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• The feature aims to help navigate misleading posts in private group threads

Web browser battles are getting an AI makeover, and Perplexity is sending a Comet to the fight. The AI-fueled web browser is set to launch this month, as first spotted by Testing Catalog.

Hints about the AI search engine developer's plan for a browser have been seen here and there in recent weeks, including a a new homepage, separate from Perplexity’s main website, a Learn Comet button on some people's Perplexity web interface, and even a briefly viewable promotional video that Perplexity soon took down.

Based on the drip of information, it looks like Perplexity is pitching Comet as a Google Chrome alternative that can aid in any research you need done online. Comet will apparently integrate with Google services, as well as access your history and follow along with your browsing to respond in context to your requests. So, you might ask Comet to “find that thing I was looking at about sea otters last Tuesday,” and it will dig up the article about how they hold hands to keep from losing each other. No more keyword-guessing or digging through all of your open tabs like an archaeologist of your own disorganized mind.

The eye on taking Chrome's crown isn't hyperbole, either. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas has already boasted about how Comet will beat Chrome when it comes to reopening old tabs, declaring that "Chrome is on its way out."

On Comet, you can simply ask in English what you want it to reopen specifically. No need to remember fancy shortcuts. Chrome is on its way out. https://t.co/qCg6CoKCx2April 30, 2025

Comet AI

Perplexity is attempting to get ahead of the biggest obvious concern some might have about Comet, namely, privacy. The idea of a browser that reads what you’re looking at and remembers what you did last week might sound convenient to some, but like dystopian surveillance to others. Comet will have privacy settings, including native ad-blocking, and an opt-out for data sharing.

Meanwhile, the competition isn’t standing still. Microsoft is stuffing increasingly bold AI features into Edge, and of course, Google Chrome is expected to unveil many new AI integrations at Google I/O this year. Comet will need to make its AI assistance feel intuitive to stand out. If Comet's AI can help you stay focused, organized, and smart about navigating the chaos of the internet, it could entice a lot of new users. If not, it risks being seen as more of an unhelpful Chrome extension.

Perplexity needs to get past people asking if they really need another browser, and promise to resolve your frustrations with your current one. If you’re tired of being bombarded with ads and manually digging through your history, Comet, when it comes, might offer a welcome change.

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• Minisforum MS-A2 fits in your hand but flexes harder than most full-sized desktops
• Dual 10GbE ports and 16 cores - this box is built for serious work, not games
• Soldered CPU prevents upgrading, but that's not a concern in this case

Compact systems have long been viewed as underpowered, but Minisforum’s MS series flips that notion.

The company’s latest flagship, the MS-A2 mini PC, uses AMD’s Ryzen 9 9955HX or 7945HX chips, both 16-core mobile CPUs that boost up to 5.4GHz and draw up to 100W,tapping into desktop territory while retaining thermal efficiency.

With a chassis measuring just 196 x 189 x 48 mm, this mini PC comes with soldered CPUs, which prevents future upgrades, but it incorporates integrated cooling to maintain performance at high power levels.

A networking king

Networking, often an afterthought in compact PCs, is a standout feature in the MS-A2. Designed with advanced use cases such as home labs, media servers, and edge AI deployments in mind, this device supports dual 10GbE via SFP+ and dual 2.5GbE LAN.

The Minisforum MS-A2 features three NVMe-capable slots, including two M.2 2280 slots and one U.2-compatible bay. Despite losing one M.2 slot compared to the earlier MS-A1, the device still offers up to 15TB of fast storage through U.2 and NVMe slots, along with RAID support.

Support for discrete GPUs - though limited to low-profile models via a PCIe 4.0 x8 slot - adds credibility to its workstation claims.

The system’s design includes bifurcation support, allowing advanced users to run compute cards or media accelerators for tasks like Plex transcoding or AI inference. Paired with up to 96GB of DDR5 RAM, this setup puts the MS-A2 in serious contention as the best workstation in its size category.

The barebone version of the MS-A2 costs $839, while the version with 64GB RAM and a 1TB SSD is priced at $1,103 for US customers.

Minisforum has a history of pushing boundaries, with models like the MS-01 supporting Intel’s high-end mobile CPUs such as the Core i9-13900H, and offering features like three M.2 slots, a SATA bay, and 10GbE networking.

The MS-02 continued this trend with a bewildering array of options, including four Ethernet ports - two of which are 10GbE - and support for up to four SSDs.

Via Videocardz

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The question of OpenAI, its business, and intentions for the future of AI may finally be solved. In an open letter, OpenAI CEO and co-founder Sam Altman outlined plans to keep OpenAI running under the oversight of a non-profit. What's more, the profit side of the business is transitioning to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC).

A PCB is notable because it means that while that portion of OpenAI will still be interested in making a profit, it will have a larger purpose, one that's intended to serve the good of society.

In more practical terms, Altman wrote, "We want to put incredible tools in the hands of everyone....We want to open source very capable models. We want to give our users a great deal of freedom in how we let them use our tools within broad boundaries, even if we don’t always share the same moral framework, and to let our users make decisions about the behavior of ChatGPT."

In recent years, former partner and OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk has sued OpenAI for leaving its non-profit roots behind, and others have voiced concern about OpenAI not open-sourcing key models. Altman previously admitted that he was on the wrong side of that argument, and Musk eventually lost his case.

Now, though, OpenAI and Altman seem to be moving in the direction Musk and the open-source critics want.

AI for the good

The change of heart comes as Altman admits that in the early days, "we did not have a detailed sense for how we were going to accomplish our mission" and also admitted that some at OpenAI back then thought AI "should only be in the hands of a few trusted people who could 'handle it'."

The perspective now, though, especially as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is on the horizon, is "We want to build a brain for the world and make it super easy for people to use for whatever they want," wrote Altman.

The go-forward plan is for OpenAI's non-profit to be "the largest and most effective nonprofit in history that will be focused on using AI to enable the highest-leverage outcomes for people."

Questions remain

Altman also wants to develop "beneficial AGI" and notes the importance of safety and alignment. "As AI accelerates, our commitment to safety grows stronger. We want to make sure democratic AI wins over authoritarian AI."

Altman's come quite a long way since he was suddenly ousted in late 2023 by, among others, Ilya Sutskever, formerly OpenAI's Chief Scientist and co-founder. He returned just days later. There's a sense in the new letter that AI and the coming AGI are bigger than one person, one company, and one AI like ChatGPT.

As for what this will mean for the future of OpenAI, ChatGPT, and AGI, it is unclear. The PCB may be focused on the public good, but it will still be interested in making a profit. How the non-profit overseer impacts that is unclear.

OpenAI says it will be talking to attorneys generals in California and Delaware, who helped it come to this decision, along with its biggest commercial partner, Microsoft (Copilot's base models are GPT-based), about the implementation of its new plan.

"We believe this sets us up to continue to make rapid, safe progress and to put great AI in the hands of everyone," wrote Altman.

We'll see.

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• Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro has officially completed Pokémon Blue
• The game ran as a livestream experiment by an independent engineer
• Gemini played the game with some light developer intervention, but mostly on its own

Google's Gemini AI may not have passed the Turing test yet, but it would be very popular in the schoolyard three decades ago after winning a game of Pokémon Blue. The Gemini 2.5 Pro is now both Google's most advanced AI model and a Pokémon Master, as demonstrated in a Twitch livestream called “Gemini Plays Pokémon” run by an engineer unaffiliated with Google named Joel Z. Even Google CEO Sundar Pichai joined the celebration, sharing a clip of the victory on X.

What a finish! Gemini 2.5 Pro just completed Pokémon Blue!  Special thanks to @TheCodeOfJoel for creating and running the livestream, and to everyone who cheered Gem on along the way. pic.twitter.com/E2pn3tpfEbMay 3, 2025

You might wonder why an AI model beating a thirty-year-old game drew so much attention. It's partly because of the spectacle, but also because of AI model rivalry. Back in February, Anthropic showcased the progress its Claude model was making in beating Pokémon Red. They used the game to show off Claude’s “extended thinking and agent training” and launched a “Claude Plays Pokémon” Twitch stream, inspiring Joel Z.

