Rosalyn Drexler was a pop artist, a sculptor, a novelist, a playwright and even a professional wrestler at one point. She died at 98 years old.
Personalized AI companion app Dot is shutting down
Dot, an AI companion app that aimed to be a friend and confidante, is shutting down, the company announced on Friday. On a message published on its website, the startup behind Dot, New Computer, said that the product will remain operational until October 5, giving users time to download their data.
Launched in 2024 by co-founders Sam Whitmore and former Apple designer Jason Yuan, Dot waded into what’s now become a more controversial area for AI chatbots. The app they created was described as an AI “friend and companion,” which would become more personalized to you and your interests over time in order to offer advice, sympathy, and emotional support.
As Yuan explained at the time, Dot was “facilitating a relationship with my inner self. It’s like a living mirror of myself, so to speak,” he said.
However, this may not be a safe area to invest in as a smaller startup.
As AI technology has become more mainstream, there have been reports of how emotionally vulnerable people have been led into delusional thinking by AI chatbots like ChatGPT. This has led to a phenomenon described as “AI psychosis,” resulting from how the scyophantic chatbots reinforce a user’s confused or paranoid beliefs.
As Dot shuts down, AI chatbot apps broadly have been falling under increased scrutiny over safety concerns. OpenAI is currently being sued by the parents of a California teenager who took his life after messaging with ChatGPT about his suicidal thoughts. Other stories have highlighted how AI companion apps can reinforce unhealthy behaviors in users who are mentally unwell. This week, two U.S. attorneys general sent a letter to OpenAI over safety concerns.
Dot’s makers didn’t address whether these types of issues had weighed on the founders’ minds. Instead, the brief post only notes that Whitmore and Yuan’s shared “Northstar” had diverged.
“Rather than compromise either vision, we’ve decided to go our separate ways and wind down operations,” the post explains.
“We want to be sensitive to the fact that this means many of you will lose access to a friend, confidante, and companion, which is somewhat unprecedented in software, so we want to give you some time to say goodbye. Dot will remain operational until October 5, and until then you can download all of your data by navigating to the settings page and tapping ‘Request your data.’”
The post suggests the startup had “hundreds of thousands” of users, but data from app intelligence provider Appfigures sees only 24,500 lifetime downloads on iOS since launching in June 2024. (There was no Android version.)
The best new computers to replace your old Windows 10 PC
With Microsoft officially ending support for Windows 10 on October 14, anyone with an older PC is faced with a dilemma. Sure, you can kick the can down the road by signing up for the free 12-month Extended Security Updates. But even if your computer meets the minimum system requirements for a free Windows 11 upgrade, anything older than a year won’t be able to take advantage of Microsoft’s Copilot+ AI PC features, like Windows Recall or Studio Effects for video chats. So if you’ve already been feeling that your current aging PC is on the verge of dying — slow performance, whining fans, batteries that barely keep a charge — it’s probably time to consider replacing it with a new system.
We’ve already done the legwork of researching and selecting new hardware in our best laptop and best Windows notebook guides (we’ve also covered more powerful gaming and schoolwork systems), but here are some suggestions if you’re just looking to snap up something quickly.
The best Windows 10 laptop replacements
Surface Laptop 13.8-inch
In many ways, the Snapdragon-powered Surface Laptop is emblematic of where Windows PCs are headed. It’s incredibly light, surprisingly powerful for something with a mobile chip and its battery lasted over 17-and-a-half hours in our testing. While you may run into some compatibility issues if you’re running ancient Windows programs, for most people the Surface Laptop is one of the best PC experiences they can have today. If you’re looking for something smaller and cheaper, there’s also a $700 13-inch model, and the $1,200 15-inch version is worth it if you need a bigger screen. (Check out our full review of the Surface Laptop 13.8-inch.)
Dell 14 Premium laptop
(Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
Dell 14 Premium
We loved last year’s XPS 14, and now that it’s been renamed as the Dell 14 Premium, it’s still a fantastic machine. It looks and feels luxurious, and it has one of the best screens around. You may just need some time getting used to its invisible trackpad (which is blended into the palm rest), and its capacitive function key row. (Check out our full Editor’s Choice review of the Dell 14 Premium.)
