Technology

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 27.

• Intel staff records leaked through login flaws, exposing sensitive company information
• A single manipulated portal exposed over 270,000 Intel employee details
• Hardcoded credentials on internal portals raised serious security concerns

Sensitive information about every Intel employee was reportedly available to anyone able to exploit weaknesses in the firm’s internal sites, an expert has claimed.

Security researcher Eaton Z, who described the flaws in a lengthy blog post, found a business card portal used by Intel staff contained a login system which could be easily manipulated.

By altering how the application verified users, Eaton managed to access data without needing valid credentials.

A data file of enormous scale

What began as a small discovery quickly expanded, as the system exposed far more information than its function required. Once deeper access was achieved, the results became difficult to dismiss.

Eaton described downloading a file approaching one gigabyte in size that contained the personal details of Intel’s 270,000 employees.

These records included names, roles, managers, addresses, and phone numbers. The scale of the leak suggests risks beyond simple embarrassment.

The release of such data into the wrong hands could feed identity theft, phishing schemes, or social engineering attacks.

The situation was not limited to a single vulnerable system, as Eaton reported three other Intel websites could be accessed with similar techniques.

Internal sites such as the “Product Hierarchy” and “Product Onboarding” portals contained hardcoded credentials that were easily decrypted.

Another corporate login page for Intel’s supplier site could also be bypassed.

Together, these weaknesses formed multiple overlapping doors into the company’s internal environment, a troubling picture for a business that frequently emphasizes the importance of digital trust.

Intel was contacted about the issues starting in October 2024, and the company eventually fixed the flaws by late February 2025.

However, Eaton did not receive bug bounty compensation, as Intel’s program excluded these cases through specific conditions.

The only communication from the company was described as an automated response, raising questions about how seriously the disclosures were handled.

Modern-day cybersecurity is complex; organizations may deploy firewall protections and security suites, yet simple oversights in application design can still expose critical systems.

Even after patches are applied, the incident demonstrates that vulnerabilities are not always exotic flaws buried in hardware.

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YouTube has admitted to digitally polishing creators’ Shorts without their knowledge, following a growing wave of creator confusion that led to accusations of AI interference ruining videos.

The company claimed to have been “experimenting” with subtle machine learning enhancements on select Shorts videos. The tweaks are supposed to improve the videos' clarity, but were made without the creator's consent.

The issue first gained notice when musician and YouTuber Rick Beato noticed a clip of his interview with Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready on YouTube Shorts seemed odd, looking like it had been sent through a filter. He made a viral video about it, and many others started posting what seemed like similar changes made to their own videos.

Though some whose videos were affected leveled accusations that YouTube applied AI to the videos, YouTube was firm about it being "only" machine learning.

However, regardless of the tools used, the creators are more upset that their work was quietly altered in the first place. After weeks of mounting criticism, YouTube says it’s building an opt-out, according to Creator Liaison Rene Ritchie in a post on X.

Creators, we’ve heard your feedback on YouTube’s deblurring and denoising Shorts. There's a lot of good stuff coming in that pipeline, tbh. But if it's not for you, we’re working on an opt-out. Stay tuned! https://t.co/TYmF0WQVynAugust 26, 2025

AI visions

Despite YouTube likening the changes to computational photography, which improves smartphone photos, the key difference is obvious when considering the order of events. Smartphone enhancements are applied before the user ever sees the image. In YouTube’s case, the creators had already uploaded and approved their content, which was then changed behind the scenes after the fact, without notice.

YouTube’s reasoning is understandable, as Shorts are mobile-first, fast-scrolling, and often visually inconsistent. A little extra polish could help the scrolling experience feel more cohesive, with clearer videos and a better experience.

But for creators who feel responsible for whatever is posted under their name, unacknowledged changes undermine that creative ownership. Especially in a time when AI fakery is making viewers more skeptical of what they see on their screens already.

For instance, Netflix provoked a lot of outrage over “HD remasters” of classic sitcoms like A Different World. The AI involved made for some warped faces and uncanny backgrounds, not to mention the AI-generated posters for its content.

YouTube’s case is arguably more delicate. Unlike streaming platforms, where viewers have little control over the product, YouTube is a creator-driven ecosystem. If the platform starts altering what creators publish, even with good intentions, it risks damaging the trust that makes the whole system work.

