Reading view

Take-Two “pause” Borderlands 4 development for Switch 2

Borderlands 4 may never arrive on Nintendo’s Switch 2 Borderlands 4 was originally due to launch on Switch 2 on October 3rd, with Gearbox confirming a last-minute delay one week before its planned launch. Now, four months later, Take-Two Interactive, the game’s publisher, has confirmed that they have chosen to “pause development” of the game’s […]

The post Take-Two “pause” Borderlands 4 development for Switch 2 appeared first on OC3D.

(PR) Texas Instruments to Acquire Silicon Labs

exas Instruments (Nasdaq: TXN), a global semiconductor company that designs, manufactures and sells analog and embedded processing chips, and Silicon Labs (Nasdaq: SLAB), a leader in secure, intelligent wireless technology, today announced they have signed a definitive agreement under which Texas Instruments will acquire Silicon Labs for $231.00 per share in an all-cash transaction, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $7.5 billion.

The acquisition will create a global leader in embedded wireless connectivity solutions by combining Silicon Labs' strong portfolio and expertise in mixed signal solutions with Texas Instruments' leading analog and embedded processing portfolio and internally owned technology and manufacturing capabilities. The combined company will accelerate growth by better serving existing and new customers through enhanced innovation and market access.

AMD Confirms Steam Machine in Early 2026, Xbox SoC Powered by RDNA 5 in 2027

AMD posted its record fourth quarter revenue of $10.3 billion in 2025, and during the earnings call, the company issued some guidance on the upcoming product portfolio. During the call, AMD confirmed that Valve's Steam Machine is on track and shipping early this year, while its custom SoC division that designs processors for PlayStation and Xbox consoles will deliver an RDNA 5-based SoC for the next-generation Xbox console. While the Steam Machine specifications are confirmed, Xbox "Magnus" SoC is still largely a collection of rumored specifications. The "Magnus" SoC is rumored to feature the largest APU ever designed for a consumer console, with a 408 mm² chiplet design. Of this, 144 mm² is dedicated to the SoC built on TSMC's N3P node, while the GPU occupies 264 mm². The AMD chip is expected to include up to 11 CPU cores—three Zen 6 and eight Zen 6c—alongside a substantial GPU setup with 68 RDNA 5 compute units, four shader engines, and at least 24 MB of L2 cache. Memory might expand to 48 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus. A dedicated NPU is rumored to offer significant on-device AI performance, with reports suggesting up to 110 TOPS.
Dr. Lisa SuFor 2026, we expect semi-custom SoC annual revenue to decline by a significant double-digit percentage as we enter the seventh year of what has been a very strong console cycle. From a product standpoint, Valve is on track to begin shipping its AMD-powered Steam Machine early this year, and development of Microsoft's next-gen Xbox featuring an AMD semi-custom SoC is progressing well to support a launch in 2027.

(PR) Western Digital Unveils New Hard Drive Solutions on its Innovation Day

At its Innovation Day 2026, Western Digital today unveiled a new customer-centric storage roadmap that reinvents the hard drive for AI needs, reinforcing its position as a strategic storage infrastructure partner for the AI-driven data economy. The announcements reflect how WD's fundamental business transformation has enabled a new generation of storage technologies spanning scalable capacity, breakthrough performance optimizations, power efficiency innovations and an intelligent platform API with cost-effective economics.

As AI generates massive amounts of data, it has spurred intense demand for data storage. To meet the moment, WD has focused deeply on customer needs, particularly capacity with proven reliability and economics, performance, power efficiency, and faster qualifications without customer business disruptions. During its Innovation Day, WD showcased technologies that address these essential customer requirements and will deliver them at scale.

Liv – Build healthier habits with a personal wellness companion


Liv is a comprehensive wellness platform that integrates mental health support, fitness tracking, and daily management tools specifically designed for ADHD executive function challenges. It currently connects with Google Calendar, Google Tasks, Fitbit API, and offers in-the-moment AI coaching support. The mission is to create accessible mental health and wellness tools informed by lived experiences with combined-type ADHD, bridging the gap between clinical understanding and daily reality for neurodivergent individuals.

View startup

The Master of Weapons: How to Farm Crucible Weapons in Nioh 3

A character in Nioh 3 confronts a large monster with text that reads 'The Master of Weapons' and 'How to Farm Crucible

Nioh 3 features a vast weapon selection, with many options within the different weapon types for Samurai and Ninja Style sporting a set passive skill, alongside randomly assigned skills that can be used to define your character build. Among these weapon choices are Crucible weapons. These remarkable weapons are difficult to come by while playing the game normally, but there's an easy way to farm them in the early game. Become the Master of Weapons: here's where you can farm Crucible Weapons, and why you should to unlock the full combat potential of Takechiyo. How to Farm Crucible Weapons Farming […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/the-master-of-weapons-how-to-farm-crucible-weapons-in-nioh-3/

Nioh 3: Complete Walkthrough and Guides Hub

A warrior stands beside a glowing spirit on a hill overlooking a landscape with the text 'Complete Walkthrough and Guides

Nioh 3 is the first new entry in the hardcore action role-playing game series by Team NINJA in over 6 years, and a lot has changed since the second entry. While the basic combat mechanics and loot system are rooted in the franchise's history, the third entry introduces many changes and additions that can leave even veterans a little confused. In this Complete Walkthrough and Guides Hub, you will find everything you need not only to successfully complete your journey through time but also to have tons of fun while doing so, starting from the Warring States period, which can be […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/nioh-3-complete-walktrough-and-guides-hub/

Apple’s M5 Pro, M5 Max To Offer Better Heat Dissipation And Low Resistance As A Result Of Switching From InFO Packaging To 2.5D, Which Also Reduces Defected Chips Rate

M5 Pro and M5 Max to feature improved attributes as a result of moving to a 2.5D packaging design

The updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, rumored to launch in March with Apple’s new M5 Pro and M5 Max chipsets, are expected to retain the same thermal solution as the previous models, and despite these SoCs being highly efficient, they do tend to get exceptionally hot. While the technology giant might not be too keen to introduce a revamped heatpipe layout or switch to a vapor chamber, a fresh rumor claims that TSMC’s 2.5D packaging will be utilized instead of the company’s InFO (Integrated Fan-Out) technology, helping improve heat dissipation and lower resistance. There are other advantages too, which we’ve […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/m5-pro-and-m5-max-to-move-to-2-5d-from-info-packaging-leading-to-improved-heat-dissipation/

Epic Games Store General Manager Admits Steam Won’t Be Toppled

Logos of 'Epic Games Store' and 'Steam' appear side by side on a black background.

Yesterday, Epic published the Epic Games Store year-in-review post, revealing new records for sales of third-party games (+57% over last year), total PC users (over 317 million), and monthly active users (MAUs; 78 million in December 2025, when the giveaway of Hogwarts Legacy added around six million users). That said, while playtime spent with third-party games increased by 4%, total engagement across all Epic Games Store titles dropped by 14%, signaling a decrease in first-party engagement of games like Fortnite and Rocket League. Website GamesIndustry.biz was able to interview Epic Games Store General Manager Steve Allison, who admitted that the […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/epic-games-store-gm-admits-steam-wont-be-toppled/

The First 90 Seconds: How Early Decisions Shape Incident Response Investigations

Many incident response failures do not come from a lack of tools, intelligence, or technical skills. They come from what happens immediately after detection, when pressure is high, and information is incomplete. I have seen IR teams recover from sophisticated intrusions with limited telemetry. I have also seen teams lose control of investigations they should have been able to handle. The

AMD confirms 2027 launch window for Microsoft’s “next-gen Xbox”

AMD confirms “next-gen Xbox” release window in Q4 earnings call During the company’s Q4 2025 earnings call, AMD’s CEO, Lisa Su, confirmed that “Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox” would feature AMD semi-custom silicon and launch in 2027. This means that the first “next-generation” console should launch next year, replacing Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. […]

The post AMD confirms 2027 launch window for Microsoft’s “next-gen Xbox” appeared first on OC3D.

Borderlands 4 Nintendo Switch 2 Version Has Been Canceled, Despite Gearbox CEO Previously Saying the Hardware Was a Perfect Fit

Borderlands 4 on the Nintendo Switch 2 has been canceled

The Nintendo Switch 2 version of Borderlands 4 has been officially canceled. The news was shared yesterday, when Take-Two Interactive deleted the game from its updated list of upcoming releases found in its latest quarterly report. Alan Lewis, a spokesperson for Take-Two, shared the following statement with Variety: We made the difficult decision to pause development on that SKU. Our focus continues to be delivering quality post-launch content for players on the ongoing improvements to optimize the game. We’re continuing to collaborate closely with our friends at Nintendo. We have ‘PGA Tour 2K25’ and ‘WWE 2K26’ coming out for Nintendo […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/borderlands-4-nintendo-switch-2-canceled-no-longer-perfect-fit/

AMD Prepares to Battle PC Market Uncertainty, But CEO Lisa Su Says the Focus Will Stay on “Enterprise” as the Client Segment’s Future Comes Into Question

Watch The AMD CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, Computex 2024 Opening Keynote Live Here! 1

AMD's CEO, Lisa Su, has given her outlook on the PC industry, and it appears Team Red isn't very confident about the client segment's growth this year. AMD's Lisa Su Hints Towards Focusing More On Enterprise Within the Client Segment, Through Edge AI Products The PC industry has been in turmoil over the past few quarters, primarily driven by ongoing memory shortages and by companies like NVIDIA, AMD, Dell, and others shifting their focus to enterprise/AI businesses. IDC projections indicate a decline in shipments, further raising pressure on AMD and how it will proceed in the client industry. AMD's CEO, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/amd-prepares-to-battle-pc-market-uncertainty-but-ceo-says-the-focus-will-stay-on-enterprise/

Microsoft Warns Python Infostealers Target macOS via Fake Ads and Installers

Microsoft has warned that information-stealing attacks are "rapidly expanding" beyond Windows to target Apple macOS environments by leveraging cross-platform languages like Python and abusing trusted platforms for distribution at scale. The tech giant's Defender Security Research Team said it observed macOS-targeted infostealer campaigns using social engineering techniques such as ClickFix since

(PR) Electronic Arts Reports Record Q3 FY26 Results Driven by Battlefield 6 Launch

Electronic Arts Inc. today announced preliminary financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2025.

Selected Operating Highlights and Metrics
  • Net bookings 1 for the quarter totaled $3.046 billion, up 38% year-over-year.
  • Battlefield 6 was the best-selling shooter title of 2025, setting new franchise engagement records.
  • EA SPORTS FC net bookings increased high single digits year-over-year in Q3, excluding the benefit of deluxe edition content timing, driven by strength in Ultimate Team and FC Mobile.
  • Apex Legends momentum continued in Q3 with net bookings up double-digits year-over-year driven by innovative new features and events.

(PR) EasySMX Unveils New X05Pro Controller

EasySMX, the leading manufacturer of gaming peripherals, reproduced X05Pro Controller, the next evolution of its highly popular X05 line. Designed through extensive feedback from over 10,000 real gamers worldwide, the X05Pro delivers a balance of quiet operation, precision control, and immersive feedback, making it the ideal choice for PC and console players seeking performance without compromise.

The X05Pro introduces Redesigned Quiet Buttons with restructured mechanics and noise-dampening silicone, significantly reducing click sounds while maintaining tactile responsiveness—perfect for shared spaces like dorms, living rooms, or late-night gaming sessions. Players will also experience enhanced realism with the Dual-Stage Trigger Vibration System, featuring a 2+2 motor structure that brings distinct feedback for acceleration, braking, or in-game combat, combined with 2-stage trigger locks: a longer travel distance for precise control in racing games, and a shorter travel distance for fast firing or immediate action in shooters. Meanwhile, the 8-Directional D-Pad with metal dome switches ensures accurate diagonal inputs, a must-have for fighting game fans and retro enthusiasts.

AMD Announces Kintex UltraScale+ Gen 2 FPGAs to Capture the Middle of the Market

AMD today unveiled the Kintex UltraScale+ Gen 2 FPGA family. The company's latest announcement is a strategic play for the middle-of-the-market in the FPGA segment that's dominated by the likes of Intel Agilex 5 series. Targeting sectors that demand longevity and reliability, such as medical imaging, industrial automation, and broadcast video production, the Gen 2 family is not just a lithography shrink, but it represents a significant architectural modernization of the existing 16 nm Kintex platform, infusing it with the high-speed connectivity and memory standards required for the data-heavy workloads of 2027 and beyond.

The original Kintex UltraScale+ series from the Xilinx era is popular in the industry, for a performance/Watt balance that made it the suitable for everything from ultrasound machines to 5G radio heads. However, as edge devices have become hungrier for bandwidth, the original platform's connectivity options began to show their age. The Gen 2 update addresses the I/O modernization need. The most striking upgrade is the memory subsystem, replacing DDR4 with newer LPDDR4X, DDR5 and LPDDR5X memory standards. LPDDR tends to be popular for compact, edge devices in the IIoT (industrial IoT) space. This should even pave the way for a new crop of 8K or 4K broadcast-tier cameras. Since these are produced in small batches, FPGAs are preferred over ASICs or elaborate SoCs.

Nimo – Collect anonymous questions from friends and answer in stories


Nimo lets you collect anonymous questions from friends and answer them in stories. Choose a topic for the day, share your link, and receive candid questions without revealing the asker's identity. You can respond in story format and post to social networks to keep the conversation going. Nimo focuses on safer, topic-based prompts, allowing you to control the discussion and make sharing more enjoyable.

View startup

Straktur – Build internal business apps with AI on Next.js


Straktur is a Next.js blueprint that enables you to build internal apps with AI while enforcing a clean, scalable architecture. It provides a structured environment—covering authentication, storage, UI components, and database layers—helping you avoid spaghetti code and ship faster. With integrations like BetterAuth, Shadcn/UI, Drizzle, and SQL databases, you have vendor-agnostic options for email and storage. Migrate from Airtable, Retool, or Excel, take ownership of your code, and easily describe features in plain English as your AI writes consistent, production-ready code.

View startup

Eclipse Foundation Mandates Pre-Publish Security Checks for Open VSX Extensions

The Eclipse Foundation, which maintains the Open VSX Registry, has announced plans to enforce security checks before Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS Code) extensions are published to the open-source repository to combat supply chain threats. The move marks a shift from a reactive to a proactive approach to ensure that malicious extensions don't end up getting published on the Open VSX Registry.

CISA Adds Actively Exploited SolarWinds Web Help Desk RCE to KEV Catalog

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Tuesday added a critical security flaw impacting SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD) to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, flagging it as actively exploited in attacks. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-40551 (CVSS score: 9.8), is a untrusted data deserialization vulnerability that could pave the way for remote

Intel Shows No Signs of Leaving the GPU Business, as CEO Lip-Bu Tan Reiterates Commitment, Saying Future Lineups Will Be Built Internally

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan at a tech conference with logos in the background.

Intel's GPU business has always been a mystery, not just on the consumer front, but also in the datacenter segment, but it appears Tan has a plan in mind. Intel's CEO Reveals Recent Efforts to Hire Qualcomm Executive Were a Part of the GPU Business Strategy Intel has been in a struggling position ever since Lip-Bu Tan took over, given that the company still hasn't defined a clear roadmap for where it is heading with AI. When you look at Team Blue's accelerator plans, the only thing we know about is the 'inference-focused' Crescent Island, since progress around Jaguar Shores […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/intel-shows-no-signs-of-leaving-the-gpu-business/

Zoye – Personal AI assistant that manages all your business tools


Zoye allows you to run all your business tools in one place, featuring a personal AI assistant that streamlines your workflow. Manage tasks, CRM, deals, documents, calendar, accounting, reports, automations, and teams—all handled by your AI assistant. This platform is designed to redefine how businesses operate with integrated productivity and management tools.

View startup

Illustro – Turn text into truly-editable illustrations


Illustro is an AI illustration generator tailored for websites, marketing, books, and more. Simply describe your idea, choose a style, and generate professional, consistent visuals in seconds. Easily edit your illustrations with AI by adding or removing elements, adjusting colors, and exporting in PNG, JPG, or SVG formats for use in Figma or Adobe Illustrator. You can use your illustrations commercially with full rights and iterate by regenerating them until they perfectly match your brand.

View startup

DocScribl – Capture and explain browser workflows automatically using AI


DocScribl is an AI-powered workflow scribe that captures browser-based processes, explains each step clearly, and produces visual timelines with screenshots. It allows you to export documentation to PDF and Markdown while providing contextual answers to questions about any process step. Emphasizing privacy, it features local-only capture and encryption, supports versioning and team sharing, and helps standardize processes to speed up onboarding and enhance knowledge transfer.

View startup

AMD’s Semi-Custom SoC That’ll Power the Next-Gen Xbox is “Progressing Well to Support a Launch in 2027,” Says AMD CEO

An Xbox logo is displayed prominently above a stylized cityscape with green and blue light beams in the background.

The next-gen Xbox console from Microsoft, which we know will be powered by a semi-custom SoC currently in development from AMD, is "progressing well to support a launch in 2027," said AMD's chief executive officer, Dr. Lisa Siu, during the company's 2025 fourth quarter earnings call. "For 2026, we expect semi-custom SoC annual revenue to decline by a significant double-digit percentage as we enter the seventh year of what has been a very strong console cycle," Dr. Siu said on the call. "From a product standpoint, Valve is on track to begin shipping its AMD-powered Steam Machine early this year. […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/amds-semi-custom-soc-thatll-power-the-next-gen-xbox-is-progressing-well-to-support-a-launch-in-2027-says-amd-ceo/

(PR) OneOdio Introduces solocaster All-in-One Voice Transformer and Sound Card

OneOdio, a global audio brand known for delivering accessible and high-performance sound solutions, today announced the launch of the OneOdio solocaster, an all-in-one voice transformer and sound card designed for streaming, recording, gaming and content creation. Engineered for gamers and emerging creators alike, the solocaster combines professional-grade audio performance with creative sound tools and visual customization in a compact, easy-to-use format.

Positioned as a versatile audio hub for live content, the solocaster enables creators to manage microphones, system audio, background music and external sources from a single device. Universal compatibility with five independent audio channels and multi-port connectivity (USB-C, 3.5 mm, XLR, Bluetooth and AUX). The solocaster operates as a true plug-and-play device with no drivers required, supporting virtually all major streaming and recording apps across Windows, Mac and mobile.

(PR) Levelplay Launches Combat Liquid HUD and Combat Liquid SE AIO CPU Coolers

Levelplay is proud to announce the launch of its latest all-in-one (AIO) CPU cooling solutions, the Combat Liquid HUD and Combat Liquid SE, expanding the Combat Liquid family with performance-driven cooling and real-time system visibility. Designed for gamers and PC enthusiasts who demand immediate access to live CPU data, the Combat Liquid 360 HUD features an integrated digital display on the pump cap that presents critical system information at a glance, while delivering high-efficiency thermal performance for modern high-core processors.

More Than Just a Display
The Combat Liquid 360 HUD is more than a high-performance CPU cooler—it's a real-time command center for your system. At the heart of the cooler is a 2.6" circular digital display, transforming the pump cap into a mission-ready HUD that delivers live system intelligence at a glance. The display provides real-time readouts including CPU temperature, usage rate, power draw, and clock speeds, allowing users to monitor performance instantly without relying on on-screen software overlays. Simply update the driver and unlock full access to the HUD's real-time system monitoring features.

VFX AI – Turn raw footage into polished stories using AI


VFX AI is an enterprise-ready SaaS video platform designed for creators and teams to transform long-form videos into short, impactful clips using AI. It enables cutting, reframing, and editing through straightforward text-based commands, along with advanced editing workflows. The platform identifies key moments, ensures subjects stay in frame, generates captions, and exports videos optimized for platforms like Shorts, Reels, and TikTok. Designed for scalability, VFX AI supports team collaboration, brand kits, SSO, SCIM, and integrates seamlessly with existing tools, allowing for quicker video content production and management.

View startup

Western Digital to revolutionise HDDs with “High-Bandwidth Drive” and “Dual Pivot” tech

Western Digital aims to revolutionise the HDD space with plans to boost bandwidth by 8x While SSDs now dominate the consumer PC market, HDDs still have a place within the overall storage market. Mass storage requires a medium that can store large amounts of data, and while SSDs are fast, data density and pricing are […]

The post Western Digital to revolutionise HDDs with “High-Bandwidth Drive” and “Dual Pivot” tech appeared first on OC3D.

