Recap: California will require software vendors to verify users’ ages at the operating system level in the coming months. Thanks to the latest changes approved by the state’s Assembly, the new draconian requirements will not apply to software projects designed to be modified or copied.
For the time being, Linux and other open-source software projects are safe from California’s upcoming age-verification law. State lawmakers recently passed Bill 1856, which introduces several significant amendments to the original Digital Age Assurance Act (DAAA) and its age-verification requirements.
Bill 1856 defines an “operating system provider” as a person or organization that develops, licenses, or otherwise controls an OS product for computers, phones, or other general-purpose computing devices. The law also states that operating systems or software applications intended to be copied, redistributed, or modified do not have “providers” under the legislation and therefore should not be required to verify users’ ages.
Many popular OS projects, including Linux distributions used by both consumers and enterprise organizations, should now be exempt from the DAAA’s provisions. However, some Linux-derived projects, such as SteamOS, might still be forced to impose age verification on their users. The gaming-focused operating system is based on the Arch Linux project, but Valve provides its own “official” OS images along with a proprietary Steam client.
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Bill 1856 provides other important clarifications to the DAAA. The original law contained a badly mangled definition of a “user,” essentially turning every Californian consumer into a child. Lawmakers have also added a new prohibition against potential misuse of the “age signal” provided by an operating system. Under the revised law, OS providers and app store owners will only be required to disclose a user’s age when law enforcement agencies or other state authorities request it.
The full DAAA package will take effect on January 1, 2027. While Linux distros should be safe, other commercial platforms such as Windows, Android, and iOS will be required to verify a user’s age during the operating system’s setup process. Furthermore, devices configured before January 1 will have until July 1, 2027, to implement the new age check.
Age-verification requirements are growing in both scope and popularity, but some users are fighting the new rules. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has heavily criticized California’s DAAA, stating that the law will impose new and potentially unconstitutional barriers preventing adults and younger citizens from freely accessing information online.
A wholesome story has gone viral on Facebook after California Highway Patrol – Auburn shared a heartwarming image of a man being reunited with a vehicle stolen from him more than 30 years ago. According to the CHP, a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle SS was reported stolen in San Mateo County in 1993. However, during a VIN inspection of a ’71 Chevelle SS 33 years later, officers realized they were looking at the exact car that had been stolen all those years ago.
After working with the San Mateo Police Department, they confirmed that it was indeed the same Chevelle SS. The CHP then returned the classic muscle car to its original owner. “After more than three decades,” the CHP wrote on Facebook, “this classic is finally back where it belongs.”
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The 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle SS appeared quite clean and well cared for in the image released by the CHP, leaving some to wonder whether the then-owner wasn’t aware that their Chevelle had been stolen. They had clearly put a lot of money and time into the car, which is easily worth $30,000 to $70,000 depending on the mileage and condition, and even more for the Chevelle SS, some of which have sold for six-figure sums. The Chevelle SS is one of the most iconic Chevy models ever made due to its aggressive looks and powerful engine options, with the ’71 model maxing out at 365 hp from the 454 V8.
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How to protect your classic car from getting stolen
Rattankun Thongbun/Getty Images
This is not the first time a classic car has been reunited with its owner many years after being stolen. In mid-2026, a Vietnam Vet’s 1969 Chevrolet Camaro was returned to his son nearly 20 years after going missing. Unfortunately, classic cars are considered pretty easy to steal due to their simplicity — no alarms, no dashcams, no modern door features. You really only need a screwdriver, a bent coat hanger, and the ability to hotwire a car.
However, there are some ways to protect your classic car from getting stolen. First, always lock the doors and take the keys — even if you live in a relatively quiet area. If you can, park the car indoors, such as in a temperature-controlled garage, and not out in the street. If you have to do the latter, make sure it’s in a visible and well-lit area to deter would-be thieves.
You can also install anti-theft devices like a battery cut-off switch, an alarm, and a tracker. Finally, be aware of the warning signs that thieves are targeting your classic car, like scratches near your door lock or strange activity around your home.
Fiserv’s Colm O’Donaill discusses the ever-more-vital issue of security in a finance landscape being transformed by AI innovation.
Now a senior vice-president and CIO for EMEA at global fintech and payments platform Fiserv, Colm O’Donaill took his first steps into the space aged 11 or 12 when he picked up some new skills on an amber-screen, DOS-based PC his mother brought home in the late 80s.
O’Donaill told SiliconRepublic.com, “It was a business machine so I couldn’t play games on it, so instead I self-learnt how to code. My first job was typing up theses and university papers for my older sibling’s college classmates.”
Education has been for him, like it is for so many in the STEM space, a vehicle through which one can stay abreast of evolution in a vastly changing world and, now more than ever, he finds that professionals can’t let their skills stagnate.
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“Computer engineering is constantly evolving and like other professional disciplines such as medicine and science, a practitioner needs to be continually investing in their own learning,” he said.
“The advancement of AI since GPT-5 was released this time last year has been staggering and continues to accelerate, so if we are to participate, we can’t take any breaks in self-education.
