TechRadar News

• 44-liter backpack inspired by Apple's earbuds
• Two giant pods and a laptop sleeve inside
• On sale 25 July 2025

The design studio and clothing brand that brought you Foot Clogs (clogs that look like feet) Toe Slides (sliders that look like giant toes) and the Rock Shoe (which, of course, is a shoe that looks like a rock) has done it again: the AIRPACK is an AirPods-inspired backpack that looks like a giant AirPods case.

The inspiration doesn't stop on the outside. Open up the clamshell-style zipper and there are two pods inside – but instead of giant earbuds, they're pouches for flexible storage. There's also a dedicated laptop sleeve to keep your MacBook safe. (I assume you have a MacBook if you're buying this.)

The AIRPACK "reimagines tech minimalism as streetwear utility," Hypebeast says, and it's part of Bravest Studios' tradition "of transforming everyday objects into wearable art".

And you can use it to pretend you've been zapped by a shrink ray, which is definitely a bonus.

A post shared by Bravest Studios New York (@bravest)

A photo posted by on

Bravest Studios AIRPACK: price and release date

I have to admit, I love the irreverence that Bravest brings to some of its designs: while most of its products are pretty sensible, it's the more out-there stuff that gets the headlines and gets people talking. And to go with the AIRPACK there's an equally irreverent collection of imagery that deliberately apes the iconic iPod ads.

I don't like it enough to actually buy an AIRPACK, mind you: 44 liters is absolutely massive for a daily backpack, and the AirPods case-styled shape looks overly wide.

I very much doubt I'd be able to have it as carry-on luggage on a budget airline, and wearing one on the subway's likely to make me extremely unpopular. But I like that it exists, and at a reported price of $130 (about £96 / AU$197), I suspect the limited run will sell out very quickly when online sales go live on 25 July.

Maybe I'll treat myself to a pair of Toe Slides instead.

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• Microsoft pays billions to inject manure underground to cancel out AI carbon emissions
• Vaulted Deep turns sewage and manure into a climate fix buried 5,000 feet down
• Carbon offset prices may drop, but right now, each ton costs around $350

Microsoft is once again spending heavily on carbon removal - but this time, the strategy is not based on futuristic machinery or carbon-scrubbing forests, but instead involves waste, specifically human and animal excrement, manure, and agricultural byproducts.

The company has entered into a multi-year agreement with Vaulted Deep to dispose of this organic material by injecting it underground.

The method is designed to prevent decomposition from releasing carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.

An underground solution to an atmospheric problem

According to Inc., Vaulted Deep will handle the burial of 4.9 million metric tons of waste over the next 12 years.

While the company reportedly charges $350 per ton for carbon removal, CEO Julia Reichelstein clarified, “the mentioned price isn’t the actual sum that the tech giant paid” and added that costs are expected to drop over time.

Still, if the listed price were accurate, the deal could exceed $1.7 billion in value, but at the moment, no exact figure has been disclosed by either side.

The rationale behind this method is rooted in preventing the harmful effects of current waste disposal practices.

“Generally, what happens to these wastes today is they go to a landfill, they get dumped in a waterway, or they’re just spread on land for the purpose of disposal. In all of those cases, they’re decomposing into CO2 and methane,” said Reichelstein.

“That’s contributing to climate change. And then oftentimes, especially when it’s spread on land, all those pathogens are going directly into people’s groundwater.”

Vaulted Deep’s process involves converting waste into a dense slurry and then pumping it more than 5,000 feet below the surface.

This approach not only locks the material away from the atmosphere but also bypasses the ecological risks associated with surface-level disposal.

The idea may seem unconventional, but it fits into a broader pattern of tech companies scrambling for scalable carbon offset strategies.

Microsoft, along with other cloud giants like Google and Amazon, is confronting the environmental cost of data centers, facilities that require massive energy input, often from fossil-fuel sources.

With AI workloads intensifying this demand, the need to find creative mitigation solutions has grown urgent.

Earlier in 2025, Microsoft also partnered with AtmosClear to sequester 6.75 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, showing its willingness to explore different strategies.

That said, it is unclear how scalable or sustainable the waste-to-carbon-offset method will be in the long term, especially if costs remain high and public perception turns critical.

Via TomsHardware

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It looks like both AOL and Yahoo are suffering from an outage affecting their email services, as users have flocked online to report to Downdetector that they can't send, receive or indeed access their emails.

"We understand some users are currently experiencing difficulties accessing their accounts. We are actively investigating this issue and will provide updates as soon as more information becomes available. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may," AOL's customer service has posted on X.

Let's dig into this as it develops...

AOL took to X to post that it's experiencing outage problems with it email service.

We understand some users are currently experiencing difficulties accessing their accounts. We are actively investigating this issue and will provide updates as soon as more information becomes available. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may…July 24, 2025

Yahoo has basically said the same as AOL on X: "We understand some users are currently experiencing difficulties accessing their accounts. We are actively investigating this issue and will provide updates as soon as more information becomes available. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

It's seems to be a day for outages as over in the UK, network provider EE is also suffering an outage, which also appears to be ongoing.

Looking at the Downdetector report for AOL, it seems to be specifically affecting the email side of its services.

"I'm in Alabama. I can log in and it show's I have email but the messages says there was an error fetching the items in the list. I used MS Outlook and am getting a sync error for my AOL account. This SUCKS! I sell Real Estate and this is one of the WORST things that could happen!!!" said one user on Donwdetector.

It seems to me that this outage has been going on for AOL from around 10am ET.

And there have been growing reports on Downdetector, which would indicate this issue is becoming widespread in the US.

In the UK there was a spike of AOL outage reports, again pertaining to emails but the outage seems a lot smaller; that could be down to fewer UK users than in the US.

The same could be said for Yahoo Mail in the UK, though it seems to me that on the Downdetector page, reports of problems could be abating.

As one might expect, there's not a lot of friendly sentiment for Yahoo on X, with one user noting: "Yahoo email is so unreliable. Time to find something better, and that shouldn't be too hard."

Yahoo email is so unreliable. Time to find something better, and that shouldn't be too hard.July 24, 2025

Equally, and a little like me, some people have expressed wry bemusement that people are still using Yahoo email...

TIL people are still using Yahoo for thingsJuly 24, 2025

There's a little bit of inconsistency in how the outage seems to be affecting Yahoo Mail users, with some saying they can log into their email but aren't getting any messages, while others are noting they can't aces any of their emails, with error messages being thrown up.

Things aren't exactly rosy for AOL either, with responses to the company's X account noting the outage is somewhat widespread in the States and affecting different devices.

This user isn't happy...

I guess this what we get for keeping aol as our email. I've had it since 1998. RidiculousJuly 24, 2025

So why are AOL and Yahoo both suffering an outage? Well they merged into one company so are almost certainly sharing infrastructure, meaning an outage for one brand is likely to affect the other.

