AWS CEO Matt Garman wrote in a blog post that Amazon no longer uses nondisclosure agreements when working with government agencies to secure approval for new data centers. The statement comes amid a broader backlash over secrecy in data center development, including activist Erin Brockovich's complaints about officials signing NDAs before communities are informed. Garman also disputed claims that data centers consume excessive water, raise electricity costs, pollute heavily, or fail to benefit local communities.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-10-03
Newegg's Fantastech Sale II runs October 5-11, timed alongside Amazon's Prime Big Deals Day, covering PC components, prebuilt gaming PCs, laptops and monitors. A price-protection window from September 28 to October 4 lets shoppers buy early and automatically receive a refund starting October 21 if items drop in price once the main sale begins.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-03
Amazon unveiled a program called Built Together, committing over $1 billion over five years to communities hosting its data centers. AWS CEO Matt Garman said the funds will target education and job training, energy affordability and water solutions, and flexible local priorities, with residents deciding how money is spent. Amazon says it has already arranged free associate's degree access with community colleges for up to 300,000 students and plans to fund trade certifications for up to 100,000 workers annually.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-03
Amazon is selling the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE for $659.99, a $40 discount off its $699.99 list price, marking the phone's first price cut since its recent release. The device features a 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, Samsung's Exynos 2500 chip, 8GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage, and ships with One UI 9.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-02
Amazon announced it will donate more than $1 billion over five years to communities near its data centers, letting residents direct funds toward education, job training, energy affordability and water initiatives. AWS CEO Matt Garman also pledged the company won't raise local power bills or deplete water supplies, claiming 75 percent of projects already meet a 2030 'water positive' goal. Garman argued that opposition to data centers risks letting China overtake the US in AI development.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-10-02
The May Day Strong coalition is calling on major corporations, including Amazon, JP Morgan Chase, Target, and Palantir, to take action defending voting rights as the 2026 midterm elections approach. The group has organized a series of events in October, with early voting already underway in some states, pressing companies seen as having ties to President Trump to respond.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-02
Amazon has cut the price of the Marshall Major V wireless headphones to $89.99, down from a $129.99 list price, a 31% discount. The sale price sits just $2 above the headphones' lowest recorded price to date.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-02
Amazon is selling JBL's Soundgear Sense open-ear true wireless earbuds for $83, a 50% cut from their $165 list price. The earbuds use JBL's OpenSound air-conduction design, offer up to 6 hours of battery life (24 hours with the case), Bluetooth 5.3, multipoint pairing, and an IP54 rating for sweat and dust resistance.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-02
Audible rolled out three AI-powered tools—Interactive Story, Character Guide and Visual Explorer—to add immersive elements to audiobooks. The Interactive Story feature uses generative AI to let listeners converse with characters, such as Renfield from a new Audible Original adaptation of Dracula, with the character assigning a role and reacting to the listener's responses. The features are in beta and rolling out in limited form to US and UK customers.
cnet.com
· 2026-10-02
Amazon and Synopsys announced a multi-year agreement worth more than a billion dollars to deepen collaboration on AI chip design. Amazon will license Synopsys' IP and expand use of its electronic design automation software, while Synopsys will optimize its tools for Amazon's Trainium and Graviton chips and adopt AWS cloud and Bedrock services for its own development.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-02
Amazon is selling the Bose SoundLink Plus Portable Bluetooth Speaker for $179, down from its $269 list price, a $90 discount. The speaker offers up to 20 hours of battery life, USB-C charging, an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance, and Bluetooth support for aptX Adaptive and Snapdragon Sound. It carries a 4.6-star rating on Amazon.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-10-02
Amazon is selling the Elgato Stream Deck XL for $199.99, down from its $249.95 list price, a 20% discount. The device is a 32-key macro pad with individual LCD keys that can be customized to trigger shortcuts, scene changes, lighting and sound controls for streaming or productivity work.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-10-02
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