“With new cyber models of AI, we are learning that it is able to expose lack of diligence in security systems, meaning we have to really fulfil our obligation to resolving zero-day issues and continuous remediation of findings instead of lip-service to those ideals.
“Companies that don’t protect in depth will be discovered by automated agents and will be exploited. This requires that we take investment in these areas seriously.”
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A tale of two landscapes
O’Donaill noted Ireland’s strong reputation in the fintech industry, due in part to the many natively-grown companies that have shown what Irish fintechs can contribute, and the talent pipeline consisting of professionals trained at large multinationals.
However, the challenge, he finds, is in better understanding other markets so fintech companies can scale and grow, while also navigating industry turmoil and complexity.
“It’s no secret that there have been layoffs in Ireland since the beginning of the year in the finance and tech sectors. This may indicate that the Irish advantage is being eroded – likely by high costs of living making Ireland less attractive to foreign investors – and this means there’s less security in the industry.
“This, however, underlines the need to continuously self-educate and avoid complacency. If there are disruptions in the Market News International sector, this releases many experts into the domestic market to drive Irish innovation forward – entrepreneurs would be wise to take advantage.”
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To that point, he shared an anecdote in which “a previous employer hired technology staff directly from the carpark of a liquidation competitor”.
Primarily, for O’Donaill, one of the biggest mistakes a young person looking to move into a finance career can make today would be to neglect their AI education, noting the similarity of the technology’s emergence to other impactful innovations.
“The current AI offerings are the worst they will ever be – they will only improve. They will become as much a fact of working as computers became in the 80s or virtual meetings became in the 2010s,” he said.
“Any young professional that is not deeply exploiting this innovation will lose out to others. It is a key aspect of improving the quality and volume of output a contributing employee can make – don’t miss out.”
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Two years ago, Sony launched its ULT POWER SOUND line of Bluetooth party speakers. They offered powerful high quality sound and a feature set that was hard to match. Today the company unveiled three new models in its floor-standing ULT POWER TOWER line, the ULT Tower 5, ULT Tower 7 and the new flagship ULT Tower Max. While all three offer dynamic punchy sound, the ULT Tower Max brings things to the next level with the kind of gut-wrenching power we normally only hear from multi-thousand dollar speakers or banks of PA speakers at a live concert.
From left to right: ULT Tower 7, ULT Tower MAX and ULT Tower 5.
Based on demos we heard in New York City last month, we wouldn’t be surprised if the ULT Tower Max could reproduce the sound of a Boeing 787 taking off at realistic SPL levels. According to the specs, the MAX can hit a max SPL of 112 dB, and that’s just for one speaker. Link a few together and you’re going to rival the sheer volume level of a classic concert by “The Who.” We’d suggest keeping some earplugs on hand in case things get crazy.
A Peek Behind the Grille: The ULT Tower Max features six speaker drivers in the front and another three speakers in the back for 360 degree sound.
We listened to several tracks: rock, jazz, pop and EDM, and all were reproduced with clarity and power. On the EDM track “Alive,” from KX5/deadmau5, the bass drop brought a level of deep bass impact and precision I’ve literally never heard before from a “Party Speaker.” Watch out, JBL Party Box Ultimate, the Sony ULT Tower Max has got you in its sights.
The ULT button/dial on the front of each speaker controls volume and ULT sound mode.
The new models also feature a revamped industrial design that looks more “pro” than “party.” All of the new models feature a new tactile illuminated ULT volume knob on the front for simplified volume and sound field control. The light show has been enhanced over previous models with more lighting elements, more lighting modes and more color options as well as a feature that uses the integrated lights to reflect changes to the volume level in real time.
Sony’s new ULT Tower speakers look more at home with pro and touring gear than their flashier predecessors.
The speaker drivers and amplifiers have also been revised for improved efficiency and dynamic impact. The ULT Tower Max features three 11-inch (280mm) circular woofers (2 front, 1 rear), two midrange units (front only) and four tweeters (2 front and 2 rear) for 360 degree sound.
While the ULT Tower Max requires AC power, the ULT Tower 5 and ULT Tower 7 feature beefy built-in battery packs for off-grid entertainment. The ULT Tower 5 can last up to 20 hours and the ULT Tower 7 can last up to 30 hours on a single charge (at moderate volumes, with lighting disabled). If you activate the lighting features, battery life is cut approximately in half. In case you forget to charge your speakers in advance, a 10-minute quick charge gets you about 100 minutes of playback on the Tower 5 or 180 minutes of playback on the Tower 7.
Some controls which used to be on top with previous models have been moved to the back. This makes sense as a karaoke singer or DJ is likely to be behind the speaker, not on top of it. Rear controls include input selection, Party Chain, Stereo Pair and the lighting and Karaoke controls. A “Stamina” mode extends battery life by disabling the light show. Power, Bluetooth pairing and Play/Pause buttons remain on the top of the unit in the new design.
All three of the new speakers include four rubber feet on the bottom and four more rubber feet on the right side, so they can be placed vertically or horizontally depending on your needs or available space.
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Each of the new ULT Tower Speakers can be matched with another of the same model for true stereo. Pictured here is a pair of ULT Tower Maxes.
