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Unihertz’s Titan 2 Elite Arrives Just as Physical Keyboards Refuse to Fade Away

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Unihertz Titan 2 Elite Launch
Unihertz plans to debut the new Titan 2 Elite on Kickstarter early next month, and by all accounts, it will be a natural evolution of the company’s previous Titan handsets, although one that has managed to reduce the entire thing down into a much more pocket-friendly container. You’ll still get that characteristic QWERTY keyboard that reminds you of the good old days of BlackBerry phones; after all, some people still prefer the experience of pressing actual buttons to swiping at a glass screen.



On the front, we have a 4.03-inch AMOLED display that runs at a smooth 120 Hertz. That’s far clearer and smoother than the LCD screens in earlier Titans. For the time being, we only have two color options: a standard black finish and a more eye-catching orange variety. The overall design is fairly elegant, with impressively low bezels and a small punch hole cutout for the front-facing camera.


Unihertz Titan 2 The Latest 5G QWERTY Physical Keyboard 5G Smartphone Android 15 Dual Screen 5050mAh…
  • ⭐【Compatible with T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T only in USA】 Verizon Users: Activate the SIM Card with another Verizon-certified phone first, then…
  • ⭐【Global 5G Unlocked】Titan 2 supports major frequencies and bands globally. This means it’ll work with most of the network carriers, so you…
  • ⭐【Android 15】The latest Android 15 OS improves your productivity while safeguarding your sensitive data, all while providing greater usability…

Physical keyboards, like as those seen in the Titan line, are what sets Unihertz apart, and the Elite 2 maintains the same four row QWERTY layout, which is ideal for typing out emails, chats, or notes without relying on on-screen functions. Touch-sensitive buttons on the keyboard will allow you to use a variety of useful motions and custom shortcuts, which is really cool.


Under the hood, it’s very comparable to the existing Titan 2, with a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor that can perform typical tasks with ease, as well as 5G connectivity, so you’re ready for almost anything. When combined with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, the device should be able to handle multitasking, apps, and all of your media storage with ease. Battery life is also expected to be good, presumably about 5,000 mAh, though specific data will have to wait until the actual launch.

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The Elite’s camera setup is straightforward, with a basic dual-lens system that includes a 50MP main sensor for primary images and several auxiliary lenses for wide-angle or depth effects. Not exactly cutting-edge technology, but it should be more than adequate for the occasional quick snap or video call. It will ship with Android 16 out of the box, and Unihertz has committed to keeping it updated to Android 20, as well as security patches until 2031. That’s some fairly excellent long-term support, which is all too rare in devices that typically slip off the radar after a few of years at most.

The Elite 2 will be launched on Kickstarter first, similar to previous Titan efforts that were favorably received by keyboard fans. As for pricing, we’ll have to wait and see. The basic Titan 2 is around $400, so the Elite may be roughly the same, or somewhat more for all the enhancements.

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Hackers can now track your car's location through tire pressure sensors

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The device in many automobiles that warns drivers when their tire pressure is low transmits the data in unencrypted cleartext and carries a unique identifier for each vehicle. Researchers from IMEDA Networks and several European universities recently discovered that relatively inexpensive wireless devices can track Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)…
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Alaska could be the next state to crack down on AI-generated CSAM and restrict kids’ social media use

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Alaska’s House of Representatives unanimously passed HB47, a bill that imposes sweeping limits on when and how minors use social media apps, along with bans on generating or distributing harmful deepfakes of children.

The bill’s original form was focused on prohibiting the possession and distribution of sexually explicit images of children using AI, but Alaska lawmakers decided to add amendments that would impose social media restrictions. The proposed limitations include a statewide curfew on using social media between 10:30 PM and 6:30 AM, banning “addictive design features” and requiring social media platforms to verify user ages and get parental consent if they are minors.

While the House bill saw 39 votes in favor and zero against, the amendments offered some hints at potential upcoming revisions. Before the bill went to a vote, some of the House representatives expressed concern about adding such broad rules on social media without consulting the companies behind them first.

