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What does Palantir actually do?

Palantir is arguably one of the most notorious corporations in contemporary America. Cofounded by libertarian tech billionaire Peter Thiel, the software firm's work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the US Department of Defense, and the Israeli military has sparked numerous protests in multiple countries. Palantir has been so infamous for so long that, for some people, its name has become a cultural shorthand for dystopian surveillance. But a number of former Palantir employees tell WIR

Why and how to write things on the Internet (2022)

December 2022 Recently I noticed that most existing “why you should write a blog” articles (e.g.) have at least one of two shortcomings, according to me: They mostly focus on counterarguments to not starting a blog, rather than positive arguments in favor of starting one—as if people’s natural state is to produce amazing blogs and the only thing holding them back is silly misconceptions. This might be true for extreme outliers like Scott Alexander, but personally, my natural state is to play l

Apple Pumps Out iOS 18.6.1, Redesigning Blood Oxygen Feature on Some Devices

Apple released iOS 18.6.1 on Thursday after the tech giant mentioned this latest update to its mobile software in a blog post earlier today. The update introduces a redesigned blood oxygen experience to iPhones paired with certain Apple Watches, but not much else. You can download iOS 18.6.1 by going to Settings, then tapping General. Next, select Software Update, then tap Update Now and follow the prompts on your screen. People with an Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 or Apple Watch Ultra 2 ca

Apple's New Low-Cost iPad Could Come with the A18 Chip and Apple Intelligence, Report Says

Apple's rumored new low-cost iPad could come with two big changes that current devices can't touch. Rumor has it that Apple's low-cost iPad will come with an A18 chip, based on code references leaked on Wednesday. MacRumors reported the rumor on Thursday, just weeks ahead of Apple's rumored Sept. 9 event, where the iPhone 17 is expected to be revealed. Here's what we've gathered so far, but we won't know the details until Apple makes its official announcement. The big difference from the curre

Topics: apple chip cost ipad new

Apple TV+ has two of its best reviewed shows of the year airing now

Apple TV+ is having a very good year, with a growing subscriber base and more critical acclaim than ever. But amid what’s otherwise been a slow season for new TV, Apple is currently airing two of its best reviewed shows of the year: Chief of War and Platonic. #1: Chief of War Chief of War premiered on Apple TV+ at the beginning of August as a Jason Momoa extravaganza. Momoa not only stars in the series, but he co-created, executive produced, wrote, and even directed an episode of it. As Apple

Buy the iPhone 16 or wait for iPhone 17? Here's how I help friends and family decide

Jason Hiner/ZDNET Like clockwork, a new iPhone has made its way through the rumor mill in August, and users are beginning to wonder if they should buy what's currently available or wait until fall to see how things play out. Based on past trends, there's a good chance Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 series in September. So, should you pick up an iPhone 16 from your local Apple store today or play the long game? Also: Best iPhone 2025: I tested the top models and found the best options for you

Topics: 17 apple buy iphone new

Axle (YC S22) is hiring product engineers

We are looking for talented engineers to join our team as early members. As a Product Engineer, you’ll help build the platform that makes this possible. From structuring and cleaning complex data to using LLMs for automated data extraction, you’ll have the chance to wear a lot of hats and shape the future of our platform. We’re looking for individuals who think creatively about problems, push for real-world customer impact, and are excited about helping financial data reach full connectivity.

What are the real numbers, really? (2024)

What is a real number? Let us consider the real continuum. The classical discovery of irrational numbers reveals gaps in the rational number line: the place where √2 would be, if it were rational, is a hole in the rational line. Thus, the rational numbers are seen to be incomplete. One seeks to complete them, to fill these holes, forming the real number line ℝ. Please enjoy this free extended excerpt from Lectures on the Philosophy of Mathematics, published with MIT Press 2021, an introduction

Sam Altman and the whale

But where is the transition from the BlackBerry keyboard to the touch-screen iPhone? Where is the assisted GPS and the API for location services that enables real-time directions and gives rise to companies like Uber and Grindr and lets me order a taxi for my burrito? Where are the real breakthroughs? In fact, following the release of GPT-5, OpenAI found itself with something of a user revolt on its hands. Customers who missed GPT-4o's personality successfully lobbied the company to bring it ba

iPhone 17 event news is coming but beware of fake invites

The most likely iPhone 17 event date is now the rumored iPhone 17 event date. No surprises there. But when should we expect Apple to actually confirm the date of its next big product reveal, and what should you make of that event invite leak on social media? iPhone 17 event right on schedule Save for a few exceptions, Apple typically announces new flagship iPhone models in the second week of September each year. This year appears to be following the pattern with an event rumored for Tuesday, S

