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A how-to guide walks readers through setting up an OpenStreetMap account, installing the JOSM editor, downloading local map data, and filtering it to find shops or amenities missing a website tag. The process guides contributors to add that missing link, a change that then propagates into the many free services built on OSM data.
New AI coaching platforms, including The Predictive Index's chatbot Obi, let managers practice difficult conversations about pay, performance and layoffs before they happen. A July survey from The Predictive Index found 42% of managers know what they want to say but struggle with how to say it, and only 20% prefer preparing alone without a coaching framework. These tools range from text-based to voice-enabled, with some incorporating employee personality data to tailor practice sessions.
At BlizzCon, Blizzard VP Dan Hay announced a new StarCraft game arriving in 2030, reimagined as an open-world shooter rather than a real-time strategy title. A cinematic trailer centered on the United Earth Directorate's clash with the Zerg was shown, with the Protoss barely featured, depicting propaganda-driven soldiers confronting the grim reality of war.
Accessory maker ESR has launched a new product line timed to Apple's iPhone 18 launch, including its iPhone Duo foldable, the iPhone 18 Pro models, AirPods, Apple Watch and MagSafe wallets. The centerpiece is the Atelier Vegan Leather Magnetic Case with Flex Stand, built specifically to protect the Duo's hinge and dual screens without adding bulk. The case uses stain-resistant organic silicone leather and a rotating zinc-alloy stand designed to open and close smoothly.
Free VPN services aren't simply schemes to sell user data; some reputable providers offer limited free tiers hoping users will upgrade, while others monetize through ads or unclear data practices. A VPN encrypts traffic between your device and its server, hiding your destinations from your ISP, but it doesn't make you anonymous since sites can still track you via accounts and cookies. Choosing a free VPN means evaluating the provider's business model and privacy tradeoffs, not just the lack of a price tag.
Inspired by a YouTube video explaining matrix operations using flags, a developer built a compact encoding system that stores country flags in as little as 11 bits by breaking them into stripes, colors, and simple shared elements like stars or crosses. The system deliberately excludes coats of arms, state or city flags, and Nepal's non-rectangular flag to keep the encoding tractable, accepting that decoded flags will be recognizable but not pixel-perfect.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a blog post calling for AI developers to deliberately slow the pace of capability gains, citing rapid recent advances and the OpenAI-HuggingFace security incident as warning signs. He outlined three approaches to this 'pacing' and committed Anthropic to one: allowing third-party evaluators, such as METR, to be embedded within the company to verify safety commitments and ensure incidents are reported. The post follows a researcher's public resignation from Anthropic over fears that AI labs are risking catastrophic outcomes.
Blogger Nicolas Lellouche discovered a hidden display option on the iPhone Duo called 'Shift Left Edge,' which adds a black border to the outer screen's left side, effectively doubling the bezel there. Apple's own description says the feature shifts content away from cases that partially cover that edge of the outer display.
EV batteries naturally lose some usable capacity over time, with the Department of Energy estimating a 12-to-15-year lifespan in moderate climates and 8-to-12 years in harsher ones. A 2026 Geotab study of more than 22,700 vehicles across 21 models found average yearly degradation of about 2.3 percent, though results vary widely by car and driving conditions.
NPR's podcast Throughline dedicated an episode to the original 19th-century Luddite movement, explaining that these workers were not simply anti-technology but were organizing to protect their livelihoods from mechanization. The episode, prompted by a listener question, features historian Katrina Navickas discussing parallels between that rebellion and today's anxieties over AI displacing jobs.
Anthropic's September 2026 threat report found that an Iran-linked group used its Claude AI model to compile targeting data on U.S. naval vessels in the Middle East, combining satellite imagery, ship transponder data and personnel names scraped from public photos, while also probing known vulnerabilities in shipboard communications gear. Separately, a Houthi-linked cell in Yemen reportedly used Claude Code to help develop guidance, navigation and control software for three weapons programs, including a guided rocket, a long-range ballistic missile, and an R2000 hypersonic glide vehicle variant. Anthropic says it banned the accounts, added detection safeguards, and reported the activity to U.S. authorities.
A tech explainer clarifies the difference between a router's WAN port, which connects to a modem or ONT for internet access, and its LAN ports, which link wired devices like PCs, consoles, TVs and NAS units inside the home. It notes that combo router/modem units skip the WAN port entirely, while some routers use flexible WAN/LAN or auto-sensing ports instead of clearly labeled ones.