First, we got iPhones in Hermès orange, and now we might get them in Louboutin red. According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple is already mulling over what the next premium colorway will be for its iPhone Pro models. While we’re not expecting iPhone 18 announcements until later this year, Gurman reported that “red is the new flagship color in testing for the next iPhone Pros.”

Gurman added that there were rumors of purple and brown shades, but predicted that these could just be different shades of the main red option. Red is definitely a departure from Apple’s usual palette of more modest tones, but the company could be trying to continue the momentum of its flashier Cosmic Orange option that has been boosting sales in China. The bold orange option has been informally rebranded as Hermès orange among fans and is becoming somewhat of a status symbol in Chinese markets. With red as a potential frontrunner for the next iPhone Pro colors, Apple could capture even more sales in China, especially since the color is seen as lucky in Chinese culture.

It’s not the first time Apple has offered red iPhones, though. Previously, Apple manufactured iPhones in deep red hues in collaboration with Product Red, with the last available models being the iPhone SE, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. On the other hand, Gurman reported that Apple will play it much safer when it comes to the rumored foldable iPhone, sticking with its basic tones.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/apple-is-reportedly-considering-red-as-the-next-premium-color-for-its-iphones-185748052.html?src=rss

Imagine a 280-unit apartment complex offering no on-site leasing office with a human agent for questions. “Instead, the entire process has been outsourced to AI…” reports SFGate, “from touring to signing the lease to completing management tasks once you actually move in.”

Now imagine it’s far more than just one apartment complex…

At two other Jack London Square apartment buildings, my initial interactions were also with a robot. At the Allegro, my fiance and I entered the leasing office for our tour and asked for “Grace P,” the leasing agent who had emailed us. “Oh, that’s just our AI assistant,” the woman at the front desk told us… At Aqua Via, another towering apartment complex across the street, I emailed back and forth with a very helpful and polite “Sofia M.” My pal Sofia seemed so human-like in her responses that I did not realize she was AI until I looked a little closer at a text she’d sent me. “Msgs may be AI or human generated….” [S]he continued to text me for weeks after I’d moved on, trying to win me back. When I looked at the fine print, I realized both of these complexes were using EliseAI, a leading AI housing startup that claims to be involved in managing 1 in 6 apartments in the U.S…

[50 corporate landlords have funded a VC named RET Ventures to invest in and deploy rental-automating AI, and SFGate’s reporter spoke to partner Christopher Yip.] According to Yip, AI is common in large apartment complexes not just in the tech-centric Bay Area, but across the entire country. It all kicked off at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he said, when contactless, self-guided apartment tours and completely virtual tours where people rented apartments sight unseen became commonplace. Technology’s infiltration into the renting process has only grown deeper in the years since, Yip said, mirroring how pervasive AI has become in many other facets of our lives. “From an industry perspective, it’s really about meeting the renter where they are,” Yip said. He pointed to how many renters now prefer to interact through text and email, and want to tour apartments at their convenience — say, at 7 p.m. after work, when a typical leasing office might be closed.

The latest updates in technology not only allow you to take a self-guided tour with AI unlocking the door for you, but also to ask AI questions by conversing with voice AI as you wander through the kitchen and bedroom at your leisure. And while a human leasing agent might ghost you for days or weeks at a time, AI responds almost instantly — EliseAI typically responds within 30 seconds, [said Fran Loftus, chief experience officer at EliseAI]… [I]n some scenarios, the goal does seem to be to eliminate humans entirely. “We do have long-term plans of building fully autonomous buildings,” Loftus said…. “We think there’s a time and a place for that, depending on the type of property. But really right now, it’s about helping with this crazy turnover in this industry.”
The reporter says they missed the human touch, since “The second AI was involved, the interaction felt cold. When a human couldn’t even be bothered to show up to give me a tour, my trust evaporated.”

But they conclude that in the years ahead, human landlords offering tours “will probably go the way of landlines and VCRs.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Ready your wallets if you’ve been thinking about upgrading your Apple products. According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple will announce “at least five products,” starting on Monday, March 2, and extending to its scheduled “experience” on Wednesday, March 4.

