Minimalist News

Hollywood organizations are pushing back against a new AI video model called Seedance 2.0, which they say has quickly become a tool for “blatant” copyright infringement.

Students are losing some interest in computer science broadly but gaining interest in AI-specific majors and courses.

The Department of Homeland Security has been increasing pressure on tech companies to identify the owners of accounts that criticize ICE.

Elon Musk is “actively” working to make xAI’s Grok chatbot “more unhinged, according to a former employee.

As much of Silicon Valley chases mega-rounds and buzzy AI deals, Stacy Brown-Philpot is running Cherryrock Capital like a throwback to venture capital's earlier days

This week, Alta unveiled its first integration collaboration, teaming up with Public School, a storied New York City brand.

Designer Kate Barton teams up with Fiducia AI and IBM for a NYFW presentation.

India’s $1.1B fund-of-funds will invest through private VCs to support deep-tech and manufacturing startups.

The two-story location will sell products from Nothing and the more affordable, mass-market brand CMF.

A backend flaw in web admin dashboards used by one of India's largest pharmacy chains, exposed thousands of online pharmacy orders.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company wants to increase its use of large language models for customer discovery, support and engineering.

Airbnb was poised to introduce an app that doesn't just search for you, but one that "knows you." CEO Brian Chesky said, "It will help guests plan their entire trip, help hosts better run their businesses, and help the company operate more efficiently at scale."

The company said hackers downloaded “a limited number of files” after breaking into an employee’s account. The hacking group ShinyHunters took responsibility for the breach.

AI companies have been hemorrhaging talent the past few weeks. Half of xAI’s founding team has left the company — some on their own, others through “restructuring” — while OpenAI is facing its own shakeups, from the disbanding of its mission alignment team to the firing of a policy exec who opposed its “adult mode” feature.  Watch as TechCrunch’s Equity podcast hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony […]

The Japanese sex toy maker said a hacker broke into an employee's inbox and stole customer names, email addresses, and correspondence, including order details and customer service inquiries.

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Anker rolled out a bunch of new chargers and other gear at CES 2026, including a cute one that's already on sale. The new Nano charger with smart display, which is an upgrade to the existing Nano charger in Anker's lineup, is on sale for $30 right now. That's $10 off the regular price. The 45W charger includes a smart display that shows real-time data like power flow, temperature and charging status. It also features "fun animations to keep things cheerful." Anker says it can recognize what's being charged and automatically adjust certain metrics to ensure a longer battery lifespan. To that

Whether you're one of the few people still keeping up with New Year's resolutions or just want an upgraded smartwatch, now is a good time to get an Apple Watch. Currently, the Apple Watch Series 11 is on sale for $299 for Presidents' Day, down from $399. The 25 percent discount brings the 2025 model back down to its record-low price. A number of other Apple devices are on sale for the holiday as well. We named the Apple Watch Series 11 as our choice for best smartwatch overall. It scored a 90 in our review thanks to its 24 hours-plus

Airbnb plans to double down on artificial intelligence to improve its user experience for both guests and hosts. During a fourth-quarter earnings call, Airbnb's CEO, Brian Chesky, said the company is building an "AI-native experience" aimed at helping guests book trips, assisting hosts with their listings, and running the company more efficiently. According to Chesky, there's an AI search tool to help guests book trips that's live for a small percentage of users right now. In a shareholder letter posted on Airbnb's website, the company said it's conducting early testing with an AI-powered search that is "focused on giving guests a

Disney is going after another generative AI tool, accusing ByteDance and its recently released Seedance 2.0 of using its copyrighted material without permission. As first reported on by Axios, the Walt Disney Company sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, claiming the Chinese company developed its Seedance tool "with a pirated library of Disney's copyrighted characters from Star Wars, Marvel, and other Disney franchises, as if Disney's coveted intellectual property were free public domain clip art." The letter, which was obtained by Axios, included examples of Seedance videos featuring copyrighted Disney characters, including Spider-Man, Darth Vader, Peter Griffin and more. Even though

