Latest News · Page 23
Sony's 9-Eye, 8-Arm Ping Pong Robot Defeats Top Japanese Player, Draws Expert Criticism: Relies on Hardware and Physical Cheating
Recently, Sony AI Research announced the development of Ace, an autonomous ping pong robot, which completed high-level competitive testing in Tokyo, achieving a new breakthrough in the AI and robotics fields. It can compete head-to-head with top human ping pong players and has even won several matches. The related paper was published in Nature magazine on April 22nd. In terms of hardware configuration, Ace is equipped with nine synchronized cameras and three visual systems, capable of high-speed capture and tracking of spinning ping pong balls, with maximum positioning accuracy and data processing speed.
Canadian Singer Haley Smalls' Concert Canceled Due to Failure to Secure High-Speed Rail Tickets
A concert by an overseas female singer originally scheduled for April 30th in Beijing was suddenly canceled. The official reason given was surprisingly that they failed to purchase high-speed rail tickets, and the artist prefers not to fly frequently, ultimately leading to the cancellation of the performance. The singer is Haley Smalls from Canada, a relatively niche but popular R&B artist, and this was her first tour in China.
Tianwen-3 to Bring Martian Samples Back to Earth Around 2031
The Tianwen-3 mission, part of China's planetary exploration program, is planned for launch around 2028 and will return Martian samples to Earth around 2031. The China National Space Administration today also announced the results of the selection for cooperative projects for the Tianwen-3 mission, with the orbiter carrying three collaborative payloads.
RTX 4090 Founders Edition PCB Revision Revealed After Three Years – NVIDIA Quietly Removed a Chip
The hardware repair channel Northwestrepair released a repair video for the RTX 4090 FE, revealing a previously unreported fact: NVIDIA revised the PCB of the RTX 4090 at least once during its lifecycle, removing a chip present in early batches.
Intel Wildcat Lake Laptop First Look: Targeting the Entry-Level, Affordable Market
Just one week after Intel officially released the Core 3 series "WildcatLake" processors, the first reference design laptop based on this platform has been revealed. This is the first physical sample of this entry-level chip. The industry generally sees it as a competitor directly targeting the MacBook Neo, focusing on the affordable entry-level PC market.
Livestreamer with Millions of Fans Reported for Being a Minor, Allegedly Forced Others into Crocodile Tank – Account Now Banned
Recently, a netizen reported a livestreamer named "Night Paris" on a certain platform, who has millions of fans, for allegedly using someone else's identity information to register an account and livestreaming as a minor for five years to receive gifts. This report has attracted social attention. The netizen revealed that Guangdong Jiahuo Media Guild, to which "Night Paris" belongs, has multiple underage livestreamers, and the livestreamer's fanbase is also mainly composed of minors. Additionally, multiple parents have reported that their children were induced to make large donations.
Intel Executive Responds to Poor CPU Gaming Performance: It's a Software Optimization Issue, 30% Performance is Wasted
Intel's latest Core Ultra 200 series processors, even with the enhanced Plus models, still lag significantly behind AMD's Ryzen X3D series flagships in gaming performance. Addressing this widely discussed performance gap, Intel Vice President and General Manager Robert Hallock gave a formal response in an interview with PC Games Hardware. He clearly stated that the bottleneck in gaming performance of Intel's hybrid architecture CPUs is not the hardware itself, but insufficient software optimization.
UK Media Reveals More Details About DeepSeek's External Funding: Not Short on Funds, Aiming to Retain Talent
According to a report by the Financial Times on April 24th, AI startup DeepSeek is conducting its first external funding round to retain employees who are compensated with stock options, preventing them from being poached by competitors.
DeepSeek-V4 Preview Version Officially Launched, Offering a New Experience with 1M+ Long Context Memory
On April 24th, DeepSeek announced the official launch and open-source release of the preview version of its new series of models, DeepSeek-V4. DeepSeek-V4 boasts an ultra-long context of one million characters and leads domestically and in the open-source field in terms of Agent capabilities, world knowledge, and reasoning performance. The models are available in two versions based on size: deepseek-v4-flash and deepseek-v4-pro.
