Technology

Both hands-on and hands-off systems required human intervention to avoid accidents in this study.

• Nearly 700 counterfeit Seagate hard drives were seized in a major Malaysian raid
• Counterfeiters converted desktop HDDs into fake surveillance drives for profit
• Thousands of dollars were generated monthly through counterfeit hard drive sales

A large-scale raid in Malaysia has revealed the extent of manipulation in the hard drive market.

Seagate, working alongside the Ministry of Domestic Trade, traced suspicious online offers to a warehouse near Kuala Lumpur.

The raid uncovered a counterfeiting workshop that not only handled its own hard drives but also those from Western Digital and Toshiba.

Discovery of altered storage devices

This is not the first time old Seagate HDDs have been modified and sold as new. The Chia cryptocurrency case and other reports show Seagate drives are susceptible to counterfeiting.

In this latest case, nearly 700 Seagate units, some with capacities reaching 18TB, were seized.

Evidence suggests that devices were taken from the secondary market, scrubbed clean, fitted with new labels, and then sold as though they were fresh from the factory.

A striking case involved a desktop HDD being converted into a so-called "new" surveillance HDD, highlighting the deceptive practices being used.

The operation came to light when a sales manager noticed unusually low prices on e-commerce sites such as Lazada and Shopee.

Further investigation showed that the fraudsters reset SMART values to mask the age and use of the drives.

Reports indicate that the sales volume was large, with thousands of US dollars being generated each month.

Many of these products were listed as high-capacity options, making them attractive to customers seeking affordable storage, whether in desktop systems, portable HDD setups, or NAS HDD configurations.

Seagate believes the used equipment may have originated in China, although tracing the precise supply chain remains difficult.

The challenge now lies in finding out how large the network is and who is ultimately responsible for channeling used parts into counterfeit goods.

The raid demonstrates that organized groups are capable of reshaping the appearance of drives so effectively that unsuspecting buyers may only realize the problem once failures occur.

In response, Seagate has strengthened its partner program, demanding that distributors commit to sourcing exclusively from authorized suppliers.

Global Trade Screening is being emphasized as a mechanism to block purchases from companies that appear on sanctions lists.

These steps are designed to reduce the chances of counterfeit drives entering legitimate markets, although it remains to be seen whether this will make a lasting difference.

The discovery is not isolated. Other brands have been affected, as shown by counterfeit UnionSine external devices circulating on Amazon’s marketplace without effective intervention.

Despite alerts, sales continued, and this shows how porous the global distribution chain has become.

For buyers, the risks associated with unusually cheap listings remain, and unless enforcement intensifies, counterfeit devices may continue to slip through unchecked channels.

Via computerbase (originally in German)

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Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Aug. 22, No. 333

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Large language models have an awkward history with telling the truth, especially if they can't provide a real answer. Hallucinations have been a hazard for AI chatbots since the technology debuted a few years ago. But ChatGPT 5 seems to be going for a new, more humble approach to not knowing answers; admitting it.

Though most AI chatbot responses are accurate, it's impossible to interact with an AI chatbot for long before it provides a partial or complete fabrication as an answer. The AI displays just as much confidence in its answers regardless of their accuracy. AI hallucinations have plagued users and even led to embarrassing moments for the developers during demonstrations.

OpenAI had hinted that the new version of ChatGPT would be willing to plead ignorance over making up an answer, and a viral X post by Kol Tregaskes has drawn attention to the groundbreaking concept of ChatGPT saying, “I don’t know – and I can’t reliably find out.”

GPT-5 says 'I don't know'.Love this, thank you. pic.twitter.com/k6SNFKqZbgAugust 18, 2025

Technically, hallucinations are baked into how these models work. They’re not retrieving facts from a database, even if it looks that way; they're predicting the next most likely word based on patterns in language. When you ask about something obscure or complicated, the AI is guessing the right words to answer it, not doing a classic search engine hunt. Hence, the appearance of entirely made-up sources, statistics, or quotes.

But GPT-5’s ability to stop and say, “I don’t know,” reflects an evolution in how AI models deal with their limitations in terms of their responses, at least. A candid admission of ignorance replaces fictional filler. It may seem anticlimactic, but it's more significant for making the AI seem more trustworthy.

Clarity over hallucinations

Trust is crucial for AI chatbots. Why would you use them if you don't trust the answers? ChatGPT and other AI chatbots have warnings built into them about not relying too much on their answers because of hallucinations, but there are always stories of people ignoring that warning and getting into hot water. If the AI just says it can't answer a question, people might be more inclined to trust the answers it does provide.

