A technical article explains how to block advertisements across an entire Android device rather than within individual apps, noting that Android has become increasingly locked down and harder to customize. It describes four DNS-based techniques that intercept ad-serving hostnames and redirect them to invalid IP addresses, which can be applied either on the device itself or via an external DNS server. The piece notes DuckDuckGo's browser blocks trackers but not ads outright, so additional measures are needed.
Linum's research team has published Pyramid-JiT (P-JiT), a new decoder-only pixel-space architecture that predicts images at multiple resolutions through the diffusion transformer trunk, building on their earlier VAE-free JiT-DDT model. The company says P-JiT matches the final FD-DINOv2 score of its Linum v2 model using 11.3 times fewer training samples and 4.3 times fewer GPU-hours, while operating at four times the pixel resolution. Code and weights have been released under an Apache 2.0 license as a research artifact rather than a finished product.
Muse, Meta's new AI personal assistant, has reached No. 1 on the U.S. App Store with over 5 million downloads since launching last month. Each user's Muse runs on its own dedicated virtual machine in Meta's cloud, building a file of personal information drawn from connected accounts like email and Instagram, and users can request an export of that data. Meta says this data collection is intentional and is not shared with its advertising systems or other Muse agents.
Researchers studying the Higgs field suggest our universe may exist in a 'false vacuum' that could one day collapse into a lower-energy state, destroying reality as we know it through an expanding bubble. New theoretical work argues quantum mechanical effects could make this catastrophic event far less likely, or at least much slower, than earlier calculations implied.
AOC's Q27GADE, a 27-inch 1440p QD-OLED monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time, is now selling on Amazon for $280, down from an earlier $300 sale price. The panel offers HDR10 support, G-Sync Compatible certification, and wide color gamut coverage, though it lacks a DisplayHDR certification and extras like USB-C or a KVM switch.
A technical explainer breaks down a widely used pattern in which a random 64-bit integer is reduced via the modulo operator to select among a fixed number of choices. It shows mathematically that when the number of choices does not evenly divide the range of the random number generator, some choices end up more likely than others, breaking the assumption of equal probability.
Apple executive chair Tim Cook sold 191,753 Apple shares on October 2 for roughly $63.9 million, a day after 374,541 restricted stock units vested based on Apple's three-year shareholder return performance. Apple withheld 199,038 shares worth about $65.7 million to cover taxes, and Cook separately gifted 26,325 shares to an unnamed recipient, leaving him with over 3.2 million shares held through his trust.
Abxylute, known for its S8 mobile controller, has opened a Kickstarter campaign for two new gamepads, the M5 and M6. The M6 attaches magnetically to the back of a smartphone, slides open Xperia Play-style to reveal a full control layout, and adds Bluetooth 5.3, capacitive thumbsticks, Hall Effect linear triggers, a six-axis gyro and a customizable macro-capable Z button, plus an optional grip attachment. The M5 is pitched as a slimmer alternative offering similar console-level controls.
WIRED's vacuum tester has compiled a list of vacuum deals tied to Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sale, limited to models the outlet has personally tested and recommends outside of sale periods. The roundup spans cordless stick vacuums, including a new Dyson model, as well as several robot vacuums.
Code strings found in a new Google Messages beta build indicate the app will remove the ability to turn off RCS for individual conversations, forcing users back to SMS/MMS only on a conversation-by-conversation basis. The strings show an in-app banner warning that the 'Only send SMS & MMS messages' setting is going away, offering users the choice to switch to RCS now or have it switched automatically.
Cloud computing startup Lambda is raising as much as $4 billion at a $14.5 billion pre-money valuation, led by Coatue Management and Blackstone, according to The Wall Street Journal. The round would likely be its last private fundraise before a planned 2027 public listing. A letter to investors shows Lambda's contract backlog jumped from $15 billion in June to $50 billion in September, driven largely by a $35 billion commitment from Anthropic signed in late August.
Garmin has unveiled the Enduro 4, a rugged smartwatch rated for up to 320 hours of battery life on a single charge. The watch shares the health and fitness tracking features found in Garmin's Fenix 9 Pro line.
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