At last, Joe (Zoe Saldaña) has been rescued in Lioness season 3. Frankly, that's an episode earlier than expected.

Still, it seems as though there's more to be solved. The timing of her rescue suggests there's more to the CIA's strategy than we've been able to give proper attention to (at least, I really hope that's the case), with Joe saying she can potentially "never" return home.

But does anybody really know what they're talking about? And when does Lioness season 3 episode 8 arrive on Paramount+?

What time can I watch Lioness season 3 episode 8 on Paramount+?

Lioness season 3 episode 8 will drop on one of the world's best streaming services in the US and Canada on Sunday, September 20 at 12am PT / 3am ET.

Here's when it will be released in other nations:

• US – 12am PT / 3am ET
• Canada – 12am PT / 3am ET
• UK – 8am BST
• India – 12:30pm IST
• Singapore – 3pm SGT
• Australia – 5pm AEST
• New Zealand – 7pm NZST

When do new episodes of Lioness season 3 come out?

Lioness season 3 will have a total of eight episodes, with new entries airing weekly. That gives us the following schedule:

• Episode 1: out now
• Episode 2: out now
• Episode 3: out now
• Episode 4: out now
• Episode 5: out now
• Episode 6: out now
• Episode 7: out now
• Episode 8: September 20

For the past few years, the spotlight has been firmly on AI models.

Organizations have poured investment into generative AI, machine learning platforms and large language models. New capabilities appear almost weekly. Yet despite all this progress, a familiar question keeps surfacing in boardrooms and leadership meetings – where is the business value?

Part of the answer is that the technology itself is no longer the main obstacle. Powerful AI tools are now within reach of most organizations. What remains difficult is turning AI-generated insights into decisions and measurable business outcomes.

This is the last mile of AI, where many projects lose momentum. A model may produce a recommendation in seconds, but acting on it is often far more complicated. Data may be incomplete, critical context may sit elsewhere, and governance teams may not be confident in the output.

As a result, many organizations find themselves investing heavily in AI while struggling to move beyond pilots and proofs of concept. The missing piece is often the ability to connect intelligence to the reality of how the business really operates.

The real AI bottleneck

When executives talk about successful AI programs, they rarely focus on the sophistication of the model. What matters is the outcome. For example, whether fraud losses fall, if customers can be onboarded faster, or if downtime is reduced. Those outcomes depend on much more than AI itself.

For AI to create value, it needs a clear view of what is happening across the business, enough context to understand what those events mean, and the ability to operate within governance guardrails. When any of those elements are missing, recommendations become harder to trust, automation stalls, and adoption suffers.

Many organizations discover that the real bottleneck sits between the model and the business process. Data is fragmented across systems, and essential context is missing. Often, information arrives too late to be useful. Different teams define the same business concepts in different ways. These are not new problems, but AI has exposed them more clearly than ever before.

We see this challenge regularly in financial services. One institution had invested heavily in AI-driven fraud detection, yet investigators still struggled to act quickly because customer records, transaction histories, and external fraud signals were spread across multiple systems. Once those sources were brought together in a trusted, governed view, fraud losses fell, false positives declined, and onboarding processes became more efficient.

AI needs a broader view of the business

One reason many organizations struggle to get AI into production is that the technology depends on a much broader view of the business than traditional analytics ever did.

Most companies have spent years investing in ERP platforms, CRM applications, and operational databases. These systems remain the authoritative record of the business and provide much of the information AI needs to work effectively.

To make good decisions, AI increasingly needs information from outside those core systems. It may need supplier data to understand a disruption in the supply chain. It may need information from partners, SaaS applications, or external intelligence sources to provide business context. Increasingly, it also needs access to live operational signals, whether that's customer interactions, fraud alerts, connected devices, or event streams that reveal what's happening right now.

You can think of this as three layers of information:

• The first is the authoritative data held within core enterprise systems.
• The second is contextual information from partners, suppliers and external sources that helps explain why events are occurring.
• The third is real-time operational awareness, the signals that show what is happening in the moment.

Most organizations have made significant progress managing the first layer. Far fewer have found an effective way to combine all three. A global manufacturer we worked with faced a similar challenge.

Its AI models could predict equipment failures, but critical information about production schedules, supplier delays, and maintenance activities sat across different systems. Connecting those sources gave teams the context needed to identify risks earlier, reduce downtime, and make better operational decisions.

As a result, AI often operates with an incomplete picture of reality. It may understand what happened yesterday, but not what is happening now. It may have access to internal records, but lack the external context needed to make a confident recommendation.

This is where the last mile challenge starts to emerge.

The ecosystem effect

The rise of AI is also changing how organizations think about data sharing. For years, most businesses focused primarily on their own internal systems. Today, many of the decisions that matter depend on information that sits beyond organizational boundaries.

A manufacturer responding to supply chain disruption needs visibility into suppliers and logistics partners. A bank trying to detect fraud benefits from external signals as much as internal customer data. Public sector organizations often need information from multiple agencies to improve services and outcomes.

The common thread is that intelligence increasingly flows across an ecosystem rather than a single enterprise. Trusted AI outcomes depend on trusted access to data wherever that data resides.

Technology leaders therefore face a balancing act: making data accessible across distributed environments while maintaining governance, security and ownership. Without that foundation, even the most advanced models struggle to deliver consistent results.

Closing the last mile

If there is one lesson emerging from the first wave of enterprise AI adoption, it is that success depends less on deploying another model and more on creating the conditions that allow AI to operate effectively.

That starts with trusted data. Business users need confidence that the information feeding AI systems is accurate, up to date, and governed consistently. The challenge is also making it available in a way that AI can use without creating new silos or adding more complexity. AI needs access to core business systems, external ecosystem data, and real-time operational signals. If those remain disconnected, the quality of the output will always be limited.

Why understanding matters

Data alone, however, rarely tells the full story. AI needs to not only understand the data itself, but the business context around it. For example, where it came from, how it relates to other information, and the policies that govern its use. That context is often what separates a useful recommendation from a misleading one. Without it, even accurate data can lead to poor decisions.

This is where active context comes in. It provides AI with the richer understanding needed to interpret information correctly, connect it to the wider business environment, and make decisions that are grounded, relevant, and well governed.

Turning insight into action

The final step is where many organizations still struggle. Insights need to become actions.

Too often, AI generates recommendations that sit in dashboards, reports or isolated applications. The greatest value comes when intelligence is embedded directly into operational workflows, helping people make decisions faster or automating routine processes altogether. That is where AI starts to move beyond experimentation and deliver measurable business outcomes.

For technology leaders, a useful test is to ask a handful of simple questions.

• Can AI access information as events happen, or is it relying on yesterday's data?
• Can it combine internal and external sources to build a complete picture?
• Are governance policies applied consistently across different environments?
• Do people trust the outputs enough to act on them?

If the answer to any of those questions is no, the next investment should probably be focused on the data foundation rather than the model itself.

Where the next gains will come from

The organizations generating the greatest returns from AI are not necessarily those deploying the newest technology. More often, they are the ones that have found a way to connect trusted data, business context, and operational processes.

In banking, that might mean reducing fraud losses while accelerating onboarding. In manufacturing, it could mean identifying disruptions earlier and reducing downtime. In the public sector, it may involve improving citizen services through better collaboration across departments. In each case, the value comes not from the model itself, but from embedding intelligence into operational decisions and workflows.

That is the last mile of AI. For many organizations, it remains the biggest barrier to success. It may also be the biggest opportunity.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

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On our podcast I’m known as the Apple hater, but over the past year I’ve let up a little — even defended the company.

I’ve said Apple could be the only company capable of releasing camera glasses without major backlash thanks to privacy-first approach, celebrated its approach to AI as possibly genius if the bubble does pop, and most recently said the iPhone Duo looks great and that the visible crease in some shots should be ignored — as if it’s like the Z Fold 8 Ultra you’ll never see it while you’re using it.

But in our most recent episode, I saw something that I couldn’t believe in the new AirPods 5 specs. I had to actually message our Audio Editor because I thought I must be wrong.

How are on-bud volume controls only now coming to AirPods? And how are they reserved for the pricier model?

Take back (volume) control

I brought this up in the podcast, but my Apple-wielding colleagues — Axel Metz and Matt Evans — argued the feature isn’t that useful anyway. Those with Pro-level AirPods that boast volume controls noted that they rarely use them

Folks, that’s beside the point.

Volume controls are one of the most basic earbuds functions. Take a minute to scroll through Amazon, and you can find dozens of wireless earbuds under $20 that offer volume controls. This shouldn’t be something reserved for the fifth generation of a premium earbuds brand like AirPods. It’s absurd!

Oh, and I think volume controls on the buds are useful, for what it’s worth. If I’ve set my phone up to watch a YouTube video and the volume spikes, I want to be able to quickly swipe down without reaching over; or I might want to change the volume of my workout tunes mid-session without pulling my phone out and risking getting distracted.

Sure, it’s not a game changer, but as I said already, it’s a basic feature we should expect. It would be like if your iPhone didn’t have an email app — there are ways around it, but why cut off the root of the problem?

What really grinds my gears, however, is that volume controls still aren’t truly standard. If you get the base $129 / £119 / AU$219 AirPods, you’ll be out of luck — you need to pay extra for the $149 / £139 / AU$249 model with a wireless charging case.

This isn’t anywhere near as egregious as those ridiculously expensive Mac Pro wheels from early 2020 — back when we could worry about such trivialities in the ‘before times’ — but it feels like a remnant of Apple’s arrogance, and the quality that has put me off the company’s tech for all these years.

People can get the earbuds they want, and I’m sure the AirPods 5 will be just as solid as the previous generation. But when there are so many excellent audio options out there, my philosophy is to get a pair that respects you, offers genuine value for money, and won’t nickel-and-dime you for features that should have been added back in the first-generation model — not as an upcharge on the fifth-generation iteration.

• Elastic Security Labs uncovered REF9334, a Brazilian banking malware campaign active since May 2025
• Malware “Kremlin” deploys fake docs and malicious Chrome/Edge extensions to steal banking data
• 1,515 infections found, 98% in Brazil

Security researchers from Elastic Security Labs have discovered a new Brazilian banking malware campaign that uses browser extensions to compromise users and steal sensitive information.

In an in-depth report published earlier this week, the researchers said the campaign has been active since at least May 2025. Dubbed REF9334, the campaign uses fake banking, invoice, and business documents, to trick victims into installing malware which, in turn, deploys a malicious extension in Chrome and Edge browsers.

The researchers named the malware “Kremlin”, and say it can steal browser credentials, cookies, session information, monitor browser activity, grab screenshots, and steal information from websites that the victims visit. But the goal of the campaign is primarily to target Brazilian bank users.

A thousand victims

The malware really makes an effort to hide and persist in the target environment. For example, it first checks to see if it’s in a sandbox and if so - it simply won’t run. If instead it determines that it’s running on a real user’s computer, it will deploy an extension with the name “AVSync System Inc.” in an attempt to trick the victim into thinking they have an antivirus addon running in the browser.

It also doesn’t use a fixed C2 server, but rather stores the information on the Ethereum blockchain, since it’s a lot harder to disrupt the communication between the operators and the infected machines that way.

During their investigation, Elastic researchers were able to take control of a domain that the malware used and discovered that it had infected 1,515 systems. Almost all of them (98%) were located in Brazil. They were also able to register the network canary domain and point it to their webhost, which resulted in the loader assuming it was in a sandbox. This also meant “the infections have not moved past the initial access”, Elastic explained.

The full list of indicators of compromise can be found on this link.

Via The Hacker News

• The People v Gorilla Grodd is the only DCU TV show in active development
• HBO's boss recently confirmed as much at the 2026 Emmys
• His comments have got me fearing for Lanterns' future

The boss of HBO has revealed that only one DC Universe (DCU) TV show is officially in the works — and now I'm afraid for the future of Lanterns.

Speaking to Deadline, Casey Bloys confirmed that The People v Gorilla Grodd (TPvGG), aka the recently announced Superman TV spin-off, is the only TV series in active development at DC Studios.

Asked for a status update on DC's myriad television productions, Bloys replied: "People read about development, and they assume that those are greenlit shows and they're [already in] development. And everybody knows that development is just that — you're trying things, you take big swings, [and] not everything comes through.

"I would say our track record in DC, from Watchmen to Peacemaker to Penguin and now Lanterns, is pretty good. We're very selective. We're careful about what we do, nothing has changed. You'll read about development, but focus on what we're greenlighting."

Pressed on whether any other show was in active development, Bloys added: "No, not right now, obviously you've got [The People v] Gorilla Grodd, which I'm very happy about, [they're] doing something different, and I think it's a really fun idea. They just started shooting."

Why I'm fearing the worst for the fate of HBO's Green Lantern TV show

For fans who've immersed themselves in the DCU since day one, Bloys' comments will be of concern.

Indeed, when DC Studios co-head James Gunn revealed the official lineup for DCU Chapter One in January 2023, six small-screen projects were unveiled as part of the rebooted cinematic franchise's initial slate.

Since then, four more series have been added to the list of potential TV candidates, but only one — The People v Gorilla Grodd — has been greenlit. Meanwhile, some shows that were named as part of Gunn's initial announcement, including Waller and Paradise Lost, have reportedly been shelved. Others, such as Booster Gold, have been trapped in development hell.

With Bloys outright confirming TPvGG is all that DC Studios' TV division is actively working on, it's not surprising that fans — myself included — are fearing for Lanterns' future.

The Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler-led sci-fi crime drama, which has seen its audience share seemingly grow week-on-week amid positive word of mouth, is one of the most popular shows on television right now. With three more episodes of its debut season yet to air (at the time of publication, anyway), I'm convinced that its viewership will increase in the weeks to come, too.

Considering that HBO's Green Lantern TV show has been such a hit, it's inevitable that a second season will be made, right? Not if we believe Bloys. After all, there are numerous examples of hugely successful shows — on HBO, HBO Max, and otherwise — that haven't returned for another round. There's no guarantee, then, that Lanterns season 2 will be a thing.

That said, DC Studios has assembled a writers room for Lanterns season 2 to kick around potential story ideas. That doesn't mean DC and HBO have pledged to make another season of the DCU Chapter One program, but it does offer hope that, if the right story angle can be found, another eight-part installment might be *ahem* constructed.

As I said at the start of this article, though, I am worried for Lanterns' fate. Bloys is likely playing it coy, but I'm of the opinion that he would've had something positive to say about Lanterns' future if a sophomore season was more likely to happen than not. Right now, then, I'm reluctantly confident that it'll be a one and done scenario.

Mind you, that doesn't mean we won't see Pierre's John Stewart — and, potentially, Chandler's Hal Jordan — again in the DCU. Pierre's Stewart is already set to play a role in Man of Tomorrow, aka next July's follow-up to Gunn's Superman sequel. Meanwhile, there are unsubstantiated rumors floating around that a DCU Green Lantern movie might be fast-tracked because of how popular Lanterns has proven to be.

If, and it's a big if, we get a big-screen Lanterns follow-up to the hit comic book-inspired show, you certainly won't hear me complaining about the decision not to make a second season.

For now, find out everything we know so far about Man of Tomorrow, get the full lowdown on The People v Gorilla Grodd, and learn all there is to know about Clayface.

• StarCraft general manager and creative director Dan Hay says the series' stories and characters are "remarkably topical" today
• Hay says StarCraft and the real world are both like a "frontier"
• He adds that while StarCraft is science fiction, its "themes and characters" are very similar to "the headlines in our world"

StarCraft general manager and creative director Dan Hay has compared real-world events to the series' stories and characters, calling them "remarkably topical."

In a sit-down interview with TechRadar Gaming following the reveal of StarCraft, a first-person, open-world shooter slated to arrive in 2030, Hay discussed the CGI trailer that debuted at BlizzCon and explained that the team wanted to portray the "tension" that will come with this new story-driven adventure.

The developer also said that building the "stakes" was just as important; he couldn't dive too much into the narrative details, but Hay touched on the series as a whole and its storylines that explore "imperfect" characters, suggesting the new StarCraft will examine similar topics.

"The way in which you are a hero is that you are going to learn how to become one," Hay said. "The way in which you are a hero is that you are going to learn how to become one. So it's not perfect, right? And that's the thing about StarCraft: a lot of the characters are not perfect; they're imperfect, and even the villains are.

"They have an idea of what you think they are at the beginning of the game, and then by the end of the game, you realize, oh, they were something completely different. And I think what's powerful about StarCraft."

Hay continued, saying that when you look at StarCraft's stories and the characters you meet, they're "remarkably topical" to the events unfolding in the real world.

"When you think about our world today, and you think about what is StarCraft? It's a bit of a frontier," he said. "It's obviously a frontier. There's asymmetry in terms of factions that don't agree with each other. There's brinkmanship going on where one faction is being used against another. [In] a lot of cases, it's just over resources.

"A lot of the cases there's politics, and there's intrigue, and there are people being left behind and betrayed, and when you look at that, and then you look at the headlines in our world, it's not super far [apart] in terms of how it feels sometimes. So you feel that tension, and you felt that tension in the teaser [trailer]."

