We’re six weeks into 2026 and there have been three major camera launches so far; the Leica Q3 Monochrom, Ricoh GR IV Monochrome and Fujifilm Instax Mini Evo Cinema.

That’s two pricey black-and-white-only compact cameras and a Super 8-style instant camera…that also shoots video.

from the inevitable-outcomes dept

U.S. media mergers always follow the same trajectory. Pre-merger, executives promise all manner of amazing synergies and deal benefits. Post-merger, not only do those benefits generally never arrive, the debt from the acquisition spree usually results in significant layoffs, lower quality product, and higher rates for consumers. The Time Warner Discovery disaster was the poster child for this phenomenon.

After paying Trump his $16 million bribe, CBS and Skydance (Trump’s friends in the Ellison family) recently finalized their $8 billion merger. It didn’t take long for the company to announce that the only way it could pay for the debt of the pointless deal is by firing a whole bunch of people in “painful” fashion.

Despite a lot of promises last summer by Paramount executives that the layoffs would come in one fell swoop, CBS News boss Bari Weiss has implemented staggered cuts as she converts what was left of CBS into yet another safe space for right wing autocrats and their dwindling cult.

Apparently “a lot of people” at CBS News are taking Weiss up on a January town hall promise of buyouts for those insufficiently deferential to Larry Ellison’s ambitions:

“They include at least six producers out of the show’s total of roughly 20, according to another source, who added: “Seems like people are jumping ship.”

“It’s a lot of people,” a CBS insider said.”

In her head, I really do think Weiss believes she’s reshaping CBS News into a better news organization. In reality, Weiss was specifically hired by billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison to convert CBS into yet another autocrat-friendly safe space for the perpetually aggrieved.

Weiss’ problem to date has been that she’s not just bad at management, judgment, and journalism, she’s bad at ratings-grabbing agitprop — the real reason she was hired by billionaires in the first place.

Weiss’ inaugural “town hall” with opportunistic right wing grifter Erika Kirk was a ratings dud, her new nightly news broadcast has been an error-prone hot mess, and her murder of a 60 Minutes story about Trump concentration camps — and the network’s decision to air a story lying about the ICE murder of Nicole Good — spurred a revolt among the CBS journalists who hadn’t quit yet.

Weiss’ weird ego trip is playing out alongside the old traditional failures of mindless media consolidation, the last refuge of executives who are all out of original ideas, but desperately want to goose quarterly earnings, generate temporary tax cuts, and get “savvy dealmaker” stamped on their LinkedIn profile.

The thing is, merger related promises both before and after the deal are always meaningless. The layoffs are driven by debt from acquisitions, and the new CBS has been making plenty of those, including a new $7.7 billion deal to acquire the exclusive rights to MMA fights, a costly campaign to steal Warner Brothers, and that $150 million deal to acquire Bari Weiss’ lazy contrarian propaganda blog.

Larry Ellison clearly wants to hoover up what’s left of corporate media (including CBS, CNN, HBO) — and fuse it with his co-ownership of TikTok to create a sort of Hungary-esque autocratic state media. The only thing saving us from this outcome to date is the fact that absolutely nobody in this weird assortment of nepobabies and brunchlords appears to have absolutely any idea what they’re doing.

Filed Under: bari weiss, cbs news, consolidation, journalism, larry ellison, layoffs, media, mergers

Companies: cbs, paramount, skydance

Very few consumer A/V brands reach a century in operation. Luxman has already passed that mark, and the D-100 SACD/CD Player and L-100 Integrated Amplifier are not presented as anniversary products, but as current production models that define the company’s direction going forward.

With these components, Luxman is positioning itself clearly within the high-end segment. Rather than competing on volume or feature density like Denon or Yamaha, Luxman continues to operate in a smaller category alongside manufacturers such as McIntosh, Pass Labs, and Mark Levinson. The emphasis is on long term ownership, conservative engineering, and product lifespans measured in years rather than release cycles.

Integrated amplifiers have been part of Luxman’s core lineup since the 1960s, and the L-100 CENTENNIAL Integrated Amplifier makes that continuity explicit. The recent wave of new products is not driven by short update cycles or marketing pressure, but by development timelines extended during the pandemic.

