EA's Full Circle studio published the hotly anticipated Skate, a free-to-play live-service installment in the popular franchise, just six months ago, and to a booming 134,901 peak concurrent players. However, those figures quickly dropped to the little-over-2,000 daily players we see today, and it seems as though the dwindling player count may have been an indication of what's to come. According to a recent blog post put out by Full Circle, the studio will be "reshaping" itself, making changes to better support Skate's long-term future, and those changes mean that "some roles will be impacted," which is to say that the studio is laying off staff.
Neither EA nor Full Circle have commented on how many developers or team members are being laid off, but the studio says that these are individuals who helped build the foundation of Skate, suggesting that they were part of the core development and art teams. This announcement comes not too long after EA was bought out by a group consisting of PIF, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, who subsequently announced a cost-savings plan that would see EA pivot to AI in order to increase efficiency, manage debt, and cut operating costs. The news of layoffs is also only the latest in a recent slew of layoffs and studio closures across the ailing gaming industry, which has seemingly hit the live-service genre particularly hard.
The State of New York's attorney general, Letitia James, has officially taken gaming giant, Valve, to court in a state court in Manhattan, alleging that the combination of games like Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, and Dota, wherein players can earn and use real money to buy loot boxes, and Steam's Community Market, where rare skins and items can be sold, often for exorbitant prices, amount to "quintessential gambling." There are reports of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive skins selling for as much as $2.5 million, with the game touted as having the biggest in-game economy of any video game. Valve previously adjusted the way it presented loot boxes and their rewards to players, seemingly specifically to avoid EU gambling regulations.
The lawsuit, spotted by Reuters, alleges that "Valve's loot boxes are particularly pernicious because they are popular among children and adolescents," going on to state that these mechanics put children at risk of becoming addicted, with the complaint adding that children are four times more at risk of becoming addicted to gambling in adulthood if they are exposed to gambling before the age of 12. The lawsuit seeks restitution for players and a fine of three times Valve's earnings from any activities deemed to be illegal. Loot boxes are largely looked down on by gamers and lawmakers alike, because players are encouraged to spend money on them, and they provide no guarantee of any return or specific value. If James succeeds against Valve in the lawsuit, it could set a precedent that may result in sweeping changes across both Steam and the gaming industry at large.
SK hynix Inc. and Sandisk Corporation held "HBF Spec. Standardization Consortium Kick-Off" event at Sandisk Headquarters in Milpitas, California on the 25th (local time) announcing global standardization strategy of next-generation memory solution HBF (High Bandwidth Flash) aimed at the AI inference era. SK hynix said, "By making HBF an industry standard, together with Sandisk, we will lay the foundation for the entire AI ecosystem to grow together. A dedicated workstream under OCP will be launched with Sandisk to begin standardization work."
Recently, the AI industry is shifting from training which focuses on creating Large Language Models (LLMs) to inference, which accelerates actual AI services to users. Fast and efficient memory is essential as the number of users using AI services increases rapidly. However, the existing memory structure cannot meet the high capacity data processing and power efficiency at the same time in the inference stage and HBF technology is designed to address these limitations. HBF technology is a new memory layer between ultra-fast memory, HBM and high-capacity storage device, SSD. HBF technology can fill the gap between HBM's high performance and SSD's high capacity and ensure both capacity expansion and power efficiency required for AI inferencing. While HBM handles the high level bandwidth, HBF technology serves as a supporting layer in the architecture.
Gushwork has raised $9 million in a seed round led by SIG and Lightspeed. The startup has seen early customer traction from AI search tools like ChatGPT.
Seattle-based Vercept developed complex agentic tools, including a computer-use agent that could complete tasks inside applications like a person with a laptop would.
The artificial intelligence platform was also used to generate professional complaints, according to a report from 404 Media in collaboration with Court Watch.
NuPhy is known for making some of the best mid-range low-profile mechanical keyboards, having recently launched the Node series, a $99.95-109.95 low-profile mechanical keyboard family shortly after releasing the V3 update for its Air series keyboards. Now, adding to its growing list of accessories for its aforementioned low-profile keyboard collection, NuPhy has released a NuPhy x Riel Aquarium nSA profile keycap set, which is available on the NuPhy site for $49.95.
NuPhy designed the Aquarium keycap set in collaboration with Riel, and the set will be manufactured by KeyTok, but it uses NuPhy's low-profile, uniform-height nSA profile, which can also be found on its pre-built low-profile keyboards. The keycap set employs a whimsical sea-life theme, featuring various shades of blue and off-white alphanumeric and modifier keys and orange navigation accent keycaps. There are also alternative white and blue modifier keycaps featuring aquarium doodles. The Aquarium nSA keycap set is made of five-sided dye-sublimated PBT, and the set has a total of 159 keycaps. Given that nSA is a uniform-height keycap set, compatibility with ortholinear and small form factor keyboards with split spaces should actually be quite high.
Back at CES 2026, we got a brief look at Keychron's resin and concrete K2 HE Special Edition wireless TMR keyboards, but the company has officially launched both the Concrete Edition and Resin Edition K2 HE keyboards, with both keyboards launching via Keychron's direct-to-consumer online store for $199.99. Both keyboards are based on the K2 HE, which has been one of Keychron's more popular models since it launched, and there isn't much by way of technical improvements over the original K2 HE aside from the design update. The resin edition features a smoky translucent case with an almost marbled aesthetic that shifts in the light, while the concrete edition has a simpler brutalist design, with color-matched keycaps and a solid gray aesthetic.
Both the K2 HE Concrete and Resin Editions are based on the same MCU, TMR sensor, and switch architectures as the original K2 HE, meaning they use the same Gateron Double-Rail Magnetic Nebula switches as the original—with 4 mm total travel and enabling all the typical analog features and online customization via Keychron Launcher—and feature the same 1 kHz polling rate and wireless connectivity via Bluetooth 5.3 and 2.4 GHz. It also goes without saying that both keyboards have the same 75% layout as the previous K2 HE keyboards. The material changes have also resulted in different dimensions. The K2 HE Resin Edition measures 321.13 × 131.3 mm, with a 27.06 mm listed front height and 4° typing angle, while the Concrete Edition comes in at 322.13 × 132.13 mm with a 27.39 mm front height and 4° typing angle. Both also use an aluminium switch plate and have a tray-mount design.
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today reported record revenue for the fourth quarter ended January 25, 2026, of $68.1 billion, up 20% from the previous quarter and up 73% from a year ago. For fiscal 2026, revenue was $215.9 billion, up 65% from a year ago.
For the quarter, GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins were 75.0% and 75.2%, respectively. For fiscal 2026, GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins were 71.1% and 71.3%, respectively.
The recently unveiled x86CSS project aims to emulate an x86 processor within a web browser. Unlike many other web-based emulators, Lyra Rebane's implementation is written entirely in CSS. More precisely, the x86CSS page hosts a C program compiled with GCC into native 8086 machine code, which is then executed through...
Turtle Savings turns saving money into simple, addictive games. Choose challenges like 100 Envelopes, 52 Weeks, or Bingo, move money to your own bank account, and mark envelopes to see your stack grow. The app tracks progress, celebrates wins, and shows a live scoreboard so you stay motivated without handing over your cash. Join thousands of savers and crush goals faster with bite-sized daily actions.
Samsung’s WAFX-P interactive display combines AI tools, dual-pen input, live captions, and multi-device integration for collaborative business environments.
Valve is facing yet another lawsuit, and it's not about the Steam company's 30% cut on all Steam sales. This time, the lawsuit comes from the state of New York, as the state's general attorney, Letitia James, has filed a lawsuit against Valve, alleging that the company has violated state gambling laws with the loot boxes available games like Counter-Strike. The news comes from a new report from Reuters, which adds that James calls Valve's loot boxes "quintessential gambling," and also accused the DOTA 2 developer of "threatening to addict children" to gambling. "Valve's loot boxes are particularly pernicious because […]
God of War: Sons of Sparta plays it safe when no other entry had done so before. A Metroid-like handled by an indie studio might not be what you expected in 2026 but I enjoy seeing smaller studios try and give a unique spin on existing franchises.
The company has begun rolling out the latest BIOS updates for its motherboards to fix the BitLocker recovery issues. ASUS Releases Beta BIOS Version 2102/1642 for 600 and 800-Series Motherboards; Resolves BitLocker Recovery Problems There have been numerous reports indicating that users were facing BitLocker recovery issues on ASUS AM5 motherboards, which was reportedly caused by the Beta BIOS update 2101. This resulted in BitLocker demanding the recovery key on every boot. Despite downgrading the BIOS and even clearing TPM, the problem persisted for many users, which suggested corruption of Secure Boot logs. ASUS has finally released a new BIOS […]
Today during IGN Fan Fest 2026, Swedish indie publisher Raw Fury and developer Christoffer Bodegård announced that their fantasy CRPG, Esoteric Ebb, will launch on March 3 for PC. Players will soon be able to step into Esoteric Ebb's isometric, Disco-inspired TTRPG-turned-CRPG gameplay, which features deep, branching dialogue and staggering player choice, in a richly imagined Arcanepunk fantasy world.
In Esoteric Ebb, the player is the Cleric, one of many menial laborers of the city of Norvik. Tasked to solve the mystery of an exploded Tea Shop, players will roll dice against the voices in their head, explore a fantasy city on the brink of its first-ever election, and strive to become a hero of legends. Or completely ruin the campaign.
The Galaxy S26 lineup runs on a customized version of Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC. Compared to last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, the new silicon delivers a 19% uplift in CPU performance, a 24% gain in GPU power, and a 39% boost in AI acceleration via...
PDFSlick delivers a drop-in PDF viewer that turns static documents into collaborative workspaces. Developers can embed real-time cursors, comments, and annotations with a few lines of code to quickly implement multiplayer features.
Its edge-native sync keeps latency under 50 ms, while zero document storage ensures files remain in your own bucket—only collaboration ink is synced. You can integrate in minutes, scale from free to enterprise, and maintain privacy and performance at the core.
Under the first year of the Trump administration, the U.S. cyber agency CISA has faced cuts, layoffs, and furloughs, as bipartisan lawmakers and cybersecurity industry sources say the agency is unprepared to handle a crisis.
Crypto is creeping back into the startup conversation, but at ETHDenver last week, the buzz was as much about Washington as it was about tokens. Policy shifts are rippling through the market as Tether and stablecoins face scrutiny, players like Stripe re-enter the conversation, and startups either find traction or flame out. The hype cycle is over, or at least taking a break. So what comes next? On […]
The former boss of a U.S. hacking tools maker was jailed for selling highly sensitive software exploits to a Russian broker. This is how we first learned of his arrest, reported the story, and some of the unanswered questions we still have.
Anthropic updated its crawler documentation to list separate Claude bots for training, search indexing, and user requests, with visibility tradeoffs when blocked.
The PS Plus Essential games for March 2026 have been revealed, and after February's lineup added a couple of strong indie titles, this month's lineup of four games includes a few bigger names like PGA Tour 2K25 and Monster Hunter Rise headlining this month's batch. Plays subscribed to the bottom tier of PS Plus or higher will get access to the two aforementioned games, along with Slime Rancher 2 and The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Gold Road next week starting on March 3, 2026. As always, if you want to access these games after this coming month, you'll need to […]
Samsung has finally lifted the curtain off of its newest Galaxy S26 series, with the company introducing slightly changed designs for all models paired with a specifications bump and a minor improvement to the cameras. The latest lineup now starts from $899 in the U.S., which will raise some eyebrows and could manipulate your purchasing decision. However, there are some interesting bits found in the latest review roundup, so make sure you check out what content creators have pushed out before deciding on which flagship to make your daily driver. No magnets for Qi2 wireless charging and no silicon-carbon batteries […]
While the star attraction of the 'Galaxy Unpacked' event has always been Samsung's S-series, the accessories that the South Korean behemoth typically unveils at the margins of the said event do garner attention, especially when some of those accessories relate to the Galaxy Buds 4 series, which now bring an innovative head gesture support, and act as a remote shutter button in the camera app. Behold the Galaxy Buds 4 Series As expected, Samsung has now unveiled the Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds Pro 4, bringing a new design to the proverbial table, replete with flat metal stems, silicone […]
With Generative AI (GenAI) remaining the most controversial topic in the video game industry, any mention of GenAI or AI in general is making the hair on players' arms stand up. The latest occurrence of this comes from Genshin Impact players looking a little more closely at Hoyoverse's recent updates to the popular free-to-play game's Privacy Policy, which appears to have indicated that unless players opt-out, Hoyoverse will collect players' in-game voice chat data to train an internal AI model. Initially spotted on a now-removed Reddit post, Bluesky user Cevian shared a change to Genshin Impact's privacy policy that was […]
Last year, EA brought back one of its most beloved franchises from the seventh generation of consoles with the return of Skate. It was absolutely not the Skate 4 that fans of the series had hoped they might get one day. It was EA's attempt at turning the franchise into a live service game that could churn out cash for the publisher, and despite it being the most-downloaded free-to-play PC and console game in 2025 according to a new Sensor Tower report, less than six months from its launch, developer Full Circle has been impacted by layoffs. A statement from […]
Valorborn, the upcoming open-world sandbox RPG that developer Laps Games describes as a "dangerous, reactive medieval fantasy world full of freedom, tension, and possibility," officially has an early access release date. It'll arrive on PC first through Steam, and it'll be out in early access on April 15, 2026. Sim and city-building fans may already recognize Laps Games as the developer behind Land of the Vikings, the 2023 strategy city-building sim that lets you create intricate Viking colonies and challenges you to lead your people through difficult winters, military expeditions, all while managing resources so your colony can thrive instead […]
Samsung has just unveiled its new Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 Ultra variants within the S26 series, bringing a host of AI capabilities and the Ultra-exclusive Privacy Display. Behold the Galaxy S26+ And Galaxy S26 Ultra Physical Features The Samsung Galaxy S26+ sports a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen, with a resolution of 1440 x 3120, a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and peak brightness of 3,000 nits vs. the 2600 nits on the last-gen Galaxy S25+ variant. In contrast, the Galaxy S26 Ultra sports a 6.9-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X screen, with a resolution of 1440 x […]
The February Xbox Update introduces 1440p cloud streaming on Xbox consoles, new controller navigation sounds in the Xbox PC app, improved storage and shader features for Xbox Ally, and more.
According to the two executives, the next steps revolve around the next-gen Xbox hardware platform, which is rumored to launch around 2028 as a PC-console hybrid, and Microsoft's first-party development efforts. Sharma said "For me, the spirit of 'Return to Xbox' is about returning to the spirit that the team was founded on... It's that spirit of surprise, it's the spirit of building something nobody else is willing to try," going on to explain that "I think that our core Xbox fans and players have invested up to 25 years of themselves in these universes and our console. I want to make sure everybody knows I'm committed to Xbox, starting with the console. We're going to keep meeting players where they are—the world continues to evolve and change. We're going to make sure Xbox is a great place for developers and players. We want to invest in reducing the artificial divide between different types of devices that they want to use with us. I think that's going to mean a lot more investment in breaking down the barriers, in helping developers build once and show up across different hardware experience."
Samsung Electronics today announced the Galaxy S26 series, powered by the most intuitive, proactive and adaptive Galaxy AI experiences yet and designed to simplify the tasks people do on their phones every day. From managing plans and finding information to capturing and refining content, Galaxy S26 reduces the effort and number of steps required to get things done. As Samsung's third-generation AI phones, Galaxy S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra handle complex tasks in the background, allowing users to focus on results rather than how the technology works.
The Galaxy S26 series was engineered with Samsung's most advanced capabilities working together as one: incredible performance, an industry-leading camera system and Galaxy AI. This provides a strong foundation that gives Galaxy S26 users the confidence to depend on their phone throughout the day without compromising security or privacy.
AMD and Meta have signed what they describe as a "strategic" partnership aimed at expanding large-scale computing capacity and continuing to bankroll Mark Zuckerberg's long-running AGI ambitions. Central to the deal is a massive 6 gigawatts of total GPU capacity, which AMD will deploy in custom-built data center racks for...
YouTube said the changes were based on user feedback, noting that the additional features would make Premium Lite more attractive to people currently using the free service. They are already available to Lite users in the US and will be gradually rolled out to all eligible subscribers worldwide over the...
Rauno lets you prompt multiple AI models at once and see them discuss their responses in a single chat. You can compare perspectives from ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude as they verify and refine answers, helping you spot errors and choose the best output.
Google on Wednesday disclosed that it worked with industry partners to disrupt the infrastructure of a suspected China-nexus cyber espionage group tracked as UNC2814 that breached at least 53 organizations across 42 countries.
"This prolific, elusive actor has a long history of targeting international governments and global telecommunications organizations across Africa, Asia, and the Americas,"
Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event unveiled the Galaxy Buds Pro 4, and I've found the best preorder deal: a free $30 gift card with your purchase at Best Buy.
Samsung just revealed a new collection of Galaxy S26 smartphones featuring new looks, new materials, new cameras, and lots of AI options. Here are the highlights.
Waymo this week will begin mapping and collecting data in Chicago and Charlotte. The move comes as Waymo announces it is currently operating its robotaxis fully autonomously in 10 US cities.
The debate over the future of Taiwan's chip industry has resurfaced, but for those who haven't noticed, fabless manufacturers have already begun preparing for the worst. Taiwan's Chip Production Shift Is Driven By the Worries of Big Tech CEOs Amid Their Dependency On the Region We have extensively discussed the topic of US-Taiwan and the grand shift of supply chains from the East to the West, but the NYT's latest report has revealed aspects that indicate the geopolitical constraints on Taiwan's chip industry are being taken much more seriously. But one of the more important events to spot in the […]
One of the best action games of 2025 and the return of one of the best action series in video games last year, Ninja Gaiden 4, will get its first major DLC release next week, with the arrival of its previously announced The Two Masters DLC on March 4, 2026. The confirmation of its release date comes after we previously learned that the DLC would arrive sometime in early 2026. Announced in an Xbox Wire blog post, we also got a new look at gameplay from the DLC, which adds two new weapons (one for Ryu and one for Yakumo), […]
There is something wrong with ASRock motherboards, as this isn't the first time we are seeing two dead CPUs back to back. Two Ryzen 9 9950X Killed on ASRock X870 Steel Legend WiFi; Each Lived for Only 3-4 Months, and Latest BIOS Couldn't Revive Them Popular Tech YouTuber, Tech Yes City, has reported killing two of his AMD Ryzen 9 9950X CPUs in a span of just a few months. The channel owner, Bryan, has been running various configurations, but this one seems to have been the most brutal to his Ryzen 9 9950X CPU. Bryan says that the first […]
Even though this year's Samsung 'Galaxy Unpacked' event has been utterly tarnished by a spate of high-profile leaks - which saw an unreleased Galaxy S26 Ultra fall into the hands of a tech YouTuber as reports emerge of a plethora of those unreleased units making their way to shady online stores - the show must go on. As such, Samsung has just officially unveiled the base Galaxy S26, nearly copying the form factor of the base Galaxy S25, save a slightly larger and brighter screen, a dedicated camera island, and a larger battery, all for $899. Behold The Base Galaxy S26 […]
Ubisoft has seemingly lost another one of its veteran developers as part of its ongoing organizational restructuring following the company's announcement of a "major reset" last month. After learning who would be taking charge of the Assassin's Creed franchise going forward in its new structure yesterday, today we've learned that Clint Hocking, a Ubisoft veteran who was the creative director on Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Far Cry 2, Watch Dogs: Legion, and most recently the creative director on the upcoming Assassin's Creed: Hexe project, has left the company. VGC initially reported Hocking's departure, and when we reached out to Ubisoft […]
The user will now get a free Wireview Pro 2 for his ROG Astral RTX 5090, whose Wireview Pro connector was melted due to ignoring the temperature warning. Der8auer Appreciates The Effort and Dedication of the ROG Astral RTX 5090 User and is Sending Him The Latest Wireview Pro 2 Yesterday, we reported that a user had his Wireview Pro connector melt due to high temperatures. The user reportedly shunt-modded his ROG Astral RTX 5090 and also flashed the MSI RTX 5090 Lightning Z 1000W BIOS to increase the power limit on the GPU. Due to this configuration, his Wireview […]
OpenAI started introducing ads to free and Go-tier users of ChatGPT in the U.S., marking a significant shift in its monetization strategy — and drawing scrutiny from competitors.
