• Maingear’s latest retro gaming desktop takes you back to the Quake era

    January 29, 2026

    Maingear is back with another nostalgia-fueled gaming PC. The Retro98 may look like it’s made for playing Quake while you wait for The Phantom Menace trailer to drop. But on the inside, the beige box is powerful enough to slay today’s most demanding AAA games. “You’re not going to find this PC at your local Radio Shack,” Maingear promises. If you’re at least middle-aged, the Retro98’s exterior is instantly familiar. The hand-built tower includes an LED fan-speed display, a working turbo button and a power-lockout key. Sticking with the nostalgic motif, its front I/O is hidden behind the Maingear logo.…

  • I built marshmallow castles in Google’s new AI world generator

    January 29, 2026

    Google DeepMind is opening up access to Project Genie, its AI tool for creating interactive game worlds from text prompts or images.  Starting Thursday, Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. can play around with the experimental research prototype, which is powered by a combination of Google’s latest world model Genie 3, its image generation model Nano Banana Pro, and Gemini.  Coming five months after Genie 3’s research preview, the move is part of a broader push to gather user feedback and training data as DeepMind races to develop more capable world models.  World models are AI systems that generate…

  • Honda vehicles used to proactively report road safety issues in nation-first pilot

    January 29, 2026

    Honda and DriveOhio have teamed up on a new road safety initiative in which Honda vehicles are being used to collect real-time data that can advise about potential issues and road deficiencies before they become a problem. Honda’s Proactive Roadway Maintenance System, which has been in prototyping since 2021, uses “advanced vision and LiDAR sensors” to identify issues such as worn or obstructed road signs, damaged guardrails, rough roads and emerging potholes. During the pilot, members of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s smart mobility hub drove the test vehicles on around 3,000 miles of road in central and southeastern Ohio.…

  • Music publishers sue Anthropic for $3B over ‘flagrant piracy’ of 20,000 works

    January 29, 2026

    A cohort of music publishers led by Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group are suing Anthropic, saying the company illegally downloaded more than 20,000 copyrighted songs, including sheet music, song lyrics, and musical compositions. The publishers said in a statement on Wednesday that the damages could amount to more than $3 billion, which would be one of the largest non-class action copyright cases filed in U.S. history. This lawsuit was filed by the same legal team from the Bartz v. Anthropic case, in which a group of fiction and nonfiction authors similarly accused the AI company of using their…

  • A Waymo robotaxi struck a child near a school

    January 29, 2026

    Waymo said one of its robotaxis struck a child, who sustained minor injuries. The incident took place in Santa Monica, California, on January 23. The company reported it to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has opened an investigation. The agency said the incident occurred close to a school within regular drop-off hours, with other children and a crossing guard nearby. The child ran from behind a double-parked SUV into the path of a Waymo Driver. Waymo said its vehicle detected the child immediately as they emerged and that the robotaxi braked hard to lower its speed from…

  • India is teaching Google how AI in education can scale

    January 29, 2026

    As AI races into classrooms worldwide, Google is finding that the toughest lessons on how the tech can actually scale are emerging not from Silicon Valley, but from India’s schools. India has become a proving ground for Google’s education AI amid intensifying competition from rivals, including OpenAI and Microsoft. With more than a billion internet users, the country now accounts for the highest global usage of Gemini for learning, according to Chris Phillips, Google’s vice president and general manager for education, within an education system shaped by state-level curricula, strong government involvement, and uneven access to devices and connectivity. Phillips…

  • Google will pay $135 million to settle illegal data collection lawsuit

    January 29, 2026

    Google has agreed to a preliminary $135 million settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by Android users who accused it of harvesting their data without consent. The suit alleged that since November 12, 2017, Google has been illegally collecting cellular data from phones purchased through carriers, even when apps were closed or location features were disabled. As reported by , the affected users believed Google using their data for marketing and product development meant it was guilty of “conversion.” In US law, occurs when one party takes the property of another with “the intent to deprive them of it”…

  • Google Maps now lets you access Gemini while walking and cycling

    January 29, 2026

    Google announced on Thursday that Google Maps users can now access Gemini hands-free while walking and cycling. The update comes a few months after Google Maps rolled out its Gemini-powered hands-free, conversational driving experience. The announcement marks Google’s ongoing efforts to plug Gemini into more parts of people’s everyday lives, while shifting Google Maps from static directions to real-time, conversational navigation. When you’re walking around and navigating with Maps, you can now ask Gemini questions like “Tell me more about the neighborhood I’m in,” “What are some must-see attractions?” or “Are there cafes with a bathroom along my route?” Google…

  • The 512GB Samsung P9 microSD Express card is $40 off right now

    January 29, 2026

    MicroSD Express cards are still a little hard to find, considering they’re pretty new and only really started becoming popular last year once the Switch 2 came out. These upgraded versions of microSD cards are the only ones compatible with the Switch 2 for expanding its storage, os if you’re already starting to feel the crunch on your console, it’s worth picking one up. Samsung’s P9 microSD Express card is on sale right now — you can grab the 512GB version of $80, which is 33 percent off and one of the best prices we’ve seen. Samsung Get it now…

  • Waymo robotaxi hits a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica

    January 29, 2026

    A Waymo robotaxi struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica on January 23, according to the company. Waymo told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that the child — whose age and identity are not currently public — sustained minor injuries. The NHTSA has opened an investigation into the accident, and Waymo said in a blog post that it “will cooperate fully with them throughout the process.” Waymo said its robotaxi struck the child at 6 miles per hour, after braking “hard” from around 17 miles per hour. The young pedestrian “suddenly entered the roadway from…