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Microsoft Layoffs Result in at Least 3 Games Being Cancelled

Microsoft is moving ahead with mass layoffs, cutting a little less than 4% of its workforce or about 9,000 roles across the company. Perhaps unavoidably, multiple games in development within Xbox Game Studios have been cancelled as a result. When reached for comment, Microsoft directed CNET to reports Wednesday by Variety, confirming their accuracy. "To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the bus

Microsoft is closing the studio developing the Perfect Dark reboot and cancelling the game

The Initiative, the Xbox studio developing a modern reimagining of Perfect Dark, is being shut down, and development of the game is ending. As first reported by Windows Central, the studio's closure is part of major cuts Microsoft is making across its business, affecting around four percent of the company's global workforce. Based on a memo from Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty obtained by Windows Central, which Microsoft has confirmed is genuine, the decision to close The Initiative was born

Neil Druckmann Is Stepping Away From HBO’s ‘Last of Us’

In the wake of the controversially received second season of HBO’s Last of Us TV series, series co-creator and executive producer Neill Druckmann has announced that he is stepping away ahead of production on season three. In a statement posted to Naughty Dog’s social media accounts today, Druckmann said his move comes “before any meaningful work” had begun on a third season of The Last of Us, set to continue adapting the remaining events of The Last of Us Part II. Druckmann will return his focu

Tinder Users Must Start Logging In With Their Faces

California Tinder users will find a new feature when they open up the dating app on July 7: A mandatory Face Check on their phones will be required before they can log into their profiles. The Face Check step will begin with a new request to record a video of your face, a more casual version of setting up Apple's Face ID login. Tinder will then run checks comparing your face data to your current profile pics and automatically create a small face badge for your profile. We know just how it works

Android 16 QPR1 adds full support for Live Updates, but apps will need changes

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority TL;DR Google is preparing to launch “Live Updates,” a feature similar to iOS’s Live Activities that prominently displays progress-style notifications. Once live, these special notifications will appear fully expanded on the lock screen and as a persistent chip in the status bar for at-a-glance updates. The feature is already fully functional in the latest Android 16 QPR1 beta, suggesting it will likely roll out in the next quarterly update. Google’s stable

Google’s mandatory Pixel 6a battery management starts arriving next week

Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Google updated the Pixel 4a for battery management concerns earlier this year. We recently spotted Google planning a similar approach to battery failures on the Pixel 6a. Google now shares its full Pixel 6a strategy, with an update heading out July 8. Google’s got a battery problem with Pixel phones. Early this year, we learned of Google’s plan to issue a new update for the aging Pixel 4a, but rather than giving the phone a fresh version of Android, this

Spain arrests hackers who targeted politicians and journalists

The Spanish police have arrested two individuals in the province of Las Palmas for their alleged involvement in cybercriminal activity, including data theft from the country's government. The duo has been described as a "serious threat to national security" and focused their attacks on high-ranking state officials as well as journalists. They leaked samples of the stolen data online to build notoriety and inflate the selling price. "The investigation began when agents detected the leakage of p

Apple’s ‘iPad Fold’ won’t be launching any time soon, per new report

Next year, Apple is expected to debut its first ever foldable iPhone. But while certain analysts projected an iPad ‘Fold’ to launch around the same time, a new report indicates we won’t see the product any time soon. iPad Fold development reportedly put on hold On the same day that iPhone Fold production was reported as progressing nicely toward next year’s launch, the news isn’t so good for Apple’s foldable iPad. Aaron Lee and Sherri Wang write at Digitimes: Sources familiar with the matter

The Ultrahuman Ring Air Shamed Me Into Ditching Unhealthy Habits

This is a little embarrassing to admit as someone who reviews wearables for a living, but the Ultrahuman Ring Air is my first-ever smart ring. I've tested just about every smartwatch and fitness tracker on the market, but never a ring. And honestly, that probably makes me the perfect person to review it -- not as a biohacking pro, but as someone who went into this exactly how most buyers would: curious, slightly skeptical and wondering whether it would make me ditch my smartwatch. Better yet, wo

Qantas Breach Comprises Data of Up to 6 Million Customers

Qantas disclosed a cybersecurity incident on July 2 potentially affecting 6 million customers. Ryan Fletcher/Getty Images Australian airline Qantas has disclosed a cyberattack potentially comprising the data of 6 million customers. Cybercriminals gained access to customers' names, email addresses, phone numbers, birthdates and frequent flyer numbers via a third-party platform used by a company call center, it said. In the wrong hands, this data could lead to phishing attacks orchestrated by ba

