Imagine you visit a dumpling shop to indulge in a plate of piping-hot savory goodness. And as you queue up, you are given access to compute tokens for AI interactions and to an agentic system that recommends delicacies and helps visitors explore the menu in an interactive fashion. That’s exactly what a viral dumpling shop in China’s national capital is serving. 

The unexpected pairing of AI agents with dumplings is not surprising, at least for the Chinese market.  

It’s not just the corporate race, where companies are offering frontier AI models at a fraction of the cost compared to American products such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Earlier this year, as the OpenClaw frenzy gripped the internet, China was operating on a whole other level with AI agents. Even people in their 50s and 60s lined up outside booths to get the agentic system installed on their phones, and local administrations in China even started offering subsidies for OpenClaw projects. 

Some AI tokens with my dumplings, please!

But as the saying goes, a technology can truly claim to have reached mass-market or universal adoption if it has reached the lowest strata of social interactions. In China, the mania is apparently reaching pretty close to the home (and belly) of the target audience. How about a dumpling shop?

The outlet, which goes by the name Jinguyuan, was started by 41-year-old Li Bo, according to Rest of World. Interestingly, Li graduated with a degree in telecommunications engineering at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, but instead of finding a career anchored to his academic qualifications, he tried his hand at the food business. 

At his dumpling outlet, customers receive coupons for AI usage tokens worth $1.50, which they can use to interact with AI  models. Additionally, Li built an AI-coded website to track the queues at two other branches of his outlet.

Broadly, the rapid adoption of AI in China has been quite a spectacle. In June, the Chinese government killed over 12,000 university degrees and replaced them with new courses that focus on AI and robotics. Chinese AI companies are hiring talent straight from the high school pool, and the government is also pushing for AI education at all school levels. 

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Red Tetris stickers and shirtless Windows 95 tots – accidental collectibles gathering dust

In a future edition of The Antiques Roadshow, the hosts might get all excited about a mint Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows… with a sticker on the box instead of a printed Tetris promotion.

Veteran Microsoft engineer Raymond Chen explained the reasoning behind using the sticker instead of simply printing what was in the box. Microsoft hadn’t locked down the rights for Tetris before the first print run of the packaging, so went with what it had.

The Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows debuted in 1990, the same year that Windows 3.0 was released and ushered in an era of Microsoft desktop dominance. Three more iterations of the entertainment pack followed, which included FreeCell, before Microsoft pulled the plug in 1992 (although a Best Of version arrived in 1994, and there was another version for Windows CE later in the 1990s).

We’ll draw a discreet veil over the ad-festooned version currently in the Microsoft Store.

The floppy disks in the box included several card games, Minesweeper, and a Windows version of the fiendishly addictive and massively popular game of the era, Tetris.

But it might not have gone that way. Chen explained in a post on his Old New Thing blog, “At the time the first run of boxes were being printed, the negotiations to license Tetris hadn’t yet concluded. There was a chance that the negotiations would fall through, and the Entertainment Pack would have to be released without Tetris.”

So, rather than risk throwing away a production run, Microsoft went ahead with the Tetris-less branding, and added a sticker when the deal was done. Later print runs made the sticker part of the box art, hence the rarity of the original.

Microsoft has a bit of a history of inadvertently creating collectibles. Chen recalled an incident with Windows 95, when an anti-piracy hologram on the case depicted a child pointing at a computer monitor and the Windows 95 logo. The child was shirtless, which caused offense in some quarters. Microsoft’s solution? A new hologram with the baby in a shirt and overalls.

However, some original versions still exist. Chen said, “So if you still have your copy of Windows 95, go look at the hologram. If the baby in your hologram isn’t wearing a shirt, you have a genuine collector’s item.”

We can just imagine the excitement at the recording now, as someone produces not only a stickered version of the Microsoft Entertainment Pack for Windows, but also the topless baby version of Windows 95… ®

• Brave1 lets Ukrainian units order drones built to exact specifications
• Military units have spent nearly one billion dollars through Brave1 Market
• Buyers can adjust seventeen different drone specifications before placing an order

A new procurement system launched by Ukraine’s Brave1 defense cluster now allows Ukrainian military units to commission drones built to their own specifications.

