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Tech News
Google has introduced a new feature in Google Vids called 'Docs to Video,' which lets users convert PDFs, Google Docs, and Word files into narrated video summaries. The tool generates a script from the document's content, adds AI voiceover, and pairs it with AI-generated images and backgrounds, with options to edit the script or change the narrator's voice.
IBM has released Nighthawk r2, a 120-qubit quantum processor now live on the IBM Quantum Platform, featuring a new high-speed qubit reset architecture that runs over 100,000 circuits per second, roughly 25 times the throughput of IBM's current Heron processors. The chip pairs 120 qubits with 218 couplers and 120 reset elements, and has already run circuits with more than 7,500 gates accurately, hitting a milestone IBM had targeted for 2026.
Dallas has fitted 50 bulk-waste collection trucks with 100 AI-powered cameras that photograph properties along their routes and assign each one a 'blight score' from 1 to 4 based on detected issues like overgrown grass, litter and structural damage. Since testing began in April, the system has flagged possible violations at more than 21,000 properties, with some homeowners receiving code enforcement notices that could lead to fines. The cameras are run by a company called City Detect, which says it blurs faces and license plates but has no control over how the city enforces the data.
Conversational AI features are letting employees speak their thoughts aloud rather than type and heavily edit emails, reports, and presentations. This shift could reduce time spent perfecting formal, buttoned-up business language in favor of a more natural, spoken tone in workplace writing.
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.
Microsoft is restructuring its financial reporting from three business segments into two: Agents and Infra, and Devices and Consumer. As part of the overhaul, the company will for the first time disclose Azure's actual quarterly revenue figures rather than just year-over-year growth percentages, though the metric will now exclude GitHub cloud, Security Copilot, and Healthcare and Life Sciences cloud revenues.
Microsoft says its August 11, 2026 security update (KB5121003) is causing Teams and New Outlook to fail to launch or crash unexpectedly on ARM-based Windows 11 24H2 devices like the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7. The problem mostly hits new or freshly imaged machines that haven't yet grabbed Microsoft Store updates, while Classic Outlook, Word and Excel remain unaffected.
Awol Vision unveiled the LuxVision, an ultra-short throw projector that uses optical lens shift rather than digital keystone correction to preserve image detail. The device can produce a 6000-lumen, 120-inch 4K image at 120Hz from just 7.5 inches away from the wall, and includes gaming-friendly features like Dolby Vision Gaming HDR, VRR, and roughly 1ms input lag. It launches around October for $5,999, with preorder discounts starting September 5th.
Belkin has released two new power banks built with semi-solid-state battery technology it calls BoostSolid Cell, joining rivals like BMX, Kuxiu, and Zens in adopting the format. The lineup includes a $69.99 magnetic 5,000mAh Qi2 model with 15W wireless charging and a $89.99 10,000mAh unit with a display supporting up to 60W across multiple ports.
Belkin has unveiled its own line of item trackers called SureFind, compatible with both Apple's Find My and Google's Find Hub networks. Unlike AirTags or Google's Pixel Tag, these trackers come with built-in attachment mechanisms like key rings, cables, or card designs, eliminating the need for separate accessories.
At IFA in Berlin, Philips Hue unveiled the Liane 360-degree Rope Lights, a flexible, cuttable smart lighting product that uses OmniGlow technology to emit diffuse light in every direction rather than pinpoints. The lights can be shaped, draped, or mounted along walls, ceilings, or furniture and controlled via the Hue app to display any color combination, with pricing starting at $399.99 for a 3-meter length and going up to $549.99 for 5 meters.
Philips Hue is rolling out Custom AI Behaviors, a feature letting users describe desired lighting automations in plain language instead of manually configuring rules. Announced at IFA alongside a new Sonos speaker integration for Hue switches, both updates arrive via a software update in November. The AI feature requires the Hue Bridge Pro's processing power to run.