Need something new for your reading list? Here are two titles we think are worth checking out. This week, we read Aoife Josie Clements' deeply unsettling Persona, and the first issue of Bleeding Hearts, from the relaunch of the DC imprint, Vertigo. ---------------------------------------- This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-this-weekend-the-unsettling-new-horror-novel-persona-185152256.html?src=rss

OpenAI's GPT-4o may have survived its first brush with going offline, but it won't be as lucky this time. OpenAI has officially retired GPT-4o, the ChatGPT model that was seen as more conversational and notoriously sycophantic, on February 13. The news of GPT-4o's end was first announced in a post on the OpenAI website in January, but the discontinuation also included GPT-5, GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 mini, and OpenAI o4-mini from ChatGPT. It's not the first time that OpenAI has delisted GPT-4o as an option for ChatGPT. In August, the AI giant sunsetted the GPT-4o model in favor of rolling out and prioritizing

The Crew-12 mission, SpaceX’s 20th human spaceflight, launched at 5:15 AM Eastern on February 13 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. It’s expected to dock with the International Space Station today, February 14, at 3:15 PM, and you can watch the event below as it happens. By the time the mission’s Dragon capsule docks with the ISS, it will have traveled approximately 34 hours since lift off. Inside are NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency’s Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. The four spacefarers are joining the three remaining passengers onboard the ISS after Crew-11 flew back

MasterClass has dropped the price of its annual memberships by 50 percent, making it a more affordable way to explore its full library of courses across cooking, business, photography, writing and more. With the discount applied, you’ll spend $10 per month when billed annually for the Premium tier, with lower-cost Standard and Plus options available depending on how many devices you want to use at once and whether you need offline viewing. There are more than 200 classes on MasterClass now, and many are led by big names at the top of their fields. Depending on your interests, you might pick

The peak time for deals on streaming services — the holiday shopping season — has come and gone, but Disney is back with a fresh offer for the new year. New and eligible returning subscribers can get one month of the ad-supported Disney+ Hulu bundle for just $10. That's $3 off the usual monthly rate for the bundle, and more than 58 percent off if you consider the prices for each service individually (Disney+ at $12 per month and, separately, Hulu also at $12 per month). We'd be remiss if we didn't mention that this isn't quite as good as the

Sony's wireless WH-1000XM6 headphones are on sale for $398 via Amazon. This is a record-low price, as it drops $62 from the price tag. The sale applies to all three colorways. These easily topped our list of the best wireless headphones. They are, in a word, fantastic. The headphones are packed with premium features, like advanced ANC. There are a whopping 12 ANC microphones throughout and a brand-new chip to power the feature. The end result? It successfully blocks background noise at medium and high frequencies, including the human voice. The sound quality is extremely pleasing to the ears, thanks to new

If you're an iPhone user who likes to keep tabs on where your stuff is, you can't go far wrong with an AirTag. The second-gen model that Apple just released outpaces the original in every way (aside from the galling lack of a keyring hole, that is). While it's easy enough to replace the battery in both versions of the AirTag, you might not want to have to worry about the device's battery life for a very long time. Enter Elevation Lab's extended battery case for the AirTag, which is currently on sale at Amazon for $16. The case usually sells

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reportedly been asking tech companies for information on accounts posting anti-ICE sentiments. According to The New York Times, DHS has sent hundreds of administrative subpoenas to Google, Reddit, Discord and Meta over the past few months. Homeland Security asked the companies for names, email addresses, telephone numbers and any other identifying detail for accounts that have criticized the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency or have reported the location of its agents. Google, Meta and Reddit have complied with some of the requests Administrative subpoenas are different from warrants and are issued by the