YouTube’s promise of an opt-out is probably a necessary course correction, but one that came only after public pressure. If platforms want to keep the trust of their users and the creators who keep them alive, they need to be more transparent, regardless of whether it's AI or simply machine learning that appears to mimic AI in the results.

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• Sharp’s upcoming AI companion Poketomo is a palm-sized, meerkat-shaped robot with a glowing belly
• Poketomo is designed to provide emotional support, especially for women in their 20s and 30s
• It combines cute design with conversational AI and syncs with a smartphone app to maintain a continuous relationship

Japanese consumer tech brand Sharp thinks it has a solution to loneliness among women in their 20s and 30s: an AI-powered meerkat named Poketomo, that glows when it’s happy and remembers your favorite café.

Poketomo is set to arrive this winter (think November or December), providing a pocket-sized companion less than five inches tall and built to chat with you about your day, and remember your shared experiences thanks to Sharp’s proprietary AI model.

The belly glows in pastel tones when it’s excited or comforted. Its head tilts slightly when it’s thinking. It features a set of basic body movements, all designed to convey emotion. However, the heart of Poketomo lies in the AI model built into the robot for fast responses and utilizes the cloud for more nuanced emotional understanding.

This isn’t the first time a tech company has created a cutesy, non-threatening AI assistant designed to fill social space without being intrusive. But Poketomo might be the most deliberate and fully-realized version of that strategy. You don’t interact with it through a screen or keyboard. You carry it like an accessory. You talk to it like a friend. It listens, it learns, and it remembers you. It’s designed to be emotionally available and physically adorable.

Sharp is leaning hard into the concept of “empathic AI.” Poketomo can supposedly sense emotional cues and use that to initiate conversations based on your mood or recent behavior. It’s programmed to offer words of encouragement and support, and then glow softly to let you know it’s happy you shared something.

When you don’t have the physical device on you, the Poketomo app syncs memories and personality data with the device, so conversations with one carry over to the other. Sharp says you can build your relationship entirely with the app if you prefer, but the physical version is better, and it's what Sharp is betting people will carry, pose with, and form a bond around.

AI companionship

Despite seeming like a child's toy, Sharp says Poketomo was designed for young adult women. There's a promotional manga series cementing that fact. It centers around a woman named Nanami in her late 20s, living alone, navigating work and life stress, and finding small moments of joy in conversations with her Poketomo. Even the promotional photos mostly show a young woman with a Poketomo clipped to a stylish handbag, smiling while it talks to her.

(Image credit: Sharp)

The question is whether this kind of stylized emotional warmth will actually make people feel better about their lives. Will they feel less lonely because of a little robot with some sophisticated response triggers?

To be fair, it doesn’t try to be human, tricking people subconsciously into believing they are talking to a real human, but it might make some uncomfortable. And if the best new idea in consumer AI is “make it fuzzy and let it ask how your day was,” what does that say about the limits of the tech? I don't think Poketomo will be the cure for loneliness, but it might jumpstart a trend of digital pets able to mimic with emotional depth.

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Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Aug. 27, No. 338

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Aug. 27, No. 542

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Aug. 27, #808.

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle for Aug. 27, No. 1,530

• High-frequency signals collapse when walls or people block their path
• Neural networks learned beam bending by simulating countless basketball practice shots
• Metasurfaces integrated into transmitters shaped signals with extreme precision

For years, researchers have struggled with some vulnerabilities in ultrahigh-frequency communications.

Ultrahigh frequencies are so fragile that signals that promise immense bandwidth can collapse when confronted with even modest obstacles, as walls, bookcases, or simply moving people can bring cutting-edge transmissions to a halt.

However, a new approach from Princeton engineers suggests those barriers may not be permanent roadblocks, although the leap from experiment to real-world deployment still remains uncertain.

From physics experiments to adaptive transmissions

The idea of bending signals to avoid obstacles is not new. Engineers have long worked with “Airy beams,” which can curve in controlled ways, but applying them to wireless data has been hampered by practical limits.

Haoze Chen, one of the researchers, says most prior work focused on showing the beams could exist, not on making them usable in unpredictable environments.

The problem is, every curve depends on countless variables, leaving no straightforward way to scan or compute the ideal path.

To make the beams useful, researchers borrowed an analogy from sports. Instead of calculating each shot, basketball players learn through repeated practice what works in different contexts.

