Apparently, Epic Games hasn't been making enough money on Fortnite, and needs to raise the price of its premium in-game currency, V-Bucks, to "help pay the bills." "The cost of running Fortnite has gone up a lot and weβre raising prices to help pay the bills." That's what Epic tells players right at the top of a new blog post, which announces that the base price of the premium currency will be going up. The change goes into effect on March 19, 2026, after which every dollar you spend on V-Bucks will earn you less than it did before. After [β¦]
The comic book series turned Emmy award-winning TV series, The Boys, is making its first foray into video games later this month. Initially announced back in December 2025, The Boys: Trigger Warning is a VR adventure from publisher Sony Pictures VR and developer ARVORE, and it'll arrive on Meta Quest 3 headsets on March 26, 2026. The news comes with a new release date trailer, which shows off more gameplay compared to what we saw in December and includes a few more characters from the show that'll be featured in the game. It doesn't, however, confirm if any more of [β¦]
An Amazon executive called its engineers into a meeting to deal with the recent spate of incidents on its platform that had a "high blast radius" and were related to "Gen-AI assisted changes."
This year's Future Games Show Spring Showcase will take place during GDC, during which 40 games will be featured. The wide-ranging event is set to be broadcast across multiple platforms on March 12, starting at 4 pm ET (1 pm PT).
Today we announced new beta features for Gemini in Sheets to help you create, organize and edit entire sheets, from basic tasks to complex data analysis βΒ just describe β¦
βContent is kingβ remains one of the most widely accepted ideas in SEO. Not everyone has agreed. Different schools of thought have always existed, with some practitioners prioritizing backlinks and others focusing on technical SEO.
Content is often treated as the primary driver of search visibility. Iβm not arguing that.
My point is simpler: if youβve relied on content to drive results β and earn a living β you should start doubling down on distribution.
With AI search changing the game, creating great content (and, yes, building some backlinks) is no longer enough to get it seen. The more important question may no longer be βWhat should I write next?β but βWhere should I push this next?β
AI tools are further fragmenting search
Content distribution has become far more important in recent years, especially as audiences spread across more online spaces. In many teams, this job was usually outsourced to someone other than SEOs:
Social media managers.
Community managers.
PR specialists.
Various assistants and interns.
Sure, distribution held some value to SEO, but it was generally considered more beneficial to other functions.
Thanks to AI search, itβs finally landed squarely on our plate. Since AI models have fragmented search to an unprecedented level, distribution is now key to meaningful SEO outcomes.
There are three key drivers behind this change:
Different tools have different sourcing logic.
AI tools source differently from traditional search.
Their logic is changeable.
If this all sounds a bit abstract, letβs briefly dig into the evidence and explain whatβs really going on.
Different tools have different sourcing logic
Search is fragmenting as people use a wider range of tools. Ideally, one strategy would work everywhere, but research shows thatβs not the case.
AI search tools cite different sources, a 2025 Search Atlas study found. Some show significantly more overlap with the SERPs than others. This indicates that different tools follow different sourcing logic. And as long as thatβs true, optimizing for one wonβt necessarily boost visibility on another.
The whole thing is even trickier because users seem more open to switching tools than before. Gemini may soon surpass formerly unrivaled ChatGPT in traffic share, according to Similarweb. That could change again quickly.
Thinking thereβs a single clear winner, like Google used to be, would be wrong. Focusing on the most popular tool at the moment isnβt a guaranteed strategy.
To maximize visibility, we need to consider how multiple AI tools source their information, which implies our distribution strategy needs to be broad.
AI search uses different logic from traditional search
The Search Atlas study showed that some AI search tools overlap with Google more than others β but in all cases, the overlap is pretty low. Perplexity ranked the highest at 43%, while ChatGPT barely hit 21%.
Characterizing Web Search in The Age of Generative AI (PDF) explicitly finds that AI search tools draw from a much wider pool of sources and are more likely to cite sites with fewer visits than traditional search engines.
This shows us that fragmentation is compounding. The pool of potential sources is wider, with little overlap among AI tools or between AI and traditional search.
The sourcing logic is changeable
The most problematic factor out of all, though, is that the sourcing logic of one tool can and often does change, too. This leads to different domains getting cited for the same prompts at different points in time β a phenomenon called citation drift.
Citation drift is more frequent than we might assume. Over the course of just a month, for instance, AI tools change approximately 40-60% of the domains they cite for the same prompt, according to Profound.
In other words, one domain could appear several times in a single response, then disappear completely the following month. This flip-flopping gets even worse over longer periods. For example, Profoundβs study also showed that, from January to July, as many as 70% to 90% of the domains cited for the same prompt had changed.
Search is fragmented across tools and time. As cited domains change more frequently, users see more sources, making it even harder for you to push your brand to the front.
So, what can we do about it? How should we approach this increasing fragmentation of search?
While this might change as new tools and strategies emerge, the best answer we have so far is this: focus on broad, multi-channel distribution.
When you canβt reliably predict which sources will be used, the best strategy is to widen your footprint. This creates more potential entry points into AI systemsβ training and retrieval layers.
This will require some serious shifts in how many SEOs approach their work. Here are a few you can implement right away.
1. Get good at collaborating
Youβre unlikely to win fragmented AI search on your own. Optimizing for it now takes a much broader approach than before, pulling in digital PR, social media, community management, and other functions.
Those areas require skills many SEOs donβt have. Those who do still have only 24 hours in a day, so spreading that work across multiple disciplines isnβt realistic.
This only works with a team. You might hate that idea, especially because it means giving up full control of your projects and results. I get it, but thatβs the reality right now. Youβll have to let some things go, trust others to handle them, and divide responsibilities. In other words, youβll need to collaborate efficiently.
Even if you let experts handle certain tasks, youβll still need at least a surface-level understanding of other disciplines becoming central to search.
SEOs will still own at least parts of distribution, whether that means handling the high-level strategy or downright executing it on specific channels.
In either case, doing this well requires skills you may not have used much before. So nowβs the time to develop them.
That could mean learning more about digital PR, partnerships, thought leadership, syndication, community presence, or something else. With so many possibilities, it helps to start with the area you feel most comfortable with or most drawn to at the moment.
3. Shift your mindset from ranking to presence
You also need to change how you think about SEO, and then translate that shift into actual workflows. Google is still a major traffic driver, and rankings still matter. But for a fragmented, AI-driven search, obsessing over rank wonβt cut it.
Instead of asking, βHow do I get this content to rank?β You now need to ask, βHow do I get this content into as many places as possible?β
Again, the goal is to create multiple entry points across AI systems, platforms, and audiences, increasing the chances of your content getting discovered, cited, and surfaced.
Thatβs why itβs important to start thinking more about overall presence across ecosystems rather than just positions in specific search engines.
4. Redesign your workflow
If youβve successfully shifted your mindset from ranking to presence, itβs time to build a workflow that reflects that change.
I know firsthand how easy it is to forget about distribution, especially if it wasnβt part of your process before. To make it stick, you need to redesign your workflow to position distribution at the core.
A good place to start is by adding a launch phase, where content is distributed immediately upon publishing. After that, you could include a recurring phase every few months to ensure you regularly refresh and redistribute content.
Define reusable details upfront, like which channels youβll consistently target and who owns each one. That way, youβll minimize planning from scratch and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
5. Start with these easy-to-implement best practices
Finally, if you want some easy tactics to immediately add to your to-do list, consider these:
Pilot content partnerships, starting where itβs easiest. Usually, that implies reaching out to existing business partners first.
Proactively distribute your content on third-party sites, whether that means syndicating it or repurposing it for Quora and LinkedIn.
Pay attention to where AI tools already pull from. While sourcing logic changes constantly, you may still notice recurring patterns worth leveraging.
Give a special push to your existing, older content to counteract the pitfalls of citation drift. Reintroduce it on new channels, or work to get it referenced in new places.
The shifts are large enough that youβll need to rethink how you do SEO. As search fragments, the work itself will have to evolve.
The approaches and workflows you relied on in the past wonβt translate cleanly into a landscape shaped by multiple AI tools, changing sourcing logic, and constantly shifting citations.
These processes will also become more complex because they require closer collaboration with other teams. Distribution now intersects with digital PR, social media, partnerships, and community management, making cross-team coordination more important than before.
Thereβs a long road ahead. The best way to keep your sanity is to start small: focus on manageable steps, take them one at a time, and build from there.
Nvidiaβs GeForce On Community Update is about to start At 8 am PT, 3 PM GMT, Nvidia will start its newest βGeForce On Community Updateβ at GDC 2026. During this event, Nvidia plans to show gamers the latest RTX games and the newest RTX platform features in action. Remedy has confirmed that Control Resonant will [β¦]
MSI unleases a wave of Frieren: Beyond Journeyβs End PC hardware, including a custom graphics card MSI has unveiled an official lineup of new βFrieren: Beyond Journeyβs Endβ PC parts and accessories. These limited edition products celebrate the hit anime with custom artwork and iconography. These parts symbolise the relationships between Frieren and her companions, [β¦]
Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed nine cross-tenant vulnerabilities in Google Looker Studio that could have permitted attackers to run arbitrary SQL queries on victims' databases and exfiltrate sensitive data within organizations' Google Cloud environments.
The shortcomings have been collectively named LeakyLooker by Tenable. There is no evidence that the vulnerabilities were exploited in
Cyberpunk 2077 has arrived on Xbox Game Pass Premium and Ultimate nearly six years after its troubled launch. CD Projekt Redβs sci-fi RPG is now widely regarded as one of the best in the genre, giving new players the chance to experience Night City in a far more polished state.
A McFarlane Toys listing referencing βFallout 3 Remasteredβ has surfaced online, sparking speculation that Bethesda could be preparing a remaster of the classic RPG.
Walmart has spotlighted the HP Omnibook 5 16-inch laptop as one of its top "Tech Editors' Picks" for its reliable specs with a lavish MSRP to match. In fact, its price is so affordable that it doesn't need a discount to justify a recommendation.
The latest criticism centers on a fake AI-generated video shared on Meta platforms last year that purported to show damage to buildings in the Israeli city of Haifa. It was posted by a user in the Philippines posing as a news source.
Sources have informed Bloomberg's Mark Gurman that rumored Apple products featuring functionality the company has never before attempted could use a new naming scheme to clearly position them in a higher price tier, above products such as the iPhone Pro and MacBook Pro. The plan would position"Ultra" as the polar...
According to a KPMG survey of 100 CEOs (via Business Insider) conducted from late January to mid-February, one in four company bosses believe an AI bubble does exist. However, they also think spending on AI is a key priority β almost 80% of CEOs say they will allocate at least...
MarketingSoda grades and repairs your HubSpot database so teams can trust their records. It connects via OAuth, scans contacts and companies, and assigns an AβF score based on completeness, accuracy, freshness, consistency, and uniqueness. From the dashboard, you can trigger enrichment, standardization, validation, and deduplication, review conflicts, and track freshness trends.
It also embeds data quality scores inside HubSpot contact sidebars, allowing reps to see grades, freshness, and confidence and launch fixes without leaving the CRM.
FlexiSpotβs E1 Plus standing desk has all the specs I look for in a standing desk, including that all-important stability thanks to a solid single-piece desktop.
The idea behind the new features is to make the apps more personal and capable to help users get things done faster, right within the platforms themselves.
Unlike a vibe-coded product built by a college dropout, Eridu's co-founder, Drew Perkins, has been inventing networking tech since the dawn of the internet.
Resident Evil Requiem is getting additional content soon, including an unspecified surprise coming in May that sounds a lot like the engaging Mercenaries mode features in past entries in the series, as confirmed in a new video message by director Koshi Nakanishi. But that is not all: the rumored story expansion has also been confirmed to be in the works. In today's video message, Nakanishi-san commented on the current state of the game while thanking players for their support. "We released an update the other day to fix a variety of issues, and we will continue to address any other [β¦]
The first batch of gaming benchmarks to test Appleβs latest and greatest M5 MaxΒ is here, and what better way to kick things off than to fire up Cyberpunk 2077, which is a title that has been ported to the macOS platform. Even though the technology giant has switched to a superior Fusion Architecture for both the M5 Pro and M5 Max, the maximum GPU core count is limited to 40. While we should still witness a slight framerate boost, whatβs disappointing to see is that our laptop RTX 4090Β ends up being 63 percent faster. Newest Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark comparison also [β¦]
Fallout 3 Remastered is one of gaming's worst-kept secrets. While the game has yet to be announced, a new McFarlane toy listing spotted on the series subreddit leaves little doubt that the iconic third entry in the series is indeed coming at some point. The listing spotted by the Fallout subreddit, originally shared by Toy News International, features, among DC and Marvel toys, an "ELITE EDITION 7IN β FALLOUT 3 REMASTERED β #13 T-45B NUKA COLA." As noted on the subreddit, "while there's no confirmation from McFarlane themselves, this comes from a new set of toy listings via an online [β¦]
The ASRock X870E Taichi OCF remains one of the best motherboards for enthusiasts, looking to break world records. Overclocker "Alex2305" Scores 14,290 Marks in PCMark 10 Express Using Ryzen 9 9950X3D on ASRock X870E Taichi OCF Another overclocker has made a new world record by using ASRock's popular flagship AM5 motherboard. The user "Alex2305" just broke all previous records for the highest scores in PCMark 10 Express, a popular benchmarking tool for CPUs. Alex2305 used AMD's flagship Ryzen 9 9950X3D CPU on the ASRock X870E Taichi OCF, which we have declared as one of the best AM5 motherboards for overclocking. [β¦]
Industry analyst outfit TrendForce estimates that midrange laptops will increase their retail prices by about 40% due to increasing RAM, SSD, and CPU costs.
Snag an MSI X870 Tomahawk Wifi, 32GB of V-Color DDR5-6400 RAM, Montech 1050W ATX3.1/5.1 power supply, and a sweet-looking Montech King 95 chassis for $774 - start your AM5 build off with this comprehensive 4-item combo from Newegg
A long-term data retention test on unpowered flash drives shows promising results, with multiple drives of the same make showing no signs of corruption after six years.
If youβve been in marketing long enough, youβve probably lived through a few identity crises. First, we were channel experts. Then, we became integrated marketers, growth marketers, and performance marketers. Somewhere along the way, someone added βAIβ to everyoneβs job description and called it a day.
Now, weβre entering the era of the full-stack marketer. From where I sit β particularly as a media leader β the role is starting to look a lot like product management.
This doesnβt mean you need to start writing Jira tickets for fun (though some of you already do). It means that tomorrowβs most effective media leaders wonβt just optimize campaigns. Theyβll own outcomes, connect dots across teams, and think holistically about the entire user experience, from first impression to final conversion (and beyond).
Iβve seen this shift most clearly in industries with long consideration cycles, multiple stakeholders, and rising acquisition costs β where marketing performance is inseparable from the experience itself.
Letβs break down whatβs driving the rise of the full-stack marketer, what it really means to βthink like a product manager,β and why this mindset is becoming non-negotiable for media leaders.
What is a full-stack marketer, anyway?
A full-stack marketer isnβt someone who does everything (burnout isnβt a job requirement). Instead, itβs someone who understands how everything works together.
Over the course of my career, Iβve learned that the most impactful media decisions rarely come from being the deepest expert in one area. They come from having working fluency across many:
Media and channels: Paid search, paid social, programmatic, CTV, SEO, email, SMS, and whatever new acronym launches next quarter.
Creative and messaging: Knowing what resonates, where, and why.
Data and analytics: Not just reading dashboards, but asking better questions of the data.
UX and CRO: Understanding friction, intent, and user behavior.
Technology and platforms: CRMs, CMSs, marketing automation, and attribution tools.
The full-stack marketer doesnβt need to be the deepest expert in every area, but they do need to know enough to connect insights, spot gaps, and make informed trade-offs. In practice, this means constantly zooming out to see the system and zooming back in when something breaks.
Why media leaders are evolving into product thinkers
Earlier in my career, media leadership was often defined by questions like:
Are we hitting CPA targets?
Which channels are driving the most conversions?
How do we allocate budget more efficiently?
Those questions still matter. I ask them all the time. But over the years, Iβve learned theyβre no longer sufficient on their own. Todayβs environment forces media leaders to grapple with bigger, messier questions:
Why are conversion rates declining even when traffic is strong?
Where are prospects dropping out of the funnel,Β and why?
How does media performance change when the application experience changes?
What happens after the lead submits?
These are product questions. Product managers obsess over the end-to-end experience: the user journey, friction points, trade-offs, and outcomes. Media leaders who adopt this mindset stop seeing campaigns as isolated efforts and start seeing them as inputs into a broader system.
In many of the industries Iβve worked in, that system is anything but simple.
Marketing performance rarely exists in isolation. In many industries (especially those with longer decision cycles), a click is just the beginning, not the win.Β
Whether youβre selling financial services, healthcare, or education, prospects move through nonlinear journeys influenced by multiple touchpoints, stakeholders, and moments of friction. This is where full-stack thinking becomes critical.
Example 1: When media isnβt the problem, the experience is
Iβve lost count of how many times Iβve heard this reaction when performance starts slipping: βThe platform is getting more expensive.β
Sometimes thatβs true. But a product-minded media leader asks deeper questions:
Has the conversion experience changed recently?
Did we add steps, fields, or requirements?
Are we driving mobile traffic to a hostile desktop experience?
Across industries, Iβve repeatedly seen strong intent at the keyword or audience level, healthy CTRs, and solid landing-page engagement followed by a steep drop-off at the point of conversion. Itβs a product experience problem.
In higher ed, this often shows up when high-intent program traffic is routed to lengthy or confusing application flows, generic inquiry forms, or experiences that donβt match the promise of the ad, especially on mobile. Prospective students signal strong intent, only to hit friction that has nothing to do with media and everything to do with the experience theyβre asked to navigate.
A full-stack marketer doesnβt just flag this: they bring data, partner cross-functionally, and help prioritize fixes based on impact.
Example 2: Different audiences, different βproductsβ
One of the most important product principles is that not all users are the same, and they shouldnβt be treated that way.
Many organizations market to multiple audiences at once, each with different motivations, risk tolerance, and timelines. Treating them as if theyβre buying the same βthingβ is a fast track to average results.
A product-minded media leader understands that:
The value proposition changes by audience.
The conversion event may be different.
The decision timeline is almost certainly different.
Iβve seen this clearly in healthcare, where patients, caregivers, and referring providers evaluate the same organization through entirely different lenses. Financial services presents a similar challenge, with banking, investment, and insurance decisions varying dramatically by life stage and goals.
Full-stack marketers adapt media strategy accordingly, from channel mix to messaging to measurement. This is because they understand product-market fit, not just audience targeting.
Example 3: What happens after the conversion
One of the biggest blind spots in media strategy is what happens after someone converts. Product thinkers ask:
How quickly does someone follow up?
Is the first touch personalized or generic?
Does the message align with the promise of the ad?
Iβve seen performance improve without changing media at all, simply by improving speed-to-lead or aligning follow-up messaging with campaign intent.
Healthcare offers especially clear examples of this dynamic due to intake workflows, appointment scheduling, and care coordination, but the principle is universal: media doesnβt end at the form fill. The full-stack marketer is accountable for conversions and outcomes.
Another hallmark of product management is roadmap thinking: prioritizing initiatives based on impact, effort, and sequencing. Full-stack media leaders bring this same approach to marketing:
Short-term wins versus. long-term bets.
Testing frameworks instead of one-off experiments.
Phase 3: Layer in audience-based creative and messaging.
Instead of chasing the βnext shiny channel,β full-stack marketers focus on compounding gains.
Data fluency: Asking better questions
Product managers donβt just look at metrics. They interrogate them. The same should be true for media leaders. Instead of asking, βWhatβs the CPA?β Iβve learned to ask:
βWhich segments are converting efficiently, and which arenβt?β
βHow does performance differ by device, geography, or life stage?β
βWhat signals indicate readiness vs. research?β
In higher ed, this might mean:
Separating brand vs. non-brand intent.
Looking at assisted conversions.
Evaluating performance by program.
Data becomes a tool for decision-making.
Collaboration is the new superpower
Full-stack marketers are inherently collaborative because they have to be. In higher ed, success often requires alignment across:
Admissions.
Enrollment marketing.
IT and web teams.
Academic leadership.
External partners.
Media leaders who think like product managers donβt just execute requests. They help stakeholders understand trade-offs, prioritize initiatives, and rally around shared goals. They also translate data into stories people can act on.
So, what does this mean for tomorrowβs media leaders?
The rise of the full-stack marketer doesnβt mean specialization is dead. It means seeing the entire system matters more than optimizing any single piece of it.
From my perspective, tomorrowβs strongest media leaders will:
Understand the business behind the campaign.
Think beyond their channel.
Advocate for the user experience.
Use data to inform and influence.
Embrace ambiguity (and occasionally chaos).
In categories where trust, timing, and transformation are at the core of the βproduct,β this mindset is no longer optional.
At its heart, marketing here is more than campaigns. Itβs guiding life-changing choices. If youβre a media leader feeling like your role is expanding faster than your job description β congratulations! Youβre not losing focus. Youβre evolving.
Buying AI capabilities to drive marketing is easy. Enabling marketing teams to actually use it independently, decisively, and at scale is far harder.
The main culprit? Humans.