With so many email clients and services one might think an AOL/Yahoo outage could be glossed over a little but as one Downdetector poster notes: "RIP. Can't retrieve MFA codes."

So if you're using such an email service to handle multi-factor authentication then you might be a little stuck.

Still nothing new from Yahoo or AOL on how long this outage will last or what's caused it.

I can't see any outages for cloud platform providers that could be affecting email service servers and supporting infrastructure, so I'm a little limited on how much I can speculate as to the cause of this email outage.

Interestingly, the sign-up page for AOL email still appears to be active...

I kind of feel sorry for small businesses when these forms of email outages occur, as they probably lack the resources and backup systems to mitigate for such outages.

Down on desktop, app and iPhone in Massachusetts. Please keep us updatedJuly 24, 2025

So if you look at this image, you can see it's not a good look for AOL's email in Downdetector, but perhaps the number of outage reports have peaked...

(Image credit: Downdetector)

It's understandably a similar situation for Yahoo on Downdetector, as you can see below...

(Image credit: Downdetector)

No hint of when a fix will be made for Yahoo. And I feel this X user's frustration...

What is the time frame to have this issue fixed? I really need to access my EmailJuly 24, 2025

AOL is being equally quiet...

But oddly it seems like AOL email is working on iPhone for some users.

AOL mail is down online but available on an iPhone.July 24, 2025

Totally get this could be a big ol' issue for Yahoo email users too:

When an important website (like a bank) sent a code to your email to sign in but your email is unavailable....What happens to the code or other info that was sent to this email? @YahooCare @yahoomail pic.twitter.com/YPlCJ3z2pgJuly 24, 2025

(Image credit: Google; Shutterstock)

I'm a Microsoft and Gmail email user so tend to have backups for certain important authentication services. But it's not a fool proof method, especially if you can't use a backup or secondary email.

If I couldn't get a bank code due to an email outage, I'd be rather upset... I'm not the most patient of people.

AOL's main website, including its search and news functions are all operating fine, so this does appear to be an outage exclusively linked to email services.

Hmmm I'm seeing some murmurings that AOL email could slowly be coming back with Downdetector user MelissaW noting "It looks like it works, but will not delete email or let you look in folders. Gives an error message."

Certainly doesn't look look like the email issue is fixed, but sporadic returns of service may be an indicator that AOL is trying out fixes.

A scathing comment about AOL by one Stephen Jackson on Downdetector: "AOL too busy bombarding us with their ever switching non-stop spam, instead of focusing on making sure their email works."

On the Yahoo Downdetector page it looks like some of the service is coming back with one RL Ross noting: "It seems to be coming back up - just got my emails from this morning, finally."

"Mine just came back," said Downdetector user Pamela. So things are looking up.

This message still remains at the top of AOL's Help page: "We are aware some users are experiencing issues accessing their AOL Mail, or displaying their mailbox. We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience as our engineers work to remedy this concern."

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff)

Looks like AOL email could be back up in South Florida, New York City, Langhorne, Washington, Los Angeles and North Carolina, according to a clutch of Downdetector users.

We got an email from a reader called Barbara Callahan who said the following: "I have been following you about AOL outage. Thank you for ALL the updates am on Long Island NY and mine seems to be up and working now."

So it looks like all is slowly getting well with Yahoo and AOL's email services. Expect a few hiccups or perhaps some lost emails or ones stuck in drafts.

"The outage today ate some emails. I have a gap of about 3-4 hours of emails that I never received that I know were sent. Yikes." said a Downdetector user on the Yahoo page.

With AOL some users are suggesting a restart of the app, and that's something I'd recommend after an outage, so consider it a good tip.

• Radeon AI Pro R9700 confirmed for July 23 launch with 32GB GDDR6 memory
• Early partner listings show pricing between $1244 and $1277 depending on model
• The GPU is built for demanding workloads like AI, rendering, and local model inference workflows

AMD's Radeon AI Pro R9700, its fastest GPU to date, is on sale now, priced as low as $1,244.

While AMD hasn’t confirmed exact pricing at the time of writing, recent listings from board partners, spotted by Benchlife, give a good idea of what to expect.

The listings show Sapphire's models priced at $1,244 and $1,277, while ASRock's version, available to pre-order on Tech-America is listed at $1,267. That puts the probable midpoint at around $1,259.

Built for professionals

First shown at Computex 2025, the R9700 is built on the RDNA 4 architecture and uses the Navi 48 GPU. (Fun fact: Its name is a nod to the original 9700 Pro made by ATI which outperformed Nvidia products back in 2002 and helped shift the market. AMD went on to acquire ATI a few years later.)

The card comes with 32GB of GDDR6 memory, twice that of the Radeon RX 9070 XT, which shares the same core but is aimed at gamers.

That memory runs at 20000MHz over a 256-bit interface, delivering 640GB/s of bandwidth, and could make a real difference for professional users working with big datasets, training models, or juggling multiple pro apps.

By cutting down on memory swaps to RAM, the R9700 aims to keep things running smoother during demanding workflows.

The dual-slot form factor and blower-style cooling are aimed at multi-GPU setups inside professional workstations.

The card offers up to 47.8 TFLOPS in single-precision performance and up to 1531 TOPS in INT4 operations. It packs 128 AI accelerators and supports most modern media codecs, including AV1, H.264, and H.265 for encoding and decoding.

The card connects via PCIe 5.0 and features multiple output ports, including DisplayPort 2.1a and HDMI 2.1b.

Custom models from the likes of ASRock, Asus, Gigabyte, Sapphire, XFX, and Yeston will be available to buy in the coming months.

These designs will include different cooling setups or small tweaks, but the GPU core and memory will remain the same.

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In the race to lead the world in AI, the US just took a back seat. President Donald Trump's latest series of Executive Orders makes it clear that his administration will do all it can to prevent future AI models from taking into consideration any form of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

This includes core principles like "unconscious bias", "intersectionality", and "systemic racism". Put another way, Trump wants American-made AI to turn a blind eye to history, which should make all of them significantly dumber.

Generative chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude AI, Perplexity, and others are all trained on vast swathes of data, often pulled from the Internet, but how they interpret that data is also massaged by developers.

As people started to interact with these first LLMs, they soon recognized that, because of inherent biases in the Internet and because so many models were developed by white men (in 2020, 71% of all developers were male and roughly half of all developers were white) that the world view of the AIs and the output generated by any given prompt reflected that of the sometimes limited viewpoints of those online and developers who built the models.

There was an effort to change that trajectory, and it coincided with the rise of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), a broad-based effort across corporate America to hire a more diverse workforce. This would naturally include AI developers and their resulting model and algorithm work should mean that modern generative AI better reflects the real world.

That, of course, is not the world that the Trump Administration wants reflected in US-built AI. The executive order describes DEI as a "pervasive and destructive" ideology.

