GoKawiil
Tech News
Google has shifted Chrome from a four-week to a two-week release schedule, beginning with Chrome 153 rolling out on desktop, iOS, and Android. The company says the change helps it manage a growing volume of security patches driven by AI-assisted bug discovery and faster-moving threats.
Jury selection begins in a long-running federal case against Huawei Technologies, which faces charges including wire and bank fraud, trade secret theft, and violating U.S. sanctions on North Korea. Prosecutors also allege Huawei equipment helped Iran surveil protesters during 2009 demonstrations. Huawei has called the government's case 'demonstrably false' and previously sought to have it dismissed as vague and overreaching.
An international team of scientists published a not-yet-peer-reviewed paper arguing that large language models like ChatGPT and Claude spread through populations similarly to how viruses transmit, driven by social learning and usefulness rather than biology. They contend this spread encourages 'cognitive offloading,' where people increasingly hand over mental tasks like reasoning and writing to AI tools, deepening reliance over time.
Malik Piara has released an updated version of LogiCola 3, a modern port of Professor Gensler's 2008 Windows-only logic drill software, after two years of work. The new release restores infinite translation drills for mastery learning and reintroduces the original's colorful, playful visual style, responding to feedback from Hacker News, GitHub and email.
Labor force participation among Americans 65 and older has climbed to 19.2%, up from roughly 12% in 2000, and 42% of sitting CEOs are now 60 or older—an unusually high share, according to executive recruiter Cowen Partners. Companies like Boeing, Verizon and Cracker Barrel have repeatedly brought back older or previously retired executives rather than promoting younger leaders.
Meta introduced Muse, a personal AI agent that can autonomously handle tasks like online shopping, sending emails, and trip planning by opening browsers, filling out forms, and even negotiating on a user's behalf. The assistant will launch in the US on iOS, Android, and muse.ai, with support for AI glasses planned, and will be free for most users while Meta develops unspecified paid tiers for heavier use.
TSMC has confirmed plans to bring High-NA EUV lithography, using 0.55 numerical aperture optics, into high-volume manufacturing by 2030, likely for its A10 or A11 nodes. The company plans to use standard 6x6-inch photomasks initially, followed by a pilot line for larger 6x12-inch photomasks in 2031, aiming for full production with those masks by 2033.
404 Media reports that Customs and Border Protection operates a little-known unit, the Predictive Intelligence Targeting Team, which reportedly analyzes Americans' financial transaction records and other data to identify people for traffic stops and further scrutiny. CBP declined to detail its methods, citing operational security, while civil liberties attorneys argue the program extends surveillance far beyond CBP's traditional border mission.
Motif Design has launched a browser-based platform that lets architecture teams work with highly complex building models directly online, without specialized desktop software. The tool is positioned as a collaboration-first alternative to traditional architectural modeling workflows, echoing the browser-native approach that made Figma popular in design.
A report outlines why using Apple CarPlay wirelessly can drain iPhone battery faster than a wired connection, and suggests fixes such as turning off the screen, enabling Low Power Mode, using a wireless charging pad, downloading media offline, and limiting GPS use. It also notes that keeping iOS updated can bring efficiency improvements to CarPlay itself.
A hobbyist developer documented an experiment attempting to bring advanced PC-speaker-style audio techniques, including PCM and PWM sample playback, to the ZX Spectrum's single-bit beeper. The main breakthrough was getting rudimentary multichannel sound, essentially chords, to play through the one-bit speaker, though the original goal of full PC-style playback fell short.
A new report from AlphaGeo analyzing 72 major global cities through its Climate Risk & Resilience Index finds that raw physical climate exposure and actual resilience-adjusted risk diverge widely depending on adaptation policy. Cities like Ahmedabad, Dhaka, Kolkata and Lahore combine severe exposure with only moderate adaptive capacity, while cities such as Chicago, Paris, Barcelona and Nairobi rank among the most resilient despite facing real climate threats. Chinese cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen and Shanghai stand out for converting high exposure into comparatively low residual risk through strong adaptation measures.