Google published a companion technical article detailing progress on HEIR, its open-source compiler that transforms programs so they run directly on encrypted data using homomorphic encryption. The team demonstrated compiling several small but functional pre-trained ML models, including a three-layer fraud-detection network, into homomorphically encrypted versions runnable via a public GitHub repository built with Bazel. The author also outlines internal workings and a roadmap for the project's future development.
British AI infrastructure startup Nscale, founded two years ago, is reportedly pursuing $3.5 billion in financing ahead of a possible IPO as soon as this month. That total reportedly includes $1.5 billion in convertible notes sold to investors and an additional $2 billion from Nvidia, which also backed Nscale's $1.1 billion Series B round in March.
reMarkable has released a software update for its E-Ink tablets that lets users circle any part of the screen to capture and copy it as an image, which can then be repositioned or moved between notebooks. The update also adds green, yellow, cyan, and magenta pen colors, improves grayscale differentiation, and enables importing JPG and PNG files directly from Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive.
A PostgreSQL performance researcher shared follow-up findings on the database's random_page_cost setting, which governs how the query planner estimates the cost of random versus sequential disk reads. New benchmark data from older rotational SATA drives showed an estimated cost around 125, far higher than the long-standing default of 4.0, while SSD-based tests land closer to that default only by coincidence.
Tesla has expanded its driverless robotaxi service beyond the Model Y to include the Cybercab, a two-seat vehicle featuring butterfly doors, touchscreens, and no steering wheel. A promotional video for the new vehicle went viral, but drew backlash from disability advocates who say its design overlooks accessibility needs.
Code found in Google's Cross-Device Services app reveals an in-development 'Cast trackpad' tool that would let Android phones act as a remote touchpad for other devices. Given the timing, this feature appears aimed at Google's forthcoming Googlebook laptops, an Android-based alternative to Chromebooks. The tool reportedly supports gesture-based inputs similar to a standard trackpad.
A maker who previously used the Cuttle parametric CAD service to design laser-cut keyboard holders has since switched to OpenSCAD, an open-source CAD tool, citing concerns over design ownership and portability. Using OpenSCAD, they built a cable-management box for a partner, complete with finger joints and a decorative cat-silhouette cutout pattern on its front and back panels.
Tesla opened its Cybercab robotaxi service to paying customers in Austin via its Robotaxi app, with 45 vehicles now running commercially. Shortly after, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the vehicle, which lacks a steering wheel, pedals and mirrors, since Tesla self-certified the design.
Apple's upcoming watchOS 27 update, expected later this month, removes the Walkie-Talkie app entirely and eliminates the double-click Digital Crown gesture that previously let users jump between two apps. It also changes single-click behavior on the Digital Crown, now always opening a dynamic app grid instead of the traditional static launcher.
Eric Selin, founder of Statichost.eu based in Stockholm, has launched a static website hosting service built entirely on European infrastructure. The platform avoids American providers like AWS and Cloudflare at every layer, from git-based deployment to content delivery.
Target is again drawing criticism over a Halloween costume in its seasonal lineup, just under two weeks after apologizing for a separate children's costume that critics compared to blackface caricatures. This time, the retailer is not the only company implicated in the controversy, as other sellers are reportedly facing similar accusations.
A South Carolina coroner's office confirmed that a six-week-old infant's death was caused by measles, after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had disputed the CDC's inclusion of measles deaths in its official count. Kennedy directed new CDC director Erica Schwartz to remove the deaths from the agency's public data, and while she complied, internal records reportedly still list them.
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