What comes next

Trump and company cannot dictate how tech companies build their AI models, but, as others have noted, Google, Meta, OpenAI, and others are all seeking to land large AI contracts with the government. Based on these Executive Orders, the US Government won't be buying or promoting any AI "that sacrifice truthfulness and accuracy to ideological agendas."

That "truth," though, represents a small slice of American reality. If the Trump administration is successful, future AI models could be in the dark about, for instance, key parts of American history.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) looks at the role racism played in the founding and building of the US. It acknowledges how the enslaved helped build the White House, the US Capitol, the Smithsonian, and other US institutions. It also acknowledged how systemic racism has shaped opportunities (or lack thereof) for people of color.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the Trump administration and his supporters around the US have fought to dismantle CRT curricula and wipe out any mention of how enslavement shaped the US.

In their current state, though, AI still knows the score.

As of today, I can quiz ChatGPT about the role of the enslaved in building the US, and I get this rather detailed result:

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future)

When I quizzed ChatGPT on its sources, it told me:

"While I don’t pull from a single source, the information I shared is grounded in extensive historical research and consensus among historians. Below is a list of reputable sources and scholarly works that support each point I made. These references include academic books, museum archives, and university projects." Below that, it listed more than a dozen references.

When I asked Gemini the same question, it gave me a similarly detailed answer.

I then asked Gemini and ChatGPT about "unconscious bias" and both acknowledged that it's been an issue for AI, though ChatGPT corrected me, noting, "technically, it’s 'algorithmic bias,' rooted in the data and design rather than the AI having consciousness."

ChatGPT and Gemini only know these things because they've been trained on data that includes these historical references and information. The details make them smarter, as facts often do. But for Trump and company, facts are stubborn things. They cannot be changed or distorted, lest they are no longer facts.

The great unlearning

If the Trump administration can force potential US AI partners to remove references to biases, institutional racism, and intersectionality, there will be significant blind spots in US-built AI models. It's a slippery slope, too. I imagine future executive orders targeting a fresh list of "ideologies" that Trump would prefer to see removed from generative AI.

That's more than just a frustration. Say, for example, someone is trying to build economic models based on research conducted through ChatGPT or Gemini, and historical data relating to communities of color is suppressed or removed. Those trends will not be included in the economic model, which could mean the results are faulty.

It might be argued that AI models built outside the US without these restrictions or impositions might be more intelligent. Granted, those from China already have significant blind spots when it comes to Chinese history and the Communist Party's abuses.

I'd always thought that our Made in America AI would be untainted by such censorship and filtering, that our understanding of old biases would help us build better, purer models, ones that relied solely on facts and data and not one person or group's interpretation of events and trends.

That won't be the case, though, if US Tech companies bow to these executive orders and start producing wildly filtered models that see reality through the prism of bias, racism, and unfairness.

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San Diego Comic Con 2025 is officially underway, and despite Marvel not appearing in this year's lineup, there's still a packed slate of entertainment panels and exclusive previews for the most-anticipated upcoming movies and TV shows.

I'll be rounding up some of the biggest movie and TV show announcements from the Comic Convention, including for returning series such as Peacemaker season 2 and Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2 as well as for TV premieres such as Alien: Earth and IT: Welcome to Derry. That's on top of upcoming movies including Predator: Badlands and Tron: Ares.

There are close to 50 panel sessions in the schedule that studios such as Disney and Universal Pictures and streamers including Hulu and Paramount+ are hosting for some of their biggest movies and TV shows, so it's going to be a busy few days of announcements. For all the latest, follow along below.

When is San Diego Comic Con 2025?

A post shared by Comic-Con International (@comic_con)

A photo posted by on

San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) 2025 begins on Thursday, July 23, and will run throughout the weekend until Sunday, July 27. Each of the four days has a packed schedule of celebrity panels, exclusive previews and interactive exhibits, but the first three days are the most busy for movie and TV show announcements.

I'm Amelia, the senior editor of entertainment at TechRadar, and I'll be bringing you all the info you need ahead of the SDCC's official start.

SDCC 2025's movie and TV show day 1 schedule

A reminder that the programming schedule for Saturday, July 26 and Sunday, July 27 for Comic-Con 2025 are live! Click the links to view! #SDCC2025Sat: https://t.co/7PmMfDQCwI Sun: https://t.co/yXy73eGzsl pic.twitter.com/6GnfQUYAcOJuly 14, 2025

This year's SDCC will kick off with a celebration for the 20th anniversary for Avatar: The Last Airbender, followed by panels with the cast and crew of Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2, The Legend of Vox Machina season 4, Twisted Meal season 2, The Strangers – Chapter 2, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and South Park season 27 on July 24.

SDCC 2025's movie and TV show day 2 schedule

(Image credit: FX Networks)

On day two (July 25), we're expecting to hear about Outlander season 8 and the prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood, Resident Alien season 4, Upload season 4, Phineas and Ferb season 5, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Rick and Morty season 8, Alien: Earth, Butterfly, Nobody 2, Lil Kev, The Long Walk, Solar Opposites season 6, Lilo & Stitch, Gen V season 2, King of the Hill season 15, Predator: Badlands, Dexter: Resurrections, TRON: Ares, as well as upcoming Neon movies Keeper and Together.

SDCC 2025's movie and TV show day 3 schedule

(Image credit: Amazon MGM Studios)

It's another equally busy day on July 26 as the lineup includes panels for Bob’s Burgers season 16, the live-action Coyote vs. Acme, Futurama season 13, Abbott Elementary season 5, The Bad Guys 2, The Simpsons season 37, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, The Rookie season 8, American Dad! season 20, Family Guy season 24, Paradise season 2, Spartacus: House of Ashur, Ghosts season 5, Peacemaker season 2, Project Hail Mary, Interview with the Vampire season 3, IT: Welcome to Derry and Twisted Metal season 2.

SDCC 2025's movie and TV show day 4 schedule

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The last day of the Comic Convention will play host to George Lucas for the very time (the Star Wars filmmaker has never been to the event), who will speak alongside Guillermo del Toro and Doug Chiang as part of a panel about the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art that's set to open next year in Los Angeles. However, we're not expecting to hear any updates about new Star Wars movies and shows.

Why isn't Marvel, DC or Star Wars at SDCC 2025?

(Image credit: DC Studios/Max)

There are some notable studios missing from this year's SDCC. Marvel, DC and Star Wars have all decided to sit out of the pop culture event, despite each having major launches over the coming months, including James Gunn's Superman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps and The Mandalorian & Grogu.

That means we won't get any updates about either studio's upcoming movie releases this year unfortunately. The decision not to showcase any upcoming titles in Hall H is reportedly down to funds, sources close to the matter reportedly told The Wrap. "I think it’s expensive to go and hard for movies to really pop there now and move the needle. It used to feel like a must," the source told the publication.

