As strong and light as carbon fiber-epoxy composites are, the same can’t always be said of carbon-fiber reinforced 3D printer filaments. Of those that do improve over stock filament, the best performance comes from long, continuous strands, but the printers that can embed these are quite expensive. [MagicLAG], looking for a cheaper method, made something even stronger: prints reinforced with subsurface carbon-fiber cloth.

They tried a few other methods first, including pausing the print and manually embedding carbon fiber strands, ironing strands into the finished part, and ironing carbon fiber cloth into the bottom layer. For the main method, though, he printed the test part in three pieces: a core part, and two outer shell layers. Between the core and the shell is a small gap, into which carbon-fiber cloth can be epoxied. Under good conditions (not using quick-setting epoxy), this mostly preserves the outer surface and dimensional accuracy.

To test the various strengthening methods, [MagicLAG] printed hooks and tensioned them on a load cell until failure. None of the methods using single-stranded fiber showed any improvement; the fiber simply bent and let the surrounding plastic break. As a control for the epidermal cloth parts, they printed shells and cores and epoxied them together. These controls performed better than the standard parts, but not nearly as well as the carbon-fiber cloth composites. With only a few layers of cloth, these more than tripled the yield strength of the basic hook.

If you’d rather use a carbon-fiber filament, the type of plastic matters; carbon fiber makes PLA, at least, weaker. Regardless of form, some caution is called for whenever handling carbon fiber, since it seems to show some asbestos-like effects.

Google has finally addressed one of the biggest frustrations for Fitbit users on iPhone.

The latest Google Health 5.05 update allows health and fitness data collected by Fitbit devices to sync directly with Apple’s Health app. This eliminates a long-standing limitation that previously only allowed information to flow in one direction.

Until now, iPhone users could import data from Apple Health, HealthKit and Apple Watch into Google Health. However, they couldn’t send Fitbit-recorded information back to Apple’s platform without relying on third-party apps, a restriction that dates back more than a decade. This happened after Fitbit chose not to support Apple’s HealthKit framework when it launched in 2014.

With version 5.05, supported Fitbit data including workouts, step counts, sleep tracking and other health metrics can now be shared with Apple Health automatically. The feature is available through the Partner apps section within the Google Health app. Here users can connect Apple Health and decide exactly which categories of data they want to sync.

Rent the Runway’s Mark Walsh discusses the tech ecosystem in Galway and how he found himself in the role of director of engineering.

It was “half accidental and half strategic, with the accidental being the bigger half, as my kids would say”, joked Mark Walsh, when asked what led him to become the director of engineering at Rent the Runway’s Galway location.  

“On the accidental side, I began my tech career in a start-up in Spiddal in Galway, and spent a decade working as a software engineer,” he said. “Then came the advent of DevOps and a wave of emerging technologies beyond Java, which pulled me into different areas, cloud, solution architecture and even product management-type roles. 

“People management arrived completely by accident about six years ago, not as any great career strategy, and it has evolved from there into what I do today.”

Prior to joining the organisation he was commuting to a different role, four hours there and back, which he explained took a toll on his family life. Moreover, he had always planned on returning to Galway.

“I wanted to return to Galway. Crucially though, I was focused on a destination, not just another job. Rent the Runway was somewhere I already knew through former colleagues, it had the kind of opportunities that genuinely motivated me and it felt like somewhere I could add something meaningful rather than just fill a seat.”

What is the current engineering landscape like in Ireland?

I have to be honest and say I can’t speak adequately for the tech landscape much beyond Galway, as that would be overstepping what I actually see day to day. What I will say is that from a Galway perspective, the picture is more positive than the broader headlines might suggest.

There is a real depth of engineering talent here, and a sense that you don’t need to be in the capital city to work on interesting, complex problems at scale. The mix of homegrown companies maturing alongside international organisations that have put down genuine roots has created a stronger local ecosystem than people sometimes give it credit for. It is not without its challenges, but the opportunity feels real.

What does a typical day look like, if there is such a thing?

There genuinely isn’t one, which I think is part of what keeps it interesting. As a US company, our natural overlap with our US team members falls in the afternoon Irish time, so that tends to be where the collaborative work lands: cross-team meetings, planning sessions, working through anything that needs real-time conversation across time zones. Mornings are generally freer, which I try to protect for focused work, Galway-based one-to-ones, or anything that benefits from uninterrupted thinking time.