The bill still has to make its way through the Alaska State Senate, which already has presented a companion bill, and the governor. Alaska is following the footsteps of many other states, and the House even modeled its social media amendments in the HB47 bill after Utah. While Utah was the first to propose social media restrictions for kids, it was later met with a preliminary injunction.

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Alphabet-owned robotics software company Intrinsic joins Google

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The move comes amid Google’s strategy to move further into the physical AI space.

Intrinsic, an Alphabet-owned software and AI company, is joining Google. The platform, which was established in 2021 as one of Alphabet’s ‘other bets’ under the ‘moonshots’ research and development segment X Development, builds AI models and software designed to make industrial robots more accessible. 

In joining Google, Intrinsic will continue to operate as a distinct entity, however, it will work closely with Google DeepMind and will tap into Google’s Gemini AI models and cloud services. Thus far, Alphabet has declined to share information regarding funding or the purchase price.

Commenting on the news, Wendy Tan White, the CEO of Intrinsic said: “The Intrinsic team has been working for years to enable access to intelligent robotics through a democratised platform, so more people can build and benefit from robotics applications. 

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“Combined with Google’s incredible AI and infrastructure, we’re going to unlock the promise of physical AI for a much broader set of manufacturing businesses and developers. This will fundamentally shift production, from its economics to operations and enable truly advanced manufacturing.”

Hiroshi Lockheimer, the chief product officer of Other Bets, added: “At Google, we see the immense opportunity in bridging the gap between the digital and physical world, that is also true for intelligent robotics in industries like manufacturing and logistics. We’re excited to welcome the Intrinsic team to Google, so we can bring breakthrough AI to more businesses and industries, at scale.”

In other Alphabet news, Alphabet and Google were in hot water earlier this month as both were at the centre of a new antitrust complaint filed by the European Publishers Council with the European Commission on 10 February. 

The complaint alleged that Google and Alphabet are abusing their dominant position in general search services via the use of AI overviews and AI mode embedded within Google Search.

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Have You Ever Used A Tick Stick?

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Picture this: you have an irregular opening you need to fabricate a piece to fill. Maybe it’s the stonework of a fireplace; maybe it’s the curved bulkhead of a ship. How do you get that shape? The most “Hackaday” answer would be to 3D scan the area, create a CAD model based on the point cloud, and route the shape with CNC. Of course, none of those were options for the entirety of human history. So how do you do it if you don’t have such high-tech toys? With a stick, as [Essential Craftsman] takes great pains to show us in the video below.

It’s not just any stick, of course. Call it a “tick stick”, a “speil stick”, or a “joggle stick” — whatever you call it, it’s just an irregularly shaped piece of wood. The irregular shape is key to the whole process. How you use it is simple: get some kind of storyboard — cardboard, MDF, whatever — that fits inside your irregular void. Thanks to the magic of the stick, it need not fit flush to the edges of the hole. You put the tick stick on the storyboard, press the pointy end against a reference point on the side of the hole, and trace the stick. The irregular shape means you’re going to be able to get that reference point back exactly later. Number the outline you just made, and rinse and repeat until you’ve got a single-plane “point cloud” made of tick stick outlines.

Your storyboard is probably going to look mighty confusing, but that’s what the numbers are for. Bring your storyboard and your tick stick onto the workbench and whatever you want to cut out– plywood, cardboard, 1/4″ steel armor plate, you name it–and simply repeat the process. Put the tick stick inside outline #1 and mark where the pointy end lands on the material. Then do it again for the other outlines, reproducing the points you measured on the original piece. After that, it’s just a game of ‘connect the dots’ and cutting with whatever methodology works for your substrate. A sharp knife will work for cardboard, but you’ll probably want something more substantial for steel plate.

It’s not often you’re going to need the tick stick– the [Craftsman] reports only needing it a few times over the course of a decades-long career, but when you need it, there’s not much else that will do the job. Well, unless you have a 3D scanner handy, that is.

