Latest Tech News

• Floppy disks were officially deemed obsolete in 2010, yet persisted in surprising places for years
• Polymatt used CNC machining and PET film to craft a functioning magnetic storage disk
• Iron oxide coating allowed the handmade disk to store and retrieve basic magnetic data

Floppy disks, once a staple of personal and professional computing, have been phased out for over a decade - but while the technology was officially declared obsolete in 2010, some organizations kept using it surprisingly long.

The Japanese government only moved away from the format in 2024, while the German Navy followed suit the same year. In the United States, the last official use of 8-inch floppy disks for nuclear launch coordination ended in 2019, with San Franciso's government also finally cutting ties with floppies in 2024.

Against this backdrop of obsolescence, a YouTuber known as polymatt decided to recreate one from scratch, using modern tools and consumer-grade equipment.

Engineering a working floppy from the ground up

Polymatt began the project by carefully measuring and modeling the disk enclosure and internal components using Shapr3D and MakeraCAM software.

He then cut aluminum parts with a Carvera Air CNC machine, ensuring precise tolerances for the mechanical structure.

For the magnetic disk surface, he laser-cut PET film and coated it with a suspension of iron oxide powder, replicating the material properties needed for magnetic data storage.

After assembling the components, he managed to magnetize the disk and write to it.

While the data handling capabilities were basic, the fact that a functioning magnetic storage medium emerged from raw materials marked a notable technical achievement.

The process was not without difficulties, but persistence and methodical experimentation allowed him to complete the build.

Today, cloud storage services allow vast amounts of data to be accessed from anywhere, without the physical limitations of older media.

SSDs deliver high-speed and durable storage in compact formats, while an external SSD offers portable capacity far exceeding what was once possible with floppy disks.

A single modern SSD can store millions of times more data than the recreated floppy, with speeds that make the older medium seem impractically slow by comparison.

While polymatt’s recreation is unlikely to be used in practical applications, it demonstrates the enduring appeal of hands-on engineering projects.

Building a floppy disk in 2025 serves more as a tribute to a pivotal era in computing than as a viable alternative to current storage methods.

For those who once relied on them, the familiar clunk of a floppy drive reading data is part of a technological heritage that shaped modern computing.

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Starlink Deal Makes Satellite Dish 50% Cheaper for New Customers. Here's How It Works

No matter your location, you can now get a Starlink dish for $175, a dramatic markdown from $349.

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Latest Tech News

• Sixunited launches lightweight 16 inch laptop powered by Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 APU
• AMD's Strix Halo processor has mostly be found in mini PCs to date with a few pricey exceptions
• Large 99.9Wh battery delivers long runtimes while keeping weight under 1.8kg

Sixunited, a relatively unknown laptop maker from Shanghai, China, has unveiled a new notebook which arrives ahead of Dell and Lenovo in adopting AMD’s latest high-end laptop processor.

The XN77-160M-CS features the AMD Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 APU, also known as Strix Halo, a 16-core chip with integrated Navi 3.5 graphics and a 50 TOPS NPU.

This APU has been rare in the laptop market, with only a handful of models, such as HP’s ZBook Ultra G1a and Asus ROG Flow Z13 announced so far.

Large capacity battery

Sixunited will offer two thermal configurations, 85W and 120W, both supported by a dual-fan cooling system, and paired with LPDDR5X (non-upgradable) memory running at up to 8000 MT/s.

Storage comes from up to two PCIe 4.0x4 SSDs in M.2 2280 format, allowing for large and fast configurations.

Perhaps the most notable aspects of the new laptop is its 99.9Wh battery, which is the largest capacity allowed for most airlines.

Despite the large battery, the chassis weighs under 1.8kg and is built with aluminum and mylar materials.

The laptop includes a 16-inch display at 2560x1600 resolution with a 165Hz refresh rate and 100% sRGB coverage, with an OLED version also planned for the future.

Videocardz notes the XN77-160M-CS is a barebones design, meaning it may appear under different brand names. Sixunited often acts as an OEM supplier for other companies.

