With a parks-first CEO taking over, Disney appears poised to lean harder into immersive experiences that connect Disney+, theme parks, and fandom in new ways.

The Fluance Ri91 are fantastic in most regards, especially for the price – but I wobble on quality control concerns

Intel’s Xeon 600-series brings back desktop workstations with up to 86 cores, massive DDR5 memory, PCIe 5.0 lanes, and AI acceleration.

We've tried the new Nintendo Virtual Boy accessory for Switch 2 and Switch consoles — here are the three main things you need to know.

Exclusive: 'In the long term we don't really see smart products as a segment at all.'

The company is engaged in a strategy to diversify its revenue sources as it heads into the new year.

Spain-based deeptech and climate megafund Kembara has just completed a €750 million first close toward its €1 billion target. 

Having raised a €30 million Series A round led by CapitalG, business identity verification startup Duna is now among the most well-capitalized European startups founded by Stripe alumni.

Alphabet CEO skipped an analyst's question about Apple on the company's earnings call.

Google revealed a significant milestone for its Gemini app, announcing over 750 million monthly active users as it competes with ChatGPT and Meta AI.

I've put Helldivers 2's new Bastion tank through its paces, and am happy to confirm: it's absolutely awesome.

Playground Games confirms that Forza Horizon 6 will support cross-platform play, including cross-saves, between PC, Xbox, and PlayStation consoles.

News recently broke that Borderlands 4 may not ever launch on the Nintendo Switch 2, but, as 2K recently announced via the official Borderlands account on X, the looter shooter is officially verified for the Steam Deck. While Borderlands 4 has been playable on the Steam Deck basically since launch, the numerous performance issues it exhibits led us to recommend against playing it on Valve's handheld in our in-depth handheld performance review. There were signs that Gearbox was preparing Borderlands 4 for Steam Deck Verified status, specifically the updated menu screens that came to the game around a month ahead of the announcement.

Importantly, Valve's requirements for Steam Deck verification include functional controller input, seamless compatibility with the Steam Deck hardware and software with no compatibility warnings, support for the default Steam Deck Display resolutions, with good default settings, and full support for Proton. Notably, performance doesn't really enter into the equation, and that has become the main focus of many online users, who pointed out on sites like X and Reddit pointing out that the game still doesn't run well on the Steam Deck, even after numerous performance patches nearly six months after the initial launch. Most users who have tested the game say that they still struggle to maintain a solid 30 FPS in the looter shooter on the Steam Deck's iGPU.

Despite the success of the first game in the series, Overwatch 2 has had a rough time of it, with reviews on Steam rating the game "Mostly Negative," with 34% of its reviews being of a positive nature. It seems as though Blizzard is trying to change this. In one of the multiple developer-led showcases scheduled for early February, Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2 is becoming just "Overwatch," and, more importantly, receiving a number of changes that aim to make gameplay more dynamic and attract more players to the game. The change also marks a number of changes to Overwatch's structure, which will see the game feature an annual story in a system that will officially go into effect with the new Season 1 on February 10. The story will be told across six seasons throughout the year, after which a new story will kick off with a new Season 1 in the following year. The first season in the revamp is called "Reign of Talon," and the plot kicked off with an animated cinematic at the start of the Overwatch spotlight on YouTube, but the rest will be told through various in-game events, animated hero trailers, short stories, and comics released throughout the year.

Blizzard also announced 10 new characters and an all-new class system. The first five characters will launch on February with the start of Season 1, and the rest of the line-up will follow throughout the year. It seems as though the heroes released throughout the year will all somehow be related to the plot being told in that particular year and also enter the game when each respective season launches. The five heroes coming in Season 1 include Domina, a new tank, Emre, a damage hero, Mizuki, a new support, Anran, another damage who will be available to trial from February 5-10, and Jetpack Cat, a stray cat serving aerial support that will be able to move allies around the battlefield from the air. The new update also sees Overwatch's class system get an overhaul, with the main tank, damage, and support roles now divided into three or four subclasses each—initiator, bruiser, and stalwart fall under the tank class; specialist, flanker, recon, and sharpshooter fall under damage, and medic, tactician, and survivor fall under support. Each role also comes with its own set of buffs and perks to consider. Blizzard also revealed that it would be reworking some classic Overwatch heroes later in 2026, although it did not reveal which heroes would be getting reworked.

Built a cool product but can't get traffic? Meet Citedy, the AI-powered competitive intelligence platform that uses analysis to hunt down your competitors, find their weak spots, and automatically generate SEO-optimized articles that leverage their search traffic and chat mentions. Citedy automates competitive warfare by analyzing your competitors' content strategies and creating articles designed to outrank them. It's SEO and content marketing on autopilot, tailored for startups that need to compete with giants.

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A map-based tool for solar engineers to streamline site assessment. You can view solar potential, transmission lines, and site constraints in one place instead of juggling multiple data sources, with AI-assisted analysis to speed up your workflow.

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Read CEO Sundar Pichai’s remarks from the Alphabet Q4 2025 earnings call.

Raspberry Pi prices climb again as AI-driven memory shortages raise costs, reducing access for students, schools, and hobbyists.

Your TV may be causing the soap opera effect, where movies look 'unreal': these are the settings you need to adjust or turn off.

Go big without going broke

Should a linked web page go offline, the new feature will then redirect readers to the archived versions, so that there is no drop in service. The tool also archives a user's own posts, helping to ensure their longevity.

The new department will have up to eight police officers and could be up and running in a few months.

Gizmo's app is like a TikTok for vibe-coded mini apps... and it's a lot of fun.

The two-year-old startup confirms that it closed a Series A led by Lightspeed at $1 billion valuation.

Amazon MGM Studios will reportedly begin a closed beta program in March to test its AI tools to help with film and TV production.

Intel’s Robert Hallock is letting you know how to get the most out of your Intel CPU As part of a newly released video in their “The Blueprint” series, Intel’s Robert Hallock has decided to dive deep into the world of Intel CPU overclocking. Specifically, he has explained how overclocking works for Intel’s Core Ultra […]

The post Intel explains how overclocking works on its CPUs appeared first on OC3D.

A new rumor suggests that when Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 launches, it will be available on Xbox, PC, and Switch 2 alongside PS5 on day one.

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced results for its fiscal first quarter ended December 28, 2025.

"We are pleased to deliver strong quarterly results, with record total company revenues," said Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. "Our momentum across personal, industrial and physical AI is growing, as evidenced by recent product announcements at CES and customer traction. While our near-term handsets outlook is impacted by industry-wide memory supply constraints, we are encouraged by end-consumer demand for premium and high tier smartphones, and remain on track to achieve our fiscal 2029 revenue goals."

Today (Feb. 4, 2026) Arm (NASDAQ: ARM) published a letter to its shareholders containing the company's results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 ended December 31, 2025. The infographic below provides the key highlights:

Here are what the results mean and how they were achieved:

• Revenue grew 26% year-on-year to $1.24 billion, representing Arm's fourth consecutive billion-dollar revenue quarter.
• Royalty revenue grew 27% year-over-year to a record $737 million, driven by growth across Arm's target end markets, including AI and general-purpose data center, smartphones, physical AI and edge AI.
• License and other revenue of $505 million increased 25% year-over-year, as more leading companies sign high-value licenses for next-generation Arm technologies.
• Demand for Arm Compute Subsystems (CSS) continues to exceed expectations as adoption grows in light of increasingly complex chip designs. This represents a significant tailwind to royalty growth, as Arm expands both the value delivered and economics captured per chip.
  • During the quarter, Arm signed two CSS licenses for use in both edge AI tablets and smartphones, bringing the total number of CSS licenses to 21 across 12 companies.
  • Additionally, five customers are now shipping Arm CSS-based chips, including two shipping its second-generation platform, while the top four Android smartphone vendors are all shipping Arm CSS-powered devices.

Despite previously taking a very pro-generative AI stance, advocating for AI protagonists in games, Take-Two Interactive's CEO, Strauss Zelnick, recently commented in an interview with Gameindustry.biz that generative AI was not used in the development of Grand Theft Auto VI. The CEO is quoted as saying "Specifically with regards to GTA 6, Generative AI has zero part in what Rockstar Games is building. Their worlds are handcrafted. That's what differentiates them. They're built from the ground up, building by building, street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood. They're not procedurally generated, they shouldn't be. That's what makes great entertainment." He also clarifies that he doesn't think that AI can or will be able to build "great entertainment properties" by themselves, suggesting that Take-Two might think twice about putting AI assets into its games.

He does also mention, however, that he is enthusiastic about AI, and that Take-Two's "products have always been built with machine learning and artificial intelligence," and that "right now we have hundreds of pilots and implementations across our company and within our studios. And we're already seeing instances where generative AI tools are driving costs and time efficiencies." Notably, this isn't the first time we've seen similar rhetoric or AI applied similarly in game studios, despite game workers generally opposing the idea of generative AI in gaming. Embark, the studio behind Arc Raiders, used generative AI to speed up the work on voice acting, while Ubisoft is exploring AI-generated teammates, and EA has announced a pivot to generative AI tools across multiple applications.

PostWizard is your AI-powered marketing assistant designed to turn ideas into viral-ready tweets and threads in seconds. Connect your account to generate high-quality content, create AI images, and schedule posts directly via the official X API. Whether you’re a solo creator or an agency managing multiple brands, PostWizard helps you boost your reach and engagement without the high cost of a social media manager. Stop staring at a blank cursor and start scaling organically, save hours of manual work, and never run out of ideas again.

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Valve's new console is on track, according to AMD, and it should start shipping early this year. AMD Says Valve is on "Track" and Will Start Shipping Steam Machine in Early 2026; Also Confirms Microsoft's Next-Gen Xbox is on Track for 2027 Launch AMD itself has confirmed that Valve's next-gen gaming console will start shipping this year. In the Q4 2025 Earnings Call, AMD's CEO, Dr. Lisa Su, stated that Valve is on track to start shipping the Steam Machine in early 2026. We know from earlier reports that Valve is reportedly launching the Steam Machine in 2026, and while […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/amd-confirms-steam-machine-will-start-shipping-early-this-year/

McDonald warns common passwords like 'bigmac' and 'happymeal' remain highly vulnerable, urging stronger, randomized credentials for all users.

Ray Kurzweil’s 1991 AI predictions feel strikingly familiar today, revealing how progress advanced faster than our understanding of intelligence and purpose.

Scandals, dynasties and swordfighting make The Sims 4 Royalty and Legacy one of the most exciting storytelling packs in a while

Andreessen Horowitz just raised a whopping ⁠new $15 billion in funding⁠. And a $1.7 billion chunk of that is going to its ⁠infrastructure team⁠, the one responsible for some of its biggest, most prominent AI investments including Black Forrest Labs, Cursor, OpenAI, ⁠ElevenLabs⁠, Ideogram, ⁠Fal⁠ and dozens of others.   A16z ⁠general partner with the infra team Jennifer Li⁠ (who oversees such investments as ElevenLabs – just valued at $11 billion); Ideagram and Fal, has a clear thesis on where the team is looking […]

Google Search Advocate John Mueller is pushing back on the idea of serving Markdown files to LLM crawlers.

The post Google’s Mueller Calls Markdown-For-Bots Idea ‘A Stupid Idea’ appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

NVIDIA is investigating widespread PC gaming issues that appear to be linked to a January Windows update. Users report performance drops and graphical problems, with uninstalling KB5074109 offering temporary relief.