(PR) AMD Reports Record Q4 $10.3 Billion Revenue, FY 2025 Reaches $34.6 Billion

AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025. Fourth quarter revenue was a record $10.3 billion, gross margin was 54%, operating income was $1.8 billion, net income was $1.5 billion and diluted earnings per share was $0.92. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin was 57%, operating income was a record $2.9 billion, net income was a record $2.5 billion and diluted earnings per share was a record $1.53.

For the full year 2025, AMD reported record revenue of $34.6 billion, gross margin of 50%, operating income of $3.7 billion, net income of $4.3 billion, and diluted earnings per share of $2.65. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin was 52%, operating income was a record $7.8 billion, net income was a record $6.8 billion and diluted earnings per share was a record $4.17.

Western Digital Designs High-Bandwidth HDDs That Quadruple I/O Speeds

Western Digital has today presented its latest effort to catch up with traditional QLC NAND Flash SSDs by improving its HDD offerings. With the latest High-Bandwidth HDDs, Western Digital has implemented two new technologies in a classical multi-platter HDD design. The first innovation comes in a form of High Bandwidth Drive Technology, which enables double the I/O bandwidth with a path to 8x the current bandwidth in the future. It relies on simultaneous reading and writing from multiple heads on multiple tracks, which is already in customer hands for validation. The second one is Dual Pivot Technology that introduces a second set of independent actuators on a separate pivot, which will not scarify drive capacity unlike older dual actuator designs.

Using Dual Pivot Technology, HDDs can pack more drive platters in a standard 3.5-inch body for higher capacities, and the performance grows by an additional 2x, which is 4x I/O bandwidth compared to today's drives. This technology will pave the way for 100 TB HDDs, that offer speeds comparable to QLC-based SATA III SSDs, at much better price/performance ratio and better data retention, prompting the massive boom of HDD development. Western Digital's drives with High Bandwidth Drive Technology are already shipping to customers, while drives with Dual Pivot Technology are in development in Western Digital's labs and are scheduled to become available in 2028, with early customer sampling probably much sooner.

More Grand Theft Auto VI “Marketing Beats” Coming in Summer 2026, While GTA V Has Sold Over 225M Copies

A scene from the game 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III' shows two characters by an open trunk under a clear sky with palm

Take-Two Interactive's third-quarter financial results have been published, which means there's plenty of information to glean from the company behind 2K and Rockstar's latest numbers. What everyone wants to hear about, though, is Grand Theft Auto VI, which may just be the most anticipated video game ever, and in the meantime, GTA V has hit yet another astronomical sales milestone. While Take-Two's chief executive officer, Strauss Zelnick, didn't get too deep into what's coming for GTA VI, he did confirm in an interview with The Game Business and during the call with investors that we can expect more "marketing beats" […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/more-grand-theft-auto-vi-marketing-beats-coming-in-summer-2026-while-gta-v-has-sold-over-225m-copies/

Apple Might Be Days Or Even Hours Away From Launching The M5 Pro And M5 Max MacBook Pro Devices As Two Tantalizing Signs Lead The Way

Here are some extra details regarding the redesigned OLED M6 MacBook Pro

Apple appears to be on the cusp of launching its first major products of the new year, namely, the M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro devices, as two tantalizing signs beef up our confidence in this upbeat projection. Sign #1: The macOS 26.3 RC update and the connection to the M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro devices Apple has just launched the 26.3 release candidate (RC) build for Xcode, allowing users to leverage OpenAI's Codex and Anthropic's Claude Agent natively for coding-related tasks. So, why is this development a harbinger of sorts? Well, this suggests that the rest […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/apple-might-be-days-or-even-hours-away-from-launching-the-m5-pro-and-m5-max-macbook-pro-devices-as-two-tantalizing-signs-lead-the-way/

“To Be a Great Electronic Artist, You Need the Best Technology and Tools”: EA Digs Further Into its Deal With Stability AI

The image features the logos of Electronic Arts and stability.ai against a vibrant abstract background with fluid shapes and

EA's announcement that it would be going private in a buyout led by the Saudi Arabia PIF and Silver Lake wasn't the only major deal the company made in 2025. It also struck a deal with Stability AI, a generative AI firm that "is unlocking the power of open-source generative AI to expand human creativity," according to its website. At the time of the deal, Stability AI chief executive officer, Prem Akkaraju, said, "EA is a pioneer in interactive entertainment and understands that innovation begins with the creator. At Stability AI, we put creators at the center and build around […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/to-be-a-great-electronic-artist-you-need-the-best-technology-and-tools-ea-digs-further-into-its-deal-with-stability-ai/

ProFormaGen – Create investor-ready financial projections with AI


ProFormaGen assists founders and finance teams in quickly creating professional pro forma models. By answering a few questions, its AI generates 36-month revenue, expense, and cash flow projections along with interactive dashboards. Users can collaborate with teammates, model multiple revenue streams, and track expenses with real-time updates. Additionally, they can export investor-ready reports and full Excel models to share and refine their plans.

View startup

ARC Raiders’ Dominance Continues, Reportedly Stands as Top-Selling Game Across Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation for Third Consecutive Month

Two characters in a battle against a large robotic creature in a dusty urban setting from the game Immortals of Aveum.

The meteoric rise and sustained success of Embark Studio's new third-person extraction shooter, ARC Raiders, will be one for the history books of the video game industry if things keep going the way they are currently going. A new report from Alinea Analytics claims that for the third consecutive month, ARC Raiders was the number one selling title across Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox. That month was, of course, January 2026, during which Alinea Analytics says ARC Raiders sold an additional 1.5 million copies just on Steam. On PlayStation and Xbox, it combined for an additional 1.7 million copies sold, bringing […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/arc-raiders-dominance-continues-reportedly-stands-as-top-selling-game-across-steam-xbox-and-playstation-for-third-consecutive-month/

Intel's 80286 CPU celebrates 44 years of x86 history


Intel released the 80286 processor on February 1, 1982, making the CPU 44 years old. According to the company, the 16-bit chip represented a significant evolution in the personal computing industry. It introduced several innovative features for advanced computing applications and was considerably faster than the 8086.

Read Entire Article

Stacks – Digitize your entire business with AI in one click


Stacks is an AI-powered no-code platform that enables users to create a mobile app, website, POS system, and QR menu all in one place. Generate layouts in seconds, customize them with a drag-and-drop builder, and publish to iOS and Android instantly. You can connect WooCommerce payments, send push notifications, manage products and orders, and track sales and inventory. Start for free on a stacksmarket.co subdomain and upgrade for additional features and support.

View startup

Docker Fixes Critical Ask Gordon AI Flaw Allowing Code Execution via Image Metadata

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a now-patched security flaw impacting Ask Gordon, an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant built into Docker Desktop and the Docker Command-Line Interface (CLI), that could be exploited to execute code and exfiltrate sensitive data. The critical vulnerability has been codenamed DockerDash by cybersecurity company Noma Labs. It was addressed by

Google’s Project Genie Shows “Meaningful Progress in Content Generation,” But it “Can’t Replace Creative Vision,” Says Analyst

The image shows a black background with a grid pattern and the text 'Project Genie' above 'Interactive worlds. Generated in

Last week, Google debuted its latest generative AI experiment, Project Genie. It's a tool capable of generating interactive three-dimensional environments made entirely through generative AI that you can explore for one solid minute. All you need to do (after paying the $250 monthly fee for Google's AI Ultra subscription) is write a prompt to start generating your own game-like worlds, but besides the paywall barrier, there are more than a few limitations to this technology in terms of it becoming the new way to make games. The fact that it runs at a slide-show speed of 24 frames per second, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/googles-project-genie-shows-meaningful-progress-in-content-generation-but-it-cant-replace-creative-vision-says-analyst/

Crimson Desert Surpassed 2M Wishlists; Rep Says It’s in the Middle Between The Witcher 3 and Breath of the Wild

Artwork promoting the game Crimson Desert with characters in armor holding weapons and the text 'Thank you for over 2 million wishlists'.

South Korean developer Pearl Abyss announced today that the upcoming open world action/adventure game Crimson Desert has been wishlisted by over two million users across all platforms. It is yet another strong confirmation of the mounting hype behind Crimson Desert. It's been a while since the market got a fantasy triple-A open world game of this scale (the world is said to be twice as big as Skyrim's), after all, and fans can't wait to get their hands on the game after many years of development. Thankfully, in addition to celebrating wishlist milestones, Pearl Abyss is still sharing little nuggets […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/crimson-desert-2-million-wishlists-middle-the-witcher-3-zelda/

The NVIDIA-OpenAI Fiasco Isn’t About Compute, It’s About Control; Here’s How One of the World’s Biggest AI Partnerships Is Playing Out

Two prominent individuals appear deep in thought against a background of server racks.

NVIDIA and OpenAI are all that's being talked about in the AI world, not because there have been changes in their commitments, but because the scale of the partnership is so immense that it captures all the market spotlight. Before we dive into the ongoing NVIDIA-OpenAI fiasco, it's important to note the fundamentals that underpin the partnership. Team Green is currently the world's largest AI infrastructure provider, and almost all hyperscalers are dependent on the company, not just for hardware, but also for financial commitments in the form of "collaborations" or whatever you call it. At the same time, NVIDIA […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/the-nvidia-openai-fiasco-isnt-about-compute-its-about-control/

Microsoft launches Publisher Content Marketplace for AI licensing

The future of remarketing? Microsoft bets on impressions, not clicks

Microsoft Advertising today launched the Publisher Content Marketplace (PCM), a system that lets publishers license premium content to AI products and get paid based on how that content is used.

How it works. PCM creates a direct value exchange. Publishers set licensing and usage terms, while AI builders discover and license content for specific grounding scenarios. The marketplace also includes usage-based reporting, giving publishers visibility into how their content performs and where it creates the most value.

Designed to scale. PCM is designed to avoid one-off licensing deals between individual publishers and AI providers. Participation is voluntary, ownership remains with publishers, and editorial independence stays intact. The marketplace supports everyone from global publishers to smaller, specialized outlets.

Why we care. As AI systems shift from answering questions to making decisions, content quality matters more than ever. As agents increasingly guide purchases, finance, and healthcare choices, ads and sponsored messages will sit alongside — or draw from — premium content rather than generic web signals. That raises the bar for credibility and points to a future where brand alignment with trusted publishers and AI ecosystems directly impacts performance.

Early traction. Microsoft Advertising co-designed PCM with major U.S. publishers, including Business Insider, Condé Nast, Hearst, The Associated Press, USA TODAY, and Vox Media. Early pilots grounded Microsoft Copilot responses in licensed content, with Yahoo among the first demand partners now onboarding.

What’s next. Microsoft plans to expand the pilot to more publishers and AI builders that share a core belief: as the AI web evolves, high-quality content should be respected, governed, and paid for.

The big picture. In an agentic web, AI tools increasingly summarize, reason, and recommend through conversation. Whether the topic is medical safety, financial eligibility, or a major purchase, outcomes depend on access to trusted, authoritative sources — many of which sit behind paywalls or in proprietary archives.

The tension. The traditional web bargain was simple: publishers shared content, and platforms sent traffic back. That model breaks down when AI delivers answers directly, cutting clicks while still depending on premium content to perform well.

Bottom line. If AI is going to make better decisions, it needs better inputs — and PCM is Microsoft’s bet that a sustainable content economy can power the next phase of the agentic web.

Microsoft’s announcement. Building Toward a Sustainable Content Economy for the Agentic Web

Inspiring examples of responsible and realistic vibe coding for SEO

Vibe coding is a new way to create software using AI tools such as ChatGPT, Cursor, Replit, and Gemini. It works by describing to the tool what you want in plain language and receiving written code in return. You can then simply paste the code into an environment (such as Google Colab), run it, and test the results, all without ever actually programming a single line of code.

Collins Dictionary named “vibe coding” word of the year in 2025, defining it as “the use of artificial intelligence prompted by natural language to write computer code.”

In this guide, you’ll understand how to start vibe coding, learn its limitations and risks, and see examples of great tools created by SEOs to inspire you to vibe code your own projects.

Vibe coding variations

While “vibe coding” is used as an umbrella term, there are subsets of coding with support or AI, including the following:

TypeDescriptionTools
AI-assisted coding AI helps write, refactor, explain, or debug code. Used by actual developers or engineers to support their complex work.GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude, Google AI Studio
Vibe codingPlatforms that handle everything except the prompt/idea. AI does most of the work.ChatGPT, Replit, Gemini, Google AI Studio
No-code platformsPlatforms that handle everything you ask (“drag and drop” visual updates while the code happens in the background). They tend to use AI but existed long before AI became mainstream.Notion, Zapier, Wix

We’ll focus exclusively on vibe coding in this guide. 

With vibe coding, while there’s a bit of manual work to be done, the barrier is still low — you basically need a ChatGPT account (free or paid) and access to a Google account (free). Depending on your use case, you might also need access to APIs or SEO tools subscriptions such as Semrush or Screaming Frog.

Your customers search everywhere. Make sure your brand shows up.

The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need.

Start Free Trial
Get started with
Semrush One Logo

To set expectations, by the end of this guide, you’ll know how to run a small program on the cloud. If you expect to build a SaaS or software to sell, AI-assisted coding is a more reasonable option to take, which will involve costs and deeper coding knowledge.

Vibe coding use cases

Vibe coding is great when you’re trying to find outcomes for specific buckets of data, such as finding related links, adding pre-selected tags to articles, or doing something fun where the outcome doesn’t need to be exact.

For example, I’ve built an app to create a daily drawing for my daughter. I type a phrase about something that she told me about her day (e.g., “I had carrot cake at daycare”). The app has some examples of drawing styles I like and some pictures of her. The outputs (drawings) are the final work as they come from AI.

When I ask for specific changes, however, the program tends to worsen and redraw things I didn’t ask for. I once asked to remove a mustache and it recolored the image instead. 

If my daughter were a client who’d scrutinize the output and require very specific changes, I’d need someone who knows Photoshop or similar tools to make specific improvements. In this case, though, the results are good enough. 

Building commercial applications solely on vibe coding may require a company to hire vibe coding cleaners. However, for a demo, MVP (minimum viable product), or internal applications, vibe coding can be a useful, effective shortcut. 

How to create your SEO tools with vibe coding

Using vibe coding to create your own SEO tools require three steps:

  1. Write a prompt describing your code
  2. Paste the code into a tool such as Google Colab
  3. Run the code and analyze the results

Here’s a prompt example for a tool I built to map related links at scale. After crawling a website using Screaming Frog and extracting vector embeddings (using the crawler’s integration with OpenAI), I vibe coded a tool that would compare the topical distance between the vectors in each URL.

This is exactly what I wrote on ChatGPT:

I need a Google Colab code that will use OpenAI to:

Check the vector embeddings existing in column C. Use cosine similarity to match with two suggestions from each locale (locale identified in Column A). 

The goal is to find which pages from each locale are the most similar to each other, so we can add hreflang between these pages.

I’ll upload a CSV with these columns and expect a CSV in return with the answers.

Then I pasted the code that ChatGPT created on Google Colab, a free Jupyter Notebook environment that allows users to write and execute Python code in a web browser. It’s important to run your program by clicking on “Run all” in Google Colab to test if the output does what you expected.

This is how the process works on paper. Like everything in AI, it may look perfect, but it’s not always functioning exactly how you want it. 

You’ll likely encounter issues along the way — luckily, they’re simple to troubleshoot.

First, be explicit about the platform you’re using in your prompt. If it’s Google Colab, say the code is for Google Colab. 

You might still end up with code that requires packages that aren’t installed. In this case, just paste the error into ChatGPT and it’ll likely regenerate the code or find an alternative. You don’t even need to know what the package is, just show the error and use the new code. Alternatively, you can ask Gemini directly in your Google Colab to fix the issue and update your code directly.

AI tends to be very confident about anything and could return completely made-up outputs. One time I forgot to say the source data would come from a CSV file, so it simply created fake URLs, traffic, and graphs. Always check and recheck the output because “it looks good” can sometimes be wrong.

If you’re connecting to an API, especially a paid API (e.g., from Semrush, OpenAI, Google Cloud, or other tools), you’ll need to request your own API key and keep in mind usage costs. 

Should you want an even lower execution barrier than Google Colab, you can try using Replit. 

Simply prompt your request and the software will create the code, design, and allow testing all on the same screen. This means a lower chance of coding errors, no copy and paste, and a URL you can share right away with anyone to see your project built with a nice design. (You should still check for poor outputs and iterate with prompts until your final app is built.)

Keep in mind that while Google Colab is free (you’ll only spend if you use API keys), Replit charges a monthly subscription and per-usage fee on APIs. So the more you use an app, the more expensive it gets.

Inspiring examples of SEO vibe-coded tools

While Google Colab is the most basic (and easy) way to vibe code a small program, some SEOs are taking vibe coding even further by creating programs that are turned into Chrome extensions, Google Sheets automation, and even browser games.

The goal behind highlighting these tools is not only to showcase great work by the community, but also to inspire, build, and adapt to your specific needs. Do you wish any of these tools had different features? Perhaps you can build them for yourself — or for the world.

GBP Reviews Sentiment Analyzer (Celeste Gonzalez)

After vibe coding some SEO tools on Google Colab, Celeste Gonzalez, Director of SEO Testing at RicketyRoo Inc, took her vibing skills a step further and created a Chrome extension. “I realized that I don’t need to build something big, just something useful,” she explained.

Her browser extension, the GBP Reviews Sentiment Analyzer, summarizes sentiment analysis for reviews over the last 30 days and review velocity. It also allows the information to be exported into a CSV. The extension works on Google Maps and Google Business Profile pages.

Instead of ChatGPT, Celeste used a combination of Claude (to create high-quality prompts) and Cursor (to paste the created prompts and generate the code).

AI tools used: Claude (Sunner 4.5 model) and Cursor 

APIs used: Google Business Profile API (free)

Platform hosting: Chrome Extension

Knowledge Panel Tracker (Gus Pelogia)

I became obsessed with the Knowledge Graph in 2022, when I learned how to create and manage my own knowledge panel. Since then, I found out that Google has a Knowledge Graph Search API that allows you to check the confidence score for any entity.

This vibe-coded tool checks the score for your entities daily (or at any frequency you want) and returns it in a sheet. You can track multiple entities at once and just add new ones to the list at any time.

The Knowledge Panel Tracker runs completely on Google Sheets, and the Knowledge Graph Search API is free to use. This guide shows how to create and run it in your own Google account, or you can see the spreadsheet here and just update the API key under Extensions > App Scripts. 

AI models used: ChatGPT 5.1

APIs used: Google Knowledge Graph API (free)

Platform hosting: Google Sheets

Inbox Hero Game (Vince Nero)

How about vibe coding a link building asset? That’s what Vince Nero from BuzzStream did when creating the Inbox Hero Game. It requires you to use your keyboard to accept or reject a pitch within seconds. The game is over if you accept too many bad pitches.

Inbox Hero Game is certainly more complex than running a piece of code on Google Colab, and it took Vince about 20 hours to build it all from scratch. “I learned you have to build things in pieces. Design the guy first, then the backgrounds, then one aspect of the game mechanics, etc.,” he said.

The game was coded in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. “I uploaded the files to GitHub to make it work. ChatGPT walked me through everything,” Vince explained.

According to him, the longer the prompt continued, the less effective ChatGPT became, “to the point where [he’d] have to restart in a new chat.” 

This issue was one of the hardest and most frustrating parts of creating the game. Vince would add a new feature (e.g., score), and ChatGPT would “guarantee” it found the error, update the file, but still return with the same error. 

See the complete picture of your search visibility.

Track, optimize, and win in Google and AI search from one platform.

Start Free Trial
Get started with
Semrush One Logo

In the end, Inbox Hero Game is a fun game that demonstrates it’s possible to create a simple game without coding knowledge, yet taking steps to perfect it would be more feasible with a developer.

AI models used: ChatGPT

APIs used: None

Platform hosting: Webpage

Vibe coding with intent

Vibe coding won’t replace developers, and it shouldn’t. But as these examples show, it can responsibly unlock new ways for SEOs to prototype ideas, automate repetitive tasks, and explore creative experiments without heavy technical lift. 