The nature of the work itself shifts depending on where we are in the cycle. We run quarterly planning and within that there are shorter-term operational necessities running alongside medium-term delivery work and longer horizon strategic efforts. As a platform team with an SRE mindset, that means BAU maintenance such as managing upgrades across our existing portfolio, future-looking initiatives addressing our strategic vision such as platform migrations and responding to emergent support or security issues as they arise.

What is the current focus of your work and its potential long-term impact?

The intent is always the long-term health of Rent the Runway as a platform and a business. In practical terms that means a few things running in parallel: reducing operational overhead and complexity where it has built up over time, managing risk and compliance thoughtfully and continuing to advance our existing capabilities while staying open to where new opportunities might emerge.

What I find genuinely motivating about engineering at this level is that the decisions you make about architecture, tooling and how teams are structured have a compounding effect. Good calls made now create headroom for the business to move faster later. Poor ones create drag that someone, usually a future version of your team, has to unpick.

So while the immediate focus is always on what needs to happen this quarter, the framing I try to bring to it is, what are we making easier or harder for ourselves two or three years from now?

How does the field of research impact your role at Rent the Runway?

When I hear the word research I tend to map it back to engineering practice as a whole. My teams are engaged in continuous research, whether we label it that way or not, because the technology landscape never stops moving.

The old saying that today’s problem was yesterday’s solution is as true now as it has ever been, arguably more so. My teams are always engaged in some form of discovery work: reducing technical uncertainty, evaluating emerging approaches, making sure that what we build is robust, secure and fit for purpose beyond the immediate delivery. That process of deliberate inquiry is baked into how our engineering teams operate, even when it doesn’t carry the formal title of research.

Have you any advice for professionals considering a research-oriented role in the engineering space?

My advice is, even if it sounds old-fashioned, given the pace of change right now, don’t abdicate your thinking completely to your tooling.

The engineers and knowledge workers I see navigating uncertainty well are those grounded in the fundamentals, reasoning through complex problems, communicating clearly about risk and sitting with ambiguity rather than rushing to the first solution. Those qualities are always in demand, at least with me.

Staying current matters and I am not suggesting otherwise. But understanding why you are reaching for a particular approach, rather than just something that appears to work, has always been important. Value your judgement and decision-making rigour first, the tools will follow.

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Jon Prosser’s latest Front Page Tech (FPT) lays out the most complete picture yet of what he calls the iPhone Ultra. He presents it as a book-style foldable that arrives this September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, and positions it as the clear premium model of the year. Base iPhone 18 and Air models wait until later, with two color options being offered at launch: black / grey, and white / silver.

Closed, this phone feels completely familiar, somewhat wider than previous iPhones but still fits easily into your pocket, measuring approximately 9 to 9.5 millimeters thick. When you open it up, it’s only 4.5 mm thick, which is significantly thinner than the existing iPhone Air. Prosser claims that the difference will be noticeable the first moment someone picks up both handsets, owing to the titanium build and painstaking engineering that has gone into making the open phone feel as strong as a rock. Many users may even be tempted to forego a case entirely, as Apple proved with the Air by performing a few flashy (but probably not very rigorous) drops.

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In terms of this phone, the hinge receives the most attention, with Prosser revealing that it is constructed on a liquid-metal design that relies on custom 3D-printed pieces and a unique plate that disperses any strain or stress. The crease depth is roughly 0.15 millimeters, so it’s not fully gone, but it’s less obvious in regular use, with the inner display looking practically seamless. This is the same architecture that allows the phone to be so thin while still feeling so robust.

Screen sizes follow a nice pattern, with a compact outer panel and a significantly larger inner one. Expect something around 5.5 inches on the exterior and 7.8 inches on the inside, with a larger aspect ratio and more tablet-like design than a regular phone. When closed, it behaves similarly to any other iPhone, but when opened, it transforms into a tiny tablet that you can still easily carry in one hand. According to Prosser, Apple actively pushed developers at WWDC to stop designing for the same old fixed sizes and orientations, and code strings for fold state and angle degrees are already appearing in iOS 27 builds to match the updated hardware.

Cameras are kept very practical rather than striving for the ‘largest and flashiest’ approach, with a dual setup on the rear consisting of a 48-megapixel main and ultra-wide lens lying on a horizontal plateau reminiscent of the Air. There is no telephoto lens in sight since there just isn’t enough room. When the phone is closed, the front-facing selfie camera handles calls and other functions. Some prototypes have placed the camera underneath the display, allowing it to disappear while the device is open, yet the physical Camera Control button remains, albeit taking up interior space.

