Latest News - Page 27

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has penned a lengthy X post detailing Microsoft's position on AI models and what companies of the future should value most in AI.

Interestingly, Nadella argues that Microsoft is pushing for a multi-model strategy, and that its Foundry supports different models, agent frameworks, and other Frontier Tuning. Nadella outlines how businesses should operate in an increasingly AI-driven economy and says a business shouldn't adopt a single AI model and build its entire business around it. Instead, Nadella argues that companies should build their own learning systems on top of multiple models, combining employees' expertise with AI capabilities.

Nadella describes this setup as a balancing act between "human capital" and "token capital," with human capital being knowledge, judgment, relationships, ingenuity, and pattern recognition, while token capital represents the AI capabilities a company can develop using its internal knowledge, workflows, and accumulated experience.

Anthropic, the creator of Claude, Claude Code, and the now-banned Fable 5 model, is facing a class-action lawsuit that alleges it misled subscribers about plan usage limits.

The suit specifically states that subscribers of the two highest-paid tiers, Max 5x and Max 20x, have usage limits below what the company advertises. The suit, filed by Karl Khan in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, claims Claude's actual session limits for the Max 20x plan are about "just six to eight times the usage of Pro," with the Max 5x plan being "just three-and-a-half times the usage of Pro.

Khan writes in the lawsuit that, after upgrading through Anthropic's subscription tiers,, he noticed a discrepancy between what Anthropic advertised and what he was able to achieve with his weekly data allocation. The filing goes on to argue that Anthropic has intentionally made information around its usage limits ambiguous, with the suit claiming Anthropic's website, "is a black box, without any meaningful description of how usage is calculated." It adds that Anthropic doesn't clearly define what constitutes a single session.

If Sony hadn't bought Bungie years ago, then there's a good chance that the studio wouldn't be here today.

New reports indicate that Bungie may have been on the verge of shutting down prior to Sony's acquisition in 2022. The info comes via Bungie's former well-liked community manager Liana Ruppert, who says that the studio was in dire financial straits prior to the buyout. Sony essentially made an "emergency acquisition," Ruppert says.

"Bungie was below the red line before the Sony acquisition. If it wasn't acquired right then, the studio was very close to shutting its doors at the very least on Destiny. It was an emergency acquisition," she said on Twitter.

PlayStation's previous head of indies Shuhei Yoshida openly shares his thoughts about the future of Xbox, and it apparently looks a lot like Windows.

Last year, well-respected industry figure Shuhei Yoshida left Sony after 35 years serving PlayStation. Now he's more of a consultant-for-hire, helping indie game studios and going around to various events. This is a seasoned former executive who has likely spent a lot of time with sensitive data and info that isn't widely shared or known, so when he makes predictions, it's worth taking into consideration.

Yoshida recently shared his thoughts about the ongoing Xbox drama on Twitter, saying that he essentially believes the Xbox games unit could be absorbed by Windows. Xbox's new CEO Asha Sharma has issued a daunting decree that will "reset the business" after the group delivers a dismal 3% profit margin throughout this year.

Compulsion Games will reportedly shut down as Microsoft adjusts the Xbox business, and othet studios may be affected including Double Fine and even Ninja Theory.

Microsoft has decided to close down key studios who are now trying to negotiate their independence, sources tell Bloomberg's Jason Schreier. These groups include more orbital boutique studios like Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory, and Double Fine. Other studios may be affected.

The group's publishing parent, Xbox Game Studios, has also lost its leader: XGS chief Craig Duncan has also left Microsoft after 15 years and his second-in-command, chief of staff Louise O'Connor is also out.

XBOX is currently undergoing major restructuring as the company intends to reset the XBOX brand, and seemingly part of those sweeping changes is a new purchasing option for players.

The new purchasing option was discovered by redphx and shared in an X post, which shows the backend of Xbox's website and code for what is called "break payments up over weeks or months," and next to PayPal, "PayPal Pay Later". Another giveaway is the "Pay in 4 interest-free, bi-weekly payments, or spread payments up to 24 months." While each of these is pretty self-explanatory, the idea is players will be able to get access to Xbox products right away and then slowly pay them off, similar to AfterPay, but directly with Xbox.

Notably, XBOX hasn't announced anything about this new purchasing option, meaning it's subject to change, and there is a good chance XBOX will make changes to the payment structure. In the event that XBOX actually releases this as a payment option, on a surface level, I think it could be quite a big hit, especially if it included hardware as well.

AMD's senior marketing director Saša Marinković went on X to brag about the company's domination on Amazon's best-sellers CPU list, sharing a screenshot showing the top 15 spots (at the time of publishing) were held entirely by Ryzen CPUs.

