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I wore Meta’s smartglasses for a month – and it left me feeling like a creep
Content creators love the built-in camera; sceptics call them ‘pervert glasses’. Do we really need any more hi-tech wearables, even with a voice assistant that sounds like Judi Dench?Lately, I’ve been hearing Judi Dench’s voice in my head. She tells me tomorrow’s forecast, when to turn right, that there’s been another message in my group chat. Day or night, Dame Judi is eager to assist. When I ask the eight-time Academy Award nominee what I’m looking at, she answers: a residential area, a person in a pub, daffodils. “They are a bright yellow colour and are often associated with spring.”This isn’t a delusion. This is, apparently, progress. I am test-driving Meta’s smartglasses and Dench voices its integrated AI assistant: “Here to chat, answer questions, create images and provide advice and inspiration,” said “Judi” when I selected her over the actors John Cena and Kristen Bell. “Shall we begin?” Continue reading...
The best deals to shop during the last few hours of Amazon’s Big Spring Sale
Amazon loves to manufacture an event. March is historically a dry spell for deals; however, with Amazon’s third annual Big Spring Sale, which runs through 11:59PM PT tonight, the retail behemoth is hoping to lure in would-be shoppers with the promise of steep(ish) savings and discounts on more seasonal, spring-centric items to hold folks over […]
Amazon’s Big Spring Sale 2026: all of the latest deals
If you’re looking for the best time to get a deal this spring, it might very well be during Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, which runs through 11:59PM PT tonight. We’re still highlighting the best that the sale has to offer, including the many so-called “doorbuster” deals that will appear throughout the remainder of the seasonal […]
The AirPods Pro 3 are nearly matching their best-ever price for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale
Earlier this month, Apple announced the AirPods Max 2, a pair of over-ear headphones that leverage the company’s H2 chip for AI-powered live translation, conversation awareness, and a host of newer features. However, if you’re okay with a pair of earbuds, the AirPods Pro 3 offer access to all the same features for less — […]
Silicon Valley city to give residents doorbells equipped with cameras
Milpitas approves measure to distribute smart doorbells and says residents can upload footage to police databaseA Silicon Valley city will offer its residents free wireless doorbells equipped with cameras to help police collect video evidence.The city council of Milpitas, a suburb north of San Jose, California, recently approved $60,000 to provide these devices on a one-camera-per-household, first-come, first-served basis, as was first reported by Milpitas Beat and confirmed by the Guardian. Continue reading...
Amazon is offering up to 50 percent off chargers from Anker and others for its Big Spring Sale
Amazon’s Big Spring Sale may not have been as “big” as Black Friday or even Prime Day, but depending on what you’re after, the discounts are more appealing than you might think. Take charging accessories, for instance. Anker, Twelve South, Baseus, and others have sharply lowered the prices of some of our favorite add-ons, including […]
Claude Code leak exposes a Tamagotchi-style ‘pet’ and an always-on agent
After Anthropic released Claude Code's 2.1.88 update, users quickly discovered that it contained a package with a source map file containing its TypeScript codebase, with one person on X calling attention to the leak and posting a file containing the code. The leaked data reportedly contains more than 512,000 lines of code and provides a […]
You can now use ChatGPT with Apple’s CarPlay
ChatGPT is now accessible from your CarPlay dashboard if you have iOS 26.4 or newer and the latest version of the ChatGPT app, 9to5Mac reports. Apple's recently launched iOS 26.4 update added support for "voice-based conversational apps" in CarPlay, opening the door to let you use AI chatbots with voice features through Apple's in-car platform. […]
You can grab a four-pack of Govee’s color-changing smart bulbs for just $27
Spring cleaning isn’t just about clearing things out. It’s also a chance to refresh your living space, and a simple place to start is smart lighting — specifically, Govee’s Smart A19 LED Light Bulbs. The color-changing bulbs can instantly change the vibe of your home, and now through the end of today, March 31st, you […]
OpenAI, parent firm of ChatGPT, closes $122bn funding round amid AI boom
Company said it achieved valuation of $852bn, mentioning in a blogpost it generates $2bn a month in revenueOpenAI announced on Tuesday it had closed a fundraising round of $122bn and achieved a valuation of $852bn. The funding cements the ChatGPT maker as one of the most highly valued private companies in the world.The artificial intelligence firm received multibillion-dollar investments from companies including Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank, which committed $110bn, according to the Wall Street Journal. OpenAI also allowed a select group of individual investors to contribute about $3bn. The funding round ranks among the highest-ever in Silicon Valley. OpenAI said last month it was expecting to raise $110bn in funding, but upped that figure in its latest announcement. Continue reading...
Tech Life
Attribution science is becoming an increasingly important tool in climate lawsuits.