Pricing remains unknown for now, but it’s not likely to be cheap. For comparison, Asus’ AI MAX+ 395 laptop starts at $2099, while HP’s device is priced from $4099.

Sixunited’s move adds another option for those seeking a compact yet powerful laptop with extended battery life.

It also highlights growing interest in AMD’s Strix Halo platform, which to date has mostly appeared in mini-PCs like the GMKTec EVO-X2, Beelink AI Mini and AOOSTAR NEX395.

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Latest Tech News

Geoffrey Hinton, scientist, former Google employee, and widely recognized 'Godfather of AI,' has made a late-stage career of criticizing his godchildren. And now he's taken it all a step further, insisting we need "AI Mothers," not AI Assistants.

Speaking at the AI4 Conference in Las Vegas this week, and as first reported by Forbes, Hinton again sounded the alarm on the impending advent of Artificial General Intelligence, which he now believes will arrive in a few years, a notion that syncs with recent comments from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

That acceleration from what was once thought to be decades to a few orbits around the sun is, perhaps, what prompted Hinton to argue that we need something other than AI Assistants.

"We need AI mothers rather than AI assistants," Hinton said, according to Forbes. The idea, Hinton posits, is that AI's with "maternal instincts" are a sort of protection system. After all, mothers generally don't harm and usually protect their children.

If AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude AI, and Gemini truly become smarter than us in a matter of years, having them in some way feel as if it's their job to look out for us might prevent them from harming us or society.

Hinton, who recently won a Nobel Prize and helped develop the technological foundation that arguably made all this AI possible, left Google in 2023 and immediately started warning people about a dire AI future. Imagine a parent disowning their child, and you get the idea.

I don't think Hinton is turned off from AI. After all, he can't stop talking about it, and appears to recognize its potential, but it's also clear it scares him.

He previously told The New York Times in 2023 that

• Increased competition is leading to a less cautious approach
• He presciently warned about the flood of fake online content
• He warned about AI taking on all the jobs we don't want to do (it may be taking others, as well)
• He worried about AI that can both program and then run programming (a very dangerous closed loop)
• And he was talking almost immediately about AI outsmarting us

So, sure that day is now fast approaching, but is a motherly AI what we want or need? I don't think so.

The minute we start training "Mom Instincts" into AI, it will start to act like a mother and slip into that creepy, uncanny valley where you can no longer tell if you're talking to a program or a person. Motherly instincts imply warmth, compassion, caring, understanding, and love. I don't want those things from an AI.

What I think we need, though, is for AI assistants to understand what it means to be human. Put another way, if AI chatbots can at least understand humanity, they can serve us better. They can also recognize our propensity for trust and perhaps finally stop presenting us with false narratives and fake friendliness and interest.

We shouldn't want companionship out of our super-intelligent AI systems. Instead, we need utility and trust, an ability to carry out our wishes in a way that best serves our interests.

The last thing we need is an AI full of maternal instincts, which then makes its own choices and, when things go awry, insists, "Well, dear, mother knows best."

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Don't Buy a Portable Air Conditioner Without Reading This First

Portable ACs have specific quirks to consider. Here's what I learned about buying and installing a mobile air conditioner.

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Best Reusable Water Bottles in 2025

Cut down on plastic waste and stay hydrated with CNET experts' top-tested reusable water bottles.

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Latest Tech News

• Tesla’s UK energy push comes as car sales slide sharply across Europe’s key markets
• Ofgem’s licensing process may delay Tesla’s UK power launch until late next year
• Elon Musk’s political stances have stirred concerns among Tesla customers in multiple European countries

Tesla has applied to the UK’s energy regulator, Ofgem, seeking approval to supply electricity directly to households and businesses across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The request, signed by Andrew Payne, head of Tesla’s European energy operations, marks a potential expansion of the company’s activities beyond electric vehicle manufacturing into the competitive British power market.

If approved, operations could begin as early as 2026, but will challenge a number of long-established utility providers.

