Tech Boys

When you call a series Chief of War , you're setting an expectation for jaw-dropping battle sequences and wartime chaos. It's unsurprising, then, that Apple TV+'s new historical epic carries those in spades — and boy, do they deliver. From a horrifying beach invasion to an unforgettable volcanic showdown, Chief of War delivers enough adrenaline-fueled fight scenes to make you feel like you can run through a wall or two. Yet for as much as those battles stuck with me — and granted, I'm a sucker for epic battles — it's Chief of War 's lulls between storms that wound up sticking with me the most. Here, the series tells a tale about the corrupting power of prophecy, and about the compromises people make in order to ensure their survival. These themes undoubtedly heighten the stakes of Chief of War 's spectacular battles, although they occasionally risk being drowned out by the spectacles themselves. SEE ALSO: What's new to streaming this week? (Aug. 1, ...

Reddit is going to be leaning even harder into search in the coming months. The company has already been working on a plan to integrate its LLM-powered search into its main search feature, but CEO Steve Huffman said he wants users to think of the site as an actual search engine. During the company's latest earnings call, Huffman said search is one of the top priorities for Reddit. "We're concentrating our resources on the areas that will drive results for our most pressing needs, improving the core product, making Reddit a go-to search engine, and expanding internationally." The idea of reddit as a search engine isn't that far-fetched. Many people are already in the habit of adding "Reddit" to traditional searches in the hopes of finding relevant threads from the site. And the company has been trying to take advantage of this with its own AI-powered search product Reddit Answers . Though that feature is still labeled as being in "beta," the ...

Apple leadership discussed results and updates today in its third-quarter conference call, including some statements about its AI endeavors. As reported by CNBC , CEO Tim Cook said that the company is "significantly growing out investments" in artificial intelligence, which shouldn't be much of a surprise for any players in the tech space. However, Cook did acknowledge that an acquisition to boost its work in AI wasn't out of the question. "We’re open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap," he said. Cook said that Apple is "not stuck on a certain size company" as a possible target for an AI-related purchase. He noted that Apple has acquired "about" seven businesses so far this year across multiple disciplines but that none were "huge in terms of dollar amount." The company also has been pretty quiet on its promised plans to overhaul the Siri voice assistant with more AI features. The news is still sparse on that subject; ...

TL;DR: Hurry and grab lifetime access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more with a Microsoft Office 2019 license for Windows at A$45 for a limited time. Opens in a new window Credit: Microsoft Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 for Windows AU$45 AU$350 Save AU$305 Get Deal Your credit card is exhausted from all of today’s subscription fees. While you probably don’t want to cancel Peacock and never see the ending of Yellowstone or say goodbye to two-day shipping with Prime, you could swap your Microsoft 365 subscription for a Microsoft Office lifetime license . Instead of spending A$10 monthly (or A$107 yearly), you can pay once and use the apps as much as you’d like. For a little while longer, the Windows software suite is on sale for A$45. What apps are included? Microsoft Office 2019 isn’t the newest version available, but it’s the cheaper one for people who just need to use the apps and don’t care about what they look like inside. However, it does have a c...

TL;DR: Online safety for the whole family is easy with this lifetime AdGuard Family Plan , now just A$24 (reg. A$260) with code FAMPLAN through 7 September. Opens in a new window Credit: AdGuard AdGuard Family Plan: Lifetime Subscription AU$24 AU$260 Save AU$236 Get Deal The internet isn’t just cluttered with ads; there are also trackers and other hidden threats. AdGuard keeps you safe online by blocking intrusive ads, stopping trackers, and safeguarding your privacy across all your devices. Right now, you can grab lifetime protection for the whole crew with the AdGuard Family Plan. Cover up to nine devices for only A$24 (reg. A$260) with code FAMPLAN through 7 September. Enjoy a safer and smoother browsing experience The internet should be fun, not frustrating. AdGuard tackles the most annoying parts of online life, like pop-ups, autoplay videos, and banner ads, so that you can enjoy your time browsing, streaming, and scrolling again. Aside from blocking ads, ...