What’s happening. After signaling plans last month, OpenAI quietly rolled out ads to U.S.-based users earlier this month. The move comes amid rising competition, including high-profile marketing pushes from Anthropic.
What OpenAI says. Speaking at the India AI summit, COO Brad Lightcap described the rollout as “iterative,” emphasizing user trust and privacy. He said ads, if done right, can be “additive” to the product experience — but acknowledged the company is still in early testing and will need time to refine the model.
The backdrop. CEO Sam Altman recently sparred publicly with Anthropic over its Super Bowl ad campaign, defending OpenAI’s commitment to broad, free AI access. He argued that scale creates a “differently-shaped problem” for OpenAI compared to rivals with smaller user bases.
The money angle. Reports suggest OpenAI is charging premium rates — as high as $60 CPM — with minimum commitments reportedly starting around $200,000. Meanwhile, partners like Shopify are enabling merchants to advertise inside ChatGPT through Shop Campaigns, alongside early testers including Target and Adobe.
Between the lines. OpenAI is walking a tightrope: monetize its massive free user base without eroding trust — especially as privacy concerns and competitive pressures intensify.
The bottom line. Ads are now part of ChatGPT’s future. The question isn’t whether OpenAI will monetize — it’s whether it can do so without compromising the product experience that fuelled its growth.
Google is rolling out a significant update to how average daily budgets pace in campaigns that use ad scheduling — and it could materially change monthly spend totals.
What’s happening. Starting March 1, 2026, Google Ads will begin proactively pacing budgets to spend up to the full 30.4x monthly limit, even if campaigns only run on specific days via ad scheduling.
How it works:
The 2x daily overspend rule stays in place.
The 30.4x average daily budget monthly cap remains unchanged.
Campaigns will not run outside scheduled hours.
But Google will now attempt to hit the full monthly ceiling within the allowed schedule.
Why we care. Until now, advertisers running limited schedules — like weekends only — effectively spent less per month because Google paced against active days. Campaigns using ad scheduling may start spending significantly more per month — even though daily budgets and billing caps haven’t changed.
Google will now push harder to hit the full 30.4x monthly limit within scheduled days, which could double spend for weekend-only or limited-hour campaigns. Without adjusting daily budgets, marketers risk unintentionally overshooting their intended monthly targets.
Example. A campaign set to weekends only with a $100 daily budget previously spent about $800/month (roughly eight weekend days).
Under the new pacing logic, it could spend up to $1,600/month — hitting $200 (2x daily budget) on each scheduled day.
What Google says. According to Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin, the goal is to better align pacing behavior with advertisers’ expectations around monthly spend limits. Spend will still be driven by campaign objectives like conversions or conversion value, and no campaign will exceed the existing billing caps.
Ginny also clarified that only advertisers who received notifications about this update will be affected and the change will be slowly rolled out.
Between the lines. This is less about raising limits — and more about how aggressively Google uses existing ones. For advertisers relying on ad scheduling to naturally suppress spend, this could lead to unexpected increases unless daily budgets are recalibrated.
What to do now:
Review campaigns using ad scheduling.
Recalculate daily budgets based on true monthly goals.
Lower daily budgets if you want to maintain previous monthly spend levels.
The bottom line. Google isn’t changing how much you can spend — it’s changing how quickly you will spend it. Flighted and part-time campaigns should adjust before March 2026.
First spotted. This updated was mentioned by Jordan Fry who shared the Google message he got on LinkedIn.
The leading system integrator iBUYPOWER is pleased to announce the official launch of its new Gen 10 series of prebuilt and custom gaming PCs. Built for those that demand cutting-edge gaming performance with contemporary aesthetics, iBUYPOWER is evolving its prebuilt computers by redefining how a modern gaming system should look and perform. To learn more, please visit: https://www.ibuypower.com/gaming-pcs/signatures/gen-10-series
iBUYPOWER's Trace X and Element Pulse X cases are at the heart of its Gen 10 lineup, as both cases feature refreshed, architectural-inspired designs that emphasize clean lines, panoramic views into your system, and eye catching RGB aesthetics. Both cases are also performance optimized, supporting high-end components like large GPUs, PSUs, and air coolers, and are backed by iBUYPOWER's comprehensive three-year labor and two-year parts warranty and nationwide Micro Center service support.
Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) introduces the Dell PowerEdge XR9700 server, a first of its kind closed-loop liquid-cooled, fully-enclosed, ruggedized server engineered to run Cloud RAN and edge AI workloads in unprotected outdoor environments. Designed to mount on utility poles, rooftops and building exteriors, the PowerEdge XR9700 brings high performance computing into dense urban areas, remote locations and space-constrained facilities where traditional data center infrastructure cannot reach.
Why it matters
Telecommunications operators and those working at the edge often struggle to deploy compute due to lack of power and space. The PowerEdge XR9700 solves this, delivering high performance compute directly at the point of need in an ultra-compact, zero-footprint IP66-rated enclosure that's sealed from the elements. For telecommunications operators, it provides a flexible, software-defined alternative to traditional RAN solutions, supporting Cloud RAN and Open RAN processing at the cell site. At the same time, the platform can run edge and AI applications directly where data is created and consumed.
Valve has steadily been adding features to SteamOS and the Steam Client since the release of the Steam Deck and leading up to the Steam Machine, but the latest Steam Deck Beta client update aims to address two main issues that have apparently been prevalent in the Steam Hardware Survey, which should result in more accurate GPU data reporting. The first change fixes incorrect VRAM reporting on some GPUs, although Valve doesn't provide any explanation about which GPUs are affected by this bug, while the second change makes it so that the Steam Client automatically detects the display adaptor with the most VRAM—therefore likely the most performant or the least likely to be an iGPU—when collecting Steam Survey information.
Aside from weird edge cases, like users running both a workstation GPU and a gaming GPU in one system, these changes should result in more accurate data from the Steam Hardware Survey. It's unclear how widespread these reporting issues were or how far back they go, but the changes are unlikely to have an effect before a wider roll-out, and it's unclear when the wider roll-out will happen. The beta client update also includes two minor updates to Steam Input. The update adds a multi-button selector for the button chord activator, which Valve says will improve compatibility with extra grip buttons on modern controllers. Valve has also changed the way the Gyro to Joystick Camera output works, matching the Gyro to Joystick Deflection behavior, which it says is useful for "identifying a game's internal joystick deadzone." Polishing both the Steam Hardware Survey results and Steam Input might be steps to prepare for the launch of the Steam Controller, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame.
ACEMAGIC's K1 Mini PC, powered by Intel's 12th Gen Core i5-12600H, is currently available at a substantial discount on Amazon US. Originally priced at $579.99, the system is now listed at $399.99, with an additional 10% off promo code bringing the final price down to $359.99. The promotion runs from February 4, 2026 (04:00 PST) through March 31, 2026 (23:59 PST).
Alder Lake-H Performance in a Compact Form Factor
The ACEMAGIC K1 is built around the Intel Core i5-12600H, a 12-core (4P + 8E) / 16-thread processor based on Intel's Alder Lake architecture. With boost clocks up to 4.5 GHz, the chip offers significantly higher multithreaded performance compared to typical low-power U-series mini PC CPUs, and even outpaces processors such as the i5-12450H in many workloads.
To purchase from the United States, visit this page (Amazon link).
To purchase from Canada, visit this page (Amazon Canada link).
Micron chose to unveil its latest developments in graphics memory via a blog post titled "The new performance bottleneck: How more GPU memory unlocks next gen gaming and AI PCs" which explains that its latest GDDR7 memory will allow for graphics cards with as much as 96 GB of VRAM. Micron isn't the first company with 24 Gbit or 3 GB density GDDR7 memory chips, as Samsung sampled partners back in November of last year.
Samsung's 3 GB GDDR7 chips are also offering 36 Gbps bandwidth, so Micron doesn't stand out here either and this might be why the company snuck out the details of its new product in a blog post rather than putting out a press release. Micron claims that its new GDDR7 chips offer improved efficiency, but doesn't go into any details as to what this means. The rest of the blog post is mostly about the benefits of GDDR7 at higher density and speeds and the benefits it will bring to graphics cards, AI PCs and what not. The chips aren't listed on Micron's website as yet, despite the blog linking to Micron's GDDR7 product page.
Rather than halting the simulation, Sony's design keeps the game active while shifting it into a lower-intensity state. The patent describes scenarios in which time may slow down, enemy pressure may decrease, and assistance systems may quietly become more active, allowing players to glance at messages or notifications without losing...
MarketInsights delivers a clean, citation-backed market report straight to your inbox. After a short intake, you’ll receive a professionally formatted report covering market size and opportunity, competitive dynamics, customer segments, and growth opportunities. It’s not a full consulting engagement, and it doesn’t pretend to be. But it’s a fast, affordable way to get a professional starting point for validation and planning. Built for founders, strategists, and investors, each report costs $19 and is delivered in 30 minutes.
Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed multiple security vulnerabilities in Anthropic's Claude Code, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered coding assistant, that could result in remote code execution and theft of API credentials.
"The vulnerabilities exploit various configuration mechanisms, including Hooks, Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, and environment variables – executing
Proton VPN is closing the feature gap between its applications, introducing city-level map pins for iOS and confirming that a major visual overhaul for its Linux and Mac clients is finally underway.
Samsung is expected to unveil its newest Galaxy Buds earbuds today, which means you can find an excellent deal on the fantastic-sounding Galaxy Buds Pro 3.
All the ways to watch Real Madrid vs Benfica live streams for free, with José Mourinho out to haunt his old side in this UCL knockout phase playoff 2nd leg.
NordVPN has launched a redesigned mobile app focused on usability, featuring a cleaner interface, an expanded map view, unified search, and enhanced protection statistics. Here’s what changed and how it benefits users.
As the popular show celebrates its half-century season, here's how to watch Survivor 50 online from anywhere – including FREE streams and without cable TV.
Herman Miller's Embody has the features I look for in a high-end ergonomic chair, including dynamic support that adapts to your movements during long hours at the desk.
COO Brad Lightcap noted that ads can add to the product experience of users if they are done right. He urged to give OpenAI a few months to see how the company fares in rolling out the product.
Samsung will introduce the privacy display to the Galaxy S26 Ultra for the first time, making it a useful feature under a certain number of conditions, but a godsend for those who don’t appreciate prying eyes all over their private conversations when sitting in a crowded space. Before Galaxy Unpacked kicks off, one YouTuber got a hold of the flagship and decided to test out the aforementioned feature. Based on his testing, it is useful, but it all depends on where the other person is sitting and how much effort they are making to invade your personal space. The privacy […]
A new tip from a relatively well-known tipster now suggests that Samsung's recent channel leaks - which saw an unreleased Galaxy S26 Ultra fall into the hands of a tech YouTuber amid concurrent reports of a plethora of those unreleased units making their way to shady online stores - was the result of a collective distributors' strike against the South Korean behemoth's supposedly extractive policies. Samsung's MX division, pressured by its semiconductor arm, tried to gain some financial room by squeezing its distributors, to disastrous results As we detailed recently, a Dubai-based tech YouTuber, Sahil Karoul, was able to get his hands […]
For a very long time, it was rumored that Bluepoint Games was working on a Bloodborne remaster for modern hardware, but dreams of seeing Yharnam in all of its haunting glory on PlayStation 5 were crushed by the studio's unfortunate closure last week. Still, PC players can enjoy the classic FromSoftware action role-playing game with a slew of improvements on PC, thanks to the ShadPS4 emulator and the Bloodborne Remaster Project by fromsoftserve, which was updated this week to a new version featuring some major overhauls. The modding project's 0.99.2 version biggest changes involve modified classic gparams, bringing the art […]
NVIDIA's next-gen Vera Rubin is currently under full production, and the company has provided us with an extensive overview of the rack architecture, diving into individual components. NVIDIA's Vera Rubin Features Six New Upgraded Chips, Enhanced Liquid Cooling, and High-End NVLink 6 Spine When we talk about rack generations, NVIDIA is set to feature major upgrades with Vera Rubin, which we'll discuss in depth, but based on a recent video by CNBC diving into the Vera Rubin architecture, we saw an extensive look at multiple components, ranging from the main compute node to networking and cooling elements. More importantly, NVIDIA's […]
An OLED gaming monitor is one of the biggest upgrades that you can make to your system because the colors, contrasts, deep blacks, and overall picture quality trump every other alternative. Also, you wouldn’t believe how pocket-friendly Samsung’s Odyssey G5 is going on Amazon, because the online retailer has slashed $200 from the total, meaning that you can grab each unit for $349.99. However, that’s not even the best part, because each purchase will give you a free copy of Resident Evil Requiem, with the game’s official launch right around the corner. The Odyssey G5 has an ultra-fast 0.03ms Gray […]
Although Sony has brought some of its biggest PlayStation 5 games to PC, there are still a few that have yet to make the jump, such as Gran Turismo 7. While there is no indication of the game ever making the jump to other platforms (although a GeForce NOW leak from September 2021 seemed to suggest a PC version was in the cards), Sony and developer Polyphony Digital reportedly had it run on the system least expected to receive a port: the Nintendo Switch 2. Speaking during a recent episode of the Games Mess Decides podcast, Jeff Grubb revealed an […]
AMD and Meta's blockbuster deal could see the company signing away 10% of shares in the business to Meta. We examine why AMD is keen to secure AI hardware orders, and explore Meta's AI compute strategy.
LLMs and their influence on traffic to a brand’s website are a major topic in our client conversations. Everyone wants to know what’s happening, how they can do better, and what the best practices are.
My recommendation to brands right now is to start with the data and focus on what they can know for sure.
To glean insights into how LLM traffic is influencing key metrics, we analyzed our dataset of LLM prompt referral traffic in Google Analytics across our customer base over the last 13 months (Jan. 1, 2025 to Feb. 7, 2026).
We focused on traffic from various LLM models to brand sites and the conversion events closest to true business outcomes. In some cases, that’s a purchase. In others, it’s a generated lead.
When we look at this dataset, four major findings rise to the surface:
LLM referral traffic is still small.
LLM traffic is growing fast.
The sources referenced in responses are shifting.
LLMs convert at a very high rate compared to other channels
LLM referral traffic is still small
LLM referral traffic accounts for less than 2% of total referral traffic on average, according to our dataset. In other words, fewer than 2 out of 100 visitors to a site come from an LLM referring source.
The range is 0.15%-1.5% of referral traffic coming from various LLMs, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude.
So while this is a major topic of conversation, it isn’t the highest priority for near-term bottom-line impact for many businesses.
LLMs, as a referral source, are growing quickly, according to our data. Comparing the first half of 2025 with the second half, we saw an average growth rate of 80% in LLM referral traffic.
There was a wide range across the dataset. Some companies saw just 10% growth, while others experienced 300% increases.
Below is the aggregate referral traffic by month in 2025. It shows a steady month-by-month increase, building to 3x referral traffic growth from January to December.
That means it’s not enough to understand your volume of LLM traffic. You also need to monitor the velocity of that growth.
LLMs are expanding as consumer adoption grows, and prompt algorithms keep changing. Between those two variables, you can see dramatic swings that you need to monitor.
The sources cited in LLM responses are changing quickly.
Here’s a look at our dataset since September of last year. The data comes from monitoring more than 5,000 prompts and their responses across various LLM APIs, including Gemini, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.
YouTube links and citations have increased over the last 30 days. Reddit saw similar growth, though that traffic recently leveled off.
These shifts in citations and links will affect the traffic that eventually reaches your site, and they may also influence your ad and content strategies.
If you don’t monitor this data, you won’t see these changes. LLMs don’t provide this information directly — you can only access it through a third-party tool.
LLMs convert at a very high rate compared to other channels
This is likely the most interesting and important finding. When you compare conversion rates alongside the total percentage of traffic, the contrast becomes clear.
LLM referrals are the highest-converting traffic source across our customer base, with an approximate 18% conversion rate. That’s higher than any other tactic, including paid shopping, SEO, and PPC.
However, they account for the lowest percentage of total traffic to a brand’s website, about 25 times less than SEO or direct.
Based on these findings, you should take the following actions to prepare for the evolving LLM landscape.
1. Establish dedicated monitoring
While LLM traffic volume is still low, its growth rate and volatility, including shifts between sources like YouTube and Reddit, make monitoring essential.
Track velocity: Don’t just look at volume. Monitor the rate of growth in LLM referrals to understand when this channel crosses a meaningful threshold for your business.
Monitor citation sources: Use available third-party tools to understand which LLMs and which types of platforms, including forums, videos, and news, are driving the most citations and subsequent traffic.
2. Capitalize on high-value traffic
An 18% conversion rate suggests LLM-referred users are highly qualified. They often arrive with clear intent or after their query has already been answered or validated by the LLM.
Analyze high-converting journeys: Review the user journey for LLM referrals. What content are they landing on? What queries are being answered that lead to conversion?
Optimize for intent: Focus content and landing page optimization on the high-intent needs reflected in the LLM’s citation context. Treat this traffic as a premium audience.
3. Plan for future growth
Given rapid LLM adoption, today’s low traffic volume won’t last.
Develop a content strategy for AI: Build a strategy that anticipates how LLMs summarize, cite, and reference your material. This isn’t traditional SEO. It’s about being the authoritative source LLMs choose to link to.
Allocate budget: While this may not drive immediate bottom-line impact, dedicate a small budget to tools and resources focused on understanding and optimizing the LLM referral channel.
This space is evolving fast. Hopefully, this dataset shows how things are progressing and motivates action within your organization.
This is a time of change. If you innovate, stay focused, and use data, you have a clear opportunity to outperform your competition.
LLM referral traffic is still a small share of overall volume, but it’s growing fast, shifting where it cites, and driving strong conversions.
Don’t overreact. Monitor the trend lines, understand where citations come from, and watch how this audience behaves once it lands. This space is moving fast, and if you stay close to the data, you’ll be better positioned as it evolves.
Google Discover runs on a structured, multi-stage pipeline with hard publisher blocks, strict image requirements, freshness decay, and heavy experimentation shaping what users see, according to new SDK-level research by Metehan Yesilyurt.
Why we care. Google Discover can drive massive traffic, but it often feels unpredictable. This research gives you a clearer view of how your content qualifies, gets ranked, or gets blocked — and where things can break before ranking even begins.
The details. Yesilyurt analyzed observable signals in Google’s Discover app framework and mapped a nine-stage flow. Google:
Crawls and understands your content.
Reads key meta tags like your image and title.
Classifies your content type (e.g., breaking news or evergreen).
Checks whether you’re blocked.
Matches your content to user interests.
Applies a server-side click-through rate prediction model.
Builds the feed layout.
Delivers your content.
Records user feedback.
One key finding. The publisher-level block happens before interest matching and ranking. If a user blocks you, your content never reaches the ranking stage.
Publisher blocking is powerful. One “Don’t show content from this site” action can suppress your entire domain. There’s no similar sitewide “boost” mechanism.