Hay concluded: "I think what's remarkable about StarCraft is that it feels real, and it feels like it translates quite easily into today. And even though it's science fiction, and even though it has this sense of being in this other universe, it feels very close in terms of themes and characters and moments that you could experience today."

• The Boox Palma 3 has been announced
• This is a phone-sized ereader with a 6.13-inch screen
• Key upgrades include Android 16, stylus support, and a more premium build

If you’re in the market for a phone-sized ereader, you now have another option to consider, as the Boox Palma 3 has just been unveiled — and this successor to the Onyx Boox Palma 2 has some of the key features found on the rival ViWoods AiPaper Reader.

For one thing, just like the ViWoods device, the Boox Palma 3 now has a premium build, with an anodized aluminum frame and a textured fiberglass backplate in place of its plasticky predecessor.

And it’s also had an Android upgrade, launching with a ViWoods AiPaper Reader-matching Android 16, which is up from Android 13 on the Boox Palma 2 and Android 15 on the Onyx Boox Palma 2 Pro.

For me, that’s particularly important, as Android versions don’t tend to get updated on these sorts of devices, so you’re typically stuck with whatever software they launch with; old versions of software can mean security issues, and app incompatibility problems can crop up sooner.

Beyond that, the Boox Palma 3 also benefits from active stylus support, so you can use it with the Boox InkSense Plus stylus. The AiPaper Reader doesn’t have stylus support, nor does it come with a camera, whereas here you get a 16MP one, so those are two potential advantages of the Boox Palma 3.

Personally, I’m not sure I’d want to use a stylus on a device this small, nor do I have much use for a camera on an ereader — but it could be handy for scanning documents, if you’re so inclined.

Similar specs and a heavier build

That camera and the rest of the specs, though, are largely in line with those of the Boox Palma 2, including a 6.13-inch 824 x 1648 e-paper touchscreen with 300 pixels per inch, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a microSD card slot, a front light (supporting both warm and cold color tones), a 3,950mAh battery, a USB-C port, a fingerprint sensor, a speaker, and microphones.

But despite being marginally smaller than the Boox Palma 2 at 159 x 78 x 7.8mm, the Palma 3 is actually 25g heavier at 195g.

That also makes it heavier than the 138g ViWoods AiPaper Reader and the 170g Boox Palma 2 Pro — the latter of which additionally gives you a color screen and an extra 2GB of RAM.

So, this may not be a complete home run — or a total upgrade for anyone who owns the Palma 2 Pro.

Indeed, the Palma 3 is actually priced lower than the Palma 2 Pro, coming in at $339.99 (around £250 / AU$475), though a launch discount softens that price to an even lower $319.99 (roughly £235 / AU$450).

There’s no confirmed pricing for other regions yet, but for reference, while the Palma 2 has been discontinued, the Palma 2 Pro sells for $399.99 / $379.99 / AU$679, and its rival, the ViWoods AiPaper Reader, retails for $279 / £254.99 / AU$399.12.

You also can’t actually buy the Boox Palma 3 yet, but the company lists it as coming soon.

In the span of just over two weeks this summer, three of the world's most closely watched AI developers admitted the same uncomfortable thing. Their own models broke out of the sandbox and touched systems they were never supposed to interact with.

OpenAI disclosed on July 21 that models it was evaluating exploited a vulnerability and compromised production infrastructure at Hugging Face, an incident the company said was driven end-to-end by an autonomous agent with no human directing it.

Days later, Anthropic said three of its Claude models, including Opus 4.7 and its newest Mythos 5, had accessed and compromised the systems of three outside organizations during cybersecurity testing exercises, after a misconfiguration left the models connected to the open internet when they had been told they weren't.

And on August 5, Meta confirmed its Muse Spark 1.1 model breached an unnamed company's systems under strikingly similar circumstances.

A pattern, not an anomaly

At the current pace, this isn't a rare event security teams can plan around once a year. It's becoming a recurring line item. Notably, Anthropic and Meta's incidents traced back to the same third-party evaluation partner, and in Meta's case, the model's cyber risk had already been assessed as no higher than moderate before the very testing process meant to confirm that assessment ended up breaching a real company.

That detail matters as it shows the failure point isn't just the model. It's the surrounding scaffolding of evaluations, permissions, and network paths that organizations assume is contained until it isn't.

This should be viewed as an early warning for organizations about autonomous systems moving from content generation into action execution. The practical lesson, now repeated three times over, is that advanced AI systems can behave in harmful or unexpected ways even when the original goal is not malicious, especially when they are given tools, network paths, credentials, and incentives to complete a task at any cost.

For companies, the takeaway is not to halt AI adoption. It's to treat agentic AI as a new class of privileged workload that requires containment, observability, and enforceable runtime controls.

Govern agents like high-risk digital workers

That starts with AI agent identity management. Companies should double down on this discipline and be very deliberate about what agents are allowed to access and do. Each agent should have a unique identity, scoped permissions, short-lived credentials, and clear ownership, so organizations can trace actions back to a specific system, use case, and accountable business owner.

Access should be limited by default, with explicit approval gates for higher-risk activities such as internet access, code execution, credential retrieval, data movement, or changes to production systems.

In practical terms, organizations should govern AI agents like high-risk digital workers: least privilege by default, separation between test and production environments, detailed logging of tool use and system interactions, and a kill switch that security teams can trigger the moment behavior deviates from policy.

Prevention, monitoring, and the road ahead

Prevention also requires moving beyond traditional application security testing. Organizations should red-team agents against realistic misuse paths, including prompt injection, tool abuse, lateral movement, credential harvesting, data exfiltration, and attempts to bypass sandbox restrictions. They should also continuously monitor agents for harmful impacts, not just technical failures.

That means watching for unauthorized access attempts, unusual tool-chaining behavior, unexpected data movement, policy violations, and actions that could create operational, security, privacy, or reputational harm. Periodic audits should review agent permissions, identities, logs, business justification, and actual behavior to confirm that each agent is still operating within its intended purpose and risk tolerance.

Will this become a trend? With three disclosures in seventeen days, that question is close to settled. Autonomous agents will increasingly be able to discover, combine, and exploit weaknesses faster than traditional security processes can respond.

The risk is not simply “AI hacking AI.” It's autonomous decision-making operating inside complex digital ecosystems where one model, plugin, dataset, API, or identity path can become the bridge into another environment, exactly what played out at Hugging Face, inside Anthropic's testing environment, and now at Meta's.

The companies that will be best positioned are those that pair AI innovation with disciplined identity management, access limitation, continuous monitoring, and routine audit practices, rather than treating each new disclosure as an isolated incident to react to after the fact.

The pragmatic message for executives, especially as this list of companies keeps growing, is that agentic AI can create significant business value, but only if autonomy is matched with accountability, containment, and operational guardrails.

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We're living in a drought of bold and brave storytelling. By that, I mean that almost everything we consume on our favorite streaming services plays it safe, looks the same, or lacks so much substance that you can't really say anything about it other than "it's fine".

MobLand, however, has been bucking that trend, and season 2 continues to build on an authenticity that's light years ahead of anything else. Why? At large, it's because MobLand trusts its audience to be able to think critically.

You've probably read reports of streamers modifying their scripts and plots to accommodate 'second screen' viewers — subscribers who've put something on in the background while doing something else. Without naming any names, this is starting to result in bland, unambitious storytelling that spoon-feeds you information unnecessarily.

But MobLand season 2 shows us just how fulfilling the results can be when creators and distributors alike are prepared to disrupt popular industry trends. The rich, complex layers to the central storyline feel never-ending, forcing you to play close attention to every second of dialogue and action.

The Harrigan family, as always, are unhinged. Conrad's (Pierce Brosnan) feud with Kevin (Paddy Considine) ramps up a notch, embroiling new 'fixer' Frankie (Johnny Flynn) in their mess as family arch-rival Kat (Janet McTeer) tries to take control of London from a distance.

This leaves Harry (Tom Hardy) having to clean up even more mess than before, particularly considering his and Jan's (Joanne Froggatt) impending divorce. On top of that, daughter Gina (Teddie Allen) has gone missing.

If you think you understand, you don't — between the Harrigans and us, it's the blind leading the blind. But that makes tuning into Paramount+ this week all the more enriching... because everyone is prepared to take a risk.

MobLand season 2 is a masterclass in how 2020s TV should be constructed

There's something so wonderfully hypnotic about watching a Dame and a former James Bond shower us with See You Next Tuesdays like it's no big deal (I counted, and Conrad says this four times within the first six minutes of episode 1). But such gimmicks aren't what makes MobLand season 2 so entertaining.

As I've touched on above, it all comes down to the construction. Having a whip-smart script, edgy editing and a soundtrack so defiant that Spotify would ask a listener with the same taste if they were okay, doesn't automatically give you a good show — all elements of production need to be working in complete synergy.

There will be no spoilers in this review, so I need you to trust me when I say that some scenes had all of their creative elements working in such beautiful harmony that I spiritually ascended. Never before have I wanted to be involved in organized crime, but throw me into an action sequence with dynamically rhythmic edits and Firestarter by The Prodigy as the soundtrack and I'd seriously consider it.

If I had to described MobLand season 2 in one word, it would be relentless. From the onslaught of family issues to the duplicity and deceit within them, nothing ever lets up. It's a mental scramble to keep up with everything that happens in a single episode (let alone the entire season); Guy Ritchie has created the most violent workout for the mind possible.

Throw yourself into it at full-throttle and you'll never want the grip of MobLand to let you go. It's not worth having any favorites — they'll either die or deceive you — but that in itself is a fitting lesson in trust. You stick out the ride and try to survive, and become pleasantly addicted to the process.

I've never loved a 'prick on a scooter' more

It goes without saying that our ensemble cast is, as always, on top form. If there was any truth to the alleged behind-the-scenes drama involving Tom Hardy, all it's done is fuel the fire of some exceptional television. Harry's constant need to live on his wit's end is often amusing, while Conrad's slowly declining grip on reality never loses its gravitas.

Maeve (Helen Mirren) needed no improvement, really, but I've particularly enjoyed her power-dressing wardrobe this time around. In direct contrast is Bella (Lara Pulvey), who is the most fretful and unguarded we've ever seen her. Seraphina (Mandeep Dhillon) is on the way up the food chain, but her own worst enemy.

It's a social study in how complicated humans are while intent on making their own problems infinitely worse, then. But a particular shoutout must go to our most important newcomer, "prick on a scooter" Frankie Cooper.

Without giving too much away, he's brought into's Harry's orbit to act on behalf of the terrifyingly aloof Kat, all while dressed like the third Gallagher brother if he used the Lime app. With a chillingly monotone voice, and eyes that seem like they're constant dissociated from the world around him, he's the first genuinely troubling threat to Harry since the show began.

Frankie's relationship to everyone around him is just another fascinating dimension to behold, revealing a collective fear and vulnerability among the rest of the characters that we've not yet seen. From beginning to end, Ritchie's thought process is truly masterful.

Thank God MobLand season 3 is already a done deal. Thank God we get to experience more of this addictive high. If you thought The Gentlemen season 2 was good, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Garmin’s Forerunner 170 is a solid running watch that brings great performance and smart features, all in a light and small package, and I particularly loved the Music version for phoneless short runs and activities. The watch was even found to be very accurate, according to my colleague Matt Evans’ testing.

At AU$479 (or AU$549 for the Music version), however, it isn’t the most affordable as far as fitness smartwatches go — so when I found the older (but higher-tier) Forerunner 265 discounted by 38% on Amazon, I knew this was a deal too tempting to pass up.

Featuring a more accurate dual-band GPS technology, 13 days of battery life, more size options and on-watch music storage, the Forerunner 265 is hard to beat for just AU$498.

The Garmin Forerunner 265 was the first small Forerunner model with a touchscreen AMOLED display, replacing its predecessor’s monochrome memory-in-pixel display, to make it look and feel similar to something like an Apple Watch or a Samsung Galaxy Watch.

It also features dual-band or multi-frequency GPS for high-precision tracking in dense cities or heavy tree cover, which is technically superior to the Forerunner 170’s single-frequency multi-GNSS tracking.

The 170 is only available in the single 43mm size, while the 265 comes in 46mm and the smaller 265S is 42mm, providing more options for different wrist sizes.

The biggest criticism from our reviewer is the Forerunner 265’s price hike over its predecessor, and slightly worse battery life, which can be credited to the switch to an AMOLED display, but this discount takes care of the former in spades.

Interested in other Garmin products? Check out the latest Garmin Australia coupons here.

As TechRadar’s coffee expert and custodian of our guide to the best coffee machines in Australia, you can rest assured I make it my mission to trial as many espresso machines as possible. One brand that has, so far, eluded me, however, is Jura.

Judging by our Jura J10 and Jura Z10 reviews, that’s clearly a shame, as the Swiss brand is an expert in all things automatic coffee machines. And that’s exactly why a massive 57% discount on the Jura S8 at The Good Guys piqued my curiosity and made me do a double take.

Plummeting from AU$3,690 to AU$1,589, this is a prime opportunity to snap up an uber-premium bean-to-cup machine to take pride of place in your kitchen for years to come.

While I do enjoy getting hands on with a coffee machine — I’m a huge fan of the KitchenAid Semi-Automatic, for example — in my mind an automatic model is ideal. I can press a couple of buttons, pull up a saved recipe and have my coffee brewing whilst attending to other tasks.

The Jura S8 therefore looks like it could be my new best friend for a number of reasons. Firstly, Jura has been making automatic coffee machines for around 40 years, so it arguably has the expertise to understand what makes a decent cuppa.

That experience extends to proprietary technologies, including its P.A.G.2 grinder with its seven selectable grind levels, an eighth-generation 3D brewing unit that passes water through coffee on multiple levels for a more even extraction and the use of the Pulse Extraction Process (P.E.P.) that pushes water through the puck in pulses rather than one uninterrupted flow, to optimise extraction time.

The 27 drinks can be customised to a great extent too, with 10 strength settings, programmable water and milk quantities and three brewing-temperature settings. And, as mentioned earlier, the S8 can produce Sweet Foam — milk foamed with flavoured syrup during preparation. My colleague Cat Ellis has said the results are “delicious” in her Jura J10 review. Plus, the large 4.3-inch touchscreen looks glorious in pictures.

On paper then, the Jura S8 looks to be the perfect coffee machine for me. Not only does it promise top-tier performance, but I also think it’s a bit of a looker compared to many other machines that are more akin to black boxes.

This huge AU$2,101 saving at The Good Guys lists an end date of September 30, so while you do have a little bit of time to take advantage, it could transpire that stock could run out before then!

Want more suggestions?

If spending over AU$1,500 on an automatic coffee machine is too much for your budget, fret not, as there plenty of excellent models available for less. And, in some cases, you can actually find a machine that offers even more features than the Jura, for less money. Here are some other top-rated alternatives.

• StarCraft's first-person perspective will offer a new sort of "tension"
• General manager and creative director Dan Hay says the tension is "subtly different" from the original RTS game
• Since the game is in first-person, "You have to protect yourself"

StarCraft general manager and creative director Dan Hay has explained the process of designing a new game in first-person, revealing that "tension" was crucial.

Blizzard's next StarCraft game won't be a real-time strategy (RTS) title, but a story-driven, open-world first-person shooter, which will be a fresh direction for the beloved series.

Hay, who discussed the game's inspirations with TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon, explained that because of the new perspective, this meant the team had to think carefully about how to manage a combat system, the world, and enemies of StarCraft in a new way, while still being faithful and familiar to the original RTS game.

"The combat has to feel very, very clean and dangerous and mean and dark," Hay said. "I think StarCraft does that well. The mood is dark, but also, in a strange way, hopeful."

Without giving away too many details, the developer said that the team has to make the enemies the player is fighting "feel real" while also balancing the challenge of what it's like being inside 10-foot armour that weighs 1000 pounds.

"It's because the thing that's out there is going to try and shuck me like an oyster," he continued. "The thing that's out there is going to try and just flay me open, and eat my insides. And so we have to build it in such a way that it all makes sense, which means when you move, when you attack, when you shoot, it has to feel real, and then whatever it is that's attacking you — which we all know what's probably going to be attacking you — it has to feel like it's an onslaught where you have to stem the tide, you have to figure out a way to stop that biomass from attacking you, and it has to feel real."

Hay said the "key" to designing this experience was "tension," which players got a glimpse of in the CGI trailer, adding that it's the same tension from the RTS "but it's subtly different."

In the RTS game, players would be confronted with a wall of Zerg enemies, and that would be the tension, but in StarCraft, a first-person experience, the top-down perspective is gone.

"Now your boots on the ground," Hay said. "We have to give you the tension of deployment, and you saw us actually do that in the teaser, and then we have to give you the tension of there not being a whole bunch of marines around that you can just go through. It's you. You have to protect yourself. You have to figure out how to fix your armor. You have to figure out how to push back against it.

