Author: News Room
Succession creator Jesse Armstrong has never been subtle with his commentary on the rich and powerful, but the new trailer for his HBO feature Mountainhead spells out exactly what makes its central characters people you shouldn’t be rooting for.Set in a remote cabin at the top of a mountain, Mountainhead revolves around a quartet of tech bros whose companies have turned them into obscenely wealthy people. Though Randall (Steve Carell), Hugo Van Yalk (Jason Schwartzman), Venis (Cory Michael Smith), and Jeff (Ramy Youssef) all have different net worths, they share the same type of worldview that comes with having billions…
Verizon expects to bring fiber to 1 million homes each year following the acquisition. The deal went through after Verizon “committed to ending DEI-related practices,” according to a statement by FCC Chair Brendan Carr.The Intercept reports that in a May 15th letter to Carr, Verizon’s chief legal officer, Vandana Venkatesh, outlined what it’s walking away from. Because “Verizon recognizes that some DEI policies and practices could be associated with discrimination,” it will no longer have any HR roles or teams focused on DEI, remove references to the term from employee training materials, as well as goals for diversity in its…
Microsoft has quietly launched an updated Spotlight-like launcher app for Windows that provides quick access to commands, apps, and development tools. The software maker originally launched its PowerToys Run launcher for Windows 10 nearly five years ago, and the updated version — Command Palette — now includes search for apps, folders, and files, calculations, system commands, and much more.Command Palette is available for any Windows user from the PowerToys app, but it looks like Microsoft is now targeting this particular utility at power users and developers. You use Command Palette to access Windows commands or launch command prompts and shell…
Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best deals to help you gear up for your summer adventures. In some instances, other retailers like Amazon are matching REI’s pricing, giving you additional ways to save. Also, keep in mind that REI members can save an additional 20 percent on one REI Outlet item or get 20 percent off on one qualifying full-price item when they use coupon ANNIV2025 at checkout. Read the full article here
It’s a great time to catch up on some big games you might’ve missed out on recently. Epic Games is holding a Mega Sale that includes big discounts on a ton of PC games, including Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced, which is on sale for $14.99 instead of $29.99, and The Last of Us Part 1, which costs $29.99 instead of $59.99. Read the full article here
Microsoft is going to allow Xbox owners to pin apps and games directly to the Home UI. The latest change to homescreen section of the Xbox dashboard will be available to Xbox Insiders this week, alongside options to hide system apps, choose the number of apps and games listed, and modify the size of the tiled UI.You’ll soon be able to pin up to three of your recently played games or apps to the homescreen. “These pins will stay near the front of the list as you launch other things, giving you quick access to your go-to titles,” explains Eden…
After The Washington Post earlier this month revealed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had instructed the State Department to help Starlink expand in order to fend off Chinese technological influence, an extensive ProPublica article published Thursday dove deeper into what those campaigns looked like at the ground level. According to cables sent between the State Department and US embassies in four developing countries in Africa – Gambia, Djibouti, Cameroon and Lesotho – diplomats have been arranging meetings with Starlink executives and foreign regulators and pushing them to fast-track licensing agreements for the satellite internet company, as a sign of…
If you thought Apple’s MacBook Air was the featherweight champ of the lightweight laptop world, Acer’s newest notebook might have you change your mind. Ahead of Computex 2025, Acer revealed the Swift Edge 14 which tips the scales at just 990g. We’re talking backpack-friendly, travel-ready, actually-use-on-your-lap-without-going-numb light. And yet, somehow, Acer managed to cram in a 14-inch 3K OLED display, Intel’s latest Core Ultra 9 chip, an AI-powered NPU, and enough ports to avoid dongle purgatory. It’s hard not to be impressed. This thing isn’t just light – it also packs proper power for actual work. Between the OLED panel…
A system prompt is a set of instructions served to a chatbot ahead of a user’s messages that developers use to direct its responses. xAI and Anthropic are two of the only major AI companies we checked that have made their system prompts public. In the past, people have used prompt injection attacks to expose system prompts, like instructions Microsoft gave the Bing AI bot (now Copilot) to keep its internal alias “Sydney” a secret, and avoid replying with content that violates copyrights.In the system prompts for ask Grok — a feature X users can use to tag Grok in…
OpenAI’s next “low-key research preview” has arrived.This time, it’s not ChatGPT, but a coding agent dubbed Codex that is being made available to ChatGPT Pro, Enterprise, and Team subscribers starting Friday. By drumming up comparisons to how ChatGPT was first described, CEO Sam Altman and other company leaders are positioning Codex as the company’s next major product. It doesn’t cost extra to use for now, though OpenAI plans to eventually charge for access once it gets a sense of demand.The goal for Codex is to make ChatGPT a “virtual coworker” for engineers, Josh Tobin, OpenAI’s research lead for agents, said…
Microsoft says it has found no evidence that the Israeli military has used its Azure and AI technology to harm Palestinian civilians or anyone else in Gaza. The software maker says it has “conducted an internal review and engaged an external firm,” to perform a review, after some Microsoft employees have repeatedly called on the company to cut its contracts with the Israeli government.Microsoft says that its relationship with the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) is “structured as a standard commercial relationship,” and that it has “found no evidence that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies, or any of our other…
Until now, desktop PC gamers pretty much got all the fun. But thanks to the latest silicon chips, the top gaming laptops are more powerful than ever. Such is the case with Acer’s new Predator Triton 14, unveiled ahead of Computex 2025. Acer’s latest machine offers top-tier gaming performance thanks to an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor and Nvidia RTX 5070 GPU. All the while, it manages to stay both slim and lightweight, for something that won’t be a chore to take on the go. This thing doesn’t just dabble in performance – it dives in headfirst. With a Calman…