The ranking model. Your title, image quality, and engagement history are part of the evaluation process. The system uses a predicted click-through rate (pCTR) model on Google’s servers to estimate how likely someone is to click. The model isn’t visible, but the app shows which signals are sent to Google before ranking decisions, including:
Your page title (from og:title).
Your image size and quality.
How new your content is.
Past click and impression data for your URL.
Whether your images load successfully.
Freshness matters. Google Discover groups content into time windows:
1 to 7 days old: strongest boost.
8 to 14 days: moderate visibility.
15 to 30 days: limited visibility.
30+ days: gradual decline.
There’s a separate classification for strong evergreen content, but by default, newer content has an advantage.
Image and meta tag requirements. Google Discover reads six key page-level tags, including og:image and og:title. No image means no card.
To qualify for large, prominent cards, your images must be at least 1200px wide. Smaller images typically appear as thumbnails and often earn fewer clicks.
If certain tags are missing, Google Discover looks for backups — for example, it will try the Twitter title tag or the HTML title if og:title isn’t present.
Two specific meta tags — “nopagereadaloud” and “notranslate” — can stop your page from entering Google Discover entirely.
Personalization layers. Google Discover personalizes content using:
Google’s broader interest data tied to user behavior.
Publisher signals, including Publisher Center registration.
Individual actions like follows, saves, and dismissals.
Engagement signals, such as time spent reading.
If a user dismisses your story, the system stores that action permanently for that specific URL. It won’t resurface.
Experiments everywhere. During one observed session, about 150 server-side experiments were running simultaneously. Another 50+ feature controls affected how cards were displayed.
That means two similar users could see noticeably different feeds simply because they’re in different experiment groups.
Real-time feed updates. Google Discover isn’t static. The system can add, remove, or reorder content while someone is browsing, without a refresh.
The big takeaways. Success in Google Discover depends less on tricks and more on eligibility, trust, strong visuals, and sustained engagement — in a system that can filter you out before ranking even starts.
Here’s when you can start playing Resident Evil Requiem Capcom has just unveiled the global launch times for Resident Evil Requiem, which will be available on February 27th (in most regions). Note that the game’s console and PC release timings differ across regions, while Requiem’s PC version will launch worldwide at the same time. In […]
Gaming laptops keep getting more expensive, which is exactly why I'm always happy highlighting big sales like Dell's Tech Days event. If you want an Alienware laptop, this is your chance to save big.
Xbox has undergone some major changes in the past week, and that includes the exit of former Xbox President Sarah Bond. Was it a necessary move, or is Bond being scapegoated? Here's what our readers are saying.
Microsoft plans to make Edge open Copilot automatically when you click Outlook links. It's an odd addition at a time when people are already tired of forced AI features.
Microsoft Outlook displayed an advert promoting the sale of Dota 2 and other gaming accounts for up to $1,000, despite Steam’s Subscriber Agreement prohibiting account transfers. The incident raises concerns about automated ad review systems and platform responsibility.
Resident Evil Requiem is another fantastic entry in the industry's most legendary horror franchise. Sometimes the split protagonist experience can feel a little disjointed, but the dizzying highs are so plentiful you might not even notice.
The CP152-1 is a concept PCIe storage adapter card designed to explore market demand for a compact, rear-swappable 2.5" SATA SSD/HDD solution with built-in RAID 1 functionality. By utilizing a dual-slot PCIe form factor, the CP152-1 enables the installation of two 9.5 mm 2.5" SATA drives with RAID 1 or JBOD support, delivering a simplified approach to data protection and storage expansion without the need for traditional drive cages or backplanes.
The CP152-1 adopts a rear-accessible removable tray architecture, allowing system integrators to evaluate alternative service workflows and chassis layouts while maintaining a clean, cable-free PCIe installation.
Blizzard's recent rebrand of Overwatch 2 to just Overwatch also saw the game studio announce a series of new heroes coming in the first season of Overwatch's new era, one of which is Jetpack Cat, who quickly became a fan favorite. In a recent appearance on The Omnic Podcast, Overwatch's associate director, Alec Dawson, said that the popularity of Jetpack Cat, and other unorthodox characters, has led the development and design teams to consider more "oddball" heroes for future releases. Blizzard has promised to add one hero to the game every season for the first year—meaning a new hero every two months—but there was no word on whether the plan was to continue at this cadence indefinitely. In the podcast, though, Dawson clarifies that this is the goal as long as it's sustainable and there's no big gameplay event or similar to get in the way. He also says that this release cadence also gives the developers "a lot more opportunities to take some chances" on gameplay differentiation, different roles, and "something a little bit different" so that players can find characters they enjoy playing with or whose design they enjoy. He adds that the response to Jetpack Cat has been heard in the Overwatch team, and it "helps us think about what sort of characters and heroes we want to do in the future, as well."
At the same time, in a recent interview with PCGamesN, Dawson commented that Jetpack Cat is the most banned character in Overwatch at the moment, and that is a situation Blizzard would like to address so that she can be used more frequently in competitive matches. "We love the cat, but we are going to tone down a little bit of her aggression," he continued to explain that Jetpack Cat's ability to dive a backline will likely be somewhat suppressed in an upcoming nerf: "When she gets both her minor perk, Claws Out, and her major perk, Territorial, the combination allows her to be an absolute menace that's diving backlines and taking 1v1s. So we're going to tone that down just a little bit and see how that goes, but the cat won't be scratching as much as she is currently." He added that the hero ban feature has been helpful to guide the balance and development of heroes, which will likely only become more complicated with the new hero release cadence. Notably, Blizzard has also been responding to community feedback on topics like hero design, as was the case with another new hero, Anran, who was criticized for looking generic after her announcement.
AMD has announced its EPYC 8005 series server processors, codenamed "Sorano". These new CPUs are filling the gap between the EPYC 9005 high-end Zen 5 lineup and the lower-tier EPYC 4005 parts. The new 8005 series succeeds the EPYC 8004 "Siena" family and targets single-socket (1P) platforms with an emphasis on telecom, edge, and vRAN (Virtual Radio Access Network) workloads. Built on the Zen 5 architecture, EPYC 8005 is designed around performance-per-watt and performance-per-dollar rather than peak multi-socket scalability. With these new server CPUs, AMD is targeting the telco sector where power and space-constrained environments are key factors in cell sites and distributed edge locations. AMD has not yet published a full SKU list or detailed specifications about the EPYC 8004 CPUs. However, the company says the lineup will scale up to 84 cores in a single-socket configuration, with SKUs operating in power envelopes up to 225 W.
AMD is also highlighting wide thermal operating ranges and support for NEBS (Network Equipment-Building System) compliant platforms. For vRAN specifically, EPYC 8005 adds targeted LDPC (Low-Density Parity Check) decoding optimizations to improve Layer 1 acceleration for 5G workloads. AMD claims improved uplink throughput and more efficient forward-error-correction processing, while maintaining the deterministic behavior required in RAN environments, thanks to the updated Zen 5 execution pipeline and vector capabilities. The EPYC 8005 "Sorano" CPUs should become available in the following months, with more details about the platform and performance likely closer to launch.
The disappointing launch of Highguard has been well documented by now, but the game has just hit a new low, despite recent developer efforts to keep things afloat following a round of layoffs. According to SteamDB, Highguard's player count has continued to trend downwards, reaching a new low of just 743 peak concurrent players in the 24-hour period preceding publication. February 23 marked the first time the game dipped below 1,000 peak concurrent players in a 24-hour period—down from a launch peak of 97,249—and player counts haven't recovered since then.
No Man's Sky had a similar launch trajectory, releasing with a massive 212,000+ peak player count which quickly dwindled to just over 1,000 in 2018 before the game's surprise resurrection—it now sits at around 20,000 peak concurrent daily players. Highguard's dwindling player count is despite recent content updates reportedly bringing a bit more excitement to the gameplay—recent reviews show an uptick in positive feedback and a reduction in negative reviews.
A few days ago, we reported that AMD is seemingly ending driver support for its Ryzen Z1 Extreme SoC, just two and a half years after its launch. Since Lenovo issued product guidance that the company will no longer provide updates, and ASUS's own ROG Ally handheld console had not received an update in over six months, the situation was dire. However, ASUS today released a new driver update for its ROG Ally handheld console, which had been stuck with six-month-old SoC drivers from August 2025. This changes the situation from the platform being completely abandoned for half a year to a periodic update window that will likely continue unless gamers encounter a surprise change.
Initially, we couldn't determine the "blame" for this irregular driver update cycle, as it could have been either AMD or OEMs being slow with the driver updates. As AMD offers configurable TDP (cTDP) for the Z1 Extreme with values ranging from 9 to 30 W, this means that OEMs can get SoCs in various configurations, each needing to be tested and verified before distributing an official driver. To add more to the mess, Lenovo Korea has confirmed that their own driver update plan for the product has stopped, leaving users to switch to other platforms or use Linux-based operating systems that carry their own drivers for these platforms to extract maximum longevity. Hence, the entire situation is now more complicated.
Distant Shore is proud to announce the launch of the Distant Shore: BRETAGNE demo during Steam Next Fest! You can download this free taste of the Distant Shore: BRETAGNE world on Steam and prepare for the full release.
Distant Shore: BRETAGNE landed with a bang during its breakout reveal at the first edition of the New Game+ Showcase. We can't wait to share Distant Shore: BRETAGNE for the first time publicly during the Steam Next Fest. It's a major milestone for us, and we're excited to see how the community reacts. Distant Shore: BRETAGNE is a first-person parkour physics based game, where you wield your magnetic gauntlets to move, bend and break metal obstacles. Navigate through a ravaged world to complete the mission given by your employer.
Samsung is officially ending the production of its 2D NAND flash storage this year, and the company will be repurposing its old production lines to better fit the AI-driven demand. According to The Elec Korea, Samsung plans to officially stop 2D NAND production at its Hwaseong site, with Line 12 being the one carrying this aging technology. Instead of completely abandoning this facility, which houses plenty of chip-making tools, Samsung will repurpose them for DRAM metallization, which is the process of applying actual pathways within the DRAM itself to connect memory cells. Interestingly, the Hwaseong Line 12 holds a monthly wafer production capacity of 80,000 to 100,000 12-inch wafers. This is a significant number of wafers, which are now only used for 2D NAND Flash, a technology that is no longer needed in the wake of 3D NAND Flash technology.
Continuing the Line 12 legacy will be Samsung's 6th-generation 10 nm-class 1c DRAM, a technology used for HBM4, and Samsung expects the total wafer capacity for 1c DRAM to reach about 200,000 wafers per month in the second half of the year. Adapting the old 2D NAND Flash production site will definitely help, and Samsung will run this production along with Pyeongtaek Line 3 and Line 4.
TSMC's vast complex outside Phoenix is central to that effort. The 2,000-acre site is slated to host six fabrication plants along with supporting infrastructure. Apple is positioning itself as the anchor customer: the company plans to purchase more than 100 million chips from TSMC's Arizona facilities this year.
Uber is positioning itself as the booking layer. Joby supplies the aircraft and, eventually, the operations. The preview suggests that the companies believe they're close enough to a working air service to start showing off the booking system. If air taxis are going to work at scale, the first challenge...
The notorious cybercrime collective known as Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters (SLH) has been observed offering financial incentives to recruit women to pull off social engineering attacks.
The idea is to hire them for voice phishing campaigns targeting IT help desks, Dataminr said in a new threat brief. The group is said to be offering anywhere between $500 and $1,000 upfront per call, in addition to
Triage is supposed to make things simpler. In a lot of teams, it does the opposite.
When you can’t reach a confident verdict early, alerts turn into repeat checks, back-and-forth, and “just escalate it” calls. That cost doesn’t stay inside the SOC; it shows up as missed SLAs, higher cost per case, and more room for real threats to slip through.
So where does triage go wrong? Here are five triage
More than just an emulation of the iconic home computer, the Commodore 64 Ultimate is a fantastic project for fans of that era. It’ll take some practice and memory recall from a bygone time, but it’s worth pursuing with some great quality of life improvements.
Resident Evil Requiem offers a good mix of survival horror and action in its first half, but the bombastic latter sequences and sloppy plot stray a little too far from those strong foundations.
Our guide explains how to watch Scrubs season 10 online and stream episodes wherever you are as J.D. and co make their long awaited return to Sacred Heart.
Apply to speak at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 by April 17 for a chance to lead a roundtable or breakout session for 1,000 founders and investors. If you’ve built, backed, or operated inside high-growth startups, your experience could shape how the next wave of founders scales.
Just 3 days left to save up to $680 on your TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 ticket. Offer ends on Friday, February 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Don't miss unparalleled, curated networking and valuable insights from 250+ tech leaders, and discover 300+ breakout innovations. Register now.
The Trump administration has ordered U.S. diplomats to lobby against countries' attempts to regulate how American tech companies handle foreigners' data.
If you are a tech-savvy person, it is quite probable that you would already be aware of the fact that Samsung is preparing to unveil its latest and greatest smartphone flagship lineup, the Galaxy S26 series, at a dedicated 'Galaxy Unpacked' event later today. Yet, even before the said event gets going, Samsung has begun issuing random store credits. Samsung really wants you to splurge on its goodies, and is sending you store credits to nudge you in that direction According to several anecdotal posts on Reddit, some users have received a $50 credit into their Samsung account literally hours […]
The Resident Evil series has largely gone from strength to strength in recent years, with Capcom serving up a number of distinct takes on the series, from the hardcore horror of Resident Evil 7 to the intense action and zingers of the Resident Evil 4 remake. And now, Capcom is preparing to roll out Resident Evil Requiem, a game that promises to combine a lot of what they’ve been doing with the series recently into one terrifying concoction. Is Resident Evil Requiem destined to be another horrific hit for Capcom? Or does this Requiem lay the Resident Evil series' recent hot streak […]
The State of Gaming 2026 report from global data firm Sensor Tower is here, looking back on 2025 across several metrics, including which games sit atop the global sales charts - not just regional charts like Circana's US-specific reports. We knew that Battlefield 6 was the best-selling game in the US last year, but now Sensor Tower's data confirms it to be the best-selling game on a global scale, and it's not the only EA game at or near the top of the charts. EA Sports FC 25 and EA Sports FC 26 took the number two and number three […]
Global data firm Sensor Tower has released its State of Gaming 2026 report, which looks back at the video game industry in 2025 across a wide range of metrics, including where publishers are spending their marketing money and which publishers have the most downloaded portfolios. Last year, Microsoft was the publisher that spent the most on marketing for its PC and console games, but it came second in terms of cross-platform game downloads for its portfolio of titles, behind Electronic Arts (EA) in first, while Take-Two came in third. At least that's how it shakes up when you're not including […]
Micron continues to innovate its GDDR7 memory solutions with higher capacities, faster bandwidth, and optimizations for gamers & AI workloads. Micron Says Its Upcoming GDDR7 Memory With 24Gb Capacities & 36 Gbps Bandwidth Are Designed For Immersive Graphics & High-Performance AI In a new blog post, Micron has listed the benefits of its 24 Gb GDDR7 memory modules, which not only feature higher capacities but also deliver much faster speeds than current-gen G7 solutions. For starters, the GDDR7 memory standard was first introduced on the GeForce RTX 50 series GPU last year. The RTX 5090 was the first graphics card […]
The web has strong opinions about what “AI-written” content looks like, and even stronger ones about what’s supposedly wrong with it. Scroll any content marketer’s LinkedIn feed, and you’ll find confident claims that em dashes and other AI “tells” signal bad, automated writing.
The problem with these debates is that they often confuse taste with performance. What counts as “bad writing” will always be subjective. But if the goal for content marketers is to communicate clearly and compete in the information marketplace, the practical question should be: which LLM habits actually turn readers off?
To find out, we analyzed a large dataset of content marketing pages to identify which AI writing “tics” we see most often called out to understand which are turning off readers — and the ones we may be calling out for no reason.
How we built our ‘AI tics’ study
At this point, you’ve probably all seen them, too:
“In today’s fast-paced digital landscape…”
“It’s important to note that…”
“Not only… but also” (repeated over, and over and over…)
“In conclusion” (even when nothing has been concluded)
The second you notice them, it’s hard not to see them everywhere an LLM has helped produce copy. Many readers report hating these LLM patterns. But how exactly are they impacting user engagement?
To find out, we gathered a list of the most common AI writing tells we and others have noticed. These include:
“Not only… but also” constructions: “Not only does X do Y, but it also does Z.”
Sentence starts with “then,” “this,” or” that”: “Then you should…” “Then the system…” “This shows…” “This means…”
Introductory filler: “In this article,” “We’ll explore,” and “Let’s take a look”.
“Conclusion” starters: “In conclusion,” or other AI equivalents of clearing your throat.
10 domains of varied site size and monthly traffic, in a wide array of industries including tech, ecommerce, healthcare, education, analytics, and more
1,000+ content marketing URLs, built from a mix of workflows including posts that were either fully human-written, written collaboratively by humans and AI, or completely AI-generated.
Then we standardized our dataset by:
Aligning shorter posts and cornerstone content by standardizing every writing tic as occurrences per 1,000 words. Since longer articles naturally contain more of, well, everything, a 3,000-word guide would otherwise look “worse” than a 600-word post simply because it has more sentences.
Excluding any page under 500 words. Very short pages don’t give enough room for stylistic patterns to emerge, and their engagement metrics are likely driven more by intent than by engagement alone.
Prioritizing engagement rate as the primary performance metric. Engagement rate best captures a reader’s first real decision: “Do I stay, or do I leave?” GA4 registers an engaged session as any lasting 10 or more seconds. While 10 seconds may sound brief to assess whether a post is AI, it’s long enough for a user to skim an introduction, notice awkward or repetitive writing patterns, and scan headings to decide whether the content feels worth continuing.
Our first instinct was to average the number of AI tics per 1,000 words and compare the pages’ performance.
At a glance, this seemed like a clean way to separate human writing from AI-influenced writing. But the picture quickly got complicated by one tic in particular — the infamous em dash — which dominated the dataset and heavily skewed the averages.
The issue pointed to a larger problem: AI tics are messy by definition. AI is trained on human writing. So if certain patterns show up frequently, that doesn’t mean they’re uniquely “AI.” It may just mean they’re common in English prose.
To compare, we ran the same tic counter on two known controls: a novel I published in 2021 (which I could guarantee was written without ChatGPT, Grammarly, or other AI-assisted tools). This scored a startlingly above-average 6.9 tics per 1,000 words.
Next, we scored “Hamlet,” the famous Shakespearean play, which scored an even higher ≈11.4 tics per 1,000 words. Shakespeare, it turns out, is more “AI-coded” than many AI-generated blog posts.
Ultimately, we assessed that this is almost entirely due to the em dash, which is likely to appear in droves in many human writers’ prose as well as AI-produced copy.
With this in mind, we analyzed each “tell” individually, still standardizing per 1,000 words. The story became much clearer — and far more useful for writers trying to decide what’s actually worth avoiding.
Not all posts are the same, and many different factors impact the success or failure of any page of content marketing. That’s perhaps why our data showed that most AI “tells” didn’t correlate strongly with performance or non-performance.
Anything smaller than plus/minus .1 correlation is statistically insignificant. However, there were a handful worth noting with a larger impact than others.
‘Not only’ and ‘not just’ structures may be driving users away
Phrases built around “not only…” or “not just…but also” stood out with larger-than-average negative correlations with engagement rate. While these constructions, when used occasionally, can add emphasis, the data shows that frequent use is associated with high user bounce rates.
AI-assisted writers and editors should take note, as many of the AI-generated posts we reviewed tripped over themselves with these constructions. In one instance, we found a single blog post that used “not only” and “but also” 12 separate times.
