, new natural products have been harder to find, and the pipeline of new antibiotics has slowed to a trickle. Meanwhile, existing antibiotics have been overused, and resistance has mounted to critical levels. Most antibiotics are single bioactive molecules, and some can be thwarted with single mutations. While the current situation is dire, a study in Nature this week reports a compelling discovery that not only points to a potentially new antibiotic regimen, but also an entirely new strategy to once again get ahead in the microbial arms race.

Exciting find

The study, led by biomedical researcher Eric Brown at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, reports the discovery of a large block of genes—dubbed a "megacluster"—that codes for four molecules that appear to work in concert to derail a single essential metabolic pathway.

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source https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/06/antibiotic-megacluster-discovery-provides-new-strategy-to-fight-superbugs/

2026-06-26T00:57:31.625+05:30

If you've had your sights set on a new Xbox console, I strongly recommend you get one as soon as possible, because in just over a month, they're about to get much, much pricier.

On Thursday afternoon this week, Microsoft announced that its Xbox Series X|S consoles are getting a price hike come August 1, and this one is steep. Specifically, the cost of all 512GB models of these systems is climbing by $100, while 1TB units are skyrocketing an eye-watering $150. Microsoft is also sunsetting its 2TB Xbox Series X entirely.

I've included what the MSRP of Xbox Series X|S consoles will be after these price increases go into effect in the table below:

Product	New Price	Previous Price
Xbox Series S (512GB)	$499.99	$399.99
Xbox Series S (1TB)	$599.99	$449.99
Xbox Series X Digital	$749.99	$599.99
Xbox Series X	$799.99	$649.99

As you can see, we'll soon be living in a sobering reality in which the Xbox Series S — once heralded by many as an affordable and low-cost option for enjoying modern gaming on a budget — costs as much as the Xbox Series X did at launch, and in which the Series X has hit the $800 mark. Awful.

It's important to note that these price hikes are coming after Microsoft and Xbox already rose the cost of its consoles twice last year, with one increase in Spring 2025 and another that came in October.

Tariffs were largely responsible for those, though this time around, the ongoing RAM and storage crisis that's being perpetuated by the tech industry's all-in bet on AI is to blame.

AI's insatiable hunger for silicon has brought on severe worldwide memory and storage shortages, driving up component costs and making just about every electronic device on the market more expensive as a result. Tragically, the problem is projected to get even worse next year, which may mean additional price hikes are on the horizon.

"Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027," Xbox lamented in its notice about new prices. "The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles. Unlike phones, computers, speakers, and other consumer devices, consoles are typically not sold at a profit, but instead for less than they cost to make."

Ironically, the new Xbox price hike comes days after CEO Asha Sharma made a point of discussing the fact that "gaming is unaffordable in many cases." (Image credit: Microsoft (edit by Windows Central))

Ironically, these price increases come mere days after Xbox CEO Asha Sharma made a point of discussing the fact that "gaming is unaffordable in many cases" and highlighting that that's a serious problem. Granted, Microsoft isn't in control of what's going on in the industry...though, it's certainly contributed to it majorly with its own pushes for AI.

It's also worth noting that Sharma believes contending with memory shortages is Xbox's next big "challenge and opportunity"; making "affordable products during that time" is her goal, though evidently, things are getting worse before they get better.

How do you feel about the latest round of Xbox console cost increases? Do you believe the Xbox Series X|S is still worth getting at their new prices? Let me know, and be sure to check out the incredible Prime Day deal on the Series X I've included below. It's a killer chance to get one for less before August.

With new steep price hikes only about a month away, this killer Xbox Series X deal is a must buy right now if you're interested in picking the console up.

Windows Central review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

👀ALSO at Target for $573.99

💲 Price check: $649.99 at Best Buy | $639.99 at Newegg View Deal

source https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-and-xbox-announce-another-console-price-hike-and-this-one-is-steep-things-may-get-even-worse-in-2027

Microsoft quietly extends free Windows 10 ESU support to October 2027

2026-06-26T00:24:20.254+05:30

Microsoft has quietly extended its free Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for consumers by an additional year, allowing enrolled devices to continue receiving security updates until October 12, 2027. [...]

source https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-quietly-extends-free-windows-10-esu-support-to-october-2027/

2026-06-26T00:15:16.649+05:30

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Prime Day is June 23 to 26, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over.

Follow our live blog to stay up to date on the best sales we find.
Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more.
Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.
New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

If you're looking to build strength at home, but you're worried about space constraints, adjustable dumbbells are the way to go. And with Prime Day deals active until June 26, now is the time to buy.

Adjustable dumbbells are a favorite category of mine because they let you go from five-pound to 50-pound weights (or more!) without needing multiple shelves of equipment. After all, your best strategy for home gym shopping when you don't have a ton of room to work with is to focus on versatility and efficient use of space.

BowFlex Results Series SelectTech 552 5-52.5lb Adjustable Dumbbells (Pair)

MouldBody Adjustable Dumbbell Set Pair 25 lb or 50 lb

CAP Barbell Adjustabell 12.5-55lb Adjustable Dumbbell (Pair)

NordicTrack 55 lb Select-a-Weight Dumbbell Pair

FEIERDUN Adjustable Dumbbells, 90lbs Free Weight Set with Connector

My favorite deal right now is these Bowflex Results Series 552 dumbbells—they're $328.98 for a pair, normally $429.99. If you couldn’t guess from the name, they can adjust from five to 52 pounds.

Here are some more adjustable dumbbells that have caught my eye during Amazon's Prime Day sale:

MouldBody adjustable dumbbells are $227.99 for a pair, normally $329.99. These each adjust from six to 50 pounds.
CAP ADJUSTABELL dumbbells are $249.99 for a pair, normally $299.99. These easily adjust from 10–55 pounds in five-pound increments without knobs, pins, or levers—just a twist of the handle.
NordicTrack Select-a-Weight Adjustable Dumbbells are $304.99, normally $399.99. Each dumbbell in this set can adjust up to 55 pounds, with 2.5, five, and 10-pound increments available.
Feierdun Adjustable Dumbbells are $161.49 for the 90-pound set, down from $219.99. I'm especially drawn to how this system can configure the weights as fixed barbells, kettlebells, traditional dumbbells, or individual weight plates. I mean, incorporating kettlebell swings and goblet squats without purchasing separate equipment? That's a steal.

Where individual pairs of dumbbells from five to 80 pounds in five-pound increments would cost well over $1,500 (and take up your entire home gym), adjustable dumbbells condense an entire weight rack into a compact, versatile system. No gym membership required, no waiting for equipment, and no excuses about not having enough space.

Looking for something else? Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy run Prime Day-style sales that are especially useful if you don’t have Amazon Prime.