Apple has steadily expanded home screen customization on the iPhone over the past few years, and iOS 26 continues that trend with more visual control over app icons. Building on the changes introduced in iOS 18, the latest update lets you resize icons, remove app labels, apply system-wide color tints and make icons translucent using Apple’s new Liquid Glass design language. Most of these options live in one place: the Customize menu, which appears after entering edit mode on the home screen. While iOS still doesn’t allow total freeform icon placement or third-party icon packs without shortcuts, the tools Apple provides

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. A whole bunch of compelling games arrived this week, and Sony dropped some news about more that are on the way to PS5 and other platforms during its State of Play stream on Thursday.  For one thing, I didn’t have a prequel for Neva, one of my favorite games of the last few years on my bingo card. I’m very much looking forward to checking out that DLC next week.  It’s really neat that Motion Twin and Evil Empire — the studios behind Dead Cells and its expansions,

Killing Satoshi, an upcoming biopic about the elusive creator of Bitcoin, will reportedly rely heavily on artificial intelligence to generate locations and adjust actors' performances, Variety reports. The film was announced in 2025 as being directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, The Edge of Tomorrow) and starring Casey Affleck and Pete Davidson in undisclosed roles, but its connection to overhyped technology was previously understood to begin and end with cryptocurrency. According to a UK casting notice viewed by Variety, the producers of Killing Satoshi reserve the right to "change, add to, take from, translate, reformat or reprocess” actors' performances, using

NordVPN is having a big sale on its two-year plans right now. The Complete tier, for example is 70 percent off, bringing the price of 24 months down to just $130. NordVPN regularly appears on Engadget’s list of the best VPN services thanks to its wide server network, strong security tools and consistent performance across devices. NordVPN’s latest promotion puts one of its most comprehensive plans at a price that undercuts many competing premium VPN subscriptions. The Complete tier includes full access to NordVPN’s core VPN service, which encrypts internet traffic and masks a user’s IP address to help protect online activity

An upcoming update to Steam includes a helpful improvement to game reviews. As part of the Steam Client Beta update Valve released on February 12, users will now be able to attach information about their hardware specifications when they post a new game review or update an old one. It's not uncommon to find negative reviews that complain about a game's performance, information that's hard to draw a conclusion from without knowing what kind of hardware the reviewer is using. With specs attached, the usefulness of complaints becomes a little bit easier to gauge. A game's sales performance and discoverability on

Apple's USB-C Magic Mouse is back on sale for about $11 off its usual retail price of $79. At $68, that's a savings of 14 percent for one of Apple's best accessories from a company that does not often run sales. The multi-touch mouse was first released in 2009 with a modest refresh released in 2015 and the addition of a USB-C port in 2024. The rechargeable mouse features gesture controls and automatically pairs with your Mac when connected via USB. The Magic Mouse can also be used with an iPad via Bluetooth, or with a Windows PC, though in that

The forthcoming Nintendo Virtual Boy accessory for Switch and Switch 2 can play VR-supported games, as reported by Video Games Chronicle. There are four available games to play, including Super Mario Odyssey, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. These aren't new VR builds of the games, rather they are the versions previously released for the Nintendo Labo VR set. This was a kit for the original Switch that allowed users to build a cardboard VR headset, among other items. However, this is very good news for Switch 2 owners as Labo

Finding yourself far from a wall socket when your phone hits five percent is positively nervewracking. If you stash a portable battery in your bag, you can avoid that feeling altogether. But there are thousands of power banks out there and it can be tough to pick the right one for what you need. I’ve spent a few years testing dozens of batteries and found the best power banks for different scenarios. Whether you need a quick reup for your phone or a huge brick to keep your laptop alive, you’ll find something fitting here. BEST POWER BANKS FOR 2026 WHAT TO

If you're looking to up your privacy game on the internet in the new year, you can do so for a little less than usual thanks to ExpressVPN's latest deal. Its two-year plans are up to 81 percent off right now: the Advanced tier is on sale for $88 for two years, plus four additional free months. The Basic plan is where you'll see the biggest discount: it's $68 for two years, plus the same four additional free months. We’ve consistently liked ExpressVPN because it’s fast, easy to use and widely available across a large global server network. In fact, it's

You've seen this movie before: A disheveled man (Sam Rockwell) busts into a restaurant, threatening to blow up the joint unless a crew of people joins him. Like Groundhog Day, he's been through this countless times before, and he immediately starts recounting otherwise unknowable details to convince the diner patrons. Like 12 Monkeys, he's from the future — the timely twist in Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die is that, rather than a world-ending virus, he needs help preventing a humanity-ending AI from being born.  Good Luck is more of a primal scream than a thoughtful articulation about where everything went wrong.