Before crowning Gemini as the one true AI Ash Ketchum, it’s worth noting a few caveats. For one, Claude hasn’t technically beaten Pokémon Red yet, but that doesn’t automatically make Gemini better, as they employed different tools, known as “agent harnesses.” The models don’t play the game directly like a human with a controller would. Instead, they’re fed screenshots of the game environment along with overlays of key information, then asked to generate the next best action. That decision is then translated into an actual button press in the game.

And Gemini hasn’t been going it entirely alone. Joel admitted he occasionally stepped in to make improvements, though he has made a point of doing so only to improve some of Gemini's reasoning. He also plans to continue working on the Gemini Plays Pokémon project to make further improvements.

Pokémon AI

(Image credit: Sundar Pichai/X)

What makes this more than a quirky internet stunt is what it implies about where AI is headed. Playing a game like Pokémon Blue isn’t about fast reflexes or memorizing controller inputs. It’s about long-term strategy, adapting to surprises, and navigating ambiguous challenges. These are all areas where AI usually needs improvement. That Gemini could not only hold its own but finish the game (with minimal nudging) suggests that models like it are getting better at extended strategy.

It's also the kind of milestone the average person can understand. You can intuitively understand what the AI is doing when bumbling through Lavender Town or misreading a battle tactic, and compare it to the choices you'd make in that context. Of course, you shouldn't overstate what this means. AI can now finish a game you probably beat in middle school, but it also highlights how much human effort still goes into making AI seem autonomous.

Whether or not Claude or Gemini become true Pokémasters doesn't matter so much as what they're playing means for AI's development. Showing that AI won't just crunch numbers or generate spam emails could change how people think of what AI can do, even with help. And if this is how AI models start learning how to operate in unpredictable, open-ended environments, well, beating Mewtwo might just be a stepping stone to something a lot more profound. Or at least, a bit more productive.

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• Nvidia’s RTX PRO 6000 offers 96GB of memory, enough for giant AI models and datasets
• With 24,064 CUDA cores, this GPU dominates deep learning, rendering, and scientific simulations
• At $8,200, this card is not for gamers; it’s built strictly for serious professionals

In the evolving world of professional computing, PNY Technologies has launched what might be the most powerful workstation GPU to date: the Nvidia RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition.

Directdial reports the card is priced at a staggering $8,200, making it firmly aimed at professionals working in AI development, simulation, or high-end content creation rather than casual users.

At the heart of the GPU is Nvidia’s latest Blackwell architecture, delivering 24,064 CUDA cores to accelerate demanding workloads such as deep learning, real-time rendering, and scientific computing.

Blackwell architecture delivers massive power and memory

The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell supports a record-breaking 96GB of GDDR7 memory, operating over a 512-bit bus with a bandwidth of up to 1.75TB/s.

This is achieved using 3GB modules configured as 16×2×3GB, enabling the vast memory pool necessary for handling massive AI models and ultra-high-resolution assets. ECC memory is also onboard to improve stability in mission-critical tasks.

Despite its performance, the card maintains a relatively modest 300W TDP and is considered energy-efficient for its class.

The GPU supports a wide range of APIs, including Vulkan 1.3, DirectX 12, and OpenCL 3.0.

Early PCB images suggest the absence of a 12V-6x2 connector, possibly pointing to a rear-mounted power input design more commonly found in servers or Max-Q setups.

However, a single 16-pin connector supports the current desktop version, which uses a PCIe 5.0 x16 interface and fits into a standard dual-slot, full-length layout.

Though technically a workstation GPU, the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell opens new possibilities across a range of specialist fields. It can support up to four 8K displays and is engineered to meet the demands of professionals in VFX, CAD, and AI training environments.

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It is a dark time for smartphone fans. The news seems glum. Apple is sinking deeper and deeper into trouble over its failure to deliver a satisfying Apple Intelligence package. Phone makers like Motorola launch brand new phones with an hour explaining the AI features, then forget to mention the phone itself.

Samsung finds itself holding hands with Google as it drops AI feature after AI feature – first it was just Circle to Search, but now Samsung has given Google Gemini the Bixby button?! Dark times indeed.

The worst part is that nobody asked for these features. I don’t want these AI features on my phone. I could already drop a screenshot image into Google Search, I didn’t need to draw a circle to search. I never looked at my iPhone 14 and thought, ‘Gee, I wish this phone could inaccurately summarize my notifications for me.’

For every great AI feature, like Google’s awesome call screening features, there are twice as many terrible AI features, like the image generators that are problematic on so many levels, or the news headline summaries that simply make up imaginary news.

Bad AI is distracting us from great phones

That’s sad, because if you took away this AI bloat, today’s phones are… really great?! Today’s Android phones have matured beyond most of the complaints I’ve held about Android: that it was too complex and lacked a coherent interface design.

To Apple’s defense, there are so many incredible features in iOS 18, especially the features that work between iPhones and bring iPhone people together, that it seems a shame Apple wasted so much of its billboard space on features that don’t even exist, yet, like the super-intelligent Siri that unfortunately failed to graduate in time.

The new Pixel 9 Pro is the most polished Pixel phone ever (Image credit: Philip Berne/ Future)

Take the Google Pixel 9 series, for example. Google has a great new design, and the phone is more durable than ever before. That means it’s less likely to break, and you’ll be able to keep it longer than phones in the past. To back that up, Google also gives you seven years of Android updates. The phone shipped with Android 14, and it should last through Android 21!

That’s just incredible. A few years ago, we were lucky to get any software update promised from an Android phone maker. Today, Google and Samsung both promise seven years of Android updates for their top phones, and even Qualcomm promises its Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset will be supported for the next eight years by the chipmaker.

If you haven’t considered Android, or if you left the platform years ago, it’s worth a new look. Google has removed most of the confusing customization options that cluttered the home screen and app drawer. The whole interface is clean and tidy, and easier to use than ever. If you want to get complicated, you can still download a third-party homescreen launcher app, but the basic Pixel version of Android is refreshing and simplified.

Apple is just as distracted as Android

If you haven’t tried Apple’s iOS in a while, there are amazing new features that let you share between iPhones. You can share your contact information, photos, or even music playlists to let friends add songs to the party mix. You do this just by bringing two iPhones close together, and the phones do the rest using a feature called AirDrop. It works like magic, and it even has a cool magical effect on the screen to show it’s working.

Apple has also added great safety features to the iPhone that let you check in with friends and family so they can know you’re safe. If you think that iOS is too simple, think again. Apple has made it easy to completely customize and rearrange your Control Panel, and the iPhone homescreen now has the same sort of widgets, folders, and layout options you’d expect from an Android phone.

(Image credit: Apple)

Best of all, Apple’s latest titanium build means the new iPhone is also more durable than ever before. Apple doesn’t promise seven years of iOS updates, but it has consistently delivered at least five years of iOS to every single iPhone, and recently, Apple has offered the latest software to iPhones that are even older.

While AI seems unavoidable, you can still ignore most of the latest AI features and just enjoy a great smartphone. Apple and Google are making top-notch phones in spite of their best AI efforts, so don’t let the AI marketing and buzzwords scare you away. The Pixel 9 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro are the best phones these companies have made. Hopefully, the quest for smarter AI doesn’t keep the hardware from improving as well.

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Apple is getting ahead of 2025 Pride Month celebrations with an early reveal of a wild new watch band and some vibrant wallpapers.

Pride Month, which happens every June and celebrates LGBTQ+ communities, is always a month that embraces an array of colors, but this month's Apple Pride Month Collection adds a twist and nod to the "individuality of all members of the LGBTQ+ community," says Apple in a release.

Apple explained that the rainbow colors within each Sport Edition band start as individual color stripes. The bands are assembled by hand and compressed into their final shapes. Apple claims that this means, just like people, no two bands will be alike.

(Image credit: Apple)

Those colors can also be found on the Pride Month Dynamic Apple Watch face and with special wallpapers for the iPhone and iPad. Colors and bands will move on the screen as the users and wearers move.

The watch face and wallpapers are free, but the band, available in small-to-medium lengths, medium-to-large lengths, and in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm watch face widths, will cost $49.

