Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

Cook: AI Won't Kill the iPhone (Yet)

2025-08-02

Apple CEO Tim Cook downplayed concerns that AI advancements will dethrone the iPhone. During an earnings call, he highlighted the iPhone's versatility—from communication and entertainment to photography and financial management—arguing its multifaceted utility makes it difficult to replace. While acknowledging Apple is exploring other technologies, Cook suggested future devices would be complementary, not replacements. However, Apple's slower AI rollout has analysts divided on its competitive edge. Some believe Apple's focus on quality over speed, coupled with increased R&D investment in AI, could maintain its premium market dominance.

(www.businessinsider.com)

Tech

India's University Ranking System to Penalize Retracted Papers

2025-08-02

India's national university ranking system will for the first time penalize institutions for a significant number of retracted papers published by their researchers. This move aims to address the country's rising number of retractions due to misconduct. While some retractions correct honest mistakes, India's retraction rate, second only to China and the US, largely stems from misconduct or research integrity concerns. The new policy will penalize universities based on the number of retractions in Scopus and Web of Science databases over the past three years. While intended to deter misconduct, its effectiveness is debated. Some researchers worry that simply adjusting ranking mechanisms won't address underlying issues like incentives for high publication counts at the cost of quality.

(www.nature.com)

Tech research misconduct university ranking

Amazon Bets on Alexa+ Ads: A New Frontier in AI Conversation?

2025-08-02

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy revealed plans to incorporate ads into conversations with Alexa+, its AI-powered digital assistant, during the company's second-quarter earnings call. This move aims to boost product discovery and revenue. Alexa+ is Amazon's response to generative AI assistants from OpenAI, Google, and others, but its business model remains unclear. While Alexa+ has reached millions of users, its rollout has been slower than anticipated. Amazon's substantial AI R&D investment (90% capital expenditure increase in Q2), coupled with 22% ad revenue growth, necessitates exploring new revenue streams. However, challenges remain, including AI hallucinations and user privacy concerns.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech

Atlassian's Cold Goodbye: 150 Jobs Cut, AI in the Spotlight

2025-08-02

Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes delivered a cold, impersonal video message announcing the redundancy of 150 employees. The abrupt announcement, lacking empathy, contrasted sharply with Atlassian's professed culture of transparency. While the company claims the cuts aren't directly due to AI replacement, but rather a shift in customer service needs following a cloud migration, the timing coincides with the company's AI integration into its customer support systems. The layoffs, primarily affecting European staff, sparked criticism, particularly when compared to the more empathetic approach former co-CEO Scott Farquhar, who has championed AI adoption in Australia, might have taken. This event highlights the challenging realities of workforce restructuring in the age of AI, mirroring similar job cuts at Commonwealth Bank due to AI implementation.

(www.cyberdaily.au)

Tech

Airportr's Security Flaw Exposes Diplomatic Travel Data

2025-08-02

A UK-based luggage service, Airportr, suffered a major security breach exposing the personal data of thousands of users, including government officials and diplomats. Cybersecurity researchers at CyberX9 discovered simple vulnerabilities allowing access to user information such as travel plans, and even administrator privileges to control luggage. While Airportr swiftly patched the vulnerabilities, researchers warn that other hackers might have already accessed the data. The breach highlights significant security flaws and underscores the need for robust data protection measures across all industries.

(www.wired.com)

Tech

Aurora Expands Autonomous Trucking Ops, Surpasses 20,000 Driverless Miles

2025-08-02

Autonomous trucking technology company Aurora announced an expansion of its commercial operations, including growing its driverless fleet to three trucks and surpassing 20,000 driverless miles by the end of June. They also opened a new terminal in Phoenix and expanded to nighttime driverless operations on its Dallas-to-Houston route, significantly boosting efficiency and shortening delivery times. Aurora's L4 autonomous driving system, the Aurora Driver, leverages advanced lidar technology to detect obstacles earlier in the dark, improving safety. This expansion includes partnerships with two customers to pilot autonomous trucking routes from Dallas to Houston and Fort Worth to Phoenix, aiming to transform the trillion-dollar trucking industry.

(www.freightwaves.com)

Tech

Peak Energy Deploys First US Grid-Scale Sodium-Ion Battery

2025-08-02

New York-based Peak Energy has shipped its first sodium-ion battery energy storage system, marking a threefold achievement: the US's first grid-scale sodium-ion battery system; the world's largest sodium-ion phosphate pyrophosphate (NFPP) battery system; and the first megawatt-hour scale system using passive cooling. This innovative design eliminates fire risks associated with active cooling systems, resulting in lower operational costs and improved reliability. The company projects shipping hundreds of megawatt-hours of its system within the next two years and is building its first US cell factory, slated for 2026 production.

