Next major Windows update is available September 26, with new AI (and not-AI) features

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella formally announces the ready-for-the-public version of Copilot.

Enlarge / Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella formally announces the ready-for-the-public version of Copilot. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

NEW YORK—Microsoft will be releasing its next major Windows update with “over 150 new features” later this month, the company announced in a presentation today. The update furthers Microsoft’s crusade to tuck generative AI into all of its products, though, as usual, it makes a ton of smaller iterative changes to the OS and its apps.

Microsoft says these new features “start becoming available September 26,” which could mean that some are available on that day and others are available later. It could also be a reference to Microsoft’s standard practice of rolling major Windows updates out to smaller groups of users first, checking for problems, and expanding the rollout to larger groups afterward.

Curiously, Microsoft says this version of Windows will still be called “22H2,” where we’d normally expect it to be released as the 23H2 update. Microsoft hasn’t formally announced any changes to its “annual feature update cadence,” though these days, it seems to run counter to the company’s “release new features whenever they’re ready and we feel like doing it” policy.

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Source: Ars Technica – Next major Windows update is available September 26, with new AI (and not-AI) features

Jaguar jettisions CCS charger plug, negotiates Tesla Supercharger access

A Jaguar I-Pace parked in front of a Tesla Supercharger

Enlarge / Jaguar is the latest automaker to negotiate a switch from the Combined Charging Standard to the North American Charging Standard. (credit: Jaguar)

The North American Charging Standard has another new convert. On Thursday, Jaguar announced that it’s the latest automaker to decide to change its charger plugs on its battery electric vehicles to the Tesla-style NACS port, securing all-important access to the Tesla Supercharger network in the process. As with all the other NACS announcements we’ve seen since May, when Ford went first and opened the floodgates, native NACS ports will appear on Jaguars in 2025.

Coincidentally, that’s when the next new electric Jaguar will appear, too. The British brand was an early entrant to the long-range electric vehicle segment with the I-Pace, a bespoke BEV that wowed road testers in 2018. But despite a big order from Waymo to use I-Paces as robotaxis, the I-Pace’s relatively small interior and high purchase price put off potential private customers, making it a relatively rare sight on North American roads outside of the Bay Area.

The I-Pace got a mild midlife refresh at the beginning of this year, but it remains the sole EV in Jaguar’s lineup for now. We were supposed to see an electric replacement for the venerable Jaguar XJ sedan, and development of the car was at an advanced stage when it was suddenly canceled in 2021, mere months from its debut.

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Source: Ars Technica – Jaguar jettisions CCS charger plug, negotiates Tesla Supercharger access

Judge “in a pickle” after Google demands DOJ stop sharing public trial exhibits

Ian Madrigal, dressed as the Monopoly Man, outside federal court on the first day of the Justice Department's antitrust trial against Google.

Enlarge / Ian Madrigal, dressed as the Monopoly Man, outside federal court on the first day of the Justice Department’s antitrust trial against Google. (credit: Win McNamee / Staff | Getty Images North America)

This morning, Bloomberg published more than a dozen public exhibits that Google argued the public shouldn’t have access to from the Department of Justice’s 10-week antitrust trial examining Google’s search business. The DOJ had hastily removed those exhibits from its website earlier this week after Google complained to the court that the DOJ was sharing trial exhibits online.

“Just so we understand what’s at stake here, every document [the DOJ’s lawyers] push into evidence they post on their website, and it gets picked up far and wide,” Google lawyer John Schmidtlein said in an objection raised on Tuesday. The dramatic moment followed sealed testimony from Google’s vice president for finance, Michael Roszak, regarding a document that Google claimed was “embarrassing” and Roszak claimed was “full of hyperbole and exaggeration,” Bloomberg reported.

“This isn’t a business record, and it’s totally irrelevant to these proceedings,” Schmidtlein argued.

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Source: Ars Technica – Judge “in a pickle” after Google demands DOJ stop sharing public trial exhibits

What can we do about ultraprocessed foods?

fruit cereal in a bowl

Enlarge (credit: Cathy Scola via Getty Images)

From breakfast cereals and protein bars to flavored yogurt and frozen pizzas, ultraprocessed foods are everywhere, filling aisle upon aisle at the supermarket. Fully 58 percent of the calories consumed by adults and 67 percent of those consumed by children in the United States are made up of these highly palatable foodstuffs with their highly manipulated ingredients.