AMD has perpetually grown its domination on Amazon's best sellers page over the past several years. AMD began to take off in this "metric" during the Zen 2 era where its CPUs started to take over the top five spots in Amazon's best sellers list on an almost regular basis. More recently, the top 10 spots have regularly been held by various Ryzen CPUs - new and old.

Currently, the lead is even greater with the top 16 places on Amazon's best sellers list consisting of Zen 3, Zen 4, and Zen 5 parts. The only exception is the inclusion of a Thermal Grizzly AM5 contact frame that is taking up one of the slots. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D unsurprisingly sits in first place, but contrarily, the Ryzen 5 5500 takes up the second spot, showing sky-high consumer demand for previous generation budget CPUs amidst the outgoing memory shortage. Critically, the Ryzen 5 5500 can use DDR4 memory, which is cheaper than DDR5 and more readily available. Positions three through ten are held by the Ryzen 5 9600X, Ryzen 7 7800X3D, Ryzen 7 5800XT, Ryzen 9 9950X3D, Ryzen 9 5900XT, Ryzen 5 7600X, Ryzen 5 5600, and Ryzen 7 7700X. The new Ryzen 7 9850X3D sits in 16th despite being a faster version of the 9800X3D for an extra $40.

A modified Unitree G1 humanoid robot named Pemba has become the first of its kind to summit a 20,341-foot volcano in Ecuador, a critical step toward its next target: Mount Everest.

The robot, which climbed Ecuador's Chimborazo volcano, navigated the 16-hour trek autonomously along sections with an incline of less than 30 degrees. It was carried up the steeper portions but still completed the climb, demonstrating its engineering capabilities and its ability to operate in extreme conditions. The robot was equipped with special booties and a warming jacket to withstand the harsh, snowy environment.

The climb was organized by French engineer Pablo to test humanoid robots in remote, high-altitude environments. The goal is to develop machines that can assist with environmental monitoring, particularly in areas, climates, or terrain that is too challenging, difficult, or time-consuming for humans. Examples include the Amazon rainforest and the Himalayas. While humanoid robots still have a long way to go, this climb is a significant milestone in proving their potential for real-world applications.

Xbox has lost another leader among its ranks as the group prepares to "reset the business."

Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan has left the organization as Microsoft reportedly prepares to make sweeping cuts to the division. Sources tell The Game Business that Duncan has stepped down from his position, and that Xbox Game Studios chief of staff Louise O'Connor is also leaving.

Duncan has been with Xbox for 15 years, originally serving as the boss of Rare, the UK game studio behind iconic hits like Donkey Kong Country, Banjo Kazooie and GoldenEye.

Apple's first foldable device, rumored to be called the iPhone Fold/Ultra, has been in development behind the scenes for many years now and will use panels from Samsung Display.

Previous reports from insiders citing people familiar with Apple's supply chain for its upcoming foldable stated that Apple set extremely strict requirements for the design of the foldable iPhone, including solving the crease problem across all foldable devices - Apple requires a crease-less iPhone. That stipulation in itself is a major engineering challenge that involves several smaller, yet equally complex engineering problems, such as designing a hinge that enables creaseless folding and a display that doesn't crease when folded.

A report from an Asian publication citing two Apple supply chain partners claims the iPhone Ultra won't hit stores in early 2027 due to "scheduling factors." These comments came from Largan Precision's CEO, Adam Lin, who added that the delays may result in Apple's upcoming device being "early next year".

GEEKOM has once again partnered with TweakTown, this time to offer an incredible deal on its impressive GEEKOM A8 Mini PC as the company kicks off its massive Summer Sale. With its Ryzen 7 8745HS processor with integrated Radeon 780M graphics, 16GB of fast DDR5 memory, and 1TB of SSD storage, you can get 20% off this sleek ultra-compact PC at checkout when you use the special promo code found below.

Even with Prime Day deals around the corner, this GEEKOM A8 Mini PC deal can't be beat. With 20% off, it can be picked up for $519 USD, ￡503, or $735 CAD. And it's a compact PC built to handle any task you can throw at it, from creative to productivity and even gaming in 4K. The tiny 0.47-liter chassis features a reinforced metal frame and a premium thermal design with a high-performance fan and dual copper heat pipes. The modular design also supports upgrades and includes a stacked I/O configuration, so the GEEKOM A8 Mini PC can become a part of any setup for the long haul.

The deals don't stop there, as GEEKOM is also offering TweakTown readers an impressive 16% off the GEEKOM A7 MAX Mini PC for US customers and 20% off for those in the UK when you use the special promo code below. This brings the price down to $587 USD and ￡551 respectively, with US customers also getting a free mouse pad. This one sports the impressive AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS processor with integrated Radeon 780M graphics, housed in an enterprise-grade full-metal shell with dual 40 Gbps USB4 ports, dual 2.5G LAN ports, and 8 high-speed USB ports for seamless expansion.