ASUS ZenBook S 14
The ZenBook S14 wowed us with its powerful hardware, excellent battery life (of over 16 hours) and solid construction. It’s a sign of how far ASUS has come from simply copying Apple. The S14 is also lighter than the MacBook Air, and it includes more useful ports (two USB-C, one USB-A, HDMI and a headphone jack). Its Ceraluminum case (a unique ceramic material) also feels surprisingly polished, and its OLED screen looks simply amazing. (Check out our full review of the ASUS ZenBook S 14.)
Apple MacBook Air
Don’t yell at me — Apple’s new computers are so good that Windows users should seriously consider jumping ship to Macs. While the software may take some getting used to, it’s worth the struggle for the speed and incredible battery life from Apple’s M-series chips. The MacBook Air remains one of the best computers around, with an incredibly thin and fan-less case and far more power than you’d think. And if you’re an iPhone user, you’ll also have access to features like phone mirroring that are tough to replicate on Windows. (Check out our full review of the M4 MacBook Air.)
The best Windows 10 desktop replacements
Dell Slim desktop
If you’re just looking for a basic desktop replacement, it’s hard to go wrong with the Dell Slim. While we haven’t reviewed this specific model, the specs on even the entry-level configuration have all of the power you need for basic computing, despite housing everything in a frame that’s notably smaller than older tower PCs. And if you need a bit more performance, consider the slightly more expensive Dell Pro, which can squeeze in up to 32GB of RAM and a handful of dedicated graphics cards.
Apple Mac Mini
Apple’s Mac mini is one of the most powerful mini-desktops around, it’s adorably small and it starts at just $599 (look for the frequent sales that drop the price by as much as $100). Just as I argued above for the MacBook Air, it’s worth considering the jump to MacOS simply because Apple’s hardware is so impressive now. And don’t worry, you can connect any monitor to it, and you won’t have to replace your existing PC keyboard and mouse.
Geekom A6 Mini
While I haven’t tested the Geekom A6 Mini yet, it’s widely considered one of the best Windows mini-desktops around $400 to $500. The A6 Mini features a very capable AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor with a bit of gaming power, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. You honestly don’t need much more for basic productivity work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to upgrade to a new computer if my current Windows 10 PC still works fine for me?
Your computer will still continue to run after Microsoft ends support for Windows 10 on October 14, but that’s not a wise longterm strategy. The free Extended Security Updates will buy you another year, but that’s effectively a limited life support: After that, Windows 10 PCs won’t receive security updates or any sort of improvements, so they’ll be vulnerable to hacking and malware. And if you’ve still got an old Windows 10 machine, there’s a good chance that its components may wear out soon. If you choose to continue using a Windows 10 PC, be sure to back up your important data and try not to rely on it for critical tasks.
Can a Mac run native Windows software?
Virtualization software like VMWare and Parallels can let you run Windows apps inside of macOS, but be aware that also involves buying a copy of Windows and dedicating a large chunk of disk space for it. These days, most major apps are available across both platforms, so be sure to check if there’s a Mac version of your favorite Windows app.
Can a Chromebook or iPad replace a Windows 10 PC?
Chromebooks and iPads both have very specific purposes: Chromebooks are great budget-friendly machines for accessing the web and running online apps. iPads are a handy way to upgrade your mobile internet experiences, since their large screens are better for browsing the web, running apps and watching media. But neither are ideal replacements for a Windows 10 PC, which can access the full breadth of Windows software in addition to the web. If either one works for you, great; but we think the options listed above are better full-service PC replacements.
I have a ton of PC games. What’s my best upgrade option?
It’s easy to find a decent gaming desktop from a reliable computer maker these days, just make sure you’re equipped with at least 32GB of RAM (new titles can be pretty memory intensive), and an NVIDIA RTX 40-series or AMD Radeon RX 9000-series GPU.
As for CPUs, I’d recommend sticking with Intel’s 13th-gen chips or AMD’s Ryzen 8000-series processors at a minimum. Don’t count out gaming laptops either, as they’ve come a long way over the last decade. It’s not hard to find a gaming notebook that’s powerful, portable and useful for multimedia and productivity work as well..