People reach for all kinds of metaphors to describe their relationship to AI. For some, AI is like a mostly reliable intern. For others, it’s a virtual assistant. Increasingly, chatbots like ChatGPT are moving into the role of companion, therapist, even romantic partner. As a college writing professor, I’ve come to think of AI as a collaborator: an archive of knowledge that talks back. But as a sober alcoholic myself, I also can’t help but imagine it as a high-functioning drunk: It can sometimes sound brilliant even when it has no idea what it’s talking about. I can tell you stories about the ways AI has come through when I needed it, saving me hours of time by doing mundane tasks, proofreading my writing, or conversing about my latest research obsessions. But then there are those other times when it lies with a cheery tone, when it seems to not understand a word I’m saying but just keeps talking rather than admit it’s wrong or that it doesn’t have an answer. Like a few weeks ago, wh...

Opera is filing an antitrust complaint against Microsoft in Brazil, alleging it creates an unfair environment for alternate browsers to compete with Edge. The Norway-based company claims Microsoft's deals to make Edge the exclusive pre-installed browser on Windows machines creates an unfair environment for alternate browsers to compete. Opera also argued that Microsoft uses design tactics and dark patterns to further discourage people from downloading and using rival products. It is asking Brazil's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) to pursue remedies against Microsoft. "Microsoft thwarts browser competition on Windows at every turn. First, browsers like Opera are locked out of important pre-installation opportunities," Aaron McParlan, general counsel for Opera, said in a statement. "And then Microsoft frustrates users' ability to download and use alternative browsers." This isn't the first time these two companies have clashed. O...

There's a new AI agent on the block for people who spend their waking hours inside spreadsheets. Navigate to Shortcut AI's website , and you'll find a page that looks almost exactly like an empty Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The main difference is a sidebar chatbot that can be tasked with taking on the tedious legwork of building, say, complex financial models or competitive analyses. Because Shortcut is agentic , meaning it can handle multi-step tasks on the user's behalf, the tool can do more than just generate Excel formulas or analyze spreadsheet data. In a demo on X, Nico Christie, founder and CEO of the Shortcut AI agent, showed how the tool swapped out the data from a Microsoft distributed cash flow analysis (DCF) for Google data by looking up Google's SEC filings and populating the data in the same template. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Shortcut launched on Monday with a rather ominous tagline: "Try...

Just days after thousands of user images and locations were leaked in an apparent hack of archived app data , women-only safety app Tea is weathering data exposure at an even larger scale than first reported. In addition to exposing thousands of user verification images and personal IDs, which were later abused by users on platforms like 4Chan, the app's recently discovered security flaws make it possible for hackers to access private messages between users. An independent security researcher, verified by 404Media, was able to pull conversations from a second database that were sent as recently as last week, which included sensitive information like shared phone numbers, conversations about intimate relationships, and discussions of abortion. SEE ALSO: Grindr bans 'no zionists' in bios, but still allows racist and fatphobic language The researcher, Kasra Rahjerdi, also obtained access to back-end app features like the ability to send mass push notifications to user...

Whistle, a subsidiary of Mars that makes pet trackers, has announced that it's being acquired by Tractive. As part of the acquisition, Whistle trackers will stop working, but Tractive is offering to replace those trackers for free for a limited time. The official shutdown date for Whistle's pet trackers is August 31, 2025. Users will be able to request a replacement tracker until September 30, 2025 by providing their tracker's serial number and then choosing a new Tractive tracker. Tractive will also credit pre-paid Whistle subscriptions to new Tractive accounts, and give anyone with a Whistle tracker without an active subscription two months of a Tractive subscription for free. Whistle's devices, like the Whistle Go Explore or Whistle Fit , focused on using GPS, Wi-Fi, and AT&T's network to keep tabs on the whereabouts of your dogs and cats. Tractive goes further by offering similar tracking features alongside wearable-style health monitoring. If you pay ...