The band goes on sale next week, and the wallpapers and watch face will arrive soon with platform updates in iOS 18.5, iPadOS 18.5, and watchOS 11.5.

This latest Pride Band and face arrive as Apple is celebrating 10 years of the Apple Watch, a wearable that has become more than just a timepiece but also an important platform for supporting health, wellness, and fitness (along with personal style and maybe some social consciousness).

Apple's decision to move forward with a Pride Month collection in the US is notable as some major tech companies (looking at you, Google and Amazon) have scaled back Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts with moves that impact the LGBTQ+ population.

Apple has not done so and seems to be signaling that it will continue its support of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The release includes a line noting that "Apple is proud to financially support organizations that serve LGBTQ+ communities."

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• Google claims its Ironwood TPU is 24x faster than the El Capitan supercomputer
• An analyst says Google's performance comparison is “perfectly silly”
• Comparing AI systems and HPC machines is fine, but they serve different purposes

At the recent Google Cloud Next 2025 event, the tech giant claimed that its new Ironwood TPU v7p pod is 24 times faster than El Capitan, the exascale-class supercomputer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

But Timothy Prickett Morgan of TheNextPlatform has dismissed the claim.

"Google is comparing the sustained performance of El Capitan with 44,544 AMD ‘Antares-A’ Instinct MI300A hybrid CPU-GPU compute engines running the High Performance LINPACK (HPL) benchmark at 64-bit floating point precision against the theoretical peak performance of an Ironwood pod with 9,216 of the TPU v7p compute engines," he wrote. "This is a perfectly silly comparison, and Google’s top brass not only should know better, but does."

24X the performance of El Capitan? Nope!

Prickett Morgan argues that while such comparisons are valid between AI systems and HPC machines, the two systems serve different purposes - El Capitan is optimized for high-precision simulations; the Ironwood pod is tailored to low-precision AI inference and training.

What matters, he adds, is not just peak performance but cost. "High performance has to have the lowest cost possible, and no one gets better deals on HPC gear than the US government’s Department of Energy."

Estimates from TheNextPlatform claim the Ironwood pod delivers 21.26 exaflops of FP16 and 42.52 exaflops of FP8 performance, costs $445 million to build and $1.1 billion to rent over three years. That results in a cost per teraflops of $21 (build) or $52 (rental).

Meanwhile, El Capitan delivers 43.68 FP16 exaflops and 87.36 FP8 exaflops at a build cost of $600 million, or $14 per teraflops.

"El Capitan has 2.05X more performance at FP16 and FP8 resolution than an Ironwood pod at peak theoretical performance," Prickett Morgan notes. "The Ironwood pod does not have 24X the performance of El Capitan."

He adds: "HPL-MxP uses a bunch of mixed precision calculations to converge to the same result as all-FP64 math on the HPL test, and these days delivers around an order of magnitude effective performance boost."

The article also includes a comprehensive table (below) comparing top-end AI and HPC systems on performance, memory, storage, and cost-efficiency. While Google’s TPU pods remain competitive, Prickett Morgan maintains that, from a cost/performance standpoint, El Capitan still holds a clear advantage.

"This comparison is not perfect, we realize," he admits. "All estimates are shown in bold red italics, and we have question marks where we are not able to make an estimate at this time."

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• Sansec found 21 Magento extensions with malicious code
• The extensions belong to three companies, who claim everything's in order
• Users are advised to take immediate action

Hundreds of ecommerce websites, including at least one major player, behemoth, have been compromised after poisoned Magento extensions woke up from a six-year slumber.

Cybersecurity researchers Sansec discovered the supply chain attack after one of its clients was targeted, ultimately finding 21 backdoored Magento extensions, belonging to three companies: Tigren, Meetanshi, and MSG. Here are their names:

Tigren Ajaxsuite
Tigren Ajaxcart
Tigren Ajaxlogin
Tigren Ajaxcompare
Tigren Ajaxwishlist
Tigren MultiCOD
Meetanshi ImageClean
Meetanshi CookieNotice
Meetanshi Flatshipping
Meetanshi FacebookChat
Meetanshi CurrencySwitcher
Meetanshi DeferJS
MGS Lookbook
MGS StoreLocator
MGS Brand
MGS GDPR
MGS Portfolio
MGS Popup
MGS DeliveryTime
MGS ProductTabs
MGS Blog

Get Keeper Personal for just $1.67/month, Keeper Family for just $3.54/month, and Keeper Business for just $7/month

​Keeper is a cybersecurity platform primarily known for its password manager and digital vault, designed to help individuals, families, and businesses securely store and manage passwords, sensitive files, and other private data.

It uses zero-knowledge encryption and offers features like two-factor authentication, dark web monitoring, secure file storage, and breach alerts to protect against cyber threats.

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The long con

The company says some of the extensions were backdoored back in 2019. According to CyberInsider, the extensions were distributed via the vendors' official download servers, which were “breached at some point”.

However, the attackers only activated the malicious code in April 2025. In the meantime, hundreds of ecommerce websites installed them, which resulted in the compromise of roughly 500 - 1,000 websites, including one owned by a $40 billion multinational corporation.

Sansec says that the attackers added a PHP backdoor to the license check file of all of the extensions, which allowed the threat actors to execute arbitrary PHP code remotely.

This granted them control over affected stores, compromising sensitive customer data and financial transactions in the process.

The researchers said they reached out to the three vendors with their findings, but got mixed responses.

Tigren denied having been breached and is allegedly still serving backdoored extensions, while Meetanshi confirmed having been breached but denied experiencing an extension compromise.

Finally, MGS did not even respond to Sansec’s inquiries, even though BleepingComputer confirmed the backdoor in at least one extension that’s currently on offer, for free, on the company website.

If you’re running a Magento store with any of the above-mentioned extensions, you should act immediately and secure your assets.

Via BleepingComputer

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Andor season 2 is halfway through its 12-episode run, so one of the best, if not the best, Star Wars TV shows doesn't have much road left to run.

Nonetheless, there are six more episodes to enjoy this week and next. You'll want to know when you can watch them.

Below, I'll reveal the launch date and time for episodes 7, 8, and 9 of Andor's second and final season. There's also a full release schedule before the end of this piece, too, which will show you when the final three installments will arrive.

What time are episodes 7 to 9 of Andor season 2 released in the US?

Star Wars fans are ready to witness one of Mon Mothma's most iconic moments in season 2 act 3 (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

US fans of Lucasfilm's iconic galaxy far, far away can tune into Disney+ for three new episodes on Tuesday, May 6 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET. That's the same time the previous six entries dropped on one of the world's best streaming services.

All three episodes will be released at the same time, too, so you can stream them back-to-back-to-back if you so desire.

When can I watch Andor season 2 episodes 7 to 9 in the UK?

Dedra will personally oversee events that transpire in this batch of episodes (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

Andor season 2's next act will be available on Disney+ UK on Wednesday, May 7 at 2am BST.

If you don't plan to stay up until then or set an alarm to wake up and stream as soon as they're released, you'll want to mute certain hashtags or phrases on social media.

As I noted in my spoiler-free review of Andor season 2, I've seen all 12 episodes. So, believe me when I say this: you don't want someone ruining the next three episodes' most significant moments on X, Instagram, and more before viewing them.

What date will the next three episodes of Andor season 2 be available in Australia?

Ghorman takes center stage in episodes 7, 8, and 9 (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney+)

Andor season 2's penultimate batch of episodes will be released Down Under on Wednesday, May 7 at 11am AEST.

Like your British counterparts, you'll want to stay off social media, or mute any words or hashtags relating to Star Wars and Andor if you won't be watching them as soon as they air. That way, you'll preserve the biggest surprises for one of the best Disney+ shows' next three chapters.

When will new episodes of Andor season 2 come out on Disney+?

As I've mentioned a couple of times in this article, there are only three more entries of one of 2025's new Star Wars TV shows. So, read on to find out when chapters 10, 11, and 12 will launch on Disney+ wherever you live.