The key is realism: Use vibe coding where precision isn’t mission-critical, validate outputs carefully, and understand when a project has outgrown “good enough” and needs additional resources and human intervention.

When approached thoughtfully, vibe coding becomes less about shipping perfect software and more about expanding what’s possible — faster testing, sharper insights, and more room for experimentation. Whether you’re building an internal tool, a proof of concept, or a fun SEO side project, the best results come from pairing curiosity with restraint.

AMD Radeon AIBs to Prioritize 8 GB GPU SKUs and Push 10% Price Hike

According to Chinese Board Channels, a reliable source of GPU news, AMD's add-in board (AIB) partners are preparing for another round of GPU price increases. They also seem to be shifting their product focus toward 8 GB Radeon models. After distributors implemented a 5-10% price adjustment in January, another increase is reportedly planned for February or March, though the exact percentage is not yet known. Board Channels also reports that AMD is expected to prioritize stocking 8 GB SKUs such as the Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB and the older RDNA 3-based RX 7650 GRE, rather than the 16 GB SKUs like the Radeon RX 9070 XT. This shift is due to a shortage of GDDR6 memory, which is reducing the profit margins for AIBs without a significant price increase.

Distributors reportedly stocked up after January's price increase, which could lead to uneven availability if resellers hold onto inventory in anticipation of another adjustment. With DRAM prices having risen sharply in recent months, manufacturers are reassessing which memory configurations to produce, favoring 8 GB variants because they are cheaper to manufacture. This shift might also cause some 16 GB parts to become more expensive, narrowing the price gap between AMD and NVIDIA in the midrange market. The earliest effects of these changes are expected to be seen in mainland China, where partners may allocate more volume to 8 GB cards and reduce the output of certain 16 GB GRE and non-GRE models. We are yet to see how it reflects on the Western stores and pricing imposed by retailers like Amazon, Newegg, and others.

(PR) Cable Matters Debuts 2-Meter Thunderbolt 5 Active Cable

Cable Matters, a leading innovator in connectivity solutions, today announced the release of its first 2-meter (6.6-foot) Thunderbolt 5 Active Cable. Designed to maintain full Thunderbolt 5 performance at extended distances, this new cable delivers elite connectivity for power users, creators, and IT professionals seeking clean, flexible workstation layouts without sacrificing speed or reliability.

The Thunderbolt 5 Active Cable supports up to 80 Gbps of bi-directional data throughput and up to 120 Gbps of video bandwidth with Bandwidth Boost enabled. This allows users to power advanced workflows such as high-resolution video editing, large-scale data transfers, and AI or 3D rendering. The cable also supports up to 240 W charging and can drive demanding display configurations, including dual 8K 60 Hz displays or triple 4K 144 Hz displays, depending on host and GPU capabilities.

BUILD – Find an idea and launch a business in minutes


Build the Damn Thing helps entrepreneurs transition from having no idea to creating an initial product through a guided BUILD sprint. Users can answer focused questions and leverage proven frameworks with AI assistance to validate ideas, check names and domains, generate a logo, and create an editable business plan with links to launch a live MVP. Additionally, Build the Damn Thing enhances learning through its bestselling book and podcast.

View startup

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, High on Life 2, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance Headline New Xbox Game Pass Games

A graphic displays upcoming titles for Xbox Game Pass, including Pirate Yakuza: In Hawaii, Madden 26, Get Amped

Xbox has announced the first batch of Xbox Game Pass games joining the service for February 2026, headlined by a couple of major past releases and one new day-one launch for the subscription service. That new release is Squanch Games' upcoming High on Life 2, while the other headlining titles include Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. This new batch of games also includes a couple of titles already included in the service for players subscribed to the Game Pass Ultimate tier that are now available for Premium tier members. Once again, unfortunately for Essential tier players, there's […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/avatar-frontiers-of-pandora-high-on-life-2-and-kingdom-come-deliverance-headline-new-xbox-game-pass-games/

Hisense Has A Whole List Of QD7 mini-LED TVs Available On Amazon, All The Way Up To 100 inches, Starting From $297.99 Only

Hisense QD7 mini-LED TVs go all the way up to 100 inches on Amazon and start from $297.99

In terms of image quality, LED TVs will always be surpassed by mini-LED technology by miles, but the problem is that the transition to an advanced display is always an expensive decision, unless you purchase a Hisense TV. On Amazon, the company’s QD7 family is not just available in multiple sizes, starting from 50 inches, but these will go easy on your wallet and go all the way up to 100 inches. Best of all, you only need $297.99 in cash to get started. For those looking for both media consumption and gaming, we recommend getting a Hisense mini-LED TV […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/hisense-mini-led-tvs-with-amazing-picture-quality-start-from-297-99-on-amazon/

‘You Are Talking About Putting Your Developers Into a Situation Where They Can’t Play The Game’: Here’s Why The Elder Scrolls 6 Will Use Creation Engine Again

A warrior in Viking-style armor with a horned helmet stands amidst mist and darkness in the game The Elder Scrolls 6

Since moving on from the Gamebryo engine, which powered The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, its faithful remake (which proved successful even without having great player retention) and Fallout 3, Bethesda used its Creation Engine for all its games, including The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. Despite powering what is widely considered one of the best role-playing games of all time, the engine caught some flak from gamers for how it manages the sprawling worlds of the games it powers, forcing dated, immersion-breaking loading screens, as seen in Starfield. For this reason, many wish Bethesda would leave this engine […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/you-are-talking-about-putting-your-developers-into-a-situation-where-they-cant-play-the-game-heres-why-the-elder-scrolls-6-will-use-creation-engine-again/

AMD Is Rumoredly Prioritizing 8 GB GPUs While Its Board Partners Are Expected To Implement Another Price Hike

Just like NVIDIA, AMD is expected to prioritize 8 GB Radeon GPUs, including SKUs from the previous generation. AMD to Focus More on 8 GB GPUs, Including RX 9060 XT and RX 7650 GRE, While AICs Plan to Carry Out a Second Price Hike Soon AMD GPUs are about to get more expensive as its board partners are planning to implement a second price hike very soon. We reported on this yesterday that AMD's board partners have already implemented a price hike of nearly 5-10% in January, and are expected to hike the prices a second time this month or […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/amd-is-rumoredly-prioritizing-8-gb-gpus/

“That Sucks. What Are We Learning?”: New Report Reveals How Obsidian Looks to Bounce-Back After Two Commercial Misses in 2025

A collage of characters from Obsidian Entertainment games with the 'Obsidian entertainment' logo in the center.

Obsidian Entertainment was one of the busiest studios in 2025, releasing not just one, but three major titles last year. It began the year with Avowed in February 2025, followed by Grounded 2 releasing in early access in July 2025, and capped off the year with The Outer Worlds 2 in October 2025. Two of those three games were misfires in terms of sales (though they were fairly well received by critics, especially here on Wccftech), and a new report from Bloomberg digs into how the studio is looking to bounce back and "reinvent itself." If you can't guess which […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/that-sucks-what-are-we-learning-new-report-reveals-how-obsidian-looks-to-bounce-back-after-two-commercial-misses-in-2025/

Intel Arrow Lake Refresh SKUs Listed On EU Retailers; Same Pricing As Predecessors

An Intel Core Ultra processor is displayed prominently with the word 'PLUS' overlaid in large text.

Upcoming Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs have been listed on a few European retailers, and it appears that Intel has maintained the same pricing as their predecessors. Intel Core Ultra 5 250K/KF Plus and Ultra 7 270K Plus Listed on Retailers Ahead of Official Launch While we await Intel's announcement on upcoming Intel Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs, some retailers have already gotten their hands on these SKUs. It appears that the CPU launch is quite close, and according to the listings, the processors should cost no more than their predecessors from the current Arrow Lake series. The listings were spotted by […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/intel-core-ultra-200-plus-series-skus-listed-on-eu-retailers/

LinkedIn: AI-powered search cut traffic by up to 60%

AEO playbook

AI-powered search gutted LinkedIn’s B2B awareness traffic. Across a subset of topics, non-brand organic visits fell by as much as 60% even while rankings stayed stable, the company said.

  • LinkedIn is moving past the old “search, click, website” model and adopting a new framework: “Be seen, be mentioned, be considered, be chosen.”

By the numbers. In a new article, LinkedIn said its B2B organic growth team started researching Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) in early 2024. By early 2025, when SGE evolved into AI Overviews, the impact became significant.

  • Non-brand, awareness-driven traffic declined by up to 60% across a subset of B2B topics.
  • Rankings stayed stable, but click-through rates fell (by an undisclosed amount).

Yes, but. LinkedIn’s “new learnings” are more like a rehash of established SEO/AEO best practices. Here’s what LinkedIn’s content-level guidance consists of:

  • Use strong headings and a clear information hierarchy.
  • Improve semantic structure and content accessibility.
  • Publish authoritative, fresh content written by experts.
  • Move fast, because early movers get an edge.

Why we care. These tactics should all sound familiar. These are technical SEO and content-quality fundamentals. LinkedIn’s article offers little new in terms of tactics. It’s just updated packaging for modern SEO/AEO and AI visibility.

Dig deeper. How to optimize for AI search: 12 proven LLM visibility tactics

Measurement is broken. LinkedIn said its big challenge is the “dark” funnel. It can’t quantify how visibility in LLM answers impacts the bottom line, especially when discovery happens without a click.

  • LinkedIn’s B2B marketing websites saw triple-digit growth in LLM-driven traffic and that it can track conversion from those visits.
    • Yes, but: Many websites are also seeing triple-digit (or more) growth in LLM-driven traffic. Because it’s an emerging channel. That said, this is still a tiny amount of overall traffic right now (1% or less for most sites).

What LinkedIn is doing. LinkedIn created an AI Search Taskforce spanning SEO, PR, editorial, product marketing, product, paid media, social, and brand. Key actions included:

  • Correcting misinformation that showed up in AI responses.
  • Publishing new owned content optimized for generative visibility.
  • Testing LinkedIn (social) content to validate its strength in AI discovery.

Is it working? LinkedIn said early tests produced a meaningful lift in visibility and citations, especially from owned content. At least one external datapoint (Semrush, Nov. 10, 2025) suggested that LinkedIn has a structural advantage in AI search:

  • Google AI Mode cited LinkedIn in roughly 15% of responses.
  • LinkedIn was the #2 most-cited domain in that dataset, behind YouTube.

Incomplete story. LinkedIn’s article is an interesting read, but it’s light on specifics. Missing details include:

  • The exact topic set behind the “up to 60%” decline.
  • Exactly how much click-through rates “softened.”
  • Sample size and timeframe.
  • How “industry-wide” comparisons were calculated.
  • What tests were run, what moved citation share, and by how much.

Bottom line. LinkedIn is right that visibility is the new currency. However, it hasn’t shown enough detail to prove its new playbook is meaningfully different from doing some SEO (yes, SEO) fundamentals.

LinkedIn’s article. How LinkedIn Marketing Is Adapting to AI-Led Discovery

Capcom removes Denuvo from its Resident Evil 4 Remake

Capcom removes Denuvo from Resident Evil 4’s PC version with a fresh update Capcom has released a new update for the PC version of Resident Evil 4 (the 2023 remake), removing Denuvo from the game. This is an undocumented change to the PC version of the game, with Capcom releasing new patch notes for this […]

The post Capcom removes Denuvo from its Resident Evil 4 Remake appeared first on OC3D.

The Epic Games Store is getting rebuilt for speed and ease of use

Expect the Epic Games Store to become faster and more stable in 2026 Epic Games has confirmed that its Epic Games Store is getting rebuilt this year. The company is working on the “underlying architecture” of its launcher and plans to ship these improvements this summer. This should make the Epic Games Store more responsive […]

The post The Epic Games Store is getting rebuilt for speed and ease of use appeared first on OC3D.

Firefox's new AI kill switch reminds me that Edge still doesn't have a similar feature — a one-click toggle would only make Microsoft's browser more appealing

Mozilla announced that it's giving its Firefox browser an AI kill switch, making it easy to disable all AI enhancements with one click. Microsoft needs to add something similar to Edge instead of making us chase down individual settings.

(PR) GXTrust Intros Officially Licensed Batman Gaming Peripherals Series

Calling all heroes - the GXTrust Batman gaming range has landed, bringing the iconic look and feel of Gotham's greatest protector to your gaming setup. In collaboration with Warner Bros. and DC, this high-performance gaming collection merges bold Batman aesthetics with powerful functionality, giving fans a chance to game in Dark Knight style. Featuring the Ruya Pro Gaming Chair, Carus Gaming Headset, Muta Wireless Controller, and XXL Mousepad, this striking line-up offers everything you need to level up your play, whether you're saving the city in VR or chasing your next high score.

The Ruya Pro Gaming Chair Batman Edition delivers serious comfort with a sleek black and yellow design and premium Batman logo that's unmistakably cool. Built for long gaming sessions and all-day comfort, it's engineered to support even the most intense marathons:
  • A height adjustable frame, 4D armrests and a tilt-lock mechanism to personalize your position
  • Built-in lumbar support, extra-thick molded seat cushion, and a removable headrest for maximum comfort and support
  • A combination of breathable fabric and PU leather that keeps things cool even during high-stakes matches
  • A durable aluminium star base and Class 4 gas lift tested up to 150 kg, built to endure game after game

(PR) Dune: Awakening Chapter 3 DLC Now Available

Today, developer and publisher Funcom is proud to announce that the biggest free update yet to Dune: Awakening, Dune: Awakening, one of Steam's highest-grossing new releases of 2025, is LIVE along with the paid Raiders of the Broken Lands DLC. The open world survival game inspired by Frank Herbert's Dune as well as Denis Villeneuve and Legendary Entertainment's acclaimed blockbuster franchise, just got a whole lot bigger and better.

Chapter 3 Free Update: Bigger and Better Endgame
Chapter 3 delivers one of the most requested improvements: a bigger and better endgame. Once players reach Tier 6, progression has now been extended. Chapter 3 introduces new systems that let players continue to grow their power, refine their build, and define their role. Importantly, players can now progress meaningfully through PVE-focused content.

(PR) Shooter GRIMPS Launches Public Demo Today

Independent game developer WATT Studio has announced that the first public demo for GRIMPS, its wildly chaotic plush-infested shooter, will launches today on Steam. Players will soon get hands-on with a world where cuddly stuffed creatures become deadly enemies, absurd weapons rule the battlefield, and a sarcastic pigeon sidekick might be your only hope of survival.

In GRIMPS, players fight through hordes of possessed plush monsters in a quest to rescue a missing lover and rise to legendary status. Expect fast-paced arena combat, platforming challenges, environmental puzzles and an escalating descent into stuffed-animal mayhem. This game trades traditional polygonal realism for striking color blocking and stylized texture masks, creating a cohesive and atmospheric world filled with custom-built weapons, characters, and environments.

Firefox 148 Gets AI Killswitch After a Massive Community Backlash

Mozilla's plans to make Firefox "a modern AI browser" have fallen flat on its face. When Anthony Enzor-DeMeo took over the Mozilla the new CEO, he announced plans to make the browser a modernized version of AI-first browsing experience. However, massive community backslash has resulted in the CEO quickly apologizing to the community and promising a killswitch. In the upcoming Firefox version 148, scheduled for a release on February 24, there will be an option to turn off AI features in the browser individually, or all at once. This includes AI-assisted translations, alt text in PDFs, AI-enhanced tab grouping, link previews, and an AI chatbot in the sidebar. Users can choose which features to enable or disable, and those who prefer not to use any AI functions can turn them off entirely with a single switch. This setting will persist even after future updates, ensuring that users who opt out will not encounter generative AI features.

Mozilla is fulfilling its earlier promise to implement an AI killswitch, an option increasingly sought after by many users. While some enjoy a web experience assisted by AI, many do not. Having an option to individually turn off specific features, or all at once, is the perfect solution. Interestingly, this is not the first time we are seeing features from companies that are marked as new updates, but instead delivering a shield from all the "AI enhancements." Users are clearly expressing a frustration of AI everywhere approach, and Mozilla is aiming to position Firefox right where the community wants it to be. For Firefox Nightly users, the feature is available right away. However, for Firefox stable, users must wait a few days until February 24 to install Firefox 148.

Tesla expands the Model Y lineup with a lower-priced AWD option


The newly added AWD variant offers 294 miles of range, a top speed of 125 mph, and can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. These figures place it squarely between the rear-wheel-drive base model, which starts at $39,990, and the higher-end Performance trim. The configuration resembles Tesla's recent Standard range offerings, designed for...

Read Entire Article

Riverside – Record, edit, and publish studio-quality podcasts and videos


Riverside is an all-in-one podcast and video studio for businesses and content creators who demand professional quality without technical complexities. Podcasters, video creators, and businesses worldwide produce studio-quality content in a fraction of the time compared to traditional methods. Businesses and content creators use Riverside for audio and video production, including podcast recording, editing, hosting, and publishing, remote interviews, marketing content like testimonials and case studies, live-streaming conferences with multiple presenters, webinars with interactive elements, and screen capturing for tutorials and product demos.

View startup

[Webinar] The Smarter SOC Blueprint: Learn What to Build, Buy, and Automate

Most security teams today are buried under tools. Too many dashboards. Too much noise. Not enough real progress. Every vendor promises “complete coverage” or “AI-powered automation,” but inside most SOCs, teams are still overwhelmed, stretched thin, and unsure which tools are truly pulling their weight. The result? Bloated stacks, missed signals, and mounting pressure to do more with less. This

Hackers Exploit Metro4Shell RCE Flaw in React Native CLI npm Package

Threat actors have been observed exploiting a critical security flaw impacting the Metro Development Server in the popular "@react-native-community/cli" npm package. Cybersecurity company VulnCheck said it first observed exploitation of CVE-2025-11953 (aka Metro4Shell) on December 21, 2025. With a CVSS score of 9.8, the vulnerability allows remote unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary

Samsung Thinks The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Will Sell Better Than The Cheaper Galaxy Z Flip 8 This Year

A person holding a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, with the latter showing '14:34' and 'Mon 7 July' on

Samsung's planned initial production runs for its upcoming devices are leading to aberrant outcomes this year, with the South Korean giant planning to produce a lot more Galaxy Z Fold 8 units than the cheaper Galaxy Z Flip 8 ones, while going all-in on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, to the detriment of its base and plus counterparts. Samsung to produce 3.5 million units of the Galaxy Fold 8 vs. just 2.5-3 million units of the Galaxy Z Flip 8 According to ET News, Samsung is planning to produce 3.5 million units of the Galaxy Fold 8 and between 2.5 million […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/samsung-thinks-the-galaxy-z-fold-8-will-sell-better-than-the-cheaper-galaxy-z-flip-8-this-year/

Intel Plans to Re-Enter the Memory Business as the Firm Pairs With SoftBank to Introduce a New Solution, Capitalizing on Ongoing Shortages

Man speaking on stage with Siemens and foundry visible in the background.

Intel is now looking to capitalize on the ongoing DRAM demand by partnering with a SoftBank subsidiary to launch a new "ZAM" memory technology. Intel's ZAM Memory Modules Now Bring In Higher Power Efficiency Through Innovative Interconnect & EMIB Well, with the AI infrastructure buildout being at its peak this year, there has been a gigantic rise in DRAM demand, driven by the adoption of hyperscalers and chip manufacturers. And more importantly, given that memory suppliers are limited worldwide, the supply chain bottleneck is immense right now, underscoring the need for new competitors to enter, which is why Intel is reported […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/intel-plans-to-enter-the-memory-business-once-again/

Dune: Awakening Chapter 3 Is Out Now; It’s the Biggest Update with a Focus on Endgame Revamp

A promotional image for 'Dune Awakening Chapter 3' featuring a sandworm emerging behind a cloaked figure in a desert, with

Funcom has announced that Dune: Awakening Chapter 3, the game's biggest update yet, is live now. This patch continues the main story following the events of Chapter 2 and significantly revamps the previously lackluster endgame content, introducing numerous new locations, systems, and gear. Wccftech watched a remote presentation by the developer to learn the key details and features of Chapter 3; you can read our in-depth report below. In This Article: New Landsraad Mission System To start, the Landsraad system has been completely overhauled. It is now a contest between the Atreides and the Harkonnen to gain support from minor […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/dune-awakening-chapter-3-out-now-biggest-update/

Epic Games Store Saw Record-Setting Third-Party Sales Growth in 2025, Reaches 317M+ PC Users

The image features '2025 Year in Review' with the Epic Games Store logo at the bottom right on a purple abstract background.

