The final build of macOS 26.3 was released to Mac users last week. A deep dive into the operating system by Macworld revealed references to products Apple could announce at its March 4 event. According to the report, kernel extensions for three new devices were found in macOS 26.3. These devices are identified by the codenames J700, J427, and J527.

Based on previous reports, J700 is believed to be the codename for Apple’s low-cost MacBook, which is reportedly powered by the A18 Pro chip. The device is expected to cost under $1,000 and launch in fun, vibrant colors, as it is aimed at students and first-time Mac buyers looking for a more affordable option.

As for the J427 and J527 codenames, they are believed to refer to two new Studio Display models. A previous report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman pointed to the first half of 2026 as the expected timeframe for the debut of Apple’s Studio Display 2, and we may finally see the next-generation Studio Display unveiled at the March 4 event.

Apple is allegedly developing two variants of the Studio Display 2. The first is said to be a more affordable 27-inch model featuring an A19-series chip, mini-LED backlighting, and a 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate. The starting price is expected to remain at $1,599.

A second Studio Display model is also reportedly in development. However, details about this variant remain undisclosed. It could feature a larger 32-inch panel along with additional premium features.

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Posted Saturday 21 February 2026 at 6:05 am AEST (my time).

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Phison is one of the leading makers of controller chips for SSDs and other flash memory devices — and CEO Pua Khein-Seng has now become a leading voice for just how bad the RAM shortage might get.

Companies may need to cut back their product lines in the second half of 2026, and some companies will even die if they can’t get the components they need, he agreed, in a televised interview with Ningguan Chen of Taiwanese broadcaster Next TV.

While the interview’s entirely in Chinese, friends of The Verge stepped forward to confirm parts of a machine-translated summary that’s been making headlines. They also note, importantly, that it’s the interviewer asking whether companies might shut down or product lines might discontinue. Khein-Seng largely just agreed and clarified that it’ll happen if these companies cannot secure enough RAM.

He also adds that he expects people will start fixing products more often when they break, instead of throwing them in the trash, over the next couple years.

It’s genuinely possible that some companies won’t be able to secure enough RAM. AI data centers are gobbling up the vast majority of the world’s memory supply as part of a global buildout, creating an unprecedented imbalance in supply and demand that’s seen RAM prices triple, quadruple, or even sextuple over the past handful of months. Even Nvidia might skip shipping a gaming GPU for the first time in 30 years. Even Apple may have trouble securing enough RAM now, not to mention memory chips for SSDs, and other vital components.

The RAM shortage may affect everything that computing touches over the next several years, as only three companies control 93 percent of the entire DRAM market, and while those three companies are building more facilities, they don’t want to build too fast. All three have decided to prioritize profits instead of risking overproduction that could lose them money later.

Tomorrow, February 19th, I’ll have a report on The Verge about how “RAMageddon” will affect you, even if you’d never think to buy a stick of memory yourself.

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Posted Thursday 19 February 2026 at 1:06 pm AEST (my time).

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Bethesda is rather tight-lipped about when it plans to release its next grand RPG, The Elder Scrolls VI. However, the studio director, Todd Howard, does drop some tidbits about the game from time to time. This time, he has revealed what the development team is using to build the RPG as well as its design direction.

The information comes from an interview with Kinda Funny Games, where Howard explained that its most recent single-player RPG, Starfield, and the multiplayer RPG experience, Fallout 76, were not the usual kind of games that Bethesda Game Studios releases.

However, it sounds like fans won't have to worry about exploring vast generated landscapes or UI-based exploration in The Elder Scrolls VI.

"In many ways Fallout 76 and Starfield are a little bit of a creative detour from kind of that classic Elder Scrolls and Fallout, where you are exploring a world in a certain way," explains Howard. "As we come back to Elder Scrolls VI, that we are doing now, we are coming back to that classic style that we’ve missed, that we know really, really well.”

Howard also commented on the engine that The Elder Scrolls VI will be using to power it. The studio-staple Creation Engine isn't going anywhere, but even more upgrades have been attached to it, bumping up the version from 2 (which powered Starfield) to Creation Engine 3. This version will be powering "Elder Scrolls VI and beyond," according to Howard. That may be hinting at the next Fallout game using the same updated toolset as well.

When fans can finally jump into the game is still up in the air, unfortunately. Despite being announced in 2018, Howard himself said in late 2025 that The Elder Scrolls VI is "still a long way off", adding that Starfield served as a creative reset for the team before diving back into the fantasy universe.

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Posted Thursday 19 February 2026 at 1:06 pm AEST (my time).

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Monster Hunter Wilds has just received its final major update for the base game titled Ver.1.041.00.00, and it's celebrating the game's 1st anniversary with a bang.

This update has brought more performance enhancements for both consoles and PC, an Arch-Tempered version of Arkveld to battle, new Event Quests to indulge in, and various other bug fixes for all platforms.

Here are some of the biggest highlights of this update, according to Monster Hunter Wilds' patch notes.

Archival storage poses lots of challenges. We want media that is extremely dense and stable for centuries or more, and, ideally, doesn’t consume any energy when not being accessed. Lots of ideas have floated around—even DNA has been considered—but one of the simplest is to etch data into glass. Many forms of glass are very physically and chemically stable, and it’s relatively easy to etch things into it.

There’s been a lot of preliminary work demonstrating different aspects of a glass-based storage system. But in Wednesday’s issue of Nature, Microsoft Research announced Project Silica, a working demonstration of a system that can read and write data into small slabs of glass with a density of over a Gigabit per cubic millimeter.

Writing on glass

We tend to think of glass as fragile, prone to shattering, and capable of flowing downward over centuries, although the last claim is a myth. Glass is a category of material, and a variety of chemicals can form glasses. With the right starting chemical, it’s possible to make a glass that is, as the researchers put it, “thermally and chemically stable and is resistant to moisture ingress, temperature fluctuations and electromagnetic interference.” While it would still need to be handled in a way to minimize damage, glass provides the sort of stability we’d want for long-term storage.

