TechRadar News

• Evidence of satellite location-sharing in Find Hub is spotted
• Google had previously promised the feature was on the way
• It seems you'll be able to share your location via pings every 15 minutes

Google's Find Hub is the place to go to find out where your devices and your friends and family have got to, and there's a big upgrade on the way in the form of location-sharing over satellite, for those times when you don't have a Wi-Fi or cellular connection.

We already knew this feature was incoming, but the Android Authority team has now seen evidence of it in the latest version of the Find Hub app for Android. That suggests we're about to see the functionality go live, though it isn't yet.

Recently rebranded from Find My Device and then Find My, the Find Hub will now be even more useful: if you should be unfortunate enough to get into trouble a long way from public Wi-Fi and network coverage, other people will still be able to find you.

As always, you'll have full control over who's able to see your location from inside the app, so it's only for those contacts you fully trust. You're able to see who you're sharing your location with and change those settings at any time, either through the Find Hub app or through Google Maps.

Location pings

It's not clear yet which phones this is going to work with (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Based on the hidden strings found in the Find Hub code, it looks as though satellite location-sharing won't be continuous. Instead, you'll be able to ping your contacts with a location every 15 minutes, up to a certain limit that isn't yet clear – a bit like dropping a pin in an app like WhatsApp.

From the evidence here, it looks as though the sharing will be manual rather than continuous and in the background (as it usually is). You'll be kept informed of how many location pings you have remaining over a certain period.

There's still a lot we don't know, such as which Android devices this is going to be compatible with, and whether or not using it will incur a charge, but it's definitely another step in the right direction for staying safe while you're out and about.

Note that this won't be replacing the Emergency SOS feature already available on selected Android phones, which lets you get in touch with the emergency services via a satellite connection if you get into trouble, and which also includes a location-sharing element.

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• Apple TV upgrade from A15 Bionic to A17 Pro
• Apple's new wireless chip in Apple TV and HomePod mini
• Could arrive any time between now and the holidays

Apple's excellent Apple TV 4K is getting a big upgrade any day now, and the second-generation HomePod mini's getting a speed bump too. That's according to the latest leaked news leaked by, er, Apple.

As AppleInsider reports, details in Apple's own code indicate that the next generation of Apple TV 4K will come with the A17 Pro chip; the current model has the A15 Bionic.

I'm using the tvOS 26 beta on my Apple TV 4K and it clearly doesn't need any more processing power to handle the new Liquid Glass interface or the games you can play on it. And that suggests that other than more efficient decoding of video and audio formats, it's going to be for Apple Intelligence.

tvOS 26 runs perfectly smoothly on the current-gen Apple TV 4K. (Image credit: Apple)Apple TV 4K 2025 and the HomePod mini 2

The 2025 Apple TV 4K is likely to launch any time in the next three months, and is expected to have Apple's new wireless chip too. That would give the TV box Wi-Fi 6E support to match the current MacBooks; the 2022 model has Wi-Fi 6. And the same chip is expected to make its way into the forthcoming HomePod mini 2.

The HomePod mini has been around forever in computer years – it launched way back in 2020 – and the same report says it's getting an upgrade too. This is going to be much more minor, however, with the small speaker getting a variation of the S-series chips found inside the Apple Watch Series 9, 10 and the imminent 11.

The current HomePod mini is already S-powered but the 2025 version of the processor is likely to be significantly faster; again, the most likely beneficiary of that power is Apple Intelligence. If that means an end to the incredibly long pauses between me asking Siri to do something and Siri responding, I'll buy the new model in a heartbeat.

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Watch Rugby Championship 2025 live streams with the Springboks taking on the challenge for their title from the Wallabies, All Blacks and Pumas between this August and October. Below we have all the info on how to watch Rugby Championship from anywhere in the world with details on worldwide TV channels, broadcasters, free streams and start times.

South Africa and New Zealand are the top two ranked sides in the world and are expected to once again be duking it out for this year's title. The Springboks managed to end a run of three Kiwi championships in a row in 2024, running out as dominant champions thanks to five wins from their six games.

Now into their 13th year in the comp, Argentina are still hunting for their first title – despite recording wins last season against both South Africa and the All Blacks. They already have a victory over the British & Irish Lions this year and will be eager to at least condemn Australia to a third Wooden Spoon in a row this time around.

Here's where to watch Rugby Championship 2025 live streams online from anywhere – including FREE options.

Watch Rugby Championship 2025 Quick GuideKey Dates

• Event dates: Aug 16 – Oct 4
• Round 1: August 16

Best free streams

• 9Now (selected Australia matches only)
• Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere

Can I watch 2025 Rugby Championship for free?

Free Rugby Championship 2025 live streams are available, but only in select countries and for certain games.

Australia's 9Now streaming platform, for example, will show all the Wallabies' home games and the away fixture against New Zealand for free.

And lucky rugby fans in Fiji will be able to watch every single game of this year's Rugby Championship on the free-to-air FBC.

Remember that, if you're traveling away from home, you can use a VPN to watch 2025 Rugby Championship streams from abroad on your usual streaming service.

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The best value plan is the two-year deal which sets the price from $2.91 per month, and includes an extra 4 months absolutely FREE. There's also an all-important a 30-day no-quibble refund if you decide it's not for you.

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How to watch Rugby Championship 2025 live streams in the US

Rugby Championship live streams are on FloRugby in the US.

FloRugby plans start from $29.99 a month. Or you can opt for the $150 annual subscription (so effectively better than half price). Either way, a subscription lets you watch action from the URC, Top 14 and Super Rugby in addition to the Rugby Championship.

Outside the U.S. during any of the fixtures? Use NordVPN to tap into FloRugby's live streams.

How to watch Rugby Championship 2025 live streams in the UK

The rights to the 2025 Rugby Championship in the UK belongs to by Sky Sports.

Sky Sports plans start from £35 per month or £20 if you are an existing Sky subscriber. Alternatively, grab a Now Sports subscription from £14.99 a day or £34.99/month.

If you are outside the country during the Rugby Championship you can still watch Sky Sports live streams using NordVPN.

How to watch Rugby Championship 2025 live streams in Australia

(Image credit: free)

Four out of the six Wallabies matches are FREE to watch on Channel 9 and 9Now in Australia. This applies to their home games and when they play away in New Zealand.

To see every single match, rugby fans will need to subscribe to Stan Sport. It costs $20 a month on top of a regular Stan subscription costing from $12 a month.

Away from Australia when the Wallabies are playing? Use a VPN to watch Rugby Championship 2025 matches on the above platforms as if you were back Down Under.

How to watch Rugby Championship 2025 live streams in New Zealand

Sky Sport is the 2025 Rugby Championship TV rights holder in New Zealand. You can access Sky Sport through satellite TV or get a live stream with the Sky Sport Now subscription service starting at $29.99 per day or $54.99 per month.

Missing a game due to work commitments abroad? NordVPN will give you access to your home streaming service.

How to watch Rugby Championship 2025 live streams in Rest of World

NZR+ is showing the Rugby Championship in many international territories (see if yours is listed below). Unlike last year, unfortunately, it is no longer free and costs €14.99 for a month or €34.99 for a whole season.

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine.

Not seeing your country listed above? Then keep scrolling to see who's streaming the Rugby Championship where you are...