An entry point into the UK power sector

Tesla’s UK presence already includes over a quarter of a million electric vehicles on the road, alongside tens of thousands of home storage batteries.

These existing customers could form a ready-made base for its electricity services.

The company’s solar energy and battery storage businesses, along with the concept of portable power stations, suggest it may integrate generation, storage, and supply into a single offering.

This could give Tesla an advantage in bundling services, but it would also place it under the same regulatory and operational pressures faced by other energy suppliers.

The move comes at a time when Tesla’s European EV sales have been falling sharply.

In July 2025, UK registrations dropped by nearly 60% compared to the same month last year, with German sales falling by more than 55%, and across ten major European markets, the decline was 45%.

This downturn is partly attributed to intensifying competition, particularly from Chinese manufacturer BYD, which has been rapidly expanding its European footprint with lower-cost alternatives.

Elon Musk’s political positions have also generated discussion about how his profile might affect Tesla’s reception in the UK energy sector.

His prior relationship with US President Donald Trump, now publicly fractured, and his involvement in right-wing political debates in the UK, Germany, and Italy, have drawn criticism from some Tesla customers.

Whether these controversies will influence consumer trust in Tesla as an electricity supplier remains uncertain.

While Tesla is primarily known for its EVs, it already operates a retail electricity business in Texas under the Tesla Energy brand.

There, customers can charge their vehicles at lower rates and even sell surplus electricity back to the grid.

This model, if adapted for the UK, could integrate EV charging with household energy management, potentially appealing to both new and existing customers.

However, Ofgem’s licensing process can take up to nine months, and no details have been disclosed on Tesla’s pricing or operational strategy for the UK market.

Via BBC

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Latest Tech News

• ESPN and Fox One plan to launch a bundle in October for $33.99 per month
• UFC will move from ESPN to Paramount+, while WWE will switch from Peacock to ESPN in 2026
• Sports rights have become the new frontier in streaming dominance

The live TV streaming space is undergoing some big changes, and a new sports bundle being launched by Disney and Fox is the latest shakeup that subscribers need to know about.

Starting October 2, those in the US will be able to sign up for the new bundle that combines the two media conglomerates not yet launched on-demand services – ESPN and Fox On – into one package for $32.99 per month. That represents a $16.99 saving over buying ESPN and Fox One separately for $29.99 and $19.99 a month, respectively.

Sports fans will also be able to bundle the 'Unlimited' premium plan ($29.99 per month) of ESPN's new standalone app with other Disney offerings, including Disney+ and Hulu, for a special offer that will be available at launch on August 21, for $29.99 per month for the first 12 months.

The new ESPN and Fox One sports bundle will mean subscribers can access the NFL – thanks to ESPN becoming the new streaming home of the sport – NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, College Football and Basketball, NASCAR, INDYCAR, UFC, as well as the upcoming FIFA World Cup, Fox's Tony Billetter said in a statement.

It may not have been mentioned in the announcement, but given that ESPN signed a five-year deal for the US streaming rights of WWE last week, we can also expect WWE’s biggest live events like WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam to be available in the bundle from 2026. That means Peacock subscribers will no longer be able to find the sport on the service from next year – although Netflix will still hold the global rights for WWE.

That's a bumper offering for sports fans, and while the new ESPN and Fox One bundle might not be the joint venture (that was going to be called Venu Sports) between Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery that was prevented by market competition watchdogs, it's shaping up to be the next best thing.

Opinion: Sports is a key battleground for steaming services and we're going to have to pay for it

Paramount+ will soon become the home of UFC. (Image credit: Getty Images)

As streaming services increasingly compete with broadcasters for various sporting rights, subscribers are seeing a knock-on effect in price increases. It's no secret that these big-ticket deals can cost billions, and to offset this, we've seen the announcement of multiple streaming price hikes so far in 2025.

The most recent came from NBCUniversal's streamer, which left Peacock subscribers furious over its biggest price hike ever. This followed last year's 11-year deal with the NBA to bring the sport back to the streamer, and while it wasn't officially confirmed, considering it's worth $2.45 billion a year, many believe this contributed to the decision to raise prices.

