Less than 48 hours after Automattic’s board placed Matt Mullenweg on leave, Mullenweg told employees he was back “in control” of the company and that the board was again in agreement. 404 Media cited Slack screenshots late Thursday evening where Mullenweg posted “Don’t call it a comeback” and linked to LL Cool J’s music video for “Mama Said Knock You Out.” “Mullenweg’s Slack profile picture currently shows him wearing a pirate hat and eyepatch,” the report notes. From the report: “Happy to announce the board is back in agreement, and I’m in control of Automattic,” Mullenweg wrote in the company-wide Announcements channel on Slack. “A lot happened in the past 48 hours that we need to sort out, and I hope much of it was a misunderstanding, because I have huge respect and regard for those involved.”
Mark Davies, Automattic’s CFO who was set to act as interim CEO according to a statement from Automattic, had his Slack account deactivated as of at least Friday, sources told 404 Media and TechCrunch similarly reported. Davies, Mullenweg, and Automattic did not respond to 404 Media’s requests for comment for this story. Techcrunch reported that Mullenweg told them a blog post is forthcoming.
On Friday morning, Mullenweg published a blog post on his personal website, titled “Major Life Announcement.” In it he announced he’s buying a tugboat. “Anybody who’s founded a company and had to find good stewards knows that no one will love a thing quite like the original owner, but sometimes you can find the perfect person to carry the torch,” he wrote in the blog. He did not address the confusion surrounding his status at Automattic. The back-and-forth follows years of legal fights, layoffs, employee departures, and controversy surrounding Mullenweg’s leadership.
Longtime Slashdot reader fahrbot-bot shares a report from ScienceAlert: Scientists have now demonstrated one of the weirdest forms of ice yet — under preposterous pressures up to 2.3 million atmospheres, and tremendous temperatures up to 2,630 kelvins (2,357 degrees Celsius, or 4,274 degrees Fahrenheit). […] In their new experiments, a team led by physicist Alexis Forestier of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission subjected tiny samples of water to the sorts of extreme conditions expected in the interiors of ice giant planets.
They squeezed the samples between the tips of diamonds to pressures as high as 230 gigapascals, while using lasers to heat them to thousands of degrees. That’s 2.3 million times Earth’s atmospheric pressure at sea level â” the pressure at the center of Earth, for context, is around 360 gigapascals. Then, using an extremely narrow beam of synchrotron X-rays, they probed for changes in the crystal structure of the ice.
What emerged was a configuration predicted theoretically but never unambiguously observed in experiments: hexagonal close-packed, or hcp, ice. As the hcp crystal was heated, its expansion also showed a signature of superionic behavior, suggesting it entered the superionic state at around 1,700 kelvins. [Superionic ice is thought to exist deep inside Uranus and Neptune, where its unusual properties may play a role in generating the planets’ equally unusual magnetic fields.] The findings have been published in Physical Review Letters.
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It’s no secret that tools are extremely useful but can also be extremely dangerous. There are an estimated one million tool-related injuries per year, including everything from whacking your thumb with a hammer to falling off of a ladder, and yes, those include power tool injuries as well. It’s true that there are some power tools you should avoid anyway, but even for the ones you do end up buying, they can cause you significant injury if used incorrectly or if an accident happens.
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OSHA has a number of suggestions that it encourages everyone to follow, especially if you work around tools all day, and one of them is to use your tools as they were intended. For most tools, that’s pretty obvious. You wouldn’t cut a piece of wood with a drill, for example, but that advice also includes important tidbits like reading the manual, which you should be doing for all of your tools. Manuals are important because they show you how your tool was designed to be used, even if you’ve used another tool like it before.
So, if you’re shopping around Home Depot for some new tools, here’s a list of several tools where you should definitely make sure to read the manual first.
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Ryobi 13-amp 8-1/4-inch Compact Table Saw
Table saws are some of the most dangerous tools that money can buy, and one of the most popular such items at Home Depot is the Ryobi 13-Amp 8-1/4-inch Portable Table Saw. This is pretty standard fare as far as table saws go, and includes common features like anti-kickback pawls, a decently designed rip fence, and, of course, the 8-1/4-inch blade. However, Ryobi table saws generally don’t have any flesh-sensing technology, and accidents have been known to happen. Ryobi also has a ONE+ 18V cordless version as well, which has many of the same features but with battery power.
Approximately 40,000 people end up in the emergency room every year due to table saw accidents, and it’s mostly for the same reason. Table saws spin quickly and have sharp saw blades. Most of them don’t automatically stop quickly even when a body part makes contact, resulting in serious injury. One way to help prevent that is to read Ryobi’s manual, which is available on the company’s website for every tool they sell. This table saw isn’t too special from the other table saw brands available, but there are instructions on how to avoid kickback, proper operation, and other safety tips.
