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Uranus Leaks More Heat Than We Thought

When Voyager 2 flew past Uranus in 1986, the spacecraft detected a surprisingly low level of internal heat from the planet. Since then, scientists believed Uranus to be the odd one out in our solar system’s family of giant planets—the others being Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune—who all tend to emit more heat than they absorb from sunlight. Now, a new study suggests that scientists may have had the wrong idea about Voyager 2’s data: Uranus does have an internal heat source similar to its planetary

I replaced my Apple Watch with the Oura Ring 4 for sleep tracking (and it did some things better)

ZDNET's key takeaways The Oura Ring 4 is Oura's latest generation smart ring, with a starting price of $350 The ring emphasizes a comfortable build with flatter and smarter sensors, more sizes, upgraded software, and an alleged eight-day battery life. The eight-day battery life is actually more like five and a half days. $395.01 at Amazon $399 at Best Buy more buying choices While Oura was quiet these past few years, in between the release of its Ring 3 in 2021 and the development of its Ring

Windows KB5064489 emergency update fixes Azure VM launch issues

Microsoft has released an emergency update to fix a bug that prevents Azure virtual machines from launching when the Trusted Launch setting is disabled and Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) is enabled. The bug impacted Windows Server 2025 and Windows 11 24H2 and was introduced during the July Patch Tuesday security updates. "This update addresses an issue that prevented some virtual machines (VMs) from starting when Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) was enabled," explains Microsoft. "It a

Designing for the Eye: Optical Corrections in Architecture and Typography

Designing for the Eye Optical Corrections in Architecture and Typography By Niko Kitsakis, June 2025 This article highlights a special aspect of both visual design and architecture: Optical cor­rections (or optical ad­just­ments, if you prefer). If you found my piece about legible typefaces interesting, you’ll likely enjoy this one as well. Since I included many visual examples that are size-sensitive, make sure you read this on a big screen and not your mobile device. Optical Illusions The

Nextdoor's Big Redesign Packages AI Advice Alongside Human Conversations

Nextdoor, the social media app for your neighborhood and local events, has launched a new redesign. The company says the changes are to "meet the evolving needs of neighbors everywhere" as the shift toward remote and hybrid work has resulted in people spending more time in their local communities. The redesign focuses on three core features that will help you navigate the goings-on of your neighborhood: Alerts, News and Faves. Here's how each of these features works, and how the service is inco

Joby Aviation says it is doubling production at its air taxi manufacturing hub

JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, stands near an electric air taxi by Joby Aviation at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 12, 2023. Joby Aviation is ramping up its manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. as it races to roll out air taxi service in 2026. The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) maker said Tuesday that it's launching production at its remodeled components facility in Dayton, Ohio, and plans to double capacity at its

Finding value with AI automation

Today's opportunity: Significant automation gains When leaders respond to immediate panic, new business risks and mitigations often emerge. Two recent examples highlight the consequences of rushing to implement and publish positive results from AI adoption. The Wall Street Journal reported in April 2025 on companies struggling to realize returns on AI. Just weeks later, it covered MIT’s retraction of a technical paper about AI where the results that led to its publication could not be substanti

Forget passwords often? Android may soon let you disable Failed Authentication Lock (APK teardown)

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority TL;DR Android 15 and newer devices include a Failed Authentication Lock feature that locks the device screen after detecting multiple failed login attempts in apps or settings. Unlike other theft protection features, this feature is enabled by default on all devices, and there’s currently no way for users to turn it off. Google may soon add a new option to the theft protection settings that will allow users to turn off Failed Authentication Lock. In additio

The viral Air Purifier Table is my smart home's MVP and it's on sale for under $175

ZDNET's key takeaways The SwitchBot Air Purifier table is available for $258. This large-capacity air purifier has a washable prefilter, a color-changing night light, a wireless charger, and acts as a table. While the air purifier works as intended, the table is small, and the smart capabilities are incompatible with Apple Home. $193.74 at Amazon The SwitchBot 4-in-1 Air Purifier Table is one of my favorite smart home devices ever, and it's on sale for only $174 with an on-page coupon (save $

Nearly 3 out of 4 Oracle Java users say they've been audited in the past 3 years

A survey of 500 IT asset managers in organizations that use Oracle Java has found that 73 percent have been audited in the last three years. Deal to 'save' UK colleges £45M in Oracle Java licensing fees followed audit requests READ MORE At the same time, nearly eight out of 10 Oracle Java users said they had migrated, or planned to shift, to open source Java to try to avoid the risk and high costs of the dominant vendor's development and runtime environments. Oracle introduced a paid subscrip

