Dell’s running a superb Presidents’ Day sale right now – and I’ve been browsing the desktop and laptop deals to find some top picks for business professionals.
On the desktop side, the Dell 24 All-in-One gets a nice price-cut down to $749.99 (was $969.99), and it’s a solid productivity machine for the office or home office. But I’ve included a range of more performance-driven machines for those who need extra power. Check them out below.
As ever with most Dell deals, you can re-configure these machines to get the specs you need to match your workflow.
The Razer Kishi Ultra is undoubtedly the best option for anyone who takes mobile gaming seriously, whether on a phone or a small tablet. A variety of features work together to make it seem like a high-end controller. So the full-sized grips on this thing allow your hands to rest comfortably, much like holding a pair of Xbox controllers connected together in the middle. Smaller clip-on alternatives can become cramped after a time, but the Kishi Ultra avoids that. The comfort level is really high, to the point that you can play Genshin Impact, Call of Duty Mobile, or stream from a PC for hours without your hands suffering.
In terms of controls, the Kishi Ultra meets the expectations of serious gamers looking for a professional-grade controller. The analogue sticks feature high-quality sensors that are extremely accurate and can withstand extensive use without drifting. The triggers use Hall Effect technology to provide smooth, precise input, similar to what you’d get from a specialized controller rather than the finicky outdated components found in some other solutions. The mecha-tactile buttons and 8-way d-pad provide excellent response with each press, and the additional programmable buttons on the back allow you to quickly access commands without shifting your grip.
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The Kishi Ultra also provides haptic feedback, adding to the immersion experience. On Android devices, the direction of the vibration corresponds to what is happening in the game, giving you a much better feeling of what is going on. The RGB lighting along the grips is a lovely touch, but it’s modest enough not to distract. The Razer Nexus software allows you to effortlessly map your controls, integrate all of your games across several providers, and manage your streaming setup in one location.
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Compatibility-wise the Kishi Ultra is quite comprehensive. It connects directly to iPhone 15 and later models via USB-C, as well as a wide range of Android devices, including latest Samsung and Google Pixel phones, and even the iPad Mini (6th generation). It can be stretched to accommodate tablets up to 8 inches in size. Pass-through charging keeps the device charged while you’re playing. If you’re using a Windows PC, the Kishi Ultra also functions as a wired controller, which means you get a zero-latency connection because it’s connected in straight via USB, with none of the tiny delay that comes with Bluetooth.
MrBeast buys Step to teach teens how to save, spend, and invest
Step offers a Visa card and basic banking without monthly fees
The acquisition gives Beast Industries a fintech team and seven million users
Beast Industries has confirmed the acquisition of Step, a youth-focused financial planning app, adding a regulated money product to its expanding list of business ventures.
Beast Industries, controlled by Jimmy Donaldson, popularly known as MrBeast, the world’s largest YouTuber by subscriber count, appears to be extending its activities beyond entertainment and media into financial services.
The deal follows a year of fundraising by Beast Industries, including a $200 million investment from Bitmine Immersion Technologies, a company closely tied to cryptocurrency markets through its Ether holdings.
What Step actually does
Step was founded in 2018 by fintech veterans CJ MacDonald and Alexey Kalinichenko, with an emphasis on financial literacy for younger users.
The platform is not a licensed bank, instead relying on a partnership with Evolve Bank & Trust for regulated banking services established in 2022.
Step offers a Visa card alongside tools for saving, spending, sending money, and basic investing, without monthly fees.
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Backing from Stripe and major venture capital firms gives the app credibility within fintech circles, independent of its new ownership.
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Beast Industries says Step has more than seven million users and an internal fintech team that aligns with its digital reach and charitable ambitions.
The company already runs Feastables, Beast Philanthropy, and Beast Games, all tied closely to Donaldson’s enormous online presence, with over 450 million subscribers and billions of monthly views as of early 2026.
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From a distribution standpoint, exposure to a young audience is not a problem. The logic suggests that financial tools could scale quickly through that existing reach.
In a statement on Monday to millions of his fans, Mr. Beast explained the reasons behind his acquisition and his goal of helping young people build financial skills.
“Nobody taught me about investing, building credit, or managing money when I was growing up. That’s exactly why we’re joining forces with Step,” MrBeast said.
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“I want to give millions of young people the financial foundation I never had. Lots to share soon.”