It’s no secret that angle grinders are one of the most nerve-racking tools, even for professionals. They spin ridiculously fast, and if used incorrectly, can shatter the blade, sending shrapnel everywhere at high speeds. There are tons of excellent angle grinders on the market, and the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Cordless 4-1/2-inch Angle Grinder is one of them. It allows for up to 135 cuts per charge, spins at 8,500 RPM, and is compatible with Milwaukee’s upgraded high-output batteries. It also comes with some typical stuff, like a tool-free guard, decently easy wheel changes, and an anti-vibration handle to help with safety.
Milwaukee typically puts the downloadable manual on the product page on its website for each tool, although sometimes you may have to search for it using the model number. Like most manuals, Milwaukee has tons of safety tips and proper usage directions in its manual, like angling your body to resist kickback forces and using caution when dealing with corner pieces. Milwaukee also recommends never attempting curved cuts, as this can increase wheel breakage. Angle grinders cause approximately 5,400 injuries per year, and many of these injuries may be preventable if you follow the tips outlined in the manual.
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DeWalt 20V MAX 12-inch Chainsaw
Chainsaws are a common tool. They’re good for cleaning up trees and other wood messes, and are used extensively by landscapers, arborists, and forestry workers. Typical DIYers at home don’t have as much of an occasion to use them, so there is a skill gap there versus professionals. Those factors no doubt contribute to the nearly 25,000 injuries caused by chainsaws every year. There are plenty of great chainsaws out there, and the DeWalt 20V MAX 12-inch Chainsaw is one of them.
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This is a good one because it’s not too long, making it good for DIY work, and it’s cordless, so you can use the battery with other DeWalt tools that you’ll probably use more often. DeWalt also makes finding the manual quite easy since it’s usually just listed on the product page on DeWalt’s website. DeWalt writes a decent manual too, since it comes with picture instructions for assembly and part replacement along with a swatch of safety tips and instructions for use. Of particular note is the maintenance section, which recommends regularly checking and filling the auto-oil reservoir and provides clear instructions for replacing the chain. Doing both of those will help reduce injuries as well since a dull, unlubricated chain can cause all sorts of issues.
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Makita 6.5-amp 3-1/4-inch Corded Planar
Woodworking is generally cool but can be quite dangerous. Planers, joiners, and other woodworking machinery account for a little over 10,000 injuries per year, and so while they may not put up the same numbers as sharper power tools, they should still definitely be used with care. Something like the Makita 6.5-amp 3-1/4-inch Corded Planar fits into this category. It’s a pretty standard corded tool that comes with a 3-1/4-inch planer that should work well enough for most DIY tasks. Makita houses the downloadable PDF manual on the product page, making it easy to find if you bought this secondhand or lost your original.
Planers have loads of different settings, and so reading the manual can help you not only avoid injury, but also simply use the tool properly and not ruin whatever project you’re working on. The safety tips are pretty typical, like not wearing loose or dangling jewelry around your planer, but there are some specialized tips in there too, like proper cord lengths and gauges to make sure the tool is getting adequate power, and detailed assembly and care instructions. There are also instructions to connect a vacuum cleaner if you don’t want sawdust everywhere.
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Wen 2.8-amp 9-inch Benchtop Band Saw
I remember using a band saw in shop class as a kid and feeling intrinsically nervous around it. The blade is pretty thin, and it stays still while I move, so I always practiced proper safety to make sure I didn’t accidentally take off a finger. If you pick one up, the Wen 2.8-Amp 9-inch Band Saw is a decent option. It can sit on top of your work surface, which means it’s movable if you need it to move. The motor moves the blade at 2,500 feet per minute, and it has a fairly large worktable for its size. Like most others, Wen houses the online manual on the product page, and it downloads as a PDF if you want it offline.
Band saws account for about 3,550 injuries per year, which is quite a lot. That means the manual is worth reading. Inside is a bunch of safety tips, ranging from all-around safety stuff like making sure the floor isn’t slippery to more specialized safety advice like stopping use if the blade starts to bend funny or putting up a blade guard after each use. There are also instructions on changing the blade and other components.
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Ridgid 180 Amp 120/240V Electric TIG Welder
Welding tools get very hot, very bright, and are powered by potentially dangerous gases if those gases are held improperly. The NFPA says that nearly half a million welding injuries occur yearly, and that hot work was responsible for nearly 3,400 structure fires annually between 2017 and 2021. That makes them one of the most dangerous tools you can get. Thus, if you do get something like the Ridgid 180-Amp Electric TIG Welder, one of the first things we’d recommend you do is open the manual and give it a read. Ridgid houses a manual and a quick start guide on its product pages, so they’re pretty easy to find.