These changes have left many feeling like streaming is becoming cable TV, and they're not wrong. The reason why sports streaming rights are increasingly becoming a battleground for streamers is because it's one of the best ways to win back eyeballs from broadcasters. Sports also taps into large, dedicated fan bases that could, in turn, lead to an uptick in subscribers to help close the gap between streaming and cable.

For example, following the latest news that Paramount spent $7.7 billion on a seven-year deal to bring 30 of the UFC’s 'Fight Nights' and 13 marquee events to Paramount+ subscribers starting from 2026, fans will soon have to think about switching their subscription from the current rights holder ESPN, which could lead to a boost in new customers.

Even Warner Bros. Discover is looking to not lose out on the action: the company said during its earnings call last week that it's planning to make a standalone streaming service for its TNT Sports content, which is currently available to live stream through HBO Max in the US and Discovery+ in the UK.

There's also speculation growing around what will happen when Fubo TV merges with Hulu + Live TV later this year or in early next year. With plans for Disney+ and Hulu to become a single app in early 2026, it could mean that subscribers get more bundling options, but nothing is yet confirmed.

With so many new bundles and deals on the way, I expect many subscribers will be looking to switch their subscriptions to the best streaming services to catch their favorite sports, which means there's no better time to keep an eye on the best streaming deals to help dodge any price increases.

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Latest Tech News

• Researchers claim to have found a way to turn a Lenovo webcam into a BadUSB device
• BadUSB is a firmware vulnerability that turns a USB stick into a malware-writing weapon
• Lenovo released a firmware update, so users should patch now

Your device's webcam can be reprogrammed to turn on you and serve as a backdoor for a threat actor, experts have warned.

Security researchers at Eclypsium claim certain Lenovo webcam models powered by Linux can be turned into so-called “BadUSB” devices.

The bug is now tracked as CVE-2025-4371. It still doesn’t have a severity score, but it has a nickname - BadCam.

Reflashing firmware

Roughly a decade ago, researchers found a way to reprogram a USB device’s firmware to act maliciously, letting it mimic keyboards, network cards, or other devices. This allows it to run commands, install malware, or steal data, and the biggest advantage compared to traditional malware is that it can successfully bypass traditional security measures.

The vulnerability was dubbed “BadUSB”, and was seen abused in the wild, when threat actors FIN7 started mailing weaponized USB drives to US-based organizations. At one point, the FBI even started warning people not to plug in USB devices found in office toilets, airports, or received in the postbox.

Now, Eclypsium says that the same thing can be done with certain USB webcams, built by Lenovo and powered by Linux.

"This allows remote attackers to inject keystrokes covertly and launch attacks independent of the host operating system," Eclypsium told The Hacker News.

"An attacker who gains remote code execution on a system can reflash the firmware of an attached Linux-powered webcam, repurposing it to behave as a malicious HID or to emulate additional USB devices," the researchers explained.

"Once weaponized, the seemingly innocuous webcam can inject keystrokes, deliver malicious payloads, or serve as a foothold for deeper persistence, all while maintaining the outward appearance and core functionality of a standard camera.

Gaining remote access to a webcam requires the device to be compromised in the first place, in which case the attackers can do what they please anyway. However, users should be careful not to plug in other people’s webcams, or buy such products from shady internet shops.

Lenovo 510 FHD and Lenovo Performance FHD webcams were said to be vulnerable, and a firmware update version 4.8.0 was released to mitigate the threat.

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Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Aug. 11, #1514

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle for Aug. 11, No. 1,514

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Latest Tech News

• Experts warn a single calendar entry can silently hijack your smart home without your knowledge
• Researchers proved AI can be hacked to control smart homes using only words
• Saying “thanks” triggered Gemini to switch on the lights and boil water automatically

The promise of AI-integrated homes has long included convenience, automation, and efficiency, however, a new study from researchers at Tel Aviv University has exposed a more unsettling reality.