Power comes from an A20-series chip paired with a large 12 gigabytes of RAM, which should be sufficient for Apple’s AI tasks. There is also an in-house C2 modem, which enhances efficiency and provides satellite communication. The battery capacity appears to be the highest of any iPhone so yet, built around some high-density cells in the 5,800 milliamp-hour area. Face ID is no longer available because there is no physical space for that hardware in this tiny body, however Touch ID returns in the power button.

Software receives as much attention as hardware. Split screen mode now appears on the large inner screen, and it is a long-awaited feature that makes the larger display more functional than just something to show off; running two programs side by side is the new normal. Everyday operations, such as watching a video while answering messages, no longer require awkward workarounds and instead become second nature.

The price is rumored to be far higher than $2,000, and may even exceed $2500 for those with higher end storage levels, putting the Ultra in a league far above the Pro Max. Apple has not confirmed anything, and has even sued Prosser for some previous leaks he did, but the sheer volume of matching code references, WWDC clues, and all the physical facts he has matching up is keeping the whole story alive.

It’s also highlighting classic titles from the past two and a half decades on Game Pass.

Apple has introduced new beta firmware for AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max, so that developers can continue testing out inbound iOS 27 features.

Apple will be introducing a number of new features for select AirPods models this fall, as part of the iOS 27 and other 27-gen operating system releases. Ahead of that release, it is testing out the features via beta firmware builds.

The new firmware, build 9A5336b, replaces the previous build, 9A5314b, which Apple seeded on July 7. It can be downloaded to the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3, AirPods 4, and AirPods Max 2.

It is intended to be used only by developers, not the general public. A public version is expected within days.

To install the beta, users need to be running on iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, or later releases. There is an option under the AirPods settings interface to enable the firmware installation.

Once enabled, the update itself happens automatically, when you place the AirPods on charge near the host device.

Among the changes users can expect from the AirPods firmware is a new EQ setting in iOS 27. Other changes to make the management of AirPods easier are also anticipated to arrive.

I didn’t expect Samsung to be the one crossing the finish line first here, given how much noise Dolby Vision 2 made when it was announced (September 2025). 

The company has confirmed its next HDR format, and it’s arriving on a popular OTT platform this month, beating Dolby Vision 2 to the punch.  

So what exactly is Samsung launching?

Called HDR10+ Advanced, Samsung’s new HDR format is arriving on Prime Video this month, and the company’s 2026 TV models should support it. The genuinely surprising part for me is that this format only got announced back in November, months after Dolby Vision 2, and Samsung still managed to ship it first. 

Now, Samsung hasn’t said exactly which TV models qualify, or how much Prime Video content we’ll get at launch. However, a promotional image confirms the Amazon series Ride or Die will support it.

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Under the hood, this update bundles six separate upgrades. It includes a brightness boost built for today’s punchier TV panels, genre-specific picture tuning, more precise local dimming for mini-LED sets, and, last but not least, improved color accuracy.

At their core, both formats are chasing the same idea. They’re after smarter, scene-by-scene motion smoothing that handles fast action without slipping into that dreaded “soap opera” look older TVs are known for. 

How does this actually compare to Dolby Vision 2?

Samsung’s version goes by the name Intelligent Motion Smoothing. It’s paired with a gaming-focused mode aimed partly at cloud gaming services. Dolby Vision 2’s version is called Authentic Motion, just so you know. 

The real issue here isn’t about the similarities or the differences, in my opinion. It’s about a chaotic format war breaking out between players in the TV industry. 

Hisense, Philips, and TCL are all lining up behind Dolby Vision 2, perhaps to close the gap with premium brands that often go with proprietary chip-level picture processing and the tiered flexibility (Dolby Vision 2 vs. Dolby Vision 2 Max) that could help them differentiate between value and premium products.

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Peacock and Canal+ have also committed to stream that format once it’s actually ready, as the format needs a software update to enable it. LG, on the other hand, is sitting this fight out entirely. Instead, it’s building its own separate system with Prime Video. 

Samsung avoided Dolby’s licensing fee while shipping a competing format first. That suggests real financial motivation behind the rush.

from the be-careful-what-you-wish-for dept

I don’t know but when your best argument is “we got locked out of our accounts for supporting violent insurrectionists,” maybe it’s time to stop arguing.