A new report has shed light on the escalating situation between Anthropic, the US government, and the company's latest AI model, which was only available for 3 days before being forcibly taken offline by the Trump administration.

Anthropic released Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5 on Tuesday, which are the company's first "Mythos-class" models, seemingly classified as bleeding-edge AI. These Mythos-class models are straight-jacketed versions of the Mythos Preview that Anthropic showcased in April, and announced was too dangerous to be released to the public due to its power to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Essentially, Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5 are versions of Mythos Preview with safety rails designed to prevent the model from being used in nefarious ways, such as generating malicious code.

These models with the built-in safety rails were banned by the US government over national security concerns, as authorities stated they had learned the Mythos-class models had been jailbroken. Reports state that Amazon, along with five other companies, contacted the White House and raised potential security concerns about Anthropic's Mythos-class models; as a result, the White House issued an export ban preventing non-US nationals from using them. Since that task was beyond Anthropic's capabilities, the AI company disabled the models for everyone.

Ubisoft is going through yet another round of layoffs, and this time the cost-cutting measures have hit Ubisoft San Francisco, which reports indicate will see at least 100 employees depart.

Ubisoft's San Francisco office is being cut by an estimated 100 employees, coming on the heels of the company closing two development studios just last week, with all three sweeping layoffs part of the company's years-long restructuring following catastrophic performance post-COVID-19 pandemic. Reports indicate that between 50 and 100 jobs at the San Francisco studio have been affected, with an estimated 380 jobs currently being in jeopardy across Ubisoft as a company.

The two studios the company closed last week were Winnipeg and Belgrade, with Winnipeg reportedly losing 65 staff members and Belgrade losing 100 employees, and the studio permanently closing. As for San Francisco, the team there is responsible for developing XDefiant, Ubisoft's online multiplayer shooter. Ubisoft's cost-cutting measures date back as early as 2022, but became apparent in 2023, when seemingly continuous rounds of layoffs followed by studio closures occurred.

According to a new report over at Tom's Hardware, Intel is looking toward bringing back the LGA 1700 platform in 2027 with a 'Raptor Lake Next' desktop CPU lineup that's all about supporting older hardware and breathing more life into DDR4-based systems. It's a move that makes sense, especially in light of AMD's recent Ryzen 7 5800X3D revival and continued AM4 support, which is also a DDR4-based platform.

For those who need a refresher, Intel's 'Raptor Lake' architecture debuted with the 13th-Gen Intel Core series of processors. And on that note, the Intel Core i9 14900K, which is based on 'Raptor Lake,' is still widely considered one of the company's best pure gaming CPUs.

And in the context of PC gaming, the rumored 'Raptor Lake Next' CPU lineup begins to make sense in light of rising DDR5 memory prices and gamers on a budget looking for a viable upgrade that still lets them make use of their DDR4 memory and storage. According to the report, this refresh will also see new LGA 1700 motherboards hit the market, with at least two vendors telling Tom's Hardware that it's about to increase production of AMD AM4, Intel LGA 1700, and DDR4 motherboards.

Synology is one of the biggest names in NAS (Network Attached Storage) technology, and its latest offering is perfect for the home or a small office. The new and compact Synology FlashStation FS200T measures only 21 x 151 x 175mm, and delivers whisper-quiet performance with massive storage capacity on offer thanks to its six 2.5" drive bays for SSDs. It's a miniature flash-storage NAS built for the modern era.

The FlashStation FS200T features fast networking with a 2.5GbE port and an additional 1GbE port for redundancy or additional bandwidth. Although it's compatible with Synology's built-to-last Enterprise Series 2.5" SATA SSD lineup that includes SSDs with up to 7TB of capacity, like other Synology devices, it should be compatible with third-party enterprise-class drives.

Outside of the compact size and storage capacity, the other side of the Synology FlashStation FS200T is the fact that you've got access to the company's impressive DiskStation Manager (DSM) for data management and the ability to transform the NAS into a private cloud server that you can access from anywhere. The robust software support also includes comprehensive security, data protection, and backup options to help ensure their data remains intact.

Apple's MacBook Neo has been one of the biggest success stories of the year, with the company's budget and affordable laptop quickly becoming one of the most sought-after and recommended 'best-value' entry-level laptops for productivity, creator workloads, and more. With its vibrant 13-inch Liquid Retina display, the MacBook Neo's affordability and success stem from its A18 Pro processor, which previously powered the iPhone 16 Pro.

It's unprecedented for an Apple device to dominate or make a splash in the budget and entry-level laptop space, and it's been such a disruptor that the competition is taking note. Case in point, a new marketing push from AMD for the latest Ryzen AI-powered laptops is all about how they're, well, better than a MacBook Neo.

