TechSpot

A Java library just tried to trick AI coding agents into deleting your tests, and it almost worked

Skye Jacobs — Sat, 30 May 2026 12:18 -0500

The latest flare-up in the debate over AI-assisted coding did not come from a new model release or a benchmark result. It came from a single line of text buried inside a software update.

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Sandisk is launching new SATA SSDs in 2026 because NVMe prices are out of control

Rob Thubron — Sat, 30 May 2026 10:42 -0500

Spotted by hardware leaker momomo_us on Amazon UK, both drives use the familiar 2.5-inch, 7mm-thick format, making them suitable for a wider range of PCs and laptops. The Sandisk 320 is the mainstream model, with capacities from 250GB to 2TB and sequential speeds of up to 545 MB/s read and...

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Nvidia's first consumer CPU in over a decade to debut at Computex next week

Daniel Sims — Sat, 30 May 2026 09:34 -0500

Identical posts from Nvidia, Arm, and Microsoft contained the words "A new era of PC," followed by the coordinates "25.0528, 121.5990," which map to the Computex 2026 venue in Taipei. The cryptic posts can be seen as early confirmation that Nvidia is finally ready to support Windows' push into Arm chipsets.

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Someone got 26 years of Windows running on a classic IBM ThinkPad T43 without a virtual machine

Rob Thubron — Sat, 30 May 2026 08:17 -0500

Redditor MatiHalek posted the results of the experiment to r/Windows, showing 26 years of Microsoft's operating systems running on the same bare-metal laptop. The gallery includes screenshots of the classic System Properties/About screens, taking viewers from the old NT era through to one of the final Windows 10 releases.

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Dell Alienware AW2726DM Review: QD-OLED Gaming for $350

Tim Schiesser — Sat, 30 May 2026 07:26 -0500

The Dell Alienware AW2726DM makes OLED gaming more accessible than ever with its aggressive $350 price point, while still delivering excellent motion clarity, deep contrast, and 240Hz refresh rates.

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Are you actually using AI on your PC?

Julio Franco — Fri, 29 May 2026 17:28 -0500

AI is everywhere now, or at least that is what the industry keeps telling us. It is in browsers, search engines, image editors, office suites, developer tools, Windows, phones, and soon enough, probably your toaster. But there is a difference between AI being available and AI becoming part of your...

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Europe fines Temu $232 million over illegal and unsafe product listings

Alfonso Maruccia — Fri, 29 May 2026 14:40 -0500

The European Commission has announced its second fine ever against an international company for violating the Digital Services Act. Temu, the controversial Chinese online marketplace for low-cost products, was found to have played a role in the sale of illegal goods that could have harmed consumers in the European Union.

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DRAM coolers make a comeback: G.Skill and Cooler Master unveil DDR5 kits with built-in fans

Kishalaya Kundu — Fri, 29 May 2026 13:32 -0500

MasterDimm AC features what Cooler Master describes as "noise-optimized" blower fans that operate relatively quietly, with a maximum noise level of 35 dB at full speed. The companies claim that the patent-pending design can reduce operating memory temperatures by up to 15°C, helping ensure sustained performance, improved signal integrity, and...

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Creative launches Sound Blaster AE-X for PC audio enthusiasts

Alfonso Maruccia — Fri, 29 May 2026 12:49 -0500

The Sound Blaster AE-X uses the same PCIe x1 interface as the previous model, though the underlying hardware appears to be on a different level. The new card leverages an ESS Sabre DAC (ES9039Q2M), which Creative says is engineered to deliver clearer sound, low harmonic distortion, and high dynamic range....

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The ad-tracking industry is exposing US soldiers on the battlefield

Skye Jacobs — Fri, 29 May 2026 12:04 -0500

In a recently disclosed letter, Centcom said it had received "multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil US personnel in theater." It is also the first time the military has formally acknowledged that data broker feeds are being used against US forces in...

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New 7-Zip security flaw could put hundreds of millions of systems at risk

Alfonso Maruccia — Fri, 29 May 2026 10:28 -0500

A recently disclosed security flaw could turn 7-Zip into a powerful tool for cybercriminals seeking to spread malware online and compromise large numbers of PCs. The free file archiver, which has repeatedly been affected by critical vulnerabilities, contains a bug in the way it handles NTFS-based volume image files. Victims...

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Windows BitLocker exploit sparks messy feud between Microsoft and the researcher who exposed it

Skye Jacobs — Fri, 29 May 2026 09:46 -0500

The issue centers on a zero-day exploit called "YellowKey," published earlier this month by a security researcher known as Chaotic Eclipse, also known online as Nightmare-Eclipse. The proof of concept demonstrates a method for accessing BitLocker-encrypted drives on Windows 11 using a USB device.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 confirmed for October 23, brings the series to Korea

Daniel Sims — Fri, 29 May 2026 09:03 -0500

Pre-orders are now open for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, not to be confused with the seminal 2007 title, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The next entry in the best-selling first-person shooter franchise will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles, Battle.net, Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2 on October 23.

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Google engineer arrested for using internal search data to win $1.2 million on Polymarket

Skye Jacobs — Fri, 29 May 2026 08:37 -0500

Spagnuolo, an Italian citizen who lives in Switzerland, was arrested on Wednesday and hauled before a federal judge in New York. Prosecutors say he made roughly $1.2 million by betting on outcomes he already knew.

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TP-Link's first Wi-Fi 8 router is coming, if the FCC allows it

Rob Thubron — Fri, 29 May 2026 08:08 -0500

TP-Link has been laying the groundwork for this announcement since last year, when it said it had completed successful Wi-Fi 8 trials using a prototype device. That test, conducted with an unnamed partner, validated both the Wi-Fi 8 beacon and data throughput, which the company described at the time as...