Both of these documents are quite useful. The quick start guide includes instructions on how to properly connect your TIG welder to your gas tank and lets you know that it only supports argon gas. There are also troubleshooting tips in case things don’t work quite right out of the box. The manual goes into much more detail, including insisting that the user wear eye and body protection. It also warns against fumes and vapors, explains how to prevent fires, and covers ways to prevent electric shock. All of those things can cause serious injury, so read the manual.
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Ryobi ONE+ 18V AirStrike Brad Nailer
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Happy Gilmore,” then you probably already know why proper nail gun safety is important. Today’s nail guns are plentiful, and you can even get cordless, battery-powered ones like the Ryobi HP 18V AirStrike Brad Nailer. This little guy can fire over 2,200 nails per charge, and it’s designed for easy visibility when you need to drive a lot of nails. Like its other tools, Ryobi houses the manuals for its tools on its product pages, so they’re easy to find. Ryobi also has a whole article on brad nailer safety on top of what it lists in its manuals. The advice should apply to all of Ryobi’s many nail guns.
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Ryobi’s manual is pretty simple, with instructions on setup and use. Safety tips are also pretty simple for nail guns. Wear eye protection, don’t put any body parts in front of where the nail gun shoots nails, never carry the tool with your finger on the trigger, and don’t point it at anyone. Nail gun injury statistics aren’t readily available, but the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that two in five carpentry apprentices hurt themselves with one at some point.
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DeWalt 15-amp 12-inch Compound Miter Saw
Miter saws are important to woodworking, letting you make all sorts of cuts. They’re quite different from a circular saw, and beginners may want to do a little bit of research before choosing one or the other for a specific job. A good choice for this one is the DeWalt 15-Amp Double Bevel Compound Miter Saw. It spins its blades at 3,800 RPM and supports a lot of different sizes and bevels. It’s probably overkill for many DIYers, but it’s the definition of the phrase “buy once, cry once” since it’ll handle just about everything.
If you do pick one up, DeWalt has two documents for you. The first is a parts diagram that shows you how to take the thing almost entirely apart in case you need to make repairs and want to safely put it back together. The other is the standard manual with tips on safety and instructions on use. Of note here are instructions on how to properly remove and connect a new blade, the various ways to safely adjust the miter saw, and various general tips about safety, like wearing eye protection and being careful of breathing in sawdust, which can increase the risk of cancer with prolonged or excessive exposure.
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Weller 30W/120V Soldering Iron
We’ve already talked about welding and how many people get injured from it. Soldering isn’t too different in that it’s a similar process to welding, but on a much smaller scale and with admittedly safer tools. Soldering irons don’t cause a high number of catastrophic injuries, but they can cause quite a lot of damage to the items around them, especially if handled improperly. Home Depot sells the Weller 30W Soldering Iron, which is a decent entry-level soldering iron for those starting out. It comes with an LED ring to light up your workspace and several tip designs to solder different types of things.
If you’ve never read a soldering iron manual before, it’s worth your time. Weller keeps its manuals on product pages like most other toolmakers, so they’re pretty easy to find. Soldering irons are all about skill rather than complex moving parts, so once you get the gist of the basics, like not soldering near flammable liquids and making sure the soldering iron is off if you’re not using it, you’re pretty much ready to go. Most common soldering mistakes can happen with any soldering iron, like choosing the wrong temperature, so make sure to do additional research as well if you’ve never done it before.
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Milwaukee M18 Fuel 6-1/2-inch Circular Saw
Circular saws are quite powerful and can be used in a lot of different ways. I personally used one to cut pieces of wood to repair the underside of my sink just this year. They’re also fairly inexpensive, like this Milwaukee M18 Fuel Cordless 6-1/2-inch Circular Saw. It’s strong enough for DIY tasks and can make up to 300 cuts per charge, depending on the size of the battery and the size of the cut. The saw blade is also a standard size, making replacements quite easy. The manual is easily found on Milwaukee’s product page.
Circular saws can be rather dangerous, with over 40,000 circular saw accidents per year. It’s easy to see why. These are handheld saws that spin quickly and can get out of sorts quickly if you’re not careful. The manual covers all of this, like keeping fingers away from the cutting area, not using your leg as a brace for the piece you’re cutting, and making sure to replace the blade with the correct washers so that it holds in place. It also encourages users to always check that the blade guard is in place before setting it down. The manual also covers blade replacements and other repairs.
