๐ Zoox has received NHTSA approval to charge fares in its steering-wheel-free robotaxis โ up to 5,000 vehicles over two years. Paid rides launch in Las Vegas next month, with Miami and Austin to follow.
Until now, the Amazon-owned company had only been offering free demonstration rides in San Francisco and Las Vegas, Reuters reports.
The Verge
Until now, the Amazon-owned company had only been offering free demonstration rides in San Francisco and Las Vegas, Reuters reports.
The Verge
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๐ฌ Spider-Man: Brand New Day has beaten *Avengers: Endgame*'s all-time opening record before the weekend even starts โ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daXaTug8rL4
$74M in Thursday previews, pre-sales already past $200M. Weekend projection: $350M+, against Endgame's $357.1M domestic record, per Collider.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daXaTug8rL4
YouTube
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY โ Final Trailer (Peterโs Journey) 4K
It's about to be a Brand New Day. Get tickets now.
#SpiderManBrandNewDay is in theatres July 31.
It's a BRAND NEW DAY for Peter Parker. Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesnโt remember himโand the pressure of seeing his old friendsโฆ
#SpiderManBrandNewDay is in theatres July 31.
It's a BRAND NEW DAY for Peter Parker. Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesnโt remember himโand the pressure of seeing his old friendsโฆ
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๐บ Netflix just overtook the BBC in the UK โ for the first time ever
The BBC is more than a broadcaster โ it's a national institution. Which makes Ofcom's finding all the more striking: 26% of Brits now reach for Netflix first, with the BBC at 25%.
One point. Enormous symbolism.
The 16-to-24 crowd has already left for YouTube, where minutes watched have doubled since 2022. Traditional TV survives mostly on older demographics.
And on this exact day, the BBC announced it's cutting Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind and Live at the Apollo โ part of a ยฃ500 million savings drive that strips out 150 hours of original content by 2028.
Helping your rival look more appealing by shrinking yourself. Bold move.
Engadget
The BBC is more than a broadcaster โ it's a national institution. Which makes Ofcom's finding all the more striking: 26% of Brits now reach for Netflix first, with the BBC at 25%.
One point. Enormous symbolism.
The 16-to-24 crowd has already left for YouTube, where minutes watched have doubled since 2022. Traditional TV survives mostly on older demographics.
And on this exact day, the BBC announced it's cutting Blankety Blank, Celebrity Mastermind and Live at the Apollo โ part of a ยฃ500 million savings drive that strips out 150 hours of original content by 2028.
Helping your rival look more appealing by shrinking yourself. Bold move.
Engadget
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๐ต Suno loses its German copyright case
GEMA, Germany's music rights body, sued AI startup Suno for training its models on protected recordings without a license. Munich Regional Court ruled for GEMA: a license is required both for training and for generating music.
The case involved six tracks โ "Rasputin," "Mambo No. 5," "Forever Young" and others. Leaked code from earlier this month showed Suno's training data included over 113,000 hours of YouTube Music. Eight months ago, the same court ruled against OpenAI over song lyrics in ChatGPT.
Suno says the ruling "fundamentally mischaracterizes" its technology and is weighing an appeal โ per Variety, a tough sell when "Rasputin" was apparently in the dataset.
Decrypt
GEMA, Germany's music rights body, sued AI startup Suno for training its models on protected recordings without a license. Munich Regional Court ruled for GEMA: a license is required both for training and for generating music.
The case involved six tracks โ "Rasputin," "Mambo No. 5," "Forever Young" and others. Leaked code from earlier this month showed Suno's training data included over 113,000 hours of YouTube Music. Eight months ago, the same court ruled against OpenAI over song lyrics in ChatGPT.
Suno says the ruling "fundamentally mischaracterizes" its technology and is weighing an appeal โ per Variety, a tough sell when "Rasputin" was apparently in the dataset.
