August 2021
- Is GitHub Copilot Actually Going to Change How We Write Code?
GitHub's AI pair programmer is autocompleting whole functions in VS Code, and developers are split on what that means for the craft.
- Why You Still Can't Buy a Reasonably Priced GPU
Chip shortages and crypto-mining demand keep RTX 30-series and RX 6000-series cards selling for double or triple MSRP.
- Perseverance Is About to Drill Its First Hole in Mars
NASA's $2.7 billion rover is set to attempt its first rock core sample in Jezero Crater within days, using the percussive drill on its 7-foot arm.
- Poking Around the Windows 11 Insider Builds
A look at what's actually in the early Windows 11 Insider Preview builds ahead of a promised Holiday 2021 launch.
- Ingenuity Just Won't Quit: Flight 11 Sends It Scouting Over South Séítah
NASA's Mars helicopter flew its 11th mission on August 5, covering roughly 1,250 feet to scout South Séítah for the Perseverance rover.
- Apple's iCloud Photo Scanning Plan Is a Privacy Minefield
Apple's new on-device CSAM detection for iCloud Photos aims to fight child exploitation but opens a surveillance debate security researchers can't ignore.
- Perseverance's First Drill Attempt Comes Up Empty, and That's Fine
NASA's Perseverance rover drilled its first Martian rock sample, but the tube came back empty — here's why that's not actually a failure.
- Eight Months Later, Buying a PS5 Is Still a Blood Sport
The PS5 and Xbox Series X remain nearly impossible to buy at MSRP as the chip shortage drags on, with Sony warning demand will outpace supply into 2022.
- The IPCC Just Called Code Red, and It's Worth Reading Past the Headline
The UN's Sixth Assessment Report says human-caused warming is unequivocal and some changes are now irreversible for centuries.
- OpenAI Cracks Open Codex, the Brain Behind GitHub Copilot
OpenAI's new Codex API, a GPT-3 descendant trained on 54 million GitHub repos, solves over 70% of its benchmark problems and already powers Copilot.
- Samsung Bets Big on Foldables (and Finally Kills the Note)
Samsung's Unpacked event brought the Z Fold3, Z Flip3, and a new unified Wear OS smartwatch lineup — and no Galaxy Note.
- The $611 Million Heist Nobody Saw Coming — And the Hacker Who Says They Want to Give It Back
A Poly Network exploit drained over $611 million across three blockchains, making it the largest DeFi hack ever — and then things got weird.
- This Year's Perseids Might Be the Best Show in Years
The Perseid meteor shower peaked this week, and a new moon plus dark skies made 2021 an unusually good year to watch.
- NortonLifeLock and Avast Are Joining Forces, and It Says a Lot About Where Security Is Headed
NortonLifeLock's roughly $8 billion deal to acquire Avast consolidates two of the biggest names in consumer antivirus software.
- The Switch OLED Preorder Scramble Nobody Should Be Surprised By
Nintendo's $349.99 Switch OLED Model is selling out at preorder despite offering no performance bump — and that's the whole story.
- Blue Origin Takes NASA to Court Over the Moon Lander
Blue Origin has escalated its fight over NASA's SpaceX-only Artemis lander contract from a GAO protest to an actual lawsuit.
- T-Mobile Confirms It Got Hacked, and the Details Are Still Coming In
T-Mobile confirmed a major breach after stolen customer data surfaced for sale, with an attacker allegedly brute-forcing an exposed network gateway.
- Fusion's Getting Closer, and the Numbers Just Jumped
NIF's August 8 shot hit 1.3 megajoules of fusion yield, 8x better than earlier 2021 results, putting inertial-confinement fusion near ignition.
- T-Mobile's Breach Just Got Much, Much Worse
T-Mobile now says over 40 million former and prospective customers had records exposed, alongside 7.8 million current postpaid subscribers.
- The Chip Shortage Has Officially Escaped the Gaming Aisle
The global semiconductor shortage is no longer just a GPU and console problem — it's now delaying laptops and idling car factories.
- T-Mobile's Breach Just Got Worse — Now It's Your Device's Turn
T-Mobile disclosed that attackers also grabbed IMEI and IMSI numbers, pushing the total affected past 76 million.
- SpaceX Is Back in Action, and It's Warming Up for Something Bigger
SpaceX resumes its Falcon 9 cadence after an unusually long pause, while Starship prep at Boca Chica hints at what's coming next.
- Why ARM-Based Laptops Are Suddenly Interesting
The M1 proved ARM laptops can beat x86 on performance-per-watt, and now Qualcomm and Windows OEMs are scrambling to catch up.
- Microsoft Is Teasing a Windows 11 Launch Date, and the Internet Noticed
Microsoft dropped hints today pointing toward an imminent Windows 11 release-date announcement after a summer of Insider previews and TPM 2.0 controversy.
- Wear OS Just Got a Second Chance
Samsung's Galaxy Watch4 debuts on the unified Google-Samsung Wear OS platform, raising the question of whether it can finally challenge the Apple Watch.
- The Poly Network Hacker Gave the Money Back, and Also a Job Offer Happened
Poly Network confirms nearly all $611 million from its August 10 hack has been returned after the attacker handed over the final private key.
- The Billionaire Space Race Has an Air Pollution Problem
As Branson, Bezos, and Musk ramp up launch cadence, scientists are starting to ask what all that rocket exhaust is doing to the upper atmosphere.
- Who Owns the Code an AI Writes for You?
As Copilot and Codex go live in preview, developers and lawyers are fighting over whether AI-generated code exposes companies to copyright risk.
- Get Ready to Fight for a Console This Holiday Season
PS5, Xbox Series X, and the incoming Switch OLED are all chasing the same scarce chips, and analysts say the holidays will be brutal.
- Perseverance's Empty Drill Hole and the Long Road to Mars Sample Return
After Perseverance's first coring attempt came up empty, here's where the Mars Sample Return campaign goes from here.
- Windows 11 Finally Gets a Release Date
Microsoft confirms Windows 11 launches October 5, with a phased free upgrade rollout starting on newer eligible PCs.