TechRadar News

• The Stengrönska is an affordable new alarm clock from IKEA
• It can charge your phone and display temperature and humidity data
• For now it's only available in IKEA stores in Japan and China

On top of all its other home goods, IKEA has a new alarm clock for your consideration — and the gadget goes beyond the standard duties of telling the time and making sure you drag yourself out of bed in the mornings.

It's called the IKEA Stengrönska (via Notebookcheck), and it's wide and short and flat: 17 cm x 16 cm x 3.6 cm (6.7 inches x 6.3 inches 1.4 x inches). That's partly so you can put your phone on the alarm clock and use the Stengrönska as a wireless charger.

Two other cool party tricks that the device brings with it are temperature and humidity readings, so you can keep tabs on your bedroom environment and make sure everything is set up just right for the best sleep possible.

The screen comes with an adjustable backlight and shows the time in a 24-hour or 12-hour format, with the date and day of the week also on display. You can set up to three alarms, with volume settings you can configure as needed.

More well-being

Up to three alarms can be configured (Image credit: IKEA)

There's an all-important snooze function here, though it seems to be fixed at nine minutes. If you know you absolutely have to get up at a certain time you'll need to do some quick math to work out how many nine-minute intervals you've got left.

Around the back we've got toggles for the alarms and the volume dial, as well as a USB-C port, so you can charge up a nearby gadget with a cable as well as using the top of the Stengrönska as a wireless charger.

IKEA is positioning it as a preferable alternative to using your phone for alarms and checking the time: "you can reduce your reliance on your mobile phone," reads the official blurb, which means "less screen time — more well-being!"

The only downside is that the device is only on sale in Japan and China for now (the Japan price is ¥4,999, about $32 / £24 / AU$45). We've asked IKEA about international availability, and will update this article if we hear back.

• Control Resonant composer Petri Alanko explains the process of developing Dylan's theme song, which is Jesse's theme played backwards
• He explains how Jesse's theme was more about power, while Dylan's is "a source of growth"
• Alanko says, "Dylan’s is more upward-reaching, as if it was asking for permission for Dylan’s existence"

Control Resonant composer Petri Alanko has shared his process for developing Dylan's theme song, compared to how he designed Jesse's, his sister and the main character of Control.

In the same interview with TechRadar Gaming, where Alanko explained how he created the game's eclectic soundtrack for Remedy Entertainment, the composer said the method for writing Dylan's theme was distinct from Jesse's, because their origins start in different places.

Without going into spoilers, Alanko explained that their paths are different, but, "Due to their roots, they actually share the same theme - but Dylan’s is essentially Jesse’s theme backwards."

"It first appeared already in the original Control at a few points, but here I wanted to slap the gamer’s face properly with it," Alanko said. "They share the DNA, so the theme’s shared too. What was Jesse’s power theme is, for Dylan, a source of growth; it appears in different harmonies across the game, and depending on the events, the harmony root is changed under the melody a few times."

He added, "Jesse had her power theme played in direct conjunction with her position only in the ending, whereas Dylan’s appears all the way, texturizing his path from nothing to a superhero."

Alanko continued, explaining that "The scale of the protagonist is larger in Control Resonant," and while Jesse's theme "landed" and was "grounded" in a way that was "a 'THIS IS ME' statement," he said, "Dylan’s is more upward-reaching, as if it was asking for permission for Dylan’s existence."

"From the very early points of development, I had the feeling Dylan was asking for a justification for his release and his freedom," he added. "Dylan is an involuntary hero; although he chooses to become one, he just doesn’t know it in the beginning.

"By grabbing a walkie-talkie from a corpse hanging mid-air after having come out from the building is his knowingly made decision: 'I choose this.' He chose to walk that path, and I wanted to pinpoint and emphasize the attempt by creating a few very driving percussion patterns through the story."

While Jesse and Dylan have two different juxtaposing themes, Resonant also features a blended theme for both called 'Sibling Theme.' Alanko shared that the game's end credits track, 'The One I Once Knew,' "was easily one of my favourites," as 'Sibling Theme' "wouldn’t exist without it."

"We weren’t able to use any vocals with the 'Sibling Theme' as there was a metric ton of voiceovers happening, and we didn’t want to distract the gamer from the core feeling of the Broken Conduit, the place where 'Sibling Theme' is played through various devices and means," he said. "I had one of the music industry’s most beautiful voices appear on the end credit track, 'The One I Once Knew' (TOIOK), Amelia Jones, who recorded and edited her own vocals and sent me everything she had performed, and I didn’t have to change a thing from her selections. Awesome voice, awesome work ethic, awesome ear."

• The Trump administration is cracking down on visa programs to 'protect American jobs'
• Multiple top US tech companies have been hit by an H-1B and green card suspension
• Nine top US universities have also been subject to a suspension on international applications

The Trump administration is continuing its efforts to protect American jobs and crackdown on fraud by suspending Microsoft and Adobe alongside several major IT outsourcers from the H-1B green-card program and opening probes into nine universities.

“There has been no company in the United States, unfortunately, that has ​abused the system more than Microsoft,” Vice President JD Vance said.

Hours later, President Trump praised Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Elon Musk for their contributions to America. Nadella and Musk both previously held H-1B visas, and three other CEOs in attendance - praised by Trump - are immigrants.

Protecting American jobs

Vance has claimed Microsoft has laid off 6,000 American workers in 2025 while simultaneously taking on 6,300 H-1B temporary worker visas and almost 3,000 green cards.

To hire green-card workers, employers must file applications in line with the permanent labor certification (PERM), which requires employers to show the foreign hire will not hurt US jobs or wages. According to the US labor department Microsoft is the largest filer for PERM applications, filing more than twice the amount than the next largest tech company Apple.

Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini have also been suspended. "We will not accept any new or process any pending permanent labor certification applications involving these companies," said Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling.

Sonderling added that these companies had collectively filed applications for almost three million workers, with over 230,000 H-1B visas approved and more than 100,000 permanent labour certifications received.

Vance also accused some companies of posting job ads designed to be ineffective so that companies could point to the lack of applicants as justification for hiring foreign workers for lower pay.

Microsoft hits back

Microsoft has responded to Vance’s statements, explaining that “of the approximately 6,000 H-1B visa applications we submitted in the last fiscal year, 80% percent were to extend or change the status of existing Microsoft employees.”

The company statement added that the remaining filings were for “individuals already legally in the United States who decided to come work for us,” that make up just 1% of the company’s US workforce. Microsoft added that it pays employees “some of the highest compensation in the tech sector, and our wages are among the highest of all H-1B filings.”

“Microsoft succeeds as a global technology leader by developing the world’s best technology workforce. We do this by strengthening this country’s talent pipeline, hiring American workers, and attracting the best talent from around the world,” the statement concluded.

Top universities in the firing line

Nine universities have also been caught up in the visa suspension, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Brown, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Vance said an investigation is being launched to examine the misuse of exchange-visitor visas to undercut American wages, alongside investigations into whether foreign influence, improper financial relationships, and visas were abusing federally funded research.

Harvard has previously been targeted by the Trump administration over alleged misconduct by international students and alleged non-compliance with immigration law. The Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed the university to investigate these claims, which Harvard labeled "unfounded retribution".

According to Sarah Spreitzer, a vice president at the American Council on Education, “It could have an enormous economic impact on the whole US economy” (via Reuters) as international students spend around $40 billion a year while in the US.

Uncertainty over future university visa status could seriously affect international applications.

It’s pretty unusual to find yourself at a cybersecurity event playing basketball in Times Square. Add in NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal as the host, and you'd be describing the stuff of dreams.