Samsung’s new app claims to alleviate motion sickness using sound
Samsung released a new free app today called Hearapy, now available for Android devices through the Google Play store, that it claims can reduce the symptoms of motion sickness using just sound. The app's functionality is very straightforward. It plays a low 100Hz sine wave tone through a pair of connected headphones for 60 seconds. […]
Anker’s power bank with built-in cables is one of my favorite gadgets, and it’s cheaper than usual
Anker’s Laptop Power Bank is one of the more useful gadgets I’ve bought in recent years. I know, it’s just a portable battery, but it’s packed with power and thoughtful features that are tough to find in other models. And right now, you can buy it for $95.99 ($24 off) — the best price of […]
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is beautiful but a little too busy
With The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo entered the next phase of its plan to become a different kind of entertainment giant. Though it wasn't the company's first go at putting its iconic plumbers on the big screen, the film demonstrated that Nintendo could collaborate with partners like Illumination to produce box office hits. The […]
Penguin to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT version of German children’s book
Publisher alleges AI research company’s chatbot violated its copyright over Coconut the Little Dragon seriesPenguin Random House has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging its chatbot ChatGPT violated copyright by mimicking and reproducing the content of a popular series of German children’s books.The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday with a Munich court against OpenAI’s Ireland-based European subsidiary, states Penguin Random House’s legal team had prompted ChatGPT to write a story in the vein of Penguin author and illustrator Ingo Siegner’s Coconut the Little Dragon series. Continue reading...
The jobs AI can’t do – and the young adults doing them
For many young people entering the workforce, the stigma of hands-on jobs is fading. There a competitive appeal – and they all require human expertiseGib and Michelle Mouser are proud of their son’s career – just not in the way they once imagined.Only 23 years old, Cale Mouser already earns well over six figures, and he’ll end up making substantially more. He is an acknowledged expert in a highly specialized field who spends hours in deep thought solving hard problems. He uses a computer, but he’s not stuck behind it. Continue reading...
Landmark losses for Meta and YouTube as big tech misses the point
Meta claims social media addiction isn’t real. Juries disagreeHello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, US tech editor for the Guardian. I’m hoping futilely for warm spring weather in New York City, but while it’s still cold, I’m sitting inside and reading The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr. Published in 2010 and a finalist for the Pulitzer prize, the book is a fascinating record of our anxieties about technology at a time when the iPhone was just three years old and Facebook was just six. Google Chrome had debuted two years prior, and I think I was using Mozilla Firefox as my main browser. Stay tuned for a fuller analysis once I finish, but my early impression is that Carr’s observations have stood the test of time.This week in tech, we’re discussing one major topic: two landmark cases against Meta and YouTube over social media addiction. Whether social media is clinically addictive or not, the liability for it has been determined.‘Accountability has arrived’: dual US court losses show shifting tide against Meta and coThe Guardian view on social media in the dock: tech bros move fast – society is trying to catch upHow Meta’s victim-blaming failed to sway jurors in landmark social media addiction trial | TechnologyI was paid to write fake Google reviews – then my ‘bosses’ tried to scam meKeep under-fives’ screen time to no more than an hour a day, UK advice saysWikipedia bans AI-generated content in its online encyclopediaFederal judge sides with Anthropic in first round of standoff with PentagonBernie Sanders and AOC introduce bill to pause building of new datacenters Continue reading...
Including online games in social media bans is unworkable, unnecessary and would harm young people
As calls for restrictions on under-16s’ online activities gather pace, some are urging curbs on online gaming. The idea is a mess from top to bottomLast week, Meta and YouTube were found liable for creating intentionally addictive products that affected the wellbeing of young social media users. The ruling has supercharged an already growing movement from governments and regulators to restrict or ban social media use for under-16s, as has been done in Australia, to protect children from potential harm.But there is another way that about 85% of kids and teens congregate online – and that is through video games. It has been suggested that curbs on online gaming should be considered alongside social media restrictions in future legislation. There is some precedent: in 2021, China restricted young people’s online gaming time to one hour a day on weekends and holidays. But I have a lot of questions about how such curbs would work, and whether they should be attempted. Continue reading...
Palantir’s UK boss criticises ‘ideological’ groups as ministers move to scrap NHS contract
Louis Mosley says government should resist calls to trigger break clause in £330m deal with US analytics companyUK politics live – latest updatesPalantir’s UK boss has urged the government not to give in to “ideologically motivated campaigners” as government ministers explore a way out of a £330m NHS contract with the tech company.Ministers have sought advice on triggering a break clause in Palantir’s deal to deliver the Federated Data Platform (FDP), amid questions over the company’s presence in the public sector. Continue reading...
MacBook Neo review: the budget Apple laptop powered by an iPhone chip
Snappy performance, high-quality screen, best-in-class keyboard and trackpad show cheaper can still be greatApple’s brand new entry-level laptop is powered by the chip from an iPhone and offers more than just the essential MacBook experience for a great price, putting the PC industry on notice.The MacBook Neo is the first of its kind from Apple. A 13in laptop that runs on an A18 Pro chip and brings the starting price for a brand new MacBook down to £599 (€699/$599/A$899) – £500 or the equivalent less than the MacBook Air. Continue reading...
Social media firms must better enforce Australia under-16 ban, watchdog says
Regulator eSafety says it has concerns about how Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube are complying with the ban.
CEO of Epic Games apologizes after laying off employee with terminal brain cancer
Tim Sweeney, chief of firm that created Fortnite, received backlash after worker’s wife revealed loss of life insuranceThe chief of the company that created Fortnite, a popular online game, has issued an apology following backlash after recent mass layoffs cost an employee with terminal brain cancer his job – and his life insurance.On Sunday, Tim Sweeney, the Epic Games chief executive, apologized after Jenni Griffin, the wife of Mike Prinke, a laid-off employee, revealed on social media that the loss of her husband’s job also meant he was losing his life insurance. Continue reading...
Kris Jenner's image spreads in Chinese social media good luck trend
Hundreds of thousands of posts have been shared in the past three days as users hope for prosperity