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Food delivery service Calo scores $39 million in Series B extension as it sets eyes on the UK

Middle Eastern food delivery startup Calo said Tuesday it has raised $39 million in a Series B extension that was led by AlJazira Capital. The fundraise, which was more than 1.5x of its original $25 million raise in December, also saw participation from existing backers such as Nuwa Capital, STV, Khwarizmi Ventures, and Al Faisaliah Group. The company is using this funding to expand into territories like the UK and also explore different partnerships in physical space. Calo primarily offers re

Fintech dystopia

"Just like beauty, efficiency, competition, and security are all in the eye of the beholder. For example, one person’s “efficiency” may be another person’s “dismantling critical government infrastructure.” And yet technological solutions designed to make things more efficient, more competitive, or more secure are often presented by Silicon Valley as neutral and universally desirable. That veneer of neutrality and universality can be dangerous if it disguises the fact that Silicon Valley is solvi

iOS 26’s new Messages feature has political fundraisers freaking out

iOS 26 adds a new filtering system to the Messages app that tucks away messages from “Unknown Senders” into a separate tab. Punchbowl News (via Daring Fireball and Political Wire) reports that Republicans in Washington, D.C. are already freaking out about the fundraising implications of this new feature, warning that it “could cost them $25 million in fundraising revenue.” iOS 26 has political fundraisers on edge The memo was sent by the NRSC (National Republican Senatorial Committee) last we

Show HN: Companies use AI to take your calls. I built AI to make them for you

How does Piper work? Install extension → Click any phone number → Type what you need → Piper calls them. You get results in minutes. Works on any website with phone numbers. What kind of calls can Piper make? The boring ones. Restaurant reservations, doctor appointments, customer service battles, subscription cancellations, price shopping. Any call that makes you think 'ugh, I'll do it tomorrow.' Does it sound like a robot? Nope! Piper sounds more human than most humans before coffee. Natural

The Useless UseCallback

28.07.2025 — React, JavaScript, useCallback, Performance — 5 min read #1: The Uphill Battle of Memoization #2: The Useless useCallback I thought I'd written enough about memoization by now, but I feel there is one pattern I'm seeing a lot lately that makes me think otherwise. So today, I want to look at useCallback , and to some extent useMemo , in situations where I think they are totally pointless. Why memoize? There's usually only two reasons to create a memoized version of a function wi

Wuchang patch "optimization" may be forcing lower-res upscaling even at native resolution

Facepalm: 505 Games, publisher of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, has managed to pour oil on the fire of controversy surrounding the game by releasing a patch that apparently forces upscaling even when native resolution is selected. The game has been slammed on Steam for its poor optimization and forcing a lower rendering resolution even when scaling is set to 100%. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers has a few good critic reviews, but its Steam rating is Mostly Negative, with the majority of complaints directe

Cognitive Offloading: How AI is Quietly Eroding Our Critical Thinking

Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly permeated every facet of modern life, seamlessly performing tasks ranging from trivial errands to complex decision-making processes. The allure of AI lies predominantly in its unmatched potential for efficiency, convenience, and accuracy. However, this unprecedented convenience brings with it a hidden yet profound threat: the subtle erosion of human capacity for critical thinking through cognitive offloading. Understanding Cognitive Offloading Cognitive

Aeneas transforms how historians connect the past

Research Aeneas transforms how historians connect the past Share Copy link × Introducing the first model for contextualizing ancient inscriptions, designed to help historians better interpret, attribute and restore fragmentary texts. Writing was everywhere in the Roman world — etched onto everything from imperial monuments to everyday objects. From political graffiti, love poems and epitaphs to business transactions, birthday invitations and magical spells, inscriptions offer modern hist

Your Nature Photos Are Doing More Science Than You Think

With a smartphone in hand, anyone can be a naturalist. Apps like iNaturalist have surged in popularity over the last 15 years, with millions using them to document wildlife around the world. A new study shows that these observations contribute a deluge of data to scientific research. Use of iNaturalist has skyrocketed since its launch in 2008. This citizen science database now contains more than 200 million observations logged by over 3 million users globally, according to research published Mo

Terminal app can now run full graphical Linux apps in the latest Android Canary

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority TL;DR Android’s Linux Terminal app can now run graphical Linux apps in the latest Canary build, a major step forward for the feature. A new “Display” button launches a graphical environment, letting users run full desktop apps that aren’t available on Android. Hardware acceleration can also be enabled for better performance, paving the way for running even more powerful Linux software and games. The Linux Terminal app that Google introduced earlier this yea