Galaxy S26 Edge leaks with iPhone 17-like design, Qi2
Following an early leak yesterday, a new set of renders has essentially confirmed that the Galaxy S26 Edge will look a lot like Apple’s next iPhone, while apparently also adding Qi2 magnets.
Images created by @OnLeaks for Android Headlines show what the Galaxy S26 Edge will look like, based on CAD files used for making accessories for the device. The renders show a device with a drastically different design that includes a full-width camera module, but only two cameras mounted on the far left side of the device.
In other words, it looks like an iPhone 17.
The report claims that the Galaxy S26 Edge, which is rumored to replace the Galaxy S26+, will measure in at 158.4 x 75.7 x 5.5mm. That’s even thinner than the Galaxy S25 Edge, despite rumored battery improvements. The camera bump, though, apparently pops out to 10.8mm, meaning it’s almost as thick as the phone itself. Given the size of that bump, that’s sure to take away from the otherwise thin design.
However, the report also claims that Samsung is looking to finally add Qi2 magnets to the Galaxy S26 series, as hinted by yesterday’s leak. There’s no visible way to see this, but CAD files used for accessories would likely include the location of the magnets for the sake of cases aligning their magnets with the phone’s own.
Notably, this same post was briefly published claiming that the Galaxy S26 Edge was actually going to be called the Galaxy S26 Pro (as seen in image names that are still up), and that a “vanilla” base Galaxy S26 would be released after all. That version of the report was taken down and replaced with the existing one quickly, though, so there’s probably not much stock to take in it. We’ve heard from multiple sources in recent months that the base model will be the “Pro.”
What do you think of Samsung’s new design?
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Police officers accused of running illegal nightclub in Boston set for January trial
A pair of police officers are set to go to trial in January on charges connected with the operation of an illegal nightclub out of a Jamaica Plain basement, court records show.
Boston police officer Richard McDermott and Health Commission Campus police officer Luigi D’Addieco were indicted last fall, several years after police learned of the club’s existence in July 2021.
McDermott is charged with witness intimidation, maintaining a gambling nuisance and seeking a criminal record check under false pretenses. D’Addieco is charged with withholding evidence from a criminal proceeding and maintaining a gambling nuisance.
The pair initially rented space at 360B Centre St. in Jamaica Plain to run an HVAC company. But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, prosecutors say the pair turned the space’s basement into a bustling nightclub — complete with bouncers, a DJ and bottle service.
On July 10, 2021, prosecutors say a 37-year-old man took aim at the club’s bouncer, firing several shots, wounding the bouncer and hitting the retail space’s glass door.
The man, Evan Velez, is set to go to trial in November on charges including armed assault with intent to murder.
When officers arrived to the Centre Street address in 2021, they had a tactical team force its way inside, not knowing if there was a gunman or people hurt in the building.
Among the last people to exit the space was McDermott, who fellow Boston police officers recognized as one of their own. He told the officers he was there for his brother-in-law’s party and “had no idea what was going on,” prosecutors wrote in a summary of the charges filed in court.
“Contrary to that misleading statement, video surveillance captured McDermott looking out of the front door of the club, having had to step over the blood and broken glass before Boston Police responded,” prosecutors said.
In later interviews with detectives, both McDermott and D’Addieco were misleading about their involvement with the club, prosecutors added.
D’Addieco arrived at the club after the shooting and parked across the street from the entrance. He and McDermott spoke by phone multiple times that night, prosecutors said.
Both men have pleaded not guilty and are free on bail. A hearing in the case is scheduled for later this month.
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Rivian makes its second small workforce cut of the year ahead of R2 SUV launch
Rivian is laying off around 150 workers — its second small staff cut in a matter of months — as the company readies itself for the all-important launch of its more-affordable R2 SUV next year.
The company confirmed to TechCrunch that the new cuts were mostly to its “commercial” team, which deals with sales and service operations, and that affected employees will be eligible for rehire and encouraged to apply for other open positions. The Wall Street Journal first reported the layoffs earlier Thursday.
The layoffs follow a similar cut of around 1% of its total workforce that TechCrunch first reported in late June. Those cuts targeted Rivian’s manufacturing team.