The new ULT Tower Speakers can be run solo, of course, or paired for true stereo in the Sony Sound Connect app or via a stereo pairing button on the back of each unit. You can also daisy chain multiple speakers together to fill larger indoor or outdoor spaces with sound. But the new speakers do this a bit differently from their predecessors.
Back on the Chain Gang
One welcome change from previous models is the new “Party Chain” feature. While synching multiple speakers together is something that most Bluetooth party speakers can do, sometimes actually using the feature gets complicated and most party speakers use proprietary systems that exclude working with other brands. Sony’s “Party Chain” offers true one-touch operation. Push the party chain button on one speaker to make it the host or master device, then hit the button on any compatible speaker within range and that speaker immediately becomes a slave – or maybe a “servant?” – to the master, playing the same content in perfect synchronization.
Linking speakers together requires a single push of the “Party Chain” button (left) on the host speaker and on any speaker you wish to add to the chain.
While each chained speaker maintains its own independent volume controls, the master device volume control operates all chained speakers. So if the police show up at your door, it’s quite easy to control the mayhem, with the turn of a single dial. “What noise, officer?”
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The Party Chain feature uses Bluetooth Auracast to broadcast out to multiple devices. And because it’s an “open” Auracast protocol, it supports other brands of speakers as well. Sony doesn’t discriminate. A Sony rep told us that Party Chain supports up to 100 speakers and each speaker can be up to 20 meters from each other, but honestly this seems like it may be an error as it doesn’t reflect how Auracast actually works.
Bluetooth Auracast normally has an unlimited number of clients that can receive the broadcast from the main casting speaker. It’s similar to an FM radio station broadcasting out to an unlimited number of FM tuners. However, since one device acts as the “Caster,” all speakers normally need to be within a certain distance of that speaker in order to receive the broadcast. Auracast broadcasts can typically range up to 100 meters (330 feet) outdoors, or around 25 to 50 meters indoors (depending on obstructions like walls or furniture). We’d be surprised if Sony is putting an artificial cap on the number of linked speakers, but we’ll be sure to update this story if/when we confirm the specs.
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The main drawback to this switch to Auracast is that earlier Sony speakers, including earlier SRS models as well as ULT speakers released in 2024 and 2025, are not compatible with “Party Chain.” Similarly, the new models are not compatible with Sony’s previous “Party Connect” feature. We expect future models will maintain compatibility with these new speakers so the number of compatible speakers will grow over time.
Also new this year is an expanded set of inputs, including wireless Bluetooth, XLR, RCA, Quarter-Inch (6.3mm) analog, USB-A and USB-C. While the ULT Tower Max replaces the ULT Tower 10 in the line-up, the Max does not include dedicated Karaoke mics, which the ULT Tower 10 did include. If you want to add karaoke, you can get Sony’s ULT Mic wireless kit or plug a wired mic into the XLR or quarter inch mic jacks.
All three of the new ULT Tower speakers now include XLR inputs and outputs, in addition to Bluetooth, USB-A, USB-C, RCA and 1/4-inch jacks.
As we step down the line, the ULT Tower 7 and ULT Tower 5 offer a similar cosmetic design, including the lighting effects and controls. In our more extended listening tests with the ULT Tower 7, we found that it captured a fair amount of the impact of the Tower Max, but in a much smaller box and at a lower cost. The Tower 5 is even more diminutive (and much lighter) making it a good choice for the beach, camping or lake parties. But it is the only one of the new speakers that lacks wheels, so make sure you can handle the .
With 20 hours of continuous playback, and a more compact form factor, the ULT Tower 5 would be a welcome addition to your next camping trip. It does weigh 29 pounds however, so maybe bring a roadie.
All three speakers feature Sony’s ULT Power Sound modes, which have been expanded to include new “Live” and “Flat” EQ modes to suit different situations. ULT1 sound mode provides a low bass boost that will rattle your guts, while ULT2 is like a loudness button on steroids, boosting the punchy mid bass and SPL level to provide a more impactful sound overall. “Live” mode adds reverb to make your music sound more like a live performance and “Flat” provides a neutral sound curve, for those who want to skip the theatrics. A 10-Band EQ is available in the Sony Connect app in case you want to customize the sound for your particular preferences. You can cycle through sound modes by pressing the ULT button on each speaker or in the mobile app.
All three of the new speakers feature four handles (two on the top and two on the bottom), and the Tower 7 and Tower Max feature large heavy duty wheels to make them easy to transport. This is particularly welcome on the ULT Tower MAX which weighs in at 121 pounds.
The Bottom Line
While JBL dominates the party speaker space, Sony’s latest enhancements to its ULT Power Sound line-up might just challenge the party speaker king. The ULT Tower Max offers extreme bass and SPL output to fill the largest indoor or outdoor space. And the switch from a proprietary “Party Connect” feature to the more open Auracast-based “Party Chain” means Sony party speakers can play nicely with other brands, though at the expense of backward compatibility with the company’s own earlier models.
