For a brief moment, the internet genuinely believed Google had finally decided to kill off the original Chromecast, after multiple Gen 1 users reported casting failures and apps refusing to connect over the past few days. Honestly, considering the tiny streaming dongle is now more than a decade old, nobody would have been completely shocked, but thankfully, Google now says the issue has been resolved, and the aging Chromecast survives another day.

Google says your old Chromecast is still safe for now

According to updates shared on Reddit, the company says the issue impacting casting functionality has now been resolved, though some users are still reporting lingering problems after factory resets.

The situation immediately reminded longtime Chromecast users of last year’s infamous “Untrusted Device” outage, where Chromecast 2nd Gen and Chromecast Audio devices suddenly stopped functioning because of expired security certificates. Back then, Google had to rush out a server-side fix while also begging users not to factory reset their devices during troubleshooting.

And honestly, the panic this week makes sense. Google officially ended software and security updates for the first-generation Chromecast back in 2023, while the entire Chromecast lineup itself was discontinued in 2024 in favor of the newer Google TV Streamer hardware.

The original Chromecast surviving this long is already kind of ridiculous

Let’s be real, the original Chromecast was never supposed to last this long in the first place. Google launched the tiny $35 streamer back in 2013, and somehow people are still using it daily in 2026 despite the thing having less processing power than a modern smartwatch.

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That said, the original Chromecast did quietly changed the streaming industry forever. Before it arrived, turning a regular TV into a smart streaming screen was either expensive or painfully clunky, and Google’s tiny $35 dongle helped normalize cheap streaming devices long before Fire TV sticks and smart TV platforms took over. Honestly, the fact that people still panicked this hard over a decade-old Chromecast outage says everything about how successful that little gadget ended up being.

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine.

For the past few decades, researchers have understood that quantum computers should eventually be able to crack the widely used codes that secure much of the digital world. To protect against this fate, they’ve spent years developing new codes that appear to be safe from future safecrackers armed with quantum computers.

At the same time, they’ve also devised ingenious ways to use the rules of quantum mechanics to keep communications secure. But quantum mechanics, just like the “classical” mechanics that preceded it, is just a theory of nature. What if it eventually gets superseded by a fuller theory, just as quantum mechanics supplanted Newtonian physics a century ago? Will these quantum communication techniques still be secure in a world where there’s an even more fundamental set of rules?

“In terms of these cryptographic protocols, it’s good to be paranoid,” said Ravishankar Ramanathan, a quantum information theorist at the University of Hong Kong who works on quantum cryptography. “Let’s try to minimize the assumptions behind the protocol. Let’s suppose that at some future date people realize that quantum mechanics is not the ultimate theory of nature.”

It’s a possibility worth considering. The difficulty of outstanding problems—like reconciling quantum mechanics and gravity—suggests that a post-quantum theory of nature might involve something quite unexpected.

To guard against the possibility that their protocols are based on faulty assumptions, some quantum cryptographers search for even more basic principles to build upon. Instead of starting from quantum mechanics, they dig deeper, down to the very concept of causality.

A Subtle Sabotage

One way to understand developments in this area is to consider quantum key distribution, which involves taking advantage of the rules of quantum mechanics to pass along a key—something that can be used to decode a secret message—in a way that cannot be covertly tampered with. Quantum key distribution makes use of quantum entanglement, which locks two particles together through one of their properties, like spin. Quantum entanglement contains something of a trip wire. If anyone tries to mess with the entanglement—as they would if they tried to steal the key—the intrusion will destroy the entanglement, revealing the sabotage. This is because of a fundamental quantum mechanical principle called the “monogamy of entanglement.”

But what if this principle no longer held? In such a case, if the people passing the message did not have complete control of their devices, an outsider could potentially subtly change the particles’ entanglement, disrupting the communication without leaving a trace.

This process is called quantum jamming, and efforts to understand it have surged in recent years.

For many scientists, jamming is appealing because it can help them better understand both quantum mechanics and the nature of cause and effect. They wonder: Are there deep principles that forbid jamming, that make it impossible? Or, if no principle forbids it, could jamming occur in the real world?

Jim the Jammer

Michał Eckstein, a theoretical physicist at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, likes to illustrate jamming with a story. Its protagonists are the classic characters from explanations of quantum mechanics, Alice and Bob.