Meta has backed away from highly controversial facial recognition tech in its products and services before, but seemingly not so far that it isn’t willing to have another crack at it. A new report from The New York Times claims Mark Zuckerberg’s company wants to add facial recognition to its lineup of branded smart glasses at some point this year. The NYT spoke to four anonymous people with knowledge of Meta’s plans, who told the publication that the feature is codenamed "Name Tag" internally. As you’d expect, it would let people wearing Meta-powered Oakley or Ray-Ban glasses identify people and "get information

Every once in a while, a product comes along that sparks a bit of joy in our jaded hearts. This is what happened with the Kodak Charmera, a $30 tiny toy camera that was nearly impossible to get ahold of in the first couple of months after its release, selling out immediately over waves of blind box restocks. Despite the gimmick of it all, the Charmera was just too cute for some of us to resist, and we sprang when they finally started becoming more readily available.  A few of us on the Engadget team have one now, and even with

Meta went to court this week in two major trials over alleged harms facilitated by its platform. In New Mexico, the state's attorney general has accused the company of facilitating child exploitation and harming children through addictive features. In a separate case in Los Angeles, a California woman sued the company over mental health harms she says she suffered as the result of addictive design choices from Meta and others. In both cases, Meta has disputed the idea that social media should be considered an "addiction." On the stand this week, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said that social media isn't "clinically

One good thing about virtual private networks (VPNs) is that when they don't work, the problem is almost always solvable without technical training. Although it's aggravating when your VPN randomly drops your connection, the chances are good that you can handle the issue yourself without getting tech support involved. If your VPN is repeatedly disconnecting from the server, I recommend dealing with the problem immediately. When you have your kill switch on as good cybersecurity habits dictate, VPN drops will kick you off the internet. Without that feature enabled, it'll expose your real identity and location online. That’s not a big

A few days ago, a Redditor posted in the community for DoorDash drivers that they received an offer to close a Waymo vehicle’s door. The job paid a guaranteed fee of $6.25 with a $5 extra on top of it after the DoorDasher verifies that it has been completed. Waymo has confirmed to 404Media and TechCrunch that, yes, it is indeed paying Dashers to shut the doors of its self-driving cars. And it makes sense because, well, there’s nobody to do it otherwise if a passenger accidentally leaves it open. The Alphabet subsidiary and DoorDash told the publications that it’s currently

Threads users have complained about its recommendation algorithm since the dawn of time 2023. Users even started writing posts addressed to the algorithm, specifying the topics they wanted to see more of. Now, that’s part of the system: Users can write a post that begins with “dear algo” to adjust their preferences, officially. For example, you could write: “Dear algo, show me more posts about sous vide recipes.” You can also ask to see fewer posts about topics you don’t want to see, like “Dear algo, stop showing me posts about air fryers.” You can even retweet other users’ “dear algo”

There's a new AAA John Wick game coming with Keanu Reaves portraying the main character both in voice and likeness, Lionsgate and Saber Interactive announced. Currently untitled, it's in development for PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC, and will be a single-player third-person experience designed for "mature" audiences. So far, there's no release date.  "The new single-player third-person action game will combine John Wick’s unparalleled, adrenaline-fueled 'gun-fu' fighting style with Saber’s proven reputation for creating thrilling gaming experiences that leave players craving more," the companies said in an announcement post. They added that franchise director Chad Stahelski and star

