Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

Quantum Radar Breakthrough: Rydberg Atoms Enable High-Precision Imaging

2025-08-12

NIST scientists have developed a novel quantum radar using Rydberg atoms. Lasers inflate cesium atoms to near-bacterial size, making them highly sensitive to radio waves. Incoming radio waves alter the emitted light color, enabling detection. Tests in a specially designed anechoic chamber showed the radar could locate objects with 4.7cm accuracy, demonstrating its potential for diverse applications and paving the way for commercial quantum radar.

(www.technologyreview.com)

Tech quantum radar rydberg atoms

Russian Cybercrime Groups Exploit WinRAR Zero-Day

2025-08-12

Two Russian cybercrime groups are actively exploiting a high-severity zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-8088) in the widely used WinRAR file compressor. Attacks involve phishing emails containing malicious archives that, when opened, backdoor the victim's computer. The vulnerability abuses Windows' alternate data streams to bypass restrictions and place malicious executables in %TEMP% and %LOCALAPPDATA% directories. Security firms ESET and Bi.ZONE have linked the exploits to RomCom and Paper Werewolf/GOFFEE respectively, demonstrating significant resources and technical capabilities. A patch for the vulnerability has been released by WinRAR.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech

Revolutionizing SOFCs: 300°C Operation Achieved, Promising Lower Costs

2025-08-12

Researchers at Kyushu University have developed a solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operating at a groundbreaking 300°C, significantly lower than the typical 700-800°C. This breakthrough involves a redesigned electrolyte, utilizing scandium-doped barium stannate and barium titanate to create a highly conductive 'ScO₆ highway' for protons. This low-temperature operation promises drastically reduced manufacturing costs, paving the way for consumer-level SOFC applications and potentially influencing other low-temperature energy technologies like electrolyzers and CO₂ conversion reactors.

(interestingengineering.com)

Tech Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Low-Temperature Operation

AI-Designed Biosensor Revolutionizes Cortisol Measurement

2025-08-12

Professor Andy Yeh of UC Santa Cruz has developed a novel, AI-designed luminescent biosensor for highly accurate cortisol level detection in blood or urine. This sensor, used in conjunction with a smartphone camera, enables convenient at-home or point-of-care testing with significantly improved sensitivity and dynamic range compared to traditional methods. This breakthrough paves the way for better diagnosis and treatment of cortisol-related disorders and offers a new tool for drug development.

(medicalxpress.com)

Tech Biosensor Cortisol

Boom Supersonic: Revolutionizing Aerospace Design with Software Engineering

2025-08-12

Boom Supersonic built the world's first independently developed supersonic jet, XB-1, with a team of just 50 people and a fraction of the traditional budget. They developed mkBoom, an in-house aircraft design software, embedding software engineers within hardware teams to automate design workflows and enable rapid iteration. mkBoom allows for comprehensive aircraft performance analysis and simulates flight tests of various design options. This approach optimized the design of the Overture supersonic airliner, significantly improving the passenger experience and enabling "boomless cruise."

(bscholl.substack.com)

Tech supersonic aircraft aerospace design

Reddit Blocks Wayback Machine Access Amidst AI Data Scraping Concerns

2025-08-12

Reddit has blocked the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine from indexing most of its content after discovering AI companies were scraping data in violation of its platform policies. Only the Reddit homepage will be indexable. This move aims to protect user privacy and prevent data misuse for AI model training. Reddit previously reached a paid data agreement with Google and sued Anthropic for unauthorized scraping. This highlights the ethical dilemmas surrounding AI data acquisition and the challenges platforms face in protecting their data.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech

Ford's $5B Gamble: A Model T Moment for EVs?

2025-08-12

Ford is investing nearly $5 billion in a new EV production system and platform designed to bring affordable electric vehicles to market. The first vehicle, a mid-size electric pickup launching in 2027 with a projected $30,000 price tag, will be assembled in Kentucky. A new battery park in Michigan will produce LFP batteries for the truck. Ford's 'assembly tree' system simplifies production, improves ergonomics, and aims for a faster assembly time. The truck, inspired by the Model T, targets Mustang EcoBoost-like acceleration and lower five-year ownership costs than a used Tesla Model Y. This move is a direct challenge to Chinese EV makers known for affordability and quality.

(www.freep.com)

Tech Affordable EVs

Nvidia, AMD to Share 15% of China Chip Sales Revenue with US Government

2025-08-12

Nvidia and AMD have agreed to share 15% of their revenue from chip sales to China with the U.S. government to secure export licenses. This follows a previous halt on advanced chip sales to China due to national security concerns. The deal is controversial, with critics questioning its legality and arguing it sets a dangerous precedent, potentially undermining US national security and competitiveness in the AI race.