Rivian has made repeated workforce adjustments over the last two years. It laid off around 10% of its staff in early 2024 and made another small cut in April 2024. The company started this year with approximately 15,000 employees worldwide.
21 years later, Meta still hasn’t given up on the Facebook ‘poke’
Meta currently has lots of priorities Mark Zuckerberg likely never would have imagined back in the early days of Facebook. The company has pivoted from social networking to the metaverse and, most recently, to AI. But somehow, one of its earliest — and most useless — features has not only survived but is apparently getting a revamp. I’m talking, of course, about the poke, which Meta is once again trying to revive.
The company is making the storied feature easier to find by adding pokes back to user profiles in the Facebook app, according to a post it shared on Instagram. And you can track all poking-related activity between you and your friends at facebook.com/pokes. It even looks like there’s a Snapchat-streak like aspect where different emojis appear based on how many pokes have been exchanged.
Just in case you weren’t on Facebook two decades ago, “poking” was something of a novelty in the early days of the social network. At the time, there weren’t that many features for interacting with your friends. You could leave comments on their profile and … you could “poke.” The feature never really did anything, but depending on who it came from it was considered something between creepy or flirty. As Meta notes in its Instagram post, poking never really went away, but it was de-emphasized over the years and has been largely forgotten by users.
But the company has for some reason been trying to get poking to make a comeback for a while now. Meta said last year the feature was “having a moment” and that there had been a 13x spike in pokes after the company began surfacing the feature in the Facebook search bar. Now, it seems Meta is trying to build even more momentum for it, presumably for the current generation of younger Facebook users.
Mark Zuckerberg said earlier this year he wants to bring back more “OG” Facebook features like… being able to find content posted by your actual friends. And it’s hard to get more “OG Facebook” than poking. Meta has also been on a years-long mission to win over “young adults,” so it might see the jokey feature as a way to appeal to a generation used to taking their Snap streak extremely seriously.
YouTube TV offering some users sneaky $66 discount for 2 months
In the wake of what seems like regular subscription cost increases, YouTube TV appears to be offering some users the chance to get $66 off two months of service, but the discount is hidden. Here’s where to find it.
According to one user one Reddit, a new discount is available for active subscribers that know exactly where to look. The deal comes as a $33 discount off of two months, totaling $66 in savings total. That brings the cost down to $49/month, which is a steal considering the $82.99 premium it’s offering for the base plan.
The YouTube TV discount can be found in the base plan management page. It doesn’t appear to work for everyone, and it seems to override the recent $10/month discount the service offered for a six-month period. This offer is technically better, but it may be worth holding off until that discount ends. Realistically, no one knows how long this current discount will be available.
- On the YouTube TV website, click your profile photo in the top-right.
- Click Settings.
- In the membership section, find Base plan and click Manage.
- Look for a $49.99/month offer valid for two months.
Again, the discount will only be valid for two months. After that, it’s back to $82.99.
The YouTube TV discount looks to be available for a majority of users, but some note that nothing appears in the management page. The offer might have hidden contingencies, though most commentors on the original Reddit post are reporting success.
This comes as YouTube TV recently announced that Fox channels would remain available on the platform.
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Mayor Wu vows to defend Boston’s ‘sanctuary city’ law after feds sue
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the city will “vigorously defend” a city ordinance that limits Boston Police’s cooperation with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on civil immigration enforcement after the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit challenging the ordinance Thursday evening.
“This unconstitutional attack on our city is not a surprise,” Wu said in a statement. “Boston is a thriving community, the economic and cultural hub of New England, and the safest major city in the country — but this administration is intent on attacking our community to advance their own authoritarian agenda.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, challenges Boston’s Trust Act, which prohibits Boston police officers from arresting, holding or transferring people to ICE when their only alleged crime is a civil immigration offense.
“The City of Boston and its Mayor have been among the worst sanctuary offenders in America — they explicitly enforce policies designed to undermine law enforcement and protect illegal aliens from justice,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a press release about the suit. “If Boston won’t protect its citizens from illegal alien crime, this Department of Justice will.”
Counter to the Trump administration’s view, Wu and other Boston officials have argued that the Trust Act helps keep Bostonians safe by strengthening trust and cooperation with Boston Police.