Luxman has always felt aspirational in the best possible way. The gear is built to an exceptionally high standard, it sounds better than 98 percent of what is out there, and it manages to do so without requiring the sale of a child or a second mortgage. This is not part of the new wave of affordable high end audio and no one is pretending otherwise. The D-100 and L-100 are eye watering in terms of price, but they would land on any serious endgame short list without hesitation. Luxman lasts. It has soul. And yes, it still has VU meters that look unapologetically sexy because great engineering should never be afraid to look the part.

L-100 Integrated Amplifier Defines Luxman’s Vision for Its Second Century

The Luxman L-100 Integrated Amplifier sits at the center of the company’s 100 Centennial Series and makes its priorities clear immediately. Rated at 20 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 40 watts into 4 ohms, the numbers are modest on paper and entirely deliberate in execution. This is a pure Class A integrated amplifier, not Class A/B and certainly not Class D. Every watt is delivered in continuous Class A operation, with the output devices conducting at all times. That choice favors linearity and tonal density over headline power, and it comes with the usual side effect. Yes, the amplifier runs warm. That is the cost of admission. JCP&L will be thrilled. Your accountant? Not so much.

The output stage uses a triple parallel bipolar push pull configuration supported by a substantial power supply built around a custom EI core transformer and eight large filter capacitors totaling 80,000 microfarads. This foundation provides the current stability required for Class A operation and helps explain the L-100’s damping factor of 300, which is unusually high for a low power Class A design. Luxman has focused on maintaining control and composure rather than chasing wattage for its own sake.

At the circuit level, the L-100 employs version 1.1 of Luxman’s LIFES architecture, an evolution of the company’s long running Only Distortion Negative Feedback concept first introduced in 1999. Instead of applying global feedback indiscriminately, LIFES concentrates on detecting and correcting distortion components only.

By using multiple field effect transistors in parallel at the input of the error detection circuit, Luxman aims to reduce distortion and improve linearity while preserving the tonal weight and harmonic structure the brand is known for. The result is extremely low measured distortion without the flattened dynamics often associated with heavy feedback designs.

Volume control is handled by the LECUA1000 attenuator, an 88 step electronically controlled system integrated directly into the amplifier circuitry. Shortened signal paths and discrete buffer stages derived from Luxman’s flagship preamplifiers are used to minimize degradation and maintain drive capability.

Connectivity is comprehensive and practical, with balanced and unbalanced line inputs, a high quality MM/MC phono stage, pre out and main in connections, dual speaker terminals for bi-wiring, and both 6.3 mm and 4.4 mm headphone outputs. The balanced headphone output uses independent grounds for left and right channels to improve separation and imaging.

Measured performance is consistent with Luxman’s design goals. Total harmonic distortion is specified at 0.005 percent or less at 1 kHz into 8 ohms, rising modestly to 0.015 percent across the full audio band. Frequency response extends from 20 Hz to 100 kHz on line inputs, while signal to noise ratios reach 98 dB for line level sources. Power consumption is substantial at 260 watts under operation, which again comes with the territory when running true Class A.

Physically, the L-100 weighs 25.4kg (56 lbs) and looks exactly like what it is. A serious integrated amplifier built to last. The illuminated VU meters, brushed aluminum front panel, and restrained proportions are unmistakably Luxman, but the execution is modern rather than nostalgic. Meter illumination and the central LED volume display can be switched off if desired, though few owners are likely to do so.

The L-100 is not chasing trends, efficiency charts, or lifestyle friendly form factors. It is a deliberately uncompromising Class A integrated amplifier that prioritizes operating purity, long term ownership, and musical density over convenience. It will get warm. It will not be cheap. And it sounds like Luxman doing exactly what Luxman has always done best. If that does not move the needle for you, this was never your amplifier anyway.

D-100 SACD CD Player Reminds the Streaming Crowd Why Discs Still Matter

The Luxman D-100 SACD/CD Player serves as the digital counterpoint to the L-100 integrated amplifier and replaces the long-running D-10X. This is not a light refresh or a cosmetic update. Luxman has rebuilt its disc playback platform from the ground up, making it clear that optical media remains a core part of its second century rather than a legacy side project.

At the heart of the redesign is Luxman’s proprietary LxDTM-i disc transport, short for Disc Transport Mechanism improved. The mechanism is fully integrated into the main chassis and reinforced with thick aluminum side frames, a steel top plate, and an aluminum base to improve rigidity and suppress vibration. Mechanical stability remains a defining Luxman priority and the D-100 doubles down on that philosophy with cast-iron isolation feet.

