Minimalist News

Simply the latest news, updated on the hour.

Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 10:48 AM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • Databricks has achieved a $188 billion valuation, underscoring its strong position in the AI sector, while Neil Rimer suggests a resurgence in AI-related investments is anticipated.
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced a significant billing issue where a bug erroneously charged some customers billions of dollars, highlighting potential vulnerabilities in financial reporting systems.
  • Apple and Google have been directed by San Francisco authorities to remove 'nudify' applications from their respective app stores, addressing concerns over inappropriate content and user safety.
  • The electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure has reportedly improved, with a long-distance road trip demonstrating that charging 'doesn’t suck anymore,' suggesting growing reliability and convenience for EV owners.
  • Agility Robotics is expanding its presence by establishing operations in Tesla's vicinity, signaling increased competition and development in the robotics and automation industry.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget


The Verge

  • The Guardian’s Carter Sherman fondly remembers being terrified by Ocarina of Time 33 minutes ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Books, Entertainment, Interview, Report

    Carter, there’s a couch RIGHT THERE. | Image: Carter Sherman has been covering sex, gender, and the complex personal and national politics that accompany them for years. She was a senior reporter for Vice and has written for Elle , Ms. magazine, and Los Angeles magazine as well. Along the way, she's garnered a Scripps Howard Award, a National Press Club Journalism Award, and four Emmy nominations. She's also the author of The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation's Fight Over Its Future . That book looks at how the internet and our polarized political landscape have changed sex

  • Surprise! Facial recognition smart locks are actually good an hour ago by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Reviews, Smart Home, Smart Home Reviews, Tech

    Facial recognition smart locks are here; now you can unlock your door the same way you unlock your phone. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Hands-free unlocking is the future of smart locks. The best smart home tech removes friction, and having your door unlock for you as you walk up is as frictionless as it gets - no passcodes to remember, no need to have a free hand to wave, press, or poke at the lock. One way to achieve this nirvana is through facial recognition. You already unlock your phone with your face; why not

  • Sony’s flagship RGB LED TV is incredible 3 hours ago by John.Higgins
    Gadgets, Reviews, Sony, Tech, TVs

    Sony’s flagship Bravia 9 II is the best RGB LED TV I’ve seen this year. The Sony Bravia 9 II is the most anticipated new TV in years. It's an amazing RGB LED TV. I watched Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves on the new Bravia with my son, who has been getting into the roleplaying game but had never seen the movie. The landscapes of Faerûn looked natural and real, while the magic cast by the Red Wizards of Thay was vibrant and colorful. Specular highlights in HDR really pop. I saw it with Xenk's glowing sword as he

  • More games should be on rails (literally) 3 hours ago by Jay Peters
    Entertainment, Games Review, Gaming

    It's been a good few weeks for games on rails. Nintendo's Star Fox remake wisely kept the tightly scripted, action-packed levels from Star Fox 64 largely the same, and they're still fun to fly through nearly 20 years later. Denshattack! , a new game from Undercoders, similarly features levels packed with carefully orchestrated sequences to great effect. Except instead of flying through space as an unnervingly realistic anthropomorphic fox, you're flying - and flipping, and spinning, and grinding - through Japan while driving a blindingly fast train. Calling Denshattack! a train game radically undersells what you actually do. Across a

  • The apps, gadgets, and tools every reader needs 3 hours ago by David Pierce
    AI, Gadgets, Installer, Streaming, Tech

    Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 136, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, hope your neighborhood isn't as smoky as mine, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I've been recording the next season of Version History (this season's finale is out on Sunday!), reading about data center heists and Backyard Baseball and the creator of Calvin and Hobbes , canceling my October plans to see Digger 30 or 40 times, taking on the new Knockout Tour routes in Mario


Wired

  • 4 Best Walking Pads for Small Spaces and Standing Desks (2026) 4 hours ago by Boutayna Chokrane
    Gear, Gear / Buying Guides, Gear / Products, Gear / Products / Health and Fitness, Gear / Products / Home Office, Gear / Products / Lifestyle, Tread, Lightly

    Our remote team clocked serious hours walking, working, and sometimes jogging to find the best under-desk treadmills for home offices and small spaces.

  • The Best Motion Sensors and Home Security Gadgets Without Cameras 5 hours ago by Simon Hill
    Gear, Gear / Products / Home, Gear / Products / Smart Home, Gear / Buying Guides, Buying, Guide

    If you prefer not to have cameras in and around your home, try one of these more private, WIRED-tested security devices.

  • Your Period Tracker Is (Probably) Spying on You 5 hours ago by Andy Greenberg, Dell Cameron, Lily Hay Newman
    Security, Security / Security News, Roundup

    Plus: Russian cyberspies turn to infrastructure hacking, DHS repeatedly fails to realize it’d been hacked, a breach exposes an AI music generator’s scraping ways, and more.

  • FIFA Doesn’t Have a Plan to Deal With Climate Change 5 hours ago by Tik Root
    Science, Science / Environment, Red, Flag, Card

    This year’s World Cup has faced sweltering heat and humidity. Now it may need to deal with wildfire smoke.

  • How Google’s New Gemini Rates Work and How to Track Your Usage 5 hours ago by David Nield
    Gear, Gear / How To and Advice, Meter, Running

    Now that Google has changed how its usage quotas are tallied, you might not get as many AI responses as you did before.


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