Solid-state drives now come in two main interface types: SATA, which tops out near 600 MB/s in theory and 500-560 MB/s in real-world use, and NVMe, which runs over PCIe and can hit roughly 3,500 MB/s on older Gen3 drives up to nearly 15,000 MB/s on newer Gen5 models. Both technologies store data on flash memory and vastly outperform mechanical hard drives, but they differ sharply in how they connect to and communicate with a computer.
Hello Robot co-founder Aaron Edsinger will showcase Stretch 4, the company's wheeled home-assistance robot, in a live demonstration at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Launched in May with its first production batch already sold out, Stretch 4 uses a single telescoping arm and wheels rather than legs or humanoid form to help people with severe mobility impairments perform everyday tasks like eating or closing blinds.
A September 14 memo from Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik instructs staff to only enforce ESA prohibitions when an action specifically intends to target an animal, exempting incidental deaths like a ship striking a whale or a tree-felling that kills roosting bats. This follows an earlier 2024 rule change that removed habitat destruction from the ESA's definition of harm, which officials said was meant to reduce costs for landowners.
The fall equinox marks the official start of astronomical autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, occurring when the sun crosses the celestial equator and day and night are nearly equal in length. Despite lingering warm weather in many regions, the equinox signals that cooler temperatures typically follow in the weeks ahead.
Jeff Bezos has long attributed Amazon's rise from a small Seattle startup to a global corporate giant to a consistent two-word principle he says he repeated for three decades. He frames this mantra as the underlying operating philosophy that shaped Amazon's decisions and culture throughout its history.
TechCrunch has reopened exhibitor bookings for its Disrupt 2026 conference, giving startups that missed the original deadline a final window to secure a table. The event runs October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco and is expected to draw over 10,000 founders, investors, and industry professionals. The new booking deadline is September 30 at 11:59 p.m. PT, with tables allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Best Buy and Amazon are selling the black Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, numeric keypad and function keys for $169.99, a $30 cut from its usual price, through September 22nd, 2026. The keyboard supports Touch ID on Apple silicon Macs running macOS 15.1 or later, and connects via a woven USB-C cable or Bluetooth.
Cisco Talos researchers identified a Go-based Windows malware called ClosedQuorum that queries Google Gemini, DeepSeek, Qwen, and Mistral to decide post-compromise actions without human input. The models vote on options such as credential theft, code injection, and persistence, with DeepSeek breaking ties, and stolen data is sent to attackers via a Discord webhook.
Following the recent rollout of digital driver's licenses in Virginia and Oklahoma, Apple Wallet is expected to add support for Utah, Kentucky, and North Carolina in the near future. Utah has reportedly been detected in Apple's backend systems, Kentucky has completed a digital ID system upgrade tied to its planned launch, and North Carolina has publicly committed to Apple Wallet support by early 2027 as part of its new digital license system.
Beats has introduced a new pair of over-ear active noise-cancelling wireless headphones called the Beats 360, built with a slimmer, lighter and more customizable design than typical over-ear models. The company positions them as a workout-friendly alternative to Apple's AirPods Max 2, emphasizing comfort and fit during exercise.
Italian Institute of Technology's Barbara Mazzolai, known for bioinspired robots modeled on octopuses, plant roots and seeds, has co-authored a manifesto in Nature Machine Intelligence proposing a new discipline called sustainability robotics. The approach calls for embedding environmental impact reduction directly into how robots are designed, rather than treating it as an afterthought.
NPR's Planet Money traced the origins of the real-time order-tracking animation now common across delivery and service apps back to Domino's, which built the Pizza Tracker in the mid-2000s after dropping its 30-minute delivery guarantee. The tool launched before the 2006 Super Bowl and let customers watch their order's progress from placement to delivery. Design director Shuya Gong told NPR the pattern has since been adopted by companies like Uber and repair shops, and that she has designed similar trackers for banks and TurboTax.