And ultraprocessed foods are not just filling our plates; they’re also taking up more and more space in global conversations about public health and nutrition. In the last decade or so, researchers have ramped up efforts to define ultraprocessed foods and to probe how their consumption correlates to health: A wave of recent studies have linked the foods to heightened risk for conditions ranging from cardiovascular disease and cancer to obesity and depression.

Still, some researchers—and perhaps unsurprisingly, industry representatives—question the strength of the evidence against ultraprocessed foods. The category is too poorly defined and the studies too circumstantial, they say. Plus, labeling such a large portion of our grocery carts as unhealthy ignores the benefits of industrial food processing in making food affordable, safe from foodborne pathogens, easy to prepare and in some cases more sustainable—such as through the development of plant-derived products designed to replace meat and milk.

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Source: Ars Technica – What can we do about ultraprocessed foods?

Amazon’s generative-AI-powered Alexa is as big a privacy red flag as old Alexa

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Source: Ars Technica – Amazon’s generative-AI-powered Alexa is as big a privacy red flag as old Alexa

Permission denied for reentry of Varda’s orbiting experiment capsule

Varda's reentry capsule measures nearly 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter, and will jettison from its Rocket Lab-built carrier spacecraft when the mission is ready to return to Earth.

Enlarge / Varda’s reentry capsule measures nearly 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter, and will jettison from its Rocket Lab-built carrier spacecraft when the mission is ready to return to Earth. (credit: Varda Space Industries)

A first-of-its-kind commercial spacecraft owned by an in-space manufacturing startup called Varda Space Industries has been in orbit two months longer than originally planned, waiting for government approval to return to Earth with a cache of pharmaceutical specimens.

Varda’s satellite launched on June 12 for what was originally supposed to be a month-long mission to demonstrate the company’s technology for producing commercial materials, mainly pharmaceuticals, inside a recoverable capsule designed to return the products to Earth for laboratory analysis and eventual commercial exploitation.

However, the recovery of Varda’s capsule is on hold after the Federal Aviation Administration and the US Air Force recently declined to give Varda approval to land its spacecraft in a remote part of Utah. TechCrunch first reported the FAA turned down Varda’s application for a commercial reentry license.

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Source: Ars Technica – Permission denied for reentry of Varda’s orbiting experiment capsule

OpenAI’s new AI image generator pushes the limits in detail and prompt fidelity

A series of images generated using OpenAI's DALL-E 3 image synthesis model.

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On Wednesday, OpenAI announced DALL-E 3, the latest version of its AI image synthesis model that features full integration with ChatGPT. DALL-E 3 renders images by closely following complex descriptions and handling in-image text generation (such as labels and signs), which challenged earlier models. Currently in research preview, it will be available to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise customers in early October.

Like its predecessor, DALLE-3 is a text-to-image generator that creates novel images based on written descriptions called prompts. Although OpenAI released no technical details about DALL-E 3, the AI model at the heart of previous versions of DALL-E was trained on millions of images created by human artists and photographers, some of them licensed from stock websites like Shutterstock. It’s likely DALL-E 3 follows this same formula, but with new training techniques and more computational training time.

Judging by the samples provided by OpenAI on its promotional blog, DALL-E 3 appears to be a radically more capable image synthesis model than anything else available in terms of following prompts. While OpenAI’s examples have been cherry-picked for their effectiveness, they appear to follow the prompt instructions faithfully and convincingly render objects with minimal deformations. Compared to DALL-E 2, OpenAI says that DALL-E 3 refines small details like hands more effectively, creating engaging images by default with “no hacks or prompt engineering required.”

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Source: Ars Technica – OpenAI’s new AI image generator pushes the limits in detail and prompt fidelity

Linux gives up on 6-year LTS kernels, says they’re too much work

Linux gives up on 6-year LTS kernels, says they’re too much work

(credit: Sean Nguyen)

The LTS (long-term support) period for the Linux kernel is being cut down. In 2017, the kernel jumped from two years of support to six. Now, six years later, it turns out that’s a lot of work. ZDNet reports that at the Open Source Summit Europe this week (videos will be out in a few weeks), Linux Weekly News executive editor Jonathan Corbet announced the Linux kernel will return to two years of LTS support.

The plan to cut back down to two years isn’t instant. The Linux community is still honoring the current end-of-life timelines, so 6.1, 5.15, 5.10, 5.4, 4.19, and 4.14 are still six years, but new kernels will only get two years. Even this six-year window was supposed to be an optional thing when it started, with the release page FAQ saying, “Each new longterm kernel usually starts with only a 2-year projected EOL that can be extended further if there is enough interest from the industry at large to help support it for a longer period of time.” The reality was that everything received a six-year life span, and now that will no longer be the case.

