Clucky is a new iPhone alarm app founded by former Fanatics engineer Adrian Angelo Abelarde that forces users to complete tasks like math problems, push-ups, or an AI camera challenge before the alarm can be silenced. It offers sound options ranging from a crowing rooster to gentle chimes, plus a group feature called 'Nest' or 'Flock' letting friends hold each other accountable for waking up together. The app is free to download with a $39.99 annual pro subscription.
ESA's BepiColombo mission, a joint effort with Japan and the US costing nearly $2 billion, has released the Mercury Transfer Module that powered and propelled the spacecraft since its 2018 launch. The jettison follows nine gravity-assist flybys of Earth, Venus, and Mercury designed to slow the craft enough for Mercury's gravity to eventually capture it into orbit later this year.
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.
At IFA, Ecovacs showed off its new Deebot X12S OmniCyclone robot vacuum, which builds on the X12 with stronger suction and a dust-mite-focused cleaning mode, but its water-jet stain removal demo failed to hit the intended spot during a live demonstration. The company says third-party testing found the robot removes over 97% of dust mite allergens and nearly 96% of dust mites from carpet, aiming at allergy-prone households.
At IFA, Ecovacs unveiled the Deebot X12S OmniCyclone, an update to its X12 robot vacuum that adds dust mite removal capability while retaining the water jet stain-loosening feature from its predecessor. In a live demonstration, the reporter observed the stain-removal spray fail to actually hit its intended target, raising questions about that feature's reliability, though independent testing by SGS in Singapore found the device removed over 97% of dust mite allergens and 95% of dust mites from carpet.
Threat group ShinyHunters publicly taunted security vendor ReliaQuest, posting screenshots suggesting a compromised employee account and listing the company on its data leak site. ReliaQuest confirmed an employee was tricked via a vishing attack into entering credentials on a fake single sign-on page, but said the attacker only gained view-only access and could not move laterally or reach internal applications.
Apple's watchOS 27 beta eliminates the long-standing feature where double-clicking the Digital Crown quickly toggled between two recently used apps or the last app and the watch face. Instead, a single or double click now brings up the same new 'dynamic app grid' showing Siri plus five suggested apps, meaning the quick-switch shortcut has no direct replacement. The writer flagged this to Apple as early as June and again during the July public beta, but the behavior persists as of the current beta.
An opinion piece critiques a recent open letter from over 100 tech firms—including OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Google—warning that AI will make cyberattacks cheaper and more frequent. The author praises the letter's factual basis, citing a real August incident where federal agencies found AI-generated exploit scripts targeting Siemens industrial controllers, but argues the letter fails to address who is actually responsible for defense. A think tank's counterpoint is cited: criminals adopt new tools mainly when old revenue streams dry up, not simply because new technology exists.
John Perkins was removed from the Independence City Council after 68.05% of voters backed his recall in a special election tied to his support for roughly $6 billion in tax incentives for a Nebius data center. He is the third official connected to the March council vote to lose his seat, following losses by a fellow councilman and a mayoral candidate. Only about 11.5% of Jackson County's registered voters cast ballots in the recall.
A workplace advice piece outlines four steps leaders can take when their organization's decisions or mission clash with their personal values. It builds on prior discussion of how values conflicts affect job satisfaction generally, but focuses on the distinct pressures leaders face when they must both represent and object to company direction.
A California bill aimed at regulating surveillance-based pricing — where retailers use personal data to set individualized prices — failed to advance to Governor Newsom's desk before the legislative deadline. The California Retailers Association responded by expressing hope that lawmakers can restart negotiations next year by focusing on points of existing consensus.
Tech entrepreneur Paul Graham argued publicly that companies should always hire the most qualified candidate regardless of nationality, prompting Palmer Luckey to challenge him for suggesting that hiring any foreign worker undermines an 'American firms should hire Americans' stance. The dispute unfolded as a lengthy public exchange over how immigration and merit intersect in tech hiring decisions. The author uses a personal family story about an Army-drafted tool engineer who ended up working on early heat-shield research under Wernher von Braun to question what 'qualified' really means.
GoKawiil