• Andor season 2 episode 1 – out now
• Andor season 2 episode 2 – out now
• Andor season 2 episode 3 – out now
• Andor season 2 episode 4 – out now
• Andor season 2 episode 5 – out now
• Andor season 2 episode 6 – out now
• Andor season 2 episode 7 – May 6 (US); May 7 (UK and Australia)
• Andor season 2 episode 8 – May 6 (US); May 7 (UK and Australia)
• Andor season 2 episode 9 – May 6 (US); May 7 (UK and Australia)
• Andor season 2 episode 10 – May 13 (US); May 14 (UK and Australia)
• Andor season 2 episode 11 – May 13 (US); May 14 (UK and Australia)
• Andor season 2 episode 12 – May 13 (US); May 14 (UK and Australia)

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• Apple files an appeal to App Store ruling
• This comes just days after it was ordered to change some core App Store rules
• Apple disagreed and now it's taking action

Apple filed an appeal on Monday to the US District Court Judge's ruling that forced it to stop charging developers some commission fees.

Just days after Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers accused Apple of lying and not complying with an earlier injunction, the tech giant has filed an appeal that may forestall the application of this new ruling, one that demanded, among other things, the company stop charging a 27% commission on in-app purchases made outside of Apple's App Store transaction system. The fee applied to apps that were downloaded through the Apple App Store, but which then pointed users to in-app purchases that could be completed through third-party transactions.

Also at issue was Apple's insistence that its own transaction system be offered alongside these third-party options.

The ruling that Apple is appealing painted a not-too-flattering picture of how Apple answered the original injunction, claiming, "To hide the truth, Vice-President of Finance, Alex Roman, outright lied under oath. Internally, Phillip Schiller had advocated that Apple comply with the Injunction, but Tim Cook ignored Schiller and instead allowed Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri and his finance team to convince him otherwise."

What's next

Apple's appeal, which was brought to our attention by The Verge, doesn't offer any more details on how Apple plans to fight this latest ruling. At the time, Apple was said to "strongly disagree" with the ruling, but Apple representatives also said, "We will comply with the court's order and we will appeal."

The original case was launched in 2020 by Fortnite maker Epic in its quest to open up iOS to third-party app stores, and to open the Apple App Store to outside transaction systems.

With last week's ruling, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney announced Epic would be returning to the app store, and other app developers claimed that they might be lowering prices because of reduced commission fees.

As of this writing, it's unclear whether Epic still plans to return and if consumers are about to see cheaper apps and in-app purchases. What is clear, though, is that Apple not done fighting this ruling.

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Philips’ range of Hue Play gizmos have been illuminating my front room for years. I bought the company’s first HDMI sync box back in 2020, and now I’m lucky enough to have owned its 8K successor for the past six months. And let me tell you, it’s been a luscious light show treat.

While I still own this AV gadget’s 4K predecessor, the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, the big problem with the original model is that it’s restricted to HDMI 2.0. That means you’re limited to a max signal output of 4K 60Hz. Now, while this obviously isn’t a big deal if you just watch the best Netflix movies on your TV, it’s far more of an issue if you want to play some of the best PS5 games on the PS5 Pro – more and more of which now support 4K 120fps modes.

The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K (catchy, right?) solves this problem by fully supporting HDMI 2.1, a feature found on most of the best TVs. Far more future-proofed than the older box, the new model can support both 8K 60Hz signals and, crucially for gamers, 4K 120Hz ones, too. As someone who owns one of the best gaming PCs, the latter is a massively welcome addition.

I’ll get to why the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K is a dream piece of kit for the admittedly hugely niche market of gamers who play PC titles on a living room TV in a bit, though. In the meantime, let me tell you why watching movies and shows with a streaming device hooked up to the sync box provides instantly immersion-upping experiences.

By mimicking the on-screen colors of the content displayed on your screen, the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K essentially makes the wall behind your TV an extension of your display.

Ramp up the intensity settings in the Philips Hue Play app on your smartphone or tablet and the subsequent light show that is beamed onto your wall – either via the company’s smart lights or one of its gradient lightstrips – creates the sensation of a larger screen area. During particularly colorful scenes the effect is pretty dang stunning.

Your mileage is obviously going to vary on the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K’s eye-catching light action. Yet if you dig smart lights, I’d be surprised if you didn’t adore this accessory’s seamless color syncing.

Performant but pricey

The Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K bests its predecessor by adding support for 4K 120Hz (and 8K 60Hz) pass-through on its HDMI 2.1 ports (Image credit: Future)

Responsive and capable of syncing on-screen action more accurately than the 4K model, the admittedly expensive 8K upgrade is better than the HDMI 2.0 version in pretty much every way. Although if you want to get the most out of Philips’ showy splitter, you’re looking at an outlay of $349/£299 for the device itself, then at least an additional $180/£150 for a Hue Play gradient lightstrip depending on the size of your TV. That’s a lot of cheddar cheese to illuminate your entertainment center.

There’s no denying the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K is a niche device. Then again, you could make the same statement of any TV-related smart light accessories. From my perspective, though, now that I’m so accustomed to watching the action from my favorite movies and games being synced and then projected onto my lounge’s wall, I simply couldn’t part with my 8K sync box.

Not that I actually own an 8K display, of course. While the best 8K TVs are gradually becoming more aggressively priced, there’s such a dearth of worthwhile 8K content out there in 2025 that buying one still makes about as much sense as scuba diving with sharks in a pair of lead flippers. Unless you’re a dedicated gamer who is fortunate enough to own either a PS5 Pro or a seriously beefy PC, you’d probably be better off with the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 4K that retails for around $250/£230.

To the more expensive 8K version's credit, it does bring quality of life improvements that can still be felt on a 4K set. For one thing, I’ve found the newer box is plagued with far less temporary screen blackouts when switching between devices. This is an annoying issue that crops up quite a lot on the older 4K HDMI sync box in my experience, and there’s no question the updated 8K version feels more reliable.

Over the last few months living with Philips’ latest sync box, I’ve also found it more accurately… well, “syncs” whatever you’re watching/playing. While the color-replicating results can be most keenly appreciated on a wall-mounted TV in a dark room, it’s still easy to make out distinct hues in a well-lit lounge during the day.

Sync or swim Image 1 of 4

I don’t even like butternut squash yet my Philips sync box’s screen-mimicking colors have still left me drooling. (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 4

The wedding ceremony of Mon Mothma’s daughter in Andor season 2 squeezes a lot out of the Hue Play Sync Box 8K. (Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 4

The endlessly vibrant action Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man provides is a perfect match for Philips’ device. (Image credit: Future)Image 4 of 4

The eye-catching red and orange tones Havoc often delivers makes it a good movie to help flex the sync box’s muscles. (Image credit: Future)

I do the vast majority of my movie viewing and binge watching on the Apple TV 4K (2022). Crew Cupertino’s Ultra HD streaming box is capable of delivering incredible pictures, and on-screen action is made even more thrilling when piped through my Philips sync box.

Recently, I’ve been watching a bunch of films and shows across Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video, with some of the subsequent sync experiences being nothing short of spellbinding. I’ve been dazzled by fiery shades of orange, be it with a delicious-looking butternut squash soup on Netflix’s Chef’s Table Legends or the legendary lightsaber duel on Mustafar in the recently released Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith.

My corneas have also been treated to a full-on optical tan thanks to frequent brilliantly bright flashes of color in Disney Plus’ Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man or the dizzying post-wedding rave scene in episode 3 of the pitch-perfect Andor season 2. As much as I value the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K elevating my gaming playthroughs, it’s upped my streaming sessions just as much.

There’s no getting around it, though. First and foremost, the premier HDMI smart light sync box on the market has primarily been designed with gamers in mind. If you’re a hardcore PS5 Pro player or can’t get enough of the best PC games, Philips’ device is a revelation.

A great gaming upgrade Image 1 of 4

The warm colors of GTA V: Enhanced Edition’s LA-inspired Los Santos look superb beamed through this 8K sync box. (Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 4

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster might be super-janky, but its colorful world is well suited to my Philips HDMI gadget. (Image credit: Future)Image 3 of 4

The otherworldly diving adventures of Abzu look spectacular on PC through the Hue Play Sync Box 8K. (Image credit: Future)Image 4 of 4

Prepare to singe your pupils the first time you drive through a blinding sandstorm in breezy arcade racer Forza Horizon 5. (Image credit: Future)

I may have been forced to sell my spleen to afford it, but hot damn the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is an astonishing GPU. The “supercar of graphics cards” can run PC games at ludicrously fast frame rates, and all that raw horsepower means I can enjoy some of my favorite titles in 4K at 120 frames per second. Even the most eye-alluring games on Sony’s supercharged PS5 Pro can’t match the visual splendour my high-end PC can provide.