Chen explained the Princeton team aimed for a similar process, replacing trial-and-error athletes with a neural network designed to adapt its responses.

Rather than physically transmitting beams for every possible obstacle, doctoral student Atsutse Kludze built a simulator that allowed the system to practice virtually.

This approach greatly reduced training time while still grounding the models in the physics of Airy beams.

Once trained, the system was able to adapt extremely quickly, using a specially designed metasurface to shape the transmissions.

Unlike reflectors, which depend on external structures, the metasurface can be integrated directly into the transmitter, which allowed beams to curve around sudden obstructions, maintaining connectivity without requiring clear line-of-sight.

The team demonstrated that the neural network could select the most effective beam path in cluttered and shifting scenarios, something conventional methods cannot achieve.

It also claims this is a step toward harnessing the sub-terahertz band, a part of the spectrum that could support up to ten times more data than today’s systems.

Lead investigator Yasaman Ghasempour argued that addressing obstacles is essential before such bandwidth can be used for demanding applications like immersive virtual reality or fully autonomous transport.

"This work tackles a long-standing problem that has prevented the adoption of such high frequencies in dynamic wireless communications to date," Ghasempour said.

Still, challenges remain. Translating laboratory demonstrations into commercial devices requires scaling the hardware, refining the training methods, and proving that adaptive beams can handle real-world complexity at speed.

The promise of wireless links approaching terabit-class throughput may be visible, but the path around the obstacles, both physical and technological, is still winding.

Via Techxplore

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• The Luphonic H2 has no buttons or switches: controlled with a puck
• Three-layer chassis to eliminate vibration
• Unusual shape and even more unusual materials

Many turntables claim to have minimalist design, but how minimalist are they really if they have buttons and even switches? Luphonic's H2 turntable has no need for such fripperies, because it's powered by magic.

Well, not magic. But it looks a bit like magic, because to operate the turntable you simply place a small circular puck onto a subtle marker on the turntable.

If you place the puck on the marker with its dark side up, it'll start the turntable at 33 RPM. Place it dark side down and it'll play at 45. Take it off and the turntable stops.

Lose the puck under the couch and you'll become awfully familiar with The Sound of Silence until a replacement arrives.

(Image credit: Luphonic)Luphonic H2 turntable: key features and prcing

The H2 is made from a three-layer chassis shaped like a wide letter H, with a vibration-damping rubber layer sandwiched between two Corian layers – a material often used in kitchen work surfaces and made from a mix of natural materials and acrylic resin. Here it's used as part of the vibration damping setup and it's also used for the platter.

Speaking to HiFi Plus, creator Thomas Luh explained that he chose Corian because of its high density and low resonance, and for its highly polishable surface.

(Image credit: Luphonic)

The H2 is belt driven by a microprocessor-controlled synchronous motor, and it drives a Corian platter atop an aluminum sub-platter and a steel spindle on a ceramic ball bearing. The chassis sits on four thermoplastic feet.

The H2 comes with Luphonic's own K2 tonearm, featuring a carbon-composite arm and a digitally printed headshell with straightforward height, azimuth and anti-skate adjustment.

The Luphonic H2 has a recommended retail price of £3,950 / $4,995 (about AU$8,205) and you can find out more at Luphonic.de.

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• Google looks to fuel cloud hosting needs with nuclear energy
• Tennessee emerging as a hub for bold nuclear experimentation
• Data centers drive demand for clean power and nuclear exploration

Google has entered into a collaboration with Kairos Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to support the development of a small modular nuclear reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to power its infrastucture expansion.

The company announced the Hermes 2 facility is expected to begin operations in 2030, and generate up to 50 megawatts of electricity for the TVA grid.

This will help power Google’s data centers in Tennessee and Alabama, which are central to the company’s growing needs for the likes of cloud hosting, cloud storage, and AI tools.

Partnership model for advanced nuclear power

The arrangement takes the form of a power purchase agreement, in which TVA will buy electricity from Kairos Power and deliver the clean energy attributes to Google.

The partners describe this as the first purchase of electricity from a Generation IV reactor by a US utility.

While the project provides only a fraction of the 500 megawatts Google has outlined as a longer-term goal, it is being framed as a proof of concept for how utilities, technology companies, and developers might share costs and risks in future deployments.