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We like to see the inclusion of XLR inputs (and outputs) as it makes them more suited to pro or semi-pro use. While an HDMI port would also have been nice to connect one to a TV or a projector, you can use one of the analog inputs for that (1/4-inch or RCA). Analog RCA or headphone outputs are available on some TVs and on most lifestyle and portable projectors. Many modern TVs and projectors have Bluetooth outputs as well so you can create a wireless link from your TV to one of these new Towers.
The ULT Tower 5 offers a fairly compact footprint, while still offering punchy dynamic sound, and the ULT Tower 7 walks the line between ultimate performance and portability with a reasonably compact design, four handles and heavy duty wheels that make transportation a fairly simple matter. Check out our full review of the Ult Tower 7 for more details.
If you’re looking for a portable speaker that can fill a large space with dynamic, punchy sound, while providing seamless multi-speaker support and a flexible assortment of inputs, these new ULT Tower party speakers are definitely worth a look… and a listen.
Sony 2026 ULT Tower Speakers Pricing
The ULT Tower 5, ULT Tower 7 and ULT Tower Max will begin shipping today (September 1, 2026) from authorized Sony retailers.
John Ternus has officially taken the reins as Apple CEO, succeeding Tim Cook, who held the role for fifteen years.
The company’s former senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, Ternus enters the CEO role at a critical time for Apple. On September 9, the company will host its annual iPhone event, which is rumored to include the launch of Apple’s first foldable iPhone. Apple is also expected to roll out its new-and-improved Siri AI more broadly, which marks an important opportunity for the company to position Siri as an equal to chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude.
“We have a huge launch next week that’s going to be phenomenal,” Ternus wrote in a memo to staff on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg. “I’m just as excited about what lies beyond that, including the incredible products already in the works and the ones we haven’t even imagined yet that we’ll dream up and create together.”
“I take enormous comfort in handing the helm to someone as brilliant and wonderful and capable as John,” Tim Cook wrote to staff on his last day as CEO. “Few people understand what it takes to build products that change the world the way John does and I could not be more excited for his leadership.”
Aesto LLC, operating as Aesto Health, disclosed that a data breach discovered recently affects more than 9.5 million individuals.
The private technology company provides software-as-a-service solutions that help healthcare organizations migrate, archive, and access patient data when replacing electronic health record systems or acquiring medical practices.
The company first informed the public of the attack on June 24 via a notification on its website, stating that “a limited portion” of its Amazon Web Services infrastructure had been compromised.
However, the intrusion occurred in December 2025 and was confirmed internally on May 26, following a forensic investigation by external specialists.
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“After an extensive forensic investigation and manual document review, on May 26, 2026, we confirmed that between on or about December 2, 2025, and December 18, 2025, certain protected health information belonging to patients of various Covered Entity clients stored within Aesto’s network may have been accessed and/or acquired by an unauthorized actor,” reads the statement.
In a report to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Aesto Health said that the data breach affects 9,540,683 individuals.
“The information included full names, dates of birth, medical information, driver’s license numbers, financial account numbers only, health insurance information, individual taxpayer identification numbers, other government identification numbers, and Social Security numbers.”
HIPAA Journal says that the incident indirectly impacts 29 healthcare providers, including VillageMD, Everside Health (Marathon Health), Marana Health, and Together Women’s Health.
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On August 21, the company started to inform impacted individuals of the data breach, providing details about the incident and instructions on how to enroll in a 24-month identity theft protection and credit monitoring service through Experian.
30 years on, it’s still alpha, but 0.4.16 brings plenty of bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements – just in time for Windows XP’s 25th anniversary
If you’re pining away for the days when Windows ran well on 64 MB of RAM, there’s a new version of open source NT clone ReactOS promising easier installation and fewer bugs.
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ReactOS 0.4.16 was announced over the weekend after a year and a half of development, and its list of improvements is substantial. For those unfamiliar with the ReactOS project, it’s a long-running effort (it spun up in 1996) to create an open source equivalent of Windows NT, with the aim of running Windows applications and drivers.
If you miss the halcyon days of Windows XP that began a quarter of a century ago, in other words, it’s the project for you.
Given that it’s an open source project driven by a group of volunteers who’ve had to dodge accusations that they’re just ripping off old copies of a research kernel, compatibility, ease of installation, and stability have all been sore spots for ReactOS. A number of essential elements have been fixed and improved as of 0.4.16, per the team.
“We’re excited to showcase the improvements we’ve made,” the ReactOS builders said in their release notes, with “a unified bootcd and livecd image; video, audio, networking, and storage stack improvements; a new installation type; and third-party code syncs” all mentioned as having been added.
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The unified bootcd and livecd mean a single disc can now be used to boot into a temporary version of ReactOS to have a poke around, and to install the OS itself. A graphical installer is also included in the new unified disk image, meaning that there’s no longer a need to navigate a truly old-fashioned interface to get up and running.
Fixed OS functions
Running old-fashioned software (or modern iterations of it) on newer hardware is bound to be a complicated mess, and that’s true for ReactOS.
Video drivers from “all major … vendors” have been causing issues in the experimental OS for years, the team notes, but apparently one source of the problem has finally been identified and addressed in 0.4.16. The kernel’s system page table entries, it turns out, were filling up when loading third-party graphics drivers because they eat up more memory than most others, so the memory manager layout was modified to increase the number of system PTEs.
