Horror fans can’t get enough of the movie Obsession. Written and directed by Curry Barker, Obsession follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a hopeless romantic who makes a wish on a One Wish Willow to make his friend and crush, Nikki (Inde Navarrette), fall in love with him. While his wish comes true, his dream romance turns into a bloody nightmare that threatens to destroy him and everyone around him.
After it was made on a budget of less than $1 million, Obsession achieved universal acclaim in theaters, receiving a 96% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It also grossed over $100 million at the box office in just three weeks, according to Box Office Mojo, making it one of the most successful horror movies of the decade.
In an interview with Digital Trends, Obsession actor Megan Lawless, who portrayed Bear’s friend and secondary love interest, Sarah, in the film, discussed how she brought her beloved character to life, what it was like making the movie with the cast and crew, and what the future holds for her after its unprecedented success.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Focus Features / Focus Features
Digital Trends: Megan, thank you so much for joining me today. Let’s get started. How [are] you doing?
Lawless: I’m great. How are you?
Digital Trends: I’m fantastic. Everyone, including myself, can’t get enough of Obsession. It just grossed over $100 million at the box office, and I’ve been seeing a lot of people online saying how much they loved your performance as Sarah in the film. So I was wondering if you could tell us how it feels to see so many people react to your character in this way.
Lawless: It’s great. I mean, I’ve always loved Sarah, and I was hoping that people could extrapolate a lot from the time that I was on screen and really root for her. That was always my goal: for people to root for her. So now that I’m seeing everyone rooting for her…in the comments, it just makes me really happy that they love her the way I love her, and that all the elements came together to get fans to support her and root for her.
Digital Trends: Awesome. I’m really curious about what your inspirations were for bringing [Sarah’s] character to life.
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Lawless: Oh, that’s a great question. I don’t know if I had any specific inspirations, per se. I think I just read her off the page, and I understood her pretty immediately. And then after talking with Curry and just making sure that our vision aligned, I felt that just bringing a lot of myself into it and perspective. Her perspectives on everything, I think, shape her as a character as well a lot. So, yeah, that was pretty much it.
I stylistically drew inspiration from Hayley Williams and more punk rock-type girls, more than myself. We have very different styles, me and Sarah. So, that was really fun. And then, I was looking at different punky cool chicks on Pinterest and stuff to get inspiration on my hair because we changed my hair for me to play Sarah. So I was looking for a haircut that I thought would embody how I viewed Sarah to be. And then, Blair [James], the costume designer, got everything aligned, and then she came together visually, and that was the really fun part of the process.
Digital Trends: Awesome. What was it like working with everyone on the set of this film? I’ve seen behind the scenes [footage]. It seems like you were all having the time of your lives on it. So I wonder if you can tell us more about that.
Lawless: Oh, we did have the time of our lives. It was just incredible. I say this time and time again, but I’ve never been so close with my castmates…and crew members than I have been with Obsession. Me and Inde, she slept in my bed. We had sleepovers twice last weekend, and we do so much together.
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And me and Haley Johnson, our producer, I can call her up anytime. And we also hang out outside of work. We are really good friends. I’ve developed such deep friendships with people I work with. We throw game nights sometimes, and we still are maintaining a really great friendship and rapport.
Even after stopping filming and after the film has been released, we’re making an effort to keep seeing each other. And that has never happened for me to this level. And it’s just another huge blessing that comes out of Obsession. It’s just so special, every part of it.
Digital Trends: That’s really fantastic to hear. It’s so great to have a community of friends [who] get together to make films together. It’s just really great to see that dynamic brought to life on the screen.
Speaking of Inde, I’ve seen videos online. You really seem like the best of friends right now. But compared to your characters in the film, they were really clashing over what was going on. A lot of the terror came from [Inde’s] character as Nikki. Were there times during the production where you were genuinely terrified of her and what she was bringing to the film?
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Focus Features / Focus Features
Lawless: I must say, no. Inde does not genuinely terrify me because I just know her so well, and it’s hard to remove. But I will say that I was constantly in awe of her performances. I just thought they were incredible. The way she would transform.
But yeah, behind all the movie magic and like, just in between takes coming and being able to joke around and have fun, that removed all of the fear for me when I watch it now as a whole. I watched it in a theater or something. Then I can remove myself from the story and really be engaged with the story from more of an outside perspective, I would say, but never on set.
Digital Trends:Right. And speaking of story, one of the most talked about parts of the movie is that scene in the car when Nikki attacks you with that brick. That had my jaw on the floor. It was so shocking, and the tragedy [that] comes afterwards after Bear opens that acceptance letter. That broke my heart. So I was wondering if you could tell us more about what you thought about that scene being in the film.