Yet that’s what a lucky crowd got at NordVPN’s latest event on Thursday. The provider went big on online defence with its ambassador Shaq on hand to teach Americans about digital threats.

At the event, professional basketball players also challenged members of the public to slam dunk, echoing how the VPN’s next-generation antivirus intercepts and blocks malware and phishing attempts before they can even reach a user’s device.

(Image credit: NordVPN)More than shots blocked

The NBA Hall of Famer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist has been NordVPN’s official ambassador since September. The collaboration focuses on raising awareness of digital threats while also boosting NordVPN’s marketing efforts as the company transitions from a simple VPN to a comprehensive, all-in-one security suite.

A key part of this is NordVPN's 'Next Gen Antivirus', which scans 12 million unique URLs daily and blocks an average of 130,000 malicious pages. It blocked nearly 5 million malware attempts in the US in the first months of 2026, NordVPN says.

At the event, the VPN drew parallels with sport and digital security, using pro-basketball players to showcase what real defence in action means and presenting malicious activity as slam dunks on a court.

The audience was invited to try to score against experienced players, only to have professionals with years of experience in the field block their attempts, much like how NordVPN defends against digital risks.

But why?

The poetic parallels are timely, as NordVPN recently warned that Americans are suffering from a delulu-clash over their cybersecurity knowledge.

Frighteningly, recent research by NordVPN found that 71 per cent of respondents believe that common sense is simply enough to navigate digital threats.

What’s more, almost three-quarters of respondents believe they are perfectly capable of spotting online scams in spite of evidence to the contrary.

Findings revealed that 74 per cent of Americans were unable to spot a fake URL and 82 per cent failed to recognise a fake CAPTCHA, while less than half correctly identified a phishing email disguised as a job recruitment message.

(Image credit: NordVPN)

More than half – 51 per cent – reuse the same password or similar passwords across different accounts. Unsurprisingly, it is the users who are most confident in their own abilities who tend to do this, says NordVPN.

It is therefore even less surprising that 73 per cent of Americans have already fallen victim to a scam recently, with nearly a quarter having suffered or being at risk of suffering a financial loss.

Shaq’s profile arguably makes the case better than any cyber-security expert: “These scammers are getting smarter, and sometimes all it takes is one click or sharing one piece of information. You don’t have to be a cybersecurity expert. You just have to stay alert, make smart choices, and use the right tools to protect yourself.”

Check out the event here

I have had plenty of video game ideas over the years, but I've always faced a somewhat enormous obstacle to turning any of them into reality. I can invent the characters and backstories, even devise some mechanics, but I cannot actually program a video game. Google’s new Playground experiment offers people like me a rather extraordinary shortcut.

Google Playground lets you describe the game you want in ordinary language and have generative AI turn those instructions into something playable. Instead of learning a game engine, writing code, creating artwork and composing music, you can explain your idea and let the AI handle much of the construction. You can then keep prompting it to change the result, making game development feel closer to a conversation.

You can start creating a game from scratch, modify an existing example, or use guided prompts to develop an idea. You can choose between 2D and 3D games, specify whether you want single-player or multiplayer gameplay, and describe everything from the setting and characters to the controls and objectives.

The platform then generates a browser-based game, which can be tested and modified through additional instructions. If something doesn't work the way you imagined, you can ask it to try again.

That is an impressive technical achievement, and my two experiments made the appeal clear, but neither left me convinced that generative AI will start making the games I actually want to spend dozens of hours playing.

Code-free dragon flight

(Image credit: Google Playground)

I deliberately started with a straightforward concept: a platformer starring a dragon that could breathe fire. A couple of sentences were all it took to produce Mystic Dragon Glide. A few minutes later, I was in control of a small dragon traveling between floating islands, collecting sacred dragon eggs and using fire breath to deal with enemies and environmental hazards.

The result was prettier than I expected. My little red dragon stood on a grassy island floating above a pastel landscape of mountains and clouds, with ancient ruins suspended mysteriously in the distance. A golden egg hovered above another platform, while an island covered in blue ice crystals suggested that some elemental obstacles awaited me farther along.

More importantly, Playground understood what those ideas meant in gameplay terms. I could move the dragon, jump between platforms, hold the jump control to glide and breathe fire. The title screen explained that I should scorch knights, melt glacial hazards, and collect eggs to unlock ancient portals, giving me objectives rather than simply dropping me into a generated fantasy scene.

Even the soundtrack completed the effect. Playground supplied pleasant, generic fantasy video game music, with a gently adventurous melody that sounded entirely appropriate for flying around enchanted islands. There was nothing objectionable about it, but there was also nothing that made me want to immediately find the soundtrack afterward. The AI appeared very good at understanding the average of what a fantasy platformer should look and behave like.

That ability has genuine value. Someone who could never make a platformer before can now describe one and start playing something resembling their idea remarkably quickly. As a creative toy or prototyping system, that is almost magical.

As a game, though, Mystic Dragon Glide reminded me how much of game design lives in details that are difficult to capture in a description. Great platformers are built around movement that has been adjusted obsessively and surprises carefully placed by clever designers. My AI-built dragon could fly, but it would take a lot more work to make the game take flight.

Fantasy bureaucracy

(Image credit: Google Playground)

Red Tape Hero was born out of a more complex prompt. I decided to write up a page or so of detail and submitted it to Playground as a request to create a satirical fantasy puzzle RPG where the player had been accidentally declared the Chosen One because of an administrative error and now had to navigate a kingdom where adventuring was bureaucratized and paperwork was better than any magic sword. I also wrote up a brief outline of the kind of conversational adventuring I had in mind.

Playground didn't take long to produce a colorful low-poly 3D world filled with simple geometric trees and tiny humanoid characters walking along the paths. The whole thing had the appearance of a cheerfully strange RPG from the early days of 3D gaming. But considering the time and effort on my end, still pretty impressive.

This time the music was a kind of mellow lo-fi beat and tune rather than an orchestral fantasy soundtrack. It was an odd choice for a heroic adventure, but it actually suited the game's relaxed absurdity rather well.

The conversations were where Playground really impressed me. Guildmaster Rickert of Adventurers' Guild Operations welcomed me to my "quarterly performance check-in" and informed me that the quest dispatch algorithm had designated me the Chosen One under Section 9, Subsection C. His immediate concern was whether I had completed Form GT-902 for the goat rescue.

My possible responses reflected the RPG system I had described in the prompt. With sufficient Bureaucracy, I could invoke Kingdom Bylaw 12 and argue that completing more than 10 goat rescues entitled me to hazard pay. A Confidence option allowed me to claim that I had already audited the goat and it had passed with flying colors.

Another character, Sir Galahad, carried a talking sword called Ex Cali-Bot that offered unwanted motivational advice. It proudly announced that "100% of the dragons you don't slay are opportunities missed" and declared that "Synergy is the true holy grail." Galahad apologized because the sword wouldn't stop giving TED Talks, while one of my available responses involved claiming to be a senior agility consultant there to optimize his chivalric pipeline.

This was much closer to seeing my particular idea reflected back at me. Playground had understood that the corporate jargon was supposed to collide with fantasy conventions, and it had connected the joke to RPG skills such as Heroics, Confidence, and Bureaucracy. I was more impressed by Red Tape Hero than Mystic Dragon Glide, despite its considerably less polished look.

It also exposed what I think is the much larger problem with the idea of completely AI-generated games. A few funny lines can establish a comic premise, but a genuinely funny RPG needs dozens of characters with distinct voices, jokes that develop over time, careful pacing, and writers who understand when to stop making jokes altogether. A great RPG also needs quests that intersect in unexpected ways and decisions whose consequences have been deliberately considered. Maybe I could do all of that on my end, but melding it successfully with actual game software seemed more difficult with AI than by collaborating with talented humans.