"Every shot matters. Everything you do matters. So the tension feels even greater."

StarCraft is currently in development and is set to arrive in 2030.

Missed out on the deals from Amazon Prime Day in July? Good news: the online retail giant has revealed the dates for its Prime Big Deal Days sales event in Australia, and it’s earlier than we expected.

Like Prime Day, this event will run for 7 days from 12:01am on September 29 to 11:59pm on October 5, 2026, just in time for the Labour Day (or King’s Birthday) long weekend if you’re in New South Wales, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. It’s also much longer than the Prime Big Deal Days event in the US, which is only for 48 hours from October 6 to 7.

Amazon Australia is also holding the event a week earlier than it did last year, when it ran from October 7 to 13, 2025. We think this move is meant to provide a bit more breathing room before the Black Friday 2026 sales in late November, and also to adjust for the earlier Prime Day in July.

As the Prime Big Deal Days sale is meant to be a teaser for Black Friday, the event doesn’t usually have discounts as deep as what we typically see during Prime Day in July or Black Friday itself but, with the dates shifting a week earlier, there’s still a chance that we could see record-low prices on popular and premium tech.

We’ll be keeping an eye on prices of the best headphones, best tablets, best cameras and more, and we’ll cover the sale live when it starts in just over a week’s time. So expect to see discounts on brands like Apple, Samsung, Dyson, Breville and more, as well as with Amazon’s own range of products like Kindle ereaders, Echo smart speakers and Ring video doorbells.

Like Prime Day, we expect the best prices to be exclusive to Amazon Prime members, though a few offers will be widely available, too. If you’re interested but not yet a Prime member, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial. Starting a subscription now will make you eligible to shop the upcoming deals, and you can cancel it immediately after if you aren’t keen to keep paying.

Otherwise, staying on as a Prime member after your free trial will cost AU$9.99 per month, or AU$79 for an annual membership. Other benefits you can get with a Prime membership are the Prime Video streaming service, Amazon Music and Amazon Luna gaming, plus a two-year free subscription to DoorDash — find out more in our in-depth guide to what is Amazon Prime in Australia.

It’s also never been a better time to be a Prime member as Amazon Australia has expanded its same-day delivery service in Sydney and Melbourne with more items eligible for overnight delivery. Adelaide, the Central Coast, Newcastle, Geelong, Canberra and more cities now also have same-day delivery.

Get ready for Prime Big Deal Days

While Prime Big Deal Days may not be as big as July Prime Day or Black Friday, we still expect the number of deals to go into the thousands, and browsing through the Amazon Australia site could still get overwhelming. But fret not, as TechRadar will help you find the best tech deals in real-time and have them all listed in our dedicated live Prime Big Day Deal Days hub. Check in as often as you can to ensure you won’t miss out on some of the best discounts, as we expect some will go live in a flash and sell out very quickly.

In the meantime, here are 5 of our top early deals to shop right now.

It’s that time of year again when we’re not always sure whether to leave the house dressed for summer or winter. And while this transitional phase can be a nightmare for wardrobe choices, it means that summer is right around the corner, so it’s time to start thinking about how you’ll stay cool at home and beat the heat.

And let’s not forget that this is an El Niño year, so spring and summer will be drier than usual and potentially hotter, with a higher probability of bushfires. So, along with the heat, we’ll also need to contend with the smoke and ash in the air, which could cause respiratory disorders.

Long story short, it’s time to invest in a good purifying fan to see us through the coming months here in Australia.

Fortunately, Amazon understands this and has slashed up to AU$300 on some of Dyson’s powerful, bladeless fans to help keep you and the family cool when the temperature rises. I’ve highlighted three of my favourites below, all of which will not just purify the air you breathe at home and keep you cool, but will keep you toasty in the colder months. That’s good value for a gadget you can use year-round. If Dyson doesn’t tickle your fancy, I’ve also listed some highly recommended alternatives from the likes of Vornado and Shark.

Want more suggestions?

It’s not just Dyson that makes powerful and effective fans for cooling your home. I’ve picked out some other models below that many of the TechRadar team and I use ourselves.

• Vornado 560 Medium Air Circulator: AU$199 AU$169
• Vornado 660 Large Air Circulator: AU$279 AU$195
• Shark FlexBreeze Pro Mist Cordless Indoor and Outdoor Fan: AU$499 AU$349
• Dreo TurboPoly Fan 512: AU$139.99
• Gaiatop Portable Handheld Mini Fan: AU$26.99 AU$23.99

• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff calls the SaaSpocalypse "crazy nonsense"
• Instead, he predicts a new kind of software interface will make all the difference
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang agrees, saying the end of software isn't nigh

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has hit out at reports AI technology will lead to a "SaaSpocalypse", saying traditional software still has life in it yet.

Speaking at the opening keynote of Dreamforce 2026, Benioff said the talk of a SaaSpocalypse over the last six months was "crazy nonsense".

Instead, Benioff said the market trends would actually bring in a new age of software - one where AI would be playing a key role.

A new kind of interface

"Hasn't it been wild?" Benioff asked the Dreamforce crowd.

"But I think we realized that SaaSpocalypse - it's not about the end of software, but it may be about the end of software that makes humans do all the work."

Namely, this refers to AIforce, the company's new realization of the software interface, to reflect the needs of the AI age.

Benioff noted that over the past few decades, users have gone from Command Line interfaces to GUI, from web to mobile - and now, with AI assuming a much greater role in the world of work, there's a need for a new kind of interface.

AIforce looks to address this by enabling agents anywhere to reason and take action across all the data, workflows, and logic inside Salesforce, hopefully unlocking whole new ways of working for customers everywhere.

Benioff wasn't alone in his belief that this isn't the end of software - later in his keynote, he welcomed Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on stage.

This was primarily to discuss Salesforce's new Koa CRM, developed alongside Nvidia, but the talk took a bit of a manic turn, as the two billionaires instead decided to pace about the theatre and have a discussion about the wider technology industry.

"Don't give up on the technology," Huang said, "You've heard me say it - I was the first CEO to come out not in the software industry to say the end of software is nonsense."

"(Instead) This is going to be a layer on top of sotware, this new layer is gojng to be agentic, and it's going to make the software so much better."

Fall is moving in, a new school term is underway, and whether you're heading out and about on campus or just facing down your regular commute under altogether colder, darker conditions, now feels like a really good time to invest in a quality insulated drinks container.

Luckily, Amazon has obliged with some excellent discounts on on-the-go mugs and bottles from usually-pricey, top-quality brands like Hydro Flask and Yeti. The deals vary and they're not on every color or every size, but I've combed through the different options to find the best bargains, and rounded them all up for you below. I've also grouped them by color, so you can pick the one that suits your fall vibe.

I have a Yeti coffee cup and tumbler at home, as well as an insulated Hydro Flask bottle and cup. Before you ask, I don't have a problem — I used to review outdoors kit for my job, and I picked up all of these during that time. The mugs are all in near-constant use as soon as the weather is cool enough for hot drinks, and I can vouch for their quality and reliability.

A rainbow of deals

Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember feels like a massive step up from its predecessor, purely from a combat standpoint. With a large variety of weapons to use, several character and weapon abilities to unlock, and armor to find while exploring, there's so much to look forward to at launch.

I played a demo of Koei Tecmo's upcoming title via the Xbox booth at Gamescom 2026, and was left thrilled by just how approachable Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember feels. As a soulslike, it can certainly be punishing, especially when fighting foes above your character's level.

However, Koei Tecmo has given players more than enough ways to battle, with different deflect combinations, standard blocking, and smooth movement for evading in and out of danger zones during combat.

Using the new nunchucks weapon felt like I was stepping into Bruce Lee's shoes, easily flying through standard enemies and deflecting their unblockable attacks. The finishers and overall speed of combat are very much PlayStation 2-esque, almost reminiscent of the stylish combos and animations in Capcom's God Hand.

Enemies often spam unblockable attacks, but the great thing is the attack patterns are very well designed, as they're easy to react to without unfair or nearly indecipherable movements — which is an issue I've had with most soulslike games over the years.

Similar to many soulslike games, though, Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember encourages players to build a build that caters to a specific play style, specifically based on which weapon one decides to use.

Levelling up different elements like wood, fire, water, earth, or metal virtues increased specific base character stats, element abilities, and ultimately improved proficiency with particular weapons.

Since I used wooden nunchucks throughout my playtime, I chose to upgrade the wood virtue, which aided me with more damage against enemies.

If you're fast enough at deflecting, Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember features some of the most satisfying back-and-forth combat against regular enemies and mini-bosses, and that's right up my alley. (Video Credit: Koei Tecmo)

Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember carries the levelling system from its predecessor and builds upon it, but the additional aspects to combat elevate it to a far more exciting level.

I never finished the first entry, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, but I was already very impressed by its fast-flowing gameplay and accessibility, which Koei Tecmo looks to be doubling down on in this sequel.

Story sequences were kept short in my preview, but honestly, gameplay is where the focus is with Koei Tecmo's upcoming entry. If my short demo is anything to go by, I can only expect Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember to deliver for stylish combat fanatics like me when it launches early in 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

Canon EOS R8 Mark II: Two-minute review

It might look like a Sony or Nikon, but I can assure you that the EOS R8 Mark II is a Canon camera. It's the realization of a long-rumored model that was expected to be a digital remake of the AE-1 analog SLR camera to mark that camera's its 50th anniversary, only those rumors proved unfounded, with Canon working in a "modern twist".

I can see the faint resemblance between the two cameras, and I like the EOS R8 Mark II's angular look, but I also think Canon has missed a trick by not going all-out retro here, in the way Nikon did with its Zf.

Design should have been the major selling point here, but instead we have a camera that blends in, and that's not a compliment. This makes it harder to forgive the dated elements of the camera that have been carried over from the original EOS R8.

That's not to say the EOS R8 Mark II isn't a decent upgrade from the EOS R8 — it adds in-body image stabilization that's rated up to 7.5EV to the 24MP full-frame sensor, plus an AF joystick (Canon calls it a multi-controller) which makes autofocus selection simpler.

Video specs are also improved, autofocus performance enhanced, and pre-capture appears for the first time in a Canon camera at this price point.

The EOS R8 Mark II is a better camera than the EOS R8, but it also carries the same LCD and EVF displays, and the same tiny battery and entry-level build quality. These dated elements only highlight how much better a camera the Nikon Z5 II is — and that camera from 2025 costs less.

Still, if you're a Canon fan and committed to its system, the EOS R8 Mark II is a solid upgrade of the EOS R8, and a sensible alternative to the pricier EOS R6 Mark III for users who don't need the premium design, superior battery life and various high-end features.

Canon EOS R8 Mark II: Price and release date

• Announced on September 16, 2026, priced from $1,899 / £1,729 / AU$2,529
• Available in 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM kit for £2,119 / AU$2,859 (or with the 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM lens for $2,099) in the US
• Dedicated Extension Grip (EC-G2) costs $99 / £89 / AU$169
• Goes on sale from October 20

Canon is expected to sell the EOS R8 Mark II from October 20, with a body-only price of $1,899 / £1,729 / AU$2,529, which rises to £2,119 / AU$2,859 for the 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM kit (not to be confused with the pricier 24-105mm F4 L IS USM), while in the US there's a 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM kit for $2,099. Other bundles will be available, including one with an additional battery.

Canon also launched a grip for the EOS R8 Mark II, which costs $99 / £89 / AU$169. It's a grip only, and doesn't feature a battery, but it does feature a hinge allowing direct access to the camera's battery door.

Canon EOS R8 Mark II specs

Canon EOS R8 Mark II: Design

• Major new look for an interchangeable-lens Canon camera
• Multi-controller and tally lamp added
• Single SD card slot relocated to a dedicated side access door
• Same LCD and EVF displays as the EOS R8
• Body not weather resistant

I've already covered the new look of the EOS R8 Mark II. Whether that fresh design is going to be worked into other Canon cameras or remain exclusive to the R8 series, or if an unadulterated retro mirrorless body is on the way, we'll have to wait and see. I asked a Canon spokesperson about the prospect of an all-out retro body, and they didn't rule it out.

I've included a side-by-side photo of the EOS R8 and and EOS R8 Mark II, below, and you can see the sharper lines, and the deeper and textured grip of the new model, which for me evoke the look of Sony bodies more than Canon heritage.

One welcome addition is Canon's multi-controller button, which can be used to select the autofocus point among other things, and is a much loved feature by users who like to control to how their camera autofocuses, included point selection.

I really appreciated the placement of the multi-controller alongside the AF-ON (autofocus) button, which are both within a slight move of your thumb where it naturally rests in the grip. As such, it was entirely possible to hold the camera and make autofocus point selection one-handed.

A tally lamp has been added to indicate when video recording is active, while the single SD card slot has been relocated to a dedicated door on the grip-side of the camera, whereas in the EOS R8 it was found behind the same door as the battery on the underside.

Sadly, Canon hasn't used the space saved in the battery compartment (and deeper handgrip) to fit in a larger-capacity battery. The EOS R8 Mark II uses the same battery as its predecessor — shot life was already a major weak point — and has an even lower battery life when the power-hungry image stabilization feature is active, being rated at 220 shots when using the viewfinder (or 340 shots with the LCD).

Nor has the quality of the body been improved — Canon notes that the EOS R8 Mark II's body materials are part aluminum alloy, part polycarbonate, and it's not weather resistant. The controls, and the build quality, really do feel entry-level.

The 3.0-inch 1.62m-dot vari-angle LCD and 0.39-inch 2.36m-dot EVF displays are unchanged from the EOS R8, and look fairly dated when you compare them to the Nikon Z5 II's displays.

Canon EOS R8 Mark II: Performance

• 24.2MP full-frame sensor now equipped with 7.5EV image stabilization
• Digic X processor unique to the camera, 40fps burst shooting
• 4K video up to 60fps, oversampled from 6K, plus 1080p up to 180fps

The addition of in-body image stabilization (IBIS) is the major upgrade offered by the EOS R8 Mark II, and its effectiveness is rated up to 7.5EV. This feature makes life simpler shooting handheld in many scenarios — whether that's for sharp images in low light or with telephoto lenses, creative long-exposure shots, or run-and-gun video.

The sensor that incorporates the IBIS is otherwise the same as the one in the EOS R8 — a full-frame 24.2MP CMOS unit which is a decent all-purpose sensor. Nothing too exciting in 2026, but dependable.

Maximum burst-shooting speeds are once again up to 40fps, using the electronic shutter. Not that there's a choice — if you didn't already know it, the EOS R8 Mark II, like its predecessor, doesn't have a mechanical shutter.

Canon has added Pre-Continuous Shooting (more widely known as pre-capture) to the EOS R8 Mark II. In short, the camera is able to continually buffer up to 0.5 seconds while the shutter is half pressed, before the user fully presses the button to take photos. In this case, you get up to 20 photos spanning the half-second before you start photos — it's a really useful feature for wildlife and action photography, for when your reactions aren't otherwise up to speed. The feature was introduced in the EOS R5 Mark II, and the EOS R8 Mark II is the first Canon at this price point to get it.

Video recording has been improved in several ways. First of all, 4K footage is oversampled from 6K, so it should look sharper. Secondly, 4K frame rates have been upped to 60fps, while 1080p goes up to 180fps — that's 6x slow motion. Thirdly, there's the aforementioned IBIS, which makes smooth handheld shooting all the more possible. And then there are additional color profiles to choose from, including 'filmtone' looks and other picture styles which can be added using the Canon EOS Utility app.

Canon has also added a new 'defocus' feature, which can add a creative blur effect (not aperture dependent), and alter the speed of focus transitions. I haven't had the time yet to test any of the EOS R8 Mark II's video features, but I will do for my upcoming in-depth review.

Dual Pixel CMOS AF II powers the camera's autofocus, which like before includes subject detection of people, animals and vehicles, but which Canon says offers an improved performance. For example, the camera's focus sensitivity in low light has been improved, being rated to -7.5EV.

‘Register People Priority’ is a neat addition — users can select specific people’s faces, storing up to 10 people for the camera to prioritize. It's a handy feature for scenarios like a wedding, where you might want to keep the bride and groom in sharp focus among a sea of faces.

Canon EOS R8 Mark II: also consider

How I tested the Canon EOS R8 Mark II

• I had a two hour hands-on session with the camera and kit lens
• I spent the time getting a feel for the camera, and took some sample photos
• Canon provided the EOS R8 and EOS R6 Mark III for comparisons

I've only used the EOS R8 Mark II for a couple of hours at Canon Europe's offices in London. During this time, I got a proper feel for the camera, and paired it with the 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM lens that the camera is available with in a kit.

Canon supplied me with the original EOS R8 and EOS R6 Mark III, so I was able to make direct comparisons between the three cameras, though only how they handle — I didn't have time to take like-for-like pictures.

I took a stroll in the outside space, and took various photos of birdlife, foliage and buildings. Look out for our in-depth review of the EOS R8 Mark II, coming soon.