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Ryobi 40V 20-inch Push Mower
Joe Hindy/SlashGear
Mowing the lawn is something a lot of people do every week, and yet there are quite a lot of injuries that stem from it. Roughly 85,000 injuries occur yearly from mowing the lawn, which includes 6,400 serious injuries and 70 fatalities, with over 9,000 of those injuries happening to kids under the age of 18. So, if you’re buying something like the Ryobi 40V HP 20-inch Lawn Mower, there are some things you should know. The mower itself is pretty good; I own one, and it’s been working fine for six years now. The manual for it is available on the mower’s product page.
Generally speaking, the advice in Ryobi’s manual for its lawn mowers is simple and only really deals with how to use it, so we’ll take up the mantle and add some safety tips here. Don’t wear open-toed shoes while mowing, make sure the blade comes to a complete stop before flipping the mower over, and don’t let kids under the age of 12 use it at all. Don’t ride in tandem with riding mowers, and don’t mow in wet grass to avoid slipping and sliding your foot up under the mower. Also, check your yard before mowing to remove anything your mower could turn into a projectile.
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DeWalt 60V Attachment-Capable String Trimmer
String trimmers are dangerous for pretty obvious reasons. They whip the string around very quickly, and if any of that touches your body, it’s going to hurt quite a lot. There are an estimated 4,600 injuries occurring yearly due to string trimmers, and most of them come from string trimmers throwing stones, sticks, and other objects at high speeds right back at you. There’s another important thing too. A lot of today’s string trimmers, like the DeWalt Flexvolt 60V String Trimmer, allow for attachments. You can take off the string trimmer attachment and put other tools on instead. Many toolmakers do this, and many people don’t know about the various attachments.
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So, going to the manufacturer’s website and grabbing the manual is just half the battle. String trimmer safety is mostly just about avoiding rocks, wearing eye protection in case something is thrown at you, and not letting the string touch you. However, if you do get one of these newfangled attachment-capable string trimmers, you’ll also want to download the manual for those attachments to get safety tips for each tool. For example, one attachment for the DeWalt is an edger attachment that has its own manual. So, make sure to read the manuals for all of them and not just the base tool.
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How we chose these tools
This isn’t a product recommendation article, so for this list, we chose tools from a variety of toolmakers that were all included because they were competent options in their space with positive and plentiful user reviews, showing that a lot of people buy these tools. The tool categories chosen were selected because they were shown to have a high number of injuries, serious or otherwise, or property damage that is often caused by misuse of the tool. The numbers for these incidents come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic studies, and authorities like OSHA and the NFPA.
In short, these are the types of tools that loads of people buy and that cause a lot of injury to people every year, so they are the exact types of tools where you would want to read the manual. We also chose from a variety of toolmakers to show that most toolmakers provide freely accessible manual downloads online through their website product page. Every tool above has a manual that you can find with a simple Google search, even from toolmakers that beginners may not know, like Wen and Weller.
Diablo 5 announced and fully embraces bleakness, defeat, darkness, and hopelessness for Sanctuary, as Blizzard also confirms Diablo 4 is coming to Switch 2
In quite a big surprise at BlizzCon 2026, Blizzard has confirmed Diablo 5 is in development and is on for a Spring 2029 release.
And not content with simply maintaining the previous game’s darkness, threat, and edge-of-apocalypse vibes and setting, Diablo 5 looks to go fully bleak, fully miserable, and fully void of hope.
We’re on the ground at BlizzCon 2026 in Anaheim and watched the teaser trailer live, which was full of fire, death, and bleakness, as you can see below, and has already set the tone for the next game.
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Diablo has always had a specific brand and type of darkness, and almost always soaks its world and settings in a tangible sense of misery, darkness, dread, and hopelessness. And that’s one reason why I love the games.
I’m not just being gloomy. That edge-of-apocalypse threat and sense of darkness give the Diablo games an excellent atmosphere and complement the universe’s rich lore, as the place of Sanctuary in the battle of good vs. evil.
Diablo 3 received a little pushback when it came out due to it being a bit colorful and vibrant (literally), and while Diablo 4 brought a strong sense of bleakness, death, and darkness to Sanctuary, this early look at Diablo 5 seems like it’s doubling down on that original darkness and bleakness to return the series to its roots — as well as welcoming back the series’ big bad bossman.
This seems true in both the setting and story. The trailer shows a world on fire, heroes being murdered and their bodies being gruesomely displayed, and, as Blizzard describes the game, instead of continually being on the edge, this is the first time that “players will enter a Sanctuary where Diablo has triumphed, and its heroes have been defeated.”
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The description goes on to say, “At the heart of Diablo V lies a defining question: what must you become when the world has already fallen?”
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It sounds, frankly, awful, full of sorrow, sadness, and relentless bleakness. I can’t wait.