Lawless: Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I mean, I loved the scene. I had a feeling, even before I started reading it, that my character would be killed off. All anyone can hope for is that her death scene is iconic, and people will talk about it, and it will really make audiences feel something. And I can say without a doubt…it really is a strong moment in the film where everything changes for Bear.
It’s the catalyst that leads us to the finale of the film, and it’s just so momentous, and I love how much gravitas it has. When I was reading it, it was just so insane, I was really stoked about it. And I was really curious as well to see how we would pull all the pieces together to make it happen. So the whole process was really fun, making that scene what you see on the film.
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Digital Trends: Absolutely. I mean, it reminded me of this similar scene from The Haunting of Hill House…There’s, like, a similar jump-scare sort of scene in the car that changes everything. And I got that same feeling watching that scene in the theater.
And another thing I was really intrigued by the film is the dynamic between Sarah and her friends. With Bear, Ian, and Nikki. Once the wish has been made and Freaky Nikki is just dominating [Nikki’s] life, everyone just tries to keep [their] distance while saying she just needs psychiatric help, not knowing what’s really going on with her. But it really feels like they’re just trying to distance themselves from the issue.
In your opinion, do you think Sarah really considers Nikki like a friend or more just [as] competition for Bear’s affection?Focus Features / Foc
Lawless: I was talking about this the other day a little bit with Inde, actually. I think they’ve been friends for a long time. But I think this is one of those friend groups where they go way back. They’ve known each other since high school. And I think this might be a point in their lives where, if the events of the film didn’t unfold, they would start moving in different directions.
So they’re moving on to different chapters of their life. I want to go to art school. Nikki wants to quit [her] job so that she can work more on her writing. And so it might be a friend-group dynamic [where] they’ve outgrown each other a little.
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I definitely think Nikki and Sarah are friends, and they’ve known each other a while, and obviously, at the start of the film, I’m comfortable enough with Nikki to confide in her that I have feelings for Bear, and that’s why she brings it up to Bear in the car that Sarah was talking about [him] all day. You know? She has a crush on [him]. And we definitely have a good enough friendship to have that sort of rapport.
But I think from Sarah’s perspective, when everything starts to unfold, and her friend has now kind of betrayed her. She exposed her feelings for Bear to Nikki, and then all of a sudden, Nikki is dating Bear the next day.
I think that would feel like a huge betrayal and probably sows a lot of seeds of doubt in Sarah’s mind [about] her friend and these friendships that she has… and she is trying to figure out why her friends would change their tune so suddenly.
And it must feel kind of personal. It would feel personal, or personal to me, if my best friend started dating the guy I’ve been telling her all about that I like the next day. [It] would feel like an attack.
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Digital Trends: Right. Going back to what you said. The wish is really what causes the friend group to unravel. Part of me was wondering, “If Bear had never made that wish, do you think he would have ended up with Nikki, or would he have eventually been with Sarah?”
Don’t get me wrong. What he did later on in the film was awful. But there was some glimmers of hope for all their characters before that fateful wish. Focus Features / Focus Features
Lawless: Yeah. I’m not quite sure what would have happened. I like to believe that Sarah was close to telling Bear herself about her feelings. I even like to believe at [the trivia night], she has been telling Nikki about her feelings, and Nikki’s supposed to probe it all and eventually [Sarah] would get to tell Bear how she feels. After gauging his feelings, though, Bear has no feelings for her. So maybe, if she had heard that, she would have been like, “OK, never mind.”
I shouldn’t even try, but I think without the wish…Bear is not suitable to be in any relationship. [They] are mature enough to avoid someone that, if they were to get keyed on in that, they would avoid being with Bear because they understand that he has a lot of development and growth that he needs to work through before being in a relationship.
Digital Trends: Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. Sometimes in these situations, people just kind of like to learn to be comfortable with themselves before they can really be with others. So that’s something that Bear was never able to really get over. He was so desperate not to be alone that he basically just destroyed everyone’s lives.
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Lawless: Yeah, that is just really, really dangerous…It’s just really damaging for all parties.
Digital Trends: Absolutely. So, after Obsession, what other projects are you working on right now?
Lawless: So I’m going to start filming another project, another film, it’s a thriller, next month. I’m not quite sure if I can name what it is, but you’ll see something in the news soon, I’m sure. I think there’ll be an article that is released about the cast eventually. But I do have plans to do that. And then, that’ll be really fun, another feature horror. Totally different kicker, which I like.