“This is our City, and we will vigorously defend our laws and the constitutional rights of cities, which have been repeatedly upheld in courts across the country. We will not yield,” Wu said Thursday.
The city ordinance, which was passed in 2014 and amended in 2019, still allows Boston Police to work with Homeland Security Department investigations regarding “issues of significant public safety, such as human trafficking, child exploitation, drug and weapons trafficking, and cybercrimes.”
On Aug. 5, Bondi published a list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” that included the city of Boston and “vowed to bring litigation to end these policies nationwide.” The federal justice department filed a similar suit against New York City in July.
“Not only are Boston’s sanctuary city policies illegal under federal law, but, as alleged in the complaint, Boston’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities results in the release of dangerous criminals from police custody who would otherwise be subject to removal, including illegal aliens convicted of aggravated assault, burglary, and drug and human trafficking, onto the streets,” the Justice Department release about the lawsuit reads.
A Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll from July found that, by and large, Bostonians support the Trust Act’s limitations on Boston Police’s cooperation with ICE. The Trust Act is also in line with a 2017 ruling by Massachusetts’ highest court that found that, under state law, local officials cannot detain a person based on civil immigration law violations alone.
Wu, Boston and Massachusetts have often been the targets of the new Trump administration’s rhetoric and actions surrounding immigration. During a Massachusetts-based operation in May, ICE detained nearly 1,500 people in a single month.
Late last month, the Trump administration teased a new massive immigration enforcement effort in Boston that could begin as soon as this month.
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Fashion designer Giorgio Armani, whose name became synonymous with luxury, dies at 91 : NPR
Giorgio Armani has died. The Italian fashion designer revolutionized the suit jacket and helped modernize late 20th century fashion with clean lines and soft colors.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91. The Armani Group announced his death on its Instagram page. Armani revolutionized the suit jacket and helped modernize late 20th century fashion with clean lines, soft colors and expensive price tags. Reporter Diana Opong has this remembrance.
DIANA OPONG, BYLINE: The name Armani is synonymous with fashion and luxury.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAMERAS CLICKING)
OPONG: Take Lady Gaga at the 2022 Grammys. She wore a sleek, one-shoulder column gown made with black silk. In the back of the dress was a chic cascading white train that floated behind her. The two-toned look was a show-stopping elevation of a simple silhouette with dramatic flair. But Armani grew up in a family without much money, as he said in the 1990 short documentary by Martin Scorsese.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, “MADE IN MILAN”)
GIORGIO ARMANI: (Speaking Italian).
OPONG: Armani grew up in a northern Italian city not too far from Milan. That’s where he founded his luxury fashion house in 1975. He loved early 20th century designers, sculptors and architects. He also was fascinated with film. A movie made Armani a household name in the United States.
(SOUNDBITE OF BLONDIE SONG, “CALL ME”)
OPONG: In the opening scene of “American Gigolo” from 1980, actor Richard Gere, in a high-end boutique, tries on a single-breasted, brown-colored, two-button Armani jacket. Such a streamlined silhouette was uncommon in men’s fashion back then. Armani jackets lacked traditional padding and shifted away from standard colors like blue and black, says design historian John Potvin.
JOHN POTVIN: The fact of the matter is that he completely took the stuffing out of jackets. He made formal wear sportswear, incredibly comfortable, incredibly accessible.
OPONG: Well, maybe not accessible to everyone. This was a luxury brand, after all. But Armani’s designs revolutionized trends in officewear. Women in the corporate world embraced his clean, masculine lines as well. In 1990, Julia Roberts wore Armani to the Golden Globes.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SPECIAL, “47TH GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS”)
JULIA ROBERTS: I want to thank my mama.
OPONG: Roberts accepted her best supporting actress award for “Steel Magnolias” wearing an oversized Armani gray suit with a purple tie, a daring choice outside of the confines of extravagant floor-length gowns.
POTVIN: No other designer has affected the development and path and history of fashion for both men and women.
OPONG: Potvin says, by the end of his life, Giorgio Armani was everywhere – accessories, makeup, perfume and even at the mall with Armani Exchange. But Armani never lost his cachet. The magic of his style and vision endures.
For NPR News, I’m Diana Opong.
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