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Tech News
French AI startup Mistral released a new open-weight model, which it says performs competitively against leading open-source models developed in China. The company positioned the release as part of its effort to offer a European alternative in the global open-source AI race.
Design firm Gensler found that about two-thirds of office workers are making unauthorized adjustments to their workspaces, addressing problems with ergonomics, temperature, privacy and storage. The findings come as companies continue pushing return-to-office mandates.
Security researcher Abdelhamid Naceri published a proof-of-concept called BigDiskBuster that stops Microsoft Defender from receiving signature updates without exploiting any vulnerability. The roughly 300-line C++ tool monitors the C: drive for Defender update activity and fills nearly all free disk space with a hidden file, causing each update attempt to fail while Defender's service and real-time protection keep running normally. LevelBlue researchers reproduced the technique after the original GitHub page was taken down, confirming it creates what they called a 'silent detection gap.'
Norway's government announced it will temporarily restrict AI-enhanced smart glasses in certain public spaces while officials draft permanent legislation. Digitalisation Minister Torgeir Eikstad Micaelsen cited rising concerns that the devices let wearers secretly photograph or film bystanders. Oslo has already banned smart glasses in schools, and energy company Equinor has barred them from its offices and offshore sites.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics to Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, for his role in building the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica and detecting high-energy neutrinos originating beyond our galaxy. Halzen, speaking by phone from Italy at a Stockholm news conference, said he was surprised by the honor and credited the many researchers who joined his project.
Amazon's Big Deal Days event has cut prices on several Hoto tools aimed at PC builders and hobbyists, including electric screwdrivers, rotary tools, flashlights, and air blowers. Deals include the Hoto NEX O1 Pro screwdriver kit dropping from $49.99 to $28.48, and the Hoto PixelDrive electric screwdriver falling from $79.99 to $59.99. The sale is tied to Amazon's Big Deal Days promotion, which ends the following night.
Christine Benz and Valentina Djeljosevic of Morningstar discussed how couples living on one income should approach retirement planning, including emergency funds and Social Security filing timing. Benz advised such couples to look beyond their current household budget and assess how retirement savings will be funded on a single salary, and to consider how the non-working spouse might re-enter the workforce later, such as through part-time or contract work.
Several older DSLR and mirrorless cameras, including Canon's EOS 6D and Rebel T6, Nikon's D5300 and D750, and Sony's A5100, A7 II and RX100 IV, remain on manufacturer compatibility lists for webcam use. Setup typically involves installing the maker's webcam utility, connecting via USB, switching to video or remote mode, and selecting the camera within apps like Zoom, Teams or Google Meet.
Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days sale, running through October 7, includes markdowns on mattresses, sheets and sleep tech that WIRED has tested, including a Birch Luxe Natural Mattress discounted by $656 to $1,968. WIRED says it will continue tracking additional deals on beds and sleep gear throughout the sale period.
Microsoft's support document confirms Office 2021 reaches end of support on Tuesday, October 13, halting technical support, security patches, bug fixes and updates. Online help and support pages for the product will also stop being maintained. The software will still run, but without ongoing protection or official troubleshooting resources.
Novo Nordisk tested blood from over 10,000 trial participants using proteomic clocks and found signs that its weight-loss drug slowed biological aging, including up to a 4-year shift in a clock measuring heart protein age. Eli Lilly ran a smaller study on tirzepatide using epigenetic clocks that track DNA changes, and also found molecular aging appeared to slow in patients taking the drug compared to placebo.
Amazon is selling the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro wireless gamepad for $94.99, down from its $199.99 list price, a 53% discount. The controller includes HyperSpeed 2.4 GHz wireless connectivity, Chroma RGB lighting, hall-effect triggers, an 8,000 Hz polling rate, and a 20-hour battery, with USB-C wired play also available.