Digital conversion is handled by ROHM BD34302EKV DACs in a true dual-mono configuration. File playback support is extensive, with PCM up to 768 kHz at 32-bit and DSD up to 22.5 MHz via USB, alongside native SACD and CD playback. Luxman has also focused heavily on clocking and noise management, employing a large quartz oscillator and ultra-low phase-noise circuitry to stabilize timing across both disc and file-based playback paths. Assuming it follows the same functional model as the D-10X, the D-100 can also operate as an external DAC for a high-end streamer.

The analog output stage mirrors the amplifier’s approach, using the latest LIFES 1.1 circuit in a fully balanced configuration feeding both RCA and XLR outputs. A large monochrome OLED display replaces the fluorescent panel used on earlier Luxman players, modernizing usability without turning the front panel into a glowing tablet. Luxman has not yet confirmed whether coaxial or optical digital outputs will be included as they were on the outgoing model, and the company has remained quiet on several secondary specifications.

Physically, the D-100 is very similar in size and mass to the D-10X, but weighs 3kg (6.6 lbs) more at nearly 50 lbs. The D-100 measures 440mm (17.3″) wide by 154mm (6.1″) high by 420mm (16.5″) deep.

The D-100 exists because Luxman believes physical media still deserves reference-level hardware. It is unapologetically heavy, mechanically serious, and engineered for listeners who still care about discs and are willing to pay for the privilege. Streaming may be convenient. Luxman is clearly arguing that convenience is not the same thing as satisfaction.

The Bottom Line

Luxman’s D-100 and L-100 are not casual upgrades, they are statement pieces built for listeners who still care about engineering, longevity, and physical media. The L-100 is a pure Class A integrated that prioritizes operating purity over bragging rights, pairing Luxman’s LIFES 1.1 feedback architecture with the LECUA1000 88 step attenuator, a serious power supply, and full featured connectivity including balanced inputs and MM MC phono.

The D-100 is its matching digital counterweight, a ground up disc platform with the LxDTM-i transport, dual mono ROHM conversion, fully balanced analog output using LIFES 1.1, and the kind of mechanical overbuild that makes most modern disc players feel like toys.

Who is this for. The buyer who wants an endgame two box front end, values build quality and service life, and still spins discs while using a streamer as a transport when it suits the mood. Not for bargain hunters, not for minimalists, and definitely not for anyone who thinks a phone and a soundbar counts as a system.

Price & Availability

The products will begin shipping in North America in late May or June 2026, with their first public showing expected at AXPONA in April.

North American retail pricing is set at $11,995 for the L-100 and $18,995 for the D-100. Nothing about this pairing suggests affordable. It suggests buy it once, keep it for 20 years, and stop shopping.

For more information: luxman.com

Related Reading:

I’m not asking Samsung to reinvent the smartphone every year. If we’re being honest, it feels like the era of genuinely “new” phones is behind us – aside from occasional outliers like the Clicks Communicator and Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold – and that’s fine.

What I do want, however, is for Samsung to stop treating genuinely useful, quality-of-life upgrades like optional extras. 

And if the latest Galaxy S26 chatter is on the money, Samsung is about to make a very avoidable mistake by launching yet another flagship lineup without built-in magnets for proper Qi2 wireless charging.

Yes, faster wireless charging is nice, but magnetic wireless charging is the bit that actually changes how you use your phone day-to-day. It’s something I’ve experienced not only on the iPhone side of things but also with this year’s Google Pixel 10 range, and it made using the phones so much easier. 

Leaks suggest a very familiar smartphone collection

The big S26 leak doing the rounds reads like the most Samsung thing imaginable: a spreadsheet of small, sensible upgrades that won’t exactly cause much excitement. 

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If it’s accurate, we’re looking at the expected Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra trio, with no S25 Edge successor in sight. The chipset split is said to return, with UK and EU users getting the Exynos 2600 while US users get the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, paired with 12GB of RAM across the board.

The regular Galaxy S26 is getting a slightly larger 6.3-inch screen, while the 6.7-inch S26 Plus and 6.9-inch S26 Ultra remain unchanged. That slightly larger screen means the S26 can pack a slightly larger 4300mAh cell, but the S26 Plus and Ultra’s cells remain the same as those of the S25 equivalents. 

