Latest Tech News

Stay updated with the latest in technology, AI, cybersecurity, and more

Filtered by: ty Clear Filter

PerfektBlue Bluetooth flaws impact Mercedes, Volkswagen, Skoda cars

Four vulnerabilities dubbed PerfektBlue and affecting the BlueSDK Bluetooth stack from OpenSynergy can be exploited to achieve remote code execution and potentially allow access to critical elements in vehicles from multiple vendors, including Mercedes-Benz AG, Volkswagen, and Skoda. OpenSynergy confirmed the flaws last year in June and released patches to customers in September 2024 but many automakers have yet to push the corrective firmware updates. At least one major OEM learned only recent

Perplexity launches Comet, an AI-powered web browser

Perplexity on Wednesday launched its first AI-powered web browser, called Comet, marking the startup’s latest effort to challenge Google Search as the primary avenue people use to find information online. At launch, Comet will be available first to subscribers of Perplexity’s $200-per-month Max plan, as well as a small group of invitees that signed up to a waitlist. Here’s what a New tab looks like for me on Comet Image Credits:Screengrab/Maxwell Zeff / Perplexity Comet’s headline feature is

Google Personal Safety’s Expressive makeover is looking even more expansive (APK teardown)

Hadlee Simons / Android Authority TL;DR An Android Authority teardown has revealed additional Material 3 Expressive changes coming to Google’s Personal Safety app. The app’s latest release includes revamped Medical information and Emergency SOS menus. The design changes align with the Material 3 Expressive makeover of Android’s Settings app. Google’s Personal Safety App may be next in line to receive its Material 3 Expressive makeover. We recently gave you an early look at some of the design

Knox lands $6.5M to compete with Palantir in the federal compliance market

While highly sought after, federal software contracts frequently come with a hidden cost: Achieving government SaaS security compliance, known as FedRAMP, can take years and require substantial resources. Achieving this certification typically takes up to three years and costs more than $3 million, covering everything from security operations engineer salaries to security audits, according to Irina Denisenko, CEO of Knox. Denisenko (pictured above, second from left) launched Knox, a federal ma

China’s energy dominance in three charts

So while we all try to get our heads around what’s next for climate tech in the US and beyond, let’s look at just how dominant China is when it comes to clean energy, as documented in three charts. China is on an absolute tear installing wind and solar power. The country reached nearly 900 gigawatts of installed capacity for solar at the end of 2024, and the rapid pace of building has continued into this year. An additional 198 GW was installed between January and May, with 93 GW coming in May

Generic interfaces

Generic interfaces Axel Wagner 7 July 2025 There is an idea that is not obvious until you hear about it for the first time: as interfaces are types themselves, they too can have type parameters. This idea proves to be surprisingly powerful when it comes to expressing constraints on generic functions and types. In this post, we’ll demonstrate it, by discussing the use of interfaces with type parameters in a couple of common scenarios. A simple tree set As a motivating example, assume we need

The Origin of the Research University

If you were alive in 1800 and someone asked you about the future of research, it wouldn’t occur to you to mention the university. Real scholarship happened in new, modern, enlightened institutions like the British Royal Society or the French Académie des sciences. Universities were a medieval relic. And nowhere was it more medieval, hidebound, and generally dysfunctional than in the German-speaking world. But something happened to German universities at the turn of the 19th century — they develo

Multi-Region Row Level Security in CockroachDB

Controlling who can access what data is more important than ever as organizations scale and modernize their data infrastructure. Enterprises are modernizing their critical databases, and they need fine-grained, built-in access controls that go beyond table-level permissions. That’s why, with the 25.2 release of CockroachDB , we’re introducing Row-Level Security — a powerful feature that allows you to define and enforce access policies at the row level, directly within the database. This form o

California lawmaker behind SB 1047 reignites push for mandated AI safety reports

California State Senator Scott Wiener on Wednesday introduced new amendments to his latest bill, SB 53, that would require the world’s largest AI companies to publish safety and security protocols and issue reports when safety incidents occur. If signed into law, California would be the first state to impose meaningful transparency requirements onto leading AI developers, likely including OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI. Senator Wiener’s previous AI bill, SB 1047, included similar requireme

Perplexity challenges Chrome by launching a (very expensive) AI web browser

TL;DR Perplexity is rolling out a new browser called “Comet.” Comet is currently only available to users who subscribe to the Perplexity Max plan. Availability will expand on an invite-only basis. It appears the rise of AI-centered browsers is upon us. Not too long ago, The Browser Company revealed it was moving on from its quirky Arc browser and shifting focus to its AI-powered successor, Dia. As The Browser Company continues to work on Dia, which is currently in beta, AI startup Perplexity