Privacy apps Signal, Brave, and AdGuard push back against Windows Recall

The big picture: Since its announcement last year, Windows Recall has faced mounting criticism from privacy experts who have labeled it a potential surveillance tool – despite Microsoft's assurances of airtight security. Now, some developers are taking matters into their own hands, leveraging built-in Windows features to shield users from what many advocates view as a serious intrusion into personal privacy. Signal was one of the first apps to block Windows Recall from capturing screenshots of

Apple’s F1 movie crosses $500 million at global box office

The F1 movie continues its hot streak at cinemas, with the film still widely resonating with audience a month after its theatrical premiere. The Apple Original Film has now crossed the $500 million mark at the global box office, with the running total now standing around $509 million. F1: The Movie will eventually land on Apple TV+, likely in October. But Apple and distributor Warner Bros. have little incentive to hurry along the secondary release windows if the cinema takings remain as strong

Scientists Uncover Surprising Link Between Tides and Earth’s Biggest Icebergs

In 2021, researchers in Antarctica noticed giant cracks developing on the Brunt Ice Shelf, an enormous stretch of ice on the continent’s northwestern corner. Two years later, the fracture grew so large that a gigantic iceberg almost twice the size of New York City broke free in a process called calving, sending scientists scrambling to investigate the icy chunk, which they named iceberg A-81. A team of researchers affiliated with the British Antarctic Survey sought to understand the forces driv

This Dinosaur Probably Chirped Like a Bird

Scientists have discovered a dinosaur that might have chirped like a bird, a finding that suggests the evolutionary origins of birdsong may be far more ancient than we previously thought. In a paper published last week in the journal PeerJ, an international team of researchers describes a 163-million-year-old fossil found in northeastern China’s Hebei Province. The fossil dinosaur, which they’ve dubbed Pulaosaurus qinglong, measures just 28 inches (72 centimeters) and is largely complete, givin

EE says latest outage fixed after 'technical fault'

EE says latest outage fixed after 'technical fault' EE says it carried out further work overnight to fix a technical problem which left some customers unable to make or receive calls. In the last 24 hours, hundreds of people who use the mobile provider have told the BBC they have experienced service issues. It comes after thousands were left unable to make or receive calls earlier this week due to a technical issue which impacted both mobile and landline phones. On Saturday, a spokesperson f

Epic Recall, Epic Fail

Expectations were turned upside down as the Epic Recall failed. “Epic Recall, Epic Win!” (大罷免,大成功) was almost an inescapable battle cry for the last few months in Taiwan. Everywhere you went there were bright-eyed bushy-tailed young volunteers asking you if you’d like to recall your local KMT legislator to “protect Taiwan and Counter China” because “they’re all in cahoots with the CCP” and “we have to protect our democracy before its too late.” Well today was Recall Election Day and to my HUGE

No, Reed Richards Won’t Lead the Avengers in ‘Doomsday’

We may not know much about Avengers: Doomsday right now, but we’ve known for months the Fantastic Four will be a core part of it. Now, we know something else about it: Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards isn’t taking of the whichever Avengers team he winds up meeting. Earlier in July, Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman described Reed to Variety as a man who “goes from being a nerdy scientist to the husband and father who’d do anything to protect his family, to the guy who’s leading the

Frigidaire Mini-Fridges Cause $700,000 in Damage After Smoking, Sparking, Burning, Melting, Overheating, and Catching Fire

Over 600,000 Frigidaire mini-fridges are being recalled over internal electrical components that have short-circuited and ignited, according to an announcement by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The faulty fridges have cost over $700,000 in property damage thus far, according to a new recall notice. “Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled minifridges and follow the instructions to receive a refund at www.recallrtr.com/minifridge,” CPSC said in a press release. “Consum

Razer Pro Click V2 Vertical Review: A Hybrid Gaming Mouse

Switching to a vertical mouse is a hard sell. Having to change how you use a mouse completely can be an intimidating task, especially with how unnatural the new hand position feels at first—you’re going entirely against the muscle memory you’ve spent years building up. One of the largest challenges to the switch is the initial loss of pointer accuracy. If you’re in an office setting, you may find yourself wandering around a bit or struggling to move your new mouse as quickly as you did before.