Although this statement gives some explanation, it does not fully answer why a global entertainment brand should mediate financial behavior for millions of young users.
Step is marketed as a way to build credit and money habits early, which sounds straightforward but carries regulatory, ethical, and trust implications.
“This acquisition positions us to meet our audiences where they are, with practical, technology-driven solutions that can transform their financial futures for the better,” Jeff Housenbold, CEO of Beast Industries, said in a statement.
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The app will operate under Beast Industries, effectively tying personal finance to a creator-led brand.
As of the time of writing, there is no information about how much was paid for the app, and no timeline was provided for operational changes following the acquisition.
A California police department is none too happy that its license plate reader records were accessed by federal employees it never gave explicit permission to peruse. And, once again, it’s Flock Safety shrugging itself into another PR black eye.
Mountain View police criticized the company supplying its automated license plate reader system after an audit turned up “unauthorized” use by federal law enforcement agencies.
At least six offices of four agencies accessed data from the first camera in the city’s Flock Safety license-tracking system from August to November 2024 without the police department’s permission or knowledge, according to a press release Friday night.
Flock has been swimming in a cesspool of its own making for several months now, thanks to it being the public face of “How To Hunt Down Someone Who Wanted An Abortion.” That debacle was followed by even more negative press (and congressional rebuke) for its apparent unwillingness to place any limits at all on access to the hundreds of millions of license plate records its cameras have captured, including those owned by private individuals.
Mountain View is in California. And that’s only one problem with everything in this paragraph:
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The city said its system was accessed by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offices in Kentucky and Tennessee, which investigate crimes related to guns, explosives, arson and the illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco; the inspector general’s office of the U.S.. General Services Administration, which manages federal buildings, procurement, and property; Air Force bases in Langley, Virginia, and in Ohio; and the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada.
Imagine trying to explain this to anyone. While it’s somewhat understandable that the ATF might be running nationwide searches on Flock’s platform, it’s almost impossible to explain why images captured by a single camera in Mountain View, California were accessed by the Inspector General for the GSA, much less Lake Mead Recreation Area staffers.
This explains how this happened. But it doesn’t do anything to explain why.
They accessed Mountain View’s system for one camera via a “nationwide” search setting that was turned on by Flock Safety, police said.
Apparently, this is neither opt-in or opt-out. It just is. The Mountain View police said they “worked closely” with Flock to block out-of-state access, as well as limit internal access to searches expressly approved by the department’s police chief.
Flock doesn’t seem to care what its customers want. Either it can’t do what this department asked or it simply chose not to because a system that can’t be accessed by government randos scattered around the nation is much tougher to sell than a locked-down portal that actually serves the needs of the people paying for it.
The privacy protection that Flock promised to Oregonians — that Flock software will automatically examine the reason provided by law enforcement officers for terms indicating an abortion- or immigration-related search — is meaningless when law enforcement officials provide generic reasons like “investigation” or “crime.” Likewise, Flock’s filters are meaningless if no reason for a search is provided in the first place. While the search reasons collected by Flock, obtained by press and activists through open records requests, have occasionally revealed searches for immigration and abortion enforcement, these are likely just the tip of the iceberg. Presumably, most officers using Flock to hunt down immigrants and women who have received abortions are not going to type that in as the reason for their search. And, regardless, given that Flock has washed its hands of any obligation to audit its customers, Flock customers have no reason to trust a search reason provided by another agency.
I now believe that abuses of your product are not only likely but inevitable, and that Flock is unable and uninterested in preventing them.
Flock just keeps making Wyden’s points for him. The PD wanted limited access with actual oversight. Flock gave the PD a lending library of license plate/location images anyone with or without a library card (so to speak) could check out at will. Flock is part of the surveillance problem. And it’s clear it’s happy being a tool that can be readily and easily abused, no matter what its paying customers actually want from its technology.
As the Bristol Hi-Fi Show gears up for 2026, early announcements are beginning to surface, and the first one worth paying attention to comes from Ultrafide Audio. The UK manufacturer will unveil its new ENSO INT-125 integrated amplifier, a deliberately traditional design that leans into core amplification fundamentals rather than chasing the current obsession with built-in streaming platforms. The ENSO is confirmed to include an internal DAC, but this is not a network amplifier, not a lifestyle hub, and not trying to replace your music app of choice. It is, quite unapologetically, an integrated amplifier built for people who still care about signal paths more than software updates.
