Technology

• US law enforcement claims BlackSuit is completely dismantled
• The agencies seized servers, domains and digital assets
• Since 2022, the group hit 450 companies and stole millions of dollars

BlackSuit, a ransomware group and a successor to the Royal gang, managed to compromise 450 organizations in the United States and steal $370 million in ransom payments, before being dismantled by US law enforcement agents, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said.

A press release published on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) website, said ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (its main investigative arm), in coordination with both US and international law enforcement agents, “successfully dismantled critical infrastructure used by BlackSuit ransomware”.

“The operation resulted in the seizures of servers, domains and digital assets used to deploy ransomware, extort victims, and launder proceeds,” it was said.

No arrests

The announcement said that since 2022, Royal and BlackSuit ransomware groups have compromised more than 450 known victims in the United States, including healthcare, education, public safety, energy, and government sector organizations.

These attacks brought them more than $370 in cryptocurrency, based on today’s prices.

Unfortunately, no one was arrested, and if history taught us anything - these threat actors will be back sooner rather than later.

While disrupting the infrastructure is a commendable move and will certainly make things difficult for the threat actors in the short-term, they will have no issues reestablishing the hardware, especially with $370 million in their pocket.

Previously, the FBI, US Homeland Security, the US Department of Justice (DoJ), and other partners, defaced BlackSuit’s main website, as well as extortion and data leak sites, in a sting called “Operation Checkmate”.

A US Department of Health and Human Services report published in late November 2023 said BlackSuit was first spotted in May that year, showing “striking parallels with Royal, the direct successor of the former notorious Russian-linked Conti operation”.

“This operation strikes a critical blow to BlackSuit’s infrastructure and operations,” said US Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division Special Agent in Charge William Mancino.

“The US Secret Service is committed to working alongside our law enforcement partners to dismantle criminal enterprises and prevent the deployment of malicious ransomware that victimizes businesses and organizations.”

Via BleepingComputer

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The 2025-26 season kicks off with the newly promoted Blues hosting the recently relegated Tractor Boys.

• A French Court has issued new orders against five popular VPN services to block more pirated sites illegally broadcasting live sports events
• Streaming giants Canal+ and beIN raised the requests on July 18, 2025, against NordVPN, Proton VPN, CyberGhost, Surfshark, and ExpressVPN
• A landmark ruling in May ordered the same VPNs to block access to over 200 pirate domains

France has continued to tighten its grip on online piracy this summer with another round of court orders for some household names in VPN.

Five of the best VPN providers on the market right now have, yet again, found themselves under the spotlight of the Paris Judicial Court with demands to block sites providing illegal sports live streams.

As reported by TorrentFreak, global sports broadcaster beIN Sports France raised a successful request for NordVPN, Proton VPN, and CyberGhost to block seven domains hosting WTA tennis streams.

While NordVPN, Proton VPN, CyberGhost, Surfshark, and ExpressVPN now have to close access to their customers to five web domains showing Formula One after complaints from the country's broadcast rights holder Canal+.

These orders follow a landmark ruling in May, which forced the same VPN companies to block access to over 200 pirate domains. An action that, according to the VPN industry, set "a dangerous precedent."

New French VPN blocking orders

(Image credit: Future + Photo by MAGALI COHEN/Hans Lucas/AFP; Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The Court decisions issued on July 18, 2025, enforces the blocking of those sites until the end of their 2025 season. For F1, that's set for December 7, 2025. For the WTA tennis, the judge ruled until November 10, 2025.

Canal+ first shared plans to target VPN usage in an escalation of anti-piracy tactics back in February. This came after the streaming giant carried a successful legal action against DNS services in 2024.

Fast-forward to May 2025, and with two rounds of illegal streaming blocks already under its belt, it seems likely that the official French streamers are not done yet.

With BeIn Sports now following suit, and getting its way in court, we will surely see more paid services jumping on board to protect their investments in the rights to broadcast live sports events.

Are VPNs striking back?

Talking to TechRadar back in May, the VPN industry raised many concerns about France's blocking orders, including a potential technical difficulty in fulfilling such requests.

All the targeted services, in fact, are known to operate under strict no-log VPN policies. This means that they don't log any activities or other data linked to the users.

A NordVPN spokesperson told TechRadar at the time that the team was still evaluating how to identify customers in French territories while preserving the services' privacy obligations.

Those complaints have been given short shrift by the Paris Judicial Court, though, which rejected "the grounds of inadmissibility" raised by all the VPN providers, on July 18.

The Court even dismissed the opportunity for referral to the EU Court issued by ExpressVPN and CyberGhost, leaving the VPN companies seeming with no escape route.

We have approached the VPN providers for more clarification on the matter, but we are still waiting for a response at the time of writing.

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• A leaker has shared a list of rumored specs and prices for upcoming Samsung Galaxy tablets
• Deallabs writer bill-bil kun shared rumored information about the Galaxy Tab S11, Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, and Galaxy Tab S10 Lite
• The report, while comprehensive, is light on named sources

Specs and details for the next Samsung Galaxy tablets have been revealed in what could be one of the biggest tablet leaks we’ve ever seen.

As Notebookcheck reports, a well-known France-based leaker has shared purported details of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11, Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, and Galaxy Tab S10 Lite.

If these rumors are anything to go by, Samsung could be planning a big shakeup for its tablet line when it comes time to replace the current-gen Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra.

The last time Samsung released an 11-inch tablet with flagship-grade hardware was the Galaxy Tab S9 in 2023 – there was no ‘standard’ Galaxy Tab S10 to speak of.

The information comes courtesy of a Deallabs report authored by contributor and noted game leaker bill-bil kun, and includes pricing and technical specs for each of the three new models.