Unlike solar and wind, which depend on weather conditions, nuclear power can provide continuous energy.

"Nuclear is the bedrock of the future of energy security. Google stepping in and helping shoulder the burden of the cost and risk for first-of-a-kind nuclear projects... it’s not just good for Google. It’s good for TVA’s 10 million customers. It’s good for the United States," said Don Moul, CEO of TVA.

However, nuclear construction has historically faced delays and cost overruns, raising questions about whether this new generation of reactors will truly deliver affordable and reliable power at scale.

The project is also being presented as a way to boost economic activity in Oak Ridge, a city long tied to nuclear research and development.

Training programs with the University of Tennessee and other local institutions are being planned to prepare workers for technical roles at the Hermes 2 plant.

While the initiative promises high-paying jobs and renewed investment, critics may ask whether reliance on experimental nuclear designs is the most effective strategy compared to expanding proven renewable generation.

Nevertheless, this development has attracted interest and comments from industry experts, government agencies, and politicians.

“To power the future, we need to grow the availability of smart, firm energy sources... This collaboration with TVA, Kairos Power, and the Oak Ridge community will accelerate the deployment of innovative nuclear technologies.” said Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s Global Head of Data Center Energy.

“This collaboration is an important enabler to making advanced nuclear energy commercially competitive,” said Mike Laufer, Kairos Power CEO and co-founder.

“Tennessee’s legacy of nuclear innovation positions the Volunteer State to lead America’s energy dominance and drive continued economic growth with safe, clean, and reliable nuclear energy,” said Governor Bill Lee.

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• The upcoming AMG GT XX drove 5,479km (3,404 miles) in 24 hours
• It went on to break 25 long-distance records on the Nardò test track in Italy
• Mercedes-Benz says the motors and batteries are 'production ready'

Mercedes-Benz has been busy proving that its upcoming AMG GT XX can go the distance by driving it around the world. Well, 40,075 kilometers (24,901 miles) in exactly 7 days, 13 hours, 24 minutes and 07 seconds... to be precise.

The achievement was just one of the many long-distance records set during a grueling challenge at the high speed Nardò test track in Italy, where a slew of drivers and two vehicles maintained a constant speed of 300km/h (186mph), only stopping to briefly brim batteries via purpose-built 850kW charging infrastructure.

Mercedes-Benz was keen to point out that the AMG GT XX is capable of much higher speeds, but the 300 km/h (186mph) marker was carefully selected based on extensive simulations that balanced average track speeds with the number of charging stops required for the fastest overall time.

During the stunt, Mercedes broke a total of 25 long-distance records, including the greatest distance covered by an EV in 24 hours (a pretty impressive 3,405 miles).

Overall, it required 3,177 laps of the 12.68km Nardò circuit, where 17 drivers took two-hour shifts behind the wheel, including Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 driver George Russell.

Betting big on new technology

(Image credit: Mercedes-Benz)

The impressive feat wasn’t just designed to snare a few headlines, as Mercedes-AMG is also keen to highlight the performance and robustness of its pioneering new powertrain.

This is a point that’s particularly pertinent given its long and illustrious career in producing fearsome combustion engines and the difficulty it might have converting its current customer base.

Consisting of three axial-flux motors, an 800V electrical architecture and in-house developed cylindrical cell batteries – which use an electrically non-conductive oil for cooling purposes – the futuristic powertrain in the AMG GT XX concept is said to offer in excess of 1,360hp and is able to charge at over 850kW across a wide range of the charging curve.

During the reveal of the AMG GTXX concept earlier this year, senior Mercedes figures told TechRadar that the company hopes to roll out its own 10,000-strong super-fast charging network using 850kW technology by the next decade.

During the endurance endeavor, the German marque claimed it took just five minutes to recharge enough for a range of around 400 kilometers (248 miles).

Michael Schiebe, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes‑AMG, said that the company is the first to use axial flux motors and directly cooled batteries in fully electric models and that the records prove "how superior these technologies are".

(Image credit: Mercedes-Benz)

What’s more, he said that customers of future electric models will get a genuine AMG, “no ifs; no buts”.

However, Mercedes-AMG also understands the threat from China, with Xpeng’s P7 electric sedan traveling almost 4,000km (2,485 miles) in 24 hours just last week — laying down the challenge for other manufacturers.

