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A tech writer published a setup guide for replacing Google TV's ad-laden interface with Projectivy Launcher, swapping YouTube for the ad-free SmartTube client, using Wholphin for Jellyfin, and remapping the remote with Button Mapper. The configuration was tested on two Chromecast with Google TV devices and a Hisense TV, and the author says it should work on most Android TV hardware.
Google is updating NotebookLM with 'co-creation' features that let users exert more creative control over video overviews and slide outputs. The update targets two of the tool's most widely used features, giving users input into how these materials are generated rather than relying solely on automated output.
The Google Pixel 10 Pro XL is currently on sale for 29% off, bringing it back to its all-time low price, a $350 reduction from its list price. The device features Google's Tensor G5 chip, 16GB of RAM, and built-in AI capabilities.
OpenCode, an open-source AI coding agent, disclosed that a security breach exposed stored API keys for 1.4% of its Console users who had linked external AI providers such as Anthropic, OpenAI and Google. The project maintainer said affected users were notified by email, and several reported unauthorized charges, including one case exceeding $1,700 overnight, along with suspended Google Cloud projects. Co-founder Dax Raad said the attack used AI agents against OpenCode's systems for at least 48 hours before being detected.
Google is seeking to build a 780-megawatt AI data center in Pine Island, Minnesota, under a deal with utility Xcel Energy in which Google would finance 1,400 megawatts of wind, 200 megawatts of solar and 300 megawatts of battery storage — more capacity than the data center itself is expected to use. Xcel says the added power will serve all local customers, not just Google, and the agreement includes minimum demand charges and exit fees requiring Google to keep paying even if it doesn't use all the power.
Google Research has released Harness², an open-source framework that lets AI agents refine their own operating 'harness'—prompts, tools, memory and workflow—without changing the underlying model's weights. The system works through two feedback loops: one that tweaks the harness for the task at hand by comparing different execution attempts, and another that keeps a persistent record of lessons learned to guide future tasks. Tests on GLM-5 and Gemini 3.5 Flash showed performance gains of up to 11.5 points on one benchmark and 11.8 percentage points on another after a single refinement step.
Google DeepMind researchers report that four Gemini 4 Argon AI agents autonomously completed Minecraft, defeating the final Ender Dragon boss without human intervention or game-specific tools. The agents, controlling players via the open-source Mineflayer library, split tasks organically over 27.23 hours, writing 2,783 programs and dying 605 times, while a fifth 'Observer' agent monitored for cheating. The run used 1.35 billion input tokens, costing between $810 and $1,620 depending on pricing tier.
Google has launched its SynthID Detector tool to all users, letting anyone upload an image, video, or audio file to check for an embedded watermark indicating it was AI-generated. The underlying SynthID watermarking technology debuted in 2023, and a restricted version of the detector was previously available only to select researchers and journalists starting in 2025.
Google's upcoming Pixel 11 Pro includes a camera zoom feature reaching 120x magnification, relying on AI processing to sharpen distant shots. Early testing finds the extreme zoom genuinely useful in practice, though the AI-enhanced results carry notable drawbacks.
WIRED tested Valerion's flagship VisionMaster Max 4K projector, which followed a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $8 million in 2024, the platform's most-funded campaign that year. The $3,999 device features Google TV, auto-keystone, autofocus, optical zoom, vertical lens shift and a mechanical iris, and the reviewer found picture quality strong though sound only adequate.
At a rally in Highland Heights, Kentucky, President Trump claimed he called Google and that the company 'kisses his ass' now, unlike during his first term. He cited this as evidence of his increased influence, referencing the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario on Google Maps.
Android Auto, the Google interface normally projected onto a car's dashboard display, can be run on an old Android tablet using third-party receiver apps instead of an actual vehicle. The phone handles all the processing, so even an aging tablet that struggles with regular apps can display Android Auto's simplified maps, music and messaging layout.