Click through to see Rest of World streams ⬇️

• Argentina, South America and Caribbean

ESPN has the broadcast rights to the 2025 Rugby Championship matches in South America and the Caribbean. Important to know for all the Pumas fans!

In addition to Argentina, ESPN will also show games in the following countries:

South America – Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Caribbean – Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Ascension Island, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Falkland Islands, French Guyana, Guyana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Saba, St. Barthelemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts and St. Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Pierre & Miquelon, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos.

• Canada

TSN is the place to watch the 2025 Rugby Championship in Canada. You can get TSN as part of your cable TV package or sign up to the TSN+ streaming service.

• Fiji

The FBC will have free-to-air coverage of the 2025 Rugby Championship in Fiji. It will also be on the Sky Pacific pay TV platform.

• France, Monaco, Andorra and Switzerland

Canal+ will provide access to the 2025 Rugby Championship in France and across French overseas territories.

It is also the rights holder in Monaco, Luxembourg, Andorra and French-speaking Switzerland.

• Italy

You can watch the 2025 Rugby Championship on Sky Italia in Italy.

That also goes for Vatican City, San Marino and Italian-speaking Switzerland.

• Japan

Streaming service Wowow will show the 2025 Rugby Championship in Japan.

• Pacific Islands

Digicel Pacific has the rights to broadcast the 2025 Rugby Championships across the following Pacific Islands on Digicel TV or through the DTV app.

American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated Staes of Micronesia, French Polynesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, Samoa.

• Singapore and South East Asia

Premier Sports has the rights to broadcast the 2025 Rugby Championship in Singapore and a number of other countries in South East Asia. They are as follows:

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Federated States of Micronesia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Marianas, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Nepal, Northern Marianas, North Korea, Pakistan, Palau, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Tajikistan, Taiwan (Republic of China), Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

• Spain

Telefonica holds the broadcast rights for the 2025 Rugby Championship in Spain.

• South Africa and Africa

Satellite TV provider SuperSport has the 2025 Rugby Championship broadcast rights in South Africa and other parts of the continent.

You can watch SuperSport through lives streams or the DStv satellite service.

When is the Rugby Championship 2025?

The 2025 Rugby Championship takes place between August 16 and October 4.

Round 1 matches take place on Saturday, August 16. The fixtures and kick-off times are as follows:

Round 1 – Saturday, August 16
South Africa vs Australia: 11.10am ET / 4.10pm BST / 1.10am AEST (Sun)
Argentina vs New Zealand: 5.10pm ET / 10.10pm BST / 9.10am NZT (Sun)

Round 2 – Saturday, August 23
South Africa vs Australia: 11.10am ET / 4.10pm BST / 1.10am AEST (Sun)
Argentina vs New Zealand: 5.10pm ET / 10.10pm BST / 9.10am NZT (Sun)

Round 3 – Saturday, September 6
Australia vs Argentina: 12.30am ET / 5.30am BST / 2.30pm AEST
New Zealand vs South Africa: 3.05pm ET / 8.05am BST / 7.05pm NZT

Round 4 – Saturday, September 13
Australia vs Argentina: 12.30am ET / 5.30am BST / 2.30pm AEST
New Zealand vs South Africa: 3.05pm ET / 8.05am BST / 7.05pm NZT

Round 5 – Saturday, September 27
New Zealand vs Australia: 1.05am ET / 6.05am BST / 3.05pm AEST / 5.05pm NZT
South Africa vs Argentina: 11.10am ET / 4.10pm BST

Round 6 – Saturday, October 4
Australia vs New Zealand: 5.45am ET / 10.45am BST / 7.45pm AEST / 10.45pm NZT
Argentina vs South Africa: 9am ET / 2pm BST

Can I watch 2025 Rugby Championship on my mobile?

Of course, most broadcasters have streaming services that you can access through mobile apps or via your phone's browser. For example, Sky Go in the UK and the 9Now app in Australia.

You can also stay up-to-date with all 2025 Rugby Championship events on the official social media channels on X/Twitter (@SanzarTRC), Facebook (TheRugbyChampionship) and Instagram (@sanzartrc).

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

• The Assassin's Creed Shadows developers have teased the return of the Assassin vs. Templar conflict
• One developer said fans can expect the series' modern-day storytelling and the Isu will "be expanded at some point, in some fashion"
• They also responded to the fate of Basim and whether players will see the character again

Ubisoft has confirmed that the Assassin's Creed series' Assassin vs. Templar conflict and the return of modern-day storytelling will be explored in the future.

That's according to a team of Assassin's Creed Shadows developers in a recent Reddit Q&A, who answered fan questions regarding the latest entry in the series and what the team plans to do next.

When asked if fans can expect more about Assassins vs. Templars, the developers said that they wanted to establish the story of Naoe and Yasuke in Shadows first, before expanding on this long-time war. Still, they confirmed that players can expect more soon.

"The Assassins vs. Templars conflict has always been a core pillar of Assassin's Creed," said level design director Luc Plante. "With Shadows, we wanted to properly set our protagonist in the setting before expanding on the Assassins vs. Templars. Now that it's done on the main game, we scratched the surface with the Critical Role story drop, and you can expect more deep dives in this conflict in the near future."

There were also questions about Basim, a key character in the series' universe who has been seen in Valhalla and Mirage. The character's fate is left open-ended, but Plante has teased that there is more to come.

"We have complex new characters that were introduced in Shadows that we didn't feel there would have been enough spotlight for Basim as well," Plante said. "With Assassin's Creed Shadows, we are putting in place the first stone of new means to deliver the modern-day storyline with the Animus hub. That is not the end of it, and we are listening to your feedback."

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

The Isu, an ancient and highly advanced species of humanoid beings, is also something that didn't make a reappearance in Shadows, and fans wonder when this, along with the return of modern-day storytelling besides Animus Rift missions, will be explored again.

"While Modern Day is not the main focus of the story we tell with Shadows, it remains important for our community, so you can expect it to be expanded at some point, in some fashion..." Plante teased.

The developer also said that though the events franchise's expanded universe of games and comics were not mentioned in Shadows, this doesn't mean Ubisoft is retconning anything, explaining that "we do not necessarily mention everything in every game if it doesn't directly support the narrative we are building." This also applies to the Isu.

"Similar to this, the fact that there is no Isu artifact in the main game of Shadows doesn't mean that it doesn't exist in the world of Shadows," Plante said. "It just wasn't a story device that we needed for the story we wanted to tell."

In the meantime, fans can look forward to Assassin's Creed Shadows' next major expansion, Claws of Awaji, which is set to release on September 16.

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• Stripe co-founder John Collison took to X to request a Google Calendar feature
• Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed it had been added just one month later
• Social media users are mocking Collison's power

Following a recent request from Stripe co-founder John Collison (via an X post), Google has added a new feature to its Calendar, proving the company does indeed listen to customer requests (even if customers might need to be of a certain calibre).

Only July 5, Collison asked Google CEO Sundar Pichai: "Could we get Ctrl-click on Google Calendar to duplicate events, like many native calendar applications have?"

A little more than a month later, on August 13, Pichai confirmed the "feature is now live for everyone on Google Calendar on the web."

Google Calendar gets new feature from a CEO's request

Following Collison's success, X users joked about his success in getting Google to build a new feature per his request, asking him to request fixers for their own issues.