We recently caught up with Epic Games Store VP and GM Steve Allison to learn about how the platform is going in a world increasingly dominated by Steam.

Here's a rundown of all the events leading to Diablo 4's newest expansion, Lord of Hatred.

Blizzard's new Overwatch Spotlight presentation revealed that Overwatch 2 is dropping the 2, and now has a completely new live-service structure.

Tenstorrent, a startup focused on designing high-performance AI accelerators and led by the renowned computer architect Jim Keller as CEO, has announced significant hardware updates to its existing Blackhole P150 accelerators, which include the P150a and P150b models. In the latest documentation change, the company notes that its Blackhole P150 accelerators will now work with about 14.3% fewer cores than originally advertised. In the official documents, the P150 accelerators are now shipping with 120 working "Tensix" cores instead of the previously advertised 140 cores. The reason for this change is unknown, as the company provided a vague explanation: "To present a unified interface to metal and other system software, firmware v19.5.0 and later will change the core count on all existing cards to 120. Typical workloads show a non-material (~1-2%) performance difference."

The Blackhole P150 accelerators featured 140 "Tensix" cores and 32 GB of GDDR6 memory, operating at up to 300 W in an actively cooled form factor designed for desktop workstations, and the P150a model includes four passive QSFP-DD 800G ports. However, as the number of cores is reduced by approximately 14%, TeraFLOPS take a nosedive as well. In the older documents for the 140-core SKUs, the BLOCKFP8 8-bit floating point performance was listed at 774 TeraFLOPS, while the new 120-core version reduces that number to 664 TeraFLOPS at the same precision level. Why this sudden change is happening is still a mystery. However, the HPC community with a lot of knowledge in the industry suggests a few reasons.

Clayton described Lin as one of the world's most prolific online narcotics traffickers. For at least four years, the Taiwan-born man managed a massive volume of e-commerce transactions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Lin launched the Incognito Market website in October 2020, exploiting the Tor browser's anonymous network in...

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Plasma propulsion transforms an inert propellant – often hydrogen – into plasma, a superheated mix of ions and electrons. Magnetic fields then funnel and accelerate the plasma to extreme velocities, generating thrust.

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Last week, Blizzard Entertainment announced a flurry of showcase events, one for each of its major titles: World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2, Hearthstone, and Diablo IV. The World of Warcraft showcase happened at the end of last week, with Blizzard digging into its World of Warcraft roadmap for 2026. Today, it followed up with the Overwatch Spotlight, announcing what to expect for the coming year, and a significant change to the game going forward: it's no longer called Overwatch 2, and will instead just be called 'Overwatch' once again. Towards the end of the 35-minute spotlight, Overwatch game director Aaron […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/were-dropping-the-2-overwatch-2-is-now-just-called-overwatch-moving-forward/

After weeks of vacillation on the part of the tech-focused rumor mill between a February or March/April 2026 launch for the Pixel 10a, Google has just released official teasers of its new budget smartphone, announcing that the device will launch on February 18, 2026. Google releases official teasers for the Pixel 10a Google has just announced that pre-orders for the upcoming Pixel 10a will go live on February 18. Even so, in-store availability is not expected until March 05. As we noted in a dedicated post, Evan Blass, a known tipster, recently posted a screenshot of the Pixel 10a's certification […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/google-pixel-10a-officially-launching-on-february-18/

The memory shortage has become so severe that consumers are now looking to Chinese suppliers like CXMT and YMTC as their 'saviour', hoping to get cheap DDR5/DDR4 modules, but that might never be the case. The retail situation in the RAM market is worsening by the day, with price hikes across the board, especially for higher-capacity modules. Mainly driven by DRAM shortages, it has become tough for gamers to access any memory, and given that the supply situation isn't looking to improve anytime soon, many of us have set our hopes on Chinese memory manufacturers coming to the rescue. Consumers […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/can-chinese-memory-save-us-from-the-ongoing-ram-shortages/

The Asus Vivobook 14 with a Snapdragon X chip, 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage is currently on sale at Best Buy for just $379.99. This saves you $370 off its $749.99 original price, giving you a discount of nearly 50%.

PowerGPU said on X that "SSD and other part prices have gone up again," warning its customers that it will raise prices again by next week.

X has announced the recipients of its initial long-form content prize pool.

Elon's social media platform is facing restrictions and penalties in several regions. 

Meta says that content being generated via its Meta AI app has tripled year-over-year.

Microsoft on Wednesday said it built a lightweight scanner that it said can detect backdoors in open-weight large language models (LLMs) and improve the overall trust in artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The tech giant's AI Security team said the scanner leverages three observable signals that can be used to reliably flag the presence of backdoors while maintaining a low false positive

Threat hunters have disclosed details of a new, stealthy malware campaign dubbed DEAD#VAX that employs a mix of "disciplined tradecraft and clever abuse of legitimate system features" to bypass traditional detection mechanisms and deploy a remote access trojan (RAT) known as AsyncRAT. "The attack leverages IPFS-hosted VHD files, extreme script obfuscation, runtime decryption, and in-memory

Someone kept a gigantic database unlocked on the internet, allowing researchers (and likely, hackers, too) to find it.

The best-selling Ring Battery Doorbell has changed how I monitor my home, and over 10,000 people have bought it this month – it can be yours for just $59.99.

A popular WordPress quiz plugin can be abused to mount SQL injection attacks, but a patch is available.

Bring soothing calm to your workspace.

There are all sorts of tools available on Android to help protect your privacy, from VPNs to secure folders and beyond.

Tinder is testing AI recommendations and insight from your Camera Roll for better matches.

Nvidia recommends uninstalling Windows 11 Update KB5074109 if users face issues Last month’s Update KB5074109 for Windows 11 is still causing issues, to the point that Nvidia representatives have had to weigh in on their official support forums (via Windows Latest). In response to one use, Manuel@NVIDIA recommended uninstalling the update after users reported issues […]

The post Nvidia confirms its “looking into” Windows 11 Update KB5074109 appeared first on OC3D.

As Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 fans gear up for Season 2, Treyarch drops details on the new battle pass, revealing operator skins for the new villain, Victoria Atwood, along with new weapon blueprints.

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NasdaqGS: SIMO) ("Silicon Motion," the "Company," "we" or similar terms) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2025. For the fourth quarter of 2025, net sales (GAAP) increased sequentially to $278.5 million from $242.0 million in the third quarter of 2025. Net income (GAAP) also increased sequentially to $47.7 million, or $1.41 per diluted American depositary share ("ADS") (GAAP), from net income (GAAP) of $39.1 million, or $1.16 per diluted ADS (GAAP), in the third quarter of 2025.

For the fourth quarter of 2025, net income (non-GAAP) increased sequentially to $42.7 million, or $1.26 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), from net income (non-GAAP) of $33.8 million, or $1.00 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), in the third quarter of 2025. All financial numbers are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

Saber Interactive and Focus Entertainment premiered a Gameplay Overview Trailer for 80s action-horror-inspired game John Carpenter's Toxic Commando. This new IP from the creators of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, World War Z and SnowRunner shows what it is made of - from story and missions to weapons and classes. Zombie addicts and fans of 80s silly gory action horror can finally gear up ahead of John Carpenter's Toxic Commando releasing March 12 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Get ready for non-stop zombie destruction
The trailer introduces the highly trained team of mercenaries you'll be cleaning the zombie mess as in this 4-player co-op action survival shooter, taking on multiple missions through a semi-open world infested with Sabers hellish Swarm technology, sending endless, simultaneous waves of mutated monstrosities straight at your face.

As February has just started, Valve finished processing data for the January edition of the Steam Hardware and Software Survey. One of the few interesting takeaways is that for the first time in months, Intel's share of consumer CPU usage has seen an uptick, instead of the slow decline it has been experiencing. According to the January update, Intel's CPU share among Steam platform users has grown to 56.64%, representing a small but pleasant increase of 0.25% over the December data. On the other hand, AMD recorded a slight decrease of 0.19%, now standing at 43.34% of the market. This means that Intel's market share has increased for the first time in months, as data from September reported a market share of 58.61%, then October showed 57.82%, 57.30% in November, and 56.39% in December. The chain of declining share has finally stopped, suggesting that Intel could have a chance to rebound in the consumer market section.

On the contrary, AMD's CPU market share has been rising for months, moving up from 41.31% in September to 43.53% in December, with a small correction now standing at 43.34%. This indicates that many new CPU purchasing decisions were made in favor of AMD, driven by the massive popularity of its Ryzen 9000X3D series, which has been well-received by PC enthusiasts. In contrast, Intel's latest "Arrow Lake" launch has faced some initial challenges with less-than-expected gaming performance, but besides discounts and firmware updates improving the situation, the community is now anticipating the launch of the "Arrow Lake Refresh" scheduled for March or April, which is expected to address these issues by shipping with higher out-of-the-box frequencies and additional tuning.

After years of rumors and speculation, Google confirmed in 2025 that it plans to "fuse" Android and ChromeOS into a single desktop platform. The new system, known internally as Aluminium OS, is reportedly already under active development. What remains unclear is the fate of ChromeOS, the operating system that has...

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Nioh 3 features deeper, more flexible combat, a semi-open-world structure, and seamless switching between Samurai and Ninja styles, earning praise as the most complete and accessible entry in the series-and one of the stronger modern Soulslike experiences for fans of demanding action RPGs.

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The mission will mark NASA's first crewed test of laser communications in lunar orbit. O2O will use infrared light instead of radio frequencies to transmit voice, mission data, and high-resolution video back to Earth. While the technology has been tested on seven prior uncrewed missions, Artemis II is the first to...

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Lucid Engine helps brands measure and grow visibility across AI search engines. It tracks citations and recommendations on ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, benchmarks competitors, and alerts you when rankings shift. The platform reveals which sources and sentiments drive answers and builds a prioritized backlog to close content gaps so you capture more recommendations. Monitor changes over time with live tracking, geo comparisons, and model release overlays to protect demand.

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After accurately predicting a Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase for this week, reliable insider NateTheHate has another prediction, this time to do with the arrival of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on Nintendo Switch 2, but more importantly, about how Square Enix will start its marketing campaign for Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3, which, according to NateTheHate, will not be a PlayStation exclusive title at launch, and will instead be multiplatform from day-one. During the latest episode of the NateTheHate podcast, when discussing predictions for tomorrow's Partner Direct Showcase, on the topic of what Square Enix might bring to the table, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/final-fantasy-vii-remake-part-3-will-reportedly-be-multiplatform-on-launch-no-timed-playstation-exclusivity/

We've known that a new Mass Effect (which we'll call Mass Effect 5 in this story for the sake of simplicity) was coming ever since late 2020. At that year's edition of The Game Awards, developer BioWare shared a brief trailer showing an aged Liara T'soni and subtly hinting at a direct sequel to the original trilogy, skipping the latest franchise installment, 2017's Andromeda. More than five years later, we've still got very little to go on. Another brief teaser was published on N7 Day 2023, but BioWare was still very much focused on releasing Dragon Age: The Veilguard first. […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/mass-effect-5-should-be-bethesda-style-open-world-game-says-ex-skyrim-lead/

With the understanding across the tech industry being that "no one can escape memory shortages," with price increases for devices already directly impacted by the shortages and rising cost of RAM, the question of popular consoles, like the Nintendo Switch 2, getting a price increase seems inevitable and more like a question of 'when,' instead of 'if.' So far, Nintendo has been cautious on the topic of price increases for the Nintendo Switch 2. When tariffs were the major factor potentially impacting the price of the console, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa made it clear that the price of the console […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/nintendo-president-doesnt-want-to-be-overly-influenced-by-rising-ram-costs-nintendo-switch-2-price-to-remain-stable-for-now/

Google AI announcements from January

YouTube;s also added more languages to its auto-dubbing translation tools.