Starting headers with ‘conclusion’ was the strongest negative signal
The strongest negative correlation in the entire dataset was observed in sentences beginning with “Conclusion,” typically section headers preceding a call to action. The clearest AI stylistic red flag we found, posts with headers starting with “Conclusion” had the largest negative correlation (≈ -0.118) with post engagement rate.
Since this tic traditionally comes at the conclusion of a post, it’s clear readers may quickly scroll down over the entirety of these posts before bouncing — or else that posts with these final headings tend to be lower-quality on average.
Em dashes correlated slightly positively
Em dashes were by far the most common stylistic tic in the dataset. They also produced one of the most surprising results: a slight positive correlation with engagement rate.
Despite widespread online chatter treating em dashes as an “AI artifact,” this data suggests they’re not hurting performance, and they may even align with better engagement. (As someone who genuinely likes em dashes — this was deeply validating.)
A plausible explanation may be that writers who use em dashes tend to write more explanatory, nuanced sentences rather than short, flat declarations. Those kinds of sentences often appear in longer, more thoughtful content that many readers actually engage with.
That said, this doesn’t mean em dashes cause engagement. Too much of a good thing is still too much of a good thing. But it does challenge the idea that em dashes are the bugbear content marketers make them out to be.
Google doesn’t issue SEO rankings like a monotonic punishment score for “AI style.” Most phrases we looked at didn’t correlate with engagement at all.
Don’t rewrite content just because someone declared a phrase “AI writing.” Write for reader usefulness and clarity above all.
2. Be mindful of how you wrap up
Explicit conclusion blocks aren’t bad — but generic, formulaic patterns are likely turning readers away.
Consider blending conclusions into analysis, using subtler transitions, or adding new value with headers, instead of signposting obvious structure.
3. Use the punctuation that makes sense
If your style calls for em-dashes? In this dataset, they were actually associated with better reader engagement. Use them.
Don’t miss the forest for fake plastic trees
AI is likely here to stay in content workflows. But the issues with “bad” AI writing aren’t limited to linguistic tics and punctuation. While we all have our stylistic opinions, we should be careful about turning stylistic hot takes into editorial law.
Write valuable writing. Think about readers first. And don’t panic every time someone on Twitter or LinkedIn decrees that “X phrase = AI.”
Anthropic updated its crawler documentation this week, clarifying how its Claude bots access websites and how you can block them.
Anthropic’s document explains what each bot does, how it affects AI training and search visibility, and how to opt out through robots.txt.
Why we care. If you publish or own content, you want control over how AI systems use it. Anthropic separates training crawlers, user-triggered fetches, and search indexing. Blocking one bot doesn’t block the others. Each choice carries different visibility and training trade-offs.
The robots. Anthropic uses three separate user agents:
ClaudeBot collects public web content that may be used to train and improve Anthropic’s generative AI models. If you block ClaudeBot in robots.txt, Anthropic said it will exclude your site’s future content from AI training datasets.
Claude-User retrieves content when a user asks Claude a question that requires access to a webpage. If you block Claude-User, Anthropic can’t fetch your pages in response to user queries. The company says this may reduce your visibility in user-directed search responses.
Claude-SearchBot crawls content to improve the quality and relevance of Claude’s search results. If you block Claude-SearchBot, Anthropic won’t index your content for search optimization, which may reduce visibility and accuracy in Claude-powered search answers.
How to block them. The bots respect standard robots.txt directives, including “Disallow” rules and the non-standard “Crawl-delay” extension, Anthropic said. To block a bot across your entire site:
User-agent: ClaudeBot Disallow: /
You must add directives for each bot and each subdomain you want to restrict.
IP blocking may not work reliably because its bots use public cloud provider IP addresses, Anthropic said. Blocking those ranges could prevent the bot from accessing robots.txt. The company doesn’t publish IP ranges.
Dell has started offering discount deals on several gaming laptops and desktops. One of the lucky PC rigs getting the price slash treatment is several configurations for the Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop, with the cheapest one being under $1,300.
Fans are split on Asha Sharma as Xbox’s new CEO, but many hope fresh leadership can refocus the brand after years of mixed decisions and shifting strategy.
Billet Labs has unleashed their latest custom PC build on the world, and I can't get over the fact that someone turned an ancient cast-iron radiator into a working, high-end gaming PC.
NVIDIA job listings show the company hiring for Vulkan performance and Linux graphics roles, signaling growing interest in Linux gaming as Proton and SteamOS continue to mature.
Microsoft has introduced a new AI watermark policy for Microsoft 365, allowing administrators to enable audio watermarking now, with video support arriving in March 2026. Even when disabled, AI-generated content will still include metadata indicating Copilot involvement.
Just ahead of CES, LG announced a range of new monitors and now, the biggest one of the new models, the UltraGear EVO 52G930B is available for pre-order. Back then, LG didn't reveal much in terms of details about its 52-inch giant, but the company did reveal the 5120 x 2160 pixel resolution, the 240 Hz refresh rate and the 1000R curvature. Now we know that the 52G930B will also support DisplayHDR 600 and 95% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. The panel is likely to cause some disappointment, as it's a VA panel with a contrast ratio of 4000:1 and a 1 ms grey to grey response time. Unfortunately LG doesn't provide any details with regards to what type of backlight is being used, but HDR600 doesn't require FALD. The 52G930B also has AMD FreeSync Premium support and a range of built in gaming features.
Somewhat disappointingly, the LG 52G930B only sports a single DisplayPort 2.1 input, but the two HDMI 2.1 ports also support the full resolution and refresh rate on offer here. The USB Type-C port seems to still be limited to DP 1.4 with DSC and possibly lower chroma subsampling, as even though it can support the full resolution, it tops out at 200 Hz. The monitor also has a pair of USB 3.0 Type-A ports and a headphone jack that supports DTS Headphone:X. There's also a pair of built in stereo speakers and some RGB lights around the rear. As with many other of LG's more premium monitors, KVM support and Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture is supported. Finally the stand is height adjustable and the display can be tilted and swiveled. LG is asking for US$1999.99 and the monitor is said to start shipping around the 22nd of March.
The Android app, Nearby Glasses, comes from Swiss sociologist and hobbyist coder Yves Jeanrenaud. It scans for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) activity associated with manufacturers such as Meta, Luxottica Group, and Snap – companies behind the most recognizable smart glasses on the market – and issues an alert if it...
The term vibe coding is often used when developers rely heavily on AI tools to generate, modify, and refine code. The name comes from steering development by vibes while AI does much of the coding.
Kratic connects to apps you already use—Whoop, Fitbit, YNAB, Google Calendar, Notion, and more—and shows you cross-domain patterns that no single app can reveal. Why do you overspend when you sleep badly? Why does your productivity crash every Thursday? Kratic answers questions like these by unifying your health, finance, productivity, and mood data in one dashboard with AI-powered insights. Free to start, $20/month for Pro.
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered four malicious NuGet packages that are designed to target ASP.NET web application developers to steal sensitive data.
The campaign, discovered by Socket, exfiltrates ASP.NET Identity data, including user accounts, role assignments, and permission mappings, as well as manipulates authorization rules to create persistent backdoors in victim applications.
Breakout time is the clearest signal of how intrusion has changed, researchers say, as they see data exfiltration within minutes of initial compromise.
Amazon has added three customizable personality styles to Alexa+, letting users control how the assistant responds without changing its core functionality.
Adobe Firefly is getting a new feature called Quick Cut that uses AI to edit footage to create a first draft of the final video based on user instructions.
Amazon's divestment from gaming investments continues today with the news that the company has canceled its publishing deal with Maverick Games. This decision follows the shutdown of Amazon's MMO divisions that were working on New World and a new The Lord of the Rings game, as well as this week's shutdown of King of Meat (and the recent departure of division chief Christoph Hartmann). Essentially, Amazon's current gaming investments are just the upcoming Tomb Raider games from Crystal Dynamics and the cloud-based platform Luna. A spokesperson told The Game Business: As part of our strategic evolution to focus on projects […]
This morning, French publisher NACON filed for insolvency, following a major issue with its majority shareholder, Bigben Interactive. On November 24, 2025, Bigben announced it had secured a refinancing agreement with a banking pool of leading French banks for €43 million, repayable over 6 years. This would have partially refinanced prior outstanding bonds, leaving a non-refinanced residual balance of approximately €16.1 million to be repaid separately on the maturity date. However, on February 13, 2026, just four business days before the maturity date, the banking pool informed Bigben that it was refusing to honor the drawdown notice sent in connection with the […]
A robust and reliable supply chain doesn’t make Apple immune to DRAM shortages, which is why the company’s executives were previously reported to have booked long-term hotel stays in South Korea in an effort to come to terms with Samsung to secure adequate supply. While the initial shipment for LPDDR5X memory is secure, it comes at a literal cost, as Apple paid the manufacturer far more than Samsung’s intended goal of charging a 60 percent premium. Fortunately, a trillion-dollar entity should have little problem in paying the higher sum, but there’s no confirmation that these cost increases will trickle down to […]
U.S. Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary for export enforcement David Peters said that his agency has not approved a single H200 export license since President Donald Trump allowed Nvidia to sell them to China.
Generative search engines like ChatGPT have successfully used SEO as part of their growth strategy, even as the echo chambers of the web claim they’re killing this powerful marketing channel.
Let’s take a look at how ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude fare in SEO, and why ChatGPT’s investment in the strategy is paying off.
Directional SEO ROI forecast
A $600,000 annual SEO investment could generate outsized returns for generative AI platforms.
Using Semrush-reported monthly organic traffic — 76.5 million visits for ChatGPT, 908,000 for Claude, and 1.7 million for Perplexity — plus a conservative 0.5% conversion rate and a $20/month entry price, projected returns range from approximately $92 million in annual revenue for ChatGPT (15,200% ROI) to 82%-240% ROI for Claude and Perplexity.
OpenAI’s investment in SEO and content for ChatGPT’s growth
OpenAI understands the value of SEO to drive growth. It was offering $310,000-$393,000 to hire a content strategist with SEO experience.
It then launched a second job search for a growth role focused on SEO, CRO, and web strategy.
Looking at SEO-focused growth role salaries in the U.S. ($100,000 to $295,000), we can estimate OpenAI invested between $410,000 and $600,000 for two SEO roles, not including benefits and other expenses.
SEO has more lives than an agile alley cat because it leverages human behavior. Searching is core to our survival. When we were cave dwellers needing food or shelter, we searched for it. Search engines amplify this behavior.
That shift makes visibility even more critical. As the search landscape evolves — and as Google’s AI Overviews take clicks away — increasing your website’s ability to be found through SEO becomes more important, not less.
The OpenAI team understands this. That’s why it built SEO into ChatGPT’s foundation and continues investing in it.
Evaluating the SEO foundations of ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity
I conducted a brief analysis of how ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude use SEO to grow. The goal was to uncover the good, the bad, and the ugly so brands can apply what works and discard the rest.
Using Semrush for competitive keyword analysis, I examined domain authority, brand versus non-brand keyword distribution, and total keyword rankings.
Brand authority and demand
ChatGPT’s website has an authority score of 99, followed by Perplexity’s 81 and Claude’s 75. Building a strong product and brand, then leveraging public relations, news, and social media, is the best way to grow your website’s authority.
The branded term “ChatGPT” gets 45.5 million searches monthly, while Perplexity gets 1 million and Claude gets 500,000. That’s an enormous demand; they use SEO to convert into traffic, signups, and revenue.
Paid and organic search
All brands spend money on Google Ads, but SEO drives most of their search traffic. None are integrating search, which is a big opportunity.
Integrated search is the practice of targeting highly valuable, often expensive, keywords with both SEO and PPC. It increases conversions, lowers Google Ads cost per click, and helps you take up more real estate on the search engine results pages, pushing competitors lower.
Keyword rankings
ChatGPT: ~287,800 keywords.
Perplexity: ~184,800 keywords.
Claude: ~36,000 keywords.
ChatGPT leveraged user-generated content to build a massive indexable surface area.
Perplexity focused on financial, stock-driven content pages. Claude uses blog articles targeting high-intent professional audiences.
Neither can match ChatGPT’s kinetic energy from branding efforts and SEO built into its technical foundation.
Below, I applied our agency’s 3Cs SEO and AI optimization approach: code (technical foundation), content strategy and optimization, and conversions.
Code
For this section, I focused on indexability, or how well search engines can find important website content. This is important to rank in traditional search, including Google and Bing, and LLMs like ChatGPT.
Robots.txt
ChatGPT has a highly optimized robots.txt file that includes multiple sitemaps, location recommendations, and blocks for certain crawlers while allowing others.
Perplexity’s robots.txt file isn’t as optimized or detailed. Claude was missing a robots.txt but added it recently. Not having a robots.txt file or having it return a 404 can be detrimental to your rankings.
Note that ChatGPT and Claude block each other from crawling their websites via robots.txt.
Recommendation: Optimize your robots.txt, include all sitemaps, block pages you don’t want indexed, and allow LLM crawlers like ChatGPT to crawl your site.
URL structure
According to Google representative John Mueller, keywords in a URL are a “very, very small ranking factor.” That said, we can see a clear performance difference between ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity because they include keywords in their URLs.
Including keywords in a URL is an important way to give search engines, LLMs, and users information about what the page is about.
Imagine you went to a restaurant and wanted a burger. You say, “I want a burger,” and you’ll get a burger. If you said, “I want 2387d2e3,” you’d only get frustration from your waiter. That’s what happens with LLMs and traditional search engines.
Yes, search engines can look at other elements of the page to understand what it’s about, but you win when you check all the boxes. That’s the difference between ChatGPT and Claude’s URLs below.
ChatGPT uses the name of what a user creates and shares in the URL, which helps it rank better for those words.
Claude doesn’t. Its public artifacts don’t have words built into them.
Recommendation: Use short URLs with keywords in them. I’ve seen this have major ranking impacts, even though Google and others say it’s a minor ranking factor. Changing this is hard after the fact. Semantic URLs are also important to rank in LLMs like ChatGPT.
Content
All of the LLM websites use content for marketing, including use cases, partnerships, target industries, and more.
Claude’s blog has highly targeted articles for professionals.
Perplexity has a discovery hub with timely, useful content.
However, the content isn’t optimized for SEO. Meta titles, descriptions, URLs, and canonical tags aren’t optimized, which confuses search engines.
Some pages aren’t even indexed on Google as a result.
Their blogs don’t optimize images either. Image names should be descriptive, like “perplexity-deep-research.webp,” to improve ranking ability.
Perplexity is giving itself death by a thousand optimization cuts.
Even though Claude and Perplexity target highly relevant keywords, an analysis of the top 50,000 keywords each website ranks for shows ChatGPT winning with sustained month-over-month growth.
Recommendation: Build SEO into your technical foundation. Fully optimize blog articles. Leverage user-generated content through forums or community hubs.
Conversions
All these brands understand SEO needs to drive conversions, not just traffic and rankings. There are two types of conversions: free conversions for people not ready to buy and paid conversions for people ready to buy.
ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude all give users a trial of their product, then ask them to convert or sign in.
OpenAI is spending up to $600,000 on SEO talent to grow ChatGPT, not including staff benefits and other costs. This analysis breaks down how ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude use SEO to fuel growth.
If disruptive technology companies like OpenAI are doubling down on SEO and content to drive growth, you should include it in your growth strategy as well. It works.
Every week, thousands of media buyers perform the same ritual, opening Meta Ads Manager, scanning metrics, and deciding which campaigns and ads were winners and which were losers. If ROAS is positive, they’re pleased. If not, the mouse quickly heads toward the toggle button to disable the asset. This is the scoreboard trap some advertisers fall into.
When you treat metrics like a scoreboard, you’re looking at the outcome without understanding the full picture or how to improve going forward. The score of the game doesn’t include the fact that your strikers aren’t getting any passes from midfield.
To scale performance, it’s important to move from reporting to diagnosing the issues at hand. Start looking at your metrics as independent KPIs and as a system of interdependent signals to better tell the story of what’s happening in your account and accurately inform your next optimization steps.
The dashboard illusion
Meta’s interface is designed as a linear grid, which can create a false sense of clarity. It may suggest that a high CPM is the problem in one column and, in another, that a low CTR is the culprit. In reality, these metrics are deeply intertwined.
A high CPM might not mean your audience is expensive. It may indicate your creative is low quality, so Meta is charging you more for a poor user experience on its platform.
Conversely, a high CTR might look like a win at first glance, but if your CVR is plummeting, it’s not a win, and you’re paying for high-intent customers your landing page can’t close.
The dashboard tells you what happened, and the system tells you why.
A visual of an example of Meta Ads Manager CTR and CPM reporting columns.
To better understand the system, let’s think of metrics as a sports team. Each player has a specific role. If the team loses, you don’t bench the whole team. You review the play to see what happened so you can improve your chances of winning next time.
The scouts: CPM and reach
CPM is the auction’s feedback on your total value. It’s a combination of your bid, estimated action rates, and value to the user. Together, their role is market resonance.
If CPM spikes relative to your historical average, these metrics signal the market is either too crowded or your creative isn’t effective enough to maintain volume.
The midfielders: CTR and hook rate
Their role is to move the ball from the ad placement in Meta’s ecosystem to your website. If you have a high hook rate but a low CTR, your ad is great at getting attention but terrible at passing the ball. You’re stopping the scroll effectively, but your content isn’t enticing people to click.
The strikers: CVR and AOV
These metrics are the final step in the journey and rely on your website. If CTR is high and CPC is low, but ROAS is low, something is amiss. Your ad did its job well, but your landing page or offer didn’t because people aren’t converting.
The real diagnosis happens between the columns you see in Ads Manager.
Hook vs. hold rates
Quickly diagnose creative fatigue before it impacts ROAS by looking at the ratio between hook rate and hold rate.
If you have a high hook rate and a low hold rate, your ad is successfully grabbing attention but then losing interest. This is a good opportunity to adjust the latter portion of your ad, make it more compelling, and end it with a clear, strong CTA.
If you have a low hook rate but a high hold rate, you’re losing most people at the beginning, but those who stay are likely to convert. This presents a good opportunity to test new hooks that fit with the rest of your video to grab more attention up front and help drive more conversions.
Link clicks vs. landing page views
The gap between these two metrics is important and often overlooked. If you have 1,000 clicks but only 450 landing page views, you may have a technical leak somewhere. Check your page speed and whether your tracking is working properly.
It’s unlikely this is a creative issue, as a significant drop-off rate like this is likely caused by a slow server. People expect a site to load quickly. If it doesn’t, they’ll bounce, and your budget will be wasted.
CPA vs. frequency
If a rising CPA feels like a mystery, look at frequency. If both metrics are increasing, your audience is likely seeing the same ad too often and getting fatigued.
A tired audience and system need something fresh, not just a bid or budget increase. Swap out creative assets or expand your targeting if it’s too narrow.
A visual of an example of Meta Ads Manager reporting columns.
When a campaign or creative underperforms, ask yourself:
Is volume constant? Has spend or impressions decreased? The system may have devalued or rejected your ad, specifically the creative.
Where is the friction taking place? Follow the ball down the field. Is it hook rate, CTR, or CVR?
Once you identify the bottleneck, change only that variable. If you change too many variables, you won’t clearly understand which part was broken. If CVR is low, don’t change the ad. Instead, improve the landing page experience.
Are you sending people to a product detail page while showcasing numerous products in a single creative? Remove the friction and create a product collection landing page instead, so everyone interested in a component of your ad can seamlessly and intuitively shop once they click.
Becoming a media architect
With Meta’s AI taking the lead in targeting, it’s now our job as media buyers to evolve into system architects.
A scoreboard tells you something isn’t winning. A system map tells the full story, like when site speed is tanking ROAS or creative is hooking the wrong people.