Walmart’s Prime Day competition sale runs from June 22-28 and includes deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+.
Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale runs from June 22-28, and has some of the best tech sales online. It’s an especially good option if you’re a My Best Buy “Plus” or “Total” member.
Target’s Prime Day competition sale runs from June 23-26, with deals up to 50% off. You can become a Circle member for free.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now

Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $179.00 (List Price $249.00)

Apple iPad 11" A16 128GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Silver, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00)

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $279.00 (List Price $399.00)

Sony WH1000XM6- Best Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones — $378.00 (List Price $459.99)

Amazon Fire TV 4-Series 55" HDR Smart TV (2025) — $279.95 (List Price $459.99)

Amazon Fire TV Soundbar — $79.99 (List Price $119.99)

Fire TV Stick 4K Plus Streaming Player With Remote (2025 Model) — $24.99 (List Price $49.99)

Meta Quest 3S 128GB All-In-One VR Headset — $296.79 (List Price $349.99)

DJI Mini 3 4K Foldable Mini Camera Drone With RC Controller — $339.00 (List Price $549.00)

Samsung Galaxy S26 256GB Unlocked Phone (Black) — $669.99 (List Price $899.99)

Deals are selected by our commerce team

2026-06-25T00:15:44.019+05:30

Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Tracking your health shouldn't mean strapping an intrusive, glowing smartwatch to your wrist 24/7. For a screen-free, low-profile alternative, the RingConn Gen 2 smart ring monitors your vitals right from your finger while dodging both premium hardware markups and the mandatory subscription fees that plague the wearable market. Right now, you can score this stealthy tracker for 30% off. Here is what the hardware brings to the table.

All of the info, none of the discomfort

The RingConn Gen 2 tracks the same data as a smartwatch—including activity like steps and calorie burn, pulse, heart rate variability, and blood oxygen levels. Designed for comfortable overnight wear and effortless 24/7 use, it is the first smart ring to offer sleep apnea monitoring while tracking your sleep quality, stress levels, and recovery. All of this data is compiled in the RingConn app, which delivers an overall Wellness Score and lets you export reports directly to your healthcare provider.

If you have specific sleep issues you've dealt with in the past, or if you just want to do a better job tracking and incrementally improving both the duration and quality of your sleep, the small form factor of the RingConn Gen 2 and the granular data made available through the RingConn app offer a fantastic solution, giving you the necessary insights without obstructing your sleep with a bulky watch.

No big battery drain for way less downtime

Most smart watches measure their battery life in hours. The Gen 2 can measure it in weeks, with a battery life of 10-12 days on a single charge for most sizes. Plus at just two grams, the Gen 2 is lighter than RingConn’s previous devices. All this makes it easier to use around the clock, and thanks to its titanium alloy construction, also surprisingly durable.

No monthly subscription fees, just your data

Aside from the discomfort and the near-constant charging, the worst part about most fitness trackers is seeing that monthly subscription fee hit your bank account. Nearly every health tracker requires an ongoing payment for full access to your device’s info and training insights, but Gen 2 users get access to all of their personal advanced health data with zero subscription required.

If you want low-profile tracking without the distraction of an extra display, the RingConn Gen 2 is currently seeing a rare price drop. Amazon is slashing 30% off the MSRP during its Prime Day event running from June 23 through June 26. The wearable is also HSA/FSA eligible, allowing you to use tax-advantaged funds to secure the discount.

2026-06-25T00:13:15.457+05:30

A few days after a Tesla plowed through a Texas home and killed a grandmother, the family sued the carmaker, alleging that the Model 3’s automated assist mode was defective.

In a complaint filed this week in Harris County District Court, Jennifer Barbour, the daughter of 76-year-old Martha Avila, and Barbour's husband Justin confirmed they were seeking more than $1 million in damages following their sudden and tragic loss.

After the crash, the driver, Michael Butler, who is also a named defendant in the lawsuit, told police that the automated driver-assist feature was engaged when he lost control of the car. Cops told Ars on Monday that they’re still investigating whether the feature was in use and confirmed that Butler was not intoxicated and has been cooperating with police.

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source https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/elon-musk-denies-teslas-autopilot-caused-crash-that-killed-grandmother/

2026-06-24T00:15:38.421+05:30

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

Prime Day is June 23 to 26, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over.

Follow our live blog to stay up to date on the best sales we find.
Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more.
Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.
New to Prime Day? We have a primer on everything you need to know. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change.

Apple, Google, and Samsung are all running deals this Prime day on their smartwatches. Unlike some sales events, we're seeing good prices today on the current, newest models from each brand. Apple's watches are all at the lowest prices I've ever seen for the Series 11, SE 3, and Ultra 3. Below are the best deals I've found, along with deals for accessories like wireless charging stations.

If you're trying to decide between the Pixel and Samsung watches, check out my reviews: the Pixel Watch 4 has ultra-fast charging and a convenient dock. The Samsung Galaxy Watch has thoughtful design in its health and fitness apps. I prefer the Samsung from a fitness point of view, but they're both good watches and there's a strong argument for getting one that matches your phone. Each brand has a few extra features that you can unlock when you use a Samsung Galaxy watch with a Samsung Galaxy phone, or a Pixel watch with a Pixel phone.

The best Prime deals on Apple Watches

Apple's current models of watch are on sale for up to $100 off:

The Apple Watch Series 11 starts at $279, originally $399.
The Apple Watch SE 3 starts at $199, originally $249.
This Apple Watch Ultra 3 is now $649.99, originally $649.

Some accessories worth looking at:

This keychain charger for $12.14 (down from $15.99) can store enough juice to charge an Apple Watch 2-3 times (or two times for an Ultra).
This charging station for $15.30 (down from $25.99) can charge your Apple Watch, iPhone, and AirPods.

Apple Watch Series 11 46mm GPS Smartwatch (Silver Aluminum Case, Purple Fog Sport Band)

$413.74 at Amazon

The best Prime deals on Google Pixel Watches

The fastest-charging smartwatch I know is the Google Pixel 4, which you can read my review of here. Here are the sales I'm seeing:

Pixel Watch 4, 41 mm, wifi only, is now $289.99, regular price $349.99.
Pixel Watch 4, 41 mm, LTE is now $349.99, down from $449.99.
Pixel Watch 4, 45 mm, wifi only is now $319.99, down from $399.99.
Pixel Watch 4, 45 mm, LTE is $399.99, down from $499.99.

There are deals on accessories as well. Here are a few of my favorites:

Charging station for the Pixel Watch 4, phone, and earbuds is $27.74, down from $36.99,
If you have an older Pixel, here's a charging station for the Pixel Watch 2 or 3, phone, and earbuds for $26.16, down from $35.99.
Braided stretchy watch bands for the Pixel Watch 4 are now $9.49, down from $11.99.