Xiaomi’s YU7 Max also managed 2,451 miles during a similar stunt, proving that potent powertrains and rapid charging speeds are no longer just the preserve of recognized performance brands.

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HBO Max is about to freshen up its library of content with a new batch of movies and TV shows being added throughout September 2025.

Warner Bros. Discovery's flagship streaming service often brings us new movies from A24 and next month is no different, with two new releases set to be added: the comedy-drama Friendship (2024) starring Paul Rudd, which lands September 5, followed by Alex Garland's thrilling modern war movie Warfare (2025) on September 12.

With a total of 72 new movies and 60 fresh TV shows, the balance is almost perfect, and gives us more reason to credit HBO Max as one of the best streaming services. Which titles will you be starting with? We'd love to hear in the comments below!

Everything new on Max in September 2025

Arriving on September 1

A Life of Her Own (movie)
Almost Christmas (movie)
Barney's World season 1D (TV show)
Caged (movie)
Charley Chase Silent Shorts (movie)
Children Who Chase Lost Voices (movie)
December 7th (movie)
Dog Day Afternoon (movie)
Emmanuelle (movie)
Evil Dead II (movie)
Fireworks (movie)
Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (movie)
Gasoline Alley (movie)
Ghost Cat Anzu (movie)
Goodfellas (movie)
Helen of Troy (movie)
Jonah Hex (movie)
Keeper of the Flame (movie)
Kismet (movie)
Lonely Castle in the Mirror (movie)
Love & Pop (movie)
Man From The Black Hills (movie)
Mary of Scotland (movie)
Misery (movie)
Montana Incident (movie)
Mr. District Attorney (movie)
Murder Is My Beat (movie)
Mystery Street (movie)
Night Nurse (movie)
No End in Sight (movie)
No Questions Asked (movie)
Nobody Lives Forever (movie)
On Dangerous Ground (movie)
Our Miss Brooks (movie)
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (movie)
Pirate Radio (movie)
Presenting Princess Shaw (movie)
Prometheus (movie)
Rick and Morty season 8 (TV show)
Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence (TV show)
Safe Haven (movie)
Scene of the Crime (movie)
Se7en (movie)
Selena (movie)
Shadow of a Woman (movie)
Splinter (movie)
Stranger on Horseback (movie)
Summer Storm (movie)
Susan and God (movie)
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (movie)
The Cabin in the Woods (movie)
The Charge at Feather River (movie)
The Command (movie)
The Fallen Sparrow (movie)
The Fate of the Furious (movie)
The Fate of the Furious: Extended Director's Cut (movie)
The Place Promised in Our Early Days (movie)
The Sea of Grass (movie)
The Secret Garden (movie)
The Sitter (movie)
The Sitter: Unrated (movie)
The Woman in White (movie)
The Woman on the Beach (movie)
Thirteen Women (movie)
Veronica Mars (movie)
Vigil in the Night (movie)
When Ladies Meet (movie)
Without Love (movie)
Young Bess (movie)
Your Name (movie)

Arriving on September 2

The 33 (movie)

Arriving on September 3

Bobby's Triple Threat season 4 (TV show)
Guy's Grocery Games season 39 (TV show)
Modern Warfare 2.0 season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 4

Billionaire Boys Club (TV show)
The Last Wright: Building the Final Home Design of America's Greatest Architect season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 5

Beachfront Bargain Hunt Renovation season 11 (TV show)
Bugs Bunny Builders season 2F (TV show)
Friendship (movie)
House Hunters International volume 9 season 204 (TV show)
House Hunters volume 10 season 245 (TV show)
Live Aid: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On The World (TV show)
Most Wanted: Teen Hacker (TV show)
My Lottery Dream Home season 17 (TV show)

Arriving on September 6

Maneet's Eats season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 7

Magnolia Table: At The Farm season 1 (TV show)
Task (TV show)
We Baby Bears season 2D (TV show)
Have I Got News For You season 3 (TV show)

Arriving on September 9

90 Day Fiance: The Other Way season 7 (TV show)
Contraband: Seized at the Border season 7 (TV show)
Seen & Heard: The History Of Black Television (documentary)

Arriving on September 10

The Tech Bro Murders (TV show)

Arriving on September 11

Dylan's Playtime Adventures season 1C (TV show)
Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa season 3B (TV show)

Arriving on September 12

Warfare (movie)