That positioning makes sense once you understand Ultrafide’s roots. Still relatively unknown in North America, the brand is the hi-fi division of MC² Audio and XTA Electronics, two names with serious credibility in the professional audio world. Products are designed and manufactured in East Devon, England, under the guidance of lead engineer Alex Cooper, whose résumé includes MC² Audio’s Delta Series, XTA’s MX36 console switch, and custom guitar amplifiers built for Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, and Mick Moody.
Ultrafide spent 2025 quietly expanding its footprint with the DIAS high-power amplifier and the more approachable SP500, exporting to over 20 countries. The ENSO INT-125 looks like a natural next step: a stripped-back, musically focused integrated aimed at listeners who want modern digital compatibility without surrendering control to a streaming ecosystem.
Ultrafide ENSO INT-125 Power, Topology, and Core Functionality
The ENSO is designed to serve as the true center of a system. Its name is drawn from the Japanese enso circle, a symbol of completeness, unity, and balance, themes that carry through both its sonic goals and its restrained, minimalist aesthetic.
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Power output is rated at 125 watts per channel into 8 ohms, rising to 2 × 250 watts into 4 ohms, delivered via Ultrafide’s proprietary UltraSigma output topology.
Additional features include full preamplifier controls, tone adjustment options, an OLED display for clear system feedback, and a built-in stereo Class A/B headphone amplifier.
Inputs include two RCA and one balanced XLR analog input, along with one optical and one coaxial digital input. A dedicated moving-magnet phono stage is also included for direct turntable connection.
On the output side, the ENSO offers traditional loudspeaker terminals, a configurable preamp/power-amp loop with bypass capability, and a front-panel headphone output.
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At its core is a linear toroidal power supply, with circuit design informed by technologies developed for Ultrafide’s U500DC and SP500 power amplifiers. The emphasis here is on clean power delivery, generous headroom, and maintaining musical integrity under real-world loads.
The preamplifier section features an OLED display with full remote control, derived from Ultrafide’s U4PRE, and includes ±8 dB bass and treble adjustment. These tone controls are designed by pro-audio EQ specialist Alex Cooper, who oversees all Ultrafide product development.
A key differentiator is the ENSO’s send/return pre-out and power-in architecture, which allows the amplifier to scale with a system. It can be used as a conventional integrated amplifier with passive loudspeakers, or reconfigured for multi-amplified or fully active systems with external equalisation, offering unusual flexibility at this level.
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The amplifier is housed in Ultrafide’s clean, understated chassis and follows a standard 17-inch (42 cm) width, ensuring straightforward integration into most hi-fi racks and systems.
“The ENSO (INT-125) is a huge moment for the Ultrafide brand,” said Mark Bailey, product specialist at Ultrafide Audio and MC² Audio. “It’s a flexible and powerful integrated amplifier that lets you focus on the music. Having been asked for this by many customers since our inception, we are pleased to offer a competitive price point, driven by our mission to make exceptional audio accessible.”
The Bottom Line
Priced at £3,500, the Ultrafide ENSO INT-125 is aimed squarely at listeners who want a serious, UK-built integrated amplifier with real power, a proper internal DAC, phono support, and system-scaling flexibility without being locked into a streaming platform that will feel obsolete in five years. It’s for traditional hi-fi users who already own a streamer, CD transport, or DAC and would rather choose those components themselves.
What it deliberately omits is just as telling: there’s no built-in streaming, no app ecosystem, no HDMI eARC for TV integration, and it’s unclear whether a dedicated subwoofer output is provided. In a segment crowded with do-everything amplifiers, the ENSO takes the contrarian route; fewer features, more focus, and a clear bias toward sound quality over convenience.
Copyright owners increasingly claim more draconian copyright law and policy will fight back against big tech companies. In reality, copyright gives the most powerful companies even more control over creators and competitors. Today’s copyright policy concentrates power among a handful of corporate gatekeepers—at everyone else’s expense. We need a system that supports grassroots innovation and emerging creators by lowering barriers to entry—ultimately offering all of us a wider variety of choices.
Pro-monopoly regulation through copyright won’t provide any meaningful economic support for vulnerable artists and creators. Because of the imbalance in bargaining power between creators and publishing gatekeepers, trying to help creators by giving them new rights under copyright law is like trying to help a bullied kid by giving them more lunch money for the bully to take.
