The third beta version of macOS 27.2 released to developers includes new gesture recognition features for apps like Photos, Notes, Safari, and Quick Look, indicating preparations for touchscreen support. Additionally, a new long-press animation for Dock icons suggests an upcoming touchscreen MacBook Pro, which is also expected to feature an OLED display and reduced weight, potentially launching as early as this month or in November. Apple has previously introduced touch-compatible features such as Sidecar and pull-to-refresh in macOS 27, supporting the transition to a touchscreen laptop.
After ending its partnership with Subway due to unprofitable unit economics, Hero Bread pivoted to a direct-to-consumer model and expanded its retail footprint. The company, founded in 2019, now reports $54 million in yearly revenue and has increased its retail locations from 4,000 to 10,000 stores, including Target. CEO YuChiang Cheng, who took over in November 2023, has led the company through a significant growth phase, securing over $68.5 million in total funding.
The U.S. Supreme Court expressed skepticism over the oil industry’s attempt to prevent climate change lawsuits from proceeding in courts. The case involves whether fossil fuel companies can be shielded from liability through legal defenses. The court's stance suggests a potential shift in how climate-related legal actions against corporations are handled.
Following the release of iOS 27 and MacOS 27, Apple users can now turn off the new Siri AI to recover storage space. On iPhone, users navigate to Settings > General > iPhone Storage > iOS to see the AI's data usage, while Mac users check System Settings > General > Storage. Disabling Siri AI on iOS 27 involves toggling off Siri in Settings, potentially freeing several gigabytes of storage.
Researchers have identified a new Linux-based malware called ClingSTUN that exploits at least 24 known security flaws across various IoT devices, including routers and surveillance systems from multiple manufacturers. The malware leverages legitimate public STUN servers to maintain covert communication with infected devices, avoiding detection by traditional command-and-control infrastructure. The attacks target vulnerabilities dating from 2021 to earlier this year, indicating a broad and ongoing exploitation effort.
Amazon's October Prime Day sale includes discounts on kitchen gadgets, among them the Lavazza Tabli pod espresso machine for $90 (down $40) and the Zojirushi Micom 3-cup rice cooker for $121 (down $69). CNET testers highlighted these as standout deals after checking price-history trackers, noting the Tabli uses compostable, plastic-free coffee pods instead of aluminum or plastic capsules.
During Amazon's October Prime Day, notable deals include the Vitamix Propel 510 blender at its lowest price ever of $295 and the Ninja Crispi air fryer at $153. Both products are praised for their performance and user-friendly features, making them popular choices for home cooks and gift shoppers. The Vitamix offers powerful blending with automatic programs, while the Ninja air fryer is valued for its ease of storage and versatility.
In an interview, Sam Altman likened artificial intelligence to fire, emphasizing its transformative potential. He also compared OpenAI to a Greek deity that bestowed this powerful tool upon humanity, highlighting the organization's role in advancing AI technology.
Researchers have developed Dust, a method that pretrains transformer language models without relying on traditional backpropagation. By perturbing activations at each token, Dust efficiently estimates gradients in parallel, showing competitive performance and potential to surpass backprop in high-compute scenarios. The approach significantly outperforms existing evolutionary strategies in efficiency, especially at larger model scales.
Samsung has announced that its latest SmartTag 3 trackers will be compatible not only with iPhones but also with a broader selection of Android smartphones running Android 12 and above. Previously limited to Galaxy models, the new trackers are now accessible to more users across different device brands. Confirmation from Samsung indicates that support extends beyond Galaxy phones, opening the product to a larger audience.
Dell has announced that its first Googlebook will start at $999, which is $200 less than the originally disclosed price of $1,199. The device features a Snapdragon X Elite chip, with configurations including 16GB RAM and 512GB storage, or 32GB RAM and 1TB storage, and sports a 2.5K touch display. It is available for purchase now and ships from October 21.
A health influencer has announced that they drank from a radioactive jug daily for more than 250 days. Radium water products, which are similar, were banned in the U.S. nearly a century ago due to health risks. The influencer's claim raises concerns about the safety of such practices.
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