Decrypt
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๐ Daily Recap ยท Aug 02
๐ Zoox can now charge you for its driverless rides
๐ท๏ธ Spider-Man just crushed Endgame before the weekend started
๐บ Netflix quietly edged out the BBC in its own backyard
๐ต German court says AI music training needs a license
Someone you know definitely missed at least three of these โ pass it along
ะบะฐะฝะฐะป
๐ Zoox can now charge you for its driverless rides
๐ท๏ธ Spider-Man just crushed Endgame before the weekend started
๐บ Netflix quietly edged out the BBC in its own backyard
๐ต German court says AI music training needs a license
Someone you know definitely missed at least three of these โ pass it along
ะบะฐะฝะฐะป
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๐ง Texas leads the U.S. in crypto kiosk losses
Texas residents lost $56.8 million through crypto ATMs in 2025 โ more than any other state. National losses climbed 58% to
Texas residents lost $56.8 million through crypto ATMs in 2025 โ more than any other state. National losses climbed 58% to
$389M across 13,460 FBI complaints. A state House committee is now weighing a ban, per Decrypt โ Indiana, Tennessee and Minnesota have already passed one.โค5๐2๐2
๐ The Invisible Drone
Northwestern University researchers built a drone called Phantom Twist that spins up to 25 times per second โ making it roughly 10 times less visible than a standard quadcopter, per The Verge.
Video [here](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Phantom+Twist+drone+Northwestern).
Engadget
Northwestern University researchers built a drone called Phantom Twist that spins up to 25 times per second โ making it roughly 10 times less visible than a standard quadcopter, per The Verge.
Video [here](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Phantom+Twist+drone+Northwestern).
Engadget
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๐ The cold wallet that ran hot
Coldcard is among Bitcoin's most trusted hardware wallets. A March 2021 firmware build hid a quiet catastrophe: seeds were generated by a predictable software randomiser instead of the hardware chip, leaving a bounded key space anyone can reproduce offline.
Galaxy Research has now flagged a third sweep wave. Total across all three: 1,367 BTC (~$89M) from 4,585 addresses. Wave one averaged ~1 coin per victim; wave three is down to ~0.1
The pattern shifted too โ no more shared collector addresses, each victim gets a unique destination. One operator adapting, or a second one mining the same flaw? The chain won't say.
"Cold" refers to the internet connection. Not the math.
CoinDesk
Coldcard is among Bitcoin's most trusted hardware wallets. A March 2021 firmware build hid a quiet catastrophe: seeds were generated by a predictable software randomiser instead of the hardware chip, leaving a bounded key space anyone can reproduce offline.
Galaxy Research has now flagged a third sweep wave. Total across all three: 1,367 BTC (~$89M) from 4,585 addresses. Wave one averaged ~1 coin per victim; wave three is down to ~0.1
BTC. The fat wallets are running out.The pattern shifted too โ no more shared collector addresses, each victim gets a unique destination. One operator adapting, or a second one mining the same flaw? The chain won't say.
"Cold" refers to the internet connection. Not the math.
CoinDesk
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๐ Palworld TCG cards hitting thousands on eBay at launch
Palworld TCG is a trading card game developed in partnership between Pocketpair and Bushiroad. The first set, Dawn of Palpagos, launched July 30, 2026 โ and eBay scalper listings followed the same day.
The retailer Lumius priced a booster box case at
A rare Cattiva Gold Soul Card sold on July 27 โ three days before the official release date โ for
As IGN notes, Pocketpair reported 3.5 million packs ordered as of July 9, three weeks ahead of launch. A second booster set, Legends Awaken, is scheduled for October.
Palworld TCG is a trading card game developed in partnership between Pocketpair and Bushiroad. The first set, Dawn of Palpagos, launched July 30, 2026 โ and eBay scalper listings followed the same day.
The retailer Lumius priced a booster box case at
$499.99. On eBay, comparable cases are selling for around $1,800. A master case containing three standard cases sold for $5,990 within 24 hours of launch.A rare Cattiva Gold Soul Card sold on July 27 โ three days before the official release date โ for
$3,997.98. A Jormuntide Ignis card moved on July 24 for $1,300. Gold Cattiva cards are currently trading at approximately $1,000 each.As IGN notes, Pocketpair reported 3.5 million packs ordered as of July 9, three weeks ahead of launch. A second booster set, Legends Awaken, is scheduled for October.