(apnews.com)

Tech US-China tech rivalry

Yomiuri Shimbun Sues AI Startup Perplexity for Copyright Infringement

2025-08-12

Japan's largest newspaper, the Yomiuri Shimbun, has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against generative AI startup Perplexity. This marks the first major copyright challenge by a Japanese news publisher against an AI company. The suit alleges Perplexity accessed and reproduced over 100,000 Yomiuri articles without authorization, using them to answer user queries. Yomiuri is seeking nearly $15 million in damages and a cease-and-desist order. While Japanese law permits AI training on copyrighted material, it doesn't allow for unauthorized reproduction and distribution. The lawsuit highlights growing tensions between AI companies and news publishers over copyright in the age of AI.

(www.niemanlab.org)

Tech Yomiuri Shimbun

The Mystery of Thirst: How the Brain Senses Dehydration

2025-08-12

New research reveals the mechanism by which the brain senses thirst. Instead of directly detecting water deficiency, the brain monitors blood salt concentration through circumventricular organs near the hypothalamus, such as the OVLT and SFO. When salt concentration is too high or the water-salt ratio is imbalanced, these organs signal the brain, triggering thirst. Interestingly, the brain doesn't wait for water absorption to determine hydration; it uses sensors in the mouth and gut to quickly estimate water intake, shutting off the thirst signal promptly. This suggests thirst isn't simply a water deficiency signal, but rather the brain's 'educated guess' about the body's internal environment.

(www.quantamagazine.org)

Tech thirst mechanism brain sensing

Windows XP: The Epic Saga of Microsoft's OS Unification

2025-08-12

This article details the epic journey of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system, from its inception to its eventual triumph and gradual decline. From initial struggles to escape the clutches of MS-DOS, to the cancellation of the ambitious 'Neptune' project, Microsoft underwent significant technical and strategic shifts, culminating in 'Whistler' (later XP). XP not only unified consumer and professional versions but also introduced a groundbreaking user interface and numerous innovative features, such as System Restore and the Firewall, drastically improving user experience. While initial market reception was mixed, XP ultimately reigned supreme as one of history's most successful operating systems, dominating the global PC market for over a decade due to its stability and compatibility.

(www.abortretry.fail)

Tech

Website Anti-Scraping Mechanism: Anubis Explained

2025-08-12

A website implemented Anubis, an anti-scraping mechanism, to combat aggressive data scraping by AI companies. Anubis resembles Hashcash, increasing computational load to deter scrapers. This approach has minimal impact on individual users but significantly raises the cost for large-scale scraping. Anubis is a temporary solution; the ultimate goal is to better differentiate legitimate users from bots by identifying headless browsers, thus avoiding inconveniencing ordinary users. Note that Anubis requires modern JavaScript features, so please disable plugins like JShelter.

(wiki.freebsd.org)

Tech

StarDict Dictionary's Default Settings Leak User Text Selections

2025-08-12

StarDict, a popular cross-platform dictionary application, has been found to contain a serious security vulnerability. Under X11, its default configuration sends user-selected text via unencrypted HTTP to two remote servers. This vulnerability stems from its default-enabled "scan" feature, which monitors user text selections in real-time and automatically provides translations. While the maintainer suggests that disabling the scan functionality or the YouDao plugin resolves the issue, security experts argue that features with privacy risks should never be enabled by default. This is not the first time such a vulnerability has been reported; previous similar reports existed but fixes were incomplete, potentially exposing users to text leaks for years. Although the number of StarDict installations on Debian is low, the issue highlights the persistent existence and delayed resolution of security problems in open-source software maintenance.

(lwn.net)

Tech

US Cybersecurity in Flux: Political Headwinds and a Generational Gap

2025-08-11

The US cybersecurity landscape is facing a perfect storm. Trump-era policy shifts have led to personnel purges and unclear priorities, evident at this week's Black Hat and DEFCON conferences. A conversation between former NSA and Cyber Command chief Paul Nakasone and DEFCON founder Jeff Moss highlighted key challenges: the politicization of technology, a significant generational gap between government officials and the tech sector, and escalating conflicts with adversaries like China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The discussion also touched upon the rampant rise of ransomware and the uncertainty fueled by geopolitical conflicts, painting a picture of a complex and increasingly perilous cybersecurity future.

(www.wired.com)

Tech

Trellis: AI-Powered Healthcare Acceleration

2025-08-11

Trellis, a Stanford AI Lab spin-off, uses AI to automate document intake, prior authorizations, and appeals in healthcare, enabling providers to treat more patients faster. Working directly with healthcare providers, pharma companies, and labs, Trellis tackles challenges like reducing prior authorization denials and streamlining drug enrollment. They've helped clients reduce treatment time by over 90% and improve approval and reimbursement rates. Backed by leading investors including YC and General Catalyst, Trellis is at the forefront of AI in healthcare.