Putting data into glass is as simple as etching it. But that’s been one of the challenges, as etching is typically a slow process. However, the development of femtosecond lasers—lasers that emit pulses that only last 10^-15 seconds and can emit millions of them per second—can significantly cut down write times and allow etching to be focused on a very small area, increasing potential data density.

To read the data back, there are several options. We’ve already had great success using lasers to read data from optical disks, albeit slowly. But anything that can pick up the small features etched into the glass could conceivably work.

With the above considerations in mind, everything was in place on a theoretical level for Project Silica. The big question is how to put them together into a functional system. Microsoft decided that, just to be cautious, it would answer that question twice.

A real-world system

The difference between these two answers comes down to how an individual unit of data (called a voxel) is written to the glass. One type of voxel they tried was based on birefringence, where refraction of photons depends on their polarization. It’s possible to etch voxels into glass to create birefringence using polarized laser light, producing features smaller than the diffraction limit. In practice, this involved using one laser pulse to create an oval-shaped void, followed by a second, polarized pulse to induce birefringence. The identity of a voxel is based on the orientation of the oval; since we can resolve multiple orientations, it’s possible to save more than one bit in each voxel.

The alternative approach involves changing the magnitude of refractive effects by varying the amount of energy in the laser pulse. Again, it’s possible to discern more than two states in these voxels, allowing multiple data bits to be stored in each voxel.

The map data from Microsoft Flight Simulator etched onto the Silica storage medium.

Credit: Microsoft Research

Reading these in Silica involves using a microscope that can pick up differences in refractive index. (For microscopy geeks, this is a way of saying “they used phase contrast microscopy.”) The microscopy sets the limits on how many layers of voxels can be placed in a single piece of glass. During etching, the layers were separated by enough distance so only a single layer would be in the microscope’s plane of focus at a time. The etching process also incorporates symbols that allow the automated microscope system to position the lens above specific points on the glass. From there, the system slowly changes its focal plane, moving through the stack and capturing images that include different layers of voxels.

To interpret these microscope images, Microsoft used a convolutional neural network that combines data from images that are both in and near the plane of focus for a given layer of voxels. This is effective because the influence of nearby voxels changes how a given voxel appears in a subtle way that the AI system can pick up on if given enough training data.

The final piece of the puzzle is data encoding. The Silica system takes the raw bitstream of the data it’s storing and adds error correction using a low-density parity-check code (the same error correction used in 5G networks). Neighboring bits are then combined to create symbols that take advantage of the voxels’ ability to store more than one bit. Once a stream of symbols is made, it’s ready to be written to glass.

Performance

Writing remains a bottleneck in the system, so Microsoft developed hardware that can write a single glass slab with four lasers simultaneously without generating too much heat. That is enough to enable writing at 66 megabits per second, and the team behind the work thinks that it would be possible to add up to a dozen additional lasers. That may be needed, given that it’s possible to store up to 4.84TB in a single slab of glass (the slabs are 12 cm x 12 cm and 0.2 cm thick). That works out to be over 150 hours to fully write a slab.

The “up to” aspect of the storage system has to do with the density of data that’s possible with the two different ways of writing data. The method that relies on birefringence requires more optical hardware and only works in high-quality glasses, but can squeeze more voxels into the same volume, and so has a considerably higher data density. The alternative approach can only put a bit over two terabytes into the same slab of glass, but can be done with simpler hardware and can work on any sort of transparent material.

Borosilicate glass offers extreme stability; Microsoft’s accelerated aging experiments suggest the data would be stable for over 10,000 years at room temperature. That led Microsoft to declare, “Our results demonstrate that Silica could become the archival storage solution for the digital age.”

That may be overselling it just a bit. The Square Kilometer Array telescope, for example, is expected to need to archive 700 petabytes of data each year. That would mean over 140,000 glass slabs would be needed to store the data from this one telescope. Even assuming that the write speed could be boosted by adding significantly more lasers, you’d need over 600 Silica machines operating in parallel to keep up. And the Square Kilometer Array is far from the only project generating enormous amounts of data.

That said, there are some features that make Silica a great match for this sort of thing, most notably the complete absence of energy needed to preserve the data, and the fact that it can be retrieved rapidly if needed (a sharp contrast to the days needed to retrieve information from DNA, for example). Plus, I’m admittedly drawn to a system with a storage medium that looks like something right out of science fiction.

Nature, 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-10042-w (About DOIs).

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Posted Thursday 19 February 2026 at 1:01 pm AEST (my time).

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The company says this year’s event will include updates across Gemini, Android, and its broader developer platform ecosystem.

Google I/O 2026: All Details

Google has not published a detailed event agenda yet. Sundar Pichai has confirmed this week that I/O 2026 will feature:

• Keynote presentations from company executives
• Live product demonstrations
• Technical sessions for developers
• Platform and tooling updates

As in previous years, the Google IO event will focus on software announcements rather than hardware launches.

Android 17 is likely to headline

Based on Google’s usual release cycle, Android 17 is expected to take the main stage.

Google I/O typically includes:

• A formal overview of the next Android version
• New developer APIs
• Updates to privacy, security, and system features
• Revised design elements or interface changes

Developers currently testing Android previews should expect more details around feature timelines and final update plans.

Gemini and AI updates

Google has significantly expanded its generative AI efforts over the past year, and Gemini updates are expected to be a major part of the event.

The company has already confirmed that Gemini will feature prominently in I/O 2026 announcements.

Ahead of the conference, Google launched a “save-the-date experience” powered by Gemini. The site allows people to experiment with AI-generated content and remix outputs, showing continued focus on AI as both a creative and developer tool.

I didn't notice any specific model upgrades or integration details that have been disclosed.

Google IO 2026: What to watch for?

If you are a developer or power user, Google I/O 2026 will likely clarify:

• Android 17 feature stability and release timing
• Changes to AI integrations across Google apps and services
• New APIs tied to Gemini-powered tools
• Platform-wide updates affecting Chrome, Workspace, or Play services

For now, Google has only confirmed the dates and location. Registration details and full session listings are expected to follow in the coming weeks. Once I receive any additional details, I'll keep you updated.