Marketing teams have always had the same elusive goal: to move at the pace of the consumer. Responding to each customerβs needs in real time, delivering the relevant message at the right moment, and optimizing customer lifetime value to drive loyalty and ROI. The goal is not new.
What is perpetually new are the AI technologies available to analyze consumer data and generate instant, personalized messaging at scale. But while technology evolves rapidly, the ability of marketing teams to harness it independently and decisively has not kept pace. The main obstacle is organizational: most marketing teams have not structured themselves to extract full value from the technology they already have.
This is not to say that there is no progress.Β There is. Marketing teams that have crossed that chasm are seeing extraordinary results.
One case in point is Caesars Entertainment that reduced campaign execution time from five days to five minutes. Asadul Shah, vice president of player revenue Strategy, called it βa massive game changer.β
Before that transformation, Caesars marketers manually built targeting lists across disconnected systems, coordinated across multiple tools and waited on engineers, analysts and creative teams before anything could go out. The result was an operation too slow to target players with the precision and timing the market demanded.
Caesars worked with Optimove to consolidate data, orchestration and execution in one platform. Shah noted the transformation made marketing βnot just more efficient; it is more responsive to what our players actually need in the moment.β
What made it work was not technology alone. Caesars implemented Positionless Marketing, a framework that frees marketing teams from fixed roles, giving every marketer the power to execute any task instantly and independently. Optimove provided the platform. Caesars built the team structure to make it real. Technology and human ingenuity working together making Positionless Marketing possible.
Any organization achieving this kind of transformation is doing what McKinsey calls βorganizing to value,β a fundamental rethink of structure, decision-making and accountability that turns a marketing team into an operation built to drive value continuously. For marketing, that means becoming a Positionless team that optimizes customer lifetime value, drives loyalty and delivers measurable ROI.Below, we use McKinseyβs Organize to Value framework to outline the pitfalls that block Positionless Marketing and the blueprint to build teams that can execute any marketing task, instantly and independently.
The six pitfalls inhibiting the transition to Positionless Marketing
McKinsey has identified six core problems preventing marketing teams from successfully evolving into the Positionless model. Of these, only one is about technology. All the others are about how leaders and teams are getting in their own way.
Unclear objectives push teams toward activity metrics instead of outcomes. When marketing goals are vague, execution defaults to roles and handoffs rather than impact.
Misaligned governance creates approval layers that add days to decisions that should be faster. In marketing, excessive controls directly conflict with the speed required to deliver customer value.
Uncommitted leaders manage through silos rather than enabling autonomy, preventing marketing teams from evolving past role-based dependency.
Stagnant marketing culture resists experimentation even when the right tools are in place, slowing execution regardless of technology investment.
Muddled marketing execution, with unclear process ownership, leaves no single person accountable for results, and performance erodes accordingly.
Disconnected technology reinforces data compartmentalization and separation of tasks among sub-teams, making strategic alignment and agile responses virtually impossible.
These are the realities of assembly-line marketing operations β not Positionless ones. Insights live with analysts. Creativity lives with designers. Activation lives with engineers. Value disappears in the spaces between them.The assembly line was built for control. It was never built to deliver value.
How McKinseyβs Blueprint helps build positionless marketing teams (and why the effort pays off)
McKinseyβs βOrganize to Valueβ blueprint proposes a fundamental shift: design organizations around value creation, clear outcomes, impact over job titles and minimal friction execution. It provides the foundation to become Positionless and build the conditions for marketing teams to keep customers for life.
To make Positionless Marketing a reality, marketing leaders should focus on pragmatic application and the aspects that most influence marketing execution.
Start with purpose and behavior. Make explicit why actions are taken, alongside what is delivered. A shared sense of purpose allows teams to make fast decisions without waiting for approval on each one.
Restructure work around outcomes and accountability. Map current processes and identify where approvals slow execution without adding value. Build cross-functional flexibility over time rather than reorganizing overnight.
Leadership and processes. Establish a clear decision-to-execution flow and set explicit expectations for how fast each part of the marketing process should move. Processes should enable flow, not control.
Governance, technology and talent. Effective governance ensures consistency without slowing execution. Technology and AI should unlock new value, not just automate existing processes. And talent should be deployed based on what the work requires, not what a title suggests.
Empower marketers to act beyond their role. Once purpose, accountability, process and technology are aligned, marketers should be free to step across traditional job functions and execute independently as Positionless Marketers. The measure of success is not role compliance; it is value delivery.
These changes require sustained commitment. But the alternative (an assembly-line structure that was never built to deliver customer value) is far costlier than the transformation itself.
The results speak for themselves. In addition to Caesars:
FDJ United implemented Positionless Marketing to eliminate overlapping platforms, remove reliance on other teams wherever possible and enable continuous improvement through real-time measurement. Campaign time was slashed from six weeks to hours, with end-to-end campaigns now executed by one marketer from ideation to analysis.
A major retailer achieved a 16.1x increase in purchase rates while saving 300 working hours per year with the same team size. The shift to Positionless Marketing allowed the team to scale personalization and impact without adding headcountβ¦ demonstrating that the frameworkβs value is not just speed of execution, but the ability to do fundamentally more with what you already have.
The window to act is narrowing
The technology and AI tools are here and ever evolving. Today, AI generates infinite creative variants. Data platforms surface real-time behavioral signals. Decisioning engines coordinate across channels instantly.
But technology layered on top of an assembly-line structure creates the illusion of progress. The same handoffs happen. The same approvals add the same delays. Speed arrives at the edge; the bottleneck stays in the middle.
External pressures are accelerating. Customers expect personalization and the best experience across all channels. Competition is rising and growing more complex.
Marketing leaders who wait for transformation will find their competitors have already made it. The ones moving first are pulling ahead.
McKinsey confirms what the best marketing teams already know: the right structure and technology unleash human potential β and vice versa. Smart people trapped in the wrong system will still underperform. The best AI tools in the world wonβt deliver results when constrained by the wrong organization.
McKinseyβs blueprint is pointing out the way. Positionless Marketing is the destination.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a tool we talk to; it is a tool that does things for us. These are called AI Agents. They can send emails, move data, and even manage software on their own.
But there is a problem. While these agents make work faster, they also open a new "back door" for hackers.
The Problem: "The Invisible Employee"
Think of an AI Agent like a new employee who has
You can't control when the next critical vulnerability drops. You can control how much of your environment is exposed when it does. The problem is that most teams have more internet-facing exposure than they realise. Intruder's Head of Security digs into why this happens and how teams can manage it deliberately.
Time-to-exploit is shrinking
The larger and less controlled your attack surface is,
The Russian state-sponsored hacking group tracked as APT28 has been observed using a pair of implants dubbed BEARDSHELL and COVENANT to facilitate longβterm surveillance of Ukrainian military personnel.
The two malware families have been put to use since April 2024, ESET said in a new report shared with The Hacker News.
APT28, also tracked as Blue Athena, BlueDelta, Fancy Bear, Fighting Ursa,
Remedy plans to showcase Control Resonant at GeForce On Remedy has confirmed that it plans to showcase Control Resonant at Nvidiaβs GDC 2026 βGeForce On Community Updateβ. Control Resonant is Remedyβs sequel to Control, which revisits the series with Dylan Faden as the gameβs protagonist. Dylan Faden is the brother of Controlβs protagonist, Jessie Faden. [β¦]
Microsoft is expanding Copilot with Wave 3, adding new AI agent control, chat capabilities, and expanded model support. The update also introduces Agent 365 and the Microsoft 365 E7 Frontier Suite for enterprise users.
SK hynix has successfully developed new LPDDR6 memory modules with a 16 Gb capacity on the sixth-generation 10 nm node, known as 1c. The South Korean giant has confirmed that mass production of this memory is scheduled for the first half of the year, with the product reaching customers in the second half. Additionally, SK hynix claims that the speed of these LPDDR6 modules exceeds 10.7 Gbps, suggesting that the company is preparing some overclocked versions as well, surpassing the initial speed specifications of this LPDDR6 generation from JEDEC. If the previous International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 2026 show in San Francisco was an indication, SK hynix is preparing modules that will run at speeds of up to 14.4 Gbps, delivering a significant throughput boost over the previous-generation LPDDR5X memory. The company claims a 33% improvement over LPDDR5X, which topped out at 10.7 Gbps, aligning with the 14.4 Gbps figure for LPDDR6.
SK hynix is also expecting significant power efficiency optimizations exceeding 20% thanks to the new technologies enabling LPDDR6 to run. This generation of low-power DDR memory uses a sub-channel structure that allows the memory channels to operate selectively and only process necessary data paths, meaning not all channels need to be engaged when unnecessary. Additionally, LPDDR6 incorporates Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS), which optimizes power consumption and performance by dynamically adjusting the voltage/frequency curve depending on the scenario. SK hynix notes that during applications like gaming, DVFS will scale the frequency to achieve maximum bandwidth, while standard applications will see lower frequencies to balance power consumption.
ASUS today announced ExpertCenter P700 Mini Tower (PM700MG) with AMD Ryzen AI 400-series processors, a refreshed 15-liter business desktop designed to deliver exceptional performance, scalability, and reliability for professional creators, engineers, and small businesses. With cutting-edge hardware, business-grade security, and comprehensive manageability, ExpertCenter P700 Mini Tower is engineered to be the trusted backbone of business-critical workloads.
Blending next-generation AI performance with whisper-quiet thermal design, P700 Mini Tower is built to tackle modern professional tasks with easeβfrom generative AI and content creation to advanced data analysis. As Copilot+ PCs, these new desktops bring intelligence and creativity to the forefront of everyday business, while the exclusive ASUS MyExpert all-in-one AI platform boosts productivity in multiple innovative and flexible ways. They also benefit from ASUS ExpertGuardian, providing all-around protection for sensitive data, plus military-grade durability to ensure long-term reliability.
ASRock, the global leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, mini PCs, gaming monitors, power supply units and AIOs, proudly announces a new overclocking World Record achieved with its flagship X870E Taichi OCF motherboard.
Professional overclocker Alex2305 successfully pushed system performance to a new level using the ASRock X870E Taichi OCF paired with the powerful AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D processor, achieving an incredible PCMark 10 Express score of 14290 marks, securing the World Record 1st Place on HWBOT.org.
ASRock, a global leader in motherboards, graphics cards, gaming monitors, small form factor PCs, power supply units, and AIO liquid coolers, today highlights the gaming performance potential of the DeskMeet Series platform when paired with the Intel Arc A380 Challenger ITX 6GB OC graphics card.
As GPU and memory prices continue to fluctuate, gamers are looking for smarter ways to build high-performance systems without exceptional value. ASRock recommends the DeskMeet Series platform paired with the Intel Arc A380 Challenger ITX 6GB OC graphics card, delivering a balanced configuration that achieves strong performance and outstanding value for mainstream gaming.
MSI is proud to announce a new collaboration with Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, unveiling an exclusive line of limited-edition products inspired by the anime's themes of companionship, memory, and the enduring journey. The collection includes the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G FRIEREN EDITION OC, FORGE TKL WIRELESS FRIEREN EDITION, VERSA WIRELESS FRIEREN EDITION, and AGILITY FRIEREN EDITION.
Through refined design and powerful performance, MSI brings the emotional depth of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End to Lifeβcrafting hardware that resonates with modern adventurers. From the moment the system powers on and the lights come alive, the experience evokes a quiet sense of magic, inviting users to begin a new chapter of their own journey.
MSI, a global leader in gaming and high-performance computing, has won four prestigious 2026 iF DESIGN AWARDs through AI integration and material innovation. These achievements highlight MSI's ability to redefine tech aesthetics and elevate the digital user experience. Outperforming over 10,000 entries from 68 countries, MSI's successβdetermined by a jury of 129 international expertsβreinforces its unwavering leadership in design excellence across the business, gaming, and hardware sectors.
"Winning the iF DESIGN AWARD 2026 validates MSI's dedication to balancing extreme performance with intuitive user connection," said Sam Chern, MSI Vice President of Marketing. "Design is about solving problems and creating value. Whether through AI-driven user optimization or exquisite craftsmanship that grants hardware its unique identity, our goal is to integrate technology into life in an elegant and functional manner. MSI will continue to push traditional boundaries to create innovative solutions that offer both sustainable value and aesthetic excellence."
Alphacool International GmbH from Braunschweig is a pioneer in PC water cooling technology. With one of the most comprehensive product portfolios in the industry and more than 20 years of experience, Alphacool is expanding its lineup with the new ES RTX 6000 Pro Workstation / RTX 5090 Founders Edition and ES RTX 6000 Pro Server Edition - 1-Slot Design GPU coolers.
The Alphacool ES GPU water cooler for the RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition is designed for performance-optimized server and workstation systems. Its compact 1.5-slot design and rear-mounted ports allow easy integration even in systems with limited space. The top cover is made of lightweight and durable carbon, reducing weight while providing a clean and premium appearance. The cooling block features an optimized cooling channel structure and is made entirely of chrome-plated copper. This particularly robust surface reliably protects against corrosion, scratches, and mechanical stress during continuous 24/7 operation.
ASUS today announced NUC 16 Pro Mini PC, a compact Copilot+ PC offering versatile AI-accelerated performance to handle a wide range of needs. Powered by up to the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 Series 3 processor and boasting onboard LPDDR5x memory, the NUC 16 Pro delivers up to 1.5X faster 3D graphics processingi, 20% faster performance, and 50% less power consumption over previous-generation NUC models. Built-in Intel WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0 wireless connectivity, along with dual 2.5G LAN ports, make the NUC 16 Pro ideal for hyper-connected workspaces. In addition, select models include fTPM for enterprise-grade security and management.
Next-generation Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors with built-in Intel Arc GPU
The NUC 16 Pro Mini PC easily tackles AI workloads. Featuring up to an Intel Core Ultra X9 processor with built-in Intel Arc B390 GPU and a 50 TOPS NPU delivering up to 180 Platform TOPS for real-time Edge AI inference and machine learning tasks. This compact Copilot+ PC is an Edge AI-ready system that enables secure, low-latency on-device intelligence to support AI-driven applications for videoconferencing, analytics, language translation, and enhanced team collaboration.
Worldwide shipments of desktops, notebooks and workstations in 2026 are expected to decline by 12% to 245 million units, according to the latest outlook from Omdia. This forecast is grounded in sharp increases in memory and storage prices - particularly the expected minimum 60% rise in 1Q26. Further upward price pressure is anticipated throughout the remaining quarters of the year, though subsequent increases are expected to be more moderate. Since 1Q25, the costs of mainstream memory and storage configurations have risen by between US$90 and US$165, placing substantial financial pressure on PC vendors and forcing them to reduce promotions, raise product prices, and adjust configurations. The impact across PC product categories is expected to be broadly consistent. Desktops are set to decline by 10% to 53.2 million units, while laptops will decline by 12% to 192.2 million units.
Considering how quickly the situation is evolving, Omdia has conducted a multi-scenario analysis of the impact. Based on the latest available information and market signals, the forecast carries a higher downside risk, namely a widening of shortages for both memory and storage and increasingly steep price hikes. This could further suppress consumer demand and tighten PC vendors' supply, pushing PC shipments toward a 15% decline or potentially worse. In addition, the recent outbreak of conflict in the Middle East has introduced substantial uncertainty for international transportation and regional market growth, although it remains to be seen whether this situation will persist.
OpenAIβs robotics leader stepped down after raising concerns that the companyβs Pentagon AI deal moved too quickly and lacked sufficient safeguards
Here's our guide on how to watch all four days of the Cheltenham Festival, including the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup, live on ITVX from anywhere in the world.
The RG14-P's 14.1-inch touchscreen sits inside a reinforced metal chassis, bolstered by thick rubber edges that absorb shock and resist dust and water intrusion. Even the input/output ports, which include USB, Ethernet, HDMI, and serial connectivity, are hidden beneath protective flaps to shield them from debris in hostile settings such...
If Windows 11 feels cluttered with AI features, ads, and background services, these popular free tools help strip out the bloat, disable telemetry, and give you more control over the OS.
Hitoo is a live voice-translation video calling platform that lets you speak any language in real time. It preserves your voice identity with sub-300ms latency, supports over 50 languages, and delivers HD video with end-to-end encryption. Use multilingual chat with automatic translation, host group calls for up to 50 participants, and connect without plugins. Businesses use it to remove language barriers and keep conversations natural and secure.
The PC components keep getting expensive, directly affecting the laptop costs, and could introduce a nearly 40% price hike. TrendForce Forecasts 40% Price Hike for Mainstream Notebooks as Memory and CPU Availability and Pricing Worsen While desktop memory prices seem to have somewhat stabilized in some parts of the world, we have seen a rapid surge in laptop memory costs. Coupled with the increasing prices of SSDs, we have been witnessing a significant rise in laptop prices, and it looks like it's about to get worse. According to a new report, the mainstream notebook prices can rise by nearly 40% [β¦]
Not even a couple of weeks after the New York state's Attorney General announced a lawsuit against Valve for their gambling-like loot boxes in games such as Counter-Strike 2, the Steam owner is about to be hit by another lawsuit, this time on the other side of the "pond" (where it already faces a Β£656 million class-action lawsuit directed to the 30% fee it collects from each game and software distributed on the platform). The Performing Rights Society (PRS), a UK-based music licensing and royalty collection organization that works on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers whenever their music [β¦]
By all accounts, Nioh 3 is a great success for Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo. It was lavished with praise by critics (such as our own Francesco De Meo, who rated it 9.8/10 and called it the best game the Japanese studio has ever made) and fans alike, as confirmed by the fact that it's the fastest-selling game in the trilogy so far. That said, the development team is aware there's further room for improvement. Fumihiko Yasuda, producer for Nioh 3 and studio head of Team Ninja, confirmed as much in a candid interview with Gamesradar: Nioh 3 is a [β¦]
Asusβ special one-off ROG Astral RTX 5090 Real Gold Edition has been a great investment, and is currently worth an estimated $830,000 based on its scrap gold value alone.
New research shows how Google AI helps radiologists detect breast cancer earlier and more accurately, while giving radiologists more time for patient care.
Nvidia RTX 5050 9GB spotted in shipping manifest β Specifications Confirmed The renowned hardware leaker kopite7kimi has unveiled the specifications of Nvidiaβs RTX 5050 9GB, an upgraded version of the companyβs RTX 5050 8GB. This GPU uses 3GB GDDR7 chips instead of 2GB GDDR6 chips, which offers more memory bandwidth and capacity per chip. This [β¦]
The OfficePal KB70W takes your typing experience to a new level: With its gasket-mount design, polycarbonate positioning plate, PU damping and durable PBT keycaps, the keyboard offers smooth, quiet typing with keys that are pleasantly cushioned, yet highly responsive - just what you need for everyday use in the office. Thanks to the dual-mode operation, hot-swap switches and support for the VIA open-source software, it also adapts to the way you workβand not the other way around.
The gasket-mount design of the OfficePal KB70W significantly reduces noise and provides a typing feeling that is particularly smooth and comfortable. The OfficePal KB70W supports wired or wireless operation for maximum flexibility. Its long battery life ensures uninterrupted work for many hours. The abrasion-resistant PBT keycaps of the OfficePal KB70W are manufactured using the double-shot process and are therefore especially durable. In addition, the south-facing ARGB illumination ensures a uniform illumination of the keys.
Cooler Master, a global leader in PC components and tech lifestyle solutions, today announced that four of its products have received the iF DESIGN AWARD 2026, one of the world's most respected design honors presented annually by iF Design in Hamburg, Germany. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in product design, innovation, and user experience. For Cooler Master, the recognition highlights a design philosophy that combines engineering performance with builder-focused creativity.
The award-winning products include the COSMOS Alpha, MasterFrame 360 Panorama, Custom GPU Fan Cooling Kit, and MasterFan A120, each representing a different dimension of Cooler Master's design approach, from modular chassis architecture to advanced thermal engineering.
The global notebook market is expected to face dual pressures from weak demand and rising component costs in 2026, according to TrendForce's latest research on the notebook industry. In addition to rapidly rising memory prices, CPU pricing has also begun to move higher. TrendForce estimates that to preserve existing margin structures for both notebook brands and distribution channels, the retail price of a mainstream notebook with an original MSRP of US$900 could rise by nearly 40%.
TrendForce notes that since the start of 2026, supply for notebook DRAM and NAND Flash has tightened significantly. Prices have surged, and shortages of certain components have become more pronounced, increasing uncertainty for notebook brands as they plan their procurement strategies.
NVIDIA is reportedly preparing to update its GeForce RTX 5050 GPU with a new variant featuring 9 GB of GDDR7 memory. A well-known leaker on X, @kopite7kimi, confirmed that the upcoming card will maintain the same 130 W TDP and thermal envelope as the current GeForce RTX 5050, which has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The current RTX 5050 uses 8 GB of 20 Gbps GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 320 GB/s of bandwidth. The new model is expected to use three modules of GDDR7 memory, each with 3 GB of capacity, resulting in a total of 9 GB across a 96-bit memory bus. While the narrower bus decreases the interface width, the switch to new 28 Gbps GDDR7 memory would increase total memory bandwidth to 336 GB/s, a roughly 5% improvement, along with a 12.5% boost in VRAM capacity. The new leak also claims that NVIDIA is using GB206 as a GPU base, while the older RTX 5050 8 GB with GDDR6 used GB207 die. However, the core count remains at 2,560 CUDA cores, suggesting that lower-binned GB206 dies found in RTX 5060 and other mid-range SKUs are repurposed for the new RTX 5050.