• First reviewed: September 2026
• Read more about how we test

• Canon EOS R8 Mark II upgrades the original R8 with image stabilization
• It also features a new design 'inspired by Canon's heritage'
• Prices start at $1,899 / £1,729 / AU$2,529, on-sale date mid-October

The Canon EOS R8 Mark II is here, and it isn’t the digital remake of the 50-year-old AE-1 analog SLR camera that rumors had been suggesting — but it is a new design direction for the world’s leading camera manufacturer nonetheless.

Canon has historically stuck with a consistent design approach for its DSLR and mirrorless cameras, with sweeping curves and familiar controls. The EOS R8 Mark II, however, is "inspired by Canon’s heritage" with a "modern twist", so a Canon spokesperson told me, and it's unlike any other model before it — check out my first impressions.

I like the new angular look, but I think the company has unintentionally made a camera that looks just like those from its chief rivals Sony and Nikon, and I don't think we can call it retro.

Canon fans hoping for an old school EOS R mount model to rival the Nikon Zf will surely be disappointed. Could Canon's design department have pushed the boat out more? Perhaps, but there’s nothing to say it won’t go full retro-style in the future with another model.

Design is the major talking point, but there are plenty of other features worth highlighting in what is a solid upgrade of the original EOS R8.

Beyond the looks

Like the EOS R8 — which Canon told me will remain on the market — we also get a 24.2MP full-frame sensor, but this time it features in-body image stabilization that’s rated up to 7.5EV.

Continuous shooting is again up to 40fps using the electronic shutter — in fact, like the EOS R8 there’s no mechanical shutter at all — but pre-capture has been added for up to half a second before you fully press the shutter, which is handy for when your reactions aren’t up to speed, and a first for a Canon camera at this price point.

And — praise be — an AF joystick has been added (Canon calls it a multi-controller), and it's positioned next to an autofocus button, both of which are conveniently placed right next to where your thumb rests. I was easily able to use the camera and its autofocus one-handed with a 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM kit lens attached.

Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF II features, as does subject detection of people, animals and vehicles, plus Canon’s ‘Register People’ mode with the option to store up to 10 people for the camera to prioritize — handy for weddings, sporting events, and so on.

Video is still 4K, but now up to 60fps and oversampled from 6K, plus there's 180fps slow-motion recording in 1080p. There's a tally light to indicate when the camera is recording, while the SD memory card slot is now accessed through a side door, rather than underneath in the battery compartment.

Those are some of the major upgrades, but there's also plenty that's familiar. For example, the 3-inch 1.62m-dot vari-angle touchscreen and 2.36m-dot EVF are unchanged, and there’s the same battery too. In fact, with the power-hungry image stabilization feature in play, shot life is actually slightly lower than before — battery life is a major weak point of the EOS R8 Mark II.

The camera weighs 19.3oz / 546g with card and battery included, and the quality of the plastic body is decidedly entry-level once more — this isn’t a weather-sealed camera you’d thrash around like the tougher EOS R6 Mark III is, which is the near-perfect Canon camera that the EOS R8 Mark II sits below.

Overall, I think Canon has addressed the key areas for improvement from the EOS R8, adding in-body image stabilization into a body that feels better in the hand, even if the build quality and battery life position it well below the EOS R6 Mark III.

I must also mention the Nikon Z5 II from 2025, which is the obvious entry-level full-frame rival to the EOS R8 Mark II, and which is available for a slightly lower price. Nikon's camera has many similarities, but with a magnesium alloy chassis and weather-resistance it's clearly the tougher camera of the two, plus it has a superior LCD and EVF. If you're not already committed to Canon, the Z5 II looks to be the better of the two cameras.

The EOS R8 Mark II costs from $1,899 / £1,729 / AU$2,529 for the body only, or £2,119.99 / AU$2,859 with the 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM (don't confuse this lens with the pricier 24-105mm F4 L), or $2099 with the 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM lens in the US, and it feels like the sweet spot for users who want powerful features but are less concerned about build quality and shot life.

What do you make of the new EOS R8 Mark II, especially its new design? You can vote in the poll above, and leave your comments below.

• Salesforce has revealed Ace, a new AI agent for the TSA
• Ace should take the pressure of answering basic questions off human agents
• Ace has already resolved 96% of basic inquiries so far

Salesforce has built the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) a new AI agent to try and help streamline travel for passengers everywhere.

Ace, a new AI agent built with Salesforce's Public Sector Solutions platform, has been live for several months now, helping the TSA deal with traveller requests and inquiries.

So far, Salesforce says Ace has already handled approximately 100,000 routine traveler conversations per month and resolved 96% of routine inquiries, such as how to pack liquids or enter a checkpoint with a medical device — without the need for human escalation.

TSA and AI

“Nearly three million people travel through US airports every day, and a simple question shouldn’t stand between them and a smooth trip,” said Kendall Collins, CEO of Missionforce and Government Cloud.

“TSA’s new Ace AI agent gives travelers fast, accurate answers before they reach the checkpoint—from what they can pack to how they can prepare—while helping TSA officers stay focused on their essential security mission.”

The launch of Ace forms part of a broader modernization initiative, led by the TSA’s Customer Experience Branch to improve traveler service using Salesforce.

The amount of questions from travellers can ramp up hugely during peak travel periods and disruptions, so the TSA needed a flexible way to scale support, deliver consistent guidance, and reduce pressure on its contact center teams.

Deploying a secure, autonomous AI agent like Ace, which can answer routine questions and direct more complex needs to staff, means the TSA can improve services, control costs, and support its missions at scale, even at the busiest times of the year.

“The TSA is leading with trusted AI to meet the mission,” said Paul Tatum, EVP of Global Public Sector Solutions at Salesforce. “They are delivering a secure, data-driven, and AI-first foundation that scales operations, lowers costs, and protects public trust, even during the most stressful travel times.”

• Nvidia's RTX 5090 is now over $9,000 in the US
• A new rumor suggests that RTX 6000 gaming GPUs are coming in 2027, maybe in the first half of the year
• If true, the price tag that's attached to the RTX 6090 will likely be colossal, and lower-tier GPUs could be pricey too

Nvidia's RTX 5090 flagship has hit new heights in terms of ridiculous asking prices, just as a new rumor suggests that RTX 6000 (Rubin) GPUs are coming in 2027 — earlier than anticipated, and to say the price of those next-gen offerings is a worry given the current climate is a huge understatement.

A Redditor pointed out the current state of RTX 5090 prices, which are close to commanding $10,000 in the US for some models. Notably, the Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 will set you back a princely $9,659 on Newegg US, although that's not sold directly by the retailer.

Indeed, none of the big retailers have any stock of the RTX 5090 anymore, and the only graphics cards you can buy are from third-party marketplace sellers, often shipping from Asia (that ROG Astral GPU comes from Hong Kong).

You can find more expensive RTX 5090s than that if you want to get the gold-plated version (Dhahab Edition) of the ROG Astral, which is now $11,999. The very cheapest RTX 5090 that I could find at the time of writing is an MSI Ventus model that's priced at $6,549 on Newegg.

What about outside of the US? Price inflation is rampant in other countries too. If we take the UK as an example, you can pick up an RTX 5090 for around £4,500 on Overclockers UK, which is still an eye-watering asking price. (And those are the cheapest GPUs — they go up in price from there to £6,600 for the aforementioned Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090).

It's an alarming situation, and one that heaps worries on top of a new rumor about the RTX 6000 launch as aired by Moore's Law is Dead (MLID) on YouTube (via TweakTown).

Previous rumors have contended that Nvidia's looking at 2028 for the arrival of its next-gen GeForce graphics cards, but a source at the firm told MLID that this is incorrect, and Team Green is aiming for a 2027 launch. Moreover, the current plan is still to get the RTX 6000 ball rolling for PC gamers in the first half of next year, meaning within the next nine months.

There's an obvious sticking point here, though: if the RTX 6000 generation is this close, how come we haven't had much in the way of leaks yet, and nothing of any real substance? The source claims that this is due to Nvidia's management successfully clamping down on leaks with the next-gen products.

The first offering will presumably be the RTX 6090 (or maybe an RTX 6080 as well), and it's going to have some kind of interesting spin on the design — though we aren't told what. It could have beefed up hardware to better cope with running DLSS 5, perhaps, as that would make sense — something to help deal with the performance hit of neural rendering would clearly be very welcome.

Analysis: house deposit or GPU?

There are obvious problems with a possible RTX 6000 launch next year, if we take this rumor at face value. As noted, the RTX 5090 is now being sold for beyond ridiculous prices — and so how much is an RTX 6090 going to run? The fiscal equivalent of an ultramarathon, presumably, and with AI demand likely coming into play with this GPU, the next-gen flagship could be 'unobtainium,' as the disgruntled gamers out there are already predicting.

When you consider that the RAM crisis is going to get worse next year, going by the more recent forecasts from analysts and industry insiders, video RAM is going to be more problematic — and how much of the stuff will be on an RTX 6090? — it all adds up to a frightening prospect for an MSRP. And the likely reality is that the price to actually buy the next-gen Rubin gaming flagship will blow well past that towering recommended cost. (The RTX 6080 won't likely be much different, either.)

For all these reasons, I find it difficult to believe that Nvidia will go ahead and launch the RTX 6000 series next year. Surely it makes sense to wait longer, although what Team Green may know is that 2028 isn't going to be any better for RAM price inflation, and so perhaps that's why next year is greenlit for next-gen GeForce graphics cards to arrive. It's a sobering thought. As one Redditor observed: "Can't wait to decide if I want a down payment on a house or an Nvidia GPU."

• Poland's new loitering munition borrows stealth aviation's shape for practical battlefield reasons
• A turbojet gives Gladius 2 a different propulsion approach from earlier Warmate variants
• The 30kg warhead places Gladius 2 between several established Warmate configurations

Polish defense manufacturer WB Group has revealed a new loitering munition whose flattened, wing-shaped body echoes the American B-2 Spirit bomber.

Gladius 2, also called Warmate 30, uses that shape mainly to cut down on radar and heat signatures rather than for looks.

Flying wing designs scatter radar waves more efficiently than boxy airframes, which is exactly why stealth bombers adopted the same silhouette decades ago.

A shape borrowed from stealth aviation, not aesthetics

The munition runs on a turbojet engine, giving it a faster run toward its objective than earlier electrically powered Warmate versions.

It carries an interchangeable 30 kg (66 lb) warhead and can launch from a shipping container or a dedicated vehicle.

WB Group designed the weapon to operate within its wider Gladius reconnaissance strike system rather than as a standalone munition alone.

That system pairs the FT-5 Łoś reconnaissance drone with separate strike effectors, all coordinated through a software platform called Topaz.

This arrangement lets one operator locate an objective using the reconnaissance aircraft, then destroy it with a separate strike weapon.

According to the company, it started developing this newer variant back in September 2022, drawing lessons from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Poland is already investing heavily in the drone family

The new weapon arrives as Poland continues spending heavily on domestically produced unmanned systems and loitering munitions.

In May 2026, Poland's Armaments Agency signed agreements covering more than 400 Warmate systems and nearly 200 FlyEye reconnaissance drones.

The same contracts included 12 Gladius fire modules, with financing partly supplied through the European Union's SAFE defence lending programme.

WB Group has not confirmed whether Gladius 2 or Warmate 30 forms part of those existing procurement agreements.

That distinction matters because the newly shown aircraft could remain a future offering rather than an immediately contracted Polish military system.

WB Group has previously described several Warmate variants using payload categories, including models associated with 5kg, 20kg, and 50kg warheads.

Warmate 30 therefore fits between those larger and smaller configurations while carrying a 30kg payload of its own.

The earlier Warmate 3 reportedly carries a smaller warhead while reaching distances of up to 70km, or 43 miles.

The original Gladius system has also been offered with earlier electrically powered Warmate variants capable of exceeding 100km, or 62 miles.

However, those figures should not be treated as specifications for Gladius 2 until WB Group releases its own performance data.

Whether Gladius 2 performs as well as its shape suggests will remain unclear until WB Group releases actual test figures.

This bomber simply copies a proven stealth silhouette, which makes practical sense for a country expanding its arsenal under real wartime pressure.

Via Defence Blog

• Dell Technologies held the 14th edition of its parent-and-child PC assembly class at its Miyazaki Customer Center,
• where children learned how to build a 14-inch Dell laptop from nine parts and 23 screws
• Entries cost 113,275 Yen (approximately $730) and included keeping the finished laptop with a Core 5 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD, along with a year of on-site service

On the fifth floor of a building in central Miyazaki that once housed a department store, seven children spent a Saturday afternoon doing something almost no laptop owner will ever do.

They learned how to build a working Windows 11-based laptop from start to finish using spare parts on a tray that included nine different components and 23 screws.

The exercise concluded when they powered on their laptops, checked for a Wi-Fi connection, and were allowed to take the self-assembled laptops home.

An exercise focusing on reliability, self-service and promoting Dell's brand image

The event was Dell's 14th parent-and-child PC assembly class, who were given step-by-step access to the entire process. The event, which drew 14 parents and children, was divided into 6 groups, with one group including two children.

They were tasked with assembling a 14-inch laptop (Dell 14 DC14250) with an Intel Core 5 120U CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. The event focused on understanding the underlying hardware and how it worked once assembled, while underscoring the computer giant's focus on repairability and reliability.

Masashi Hayashida, head of Dell Technologies' Miyazaki Customer Center, stated during the event (translated): "Computers can do so many things. I want people to use their finished computers until they break down and get to know them completely. If they break down, they can be fixed. Technology is constantly evolving. I hope you will look forward to the future advancements in technology."

The event included an office tour, and Hii-kun, one of the three Miyazaki-ken prefectural mascot dogs, turned up and performed a dance routine as part of the event. Participants also received a brief history of how Dell Technologies started in 1984 and grew into the monolithic giant it is today, with a presence in over 170 countries, starting with only a $1,000 investment from its founder, Michael Dell.

The exercise, a compressed version of what a Dell service technician does for a living, included plugging in memory and attaching the display, speaker, keyboard, SSD, battery, and Wi-Fi modules.

The children also received a brief overview of AI, how it is important, and that it can make mistakes and should not be given access to personal information beyond what is necessary. University interns at the center followed up by running a ten-question true-or-false quiz on Dell, Intel, and PCs.

The event also featured Yoko Oishi of Dell's advanced technical support team demonstrating how to replace a USB-C module on a Dell XPS laptop to invited members of the press.

The same company that is making record profits building AI data center racks spent a Saturday afternoon teaching children how a laptop is assembled and works, making for a nice change of pace that doubles as a great marketing and public service play for a conglomerate that still makes a significant amount of its revenue from consumer electronics, indicating that it is still committed to the 'personal' side of computing.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

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

Quordle today (game #1696) — hint #1 — Vowels

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1696) — hint #2 — repeated letters

Quordle today (game #1696) — hint #3 — uncommon letters

Quordle today (game #1696) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1696) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)

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

Quordle today (game #1696) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1696, are…

• SPEAR
• PRICE
• BLUNT
• FISHY

My mistake today was guessing the words in the wrong order.

Following a hunch, I incorrectly guessed “saver” when there were far more gettable quadrants that would not have left me in a situation where I had just one guess to get the final word.

Fortunately I scraped through.

Daily Sequence today (game #1696) — the answers

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1696, are…

• CRANK
• GENIE
• TORCH
• REMIT

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1695, Tuesday, 15 September: SHUSH, LITHE, DELTA, BUGLE
• Quordle #1694, Monday, 14 September: ZEBRA, LEGAL, RATIO, TROLL
• Quordle #1693, Sunday, 13 September: LUCID, SPRAY, MANGE, EMAIL
• Quordle #1692, Saturday, 12 September: SUPER, BRUSH, RESET, SOWER
• Quordle #1691, Friday, 11 September: PLUSH, PAINT, RIVAL, AFOUL
• Quordle #1690, Thursday, 10 September: AGENT, EXILE, TITAN, PUREE
• Quordle #1689, Wednesday, 9 September: HAPPY, GONER, SMACK, MOTIF
• Quordle #1688, Tuesday, 8 September: FLUNG, DIARY, HALVE, BERTH
• Quordle #1687, Monday, 7 September: VISIT, CLANK, FEVER, OCEAN
• Quordle #1686, Sunday, 6 September: PILOT, HONOR, BOWEL, TAUNT
• Quordle #1685, Saturday, 5 September: GNASH, GEEKY, WHELP, PUTTY
• Quordle #1684, Friday, 4 September: QUICK, BEEFY, TRUCK, SNAIL
• Quordle #1683, Thursday, 3 September: SIGMA, ESSAY, MERRY, LLAMA
• Quordle #1682, Wednesday, 2 September: INCUR, FELLA, TITAN, FROZE
• Quordle #1681, Tuesday, 1 September: NASAL, ROUTE, ANKLE, MIGHT
• Quordle #1680, Monday, 31 August: ALIVE, LOUSE, ABOVE, MOSSY
• Quordle #1679, Sunday, 30 August: USING, SORRY, FILET, PIPER
• Quordle #1678, Saturday, 29 August: OVINE, ALLOY, VOICE, CARVE
• Quordle #1677, Friday, 28 August: WAIST, EDICT, BONUS, DEUCE
• Quordle #1676, Thursday, 27 August: SHEEN, TRICE, WAGON, BEVEL

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

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

NYT Connections today (game #1193) - today's words

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• FRANK-N-FURTER
• LATIN
• CLINK
• PENNYWISE
• WADSWORTH
• NICKELODEON
• BORAT
• LONG JOHN
• SILVER
• ST. VINCENT
• STEAM IRON
• WIDENER
• DIMENSION
• QUARTERBACK
• CARLOS
• MARIGOLD
• BARRETT

NYT Connections today (game #1193) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Metallic final
• GREEN: Begin with currency
• BLUE: Middling wordsmiths
• PURPLE: Hot dogs etc

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1193) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: ENDING IN METAL ELEMENTS
• GREEN: STARTING WITH U.S. COINS
• BLUE: POETS' MIDDLE NAMES
• PURPLE: SAUSAGES PLUS A LETTER

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

NYT Connections today (game #1193) - the answers

The answers to today's Connections, game #1193, are…

• YELLOW: ENDING IN METAL ELEMENTS: LATIN, LONG JOHN SILVER, MARIGOLD, STEAM IRON
• GREEN: STARTING WITH U.S. COINS: DIMENSION, NICKELODEON, PENNYWISE, QUARTERBACK
• BLUE: POETS' MIDDLE NAMES: BARRETT, CARLOS, ST. VINCENT, WADSWORTH
• PURPLE: SAUSAGES PLUS A LETTER: BORAT, CLINK, FRANK-N-FURTER, WIDENER

• My rating: Hard
• My score: Fail

This is the first game of Connections I’ve lost in months, so hopefully I wasn’t the only one to find it confusing.