Want to Improve Your iPhone Call Quality? Try This Hidden Feature

Apple released the first public beta of iOS 26 on July 24, and it brought call screening and more to the iPhone's of developers and beta testers. But you don't need to be a developer or beta tester to use a hidden iPhone feature that can make your calls clearer for the person on the other end. The feature is called Voice Isolation. Apple introduced Voice Isolation in 2023 with iOS 16.4. The tech company added the feature, alongside Wide Spectrum, to FaceTime calls with iOS 15 in 2021, but only

Brave and AdGuard now block Microsoft Recall by default

The Brave web browser and the ad-blocker AdGuard have both announced that they are blocking Microsoft Recall by default . For the uninitiated, Recall is an AI-powered tool that accompanies Windows 11 and it records everything on a PC's screen . It's pretty obvious why a privacy-minded web browser like Brave and an ad-blocker would make this move. AdGuard said the decision was made due to a "privacy concern," going on to say that "the very idea of background screen captures is unsettling." A blo

Experimental surgery performed by AI-driven surgical robot

Intuitive Surgical, an American biotechnology company, introduced DaVinci surgical robots in the late 1990s, and they became groundbreaking teleoperation equipment. Expert surgeons could operate on patients remotely, manipulating the robotic arms and their surgical tools based on a video feed from DaVinci’s built-in cameras and endoscopes. Now, John Hopkins University researchers put a ChatGPT-like AI in charge of a DaVinci robot and taught it to perform a gallbladder-removal surgery. Kuka sur

Tech Companies Are Blocking Microsoft’s Creepy ‘Recall’ Feature

Microsoft’s much-maligned Recall feature, which automatically screenshots everything you do on your Copilot+ PC to create a “photographic memory,” is not making many fans across the app developer community. According to a report from The Verge, ad blocker AdGuard and privacy-minded browser Brave have decided to block Recall and its prying eyes. Brave announced its plans to block Recall in a blog post published earlier this year, in which it tipped its cap to Signal, the encrypted messaging app

Neon Now Runs in VS Code

Developers love using Neon branches for a local development, due to the agility they provide (e.g. fast resets, isolated environments, and the ability to test without polluting production data). But using Neon branches still requires you to manage separate connection strings for different branches and ensure your application and its environment is properly set up to connect. Today, that gets a lot easier, especially if you’re a VS Code user! We’re launching Neon Local Connect, a new VS Code ext

Tesla Rolling Out Robotaxis With Human Drivers in the Driver's Seat, Defeating the Purpose of a Robotaxi

Tesla is planning to follow up on its extremely limited and technical-issues-plagued robotaxi service in Austin, Texas — with an even more limited rollout in San Francisco. According to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider, Elon Musk's EV maker is looking to accelerate its timeline by rolling out a robotaxi service across a large swathe of the Bay Area, as soon as this week. But there's a Gigafactory-sized caveat: a human safety operator will be sitting in the robotaxi's driver seat,

Meta will stop running political ads in the EU

Meta will stop allowing political advertising on its platforms in the European Union as of October 2025, blaming the EU’s new "unworkable" transparency rules for what it called a "difficult decision." In a statement released by the company on Friday, Meta said the EU’s incoming Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulations presented it with "significant operational challenges and legal uncertainties." As of early October, users on any of Meta’s platforms in the EU will

Tesla is reportedly bringing a limited version of its robotaxi service to San Francisco

Tesla is launching an even-more-limited version of its early robotaxi service in San Francisco this weekend, according to Business Insider, after an initial rollout began last month in Austin, Texas. The company plans to offer rides with a driver in the driver’s seat, which is necessary because Tesla does not have the proper permits for driverless testing or deployment, according to California DMV records. It is not clear whether the company has obtained a permit from California’s Public Utili

Google Contacts Calling Cards sound more and more like iOS Contact Posters (APK teardown)

Adamya Sharma / Android Authority TL;DR Google Contacts has been working on a new “Calling Cards” feature for a few versions now. Earlier analysis has suggested that this could function very similarly to iOS Contact Posters. New text strings and a promo image add further support to that interpretation. What is it they say about mobile operating systems? Good platforms copy, but great platforms steal? Android and iOS have definitely traded ideas more than a few times over the years, and just

Against the censorship of adult content by payment processors

This is a furry blog, where I write about whatever interests me and sign it with my fursona’s name. I sometimes talk about furry fandom topics, but I sometimes also talk about applied cryptography. If you got a mild bit of emotional whiplash from that sentence, the best list of posts to start reading to get a feel for my usual fare is here. When one of my more technical blog posts makes it to Hacker News or Reddit, I will inevitably read some pearl-clutching comment declaring the inclusion of

Meta to stop selling political ads in the EU from October

In response to the European Union’s incoming regulation of political advertising, Meta said on Friday that it will stop selling and showing political ads in the EU from October. Calling the legislation’s requirements “unworkable,” the tech giant wrote in a blog post that the law, dubbed Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA), introduces “significant, additional obligations to our processes and systems that create an untenable level of complexity and legal uncertainty for adv