Spark takes the tedium out of a library card application. (Image credit: Google Playground)Why developers don't need to worry just yet

The best games are full of decisions that somebody made for a reason. A strange empty room might be there to build tension before a boss fight. A frustrating section might deliberately make the next ability feel liberating. A musical theme heard near the beginning can return 30 hours later because a composer knows exactly what that memory will mean to the player.

Those choices come from designers thinking about an experience that unfolds over time. Generative AI can produce variations based on patterns it has learned, but generating more content is different from having something particular to say with it. Playground dramatically lowered the technical barrier between my imagination and something playable, which is genuinely exciting. It gave me a way to experiment with game ideas I otherwise could have done little more than write down.

I can easily imagine using tools like this to prototype a mechanic or otherwise become part of a real game development flow. I can't believe most people will choose a wholly AI-generated game over the next carefully crafted game from developers and designers working hard to build the next hit video game. The more sophisticated these systems become, the more convincing their imitations will probably get, but technical sophistication does not automatically produce good taste or creative surprises.

My games were impressive precisely because I knew how little effort was required to create them. And they were so riddled with issues, from mechanical confusion to plot holes, that it would take quite a lot of prompting work to make them truly playable for more than a few minutes anyway. It was telling that those I let try out the games, who didn't see my initial prompts, all said the most interesting elements of the RPG to them were the bits I had written into the prompt to begin with. That's why I'll keep going to professionally made games when I want something that can genuinely entertain me.

The last few years have seen a growing wave of vulnerability disclosures heading towards the cybersecurity industry, and the people working on fixing these flaws are often struggling to keep up. And while AI is a major contributor to this problem, but also an essential part of the solution.

Speaking at the recent Linux Foundation Open Source Summit, Jamie Thomas, IBM's Chief Client Innovation Officer for Enterprise Security, warned there is “a bit of a tsunami in vulnerability disclosures,” with approximately 66,000 unique entries expected to emerge in 2026 alone.

At the keynote, titled The Future of Open Source Security in the Age of AI, Thomas stressed this represents a fourfold increase compared to seven years ago.

So, how can the cybersecurity industry possibly keep up with this pace, Thomas asked, especially when the expectations placed on developers and security professionals continues to grow?

The answer seems to be the same as with everything these days - AI.

Attackers are moving faster than ever

The volume of attacks is definitely an issue, but it’s not the only issue. Cybercriminals are also a lot faster at exploiting them, giving defenders an ever-shrinking window to identify and remediate different security issues.

Citing publicly available data, Thomas said the time required to exploit a vulnerability shrunk from days to as little as 29 minutes.

“And in fact, we're seeing a rapid increase in cyberattacks, as well as malware attacks,” she said.

For businesses that rely heavily on open source, this is definitely cause for serious concern. A vulnerability in a widely used component can potentially affect hundreds, if not thousands, of downstream applications and businesses. To add insult to injury, cybercriminals don’t really wait for the cybersecurity community to publicly disclose a vulnerability before they can exploit it.

“We're seeing the time to exploit is actually negative,” she said. “Many times we're getting a disclosure and we don't have a patch yet.”

That is the position the defenders are in, right now. They are expected to respond to a rapidly growing number of security issues in a shrinking timeframe, while attackers take advantage of automation to accelerate their operations.

AI is making life harder for open-source maintainers

And then, along comes AI for the sucker punch.

Sure, AI-powered tools are capable of identifying vulnerabilities and improving software security, but they are also more than effective when it comes to creating a pile of inaccurate, duplicated, and otherwise unactionable vulnerability reports.

Where does that leave open source maintainers, you might ask? Large companies typically have dedicated security teams, and even those struggle with an influx of low-quality reports, as you’ll see below. Many open source projects, on the other hand, are maintained by small groups of devs, sometimes even by a single individual.

Earlier this year, the developers of curl, the popular open-source command-line tool and software library, terminated their HackerOne bug bounty program, saying the financial incentives had people submitting poorly researched, and sometimes entirely fake, reports. The influx, which included AI-generated submissions, was simply unmanageable for the project’s security team.

Even the almighty Google bent the knee, recently being forced to temporarily suspend its Open Source Software Vulnerability Rewards Program following a significant increase in invalid and irrelevant reports (many of which were AI-generated, apparently). As of October 1, 2026, the company is no longer accepting new submissions and will reassess the program in early 2027.

Even Linux creator Linus Torvalds complained about the problem, recently saying AI-powered bug hunters have made the Linux security mailing list "almost entirely unmanageable." He criticized the enormous duplication of reports, saying different researchers were using the same AI tools to identify vulnerabilities that were already fixed, or at least reported.

IBM wants AI to become part of the solution

So what’s the solution? According to Thomas, the security community should not abandon AI-powered vulnerability discovery but should instead use the same technology to help maintainers handle the growing workload.

This is where the Linux Foundation’s Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) initiative, could step in. A collaboration between tech firms, developers, and the wider open-source community could allow OpenSSF to strengthen the supply chain security, and for IBM, the priority is now to reduce the burden on maintainers. That can be done by making vulnerability management more efficient and that, in turn, can be done with AI-powered tools filtering out duplicate and bogus reports, assessing the severity of different bugs, and identifying issues that need urgent attention.

AI can also help remediate issues, help developers understand vulnerable code, suggest fixes, and evaluate whether patches introduce additional problems. This is an important caveat, since some earlier reports found the majority of AI-generated remediation suggestions caused more problems than they solved.

Think about what you had to do the last time you needed to prove your identity.

Did you present your ID? Snap a selfie? Pass a liveness check? In most cases of enterprise security, that’s all it takes to pass through. From that point, many systems effectively assume that the person who was verified remains the person controlling the session.

But that’s increasingly not the case.

Identity checks haven’t suddenly stopped working. Rather, fraudsters and criminals have learned to move around them.

The fraud moved past the checkpoint

The modern fraud playbook does not necessarily need to defeat the biometric check at the front door. Session-hijacking malware can take over after a legitimate login. Remote-access tools can turn a verified customer’s device into an attacker’s terminal. Fraud operations can even recruit real people to complete onboarding legitimately before handing the authenticated session to somebody else or to automated systems.

At the moment of verification, the identification document, the face and the live person could all be real. The checkpoint was not necessarily defeated – it was made irrelevant because it didn’t establish that the same person it verified remained in control five minutes later. I call this scenario the “tollbooth mentality.” It’s the belief that passing verification at login means a business can trust whatever happens afterward.

Identity is a heartbeat

The alternative is to treat identity as a continuous signal, a living, breathing thing – a heartbeat that should remain recognizably human and consistent throughout the session.

The raw material already exists. Typing cadence, navigation patterns, device and network telemetry and characteristics of how somebody interacts with a device can help establish a behavioral baseline at onboarding.

Those signals can then be compared with activity throughout the session. If somebody typing at a normal speed suddenly appears to generate thousands of keystrokes per minute, something has changed. If the natural movement of a handheld device suddenly becomes perfectly static, in a way more consistent with an emulator, that should affect the level of trust assigned to the session.

The question needs to shift from “did we verify this person?” to “does what we are seeing now remain consistent with the person and device we originally trusted?”

When that heartbeat changes materially, the system can increase the risk score, request additional verification or, in a high-confidence case, terminate the session.

Who is moving, and who is bleeding

The industries moving fastest are unsurprisingly those where fraud can translate almost immediately into financial loss.

Fintechs, crypto exchanges and neobanks have strong incentives to adopt continuous, risk-based session monitoring. They have also learned that adding more friction at the front door can punish legitimate customers without creating an equivalent obstacle for automated attackers.