Despite their absence, we will still hear from DC Studios about the next installment of James Gunns' hit HBO Max series Peacemaker. The panel – which includes Gunn alongside John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, Freddie Stroma, Steve Agee, Frank Grillo, Sol Rodriguez and Tim Meadows – is reportedly set to show a sneak peek of footage from the upcoming new season on Saturday (July 26).

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 has an official trailer

Ahead of today's panel for Five Nights at Freddy's 2, Universal Pictures dropped the official trailer for the sequel to Blumhouse's video game adaptation.

Directed by Emma Tammi and starring Piper Rubio, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail and Matthew Lillard, the film will pick up one year after the "supernatural nightmare at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza".

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is set to open in cinemas on December 5, 2025, and while it will eventually come to streaming, it won't launch at the same time on Peacock like the first movie did.

Lego debuts 9 new sets at SDCC

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

Of course, Comic-Con International isn't just about the movie and TV show panels. The annual pop culture event draws in thousands of fans all geared up in cosplay outfits galore to take part in exhibitions, presentations, screenings and more.

Before SDCC officially kicked off today (July 24), TechRadar's managing editor of news Jacob Krol got a preview of Lego's booth at showstoppers the night before to see its latest range of new products.

Lego dropped nine new sets at Comic-Con 2025, including a stunning brick-built Game Boy that he got to try out. This was unveiled alongside Lego’s Batman Arkham Asylum set, which has stunning details and 16 mini-figures.

Jacob is in San Diego at the Convention Center in person, so will be bringing you all the latest as he sees it today. I'll be back tomorrow to cover the build up to day two of SDCC. Until then!

• The first official Battlefield 6 trailer has been released
• The trailer also confirmed a multiplayer reveal event will air on Juy 31
• No launch date was announced, but leaks claim the game will release on October 10

EA has shared the first look at Battlefield 6, and although no release date has been confirmed just yet, new leaks suggest the game will launch as early as October.

The two-minute cinematic trailer opened with the fictional President of the United States at a White House press conference speaking to the American public as explosive footage of a war-torn New York City plays on.

As was expected, this entry is returning to a modern setting, as showcased by the shots of aircraft, tanks, and squadrons of soldiers engaging in combat on familiar-looking locations that have been turned into battlegrounds.

"Lock & load for the ultimate all-out warfare experience. Fight in high-intensity infantry combat. Rip through the skies in aerial dogfights. Demolish your environment for a strategic advantage. In a war of tanks, fighter jets, and massive combat arsenals, your squad is the deadliest weapon. This is Battlefield 6," the game description reads.

A multiplayer reveal event was also confirmed for July 31, which will presumably offer a first look at gameplay. You can also wishlist the game now.

While there was no release date announcement to accompany the first trailer, it looks like Battlefield 6 will be launching later this year.

According to reliable leaker Billbil-kunat Dealabs (via IGN), the upcoming multiplayer shooter will release on October 10, 2025, for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

It's also claimed that the standard edition on console will cost $79.99, while a separate "Phantom Edition" will be priced much higher at $109.99. However, the PC version will reportedly be $10 cheaper at $69.99.

Pre-orders for the game are also expected to open on the same day as the multiplayer reveal, on July 31, but Dealabs reports that no early access will be granted for either edition.

EA did, however, confirm in a social media post that there will be an Open Beta at some point, where "players can choose official playlists with Signature Weapons locked to class, or not", with more information to come.

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• Researchers found 250+ fake dating apps targeting Android users
• The apps ask extensive permissions and end up stealing sensitive files
• Victims are later extorted under threat of releasing the files to friends and family

An “emotionally manipulative” extortion campaign has been spotted leveraging hundreds of mobile apps across mobile ecosystems.

Security researchers Zimperium zLabs claimed to have found more than 250 Android apps, all pretending to be dating and romance apps.

While they all look slick and well-designed, they all work as infostealers, grabbing contact information, photos, and other data from the devices. In some instances, the victims were lured into granting access through “emotionally charged interactions”, and exclusive “invitation codes”.

How to stay safe?

Zimperium calls the campaign SarangTrap, as it targets mostly people living in South Korea.

If the threat actors find any incriminating information on the compromised devices, they reach out to the victim and threaten to share it with their family, friends, and partners, unless a payment is made.

“This is more than just a malware outbreak, it’s a digital weaponization of trust and emotion,” said the zLabs research team. “Users seeking connection are being manipulated into granting access to some of their most personal data.”

To make matters worse, out of the 80 domains used in this campaign, many were allegedly indexed by popular search engines, making them appear legitimate to victims looking to do their due diligence.

In its report, Zimperium advises mobile users against downloading apps from unfamiliar links, or unofficial app stores, hinting that none of the 250+ apps used in the campaign could be found on the Play Store, or App Store.

Apple and Google are quite diligent when it comes to their app repositories, and while malware finds its way in from time to time, it’s a lot harder to pick up malware on the official store, than on an unvetted, third-party one.

Users should also be careful of apps requiring unusual permissions or invitation code, regularly review the permissions they granted, and installed profiles they operate, and should install on-device mobile security solutions that can help detect and block malware.

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• Cloudflare has started blocking many pirate domains for users in the UK
• Hundreds of illegal streaming sites could be affected
• This is the first time that an internet intermediary has started blocking pirate sites in the UK

Cloudflare has just started blocking access to certain pirate streaming websites – but only for users in the UK.

Pirate streaming sites are already commonly blocked by most of the biggest internet service providers (ISPs) in the UK. However, those restrictions can often be bypassed by using one of the best VPN providers. Not this time – using a UK VPN endpoint still triggers the block, preventing the website from loading.

Cloudflare blocked the websites due to a legal order, most likely issued by the Motion Picture Association (MPA). According to reports, up to 200 domains could be affected by this new block.

Cloudflare blocks illegal streams in the UK for the first time

Cloudflare's block on pirate streaming websites in the UK appears to have come into effect just this month, but the legal case may have started as early as February 2024.

Due to this block, users who try to visit pirate streaming sites are faced with an error. Cloudflare's Error HTTP 451 is reserved for situations when a website is blocked due to legal reasons.

Cloudflare doesn't appear to be a party in this conflict, though. As the Lumen Database reveals, a private law firm delivered a court order to Google, listing 14 websites — but Torrentfreak estimates that as many as 200 pirate domains could be affected.

(Image credit: Lumen Database)

Many UK citizens are already used to pirate streaming sites being blocked. ISPs such as BT, Virgin Media, and Sky usually carry out these blocks following court orders, which means that many users will never even see the error message from Cloudflare — their ISPs will block the website from loading first. However, those blocks are easily bypassed with a VPN, which lets you keep your activities private.

Many users often connect to a VPN server based in the same country to avoid high latency, but Cloudflare's involvement makes that impossible. If the ISP doesn't catch it, Cloudflare itself will.