The Epic Games Store won't be toppling Steam anytime soon, but the numbers shared by Epic in its Epic Games Store 2025 Year in Review blog post clearly show that the digital storefront is growing. The digital storefront best known for giving away free games also saw quite a few players doing more than just claiming a free title each week, spending more time and money in third-party titles. 2025 was a year of record-setting for the EGS, as player spending on third-party games grew by 57% compared to last year, reaching a record-high $400 million. Epic also added that […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/epic-games-store-saw-record-setting-third-party-sales-growth-in-2025-reaches-317m-pc-users/

Apple Researchers Figure Out A Way To Unlock Faster, More Natural-Sounding Conversations With Siri

Colorful abstract icon with a purple and blue gradient wave on a space-themed background.

Apple might have adopted a Google Gemini crutch to compensate for its own AI-related shortcomings, but that has not stopped the researchers at the Cupertino giant from trying to explore novel ways to make Siri noticeably better. Now, a new research paper from Apple researchers aims to unlock faster, more natural-sounding responses from Siri. Apple researchers figure out a viable path to elicit faster responses from Siri AI models typically generate speech based on tokens or short snippets of phonetic sounds, often spanning just milliseconds. The model then selects which phonetic sound (speech token) to use in its responses by […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/apple-researchers-figure-out-a-way-to-unlock-faster-more-natural-sounding-conversations-with-siri/

DDR5 RAM pricing begins to stabilize in Germany, January saw only a 0.1% increase — Some kits even saw price cuts as volatility begins to plateau

German retailers' inventory saw DDR5 memory prices stabilizing for the first time in months, with some kits even miraculously seeing price cuts compared to the start of January. This doesn't indicate that the crisis is over, or even that there will be no more price hikes, but rather that the unpredictability is finally starting to wither.

Are we ready for the agentic web?

Are we ready for the agentic web?

Innovations are coming at marketers and consumers faster than before, raising the question: Are we actually ready for the agentic web?

To answer that question, it’s important to unpack a few supporting ones:

  • What’s the agentic web?
  • How can the agentic web be used?
  • What are the pros and cons of the agentic web?

It’s important to note that this article isn’t a mandate for AI skeptics to abandon the rational questions they have about the agentic web. 

Nor is it intended to place any judgment on how you, as a consumer or professional, engage with the agentic web.

LinkedIn poll on Copilot Checkout

With thoughts and feelings so divided on the agentic web, this article aims to provide clear insight into how to think about it in earnest, without the branding or marketing fluff.

Disclosure: I am a Microsoft employee and believe in the path Microsoft’s taking with the agentic web. However, this article will attempt to be as platform-agnostic as possible.

What’s the agentic web? 

The agentic web refers to sophisticated tools, or agents, trained on our preferences that act with our consent to accomplish time-consuming tasks.

In simple terms, when I use one-click checkout, I allow my saved payment information to be passed to the merchant’s accounts receivable systems. 

Neither the merchant nor I must write down all the details or be involved beyond consenting to send and receive payment.

For fun, I put this question to four different AI models, and the responses are telling: 

  • Copilot: “The agentic web is an emerging layer of the internet where AI agents can reason and take actions on behalf of people or organizations, turning expressed intent into outcomes while preserving user choice, transparency, and control.” 
  • Gemini: “The agentic web is an evolution of the internet where autonomous AI agents – rather than just human users – interact with websites, APIs, and each other to perform complex tasks and make decisions on our behalf. “
  • Perplexity: “The agentic web is an emerging phase of the internet where autonomous AI agents act as the primary interface, navigating, interpreting, and taking actions across websites and services on behalf of users with minimal human involvement.” 
  • Claude: “The agentic web is an evolution of the internet where AI agents autonomously navigate, interact with, and complete tasks across websites and services on behalf of users.” 

I begin with how different models answer the question because it’s important to understand that each one is trained on different information, and outcomes will inevitably vary.

It’s worth noting that with the same prompt, defining the agentic web in one sentence, three out of four models focus on diminishing the human role in navigating the web, while one makes a point to emphasize the significance of human involvement, preserving user choice, transparency, and control.

Two out of four refer to the agentic web as a layer or phase rather than an outright evolution of the web. 

This is likely where the sentiment divide on the agentic web stems from.

Some see it as a consent-driven layer designed to make life easier, while others see it as a behemoth that consumes content, critical thinking, and choice.

It’s noteworthy that one model, Gemini, calls out APIs as a means of communication in the agentic web. APIs are essentially libraries of information that can be referenced, or called, based on the task you are attempting to accomplish. 

This matters because APIs will become increasingly relevant in the agentic web, as saved preferences must be organized in ways that are easily understood and acted upon.

Defining the agentic web requires spending some time digging into two important protocols – ACP and UCP.

Dig deeper: AI agents in SEO: What you need to know

Agentic Commerce Protocol: Optimized for action inside conversational AI 

The Agentic Commerce Protocol, or ACP, is designed around a specific moment: when a user has already expressed intent and wants the AI to act.

The core idea behind ACP is simple. If a user tells an AI assistant to buy something, the assistant should be able to do so safely, transparently, and without forcing the user to leave the conversation to complete the transaction.

ACP enables this by standardizing how an AI agent can:

  • Access merchant product data.
  • Confirm availability and price.
  • Initiate checkout using delegated, revocable payment authorization.

The experience is intentionally streamlined. The user stays in the conversation. The AI handles the mechanics. The merchant still fulfills the order.

This approach is tightly aligned with conversational AI platforms, particularly environments where users are already asking questions, refining preferences, and making decisions in real time. It prioritizes speed, clarity, and minimal friction.

Universal Commerce Protocol: Built for discovery, comparison, and lifecycle commerce 

The Universal Commerce Protocol, or UCP, takes a broader view of agentic commerce.

Rather than focusing solely on checkout, UCP is designed to support the entire shopping journey on the agentic web, from discovery through post-purchase interactions. It provides a common language that allows AI agents to interact with commerce systems across different platforms, surfaces, and payment providers. 

That includes: 

  • Product discovery and comparison.
  • Cart creation and updates.
  • Checkout and payment handling.
  • Order tracking and support workflows.

UCP is designed with scale and interoperability in mind. It assumes users will encounter agentic shopping experiences in many places, not just within a single assistant, and that merchants will want to participate without locking themselves into a single AI platform.

It’s tempting to frame ACP and UCP as competing solutions. In practice, they address different moments of the same user journey.

ACP is typically strongest when intent is explicit and the user wants something done now. UCP is generally strongest when intent is still forming and discovery, comparison, and context matter.

So what’s the agentic web? Is it an army of autonomous bots acting on past preferences to shape future needs? Is it the web as we know it, with fewer steps driven by consent-based signals? Or is it something else entirely?

The frustrating answer is that the agentic web is still being defined by human behavior, so there’s no clear answer yet. However, we have the power to determine what form the agentic web takes. To better understand how to participate, we now move to how the agentic web can be used, along with the pros and cons.

Dig deeper: The Great Decoupling of search and the birth of the agentic web

How can the agentic web be used? 

Working from the common theme across all definitions, autonomous action, we can move to applications.

Elmer Boutin has written a thoughtful technical view on how schema will impact agentic web compatibility. Benjamin Wenner has explored how PPC management might evolve in a fully agentic web. Both are worth reading.

Here, I want to focus on consumer-facing applications of the agentic web and how to think about them in relation to the tasks you already perform today.

Here are five applications of the agentic web that are live today or in active development.

1. Intent-driven commerce  

A user states a goal, such as “Find me the best running shoes under $150,” and an agent handles discovery, comparison, and checkout without requiring the user to manually browse multiple sites. 

How it works 

Rather than returning a list of links, the agent interprets user intent, including budget, category, and preferences. 

It pulls structured product information from participating merchants, applies reasoning logic to compare options, and moves toward checkout only after explicit user confirmation. 

The agent operates on approved product data and defined rules, with clear handoffs that keep the user in control. 

Implications for consumers and professionals 

Reducing decision fatigue without removing choice is a clear benefit for consumers. For brands, this turns discovery into high-intent engagement rather than anonymous clicks with unclear attribution. 

Strategically, it shifts competition away from who shouts the loudest toward who provides the clearest and most trusted product signals to agents. These agents can act as trusted guides, offering consumers third-party verification that a merchant is as reliable as it claims to be.

2. Brand-owned AI assistants 

A brand deploys its own AI agent to answer questions, recommend products, and support customers using the brand’s data, tone, and business rules.

How it works 

The agent uses first-party information, such as product catalogs, policies, and FAQs. 

Guardrails define what it can say or do, preventing inferences that could lead to hallucinations. 

Responses are generated by retrieving and reasoning over approved context within the prompt.

Implications for consumers and professionals 

Customers get faster and more consistent responses. Brands retain voice, accountability, and ownership of the experience. 

Strategically, this allows companies to participate in the agentic web without ceding their identity to a platform or intermediary. It also enables participation in global commerce without relying on native speakers to verify language.

3. Autonomous task completion 

Users delegate outcomes rather than steps, such as “Prepare a weekly performance summary” or “Reorder inventory when stock is low.” 

How it works 

The agent breaks the goal into subtasks, determines which systems or tools are needed, and executes actions sequentially. It pauses when permissions or human approvals are required. 

These can be provided in bulk upfront or step by step. How this works ultimately depends on how the agent is built. 

Implications for consumers and marketers 

We’re used to treating AI like interns, relying on micromanaged task lists and detailed prompts. As agents become more sophisticated, it becomes possible to treat them more like senior employees, oriented around outcomes and process improvement. 

That makes it reasonable to ask an agent to identify action items in email or send templates in your voice when active engagement isn’t required. Human choice comes down to how much you delegate to agents versus how much you ask them to assist.

Dig deeper: The future of search visibility: What 6 SEO leaders predict for 2026

Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.


4. Agent-to-agent coordination and negotiation 

Agents communicate with other agents on behalf of people or organizations, such as a buyer agent comparing offers with multiple seller agents. 

How it works 

Agents exchange structured information, including pricing, availability, and constraints. 

They apply predefined rules, such as budgets or policies, and surface recommended outcomes for human approval. 

Implications for consumers and marketers 

Consumers may see faster and more transparent comparisons without needing to manually negotiate or cross-check options. 

For professionals, this introduces new efficiencies in areas like procurement, media buying, or logistics, where structured negotiation can occur at scale while humans retain oversight.

5. Continuous optimization over time 

Agents don’t just act once. They improve as they observe outcomes.

How it works 

After each action, the agent evaluates what happened, such as engagement, conversion, or satisfaction. It updates its internal weighting and applies those learnings to future decisions.

Why people should care 

Consumers experience increasingly relevant interactions over time without repeatedly restating preferences. 

Professionals gain systems that improve continuously, shifting optimization from one-off efforts to long-term, adaptive performance. 

What are the pros and cons of the agentic web? 

Life is a series of choices, and leaning into or away from the agentic web comes with clear pros and cons.

Pros of leaning into the agentic web 

The strongest argument for leaning into the agentic web is behavioral. People have already been trained to prioritize convenience over process. 

Saved payment methods, password managers, autofill, and one-click checkout normalized the idea that software can complete tasks on your behalf once trust is established.

Agentic experiences follow the same trajectory. Rather than requiring users to manually navigate systems, they interpret intent and reduce the number of steps needed to reach an outcome. 

Cons of leaning into the agentic web 

Many brands will need to rethink how their content, data, and experiences are structured so they can be interpreted by automated systems and humans. What works for visual scanning or brand storytelling doesn’t always map cleanly to machine-readable signals.

There’s also a legitimate risk of overoptimization. Designing primarily for AI ingestion can unintentionally degrade human usability or accessibility if not handled carefully. 

Dig deeper: The enterprise blueprint for winning visibility in AI search

Pros of leaning away from the agentic web 

Choosing to lean away from the agentic web can offer clarity of stance. There’s a visible segment of users skeptical of AI-mediated experiences, whether due to privacy concerns, automation fatigue, or a loss of human control. 

Aligning with that perspective can strengthen trust with audiences who value deliberate, hands-on interaction.

Cons of leaning away from the agentic web 

If agentic interfaces become a primary way people discover information, compare options, or complete tasks, opting out entirely may limit visibility or participation. 

The longer an organization waits to adapt, the more expensive and disruptive that transition can become.

What’s notable across the ecosystem is that agentic systems are increasingly designed to sit on top of existing infrastructure rather than replace it outright. 

Avoiding engagement with these patterns may not be sustainable over time. If interaction norms shift and systems aren’t prepared, the combination of technical debt and lost opportunity may be harder to overcome later.

Where the agentic web stands today

The agentic web is still taking form, shaped largely by how people choose to use it. Some organizations are already applying agentic systems to reduce friction and improve outcomes. Others are waiting for stronger trust signals and clearer consent models.

Either approach is valid. What matters is understanding how agentic systems work, where they add value, and how emerging protocols are shaping participation. That understanding is the foundation for deciding when, where, and how to engage with the agentic web.

7 digital PR secrets behind strong SEO performance

7 digital PR secrets behind strong SEO performance

Digital PR is about to matter more than ever. Not because it’s fashionable, or because agencies have rebranded link building with a shinier label, but because the mechanics of search and discovery are changing. 

Brand mentions, earned media, and the wider PR ecosystem are now shaping how both search engines and large language models understand brands. That shift has serious implications for how SEO professionals should think about visibility, authority, and revenue.

At the same time, informational search traffic is shrinking. Fewer people are clicking through long blog posts written to target top-of-funnel keywords. 

The commercial value in search is consolidating around high-intent queries and the pages that serve them: product pages, category pages, and service pages. Digital PR sits right at the intersection of these changes.

What follows are seven practical, experience-led secrets that explain how digital PR actually works when it’s done well, and why it’s becoming one of the most important tools in SEOs’ toolkit.

Secret 1: Digital PR can be a direct sales activation channel

Digital PR is usually described as a link tactic, a brand play or, more recently, as a way to influence generative search and AI outputs.

All of that’s true. What’s often overlooked is that digital PR can also drive revenue directly.

When a brand appears in a relevant media publication, it’s effectively placing itself in front of buyers while they are already consuming related information.

This is not passive awareness. It’s targeted exposure during a moment of consideration.

Platforms like Google are exceptionally good at understanding user intent, interests and recency. Anyone who has looked at their Discover feed after researching a product category has seen this in action. 

Digital PR taps into the same behavioral reality. You are not broadcasting randomly. You are appearing where buyers already are.

Two things tend to happen when this is executed well.

  • If your site already ranks for a range of relevant queries, your brand gains additional recognition in nontransactional contexts. Readers see your name attached to a credible story or insight. That familiarity matters.
  • More importantly, that exposure drives brand search and direct clicks. Some readers click straight through from the article. Others search for your brand shortly after. In both cases, they enter your marketing funnel with a level of trust that generic search traffic rarely has.

This effect is driven by basic behavioral principles such as recency and familiarity. While it’s difficult to attribute cleanly in analytics, the commercial impact is very real. 

We see this most clearly in direct-to-consumer, finance, and health markets, where purchase cycles are active and intent is high.

Digital PR is not just about supporting sales. In the right conditions, it’s part of the sales engine.

Dig deeper: Discoverability in 2026: How digital PR and social search work together

Secret 2: The mere exposure effect is one of digital PR’s biggest advantages

One of the most consistent patterns in successful digital PR campaigns is repetition.

When a brand appears again and again in relevant media coverage, tied to the same themes, categories, or areas of expertise, it builds familiarity. 

That familiarity turns into trust, and trust turns into preference. This is known as the mere exposure effect, and it’s fundamental to how brands grow.

In practice, this often happens through syndicated coverage. A strong story picked up by regional or vertical publications can lead to dozens of mentions across different outlets. 

Historically, many SEOs undervalued this type of coverage because the links were not always unique or powerful on their own.

That misses the point.

What this repetition creates is a dense web of co-occurrences. Your brand name repeatedly appears alongside specific topics, products, or problems. This influences how people perceive you, but it also influences how machines understand you.

For search engines and large language models alike, frequency and consistency of association matter. 

An always-on digital PR approach, rather than sporadic big hits, is one of the fastest ways to increase both human and algorithmic familiarity with a brand.

Secret 3: Big campaigns come with big risk, so diversification matters

Large, creative digital PR campaigns are attractive. They are impressive, they generate internal excitement, and they often win industry praise. The problem is that they also concentrate risk.

A single large campaign can succeed spectacularly, or it can fail quietly. From an SEO perspective, many widely celebrated campaigns underperform because they do not generate the links or mentions that actually move rankings.

This happens for a simple reason. What marketers like is not always what journalists need.

Journalists are under pressure to publish quickly, attract attention, and stay relevant to their audience. 

If a campaign is clever but difficult to translate into a story, it will struggle. If all your budget’s tied up in one idea, you have no fallback.

A diversified digital PR strategy spreads investment across multiple smaller campaigns, reactive opportunities, and steady background activity. 

This increases the likelihood of consistent coverage and reduces dependence on any single idea working perfectly.

In digital PR, reliability often beats brilliance.

Dig deeper: How to build search visibility before demand exists

Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.


Secret 4: The journalist’s the customer

One of the most common mistakes in digital PR is forgetting who the gatekeeper is.

From a brand’s perspective, the goal might be links, mentions, or authority. 

From a journalist’s perspective, the goal is to write a story that interests readers and performs well. These goals overlap, but they are not the same.

The journalist decides whether your pitch lives or dies. In that sense, they are the customer.

Effective digital PR starts by understanding what makes a journalist’s job easier. 

That means providing clear angles, credible data, timely insights, and fast responses. Think about relevance before thinking about links.

When you help journalists do their job well, they reward you with exposure. 

That exposure carries weight in search engines and in the training data that informs AI systems. The exchange is simple: value for value.

Treat journalists as partners, not as distribution channels.

Secret 5: Product and category page links are where SEO value is created

Not all links are equal.

From an SEO standpoint, links to product, category, and core service pages are often far more valuable than links to blog content. Unfortunately, they are also the hardest links to acquire through traditional outreach.

This is where digital PR excels.

Because PR coverage is contextual and editorial, it allows links to be placed naturally within discussions of products, services, or markets. When done correctly, this directs authority to the pages that actually generate revenue.

As informational content becomes less central to organic traffic growth, this matters even more.

Ranking improvements on high-intent pages can have a disproportionate commercial impact.

A relatively small number of high-quality, relevant links can outperform a much larger volume of generic links pointed at top-of-funnel content.

Digital PR should be planned with these target pages in mind from the outset.

Dig deeper: How to make ecommerce product pages work in an AI-first world

Secret 6: Entity lifting is now a core outcome of digital PR

Search engines have long made it clear that context matters. The text surrounding a link, and the way a brand is described, help define what that brand represents.

This has become even more important with the rise of large language models. These systems process information in chunks, extracting meaning from surrounding text rather than relying solely on links.

When your brand is mentioned repeatedly in connection with specific topics, products, or expertise, it strengthens your position as an entity in that space. This is what’s often referred to as entity lifting.

The effect goes beyond individual pages. Brands see ranking improvements for terms and categories that were not directly targeted, simply because their overall authority has increased. 

At the same time, AI systems are more likely to reference and summarize brands that are consistently described as relevant sources.

Digital PR is one of the most scalable ways to build this kind of contextual understanding around a brand.

Secret 7: Authority comes from relevant sources and relevant sections

Former Google engineer Jun Wu discusses this in his book “The Beauty of Mathematics in Computer Science,” explaining that authority emerges from being recognized as a source within specific informational hubs. 

In practical terms, this means that where you are mentioned matters as much as how big the site is.

A link or mention from a highly relevant section of a large publication can be more valuable than a generic mention on the homepage. For example, a targeted subfolder on a major media site can carry strong authority, even if the domain as a whole covers many subjects.

Effective digital PR focuses on two things: 

  • Publications that are closely aligned with your industry and sections.
  • Subfolders that are tightly connected to the topic you want to be known for.