(electrek.co)

Tech

Google Updates goo.gl URL Shortener: Some Links Expiring August 25th

2025-08-02

Google previously announced the discontinuation of goo.gl URL shortening service on August 25, 2025, but has adjusted its approach. Inactive goo.gl links from late 2024 will be deactivated; accessing them will display a message indicating their impending expiration. All other actively used goo.gl links will remain functional. Google recommends users migrate affected links to alternative URL shortening services.

(blog.google)

Tech URL shortener

Unexpected Climate Benefits of Solar Power: Regional Variations and Spillover Effects

2025-08-02

Research from Rutgers, Harvard, and Stony Brook Universities reveals significant carbon emission reductions from increased solar power generation in the US. Using advanced computational modeling and five years of electricity data, the study shows that the climate benefits vary significantly across regions. While areas like California see substantial CO2 reductions from modest solar increases, others, such as New England, experience minimal impact. Importantly, the research highlights spillover effects, with increased solar capacity in one region leading to emissions reductions in neighboring areas. This provides policymakers and investors with a targeted roadmap for maximizing emissions reductions through strategic solar investments.

(www.rutgers.edu)

Tech carbon reduction

AI Salaries Eclipse Even Apollo-Era Earnings

2025-08-02

The salaries of today's AI researchers dwarf those of even the Apollo program's astronauts and engineers. While Neil Armstrong's annual salary, adjusted for inflation, pales in comparison to what top AI researchers earn in a few days, the disparity highlights the intense competition for a limited pool of highly specialized talent in the booming AI industry. This unprecedented compensation surge is driven by massive investment, the hype surrounding AI, and the concentration of wealth in the tech sector.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech salary comparison

Building a Wind Model from Cheap ADS-B Data

2025-08-02

Using a sub-$100 RTL-SDR dongle and antenna, the author received ADS-B messages from aircraft and built a simplified meteorological model. By analyzing the difference between aircraft heading, airspeed, and ground speed, the model infers wind speed and generates visualizations using data from numerous aircraft. While the accuracy is slightly lower than professional meteorological models, the model successfully simulated high-speed air currents over the Mediterranean, showcasing the innovative potential of using publicly available data.

(obrhubr.org)

Tech Meteorological Model

Meta's Onavo App: A Stealthy HTTPS Traffic Hijack

2025-08-01

A recent class-action lawsuit against Meta reveals evidence suggesting the company may have violated the Wiretap Act. Court documents and reverse engineering of the Onavo Protect app show Meta used a technique called "ssl bump" to intercept encrypted HTTPS traffic, decrypting traffic to specific domains like Snapchat, YouTube, and Amazon. This involved tricking users into installing a CA certificate issued by "Facebook Research." While ineffective on newer Android versions, this method effectively gathered user data from 2016 to 2019. The incident highlights the potential for large tech companies to violate user privacy and abuse mobile security mechanisms.

(haxrob.net)

Tech HTTPS interception

Belgian Court Orders Block of Internet Archive's Open Library

2025-08-01

A sweeping order from the Brussels Commercial Court in Belgium targets the Internet Archive's Open Library, along with other sites accused of copyright infringement. Publishers and authors initiated the request, alleging Open Library's unauthorized distribution of books. The order mandates ISPs to block access, while also compelling search engines like Google and Microsoft to remove results and payment platforms to suspend services. This action sparks controversy, as Open Library is a non-profit aiming to archive all published books and offer online borrowing. Critics argue the order's broad scope threatens access to public domain content.

(torrentfreak.com)

Tech open library

Solving Indoor Navigation: How Hyper Achieved 1-Meter Accurate Indoor GPS

2025-08-01

A developer's journey, from viral AR navigation demos to tackling the indoor navigation challenge for a world-leading retailer, culminated in the founding of Hyper. This article details the three core challenges of indoor navigation: indoor maps, indoor navigation, and indoor location. The author explains how they overcame limitations of Bluetooth beacons, WiFi, magnetometers, and computer vision, ultimately achieving a breakthrough 1-meter accurate indoor GPS by combining WiFi and SLAM technology, and cleverly addressing SLAM drift and orientation challenges. Their future ambition is to scale this technology to a billion users.