“Suppose you have Alice and Bob, and they meet a magician, Jim the Jammer,” Eckstein said. “The magician says, ‘I have two balls; one is white, and one is black.’”

The balls stand in for a pair of entangled particles. If two particles are entangled, they have a property that is linked in some way—if you measure the first particle and find that its spin is up, for example, the other particle’s spin will inevitably be down, and vice versa. This holds true even if the other particle is halfway across the universe. Here the balls are linked such that if one is white, the other will always be black.

Buying a new pair of glasses can be expensive, but if you have frames you love and they’re still in good condition, you might be able to save money by simply replacing the lenses. This is something you can easily do online. I would know, as I’ve replaced lenses in 15 pairs of glasses myself and can confirm that the online lens replacement process is more affordable, easier and faster than you’d think.

Whether you have a new prescription or want to replace scratched lenses, many online lens replacement services let you mail in your glasses with a prepaid label or a shipping kit. Then, they’ll replace the lenses and send them back.

To help you find the best places to buy replacement prescription lenses, I tested different services by ordering midrange lenses, sometimes multiple times. I then evaluated the companies for lens quality, price, user-friendliness and turnaround time.

What’s the best online retailer for replacement prescription lenses overall?

We have Lensabl at the top of our roundup for the best place to buy replacement glasses lenses, thanks to its user-friendly interface and competitive pricing. Qualifying customers can even renew their eyeglass prescriptions online with them.

If you’re looking for fast service, Overnight Glasses is a great pick. I had good experiences with all the other online lens-replacement shops on this list. Note that all of them also sell frames and full prescription eyeglasses and sunglass packages.

Best places to buy replacement lenses for glasses of 2026

AI + ML

Limping Llama model needs a crutch made of surveillance tools

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears so determined to win the AI race that he is willing to sacrifice some employee privacy to make it happen.

In a leaked audio recording published by the worker advocacy group More Perfect Union, Zuckerberg purportedly answered an employee’s question about “device monitoring” with a six-minute monologue in which he said Meta employees are very smart and to win the most competitive technology race in history, he would need to collect their keystrokes, mouse clicks, and screenshots to make its own AI measure up to its rivals. 

“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,” Zuckerberg purportedly said during an April 30 meeting in which an employee asked about the “top of mind” issue.  

Meta did not reply to an email from The Register seeking comment and has not confirmed the authenticity of the audio clip, but a company spokesperson confirmed in April that Meta would monitor employees to train AI. Meta’s tracking tool is called Model Capability Initiative, according to reports.

The audio was posted the same day Meta announced 8,000 job cuts. It captured Zuckerberg’s thoughts on the news, first reported by Reuters, that Meta planned to install software on employees’ computers to monitor activity for AI training. More Perfect Union did not reply to an email from The Register seeking comment. 

“So if we’re trying to teach the models coding, for example, then having people internally build tools that or solve tasks that help teach the model how to code, we think, is going to dramatically increase our models’ coding ability faster than what others in the industry have the capability to do, who don’t have thousands and thousands of extremely strong engineers at their company,” he purportedly said in the audio.

“So that’s one example. Another thing that our system needs to be very good at is using computers, so the way that you get a system to be good at using computers is by having it watch really smart people use computers. So that’s basically the essence of what we are trying to do here.”

In one part of the audio, Zuckerberg said the software would not be used to surveil employees’ actions on the job, though he stopped short of saying the data would be anonymized. Rather, he said the purpose was narrowly focused on making its AI work better than competitors. 

“The content is sort of, you know, stripped out in like as much as is possible,” he purportedly said in the leaked audio. “It’s like none of the data has been used for like looking at what people are doing, or surveillance, or performance tracking, or anything like that.” 

That aligns with what a Meta spokesperson told Reuters: that MCI data would not be used for performance assessments. European employees are reportedly exempt from the program because the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation likely prohibits this type of monitoring without explicit consent, according to multiple reports. 

Meta is not the only major technology company turning to its own workforce for AI training data. The Information reported this week that Microsoft and xAI are also leveraging internal employees to generate and refine training datasets. In a similar vein to what Zuckerberg purportedly said, Microsoft, which employs thousands of software engineers, reportedly views its workforce as a competitive advantage for improving GitHub Copilot.

