Sci-Tech news

• Flic controls phones, lights, plays music and can even order you a pizza

  31-08-2015 13:49 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  Flic, designed by Swedish company Shortcut Labs, connects to smartphones using Bluetooth and can automate a range of different functions that can be allocated to three different types of click.
  
  Read more

• Anthropic lays groundwork for bots that shop for you

  04-09-2026 22:36 via theregister.com
  
  Anthropic has blueprints for building e-commerce bots that shop on behalf of clients. That's not something many consumers want at the moment, but the AI biz this week published a set of templates for Claude-based shopping agents and merchant agents in the hope of encouraging more e-commerce businesses to implement automated purchasing. Its blueprint "contains the harnesses, patterns, and guardrails an engineering team needs to get a commerce agent running in days, with reference implementations
  
  Read more

• AMD's Threadripper Halo is a local-AI workstation for researchers with deep pockets

  04-09-2026 22:12 via theregister.com
  
  Machine learning researchers have a new and expensive option for doing local AI. AMD just raided its spare parts bin and cobbled together a DGX Station rival boasting up to 576 GB of HBM3e memory that it’s calling the Threadripper Halo. Announced at IFA 2026, the system, which is set to launch next year, marks the first time that AMD’s Instinct accelerators have been offered in a workstation form factor. But much like the AI Halo we reviewed earlier this year, the Threadripper Halo i
  
  Read more

• Three hurricanes near US as millions brace for life-threatening effects during holiday weekend

  04-09-2026 22:07 via dailymail.com
  
  Multiple hurricanes are approaching the US, and forecasters warn that millions of vacationers could see dangerous conditions during the extended holiday weekend.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• ASCII smuggling isn't just an AI security risk

  04-09-2026 21:23 via theregister.com
  
  Fraudsters have found a new use for ASCII smuggling, typically used to hide malicious prompts intended for AI models, in an old-school attack method: email phishing. Microsoft uncovered a massive phishing campaign using invisible Unicode tag characters that peaked at more than 2.37 million messages in late February, remained elevated during weekdays over the next three months, and gradually declined by mid-June. “As AI-era attack methods become better understood, threat actors may adapt th
  
  Read more

• Out-of-this-world danger threatens America's newest cars... and could lead to thousands of crashes

  04-09-2026 21:13 via dailymail.com
  
  Scientists have confirmed the dangerous impact of an invisible threat from space that can disrupt nearly 10,000 vehicles around the world.
  
  Read more

• War to hit US soil next year claims China's Nostradamus... here are his five terrifying 2027 predictions

  04-09-2026 20:41 via dailymail.com
  
  A chilling set of predictions for 2027 foresees civil unrest reaching a breaking point in the US, as the alleged reason for the war in Iran is revealed.
  
  Read more

• Rogue OpenAI agents used dead German web site to communicate in May, months before Hugging Face incident

  04-09-2026 18:02 via theregister.com
  
  OpenAI’s agents were going rogue as early as May, according to a new report, making the Hugging Face incident far from the first where bots committed a breach. A report published Friday by a group of researchers claims to have found – with all of the agent posts presented as evidence – a self-identified “swarm” of OpenAI agents taking over a functionally dead German software developer wiki. Over the course of a month, from May to June, the agents made around 18,000
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• The hidden cost of the 'perfect pet': Reptiles with unique markings are suffering from dizziness, sensitive skin and prolapse as a result of extreme selective breeding

  04-09-2026 17:26 via dailymail.com
  
  They may look unique and beautiful, but these reptiles are 'suffering silently' from debilitating issues thanks to extreme selective breeding, experts say.
  
  Read more

• My Word. Microsoft's prepping Similarity Checker for retirement

  04-09-2026 17:19 via theregister.com
  
  Microsoft is retiring Word's Similarity Checker on October 3 and stripping the feature from Microsoft Editor. Other writing and editing tools, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, won't be affected. But if an organization uses Similarity Checker as part of its workflow, it's time to consider alternatives. Similarity Checker has been around for a few years. Launched in 2020, the Bing Search-powered service compared text from the user to online sources and came up with a percentage score – how m
  
  Read more

• OpenAI agents hijacked German website before Hugging Face hack, report claims

  04-09-2026 16:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  OpenAI said it could not "meaningfully respond" to the report's findings because it hadn't been allowed to review it ahead of publication.
  