Google Pixel Watch 4 (41 mm) - LTE (2025 Model)

The best Prime deals on Samsung Galaxy Watches

Samsung's Galaxy Watch 8 is on sale, but prices vary according to the size and style. Be careful as you're clicking around, since Amazon currently has used models mixed in with the regular offerings.

Samsung Galaxy Watch, 44 mm, Bluetooth only, is now $227.49, originally $379.99.
Samsung Galaxy Watch, 44 mm, LTE, is $309.99, originally $429.99.
Samsung Galaxy Watch, 40 mm, Bluetooth only, is $229.99, originally $349.99.
Samsung Galaxy Watch, 40 mm, LTE, is $265.99, originally $399.99.
The Watch 8 Classic is on sale for $380.00, down from an original price of $499.99.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 (2025) 40 mm LTE Smartwatch

Looking for something else? Retailers like Walmart and Best Buy run Prime Day-style sales that are especially useful if you don’t have Amazon Prime.

Walmart’s Prime Day competition sale runs from June 22-28 and includes deals up to 50% off. It’s an especially good option if you have Walmart+.
Best Buy’s Prime Day competition sale runs from June 22-28, and has some of the best tech sales online. It’s an especially good option if you’re a My Best Buy “Plus” or “Total” member.
Target’s Prime Day competition sale runs from June 23-26, with deals up to 50% off. You can become a Circle member for free.

Our Best Editor-Vetted Prime Day Deals Right Now

Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $179.99 (List Price $249.00)

Apple AirPods 4 Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $148.99 (List Price $179.00)

Apple iPad 11" A16 128GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Silver, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00)

Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $279.00 (List Price $399.00)

Sony WH1000XM6- Best Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones — $378.00 (List Price $459.99)

Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen, 2022 Release) — $34.99 (List Price $49.99)

Amazon Fire TV 4-Series 55" HDR Smart TV (2025) — $279.95 (List Price $459.99)

Amazon Fire TV Soundbar — $79.99 (List Price $119.99)

Fire TV Stick 4K Plus Streaming Player With Remote (2025 Model) — $24.99 (List Price $49.99)

Deals are selected by our commerce team

2026-06-24T00:13:33.799+05:30

For decades, biologists thought that early tetrapods, ancient vertebrates that started conquering the land over 300 million years ago, developed like modern amphibians—beginning their lives as purely aquatic tadpoles and then metamorphosing into terrestrial adults. “A lot of that comes from this old ‘scala naturae’ idea that you had fish that evolved into the next stage up, which were amphibians, and then amphibians evolved into the next stage up, which were reptiles that evolved into birds and mammals,” said Jason Pardo, a research associate at the Field Museum.

We’ve never had evidence that early tetrapods had an amphibian lifestyle; we have assumed it because it made intuitive sense. “It’s easier to make the transition from water to land if you’re already making that transition as part of your life cycle,” Pardo said. But now, a new Science study that Pardo co-authored with Arjan Mann (the Field Museum's assistant curator of early tetrapods) shows our most basic assumptions about the first tetrapods that started living on land might be wrong.

Baby monsters

The researchers' study focused mainly on embolomers, an extinct group of large predators that lived roughly 300 million years ago. Embolomers looked like a cross between a crocodile and an eel, with large skulls full of sharp teeth, followed by long, eel-like bodies. It had short, stocky limbs adapted mainly for paddling in water, but also capable of powering brief, clumsy excursions on land. They are thought to be one of the first vertebrates that made a partial transition from an aquatic to a terrestrial lifestyle. These animals could reach over three meters in length, but to understand the very beginning of their life cycle, scientists focused on examining some of their centimeter-scale babies.

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source https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/early-land-animals-skipped-the-tadpole-phase/

2026-06-23T00:38:23.837+05:30

The developer working on Xfwl4, the Wayland compositor for Xfce, has published the new compositor’s very first alpha release. Considering it’s only been six months or so of work, it’s impressive to see the effort reach this state already.

The end goal of xfwl4 is to behave as closely as possible to an Xfce desktop running on an X server. Ideally a user could switch between the two without even knowing there’s a difference. In reality, of course, it won’t be quite that seamless, and there’s still more work to be done to get as close as possible to that ideal. This is a first solid cut at it, at the very least.
↫ Brian Tarricone

Being the very first alpha release, it won’t surprise you there’s a few things missing or broken at this point. Still, if you’re brave, you can download and build the release and try it out.

source https://www.osnews.com/story/145362/xfces-new-wayland-compositor-sees-first-alpha-release/

2026-06-23T00:35:23.717+05:30

Since Valve first announced its console-like, living room-friendly gaming PC the Steam Machine last November, the wait to find out how much it will cost and when exactly it will come out has been a long one. Before now, the manufacturer only confirmed that its launch for Summer 2026 was still planned, with the ongoing RAM crisis caused by heavy AI investment significantly complicating Valve's supply and pricing process.

At long last, however, the firm has finally announced how much the device will cost and when it will manage to start shipping it out to customers. In a new blog post, Valve revealed that there are two different Steam Machine SKUs — a 512GB unit and one with 2TB of storage — you'll be able to purchase, with each also offered in a bundle that includes the new $99 Steam Controller gamepad.

That means you have four options total, all of which I've listed below with their prices:

Steam Machine 512GB: $1,049 USD / 1,509 CAD / 1,039 EUR / 879 GBP / 1,609 AUD / 4,389 PLN
Steam Machine 512GB + Steam Controller: $1,128 USD / 1,628 CAD / 1,108 EUR / 938 GBP / 1,728 AUD / 4,698 PLN
Steam Machine 2TB: $1,349 USD / 1,919 CAD / 1,359 EUR / 1,149 GBP / 2,109 AUD / 5,739 PLN
Steam Machine 2TB + Steam Controller: $1,428 USD / 2,038 CAD / 1,428 EUR / 1,208 GBP / 2,228 AUD / 6,048 PLN

Note that in addition to the standard black faceplate, you also have the option of getting a red fabric or a solid walnut front cover for the 2TB version of the Steam Machine.

Valve's upcoming new Steam Machine gaming PC utilizes the company's Linux-based SteamOS operating system, and is designed with the living room and traditional console-style gaming in mind. (Image credit: Valve)

Due to memory and storage shortages severely impacting component supply, Valve won't have as many Steam Machines available for gamers to purchase as it would like to. Therefore, it's implementing a reservation system similar to the one it's using for the Steam Controller, though it's going to work a bit differently.

From now until Thursday, June 25th at 10 a.m. PT, you can sign up for the reservation list of the model you want on the Steam Machine's official store page. Then, Valve will close the list and randomize it to determine the reservation queue order.