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๐ฎ Xbox price hikes: three rounds and counting
Since May 2025, Microsoft has raised Xbox prices three times. The Series X launched at $499.99 in 2020 โ it now costs $300 more, before European markups even enter the picture.
New EU / UK prices, via The Verge:
๐ธ
๐ธ
๐ธ
๐ธ
The 2TB model is being discontinued. AI-driven NAND shortages are pressuring all hardware makers, but no competitor has passed those costs on as sharply. The Series S โ once the affordable entry point โ now costs more than the Series X did at launch. For a platform already trailing PlayStation in sales, that's a shrinking window for new players to join.
Since May 2025, Microsoft has raised Xbox prices three times. The Series X launched at $499.99 in 2020 โ it now costs $300 more, before European markups even enter the picture.
New EU / UK prices, via The Verge:
๐ธ
Series S 512GB โ ยฃ299.99 / โฌ349.99 โ ยฃ429.99 / โฌ499.99 (+43%)๐ธ
Series S 1TB โ ยฃ349.99 / โฌ399.99 โ ยฃ519.99 / โฌ599.99๐ธ
Series X Digital โ ยฃ449.99 / โฌ549.99 โ ยฃ619.99 / โฌ749.99๐ธ
Series X Disc โ ยฃ499.99 / โฌ599.99 โ ยฃ669.99 / โฌ799.99 (+34%)The 2TB model is being discontinued. AI-driven NAND shortages are pressuring all hardware makers, but no competitor has passed those costs on as sharply. The Series S โ once the affordable entry point โ now costs more than the Series X did at launch. For a platform already trailing PlayStation in sales, that's a shrinking window for new players to join.
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๐คจ eBay to pay $55.7M over the cockroaches-and-pig-mask harassment campaign
So there's this couple โ David and Ina Steiner from Massachusetts, they ran a newsletter covering eBay. Apparently wrote a bit too critically. And in 2019, company employees decided to "convince" them to stop: live insects in the mail, a bloody pig mask, a funeral wreath. Seven employees were eventually convicted.
The Steiners filed suit in 2021, and now it's settled. eBay pays
eBay's statement calls the whole thing "wrong and reprehensible." Better late than never, I guess.
The Verge has the full story.
So there's this couple โ David and Ina Steiner from Massachusetts, they ran a newsletter covering eBay. Apparently wrote a bit too critically. And in 2019, company employees decided to "convince" them to stop: live insects in the mail, a bloody pig mask, a funeral wreath. Seven employees were eventually convicted.
The Steiners filed suit in 2021, and now it's settled. eBay pays
$46.15M, former CEO Devin Wenig chips in another $2M, former executives a bit less. Plus $6M goes to nonprofits. Total: $55.7M. The company had already paid a $3M criminal fine back in 2024.eBay's statement calls the whole thing "wrong and reprehensible." Better late than never, I guess.
The Verge has the full story.
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๐ The hardware wallet that wasn't
Coldcard, by Coinkite, was a gold standard for offline Bitcoin storage โ until a March 2021 firmware bug left private keys mathematically guessable.
Galaxy Research now tracks $88.6 million gone across 4,585 addresses. Researcher Alex Thorn says the sweeps are automated, likely LLM-driven, and every vulnerable address *will* be drained โ stolen coins had averaged 3.18 years of dormancy before vanishing.
Canadian coach Jonathan Goodman lost 18.25
Affected users are fleeing back to exchanges. The industry that spent a decade chanting "not your keys, not your coins" is quietly learning that Coinbase is sometimes the safer bet.
Decrypt has the full breakdown.
Coldcard, by Coinkite, was a gold standard for offline Bitcoin storage โ until a March 2021 firmware bug left private keys mathematically guessable.