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Posted Thursday 19 February 2026 at 5:47 am AEST (my time).

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While the CEO did not actually name the product, something based on the Rubin architecture isn't exactly a bad guess. Rubin was first teased back in June 2024 at Computex and formally unveiled at GTC 2025. NVIDIA even showcased physical hardware just last month at CES.

This architecture focuses on eliminating memory bottlenecks through high-bandwidth memory (HBM4) integration. Reports indicate NVIDIA is working closely with SK Hynix to stack this memory directly onto the GPU logic die. This would arguably be the most complex mass-produced chip in history.

Another possibility, albeit less likely, is an early look at the Feynman architecture. Feynman is the platform slated to follow Rubin around 2028 and was first added to the company's roadmap at GTC in 2025.

It is rumored to tackle the "Moore's Law limit" by introducing technologies like silicon photonics, which uses light for data transfer instead of electricity, and will be built on TSMC's A16 (1.6nm) manufacturing process. If Huang shows a working prototype of this tech two years early, that would certainly qualify as a surprise.

Huang's promise of a world-surprising chip comes amid intense competition from rivals like AMD and the maturing custom silicon from Google (TPU), Amazon (Trainium), and Microsoft (Maia).

These chips have started closing the performance gap in specific workloads, giving customers real alternatives. There's also the growing fear in the AI industry that progress has hit a scaling wall, where adding more GPUs provides diminishing returns in model intelligence.

Source: The Korea Economic Daily

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Posted Thursday 19 February 2026 at 5:46 am AEST (my time).

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It’s official: Google I/O 2026 will take place from May 19th to 20th. In an announcement on Tuesday, Google says it will share the “latest AI breakthroughs and updates in products across the company, from Gemini to Android and more” during the event, which will take place in-person in Mountain View, California’s Shoreline Amphitheatre, and online.

Similar to previous years, Google I/O 2026 will feature keynotes from company leaders, fireside chats, product demos, and more. Google still hasn’t shared the full schedule for its sessions, but the company plans to kick off the event with a keynote on the morning of May 19th. You can also interact with a “save the date experience” on Google’s website, which contains a series of minigames built by the company’s Gemini AI model.

Google announced a ton of AI-related news at last year’s I/O, including the broader expansion of AI Mode for Google Search and the launch of its AI filmmaking app Flow. This year is shaping up to be another AI-heavy event as the company continues expand on Gemini, along with the AI features across its search engine, Chrome, Workspace apps, and Pixel devices.

Developers can register for Google I/O 2026 starting today.

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Posted Wednesday 18 February 2026 at 12:26 pm AEST (my time).

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Meta has struck a multiyear deal to expand its data centers with millions of Nvidia’s Grace and Vera CPUs and Blackwell and Rubin GPUs. While Meta has long been using Nvidia’s hardware for its AI products, this deal “represents the first large-scale Nvidia Grace-only deployment,” which Nvidia says will deliver “significant performance-per-watt improvements in [Meta’s] data centers.” The deal also includes plans to add Nvidia’s next-generation Vera CPUs to Meta’s data centers in 2027.

Meta is also working on its own in-house chips for running AI models, but according to the Financial Times, it has run into “technical challenges and rollout delays” with its chip strategy. Nvidia is also dealing with concerns about depreciation and chip-back loans used to finance AI buildouts, as well as the pressure of competition. CNBC notes that Nvidia’s stock dropped four percent after a November report about Meta considering using Google’s Tensor chips for AI, and late last year, AMD announced chip arrangements with both OpenAI and Oracle.

Nvidia and Meta did not disclose how much the deal cost, but this year’s AI spending from Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon is estimated to cost more than the entire Apollo space program.

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Posted Wednesday 18 February 2026 at 12:25 pm AEST (my time).

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The main culprit to blame here is AI (of course). Both WD and Seagate have locked in restrictive supply agreements with their top seven customers. We are looking at the usual hyperscale suspects like Amazon (AWS), Google, Microsoft (Azure), and Meta, who are frantically building infrastructure for massive AI workloads.

Western Digital CEO Tiang Yew Tan confirmed during a February earnings call that these clients have firmly locked in purchase orders that consume the company's entire production capacity for the calendar year 2026. It does not stop there because WD has signed Long-Term Agreements (LTAs) extending deep into 2027 and even 2028, completely booking exabytes of storage for the whole year. For context, a single exabyte is equivalent to one billion gigabytes.

According to Seagate CEO William Mosley, their nearline capacity is fully allocated. He noted that demand visibility is strengthening enough to extend to 2027 and that multiple cloud customers are already discussing 2028 because supply assurance is now their "highest priority." Seagate has no plans to expand production capacities. Growth is strictly coming from making denser drives, not more of them. CFO Gianluca Romano added that while they might sell a few extra exabytes on the open market if they get lucky with yields, the vast majority is already spoken for.

AI has been gobbling up PC components left and right. All that silicon is going to "hyperscalers" while leaving out the ordinary Joe who just wants to build a gaming rig. A 32GB kit of DDR5 RAM that used to cost under $95 can now cost up to $410, and it's not like the suppliers are to blame here. There is a lot of profit to be made when desperate companies start bidding wars. Western Digital's revenue, according to Heise online, jumped 25 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 to hit $3 billion. Even better for the company, its operating profit climbed 62% to $908 million.

Companies like Samsung and SK hynix are also cashing in on the boom, with Samsung posting a record-breaking operating profit of over $14 billion recently. The Korean company explicitly stated that it would focus on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and enterprise SSDs to support the AI rush, instead of consumer parts.

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Posted Wednesday 18 February 2026 at 6:33 am AEST (my time).

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Apple is pushing ahead with plans to launch its first pair of smart glasses, along with an AI-powered pendant and camera-equipped AirPods, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The three devices come with built-in cameras and will connect to the iPhone, allowing Siri to use “visual context to carry out actions,” Bloomberg reports.

