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A legal feud between the co-founders of Lux Optics, the developer behind the Halide camera app, revealed that Apple was close to acquiring the company. As first reported by The Information, Apple held acquisition talks for Lux Optics, which also developed the Kino, Spectre and Orion apps, in the summer of 2025.
According to The Information, the deal eventually fell through in September of that year, but the potential acquisition could've provided Apple with the third-party software to improve its own built-in camera app. Apple is already rumored to be introducing variable aperture to its upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models, so it's not surprising that the iPhone maker was looking for software with advanced features to match its possibly upgraded camera hardware.
Despite Apple's interest, Lux Optics' co-founders, Ben Sandofsky and Sebastiaan de With concluded that future updates to Halide could increase the company's valuation and ended the acquisition talks. According to the lawsuit between the co-founders, Sandofsky started investigating de With for th
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Changing a few settings will help you get the best image possible from your Hisense TV.
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 Apple saw a 23% year-over-year increase in iPhone sales in China during the first nine weeks of 2026, significantly outperforming a broader market decline driven by weak demand and rising component costs, according to Counterpoint Research.
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Here are some highly rated films to try, plus a look at what's new in March.
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Need something new for your reading list? Here are two titles we think are worth checking out. This week, we've got Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary and The Thing on the Doorstep, an H.P Lovecraft adaptation for Image Comics.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-this-weekend-revisiting-project-hail-mary-and-the-thing-on-the-doorstep-190000250.html?src=rss
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While other tech companies have been laying off employees year after year, OpenAI is doing the opposite. According to a report from the Financial Times, the AI giant is looking to expand its workforce to 8,000 employees by the end of 2026, nearly doubling staff from its current headcount of 4,500.
The FT reported that the new hires will be across several departments, including product development, engineering, research and sales. OpenAI's hiring spree will also include "specialists" for "technical ambassadorship," or employees tasked with helping businesses better utilize its AI tools, according to the report. As the FT noted, OpenAI is likely trying to amp up the competition against Anthropic and its Claude AI chatbot. According to the AI Index from Ramp, a fintech startup that manages corporate expenses, businesses are now 70 percent more likely to go with Anthropic when buying AI services for the first time as opposed to OpenAI.
OpenAI made waves in February when it announced a contract with the Department of Defense to use its AI models, following a public fallout between Anthropic and the federal agency. On top of the government contract, OpenAI is also i
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SoftEther VPN Client VPN Gate Client Plugin is an Open Source alternative to OpenVPN and Microsoft's VPN servers. [License: Open Source | Requires:
11|10|Linux|macOS | Size: 66 MB ]
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I put three methods for making bacon to the test in my own kitchen. One prevailed and it's my new go-to method.
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We put more than two dozen air fryers of all shapes and sizes to the test. This unique model tops our list in 2026.
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We were promised a bar full of screens. It appears there were few to no screens.
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Dyson's first-ever wet and dry robot vacuum is out, and I got to get an early look at it at the Dyson Soho store.
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The Realme P4 Power introduces a 10,001mAh battery to a mass market product without any noticeable flaws.
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Commentary: With some phone-makers willing to push boundaries, the days of dull-looking devices may soon be behind us.
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These emoji still need to be approved but a pickle might replace the eggplant emoji in some contexts.
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If you want to remain motivated, these fitness devices may hold the key.
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 iOS 26.4 isn't the major update with new Siri features that we hoped for, but there are some useful quality of life improvements, and a little bit of fun with an AI playlist generator and new emoji characters.
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It's been more than 10 years since Amazon stopped selling the Fire Phone. A new report says the company is giving it a second try.
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At GTC, Jensen Huang was on damage control for AI.
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 While the MacBook Neo is not "fast-charge capable," according to Apple's tech specs, the laptop can still charge faster with certain Apple chargers.
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I saw the new $1,499 Nosh One up close. Here's my take on the latest AI-powered cooking robot.