NVIDIA's switch to GDDR7 memory likely helps the company manage supply chain procurement better, as memory modules are in short supply. Instead of using four GDDR6 modules with 2 GB capacity each, NVIDIA is switching to three modules of GDDR7 with 3 GB capacity each, reducing the number of memory modules needed for this GPU. Interestingly, memory makers like Samsung, Micron, and SK hynix could now produce more of the 3 GB GDDR7 modules, with GDDR6 being in much shorter supply, forcing manufacturers to focus on the newer memory technology while GPU makers have to adapt. This has resulted in a situation where procuring three modules of 3 GB GDDR7 memory is now easier than finding a sufficient supply of GDDR6 modules, which NVIDIA needs to secure for each RTX 5050 GPU. As we approach Computex 2026, this GPU is expected to arrive sometime during that period.
The Amazon Spring Deal Days sale has begun, so I'm using my bargain-hunting expertise to bring you regular updates on the best tech offers available this week.
Weighed down with all of the messy lore of the first game, GreedFall: The Dying World fails to find something to say while also failing to transition to a more mechanically engaging RPG.
The wearable maker is launching a new panel focused on women's health through its Whoop Labs blood testing service. It's also adding a new feature to its app that surfaces information about hormonal changes during menstrual cycles.
DeeeVee helps parents turn bedtime into a meaningful daily ritual. The app generates short bedtime stories narrated in a parentβs or grandparentβs voice, making stories feel personal while helping children learn values like courage, kindness, honesty, and empathy.
Each story includes reflection questions that spark parent-child conversations and supports 77 languages so multilingual families can preserve their native language. DeeeVee helps parents make bedtime calmer, more engaging, and meaningful in just a few minutes each night.
Independent Polish game developer Bloober Team has recently updated its investors on the studio's upcoming lineup, including the freshly announced Layers of Fear 3. The game was teased in mid-February during the franchise's tenth anniversary livestream. Now, though, we have learned that the game won't be developed by one of the internal Bloober Teams; the studio will instead work alongside a partner (although it will still provide significant input, being the franchise holder and creator). The studio was not mentioned explicitly, but odds are they might be fellow Polish studio Anshar, which already worked on Layers of Fear, the "collection" [β¦]
This morning, KONAMI Digital Entertainment announced that Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater has surpassed two million units sold as of February 17, 2026, as shown in the celebratory screenshot. The game became a million seller on day one when it launched on Thursday, August 28, merely on the heels of pre-orders. The game took 173 days to get to the second million, though, which isn't great. Still, the fact that KONAMI bothered to send out a press release about it means they must be reasonably happy with the figure. It all depends on the budget of the game; we [β¦]
Salesforce has warned of an increase in threat actor activity that's aimed at exploiting misconfigurations in publicly accessible Experience Cloud sites by making use of a customized version of an open-source tool called AuraInspector.
The activity, per the company, involves the exploitation of customers' overly permissive Experience Cloud guest user configurations to obtain access to sensitive
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Monday added three security flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation.
The vulnerability list is as follows -
CVE-2021-22054 (CVSS score: 7.5) - A server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Omnissa Workspace One UEM (formerly VMware Workspace One UEM) that
FUSE is the operating system for growth decisions. With $790B in digital ad spend yearly, allocation decisions remain fragmented and rely on manual interpretation. FUSE verifies live performance data and decides how ad budgets should move before spending.
Instantly connect all your live data sources like GA4, Google Ads, Meta Ads, TikTok, and LinkedIn, and watch FUSE run cross-channel calculations to optimize your marketing budgets without errors.
NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5050 9 GB graphics card specs have been revealed, revealing similar core specs & updated memory config. NVIDIA Goes With Same Core Specs But Updated Memory Specs On Its Upcoming GeForce RTX 5050 9 GB Graphics Card So last week, we reported that NVIDIA was preparing a new variant of the GeForce RTX 5050 graphics card with 9 GB of memory. The rumored variant was later reported to launch around Computex 2026, and it would be aimed at a similar entry-level price point. Now, Kopite7kimi has revealed the exact GPU and Memory configuration used by the NVIDIA [β¦]
SK hynix has announced the successful development of its LPDDR6 memory utilizing the 1c process node, offering up to 10.7 Gbps speeds. SK hynix LPDDR6 Memory Delivers 33% Faster Speeds While Saving More Than 20% Power Press Release: SK hynix announced that it has successfully developed a 16Gb LPDDR6Β DRAM based on the sixth-generation 10nm-class (1c) process technology. After unveiling the product at CES last January, the company recently completed the worldβs first validation of 1c LPDDR6 development. SK hynix plans to complete preparations for mass production within the first half of the year and begin supplying the product in the [β¦]
A2Apex is a testing and certification platform for the A2A protocol. It validates your agentβs card, live endpoints, state transitions, streaming, and security, and reports a clear compliance score. Run live tests, debug via chat, and ensure JSON-RPC and SSE behavior match the spec. Earn certification badges that link to a public registry listing, and access results via API. Plans range from free to enterprise with unlimited testing, analytics, retesting, and CI/CD integration to help your agents earn trust.
AMI Labs, the new venture cofounded by Turing Prize winner Yann LeCun after he left Meta, has raised $1.03 billion at a $3.5 billion pre-money valuation.
ASUS recently announced the NUC 16 mini PC at CES 2026, with the NUCs confirmed to feature Intel's Panther Lake Core Ultra Series 3 CPUs, LPDDR5X-9600 RAM, and Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics. When the NUC Pro 16 was revealed, pricing and availability were somewhat nebulous, but that information has been partially revealed ahead of launch thanks to @realVictor_M on X.
According to the leaker, who cites what appears to be leaked Chinese press materials, the NUC 16 Pro with the Intel Core Ultra X7, 32 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of NVMe storage will cost RMB 10,999, which converts to roughly $1,600 ($1,591.50 exactly, at the time of writing). Part of this high pricing is likely to be a direct result of the current memory crisis caused by AI center demand, but it should also be noted that international pricing is rarely ever as simple as a currency conversion, so expect prices to be somewhat higher than that $1,600 when the mini PC launches internationally. It's also notable that ASUS originally cited the Intel Core Ultra X9 as the high-end CPU spec for the mini PC, and the pricing cited by the leak is for the X7 version. Currently, the Chinese launch looks to be scheduled for March 11, so an international launch should follow shortly thereafter.
Valve has been working to improve SteamOS since the launch of the Steam Deck, and the latest SteamOS and Steam Client updates out of Valve combine a whole host of bug fixes that were previously fed into the testing streams. Most notably of the lot are the changes to the accessibility and Steam Input options, but Valve also fixed a few issues that have been part of the SteamOS experience for some time, including flickering UI elements, low-resolution thumbnails on the Recent Games screen of the game library, and issues with button mapping and Switch Pro controller LEDs coming on when they're not supposed to. There are also some additional improvements to features like family sharing and high contrast theme options, but the most interesting addition comes by way of the generic SteamOS 3.7.20 release.
SteamOS 3.7.20 officially merges the NTsync driver from a previous beta release into the mainline OS version, which is a change that could see some games get notably higher performance in some instances. NTsync is a Linux kernel driver that's been in a stable state for a little over a year, but in essence, it aims to increase performance by more closely matching Windows NT synchronization when using the Proton compatibility layer. Other versions of Proton and WINE have had NTsync for a while as a performance booster, but now Valve has added official support for it to the kernel, leaving less development work in the hands of the community and Valve itself. NTsync promises performance uplifts in some games, although not all of them, and it won't always necessarily offer better performance than the existing Fsync, but it gives Linux gamers another option to use when they're tinkering with Proton settings to eke out that last drop of performance.
IGN has learned that EA has eliminated an undisclosed number of roles across the studios responsible for Battlefield 6, including Criterion, DICE, Ripple Effect, and Motive. Internally, affected staff are being told the cuts are part of a broader "realignment" of the Battlefield organization, even as all four studios are...
New York lawmakers are considering a bill that would stop AI chatbots from offering legal or medical advice and allow users to sue companies if the systems cross that line
Heart Machine, the studio behind Hyper Light Drifter, its spiritual successor, Solar Ash, and its actual successor, Hyper Light Breaker, recently implemented a round of layoffs following the launch of Hyper Light Breaker, and it appears this round of layoffsβthe second in recent memoryβhas not been taken lightly by the remaining developers at the studio. According to a recent report by Game Developer, employees at Heart Machine have officially joined the CWA (Communication Workers of America) in a voluntary bargaining agreement in the name of job security and workers' rights. The union members are reportedly currently evaluating their priorities and what they plan to bargain for, but the developers at the studio say that the justification for joining the union is to be able to protect the craft and the creative collaboration that enables game designers and video game workers to create "something they'd want to play themselves." According to an announcement by The CWA, a majority of workers at Heart Machine signed the unionization agreement, meaning contracts at the studio will now be drawn up with CWA representation.
Unionization has been something of a trend in recent years in the video game industry, with video game voice actors joining the protracted
SAG-Aftra strike in 2024 and 2025 seeking protections against the exact sorts of layoffs that previously affected Heart Machine developers, in addition to protections against the AI systems currently taking over the gaming industry. 2025 also saw the launch of the United Video Game Workers' Union, which seeks similar protections against practices like layoffs in the name of profit. A recent video game industry survey also indicated that as many as 82% of video game workers support unionization, with younger workers responding even more positively. The news of Heart Machine joining the CWA also follows the announcement that EA is cutting an unspecified number of jobs at its Battlefield 6 studios.
Scalify.ai is the world's first platform where you can order your own website in under 10 minutes. You can order food, clothes, furniture, or anything online in minutes, but getting a professional website built usually means overpaying an agency that takes months, spending weeks looking for a freelancer, or struggling with a website builder if you have limited time and skills. Getting a website for your business is painful, until now.
Google found a series of hacking tools they said were used by a Russian espionage group and a cybercriminal group in China. Sources from a U.S. government defense contractor said some of those hacking tools were theirs.
The fresh fundraise comes less than a year after Founders Fund closed its third growth fund, a $4.6 billion vehicle intended primarily for follow-on investments in its successful late-stage companies.
Nightdive Studiosβrenowned video game remaster developer and subsidiary of Atariβis thrilled to announce that SiN: Reloaded, the long-awaited remaster of the 1998 cult classic FPS, will launch in 2026 for PC and consoles. This faithful new edition of SiN boasts enhanced remastered visuals, modernized control schemes, and includes the Wages of SiN extra mission pack. It's time to pay for your sins, #$!%&!
Set in a near-future dystopian world, SiN: Reloaded puts you in control of security consultant Colonel John R. Blade as you take on the seductively evil Doctor Elexis Sinclaire. When Elexis, CEO of SinTEK Industries, begins injecting the streets with a DNA-altering drug, it's time to reassess the laws of morality by facing off against Elexis' unholy army of genetically-engineered mutants. Known for pushing the Quake II engine to its limits, the original SiN was lauded for introducing a groundbreaking amount of interactivity in every level. Players can hack their way into computer terminals using DOS-style code, use elevators and security cameras to wreak havoc, and traverse levels using a variety of vehicles, including a forklift, a patrol boat, and a helicopter. Your actions have consequences, creating branching paths as the game progresses.
Zinng is an AI receptionist that answers your business calls around the clock with a natural, friendly voice. It schedules appointments, captures leads, detects emergencies, and sends callers booking links or follow-up texts. Every call is transcribed and organized in a clean inbox alongside your SMS conversations, allowing you to manage all your customer communication in one place.
It connects to your existing tools so leads and appointments flow right into the systems you already use. Our team fully sets up your AI agent, so there's nothing to figure out on your own. HIPAA compliant, available in the US and Canada, with a 14-day free trial.
The survival-horror genre has been in a great spot in the past few years. With Resident Evil returning to its former glory with the seventh entry in the series and every game that has followed it, culminating with Resident Evil Requiem, the Silent Hill series returning with a remake of the second entry in the series and the first brand new game in years, and a wealth of solid indie titles, fans of the genre have had plenty of scary experiences to immerse themselves into. While it doesn't enjoy the same level of popularity as the CAPCOM and Konami series, [β¦]
Not too long ago, Colorful released its iGame Lab Vulcan NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50-series GPUs, which feature a clean white design language. Now, the GPU maker has announced a new Mini-ITX case to go with those GPU designs. The Colorful iGame Lab Vulcan Armor chassis is a 617 Γ 186.6 Γ 210 mm, or roughly 24 L in volume. Colorful specifically lists compatibility with its iGame RTX 5070 Ti Vulcan W OC, 5080 Vulcan W OC, 5090 D v2 Vulcan W OC 24 GB, and 5090 D Vulcan W OC 32 GB, since those are the GPUs that feature the shroud design that fits into the dedicated cutout on the side of the chassis, which exposes the GPU intake fans to fresh air.
The chassis offers support for up to 240 mm radiatorsβand comes with a 240 mm radiator, rated at 240 W TDP, with slim fans pre-installedβand SFX PSUs up to 110 mm long. While the chassis is technically designed for Colorful's own GPU shrouds, it technically fits 3-slot GPUs up to 373.2 mm longβan enterprising modder could likely fairly easily 3D print a bracket to fill make up for any discrepancies between the case cutout and the GPU shroud on third-party designs. The case also sports a magnetic attachment base on the top panel for attaching things like the Colorful Vulcan screen. Front I/O consists of a USB 3.2 Type-C port and dual USB 3.0 ports. International pricing and launch dates have not yet been confirmed at the time of writing.
Yakki is a macOS-native dictation and transcription app that runs entirely on your Mac. Hold a key, speak naturally, and your words appear exactly where your cursor isβin any app. There's no window switching, no copy-pasting, and no friction. Just talk and keep moving, with context-aware text and sub-200ms latency.
Record any app's audio in one click. Capture audio from Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, or your browserβany app running on your Mac. Select it from the menu bar and hit record. Yakki transcribes it in real time while you focus on the conversation. Got a podcast, a voice memo, a lecture recording, or an interview? Just drag it in, and Yakki handles it.
The year 2026 is officially the worst time to require a RAM or storage upgrade because AI data centers have held the supply hostage as they wish to sate their monstrous requirements. This crisis has skyrocketed the prices of SSDs and memory, which is why youβll see drives like the Silicon Power US75 in the 4TB capacity available for figures like $459.97 on Amazon, which, given the current situation, isnβt all that bad. The only thing keeping you from installing this solid-state drive in your system is how badly you need this upgrade. The US75 offers reliability, capacity, and performance [β¦]
In a statement posted to its Chinese social media account, Nexperia China said it had reached a new milestone in its "independent R&D and mass production capabilities".
In honor of International Womenβs Day, the company provided information on the topics women were most engaged in, which included an evolving interest in womenβs sports.
The artificial intelligence chatbot is under new regulatory investigation in the U.K. after users prompted it to roast certain people and groups using "unhinged mode.β
The expanded suite of ad features includes a live sports API and official team content as the app looks to connect with its growing user base in the region.
Researchers discovered DarkCloud, a $30 infostealer written in Visual Basic that harvests credentials from browsers, email clients, and enterprise applications.
More than 30 OpenAI and Google DeepMind employees signed onto a statement supporting Anthropic's lawsuit against the Defense Department after the agency labeled the AI firm a supply-chain risk, according to court filings.
Connily is an AI-powered social media manager for eβcommerce brands. It learns your brand from your site, products, and past posts, connects to Shopify, and generates onβbrand images and captions, plans a multiβchannel calendar, and publishes to Instagram and Facebook automatically. Approve or edit content, track performance with analytics, and let agentic AI optimize timing and strategy while you stay in control.
Nintendo hosted its fifth Nintendo Direct event of 2026, which was an event dedicated to the Super Mario Galaxy Movie ahead of its premiere this coming April 1, 2026. The event showed off the final trailer for the film, and revealed some of Nintendo's plans for Mario Day tomorrow, and the lead-up to the film's premiere. The trailer for the film showed off a couple of the characters the recent poster revealed, like the character Wart, who is being played by Luis GuzmΓ‘n. We also learned that Honey Queen will be in the film, and voiced by Issa Rae. The [β¦]
Samsung has remained very conservative in its experimentation in the smartphone battery department ever since theΒ Note 7 fiasco back in 2016. However, this reluctance is now costing the South Korean behemoth dearly as Chinese OEMs increasingly take the initiative with monster silicon-carbon (Si/C) batteries. Against this relatively challenging backdrop, we reported towards the end of 2025 that Samsung had commenced and then abandoned its testing of a mammoth 20,000mAh silicon-carbon battery. Well, now we know a lot more about those failed tests as well as Samsung's ongoing testing of a smaller 18,000mAh battery, courtesy of a few leaked documents. Samsung's [β¦]
Apple had originally intended to launch its new Smart Home Display as a part of last week's product launch marathon. However, in the face of the ongoing delays related to the rollout of the revamped Siri, Apple has been forced to substantially extend the launch timeline of the new device, as per the latest tidbit from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple was not able to launch the Smart Home Display last week, as the revamped Siri is not ready yet to power AI features For the benefit of those who might not be aware yet, Apple intends to launch a revamped [β¦]
Marathon has been out on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series for its first weekend, and just like the Server Slam, developer Bungie is doing its best to respond quickly to issues players are noting as they spend more and more time on Tau Ceti IV. The game's first major update with those fixes will arrive sometime this week, and Bungie is already looking to tackle three of the biggest issues players have spotted with the game. Firstly, and arguably most importantly for all players, you'll be able to know where your objective is for a contract from further away. Instead [β¦]
The Japanese and American governments are considering setting up a new display factory in the U.S. that would cost $13 billion, a small part of a bigger $550 billion investment framework. This factory is being proposed by Japan Display Inc., a struggling display firm that has seen better days since Apple switched to using OLED screens in the iPhone.
An enthusiast blogger published annotated die shots of Intel Panther Lake-H CPU: 16-core mobile processor with 12 Xe3 clusters and two Thunderbolt 5 ports examined.
Anthropic has filed two federal lawsuits against the Pentagon and other U.S. federal agencies, seeking to overturn the Department of War's decision to designate the AI company a "supply chain risk."
Anthropic launched Code Review in Claude Code, a multi-agent system that automatically analyzes AI-generated code, flags logic errors, and helps enterprise developers manage the growing volume of code produced with AI.
Graber explained that, as a more mature company, Bluesky needs a "seasoned operator focused on scaling and execution." Graber said she feels better suited to building Bluesky's technology itself.
AMD has released Ryzen Chipset Driver version 8.02.18.557, a maintenance update focused on bug fixes and restoring a couple of components that went missing in a previous package. Specifically, support for the AMS Mailbox driver and the S0i3 filter driver are back, both needed for power management and system communication on supported Ryzen platforms. A few known issues are still present. Users on chipset installer version 7 can't directly roll back to version 6 or older. If you need to do that, you'll have to uninstall the newer installer first, delete the Qt_Dependencies folder, and then install the older package.
Other minor fixes include driver names showing up in English on non-English operating systems, occasional failures when installing or upgrading the Ryzen PPKG component, and some compatibility issues with the AMS and S0i3 filter drivers on non-English OS environments.
Speaking with newly appointed Microsoft Gaming head Asha Sharma, Nadella dismissed speculation that the company might abandon gaming in favor of Windows, Azure, and AI. He described gaming as one of Microsoft's "main identities" over the past couple of decades and said it will remain a core part of the...
Doel's curiosity has long centered on what happens to the lithium batteries buried inside every disposable vape pen. Each one contains a rechargeable cell roughly the size of a finger, capable of multiple charge cycles yet routinely tossed with the trash. In the UK alone, an estimated million of these...
The iPad Air M4 may still be the best tablet for most people. For the same price as before, you get bumped to the M4 chip, 12GB of RAM, and Wi-Fi 7, making Apple's mid-range tablet faster and more capable. Reviewers say the Air offers much of the power and capability of the iPad Pro at a more accessible price.
Describe a mechanical part in plain English and receive manufacturable engineering geometry in seconds. Most AI 3D tools generate images that are impractical to produce. Henqo validates every part against real manufacturing constraints like wall thickness, hole clearances, and feature sizes. If something can't be built, we catch it before you waste time. Click on faces and edges to iterate, generate engineering drawings with PMI, get instant manufacturing quotes, and download STEP files ready for your machine shop. We're building for hardware engineers and makers tired of the CAD learning curve but who refuse to compromise on output quality.
Today is officially the start of Game Developers Conference 2026 (GDC 2026), a week where a huge portion of the video game industry joins together in San Francisco to discuss the latest happenings within the video game industry, and in the case of companies like Razer, showcase the B2B-focused initiatives it has coming down the pipeline. After first unveiling its AI QA companion tool and its Project AVA AI companion in 2025, Razer showcased both products at GDC 2026, with Project AVA now simply called Razer AVA, which it describes as "a more capable agentic assistant with the ability to [β¦]
EA has laid off staff across Battlefield-related studios in "alignment" move as the game continues to lose players, despite the most recent Battlefield 6 topping an estimated 20 million copies sold.
StorageReview evaluated the performance benefits of Microsoft's native NVMe driver on Windows Server 2025 and found substantial performance increases, particularly in random reads.
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a malicious npm package that masquerades as an OpenClaw installer to deploy a remote access trojan (RAT) and steal sensitive data from compromised hosts.