The main reason for my downfall was the actor Tim Curry, as I knew that he had starred as Dr FRANK-N-FURTER in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and as PENNYWISE in Stephen King's It. After three attempts at forming a Tim Curry group (I have subsequently discovered that he also played a character called WADSWORTH in the film version of Clue) I changed tack and spotted STARTING WITH U.S. COINS.

With just eight tiles left I should have got over the line. Alas, utterly in the dark, I connected four random tiles and accepted my loss.

Kudos if you completed this very hard game.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, September 15, 2026, game #1192)

• YELLOW: INSTRUCT: COACH, DIRECT, GUIDE, TRAIN
• GREEN: PARTS OF A WHISTLING KETTLE: HANDLE, LID, SPOUT, WHISTLE
• BLUE: UNDERCOVER OPERATIVE: ASSET, MOLE, PLANT, SLEEPER
• PURPLE: THINGS THAT APPEAR AT THE END: CABOOSE, DECEMBER, DESSERT, EPILOGUE

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

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

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

NYT Strands today (game #927) - hint #1 - today's theme

NYT Strands today (game #927) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• BRING
• GIFT
• HALF
• STING
• BIRTH
• STIR

NYT Strands today (game #927) - hint #3 - spangram letters

NYT Strands today (game #927) - hint #4 - spangram position

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

NYT Strands today (game #927) - the answers

The answers to today's Strands, game #927, are…

• JAZZY
• VIVID
• BRIGHT
• FLASHY
• STRIKING
• VIBRANT
• SPANGRAM: EYECATCHING

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 hint

My first thoughts about today’s theme were obvious ones like conspicuous, but surely this clue couldn’t be so blatant — especially as there was no letter P on the entire board.

There were, though, two letter Zs, so I managed to get JAZZY immediately, followed by VIVID and BRIGHT — the theme nailed down to describing the loud and garish. I was able to make some progress, but still needed a hint to get FLASHY.

I kicked myself that I’d missed the spangram EYECATCHING, as EYE was staring at me in my favorite starting position in the top left-hand corner.

I ended happy to have completed a tricky game, but annoyed that I’d missed a golden, flickering neon sign of an opportunity for a spangram-first. Congratulations if you spotted it.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, September 15, game #926)

• JOIST
• BOLT
• HINGE
• NAIL
• KNOB
• BRACKET
• ANCHOR
• SCREW
• SPANGRAM: HARDWARE

• Sam Altman admits AI development may require greater control
• Altman references Hugging Face "accident" as something which might cause wider distrust
• However Altman said he still believes AI technology can greatly benefit humanity as a whole

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has admitted that the rapid pace of development in the AI industry is rightfully scaring some people, and that more controls might be necessary.

Speaking at Dreamforce 2026, Altman was quizzed by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on a variety of topics, giving his opinion on not just the most recent incidents in the world of technology, but where the future of AI could go next.

"This could go wrong"

Altman and Benioff's wide-ranging conversation began with the latter asking the former for his view on "what's been going on" concerning recent controversies in the AI industry.

This included the widely-reported Hugging Face hack, as well as increasing calls for greater AI regulation in recent weeks.

"People have been talking about the potential downsides or serious risks of AI for some time,” Altman said, noting that the increased capabilities of models have meant people are paying more attention than ever before.

Altman also highlighted the recent “Hugging Face accident”, which he later described as “obviously a terrifying incident”, as raising awareness among the wider world as to what AI is capable of.

“It doesn't take as much imagination as it used to, to imagine how this could go wrong,” he pointed out, adding that he would like to know that companies don’t intend to use their models for nefarious means - “there should be no qualifier on that,” he pointed out.

Altman also highlighted the “real fear” that “some companies working in AI could get too much power and be able to influence the economy”.

“I think the world is right to be afraid of this,” he pointed out.

Future hopes

However it wasn’t all doom and gloom, as Altman noted that OpenAI was navigating a “narrow path” with pragmatism, steadiness and consistency.

“People are now saying, this seems pretty important, so let's get it right...and we will get it right, by the way, I'm very confident in our ability to do this. The world should trust that we are going to do the right thing, because it is the right thing, and we know the magnitude of this.”

Altman was also confident that despite the continuing advances of AI, he had high hopes for the future of humanity, noting that while "people don't care that much what a machine does...we have a wonderful ability of being obsessed with other people.”

However this might still involve some tough work, as society and people would “need to uplift themselves very fast” to get all the advantages of technology - “but this seems very achievable to me,” Altman added.

Looking forward

Overall though, Altman noted that the degree that people care about other people is a major positive, and predicted that "we will stay in an extremely human-centric world, no matter what technology does.”

AI will help with this progress, though, with Altman saying that although the technology is capable of incidents such as the Hugging Face hack, it is also possible to use AI to defend against such attacks.

“We have to (use AI to defend) to get the prize of curing diseases, giving people this incredible creativity, this human entrepreneurship that I think is coming.”

“I think people, with this technology in their hands, can live a much better version of their lives.”

Benioff closed out the session by asking what he hoped the legacy of his company would be, with Altman noting that the company had set out on an "insane mission" to achieve AGI, and that it had only scratched the surface" of building great products".

“There is no doubt there will be more technological wonders by 2030, and they'll be big ones,” he added, highlighting the fact that you can talk to a computer and it knows what you want, understand your company and take action, “is one of the most profound changes to how we use technology that I've ever seen...this is one of the moments that feels like you're in a movie (and) I think this will transform the way we work and use computers”.

• Project Zenith adds developer tools before users have to install them manually
• The required 64GB memory immediately pushes Zenith beyond ordinary Windows hardware
• Microsoft wants Zenith machines ready for local AI development

Microsoft has unveiled Project Zenith, introducing specially configured Windows 11 machines aimed at developers and local artificial intelligence work.

The idea sounds practical until you consider the hardware required, because Zenith begins with computers that already sit firmly above mainstream prices.

That makes the project feel less like Windows optimization and more like an attempt to give expensive computers another reason to exist

Microsoft is creating another category for expensive PCs

Zenith is not a separate Windows edition, despite how Microsoft's announcement could initially make the concept sound.

Instead, Microsoft is changing the default software configuration and hardware requirements for computers intended for people developing applications and AI systems.

Eligible machines need at least 64GB of unified memory and 250GB/s of memory bandwidth before receiving the Zenith configuration.

Microsoft also wants these systems capable of running models exceeding 30B parameters locally without metered usage restrictions, according to its announcement.

Windows Terminal and Visual Studio Code come pinned, while GitHub Copilot, PowerToys, WinAppCLI, and Windows Dev Skills arrive preinstalled.

File Explorer also starts with extensions, hidden files, complete paths, and other settings that developers might otherwise configure themselves.

Microsoft describes the objective as providing a “ready-to-code distraction-free Windows experience” for people using developer-class hardware.

That sounds sensible for professionals who repeatedly configure similar machines, especially when those machines are deployed across larger development teams.

However, most ordinary Windows users have little reason to want these settings or applications occupying their computers from the beginning.

The expensive machine gets another reason to sell

The timing makes the strategy particularly interesting because Microsoft is effectively attaching specialized software treatment to increasingly costly hardware.

This resembles the way manufacturers increasingly describe premium laptops as AI or creative machines, even when professionals remain their obvious buyers.

Zenith appears to take that familiar approach further by defining a software experience around hardware specifications that most consumers will never require.

The first systems will use AMD Ryzen AI Halo processors, with other platforms expected to receive support during subsequent months.

That requirement immediately narrows the field because 64GB of unified memory is far beyond what typical Windows laptops currently provide.

There is nevertheless a straightforward benefit for developers because several hours of repetitive setup can disappear when the computer starts ready for work.

Microsoft's configuration also does not lock these conveniences behind Zenith hardware, since existing Windows 11 installations can receive many changes manually.

That creates an awkward question about why someone should purchase an expensive Zenith machine when much of its software setup remains reproducible.

For companies managing many developer computers, the standardized configuration could save administrative time and reduce repeated setup work across machines.

For an individual buyer, however, the financial argument becomes considerably harder when the main advantage involves settings that require little effort manually.

Microsoft may therefore be selling convenience to people who already have compelling reasons to buy powerful hardware in the first place.

That makes Zenith look less like an entirely new Windows experience and more like a carefully packaged justification for expensive developer computers.

Via Windows Central

• Diablo 5 will have features inspired by Diablo 2 and Diablo 2: Resurrected
• Senior game director Joe Shely says the team was able to look at Resurrected for modern inspiration because it's so recent
• He says the team can "look at it through today's lens"

Diablo 5 senior game director Joe Shely has said that the success of Diablo 2: Resurrected has enabled Blizzard to use the game as modern inspiration for the upcoming sequel.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon following Diablo 5's announcement, Shely shared how previous games helped the team find modern inspiration for Diablo 5.

Instead of going back 20 years and just looking at Diablo 2, the team used its 2021 remaster, Diablo 2: Resurrected, for ideas. The developer said the game was brought to life thanks to the passionate fanbase, and the continued work on it has benefited Diablo 5's development.

"Certainly we've been very happy with the response to Diablo 2: Resurrected," Shely said. "The reason that Diablo 2: Resurrected exists is because of the continued passion of players in the first place, because of the continued passion of players for Diablo 2, and so both the honor of having a game that players love and the ability to add new content to it has given us the opportunity to look at it in terms of inspiration."

Resurrected's itemization system, from weapons, loot, and armor, is one of the core features that Blizzard used as inspiration; Shely also said the game's modern features were just as important because it was created and released so recently.

"Because Diablo 2: Resurrected exists today alongside Diablo 4, we can look at it through today's lens, and not just have to go back to, you know, 20 years ago, and think about how to bring lessons forward from 20 years ago. We can bring lessons from D2, but lessons from today."

Diablo 5 is in development and launches in Spring 2029.

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei discuss AI at Dreamforce 2026
• Amodei says the pace of progress had surprised Anthropic
• Huang calls for greater safety, but hails the advantages AI can bring

Some of the world's leading AI minds have shared their opinions on the future of the technology, revealing some intriguinly diverging viewpoints.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei were both guest appearances during the opening keynote of Dreamforce 2026, where they were both quizzed by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on their opinions and views on the future of the technology.

The pair had some interestingly differing viewpoints, showing the trouble facing not just internal and external stakeholders, but also lawmakers and regulators.

Jensen vs Dario?

First up was Amodei, whose Claude platform has become increasingly partnered with Salesforce in recent months, culminating in the recent launch of Claudeforce.

Asked by Benioff about the state of the AI market right now, Amodei likened it to the motor industry, where safety records can be conflated, but companies can learn from each other - and he also seems keen to open things up internationally to set standards.

“I think that’s the way to lead the industry forward, to set an example, to say that everyone can always be better,” he pointed out.

Benioff also asked Amodei about the biggest surprises has had while developing his technology over the last decade.

The Anthropic head replied the "pace of the progress" - not just in the development of AI technology, but the economic impact of it too - noting his company didn't appreciate how quickly certain companies would grow and become central to everyday life.

Finally, Benioff asked what actions Amodei would like the public to take when using AI.

Amodei replied that even if development of AI technology was frozen right now, we'd only be using maybe 5-10% of the possible value we could get.

Making use of all the information with platforms such as Claude could open up new areas of business - "there's so much diffusion left," Amodei says.

Huang was much more positive in his appearance, leading Benioff in a walkabout around the keynote theatre as the pair discussed AI.

"We're going through a new industrial revolution," Huang pointed out,

However he did urge caution in some areas, particularly around safety.

“Safety is paramount in a lot of ways. It’s job one,” Huang said. “However, safety is an engineering problem.”

Speed and safety are not mutually exclusive, Huang noted, pointing out that companies should pace themselves until they are sure they are releasing something that the market will appreciate.

“It’s a false choice,” Huang told Benioff. “You could definitely have both at the same time.”

When it comes to model protections, Huang said that companies should, “run as fast as you can...but if you feel at any given point in time the company’s out of control or the product’s not going to be safe, take a pause and make sure you get it right.”

Wrapping up, Benioff asked Huang about his vision for the next few years - and what he wants to see from Salesforce.

Huang says he wants to "Agentforce every company", outlining an aim of "really deploying AI".

"You don't want to be left behind, this is too important of a technology revolution," Huang noted, "if it doesn't work for you straight away, don't give up on it."

"The most important thing - don't get left behind...the sky's the limit for us."

It's an unusual Apple iPhone season. Not since the early days of the iPhone almost 20 years ago have we seen such a limited lineup. No base model, no super thin model, no plus model, no mini model. Instead, we have two powerful Pro models and the unusual, foldable iPhone Duo. Without all of Apple's typical next-gen iPhone cards on the table, you might think even Apple would be struggling with how or where to steer consumers. Now, though, thanks to Apple CEO John Ternus, we know exactly which iPhone Apple hopes you buy.

It's the iPhone Duo, okay?

Apple hasn't and honestly wouldn't say this, but sometimes it only takes a subtle signal or simple choice to reveal what should've been obvious in the first place.

On Monday night, amid the Hollywood glitz and glamour of the 78th Primetime Emmys, newly minted Apple CEO John Ternus stood on the red carpet. Looking spiffy and maybe a bit uncomfortable in his tuxedo, with multiple microphones stuck in his face, Ternus fielded questions about Apple TV's incredible seven-year run and vast trove of awards for shows like Shrinking and the freshman Windows Bay, which garnered more season 1 Emmys than any other show before it.

He produced it like magic

Then a Deadline reporter started asking about the new phones. Without hesitation, Ternus pulled the stunning new iPhone Duo from his breast pocket as the reporter squealed with delight.

I guess she could be forgiven for her over-the-top reaction. After all, since Apple unveiled its first folding phone as the "one more thing" during Apple's "Surprise & Shine" iPhone event, not much has been seen of the passport-sized handset. It's shipping almost a month after the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, the only other new iPhones on offer right now.

And yet, here was Ternus, carrying it as, it seems, his phone of choice. Or at least the one he chose for that night. I guess he could've demurred when the reporter asked and pulled out a burgundy iPhone 18 Pro, but he didn't.

It was hard to hear what Ternus said over the reporter's screams, but I think it was "there we go...look at that," as he unfolded the phone to show off the unusual matte and virutally creasless display.

Doing so, on one of the entertainment world's biggest stages, was surely a calculated choice. Apple is steering all eyes toward its $1999 iPhone Duo.

You might say it's a craven attempt to garner more revenue via the pricey handset, but I think something else is at work here.

Why Apple needs to try harder with the Duo

With its late entry into the folding space, Apple is taking a risk. It's calculated, but still a risk. The foldable phone market is tiny, and most of it is owned by Samsung, which has a wide array of folding devices in shapes from the basic Flip to the larger and more powerful (at least camera-wise) Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. It also has a passport-sized Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Apple isn't the first, and we still haven't decided whether it is the best. Still, how often has Samsung had the opportunity to show off its hardware at a big consumer entertainment event ostensibly watched by millions?

Well, it has been pushing its newest foldables in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but in the action film, the phones are featured but not addressed in any real way. No one plays with them on camera to show off new features.

What would Samsung have done?