While the report doesn't name many of its sources, the information given matches what we'd expect to see from a single-generation upgrade.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 and Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra rumored specs

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra blurred the line between tablet and laptop (Image credit: Blue Pixl Media)

According to these new rumored specs, the Galaxy Tab S11 will sport an 11-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600, the same size and resolution as the Galaxy Tab S9's screen.

The Galaxy S11 Ultra is tipped to get a larger 14.6-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2960 x 1848, which is the same size and resolution as the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra’s.

As for internals, Deallabs reports that both the Galaxy Tab S11 and Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra will have the MediaTek MT6691 chipset – this is a code name for the Dimensity 9400 chipset, a powerful flagship-grade mobile chipset. Last year’s Galaxy Tab S10 models used the Dimensity 9300+ chipset, so this seems like a logical upgrade.

They also claim the Galaxy Tab S11 will come with 12GB of RAM and an 8400mAh battery, while the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra will have either 12GB or 16GB of RAM, depending on storage configuration, as well as a larger 11,600mAh battery. Both tablets are said to support 45W charging.

Deallabs says the Galaxy Tab S11 will be available with 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB of storage, and the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage (the latter of which models, they claim, comes with 16GB of RAM).

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 could bring back the standard-sized flagship format last seen with the Galaxy Tab S9 (pictured) (Image credit: Future)

As for other hardware, both tablets are said to feature a 13MP main camera and 12MP selfie camera, four speakers, WiFi 6E (WiFi 7 on the Ultra) and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity with optional 5G, and an included S Pen.

Moving on to the Galaxy Tab S10 Lite Deallabs' report lists it as having a 10.9-inch display with a resolution of 2112 x 1320. They say this tablet will get the Exynos 1380 chipset (the same found in the Galaxy Tab S10 FE), an 8000mAh battery with 25W wired charging, an 8MP main camera and 5MP selfie camera, two speakers, and support for WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3.

They add that the Galaxy Tab S10 Lite will come in two configurations – a model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and a model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 and Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra rumored pricing

The report also gives rumored pricing for each model in euros, which we can convert to other currencies for a rough estimate.

The Galaxy Tab S11 is said to start at at €899, which is about $1,050 / £800 / AU$1,600), the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra at €1,339 (about $1,600 / £1,150 / AU$2,400), and the Galaxy Tab S10 Lite at €459 (about $540 / £400 / AU$800).

It's worth highlighting again that all of the above is rumor for now, but if these specs are the real deal we could be looking at some serious new contenders for the title of best tablet on the market. Be sure to let us know what you want to see from Samsung's next tablets in the comments below.

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• Experts flag 150 Firefox add-ons which served as infostealers and keyloggers
• Add-ons added to the store are benign, but when they gain a reputation, they are transformed into malware
• The crooks steal crypto and track their victims' IP addresses

Cryptocurrency users running the Firefox browser should be careful - a major campaign has been detected aiming to steal their tokens right out of their wallets.

Recently, security researchers from Koi Security identified 150 add-ons in the Mozilla store which served as infostealers and keyloggers.

These add-ons started as benign tools, impersonating popular crypto wallets such as MetaMask, TronLink, or Rabby, but after accumulating enough downloads and positive reviews, the attackers replace them with new names and logos and inject malicious code that steals user wallet credentials and IP addresses.

GreedyBear

"The weaponized extensions captures wallet credentials directly from user input fields within the extension’s own popup interface, and exfiltrate them to a remote server controlled by the group," Koi Security said in its writeup.

"During initialization, they also transmit the victim’s external IP address, likely for tracking or targeting purposes."

The malicious code was partially generated with the help of AI, the experts said, dubbing the campaign “GreedyBear”, and claiming it raked in more than a million dollars already.

The “bear” in the name could be a reference to Russia, since the operation is apparently complemented by dozens of pirated software websites distributing 500 malware variants, as well as fake Trezor, Jupiter Wallet, and other crypto websites. All of them are written in Russian.

The malware distributed through the website is generic, the researchers added, with LummaStealer standing out as a more notable name.

All of the sites are linked to the same IP address, which means that a single entity is running the entire operation.

Koi Security reported its findings to Mozilla, which swiftly removed all malicious add-ons from its repository. However, users who downloaded them in the meantime will remain at risk until they delete the add-ons from their browsers and refresh all login credentials.

Via BleepingComputer

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• A prominent leaker just spilled the beans on Google’s Pixel Watch 4
• The upcoming smartwatch is set to launch on August 20
• The leak includes a host of upgrades and new features

Google is set to launch the Pixel Watch 4 on August 20, but that hasn’t stopped various leaks emerging in the meantime. And now, we’ve just received another substantial rumor cache surrounding the device, revealing many of the new features we could see in a few weeks’ time.

The revelations come from prolific leaker Evan Blass, who recently posted them on X. There, Blass revealed a wide range of specs and features that could make it into Google’s smartwatch, as well as some official-looking slides that might be used on the device’s launch date.

Among the specs are measurements, display details, battery life, and more. Blass claims that the Pixel Watch 4 will come with 41mm and 45mm sizes, an always-on Actua 360 display with up to 3,000 nits of brightness, 30 hours of battery life in the 41mm model and 40 hours in the 45mm size, plus 25% faster charging when you use a Quick Charge Dock versus the regular rate.

As for sensors, Blass’s posts suggest that the Pixel Watch 4 will get dual-frequency GPS, an electrocardiogram (ECG), blood oxygen monitoring, plus the ability to sense heart-rate variability. There will also be safety features, including detection of hard falls and loss of pulse.

A significant upgrade

(Image credit: Evan Blass)

According to Blass’s images, you’ll get “40+ exercise modes and real-time stats” with the Pixel Watch 4, plus custom run plans and real-time guidance. It will also advise you if you’re ready for a tough workout or need a rest.

And the updates aren’t limited to health and fitness features. For instance, if you buy an LTE model, you’ll get two years of Google Fi Wireless data included for free (although this does not include calling).