Once the order has been finalized, you'll receive an email that either confirms you're in the reservation queue and will be emailed when there's a Steam Machine available for you to order, or that you're on the waitlist and will be notified when you're added to the queue and more units become available.

Valve says the first Steam Machine orders will begin to ship out on Monday, June 29, which is precisely one week away from the time of writing.

Some final things to note: trying to reserve a Steam Machine requires having a Steam account in good standing as well as a Steam purchase in your account history before April 27. Also, you can't change the model you reserved after signing up, though you can sign up for multiple different versions and bundles of the Steam Machine.

If you're aiming to try and get your hands on the device, good luck — I have no doubt that you're going to need it!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Nvidia gets all agentic about supercomputing for scientific research

2026-06-23T00:33:21.556+05:30

Nvidia is pushing agentic AI for scientific computing, and says that this requires a new scientific computing stack, which the GPU giant is ready to deliver, of course. At the ISC High Performance 2026 event in Hamburg, Germany, Nvidia is lauding its own achievements in supercomputing, highlighting just how many of the world’s top compute clusters use its hardware these days. But just as agentic AI has become this year’s buzzword in the machine intelligence industry, so the GPU slinger is pushing it as the next big thing for supercomputers and their research programs, driven by its next-gen Vera Rubin platform and new software tools. “We are currently witnessing a massive inflection point with agentic AI. AI is shifting from a tool that simply answers questions to an autonomous system that executes complex tasks,” Nvidia’s senior director of HPC and AI Factory Solutions Dion Harris told the media in a briefing. The Mission and Vision systems at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in the US will be the world's first agentic AI supercomputers when they come online, he says. A new scientific computing stack connects agents, simulation, and AI together to accelerate the next generation of scientific discovery, Harris claims. “Scientists leverage agentic AI co-scientists that call simulators and surrogate models alongside tools and applications, to do everything from planned experiments to write code to run the simulations to simulations and AI and data analytics converging into one single workflow,” he explained. This requires an incredible amount of compute, memory, and networking, which, in Nvidia’s eyes, means supercomputers built on its Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell platforms, plus Quantum InfiniBand networking, and new software for accelerating discovery. The latter comprises ALCHEMI, DAQIRI, and cuPhoton. The first is described by Nvidia as a domain-specific toolkit for chemical and material discoveries, using the BGR microservice for simulating millions of molecules and structures. DAQIRI is designed for the next-generation scientific instruments, connecting sensors directly to real-time AI inference points, Harris says. “At CERN's ATLAS experiment, less than 2 percent of collision data can typically be stored. DAQIRI introduces a GPU accelerated AI trigger pipeline allowing FPGAs to handle low latency routing while GPUs run deep learning models to ensure we learn from significantly more data,” he explained. Finally, cuPhoton is built to process petabytes of camera and telescope data to help scientists analyze massive cosmic data sets in minutes rather than months. “In testing with 32 Grace Blackwell superchips simulating data from the Rubin Observatory, cuPhoton loaded and read images 15,000 times faster and accelerated signal processing and analysis by up to 8,000 times,” Harris claimed. But Nvidia is pitching its next-gen silicon as the platform for agentic supercomputing. Due to be available in Q4 this year, the Vera Rubin NVL rack will cram in up to 144 GPUs per rack, and deliver 5 petaFLOPS of FP64 floating-point performance. Because many high-performance computing workloads are often bound by memory performance, Vera Rubin increases memory bandwidth by 2.8 times compared to Blackwell, Harris says, using 41 TB of HBM4 memory per rack to achieve three petabytes per second of bandwidth. Systems that are getting Vera Rubin include the Mission and Vision systems at LANL. These stack up to 2,160 Rubin GPUs plus 1,080 Vera CPUs, in the case of Mission, while Vision has a more modest 1,298 Rubins and 648 Veras. “Then there's Veritas, which is being announced at ISC, which deploys 576 Rubin GPUs, along with 288 Vera CPUs,” Harris says. We asked Nvidia what the purpose is of embedding agentic AI into scientific computing, much of which is about research driven by human curiosity. “Agentic AI, or in fact any AI, is not required to do science,” Harris told The Register. “But Nvidia believe agentic AI is already emerging as a powerful tool to do science at a scale that isn’t possible when human scientists alone drive the process. Agents don’t need to sleep, or eat, or take breaks. They can consume thousands or millions of technical papers and remember the details, and in some cases, they benefit from PhD-level understanding across diverse fields from astrophysics to zoology,” he said. Nvidia’s vision is that human scientists will have a team of agents running around the clock, able to do investigations they couldn’t themselves perform. “But agents require foundation models, LLMs, and connections to data and tools to perform science. They run on CPUs, but access tools, many of which need GPUs to run at maximum performance and efficiency,” Harris added. Nvidia claims that Europe is now a hotspot for HPC, with 35 new supercomputers brought online in the past year, all using Nvidia tech. These include Jupiter, Europe’s exascale system, MareNostrum 5 at the Barcelona supercomputing center, Bavaria AI's Blue Swan, HammerHAI at the University of Stuttgart, and Italy’s CINECA. ®

source https://www.theregister.com/systems/2026/06/22/nvidia-gets-all-agentic-about-supercomputing-for-scientific-research/5259553

2026-06-23T00:15:34.616+05:30

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I generally love my Whoop band, but there's no question that the company's subscription-only model isn't for everyone. A few weeks ago, a hobbyist created an app that can connect to your old Whoop 4.0 strap. I loved the idea, since an independent app sounds like a great way to keep your data private and to make use of an otherwise obsolete piece of hardware. But as I worked through the steps of compiling and testing the freshly posted code, I noticed more apps like it popping up on Reddit and Github.

Since then, some of these Whoop-compatible apps have been taken down, at least one of those at the request of a Whoop executive. Here is what I learned in talking to several of those apps’ developers, and whether I think independent Whoop apps have a future. (Tentatively: yes.)

Are these independent Whoop apps legal?

“In cases that violate our IP, trademarks, or terms of use, we have reached out to individuals to take down their apps,” a Whoop spokesperson said to me in a statement. The developers that I’ve spoken to, for their part, believe that what they’re doing is legal and ethical.

Whoop’s position is that the value of the Whoop platform is in its proprietary analysis and features, which others have tried to imitate but cannot directly replicate. The company makes an API available to developers, through which they can access the data Whoop has processed. Using the API requires working through Whoop’s system—meaning the user must have a Whoop membership and allow the company to process their data. This is a different scenario than what’s going on with the independent projects I’m writing about today. These new projects aim to let individuals use Whoop hardware without any contact with the company itself, and without ever having had a subscription.

