I’m constantly searching for the next great productivity hack, which is how I landed on an AI experiment that turned out to be great: pairing NotebookLM with Grok. On one side, you have NotebookLM, the research assistant, which is grounded in your sources. On the other hand, there is Grok, the brilliant conversationalist known for its creative range and takes.

OpenAI is teaming up with Broadcom to produce its own computer chips to power its AI data centers. The deal is the latest in a series of partnerships designed to reduce the company’s reliance on Nvidia and secure enough computing power to fuel apps like ChatGPT and Sora and realize its mission to develop superintelligent AI. OpenAI said designing its own chips allows it to “embed what it’s learned from developing frontier models and products directly into the hardware, unlocking new levels of capability and intelligence.” The partnership, announced Monday, will enable OpenAI to develop and deploy “10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators” using its own chips and systems. To put that number in context, the output of a typical nuclear reactor is around one gigawatt. Broadcom is expected to start deploying racks of equipment in the second half of 2026 and the deal should finish by the end of 2029, the announcement said. OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman said the partnership “is a critical step in building the infrastructure needed to unlock AI’s potential and deliver real benefits for people and businesses.”The announcement comes after OpenAI struck a six gigawatt deal with AMD and a 10 gigawatt deal with Nvidia. The infrastructure partnerships have only recently become possible after OpenAI altered its exclusive arrangement with Microsoft for AI compute. Creating custom chips is part of a growing movement within the tech industry as major players like Meta, Google, and Microsoft work to bolster vital supply lines amid soaring demand and reduce their reliance on Nvidia’s AI chips. To date, custom chip projects have not posed a plausible threat to the chipmaking behemoth, though they have handsomely benefited other chipmakers like Broadcom.

California joins a growing group of states with a new internet age-gating law after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed AB 1043, the Digital Age Assurance Act.The law mandates that device operating systems and app stores require users to enter their age or date of birth when setting up a new phone or computer. The new rules are slated to take effect on January 1st, 2027, and for devices set up prior to that date, the OS provider — like Apple or Google — must come up with a way for users to enter their ages by July 1st that year. Negligent violations of the law could cost such companies up to $2,500 per child impacted, and intentional violations could go up to $7,500 per child. The law still shields the companies from liability for “erroneous” age signals as long as they make a good faith effort to comply.“We’ve seen some truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated tech, and we won’t stand by while companies continue without necessary limits and accountability,” Newsom said in a statement on signing the bill, along with a raft of other legislation related to children’s online safety, including a requirement to add warning labels to social media. “We can continue to lead in AI and technology, but we must do it responsibly — protecting our children every step of the way. Our children’s safety is not for sale.”California’s new rules are the latest in a wave of new age assurance laws sweeping the country. Utah became the first state to pass an app store age verification law, followed by Texas and Louisiana. Meta notably broke from tech peers to support such bills, which put the onus on app stores run by Apple and Google, rather than developers like itself. But they were initially pushed by parent advocates who have become some of the leading voices in passing a range of kids safety laws in the US. AB 1043 notably gained support from not only Meta, but also Google, which would likely be regulated under the act. Google senior director of government affairs and public policy Kareem Ghanem called it “one of the most thoughtful approaches we’ve seen thus far to the challenges of keeping kids safe, recognizing that it’s a shared responsibility across the ecosystem,” in a statement included in a press release by the Democratic assemblymember who led the bill, Buffy Wicks. Unlike some of the other laws, the California measure does not require parental consent for app downloads. It also doesn’t force users to upload sensitive documents like government IDs, which caused uproar in the UK over the implementation of the Online Safety Act (OSA).But the bill still lacks some key stakeholder support. Apple has not gotten behind the bill like its peers, and the Motion Picture Association (MPA), which advocates for the film and television industry, urged lawmakers to reject the bill, according to Politico, because it might create confusion among streaming accounts where parents and kids have different profiles. Wicks told Politico she’d work to fine-tune outstanding concerns with the bill next year.