The Google Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot is built into the watch, and it looks like it’ll be on hand to help in a variety of ways. That includes the creation of “a playlist for a 10-minute-mile run,” in one of the examples given.

The slides also suggest you’ll be able to “Raise your wrist for quick AI assistant responses and personalized help” and “Keep the conversation going with AI text suggestions that sound like you.” Google seems to be promising Gemini integration with third-party wearable apps, too.

Overall, this looks like a significant upgrade over the Google Pixel Watch 3 – as long as the leak proves to be accurate, of course. But with the August 20 launch date fast approaching, we won’t have long to wait before we find out.

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• The ROG Xbox Ally is reportedly set to launch on October 16, two months after its Gamescom presence
• This leak comes shortly after a previous report that suggested a pre-order date of August 20
• Hollow Knight: Silksong could now launch on October 16

Gamescom 2025 is right around the corner and is set to showcase a wide range of highly-anticipated games and hardware, including the new ROG Xbox Ally from Microsoft and Asus. Now a new leak has given us further insight into the latter's launch date, which is a little further away than previously anticipated.

According to Bilbil-Kun via Dealabs, the ROG Xbox Ally is set to launch on October 16, after hands-on previews at Gamescom in August. This leak follows a previous report that suggested pre-orders would open on August 20, essentially hinting that units would be ready to send to consumers from that date. However, that doesn't appear to be the case.

While the new report insists that the August 20 date is accurate for pre-orders, the purported October 16 launch date means the new handheld will be a little late to the party among new releases. The MSI Claw A8, another handheld using AMD's Ryzen Z2 Extreme, is already available in some regions in Europe, with the Lenovo Legion Go 2 expected to launch soon since its prototype is already available in China.

If this leak is legitimate, it means fans will be waiting over a month to finally acquire the devices, one of which is purported to be overly expensive. There will apparently be two models; the ROG Xbox Ally X (rumored to have an $899 price tag) with the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor, while the ROG Xbox Ally will use a weaker processor, the Ryzen Z2A.

As for the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong, this new leak should mean that it will launch on October 16, as Xbox President Sarah Bond confirmed that the title would launch alongside the ROG Xbox Ally.

Analysis: A two-month wait makes this launch a little less exciting

(Image credit: Microsoft / Asus)

While a two-month wait isn't exactly the worst thing here, it's sapped a little of the excitement I have for the new devices. I'm already not pleased with the recent price tags for handhelds like the MSI Claw A8, MSI Claw 8 AI+, and the ROG Xbox Ally X's rumored $899 tag, so the additional wait isn't exactly great news for consumers.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not planning on buying the ROG Xbox Ally X, but I plan on analyzing any potential performance differences between its Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor and the standard Ryzen Z2 Extreme (including the performance of the Ryzen Z2A) via real-world benchmarks, and it's not exactly clear if the hands-on previews and presentation from Xbox at Gamescom will give us that.

The wait also adds to the frustration of the lack of availability in the market, since it's increasingly difficult to find stock of the likes of the Lenovo Legion Go Z1 Extreme. The latter is a device I'm particularly interested in thanks to its 8-inch display, but it's nowhere to be found in the UK – and there's no guarantee that the same stock woes won't happen to the ROG Xbox Ally.

From what we've already seen from the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, it seems like the price jump from a Z1 Extreme-powered handheld is excessive. At this point, all I want is a handheld equivalent to the Asus ROG Ally's power, with an 8-inch screen, but that either comes with a hefty price tag or a lack of availability.

The ROG Xbox Ally is a 7-inch device that, unfortunately, could tick both of those 'expensive price tag' and 'low stock' boxes, and that doesn't leave me enthusiastic about its launch.

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• A Microsoft support document reveals a new twist on Windows 10's extended update scheme
• Even if you pay $30 for the program, you'll need to have a Microsoft account
• The good news is that up to 10 devices are supported with one license

We've had a surprise late revelation that Windows 10's extended update scheme will require you to have a Microsoft account, even if you pay for those updates (and don't take up the free offer).

Windows Central uncovered a Microsoft support document carrying this info, which has left more than a few people unhappy.

When Microsoft revealed its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, the company made it clear that the cost would be $30 for an extra year of support, through to October 2026 (normal support ends this October). Then later, Microsoft relented and offered a free option, allowing Windows 10 users to instead choose to sync their PC settings to its cloud service - which, of course, is going to require a Microsoft account (to be signed into OneDrive, where the data is synced).

Folks assumed that if they went the paying route, spending $30 would be the only requirement - but it turns out that you'll also need a Microsoft account to avail yourself of the ESU in this way, meaning a local account on your PC won't suffice.

Microsoft tells us: "All enrollment options provide extended security updates through October 13, 2026. You will need to sign into your Microsoft account in order to enroll in ESU."

Elsewhere in the support document, Microsoft notes: "The ESU license is tied to your Microsoft account, so you may be prompted to sign in if you typically sign into Windows with a local account."

There is some good news here, though, which is that Microsoft also clarifies that this extended support program can be used on up to 10 devices. So, as long as those Windows 10 PCs are all signed in to the Microsoft account that has picked up the ESU offer, they're good to go.

Analysis: Local loss

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Regardless of how you access the ESU scheme, the license you get must be tied to a Microsoft account. If you've forgotten those options, you can pay $30, sync your PC settings to OneDrive, as mentioned, or alternatively, use 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points (if you have them).

The reason for the Microsoft account requirement is doubtless so the software giant can police the 10-device limit, but as noted, this is going to cause some degree of bad feeling. Given that Microsoft has been pushing against being able to have a local account at all when setting up Windows 11 - and notably closing loopholes that are present to fudge your way around having to tie an installation to a Microsoft account - people are only going to be suspicious that this is just another way to shove them into getting a Microsoft account.

