0:09
Your Pixel phone could get a big under-the-hood upgrade this year
So Google's working on a Linux kernel update for Pixel phones, which should bring some under-the-hood improvements. This kind of update usually doesn't add flashy new features, but it should make the system more stable, secure, and perform better. It's not something you'll probably notice right away, but it's one of those behind-the-scenes changes that can make a big difference in how your phone runs.
Google does these kernel updates every now and then, and they're usually pretty low-key. But they're important for keeping your phone's foundation solid and up to date. This update might not be the most exciting thing, but it's a good sign that Google's still investing in the underlying tech that makes your phone tick.
It's also worth noting that these kernel updates can sometimes pave the way for more significant changes down the line. So even if this update itself isn't a huge deal, it could be a stepping stone for more interesting developments in the future. For now, though, it's just a quiet improvement that should make your Pixel phone a bit more reliable and efficient.
1:06
Trying Out Viewer Suggestions for Levitation on an Induction Cooker
Doing something once is fun, but if you get interesting feedback from viewers on how to make things even more fun, you can only follow all of these instructions and put more random objects on top of an induction cooker, as [Brainiac75] fortunately did.
Much like in the first video, the goal here is to use the Lorentz force that is induced in the object for levitation, ideally without having said object depart for orbit, melt into a puddle of molten metal or be a general hazard to anyone standing in the same room.
Some of the suggestions were rather benign, such as improving the aluminium foil ring by adding four times more layers to create more mass. Unfortunately adding more layers here had the device refuse to turn on due to the absence of a suitable ferromagnetic target. The difference between the working versions with one to three layers was here also not really noticeable. Various aluminium and copper tape configurations were then attempted, but without much success.
Of note is that while levitating, the metal gets pretty hot. At one point a CD even gets melted to aluminium foil. Even the use of water-filled aluminium cans will only give you so much time, and ramping down the power level on the induction cooker only revealed that this particular model operates only at either at full blast or off. Correspondingly a new induction cooker with claimed constant output was obtained for the next experiments at lower levels.
Interestingly, it was this new induction cooker set to a more reasonable output level that showed the first reasonably static levitation results without immediate conflagration or molten metal splatter risk. Whether this is the kind of levitation display that you want to set up in your living room in lieu of a boring magnetic one is still a good question, but at least this demonstration got downgraded to something potentially safe enough to play around with in a physics class.
2:44
New humanoid robots from China look like creepy pop star action figures – complete with slightly dodgy lip-synch
One of China’s emerging humanoid robotics companies has launched its most-realistic looking models yet and says it has already taken over 13,000 orders for the $17,600/ £13,300 machines. Here’s a shot of the new machines. You’re looking at the UWORLD U1, which Chinese company UBTECH says enjoys 88 degrees of freedom thanks to use of “a proprietary dual-pivot biomimetic cervical spine, enabling it to replicate up to 90 percent of fundamental human movements.” The company says the machines are suitable for “long-term companionship” due to what it claims is “the world's first emotion-aware LLM … capable of recognizing more than 20 fine-grained emotional states with an accuracy rate exceeding 90 percent.” In its breathless announcement, UBTECH says the bots use a “biomimetic fast-and-slow brain architecture” that “draws on cognitive neuroscience principles, enabling a 500-millisecond intuitive response system alongside deep reasoning capabilities powered by models with hundreds of billions of parameters.” We’re told a “biomimetic expression actuation system … reduces speech-to-lip synchronization latency to within 20 milliseconds, creating a remarkably lifelike interaction experience.” UBTECH thinks its new bots can provide “daily companionship, emotional support, lifestyle enhancement, and social assistance, as well as reception and hospitality services, elder care, psychological support, tourism and exhibitions, research and education, and premium domestic service applications.” That companionship can even extend to hitting the dance floor. Another pic suggests the bots can also be all pouty and stone-faced, like catalk models. The Register wants to know if they can also run DOOM or play Crysis, but sadly UBTECH hasn’t said much about the Agent Memory OS that powers the bipedal machines. The company has, however, cooked up its own laws of robotics: users can set hardware safeguards and retain ownership of data which is processed locally whenever possible due to a policy of minimal cloud dependency. China’s government wants the nation to lead the humanoid robotics industry. State media has even taken to calling the Nanshan District of Shenzhen, a city already famed as China’s tech hub, “Robot Valley.” The Middle Kingdom is not alone in betting on humanoid bots: SpaceX supremo and occasional US government employee Elon Musk wants to build a million of them each year, and thinks a billion will work and walk alongside us meatbags by 2040. ®
4:50
US Home Battery Installations Hit Record High On Rising Electricity Costs
So it turns out that US homeowners are really taking to home batteries, with a record 673 megawatts of energy storage installed in the first quarter of 2026. What's driving this is the desire to offset rising electricity costs, which have gone up by over 7 percent in the past year. States with high electricity prices, like California and Hawaii, are seeing the most installations, thanks to incentives like better pricing for excess energy sold back to the grid or one-time payments for battery storage.