A human has limited patience for another password, one-time code or identity challenge. Automated systems do not get frustrated. They can repeat processes at scale.

Businesses therefore cannot simply out-friction machines.

Sectors still anchored to one-time checks (particularly where knowledge-based authentication remains part of the security model) face a different challenge. In an environment where vast quantities of personal information have been compromised, static questions and credentials provide diminishing assurance.

A four-part framework for continuous trust

Just as the heart has four main parts, so too does the framework for treating identity as a heartbeat, not a timestamp.

Enterprise security experiences should be strong yet seamless, preventing disruption for low-risk customers while triggering proportionate intervention for anomalous behavior. For organizations looking to make that transition, the operational framework includes four parts:

1. Baseline at onboarding. The identity check at the front door becomes the calibration event. Capture the behavioral and device baseline when identity assurance is highest.
2. Monitor passively. Continuous does not have to mean intrusive. You can evaluate relevant behavioral and device signals in the background without repeatedly interrupting the customer to request more data. Identify the signals necessary to assess whether a session remains trustworthy.
3. Escalate proportionally. Customer experience cannot go out the window in the name of security. Tighten thresholds for small anomalies. Trigger session termination for hard ones. This way, you’ll increasingly avoid insulting valid customers by asking for more proof that they are who they say they are.
4. Hold the evidence. An evidentiary trail of risk signals and interventions can support investigations, audits and regulatory scrutiny. Ultimately, organizations must use this evidence to prove not only that a user passed verification, but that trust was maintained afterward.

As fraud moves beyond the capabilities of authentication, organizations must know not only who entered, but whether the digital heartbeat on the other side of the door still belongs to that person.

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“There's a sort of soullessness to them, and I find it sad that we appear to be increasingly happy to settle for that.”

I'm talking to Rob Biddulph, the children’s book illustrator and author who rose to prominence during the Covid pandemic when his #DrawWithRob YouTube channel racked up millions of views from children and parents needing an outlet for their creativity, about a very different kind of pandemic: the proliferation of AI-generated art.

Biddulph was named Illustrator of the Year 2025 at the British Book Awards, but today he’s talking about the troubling increase he's seeing in shops and cafes and other venues displaying posters that are clearly designed by AI.

“I think they're really depressing, to be honest," he tells me. "One of the things I love about illustration is that it's an expression of somebody's individual personality. Human beings can't help but put a bit of their own personality into a drawing or a design.

"Often, you can look at a piece of artwork and recognize the person who made it — see their quirks, their imperfections, their sense of humor and the decisions they've made along the way. To me, that's what makes it interesting.

“And I also think there's something particularly ironic about using AI to advertise a local event. Surely the whole point of a local event is that it's about people and community?”

AI is doing more than cluttering the high street

Personally I’d rather see a wonky poster than another technically polished but utterly generic piece of AI artwork.

Rob Biddulph

Biddulph has a point. Personally, I’d rather see a wonky poster created by a real person than another technically polished but utterly generic piece of AI artwork. But AI is doing much more than cluttering up the high street with slop art. It’s taking paid work away from human designers and illustrators — the irony being that those AIs have all been trained on the work of human artists, with no compensation paid to those artists.

“The thing to always remember is that these AI systems haven't appeared out of thin air,” explains Biddulph. “They've been trained on enormous quantities of existing creative work produced by artists, illustrators, photographers and writers who were never asked for permission for their work to be used and haven't been paid for it.

“And now those same systems are being used to produce work that competes directly with the people whose work helped train them in the first place! That's the bit I find particularly difficult to accept.”

Buddulph thinks there needs to be more of a reality check when it comes to talking about the creative industries in general. “I also think there's a tendency to talk about the creative industries as though they're made up entirely of wealthy, successful people," he says. "They're not. They're made up of thousands upon thousands of freelancers, small studios, illustrators, photographers, designers and writers, many of whom are already working in incredibly precarious circumstances.

"For an established artist, the impact might be a reduction in commissions, but for somebody just starting out, it could mean that the opportunities to build a career simply aren't there in the first place”.

Rob Biddulph speaking with Queen Camilla at the launch of the Coronation Libraries initiative at a primary school in Bristol, England in May 2023  (Image credit: Getty Images / Chris Jackson Collection)They haven’t won

If you want to use somebody else's creative work to build a commercial product, you should have to ask permission and pay for it.

Rob Biddulph

A few years ago there was a lot of talk about regulating AI companies' use of artists' work to train their models for free; these days I don't hear so much about the subject. I asked Biddulph if the AI companies had effectively won, or if there was still a fight to be had.

“I certainly don't think they've won”, he responds, “although I can understand why it sometimes feels that way. The technology has moved so quickly, and the companies behind it have such enormous financial resources, that it can feel as though the horse has already bolted and the rest of us are constantly playing catch-up. But I don't think the argument has gone away. If anything, I think we're entering a really important phase of it.

“In the UK”, he explains, “there was a huge amount of opposition from the creative industries to the Government's original proposal, which would effectively have allowed AI companies to train on copyrighted work unless individual creators specifically opted out.

“The problem with that approach was obvious. It placed the responsibility on millions of individual creators to protect their own work, rather than requiring companies to seek permission in the first place. The Government subsequently stepped back. So I think it's important that we recognize that artists, writers, publishers and other creative organizations have made their voices heard, and have had an impact.”

Biddulph is in favor of an opt-in system. “My own feeling is that the principle should be fairly straightforward: if you want to use somebody else's creative work to build a commercial product, you should have to ask permission and pay for it. I don't see why artists and illustrators should be expected to accept a different set of rules simply because the technology is new. I'd like to see a proper opt-in licensing system, rather than an opt-out system.”

A fight worth having

I don't think this is a fight that artists can afford to walk away from, even if, at times, it feels hopeless.

Rob Biddulph

“If an artist wants to make their work available for AI training, that's absolutely their choice," he adds. "They should be able to do so, and be paid accordingly. But that choice should belong to the artist. I also think we have to be careful not to confuse the inevitability of the technology with the inevitability of the way it's being developed and used.”

So does Buddulph think AI is here to stay, and that illustrators need to keep fighting for better rights?

“Yes, AI is here to stay”, says Biddulph. “That doesn't mean we have to accept every aspect of the business model behind it. Personally, I don't think this is a fight that artists can afford to walk away from, even if, at times, it feels hopeless. It's about more than protecting individual livelihoods. It's about establishing what we value as a society, and whether we believe that human creativity has an intrinsic value that deserves to be protected. And I think that's a fight worth having.”

You can find Rob Biddulph on YouTube, X (@RobBiddulph), Instagram (@rbiddulph) and Facebook (robbiddulphauthor). And at his website.

The Energizer 3-in-1 Magnetic Foldable Wireless Charging Stand lets you charge your iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch simultaneously, meaning you don't have to worry about having several cables and adapters cluttering up your desk when working from home.

Best for: Apple device owners who want an inexpensive, space-saving way to charge three devices at the same time.

The deal: The Energizer 3-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charging Stand is now $17.49 (was $49.99) at Best Buy.

Why it matters: The very low price makes a three-device charging station more affordable than many individual wireless charging accessories, and its foldable design adds portability.

Today's best charging station deal

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Why we recommend it

The Energizer 3-in-1 Magnetic Foldable Wireless Charging Stand can charge an iPhone, wireless earbuds, and an Apple Watch at the same time. The phone charger supports wireless charging at 5W, 7.5W, 10W, or up to 15W. The earbud charging area provides 3W, while the watch charger delivers 2.5W.

The charger has a foldable design, which makes it easier to take with you when traveling. Although it works with Apple devices, the charger is also compatible with Samsung, Motorola, and Nokia smartphones.