Reddit's Reminder Ads give you a secondary opportunity to prompt users about your events. 

LG has announced a Suite price cut for its Dolby Atmos FlexConnect speakers in some locations

How do you like your eggs in the morning? I tried these steam wand hacks, so you don't have to.

OpenAI CEO unsurprisingly positive about AI adoption - except if these headwinds spring up.

Just a day after issues, ChatGPT is again experiencing a disruption with OpenAI confirming an active issue.

As gamers prepare for Valve's Steam Machine, AMD has just hinted at Microsoft's next-gen Xbox console coming in 2027.

Mint Mobile's incredible coupon code for discounted three-month plans ends tonight, so be quick if you're interested in seriously cheap unlimited plans.

MSI’s Claw handheld gaming console is powered by a Core Ultra 7 CPU with 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM, and priced under £300.

Witness dedication, nerves, and dreams collide under the spotlight. Here's how to watch The Real Strictly Come Dancing for FREE.

Bridgerton season 4 part 2 first teaser confirms the long-awaited bathtub scene from original books — but I’m still not over Benedict and Sophie’s biggest issue.

We Call It Imagineering brings its behind-the-scenes look at Disney Imagineering to a bigger audience, with new episodes on Disney+.

All the ways to watch Man City vs Newcastle live streams, with the home side holding a two-goal advantage as they bid to reach the Carabao Cup final.

Fallout season 3 was announced in May 2025 – and this is everything we know about the Amazon TV show's next entry.

Nord Security has quadrupled its patent count since 2023, signaling a massive shift towards post-quantum encryption and AI-driven threat detection to future-proof its privacy tools.

The EE network was down for many in the UK today, but the network seems to have fixed the issues with outgoing calls –here's what happened.

Switzerland wants to expand its surveillance law and require VPNs, messaging apps, social media platforms, and other online services to collect data to help identify their users.

The startup has raised more than $500 million, to date, from investors to build a massive, distributed power plant supported by residential batteries.

The prolific cybercrime group ShinyHunters took responsibility for hacking Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, and published the stolen data on its extortion website.

Roblox's highly anticipated 4D creation feature has officially arrived in open beta.

Borderlands 4 can't seem to escape its reputation for poor performance and demanding hardware requirements. Although the game was meant to launch on the relatively low-power Nintendo Switch 2 shortly after it launched on PC and console, the handheld port of the game was delayed, with the development team declaring that it needed more time to "deliver the best game possible" for fans of the series. Now, as of February 3, the development of Borderlands 4 for the Switch 2 has officially been put on hold. This is according to a new announcement by 2K Interactive in a recent earnings call. The gaming giant instead says that it wants to focus on optimizing Borderlands 4 for the devices on which it is already available. It's unclear whether the development will be picked up again at a later stage or if the port is effectively cancelled.

The full statement by 2K reads: "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 coming out and WWE 2K26, and we're incredibly excited about bringing more of our titles to that platform in the future." No official explanation was provided for the halt in development, but speculation has gone two ways. While some think 2K put the Switch 2 port on hold over performance concerns—Gearbox's Randy Pitchford previously promised that the game would run at 30 FPS "with some dips" on the Switch 2, which didn't give gamers much hope for performance—while others suspect that sales numbers simply didn't justify the increased development costs for the Switch 2. The fact that the Switch 2 version had already been indefinitely delayed lends credence to the theory that performance concerns and optimization difficulties could have had something to do with the cancellation.

Reddit user golfwang999 revealed the end of the PlayStation 3's Netflix app in a post on the site. The message, which is shown on what looks like an era-appropriate Philips CRT TV, confirms the app's imminent demise and advises users to visit Netflix's list of supported devices.

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Q4 revenue grew 34 percent year over year to $10.27 billion, while GAAP profits rose 44 percent to $5.57 billion. Gross margin improved from 51 percent to 54 percent, and operating income increased to $1.75 billion from $871 million. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) reached $0.92, up from $0.29 in Q4 2024.

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WinRAR 7.20 delivers faster handling of large archives, especially when deleting files or opening ZIPs with massive file counts. The update also enhances automation with smarter archive naming masks, expanded command-line switches, and faster extraction for TAR-based formats.

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DMARCTrust monitors DMARC reports to show who sends emails as your domain and whether SPF and DKIM pass. It aggregates data from Gmail, Microsoft, Yahoo, and dozens of providers into a clear dashboard and alerts you to DNS record changes and authentication failures. Set it up in minutes with a unique reporting address and 2FA-secured access. Choose US or EU data hosting, track pass rates over time, and keep non-technical teams informed while protecting deliverability.

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Build a Rocket Boy, the studio behind the biggest flop and the worst-reviewed game of 2025, MindsEye, is still chipping away at fixing and improving the game that was the butt of its fair share of jokes last year. The game's latest update, Update 7, is "a big step forward" for both the game and the studio, according to Mark Gerhard, chief executive and chief technical officer at Build a Rocket Boy. The new update focuses on improvements to "campaign flow, making objectives easier to follow, and continuing to refine AI behavior," the patch notes on the game's official website […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/new-mindseye-update-is-a-big-step-forward-for-both-build-a-rocket-boy-and-mindseye-new-content-is-in-development/

CNET has now published the results of an interesting test where it pitted the battery life of 35 smartphones against each other and, unsurprisingly, the Apple iPhone 17 lineup has emerged as the victors of this relatively exhaustive test. Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max at the top of the smartphone battery life leaderboard, the base iPhone 17 wins second place along with the OnePlus 15 CNET ran two battery life tests on a total of 35 smartphones: a three-hour test where a video was streamed over WiFi with the screen at full brightness, and a 45-minute endurance test spanning multiple […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/apples-base-iphone-17-lasts-as-long-as-the-oneplus-15-with-a-7300mah-battery/

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked by GamesIndustry.biz whether developer Rockstar Games had used AI to build Grand Theft Auto 6, and the answer was negative: the state of Leonida, a fictionalized version of Florida, has been entirely handcrafted. That said, Zelnick mentioned that GenAI-powered tools are being used all across Take-Two's studios to "drive costs and time efficiencies". On the topic of AI, I've been enthusiastic since the very beginning. This company's products have always been built with machine learning and artificial intelligence. We've actually always been a leader in the space, and right now we have hundreds of […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/gen-ai-had-zero-part-building-grand-theft-auto-6/

Dispatch was one of the more beloved indie games from 2025, selling over 3 million copies to close out the year and getting several nominations from the DICE Awards and The Game Awards. It was even one of Wccftech's picks for the Best Adventure Games of 2025 and one of our picks for the Best Games of 2025 overall. Everything was coming up roses, and with a Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 port coming in January 2026, it seemed like developer AdHoc Studio was about to add another million copies sold to its tally. That was until it actually […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/adhoc-studio-working-with-nintendo-to-address-dispatch-censorship-nintendo-switch-switch-2/

AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su, during the company's latest Q4 2025 earnings call, seemingly confirmed that the release for the new Valve Steam Machine is "on track" to launch during early 2026.

Google Ads introduced multi-party approval, a security feature that requires a second administrator to approve high-risk account actions. These actions include adding or removing users and changing user roles.

Why we care. As ad accounts grow in size and value, access control becomes a serious risk. One unauthorized, malicious, or accidental change can disrupt campaigns, permissions, or billing in minutes. Multi-party approval reduces that risk by requiring a second admin to approve high-impact actions. It adds strong protection without slowing daily work. For agencies and large teams, it prevents costly mistakes and significantly improves account security.

How it works. When an admin initiates a sensitive change, Google Ads automatically creates an approval request. Other eligible admins receive an in-product notification. One of them must approve or deny the request within 20 days. If no one responds, the request expires, and the change is blocked.

Status tracking. Each request is clearly labeled as Complete, Denied, or Expired. This makes it easy to see what was approved and what didn’t go through.

Where to find it. You can view and manage approval requests from Access and security within the Admin menu.

The bigger picture. The update reflects growing concern around account security, especially for agencies and large advertisers managing multiple users, partners, and permissions. With advertisers recently reporting costly hacks, this is a welcome update.

The Google Ads help doc. About Multi-party approval for Google Ads

In 2015, PPC was a game of direct control. You told Google exactly which keywords to target, set manual bids at the keyword level, and capped spend with a daily budget. If you were good with spreadsheets and understood match types, you could build and manage 30,000-keyword accounts all day long.

Those days are gone.

In 2026, platform automation is no longer a helpful assistant. It’s the primary driver of performance. Fighting that reality is a losing battle. 

Automation has leveled the playing field and, in many cases, given PPC marketers back their time. But staying effective now requires a different skill set: understanding how automated systems learn and how your data shapes their decisions.

This article breaks down how signals actually work inside Google Ads, how to identify and protect high-quality signals, and how to prevent automation from drifting into the wrong pockets of performance.

Automation runs on signals, not settings

Google’s automation isn’t a black box where you drop in a budget and hope for the best. It’s a learning system that gets smarter based on the signals you provide. 

Feed it strong, accurate signals, and it will outperform any manual approach.

Feed it poor or misleading data, and it will efficiently automate failure.

That’s the real dividing line in modern PPC. AI and automation run on signals. If a system can observe, measure, or infer something, it can use it to guide bidding and targeting.

Google’s official documentation still frames “audience signals” primarily as the segments advertisers manually add to products like Performance Max or Demand Gen. 

That definition isn’t wrong, but it’s incomplete. It reflects a legacy, surface-level view of inputs and not how automation actually learns at scale.

Dig deeper: Google Ads PMax: The truth about audience signals and search themes

What actually qualifies as a signal?

In practice, every element inside a Google Ads account functions as a signal. 

Structure, assets, budgets, pacing, conversion quality, landing page behavior, feed health, and real-time query patterns all shape how the AI interprets intent and decides where your money goes. 

Nothing is neutral. Everything contributes to the model’s understanding of who you want, who you don’t, and what outcomes you value.

So when we talk about “signals,” we’re not just talking about first-party data or demographic targeting. 

We’re talking about the full ecosystem of behavioral, structural, and quality indicators that guide the algorithm’s decision-making.

Here’s what actually matters:

• Conversion actions and values: These are 100% necessary. They tell Google Ads what defines success for your specific business and which outcomes carry the most weight for your bottom line.
• Keyword signals: These indicate search intent. Based on research shared by Brad Geddes at a recent Paid Search Association webinar, even “low-volume” keywords serve as vital signals. They help the system understand the semantic neighborhood of your target audience.
• Ad creative signals: This goes beyond RSA word choice. I believe the platform now analyzes the environment within your images. If you show a luxury kitchen, the algorithm identifies those visual cues to find high-end customers. I base this hypothesis on my experience running a YouTube channel. I’ve watched how the algorithm serves content based on visual environments, not just metadata.
• Landing page signals: Beyond copy, elements like color palettes, imagery, and engagement metrics signal how well your destination aligns with the user’s initial intent. This creates a feedback loop that tells Google whether the promise of the ad was kept.
• Bid strategies and budgets: Your bidding strategy is another core signal for the AI. It tells the system whether you’re prioritizing efficiency, volume, or raw profit. Your budget signals your level of market commitment. It tells the system how much permission it has to explore and test.