Apple releases watchOS 11.6.1, here’s what’s new

Apple has released watchOS 11.6.1 for Apple Watch, reintroducing the Blood Oxygen app for certain customers in the United States. The update works in tandem with iOS 18.6.1, also released today, and marks the first time the feature has been available on new watch hardware since late 2023. Until now, launching the Blood Oxygen app on affected Apple Watch models displayed a blunt message: “The Blood Oxygen app is no longer available. Learn more in the Health app on your iPhone.” That limitation a

Apple releases new iOS 26 beta 6 build for developers

Apple has released a new, revised build of iOS 26 beta 6 for developers. Here’s what you should know. iOS 26 beta 6 re-released with new developer build Earlier this week, Apple shipped iOS 26 beta 6 for developers. Curiously, that Monday release was never followed by a public beta—until today. Alongside today’s iOS 26 public beta 3 release, Apple has also shipped an updated beta for developers. That new beta carries the same ‘beta 6’ designation as Monday’s release. The prior beta 6 releas

Topics: 26 apple beta new release

Apple releases public beta 3 for watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and more

Apple has just released public beta 3 for watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and HomePod 26. Here are the details. Earlier this week Apple shipped developer beta 6 for its forthcoming major software updates like iOS 26, watchOS 26, and more. Today, those new updates have been released to public testers as public beta 3. For the most part, this latest wave of betas prioritizes bug fixes and stability. watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and HomePod 26 so far have revealed no noticeable feature updates in the new betas.

Topics: 26 apple beta new public

Axle (YC S22) Is Hiring Product Engineers

We are looking for talented engineers to join our team as early members. As a Product Engineer, you’ll help build the platform that makes this possible. From structuring and cleaning complex data to using LLMs for automated data extraction, you’ll have the chance to wear a lot of hats and shape the future of our platform. We’re looking for individuals who think creatively about problems, push for real-world customer impact, and are excited about helping financial data reach full connectivity.

Blood oxygen monitoring returning to Apple Watch in the US

Apple will introduce a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users through an iPhone and Apple Watch software update coming later today. Users with these models in the U.S. who currently do not have the Blood Oxygen feature will have access to the redesigned Blood Oxygen feature by updating their paired iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and their Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. Following this update, sensor data from the Blood Oxygen app on Apple Wa

Ohio Wants to Create a Database of People Who Skip Job Interviews

The job market is tough at the moment for prospective employees, and Ohio has plans to make it even tougher. A bill recently introduced by Republicans in the Ohio House of Representatives would create an online registry of people who fail to show up for a job interview. The proposal, introduced as H.B. 395, specifically targets job applicants who are recipients of unemployment benefits and are required to seek employment to continue receiving the limited compensation provided to them. It would

Wear OS smartwatches no longer have this leg up over the Apple Watch

Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR Apple is restoring blood oxygen tracking to certain US Apple Watch models via iOS and watchOS updates. The refreshed setup uses the watch to take readings but calculates and displays results on the paired iPhone. The feature was removed in January 2024 due to a patent dispute and an import ban. Apple Watch owners in the US are getting a health-tracking feature back that many thought might be gone for good. After more than a year in limbo, the blood oxygen

Blood Oxygen monitoring returns to the Apple Watch after US ban - see which models get it

Nina Raemont/ZDNET ZDNET's key takeaways Blood Oxygen is back for affected Apple Watch models. Will be reinstated with the latest iOS and WatchOS updates. Apple redesigned it to resolve an import ban over patent infringement. Get more in-depth ZDNET tech coverage: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers. After a lengthy pause due to legal issues, Apple is finally bringing back the Blood Oxygen monitor for affected Apple Watch models in the US. Models getting th

Microsoft is getting ready to return to the office

is a senior editor and author of Notepad , who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years. Microsoft originally encouraged its employees to work from home amid the coronavirus outbreak in 2020. This new flexible working arrangement then became an official “hybrid workplace” policy several months after the pandemic began, allowing managers to approve permanent remote work. Now that the pandemic has settled into endemicity, Microsoft wants employees to return to the of