Of course, there's still a risk that users will interpret the model's self-doubt as failure. The phrase “I don’t know” might come off as a bug, not a feature, if you don't realize the alternative is a hallucination, not the correct answer. Admitting uncertainty isn't how the all-knowing AI some imagine ChatGPT would behave.

But it's arguably the most human thing ChatGPT could do in this instance. OpenAI's proclaimed goal is artificial general intelligence, AI that can perform any intellectual task a human can. But one of the ironies of AGI is that mimicking human thinking includes uncertainties as well as capabilities.

Sometimes, the smartest thing you can do is to say you don't know something. You can't learn if you refuse to admit there are things you don't know. And, at least it avoids the spectacle of an AI telling you to eat rocks for your health.

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• Apple started with almost no Swift examples and achieved surprising results
• StarChat-Beta was pushed into uncharted territory without clear guidance
• Nearly one million working SwiftUI programs emerged after repeated iterations

Apple researchers recently revealed an experiment in which an AI model was trained to generate user interface code in SwiftUI, even though almost no SwiftUI examples were present in the original data.

The study began with StarChat-Beta, an open source model designed for coding. Its training sources, including TheStack and other collections, contained almost no Swift code.

This absence meant the model did not have the advantage of existing examples to guide its responses, which made the results surprising when a stronger system eventually emerged.

Creating a loop of self-improvement

The team’s solution was to create a feedback cycle. They gave StarChat-Beta a set of interface descriptions and asked it to generate SwiftUI programs from those prompts.

Each generated program was compiled to ensure it actually ran. Interfaces that worked were then compared with the original descriptions using another model, GPT-4V, which judged whether the output matched the request.

Only those that passed both stages remained in the dataset. This cycle was repeated five times, and with every round, the cleaner dataset was fed back into the next model.

By the end of the process, the researchers had nearly one million working SwiftUI samples and a model they called UICoder.

The model was then measured against both automated tests and human evaluation, where results showed it not only performed better than its base model, but also achieved a compilation success rate higher than GPT-4.

One of the striking aspects of the study is that Swift code had been almost entirely excluded from the initial training data.

According to the team, this happened by accident when TheStack dataset was created, leaving only scattered examples found on web pages.

This oversight rules out the idea that UICoder merely recycled code it had already seen - instead, its improvement came from the iterative cycle of generating, filtering, and retraining on its own outputs.

While the results centered on SwiftUI, the researchers suggested the approach “would likely generalize to other languages and UI toolkits.”

If so, this could open paths for more models to be trained in specialized domains where training data is limited.

The prospect raises questions about reliability, sustainability, and whether synthetic datasets can continue to scale without introducing hidden flaws.

UICoder was also trained under carefully controlled conditions, and its success in wider settings is not guaranteed.

Via 9to5mac

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• AWS CEO Matt Garman says younger workers are the most engaged with AI
• They’re also cheap to train up with skills for the future
• Workers need to be prepared to learn, and for change

Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman has called the idea of firing junior workers because AI can do their jobs “the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard”.

Speaking in a YouTube interview with Matthew Berman, Garman backed up his position by arguing junior staff are usually the least expensive, but also the most engaged with AI tools, therefore they’re best set up to feel the boost of AI in their workflows - rather than be replaced by it.

Taking a longer-term look at the scenario, Garman added without junior employees gaining experience, companies will have no skilled workforce in the future.

AWS CEO doesn’t see AI replacing human roles

Consequentially, Garman advocated for the continued hiring of graduates to teach them core software and problem-solving skills to futureproof against future workplace challenges, like today’s skills shortages.

He still encourages the use of AI tools, but to assist rather than replace junior talent.

When asked about how much of AWS’s code is now AI-written (we know that at least a third of Google, Meta and Microsoft’s code is now AI-generated), Garman described the notion as a “silly metric,” but acknowledged over 80% of the company’s developers now use AI in their workflows across code generation and more.

Garman indicated “curious” workers will get the most out of AI – combining their own desire to learn more with Amazon training initiatives.

He added workers should “be flexible, be willing to learn, and be willing to accept that their job may be a little bit different,” noting that this is a time of transition.

Broadly positive for the future of jobs, Garman’s thoughts align with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s thoughts on AI’s impact on the workforce.