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Steam Deck sells out again despite $300 price hike, meanwhile Intel unveils new handheld chip to counter AMD's dominance

Daniel Sims — Fri, 29 May 2026 07:41 -0500

Although the Steam Deck's new price makes the pioneering handheld gaming PC far less appealing, it still managed to sell out less than 24 hours after the hike. Shortly afterward, Intel unveiled its Arc G3 series APUs, which bring its new Panther Lake architecture into the portable gaming arena.

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Wix lays off 1,000 workers as the AI jobs apocalypse keeps looking very real

Rob Thubron — Fri, 29 May 2026 07:01 -0500

CEO Avishai Abrahami wrote on X that reducing the Wix team by 20%, or around 1,000 people, was a "hard decision" (four times).

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Apple's on-device AI dream is running into the hard limits of what a phone can do

Skye Jacobs — Fri, 29 May 2026 06:15 -0500

Apple has spent years emphasizing the privacy benefits of keeping computation on-device. Its custom silicon, including the Neural Engine, has been steadily tuned for machine learning workloads. But even with those gains, phones remain limited by memory and processing ceilings. The largest AI models now operate at a scale that...

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Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket explodes in massive fireball during testing in Florida

Rob Thubron — Fri, 29 May 2026 04:24 -0500

The test took place at Launch Complex 36 at about 9 pm ET. Static fire tests verify engines and ground systems while the rocket remains clamped to the pad – it's usually one of the final checks before launch. In this case, livestream footage showed the vehicle beginning to fire...

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YouTube is cracking down on undisclosed AI videos, but won't penalize creators for making them

Alfonso Maruccia — Thu, 28 May 2026 16:46 -0500

YouTube recently announced two changes aimed at improving how creators and viewers deal with generative AI output. The Alphabet-owned platform says its community expects full transparency around AI generated content, and is now rolling out a simplified labeling system for both long-form videos and Shorts.

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Researchers found a way to spy on your browsing by watching your SSD's activity

Skye Jacobs — Thu, 28 May 2026 13:46 -0500

The method, known as FROST – short for "fingerprinting remotely using OPFS-based SSD timing" – focuses on how different processes compete for storage access. That competition leaves behind small but measurable timing differences. By monitoring those timing shifts, the research team was able to determine which other sites and applications...

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Uber burned through its entire 2026 AI budget in four months and has little to show for it

Alfonso Maruccia — Thu, 28 May 2026 13:04 -0500

Uber has increasingly positioned AI as a core part of its technology stack, and AI models now represent a significant portion of its corporate spending. Costs are rising, but the company has yet to see meaningful returns in terms of ROI. According to President and Chief Operating Officer Andrew Macdonald,...

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Redmagic 11S Pro gaming phone gets cooling and CPU upgrades, but drops to 16GB RAM as price climbs to $849

Skye Jacobs — Thu, 28 May 2026 12:28 -0500

At the center of the device is the overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Leading Version, which serves as the primary upgrade over the Redmagic 11 Pro released late last year. Nubia isn't changing the broader formula; instead, it's trying to squeeze more performance out of familiar hardware. For users...

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Windows can now share audio to two Bluetooth headphones at once, sort of

Kishalaya Kundu — Thu, 28 May 2026 11:07 -0500

In a blog post, Microsoft explained that shared audio enables a PC's audio output to be transmitted simultaneously to two Bluetooth LE audio devices.

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Paper Mario just got a native PC port, no emulator required

Skye Jacobs — Thu, 28 May 2026 10:29 -0500

Instead of simulating the original hardware, the project runs the game through an N64 recompilation toolchain that adapts the game's code for modern systems. The distinction is meaningful: emulation recreates the console environment wholesale, while recompilation converts the game's original code to run natively on current hardware. In practice, that...

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Ultima Underworld returns as a fan-made Unity remake after 10 years of work

Alfonso Maruccia — Thu, 28 May 2026 09:38 -0500

Unity Underground (UU) is a fan project designed to recreate the Ultima Underworld experience with the Unity engine. The developers worked on the project for more than ten years, and they have now shared the results with the wider gaming community. The original Ultima Underworld is historically important but a...

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This startup has raised $12 million to make liquid-metal circuit boards rewritable

Skye Jacobs — Thu, 28 May 2026 09:12 -0500

In an email to Tom's Hardware, Itera described the underlying approach as a form of electrowetting, where electric fields are used to precisely move liquid metal alloys across a glass substrate. Instead of relying on fixed copper traces, the system dynamically forms connections by shifting conductive liquid, effectively redrawing the...

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Valve's Steam Machine may cost more than today's Steam Deck OLED

Rob Thubron — Thu, 28 May 2026 08:49 -0500

Brad Lynch, who has a history of Valve-related leaks, posted a concerning warning on X yesterday.

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Philips and AOC join the 1,000 Hz monitor race with new 1080p models

Daniel Sims — Thu, 28 May 2026 08:22 -0500

At a recent press conference, AOC and Philips, in collaboration with BOE, unveiled two of the earliest monitors to achieve 1,000Hz at 1080p. The blisteringly high refresh rate could offer a competitive edge in esports games and improve motion clarity in other titles.

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MSI celebrates 40th anniversary with dragon-themed Titan laptop and MEG Ace motherboard

Rob Thubron — Thu, 28 May 2026 07:56 -0500

The star of the show is the Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Draco Epic, a special edition version of MSI's desktop-replacement gaming laptop. The lid features a large, metallic blue dragon – a nod to the company's logo – mixed with constellation-style lines, gold markings, and a 40th-anniversary logo.

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