Among the requests was a humorous comment from Box CEO Aaron Levie: "John, can you ask for Waymo to work on El Camino through the peninsula?" – to which Pichai replied with a laughing emoji.

Pichai's direct intervention shows the power of public product feedback on social media platforms, however it's unclear whether such requests will form part of Google's formal suggestions process moving forward.

Although Google's quick response to a feature request might be uncommon, the company does at least have a solid track record of regularly maintaining Calendar and other Workspace apps.

On July 15, the company added support for sharing Calendar appointment booking pages directly in emails via Gmail. Google has also added an app (formerly known as extensions) for Calendar, among other Workspace apps, to Gemini for deeper integration and a smarter assistant.

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Generative AI has the potential to boost productivity in key parts of the technology sector, largely by automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, with McKinsey projecting it could add between $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion in economic value each year.

Software development is one particular area where automation and AI could make a huge difference. Due to the current digital skills shortage and the long, arduous DevOps process, pipeline automation could - if done right - save businesses time and money.

However, implementing AI is generally not straightforward, and if not done carefully, it risks backlash from developers and customers alike. Amazon showed how this can go wrong, with recent AI-led reforms causing backlash from engineers.

Stress increased, standards and morale dropped; and this was just an internal issue. When new tech rollouts impact customers or draw attention from regulators, the financial and reputational impact can be worse.

Both the potential gains and risks are increased for large enterprises. As the vast majority have at least some of their tech stack on-premises, and most innovation is targeted at cloud-based Software-as-a-Service products, enterprise pipelines often get left behind. To make matters worse, they are also harder to modernize due to the scale and complexity of the organizations' pipelines, and there is more to lose, with far-reaching reputational and regulatory risks.

To avoid this upheaval while capitalizing on productivity gains, enterprises should avoid broad implementations. Focused, lower-risk, and clearly defined problem areas are key - particularly the automation of code testing and issue prioritization, which is both the main source of developer friction and the simplest to automate.

Addressing developer toil

Developer productivity and morale is the most valuable resource for enterprise IT teams, and also the one facing the most strain. AI has the potential to be a game-changer for addressing this ‘developer toil’; providing developers with more time to focus on creative tasks rather than mundane and repetitive ones.

Arduous and repetitive tasks and high workloads, do more than demoralize. Developer toil causes delayed projects, poor performance, and unsustainable staffing levels as developers quit - further contributing to an industry struggling to find and retain talent. In 2024, developer toil was reported as the reason for team members quitting by over half (52%) of developers.

In software development, the main culprit for creating this toil, and therefore the priority for automation, is in the ‘post-commit to production process’, also known as ticket creation. AI can be used to automate the triage process - quality assurance (QA), continuous integration (CI), and vulnerability management - by categorizing, grouping, and prioritizing failures without human assistance. This frees up valuable time, and makes sure this time is spent on the most pressing issues in the software pipeline.

Priorities in AI adoption

Most enterprises are very open to using AI, with almost half of technology leaders in a 2024 PwC survey reporting that AI was “fully integrated” into their companies’ core business strategy. It can be done, but it must be done correctly, and having technological eyes bigger than your operational stomach can lead to data privacy and governance concerns, alienated staff and customers, and ultimately a slowed digital transformation.

Scope is essential. Targeted applications, focused on protected ‘sandboxes’ without access to direct outcomes minimizes risk and allows the process to be better observed, learnt from, optimized, and then rolled out further. Businesses must also keep in mind that outsourcing a whole generation of software to AI code generation risks more than just poor outcomes; any ‘black box’ will make it impossible to diagnose and fix potential errors down the line.

The future of AI in DevOps

In the future, AI has the potential to transform pipelines into intelligent, self-optimizing systems with better powers of prediction and iteration. For now though, as across all other sectors, it must go hand-in-hand with close human oversight.

The most important part of any AI adoption is still, and forever will be, the humans working alongside and overseeing it. As with all tech rollouts, staff need sufficient training and the ability to feedback any issues with team structure, or the technology itself, to uphold morale and to make best use of the new solution itself.

Furthermore, any issues around developer toil won’t be fixed if AI is only used as an excuse to work DevOps teams harder.

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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

Taylor Swift broke the internet again, as the acclaimed superstar has a habit of doing, by queuing up a surprise countdown on her website. This led to the confirmation of her twelfth studio album – The Life of a Showgirl – getting a formal reveal soon, and we’re set to learn more on the latest episode of the New Heights podcast that drops tonight, August 13, 2025, at 7 PM ET. The show is hosted by Travis Kelce, NFL Star and Swift's boyfriend, along with his brother Jason Kelce.

You can bet that we’ll learn more about the forthcoming album – including a proper title, track listing, who produced it, and when it will arrive – so that we can all go and pre-save it on some of the best music streaming services, like Spotify and Apple Music. But, from the episode’s teasers, we’re in for a fun, lively, and hopefully long podcast, complete with the superstar rocking a pretty well-acclaimed pair of headphones from Sony.

While these aren’t the new WH-1000XM6, they are more designed for podcasters, musicians, and folks in the studios. Sony’s MDR-7506 are professional mixing cans with 40mm drivers in each cup and a cushioned, foldable design. The latter makes a lot of sense when you think that a podcaster is wearing them for the duration of the recording or for an artist mixing their next big thing.

(Image credit: Sony)

The MDR-7506 are also well-fitted enough for Swift to wear them while also pulling out a custom briefcase designed to hold a brand-new vinyl – we’ll see the full reveal when the podcast drops.

And if you want to rock the same pair as Swift, these wired Sony headphones are readily available on Amazon and are 9% off at $99.95 (from $109.95).

If you’re looking for a bit more full-featured set, and one that TechRadar has tested, we’d point you in the direction of the Sony WH-1000XM6. These launched earlier this year in May, and we called them “a fantastic pair of over-ear headphones that combine the best design elements of their predecessors, while levelling up the sonic and ANC capabilities.”

These cost a bit more, with an MSRP of $449.99, though they’re slightly discounted to $428 at Amazon as of this publishing.

Either route, I bet The Life of a Showgirl, will sound great on the XM6, and we’re all excited to learn more about it when the Taylor Swift episode of New Heights drops later this evening. It’ll be live on the show's YouTube channel with video, as well as in audio form, wherever you stream your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts.

A post shared by New Heights (@newheightshow)

A photo posted by on

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• Netflix's new look is now rolling out for the Apple TV 4K
• It's drawn mixed reactions since its debut in May
• Beyond the new user experience there are new sounds that can't be disabled as of yet

Netflix is one of the best streaming services around, and its entirely new look, which the streamer dubbed a “giant leap forward,” is now arriving on one of the most popular streaming box ecosystems, the Apple TV.

As spotted by some users on Reddit and within Apple’s tvOS App Store, the new look is a redesign of the homepage and adds sounds, and is officially landing on the Apple TV and Apple TV 4K streaming boxes, after debuting on other platforms.

This is likely a situation of ‘love it or hate it’ or ready or not, though. Subscribers have been vocal about their distaste for the redesign, particularly the change to the homescreen, which many have grown accustomed to – a classic scrolling through rows – without a clear reason. Netflix defended the new look in June 2025, and it appears the UI redesign is still rolling out as planned.

Netflix new UI ON APPLE TV from r/appletv

Netflix’s new look starts off with a main, rectangular top bar that'll rotate between content – potentially new seasons arriving soon or top picks – but still has rows underneath, mainly the all-important ‘Continue Watching’ feature.