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This LED Strip Clock Aims To Make Your Next One Easier, Too

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At first glance, it may look like [Rybitski]’s 7-segment RGB LED clock is something that’s been done before, but look past the beautiful mounting. It’s not just stylishly framed; the back end is just as attentively executed. It’s got a built-in web UI, MQTT automation, so Home Assistant integration is a snap, and allows remote OTA updates, so software changes don’t require taking the thing down and plugging in a cable.

A slick web interface allows configuring which LEDs belong to which segments without code changes.

Pixel Clock is code for the Wemos D1 Mini microcontroller board and WS2812/WS2812B RGB LED strips, but it’s made to be flexible enough to support different implementations. For example, altering which LEDs in the strip belong to which segments on which digits can be configured entirely from the web interface. Naturally, one could build an LED strip clock using the same layout [Rybitski] did and require no changes at all — but it’s very nice to see that different wiring layouts are supported without needing to edit any code. There’s even automatic brightness adjustment if one adds an LDR (light-dependent resistor), which is a nice touch.

[Rybitski]’s enclosure is CNC-routed MDF, framed and given a marble finish. The number segments are capped with laser-cut frosted white acrylic, which serve as both diffuser for the LEDs and an attractive fit with the marble finish at the front. MDF is dense and opaque enough that no additional baffles or louvers are needed between segments.

With this code and an RGB LED strip, you can implement your own 7-segment clock any way you like, focusing on an artful presentation instead of re-inventing the wheel in software. Of course, there’s nothing that says one must use 7-segment numerals; some say your LED clock need not display numbers at all.

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This 6K monitor delivers extreme resolution, multitasking tools, and full connectivity for home and office users without blowing the budget

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  • JapanNext 31.5-inch 6K panel increases pixel density for sharper interface elements
  • 60Hz refresh and 8ms response focus on productivity usage
  • 500 nit brightness and 1500:1 contrast suit standard office lighting

JapanNext has released the JN-IPS326K-HSPC9, a 31.5-inch IPS monitor with a 6016 x 3384 resolution aimed primarily at home and office users.

This resolution exceeds the 3840 x 2160 pixel count commonly associated with 4K displays, resulting in a pixel pitch of 0.1159mm on this panel size.

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I’m a robot vacuum expert, and these are the 8 biggest misconceptions people have

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I’ve been reviewing robot vacuums professionally for a couple of years now, and as a result I’ve been drawn into conversations about these handy home helpers on a regular basis. Everyone I’ve met outside of a work context seems intrigued by the idea of a robot vacuum, but there are some misconceptions about what they can and can’t do. In many cases, people are underestimating modern robot vacuums’ capabilities.

So let’s set the record straight. Here are eight common robot vacuum misunderstandings, and some information on what you can actually expect…

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Sam Altman Answers Questions on X.com About Pentagon Deal, Threats to Anthropic

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Saturday afternoon Sam Altman announced he’d start answering questions on X.com about OpenAI’s work with America’s Department of War — and all the developments over the past few days. (After that department’s negotions had failed with Anthropic, they announced they’d stop using Anthropic’s technology and threatened to designate it a “Supply-Chain Risk to National Security“. Then they’d reached a deal for OpenAI’s technology — though Altman says it includes OpenAI’s own similar prohibitions against using their products for domestic mass surveillance and requiring “human responsibility” for the use of force in autonomous weapon systems.)

Altman said Saturday that enforcing that “Supply-Chain Risk” designation on Anthropic “would be very bad for our industry and our country, and obviously their company. We said [that] to the Department of War before and after. We said that part of the reason we were willing to do this quickly was in the hopes of de-esclation…. We should all care very much about the precedent… To say it very clearly: I think this is a very bad decision from the Department of War and I hope they reverse it. If we take heat for strongly criticizing it, so be it.”

Altman also said that for a long time, OpenAI was planning to do “non-classified work only,” but this week found the Department of War “flexible on what we needed…”

Sam Altman: The reason for rushing is an attempt to de-escalate the situation. I think the current path things are on is dangerous for Anthropic, healthy competition, and the U.S. We negotiated to make sure similar terms would be offered to all other AI labs.