It's interesting that this is happening at the same time as a slowdown in solar panel installations, which is partly due to the loss of a federal tax credit. But even with that slowdown, solar power is still becoming a bigger part of the energy mix, and it's actually surpassed coal-fired generation in some months. The thing is, with home batteries, people can store energy when it's cheap and use it when it's expensive, which could be a big deal for managing energy costs.
California, in particular, is seeing a lot of battery installations, and it's not hard to see why - they're offering better deals for people who install batteries alongside solar panels. Texas and Arizona are also seeing a lot of growth, which suggests that this trend is spreading beyond just the states with the most aggressive renewable energy policies.
The upshot is that all these home batteries could add up to a more flexible energy supply, which could be a big help for power grid operators and even data centers. It's not just about individual homeowners saving money, but about creating a more resilient energy system overall.
6:13
What Meta, Oracle moves say about data center economics
Hyperscalers continue to invest astronomical amounts in data infrastructure for AI workloads, even as they concede that the massive projects may not pan out as planned.
Oracle, for instance, detailed in its latest 10-K report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) all of the ways that these investments could be adversely impacted, potentially making the projects more expensive and extending build-out times.
And Meta, as well as building infrastructure, is purportedly planning to create a new line of business that would generate revenue from excess compute power. An infusion of cash from that venture could return some of its massive investments in data centers and chips to bolster its efforts to develop “ super intelligence .”
These developments and others indicate that hyperscalers are beginning to optimize their investments for return on AI infrastructure, not just focusing on a data center land grab.
“Both companies recognize that there is huge potential in the buildout, but both have a legal obligation to share material risks that are significant when an industry is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on a capital outlay,” noted Jeremy Roberts , a senior director at Info-Tech Research Group.
He pointed to reports that the top four hyperscalers (Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta) are planning to invest up to $725 billion this year on AI infrastructure, including data centers, which is “mind-boggling.”
“The datacenter buildout we’re seeing now is unprecedented,” he said.
In its 10-K report, Oracle detailed its data center investment risks, as required by US federal law. In it, the company concedes that data center construction may cost more or take longer due to supply chain risks, local restrictions on development, or because of failure by third parties to complete on schedule, deliver required equipment and components as promised, fail to pay their bills, or opt not to renew contracts.
Oracle has recently invested heavily in AI and data center infrastructure, notably the $300 billion Stargate contract with OpenAI. As part of that deal, Oracle is building enormous data centers across the US. The company says it will continue to enter into long-term lease commitments with data center companies and chip and infrastructure suppliers.
However, it warns, “if we underestimate customer demand or our data center capacity needs, we may face shortages of available infrastructure, limiting our ability to support customer growth.”
New customers may not even consider Oracle offerings at all if the company can’t get what it needs for build-outs, the company says. This could leave it with expensive assets that may not be able to be re-leased, re-purposed, or assigned on “acceptable terms, if at all,” it said.
10:17
K2 Space sets up an engineering office in the Seattle area to support big plans for big satellites
California-based K2 Space has established a satellite engineering hub in the Seattle area, joining a thriving regional ecosystem of satellite ventures.