And then, we’ll see about that. I’ve been talking to a lot of people, meeting a lot of people, and reading a lot of scripts. So the possibilities are kind of endless. And it’s very exciting. I would love to do another film, but like a drama or work on a show, a dramatic show. I would love to just really explore my craft even more on a larger scale. So we will see.
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Digital Trends: Yeah. I’m really looking forward to seeing whatever you do next. I think it’s going to be really great.
Lawless: Aw, thanks.
Digital Trends: Oh, you’re welcome. Now, as far as the future, I mean, do you see yourself working with Curry and anyone else from Obsession again? I know the cast of Curry’s next film, Anything But Ghosts, was just announced, but what about his Texas Chain Saw film? Do you see yourself working with any of them?
Lawless: Absolutely. I would love to work with all of them again. I got the opportunity to work with Haley Johnson, our producer, again on a short that we did before Obsession actually came out in theaters, but after we had filmed Obsession. And it was just so nice to have so many crew members and stuff, all of us together, because sometimes when you film, it’s like you wrap, and then you don’t get the opportunity to relive what you just did. This incredible thing you just did.
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I would just love to work with Curry again. I would [with] Inde again. I mean, the whole cast I would work together again…you never know. We’ll see how things pan out. But we all have such good relationships with each other. I wouldn’t be surprised.
Digital Trends: That’s all really terrific to hear. I can’t wait to see what you all do next.
Perplexity, an AI-powered search and answer engine, has a new way to turn personal devices into decentralized data centers.
The company said Tuesday that it’s adding a new hybrid local-server system to Personal Computer, its AI agent that can work across files, apps and the web. Starting in July, the system will automatically decide which parts of a task should run directly on a user’s device and which should be sent to more powerful AI models in the cloud.
A smaller model running locally could handle sensitive data and routine work locally, such as financial records, health information and personal files. More complicated work that requires the capabilities of a larger AI model could still be sent to a server.
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Today we’re announcing that hybrid agentic inference is coming to Perplexity Computer.
Computer can split tasks between a local model running on your machine and frontier models in the cloud. This keeps private data on your device and maximizes token efficiency.
Perplexity says its system will make that decision automatically, breaking a larger task into smaller parts and routing each one to the appropriate place. Users won’t need to choose between a local model and a cloud-based model before getting started.
Although the current app is available on Mac, Perplexity is pitching the underlying technology as a broader system that can work across different types of hardware. The company said it unveiled the system with Intel and that the same framework runs on other local silicon, including Nvidia’s RTX Spark platform.
Moving more work onto users’ devices could also reduce the amount of expensive cloud computing required to complete AI tasks. Perplexity argues that routine work shouldn’t consume the same data center resources as a request that genuinely needs one of the most capable AI models.
Designers at GM’s new Advanced Design studio in Pasadena have created a pair of electric concepts that shrink the classic HUMMER size while opening up far more ways for owners to shape the vehicle around their plans. The HUMMER X truck and its SUV counterpart land in the midsize category yet deliver serious off-road geometry and a fresh approach to building and modifying them over time.
The studio opened its doors last week, providing a perfect opportunity to showcase these two vehicles. They’re both developed on a modular platform based on four fundamental ideas: easy reconfigurability so you can change things up on the go, robust performance on challenging terrain, drivers can stay connected no matter where they are, and materials designed to last far longer than they should. Neither is being considered for production right now; they are more experimental, allowing GM to explore ideas for a future HUMMER model that will appeal to drivers who enjoy getting out and exploring.
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The exterior lines are extremely clean and basic, with a flat roofline that goes from front to rear, gently rounded edges to avoid abrupt creases, and visible bolts and laser-welded seams for a mechanical appearance. Removable fender flares sit above huge Goodyear tires set on bead lock wheels with a function that adds security while you’re pushing it to its limits. Underbody protection runs the length of both vehicles, and the Multimatic shocks absorb all road bumps.
Capability is where the true magic of these designs happens, or more specifically, a combination of geometry and real-world testing that has resulted in some pretty impressive specs. The SUV is 188.3 inches long with a 116-inch wheelbase. With 13.2 inches of ground clearance, an approach angle of 44 degrees, a departure angle of 46 degrees, and a breakover angle of 30.9 degrees, it is among the best in the midsize off-road class. The truck version is slightly longer, measuring 207.3 inches overall with a 130.7-inch wheelbase. It has 12.5 inches of ground clearance, a 41.5-degree approach angle, and a 29.7-degree departure angle, and both use slightly more than 57% Flex Fab construction, which we’ll get to in a minute
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Flex Fab is where things really become interesting, since it is a technology that allows for on-demand manufacturing, removing the need for massive stamping dies and stationary equipment. Small manufacturing runs become absolutely realistic, and you can swap out a body part, fender, or interior item. This platform is the polar opposite of traditional production in that it can accept multiple designs without having to start from scratch each time.