There are a few minor camera improvements, but expect the same trio of 50MP main, 10MP telephoto and 12MP ultrawide sensors on the S26 and S26 Plus. The Ultra is said to get an improved f/1.4 aperture on its main lens, along with tweaked zoom and ultrawide lenses, but the resolutions similarly stay the same across the board.

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Now, don’t get me wrong; none of that is explicitly bad. It’s just very familiar, for what feels like the millionth year in a row. And when a range feels this iterative, the smaller usability wins matter even more – which brings us nicely to charging.

Full Qi2 was rumoured, but it’s not looking good

For a while, it sounded like the Galaxy S26 range might finally go all-in on the “proper” version of Qi2 – you know, the one that works like you’d expect, with magnets inside the phone so accessories snap nicely into place.

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We’ve seen it from multiple generations of iPhone and Google’s Pixel 10 series, including the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, so it should be relatively easy for Samsung to do the same, right?

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Unfortunately, the latest chatter around certification suggests otherwise. The Galaxy S26 models are indeed tipped to support the Qi 2.2.1 standard, which is a genuine step forward, but the listings make no mention of the Magnetic Power Profile marker you’d see if magnets are actually inside the phone.

And, without that, you end up right back where we are now; if you want a neat snap-on experience with chargers, mounts and accessories, you’ll need to stick the phone in a magnetic case first.

That’s not exactly the end of the world, but it is annoying. And it’s exactly the sort of annoyance that shouldn’t exist on a phone you’re paying proper flagship money for – especially when the competition on both sides of the iPhone/Android divide are beginning to offer it on similarly-priced handsets. 

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Magnets make accessories much easier to use

The best thing about magnets in a phone is the sheer lack of drama it brings. 

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Wireless charging without magnets is the kind of ‘convenience’ that somehow still needs managing. You put the phone down, you shuffle it a bit, you glance for the charging icon and you hope that your cat doesn’t nudge it off-centre when you don’t notice. With magnetic alignment, however, you drop it on and it lands where it should. Every. Single. Time. 

Then there’s everything else to consider. Car mounts become something you can use one-handed without wrestling with a fiddly spring-loaded clamp, battery packs stop sliding around like a bar of soap in your pocket and wallet add-ons ensure you’ve always got your phone and cash in one place. 

It’s also great for content creators, with magnetic tripod mounts that make setting up shots a doddle, and you can even get dedicated camera grips to turn your phone into something more like a classic digital camera. 

Essentially, it turns accessories into things you actually want to use, rather than things you tolerate because you’ve already bought them. 

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Yes, a case can give you most of that – but “most of that” is doing a lot of work there. A case adds cost and bulk and forces you to shop around for the right one, which means Samsung still hasn’t really delivered on the feature. 

Still getting faster Qi2 charging, but it’s not enough

Let me be clear; faster wireless charging would still be a welcome change to the Galaxy S26 collection.

If the S26 range does indeed land with Qi 2.2.1 support and boosted wireless charging rates – leaks suggest 15W on the S26 and S26 Plus, with 25W on the Ultra – that’s a change you’ll likely notice, especially if you’re coming from an older model of Galaxy S.

However, I’d argue that speed isn’t the frustration that Qi2 is meant to fix; it’s alignment.

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If Samsung improves the numbers but still makes you buy a magnetic case to get the ‘it just works’ experience, it’ll feel like a feature implemented with one hand tied behind its back. 

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The worst part is that it’ll be easy for Samsung to market it as Qi2 charging, while a lot of people will discover the catch after they’ve bought a charger or mount and wonder why their £1000/$1000 phone doesn’t behave quite like they expected. 

If the Galaxy S26 range really is shaping up to be yet another year of sensible, incremental upgrades, then Samsung needs at least one change that feels properly modern in daily use. 

Built-in magnets are that change. Not flashy, not headline-grabbing, but the kind of smart, practical improvement that you’ll genuinely appreciate in day-to-day use. 

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Much has changed for Jenny Wang, the founder who’s bringing “Clueless” fashion tech to life. 