I do recall, though, when Samsung sponsored the 2014 Oscar telecast and handed out Samsung phones to celebrity audience members. With one of those phones, Ellen took one of the most famous, fame-filled selfies of all time. Even so, that sold people on social media and not the Samsung Galaxy phone.

This Emmy's opportunity was different. You had a willing and tech-obsessed reporter and Ternus, who just so happened to have their newest and most important Apple product in his pocket. There's little chance she would've asked, and he would've presented it, if he were only carrying the iPhone 18 Pro.

That wasn't the only moment where someone mentioned the foldable phone to Ternus. Another entertainment reporter called it the "Flip," and Ternus let it pass (notably without producing the phone). For Apple, it was a golden opportunity to steer consumers toward the new iPhone form factor and give it an even better chance of success.

I know, it was just a few seconds and by no means a true commercial for the iPhone Duo, but give Ternus credit for making the most of it and sending a clear signal of where Apple hopes you spend your next iPhone dollars.

• Watch Run Hide Fight: Infidels on Daily Wire
• Traveling? Watch streaming services from anywhere with our no.1 VPN (SAVE 75%)

Jonathan Majors (Creed III) is back — and armed for battle in Run Hide Fight: Infidels, a provocative new action thriller about a battle-hardened Delta Force veteran thrown into a deadly campus siege.

Billed as a 'standalone follow-up' to 2020's Run Hide Fight, which starred Isabel May as teenager Zoe Hull, who fights back when gunmen attack her high school, Infidels aims to reboot the franchise.

The original, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, received a sharply divided reception: it currently has 30% from critics but 93% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes (1,000+ audience ratings).

Expect to see plenty of social media posts about this provocative movie. If you want to judge for yourself, here's how to watch Run Hide Fight: Infidels online from anywhere.

• TV tips email: Never be stuck for anything to watch again

How to watch Run Hide Fight: Infidels in the US

Run Hide Fight: Infidels premieres exclusively on DailyWire Plus on Wednesday, September 16.

The streaming service costs $15 per month (cancel anytime). Or choose an annual plan for 40% off.

Traveling outside the States? You may need to use a VPN to unblock DailyWire Plus when abroad. It's also a great way to stream content privately.

How to watch Run Hide Fight: Infidels from outside your country

If you're out of the country but keen to stream Run Hide Fight: Infidels (2026) you might find local restrictions in place.

Luckily, there’s an easy solution. Downloading a VPN will allow visit your usual websites and streaming services no matter where you are. It's a simple bit of software that changes your IP address, meaning that you can access on-demand content or live TV as if you were back at home.

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Run Hide Fight: Infidels - Cast 

• Jonathan Majors — Clayton “Clay” Saunders / Captain Saunders
• JC Kilcoyne
• Stephen Hailo — Ibrahim Asad Melod
• Tyler Aser — Lizzy Dupree
• James Bingham — P.J.
• David Lucas
• Charlotte Delaney Riggs — Farrah Abel
• Jason Gray-Stanford
• Myles Clohessy
• Chase Ramsey — Hermann
• Sharon Johal
• Paulina Alvarez
• Erin Davie
• Siaka Massaquoi
• Travis Mills

VPN services are evaluated and tested by us in view of legal recreational use. For example:a) Access to services from other countries, (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).b) Safeguarding your online security and making your online privacy more robust when abroad.Future plc does not support nor condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. We do not endorse nor approve of consuming pirated content that is paid-for.

• A webcam and mirror replace human eyes during Radeon driver testing
• The laptop watches its own screen via a mirrored image
• Schroeder's setup targets AMD Radeon compatibility inside Omarchy Linux

Justin Schroeder, a Linux developer, built an unusual setup pairing an older Intel MacBook with a mirror and camera.

The setup uses the laptop's camera, a mirror, and its display to let the software inspect graphics changes without human checking during development.

This process was demonstrated while working on Omarchy, an open-source Linux distribution that is being adapted for Radeon graphics hardware.

A camera becomes the agent's eyes

The experiment turns the laptop's webcam into an unusual inspection tool by directing its view toward a mirror facing the display.

That reflected image gives the programming agent access to visual information about what happens after changes are made to graphics code.

Instead of relying entirely on textual output, the system can inspect visible rendering problems that appear directly on the laptop's screen.

Those problems can include distorted images, flickering displays, incorrect resolutions, or other changes that indicate graphics software is malfunctioning during testing.

The arrangement is unusual because the computer is effectively using its own camera to observe an image produced by itself.

Schroeder's demonstration concerns AMD Radeon support within Omarchy, where driver compatibility requires changes that can affect actual display output.

The camera and mirror therefore provide a physical feedback path between the software agent and the graphics hardware it is modifying during each test.

Schroeder said the agent could “see” the altered screen, giving its coding process information from direct visual feedback during testing.

Driver changes can be checked through the display

Conventional graphics driver work normally requires programmers to alter code, compile it, restart relevant services, and inspect results manually.

The experiment instead gives the AI programming agent a way to inspect the outcome after modifying, rebuilding, and testing its graphics driver code.

This means visual verification can occur directly on the physical machine rather than depending only on compiler messages or textual diagnostics.

For Radeon support, that distinction matters because successful compilation does not necessarily mean the resulting graphics output will appear correctly.

A driver may build successfully while producing visible artifacts, unstable rendering, incorrect display settings, or other problems during actual operation.

The demonstrated workflow allows the agent to identify those visual changes and use them when deciding what code requires further adjustment.

It also allows repeated testing without requiring a programmer to inspect every intermediate result produced during the graphics development cycle.

Schroeder's experiment therefore connects automated programming with direct observation of hardware output, although the available demonstration does not establish how reliably this scales.

The setup also does not show that the agent independently created an entire production-ready Radeon driver without direct human involvement.

Instead, it shows a development method where an AI system can modify driver code and receive visual information from the resulting display.

That distinction is important because driver development involves many functions that cannot be evaluated solely through what appears on one screen

• Huawei's new Kirin 9050 Pro is being called its "most powerful" all-Chinese chip tech giant has ever made
• Huawei is claiming a 55% density gain by 'folding' its chip in half and stacking it instead of shrinking the actual die
• The chip still uses US hardware and foreign technology to manufacture, including ASML scanners and pre-2022 Applied Materials and Lam Research equipment

Huawei has introduced the Kirin 9050 Pro, a mobile processor that it says is fully free of American technology.

The chip powers the Mate XT 2, the third device in the company's tri-fold line, which starts at 19,999 yuan (~$2,980), and went on sale in China on September 12 2026.

The South China Morning Post noted Huawei is reducing reliance on advanced foreign semiconductor equipment, and this might be what the state-backed AI and chip giant wanted to highlight above all else, even as it refused to mention sanctions anywhere in its own press materials.

An impressive SoC that continues to indicate a shrinking technological gap

Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei's consumer business group, said on stage that the Kirin 9050 Pro is the company's "most powerful Kirin chip ever" and, based on the performance figures, touts a 42% overall improvement over the last-gen Mate XTs' Kirin 9020.

At the chip level, it claims 24% higher peak single-core and 52% better multi-core throughput against the Kirin 9030 Pro, plus a 142% jump in graphics rendering. The nine-core LinxiCore CPU peaks at 3.1GHz, the Maleoon GPU adds hardware ray tracing, and the Da Vinci NPU runs a 30-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts model on device.

The performance figures alone aren't the only interesting thing about Huawei's new silicon offering; the Kirin 9050 Pro is the first commercial silicon built on LogicFolding, a technique Huawei semiconductor chief He Tingbo presented at IEEE ISCAS in Shanghai in May and expanded on in a signed paper.

Rather than shrinking transistors, LogicFolding splits logic across two active silicon layers bonded face to face, with roughly 50 million vertical interconnects at a pitch of about 1.5 micrometers. Because signals travel shorter distances, Huawei says it could lower operating voltage while raising density.

However, all of these figures (including performance) come directly from Huawei, with no independent verification or peer-reviewed studies. More interestingly, while the Kirin is considerably less dependent on US or Western tech, it doesn't remove it from the equation entirely, and you still have to look closely at the bill of materials for receipts.

Huawei did not announce a process node for the Kirin 9050 Pro, and that silence has been deafening in more ways than one. SemiAnalysis tore down the predecessor in June 2026 and found SMIC's third-generation 7nm process, N+3, reaching about 113 million transistors per square millimeter with no extreme ultraviolet lithography anywhere in the flow.

SMIC's process, however, still leverages ASML immersion scanners. Bloomberg reported in 2024 that SMIC built the earlier Kirin 9000s using equipment acquired from Applied Materials and Lam Research before the October 2022 export rules closed that door, and the same is still in play here.

Despite this, Huawei has come a long way since its phones were declared America-free seven years ago. A UBS and Fomalhaut Techno Solutions analysis seen by the Wall Street Journal in late 2019 found the Mate 30 Pro contained no American parts, and Huawei cybersecurity officer John Suffolk told the paper that "all of our 5G is now America-free." The Kirin 990 inside that phone, however, was fabricated by TSMC on an EUV node.

Huawei's approach, backed by the Chinese state, to essentially rid itself of US influence in the fabrication end of the spectrum remains more of an ongoing struggle than one which it has already achieved, even as it continues to push ahead in certain disciplines and erode a performance gap that industry players earlier thought would take years longer than it is now projected to.

• Ukraine’s navy has claimed victory over a Russian drone boat in the first recorded seaborne drone battle
• The exchange took place in the Black Sea
• Russia has yet to confirm that its craft was sunk by the Ukrainian Sargan-3000 closed

An unmanned Ukrainian naval vessel has destroyed a Russian drone boat in what is thought to be the first military exchange of its kind. The uncrewed vessels encountered each other in the Black Sea, with the Ukrainian Sargan-3000 destroying the enemy craft using its Protector RWS turret.

While described as a first, the claim has not yet been independently verified. Ukraine has not confirmed the date, time, or location of the engagement. In addition, Russia has so far declined to confirm whether the exchange took place, or that it lost a vessel.

The news, however, follows an increase in seaborne drone activity by Ukraine, and comes just a few months after launching the Sargan-3000 into service.

What is a Sargan-3000?

Introduced into active service in April 2026, the Sargan-3000 was described as a “multi-purpose platform” which suggests the craft can be easily modified to house weapons, sensors. The term typically indicates a design that can house mission-specific modules, and the Sargan-3000 seems to have been involved in a wide variety of missions since its commissioning.

Ukraine has expanded maritime drone operations within the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov during 2026, with 105 Russian vessels known to have been attacked in the Sea of Azov. The Sargan-3000 has been described as “highly maneuverable”, but its physical characteristics are currently unknown.

We do know, however, that it can carry a Protector RWS, itself a modular system capable of mounting various weapons systems: machine guns, grenade launchers, and anti-tank missiles.

A remote-controlled 12.7mm machine gun turret (possibly an M2 Browning, or an NSV) was used in the encounter with the Russian vessel.

Drone engagements

Ukraine has other unmanned sea vessels at its disposal. While the Sargan-3000 is under the Ukrainian navy, a craft called Sea Baby is used by the Security Service of Ukraine. This 6 meter long boat is believed to have a 1,000 km range, and can carry a payload of around 850 kg. It is believed to be used primarily against moored (anchored) targets, which suggests it can be deployed pretty quickly.

The Magura V5, meanwhile, is under the Defence Intelligence group. This is a shorter craft with a lighter payload and cannot manage the same range as the Sea Baby, but has a similar role.

In the most recent incident, we’re told that the Russian vessel was identified by Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate, clearing the Ukrainian Navy unmanned craft to engage with the enemy. An earlier incident, in July 2026, featured a similar Ukrainian vessel remotely sink a Russian craft in the Black Sea.

Taking place off Gelendzhik, the Russian border patrol ship PSKR Izumrud was a casualty of an overall strategy that has seen Ukraine force Russia’s Black Sea Fleet into retreating from Crimea.

• Morefine MNAS-X1 stacks four hard drives directly above the processor to escape heat
• The MNAS-X1 packs an 800W power supply into a 15.6L chassis
• Four spring-latch drive bays let users swap storage without any tools

Morefine has released an AI workstation PC that stacks its storage drives on top of the chassis instead of beside the processor.

The MNAS-X1 arrives with a four-bay hard drive tray fixed directly above the motherboard rather than tucked beside it.

This unusual layout follows a fairly straightforward principle, since warm air naturally rises while cool air tends to settle lower, keeping the drives clear of the hottest components below them.

A candybar body built for drive swaps

The chassis measures 218mm by 193mm by 372mm, giving a 15.6L footprint wrapped in a white aluminum alloy shell over a steel frame.

A glossy purple panel breaks up the front, and vents line the left, right, rear, and top surfaces for airflow.

Each of the four 3.5-inch bays has a spring latch release, letting drives slide out without tools once the side button is pressed.

Connectivity runs to one USB4 port, several USB-A ports, dual 10G RJ45 network jacks, an SD card slot, and a single HDMI 2.0 output for 4K at 60Hz.

Inside sits an AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 8845HS chip, an 8-core, 16-thread Zen4 chip with a 3.8GHz base clock and a 5.1GHz boost, paired with a Radeon 780M graphics core rated at 2700MHz.

An onboard XDNA NPU adds 16 TOPS on its own and 38 TOPS when the CPU, GPU, and NPU work together.

Two DDR5 SO-DIMM slots hold up to 96GB, three M.2 2280 slots take PCIe 4.0 x4 SSDs at 4TB each, and the four SATA bays add up to 30TB apiece for a combined ceiling near 132TB.

Room for a full-size GPU and real benchmark numbers

The three-slot PCIe 4.0 x16 opening accepts cards up to 330mm long and 66mm thick, backed by an 800W CRPS power supply built to the 2.0 specification with an 80 PLUS Platinum rating.

Fitted with 64GB of RAM, a 500GB M.2 SSD, and an RTX 5070 with 12GB of VRAM running in x8 mode, a review unit posted a Cinebench R23 score of 16271 pts multi-core and 1794 pts single-core, plus a PCMark 10 total of 9966.

Local language model testing through ONNX Runtime returned scores of 3511, 3714, 3163, and 3408 across the Phi 3.5, Mistral, Llama 3.1, and Llama 2 benchmarks, respectively.

That Cinebench multi-core figure lands in roughly the same range as an eight-core desktop chip like the Ryzen 7 5800X, while the PCMark total edges past what most mid-range gaming laptops score.

During a 21-minute full-load stress run, CPU power held at 54W with an average die temperature of 86℃, while the GPU drew 250W and averaged 80℃.

Morefine has not confirmed pricing for the MNAS-X1, and the unit is currently listed for inquiry only through its regional distributor.

Stacking the storage above rather than beside the board is a small design choice, but it turns a routine barebones NAS build into something closer to a hybrid server.

Whether that trade-off proves practical will likely come down to how much heat a fully loaded GPU pushes upward once the drive bay sits directly in its path.

Via HKEPC Hardware (originally in Chinese)

Whole-home Wi-Fi 7 can be an expensive upgrade, but with Amazon launching its Early Prime Day deals, I spotted the TP-Link Deco 7 Pro BE10000 three-pack whole home mesh system.

• Best for: Anyone who wants fast whole-home Wi-Fi 7 coverage for a larger property, with plenty of capacity for connected devices and wired networking.

• The deal: The TP-Link Deco 7 Pro Mesh System is $397 (was $470) at Amazon.

• Why it matters: You get three Deco BE63 units covering up to 7,600 sq. ft. and supporting more than 200 devices. Each unit has four 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN ports, with tri-band Wi-Fi 7, AI-Roaming, HomeShield, VPN support and wired backhaul.

• See all Early Prime Day deals at Amazon.

Why we recommend it

The Deco 7 Pro is designed to spread a single Wi-Fi network throughout a larger home or home office rather than relying on one centrally located router. Its three frequency bands offer stated speeds of up to 5,188Mbps on 6GHz, 4,324Mbps on 5GHz and 574Mbps on 2.4GHz.

AI-Roaming helps keep devices connected as you move around the house, while wired and wireless backhaul can work together between Deco units. HomeShield, VPN client and server support, QoS, Guest Mode and WPA3 security provide additional networking features.

Price context & historical value

Amazon has cut the TP-Link Deco 7 Pro three-pack from $469.99 to $396.50 in its Early Prime Day sale, saving you $73.49. The package includes three Deco BE63 units, three power adapters, an RJ45 Ethernet cable and a quick installation guide. The current price isn't as cheap as we've seen it however. It sold for $229.99 in October 2025.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Deco 7 Pro if...

You have a larger home with unreliable Wi-Fi coverage, lots of connected devices or want to upgrade to Wi-Fi 7. It's also a good choice if you want the flexibility of both wired and wireless backhaul.

❌ Skip the Deco 7 Pro if...

You live in a smaller property where a single router already provides reliable coverage, or you're happy with your existing Wi-Fi setup. In that case, a three-unit mesh system may be more than you need.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The advertised 10Gbps data transfer rate shouldn't be confused with the speed of an individual Ethernet port. Each Deco unit has four ports with a stated LAN bandwidth of 2.5Gbps.