Google Chrome hit by another serious security flaw - update your browser ASAP

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET Google has patched yet another critical security bug in Chrome, which means all of you who use the browser should update it ASAP. On Monday, the company revealed a high-severity vulnerability that could allow a remote attacker to run malicious code on your system. In its release notes for the latest version of Chrome, Google pointed to the security flaw tagged as CVE-2025-6554. The NIST page on this one describes it as: "Type confusion in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 138.0

The 20 best Prime Day 2025 deals under $25

Amazon Prime Day is a great time to save money on expensive tech items like laptops, tablets, and TVs--especially on big-name brands like Apple, Samsung, and Sony. But if you're on a strict budget this year, ZDNET has you covered with the best deals. Get daily deals straight to your inbox during Prime Day when you sign up for ZDNET Recommends, your one-stop newsletter for the sale. You can find some very useful tech products, devices, and other gadgets for under $25, even before Amazon Prime D

Best early Prime Day deals 2025: 47+ sales on tech products live now

Tharon Green/ZDNET When is Amazon Prime Day? Amazon Prime Day will run from Tuesday, July 8, to Friday, July 11, 2025. The annual two-day sale was extended to four days in 2025. How long will Prime Day last? Amazon Prime Day will last four days, running from July 8-11, 2025. That's two days longer than the years prior. Where will Prime Day take place? Amazon announced that its July Prime Day event will return in over 20 countries, including Ireland for the first time. Prime Day 2025 will r

Data breach reveals Catwatchful ‘stalkerware’ is spying on thousands of phones

A security vulnerability in a stealthy Android spyware operation called Catwatchful has exposed thousands of its customers, including its administrator. The bug, which was discovered by security researcher Eric Daigle, spilled the spyware app’s full database of email addresses and plaintext passwords that Catwatchful customers use to access the data stolen from the phones of their victims. Catwatchful is spyware masquerading as a child monitoring app that claims to be “invisible and cannot be

Bright Data beat Elon Musk and Meta in court — now its $100M AI platform is taking on Big Tech

Join the event trusted by enterprise leaders for nearly two decades. VB Transform brings together the people building real enterprise AI strategy. Learn more Bright Data, the Israeli web scraping company that defeated both Meta and Elon Musk’s X in federal court, unveiled a comprehensive AI infrastructure suite Wednesday designed to give artificial intelligence systems unfettered access to real-time web data — a capability the company argues Big Tech platforms are trying to monopolize. The ann

Google quietly revamps Android’s permission dialogs for a sleeker design for some

Tushar Mehta / Android Authority TL;DR Google has redesigned the permissions dialogs that appear in Android. This change appears following the June Google Play system update when applied to the latest Android 16 QPR Beta 2.1. Google has dropped the older design in favor of slimmer buttons and better readability. Even though Google first released a beta for Android 16 last year, its biggest design change didn’t start rolling out until the final beta, just weeks before the final release. With

How large are large language models?

How large are large language models? (2025) This aims to be factual information about the size of large language models. None of this document was written by AI. I do not include any information from leaks or rumors. The focus of this document is on base models (the raw text continuation engines, not 'helpful chatbot/assistants'). This is a view from a few years ago to today of one very tiny fraction of the larger LLM story that's happening. History GPT-2,-medium,-large,-xl (2019): 137M, 380M

Topics: data gpt model models moe

Microsoft is laying off as many as 9,000 employees

Today we are sharing decisions that will impact colleagues across our organization. To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness. Out of respect for those impacted today, the specifics of today’s notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days.

China's Honor launches new challenge to Samsung with thin foldable smartphone and a big battery

Honor launched the Honor Magic V5 on Wednesday July 2, as it looks to challenge Samsung in the foldable space. Honor Honor on Wednesday touted the slimness and battery capacity of its newly launched thin foldable phone, as it lays down a fresh challenge to market leader Samsung. The Honor Magic V5 goes will initially go on sale in China, but the Chinese tech firm will likely bring the device to international markets later this year. The company, which spun off from Chinese tech giant Huawei in

Our favorite air purifier is $37 off for Prime Day

Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products . We now know that the 2025 edition of Amazon's blockbuster Prime Day sales event will start on July 8, and it's set to be bigger than ever as it will run for four days. But you don't need to wait until then for tasty deals. There will be plenty in the lead up to the event, including thi

