A solar-powered drone has been lost at sea after a record-breaking flight lasting eight days between late April and early May. The crash also marks the untimely demise of the pioneering aircraft Solar Impulse 2, which previously performed the world’s first solar-powered crossings of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans before becoming an uncrewed test platform for US military missions. The carbon-fiber aircraft could perform such feats of aeronautical endurance while…

Four Australian men have given new meaning to the term “bricked printers.” According to a press release from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force (ABF) today, three men have been sentenced for trying to use five printers to smuggle 22.4 kg (49.4 pounds) of cocaine into Australia. In 2019, Australian news outlets reported that the printers were Xerox brand and that the drugs had a street value…

Microsoft has heard your complaints about Windows 11, and it wants to make things better. That has been the messaging out of Microsoft for most of this year, and the company is also going out of its way to make sure that people know what is being improved and how. One of the goals on Microsoft’s long list was to improve the performance of core Windows components like the Start…

Google took its first swing at laptops with Chromebooks way back in 2011. These web-first laptops have seen success over the years, mostly in enterprise and education. Google insists Chromebooks aren’t going away, but the company’s focus has shifted to something new: Googlebooks. That’s what Google has decided to call the new line of Android-powered laptops, which will begin shipping later this year. If you thought other Google products were…

Linux users have been bitten by yet another vulnerability that gives containers and untrusted users the ability to gain root access, marking the second time in as many weeks that a severe threat has caught defenders off guard. The threat, known as Dirty Frag, allows low-privilege users, including those using virtual machines, to gain root control of servers. Attacks are particularly suitable in shared environments, where a server is used…

Starlink is unceremoniously shutting down a GPS-style feature that most of the Internet satellite provider’s customers probably never realized existed. But that won’t stop broader momentum toward harnessing Starlink’s satellite constellation as a navigation alternative—especially when GPS jamming and spoofing have become more widespread. The Starlink satellite constellation owned by SpaceX is designed to provide communications services first and foremost, rather than pinpointing users’ locations like GPS and other global…

Apple has released version 26.5 of all of its operating systems today: iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS 26.5, watchOS 26.5, tvOS 26.5, visionOS 26.5, and version 26.5 of the HomePod software (whew). None of these are particularly momentous updates, which is pretty normal this late in their lifecycle, but they add a small batch of new features alongside the pile of patches outlined on Apple’s security vulnerabilities page. This is…

Chaos erupted at schools and colleges throughout the US on Thursday as a cyberattack disrupted online learning platform Canvas just as students were due to take final exams. Canvas parent company Instructure said that as of Friday morning, the platform was back online. Instructure said it temporarily took Canvas offline on Thursday after identifying unauthorized activity in its network. The threat actor was the same one responsible for a data…

The Apple Macintosh is more than 40 years old, but it’s still going strong, and its recent success was significant enough that Apple CEO Tim Cook called it out during the company’s earnings call last week. In particular, Cook credited the new low-cost MacBook Neo, which Apple says is attracting a fair number of new Mac buyers rather than simply prompting upgrades from previous customers. But Cook also noted that…

When we reviewed the Switch 2 just after its launch last year, we warned that interested customers might want to buy in early, as the launch price could go up. That potential price hike became a reality today, as Nintendo announced the Switch 2’s MSRP will increase to $499.99 on September 1, a $50 (and about 11 percent) increase from the $449.99 launch price. In an announcement of the impending…