If you're paying $30 for the privilege of an extra year of support, shouldn't forking out that cash be enough? I think so, and Microsoft could always just warn you that if you don't use a Microsoft account, you'll only get support on a single device (the one you're signing up with). Then users could decide to proceed, or not, with linking to an account based on their preference in that regard.

If you do have multiple Windows 10 PCs, mind, it's no doubt good to know that you can cover them all with just a single sign-up for the ESU (even using the free offer).

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• Security researcher finds unsecured 38GB database containing 10,820 records
• Names, postal addresses, and more were leaked to the open internet
• The archive, owned by IMDataCenter is now shut down

IMDataCenter, a Florida-based data hygiene, enhancement, and append services provider, has been found leaking thousands of sensitive personal records to the open internet.

Security researcher Jeremiah Fowler discovered an unencrypted and non-password-protected database, containing 10,820 records. It was 38 GB in size, with the majority of files being .CSV spreadsheets with “many thousands or hundreds of thousands of rows of PII.”

There is no evidence of abuse in the wild just yet, but the PII (Personally Identifiable Information) included people’s names, postal addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and lifestyle or ownership information.

Locking down the database

“The records appeared to be a storage repository for client orders labeled “reports” and “results”,” Fowler told Website Planet.

“Files names indicated these lists were used for multiple purposes, including sales and marketing leads for industries such as insurance, solar, elections, car warranties, hospitals, healthcare providers, and more.”

IMDataCenter is a Florida-based division of Brooks Integrated Marketing, offering a platform for marketing data improvement, including identity resolution, phone and email appending, Complete Integrated Marketing Append (CIMA), and more.

The platform’s data library spans 260 million individuals, 130 million households, 600 million emails, 550 million phone numbers, and more.

Fowler reached out to the company to warn them about the leaking information, and the database was locked down soon after.

“Data security is really important to us too and we really appreciate you sharing this information with us,” they told the researcher. “We are working to secure the information ASAP”.

The researcher also stressed that many companies hire third-party service providers to own and manage such databases. It is unknown who maintains IMDataCenter’s one. It is also unknown if any malicious actors found the database in the past, or abused it for phishing, identity theft, or similar impersonation attacks.

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As the adoption of agentic AI accelerates across industries, enterprise leaders face a crucial challenge: preparing today’s knowledge and systems for tomorrow’s AI-powered customer service.

Integrating distributed knowledge, ensuring information accuracy, and architecting AI agents are not just technical exercises—they are strategic imperatives for any organization seeking to stay ahead in the age of generative and agentic AI.

This article provides five key steps to future-proofing an enterprise for the agentic AI era.

1. The foundation: knowledge quality and ownership

At the heart of any effective agentic AI system lies one asset: organizational knowledge. Yet, as enterprises have grown, so too has the sprawl of knowledge—scattered across departments, tools, and formats. The first—and arguably the most difficult—step is consolidating this knowledge into one unified, accurate, and accessible source.

It’s not a one-off job. It’s not about ingesting that information just once and then having it distributed to customers, for example, when we're talking about customer service. It is especially relevant to keep it up to date and think of knowledge as something that needs to be maintained.

Key actions for enterprises:

Aggregate and validate: employ technologies like Azure AI Search to unify data, but ensure each piece of information is verified and free of conflicts or outdated content.

Assign ownership: make subject matter experts responsible for ongoing accuracy. Knowledge must be continuously maintained, not simply imported.

Automate where possible: use tools to automatically detect ambiguity, outdated data, and discrepancies, but always have clear human accountability.

2. Integration: bridging technical silos

Even the highest-quality knowledge is useless if it’s trapped in silos or lost in translation between systems. Technical integration is a prerequisite for agentic AI success. Leaders should focus on both aggregation and real-time synchronization across all knowledge repositories, ensuring seamless interoperability with AI agents.

Best practices:

Synchronize changes in real time: any updates to knowledge should be reflected instantly across all systems feeding the AI.

Prepare for multimodality: enterprises must handle diverse file types—text, images within PDFs, and even external references—that affect the factual reliability of responses.

Design for compatibility: ensure integration mechanisms work not only for aggregation but for active use by AI systems, reducing friction between legacy and modern platforms.

3. Precision retrieval: from domain buckets to human-in-the-loop

Agentic AI thrives not on sheer volume of knowledge, but on the precision of its retrieval and application. This requires a clear strategy for domain separation—defining specific knowledge “buckets”—and robust quality assurance processes.

With agentic AI systems, it is better to split the domains into respective buckets... define the different domains that need to be handled and make sure that specialists are available for respective knowledge retrieval. Proper quality assurance with, for example, human-in-the-loop approaches, is essential.

What this means:

Define and limit scope: by narrowing knowledge domains, organizations make quality control manageable while improving retrieval accuracy.

Human oversight: subject matter experts should be involved in reviewing responses, especially when AI interacts with ambiguous or complex queries.

Smart conversational design: build agentic systems that clarify user requests, routing queries to the correct knowledge base.

4. Context over “training”: the new paradigm for Agentic AI

Contrary to popular belief, the primary challenge in deploying agentic AI is no longer traditional “training” of models. Instead, it is about providing the right context, curated and orchestrated by a new breed of professionals: agent architects and prompt engineers.

What’s changing:

Shift from ML training to context engineering: it’s less about fine-tuning models, and more about architecting the context and guidance that AI agents need to perform.

Emergence of prompt engineering: there’s a growing need for experts who can design effective prompts, stay abreast of changing base model standards, and translate business needs into actionable guidance for AI agents.

Use case definition: effective AI agents require clear use case data, drawn from real customer pain points—not misleading conversational analytics from outdated IVR systems.

5. Legacy integration and open standards: future-proofing the stack

Many enterprises remain shackled by legacy infrastructure. Successful AI transformation demands not only technical modernization but also alignment with open standards that enable agent-to-agent collaboration and cross-system compatibility.