Especially when it comes to gaming, where AMD says that the affordable AMD Ryzen 5 240 and its integrated Radeon 760M graphics can run all 20 of the 'Top 20 PC Games,' natively, while the MacBook Neo can only run five. AMD adds 'high frame rates' and 'advanced graphics' as features of its Ryzen AI processors; however, it's worth noting that the Radeon 760M struggles with a lot of modern games.

Simulation games are quite niche and very impressive in their own right, especially when it comes to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, which took simulation to a whole new level.

In its category, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 warrants for some gamers an entire dedicated system with additional joysticks, controllers, or even a cockpit setup for full immersion. Surprisingly, Microsoft hasn't seen any competition in this niche from other major players in the "Earth mapping" business, such as Google. You would have thought by now, with Google holding Google Maps data, they would have created a game for people to access. But the company hasn't, until now, as Google has released an experimental flight simulator mode for Google Earth, specifically the web app version.

Google writes in its documentation that the mode is designed for "casual exploration rather than high-fidelity aerodynamic training," which is a corporate way of saying, "this new mode isn't intended to be a competitor to Microsoft Flight Simulator or any other flying sim". Unlike Microsoft Flight Simulator, Google Earth is free to use, and since it's a web application, there isn't anything to install, either.

Yes, after a year or so since its release, the flagship RDNA 4 graphics card from AMD has finally made its way into Valve's Steam Hardware & Software Survey results for May 2026. And it's a strong debut, with the Radeon RX 9070 XT's 1.33% market share making it one of the Top 25 most-used discrete gaming GPUs on the platform, and also making it the most popular Radeon GPU amongst PC gamers.

The reason for the Radeon RX 9070 XT's sudden appearance in the latest Steam Hardware & Software Survey could be chalked up to recent updates Valve has made to Steam's GPU reporting - read about that here. And the 9070 XT's immediate rise to become the most popular discrete Radeon GPU on PC is fantastic news for RDNA 4, even if it trails its direct competitor, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti. Basically, it's the best showing for a Radeon GPU since the RDNA 2-era.

And with that, the mainstream Radeon RX 9060 XT has also made the cut, now holding more market share than the Radeon RX 7800 XT, the most popular card from the previous RDNA 3 generation. As for the Top 25 PC Gaming GPUs for May 2026, not much has changed aside from RDNA 4 finally getting its due. The GeForce RTX 3060 remains the most popular card among gamers, while the GeForce RTX 5070 continues to cement its position as the card of the current generation.

Ever since the GeForce RTX 40 Series first debuted on the scene back in 2022, led by the 450W flagship GeForce RTX 4090, there's been a steady stream of reports related to cables overheating, melting, and even damaging the GPUs they're connected to. The latest case actually dates back to this era, to the original 12VHPWR connector, which the safer 12V-2x6 connector has since replaced. Of course, there are still issues with the newer connector, but this is a gentle reminder that even a GPU that has been using the older 12VHPWR connector for more than a year is still at risk.

According to a new post on Reddit from 'Dry-Relationship5158,' they were using a GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition paired with the original Corsair Power Bridge adapter for 12VHPWR GPU connections. The 180-degree design of the adapter was developed for users seeking a cleaner look and to avoid bending their GPU power cables near the pins. Corsair's product page for the Power Bridge adapter says it's rated for up to 55A and can withstand temperatures up to 105 degrees Celsius, making it the right choice for a "power-hungry GPU" like the GeForce RTX 4090.

For this one Redditor, however, after their PC began freezing and randomly restarting every time they tried to fire up a game, unplugging the Power Bridge revealed a "total nightmare."

Gears of War: E-Day was the big game showcased during the recent Xbox Games Showcase, and it's also an Xbox console exclusive when it releases on October 6 for PC and Xbox Series X|S. With an extended gameplay video and a behind-the-scenes deep dive showcasing the game's impressive action and potential return to form for the groundbreaking series, the good news for PC gamers is that it's shaping up to be another well-optimized 2026 heavy hitter.

This comes via the game's Steam page, which lists the Minimum and Recommended specs. GPU-wise, the Minimum system requirements call for a GeForce RTX 5050, GeForce RTX 2060, Radeon RX 6600, Radeon RX 9060 (non-XT), or an Intel Arc A580. This level of GPU performance is lower than most of the Top 20 discrete gaming GPUs on Steam's latest Hardware & Software Survey results for May 2026, so a lot of PC gamers should be able to jump right into Gears of War: E-Day with no issues.

Like with most System Requirements on Steam, there's no mention of a performance target or in-game settings, but it's safe to assume that Recommended requirements would be the main one to focus on, as this usually refers to playing a game at 1080p or 1440p with 60 FPS and console-like graphics settings. Here, Gears of War: E-Day calls for a GeForce RTX 5060, GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, Radeon RX 6700 XT, Radeon RX 9060 XT, or Intel Arc B580.