Corbet cited a mix of lack of use and a lack of support for why Linux is cutting back on LTS kernels. Corbet says, “There’s really no point to maintaining [old kernels] for that long because people are not using them.” The other big problem is the burnout from maintainers, which are often unpaid and could use a lot more support from the billion-dollar companies that benefit from using Linux.

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Source: Ars Technica – Linux gives up on 6-year LTS kernels, says they’re too much work

Move over, Cordyceps, there’s a new “zombie” parasite to haunt our dreams

tiny ant on a blade of grass

Enlarge / An ant infected by the lancet liver fluke climbs up and clamps its powerful jaws onto the top of a blade of grass, making it more likely to be eaten by grazers such as cattle and deer. (credit: University of Copenhagen)

Parasites that control and alter the behavior of their hosts are well-known in nature. Most notably, there is a family of zombifying parasitic fungi called Cordyceps—more than 400 different species, each targeting a particular insect species, whether it be ants, dragonflies, cockroaches, aphids, or beetles. In fact, Cordyceps inspired the premise of The Last of Us game and subsequent TV series. And earlier this month we reported on a study of how a parasitic worm (trematode) targets a particular species of marsh-dwelling brown shrimp (amphipod), turning the shrimp an orange hue and altering the host shrimp’s behavior.

Then there’s the lancet liver fluke, whose complicated life cycle relies on successfully invading successive hosts: snails, ants, and grazing mammals. (Some liver flukes have also been known to infect the occasional unfortunate human.) Scientists at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark have discovered that the way the liver fluke “zombifies” ants to alter their behavior incorporates a kind of “on/off” switch that, in turn, is dependent on temperature. The researcherse described their findings in a recent paper published in the journal Behavioral Ecology.

“Historically, parasites have never really been focused on that much, despite there being scientific sources which say that parasitism is the most widespread life form,” said co-author Brian Lund Fredensborg. “This is in part due to the fact that parasites are quite difficult to study. Nevertheless, the hidden world of parasites forms a significant part of biodiversity, and by changing the host’s behavior, they can help determine who eats what in nature. That’s why they’re important for us to understand.”

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Source: Ars Technica – Move over, Cordyceps, there’s a new “zombie” parasite to haunt our dreams

T-Mobile users saw other customers’ personal data due to “system glitch”

A T-Mobile sign consisting of a large T hangs on a storefront.

Enlarge / A T-Mobile sign on a storefront on August 24, 2023 in Washington, DC. (credit: Getty Images | Anna Moneymaker )

A T-Mobile mistake during an overnight technology update resulted in some customers seeing the private information of other users today. T-Mobile users posting on social media said they saw other customers’ billing details instead of their own during the incident that reportedly lasted for three hours or so this morning.

When contacted by Ars today, T-Mobile confirmed the problem and said it was caused by a faulty update. “There was no cyberattack or breach at T-Mobile,” a company spokesperson said. “This was a temporary system glitch related to a planned overnight technology update involving limited account information for fewer than 100 customers, which was quickly resolved.”

As The Verge wrote, T-Mobile customers “reported that they’re able to see other users’ account data—including their current credit balance, purchase history, credit card information, and home address—when signing into their own T-Mobile accounts.”

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Source: Ars Technica – T-Mobile users saw other customers’ personal data due to “system glitch”

Grisham, Martin join authors suing OpenAI: “There is nothing fair about this”

George R.R. Martin at an HBO Max screening.

Enlarge / George R.R. Martin at an HBO Max screening. (credit: Amy Sussman/GA / Contributor | The Hollywood Reporter)

Yesterday, popular authors including John Grisham, Jonathan Franzen, George R.R. Martin, Jodi Picoult, and George Saunders joined the Authors Guild in suing OpenAI, alleging that training the company’s large language models (LLMs) used to power AI tools like ChatGPT on pirated versions of their books violates copyright laws and is “systematic theft on a mass scale.”

“Generative AI is a vast new field for Silicon Valley’s longstanding exploitation of content providers,” Franzen said in a statement provided to Ars. “Authors should have the right to decide when their works are used to ‘train’ AI. If they choose to opt in, they should be appropriately compensated.”

OpenAI has previously argued against two lawsuits filed earlier this year by authors making similar claims that authors suing “misconceive the scope of copyright, failing to take into account the limitations and exceptions (including fair use) that properly leave room for innovations like the large language models now at the forefront of artificial intelligence.”