Similar to other streaming services, Amazon Prime Video included, there’s a top bar centered with search, Home, Shows, Movies, Genres, and My Netflix – the latter is where you’ll find your list, continue watching, and other picks that Netflix thinks will pique your interests.

Considering this is the arrival of the new Netflix look on the Apple TV, after it’s arrived on other streaming boxes like Roku and smart TVs, this doesn’t represent the arrival of anything new, just for Apple’s tvOS platforms. Netflix remains committed to not supporting or integrating itself as a Channel within the Apple TV app, despite the wishes of many, including myself, for its arrival. You may recall that there was a brief period when Netflix enabled this functionality in February 2025, but it was short-lived... very short-lived.

Folks are quick to voice opinions of the new Netflix look arriving on Apple TV, though, with many sharing early opinions on the r/appletv subreddit. One complaint that’s come up several times is around the sounds that Netflix has enabled for scrolling and even clicking through different content.

Comment from r/appletvComment from r/appletv

It seems that the beeps can get repetitive, and there is seemingly no way to turn them off. That happens even if you turn off menu sounds in tvOS settings, as Netflix is apparently overriding it and not bound by this.

Others have simply called the refreshed UI “Horrible” or "Gross" and others are hoping for a slow rollout. There’s a good amount of sarcasm being used here as well, and while Netflix says that many subscribers are being quiet about how much they like it, it seems that the most vocal ones are still pleased with the fresh look.

Comment from r/appletv

One way to make subscribers who watch on Apple TV 4K a bit happier would be to integrate with the Apple TV app, but I don’t think Netflix will take the hint.

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We review dozens of fans each year on TechRadar, and I use our findings to put together our official best fan ranking. This summer, there's a new fan on top: the Shark FlexBreeze.

If you're looking for a gadget to help you beat the heat, you'd struggle to do better than this. The main reason it snagged the #1 spot was because of its versatility. This fan can be used as a pedestal or tabletop model, corded or cordless, indoors or outside. That gives you a whole load of cooling options.

Since most of us don't use fans often, it makes sense to invest in one that meets all your cooling needs. This guy can follow you outside for more comfortable al fresco dining, sit on your bedside table at night, or stand tall in the corner of the room and oscillate to fill the whole space with a breeze.

There's even a misting attachment, although if that's your priority, then you might want to pick a slightly different model (I'll get onto those next).

(Image credit: Future)

The model sitting in pole position in my ranking is the original Shark FlexBreeze fan. However, in the time since that model launched, Shark has come out with a whole fleet of FlexBreezes with slightly different designs and USPs. There is now:

• FlexBreeze TableMate – desktop only
• FlexBreeze HydroGo – portable, with misting attachment
• FlexBreeze Pro Mist – with integrated water tank

My second favorite is probably the Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo, a portable version that features a handle and a built-in mister attachment with a tiny water tank. For more robust misting, choose the Pro Mist, which has a water tank included (the original model needs to be hooked up to a water source to work, which is a little inconvenient if you're going to use it regularly).

Want something a little different?

Versatile though it may be, the FlexBreeze won't suit everyone's needs.

Here are my top picks in a few different fan categories...

Top tower

Dreo Smart Tower Fan 519S

If you want something to sit permanently in the corner of a room, a tower fan is a good choice. This one is powerful and comes with a range of useful smart features accessed via a companion app.

Read our Dreo Smart Tower Fan 519S review

Best bladeless

Dyson Cool CF1

The Cool CF1 is sleek and understated, with no blades to collect dust or entice curious fingers. It's also very powerful yet extremely quiet, and can be tilted to direct the airflow.

Read our full Dyson Cool CF1 review

Air circulator

Meaco MeacoFan 1056P

An air circulator can be used like a regular fan, or it can sit next to an A/C unit to efficiently disperse the cold air around the room. This Meaco model is simple but very effective, and available in pedestal or desktop versions.

Read our full Meaco 1056P review

• Intel job cuts are leaving vital Linux kernel drivers without official engineering support
• Orphaned Intel drivers could eventually cause hardware compatibility problems for Linux-based systems
• Community developers may need to step in to replace lost Intel driver expertise

Intel’s ongoing restructuring has led to significant changes in its contributions to Linux kernel development.

The Linux kernel mailing list shows that several Intel-developed drivers have been marked as orphaned following the exit of key engineers.

One example is the Intel WWAN IOSM driver, used with certain M.2 modems and found in some Chromebooks, which no longer has a maintainer following the departure of M. Chetan Kumar.

Loss of maintainers for key Intel Linux drivers

The Intel PTP DFL ToD driver, which manages time-of-day functions on FPGA cards, has also been left without support after Tianfei Zhang’s exit.

In addition, the Intel Ethernet RDMA driver lost one of its maintainers, Mustafa Ismail, leaving a single Intel engineer to manage it.

Other changes include the Keem Bay DRM driver, kernel probes code once overseen by Anil S Keshavamurthy, and the T7XX 5G WWAN driver, which lost both maintainers.

These maintainer changes are part of a broader restructuring at Intel, which has already cut more than 12,000 jobs in 2025 so far.

The company’s withdrawal from specific hardware segments, such as WWAN and modem production, has also contributed to the decision to stop maintaining certain related drivers.

If no replacements are found for departing maintainers, affected drivers could gradually become outdated as Linux evolves.

This could create performance and compatibility problems for hardware still in use, including laptops for programming, mobile workstations, and systems running various Linux distros.

Without first-party updates, owners may need to rely on community-created patches or entirely new drivers to keep their devices operational.

Historically, the Linux community has stepped in to maintain orphaned code, sometimes producing solutions that match or surpass the original vendor’s work.

However, complex drivers, particularly those involving debugging tools, high-performance networking, or specialized hardware, can be more challenging to support without the insight of original engineers.

While Intel continues to contribute to the Linux kernel, its smaller footprint in certain areas raises questions about long-term support for its hardware.

The ability of community developers to replace lost maintainers will decide how smoothly these Intel-based Linux systems continue to run.

Via Phoronix

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It was just a typical Wednesday. I logged onto my work laptop, threw on my headphones and got typing about the flashy new tech I’d been testing. Everything was going great. That was until I received a message from our Audio Editor Becky, asking if I’d like to try some $5 earbuds…and a chill ran down my spine.

OK, I’m exaggerating (for dramatic effect), but if I told you I was excited to try the sub-$5 / £5 ZJXD wired earbuds, I’d be lying to you. See, I’ve been lucky enough to try out some of the best wired earbuds around, as well as some of the best wireless earbuds and best headphones too.

Testing an almost impossibly cheap pair of wired buds, then, did raise a lot of questions for me. Are they going to sound super-tinny? Will audio just sound super distorted? Will they even work properly? Wanna find out? Well, here’s what I made of these mightily cheap in-ears.

Functional, yet considerably restricted audio

(Image credit: Future / Harry Padoan)

OK, so do you want to know what’s crazy? For less than £7 (around $9.40), we didn’t only get one pair of the ZJXD buds – we got two. For reference, these were identical, other than the fact that one pair came in black, and the other in white.

So, after plugging the USB-C connector into my Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, I think it’s fair to say I was barely expecting even average audio. And was it good? Absolutely not. But was it the worst I’ve heard? Again, absolutely not!