To be a better programmer, write little proofs in your head

This is a brief write-up of a trick I learned that helps me write code faster and more accurately. I say "trick", but it's really something I started to do without noticing as I moved further into my career. When you're working on something difficult, sketch a proof in your head as you go that your code will actually do what you want it to do. A simple idea, but easier said than done: doing this "online" without interrupting your flow takes a lot of practice. But once you get really good at it,

BBC Insists Its Disney Partnership Remains Strong in Wake of ‘Doctor Who’ Doubts

Ever since the latest season of Doctor Who came to a messy end a few months ago, the biggest question on audiences’ minds (among the many questions raised by that finale) is when, or if, we might expect to see the show return to our screens. The further we’ve moved from the season without news other than that there is no news about the BBC renewing its funding and distribution deal with Disney for the series, the more doubts have grown. But the BBC continues to stress that it is focused on worki

Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab is worth $12B in seed round

Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup founded by OpenAI’s former chief technology officer Mira Murati, officially closed a $2 billion seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz on Monday, a company spokesperson told TechCrunch. The deal, which includes participation from NVIDIA, Accel, ServiceNow, CISCO, AMD, and Jane Street, values the startup at $12 billion, the spokesperson said. Several outlets reported in June that Thinking Machines Lab was close to closing this $2B funding round at a $10 bill

It's a huge week for crypto in DC But the industry may not get everything it wants

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 27, 2025. Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters It's "Crypto Week" in Washington. The cryptocurrency industry is set to notch a major win this week if the House can pass two bills that would set up a long-lobbied-for regulatory framework for digital assets. The stablecoin bill, known as the GENUIS Act, has already passed the Senate and looks set to become the first standalone crypto measure signed into law should the House do the same. But the real

Lucid will add hands-free driving options later this month

Lucid is about to roll out its first hands-free features. On July 30, Lucid Air sedan owners with the DreamDrive Pro add-on will get automated drive assist and lane-change features. If you have a Gravity SUV you'll have to wait until later this year. The features will arrive via an OTA update for vehicles with DreamDrive Pro hardware. The optional add-on has 32 sensors, including LiDAR, radar, ultrasonic sensors and cameras. DreamDrive Pro already supports semi-autonomous features like lane cha

Police disrupt “Diskstation” ransomware gang attacking NAS devices

An international law enforcement action dismantled a Romanian ransomware gang known as 'Diskstation,' which encrypted the systems of several companies in the Lombardy region, paralyzing their businesses. The law enforcement operation codenamed 'Operation Elicius' was coordinated by Europol and also involved police forces in France and Romania. Diskstation is a ransomware operation that targets Synology Network-Attached Storage (NAS) devices, which are commonly used by companies for centralized

Blender 4.5 LTS Released

The final frontier. After years of work, support for the popular backend in Blender is now on par with OpenGL. It’s not enabled by default yet; make it so in the Preferences. Make sure to keep your drivers up to date! Blender works closely with hardware manufacturers to ensure Vulkan performs as good as possible. See the supported platforms and drivers, and the current limitations.

Venture gets a rare Native American-led fund in Betsy Fore’s Velveteen Ventures

When Betsy Fore was five, her grandmother got her a gift she has never forgotten: A Velveteen Rabbit from Goodwill that Fore believed, with enough love, could spring alive. Decades later, that rabbit has lent its name to Fore’s venture firm, Velveteen Ventures, which came to life on Tuesday. “I realized after building companies for nearly two decades that I could make the greatest ripple in this one precious life by being on the other side of the table,” she told TechCrunch. Her companies inclu

It's a huge week for crypto in D.C. But the industry may not get everything it wants

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 27, 2025. Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters It's "Crypto Week" in Washington. The cryptocurrency industry is set to notch a major win this week if the House can pass two bills that would set up a long-lobbied-for regulatory framework for digital assets. The stablecoin bill, known as the GENUIS Act, has already passed the Senate and looks set to become the first standalone crypto measure signed into law should the House do the same. But the real

My favorite indoor security camera has no subscription fees

ZDNET's key takeaways The Eufy Security Indoor Cam S350 is available for purchase at $130. The S350 indoor camera features dual telephoto and wide-angle lenses with 360-degree motion tracking and optional local storage to avoid monthly fees. The only drawback I've found is that I wish the camera had a button to engage privacy mode manually, but you can schedule it as needed on the app. View now at Amazon It's safe to say the Eufy Security Indoor Cam S350 has become indispensable in my home. W

Rwazi raises $12M Series A to help companies with consumer insights and intelligence