In 2026, we’ve moved beyond the daily cap mindset. With the expansion of campaign total budgets to Search and Shopping, we are now signaling a total commitment window to Google.

In the announcement, UK retailer Escentual.com used this approach to signal a fixed promotional budget, resulting in a 16% traffic lift because the AI was given permission to pace spend based on real-time demand rather than arbitrary 24-hour cycles.

All of these elements function as signals because they actively shape the ad account’s learning environment.

Anything the ad platform can observe, measure, or infer becomes part of how it predicts intent, evaluates quality, and allocates budget. 

If a component influences who sees your ads, how they behave, or what outcomes the algorithm optimizes toward, it functions as a signal.

The auction-time reality: Finding the pockets

To understand why signal quality has become critical, you need to understand what’s actually happening every time someone searches.

Google’s auction-time bidding doesn’t set one bid for “mobile users in New York.” 

It calculates a unique bid for every single auction based on billions of signal combinations at that precise millisecond. This considers the user, not simply the keyword.

We are no longer looking for “black-and-white” performance.

We are finding pockets of performance and users who are predicted to take the outcomes we define as our goals in the platform.

The AI evaluates the specific intersection of a user on iOS 17, using Chrome, in London, at 8 p.m., who previously visited your pricing page. 

Because the bidding algorithm cross-references these attributes, it generates a precise bid. This level of granularity is impossible for humans to replicate. 

But this is also the “garbage in, garbage out” reality. Without quality signals, the system is forced to guess.

Dig deeper: How to build a modern Google Ads targeting strategy like a pro

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The signal hierarchy: What Google actually listens to

If every element in a Google Ads account functions as a signal, we also have to acknowledge that not all signals carry equal weight.

Some signals shape the core of the model’s learning. Others simply refine it.

Based on my experience managing accounts spending six and seven figures monthly, this is the hierarchy that actually matters.

Conversion signals reign supreme

Your tracking is the most important data point. The algorithm needs a baseline of 30 to 50 conversions per month to recognize patterns. For B2B advertisers, this often requires shifting from high-funnel form fills to down-funnel CRM data.

As Andrea Cruz noted in her deep dive on Performance Max for B2B, optimizing for a “qualified lead” or “appointment booked” is the only way to ensure the AI doesn’t just chase cheap, irrelevant clicks.

Enhanced conversions and first-party data

We are witnessing a “death by a thousand cuts,” where browser restrictions from Safari and Firefox, coupled with aggressive global regulations, have dismantled the third-party cookie. 

Without enhanced conversions or server-side tracking, you are essentially flying blind, because the invisible trackers of the past are being replaced by a model where data must be earned through transparent value exchanges.

First-party audience signals

Your customer lists tell Google, “Here is who converted. Now go find more people like this.” 

Quality trumps quantity here. A stale or tiny list won’t be as effective as a list that is updated in real time.

Custom segments provide context

Using keywords and URLs to build segments creates a digital footprint of your ideal customer. 

This is especially critical in niche industries where Google’s prebuilt audiences are too broad or too generic.

These segments help the system understand the neighborhood your best prospects live in online.

To simplify this hierarchy, I’ve mapped out the most common signals used in 2026 by their actual weight in the bidding engine:

Signal category	Specific input (The “what”)	Weight/impact	Why it matters in 2026
Primary (Truth)	Offline conversion imports (CRM)	Critical	Trains the AI on profit, not just “leads.”
Primary (Truth)	Value-based bidding (tROAS)	Critical	Signals which products actually drive margin.
Secondary (Context)	First-party customer match lists	High	Provides a “Seed Audience” for the AI to model.
Secondary (Context)	Visual environment (images/video)	High	AI scans images to infer user “lifestyle” and price tier.
Tertiary (Intent)	Low-volume/long-tail keywords	Medium	Defines the “semantic neighborhood” of the search.
Tertiary (Intent)	Landing page color and speed	Medium	Signals trust and relevance feedback loops.
Pollutant (Noise)	“Soft” conversions (scrolls/clicks)	Negative	Dilutes intent. Trains AI to find “cheap clickers.”

Dig deeper: Auditing and optimizing Google Ads in an age of limited data

Beware of signal pollution

Signal pollution occurs when low-quality, conflicting, or misleading signals contaminate the data Google’s AI uses to learn. 

It’s what happens when the system receives signals that don’t accurately represent your ideal client, your real conversion quality, or the true intent you want to attract in your ad campaigns.

Signal pollution doesn’t just “confuse” the bidding algorithm. It actively trains it in the wrong direction. 

It dilutes your high-value signals, expands your reach into low-intent audiences, and forces the model to optimize toward outcomes you don’t actually want.

Common sources include:

• Bad conversion data, including junk leads, unqualified form fills, and misfires.
• Overly broad structures that blend high- and low-intent traffic.
• Creative that attracts the wrong people.
• Landing page behavior that signals low relevance or low trust.
• Budget or pacing patterns that imply you’re willing to pay for volume over quality.
• Feed issues that distort product relevance.
• Audience segments that don’t match your real buyer.

These sources create the initial pollution. But when marketers try to compensate for underperformance by feeding the machine more data, the root cause never gets addressed. 

That’s when soft conversions like scrolls or downloads get added as primary signals, and none of them correlate to revenue.

Like humans, algorithms focus on the metrics they are fed.

If you mix soft signals with high-intent revenue data, you dilute the profile of your ideal customer. 

You end up winning thousands of cheap, low-value auctions that look great in a report but fail to move the needle on the P&L. 

Your job is to be the gatekeeper, ensuring only the most profitable signals reach the bidding engine.

When signal pollution takes hold, the algorithm doesn’t just underperform. The ads start drifting toward the wrong users, and performance begins to decline. 

Before you can build a strong signal strategy, you have to understand how to spot that drift early and correct it before it compounds.

How to detect and correct algorithm drift

Algorithm drift happens when Google’s automation starts optimizing toward the wrong outcomes because the signals it’s receiving no longer match your real advertising goals. 

Drift doesn’t show up as a dramatic crash. It shows up as a slow shift in who you reach, what queries you win, and which conversions the system prioritizes. It looks like a gradual deterioration of lead quality.

To stay in control, you need a simple way to spot drift early and correct it before the machine locks in the wrong pattern.

Early warning signs of drift include:

• A sudden rise in cheap conversions that don’t correlate with revenue.
• A shift in search terms toward lower-intent or irrelevant queries.
• A drop in average order value or lead quality.
• A spike in new-user volume with no matching lift in sales.
• A campaign that looks healthy in-platform but feels wrong in the CRM or P&L.

These are all indicators that the system is optimizing toward the wrong signals.

To correct drift without resetting learning:

• Tighten your conversion signals: Remove soft conversions, misfires, or anything that doesn’t map to revenue. The machine can’t unlearn bad data, but you can stop feeding it.
• Reinforce the right audience patterns:  Upload fresh customer lists, refresh custom segments, and remove stale data. Drift often comes from outdated or diluted audience signals.
• Adjust structure to isolate intent:  If a campaign blends high- and low-intent traffic, split it. Give the ad platform a cleaner environment to relearn the right patterns.
• Refresh creative to repel the wrong users: Creative is a signal. If the wrong people are clicking, your ads are attracting them. Update imagery, language, and value props to realign intent.
• Let the system stabilize before making another change: After a correction, give the campaign 5-10 days to settle. Overcorrecting creates more drift.

Your job isn’t to fight automation in Google Ads, it’s to guide it. 

Drift happens when the machine is left unsupervised with weak or conflicting signals. Strong signal hygiene keeps the system aligned with your real business outcomes.

Once you can detect drift and correct it quickly, you’re finally in a position to build a signal strategy that compounds over time instead of constantly resetting.

The next step is structuring your ad account so every signal reinforces the outcomes you actually want.

Dig deeper: How to tell if Google Ads automation helps or hurts your campaigns

Building a strategy that actually works in 2026 with signals

If you want to build a signal strategy that becomes a competitive advantage, you have to start with the foundations.

For lead gen

Implement offline conversion imports. The difference between optimizing for a “form fill” and a “$50K closed deal” is the difference between wasting budget and growing a business. 

When “journey-aware bidding” eventually rolls out, it will be a game-changer because we can feed more data about the individual steps of a sale.

For ecommerce

Use value-based bidding. Don’t just count conversions. Differentiate between a customer buying a $20 accessory and one buying a $500 hero product.

Segment your data

Don’t just dump everyone into one list. A list of 5,000 recent purchasers is worth far more than 50,000 people who visited your homepage two years ago. 

Stale data hurts performance by teaching the algorithm to find people who matched your business 18 months ago, not today.

Separate brand and nonbrand campaigns

Brand traffic carries radically different intent and conversion rates than nonbrand. 

Mixing these campaigns forces the algorithm to average two incompatible behaviors, which muddies your signals and inflates your ROAS expectations. 

Brand should be isolated so it doesn’t subsidize poor nonbrand performance or distort bidding decisions in the ad platform.

Don’t mix high-ticket and low-ticket products under one ROAS target

A $600 product and a $20 product do not behave the same in auction-time bidding. 

When you put them in the same campaign with a single 4x ROAS target, the algorithm will get confused. 

This trains the system away from your hero products and toward low-value volume.

Centralize campaigns for data density, but only when the data belongs together

Google’s automation performs best when it has enough data to be consistent and high-quality data to recognize patterns. That means fewer, stronger campaigns are better as long as the signals inside them are aligned. 

Centralize campaigns when products share similar price points, margins, audiences, and intent. Decentralize campaigns when mixing them would pollute the signal pool.

The competitive advantage of 2026

When everyone has access to the same automation, the only real advantage left is the quality of the signals you feed it. 

Your job is to protect those signals, diagnose pollution early, and correct drift before the system locks onto the wrong patterns.

Once you build a deliberate signal strategy, Google’s automation stops being a constraint and becomes leverage. You stay in the loop, and the machine does the heavy lifting.

Anthropic is drawing the line against advertising in AI chatbots. Claude will remain ad-free, the company said, even as rival AI platforms experiment with sponsored messages and branded placements inside conversations.

• Ads inside AI chats would erode trust, warp incentives, and clash with how people actually use assistants like Claude (for work, problem-solving, and sensitive topics), Anthropic said in a new blog post.

Why we care. Anthropic’s position removes Claude, and its user base of 30 million, from the AI advertising equation. Brands shouldn’t expect sponsored links, conversations, or responses inside Claude. Meanwhile, ChatGPT is about to give brands the opportunity to reach an estimated 800 million weekly users.

What’s happening. AI conversations are fundamentally different from search results or social feeds, where users expect a mix of organic and paid content, Anthropic said:

• Many Claude interactions involve personal issues, complex technical work, or high-stakes thinking. Dropping ads into those moments would feel intrusive and could quietly influence responses in ways users can’t easily detect.
• Ad incentives tend to expand over time, gradually optimizing for engagement rather than genuine usefulness.

Incentives matter. This is a business-model decision, not just a product preference, Anthropic said:

• An ad-free assistant can focus entirely on what helps the user — even if that means a short exchange or no follow-up at all.
• An ad-supported model, by contrast, creates pressure to surface monetizable moments or keep users engaged longer than necessary.
• Once ads enter the system, users may start questioning whether recommendations are driven by help or by commerce.

Anthropic isn’t rejecting commerce. Claude will still help users research, compare, and buy products when they ask. The company is also exploring “agentic commerce,” where the AI completes tasks like bookings or purchases on a user’s behalf.

