GoKawiil
Tech News
Universal Pictures is highlighting a string of financially successful 2026 releases, including titles like 'The Odyssey' and 'Obsession.' The studio's box-office performance this year has been notably strong across its slate.
Sony Music and Universal Music Group have sued AI music generator Suno again, alleging its newly launched v6 model still infringes their copyrights. The labels argue v6 was trained on outputs from Suno's earlier models, which themselves relied on unlicensed music, and that this 'model laundering' carries the infringement forward even without direct use of the original recordings.
Researchers from UChicago PME, Harvard, Stony Brook and Quantinuum built and tested a complete set of quantum operations based on non-Abelian anyons, publishing results in Nature. The team says this is the first experimental proof that manipulating these exotic quasiparticles can perform any computation required for universal quantum computing.
Ron Johnson, who built Apple's retail store network starting in 2000, says he doesn't believe AI shopping agents will fundamentally change how people buy products. He argues that for significant purchases like laptops, consumers still want to physically handle items rather than let an AI complete the transaction, even as companies like Google and OpenAI push tools that let agents research, compare, and buy on a shopper's behalf.
Spotify is trialing a 'Premium Early Access' feature that withholds new album releases from free users for three days in select markets like India and Bangladesh, while paying subscribers get immediate access. The delay reportedly stems from licensing terms pushed by Universal Music Group rather than a decision Spotify made unilaterally, and the same restriction is expected to hit rival ad-supported services like YouTube Music and Amazon Music.
Apple offers built-in tools called Sidecar and Universal Control that let Mac users extend or mirror their desktop onto an iPad, effectively turning the tablet into a second monitor. Both features require the Mac and iPad to be signed into the same iCloud account, with Universal Control also needing two-factor authentication enabled. Windows PC users cannot use these native tools and must rely on third-party alternatives instead.
Smart TVs still rely on remote controls, and many now support using a smartphone as a substitute via built-in IR blasters or app-based connectivity. Certain Android phones have infrared hardware and pre-installed universal remote apps that let users pair with their TV brand and control power, volume, and navigation. Devices from Apple, Samsung, and Google lack this IR hardware, but alternative software-based remote options exist for those users.
Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group have amended their copyright lawsuit against AI music generator Suno, arguing its newly released v6 models still rely on infringing material. The labels claim Suno's own admission that v6 was trained partly on 'user interactions' with earlier models means it indirectly used previously scraped copyrighted recordings, potentially implicating over 60,000 songs.
Thousands of unionized security guards contracted through firms like Securitas and Allied Universal have walked off the job at Big Tech campuses in California. The strike follows a member vote earlier this month authorizing action after months of stalled contract negotiations with SEIU-United Service Workers West.
Universal Studios Hollywood has launched Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, a new outdoor roller coaster themed around the movie franchise. The ride sends replica muscle cars, including a version of Dom Toretto's 1970 Dodge Charger, spinning along more than 4,000 feet of track at speeds up to 72 mph. A separate version of the attraction is expected to open at Universal's Florida park next year.
Nari Labs announced its Qwen3-TTS and Qwen3-ASR models achieved leading positions on Coval's voice AI benchmark, which measures latency and word error rate for speech AI systems. The ASR Fast model hit 44ms latency with 3.6% error rate at $0.12/hour, while the TTS Fast model achieved 63ms latency with a best-in-class 3.8% error rate, undercutting competitors like AssemblyAI and Deepgram on price.
The North Face has released the Universal Collection, a line of camping equipment designed with accessibility in mind, which won a spot in Fast Company's 2026 Innovation by Design Awards. The project traces back to 2017, when the brand's first disabled sponsored athlete, ski mountaineer Vasu Sojitra, began pushing the company to rethink gear design for people with different physical abilities.