In June 2025, ex-AWS CEO Jassy acknowledged that AI will ultimately end up replacing some human workers, but it would free up other jobs to avoid a net loss of roles.

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• Apple Watch fans are due to get the blood oxygen feature back on certain watches, after a lawsuit by health tech company Masimo
• The feature now involves a slight workaround, in which the measurement can only be displayed on an iPhone
• Masimo is suing the U.S. Customs Department for allowing the workaround to go ahead

Apple Watch users in the US are finally about to get a health feature back, as the watchOS 26 public beta launched with access to the blood oxygen feature – sort of.

The feature was removed for US fans after health technology company Masimo sued Apple, claiming it willfully violated Masimo's intellectual property by way of its patented blood oxygen feature. As a result, the feature was temporarily disabled on the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2.

However, a workaround meant that the Apple Watch was able to add the feature back in via its new watchOS 26 software, and it's already arrived on some watches participating in the Apple public beta program.

The workaround is that while the Apple Watch can record blood oxygen, it can only present that information in the Health app on an iPhone.

Masimo doesn't like this and has filed another lawsuit – this time targeting US Customs, rather than Apple itself. Masimo is suing the US government for (according to the lawsuit via this BGR report), "unlawfully let[ting] Apple Inc. reactivate a blood-oxygen tracking feature on Apple Watches that infringes patents for the technology".

Will I get blood oxygen tracking on my Apple Watch?

We don't know. At the moment, if you're signed up to the public beta program, you should already have the feature.

Whether it will survive until the wider rollout in September, or whether the US government will feel pressured by this suit to take action and ban the workaround, remains to be seen.

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• Apple TV+ has announced an immediate price increase of 30%
• Existing subscribers will be impacted within 30 days of their next renewal date
• Currently, Apple TV+ is the only major streaming service without an ad-supported tier

Apple TV+ has shocked subscribers today (August 21) with an immediate price hike that will see subscription costs jumping from $9.99 to $12.99 in the US.

The 30% increase will be applied immediately for new subscribers, with existing ones getting more leeway. They will see the higher price within 30 days of their next renewal date.

So if you are an existing customer, you might want to make the most of the best Apple TV+ shows and best Apple TV+ movies before the change happens.

Apple TV+ is home to acclaimed shows like Severance, which was recently renewed for season 3. We have also seen significant hype for Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and his new series, Pluribus, which has a creepy number you can call. But the buzz around these two shows might not be enough to convince subscribers to stay.

Everything we know about Apple TV+'s price hike

Severance is Apple TV+'s most popular show. (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

It's not just the US that is affected by the change. Apple TV+'s increase will also affect global customers, and we have an outline of the price changes below, which appear to vary by territory.

Country

Old price

New price

US

$9.99

$12.99

UK

£8.99

£9.99

Australia

$12.99

$15.99

Unsurprisingly, subscribers have reacted badly to the news, and some have already canceled. This does make me worry about Apple TV+'s future, and it comes as a disappointment after we crowned the service Streaming Service of the Year in 2024.

With many of the best streaming services offering ad-supported tiers as a cheaper option, I wouldn't be surprised if Apple TV+ is forced to follow suit.

According to Variety, "In justifying the price hike, Apple noted that it has launched a slew of TV shows and movies and that the service doesn’t include any ads. Indeed, Apple TV+ remains the only major streaming service that does not offer a price-reduced ad-supported plan."

But this decision hasn't gone down well. Here are some of the annoyed responses after Apple's announcement.

Apple TV is great quality but the price isn’t justifiable… no huge back catalog. this is just greed. If they had somewhat of a bigger back catalog then I’d be more open to paying but sorry gonna cancel.August 21, 2025

I may have to cancel this when I finish the shows I like. They have much less content than the other services. Apple TV Plus Raises Price on Monthly Plan - CNET https://t.co/0Y3oyEdHapAugust 21, 2025

I was just thinking I should cancel apple tv. This will do it for me.August 21, 2025

Right now, Apple TV+ seems to have no intentions of adding ads, but further backlash may change things in the future.

I like a lot of the shows on there, personally, but I'm not sure I'll be keeping my subscription if prices continue to go up.

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• Blackview Active 12 Pro rugged tablet has a built-in projector and 108MP camera
• Tablet includes detachable kickstand, plus 400 lumen LED camping light on rear
• Tablet’s huge 30,000mAh battery supports extended use in the field

Blackview has launched the Active 12 Pro, a rugged Android tablet which combines an 11-inch screen with unusual extras, including a built-in projector, camping light, and a 108-megapixel camera sensor.