The right accessories can make your iPhone feel more capable and more personal. Whether you want to protect your phone, improve your photos or stay powered during a long day out, there are plenty of accessories that can make a real difference. MagSafe gear has opened the door for new chargers, stands and mounts, while portable batteries and compact lenses can upgrade your everyday routine. We tested a range of products to find the best iPhone accessories that offer practical benefits for both new and older models. BEST IPHONE ACCESSORIES This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-iphone-accessories-140022449.html?src=rss

Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls was first announced last year as a tag fighting game feature superheroes including Captain America, Ms Marvel and Spider-Man, with a launch sometime in 2026. We expected more details to be revealed at Sony's State of Play yesterday and indeed they were. The game will arrive August 6 on PS5 and PC and include the Unbreakable X-Men's Storm, Magik, Wolverine, and Danger.  The trailer teases each character's fighting style, with Magik and Wolverine using a more in-your-face melee fighting style. Storm and Danger, meanwhile, offer more diverse attack abilities, with Storm manipulating wind and lightning and Magik

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be available on PC starting on March 19, Kojima Productions has announced at State of Play. The studio worked with Dutch video game developer Nixxes Software, which Sony acquired in 2021 to help bring PlayStation games to PCs. The sequel to the first Death Stranding is set in Australia almost a year after the events of the original game. It still features a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by strange creatures, and you’ll still control Sam Porter Bridges to connect survivors in the continent to the chiral network communications system. Kojima Production says the PC version

At Sony's State of Play yesterday, developer Nomada Studio revealed a DLC prequel to its gorgeous and award-winning puzzle platformer Neva. Entitled simply Neva: Prologue, it tells the story of how Alba and her wolf companion Neva met, while introducing new gameplay mechanics, locales and challenges.  "In Neva: Prologue, players follow Alba as she chases a trail of white butterflies deep into the corrupted swamps, only to discover a frightened wolf cub, lost and alone," Nomada writes. "To survive, Alba must earn the cub’s trust and guide them both through the blighted wetlands and the dark forces that stalk them." The developer

Air fryers have gone from novelty appliances to everyday kitchen staples surprisingly fast. They’re quick to heat up, easy to use and well suited to everything from frozen snacks to roasted vegetables and simple desserts. For many people, they’ve replaced the oven for smaller meals, cutting down on cook time without adding extra cleanup. The category has also expanded well beyond basic basket-style models. Some air fryers are designed for small kitchens or single servings, while others offer larger capacities and preset cooking modes for roasting, reheating or dehydrating. After testing a wide range of machines, the Instant Vortex Plus continues

Ring has canceled its partnership with Flock Safety, after receiving backlash for running a Super Bowl ad touting its Search Party feature. If you’ll recall, Ring revealed back in October 2025 that it was entering a partnership with the surveillance company, which would make it possible for law enforcement to ask smart doorbell owners for videos captured by their devices. In its announcement, the company said that the “planned Flock Safety integration would require significantly more time and resources than anticipated.” The decision to call off the partnership was mutual, Ring added, and Flock Safety’s integration was never launched. Apparently,

During its State of Play livestream on Thursday, Sony revealed the first PlayStation Plus Game Catalog addition for February and it's a doozy. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (PS5) will finally websling its way onto the Game Catalog on February 17. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was released in October 2023, and Insomniac's third Spidey game is the the best of the bunch. You can play as both Peter Parker and his protégé Miles Morales. Each Spidey has his own skill tree and moveset to master. Traversing New York (with a lot more of it explorable than in previous entries) has never felt better thanks to

Last year marked 20 years since God of War hit the PlayStation 2 and kicked off one of gaming biggest franchises. Now, at the tail end of that 20th anniversary celebration, Sony’s Santa Monica Studio has announced two new project. First, and most significantly, the original God of War trilogy from the PS2 and PS3 is being remade for the modern era. There’s no footage of it yet — the developer says that they’re “very early in development,” so we likely won’t see or hear much about this for a while. But given renewed interest in God of War thanks to

