This was the week of Claude Opus 4.6, and also of ChatGPT-5.3-Codex. Both leading models got substantial upgrades, although OpenAI’s is confined to Codex. Once again, the frontier of AI...
Claude Opus 4.6 Escalates Things Quickly
Life comes at you increasingly fast. Two months after Claude Opus 4.5 we get a substantial upgrade in Claude Opus 4.6. The same day, we got GPT-5.3-Codex. That used to...
Trump’s latest plan to revive coal power: Make the military buy it
Today’s executive order takes a different route to propping up coal: artificially inflating demand. “The Secretary of War, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy,” the order reads, “shall seek...
El Paso airport closed after military used new anti-drone laser to zap party balloon
Cartel drones a serious threat That is not to make light of drone incursions. This is a real issue along the US border with Mexico, where cartels increasingly fly drones...
Once-hobbled Lumma Stealer is back with lures that are hard to resist
Last May, law enforcement authorities around the world scored a key win when they hobbled the infrastructure of Lumma, an infostealer that infected nearly 395,000 Windows computers over just a...
Byte magazine artist Robert Tinney, who illustrated the birth of PCs, dies at 78
On February 1, Robert Tinney, the illustrator whose airbrushed cover paintings defined the look and feel of pioneering computer magazine Byte for over a decade, died at age 78 in...
Yes, Rocket Lab is blowing up engines. No, it’s not a big deal, CEO says.
A little more than two months ago, a Rocket Lab employee called the Stennis Space Center Fire Department from the nearby A3 test stand. There was a grass fire where...
Did seabird poop fuel rise of Chincha in Peru?
A nutrient-rich natural fertilizer Now Bongers has turned his attention to analyzing the biochemical signatures of 35 maize samples excavated from buried tombs in the region. He and his co-authors...
OpenAI researcher quits over ChatGPT ads, warns of “Facebook” path
On Wednesday, former OpenAI researcher Zoë Hitzig published a guest essay in The New York Times announcing that she resigned from the company on Monday, the same day OpenAI began...
“Windows 11 26H1” is a special version of Windows exclusively for new Arm PCs
But for app developers, IT shops, and anyone else who needs to test things against multiple Windows versions at once, it does create an odd period of overlap where they’ll...
Google recovers “deleted” Nest video in high-profile abduction case
Suspect attempts to cover the camera with a plant. In statements made by investigators, the video was apparently “recovered from residual data located in backend systems.” It’s unclear how long...
US decides SpaceX is like an airline, exempting it from Labor Relations Act
SpaceX deemed a common carrier US labels SpaceX a common carrier by air, will regulate firm under railway law. Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in...
SpaceX’s next-gen Super Heavy booster aces four days of “cryoproof” testing
The upgraded Super Heavy booster slated to launch SpaceX’s next Starship flight has completed cryogenic proof testing, clearing a hurdle that resulted in the destruction of the company’s previous booster....
Archive.today CAPTCHA page executes DDoS; Wikipedia considers banning site
DDoS hit blog that tried to uncover Archive.today founder’s identity in 2023. Credit: Getty Images | Riccardo Milani Wikipedia editors are discussing whether to blacklist Archive.today because the archive site...
Yet another co-founder departs Elon Musk’s xAI
Other recent high-profile xAI departures include general counsel Robert Keele, communications executives Dave Heinzinger and John Stoll, head of product engineering Haofei Wang, and CFO Mike Liberatore, who left for...
Dewormer ivermectin as cancer cure? RFK Jr.’s NIH funds “absurd” study.
The National Cancer Institute is using federal funds to study whether cancer can be cured by ivermectin, a cheap, off-patent anti-parasitic and deworming drug that fringe medical groups falsely claimed...
Windows’ original Secure Boot certificates expire in June—here’s what you need to do
The second thing to check is the “default db,” which shows whether the new Secure Boot certificates are baked into your PC’s firmware. If they are, even resetting Secure Boot...
Upgraded Google safety tools can now find and remove more of your personal info
Do you feel popular? There are people on the Internet who want to know all about you! Unfortunately, they don’t have the best of intentions, but Google has some handy...
The Kia PV5 electric van combines futuristic looks and thoughtful design
The driver gets a hefty 7.5-inch digital instrument binnacle alongside a 12.9-inch infotainment display. Nearly everything is run through that screen, which is sad for those of us who want...
Alphabet selling very rare 100-year bonds to help fund AI investment
Tony Trzcinka, a US-based senior portfolio manager at Impax Asset Management, which purchased Alphabet’s bonds last year, said he skipped Monday’s offering because of insufficient yields and concerns about overexposure...