Price context & historical value

Best Buy has reduced the Energizer 3-in-1 charging stand from $49.99 to $17.49 as part of its Energizer sale. That's a solid 65% off the usual price.

Buyers also get up to three months of Apple Music and up to one month of Apple TV, although you have to be a new or returning subscriber to benefit from the deal.

For more options, check out our roundup of the best phone chargers.

Should you buy it?

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• Shop all Energizer cellphone accessories on sale

AI adoption has moved quickly. McKinsey’s 2025 global survey found that 88% of respondents say their organizations regularly use AI tools in at least one business function, up from 78% the previous year, yet only 7% say AI is fully scaled across the organization, with 30% remaining stuck in the piloting phase.

For marketing teams, this gap becomes even more obvious when an AI pilot meets the complexity of the existing data stack. A pilot can demonstrate what an AI model is capable of when it has a defined task and carefully selected data, but moving that capability into a live enterprise environment is often considerably harder.

The issue often sits beneath the model itself. Marketing data is spread across platforms, warehouses and internal systems, with different structures and definitions making it difficult for AI to establish what the numbers actually mean.

The pilot works until it meets the real world

There is a reason AI pilots can look so convincing at the beginning. The scope is usually narrow, the data is easier to control and the questions being asked are relatively straightforward.

Production however introduces a new and different level of complexity. An AI system working across an enterprise marketing stack for example may encounter several versions of the same metric, with different field names and different rules for how they should be calculated. Without a governed understanding of that environment, the model can act like a black box and make its own assumptions.

Cost is a simple example. One platform may store it under one field name while another uses something completely different. To a human who understands the organization's data, the distinction may be obvious, but to an AI model operating without that knowledge layer, the first plausible match can look like the right answer.

This lack of clarity creates a problem because the output you then receive can sound completely credible. AI can produce a confident answer from an incorrect assumption, leaving businesses with insights that looks useful until it reaches a business decision.

Data foundations need a knowledge layer

Improving data quality is therefore only part of the challenge. AI also needs to understand the meaning attached to that data.

For marketing teams in particular, this means establishing canonical definitions for important concepts and mapping those definitions across the different platforms where they appear. It also means capturing the rules the organization uses to measure performance, so that AI is working from the same framework as the people responsible for interpreting its outputs.

A knowledge layer provides that foundation between the data warehouse and the AI working with the data and encode how metrics should be interpreted, which fields correspond across platforms and which business rules need to be applied before an analysis is considered reliable. Such layers sit on top of existing data warehouses, meaning that organizations don’t have to make costly investments in replacing their infrastructure.

The key is giving AI a defined starting point. Instead of selecting whichever version of a metric it encounters first, the system has a governed understanding of what that concept means within the organization and can interpret it correctly.

Context needs to reflect what is happening now

Static definitions alone are not enough though. Marketing performance changes alongside the business, which means AI also needs access to the context surrounding a particular investigation.

A campaign may look as though performance has deteriorated, but actually the underlying reason for is a recent budget change. A sudden movement in results could also coincide with a new promotion or a live market test. Without that information, an AI system can identify the change accurately, but still reach the wrong conclusion about what caused it.

This distinction can be reflected by separating persistent marketing knowledge from context that is resolved for each investigation. This is where collaboration between marketing and data teams becomes important. Marketing leaders understand the objectives behind campaigns and how performance should be interpreted, while data leaders understand the systems, structures and controls through which that information is managed.

Bringing those perspectives together creates a more useful foundation for AI. Definitions can be agreed before they become embedded in automated workflows, while governance requirements can remain part of the analytical process rather than being introduced after an output has already been generated.

Production requires confidence, not another pilot

The next stage of enterprise AI adoption will depend on making these foundations operational. McKinsey's research shows that most organizations are still somewhere between experimentation and early scaling, despite the rapid growth in adoption.

The priority for marketers should therefore be to examine what sits around the model before adding another one. Are the relevant metrics consistently defined? Can AI understand how those metrics relate across systems? Does it know which business decisions are currently shaping performance?

A well-structured knowledge layer can provide the missing connection between enterprise data and AI reasoning. It gives models a governed understanding of the environment in which they are operating, reducing the assumptions they need to make themselves.

That changes the production question. Instead of asking whether a newer model is capable enough, organizations can focus on whether the AI has been given the knowledge it needs to make it work reliably.

The models will continue to evolve, but for businesses trying to turn AI investment into measurable value, the more immediate action is making sure those models have something dependable to reason from.

We've featured the best AI chatbot for business.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

On the surface, Google’s new Pixel 11 range brings mostly iterative updates over the excellent Pixel 10 lineup across the board. Every handset received a new processor, a brighter display, and camera and software improvements. These upgrades are par for the course these days.

The standard Pixel 11 is arguably the least exciting of the bunch, with relatively few changes over its predecessor. But after spending a month with it as my daily driver, I’ve come away convinced it’s the model most people should buy.

And while the Pixel 11 has plenty going for it in its own right, what really makes it stand out is how little extra value I found in the more expensive Pixel 11 Pro.

The best Pixel for most people

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

The Pixel 11 mostly builds on last year’s Pixel 10, which was a relatively major step up over the Pixel 9 with a then-new telephoto camera and PixelSnap magnetic charging alongside the usual chipset and software upgrades. Aside from the new Google Tensor G6 chipset, the Pixel 11 has an upgraded main camera and a 40% slimmer camera bump.

During my testing, I found the Pixel 11’s compact 6.3-inch screen, relatively lightweight 197g chassis and thin camera bump made it an easy phone to live with. It’s a refreshing change from the 6.7- to 6.9-inch handsets that I’ve been testing all year.

My test unit came in the new Hibiscus color — which some of my colleagues called ‘hot pink’ — and it attracted plenty of compliments like, “I wish iPhones came in that color!”

Its cameras produce rich, vibrant photos, and having a proper telephoto lens is a great addition for a phone in this price range. Of course, it doesn’t have the 11 Pro’s more advanced camera controls and features, but the Pixel 11 has more than enough camera tech for most people. This comparatively simpler camera setup also allowed Google to shrink the Pixel 11’s camera bump, which then disappears when you put a case on.

Future | Nico ArboledaFuture | Nico ArboledaFuture | Nico ArboledaFuture | Nico Arboleda

Perhaps the biggest reason I’d recommend the Pixel 11 is that, in everyday use, I found very little to separate it from the more expensive Pro. Whether multitasking, gaming, running resource-intensive apps or using AI features, I couldn’t discern any meaningful performance difference between the two phones — and I doubt most people would, either.

Both phones have the same 30W wired and 25W Qi2 wireless charging speeds (via PixelSnap), IP68 durability ratings, ultrasonic fingerprint sensors and even the same seven years of Android updates and security patches.

I didn’t really miss features such as the new HiLight notification LED, the anti-scratch coating for the front cover glass and Wi-Fi 7 support, and I also preferred the matte metal edges over the Pro’s shiny ones.

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)Why pay more for the Pro?

Starting at $899 / £879 / AU$1,499, the Pixel 11 has a higher entry point than last year’s Pixel 10, which launched at $799 / £799 / AU$1,349. However, the base model now includes 256GB of storage instead of 128GB, which helps soften the blow. The 256GB Pixel 10 launched at $899 / £899 / AU$1,499, so there is technically no price hike for the same capacity, and UK buyers even got a £20 reduction.

The Pixel 11 Pro, meanwhile, starts at $1,099 / £1,079 / AU$1,849, roughly the same price as the 256GB Pixel 10 Pro (the UK had it cheaper at £999). However, there’s one questionable change: the base Pixel 11 Pro now comes with 12GB of RAM, down from the 16GB featured in last year’s model. That’s the same amount of RAM found in the Pixel 11.