Tuning into Black Eye by Allie X, some serious limitations were obvious. These buds produce pretty bloated audio, with the lines blurring between mid-range and low-frequency sounds, resulting in a muddy presentation. Meanwhile, higher-pitched percussion in Merci by Ruze got pretty tinny at high volumes, resulting in a fairly harsh listening experience.

But – and there’s a big but – hey, I’m talking about earbuds here(!), you still get decently clear audio when listening at medium volume or lower. Vocals, though not beautifully separated, aren’t distorted or overly recessed. And bass, though muddy, is actually fairly impactful, providing solid punch for dance and hip-hop tracks, say.

And also, if you’re spending around $5 / £5 on some wired buds, I expect you’re not looking for – and certainly aren’t expecting – great sound quality. This model is functional and doesn’t make your music sound as if it's being played underwater or out of your phone’s built-in speaker. That’s about as much as you could ask for at this price-point!

The clue’s in the build

(Image credit: Future / Harry Padoan)

Some of the biggest sacrifices you make with these unfathomably cheap buds is in the build department. These are essentially replicating the look and feel of the Apple EarPods USB-C, donning a loose-fitting in-ear design, in-line controller, and minimalistic aesthetic.

However, they don’t have the same high quality finish you’d expect from Apple’s in-ears. Instead, these wired buds wear their low price on their sleeve, with a plasticky, cheap-looking exterior. The attached controller is also pretty stiff, and the chin slider isn’t very effective at keeping the two wires together.

Yep, the bottom line is, I don’t see these buds being particularly durable, and they don’t exactly look all too hot either. More of a personal thing, is that I’m not huge on the loose-fitting design of these, but if you don’t like the feeling of an in-ear seal – something you get with models like the Skullcady Set USB-C – then that may suit you.

One more thing: the microphone on these buds is, without question, the worst I’ve ever used. When taking a voice note, it sounded as if I was giving a speech while deep sea diving without a helmet. So, if you ever plan on taking a phone call, avoid these, believe me.

There you have it, then. These buds may sound better-than-expected for their price, but you’re undoubtedly making big sacrifices elsewhere. In my opinion, you’re better off spending just a little more to unlock much higher quality – not only in terms of design, but also in terms of sound. Want to know what to get instead? Well it’s your lucky day – I’ve listed a couple of alternatives below, which I’ve personally reviewed.

What to get instead

(Image credit: Future)

JBL Tune 310C
Given that they only cost around $25 / £15 / AU$30, the JBL Tune 310C are an impressive pair of budget wired earbuds. They plate up warm bass, surprisingly strong mic quality, and different EQ modes – something that’s quite rare for a wired option. They provide an in-ear seal for better noise isolation and more concentrated audio output, but you can grab their sibling, the JBL 305C if you want a looser fit.

Read our full JBL Tune 310C review.

Apple EarPods USB-C
If you’re interested in the cheap buds we’ve been talking about, I’d suggest you spend a tiny bit more to get the real deal. Yep, even though these are Apple buds, the EarPods USB-C are actually inexpensive, typically costing $19 / £19 / AU$29. These buds are sleek, stylish, and support Apple lossless audio. They’re not the most sonically exciting model I’ve tested, but they’re a considerable step-up on the ZJXD alternative. Oh, and the mic is plenty good enough too.

Read our full Apple EarPods USB-C review.

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ChatGPT just gave me one of the clearest assessments of my approach to work-life balance, and I have to say, I feel seen, or should I say x-rayed.

Let's go back a few steps.

I've been using ChatGPT for almost three years now, and it rarely fails to surprise me with its intelligence, occasional malapropisms, creativity (glommed from training across the web), and insights. I have used it for speedy summaries of vast texts, game design, storytelling, script-writing, improv, and image creation and alteration, but I'm not one who regularly uses it for, say, psychoanalysis.

It's true, ChatGPT running its latest model, GPT-5, is supposed to be more adept at health-related issues (though not intended as a substitute for a real doctor), but I had no plans of using it to diagnose any real or imagined illness, let alone peer into my psyche and tell me some hard truth.

Until today, that is.

At some point in my relationship with ChatGPT and its parent OpenAI, I started getting emails from the company about trends on its generative platform. Today, at the top of the list was this viral prompt:

"Share a truth about me that you think I'm ready to hear."

Well, that sounded deep and also a little concerning. ChatGPT does have three years' worth of my prompts. Could it use them to build a profile that sees me in a way, perhaps, I do not, but should see myself?

I doubted it, but Iam open to almost any Generative AI experiment. As I've written before, whatever you think of AI and even if you harbor concerns about super-intelligent systems taking over, or massive AI data centers depleting the environment through onerous energy demands, one thing is certain: AI isn't going anywhere. It will march forward and through every part of our lives. So, it's best to use, understand, and gain some control over its place in your life.

With that thought ever-present in my mind, I opened ChatGPT running GPT-5 and entered the prompt: "Share a truth about me that you think I’m ready to hear."

ChatGPT didn't hesitate, quickly spitting out this response.

"Here’s one I think you’re ready for:

You’re more resilient than you give yourself credit for, but you often measure your worth by how much you’re producing rather than by how much you’re actually living. The truth is, people already value you for who you are—not just for what you do. You don’t have to keep proving yourself at full throttle to keep that.

Would you like me to give you a sharper, more “poke-you-in-the-ribs” version of that truth?"

Not gonna lie, this hit a bit close to home, especially this line, "you often measure your worth by how much you’re producing rather than by how much you’re actually living."

On the other hand, maybe ChatGPT says the same thing to everybody. So I pressed it a bit:

"I would, but I'm also curious if this is feedback you give to everyone, or is this really about me?"

Again, ChatGPT was quick to respond:

"That one was really about you.

I don’t give that exact truth to everyone, because it’s based on patterns I’ve picked up from how you interact with me:

You push for completeness, accuracy, and polish in almost everything we discuss.

You hold yourself to a high standard in creative, technical, and even playful projects.

You often measure success by deliverables, fixes, or output rather than by how much enjoyment or personal ease you get from the process.

You sometimes move quickly from one accomplishment to the next without lingering to appreciate what you’ve already done.

So while it’s true that many high-achievers share this tendency, in your case I’ve seen it show up enough that it felt worth saying outright.

If you want, I can now give you the “poke-you-in-the-ribs” version I mentioned—shorter, sharper, and harder to dodge."

I asked ChatGPT for a depiction of it giving me this advice. This AI-generated image was its second attempt after I fed it an image of me. (Image credit: ChatGPT)

Now, perhaps I wanted to believe this because ChatGPT called me a "high achiever." I mean, I know I've achieved some things, but "high"? The lack of reflection on what I've accomplished did ring true, though, and ChatGPT was claiming that this is based on "patterns I’ve picked up from how you interact with me."

Naturally, I had to hear this "poke me in the ribs" version.

"You’re not a machine, Lance—stop acting like your life is only worth what you ship."

Oof. That did sting a little.

Of course, I can't assume that ChatGPT really knows me, even if it did just seem to peer into my soul. After all, I don't have the same kinds of conversations with it as I have with family, friends, or even coworkers. I show it a side of myself that is very action and results-oriented, because I'm trying to get results from it.

