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Tech News
A 2014 essay argues that modern dictionaries like the New Oxford American and Merriam-Webster offer flat, utilitarian definitions that strip words like 'example' or 'fustian' of color and nuance. The author contrasts this with Webster's 1913 edition, suggesting its entries were more vivid and rewarding to read for pleasure, not just lookup.
Apple showed off six new smart home devices made with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric after its 'Welcome Home' event, including a $349 LG smart lock with Apple Home Key and UWB unlocking, a $249 LG video doorbell with dual 2.5K cameras, LG indoor and outdoor security cameras priced $199-$399, and two $199 Matter-compatible thermostats. The devices are designed to work with Apple's new Siri-powered HomeView smart display, as well as iPhones.
NASA says its Perseverance rover has now traveled 28.10 miles (45.22 km) on Mars, surpassing Opportunity's previous record of 28.06 miles (45.16 km). Perseverance reached the mark in about five and a half years, far faster than Opportunity's nearly 15-year run, and is now heading toward a site called Idubi to study ancient terrain.
Mozilla has introduced Firefox Enterprise, a version of its browser aimed at organizations that need centralized management and deployment tools. The offering targets IT administrators who require more control over configuration, updates and security settings across many machines.
A tutorial-style article demonstrates how a seemingly ordinary system of two equations has no solution within real numbers, using both trial substitution and algebraic methods. It shows that rearranging the equations into a quadratic and applying the quadratic formula produces a negative value under the square root, exposing the limits of the real number system and setting up the need for complex numbers.
Google has released Gemini 4 Argon, a new frontier AI model it says matches or beats GPT-6 Astra, Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Opus 5.5 on benchmarks spanning coding, cybersecurity, science, finance and law. The model is rolling out to Gemini app Pro and Ultra subscribers, AI mode in Search, and Ultra users of the Antigravity development platform, starting at $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens before prices double in late November.
Wonder Tools, a newsletter covering useful apps and sites, published a roundup of five techniques for overcoming writer's block. The suggestions include using dictation apps, running timed writing sprints, and applying AI-generated prompts to get past a blank page.
MIT Technology Review's latest Download newsletter covers two topics: an ongoing debate over whether frontier AI models should be open-sourced or kept proprietary, and a profile of Fervo Energy, named one of the outlet's 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch for 2026. Fervo uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to enable geothermal power generation outside traditional hotspots, and has secured a $2.2 billion public offering plus an expanded agreement with Google to build larger plants.
Chipotle Mexican Grill has introduced an oversized bag, roughly three feet wide and holding 170 liters (45 gallons), as part of a campaign promoting its family meal kits. The bag was designed to function as both a novelty fashion piece and an attention-grabbing marketing stunt.
The Netherlands' Tax and Customs Administration has cancelled its planned migration to Microsoft 365, after roughly 5,000 employees had already switched over. The move follows a June recommendation from the Dutch Advisory Council on ICT Assessment to reverse the public-cloud rollout and a July pause of the plan, though officials have not specified what system will replace it.
Apple's new HomeView smart home display costs $299 in either a speaker-base or wall-mounted version, but the wall-mounted model doesn't include a mount or power solution. Buyers must separately purchase one of three Schneider Home mounts, priced from $59.95 to $129.95, with the priciest PoE option not arriving until early 2027.
Reanalyzing 1999 Hubble data with an updated chemical database, University of Warwick-led researchers identified roughly 100 previously unexplained chemical signatures around white dwarf HS 0209+0832 as niobium, an element formed only in extreme stellar conditions. Niobium levels were about 1,000 times higher than in our sun, which the team says points to a planet formed from material shed by the dying star itself rather than from its original birth cloud.