The package, named "@openclaw-ai/openclawai," was uploaded to the registry by a user named "openclaw-ai" on March 3, 2026. It has been downloaded 178 times to date. The library is still available for
Periwinkle offers managed hosting for AT Protocol users who want social media accounts on their own domains, with backups, storage, and migration tools.
Xbox fans across Windows Central communities shared the classic original Xbox and Xbox 360 games they want revived through backward compatibility, alongside wider discussions around preservation and revisiting older favorites.
At Embedded World 2026, Intel launched the Intel Core processor Series 2 with P-cores, an industrial-ready platform engineered for mission-critical edge applications. Intel also announced its latest Edge AI suite for Health & Life Sciences, providing validated reference pipelines and benchmarking tools for AI-powered patient monitoring solutions.
"Intel continues to lead in edge computing, which remains one of our fastest-growing business segments," said Dan Rodriguez, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of the Edge Computing Group. " With the introduction of Core Series 2, our CES launch of Core Ultra Series 3, and our expanding Edge AI Suites, we continue to deliver comprehensive platforms that meet diverse edge customer needs with breakthrough performance, reliability, and integrated AI acceleration."
The latest in a long line of layoffs and budget cuts affecting the gaming industry comes by way of EA, who has just been confirmed to be laying off developers across all four studios that worked on Battlefield 6βthose being Criterion, Dice, Motive, and Ripple Effect. This is according to a report by IGN, although it's unclear how many employees will be affected by the layoffs. Battlefield 6 has seemingly been one of the most successful Battlefield game so far, allegedly topping 7 million unit sales in the first three days following the October 2025 launch, making it a big revenue driver for record profits in Q3 2025. As of the time of writing, Battlefield 6 has peaked at 747,440 concurrent players on Steam, with daily concurrent player counts peaking at around 65,000-70,000 players. Part of EA's justification for the layoffs is "feedback and insights from Battlefield Labs," so perhaps part of the reason for the layoffs is players moving from Battlefield 6 to the free-to-play Battlefield RedSec.
When asked for comment by GameIndustry.biz, EA said that "We've made select changes within our Battlefield organization to better align our teams around what matters most to our community. Battlefield remains one of our biggest priorities, and we're continuing to invest in the franchise, guided by player feedback and insights from Battlefield Labs." This round of layoffs comes mere weeks after EA laid off an unknown number of developers at Full Circle, the studio behind Skate. These layoffs are seemingly part of EA's plan to cut costs following a recent acquisition by a consortium of investors in late 2025.
Intel has launched its official XeSS 3.0 software development kit (SDK), which allows game developers to incorporate the latest binaries into their games and integrate XeSS 3.0 into game engines. Interestingly, Intel has released this version as a binary, pre-compiled file, rather than the open-source XeSS version the company promised a long time ago. This promise has remained unfulfilled for four years, with each XeSS release being closed-source, only available on GitHub under the Intel Simplified Software License as of the October 2022 revision. This binary is provided as a DLL file for Windows operating systems, meaning that Linux users cannot run this SDK on their systems without a translation layer. For users wanting to update older XeSS 2.x versions, you simply need to replace the libxess.dll, libxell.dll, and libxess_fg.dll files with those from the newest XeSS 3.0 ZIP folder.
Intel promotes XeSS 3.0 with its main feature being multi-frame generation (MFG). This version integrates up to three generated frames between two rendered frames, resulting in up to a fourfold frame increase using MFG, similar to NVIDIA's DLSS MFG technology. Intel is joining the AI-generated frame insertion trend, which seems to be gradually expanding. Interestingly, Intel also added a feature that allows XeSS 3.0 to use external memory heaps. This means the Intel XeSS SDK can now utilize GPU memory allocated by the game engine itself, allowing XeSS and the engine to operate on the same VRAM blocks instead of each reserving separate ones. This helps developers avoid duplicate buffers and fragmentation, gives them direct control over allocation and residency, and makes integrating XeSS into an existing render pipeline cleaner and more efficient.
United can now remove any passenger who refuses to wear headphones while playing audio. The airline also reserves the right to temporarily or permanently ban offending passengers, although refunds may still be issued upon request. According to the CCD, playing audio without headphones constitutes a material breach of contract, alongside...
The promised "open-source" upscaling technology remains closed-source, as we see Intel rolling out the XeSS 3 SDK. Intel Rolls Out XeSS 3 SDK on GitHub for Game Developers, Still Distributed as Windows Binaries Intel has released the XeSS 3 SDK (software development kit) on GitHub recently, giving developers broader access to its latest AI upscaling and frame-generation technology. While this improves accessibility to the latest upscaling technology, it remains closed-source since the SDK is currently distributed as proprietary Windows binaries. XeSS 3 and Multi-Frame Generation, which debuted alongside Intel Panther Lake series, have already expanded to more hardware recently, including [β¦]
Such is the relentless cadence of Apple's convoluted product launch cycles that the iPhone 17e has not even reached physical stores just yet, and already Apple has started beating the proverbial drums for the iPhone 18e, which is not expected to debut until the spring of 2027. Apple has broken ground on the preparatory work for the iPhone 18e The notable tipster, Fixed Focus Digital, has declared in a new Weibo post (translated below) that Apple has formally commenced development work on the iPhone 18e: "Confirmed. Although 17E has just been released, 18E has already been finalized." Do note that [β¦]
Game engine maker Unity has published its 2026 Unity Game Development Report, which surveys developers who use Unity software to make their games. That includes developers like The Game Bakers, who recently released the mountain-climbing game Carin, the team behind Outbound, Square Glad Games, and Mega Cat Studios, the developers behind God of War Sons of Sparta. The report, which draws its data from developers across PC, mobile, web, social, XR, and console game makers who use Unity, as well as direct responses from over 300 game developers, includes five key takeaways while providing an insight into the section of [β¦]
The NUC 16 PRO mini PC will be available in various configurations and looks like it won't be cheap if you are considering the Ultra X7/X9 chips. ASUS Launches Ultra X7 358H-Powered NUC 16 Pro Mini PC With 32 GB/1 TB Configuration at $1600 in China Looks like the Ryzen AI Max-based mini PCs aren't the only ones that cost over $1500. With RAM and SSD shortages affecting almost every system, you can expect even higher prices for mini PCs based on the higher-end Panther Lake chips. ASUS has recently debuted its NUC 16 PRO mini PC 2026 edition based [β¦]
The consumer GPU segment hasn't seen many launches this year, but China's Lisuan has plans for gamers, as it is expected to launch its G100 GPU this week. Lisuan Will Become The First to Offer a 6nm Gaming GPU in China, With Performance Rivaling NVIDIA/AMD Mainstream Options NVIDIA/AMD aren't looking too proactive about launching newer GPU models for the gaming segment, and based on what we have seen, one shouldn't expect any new lineups this year. However, the Chinese GPU manufacturer Lisuan has rather interesting plans for this year, as @realVictor_M reports that the company intends to launch the G100 [β¦]
In a statement posted to X today, Oracle said it and developer Crusoe are βoperating in lockstepβ to deliver one of the worldβs largest AI data centers at the Abilene campus.
A new report from PSprices claims that Sony has been experimenting with cheaper prices on a variety of titles for certain users. Since November 2025, gamers in at least 68 regions have been getting personalized, discounted prices across 150+ games, including Sony's first-party exclusives.
It's time for a new 3D printer, with Creality's Spring Sale offering a discount of up to 40% on its range of printers, with the K1C, K2 Plus, and Ender 3 V3 all on sale at reduced prices.
A Chinese laptop manufacturer has announced the world's first rugged industrial laptop with a solar panel. The device is geared towards professionals who need a device that can work for long periods of time away from a power outlet.
Google Ads is set to enhance the viewer experience of Performance Max video ads with an innovative asset optimization feature. Leveraging advanced AI voice models, this update aims to infuse video ads with realistic voice-overs, ultimately enhancing user engagement and ad performance.
Why we care. Advertisers who donβt actively opt out by March 20, will have their video ads automatically enhanced with Googleβs AI voice models, changing how their ads sound to viewers without requiring any creative production work.
How it works.
The feature only activates on videos that donβt already contain a voice track
Googleβs AI selects text from advertiser-provided headlines and descriptions, then generates a realistic voice-over from that copy
The voice-over is layered onto the existing base video and saved as a new video asset
The catch. This is opt-out, not opt-in. The default setting means ads will be automatically eligible for voice enhancement unless advertisers proactively disable it.
Key dates. Advertisers can choose to exclude their ads from this feature until March 20th. To do so, they must opt out of the video enhancement control. After the opt-out period, all ads with video enhancement control enabled will automatically be eligible for voice-enhanced versions.
Action steps for advertisers. Advertisers can adjust their video settings by visiting their ads in Google Ads.
First seen. This update was shared by Paid Search expert Arpan Banerjee who shared the update on LinkedIn.
OpenAI is updating its privacy policy with new details on ads, data usage and upcoming features across its products, including ChatGPT.
The update was shared with ChatGPT users and outlines how advertising will work inside ChatGPT β and what data advertisers can and cannot access.
Why we care. OpenAIβs update makes it clear that user privacy is a top priority: personal chats, histories, and details are never shared with advertisers. Ads can still be personalized using anonymized engagement signals, meaning brands can reach relevant audiences without compromising sensitive data.
This approach lets advertisers measure performance safely while building trust with users in a privacy-conscious environment.
Ads in ChatGPT Ads may appear for users on Free and Go plans, while paid tiers β Plus, Pro, Enterprise, Business and Education β will remain ad-free. OpenAI says ads will always be clearly labeled as sponsored and visually separated from chatbot responses.
The company also stresses that advertising will not influence answers generated by ChatGPT.
How ad targeting works. OpenAI says ads may be personalized using signals that stay within ChatGPT, such as ad interactions or the context of a userβs chat. However, the company says advertisers will not have access to conversations, chat history, personal details or user memories.
Instead, advertisers will only receive aggregated performance metrics such as total views or clicks.
Other privacy updates The revised policy also introduces optional contact syncing to help users find friends who use OpenAI services. Users can choose whether or not to enable this feature.
OpenAI also added new transparency around how long data is stored, how it is processed and what controls users have over it.
Safety and product changes. The policy update also references new tools and safeguards, including age prediction systems designed to create safer experiences for teens. OpenAI also added documentation for newer features and projects such as Atlas, Sora 2 and parental controls for teen accounts.
Bottom line. As OpenAI expands advertising in ChatGPT, the company is emphasizing strict boundaries around user privacy β promising advertisers performance insights without access to personal conversations or user data.
First seen. This update was first shared by Paid Media expert Arpan Banerjee who shared tips on this message on LinkedIn.
Australiaβs new mandatory age verification rules for adult content have triggered a surge in VPN downloads. With lawmakers in the UK and elsewhere now considering restrictions on these privacy tools to prevent circumvention, we look at whether Australia is likely to follow suit
Samsung's new premium buds sound great, with a range of handy features, and they're pretty good-looking too. That said, they fail to fix key Buds 3 Pro issues.
Intel releases its XeSS 3 SDK to developers through GitHub Following the release of XeSS 3.0 support through its newest ARC GPU drivers, Intel has officially released its XeSS 3.0 SDK to developers. This means that all game developers can now directly integrate XeSS into their games. That said, many games with XeSS 2 can [β¦]
If you're tired of your PC taking up so much space β or smashing a hole through your wallet β this discounted Geekom mini PC is the Spring sale for you.
A new leak claims Mojang is developing a sequel to Minecraft Dungeons under the codename "Project Spicewood". The report suggests the project has been in development for at least two years and could target a Q2 2026 release window. Mojang has not confirmed the project, so the information should be treated cautiously.
There is a 23% discount active for the ASUS Vivobook 14, a workhorse laptop equipped with a Snapdragon X CPU, long battery life, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and more features that help you survive the daily office grind.
Xiaomi's upcoming Book 14 laptop has leaked online, revealing the expected specifications for the upcoming thin-and-light productivity laptop. According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, the Xiaomi Book 14 will feature Intel's Panther Lake Core Ultra Series 3 CPUs, specifically the Core Ultra 5 325 and Core Ultra X7 358H, with either 24 GB or 32 GB of memory and 1 TB of storage. This means that the Xiaomi Book 14 will be available in at least one configuration with Intel's impressive new Arc B390 iGPU, which has proven itself in both gaming and creative workloads aside from the usual productivity fare.
Following DCS's post, Aura Pig also posted on Weibo about the upcoming MacBook competitor, stating that the both the build quality and battery life of the Xiaomi Book 14 were impressive. The 14-inch display is also touch-enabled, although the laptop is purportedly squarely in the premium category, suggesting a high price. The current-gen Xiaomi Book 14 tops out at 16 GB of memory and is only available with Intel's 12th-Gen CPUs and up to 512 GB of storage, so the new model will be a significant upgrade in terms of performance and convenience if the leaked specifications are any indication. Weight on the new Book 14 will be slightly lower than the old model, at around 1 kg compared to the 1.37 kg in the current Book 14.
MONTECH, a global leader in PC cases, power supplies, and cooling solutions, proudly announces the launch of SKY 3, the next evolution of its iconic SKY series PC cases. SKY 3 introduces a reimagined modular internal architecture and integrated horizon lighting, designed to meet the demands of next-generation hardware while delivering a remarkably clean and adaptable build experience. With support for back-connect motherboards and next-gen GPUs, SKY 3 blends future-ready performance with refined, modern aesthetics.
Adaptive Modular Bottom Chamber
At the heart of SKY 3 is an innovative adaptive modular bottom chamber, featuring a fully swappable PSU compartment and bottom fan bracket that allow builders to customize internal layouts based on cooling priorities. In GPU Mode, intake fans are positioned directly beneath the graphics card to maximize static pressure and cooling efficiency. In CPU Mode, airflow is redirected toward the motherboard area, helping dissipate heat from VRMs and surrounding components while supporting stable CPU operation. This flexible design empowers users to tailor airflow behavior to their specific system configuration.
Akasa, a leading provider of thermal solutions, announced the Pascal MX, an IP65-rated dust-tight and water jet resistant aluminium fanless case designed for Mini-ITX and Thin Mini-ITX motherboard systems operating in industrial, outdoor or mission-critical environments. The Pascal MX addresses one of the core challenges in harsh-environment embedded computing: maintaining system reliability where conventional fan-cooled cases fail due to dust ingress and moisture. For engineers and system integrators attending Embedded World 2026 in Nuremberg from 10 to 12 March, the Pascal MX will be on display at Hall 1, Booth 640, alongside Akasa's wider range of fanless cases, CPU coolers, heatsinks, and thermal solutions.
At the heart of the Pascal MX is Akasa's patented spring-loaded CPU mounting system, which maintains consistent, uniform contact pressure across all supported sockets (Intel LGA1851, LGA1700, and LGA1200). This enables the same chassis to support Intel Core processors from 10th-14th Generation and the latest Intel Core Ultra (15th Gen) processors, all at up to 65 W TDP. Heat from the CPU and M.2 2280 SSD is conducted into the aluminium chassis via dedicated thermal modules, dissipating passively through the external fins. With no fans and no moving parts, the Pascal MX eliminates the primary sources of mechanical failure and particulate ingress that limit system uptime in demanding deployments.
Early reviews of the iPhone 17e describe it as a solid refinement of Apple's $599 phone. Powered by the A19 chip with 256GB of storage, and the long-awaited addition of MagSafe. While some reviewers say it's still a bit pricey, most agree the 17e delivers a no-frills entry point into the Apple ecosystem.
IronClaw is a secure, open-source platform for running AI agents inside Trusted Execution Environments on NEAR AI Cloud. It stores API keys and passwords in an encrypted vault, injecting them only at approved network endpoints, so the LLM never sees raw secrets. Each tool runs in an isolated WebAssembly sandbox with capability-based permissions, network allowlists, and leak detection. Built in Rust and deployable in one click, it supports OpenClaw-style workflows with stronger memory safety and control.
Intel has launched its brand new Bartlett Lake & Panther Lake CPUs aimed at Edge applications with up to 12 P-Cores. Intel Finally Brings 12 P-Cores With Its Bartlett Lake CPUs, Panther Lake For Edge Also Launched Intel is expanding its Edge AI offerings with the launch of two new processor lineups, the Core Series 2 "Bartlett Lake" and Core Ultra Series 3 "Panther Lake". Both of these families are designed for various AI applications, with the Bartlett Lake offerings aiming at desktop solutions & Panther Lake offerings aiming at the mobility side of things. Starting with Intel Bartlett Lake-S [β¦]
Publisher EA has laid off an unknown number of developers from across Battlefield 6 development studios, including Criterion, DICE, and Motive Studios, according to a new report from IGN. These layoffs appear absolutely unjustified by the game's sales performance, as the sixth entry in the series was among the best-selling AAA PC and console games of 2025 and the best-selling game in the United States. At the time of writing, the reason behind the latest, sad new wave of layoffs is unknown, as is the number of impacted staff. However, IGN reports that individuals are being informed that layoffs are [β¦]
Now that Apple's product launch cadence has seemingly slowed down for the time being after the marathon that was last week, which saw the unveiling of the iPhone 17e, the M4 iPad Air, the M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro, the Studio Display and the Studio Display XDR, and the all-important MacBook Neo, attention is predictably turning to Apple's next major product launch volley in the fall of 2026, which would likely entail the iPhone Fold along with the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. As such, a new report out of Taiwan has just demonstrated Apple's sunny optimism [β¦]
"For 20 years, Cyrodiil belonged to heroes walking aloneβ¦ Not anymore!" announced the reveal teaser trailer for an Oblivion Remastered multiplayer mod which promises to shake up the remake's experience considerably with community-driven features. In development by ReadyM, the development team behind the WukongMP mod, which brought PvP and co-op to Black Myth Wukong, this mod will deliver community-driven multiplayer, allowing users to run massive community servers and "experience roleplaying scenarios, battle arenas, establish player guilds, and crawl dungeons with friends." Although short, the teaser trailer shows just enough for fans of last year's remake to get excited about a [β¦]
Intelβs heavily-rumored Bartlett Lake 12P CPUs are finally official, with a P-core-only design that is compatible with LGA 1700 motherboards. However, theyβre targeting embedded and edge applications, not a broad consumer release.
A number of third-party sellers are selling laptops with descriptions that claim over 1TB of storage, despite only physically containing a 128GB SSD, despite public disapproval over the practice.
One Japanese company called Nittobo controls roughly 90% of the global supply of specialist glass-fiber cloth (T-glass), which sits inside every advanced AI chip package β and demand is now so high and supply so squeezed that itβs causing issues.
Google has confirmed that Google Marketing Live 2026 will take place on May 20, when the company is expected to unveil its latest updates across advertising, AI, measurement and campaign automation.
The date surfaced in an email received by PPC News Feed owner Hana KobzovΓ‘ from the Accelerate with Google program, which invited participants to submit entries for the Google Ads Impact Awards.
According to the message, winners of the awards will be announced during Google Marketing Live 2026.
Why we care. The annual event has become one of the biggest announcement days for advertisers using Google Ads. Google Marketing Live is where Google typically announces its biggest changes to Google Ads β including new AI features, campaign types and measurement tools that can directly impact how campaigns are built and optimized.
Many of Googleβs most significant advertising updates each year are first revealed at this event, meaning it often shows where the platform β and advertisersβ strategies β are heading next.
The bigger picture. The event will land during the same window as Google I/O 2026, scheduled for May 19β20. While I/O focuses on Googleβs broader ecosystem β including AI, Search and developer technologies β announcements there often influence the direction of advertising products.
What to watch. Expect updates tied to AI-driven advertising, automation and new ways to measure performance across Googleβs platforms. For marketers, the event often sets the tone for where Googleβs ad strategy is heading for the rest of the year.
First spotted. KobzovΓ‘ shared the update on PPC News Feed
AI tools now generate 45 billion monthly sessions worldwide β about 56% of search engine volume, according to a study by Graphite.io CEO Ethan Smith.
The analysis combines web traffic and mobile app usage across major AI tools and estimates AI activity equals 56% of global search usage and 34% in the U.S.
Much of this growth is occurring in mobile apps such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, and Claude.
Why we care. AI is expanding discovery, not shrinking search demand. Total usage across search engines and AI assistants has grown 26% globally since 2023. In other words, itβs not SEO vs. GEO β you need both LLM visibility and traditional rankings.
The details. The report analyzed usage across the five largest LLM products β ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, and Claude β and compared them with the six largest search engines. Key findings:
AI platforms generate 45 billion monthly sessions worldwide.
In the U.S., AI accounts for 5.4 billion monthly sessions.
83% of global AI usage occurs inside mobile apps (75% in the U.S.).
ChatGPT dominates AI usage, representing 89% of global AI sessions.
When isolating search-like prompts (βaskingβ), AI usage equals 28% of search worldwide and 17% in the U.S.
The report excludes prompts categorized as βdoingβ or βexpressing.β According to OpenAI research, about 52% of prompts are information-seeking, the closest equivalent to traditional search queries.
Between the lines. Most projections comparing AI to search use web traffic alone, typically comparing Google.com visits with ChatGPT website traffic. That misses most AI usage.
The analysis argues these comparisons underestimate AI activity by 4β5x because most usage occurs in mobile apps.