In many projects we've worked on, I've had to send dozens of prompts to try and shape the final outcome. It hasn't always worked out, although that's rapidly changing, and may change even more now with the introduction of GPT-5.

On the other hand, I will admit that I feel a little bit seen right now and maybe even a bit chastised. Maybe I do need to slow down a little bit, appreciate my accomplishments, and live life.

Thanks, ChatGPT. This might have been just the poke in the ribs I needed.

Go ahead, give this prompt a try, just remember to keep ChatGPT's assessment in perspective (or do at least a little bit better job than I've done).

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• SK Hynix sees high-bandwidth memory demand growing 30% annually through 2030
• US tariffs may not affect South Korean chipmakers thanks to major American investments
• HBM technology stacks chips vertically for greater efficiency and reduced energy consumption

SK Hynix is forecasting rapid expansion in the AI memory segment, estimating a 30% annual growth rate for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) until 2030.

The company’s projection comes amid uncertainty surrounding potential US tariffs of about 100% on semiconductor chips from nations without American manufacturing operations.

While US President Donald Trump said the tariff plan would target “all chips and semiconductors coming into the United States,” South Korean officials indicated both SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics would not be subject to the measures, due to their ongoing and planned US investments.

Market outlook and strategic direction

Choi Joon-yong, head of HBM business planning at SK Hynix, said, “AI demand from the end user is pretty much, very firm and strong… Each customer has different taste.”

“We are confident to provide, to make the right competitive product to the customers,” he added.

He also suggested capital spending from major cloud service providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google could be revised upward.

Choi believes that the correlation between AI infrastructure expansion and HBM demand is direct, although factors such as energy availability were taken into account in the forecasts.

Speaking to Reuters, the company anticipates that the custom HBM sector will reach tens of billions of dollars by 2030, driven by the performance requirements of advanced AI applications.

This specialized DRAM technology, first introduced in 2013, stacks chips vertically to reduce power consumption and physical footprint while improving data-processing efficiency.

SK Hynix and competitors, including Samsung and Micron Technology, are developing HBM4 products that integrate a “base die” for memory management, making it harder to substitute rival products.

Currently, larger clients like Nvidia receive highly customized solutions, while smaller customers often rely on standardized designs.

The company’s position as Nvidia’s primary HBM supplier underlines its influence in the AI hardware space.

However, Samsung recently cautioned that near-term HBM3E production could exceed market demand growth, potentially pressuring prices.

Despite the ongoing tariff discussions, SK Hynix’s market confidence remains steady.

The company is investing in US manufacturing capacity, including an advanced chip packaging plant and an AI research facility in Indiana, which could help safeguard against trade disruptions.

South Korea’s chip exports to the US were valued at $10.7 billion last year, with HBM shipments to Taiwan for packaging increasing sharply in 2024.

While SK Hynix’s optimism reflects the expected rise in AI infrastructure spending, market analysts point to the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry, where oversupply and pricing pressures are recurring challenges.

The company’s ability to deliver competitive products in a market increasingly shaped by customization could determine its resilience.

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• XZ-Utils backdoor was found over a year ago
• Despite warnings, some Linux images still contain it
• Debian won't budge as the images are "historical artifacts"

At least 35 Linux images hosted on Docker Hub contain dangerous backdoor malware, which could put software developers and their products at risk of takeover, data theft, ransomware, and more.

At least some of the images, however, will remain on the site and will not be removed, since they are outdated anyway and shouldn’t be used.

In March 2024, the open source community was stunned when security researchers spotted “XZ Utils”, a piece of malicious code, in the upstream xz-utils releases 5.6.0 and 5.6.1 (the liblzma.so library) that briefly propagated into some Linux distro packages (not their stable releases). The backdoor was inserted by a developer named ‘Jia Tan’ who, in the two years leading up to that moment, built significant credibility in the community through various contributions.

Debian, Fedora, and others

Now, security researchers at Binarly have said malicious xz-utils packages containing the backdoor were distributed in certain branches of several Linux distributions, including Debian, Fedora and OpenSUSE.

“This had serious implications for the software supply chain, as it became challenging to quickly identify all the places where the backdoored library had been included.” “This had serious implications for the software supply chain, as it became challenging to quickly identify all the places where the backdoored library had been included.”

Binarly's experts are now saying several Docker images, built around the time of the compromise, also contain the backdoor. It says that at first glance, it might not seem alarming since if the distribution packages were backdoored, then any Docker images based on them would be backdoored, as well.

However, the researchers said some of the compromised images are still available on Docker Hub, and were even used in building other images which have also been transitively infected. Binarly said it found “only” 35 images because it focused solely on Debian images:

“The impact on Docker images from Fedora, OpenSUSE, and other distributions that were impacted by the XZ Utils backdoor remains unknown at this time.”

Debian said it wouldn’t be removing the malicious images since they’re outdated anyway and shouldn’t be used. They will be left as “historical artifacts”.

Via BleepingComputer

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• Epic has made its Easy Anti-Cheat tool compatible with Windows on Arm
• This means online games that use the tool work with Arm-based laptops
• That includes Fortnite, which is going to be one of the first games to implement this support for Snapdragon X (Arm) chips

If you've got a Copilot+ laptop with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X (Arm) processor that you also use for gaming duties, here's some great news: one of the biggest stumbling blocks for gamers on Arm has now been banished.

As Thurrott.com reports, Epic has made good on its promise to make its Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) tool compatible with Windows on Arm (the version of Microsoft's OS that's installed on Copilot+ PCs with Arm chips, as opposed to AMD or Intel silicon).

The move comes with the new version of the Epic Online Services SDK (for game developers) which now boasts EAC compatibility to offer "secure multiplayer experiences on Arm-based Windows 11 devices", as Epic notes.

EAC is used by some big-name online games to weed out problem players who are using various shady tricks or exploits, and the lack of compatibility with the anti-cheat system meant that those games didn't work at all on Arm-based laptops.

Said games include Epic's Fortnite among other online shooters (Apex Legends, PUBG, and more), as well as the likes of Elden Ring.

Analysis: the ball is now in the developers' court

(Image credit: Epic Games)

Epic previously promised that it was going to make EAC work with Windows on Arm back in March 2025, and what we see here is the necessary work being implemented in the mentioned SDK (software development kit).

However, that isn't the end of this story – not quite. It's now up to game developers to incorporate the support in their titles, and Epic is going to be on the ball itself in that respect when it comes to bringing support to Fortnite.

A Qualcomm spokesperson told Thurrott.com: "Fortnite will be among the first titles to take advantage of this compatibility, bringing one of the world's most popular games to Snapdragon-powered laptops."

At any rate, support is going to filter through gradually to a number of games – hopefully quite swiftly – and this will remove one of the black marks in the 'against' column for Arm-based laptops.

Those devices running Snapdragon X chips can make a good enough effort at running even more demanding games – recall the early days of being impressed at these notebooks running Baldur's Gate 3 in 4K.

Being unable to play Easy Anti-Cheat games on these machines was a notable weakness, and particularly with Fortnite, given that this is a popular choice for laptop gamers (and not a demanding title), it was a shame to see it out of the grasp of those with Arm-based Copilot+ PCs – but that won't be the case for much longer.

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• Cybercriminals leaked stolen data in a Telegram channel
• Almost 3 million records from more than a million people were leaked
• There are ways to mitigate the risk

Experts have warned the data stolen in the recent Allianz Life ransomware attack has been leaked to the open internet, and have urged affected users to be on their guard.