There’s a long list of potential options that Apple could announce next month, but Gurman is confident in a few. According to the report, Apple is “very likely” to reveal the low-cost MacBook, especially considering the event logo’s choice of colors that could reference the new laptop colors. Gurman also predicted that Apple could announce the iPhone 17e, since its predecessor was launched last spring, and an iPad Air that’s updated with the M4 chip. Previous rumors point to Apple getting ready to drop the upgraded MacBook Pro, which will likely get M5 Pro and Max chips, and the new MacBook Air with the base M5 chip. If that wasn’t enough, Apple could even debut the refreshed Mac Studio and a new Apple Studio Display since the two desktop-oriented options were already expected to be released in the first half of the year.

There hasn’t been any confirmation from Apple directly, but it may have left behind some hints for this “three-day blitz” of product announcements. Going off Apple’s wording, the March 4 event will be an “Apple Experience” with locations in New York, London and Shanghai, which doesn’t sound like the typical format of an event with keynote addresses that’s paired with a livestream. Gurman also noted that Apple usually announces its new products on Tuesday, unlike the official Wednesday timing.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apples-first-event-of-the-year-will-reportedly-bring-at-least-five-products-over-a-three-day-blitz-175017716.html?src=rss

Friday Amazon published a blog post “to address the inaccuracies” in a Financial Times report that the company’s own AI tool Kiro caused two outages in an AWS service in December.

Amazon writes that the “brief” and “extremely limited” service interruption “was the result of user error — specifically misconfigured access controls — not AI as the story claims.”

And “The Financial Times’ claim that a second event impacted AWS is entirely false.”

The disruption was an extremely limited event last December affecting a single service (AWS Cost Explorer — which helps customers visualize, understand, and manage AWS costs and usage over time) in one of our 39 Geographic Regions around the world. It did not impact compute, storage, database, AI technologies, or any other of the hundreds of services that we run. The issue stemmed from a misconfigured role — the same issue that could occur with any developer tool (AI powered or not) or manual action.

We did not receive any customer inquiries regarding the interruption. We implemented numerous safeguards to prevent this from happening again — not because the event had a big impact (it didn’t), but because we insist on learning from our operational experience to improve our security and resilience. Additional safeguards include mandatory peer review for production access. While operational incidents involving misconfigured access controls can occur with any developer tool — AI-powered or not — we think it is important to learn from these experiences.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A software engineer tried steering his robot vacuum with a videogame controller, reports Popular Science — but ended up with “a sneak peak into thousands of people’s homes.”

While building his own remote-control app, Sammy Azdoufal reportedly used an AI coding assistant to help reverse-engineer how the robot communicated with DJI’s remote cloud servers. But he soon discovered that the same credentials that allowed him to see and control his own device also provided access to live camera feeds, microphone audio, maps, and status data from nearly 7,000 other vacuums across 24 countries.

The backend security bug effectively exposed an army of internet-connected robots that, in the wrong hands, could have turned into surveillance tools, all without their owners ever knowing. Luckily, Azdoufal chose not to exploit that. Instead, he shared his findings with The Verge, which quickly contacted DJI to report the flaw… He also claims he could compile 2D floor plans of the homes the robots were operating in. A quick look at the robots’ IP addresses also revealed their approximate locations.

DJI told Popular Science the issue was addressed “through two updates, with an initial patch deployed on February 8 and a follow-up update completed on February 10.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Lockheed Martin’s F-35 combat aircraft is a supersonic stealth “strike fighter.” But this week the military news site TWZ reports that the fighter’s “computer brain,” including “its cloud-based components, could be cracked to accept third-party software updates, just like ‘jailbreaking’ a cellphone, according to the Dutch State Secretary for Defense.”