Perplexity launches Comet, its AI-based web browser

Busy day for AI-based browsing. Just as Reuters reported that OpenIA is just weeks away from releasing a browser, Perplexity, the company behind the famous AI-powered “answer engine,” launched Comet, its own take at what browsing looks like in the age of AI. Here’s what it looks like. Built on Chromium, Comet obviously uses Perplexity as its default search engine. It comes with a sidebar assistant that can summarize pages, answer questions, and even take actions on the user’s behalf (booking ho

Google reveals details on Android’s Advanced Protection for Chrome

Google is sharing more information on how Chrome operates when Android mobile users enable Advanced Protection, highlighting strong security improvements. The tech giant recently extended its Advanced Protection Program to the device level with the release of Android 16, aimed at offering a robust, holistic security posture for high-risk individuals likely to be targeted by sophisticated spyware attacks. Starting Android 16, Advanced Protection can be activated from the settings, strengthening

Perplexity Comet

The Web Should Work For You We believe curiosity is a superpower. It’s the spark that propels humanity forward. Yet, the web—our greatest source of information—was never designed to nurture curiosity; instead we’ve been asked to “browse” it through a one-way lens. That’s why we made Comet. Comet gives curious minds a thought partner for every aspect of online life. Comet moves every tab or task into a simple space for asking more of the world. With Comet, the web becomes a tool of curiosity, h

Studio Trigger Anime ‘New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt’ Is a Raunchy, Foul-Mouthed Riot

Somewhere between Cartoon Network’s super-powered girl mayhem in Powerpuff Girls and Netflix’s unfiltered sex-fueled comedy in Big Mouth, Neon Genesis Evangelion studio Gainax unleashed Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt into the world of animation in 2010. The series, which can be best described as what would happen if Powerpuff Girls were created with crass Adult Swim humor in mind, instantly became an anime cult touchstone with its brazen, raunchy comedy and balls-to-the-wall action. Now, Stud

McDonald’s AI Hiring Bot Exposed Millions of Applicants' Data to Hackers Using the Password ‘123456’

If you want a job at McDonald’s today, there’s a good chance you'll have to talk to Olivia. Olivia is not, in fact, a human being, but instead an AI chatbot that screens applicants, asks for their contact information and résumé, directs them to a personality test, and occasionally makes them “go insane” by repeatedly misunderstanding their most basic questions. Until last week, the platform that runs the Olivia chatbot, built by artificial intelligence software firm Paradox.ai, also suffered fr

All digital Xbox games now carry standardized accessibility tags

Microsoft just announced that all digital games and experiences are now accompanied by clearly labeled and standardized accessibility tags . These Accessible Games Initiative tags are designed to "provide players with clear and consistent information about the accessibility features in video games." They are found on top of the store page. As you can see below, the game South of Midnight includes 13 accessibility features . Clicking "More" leads to a description of each. In this case, the game

ChatGPT hallucinated about music app Soundslice so often, the founder made the lie come true

Earlier this month, Adrian Holovaty, founder of music-teaching platform Soundslice, solved a mystery that had been plaguing him for weeks. Weird images of what were clearly ChatGPT sessions kept being uploaded to the site. Once he solved it, he realized that ChatGPT had become one of his company’s greatest hype men – but it was also lying to people about what his app could do. Holovaty is best known as one of the creators of the open-source Django project, a popular Python web development fram

Perplexity launches AI-powered web browser for select group of subscribers

Perplexity AI on Wednesday launched a new artificial intelligence-powered web browser called Comet in the startup's latest effort to compete in the consumer internet market against companies like Google and Microsoft . Comet will allow users to connect with enterprise applications like Slack and ask complex questions via voice and text, according to a brief demo video Perplexity released on Wednesday. The browser is available to Perplexity Max subscribers, and the company said invite-only acce

Perplexity just launched an AI web browser

is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Perplexity, the startup behind the AI “answer” engine, has just launched its own web browser. The browser, called Comet, incorporates Perplexity’s AI search tools and assistant in a way that CEO Aravind Srinivas says “transforms entire browsing sessions into single, seamless interactions.” Comet will only be available to users who subscribe to the