Joseph Rutakanga spent eight years looking for tools to help companies gather consumer insight data. Eventually, he decided to just build them. Now his startup, called Rwazi, has raised a $12 million Series A led by Bonfire Ventures to help companies with market intelligence and consumer insights. He founded the company in 2021 with co-founder Eric Sewankambo. “There was an abundance of consumer and market-level data for places like the U.S., UK, and a few parts of Western Europe, maybe some t

I'm taking my favorite portable vinyl player on all my summer trips

ZDNET's key takeaways The Audio-Technica Sound Burger retails for $199 and comes in yellow, black, or white. The Sound Burger has unparalleled portability, a long battery life, and provides a novel listening experience. It doesn't have a counterweight, and also doesn't have an auto-return feature. View now at Amazon Technology is all about embracing the now. So, even though I am one of those people who can be stuck in their ways (such as listening to vinyl records with the appropriate analog

Show HN: I built this to talk Danish to my girlfriend – works with any language

Ever wanted to text your foreign partner or chat with international friends but felt held back by missing vocabulary? Don't let language barriers stop you from connecting. No sign-ups, no subscriptions. Just open the app and start learning. Perfect for spontaneous moments when you need to express something important. Every correction is saved. Review your mistakes, practice pronunciation, and track your progress as you naturally improve. Hear how every correction should sound with high-qualit

Praise and Addiction Fears: Musk’s AI Girlfriend Sparks Fierce Debate

How do you bury a controversy? If you’re Elon Musk, you drop an anime waifu into the middle of a scandal and watch the internet do the rest. Just days after xAI’s chatbot Grok sparked outrage for spouting anti-Semitic rhetoric and praising Adolf Hitler, the billionaire shifted the narrative by unveiling a new feature called Companions, which lets users interact with flirty, customizable AI avatars like Ani, a goth anime girl, and Rudy, a red panda. The feature went instantly viral. While xAI ha

What Tariffs? Smartphone Market Grows 1% as More Devices Incorporate AI

Looks like curiosity about AI may be boosting smartphone sales. Shipments of smartphones increased 1% year over year in the second quarter of 2025, despite tariff volatility and worldwide economic instability, according to new data released from the International Data Corporation. Much of the increase in sales is attributed to midrange devices like Samsung's Galaxy A36 and other smartphones that have started incorporating AI. The report blamed a drop in demand for lower-end devices, including

Auriga Space raises $6M to shoot rockets off an electromagnetic launch track

While U.S.-based companies are launching more payloads into orbit than ever before, they’re still limited by the inefficiency of conventional rockets. With rockets, most of the weight is in the propellant, not the payload, and a huge portion of it is burned simply battling Earth’s gravity and atmosphere. Auriga Space is aiming to change the launch game. Instead of a first-stage booster, the California-based startup is developing a launch track that will use electricity to power powerful magnets

Apple announces $500 million US investment focused on rare earth magnets

Earlier this year, Apple pledged a $500 billion investment in the United States over the next four years. Now, the company is further expanding that pledge with a $500 million plan to “launch an all-new recycling facility for processing recycled rare earth elements.” With this investment, Apple will work with MP Materials and commit to buying American-made rare earth magnets developed in Fort Worth, Texas. The two companies will build out MP Materials’ “state-of-the-art Texas factory” with a “s

OpenAI's ChatGPT-powered browser is codenamed 'Aura'

OpenAI is following Perplexity and is working on its own AI-powered browser codenamed "Aura." X user Tibor found references to "Aura," which is probably the codename for the new OpenAI browser. There are already mentions of "is Aura" ("mini-root," which is similar to checks for Android, iOS, or Electron/ChatGPT Windows desktop app), "is Aura Sidebar," and "in Aura" in the ChatGPT web app. Reuters previously reported that OpenAI is building a Chromium-based Chrome alternative that will use gen

Google's Reverse Acquihire of Windsurf and the Future of AI Developer Tools

The reverse acquihire of Windsurf by Google is more than a corporate reshuffle. It offers a rare glimpse into the strategic realignments happening in AI-powered developer tools – a space that is powerful, promising, but still deeply unsettled. Windsurf set out with an ambitious bet: bringing “agentic” capabilities directly into the IDE. It wasn’t just about generating code snippets faster; it aimed to create a true coding partner, capable of understanding high-level intent and navigating large

Don't Want to Upgrade to Windows 11? Microsoft Offers Free Windows 10 Security Updates

The era of Windows 10 is almost at an end. In October 2025, Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 and stopping security support. Initially Microsoft was offering a one-year extended security update for $30, but we've got good news. Microsoft has added a free option, allowing you to stick with Windows 10 for another year. However, in order to access it, users will need to use cloud backup and connect it with their OneDrive account. The ability to get free updates on Windows 10 is a pretty b