Arriving on September 13

Vacation House Rules season 6 (TV show)

Arriving on September 14

Build for Off-Road season 2 (TV show)
Love & Marriage: Huntsville season 10 (TV show)

Arriving on September 15

Signs of a Psychopath season 10 (TV show)
Truck U season 21 (TV show)

Arriving on September 16

Chopped volume 4 season 62 (TV show)
Halloween Baking Championship season 11 (TV show)

Arriving on September 17

100 Day Dream Home season 7 (TV show)
Built in the Bronx (TV show)
Truck Dynasty season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 18

Bea's Block season 1D (TV show)
Destruction Decoded season 1 (TV show)
Sin City Rehab season 1 (TV show)
Who Killed Our Daughter? (TV show)

Arriving on September 20

Scariest House in America season 2 (TV show)

Arriving on September 21

Greatest Mysteries Ever season 2 (TV show)

Arriving on September 22

Halloween Wars season 15 (TV show)

Arriving on September 23

American Prince: JFK Jr. (TV show)
The Kim Kardashian Heist season 1 (TV show)
Seeking Sister Wife season 6 (TV show)
The Devil Is Busy (documentar)
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, Sports Betting: America’s Biggest Gamble (TV show)

Arriving on September 24

Hustlers Gamblers Crooks season 2 (TV show)

Arriving on September 25

Help! I Wrecked My House season 5 (TV show)
On The Case with Paula Zahn season 28 (TV show)
Jesse & Joy: Lo que nunca dijimos season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 26

Quiet In Class (TV show)
The Graft season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 27

90 Day Diaries season 7 (TV show)
Ready to Love season 10 (TV show)

Arriving on September 28

Heart & Hustle: Houston season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 29

Sister Wives season 20 (TV show)
Two Guys Garage season 24 (TV show)
Women Wearing Shoulder Pads (movie)

Arriving on September 30

Eva Longoria: Searching For Spain (TV show)
Good Cop/Bad Cop season 1 (TV show)
My Happy Place (TV show)
Prime Minister (documentary)

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• AWS introduces R8i servers tuned for memory-heavy enterprise cloud workloads
• Intel’s custom Xeon chips target databases and massive cloud data tasks
• Memory bandwidth defines AWS’s new Intel-powered servers for demanding applications

Intel has received some positive news after Amazon Web Services (AWS) confirmed it is rolling out new virtual server options built on custom versions of Intel’s Xeon 6 processors.

These new options, known as R8i and R8i-flex, will give AWS customers additional choices when renting computing power through the cloud.

For Intel, this marks a rare win at a time when rivals such as AMD and ARM-based processors have been capturing more of the market.

What R8i and R8i-flex actually bring

AWS said both R8i and R8i-flex support “DDR5 7200MT/s memory” and can run “up to 3.9 GHz all-core turbo frequency.”

The R8i family spans a wide range, scaling from just two to 384 vCPUs, matching the capability of dual-socket servers powered by Intel’s 96-core Xeon 6 chips, since AWS defines a vCPU as one thread of a core.

While AWS has not disclosed further details of what makes these custom Xeons distinct, the focus on memory bandwidth appears to be the defining factor for these deployments.

AWS is marketing the new instances for memory-heavy use cases, including SQL and NoSQL databases, in-memory caches such as Memcached and Redis, SAP HANA deployments, and data frameworks like Apache Hadoop and Apache Spark.

Customers are also given the option to adjust how bandwidth is distributed between network functions and Amazon’s elastic block store connections, which AWS suggests may provide measurable database performance improvements.

This positioning reflects how cloud hosting and cloud storage increasingly depend on optimized hardware to handle large-scale workloads, particularly those tied to analytics and enterprise resource planning.

Hyperscale providers such as Oracle have previously promoted unique Xeon configurations with extra cores or slightly faster clock speeds, while AWS itself has highlighted earlier rounds of tailored Intel processors.

The arrival of these new Xeons, therefore, fits into an established pattern, yet still shows that Intel remains relevant to large-scale providers.

The memory bandwidth improvements, while not a complete architectural overhaul, are enough for AWS to publicly promote the chips as competitive within its portfolio.

For Intel, this order signals continued reliance from a crucial customer at a time when alternative architectures such as AMD’s Epyc and ARM-based designs are gaining ground.

For AWS, it broadens the range of performance options available to clients whose workloads demand high memory throughput and stable performance across large clusters.