Key actions for enterprises:

Assess and modernize: identify which legacy systems hinder integration and prioritize making them accessible.

Adopt open standards: invest in emerging protocols that facilitate inter-agent communication, collaboration, and future expansion.

Conclusion

For those steering enterprises toward agentic AI, preparation means far more than adopting the latest model or platform. It demands a holistic strategy: consolidating and maintaining accurate knowledge, breaking down technical silos, orchestrating precise retrieval, and embracing the new disciplines of context and prompt engineering. By acting now, leaders can ensure that tomorrow’s AI agents not only deliver on their promise, but do so with the precision, reliability, and agility that today’s customers—and tomorrow’s enterprises—will demand.

We've featured the best AI chatbot for business.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• Sony senior vice president Sadahiko Hayakawa has made some interesting comments about the company's gaming strategy
• He said that it's "moving away from a hardware centric business more to a community based engagement business"
• This could mean that more multi-platform PlayStation games are on the way

Sony senior vice president Sadahiko Hayakawa has revealed some interesting details about the company's current gaming strategy.

Speaking in a Q&A after the company's latest earnings call, Hayakawa was asked about Sony's investment in various intellectual property (IP).

"We have been shifting towards creation," he responded, before listing a number of examples. This included the move towards the production in digital cameras in Sony's TV segment, in addition to the expansion of the company's music catalogue through acquisitions.

"In our gaming business, we're moving away from a hardware centric business more to a community based engagement business," he said.

"That has been increasing, so now as we make more of a transition for more entertainment creation the stability of our performance is increasing."

As for what this could mean in practical terms, it's likely that we'll see further multi-platform PlayStation releases, particularly when it comes to its live-service offerings.

In the case of a game like Helldivers 2, which is set to launch on Xbox on August 26, it makes sense that Sony would want to maximize its persistent live-service revenue by having the title available on as many platforms as possible rather than just the PlayStation 5.

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In 1967, I began my first job working with computers. The company was presciently named International Data Highways (IDH), the brainchild of my remarkable mentor, Charlie Ross. Even in the infancy of computing, Charlie was pushing the boundaries of what computer science could achieve. He envisioned a world where financial and business information would be instantly accessible via terminal. His foresight was extraordinary, especially considering the limitations of the time.

Charlie was a visionary, driven by possibilities invisible to others but clear as day to him. He created an environment where curiosity was expected and boldness rewarded. It was a heady environment for a 19-year-old to be thrown into—and Charlie believed in throwing people in the deep end. He wanted his team to be brave, empowered, and unafraid to fail. This mindset was radical in 1967 Britain, where conformity and rigid corporate hierarchies ruled.

That early baptism by fire prepared me for the revolutionary journey computers would take over the next half-century. Little did I know that I had joined the most transformative industry the world had ever seen.

The rise and fall of giants

The first computer I worked on was the Sperry Univac 418—a massive, complex machine with a 24-bit word structure and a 12-bit addressing mechanism. It used a storage device known as a FastRand drum, which weighed two and a half tons and could store a mind-bending 100 megabytes of data. In those days, IBM dominated the industry with batch processing, while Sperry and others pushed the frontier of real-time computing.

IBM’s market share in the early 1970s was nearly 80% of the global computing market. But by the 1990s, the once-mighty firm teetered on the edge of collapse. Agile, innovative players like Digital Equipment Corporation and Data General had emerged, and IBM’s fall was swift and brutal. Watching this unfold in real time impressed upon me one core truth: this is an industry where today's titan is tomorrow’s toast.

Much of this volatility can be traced to Moore’s Law. In 1965, Gordon Moore predicted that the speed and capacity of transistors would double every 18–24 months. This exponential growth would continue to redefine the limits of possibility—not just in computing power but in how quickly innovation itself could accelerate. Two years after Moore’s prediction, I entered the industry. The rest is history—and we’re still writing it.

From constraints to catalysts

The innovations of the past five decades—mainframes, PCs, the internet, mobile devices—were the hors d’oeuvres. What we are now witnessing with AI is the main course. The difference lies not just in power, but in liberation. For most of my career, progress was constrained by the lack of computing power, limited storage, and slow processing speeds. Cloud computing, distributed architecture, and global broadband have obliterated those limits.

Today, we operate in a world of universal access. Storage is cheap and nearly infinite. Computing power is on demand. Barriers are gone. And with that, we have opened a new door—one that leads not to incremental improvement, but to a new industrial revolution.

This is not a wave. It’s a tsunami.

Those sitting comfortably on the beach, sipping tea and admiring the view, are about to be swept away. Those who grab a surfboard and paddle out to meet the surge head-on will experience the ride of a lifetime.

AI: the great equalizer

Perhaps the most stunning transformation AI brings is the democratization of knowledge. For centuries, information was locked behind paywalls—academic, professional, institutional. In some industries, guild-like structures guarded specialized knowledge jealously. AI changes that. It is the ultimate key, unlocking access for anyone with a connection and curiosity.

Professional hierarchies will flatten. Management will face new levels of transparency and accountability thanks to real-time analytics. Strategic decisions once made in echo chambers will now be data-informed and challengeable.

This will not be a time for the timid. It will favor the bold, the agile, the open-minded. Yet the true revolution lies not in how companies operate—but in how people live, learn, and grow.

The coming reinvention of education

Education may be the sector most radically transformed by AI. For too long, students have been shuffled through one-size-fits-all classrooms, forced to memorize facts, and judged by standardized exams. AI opens the door to personalized, adaptive learning—customized in real time to each student’s strengths, weaknesses, and interests.

Imagine a system where students are assessed continuously through participation and engagement, not just snapshots on test days. AI can identify knowledge gaps and tailor content dynamically—favoring subjects that spark passion, curiosity, and intrinsic motivation. Students will no longer be treated as production units that must progress at the same pace. They will be treated as individuals.