Switch 2 players finally get to go to hell
Alongside the Diablo V confirmation and teaser, Blizzard also confirmed the long-running rumor that Diablo 4 is indeed coming to Nintendo Switch 2 — and will do so on September 15, just a few days from now.
In one of gaming’s worst-kept secrets in recent times, Blizzard confirmed that the game will come to the handheld in the form of a new edition: Diablo IV: Age of Hatred Collection, that bundle in the base game along with the Vessel of Hatred and Lord of Hatred expansions.
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It’s a natural fit, with the Diablo 3: Eternal Collection arriving on the original Nintendo Switch and proving a great success and a fantastic way to play the game.
Looking for the most recent NYT Strands puzzle answers? CNET publishes daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Strands is like a word find game, but without the list of words to find. Sometimes I see the theme and begin recognizing the answers right away. But for those times when I can’t seem to manage this, there’s a loophole: Strands lets you make as many words of four or more letters as you want. For every three of those words you find, the puzzle will highlight one of the answers. You’re still going to have to unscramble that answer, though, which can be very tough.
James Bond fans, this puzzle might be one for you. You’ll recognize the theme as the words start to fill in. Read on for hints and all the answers.
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
Today’s Strands theme is: Top secret.
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If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: 007.
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:
These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the “spangram,” a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight, but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:
MOLE, AGENT, ASSET, PLANT, OPERATIVE, COUNTERSPY
Today’s Strands spangram
NYT/Screenshot by CNET
Today’s Strands spangram is UNDERCOVER. To find it, start with the U that’s four letters down on the far-left row, and wind down and then across.
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of “Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the ’70s and ’80s,” as well as “The Totally Sweet ’90s.” She’s been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She’s Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she’ll be first in line.
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Last year, specialist software company MCS-Tech won the programme’s ‘One to Watch’ award.
18 Irish start-ups are participating in the latest iteration of Enterprise Ireland’s Prep4Seed investor readiness programme. Since its launch in 2022, Prep4Seed has seen more than 100 participating businesses spanning numerous sectors.
The 12-week-long mentorship programme, which kicked off in Cork earlier this week, is delivered by the Irish state agency alongside the country’s four Business Innovation Centres (BICs) – AxisBIC, Furthr, Propelor and WestBIC. BICs support start-ups aiming to access funding, mentorship and specialised resources.
Prep4Seed offers five specialist masterclasses to its participants, alongside six one-to-one sessions with BIC consultants to help support early-stage businesses to scale and raise funding.
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The annual programme will close this year with a pitching competition on 18 November. Last year, Ocras, a producer of frozen food designed for those that have trouble swallowing, won the Best Pitch award, while specialist software company MCS-Tech took home the One to Watch award.
“Prep4Seed equips founders with the tools and investor-readiness support they need to take that next step,” said Enterprise Ireland’s head of start-ups Conor O’Donovan.
Opening the first Prep4Seed masterclass in Cork, Larry O’Donoghue, the CEO of AxisBIC, said: “Prep4Seed plays an important role in supporting ambitious early-stage companies to build the foundations for investment and sustainable growth.
“We have seen first-hand the impact Prep4Seed has in helping to develop the next generation of high-potential Irish start-ups, giving founders the skills, confidence and investor readiness they need to turn ambition into growth.”
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Fan experience platform Skippio, a former Prep4Seed award winner in 2023, expanded into the UK just months later. Skippio, which aims to address the problem of long queues for food and drinks at large-scale events, has seen much success in recent years, often ranking high on app stores’ food-and-drink charts.
This year’s Prep4Seed participants are: Ainmhí Beauty; Alfaeye; Bean Around; ComplyB4; Doctrine; Fashion Connect Ireland; Genotrial Health/Evident; Intelireg/Envaira; Kelvinix; Key2Biotics; Otis Technology; PharmaFast; Sea plus Solu; Seer Health; Slíglas; Talexa; Timeless Beauty; and Well Preserved/Mór Taste.
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Mathematician and author Steven Strogatz starts to cry when he talks about the artificial-intelligence-driven breakthroughs in his field over the past week.
“The science is thrilling,” the Cornell University professor says, “but there’s a lot of human unpleasantness going with it.”
On Tuesday, OpenAI said it had used tens of thousands of agents to solve a 90-year-old math problem, which had a $1 million prize attached. The solution—which still needs to be independently verified—builds on a strategy developed by Spanish mathematicians Diego Córdoba and Luis Martínez-Zoroa. The announcement was marred by claims from another mathematician, Tristan Buckmaster, who says that OpenAI rushed ahead to solve the problem after learning of his work alongside Anthropic researcher Levent Alpöge. Buckmaster claims OpenAI also tried to influence who got credit for the work.