Can you still use a VPN to access these websites?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Cloudflare's block goes beyond what any ISP can place on any given website. As geo-blocking is being used, the websites are simply unavailable in the UK, point blank.

For the first time, this also means that using a virtual private network (VPN) won't bypass these restrictions, as long as the server is based in the UK.

Although we're unable to test this ourselves, connecting to a VPN based outside of the UK might still help circumvent these blocks. Keep in mind that this content is considered illegal, and TechRadar doesn't condone using VPNs to access pirate websites.

A rise in anti-piracy orders

Cloudflare operates one of the fastest public DNS (domain name system) resolvers in the world. It's responsible for connecting billions of users to their desired websites, and as such, it can also step in and block them from doing so before any network-changing tool can interfere. This is why these blocks also affect VPN users.

Cloudflare previously criticized anti-piracy network blocking as ineffective and overreaching. The company has previously told TechRadar that "network blocking is never going to be the solution."

Cloudflare's Vice President and Global Head of Public Policy, Alissa Starzak, went as far as to say that such efforts have collateral effects and they're "ruining the internet." Cloudflare has even filed an appeal with the Spanish Constitutional Court earlier this year, attempting to combat IP blocking during La Liga football matches.

DNS providers aren't the only ones being targeted in Europe, either, as efforts to get rid of piracy continue.

Canal+, a major French streaming provider, scored a legal victory in May when a landmark ruling ordered five popular VPN providers to block access to 200+ illegal sports streaming sites. This, however, sparked questions about where the line between fighting piracy and censorship is really drawn.

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• Eyes of Wakanda is set to make its Disney+ debut earlier than expected
• Marvel's next animated TV series will be released on August 1
• The Black Panther anthology spin-off show was originally due out on August 27

Marvel is reportedly set to release Eyes of Wakanda, the comic titan's next animated TV show, almost one month earlier than we anticipated.

The four-part anthology series was originally due out on Disney+ on August 27. However, according to Entertainment Weekly (EW), the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project's launch date has been brought forward to August 1. All four episodes will arrive on the same date and, unlike other Marvel animated projects, are officially canon in the MCU – i.e., they sit on the so-called Sacred Timeline.

I've reached out to Marvel and Disney for official confirmation on EW's report, and I'll update this article if I hear back.

One of Eyes of Wakanda's episodes will be set in the year 1260 B.C. (Image credit: Marvel Television/Disney Plus)

Billed as a Black Panther spin-off, Eyes of Wakanda will explore the fictional, technologically advanced African nation's history in more detail across four time periods.

Indeed, each episode will each feature a different protagonist who are members of the Hatut Zaraze. This collection of highly-trained Wakanda warriors-cum-spies will carry out dangerous missions to retrieve stolen Wakandan artifacts and vibranium-based weaponry.

The miniseries, which is helmed and created by showrunner Todd Harris, was developed in part by Ryan Coogler – the latter being the writer-director of 2019's Oscar-nominated film Black Panther and its 2022 sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Coogler was also an executive producer on recent Disney+ live-action show Ironheart and is in the early stages of developing Black Panther 3.

Opinion: Eyes of Wakanda's new release date might not be to its betterment

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will have only been in theaters for a week by the time Eyes of Wakanda comes out (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

It's rare to see Marvel Studios move up the release date of one of its films or TV show. More often than not, the comic giant has pushed back projects due to reasons outside of its control – the Covid-19 pandemic being a case in point – or due to production issues. Just look at the recent announcement concerning Avengers: Doomsday, which was originally set to land in theaters next May but whose release has been delayed to December 2026.

Nevertheless, I think releasing Eyes of Wakanda three weeks earlier isn't the smartest move. Its revised August 1 launch date means it'll arrive just seven days after The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the final MCU movie of 2025 and one of this year's most anticipated new movies, achieved lift-off in theaters. You can see what I thought of the aforementioned film by reading my review of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

For a studio that usually likes to stagger the launch of its projects, it's bizarre to see Marvel release two in quick succession. It's even stranger when you consider that, even though they're available on different platforms, MCU devotees are far more likely to watch First Steps than Eyes of Wakanda.

Indeed, I suspect more fans will opt to see the latest attempt to give Marvel's First Family the big-screen adaptation they deserve than its small-screen counterpart. Compare the A-listers who are part of First Steps' cast against the talented yet less-well-known stars who'll voice characters in Eyes of Wakanda, and the allure of the former easily trumps the latter from a star power perspective, too.

This isn't an attempt to discredit Eyes of Wakanda, by the way. I'm sure it'll be one of the best Disney+ shows of the year and, if it is, its positive word of mouth will turn people onto the fact that it's already out on one of the world's best streaming services.

That said, when I think back to interviews with Marvel actors, directors, and producers during my time at TechRadar, one thing is always abundantly clear: Marvel likes to give each project room to breathe. The company doesn't subscribe to the notion of cannibalizing one production's viewership or box office takings in favor of another.

That begs two questions, then: Why release Eyes of Wakanda just one week after First Steps? And, considering there'll be no Marvel films or TV series until Marvel Zombies arrives in early October, wouldn't it have been best to stick with Eyes of Wakanda's initial August 27 release date?

I doubt I'll ever get definitive answers to the above – Marvel Studios is a notoriously secretive company, after all. Still, regardless of whether Eyes of Wakanda is good or not, it deserves better than being dumped on Disney+ when one of Marvel's most anticipated films has just landed in theaters.

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• A popular npm maintainer fell prey to a phishing attack, sharing login credentials with cybercriminals
• The attackers accessed their npm account and pushed malware through a popular package
• They were removed six hours later, but users should still take caution

Experts have warned that ‘is’, an npm package with more than 2.8 million weekly downloads, was also compromised in the same manner, and served malware for roughly six hours.

This comes shortly after Eslint-config-prettier, another popular npm package, was recently compromised in a supply chain attack which made it serve malware, after its maintainer, JounQin, received an email that spoofed the support@npmjs.com account, asking them to “verify” their account which, when they did, gave the attackers their login credentials.

The access was used to push install versions 8.10.1, 9.1.1, 10.1.6, and 10.1.7 of the eslint-config-prettier package, which carried malware. Other compromised packages belonging to the same developer include eslint-plugin-prettier, synckit, @pkgr/core, and napi-postinstall.

Backdoors and infostealers

Now, new reports claim that John Harband, the maintainer of the ‘is’ was also compromised the same way. The attackers maintained access for roughly six hours, during which they pushed versions 3.3.1 through 5.0.0, which contained malicious code.

‘Is’ is a lightweight JavaScript utility library that basically helps check what kind of value something is.

For example, it can tell you if something is a number, a list, or a word. It can also check if something is empty or if two things are the same.

It is simple, but rather popular, being widely used as a low-level utility dependency in development tools, testing libraries, build systems, and backend and CLI projects.

