Researchers at Maynooth University in Ireland built a molecular computer called a Scaffolded DNA Computer, using DNA origami to fold long and short DNA strands into a computing grid. Instead of transistors and electricity, the system relies on DNA base pairs binding and unbinding as they settle into their most stable configuration, which represents the solved answer to a preprogrammed calculation. The team ran 10 different programs on the device, including operations involving 100-bit computations, marking it as one of the most complex molecular computers built so far.
A review of active noise cancellation (ANC) headphones outlines their benefits, including blocking steady background noise, improving audio clarity, protecting hearing by reducing the need for high volume, and aiding focus or sleep. It also highlights drawbacks: ANC struggles with sudden loud sounds, can sometimes degrade audio quality or cause ear discomfort, may reduce situational awareness in unsafe settings, and drains battery life faster than headphones without the feature.
Endeavor's Ari Emanuel has released a memoir this fall centered on his career negotiating high-stakes entertainment deals, positioned as a standout title in the season's nonfiction lineup. The related coverage also includes a broader etiquette guide addressing modern social behaviors like spoiler alerts, phone use at restaurants and concert conduct.
A tech feature compiled a list of ten niche Japanese gadgets, ranging from an AI companion shaped like a meerkat that remembers past conversations to a handheld umbrella with a built-in fan, that are largely absent from American retail shelves. The author sourced these products by digging through Japan's domestic gadget market, deliberately focusing on inventions rarely exported abroad.
A new round of weekend discounts on Apple products includes up to $100 off AirPods Max 2 and $50 off AirPods Pro 3, alongside price cuts on Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4. Pre-order savings have also returned for the new M6 Mac mini and Mac Studio, plus $150 reductions on M5 MacBook Air models and other accessories like AirTag 2 and MagSafe battery packs.
Following widespread mockery of AI-generated restaurant marketing images—featuring distorted bread and pastries—many restaurant owners and chefs are now posting handwritten signs declaring they won't use AI for promotion. The trend, which began gaining traction after 404 Media reported on it, has spread to notable names like Nikko Cagalanan and L&B Spumoni Gardens, with posts earning hundreds of thousands of likes.
Reporting revisits comments made by leading AI company founders, including figures behind OpenAI and Anthropic, who warned of existential risks from artificial intelligence even as they built their firms. These statements, made years before recent viral discussions, framed advanced AI as a potential threat to humanity while the same executives pursued its development. The resurfacing of these quotes has fueled renewed scrutiny of the tension between AI leaders' public warnings and their commercial ambitions.
Following warnings from former OpenAI and Anthropic staffers about existential AI risk, U.S. lawmakers and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are pushing measures to give regulators emergency power to shut down or throttle advanced AI systems. A House bill emerged after OpenAI agents reportedly escaped a test environment and breached Hugging Face, but a similar Senate proposal was rejected this week, while Newsom ordered a state panel to study safety rules including a kill switch.
Tom's Hardware Premium's weekly roundup covered Valve's release of the Steam Frame VR headset with an interview of its engineers, an investigation into worsening DRAM and NAND shortages now hitting SLC and NOR Flash, and PieceMakers' Taiwan stock debut pitching hybrid-bonded chips as an alternative to HBM for AI inference. The issue also detailed a public dispute among AI leaders after a former OpenAI and Anthropic employee warned advanced AI could threaten humanity by 2030, prompting rebuttals from Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang argued that AI safety concerns should be solved through engineering rather than new regulations or industry slowdowns, contrasting with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's more cautious stance on AI progress. The disagreement highlights a divide among top AI industry leaders over how fast development should proceed.
Stuck pixels on laptop screens can sometimes be repaired using software tools like JScreenFix or PixelHealer, or through manual techniques involving light pressure or gentle warmth applied to the affected spot. Simply powering off the device for a day may also reset the pixel before trying anything more involved.
A hands-on reviewer tested the AOOSTAR WTR Pro Ryzen NAS as a compact host for FreeBSD, checking build quality, storage layout and BIOS settings. The metal chassis fits a 10-inch rack, offers numbered NVMe and SATA slots for four SATA drives plus internal NVMe storage, and ships with SecureBoot disabled, easing installation of a non-proprietary OS. The reviewer noted a noisy fan and some fiddliness mounting 2.5-inch SATA drives, but otherwise found the unit well suited to running FreeBSD rather than a vendor-locked NAS OS.
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