Coming off the success of Slient Hill f, which moved the series’ psychological horror to the Japanese countryside, Konami, Annapurna Interactive and developer Screen Burn Interactive have chosen a foggy island as the setting for Silent Hill: Townfall. The first gameplay trailer for Townfall, introduced during Sony’s latest State of Play, follows Simon Ordell, a man who keeps mysteriously waking up in the water off the coast of the empty island town of St. Amelia. In the trailer, Simon hides from monsters, peers at a portable television, swings a fire axe, and deals with the psychological turmoil typical of a Silent

Volume two of the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection will arrive on August 27, publisher Konami announced today during Sony’s latest State of Play presentation. The bundle will feature 2008’s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, the HD remaster of 2010’s Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and a selection of bonus content, including Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, which was originally released for Game Boy Color in 2000. All told, that’s a smaller selection of games than Konami made available with Vol. 1 of the Master Collection, but Metal Gear fans will be excited nonetheless, if only for the

It’s been less than three months since we got our first look at Control Resonant, the sequel to Remedy’s mind-bending, third-person adventure that introduced us to Jesse Faden and the Federal Bureau of Control. At today’s State of Play event, we got to see the first extended bit of gameplay from Control Resonant — and the combat looks as inspired as ever, though the setting is completely new. As we learned in December, the next Control games doesn’t focus on Jesse Faden; instead, you’ll primarily play as her brother Dylan who Jesse was trying to find for much of the first

Sony’s first State of Play stream of the year included an update on Mina the Hollower, the latest title from Shovel Knight studio Yacht Club Games. It’s now slated to arrive sometime this spring. The developer initially planned to release the retro-style action-adventure platformer on Halloween last year, but delayed it to “to apply some final polish and balancing to make the game truly shine.” While Mina the Hollower didn’t make its original Halloween release date, at least the new demo, which will be available for a limited time, is getting a eerily timed debut. It’ll hit PS5 tomorrow i.e. Friday,

When it launched in 2021, Kena: Bridge of Spirits was an early example of the graphical power of the PS5 thanks to its Pixar-adjacent animation and over-the-top effects. Based on a surprise trailer at Sony's latest State of Play, it seems like its sequel, Kena: Scars of Kosmora, could up the ante when it launches later this year. Scars of Kosmora follows spirit guide Kena to a mysterious island called Kosmora, where a powerful spirit breaks her staff and forces her to embrace a new style of spirit guiding (and presumably a collection of new game mechanics). Like the first game,

Ghost of Yotei’s forthcoming Legends multiplayer expansion will arrive early next month, Sony announced today during its latest State of Play presentation. As in Ghost of Tsushima, you’ll be able to play the mode with up to three other people online. Players can each choose from one of four classes — samurai, archer, mercenary and shinobi — who excel in different combat scenarios. All four classes can wield a katana and bow, but then they also have access to special weapons and skills. For example, the samurai can wield the odachi, giving them a sweeping move set against groups of

Wireless earbuds are now the default option for everyday listening, whether you’re heading out for a commute, fitting in a workout or just watching videos at home. The best wireless earbuds combine reliable connectivity, comfortable fits and sound quality that holds up across music, calls and podcasts, all without the hassle of cables. Most are small enough to disappear into a pocket and pair quickly with phones, tablets and laptops. What sets one pair apart from another often comes down to priorities. Some earbuds lean heavily on active noise cancellation, while others focus on long battery life, compact charging cases or

The European Commission has opened a new probe into Google, this time focused on the company's massive online advertising business, Bloomberg reports. European Union regulators have already fined Google billions for violating the Digital Markets Act, and being found guilty of anticompetitive behavior in online advertising could add to that total. While the Commission has yet to announce a formal investigation, Bloomberg writes that it has started contacting Google's customers and competitors for information about its dominance across multiple online advertising markets. Regulators are particularly concerned that Google could be "artificially increasing the clearing price" of ad auctions "to the detriment