In the recording, Zuckerberg purportedly said Meta settled on using its own employees over contractors because they were smarter. 

“One basic insight and hypothesis that we have is that a lot of data generation across the field is done by these like contract companies,” Zuckerberg purportedly said. “(B)ut in general, 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 if you’re working through these contractors.” 

However, the contractor pipeline is also being watched. 

In January 2026, Wired reported that OpenAI’s data vendor, Handshake AI, began asking freelance contractors to upload real work products from past and current jobs, including contracts, financial models, presentations, and code repositories. OpenAI provided a tool to help contractors strip confidential information before uploading, but intellectual property lawyers warned the approach carries significant legal risk.

Zuckerberg said this sort of surveillance and the difficult conversations around it are the cost of competing at the frontier of AI. 

“How do we navigate running the company through what is just this incredibly dynamic period?” he said. “There’s lots of things that people would like more certainty on than we have.” ®

The AI-generated version of ‘Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico’ was on display at AIPAD’s The Photography show.

At first glance, it looks like a regular USB cable. But a new Kickstarter project called Hacknect is trying to turn something as ordinary as a charging cable into a surprisingly powerful hacking and automation device. The product is being pitched toward ethical hackers, cybersecurity researchers, developers, and automation enthusiasts. Hidden inside the cable is a tiny Wi-Fi-enabled computer powered by an ESP32-S3 chip, allowing it to do far more than simply charge a phone or transfer files.

According to the Kickstarter campaign, Hacknect can remotely execute scripts, automate tasks, emulate keyboard inputs, and even store hidden files through a built-in microSD card slot. Users can reportedly control the cable wirelessly through a browser dashboard or smartphone.

In simple terms, once plugged into a computer, the cable can pretend to be a keyboard and automatically type commands or launch scripts. That’s why many people are comparing it to tools like the USB Rubber Ducky and O.MG Cable, which are already popular in cybersecurity circles for penetration testing and security training.

Why is a cable like this turning heads

The interesting part is not just what Hacknect can do – it’s how invisible it looks while doing it.

Cybersecurity tools used to look like developer hardware or bulky gadgets. Now, they’re increasingly being disguised as everyday objects. A charging cable that secretly contains a wireless hacking platform feels like something out of a spy movie, which is exactly why projects like this grab attention so quickly online.

For professionals, there are legitimate uses. Security teams often use devices like these to test whether employees can detect malicious USB devices or to simulate real-world cyberattacks during training exercises. Automation enthusiasts can also use them for repetitive workflows, scripting, or remote device management.

But there’s also an uncomfortable side to this conversation.

Because the cable looks completely normal, critics argue that the same features could potentially be abused if used irresponsibly. A device capable of remotely injecting commands into a computer naturally raises concerns about unauthorized access and physical cybersecurity threats.

What makes devices like Hacknect dangerous is how easily they blend into everyday life. Most people would never suspect that a normal-looking charging cable could secretly execute commands, inject keystrokes, or remotely communicate over Wi-Fi. That creates a major trust problem around physical device security.

In the wrong hands, tools like this could potentially be used to steal data, install malicious software, or gain unauthorized access to systems without immediately raising suspicion. Since the cable appears completely ordinary, victims may plug it into personal laptops, office systems, or shared computers without thinking twice. Cybersecurity experts have long warned that physical hardware attacks are becoming harder to detect – and products like this show why.

The bigger trend behind it

Hacknect also reflects a larger shift happening in cybersecurity right now. As software defenses become stronger, researchers and attackers alike are paying more attention to hardware-based attack methods.

At the same time, Western companies are increasingly paying attention to the hardware innovation happening in smaller developer communities and independent tech projects. Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter have become a launchpad for niche cybersecurity gadgets that might once have stayed hidden inside underground forums or specialist circles.

That said, products like this still sit in a gray area. The creators heavily market Hacknect as an ethical hacking and educational tool, but like most cybersecurity hardware, the intent behind how it’s used matters far more than the gadget itself.

And while it may look like an ordinary cable sitting on a desk, Hacknect is a reminder that modern cybersecurity threats are starting to hide in plain sight.

SolarSquare, an Indian rooftop solar startup that helps households and housing societies adopt solar power, is in advanced talks to raise fresh capital after securing India’s largest solar venture investment in December 2024, TechCrunch has learned.

B Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners are set to co-lead the Series C round, which could value SolarSquare at between $450 million and $500 million and bring in $55 million to $60 million in new investment, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. That would represent more than a doubling of SolarSquare’s valuation in roughly 18 months — a sign of how rapidly investor conviction is building around India’s residential solar market.

Lightspeed Venture Partners previously led SolarSquare’s $40 million Series B round at around a $200 million post-money valuation in December 2024. This time, according to a source, it’s investing through its growth fund, which has backed names such as Razorpay — India’s leading digital payments platform — and Zepto, the fast-delivery startup.

Existing investor Elevation Capital is also expected to participate in the deal, which is currently in advanced stages and is expected to close next month. The terms could still change as the financing has not yet been finalized. SolarSquare has raised $61.1 million in equity financing to date, per the startup data platform Tracxn.

India has set a target of achieving 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030, with solar expected to contribute more than half of that total. The country became the world’s third-largest solar power producer in 2025, trailing only China and the U.S. Its cumulative installed solar capacity has surged from about 3 GW in 2014 to more than 150 GW in 2026, aided partly by government incentives and subsidy schemes aimed at accelerating rooftop solar adoption.

Mumbai-headquartered SolarSquare, founded in 2015, is positioning itself as a full-stack residential solar platform in a market that remains highly fragmented, dominated by small local installers and dealer networks tied to component manufacturers such as Tata Power, Waaree Energies, Luminous Power Technologies, and Exide Industries. The startup designs, installs, and maintains rooftop solar systems for homes, housing societies (the apartment complexes and gated communities common across urban India), and enterprises, and has installed more than 150 megawatts of solar capacity with a presence across 29 cities in nine states, per its website.

SolarSquare has powered nearly 50,000 homes and around 400 housing societies, according to a source. The startup has also deployed rooftop solar systems for large enterprises including Swiggy, Zepto, and iD Fresh Food.

Residential customers and housing societies now account for a majority of SolarSquare’s business, according to people familiar with the startup’s operations, as the startup has increasingly scaled back lower-margin industrial rooftop solar projects in recent years.

The startup has crossed an annualized revenue run rate of more than ₹10 billion (around $104 million) across homes and housing societies combined, according to a source familiar with the matter. It also aims to reach 200 megawatts in its residential solar portfolio this year, the source added.

SolarSquare declined to comment. B Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Elevation Capital did not respond to requests for comment.

Moon’s Compass Collection has swollen with the addition of two new models in the 491 network player and 461 power amp.

Here’s the lowdown on specs and features for both.

The Moon 491 is a “fully featured network player, preamplifier, DAC, phono stage and headphone amplifier”, so suffice to say it’s a talented bit of kit that’s been built to serve as the hub “of a high-performance audio system”.

Combining digital and analogue connectivity, the 491 has been devised to deliver low-noise performance all the while maintaining the clarity, refinement and musicality that Moon’s products have become know for.

As usual the MiND 2 streaming platform serves at the core of its streaming performance, incorporating support for Roon Ready, UPnP streaming, AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth. Virtually every major streaming service under the sun is supported, a list that includes Qobuz, Tidal, Deezer and Spotify, available through the Moon MiND Controller app (iOS and Android). The ‘Connect’ versions of Qobuz, Tidal and Spotify are also supported for connecting straight to hi-fi kit.

The phono stage supports both MM and MC cartridges, and can be adjusted to allow precise cartridge matching for “optimised vinyl playback”.

The proprietary Moon Hybrid power (MHP) supply is said to improve channel separation, reduce crosstalk and enhance current delivery, in particular with low-impedance loudspeakers.

The Moon 461 power amplifier can act as a partner for the 491 network player, with its “substantual output capability” that amounts to 150W per channel, low distortion and stable performance across a “wide range” of loudspeaker loads, Moon says this is able to preserve signal integrity “with transparency, dynamic expression and composure”.

Serving as the 461’s heart is Moon’s proprietary MDCA (Moon Distortion-Cancelling Amplifier) architecture that was initially developed for its North Collection. It can significantly reduce distortion and imrpove linearity, which Moon says results in “faithful reproduction and exceptional clarirty and precision”.

Available in the UK from July onwards, the Moon 491 is priced at £5950 and the Moon 461 at £4550.