Apple is reportedly aiming to start production of its smart glasses in December, ahead of a 2027 launch. The new device will compete directly with Meta’s lineup of smart glasses and is rumored to feature speakers, microphones, and a high-resolution camera for taking photos and videos, in addition to another lens designed to enable AI-powered features.

The glasses won’t have a built-in display, but they will allow users to make phone calls, interact with Siri, play music, and “take actions based on surroundings,” such as asking about the ingredients in a meal, according to Bloomberg. Apple’s smart glasses could also help users identify what they’re seeing, reference landmarks when offering directions, and remind wearers to complete a task in specific situations, Bloomberg reports.

The company is reportedly planning to develop the frames for the smart glasses in-house, instead of partnering with a third-party company like Meta does with Ray-Ban and Oakley. Prototypes of the glasses use a cable to connect to a battery pack and an iPhone, but Bloomberg reports that “newer versions have the components embedded in the frame.” Apple reportedly wants to make its smart glasses stand out by offering a high-quality build and advanced camera technology. The company is still working on AI-powered smart glasses with a display, though their launch “remains many years away,” Bloomberg says.

Apple’s plans for AI hardware don’t end there, as the company is expected to build upon its Google Gemini-powered Siri upgrade with an AirTag-sized AI pendant that people can either wear as a necklace or a pin. This device would “essentially serve as an always-on camera” for the iPhone and has a microphone for prompting Siri, Bloomberg reports. The pendant, which The Information first reported on last month, is rumored to come with a built-in chip, but will mainly rely on the iPhone’s processing power. The device could arrive as early as next year, according to Bloomberg.

Apple could also launch upgraded AirPods this year, which Gurman previously said could pair low-resolution cameras with AI to analyze a wearer’s surroundings.

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Posted Wednesday 18 February 2026 at 6:32 am AEST (my time).

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Gamers Nexus (2.59m subscribers)

February 17, 2026

Video length: 37m 27s

In this recap of the last couple weeks of hardware news, we show a trailer for our upcoming GNCA video in the UK, talk about Valve's Steam Machine (and Frame) updates and pricing challenges, a CPU supply crunch in China, and Notepad++ intercepted updates. The NVIDIA RTX 50 Super series and RTX 60 series are also rumored to be further delayed to accommodate AI production. In pure hardware news, Fractal's Momentum and ASRock's X3D response also land in the update.

00:00 - Recap for the Week

01:50 - GN Update and UK Trip Trailer

07:43 - Valve Update on Steam Machine and Frame Pricing

15:02 - CPU Availability Crunch in China

17:38 - Notepad++ Updates Hijacked

24:31 - Raw Material Price Skyrockets

29:12 - Rumor: RTX 50 Super and 60 Delays

31:29 - Windows 11 and Firefox Softening on AI

34:55 - Rapid Fire: Fractal Momentum, ASRock X3D

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Posted Tuesday 17 February 2026 at 7:18 pm AEST (my time).

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Apple is hosting a “special Apple experience” in New York City on Wednesday, March 4th at 9AM ET, instead of at the Apple Park location it typically uses for events. It’s also hosting press in the cities of London and Shanghai at the same time.

The invitation includes the words “You’re invited” and an Apple logo depicted in segmented discs of yellow, green, and blue (the rumored colors of a new low-cost MacBook). Otherwise, it provides no hints about the purpose of the so-called experience. However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has previously said that he’s expecting Apple to launch a low-cost A18 Pro chip-powered MacBook and new MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros, and Mac displays ”over the course of the next several weeks,“ alongside the iPhone 17e, a new base model iPad, and an M4 iPad Air. And maybe we’ll even see a preview of Apple’s new AI-infused Siri.

The invitation for Apple’s upcoming experience doesn’t give much away.

Image: Apple

 

Apple’s don’t-call-it-an-event will be taking place during the big Mobile World Congress show Barcelona, Spain, which is running between March 2nd-5th.

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Posted Tuesday 17 February 2026 at 4:13 am AEST (my time).

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The report lands from Bloomberg, which is focused on the surging memory prices and their effects that are being caused by the growing needs of AI data centers.

According to sources close to Sony, the next PlayStation had a 2027 launch window before the current component crisis. Now, the company is said to be reconsidering those efforts and might be aiming for 2028 or 2029 to try and weather through the storm.

Moreover, the Bloomberg report goes on to say that even Nintendo is feeling the pressure from the shortages. In January, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said that the company has made no decisions as to whether it will change up the Switch 2 pricing. However, today's report says that Nintendo is already considering a price hike for the Switch 2 in 2026.

From the latest numbers Nintendo has released, the Switch 2 has so far sold over 17.37 million units. It expects that number to cross 19 million by April 2026.

Console prices have also risen in this generation as it aged. If the current options continue to be available for longer periods, and with their own parts becoming scarce, there may be more price hikes for PlayStation and Xbox as well in the future.

The report doesn't go into Microsoft's plans for console gaming in the future, but AMD recently hinted that the semi-custom system-on-a-chip it's developing for the next Xbox is progressing well. A 2027 launch was also mentioned here, which may be when Microsoft wanted to launch its new console as well, rivaling a PlayStation 6. However, with the parts shortages, both companies might be planning to slow things down a little.

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Posted Tuesday 17 February 2026 at 4:12 am AEST (my time).

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We already know that Apple is working on a low-cost MacBook powered by the A18 Pro chip, the same SoC currently found in iPhones. The device has been making headlines since last year, and according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, it might finally hit shelves in March.

Gurman writes in this week’s Power On newsletter that the A18 Pro-powered MacBook could be unveiled sometime in March, as Apple is reportedly planning an event during that month. The device is also expected to cost well under $1,000.

The new low-cost MacBook is rumored to feature a 12.9-inch display. Interestingly, Mark Gurman says that, despite being an affordable model, Apple does not want to compromise on build quality and will use an aluminum chassis rather than plastic. “To stick with this premium material, Apple developed a new manufacturing process that allows the shells to be forged more quickly,” Gurman said.

Apple aims to position its affordable MacBook for students and enterprise users. As a result, the company is expected to launch the device in “playful colors,” moving beyond the muted tones typically seen on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. According to Gurman, Apple has been testing colors such as light yellow, light green, blue, pink, classic silver, and dark gray.