PCWatch reviewed the device, and called it one of the boldest tablets Blackview has ever produced.

The Active 12 Pro runs Android 15 on a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

Big battery

We’ve seen a good number of rugged tablets with integrated projectors in recent years, including the 8849 TANK Pad, and the one in this tablet is capable of displaying a full HD image up to 120 inches.

With 200 lumens of brightness, autofocus, and keystone correction, it’s designed for entertainment and small presentations.

The tablet has a huge 30,000mAh battery, which in PCWatch’s testing supported extended video playback without rapid drain. Unlike many portable projectors, the image remained bright and usable in a dimly lit room.

The rugged tablet is IP68 and IP69K rated for water and dust resistance and meets MIL-STD-810H standards for durability.

At over 1.5kg it is far heavier than most 11-inch devices, but the tradeoff is a chassis that can withstand drops, pressure, and temperature extremes.

A detachable kickstand and optional straps give it flexibility for outdoor or field use.

The display itself is a 1920x1200 IPS panel with a 90Hz refresh rate. Alongside the 108-megapixel Samsung rear camera, a 50-megapixel front camera is included for video calls and photography.

The rear is also home to a large LED camping light with up to 400 lumens of brightness, further adding to the Active 12 Pro’s outdoor credentials.

In PCWatch’s performance benchmarks, the tablet handled demanding mobile games at medium settings without slowdown, aided by advanced cooling with heat pipes and a built-in fan.

Despite its slightly unusual design, the device delivered a credible mix of performance and versatility.

Pricing for the Active 12 Pro starts at around $768 for the 12GB/256GB model or $826 for the 16GB/1TB version on AliExpress, with discounts available.

While it is perhaps not aimed at casual users, the Active 12 Pro shows how rugged tablets are evolving into multi-purpose devices.

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• Pixel 10 will not have physical SIM cards slots, Google confirms
• Buyers can transfer eSIMs from Apple to Android and vice-versa
• However eSIM adoption is uneven and can pose a risk for unprepared travelers

Google has confirmed eSIMs will replace physical SIM card slots in its new Pixel 10 smartphone range.

Reports from Android Authority claim Google's implementation may also support bi-directional transfers, meaning users can transfer an eSIM from an Apple device to an Android device or vice versa.

For now, this change appears to apply only to US models, but come after Apple made a similar move with iPhone 14, and now Google is following suit, further indicating eSIMs are revolutionizing the industry in a significant way.

What does this mean for travelers?

eSIMs for international travel have already become the go-to solution for many and now Google's latest move suggests the beginning of a new era.

If major firms like Apple and Google are committing to eSIM-only devices and other tech giants like NordVPN and IPVanish are entering the eSIM market, then it is safe to say that eSIMs have become the norm.

On iPhones, the process could be handled through the “Transfer to Android” option in settings, while Pixel 10 devices may rely on the Android Switch app, either by scanning a QR code or initiating a manual connection session.

Android Authority also reports that the feature may only be supported in iOS 26, expected to launch alongside the iPhone 17 in September 2025. However, these details remain speculative for now, and we will have to wait for the official rollout to see what holds true.

“Going eSIM-only makes it faster and easier to connect to a network. You can download a plan in minutes without fiddling with a tiny SIM card, which is a huge win for convenience", says Sarah McGarr CEO of Sim Local.

For travelers, this shift means getting comfortable with digital connectivity is no longer optional. As physical SIM slots disappear, checking for compatability, understanding how to activate, transfer, and manage eSIMs will be essential for staying connected seamlessly across borders.

"Check the best local eSIM plans, pick the best deal, and be online in minutes. Google’s eSIM move will only make more people expect this kind of convenience, and it’s up to the industry to make sure travelers can always find easy and affordable ways to stay connected", adds McGarr.

However, the biggest challenge to this revolution is that adoption is uneven. The ability to use an eSIM doesn’t just depend on owning a compatible device, it also hinges on whether local carriers support the technology and what plans they offer.

Travelers need to be prepared and do their research on carrier compatibility before flying and keep a global eSIM app as backup.

"The ability to use an eSIM is not so much country-dependent as it is device-dependent and network-dependent. That means a traveler could land somewhere only to find that their mobile network doesn’t yet support eSIM, or that their plan options are limited. In those cases, people may end up paying more in roaming fees or have fewer choices than they expected", concludes McGarr.

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