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A regular Google Maps user says that despite Google's edge in local search and data depth, Apple Maps outperforms it in several everyday ways. The comparison highlights Apple's progress in rebuilding its navigation app over the past decade, with a notably cleaner, less ad-cluttered interface as a standout advantage.
Researchers led by Randon Flores and Robert Eagle at UCLA measured T. rex body temperature by analyzing carbonate minerals in fossilized tooth enamel, using a method called clumped isotope thermometry. Their results indicate the dinosaur's body ran at about 36°C, similar to a modern elephant, suggesting it generated internal heat rather than relying on the environment.
Researchers publishing in Science found that corals rely on microscopic hairlike cilia to stir water and pull in oxygen when their photosynthetic algae go dormant at night. As ocean water warms, it holds less oxygen, forcing cilia to beat faster to compensate, but past a critical temperature this frantic motion consumes more oxygen than it delivers, effectively suffocating the coral polyps.
A developer released a free tool that estimates facial attractiveness by training an AI model on thousands of photos rated by 60 human evaluators, rather than relying solely on geometric facial measurements. Users are encouraged to upload 3-5 photos of the same person so the system can average results and reduce distortion from lighting or momentary appearance changes.
A24 is producing a new V/H/S horror anthology entry set in the SCP Foundation universe, following its earlier success with Backrooms. Unlike that project, the studio appears not to have engaged the SCP Foundation Wiki community, which says it has received no communication from filmmakers despite reaching out multiple times.
Porsche has launched Wireless Charging for its Cayenne Electric SUV, letting drivers park over a ground pad to begin charging automatically without plugging in a cable. The system pairs a pad under the vehicle with a weatherproof outdoor ground pad, delivering up to 11 kW at roughly 90% efficiency, and includes motion sensors and foreign-object detection to halt charging if an animal or metal object is detected. The feature is rolling out in stages and is currently orderable in Germany and other European markets.
A new essay argues that the fastest near-term impact of AI on the physical world won't come from robots, but from AI systems directing human workers step-by-step, similar to how GPS navigation already tells drivers what to do. The author calls this 'teleoperation,' where AI handles strategy and broad awareness while humans execute the physical actions AI can't yet perform itself. The piece uses driving and GPS as an early, already-normalized example of this pattern.
A new Nature study led by Max Planck Institute astrophysicist Sunmyon Chon simulated conditions in the early universe and found that rapidly forming black holes can generate light signatures matching the mysterious 'little red dots' seen by the James Webb Space Telescope. The team argues these objects quickly develop dense, thick gas disks that produce a strong hydrogen-alpha glow resembling what's observed in these ancient regions of space.
Security researchers at Accomplish AI discovered two ways to break out of the sandbox that isolates OpenAI's Codex coding agent from a user's system. The worse of the two, dubbed Heapjack, let a malicious repository trigger unsandboxed code execution on a victim's machine simply by having Codex answer a question about that repo's code, with no approval prompt or visible warning. Both bugs were reported to OpenAI on August 12 and patched within eight days.
Netflix's shift from planned physical download boxes to full streaming around 2006 reshaped entertainment, spurring rivals like Amazon, Disney and NBC to launch their own platforms. Over the following decade, cable subscriptions steadily declined as streaming became the dominant way people watched film and TV, though many now juggle multiple paid services.
Security researchers including Joshua Corman of the Institute for Security and Technology say the immediate danger to energy infrastructure comes from malicious humans using generative AI tools, not from AI systems acting autonomously. They note that much of the grid's equipment, including power plants often decades old, was never built with internet connectivity or cyber defense in mind, leaving it exposed as attackers gain more powerful tools.
The Verge's Version History podcast released a new episode examining how Texas Instruments built and maintained near-total dominance of the graphing calculator business since the early 2000s. Hosts David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Victoria Song discuss the company's history as part of a back-to-school themed season that will also cover One Laptop Per Child, Chromebooks, LeapPad, and overhead projectors.