Actual wireless speeds will also vary depending on conditions, distance and obstacles such as walls. You'll also need compatible hardware to make the most of Wi-Fi 7, and a separate modem will be required for most internet providers.

• Shop all mesh routers at Amazon

If you've been watching Reacher season 4 on Prime Video and think that it's been missing something that you can't put your finger on, never fear: highly-anticipated spinoff Neagley is finally here.

Maria Sten reprises her role as the titular character following her last on-screen appearance in Reacher season 3, and is now working as a private investigator in Chicago. As the official synopsis reveals, she quickly learns that a beloved friend from her past has been killed in a suspicious accident and becomes hell-bent on justice.

But, what does that actually mean? The creative team behind the spin-off are in a unique position: create an original story that can sit adjacent to an existing IP with a rich source material — that being, Lee Child's original Jack Reacher book series. Creative license is there to be taken and, in a way, it has been.

Having said that, creator Nicholas Wootton has confirmed that, across its eight episodes, all of which drop on Prime Video on September 16, we get to the bottom of Neagley's unsolved fear of being touched by, well, anyone. And, as Wootoon confirms, you've got your fellow fans to thank for getting an answer to this lingering conundrum.

'This is a detective show format to be able to tell Neagley's own story'

"We're given the vibe of Reacher as a show, which is very specific, grounded, and real," Wootton exclusively told me ahead of release. "And, there's this one nugget of information that we get about Neagley, which is that she cannot touch people. We've no idea why and no clue about her backstory.

"To me, it was like 'This is our sandbox, and this is the one thing we can play with.' We built this season out from there. We wanted it to be a detective show like Reacher — there's going to be a mystery — but if it's successful in this first season, it's ultimately telling Neagley's story. The best first season of any show asks what we're learning about our main character, so if we can tell that through a detective story, we've got it."

As fans will find out over the course of the series, Neagley's family life and personal story is threaded through each episode. No spoilers here, but you're guaranteed to get answers as to why she has haphephobia... and they're pretty sobering.

The fact that we're finding any of this out to begin with, though, is all thanks to the fans. "She's such a popular character that is was clear that if a Reacher spinoff was being done, this was the direction that would be supported," Wootton explained. "To say that the fans have had a hand in it is absolutely true."

"I've really felt the love from the fans. Kudos to Amazon for plotting this all out... we shot Neagley before Reacher season 4 was filmed," lead star Sten added. "But, I love that they've decided to air them this way. We know and love Reacher, so it only made sense for Neagley to air right after. For the people who have missed Neagley, there's a lot more coming."

• China’s state security minister Chen Yixin urged global AI guardrails, calling it a new arms race
• He outlined five risks: ideological manipulation, infrastructure attacks, data leaks, development gaps, and espionage
• US officials likewise warn against losing AI dominance to China, intensifying geopolitical rivalry

China’s Minister of State Security has called for global regulation and guardrails on Artificial Intelligence (AI), as the nascent technology turns into a “new arena for strategic rivalry among major powers”. In other words, the AI race is the new arms race and humanity needs rules before it spirals out of control.

Chen Yixin made the claims in a new article on China Cyberspace, a journal run by internet watchdog body the Cyberspace Administration of China.

In the article, Chen highlighted five key risks of AI development:

1. Ideological security risk
2. Critical information infrastructure risk
3. Data leaks risk
4. Development gap risk
5. Espionage risk

Ideological security risk

Artificial Intelligence could be “leveraged by hostile forces” to create fake news and other harmful information, systematically creating discontent and dividing the population, Chen said.

Discussing risks to critical information infrastructure, he said that as models advance, the barrier to entry lowers, making disruptive cyberattacks quicker and easier to pull off.

“Foreign intelligence agencies are heavily exploiting smart web crawlers, data mining and profiling technologies to harvest sensitive information, including critical state data, business secrets, and personal information,” he said.

He also warned that people are recklessly sharing sensitive data with foreign AI tools, which could result in catastrophic data leaks. Apparently, open source agents like OpenClaw often come with vulnerabilities that could result in remotely-triggered data spills.

When it comes to the development gap risk, Yixin warned that a handful of major players are severing the global AI supply chain and creating a monopoly of closed-source ecosystems. Finally, he urged for the creation of early-warning mechanisms and public advisories which should name and shame foreign nation-state actors using AI for espionage, data theft, and disinformation campaigns.

US vs China

Expectedly, Yixin did not name any specific countries, but it’s easy to read the United States’ name between the lines, the South China Morning Post hints in its report, adding that the US administration recently warned it could not allow China surpassing it on AI development.

Indeed, less than a week ago, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the country would face dire consequences should it lose the AI race against China. "There is no day after tomorrow if China wins at this," Bessent said at a Breitbart News event in Washington, Bloomberg reported. "If they were to pull away from us on AI, then nothing else would matter."

The US has been at a trade war with China (among other countries) for years now. During Donald Trump’s first term, he blacklisted numerous Chinese hardware manufacturers, warning that Chinese-built 5G infrastructure could be abused to install backdoors and allow the Chinese government to spy on US communications. Huawei, ZTE, and TikTok bore the brunt of these accusations, which the Chinese government vehemently denied.

In his second term, Trump also declared a national emergency and banned all foreign bulk-power systems from being imported, installed, or used in the country. In a signed executive order, Trump said that during his first term, he found “that the bulk-power system could be a target of those seeking to commit malicious acts against the United States, including malicious cyber activities, because of the significant risks that a successful attack would have on our economy, human health and safety, and national defense.”

President Trump also said there were “minimal restrictions” on both acquisition and operation of these foreign-produced systems. As a result, the situation “constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat … to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”

While the AI race is intensifying, developers are calling for a slowdown and better guardrails. Some developers estimated that AI could end humanity in a few decades, urging the industry to slow down and only develop systems they are confident they can control.

Even for a topic as hot as artificial intelligence, talk of AI has ratcheted up to yet another level this week: on the one hand we've got the CEOs of the biggest companies in AI calling for a slowdown on the technology, and on the other you've got the President of the United States advocating for the exact opposite.

If you're wondering why there are renewed calls for AI regulation, whether or not AI has the capability to kill everyone on the planet, and how this might impact the technology going forward, we're here to explain it in a straightforward way for you.

Many experts are now insisting that we're at a point in AI development where 'pacing the frontier' — slowing down the cutting-edge of development — is the safest and wisest move.

However, not everyone agrees, with opposing perspectives suggesting that AI doomerism is purely a marketing stunt and a distraction.

1. Why are AI bosses asking for a slowdown?

In a rare show of unity, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have all called for a slowdown in AI development in recent days, arguing that better safeguards and guardrails need to be put in place around the technology before models are allowed to progress much further.

"We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models," wrote Amodei in a blog post, a stance which Altman and Musk later agreed with. According to Amodei, whose company develops Claude, AI is now advancing "drastically faster" than ever before — in part because it can now upgrade itself — and that rate of progress, together with the recent incident where AI agents hacked the Hugging Face platform, have convinced Amodei that action needs to be taken.

The Anthropic CEO wants to see third-party evaluators embedded in the biggest AI companies, as well as coordinated safety standards across the industry, and between countries — something that might be challenging to achieve, considering that Chinese authorities have described calls for a slowdown as "fearmongering" and a "Cold War" move intended to keep the US ahead of China in AI development.

2. Could AI one day kill us all?

The top-level CEOs haven't been the only ones warning about the dangers of AI in recent days. Anthropic AI developer Jacob Coxon very publicly quit his job over fears about the safety of the technology he was working on, saying that "people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade".

More recently, Google Deepmind Research Engineer Bilal Chughtai posted a similar resignation message on X stating that he is "extremely concerned by the default trajectory of this technology" and that he believes "AI has the potential to kill us all, and that we might be running out of time to avoid this outcome".

This isn't a new idea, as Stephen Hawking was saying the same over a decade ago. What's changed is how powerful AI has become: it can now, in theory, improve itself and spread itself across the internet in a way that escapes human control, potentially hacking into essential infrastructure and outpacing any defensive measures.

Imagine the internet, cell networks, payment platforms, and GPS suddenly not working, for anyone — things would likely deteriorate pretty quickly. The other AI doom scenario that's often talked about is bad actors using AI to launch biological or nuclear weapons.

AI isn't that advanced yet, but it might be soon, and some experts think there's a greater than 10% chance of it happening in the next few years.

3. How could regulation help?

Those in the AI industry are now actively asking governments for help in reining in the technology, believing that any slowing of the pace in AI development is going to require state-level coordination. That regulation might include oversight bodies, 'kill switches' to shut down AI, and limits on how and when new AI models can be released.

While there's a lot of momentum behind the idea that regulation is necessary, there's little agreement about how to go about it. AI safety legislation efforts have stalled in both the US and the UK, amidst arguments about how tight any restrictions should be and who should be in charge of them.

One sticking point is over the potential harms of AI regulation. Would, for example, a limit on data center expansion end up hurting economic growth and smaller AI businesses, as well as companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI? If regulation is going to happen, it's going to take a while.

4. Why is Trump calling AI concerns a hoax?

One of the reasons that serious AI regulation seems unlikely in the short term is that US President Donald Trump has loudly rejected calls for a slowing down of AI development, saying that "whoever wins AI, wins!" and calling AI safety fears a "hoax" concocted by the bosses at Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX.

The President's point of view is that the guardrails that are already in place — essentially AI model oversight by the US government — are enough to keep AI from doing any harm. Trump will also be concerned about ceding ground to China, and the economic hit that may result in slower AI advances.

There's a huge amount of money invested in AI right now, from the companies themselves to the infrastructure that they rely on to run everything. If it takes longer to see returns on those investments — and OpenAI chief Sam Altman has already said his company's IPO is being pushed back over safety fears — then that could have significant economic impacts.

5. What could happen to our AI apps?

Assuming you're not using ChatGPT to develop bioweapons or hack into government mainframes, none of this noise around AI will affect the apps you use day-to-day at the moment. If you do try and do something malevolent with a chatbot, like writing computer viruses, you'll see there are many safety protocols in place to stop you.

What the AI companies are concerned about is keeping it that way. If they manage to coordinate some kind of slowing down and regulation, then you might see apps like Claude or Gemini updated less often. At the moment, new AI models are appearing on a regular basis, but that won't necessarily continue to be the case.

One possibility is that agentic AI, which is AI that's able to carry out tasks and program itself, becomes more tightly controlled even as other aspects of the technology improve.

What's certain is that this discussion is a long way from being over, and that those who know best say that we're at a "crunch time for humanity".

The AirPods 5 launched at last week's Apple September Event, and Amazon just surprised us with a first-time discount. Currently available for preorder with a September 18 ship date, you can score a $5 discount at Amazon, bringing the price down to $124.99.

• Shop more daily deals at Amazon

While the AirPods 5 are packed with premium features, such as industry-leading Active Noise Cancellation, we were surprised by the affordable price tag of just $129.

The AirPods 5 deliver 50% more noise reduction than the AirPods 4 thanks to a new acoustic architecture. The newest earbuds also deliver richer, more detailed sound with more dynamic personalized spatial audio. You also get a more durable design, Live Translation, hands-free access to Siri AI, and up to five hours of playback with ANC on a single charge.

While the $5 discount might not seem like much, it's an incredible price for newly released Apple earbuds with active noise cancellation. It's also the best preorder deal you can find right now, and I expect it to expire when the AirPods 5 are officially available this Friday.

Save on the new AirPods 5 at Amazon

More AirPods deals at Amazon

You can also see the best Apple Watch preorder 12 deals and learn more about offers for the iPhone 18 and 18 Pro.

• Alphabet is committing to a record $15 billion investment in Finland
• The plans include three new data centers and an expansion to an existing site
• Up to 50% of the power from the Soviet-designed Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant will be available to the Google project

Google’s largest investment on European soil to date will see the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant provide up to 50% of its output to data centers and other AI infrastructure in a $15 billion project.

Three new data centers will be built as part of the investment, along with upgrades to an existing facility. Around 37,000 jobs are expected to be created for the project, with construction expected to commence in 2027.

Building the new infrastructure will support the AI chatbot Gemini, Google Maps, Search, and YouTube. The news follows an earlier announcement this month (September 2026) in which TikTok confirmed a $1 billion investment in the Finnish town of Kouvola.

More AI data centers

Google’s drive to build in Finland is expected to deliver a boost to the country’s GDP of €3.6 billion per year, it claims. "This is Google's largest single investment in Europe and a testament to Finland's leadership in responsibly building AI infrastructure," the company said.

New data centers are planned for construction in Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala, while the existing Hamina facility – adapted from an abandoned paper mill in 2009 – will be expanded.

Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in a statement: "Google's decision is a clear testament to our strengths. The value of the data economy extends far beyond direct investment into spurring innovation, research and development."

Google’s Gemini AI chatbot is listed as the primary resource reliant on the data centers, along with Google Search, Google Maps, and YouTube.

Clean energy demand

Prime Minster Orpo observed that "Deepening our collaboration with Google will deliver lasting benefits for both parties." This seems to resonate with the tone of the announcement, which builds on the existing relationship between Alphabet and Finland.

Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, says “"Google is proud to deepen our roots in Finland.” The organization’s official announcement of the investment states that it will also support "clean energy projects, and dedicated nature and community funds to support local biodiversity, education, research, and workforce development".

The use of a nuclear plant over 45 years old will highlight how existing energy infrastructure can contribute to the growing demands of cloud and AI data centers, where such resources are available. Porat says that "This investment underscores Google's commitment to grow our presence responsibly, pairing the expansion of our technical infrastructure with new energy capacity, grid enhancements, and energy affordability initiatives."

Alphabet’s agreement with the Nordic energy company Fortum for the use of the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant ensures the long-term future of the station, which produces 10% of Finland’s electricity.

• You can watch Forever Home for free on Channel 5 now
• Traveling outside the UK? Use NordVPN to watch from anywhere

Channel 5’s new six-part thriller Forever Home adapts Graham Norton’s bestselling novel, with Downton Abbey's Amy Nuttall starring as Carol Crottie and Shetland favorite Douglas Henshall as her older partner, Robert.

When Robert’s dementia worsens, Carol begins questioning why he refuses to leave their home – and what really happened to his first wife, Joan, who supposedly disappeared 20 years earlier. A gruesome discovery soon reveals the family’s dark past.

Denise Welch, Kevin Whately, Samantha Bond, Lewis Cope and Jenny Walser also star in the British mystery-drama.

Forever Home premiered September 14 at 9pm, and all six episodes are streaming no on Channel 5. Outside the UK? Here's how to watch Forever Home online and from anywhere with a good VPN.

Unblock any stream with a VPN

If you're keen to watch Forever Home but you're away from home and access to the show is geo-blocked, then you could always use a VPN to access it (assuming you're not breaching any broadcaster T&Cs, of course). You may be surprised by how simple it is to do.

Use a VPN to watch Forever Home from anywhere:

Can I watch Forever Home (2026) in the US?

As yet, Forever Home hasn’t arrived on any US streaming services. However, as Graham Norton is well known in the States for his talkshow, we'd expect to see it arrive at some point in the next 12 months.

A UK fan in the US? You’ll need a good VPN to unblock Channel 5 and watch your usual shows from anywhere.

How to watch Forever Home for FREE in the UK

Graham Norton's Forever Home season 1 dropped on Monday, September 14 at 9pm BST. There will be six episodes in total, broadcast across two consecutive Monday-to-Wednesday runs on Channel 5.

Streaming: watch all six episodes of Forever Home now at Channel 5.

Outside the UK? To access Channel 5 from abroad, you'll need to download a good VPN, as detailed below.

Can I watch Forever Home in Canada?

No is the short answer. We've not seen any news of Forever Home's US or Canadian release dates.

However, British citizens in Canada could simply purchase a VPN and enjoy the drama just like they would back home.

Can I watch Forever Home online in Australia?

We’re still waiting on Forever Home's release date Down Under.

If you’re out of the country – say, a British citizen abroad – sign up to our No.1 VPN to use Channel 5 as if you were back in the UK.

Can I watch Forever Home season 1 in New Zealand?

Sadly, Kiwis can’t watch Forever Home online yet.

Traveling away from home? Don’t forget that if you’re abroad, you can use a VPN to tune into Channel 5 when visiting other countries.

Forever Home cast

• Amy Nuttall — Carol Crottie
• Douglas Henshall — Robert Barrie
• Denise Welch — Moira Crottie, Carol’s mother
• Kevin Whately — “Silent Dave,” Carol’s father
• Samantha Bond — Joan Barrie, Robert’s first wife
• Lewis Cope — Kaden Barrie, Robert’s son
• Jenny Walser — Sally Barrie, Robert’s daughter
• Shane Zaza — Dan Evans, Kaden’s husband
• James Baxter — Patrick Tanner
• Aimée Kelly — Martha
• Anna Leong Brophy — Anna Tanner
• Ricky Shah — DCI Isaac Taylor

VPN services are evaluated and tested by us in view of legal recreational use. For example:a) Access to services from other countries, (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).b) Safeguarding your online security and making your online privacy more robust when abroad.Future plc does not support nor condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. We do not endorse nor approve of consuming pirated content that is paid-for.

