Tech Trends 📰

Windows 11 gets some much-needed HDR improvements

Windows 11 now lets you stream HDR video even when HDR is turned off in system settings.. The KB5058499 update adds a separate toggle for HDR video playback, useful for apps like Netflix and YouTube.. Dolby Vision can now be enabled or disabled independently, giving users more control.. This update helps users who prefer to keep HDR off due to compatibility or quality issues with certain tools.. Although improvements continue, HDR support across apps and games in Windows still needs refinement..

DeepSeek updates its R1 reasoning AI model, releases it on Hugging Face | TechCrunch

DeepSeek has released an updated version of its R1 reasoning AI model on Hugging Face.. The update is described as a “minor” improvement and is available under the permissive MIT license.. The model is huge, with 685 billion parameters, making it unsuitable for regular consumer hardware.. The Hugging Face repository includes only configuration files and weights—no detailed description.. DeepSeek’s original R1 model gained attention for rivaling OpenAI, and it has raised concerns among U.S. regulators over national security..

WordPress has formed an AI team

WordPress has launch a dedicated AI team to guide AI development in its community.. The team includes experts from Automattic, Google, and 10up.. The goal is to unify AI efforts and align them with WordPress’ long-term vision.. WordPress already hosts 660+ AI plugins, including chatbots and SEO tools.. This move shows WordPress’ commitment to structured and responsible AI integration..

Opera rethinks the role of the browser with Neon, the first AI agentic web browser

Opera Neon is a new premium AI browser that can perform tasks for users using natural language commands.. It introduces three main functions: Chat (AI chatbot), Do (interact with websites), and Make (create websites, reports, etc.).. The browser works locally to protect privacy and security.. It’s not launched yet, but users can join the waitlist..

Anthropic launches a voice mode for Claude

Anthropic launched a beta “voice mode” for the Claude app, allowing spoken conversations in English.. Users can talk and listen to Claude, switch between voice and text, and see transcripts after chats.. Five voice options are available, and free users have limits (20–30 conversations).. Paid users get extra features like Google Calendar and Gmail access; Google Docs is for Enterprise only..

Cloudflare Reveals AI Labyrinth to Counter Automated AI Attacks

Cloudflare introduced AI Labyrinth to fight unauthorized AI bots that scrape website data.. It works by generating AI-created web pages to mislead and trap bots, wasting their resources.. The system is easy to activate from the Cloudflare dashboard and works automatically.. It uses Cloudflare’s Workers AI and R2 storage to create and store factual but irrelevant content.. Hidden links on websites guide bots into the labyrinth, helping identify and block them effectively..

Samsung Could Use This Material to Build Advanced AI Chips by 2028

Samsung is developing glass interposers to replace silicon in AI chips by 2028, aiming for better performance and lower production costs.. Glass interposers allow for 3D stacking of chiplets and improve signal, power, and thermal integrity, despite slightly higher temperatures.. Samsung is using smaller glass panels (under 100×100mm), trading off efficiency to potentially lead the market in this technology.. Production is expected to begin at Samsung’s Cheonan facility using panel-level packaging (PLP) instead of wafer-level packaging (WLP).. TSMC is also working on similar glass substrate technology and may begin production with Fan-Out Panel-Level Packaging (FOPLP) by 2027..

Google Unveils A.I. Chatbot, Signaling a New Era for Search

Google has launched a new “A.I. Mode” in its search engine that works like a chatbot, allowing users to ask follow-up questions and get detailed answers.. This move is part of Google’s strategy to compete with A.I. tools like ChatGPT, which have started affecting Google’s search traffic.. This move is part of Google’s strategy to compete with A.I. tools like ChatGPT, which have started affecting Google’s search traffic.. Currently, A.I. Mode does not display ads, but Google may reveal monetization plans in an upcoming advertiser event.. The shift to A.I. has caused concerns among publishers about losing traffic and comes amid increasing legal pressure on Google over monopoly issues..

X Restores Access After Users Report Website and App Not Working

Thousands of users across India and other regions experienced downtime on X (formerly Twitter) around 6pm on Saturday.. About 25,000 users reported issues, mainly with the app (69%), the website (23%), and server connectivity (8%), according to Downdetector.. The X Developer Platform indicated degraded performance in login flows, though it's unclear if that caused the outage.. Gadgets 360 confirmed that X services were restored by 8pm the same day.. The last major outage before this occurred on May 9, according to X’s incident history..

Microsoft says new Aurora AI model can accurately forecast weather changes | The Express Tribune

Microsoft introduced Aurora, an advanced AI weather model that can forecast typhoons, hurricanes, sandstorms, and air quality faster and more accurately than traditional systems.. Aurora was trained on over a million hours of satellite, radar, and ground station data and can predict weather events globally.. In tests, Aurora predicted Typhoon Doksuri’s landfall in the Philippines four days in advance and outperformed expert forecasts and the US National Hurricane Center.. Microsoft has made Aurora’s source code and model weights publicly available for researchers and developers.. A version of Aurora will be added to Microsoft’s MSN Weather app, providing rapid, hourly weather updates and cloud forecasts..

‘Microsoft is the AI ringleader’: tech rivals flock to software giant’s stage

Microsoft is positioning itself as the leader in the AI industry by unveiling new tools and partnerships at its Build conference, including with OpenAI, Nvidia, and Elon Musk’s xAI.. Big tech figures like Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Jensen Huang participated in the event, signaling Microsoft’s central role in AI development and deployment.. Microsoft showcased tools like its coding “agent” and emphasized integrating multiple AI models (including OpenAI, xAI, Anthropic, etc.) to give developers more choice.. Microsoft’s cloud platform Azure and productivity tools give it a strong competitive advantage over rivals like Amazon and Google in the enterprise AI market.. Despite Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI, it is pursuing its own commercial AI strategy, focusing on scalable, enterprise-ready AI applications rather than general AI ambitions..

Signal's new Windows update prevents the system from capturing screenshots of chats | TechCrunch

Signal has introduced a screen security feature in its Windows app to block screenshots of chats.. This update aims to protect against Microsoft's Recall feature, which captures system screenshots continuously.. The screen security setting is enabled by default on Windows 11.. When the feature is on, attempts to take screenshots show a blank screen.. Users can turn off the setting via Signal Settings > Privacy > Screen security, but are warned before doing so..