Galaxy Research now tracks $88.6 million gone across 4,585 addresses. Researcher Alex Thorn says the sweeps are automated, likely LLM-driven, and every vulnerable address *will* be drained โ stolen coins had averaged 3.18 years of dormancy before vanishing.
Canadian coach Jonathan Goodman lost 18.25
BTC in seven minutes, keys stored in a safety deposit box, never online. "I did everything right," he wrote.Affected users are fleeing back to exchanges. The industry that spent a decade chanting "not your keys, not your coins" is quietly learning that Coinbase is sometimes the safer bet.
Decrypt has the full breakdown.
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๐ถ๏ธ Apple's smart glasses are stuck on one question
Meta is already selling Ray-Ban cameras and collecting lawsuits โ while Apple watches and thinks. Carefully.
The holdup, per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, isn't hardware or price: it's privacy, internally ranked "priority No. 1." Three options are on the table โ no camera at all, a camera that can't record, or full hardware with new protections that don't exist in any current product.
The launch slipped from this year to late 2027. Meanwhile, Meta just got hit with a class action over its AI glasses. Sometimes it pays to watch the neighbor's house catch fire first.
Engadget
Meta is already selling Ray-Ban cameras and collecting lawsuits โ while Apple watches and thinks. Carefully.
The holdup, per Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, isn't hardware or price: it's privacy, internally ranked "priority No. 1." Three options are on the table โ no camera at all, a camera that can't record, or full hardware with new protections that don't exist in any current product.
The launch slipped from this year to late 2027. Meanwhile, Meta just got hit with a class action over its AI glasses. Sometimes it pays to watch the neighbor's house catch fire first.
Engadget
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๐ Daily Recap ยท Aug 04
๐ Coldcard's 2021 firmware made Bitcoin keys guessable
๐ Palworld cards hit thousands on eBay at launch
๐ฎ Xbox has gotten $300 pricier since 2020
๐คจ eBay pays $55.7M for mailing cockroaches to critics
๐ Coldcard bug drained $88.6M across 4,585 wallets
๐ถ๏ธ Apple's smart glasses stalled over privacy concerns
Somebody in your life spent today completely offline โ this is their homework now
ะบะฐะฝะฐะป
๐ Coldcard's 2021 firmware made Bitcoin keys guessable
๐ Palworld cards hit thousands on eBay at launch
๐ฎ Xbox has gotten $300 pricier since 2020
๐คจ eBay pays $55.7M for mailing cockroaches to critics
๐ Coldcard bug drained $88.6M across 4,585 wallets
๐ถ๏ธ Apple's smart glasses stalled over privacy concerns
Somebody in your life spent today completely offline โ this is their homework now
ะบะฐะฝะฐะป
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๐ค Making robots as easy to control as a volume knob
Enigma has come out of stealth with a $70 million seed round from Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital. Founders Jonathan Jacobi โ once Microsoft's youngest-ever employee โ and Gal Niv had no robotics background. They built their team from math Olympiad winners and PhD dropouts anyway.
The bet isn't on a smarter robot โ it's on a better interface. Spend 15 minutes explaining where the plates go and everyone reaches the same point: forget it, I'll just do it myself. To find out how people actually want to talk to machines, Enigma is opening online access to 100+ of its robots in Israel and California.
Partners in healthcare, logistics, and entertainment already exist. A business model remains, per TechCrunch, an open question โ fitting for a company called Enigma.
Enigma has come out of stealth with a $70 million seed round from Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital. Founders Jonathan Jacobi โ once Microsoft's youngest-ever employee โ and Gal Niv had no robotics background. They built their team from math Olympiad winners and PhD dropouts anyway.
The bet isn't on a smarter robot โ it's on a better interface. Spend 15 minutes explaining where the plates go and everyone reaches the same point: forget it, I'll just do it myself. To find out how people actually want to talk to machines, Enigma is opening online access to 100+ of its robots in Israel and California.
Partners in healthcare, logistics, and entertainment already exist. A business model remains, per TechCrunch, an open question โ fitting for a company called Enigma.