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The White House has announced a new AI policy framework that calls for Congress to craft federal regulation that overrules state AI laws. The Trump administration has made multiple attempts to overrule more restrictive state-level AI regulation, but has failed so far, most notably in the passing of the "One Big Beautiful Bill."
The framework focuses on a variety of topics, covering everything from child privacy to the use of AI in the workforce. "Importantly, this framework can succeed only if it is applied uniformly across the United States," The White House writes. "A patchwork of conflicting state laws would undermine American innovation and our ability to lead in the global AI race."
In terms of child privacy protections, the framework calls for Congress to require tools like "screen time, content exposure and account controls" while also affirming that "existing child privacy protections apply to AI systems," including limits on how data is collected and used for AI training. The framework also calls for a carveout that allows states to enforce "their own generally applicable laws protecting children, such as prohibitions on child sexual abuse material, even where such material is generated by AI."
The energy-use and environmental impact of AI infrastructure is a going concern, but the White House's policy proposals are primarily worried about the cost of data centers. The framework suggests federal AI regulation should make sure that highe
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The next closest thing to no rules at all.
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 Just when you thought Apple was done with product announcements for a little while, this week saw one last drop with the AirPods Max 2 making their appearance.
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Co-Founder and Vice President Yih-Shyan Liaw could face up to 30 years in prison.
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The company described changes Windows Insiders will be seeing over the next few months, many of which are long overdue.
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The White House and Sen. Marsha Blackburn are proposing new laws around AI. Critics say the plan falls short of what's needed.
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After one too many of you threatened to switch to Linux, Microsoft has published a long list of changes it plans to make to Windows 11. In a lengthy blog titled "Our commitment to Windows quality," Pavan Davuluri, the executive vice president of Windows and Devices, said the company has spent a "great deal" of time in recent months reading feedback from users. "What came through was the voice of people who care deeply about Windows and want it to be better," he said. To that end, Windows Insiders can expect to see some of the changes Microsoft plans in response to all criticism begin rolling out starting this month.
Most notably, Microsoft ease up on the AI pedal. "You will see us be more intentional about how and where Copilot integrates across Windows, focusing on experiences that are genuinely useful and well-crafted," writes Davuluri. As a first step, Microsoft says it will remove "unnecessary Copilot entry points," starting with apps like the Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets and Notepad.
Elsewhere, users can look forward to additional taskbar customization, allowing them to position the interface element at the top or sides of the screen; less disruptive updates, with the option to shut down or restart your device without being forced to install a new patch; and a faster, less janky File Explorer. "Our first round of improvements will focus on a quicker launch experience, reduced flicker, smoother navigation and more reliable performance for everyday file tasks," said Davuluri.
Looking beyond the next two months, Microsoft notes it will work to improve performance across Windows, with "lowering the baseline memory footprint" of the operating system a key area of focus. Presumably, this plan of action is as much a response to the
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TWEAKS AND UPDATES Hong Kong Free Press: Yahoo Hong Kong to begin ‘phased wind-down' of news business in April. "Yahoo Hong Kong's pivot to original content in 2021 allowed the company to […]
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NEW RESOURCES Blue News: US archive makes millions of NSDAP files available online. "In contrast to Germany, the USA provides access to a complete digital copy of the microfilmed NSDAP Central Index […]
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Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for March 21, No. 748.
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The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has charged three people with illegally exporting NVIDIA GPUs to China in violation of the Export Control Reform Act. NVIDIA's chips have become a critical component in the rush to train and run increasingly complex artificial intelligence models, one the US has sought to manipulate with export controls and profit-sharing schemes with NVIDIA.
The three people, Yih-Shyan "Wally" Liaw, Ruei-Tsang "Steven" Chang and Ting-Wei "Willy" Sun, two employees and one contractor working for US IT company Super Micro Computer, allegedly circumvented export control laws via a multi-step scheme that involved creating fake orders for servers with NVIDIA chips from Southeast Asian companies, that were then secretly sent to China. The plan involved paying a logistics company to repackage the servers in Taiwan, staging dummy servers to be inspected by Super Micro Computer's compliance team and falsifying records so Liaw, Chang and Sun's employer was unaware where the servers were actually being sent.