However, Apple has yet to announce the pricing, though some sources claim the device could cost around $750.

A low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip could benefit Apple in two major ways. First, it would serve as an entry point for users looking to join the Mac ecosystem without breaking the bank. Second, it would put Apple in a stronger position to compete with affordable Windows laptops and Chromebooks, particularly among students and in emerging markets.

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Posted Monday 16 February 2026 at 3:46 am AEST (my time).

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ExplainingComputers (1.16m subscribers)

Video length: 15m 29s

What are agentic AI and agentic operating systems? And what are their potential benefits, drawbacks and longer-term implications?

00:00 Titles & Intro

00:48 Agentic AI Basics

07:14 The Good

09:53 The Bad

11:48 The Ugly

13:22 The Future

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Posted Monday 16 February 2026 at 3:43 am AEST (my time).

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Paul's Hardware (1.54m subscribers)

February 156, 2026

Video length: 12m 54s

0:00 Welcome to Paul’s Tech News - February 15, 2026

1:54 Intel's new platform for Nova Lake chips leaked

5:28 MSI RTX 5090 Lightning launches, costs $5090

7:35 Discord faces backlash over age checks after data breach exposed 70,000 IDs

TECH BRIEFS

9:19 Intel Showcases Its “ZAM Memory” Prototype

10:24 Puppies fail to distract from Ring’s dystopian surveillance push

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Posted Sunday 15 February 2026 at 6:34 pm AEST (my time).

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Quick links:

1. Windows 10 and 11
2. Windows Insider Program
3. Updates are available
4. Reviews are in
5. Gaming news

Windows 11 and Windows 10

Here, we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And, of course, you may find a word or two about older versions.

This week, Microsoft released the latest Patch Tuesday updates for supported Windows versions, including Windows 10 and Windows 11. These releases are mandatory, so get ready to see some updates getting installed the next time you restart or shut down your computer. If you are on Windows 11, you will get KB5077181 (versions 25H2 and 24H2) or KB5075941 (version 23H2). For those still on Windows 10, Microsoft released KB5075912. The latter fixed a problem with some PC not being able to properly shut down and more. There are new recovery updates available as well.

In addition, Microsoft fixed a long-standing browser bug in Windows 10, where users could bypass parental controls and launch third-party browsers without Web Filtering. The necessary fix was rolled out as a server-side patch, so there is no need to install any extra updates to get Web Filtering working as it should.

There was also a patch for a much more critical issue. Notepad, an app that used to be a simple text editor for the most basic writing, is now a much more complex piece of software with plenty of extra features, markdown support, formatting, and a lot of AI. As such, the app became less stable, slower, and less secure. This week, Microsoft patched a remote code execution vulnerability that allowed executing malicious code using particularly crafted files. Yikes! To make sure Windows 11 has fewer security incidents going forward, Microsoft is working on a big security update for Windows 11, locking down the operating system by default.

With this month's Patch Tuesday update, Microsoft started updating Secure Boot Certificates. The original certificates from 2011 are set to expire in June 2026, and Microsoft is now updating certificates in advance to ensure a smooth update experience. If your computer is set to receive updates without any interruptions, there is nothing to worry about, as Patch Tuesday updates will take care of everything. However, Microsoft warns that certain computers might need a firmware update before installing new certificates. You can learn more about that here.

Unfortunately, the February 2026 Patch Tuesday updates do not seem to be the most stable, as there are already reports about critical boot loops and other software nastiness. Microsoft has not confirmed any of those, so the scope of affected devices and the root cause remain unknown.

Speaking of updates. Microsoft changes how Windows handles printer drivers. Microsoft is no longer accepting new printer driver submissions in Windows Update (existing drivers can still be updated), but the change should not cause widespread panic, as there are better alternatives for distributing printer drivers. Vendors can opt for Print Support Apps (PSA) distributed through the Microsoft Store.

Microsoft Store is also getting useful updates. This week, Microsoft announced a new command-line interface for the Microsoft Store, allowing users to browse, install, and update apps, all within Windows Terminal. The new Store CLI is part of Microsoft's push to give developers and users more tools and control over apps on their PCs.

A new version of the Media Creation Tool is now available. It now downloads the latest Windows 11 release with the February 2026 Patch Tuesday updates. Coincidentally, there are complaints about users not being able to download Windows ISO files, and some speculate that Microsoft is intentionally making things harder so that users opt for the Media Creation Tool app instead of other methods. Odd.

Microsoft has some good news for users who are discontent with Windows 11's stock taskbar. A new report emerged this week about the company's plans to address several important issues with the default experience. For one, Microsoft will finally let you resize the Start menu (you can already do that with a nifty third-party mod, see this article for more details). Also, you will be able to change the taskbar orientation (a feature that a former Microsoft executive reportedly "fought hard" to keep) and resize the taskbar. If all goes well, we should see these features in Windows 11 sometime this summer.

Microsoft also shared some important information about Windows 11 version 26H1. This unique release (the only Windows 11 with H1 in its version) has now entered its lifecycle, and Microsoft decided to make a post about important details about the update. As explained before, Windows 11 version 26H1 is only intended for PCs with certain hardware, particularly Snapdragon X2-powered Copilot+ PCs. Existing computers will not receive Windows 11 version 26H1, but the latter also won't get a typical update patch to this year's annual update. If you are curious, you can learn more about that here, but for most of the existing Windows 11 users, version 26H1 is of no interest.

If you ever felt like the stock Task Manager in Windows 11 is lacking features, here is some good news for you: the new program called AppControl is like PowerToys for Task Manager. This free app offers a detailed history of everything that is going on with your PC performance-wise. You can track resource load in time, see what apps and processes were running, check CPU and GPU temperatures, create custom notifications for system events, check detailed explanations for each app and process, and do more. This handy tool is free, and it is a must for those who want to better understand their PC behavior.