Entertainment companies’ historical practices bear out this concern. For example, in the late-2000’s to mid-2010’s, music publishers and recording companies struck multimillion-dollar direct licensing deals with music streaming companies and video sharing platforms. Google reportedly paid more than $400 million to a single music label, and Spotify gave the major record labels a combined 18 percent ownership interest in its now- $100 billion company. Yet music labels and publishers frequently fail to share these payments with artists, and artists rarely benefit from these equity arrangements. There’s no reason to think that these same companies would treat their artists more fairly now.
AI Training
In the AI era, copyright may seem like a good way to prevent big tech from profiting from AI at individual creators’ expense—it’s not. In fact, the opposite is true. Developing a large language model requires developers to train the model on millions of works. Requiring developers to license enough AI training data to build a large language model would limit competition to all but the largest corporations—those that either have their own trove of training data or can afford to strike a deal with one that does. This would result in all the usual harms of limited competition, like higher costs, worse service, and heightened security risks. New, beneficial AI tools that allow people to express themselves or access information.
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Legacy gatekeepers have already used copyright to stifle access to information and the creation of new tools for understanding it. Consider, for example, Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence, the first of many copyright lawsuits over the use of works train AI. ROSS Intelligence was a legal research startup that built an AI-based tool to compete with ubiquitous legal research platforms like Lexis and Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw. ROSS trained its tool using “West headnotes” that Thomson Reuters adds to the legal decisions it publishes, paraphrasing the individual legal conclusions (what lawyers call “holdings”) that the headnotes identified. The tool didn’t output any of the headnotes, but Thomson Reuters sued ROSS anyways. A federal appeals court is still considering the key copyright issues in the case—which EFF weighed in on last year. EFF hopes that the appeals court will reject this overbroad interpretation of copyright law. But in the meantime, the case has already forced the startup out of business, eliminating a would-be competitor that might have helped increase access to the law.
Requiring developers to license AI training materials benefits tech monopolists as well. For giant tech companies that can afford to pay, pricey licensing deals offer a way to lock in their dominant positions in the generative AI market by creating prohibitive barriers to entry. The cost of licensing enough works to train an LLM would be prohibitively expensive for most would-be competitors.
The DMCA’s “Anti-Circumvention” Provision
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s “anti-circumvention” provision is another case in point. Congress ostensibly passed the DMCA to discourage would-be infringers from defeating Digital Rights Management (DRM) and other access controls and copy restrictions on creative works.
In practice, it’s done little to deter infringement—after all, large-scale infringement already invites massive legal penalties. Instead, Section 1201 has been used to block competition and innovation in everything from printer cartridges to garage door openers, videogame console accessories, and computer maintenance services. It’s been used to threaten hobbyists who wanted to make their devices and games work better. And the problem only gets worse as software shows up in more and more places, from phones to cars to refrigerators to farm equipment. If that software is locked up behind DRM, interoperating with it so you can offer add-on services may require circumvention. As a result, manufacturers get complete control over their products, long after they are purchased, and can even shut down secondary markets (as Lexmark did for printer ink, and Microsoft tried to do for Xbox memory cards.)
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Giving rights holders a veto on new competition and innovation hurts consumers. Instead, we need balanced copyright policy that rewards consumers without impeding competition.
For more challenging garden terrains, whether uneven or sloped, the Mammotion Luba Mini AWD 800 is an easy recommendation, thanks to its rugged design and four-wheel drive. Plus, with its brilliant built-in cameras and RTK navigation system, the undeniably high price is easily justified.
Although it’s rugged, it’s worth noting that the Luba Mini AWD 800 is designed for gardens up to 800m2.
The main reason to opt for the Luba Mini AWD 800 is the four wheel drive, which we found enabled the robot to handle uneven terrain with absolute ease.
Setting up the robot itself wasn’t too much of a challenge, as it comes with paper instructions and an easy-to-follow guide on the smartphone app. You can operate the robot either via Wi-Fi (which is the easiest way) or via on-board 4G which is available via a subscription service.
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However, the hardest job is setting up the RTK station as it needs clear skies to get a good signal, and getting this right can be difficult if you have overhanging trees or aerial obstructions.
Otherwise, once you are set up, you can let the Luba find its own way around the garden with automatic mapping or, like the Yuka Mini 800, you can manually drive it around like a remote control car, creating a map and setting no-go zones as you go, which is not only accurate but even somewhat enjoyable.