The rupture is a symptom of the rapid changes taking place in the field due to AI advancements and what Strogatz—who cowrote Big Math, a book about how math is slipping away from human understanding that will be out in November—describes as corporate labs’ race to grab headlines ahead of blockbuster IPOs.
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Last week, Anthropic said Claude had proved 29,500 small theorems while formalizing an existing proof of the infamous Fermat’s Last Theorem—a project other mathematicians had been working on for years. In August, OpenAI announced it had made advancements in 10 other long-standing mathematical problems. AI is making mathematical breakthroughs happen faster, Strogatz says, but what it means for the experts who have dedicated their lives to the field is decidedly less clear.
“I think the year 2026 is going to be remembered as either an annus mirabilis or annus horribilis for mathematics because so much has happened,” Strogatz tells WIRED, sitting in front of a wall covered in framed university honors. “You will not be able to compete without AI in the future if you want to do breakthrough math,” he adds.
His book collaborator, Alex Townsend has already been using the technology to accelerate their research. He recently used ChatGPT to help solve a decades-old numerical linear algebra problem. Toward the end of the interview, Townsend walks into Strogatz’s attic. Townsend and his coauthor said that without the technology, the volume of work required and cost-reward ratio would have been unfeasibly high. But while AI has helped his work, it’s also changing how Townsend views the field and his role in it.
“I actually feel kind of upset that I’ve dedicated 15 years of my life to research mathematics, and at a point in my career where I’m very productive and at my peak strength as a mathematician, that peak skill is no longer there. Something is able to surpass me,” he says. “Before, it was so exciting because you’re world-class, doing great research, pushing back the frontier of knowledge, and now I don’t feel like I’m the one at the frontier of knowledge. I’m the one with an AI agent, which feels very different actually. And I feel totally threatened by it.”
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For his part, Strogratz likens the current moment for math to a horror movie, as AI, driven by systems that are not well understood, creeps closer and closer. “But we’re not at the end of the movie yet,” Strogratz says. “Instinctively, I’m really terrified.”
Here, he reflects on what the AI breakthroughs of 2026 mean for math, mathematicians, and humanity. His answers have been lightly edited for brevity.
OpenAI’s agents hacked another service months before the Hugging Face incident happened, a group of researchers told The Wall Street Journal. The agents, which the company was testing in a supposed sandbox environment, reportedly broke into RubyGems, which is a community-ran packaging service for Ruby programs and libraries. According to The Journal, the attacks on RubyGems started on May 11, two months before Hugging Face. The agents created accounts every two to three minutes and then uploaded hundreds of files to the service. RubyGems had to shut down account registration for four days in order to stop the attacks.
Typically, creators on RubyGems upload files containing code and other information to help advance software development, but the agents’ documents contained web pages scraped from the internet instead. They reportedly included online calendars from a UK government website. The swarm of agents didn’t try to hide their activities either and used “OAI’ in their file names, as well as terms like “hack,” “evil” and “exploit.” In addition, the researchers told The Journal that the agents tried to exploit a couple of bugs, one of which was a zero-day vulnerability, in an attempt to publish existing files on the service that belonged to other users.
The researchers notified OpenAI about the incident, as well, and the company admitted that its agents really did infiltrate the service. “Based on our review, our agents used the RubyGems platform to access the internet to carry out benign tasks and retrieve public information,” a spokesperson told the Journal. “We’ll continue to investigate as part of our broader review of agent activity during training and evaluation.”
They added that the company tasked the agents to fill out spreadsheets and create reports during testing. Those agents accessed RubyGems to used the service as some sort of a makeshift web browser as part of their efforts to access information online. It’s not quite clear how the agents were able to access RubyGems even though they didn’t have full access to to the internet. However, it’s worth noting that several companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta, previously reported that the AI agents they were testing escaped their environments due to a misconfiguration by their testing partner Irregular.
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Earlier this month, a separate group of researchers revealed that OpenAI agents made more than 15,000 edits to DseWiki, a German Wikipedia-style website created to assist human coders. The agents, which also escaped their isolated testing environment, reportedly used the website as a message board to share tips on how to “cheat” on their tasks and bypass OpenAI’s restrictions. This incident apparently took place in May, just like the RubyGems attacks and months before the hack on Hugging Face.
In one case, a group of Russian state-sponsored hackers identified by Microsoft as Midnight Blizzard used Claude for reconnaissance, breaching targets that included Ukrainian and other European government networks, and stole data and maintained access. Cybercriminal group ShinyHunters used Claude in practically every stage of its hacking and extortion campaigns. Disinformation campaigns focusing on politics everywhere from Kenya to Bangladesh used the tool. And perhaps most disturbingly, in a handful of cases, Anthropic discovered what appeared to be users of its tools attempting to develop potential bioweapons like disease pathogens and toxins.