Parents will no longer need to buy homes in expensive school districts to access quality education. World-class learning will be accessible to everyone, everywhere. Finally, education will be democratized—just as knowledge is.

Compare this to China’s Gaokao, where every high school student takes a life-determining university entrance exam on the same day in June. Should a teenager’s future be determined by two days of testing—or by twelve years of continuous growth and learning? AI makes that question more than rhetorical. It makes a new model possible.

Unleashing human creativity

Beyond education, AI promises to unlock a renaissance of human creativity. By automating repetitive and menial tasks, it will free the mind to focus on imagination, problem-solving, and innovation. AI will allow people to color outside the lines again—something that corporate culture and standardized education often suppress.

Innovation will no longer come just from elite R&D labs or top universities. It will come from a billion creative minds newly empowered. AI will not just be a tool of efficiency—it will be a force of liberation.

Conclusion: embrace the future

Looking back on my 57-year journey—from machine code to machine learning—I’m reminded of how much has changed, and yet, how many principles remain the same. Vision, courage, curiosity, and resilience remain the essential traits of any innovator.

The tools may change. The pace will accelerate. But the opportunity—for impact, for growth, for transformation—has never been greater. We stand at the edge of something vast. The surf is up and the surfboards are ready.

Let’s enjoy the ride.

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One Google AI leader says Gemini's sad messages about itself are a glitch that the company plans to address.

Warehouse efficiency is crucial in helping get goods into the arms of customers. In its simplest form, this means picking, packing and shipping goods from the warehouse to the home as quickly, efficiently and cheaply as possible. In practice, however, there are several challenges that organizations face in their battle to continuously meet customer demand.

Costs for warehouse operators continue to balloon, amidst rising wages, increased national insurance contributions and increased operational costs. Data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics showed that in Q1 2025, costs rose more steeply for transport and storage companies (including logistics, parcels, haulage and warehousing) than for other comparable sectors. This pressure is being compounded by a huge labor shortage, with skilled employees continuing to leave the industry year on year, and the pipeline of emerging talent continuing to decrease.

Businesses are seeking new alternatives to help solve some of these critical industry challenges – including the introduction of automation, and more specifically, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). These robots can help complete labor-intensive manual tasks, from intricate picking and sorting of goods to moving pallets and large payloads – creating huge efficiencies. Here are five key benefits and considerations for companies looking to AMRs to drive efficiency.

1. AMRs to solve labor challenges

Warehouses are facing several compounding labor-related pressures simultaneously. An aging workforce means more and more talent leaves the industry each year, while the younger generations are seemingly less likely to consider a role in logistics – owing to a preference for more ‘prestigious’ jobs. For existing warehouse employees, retention and workplace engagement is low, contributing to significantly higher turnover rates than in other sectors. These labour disruptions contribute to the slower fulfilment of orders, reduced margins and ultimately impact supply chain resilience.

Rather than taking or replacing jobs, AMRs are actively filling much needed gaps in the labor force, in a way that enhances safety and increases job satisfaction. Using complementary strengths of robots and human workers enhances overall productivity. AMRs excel at repetitive, physically demanding and precision tasks, such as moving heavy loads, sorting items and transporting goods across the warehouse. This allows human workers to focus on higher-value tasks, involving problem solving, critical thinking and adaptability. The result is an efficient workflow, in which the bulk of more dangerous manual labor is handled through automation, while humans oversee quality control, ensuring orders are fulfilled quicker and with less errors.

2. Meeting demands through reduced order cycles

Today’s shoppers prioritize convenience and experience. There is an expectation for quick and efficient delivery of items purchased online, and next-day - or increasingly same-day - deliveries are becoming the industry standard. Failure to meet these expectations risks impacting customer loyalty and retention. In fact, as may as one in three customers won’t purchase from a brand they like again, if they have a single negative experience. Improving the order cycle of goods – from order receipt, through to picking, packing, sorting and shipping – is critical to meeting these expectations.

Close integration between AMRs and Warehouse Management (WMS) ensures accurate, real-time data on current inventory, preventing delays and stockouts. By bringing goods directly to workers on the warehouse floor, AMRs minimize walking and travel time. Equally, advanced navigation systems ensure efficient routing and continuous operations. The result is a quantifiable improvement in picking rates, shorter lead times and increased throughput.

3. Providing increased flexibility and scalability

AMRs provide the additional benefit of flexibility and scalability. Season peaks, like Christmas, require significantly more resources to manage an increased order volume. This often requires larger recruitment drives, from an already dwindling talent pool, and longer hours to meet fulfilment deadlines.

Without time consuming training processes, AMRs can meet the increased volume of work with minimal ramp-up time needed. As business demands change, AMRs can be scaled up and down to match a live workload and seasonal peaks, while human workers can focus on making reactive changes to overarching business challenges. If demand is massively increased, businesses can add more AMRs to their fleet and integrate these without major infrastructure changes or downtime.

4. Increasing efficiency through orchestration

While the benefits are clear, deploying AMRs alone isn’t enough to unlock their full potential. Without integration, the efficiency of AMRs can be limited, if they fail to coordinate and complement the workloads of other automated systems, alongside human employees. The future of teamwork within warehouses is through multi-robot and people orchestration – or technologies that help to coordinate robot fleets and the surrounding manual workers all under one system.

Driving maximum efficiency while using AMRs requires integration, and the application of real-time data from other key warehouse technologies. For example, orchestrators, who can use live order and inventory information from WMSs can allocate tasks to the most suitable robots, or humans, based on proximity, availability and current workload. This ensures that each robot is always working on the most optimal task possible. Resulting reductions in idle time and bottlenecks, through the intelligent application of resources, minimizes errors and ultimately drives improved efficiency and throughput across the warehouse.

