Lead Hacker

Apple is once again overhauling App Store rules in the European Union, which the company says will resolve its "disagreements with the Commission over business terms and alternative distribution." As part of the changes, every developer that distributes apps will be moved to a single set of business terms, and digital transactions for apps distributed outside of the App Store will be subject to a Core Technology Commission fee of 5 percent. The new terms go into effect on October 1st. They will include a 26 percent commission for App Store apps that use Apple's in-app purchase system, or a 20 percent fee for developers using alternate payme … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/981504/apple-app-store-eu-rules-core-technology-commission

Tesla Cybercabs are lined up on a lot at Tesla Giga Texas in Austin, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. | Image: Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images The Tesla Cybercab , that golden two-seater central to Elon Musk's robo-supremacist ambitions , is finally nearing it's public launch. Whether or not the no-steering wheel and no-pedal vehicle is actually ready for public roads, let alone customers, remains very much in doubt . According to The Information , Tesla is planning a public launch of the Cybercab in Austin, Texas, as soon as this month. The driverless vehicle has been popping up around the country, although often with a steering wheel and pedals , as employees are continuing to gather data. Tesla employees have been testing the fully driverless version on private roads around the com … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/transportation/981398/tesla-cybercab-launch-robotaxi-fsd-...

YouTube will soon count a view as soon as a video starts to play, lining up with the system used by Instagram, TikTok, and its Shorts videos. The update will go into effect on August 24th, "which means creators will likely see their total view counts increase faster moving forward," the platform says . Instagram and TikTok similarly add a view to a video when it starts to play or replay, while X counts a view when a user watches a video for at least two seconds. YouTube applied Instagram and TikTok's view-counting method to Shorts last year. YouTube says it's going to keep its original view-counting method under an "engaged views" metric in … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/streaming/981105/youtube-video-view-counting-update

A bulldozer plows through land during construction for a section of border wall near Santa Elena Canyon on August 14, 2026 in Big Bend National Park, Texas. | Brandon Bell/Getty Images About 22 miles south of the former mining town of Patagonia, Arizona, down a winding, unpaved mountain road that passes cows grazing on open range, stands a cottonwood tree believed to be at least 200 years old. The "grandmother" tree, as some locals call it, is imperiled and already showing signs of stress, almost as if it knows its fate. The leaves are yellowing prematurely, falling to the ground at the height of summer. On July 27th, a construction crew felled three neighboring trees to build an extension of President Donald Trump's wall along the US-Mexico border. An activist climbed up the last tree standing two days later and ever sin … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/report/980933/trump-border-wall-...

Integrated BagLev hooks keep Peak Design’s City Line crossbody bag and backpack off the dirty ground. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge It's just a hook, sewn into a bag, but I really, really like it. Peak Design is so proud of its clever integration that the San Francisco-based maker of camera gear gave it a name: BagLev, for its ability to keep its new City Line of bags levitated above the dirty ground. How many of us are guilty of coming home and tossing a bag onto the kitchen table or counter to unload it? We pretend it's not a thing, despite the carryall having come into contact with unknown filth picked up from the floors of subways and dive bars, sidewalks, and parks. BagLev lets you hang your bag off a chair, ledge, tabletop, or counter as you go about your day, kee … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/980137/peak-design-city-line-review

According to the Financial Times , OpenAI disbanded its preparedness team at the end of last month. The job of the preparedness team was to assess if models posed serious risks and develop ways to mitigate those risks. (You know, like the possibility that it could go rogue and hack another company.) According to FT , responsibility has instead been divided up for specific areas like bio and cyber, then moved into existing teams. This is the latest change at the company, which has been in upheaval as it heads towards what is expected to be a massive IPO. Over the last few years, it's slowly torn down its more reach-led model, dissolving its AG … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/980817/openai-disbands-preparedness-team