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Sun, Apr 5, 2026, 10:22 AM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • AI companies are facing scrutiny and new costs, with Anthropic charging extra for Claude Code usage and some firms building massive natural gas plants to power data centers, raising environmental concerns.
  • The space race is heating up, with NASA's Artemis II mission progressing around the moon and SpaceX reportedly gearing up for the biggest IPO in history, potentially impacting the private market landscape for other tech giants like Anthropic.
  • Cybersecurity remains a significant challenge, as evidenced by data breaches affecting telehealth giant Hims & Hers, potential leaks from BrowserStack, and European agencies blaming hacking gangs for massive data leaks.
  • The automotive industry is seeing shifts, with Tesla reportedly shrinking its Texas factory workforce and facing issues with Lucid Motors recalling SUVs over seat belt defects, while attention turns towards new ventures like the Cybercab.
  • The personal tech and gaming sectors are introducing new products and services, including Apple's latest OS updates, OpenAI bringing ChatGPT's Voice mode to CarPlay, and Sony's acquisition of an AI startup to enhance 3D content creation.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • Devils on the Moon brings the score-chasing of pinball to the Playdate 2 hours ago by Nathan Ingraham
    Video Games, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Nathan Ingraham

    Pinball video games have been around for years — I cut my teeth on Space Cadet 3D Pinball, which was pre-loaded on Windows 95. They range from realistic recreations of pinball tables you’ll find at arcades to games that could never exist in real life like 2019’s Demon’s Tilt or older ones like Metroid Prime Pinball for the Nintendo DS or Pokémon Pinball for the Game Boy Color. I didn’t expect to find a detailed pinball game for the humble and delightful Playdate, but a pair of developers working under the name Amano pulled it off with Devils on the Moon

  • The Spaceballs sequel will be released in April next year 17 hours ago by Cheyenne MacDonald
    Movies, Media, Celebrities, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Cheyenne MacDonald

    There's finally a release date for the Spaceballs sequel — but before you get too excited, it's a whole year away. As first reported by Deadline, Amazon MGM Studios announced on Friday night that the upcoming Spaceballs movie will hit theaters on April 23, 2027, right around the 40th anniversary of the first film. Several members of the original cast will be reprising their roles, according to Deadline, including Mel Brooks, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, George Wynder and Daphne Zuniga.  > Spaceballs: The Release Date. April 23, 2027. pic.twitter.com/5Xv0BKmf7C > > — Amazon MGM Studios (@AmazonMGMStudio) April 4, 2026 Whispers of a potential

  • Ursula K. Le Guin's blog has been turned into a podcast 19 hours ago by Cheyenne MacDonald
    Media, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Cheyenne MacDonald

    For those who will never tire of the words of Ursula K. Le Guin, a special treat is on the way. The esteemed late author's blog, which she started in 2010 at the age of 81, is being rereleased as a podcast, In Your Spare Time. Le Guin's blog ran until 2017, and a book collecting a selection of those posts was published that year. But, the podcast will include everything: essays, poems and "even the ones that are mostly cat pictures," according to the announcement. The first episode will be released April 8 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other

  • An Italian court ruled Netflix has to refund its customers for price hikes dating back to 2017 19 hours ago by Jackson Chen
    Internet & Networking Technology, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Jackson Chen

    Instead of raising prices again, Netflix may have to lower its subscription costs in Italy. A court in Rome recently ruled that Netflix owed its Italian users a refund for price hikes between 2017 and January 2024 and a reduction to previous subscription costs. On top of the refunds, Netflix Italia would have to inform its affected subscribers of their right to a refund. The lawsuit was originally filed by Movimento Consumatori, a consumer rights organization based in Rome. The group's president, Alessandro Mostaccio, said in a press release that more than 25,000 Netflix users have complained to Movimento Consumatori that

  • Ireland is testing out a digital wallet that conducts age verification for social media users 21 hours ago by Jackson Chen
    Politics & Government, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Jackson Chen

    Before it's publicly available later this year, the Irish government is trialing its Government Digital Wallet, which includes a way to verify a user's age to access social media platforms. In its press release, the government's Department of Public Expediture, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation said people can store digital versions of their birth certificates, driving licenses, European health cards and more. Frank Feighan, the department's minister, said that this testing phase would help inform the development of the digital wallet and ensure it was user friendly. The government hasn't laid out when the Government Digital Wallet graduates beyond the


The Verge

  • I let Gemini in Google Maps plan my day and it went surprisingly well 34 minutes ago by Allison Johnson
    AI, Google, Hands-on, Reviews, Tech

    Take me to the tacos, Gemini. You may be familiar with Gemini as the thing that's in every Google service you use - whether you want it or not. While it's been a constant, sometimes unwelcome presence in Gmail for at least the past year, it's a relatively new addition to Maps. And you know what? It's kind of great. To put it to the test, I had Gemini plan a day-long itinerary for me around the city. After an hour or so of having Gemini find stuff for me - playgrounds near the new light rail extension, kid-friendly restaurants with vehicle themes,

  • Is the Slate Truck too minimal for its own good? 2 hours ago by Andrew J. Hawkins
    Electric Cars, Hands-on, Reviews, Tech, Transportation

    The first thing you notice about the Slate Truck is its size. It's small, surprisingly so. In a country where trucks often come with their own zip code, Slate's pickup is refreshingly puny, measuring 174.6 inches long, 70.6 inches wide, and 69.3 inches tall, with a curb weight of approximately 3,602 pounds (1,634kg). As a reference point, it's nearly the same size as Marty McFly's 1985 Toyota SR5 from Back to the Future. But inside, that diminutive feeling disappears, as I found myself with ample amounts of head- and legroom. As a relatively tallish guy (over 6 feet) who often feels

  • How the Amazon Echo learned to talk — and listen 2 hours ago by David Pierce
    Amazon, Amazon Alexa, Gadgets, Podcasts, Tech, Version History

    A photo of a black speaker, the Amazon Echo, on a gray background. | Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Jeff Bezos badly wanted a voice computer. He had been saying so publicly since the very early days of Amazon, telling anyone who would listen about why voice might make it easier and more natural to interact with technology. (And to buy stuff from Jeff Bezos.) But when a team at Amazon set out to actually make the voice computer a reality, they encountered a seemingly endless series of hard problems. Eventually, though, they created two products, the Echo speaker

  • Grammarly’s sloppelganger saga 3 hours ago by Stevie Bonifield
    AI, Column, The Stepback

    This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the ups and downs of AI, follow Stevie Bonifield. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. HOW IT STARTED Most people probably know Grammarly for its browser extension that suggests how to spruce up your emails, but over the past few years, it's been eyeing bigger ambitions. In October, the company formerly known as Grammarly made a public pivot to rebrand as an AI company called Superhuman. The new name was adopted from Superhuman

  • A folk musician became a target for AI fakes and a copyright troll 21 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    AI, Copyright, Entertainment, Law, Music, Policy, Report

    Murphy Campbell is at the center of a brewing storm around AI and a broken copyright system. | Image: Murphy Campbell In January, folk artist Murphy Campbell discovered several songs on her Spotify profile that did not belong there. They were songs that she had recorded, but she'd never uploaded them to Spotify, and something was off about the vocals. She quickly surmised that someone had pulled performances of the songs she posted to YouTube, created AI covers, and uploaded them to streaming platforms under her name. I ran one of the songs, "Four Marys", through two different AI detectors, and it


Wired


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