The Pacific Northwest operation will support the company’s drive to build large, high-power satellites for government and commercial customers. The satellites are manufactured at K2’s factory in Torrance, Calif. The company also maintains a policy and strategy office in Washington, D.C.
Since its founding in 2022, K2 Space has raised more than $500 million in capital and registered more than $1 billion in contracts. While many satellite companies focus on miniaturization, K2 Space is going big on satellite mass and power. K2 had its first “mega-class” satellite, dubbed Gravitas, launched into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in March. The two-ton, 20-kilowatt satellite carried a dozen undisclosed payload modules for multiple customers, including the Department of Defense.
That “go-big” approach is gaining traction: Last month, for example, the U.S. Space Force confirmed that K2 Space would be one of the suppliers for its next-generation military communications network. To serve the anticipated market, K2 Space says it plans to produce hundreds of satellites annually by 2030.
“As we carefully evaluated our expansion plans to align with our next phase of growth, the Seattle area was a natural fit, given its decisive reputation as an aerospace and engineering hub,” K2 Space CEO and co-founder Karan Kunjur said in a news release. “From flight software and autonomy to the low-level systems that drive our satellites’ most demanding workloads, our Seattle team will contribute to satellites operating at the edge of what’s possible.”
Neel Kunjur, K2 Space’s chief technology officer and co-founder, said the company currently has nearly 300 employees. K2 Space’s online job listings include 16 positions based in Seattle.
Seattle already has earned its place as America’s satellite city. More than half of the world’s active satellites were built in the region, primarily driven by SpaceX’s Starlink manufacturing facility in Redmond. Satellites for the rival Amazon Leo constellation (formerly known as Project Kuiper) are produced nearby at a factory in Kirkland.
The region’s other satellite manufacturers include Starcloud in Redmond, Xplore in Bellevue and Portal Space Systems in Bothell. South of Seattle, Tukwila serves as the home base for satellite production facilities operated by BlackSky (formerly LeoStella) and Starfish Space.
California-based Cowboy Space, a data center satellite company formerly known as Aetherflux, has an engineering office in the Seattle area. Another California company focusing on satellite-based computing, Sophia Space, has a Seattle presence as well.
Source:
12:37
What Meta, Oracle moves say about data center economics
Hyperscalers continue to invest astronomical amounts in data infrastructure for AI workloads, even as they concede that the massive projects may not pan out as planned.
Oracle, for instance, detailed in its latest 10-K report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) all of the ways that these investments could be adversely impacted, potentially making the projects more expensive and extending build-out times.
And Meta, as well as building infrastructure, is purportedly planning to create a new line of business that would generate revenue from excess compute power. An infusion of cash from that venture could return some of its massive investments in data centers and chips to bolster its efforts to develop “ super intelligence .”
These developments and others indicate that hyperscalers are beginning to optimize their investments for return on AI infrastructure, not just focusing on a data center land grab.
“Both companies recognize that there is huge potential in the buildout, but both have a legal obligation to share material risks that are significant when an industry is spending hundreds of billions of dollars on a capital outlay,” noted Jeremy Roberts , a senior director at Info-Tech Research Group.
He pointed to reports that the top four hyperscalers (Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta) are planning to invest up to $725 billion this year on AI infrastructure, including data centers, which is “mind-boggling.”
“The datacenter buildout we’re seeing now is unprecedented,” he said.
In its 10-K report, Oracle detailed its data center investment risks, as required by US federal law. In it, the company concedes that data center construction may cost more or take longer due to supply chain risks, local restrictions on development, or because of failure by third parties to complete on schedule, deliver required equipment and components as promised, fail to pay their bills, or opt not to renew contracts.
Oracle has recently invested heavily in AI and data center infrastructure, notably the $300 billion Stargate contract with OpenAI. As part of that deal, Oracle is building enormous data centers across the US. The company says it will continue to enter into long-term lease commitments with data center companies and chip and infrastructure suppliers.
However, it warns, “if we underestimate customer demand or our data center capacity needs, we may face shortages of available infrastructure, limiting our ability to support customer growth.”