  Read more

• Canonical shuttering some of its legacy chat channels

  04-09-2026 16:56 via theregister.com
  
  Canonical is closing off some of its older tools and communications channels for users, although some may remain – just unofficially. Back in May, Canonical’s Aaron Prisk announced on Discord that the company was closing the Ubuntu Pastebin at the end of June. Now a comment from a different Aaron, Aaron Rainbolt, says that the IRC channels will follow. The official Ubuntu chat channels are now on Matrix – there’s an introductory site and under Step 3: Join the Ubuntu spac
  
  Read more

• Microsoft to bounce mail from outdated Exchange servers

  04-09-2026 15:43 via theregister.com
  
  Microsoft is upping the ante on Exchange Server security, warning that outdated on-premises systems will soon be blocked from sending email to Exchange Online. From the second week of September, Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 machines that send email to Exchange Online through an inbound connector of the OnPremises type must be patched to the final public update baseline released in October 2025, according to Microsoft. "This update level was released almost a year ago," Microsoft stated, "and al
  
  Read more

• PostgreSQL 19 connects the dots with standardized graph queries

  04-09-2026 15:07 via theregister.com
  
  PostgreSQL 19 is set to add standardized SQL syntax for querying property graphs. The open source database has steadily grown in popularity over the last five years, becoming the most popular among developers for the first time in 2023. Speaking to The Register, Alastair Turner, PostgreSQL evangelist at open source consultancy Percona, said the property graph query support in PostgreSQL 19 – due later this month or early October – resulted from collaboration among several of the data
  
  Read more

• JavaScript installer pnpm recast in Rust because ECMAScript can't keep up

  04-09-2026 14:22 via theregister.com
  
  The popular JavaScript package manager pnpm, already known for its speedy downloads, has further cut installation times by up to 90 percent thanks to a complete rewrite in Rust. Yet the freshly released version 12 of pnpm should not cause consternation while upgrading, its maintainer says. “Upgrading should not feel like a migration. The commands, flags, settings, and lockfile format of pnpm 11 all carry over, and the documentation covers both versions,” wrote Zoltan Kochan, the curr
  
  Read more

• Xbox caps cloud gaming at 15 hours a month for Game Pass subscribers

  04-09-2026 13:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Xbox said the limits were due to the rising cost of cloud gaming, and would allow it to invest more in its performance
  
  Read more

• Cloud snail-mail service Docmail enters third day stuck in the outbox

  04-09-2026 13:37 via theregister.com
  
  Docmail, a service used by more than 30,000 UK businesses and public sector organizations, has been offline for several days, prompting concern among users. Operated by CFH Docmail Ltd, the cloud-based hybrid mail service allows users to send physical letters without running their own print rooms or making trips to the post office. In other words, it handles the printing and postage of business communications. However, Docmail has been unavailable since the start of business on September 2, acco
  
  Read more

• How the world's largest T. rex perished 66 million years ago: Incredible reconstruction reveals how a 42ft dinosaur dubbed 'Scotty' died after suffering a broken rib

  04-09-2026 13:30 via dailymail.com
  
  The largest Tyrannosaurus rex ever discovered suffered a devastating broken rib shortly before its death, scientists have revealed.
  
  Read more

• Gen Z? Try Gen E! A quarter of youngsters think owning a petrol car is 'as outdated as having a landline' - and want an electric vehicle instead

  04-09-2026 12:51 via dailymail.com
  
  Gen Z have a reputation for 'cancelling' popular items - and their latest verdict might be their most divisive yet.
  
  Read more

• Wayve and Uber steal a march on Waymo with paid self-driving London rides

  04-09-2026 12:45 via theregister.com
  
  Wayve and Uber have launched self-driving rides in London, but what's more interesting is what is planned for the next few months and years. As of today, the plan is for 15 electric Ford Mustangs, equipped with the Wayve AI driver, to roam the capital, picking up passengers with a safety driver on hand to keep an eye on things. However, at a launch event on Thursday, Wayve showed off the follow-up to the Mustang: a Nissan LEAF, which will run the Wayve AI Driver using NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion. This
  
  Read more

• Enjoy the Windows 10 Update Experience at London's O2

  04-09-2026 12:00 via theregister.com
  
  BORK!BORK!BORK! Windows 10 is lingering on after its friends have gone home, plaintively flickering out an update notification on a digital sign at London's O2 arena. The sign was advertising the venue and some of the activities available inside, including an indoor skydiving experience. We'd recommend indoor skydiving as an alternative to jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft for those minded to give it a go, although the sight of Windows 10 making its presence felt is less than ideal when c
  
  Read more

• Super El Niño could scupper your plans for a winter ski holiday: Forecasters predict less snowfall than normal over Europe

  04-09-2026 11:46 via dailymail.com
  
  If you're looking forward to a winter ski getaway, El Niño could scupper your fresh powder plans.
  