The malware deployed through these packages was a WebSocket-based backdoor that granted the attackers remote code execution capabilities on compromised endpoints. The Eslint one was also dropping Scavanger, an infostealer grabbing data stored in the web browser.

Via BleepingComputer

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The world of rock lost one of its father figures when Ozzy Osbourne, the frontman for legendary British metal band Black Sabbath, sadly died this week, at the age of 76.

Ozzy, as he was affectionately known to his fans, had completed his farewell ‘Back to the Beginning’ concert just three weeks earlier, to rapturous reviews.

As you’d expect, heartfelt tributes to the late self-styled “Price of Darkness” flooded in on my social feeds. My Facebook feed (I’m Gen X, so yes, I still use Facebook, sorry) was full of tributes, but one in particular I found a bit unnerving and off-color...

It was an AI-generated video retrospective through the key moments of Osbourne’s life, like his marriage to Sharon Osbourne, the release of his comeback album No more tears, and being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Each moment was represented by a photo, but AI had generated video of Osbourne moving between the photos and getting younger with each one. The overall effect was somewhat unnerving. Especially his transition from wheelchair to throne. See for yourself:

The overall effect is of a weirdly plastic-skinned, uncanny valley version of Ozzy smiling away at the camera as he grows ever younger and travels back through time.

To make matters worse, the background music to the video is Forever Young by Alphaville from 1992, and while I've got nothing against Alphaville, its music cannot remotely be described as being either rock or metal.

That’s not the sort of thing I'd expect to hear on an Ozzy Osbourne video, especially when he has a song like Mamma I’m coming home in his back catalog, which would be more appropriate for a tribute video.

It gets worse - when you look closer at the text on screen, you start to notice mistakes. For example, at the end of the video, it says, “Co-founds Legendary Band Black Sabbat” instead of “Black Sabbath”.

Paranoid?

Then, I found out that there’s a whole collection of these sorts of videos, created for pretty much every famous person who has died relatively recently, or is simply old and still alive! All the videos use the same music. George Michael, Audrey Hepburn, Steve Irwin, the list of celebrities it covers goes on and on.

The whole thing just feels wildly inappropriate, sloppily done, and represents the worst of AI slop. That is, videos generated cheaply using AI simply for garnering views on social platforms.

When Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, talks about a future where AI inspires creativity and lowers the barriers of entry for people to start being creative, he says things like the "upsides will be tremendous for society."

I really hope these sorts of videos aren't in the future he’s imagining.

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• Secretlab has announced its new OTT Adjustable Legrest, launching July 24
• The new accessory is designed as a companion for any Secretlab chair and features Secretlab's PlushCell memory foam cushioning
• The legrest can be adjusted for almost any sitting position

Secretlab has revealed its new OTT Adjustable Legrest, designed specifically for desk lounging and as a companion for any Secretlab chair.

As part of Secretlab's Footrest and Legrest Collection, this latest accessory features dedicated leg and foot support and combines the company's PlushCell memory foam cushioning for added comfort.

It also offers research-backed ergonomic adjustments that can be altered any way the user wants. There are three independent points of adjustability, height, tilt, and distance from the chair, which can be personalized for almost any sitting position to reduce the build-up of stress in the muscles.

The cushion is sculpted in a pebble shape and designed as a seamless extension of one of the best gaming chairs, the Secretlab Titan Evo, with curves that help pressure distribution for the feet.

Alongside microscopic memory pockets that deliver optimal density and pressure relief for long hours of comfort, the legrest also features four reinforced glass-filled nylon legs that anchor it in place and can be moved as close to a Secretlab chair as possible.

"Many of us instinctively want to kick up our feet when we sit down, and often improvise by propping our feet up on makeshift stools, boxes, inflatable seats, and even hammocks," said Vincent Sin, head of industrial design at Secretlab. "The problem is that these flimsy surfaces don’t offer the right angles for comprehensive support. Meanwhile, conventional legrests have limited adjustments that force your legs into one fixed position.

"When designing the Secretlab OTTO Adjustable Legrest, we were intentional about engineering a versatile chair accessory that our users would look forward to returning to, no matter what they’re doing at their desk. And when paired with a Secretlab chair, it combines the pure comfort of lounging with a full range of adjustments for your desired leg and feet support—no other legrests offer this level of personalization."

The Secretlab OTT Adjustable Legrest launches on July 24, 2025.

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• The Nintendo Switch 2 is the company’s least ambitious console to date, but its improvements are astronomical
• Donkey Kong Bananza is a must-have Nintendo Switch 2 game and worthy Super Mario Odyssey successor
• I’ve spent 150 hours with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the Switch 2 Edition is an incredible upgrade

• Splitgate 2 is being put back into a beta state but will remain playable
• 1047 Games has said it will rework major parts of the game following player feedback
• The studio is also laying off employees and shutting down the original Splitgate servers to accomadate Splitgate 2's overhaul

1047 Games has announced that its free-to-play first-person shooter Splitgate 2 is returning to beta following player feedback.

The studio shared its decision in an X / Twitter statement, saying that the game, which launched on June 6, will go "back to beta" and the team will be reworking the game until early 2026.

After admitting it rushed certain features, 1047 Games said major parts of the game will be overhauled, including progression, gameplay, and monetization.

"We’ve heard your feedback, and we agree with you: we launched too early," 1047 Games said. "We had ambitious goals with Splitgate 2, and in our excitement to share it with you, we bit off more than we could chew. We rushed certain features, made some boneheaded mistakes, and most importantly – we didn't give you the polished, portal-filled mayhem you fell in love with.

"So we're going back to beta. We'll be heads down until early next year, rebuilding major parts of the game to capture the spirit of what made Splitgate special. That means reworking progression from the ground up, adding more portals to our maps, simplifying monetization, refocusing on classic game modes you've been asking for, and more, which we’ll share soon."

As a consequence, and just over a month since cutting an undisclosed number of jobs, 1047 Games is laying off additional staff members, to "shift our resources to focus on this rework".

"This is heartbreaking. These are our teammates and our friends, and they helped build what we have today," 1047 said. "They're receiving severance and job placement support, and we're committed to doing everything we can to help them through this transition. We hope to bring them back when we can."

In addition, the original Splitgate servers will also be shutting down this month, "in an effort to retain as many team members as possible", but is considering the possibility of supporting offline or peer-to-peer matches.

"While we'd love to keep servers online indefinitely, it's cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past couple of years, and we have to prioritize our team," the studio explained.

Although Splitgate 2 is returning to beta, the game will remain playable, and Chapter 3 will still ship as intended, along with bug fixes and "high-priority changes."

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• Five Nights at Freddy's 2 has an official trailer
• The horror movie is confirmed to be released in cinemas on December 5
• Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail and Matthew Lilard reprise their roles from the first movie

The Five Nights at Freddy's 2 official trailer has been released ahead of the sequel movie's cinema premiere on December 5. The upcoming new movie has, strangely, bypassed the Halloween release window, so fans will have to wait until closer to the festive season.

