Jul 22, 2026 · 3 min listen · Last updated July 22, 2026
From storyflo. This is your daily audio brief. Hey, it's Theo. July 22nd. Here are five stories I'd flag if you missed yesterday's end-of-day. Let's get into it. First, from OMG Ubuntu. 10 lets you check if your PC is officially certified.
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Ubuntu 26.10 lets you check if your PC is officially certified
So, I was digging into the new Ubuntu 26.10 release and I stumbled upon this really cool feature. They've added a way to check if your PC is officially certified from the Settings app. It's super simple, you just go to Settings, click on System, then About, and there's a new row that says "check if this computer is Ubuntu Certified". Clicking on that opens a new page that checks your hardware against Canonical's database. It also gives you the option to enable regular checks, which sends your hardware details to Canonical's servers to verify certification status. No personal data is shared, just the hardware details.
I've been thinking about the rules we follow in design, and how sometimes it's okay to break them. Like with curtains - we've been told for decades that they need to hit the floor for a stylish look, but I've been noticing a shift towards café curtains and shorter lengths. It's not just about aesthetics, it's also about functionality and creating a sense of pause in a room.
I've been looking to designers like Frances Merrill and Sophie Rowell, who are quietly breaking the floor-length rule and doing it beautifully. They're masters of creating warm, layered spaces, and they use shorter curtains to add interest and create a moment of pause.
In Charlie's room, I've decided to go with short curtains, and I think it's going to work well. They'll stop at the top of the furniture and continue the horizontal line I've created with the built-in shelving system. It's a practical and architectural choice that will add visual interest to the room.
I'm also excited to tackle my DIY fabric dyeing project, which will allow me to personalize the curtains and make them truly unique. I've been inspired by companies like Suay, which upcycles discarded textiles and creates new silhouettes and dye jobs.
It's all about finding ways to make our spaces truly our own, and not being afraid to break the rules and try new things.
The truth nobody wants to admit: Chinese or not, open models are competitive now
The latest Chinese model, Moonshot's Kimi K3, has sparked panic and raised concerns about America's AI dominance. But beneath the hype, Kimi K3's benchmark performance is more of the same – it trades blows with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google's best models. What's changed is the US government's attitude toward frontier models. The delay of GPT-5.6 and the pullback of Claude Fable 5 have created a narrative that open models are inherently dangerous. This is being used as ammunition to restrict access to Chinese models, but the real issue is the lack of competition from US labs. The US model houses would benefit from restrictions, but it would ultimately harm enterprises and consumers. The answer isn't less competition, but more – the US needs to step up its game in developing large open weights models.
AI server maker Supermicro’s stock gains on $60B order backlog and stronger margins
So I was digging into the latest Supermicro numbers, and it turns out they've got a massive $60 billion order backlog for their AI servers. That's a huge deal, especially since they're expecting their gross margins to blow past their previous forecast. I'm talking significantly exceed, not just meet. It's not just the size of the order that's got me curious, but also how it's going to impact their bottom line. They're talking about stronger margins, which means they're either cutting costs or really optimizing their production process. Either way, it's a win for them, and their stock is definitely reflecting that.
CachyOS rebuilds every package the 'wrong' way, and my Steam library runs faster for it
So I've been checking out this Linux distribution called CachyOS, and what's really interesting is how it goes against the usual way of doing things. Normally, Linux distros are compiled to work on older CPUs, they use the mainline kernel, and they rely on Valve's Proton for gaming. But CachyOS does the opposite - it's compiled for newer CPUs, it uses a custom kernel, and it doesn't use Proton.
I've been running it on a few devices, including my ROG Ally X and laptop, and it's actually been working really well. My Steam library, in particular, seems to be running faster than it did before. It's almost like the distro is optimized for my specific hardware, which is a nice change of pace.
What's also notable is that CachyOS didn't follow the Open Gaming Collective's guidelines, which is an industry effort to standardize how Linux gaming distros are built. It's like the developers of CachyOS decided to take a different approach and see what happens.
It's been a fascinating experiment so far, and I'm curious to see how it continues to evolve. The fact that it's breaking all these unwritten rules and still managing to perform well is a testament to the creativity of the developers.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent threatens sanctions against Chinese AI model makers
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said today that the White House is going to examine some of the highest profile “open-weight” models from China to see if their creators have stolen the intellectual property of America’s top artificial intelligence frontier labs. If evidence suggests that’s the case, the U.S. could respond with sanctions against the […]
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SkyPilot nabs $20M to ease AI infrastructure management
Infrastructure automation startup SkyPilot Inc. launched today with $20 million in seed funding. Lux Capital led the raise with participation from several other institutional backers. The funds were joined by Databricks Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ali Ghodsi, Google LLC chief scientist Jeff Dean and other prominent angel investors.
Samsung's next Galaxy Unpacked event is just around the corner, and the company is expected to take the wraps off a bunch of new devices. Based on the rumors and leaks we've seen so far, Samsung's next generation of foldables will likely be the stars of the show. Samsung is expected to show off a big redesign for the Galaxy Z Fold 8, though we can't rule out a few other surprises.
Here's what you need to know about watching Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked and what to expect.
When is Samsung Galaxy Unpacked?
This year's Galaxy Unpacked takes place on July 22nd at 9AM ET / 6AM PT.
Valve's price hike reportedly wipes out 82% of Steam Deck sales as it goes into "near-total collapse"
As the hardware crisis begins to bite, console manufacturers have had to increase their prices, and the Steam Deck was no exception. We saw the entry-level model increase from $549 to $789, causing concerns that potential buyers have been priced out.