A different problem with blank OpenGL windows on AMD video drivers was resolved separately. Both improvements “fixed many edge case bugs in our win32k.sys driver,” the ReactOS team noted.
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A new HD audio bus driver was brought in to replace an older implementation that was never quite finished, addressing frequent bugchecks when attempting to install HD audio controller drivers.
As for storage, the 2009 implementation of UniATA gave ReactOS the ability to recognize disk partitions over 8 GB, but the aging driver has since begun to cause slow boot times and load failures. It’s been replaced with a new ATA driver that also allows ReactOS to boot in more environments, including first-generation Hyper-V VMs. A disk cleanup utility was also added.
Networking support has also been improved, with support for more adapters and virtual environments added. Asynchronous connections are now supported as well.
There’s also a new headless Server Core installation type of ReactOS available with this release that loads a full Win32 subsystem without the GUI, similar to Windows Server Core that Microsoft released with Windows Server 2008.
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Finally, the ReactOS team has abandoned Windows Server 2003 compatibility restrictions, meaning that its Wine fork designed to interface with Windows-like kernels is no longer limited to Wine 2.x and 3.x, the latest of which was released in 2018. The abandonment of that restriction means ReactOS has been able to update its Wine fork toward Wine 10.0, which was released in early 2025, with 0.4.16 incorporating a significant amount of that work. Support for WineVDM, which increases compatibility for 16-bit Windows applications, was also added in the release.
“The mission for ReactOS is to ‘[Run] your favorite Windows applications and drivers in an open-source environment you can trust,’” the team said. “With each release we come closer to fulfilling this goal.”
You can download version 0.4.16 of ReactOS here, but the team’s usual warning applies: Despite being a 30-year-old project, it is still in an alpha state “and provides no guarantee of stability, of safety for your files, or that it will work at all on your hardware.” ®
The streaming market has become remarkably good at convincing audiophiles that they need another box between their router and amplifier. Esoteric has taken a somewhat different approach with the new $28,000 N-01XE Network Player/DAC. Rather than pile on features and hope someone notices, the Japanese manufacturer has pulled two of its most important digital technologies from the flagship Grandioso N1 and dropped them into its 01 Series.
The result is a $28,000 network player/DAC weighing more than 61 pounds, with five independent linear power supplies, a fully discrete DAC architecture and optical network connectivity. Because apparently streaming music from Qobuz needed its own power station.
The Grandioso Connection Is the Real Story
The most significant changes are the Master Sound Discrete DAC G2 and fourth-generation Esoteric Network Engine G4, both derived from the Grandioso N1.
That makes the N-01XE more than the usual evolutionary product refresh. Esoteric is moving its newest digital conversion and network technologies into the 01 Series while retaining the kind of mechanical and power-supply engineering that has become part of the brand’s identity.
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The DAC deserves most of the attention. Rather than using a conventional DAC chipset from ESS, AKM or another semiconductor manufacturer, Esoteric builds its Master Sound Discrete DAC G2 in-house around an FPGA-based, multilevel delta-sigma architecture.
The implementation uses 32 discrete elements per channel, ultra-high-precision MELF resistors and Esoteric’s IDM-01 amplification elements. Separate FPGA algorithms handle PCM and DSD conversion, with support for PCM up to 768 kHz and DSD up to 22.5 MHz.
The G2 revision also redesigns the flip-flop circuitry controlling the resistor elements and further separates the power supplies for the FPGA, other digital circuitry and the analog stages. Esoteric has even added capacitors close to the resistor elements to improve current delivery and reduce noise.
That level of engineering is what separates the N-01XE from the ocean of network players built around increasingly similar chipsets and streaming platforms. Whether you can hear $28,000 worth of separation is another discussion entirely.
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Five Linear Power Supplies Inside a Streamer
Esoteric has never been particularly interested in doing things halfway.
Although the N-01XE is a stereo component, the DAC section uses a fully dual-mono architecture, with independent transformers for the left and right channels. Additional dedicated supplies serve the network engine, digital circuitry and microcontroller, bringing the total to five independent linear power supplies.
There is also a multilayer chassis, semi-floating top panel and Esoteric’s isolation feet. The finished component measures approximately 17 5/8 x 6 1/2 x 17 1/4 inches and weighs 61 3/8 pounds.
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Sixty-one pounds for a network player sounds ridiculous until one looks inside an Esoteric component. Nobody in Tokyo received the memo about making streamers small enough to hide behind the sofa.
The Network Engine G4 Takes Fiber Seriously
Esoteric’s new Network Engine G4 also deserves more attention than the usual “improved streaming platform” language. The G4 has its own dedicated linear power supply and incorporates both conventional RJ45 Ethernet and an SFP port, allowing the N-01XE to connect to a network using optical fiber.
The potential advantage is electrical isolation. A fiber connection can break the conductive path between the audio component and upstream network hardware, preventing electrical noise from traveling along that connection.