• Commerce should be triggered by the user, not by advertisers, Anthropic said.
• The same rule applies to third-party integrations like Figma or Asana. These tools will remain user-directed, not sponsored.

Super Bowl ad. Anthropic is making the argument publicly and aggressively. In a Super Bowl debut, the company mocked intrusive AI advertising by inserting fake product pitches into personal conversations. The ad closed with a clear message: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.”

• The campaign appears to be a direct shot at OpenAI, which has announced plans to introduce ads into ChatGPT.
• Here’s the ad:

Claude’s blog post. Claude is a space to think

OpenAI responds. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted some thoughts on X. Some of the highlights:

• “…I wonder why Anthropic would go for something so clearly dishonest. Our most important principle for ads says that we won’t do exactly this; we would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them. We are not stupid and we know our users would reject that.
• “I guess it’s on brand for Anthropic doublespeak to use a deceptive ad to critique theoretical deceptive ads that aren’t real, but a Super Bowl ad is not where I would expect it.
• “Anthropic serves an expensive product to rich people. We are glad they do that and we are doing that too, but we also feel strongly that we need to bring AI to billions of people who can’t pay for subscriptions.
• “We will continue to work hard to make even more intelligence available for lower and lower prices to our users.”

💾

The U.S. Justice Department and a coalition of states plan to appeal a federal judge’s remedies ruling in the Google search antitrust case.

The appeal challenges a decision that found Google illegally monopolized search but stopped short of imposing major structural changes, such as forcing a divestiture of Chrome or banning default search deals outright.

What’s happening. The DOJ and state attorneys general filed notices of appeal yesterday, challenging U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta’s September remedies ruling, Bloomberg and Reuters reported.

• Mehta ruled in August 2024 that Google unlawfully maintained its search monopoly through default search agreements with Apple, Samsung, and other device makers. Those deals cost Google more than $20 billion a year and blocked rivals from key distribution channels.
• After a second remedies trial in 2025, Mehta rejected the government’s request to force Google to divest Chrome or prohibit payments for default search status. Instead, he ordered Google to rebid its default search and AI app contracts annually.

Why we care. The appeal means we still don’t know how much Google will keep controlling where search gets placed. And that control basically decides who wins traffic. If stricter fixes happen, it could change default search settings, open the door to rival search engines, and shift how people use search across devices.

Yes, but. The DOJ and states haven’t detailed their legal arguments. Court filings didn’t specify which parts of the ruling they will challenge, though attention is expected to focus on Chrome and Google’s default search deal with Apple.

What to watch. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is expected to hear the case later this year. For now, it’s business as usual for Google — though its most important contracts now face annual review, and the risk of tougher remedies remains firmly on the table.

What they’re saying. David Segal, Yelp’s vice president of public policy, welcomed the appeal. In a statement shared with Search Engine Land, Yelp said the trial court’s remedies do not go far enough to restore real competition in search:

• “Unfortunately, the measures put forth in the trial court’s remedy decision are unlikely to restore competition — for instance, it allows for Google to continue to pay third parties for default placement in browsers and devices, which was the primary mechanism by which Google unlawfully foreclosed competition to begin with.
• “Internet users, online advertisers and others who rely on and seek to compete in the industry deserve a level playing field with more, higher quality, and fairer search options — and the need for a more competitive space is all the more clear as Google seeks to leverage its vast power over the web, especially search indexing and ranking, to come to dominate the GenAI space.”

If your CPCs keep climbing, the cause may not be your bid strategy, your budget, or even your competitors.

You might be suffering from low ad quality. 

Let’s break down the most foundational — and most misunderstood — metric in your Google Ads account. If you want to stop overpaying Google and start winning auctions on merit, you need to understand how the 1-to-10 Quality Score actually works.

The difference between Quality Score, Ad Strength, and Optimization Score

Before we dive in, let’s clear up the confusion. Google shows a lot of “scores” and “diagnostics,” and you can safely ignore most of them. Quality Score is the exception.

• Ad strength is an ad-level diagnostic. It checks whether your responsive ad follows best practices, like having enough headlines and descriptions. It has zero impact on auction performance.
• Optimization score is a sales metric. It measures how many Google recommendations you’ve reviewed. It does not reflect real campaign performance.
• Quality Score is different. It’s foundational. This keyword-level diagnostic summarizes the quality of your ads. Along with your bid, it determines Ad Rank. Ad Rank determines whether your ad appears at all, where it appears on the SERP, and how much you pay per click.
  • The formula is simple: Ad Rank = price × quality. The 1–10 score you see is only a summary, but it reflects the real-time quality calculation Google runs on every single search.

Setting up your dashboard: How to find your Quality Score

You can’t fix what you can’t see. To get started, go to your Keywords report in Google Ads and add these four columns:

• Quality Score
• Exp. CTR
• Ad Relevance
• Landing Page Exp.

When you analyze Quality Score, don’t judge keywords in isolation. You’ll drive yourself crazy. Look for patterns at the ad group level instead.

If most keywords have a Quality Score of 7 or higher, you’re in good shape. If most are at 5 or below, that’s your cue to roll up your sleeves and improve ad quality.

The three core components of Quality Score and how to fix them

1. Ad Relevance: The ‘message match’

This is the only part of Quality Score fully within your control. It asks one simple question:

• Does the keyword match the ad and the landing page?

If your ad relevance is generally “Below average,” the fastest fix is Dynamic Keyword Insertion. It automatically inserts your keywords into the ad text. If you prefer a manual approach, make sure the keywords in the ad group actually appear in both the ad copy and the landing page.

2. Landing Page Experience: The “Delivery”

When Google sends users to your site, do they find what they’re looking for? Or do they bounce after two seconds and head back to Google for a better result?

If your landing page experience score is low, start with the PageSpeed Insights tool. A “Below average” rating often points to slow load times, a poor mobile experience, generic content, weak navigation, or all of the above.

3. Expected CTR: The “Popularity Contest”

Google only makes money when users click, so it favors ads people are most likely to click.

If your expected CTR is lagging, start with competitive research:

• Check Auction Insights to see who you’re competing against.
• A “Below average” expected CTR means their ads are earning higher click-through rates than yours.

Next, visit the Google Ads Transparency Center and review your competitors’ ads.

• Are their offers more enticing?
• Is their copy more clickable?
• Borrow what works and update your own ads.

If your ads are great but CTR is still low, review the Search terms report. You may be showing for irrelevant queries, which explains why users aren’t clicking on an otherwise awesome ad.

What’s a realistic Quality Score goal?

I’ll be honest: chasing a 10/10 Quality Score everywhere is a waste of time. It’s unrealistic and usually unnecessary.

Instead, do a quick check-up every few months. Find one or two ad groups with lower Quality Scores, identify the most “Below Average” component, and fix that first.

Improving ad quality takes more effort than raising budgets or bids. But it pays off with more clicks at the same — or even lower — cost.

This article is part of our ongoing Search Engine Land series, Everything you need to know about Google Ads in less than 3 minutes. In each edition, Jyll highlights a different Google Ads feature, and what you need to know to get the best results from it – all in a quick 3-minute read.

Threat actors affiliated with China have been attributed to a fresh set of cyber espionage campaigns targeting government and law enforcement agencies across Southeast Asia throughout 2025. Check Point Research is tracking the previously undocumented activity cluster under the moniker Amaranth-Dragon, which it said shares links to the APT 41 ecosystem. Targeted countries include Cambodia,

Hackers are increasingly targeting macOS users with social engineering and infostealers, Microsoft warns.

A shift towards more production of 8GB graphics cards won't go down well with PC gamers, that's for sure.

Every year, CES showcases the limitless potential of our industry, but this year, we moved away from proof-of-concepts and towards real-world applications.

Many users have run out of disk space entirely, and a patch is nowhere in sight.

Valve has previously said the Steam Machine will debut early in 2026, and Lisa Su has underlined that this is still the case.

A feature-packed HR and payroll platform with deep automation and employee experience tools

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Looking for NYT Strands answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, including the spangram.

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We discuss the impressive scale and ambition of upcoming open-world pirate RPG Sea of Remnants with the game’s creative director.

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Copilot's new Reminders feature lets you schedule alerts from Windows 11, web, or mobile, with notifications delivered straight to your phone.

In France, one of the internet's oldest privacy tools may soon become the focus of a national policy debate. Weeks after lawmakers approved a bill to block social media access for anyone under 15, the French government signaled that virtual private networks could be next on its regulatory agenda.

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Adobe recently announced that Adobe Animate would soon enter its "end-of-life" phase, meaning customers would eventually lose access to both the software and any project files stored in the cloud. The announcement triggered a massive backlash, with many users pointing to the tool's continued and widespread popularity across a range...

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The new High Bandwidth Drive concept represents a shift in how data moves between platters and the interface. Instead of the standard one-head-per-surface design that reads or writes sequentially, the new approach allows multiple read/write heads to operate in parallel across several tracks.

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Resonant is an AI-native email platform that writes genuinely personalized outreach using each contact’s social profiles, company news, browsing, and purchase data. Connect your CRM or upload a CSV, set a goal, and Resonant researches LinkedIn, Twitter, and your data to craft context-rich emails that sound handwritten. Review, edit, and send at scale while tracking opens, clicks, and replies. Teams across e-commerce, B2B sales, SaaS, recruiting, and media use it to boost reply rates, revenue, and retention.

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Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra recently made its single-core and multi-core run on Geekbench 6, and just like its predecessors, the flagship features an overclocked version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SoC. This time, it was the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, whose performance cores were running at 4.74GHz instead of the default 4.61GHz. Despite this small frequency bump, our single-core and multi-core results are shown to be higher, which obviously makes us question a few things, starting with whether there’s any advantage to Samsung shipping its premium devices with a slightly faster chipset. An active cooling solution coupled with the diminishing returns […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/our-snapdragon-8-elite-gen-5-are-faster-than-galaxy-s26-ultra-overclocked-version/

With barely three weeks left until Samsung removes the wraps from this year's Galaxy S26 series, the South Korean tech behemoth is now entering its most aggressive marketing phase to build up excitement and buzz around the upcoming smartphones. To that end, Samsung has just dropped three short teaser videos that hint at the Galaxy S26 series' massively improved neural framing, low-light photography, and zoom capabilities. Samsung is teasing massive photography-related improvements for the upcoming Galaxy S26 series Last week, Samsung teased the Privacy Display feature of the upcoming Galaxy S26 series. The feature uses Flex Magic Pixel OLED technology that […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/samsungs-galaxy-s26-series-teasers-hint-at-massively-improved-neural-framing-low-light-photography-and-zoom-capabilities/

After rumours appeared last week pointing to a Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase happening this week, specifically on Thursday, February 5, 2026, we now know those rumours and reports were correct. Confirmed first through the Nintendo Today! mobile app, Nintendo will host a Partner Showcase Direct event tomorrow, February 5, at 6am PT / 9am ET / 2pm BT. This will be the third Nintendo Direct event of 2026 so far, after the Super Mario Galaxy Movie Direct and a Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream Direct last month. It's also the first Partner Showcase event Nintendo has hosted since July 2025. […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/the-rumours-were-true-nintendo-confirms-a-parnter-showcase-nintendo-direct-for-tomorrow/