(andrewhart.me)

Tech indoor navigation GPS positioning SLAM technology

Reddit's Ambitious Search Engine Play: A Battle Against Google, Powered by AI

2025-08-01

Reddit, leveraging its vast user-generated data, is heavily investing in improving its search capabilities, aiming to become a go-to search engine. CEO Steve Huffman highlights the platform's weekly hundreds of millions of users seeking advice, and Reddit's efforts to convert this into active users of its native search. Core Reddit search boasts over 70 million weekly active users, while its AI-powered search tool, Reddit Answers, launched in December, has seen explosive growth, reaching 6 million weekly users from 1 million in Q1. Reddit plans to expand Reddit Answers globally, deeply integrating it into the core search experience. This move is seen as a strategic counter to Google's rising AI-powered search, which increasingly provides direct answers rather than link lists. Reddit benefits from users appending 'Reddit' to Google searches for human-generated content.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech

Brazil Fights Dengue Fever with Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

2025-08-01

Brazil is employing genetically modified mosquitoes to combat the widespread dengue fever epidemic. These mosquitoes carry Wolbachia bacteria, which prevents dengue virus replication, thereby reducing transmission. In Niterói, this method has reduced dengue cases by 90%. The Brazilian government is now aggressively expanding this technology, aiming to protect 140 million Brazilians from dengue over the next decade, demonstrating the immense potential of technological innovation in public health.

(www.npr.org)

Tech dengue fever genetically modified mosquitoes Wolbachia

Moon-Based Radio Telescope LuSEE-Night Nears Launch

2025-08-01

Brookhaven National Laboratory has completed the major equipment phase for LuSEE-Night, a moon-based radio telescope designed to detect the 'Dark Ages' signal from the early universe. Located on the far side of the moon to avoid terrestrial and solar radio interference, its core is a highly sensitive radio spectrometer capable of continuously monitoring the full radio band of the early universe. A collaboration between NASA and DOE, LuSEE-Night is slated for launch in 2026 and promises to usher in a new era of space science.

(www.bnl.gov)

Tech

Microsoft's Secret AI Salary Guide: $2M+ Packages for Top Talent

2025-08-01

Leaked Microsoft internal documents reveal the tech giant's compensation strategy for attracting top AI talent. Level 70 engineers, the highest level, can earn up to $408,000 annually, plus a $1.9 million signing bonus and substantial stock options. The documents detail a tiered system, with salaries and bonuses increasing significantly with seniority. This reflects the fierce competition among big tech companies for AI experts, showcasing Microsoft's willingness to pay top dollar for the best.

(www.businessinsider.com)

Tech Salaries

Trump's De Minimis Exemption Elimination: A Shockwave Through E-commerce

2025-08-01

The Trump administration is moving to permanently eliminate the de minimis exemption for imported goods, a move with significant implications for e-commerce giants like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart, and consumers. This elimination will likely lead to higher prices for Chinese-made goods and potentially goods from other countries sold on US platforms. While travelers can still bring back a small amount of duty-free items, many direct-to-consumer shipments will face tariffs ranging from $80 to $200 per item. This action, framed as addressing national emergencies impacting trade and public health, is expected to disrupt e-commerce and consumer purchasing power, with long-term consequences yet to be fully understood.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech trade policy

CISA Releases Open-Source Malware Analysis Platform: Thorium

2025-08-01

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released Thorium, an open-source platform for malware and forensic analysis. Developed in partnership with Sandia National Labs, Thorium automates many tasks in cyberattack investigations, boasting impressive scalability (over 1700 jobs/second, 10 million files/hour per group). It integrates commercial, open-source, and custom tools, supporting software analysis, digital forensics, and incident response. This release follows CISA's previous initiatives, including the Eviction Strategies Tool and Malware Next-Gen analysis system, all aimed at bolstering cybersecurity defenses.

(www.bleepingcomputer.com)

Tech open-source platform

Senate Introduces Bill to Block Foreign Pirate Sites: Block BEARD

2025-08-01

The US Senate has introduced the "Block BEARD" bill, aiming to combat foreign piracy websites. The bill allows rightsholders to petition courts for blocking orders against US service providers accessing designated "foreign digital piracy sites." Strict criteria are set for obtaining such orders, including demonstrable harm to the rightsholder, reasonable notification attempts to the site operator, and confirmation the operator isn't US-based. The bill, similar to the House's FADPA, notably omits specific mention of DNS resolvers. Support has emerged from the music and film industries, while service providers' responses remain awaited.

(torrentfreak.com)

Tech website blocking

Hackers Use Raspberry Pi to Infiltrate Bank ATM Network

2025-08-01

Security firm Group-IB revealed a network attack targeting bank ATMs. Attackers used physical access to install a Raspberry Pi device connected to the ATM network switch, gaining access via a 4G modem. To maintain persistence, they compromised a mail server and cleverly used the bank's monitoring server as an intermediary to communicate with the Raspberry Pi and mail server backdoor. The attackers disguised the backdoor process to mimic the legitimate LightDM process, evading detection. Group-IB researchers uncovered this unusual activity and prevented the attackers from deploying the CakeTap backdoor.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech

Low-Cost Visual Microphone Uses Light to 'Hear'

2025-08-01

Researchers at Beijing Institute of Technology have developed a low-cost visual microphone that uses light instead of sound to capture audio. Employing single-pixel imaging, the system detects subtle vibrations on surfaces caused by sound waves, converting them into audible signals. Unlike traditional microphones, this approach requires only light transmission, making it cheaper and applicable in scenarios where traditional mics fail, such as conversations through glass. Successful tests included reconstructing spoken numbers and a segment of Beethoven's Für Elise, highlighting potential applications in environmental monitoring, security, and industrial diagnostics.