Esoteric also gives the G4 its own built-in network switch functionality, and the RJ45 and SFP connections can be operated simultaneously. The network section uses a toroidal transformer, custom capacitors and Schottky barrier diodes rather than a basic switching supply.
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Streaming support includes TIDAL, TIDAL Connect, Qobuz, Qobuz Connect, Roon, Spotify and QQ Music. USB storage can be connected directly for local playback, and supported formats include DSF, DSDIFF, FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, MQA, MP3 and AAC.
Connectivity
Esoteric has also retained plenty of options for owners with serious digital systems.
Digital inputs include ES-Link5, USB Type-B, balanced XLR digital, coaxial RCA and optical, while analog output is provided through RCA and balanced XLR/ES-Link Analog connections.
There is also a 10 MHz BNC clock input for use with external master clocks such as Esoteric’s G-01XD and G-05. ES-Link5 permits connection to compatible Esoteric SACD transports, while ES-Link Analog provides the company’s proprietary current-transmission connection to compatible electronics.
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This is where the N-01XE starts making considerably more sense for someone who already owns other Esoteric components. System integration is clearly part of the proposition.
Some Useful Perspective From My Own Listening Room
I am currently reviewing two components that put the $28,000 Esoteric N-01XE into rather useful perspective: the $6,500 MOON 371 Network Player/Amplifier and Esoteric’s own $13,000 N-05XE Network DAC Preamplifier.
The MOON 371 attacks the problem from almost the opposite direction. For less than one-quarter of the N-01XE’s price, it combines MiND 2 network streaming, DAC, preamplification, MM/MC phono and 100 watts per channel into 8 ohms, doubling to 200 watts into 4 ohms. Add loudspeakers and you essentially have a complete system.
The N-05XE is an even more interesting comparison because it comes from Esoteric’s own stable. At $13,000, it combines network streaming, the Master Sound Discrete DAC G2, Network Engine G4, a fully balanced dual-mono preamplifier and headphone amplification. It even supports the same SFP optical networking concept found in the new N-01XE.
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So why spend another $15,000 on the N-01XE and give up the preamplifier and headphone amplifier?
That question gets to the heart of this product. The N-01XE is not Esoteric’s value proposition or its answer for somebody trying to eliminate boxes. It takes the streaming and conversion side much further, with the more elaborate dual-mono DAC implementation, five independent linear power supplies, more ambitious chassis construction and deeper integration with Esoteric transports, external clocks and ES-Link Analog.
Having the MOON 371 and N-05XE here for review should make that distinction especially interesting. One represents how much functionality and amplification $6,500 can buy in 2026; the other demonstrates how much of Esoteric’s digital technology is already available for $13,000.
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The N-01XE has to make the case for spending $28,000 just on the digital front end.
And at that price, it had better be one hell of a case.
What Competes With the Esoteric N-01XE?
Innuos takes a very different approach with the $24,100 ZENith Next-Gen. Like Esoteric, the Portuguese manufacturer has gone to considerable lengths to address power-supply noise, processing architecture and digital signal integrity, but the ZENith is a server/streamer rather than a network player with a reference DAC built in. Add 2TB of internal storage and Innuos’ $1,950 PhoenixUSB output board and the package rises to $27,150, putting it almost directly against the $28,000 N-01XE on price. The catch? You still need a DAC.
The other obvious rival is the dCS Bartók APEX, priced at $20,950, or $22,950 with its headphone amplifier. It combines network streaming, DAC, upsampling and preamplifier functionality around dCS’s proprietary Ring DAC APEX architecture.
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That creates a fascinating philosophical comparison.
dCS has its Ring DAC. Esoteric has its Master Sound Discrete DAC G2. Neither relies on an off-the-shelf converter chipset, and both companies have spent decades developing their own solutions to the same problem.
Neither solution comes cheap.
The Bottom Line
The Esoteric N-01XE isn’t interesting because it streams Spotify, Qobuz and TIDAL. Products costing 97% less can manage that rather well. What separates it is the hardware behind the streaming.
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The second-generation discrete DAC, G4 network engine with optical connectivity, five independent linear power supplies, dual-mono construction and Esoteric system integration make this a very different animal from the typical premium streamer/DAC.
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The $28,000 price narrows the audience rather dramatically, and the MOON 891 and dCS Bartók APEX both offer considerably more system functionality for less money. Buyers choosing the Esoteric are therefore making a very deliberate decision: they already have the rest of the system and want the digital source treated with the same level of excess normally reserved for amplifiers and turntables.
A 61-pound network player might sound absurd.
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In the context of Esoteric, it almost seems inevitable.
Pricing & Availability
The Esoteric N-01XE Network Player/DAC will carry a U.S. MSRP of $28,000, with international shipments scheduled to begin in November 2026.
BT could make more than $2.7 billion by recycling copper from its aging UK landline network as BT subsidiary Openreach replaces legacy wiring with full-fiber broadband. Engadget reports: BT’s recovered copper was previously valued at around $2 billion. But prices have surged, thanks to rising global demand tied to AI data centers, renewable energy and electrification. With global demand expected to grow sharply over the next decade, the value of BT’s copper could potentially exceed even that $2.7 billion estimate.