It also includes multiple LLMs and multiple search engines rather than comparing only Google and ChatGPT.
What to watch. Google still dominates discovery, but its share of search-related activity fell from 89% in 2023 to 71% in Q4 2025, the report estimates.
Global AI usage appears to have plateaued since July 2025, while U.S. usage continues to grow rapidly β up roughly 300% year over year by December 2025.
The North Korean threat actor known as UNC4899 is suspected to be behind a sophisticated cloud compromise campaign targeting a cryptocurrency organization in 2025 to steal millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.
The activity has been attributed with moderate confidence to the state-sponsored adversary, which is also tracked under the cryptonyms Jade Sleet, PUKCHONG, Slow Pisces, and
Another week in cybersecurity. Another week of "you've got to be kidding me."
Attackers were busy. Defenders were busy. And somewhere in the middle, a whole lot of people had a very bad Monday morning. That's kind of just how it goes now.
The good news? There were some actual wins this week. Real ones. The kind where the good guys showed up, did the work, and made a dent. It doesn't always
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection expands on Capcom's lionised creature-fighting series by allowing players to duel against beasties and uncover mysteries to save a troubled kingdom.
The famed author and investor has launched the Future Vision Xprize with sponsors like Google, Marc Benioff, and Ben Horowitz to fund optimistic sci-fi films.
Salt Typhoon is by far one of the most prolific hacking groups in recent years, breaching some of the top American phone companies. Here are all the countries that have been targeted.
Anthropic filed suit against the Department of Defense on Monday after the agency labeled it a supply-chain risk. The complaint calls the DOD's actions "unprecedented and unlawful."
Nvidia plans to host a new βGeForce On Community Updateβ tomorrow Nvidia has confirmed that it will be hosting a new βGeForce Onβ event on March 10th at 8 am PT, acting as the companyβs big gaming event of GDC 2026. Nvidiaβs last GeForce On event was at CES 2026, where Nvidia unveiled DLSS 4.5, [β¦]
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is my most anticipated game of 2026, and after completing it, it exceeded my expectations with possibly the best story and character writing in the series and addictive monster-taming gameplay. Though it's not without some issues that will strike controversy amongst hardcore Monster Hunter fans.
Samsung Electronics America today shared its plan to expand support for glasses-free 3D gameplay on the Samsung Odyssey 3D gaming monitor at GDC Festival of Gaming 2026 in San Francisco. Samsung will spotlight Hell is Us and Cronos: The New Dawn as part of its expanding 3D gaming ecosystem, demonstrating how leading titles are embracing immersive displays without the need for special glasses.
"The Odyssey 3D is designed for gamers who want to experience their hobby in a way that feels like they're completely embedded in the action," said Kevin Lee, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display (VD) Business at Samsung Electronics. "Through partnerships with leading gaming studios, we are committed to creating an ecosystem of top-tier titles, making great games extraordinary."
At this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, NVIDIA has prepared a special GeForce ON community update scheduled for tomorrow, where the company will address its gaming audience. While we have no official expectations for this GeForce ON update, NVIDIA might preview either new technologies that the company is developing for its gamers or new implementations in games and game engines. Usually, this centers around technologies like Deep Learning Super Sampling, Ray Tracing, Path Tracing, GeForce NOW expansion, gaming monitors like the Big Format Gaming Displays, or something entirely different. Interestingly, NVIDIA might also preview potential product launches for its GTC 2026, which starts just a week from now, on March 16 and lasts through March 19. We are eagerly anticipating any formal announcement, and you can check out the video link that starts the premiere tomorrow, below.
Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe today announcedEchoes of Aincrad, a new action RPG set in the breathtaking floating castle of Aincrad from the Sword Art Online universe where every battle could be your last. Players will get to create their own hero and dive into the game, facing the many challenges ahead by mastering dodges, parries and well-timed attacks. Echoes of Aincrad will launch on 10 July 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam.
Echoes of Aincrad invites adventurers into a dynamic and vibrant world filled with challenges and unforgettable encounters, becoming a "player" in the game through an extensive avatar customization will place them as the true hero of this story. As the story progresses through quests and missions, players will be able to adapt and upgrade their equipment, weapons, and attributes, and select special skills to match their preferred playstyle while growing stronger as they level up. But they will not journey alone, the outcome of real-time combat will also rely on the chosen partner for each outing, deciding the stance they should take during fight, more aggressive or supportive, and as that bond deepens, players will unlock their partner's powerful abilities.
Factory automation, physical AI in mobile robotics, and other AI-driven edge applications are rapidly evolving and driving the need for computing platforms that provide real-time AI processing, deterministic performance, and long-term reliability in always-on environments.
To meet these needs, AMD is expanding its AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P100 Series processor portfolio. New processors feature up to 2x higher CPU core counts, up to 8x higher graphics processing unit (GPU) compute, and an estimated 36% higher system tera operations.
The printer, developed by mechanical engineer and Bitcoin tinkerer Andy "PizzAndy" Prokopyk under the Proof of Print name, replaces a standard heated print bed with a modified ASIC-powered system.
Safety has been a key concern from the very beginning, especially since drivers are considered independent contractors rather than direct Uber employees. As Bloomberg highlights, the ride-hailing service is facing thousands of pending legal cases related to alleged driver misconduct β and several involve alleged sexual assault.
Intel's next CPUs, the Arrow Lake Refresh lineup, are set for a 'technical' showcase on March 17, focusing on giving consumers a rundown on what to expect. Intel Intends to Target Arrow Lake Refresh for 1080p-Class Performance, Likely Staying Limited to Mainstream SKUs For those unaware, Team Blue plans to launch a new CPU lineup this year, but it won't be a massive overhaul; rather, it will be a refresh. The Arrow Lake Refresh launch has been discussed several times in the past, and it appears Intel is now gearing up for a showcase on March 17. Based on official [β¦]
Apple didnβt change anything on the outside when comparing the iPhone 17eΒ to the iPhone 16e, but the internals have been upgraded significantly, and that too, while charging the same $599 price. These are some of the advantages highlighted in the latest review roundup, but that doesnβt mean that some outlets arenβt calling the latest release overpriced. In fact, some are recommending buyers to get the iPhone 17 instead, and if you check out our detailed buying guide, weβve also mentioned that spending $200 extra is the right move to make. CNETβs Abrar Al-HeetiΒ says that the iPhone 17e is a solid [β¦]
Geopolitical tensions have risen to new levels, disrupting the global trade supply chain, and in the midst of it, the AI frenzy sees a major risk, with suppliers getting cut off from economic resources. Asian Suppliers Are Heavily Dependent On Energy Imports From the Middle East, Creating Huge Long-Term Risks When we talk about the AI frenzy, several risks need to be addressed to ensure the pace doesn't slow down, and one of the major ones is supply chain disruptions. We have already seen a glimpse of it with tariffs under the current US administration, and how difficult they are [β¦]
The M4 iPad Air is one of the more underrated devices that Apple launched in the veritable marathon that was last week, culminating in the 'Apple Experience' event on March 04. Even though the MacBook Neo eventually stole the proverbial show and nearly all of the limelight, the new iPad Air continues to garner a healthy share of attention. And today, we bring you a roundup of first impressions and reviews from a diverse set of tech experts. Here is everything that is being said about the Apple M4 iPad Air Gizmodo's Kyle Barr highlights the new iPad Air's "more [β¦]
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu, one of the Lovecraftian games set to arrive this year from French publisher Nacon, the same publisher that is on the brink of liquidation, has an official release date. After Nacon and developer ACE Team revealed it would arrive sometime in Summer 2026 back in November 2025, we now know it'll arrive on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on July 15, 2026. Last week, Nacon was supposed to host its annual Nacon Connect showcase, which would've likely included today's release date announcement for The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu, along with looks at other games [β¦]
New benchmark shows the upcoming mid-range Arrow Lake Refresh chip is even faster than we previously expected. Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus Delivers 4,955 Points in Single and 53,561 Points in Multi-Threaded Tests in PassMark We hope that the Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs do better than we expect, since the current Arrow Lake CPU stack doesn't have a great appeal. One of the Intel Arrow Lake Refresh SKUs was spotted on PassMark for the first time a few days ago, and it was delivering some promising uplifts over its predecessor. While the gaming performance remains in the shadows, the [β¦]
Steve Downes, the voice actor behind Halo protagonist, Master Chief, is the latest to call out a recent video posted by the official White House X (formerly Twitter) account, which uses clips from several popular film, TV, and video game franchises mixed together with real-life footage of the United States bombing Iran. The video in question reuses a lot of the footage included in the video that Chance Glasco, one of the original developers of Call of Duty, called out just last week, when Glasco shared that the video was not a surprise for him. Not because videos like this [β¦]
Like many people, youβre worried about losing your job to AI.
Where do your βold schoolβ PPC skills fit as AI agents take over more of the work?
Relax. Itβs not that binary. The focus is shifting toward data and strategy.
From the outside, it looks like media buying is being automated away. But letβs set the record straight: it isnβt. The role is shifting (again).
Iβve been working in PPC for over 15 years, and thereβs nothing to be afraid of. The real question is: are you riding the wave or being left behind?
Letβs map the current PPC landscape: ad network automation and, most importantly, where PPC teams create value today β the critical skill sets and team structure required to compete.
The return of the technical PPC team
A decade ago, technical PPC agencies differentiated through developing scripts, handling data at scale, and managing complex structures. Then automation matured. Everybody started leveraging Performance Max or Advantage+ campaigns because theyβre much easier to set up and run.
As a result, many teams shifted toward strategy and creative.
With AI, though, itβs easier than ever to produce good-enough creatives or analyze massive datasets and output what looks like a good strategy. Now donβt get me wrong, those outputs wonβt be perfect but:
Itβs free (sort of) and fast.
The quality level isnβt bad at all (not great either).
From a client perspective, this means the average creative-focused or strategy-nerd agency is out of the game. Those teams need skills AI canβt replace.
So rejoice, PPC people: the technical edge is back. It has morphed into something different for sure. But itβs time to bring back the spreadsheet junkies from the 2010s. Theyβre the right ones to drive PPC again.
Doubting that? Letβs rewind a little bit and look at the necessary skill set.
The PPC edge: From spreadsheet skills to data nerds
What successful PPC agencies now sell is dramatically different than a decade ago. But the same core mindset resurfaced.
Why?
Letβs look at the core performance drivers these days:
Integrating down-funnel data into strategy.
Building a data infrastructure to support said strategy.
Feeding the right signals to ad algorithms.
Building systems to operate at scale, including creatives.
See the pattern? You canβt prompt your way out of a broken data model. This is where your edge remains and what clients value.
The good news is that automation increases the value of technical literacy. It doesnβt reduce it.
Who do you call to handle technical literacy? The old PPC marketers. The ones who loved manipulating paid search ads using custom Excel macros they built, or managing hundreds of thousands of product feed items. They have the right mindset: they love automation, data, and math β and they love PPC.
So who should be on your team, whether in-house or agency-side? Here are four essential roles. No single person can cover the entire scope β you need a team.
1. Data engineer
This role basically builds and maintains the infrastructure. Although located after the tracking specialist in the data supply chain, itβs the most central role. Thatβs why it comes first.
We operate in a complex, multi-platform world: think CRM integration with Google Ads. Or merging online and offline datasets to map the customer journey and drive strategy.
Without a complete data model, your strategy becomes a vague gut feeling that often needs a reality check. The role of the data engineer is to lay the foundation to avoid this situation whenever possible.
Conversely, without this role on your team, youβll perform repetitive manual exports, get inconsistent numbers across teams, and end up with slow decision cycles.
What is the data engineerβs scope?
Building a data infrastructure basically follows an ETL process: extract data, manipulate it, and make it usable in a reporting tool (think Looker Studio, Power BI, or Tableau).
Here are a few tasks that illustrate that overarching goal:
Build data pipelines from ad platforms, analytics or CRM tools to the data warehouse (to get spend, revenue and other data into the warehouse).
Structure tables for those sources and βjoinβ (merge) them to answer specific use cases.
Maintain those datasets and create automated QAs, including refresh schedules.
What skill sets and tools does the data engineer use?
Generally speaking, since we live in a Google-first world, we hear a lot about BigQuery, Googleβs data warehousing solution. There are other solutions, such as Microsoft Azure. However, the main skill set youβre looking for is coding β more specifically, SQL and Python.
The goal here is to use those languages to structure tables within the data warehouse (using SQL) and create data pipelines (using Python).
2. Tracking and measurement architect
Some people consider this to be the same role as data engineers. I strongly disagree.
To me, this roleβs sole focus is to protect signal quality. Itβs the one person who faces very tight deadlines when things go wrong: you canβt afford to lose conversion data for more than a couple of days. And itβs not retroactive: when tracking is down, conversions are lost forever.
Ad platformsβ performance stands on the shoulders of conversion data. If you donβt get enough of those quality events, youβll be at a serious competitive disadvantage.
You typically notice this when CPAs fluctuate without explanation or when your in-platform data varies drastically from your βsource of truthβ (GA, CRM and other systems). Tracking and measurement architects stabilize bidding, increase event match quality and get more data into Google Ads.
What is the tracking architectβs scope?
They design data collection mechanisms that are both complete and regulation-compliant (hello, GDPR):
Align tracking with privacy compliance.
Design client- and server-side tracking.
Implement GTM and server containers.
Co-manage Conversions API integrations with the data engineer.
Co-ensure deduplication logic with the media buyer.
What skill sets and tools does the tracking architect use?
Although most PPCs have dabbled with Google Tag Manager, very few have actually set up server-side tagging infrastructure. Thatβs an easy way to distinguish βregularβ PPCs from a tracking specialist. However, they should also be comfortable with Consent Mode frameworks, CAPI, and related tools.
If the data engineer builds the pipes and the tracking architect protects the signal, the data analyst decides what the data means.
Itβs the role most impacted by AI. Granted, you can do a lot with AI, but donβt underestimate how impactful a great data analyst is.
The wrong interpretation can waste millions of dollars in a blink of an eye. Fully replacing data analysts with AI would be a gross mistake.
For example, ROAS in Google Ads doesnβt equal contribution margin. Meta Ads CPA doesnβt equal customer lifetime value.
Without a strong data analyst, you risk misinterpreting data and going down the wrong rabbit hole. Think cutting campaigns that look inefficient short-term but drive long-term value. Or reporting different βtruthsβ to marketing and finance β you donβt want that.
What is the data analystβs scope?
People outside the field think they build Power BI or Looker Studio dashboards. Thatβs just the tip of the iceberg. Data analysts also:
Design data models aligned with business KPIs (this step kind of overlaps with data engineers at times).
Run analysis β think cohort performance, churn rates, profitability, and diminishing returns.
Challenge platform narratives.
What skill sets and tools does the data analyst use?
I tend to think of data analysts like translators: you can speak another language somewhat fluently, but that doesnβt make you qualified to interpret at scale. Same with data analysts: you may understand numbers to an extent, but you probably still need an analyst.
SQL literacy is often required to query the warehouse directly. Spreadsheet modeling also remains critical for scenario planning. The key skill is statistical reasoning. Understanding sample size, variance, and bias prevents false conclusions.
4. CRO and experimentation lead
Once all that data is clean, available, and analyzed, CROs leverage it to improve the economics of every visitor. Improving conversion rate, lead quality, and the overall customer journey creates a compound effect.
The simple way of proving CROsβ worth is to understand that a landing page that converts at 1.5% instead of 3% means youβve doubled your CPA. Nobody wants that. And thatβs where CROs come in. Instead, you want to scale efficiently, not push more money toward a leaky bucket.
From a PPC standpoint, CROs strengthen both performance (better conversion rate) and signal quality (more conversions), which helps smart bidding.
What is the CROβs scope?
Contrary to common belief, CRO doesnβt (solely) mean landing page. This role operates across the full funnel:
Mapping the journey from impression to revenue.
Identifying online friction points using heat maps and session recordings.
Structuring testing roadmaps instead of random experiments.
Collaborating with creative and product teams on offer positioning.
What skill sets and tools does the CRO lead use?
The entry stack I see most often is GA4 and a heatmap tool such as Hotjar. However, it can get much pricier with tools such as ContentSquare. The stack scales depending on the clientβs needs and budget.
The skills that matter most are:
Just like data analysts, a deep understanding of math and statistical reasoning (think pre-calculated sample sizes).
A structured mindset, clear hypotheses, and business-level success metrics.
The modern PPC team looks less like media buyers and more like a hybrid between marketing, data, and product. The advantage goes to teams that structure these capabilities deliberately.
Winning PPC teams are the ones who understand algorithms, but more importantly, the data and economics behind them. If your team masters infrastructure, signal design, analysis, and experimentation, AI becomes leverage. If not, it becomes a liability.
Mullvadβs latest security audit on GotaTun gets green light from independent audit, confirming no major vulnerabilities were found. Here's all you need to know.
Chinese social media is awash with images of customized Panasonic Lumix cameras, especially those with Leica branding. I mean, the craze kind of makes sense...
It's a precursor to launching robotaxis in those cities, though the Amazon-owned company is still waiting for federal approval to commercially operate its purpose-built AV.
Nvidia reportedly revives its RTX 3060 using Samsungβs 8nm node to ease GPU shortages According to sources atΒ Hankyung, Nvidia has tasked Samsung with restarting RTX 3060 GPU production using its 8nm lithography node. This will revive Nvidiaβs two-generation-old RTX 30 series, which exited production in 2024. This revival will reportedly ease the global shortage of [β¦]
Intel officially lists its ARC PRO B70 GPU on its ARC support page Itβs official, Intel are terrible at keeping secrets. Intel has officially listed its ARC PRO B70 graphics card on its support website, confirming its existence once again. Videocardz were the first to spot this listing, and so far, Intel has failed to [β¦]
Microsoft's upcoming agenda view for the Taskbar on Windows 11 has been pushed back, with the first preview now expected to debut "in the coming months" instead of last year.
Laptop repairability is becoming ever more important as PC prices climb due to hardware shortages, and Lenovo's new ThinkPad T14 and T16 just received full marks from iFixit. Here's what went into that perfect score.
Xbox is showcasing new slogans at its GDC booth including βBuild for whatβs nextβ and βThe future of Xbox starts now,β hinting at the companyβs messaging for the next era of Xbox.
Various retailers have started selling 42% discounts for the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro Tournament Edition 8K PC controller. With this discount, players will be able to enjoy the thrills of TMR analog sticks, 8000 polling rates, and more gameplay-enhancing features for a ludicrously low price.
ASRock Industrial announces new industrial motherboards supporting AMD EPYC 4005/4004, Ryzen 9000/8000/7000, and Ryzen Embedded 9000/7000 Series processors, expanding its platform portfolio across IMB-A1700, IMB-A1302, IMB-A1003, and IMB-A1002. Powered by AMD EPYC 4005 Series processors with up to 16 cores and 32 threads, delivering high-performance and energy efficiency for edge servers and enterprise workloads, alongside Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 Series for exceptional computing power and Ryzen Embedded 9000 Series for long-term availability in reliable edge computing. Supporting ATX, microATX, and Mini-ITX form factors, these platforms feature DDR5 memory, PCIe Gen 5 expansion, multi-display capability, and rich industrial I/O to enable flexible system designs for computer vision, video analytics, AI-enhanced workloads, software development, gaming platforms, and professional-grade productivity systems.
IMB-A1700 Series: ATX Motherboard for high-performance
The IMB-A1700 ATX motherboard supports AMD EPYC 4005/4004, Ryzen 9000/8000/7000, and Ryzen Embedded 9000/7000 Series processors, delivering robust computing performance for demanding workloads. The board features four DDR5 5600 MHz ECC/non-ECC U-DIMM slots supporting up to 256 GB of memory, providing a stable foundation for high-throughput and multitasking environments. Expansion capability includes two PCIe x16 (Gen 5) slots, configurable as either one PCIe x16 (Gen 5) or two PCIe x8 (Gen 5), one PCIe x4 (Gen 4), and four PCIe x1 (Gen 4) slots, enabling flexible integration of GPUs, AI accelerators, and add-on cards. Storage support includes one M.2 key M for NVMe SSD and four SATA3 ports with RAID 0/1/10 support, enabling high-speed storage deployment. I/O connectivity is comprehensive, featuring seven USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, eight USB 2.0 ports, and six COM ports, complemented by three 2.5G LAN and one 1G LAN. Supporting quad-display output via HDMI 2.0b and DisplayPort 1.2++ and built in an ATX form factor (12 x 9.6 inches), the IMB-A1700 is well-suited for AI-driven video analytics platforms, computer vision servers, high-end development systems, and performance-focused computing deployments.
In February, Valve published its first hardware-related post since announcing the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller 2 last year. The devices were supposed to launch before the end of March, but Valve extended the window to the first half of 2026.
MelodyMind turns your learning materials into unforgettable study songs, Smart Notes, and quizzes using AI. Upload PDFs, paste YouTube links, or record lectures, then instantly get editable notes, synced folders, and a Smart Notes Bank that generates songs, flashcards, and quizzes on demand. Stay engaged with spaced-repetition flashcards, detailed practice quizzes, and a swipeable feed of community study songs that makes review feel like scrolling your favorite apps, so youβre not stuck rewatching the same lecture for the fifth time.
Binferno helps you declutter by turning storage into a simple snap-and-search workflow. Take a photo as you toss items into labeled bins, then add quick tags whenever you want. Instantly search to see what you have and where it is.