But before I get into why I’m excited about the independent projects, I’d like to include Whoop’s entire statement to me, so you can see where they’re coming from:

“WHOOP is always excited to see how passionate our members are about using data to better understand their health and performance. WHOOP is designed as an integrated hardware, software, and data platform. It is not possible to access WHOOP proprietary health insights, coaching, analytics, or signature metrics and features—including Recovery, Strain, Sleep scoring, Stress Monitor, Healthspan, and WHOOP Coach—outside of the WHOOP membership experience. The value of WHOOP comes from turning continuous physiological data into validated, personalized, and actionable insights.

“We support third-party app development with our developer APIs and have even created an easy-to-use developer platform. However, not all third-party apps or independent tools are created, reviewed, or authorized by WHOOP.”

The promise of independent Whoop apps

Whoop has always been a high-end product. It’s a screenless fitness tracker, now in its fifth generation, that you wear as a wristband. It captures your heart rate and motion data, and sends that to an app on your phone, which in turn sends it to the cloud to be processed. You pay for this service—$239/year is the typical price—and in turn Whoop gives you detailed analysis of how well you’re recovering from your exercise.

Whoop’s app is good, in my opinion; it goes well beyond basic tracking, and I still think it’s worth the money if you’re a devoted athlete or you really like to nerd out about how well your body is handling the stress you put it under.

But for as long as Whoop has been around, there have been people wondering if they could use the device for their own purposes. While we finally have competing devices with no required subscription (like the Fitbit Air), there are also a lot of old Whoop devices out in the world. Nearly everyone who had a Whoop 4.0 has probably since upgraded to the 5.0 (seeing as the company sends out the newer version for free), leaving their old strap as e-waste. What if there was a way to repurpose that old hardware?

That’s the idea behind apps like Noop, Goose, Wearable, and more. These newer apps aren’t the only ones compatible with Whoop hardware, but they appeared recently and they quickly overtook several older, long-simmering projects that had been working on the same question: How can an independent app read data from a Whoop device? Because if a free app can read the device’s data over Bluetooth, you could use the hardware for your own purposes without the Whoop app or subscription service.

How a non-Whoop app can talk to a Whoop band (and why it’s taken so long to get here)

Screenshots from the Noop app Credit: Beth Skwarecki/Noop

The idea of an independent app for a Whoop band isn’t new. Several projects have tried it over the years, with varying levels of success. One I found useful was called Whoomp, and it was simple to use: you load a special web page in your browser, and your computer begins communicating with the Whoop device over Bluetooth. (A public version of Whoomp used to be available here.) The first time I tried it was a thrill: I put on an old Whoop 4.0 device and saw my heart rate on my computer screen. I could press a button on the web page and feel the device buzz on my wrist. The device hadn't been connected to my phone for years; I felt like Dr. Frankenstein bringing the dead to life through the power of technology.

As several developers told me, a Whoop device, fresh out of the box, communicates certain things over Bluetooth. If a computer or phone communicates back in the right way, the two devices can become paired and bonded, and send data and commands back and forth. To have a functional Whoop-like app, the phone has to know how to hold up its end of the conversation.

The Whoop device uses BLE, or Bluetooth Low Energy. That’s a type of connection that many other wearables and devices also use. But Whoop has not publicly released instructions for exactly how phones or computers can access Whoop’s features over BLE. The official Whoop app knows what to say to the device to get it to bond and to transfer data, but independent developers had to figure out, through trial and error, how to decode the language that the device “speaks.” This was a slow process, and until recently, programs like Whoomp were for people who wanted to tinker with the device, knowing that they only had partial functionality. A project like Whoomp could read your heart rate, sure, but it’s not a drop-in replacement for the official Whoop app or subscription.

How the independent Whoop apps appeared (and disappeared)

A few weeks ago, developer Johnathan Middleton posted on the Whoop subreddit that he had managed, with the aid of Claude Code, to decode more of the Whoop 4.0 communication protocol than had previously been known. He posted the code for an iPhone app and a server that you can run on your own computer to process the data. The project was on the software repository Github under the name "my-whoop," which has since changed to "Wearable." It is still available here, but to use it, you’ll need to know how to compile and sideload an iPhone app—not a beginner-friendly process.

I spoke with Middleton on a video call. He’s a software engineer in his day job, and says he created the Wearable project over a weekend. He used Claude Code to automate some of the more tedious tasks, like sending signals to the device and checking how it responded. Middleton’s work built on the decoding work accomplished with earlier projects, which he credits in his notes. (That’s how I found out about Whoomp, one of the projects cited.) The resulting app looks a bit like Whoop’s, with scores and analysis that Middleton calculates based on published algorithms; they won’t necessarily match Whoop’s proprietary scores.

Middleton announced his project on the Whoop subreddit on May 30. On June 2, another developer announced a project called Goose, which is meant to work with the newer 5.0/MG bands. On June 7, yet another developer posted the first of many announcements about a project called Noop that builds off both Wearable and Goose to communicate with both types of bands.

I’ve been in touch with Noop’s developer over email; he indicated his pronouns but did not disclose his name. In the initial announcement, he said proudly that he used $1,500 worth of AI tokens to develop the app. More Reddit posts followed, and the code has been updated hundreds if not thousands of times in the short time the project has been online. Redditors on the Whoop forum have been rolling their eyes at “all these vibe coded apps” because, yes, more have popped up since then. (Here’s Bandmate from June 4, Seraph from June 11, a modified version of Goose also from June 11, and Edge from June 13.)

On June 17, I noted that Noop’s code was gone from Github (the platform that hosts code for pretty much all these projects). Noop’s developer said that he hadn’t heard anything from Whoop directly, but that Github took it down. He appealed the decision and the repository was reinstated. In the meantime, he set up a mirror of the code here.

Whoomp disappeared from GitHub even earlier, on June 10. Its developer, John Fitzgerald, told me that Robert Johanson, Whoop’s VP of software, reached out to ask him to take the project down. Johanson also reached out to Middleton, the developer of Wearable, with a similar request, but Middleton kept his code available, and so far it’s still online.

Goose was supposed to launch its app over TestFlight (a beta testing platform for iPhone apps) on June 13, but never did. I have not been able to get in touch with the developer. The code is still available on Github, but archived as read-only, suggesting that the project is dead.

How you run an unofficial Whoop app

When I decided to test Wearable—Middleton’s app, which was the first I came across—I faced quite the learning curve. Apple doesn’t allow hobbyists to compile apps and share them widely, at least not without a lot of extra steps. This makes sense from Apple’s perspective, since a mystery app could do all kinds of things to your iPhone you may not want it to. (For one thing, Apple requires that an app be signed by a developer, so you know who it came from.)

