GoKawiil
Tech News
Google has relaunched its Pixel Referral Program for the US Google Store, giving buyers a 10% discount when they check out with a referral code. Referrers earn $50 in store credit per successful referral, capped at $500 for 10 referrals, with codes valid until November 4. Participation as a referrer requires an invitation from Google and prior opt-in to Pixel marketing emails.
According to 404 Media's review of public records and court documents, the Trump administration is using the decades-old HIDTA anti-drug trafficking grant program to require cities to send automated license plate reader data from Flock, Axon and other vendors to federal servers. That data is accessible to multiple federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, and in some cases is further shared with the DEA's National License Plate Reader Program.
Google has launched Gemini 4 Argon, a new AI model it says excels at defensive cybersecurity work, including autonomously finding, validating and patching software vulnerabilities. The model is being made available initially only to select partners through Google's Fairwind security program, while Google staff are already using it internally for coding tasks like debugging and codebase migrations. Google says Argon also handles video and chart analysis and outperforms rival models from OpenAI and Anthropic on benchmarks cited from the startup Vals.
Google has unveiled Gemini 4 Argon, a new frontier AI model designed for sustained reasoning over complex, long-running tasks including software engineering, legal and finance work, and cybersecurity defense. The model is initially rolling out only to trusted testers through Google's Fairwind Program, alongside engagement with a U.S. government voluntary pre-release access process. Pricing has been set at $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, with cached inputs discounted 95%.
Google released Android 17 QPR2 Beta 6.1, adding builds for the Pixel 11 lineup after last week's Beta 6 release omitted them. Pixel 6a through Pixel 10 devices receive build CP41.260831.007.A3, while all Pixel 11 models get build CP41.260831.011. Google notes Pixel 11 Pro Fold users may need to re-enroll Face Unlock for it to work properly.
NASA faces a pivotal test of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft this year, according to reporting on the agency's crew transport plans. The report states that SpaceX's Crew Dragon is set to be retired, leaving NASA with fewer alternatives for ferrying astronauts to orbit.
According to Bloomberg, new Apple CEO John Ternus is pursuing an overhaul aimed at making the company faster and leaner, including releasing more products on a less predictable schedule and cutting layers of middle management. Apple has reportedly dismissed a number of engineering program managers in its hardware division over the past two weeks, including roughly half a dozen directors, with affected staff given weeks to find new internal roles before facing layoffs later this year.
Meta has expanded its Instagram School Partnership Program, adding tools that let verified students and staff post Stories and notes visible only to their own school. The update also introduces admin-only channels for parent and student updates, school-wide clubs and teams, and a student directory limited to peers and mutual teen followers.
Instagram is rolling out new features for schools enrolled in Meta's School Partnership Program, letting verified students and administrators create clubs and teams that can post Stories and Notes visible only to verified peers. Schools can also set up Channels for broader updates to students, parents and teachers, alongside a verified school directory and profile banners. Meta uses third-party service UNiDAYS to verify student identities, and the features are live starting today.
NASA announced it will exercise options for two additional crewed Starliner missions and provide Boeing $359 million to rebuild overheating reaction control thrusters and certify ULA's Vulcan rocket for astronaut flights. The funding comes on top of $5.1 billion already paid under the fixed-price Commercial Crew contract, after Starliner's 2024 crewed test flight nearly ended in disaster due to thruster failures.
A contributor column for Entrepreneur argues that when company growth slows, founders should resist immediately trying new tactics like SEO, ads or pricing changes. Instead it advises diagnosing the root cause first, since growth analytics reveal where a funnel breaks down but not why. The piece recommends customer interviews to uncover the gap between expected and actual customer behavior before choosing a fix.
Nvidia announced Monday it has authorized an additional $150 billion for share repurchases, bringing its total buyback authorization to $235 billion. The company called it the largest single increase to a share repurchase program in history and said it plans to complete the remaining buybacks through fiscal year 2028.