Inside, the dashboard is likewise highly adaptable, with multiple screens that can be stacked or set side by side depending on your trip. One of the panels can actually communicate with a small drone, which takes off on trails, maps out risks and route options in real time, and then returns to the vehicle. It’s the ultimate off-road accessory since you can change the digital layout for rock crawling or highway driving without having to go back to the store or disassemble the whole car.
GM has also considered sustainability in these designs. When possible, snap fittings and mechanical fasteners are employed instead of permanent glue. Many components are produced from recycled materials, such as seatbacks and instrument panels fashioned from old vehicle fascias. The design also makes it easier to disassemble the gadget in the future, allowing materials to be reused rather than discarded. [Source]
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella teases the coming Copilot “Super App” during the Build keynote, telling the audience that Chat, Cowork and Code will come together in one app this summer. Despite the rumors, Microsoft didn’t demo the app itself. (Screenshot via webcast)
The token-hungry developers were there. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was there (virtually). The Chainsmokers were there. But Microsoft’s rumored Copilot “Super App” was not.
According to various reports and screenshots posted on social media over the past couple of days, Microsoft’s Copilot Super App was ready for its close-up. Reports indicated that the Copilot Super App is meant to provide a single Copilot experience, or shell, with various modes, possibly including a Copilot Chat mode; GitHub Copilot coding mode; Cowork mode for knowledge workers and prosumers; the “Scout” OpenClaw-based work mode; and some kind of Autopilot always-on agent mode.
Some had expected Microsoft could make the Copilot Super App its “one more thing” announcement during the kick-off keynote at the Microsoft Build 2026 conference on June 2. But the app, in whatever form it currently may exist, was a no-show.
It wasn’t a total wash, however. CEO Satya Nadella did mention the Super App in passing.
“Come summer, we will be bringing coding to all knowledge work within one Copilot Super App. That’s really exciting. So you’re going to have Chat, Cowork, and Code all in Copilot,” Nadella told the Build audience in San Francisco.
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The premise of a Copilot super app makes sense on several fronts. Microsoft is looking for a way reclaim its early-mover position in AI coding that it carved out with GitHub Copilot. The company needs an answer to the growing popularity of Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex. And given Microsoft is working to unify its consumer and commercial Copilot experiences, an all-in-one Copilot workspace could provide a neat solution.
Jacob Andreou, recently appointed executive vice president of Copilot, is charged with this unification and reports directly to Nadella as part of a small team replacing long-time head of Microsoft’s Experiences and Devices unit, Rajesh Jha.
Andreou has what I’d consider a daunting task. And not just because he is based in Los Angeles and came to Microsoft just a year and a half ago via an unconventional path (Snap and then Greylock Partners).
Microsoft originally tried to position its various Copilots as a single product, even though they used different data sources, had different interfaces and provided different types of access.
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More recently, officials acknowledged this and made distinctions between consumer Copilot, GitHub Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot for businesses as separate, but related offerings. But now the company seems to be veering back toward trying to make Copilot seem like a single entity in terms of brand and across consumer and enterprise lines.
Last week, Microsoft took a step toward improving the Microsoft 365 Copilot user experience with a redesign, which made the prompt box bigger and results appear more quickly. But it didn’t go so far as to show off how the new UI will dovetail with the coming Super App.
A couple of the supposed elements of the Super App did get airtime at Build. Scout, which Microsoft describes as a “personal agent for work” is built on the open-source OpenClaw framework. Scout can access data in Microsoft apps like Teams, Outlook and SharePoint thanks to Microsoft’s WorkIQ context layer, so it can proactively handle tasks such as prepping for meetings and fixing scheduling conflicts without having to ask users for approval.
Microsoft is making Scout available to its customers in its “Frontier” testing program starting today, June 2. Up until now, it’s been in testing inside Microsoft.
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If Scout sounds familiar, it should. Scout is the official name of the OpenClaw skunkworks project that’s been the focus of Microsoft Corporate Vice President Omar Shahine and team (profiled here on GeekWire last month). Microsoft has been working to add guardrails around OpenClaw and Scout to try to allay security fears that many enterprise companies, including Microsoft itself, have expressed about OpenClaw’s always-on way of operating.