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I know what it’s like to feel backed into a corner, and I think it’s worth some empathy to the Department of War. They are… a very dedicated group of people with, as I mentioned, an extremely important mission. I cannot imagine doing their work. Our industry tells them “The technology we are building is going to be the high order bit in geopolitical conflict. China is rushing ahead. You are very behind.” And then we say “But we won’t help you, and we think you are kind of evil.” I don’t think I’d react great in that situation. I do not believe unelected leaders of private companies should have as much power as our democratically elected government. But I do think we need to help them.

Question: Are you worried at all about the potential for things to go really south during a possible dispute over what’s legal or not later on and be deemed a supply chain risk…?

Sam Altman: Yes, I am. If we have to take on that fight we will, but it clearly exposes us to some risk. I am still very hopeful this is going to get resolved, and part of why we wanted to act fast was to help increase the chances of that…

Question: Why the rush to sign the deal ? Obviously the optics don’t look great.

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Sam Altman: It was definitely rushed, and the optics don’t look good. We really wanted to de-escalate things, and we thought the deal on offer was good.

If we are right and this does lead to a de-escalation between the Department of War and the industry, we will look like geniuses, and a company that took on a lot of pain to do things to help the industry. If not, we will continue to be characterized as as rushed and uncareful. I don’t where it’s going to land, but I have already seen promising signs. I think a good relationship between the government and the companies developing this technology is critical over the next couple of years…

Question: What was the core difference why you think the Department of War accepted OpenAI but not Anthropic?

Sam Altman: […] We believe in a layered approach to safety–building a safety stack, deploying FDEs [embedded Forward Deployed Engineers] and having our safety and alignment researcher involved, deploying via cloud, working directly with the Department of War. Anthropic seemed more focused on specific prohibitions in the contract, rather than citing applicable laws, which we felt comfortable with. We feel that it it’s very important to build safe system, and although documents are also important, I’d clearly rather rely on technical safeguards if I only had to pick one…

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I think Anthropic may have wanted more operational control than we did…

Question: Were the terms that you accepted the same ones Anthropic rejected?

Sam Altman: No, we had some different ones. But our terms would now be available to them (and others) if they wanted.

Question: Will you turn off the tool if they violate the rules?

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Sam Altman: Yes, we will turn it off in that very unlikely event, but we believe the U.S. government is an institution that does its best to follow law and policy. What we won’t do is turn it off because we disagree with a particular (legal military) decision. We trust their authority.

Questions were also answered by OpenAI’s head of National Security Partnerships (who at one point posted that they’d managed the White House response to the Snowden disclosures and helped write the post-Snowden policies constraining surveillance during the Obama years.) And they stressed that with OpenAI’s deal with Department of War, “We control how we train the models and what types of requests the models refuse.”

Question: Are employees allowed to opt out of working on Department of War-related projects?

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Answer: We won’t ask employees to support Department of War-related projects if they don’t want to.

Question: How much is the deal worth?

Answer: It’s a few million $, completely inconsequential compared to our $20B+ in revenue, and definitely not worth the cost of a PR blowup. We’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do for the country, at great cost to ourselves, not because of revenue impact…

Question: Can you explicitly state which specific technical safeguard OpenAI has that allowed you to sign what Anthropic called a ‘threat to democratic values’?

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Answer: We think the deal we made has more guardrails than any previous agreement for classified AI deployments, including Anthropic’s. Other AI labs (including Anthropic) have reduced or removed their safety guardrails and relied primarily on usage policies as their primary safeguards in national security deployments. Usage policies, on their own, are not a guarantee of anything. Any responsible deployment of AI in classified environments should involve layered safeguards including a prudent safety stack, limits on deployment architecture, and the direct involvement of AI experts in consequential AI use cases. These are the terms we negotiated in our contract.
They also detailed OpenAI’s position on LinkedIn:

Deployment architecture matters more than contract language. Our contract limits our deployment to cloud API. Autonomous systems require inference at the edge. By limiting our deployment to cloud API, we can ensure that our models cannot be integrated directly into weapons systems, sensors, or other operational hardware…

Instead of hoping contract language will be enough, our contract allows us to embed forward deployed engineers, commits to giving us visibility into how models are being used, and we have the ability to iterate on safety safeguards over time. If our team sees that our models aren’t refusing queries they should, or there’s more operational risk than we expected, our contract allows us to make modifications at our discretion. This gives us far more influence over outcomes (and insight into possible abuse) than a static contract provision ever could.

