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AI Summary

  • The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has upheld a ban on Scott Zuckerman, founder of stalkerware apps SpyFone and SpyTrac, due to concerns about privacy and cybersecurity, claiming that the ban negatively impacts his other business ventures.
  • SoftBank and Nvidia are reportedly negotiating to fund Skild AI at a valuation of $14 billion, focusing on creating a hardware-agnostic foundational model for customizable robotic applications.
  • Waymo has experienced a dramatic rise in robotaxi ridership, with internal communications revealing a swelling demand for its services, significantly more than the previously disclosed figures of 250,000 rides six months prior.
  • Nvidia has received government approval to export its H200 AI chips to China, amid an ongoing discussion in Congress about restricting these types of chip exports for national security reasons.
  • Meta has initiated partnerships with various news publishers to enhance its AI chatbot offerings, providing them with real-time data for better news-related responses while ensuring publishers receive compensation for their content usage.

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Engadget

  • The best budgeting apps for 2025 2 hours ago by Dana Wollman,Valentina Palladino
    Software, Mobile Apps, Personal Budgeting, Technology & Electronics, Banking & Budgeting, Finance, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Dana Wollman

    Over a year ago, I was prompted to look for another budgeting app. Intuit, parent company of Mint, the budgeting app I had been using for a long time, shut down the service in March 2024. The company encouraged Mint users to migrate to its other financial app, Credit Karma, but I found it to be a poor Mint replacement after trying it out. That sent me searching elsewhere to find an app to track all of my financial accounts, monitor my credit score, track spending and set goals like building a rainy-day fund and paying down my mortgage faster. If

  • Fairphone updates its over ear headphones with better sound 4 hours ago by Daniel Cooper
    Nature & Environment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Daniel Cooper

    Two years ago, Fairphone launched a pair of modular, fully-repairable headphones called the Fairbuds XL. Now, the Dutch social enterprise is releasing an updated version where the focus isn’t just on the quality of its hardware, but on the merits of its raw materials.  The 2025 Fairbuds XL ship with new “premium” 40mm dynamic drivers and stronger N52 rated magnets for “more power and enhanced bass response.” Listeners should expect to hear “improved accuracy in mid and high frequencies” thanks to improved audio tuning. And there’s a new paper-based speaker membrane that’s more refined than what went before. Sound-quality is certainly improved

  • Letterboxd Video Store's first film rentals will be available this week 12 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Movies, Media, Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    Letterboxd has introduced its first wave of exclusive digital film rentals for the company’s previously announced Letterboxd Video Store. The inaugural collection is themed Unreleased Gems and includes four movies that received awards or acclaim during a film festival. The titles will be available to watch from Letterboxd from December 10 through January 9. Each film is limited to certain geographic markets and the prices will also vary both by title and country. The Unreleased Gems rental titles include It Ends, a mystery-horror that played at SXSW 2025; Sore: A Wife From the Future, which received eight nominations at the 2025

  • Congress removes right to repair language from 2026 defense bill 12 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Politics & Government, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    According to a statement from the Public Interest Research Group, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 has removed language that would have granted the US military the right to repair its own equipment rather than requiring it to use official defense contractors for maintenance. This bill is still being considered by Congress, but it is uncertain whether the right to repair language is likely to be re-introduced once it has been removed.  "Despite support from Republicans, Democrats, the White House and key military leaders, troops will keep waiting for repairs they could perform themselves," US PIRG Legislative Associate

  • Katsuhiro Harada is leaving Bandai Namco after 30 years 13 hours ago by Anna Washenko
    Media, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Anna Washenko

    Katsuhiro Harada is departing Bandai Namco at the end of 2025. He announced the news both with a farewell note shared on X and, in possibly the coolest exit ever, with an hour-long DJ mix. Harada's 30-year career has most closely been involved with Tekken and he's a familiar face in the fighting game community. He began as a voice actor in the original Tekken game and continued to do so even as he became a director for the series. He has worked on other Bandai Namco titles as a producer, both in and out of the fighting genre. "Each project


The Verge

  • Trump says Nvidia can sell more powerful AI chips to China 14 minutes ago by Jess Weatherbed
    News, Nvidia, Policy, Tech

    Nvidia has received White House approval to start exporting its H200 AI GPU chips to "approved customers" in China and other countries, according to President Donald Trump. In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump said the deal comes with "conditions that allow for continued strong national security," and that the US will take a 25 percent cut of the GPU sales - higher than the 15 percent cut that was demanded in August. Nvidia's H200 chips are an upgrade to the scaled-down H20 chips that Nvidia is already permitted to sell in China, but are less powerful than its latest

  • RAM is ruining everything 41 minutes ago by Emma Roth
    Analysis, Chips, Gadgets, Gaming, Laptops, PC Gaming, Report, Tech

    Memory suppliers just blew a hole in the PC gaming industry - and they're about to do the same to everything else. For weeks, PC enthusiasts have borne the brunt of skyrocketing memory prices, but the shockwaves will soon impact a wider range of products as suppliers pour resources into a far bigger and more lucrative endeavor: AI. The biggest names in the AI industry are buying up DRAM memory for their sprawling data centers, and memory makers are prioritizing their demands over everyone else's. DRAM is embedded "in every part of our digital society today," Jeff Janukowicz, research VP at

  • Google Zero is under investigation by the EU an hour ago by Jess Weatherbed
    Antitrust, Google, News, Policy, Tech

    Google is under investigation by the European Union over concerns that it breached competition rules by imposing restrictions on web publishers and YouTube creators to gain an unfair advantage over other AI companies. Concerns outlined by the European Commission include using content from web publishers for features like AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search, and feeding YouTube content into Google's generative AI models - all while failing to provide "appropriate compensation" or the ability to refuse such use of their content. These concerns are tied to the existential threat of "Google Zero" - the moment in which Google Search no

  • You can put the best part of Fairphone’s new headphones into the older model 4 hours ago by Andrew Liszewski
    Audio, Gadgets, Headphones, News, Tech

    Over two years after Fairphone introduced its first pair of modular and repairable wireless headphones, the company has announced an upgraded version. The new Fairbuds XL look similar to the originals but feature an updated design with more comfortable fabrics and improved sound thanks to new drivers. What's most interesting about these is that thanks to Fairphone's commitment to modular hardware, some of the improvements are backward-compatible. That way, owners of the first-gen Fairbuds XL can upgrade them with better sound without replacing them entirely. The new Fairbuds XL are launching with an updated and sleeker design that now uses … Read

  • Here are the best Apple Watch deals available right now 12 hours ago
    Apple, Deals, Gadgets, Report, Roundup, Smartwatch, Tech, Verge Shopping, Wearable

    The Apple Watch Series 11 is the most affordable it’s ever been. | Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple recently launched its latest fleet of smartwatches, including the Apple Watch Series 11, the SE 3, and the Ultra 3. Each wearable offers something a little different (their prices indicate their breadth of features), and we’re already starting to see big price drops. Additionally, we’re still recommending some recent predecessors in Apple’s portfolio, including the Series 10 and Ultra 2, for which discounts are fairly common. 1. Featured Products 2. Apple Watch Series 11 deals 3. Apple Watch Series 10


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