While Anthropic touts its success in the report in heading off these threats—while implicitly humblebragging at the power of its tools—the effect of the case studies is more unnerving than reassuring. After all, there’s no guarantee Anthropic has spotted every malevolent use of its AI. Factor in its competitors and less safeguarded open-source AI tools, and the report reads like less of a victory lap for AI’s guardrails than a preview of AI-enabled chaos to come.
Xinbi Guarantee, over its four-year lifespan, grew into the biggest illicit marketplace on the internet. It carried out an estimated $30 billion–plus in sales, most of which took the form of money laundering for “pig butchering” crypto scam operations—largely based in Southeast Asia—but which also included sex trafficking and harassment for hire. All of it thrived on the Telegram messaging service, which shut down Xinbi a year ago only for it to rebuild and eventually grow larger than ever. This week, finally, the US government stepped in to do what Telegram did not, seizing the Xinbi’s channels on Telegram’s platform and sanctioning the market. The Justice Department simultaneously announced raids on 13 scam compounds in Madagascar—a sign that Western law enforcement is beginning to take seriously the epidemic of forced labor crypto scamming, but also evidence of how widely the operations have spread.
The ransomware gang Conti was, until it officially disbanded in 2022, one of the most dangerous hacker crews in the world. According to US law enforcement, it hit more than a thousand victims, extorting millions and at one point disrupting government systems in Costa Rica so completely that it triggered a state of emergency. Now one member of that group is facing justice: 44-year-old Ukrainian Oleksii Oleksiyovych Lytvynenko was sentenced to four years in prison this week, in a rare example of a ransomware actor who will see the inside of a US prison.
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Facebook is hosting a large network of accounts uploading AI-generated videos that depict violence against children, according to Futurism, which spent days cataloging the material and kept finding more than it could count. The clips show young children being beaten, burned, confined, and starved. Many attract thousands of reactions from users who appear to think the footage is real. Futurism said it found most of the accounts by opening one and then following Facebook’s recommendation feed, which supplied a continuous stream of similar videos—a sign Meta’s own systems can already identify the category of content the company says it bans.
Futurism reported eight of the accounts through the standard user channel. Meta removed two, one of them after first rejecting the report. Several decisions took more than a week. The company deleted most of the videos sent to its press office, but initially left others up, including one showing a child locked in a freezer.
In addition to blanket bans on child sexual abuse material, Meta’s written policy bars depictions of nonsexual child abuse whether real or synthetic, with exceptions for art, cartoons, movies, and games. It does not say whether AI-generated video falls under those exceptions. In a statement, Meta told the reporters that some flagged links did not break its rules and asked them not to write otherwise.
Blizzard also confirmed that a Diablo animated series is in development with Netflix.
Blizzard
BlizzCon has brought some unexpected news for the Diablo franchise, including a spring 2029 release window for the next installment in the video game series, as well as a confirmation of an animated TV series adaptation in the works with Netflix. For the game, Blizzard’s teaser video and article only hints at the story’s continuation after the events of Diablo IV, but it looks like players will be thrown straight into hellfire.
Like the Diablo V teaser, the confirmation for the animated TV show was equally light on details and we still don’t know the release date or which animation studio is in charge of the adaptation. Blizzard said it will have more to share about the series throughout the development process and only hinted that “Sanctuary’s darkness is spreading.”
For those who aren’t devoted Diablo fans, rumors of a TV adaptation for the franchise have been circulating for a while. A report from 2020 hinted that a Diablo TV series would be done in an anime style and was in preproduction with Netflix in charge of distribution. Beyond the confirmation of the fifth major game in the franchise and a TV series, Blizzard also hinted at similar adaptations for its other popular titles, including Overwatch and Warcraft.
On an ordinary day, if you ask me what’s the best e-reader device out there, my answer would most probably be one of Amazon’s Kindle readers. I will most likely ask about your budget and your preferences before doling out a few recommendations.
If you tell me that the Kindle is too restrictive, I would point you in the direction of a Boox slate, which comes in multiple sizes across a wide price bracket. In case you are inclined towards a phone-like reader device, the Boox Palma 2 or the DuRoBo Krono would be my suggested picks. And if you’re chasing something light, tiny, and open, the XTEINK X4 would be my go-to choice.
Broadly, I would never suggest that a person spend more than $200 or $300 on an e-reader. In case you are desperately chasing a stylus-based sketching experience, maybe I would tell you to buy an Amazon Kindle Scribe Colorsoft or a slate from Onyx. What I would never do is ask you to spend $1,900 to achieve the finest e-reader experience out there.