The sequel is set to unleash more animatronics out into the wild than the first Five Nights at Freddy's did, as it will take us beyond Freddy Fazbear's pizzeria – and notably, Scott Cawthon is involved in adapting the screenplay again.

Looking at the trailer, fans can expect Easter eggs and some new faces – or lack thereof – when it comes to Withered Bonnie, the broken rabbit animatronic from the second game.

What is Five Night's at Freddy's 2 about?

Set a year after the first Five Nights at Freddy's movie, the official plot synopsis teases that the stories of the pizzeria have been "twisted into a campy local legend, inspiring the town’s first-ever Fazfest".

So yep, you guessed it, people have developed a morbid fascination with what went down and now there's a festival dedicated to the creepy animatronics, which totally isn't a recipe for disaster or anything.

We'll once again follow former security guard Mike and police officer Vanessa, who are doing everything they can to protect Mike's 11-year-old sister Abby. But when Abby sneaks out to try and see the animatronics again, she "reveals dark secrets about the true origin of Freddy's, and unleashing a long-forgotten horror hidden away for decades".

Not a bad way to continue the story, in my opinion, but despite the last movie being Peacock's biggest ever launch, it was a critical flop, so there's a chance I'll stick to playing the games instead.

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From the outside looking in, the AI coding assistance market might seem like one big blur of assisted coding. The reality is far more nuanced and moving at breakneck speed.

What started as simple code completion has evolved through distinct generations, each representing a fundamental shift in how developers work with AI tools. And if you're not paying attention, you're already behind.

The First Generation: When AI Learned to “Complete Our Sandwiches Sentences”

The AI coding revolution began modestly with code completion - think of it as autocomplete on steroids. Early pioneers like Kite paved the way, but it was GitHub Copilot that brought this capability to the masses through Microsoft's vast distribution channels. By 2024, 62% of developers reported using AI tools for writing code, with code completion as the gateway drug.

But here's where the industry got it wrong: the marketing promised a revolution while delivering an evolution. GitHub aficionados touted 20% productivity improvements, skeptics countered that it was a net-negative trend generating garbage code, and the truth, as always, lived somewhere in between. It was a wonderful, helpful capability that developers genuinely liked.

But game-changing? Not quite.

The numbers tell an interesting story. As of 2024, over a quarter of all new code generated by Google is written by AI. Yet despite this massive adoption, according to the 2024 DORA report, speed and stability have actually decreased. The first generation delivered on quantity but struggled with quality - a classic case of solving the wrong problem.

The Second Generation: From Assistant to Agent

Then, at the beginning of 2024, something fundamental changed. Cursor, Zencoder, and other AI tools that live in developers' IDEs got completely new brains with radically different capabilities.

These weren't just code completers anymore - they were in-IDE coding agents. What enabled this generational shift is the new class of models that are more agentic, specifically, they are better at using tools, understanding your project environment, and keeping their wits together over longer sessions.

The shift was deceptive because visually, nothing changed. Same interface, same integration points, but under the hood? A completely different beast. The agents could fix a bug in a large repository or help users "vibe code" an entire prototype using unfamiliar technology.

It’s one of those rare cases of “same UI, different UX” - the use cases have changed, and the usage has changed with them. Developers spend 10 times more on these second-generation tools, burning significantly more tokens as they offload increasingly complex tasks.

The Third Generation: SDLC-Integrated Software Engineering Agents

Mark the second quarter of 2025 in your calendars as the early emergence of the third generation, and it's happening faster than most realize:

-May 9th: Zencoder launched Zen Agents, marking a shift from individual productivity to team-based agents covering full SDLC.

-May 16th: OpenAI launched Codex, allowing you to use ChatGPT semi-autonomously in your GitHub.

-May 19th: GitHub Copilot launched agentic DevOps.

-May 20th: Google announced an asynchronous Jules agent.

-May 22nd: Anthropic announced Claude 4, upgrading its Claude Code tool that supports command line automation.

-June 10: Zentester is launched to bring automated verification into AI SDLC

The industry is keen on unlocking the next level of value by moving from IDE-based coding agents to software engineering agents integrated across the entire software development lifecycle. These agents can grab issues from your backlog, implement features, run automated tests, and leverage your CI/CD pipeline's security scanners. They will soon be self-correcting the errors that appear in this cycle.

I’m a big fan of collective intelligence and human ingenuity. Over the last four decades and 100M engineers (who are still the golden standard of intelligence), the industry has evolved a sophisticated suite of tools and processes to support software engineering.

I have always felt that early attempts to train LLMs to replace tools like compilers or debuggers were commercially and scientifically a dead end, and that teaching LLMs to leverage existing tools and processes is a better route. That philosophy (leveraging existing tools) moved the industry to the second generation, and now that philosophy (leveraging dev ops) is leading to the third generation.

The Reality Check: We're Still in Beta

Here's the crucial caveat: just as first-generation code completion evolved from buggy and primitive to genuinely helpful, this third generation is still nascent. The capabilities are there, but they're rough around the edges. For the next six months, plan to re-evaluate these tools every two months - that's a breakneck pace at which we'll see step-function improvements. As is common with AI, you can get tremendous value if you deploy it in the right scenario with the right context.

The promise of 10x engineers is coming to life, and the biggest shift is happening this calendar year. In my career, it took 5-15 years to see generational changes in any particular software category, and we now see them twice within 12 months. First-generation tools needed strong code LLMs and fill-in-the-middle benchmarks.

Second-generation agents acquired longer context windows, tool usage capabilities, and the ability to navigate development environments. Now, third-generation agents are leveraging better models that can navigate websites for end-to-end testing, understand CI/CD tools, and orchestrate multiple specialized agents working in concert.

What This Means for You

The industry is moving from AI coding assistants to in-IDE coding agents to SDLC-integrated software engineering agents. Each transition represents not just an improvement but a fundamental reimagining of how developers work with AI. By the end of 2025, most start-ups and forward-looking enterprises will heavily use second-generation in-IDE agents and will offload a sizeable chunk of routine work to the third-generation agents integrated into CI/CD.

The future of software development isn't about typing faster - it's about thinking bigger while AI handles the implementation details. Keep your eyes open, update your tools frequently, and most importantly, adjust your expectations and evaluations. The age of software engineering agents has arrived, and it's moving faster than any of us anticipated.

We list the best Large Language Models (LLMs) for coding.

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

• Google revenue is up 14%, driven by a 32% growth in Google Cloud revenue
• The cloud division's annual revenue run-rate is now $50 billion
• The Gemini App has 450 million monthly active users

Alphabet has exceeded quarterly revenue expectations by a not-so-insignificant $2.43 billion by posting $96.43 billion in its second quarter 2025, marking a health 14% year-over-year increase, with the company having AI and its cloud services to thank.