Claude might be my new favorite AI tool for Android - here's why

Anthropic / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET I've run the gamut of apps on Android, including those created to serve as an AI assistant or answer machine (not to be mistaken for the old-school answering machine). It seems every take on mobile AI has yet to satisfy me. Nevertheless, I continue searching for the one app that has exactly what I need. I think I've found it, and its name is Claude. Also: What happened when Anthropic's Claude AI ran a small shop for a month (spoiler: it got weird) Cla

Qantas Contacted by Hackers Responsible for Data Breach Affecting Millions of Customers

Qantas disclosed a cybersecurity incident on July 2 potentially affecting 6 million customers. Ryan Fletcher/Getty Images Qantas has been contacted by a cyber criminal claiming responsibility for the data breach that affected 6 million customers. A company spokesperson confirmed Qantas is working to validate this, adding that since it's a criminal matter, the company "won't be commenting any further on the detail of the contact." There's also no evidence that any of the stolen information has

Perplexity launches Comet, an AI-powered web browser

Perplexity on Wednesday launched its first AI-powered web browser, called Comet, marking the startup’s latest effort to challenge Google Search as the primary avenue people use to find information online. At launch, Comet will be available first to subscribers of Perplexity’s $200-per-month Max plan, as well as a small group of invitees that signed up to a waitlist. Here’s what a New tab looks like for me on Comet (Credit: Maxwell Zeff/Perplexity) Comet’s headline feature is Perplexity’s AI s

Pinecone founder Edo Liberty explores the real missing link in enterprise AI at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, the AI conversation goes deeper than just the latest models. On one of the AI Stages, Edo Liberty, founder and CEO of Pinecone, will deliver a session that challenges one of the most persistent assumptions in the field — that raw intelligence alone is enough. With 10,000+ startup and VC leaders expected in San Francisco from October 27–29, this fireside chat and presentation is one of the must-attend moments for anyone building AI systems that actually work in the rea

Exploring the Complexity of Distributed Consensus Algorithms in Blockchain

Consensus in blockchain isn’t just a technical problem—it’s an intellectual minefield. You’ve got decentralized nodes spread across the globe, each operating under different assumptions, with varying latencies, incentives, and potential motivations, and yet they’re all expected to come to the same conclusion about the state of a distributed ledger. No central authority, no fallback mechanisms, no easy resets. Just code, cryptography, and coordination dancing on the edge of chaos. It’s beautiful

Increasingly Paranoid OpenAI Has Installed Fingerprint Scanners and Airgapped Systems to Prevent Secrets Escaping

As the United States embroils itself in a self-inflicted "arms race" with China, tech companies are ratcheting up the paranoia to extreme levels. Take ChatGPT's creator OpenAI, which is reportedly clamping down hard on physical security after it says it was "targeted" by Chinese AI rivals. Per the Financial Times, the company has gone as far as installing fingerprint "biometric access controls" around its offices, as well as electronically-dependent security airlocks, similar to the kind found

Google is spicing up Gemini’s home screen with a visual revamp (APK teardown)

Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Google is working on a new tweak to the Gemini home screen. The change expands the input box and adds a shadow. Corners now only appear on top of the input box. A few weeks ago, we told you about a change that could be coming to the Gemini home screen. That tweak would make the home screen a little more like ChatGPT’s by adding suggestion chips. But it looks like that may not be the only alteration in store for the page. Authority Insights story on Andr

Zoom's AI gets a huge productivity upgrade - here's what it can do now

alexsl/Getty Images Zoom's AI assistant just got another agentic upgrade. The company announced Wednesday that its AI Companion, unveiled close to two years ago, can now connect with 16 third-party apps -- all without forcing the user to leave Zoom. Also: How ChatGPT actually works (and why it's been so game-changing) The AI Companion can now more seamlessly assist sales and customer service professionals, for example, by connecting directly with apps like Salesforce and Zendesk. It can also

Google Photos will soon let you animate your stills, here’s how (APK teardown)

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google Photos could soon introduce a new Remix feature that uses generative AI to help users create short videos from still images. We first spotted the feature in a teardown in May and gave you an early look at its interface last month. Google has since updated its UI and added a new pop-up showcasing how the feature works. Google is prepping a new generative AI feature for Google Photos that will allow users to convert still images into short video

Wallpaper Wednesday: More great phone wallpapers for all to share (July 9)

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority Welcome to Wallpaper Wednesday! In this weekly roundup, we’ll give you a handful of Android wallpapers you can download and use on your phone, tablet, or even your laptop/PC. The images will come from folks here at Android Authority as well as our readers. All are free to use and come without watermarks. File formats are JPG and PNG, and we’ll provide images in both landscape and portrait modes, so they’ll be optimized for various screens. For the newest wall