Apple Watch getting redesigned blood oxygen feature following legal dispute

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) at Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, US, on Monday, June 9, 2025. Apple on Thursday announced a redesigned blood oxygen feature for some Apple Watch users, following a years-long intellectual property dispute over the capability. Apple said the redesigned feature is coming to some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users on Thursday. The update was possible b

Deals: 1TB M4 Mac mini, MacBook Pro $300 off, Apple Watch Series 10 $149 off, Trackpad, AirPods 4, more

Today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break deals are now live starting with a rare price drop on the 1TB M4 Mac mini configuration, alongside a 1TB M4 Pro MacBook Pro at $300 off the list price. We also have up to $149 off Apple Watch Series 10 just after Apple announced the new U.S. Blood Oxygen feature, AirPods 4 from $80, a rare price drop on the USB-C Magic Trackpad, and much more below. Rarely ever discounted 1TB M4 Mac mini is now $100 off + most affordable 24GB model at $699 This morning we are touch

Topics: amazon apple m4 new price

Apple’s first Mac with 5G cellular might be coming sooner than we thought

Rumors have long indicated Apple intends to bring cellular connectivity to the Mac, but a new report indicates the first cellular Mac might be right around the corner: the M5 MacBook Pro. M5 MacBook Pro with 5G cellular reportedly being tested Earlier today, Filipe Esposito reported at Macworld that he’d uncovered code evidence of an M4 Ultra chip in a forthcoming Mac Pro model. Now, Esposito has a follow-up report on another Mac model: the M5 MacBook Pro. He writes: Internal Apple code see

Topics: apple m5 mac macbook pro

I finally solved the toughest question about buying laptops - here's my expert guide

Kerry Wan/ZDNET Choosing the right laptop can feel overwhelming -- even for someone like me who's lived and breathed laptops for years. You get all these options, configurations, and feature lists that it's impossible not to know up from down. So, to make things easier for you, I'll be breaking down laptops and their essentials using three broad usage categories: school, work, and gaming. Also: The best laptops you can buy: Expert tested Most laptops fall into one of these buckets, and while

Blood Oxygen Monitoring Returning to Apple Watch in the US

Apple will introduce a redesigned Blood Oxygen feature for some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users through an iPhone and Apple Watch software update coming later today. Users with these models in the U.S. who currently do not have the Blood Oxygen feature will have access to the redesigned Blood Oxygen feature by updating their paired iPhone to iOS 18.6.1 and their Apple Watch to watchOS 11.6.1. Following this update, sensor data from the Blood Oxygen app on Apple Wa

How We’ll Know for Sure If Microplastics Are Destroying Our Health

Researchers have found plastic in almost every corner of the human body, from our brains and poop to blood and testicles (at least it’s not making our stomachs crunch yet). Is this plastic contamination bad for us? While the answer to that question might seem like a no-brainer—and certainly no one is crazy enough to theorize that microplastics in breast milk are a good thing—there haven’t been any human trials to confirm that microplastics are detrimental to human health. Some research has simp

New Brain Interface Interprets Inner Monologues With Startling Accuracy

Scientists can now decipher brain activity related to the silent inner monologue in people’s heads with up to 74% accuracy, according to a new study. In new research published today in Cell, scientists from Stanford University decoded imagined words from four participants with severe paralysis due to ALS or brainstem stroke. Aside from being absolutely wild, the findings could help people who are unable to speak communicate more easily using brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), the researchers say

Apple Reintroduces Blood Oxygen Feature Ahead of Apple Watch Series 11 Launch

Apple is gearing up to unveil the Apple Watch Series 11 next month alongside the iPhone 17, but it has an early treat for some existing Apple Watch owners in the US today. Thursday marks the surprise reintroduction of the Apple Watch blood oxygen feature, redesigned for some Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 owners. The feature will be available via a software update that's rolling out now. If you own one of these models and don't currently have access to the feature, you

Google Wants You to Pick Your Own News Sources for Searches

Perhaps in response to suggestions that its Search functions have been degraded or been usurped by AI summaries that not everybody wants, Google will now let you select news sources to narrow things down. The company said in a blog post this week that it's launching Preferred Sources in the US and India over the next few days, along with a plus icon to the right of Top Stories in searches. Clicking on that plus symbol allows you to add blogs or news outlets. There doesn't appear to be a limit o