This is how authority is built in a way that search engines and AI systems both recognize.

Dig deeper: The new SEO imperative: Building your brand

Where digital PR now fits in SEO

Digital PR is no longer a supporting act to SEO. It’s becoming central to how brands are discovered, understood, and trusted.

As informational traffic declines and high-intent competition intensifies, the brands that win will be those that combine relevance, repetition, and authority across earned media. 

Digital PR, done properly, delivers all three.

Google: 75% of crawling issues come from two common URL mistakes

Google discussed its 2025 year-end report on crawling and indexing challenges for Google Search. The biggest issues were faceted navigation and action parameters, which accounted for about 75% of the problems, according to Google’s Gary Illyes. He shared this on the latest Search Off the Record podcast, published this morning.

What is the issue. Crawling issues can slow your site to a crawl, overload your server, and make your website unusable or inaccessible. If a bot gets stuck in an infinite crawling loop, recovery can take time.

  • “Once it discovers a set of URLs, it cannot make a decision about whether that URL space is good or not unless it crawled a large chunk of that URL space,” Illyes said. By then it is too late and your site has slowed to a halt.

The biggest crawling challenges. Based on the report, these are the main issues Google sees:

  • 50% come from faceted navigation. This is common on ecommerce sites, where endless filters for size, color, price, and similar options create near-infinite URL combinations.
  • 25% come from action parameters. These are URL parameters that trigger actions instead of meaningfully changing page content.
  • 10% come from irrelevant parameters. This includes session IDs, UTM tags, and other tracking parameters added to URLs.
  • 5% come from plugins or widgets. Some plugins and widgets generate problematic URLs that confuse crawlers.
  • 2% come from other “weird stuff.” This catch-all category includes issues such as double-encoded URLs and related edge cases.

Why we care. A clean URL structure without bot traps is essential to keep your server healthy, ensure fast page loads, and prevent search engines from getting confused about your canonical URLs.

The episode. Crawling Challenges: What the 2025 Year-End Report Tells Us.

💾

Gary Illyes says faceted navigation and action parameters dominate Google’s crawl waste, trapping bots in infinite URLs and straining servers.

Intel’s Leaked Core Ultra 250KF PLUS could be their next budget CPU KING!

Intel Core Ultra 5 250KF PLUS CPU listed – Are Core Ultra PLUS KF series CPUs incoming? Retail listing for Intel’s upcoming Core Ultra 200 PLUS series CPUs has been uncovered by the leaker @momomo_us. This has unveiled Intel’s upcoming Core Ultra 5 250KF PLUS CPU for the first time, a CPU that could become […]

The post Intel’s Leaked Core Ultra 250KF PLUS could be their next budget CPU KING! appeared first on OC3D.

Modder stuns with Resident Evil HD Remaster 4K Texture pack

Modder makes Resident Evil sharper and more vibrant with a new 4K texture mod A game modder called “Evgeshajk” has created a new 4K texture mod for Resident Evil HD Remastered, Capcom’s 2014 remake of the first Resident Evil game. This mod increases the game’s texture resolution, making characters and backgrounds much more detailed. This […]

The post Modder stuns with Resident Evil HD Remaster 4K Texture pack appeared first on OC3D.

(PR) MicroProse Announces F-22: Air Dominance Fighter

A true icon of the 1990s golden age of combat flight simulation is preparing for takeoff once again. F-22: Air Dominance Fighter, originally developed by Digital Image Design, is releasing soon on Steam, published by MicroProse—a name synonymous with some of the most respected and influential PC flight simulations ever made.

Originally renowned for striking a rare balance between accessibility and authenticity, F-22: Air Dominance Fighter puts players in control of one of the most advanced jet fighters ever conceived. More than a cockpit experience, the game also allows players to command the wider air war as an AWACS controller—overseeing the entire theatre, directing allied aircraft, observing every engagement in real time, and instantly jumping into the cockpit of any F-22 when the situation demands it.

Intel and SoftBank Subsidiary Saimemory Partner on Next-Gen Z-Angle Memory

Intel and SoftBank subsidiary Saimemory have signed an agreement to work together on developing and selling Z-Angle Memory (ZAM) technology aimed at AI and high-performance computing tasks. ZAM is described as a stacked DRAM architecture designed to go beyond current high-bandwidth memory (HBM) solutions. The goal is higher memory capacity and bandwidth at lower power. The name refers to vertical (Z-axis) stacking, according to reports from EE Times Japan. The project builds on Intel Next Generation DRAM Bonding (NGDB) work, developed under the U.S. government-backed Advanced Memory Technology (AMT) program in collaboration with Sandia, Lawrence Livermore, and Los Alamos national laboratories. Recent NGDB prototypes featuring eight vertically stacked DRAM layers have demonstrated full functionality using this new vertical stacking and bonding approach, as disclosed by Sandia in January.

According to reports from Nikkei and Wallstreet.cn, Saimemory is targeting two to three times the capacity of today's HBM, with 40-50% lower power consumption, while keeping costs competitive. Saimemory plans to have prototypes ready by early 2028, with commercial products following in 2029. SoftBank is said to be investing around ¥3 billion through the prototype phase. For Intel, the partnership marks a return to advanced memory technologies after exiting the DRAM market decades ago.

(PR) Cyber Acoustics Expands Monitor-Mounted Speaker Bar Line with the CA-2890GX

Cyber Acoustics, a leading provider of reliable and affordable audio solutions for 30 years, today announced the launch of its latest monitor-mounted speaker bar, the patent-pending CA-2890GX with LED lights.

Designed for casual gamers looking to enhance their play sessions with immersive lighting and surprisingly loud, crisp sound, the CA-2890GX is an ideal speaker for games with great musical soundtracks, such as Stardew Valley, Undertale, Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of Wisps, Enter the Gungeon, Binding of Isaac, Slay the Spire, Hollow Knight: Silk Song, and Castle Crashers, as well as games with vivid dialogue, including Disco Elysium, The Walking Dead (Telltale series), Life is Strange, Firewatch, and Hades.

Intel Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus "Arrow Lake Refresh" Listed by Romanian Retailer

Intel's upcoming "Arrow Lake Refresh" are weeks away from the final release, but new listing suggests that there might be more SKUs getting a refresh makeover than we initially thought. In the latest listing by a Romanian retailer, there is a new SKU called Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus, with a code number BX80768250KF. The SKU is supposed to be the first version of the ARLR family with a "KF" mark, meaning that there won't be an integrated GPU in this processor Instead, only the CPU is provided, meaning that a GPU is mandatory, much like the previous KF SKUs. In the listing there is a mention of 4.2 GHz frequency, which aligns with the previously rumored Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and its P-core base speed of 4.2 GHz. This means that other specifications will remain similar to the Core Ultra 5 250K Plus, like the E-Core base speed of 3.5 GHz, E-Core turbo of 4.7 GHz, and P-Core boost frequency of 5.3 GHz. The only difference will be the lack of iGPU, as it has been a case with previous KF SKUs.

Interestingly, the Romanian retailer is also listing the Core Ultra 250K Plus (BX80768250K) and Core Ultra 270K Plus (BX80768270K), while the flagship Ultra 9 290K Plus is not yet listed. This doesn't necessarily mean the SKU won't exist, but rather that this preliminary listing is incomplete for now. For the Core Ultra 5 250KF Plus, the retailer listed it at 1,049 Romanian Leu, which is about $243. As previous leaks suggest a March or April release of the ARLR family, we can expect the information and listings to intensify in the coming weeks. Some early benchmark runs also point to a 10% performance boost in flagship SKUs with the new refresh, so we have to wait and see how these mid-range chips perform in more testing.

(PR) Broadcom Announces Industry's First Enterprise Wi-Fi 8 Access Point and Switch Solution

Broadcom Inc., a global leader in semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions, today announced the industry's first Wi-Fi 8 access point (AP) and switch solution purpose-built with a unified architecture for AI-ready enterprise networks.

Building on Broadcom's first-to-market Wi-Fi 8 radios launched in October 2025, the new enterprise-grade Wi-Fi 8 AP platform is powered by a new accelerated processing unit (APU) chip, the BCM49438, designed to optimize wireless networking and AI acceleration at the enterprise edge. Additionally, Broadcom unveiled an enterprise-grade switch platform powered by a new Ethernet switch, the Trident X3+ BCM56390, with Broadcom's industry-leading multi-gigabit PHY and PoE power sourcing equipment (PSE) chips. Together, these platforms form a unified architecture that maximizes the performance, efficiency and security for the Wi-Fi 8 wireless network in the enterprise.

(PR) ASUS ExpertBook Ultra AI PC's Level the Playing Field for SMBs

Data from ASUS's Future of SMB Report reveals that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly adopting the mindset, and tools, of large enterprises to stay competitive. According to the report, 88% of SMB owners in the United States believe that "thinking bigger" is essential for future growth. This shift is being driven in part by competitive pressure: among those who strongly agree, 41% say they face the most competition from larger enterprises, not just peers or start-ups.

Rather than relying solely on headcount or traditional infrastructure, SMBs are using AI-powered PCs to boost productivity and streamline decision-making. From intelligent forecasting to content creation and workflow automation, AI is now a key enabler of enterprise-level capability delivered with small business agility.

Nintendo Switch Family Surpasses 155 Million Units Sold

Nintendo's return to the modern handheld gaming market has proven to be a record-breaking success. The company has reportedly sold 155 million Switch units worldwide since its initial launch. The latest Nintendo Switch 2 has sold 17.37 million units since its release in June 2025. During the holiday quarter, shipments reached 7.01 million units globally, while the original Switch sold 1.36 million units in the same period. Combined lifetime shipments for the Switch family now stands at 155.37 million units, surpassing the Nintendo DS total of 154.02 million, making it Nintendo's best-selling console ever.

Regarding software for these record-breaking units, sales for the new console are also strong, with 37.93 million Switch 2 titles sold to date, largely driven by first-party games. Mario Kart World has reached 14.03 million copies, Donkey Kong Bananza 4.25 million, and Pokémon Legends: ZA 3.89 million. Kirby Air Riders, released in November, has sold 1.76 million units. The older Switch remains commercially relevant, with cumulative software sales of 108.93 million this quarter. Long-running catalog titles such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, now at 70.59 million copies, and Super Mario Party Jamboree at 9.41 million, continue to sell well, aided by backward compatibility.

NVIDIA RTX 5060 And RTX 5070 See A Sudden Jump In Popularity As Per The Latest Steam Hardware Survey

NVIDIA Continues To Dominate Steam GPU Charts, RTX 3060 Most Popular Followed By RTX 2060 1

While the entire RTX 50 series has soared in popularity, the RTX 5060 is climbing faster, followed by the GeForce RTX 5070. Steam Hardware Survey for January 2026 Reveals the GeForce RTX 5060 Saw a 40% Increase in Popularity, While RTX 5070 Saw a 19% Jump Month Over Month It's no coincidence that the budget RTX 50-series GPUs are now being adopted faster than ever. Blame the current market, which is forcing gamers to buy GPUs at significantly higher prices. NVIDIA and AMD have been making new supply strategies for their latest-gen GPUs, and this is resulting in much higher […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/nvidia-rtx-5060-and-rtx-5070-see-a-sudden-jump-in-popularity/

Yes, Star Wars: Galactic Racer Has Podracing

Star Wars: Galactic Racer vehicles race past a massive, crashed starship in a desert landscape.

The announcement of Star Wars: Galactic Racer at The Game Awards 2025 was among the most unexpected. It had been many years since there was a Star Wars-themed racing game, so many gamers were overjoyed at the news. At the same time, it was not clear based on the released footage, screenshots, and info whether the game would include Podracing, the high-speed fictional sport featured prominently in the movie Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, in which a very young Anakin Skywalker enters and wins a podrace. The most popular older racing games, Star Wars Episode I: Racer, Star Wars: Racer […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/yes-star-wars-galactic-racer-has-podracing/

Snag this 4K-capable gaming PC with an RTX 5070 Ti and 32GB of DDR5 RAM for less than $2,000 — a 26% saving on a powerhouse of a rig equipped with Intel's 24-core CPU and a 2TB SSD

Take advantage of this Newegg deal on an ABS Kaze II Aqua gaming PC, down to just $1994.99 with discount code DEAL5ABS. This 26% saving nets you a PC with a 24-core Intel Core i9-14900KF CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU, a 2TB SSD, and 32GB of DDR5 RAM.

Still using or redeploying an older PC during today’s RAM crisis? A new power supply could save you from an insane repair bill

The power supply unit touches every part of your PC, and that means an older PSU poses a unique risk to your precious components if it fails. If you’re trying to get more life out of an old PC or pulling an older computer off the shelf during today’s RAMpocalypse, consider a proactive PSU replacement as cheap insurance.

Microsoft rolls out multi-turn search in Bing

Microsoft today rolled out multi-turn search globally in Bing. As you scroll down the search results page, a Copilot search box now dynamically appears at the bottom.

About multi-turn search. This type of search experience lets a user continue the conversation from the Bing search results page. Instead of starting over, the searcher types a follow-up question into the Copilot search box at the bottom of the results, allowing the search to build on the previous query. Here’s a screenshot of this feature:

Here’s a video of it in action:

What Microsoft said. Jordi Ribas, CVP, Head of Search at Microsoft, posted this news on X:

  • “After shipping in the US last year, multi-turn search in Bing is now available worldwide.
  • “Bing users don’t need to scroll up to do the next query, and the next turn will keep context when appropriate. We have seen gains in engagement and sessions per user in our online metrics, which reflect the positive user value of this approach.”

Why we care. Search engines like Google and Bing are pushing harder to move users into their AI experiences. Google is blending AI Overviews more deeply into AI Mode, even as many publishers object to how it handles their content. Bing has now followed suit, fully rolling out the Copilot search box at the bottom of search results after several months of testing.

💾

Bing's new multi-turn search is now global. As you scroll, a Copilot box appears at the bottom so follow-ups build on the last query.

Why most SEO failures are organizational, not technical

Why most SEO failures are organizational, not technical

I’ve spent over 20 years in companies where SEO sat in different corners of the organization – sometimes as a full-time role, other times as a consultant called in to “find what’s wrong.” Across those roles, the same pattern kept showing up.

The technical fix was rarely what unlocked performance. It revealed symptoms, but it almost never explained why progress stalled.

No governance

The real constraints showed up earlier, long before anyone read my weekly SEO reports. They lived in reporting lines, decision rights, hiring choices, and in what teams were allowed to change without asking permission. 

When SEO struggled, it was usually because nobody rightfully owned the CMS templates, priorities conflicted across departments, or changes were made without anyone considering how they affected discoverability.

I did not have a word for the core problem at the time, but now I do – it’s governance, usually manifested by its absence.

Two workplaces in my career had the conditions that allowed SEO to work as intended. Ownership was clear.

Release pathways were predictable. Leaders understood that visibility was something you managed deliberately, not something you reacted to when traffic dipped.

Everywhere else, metadata and schema were not the limiting factor. Organizational behavior was.

Dig deeper: How to build an SEO-forward culture in enterprise organizations

Beware of drift

Once sales pressures dominate each quarter, even technically strong sites undergo small, reasonable changes:

  • Navigation renamed by a new UX hire.
  • Wording adjusted by a new hire on the content team.
  • Templates adjusted for a marketing campaign.
  • Titles “cleaned up” by someone outside the SEO loop.

None of these changes look dangerous in isolation – if you know before they occur.

Over time, they add up. Performance slides, and nobody can point to a single release or decision where things went wrong.

This is the part of SEO most industry commentary skips. Technical fixes are tangible and teachable. Organizational friction is not. Yet that friction is where SEO outcomes are decided, usually months before any visible decline.

SEO loses power when it lives in the wrong place

I’ve seen this drift hurt rankings, with SEO taking the blame. In one workplace, leadership brought in an agency to “fix” the problem, only for it to confirm what I’d already found: a lack of governance caused the decline.

Where SEO sits on the org chart determines whether you see decisions early or discover them after launch. It dictates whether changes ship in weeks or sit in the backlog for quarters.

I have worked with SEO embedded under marketing, product, IT, and broader omnichannel teams. Each placement created a different set of constraints.

When SEO sits too low, decisions that reshape visibility ship first and get reviewed later — if they are reviewed at all.

  • Engineering adjusted components to support a new security feature. In one workplace, a new firewall meant to stop scraping also blocked our own SEO crawling tools.
  • Product reorganized navigation to “simplify” the user journey. No one asked SEO how it would affect internal PageRank.
  • Marketing “refreshed” content to match a campaign. Each change shifted page purpose, internal linking, and consistency — the exact signals search engines and AI systems use to understand what a site is about.

Dig deeper: SEO stakeholders: Align teams and prove ROI like a pro

Positioning the SEO function

Without a seat at the right table, SEO becomes a cleanup function.

When one operational unit owns SEO, the work starts to reflect that unit’s incentives.

  • Under marketing, it becomes campaign-driven and short-term.
  • Under IT, it competes with infrastructure work and release stability.
  • Under product, it gets squeezed into roadmaps that prioritize features over discoverability.

The healthiest performance I’ve seen came from environments where SEO sat close enough to leadership to see decisions early, yet broad enough to coordinate with content, engineering, analytics, UX, and legal.

In one case, I was a high-priced consultant, and every recommendation was implemented. I haven’t repeated that experience since, but it made one thing clear: VP-level endorsement was critical. That client doubled organic traffic in eight months and tripled it over three years.

Unfortunately, the in-house SEO team is just another team that might not get the chance to excel. Placement is not everything, but it is the difference between influencing the decision and fixing the outcome.

Get the newsletter search marketers rely on.


Hiring mistakes

The second pattern that keeps showing up is hiring – and it surfaces long before any technical review.

Many SEO programs fail because organizations staff strategically important roles for execution, when what they really need is judgment and influence. This isn’t a talent shortage. It’s a screening problem

The SEO manager often wears multiple hats, with SEO as a minor one. When they don’t understand SEO requirements, they become a liability, and the C-suite rarely sees it.

Across many engagements, I watched seasoned professionals passed over for younger candidates who interviewed well, knew the tool names, and sounded confident.

HR teams defaulted to “team fit” because it was easier to assess than a candidate’s ability to handle ambiguity, challenge bad decisions, or influence work across departments.

SEO excellence depends on lived experience. Not years on a résumé, but having seen the failure modes up close:

  • Migrations that wiped out templates.
  • Restructures that deleted category pages.
  • “Small” navigation changes that collapsed internal linking.

Those experiences build judgment. Judgment is what prevents repeat mistakes. Often, that expertise is hard to put in a résumé.

Without SEO domain literacy, hiring becomes theater. But we can’t blame HR, which has to hire people for all parts of the business. Its only expertise is HR.

Governance needs to step in.

One of the most reliable ways to improve recruitment outcomes is simple: let the SEO leader control the shortlist.

Fit still matters. Competence matters first. When the person accountable for results shapes the hiring funnel, the best candidates are chosen.

SEO roles require the ability to change decisions, not just diagnose problems. That skill does not show up in a résumé keyword scan.

Dig deeper: The top 5 strategic SEO mistakes enterprises make (and how to avoid them)

When priorities pull in different directions

Every department in a large organization has legitimate goals.

  • Product wants momentum.
  • Engineering wants predictable releases.
  • Marketing wants campaign impact.
  • Legal wants risk reduction.

Each team can justify its decisions – and SEO still absorbs the cost.

I have seen simple structural improvements delayed because engineering was focused on a different initiative.

At one workplace, I was asked how much sales would increase if my changes were implemented.

I have seen content refreshed for branding reasons that weakened high-converting pages. Each decision made sense locally. Collectively, they reshaped the site in ways nobody fully anticipated.

Today, we face an added risk: AI systems now evaluate content for synthesis. When content changes materially, an LLM may stop citing us as an authority on that topic.

Strong visibility governance can prevent that.

The organizations that struggled most weren’t the ones with conflict. They were the ones that failed to make trade-offs explicit.

What are we giving up in visibility to gain speed, consistency, or safety? When that question is never asked, SEO degrades quietly.

What improved outcomes was not a tool. It was governance: shared expectations and decision rights.

When teams understood how their work affected discoverability, alignment followed naturally. SEO stopped being the team that said “no” and became the function that clarified consequences.