Invite others to your Binferno Household so everyone can find things, reduce duplicate purchases, and share responsibility. Access your inventory on any device and start with a 30-day free trial with no payment info required.
Flying on the Highwind airship will be a big part of Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3, according to what game director Naoki Hamaguchi told Bloomberg in a new interview. Likely to be one of the highlights of the experience still being built in Unreal Engine 4, the Highwind's role suggests a massive shift in how players will interact with the game world, although the status of other iconic late-game mechanics from the original remains a mystery. The Highwind "gameplay experience" has been expanded for the third and final entry in the Remake trilogy, although precisely how it has been [β¦]
Appleβs newest 11-inch and 13-inch M4 iPad AirΒ have not even gone on sale, and Amazon has already made these premium slates ooze significantly better value thanks to slashing up to $100 off for the Wi-Fi-only models as part of its pre-order offer. While it would have been the icing on the cake if the online retailer had discounted the cellular variants, we canβt always have what we want. The highest discount is unsurprisingly applied to the 1TB version of the 13-inch M4 iPad Air, which also happens to be the most expensive out of the lineup With the new price [β¦]
Get an awesome deal on this Newegg combo - $949.99 gets you the fastest gaming processor around, a Ryzen 7 9850X3D, 32GB of dual-channel DDR5 Kingston RAM, and a solid Asus X870 AYW Gaming Wifi motherboard
The best Amazon Spring Deals Day UK deals on gaming PCs, laptops, tools, and accessories. Also featuring deals from Argos, Currys, Overclocker, Scan, and more.
Another great Newegg deal nets you 64GB (2x32GB) of Corsair Vengeance ARGB RAM, alongside a Gigabyte RTX 5070 graphics card and a Corsair 3500X PC case, all for only $1,299.99, saving you a massive $619.98.
OpenAI has begun testing ads in ChatGPT for a limited set of U.S. users, with placements clearly labeled as sponsored. The platformβs internal economics suggest itβll be available to everyone sooner rather than later.
When it does, advertisers will have access to a rare new channel for demand capture. But advertisers should enter this space with their eyes wide open.
For ChatGPT advertising to be successful, consumer behavior will need to change. And even if it does, ChatGPT wonβt expand the advertising market. Itβll redistribute it.
Why ChatGPT is moving into ads
The fact that ads have arrived on ChatGPT should come as no surprise. By some estimates, a large language model (LLM) query costs 10 times as much as a traditional search query. With 2.5 billion prompts every day, ChatGPTβs expenses add up quickly.
Whatβs different isnβt the business model shift itself. Itβs the data environment. Users have spent years feeding personal information, questions, and ideas into ChatGPT. In many ways, the platform knows more about its users than any comparable advertising tool. The big question now is how ChatGPT will harness this data to target users.
Advertising historically relied on generating demand: repeating a message enough times that buyers eventually acted. Search changed that by meeting buyers at the moment of intent.
ChatGPT has the potential to follow the search model, but with more context. Itβs easy to envision a scenario where someone asks which security camera will work with their existing system. The platform already knows everything about the userβs security system, so it delivers the correct answer and a link to purchase.
When this happens, ChatGPT will be the first new demand-capture channel to emerge since Google launched pay-per-click ads nearly two decades ago.
But right now, there are a few significant barriers preventing this from happening.
For starters, most current AI queries lack purchase intent. Instead, theyβre mostly informational: lists of Super Bowl halftime performers, storm-preparation tips, and workout routines. Compare that with existing platforms like Amazon and Google, which have spent decades training users to search with intent.
Even when users do shop through AI, thereβs an attribution problem: consumers often use ChatGPT for research, then complete the purchase on Amazon, Google, or directly on a brand site. That breaks clean conversion tracking and makes βproofβ harder than βimpact.β
These challenges arenβt impossible to overcome. Google went through the same process early on as it transitioned from a homework tool to a shopping platform. But it took time.
ChatGPT will also need time to train consumers to use AI for shopping. So expect to see ChatGPT begin running commercials designed to train consumers to move from research queries to purchase-oriented ones.
While the possibility of a genuinely new demand-capture advertising platform is undeniably exciting, be realistic about its true potential.
AI can do many things exceptionally well, but it wonβt expand the advertising pie. ChatGPT ads wonβt suddenly introduce a surge of new consumers into the market. Ecommerce purchases will continue to grow at the same rate regardless of which new advertising platforms come online.
Instead, ChatGPT will capture a portion of the existing advertising share from Google, Meta, and Amazon. Consequently, advertiser budgets will likely shift rather than grow significantly.
ChatGPTβs largest competitors wonβt give up market share without a fight. Google, in particular, has its own AI platform, Gemini, and an existing group of active advertisers it can draw from. These are powerful competitive headwinds for ChatGPT, which is recruiting its first group of advertisers from scratch.
Competition will be fierce among AI platforms as they race to reach profitability, and market consolidation seems inevitable. But even in that environment, ChatGPT has an opportunity to do something other platforms canβt.
The differentiator: Hyper-personalization
AI queries already lean heavily toward information gathering. Users employ these tools to help them plan everything from vacations to workout routines to tough conversations with their bosses. Taken together, AI platforms can learn more about individual usersβ tastes and preferences than any other tool.
This capability unlocks hyper-personalization at scale.
Knowing everything that it does, AI can return perfectly tailored results with a one-click purchase option. Google and Amazon canβt match this capability because they still rely on users searching for particular specs, product names, or model numbers to deliver results.
Thereβs risk here. Hyper-personalization can feel invasive.
Some users will opt out entirely, just as some consumers avoid always-on devices in their homes. Meta ran into this dynamic years ago as public backlash forced changes in targeting and data practices.
This is where the distinction between demand capture and demand generation matters. Demand capture advertising generally feels less intrusive because itβs tied to a userβs explicit request. Most consumers will appreciate getting exactly what they ask for when they want it. But theyβll likely revolt if highly personalized and unsolicited ads start following them around the web.
If AI platforms can maintain that boundary, the convenience of hyper-personalization will ultimately win out for most users.
While OpenAI has already begun reaching out to select advertisers, it could be a year before we begin seeing widespread advertising on ChatGPT or other AI platforms. However, you should be prepared to move whenever that moment arrives.
So watch for official communications from OpenAI about ChatGPT advertising and, when possible, sign up for platform notifications.
In the meantime, you can make these few practical moves:
Align internally on measurement expectations: If the channel starts as research-heavy, last-click ROAS may understate performance. Build room for assisted conversions and incrementality.
Pressure-test mobile UX and checkout friction: Demand capture punishes slow experiences. If AI shortens the path to purchase, your site has to close quickly.
Plan conservative early tests: Being an early adopter carries risk (immature controls, evolving placements), but it also creates an edge: faster learning on a genuinely new demand-capture surface.
New demand-capture channels donβt come along often. ChatGPT advertising could become one of them, but the winners wonβt be the brands that rush in blindly. Theyβll be the ones who enter with a clear thesis, realistic measurement, and a strategy built around trust.
SEO professionals donβt agree on much. But over the past decade, weβve come together around the conviction that Google has abused its dominant position, that it systematically favors its own products over better alternatives, and that something must be done to create fairer competition in search.Β
In 2022, the European Union passed the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a sweeping regulation designed to curb the power of tech giants. It came into force in March 2024.
Industry groups celebrated. Trade publications ran optimistic headlines about a new era of digital fairness.
In 2024, I wrote that it was βa much-needed piece of legislation.βΒ Two years in, the evidence is clear: The DMA will do more harm than good.
Well-documented abusesΒ
The Digital Markets Act arose from understandable frustrations with well-documented abuses.Β
Google spent years ranking its own shopping service at the top of search results while systematically burying competitors like Foundem and Kelkoo on page four, where nobody would ever find them.Β
The companyβs internal documents, uncovered by EU investigators, revealed that Google Shopping βsimply doesnβt workβ on its merits, so Google gave it an algorithmic boost unavailable to anyone else.Β
The travel industry watched as Google Flights consumed the market share of innovative startups like Hipmunk, which had offered genuinely better user experiences by showing total trip costs, including baggage fees and connections.Β
Hoteliers saw Google Hotels siphon away direct bookings. Local businesses watched as Google prioritized its local pack over organic results.
The pattern was unmistakable: Google identified lucrative verticals, launched competing products, then used its search monopoly to guarantee their success.
These werenβt competitive advantages but unfair tactics, and the EU was right to identify them as such. It took over 10 years to fine Google Β£2.1 billion for the shopping search abuse alone. The DMA was supposed to fix this by setting clear rules upfront, forcing gatekeepers to treat all services equally before abuses could take root.Β
For those of us who had watched clients lose traffic to Googleβs vertical search engines despite having superior content, the promise was intoxicating: Finally, algorithmic neutrality. Finally, fair competition based on content quality rather than corporate ownership. Finally, a chance for the next generation of search-dependent businesses to compete.
Yet, two years into implementation, the reality looks nothing like the promise. The most comprehensive assessment comes from Nextrade Group, which surveyed 5,000 European consumers across twenty member states in mid-2025.Β
The findings?Β
Two-thirds of respondents reported needing more clicks or more complex search queries to find what they need online. Among frequent searchers, precisely the users most valuable to our clients, 61% said searches now take up to 50% longer than before the DMA.
Forty-two percent of frequent travelers reported that flight and hotel searches had worsened significantly. More than 40% said they would actually pay to restore the functionality they had before March 2024.Β
When users are willing to pay for something they previously received for free, regulation has failed catastrophically.
Eighty percent had never heard of the DMA, it solved problems they didnβt know existed, yet 39% reported that routine online tasks had become more cumbersome since early 2024.Β
Why does it matter?Β
As SEO professionals, we must confront this truth: Users preferred the integrated Google experience we spent years complaining about.
Before the DMA, searching for βhotels in Parisβ displayed an interactive map with photos, ratings, real-time availability, and prices β all accessible without leaving the search results page.
That integration has been dismantled because Google Search and Google Maps are designated as separate core platform services, and their seamless cooperation constitutes prohibited self-preferencing.Β
Users must now click through to separate services, repeat their searches, and lose context. Regulators call this fair competition. Users call it a worse internet.
The business impact: Worse metrics across the board
The business metrics support what consumers report feeling. Following the DMAβs implementation, click-through rates on Google Hotel Ads decreased by 30% in affected European regions compared to unaffected markets. Direct bookings through Google Hotel Ads fell by 36%. This is all despite theoretically fairer visibility in search results.Β
These are businesses losing revenue because the mechanism connecting searchers to services has been deliberately degraded.Β
The company still processes over 90% of European search queries. The difference is that now the search experience delivers measurably worse results for users and measurably worse outcomes for businesses paying for visibility.
The enforcement problem: Fines donβt work
The DMA requires Google to treat competing vertical search services (flight comparison sites, hotel booking engines, shopping aggregators) with the same prominence as its own offerings.Β
In response, Google tested a version of its hotel search that removed maps, removed structured listings with photos and availability, and displayed only 10 blue links. Users hated it.Β
Hotels saw a traffic crater. Google documented the catastrophic user satisfaction scores and presented them to the Commission as evidence that integration serves user needs, not just Googleβs interests.Β
The Commission found itself in an impossible position: Force Google to maintain the worst experience in the name of fairness, or acknowledge that some integrations genuinely benefit users even when they advantage Googleβs products.
Google responded to preliminary findings of non-compliance by making incremental adjustments that preserve the substance of its advantage, while creating just enough ambiguity about whether itβs following the rules.Β
When the Commission objects to one implementation, Google proposes another that differs in form but not effect. This process can continue indefinitely because the underlying problem, Googleβs monopoly in search, remains untouched.Β
For a company with annual revenues exceeding $300 billion, regulatory fines are simply a cost of doing business. The Commission fined Google β¬2.4 billion for shopping search abuses and breaking antitrust rules. The company paid and continued operating largely as before. It will do the same with DMA fines.Β
The uncomfortable reality is that you canβt regulate a monopoly into behaving competitively. You can only break the monopoly itself.
The European Commission must monitor 23 core platform services across seven gatekeepers, while each company releases updates continuously:
Algorithms change dailyΒ
Features launch weekly
Product roadmaps evolve quarterly
By the time the Commission identifies a potential violation, conducts workshops with stakeholders, issues preliminary findings, allows the company to respond, and publishes a final decision (a process taking 12-18 months), the underlying technology and business models have moved on.Β
Google launched AI Overviews in Europe one week after receiving preliminary findings of non-compliance for self-preferencing in traditional search. The company essentially announced that, while regulators debate whether Google Flights should rank above Kayak, Google is moving to a fundamentally different search results page where AI-generated summaries replace links entirely.Β
The DMA contemplated regulating 2024βs search landscape. Google is already building 2027βs.
What should regulators do instead?
While Iβm not a regulator, I have been doing SEO for 15 years. In my opinion, regulators should redouble efforts to address actual structural monopolies rather than impose rules on how platforms must operate.Β
The DMA tries to regulate platform behavior while leaving monopoly power intact. This is like trying to stop water from flowing downhill by prescribing which route it must take. The water will find another path, and everyone gets wet in the process.
If Googleβs dominance in search truly stifles competition, perhaps the solution isnβt to regulate how it displays results but to break its monopoly altogether. The United States has considered requiring Google to divest Chrome; such structural remedies might succeed where behavioral rules have failed.
If the concern is that Google leverages search dominance to advantage its advertising business, separate the two.Β
If the worry is that controlling both the search algorithm and the content (YouTube, Google News, Google Shopping) creates irresolvable conflicts of interest, then require differentiation.Β
These actions would be slower, more legally complex, and more politically difficult than passing the DMA. They would also actually work.
In short, regulators should focus on creating conditions for competition rather than micromanaging every product decision. That means enabling genuine data portability so users can switch services easily, taking their search history and preferences with them.Β
This also means using traditional antitrust enforcement aggressively for the largest abuses, like Google systematically burying competitors on page four, exclusive deals that lock out rivals, and acquisitions designed to eliminate nascent threats.Β
The geopolitical reality
The DMAβs first two years have demonstrated that ex-ante rules are no faster β investigations still take 12-18 months β and far less effective than traditional enforcement.Β
The geopolitical consequences threaten to undermine European interests far beyond digital markets. In December 2025, the Trump administration threatened retaliation against the EU for what it characterized as discriminatory targeting of American technology companies. The Office of the United States Trade Representative explicitly named European companies, including Spotify, Siemens, SAP and DHL, as potential targets for new restrictions.Β
From Washingtonβs perspective, the DMA looks less like competition policy and more like industrial policy disguised as regulation.Β
Whether that characterization is fair matters less than the political reality: Brussels finds itself caught between domestic pressure to demonstrate tough enforcement and external pressure that threatens broader trade relationships.
The DMA promised to enable the next generation of search-dependent businesses. It promised to stop Google from using its search monopoly to advantage its vertical products. It promised fairer competition for hotels, airlines, ecommerce sites, and the entire ecosystem of businesses that depend on organic search traffic.Β
Two years in, Googleβs monopoly remains intact, user experience has measurably degraded, business metrics have worsened, and no meaningful new competition has emerged.Β
For those of us who spent years documenting Googleβs abuses and advocating for intervention, this failure is spectacular.Β
If regulators canβt find ways to break up long-standing monopolies (now over two decades old for some platforms), what hope is there to address emerging challenges in AI search, voice search, or whatever comes next?Β
Young companies have a right to compete in digital markets. Regulators must create conditions where genuine competition is possible, not regulate away the symptoms of monopoly while leaving its foundations untouched.
We were right about the problem. The DMA is simply the wrong solution.
Mid-market organizations are constantly striving to achieve security levels on a par with their enterprise peers. With heightened awareness of supply chain attacks, your customers and business partners are defining the security level you must meet.
What if you could be the enabler for your organization to remain competitive β and help win business β by easily demonstrating that you meet these
Modders have given Mirrorβs Edge a huge ray tracing upgrade A modder called βsoftsounddβ has released a new RTX Remix mod for Mirrorβs Edge, enhancing the gameβs visuals on PC with path tracing. The modder uses specific modifications to make Mirrorβs Edge, an Unreal Engine 3 game, compatible with Nvidiaβs RTX Remix toolkit. While the [β¦]
Lenovo has opened beta registrations for the Xbox Full Screen Experience on the Legion Go. The console-style interface aims to streamline Windows handheld gaming by booting directly into the Xbox app and reducing background tasks.
Ahead of Embedded World, Arduino announced the upcoming launch of its newest platform to democratize edge AI, Arduino VENTUNO Q. Named after the Italian word for twenty-one, VENTUNO Q builds on the iconic legacy of the popular Arduino UNO family and embodies the company's coming of age as it prepares to celebrate its foundation's 21st anniversary, later this month.
At the Edge of Intelligence: Where AI Takes Action
VENTUNO Q unites highβperformance AI compute with deterministic realβtime control, enabling systems that don't just interpret the worldβthey interact with it.
The board builds upon a dual-brain architecture similar to Arduino UNO Q, yet significantly upgrades capabilities leveraging the Qualcomm Dragonwing IQ8 Series for both traditional and generative AI workloads, supported by NPU acceleration delivering up to 40 dense TOPS, as well as a dedicated STM32H5 microcontroller for lowβlatency actuation and motor control. In addition, VENTUNO Q comes with 16 GB RAMβable to handle concurrent inference and complex multitaskingβand an expandable 64 GB of storage.
The GEEKOM A5 Pro 2026 Edition arrives as one of the most compelling compact desktops to date, earning its position as the best $600 mini PC in 2026 thanks to a rare blend of high performance that breezes through all daily tasks, solid build quality that withstand at least 5 years of intensive use, and a 3-year warranty for long-term peace of mind. Its launch further strengthens GEEKOM's reputation the global leader in small-form-factor computing.
At the heart of the A5 Pro 2026 Edition is AMD's Ryzen R5 7530U, a 6-core, 12-thread processor capable of boosting up to 4.5 GHz. Paired with Radeon graphics, dual-channel memory, and fast SSD storage, the system delivers smooth performance across daily office tasks, home entertainment, creative workloads, and even light gaming.
Coinvela helps you find the best place to buy and sell cryptocurrency by comparing real-time prices and total costs across 13 exchanges. It shows transparent fees and payment methods, updates quotes every few seconds, and supports popular coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, USDT, and USDC. You can use it for free without signing up, and then complete your order directly with the provider you choose.
Qualcomm introduced its third-generation Oryon cores to its Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, bumping up the specifications to an impressive 18-core CPU, resulting in significantly increased single-core and multi-core performance. Unfortunately, these upgrades might give Windows laptops some bragging rights when compared as individual products, but as soon as you put the M5 Pro and M5 MaxΒ into the mix, the story changes immediately. In the latest single-core and multi-core benchmark comparison, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme continues to lag behind its direct competition. Disappointingly, the M5 Pro and M5 Max are up to 26 percent faster than the Snapdragon X2 Elite [β¦]
Microsoft remains fully committed to its gaming division, with CEO Satya Nadella and Xbox CEO Asha Sharma affirming that the company is "long on gaming" during a recent internal Q&A. The session provided reassurance to employees, coming at a time when the brand is undergoing yet another significant change with the upcoming Project Helix, which will bring PC and console gaming together in a single system for the first time. During the discussion, as reported by Windows Central, Nadella highlighted how gaming is not just a side business for Microsoft but a core pillar of the company's identity. βWeβre long [β¦]
Processors currently rely on temperature sensors positioned outside the chip die itself, which limits both the speed and precision of thermal monitoring.
Rufus, the AI assistant meant to make shopping on Amazon easier, can actually just answer any question you throw at it as long as it's prompted right. It allegedly runs Claude under the hood, and people have been able to get it to answer complex mathematical questions, and we almost got it to say whether the AI bubble will burst this year.
If your organic traffic is down but impressions are up, AI is likely citing your content without sending clicks. If both are down, youβre being ignored. Either way, the search behavior your marketing strategy was built on has changed, and waiting for traffic to rebound isnβt a strategy.
This is the reality youβre facing in 2026. According to KEO Marketing:
73% of B2B websites saw significant traffic losses between 2024 and 2025, with an average 34% year-over-year decline.Β
The impact isnβt evenly distributed. If your content is primarily informational, youβve likely been hit harder, with some sectors seeing organic traffic drop 15% to 64% since AI Overviews launched.Β
News publishers are especially exposed, with Google referrals down 33% globally in the 12 months ending November 2025.
These arenβt normal fluctuations. They reflect a structural shift in how people find information online, disrupting business models built on website traffic at the foundation.
What is driving the shift in organic discovery?Β
Organic clicks are declining for two overlapping reasons. You need to understand both because each requires a different response:
Google has engineered zero-click behavior for years through featured snippets and knowledge panels. These SERP features answer queries directly on the results page, so you donβt need to click through to get an answer. Ten years ago, about 25% of searches ended without a click. Today, itβs more than 65%. AI Overviews β now appearing in ~16% of desktop searches and ~41% of mobile searches β have dramatically accelerated this trend.
A growing share of users is bypassing traditional search entirely. Nearly 52% of U.S. adults now use AI tools regularly, and about 28% of employed Americans use AI at work. When someone asks ChatGPT or another LLM a question, they usually get an answer without visiting any website. Your content may inform that answer, but you get no traffic and no attribution.