The system operates through the existing Brave1 Market platform, where military units can request drones tailored to particular operational requirements.

• China is moving its AI data centers into poor rural provinces
• Guizhou offers cooler weather, cheap land, and abundant renewable power
• New data centers must draw 80% of power from renewables

China is significantly expanding its data center capacity as artificial intelligence processing drives an unprecedented demand for computing power nationwide.

Much of this new infrastructure is being built away from the crowded eastern seaboard and placed in rural western provinces.

The Dutch Data Protection Authority is fining Uber €825 million (around $966 million) — the second largest penalty issued so far under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, according to Reuters.

The Dutch regulator was investigating complaints that Uber had deactivated driver accounts through an automated process without sufficient warning or human oversight. In a statement, deputy chair Monique Verdier said that the company had “committed serious infringements.”

“A computer should not make decisions on its own that have [such] major consequences,” Verdier said.

Uber, however, argued that most driver suspensions are brief, that no permanent deactivations take place without human review, and that drivers have the ability to appeal. (Dutch regulators said some drivers were permanently deactivated without human review, which Uber disputes.) The company said it will appeal the decision.

“We strongly disagree with this decision ​and disproportionate fine,” an Uber spokesperson told Reuters. TechCrunch has reached out to the company for additional comment.

Brahim Ben Ali, a former Uber driver in France, told the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant that after his account was deactivated in 2019, he collected testimonies from 170 other Uber drivers and eventually brought his complaint to the Netherlands, where Uber’s European headquarters are located.

Ben Ali was assisted in this effort by a Swiss nonprofit focused on digital rights called PersonalData.io, which helped the drivers collect data about how the deactivation decisions were made. Founder Paul-Olivier Dehaye said a driver “can complete a thousand journeys with satisfied passengers, but if just one person reports a very serious problem, the consequences can be enormous.”

Dehaye told me that this is the third fine that the Dutch regulator has levied on Uber, following a €290 million fine over its handling of drivers’ personal data and a €10 million fine stemming from related issues. He also said he plans to start a class action suit through which drivers can seek compensation.

In fact, Dehaye said these fines all originate with complaints made by the same group of drivers. And he’s starting a new company called StartClaims to support the litigation and other regulatory action — first against Uber and then eventually expanding to other gig economy cases, as well as related areas like adtech.

While discussing the case with Dehaye (who I’ve known casually since college), I brought up a blog post by Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, in which Gruber worried that this fine makes it “unlawful in the EU for Uber to monitor its drivers for pulling scams against customers, or just never picking riders up, leaving them stranded.”

Gruber also took issue with Verdier’s statement, arguing, “Saying that ‘a computer’ made these decisions is like saying that when a company suspends or fires a habitually late employee, that ‘the time clock’ made the decision. Managers at the company set the policies, and the devices measure employee compliance.”

Dehaye countered that Gruber “misses the point.”

“Uber is free to use humans to punish drivers who scam, but then [it] has to take responsibility for this decision making (like ‘being an employer’, not ‘being a marketplace’),” he said.

Sonos is launching a new pair of headphones soon, if online reports are accurate. When I heard these reports, I imagined they might be a true wireless considering rumours for that form factor have back years, but it looks like Sonos will announce a new pair of over-ears.

So what should we expect from them?

I think ‘expectations’ is an aspect that might dominate the conversation surrounding the Ace Ultra. I think hype and expectations ultimately led to the original Ace not having the impact Sonos imagined.

Even though I see the headphones on people’s heads every so often (in fact, I saw someone wearing a black version on the way to work); I suspect Sonos imagined that everyone who had a Sonos system in their home would sign up for a pair of Ace headphones as an extension of their system in the same the outdoor speakers such as the Move, Roam and Play have tried to do. But it didn’t quite work, and expectations played a part in that.

So how should we view these upcoming headphones? Has Sonos learnt from its previous mistakes and what areas should they have looked at in terms of improvements?