When you’ve successfully mapped the garden, the Luba Mini AWD 800 can be left to work its magic. You can adjust its cutting length (between 20mm and 65mm) via the app, with the level of customisation available some of the best we’ve seen from a robot lawn mower.
Thanks to its off-road capabilities and brilliant cutting, the mower was able to navigate well through the garden, without bumping into obstacles, and leave the grass evenly cut.
Sony put on its superhero cape and will bring one of its best franchises to PlayStation Plus in February. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 will swing onto the subscription service on Feb. 17, along with nine other games. The heroic sequel, originally released in 2023, picks up after Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and lets you play as both Spider-Men.
PlayStation Plus, which is Sony’s version of Xbox Game Pass, offers a large, constantly expanding library of games. Subscribers can choose from the Essential, Extra and Premium tiers, each with unique perks and benefits. Starting at $10 a month for the Essential tier, the plans give subscribers access to monthly games and rewards, but it’s the Extra ($15 per month) and Premium ($18 per month) tiers that allow access to the PlayStation Plus game catalog.
Here are the games PS Plus subscribers can play starting on Feb. 17. You can also check out the games Sony added to the PS Plus Game Catalog in January, which includes Resident Evil Village.
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Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (PS5)
Sony
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 doubles up on heroes as both Peter Parker and Miles Morales are playable in the game. The two heroes are once again saving New York City from destruction. This time around, the danger is multiplied as the Spider-Men deal with Kraven the Hunter and Venom.
Only PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play this game in February.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown (PS5)
Sony
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown brings the series back more than a decade after its last entry, expanding on its open-world racing roots with a shared online experience. The game features a broad lineup of vehicles, from classic road cars to modern hypercars and off-road machines, drawn from more than 30 manufacturers, including Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini. Players can align with one of two rival clans, the bold Streets or the refined Sharps, and compete in competitive events to rise through the ranks and unlock exclusive rewards.
Only PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play this game in February.
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Neva (PS5, PS4)
Sony
Neva is a story-driven action-adventure that follows Alba and a young wolf who have been brought together by a violent encounter with a spreading darkness. Set in a world that is steadily breaking down, the game centers on the bond between the two as they face growing dangers and learn to rely on each other. As the wolf matures and begins to assert his independence, their relationship is tested, pushing both characters to adapt, survive and find a place to belong in a world on the brink.
Only PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play this game in February.
Venba (PS5)
Sony
Venba is a narrative-focused cooking game about an Indian mother building a new life in Canada during the 1980s. As her family settles into a different culture, her damaged recipe book becomes a way to reconnect with memories of home by rediscovering and preparing traditional dishes. Through everyday moments, player choices and branching conversations, the game explores family relationships, identity and the quiet challenges of starting over.
Only PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play this game in February.
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Season: A Letter to the Future (PS5, PS4)
Sony
Season is an atmospheric third-person adventure built around a bicycle journey through a world on the edge of change. Leaving home for the first time, players travel through unfamiliar places, meeting people and preserving moments before an impending cataclysm erases them. Using a range of recording tools, the experience focuses on capturing sounds, stories and environments, gradually revealing the culture, history and deeper meaning of the world along the way.
Only PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play this game in February.
Monster Hunter Stories (PS4)
Tame dragons in Monster Hunter Stories.
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Apple
Monster Hunter Stories reimagines the Monster Hunter universe as a turn-based role-playing adventure centered on companionship rather than the hunt. Players step into the role of a Monster Rider, forming lasting bonds with creatures and living alongside them as part of a story-driven journey. This updated return of the original game includes full voice acting in Japanese and English, along with added features like a museum mode that highlights music and concept art from the series.
Only PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play this game in February.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin (PS4)
Sony
Following the return of the original Monster Hunter Stories, its sequel builds on that foundation with a larger, more ambitious adventure. Players once again take on the role of a Rider, this time as the grandchild of the legendary Red, forming bonds with Monsties while navigating a story driven by fate and legacy. The journey centers on a mysterious egg tied to a powerful Rathalos, pushing players to confront old legends and test the strength of their friendships in a world facing upheaval.
Only PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play this game in February.