Scout is considered the first public example of this new category of always-on agents that Microsoft is calling “Autopilots.”
After sitting through the three-hour (!) Build opening keynote, I was left wondering why Microsoft didn’t show off, even fleetingly, the coming Copilot Super App.
Was it because execs felt they had so many other announcements that they didn’t want it to get lost in the mix? They’re waiting for the“Ask Copilot” taskbar feature to go live on Windows 11? Or maybe the Super App is just not yet stable enough to demo? (Given how quickly Microsoft is moving from idea to private testing with Scout, making sure a product is baked before showing it publicly doesn’t seem to be much of a concern at Microsoft.)
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Sure, the pressure is on with AI to announce or be eclipsed, like never before. And Microsoft is no stranger to “creatively architected” demos of not-yet-finished products. (I see you, Longhorn.)
But can Microsoft really move from pilot to shipping products at this pace and not alienate enterprises that have substantial security, compliance, data-residency and other hefty requirements? I guess we’ll see….
Amazfit has launched the Balance Ultra, a new flagship smartwatch meant for users who track their workouts closely but may not always pay the same attention to recovery.
Recovery is one of the most important parts of training, because poor sleep, high stress, and badly timed rest days can directly affect progress. The new smartwatch aims to make that easier to track by combining workout data with sleep, stress, heart rate, HRV, blood oxygen, breathing, and recovery metrics through the Zepp App.
Can it help users train smarter instead of just harder?
The Balance Ultra is built around Amazfit’s Hybrid Training System, which is meant to give users a clearer view of how ready their body is for another workout. Instead of only recording completed sessions, the watch looks at training load, recovery, and lifestyle signals to help users decide whether to push harder or slow down.
Amazfit
Amazfit supports this with features such as BioCharge, LifeLoad, Training Load, Weekly Focus, Training Balance, and Hybrid Training Plans. BioCharge gives users a sense of their energy levels throughout the day, while LifeLoad factors in the strain caused by stress and daily activity. Training Balance and Weekly Focus then help place recent workouts in context, so users are not left looking at separate sleep, stress, and fitness numbers without knowing what they mean together.
The watch also comes with official HYROX tools, including training plans, race simulations, virtual pace support, and post-race analysis. That makes it more relevant for users who mix running, strength training, endurance work, and gym-based competition formats.
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What else does the Balance Ultra offer?
The hardware is also more premium than Amazfit’s standard fitness watches. The Balance Ultra has a Grade 5 titanium case, sapphire glass protection, 10ATM water resistance, and a 1.5-inch AMOLED display with up to 3,000 nits of brightness. It also supports dual-band GPS, six-satellite positioning, offline maps, route guidance, Bluetooth calling, Zepp Flow voice control, voice notes, music storage, apps, and contactless payments.
Amazfit
Battery life is one of its stronger claims. The company says the Balance Ultra can last up to 30 days with regular use, up to 10 days with the always-on display enabled, and up to 50 hours with continuous GPS. The Amazfit Balance Ultra is available through Amazfit.com for $599.99.
Replacing a 3D printer’s extruder with a cutting blade seems like an easy way to do things like vinyl cutting, but you cannot just put on any blade and expect good results. The right type of blade is called a drag knife and it’s designed so that it follows the direction in which you’re cutting. You can get these in dedicated vinyl cutting machines, as well as in the form of attachments for the likes of CNC machines. How to use them with an old Anycubic Mega S FDM printer is demonstrated by [Cocoanix 3D Printing] in a recent video.
For a bit more background information you can peruse for example this write-up by [Kronos Robotics], who goes through the steps of selecting the right blade, cutting mat and such for use with a CNC machine.
For the 3D printer in the video a Roland vinyl cutter style holder and blades were bought off AliExpress, for which then a custom 3D printed mount was designed, though you can often get a ready-made one off your usual 3D model sources. Following this you get into the hardest part, being the software and making sure you don’t cut too deep into the vinyl through its backing paper.
Fortunately most of the hard work here is done already by the Polycut project, which is precisely designed to help you turn a 3D printer or similar into a vinyl cutter or plotter. This takes in an SVG file and generates the appropriate g-code, after which you better have gotten your Z-offset calibration right if you want that perfect result. With all that in place it’s then actually quite easy to cut your very own vinyl without shelling out big bucks for a dedicated machine.
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Of course, it’ll likely never be as fast as those machines, requires more calibration and have a more limited cutting space, but as it’s not a permanent modification and probably less crazy than putting a laser engraver module on a commercial FDM printer like the Bambu Lab H2D.