International SEO improves when teams stop shipping locally good changes that are globally damaging. Local SEO improves when there is a single source of location truth.

Ownership gaps

Many SEO problems trace back to ownership gaps that only become visible once performance declines.

  • Who owns the CMS templates?
  • Who defines metadata standards?
  • Who maintains structured data? Who approves content changes?

When these questions have no clear answer, decisions stall or happen inconsistently. The site evolves through convenience rather than intent.

In contrast, the healthiest organizations I worked with shared one trait: clarity.

People knew which decisions they owned and which ones required coordination. They did not rely on committees or heavy documentation because escalation paths were already understood.

When ownership is clear, decisions move. When ownership is fragmented, even straightforward SEO work becomes difficult.

Dig deeper: How to win SEO allies and influence the brand guardians

Healthy environments for SEO to succeed

Across my career, the strongest results came from environments where SEO had:

  • Early involvement in upcoming changes.
  • Predictable collaboration with engineering.
  • Visibility into product goals.
  • Clear authority over content standards.
  • Stable templates and definitions.
  • A reliable escalation path when priorities conflicted.
  • Leaders who understood visibility as a long-term asset.

These organizations were not perfect. They were coherent.

People understood why consistency mattered. SEO was not a reactive service. It was part of the infrastructure.

What leaders can do now

If you lead SEO inside a complex organization, the most effective improvements come from small, deliberate shifts in how decisions get made:

  • Place SEO where it can see and influence decisions early.
  • Let SEO leaders – not HR – shape candidate shortlists.
  • Hire for judgment and influence, not presentation.
  • Create predictable access to product, engineering, content, analytics, and legal.
  • Stabilize page purpose and structural definitions.
  • Make the impact of changes visible before they ship.

These shifts do not require new software. They require decision clarity, discipline, and follow-through.

Visibility is an organizational outcome

SEO succeeds when an organization can make and enforce consistent decisions about how it presents itself. Technical work matters, but it can’t offset structures pulling in different directions.

The strongest SEO results I’ve seen came from teams that focused less on isolated optimizations and more on creating conditions where good decisions could survive change. That’s visibility governance.

When SEO performance falters, the most durable fixes usually start inside the organization.

Dig deeper: What 15 years in enterprise SEO taught me about people, power, and progress

GOG celebrates game preservation by making Alone in the Dark: The Trilogy free on PC

GOG celebrates its game Preservation Program with a free game giveaway Until Friday, February 5th at 2 PM UTC, GOG will be giving away free copies of Alone in the Dark: The Trilogy 1+2+3 for free on PC. This trilogy of games has had a huge impact on the survival horror gaming genre. It has […]

The post GOG celebrates game preservation by making Alone in the Dark: The Trilogy free on PC appeared first on OC3D.

Only 3.3% of Microsoft 365 users pay for Copilot despite billion-dollar investments — while CEO Satya Nadella assures that it's "becoming a true daily habit"

A new report suggests that only 3.3% out of the Microsoft 365 and Office 365 users who interact with Copilot Chat actually pay for it after CEO Satya Nadella indicated it had grown “nearly 3x year-over-year”.

(PR) ASRock Industrial Launches IMB-X1904 Flagship HPC Motherboard Powered by Intel Xeon 600 Processors

As AI workloads, industrial digitalization, and edge data centers continue to scale, industrial manufacturers are facing a fundamental shift in how high-performance computing platforms must be designed. Today's systems must not only deliver extreme performance, but also ensure continuous uptime, remote operability, and long-term deployment stability in demanding production environment. In response to these demands, ASRock Industrial proudly announced the launch of IMB-X1904, a high-performance EATX motherboard powered by Intel Xeon 600 processors and the W890 chipset, designed to serve as a new backbone for AI computing, advanced industrial automation, and compute-intensive applications.

Designed for manufacturers that operate performance-critical systems, the IMB-X1904 delivers exceptional performance with robust-class processing power, high-speed DDR5 memory, extensive PCIe Gen 5 expansion, and next-generation I/O in a platform engineered for continuous operation, remote deployment, and secure lifecycle management.

OCCT Tool Gets Intel Xeon 600 "Granite Rapids-WS" Overclocking Support

OCBASE has updated its OCCT tool to include overclocking support for Intel's latest Xeon 600 "Granite Rapids-WS" workstation processors, designed for precise tuning of Intel's best HEDT offering. While OCCT is traditionally known for hardware stability testing, OCBASE aims to transform it into a universal platform that combines fine-tuning, including overclocking, with stability testing in a single application. The company has worked with Intel to create a special skin for the OCCT tool, featuring an Intel-like blue and white theme. Besides the visual makeover, lots of under the hood changes follow.

For instance, Intel's flagship Xeon 698X, with 86 cores and 172 threads and 336 MB of L3 cache, can be overclocked from the application UI. The processor operates at a 2.0 GHz base clock and can boost up to 4.8 GHz with Turbo Boost Max 3.0 or 4.6 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0. Intel confirms that the 698X is fully unlocked, which is unusual for the Xeon processor family. With OCCT, users can now make per-core clock adjustments and live parameter edits while running continuous stress tests. Currently in a closed beta program, the public release is expected within weeks and will include Linux compatibility.

keinsaas Navigator – Coworker that unifies all interaction with tools, agents and automation


Navigator is a privacy-first AI coworker that guides users into automating real workflows by educating them on effective prompting, connecting the right tools to execute tasks, and enabling the creation and control of agents and automations with proven, tested workflows, all within a single app. It avoids model lock-in and ensures you only pay for what you use.

View startup

When Cloud Outages Ripple Across the Internet

Recent major cloud service outages have been hard to miss. High-profile incidents affecting providers such as AWS, Azure, and Cloudflare have disrupted large parts of the internet, taking down websites and services that many other systems depend on. The resulting ripple effects have halted applications and workflows that many organizations rely on every day. For consumers, these outages are

Apple’s Latest Smartphone Market Share Statistics In The U.S. For Q4 2025 Shows It Is Impossible For Rivals To Compete; Even Samsung Is Experiencing Growth Problems

Apple's unrivaled smartphone market share in the U.S. for Q4 2025

The historic Q1 2026 earnings, where Apple registered a whopping $143.756 billion in revenue, were thanks to iPhone sales, which accounted for more than 50 percent of the aforementioned figure. With this massive growth, the company has extended its hold in the U.S. smartphone market for Q4 2025, with the iPhone 17 launch ensuring that no other competitor, including Samsung, can generate momentum to derail Apple’s success in the region. U.S. smartphone market saw sales increase 1% year-over-year, with Apple’s share percentage increasing to an unrivaled 69% Part of why Apple has dominated this region, according to Counterpoint Research, is […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/apple-us-smartphone-market-share-q4-2025-company-is-unbeatable/

The Switch becomes Nintendo’s all-time best-selling console

Nintendo confirms that the Switch is now its most successful console Nintendo has updated its sales data for its dedicated consoles, confirming that the original Switch is now the most successful gaming system. As of December 31st, 2025, the console has sold over 155.37 million units, surpassing the Nintendo DS, which sold 154.02 million units […]

The post The Switch becomes Nintendo’s all-time best-selling console appeared first on OC3D.

(PR) AVerMedia Expands Creator Ecosystem With Live Streamer App and New Streaming Center Features

AVerMedia Technologies, a global leader in streaming and digital audiovisual solutions, today announces the launch of Live Streamer, a new mobile streaming app, and new feature updates to its PC-based Streaming Center software. These updates together expand AVerMedia's creator ecosystem across mobile and PC workflows. Developed to complement the X'TRA GO GC515 and ELITE GO GC313Pro capture devices, Live Streamer offers a lightweight alternative for creators who want the flexibility of mobile streaming without replacing their existing PC-based workflows. For moments when portability matters such as traveling, staying in hotels, or creating content on the move, creators can now stream using just their mobile devices, without carrying a laptop.

"Creators don't always want to carry a full PC setup, but they still need control, reliability, and quality when streaming on the go," said Michael Kuo, President and CEO of AVerMedia Technologies. "With the GO Series and Live Streamer, we're offering a mobile streaming solution that is easy to use, powerful where it matters, and flexible enough to fit into different creative moments."

(PR) Logitech Unveils New G325 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Headset

Logitech G today announced the Logitech G325 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Headset, a new wireless gaming headset designed for players who want effortless versatility, immersive audio, and all-day comfort, without the premium price tag. Offered at just $79.99 MSRP, the G325 delivers LIGHTSPEED wireless performance and premium audio, in a modern, minimalist design.

"We want all gamers to have premium experiences," said Ujesh Desai, General Manager of Logitech G. "That's why we packed so much into the new G325 headset. It's got a super comfortable design, long battery life, great audio, and works across PC, console, and mobile. It's designed for gamers who love to play across a variety of platforms."

Duckr – Track migrations and plan smarter waterfowl hunts


Duckr provides waterfowl hunters with real-time migration tracking, offline GPS maps, and property boundaries, helping you identify where to hunt. Get weather updates tailored for hunters, including wind, pressure, moon phases, and sunrise/sunset times, along with species identification, audio calls, and tips for every species. Stay compliant with updated season dates and bag limits for all 50 states. Sync across devices, download maps for areas without service, and access community sighting reports to enhance your hunting strategy.

View startup

APT28 Uses Microsoft Office CVE-2026-21509 in Espionage-Focused Malware Attacks

The Russia-linked state-sponsored threat actor known as APT28 (aka UAC-0001) has been attributed to attacks exploiting a newly disclosed security flaw in Microsoft Office as part of a campaign codenamed Operation Neusploit. Zscaler ThreatLabz said it observed the hacking group weaponizing the shortcoming on January 29, 2026, in attacks targeting users in Ukraine, Slovakia, and Romania, three

OLED M6 MacBook Pro Launch Scheduled For Q4 2026, But Samsung Has Yet To Begin Mass Production, With Some Components Still Under Development To Bring Down Costs

Samsung yet to begin OLED mass production for M6 MacBook Pro, with the launch scheduled for Q4 2026

Apple has yet to announce its M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models, but that doesn’t mean that the company will delay its redesigned versions sporting OLED upgrades and its first 2nm chipsets for this platform, the M6. According to the latest report, the new portable Macs are expected to arrive in Q4 2026, but the latest information states that the sole supplier of OLED panels, Samsung, has yet to initiate mass production of the core component. Previously, the Korean manufacturer was reported to be ahead of schedule with the display manufacturing, hinting that Apple would face little to […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/oled-m6-macbook-pro-launch-in-q4-2026-but-samsung-yet-to-start-mass-production/

Nintendo Switch 2 Sold 17.3 Million Units to Date; First Switch Becomes Nintendo’s Best-Selling Console Ever

A comparison of the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 consoles.

Today, Nintendo reported its Q3 financial results, revealing that the Nintendo Switch 2 console has already sold 17.37 million units as of December 31, 2025. As a reminder, the hybrid console debuted in stores on June 5, 2025, and immediately set new sales records. Last quarter, the game developer, publisher, and console manufacturer announced that the Switch 2 had reached 10.36 million units. This means that in the last three months, Nintendo added 7.01 million units. Sure, it was the Holiday quarter, but the figure remains nonetheless impressive. The company's forecast of 19 million units sold by the end of […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/nintendo-switch-2-sold-17-million-first-switch-best-selling-console/

Intel delivers HUGE performance with its Xeon 600 workstation CPUs

Intel delivers up to 86 cores on a single socket with its Xeon 600 series workstation processors Intel has officially launched its new Xeon 600 series of workstation processors. These CPUs deliver up to 86 performance cores and eight DDR5 memory channels to deliver exceptional performance for demanding workstation tasks. Add its 128 PCIe 5.0 […]

The post Intel delivers HUGE performance with its Xeon 600 workstation CPUs appeared first on OC3D.

Kurodot.io – Create immersive, data-driven digital museums


Kurodot is a platform for building immersive, browser-based museums and exhibitions. It allows curators to create 3D showrooms, control lighting and atmosphere, arrange works using a drag-and-drop interface, and edit sculptures with precision tools. Real-time features like ranking mode, zero-gravity focus maps, and crowd control enhance visitor engagement. An analytics dashboard tracks user behavior and impact, all supported by a secure cloud infrastructure and fast rendering for smooth experiences across multiple devices.

View startup

Mozilla Adds One-Click Option to Disable Generative AI Features in Firefox

Mozilla on Monday announced a new controls section in its Firefox desktop browser settings that allows users to completely turn off generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) features. "It provides a single place to block current and future generative AI features in Firefox," Ajit Varma, head of Firefox, said. "You can also review and manage individual AI features if you choose to use them. This

The Man Who Founded NUVIA And The Architect Behind Qualcomm’s In-House Oryon Cores, Gerard Williams III, Says His Journey Of Four Years With The Company Has Ended

Gerard Williams III has left Qualcomm

The acquisition of NUVIA for $1.4 billion could have ended horribly for Qualcomm, but the San Diego firm can now find itself on almost an equal footing with Apple’s A-series and M-series of chipsets with the purchase. With the involvement of Gerard Williams III, who founded NUVIA, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 with its third-generation Oryon cores became possible, and Qualcomm is just getting started. The company is expected to introduce its first 2nm SoCs, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, both of which will likely be the recipients of the fourth-generation custom […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/gerard-williams-iii-the-man-behind-nuvia-and-qualcomm-oryon-cores-has-left-the-company/

ATK Yogo 75 Keyboard Gets Extended Kickstarter Ahead of Imminent Launch

ATK Gear showed off its latest Ghost gaming mouse at CES earlier this year, but the brand is apparently stepping into the less gamer-focussed peripheral scene as well with the new Yogo 75 low-profile mechanical keyboard. The Yogo 75 is, as the name suggests, a 75% mechanical keyboard, but it uses a new all-POM low-profile switch designed in collaboration with Kailh and features some unique design touches, making it a competitive option at its expected $100-130 price point, depending on sales and the specific model. ATK is currently wrapping up the Kickstarter campaign for the Yogo 75, and the keyboard will soon become available on the ATK Gear online store. It will be available with both silent linear and regular linear switches and in black, silver, or yellow (which looks more like a creamy color).

The ATK Yogo 75 has an all-aluminium chassis with a silicone gasket mount, while the Pro version has a built-in pixel display with a frosted cover, and a rotary encoder, and both models feature the retro-future aesthetic that's going around at the moment. Much like the Wooting 80HE (review here), the Yogo 75 has detachable feet for typing angle adjustment, although they are magnetic on the Yogo, where they are simply press-fit on the Wooting. The Yogo 75 will be available with two switch options, and it will have universal-height dye-sublimated PBT keycaps that look like they have the same profile as the keycaps from the similar Iqunix Magi and MQ series keyboards. In terms of connectivity, the standard tri-mode affair—Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, and USB-C connectivity. ATK has put a 5,000 mAh battery into the Yogo 75, and the brand says that it will be able to run for as long as 2,500 hours on a single charge. This is likely tested without the north-facing RGB backlighting enabled.

UnitExplorer – Convert any unit instantly—fast, precise, and mobile-friendly


UnitExplorer is a browser-based calculator for fast and precise unit conversions. Whether you are a student, traveler, or professional, you can easily convert between length, weight, temperature, currency, and more. With a clean interface and real-time exchange rates, it is designed to replace clunky conversion tables and slow search queries. Get accurate results instantly without installing any apps.

View startup

Notepad++ Hosting Breach Attributed to China-Linked Lotus Blossom Hacking Group

A China-linked threat actor known as Lotus Blossom has been attributed with medium confidence to the recently discovered compromise of the infrastructure hosting Notepad++. The attack enabled the state-sponsored hacking group to deliver a previously undocumented backdoor codenamed Chrysalis to users of the open-source editor, according to new findings from Rapid7. The development comes shortly

How to Complete the L’Arca Animal Minigame in Dragon Quest VII Reimagined

Three characters stand on a stone bridge in a village setting in the game 'Dragon Quest VII Reimagined' with map icons and the location 'L'Arca' visible.

Being modeled after the classic PlayStation and 3DS entries, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined features different sub stores in every new land you visit. Upon returning to L'Arca after Ruff joins your party, you may be surprised to find the village still appears to be filled with animals. Thankfully, there is no new curse to break. By entering the Mayor’s House, you will reveal the truth: the villagers are simply dressed up for La Festa, a festival celebrating the town's salvation. How to Start the Minigame To participate in the festivities, you must first look the part. Head over to the […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/how-to-complete-the-larca-animal-minigame-in-dragon-quest-vii-reimagined/

How to Solve the Pit of Silence Mirror Puzzle in Dragon Quest VII Reimagined

A character from 'Dragon Quest VII Reimagined' smiling with hands clasped, surrounded by glowing blue particles.

One of the first true tests of your patience in Dragon Quest VII Reimagined isn’t a boss fight, but the light-refracting puzzle found deep within the Pit of Silence. To restore Alltrades Abbey, you must first release the High Priestess Jacqueline, who is trapped in a magical cage powered by two massive crystals on the upper level. If you’re finding the mirror mechanics a bit finicky, don't worry - you aren't alone. After spending way too many minutes aligning the mirrors during my first playthrough, I’ve mapped out the exact placements you need to shatter both crystals and get back […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/how-to-solve-the-pit-of-silence-mirror-puzzle-in-dragon-quest-vii-reimagined/

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined: Complete Walkthrough and Guides Hub

Characters aboard a ship with the text 'Complete Walkthrough and Guides Hub' and 'Dragon Quest VII Reimagined'.

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is the third version of the seventh entry in the series, which established Japanese role-playing games following the original PlayStation release and the first Nintendo 3DS remake. While the game roughly follows the same story beats, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined introduces many gameplay tweaks meant to make the experience more welcoming for all sorts of players while retaining most of the features that define a Dragon Quest experience. In this Complete Walkthrough and Guides Hub, you will find everything you need to make your journey to restore the world much more enjoyable. Overview Dragon Quest VII […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/dragon-quest-vii-reimagined-complete-walkthrough-and-guides-hub/

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined: Essential Beginners’ Tips to Master The Early Game

Four characters from 'Dragon Quest VII Reimagined', including three standing in colorful outfits and one sitting on a wolf, appear in a grassy landscape with the game's logo in the top right corner.

Although it streamlines many of its most challenging elements to be more welcoming than the PlayStation original, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined can still be a massive undertaking for newcomers that may have some trouble getting into the game and enjoying it right from the beginning. To maximize your understanding of the early game, and thus its enjoyment, we have put together a list of beginners' tips that are sure to help you enjoy Dragon Quest VII Reimagined more, especially if this is your first time putting the fragments of the forgotten past back together again. Always Talk to Everyone and […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/dragon-quest-vii-reimagined-essential-beginners-tips-to-master-the-early-game/

What is the Correct Chest to Open in the Poolside Cave In Dragon Quest VII Reimagined

In the game Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, characters explore Poolside Cave - Underground Level 2 with text reading 'A chest that rests in a wintry bath, Will show us the Almighty's path.'

As you explore the Poolside Cave in Dragon Quest VII Reimagined to help the Roamers complete their trial, you will come across a cryptic riddle in the cave's Underground Level 2 map : “A chest that rests in a wintry bath, Will show us the Almighty's path.” While your instinct in any RPG is to open every chest you see, this room is a minefield. Most of the treasure chests here are either completely empty or, far worse, are actually Canniboxes in disguise. These monsters are notorious for their high critical hit rate and their ability to cast Whack (the […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/what-is-the-correct-chest-to-open-in-the-poolside-cave-in-dragon-quest-vii-reimagined/

How to Beat Cardinal Sin in Dragon Quest VII Reimagined

Characters from 'Dragon Quest III Reimagined' stand before a king in a palace setting.

If you’ve been breezing through Dragon Quest VII Reimagined until Alltrades Abbey, prepare for a dramatic wake-up call. Cardinal Sin, who has usurpued the real High Priestess to trick travelers journey to the Abbey for a Vocation change, is your first true combat test, the moment where the game stops holding your hand and demands that you quickly get to grips with the basis of the Vocation System. After you free High Priestess Jacqueline in the Pit of Silence, she will offer you the chance to change your Vocations at Alltrades Abbey. At first, I found it more comfortable sticking […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/how-to-beat-cardinal-sin-in-dragon-quest-vii-reimagined/

How To Manage MP Like a Pro in Dragon Quest VII Reimagined

In the game 'Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined,' Maribel casts the spell 'Sizzle' during a battle, with character stats for Arus, Maribel, and Ruff displayed on the right.

