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Sun, Apr 26, 2026, 11:33 PM EDT

Tech

AI Summary

  • AI continues its aggressive integration across industries, with companies like Google and Anthropic making significant investments and developing new models and marketplaces, though concerns about its misuse and ethical implications, such as OpenAI's apology to a Canadian community, persist.
  • The tech industry is navigating a period of consolidation and strategic shifts, evidenced by Cohere's merger with Aleph Alpha to form a transatlantic AI powerhouse and Amazon's renewed focus on podcast monetization.
  • Major players like Apple and Microsoft are undergoing leadership transitions and strategic re-evaluations, with John Ternus stepping into a key hardware role at Apple and Microsoft reportedly offering voluntary buyouts.
  • The automotive sector is witnessing a surge in electric vehicle innovation and market expansion, with BYD unveiling a new hypercar and Rivian commencing production on its R2 SUV, while Tesla offers incentives for its models.
  • Regulatory scrutiny and geopolitical tensions are impacting the tech landscape, as seen with Maine's governor vetoing a data center moratorium, Canada's proposed bans on social media and AI for children, and ongoing legal battles involving tech figures and government agencies.

TechCrunch


Hacker News


Engadget

  • Forced Windows updates can now be paused forever 8 hours ago by Jackson Chen
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Jackson Chen

    No more getting caught by a forced Windows 11 update while you're in the middle of a meeting or a match. Microsoft announced some major changes coming to Windows Update on its blog, including the ability to indefinitely pause Windows updates, 35 days at a time. To give users more control, Windows Update introduced the option to extend update pauses as much as users want. Once you opted to pause updates for Windows 11, you won't be disturbed for 35 days at a time, but you can now reset this 35-day limit for as long as you want. You should eventually

  • Canadian premier wants to ban social media and AI chatbots for kids in Manitoba 10 hours ago by Jackson Chen
    Society & Culture Organizations, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Jackson Chen

    Manitoba could be the first province in Canada to establish a social media ban for kids, but the proposal's details aren't very clear yet. The province's premier, Wab Kinew, announced during a fundraiser event on Saturday and on X that Manitoba would put in place a ban for social media and AI chatbots for its youth. "They're doing these very awful things to kids all in the name of a few likes, all in the name of more engagement, and all in the name of money," Kinew said at the event. "Our kids will never be for sale and their attention

  • Trump has terminated several members of the independent National Science Board 11 hours ago by Jackson Chen
    Politics & Government, Board & Management Changes, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Jackson Chen

    As reported by several outlets, the Trump administration dismissed members of the National Science Board (NSB), which is tasked with establishing policies for the National Science Foundation. It's not clear how many members have been dismissed. According to screenshots shared with The Washington Post, board members received a message that their position was "terminated, effective immediately. The NSB establishes policies for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the independent US agency responsible for apportioning about 25 percent of federal support towards research conducted by the country's colleges and universities. The foundation has existed for over 75 years and has contributed to the

  • BYD's next all-electric hypercar is a convertible that's coming to Europe first a day ago by Jackson Chen
    Consumer Discretionary, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Jackson Chen

    BYD may be known for its affordable all-electric cars, but that doesn't mean it won't dabble in the occasional hypercar under one of its subsidiary brands. At the Beijing Auto Show, BYD unveiled the Denza Z, a hypercar that can produce more than 1,000 horsepower with an all-electric motor. According to CarNewsChina, the Denza A can hit 0 to 60 mph in less than two seconds, rivaling the likes of the Rimac Nivera. BYD first showed off the Denza Z as a concept at the Shanghai Auto Show in 2025. A year later, the Chinese EV maker confirmed its latest hypercar

  • OpenAI's Sam Altman apologizes for not reporting ChatGPT account of Tumbler Ridge suspect to police a day ago by Jackson Chen
    Education, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Jackson Chen

    Two months following the deadly shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, OpenAI's Sam Altman has formally apologized for not informing police of the alarming ChatGPT conversations seen with the suspect's account. Before the incident, OpenAI banned the account belonging to the alleged shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, for violating its usage policy due to potential for real-world violence. "I am deeply sorry that we did not alert law enforcement to the account that was banned in June," Altman wrote in the letter. "While I know words can never be enough, I believe an apology is necessary to recognize the harm and irreversible


The Verge

  • Google’s new gradient icon design is coming to more apps 10 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Design, Google, News, Tech

    In late 2025, Google started rolling out new icons with a gradient design. Now it seems the new look is coming to the rest of Google's apps. 9to5Google got its hands on images of the new icons that ditch the uniform circle design that tries to cram in every color of the Google logo. In general, the looks are softer. Corners are rounder, the gradients gently transition from almost pastel to the more saturated Google primary colors. We've already seen this new design language show in updated versions of the Google G logo, as well as Gemini, Photos, and Maps. According

  • Trump turns the WHCD shooting into a pitch for the White House ballroom 12 hours ago by Tina Nguyen
    Policy, Politics

    President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference while flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin at the White House on April 25, 2026. | Nathan Howard/Getty Images. Within hours of an armed gunman's attempt to enter the White House Correspondents Dinner, attended by top administration officials and hundreds of journalists, President Donald Trump did what he does best: use the assassination attempt to defend his ballroom project. During a White House press conference just hours after he and several cabinet members were evacuated, Trump told reporters that the Washington Hilton, the hotel where the WHCD

  • Tomora’s Come Closer is an ecstatic love letter to 90s dance music 12 hours ago by Terrence O’Brien
    Column, Entertainment, Music

    Before Coachella, Tomora wasn't on my radar at all. It's actually only by chance that I stumbled upon them - I opened the wrong stream because my TV was lagging like a MFer. I paused for a few moments, entranced by the two ethereal Nordic women banging on giant drums to a techno beat. I made a mental note to check them out the following weekend, because Drain was the priority (especially since the Sonora stage wasn't streaming on weekend two). It was only later that I would find out that Tomora is a collaboration between Norwegian singer-songwriter Aurora and

  • Skylight’s 15-inch smart calendar is down to its lowest price to date 14 hours ago by Sheena Vasani
    Deals, Gadgets, Smart Home, Tech, Verge Shopping

    Skylight’s color-coded smart calendar supports two-way syncing with Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, and Apple’s iCloud calendar, among others. | Image: Skylight When you’re juggling more than just your own calendar, staying organized can be overwhelming. Fortunately, the Skylight Calendar 2 can help simplify things by syncing multiple calendars in a single spot, and now through May 7th, it’s available directly from Skylight for $259.99 ($40 off), its best price to date. SKYLIGHT CALENDAR 2 WHERE TO BUY: * $299.99 $259.99 at Skylight Skylight’s 15-inch smart calendar improves upon the original with a brighter screen, faster performance, and a slimmer design with swappable magnetic frames.

  • After three months on Linux, I don’t miss Windows at all 15 hours ago by Nathan Edwards
    Linux, Microsoft, Tech, Windows

    Some relevant reading. In January I finally made good on my threat/promise to install Linux on my desktop. I wanted to see how far I could get using a Linux PC as my main computer without doing a bunch of research beforehand or troubleshooting afterwards. Since then I have booted into Windows exactly twice: once to scan a multipage document that wasn't scanning right in Linux, and once to print a photo for my kids' school on extremely short notice. There's a reason it's taken me three months to write the next installment in my Linux diary: nothing has gone horribly


Wired


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