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Source: Ars Technica – Grisham, Martin join authors suing OpenAI: “There is nothing fair about this”

iOS 17 review: StandBy for more features

App icons in iOS 17

Enlarge / iOS 17 isn’t a radical step forward, but there’s still plenty to dig into. (credit: Samuel Axon)

With the impending launch of Vision Pro and visionOS, it might look like iOS and iPadOS aren’t Apple’s main focus right now. Nevertheless, this year’s update promises some notable additions—even if some won’t be available until weeks or months down the line.

There’s one major new feature that’s available right away—StandBy, which turns your phone into a smart display. Core communications apps like Messages, Phone, and FaceTime are cornerstones of this update, too, along with new ways to use AirDrop. And as usual, Apple has introduced some new AI-powered features, including improved autocorrect and typing suggestions.

Meanwhile, the iPad got some key features from last year’s iPhone software update, plus improvements to the controversial Stage Manager multitasking view.

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Source: Ars Technica – iOS 17 review: StandBy for more features

French drillers may have stumbled upon a mammoth hydrogen deposit

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Source: Ars Technica – French drillers may have stumbled upon a mammoth hydrogen deposit

FCC plays whack-a-mole with telcos accused of profiting from robocalls

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Source: Ars Technica – FCC plays whack-a-mole with telcos accused of profiting from robocalls

Intel’s biggest laptop CPU update in years is a huge departure from past designs

An Intel Meteor Lake processor, which will come to market under the "Core" and "Core Ultra" banners later this year.

Enlarge / An Intel Meteor Lake processor, which will come to market under the “Core” and “Core Ultra” banners later this year. (credit: Intel)

Intel’s next-generation Meteor Lake laptop processors are nearing release—the company announced this week that the first processors will launch on December 14. It’s unclear whether actual Core and Core Ultra systems will be available to buy on that date, but at a bare minimum, the official announcement will pave the way to many laptop announcements at CES in January.

We already know a lot of basic facts about Meteor Lake; it uses a combination of chiplets manufactured by both Intel and TSMC rather than a single monolithic die, and it will mark the retirement of Intel’s “nth-generation” and i3/i5/i7/i9 branding. We also know that it won’t be ready for desktops and that the next round of Core desktop CPUs will be very similar to the 12th- and 13th-generation chips.

But at Intel’s Innovation event this week, the company dove a little deeper into some of Meteor Lake’s advancements, describing more about how the chips would balance E-cores and P-cores and announcing its most substantial integrated GPU upgrade in years. We’ll hit some highlights below, though it’s worth watching or reading the full presentation to find out more.

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Source: Ars Technica – Intel’s biggest laptop CPU update in years is a huge departure from past designs

Musk’s Neuralink seeks volunteers for brain implants—who’s in?

Image of a mannequin on a reclining table, with equipment surrounding its head.

Enlarge / An on-stage demo of the surgical robot. That could be you. (credit: Neuralink)

After years of delays, regulatory rejections, and allegations of animal abuse, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company, Neuralink, is now recruiting its first human volunteers to have an experimental robot implant an experimental device directly into their brains.

In a blog post Tuesday, the company announced that an independent institutional review board and an unnamed hospital site granted approval for the trial to start recruiting volunteers.

Neuralink says it aims to enroll people with quadriplegia due to a spinal cord injury or ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Volunteers will have a wireless brain-computer interface implant, dubbed N1, surgically embedded into their brains by the company’s experimental surgical robot, R1. The implant device is said to have 1,024 electrodes distributed across 64 threads thinner than a human hair. After R1 inserts the threads into the appropriate brain region, the electrodes are designed to record neural activity related to movement intention, and an experimental app from the company will decode the signals. The goal of the N1 implantation is to allow trial participants to control a computer cursor or keyboard using only their thoughts. This trial will primarily evaluate safety, but also get a glimpse of efficacy, Neuralink says.

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Source: Ars Technica – Musk’s Neuralink seeks volunteers for brain implants—who’s in?

Dealmaster: Early Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sales continue, Garmin deals, and more

amazon prime day is here

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Garmin’s new Vivoactive 5 smartwatch just dropped, promising better battery life than its predecessors. The watch is also launching at a lower $300 price, making it more affordable and a better deal compared to the Vivoactive 4 series at launch. But if you don’t need all the features of the Vivoactive 5, we have some slightly older Garmin watches at a discount in this latest Dealmaster. In addition to wearables, we have more early deals from Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days event, savings on Lenovo laptops and Apple MacBooks, Tempur-Pedic ergonomic office chairs, DeWalt tools, and more tech gear!