TWZ notes that the Dutch defense secretary made the remarks during an episode of BNR Nieuwsradio’s “Boekestijn en de Wijk” podcast, according to a machine translation:

Gijs Tuinman, who has been State Secretary for Defense in the Netherlands since 2024, does not appear to have offered any further details about what the jailbreaking process might entail. What, if any, cyber vulnerabilities this might indicate is also unclear. It is possible that he may have been speaking more notionally or figuratively about action that could be taken in the future, if necessary…

The ALIS/ODIN network is designed to handle much more than just software updates and logistical data. It is also the port used to upload mission data packages containing highly sensitive planning information, including details about enemy air defenses and other intelligence, onto F-35s before missions and to download intelligence and other data after a sortie. To date, Israel is the only country known to have successfully negotiated a deal giving it the right to install domestically-developed software onto its F-35Is, as well as otherwise operate its jets outside of the ALIS/ODIN network.

The comments “underscore larger issues surrounding the F-35 program, especially for foreign operators,” the article points out. But at the same time F-35’s have a sophisticated mission-planning data package. “So while jailbreaking F-35’s onboard computers, as well as other aspects of the ALIS/ODIN network, may technically be feasible, there are immediate questions about the ability to independently recreate the critical mission planning and other support it provides. This is also just one aspect of what is necessary to keep the jets flying, let alone operationally relevant.”

“TWZ previously explored many of these same issues in detail last year, amid a flurry of reports about the possibility that F-35s have some type of discreet ‘kill switch’ built in that U.S. authorities could use to remotely disable the jets. Rumors of this capability are not new and remain completely unsubstantiated.”

At that time, we stressed that a ‘kill switch’ would not even be necessary to hobble F-35s in foreign service. At present, the jets are heavily dependent on U.S.-centric maintenance and logistics chains that are subject to American export controls and agreements with manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Just reliably sourcing spare parts has been a huge challenge for the U.S. military itself… F-35s would be quickly grounded without this sustainment support. [A cutoff in spare parts and support”would leave jailbroken jets quickly bricked on the ground,” the article notes later.] Altogether, any kind of jailbreaking of the F-35’s systems would come with a serious risk of legal action by Lockheed Martin and additional friction with the U.S. government.

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader Koreantoast for sharing the article.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple’s satellite features were originally designed for emergencies, allowing iPhone users to contact emergency services when cellular and Wi-Fi coverage is unavailable. With recent versions of iOS, Apple has expanded those capabilities to include sending and receiving messages via satellite. This makes it possible to stay in touch with friends and family from remote locations where traditional networks do not reach, such as hiking trails, rural areas or offshore locations.

Messaging via satellite is built directly into the iPhone and works automatically when no cellular or Wi-Fi signal is available. While it is not intended to replace regular messaging, it can be a useful backup when coverage drops.

How to send a message via satellite

Before you can get started, you’ll need to turn on iMessage before you’re off the grid. It’s also important to set up an emergency contact as well as members of your Family Sharing group prior to your departure. This will enable them to message you via SMS without the need to message them first.     To send a message via satellite, open the Messages app when no cellular or Wi-Fi signal is available. If the feature is supported in the current location, the app will display a prompt indicating that satellite messaging is available.

Selecting the option to connect via satellite launches a guided connection screen. Your iPhone will provide real-time instructions to help maintain alignment with the satellite. Once connected, a text message can be typed and sent, although delivery may take longer than usual.

The iPhone will notify you when the message has been sent successfully. Replies from the recipient will also be delivered via satellite, as long as the connection remains active.

What you need before you can send satellite messages

Sending messages via satellite requires a compatible iPhone model and the correct software version. The feature is supported on iPhone models with satellite hardware, beginning with iPhone 14 and later. The device must be running a version of iOS (iOS 18 or higher) that supports satellite messaging, which Apple has continued to refine through recent iOS updates.

The feature also depends on location and availability. Satellite messaging is currently supported in select regions, including the United States and parts of Canada, with expanded support rolling out gradually. The iPhone must be outdoors with a clear view of the sky, as trees, buildings and terrain can interfere with the satellite connection.