Many of the emails released by the Department of Justice from its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein are full of garbled symbols like: Or: The scrambled text is so ubiquitous that it's spurred conspiracy theories that it could be some kind of code. But as believable as it might be that a cabal of elite sex traffickers would communicate in a secret language, the reality is probably more boring: The symbols are likely artifacts from the way the Department of Justice converted the emails to PDFs. "The glyphs and symbols are probably some artifact of a poor conversion process," said Chris Prom, professor and

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about video game industry's pushback against generative AI, follow Jay Peters. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. HOW IT STARTED Long before the generative AI explosion, video game developers made games that could generate their own worlds. Think of titles like Minecraft or even the original 1980 Rogue that is the basis for the term "roguelike"; these games and many others create worlds on the fly with certain rules and parameters. Human developers

Lesley Groff, Epstein’s executive assistant. | Image: Jmail The folks behind Jmail are at it again with a clone of Wikipedia that turns the treasure trove of data in Epstein's emails into detailed dossiers on his associates. Entries include known visits to Epstein's properties, possible knowledge of Epstein's crimes, and laws that they might have broken. The reports are dense, listing how many emails they exchanged with Epstein, basic biographical information, and details about how they're connected. Beyond that, there are entries for the properties Epstein owns, detailing how they were acquired and the alleged activities that took place there. There are

Buying a pre-assembled gaming desktop makes sense for some. It can save you time and money, too, compared to buying PC components piecemeal. If you’re weighing your options, consider some Presidents Day offers on iBuyPower’s pre-built desktops, including the $1,899 RDY Element 9 Pro R07 and the $2,099.99 Slate — both of which are stocked with high-end AMD processors and GPUs that can tear through most games at 1440p with fast frame rates. They also come with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and 2TB of storage, along with a mouse and keyboard. Digging into the Element 9 Pro R07, it features AMD’s

There’s a playable henge of fiddles. | Image: Georgia Tech / The Verge Georgia Tech has announced the finalists in its annual Guthman Musical Instrument Competition. Every year, for the last 28 years, the school invites inventors from around the world to submit new instruments of their own design to compete for $10,000 in prizes. Past finalists have included founding members of Teenage Engineering, Artiphon, and Roli. And last year KOMA Elektronik won for their creation the Chromaplane. This year's finalists are an impressive collection of oddballs. There's Amphibian Modules, a modular synth that swaps patch cables for a dish of saltwater.

Bobsledders rely a lot on specialized equipment to perform well and stay safe during the "Formula 1 of ice.” Here’s a quick guide.

Should you splurge on the new Series 11, or will the SE 3 do? Let us help you figure out which version to get (and which to avoid).

With over a decade of experience in reviewing gaming laptops, here’s my rundown of what to consider before pulling the trigger.

Plus: Meta plans to add face recognition to its smart glasses, Jared Kushner named as part of whistleblower’s mysterious national security complaint, and more.

Whether you have privacy concerns or you just want to freely tinker, these are our favorite alternatives to stock Android.

Filing taxes is a pain. Here’s how H&R Block DIY performed against other services I tested.

Plus: iOS 26.3 makes it easy to switch to Android, Google cancels the Android 17 beta, and YouTube debuts on the Apple Vision Pro.

From February 14 to 16, these ultra-plush blankets and throws are nearly half off. No exclusions.

Some of the best sales of the year are happening right now—we’ll help you save on our all-time favorite mattresses and bedding.

The Mexican city of Guadalupe, which will host portions of the 2026 World Cup, recently showed off four new robot dogs that will help provide security during matches at BBVA Stadium.

Upgrade your setup with Sony’s newest releases. Save on industry-leading noise-canceling audio, and pro-level Alpha cameras.

As OpenAI removed access to GPT-4o in its app on Friday, people who have come to rely on the chatbot for companionship are mourning the loss all over the world.