Trump: U.S. Has No Intention to Interfere with Iranian Football Players Participating in the World Cup
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the U.S. will not affect Iranian athletes participating in this summer's FIFA World Cup. Iran is in the same group as New Zealand, Egypt, and Belgium, with two group matches held in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. However, news emerged this Wednesday that Paul Zamboli, an envoy under Trump, proposed replacing Iran with Italy, which failed to qualify for the tournament.
U.S. Special Forces Soldier Arrested for Profiting $400,000 from Insider Trading on Maduro's Arrest
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday the arrest of a U.S. special forces soldier involved in the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He is accused of illegally profiting over $400,000 by using classified military intelligence to place bets on a prediction market.
AI CPU Demand Sparks Growth: Intel's Q1 Revenue Beats Expectations, Stock Soars 16% After Hours
Intel released its Q1 earnings report on Thursday after the US stock market closed, with performance significantly exceeding Wall Street expectations. The struggling chip giant is finally showing signs of recovery, with its stock surging 16% in after-hours trading.
X Announces Shutdown of Communities Feature, Focusing Entirely on XChat
Social media platform X recently announced the official discontinuation of its "Communities" feature. Originally intended to help users find like-minded individuals and discover relevant content, the feature was ultimately shut down due to severe spam issues.
OpenAI Launches GPT-5.5, Codenamed "Spud," a More Powerful AI Model for Enterprises
OpenAI officially released its most powerful large model to date, GPT-5.5, internally codenamed "Spud," this Thursday, just one week after its competitor Anthropic launched its latest model. This release is seen as a significant milestone in the development of artificial intelligence, marking the acceleration of more efficient and powerful general intelligence systems towards practical application scenarios.
IKEA Launches New Armchair That "Doesn't Look Inflatable"
IKEA recently previewed three new products from its 2026 PS (PostScript) experimental collection, the most eye-catching of which is an inflatable armchair with a structure that is almost indistinguishable from being inflatable, to be officially released at the company's annual event on May 13th.
Microsoft Reaffirms Xbox Brand Positioning, Cancels "Microsoft Gaming" Naming
Microsoft is reshaping its gaming business's brand architecture, officially deciding to abandon the "Microsoft Gaming" designation and fully return to using Xbox as the company's core identity in the gaming sector. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced this adjustment to employees at a company-wide meeting this week, emphasizing that "Xbox must be our identity" and viewing the previous use of Microsoft Gaming as a deviation from this core understanding.
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Now Released, Built on Linux 7.0
Canonical has officially released the final images for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, Ubuntu Server 26.04 LTS, and several official derivatives. Users can download and use them from the official website. As the latest generation of Long Term Support (LTS) versions, Ubuntu 26.04 adopts the recently released Linux 7.0 kernel, bringing better support for new hardware platforms, while also undergoing extensive polishing and performance verification in both desktop and server scenarios.
Apple's Entry-Level Lineup Price Falls Below a High-End MacBook Pro for the First Time
The total price of Apple's current complete entry-level product lineup has dropped below the starting price of a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro chip, attracting market attention. The report states that, based on US market prices, the ten entry-level hardware products that make up Apple's "low-price tier" include:
Microsoft Launches Voluntary Separation Buyout Plan for the First Time, Covering Up to 7% of US Employees
Against the backdrop of the AI boom reshaping the tech industry, the 51-year-old software giant is launching a voluntary separation buyout program for some of its US employees for the first time. A source revealed that approximately 7% of US employees are eligible to apply, a figure that has not been publicly released.
U.S. Air Force Plans Major Increase in Lockheed Stealth Missile Stockpile
According to the latest budget documents, the U.S. Air Force plans to procure nearly 4,300 long-range stealth cruise missiles from Lockheed Martin over the next five years. The U.S. military previously used these weapons against targets in Iran. Procurement of these Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) will continue until 2031.