Last year, her company, Alta, raised $11 million in a round led by Menlo Ventures to let users create digital closets and try on their clothes with their own virtual avatars. It’s a tech once seen only in movies, most notably in “Clueless,” where Cher styles and plans her outfits using computer technology. Alta is similar to that, allowing users to plan and style outfits using the latest AI innovations.

A slew of big names participated in Atla’s round last year, including models Jasmine Tookes and Karlie Kloss, Anthropic’s VC arm Anthology Fund, and Rent the Runway cofounder Jenny Fleiss. 

TechCrunch caught up with Wang during New York Fashion Week to talk about how the company has expanded since that round.

For starters, the product is officially in the app store; Time and Vogue named it one of the best innovations of last year, and Wang said more than 100 million outfits have been generated on the platform since its launch in 2023.  It has partnerships with Poshmark and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, with more partnerships to be announced soon.

“Alta’s own app also features thousands of brands that users can shop from,” Wang said. 

Right now, the company is focused on building app and website integration experiences for brands, she said, where customers can try on a designer’s clothing using a personalized Alta Avatar. This week, the company unveiled its first integration collaboration, teaming up with Public School, a storied New York City brand. 

“Shoppers can style looks from the new collection on their own Alta avatar,” Wang said. 

She met the Public School team — Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne — through the founder of Poshmak, who is also an angel investor in both companies. 

“Public School designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne had been looking for an AI partner and virtual try-on avatar solution, and Dao-Yi has been an Alta app user himself,” Wang said. 

Public School actually went on hiatus for a few years, with this NYFW marking its grand re-debut. When asked, the founders of the brand said they rediscovered their voices and what they wanted to say.

“We have to look at tech as a partner in the business today,” Chow told TechCrunch, adding, “It’s not 2015 anymore,” so the team wants to take advantage of the latest technological developments. “We want to be thoughtful on how we use tech and AI,” he continued, “not as a design tool but as a tool to extend our storytelling and a tool to interact with the consumer and have them experience the brand even if they can’t do so in person.”

Wang said this is one of the first instances of a designer embedding personal avatar and styling technology into its own website. Near the bottom of Public School’s product page, there is an icon that says Style by Alta. Clicking that takes the customer to Alta for them to then style their avatars and test out how Public School clothing would look on them, should they purchase. 

Users on Alta’s standalone app can also access Public School through Alta’s app. Wang said the goal is for Alta to integrate more experiences like this into other brands and websites, so Alta users can try on clothes on other websites even while outside the Alta app. 

“Right now, a user would have to add a potential purchase into their Alta wishlist, then style outfits and try on their avatar, versus being able to do that directly on the brand website.” (For every site but Public School, that is.) “The goal is to bring their community on a new journey to engage with and shop the brand.” 

Many major fashion brands, like Zara and Balmain, have already experimented with digital avatars. Wang said what makes Alta different here, especially compared to Zara, is that Alta avatars can put on at least 8 items within seconds, whereas Zara avatars can wear only four and often take around two minutes. 

Overall, demand for virtual avatars has increased. Wang considers Alta both still the “Cluless”  technology that it started out with, and a digital avatar business. 

“The consumer Alta app is the ‘Clueless’ closet, while the enterprise Alta experience allows shoppers to style pieces and try the outfits on their pre-existing Alta avatar,” he said. Eventually, Wang said she wants Alta to be the “personal identity layer for the future of consumer AI and shopping.”

For agentic commerce to truly work, she said, “We need a data layer that understands the shopper’s style preferences, such as their closet, past purchases, and their avatar, likeness, and body, which is Alta.”

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition pays homage to the Winter Olympics. The purple category is tough, as always — and today it expects you to hunt out hidden words inside longer words. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Lillehammer is another one.

Green group hint: Great White North.

Blue group hint: Think Chloe Kim.

Purple group hint: Look for a hidden word.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Previous Winter Olympic hosts.

Green group: Canada men’s hockey players.

Blue group: Snowboarding terms.

Purple group: Ends in a piece of winter sports equipment.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is previous Winter Olympic hosts. The four answers are Albertville, Chamonix, Oslo and St. Moritz.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Canada men’s hockey players. The four answers are Celebrini, Crosby, Marner and McDavid.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is snowboarding terms. The four answers are cork, frontside, goofy and McTwist.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends in a piece of winter sports equipment. The four answers are cheapskate, chopstick, Lipinski and milestone.