Meta is heavily promoting Muse, a new AI agent for Instagram and Facebook users that links to email, bank accounts, and other personal data to automate tasks and build a long-term memory of user habits. Multiple users, including a journalist at Inc Magazine, reported that Muse surfaced private text message content despite never granting it permission to access Messages, and Meta's own staff gave conflicting, unconvincing explanations for how this happened.
Microsoft is combining Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios into a single studio that will focus on Forza Horizon and Fable, according to a memo from Xbox content chief Matt Booty. The move effectively ends Turn 10 as an independent studio after it lost most of its staff in layoffs last year and had been largely maintaining Forza Motorsport since.
Microsoft is laying off roughly 268 employees across Halo Studios, other first-party teams, and Xbox Game Studios' central functions, according to a memo from chief content officer Matt Booty. Two prospective buyers for Ninja Theory fell through, so Microsoft is starting a consultation process on potentially shutting the Hellblade studio unless another buyer emerges. Undead Labs has completed its spinout to independence, while talks over Arkane's future continue under French labor law through year's end.
A hands-on roundup highlights Good Lock modules that let Samsung Galaxy owners customize their phones beyond what One UI offers by default. Key examples include Display Assistant, which sets screen timeout and refresh rate per app, and Sound Assistant, which allows individual volume levels for each app.
Microsoft is cutting 268 jobs across Halo Studios and other first-party teams as part of its ongoing Xbox restructuring, while also consolidating studios under fewer publishing umbrellas. Activision will now oversee World's Edge and Rare and take charge of developing the next Halo title through a newly formed team separate from Call of Duty, leaving a smaller crew at Halo Studios to support existing games. Other changes include Bethesda absorbing Obsidian, King merging with Microsoft Casual Games, and Playground Games combining with Turn 10 to focus on Forza and Fable.
Beats has introduced the Beats 360, its first IP-certified over-ear headphones, rated IPX4 for resistance to sweat and water splashes. The headphones feature removable, washable knit ear cups designed to wick away moisture during workouts, matching the water-resistance rating found on Beats' Powerbeats Pro 2 and Powerbeats Fit 2 earbuds.
Chinese memory maker CXMT has started mass-producing chips built on its new G5 process, which shrinks the DRAM active-area half-pitch to 11.95nm through quadruple-patterning lithography and uses storage capacitors with a 45:1 depth-to-width ratio. The first products, 24Gb LPDDR5X chips offering 50% more capacity than CXMT's prior generation, are already shipping in two package formats and appearing in mainstream Chinese flagship smartphones.
Keely Hodgkinson won the 800 meters at the all-female Athlos meet in London on September 18, setting a new meet and venue record. She wore a custom, one-of-one Nike speed suit featuring a hood, an open back, and a cutout designed to accommodate a ponytail.
Resolute, a sneaker brand featuring traditional Palestinian tatreez embroidery, has begun selling its shoes in the United States. The intricate needlework is done by women artisans in the West Bank who continue their craft despite ongoing conflict and safety risks in the region.
A Wonder Tools newsletter roundup highlights 20 Google Docs capabilities that many regular users overlook, including voice typing, instant translation, smart chips, and AI-assisted proofreading. The piece frames these as practical productivity boosts hidden within a tool most people already use daily.
In the latest Apple @ Work episode, host discusses tailored phishing simulations with Samantha Schwartz and Jack Hirsch of Sublime Security. The conversation focuses on how simulated phishing tests are evolving to reflect increasingly sophisticated, AI-generated attack techniques. The episode is sponsored by Mosyle, which markets itself as a unified Apple device management platform used by over 45,000 organizations.
Cisco Talos researchers released an open-source system called CAIRN designed to detect and classify malware that relies on artificial intelligence for decision-making. Using the tool, they identified a new strain, CLOSEDQUORUM, which queries up to four large language models to determine its next actions inside a compromised system rather than following pre-programmed commands.
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