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The maintainer of git.kernel.org reports that AI training crawlers are consuming more CPU resources than all legitimate access combined, including actual git clones. Across five geographically distributed nodes, 14 CPU cores are constantly occupied just rendering git commits as HTML pages for these bots, even though the same data is available far more efficiently via direct git clone.
Bandai revealed a functional Tamagotchi shrunk down into a finger ring, complete with a color display and over 30 raisable characters, controlled via two side buttons rather than its decorative front buttons. Priced at roughly $48, it launched pre-orders in Japan on August 27 that quickly sold out through international resellers, with a release slated for February 2027 and no confirmed plans outside Japan.
A leader who recently moved from Monzo to Engine by Starling describes a structured approach to starting a new role: first listening and gathering context, then synthesizing findings into categorized opportunities, and only then taking decisive action. The framework argues that quick wins should come after understanding stakeholders and legacy processes, not before.
The piece explains how Google's Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), built for AI workloads in data centers, differ from GPUs and NPUs. TPUs are now replacing NPUs in Google's upcoming Pixel 11 phones, with Google claiming up to 3.5 times faster AI processing at up to 3.5 times less energy use. GPUs, meanwhile, remain versatile chips handling gaming, 3D rendering, AI training and crypto mining.
A veteran engineering manager with over 13 years in the industry argues that the tech world's obsession with AI tools is overshadowing a more fundamental driver of productivity: workplace culture. Drawing on personal experience with both toxic and healthy team environments, the author contends that AI adoption alone cannot fix dysfunction like interdepartmental blame or poor collaboration. The piece warns against narratives suggesting fewer engineers are needed simply because AI makes building software easier.
Researchers at UCLA's RePL lab are developing Prela, a query language that replaces SQL's multi-column tables with simple binary relations of just two columns. A tutorial shows how a wide table, such as one listing movie IDs, titles and years, can be broken into three binary relations, each pairing a row number with a single column's value, and demonstrates a movie-search query that takes 11 lines in Prela versus more than 20 in equivalent SQL.
Meta AI has begun appearing as a CarPlay-compatible app on iPhone, joining ChatGPT, Perplexity and Grok as third-party chatbots available in Apple's car interface. However, many users currently see a 'not supported' message when launching it, suggesting the rollout is still in limited testing, and a paid Meta AI account doesn't unlock access either.
In 1981, UCSF cardiologist Melvin Scheinman performed the first catheter ablation on a human patient, guiding a catheter into the heart and delivering an electric shock to interrupt an abnormal rhythm. The procedure offered a non-surgical alternative to treating arrhythmias, which previously relied on medication or open-heart surgery. UCSF is now recognizing the 40th anniversary of this breakthrough and its lasting impact on cardiology.
Experts at the Eighth Annual Tree Diversity Conference warned that Colorado's Front Range has unusually harsh growing conditions for trees—hot summers, cold winters, alkaline soil and a shortened growing season—and that climate models show these stresses intensifying, especially at higher elevations. Speakers noted that losses of ash and cottonwood trees, combined with rising heat-island effects from pavement and dense development, are weakening urban forests and leaving them more susceptible to pests and disease.
Hollywood actors, producers and investors are increasingly moving into microdramas, short scripted series built for phones with soap-opera plots and cliffhangers meant to keep viewers paying for more. James Franco now stars in "Love, Lies & Frank" on the app Shortical, one of the first such projects made under SAG-AFTRA's new verticals agreement. Omdia projects the U.S. microdrama market will hit $1.5 billion this year, drawing apps like ReelShort, DramaBox and TikTok's own PineDrama.
Wireless CarPlay initially relies on Bluetooth to pair the iPhone with the car, which then hands the phone Wi-Fi network credentials so CarPlay can run over that faster connection. Once Wi-Fi takes over, the car drops the Bluetooth link, though it keeps the paired connection on file to speed up future launches or reconnect a dropped session. Setup can happen either via a one-time USB connection or fully wirelessly through the iPhone's Bluetooth and Wi-Fi settings.
California's legislature unanimously passed Assembly Bill 1856, which carves out open-source operating systems and software distributed under permissive licenses such as GPL, MIT, BSD, and Apache from the state's Digital Age Assurance Act. The bill also exempts software components not sold as standalone apps through app stores, covering package managers like apt and pacman, and excludes browser extension stores. The measure now awaits Governor Gavin Newsom's signature before the underlying law takes effect on January 1, 2027.