Dust is one of the biggest performance killers for any PC, not to mention the negative consequences for component lifespan due to elevated temperatures. This makes regular cleaning a key part of PC maintenance. Many users recommend deep-cleaning your PC once in six months or a year, but I haven't done it even once in the three years I've spent with my current PC. It's not that I don't have the time, or that it won't help; I just don't consider it worth the effort. My PC doesn't have any severe dust deposits, and performance hasn't dropped either. Besides, regular upkeep has allowed me to delay a deep clean indefinitely.

The plus symbol in the current logo is still present across Apple’s website. The Apple TV Plus streaming service is being rebranded with a “vibrant new identity,” according to the Cupertino company, and is “now simply Apple TV.” The announcement was briefly mentioned at the bottom of Apple’s latest press release regarding the December 12th streaming debut of F1 The Movie. At the time of writing, no changes have been made to the current Apple TV Plus branding across Apple’s website or press portal.The change is likely to cause some confusion, given that the new name is already used by the Apple TV app that allows users to buy or rent movies, and hardware like the Apple TV 4K. Even the wording on Apple’s own announcement highlights the muddled branding, saying that F1 is available to purchase on Apple TV “ahead of its global streaming debut on Apple TV,” and that “Apple TV is available on the Apple TV app” on devices like… you got it, Apple TV.Apple hasn’t shared any other details about the new branding for its streaming service, so it’s unclear if it will be introducing an updated logo, or finding other ways to distinguish it from existing products. We’ve asked Apple if any changes will be made to the Apple TV app and Apple TV hardware, and will update if we hear back.

After a brutal few months, Tesla sales are finally picking up thanks to expiring federal EV tax credits. But while customers are snatching up Model 3s and Ys, they are increasingly turning up their noses at the newest addition to Tesla’s lineup: the Cybertruck. Tesla only sold 5,385 Cybertrucks in the third quarter, down 63 percent compared to the same period in 2024, when the automaker delivered over 14,000. The company has sold a little more than 16,000 Cybertrucks so far in 2025 — a far cry from the 250,000 that Elon Musk once predicted would be sold annually. Tesla is now expected to deliver around 20,000 Cybertrucks this year, a steep drop from the estimated 50,000 sold in 2024. Tesla only sold 5,385 Cybertrucks in the third quarter, down 63 percent compared to the same period in 2024.The new data was published by Kelley Blue Book, and reported by Business Insider. Tesla doesn’t break out Cybertruck numbers specifically, instead lumping them in with its two older vehicles, the Model S and Model X, as “other models.”The third quarter was an otherwise banger for EV sales, with a total of 438,487 units sold. That’s up 40.7 percent from the previous quarter and higher by 29.6 percent year over year. Shoppers rushed to snatch up available EVs before the expiration of the $7,500 tax credit on September 30th. Sales are expected to drop dramatically in the fourth quarter — which could make the Cybertruck’s situation even worse. Other electric trucks haven’t fared as poorly as the Cybertruck. The Rivian R1T is up 13 percent this quarter year over year, while the Ford F-150 Lightning is up 39.7 percent, and GMC’s Hummer EV has increased sales 21.9 percent and Sierra EV by over 771 percent. And then there was the news that the families of two young people killed in a fiery Cybertruck crash are suing Tesla over faulty door handles they claim impeded their loved ones’ escape. Things have gotten so dire for the Cybertruck that Elon Musk has resorted to selling them to himself. As Electrek reports, Tesla has been delivering unsold Cybertrucks to Musk’s private companies, SpaceX and xAI. The trucks that are going to SpaceX are intended to replace the company’s fleet of internal-combustion engine vehicles, according to the site.