5. Future-proof your operation

Ensuring supply chain resilience, and the ability to maintain consistent fulfilment, requires the embracement of technology to drive efficiency. The introduction of AMRs should be part of a wider long-term supply chain and warehouse strategy to balance the strengths of human workers, the efficiency gains for technology and intelligent decision making through real-time data. Together this will enable faster and more accurate delivery of goods, while collectively strengthening the supply chain’s ability to withstand and recover from unexpected challenges.

Ultimately, rising costs and labor shortages are making warehouse efficiency increasingly difficult. Rising adoption of AMRs helps fill labor gaps, speed up order fulfilment and provides valuable flexibility during peak periods. When integrated with warehouse systems and human workers, they optimize workflows and reduce errors overall. Embracing AMRs should be part of a broader technology strategy to provide faster deliveries, meet customer expectations and ultimately build a more resilient supply chain.

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Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Friday, August 8 (game #1292).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1293) - hint #1 - VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1293) - hint #2 - repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 4.

Quordle today (game #1293) - hint #3 - uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1293) - hint #4 - starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1293) - hint #5 - starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• N

• I

• E

• V

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1293) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1293, are…

• NOOSE
• INLET
• ELEGY
• VIRUS

I screwed up today, guessing a word with a letter that I already knew was in the wrong position.

However, as is often the case, the error actually opened up another column and allowed me to guess ELEGY – a word I would have taken longer to find without my lucky error.

Daily Sequence today (game #1293) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1293, are…

• SPACE
• INNER
• CONIC
• KNELT

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1292, Friday, 8 August: KNEEL, KINKY, RALPH, BOOZY
• Quordle #1291, Thursday, 7 August: PLUNK, PROXY, CURVY, PEARL
• Quordle #1290, Wednesday, 6 August: RISKY, APART, FAUNA, HANDY
• Quordle #1289, Tuesday, 5 August: ROAST, SLICK, AUDIT, BILLY
• Quordle #1288, Monday, 4 August: MACAW, SINCE, COLON, CHIRP
• Quordle #1287, Sunday, 3 August: MOTIF, LEERY, LOFTY, BURST
• Quordle #1286, Saturday, 2 August: WARTY, PUPAL, CLEAR, SLICE
• Quordle #1285, Friday, 1 August: ACTOR, MEALY, WIDTH, ADOBE
• Quordle #1284, Thursday, 31 July: STYLE, VALET, AGONY, ALLOY
• Quordle #1283, Wednesday, 30 July: DEBAR, ADMIN, FOLIO, USAGE
• Quordle #1282, Tuesday, 29 July: BATCH, TOPIC, MURKY, BUNCH
• Quordle #1281, Monday, 28 July: CANDY, TRYST, SHIRT, FORGO
• Quordle #1280, Sunday, 27 July: TRAWL, BALER, PIANO, MINCE
• Quordle #1279, Saturday, 26 July: MUDDY, SAINT, KINKY, POLAR
• Quordle #1278, Friday, 25 July: BONUS, RESIN, CEDAR, MADAM
• Quordle #1277, Thursday, 24 July: AGONY, VERVE, GLEAN, MINUS
• Quordle #1276, Wednesday, 23 July: OZONE, PENCE, ROOMY, WIDER
• Quordle #1275, Tuesday, 22 July: OPTIC, GIDDY, VOCAL, ADULT
• Quordle #1274, Monday, 21 July: KNEED, SNAIL, PINTO, FEAST

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, August 8 (game #523).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #524) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Gastronomic gadgets

NYT Strands today (game #524) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• ROACH
• CUTE
• VEER
• STEW
• LOVE
• CHALK

NYT Strands today (game #524) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #524) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: top, 2nd column

Last side: bottom, 5th column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #524) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #524, are…

• CORKSCREW
• SPATULA
• MIXER
• ZESTER
• SIEVE
• WHISK
• SPANGRAM: KITCHEN TOOL

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

The first thing I did today was to search for the word “kitchen”, as it seemed obvious that it was what “Gastronomic gadgets” was referring to. 

I found it quickly enough, but it wasn’t as straightforward as I thought it would be and it took me a while to see KITCHEN TOOL. Thinking we were looking for a plural theme, I even had kitchen tools ahead of the correct spangram.

Beyond this, the rest of the words were hidden in plain sight, but I particularly enjoyed CORKSCREW revealing itself corkscrew-style. 

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, August 8, game #523)

• DUKE
• COUNT
• HAWK
• DIZZY
• CANNONBALL
• YARDBIRD
• FATS
• SPANGRAM: JAZZ CATS

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, August 8 (game #789).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #790) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• INSIDE
• PRODUCT
• MAZE
• SYRUP
• FRUIT
• KNOCK-KNOCK
• LET ME IN
• MUFFIN
• PRACTICAL
• GHOST
• RETURN
• SILK
• YIELD
• TWILIGHT
• DAD
• CASPER

NYT Connections today (game #790) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: The final outcome
• GREEN: Funny ha-ha 
• BLUE: Spooky love stories 
• PURPLE: Add a word that goes with flakes

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #790) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: RESULT 
• GREEN: KINDS OF JOKES 
• BLUE: MOVIES FEATURING SUPERNATURAL ROMANCE 
• PURPLE: CORN-Y THINGS 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #790) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #790, are…

• YELLOW: RESULT FRUIT, PRODUCT, RETURN, YIELD
• GREEN: KINDS OF JOKES DAD, INSIDE, KNOCK-KNOCK, PRACTICAL
• BLUE: MOVIES FEATURING SUPERNATURAL ROMANCE CASPER, GHOST, LET ME IN, TWILIGHT
• PURPLE: CORN-Y THINGS MAZE, MUFFIN, SILK, SYRUP

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 3 mistakes

I’ll be honest, I absolutely hated Connections yesterday. Not just because I failed, but because it didn’t make sense to me – even in hindsight.