Excellent deals do exist, but they are rarer than a 32 GB DDR5 kit selling for less than $300. User Manages to Snag GeForce RTX 5090 for Just $899, While Another Receives RTX 5080 for Just $562 We rarely see GPUs available at their official MSRP, let alone below it. It took a long time for the GPU market to stabilize, but the worsening DRAM supply just spiked prices higher than they had been. Occassionally, we see users snagging GPUs at lower prices on deals, but two users were extremely lucky to grab them for almost half their prices. The […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/two-lucky-customers-grabbed-geforce-rtx-5080-and-rtx-5090-for-half-their-msrp/

I am not going to lie: I love Team NINJA. If you have been checking out my coverage over the past few years, you likely know this already. Ever since first picking up the PlayStation port of Dead or Alive, I was hooked. There is a specific feel to their combat that no other developer quite replicates. That admiration for the studio founded by the legendary Tomonobu Itagaki, who sadly passed away last October, only deepened as they pioneered the genres I love most: the high-octane character action of Ninja Gaiden and the punishing Masocore depth of Nioh. Even when […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/review/nioh-3-review-rise-of-the-shogun/

Samsung's Exynos 2600 chip is certainly shaping up to be one of the highest performing mobile-focused chips of 2026, especially in the graphics department, where its Xclipse 960 GPU is emerging as an absolute beast of a performer. Now, that same GPU has pushed the Exynos 2600 to the top of the Basemark Ray Tracing leaderboard. The Exynos 2600 SoC's Xclipse 960 GPU propels it to the top of the Basemark Ray Tracing leaderboard For the benefit of those who might not be aware, the Exynos 2600 is Samsung's first chip that leverages its 2nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process, which is a […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/samsungs-exynos-2600-chip-takes-first-place-on-the-basemark-ray-tracing-leaderboard-after-beating-snapdragon-8-elite-gen-5/

50 years ago ‘An Open Letter to Hobbyists,’ typed by William Henry Gates III, bellyached about software piracy among the hobbyist community.

Google may finally be starting to address a popular SEO and AI visibility “tactic”: self-promotional “best of” listicles. That’s according to new research by Lily Ray, vice president, SEO strategy and research at Amsive.

Across several SaaS brands hit hard in January, a pattern emerged. Many relied heavily on review-style content that ranked their own product as the No. 1 “best” in its category, often updated with the current year to trigger recency signals.

What’s happening. After the December 2025 core update, Google search results showed increased volatility throughout January, according to Barry Schwartz. Google hasn’t announced or confirmed any updates this year, but the timing aligns with steep visibility losses at several well-known SaaS and B2B brands. According to Ray:

• In multiple cases, organic visibility dropped 30% to 50% within weeks. The losses were not domain-wide. They were concentrated in blog, guide, and tutorial subfolders.
• Those sections often contained dozens or hundreds of self-promotional listicles targeting “best” queries. In most cases, the publisher ranked itself first. Many of the articles were lightly refreshed with “2026” in the title, with little evidence of meaningful updates.
• “Presumably, these drops in Google organic results will also impact visibility across other LLMs that leverage Google’s search results, which extends beyond Google’s ecosystem of AI search products like Gemini and AI Mode [and AI Overviews], but is also likely to include ChatGPT,” Ray wrote.

Why we care. Self-promotional listicles have been a shortcut for influencing rankings and AI-generated answers. If Google is now reevaluating how it treats this content, any strategies built around “best” queries are in danger of imploding.

The gray area. Ranking yourself as the “best” without independent testing, clear methodology, or third-party validation has been considered (by most) to be a sketchy SEO tactic. It isn’t explicitly banned, but it definitely conflicts with Google’s guidance on reviews and trust.

• Google has repeatedly said that high-quality reviews should show first-hand experience, originality, and evidence of evaluation. Self-promotional listicles often fall short, especially when bias is not disclosed.

Yes, but. Self-promotional listicles likely weren’t the only factor impacting organic visibility. Many affected sites also showed signs of rapid content scaling, automation, aggressive year-based refreshes, and other tactics tied to algorithmic risk.

• That said, the consistency of self-ranking “best” content among the hardest-hit sites suggests this signal could now carry more weight, especially when used at scale.

What to watch. Whether self-promotional listicles earn citations and organic visibility. Google rarely applies changes evenly or instantly.

• If this volatility reflects updates to Google’s reviews system, the direction is clear. Content designed primarily to influence rankings, rather than to provide credible and independent evaluation, is becoming a liability.
• For brands chasing visibility in search and AI, the lesson is familiar: SEO shortcuts work until they don’t.

The analysis. Is Google Finally Cracking Down on Self-Promotional Listicles?

AI search hasn’t killed SEO.

Now you have to win twice: the ranking and the citation.

Google searches for almost anything today, and there’s a good chance you’ll see an AI Overview before the organic results, sometimes even before the ads. 

That summary frames the query, shortlists sources, and shapes which brands get considered.

AI Overviews now appear for about 21% of all keywords, according to Ahrefs. And 99.9% are triggered by informational intent.

Search rankings still matter. But AI summaries increasingly determine who wins early consideration.

Here’s what we’re seeing: brands aren’t losing visibility because they dropped from position three to seven. They’re losing it because they were never cited in the AI answer at all.

This article draws on research conducted by Search Influence and the online and professional education association UPCEA, which examined how people use AI-assisted search and how organizations are adapting. (Disclosure: I am the CEO at Search Influence) 

Key takeaways

• AI citations are becoming a trust signal: Being cited by AI influences credibility and early consideration – before users ever compare sources directly.
• AI visibility is cumulative: AI systems pull from your website, YouTube, LinkedIn, and third-party publishers to assemble answers. Your URL isn’t the only thing that matters.
• Authority doesn’t guarantee inclusion: Even established brands get sidelined when their content doesn’t match how users ask questions.
• Most organizations know AI search matters but lack a plan: The gap isn’t awareness – it’s ownership, prioritization, and repeatable process.
• Content structure affects whether you get cited: Pages built for retrieval, comparison, and decision-making outperform narrative or brand-led content.

Examining both sides of the search equation

To understand what’s happening, we need to look at two sides of the same equation – how people are searching today and how organizations are responding (or aren’t).

“AI Search in Higher Education: How Prospects Search in 2025” surveyed 760 prospective adult learners in March 2025. It examined:

• Where online discovery happens.
• How AI tools are used alongside traditional search.
• Which sources people trust during early research.

While the study focused on professional and continuing education, these behaviors mirror what we’re seeing across industries: more AI-assisted discovery, earlier opinion formation, and trust signals shifting.

A separate snap poll of 30 UPCEA member institutions in October 2025 looked at the other side:

• AI search strategy adoption.
• Barriers slowing progress.
• How visibility in AI-generated results gets tracked.

Together, these datasets show a widening gap between how people search and how organizations have adapted.

So what does the data actually tell us?

The search patterns worth paying attention to

The research highlights several search behaviors that consistently influence how people discover and evaluate options today.

AI tools and AI summaries are influencing trust early

The data makes one thing clear: AI-driven search has moved from the margins into the mainstream.

• 50% of prospective students use AI tools at least weekly.
• 79% read Google’s AI Overviews when they appear.
• 1 in 3 trust AI tools as a source for program research.
• 56% are more likely to trust a brand cited by AI.

Trust is forming earlier now, often before users compare sources directly.

If you’ve been putting off your AI search strategy because “people don’t trust AI,” the data says otherwise. AI citations are becoming a credibility signal – a trust shortcut before deeper research begins.

Search behavior is diversified

Search doesn’t happen in one place or follow one clean path anymore.

• 84% of prospective students use traditional search engines during research.
• 61% use YouTube.
• 50% use AI tools.

These behaviors aren’t sequential. Users move between surfaces, carrying context with them.

What they see in an AI summary influences how they read a search result. A YouTube video can establish trust before a website ever earns a click.

This is where many strategies fall out of sync. Teams optimize one channel at a time – usually their website – and treat everything else as optional.

But AI search engines pull from everywhere your brand has a presence:

• Your website.
• Your YouTube channel.
• Your LinkedIn content.
• Third-party and publisher sites.

Your AI credibility is cumulative. It’s built anywhere your brand shows up, not just where you own the URL.

Search engines and brand-owned websites still matter

The rise of AI search doesn’t mean the end of traditional search. It raises the bar for it.

Even as AI summaries reshape early trust, people still rely heavily on first-party sources and organic results when they evaluate options:

• 63% rely on brand-owned websites during research.
• 77% trust university-owned websites more than other sources.
• 82% are more likely to consider options that appear on the first page of search results.

AI engines prioritize content that search engines can already crawl, interpret, and trust.

If your core content isn’t clearly structured, accessible, and eligible to rank in traditional search, it’s far less likely to be pulled into AI-generated answers.

Dig deeper: Your website still matters in the age of AI

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Organizational readiness lags behind

Most organizations recognize that AI search is reshaping discovery. Far fewer have translated that awareness into coordinated action.

AI search strategy adoption remains uneven

Most institutions sit somewhere between curiosity and commitment:

• 60% are in the early stages of exploring AI search.
• 30% have a formal AI search strategy in place.
• 10% haven’t started or believe AI search will have limited impact.

The majority of teams know something important is happening. But ownership, process, and prioritization remain unresolved.

What’s slowing progress

When asked what’s holding them back, institutions cited execution constraints:

• 70% report limited bandwidth or competing priorities.
• 37% report a lack of in-house expertise or training.
• 27% report unclear ROI, leadership buy-in, or uncertainty around how AI search works.

For many organizations, AI search has entered the roadmap conversation. It just hasn’t earned consistent operational focus yet. (Sound familiar?)

Dig deeper: Why most SEO failures are organizational, not technical

What teams say they’re prioritizing

When teams do take action, their priorities cluster around two themes:

• 59% focus on the accuracy of AI-generated information about their offerings.
• 48% focus on improving visibility and competitive positioning.

Those goals are linked. Clear, structured information makes it easier for AI systems to represent a brand. Visibility follows clarity. When that clarity is missing, AI fills in the blanks using third-party sources and competitor content.

Tracking AI visibility remains inconsistent

AI visibility tracking varies widely:

• 57% know their institution appears in AI-generated answers.
• 27% have seen their brand referenced occasionally but don’t actively monitor it.
• 13% are unsure whether they appear in AI-generated responses at all.

Among teams that do track AI visibility:

• 64% use dedicated tools or formal tracking methods.
• 29% rely on informal checks or don’t track consistently.

This creates a familiar blind spot. Teams feel the impact of AI search anecdotally but lack consistent visibility into where, how, and why their brand appears.

Dig deeper: How to track visibility across AI platforms

Why higher ed is a useful lens

Universities bring everything search engines are supposed to reward:

• High domain authority.
• Deep, long-standing content libraries.
• Strong brand recognition.

Yet in AI-generated answers, those advantages often don’t translate. When AI systems generate answers, they cite content that already matches the way users ask questions. That often means:

• Comparisons.
• “Top tools,” “top programs,” or “top options” lists.
• Third-party explainers written about brands.

Those formats are dominated by aggregators and publishers – not the institutions themselves.

AI doesn’t look for the biggest brand. It looks for the best answer. Higher education shows what happens when brands rely on authority alone and why every industry needs to rethink how it publishes.

So what do you do about it?

1. Get your foundations in order before chasing AI visibility

The most common question right now: “How do we show up in AI results?”

In many cases, I think the honest answer is to fix what’s already broken.

AI systems rely on the same signals that traditional search does: crawlability, structure, clarity. If your pages are blocked, poorly organized, or weighed down by technical debt, they won’t surface cleanly anywhere.