Before I got the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K, PC gaming on my LG G3 OLED was a no-go due to the limitations of HDMI 2.0 on its 4K older sibling. Prior to selling semi-vital body parts to fund my 5090 purchase, I owned the RTX 4090 – a card that was still more than capable of running most modern PC games at 4K 120fps. Being restricted to 60 frames at 4K therefore meant I was never going to pair my old Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 4K with my gaming rig.

That’s obviously changed now that I have the 8K sync box in my life. The upgrade to HDMI 2.1 is a literal game-changer, and now I can enjoy games in Ultra HD at 120Hz, the max refresh rate my LG OLED supports.

And hoo-boy, have I enjoyed some great, light up my life PC playthroughs this year. It may be blighted with serious tech woes, but I still got a kick from staggering out into the almost blindingly green open world forests of the recent Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster. Stellar Xbox racer Forza Horizon 5 – which was just recently released on PS5 – also serves up the sort of searing hues Philips' new(ish) HDMI sync box revels in reproducing.

I’ve been so impressed with what the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K has added to my gaming sessions of late, I’ve taken the plunge and dragged my 65lb PC into my living room for daily usage – yes, I’m sad enough I actually jumped on my set of scales cradling it like a gigantic baby to weigh the thing. My poor, poor shattered knees.

Philips’ latest HDMI accessory is the best device I’ve ever paired with a TV. Not only has it made PC gaming on my main TV viable at long last, it also makes streaming shows on my 77-inch OLED screen a constant, immersion-adding pleasure.

Be it watching Tom Hardy’s detective prowl around inner city streets as cop car lights cause my sync box to alternate between startling shades of red and blue in Gareth Evans’ unflinching action flick Havoc on Netflix or being dazzled by the neon splendour of Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City, the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box 8K is a knockout – albeit expensive – TV accessory.

My eyes can’t get enough of it.

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• Anker's docking station's ultra-fast Thunderbolt 5 supports up to 120 Gbps for video and data transfer
• Includes HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1, but only one video port works natively at once
• Two extra Thunderbolt ports let you connect 8K monitors

Anker has introduced a new laptop docking station that uses a primary Thunderbolt 5 connection to the host machine, along with two additional Thunderbolt ports for peripherals such as 8K monitors.

Thunderbolt 5 offers backward compatibility with earlier Thunderbolt and USB standards and supports up to 120Gbps bandwidth under optimal conditions, so a single cable handles data, power, and video, helping reduce desktop cable clutter.

MiniMachines reports the dock targets users who need extensive I/O flexibility, supporting high-resolution multi-monitor setups and a wide range of peripherals.

Multiple connectivity options

The dock includes a range of connectivity options: 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, three USB 3.2 Type-A ports, two USB 3.2 Type-C ports, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and SDXC card readers.

It also features HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1 outputs, although only one can be used at a time for native video output unless additional monitors are connected via Thunderbolt or USB protocols.

The external power supply is rated at 180 watts, with up to 140 watts delivered to a connected laptop - ideal for powering devices while handling demanding workloads, all without a separate charger.

A subtle LED ring on the top edge provides status feedback. The dock is housed in a sandblasted aluminum chassis, though passive cooling alone isn’t sufficient - so a compact internal fan is included.

While fan-based cooling is common in mini PCs, prolonged use could lead to issues like fan misalignment or increased noise.

The dock also does not appear to be user-serviceable, which could be a drawback for users concerned with maintenance or long-term durability.

Priced at €419 (about $474), it’s not the most budget-friendly option, but it may appeal to users seeking a premium, all-in-one docking solution for high-end displays and performance-focused peripherals.

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Age is just a number, or so people entering late middle age like to say. It's also inevitable. No matter where you are on life's journey, you are growing up, getting older, slouching toward expiration. It's only natural that we turn to the most readily available technology for answers about the inevitable. And no, I'm not talking about those ridiculous light masks. Instead, I'm asking AI to ponder my deterioration.

I'm not the only one. Multi-millionaire Bryan Johnson is turning his quest to forestall death into a religion and one that has a deep connection to AI.

In a recent interview with MIT Technology Review, Johnson outlined his plans for a new "Don't Die" religion and how AI could factor into our longevity. He wants to train models on things like conflict resolution, which I assume could help us avoid wars that lead to, tragically, lots more death.

But for Johnson, who has invested deeply in extending his own life, AI will not only change how we treat ourselves, it may also impact how we view religion. AI's ubiquity (and growing influence and power) may lead people to think of their bodies as "God."

Heady stuff, I know. More practically, though, Johnson said he's feeding his body data into an algorithm. "I’ve been testing the hypothesis that if I get a whole bunch of data about my body, and I give it to an algorithm, and feed that algorithm updates with scientific evidence, then it would eventually do a better job than a doctor. So I gave myself over to an algorithm," he told MIT.

Like Johnston, I'm deeply invested in my longevity, but without the millions to spend on it. I do, though, have access to myriad AIs that are all, I presume, ready and willing to guide me on my physical journey.

Even though I haven't fed all my physical data into these AI systems, I assumed each one of them could offer some useful advice and maybe help me turn back the hands of time, if only a little bit.

A question of age

I posed the same question to ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Claude AI: "What's the best way to combat aging?"

ChatGPT leaped right into some well-worn advice, telling me:

"Staying active, eating a balanced diet, and keeping a positive mindset can really help. Regular exercise and maintaining strong social connections are also important. And don’t forget to keep your brain engaged with new challenges and learning opportunities. Is there any specific area you’d like to focus on?"

This is all good and unsurprising advice, and since it asked, I followed up with, "How do I look younger?"

As I expected, ChatGPT talked about hydration, sunscreen, eating fruits and vegetables, sleep, and exercise. One thing I didn't know is that vitamin C can help.

AI is my Copilot

I switched to Microsoft's platform (which, like ChatGPT, is based on OpenAI models).

Seeming to understand my anxiety, Copilot started by talking me down off the proverbial ledge:

"Aging is a natural part of life, but focusing on a few key areas can help you age gracefully. Staying active keeps your body strong, while a balanced diet filled with fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and healthy fats nourishes your skin and cells. Don't underestimate the power of staying mentally sharp, too, whether that's through learning new things or keeping social connections alive. How about a creative hobby or meditation for a mental boost?"

I like the "aging gracefully" part. Copilot knows we're not talking about trying to live forever, as I think Johnston may be trying to do, but decaying with grace (and maybe courage). Its advice was a bit more general than ChatGPT's, but it, too, mentioned my diet and physical activity.

AI anti-aging aswers. From left-to-right, ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude AI, and Gemini. (Image credit: Future) Claude's textbook approach

Unlike ChatGPT and Copilot, Anthropic's Claude AI can't answer in voice, so its response was far less conversational and offered a more textbook approach to anti-aging:

"There are many evidence-based approaches to combat aging and promote longevity. Here’s what science currently suggests:

1. Dietary strategies - Caloric restriction, intermittent fasting, and Mediterranean or DASH diets have shown longevity benefits

2. Regular exercise - Both aerobic and resistance training help maintain muscle mass, cardiovascular health, and cognitive function

3. Sleep optimization - 7-8 hours of quality sleep supports cellular repair and immune function

4. Stress management - Chronic stress accelerates aging through inflammation and telomere shortening

5. Social connection - Strong relationships are consistently linked to longer lifespans

6. Cognitive engagement - Learning new skills and mental challenges support brain health

7. Supplements - Some show promise but with varying evidence (NAD+ precursors, resveratrol)

8. Lifestyle choices - Avoiding smoking, limiting alcohol, and minimizing UV exposure protect against premature aging

To be honest, this was some of the best advice. I appreciate the detail around lifestyle choices, perhaps because they align with some of my own.