Stoke Space has its 168,000-square-foot headquarters in Kent, Wash., where Mount Rainier can be seen on a good day. (Stoke Space Photo)
Space Northwest, a nonprofit association serving the Pacific Northwest’s space industry ecosystem, says it’s partnering with the Commercial Space Federation to launch a regional space business accelerator.
The initiative will begin with an executive roundtable scheduled this summer, followed by a 12-week accelerator program due to begin in autumn. The accelerator is expected to support up to 10 early-stage space companies with programming focused on commercial space markets, investment readiness, tech commercialization, growth strategies for commercial and government markets, and integration into the space industry’s global supply chain.
A report published in 2022 estimated the overall economic impact of Washington state’s core space industry at $4.6 billion annually, supporting more than 13,000 jobs. That impact is probably greater today than it was four years ago. Blue Origin was said to employ about 6,000 people nationwide in 2022, but more recent figures suggest the company has upwards of 12,000 employees.
“The Pacific Northwest has a uniquely entrepreneurial space ecosystem complemented by world-class aviation, software and advanced technology industries,” Sean McClinton, Space Northwest’s co-founder, said today in a news release. “We believe this accelerator can help capitalize on the region’s strengths and support innovators building the next generation of world-class space companies.”
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The Washington, D.C.-based Commercial Space Federation will shape the accelerator curriculum. “Commercial space scales on the industrial base around it, not just its marquee names,” said Kelli Kedis Ogborn, strategic adviser on global Markets and industry engagement at CSF. “The Pacific Northwest has both: world-class aerospace leaders and the deep bench of adjacent capability the sector needs to grow.”
Ogborn said the accelerator program will aim to “connect those strengths to the broader national commercial space community and turn the region’s industrial depth into a driving force in the space supply chain.”
Space Northwest said additional details about the application process, program structure, speakers and partner organizations will be announced later this year.
OPPO India has expanded the rollout of its latest ColorOS 16 update, bringing a range of new features to more smartphones across its lineup. The new software focuses on improving everyday smartphone experiences with better multitasking, easier device connectivity, and useful productivity features. The rollout began with the Find X9 series and is expected to continue across supported devices through the end of May.
Live Space and O+ Connect Improve Convenience
One of the highlights of the ColorOS 16 update is the addition of Live Space and improvements to O+ Connect. Live Space makes the lock screen feel more responsive with fluid animations and neatly organized notifications. Users can quickly view important information without unlocking their phones. Meanwhile, O+ Connect makes file sharing between OPPO and Apple devices much easier. This allows users to transfer files without extra apps or complicated steps.
ColorOS 16 also introduces several tools that help users stay organized and create content more easily. The update can automatically arrange apps and home screen layouts based on categories, colors, or previous setups, reducing the time spent on manual organization. For travelers, the menu translation feature makes it easier to understand restaurant menus with helpful visual references. The update adds motion collage creation without requiring extra apps. It also improves document scanning for easier storage and sharing.
ColorOS 16 Focuses on More Personalized Experiences
With ColorOS 16, OPPO is focusing on delivering a faster, more convenient user experience. Mind Pilot serves as a built-in assistant that brings useful information into a single interface, reducing the need to switch between apps. The update also introduces features that help users manage conversations, tasks, and multiple activities more easily. Enhanced personalization options make it simpler to customize the device according to individual preferences. The update is being released across eligible Find X9, Find X8, Reno15, and Reno14 smartphones.
Workers can pause the all-seeing eye when they need to “check something personal.”
Chesnot/Getty Images
Meta is making some minor concessions in its extremely dystopian plan to track employees’ mouse clicks and keystrokes in the name of AI training. The company has reportedly made some changes to the controversial project known internally as the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), according to a report in The Information.
Meta now plans to allow employees to “pause” the tracking for up to 30 minutes in the event they need to “check something personal,” the company told workers in a memo. A subset of employees will also be able to request to opt out of the program altogether, though this will be limited to remote workers with bandwidth concerns, people who deal with “sensitive” material and those who often work in spaces where they can’t easily keep laptops connected to a power source.
In other words, it sounds like the vast majority of Meta employees will still be required to allow their (nearly) every move to be tracked and recorded in the name of improving Meta’s AI models. However, the company did say that it had improved the software’s battery usage to address some employee complaints, Reutersreports. The company has faced protests from employees over MCI, which was announced last month just before the company laid off 8,000 workers and reshuffled thousands of others into AI-focused roles.