The recent request goes against decades of precedent and puts noncitizens at further risk of immigration enforcement actions.

As prediction market platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi battle regulators in court, Senate Democrats are urging the CFTC to avoid weighing in, escalating a broader fight over the burgeoning industry.

Pose your questions to a panel of WIRED experts about the future of the electric vehicle industry.

Shop these limited-time sales to save on some of our favorite gadgets from Branch, Eufy, and more.

Snowpack levels across a wide swath of western US states are among the lowest seen in decades, even as regulators struggle to negotiate water rights in the region.

The breakout hockey romance has sparked legions of enthralled fans, along with obsessive, parasocial behavior that’s starting to get called out.

Don’t be fooled by a slowly dropping price tag, the Acefit are surprisingly capable.

As the housing market stalls, Zillow’s CEO sees AI as “an ingredient rather than a threat” that can both help the company protect its turf and reinvent how people search for homes.

The idea of having warm, dry feet on your wet, snowy run is appealing. But you might not like the trade-offs.

Keep your trio of Apple gadgets fully charged wherever you are with these compact folding travel chargers.

These new in-the-ear aids look great, but quality hearing support just isn’t there.

On Friday, the US Olympic skater known as the “Quad God” will compete in his last event of the 2026 Winter Games. Everyone will be watching to see if he does his famous quad axel—and a backflip, too.

Nearly 50 out LGBTQ+ Olympians are participating in events throughout the Winter Games—even as their rights to speak and compete are under attack.

Refresh your space with a sofa that arrives right at your doorstep. We’ve spent years in search of the best couches—read about all the styles we’ve tested here.

EVA AI created a pop-up romantic date night at a Manhattan wine bar to help making AI-human relationships a “new normal.”

Going one or two generations back in Samsung's Q990 soundbar series is the smartest way to get insane home theater sound.

These toppers will transform your mattress into exactly what you need, whether that’s a super-plush pillow top, memory foam, or targeted back support.

The Asus Zenbook S 16 was a favorite of ours last year, but the price was always too high. Now it has dropped to $1,000, and it’s a total steal.

In this episode of Uncanny Valley, our hosts dive into WIRED’s scoop about a secret Trump administration campaign extending right into your backyard.

Stuck in regulatory limbo, the self-driving-vehicle developer is encouraging residents of Washington, DC, to message public officials to help get its robotaxis onto roads.

From small publishers to US federal agencies, websites are reporting unusual spikes in automated traffic linked to IP addresses in Lanzhou, China.

In an interview with WIRED, Greg Brockman says his political donations support OpenAI's mission—even if some employees at the company disagree.

Best Buy continues to sell the TCL QM6K for a staggering discount.

While publicly supporting protesters in Iran, Elon Musk’s X appears to have been selling premium accounts to regime officials. Check marks were removed from certain accounts after a WIRED inquiry.

How many ports do you need? What does 4K UHD even mean? What's RGB LED? Here’s everything you need to know.

Sigh. Another tax season is upon us. I filed my taxes with TurboTax, exploring its newest features and free or low-cost filing options.

Looking to better protect your Kindle or add a little personality to your favorite e-reader? From cases and covers to page turners and even charms, this is the guide for you.

The use of cryptocurrency in sales of human beings for prostitution and scam compounds nearly doubled in 2025, according to a conservative estimate. Many of the deals are happening in plain sight.

Keep your iPhone or Qi2 Android phone topped up with one of these WIRED-tested Qi2 or MagSafe portable chargers.

The JetBoots Pro Plus promise faster, more effective recovery by combining multiple therapies in one device. I tested whether it’s worth the $1,150 splurge.

This accessory gives your laptop three extra displays—as long as you’re prepared to lug them around.

The new “Send to Alexa” feature lets you send Kindle Scribe notebooks to your Echo device with just a couple of taps.

Rather than offering a revolutionary new approach to gig work, RentAHuman is filled with bots that just want me to be another cog in the AI hype machine.