Doctor Gemini

Of all the AI chatbots I spoke to, only Gemini added a big and, I think, important caveat at the beginning and end of its generative advice:

"This is for informational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional.

While aging is a natural process, there are ways to promote healthy aging. A balanced diet, regular exercise, and stress management techniques can help. Prioritizing quality sleep and staying socially connected can also make a big difference. And of course, don't forget the importance of regular checkups with your doctor.

Just a reminder that I don't provide medical advice or diagnoses. You should always talk to a medical professional."

Sure, the lawyers probably made Google add that, but it's a good reminder that while AIs like Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and others are always looking to help, their advice should always be taken with a grain of salt.

Consult your doctor

It's not just that AIs can still hallucinate, but what they know about our bodies and health is still a compendium of fact and opinion-based information pulled from countless sources and training. The models and algorithms meld it to give you the best possible advice. As you can see, most of it is accurate, but, for now at least, these AIs do not know you and may not know, for instance, that you have a Vitamin C allergy or that physical activity is difficult for you because of a disability.

Ultimately, you have to take their advice as suggestions and then, as Gemini says, consult a professional.

There may come a time when, as Bryan Johnson predicts, we're pouring all of our data into these systems and they know more about us than a doctor and have more information at their fingertips than any one healthcare professional ever could. But we are not there yet. So while Johnston relies on AI to help him make anti-aging choices, you should still talk to your doctor first.

Also, I think I need to start using moisturizer.

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The UK Government's ambitious AI Action Plan is heralding a new era of digital innovation, promising transformative advancements across various sectors. However, its implications for the UK's power and utilities landscape are both profound and complex.

These expanding technological needs come at a critical time when the UK is fundamentally reshaping its approach to energy production and consumption. Additionally, the surge in demand for more data centers presents an extra layer of complexity for an energy grid that is simultaneously trying to become more sustainable and more resilient.

Navigating this intricate interplay of technological advancement, environmental targets and infrastructure limitations will define the challenges and opportunities for the UK's power and utilities sectors in the coming years.

The energy infrastructure challenge: A collision of ambition and reality

One of the biggest challenges to have emerged for the UK’s energy sector is the increased demand of data centers. Powering AI requires data, and powering data requires large amounts of electricity and water. This puts further pressure on the energy grid as the UK speeds ahead with net zero plans. In fact, according to a Gartner report, 40% of existing AI data centers are predicted to be operationally constrained by power availability by 2027.

While renewable energy sources like wind and solar are crucial for reducing carbon emissions, their power output is entirely reliant on weather conditions. Unlike traditional power plants that can generate consistent amounts of electricity, renewable energy depends on unpredictable natural factors like wind and sunlight.

To ensure that electricity output remains consistent and stable, it is crucial for the energy sector to continue to develop new and innovative solutions. For instance, in the case of a sudden drop in renewable energy production due to unexpected weather changes, the grid needs to have backup power sources or energy storage systems to maintain consistent electricity delivery to be able to balance supply with demand. In addition, there is a large opportunity to apply AI technology to controlling demand itself, allowing it to be part of the solution to balancing a volatile system.

Grid limitations, often referred to as ‘constraints’, also remain a significant obstacle. The situation is becoming more complex with the emergence of energy-intensive sectors like artificial intelligence. With the added pressure of the UK government's AI Action Plan, rapid expansions in energy and water supply are now required to support new data centers. This growing demand, combined with the inherent variability of renewable energy, creates an urgent need to modernize the energy grid.

Additionally, the growth in data centers will also impact the water sector. These facilities require substantial amounts of water for cooling purposes, adding another layer of strain on existing resources, particularly in regions already facing water stress.

Addressing the energy infrastructure challenge therefore requires a holistic approach that considers both power and water supply in the context of the UK's net zero objectives. Without substantial technological advancements and innovative power solutions, the UK risks limiting its sustainability goals and its ability to support emerging technologies.

Policy and regulatory imperatives

Combating these challenges will require proactive policy and regulatory reforms to ensure the energy demands of the AI sector do not outpace supply capacity or compromise sustainability goals. Ofgem has already begun to make significant strides in this area by developing connections reform in 2024, with plans to implement these changes in a phased form in 2025. The goal is to create more flexible regulations that can quickly adapt to the rapidly changing energy landscape, especially as technological innovations like AI drive increase demand for electricity.

Moreover, initiatives like the Data Sharing Infrastructure (DSI) in the energy sector and similar pushes in water management further underscore the importance of data sharing and transparency. By facilitating the exchange of data across different stakeholders, DSI promotes better decision-making and resource allocation, which are essential for optimizing operations and improving overall system resilience.

Additionally, these efforts are particularly vital in the context of integrating AI and renewable energy sources into existing infrastructure. AI technologies can leverage vast amounts of data to optimize energy production and consumption patterns, enhancing efficiency and reducing operational costs.

This integration is crucial for meeting sustainability goals by minimizing carbon footprints and maximizing renewable energy utilization.

The opportunity to invest and innovate

The AI Action Plan presents both challenges and exciting opportunities for investment and innovation in the UK's power and utilities sectors. As the country continues to increase its use of solar and wind energy, it will need to improve the flexibility of its energy systems. This includes expanding battery storage and adopting strategies that focus on managing the demand for electricity, instead of just increasing supply, to help balance the grid.

Due to the uncertain nature of renewables, balancing supply and demand is more difficult. To address this, battery storage becomes essential as well as other longer-duration storage technologies which are in development. These capture excess renewable energy produced when there is more power than needed (like during sunny or windy days) and store it for later use, such as during periods of high demand or when renewable generation is low. This helps keep the grid stable and flexible, ensuring that there is always enough power available when it’s needed most.

The deployment of smart grids will be key to improving how energy is distributed and used. Smart grids use advanced technology like sensors, communication tools and data analytics to monitor and control the flow of electricity more efficiently. These technologies help ensure that energy is distributed in the most effective way, allowing for the smooth integration of distributed renewable energy (like solar panels and wind turbines) into the grid.

Additionally, ensuring flexibility on the demand side will be critical. This refers to encouraging consumers to adjust when and how they use electricity based on signals from the grid or price incentives. For example, if the grid is overloaded or renewable energy is scarce, consumers might be asked to reduce their energy use or shift it to times when there’s more available power. By doing this, consumers can help balance energy supply and demand, making the grid more stable and efficient.

AI-powered tools are creating many new opportunities for innovation in the energy and utilities sectors in the UK. These technologies use advanced algorithms and machine learning to analyze vast amounts of data, which can lead to significant improvements in how energy systems operate.

One of the key areas AI can have a critical impact is predicting how much energy will be needed at different times. Given AI’s capability for analyzing historical data, weather patterns and other factors, more accurate forecasts can be made. This helps utilities better plan for peak demand times and ensure there is enough supply to meet customer needs without overloading the system. It can also be used to understand the opportunities to alter demand to manage peak times – such as pre-cooling a refrigeration unit or delaying a manufacturing process.

Moreover, real-time management of the energy grid can be further optimised by AI, enabling the dynamic adjustment of energy flows to swiftly respond to fluctuations in demand and supply. This is becoming increasingly crucial with the integration of renewable energy sources like solar and wind, as waste is minimized, the reliability on the energy grid is enhanced, while certain risks of outages are pre-emptively addressed.

Finally, the ways in which energy companies interact with their customers is set to be enhanced using AI. By analyzing customer data, AI can offer personalized recommendations for energy savings, such as suggesting when to use appliances or adjusting energy usage based on pricing signals. AI can also improve customer service by providing quicker and more accurate responses to enquiries, and by helping consumers track their energy consumption more effectively.

Navigating a future powered by intelligence and sustainability

As the UK embraces the transformative potential of its AI Action Plan, the power and utilities sectors stand at a critical juncture. The increased energy and water demands from expanding data centers, coupled with the ongoing transition to renewable energy, present profound and complex challenges. Addressing these challenges requires strategic policy reforms, significant investments in grid modernization and energy storage, and the widespread adoption of innovative technologies, including AI itself.