At the end of this week's Windows section, here is some useful trivia for you. Raymond Chen, a Microsoft veteran, shared interesting details about the Windows 95 CD and all the extra stuff it included back in the day. Also, here is a guide detailing what the Windows.old folder is, and what you should do with it. Finally, check out this editorial where Usama Jawad rumbles about the deprecated Steps Recorder and why Microsoft should have continued upgrading it, perhaps even with some AI.

Windows Insider Program

Here is what Microsoft released for Windows Insiders this week:

Updates are available

This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties.

PowerToys received a new update this week. There are no new tools or major additions, except for a single new feature for the new Cursor Wrap module. Still, you may want to get to version 0.97.2, as it fixes various bugs in existing modules, such as Advanced Paste, Command Palette, Image Resizer, Light Switch, and more.

PoweToys is not the only useful app you should have on your computer. If you use virtual desktops, a very handy productivity feature introduced over ten years ago, you should probably add this small tool made by a Microsoft engineer to your software list. The MaximizeToVirtualDesktop (not a very creative name, but still) is a tiny app that brings some virtual desktop conveniences from macOS to Windows. Now, you can maximize an app to a virtual desktop (with a shortcut or an advanced click) and close the app along with its virtual desktop. The app is free, and it is available on GitHub.

There are also two important announcements you should be aware of if you use Microsoft's Office app. For one, the Send to Kindle feature in the Word app has been discontinued. While you can still send Word documents to your Kindle (do that via the Send to Kindle web app), you cannot do that from the Word app. Microsoft is now removing the feature, and it will get rid of it in less than one month.

The second announcement is about the Office Lens, a once-popular app for scanning documents, straightening the photos, and more. This app debuted back in the Windows Phone era, and it enjoyed a good reputation and solid popularity not just on Windows Phone, but on other platforms as well. Now, unfortunately, the app is six feet under, just like Windows Phone. While you can still use it to scan documents, the app will lose all of its features on March 9. The good thing is that most of the modern smartphones have similar features built into their default camera apps, so the end of the Office Lens app should not be the end of the world. Still a bummer, though.

Continuing with Office news, we have LibreOffice and its non-stop fight with Microsoft for open formats. While it is hardly shocking that a for-profit company in a capitalist country prioritizes profit, LibreOffice argues that proprietary formats and Microsoft's unwillingness to adopt open-source formatting harm the community, such as scientific data and research, where apps like Excel and Word play a key role.

On the browser side, Microsoft has some bad news for those using Edge on macOS. As it turned out, Microsoft failed to patch a CPU-hogging bug, and the browser can still strain your Mac, increase resource consumption and cause overheating. Microsoft has this problem in the list of known issues in Microsoft Edge, and while the company is working on fixing it, you may want to switch to something else.

Speaking of Microsoft Edge, the software giant is once again in hot water for pushing OEMs to make Edge an exclusive browser on Windows PCs. Brazil's antitrust regulator, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), is investigating 10 major PC manufacturers after Opera's complaint about Microsoft indirectly forcing OEMs to exclusively pre-install Edge on Windows PCs. Other manufacturers received regulatory letters as well, including Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, Positivo, Samsung, Multilaser, Daten, and LG.

To finish this week's update section, here is a useful guide detailing how to get rid of AI Overviews on Google Search. This controversial feature has a polarizing reputation among users, and many of them want Google to give them the option to turn AI overviews off. While that is not possible officially, there is a way to remove them on desktop and mobile.

Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting:

• Exchange Online EWS is dying; here is what IT admins can do to prepare.

• Microsoft updates Windows 11 Validation ISO with WinRE enhancements and more.

• Microsoft Outlook Mobile now lets you hide declined meetings for a cleaner calendar.

   

Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week:

• Intel released new Wi-Fi drivers for Windows 10 and 11. The latest release introduced a new feature in advanced settings that allows you to prioritize channel load when roaming or switching between access points. By default, the driver prioritizes access points with better signal strength, but that does not necessarily guarantee faster speeds and a more reliable connection.
• AMD released a new graphics driver preview under version 26.2.1. The update fixes color corruption on certain graphics cards and adds optimizations for Hioh 3 and Yakuza 3. Some known issues remain standing, so make sure you read the release notes carefully.
• NVIDIA updated its new app for PCs. Version 11.0.6.386 arrived as a hotfix for users who can't launch the app on certain PCs. It also resolved a problem with Advanced Optimus mux switches, a feature that manages which GPU a laptop screen is connected to at a given moment.

Reviews are in

Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week

Neowin published a bunch of reviews this week, from portable SSDs to DACs, USB drives, and desktop speakers. Steven Parker reviewed the Lexar TouchLock Portable SSD, a compact solid-state drive with some interesting conveniences, such as advanced security, magnetic attachment, and more.

Also, he reviewed the Creative Pebble X Plus, a compact set of desktop speakers from the famous maker of sound cards, and PNY's Duo Link V3 flash drive with a Type-C and Type-A connector in one device to maximize compatibility.

Another review was from Robbie Khan, as he took for a spin the world's first DAC/amp with an AI-assisted parametric EQ. If that sounds interesting to you, check out the review here.

On the gaming side

Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts, and more.

NVIDIA announced some updates to its GeForce NOW cloud streaming service. After releasing a native client for Linux a few weeks ago, the GPU maker brought GeForce NOW to Amazon Fire TV, giving users one more platform to access games in the cloud. In addition to that, NVIDIA made more games compatible with GeForce NOW, and the latest batch includes REANIMAL, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Mega Man 11, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Disciples: Domination, and more.

A new beta version of Valve's Steam client is now available with interesting and useful changes. With the newest release, Steam users can add extra information to their game reviews, namely their PC specs. You can see what processor, GPU, and RAM a particular reviewer used to play the game before leaving feedback. This feature is optional, and if you do not want to let people know that you are playing on a Pentium 4-based PC, you can leave reviews without including any info about your gaming rig.

Sony has some good news for fans of the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Later this year, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Volume 2 will arrive on Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and PlayStation 5, ending the era of PlayStation exclusivity that started decades ago. Death Stranding 2 is another temporary Sony exclusive that is now heading to PC, with Kojima's latest product scheduled to arrive in March 2026.