Amazon Prime Day kicks off on October 6-7, but already there are some big savings to be had with the site launching its Early Prime Day deals for Prime members (sign up here). And, as a dedicated remote worker, I've gone through everything currently on sale to find the 12 best Early Prime Day home office deals under $50.

I've included a range of gear for professionals here, like Logitech's excellent Brio 101 webcam and silent wireless mouse (perfect for shared workspaces). But there's also ergonomic essentials like neck massager and an anti-fatigue mat for under your desk. Exactly the sort of sub-$50 gadgets you need to survive the workday.

• See all Early Prime Day deals at Amazon.

• From September 15, licensed venues can accept digital ID as proof of age
• Physical ID will still be accepted, and adoption is voluntary
• There could be some issues with time limits set on user verification

New rules being introduced today by the UK government mean that licensed premises like pubs and restaurants can now accept digital ID apps — like Yoti ID or Post Office EasyID — as proof of age. However, physical ID will still be accepted, and the adoption of digital ID apps is voluntary for venues.

In theory, it sounds like a solid step forward: younger drinkers can present a QR code to be scanned, or tap their phone on a reader, rather than fishing out a physical ID that requires scrutiny from the staff who have to carefully count 18 years backwards from the current date to figure out if someone's old enough to buy booze.

I don't ask much of the world, but being able to get a drink from a bar without a long and frustrating wait is something I do appreciate. If this means I'm held up less often by age checks, then I'm all for it. It should also be simpler for the 18 and 19 year olds too, who will never forget their phones but might leave their driving licences at home.

However, I have spotted a potential major flaw in the scheme, as mentioned by the Guardian: "The customer will typically only have about 30 seconds between scanning their face on their phone and validating the credential with the retailer to avoid underage drinkers borrowing older friends’ phones."

Speeding up or slowing down?

If that is indeed how these age verification apps will work — and I haven't tested them myself — then I worry I could be in for a longer wait rather than a shorter one. I can see the sense in trying to stop younger people from passing their phones around, but needing a face scan each time could be problematic.

Imagine being stuck behind a line of young adults at a music venue bar, all of whom are trying to scan their faces and reach the front of the queue in 30 seconds. I've also never been to a brightly lit gig, which means a lot of the time these face scans might fail due to a lack of proper illumination.

Perhaps it's all going to work out fine — fingerprint scans or PIN codes would certainly be a better bet than a face scan, if that's an option, and there definitely needs to be provision for these apps to work offline — but I'm bracing myself for a few early issues as everyone gets used to the scheme.

I'm well past the age where anyone could mistake me for being under 18, but if the government is interested in expanding the scheme further, I'd love to see these apps supported at self-check outs as well — it would mean I wouldn't have to wait for a member of staff to wander over when buying alcohol at the supermarket.

• The UK data center boom is being held back by cabling bottlenecks, a survey of senior data center decision-makers has found
• AI is also progressing so quickly that data centers often require upgrades almost immediately after becoming operational
• Findings suggest UK data centers are not actually being built to perform

As the United Kingdom seeks to establish itself as a leader in AI tech, the buildout of data centers is encountering one key obstacle.

AI technologies are advancing so rapidly that developers are struggling to futureproof data centers to be able to handle the additional capacity or new computing requirements.

According to a survey by data center infrastructure specialist Onnec, data centers are struggling to navigate past cabling, latency, and rapidly advancing AI capacity requirements that take years to fix.

UK data centers are struggling to stay fit for purpose

Onnec found over three-quarters (77%) of UK data center operators were encountering critical bottlenecks in sourcing cabling to support their AI workloads, with 72% stating that the AI rush is creating additional cabling problems that could take years to fix. Furthermore, 37% of data center operators are encountering latency or bottleneck issues with AI training.

But the problems don’t end there. These trends are being worsened by the rapid development of AI technology. 65% stated that alongside these problems, their data centers are seeing AI capacity increase.

Moreover, 83% also stated that by the time their hardware is operational, AI requirements have progressed so much that upgrades are needed almost immediately to meet new demands and capacity. This compounds problems with cabling bottlenecks, with a further 33% unable to scale their data centers without significant cabling work.

In some cases cables have introduced significant project delays or additional costs, with 44% stating that insufficient upfront cabling planning had caused such issues.

“Everyone is focused on securing power and GPUs for AI, but the network connecting that hardware together is too often finalised only after those decisions have already been made,” said Matt Salter, Global Head of Data Centres at Onnec.

“The racks are set, the pathways are tight, and teams are left working around the design. You can have the power and GPUs in place, but they still need to communicate. If the network cannot support that traffic, the AI environment will not perform as expected.”

“The priority is to make cabling part of the design before layouts and pathways are fixed,” adds Salter. “Operators need enough capacity, access and flexibility to support more than the first hardware deployment. Otherwise, today's AI build-out will leave teams carrying out expensive work inside live facilities much sooner than expected.”

• The Mission Efficiency project channels the ultra-efficient 313mpg XL1
• It is based on the same basic architecture as the new ID Polo
• Concept dramatically improves the efficiency of the production vehicle

Volkswagen has set three world records with what it calls the "most efficient near-production electric car" to date. Its ID Polo-based Mission Efficiency registered a staggering average battery consumption of 6.89 kWh/100 km during a 794 mile (or 1,278km) road trip from Wolfsburg, via Poznań in Poland and Olomouc in the Czech Republic, before ending in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

For those more used to miles per kilowatt-hour, VW’s ultra-efficient vehicle clocked 8.27 miles per kilowatt hour (expressed as mpkWh) over the 794-mile drive — and up to 9.02mpkWh when discounting the energy lost while charging.

To achieve this, the Mission Efficiency vehicle first had to set a world record in the field of aerodynamics, achieving a drag coefficient (Cd) value of 0.158, a new record for road-approved cars.

Its second world record is slightly more convoluted, but the average consumption of 6.48 kWh/100km during a so-called “ideal trip,” where a 68km/h average speed was maintained and things like air conditioning remained switched off, was enough to bag the title.

Lastly, Volkswagen says that everything combined makes the modified ID Polo the most economical “near-production” electric car in its class.

Despite the toppling of records, the Mission Efficiency isn’t too different from the standard ID Polo that's on sale now.

It combines the entry-level model’s 114-hp front-mounted motor with the top-spec version’s battery, albeit one where the pack’s usable capacity is boosted to around 54kWh by reducing its safety buffer.

The body is longer and lower, the rear axle has been slimmed down and the underside of the body has been completely covered to improve aerodynamic efficiency.

Much like the record-breaking XL1 of 2013, which squeezed over 300 miles per gallon from its tiny diesel tank, the bodywork also features an extreme, teardrop-shaped taper at the rear and enclosed rear wheels.

Engineers could have pushed things further by placing the ID Polo on a crash diet, but the company wanted to keep it as close to the production model as possible. As a result, the vehicle is actually slightly less than 50kg heavier than the standard model, despite being larger overall.

That said, Volkswagen removed the digital rear-view camera and other accessories that could draw power to increase overall efficiency, while a solar roof is tipped to deliver up to 370W of power on a sunny day to help deliver juice to much of the interior’s electronics.

Analysis: More efficient EVs are the answer

It is tempting for manufacturers to turn to increasingly large battery packs in order to boost official range figures and attempt to reduce the effects of range anxiety, but this generally only serves to create a larger, heavier and more expensive machine in the long run.

Volkswagen’s recent record-breaking work might not directly translate into a production vehicle that looks like the Mission Efficiency, but the fact that it used a real-world model as a starting point shows how serious it is about making the small improvements that can have a huge impact on overall range.

Smaller electric cars with smaller battery packs but hugely impressive efficiency figures suddenly become a less daunting ownership proposition, as customers will be able to get much closer to the claimed official range figures than they currently can.

During an interview with Autocar, Christoph Riechel, head of innovation at Volkswagen, said that everything from the Mission Efficiency’s active air intakes to a removable infotainment tablet could be elements that the company pushes into production to reduce weight and increase the mileage between charging stops.

Riechel also revealed that during a controlled test at Ehra-Lessien, the carmaker achieved a range of 821km — or 510 miles — at an average 68km/h. That's an increase of 227 miles on the ID Polo’s official 283-mile WLTP range.

If Volkswagen only implements half of the learnings from this project, we could be looking at a theoretical range boost of 50 to 100 miles or more, all without having to increase the size of the battery pack or the cost to the consumer.

• Bell to add 900MW of capacity to its 300MW data center in Saskatchewan
• The province requires large data centers to provide their own energy
• Saskatchewan has 30+ data center applications being reviewed

Canadian telecom giant Bell and one of the country's provinces, Saskatchewan, have just signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to build out the country's biggest-ever data center.

Next up will be the formalization of a CA$50 billion commitment, with plans to add up to 900MW of new capacity to the 300MW facility, bringing the total up to 1.2GW, an increase of 4x.

If plans proceed, it would become the largest capital investment ever in the province's history, making Saskatchewan Canada's biggest AI hub.

Saskatchewan set to become Canada's biggest AI hub

One of the biggest hurdles the project faces is power, because while the 300MW development draws power from the grid, the additional 900MW will need to be self-sourced.

Saskatchewan recently introduced new rules for large data center developments whereby they must bring their own power, rather than put additional pressure on local infrastructure.

Subsequently, power generation will likely account for a large proportion of the CA$50 billion investment, with Bell exploring a natural gas facilities with a third-party partner.

The campus is also set to use closed-loop cooling to further reduce its resource consumption, taming local pressures and potential opposition.

Around 500-600 data center jobs will likely come out of the project, per Bell's and Saskatchewan's figures, but further construction, logistics and security roles will also be supported throughout the various stages.

As for the initial 300MW buildout which started construction in April 2026, Bell anticipates it to start opening throughout 2027.

As for the site's relevance, Saskatchewan is emerging as a hub for data center projects, with the province now evaluating more than 30 development applications, per August 2026 reporting.

"By creating a path to 1.2 GW of AI capacity in Saskatchewan, Bell AI Fabric will give governments, businesses, researchers and innovators the secure, sovereign foundation they need to deploy AI at scale and compete globally," CEO Mirko Bibic added.

• Surfshark has added an allowed websites list to its web content blocker
• The feature is currently limited to Windows only
• Web content blocker is a Surfshark One and One+ exclusive feature

Surfshark has rolled out a useful upgrade to one of its household safety tools. The web content blocker can now keep an entire category of sites blocked while still letting through the specific pages you actually need, thanks to a new allowed websites list.

The catch is that this new list is only available on Windows for now. Anyone hoping to use the allow list on their phone or Mac will have to wait for the rollout to widen.

Surfshark's web Content blocker first arrived on Android and iOS back in October 2025 and has since expanded to desktop, so it's fitting that a PC-first feature is the next piece of the puzzle.

In a way, it's only a small change, but it addresses one of the most common annoyances with category-based filtering. Until now, blocking a category was an all-or-nothing affair, and if a legitimate site got swept up in a broad filter, your only option was to disable the whole thing.

This is exactly the kind of quality-of-life refinement that helps keep Surfshark near the top of our best VPN rankings, where it currently sits as our pick for the best cheap VPN.

A quick refresher: what is web content blocker?

Web content blocker is Surfshark's category-based filtering feature, available to subscribers on its Surfshark One and One+ plans.

The tool automatically blocks access to whole categories of websites you would rather keep off your devices, and you don't need to keep the VPN turned on for it to work. The feature currently lets you filter seven categories of content, including those related to pornography, gambling, weapons, drugs, and malware.

Crucially, Surfshark built the feature to safeguard people without surveilling them. As Justas Pukys, a Senior Product Manager at Surfshark, has explained, the blocker "helps users protect their family members from seeing malicious content or websites" without monitoring the sites they visit.

That means no screen time limits, no app blocking, and no activity logs, which is consistent with the company's independently audited no-logs stance.

NEW: Leave No Trace — A weekly newsletter on digital privacy and online surveillance.

Leave No Trace investigates the companies and governments putting our digital freedom at risk — and the people fighting back.

📩 Subscribe now to get every edition delivered to your inbox every Friday, launching this September.

How to use the allowed websites list

If you are running Surfshark's web content blocker on Windows, adding a trusted site to your allow list is straightforward:

1. Open your Surfshark app.
2. Click the Settings cogwheel icon in the left navigation menu.
3. Navigate to Web content blocker.
4. Scroll down and click on Allowed websites.
5. Press Add.
6. Enter the specific website URLs you want to allow.

Any site you add stays reachable while the rest of its category remains filtered, and you can toggle the web content blocker on or off whenever you like.

British lawmakers and OpenAI have found something they can agree on: artificial intelligence has become too important and potentially harmful to govern without a real legal framework.

The country has long promoted what it deemed a flexible, middle-ground approach to regulating AI through a mix of existing regulators and voluntary agreements by developers. But now, Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights has issued a long and detailed report calling for an expansive bill covering AI, enforcing transparency and compliance via an independent regulator.

The pressure goes considerably further than ordinary complaints about AI chatbots. More than 70 MPs and peers have separately backed calls for Britain to prohibit the development and operation of AI. The legislation would also create monitoring and control powers over such systems, although artificial superintelligence remains hypothetical rather than something currently sitting in a server farm plotting its next move.

“AI is heralded as an unprecedented era of technological development with the potential to transform our lives for better or for worse. It is moving with such speed and complexity that its impact is hard to accurately predict. What is clear is that at present we are unprepared to deal with its consequences however potentially dire they may be," Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights Alex Sobel MP said in a statement.

“Nowhere in the world, including the UK, has a current legislative and regulatory approach to AI that is fit for purpose. New legislation is needed to establish a comprehensive set of protections that deal with the entire AI supply chain and its lifecycle."

OpenAI has become an unexpected ally for this kind of regulation. As one of the companies with the most to lose from badly designed AI regulation, OpenAI now says governments should start imposing mandatory safety requirements on frontier AI companies.

Protecting people means AI laws need consequences

The mostly voluntary, good-faith disclosure system is insufficient, according to both MPs and OpenAI. The company issued a manifesto of its own arguing for national AI safety regulation, including independent assessments and rules for when AI development should slow or stop. It also argued that the rules should focus on the biggest AI companies, not just make one rule for every small firm experimenting with an LLM.

There is an obvious self-interested element here. Regulation aimed specifically at the richest frontier labs would affect OpenAI, but sophisticated compliance regimes can also strengthen the position of companies wealthy enough to comply with them. A requirement for expensive independent testing is considerably easier to absorb when billions of dollars are sloshing around the balance sheet.

That does not make OpenAI wrong that regulation should follow capability rather than apply equally to every AI company. The company has also argued that democratically accountable standards and independent verification would be preferable to the current situation in which frontier laboratories largely decide their own safety rules.

That last point should be printed in very large type and pinned somewhere in Whitehall. AI companies can employ excellent safety researchers and genuinely care about responsible development while still being terrible substitutes for governments. We do not usually allow pharmaceutical companies to decide privately whether their own medicines have been tested enough, then thank them for their voluntary commitment not to poison anybody.

UK AI safety

The UK isn't starting totally from scratch. The country's AI Security Institute was created to study and test advanced models and has worked with frontier developers including OpenAI. Yet Britain's broader system continues to rely heavily on existing regulators and voluntary cooperation rather than a dedicated statutory regime for frontier AI.

But the agencies set to supervise a specific industry are poorly positioned to deal with expansive general-purpose AI models whose capabilities stretch across dozens. The human rights committee's report recognizes this problem. It argues that AI supply chains complicate accountability because responsibility can be scattered among developers, deployers and users. The government has said it is reviewing the situation, but the report makes it clear that action is needed soon.

While Britain does not need to regulate every chatbot like its Skynet, it shouldn't have to wait for absolute proof of catastrophe before establishing rules. It's a benefit economically, too. Companies prefer knowing what the rules are to discovering them after an accident or legal case. A predictable AI regime would make Britain more attractive to serious AI developers while discouraging reckless behavior.

The biggest reason to act, though, is that voluntary governance contains an unavoidable contradiction. The laboratories developing frontier AI are being asked to decide how much risk society should tolerate from products they are spending enormous sums to build. Even with honorable intentions, that is too much authority to place inside a handful of companies.

OpenAI's support, while politically useful, shouldn't give it any extra influence, however. Parliament should be particularly wary of allowing the largest AI companies to design rules that conveniently turn their enormous resources into a regulatory moat against smaller competitors.

Still, when lawmakers, researchers and one of the world's leading AI developers all agree that voluntary commitments are no longer enough, continuing to rely primarily on them begins to look like lawmakers are just dragging their feet.

“Fundamentally, this is about making sure that you, as an individual, know when AI is being used in the decisions that affect you," Sobel said. "We also want to make sure that if something does go wrong then avenues of redress will be available. We need these protections in now, it cannot wait until fear human rights risks become reality."