I didn’t do much better today, but at least I understood the links once I finally limped across the line with four correct groups.

My mistake meltdown came in trying to connect what became KINDS OF JOKES. With just eight tiles left I eventually got lucky, but equally I was annoyed that I hadn't seen the easiest of today’s quartets. 

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, August 8, game #789)

• YELLOW: MAKE EQUAL, AS A SCORE DRAW, EVEN, SQUARE, TIE
• GREEN: BESTOW CONFER, GRANT, PRESENT, VEST
• BLUE: THINGS YOU MIGHT DO DURING A BORING CLASS/ MEETING DOODLE, DOZE, PASS NOTES, SPACE
• PURPLE: WORDS AFTER THE LETTERS "MS" DEGREE, MARVEL, PAC-MAN, PAINT

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

It's time to unwind after a long week of work – and what better way to do so than streaming one or several new movies and shows that have dropped this week?

Unsurprisingly, Wednesday's second season has been the talk of the entertainment town over the last few days. However, many of the world's best streaming services have also got something interesting to offer, so one of the biggest Netflix TV Originals of all-time isn't the only thing worth watching this weekend. Hop to it, then, and learn more about what else has arrived. – Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

Wednesday season 2 part 1 (Netflix)

The queen of anti-socialness, goths, and the macabre has returned. Wednesday Addams is back on Netflix for her sophomore semester at Nevermore Academy – and, considering it's been nearly three years since the hugely successful show's first season dropped, it's high time we were reunited with the psychic teen.

Wednesday season 2 won't be an easy ride for Jenna Ortega's eponymous character, though. Indeed, season 2's official trailer reveals she'll be in a race against time to save the life of her self-installed bestie Enid Sinclair. There'll be numerous other intriguing subplots to unravel, too, with the wider Addams Family having a larger role to play in proceedings than last time. Here's hoping one of the best Netflix shows' second outing is as kooky and spooky as its forebear. – TP

• Watch Wednesday season 2 on Netflix

King of the Hill season 14 (Hulu/Disney+)

Can you believe that little Bobby is all grown up? Hank and Peggy have returned to Middle America after a lengthy retirement, and it's incredible how little their world seems to have changed in the interim. In reality, King of the Hill has been off our screens for the last 16 years and it's the perfect dose of nostalgia for the week.

The Hulu and Disney+ show as charming as I remember, and has somehow managed to pick up exactly where prior seasons left off. If you sewed them together, you'd hardly be able to see the seams. Frankly, that's a massive two fingers up to every other legacy sequel in existence. I promise it'll exceed your expectations, even if you can't fully remember the full Hank-lore (you don't really need to). – Jasmine Valentine, entertainment writer

• Watch King of the Hill season 14 on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally)

The Pickup (Prime Video)

I love watching an action movie on a Friday night but, after reading early reviews for one of August's new Prime Video movies, I'm not getting my hopes up for The Pickup. Billed as a heist comedy, it pairs Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson as armored truck drivers caught in a criminal ambush.

On paper, this Prime Video flick sounds like the kind of plot that could set up thrilling action sequences – but I’m not convinced this one’s going to deliver. Considering Murphy's track record with buddy comedies, his performance might be the only bright spark in what could otherwise be a car crash of an Amazon film. – Amelia Schwanke, senior entertainment editor

• Watch The Pickup on Prime Video

Platonic season 2 (Apple TV+)

From the moment I saw the trailer for Platonic season 2, I knew the Apple TV+ series was onto another winner. The BFF (and things have strictly remained platonic) chemistry between Rose Byrne's Sylvia and Seth Rogen's Will is exactly the kind I hope I grow up to have, even if it comes with too many midlife hurdles for two people to handle. As Apple puts it: “The duo tries their best to be each other’s rock – but sometimes rocks break things.” That only means one thing... a huge helping of delicious drama.

As far as I'm concerned, tension and fallouts between two close friends hits a lot harder than any lovers tiff or evil rivalry, and there's a genuine honesty and vulnerability that comes alongside the laughs this summer. It's the perfect summer comedy we've not yet been treated to, if you discount the bloody accidents on the golf course. – JV

• Watch Platonic season 2 on Apple TV+

The Monkey (Hulu)

Osgood Perkins scared us all silly with the Nicolas Cage-led serial killer horror Longlegs, last year. Now, he's back with something very different. Based on a Stephen King story, The Monkey follows twin brothers who discover a cursed toy monkey that causes horrific deaths around them.

It leans more into comedic gory horror than straight-up frights and there are some seriously shocking moments throughout. One of seven new horror movies on Prime Video, Shudder, HBO Max, and more you can't afford to miss this month. – Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch The Monkey on Hulu

Freaky Tales (HBO Max)

Pedro Pascal has been a busy boy lately. Whether he's navigating the apocalypse in The Last of Us season 2 or putting his spandex on for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, he's been on our screens a lot, including in this anthology flick that's out now on HBO Max.

In Freaky Tales, we follow an NBA star, a corrupt cop, a female rap duo, teenage punks, neo-Nazis and a debt collector set against an '80s backdrop. It's as varied as it sounds, with the movie showing us four interconnected stories that are sure to entertain. With a 74% Rotten Tomatoes critical rating, it's worth checking out this weekend – LB

• Watch Freaky Tales on HBO Max

Stolen: Heist of the Century (Netflix)

Remember those headlines about the world's biggest diamond heist back in 2003? The story of Italian thieves robbing an estimated $100–500 million from the vault of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre in the dead of the night has left many scratching their heads since, especially considering most of the gems have never been recovered.

Now, thanks to authors Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell, we finally have the inside story. Their book Flawless detailed the daring operation and it’s now been adapted into a Netflix documentary. Think real-life Ocean’s Eleven, produced by one of the minds behind the brilliant Don’t F**k with Cats. I’m already sold. – AS

• Watch Stolen: Heist of the Century on Netflix

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