Apple has released a new top-tier Mac Studio configuration built around its M5 Ultra chip, skipping an M4 Ultra generation entirely. The system pairs a fast CPU, capable GPU, and unified memory architecture, making it well suited to running large language models and AI agents locally rather than in the cloud. The launch follows a period in which high-end Mac Studios were hard to find, driven partly by demand from developers using tools like OpenClaw and open-weight models, compounded by an industry-wide memory chip shortage.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-24
Andreessen Horowitz is funding a San Francisco academy, led by Udemy cofounder Gagan Biyani, that offers high school graduates a tuition-free, one-year program focused on building startups rather than academic coursework. The founding cohort of about 50 students will skip tests and homework, instead working on real projects with mentors from firms like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta, and receiving roughly $50,000 in computing credit plus a $5,000 travel and research budget. OpenAI's Sam Altman is named as a guest lecturer or instructor, and other tech figures, including Fidji Simo, are contributing funding.
news.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-23
A New York Times investigation found multiple harassment and rape allegations connected to Silicon Valley hacker houses, including AGI House in Hillsborough, where police logged 37 incidents since 2022, at least 17 tied to parties. In one December case, a woman called police at 2 a.m. from a Lyft saying a male resident had tried to force her into sex before she escaped by climbing a gate. AGI House founder Jeremy Nixon, who also founded an earlier house called Genesis, previously described his vision of housing 20 AI hackers together for three months.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-23
Andreessen Horowitz is opening The Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a one-year, tuition-free program in San Francisco for about 50 high school graduates who haven't attended college. The program mixes technical coursework with mentorship from tech industry figures, and is backed by $42 million in funding as a for-profit venture led by CEO Gagan Biyani.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-22
Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz is opening the Horowitz Andreessen Academy, a one-year, ungraded program meant to funnel young people into Silicon Valley startups. Ten partner companies, including Google, Meta, OpenAI, Palantir, and Anthropic, will host students in 'co-op' placements, backed by $42 million in a16z-led funding, compute credits, and a travel stipend. The program grants no degree and requires participants to relocate to San Francisco and cover their own housing.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-22
WIRED's Women issue features actor and comedian Patti Harrison portraying Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos in a satirical cover shoot commenting on Silicon Valley's male-dominated leadership. In an accompanying interview, Harrison discusses the concept, her comedic approach, and her own strained relationship with tech platforms after leaving Twitter.
wired.com
· 2026-09-22
Apple's Mac Studio lineup ranges from a $2,500 base model with the M5 Max chip up to configurations exceeding $5,899, with a separate M5 Ultra tier starting at $5,500 that supports up to 512GB of unified memory. The M5 Ultra combines two M5 Max chips and can be clustered four-wide over Thunderbolt 5 for even greater performance, aimed at running massive local AI models and handling uncompressed 8K video work.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-21
Tom's Hardware reviewed Apple's new Mac Studio built around the M5 Ultra chip, which now serves as Apple's top desktop after the Mac Pro's discontinuation. The tested configuration, priced at $12,299 with 256GB of unified memory and 4TB storage, outperformed rivals like Nvidia's DGX Spark and AMD Threadripper systems when running AI models locally, while the base M5 Max model starts at $2,499.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-21
Apple has refreshed the Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro chip options, replacing last year's M5 tier entirely. The M6 model starts at $899 with up to 32GB RAM, while the M5 Pro version scales up to 64GB RAM and significantly faster GPU bandwidth, positioning the lineup below the $2,499 Mac Studio.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-21
Apple has updated the Mac Mini for the first time in nearly two years, introducing an M6 base model and an M5 Pro configuration that skips the M5 generation entirely for the standard chip. The base M6 Mini starts at $899, while a maxed-out M5 Pro version with 48GB of memory and 1TB storage reaches $2,899, edging into Mac Studio pricing territory.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-21
Apple's latest Mac Mini refresh retains its familiar compact design, port layout, and the awkwardly placed rear power button, while introducing the new M6 chip built on a 2-nanometer process. The chip packs 46 billion transistors, roughly 35 percent denser than its predecessor, and the new model adds two extra CPU cores compared to the M4 version.
wired.com
· 2026-09-21
A longtime WIRED writer and editor published a personal essay recounting a 17-year career marked by repeated instances of sexism, including being paid less than a male predecessor, having her parenting fitness questioned by bosses, and working at a publication where men appeared on 70 covers versus four for women. She traces her discomfort with some men in the industry back to her early days interning at WIRED in 2009, when the newsroom lacked female editors and reinforced narratives crediting men as the primary innovators in tech.
wired.com
· 2026-09-21
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