Slack is testing an update for Slackbot that transforms it into an AI assistant. Presently, it operates as a tool for delivering reminders and notifications. With the update, Slackbot can create custom plans tailored to your workspace, sift through a mountain of messages, gather information from a range of Slack channels, and more.“Slackbot today is fairly rudimentary,” Rob Seaman, Slack’s senior vice president of enterprise product, tells The Verge. “But what we’ve done is we’ve actually rebuilt it from the ground up as a personalized AI companion.”As part of the pilot, Slackbot will appear as an icon next to the search bar at the top of the workspace. Clicking into it will open a DM-like panel on the right side of the screen where you can enter prompts like “What are my priorities for today?” or “Find the latest updates on a project.” The new Slackbot will draw from your conversations, files, and workspace to provide personalized assistance.In a demo seen by The Verge, Slack showed how the AI-upgraded Slackbot can perform more complex tasks, such as organizing a product’s launch plan inside a Canvas by gathering information across different Slack channels, as well as help create a social media campaign using a brand’s tone. But what seems even more helpful is the new Slackbot’s ability to search through a workspace using natural language. That means if you’re looking for a document but can’t nail down the specific keyword it was attached to, you can ask Slackbot something like “Find me the document that Jay shared in our last meeting.” It can also tap into Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar to coordinate and schedule meetings with colleagues. This adds to the other AI-powered features Slack has integrated into the platform, which can already summarize threads and channels as well as decode company jargon. “We’ll keep putting those little touches there where they make sense, to save users a click,” Seaman said when asked about the future of these features. Slackbot’s existing features — like its automated messages or custom functions in response to commands — will remain available as well.Companies can choose to opt out of using an AI Slackbot, but individuals in the workspace can’t. Slack’s AI features operate through Amazon Web Services’ virtual private cloud, “meaning that no data leaves the firewall, no data is used in the training of the models at all,” according to Seaman.The upgraded Slackbot is already available for 70,000 employees at Salesforce (Slack’s parent company), and now the company is testing it with other customers as well. It plans to introduce the new feature to everyone at the end of the year.

EcoFlow’s Delta Pro Ultra X inverter unit stacked on top of two expansion batteries, and plugged into a Smart Home Panel 3. | Image: EcoFlow EcoFlow just announced its latest “most powerful” and “easy-to-install” whole-home battery backup system. It’s called the Delta Pro Ultra X because when you’ve already launched the superlative-laced Delta Pro Ultra in 2024, the only thing left is to add a variable to the name.Perhaps that X stands for 60 percent, which is the increase in power output over its predecessor. The Delta Pro Ultra X is capable of 12kW of continuous output, now scaling up to 36kW when three inverters are used in parallel. That’s enough to power a large central A/C system, induction oven, or EV charger. Battery capacity scales from 12kWh up to a massive 180kWh. For context, the average US home consumes about 29.2kWh per day, according to the US Energy Information Administration. So, maxing out a Delta Pro Ultra X could power an entire home for about six days, or weeks if you’re only powering critical devices after having EcoFlow’s electrical panel professionally installed.The Delta Pro Ultra X works with EcoFlow’s third-generation Smart Home Panel. The 200 amp panel can be installed as a main panel or subpanel to monitor and control up to 32 circuits. That way you can easily shut off non-essential loads during a blackout. It supports Time-of-Use to automatically charge and discharge the battery based on real-time pricing and forecasts in the region, and works with third-party gas generators, solar panels, and EV chargers.And like its predecessor, the Delta Pro Ultra X is modular. That means you can scale the installation over time, easily transport it to a new home, or even take an inverter and battery with you to power a holiday home or RV for the summer. EcoFlow is also leaning into the ease of installation in the US, touting its 425 certified installer partners, across almost every state. “The Delta Pro Ultra X system can be installed in under seven days from scheduling, with just one day needed for the on-site setup by EcoFlow-certified electricians,” says the company in a press release.A Delta Pro Ultra X bundle — featuring the inverter unit and two expansion batteries — costs $7,999. The bundle increases to $10,899 if you also want the Smart Home Panel 3, which can be purchased separately for $2,999.