Next time you look at your account, ignore the ROAS column at first glance. Instead, look at the ratios, trace the user’s path through your metrics, and unlock the story of the journey from ad to website. When you stop looking for winners and start looking for friction points, you’ll begin engineering more meaningful growth.
Modders have made Star Wars Jedi: Survivor a little bit better Following Digital Foundry‘s discovery of a camera/animation fix for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, a PC gamer has created a mod that makes it incredibly easy to apply this fix in-game. By using a custom variable, players can enable animation interpolation, a feature that can reduce visible […]
A new report by AdGuard suggests that YouTube has stopped showing comments and video descriptions to some users with ad blockers installed on their devices.
Mandatory age verification under the UK’s Online Safety Act is now live on Xbox, with players reporting forced mid-game removals, failed checks, and restricted access to chat and Discord.
In Yongin, South Korea, the towering frame of a semiconductor fab has emerged, reaching the height of a 50-story apartment building to form the massive Yongin Semiconductor Cluster. With construction gaining momentum, SK hynix announced Feb. 25 that it has decided to invest approximately 21.6 trillion KRW (15 billion USD) in the new facility for the first fab by the end of December 2030. This brings the total investment for the construction of the first fab to approximately 31 trillion KRW (approx. 21.5 billion USD), which includes the approximately 9.4 trillion KRW (approx. 6.5 billion USD) facility investment previously announced in July 2024.
This investment comes from a strategic decision to proactively address rapidly growing global customer demand and further strengthen supply system stability. With the expansion of advanced industries such as AI, data centers, and high-performance computing (HPC), the demand for high-performance and high-density semiconductors is also experiencing structural growth. To keep pace with these changes, SK hynix aims to expand production capacity ahead of schedule and establish a foundation to ensure a stable supply of products for customers when they require it.
The all-white SAPPHIRE PURE X870A WIFI 7 returns with Wi-Fi 7, PCIe 5.0, SAPPHIRE CORE BIOS, and TriXX-M software, delivering high performance and striking design for gamers and PC builders.
Next-Gen Performance Meets Sleek Design
SAPPHIRE Technology today launches the SAPPHIRE PURE X870A WIFI 7, a fully white AM5 motherboard designed for gamers, system builders, and modders who want exceptional performance and standout aesthetics. Powered by the AMD X870 chipset and supporting Ryzen 7000, 8000, and 9000 Series processors, the SAPPHIRE PURE X870A WIFI 7 delivers speed, stability, and reliable gaming performance in a crisp, unified white design. SAPPHIRE PURE has always embodied a coordinated, minimalist aesthetic, and the X870A continues this legacy. Every detail, from heatsinks to layout, has been designed to create a bright, cohesive look that complements modern white-themed builds, appealing to users who value both style and substance.
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At minimum, the sequel to Hideo Kojima's post-apocalyptic open-world delivery simulator requires a GeForce GTX 1660 or an AMD RX 5500 XT, but achieving 60fps at 1080p necessitates at least an RTX 3060 or an RX 6800. Death Stranding 2's options menu will include a handheld graphics preset, optimized for...
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Despite being a veritable memory chip behemoth, Samsung's Galaxy S26 series won't come equipped with a Samsung-manufactured DRAM, at least for the 50 percent or so units that are now all set to employ an LPDDR5X memory from Micron. Samsung DS wants to maximize the LPDDR5X memory it sells to Apple, and so the South Korean behemoth's MX division has chosen Micron to fill the supply gap for its Galaxy S26 series According to DealSite, Samsung's mobile-focused MX division has equipped around 50 percent of the initial batches of the Galaxy S26 series with an LPDDR5X memory from Micron instead […]
In the year of the company's 35th anniversary, Blizzard Entertainment president Johanna Faries wants to usher in a new era for the revered game developer, and that includes the expansion of its franchises into cinema and TV. In an interview with Variety, Faries stated: We talk a lot about this. We’re not Blizzard Games, we’re Blizzard Entertainment. We want to be able to show up on every screen imaginable. We want to be able to create new fans who may not have been with us for the past 35 years. How we continue to engage Hollywood or film and TV […]
The latest stable BIOS has been rolled out to improve compatibility with memory and prevent boot failures for Ryzen 7000/9000 CPUs. ASRock Releases Stable BIOS Version 4.10 for 600 and 800-Series AM5 Motherboards for Better Optimizations Roughly two weeks ago, ASRock rolled out a new BIOS version 4.07, which was in the Beta state, equipped with the latest AMD AGESA 1.3.0.0a firmware. Yesterday, ASRock just released the latest and stable BIOS with AGESA 1.3.0.0a for several AM5 motherboards, including 600 and 800-series models. The BIOS version 4.10 has been released with some crucial optimizations that ASRock previously announced due to […]
The Trump administration wants to use DARPA's Open Price Exploration for National Security (OPEN), an AI tool launched in 2023, to calculate what supplies of strategically important rare earths should cost once labor, processing, and other inputs are factored in and the effects of alleged Chinese market manipulation are removed.
LG’s UltraGear evo G9 aims to serve both gamers and productivity professionals by pairing a high-resolution 5K2K panel with a fast 240Hz refresh rate in an ultra-wide 52-inch form factor.
A Reddit user, after acquiring an engineering sample of an unreleased 20GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, has modded it to bypass its power limits and take it to its maximum performance to make it behave "much more like the 3080 Ti class GPU it should have been," according to the modder.
Apple will reportedly finally launch a touchscreen MacBook Pro later this year. The new devices will reportedly have a revamped UI to make it easier to use both touch gestures and cursor movements on macOS.
SambaNova says its SN50 AI accelerator platform is about five times faster and three times more efficient than Nvidia's B200. In addition, the company signs a pact with Intel to offer Xeon-based AI systems to enterprises and governments.
A YouTuber has taken two old Sony Watchman devices, pulled out their 2.7-inch black-and-white CRT displays, and put them into a Google Cardboard contraption for the ages.
Following the FCC's decision last year to put DJI on its "Covered List' of blacklisted companies, the drone firm has just sued the agency. It argues that the import ban undermines the principles of a fair market, while denying Americans access to the latest technology.
Google confirmed it had an issue serving search results earlier this morning at around 1:30 am ET on Wednesday, February 25th. The issue seemed to be fixed very quickly and we didn’t see a huge number of complaints about the issue.
Google posted a notice saying, “We fixed the issue with serving search results. There will be no more updates.”
Why we care. If your website noticed a drop in traffic around midnight last night, it may be related to this serving issue.
Again, it seems the serving issue was discovered and fixed very quickly but just because Google posted the issue and resolved it within a minute, it does not mean the serving issue was only a minute. Rather, this is when Google posted the notices. Google did say the issue lasted about 15 minutes.
Here is a screenshot of the status dashboard notice:
Micron calls GPU memory a “performance bottleneck” after Nvidia RTX Super delay/cancellation With a new article on its website, Micron has called GPU memory a “new performance bottleneck”, stating that “increased capacity matters to gamers”. This follows widespread reports that Nvidia delayed or cancelled its enhanced RTX 50 SUPER series GPUs, all of which reportedly […]
The Elder Scrolls Online is set to receive Xbox Play Anywhere support later this year, allowing Xbox players to access their console progress on PC via Xbox servers.
New data from Alinea Analytics reveals that Xbox Game Pass added over 500,000 players each to Star Wars Outlaws, Space Marine 2, and Death Stranding, highlighting the service’s impact on player engagement.
The scale of the new AI-driven demand helps explain the size of the offers. To support rapid growth in AI and cloud computing, tech firms are racing to secure what the industry calls "powered land": large parcels with access to ample electricity, water and favorable zoning.
Samsung is expected to reveal at least three phones in San Francisco today: the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra. It seems that reports the company dropped plans for a Galaxy S26 Edge (and likely any future Edge models) following weak S25 Edge sales may have been accurate...
BTCBitByBit is a family Bitcoin education app on iOS and Android. It features a self-custody wallet (Lightning, Liquid, on-chain), courses where users earn Bitcoin for passing quizzes, and a Family Corner where parents set chores and kids earn Bitcoin to their own wallets. Beta subscribers receive 100% of their subscription back in Bitcoin every month. The app includes over 60 currency displays, friend referral rewards, and full parental controls. Kids can watch their balance grow from effort instead of pocket money.
The Samsung Galaxy A17 5G is a good, basic option for anyone on a tight budget and in need of a new phone – and it's now on sale for a record-low price on Amazon.
Marvel’s Wolverine is coming to PlayStation 5 this year Sony has officially unveiled their release date for Marvel’s Wolverine, confirming that the game will be coming to PlayStation 5 this year. Along with this announcement comes a new gameplay trailer, embedded below. Marvel’s Wolverine is coming to PlayStation 5 on September 15th, two months ahead […]
HP Inc. and its subsidiaries ("HP") announced fiscal 2026 first quarter net revenue of $14.4 billion, up 6.9% (up 5.2% in constant currency) from the prior-year period.
"We are pleased to report a strong first quarter, highlighted by robust growth in Personal Systems, including the continued momentum in AI PCs. Our performance reflects the strength of our portfolio and our disciplined execution of our Future of Work strategy, even as we navigate industry-wide headwinds," said Bruce Broussard, Interim CEO, HP Inc.
First quarter GAAP diluted net earnings per share ("EPS") of $0.58, down 1.7% from the prior year period
First quarter non-GAAP diluted net EPS of $0.81, up 9.5% from the prior year period
First quarter net revenue of $14.4 billion, up 6.9% from the prior-year period
First quarter net cash provided by operating activities of $383 million, free cash flow of $175 million
First quarter returned $0.6 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends
The popular hardware diagnostics utility HWiNFO launched its latest v8.42 version on February 24th. Interestingly, one of the main features of this release is the improved support for Intel "Nova Lake" processors, despite this CPU generation being months away from commercial launch. This means that the tool can now distinguish between different Intel processors and even run diagnostics on engineering samples of "Nova Lake-S," despite the processor not being commercially available for another few quarters. It is possible that the utility is now raising a flag when detecting "Nova Lake," which has its own unique processor ID, and this could be found in some early compiler patches for GCC and LLVM that are enabling these processors before launch. With the launch of v8.42, the tool also gains NPU stress testing, but only in the Pro version.
Recall is an AI that remembers everyone you meet. Just text it who you met, what you talked about, and every detail is saved. Before a meeting, ask, "What do I know about Sarah?" and get everything you need. It’s not a search tool—you have a conversation with Recall, and it knows your world.
Recall also pays attention for you. It notices when you add someone new to your phone and checks in to capture the details. It reminds you about follow-ups, birthdays, and promises before they slip. SMS-first, no app required to start—just text and go.
A 39-year-old Australian national who was previously employed at U.S. defense contractor L3Harris has been sentenced to a little over seven years in prison for selling eight zero-day exploits to Russian exploit broker Operation Zero in exchange for millions of dollars.
Peter Williams pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of trade secrets in October 2025. In addition to the jail term, Williams
SolarWinds has released updates to address four critical security flaws in its Serv-U file transfer software that, if successfully exploited, could result in remote code execution.
The vulnerabilities, all rated 9.1 on the CVSS scoring system, are listed below -
CVE-2025-40538 - A broken access control vulnerability that allows an attacker to create a system admin user and execute arbitrary
NVIDIA's GTC 2026 keynote plans are looking far beyond Vera Rubin, according to a new report, which says the company could showcase next-gen Feynman chips. NVIDIA's Feynman Chips Might Also Mark the First Instance of the Adoption of Groq's LPU Units We already know that Team Green plans to set the tone for the next decade of computing at this year's GTC, and, according to Jensen himself, the world will see technology "never unveiled before" in his keynote. While we did speculate back then that the showcase would be dedicated to Feynman, it appears the Korean media outlet Chosun Biz […]
The infamous crease has been the subject of attention for the iPhone Fold, as there have been countless reports that Apple intends to minimize it through the use of expensive, but cutting-edge components. With the Cupertino firm’s first foldable flagship rumored to enter mass production in July, everything needs to be in order before transitioning to this step, and according to the latest rumor, one production line has already received panel orders for this device. A tipster also claims that the iPhone Fold’s crease will have some extremely tight tolerances as far as specifications go. The crease belonging to the iPhone […]
One of the simpler solutions manufacturers have come up with to mitigate the ubiquitous 12v-2×6 GPU power connector meltdowns is colored cable terminations that simply give the user an indication that the GPU power connector is properly connected. According to a recent post on r/MSI_Gaming, those colored connectors are both doing their jobs and causing concerns among MSI PSU users. The original poster shared an image of the stock 12v-2×6 power cables of an MSI MPG A1000GS ATX 3.1 PSU that had slowly been creeping out of both the PSU and PNY RTX 5080 GPU connectors over the course of two months, exposing the colored yellow connector end that is meant to serve as a warning against thermal meltdown events.
While the slowly loosening connector had not yet resulted in a meltdown, it had seemingly started causing instability in the user's system during heavy gaming loads. What's more concerning is the multitude of comments in the Reddit thread echoing the OP's story, saying that they had properly connected both ends of the cable until there was a positive click, but despite this, the cable seemed to be creeping out at one or both ends. Some commenters hypothesized that part of the reason for these meltdown events that happen so long after the system was first built is that repeated thermal cycling causes the plastic connector to expand and contract, resulting in the cable slowly coming loose. The redditor was eventually told to request a replacement unit through Amazon, but if the number of similar reports in the same thread are anything to go by, the issue appears to be at least somewhat widespread with MSI's cables.
GPU Per Hour aggregates real-time prices and availability for H100, A100, RTX 4090, and many other GPU instances across major cloud providers. You can browse offers, filter by VRAM, GPU count, region, or provider, compare side by side, and click through to deploy at the best rate. The site tracks stock status and updates pricing hourly, using affiliate links to support the service. Deploy instances from this dashboard instantly, similar to a marketplace, coming soon.
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Tuesday added a recently disclosed vulnerability in FileZen to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation.
The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-25108 (CVSS v4 score: 8.7), is a case of operating system (OS) command injection that could allow an authenticated user to execute
Sony's upcoming Horizon Hunters Gathering three-player co-op game was revealed earlier this month, but it seems as though Sony is deeper into development than it let on during the announcement, because the gaming giant is apparently already ready for its first Horizon Hunters Gathering closed beta test. Sony announced the beta test via a post on the game's official X account, linking to a website where you can register to try out the game ahead of its official launch. The Horizon Hunters Gathering closed beta will take place from February 27 to March 1 for both PS5 and PC players (via Steam).
The closed beta will be limited to three playable hunts—Axle, Rem, and Sun—two game modes—Machine Incursion and Cauldron Descent—and just one environment—Colorado Springs, and only players from the USA, Canada, and much of Europe will be eligible for the closed beta, and the US play test will be limited to 4 PM-7 PM PST, while EU players will be allowed to play at 7 PM-10 PM CET. Players will also be subject to selection by Sony, so applying via the PlayStation Beta Program will not guarantee access to the beta. PlayStation players will be allowed to bring along two friends, for a full party of three, but PC players looking to test the beta with friends will need to apply separately—no free invites for friends on Steam. The play test will also be under strict NDA, which means players will not be able to share any gameplay or opinions outside of Sony's beta tester Discord server, nor will they be allowed to share screenshots or stream gameplay.
Shortly after Discord announced a plan to expand its use of Persona age verification globally as part of its new "teen-by-default" account settings, it has confirmed in a recent FAQ page update that it will not require age verification for "90%+ of users" after facing significant backlash. The social media platform explains that it will be going ahead with its teen-by-default, but that most users just don't access age-restricted content or because the internal age verification systems will be able to automatically determine age without any user action. Discord's CTO, Stanislav Vishnevskiy, said in a blog post that "we knew this rollout was going to be controversial. Any time you introduce something that touches identity and verification, people are going to have strong feelings," but effectively explained that the original announcement was misinterpreted or explained badly. He goes on to say that Discord was evaluating Persona for biometric age verification data in an experiment in January, but has since decided not to proceed with the Persona partnership because it did not meet the bar of requiring on-device verification. He does, however, say that Discord will require age verification via k-ID in countries like Australia, Brazil, and the UK, where laws require it and do not allow Discord's internal estimation system. Discord will also be introducing a new "spoiler" channel option, which will allow communities to stop using age-restricted channels to avoid discussions about spoilers and politics.
At the same time, however, it was revealed in a post on Bluesky that Twitch has adopted Persona as an age verification system for Twitch Partners in order to receive payment. The age verification process required users to submit a selfie along with an image of a government ID card, passport, or driver's license. This report of mandatory Persona age verification on Twitch comes shortly after it was reported that hackers had discovered an exposed frontend for Persona that both demonstrated the platform's lackluster security and revealed ties to the US government and a potential mass-surveillance apparatus, although these were partially explained as an upcoming partnership with the government to verify the identities of remote federal workers. It's unclear how widespread Twitch's use of Persona is at this point in time, but a number of creators have made their voices heard via an open letter in Twitch's User Voices feature in light of the recent controversies surrounding Persona.
WaitlistKit lets you add a waitlist to your site with a single script tag and no backend. It captures emails with a clean widget and gives each user a unique referral link that moves them up the queue when friends join. Use the admin dashboard to see signups, visualize referral chains, and export CSVs to track your launch. You can start free with one waitlist and 100 signups, or upgrade for unlimited projects and viral growth features.
Last Friday, the video game industry changed forever with the reveal that Phil Spencer would be retiring as the chief executive officer of Microsoft's gaming division, leaving the company he had spent 38 years with, while spending the last decade at the forefront of the Xbox brand. His replacement started yesterday. Asha Sharma, formerly the CEO of Microsoft's CoreAI division, was placed at the head of Xbox after joining Microsoft in 2024. Sharma's opening message to players has been all about how she wants to bring about "the return of Xbox," and in a new interview with Windows Central, she […]
The downgrades surrounding the Galaxy S26 Ultra keep getting listed before the official announcement, with the latest one a stringent warning to those who have a tendency to misplace or lose their expensive belongings on a daily basis. In a nutshell, if you decide to take a leap of faith and make Samsung’s upcoming flagship your daily driver, keep it close to you at all times because a fresh leak reveals that you won’t be able to track it if it gets powered off. Google’s Find Hub has existed since the Pixel 8, but will be missing from the premium […]
As former Xbox CEO Phil Spencer prepares to exit, we caught up with incoming CEO Asha Sharma and newly promoted CCO Matt Booty to learn about what the future holds for Microsoft's gaming operation.
With Microsoft Gaming CEO and Xbox head Phil Spencer retiring and Asha Sharma taking his place, she took to social media to celebrate Spencer's legacy.
Apple is preparing a massive refresh cycle for its 2026 MacBook Pro laptops, with the major redesign being at the very center of the laptop. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, one of the most reliable sources of Apple news, the company is preparing to implement its Dynamic Island feature on its MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16 versions, both of which will carry the new feature. Alongside Dynamic Island, which is replacing the traditional notch we have on MacBooks today, Apple is also implementing OLED display technology that will replace the current Mini LED display found on the current generation of MacBooks.
For the Dynamic Island, Apple will bring over much of the functionality from its iPhone models, which includes status updates and a front camera cutout, but in a different shape. As the iPhone uses the Dynamic Island to host Face ID sensors, the MacBook Pro version should only include a camera sensor cutout with software support from the OS. However, the most interesting part of the announcement should be the touchscreen ability with OLED panels. Apple is reportedly optimizing its new operating system to unlock new gestures for touch, where each touch will invoke a new panel or a new interface. This design will reportedly not be similar to the iPad, but just another sensory aid to the current input method with a keyboard and a mouse.
TAT-8 was the eighth Trans-Atlantic Telephone system and the first to replace copper transmission with single-mode optical fiber between the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The system used 1.3-micrometer single-mode fiber and optoelectronic repeaters operating at roughly 280 Mbit/s.