Finally, here is the latest issue of our Weekend PC Game deals series with a new double giveaway from the Epic Games Store, a new Humble Bundle with some horror games, and plenty of other discounts for you to discover.

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Posted Sunday 15 February 2026 at 2:50 am AEST (my time).

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These “AI self-sufficiency” claims fit into Microsoft’s October 2025 deal with OpenAI. The revised partnership now allows Microsoft to develop its own frontier models and eventually pursue its own AGI (artificial general intelligence), while keeping the 27% stake in OpenAI and retaining long-term access to OpenAI's models and IP through 2032.

OpenAI models still power core features of Microsoft’s main consumer-facing AI, Copilot. However, dependence on a single supplier poses risks, as any issue OpenAI potentially faces could affect Microsoft’s products that rely on it. Developing in-house frontier models that will be optimized for products like Copilot, Office, and Azure gives Microsoft significant flexibility. Both when it comes to strategic independence and financial efficiency.

In the FT interview, Suleyman explained the shift in strategy:

“Three or four months ago, having renegotiated our partnership, we also decided that this was a moment when we have to set about delivering on true AI self-sufficiency. I mean, this after all is the most important technology of our time.”

This isn't a full break from OpenAI, as Microsoft will continue to rely on it to be its primary partner for many applications. But a diversified approach guards Microsoft from any undesirable scenarios.

Microsoft is already executing this diversified approach. It’s already paying Anthropic to host Claude models on Azure, along with additional models like Meta's Llama, Mistral, and others. At the same time, the company is also investing heavily in developing its own models, most notably the MAI lineup.

All of this requires massive infrastructure and Microsoft is moving quickly to build it. The company has already presented its own AI-accelerator chip, Maia 200, and is currently building the Fairwater network of AI data centers, which includes some of the biggest supercomputers in the world.

Despite hundreds of billions of dollars worth of investments across the industry, nobody can predict in which way will the entire AI timeline eventually develop. Microsoft deliberately chooses not to put all of its eggs in one basket, so it can emerge victorious regardless of the outcome.

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Posted Friday 13 February 2026 at 1:01 pm AEST (my time).

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The PlayStation maker usually holds on to a year or more of exclusivity to its consoles when releasing a single-player title published by it on other platforms. The title was released on PlayStation 5 in June 2025.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is coming to PC on March 19, 2025. Sony's in-house porting specialist studio, Nixxes Software, will be handling the development of the port. Check out the announcement trailer below:

"Step back into Sam’s boots as he takes on a new adventure to connect Australia to the Chiral network," says Sony, describing the sequel. "Beset on all sides by enemies, Sam will have to shoot, sneak, and sprint his way out of trouble, as well as survive natural disasters such as earthquakes, sandstorms and forest fires, and brave the ruinous Timefall as he strives to save humanity from extinction once again. The Social Strand System returns, connecting players from around the globe allowing you to shape someone else’s world, and have their actions shape yours."

There will be some PC-exclusive features landing with the port, too. This will include ultra-wide monitor support (going up to 32:9) for both gameplay and cutscenes, as well as upscaling tech from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. Uncapped frame rates and frame generation tech were also confirmed for the PC version today.

Outside of keyboard and mouse controls, full support for the DualSense controller will be available too, including its haptic feedback support. As for sound, "3D Audio via Dolby Access, DTS Sound Unbound, or Windows Sonic for Headphones" has been confirmed.

Sony is also tempting PC players to make a PlayStation account to gain exclusive cosmetics as well as enable the PlayStation overlay and Trophies in the game.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach pre-orders will be available across Steam and the Epic Games Store later today.

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Posted Friday 13 February 2026 at 12:58 pm AEST (my time).

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Why it matters: Leading AI models, including Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's ChatGPT, are getting a lot better, a lot faster, and even building new products themselves.

• That excites AI optimists — and scares the hell out of several people tasked with policing their safety for society.

Driving the news: On Monday, an Anthropic researcher announced his departure, in part to write poetry about "the place we find ourselves."

• An OpenAI researcher also left this week citing ethical concerns. Another OpenAI employee, Hieu Pham, wrote on X: "I finally feel the existential threat that AI is posing."

• Jason Calacanis, tech investor and co-host of the All-In podcast, wrote on X: "I've never seen so many technologists state their concerns so strongly, frequently and with such concern as I have with AI."

• The biggest talk among the AI crowd Wednesday was entrepreneur Matt Shumer's post comparing this moment to the eve of the pandemic. It went mega-viral, gathering 56 million views in 36 hours, as he laid out the risks of AI fundamentally reshaping our jobs and lives.

Reality check: Most people at these companies remain bullish that they'll be able to steer to technology smartly without societal damage or big job loss. But the companies themselves admit the risk.

• Anthropic published a report showing that, while low risk, AI can be used in heinous crimes, including the creation of chemical weapons. This so-called "sabotage report" looked at the risks of AI without human intervention, purely on its own.

• At the same time, OpenAI dismantled its mission alignment team, which was created to ensure AGI (artificial general intelligence) benefits all of humanity, Platformer author Casey Newton reported Wednesday.

Between the lines: While the business and tech worlds are obsessed with this topic, it hardly registers in the White House and Congress.

Threat level: The latest round of warnings follows evidence that these new models can build complex products themselves and then improve their work without human intervention.

• OpenAI's last model helped train itself. Anthropic's viral Cowork tool built itself, too.

• These revelations — in addition to signs that AI threatens big categories of the economy, including software or legal services — prompted a lot of real-time soul-searching.

The bottom line: The AI disruption is here, and its impact is happening faster and more broadly than many anticipated.

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The aptly named Gravitino Coil is a new module that attaches to the ever-useful multi-tool. It lets players manipulate certain heavy objects to easily carry them or shoot at Sentinels while on foot. Of course, this is not simply a tool to play around with, as Hello Games has added an entire industrial waste collection gameplay loop to accompany it.