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A new model or a replacement?

What we don’t know is what they’re called. The Ace Ultra designation appears to be just a rumour for now, and it appears we’ll find out in some official capacity in September.

A question I’d ask is whether the headphones are an expansion of Sonos’ headphones range, or a replacement for the Sonos Ace? You may ask whether there’s any difference, and I would say there is.

An expansion would position Sonos as looking to build its headphone line-up, introducing tiers in a similar way that Sony, Bose and JBL have headphones that appeal to different people at different prices. A replacement implies a do-over, that essentially we’re back to square and these headphones would be the answer to criticisms people had of the first one.

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I’m inclined to think it’s the latter.

I think Sonos wants one pair of headphones in a bid for simplicity, a one-suits-all proposition at a premium price in a similar manner as Apple has done with its AirPods Max headphones. Has it ordered a massive redesign of the headphones? I suspect not, because there’s plenty that worked about the Ace (comfort especially) but there were areas where Sonos fell short of the competition. I’m thinking these headphones will be an ‘enhanced’ version, a 2.0 that shores up the issues people had.

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But we’ll find out for sure in September.

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Improvements needed for audio and noise-cancelling

The audio and noise-cancelling aspects of the Ace were fine – but in both regards the Ace were solid rather than exceptional. You can’t be in the same conversation as the likes of Sony and Bose by just being solid.

And in the two years since the launch of the Ace, rivals have only gotten stronger. Sony’s WH-1000XM6 are arguably the leader in the market. Bose has improved, and so has Sennheiser with the Momentum 5 Wireless, which sound fantastic. No one is resting on their laurels.

Considering Sonos’ inexperience in the headphones market, it will have had to accrue knowledge at a much faster rate than others, but it released its first pair of headphones, it got feedback from it, and like any feedback loop, that funnels resources into making the next pair better.

Here’s hoping that the noise-cancelling, which was already strong, has improved further; but more than that the sound this time around needs to have more character to it. Sonos aimed for a neutral presentation, which I found enjoyable but it had its limits. It was as detailed as other pairs, nor was it as dynamic as other pairs. When you don’t sound as good, or cancel noise as well as other pairs who are less expensive, that’s never a good sign. People will only pay a premium for quality. Sonos can’t be ‘as good’, in some ways it needs to be better.

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They need to lean into Sonos’ strengths better

For years, Wi-Fi has been seen as some sort of holy grail for headphones; though despite the potential that offers, Bluetooth still dominates.

We’ve seen AKG deliver a pair of very good headphones that have a Wi-Fi dongle. This site has published reviews of Wi-Fi headphones in the HED Unity (average) and the Wi-Fi models from Hifiman (better). When the original Ace launched, we all thought it would have some Wi-Fi connectivity, which it did through the excellent TV Audio Swap, but it also didn’t feel like it realised the potential of Wi-Fi because it was only available in this form.

By the sounds of it, the new pair could connect directly to a Wi-Fi network, like any other Sonos product, and open up the possibility of lossless audio. Of course, there’s a limitation in that you wouldn’t be able to benefit from this in outside environments – partly why Wi-Fi headphones don’t seem to have taken off – and connecting directly to the Wi-Fi would lock the headphones into the home network anyway.

But if Sonos can sort out the presentation of audio (and throw in USB-C audio while they’re at it too), and open up the bit-rate, then that’s at least something that’s different from most of the competition. That differentiation is arguably what Sonos needs the most.

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I’ve reviewed a lot of gaming chairs, sat my butt on plenty of seats promising the best of the best comfort, or ergonomic longevity (I’m convinced noblechairs wants my posture to last me until I’m 126 years old), and I’ve got to say, aside from possibly the AndaSeat Novis, this might be the most comfortable chair I’ve ever sat in.

At least, part of it is. The seat base. The fabric, the material, lovely; the base width, great. The backrest? Right up my street. But the Soma is a bit of an odd one when it comes to everything else it’s trying to do. And an even bigger issue is its launch day price tag.