QuikAuthor lets anyone create interactive elearning and microlearning courses. Upload a video and it automatically transcribes, segments, and generates quizzes and activities from the content. Upload a PDF and it converts the document into a structured course or just describe what you want to teach and the AI builds the whole thing from scratch. Each course comes with over 60 interactive slide types, including games and quizzes, so learners are really engaged. Everything exports as SCORM 1.2 or 2004, working with whatever LMS you're already using. Built for L&D teams, trainers, and educators who need to produce courses quickly without learning complex software.
AIWriteBook is an all-in-one AI book creation platform used by over 15,700 authors to go from idea to published book in hours, not months. The AI learns your writing style and generates chapters that sound like you, not generic AI.
AIWriteBook offers features such as AI outline generation, character builder, voice-matched chapter writing, AI chat editor with a diff view, image and illustration generation, cover designer, KDP keyword research, competitor analysis, audiobook generation, 25 free author tools, and support for over 30 languages.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company’s employees have gone all in on AI, going so far as to build a chatbot of him that they use to practice their pitches.
It looks like Nvidia is targeting Linux Gaming, and that’s bad news for Windows A pair of new job listings (via Videocardz) has been spotted that imply Nvidia has started specifically targeting Linux as a gaming OS. One job listing is searching for a “Senior System Software Engineer” who specialises in “Vulkan Performance”. This listing […]
We have discovered a monumental 50% discount for the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro for Xbox, a gaming headset from 2024 that holds today for its superb audio quality, comfortable design, and all-day battery life.
FitRadar connects people with local fitness classes, sports events, and personal trainers on iOS and Android. You can search for nearby activities, filter by distance and favorites, and book in a few taps using secure Stripe payments. Ratings come from real attendees, allowing you to choose with confidence.
Trainers and organizers can host free or paid workouts, build a following, and manage bookings all in one place. You can share classes on social media, reach new clients, and grow your community across multiple languages.
Predator spyware bypasses iOS camera and microphone indicators by hooking system processes, enabling covert surveillance despite standard privacy protections.
Peter Williams, the former head of U.S. hacking tools maker L3Harris Trenchant, was sentenced to seven years in prison for stealing and selling his former company’s hacking and surveillance tools to a Russian firm.
Automotive marketplace CarGurus was the target of a data breach in which the names, email addresses, phone numbers, and physical addresses of millions of customers were stolen.
The Pentagon has given Anthropic until Friday to loosen AI guardrails or face potential penalties, escalating a high-stakes dispute that raises questions about government leverage, vendor dependence, and investor confidence in defense tech.
An email chain with Instagram head Adam Mosseri indicated the company was aware of teen safety issues in DMs in 2018, but didn't launch its unwanted-nudity filter until 2024.
With exactly a week left before the official launch of World of Warcraft: Midnight, here's a semi-exclusive interview with Blizzard where four members of the development team open up on the key areas of the game's eleventh expansion, such as dungeons, raids, delves, the Zul'aman zone, and the new Prey system. I said semi-exclusive because I shared the remote interview session with Carrie Lambertsen from Screen Rant, so you'll see her name pop up as well throughout the transcript when she was the one asking questions. The following Blizzard developers were involved: Associate Game Director Paul Kubit, Lead Encounter Designer […]
The M5 Pro and M5 Max are expected to arrive next month, but if you cannot muster the patience for the more powerful 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models , or if you think that you have little use for such expensive configurations, we have just the deal for you. The M5 MacBook Pro continues to be an exceptional performer in multiple areas, and given that manufacturers have little choice but to charge premiums for increased storage and memory, Apple and Amazon have gone in the opposite direction, with the more capable 24GB unified RAM and 512GB SSD option going for […]
The Windows 11 non-security feature preview update for February just landed, and it's the first Windows update in a long while that includes a number of actually good changes. Here's what you need to know.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is slated to launch on March 19 for PC after almost nine months as a PS5 exclusive, and Nixxes and Kojima Productions just revealed the minimum PC hardware requirements, as well as the supported upscaling and graphical enhancement options, in a PlayStation Blog post. According to the blog post, the absolute minimum spec, which gets you 30 FPS as 1080p with low settings, requires an AMD Ryzen 3 3100 or Intel Core i3-10100, 16 GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8 GB. Medium, or 1080p with medium settings, requires an RTX 3060 12 GB or Radeon RX 6600, and an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or Intel Core i5-11400. Stepping it up to High (or recommended specs), which gets you 1440p at 60 FPS with high settings, requires an AMD Radeon RX 6800 or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 and an AMD Ryzen 7 5700X or Intel Core i7-11700. Very High, or 4K resolution at 60 FPS with very high settings, calls for an upgrade to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 or Radeon RX 9070 XT, while the CPU and memory specs remain the same as for the High tier. All spec tiers require 16 GB of memory, Windows 11 or Windows 10 1909 or up, and at least a 150 GB SSD.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will also offer PC players support for both 21:9 and 32:9 ultrawide aspect ratios, and players with 16:9 displays can simulate a cinematic experience by opting for a 21:9 aspect ratio with black bars on the top and bottom of the display—this option will also be introduced for PS5 at the same time as the PC release. PC players will also get support for upscaling tech from all three GPU manufacturers: NVIDIA DLSS 4, AMD FSR 4, and Intel XeSS 2, with both frame generation and upscaling options available. These upscaling options can be used in conjunction with Dynamic Resolution Scaling, and players will be able to adjust upscaling quality. The game will also see the debut of Pico—Progressive Image Compositor—on PC. This is the upscaling technology used by Death Stranding 2 on PS5 and developed by Guerrilla Games for the Decima engine, and it can also be used alongside all available frame generation options and on all available graphics card manufacturers. The game will also offer native AA options for those not interested in upscaling.
Marvel's Wolverine has been on Sony's release roster for ages, with Sony having released a brutal trailer for the game as far back as September 2025. Insomniac Games, the Studio at the game's helm, just confirmed on X that Wolverine will launch on September 15, 2026, which is right in the middle of the previously promised "fall 2026" release window. Unfortunately, as expected, Marvel's Wolverine appears to be a console exclusive, at least at launch. There is no mention of a PC or Xbox launch date anywhere on the PlayStation Store or in the release date trailer.
Marvel's Wolverine will follow the titular character as he "searches for answers about his past," and the trailer reveals that players will revisit Logan's complex history as an anti-hero, fighting against and potentially alongside the likes of Sabretooth and Mystique, with scenes from the trailer teasing locations ranging from the American west to Japanese back alleys. The PlayStation Store page also confirms that Marvel's Wolverine will be single-player only and will feature offline play. Marvel's Spider-Man 2, another Marvel game developed by Insomniac for the PS5, initially launched on PS5 in October 2023, but only made it to PC in January 2025; if that game is any indication, it'll be a little over a year after launch before Marvel's Wolverine makes it to PC.
The achievement, confirmed by ASML technologists Michael Purvis and Teun van Gogh, does not involve a proof-of-concept demonstration or a short-lived experiment. The company says the new light source operates under factory-ready conditions and could be deployed in commercial systems later this decade. It represents a strong response to growing...
Permito provides AI-powered mock interviews for US visa applicants. Speak with a realistic AI consular officer who challenges your answers, asks follow-up questions, and flags contradictions and weak ties before the real interview. Choose scenarios for B1/B2, F-1, H-1B, and more, then receive detailed feedback with confidence scores, red flags, and areas for improvement. Start with one free session and use affordable bundles to practice repeatedly, helping you handle 214(b) questions and walk in prepared.
A vulnerability in GitHub Codespaces could have been exploited by bad actors to seize control of repositories by injecting malicious Copilot instructions in a GitHub issue.
The artificial intelligence (AI)-driven vulnerability has been codenamed RoguePilot by Orca Security. It has since been patched by Microsoft following responsible disclosure.
"Attackers can craft hidden instructions inside a
Microsoft warns OpenClaw’s design blends automation and persistent credentials, creating structural risks unsuitable for standard personal or enterprise workstations.
AI has brought the startup world the rise of companies that instantly hit multimillion-dollar ARR. Stripe revealed some data that shows how common this has become.
The U.S. Treasury announced it was imposing sanctions against a Russian broker of zero-day exploits, its founder and two affiliates, citing a threat to U.S. national security. Another affiliated zero-day broker in the United Arab Emirates was also sanctioned.
The company said that a new agent being introduced in Opal will allow users to create mini-apps that can let them plan and execute tasks using text prompts.
Ed Skrein, who you might recognize as the main antagonist in the first Deadpool movie or as the antagonist in Zack Snyder's ridiculous Rebel Moon films has been tapped by Amazon and PlayStation Productions to play Baldur in the upcoming God of War TV series. Skrein is the latest to join the cast, taking up one of the last major characters whose casting had yet to be revealed. We know who is playing Kratos, Atreus, Brok, Sindri, Mimir, Thor, Heimdall, Sif, and Odin, and we now know who will be stepping into Baldur's numb feet. Announced in a new report […]
Google Ad Grants accounts can now optimize for real-world foot traffic. If you use the nonprofit program, you can set “shop visits” as an account-level goal, allowing your campaigns to optimize for in-person visits.
Driving the news. Previously, if you tried to mark shop visits as a goal in Ad Grants, you’d get an error. That restriction appears to be lifted, allowing eligible accounts to include store visit conversions in their primary goal configuration.
This update lets you align bidding and optimization with physical visits — especially for visibility in Maps placements and location-driven search results.
Why we care. If you run a nonprofit, museum, place of worship, community center, or other location-based organization, digital engagement doesn’t always translate into mission impact. Optimizing for shop visits bridges that gap, tying ad performance directly to foot traffic.
What to do. If you use Ad Grants, review your account-level goals and confirm shop visits are enabled where eligible. Optimizing for foot traffic could materially improve your local impact — especially if you rely on in-person engagement.
Between the lines. As Google continues to emphasize local intent and Maps-based discovery, bringing store visit optimization to Ad Grants expands your ability to compete for nearby audiences. It shifts the focus from clicks and website traffic to measurable offline action.
First seen. Google Ads expert Jason King spotted this update and shared it on LinkedIn.
Google’s unified video manager in Merchant Center is no longer empty. After months of showing up in accounts without visible content, the Video Assets section is now automatically populating with sourced videos.
Driving the news. Videos are now automatically pulled in, including content from external sources like YouTube.
The feature — first introduced at Google Marketing Live 2025 — was designed to centralize video content inside Google Merchant Center. It began rolling out in September, but many advertisers saw a blank interface with no assets.
Why we care. This confirms Google is moving ahead with its plan to make Merchant Center a central hub for commerce-ready creative — not just product feeds. With videos now auto-populating, you may gain additional visibility across Shopping and Performance Max without extra upload work, but you’ll also need to ensure your YouTube and site videos are optimized for commerce. In short, video is becoming embedded in retail ad delivery, and if you manage it proactively, you’ll have a competitive edge.
Between the lines. By centralizing videos from your website, social platforms, and potentially AI-generated sources, Google is turning Merchant Center into a more comprehensive creative hub—not just a product feed manager. That aligns with the broader shift toward video-first shopping experiences across Search, Shopping, and Performance Max.
What to watch. It’s still unclear how performance reporting, optimization controls, and editing tools will evolve in the Video Assets section. But the shift from an empty placeholder to a populated library shows the infrastructure is now active.
First spotted. PPC News Feed founder Hana Kobzová first spotted this update.
NVIDIA has posted multiple job openings, which give us several hints about the company's plans for gaming on Linux and what the possible plan could look like. According to the now-removed listing, NVIDIA is hiring engineers to diagnose CPU and GPU performance bottlenecks on Linux when running the Proton compatibility layer and Vulkan graphics API. This suggests that NVIDIA is either refining its product support for the massive wave of gamers transitioning to Linux or preparing for an entirely new platform. For example, as NVIDIA is currently preparing N1/N1X SoCs for laptops, the company could create dedicated handheld chips for devices like Valve's Steam Deck, which currently runs on AMD's SoC. There are multiple handheld vendors now, and NVIDIA could be powering a new handheld with its laptop N1/N1X chips under Linux.
The job descriptions clearly indicate that the work will cover everything from the game engine and translation layers, such as Proton, to drivers and hardware interaction. This focus suggests that efforts will not be limited to profiling but will also include proposing API usage changes, building repeatable test cases, and collaborating with translation-layer and distribution maintainers to implement fixes. Anyone using NVIDIA graphics under Linux will also be impacted, as the company's polishing of the software stack will bring a definitive quality of life improvement to games. This can include fewer stutters, better frame pacing, and reduced CPU overhead in titles that rely on Vulkan or run under Proton, which translates Windows-specific API calls and optimizes games to run on Linux.
Shortly following the recent announcement that Phil Spencer would be leaving as the head of Xbox Gaming, the division's new CEO, Asha Sharma, released a long statement expressing her distaste for AI slop and her belief that, although "AI has long been part of gaming and will continue to be," games "are and always will be art, crafted by humans and created with the most innovative technology provided by us." Many gamers have been skeptical of these and similar statements now and in the past, but it seems as though industry veteran and founder of Xbox, Seamus Blackley, seems to be convinced that those are empty words, whether Sharma believes it or not. In a recent interview with GamesBeat, Blackley said about Sharma that he believes "her job is going to be as a palliative care doctor who slides Xbox gently into the night," going on to say that assurances like the aforementioned one by Sharma are "just what occurs to people to say when they bring in someone from an outside business into games."
In Blackley's view, Microsoft's bet on AI will result in a lot of the non-AI businesses being sunsetted, and that is what is happening to Xbox under the new CEO. He says that, just like AI has taken over "everything else," it will take over gaming as well, at least at Microsoft, going on to say that "Asha's background is entirely in software as a service and AI. The implicit thing here is that games is going to be AI-driven software as a service." Part of his justification for this belief is that, despite gaming industry veteran, Matt Booty, acting as Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, Sharma is an outsider to the gaming industry and doesn't necessarily understand the industry. His concern is that such an outsider, especially one coming from an AI background, can only see gaming in an abstract way. That said, he does admit that there have been outsiders that have succeeded in gaming, but those that have understood that gaming is a content business. He also jokingly says that her statement about the future of Xbox "reminded me of that meme 'Hello, fellow kids!'" and that she would have to figure out what's interesting about gaming.
Linux 7.0 is officially taking shape with the release of the first release candidate. The new kernel lays the groundwork for upcoming distros like Ubuntu 26.04 LTS and Fedora 44, while delivering broad hardware enablement for Intel's next-gen CPUs, AMD Zen 6 and new GPUs, and expanding support for Qualcomm Snapdragon platforms. Beyond hardware, Linux 7.0 brings meaningful file system and performance improvements, continued Rust integration, and a long list of under-the-hood optimizations.
Goldman Sachs analysts have suggested that the impact of AI on the US economy was "basically zero" in 2025. The investment bank argued that large language models, chatbots, and other AI-related technologies did not meaningfully contribute to the country's officially recorded 2.2 percent GDP growth last year. Unsurprisingly, the claim...
Resident Evil Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi has revealed that Capcom was initially "skeptical" about the game's Nintendo Switch 2 performance, but was pleasantly surprised.
There is a lot of talk around AI agents taking over business processes and claiming that "SaaS is dead." While these predictions have moved SaaS stocks at times, they haven't really come true.
With the new GPU sales strategy, we are seeing a sudden shift in popularity for some GPUs and the latest retailer data reveals the most popular cards. AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series Maintains its Dominance on Mindfactory, While NVIDIA RTX 5080 Leads NVIDIA's RTX 50 Lineup The latest GPU sales data for Mindfactory is out, revealing what has changed in the past few weeks. Keep in mind that this doesn't represent the exact global GPU popularity and is specific to Germany. With this retailer's sales data, we still get an idea of what users are buying the most these days. […]
Insomniac Games was done letting us wait, as it announced in a short and to-the-point post on its official social channels that Marvel's Wolverine will release on PS5 this coming September 15, 2026. "Let's cut to the chase" writes Insomniac, before announcing the release date. While it's great to no longer be in the dark on the release date for what is arguably the most anticipated game coming to PS5 for PlayStation players this year, it is a little curious as to why we didn't get this news two weeks ago, when Sony held its first State of Play event […]
Intel's SambaNova acquisition was seen as a way to spearhead the company's AI strategy in inference, but it appears Team Blue has settled for much less. Intel's CEO Now Intends to Invest Directly in SambaNova's Funding Round After Previously Backing It Through Walden Capital When we talk about Intel, the company is one of the only compute providers that hasn't managed to capitalize on the AI frenzy at all, and this has been a persistent problem for several quarters. Intel's former CEO, Pat Gelsinger, has acknowledged the lack of intent in AI, and it appears that missing out on the […]
It's that time of year again, as we're back to yet another Steam Next Fest filled to the brim with demos of upcoming games, some of which could be some of the year's biggest games when they finally arrive. As I have done previously, I've gone through a slew of demos that are available as part of the festival, and curated my findings into a list of a few that I highly recommend you spend some time playing throughout the festival's remaining run time. It's also worth noting that even if you don't catch this list until after the festival […]
Here’s what you need to run Death Stranding 2 on PC Nixxes has officially released their PC system requirements for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, the formerly PlayStation 5 exclusive gaming hit. When building this PC version, Nixxes has focused on delivering a strong low-end and high-end PC gaming experience, with presets ranging from […]
Blizzard has announced Overwatch Rush, a new top down hero shooter built specifically for mobile. Here is everything revealed so far, including heroes, gameplay details, and platform hints.
Sometimes the simplest Xbox controllers are the best for enjoying games, and the standard Xbox Series X|S controller is one such accessory now that it's on sale for a big 34% discount.
Radical Entertainment has resurfaced as New Radical Games, led by former studio heads, prompting fresh speculation that Prototype could return. A recent Steam update has only added to fan excitement.
Windows 11 now supports MIDI 2.0 alongside enhancements to MIDI 1.0, introducing two-way communication, improved precision, multi-client support, and better compatibility for music creators.
Microsoft says a bug in Outlook causes the mouse pointer to vanish. It's investigating the issue and has already offered temporary workarounds, including restarting your PC.
The KAMRUI Mini PC E3B 11 Pro is a well-designed workhorse Mini-PC with fast performance rates, a compact design, 4K display support, and many more features that are now 31% more affordable at Amazon.
ARC Raiders’ Shrouded Sky update adds long-requested facial hair customization, a Hurricane map condition in the Rust Belt, two new ARC enemies, a free Surgeon Raider Deck, and updates to Dam Battlegrounds.
Xbox partners with Sung Kang of Tokyo Drift fame to give away a supercharged trip to Japan to experience the best of the country's thriving car culture (with lots of snacks) for ten lucky winners.
Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced two new colorways for its next‑generation creator webcams, the Razer Kiyo V2 and Razer Kiyo V2 X. Now available in Quartz and White, the stunning new finishes join classic Black to give creators more ways to build a setup that reflects their personal style.
Razer Kiyo V2 gets smarter with AI Face Retouching
Alongside the new color options, the Kiyo V2 introduces AI Face Retouching via Camo Studio for instant, studio-ready polish. Designed to look natural on camera, the adjustable feature subtly smooths imperfections, while adapting to lighting and environmental changes in real time. Users can enable this new AI tool by updating to the latest version of Camo Studio.