U.S. law already constrains the worst outcomes. We accepted the “all lawful uses” language proposed by the Department, but required them to define the laws that constrained them on surveillance and autonomy directly in the contract. And because laws can change, having this codified in the contract protects against changes in law or policy that we can’t anticipate.

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The Best MicroSD Cards for Your Camera, Switch, and More

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Shopping for a MicroSD card can be a little daunting. There are a ton of numbers to consider, a huge number of brands producing cards with similar-sounding features and names, and words like Pro, Extreme, and Express getting thrown around everywhere.

To make a long story short, unless you’re shooting a ton of photos and videos, and doing so even semiprofessionally where losing those shots might be detrimental to your professional reputation, you’re fine to buy a MicroSD card from any company whose name you’ve heard before. I prefer cards from PNY, SanDisk, and Lexar. Keep an eye out for the “U” symbol with a 3 inside, or a “V30” on the card for the best balance of speed and price. There are two exceptions to that suggestion:

If you’re shooting on a high-end camera, you should consider a V60 MicroSD card, if you can find one for a reasonable price. Some cameras have extra video features you can enable with a faster MicroSD card, so check your manual for more info on whether you need to upgrade.

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If you’re buying for a Nintendo Switch 2, you’ll need an unfortunately more expensive MicroSD Express card. While you can transfer images and videos from your Switch 2 with most regular MicroSD cards, you’ll need an Express version to use it for actually running games.

Capacity

How much storage you need will largely depend on your needs, but there are a few things to consider when debating between 128 GB and 1 TB. The first is that MicroSD cards are tiny, and having to swap them out on the road can be a risky proposition. Costs tend to go up exponentially for 1 TB and 2 TB cards, but the gap between 256 GB and 512 GB isn’t that large, so I recommend sizing up a bit.

The other factor is that storage sizes are also separated into different standards, so you’ll want to make sure your device actually supports that larger card. Cards that are 64 GB are higher are technically “SDXC” for Extended Capacity, and are currently the most common type, and you should be able to use them in most modern situations.

Speed

If you’re interested in learning more about MicroSD speeds, we have a write-up with a full explanation of the different speeds and how they interact, but I’ll give you the quick rundown here too.

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Each MicroSD card will have its actual minimum sequential write speed indicated by a letter and number on the card. The number indicates the speed in MB/s, with the letter representing the generation. A C10, U1, and V10 are all essentially the same speed, just written differently, so you’re likely to see multiple symbols printed on each card. I’d recommend checking out the SD Association’s page on speeds with a handy chart showing the full comparison.

In practice, you have to go out of your way to find a MicroSD card that’s slower than V30/U3 at most retailers, though you may find them included with some electronics that don’t require anything more substantial.

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Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers for March 1 #994

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Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.


Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. As always, the purple category is extra tricky. Today, you’ll need to find hidden words inside of four other words to complete that group. (Or solve the other three, and let the purple group just solve itself.) Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

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Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

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

Yellow group hint: Yum!

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Green group hint: Working hard.

Blue group hint: Taking time off.

Purple group hint: Hidden yummy words.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Little bite.

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Green group: Construction equipment.

Blue group: Vacation emoji.

Purple group: Things you don’t eat that end in foods.

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

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What are today’s Connections answers?

completed NYT Connections puzzle for March 1, 2026

The completed NYT Connections puzzle for March 1, 2026.

NYT/Screenshot by CNET

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is little bite. The four answers are canapé, finger food, hors d’oeuvre and tapa.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is construction equipment. The four answers are hard hat, ladder, nail gun and tool belt.

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The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is vacation emoji. The four answers are airplane, luggage, palm tree and smiling face with sunglasses.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is things you don’t eat that end in foods. The four answers are copypasta, Johannesburger, knuckle sandwich and licorice pizza.

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