The BT subsidiary Openreach is in the process of replacing its legacy copper network with full-fiber broadband, with plans to connect 30 million residences by the end of the decade. It’s already recovered nearly 10,000 metric tons of copper in its latest financial year and over 22,000 metric tons since 2023. “Copper has become one of the most strategic materials in the modern economy,” according to Openreach’s head of sustainability, Abby Chicken.
Unsurprisingly, BT isn’t waiting to profit from the recovered metal. It has an agreement with EMR, a cable recycling company, and recently received $133 million up front for recovered copper.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has posted plans to buy a fleet of Boston Dynamics robot dogs. The listing puts the spend at $1m to $2m. It also says ICE does not intend to compete the purchase.
Joseph Cox found the plan for 404 Media on Friday. It sits in the Department of Homeland Security’s Acquisition Planning Forecast System. That is a public database where federal buyers flag what they intend to purchase, months before they go out to market.
Anyone can read it. Almost nobody does.
ICE published the record on 27 August, under the title “Boston Dynamics SPOT Robots Procurement”.
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What the record actually says
ICE wants the robots for “inspection, situational awareness, and hazard assessment in environments that may pose risks to personnel”. The capability “helps improve officer safety”, the record says. It lets the agency reach “dangerous, confined, unstable, or difficult-to-access areas”.
Three fields in the record did not make the coverage.
The competition field reads NO. ICE plans to buy these without a tender, under FAR Subpart 13.5. That is a simplified route for commercial off-the-shelf items, and it exists to spare buyers a full competition on routine kit. The record files the robots under miscellaneous general purpose machinery.
The place of performance is Fort Benning, Georgia. That is an Army installation, not a border sector or a field office, and the record does not explain the choice.
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The third detail is the status. This is a forecast, not a contract. The solicitation was due out on 4 September. An award should follow in the last quarter of this financial year, and the work wraps in April 2027. ICE has flagged it as a firm fixed price deal, which means the agency has a number in mind already.
Spot units have carried a list price near $75,000. That puts ICE’s range somewhere in the low tens of machines, though the record covers accessories and support as well as the robots.
The second purchase that week
The robots are not the only thing ICE has been buying. Ryan J. Foley reported for the Associated Press that the agency awarded a $16.7m contract for 6,000 pairs of gloves that deliver electric shocks. The notice went up the same week.
That deal also went out without competition, to Compliant Technologies, a Kentucky manufacturer. The gloves work as ordinary patrol gloves until an officer presses a button, and they have to touch bare skin to deliver the shock.
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Officers would use the gloves in “high-tension environments”, ICE said. Its notice listed arrests, transporting combative detainees, and responding to disturbances outside detention facilities.
Sixteen senators led by Catherine Cortez Masto had written to ICE’s acting director hours earlier, asking it to drop the purchase. They questioned whether the agency could deploy the devices safely.
Their letter pointed at “the blatant and tragic misuse of force in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, Maine, and other locations around the country”. ICE published the award notice anyway.
The agency’s own case for the gloves runs the other way. Its notice said the point was to avoid reaching for “more severe force”, firearms included, and to gain control quickly enough to prevent injuries on both sides.
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DHS answered its critics in a statement. “Sanctuary politicians attempting to ban our federal law enforcement from any safety equipment is despicable,” it said.
Police have bought Spot before, and given it back
Spot walks on four legs, climbs stairs and carries sensors. Operators drive it by remote or send it along a mapped route. TNW watched Boston Dynamics test it as a parcel delivery robot in July, walking packages from the van to the doorstep.
Police departments got there first. Their record with the robot is mixed. The New York Police Department cancelled its Spot contract in 2021 after public objection. Honolulu police used one to interact with homeless residents, a deployment Vice reported at the time.
Robot dogs are becoming ordinary in security work. TNW reported in June on the machines securing the 2026 World Cup, and in August on robots filling gaps left by security guards quitting at twice the rate of other workers.
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What they cannot generally do is exercise authority. China put robot traffic police on the streets this month that can do almost everything except stop you.
The manufacturer drew one line itself
Boston Dynamics led six robotics companies into an open letter in 2022, pledging not to weaponise their machines. The pledge reaches customers as well. The signatories said they would not support anyone else arming the robots either, and called on the rest of the industry to match it.
Nothing in the ICE record suggests weapons. It describes inspection and situational awareness, which is what Spot is sold to do.
The oversight question is the old one
Civil rights advocates have said ICE officers already face criticism over use of force, with little oversight or accountability, the AP reported. That is the backdrop for both purchases.
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Neither buy needed a competitive process. Both cleared without one.
Surveillance hardware bought for one stated purpose tends to find others. TNW has tracked that with licence plate readers. Flock’s cameras spread across thousands of American towns before this summer’s backlash. Officers have since faced charges for running searches on people they knew.
Boston Dynamics has not said publicly whether it will take the order.
The Spot listing is still only a listing. Whether ICE buys, how many it takes, and what the robots end up doing at Fort Benning are all questions the forecast leaves open.
‘There’s less fragmentation in stablecoins than there is in any other area of blockchain regulation,’ says former Blockdaemon COO and current strategic adviser Amor Sexton.