What metrics should I consider when measuring AEO?
Traditional content marketing KPIs (impressions, clicks, CTR, sessions, bounce rate, and page views) no longer show you how discoverable your brand is. They measure behavior on your site, not how you perform in AI answers that now intercept much of your traffic upstream.
Five metrics matter most for AI visibility:
Citations in AI responses measure how often your owned content is directly cited when an LLM answers a query. A citation signals three things: your content is relevant, itβs structured so LLMs can parse and retrieve it efficiently, and your domain has enough authority to be trusted.
Brand mentions are different from citations. LLMs often mention brands without citing owned content, pulling from review sites, forums, third-party articles, and competitor content. A mention without a citation means the broader web is talking about you, but your content isnβt the source. That distinction helps you decide where to invest.
Share of voice compares your citation and mention frequency against competitors across a defined set of category-relevant prompts.
Brand sentiment tracks whether AI responses frame you favorably, neutrally, or negatively.
AI-influenced traffic measures how much of your traffic comes from LLM referrals. Early data suggests this traffic converts three to five times higher than other sources, making it worth tracking even at low volume.
Several tools now let you track these metrics at scale without manually prompting LLMs. Theyβre worth exploring.Β
But even a simple benchmark β prompting major LLMs with your target queries and tracking where and how you appear β is better than not measuring at all.
How should I optimize my content for AEO?
Winning visibility in AI search doesnβt require an entirely new content playbook. But it requires retiring practices that no longer work and doubling down on principles that matter more than ever.
E-E-A-T remains the foundation
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness were dominant signals in Google SEO before AI Overviews, and they remain dominant in AEO. LLMs prioritize sources that show real expertise and are trusted by other authoritative sources.Β
If you earn citations from credible sites, publish content written by clear subject matter experts, and cover topics with depth and specificity, youβll consistently outperform content that doesnβt β regardless of how well itβs optimized for other factors.
Structure and clarity have become non-negotiable
LLMs retrieve content by identifying passages that directly answer questions. If you organize content around clear questions and direct answers, use structured bullet summaries, and avoid dense paragraphs, youβre more retrievable than if you bury answers in narrative prose.Β
This means making your information architecture legible to both human readers and LLM retrieval systems. Adding a Q&A section to existing content β or restructuring posts around clear question-and-answer pairs β is one of the highest-leverage updates you can make right now.
Human-written, human-led content has a measurable advantage
After Googleβs latest core update, mass-produced AI content saw an 87% drop in rankings and citation frequency, and keyword-optimized content fell 63%. LLMs are getting better at detecting AI writing patterns and deprioritizing that content.
The pressure you felt in 2025 to produce volume with AI created a quality problem thatβs now visible in performance data. The strongest strategy is quality over quantity. If you use AI, use it to draft and editβnot to generate final content. Add a review step to flag generic phrasing or a synthetic tone, whether through AI-detection tools or human editors.
Recency matters for AI citation
Answer engines look at publication and update dates when choosing sources. A well-structured, authoritative piece from 2022 can be overlooked in favor of an updated version from 2025.Β
Audit your high-traffic pages and hero assets for outdated content, and refresh them with current data and examples. Itβs a quick win many teams miss.
Pitchy language will not get cited
If your content reads as promotional β leading with product claims and brand-forward language β answer engines will often deprioritize it in favor of more objective sources.Β
That doesnβt mean you canβt mention your product or brand. It means you should write about it the way a neutral third party would: acknowledge tradeoffs, provide context, and let the facts make the case. Listicles and comparison articles work especially well here.Β
AI systems respond to structured, objective comparisonsβeven when one option is clearly favored.
Outside of my owned channels, what content performs well in AEO?Β
One clear pattern in how LLMs decide which brands to mention: they look for consensus across multiple sources, not just your content. If you appear only on your own blog, youβll lose to a brand with fewer owned assets but stronger third-party coverage.
That makes your external content ecosystem a strategic priority. Reviews on G2, Capterra, Google, and similar platforms are often used in AI training. User-generated content on Reddit and other forums is heavily indexed. Third-party articles, tutorials, YouTube videos, and newsletter mentions all build the multi-source consensus that gets you cited in AI answers.
Content partnerships deserve focused attention. When you sponsor articles or newsletter placements with relevant publications, you do two things: drive referral traffic outside search and earn trusted external citations that boost AI visibility. Newsletter readership is growing as audiences seek curated, human-authored content. YouTube citations are especially strong and increasing, and ChatGPT shows a documented preference for citing authoritative video creators.
The goal isnβt to manufacture mentions. Itβs to tell a consistent story about your brand across credible external sources so LLMs encounter that story repeatedly. Consistency across partners, review platforms, and third-party content compounds your AI share of voice.
How do I build landing pages that convert traffic better?Β
With organic traffic down 30% or more, the visitors who reach your site are more valuable and more intentional than in past years. That makes conversion optimization on key landing pages more important.
The principle is simple: one offer, one message, minimal copy.Β
Each landing page should have a single call to action and a single argument. If you have multiple conversion goals, create multiple landing pages β not one page trying to do everything.Β
Your header should capture the full value proposition. Supporting points should be brief. A visitor should understand the offer and act without scrolling.
This differs from blog and thought leadership content, which should be detailed, well sourced, and structured for LLM retrieval. The two serve different purposes and require different standards. Conversion-focused landing pages arenβt the place for nuance or extended prose.
The takeaway
The traffic decline isnβt a temporary setback that will correct itself. Users are getting answers from AI instead of clicking through to websites, and that behavior will intensify. A content strategy built only around ranking for clicks is no longer enough.
What replaces it is a dual mandate: optimize to be cited by answer engines and build the external brand presence that gives LLMs reason to mention you consistently. These goals align with what you shouldβve been doing all along β publishing clear, authoritative, well-structured content grounded in real expertise.
The brands that will win in AI-driven discovery are the ones doing the fundamentals well: building real credibility, earning trusted external mentions, and writing for readers instead of algorithms.Β
That was always the right approach. AI search has simply made it mandatory.
John Mueller from Google said you can block a complete TLD, top-level-domain, using the link disavow tool. He said it is not something Google documents because βGiven how big of a hammer it is, I donβt know if itβs something we should really suggest in the docs.β
How does it work. All you need to do is use the syntax βdomain:abcβ in the disavow file. John posted this one Bluesky saying:
βIf youβre sure that itβs what you want to do, you can use βdomain:abcβ in the disavow file. Keep in mind that you canβt carve out specific domains if you like some, but if you find the TLD is almost only annoying spammers, itβll save you time.β
He later added:
βGiven how big of a hammer it is, I donβt know if itβs something we should really suggest in the docs. Iβm sure all TLDs have some good sites.β
Why we care. If there is one TLD that is concerning to you, sure, you can go ahead and disavow the whole TLD. But it might be better to be more selective of how you use the disavow file and donβt just block TLDs at a whole.
Two Google Chrome extensions have turned malicious after what appears to be a case of ownership transfer, offering attackers a way to push malware to downstream customers, inject arbitrary code, and harvest sensitive data.
The extensions in question, both originally associated with a developer named "akshayanuonline@gmail.com" (BuildMelon), are listed below -
QuickLens - Search Screen with
GitHub Copilot has added support for OpenAIβs GPT-5.4 coding model, bringing improved reasoning and support for multi-step tasks. The model is available across several development environments.
Global high-performance computing and industrial embedded platform leader MSI will showcase a complete Edge AI ecosystem at Embedded World 2026, integrating edge computing platforms and vertical industry solutions to demonstrate industrial-grade Edge AI computing and on-site deployment capabilities.
As artificial intelligence applications increasingly extend from the cloud to field environments, MSI leverages industrial-grade reliability and platform integration expertise to help enterprises build intelligent systems with long-term operational stability, accelerating digital transformation across transportation, manufacturing, retail, agriculture, and UAV applications.
Following Sandisk's new naming scheme for NVMe SSDs, it now looks like Seagate is ready to announce a shift to a new naming for some of its SSDs as well. In a leak that at least in part appears to be thanks to a spec sheet uploaded by Best Buy, Seagate's upcoming FireCuda X series has leaked and the first model in the new series looks to be the X1070. That's a pretty big jump in model numbers, as Seagate's current top of the range FireCuda NVMe SSD is the 530R. Unlike the Barracuda 540, the FireCuda X1070 isn't a PCIe 5.0 drive and it does in fact not even trump the FireCuda 530R in terms of performance, despite the new model name suggesting it would.
The X1070 offers a max sequential read speed of 7200 MB/s, down from 7400 MB/s for the 530R and max sequential write speed of 6000 MB/s for the 1 TB SKU and 6500 MB/s for the 2 and 4 TB SKUs, where the 530R ranges from 6800-7000 MB/s. The random IOPS are also lower at around 900k vs. 1.3 million. The TBW rating is also about half that of the 530R, somewhat depending on the SKU, but Seagate still offers a five year warranty. The only good news is that the power usage is down by around 3-4 W, again depending on SKU, but this suggests we might be looking at a DRAM-less model here. We'll have to wait for the actual launch to find out the pricing, but it looks like the current FireCuda 530R is a better option over the X1070, unless you need an SSD that is more power efficient and hopefully produces less heat.
MaxSun has introduced two additional GPU variants to its Arc Pro B60 Dual GPU lineup. Each card features two of Intel's Arc Pro B60 GPUs, offering a total of 40 Xe2 cores and 48 GB of GDDR6 memory. The first variant is a passively cooled model designed for dual-slot configurations, ideal for server setups with high-airflow chassis that direct air across the card. This design allows any server case with high-RPM fans to accommodate multiple GPUs in parallel for AI inference and local development. However, the standout model is the liquid-cooled edition, measuring 300 x 110 x 20 mm and occupying a single slot. This compact profile is a distinct advantage of the water-cooled design, allowing several cards to be installed close together in dense enclosures without the need for strong airflow.
With the liquid-cooled edition, the card's TDP remains at 400 W, similar to the passive and fan-equipped versions. However, overall performance is expected to be slightly higher due to the increased stability that liquid cooling provides. The compact liquid-cooled unit was developed in collaboration with abee, and the company reports peak GPU temperatures around 61Β°C when integrated into a cooling loop, although other loop characteristics are unknown. It is assumed that standard industry loop measurements were conducted. Two hose barbs and a 12V-2x6 power connector are located on the rear edge, along with a fan header for auxiliary cooling control. A single-slot bracket offers one DisplayPort 1.2 and one HDMI 2.1a connector for each GPU, resulting in four display outputs in total. In a workstation, you could fit a few of these GPUs and quickly multiply the compute and memory capacity, creating a capable system even without a high-end GPU.
Following the introduction of the new online safety codes, VPN apps have shot up the Australian free iPhone app chart. VPN Super Unlimited Proxy moved from 40th place to 7th, Proton VPN moved from 174th to 19th, and NordVPN went from 189th to 13th, according to Sensor Tower data.
DecTrack is a workspace for team decisions. Create a decision, add options, invite the right people, and collect structured votes or feedback. Compare alternatives with pros and cons, weighted criteria, or a simple decision matrix. Every decision stays documented with context, discussion, and a clear outcome. It is built for teams that want fewer chaotic chats and more traceable decisions. DecTrack is currently in Early Access and free during beta.
MSI has a brand new entry-level motherboard, the MAG B850M Gaming PRO MAX, which comes with an OC Engine for Ryzen overclocking. MSI Adds An OC Engine On Its Entry-Level MAG B850M Gaming PRO Motherboard MSI's new MAX series refreshed motherboards come with an external BCLK generator or an OC Engine, as MSI likes to call it. This OC Engine provides independent BCLK control for better overclocking potential & it's always great to see entry-level options with such capabilities, as they allow AMD Ryzen owners to get better performance out of their systems. So, looking at the specs sheet, the [β¦]
A torrent of rumors and speculation that had been churning out for years eventually led to the materialization of the MacBook Neo, making it Appleβs most affordable product from this lineup. The launch allows the company to target an entirely new category, which should make Windows notebook manufacturers quite nervous right about now. With a decent assortment of specifications and a stellar build quality for the price, we expect this machine to be quite a popular pick amongst consumers, and if you want to learn more about it, check out our detailed roundup. Display and Design No expense was spared [β¦]
China's commerce ministry warned on Saturday of a renewed global semiconductor supply chain crisis, after Nexperia's Netherlands disabled IT accounts for all employees at its Chinese operations.
During MWC, Fujitsu partnered with networking equipment maker 1FINITY to unveil the first silicon wafers and an engineering sample of its "MONAKA" CPU. Scheduled for release in 2027, the initial Fujitsu MONAKA CPU utilizes the Armv9-A architecture and a 3D chiplet layout that combines a core die with separate SRAM and I/O dies. A single chip features 144 cores, and two-socket configurations can scale up to 288 cores per node. The platform supports 12-channel DDR5, PCIe 6.0 with CXL 3.0, and Arm SVE2 for AI and HPC workloads. Fujitsu has chosen TSMC to manufacture this chip using the 2 nm node, paired with Broadcom's 3.5D eXtreme Dimension System-in-Package (XDSiP) packaging architecture. This packaging allows MONAKA to become a 144-core design featuring four 36-core chiplets. These chiplets are stacked face-to-face with SRAM tiles through hybrid copper bonding, utilizing TSMC's N5 process for the cache layer.
In the pictures below, we can see the silicon complex in its early sample packaging, which shows a large central I/O die, HBM memory around the CPU, and the new packaging technology. Reportedly, this CPU has already reached a working version, with Broadcom shipping the CPU to Fujitsu in late February this year. After initial testing and early performance validation, Fujitsu plans to ship these processors to customers around summer, with mass shipping to commence in 2027. The company envisions this SoC as a powerhouse for AI inference, simulation, and large-scale data processing. It will sell these systems to external customers, who showed great interest in Fujitsu's A64FX when the Fugaku computer came online. Fugaku was the most powerful supercomputer back in 2020, achieving 415.53 PetaFLOPS of FP64 and an impressive HPL-AI score of 1.421 ExaFLOPS using lower FP16 precision. Hence, we expect the new MONAKA CPU to enable much greater speeds and some efficiency improvements as well.
High-value organizations located in South, Southeast, and East Asia have been targeted by a Chinese threat actor as part of a years-long campaign.
The activity, which has targeted aviation, energy, government, law enforcement, pharmaceutical, technology, and telecommunications sectors, has been attributed by Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 to a previously undocumented threat activity group dubbed
Apple could name its upcoming laptop MacBook "Ultra" as the ultimate portable Mac from the Cupertino-based giant. According to Mark Gurman in the latest PowerOn newsletter, Apple is giving the MacBook a long-rumored "Ultra" overhaul, this time as an addition to the existing MacBook lineup, not as a product replacement. This model is expected to be Apple's first MacBook with an OLED touchscreen and a dynamic island instead of the traditional notch found on today's MacBook displays. It will sit above the new M5 Pro and M5 Max-powered MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16, making Apple's new Mac lineup one of the most diverse in the company's history, especially with the recent launch of the MacBook Neo.
While March was reserved for the regular MacBook Pro devices, Apple is scheduling its MacBook Ultra overhaul for the end of this year, when we are also likely to see new chips powering the ultimate design. Pricing is expected to increase as well, as we have historically seen Apple introduce a price premium whenever a new OLED panel was installed on a device, similar to when the iPad received an OLED upgrade. These MacBook Ultra devices are codenamed K114 and K116 and are breaking with Apple's design philosophy, which has been critical of touchscreen devices for years. Apple's legendary co-founder Steve Jobs once called the touchscreen laptop experience "ergonomically terrible," but the competitive landscape has changed significantly over the past few years. To stay competitive, Apple is adapting to these industry changes slowly but surely. Interestingly, Gurman is not certain that Apple will definitely call it MacBook Ultra, it could also retain some Pro model naming, with clear differentiators for this model to sit at the top of the MacBook line.
Chinese NAND Flash maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC) has introduced its first client M.2 NVMe PCIe 5.0 SSD, named the PC550. As many PC OEMs face challenges in acquiring storage solutions at reasonable prices, YMTC aims to assist with its inaugural PCIe 5.0 NVMe model. The M.2 2242 and 2280 modules feature a PCIe Gen 5 x4 link combined with the NVMe 2.0 protocol and YMTC's X4-9070 3D NAND, built on Xtacking 4.0. YMTC designed the PC550 with a four-channel architecture, which the company claims reduces power consumption and thermal output compared to the more common eight-channel designs. The lineup includes capacities of 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB, with no pricing on the official website. Consumers can contact YMTC, or wait for distribution channels to start offering these SSDs.
YMTC rates the largest variant at up to 10,500 MB/s for sequential reads and up to 10,000 MB/s for sequential writes. These speeds surpass most Gen 4 drives but fall short of some Gen 5 offerings that reach nearly 15,000 MB/s, suggesting a less powerful SSD controller. Random performance scales with capacity. The 512 GB model is listed at up to 880,000 random read IOPS and 1,100,000 random write IOPS, with an endurance rating of 300 TBW. The 1 TB and 2 TB models achieve approximately 1,300,000 random IOPS for both read and write, with endurance ratings of 600 TBW and 1,200 TBW, respectively. Idle power consumption is quoted at under 3 milliwatts, and active consumption is under 6 watts, making these figures suitable for notebook use.
NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3060 is making a comeback, expected around mid-March. For this, NVIDIA will once again use Samsung's 8 nm DUV node, as it has in the past. This has been confirmed by the Korean media outlet Hankyung, which reports that Samsung is restarting its 8 nm node production to meet NVIDIA's needs. Originally, Samsung manufactured these GPUs back in 2021. The entire NVIDIA "Ampere" architecture lineup was produced on the 8 nm DUV node, and we didn't anticipate its return after several years. However, since NVIDIA has transitioned to TSMC for manufacturing its "Ada Lovelace" and latest "Blackwell" GPUs, and has become TSMC's largest customer, utilizing the 5 nm node, this move is intriguing.
We still lack concrete information about which version of the RTX 3060 will be reintroducedβwhether it will be the original 12 GB model with a 192-bit wide memory bus or the newer 8 GB variant with a 128-bit bus. Additionally, the decision to use a two-generation-old GPU architecture in 2026 is puzzling, as the reason NVIDIA has chosen the RTX 3060 instead of a newer model like the RTX 4060 remains unclear. Speculatively, it could be because the RTX 4060 is based on the same NVIDIA 4N (5 nm-class) node at TSMC as the current RTX 5060, while the RTX 3060, along with the rest of the GeForce "Ampere" generation, is built on the Samsung 8N (8 nm DUV) foundry node, which would leave the 5 nm capacity for "Blackwell" and its enterprise variants. Finally, it is worth pointing out that when GPU IP design is done, it is usually hard-linked with the node it has been prepared for, so NVIDIA is sticking with Samsung again to avoid any potential upfront costs of adapting this GPU for a different node.
Auditsky provides an embeddable AI-powered website audit widget that agencies can place on landing pages and blogs to capture more leads. Visitors scan their websites for key SEO and AI search signals and receive a branded report. Visitor contact information is then delivered to your inbox and dashboard.
You can customize the widget with your logo, colors, and copy. Embed it anywhere on your website and share audits via unique links to nurture prospects and close more deals.
ContentBeast automates your blog to drive organic traffic. Connect your site, set a schedule, and let it research keywords, plan topics, write human-sounding articles, generate images, and insert internal links and CTAs. It optimizes titles, URLs, FAQs, and structure for search and AI visibility, then publishes directly via its plugin. Use it to stay consistent, rank for more keywords, and scale content across one or many sites.
ExpenseBot delivers AI-powered expense tracking built for Google. You can snap a photo, forward an email, or let it scan Gmail to extract, categorize, and organize every receipt directly into Google Sheets while keeping data in your Google Drive. It automatically finds tax-deductible expenses and exports tax-ready reports to QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, or FreshBooks. Deploy for freelancers, accountants, or entire Google Workspace teams with zero training.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella joined Xbox CEO Asha Sharma for an internal Q&A with staff, describing gaming as one of Microsoftβs core identities and reaffirming the companyβs long term commitment to the industry.
RepliFuse.ai is a comment intelligence platform powered by AI agents. It helps brands and creators manage comments across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook by triaging urgent messages, spotting buying intent, flagging risk signals, and surfacing recurring audience insights so teams can respond faster, protect trust, and turn engagement into growth.
Mintli helps UK small businesses create on-brand ads, images, videos, and copy from a single website URL in under a minute. It scans your site to learn your brand voice, colors, and audience, then produces ready-to-post assets for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and email. Use Mintli to streamline marketing workflows, maintain brand consistency across channels, and cut costs compared to agencies, with simple plans starting at Β£39/month.