Garmin watches

  • Garmin Vivoactive 4 45mm for $298 (was $350) at Best Buy
  • Garmin Instinct 2X Solar Smartwatch 50 mm for $425 (was $450) at Best Buy
  • Garmin Venu 2 45 mm for $298 (was $350) at Best Buy
  • Garmin Instinct Crossover Solar, Tactical Edition 45mm for $510 (was $900) at Best Buy
  • Garmin Venu Sq 33mm for $118 (was $150) at Best Buy
  • Garmin Forerunner 745 30mm for $425 (was $500) at Best Buy
  • Garmin Venu Sq Music Edition 33mm for $212 (was $250) at Best Buy
  • Garmin Forerunner 45 42mm for $145 (was $170) at Best Buy
  • Garmin Venu 2S 40 mm for $320 (was $350) at Best Buy
  • Garmin Venu Sq 2 Music Edition 40mm for $288 (was $300) at Best Buy
  • Garmin Forerunner 245 Music 42mm for $319 (was $320) at Best Buy

Early Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sales

  • Sony HTX8500 2.1ch Dolby Atmos/DTS:X Soundbar for $198 with Amazon Prime reservation (was $400) at Amazon
  • Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Pro tablet for $140 (was $200) at Amazon
  • Amazon Fire TV 32-inch 2-Series 720p HD smart TV for $130 (was $200) at Amazon
  • Amazon Fire TV 40-inch 2-Series 1080p HD smart TV for $190 (was $250) at Amazon
  • Dyson Outsize Cordless Vacuum Cleaner for $489 (was $530) at Amazon
  • Dyson V11 Cordless Stick Vaccum, Large for $465 (was $570) at Amazon
  • JBL Go 3: Portable Speaker with Bluetooth for $40 (was $50) at Amazon
  • Cocktail-Smoker-Kit for $30 (was $46) at Amazon
  • meidong KY3000B Sound Bar for $50 (was $89) at Amazon
  • Hamilton Beach 12 Cup Programmable Front-Fill Drip Coffee Maker with Thermal Carafe for $72 (was $90) at Amazon
  • Hamilton Beach Premium Juicer Machine for $64 (was $80) at Amazon
  • Hamilton Beach The Scoop Single Serve Coffee Maker for $56 (was $70) at Amazon
  • Hamilton Beach 40941R Electric Tea Kettle for $42 (was $50) at Amazon
  • Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 44mm Bluetooth Smartwatch for $210 (was $310) at Amazon
  • Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 44mm LTE Smartwatch for $260 (was $360) at Amazon
  • Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 40mm LTE Smartwatch for $230 (was $330) at Amazon
  • JBL Live 660NC – Wireless Over-Ear Noise Cancelling Headphones for $150 (was $200) at Amazon
  • JBL Live 460NC – Wireless On-Ear Noise Cancelling Headphones for $100 (was $130) at Amazon
  • Philips Sparkling Water Maker Soda Maker Soda Streaming Machine for $50 (was $80) at Amazon
  • SodaStream Art Sparkling Water Maker Bundle for $110 with Amazon Prime reservation (was $200) at Amazon
  • Citizen Men’s Promaster Dive Automatic Watch for $200 with Amazon Prime reservation (was $475) at Amazon
  • Jabra Elite 7 Active True Wireless for $80 with Amazon Prime reservation (was $180) at Amazon
  • Philips 3000 Series Air Fryer Essential Compact with Rapid Air Technology for $80 with Amazon Prime reservation (was $180) at Amazon

Headphones

  • Poly Voyager 4320 Wireless Noise Cancelling Stereo Headset with mic for $158 (was $170) at Best Buy
  • Bose Headphones 700 Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-the-Ear Headphones for $299 (was $379) at Best Buy
  • Sony WF-1000XM4 for $227 (was $280) at Amazon