We’ve seen teams invest energy in AI conversations while core pages still struggle with:

• Indexing issues.
• Bloated or unclear page structures.
• Content written for storytelling, not retrieval.

Start with your traditional SEO foundation. AI systems can only work with what’s structurally sound.

Dig deeper: AI search is growing, but SEO fundamentals still drive most traffic

2. Optimize content for retrieval, not just reading

AI search engines favor content that can be lifted cleanly and reused without interpretation. The job of content shifts from “telling a complete story” to “delivering clear, extractable answers.”

Many brand pages technically contain the right information, but it’s buried in long-form prose or brand language that requires context to understand.

Content that performs well in AI answers tends to:

• Lead with direct answers, not setup.
• Use headings that map to search intent.
• Separate ideas into self-contained sections.
• Avoid forcing readers (or machines) to infer meaning.

This isn’t about shortening content. It’s about sharpening it. When intent is obvious, AI knows exactly what to pull and when to cite you.

3. Compete on format, not just authority

If AI keeps citing comparisons, lists, and explainers – and it does – brands probably need to own those formats themselves.

AI systems pull from content that already reflects how people evaluate options. When those pages don’t exist on your site, AI cites the aggregators and publishers instead.

To compete, brands need to publish:

• Comparison pages that reflect real decision criteria.
• “Best for X” content tied to specific use cases.
• Standalone explainers that help buyers choose.

Put simply: publish what AI actually wants to cite.

Dig deeper: How to create answer-first content that AI models actually cite

4. Prioritize third-party platforms

Your website shouldn’t be doing all the work.

AI answers routinely pull from a mix of sources:

• YouTube videos.
• LinkedIn posts.
• Instagram content.
• Reddit threads (when relevant).
• Brand content published on third-party platforms.

In some cases, being cited from a third-party platform matters more than where your site ranks.

We’ve seen AI Overviews where a brand’s YouTube video is cited alongside their webpage and third-party sources – all shaping the same answer. That blended source set is becoming the norm.

If your content strategy only prioritizes on-site publishing, you’re narrowing your chances of earning AI visibility.

Dig deeper: YouTube is no longer optional for SEO in the age of AI Overviews

Where things stand

AI search is moving faster than most SEO strategies are built to respond.

• Discovery is happening earlier.
• Trust is being assigned sooner.
• Visibility is being decided before rankings ever come into play.

The question isn’t whether AI search will matter to your industry.

It’s whether you’ll be cited, overlooked, or summarized by someone else.

The brands that adapt now – not later – will be the ones that win.

Google has updated two of its help documents to explain the limits of Googlebot when it crawls. Specifically, how much Googlebot can consume by filetype and format.

The limits. The limits, some of which were documented already and are not new, include:

• 15MB for web pages: Google wrote, “By default, Google’s crawlers and fetchers only crawl the first 15MB of a file.”
• 64MB for PDF files: Google wrote, “When crawling for Google Search, Googlebot crawls the first 2MB of a supported file type, and the first 64MB of a PDF file.”
• 2MB for supported files types: Google wrote, “When crawling for Google Search, Googlebot crawls the first 2MB of a supported file type, and the first 64MB of a PDF file.”

Note, these limits are pretty large and the vast majority of websites do not need to be concerned with these limits.

Full text. Here is what Google posted fully in its help documents:

• “By default, Google’s crawlers and fetchers only crawl the first 15MB of a file. Any content beyond this limit is ignored. Individual projects may set different limits for their crawlers and fetchers, and also for different file types. For example, a Google crawler may set a larger file size limit for a PDF than for HTML.”
• “When crawling for Google Search, Googlebot crawls the first 2MB of a supported file type, and the first 64MB of a PDF file. From a rendering perspective, each resource referenced in the HTML (such as CSS and JavaScript) is fetched separately, and each resource fetch is bound by the same file size limit that applies to other files (except PDF files). Once the cutoff limit is reached, Googlebot stops the fetch and only sends the already downloaded part of the file for indexing consideration. The file size limit is applied on the uncompressed data. Other Google crawlers, for example Googlebot Video and Googlebot Image, may have different limits.”

Why we care. It is important to know of these limits but again, most sites will likely never even come close to these limits. That being said these are the document limits of Googlebot’s crawling.

Fallout might be over for now, but there's lots of other great dystopian TV to watch on Prime Video.

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With its pivot to HAMR, Western Digital aims to deliver 100TB+ HDDs Western Digital has promised to launch 100TB HDDs by 2029, delivering a 2.5x increase in storage density over the next three years. This year, Western Digital will launch 40TB HDDs. This drive is their ePMR 40TB UltraSMR HDD, which enters volume production later […]

The post Western Digital promises 100TB HDDs by 2029 appeared first on OC3D.

Microsoft is reportedly walking back on Windows AI integrations If you ask any heavy Windows user about their opinions on Copilot and AI, you will likely hear nothing but complaints. For too long, Microsoft has used Windows as an AI testing ground, with users serving as guinea pigs. AI is being forced on users, even […]

The post We win? Microsoft to scale back AI integrations into Windows appeared first on OC3D.

Microsoft has moved its 3D Viewer app onto the deprecated list, and it's expected to disappear from the Microsoft Store in July 2026. I have some suggestions as to what you can use instead.

Xbox consoles are already capable emulation machines through Dev Mode, and a recent community poll suggests Nintendo Switch emulation using Ryujinx could be the next ambitious step.

Zelnick was responding to a question about Google's Project Genie AI tool. Announced last week, the experimental system transforms simple text instructions into short, explorable video environments – interactive worlds, essentially.

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The new standard stems from growing safety concerns. While retractable or hidden handles improve airflow and aesthetics, they can become a deadly obstacle in emergencies.

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Steven Allison, the Epic Games Store's vice president and general manager, conceded that the launcher boots and responds to user input more sluggishly than Steam. To address complaints that have persisted for years, the company is completely rebuilding the client's backend. "We're ripping the guts out of the Epic Games...

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Test Your Idea scans 11 live data sources and tells you what's wrong with your startup before you write a single line of code. You're about to spend six months building something, but will anyone pay for it?

Drop your idea in two sentences and get back a viability score (0-100), real competitors (not the ones you googled), market size with actual sources, the three biggest problems you'll face, and what to fix before you start. Free scan. Full report for $19. No subscription.

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This is one of the cheapest OLED Android gaming handhelds on the market, powered by the Snapdragon 865 processor. MANGMI Launches Pocket Max OLED Gaming Handheld at Just $199 as Super Early Bird Price Popular handheld maker, MANGMI, has announced its latest Android gaming handheld called Pocket Max, bringing the power of the Snapdragon 865 processor and Adreno 650 GPU for a smooth gaming experience. It's the second Android handheld device from the company that delivers significantly superior specs out of the box, including the internal hardware and screen, which makes Pocket Max a powerful Android handheld for enthusiasts. While […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/mangmis-new-7-inch-144hz-oled-android-gaming-handheld-launched-at-just-199/

Researchers based at Cornell University have developed a method for 3D printing concrete structures on the seafloor.

GMKtec’s mini PC delivers impressive performance and 1080p gaming in a compact size, though it’s pricey next to a larger system and not as upgradeable.

China’s two largest memory manufacturers, CXMT and YMTC, are said to each be embarking on an unprecedented expansion spree as they see an opportunity to close the gap with the big-three incumbents.

This 27-inch Acer Nitro XV27U gaming monitor has just hit a record low price on Amazon, scoring you an IPS display with a super-fast 300Hz refresh rate for just $199.99, saving you $100.

Apple's latest 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 processor has had a hefty $300 knocked off the list price.

Run Claude Code agents in terminal with a visual editor

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One of the biggest reasons new advertisers end up in underperforming Performance Max campaigns is simple: they followed Google’s advice.

Google Ads reps are often well-meaning and, in many cases, genuinely helpful at a surface level. 

But it’s critical for advertisers – especially new ones – to understand who those reps work for, how they’re incentivized, and what their recommendations are actually optimized for.

Before defaulting to Google’s newest recommendation, it’s worth taking a step back to understand why the “shiny new toy” isn’t always the right move – and how advertisers can better advocate for strategies that serve their business, not just the platform.

Google reps are not strategic consultants

Google Ads reps play a specific role, and that role is frequently misunderstood.

They do not:

• Manage your account long term.
• Know your margins, cash flow, or true break-even ROAS.
• Understand your internal goals, inventory constraints, or seasonality.
• Get penalized when your ads lose money.

Their responsibility is not to build a sustainable acquisition strategy for your business. Instead, their primary objectives are to:

• Increase platform and feature adoption.
• Drive spend into newer campaign types.
• Push automation, broad targeting, and machine learning.

That distinction matters.

Performance Max is Google’s flagship campaign type. It uses more inventory, more placements, and more automation across the entire Google ecosystem. 

From Google’s perspective, it’s efficient, scalable, and profitable. From a new advertiser’s perspective, however, it’s often premature and misaligned with early-stage needs.

Dig deeper: Dealing with Google Ads frustrations: Poor support, suspensions, rising costs

Performance Max benefits Google before it benefits you

Performance Max often benefits Google before it benefits the advertiser. 

Because it automatically spends across Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube, Discover, and Gmail, Google is given near-total discretion over where your budget is allocated. In exchange, advertisers receive limited visibility into what’s actually driving results.

For Google, this model is ideal. It monetizes more surfaces, accelerates adoption of automated bidding and targeting, and increases overall ad spend across the board. For advertisers – particularly those with new or low-data accounts – the reality looks different.

New accounts often end up paying for upper-funnel impressions before meaningful conversion data is available. 

Budgets are diluted across lower-intent placements, CPCs can spike unpredictably, and when performance declines, there’s very little insight into what to fix or optimize. 

You’re often left guessing whether the issue is creative, targeting, bidding, tracking, or placement.

This misalignment is exactly why Google reps so often recommend Performance Max even when an account lacks the data foundation required for it to succeed.

‘Best practice’ doesn’t mean best strategy for your business

What Google defines as “best practice” does not automatically translate into the best strategy for your business.

Google reps operate from generalized, platform-wide guidance rather than a custom account strategy. 

Their recommendations are typically driven by aggregated averages, internal adoption goals, and the products Google is actively promoting next – not by the unique realities of your business.

They are not built around your specific business model, your customer acquisition cost tolerance, your testing and learning roadmap, or your need for early clarity and control. 

As a result, strategies that may work well at scale for mature, data-rich accounts often fail to deliver the same results for new or growing advertisers.

What’s optimal for Google at scale isn’t always optimal for an advertiser who is still validating demand, pricing, and profitability.

Dig deeper: Google Ads best practices: The good, the bad and the balancing act

Smart advertisers earn automation – they don’t start with it

Smart advertisers understand that automation is something you earn, not something you start with.

Even today, Google Shopping Ads remain one of the most effective tools for new ad accounts because they are controlled, intent-driven, and rooted in real purchase behavior.

Shopping campaigns rely far less on historical conversion volume and far more on product feed relevance, pricing, and search intent.

That makes them uniquely well-suited for advertisers who are still learning what works, what converts, and what deserves more budget.

To understand how this difference plays out in practice, consider what happened to a small chocolatier that came to me after implementing Performance Max based on guidance from their dedicated Google Ads rep.

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A real-world example: When Performance Max goes wrong

The challenge was straightforward: The retailer’s Google Ads account was new, and Performance Max was positioned as the golden ticket to quickly building nationwide demand.