(www.ycombinator.com)

Tech Healthcare Automation

Ford Unveils Ambitious EV Plans: Affordable Pickup, Universal Platform, and Production System

2025-08-11

Ford introduced three significant concepts: a budget-friendly, crew-cab electric pickup truck arriving in 2027, a universal EV platform, and a revolutionary production system. The truck, while described as 'mid-sized,' aims for the interior space of a Toyota RAV4, boasting a 0-60 mph time comparable to an EcoBoost Mustang (4.5 seconds). Built on a 400-volt architecture with a LFP battery from Ford's BlueOval Battery Park, it will feature over-the-air updates. More importantly, Ford's universal platform and production system promise cost savings and efficiency gains through modular design, paving the way for affordable EVs.

(www.thedrive.com)

Tech

GitHub Joins Microsoft's CoreAI Team After CEO's Departure

2025-08-11

Following the resignation of CEO Thomas Dohmke, Microsoft is integrating GitHub into its newly formed CoreAI team. This means GitHub will no longer operate as a separate entity but will become fully integrated into Microsoft, becoming a key part of its AI platform strategy. This move signals a strategic shift in Microsoft's AI ambitions, aiming to leverage GitHub's resources and expertise to accelerate the development and deployment of its AI platform. Led by former Meta executive Jay Parikh, the CoreAI team envisions building an 'AI agent factory' to provide AI platforms and tools for Microsoft and its customers.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech

The Rise of Modern Mercantilism: Reshaping the Global Economic Order

2025-08-11

Bridgewater's co-CIO, Greg Jensen, argues in a new research paper that the global economy is shifting from free trade towards a new system of "modern mercantilism." Driven by the rise of China and policy shifts in the US and elsewhere, this system prioritizes state control over the economy, emphasizes trade balances, utilizes industrial policy, and protects national champion companies. This shift will reshape the global economic order, posing risks to countries reliant on trade surpluses and potentially leading to various forms of trade conflict.

(www.bridgewater.com)

Tech modern mercantilism trade conflict

Apple's iOS 26 to Feature GPT-5

2025-08-11

According to 9to5Mac, Apple will integrate OpenAI's latest GPT-5 model into iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26. GPT-5 boasts an 80% reduction in hallucinations and features a significant rework of OpenAI's model positioning; it automatically selects whether to use a reasoning-optimized model based on the prompt. Free users will accept the model choice, while paid ChatGPT users can manually select. The specifics of GPT-5's implementation in iOS remain unclear, particularly regarding paid users' ability to manually choose models. These OS updates are expected in September.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech

GitHub CEO Steps Down, Embracing the AI Revolution

2025-08-11

GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke announced his departure to return to the startup world. Over the past decade, he oversaw GitHub's remarkable growth, including its acquisition, the launch of Copilot, and its leadership in the AI developer tools space. He'll remain until the end of 2025 to ensure a smooth transition, expressing strong confidence in GitHub's future under Microsoft's CoreAI organization and highlighting Copilot's transformative impact on software development, empowering developers globally.

(github.blog)

Tech

Dating App TeaOnHer Leaks User Data, Including IDs and Selfies

2025-08-11

TeaOnHer, a dating app for men to share information about women they've dated, has suffered a major security breach, exposing user data including government IDs and selfies. Mirroring the controversial app Tea, TeaOnHer has critical vulnerabilities allowing anyone to access usernames, emails, driver's licenses, and selfies. TechCrunch uncovered the exposure of at least 53,000 users' private information, even impacting the app's creator, Xavier Lampkin, whose credentials and admin access were exposed. The app also contains disturbing content, including explicit images and defamatory comments. This highlights significant security risks and the importance of user caution when using such apps.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech

Teletext: The Surprisingly Persistent Archaic Tech

2025-08-11

Often dismissed as outdated, teletext surprisingly remains popular in many countries. This article explores its global history, from the UK's Ceefax and France's Antiope to the emergence of North American Presentation Level Protocol Syntax (NAPLPS) and unique Asian developments (Japan and Korea). It traces teletext's divergent paths in East and West during the Cold War, and its adaptation across languages and cultures. Despite competition from the internet and PCs, teletext persists in some nations; the article investigates this longevity and its unexpected uses, including adult content.

(text-mode.org)

Tech Teletext

Greystar, Largest US Landlord, Settles Antitrust Case Over Algorithmic Price-Fixing

2025-08-11

The US Department of Justice accused Greystar, the largest landlord in the US, of using RealPage's algorithm to collude with other landlords on rental pricing. The algorithm allegedly contained anti-competitive features that facilitated price coordination. Greystar shared sensitive data with competitors, violating antitrust laws. To settle the lawsuit, Greystar agreed to stop using the algorithm, refrain from sharing sensitive information, and potentially accept a court monitor. This case highlights the risks of algorithmic price-fixing and the importance of antitrust enforcement in the digital age.