Lenovo laptops

  • Lenovo Flex 3 Chromebook Laptop (15-inch, Intel Pentium Silver N6000) for $329 (was $479) at Best Buy
  • Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8 (14-inch, Intel Core i5-1345U) for $1,449 (was $2,959) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 Intel (14-inch, Intel Core i7-1270P) for $1,624 (was $3,609) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 1 (16-inch, Intel Core i7-1355U) for $1,145 (was $1,909) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 (14-inch, Intel Core i5-1335U) for $1,200 (was $2,399) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 (14-inch, Intel Core i5-1250P) for $1,219 (was $3,049) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad T16 (16-inch, Intel Core i5-1240P) for $1,188 (was $2,829) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 1 (16-inch, AMD Ryzen 7 7730U) for $1,031 (was $1,719) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 5 (14-inch, Intel Core i5-1335U) for $845 (was $1,409) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 1 (16-inch, Intel Core i5-1335U) for $869 (was $1,449) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo 300e Gen 2 (11-inch, Intel Celeron N4120) for $229 (was $599) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i (16-inch, Intel Core i5-13500H and RTX 3050) for $950 (was $1,500) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 8  (16-inch, Intel Core i9-13900HX and RTX 4070) for $1,950 (was $2,300) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo Yoga 7i (15-inch, Intel Core i7-1165G7) for $700 (was $1,395) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo Legion Slim 7 Gen 8 (16-inch, AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS and RTX 4060) for $1,400 (was $1,680) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo Yoga 6 (13-inch, AMD Ryzen 5 7530U) for $645 (was $860) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 8 (16-inch, Intel Core i5-13500HX and RTX 4050) for $1,100 (was $1,480) at Lenovo
  • Legion Slim 5i Gen 8 (16-inch, Intel Core i5-13500H and RTX 4050) for $1,050 (was $1,350) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook (14-inch, Intel Core i3-N305) for $415 (was $550) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 (16-inch, AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS and RTX 4050) for $1,020 (was $1,300) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 3 (13-inch, Intel Core i5-1235U) for $1,005 (was $2,009) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Gen 3 (13-inch, Intel Core i5-1245U) for $1,035 (was $2,069) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Gen 3 (13-inch, AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5875U) for $1,160 (was $2,319) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 3 (13-inch, Intel Core i7-1255U) for $1,175 (was $2,349) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 3 (13-inch, Intel Core i7-1265U) for $1,485 (was $2,969) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Gen 3 (13-inch, AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5875U) for $1,130 (was $2,259) at Lenovo
  • Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 3 (13-inch, Intel Core i5-1245U) for $1,100 (was $2,199) at Lenovo

Apple MacBook, iPad, and AirPods

Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air.

Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

  • Apple MacBook Air 13.3-inch Laptop M1 for $849 (was $999) at Amazon
  • Apple MacBook Air 15.3-inch Laptop with M2 for $1,099 (was $1,299) at Amazon
  • Apple MacBook Pro 16.2-inch Laptop M2 Pro for $2,299 (was $2,499) at Amazon
  • Apple iPad Air (5th Generation) for $559 (was $599) at Amazon
  • Apple iPad (9th Generation) for $270 (was $329) at Amazon
  • Apple iPad Mini (6th Generation) for $469 (was $499) at Amazon
  • Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th Generation) for $999 (was $1,099) at Amazon
  • Apple AirTag 4 Pack for $89 (was $99) at Amazon
  • Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation, Lightning) Wireless Earbuds for $199 (was $249) at Amazon
  • Apple AirPods Max Wireless Over-Ear Headphones for $479 (was $549) at Amazon

Home, office, and personal care

  • Emergency Survival Kit and First Aid Kit for $25 after coupon (was $50) at Amazon
  • Tempur-Lumbar Support Office Chair for $299 with CHAIR15 code (was $352) at Tempurpedic
  • Beurer Bluetooth Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor for $39 (was $60) at Best Buy
  • Beurer Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor for $25 (was $35) at Best Buy
  • Beurer Abdominal Muscle EMS Belt for $46 (was $60) at Best Buy
  • Beurer Pulse Oximeter for $31 (was $40) at Best Buy
  • Beurer Bluetooth Body Fat Scale for Full Body Analysis for $44 (was $50) at Best Buy
  • TP-Link Deco Powerline Mesh WiFi 6 System (Deco PX50) 3 pack for $270 (was $300) at Amazon
  • TP-Link Deco AX3000 WiFi 6 Mesh System (Deco X55) 3 pack for $200 (was $230) at Amazon
  • Theragun PRO 4th Generation for $499 (was $599) at Therabody
  • Therabody mini (1st Gen) for $130 (was $200) at Best Buy
  • Therabody RecoveryAir JetBoots Medium for $799 (was $899) at Best Buy