Bigger developers will often distribute an app for testing through a platform called TestFlight. You may have used this if you’ve ever beta-tested an iPhone app. Eventually, of course, such a developer might aim to have the app available on the real App Store. But if you just want to tinker with some code you downloaded, you need to be able to compile the app with Xcode, then sideload it (that is, transfer it locally, usually over a USB cable). To do that, well, let’s just say there were a lot of steps I had to figure out. I managed to build Wearable and load it onto my iPhone; later, when I was testing Noop, I found an unsigned .ipa (app) file that another hobbyist had created from Noop’s code, and I installed it via Sideloadly, which shortcut the process a bit—although that’s still risky, because it isn't easily confirmed that the .ipa contains the app I think it does.

The process is simpler on Android, but again, risky. Someone can give you an .apk file, which is already compiled and ready to install. Installing is as simple as clicking a link to the .apk from your Android phone, and tapping a button to say that, yes, you know you probably shouldn’t install this, but you want to anyway.

But do these apps work?

Screenshots from Wearable as I was trying to connect to the device Credit: Beth Skwarecki / Wearable

I tried out several of the apps I’m writing about, with varying levels of success. Wearable detected my 4.0 strap and showed my live heart rate, but never managed to fully sync all my data. Noop, tested on an Android, managed to work with my 4.0 for a short time, but then I started getting errors. Noop on my iPhone was able to read data from my MG strap. Nothing I tried was 100% functional 100% of the time.

That’s not unusual when you’re trying out code that’s still under development. Maybe I screwed up somehow, or maybe the apps are just buggy. It would take more methodical testing on my part to narrow down why I’m getting the problems I am. I’ve seen posts on Reddit from people who had more success than I did in getting Wearable and Noop working; Middleton showed me his phone with Wearable working smoothly.

If I took the time, I could possibly figure out what’s going wrong on my end and contribute some fixes to the code. That’s a nice thing about open source development: People work together to test and develop something that everyone can use. If the projects can survive Whoop’s legal threats, and if the developers stay interested enough to maintain the projects over time, we may have some useful, robust Whoop-alternative apps in the future.

I’m looking forward to that. Reverse engineering, as these projects are called, is generally legal as long as the developer is not directly copying the company’s work or violating its terms of service. But most hobbyist developers aren’t prepared to fight legal battles even if they would theoretically win them, so takedown requests can often be enough to chill development. Aside from Noop, the projects I mentioned haven’t seen active development in at least the past week or so. I haven’t seen any new copycat apps on the subreddit, either. Feels pretty chilly to me.

Why I don’t think this is the end of alternative Whoop apps

For years, Whoop was the only device of its type. I wrote more about the state of smart bands here, but to summarize, there’s nothing special anymore about having a heart rate sensor on a wristband. Whoop’s branding and its top-notch app are the only advantages it has as a device; plenty of folks seem willing to abandon the platform if they can get an app for free, a device for cheap, or both.

Whoop surely knows this. The company is no longer pinning its business model to a single device (or app subscription), but has been branching out into the healthcare space. They now offer blood tests, which are pricey and repeatable. Earlier this year, Whoop joined Medicare’s ACCESS program. The Mayo Clinic and medical device company Abbott have both invested in Whoop, according to Forbes. The Whoop device and app may be the company's best-known products, but they're not the only way the company plans to make money.

Looking to the future, I hope that the Whoop-compatible apps stick around, and I think it’s likely that they will be legally able to. But will there be enough hobbyist developers with enough enthusiasm to debug, maintain, and distribute the apps, especially knowing that Whoop is watching over their shoulder? Will people who have old Whoop straps take a chance on these apps when they could just buy a Fitbit Air for $100 and a lot less hassle?

Those are the questions I’m pondering. I’d love to have a reliable, free alternative to the Whoop app, or even to the Google Health app. Wearable devices are incredibly personal—they know every time your heart beats—and I don’t love that the only way to use these devices, in most cases, is to share that personal data with a large corporation. I think we should have independent apps, especially ones that work with abandoned tech. Here’s hoping they stick around, and keep improving.