"Manipulate gravity itself with the new Gravitino Coil attachment for the Multi-Tool," explains Hello Games. "Magnetise, repel, toss, transport and arrange physical objects - to harvest valuable resources through heavy-duty waste collection, or simply for the joy of it!"

Some planets will now have heaps of industrial waste, which is where players can stumble upon salvageable scrap. Giving this scrap to a Waste Processing Plant will net players brand-new rewards and recycled resources.

Getting large amounts of scrap to these plants is no easy task, which is where the trucking part comes in. Players can now customize their Colossus land vehicles with a new array of attachments to essentially transform them into trucks, capable of carrying massive loads of scrap.

"Aspiring scrap-hunters can install a tippable flatbed on the Colossus Exocraft, for easy transportation of large hauls," adds the developer. "An electromagnetic containment field minimises cargo loss while navigating uneven terrain - but drive carefully up steep slopes!"

No Man's Sky: Remnant update is now available across PC (Steam and Xbox app), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and both Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 systems. Find the patch notes here.

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Posted Thursday 12 February 2026 at 12:05 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has ramped up its efforts on the generative AI front over the past few years, integrating the cutting-edge technology across its products and services. However, it's now apparent that AI requires an incredible amount of electricity, computing power, and cooling water to remain operational.

As it turns out, the software giant has seemingly identified a new and effective way to build data centers with new high-temperature superconductors (HTS). The materials foster the flow of electricity with zero resistance and save space, bolstering layout efficiency for data centers (via The Verge).

These data centers currently use copper wires, which do conduct electricity efficiently. However, HTS cables are reportedly better at the job. What's more, their zero-resistance conduction means the energy lost during the process is significantly reduced. HTS cables are also lighter and far more compact.

The rapid construction of data centers worldwide to fuel AI development has sparked backlash from local communities, largely due to the negative impacts they bring.

In 2024, a report suggested that Microsoft and Google's electricity consumption surpassed the power usage of over 100 countries. As a result, people within close proximity to Microsoft data centers are likely to face a wide range of challenges, including high electricity bills, reduced access to water, pollution, and gentrification.

Until now, HTS cables have seen limited adoption across the industry, largely due to their complexity. There's also the cost implication side of things. For instance, while HTS cables promise zero resistance to electrical current flow, the broader system beyond the cables still needs to be cooled.

Part of its components (HTS tape) are also from rare-earth barium copper oxide material, which is still largely concentrated in China. While speaking to The Verge, experts and analysts warned that Microsoft might be forced to increase the manufacturing of the tape to make it more affordable.

Back in August of last year, industry sources reported that Apple was planning to release a budget-friendly MacBook powered by an iPhone-class chip. At the time, the report came as a surprise, given that Apple’s Mac lineup traditionally relies on its powerful M-series processors.

Using an iPhone chip in a MacBook would signal a shift toward a product aimed at emerging markets and first-time Mac buyers who are unwilling or unable to pay premium prices. Apple has already experimented with this strategy in the tablet segment, most notably with the 11th-generation iPad, which features the iPhone-class A16 chip.

A MacBook for those who don’t want to break the bank

Last year’s report suggested that Apple’s low-cost MacBook would feature a 13-inch LCD display (12.9 inches, to be exact) and be powered by the A18 Pro SoC, the same chip used in the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The A18 Pro’s performance is reportedly on par with Apple’s M1 processor, which means it should offer more than enough processing power for everyday tasks and entry-level workflows. The chip is also expected to be paired with 8GB of RAM.

The report claimed that the device would enter mass production in Q3 2025 and hit store shelves in late 2025 or early 2026. A more recent report from GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu also echoed these claims.

In the latest edition of the Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman added that the low-cost MacBook is expected to launch in early 2026. While he didn’t specify an exact date, he noted that the device would be unveiled in the first half of the year.

According to Gurman, this new MacBook is designed to serve as an entry point for newcomers to the Mac ecosystem and would help Apple better compete with Windows laptops and Chromebooks.

Moreover, I don’t expect Apple to spend too much time on the design of a budget-friendly MacBook. The device will probably be built based on the same chassis as the 13-inch MacBook Air. Given that students are a targeted customer group, the device is expected to be light and portable.

Since Apple is using an iPhone-class chip inside a 13-inch MacBook, the device could have significant unused internal space that may be repurposed for a larger battery. Apple claims that its 13-inch MacBook with the M4 chip delivers up to 18 hours of video streaming and up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing. In theory, a MacBook powered by an iPhone-class chip could extend these figures by an additional two to three hours.

As for pricing, there are still many conflicting rumors circulating online. Earlier reports suggested that the low-cost MacBook would be priced between $599 and $699, while more recent reports claim the device could cost as much as $750. The cheapest laptop Apple sells now is the 13.6-inch MacBook Air with the M4 chip that costs $999 on the company’s website.

What are your thoughts on a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone-class chip? Would you consider buying one if it hit store shelves? Let us know in the comments.

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Posted Tuesday 10 February 2026 at 4:17 am AEST (my time).

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New York’s state legislature is set to consider a pair of bills that would require labels on AI-generated content and would put a three-year pause on new data center construction.

The New York Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Requirements in News Act (NY FAIR News Act, for short) would require that any news “substantially composed, authored, or created through the use of generative artificial intelligence” carry a disclaimer. It would also require that any content created using AI be reviewed and approved by a human with “editorial control” before being published.

Beyond that, the bill requires organizations to disclose to newsroom employees how and when AI is being used. And it would call for safeguards that prevent confidential information, especially about sources, from being accessed by AI.

Meanwhile, S9144 “imposes a moratorium on the issuance of permits for new data centers” for at least three years. The bill cites rising electric and gas rates for residential, commercial, and industrial customers. National Grid New York says that requests for “large load” connections have tripled in just one year, with at least 10 gigawatts of demand expected to be added in the next five years. There are already over 130 data centers in New York, according to Data Center Map.

The state just approved a 9-percent rate increase for Con Edison customers over the next three years, and electric bills are soaring around the country as datacenters put strain on the grid.

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Posted Monday 9 February 2026 at 11:32 am AEST (my time).

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