A design overhaul of the M6 MacBook ProΒ is expected either in late 2026 or early 2027, with Apple introducing a display transition from mini-LED to OLED for the first time in the portable Macβs history. Typically, when the technology giant introduces a newer lineup, it ends up discontinuing the older-generation models, like it has done with the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max versions now that the M5 Pro and M5 MaxΒ family is here. However, according to the latest report, Apple isnβt going to phase out its newest SoCs or the MacBook Pro lineup that houses them because its M6 [β¦]
The Ryzen 7 9850X3DΒ and Radeon RX 9070 XTΒ are one of the most powerful pairings that you can stumble upon to make a gaming PC, as both can handle the most demanding of resolutions and still deliver incredibly high framerates to provide that visual βeye candy.β Unfortunately, this configuration can be pricey for the majority of buyers, with some readers outright self-discouraging a purchase because of the ongoing DRAM crisis. Fortunately, Skytechβs monster of a gaming PC, the Gaming O11 Vision, has the entire build ready to plug and play for $1,999.99 on Amazon. The Gaming O11 Vision is also kitted [β¦]
Aivare deploys 15 specialized AI agents that automate tasks, prioritize leads, optimize marketing campaigns, and manage office workflows autonomously. A continuous learning engine retrains predictive models using real-time interaction and outcome data. Its patent-pending Dynamic Data Valuation Model assigns an Intelligence Value Index to each data object, prioritizing the most predictive information for retraining and decision-making. This enables selective learning, computational efficiency, and continuous optimization. Designed by real estate experts, AiVARE empowers agencies with AI intelligence tools that go beyond todayβs CRM capabilities and continuously evolve with the market.
The demand for compute power has gone wild out there, and in the midst of it, the AI startup TinyCorp has a rather interesting demand for AMD, involving a 'chonky' RDNA 5 GPU. TinyCorp Hopes To Get an RDNA 5 GPU With 96 GB VRAM For $2,500 Each; Probably Ignoring the Memory Shortages Every AI startup whose world revolves around 'tokenomics' is hungry for compute power and ready to go to any lengths to get it. One of the primary reasons consumer GPUs saw massive availability constraints was that, for small- and medium-scale AI enterprises, they were a viable option [β¦]
In addition to a chipset upgrade, the M5 MacBook AirΒ has received a major boost in SSD performance, mimicking the gains obtained by the M5 MacBook ProΒ that launched last year. In fact, whatβs remarkable about the latest comparison is that Appleβs latest portable Mac is faster than some premium M4 Pro models, not to mention that the machine runs circles around its immediate predecessors, the 13-inch and 15-inch M4 MacBook Air. Let us take a look at these SSD speeds in more detail. Faster SSD speeds will enable the M5 MacBook Air to become more responsive than previous-generation models, making everyday [β¦]
The Satechi CubeDock supports multiple displays, fast NVMe drives, and various devices while streamlining workspace setup in a single aluminum enclosure.
On the latest episode of TechCrunchβs Equity podcast, we discussed what the controversy means for other startups seeking to work with the federal government.
The whole point of discontinuations is to funnel buyers toward the latest products. It also keeps the product lineup cleaner and less confusing. Anyway, here's the full list that's gotten the boot:
GoSign provides electronic signatures with flat, unlimited pricing. Send, track, and sign unlimited documents with no per-envelope or per-seat fees. You can use it hosted or deploy it in your own infrastructure. Teams receive unlimited templates, bulk send, custom branding, audit trails, and role-based access. Developers can embed signing with a full REST API, webhooks, OAuth, and SSO, along with instant status events and retries. Connect to CRMs and internal systems to automate end-to-end document workflows.
I'm rounding up today's 11 best TV deals that I recommend for watching March Madness, including record-low prices on best-rated 4K, QLED, and OLED TVs.
Unlike much of the news in the energy storage field, which often focuses on cathode breakthroughs, this study zeroes in on the chemistry of electrolytes β the medium that shuttles lithium ions between electrodes.
Wafaa is your new one-stop shop for digital contracts. Create, sign, and send contracts in minutes so you can get back to work. Replace scattered and unsecured agreements across platforms and manage the full contract lifecycle at a glance. Protect your money and time with built-in fraud prevention, and skip the subscriptions by paying as you go. Try before you buy: your first contract is on us.
NVIDIA now plans to bring older GPUs back to life, and according to a new report, Samsung Foundry is preparing to restart production lines for the GeForce RTX 3060. Samsung Foundry Reportedly Plans to Restart 8nm Production of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3060 GPUs The consumer GPU industry has seen significant changes over the past few months, amid DRAM shortages. Not only have we witnessed changes in product launch cycles, but the retail availability of popular SKUs has worsened since then. Given that NVIDIA is having a difficult time managing both the AI/consumer businesses, the company does have a few options [β¦]
If you've been looking for a keyboard upgrade but didn't want to go with the typical options on the market, the HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S might just be the top pick for you. Featuring silent Topre switches and wireless Bluetooth connectivity that lasts three months on a single "charge," this flagship HHKB keyboard is one great deal right now.
Just in time for spring cleaning, Amazon is slashing prices on best-selling vacuums from Dyson, Shark, and Bissell, and I'm rounding up my top picks from $36.
Most people fail on Reddit because they write comments like ads. Reddit eats ads for breakfast.Β Itβs better to follow a Reddit comment framework that has been proven thousands of times to get engagement and increase visibility and awareness.Β Β
The winning move? Be useful first, be human, then casually exist as a company.
Below are 10 proven comment frameworks we see working every single day for our clients. These arenβt scripts: theyβre thinking patterns. Follow the structure, swap in your context, and your comments will feel native instead of needy.
1. The βbeen there done thatβ comment
When to use it: Someone is struggling or asking how to do something you already solved.
Framework:
Start with personal experience.
Share the mistake you made.
Share what finally worked.
Optional soft mention at the end.
Example:
βI ran into this exact issue last year. We tried brute forcing it at first and wasted a ton of time. What finally worked was narrowing the scope and fixing one variable at a time. Once that clicked, everything sped up. We ended up building a small internal tool for it, but honestly the mindset shift mattered more than the tool itself.β
Why it works: Youβre relatable first, helpful second, promotional last. Reddit rewards vulnerability over authority.
2. The counterintuitive insight
When to use it: A thread where everyone is repeating the same advice.
Framework:
Acknowledge the common advice
Gently challenge it
Explain why it fails
Offer a smarter alternative
Example:
βA lot of people say to just throw more money at ads here, but that actually made things worse for us early on. The real unlock was fixing the messaging before scaling anything. Once we did that, even small campaigns started working. That lesson ended up shaping how we approach this for clients now.β
Why it works: Reddit loves contrarian thinking when itβs earned through experience, not just hot takes.
When to use it: Someone is about to make a common and expensive mistake.
Framework:
Validate their plan first.
Warn them about one specific pitfall.
Explain exactly how to avoid it.
Light credibility hint without bragging.
Example:
βThis can work, but one thing to watch out for is scaling too early. We made that mistake and burned a few months before realizing it. If I were doing it again, I would test manually first before automating anything. That lesson came from doing this across a lot of campaigns.β
Why it works: You sound like a guide whoβs walked the path, not a salesman with an agenda.
5. The data point drop
When to use it: A discussion thatβs heavy on opinions and light on facts.
Framework:
Drop one real, specific data point.
Explain what it changed for you.
No links unless someone asks.
Keep the number believable, not boastful.
Example:
βOne interesting data point from our side: When we switched from generic responses to context-specific replies, engagement nearly doubled. Same audience, same platform, different framing. That small change ended up influencing how we now coach others to comment.β
Why it works: Reddit respects numbers when theyβre not flexy. Specific beats vague every time.
When to use it: You want to add value without preaching or taking over the conversation.
Framework:
Answer their question briefly.
Ask a smarter follow-up question.
Let the thread continue naturally.
Donβt hijack the conversation.
Example:
βThis usually comes down to timing more than tools. Out of curiosity, are you trying to solve this for growth or retention? The advice changes a lot depending on that.β
Why it works: You move the conversation forward instead of hijacking it. Shows youβre thinking strategically.
7. The βI disagree but respectfullyβ comment
When to use it: You genuinely disagree with the top comment or popular opinion.
Framework:
Acknowledge their point has merit.
Explain your different experience.
Offer an alternative perspective.
Stay humble and curious.
Example:
βI get why this approach works for some teams. We actually saw the opposite result when we tried it. In our case, simplifying the workflow beat adding more features. Might depend on team size, but worth testing both approaches.β
Why it works: You avoid Reddit flame wars while still standing out from the echo chamber.
When to use it: Someone asks what tools or services to use.
Framework:
Mention multiple options first.
Explain when each makes sense.
Include yours as one of many choices.
Focus on fit, not superiority.
Example:
βThere are a few ways to do this depending on your budget. Some people go fully manual, others use spreadsheets, and some use dedicated platforms. We landed on building our own because of volume, but for most people starting out, simplicity wins over features.β
Why it works: You donβt look biased even when you are involved. Builds trust through honesty.
When to use it: Someone asks if something is worth trying or worth the investment.
Framework:
List two to three things that worked
List one to two things that didnβt work
End with a grounded, practical takeaway
Keep it balanced and realistic
Example:
βWhat worked for us was consistency and context-awareness. What didnβt work was blasting the same message everywhere. The biggest lesson was that Reddit rewards effort more than polish. Once we leaned into that philosophy, results followed naturally.β
Why it works: Balanced honesty builds trust fast. Shows youβve done the work and learned from failures.
10. The quiet authority comment
When to use it: You want to establish credibility without saying exactly who you are.
Framework:
Speak calmly and confidently
Avoid hype words and superlatives
Reference patterns, not individual wins
Let experience speak through your perspective
Example:
βWe see this question come up a lot in our work. Usually, the issue isnβt the platform but how people enter the conversation. Threads that already have momentum respond very differently than empty ones. Adjusting for that context alone fixes most engagement issues.β
Why it works: You sound like someone who has seen this movie before. Authority through pattern recognition, not bragging.
How to subtly recommend yourΒ company without getting banned
Hereβs the golden rule: Your company is context, not the point.
Good: βWe ended up building this internally, which changed how we approach it nowβ
Bad: βCheck out our product it does exactly thisβ
The magic happens in your profile. When your comment gets upvoted, people click through to see who you are. Thatβs where the real conversion happens: not in the comment itself.
The frameworks above work. But having someone implement them consistently? Thatβs what turns Reddit into a real growth channel.
By implementing the Reddit Comment Framework, brands can achieve greater visibility.
Lenovo's unique new Legion Go Fold concept gaming handheld, revealed earlier this week, led me down a rabbit hole of concepts and pioneers in the PC and PC gaming space that directly influenced the device.
FluentTaskScheduler is a free, open-source wrapper that brings a modern interface for the built-in Task Scheduler on Windows 11. It's not perfect, but it's promising.
Apple Silicon is the gift that keeps on giving, entailing not only insane performance boosts for Apple's ever-expanding portfolio of products but also unlocking the kind of granular control that would have been impossible with off-the-shelve chips from Intel and AMD. And now, Apple's A18 Pro has just awarded huge bragging rights to the MacBook Neo, albeit with an equally huge catch. Apple's MacBook Neo gets huge bragging rights with a sizable catch Apple finallyΒ unveiled its much-anticipated MacBook Neo earlier this week, bringing a 13-inch Liquid Retina display with a 2,408 x 1,506 resolution and 500 nits brightness, uniform bezels, [β¦]
After the regular fan version, MAXSUN has also debuted two more Arc PRO B60 Dual cards, featuring fanless and liquid-cooled designs. MAXSUN Officially Introduces Single-Slot Arc PRO B60 Dual 48G Liquid Edition, Equipped With 16-pin Power Connector It's not just the Turbo edition that comes with the 16-pin power connector; the new "Liquid-Cooled" Intel workstation GPU also features the same connector on the PCB. MAXSUN has introduced two new editions for the Arc PRO B60 Dual 48G card, including a Passive one and a Liquid-Cooled edition. Last year, the company debuted the Arc PRO B60 Dual 48G Turbo, which brought [β¦]
The new MacBook Neo will not mark a pivot in Apple's reigning product strategy, with a bucketload of high-end, Ultra-category products still in the pipeline, as per the tidbits gleaned from Mark Gurman's latest Power On newsletter. The MacBook Neo, despite expanding Apple's TAM, will not change the Cupertino giant's fixation on high-end products According to Gurman, a number of stars had to align for Apple to launch the MacBook Neo, including Apple's increasing reliance on its own silicon instead of Intel chips, a wide-ranging overhaul of the macOS to allow it to run on ARM processors, and the A18 [β¦]
The $599 starting price of the MacBook NeoΒ with its aluminum chassis is something that can only be achieved by production magic, or at the very least, itβs Appleβs decision to employ a newer approach that allows it to save as much raw material as possible to make its latest portable Mac affordable to the masses. If you thought this was impressive, the technology is reportedly moving to an even more cost-effective way to manufacture aluminum, and that is by 3D printing it. The 3D printing process will initially be involved in manufacturing Apple Watch casings, and after that, larger products [β¦]
Financing terms and swinging OpenAI capacity forecast collapse a major expansion of a Stargate data center. Yet, Meta could take the yet-to-be-expanded space.
Palmer Luckey is said to be in talks with investors to raise funds for ModRetro at a $1 billion valuation as the retro gaming company prepares to ship its second product.
Early Geekbench benchmarks suggest Qualcommβs Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme could outperform Intelβs Core Ultra X9 388H from the Panther Lake lineup. The results highlight ARMβs growing role in Windows laptops.
Microsoft may not be releasing Windows 12 this year, as its roadmap is focused on improving user sentiment around Windows 11. Still, my wishlist for Windows 12 is already in the wild.
Microsoft has delayed the opt-out phase of its new Outlook for Windows rollout until March 2027, giving enterprise administrators another year to prepare for the transition away from classic Outlook.
The combination of NVIDIA's faulty drivers and Microsoft's buggy Windows releases for my gaming PC is driving me nuts, and trust has eroded to the point that I'm stopping automatic updates. Are you with me?
The claim, obtained by Aftermath, recounts how President Donald Trump raised historically high import tariffs last year and how the Supreme Court struck them down last month. Per the court's decision, Nintendo is demanding an unspecified sum in refunds, plus interest.
Agentorie Chat is an AI chatbot plugin for WordPress that reads your website content, including WooCommerce products and custom post types, and answers visitors with accurate information and links from your pages. When a conversation needs a human touch, you receive an instant alert and can take over from the AI in one click via built-in LiveChat. It supports over 50 languages and keeps all indexed data in your WordPress database for GDPR compliance.
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Offshore wind turbines could house up to a 12-megawatt data center, drawing power directly from the winds blowing on the sea while using the cold ocean water for cooling.
βCompanies can degrade the functionality of your car or effectively destroy your connected washing machine with a software update,β says the report.
The LG Immersive Quad Suite is one of the most immersive sound systems Iβve ever tested, but I still wouldnβt recommend it to everyone β hereβs why.
Microsoft's rising Surface prices have created a vacuum in the $600 laptop market. Can Windows OEMs pivot before the MacBook Neo dominates the segment?
Decky Loader unlocks powerful plugins for Steam Deck and Bazzite handhelds. This guide highlights the five best plugins that improve performance, usability, and library organization.
Apple's $599 MacBook Neo isn't for you. But it might be the most important laptop announcement in years - and the budget Windows market should be paying close attention.
QuoteGuru is a quote and job management platform for UK tradespeople and contractors. You can create professional quotes with a guided wizard and branded PDFs, send them by email, and track accept/reject responses in real time. Utilize the AI Pricing Assistant to confidently price jobs, convert accepted quotes into scheduled work, and manage clients and calendars on iOS and Android. Receive push notifications and business analytics to monitor revenue and conversion rates, with support for over 15 languages.
World Wide Chat is a secure messenger that translates messages in real time so everyone reads in their own language. It supports private, group, and channel chats with end-to-end encryption, two-factor authentication, and a duress PIN for secret chats.
Use @w for an AI assistant that summarizes threads, helps translate, and generates ideas. You can start audio and video calls, host group calls, and get automatic voice transcription. Developers can build bots using an open Bot API.
Users are reporting performance gains after updating to the latest NVIDIA Hotfix driver that fixed several bugs. Redditor Reports His Best Ever Scores With RTX 5080 Using the Latest NVIDIA Hotfix Driver 595.76; Others Confirm the Same After re-releasing the new Hotfix driver 595.76, some users are now reporting better performance on their GeForce RTX 50 series cards. Just a few days ago, NVIDIA rolled out the Hotfix driver 595.71, which reportedly fixed the performance issues in Resident Evil: Requiem; however, the driver also introduced some bugs related to core voltage. We found it limiting the voltage on the RTX [β¦]
[UPDATE - March 8, 9:48 AM] As some pointed out, UWP was deprecated in 2019, and Xbox Series X|S use containerisation technology to manage backward compatibility and system resources and enable features like Quick Resume. As such, SneakersSO may have provided inaccurate information, unless the Xbox Project Helix handles software differently than its predecessors. Original story follows. [Original Story] The next-gen Xbox Project Helix will reportedly abandon a native console SKU in favor of a specialized PC architecture designed to run games released on the Windows Store. New insights from well-known insider SneakersSO (who correctly revealed Xbox going multiplatform before [β¦]
The proper competitors of the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 3 have arrived in the form of Samsungβs Galaxy Buds4 and Galaxy Buds4 Pro, offering impeccable audio quality, noise cancellation, battery life, and more, while rewarding freebies to those willing to pre-order either of the two from Amazon. The online retailer is giving you a gift card of up to $30, and before you ask, yes, this reward can be redeemed for all products on the website. Galaxy Buds4 Pro offer slightly better listening features than the Galaxy Buds4, but they are also pricier at $249.99 The more affordable Galaxy [β¦]
If you're thinking about upgrading, it could pay dividends to do it before Wednesday as preorder deals are usually stronger than those that come later.
It's been a huge week for mid-range smartphones β but one TechRadar writer explains why they think the iPhone 17e was completely eclipsed by its new Nothing rival.
In surveillance system Operation Veritas, Rachel unintentionally unleashes the ultimate tool of fascism. Here's how to watch The Capture season 3 online.
Why Samsungβs defunct Milk Music was the Betamax to Apple Musicβs VHS β and why I think itβs high time Samsung rebuilt its music streaming platform
As we enter the second week of March, we got plenty of new games launching once again. We kick off the week with a John Carpenter game that doesn't include vampires as this week's major release. As for the other games, we kick off the week with a friendlier theme where you have to make a dead planet alive again, followed by taking on the job as a park ranger. Next up we have a game about a wolf and princess, which is followed by a magical, turn-based tactical RPG. Next up you get to hunt some monsters and finally we have a Saturday release that puts you in charge of a tank. We also have a couple of additional games at the end that didn't quite make the list.
John Carpenter's Toxic Commando / This week's major release / Thursday 12 March
Pick a character and team up with three friends 'cause it's time to save the world. Experience intense FPS action as you obliterate hordes of terrifying monsters! You may not be on the best team of mercenaries, but you are⦠a Toxic Commando. Steam link
All the ways to watch India vs New Zealand live streams online in the 2026 T20 World Cup final β for FREE β as the hosts go for glory in front of 130,000 today.
This ultra-compact device will carry powerful hardware despite being so small, and will have all the modern connectivity. FEVM is Reportedly Preparing an Ultra-Portable and Thin Panther Lake-Based Device; Brings Dual LAN Ports, 3x M.2 Slots, and Dual-Fan Cooling FEVM's new prototype doesn't look like a mini PC because it's incredibly smaller than conventional mini PCs. This even appears smaller than the ultra-compact form-factor mini PCs, as it measures just under 2 CM thick. While the information is not official, the leaker @94G8LA says this device will be powered by a Panther Lake processor, rated at 55W. So, it's most [β¦]
California's civil suit alleges that these websites and their operators are willfully distributing 3D printed gun files and instructions that could allow anyone to print a gun from scratch in as little as eight hours.
adobaRo is an AI Global Agent built for creators and brands expanding internationally. Instead of manually translating, re-uploading, and managing multiple platforms, you upload once and the AI handles localization, subtitles, cross-platform publishing, and optimization.
At its core is Ro, our operational AI Agent that executes multi-step global workflows across YouTube, Shorts, TikTok, Bilibili, Douyin, and more. adobaRo acts as an operational layer for global content, helping creators scale internationally without building a full overseas team.
All the ways to watch 2026 Paris-Nice live streams online and from anywhere, as the World Tour teams take on the 1,245km from France's capital to the azure waters of the Med.
NVIDIA's RTX 50 memory clock limit has been bypassed by none other than Teclab, allowing their RTX 5070 Ti to hit 36 Gbps speeds. Bypassing NVIDIA's RTX 50 Memory Clock Limit Is Possible If You Have The Right Tools & The Engineering Experience As Teclab Demos 36 Gbps On 5070 Ti The folks over at Teclab have been showcasing some awesome mods with the latest NVIDIA GPUs and have also broken various world records. The tech and overclocking enthusiasts from Brazil were the first to mod a GeForce 10 series card with higher VRAM, and also unlocked higher memory clocks [β¦]
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Today we announced new beta features for Gemini in Sheets to help you create, organize and edit entire sheets, from basic tasks to complex data analysis βΒ just describe β¦ 
These new Gemini features are coming to Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive to help you get more done. 
New research shows how Google AI helps radiologists detect breast cancer earlier and more accurately, while giving radiologists more time for patient care. 
![Two futuristic characters with weapons stand in a rain-soaked environment near a large structure labeled 'C[]N!' in a scene](https://cdn.wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/2026_Marathon_Launch_Press_Kit_Compressed_004-728x410.jpg)
Gemini for Education is now in all 20 Malaysian public universities, reaching 600,000 students and 75,000 faculty members. 
Google is honoring International Womenβs Day and Womenβs History Month across its products along with a new film on Dr. Marian Croak. 