Most people experience constipation at some point in their lives. For astronauts, it’s a common occurrence. The problem is that no one knew exactly why. Now, science seems to have figured out the No. 1 reason why astronauts have problems going No. 2 in space.

Research dating back nearly three decades has explored the effects of low- or zero-gravity environments on human digestion. A new study published in Nature by researchers at the University of Copenhagen working in tandem with NASA suggests that because astronauts spend so much time in microgravity, this state of near weightlessness causes food to move more slowly through the gut.

To carry out the study, researchers took samples from 52 astronauts who had spent months aboard the International Space Station. They found that time in space significantly affected their gut microbiomes, likely leading to constipation and other gastrointestinal problems. 

Here’s how it works. The gut microbiome generally breaks down carbohydrates and fiber first as its main energy source. Without gravity, however, food moves much more slowly through an astronaut’s digestive tract. This delay causes gut microbes to finish all available carbohydrates early and switch to fermenting protein for energy instead. This protein fermentation releases specific compounds into the bloodstream — that’s what allowed researchers to prove that a lack of gut-accessible carbs leads to slower bowel movements.

“We see changes in astronauts’ blood samples that indicate that the gut bacteria begin to ferment protein to a greater extent than usual within weeks after the astronauts arrive in space, and this change continues until they are back on Earth,” Giorgia La Barbera, one of the authors of the study and an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports at the University of Copenhagen, said in a statement.

A solution to the digestion traffic jam

While astronauts may be reaching for the stars, their digestive systems are firmly grounded in the laws of gravity.

Researchers say that a potential solution for off-planet travel is a diet richer in “slow-fermented carbohydrates.” These carbs take longer for the body to process, giving astronauts’ gut biomes something to chew on, figuratively and literally, as the material moves through the intestines. 

”Eating whole foods, rich in dietary fiber, such as vegetables, lentils and nuts, would be important to keep the gut motility up to speed and to provide additional substrates for the bacteria during space missions,” Henrik Roager, study co-author and associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, said in an email. “This way, the gut microbes would be kept busy fermenting dietary fiber instead of protein.”

Roager also says that “supplementation with prebiotics” and other treatments may also help decrease gut transit time, thereby helping astronauts avoid constipation. 

If the prescription sounds familiar, that’s because it’s also the recommended course of action for avoiding constipation here on Earth. Doctors regularly tell patients to drink more water and eat more fiber. Diets low in fiber cause stool to move more slowly in one’s digestive tract, even with gravity assistance. 

Since these results are linked to both terrestrial and space life, the study’s findings may be helpful in other areas as well, such as with bedridden patients suffering from chronic disease who also experience constipation, Lars Ove Dragsted, another author of the study, said in a statement.

Houston, we have a bowel movement

Issues like constipation may seem mild in the grand scheme of things, but they’re among the many that NASA and other space agencies need to solve before sending astronauts on much longer voyages — like when humans eventually go to Mars. 

The problem is twofold. It’s no secret that constipation is a major pain in the butt. Irregularity leads to bloating, pain, cramping, and in some cases, hemorrhoids and other short-term symptoms, which astronauts already deal with on the ISS during their months-long stays.

But there are long-term consequences to worry about as well. Potential long-term issues include heart disease, chronic kidney disease and other health effects like an increased risk of colorectal cancer and possibly also inflammatory bowel disease. A mission to Mars without a solution to constipation would put astronauts at risk of developing these additional complications.

“Whether constipation is also linked to mental health is not clear, but some of the molecules that we found to be increased among astronauts during space missions have been linked to increased anxiety and stress in animal models, so that is another potential concern,” Roager said.

NASA seems amenable to making dietary changes. “We are always looking at diet and health, working to use nutrition as a means to mitigate negative effects of spaceflight on crew health and performance,” said Scott M. Smith, manager for nutritional biochemistry at NASA. “The findings in this recent paper are intriguing, and we will continue to look at this and make recommendations where appropriate.”

It’s all a reminder that gravity keeps our bodies moving in the right direction.