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Echoes of the End: Enhanced Edition (PS5)
Sony
Echoes of the End is an action-driven adventure that follows Ryn, a young woman born with a rare connection to ancient magic, as war and political control threaten her homeland. After her brother is taken by an oppressive empire, she sets out alongside Abram, a scholar carrying his own past, on a journey shaped by trust, loss and difficult choices. Set across stark landscapes inspired by Iceland, the game blends magic and technology while players explore ruins, face dangerous creatures and uncover the remnants of a fallen civilization.
Only PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play this game in February.
Rugby 25 (PS5, PS4)
Sony
Rugby 25 aims to deliver an authentic take on the sport, covering everything from local club matches to major international competitions. The focus is on realistic gameplay, tactical decision-making and the physical intensity of each play, from tackles to scoring opportunities. Players can take control of club or national teams across a wide range of venues, with an expansive roster designed to reflect the full scope of the rugby world.
Only PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play this game in February.
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Disney Pixar Wall-E (PS5, PS4)
Sony
First released on the PlayStation 2, Wall-E adapts Pixar’s animated film into an adventure focused on exploration and light puzzle solving. Players control the solitary robot as he cleans a deserted Earth, collects curious items and sets off on an unexpected journey after meeting Eve. Alongside the single-player story, the game also includes competitive mini games for up to four players, offering a mix of races and challenges set beyond the planet.
Only PS Plus Premium subscribers can play this game in February.
For more on PlayStation Plus, here’s what to know about the service and a rundown of PS Plus Extra and Premium games added in January. You can also check out the latest and upcoming games on Xbox Game Pass.
Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion.
No system is immune to failure. The compromise between reducing failures and improving adaptability is a recurring problem in robotics. Modular robots exemplify this tradeoff, because the number of modules dictates both the possible functions and the odds of failure. We reverse this trend, improving reliability with an increased number of modules by exploiting redundant resources and sharing them locally.
Now that the Atlas enterprise platform is getting to work, the research version gets one last run in the sun. Our engineers made one final push to test the limits of full-body control and mobility, with help from the RAI Institute.
In a paper published in Science, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, the Humboldt University of Berlin, and the University of Stuttgart have discovered that the secret to the elephant’s amazing sense of touch is in its unusual whiskers. The interdisciplinary team analyzed elephant trunk whiskers using advanced microscopy methods that revealed a form of material intelligence more sophisticated than the well-studied whiskers of rats and mice. This research has the potential to inspire new physically intelligent robotic sensing approaches that resemble the unusual whiskers that cover the elephant trunk.
A system developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo lets people collaborate with groups of robots to create works of art inspired by music.
FastUMI Pro is a multimodal, model-agnostic data acquisition system designed to power a truly end-to-end closed loop for embodied intelligence — transforming real-world data into genuine robotic capability.
We usually take fingernails for granted, but they’re vital for fine-motor control and feeling textures. Our students have been doing some great work looking into the mechanics behind this.
This is a 550-lb all-electric coaxial unmanned rotorcraft developed by Texas A&M University’s Advanced Vertical Flight Laboratory and Harmony Aeronautics as a technology demonstrator for our quiet-rotor technology. The payload capacity is 200 lb (gross weight = 750 lb). The noise level measured was around 74 dBA in hover at 50-ft making this probably the quietest rotorcraft at this scale.
Harvard scientists have created an advanced 3D printing method for developing soft robotics. This technique, called rotational multimaterial 3D printing, enables the fabrication of complex shapes and tubular structures with dissolvable internal channels. This innovation could someday accelerate the production of components for surgical robotics and assistive devices, advancing medical technology.
Lynx M20 wheeled-legged robot steps onto the ice and snow, taking on challenges inspired by four winter sports scenarios. Who says robots can’t enjoy winter sports?
At Mentee Robotics, we design and build humanoid robots from the ground up with one goal: reliable, scalable deployment in real-world industrial environments. Our robots are powered by deep vertical integration across hardware, embedded software, and AI, all developed in-house to close the Sim2Real gap and enable continuous, around-the-clock operation.
Learn about the work of Dr. Roland Siegwart, Dr. Anibal Ollero, Dr. Dario Floreano, and Dr. Margarita Chli on flying robots and some of the challenges they are still trying to tackle in this video created based on their presentations at ICRA@40 the 40th anniversary celebration of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.
— Cynthia Tee has left Smartsheet, where she was chief technology officer at the work management software giant. Tee was CTO since February 2025; before that she was senior vice president of engineering for nearly four years.