DeWalt and Greenworks tools

  • DeWalt 20V MAX XR Multi-Tool Kit for $178 (was $269) at Amazon
  • DeWalt 20V MAX Cordless Impact Wrench with Brushless Motor for $269 (was $349) at Amazon
  • DeWalt 20V MAX XR Drill/Driver for $123 (was $169) at Amazon
  • DeWalt 20V MAX XR Hammer Drill Kit for $249 (was $399) at Amazon
  • DeWalt 20V Max Cordless Drill / Driver Kit for $99 (was $179) at Amazon
  • DeWalt 20V MAX Cordless Drill and Impact Driver for $147 (was $239) at Amazon
  • DeWalt 20V MAX XR Impact Driver, Brushless for $95 (was $149) at Amazon
  • DeWalt 20V MAX Cordless Impact Wrench for $188 (was $279) at Amazon
  • DeWalt 20V MAX Cordless Drill Combo Kit for $175 (was $271) at Amazon
  • DeWalt Atomic 20V MAX* Cordless Drill, 1/2-Inch, Tool Only for $69 (was $110) at Amazon
  • DeWalt Xtreme 12V MAX* Impact Driver Kit, 1/4-Inch for $97 (was $159) at Amazon
  • Greenworks 10-inch 80 Volt Cultivator/Tiller for $340 (was $400) at Best Buy
  • Greenworks 80 Volt Pro Rapid Battery Charger for $61 (was $100) at Best Buy
  • Greenworks 48-Volt 14-Inch Cordless Brushless Chainsaw for $223 (was $260) at Best Buy
  • Greenworks 24-Volt 22-Inch Cordless Hedge Trimmer for $130 (was $150) at Best Buy
  • Greenworks 24-Volt 22-Inch Cordless Hedge Trimmer for $70 (was $80) at Best Buy
  • Greenworks Pro Electric Pressure Washer up to 3000 PSI at 2.0 GPM for $378 (was $430) at Best Buy
  • Greenworks 80 Volt 2Ah Battery for $132 (was $150) at Best Buy
  • Greenworks 24 Volt 2000 Lumen LED Work Light AC/DC for $62 (was $70) at Best Buy
  • Greenworks 24-Volt 110 MPH 450 CFM Cordless Handheld Blower for $80 (was $90) at Best Buy
  • Greenworks TORQDRIVE 24-Volt 12-Inch Cutting Diameter Straight Shaft Grass Trimmer and Edger for $120 (was $130) at Best Buy
  • Greenworks 24-Volt 110 MPH 450 CFM Cordless Handheld Blower for $140 (was $150) at Best Buy

AirTag, iPhone, and laptop chargers, cables, and accessories

  • Apple MagSafe Charger for $33 (was $39) at Amazon
  • Belkin BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad with Official MagSafe Charging 15 W for $127 (was $150) at Belkin
  • Belkin BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Stand with Official MagSafe Charging 15 W for $128 after APPLE2023 code (was $150) at Belkin
  • Belkin BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charger Stand with Official MagSafe Charging 15 W for $85 after APPLE2023 code (was $100) at Belkin
  • ESR for iPhone 15 Plus Case, Compatible with MagSafe for $18 after coupon (was $25) at Amazon
  • Spigen Ultra Hybrid MagFit Designed for iPhone 15 Pro Max Case for $20 after coupon (was $21) at Amazon
  • Spigen Ultra Hybrid MagFit Designed for iPhone 15 Pro Case for $19 after coupon (was $20) at Amazon
  • Spigen Ultra Hybrid Designed for iPhone 15 for $14 (was $15) at Amazon
  • Spigen Ultra Hybrid MagFit Designed for iPhone 15 Plus Case for $18 after coupon (was $19) at Amazon
  • Spigen Tempered Glass Screen Protector [GlasTR EZ FIT] designed for iPhone 15 Pro Max for $16 after coupon (was $18) at Amazon
  • Spigen Tempered Glass Screen Protector [GlasTR EZ FIT] designed for iPhone 15 Pro for $17 (was $18) at Amazon
  • Spigen Tempered Glass Screen Protector [GlasTR EZ FIT] Designed for iPhone 15 for $16 after coupon (was $18) at Amazon
  • Spigen Tempered Glass Screen Protector [GlasTR EZ FIT] designed for iPhone 15 Plus for $17 (was $18) at Amazon
  • ESR Armorite Screen Protector for Apple Watch Ultra 2/1 Tempered Glass Protector with Stainless-Steel Frame for $16 after coupon (was $18) at Amazon
  • Spigen Tempered Glass Screen Protector [GlasTR EZ FIT] designed for Apple Watch Ultra 2 (49 mm) for $16 (was $25) at Amazon
  • Pebblebee Clip 4-pack for $100 (was $120) at Pebblebee
  • Pebblebee Card & Clip Multi-pack for $100 (was $120) at Pebblebee
  • Apple AirTag 4 Pack for $89 (was $99) at Amazon
  • 2 Pack Waterproof Air Tag Keychain Case for $7 (was $11) at Amazon
  • Belkin Apple AirTag Secure Holder with Key Ring for $12 (was $13) at Amazon
  • Case-Mate AirTag Holder 4 Pack for $33 (was $40) at Amazon
  • Pelican Rugged AirTag Luggage Tag for $32 (was $40) at Amazon
  • GRIIID AirTag Wallet for $35 (was $40) at Amazon
  • Waterproof AirTag Holder 4 Pack for $14 after coupon (was $17) at Amazon
  • 5 Pack Airtag Holder AirTag Silicone Case with Keychain $5 after coupon (was $7) at Amazon
  • Card Case for AirTag Tag Card 2 Pack for $10 (was $20) at Amazon
  • TagVault AirTag Surface Adhesive Mount for $10 after coupon (was $13) at Amazon
  • AirTag Passport Holder Cover Wallet Travel Essentials for $16 (was $17) at Amazon
  • Anker 6-foot USB-C to Lightning Cable for $12 (was $22) at Amazon
  • Anker Nano II 30W Fast GaN II Compact Charger for $24 (was $34) at Amazon
  • Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe for $120 after coupon (was $150) at Amazon
  • Anker Power Strip with USB C, 30 W for $22 (was $40) at Amazon
  • 192 PCS Cable Management Kit for $15 (was $20) at Amazon
  • UGREEN 200 W USB C Charger, Nexode 6 Ports GaN Desktop Charging Station for $140 after coupon (was $200) at Amazon
  • UGREEN 145 W Power Bank 25000 mAh Portable Charger USB C 3-Port PD3.0 Battery Pack Digital Display for $93 (was $150) at Amazon
  • INIU braided USB-C to USB-C Cable, 100 W [2-Pack 6.6ft] PD 5A Fast Charging Cable for $13 (was $16) at Amazon
  • 100 PCS Reusable Cable Ties for $7 (was $14) at Amazon