We previously covered how enterprising gamers managed to bypass AMD's FSR 4 restrictions to get Redstone frame generation tech working on older RDNA GPUs with OptiScaler. Now, it seems as though OptiScaler has managed bypass another one of AMD's limitations that restricted FSR 4 implementations to DirectX 12 games. According to the build notes uncovered by a Reddit user u/eduhfx, OptiScaler is testing adding Vulkan support in a new test build v0.9.0-pre10. Notably, OptiScaler is using a compatibility tool to work around FSR 4's lack of Vulkan support, similarly to how Linux translates DirectX, calls to Vulkan with DXVK or VKD3D. This also means that FSR 4 on Vulkan should work on Linux systems, as well, where games often run better under Vulkan than DX12—although at the time of writing, FSR 4 w/DX12 currently has issues running on Linux due to a Mesa issue that seemingly cannot be solved by the OptiScaler team.
Currently, known issues:
FSR 4 VK w/DX12 has issues on Linux due to missing Mesa extensions
Not interested in reports as nothing we can fix on our side as far as we know
ORIGIN PC today announced the launch of the new NEURON, marking the most dramatic evolution of the platform since its debut and redefining what a showcase desktop can look like. The new NEURON introduces a fully panoramic glass design and advanced airflow engineering that elevates both presentation and performance for gamers, creators, and hardware enthusiasts. First unveiled at CES 2026, the NEURON is now available for customers who want high-end components to be seen and kept cool under demanding workloads.
The updated NEURON features a wraparound single piece glass panel that provides near 360-degree visibility of the interior. A spacious modular layout, improved routing channels, and compatibility with today's largest GPUs allow users to create clean, presentation ready systems that highlight every component.
The "Block AI Enhancements" toggle was originally introduced in Firefox 148 Nightly in January following significant community backlash after Mozilla's new CEO, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo, announced plans to add AI features to Firefox. With Firefox 148 now rolling out to the stable channel, the feature is available to users across all release channels.
The San Francisco – based company's new venture is designed to serve as a comprehensive support hub for commercial self-driving fleets. The division will offer a range of services, including insurance coverage, roadside assistance, and "AV mission control" – a software layer that enables fleet operators to monitor vehicles and...
MirrorMask is a native macOS app that lets you take control of your algorithmic identity. It scrapes your actual Google ad profile, including the interests and demographics built on you, and then automatically browses as a different persona overnight using your real Chrome browser.
Choose from personas like Fisherman, Home Chef, or Fitness Pro, and MirrorMask runs searches, watches YouTube, and visits sites that appear to be normal browsing. Over time, your ad profile shifts to reflect the persona instead of the real you. Everything runs locally on your Mac, with no accounts, no cloud, and no subscriptions.
A Russia-aligned threat actor has been observed targeting a European financial institution as part of a social engineering attack to likely facilitate intelligence gathering or financial theft, signaling a possible expansion of the threat actor's targeting beyond Ukraine and into entities supporting the war-torn nation.
The activity, which targeted an unnamed entity involved in regional
The ThunderX3 Core gaming chair is an excellent ergonomic seat that adapts to your awkward positioning and ensures you're comfy and supported while you game.
Fintech giant Marquis is suing its firewall provider SonicWall, claiming that an earlier breach with SonicWall allowed hackers to deploy ransomware on Marquis' network.
In the four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of their country, Ukrainian startups have done more than survive: they are still building and growing.
Guerrilla Games has announced that it will host the first closed playtest for its recently announced Horizon-based co-op multiplayer game, Horizon Hunters Gathering. Curiously, it's the second playtest being run this week for a PlayStation Studios title, since Bungie's open server slam test for Marathon is also taking place this weekend. But at least in the case of Horizon Hunters Gathering, it's a closed-beta test you have to be invited into, so they theoretically won't cannibalize each other. That said, it still feels odd that Sony would opt to have them on the same weekend. Regardless, if you head to […]
That Steve Jobs was a titan among tech visionaries of his day remains an uncontested fact. What is somewhat aberrant, however, is his larger-than-life persona that still retains immense sway within Apple's evolving corporate heft. And, had he managed to survive his joust with cancer back in 2011, Steve Jobs would have turned 71 today. Steve Jobs and Apple are synonymous with each other It is common knowledge that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started Apple in a garage in 1976. However, by 1985, Jobs was in a precarious position within Apple, courtesy of one of his own hires: the […]
Blizzard has revealed a new Overwatch game, and no, it's not 'Overwatch 2' again. It's a new 4v4, free-to-play, top-down Hero shooter called Overwatch Rush, and it's a brand new game built for mobile players. The game was announced with a look at some early in-development gameplay, which you can see in the trailer below. It's being developed by a "dedicated team at Blizzard, separate from Team 4, all of whom have deep mobile experience," according to a blog post on Blizzard's official website, which is followed by Blizzard reiterating that Team 4 is "fully focused on Overwatch," as if […]
Although the system has only been out for less than a year, the Nintendo Switch 2 has already received some impressive third-party ports such as Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Outlaws, and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, which have been highly optimized to deliver great experiences in both docked and handheld modes. The next multiplatform game that is likely to leave most users impressed is Resident Evil Requiem, which runs so well on the Switch 2 that the development team almost couldn't believe it. In a new Creator's Voice video released today, Game Director Koshi Nakanishi revealed how the team was […]
Fortnite gamers have acquired computing power that rivals that of some of the world's largest hyperscalers, and that is just from gaming PCs and consoles. Fortnite Gamers Have Contributed Significantly Towards Modern-Day Hardware Advancements In today's world, computing power is a major bottleneck, which is why hyperscalers are investing "hundreds of billions" in the AI frenzy to build their capabilities. One recent deal we discussed was the AMD-Meta agreement, which involved compute commitments worth up to 6 gigawatts. Interestingly, when talking about the deal, Epic Games' CEO Tim Sweeney revealed that Fortnite gamers alone consume up to 30 gigawatts of […]
Nixxes Software has just shared the full PC system requirements for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Powered by the Decima Engine just like its predecessor (and the Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West games), the game appears to have reasonable specs. Nixxes has also introduced a Portable preset that will be aimed at handheld gaming devices, such as the Steam Deck and the ASUS ROG Ally. Category Minimum Medium High (Recommended) Very High Graphics Preset Low Medium High Very High Avg Performance 1080p @ 30 FPS 1080p @ 60 FPS 1440p @ 60 FPS 4K @ 60 FPS GPU NVIDIA GeForce […]
After years of rumors and leaks, something feels different in the air as multiple reports are now pointing toward an actual, official launch for Nvidia's N1/N1X SoCs. These highly elusive chips have been in the works for years, have faced multiple delays, but the excitement for their release never died down.
A new investigative report from The New York Times reveals that, in July 2023, senior US intelligence officials privately briefed some of the tech industry's most powerful executives on classified assessments regarding China and Taiwan.
The U.S. economy isn't being propped up by AI investment, despite the common narrative. According to Goldman Sachs, despite hundreds of billions in investment announcements, AI has done little to uplift American financial interests.
AI has made publishing faster and easier than ever. And the result is saturation.
As AI lowers the barrier to production, the web is filling with content that is technically sound, reasonably optimized, and increasingly indistinguishable. When everything looks polished and competent, standing out becomes harder.
AI has changed content output, but users still arrive with intent. They scan headlines, page titles, and descriptions before choosing what to click. They reward clarity, relevance, and usefulness. On a saturated results page, those fundamentals matter more than ever.
Keeping content fresh in the age of AI isn’t about chasing novelty or abandoning proven practices. It’s about returning to what makes content distinct: clear messaging, thoughtful structure, and a strong understanding of what your audience wants.
The real problem with AI content
The biggest issue with AI-generated content isn’t accuracy. It’s sameness.
Because AI models train on vast amounts of existing material, they reproduce familiar patterns: similar phrasing, predictable structures, and safe conclusions. On their own, these outputs read as competent and coherent. In aggregate, they become indistinguishable.
This is why so much content today feels interchangeable. Even when the topic is relevant, the experience of reading it rarely is.
Search engines and users are reacting accordingly. When every result looks and sounds the same, differentiation matters. Freshness still ensures relevance and credibility, but it’s no longer a competitive advantage in itself. What separates one result from another is voice, perspective, and lived experience.
Ironically, AI has made originality more valuable, not less. As automated content floods the web, signals like specificity, usefulness, and intent alignment become stronger indicators of quality. Content that communicates clearly and answers people’s real questions rises above, regardless of whether AI assisted in its creation.
This is where many teams go wrong. In an attempt to compete with AI, they focus on output volume or trendy formats instead of fixing the fundamentals.
Freshness isn’t created by novelty alone. It’s created when content feels unmistakably helpful and unmistakably human.
Fresh, unique content is still built on classic SEO principles
Despite the evolution of content creation tools, the way people use search engines has remained remarkably consistent. Users still arrive with a problem to solve, scan results quickly, and choose the option that feels most relevant to them.
That behavior hasn’t changed because AI exists.
Page titles, headings, and meta descriptions continue to act as the first point of contact between a piece of content and its audience. In search results, they function less like technical fields and more like ad copy.
Yet many organizations assume these elements are outdated or that AI-generated content will somehow compensate for vague or generic positioning. In reality, the opposite is true. As more content competes for attention, clarity becomes a differentiator.
Classic SEO principles still underpin freshness:
Clear alignment with search intent.
Descriptive, specific language.
A logical structure that helps users scan.
Messaging that sets accurate expectations before the click.
None of these concepts is new. What’s changed is their importance.
When search results are crowded with similar-looking pages, small improvements in clarity can produce incremental gains. A more descriptive title doesn’t just help search engines understand a page. It helps users recognize that it answers their question.
AI may assist in generating drafts or variations, but it doesn’t replace the need for human judgment in deciding what information matters most or how it should be framed. Fresh content still starts with understanding intent and communicating clearly.
Small SEO changes can lead to a strong impact
To understand why traditional SEO still matters, consider a recent experiment conducted on our website focused on service-based search terms.
The hypothesis was straightforward: If page titles were more descriptive and more clearly aligned with search intent or user pain points, would users be more likely to click? Could visibility and engagement improve without rewriting content or making technical changes?
Before this test, titles followed a familiar format: the service name followed by the company name. While accurate, these titles were vague and did little to communicate value or differentiate the page in search results.
After the update, titles were rewritten to be more specific and benefit-oriented. Instead of simply naming a service, the new titles clarified what the service helped users achieve and reflected the intent behind the search.
One page, for example, shifted from a generic service title to a more descriptive version focused on optimization and lead generation. The result was a 247% increase in clicks on that page alone.
Encouraged by this early signal, similar title updates were rolled out across multiple service pages and allowed to run for approximately one month. The aggregated results were as follows.
As the table above shows, average position didn’t improve on every page. But several key services moved closer to the top of the results, reflected in a lower average position, while earning more clicks and impressions. This suggests clearer, intent-aligned titles helped the right pages surface more prominently and perform better once they did.
Not every page saw improvements, which is precisely the point of testing. There were no dramatic rewrites and no reliance on AI-driven optimization tactics. The improvement came from clearer communication.
The takeaway is simple: This wasn’t an example of AI SEO outperforming traditional methods. It demonstrated that when content aligns more closely with human intent, performance follows.
Strategies for keeping content fresh in an AI-saturated world
Staying fresh in the age of AI doesn’t require abandoning proven practices or chasing every new tool. It requires greater intentionality in how content is created, positioned, and maintained. The strategies below focus on what works, even as the volume of content online continues to grow.
1. Treat intent at the strategy
Traditional SEO is often mischaracterized as keyword stuffing or mechanical optimization. In reality, its foundation has always been search intent.
Before creating or updating content, ask:
What problem is the searcher trying to solve?
What does a “good” answer look like in their context?
What would make this page immediately feel relevant?
AI tools can suggest keywords, but they can’t fully interpret intent. That requires understanding audience behavior, industry nuance, and real-world constraints. When content is shaped around intent first, optimization becomes a byproduct, not the goal.
Freshness emerges when a page answers the right question clearly, not when it targets more variations of the same term.
2. Use page titles and headlines as tools
In an AI-driven content environment, page titles still matter. Search results are crowded with pages that look nearly identical at a quick glance in the SERP.
A well-written title is often the deciding factor in whether a user clicks or scrolls past. This is where traditional SEO fundamentals quietly outperform more complex tactics.
Effective titles:
Clearly state what the page offers.
Reflect the language users search with.
Set accurate expectations instead of teasing vague benefits.
Small improvements in specificity can produce meaningful gains.
3. Refresh before you create
One of the most overlooked ways to keep content fresh is to improve what already exists.
In many cases, underperforming content doesn’t fail because it’s outdated or incorrect. It fails because it’s unclear. Updating introductions, tightening headlines, improving structure, and clarifying takeaways can have a greater impact than publishing something new.
A practical approach:
Identify pages with impressions but low click-through rates.
Review whether titles and descriptions match intent.
Adjust framing before expanding content.
This strategy is particularly effective in an AI-heavy environment, where new content is abundant but thoughtful updates can deliver stronger results.
4. Lean into specificity and constraints
AI excels at general advice. Humans excel at context.
Content becomes fresh when it reflects specific scenarios, limitations, or trade-offs. Rather than aiming for universal coverage, focus on clearly defined use cases, audiences, or situations.
Specificity might include:
Addressing common misconceptions.
Explaining why a tactic works in one context but not another.
Acknowledging constraints like budget, time, or expertise.
This level of nuance signals credibility and separates genuinely helpful content from generic summaries.
5. Use AI as an accelerator
AI is most effective when it accelerates tasks that don’t require decision-making. Drafting outlines, summarizing research, or generating alternative phrasing can save time. Choosing the angle, defining the message, and interpreting results remain human responsibilities.
A healthy AI-assisted workflow includes:
Editorial oversight.
Performance review and iteration.
Clear ownership of voice and perspective.
When AI is used as a support tool rather than a substitute, content remains intentional and aligned with business goals.
6. Measure freshness by behavior
Publishing more content doesn’t make it fresher… engagement does.
Instead of tracking success by volume, pay attention to signals that reflect real interest:
Click-through rates
Time on page
Scroll depth
Return visits
These metrics reveal whether content resonates. Fresh content earns attention because it feels useful.
7. Accept that ‘traditional’ doesn’t mean outdated
The temptation in any technological shift is to assume that what came before no longer applies. But AI hasn’t replaced the need for clarity, structure, and relevance. It has made those qualities more valuable.
Traditional SEO works because it aligns with how people search, decide, and engage. When those fundamentals are executed well, they break through regardless of how content is produced.
AI has changed how some content is produced. It has increased speed, lowered costs, and removed many of the barriers that once limited who could publish and how often. What hasn’t changed is how people decide what to read, click, and ultimately trust.
Fresh content wins because it is clear and relevant when someone is looking for an answer — not just because it was generated faster.
The growing presence of AI has exposed a hard truth: Much of what passes for fresh content was never truly differentiated. When similar ideas are repeated at scale, fundamentals like intent alignment, descriptive titles, thoughtful structure, and honest messaging become the strongest signals of quality.
So what’s the path forward? Being more disciplined about how content is framed, maintained, and measured. Successful brands and publishers will treat freshness as a function of usefulness, not output.
Search engine optimization (SEO) — be found. Answer engine optimization (AEO) — be the answer. AI engine optimization (AIEO) — be the recommendation. Assistive agent optimization (AAO) — be chosen when no human is in the loop. Four stages where each clearly absorbs the last.
The word that stays constant across the last two is “assistive,” and that’s important because it names the purpose: what the system does for the user. The word that changes is just one: engine becomes agent — a single pivot that tracks the real shift in our industry, from systems that recommend to systems that act.
For me, everything else in the naming debate is a distraction. The SEO industry is fractured across at least six competing terms for what’s functionally the same discipline. Each term has a constituency, each constituency is spending energy defending its label, and while we argue about what to call the work, we’re not doing the work.
So skip a step with me: I’ll explain in the next few paragraphs why AAO is a good solution — then we can all get back to our jobs.
Every competing acronym covers part of the job, none covers all of it
Every AI system that makes recommendations or takes autonomous action — Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, and any other engine that glides into view — runs on three components: large language models, knowledge graphs, and traditional search. I call this the algorithmic trinity.
The balance differs by platform (ChatGPT leans LLM-heavy, Google leans on its knowledge graph), but the trinity itself is universal. Even Google team members I’ve spoken with agree on this architecture.
SEO also described the purpose the engine served, which I’ve always liked. So here’s a quick look at the competing acronyms against those three components.
GEO describes mechanism, not purpose. It covers the LLM layer, includes search by necessity, but misses the knowledge graph entirely. Because “generative” is a technology label, the term expires when the technology evolves. “Generative agent optimization” describes nothing, which tells you the term wasn’t built to scale.
Entity SEO covers the knowledge graph layer (entities live there), treats search as the delivery mechanism, and tangentially acknowledges LLMs. The term also fails the glossary test, which I now try my best to apply to my own writing. If a non-specialist can’t understand a term on first encounter, it was named for the speaker, not the listener. Every time I use the word “entity” to describe “brand” in conversations with business leaders, I have to explain myself.
LLM optimization is honest about its scope, but that’s one-third of the job, ignoring the knowledge graph and search entirely.
AI SEO bolts “AI” onto the old term, which makes it easy access for outsiders, but it doesn’t have long-term legs. Already in 2026, people aren’t searching, they’re researching, and some have agents researching for them.
All of them are incomplete, and I’d argue that incomplete terminology produces incomplete strategy because practitioners naturally optimize for the leg their acronym covers and neglect the others.
Assistive agent optimization (AAO) evolves neatly from answer engine optimization and covers everything we need to build a meaningful, complete strategy:
“Assistive” names the purpose across the full algorithmic trinity.
“Agent” names the actor that uses all three components to make a decision.
“Optimization” is what we do.
That’s a three-legged stool with all three legs the same length, which, if you’ve ever sat on one, is the only stool that doesn’t wobble.
The glossary test says AAO isn’t perfect, but it’s the closest we’ve got
Generative engine optimization requires the listener to know what a generative engine is, entity SEO requires them to know what an entity means in a technical context, and LLM optimization requires them to know what an LLM is — all three fail the glossary test.
Assistive agent optimization doesn’t pass perfectly either because “assistive” requires half a second to process. But “agent” is mainstream vocabulary now (every tech company on earth is selling us agents), and “optimization” is self-explanatory. Two out of three words land with zero friction, and the third doesn’t need explaining after half a second’s thought.
If you have a better term that covers the full algorithmic trinity — pull and push (see below) — and passes the glossary test more cleanly, I’m open, because the discipline matters more than the term.
More importantly, AAO describes a role (optimize so the assistive agent chooses your brand), not a technology, and roles outlast technologies. The term that names what you do is the one you’ll still be using in five years, regardless of which model architecture or retrieval method is fashionable.
Your brand identity becomes the foundation, not a nice-to-have. When an agent books a hotel, selects a supplier, or recommends a consultant, it doesn’t scan a list of pages and pick the one with the best title tag. It evaluates what it knows about the brand itself: who this company is, what it does, who it serves, why it would be a reliable solution, and how confident the agent is in those facts.
That confidence starts at the entity home — the one page you control that anchors everything the algorithmic trinity knows about you — and cascades outward through every corroborating source. If the agent doesn’t understand your brand clearly, it will pick a brand it does confidently understand.
The funnel moves inside the agent. The traditional acquisition funnel (awareness, consideration, decision) used to happen with a bouncing on-and-off-your-website dance, where the search engine was one traffic source that sent people to you.
Under AAO, the entire funnel happens inside the AI, without the user ever seeing a list of options. The agent becomes aware of you, considers you against alternatives, and decides — all before delivering the result. Your role is no longer to attract visitors to a funnel on your site, it’s to be the answer when the agent runs its own funnel internally.
You might be thinking, “We’re not there yet.” You’re right. We’re not, for most people.
But the funnel is already in the assistive engine (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode), and they bring people to the perfect click — the zero-sum moment in AI where they present one single solution to the user. Most people take the solution they’re offered. The only thing missing is the agent clicking the buy button.