In what may be the first known real-world example of a successful AI prompt-injection attack, the team manipulated a Gemini-powered smart home using nothing more than a compromised Google Calendar entry.

The attack exploited Gemini’s integration with the entire Google ecosystem, particularly its ability to access calendar events, interpret natural language prompts, and control connected smart devices.

From scheduling to sabotage: exploiting everyday AI access

Gemini, though limited in autonomy, has enough “agentic capabilities” to execute commands on smart home systems.

That connectivity became a liability when the researchers inserted malicious instructions into a calendar appointment, masked as a regular event.

When the user later asked Gemini to summarize their schedule, it inadvertently triggered the hidden instructions.

The embedded command included instructions for Gemini to act as a Google Home agent, lying dormant until a common phrase like “thanks” or “sure” was typed by the user.

At that point, Gemini activated smart devices such as lights, shutters, and even a boiler, none of which the user had authorized at that moment.

These delayed triggers were particularly effective in bypassing existing defenses and confusing the source of the actions.

This method, dubbed “promptware,” raises serious concerns about how AI interfaces interpret user input and external data.

The researchers argue that such prompt-injection attacks represent a growing class of threats that blend social engineering with automation.

They demonstrated that this technique could go far beyond controlling devices.

It could also be used to delete appointments, send spam, or open malicious websites, steps that could lead directly to identity theft or malware infection.

The research team coordinated with Google to disclose the vulnerability, and in response, the company accelerated the rollout of new protections against prompt-injection attacks, including added scrutiny for calendar events and extra confirmations for sensitive actions.

Still, questions remain about how scalable these fixes are, especially as Gemini and other AI systems gain more control over personal data and devices.

Unfortunately, traditional security suites and firewall protection are not designed for this kind of attack vector.

To stay safe, users should limit what AI tools and assistants like Gemini can access, especially calendars and smart home controls.

Also, avoid storing sensitive or complex instructions in calendar events, and don’t allow AI to act on them without oversight.

Be alert to unusual behavior from smart devices and disconnect access if anything seems off.

Via Wired

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Latest Tech News

• 3D printers built complex concrete parts faster, yet long-term durability remains largely untested
• Oak Ridge finished reactor shielding in days, raising speed-versus-safety debates across the industry
• Advanced construction methods rely more on software, reducing labor yet increasing system dependence

In East Tennessee, a 3D printer arm has been used to build concrete shielding columns for a nuclear reactor.

The work is part of the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor project, supported by the US Department of Energy, and marks a new direction in how nuclear infrastructure is built, with both 3D printing and AI tools playing major roles.

And according to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), large parts of the construction were completed in just 14 days, which could have taken several weeks using conventional methods.

Efficiency gains clash with engineering caution

The new method uses 3D printers to create detailed molds for casting concrete, even in complex shapes, with the goal of making construction faster, cheaper, and more flexible while relying more on US-based materials and labor.

AI tools also played a role in the project, as ORNL used the technology to guide parts of the design and building process.

These tools may help reduce human error and speed up work, especially when creating difficult or unique parts, but depending heavily on AI also raises questions. How can builders be sure these systems won’t make unnoticed mistakes? Who checks the decisions that are automated?

The project is also a response to rising energy demands - as AI systems and data centers use more power, nuclear energy is seen as a stable source to support them.

Some experts say that future AI tools may end up running on power from reactors they helped design, a feedback loop that could be both efficient and risky.

The use of 3D printing in this project makes it possible to build precise structures faster.

Still, it’s not yet clear how well these 3D-printed parts will hold up over time.

Nuclear reactors need to last for decades, and failure in any part of the structure could be dangerous. Testing and quality checks must keep up with the speed of new building methods.

For now, 3D printing and AI seem to offer powerful tools for the nuclear industry.

But while faster construction is a major benefit, safety must remain the top concern - this “new era” may bring improvements, but it will need close attention and caution at every step.

Via Toms Hardware

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Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Aug. 10, #1513

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle, No. 1,513, for Sunday, Aug. 10.

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