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CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently defended the program to employees, telling them that “watching really smart people do things” is the best way for AI models to improve quickly. “The average intelligence of the people who are at this company is significantly higher than the average set of people that you can get to do tasks,” he said in leaked audio from a company-wide meeting last month.
“None of the data is being used for, like, looking at what people are doing, or surveillance, or performance track[ing], or anything like that. It’s purely just, like, we are using this to feed a very large amount of content into the AI model, so that way it can learn how smart people use computers to accomplish tasks. I think that this is going to be a very big advantage if we can do it.” He also added that if it works, “we’ll probably do more things like it” in the future.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from GeekWire: A team inside Microsoft has been quietly building a platform for devices that run AI agents instead of apps, based on Android instead of Windows, with two working hardware designs so far, and an initial set of big-name companies lined up to run pilots. The platform, dubbed “Project Solara,” is Microsoft’s bet that AI will open up entirely new scenarios for computing — using agents to avoid the constraints of traditional software, and off-the-shelf components to develop new devices quickly and inexpensively. […] The company unveiled Solara on Tuesday at its Build conference in San Francisco, describing it as a new platform that spans from chip to cloud. GeekWire got a behind-the-scenes look at the project during a briefing last week in Redmond, including demos of the first two concept devices based on the platform:
– A desktop hub that sits beside a PC and responds to voice commands, signs users in using facial recognition, and surfaces the day’s most pressing items. With a monitor attached, it becomes a full Windows machine running in the cloud.
– A wearable badge that reimagines the standard employee ID card. A fingerprint button wakes an agent in one press; a single tap records and transcribes a conversation; and a built-in camera lets the agent act on what the user sees.
Microsoft says it won’t ship these devices itself. Instead, it envisions hardware makers and other industry partners turning the reference designs into implementations of their own, each intended for a specific industry, company, or scenario. For example, in one demo shown by the company, the high-tech badge ran on agents designed for use by a health-care worker, including the ability to scan a patient’s QR code, record and transcribe the visit, log vitals, and start a prescription. In another application of the same badge, the built-in camera scanned a brainstorm board with ideas for an office revamp, and made a suggestion: add some plants.
The two devices are a starting point. The bigger opportunity, the company says, is all the tasks and workflows where a PC or phone gets in the way or isn’t practical to use. […] In the coming months, companies including AccuWeather, Best Buy, CVS Health, Levi’s, and Target are expected to begin pilots of devices based on the reference designs. The operating system is the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform, or MDEP, an enterprise version of Android that Microsoft developed for devices including Teams meeting-room hardware. The company says it chose MDEP over Windows deliberately, to run on smaller, lower-power devices while keeping the management and security features IT departments expect: patch and over-the-air updates, device integrity, Microsoft Defender, Intune, and Entra ID sign-in. While the project is still in the early stages, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella encouraged the team to show it at Build sooner than the company would normally show its work in public. “That underscores just how competitive and fast-moving the AI world is right now, but it also illustrates the pace that the new technologies are enabling,” reports GeekWire.
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The report notes that the business model for the platform still needs to be worked out. The devices run on Microsoft’s Azure cloud, but beyond that, “the economics are still taking shape.”
Qualcomm and MediaTek have been chosen as the first chip partners. “The badge runs on a new Qualcomm wearable chip; the desk hub runs on MediaTek IoT silicon,” reports GeekWire. “Both are off-the-shelf, not custom, which is central to how Microsoft plans to keep devices cheap and fast to build.”
Audeze has spent the past few years proving that planar magnetic headphones are not just for audiophiles listening alone in dark rooms, questioning cable choices. The California brand made two very smart pivots with its driver technology: gaming headsets and studio headphones. The Maxwell became one of the most successful premium wireless gaming headsets on the market, and the newer Maxwell 2 has already pushed that platform further with SLAM technology, upgraded wireless performance, and stronger spatial/bass performance.
The studio side has been just as important. Audeze’s Manny Marroquin Signature Series gave the company a credible way into the professional headphone market, taking aim at established studio staples from Beyerdynamic, Sony, and Sennheiser. The MM-500 set the tone, the more affordable MM-100 expanded the audience, and now the new $1,799 Audeze MM-520 arrives as the next step in that lineup. Audeze says the MM-520 builds on the MM-500 foundation while adding its SLAM technology, designed to improve bass accuracy, low-frequency impact, and spatial detail without giving up the midrange neutrality that made the MM-500 useful as a mixing tool.
Manny Marroquin wearing Audeze MM-520 Headphones in the studio.