Satellite messaging is not designed for continuous conversations. Messages are compressed and sent at a slower pace than standard texts, and delivery times can vary depending on conditions and satellite positioning.

How satellite messaging works on iPhone

When an iPhone loses access to cellular and Wi-Fi networks, the system automatically detects that only satellite connectivity is available. Instead of failing to send, the Messages app prompts the user to connect to a satellite.

On-screen instructions guide the user to position the phone correctly. This typically involves holding the device up and following directional prompts to align it with an overhead satellite. The phone uses built-in sensors to help maintain the connection while the message is being sent.

Messages sent via satellite are text-only and use a reduced data format to ensure they can be transmitted reliably. Images, videos, audio messages and large attachments are not supported.

Who can receive satellite messages?

Satellite messages can be sent to contacts using iMessage or standard SMS, depending on the recipient’s device and settings. If the recipient is using an Apple device with iMessage enabled, the message will be delivered through Apple’s messaging system. If not, the message will be sent as a standard text.

Recipients do not need a satellite-capable device to receive messages. From their perspective, the message appears similar to a regular text, though delivery times may be longer.

Tips for getting a reliable connection

A clear view of the sky is essential for satellite messaging to work properly. Open areas with minimal obstructions offer the best results. Movement, heavy foliage and nearby structures can interrupt the connection.

Because satellite bandwidth is limited, keeping messages short improves reliability and delivery speed. The iPhone may prompt the user to edit longer messages to fit within satellite constraints.

Battery life is also a consideration. Maintaining a satellite connection uses more power than standard messaging, so it helps to conserve battery when relying on satellite features for extended periods.

Limitations to keep in mind

Satellite messaging is designed for occasional use when other networks are unavailable. It does not support group messages, media attachments or read receipts in the same way as standard messaging.

Delivery times can range from under a minute to several minutes, depending on environmental conditions and satellite availability. The feature should not be relied upon for time-sensitive communication unless no other option is available.

Apple has also noted that satellite features may be offered free for a limited period, with potential pricing or subscription requirements introduced in the future depending on region and carrier arrangements.

When satellite messaging can be useful

Messaging via satellite can be helpful for travelers, hikers and anyone spending time in remote areas where coverage is unreliable. It offers a way to check in, share basic updates or request non-emergency assistance when traditional networks are unavailable.

While it is not a replacement for emergency services, it complements Apple’s existing emergency satellite features by providing an additional communication option when users are off the grid.

As Apple continues to expand satellite support, messaging via satellite is likely to become a more familiar part of the iPhone experience, particularly for users who regularly venture beyond the reach of cellular networks.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/how-to-send-a-message-via-satellite-on-iphone-130000418.html?src=rss

Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images

The 2026 Winter Olympics come to an end this weekend. This year’s Closing Ceremony theme is “Beauty in Action.” The event will feature appearances from musician and DJ Gabry Ponte, actress Benedetta Porcaroli, and ballet dancer Roberto Bolle. Alfredo Accatino, the ceremony’s artistic director, has promised the ceremony will “begin with lots of colors and end with a party.”

The ceremony will kick off today at 2:30PM ET on NBC and Peacock. An encore broadcast will air on NBC at 9PM Here’s everything you need to know to watch the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics Closing Ceremony. (And as we close out the Winter Games, here’s a look at the final medal count, too.) 

How to watch the Closing Ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Date: Sunday, Feb. 22

Time: Airs live at 2:30PM ET; primetime re-air at 9PM ET

Location: Verona Arena, Verona, Italy

TV channel: NBC

Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, NBC.com and more

Olympics Closing Ceremony start time

The ceremony will kick off at 2:30 PM ET on Sunday afternoon. An encore broadcast will also air on NBC at 9PM ET/PT. 

How to watch the Closing Ceremony live for free

There are a couple of ways to watch the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 22. You can tune in live Sunday afternoon on NBC or stream live on Peacock, or catch the encore broadcast on NBC, which is available with DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, and more.

More ways to watch the closing ceremony without cable

You can watch the ceremony live or on demand on Peacock as well as on NBC.com, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC app.

