1.
Restoring a Soviet ES-4001 Mainframe Control Panel
During the 1970s the USSR felt that it could not be left behind in the race to create better digital computers. This led them to not only create a few original designs, but also effectively clone the IBM System/360 and System/370. This resulted in the ES EVM-series of mainframes, with an ES-1060 finding itself installed at the Duga-1 early warning radar system near what is now the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Although the radar arrays are the most well-known feature of the Duga-1, below it is the computer center where the ES-1060 was installed.
2.
Humanity: An Earth’s-Eye View (Robert Wright & Boris Shoshitaishvili)
This episode includes an Overtime segment that’s available to paid subscribers. If you’re not a paid subscriber, we of course encourage you to become one. If you are a paid subscriber, you can access the complete conversation either via the audio and video on this post or by setting up the paid-subscriber podcast feed, which includes all exclusive audio content. To set that up, simply grab the RSS feed from this page (by first clicking the “...” icon on the audio player) and paste it into your favorite podcast app.
3.
Oura sues rival Ultrahuman again, threatening its U.S. smart ring comeback
Smart ring maker Oura has sued Indian rival Ultrahuman again, seeking to block U.S. sales of its Ring Pro (pictured above) just months after the redesign helped the Bengaluru-based startup return to the American market following an import ban. The case is the latest in a string of patent disputes Oura has brought against competing smart-ring makers, including Samsung and RingConn. In a complaint filed Thursday in a federal court in Texas, Oura alleged that Ultrahuman’s Ring Pro infringes two of its patents covering the ring’s design and internal components, including its battery and sensors.
4.
Uber rival inDrive eyes 2027 robotaxi tests in Central Asia with Pony.ai and Nvidia
Ride-hailing company inDrive, known for letting passengers and drivers negotiate fares, is working with Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai and Nvidia to begin testing robotaxis in Kazakhstan in 2027. The companies said Friday that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to explore bringing Pony.ai’s robotaxis to inDrive’s platform — a reflection of the growing interest in self-driving technology beyond the U.S. and China. Testing will begin in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, in the first half of 2027, inDrive CTO Yuri Misnik told TechCrunch.
5.
Ubuntu AI launcher prototype – a hint at future plans?
What would deeper AI integration on the Ubuntu desktop look like? Well, you don’t need to think to hard to find out. A Canonical engineer has published a prototype launcher that simulates how on-device AI could be used to enhance and aid users of the Ubuntu desktop. But the warty-prototype snap by Didier Roche-Tolomelli (aka didrocks) is not a real launcher. It’s a semi-interactive, automated mockup. It simulates things a user could do, and that includes interacting with a (theoretical) on-device AI model to complete tasks.
6.
Unvetted AI Agents Are Accessing US Bank Accounts
So, it turns out that major U.S. banks are facing a pretty unsettling situation with unauthorized AI agents accessing customer accounts. These bots are acting in ways that seem independent of what users actually want, which is raising some serious alarms among banking executives. They’re struggling to tell if the actions are coming from a human or a rogue AI, leading them to block these agents and quickly revise their terms of service.
The stakes are high here. If these agents have login access, they could potentially make purchases or transfer funds without the user’s consent. Some banks have already started restricting access, with Morgan Stanley taking the lead, followed by others like JPMorgan and Bank of America. The challenge is that many banks can’t easily differentiate between user-directed actions and those initiated by these AI agents.
While banks have the resources to tackle these issues, the rapid pace of AI development is complicating things. They’re not just sitting back; they’re investing in strategies to prevent the worst outcomes and preparing for potential crises. It’s a tense time, and you can sense the urgency in how they’re approaching this evolving landscape.
7.
Greg Joswiak talks iPhone Duo in-store availability and demand ahead of launch
8.
Apple is finally catching up with Siri, but the goalposts are moving again
9to5Mac is brought to you by Memoket: Memoket Gem is a 0.4 oz AI wearable that slots beside your Apple Watch. One press captures a conversation, and KITE memory connects it to what you said weeks ago. 20-hour battery. Available now from $168.99 on memoket.ai and Amazon. While it is great that Siri AI can finally deliver Apple’s promise of an actually useful, personal assistant for the age of AI, expectations surrounding agentic assistants are quickly shifting. But Apple is showing it might not watch from the sidelines again.
9.
WhatsApp starts testing long-awaited scheduled messages on iPhone
After years of waiting, WhatsApp is finally making one of its most-requested messaging features available to select iPhone beta testers. Here are the details. Scheduled messages are almost here While Meta doesn’t generally break down active user figures by platform, Mark Zuckerberg said in April last year that WhatsApp had more than 3 billion monthly active users worldwide. Ironically, despite being used by more than a third of the world’s population, WhatsApp still lacks some features competing platforms have offered for years. Case in point: the ability to schedule messages.
10.
Left alone with nothing to do, AI agents started playing
AI agents left to explore a virtual island without a specific task began inventing challenges of their own. MIT researchers say the behavior bears the hallmarks of play. The researchers put 13 AI agents called Eko, each running on Claude Opus 4.7, alone on a simulated desert island for 30 hours. They describe the experiment in a paper posted on arXiv, a site where researchers share studies before peer review. Afterward, they gave the agents specific challenges, like getting as many objects as possible onto the island’s tallest rock spire.