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Engineer father built custom Atari peripherals from KIM-1 kit to home computers

A reader recounts how his father, an electrical engineer who once designed early aviation safety systems, built a KIM-1 computer kit at home before moving on to a Fairchild Channel F and an Atari 400. The family customized the machines with RF output, serial ports, and floppy drives, and grew up playing early cartridge and cassette-based games like an unlicensed Star Trek title and Activision's grueling 'Decathlon.'

New slang 'meat proxy' mocks workers who relay AI answers unedited

A term coined by developer Niklas Guhn in an August 3 blog post has gone viral online: 'meat proxy,' describing someone who copies and pastes chatbot output like ChatGPT or Claude into conversations without adding their own understanding or value. Guhn's original complaint was about receiving verbatim AI replies on Slack, and the phrase quickly spread on social media with a broader definition covering anyone who forwards AI text or code without reading or validating it themselves.

Cloudflare cuts DNS cache memory use by 50%, freeing 100TB across 1.1.1.1 fleet

Cloudflare engineers made five successive changes to how DNS cache entries are stored in memory for Big Pineapple, the platform underlying 1.1.1.1 and related DNS services that hold over 250 billion cache entries at once. The changes shrank the per-entry memory footprint by more than half, freeing roughly 100 terabytes across the company's servers while also boosting insert throughput by 43% and cutting lookup latency by 19%.

AOC's work headset with 45-hour battery drops to $45.99 on Amazon

Amazon has discounted the AOC Wireless Headset with Microphone for Work to $45.99, down 23% from its $59.99 list price. The headset uses AI-powered noise-cancelling microphone tech, offers both Bluetooth and 2.4G USB dongle connectivity, and lasts up to 45 hours per charge. It carries a 4.8-star rating on Amazon and matches the lowest price recorded for it in 2026.

100 tech and finance firms urge global AI cyber-defence overhaul

Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic and roughly 97 other companies—including Visa, MasterCard, Capital One, Adobe, Oracle and IBM—have jointly signed an open letter urging governments and organisations to strengthen cybersecurity before AI-driven attacks escalate. The signatories argue existing defences are outdated and chronically underfunded, especially for critical infrastructure like hospitals and water systems, and are calling for governments to supply advanced defensive AI tools and testing support.

Mid-year tax planning tactics that founders often overlook

An Entrepreneur op-ed argues that small business owners typically leave tax planning until December or April, missing chances to adjust course while the fiscal year is still open. It outlines four mid-year moves—setting owner salary deliberately, reviewing entity structure, coordinating retirement contributions, and using strategies like the qualified business income deduction and the Augusta Rule—that can meaningfully cut a founder's tax bill if done properly and documented.

Atorie raises $9.5M seed to sell factory-direct luxury goods at lower prices

Fashion startup Atorie has closed a $9.5 million seed round backed by a16z speedrun, Night Capital, and Lightspeed's Jeremy Liew. The company sells handbags and apparel made from the same materials and in the same factories as luxury brands like Prada, but at a fraction of the retail price. Founder Redouane Ramdani, previously of Snipfeed, says the products aren't dupes but genuine goods sourced directly from luxury manufacturers who now have excess capacity.

Atoire raises $9.5M to sell luxury-factory goods directly to consumers

Fashion startup Atoire has closed a $9.5 million seed round backed by a16z Speedrun, Night Capital, and Lightspeed's Jeremy Liew. The company sells handbags and apparel made from the same materials and in the same factories as high-end luxury brands, but at a fraction of the price by working directly with manufacturers rather than through traditional brand markups. Founder Redouane Ramdani, previously behind Snipfeed, says the goods are not dupes but genuine products from the same supply chains as names like Prada and Louis Vuitton.

YMTC targets NAND market leadership by 2027 as it files for $4.9B Shanghai IPO

Chinese chipmaker YMTC has told investors it intends to become the world's biggest NAND flash producer by the end of 2027, surpassing Samsung and SK hynix. The Wuhan-based firm recently filed to raise 33 billion yuan ($4.9 billion) on Shanghai's STAR Market, with most funds going toward upgrading production lines and expanding research and development.

Flock Safety CEO's home address blurred on Google Maps and Zillow

The home of Flock Safety's chief executive has had its image blurred out on Google Maps and its listing obscured on Zillow, apparently after users flagged the address in response to privacy concerns about the company's surveillance camera network. Commentators note that such blurring requests are free and available to any homeowner who wants their property hidden from these mapping services.

OpenAI Testing 'Persistent Mode' for Codex Coding Agent

OpenAI is developing a new 'Persistent mode' for its Codex AI coding agent, spotted in code changes to the command-line tool's public repository. Unlike current settings that stop after minutes or hours, this mode would let Codex keep working on a task until manually stopped, or 'put to sleep.' An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the feature is being tested but said there are no immediate plans for a public launch.

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