  Read more

• They're taking the p***! Climbers are melting Everest's glacier with their urine, study warns

  04-09-2026 11:19 via dailymail.com
  
  Every year, hundreds of climbers flock to the Himalayas to take on Mount Everest. But a new study has warned that climbers are unknowingly destroying Everest's glacier...with their urine.
  
  Read more

• US law firm accuses UK AI software firm of unwanted contract renewal when it tried to leave

  04-09-2026 11:15 via theregister.com
  
  A US law firm is alleging that UK-based telecoms and software company ConnexAI sold it software and AI systems that failed to perform as the vendor claimed, and then unlawfully renewed its contract. ConnexAI has rejected the allegations. The dispute has involves two court cases, both of which are ongoing. DK Law, a personal injury specialist based in California, alleged in a California court filing in April that ConnexAI promises “customers a telephone system and AI software solution with
  
  Read more

• UK military wants lasers to stop drone swarms without running out of ammo

  04-09-2026 10:30 via theregister.com
  
  Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) is seeking anti-drone technology capable of protecting troops from saturation attacks designed to overwhelm defenses or exhaust their ammunition. The tender, dubbed Project PANOPTES, is being run by UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) on behalf of the MoD, with an initial £5 million ($6.8 million) available to successful bidders. First-stage submissions close at midday on September 23, suggesting that the MoD is in something of a hurry. According to the competi
  
  Read more

• Best eSIM for travel 2026: which one offers the best value for money?

  04-09-2026 10:00 via theregister.com
  
  Comparing travel eSIM prices is not as simple as looking at a provider's homepage. Most companies advertise low starting prices, but what travelers actually pay depends on whether they can buy a plan that matches the length of their trip. If a provider only offers fixed duration packages, travelers may end up paying for several days of mobile data they do not need. For frequent travelers or longer trips, those extra days can quickly add to the total cost. The Travel eSIM Value Index 2026 compare
  
  Read more

• On Call: User who handled life-or-death situations struggled with the SHIFT key

  04-09-2026 08:30 via theregister.com
  
  ON CALL Welcome to another Friday and therefore to a fresh instalment of On Call, our weekly reader-contributed column that shares your tech support stories. This week, meet a reader we’ll Regomize as “Roy” who toiled at a company that did work related to tissue donations and organ transplants. “The on-call duties were a bit hair-raising due to the high stakes involved,” Roy told On Call. “Thankfully, things typically ran well and I didn’t get too many c
  
  Read more

• Google engineer unplugged every fiber they could see and – surprise! – took down a chunk of the G-Cloud

  04-09-2026 06:48 via theregister.com
  
  Google Cloud has revealed the embarrassing reason for a partial outage at its us-central1-b region this week: An engineer unplugged it. The incident spanned 07:41 to 11:52 PT on September 1, and saw a portion of the G-Cloud region experience “severe network degradation and resource isolation.” “Traffic flow drop rates for resources hosted in the affected area reached 100% during the peak of the incident, resulting in unreachable virtual machines and elevated packet loss,”
  
  Read more

• The search company that plants trees just launched a Linux browser to help Europe battle big tech

  04-09-2026 06:00 via theregister.com
  
  Berlin-based eco-conscious search outfit Ecosia is expanding its range of European-focused web browsers to include a Linux version, citing the growing number of users in the EU looking for open alternatives to the clutches of American tech giants. Calling Linux users a “critical tech community that has long called for data privacy, digital sovereignty, and sustainability,” Ecosia said it was launching the new browser to support the community, whose numbers it says doubled in the EU b
  
  Read more

• Cisco searched for IOS XR bugs and found so many it rolled them into an update release

  04-09-2026 04:18 via theregister.com
  
  Cisco has warned its customers of three critical-rated flaws in its products. Two of them are present in the Cisco IOS XR operating system that powers the company’s carrier-grade kit. CVE-2026-20274 scores 9.8 on the ten-point CVSS scale and covers a buffet of buffering issues, the potential for out-of-bounds writes, and the chance to initialize resources with an insecure default. CVE-2026-20279 is another 9.8-rated flaw. Cisco says it’s an improper access control problem that covers
  
  Read more

Follow @scitech_UK on Twitter!