Since their introduction more than a decade ago, stablecoins have grown from a niche solution for crypto traders, to acting as a middle ground between traditional and decentralised finance, facilitating around $33trn in annual transactions by volume in 2025.
While much of this volume results from trading and internal flows, last year the stablecoin market supported approximately $400bn in organic payment activity according to Artemis Analytics, up from less than $30bn in 2020, albeit a minuscule number in comparison to the trillions that move annual through global payment systems.
We’re in a period of rapid development in this area, with regulations coming in fast, blockchain infrastructure provider Blockdaemon’s former chief operating officer Amor Sexton told SiliconRepublic.com. But they’re only one part of the equation.
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“Is it agentic payments? Is it cross-border payments? Is it real-time 24/7 liquidity management for corporate treasures?” she asked. “Regulation is one part of the puzzle, but you need to have all of the other components there and able to operate at scale for you to get adoption.
“So whether that’s looking at compliance processes that are digitised, treasury management functions, or even things like agentic workflows, money always moves as one part of the leg of a transaction.”
Sexton recently established her own consulting service for senior business executives and continues her work with Blockdaemon in an advisory capacity.
Stablecoins can be incredibly useful. Businesses and individuals use stablecoins for faster, cheaper international transfers, for decentralised finance and digital commerce, and to even transfer money internationally with lower fees and faster settlements.
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These digital assets issued by private companies are generally pegged to fiat currency, with big-name examples including Circle’s USDC, Tether’s USDT and PayPal’s PYUSD.
In contrast, tokenised deposits are bank-issued digital representations of fiat deposits, recorded on a blockchain. These are minted and backed by regulated banks.
McKinsey recently noted that a larger transformation is unfolding within the traditional banking system, where tokenised deposits already facilitate trillions of dollars in annual transfers, far more than stablecoin payments.
Right where I thought we would be
The US maintains a heavily dominant position in the global stablecoin market, with USD-denominated stablecoins accounting for nearly all transactions. Parts of Asia, including business hubs such as Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore are also heavy adopters of stablecoin payments, according to McKinsey’s analysis.
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Recently, the US Treasury Department proposed rules defining what counts as issuing, offering or selling stablecoins in the country, building on top of the Genius Act enacted last year. Effective starting 2027, this new legislation will make it unlawful to issue a payment stablecoin in the US without an appropriate federal or state licence.
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo announced that it would offer tokenised deposits to corporate and commercial clients, and BlackRock introduced two tokenised money market products.
“I personally have probably a different view to a lot of other people in the industry in that I think it’s happened quite quickly,” Sexton said when I asked her about the pace of development in the sector.
“I think a lot of other people in the industry would say it’s happened slowly. That’s probably because I came from an institutional banking background. I understand how long it takes for evolution in this space.”
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Regulating stablecoins means taking an approach that balances innovation with appropriate safeguards. “Competing priorities, regulatory clarity – that’s needed. [So] we’re about where I thought we would be.
“The thing about programmable money is that you can program business rules into it. So, I think it’s about thinking through all of those workflows that are necessary in order to have agentic payments actually operate practically.”
Unsurprisingly, AI is playing a key role in fastening the pace of development in this space. “I think we’ll move quicker from here on now because when you have automated workflows.
“You need automated movement of value, and that’s where this technology really comes into play, whether it’s a stablecoin or it’s – you know – tokenised money that’s issued by a bank or even a central bank,” Sexton said.
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“It’s a mixture of both the unprecedented proliferation of AI throughout society – not just business – on top of the actual evolution of the technology itself, which is also unprecedented.
“The fact that we’re even having this conversation now shows that there’s a lot of people talking about it and looking at it.
“I think we’re going to see rapid development in the next six to 12 months [in this space],” Sexton said in the interview which took place in May. “It’s a very short time. I wouldn’t have said that a few years ago.”
Rules not so fragmented
“I actually think there’s less fragmentation in stablecoins than there is in any other area of blockchain regulation,” Sexton said.
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Over in the EU, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) began regulating stablecoins back in 2024, ahead of developments in this area elsewhere.
Euro-denominated stablecoins, however, have not been able to capture much of the market, though attempts are being made to change that.
“Where you have a little bit of fragmentation is around questions of yields and things like that, but to me they’re important discussions to have – but they they’re not an absolute barrier to adoption,” Sexton said.
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“What I think needs to happen from a regulatory perspective is recognition of stablecoins as legitimate payment methods that have been issued in other jurisdictions.
“It’s less about fragmentation of ‘how do we regulate the issuer?’ and more about ‘how do we actually treat the stablecoin itself as a means of payment?’”
The future of tokenised money isn’t going to be in just stablecoins, she explained. “You exchange your fiat for stablecoins, and to get out of a stablecoin you exchange the stablecoin for fiat too.
“We’re not talking about a world at the moment where people are necessarily staying in stablecoins for the entire time,” she said.
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She believes acceptance is just around the corner. “I’m pro-programmable on-chain money. Stablecoins is one way of achieving that. So yes, I would like a world where we can have finance be more efficient.
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