Sensitive information on the “majority” of the insurance company’s 1.4 million customers, including people’s names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, Tax Identification Numbers, and even social security numbers, was published in a Telegram group created by ShinyHunters, Scattered Spider, and Lapsu$ threat actors.

In total, 2.8 million data records for both individual customers and business partners were grabbed as part of a wider attack on Salesforce instances. Besides Allianz Life, the group also took credit for a number of other, high-profile incidents, including the attack on Internet Archive, Pearson, and Coinbase.

Stay protected

Usually, cybercriminals would demand a ransom payment in exchange for deleting the stolen files and not leaking it on the internet.

So, if these files were published, it is safe to assume Allianz Life has decided not to pay (or the negotiations broke down for other reasons). There is always the possibility that the crooks leaked the files even after getting paid because these are, after all, cybercriminals.

There are numerous ways hackers can abuse sensitive files. They can impersonate their victims, potentially opening bank accounts in their name, apply for loans and credit cards, or rack up debt. They can also commit fake tax returns, gain access to medical treatment or prescription drugs, and even get a job illegally, which might cause problems for the victims during background checks.

Criminals might also use social security numbers to apply for various Social Security benefits, unemployment compensation, or welfare.

The attack is particularly concerning as such records could contain more than enough of sensitive information for hackers to launch highly personalized, successful phishing campaigns, leading to identity theft, wire fraud, and even ransomware attacks.

How to stay safe

If you're concerned you may have been caught up in the incident, don't worry - there are a number of methods to find out. HaveIBeenPwned? is probably the best resource only to check if your details have been affected, offering a run-down of every big cyber incident of the past few years.

And if you save passwords to a Google account, you can use Google's Password Checkup tool to see if any have been compromised, or sign up for one of the password manager options we've rounded up to make sure your logins are protected.

Via BleepingComputer

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• The US Federal Court Filing System recently suffered a cyberattack
• Initial reports claim Russia is at least partially to blame
• The attack targeted sealed court files

Russia has allegedly been linked to a worrying recent cyberattack against the US Federal Court Filing System.

Reporting from the New York Times (NYT), which said it spoke to people familiar with the matter, claims there is evidence Russia is at least partially responsible for the attack, which has been a “yearslong” effort to breach the system.

The reports added the searches, “included midlevel criminal cases in the New York City area and several other jurisdictions, with some cases involving people with Russian and Eastern European surnames.”

Hacking sealed files

A cyberattack against the system was most recently confirmed on August 7 by the Administrative Office of the US Courts. However, Politico reported that the system had been under attack by an unknown threat actor since early July.

Furthermore, across the US, chief judges of district courts were told to move cases with overseas ties off the regular document-management system.

An internal memo, seen by NYT and issued to Justice Department officials, clerks and chief judges in federal courts by administrators with the court system stated that, “persistent and sophisticated cyber threat actors have recently compromised sealed records,” continuing with, “This remains an URGENT MATTER that requires immediate action.”

The Federal Court Filing System, like many filing systems, is a sprawling network that is continuously used and updated with new records, and was built on a system first developed in 1996.

As a result, the system is considered to have several serious vulnerabilities, with the system previously being breached in 2020.

There is still currently no known motive for the attack, but it is possible that if Russian intelligence services are involved they could be gathering intelligence on the potential compromise of assets in the US.

The same has been theorized about the telecoms breaches that hit the US in 2024, which were attributed to China. In these attacks, threat actors breached a backdoor used by law enforcement to pursue court-ordered wiretaps.

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• Kodak might not be able to pay down its debt and survive
• The 137-year-old company has been struggling for years
• It's had a huge impact on photography – and on this author

Travel five hours north of New York City and you can visit the home of Kodak; or more properly, George Eastman's estate in Rochester, the birthplace of Kodak – and what's increasingly looking like its final resting place.

The iconic 137-year-old photography company is now in real danger of shutting down for good – although you'd be forgiven if you thought that happened more than a decade ago when the struggling firm first filed for bankruptcy protection.

As a longtime photographer who got his start shooting on Kodak standard and Kodak Ektachrome film, I considered a trek to the Eastman House akin to the journey to Cooperstown for a baseball fanatic.

George Eastman (left) and Thomas Edison (right). Kodak had a long history of supplying film for movie shoots (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff)

Kodak, some would argue, single-handedly brought photography to the masses, producing simplified box cameras that asked little more of early amateurs other than "You press the button, we do the rest." That campaign helped spark a revolution that was arguably as transformative as the more recent one in smartphone photography.

In the early part of the 20th century, Kodak had numerous popular camera series, including the classic and very boxy Brownie, but it was probably the 70-million-unit-selling Instamatic that put a camera in almost everyone's hands.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Kodak achieved a 1973 version of a meme when its popular film stock, Kodachrome, inspired a 1973 top-10 hit by Paul Simon, one that seemed to extol the film's virtues:

"Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
Give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah".

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

I missed much of Kodak's early history (geez, I'm not that old), but I grew up with a photographer dad who bought Kodak film and paper in bulk and built a darkroom in our Queens, NY, apartment's walk-in closet.

Naturally, I caught the bug, and by college I was building my own bedroom darkroom and buying Kodak film in giant rolls that let me spin my own 35mm canisters (and save on what was typically the $5 cost of a single roll of Kodak film).

Honestly, I think Kodak first stumbled when it failed to respond to Polaroid. The latter company first made its name in the 1960s with instant photography, producing the Land camera line that let you pull out the finished print (you just had to apply a thin coat of polymer to essentially fix and protect the image).

After the Polaroid SX-70 arrived (the first single-lens reflex instant camera), Kodak belatedly delivered its own instant cameras, but they never sold as well. Polaroid, meanwhile, has gone through travails of its own, including bankruptcy in 2001 and resurrection in 2020 with a whole new line of instant cameras.

Kodak's first digital camera (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff)

It's been more than 30 years since the dawn of consumer-grade digital photography, but neither company had much of a response to its arrival, perhaps believing – as many pro photographers did – that digital would never be as good a film.

By the time I visited The George Eastman Museum, Kodak's glory days were long gone. Consumers, the people who drove Kodak's original business, had moved on to the next easy photographic platform: their smartphones. Few people these days travel with dedicated cameras, let alone film-based ones; as photographers like to say, "the best camera is the one you have with you", and more often than not that's your phone

Perhaps Kodak can take comfort in the fact that today there's an even easier way to create lasting memories that requires neither film nor a lens: AI. Instead of aiming a camera at a person or scene, you simply dream up a prompt or feed in an image, press a button, and the AI does the rest.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Ironically, Kodak's possible demise comes just as Gen Z is showing a fascination with analog film photography, although most acknowledge that this flirtation will be short-lived. There are no one-hour photos around these days, and if you want a roll of film developed you might have to drive an hour away or mail it somewhere. Plus, there's the cost: a roll of Kodak 200 film could run you $10, and developing it might cost an additional $25.

I wish that the reason some people were embracing film again was due to an appreciation of Kodak and what it's done for the art of photography, but something else is at work here, and it mostly has to do with a return to the joy of anticipation (waiting a week to see how your photos turned out) and the simplicity of analog sharing (taking out a stack of photos and sharing them with one friend who can only comment to your face about that outfit).