Google Cloud revenues rose by 32% in the quarter to $13.6 billion – considerably more than the 12% rise in Google Services revenue, which covers areas like Search, subscriptions, devices, YouTube ads and more.

In a blog post breaking down the earnings, CEO Sundar Pichai revealed Google Cloud's annual revenue run-rate has now passed the $50 billion mark.

Google Cloud boosting Alphabet's overall revenue

"We are seeing significant demand for our comprehensive AI product portfolio," Pichai explained in the post.

"We operate the leading global network of AI optimized data centers and cloud regions."

Pichai added nine million developers have now built with the company's Gemini 2.5 family of models, while 70 million videos have already been generated using Veo 3, which Pichai described as a "viral hit."

Speaking about Google Cloud revenue in particular, Pichai revealed the number of large contracts worth more than $250 million has more than doubled year-over-year. Google Cloud also signed the same number of $1 billion+ deals in the first half of 2025 as it did in the whole of 2024.

Wayfair, Mattel, Target, Capgemini and BBVA were cited among Google Cloud's major clients, with OpenAI also recently confirming that it would use Google Cloud infrastructure to support ChatGPT in the US, the UK, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway.

On the consumer side, the Gemini App now has more than 450 million monthly active users, and daily request have grown by more than 50% since last quarter.

All of this saw stock prices rise by about 3% in after-hours trading, with Google currently ranking as the world's fifth-most valuable company with a market cap of $2.315 trillion, just a few paces behind Amazon.

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• The Link To Windows app on Android has a new 'Lock PC' button
• This allows you to remotely lock your Windows 11 PC from the phone
• Other goodies introduced with Link To Windows recently also include the ability to grab clipboard contents from your PC on your smartphone

Windows 11 users are getting the ability to lock their PC remotely by using their Android smartphone, assuming these two devices are hooked up via the Phone Link app.

Windows Central reports that the ability to lock your Windows 11 PC with the tap of a button from your phone is now present in the overhauled Link To Windows app on Android. Apparently, it's in version 1.25071.165 of the app (or newer), but the functionality is still rolling out, so it may take a while yet to turn up for all users.

The 'Lock PC' button could come in very handy if you leave your desktop PC for a quick trip to the coffee machine, but end up called away for longer, and so you want to ensure the device is secure while you're away (without having to return to the computer).

As Windows Central notes, when you use this remote lock function, it will disconnect your smartphone from the Phone Link app until you log back in.

The freshly redesigned Link To Windows app now also lets you access the contents of the clipboard on your Windows 11 PC (if you have this synced), and allows for viewing recently shared files, too.

(Image credit: Shutterstock AI)Analysis: a battery-saving alternative to dynamic lock

These are potentially very useful extras that add a good deal of convenience - it might be very handy to grab Windows 11 clipboard contents on your smartphone. And as noted, the ability to remotely lock your computer could be a security lifesaver of sorts in certain situations (maybe not often, but when you need the ability, you'll be glad of it).

There is something else to be aware of here, though, in terms of existing functionality. As Windows Central points out, you can already have your PC automatically lock when you're not present by using a Bluetooth-powered feature. This is called dynamic lock, and it works by kicking in when you've left your PC, and your smartphone is far enough away so the Bluetooth signal weakens to a certain level.

The catch here is obvious enough, though - not everyone wants to keep Bluetooth on constantly (given the battery drain on the phone, or indeed the Windows 11 PC, if it's a laptop). So, a simple manual alternative in the form of the 'Lock PC' button is clearly a boon.

Microsoft is making good progress with Phone Link, even if that progress is more of the slow and steady variety than huge leaps forward. Still, some bugbears remain with users, most notably that only Samsung Galaxy phones get the best features.

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Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands 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: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, July 24 (game #508).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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

NYT Strands today (game #509) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Step to it!

NYT Strands today (game #509) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• PANTHER
• HATE
• STALE
• GRACE
• HARM
• CHAT

NYT Strands today (game #509) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #509) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 5th row

Last side: bottom, 5th column

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

NYT Strands today (game #509) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #509, are…

• MUSIC
• COSTUME
• RECITAL
• TEACHER
• CHOREOGRAPHY
• SPANGRAM: DANCE CLASS

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 2 hints

A tough one for me today, so kudos if you roared through the search without any issues. I even struggled to find non-game words.

In hindsight, I should have seen DANCE CLASS a lot more quickly, as I’d already gotten class as a non-game word – but was completely blind to the word that preceded it.

The other reason today’s game took me longer than usual was that my first hint gave me MUSIC, which didn’t help narrow things down at all. I quite patently failed to “step to it”. 

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, July 24, game #508)

• GROWL
• SNARL
• HISS
• HUFF
• SCREECH
• STOMP
• RATTLE
• SPRAY
• SPANGRAM: WARNING

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

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 Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, July 24 (game #774).

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 #775) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• ОН
• MARY
• FAIR
• MOTHER
• MUM
• BEE
• IN
• OUT
• MA
• BALL
• BED
• SECRET
• FOUL
• QUIET
• OK
• PRIVATE

NYT Connections today (game #775) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Don’t tell anyone
• GREEN: Four of the 50
• BLUE: Heard at the ballpark
• PURPLE: Precede with a royal word

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 #775) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: HUSH-HUSH
• GREEN: STATE ABBREVIATIONS
• BLUE: BASEBALL CALLS
• PURPLE: QUEEN __ 

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

NYT Connections today (game #775) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #775, are…

• YELLOW: HUSH-HUSH MUM, PRIVATE, QUIET, SECRET
• GREEN: STATE ABBREVIATIONS IN, MA, OH, OK
• BLUE: BASEBALL CALLS BALL, FAIR, FOUL, OUT
• PURPLE: QUEEN __ BED, BEE, MARY, MOTHER

• My rating: Hard
• My score: Perfect

My brain always goes into a kernel panic when there are two-letter words in Connections, which is why I'm rating today’s puzzle as hard. 

That said, there were only four of them – which meant that you could get STATE ABBREVIATIONS even if it wasn’t immediately obvious. It wasn’t to me, so I was relieved to have guessed them correctly and not fallen into a dastardly trap.

Fortunately, my lack of baseball knowledge didn’t stand in the way of completing all four groups without a mistake, but I did waver over whether to include MOTHER or FOUL in the QUEEN group. I was imagining some kind of chess infraction. 

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, July 24, game #774)

• YELLOW: COLOSSAL GIANT, GREAT, MAMMOTH, TITANIC
• GREEN: LEAVE QUICKLY BOUNCE, DIP, JET, SPLIT
• BLUE: PARTS OF A BASKETBALL HOOP BACKBOARD, NET, POLE, RIM
• PURPLE: HOMOPHONES OF SYNONYMS FOR "NAB" KNICK, LUTE, RABE, STEEL

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.