U.S. Commerce Secretary: Only One Person Approved for Trump's Gold Card Visa Program So Far
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday that, as of now, only one person has been approved for the "Gold Card" visa program launched by Trump. The program allows foreigners to pay $1 million to obtain U.S. residency. Lutnick did not disclose the identity of the approved applicant. He stated during testimony before a House committee that "hundreds" of other foreign applicants are having their visa applications reviewed.
CPU Prices Rise by 20% or More, 9700X Increase Approaches 60%
According to PCWatch, the Japanese DIY market is experiencing a sharp rise in CPU prices, with significant increases across many AMD Ryzen processor models. The Ryzen 9000 series is particularly affected, with no models currently selling below official pricing.
Musk Biography Author Isaacson: Tesla and SpaceX Will Eventually Merge
Walter Isaacson, author of a biography on Elon Musk, recently stated firmly that he believes Tesla and SpaceX will ultimately merge. This assessment aligns with recent market analysis, highlighting the increasingly close connection between Musk's two core assets.
Warner Bros. Investors Approve $110 Billion Sale to Paramount
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted on Thursday to approve the acquisition of the company by Paramount Skydance. The merger will bring two of Hollywood's oldest film studios under one umbrella and reshape the landscape of the American entertainment industry. The vote by WBD shareholders in favor of the $110 billion deal was expected after unanimous support from the boards of both entertainment giants.
U.S. to Reclassify Certain Cannabis Products as Less Hazardous Drugs
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it will reclassify medical cannabis products approved by the Food and Drug Administration or state-licensed as Schedule III substances—a lower hazard category—from Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that this move aims to expand Americans’ access to medical options and provide doctors and patients with more reliable information on drug safety and efficacy.
Samsung Labor-Management Tension Escalates, Potentially Worsening Global Memory Chip Supply
Tens of thousands of Samsung Electronics employees gathered at the company's Pyeongtaek campus this Thursday, signaling their readiness to launch an 18-day strike next month. This labor dispute over compensation distribution is believed to further exacerbate the global shortage of memory chips. The union demands the cancellation of the current performance bonus cap and a direct allocation of 15% of the company's operating profit to employees, but Samsung has yet to agree, leading to a stalemate and legal battles.
Regularly Eating Chili Peppers May Be Associated with Longer Lifespan: Large-Scale Studies Reveal Potential Connection
Multiple large-scale population studies show that regular chili pepper consumption is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality. Researchers are further investigating potentially active ingredients like capsaicin. However, current evidence primarily comes from observational studies, suggesting a correlation between spicy food and health benefits, but not proving a causal relationship, and requires further rigorous trials to confirm.
Future MacBooks May Replace "Notch" with Detachable Cameras and Rotatable Screens
A recently published patent application reveals Apple is exploring redesigning the camera and screen structure for future MacBooks, including a detachable camera module that "extends" from the body, and even a rotatable and detachable display, to replace the current screen "notch" design.
TSMC: Yields at US Chip Factory Comparable to Domestic Facilities, Transferring 2 Core Technologies to the US
At the recent North America Technology Forum, TSMC announced new process technologies such as A13, A12, and N2U, and also discussed its chip layout strategy in the US. A major concern regarding building factories in the US has been the high costs and potential impact on TSMC's profits, primarily reflected in yields. CEO C.C. Wei stated that TSMC's chip factory in Arizona is progressing smoothly, and yields are already comparable to those of its domestic facilities.
Tesla Says Rising Gasoline Prices Are Driving Demand for Electric Vehicles
Tesla reports a recent “rebound” in global electric vehicle demand influenced by soaring oil prices following the Iran conflict, alongside better-than-expected earnings and free cash flow in its latest first-quarter report. The company states that despite only a “slight increase” in domestic U.S. demand, rising global orders have driven its first-quarter order backlog to a new high in over two years, achieved even as the U.S. federal electric vehicle tax credit ended last year.
