GoKawiil
Tech News
Valve developers told the BBC and other outlets that the Steam Frame VR headset was meant to launch cheaper, but rising global RAM and storage costs forced its price up to $1,059. The company said it was too late in development to redesign the device with less memory, and it may be selling the headset near cost, similar to its Steam Machine console.
Plaintiffs in Illinois and California have filed a class action lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company intends to incorporate facial recognition technology into its smart glasses products. The suit centers on privacy concerns tied to biometric data collection without proper consent.
German Aerospace Center researchers report that Mercury's diameter has contracted by up to 14.5 miles since its formation, 10 to 30 percent more than earlier estimates suggested. The team says debris from impact craters had masked the true extent of this shrinkage, which stems from the planet gradually losing internal heat.
Micron unveiled a one-time NT$1 million (~$31,650) cash bonus for Taiwan staff as part of a larger rewards package that guarantees at least NT$1.7 million per worker, calling it the largest such payout in company history. Unions representing roughly 10,000 of Micron's 15,000 Taiwan employees rejected the offer, dismissing it as a distraction and instead demanding a 15% profit-sharing arrangement tied to the company's AI-driven earnings surge.
Micron offered Taiwan employees a one-time cash bonus of up to NT$1 million, plus guaranteed minimum compensation for direct labor staff equivalent to 35-68 months of basic salary, following a record-profit year driven by AI demand. The union at its Taoyuan plant rejected the deal within hours, saying it ignores their core demand: a permanent bonus formula tying 15% of operating profit to quarterly worker payouts instead of one-off checks.
Brazilian philanthropic organizations, led by the Serrapilheira Institute, have begun funding scientific research at a scale unprecedented in the country's history, distributing over $25 million to early-career researchers since its founding. The University of São Paulo has also launched a center dedicated to studying and promoting science philanthropy, reflecting a broader shift as private donors step into a space traditionally dominated by government funding.
Chinese AI company Z.AI, previously known as Zhipu AI, is seeking to raise $5 billion in fresh capital. The move follows a $4 billion share placement the company completed just two months earlier in July.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports Apple is speeding up renovations across its retail stores with three key changes: new dedicated 'Avenue' sections for order pickups and Today at Apple sessions, removal of large video walls at the back of stores, and the return of standalone Genius Bars in place of the Genius Grove format used for over a decade.
Barack Obama told House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at a Democratic fundraiser that Democrats need a defined plan on artificial intelligence, urging the party to launch a public conversation on the technology if they retake the House majority. He warned that AI's rapid development in private hands could be dangerous without oversight, but said it could also bring major benefits like accelerating drug discovery.
Senators Bernie Sanders and Greg Cezar unveiled the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, which would criminalize efforts to build artificial superintelligence, with violators facing up to 20 years in prison—comparable to penalties for illegal nuclear weapons development. The bill also calls for a new cabinet-level federal agency to enforce the ban domestically and push for international agreements restricting superintelligence development worldwide.
Researchers at Ege University modeled how the young Sun's evolution would change if it had absorbed a super-Earth-sized planet, and found the scenario helps resolve mismatches between standard solar models and real observations, including the Sun's depleted lithium and internal sound-speed profile. The team also found such a planet could pass through the Sun's outer layers while losing little mass, implying a lasting internal chemical signature.
Wireless carriers increasingly promote installment financing that spreads a phone's cost over 24 to 36 months, sometimes bundling in taxes and activation fees so nothing is due upfront. However, these deals often come tied to bill credits or trade-in credits that require staying on a specific plan or carrier, and switching providers or plans midway can void remaining credits or trigger full remaining balance payments.