The web index is losing its monopoly as the source of truth. For two decades, the crawled web was effectively the only dataset that mattered: if Google hadn’t indexed it, it didn’t exist. That monopoly is breaking on two fronts.
Proprietary datasets are feeding agents directly as search evolves into what I’d call ambient research, where in-app push recommendations surface your brand inside the tools people are already using, without anyone typing a query.
Agents and engines already pull from APIs, booking systems, internal databases, and structured feeds that never touch a traditional web index. The web index doesn’t disappear (your website is still the entity home — the anchor), but it’s no longer the sole gatekeeper, and you should already be building your strategy on that basis.
The push layer is back, too. For 20 years, we got lazy: Google and Bing crawled our sites, rendered our JavaScript, figured out what our pages meant even when we made it hard, and we published and waited. That will continue, but you’ll need to account for multiple additions.
IndexNow (Fabrice Canel has been building this at Bing for years), MCP, and whatever Google eventually ships all do the same thing: they let you push structured information to the systems that act, rather than waiting for those systems to come and find it. It’s the 1990s again — submitting URLs and actively feeding the ecosystem.
My guess on why Google hasn’t adopted IndexNow isn’t because it’s a bad idea — it’s a brilliant idea — but because it wasn’t Google’s idea, and Google would rather ship a proprietary version.
The technical generosity we’d been leaning on comes back to bite us, too: JavaScript rendering was a favor Google extended, not a standard the industry can rely on, because most AI agent bots don’t render JavaScript. If your content sits behind client-side rendering, a growing number of agents simply never see it.
(All of this maps to the 10-gate DSCRI-ARGDW pipeline I’ll lay out next in this series.)
Your SEO skills still apply. The target moves from the engine to the agent.
You don’t need to master every intermediate stage before adopting the AAO frame, because AAO contains AIEO contains AEO contains SEO — the skills stack — and only the target changes: be chosen when the agent acts, recommended when the user researches, and mentioned when the user asks.
People who adopt this frame will be able to reliably build pipeline confidence while everyone else argues about acronyms — and the gap will widen over time.
The discipline has a name, the agents are already acting, the push layer is here, and the lazy days are over.
The first two articles were the “what” and the “why.” Next week, the how begins. I’ll open up the 10-gate pipeline I’ve been referencing, DSCRI-ARGDW, which stands between your content and a conversion from an AI engine.
Discovered: The bot finds you exist.
Selected: The bot decides you’re worth fetching.
Crawled: The bot retrieves your content.
Rendered: The bot translates what it fetched into what it can read.
Indexed: The algorithm commits your content to memory.
Annotated: The algorithm classifies what your content means across 24+ dimensions.
Recruited: The algorithm pulls your content to use.
Grounded: The engine verifies your content against other sources.
Displayed: The engine presents you to the user.
Won: The engine gives you the perfect click at the zero-sum moment in AI.
Modders have transformed Need for Speed Carbon with a new path tracing mod xoxor4d, renowned RTX Remix modder and creator of GTA 4 RTX Remix has released a new RTX Remix path tracing mod for Need for Speed Carbon. This mod builds upon an older RTX Remix mod from the modder hopelessness, and transforms the […]
There have been rumors surrounding Intel's switch back to a Unified Core design, and those rumors just got more credible as the company hopes to hire a senior CPU verification engineer for its "Unified Core" team.
Marathon has revealed its Xbox exclusive charms, confirming two Minecraft-themed cosmetics for players ahead of launch. The studio also detailed its March 5, 2026, release date, upcoming server slam, permanent bans for cheaters, dedicated servers, and a reconnect feature.
Endorfy is expanding portfolio with its first-ever microATX computer cases. Inspired by the popular Signum 300 series, the Signum M30 line is designed for users who want the full functionality of a modern PC in a compact mini-tower form factor.
The lineup includes two models - Signum M30 ARGB and Signum M30 Air - striking an ideal balance between compact dimensions and extensive configuration options. Both cases support graphics cards up to 345 mm in length, radiators up to 240 mm, and up to seven fans. As a result, they provide a versatile foundation for powerful gaming rigs, modern workstations, or office PCs built around microATX, Mini-ITX, or Flex ATX motherboards.
Each week, new games and apps integrating NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex, and advanced ray-traced effects are released or announced, delivering the definitive PC experience for GeForce RTX players.
DLSS 4.5 is our latest upgrade to the ever-improving DLSS Super Resolution, adding a second generation transformer model that further enhances image quality. Via the NVIDIA app, you can apply DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution to your game library on all GeForce RTX PCs and laptops, instantly upgrading clarity and quality.
Just last week, we reported on the closure of Spliced, a newly formed NetEase game studio that suffered layoffs even before it had announced or released any games. Now, that same misfortune has come for TiMi Montreal, a division of TiMi founded in mid-2021 to create AAA, open-world, multi-platform games. The studio's closure was revealed in a now-removed LinkedIn post (via Game File) by a programmer at the studio, who said that "Today, TiMi Montreal is officially closing its doors," and goes on to lament the fact that the "the public will never get to experience what this team was capable of producing."
While TiMi Studio Group has been responsible for a number of high-profile mobile and cross-platform titles, including Call of Duty Mobile, Delta Force, Arena of Valor, and Age of Empires Mobile, among others, TiMi Montreal had not even announced any projects. The studio and its parent company, Tencent, also have yet to address the alleged closure, but several other employees sounded off in the comments of the original LinkedIn post, suggesting that the news of the closure is more than just hearsay. This news also comes shortly after Sony shuttered Bluepoint games, serving as yet another indication of an ailing gaming industry. Of course, without an official statement or more information, it's difficult to know how many employees were affected by the closure or how many will go on to work internally at Tencent or other TiMi studios, for example.
Rise of Piracy is now available in Early Access on Steam. Developed as a passion-driven project, Rise of Piracy blends action, exploration, and real-time strategy into a sandbox pirate experience where players carve their own path across a fully hand-crafted world of open seas, rival factions, and large-scale warfare.
Starting their journey at sea and growing into the commander of a formidable fleet, players can trade, explore, conquer islands, engage in diplomacy, or dominate through naval firepower and coordinated land assaults. The Early Access launch delivers a complete and replayable campaign foundation, designed to expand further with community feedback.
ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) is proud to announce a collaboration with world-renowned game studio KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, as well as the launch of the ROG Flow Z13-KJP along with a new lineup of KJP peripherals. ROG and KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS are driven to create products and experiences tailored for gamers.
Cutting-edge gaming hardware meets visionary storytelling
At the heart of this collaboration is 'Ludens'—the belief that humans are not only thinkers, but also players and creators. The collaboration combines the spirit of the ROG motto For Those Who Dare with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS' vision From Sapiens to Ludens. Ludens are the ones who experiment, mod, create, and challenge what games—and gaming hardware—can be. By uniting cutting-edge ROG hardware with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS' visionary storytelling, this partnership is a tribute to that spirit: everything we build, every detail we design, is for gamers everywhere—For Ludens Who Dare.
The MIPI Alliance, an international organization that develops specifications that standardize wired interfaces for mobile and other connected ecosystems, today announced major updates to two of its foundational specifications. MIPI UniPro v3.0 and MIPI M-PHY v6.0 offer significant performance, latency and power-efficiency improvements for next-generation JEDEC Universal Flash Storage (UFS 5.0) solutions to support greater edge AI workloads in smartphones, tablets, PCs, gaming consoles, automotive and industrial applications.
"For more than a decade, M-PHY and UniPro have served as the interconnect layer for JEDEC UFS, enabling high‑performance, low‑power flash storage across a broad range of devices," said Hezi Saar, chair of MIPI Alliance. "These latest releases build on that foundation with advances in speed and efficiency to enable emerging edge AI workloads where low‑latency, high‑bandwidth and power‑efficient data access, processing and storage are increasingly essential."
Under the new arrangement, Skyworth takes full responsibility for manufacturing, sales, and logistics across North America and Europe. Panasonic will remain involved in product design, image processing, and quality assurance – areas where it still claims deep expertise – but physical production and go-to-market execution shift entirely to Shenzhen.
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Meta is buying billions of dollars in AMD AI chips in a multiyear deal tied to a 160 million-share warrant, deepening its push to diversify beyond Nvidia and expand data center capacity.
Just 4 days left before savings of up to $680 on your TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 pass end on February 27 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Register to save at one of the most anticipated tech events of the year.
The number of people affected by a data breach at government contractor giant Conduent is growing, as millions of people continue to receive notices warning them that hackers stole their personal data.
Embark Studio's new Shrouded Sky update for ARC Raiders isn't a major expansion or anything, but it almost feels close to that kind of update, because it includes more than a few significant changes. A slew of weapons have been given nerfs to try and better balance PvP play, an element of progression that wasn't benefiting half of the player base is now gone, there are two new ARC threats to take down, and that's before getting to the fact that there's a whole hurricane for players to deal with now. The update is now live, with the full patch […]
AMD has signed a major agreement with Meta, which involves the deployment of customized infrastructure that could be worth 'hundreds of billions'. AMD To Provide Next-Gen Venice & Verano CPUs to Meta, Alongside MI450 GPUs In a 6GW Commitment The race for next-gen AI infrastructure is more competitive than ever, with manufacturers like AMD/NVIDIA rushing to enter exclusive partnerships to secure customer capacity for their upcoming product lineups. A few days ago, we reported on NVIDIA's agreement with Meta for Vera Rubin AI racks, and the headline then was that Team Green snagged one of AMD's biggest customers. However, AMD […]
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While it left something to be desired at launch, the PlayStation 5 Pro PSSR upscaler is still very notable tech as it is the first AI-powered upscaler to be available on a home console. In the months since the system's release, the upscaler has been consistently improved to deliver better image quality, and a future version could introduce some significant changes that would prevent frame rate drops in essentially every game. As spotted by Tech4Gamers, Sony Interactive Entertainment filed a new patent on February 4 detailing some new features that could be part of the upcoming PSSR 2.0. Chief among […]
Apple is very clearly ramping up its US-based manufacturing footprint, as evidenced by its soaring server production capacity at its Houston plant, coupled with plans to relocate the manufacturing of Mac mini devices to that same Texas-based facility. These moves not only serve to broadcast Apple's commitment to the pledges that it gave to the Trump administration in the past few months to win tariff-related reprieve, but also now form the bedrock of a dedicated risk-mitigating strategy for tail-end geopolitical shocks, including a possible invasion of Taiwan by China. Apple's Houston facility is rapidly becoming its 'make in America' manufacturing […]
Leaked marketing materials revealed that the Galaxy S26 Ultra isn’t going to increase the battery capacity compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra and will stick to the same 5,000mAh limit that it has had for the past six years. Even though a tipster claims that the runtimes will be better with Samsung’s upcoming flagship, EU labels reveal charge cycles have been substantially reduced, meaning that your Galaxy S26 Ultra cannot hold the same runtime after a couple of years. Information present on EU labels states that Galaxy S26 Ultra’s charge cycles have been reduced by 800 compared to the Galaxy […]
Save $408 on this AM5 combo featuring the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, 32GB DDR5-6400, and MSI X870 Tomahawk motherboard—yours for only $849.99 at Newegg while the deal lasts.
When you hear the term “contact page,” you probably think of a simple page containing contact info and maybe a form.
I’m here to tell you why that’s a big miss from a local SEO perspective and show you how to build a contact page that builds your prominence with Google and helps you convert more leads.
Google pays special attention to your contact page
The former head of Google Business Profile Support, Joel Headley, once told me that Google specifically crawls and parses your contact page to gather information about your business.
This led me to realize that most businesses have awful contact pages. They list their name, address, and phone number (NAP), embed a contact form, and call it a day.
Google is saying, “Give me data about your business,” and you’re saying, “No data for you.”
What you need to do instead is give your contact page the same level of care and attention as a multi-location landing page.
Here are the must-haves for a contact page that converts site visitors into paying customers:
Business identity.
Contact information.
Trust factors and social proof.
Location-specific content.
Amenities.
Call to action.
1. Business identity
Just like every other page on your site, your contact page should reflect your brand. This means you should include:
Your business logo (that matches all your other marketing materials and real-world signage).
Your slogan (bonus points if you can work some keywords into it for added SEO value).
A short introduction that explains what your business does, where it’s located, and what your unique value proposition (UVP) is.
A common mistake businesses make is embedding a map of their business address on Google Maps instead of their actual Google Business Profile.
Make sure you embed a map in your business listing on Maps so that whenever someone clicks it, they send engagement signals to your profile. Practically, this means:
Search for your business name on Google Maps.
Bring up your profile.
Click the Share button.
Click the Embed a map tab.
Copy and paste the code into your contact page.
A link to your Google Maps listing.
A few years ago, Holly Starks conducted a case study to test whether driving directions affected local rankings. She set up Google Maps driving directions on 100 cell phones, put them in her car, and drove to the business. The results were dramatic. The business’s rankings jumped from the 20s to number 1.
In the past, I recommended writing driving and walking directions on your contact page. Now, with Starks’ findings in mind, adding a link to your Google Maps listing with anchor text like “Get driving directions” is even better. It encourages people to use Google Maps driving directions and can increase engagement signals to your Business Profile.
Accepted payments.
Parking details.
Including detailed business information helps customers contact and visit you and signals to traditional search engines and AI search tools that your business is legitimate and credible.
Bonus tips for your contact form:
Add a compelling call to action (you can use the same CTA throughout your page).
Set up form conversion tracking.
Avoid spam by including reCAPTCHA, using a plugin, requiring double opt-in, and formatting your email address so bots can’t read it (e.g., hello (at) domain (dot) com).
Make sure your contact section matches your Google Business Profile as a signal of legitimacy.
Include any awards your business has received or mentions in the press, and link each one to the relevant article or website. If you’ve been mentioned frequently in the press, you can create a dedicated media section on the page.
Reviews and testimonials
Embed reviews from other sites and include testimonials on your contact page to build trust. You can increase reviewers’ credibility by including their photos, names, cities, and a link to their websites or directly to the review platform they used.
Be sure to include your overall review rating and total number of reviews.
Remember, customers don’t expect your business to have a perfect 5-star rating. A rating around 4.7-4.9 signals you’re a real business, not one that’s purchased all its reviews.
Customer reviews not only build trust and increase conversions, they also add unique, locally relevant content to the page, which is great for traditional and AI search performance.
Tip: This section is also great for requesting reviews, since repeat customers might visit your contact page. Add a Google review request link with a call to action to generate more reviews for your Google Business Profile.
Create content that references local information and explains exactly what your business does, where it’s located, and why prospects should choose you.
Here are some ideas for local content:
Include photos and descriptions of your team members.
Tell visitors about the customers you serve and your areas of expertise.
If you’re located in a popular neighborhood or area, mention that in your content.
Highlight any customer satisfaction guarantees or price-match policies.
Mention any upcoming events, volunteer efforts, or relevant partnerships.
Start by reviewing your Google Business Profile’s attributes section and consider listing those attributes on your contact page, such as whether the business is family- or women-owned, neurodivergent-friendly, or offers outdoor seating or home delivery.
Then list any other attributes your business has that Google doesn’t provide as options. Detailed business attributes help search engines, LLMs, and customers understand that you meet specific needs.
This can be especially useful for AI search, where people use more conversational queries, such as “Give me a list of cafes in Seattle that are wheelchair accessible and have free WiFi.”
6. A clear CTA button
If you’re going to do all this work to make a killer contact page, don’t forget to put the cherry on top. Sprinkle strategically placed calls to action throughout the page to encourage visitors to contact you. Make them bright, animated, eye-catching, and convincing.
Treat your contact page like a local SEO asset
If you want a contact page that helps people reach out to you, informs search engines and LLMs about your business, and converts visitors into customers, treat it like a multi-location landing page. Save this list so you remember every section your contact page needs.
Do this, and your contact page will outperform 99% of your competitors’ contact pages, because most businesses do a terrible job with them.
AMD has struck a $100 billion deal with Meta to power their AI infrastructure AMD and Meta have announced a multi-year chip deal that will see AMD deploy 6 Gigawatts of AMD Instinct AI GPUs. Shipments for Meta’s first Gigawatt installation will start in the second half of this year, with Meta using AMD’s Helios […]
The Razer Wolverine V3 Pro is one of Razer's best premium-grade controllers for Xbox and PC with responsive controls, wireless support, and a durable build.
AIDA64 8.25 continues refining the modern 64-bit foundation introduced in the 8.xx generation. This update focuses on deeper hardware integration, more flexible display customization, and improved automation tools. With revamped SensorPanel monitor pinning, native NVMe support, new PSU monitoring capabilities, and expanded LCD compatibility, AIDA64 becomes even more precise and adaptable across enthusiast setups and enterprise environments.
We are also introducing the new AIDA64 Command Line Builder, an online utility that helps generate correct command line switches quickly and easily for our business line products. Whether you automate reports, deploy AIDA64 across networks, or integrate it into scripts, the builder reduces configuration errors and simplifies setup. It is accessible directly from our website. Please note, that command line options are available exclusively in our business product line.
Sandisk today announced the next generation of its portable SSD portfolio, introducing a three-tier lineup designed to support larger file sizes, AI content, and the increasingly demanding digital workflows of everyday users, creators, and professionals. The portfolio includes the Sandisk Portable SSD, Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD, and Sandisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD. Delivering nearly twice the speed of its predecessor and enhanced durability, the Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD is available today, with the full portfolio of products rolling out later this year.
"Whether at home, in the office, or on the go, this new generation of portable SSDs support customers across their storage needs," said Heidi Arkinstall, Vice President of Consumer Marketing at Sandisk. "From everyday users, to creative enthusiasts, to production professionals, the Sandisk portable SSD portfolio balances performance, portability, and durability to give people storage they can depend on as their needs evolve."
Apple today announced a significant expansion of factory operations in Houston, bringing the future production of Mac mini to the U.S. for the first time. The company will also expand advanced AI server manufacturing at the factory and provide hands-on training at its new Advanced Manufacturing Center beginning later this year. Altogether, Apple's Houston operations will create thousands of jobs.
"Apple is deeply committed to the future of American manufacturing, and we're proud to significantly expand our footprint in Houston with the production of Mac mini starting later this year," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We began shipping advanced AI servers from Houston ahead of schedule, and we're excited to accelerate that work even further."
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Last week, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that the company's CoreAI Product president, Asha Sharma, had become the head of Xbox, replacing the retiring Phil Spencer. The news came as a surprise: former Xbox president Sarah Bond, who has now resigned from Microsoft, was expected to be the 38-year veteran's...
Xmagnet is an AI sales agent that automates your entire outbound workflow from finding and enriching B2B contacts to sending personalized sequences, replying to prospects with AI, and booking meetings using your real calendar. It includes a built-in CRM, domain warmup, and smart deliverability for small sales teams.
RansomLeak delivers interactive cybersecurity awareness training through hands-on, 3D simulations that mirror real attacks. Teams practice phishing detection, ransomware response, social engineering defense, vishing, smishing, BEC, and more to build a human firewall. The platform integrates with existing LMSs via SCORM 1.2/2004 and provides analytics, multi-tenant deployments, SSO/MFA, and white-label options. Access a free exercise library and tailor content by industry and role while tracking completion, scores, and risk trends.
A growing number of people are turning to AI for mental health support due to cost and accessibility — but charities warn it’s risky and are offering safer, free alternatives
The original Xbox console designer, Seamus Blackley, says Microsoft will eventually sunset its gaming business following the retirement of Xbox Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and the replacement of CoreAI division executive Asha Sharma.
Summer Game Fest 2026 officially kicks off this summer, followed by the invite-only Play Days event and The Game Business conference, and its host, Geoff Keighley, has promised all-new game announcements.
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