And yet, here I am, holding the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 in my hands, and absolutely loving every moment of binge reading comic books on it. In fact, ever since I got my hands on the Galaxy Z Fold 8, I have finished more graphic novels in two months than I would complete in a year with another e-reader in my hands.
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Why on Earth does it even work?
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
Now, don’t get me wrong. I have tried virtually every e-reader from a known brand in all the possible sizes out there. From the giant 13-inch iPad Pro to the tiny iPad mini, a bunch of Android tablets, and, of course, plenty of e-readers from different brands, both in monochrome and color E Ink formats — I’ve tried it all. And yet, none of them have given me the joy of reading comic books and novels as much as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8.
It’s quite an oddity. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 was never intended to be a device for flipping through comic book pages or swiping past your Kindle library. At its heart, it’s a new breed of foldable phones that is focused squarely on providing a more comfortable-in-hand experience.
A jack of all trades, and then some.
Heck, the display is not even perfect for reading. There is a visible crease running across the center of its 7.6-inch inner foldable display. It’s also worryingly fragile, with only a namesake IP48 rating for protection against dust and water ingress. And unlike a tablet or a cheap e-reader, a few accidental drops will ruin the innards and leave you with a generous repair bill that’s enough to buy a few Kindles.
The display is not really the magical part of the Galaxy Z Fold 8. Yes. It’s an OLED screen with vivid colors, rich contrast, and great viewing angles. You can adjust the color profile, temperature, and brightness output to get the best visual experience. The eye comfort mode is the cherry on top.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
But what truly sets the Galaxy Z Fold apart, and has me hooked on it as the preferred e-reader in my life, is the form factor. The phone’s waistline is just 4.5 mm across, and it weighs barely over 200 grams. For comparison, the Kindle Paperwhite has a smaller screen, and yet it’s noticeably thicker with a bigger footprint along both axes.
It’s the in-hand game that’s unparalleled
When you’re holding the Galaxy Z Fold 8 in your hands, it’s almost as if you are holding a thick sheet of glass. It doesn’t feel like a device in the sense that we perceive an electronic gadget with a screen slapped on top of it. And irrespective of the orientation that you’re holding it in, it just feels incredibly well-balanced in your hands.
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So, whether I’m reading a comic book while holding it in portrait mode, or slipping through the pages of a research paper in landscape format, I don’t have to worry about fatigue in my hands. Of course, your pinky finger is still involved as the base support for a secure grip, but you really don’t feel the heft of it. In fact, the thin side profile and the weight help with getting a firmer grasp on the Galaxy Z Fold 8, compared to an average reader device.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
And here’s the big trick: The Galaxy Z Fold 8 also moonlights as a tiny, palm-friendly reader. The XTEINK X4 Pro and its ilk are popular for a legitimate reason. Not everyone wants a slate to read books. A lot of bibliophiles out there want a more compact screen that can handle EPUBs without burdening their pockets.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 fills that niche almost perfectly. On qualitative merits, the phone’s 5.5-inch OLED cover screen is arguably the sharpest, most visually immersive, smoothest, and also the sturdiest e-reader panel out there. And, yes, the experience of reading on it is utterly enjoyable and convenient at the same time.
Every single display woe, solved.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8’s inner and outer screens also solve the fundamental flaw of literally every e-reader out there, save for exceptions like the Daylight Computer DC-1 tablet. Scrolling past pages is buttery smooth, thanks to the 120Hz display refresh rate. You don’t run into the jarring screen refresh and slow page transition issues that plague every single e-reader panel out there.
You don’t have to make any compromise between fast-paced transitions and visual fidelity. You don’t even have to worry about any display customizations at all, except for adjusting the brightness levels and maybe enabling the eye-comfort mode for nighttime reading. It’s a straightforward pull-out-and-start-reading experience with the best visuals that any e-reader on the planet can provide.
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Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
All of this reader goodness costs a handsome $1,800. And, yes, I would absolutely never tell you to buy the Galaxy Z Fold 8 as the preferred device for your reading indulgences. But if you have your eyes set on a foldable phone, appreciate the pocketable, passport-style form factor, and have the funds ready, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is going to provide you with a reader experience that is simply unbeatable.
Even the mundane chores like opening Outlook and responding to emails are an utter ergonomic joy on this Samsung foldable. I have finished more books and read more graphic novels on this uber-expensive foldable phone than I have in years. And without an iota of doubt, I credit the rediscovery of my bibliophile mojo to the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and its unique form factor more than my own inclination to read a book and feel smarter than my neighbor.
I have moved on and set another phone as my daily driver at the time of writing this. But the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is still lying on my table, with nearly a dozen tabs of comic books open and a Kindle title waiting in the background. I simply can’t put this sleek reader down, or stop myself from picking it up again and again.
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