New customers may not even consider Oracle offerings at all if the company can’t get what it needs for build-outs, the company says. This could leave it with expensive assets that may not be able to be re-leased, re-purposed, or assigned on “acceptable terms, if at all,” it said.
16:40
Palantir CEO Alex Karp doesn’t hold back in interview as he rails against AI industry
Alex Karp went off the script on CNBC, and the shift was almost palpable. When the host nudged him about Palantir’s partnership with Nvidia, Karp’s answer veered into a broader critique of the AI sector, and you could hear the frustration building.
He argued that the U.S. government’s approach to AI is too enamored with hype, treating the technology like a silver bullet. According to Karp, the rush to adopt generative models overlooks the real work of building trustworthy data pipelines, which is where Palantir believes its value lies. He warned that without solid foundations, the industry risks creating fragile, opaque systems.
Karp also took aim at the market’s obsession with headline‑grabbing models, suggesting that many of the “big AI” narratives ignore the messy, incremental engineering that actually powers enterprises. He hinted that Palantir’s focus on data integration and governance is a more sustainable path, even if it doesn’t make the front‑page buzz.
In the end, his message was clear: the AI conversation needs to move past flash and focus on the nuts‑and‑bolts that keep critical infrastructure reliable. That’s the angle Palantir wants the world to see, even if it feels a bit uncomfortable for the hype‑driven crowd.
17:47
TypeScript 7.0 reaches release candidate stage
Microsoft has announced a release candidate (RC) of TypeScript 7.0. A port of JavaScript -based TypeScript that is based on the Go language, TypeScript 7.0 is often about 10 times faster than TypeScript 6.0 , Microsoft said, thanks to native code speed and shared memory parallelism.
Developers can get the new compiler by installing it from the typescript package on npm:
Unlike TypeScript 6.0, TypeScript 7.0 performs many steps in parallel, including parsing, type checking, and emitting, Microsoft said. Some of these steps, such as parsing and emitting, can mostly be done independently across files. For that reason, parallelization automatically scales well with larger codebases with relatively little overhead. However, not every step in a TypeScript build is easily parallelizable, Microsoft said.
With TypeScript 7.0 RC now available, Microsoft plans to release TypeScript 7.0 within the next month. The company said it will focus on release coordination and logistics, reported regressions, and future API capabilities in TypeScript 7.1.
Because a stable programmatic API will not be available until TypeScript 7.1, Microsoft has made it a priority to ensure TypeScript 7.0 can be run side-by-side with TypeScript 6.0 without conflicts over which tsc is which. A compatibility package, @typescript/typescript6 , provides an executable named tsc6 , allowing TypeScript 7.0 to be installed side-by-side without tsc naming conflicts. The @typescript/typescript6 package also re-exports the TypeScript 6.0 API, so that tsc can be used for TypeScript 7.0 while other tools can continue to rely on TypeScript 6.0.
19:09
Linux App Release Roundup (June 2026)
Firefox 152 slipped in with a surprisingly tidy settings pane – the old maze of toggles got a clean, single‑page layout that makes tweaking privacy and performance feel less like a chore. The change isn’t just cosmetic; the new UI hooks straight into the about:config backend, so you still get the full depth when you need it, but the default view now guides you to the most useful knobs without the noise.
HandBrake finally stopped choking on WebM files on Linux. The developers rewrote the demuxing layer to lean on ffmpeg’s native support, and the result is a smooth encode path that respects the original audio sync. It’s a quiet fix, but it means you can throw a WebM into the queue and walk away confident the output will be solid.
Audacity’s 4.0 beta rolled out a fresh visual overhaul. The toolbar icons got a subtle redesign, the waveform view now scales more intuitively, and the preferences dialog mirrors the new look. It’s still a beta, but the UI feels a lot more cohesive, and the underlying audio engine stays the same, so all your plugins keep working.
Cine, the MPV‑based player we highlighted earlier, added a Watch History feature. It silently logs each file you open, letting you jump back to where you left off across sessions. Alongside that, a handful of minor patches slipped in across the suite – library updates, bug‑fixes, and a few dependency bumps that keep everything humming quietly under the summer heat.
