theck1 IT/AI news

2026 Volkswagen Jetta Sport: The cheap car isn’t completely extinct yet

Jonathan M. Gitlin • August 3, 2026 As so many career counselors and lifestyle coaches have explained, first impressions matter. A bad one can set the tone for an entire relationship, whether that’s with a person, a novel, a restaurant, or a car. And the 2026 Volkswagen Jetta Sport and I did not get off

An AI-supervised remote exam went so badly that 58,000 students must retake it

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Nate Anderson • August 3, 2026 Earlier this summer, nearly 160,000 applicants took the entrance exam for UNAM, Mexico’s largest university. For the first time, they did it completely remotely, using a “lockdown” browser and AI-powered webcam proctoring software, over several weeks from late May through early June. It was a disaster. When exam results

Lego deploys Hubble Space Telescope as detailed desktop model

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Robert Pearlman • August 3, 2026 For 35 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has looked out into the Universe. Now, Lego is inviting builders to look inward with its latest model of the orbiting observatory. The new Lego Icons Hubble Space Telescope (set no. 11382) was released on August 1 for $140 at the toy

Research roundup: 6 cool science stories we almost missed

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Jennifer Ouellette • August 3, 2026 It’s a regrettable reality that there is never enough time to cover all the interesting scientific stories we come across. So every month, we highlight a handful of the best stories that nearly slipped through the cracks. July’s list includes outfitting cyborg cockroaches with a tiny diving suit for

US company’s AI lets Ukraine’s cheap kamikaze drones track targets on their own

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Jeremy Hsu • August 3, 2026 Ukrainian drone operators have destroyed many Russian armored vehicles on the ground and even military helicopters in midair using $400 Shrike drones with explosive payloads. Now thousands of such drones are getting upgraded with an AI system capable of autonomously tracking and homing in on moving targets. In mid-July,

Samsung’s 2TB 9100 Pro SSD is actually somewhat reasonably priced

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Cameron Faulkner • August 3, 2026 Next to buying RAM, finding a fast, high-capacity NVMe SSD at a reasonable price has been a challenge during RAMageddon. I don’t want to say it’s getting easier, but one of Samsung’s latest SSDs is cheaper than it has sold for since February 2026. That’s something, right? Amazon has

Spider-Man and The Odyssey are splitting up IMAX screens after a record-breaking weekend

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Emma Roth • August 3, 2026 Spider-Man: Brand New Day is joining The Odyssey in IMAX theaters after both movies led the biggest weekend in box office history. On Monday, IMAX announced that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be available in select digital IMAX locations across North America starting Thursday, August 6th. The news comes

Palworld’s expanding to mobile with a new MMORPG

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Stevie Bonifield • August 3, 2026 After its 1.0 launch last month, Palworld is coming to iOS and Android with a new open-world MMORPG launching later this year, Polygon reports. Garena, the developer behind the new game, says in its announcement that Palworld Online “reimagines the depth, freedom, and scale of the original PC survival

Bluesky’s new CEO wants a big tent, not a bubble

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Nilay Patel • August 3, 2026 Today, I’m talking with Toni Schneider, who is the brand new CEO of the social platform Bluesky — he formally took over after a short stint as interim CEO. This is one of my favorite kinds of interviews to do on Decoder, because a couple years ago, we had

Microsoft is bringing Xbox 360 games to PC

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Jay Peters • August 3, 2026 Building on its recently announced plans to bring original Xbox games to PC, Microsoft is also planning to let developers bring their Xbox 360 games to PC as well, according to a leaked document, seen by The Verge, that was sent to developers recently. Xbox 360 games will be