EagleEye includes “helmet-native hardware" designed for the battlefield. Anduril, the military tech company founded by Oculus creator Palmer Luckey, has announced the first hardware to come out of its recent partnership with Meta: EagleEye, an AI-powered mixed-reality (MR) system designed to be built into soldiers’ helmets.The modular hardware is a “family of systems,” according to Anduril’s announcement, including a heads-up display, spatial audio, and radio frequency detection. It can display mission briefings and orders, overlay maps and other information during combat, and control drones and military robotics.“We don’t want to give service members a new tool—we’re giving them a new teammate,” says Luckey. “The idea of an AI partner embedded in your display has been imagined for decades. EagleEye is the first time it’s real.”Anduril, which also manufactures border control tech, lethal drones, and military aircraft, has been developing EagleEye since its inception, and already provides software for the Army’s existing MR goggles, based on Microsoft’s HoloLens hardware. Its partnership with Meta was announced this May, and the company told TechCrunch at the time that the collaboration was to develop EagleEye. It’s a reunion of sorts for Luckey and Mark Zuckerberg, after Meta purchased Luckey’s then-start-up Oculus in 2014 and fired the founder three years later. “I am glad to be working with Meta once again,” Luckey said in a blog post at the time. “My mission has long been to turn warfighters into technomancers, and the products we are building with Meta do just that.”

Ads in Google search results are getting a more prominent label, and a way to hide them if you’re not interested. Handy! The thing is, you still have to look at them first.Currently, Google labels paid results on search pages individually with a “sponsored” tag on each one. This change groups them all into a collapsable section at the top of the page with a single, larger label that remains in view as you scroll. At the bottom of the section you’ll see a button to hide sponsored results, so you’ll have to scroll by them first. Tap the button to hide them and they’ll remain collapsed under that sponsored heading; tapping again to show sponsored results unfurls them. Google says the update is rolling out now on both desktop and mobile. Over the years, Google has made its paid search results look more and more like organic results, with plenty of backlash along the way. The company shifted from labeling paid results as “ads” to “sponsored” around 2020. A cynical person might think that sounds friendlier to a generation of people accustomed to influencer sponcon. The company calls this latest update an effort to “make navigation even easier,” which, I guess. Wouldn’t it make navigation easier if I could hide sponsored results before I’ve scrolled past them? I think so! But there’s no way Google would jeopardize its bread and butter business like that.

A bill attempting to regulate the ever-growing industry of companion AI chatbots is now law in California, as of October 13th.California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 243, billed as “first-in-the-nation AI chatbot safeguards” by state senator Anthony Padilla. The new law requires that companion chatbot developers implement new safeguards — for instance, “if a reasonable person interacting with a companion chatbot would be misled to believe that the person is interacting with a human,” then the new law requires the chatbot maker to “issue a clear and conspicuous notification” that the product is strictly AI and not human. Starting next year, the legislation would require some companion chatbot operators to make annual reports to the Office of Suicide Prevention about safeguards they’ve put in place “to detect, remove, and respond to instances of suicidal ideation by users,” and the Office would need to post such data on its website. “Emerging technology like chatbots and social media can inspire, educate, and connect – but without real guardrails, technology can also exploit, mislead, and endanger our kids,” Newsom said in a statement on signing the bill, along with several other pieces of legislation aimed at improving online safety for children, including new age-gating requirements for hardware. “We can continue to lead in AI and technology, but we must do it responsibly — protecting our children every step of the way. Our children’s safety is not for sale.”The news comes after Governor Newsom officially signed Senate Bill 53, the landmark AI transparency bill that divided AI companies and made headlines for months, into law in California. 

Agentic browsers are the latest trend in the AI world, and honestly, I’m all for it. I’ve never been a fan of companies shoehorning AI into every possible feature, but my stance is simple: if a feature is genuinely useful and actually makes a difference, I’m going to use it.