The DOJ claims Liaw, Chang and Sun facilitated the illegal purchase of $2.5 billion worth of servers between 2024 and 2025 in direct violation of US export laws. Super Micro Computer is not named as a defendant in the US Attorney's indictment, but the company's stock price has been impacted by the scheme,
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The company plans to bundle ChatGPT, the Atlas browser and the Codex coding tool into one, according to a news report.
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Ryan Gosling's new movie just hit theaters but had a record-setting first evening at the box office.
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At a number of companies, employees compete on leaderboards to show how much A.I. they're using. They're racking up big bills along the way.
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There's almost nothing you can't make in the air fryer, but cooking directions and recipes aren't always a one-to-one match. Here's what you need to know before converting.
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 Both the MacBook Air and entry-level MacBook Pro now feature the M5 chip, so how do the latest models compare?
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The job requires someone to yell at AI chatbots for eight hours.
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 Apple's CEO Tim Cook today said the Mac just had its "best launch week ever for first-time Mac customers," which suggests that the new MacBook Neo has been a hit with customers buying their first laptops or switching from Windows.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) March 20, 2026 Related Roundup:
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Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 21.
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You can improve the image quality of any Sony TV by changing just a few settings.
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Google has detailed how users will be able to sideload apps from unverified developers once it implements its more restrictive policy towards downloading software on Android. The company originally planned to require all developers to be "verified" to distribute on Android, but softened its stance in November 2025 to allow carveouts for Android power-users and hobbyist developers.
For the average Android users, the ability to sideload apps will now be locked behind a multi-step one-time process. Users will first have to enable developer mode in settings, confirm they're not being coached into disabling security, restart their phone (to cut off any phone calls), then wait a day and confirm their identity with biometric authentication or a pin before installing any apps. Google says you can enable the ability to install apps from unverified developers for seven days or indefinitely, but regardless of what you'll choose, you'll still have to dismiss a warning telling you the app you're installing is from an unverified developer.
For hobbyist developers or students who want people to try their app but don't want to create a verified developer account, Google also plans to offer free "limited distributions accounts" that let you share apps without being verified. These accounts will let you share apps with up to 20 devices without having "to provide a government-issued ID or pay a registration fee."
Google is implementing its new verification process in the name of security, and has likened the r
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President Deals seems to be setting the global economy on fire.
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Polymarket's latest in-person publicity stunt opens Friday, and it sounds a lot like drinking in an airport.
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 When you think of glass, you probably picture something fragile and brittle, not a material built for high-stress electromechanical components. However, researchers at Germany's
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To make sure you're getting the best performance from your Samsung TV, make sure you change these settings right away.
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 This week, tech columnist David Pogue launched a new book called "Apple: The First 50 Years." On Amazon, you can get the new book for $39.30 in hardcover, down from $50.00, the best price we've seen so far on the book.
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TWEAKS AND UPDATES TechCrunch: YouTube expands AI deepfake detection to politicians, government officials, and journalists . "YouTube is expanding its likeness detection technology, which identifies AI-generated deepfakes, to a pilot group of […]
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 The iPhone 17e just joined the iPhone lineup. Apple continues to sell the iPhone 16 as an alternative low-cost option, and while the two devices share many core features, there are still more than 25 differences between them to be aware of.
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AI-generated images falsely claiming to show captured US soldiers in Iran spread online, underscoring how quickly war misinformation can outpace facts.
The post AI War Propaganda? Viral Images of Captured US Soldiers in Iran Exposed as Fake appeared first on eWEEK.
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 Buying an updated iPhone is like getting a new Ferrari -- you'll find a faster engine, a new coat of paint, and a few new bells and whistles, but beneath all that it's still basically the same car you could have bought last year.
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