(phys.org)

Tech visual microphone single-pixel imaging

The Collapse of the Antitrust Case: Investigating the Dallas Housing Market

2025-08-01

This article investigates claims that the Dallas housing market is monopolized by large homebuilders. By contacting economists and industry analysts quoted in a prominent article making this claim, the author reveals that the arguments are based on misinterpretations, distortions, and a lack of evidence. Research shows Dallas's homebuilder market concentration is far below the threshold for problematic levels, and per capita new home construction has steadily increased. The author challenges the simplistic linkage of market concentration to rising housing prices and argues that overly aggressive accusations against large builders could harm long-term housing construction.

(www.derekthompson.org)

Tech

Epic Projects: Solving Humanity's Long-Term Problems

2025-08-01

This article showcases remarkable human endeavors spanning decades and centuries, from proving Fermat's Last Theorem to the ongoing construction of Sagrada Familia and long-term experiments like the Framingham Heart Study. It explores how humanity tackles problems requiring sustained commitment over extended periods, highlighting projects driven by relentless effort and those leveraging accumulated technological advancements. The piece prompts reflection on which projects necessitate such lengthy timelines and which could be significantly accelerated. This falls under the Tech category, examining human perseverance and innovation in pursuing long-term goals.

(michaelnotebook.com)

Tech long-term projects human endeavors

SpaceX Dominates Earth's Orbit: Who Owns the Satellites?

2025-08-01

As of September 1st, 2021, 4,550 satellites orbit Earth. SpaceX leads the pack, owning a staggering 36% (1,655 satellites) thanks to its Starlink project, aiming for global high-speed internet access. The US holds the majority with over 2,804 satellites, more than half the total. Other significant owners include OneWeb, Planet Labs, and national defense ministries of China and Russia. Satellite uses range from communication (63% of the total) and Earth observation to technology development and navigation. The race to control Earth's orbit is intensifying.

(dewesoft.com)

Tech Satellites

SUMO: Build Your Virtual Traffic World

2025-07-31

SUMO is an open-source microscopic traffic simulation software that lets you build and simulate complex traffic systems. It supports features like automated driving integration, C2X communication, traffic management, and multimodal traffic simulation. Import road networks from various formats and generate realistic traffic demands. Whether researching traffic efficiency or testing autonomous driving algorithms, SUMO offers powerful simulation capabilities and runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

(eclipse.dev)

Tech traffic simulation

Cracking the Pistachio Genome: A More Nutritious, Climate-Resilient Future

2025-07-31

Researchers at UC Davis have sequenced the most comprehensive pistachio genome to date, paving the way for improved varieties. This detailed genetic map, akin to upgrading from a hand-drawn map to a Google Earth satellite image, allows breeders to develop more nutritious pistachios and helps farmers manage their crops more sustainably in the face of climate change. The study also outlines four key stages of nut development, aiding in optimized water management and reducing pest and disease issues. The improved understanding of gene pathways influencing nutritional value, like protein and unsaturated fatty acid accumulation, promises even healthier pistachios in the future.

(www.ucdavis.edu)

Tech pistachios

Quantum Gravity Sensor Enables GPS-Free Navigation

2025-07-31

Q-CTRL, an Australian company, has developed a novel quantum gravity sensor that measures gravity changes by detecting variations in the travel time of falling atoms. Tested aboard a Royal Australian Navy vessel, the sensor successfully enabled 144 hours of GPS-free navigation. This technology overcomes the cumulative error problem of traditional inertial navigation systems and is jam-resistant and spoof-proof, offering a robust alternative for GPS-reliant sectors like maritime and transportation, especially in polar regions or areas with GPS interference. While currently large, future miniaturization promises broader applications.

(spectrum.ieee.org)

Tech quantum sensor gravity measurement

Massive Network of 1200+ Fake Online Gambling Sites Exposed

2025-07-31

A massive network of over 1200 fake online gambling websites is using social media platforms like Discord to lure victims with deceptive ads. These sites claim partnerships with popular personalities, offering large free credits, but ultimately steal cryptocurrency deposits. The scammers use a shared API key and unique Bitcoin wallets, employing tactics like "verification deposits" to defraud users. A 17-year-old developer uncovered the network, revealing its scale and operation, similar to "pig butchering" scams but with lower investment, less risk, and higher efficiency.

(krebsonsecurity.com)

Tech online gambling

Category: Tech