By proactively addressing the energy infrastructure challenge and seizing emerging investment and innovation opportunities, the UK can ensure that its AI ambitions are powered sustainably. This approach will pave the way for a future where technological advancement and environmental responsibility go hand in hand.

We've featured the best AI chatbot for business.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we 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/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Chinese threat actor TheWizards observed running a SLAAC attack since 2022
• The attack delivers tainted software updates
• Most victims are in China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and UAE

A threat actor called TheWizards has been running SLAAC spoofing attacks to target organizations, cybersecurity researchers ESET have revealed, claiming the group is aligned with the Chinese government.

In the campaign, the attackers would use a tool called Spellbinder to send fake Router Advertisement (RA) messages to their targets.

These messages trick devices into thinking the attacker’s system is the legitimate router, causing them to route all their internet traffic through the hacker’s machine. Since this method manipulates the Stateless Address Autoconfiguration (SLAAC) process, the entire attack was dubbed “SLAAC spoofing”.

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Once TheWizards start controlling the traffic, they use Spellbinder to intercept DNS queries for legitimate software update domains and redirect them.

As a result, the victims end up downloading trojanized versions of software updates, containing the WizardNet backdoor.

This piece of malware, ESET further explained, grants TheWizards remote access to the victim devices. It communicates over encrypted TCP or UDP sockets, and uses a SessionKey based on system identifiers for AES encryptions.

Besides loading and executing .NET modules in-memory, WizardNet can extract system data, list running processes, and maintain persistence.

The campaign has been ongoing since at least 2022, ESET added, mainly targeting people and businesses in China, Hong Kong, Cambodia, the Philippines, and the UAE.

Apparently, the crooks are currently tricking people into downloading a fake Tencent update: “The malicious server that issues the update instructions was still active at the time of writing,” ESET said. Most of the corporate victims seem to be in the gambling vertical.

ESET also said that Spellbinder is monitoring for domains belonging not just to Tencent, but also Baidu, Xunlei, Youku, iQIYI, Kingsoft, Mango TV, Funshion, Yuodao, Xiaomi, Xiaomi Miui, PPLive, Meitu, Quihoo 360, and Baofeng.

The best way to mitigate the risk is to monitor IPv6 traffic, or turn off the protocol if it’s not required in the environment, ESET concluded.

Via BleepingComputer

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The impact that the new US administration’s sweeping global tariffs will have on building out the country’s AI infrastructure is a hot topic. This is not least because US tech giants continue to announce huge budgets for sprawling data centers, with a recent report estimating that Microsoft, Google and Meta plan to spend a combined $325 billion on new data centers.

Analysts are focusing mainly on the rising cost of steel, copper, and other precious metals needed to expand physical infrastructure, as well as the specialized semiconductor and GPU chips essential to data centers. By some estimates, construction costs for commercial projects may rise by as much as 5% under the new US global tariff regime.

While these estimates may be correct, the analysis - at least in terms of data centers - is missing a crucial element. Debates over importing steel, GPUs, servers, and networking equipment assume that meeting rising computing demand means we must continuously build. The reality, however, is that we are significantly underutilizing the computing resources we already have.

The resource utilization problem

What we have here is a manufacturing solution being proposed for a distribution problem. Building additional facilities to meet the growing demand for AI computing not only requires enormous capital investment, but this centralized model creates vulnerabilities in terms of single points of failure and malicious actors.

Meanwhile, vast computing resources are sitting idle worldwide. Indeed, we are wasting tremendous computing power. According to the SPECpower benchmark, 20% to 60% of the power consumed by computers connected to the public cloud is idle and so unattributable to active utilization. This means that a significant amount of cloud and GPU computing power is likely being unutilized globally.

In China, the situation is markedly worse. Due to the country’s recent AI infrastructure “gold rush”, billions of dollars were spent on data centers, around 80% of which are now sitting idle, according to a report published by The MIT Technology Review.

This is because the recent release of Chinese AI LLM DeepSeek has revealed a startling truth: AI doesn’t need $30,000 GPU chips with enormous computing power to operate. Indeed, as the release of DeepSeek V3 has just shown, an AI LLM can be run on a Mac computer.

This serves to underline the enormous inefficiencies in global computing power that have persisted for years simply because we have not sought to aggregate and redistribute existing resources. Rather than building entirely new infrastructure, we can tap into reserves of existing computational power. All we need to do is rethink computing infrastructure.

Utilizing existing infrastructure

Harnessing unused computational power is the most efficient way to meet the demands of AI, and Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs) offer innovative solutions. Rather than building more centralized facilities, DePIN cloud models can connect buyers with suppliers of unused computing power through a globally distributed network that is not reliant on single data centers.

One might think of this as the "Airbnb of Compute" - a way to connect those who need GPU space with those who have GPU space to spare.

This approach, which is able to utilize the world’s idle computing power, has the potential to meet the needs of businesses and individuals without spending billions of dollars on new physical infrastructure.

By taking advantage of underutilized GPU power, cloud computing DePIN platforms can offer high-performance computing at prices significantly lower than established providers like AWS and Azure, and this structural advantage makes tariff concerns largely irrelevant.

Rather than spending billions of dollars on new facilities that will - as China’s dilemma demonstrates - be underutilized, DePIN models maximize existing resources. As DeepSeek has shown, the distribution of computing power can also widen participation in AI tools, enabling small and medium enterprises to leverage machine learning technology without prohibitive costs.

Computing without constraints

Globally, we have come to realize the drawbacks of centralization. In the cloud space, by pivoting from large, centralized data centers, we can build networks that are resilient to trade wars or pandemics. These distributed systems respond to demand naturally – expanding when needed, contracting when not needed – without requiring vast new facilities.

For business leaders and policymakers, this represents an opportunity to rethink assumptions about infrastructure development. Rather than subsidizing more gigantic data centers, leaders could focus policies on incentivizing the better utilization of existing resources.

In the US especially, rather than poring over the potential increase in costs of importing more steel, copper, and computational hardware, the Stargate Infrastructure Project might focus on the vast unused capacity the country already has. And, as cost-cutting is a core focus of this administration, this approach would be fully aligned.

Perhaps of even more interest to such a conservative administration would be the savings in energy costs that such an approach would bring. Distributed computing networks typically consume less energy than large data centers and, more importantly, in a way that does not negatively impact communities and businesses in the area.

Innovation through efficiency

Most importantly, though, distributed computing networks enable faster innovation cycles by lowering barriers to access. They create new economic opportunities for resource providers previously excluded from the AI economy - and innovation and entrepreneurship are nothing if not the raison d'etre of Republican idealism.

Ultimately, current debates around tariffs and their impact on data center construction costs distract from a glaring opportunity. By embracing decentralized computing models, the world can meet growing AI demands without being constrained by infrastructure limitations. The technology exists today, and the economic case is compelling. The only remaining question is how quickly businesses and policymakers will recognize this.

We've featured the best IT infrastructure management service.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we 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/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Nvidia’s again rumored to have RTX 5080 and 5070 Super variants inbound with 24GB and 18GB of VRAM
• They might also be highly overclocked and could boost performance by as much as 15% versus their vanilla versions
• Pricing will be crucial, and Nvidia may be so worried about AMD’s RX 9000 family that it might stick with the same MSRPs as the RTX 5080 and 5070

We’re hearing more gossip from the GPU grapevine about what Nvidia might have incoming in the way of Super variants of its RTX 5080 and 5070 graphics cards.

Following rumors about these potential upgrades to the existing Blackwell GPUs floating around last week – insisting the RTX 5080 Super will boost the amount of video RAM to 24GB (from 16GB) – we’ve heard from a regular leaker on YouTube on this topic.

In a new video (see below), Moore’s Law is Dead is quick to point out that none of the information he has represents concrete plans from Nvidia – which also goes for previous rumors – but nonetheless it’s interesting to chew over the purported thinking inside the company right now.

Which is, according to a source at one of Nvidia’s graphics card making partners, that there have been RTX 5080 GPUs with 24GB and RTX 5070 boards with 18GB in labs since last year.

In other words, testing on such models has been going on for half a year (or more – and various rumors go back some way, too). However, Nvidia told card manufacturers that these variants are ‘on hold’ until either the situation around pricing for video RAM improves – to make the price tags on these supposed Super models suitably palatable for PC gamers – or until Nvidia sees if these variants are really needed based on what AMD is doing.