Proper MP management is always key in any entry in the Dragon Quest series. Even with all of its tweaks and changes over the original, MP management continues to be an extremely important element of Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, one that you should master to graduate from being a series newbie to a true pro. If you're having trouble with it, however, you can follow these tips to become a master MP manager, and ultimately have more fun with the game right from the very beginning. Don't Go Overboard and Learn When to Take the Reins Back This is self-explanatory, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/how-to-manage-mp-like-a-pro-in-dragon-quest-vii-reimagined/

Best Difficulty Settings for a Balanced First Playthrough in Dragon Quest VII Reimagined

A scene from Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined shows three characters preparing to fight three monster opponents in a cave, with the menu option 'Fight' selected.

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined introduces a level of flexibility never before seen in the series by offering three distinct difficulty presets: Easy Going, Happy Medium, and Tough Going. These roughly correspond to your traditional Easy, Normal, and Hard modes. While these presets are a good starting point, the "reimagined" experience allows you to adjust every parameter individually, even during the game (Main Menu, Settings, Difficulty Level). After extensive testing, I have found that the default Happy Medium can still feel a bit too simple for both series veterans and those accustomed to RPG mechanics. To achieve a playthrough that rewards […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/best-difficulty-settings-for-a-balanced-first-playthrough-in-dragon-quest-vii-reimagined/

M4 MacBook Air Prices Are Slowly Creeping Upwards, Here’s Your Chance To Grab Each Configuration At $150 Off On Amazon Before Time Runs Out

You can still grab the 15-inch and 13-inch M4 MacBook Air models at $150 off on Amazon

It is a miracle that the 13-inch and 15-inch M4 MacBook Air remains discounted on Amazon, whereas the price of consumer electronics is slowly rising because the DRAM supply has been choked, causing a serious supply and demand problem. However, don’t think that Apple is immune to these shortages because the company’s portable Mac lineup is slowly becoming more expensive, meaning that you’ll have to either pay the full price or a substantial premium if you don’t act fast. Fortunately, some configurations and colors continue to be available at $150 off for both display sizes, starting from $849.99. The Midnight color […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/m4-macbook-air-prices-are-creeping-upwards-get-yours-for-150-off-on-amazon/

CONNETY – A private internal newsletter that helps teammates know each other better


CONNETY is a private internal newsletter for teams. It sends teammates a small number of personal (non-work) questions on a regular basis, collects their answers, and publishes them as a shared team newsletter that everyone can read. The process runs fully on autopilot. CONNETY has a curated bank of approximately 600 questions across 10 categories and 3 reflection levels. It adds a lightweight relationship layer on top of existing work tools, helping teammates build personal context over time to support engagement, collaboration, and retention without meetings or facilitation.

View startup

Intel Launches Xeon 600 Series Workstation CPUs

After a long wait, Intel has launched its Xeon 600 Series processors dedicated to workstations. Codenamed Granite Rapids-WS, the new lineup is targeting single-socket workstations, with a strong emphasis on high core counts, large memory capacity, and extensive I/O for multi-GPU and storage-heavy configurations. The new chip family will replace the existing Sapphire Rapids‑based Xeon W-2500 and W-3500 Series workstation chips and will go up against AMD high-end workstation equivalent, the Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9000 Series. In total, Intel has 11 SKUs for Xeon 600 series and all are built around Redwood Cove P-cores, with no E-cores present. At the top of the stack sits the Xeon 698X, featuring 86 cores and 172 threads, backed by 336 MB of L3 cache. The chip runs at a 2.0 GHz base clock, boosting up to 4.8 GHz with Turbo Boost Max 3.0, or 4.6 GHz under Turbo Boost 2.0. Intel confirms that the 698X is fully unlocked, allowing overclocking, something still relatively rare in the Xeon workstation space.

They are paired with the Intel W890 chipset that offers up to 128 PCIe 5.0 lanes directly from the CPU. It features eight memory channels supporting DDR5-6400 RDIMMs, and up to 4 TB of system memory. Compared to the previous Xeon WS generation, Granite Rapids-WS brings larger L2 and L3 caches, CXL 2.0 support and updated platform features. Intel also highlights support for vPro Enterprise, as well as Intel Deep Learning Boost, including VNNI, AVX-512, and AMX, targeting AI inference and advanced compute workloads.

BullRun Forever Toolkit – Use free calculators to plan debt, budgets, investments, and retirement


BullRun Forever Toolkit provides free, privacy-first financial calculators and simulators to plan debt payoff, budgets, investments, retirement, real estate, credit, and auto financing. Use tools like ROTH IRA and 401(k) calculators, investment and net worth projections, home affordability, student loan analysis, and debt strategy planners to model scenarios with penny-verified math. The toolkit works on any device, has no ads or sign-ups, and runs most calculations locally to protect your data.

View startup

Newegg is offering big-time discounts on several gaming laptops — with price cuts up to 40% to help you find scarce RTX GPUs amidst the RAM Crisis

Newegg has a special surprise for PC gamers struggling to find a new gaming laptop amid the RAM crisis, driving prices up. A special, limited-time sales event selling several gaming laptops with increasingly rare NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs inside that will last from February 2, 2026, to February 8, 2026.

GOG Addresses AI Art Banner: "We Failed On Two Levels"

Recently, GOG, the game storefront and distribution platform, took some heat over the inclusion of AI-generated art in promotional imagery for a New Year sale. It received so much backlash online that an employee in the marketing department took to the GOG forum to respond the same day news broke, however, now, GOG has issued an official response in its Discord server for GOG Patrons (courtesy of Kotaku).

In the lengthy response, the GOG representative explains that the art was indeed AI generated, although this had been confirmed previously, but they explain that the banner was a WIP (work in progress) asset and was never meant to be shared. GOG also says that it "failed on at least two levels: Quality-control of the asset that landed on the front page, and then reacting quickly enough when we noticed the error." The rep goes on to acknowledge its community's disappointment in the use of AI, but says that GOG is a very small team that has been testing different technologies and tools that allow the team to do more with fewer hands. The full statement is available below, but it essentially seems as though GOG is incorporating generative AI into its workflows, despite the negative backlash, internally, externally, and even from the gaming industry at large.

Acemagic Retro X3 Debuts as Ryzen 7 H 255-Powered Retro Mini PC

Acemagic's latest entry into its retro mini PC line, the Retro X3, is apparently powered by AMD's Ryzen 7 H 255, and it offers a slightly toned-down look compared to the Gorgon Point and Panther Lake devices we previewed at CES earlier this year. The Retro X3 has officially launched in China, and is available for pre-order at a price of RMB 1,899 without RAM or storage. This translates to around $273, although it will likely be slightly more expensive when it launches globally. The Retro X3 will be available with and AMD Ryzen 7 H 255, which is an eight-core CPU with AMD's Zen 4 Architecture and an AMD Radeon 780M iGPU, meaning the mini PC should offer similar low-end gaming performance to the APU in the ASUS ROG Ally or Lenovo Legion Go.

It features modular RAM, with support for up to 128 GB of DDR5-5600 RAM and up to 4 TB of NVMe storage via a 2280 M.2 slot. As with the other retro PCs by Acemagic, it features a beige plastic enclosure with a big red power button and plenty of ports. On the front alone, there are two USB 3.2 ports, along with a 3.5 mm audio jack and a USB4 Type-C port, while the back features an HDMI 2.1 port and a DisplayPort 2.0 port alongside 2.5G LAN and four USB 3.2 ports. It also packs Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6 for wireless connectivity and peripherals. The air cooling system draws in cool air from the top of the chassis and exhausts heat through vents on the sides and rear of the mini PC, and the whole package measures in at just 128.2 × 128.2 × 44 mm.

Computers Running Windows 10 Aren't Safe, But Windows 11 Pro Is Only $13 Right Now (Reg. $199)

Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 last year, and if your computer is still running it, then your data is at risk. If you want an easy way to upgrade, right now, you can get Windows 11 Pro on sale for only $12.97 (reg. $199). Windows 11 Pro adds security tools that help protect your files and accounts in ways Windows 10 simply doesn't. BitLocker can encrypt your drive so someone who gets your laptop can't just pull the data off it. Smart App Control can block unknown or suspicious programs before they run, which is helpful if you download software from different places. Windows Defender works in the background to scan for threats without a separate antivirus subscription.

There are also changes that make it easier to work on a crowded desktop. Snap layouts let you click a layout and drop apps into neat side-by-side or grid views instead of dragging windows around. Virtual desktops help you keep work, personal tasks, and side projects in separate spaces on the same computer. When you plug back into a monitor or dock, Windows 11 Pro does a better job of putting windows back where they were instead of stacking them on one screen.

Right now, it's only $12.97 to get Windows 11 Pro, but it won't stay that way.

(PR) Giga Computing Unveils New Motherboards Using Intel Xeon 600 Processor for Workstations

Giga Computing, a subsidiary of GIGABYTE and a leader in high-performance computing and data center solutions, today announced two new enterprise-grade workstation motherboards for demanding workloads in engineering, AI development, data science, and media creation. For Intel Xeon 600 processors for workstations, the first wave of products from Giga Computing includes the GIGABYTE MW94-RP0 and MW54-HP0. Designed for a traditional computer chassis, these new motherboards are feature rich and offer a significant boost in AI bound workloads.

Intel Xeon 600 Processors for Workstations
Modern workstation workloads are evolving rapidly, driven by AI, higher core density, and the need for faster data movement across the system. Intel Xeon 600 processors for workstations are built on the new Redwood Cove+ P-core architecture and the Intel 3 process, delivering a significant leap in compute capability, AI acceleration, and platform bandwidth. With expanded PCIe 5.0 connectivity, faster DDR5 memory, and the new W890 workstation chipset, this platform provides a future-ready foundation for professionals tackling demanding workloads in engineering, AI development, data science, and media creation.

AirMusic – Generate realistic music and vocals with AI


AirMusic is an AI music creation platform designed for musicians, creators, and brands. It allows users to generate royalty-free tracks in various styles, extend songs, create AI covers, and add sung vocals from lyrics. With features like separate stems, custom instrumentals, and voice cloning, users can achieve unique performances. Additionally, AirMusic offers tools to analyze BPM, key, and mood, write lyrics, and even transform images or portraits into music videos. Users enjoy commercial-ready outputs, robust privacy protections, and easy downloads in MP3 or WAV formats for seamless publishing.

View startup

Evenpay – Transform HR data into fair, data-driven pay decisions


Evenpay provides compensation intelligence that transforms your HR, payroll, performance, and job data into fair and defensible pay decisions. It builds a transparent job architecture, runs structured compensation reviews, and generates full EU Pay Transparency Directive reports. With an AI-powered Compensation Specialist, real-time pay-gap alerts, and objective pay justification workflows, Evenpay helps HR and managers identify, explain, and resolve inequities before they affect compliance or culture. Evenpay is the most efficient way to establish a compliant, fair, and data-driven pay structure.

View startup

China is leading the fight against hidden car door handles

Under new safety rules published Monday by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, cars sold in the country must have mechanical releases on their door handles. The new rules, which go in effect January 1, 2027, will prohibit the hidden, electronically actuated door handles popularized by Tesla — and now found on numerous other electric vehicles in China.

The Best Skills in ARC Raiders – Level Up These Skills First

Three characters in a sci-fi setting hold weapons, with one character prominently gripping a futuristic rifle from the video game ARC Raiders.

ARC Raiders has a lot of systems that its players need to be aware of, and while the gear you take with you each time you go Topside is important, you also need to be levelling up your Raider's skill tree appropriately, if you want to be able to make the best of your runs. While completing the full Skill Tree is a slog, since you don't just have to unlock skills by spending individual points, you need to spend a certain amount of skill points in each of the three sections (Conditioning, Mobility, and Survival) to move into the […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/how-to/the-best-skills-in-arc-raiders/

Code Vein II PC Graphics Optimization Guide — Our Recommendations for Balancing Performance and Visuals

A promotional image for 'Code Vein II' shows two characters engaging in combat beneath the game's title, with the text

With PC games growing increasingly complex — especially ones built on Epic's Unreal Engine 5 — default/max graphics presets rarely (if at all) strike the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance that most PC gamers seek, and Code Vein II is no exception to this rule. As a demanding Unreal Engine 5 game, many PC gamers — on various PC setups, including high-end ones — have unfortunately voiced their frustrations when it comes to the game's performance profile. This guide should hopefully help you attain an optimal balance between performance and visuals. We will break down how each graphics […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/code-vein-ii-pc-graphics-optimization-guide-our-recommendations-for-balancing-performance-visuals/

Intel Xeon 600 Workstation CPUs Launched: Up To 86 Cores, 8000 MT/s Memory, 128 Gen5 Lanes, 350W TDP With OC Support, & More Cores/$ Than Threadripper 9000

The image shows an Intel® Xeon® 600 processor with 'Intel Xeon Processors for Workstations' and 'intel chipset W890' logos

Intel has unveiled its next-gen Xeon 600 workstation CPUs codenamed Granite Rapids, featuring up to 86 cores & better cores/$ value than Threadripper. Intel Fires Back At AMD Threadripper 9000 With Better Cores/$ Value On Xeon 600 Workstation CPUs Today, Intel is officially introducing its latest workstation CPU family, Xeon 600. These processors are based on the same Intel 3 process technology with Redwood Cove P-Cores, and are aimed at content creators, professionals, data scientists, and several other workstation segments such as AI Dev, Media, Energy & Geo-Sciences, Life Sciences & Healthcare, and Financial Services. These chips will replace the […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/intel-xeon-600-cpus-launched-up-to-86-cores-better-value-than-threadripper/

Five Ryzen 9000 CPUs Killed In A Single Day By ASRock Motherboards

The saga continues, and the reports are now surfacing more frequently than ever. ASRock remains the top killer of Ryzen CPUs. Multiple Ryzen 9000 CPUs Dead Reports Surface on Reddit; Ryzen 9800X3D, 9950X3D, 9600X, and 9700X Killed on ASRock Motherboards It's crazy to think how fast the dead CPU reports are piling up, and from a 6-core non-X3D to a 16-core X3D CPU, nothing appears to be safe. We reported yesterday that at least four Ryzen 5 9600X dead CPUs were found in a single month, but today we have gathered five different Ryzen CPU failure cases, comprising various Ryzen […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/five-ryzen-9000-cpus-killed-in-a-single-day-by-asrock-motherboards/

(PR) Firaxis Celebrates Civilization VII First Anniversary and Announces Big Changes

Hi Civ fans - Ed Beach here, creative director for the Civilization franchise. For more than 30 years, Civilization has challenged players to build an empire to stand the test of time, offering rich, strategic gameplay that has resonated with fans across the world. That includes many of us on the Firaxis development team, who have devoted much of our lives to working on this legendary series.

One year ago, we embarked on a bold new journey with the launch of Civilization VII. Our vision was to push the boundaries of the franchise, introducing new mechanics that offered a fresh perspective for our players. The most rewarding part of the past year has been spending it with you - our community. Your passion, your ideas, and your feedback have shaped how we think about Civilization VII, and continue to guide where we're taking this game next. As we look ahead, we're committed to building on that foundation and weaving what we've heard directly into the game's DNA - so Civ VII keeps growing into something that feels great for deity veterans and new players alike. We're excited to build the future of Civilization VII together, and now we're ready to share a bit about where it's going next.

Ubisoft Montreal Lead Fired After Critical Comments on New Return-to-Office Mandate

A brick office building with the Ubisoft logo on the top corner, under a clear sky.

Ubisoft, like most major triple-A publishers and developers, gets its fair share of criticism, and since the company announced a "major reset" last month, it's been getting far more than its fair share. The reset saw it cancel the long-awaited Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake, among other projects, while others were delayed, and the company confirmed that there would not only be more layoffs coming, but it would end its remote work policies, instituting a return-to-office mandate. All of this, including the introduction of a voluntary layoff program at Ubisoft's headquarters in Paris, has sparked heavy criticism from […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/ubisoft-montreal-lead-fired-after-critical-comments-on-new-return-to-office-mandate/

The WOLFBOX MF200 Portable Air Blower Keeps Dust And Other Particles Away From Your Computers And Other Expensive Belongings, Grabs Yours For $99.99 Or 23% Off On Amazon

WOLFBOX MF200 portable air blower available for $99.99 on Amazon

The biggest enemy of electronics is dust, and what better way to eliminate this persistent nemesis than with a compact, yet extremely powerful, portable air blower? However, there are a ton of options littered on Amazon, with some of them either not packing enough power or their battery begins to degrade after a few months, leading to lower runtimes. Fortunately, the WOLFBOX MF200 excels in removing all sorts of particles from your expensive belongings, and you can grab one from the online retailer for $99.99, or 23 percent off. The MF200 offers a multitude of attachments for extreme versatility, not […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/wolfbox-mf200-portable-air-blower-with-removable-battery-lots-of-attachments-for-99-99-on-amazon/

Loongson 3B6000 Benchmarked, Only Delivers a Third of AMD Ryzen 5 9600X Performance

Chinese company Loongson has been developing custom processors based on the LoongArch instruction set, a new design initiated in 2020. Phoronix reviewed the company's 3B6000 processor, which has 12 cores supporting simultaneous multithreading (SMT2), resulting in 24 threads. The platform is compatible with DDR4 memory, with a controller targeting speeds up to 3,200 MT/s and ECC support, and the CPU runs at 2.4/2.5 GHz base frequency. In testing, the 3B6000 processor achieved about one-third the performance of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X in aggregate benchmark testing. However, it outperformed the Raspberry Pi 500+ by a factor of 2.5, placing it between single-board computers and entry-level desktop systems.

For testing, Phoronix used the 3B6000x1-7A2000x1-EVB evaluation board, which appears dated compared to current motherboard designs, especially in terms of component selection and the cooling solution for the chipset. Expansion options include two PCIe x16 slots, one PCIe x4 slot, an M.2 connector, and four SATA ports. The integrated graphics unit supports both HDMI and VGA outputs. While the LoongArch64 architecture represents China's effort to develop an independent instruction set with the ability to tune features like security and specialized workloads, these benchmarks suggest the hardware execution still lags several generations behind x86-64 designs from AMD and Intel. Significant, multifold improvements are needed before it can match the performance of Western CPU makers.

Bit & Grain – Track tools, materials, and projects in one organized workshop


Bit & Grain helps makers track tools, materials, and projects in one place. You can add items quickly using AI import from Amazon, Home Depot, or Toolnut links, or by snapping a photo to identify a tool. The app allows you to build a hierarchical location system for every item, schedule maintenance with reminders, and receive low-stock alerts for consumables and lumber. Plan projects with tasks, budgets, and assigned tools, and gain insights on spending and total inventory value to guide your purchases and insurance decisions.

View startup

Researchers Find 341 Malicious ClawHub Skills Stealing Data from OpenClaw Users

A security audit of 2,857 skills on ClawHub has found 341 malicious skills across multiple campaigns, according to new findings from Koi Security, exposing users to new supply chain risks. ClawHub is a marketplace designed to make it easy for OpenClaw users to find and install third-party skills. It's an extension to the OpenClaw project, a self-hosted artificial intelligence (AI) assistant

Austrian Supreme Court Declares EA Sport FC’s Loot Boxes and FC Ultimate Mode “Do Not Constitute Gambling”

An image from EA Sports FC 26 shows 'ICONS' cards featuring players like Ibrahimović, Iniesta, Morgan, and Kahn with their

Austria's Supreme Court has just delivered a ruling that has the potential to send shockwaves through the video game industry, as it declares that the loot boxes found in EA Sports FC and in its FC Ultimate Mode "do not constitute gambling," a ruling that EA is only too happy to accept. Reported by GamesMarkt, while the ruling states that the lootboxes in EA Sports FC are not gambling, it still adds that gambling is part of the equation. "In this video game, despite the random allocation of individual content from the Packs, the human player can use their own […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/austrian-supreme-court-declares-ea-sport-fcs-loot-boxes-and-fc-ultimate-mode-do-not-constitute-gambling/

Nioh 3 Could Launch on Xbox Series S/X as Early as in August

Nioh 3 has only six months of timed console exclusivity for PS5.