This Roomba combo robot vacuum and mop is nearly half off for Prime Day

Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products . It's that time of year again when Amazon is hosting deals on everything from wireless earbuds to air fryers. Starting July 8, Prime Day will run for four days with deep price cuts on smart home gadgets, including the Roomba Robot Vacuum and Mop Combo from iRobot that drops down to an a

How large are large language models? (2025)

How large are large language models? (2025) This aims to be factual information about the size of large language models. None of this document was written by AI. I do not include any information from leaks or rumors. The focus of this document is on base models (the raw text continuation engines, not 'helpful chatbot/assistants'). This is a view from a few years ago to today of one very tiny fraction of the larger LLM story that's happening. History GPT-2,-medium,-large,-xl (2019): 137M, 380M

Topics: data gpt model models moe

Spain and Brazil push global action to tax the super-rich and curb inequality

Presented during the UN’s 4th International Conference on Financing for Development – taking place this week in Sevilla, Spain – the proposal highlights a growing problem: the richest individuals often contribute less to public finances than ordinary taxpayers, thanks to lower effective tax rates and legal loopholes. “Our countries need more and more public revenues to meet their needs. Inequality is a problem everywhere and the richest pay less than the middle class – even less than lower-inco

A proof-of-concept neural brain implant providing speech

Stephen Hawking, a British physicist and arguably the most famous man suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), communicated with the world using a sensor installed in his glasses. That sensor used tiny movements of a single muscle in his cheek to select characters on a screen. Once he typed a full sentence at a rate of roughly one word per minute, the text was synthesized into speech by a DECtalk TC01 synthesizer, which gave him his iconic, robotic voice. But a lot has changed since

Best Rural Internet Providers for 2025

Our picks 90001 Edit ZIP code Why we chose these providers Sort by Best rural home internet provider 87 - 415 Mbps $50 - $70 per month Check with T-Mobile Provider not available in 90001 Edit ZIP code Or call to learn more: (877) 519-7610 Best wired rural internet provider 10 - 140 Mbps $55 per month Check with CenturyLink Provider not available in 90001 Edit ZIP code Or call to learn more: (866) 671-3650 Best rural fixed wireless internet provider 25 - 50 Mbps $45 - $65 per month Check with Ris

Qantas hack results in theft of 6 million passengers’ personal data

In Brief Australian airline giant Qantas said on Wednesday it experienced a data breach that compromised the personal information of at least six million passengers. The airline said a cybercriminal targeted one of its call centers on June 30, and stole customer data from its systems, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth and frequent flyer numbers. Qantas is the latest airline hacked in recent weeks following a spate of breaches attributed to Scattered Spider, a col

Google hit with $314m fine for collecting data from idle Android phones without permission

Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR Google has been ordered to pay $314.6 million to Android phone users in California for collecting and sending their data. The lawsuit argued that Google collected data from idle Android phones without the users’ permission, consuming cellular data in the process. The company said it would appeal the verdict. Google undoubtedly collects plenty of user data from Android phones. However, a California jury has found that the search giant must pay $314.6 milli

Google Photos is getting a brand-new Photo view, but Android users will have to wait

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google Photos is getting a new Photo view, with a light mode, streamlined menus, and clearer placement for image details. Photo view will also now display interactive badges that let you take various actions. The update is currently rolling out for Google Photos users on iOS and will come to Android users at a later date. Google Photos frequently refreshes its interface and settings, and it’s doing it again with a revamped Photo view, i.e., the scree

Show HN: I made a 2D game engine in Dart

Writing games is fun again Bullseye2D is a HTML5 game library for the Dart Programming Language. It provides a simple and straightforward API, and a fast WebGL renderer. You can learn it in an evening and start making awesome games right from the start. It's made for developers who love Dart and want a solid foundation to make 2D games.

From 30 days to 1: Chevron’s cloud migration ROI in real numbers

Join the event trusted by enterprise leaders for nearly two decades. VB Transform brings together the people building real enterprise AI strategy. Learn more The No. 1 way AI is changing 150-year-old energy giant Chevron? How technical practitioners engage with data. Offshore in the Gulf, Chevron is drilling for oil resources miles below the ocean floor in pockets and reservoirs that may or may not yield results. Agentic architectures need to be able to process petabytes of critical data — whi