It’s not that 12GB of RAM isn’t enough — my time with both phones suggests it’s more than capable. The problem is that Google has removed one of the specifications that previously helped justify the Pro’s higher price, without reducing that price to compensate. When the cheaper Pixel 11 delivers the same everyday performance, it becomes increasingly difficult to see where that extra $200 / £200 / AU$350 is going.

(Image credit: Future)

That’s not to say the Pixel 11 Pro doesn’t have its advantages. Its more sophisticated camera system will undoubtedly appeal to photography enthusiasts, while features such as Wi-Fi 7 and HiLight give it a few additional tricks. If those features are important to you, the Pro remains a solid choice. But after a month with the standard Pixel 11, I can’t say I found myself wishing I’d spent the extra money.

At least the Pro’s 512GB and 1TB variants retain the 16GB of RAM found in last year’s model, which could make them appealing to anyone who demands additional headroom. However, they also cost $1,219 / £1,199 / AU$2,049 and $1,449 / £1,429 / AU$2,399, respectively, so they demand greater investment.

For most people, though, the cheaper Pixel 11 is the smarter buy. It delivers the same everyday performance and many of the same features as the 256GB Pixel 11 Pro, while saving you $200 / £200 / AU$350. It might be a relatively boring upgrade over the Pixel 10, but it doesn’t stop it from being the most compelling Pixel in Google’s new lineup.

As someone who lives and breathes internet deals, you can bet I was stunned to see Amaysim’s latest offers on a selection of its NBN plans. The Aussie telco, owned by Optus, has often appeared on my radar with some stellar pricing, but its latest discounts knock it out of the park.

I’ll touch upon some other offers later on, but for me, the highlight has to be its NBN 25 plan for just AU$30/m for the first six months. That’s not only by far the cheapest introductory cost of any NBN provider I monitor, but it’s the cheapest introductory cost I can recall in recent memory.

Amaysim NBN 25 | 25Mbps | AU$30m (first 6 months, then AU$70/m)

Promising maximum plan speeds, you can save yourself a packet over the course of six months with this 25Mbps plan from Amaysim. This offer ends October 23, and do note that it’s BYO modem only (but you probably already have one of those).

• AU$30 minimum cost
• AU$600 first year cost
• AU$840 ongoing yearly costView Deal

When the intro period is up, the regular ongoing cost reverts to AU$70/m, which is still competitive for the tier and below the AU$77 current average. However, if you bundle an Amaysim SIM plan, you can save AU$10 for as long as both services remain active, so your NBN bill will be AU$60/m ongoing.

While the AU$30 introductory cost is incredibly low, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that you can technically pay less over the first year of service, from both Flip (AU$48/m for 12 months) and Kogan Internet (AU$49.90/m for 12 months). If you’re happy to switch providers after the first six months with Amaysim, though, then you stand to save a chunk of change.

Amaysim’s other NBN offers

Now, onto the other NBN offers I promised earlier. If you have the infrastructure to support the fastest NBN plans, then you can also save AU$240 on Amaysim’s NBN 500 plan. Right now, the introductory cost has plummeted to just AU$50/m. As with the NBN 25 plan, this is by far the cheapest introductory cost of any provider on this tier, and when combined with its AU$90/m ongoing cost, it puts it within touching distance of claiming the title of the cheapest in the first year. Only Kogan Internet is cheaper, and only by AU$1.20!

• View more of the best NBN 500 plans

Amaysim’s NBN 750 plan is also a compelling option, as it not only has the cheapest introductory cost of AU$60/m, but even when combined with its AU$100/m ongoing cost after six months, it’s the cheapest in the first year of service. Do note, however, that typical evening speeds are only quoted at 680Mbps. For comparison, Spintel claims maximum plan speeds and is only marginally more expensive in the first year — AU$69/m for the first 6 months, then AU$94.95/m ongoing.

• View more of the best NBN 750 plans

As mentioned, you can save an extra AU$10 each month on an Amaysim NBN plan if you also sign up for a SIM plan. And remember, these NBN offers end on October 23, so if you’ve been considering switching your NBN plan, now’s a prime opportunity.

JBL’s new Cove M1, Cove P1 and Cove X1 wireless speakers were announced just over a month ago, and are now available to buy in Australia. The trio marks JBL’s latest attempt to take on the likes of Sonos in the multi-room audio market, and having recently had the chance to see and hear the new speaker range up close, they certainly put up a decent fight.

The trip share some interesting features: they can each be used as standalone units, or paired with a second unit of the same model for stereo sound. They can also be integrated into a wider home audio system alongside compatible JBL products, including the company’s Bar Mk2 soundbars and Bluetooth-only speakers.

And for any TechRadar Australia readers interested in the new models, you can save 20% thanks to an exclusive JBL AU coupon code.

The range up close

(Image credit: JBL Australia)

In ascending order of size and power, the new trio comprises the Cove M1, Cove P1 and Cove X1. All three models are Wi-Fi enabled, with support for Google Cast, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect and Roon Ready. And, of course, they can also connect via Bluetooth.

The Cove P1 and Cove X1 gain Dolby Atmos support too, while the P1 has the added benefit of being truly portable, thanks to its built-in battery. One immediate advantage is that you can use a pair as rear surrounds, connected to a Bar Mk2 soundbar, without having to worry about running power to them. Battery life is a claimed 14 hours on a single charge.

If you do have access to power behind your seating position, the Cove P1 sits on a USB-C-powered charging base, similar to the Sonos Play – a pair of speakers which can also be used as battery-powered rear surrounds with the Beam Ultra soundbar.

Another useful feature demonstrated to me was the P1’s portability. Say you’re watching sport on the main TV with the P1 acting as a rear surround speaker, but decide to move the party outside. You can simply ungroup the P1 from the home theatre setup, pick it up and take it with you. Once outside, press and hold the heart-shaped Moment button on top, and the P1 will resume playing the most recent content, so you don’t miss any of the action.

As for hardware, the Cove M1 has three 20mm tweeters and a single 4-inch woofer, with a total output of 110W. The Cove P1 gets three 30mm tweeters and a single 20mm tweeter to handle Dolby Atmos duties, along with the same 4-inch woofer, with a total output of 120W. The larger X1 gets four 30mm tweeters and two 90 x 120mm woofers, delivering a total of 200W.

JBL wants to simplify multi-room audio

(Image credit: JBL Australia)

One of the main points JBL emphasised during my demo was ease of use. The company told me it recognises that one of the biggest barriers preventing consumers from investing in multi-room audio is the perception that it will be too difficult to get up and running.

In response, JBL has developed the JBL One platform, which handles initial setup, speaker grouping and playback controls.

During my demo, adding speakers to a network appeared relatively easy, with step-by-step instructions provided within the app. All available speakers are displayed on one screen, and you can select which ones you want to group together.

One feature I found particularly neat is how quickly and easily you can remove individual speakers from a group to use them on their own. In my experience with Sonos, separating grouped speakers to use them as standalone units hasn't always been as straightforward as it should be, so JBL's approach is certainly welcome.

Of course, I’ll need to spend time with the JBL speakers in my own home before making any firm conclusions about how it compared with the likes of Sonos.

A missing piece of the JBL puzzle

(Image credit: JBL)

The Cove speakers slot neatly into a gap in JBL’s lineup. The company is the king of Bluetooth speakers – just see our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers in Australia as proof – and it already has a comprehensive selection of soundbars.

The Authentics speakers (the Authentics 200 currently tops our list of the best wireless speakers) are similar in that they’re designed for home use, but they can’t be used with other JBL speakers, and their retro styling may not be to everyone’s taste.