Who is performing at the Closing Ceremony?

Italian musician and DJ Gabry Ponte is one of the headliners. Other confirmed performers include Italian actress Benedetta Porcaroli and Italian ballet dancer Roberto Bolle. Expect to see another parade of athletes, the flag handover to the 2030 Olympic hosts from France, and the ceremonial extinguishing of the Olympic flame.

Where is the Closing Ceremony being held?

The 2026 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony will be held at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/2026-olympics-how-to-watch-the-winter-games-closing-ceremony-today-115500771.html?src=rss

Programmer/entrepreneur Paul Ford is the co-founder of AI-driven business software platform Aboard. This week he wrote a guest essay for the New York Times titled “The AI Disruption Has Arrived, and It Sure Is Fun,” arguing that Anthropic’s Claude Code “was always a helpful coding assistant, but in November it suddenly got much better, and ever since I’ve been knocking off side projects that had sat in folders for a decade or longer… [W]hen the stars align and my prompts work out, I can do hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of work for fun (fun for me) over weekends and evenings, for the price of the Claude $200-a-month.”

He elaborates on his point on the Aboard.com blog:

I’m deeply convinced that it’s possible to accelerate software development with AI coding — not deprofessionalize it entirely, or simplify it so that everything is prompts, but make it into a more accessible craft. Things which not long ago cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to pull off might come for hundreds of dollars, and be doable by you, or your cousin. This is a remarkable accelerant, dumped into the public square at a bad moment, with no guidance or manual — and the reaction of many people who could gain the most power from these tools is rejection and anxiety. But as I wrote….

I believe there are millions, maybe billions, of software products that don’t exist but should: Dashboards, reports, apps, project trackers and countless others. People want these things to do their jobs, or to help others, but they can’t find the budget. They make do with spreadsheets and to-do lists.

I don’t expect to change any minds; that’s not how minds work. I just wanted to make sure that I used the platform offered by the Times to say, in as cheerful a way as possible: Hey, this new power is real, and it should be in as many hands as possible. I believe everyone should have good software, and that it’s more possible now than it was a few years ago.

From his guest essay:

Is the software I’m making for myself on my phone as good as handcrafted, bespoke code? No. But it’s immediate and cheap. And the quantities, measured in lines of text, are large. It might fail a company’s quality test, but it would meet every deadline. That is what makes A.I. coding such a shock to the system… What if software suddenly wanted to ship? What if all of that immense bureaucracy, the endless processes, the mind-boggling range of costs that you need to make the computer compute, just goes?

That doesn’t mean that the software will be good. But most software today is not good. It simply means that products could go to market very quickly. And for lots of users, that’s going to be fine. People don’t judge A.I. code the same way they judge slop articles or glazed videos. They’re not looking for the human connection of art. They’re looking to achieve a goal. Code just has to work… In about six months you could do a lot of things that took me 20 years to learn. I’m writing all kinds of code I never could before — but you can, too. If we can’t stop the freight train, we can at least hop on for a ride.

The simple truth is that I am less valuable than I used to be. It stings to be made obsolete, but it’s fun to code on the train, too. And if this technology keeps improving, then all of the people who tell me how hard it is to make a report, place an order, upgrade an app or update a record — they could get the software they deserve, too. That might be a good trade, long term.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

New research published Thursday bolsters growing concerns that a handful of companies and countries are using the global atmospheric commons as a dumping ground for potentially toxic and climate-altering industrial waste byproducts from loosely regulated commercial space flights.

The new study analyzed a plume of pollution trailing part of a Falcon rocket that crashed through the upper atmosphere on Feb. 19, 2025, after SpaceX lost control of its reentry. The rocket was launched earlier that month, carrying 20 to 22 Starlink satellites into orbit.

The authors said it is the first time debris from a specific spacecraft disintegration has been traced and measured in the near-space region about 80 to 110 kilometers above Earth. Changes there can affect the stratosphere, where ozone and climate processes operate. Until recent years, human activities had little impact in that region.

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