But if there’s anything Trump likes, it’s being a plaintiff in a lawsuit. So, that’s exactly what the Trump Organization argued, in hopes of pressuring Capital One into a presumably hefty settlement.

The case centers on roughly 385 accounts tied to the Trump Organization, Eric Trump and a collection of affiliated businesses — including a winery, a bottled-water company and a golf course developer — that banked with Capital One for more than a decade before the accounts were shut down in mid-2021.

In an amended complaint filed earlier in July, the Trump-affiliated companies insisted the closures had nothing to do with financial crime or money-laundering, but everything to do with politics.

The Trump Organization alleges Capital One moved to distance itself from Donald Trump after the Capitol riot and that the bank’s cited anti-money-laundering rationale was invented after the fact to cover for that decision.

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If you need a reason to “distance” your company from persons or organizations, that’s a pretty good reason. If you’ve chosen to align yourself with violent insurrectionists and rely on them for financial support, then it’s pretty much “you’ve made your bed, now please take your business elsewhere.”

But what Capital One is alleging in its response to the Trump Organization’s lawsuit somehow makes the Trump Organization look even worse than it did when it first filed its lawsuit alleging some weird form of political persecution.

According to Capital One’s motion to dismiss [PDF], this had nothing to do with acts that were unsavory (buddying up with violent insurrectionists) and everything to do with stuff that is indisputably illegal, rather than merely unseemly.

The SAC [second amended complaint] concedes that Capital One’s decision to terminate the accounts was expressly permitted by the governing agreement and instead rests on vague allegations of political discrimination that are not supported by any of the documents attached to the SAC. To the contrary, those documents and Plaintiffs’ own allegations make clear that Capital One closed Plaintiffs’ accounts for anti-money laundering (“AML”) reasons. The closures were the result of months of analysis and a careful review by Capital One’s AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance. Capital One never publicized the termination decision nor its confidential internal process giving rise to the closure, and it permitted Plaintiffs several months (and granted several extensions) to find new banking services, which they did.

It wasn’t because you guys wanted to destroy democracy! It’s because you seemed like you were engaged in actual crimes!

In any event, as Trump and his Trumpians surely know, private companies can terminate accounts at a moment’s notice for any reason they choose to do so. That’s the bargain consumers agree to when utilizing corporate services. Just because it happens to you doesn’t make it immediately actionable. If you don’t like the terms of the agreement, don’t agree to it. Take your business elsewhere. Otherwise, deal with it and take your business elsewhere when you’re told this particular place of business is no longer an option.

But let’s not lose sight of the main thing here. The Trump Organization walked into court insisting it was the victim of “political discrimination.” Now, the organization is facing the considerable possibility of limping out of court looking like the grifters we’ve always assumed them to be.

And claiming Capital One had a legal obligation to tell the Trump Organization it was being investigated for suspected money laundering does nothing but allow Capital One to permanently link the organization to money-laundering allegations on the public record. No one suspected of criminal activity is due a head’s up, whether it’s from a private entity or a government agency.

As Capital One points out, no matter whose name is on the letterhead, the institution’s obligations during this money laundering investigation were to the government, not to the aggrieved party hoping to turn this into a paycheck.

Plaintiffs’ argument that Capital One should have proceeded with the contractually-permitted termination process differently and given Plaintiffs an opportunity to explain suspicious transactions fails for the additional reason that Capital One had no duty to do so. As a federally regulated financial institution, Capital One is subject to the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and its implementing regulations, under which a bank’s BSA-mandated compliance obligations are “owed to the United States and not private bank customers.”

The Trump Organization now has multiple self-inflicted gunshot wounds in its feet. It could stop the bleeding by conceding defeat and agreeing to the dismissal. But if history has proven anything, it’s that Trump never knows when to stop. And while this isn’t Trump himself suing, it’s safe to assume the Trump Organization won’t accept defeat. But it probably should. If it insists on keeping this case alive, there’s a good chance some more rounds of discovery will be necessary. And when that happens, all the details supporting Capital One’s money laundering investigation are going to come out. I, for one, hope this litigation survives this motion to dismiss.

Filed Under: corruption, debanking, donald trump, insurrection, january 6, money laundering, political violence, trump administration

Companies: capital one, trump organization