If the Cove speakers sound like a good fit for your home, you can save 20% thanks to our exclusive JBL Australia coupon code. Your unique code can be used on any full-priced item on the JBL Australia store, so you could even set yourself up with a complete home theatre system for less.

• California’s new law targets 3D printers capable of facilitating gunmaking, not existing machines
• Existing California 3D printer owners face no new installation requirement
• Manufacturers cannot comply fully until ASTM establishes the technical standard

California has enacted a new requirement that will eventually make manufacturers add firearm prevention technology to certain 3D printers.

The law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom does not immediately require companies to alter machines already sold or owned.

The measure instead governs how qualifying printers can enter California’s market once the new requirements apply.

California leaves existing printers outside the requirement

The measure applies to future sales and transfers, meaning owners of existing equipment will not have to install new blocking hardware.

That distinction removes a significant compliance issue for people who already possess printers that could otherwise fall within the regulation.

The legislation also does not prohibit possession or ordinary operation of machines that lack the eventual firearm prevention capability.

Instead, manufacturers will face obligations when covered printers enter California’s market after the required technical standard becomes available.

California therefore joins New York as the second US state to establish restrictions specifically concerning firearm production through 3D printing equipment.

Colorado and Washington are pursuing comparable measures, although their proposals have not yet become equivalent statewide requirements.

The law’s practical reach nevertheless depends on technology capable of identifying potentially prohibited designs without blocking legitimate printing activity.

There are two commonly discussed approaches for recognizing firearm-related designs, although each creates different technical problems for enforcement.

One approach compares digital files against databases containing known firearm designs, while another uses trained software to assess printed objects

Database matching could potentially be bypassed by changing a design’s dimensions or dividing one object into separate printable components.

Automated analysis could instead misclassify legitimate items because many ordinary mechanical components can resemble firearm parts during digital assessment.

Those concerns include objects such as tubes, brackets, levers, and barrels that can serve unrelated purposes outside weapons production.

ASTM standard controls when manufacturers must act

The California requirement does not establish its own detailed technical specification for determining how firearm prevention technology should operate.

Instead, manufacturers must wait for ASTM International to publish or adopt an applicable standard before the requirement becomes operative.

The California Department of Justice must begin checking quarterly for such a standard no later than July 1, 2027.

Those checks must continue through July 1, 2029, after which the statutory checking obligation ends if no standard exists.

That timetable leaves an important question unresolved because manufacturers cannot implement a requirement whose technical benchmark remains unwritten.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation questioned whether mandated detection technology could reliably achieve its intended purpose under these conditions.

“There is no world where the mandated technology actually works as intended,” said the Electronic Frontier Foundation in June 2026.

If ASTM does not establish the necessary standard by July 1, 2029, the DOJ would stop its required searches.

The law therefore creates a future compliance system whose operation depends on an external standards process that has not yet produced its benchmark.

Via Toms Hardware

• Microsoft just launched the Surface Laptop Ultra
• It's urging Apple laptop owners to "break up with your MacBook and get up to $1,000"
• The trade-in values you'll get for older MacBooks are low, and you'd be much better off selling second-hand yourself

It's clear enough that the new Surface Laptop Ultra is aiming to poach MacBook Pro owners, and Microsoft is making no secret of that fact – indeed, it's trying to bribe Apple laptop users in a way.

Mashable flagged up that if you head to the Surface Laptop Ultra product page in the US, there's a banner along the top where Microsoft is urging folks to "break up with your MacBook and get up to $1,000."

An asterisk is attached to that amount, as it is a trade-in scheme where buyers of the new Surface model, at quite a cost, can get money off if they're willing to part-exchange their MacBook Pro. The cash you'll receive very much depends on the age and the condition of your Apple laptop, as you'd expect.

$1,000 is the maximum payment, but you won't get this unless you are trading in a newer and well-specced MacBook.

The typical payment is considerably lower. For example, if you have a MacBook Pro 13-inch from 2020 with an entry-level spec (8GB/256GB) the trade-in value is just $45. A MacBook Pro 14-inch from 2023 with an M3 chip (8GB/512GB) will land you $275, which isn't going to make a huge dent in the asking price of most Surface Laptop Ultra models.

You'll need a newer laptop for a decent payout, such as a MacBook Pro 14-inch from 2024 with an M4 chip (16GB/1TB), which will net you $755.

That's a value based on your provided assessment of the MacBook, but bear in mind that if Microsoft's trade-in partner doesn't feel you've been accurate or truthful, it'll drop the value – you can then decide whether to take that lower offer, or have your MacBook returned.

This offer appears to be for the US only (it wasn't available in the UK when I looked).

Analysis: a touch of desperation?

(Image credit: MikroKon / Shutterstock)

Yes, I get that Microsoft is making no bones about going after the MacBook market, but you only have to look at the design of the Surface Laptop Ultra to realize that. Urging Apple fans to 'break up' with their MacBook is, I guess, supposed to be a playful or amusing way of trying to attract defectors to the Windows side of the OS world, but it just comes across as a little desperate.

It's fair enough that Microsoft wants to highlight that it has a trade-in program for those interested enough to browse to the product page for its new, much more powerful Surface, but I think the manner in which this is currently couched needs to be revisited.

I've been flitting about various Reddit threads today gauging the broad reaction to the Surface Laptop Ultra, and if there's one thing that's clear, it's that Apple owners are pretty disparaging, by and large, of Microsoft's efforts here. Of course, those are the people most likely to be drawn to comment, as always.

Also bear in mind that while a trade-in may seem tempting in some respects, as noted, you may find the initial offer is downgraded – and you're going to get more (maybe a fair bit more) selling the device second-hand yourself. That's not as easy, naturally, but it might well be worth the effort, or at least having a quick punt at it.

• Wire-free 4K transmission without requiring Wi-Fi
• Two models: HDMI-HDMI and USB-C to HDMI
• $99.99 / £83 (about AU$144)

If you liked the idea of Nyrius's wire-free 4K streamer but couldn't justify the price, the firm has launched a more affordable wireless kit: the Phoenix Prime 4K30. Like its more expensive sibling, it transmits and receives 4K video, but it's half the price at just $99.99 / £83.21 (about AU$144).

The Phoenix Prime comes in two flavors. The HDMI-to-HDMI version is for connecting AV receivers, cable/satellite boxes, or compatible laptops to any HDMI-equipped television or projector. And the USB-C to HDMI version is for laptops, tablets, and desktops whose USB-C port has DisplayPort Alt Mode, which is common in laptops from the leading brands.

Whichever version you go for, you can run resolutions up to 4K at distances of up to 50ft / 15.2m through walls, floors, and ceilings. With no obstacles, you can expect a range of 150ft / 45.7m. It uses frequencies between 5.1 and 5.8GHz, auto-switching between 9 channels for the best transmission quality.

(Image credit: Nyrius)What this wireless HDMI device doesn't do

The Phoenix Prime 4K30 costs much less than one of the best TVs with features like Samsung's Wireless One Connect Box or LG's Zero Connect, and it's half the price of the Nyrius Phoenix Prime. Inevitably, that means the specification isn't as advanced.

Where the Home has up to 60fps and supports 7.1-channel audio, Dolby Atmos, DTS, and HDR, the Phoenix Prime 4K30 is 30fps without Atmos, DTS, or HDR. It's not the best option for gaming either, as both models have latency of 90ms.

That's not necessarily a deal-breaker, of course. If you're just looking for a way to get 4K in a room that doesn't lend itself to a traditional cabled setup, if you want to deliver presentations or show video on other people's projectors, or if you have a pathological loathing of wires, then $99.99 is a good price for fuss-free connectivity, and the quoted 50ft of range means it should work well in the majority of homes, offices, classrooms, and lecture theaters.