(www.justice.gov)

Tech

Drone Delivery: Revolutionizing Logistics with Amazon Prime Air?

2025-08-11

This article reviews research on drone delivery, focusing on Amazon Prime Air, encompassing technological feasibility, cost-benefit analyses, regulatory frameworks, and environmental impact. Studies suggest drone delivery has the potential to improve efficiency and reduce costs, but challenges remain, including technological limitations, safety concerns, and regulatory hurdles. The article also explores related issues such as urban logistics planning, warehouse location optimization, and the broader societal and environmental implications of drone delivery.

(etrr.springeropen.com)

Tech

Wikimedia Foundation Partially Wins UK Online Safety Act Challenge

2025-08-11

The Wikimedia Foundation's legal challenge to the UK's Online Safety Act (OSA) Categorisation Regulations saw a partial victory. While the High Court dismissed the challenge, the judge emphasized Ofcom's and the UK government's responsibility to protect Wikipedia. The court recognized Wikipedia's significant value and the potential harm to volunteer contributors from miscategorization. This doesn't fully resolve the issue; Ofcom may need flexible interpretation of the rules or parliamentary amendment. The case highlights the importance of protecting online public interest projects like Wikipedia, a non-profit global knowledge resource.

(wikimediafoundation.org)

Tech Legal Challenge

OpenSSH Embraces Post-Quantum Cryptography: Future-Proofing SSH Security

2025-08-11

OpenSSH 10.0 now defaults to post-quantum key exchange algorithms (mlkem768x25519-sha256) to protect against future attacks from quantum computers. The article explains the potential risk quantum computing poses to existing cryptography, particularly the "store now, decrypt later" attack. OpenSSH mitigates this risk by using hybrid algorithms combining post-quantum and classical methods, ensuring security even if future cryptanalysis breaks the post-quantum component. OpenSSH 10.1 will warn users about non-post-quantum key exchange schemes, encouraging upgrades to stronger algorithms.

(www.openssh.com)

Tech

AI Copyright Wars: A Nightmare for News Orgs?

2025-08-11

The copyright lawsuits between Getty Images and Stability AI have sparked concerns within the news industry. The author discovered their colleague's photos were used without permission to train an AI model, highlighting the potential exploitation of news organizations' content by AI companies. While some news outlets have licensing deals with AI firms, these deals may undervalue the content, leaving news organizations vulnerable to being 'drained' by AI companies. The author calls for fair compensation for news organizations and copyright holders and urges AI companies to respect intellectual property.

(jskfellows.stanford.edu)

Tech Copyright Protection

Raised by Wolves: Ambitious Sci-Fi, Cold Emotion

2025-08-11

HBO Max's "Raised by Wolves" is a wildly ambitious sci-fi series tackling themes of faith and parenting on a biblical scale. Set in a war-torn future, android parents attempt to raise human children on a distant planet, with only one surviving after 12 years. Meanwhile, human parents bond with a child during a long space voyage, only to discover it taken by the android mother upon arrival. The series unfolds with complex plotlines, initially focused on world-building, with a somewhat cold emotional tone. However, later episodes reveal more compelling storytelling. While emotionally distant, its original premise and exploration of faith make it a worthwhile watch for sci-fi fans.

(www.rogerebert.com)

Tech androids faith

Massive Solar + Storage Project Powers Up in California, Boosting LA's Clean Energy Goals

2025-08-11

Arevon Energy's Eland Solar-plus-Storage Project in Mojave, California, is now fully operational. This massive project boasts 758 MWdc of solar capacity and 300 MW/1200 MWh of battery storage, comprising 1.36 million solar panels and 172 lithium iron phosphate batteries. Eland will power over 266,000 homes annually and provide 7% of Los Angeles's electricity needs, significantly advancing the city's goal of 100% clean energy by 2035. The project created roughly 1,000 jobs and is expected to contribute over $36 million in local government payments over its lifetime.

(electrek.co)

Tech

Lightsail Nanocraft to Probe Black Hole: A Century-Long Mission

2025-08-11

A groundbreaking proposal envisions launching a nanocraft, lighter than a paperclip, towards a nearby black hole using a powerful laser beam. This ambitious project, while currently technologically infeasible, aims to probe the fabric of spacetime and test the limits of physics. Scientists predict that within 20-30 years, advancements in technology and the discovery of a suitable nearby black hole could make this century-long mission possible, revolutionizing our understanding of general relativity and the universe's fundamental laws. Just as the detection of gravitational waves and the imaging of black hole shadows once seemed impossible, this audacious plan suggests that even the most far-fetched scientific goals may eventually be within reach.

(www.sciencedaily.com)

Tech nanocraft laser propulsion

Category: Tech