๐2
๐ก A $300 QD-OLED monitor โ not a typo
Samsung's
Finding QD-OLED under $500 is easy now. Under $300 is still rare.
The panel holds its own against Alienware's $350 AW2726DM โ same .03ms response, VRR support, 180Hz over DisplayPort. The one real trade-off: a single HDMI port where rivals usually offer two, a mild annoyance for multi-console setups.
A panel type once reserved for big-budget builds just crashed the $300 tier. The market, apparently, didn't get that memo. (The Verge did, though.)
Samsung's
G50SF, a 27-inch 1440p QD-OLED panel, just dropped to $299.99 on Amazon. It launched at $499.99 and spent six months bouncing between $350 and $450, so this is a genuine low.Finding QD-OLED under $500 is easy now. Under $300 is still rare.
The panel holds its own against Alienware's $350 AW2726DM โ same .03ms response, VRR support, 180Hz over DisplayPort. The one real trade-off: a single HDMI port where rivals usually offer two, a mild annoyance for multi-console setups.
A panel type once reserved for big-budget builds just crashed the $300 tier. The market, apparently, didn't get that memo. (The Verge did, though.)
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๐ฎ STALKER 2 is getting a big double update
GSC Game World announced two things at once โ the first story expansion and a free 2.0 update, both dropping August 20, 2026 on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5.
The expansion, *Cost of Hope*, brings Skif back into a Zone torn apart by the Duty vs Freedom conflict, pulled in by a mystery PDA signal. Dozens of hours of content promised.
The 2.0 update moves the engine from
For context: the game launched in November 2024, reached PS5 a year after, and has crossed 6 million players. Per IGN.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGG-Okh7NDw
GSC Game World announced two things at once โ the first story expansion and a free 2.0 update, both dropping August 20, 2026 on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5.
The expansion, *Cost of Hope*, brings Skif back into a Zone torn apart by the Duty vs Freedom conflict, pulled in by a mystery PDA signal. Dozens of hours of content promised.
The 2.0 update moves the engine from
UE 5.1 to 5.5.4 โ specifics coming later.For context: the game launched in November 2024, reached PS5 a year after, and has crossed 6 million players. Per IGN.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGG-Okh7NDw
YouTube
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl - Cost of Hope Release Date Reveal Trailer | PS5 Games
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10014084/
Explore Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, dive into the iconic conflict between Duty & Freedom, face new horrors and mysteries in the upcoming S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope expansion starting August 20โฆ
Explore Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, dive into the iconic conflict between Duty & Freedom, face new horrors and mysteries in the upcoming S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope expansion starting August 20โฆ
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๐ฐ๏ธ Amazon wants to run your phone signal from orbit
Amazon bought Globalstar's network and its Apple services deal earlier this year. Now it has filed with the FCC to launch 5,105 more LEO satellites for direct-to-device voice, messaging, and emergency calls โ no cell towers. Deployment from 2028, per Advanced Television.
๐ธ Nearly double the size of its Kuiper broadband fleet, which has only launched "over 375" of ~3,200 planned satellites as of July
๐ธ Also seeking Iridium's spectrum outside the US โ a friction point with Rocket Lab, currently acquiring Iridium
๐ธ Signals processed on-orbit, not just relayed
Kuiper for broadband, this for cellular, Apple as a named partner โ mobile operators are quietly being repositioned from partners to infrastructure tenants.
The Verge
Amazon bought Globalstar's network and its Apple services deal earlier this year. Now it has filed with the FCC to launch 5,105 more LEO satellites for direct-to-device voice, messaging, and emergency calls โ no cell towers. Deployment from 2028, per Advanced Television.
๐ธ Nearly double the size of its Kuiper broadband fleet, which has only launched "over 375" of ~3,200 planned satellites as of July
๐ธ Also seeking Iridium's spectrum outside the US โ a friction point with Rocket Lab, currently acquiring Iridium
๐ธ Signals processed on-orbit, not just relayed
Kuiper for broadband, this for cellular, Apple as a named partner โ mobile operators are quietly being repositioned from partners to infrastructure tenants.
The Verge
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