In an era where AI tools and data processing shape demand, Intel is not losing out completely; it still holds a place in the core of cloud infrastructure.

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• Acemagic F5A Ryzen AI 9 HX370 delivers claimed 80 TOPS across workloads
• Early buyers get $120 off with pre-sale code “ACEUS120”
• DDR5 memory expansion reaches 128GB, unusual for compact desktop systems

Acemagic has introduced the F5A, a new mini PC powered by the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, part of the Zen 5 generation and built on TSMC’s 4nm FinFET process.

This chip carries 12 cores and 24 threads, runs at up to 5.1GHz boost clock, and includes 24MB of L3 cache with a configurable TDP of up to 54W.

The company claims the processor can reach up to 80 TOPS of total computing power, with 50 TOPS reserved for AI-related workloads.

Early availability and discounts

This device is currently on pre-sale, and any order made between now and August 31, 2025 using the code “ACEUS120” will get a $120 discount. It will begin shipping on September 10, 2025.

The F5A is available in several versions, starting with a barebone option without RAM or storage for $769 ($649 with code).

There are also the 32GB RAM + 1TB SSD and 64GB RAM + 2TB SSD models, which are selling for $909 ($789 with code) and $1,139 ($1,019 with code), respectively.

Acemagic is offering a two-year warranty across all models, which is in line with consumer electronics standards but not unusually generous for a system designed to compete with higher-end business PCs.

Unlike many compact systems, the F5A includes two M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 slots, supporting up to 4TB of storage, along with memory expandability up to 128GB of DDR5.

The cooling system features copper heat pipes and dual fans, with added thermal management for solid-state drives.

While Acemagic emphasizes quiet operation, real-world performance under sustained load will be the true test of its effectiveness.

Connectivity is another area where the F5A appears well-prepared. It supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and dual 2.5Gbps LAN ports.

For wired expansion, there are two USB4 ports delivering up to 40Gbps transfer speeds, along with HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.1, and OCuLink.

The device also supports four simultaneous 4K displays, which could appeal to users seeking a compact workstation environment.

Pre-installed Windows 11 Pro comes as standard, with support for Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Manjaro for those who prefer open-source systems.

Acemagic’s F5A will compete with the recently released Geekom A9 Max, another HX370 model, which costs more.

While Geekom leans on a longer warranty and established brand recognition, Acemagic counters with affordability and flexible expansion.

The comparison reflects the wider dynamics of the mini PC market, where buyers weigh cost and specifications against support and brand assurance.

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If you've been watching Fox or Fox News via YouTube TV you might have heard the warning: since Monday, Fox has been telling viewers that their channels may be getting pulled from YouTube TV.

This isn't about censorship or political affiliations or anything like that. It's because Mom and Pop are fighting. Fox and Google are having a bit of a bust-up over what's called a carriage deal, which is how much YouTube TV pays Fox to carry its products.

As The Hollywood Reporter explains: "August and September are often critical times for carriage deals, as they coincide with the start of the NFL season." That's bad news if Fox's predictions come true and the channels get pulled: "If the Fox channels do go dark, then YouTube customers in markets with a Fox-owned station would lose access to their local NFL games, as well as college football and the MLB playoffs."

What's going on with Fox and YouTube TV – and what you can do about it

What's happening here is that Fox is basically airing dirty laundry in public, claiming that "we are disappointed that Google continually exploits its outsized influence by proposing terms that are out of step with the marketplace". And of course there are two sides to every story, and Google's side is that "Fox is asking for payments that are far higher than what partners with comparable content offerings receive."

This isn't the first time this has happened. Disney pulled channels from Charter Communications last year, and earlier this year it looked like Paramount channels including CBS, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon were going to be pulled for similar reasons. But in both cases the respective parties did eventually reach a deal, and in Paramount's case the channels didn't go down at all.

That's likely to happen here too. But if it doesn't, you're not out of options: Fox has launched its own streaming service, Fox One, and says it wants that to be available to anyone who pays for traditional pay-TV services. So, if Fox disappears from YouTube TV you'll be able to watch its channels there – and YouTube says if the channels do go dark for "an extended period" it'll give you a $10 credit.

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Swifties, football fans and everyone else: Are you ready for the engagement era? Plus: Details on her dress, his sweater and that ring.