Developed with 18-time Grammy-winning mix engineer Manny Marroquin, the MM-520 is being positioned as a professional studio headphone for creators who need mixes to translate beyond the control room. That is the entire fight here. Audeze is not just chasing headphone collectors with another planar trophy piece.
It is trying to make its studio models legitimate daily tools for engineers, producers, and creators who have spent decades trusting German and Japanese studio cans. The MM-520 will have to earn that space, but based on the MM-Series track record, Audeze is no longer knocking politely. It has a badge, a warrant, and a very expensive pair of earcups.
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“The MM-520 represents the latest entry in our mission to provide creators and professionals with the ultimate monitoring tool” stated Sankar Thiagasamudram, Audeze CEO. “By adding SLAM™ technology to Manny’s signature series, we’ve created a headphone that delivers even more truth in the low-end while maintaining the signature clarity Audeze is known for“, he added.
Audeze MM-520: SLAM Technology, 90mm Planar Drivers, and Studio-Focused Design
The Audeze MM-520 builds on the MM-Series platform with the addition of Symmetric Linear Acoustic Modulator, or SLAM, technology. Audeze says SLAM is designed to improve bass performance and spatial imaging by managing airflow and pressure inside the earcup. The goal is stronger low-frequency definition and better spatial clarity without moving away from the more neutral midrange balance that defined the MM-500.
The MM-520 uses 90mm planar magnetic drivers with Ultra-Thin Uniforce diaphragms and Fazor phase management, technologies Audeze has used across its planar magnetic headphones to reduce distortion and improve phase behavior. For studio users, the focus is accuracy, low distortion, and consistency during mixing, mastering, and content creation. Audeze also claims the headphone’s high sensitivity and low impedance allow it to be driven from consoles, audio interfaces, and laptops, which should make it more practical for both studio and mobile work.
Comfort has also been addressed with upgraded memory foam earpads designed for longer sessions. The earpads attach magnetically, making replacement easier over time. For a studio headphone, that matters. Pads wear out, sessions run long, and nobody wants a maintenance project between takes.
Why the Audeze MM-500 Became a Serious Studio Headphone Contender
The original Audeze MM-500 was not just a smaller variation of the LCD Series with Manny Marroquin’s name attached. It was designed as a professional studio headphone, with a more durable aluminum and steel build, a hard travel case, and tuning aimed at mixing and mastering rather than audiophile system matching. In our review, we found that the MM-500 belonged in the same conversation as the LCD-X ($1,199), LCD-MX4 ($2,995), and even the flagship LCD-5, but with a very different purpose.
The MM-500 used Audeze’s 90mm planar magnetic driver with Fluxor magnets and a Uniforce diaphragm, and its 18-ohm impedance and 100dB/mW sensitivity made it easier to drive than some of the company’s more demanding models. Sonically, it delivered excellent midrange clarity, strong resolution, very good imaging, and a more neutral balance than the LCD-X, although its bass was more controlled than visceral. We also noted that it responded well to EQ, which matters for studio users making small mix decisions.
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The tradeoffs were real. The MM-500 could sound somewhat thinner than Audeze’s higher-end models, the smaller pad opening could bother listeners with larger ears, and it performed best with a capable high-current amplifier rather than modest portable gear. Still, the conclusion was very positive: for users who needed a serious mastering headphone with excellent build quality, strong accuracy, and studio-focused tuning, the MM-500 was one of the best values in Audeze’s lineup.
The Audeze MM-520 is a focused evolution of the MM-500, built for studio users rather than casual listening. Its most important upgrade is SLAM technology, which Audeze says improves bass performance and spatial imaging while preserving the MM-Series’ neutral midrange balance.
With 18-ohm impedance and 102dB sensitivity, the MM-520 should be easier to drive from interfaces, consoles, and laptops than many planar designs. However, the 100mW minimum power recommendation still suggests better gear will matter.
Potential buyers should note the 555 gram weight and open-back design. This is not ideal for tracking near microphones, travel, or noisy rooms. It is for mixing, mastering, production, and creators who want Audeze planar accuracy with more low-end insight and spatial detail than the MM-500.
Replacing a 3D printer’s extruder with a cutting blade seems like an easy way to do things like vinyl cutting, but you cannot just put on any blade and expect good results. The right type of blade is called a drag knife and it’s designed so that it follows the direction in which you’re cutting. You can get these in dedicated vinyl cutting machines, as well as in the form of attachments for the likes of CNC machines. How to use them with an old Anycubic Mega S FDM printer is demonstrated by [Cocoanix 3D Printing] in a recent video.
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