The Bellevue-based company has not publicly announced Tee’s departure or named a replacement. A spokesperson said via email: “We thank [Tee] for the many contributions and wish her well in her next opportunity.”
Tee told GeekWire she has not taken a new role elsewhere.
Early in her career, Tee was with Microsoft for two decades, joining in 1994 and working for many years on Windows technologies. Prior to Smartsheet, she was vice president of commerce technology at Nordstrom.
Tee was also executive director of Seattle’s Ada Developers Academy, a tuition-free tech bootcamp providing training for women and other underrepresented people in tech.
— Overland AI, a Seattle startup building autonomous ground vehicles used by the U.S. military, hired Mark Dewyea as head of legal. Dewyea, who is based in Virginia, joins the company from Shield AI where he was chief of staff and in-house counsel.
“Mark brings extensive experience across government, military, and defense technology sectors, including service as an active duty judge advocate in the U.S. Marine Corps and as a legal analyst at the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Overland AI said on LinkedIn.
Overland AI spun out of the University of Washington in 2022 and earlier this month announced $100 million in new funding.
Jessica Roberto. (LinkedIn Photo)
— Jessica Roberto is joining the Washington State Department of Commerce as Knowledge Economy Lead in the Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness.
Roberto was previously at the UW’s Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship where she served as associate director and manager of graduate student programs and the Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge. She was with the Buerk Center for six years and holds a PhD from the UW in pathobiology.
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— Heather Redman, co-founder and managing partner of the venture firm Flying Fish, is now on the Seattle branch board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
— Seattle tech entrepreneur Anna Fuller is now working on commerce AI at Google. She was previously head of product at California’s Big Sur AI, which Google acquired at the end of last year. Fuller is also a resident expert at Seattle’s AI2 Incubator, which launched the AI House last year on the city’s waterfront.
— Alaska Airlines promoted Ben Brookman to vice president of real estate and airport affairs. Brookman has been with the airline for more than a decade over two separate periods. Past employers include Convoy and Amazon.
— Comcast named Keith Turner as senior VP of its Pacific Northwest region, which serves Xfinity and Comcast Business customers in Washington and Oregon. Turner has been with the telecom and entertainment giant for nearly two decades.
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— Zillow promoted Rebecca Amos-Stuart to marketing director. Amos-Stuart, based in the Seattle area, has been with the real estate tech company for more than six years. She previously ran her own consulting business and was with Verizon for 12 years.
— Cam Caldwell, chief operating officer for Binti, is now running the software development company’s newly opened Seattle office. San Francisco-based Binti is building technology that serves the child welfare system. The new location is hiring.
— Seattle-based music licensing startup Incantio appointed Virl Hill to its board of directors. Hill is a media and technology executive whose past employers include Microsoft, RealNetworks and Disney. He previously served on Incantio’s advisory board.
— The firm Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice named Brian Maxey as senior counsel in its Seattle office. Maxey, previously COO for the Seattle Police Department, will focus on risk management planning, crisis response and strategic litigation for clients in the public sector.
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— Vija Veingbergs-Rogers is now a senior software engineer at the Seattle-based AI roleplay startup Yoodli. She joins from the neurology tech company Rune Labs.
— The National Academy of Engineering, an organization conferring one of the highest professional distinctions for engineers, has elected 130 new members including for four connected to the Pacific Northwest:
David Baker, a UW Nobel Laureate and director of UW Medicine’s Institute for Protein Design, which uses AI to create de novo proteins.
Douglas Burger, a Microsoft Research technical fellow and corporate VP accelerating cloud-scale computing and networking infrastructures with field-programmable systems.
James Hamilton, an Amazon SVP and distinguished engineer focused on cloud computing and data center efficiency.
Elizabeth Lund, a retired SVP of quality for Boeing who worked on development and production of the twin-aisle commercial airplanes.
— The Oregon Entrepreneurs Network appointed five new members to its 18-person board of directors:
Ernie Bootsma, shareholder and attorney with Buchalter LLC
One of PC gaming’s greatest shooters has been given a free second life. Unreal Tournament 2004 is now available at no cost with Epic Games’ blessing. The community-led revival preserves everything that made UT2004 a multiplayer legend: lightning-fast gunplay, large vehicle-filled maps, and deep mod support, while adding support for modern operating systems.