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Source: Ars Technica – Dealmaster: Early Amazon Prime Big Deal Days sales continue, Garmin deals, and more

SpaceX breaks another booster reuse record, but did anyone see it?

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Source: Ars Technica – SpaceX breaks another booster reuse record, but did anyone see it?

Xbox exec says leaked “old emails and documents” have “outdated” info

Microsoft's Phil Spencer speaks at the DICE conference in Las Vegas.

Enlarge / Microsoft’s Phil Spencer speaks at the DICE conference in Las Vegas. (credit: Kyle Orland)

Yesterday’s massive leaks from the Microsoft vs. FTC case have a large swath of the gaming world expecting that a more powerful, disc-free Xbox Series X refresh could be coming as soon as next year. But Xbox boss Phil Spencer is warning that players shouldn’t put too much stock in what he called “old emails and documents.”

“It is hard to see our team’s work shared in this way because so much has changed and there’s so much to be excited about right now, and in the future,” Spencer wrote on social media late Tuesday. “We will share the real plans when we are ready.”

Spencer followed up that post with a memo sent to the Xbox team, apologizing for the unintentional disclosure of internal plans. “I know this is disappointing, even if many of the documents are well over a year old and our plans have evolved,” the memo reads, in part. “I also know we all take the confidentiality of our plans and our partners’ information very seriously. This leak obviously is not us living up to that expectation… That said, there’s so much more to be excited about, and when we’re ready, we’ll share the real plans with our players.”

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Source: Ars Technica – Xbox exec says leaked “old emails and documents” have “outdated” info

Hyundai hurries to finish factory in Georgia to meet US EV demand

A black Hyundai Ioniq 6 with wind turbines in the background.

Enlarge / Hyundai’s well-rated Ioniq 6 could go into production in the US, which would make it eligible for a $7,500 tax credit. (credit: Hyundai)

Hyundai Motor Group is pushing the accelerator pedal when it comes to its newest North American factory. The company broke ground on the multibillion-dollar site in Bryan County, Georgia, last October with the aim of beginning production of electric vehicles in 2025. But on Tuesday, Hyundai president and CEO Jose Munoz revealed that timeline has been brought forward.

“We try to accelerate as much as possible, the project. And we are confident that the original date of January 2025 would be probably pulled ahead maybe three months or so. If we can, even more,” Munoz said.

The main motivation for building EVs locally in the US is the new clean vehicle tax incentives. Created as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, these came into effect at the beginning of this year and address criticisms of the previous EV tax credit by adding income and price caps, allowing dealers to claim the credit if they immediately apply it to the price of the car and creating a tax credit for buying a used EV.

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Source: Ars Technica – Hyundai hurries to finish factory in Georgia to meet US EV demand