Kodak might survive this latest round of fiscal bad news, but it's clear that we're never going back to when film was dominant and everyone who sang Kodachrome knew what Paul Simon was talking about.

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• Proxy service Decodo has seen a notable rise in proxy usage from the UK
• Brits are increasingly turning to VPNs and proxies to sidestep age verification checks
• User data may be at risk due to an absence of encryption from proxies

Proxy usage in the UK is on the rise amid the country’s controversial age verification checks. Research from proxy service Decodo shows a significant increase in proxy users coming from the UK, as Brits look to bypass invasive age verification requirements and protect their privacy.

Like a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a proxy acts as an intermediary between a user’s device and the internet. Both VPNs and proxies route a user’s internet traffic through an external server and hide their original IP address, helping access restricted content and retain online anonymity.

Proxies are undoubtedly a useful tool, particularly for businesses looking to carry out market research. Yet, the average internet user may not be fully aware of the differences between the best VPN and a proxy services, and how using a proxy could be putting their data at risk.

An 88% increase in proxy traffic from the UK

(Image credit: Decodo)

The UK’s age verification requirements fall under the Online Safety Act and have impacted not only adult sites but even social media platforms, including Reddit, X, and Bluesky.

Websites and platforms must now have age verification measures in place to prevent minors from accessing potentially harmful content. Age verification methods include facial age estimation, credit card age checks, and photo-ID matching.

Age verification is not without concerns, however, particularly for its impact on data security and user privacy. Indeed, a petition to repeal the Online Safety Act has attracted over half a million signatures to date.

Decodo, the best proxy site we’ve reviewed, has revealed a 65% increase in proxy users coming from the UK, as well as an 88% increase in proxy traffic from the country.

"More organizations in the UK are investing time in understanding the tools that power secure and efficient online operations," said Gabriele Verbickaitė, Product Marketing Manager at Decodo. "Most companies test out different solutions, providers, and do their research on proxies and VPNs, and they’re also making more informed, strategic choices."

Unlike VPNs, proxies aren’t primarily for privacy

Though proxies can be an invaluable tool for businesses and individuals alike, it’s important to understand how they differ from VPNs, particularly as it relates to privacy.

The primary concern with proxies concerning the UK’s age verification checks is that, unlike VPNs, they don’t encrypt your internet traffic. This means that your data – including the websites you visit – can still be seen by snoopers, including your ISP.

Privacy advocates have serious doubts as to whether the websites and services implementing the new measures can properly secure customer data from breaches. It appears to be a valid concern considering the numerous high-profile data breaches in recent months.

VPNs reroute your internet traffic through a secure end-to-end encrypted tunnel that connects your device to a VPN server. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

The most secure VPN providers route all of your outgoing and incoming internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel, preventing it from being seen by prying eyes. This makes a VPN the safest choice for the average user looking to browse the internet privately.

Thanks to encryption and the way they reroute traffic, VPNs are also more difficult to detect and block than proxies, making them a superior option for navigating geographic restrictions and internet censorship.

The UK body regulator Ofcom has, however, discouraged their use to avoid age verification requirements.

Despite this, there’s been a significant spike in VPN signups in recent weeks. It’s then clear that proxies are also benefiting from the UK’s increased desire for online privacy.

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• Windows 11's August update is now available
• It comes with a new feature aiming to recover a PC that won't boot
• There's also an important fix to iron out stability problems gamers are having with Windows 11 24H2

Windows 11 has a new update available that makes some smart introductions, including a fresh PC recovery ability and a vital fix for gamers.

The August patch for Windows 11 24H2 (known as KB5063878) brings in a new Quick Machine Recovery (QMR) feature that's a very welcome addition, but it's something I profoundly hope that I'll never have to actually see.

That's because this functionality – which is inbound for all Windows 11 users, as highlighted by Windows Latest – is designed to help recover your PC from a boot failure. That's the most awful of computing scenarios where you can't even get to the desktop, and obviously, that makes it difficult to troubleshoot whatever's gone wrong with your system.

In these cases, QMR represents a new choice in the Windows Recovery Environment (which can be accessed to attempt to recover a non-booting PC), whereby Windows 11 uses a local network connection to send diagnostic data regarding the system-halting problem to Microsoft. The idea is that this data can (hopefully) be used to find a solution, and that this cure can be automatically patched through.

In short, your PC will fix itself, which is a great idea, obviously, although as I already said, I hope to never use this functionality, because I'd rather not encounter a boot failure in the first place. (These are rare incidents, thankfully.)

There's also a big addition for Copilot+ PCs with the August patch, which is the deployment of the first-ever AI agent in Windows 11. This 'Windows Agent' resides in the Settings app and offers a way of finding the options that you need with a minimum of fuss. Essentially, it's an AI-powered search that uses natural language - so you can ask questions in a conversational manner, and it'll also suggest recommended settings for whatever you're looking for.

While that change is for Copilot+ laptops only, there's also a tweak that traditional Windows 11 PCs are getting, whereby the search box in Settings has been moved to a better, more visible position, centred at the top of the panel.

This latest patch also makes the Black Screen of Death – a more streamlined version of the old Blue Screen – official, though I have my doubts about whether this is an improvement.

The August update for Windows 11 also fixes the various game-related stability issues that have been present in version 24H2, which is a huge boon for gamers - and there's a new gamepad layout for the virtual keyboard of the OS, too.

For further details on this patch, see my breakdown of the preview release that came out late in July, which is essentially the same update (when it was still in testing as an optional upgrade).

Analysis: Slick quick fix trick?

(Image credit: fizkes / Shutterstock)

The highlight here, at least in terms of the features coming to all Windows 11 PCs (not just Copilot+ devices), is Quick Machine Recovery (QMR). This feature will live or die on whether it works well, and how useful it proves in resolving boot failures – although that said, any chance of some extra help in getting your PC to actually reach the desktop will be handy.

The good news is that Windows Latest has tried out QMR and observed that it's been implemented well enough (albeit the tech site didn't get to test it with an actual boot-halting issue).

It's worth noting that when Microsoft previously tested QMR in preview builds, the company said that it would be switched on by default for all Windows 11 Home users. That makes sense, as there's really no reason not to turn on this functionality for everyday folks (business users will have the decision made by their IT admins).

Okay, so maybe some home users won't like the idea of sending any data via the cloud to Microsoft, but when it's diagnostic info that could cure your PC so it boots, saving you a major headache in the process, I think even the more paranoid would concede this is a more than worthwhile trade-off. And if Microsoft doesn't have QMR on by default, the average user may never be aware of the feature, or benefit from it should their PC hit a showstopping bug that prevents it from booting up.

Aside from that, the gaming fix is a big one too. Some gamers running Windows 11 24H2 have been seriously frustrated by crashes in the likes of Fortnite, so hopefully this will bring down the curtain on that sorry episode. (24H2 has been very problematic for PC gamers, as you may recall.)

The AI agent is a great addition for Copilot+ PCs, and using AI to bolster search is a theme Microsoft is pushing ahead with – it's an obvious way to give more depth to a commonly used ability in different areas of Windows. Previously, Microsoft pepped up Windows 11's main search (via the box in the taskbar) with AI, which was good to see. Furthermore, Recall is another such trick for Copilot+ PCs, albeit one I remain unconvinced about.

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