As we mentioned in our Nioh 3 info roundup article, this third entry in Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja's fantasy action RPG series is the first one not published by Sony and, as such, releases day and date on PC alongside PlayStation 5. What we did not know exactly were the terms of a console-specific timed exclusivity. The lack of any mention of an Xbox Series S|X version was a dead giveaway that it would not be available at launch, and indeed, Sony was still likely to have secured some sort of temporal exclusivity. Now, more information on this matter […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/nioh-3-could-launch-xbox-as-early-as-in-august/

Google’s Tensor SoC Shipments Estimated To Witness The Least Amount Of Resistance In 2026 Due To Memory Shortage, Samsung Coming In At Second Place

Counterpoint Research shares chipset shipment estimates for 2026, with Google witnessing the highest growth

The Tensor G5 was a disappointing release, as Google’s first SoC to utilize TSMC’s cutting-edge lithography was once again behind the competition in raw performance and efficiency. Despite these shortcomings, the Mountain View is expected to witness the highest year-over-year chipset shipments growth for 2026, beating out its rivals, who are estimated to see declines in the tally due to the DRAM shortage. Global smartphone chipset shipments to decline by 7% in 2026, with Chinese OEMs hit the hardest; Apple, Samsung, and Google are better positioned thanks to a strong integrated supply chain and robust focus on in-house silicon development The […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/google-tensor-soc-shipments-2026-facing-least-resistance-due-to-dram-shortage/

Intel mandates at least 7,467 MT/s RAM speed for Panther Lake — Slower memory will relabel the Arc B370 & B390 iGPUs as generic "Intel Graphics" in Task Manager

Panther Lake chips with Arc B370 and Arc B390 iGPUs will require RAM running at 7,467 MT/s or higher since integrated graphics rely on shared system memory. If the RAM config is any slower, those impressive iGPUs will be relabeled to generic "Intel Graphics" in Task Manager in an effort to prevent vendors from under-equipping machines.

Google Ads API update cracks open Performance Max by channel

Is your account ready for Google AI Max? A pre-test checklist

As part of the v23 Ads API launch, Performance Max campaigns can now be reported by channel, including Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, Maps, and Search Partners. Previously, performance data was largely grouped into a single mixed category.

The change under the hood. Earlier API versions typically returned a MIXED value for the ad_network_type segment in Performance Max campaigns. With v23, those responses now break out into specific channel enums — a meaningful shift for reporting and optimization.

Why we care. Google Ads API v23 doesn’t just add features — it changes how advertisers understand Performance Max. The update introduces channel-level reporting, giving marketers long-requested visibility into where PMax ads actually run.

How advertisers can use it. Channel-level data is available at the campaign, asset group, and asset level, allowing teams to see how individual creatives perform across Google properties. When combined with v22 segments like ad_using_video and ad_using_product_data, advertisers can isolate results such as video performance on YouTube or Shopping ads on Search.

For developers. Upgrading to v23 will surface more detailed reporting than before. Reporting systems that relied on the legacy MIXED value will need to be updated to handle the new channel enums.

What to watch:

  • Channel data is only available for dates starting June 1, 2025.
  • Asset group–level channel reporting remains API-only and won’t appear in the Google Ads UI.

Bottom line. The latest Google Ads API release quietly delivers one of the biggest Performance Max updates yet — turning a black-box campaign type into something advertisers can finally analyze by channel.

How to build a modern Google Ads targeting strategy like a pro

Search marketing is still as powerful as ever. Google recently surpassed $100 billion in ad revenue in a single quarter, with more than half coming from search. But search alone can no longer deliver the same results most businesses expect.

As Google Ads Coach Jyll Saskin Gales showed at SMX Next, real performance now comes from going beyond traditional search and using it to strengthen a broader PPC strategy.

The challenge with traditional Search Marketing

As search marketers, we’re great at reaching people who are actively searching for what we sell. But we often miss people who fit our ideal audience and aren’t searching yet.

The real opportunity sits at the intersection of intent and audience fit.

Take the search [vacation packages]. That query could come from a family with young kids, a honeymooning couple, or a group of retirees. The keyword is the same, but each audience needs a different message and a different offer.

Understanding targeting capabilities in Google Ads

There are two main types of targeting:

  • Content targeting shows ads in specific places.
  • Audience targeting shows ads to specific types of people.

For example, targeting [flights to Paris] is content targeting. Targeting people who are “in-market for trips to Paris” is audience targeting. Google builds in-market audiences by analyzing behavior across multiple signals, including searches, browsing activity, and location.

The three types of content targeting

  • Keyword targeting: Reach people when they search on Google, including through dynamic ad groups and Performance Max.
  • Topic targeting: Show ads alongside content related to specific topics in display and video campaigns.
  • Placement targeting: Put ads on specific websites, apps, YouTube channels, or videos where your ideal customers already spend time.

The four types of audience targeting

  • Google’s data: Prebuilt segments include detailed demographics (such as parents of toddlers vs. teens), affinity segments (interests like vegetarianism), in-market segments (people actively researching purchases), and life events (graduating or retiring). Any advertiser can use these across most campaign types.
  • Your data: Target website visitors, app users, people who engaged with your Google content (YouTube viewers or search clickers), and customer lists through Customer Match. Note that remarketing is restricted for sensitive interest categories.
  • Custom segments: Turn content targeting into audience targeting by building segments based on what people search for, their interests, and the websites or apps they use. These go by different names depending on campaign type—“custom segments” in most campaigns and “custom search terms” in video campaigns.
  • Automated targeting: This includes optimized targeting (finding people similar to your converters), audience expansion in video campaigns, audience signals and search themes in Performance Max, and lookalike segments that model new users from your seed lists.

Building your targeting strategy

To build a modern targeting strategy, you need to answer two questions:

  • How can I sell my offer with Google Ads?
  • How can I reach a specific kind of person with Google Ads?

For example, to reach Google Ads practitioners for lead gen software, you could build custom segments that target people who use the Google Ads app, visit industry sites like searchengineland.com, or search for Google Ads–specific terms such as “Performance Max” or “Smart Bidding.”

You can also layer in content targeting, like YouTube placements on industry educator channels and topic targeting around search marketing.

Strategies for sensitive interest categories

If you work in a restricted category such as legal or healthcare and can’t use custom segments or remarketing, use non-linear targeting. Ignore the offer and focus on the audience. Choose any Google data audience with potential overlap, even if it’s imperfect, and let your creative do the filtering.

Use industry-specific jargon, abbreviations, and imagery that only your target audience will recognize and value. Everyone else will scroll past.

Remember: High CPCs aren’t the enemy

Low-quality traffic is the real problem. You’re better off paying $10 per click with a 10% conversion rate than $1 per click with a 0.02% conversion rate.

When evaluating targeting strategies, focus on conversion rate and cost per acquisition, not just cost per click.

Search alone can’t deliver the results you’re used to

By expanding beyond traditional search keywords and using content and audience targeting, you can reach the right people and keep driving strong results.

Watch: How to build a modern targeting strategy like a pro + Live Q&A

💾

Learn a practical PPC framework that predicts intent, reaches beyond search, and connects the right audiences to the right content.

OpenAI quietly lays groundwork for ads in ChatGPT

5 SEO use cases for the ChatGPT code interpreter plugin

People inspecting ChatGPT responses are spotting references to ads in the page source. One line reads: “InReply to user query using the following additional context of ads shown to the user.” The reference appears even when no ad is actually displayed.

Driving the news. Digital Marketer Glenn Gabe first flagged the issue on X after noticing the ad-related language in ChatGPT’s source code. Others have since replicated it while testing commercial queries like auto insurance.

Why we care. Ads in ChatGPT have been talked about for weeks. This piece of code spotted signals that ChatGPT ads are moving from concept to near-launch, creating a new, high-intent advertising channel. The presence of ad logic in the system suggests targeting and eligibility are already being tested, favoring early advertisers.

With limited inventory and ads likely woven into conversational responses rather than shown as banners, this could become premium, high-impact real estate that directly competes with organic answers.

Between the lines. The ads aren’t visible, but the logic appears to be live. That suggests OpenAI may already be testing ad eligibility, suppression rules for paid tiers, or internal triggers ahead of a broader rollout.

Context. OpenAI confirmed in January that ads are coming to ChatGPT for some users. The company said ads would be sold on an impression basis, and early indications suggest they won’t be cheap.

Bottom line. ChatGPT may not be showing ads yet — but the infrastructure is already in place.

Dig deeper. Glenn Gabe spots code that shows ChatGPT ads is imminent.

Modder delivers huge 64GB upgrade for ASUS’ ROG Xbox Ally X

Modder disassembles ASUS’ ROG Xbox Ally X to give it a 64GB memory upgrade SlickBuys Mods and Repairs has managed to craft a custom 64GB ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X handheld. This mod replaces the four 6GB of LPDDR5X memory chips on the handheld with larger 16GB memory packages. This upgraded the handheld from its […]

The post Modder delivers huge 64GB upgrade for ASUS’ ROG Xbox Ally X appeared first on OC3D.

Intel's Core Ultra 9 290K Plus Shows 10% Performance Boost Over Core Ultra 9 285K

Intel's next desktop "Arrow Lake Refresh" CPU upgrade is inching closer to reality. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has been spotted in a new Geekbench run, adding to the evidence that the "Arrow Lake Refresh" will indeed offer a meaningful performance improvements over its predecessors. The test system used an ASUS ROG Strix Z890-E Gaming Wi-Fi board with 64 GB of DDR5-6800 memory. The processor achieved scores of 3,535 in the single-core test and 25,106 in the multicore test. Compared to the Core Ultra 9 285K's typical scores of around 3,200 and 22,560, this represents improvements of approximately 10.5% and 11.3%, respectively. These results place the 290K Plus at the top of Intel's consumer CPU rankings in Geekbench's database. An earlier leak on different hardware showed slightly lower results, suggesting that this newer test run benefits from better optimization rather than just faster memory.

The 290K Plus SKU keeps the same 24-core layout as its predecessor with 8 P-Cores and 16 E-Cores, plus identical power limits of PL1 of 125 W and PL2 of 250 W. The gains come from higher clock speeds. According to rumors, the efficiency cores now boost to 4.8 GHz, up 200 MHz, while the performance cores get an extra 100 MHz on both turbo and thermal velocity boost. The benchmark registered the chip running at 5.7 GHz during testing. Intel has confirmed the ARLR is coming but has stayed quiet on specific models and dates. Leaks suggest a March or April release, and since these chips use the same LGA 1851 socket, they should work as drop-in upgrades for current Z890 motherboards. As with any pre-release numbers, may not reflect final CPU performance, so final performance data and gaming results that come from third-party reviews will show the real-world situation.

Calibre 9.1 adds a virtual bookshelf and smarter editing tools


Calibre 9.1 introduces a new virtual bookshelf view that displays book spines on digital shelves, along with an Edit Book button that lets users jump directly into editing supported ebook formats from their current reading position. The update also brings refinements such as adjustable chat font sizes and updated Kobo compatibility.



Read Entire Article

Shiru Notes – Write private, cloud-synced notes in a distraction-free space


Shiru Notes provides a calm, paper-like environment to capture your thoughts with cloud capabilities. It autosaves notes as you write, encrypts your content for privacy, and offers a minimal interface to help you focus on your ideas. You can quickly jot down fleeting moments and access your notes from anywhere. Start with no credit card and receive 50 free notes.

View startup

OpenClaw Bug Enables One-Click Remote Code Execution via Malicious Link

A high-severity security flaw has been disclosed in OpenClaw (formerly referred to as Clawdbot and Moltbot) that could allow remote code execution (RCE) through a crafted malicious link. The issue, which is tracked as CVE-2026-25253 (CVSS score: 8.8), has been addressed in version 2026.1.29 released on January 30, 2026. It has been described as a token exfiltration vulnerability that leads to

“Evil Has Always Had a Name”: Capcom’s New Short Film Sets the Mood for Resident Evil Requiem

A child sleeps in bed holding a stuffed animal, while an adult sits beside them with a book.

It's officially February, which means that we're finally within the release month for Resident Evil Requiem. The new mainline entry in the long-running horror franchise looks like it could be one of the series' best, if it's able to strike the right balance between its RE2 and RE7-inspired sections featuring Grace Ashcroft and its RE4-inspired sections with the iconic Leon Kennedy. Resident Evil Requiem will be arriving on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on February 27, 2026, and ahead of that release date, developer Capcom has shared a new short film to get players in the […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/evil-has-always-had-a-name-capcoms-new-short-film-sets-the-mood-for-resident-evil-requiem/

Samsung’s Exynos 2600 Goes Toe-To-Toe With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 In Vulkan On Geekbench

Exynos 2600's Xclipse 960 GPU beats the Snapdragon X Elite in Geekbench 6 OpenCL tests

We've just received yet another material signal as to the potency and overall effectiveness of Samsung's Exynos 2600 chip, which is expected to launch within the upcoming Galaxy S26 series. Samsung's Exynos 2600 matches the performance of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip in Vulkan on Geekbench As is evident from the X post above, Samsung's Exynos 2600 chip (Galaxy S26) has managed to snag a score of 27,478 on Vulkan, which is just a smidge shy of the score of 27,875 that Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip (Redmagic 11 Pro) has secured. Practically, the two chips […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/samsungs-exynos-2600-goes-toe-to-toe-with-qualcomms-snapdragon-8-elite-gen-5-in-vulkan-on-geekbench/

China’s SMIC Is Expanding Advanced Packaging Efforts by Establishing a Research Center to Explore New Ways to Scale Performance Beyond Moore’s Law

SMIC made more revenue in Q4 2023 compared to the same period in 2021

SMIC, China's biggest chip manufacturing company, is now looking to advanced packaging, given how NVIDIA and others have leveraged it to scale performance beyond the norms of Moore's Law. SMIC Plans to "Strengthen" Cooperation With OSAT Partners, In Order to Effectively Develop Packaging Solutions Advanced packaging has been a key resource for chip manufacturers to scale performance significantly over the past few years. Scaling laws have pushed beyond the traditional transistor-shrinking approach towards newer techniques, and one way to do so is to bring innovation to backend semiconductors, such as TSMC's CoWoS. According to a DigiTimes report, SMIC is now […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/chinas-smic-is-expanding-advanced-packaging-efforts/

Apple’s New Packaging Tech For M5 Pro And M5 Max Chips Hinted Within The Revamped Mac Configurator

A person using a laptop displaying side-by-side logos of 'Apple M5 Pro' and 'Apple M5 Max'.

Apple is widely believed to have adopted TSMC's SoIC packaging for its upcoming M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, bringing with it an unprecedented level of silicon-related flexibility and granularity. Now, Apple's new Mac configurator is giving tantalizing confirmatory signals as to this eventuality. The new Apple Mac configurator brings flexibility and granularity to the front We noted recently that, as per leaked anecdotes, Apple appears to be opting for TSMC's SoIC-MH packaging technology for its upcoming M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. For the benefit of those who might not be aware, the SoIC is a 3D packaging solution that […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/apples-new-packaging-tech-for-m5-pro-and-m5-max-chips-hinted-within-the-revamped-mac-configurator/

HBO’s The Last of Us May Wrap Up in Three Seasons, Not Four: “It Certainly Seems That Way,” Says HBO Boss

Two people with backpacks stand in a post-apocalyptic cityscape with overgrown skyscrapers.

Ahead of HBO's The Last of Us season two premiering last year, all signs were pointing to the show telling the story of both games over the course of four seasons. We were getting hints towards four seasons in 2024, and while showrunner Craig Mazin has made it clear that he wouldn't be adding to the story beyond what's in the games, he definitively said in an interview with Collider last year that "there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season." Well, it seems like a lot has changed since that May 2025 interview, besides the fact […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/hbos-the-last-of-us-may-wrap-up-in-three-seasons-not-four-it-certainly-seems-that-way-says-hbo-boss/

“Starfield Would Be Talked About Like The Second Coming If A New Studio Had Put It Out”: How Bethesda Lost The “Game of Expectations”

A character in 'Starfield' stands between towering rock walls with a view of a ringed planet overhead.

Following a string of successful releases, Bethesda has struggled to deliver the same level of quality it did with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Although Fallout 76 has received significant improvements since its launch, Starfield has yet to receive the same treatment, as, aside from some minor improvements and additional content, the latest open-world RPG from the studio is essentially still the same game it was at launch in late 2023. Though it is undeniable that the game feels a little dated compared to other modern open-world role-playing games, the Skyrim design lead thinks Starfield would have been received much better if it were […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/starfield-would-be-talked-about-like-the-second-coming-if-a-new-studio-had-put-it-out-how-bethesda-lost-the-game-of-expectations/

Memory Prices Reach “Shocking” Levels as Manufacturers Are Now Quoting a Whopping 125% Premium, Turning DRAM Into a Full-Blown Seller’s Market

Two Hynix 2GB 1Rx8 PC4N-19000S memory modules labeled 'HMA325S7MFR8C - UG NO AA' placed on a vibrant silicon wafer surface.

Memory contract pricing is rising at a rate never seen before, and according to a new report, QoQ quotations have almost doubled amid gigantic demand. DRAM Prices Are Expected to Double This Quarter Alone, As Most of the Allocations Will Be Towards Hyperscalers Well, memory shortages have been a topic of discussion at the outlet several times now, and it is important to discuss key developments with our readers to ensure they are "mentally prepared" for the craziness ahead. A report by DRAMeXchange, an outlet that extensively tracks DRAM and NAND contract pricing, states that price negotiations between memory suppliers […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/memory-prices-reach-shocking-levels-as-manufacturers-are-now-quoting-a-125-premium/

User Scammed With Fake Samsung 990 PRO SSD That Runs Like USB 2.0 Sticks, But Easily Passes Detection In Windows

A hand holding a counterfeit Samsung 990 Pro SSD with a warning message stating, “This drive is not a genuine Samsung Brand

SSD scams aren't uncommon, but fake SSDs are now easily bypassing basic system checks and appearing legitimate to the operating systems. Redditor Buys 2 TB Samsung 990 PRO SSD for $207 That Could Hardly Go Beyond 20 MB/s Transfer Speeds; Samsung Magician Flagged it as a Fake Product Scammers are now getting better at duping customers into buying their fake SSDs. SSD scams have been on the rise due to NAND shortage, and similar to how we are witnessing high RAM prices and fake RAM modules in the market, SSDs are being manipulated too. Redditor u/xox-lover reported that he was […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/user-scammed-with-fake-samsung-990-pro-ssd-that-runs-like-usb-2-0-sticks/

UK Video Game Retailer GAME to Close its Last Three Standalone Stores

The entrance of a GAME store in a mall features prominent displays for 'Pokémon Arceus' and 'Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty,' with

Players in the United States have GameStop, players in Canada have EB Games, and players in the UK have GAME as their major gaming-dedicated retailers. Or at least, UK players did have GAME, as the retailer is set to close its last three remaining standalone GAME stores after it made creditors aware it would be entering administration, the UK phrase for declaring bankruptcy. After Bloomberg reported that GAME had entered administration, a report from The Game Business (via VGC) a few days later identified that the last three standalone GAME stores in the UK would be closed, as the company […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/uk-video-game-retailer-game-to-close-its-last-three-standalone-stores/

Intel's upcoming Core Ultra 9 290K Plus appears on Geekbench with chart-topping scores — Arrow Lake refresh beats the 285K by ~10% across single- and multithreaded tests

As Intel gears to launch its Arrow Lake refresh, leaks for the lineup keep pouring in left and right — the latest one being a Geekbench spotting for the flagship Core Ultra 9 290K Plus. The chip scored 10.5% higher in single-core and 11.29% higher in multi-core tests compared to the existing Core Ultra 9 285K.

AMD VS Intel – Puget Systems unveils the most reliable CPU of 2025

Puget Systems names the most reliable consumer CPU of 2025 Puget Systems has shared its internal data on CPU reliability, confirming who makes the most reliable consumer-grade processors. AMD Ryzen 9000 VS Intel Core Ultra 200. Overall, failure rates for both CPU families are nearly identical: 2.52% for AMD’s Ryzen CPUs and 2.49% for Intel’s […]

The post AMD VS Intel – Puget Systems unveils the most reliable CPU of 2025 appeared first on OC3D.

❌