SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son says AGI will arrive ‘much earlier’ than he thought SoftBank isn’t just part of the group investing $500 billion into Project Stargate to build American AI infrastructure capacity for OpenAI. It’s also making a Japanese joint venture with OpenAI, will spend $3 billion deploying OpenAI tech across SoftBank companies, and claims it will revolutionize business with AI agents through a new AI system …

Apple’s attempt to intervene in the Google Search antitrust trial is denied US District Court Judge Amit Mehta denied Apple’s emergency request to halt the Google Search monopoly trial that could dismantle their lucrative search that’s reportedly worth as much as $18 billion a year. The order came in late Sunday, with Judge Mehta saying Apple hasn’t demonstrated satisfactory reasons for its emergency motion to stay that…

Trump agrees to a one-month pause on Mexico, Canada tariffs On Monday morning, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and US President Donald Trump announced the US is pausing tariffs against Mexico for one month, as previously reported by Bloomberg. In the afternoon, a similar deal was announced by Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to pause proposed tariffs for 30 days. Trudeau cited Canada’…

Shein and Temu depend on a 100-year-old tariff loophole that Trump wants to close President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff threats have been touch and go. As it stands currently, the 25 percent tax on goods from Mexico and Canada is on ice for a month, but a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods is set to take effect on Tuesday, via an executive order of questionable legality.  Nestled within

ChatGPT’s agent can now do deep research for you OpenAI has revealed another new agentic feature for ChatGPT called deep research, which it says can operate autonomously to “plan and execute a multi-step trajectory to find the data it needs, backtracking and reacting to real-time information where necessary.” Instead of simply generating text, it shows a summary of its process in a sidebar, wi…

Automakers brace for ‘massive’ impact of Trump’s tariffs Your next car purchase is probably going to be more expensive, thanks to President Donald Trump. Around 5.3 million vehicles are built in Canada and Mexico, 70 percent of which are destined for the United States. Those vehicles will soon be subject to 25 percent tariffs, which were just announced by the Trump administration. And

Amazfit Helio Smart Ring review: bargain bin bust Smart rings are in the middle of a renaissance. That’s great because we finally have way more options than just an Oura Ring. The downside is most of Oura’s would-be rivals are launching their first, maybe second-gen smart rings. Meaning, if you want an Oura Ring alternative, there’s a good chance you’ll have to put

The tech industry’s layoffs and hiring freezes: all of the news Over the last couple years, it feels like we’ve heard news of mass layoffs and hiring freezes from tech companies nearly every week, and since the beginning of 2024, there’s been a new wave of layoffs and firings. In the first few days of January 2024 alone: And all that adds to the tens of

PDP’s Riffmaster guitar controller is receiving a rare $20 discount Last month, Fortnite Festival, the game’s Rock Band-like music mode, rolled out local multiplayer on PlayStation and Xbox. It’s a great addition if you and up to three buddies want to relive the halcyon days of ‘07 on a single TV, particularly if you’re using a nostalgia-inducing peripheral like the PDP Riffmaster — which is now

I tried the tech that makes hands-free smart locks actually work Imagine walking up to your front door and it unlocks — even opens — automatically as you approach. It may sound like the stuff of smart home dreams, but it could soon be a reality, thanks to ultra-wideband (UWB) technology arriving on smart locks.  With its precise, real-time location capabilities, UWB enables a smart lock

A better way to buy and read books Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 69, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, get ready for some web-slingin’, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)  This week, I’ve been reading about Elon Musk’s gamer habits and spy satellites and

Canada will retaliate against Trump with tariffs on US goods Canada will set its own tariffs against US goods in retaliation to broad 25 percent tariffs President Donald Trump announced Saturday on Canadian imports. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a 25 percent tariff on a total of $155 billion worth of American goods — $30 billion of that on Tuesday when Trump’s tariffs go into

Trump imposes sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China The US is officially imposing tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. President Donald Trump announced that goods imported from Mexico and Canada will face a 25 percent tariff, while goods from China will face a 10 percent tariff. There will also be a lower 10 percent tariff on energy resources from Canada. In a series

US tariffs: how Trump’s tax is impacting big tech and beyond President Donald Trump has announced that he’s imposing a tariff on goods from some of the US’s biggest trade partners: Canada, Mexico, and China. Under the executive orders signed on February 1st, Canada and Mexico will face a 25 percent tariff, while goods from China will be subject to a 10 percent tax. Energy resources

The NTSB chooses Elon Musk’s X to update the press on plane crashes The National Transportation Safety Board will only update the press about the plane crashes in Washington, DC and Philadelphia on X — not over email, as reported earlier by The Desk. The agency announced on Saturday that it will use its @NTSB_Newsroom account to share ”news conferences or other investigative information.“ The NTSB later said,

Google’s AI Super Bowl ad is wrong about cheese Google just debuted a series of Super Bowl ads showing how small businesses use Gemini AI across all 50 states, but the cheese lovers out there might notice something a little off about its Wisconsin one. As spotted by @natejhake on X, the ad shows Gemini AI generating text that says Gouda accounts for “50

It took more than a decade for a surreal RPG to get its final translation In 2008, Mortis Ghost made a game with his friend, composer Alias Conrad Coldwood. It was a surreal roleplaying game about a baseball player fighting ghosts called Off. He shared it for free on a French-speaking forum, where it garnered a small audience. One player was a French artist who was inspired to make a

Trump fires CFPB head Rohit Chopra President Donald Trump has fired Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In a letter posted to X, Chopra confirmed his “term as CFPB Director has concluded.” Chopra was notified of his removal via an email from the White House, according to a report from the Associated Press. During Chopra’s tenure,

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra isn’t so ‘ultra’ anymore When you yell “Can you just Google it?” at your AI assistant, it’s fair to say that the AI assistant is not doing its job. I was browning some beef on the stove and trying to determine when my husband’s flight was landing. I didn’t have the flight number, but there are only so many

How to hide files and folders on Windows While your Windows computer should be pretty well locked down with a password or maybe even some kind of biometric protection, it’s impossible to guarantee that no one else is ever going to get access to it, whether it’s a thief swiping your unlocked laptop from a coffee shop or one of your kids wanting