The result was disastrous.

• Over $3,000 was spent with a return of just one purchase.
• Traffic to the website and YouTube channel remained low despite the spend.
• CPCs climbed as high as $50 per click.
• ROAS was effectively nonexistent. 

To make matters worse, conversion tracking had not been set up correctly, causing Google to report inflated and inaccurate sales numbers that didn’t align with Shopify at all.

Understandably, the retailer lost confidence – not just in Performance Max, but in paid advertising as a whole. Before walking away entirely, they reached out to me.

Recognizing that this was a new account with no reliable data, I immediately reverse-engineered the setup into a standard Google Shopping campaign. 

We properly connected Google Ads and Google Merchant Center to Shopify to ensure clean, accurate tracking.

From there, the campaign was segmented by product groups, allowing for intentional bidding and clearer performance signals.

Within two weeks, real sales started coming through.

By the end of the month, the brand had acquired 56 new customers at a $53 cost per lead, with an average order value ranging from $115 to $200. 

More importantly, the account now had clean data, clear winners, and a foundation that could actually support automation in the future.

Dig deeper: The truth about Google Ads recommendations (and auto-apply)

Why Shopping ads still work – and still matter

By starting with Shopping campaigns, advertisers can validate products, pricing, and conversion tracking while building clean, reliable data at the product and SKU level.

This early-stage performance proves demand, highlights top-performing items, and trains Google’s algorithm with meaningful purchase behavior.

Shopping Ads also offer a higher level of control and transparency than Performance Max. 

Advertisers can segment by product category, brand, margin, or performance tier, apply negative keywords, and intentionally allocate budget to what’s actually profitable. 

When something underperforms, it’s clear why – and when something works, it’s easy to scale.

This level of insight is invaluable early on, when every dollar spent should be contributing to learning, not just impressions.

The case for a hybrid approach

Standard Shopping consistently outperforms Performance Max for accounts that require granular control over product groups and bidding – especially when margins vary significantly across SKUs and precise budget allocation matters. 

It allows advertisers to double down on proven winners with exact targeting, intentional bids, and full visibility into performance.

That said, once a Shopping campaign has been running long enough to establish clear performance patterns, a hybrid approach can be extremely effective.

Performance Max can play a complementary role for discovery, particularly for advertisers managing broad product catalogs or limited optimization bandwidth. 

Used selectively, it can help test new products, reach new audiences, and expand beyond existing demand – without sacrificing the stability of core revenue drivers.

While Performance Max reduces transparency and control, pairing it with Standard Shopping for established performers creates a balanced strategy that prioritizes profitability while still allowing room for scalable growth.

Dig deeper: 7 ways to segment Performance Max and Shopping campaigns

Control first, scale second

Google reps are trained to recommend what benefits the platform first, not what’s safest or most efficient for a new advertiser learning their market. 

While Performance Max can be powerful, it only works well when it’s fueled by strong, reliable data – something most new accounts simply don’t have yet.

Advertisers who prioritize predictable performance, cleaner insights, and sustainable growth are better served by starting with Google Shopping Ads, where intent is high, control is stronger, and optimization is transparent. 

By using Shopping campaigns to validate products, understand true acquisition costs, and build confidence in what actually converts, businesses create a solid foundation for automation.

From there, Performance Max can be layered in deliberately and profitably – used as a tool to scale proven success rather than a shortcut that drains budget. 

That approach isn’t anti-Google. It’s disciplined, strategic advertising designed to protect spend and drive long-term results.

An innovative approach to discovering, analyzing, and governing identity usage beyond traditional IAM controls. The Challenge: Identity Lives Outside the Identity Stack Identity and access management tools were built to govern users and directories. Modern enterprises run on applications. Over time, identity logic has moved into application code, APIs, service accounts, and custom authentication

Fitbit co-founders are launching a family-wide health monitoring software, but we have our concerns.

An Apple Pay scam uses urgency to panic Apple users into handing over their accounts.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have leaked, and the renders don't answer my biggest worry, which caused some Buds 4 Pro backlash.

Nvidia's DLSS 4.5 is incredible at enhancing image stability in games, but history suggests it will be abused by game developers.

Zoom says AI isn't just for boosting worker productivity, it's also for helping with everyday tasks like room booking.

This is a limited-time deal across all Keeper plans- Personal, Family, and Business.

This new Channel 4 documentary dives into the shocking details behind the pop star's controversial 2005 trial. Here's how to watch Michael Jackson: The Trial for FREE.

And so, we're in the final week of the Ashur dynasty. But when does Spartacus: House of Ashur episode 10 air on Starz?

The Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and Galaxy S21 Ultra won't get any more software updates, but the Galaxy S21 FE still will.

One of IKEA's most popular products has had a glow-up – I got the low-down on the new-look donut lamp.

This MacBook Pro 14 at B&H Photo is a great option, even if you're a frustrated Windows user.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has spoken about the potential of generative AI in the company's latest earnings call.

When AI reasons across systems, static permissions fail and intent becomes the real attack surface.

CIPA data for 2025 indicates a huge growth in the compact camera market, with a disproportionate rise in value, suggesting premium models lead the way.

Adobe says it will keep Animate in maintenance mode instead of fully discontinuing it, keeping important support and security updates.

Tired of AI writing tools that rewrite your voice? These 7 AI-free alternatives put writers back in control

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.

Microsoft Teams will soon display employee skills on profile cards, helping users find internal experts and build connections within the app.

Microsoft is expanding People Skills on the Microsoft 365 profile card in Microsoft Teams, making it easier to understand and organize your colleagues.

Amazon has a big discount on the Razer Basilisk V3 Pro gaming mouse, a superb option we loved in 2022 for its extremely responsive sensors and design that still holds up today.

Microsoft will soon allow companies to add their own "visual identity" in video meetings with branded emoji reactions.

Texas 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 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.

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.

Following a reported 5 – 10% increase in pricing last month, AMD board partners are expected to introduce a second hike this month or in March. It's unclear how large this new increase will be, but any price hike by AIB partners will make RX 9000-series graphics cards even more expensive.

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The relationship between AMD and Microsoft dates back more than a decade, with the Xbox One, Series X, and Series S generations built on custom AMD silicon. Each iteration has relied on a system-on-chip (SoC) built around AMD's CPU and GPU cores, blending x86 architecture with Radeon graphics on a...

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Spain's under-16 ban, which still requires parliamentary approval, is part of a series of measures announced by prime minister Pedro Sánchez.

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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.

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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 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/

The updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models that are 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. 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 Integrated Fan-Out (InFO) technology, helping improve heat dissipation and lower resistance. There are other advantages too, which […]

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/

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/

Shoppers share their best GeForce RTX 50-series purchases in a Reddit thread from Walmart's electronics clearance aisle.

HetCCL, a proposed computing library, could make Nvidia and AMD AI accelerators play nicely with one another in the same cluster by bridging the two companies' hardware over RDMA.

From two ports to 20, how adding a Thunderbolt dock can expand your connectivity options.

Western Digital to give large customers a tool to manage storage fleets of 200+ PB consisting of SSDs, HAMR HDDs, and UltraSMR drives.

Corsair's Galleon 100 SD is a premium gaming keyboard with a built-in Stream Deck. We like the way it feels, but is it worth $350?

A group of researchers has built an AI-powered system that uses five agents to monitor 3D printers and correct for errors after each printed layer.

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

Patriots or Seahawks – who will take the Vince Lombardi Trophy? Here's what the pundits, bookies and this writer predict for Super Bowl Sunday.

Enrique Lores is set to move from HP over to PayPal to meet board expectations for a quicker pace of change.

The HP Laptop 14 has a small and simple form — but does it have enough power for the modern-day user?

From a winning tech stack to ecommerce essentials, find everything you need to start selling online in 2026.

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.

How well does AMD's FSR 4 upscaling perform compared to Nvidia's latest DLSS 4.5? Is AMD still relatively close to Nvidia in image quality, or has FSR fallen further behind? Let's find out.

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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'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 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

The investment comes from backers including the Qatar Investment Authority as demand for chips beyond Nvidia soars and as Qatar aims to build out its AI infrastructure.

FlexiSpot's latest standing desk is one built from the ground up with cable management in mind. That's not always an easy feat when you're dealing with a dynamic height adjusting tabletop.

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.

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 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 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.

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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.

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The first of its kind promptable speech language model

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Build robust REST APIs with Google Sheets for free

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Create custom mystery packs of Pokemon and Sports cards

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AI code review that knows when to chime in

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AI sales assistant that finds leads + books meetings for you

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Sandbox claude code, codex, or any TUI on macOS

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Build and deploy apps from any AI coding tool, in one place

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Write without switching tools

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Turn raw CSV and JSON into an interactive data canvas

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Train code reading skills in a GeoGuessr-like game

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One API to publish to Instagram, TikTok, Youtube and others

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APIs for building AI chat and search

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Face to face AI companion calls with voice, motion, memory

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Like SQLite, but for the web

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Test, iterate, and launch an agentic storefront in minutes

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Leverage coding agents to tackle complex tasks autonomously

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Keep a library of saved text, paste it in a keystroke

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Export Tesla dashcam video with driving data overlaid

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Turn natural language into AI agents and automations

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Highlights in‑key notes and flags wrong notes as you play

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Control your ember mug from the terminal

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Fast, accessible coding agents that adapt to any repo

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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.

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'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 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.

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From flowers that will never wilt to portable coffee machines and smartwatches, there's a perfect Valentine's Day gift for that special someone to show how much you care.

A precise prompt strategy can stop ChatGPT and Gemini from rambling.

Fallout's season 2 finale has arrived – here's what happens to Lucy, Maximus, The Ghoul, Hank, Norm, and the residents of Vault 32.

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.

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I’ve got the latest on everything new coming to Apple TV in 2026, and it’s a bumper lineup of movies and shows packed with A-list talent.

Musk’s timeline for cheap AI compute in orbit after SpaceX bought xAI ignores the massive logistical and physical hurdles that remain.

Fake SSDs used to be easy to catch. Operating systems or common diagnostic tools would quickly expose them as something other than what the sticker claimed. Today's counterfeits, however, are far more convincing, often looking legitimate until buyers start noticing performance that feels way off.

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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.

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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/

It would be a mistake to get a new Galaxy phone right now – I urge you to wait for the Samsung Galaxy S26.

It might be from 2022, but this robot vacuum and mop is still a very capable set-and-forget cleaning powerhouse that you can get for a massive 64% discount, thanks to a competitive market.

OpenClaw, formerly Clawdbot and Moltbot, faces malware attacks as fake skills and extensions exploit trust in local AI tools.

After several months of dizzying price rises for DDR5 RAM, we've got what looks like a respite – but not one that applies to the Pi 5.

You're not short of choice when deciding on an NBN plan – I've picked out my favourites for February that all offer speed and value.

Attia co-founded longevity medical testing startup Biograph, which came out of stealth a year ago.

Varaha's fresh funding is part of a $45 million Series B round led by WestBridge Capital.

With the right enterprise hardware it doesn't matter if you're using Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, because the two are now working together.

With The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 on the horizon, Skyrim's lead designer thinks Bethesda should make the RPGs more "dynamic" than previous titles.

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.

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 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.

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AMD's CEO doesn't seem concerned with current memory prices, suggesting the company is focusing its efforts on the enterprise.

AMD's CEO Dr. Lisa Su let out a hint about the next-gen Xbox, which will sport a semi-custom SoC that should be ready next year.