Author: alex

Minecraft Movie sequel set for July 23, 2027Warner Bros. has scheduled a sequel to The Minecraft Movie for July 23, 2027. Jared Hess is returning to direct and co-write. Details on plot and cast are limited so far.ContextThe first Minecraft Movie was a commercial success.The sequel's production reflects the studio's confidence in the franchise's box-office potential.More: AJC coverage

Project Amethyst: Sony and AMD tease future GPU techSony and AMD unveiled early research called Project Amethyst, showcasing machine learning-based rendering (Neural Arrays), Radiance Cores for ray tracing, and Universal Compression to improve memory bandwidth and efficiency. The work is still at the simulation/research stage.Why it mattersThese techniques could cut memory bandwidth needs and improve ray tracing/upscaling in future consoles.Project Amethyst suggests the next PlayStation may rely heavily on ML-driven rendering and compression.Read more: GameSpot coverage

Nintendo's "Close to You" animated short updated to show PikminNintendo released an updated version of its "Close to You" short via the Nintendo Today app that clearly shows Pikmin moving toys and a pacifier — confirming the teaser's connection to the Pikmin franchise. Nintendo Pictures appears to be behind the short, marking an expansion into animated content.TakeawaysThe updated short is currently available on the Nintendo Today app.Nintendo has not confirmed whether the short teases a game, movie, or other media yet.Fans are speculating about new Pikmin projects or marketing tie-ins.Read more: Nintendo Life coverage

Tensor Robocar: "Lyft-ready" from the factoryTensor and Lyft announced that Tensor's Robocar will be sold "Lyft-ready," allowing owners to add their AVs to Lyft's network. Lyft is also reserving hundreds of Tensor vehicles for its fleet, with deployments planned from 2027.What to knowRobocar features include extensive sensor suites and NVIDIA-powered systems.Owners can potentially monetize their vehicles by joining ride-hail networks.Lyft's deployment signals a move toward owning and operating autonomous vehicles directly.Read more: Lyft blog on the partnership

Ferrari Elettrica — Ferrari's first production EVFerrari's Elettrica promises over 1,000 hp, 0-62 mph in ~2.5 seconds, a top speed around 193 mph, and a unique approach to sound design that preserves emotional feedback via mechanical vibrations. Designed by Jony Ive, deliveries are set to begin in late 2026.Highlights122 kWh structural battery, 800V architecture and 350 kW fast-charging capability.Sound design uses accelerometers to amplify mechanical vibrations rather than mimic ICE notes.Multiple driving modes and a Torque Shift Engagement system for driver control.More details: Car & Driver coverage

Study: ~250 malicious documents can implant backdoors in LLMsResearchers (Anthropic, UK AI Security Institute, Alan Turing Institute) show that inserting roughly 250 poisoned documents into pretraining corpora can implant backdoors in large language models regardless of model size. The paper (arXiv) demonstrates the attack and explains why the absolute number of poisoned samples matters more than their percentage of the dataset.Key points~250 poisoned docs (~420k tokens) can trigger a backdoor across models from 600M to 13B parameters.The attack can be triggered by a specific phrase and causes the model to produce nonsense or attacker-chosen outputs.Because much training data is scraped from the web, adversaries could plant such poisoned texts.Mitigations (suggested)Stricter dataset provenance and curation; blocklisting suspicious sources.Data sanitization and anomaly detection on training corpora.Robust training procedures, e.g., differential privacy, fine-tuning…

Apple raises Apple Security Bounty — up to $2M base, $5M with bonuses Apple announced major changes to its Apple Security Bounty program to encourage highly specialized security research and strengthen the protection of its operating systems. Key points: Maximum base payout: Up to $2,000,000 for the most severe vulnerabilities. Potential total payout: Up to $5,000,000 when combining base payouts with bonuses. Focus areas: WebKit/browser exploits, wireless proximity attacks, Lockdown Mode bypasses, and other advanced attack chains. New tools/approach: Target flags to help researchers simulate realistic, high-value attack scenarios. Purpose: Attract specialized researchers and improve defenses against sophisticated spyware and targeted attacks. For the official program details, see Apple's Security Bounty page: https://security.apple.com/bounty/ Sources cited in coverage include Apple’s security page and independent reporting on the program changes. Tweet posted:…

Control Ultimate Edition coming to iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro in 2026 Remedy Entertainment has announced that Control Ultimate Edition will be released for iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro in 2026. The port appears to be enabled by Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit, which has made it easier for developers to bring demanding PC/console titles to Apple silicon and related platforms. What we know Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro (2026) Source: Announcement from Remedy (see official game page below) Technology: Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit and Metal-based optimizations are likely being used for the port. Controls: Expect controller support and adaptive input (touch for iPhone/iPad; controllers, hand/eye tracking and spatial input on Vision Pro). Why it matters Bringing Control to iOS/iPadOS and visionOS is a sign that more AAA…

Apple doubles top Security Bounty to $2M — Up to $5M with bonuses Apple updated its Security Bounty program in November, significantly raising rewards to encourage research into high-impact vulnerabilities. Key changes include: Top award doubled from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 for zero-click exploit chains that can achieve remote compromise; total payouts can exceed $5,000,000 when including bonuses (e.g., Lockdown Mode bypasses or beta-software findings). One-click exploit chains: up to $1,000,000 (previously $250,000). Physical-proximity attacks: up to $1,000,000 (previously $250,000). Physical access to locked devices: maximum reward doubled to $500,000. Chaining WebContent code execution with a sandbox escape: up to $300,000. Apple also highlighted new defenses like Lockdown Mode (Safari-focused hardened attack surface) and Memory Integrity Enforcement, designed to reduce memory corruption exploits. In its announcement Apple said the only system-level…

Belkin PowerGrip: Camera grip with charging functionBelkin has introduced the PowerGrip, a magnetic camera grip designed for iPhone users to improve handling when taking photos and filming. The grip attaches magnetically to the smartphone and connects via Bluetooth to the Camera app. A physical shutter button on the grip lets you take photos and videos without touching the display, and the device also includes a charging function.Key features:Magnetic attachment for easy mountingBluetooth connection to the Camera appPhysical shutter button for photos and videosIntegrated charging capabilityWould you use a grip like this for mobile shooting? Share your thoughts below.More info / buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Belkin+PowerGrip&tag=f1rede-20