There’s been a new development last week, though, in that the source claims Nvidia is now saying that RTX 5080 and 5070 Super graphics cards are now ‘likely’ to happen at some point in 2025.

These will apparently be highly overclocked versions of these two GPUs with the respective 24GB and 18GB loadouts that have already been heavily rumored (up from 16GB and 12GB currently).

Of course, be cautious about this assertion, but be even more careful with the speculation around the performance boost that this could provide. The source believes we’ll be looking at Super graphics cards that are between 7% to 15% faster than the vanilla RTX 5080 and 5070.

What about pricing? That isn’t yet confirmed, as you’d guess given that we’re not near launch yet. However, according to the source, Nvidia could be looking at keeping the MRSP the same as the current price tags for the RTX 5080 and 5070, or alternatively, applying a slight increase (maybe 10%, or 20% perhaps for the RTX 5080 24GB, the YouTuber guesses).

Analysis: Priming the big guns to fire back at AMD?

A performance gain in the order of 10% to 15% would be impressive for Super variants that use the same core counts as the vanilla RTX 5080 and 5070. That’s because those (theoretical) gains are coming entirely from the VRAM increase and pushing up clocks (by a fair bit, I’d guess – which will also ramp up power usage, it should be noted).

It’s further worth remembering that ratcheting up VRAM by 6-8GB could make quite a difference with certain games in some scenarios, where that capacity matters more. And that the mentioned performance gain would bring the RTX 5080 Super up to more or less match the frame rates delivered by the RTX 4090.

If Nvidia really is considering maintaining pricing at the same level as the RTX 5080 and 5070 while giving gamers that kind of boost, it does show that this is certainly all about firing back at AMD. As the source indicates, the RX 9000 series has ‘spooked’ Nvidia and we’re certainly seeing Team Red gaining GPU turf in the battle of the current-gen graphics cards.

I’m not surprised that Nvidia is therefore feeling the heat, and might be considering launching RTX 5080 and 5070 Super versions that hit the shelves as much more tempting potential purchases. The latter is particularly needed, because as we’ve seen, the RTX 5070 vanilla GPU received a lukewarm reception, and it looks like sales have been shaky – and that’s the key mid-range battleground with AMD.

There’s actually RTX 5070 stock around now at major retailers, and pricing isn’t too bad for these models either. Although, of course, if a compelling RTX 5070 Super arrives, pitched at the same MSRP (or maybe just 10% more), that could create quite a splash. And then Nvidia would need to ensure a robust supply, or face criticism all over again on the stock front.

Which is why if these Super refreshes really are happening, I’m anticipating that they won’t be arriving until later in 2025. Not unless Nvidia really is sweating about how much discrete GPU market share AMD is gobbling up (and Team Green has the ability to crank production lines suitably, too).

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• Nvidia RTX 5080 vs RTX 5070 Ti: Should you spend a little more?
• AMD strikes back in May? RX 9060 XT rumored to face Nvidia’s RTX 5060 GPU in lower-mid-range shootout
• AMD could be working on a faster RX 9070 Extreme graphics card

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 Monday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Monday, May 5 (game #1197).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 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 #1198) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* 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 #1198) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

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

Quordle today (game #1198) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do 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 #1198) - 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 #1198) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• U

• S

• F

• P

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

Quordle today (game #1198) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1198, are…

• UNITE
• SOGGY
• FILET
• PORCH

It was a choice between UNTIE and QUITE on my final word, but as it turned out both were wrong and UNITE was the word I was looking for.

Up until this point I’d been very lucky with my guesses, so I don’t feel too bad about my error.

I’m not sure about using PROUD as a start word, but this is the third day out of four where we’ve had a word beginning with P, so I’m sticking with it for now.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1198) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1198, are…

• BASIC
• CRIED
• RESIN
• GLAND

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1197, Monday, 5 May: WREAK, COWER, STEAD, QUEUE
• Quordle #1196, Sunday, 4 May: PINCH, SMOKE, SCARY, CANNY
• Quordle #1195, Saturday, 3 May: PLUSH, VERGE, WROTE, CONDO
• Quordle #1194, Friday, 2 May: CAUSE, RISEN, MACAW, SMELT
• Quordle #1193, Thursday, 1 May: IDIOM, EXILE, SPOOF, DRAPE
• Quordle #1192, Wednesday, 30 April: BATON, TORSO, ANNEX, DROWN
• Quordle #1191, Tuesday, 29 April: HOVER, HENCE, OCTAL, COPSE
• Quordle #1190, Monday, 28 April: JAUNT, ALLOW, FRUIT, BURNT
• Quordle #1189, Sunday, 27 April: PRIOR, YOUTH, CREDO, CHIDE
• Quordle #1188, Saturday, 26 April: LINGO, LOCUS, THROW, CLICK
• Quordle #1187, Friday, 25 April: SHALT, WRATH, MAMBO, HUMPH
• Quordle #1186, Thursday, 24 April: CHOKE, COLOR, FRAME, CAIRN
• Quordle #1185, Wednesday, 23 April: VALET, PUPAL, CREEP, DRIFT
• Quordle #1184, Tuesday, 22 April: POUTY, CHEST, BROOM, TEPEE
• Quordle #1183, Monday, 21 April: SHARD, PRINT, SUMAC, LEACH
• Quordle #1182, Sunday, 20 April: DINER, HORDE, SHONE, FUGUE
• Quordle #1181, Saturday, 19 April: GRADE, LAUGH, RAINY, EXULT
• Quordle #1180, Friday, 18 April: DEBUT, GLADE, BASTE, PESTO
• Quordle #1179, Thursday, 17 April: SPRAY, RAMEN, SHELF, COURT
• Quordle #1178, Wednesday 16 April: STUMP, GRAFT, CHORD, INPUT

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections 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 Monday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, May 5 (game #694).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

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

NYT Connections today (game #695) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• HUSH
• RIBBON
• BABY
• TOY
• MINUTE
• MOCKINGBIRD
• GAME
• RAZZMATAZZ
• STILL
• SET
• COMPACT
• PEACE
• MATCH
• CALM
• KIDNEY
• TOURNAMENT

NYT Connections today (game #695) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Tranquility
• GREEN: Wimbledon words
• BLUE: Tiny
• PURPLE: Roasting at the start

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #695) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: SILENCE
• GREEN: TENNIS COMPETITION UNITS 
• BLUE: COMPARATIVELY SMALL 
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH SYNONYMS FOR "TEASE" 

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

NYT Connections today (game #695) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #695, are…

• YELLOW: SILENCE CALM, HUSH, PEACE, STILL
• GREEN: TENNIS COMPETITION UNITS GAME, MATCH, SET, TOURNAMENT
• BLUE: COMPARATIVELY SMALL BABY, COMPACT, MINUTE, TOY
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH SYNONYMS FOR "TEASE" KIDNEY, MOCKINGBIRD, RAZZMATAZZ, RIBBON

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I did think that there was a group about teasing today, but in mine I had TOY and BABY rather than the clever gathering of STARTING WITH SYNONYMS FOR “TEASE”.

I love that Connections features this kind of wordplay, I just wish that I could see it more easily.

I got today’s groups in order of difficulty, which always makes me feel an inner sense of PEACE. The SILENCE words came quickly; my only doubt was originally thinking that they had something to do with meditation and that SET belonged in the gang.

TENNIS COMPETITION UNITS was easy, too, thanks to the umpire’s pronouncement of “Game, set, and match” being permanently etched on our brains regardless of whether we like tennis or not.

Personally, I’m in and out. I like the tantrums more than the actual games.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Monday, May 5, game #694)

• YELLOW: GLIDE COAST, CRUISE, DRIFT, FLOAT
• GREEN: ASSOCIATED WITH COUNT DRACULA BAT, CAPE, CASTLE, FANG
• BLUE: STOP CHANGING FLATTEN, LEVEL, PLATEAU, SETTLE
• PURPLE: THINGS THAT ARE LONG AND CYLINDRICAL BATON, CIGAR, HOAGIE, TORPEDO

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.