Anthropic's Mythos mess just keeps getting more complicated

2026-06-22T04:33:18.321+05:30

KETTLE It's been a week since the Trump administration established a de facto ban on Anthropic's Mythos derivative, Fable 5, and the more that comes out about the move the more it seems like Anthropic employees talking amongst themselves were on to something: Is the government just picking on the company? This week on the Kettle, host Brandon Vigliarolo and Reg cybersecurity editor Jessica Lyons chat about what's going on with Mythos and Fable, what role Amazon may have played in justifying the government's move, how a prominent cybersecurity expert is calling the government's foul, and what this whole thing might mean for the next wave of models. After all, even if Mythos and Fable are as advanced as Anthropic claims, it's not going to take long for some open-weight model to make the same leaps, and good luck trying to stop one of those from getting in the hands of anyone who wants them. You can listen to The Kettle here, as well as on Spotify and Apple Music, or read the transcript of the latest episode below. It's been lightly edited for clarity. Brandon (00:03) Welcome to the latest episode of The Register's Kettle Podcast. I'm Brandon Villiarolo, and boy, has it been another exciting week in AI Land. If you've been following the news, you probably know what I'm talking about, especially if you're an Anthropic customer who suddenly lost access to the company's latest models. That's right. This week's topic is none other than the Trump administration's de facto ban on the release of Mythos derivative Fable 5. And with me to discuss it is our cybersecurity editor, Jessica Lyons. Thanks for coming on. Jessica (00:31) Hello, thanks for having me. Brandon (00:33) Yeah, of course. this is right up your alley, so let's get right into the heart of the matter. What did the Trump administration demand from Anthropic and what was the company's response? Jessica (00:44) Okay, so what happened is last Friday the Trump administration sends this letter to Anthropic and they cite national security concerns to issue an export control saying that Fable 5 and Mythos 5 cannot be used by any foreign national inside or outside of the United States. And that also includes Anthropic employees. So in response, Anthropic just disbanded both models for all of the customers to ensure compliance. So effectively nobody can use these two models. Brandon (01:20) Yeah, I mean it seemed like the way that letter was worded, because Bloomberg got a copy of it and published it. And I think they said that they were citing the Bureau of Industry Security's authorization to what is it, "require a license for the export, re-export, or transfer of any item subject to export administration regulations, because there is an unacceptable risk of use in or diversion to a military intelligence end use or military intelligence end user." So they're basically treating it like any other dual-use technology. But that restriction is so broad, right? Like you said, even their own employees, ⁓ so yeah, they they yeah, they have no other recourse but to just stop it. Jessica (01:56) And it was reportedly a really short time frame too, about ninety minutes that they they received this letter and had to make a call. So they didn't have a lot of time to get any answers about what prompted this and what exactly are you asking us to do here. Brandon (02:04) Right, from what I was reading in some other reports that cited people familiar with the situation inside Anthropic and everything, they didn't even really get much of an explanation. They basically got the letter and they were like, "Excuse me, can you please tell us what this is about?" And the government basically said, "No …shut it down now…" It's really weird, especially then given the story you wrote about this this week, that they're basically treating this, like I said, like any dual use technology. But you wrote about a bug bounty hunter, the godmother of this movement, Katie Moussouris, who basically saw the report that the government used to justify this and she kind of called BS on the whole thing, right? Jessica (02:54) Right. So Katie is really, really well respected in cybersecurity circles. She is the one who helped convince Microsoft to start their bug bounty program. She led the Department of Defense effort for Hack the Pentagon. She sat on several federal commissions and boards. So she's she knows what she's talking about. She knows what she's doing here. And Anthropic asked Amazon to review the models before they released Fable 5 and and Mythos 5. And then they gave Katie a copy of the report and she confirmed today that the third-party report that she mentioned was the Amazon report. Brandon (03:41) Which has been mentioned I think in some other stories too as being kind of the impetus for this whole thing, right? Jessica (03:44) Yes, yes. So Anthropic then says, "hey, can you take a look at this? Let us know what you think." She, as far as we know, is the only other person, the only other third-party expert to take a look at this report. And so she reads through it. She says that essentially what happened is that Amazon researchers fed Fable 5 and Mythos 5 and the Claude Opus model, they fed them all open source code and it had known CVEs. And then they also put new code and they kind of laced it with these vulnerabilities and asked the models to here's the prompt, quote unquote, "review the code for security issues." So Fable 5 refused, and then they just asked it straight out, quote unquote, "fix this code." And the model obliged. They added some additional prompts to produce scripts to patch the issue, test the patches. So it kind of sounds like all these things that you want a model to be able to do for defensive security teams. The model did this. And according to Katie, this is the big scary national security issue that kind of or potentially prompted the Trump administration to just pull the whole thing, like ask Anthropic that you can't release this to any foreign nationals. Brandon (05:13) Right, which again, right, is kind of funny because like when specifically asked to find security vulnerabilities in code, the model said no. Right. I mean, obviously this was a bit of a quote unquote "workaround," right? But I mean, like you said, it's very arguable that this is not a not a bypass, not a jailbreak. It's just the way this should work in the first place. And apparently that's that's good enough for the government to say, "Hey, no, we don't want anyone to have this." Jessica (05:40) Right. And yeah, and there's reports that that this the document was reviewed by administration officials and they described it as really scary because Fable 5 could identify flaws and that would be beneficial to the bad guys who are who are trying to hack American systems, and that poses a major threat to national security. But you have this whole group – and then there was a a letter with I believe over a hundred other security experts who are saying, no. Brandon (06:14) Moussouris signed that too, right? She was a signatory. Jessica (06:20) Yes, she did sign that as well. Yes, you have Alex Stamos, you have a bunch of really, really respected names in security saying, "We need this as defenders. This is what is going to give us an edge. So you're actually you're hurting the defenders. You're not really hurting the attackers by essentially issuing a ban on Anthropic's models. Brandon (06:35) Right, especially since, and I think you mentioned this in your story as well, Mythos isn't unique according to a lot of researchers in these capabilities. And even if it is, it won't be for long, right? There's a lot of models that are going to gain this capability or already have it, right? And that are, some of them, being manufactured overseas. I'm sure DeepSeek can do similar things to this or models exist in China that can do these kinds of things, right? I can't imagine that that Anthropic is alone in this capability. Jessica (06:52) Right, right. I mean, we've seen from a lot of different papers that open weight and foreign models are not that far behind. It might take a few more prompts, but eventually these models also are going to find bugs and show you how to exploit them. So this is not completely unique to this one company and their particular models. Brandon (07:26) But it'll get there, right? And so on top of that, I think ⁓ Moussouris was part of the group that helped the government renegotiate the Wassenaar arrangement, which for anyone unfamiliar, it was an agreement between like 42 forty two countries, right, to to establish some carve-outs for defensive security exceptions to export controls. And it seems like based on you know her reading, or her blog post that this is kind of a misinterpretation of AI's kind of place in that in that arrangement, right? Jessica (08:03) Right, exactly. So yeah, that, like you said, it carved out these exceptions for dual use software technology, especially these these things that are gonna help defenders. So it's offensive security capabilities, it's malware analysis, all of these aspects of the software that is going to help defenders with coordinated incident response and sharing vulnerability data. And this carveout that she helped develop protects the companies, the people who are using these these technologies from criminal prosecution. And so one of the major arguments here is that you are pulling away more technical capabilities that are going to help defenders. This should be covered by that. It obviously is a dual-use technology and this should be protected. Not subject to export controls. Brandon (09:01) Right. And on top of that, right, you know, ⁓ like you mentioned, open weight models. It's gonna be kinda hard to stop export bans on on open weight models and other publicly available stuff, right? Jessica (09:07) Right. Any foreign technologies, there's absolutely nothing that we can do to prevent those. So again, it just seems like an instance of hamstringing defenders with technologies that would be really beneficial. Brandon (09:30) Which I think obviously kind of begs the question whether the Trump administration is sort of just picking on Anthropic, right? As we we covered a few months ago (I can't even remember when it