The Phoenix Prime 4K30 is available now via Nyrius.com and Amazon.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

• Anthropic is assembling a deep bench of former Google infrastructure specialists
• Google continues to lose veterans across critical data center functions to Anthropic
• John M. Wilson’s move adds another senior name to Anthropic’s infrastructure operation

Google’s former global design and construction chief John M. Wilson has joined Anthropic as a technical staff member overseeing EMEA capacity delivery.

Wilson spent six years at Google, where his responsibilities covered data center development and subsea infrastructure programs.

His arrival adds another senior infrastructure executive from Google to Anthropic, which has recruited several former employees for specialized data center roles.

A growing stream of Google infrastructure specialists

Anthropic has also recruited Winnie Leung, who now leads data center infrastructure, while Brett Rogers moved after overseeing construction activities at Google.

Liwen Mao, previously a staff data center system architect at Google, now leads Anthropic’s data center design activities.

Adam Johnson spent a decade at Google before joining Anthropic in October as its data center electrical lead, adding another experienced infrastructure specialist.

Peter Sarossy, a Google veteran of 20 years, joined Anthropic in January as a staff member working on data center security engineering.

Zach Miller also moved after 17 years at Google, taking responsibility for data center operations management within Anthropic’s infrastructure organization.

Scarlett Chen, previously involved with advanced technology and innovation at Google, now works at Anthropic as a member of technical staff.

The hiring pattern extends beyond engineering, with Sana Ouji joining Anthropic’s energy team in April to help expand its data center portfolio.

Mike Brinker followed from Google a month later, taking responsibility for capacity delivery, while Asad Malik subsequently joined to lead compute finance strategy.

The series of appointments gives Anthropic personnel with experience spanning construction, electrical systems, security, operations, energy, capacity planning and infrastructure finance.

That range covers several functions required when a technology company needs to develop and operate increasingly large computing facilities.

Wilson brings major infrastructure experience to Anthropic

Before Google, Wilson served as Amazon’s European design and construction leader, giving him experience across major technology infrastructure projects.

His earlier career also included roles as chief of staff in the British Army and infrastructure director at NATO.

Wilson described his move as another demanding infrastructure assignment, citing the scale and importance of his responsibilities at Anthropic.

"Leading global infrastructure delivery across data centers and subsea programs taught me two enduring truths," Wilson said on LinkedIn.

"Scale is humbling, but high-trust teams make the extraordinary feel routine. Clear intent, rigorous operational control, and calm execution will always beat complexity."

Speaking on his new role, Wilson said: “The stakes and scale have never been higher, and I’m eager to get stuck in.”

His new assignment specifically covers EMEA capacity delivery, giving him responsibility for infrastructure expansion across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Anthropic’s recruitment of multiple Google infrastructure specialists comes as the company continues to build its personnel around data center capacity.

For Google, the steady migration of senior infrastructure specialists raises a retention problem that may require stronger incentives, clearer career paths and measures to keep critical expertise from walking out the door.

• Anduril wins a Navy contract worth up to $2.9 billion for submarines
• Palmer Luckey joined Project Meridian days before Anduril received its Navy contract
• Anduril will invest $3.7 billion of its own money in the shipyard

Anduril has secured a US Navy agreement worth as much as $2.9 billion, linking the defense technology company to submarine manufacturing.

The award arrives shortly after co-founder Palmer Luckey joined a Pentagon initiative examining technologies intended for future military operations.

Project Meridian also includes Elon Musk and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, while SpaceX and Anduril both work with the federal government.

New capacity for submarine production

Anduril plans to spend $3.7 billion developing a manufacturing complex at Tradepoint Atlantic in Baltimore County, Maryland.

The proposed Arsenal-2 site will cover 187 acres and more than two million square feet when construction and expansion are complete.

Operations are expected to begin in 2030, with the workforce and manufacturing capabilities increasing as additional production systems become operational.

The facility is intended to manufacture Virginia-class submarine components before sending completed sections to established shipbuilders for final assembly.

When the facility reaches full capacity, it could provide approximately 9 million labor hours annually and over 3,000 jobs.

“This is about putting more food on the table and being able to meet the requirements that our country has to produce more submarines,” said Anduril President and Chief Strategy Officer Chris Brose in a press briefing.

General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries currently build the vessels, making Anduril a new supplier within their production network.

Anduril has also begun developing a 160,000-square-foot facility in California for comparatively straightforward components needed by submarine manufacturers.

Those products include torpedo tubes, which officials have described as an important constraint affecting progress on some submarines already under construction.

Project Meridian and possible conflict of interest

There have been questions about Luckey's role in Project Meridian because the project’s work overlaps with technologies that Anduril develops and supplies to the federal government.

However, the Pentagon has rejected concerns that Luckey's government position could create an improper connection with Anduril's Navy award.

“There’s really nothing to see here,” said Emil Michael, chief technology officer at the Pentagon.

Michael said Meridian's combination of academics, military personnel and industry leaders provides the expertise needed to examine future warfare capabilities.

The Navy agreement also expands Anduril's role beyond autonomous aircraft and software into manufacturing components for conventionally crewed submarines.

“Our goal here is to be a critical, and hopefully, over time, much larger and growing part of the supply chain,” said Chris Brose, Anduril president and chief strategy officer.

President Donald Trump visited the planned Maryland facility and discussed autonomous submarines while describing possible future developments in naval warfare.

“I love the idea of the autonomous sub,” Trump said. “It just makes sense because I wouldn’t — I’m not sure that I would have the courage to go into submarines too much...”

The company now faces the practical challenge of developing the facility, recruiting workers, establishing suppliers and meeting submarine construction standards.

Via CNBC

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, October 8 (game #1718).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1719) — hint #1 — VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1719) — hint #2 — repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1719) — hint #3 — uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1719) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1719) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• O

• D

• S

• H

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1719) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1719, are…

• OLDEN
• DUNCE
• SWATH
• HILLY

This was the first five-vowel game for a couple of weeks and as always it coincided with a tricky game.

Although I didn’t make any wrong guesses, every word was a head scratcher, including OLDEN, which took me forever even though I had every letter.

Daily Sequence today (game #1719) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1719, are…

• LEANT
• MAUVE
• EQUIP
• STILL

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1718, Thursday, 8 October: MINTY, ROWER, BROOD, RESET
• Quordle #1717, Wednesday, 7 October: PALER, FROTH, DOZEN, ERASE
• Quordle #1716, Tuesday, 6 October: FRESH, SKULK, BATCH, ENSUE
• Quordle #1715, Monday, 5 October: SIXTH, SPEAK, SEDAN, HEIST
• Quordle #1714, Sunday, 4 October: INFER, RAINY, THING, ARENA
• Quordle #1713, Saturday, 3 October: CHORE, FLYER, STICK, PURSE
• Quordle #1712, Friday, 2 October: IVORY, SADLY, ANGEL, LLAMA
• Quordle #1711, Thursday, 1 October: NAVEL, SHEER, BIRTH, TACKY
• Quordle #1710, Wednesday, 30 September: CHOKE, BATCH, MOSSY, EAGER
• Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED
• Quordle #1703, Wednesday, 23 September: SHEET, BLAND, JOIST, GUAVA
• Quordle #1702, Tuesday, 22 September: COMFY, LOBBY, DRESS, PANEL
• Quordle #1701, Monday, 21 September: WAXEN, HIPPO, PETAL, LEASH
• Quordle #1700, Sunday, 20 September: DERBY, LIMBO, GAWKY, REIGN
• Quordle #1699, Saturday, 19 September: SCOPE, HEIST, PULSE, CHAMP

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Zendrive Black External DVD Burner: was $44.99 now $37.88
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