Designator

Inherent, founded by DeepMind alumni, says its AI ‘teammate’ just outperformed Anthropic and OpenAI at replicating research

Inherent, an AI lab, developed Faraday, an AI agent that replicated scientific research findings, outperforming larger models from Anthropic and OpenAI using a significantly smaller model.

Why your local LLM feels dumber than it is

Local large language models often perform worse than expected due to variations in hardware, software, and inference implementations, which can significantly alter token generation and model output.

A Friendly Introduction to Racket

Racket, a descendant of Lisp and Scheme, offers a unique approach to programming through its focus on language-oriented programming and its historical roots in concepts like garbage collection and first-class functions.

22 Aug6 min read

Pixel 11 Pro XL review: Snappier cameras can’t hide an iterative upgrade

The Pixel 11 Pro XL offers snappier cameras and a new AI-powered dictation tool, Rambler, but its overall design and other AI features represent an iterative upgrade from previous models.

22 Aug7 min read

Amazon just hiked the prices for Echo, Fire TV, and Kindle products by up to 60 percent

Amazon increased prices for its Echo, Fire TV, and Kindle products by up to 60 percent, attributing the hikes to rising memory and storage component costs.

The New MCP Roadmap

The Model Context Protocol roadmap outlines priority areas for upcoming specification releases, including agentic messaging primitives, HTTP-native transport unification, and enterprise-ready agent identity and security.

22 Aug4 min read

An okay laptop with 16GB of RAM is better than a nice laptop with 8GB, and this $520 HP OmniBook proves it

The HP OmniBook 3, a $520 laptop with 16GB of RAM and a Snapdragon X chip, demonstrates that ample memory is more crucial than premium features for budget-conscious users.

22 Aug8 min read

Please don’t buy Google’s wildly overpriced Pixel 11 Clear Case

Google's Pixel 11 Clear Case is overpriced at $50 and offers inferior protection and quality compared to third-party alternatives, making it a poor value for smartphone users.

22 Aug4 min read

Michael Polansky is training an AI model on skin that’s still alive

Michael Polansky's startup, Outer Biosciences, is developing an AI model trained on living human skin tissue, which the company has managed to keep alive outside the body for over a month.

There's no reason for software to be slow anymore

AI tools are reducing the cost of specialized performance work, enabling developers to optimize software for specific workloads and achieve significant speed improvements.

22 Aug21 min read

Japanese space tech startup Letara expands beyond satellite thrusters with $16M

Japanese space tech startup Letara secured $16 million in funding to expand its hybrid propulsion systems beyond satellite thrusters, developing large rocket systems for space, defense, and security markets.

22 Aug4 min read

Ars Technica

Trump's space transportation policy calls for new spaceport on federal land

President Trump's new space transportation policy mandates developing more spaceports, including a new heavy-lift site on federal land, to support over 1,000 launches and reentries annually by 2030.

21 Aug4 min read

Wired

The Unlikely Place at the Center of China’s AI Boom

Ulanqab, a city in Inner Mongolia, emerged as a major hub for AI data centers due to cheap energy, abundant land, and proximity to Beijing, attracting significant investment from Chinese AI companies.

21 Aug5 min read

Pixel 11 Pro Fold still doesn’t survive bend test, but at least it didn’t ‘explode’ this time [Video]

The Pixel 11 Pro Fold failed a bend test, breaking at the antenna line like previous models, despite improved durability in its ceramic outer display covering.

21 Aug3 min read

Why does it seem like food recalls are out of control this year?

Food recalls appear elevated this year, with some incidents affecting extraordinarily large quantities of food, though the total number of recalls may not significantly exceed previous years.

21 Aug5 min read

Walmart finally supporting in-store tap to pay with Google Pay

Walmart is rolling out Google Pay's tap-to-pay functionality to its stores and Sam's Club locations across the US, with full implementation expected by the end of 2026.

21 Aug2 min read

Oura faces lawsuit accusing it of misleading consumers about sleep-tracking accuracy

A proposed class action lawsuit accuses Oura of misleading consumers about its smart ring's sleep-tracking accuracy, alleging the device relies on AI estimates rather than physiological signals to determine sleep stages.

21 Aug3 min read

Walmart to finally start accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay

Walmart will begin accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay at its stores and Sam's Club locations starting August 24, with a full rollout to all stores and fuel stations by mid-2027.

21 Aug5 min read

GrapheneOS phone from Motorola arrives next year, ‘higher end’ compared to Pixel with a price to match

Motorola will release a new GrapheneOS phone in 2027, offering higher-end hardware and a corresponding price point compared to current Google Pixel devices.

21 Aug3 min read

Google posts Pixel Watch 5 factory images with one unified build

Google released factory and OTA images for the Pixel Watch 5, notably featuring a single unified build, CD5A.260611.00, for the first time.

21 Aug2 min read