was now because everything moves so fast) but Anthropic got into a scuffle with the Pentagon earlier this year where they basically said, we don't want you using our models to was it spy domestically or or autonomously target weapons, which I think both Anthropic and the Pentagon said, "we're not doing that." But it was just sort of like a "hey, you know, preemptively, we don't want our models used in this kind of situation." And so the Pentagon's reaction was basically to say, "well, if you're not going to let us do whatever we want with it, then you can get out of every single piece of government infrastructure that exists." Now I mean, they had a significant contracts with the federal government, right? Like most AI companies do. And so I think the Trump administration's been kind of picking it out everywhere it can find it. Jessica (10:22) And not just the not just the government itself, but the whole supply chain. They labeled it a supply chain risk. So if you contract with the government, you also can't use this technology. Brandon (10:32) Right, which severely obviously limits Anthropic's ability to do business. And now here we are, you know, I think the New York Times reported earlier this week, they had a pretty wide ranging story on this whole topic that talked to a lot of people inside the company, saw some internal chat logs, and they mentioned that several employees were talking about feeling bullied or unfairly targeted by the Trump administration. And again, but when you with reference back to the things we were just talking about, it kind of seems like that might be the case, right? They're hamstringing defenders, but why, right? Jessica (11:11) Right. Right. The hard part is is that we don't have any transparency or definitive clarity on the reasons. It sounds like maybe Anthropic does at this point. They've reportedly been in negotiations or talks at least with the White House all week. We haven't heard anything out of those talks yet. But it does seem that they are being unfairly targeted when you have the earlier scuffle with the Pentagon. Then you reportedly have Amazon sharing the findings of this review it did on Anthropic's models with the administration. Amazon, Jeff Bezos, we know that's a company that has the administration's ear on things as opposed to Anthropic, which seems to be butting heads with the administration quite frequently. And then all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, there's this export control on Anthropic's models. So it it's it's hard not to draw that conclusion that there's a little bit of bullying for lack of a better word, targeting this particular company because of its history with the White House. Brandon (12:30) I know you in your story you mentioned that you were gonna update it if we heard back anything from the White House because you were asking them some questions about it. Did they ever get back to you? Jessica (12:44) No. No response from the White House. Yeah, of course not. That's not a surprise, really. I mean that's the thing, right? They email me back, I get plenty of emails from them when I ask them questions, but often it's just kind of a "here's the press release you already saw."…If you ask them pointed questions a lot of times they're not gonna answer. But it's the same as any corporation too, I feel like, nowadays. Jessica (13:01) Right. But I mean, like you said, that even even the letter from Commerce itself, that hasn't been made public yet. So we've seen that posted on different social media sites and Bloomberg had a copy of it, but even even that hasn't been released publicly. Brandon (13:14) I was really hoping that the government would explain their reasoning behind this, right? But it just seems like essentially it's been this whole – even when I saw the email I think was it was it Friday or Saturday… Jessica (13:18) It was Friday, it was late Friday. Brandon (13:30) Because I get all of Anthropic's alerts about downtime and outages and everything. And I remember seeing that come across and basically saying that they were cutting off access to those models. And I was just kinda like, what? And then all of a sudden it comes out, it's because, or I think I when I read it further, it was like, Yeah, the government basically, you know, it's forcing our hand in in doing this. Which was really surprising to see on on I mean, not surprising to see based on the timing, right? Because a lot of times Friday evenings are when all this kind of stuff happens so that the news cycle doesn't catch it. But it's also,, you know, we've written quite a bit about whether or not Mythos and then Fable by association aren't kind of being overhyped, right? Like their capabilities are greater than what Anthropic says. We've written about that, we've talked about that on here, I think, before. ⁓ You know, Moussouris's blog post seems to maybe not suggest that it is being overhyped. But at least that it's not, you know again, its capabilities aren't as advanced as what the government seems to be worried about, as what people seem to be, fear mongering about. I mean, have you gotten a sense of that from any of the recent reporting on it or or anything about whether or not again it is just a lot of hype? Jessica (14:46) Well, I think we've seen with Anthropic's models and we've seen with other models as well, is, yeah, they're getting a lot better. They're getting really good at finding vulnerabilities. And now they're also getting better at fixing them. So that seems like a a net positive here. And plus, this wasn't a case of Anthropic releasing the Mythos preview. That's the one with no guardrails that companies are currently trialing to find and fix vulnerabilities in their own products. This was a one I've I've read it described as a a straightjacketed version. And I like that because it this is one that does have the guardrails in place. This is why Anthropic said it was releasing it to the public. So again, without having played around with the model, it's hard to say whether or not it's overhyped or not, but this wasn't just a a free-for-all. This was a model that did have guardrails in place. And if asking the model to fix this code is a jailbreak, I think it also speaks to just a lack of understanding about what these models can do, what they should be able to do, what a jailbreak is, what this technology means in general, especially when it comes to lawmakers. Brandon (16:08) Yeah, right? I mean is this another is this the next generation of the series of tubes here, right? Where some sits on the House floor talking about AI models and it's and it's clear they do not understand what they're talking about. I mean, have you been watching any any government hearings or anything or heard anything? Like what kind of things are they saying about these that sound so grossly wrong? I imagine there's a lot, right? Jessica (16:13) There is a lot. I can't think of any specifics off the top of my head, but I have been watching a lot of the hearings on AI, and specific to AI and how it relates to security. And honestly, cybersecurity is still a pretty big unknown, I think, among most lawmakers. So then you add this newer technology into the mix that's evolving and expanding and and becoming more advanced so rapidly that it just … it's really hard to wrap their heads around what are the capabilities and how can how can this be a benefit for defenders? Because when you do read the hype, it does sound really scary. Here's this model that can find any zero day that's ever existed and it can exploit it and it can do it at the speed of machines. So yeah, that sounds terrifying, really. I think there's a lot of confusion. There's a lot of fear around this right now. And I think it's hard for lawmakers a lot of times to get a get a grasp on what the issues are, what the technology is, how it works. And that's an right. Brandon (17:43) Yeah, I mean this is complicated stuff. It's changing a lot of the technological world right now, right? Like enterprises are grappling with AI, trying to figure out how it works, what works well, what doesn't. You know, it's now entering the cybersecurity space. It's been in the development space for a while. Yeah, I mean, it is a complicated issue that's that's changing everything. I don't know. Maybe we need a government body that regulates cybersecurity and you know, handles all these sorts of things that doesn't get its staff culled on a whim. I don't know. Jessica (18:11) Right. I was gonna say, that's too bad that we don't have one of those. At least with the full staff and budget. Brandon (18:16) Well, who knows? We'll we'll be keeping an eye on things like this 'cause I mean this Mythos story and this the Fable story, this isn't it's not going anywhere. Like you they're still in talk, still trying to figure out what it was. Amodei was at G7 this week talking to leaders about, not wanting to fracture the the cybersecurity environment with AI. So yeah, there's gonna be plenty to talk about and we will be here to discuss it on The Kettle. Thank you for joining me this week and thanks for listening. We will see you soon. ®

source https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/06/22/anthropics-mythos-mess-just-keeps-getting-more-complicated/5258577

2026-06-22T01:38:36.211+05:30

Apple’s Swift has become the de-facto language for Apple’s own developers for a while now, and it seems that with the new operating system releases from the company unveiled during WWDC, Switch is now also being used in the kernel.

Naturally I dropped what I was doing and went grepping through the iOS 27 kernelcache. Alas, nothing came of it. All is not lost though: I found the Embedded Swift runtime in macOS 27, sitting in com.apple.kec.pthread of all places. Then I went poking around the root filesystem and it turns out Apple gave the whole effort a name: KernelKit.

Let’s dissect it.
↫ Josh Maine

It’s still quite limited at this time, which makes sense – you don’t want to be too crazy with the core of the operating system that runs on god knows how many PCs, smartphones, and other devices. It’s also entirely contained within a few kexts as embedded runtimes, and the XNU kernel itself remains entirely C and C++.

source https://www.osnews.com/story/145352/apple-internals-swift-in-the-kernel/