Technology

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 11.

The satellite internet company is selling a slower version of its Residential Lite plan in New York, but equipment still costs $349 upfront.

• Qantas suffered a cyberattack in early June 2025
• A thorough investigation has now placed the number of affected individuals at 5.7 million
• Passwords and payment data is safe, but crooks took names, addresses, and other PII

Qantas has confirmed sensitive information on 5.7 million customers was exfiltrated in the recent cyberattack it suffered.

Australia’s largest airline said it recently spotted an intrusion after a threat actor targeted a call center, and accessed a third-party customer servicing platform. Initially claiming that six million people were affected, Qantas has now came forward with more precise figures.

In a press release published on the company’s website, it said the attackers took four million customer names, email addresses, and Qantas Frequent Flyer details. For the remaining 1.7 million, they also stole postal addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, gender, and meal preferences.

Scattered Spider

Credit card details, personal financial information, passport details, as well as passwords, PINs, and other login details, were not compromised, since the data wasn’t even held by the company, Qantas confirmed.

It said that it had started notifying affected customers of the breach, and urged them to remain vigilant and independently verify the identity of unsolicited callers.

The company did not say who the threat actors were, or if they tried to deploy any ransomware.

However the incident shares many similarities with other attacks recently made by the group known as Scattered Spider, a financially motivated hacking group known for targeting large US companies using social engineering and SIM-swapping techniques.

This group has not yet claimed responsibility for this attack - but in recent weeks, multiple reports have emerged of airlines being hit by cyberattacks, with Hawaiian Airlines confirmed suffering an attack and both WestJet and GlobalX suffering the same fate recently too. The FBI even released an advisory, warning US companies about Scattered Spider activities.

At press time, there was no evidence that the stolen data was released to the wild. Still, Qantas said it continues “actively monitoring” the web, with the help of specialist cybersecurity experts.

You might also like

• FBI warns Scattered Spider hackers are now going after airlines
• Take a look at our guide to the best authenticator app
• We've rounded up the best password managers

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 11, No. 291.

The best printers for school, small business or printing family photos have a few things in common. I've tested dozens of them and here are the top options that you should consider.

Looking to upgrade your TV speakers? My picks for the best soundbars will help elevate your home theater experience.

We’ve rigorously tested various iPhone power banks, from fast chargers to sleek MagSafe packs. These are the top options available.

Commentary: Two new shark-related programs are among Netflix's most popular this week, but it's a big month for sharks on streaming services.

Whether you prefer soft bristles or affordable brush heads, make your twice daily brushing a little easier with these electric toothbrushes.

What do chocolate syrup, ketchup, red wine and pet urine have in common? These were poured all over a white carpet during CNET's carpet cleaner testing.

• Asus pairs Ryzen AI with RTX 5070 in a chassis that screams MacBook aesthetic
• 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD make the ProArt P16 a mobile editing powerhouse
• OLED touchscreen delivers sharp visuals, but color accuracy calibration remains a question mark

Asus has unveiled two new laptops under its ProArt series, the P16 H7606WP and H7606WM, targeted squarely at creators.

While these devices may appear heavily inspired by Apple’s MacBook Pro, especially in their dark metallic finish and minimalist chassis, the hardware inside tells a different story.

Both models feature AMD’s Ryzen 9 HX 370 processor with integrated Ryzen AI technology.

Memory, storage, and GPU choices built for serious content creation

The P16 H7606WP comes with 64GB of LPDDR5X RAM running at 7500MHz, alongside a 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.

It pairs this with NVIDIA’s RTX 5070 Laptop GPU, a relatively new entrant in the high-end mobile graphics space.

The more affordable H7606WM steps down slightly to an RTX 5060 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage, but maintains the same AMD processor.

These configurations signal that Asus is targeting users who need performance on the move, whether for video editing timelines, 3D modeling, or high-resolution image workflows.

For creators looking for the best laptop for video editing or for Photoshop, these specs check off many of the technical boxes, at least on paper.

The display on both models is a 16-inch OLED panel with a 3K resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels.

Touch support is included, and color accuracy appears to be a key focus, although exact calibration data hasn’t been shared.

At just 1.85kg and 15–17mm thick, these devices are relatively light and slim, and those students seeking the best laptop for architecture might find this combination of portability and power appealing.

This device supports USB4 ports capable of 40Gbps data transfer, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and an infrared webcam offering both conferencing and secure login support.

Asus also claims up to 21 hours of idle battery life and 11 hours of video playback, but these numbers often fall short in creator-heavy workflows.

A standout inclusion is MuseTree, an AI-based image generation tool preloaded onto these devices.

According to Asus, users can create images using either text prompts or source visuals, giving artists a native tool for rapid concept work.

However, practical value will depend heavily on how well the software integrates into existing creative pipelines.

With pricing at roughly $3,420 for the high-end model and $2,400 for the base version in Japan, these laptops are clearly aimed at the professional tier.

Via Guru3d

You might also like

• Take a look at our picks for the best WFH app around
• Check out our recommendations for the best monitors for working from home
• AMD is surpassing Nvidia in one particular market, and I don't understand why

• MIPS once rivaled Intel and Arm, but now it's trying to matter again in AI chips
• From NASA probes to gaming consoles, MIPS quietly shaped modern computing before fading out
• Thirty years after leading RISC, MIPS is still hunting for a stable business model

MIPS, once a central player in the early RISC revolution and a long-time rival to Arm, has once again changed hands.

This time, in a somewhat ironic twist, the company has been acquired by GlobalFoundries, the chip manufacturer spun off from AMD.

The acquisition signals yet another chapter in the complex and turbulent history of MIPS, a firm whose legacy stretches from early workstation CPUs to powering the original Sony PlayStation.

A legacy before modern benchmarks

Decades before anyone asked what the best laptop for video editing or the best GPU might be, MIPS was already changing the rules.

The company’s journey began in 1986 when the MIPS R2000 became the first commercial CPU to implement the MIPS instruction set and one of the earliest examples of RISC-based architecture sold under a licensing model.

John Hennessy, a professor at Stanford University and co-creator of the architecture, led the initiative to offer an alternative to the dominant CISC designs of Intel and Motorola.

The R2000 was compact for its time, containing around 110,000 transistors, and delivered clock speeds up to 15MHz.

Although it never achieved the market penetration of Intel, MIPS carved out notable successes.

The R3000, introduced two years after the R2000, powered everything from Silicon Graphics workstations to the first-generation Sony PlayStation.

It even guided NASA’s New Horizons probe through its Pluto flyby and onward to the Kuiper Belt.

Despite its obscurity in mainstream conversations today, MIPS quietly persisted in key embedded applications.

“MIPS brings a strong heritage of delivering efficient, scalable compute IP tailored for performance-critical applications,” said GlobalFoundries' COO Niels Anderskouv.

Ownership of MIPS has shifted frequently, revealing a company in search of stable footing.

After being acquired by Silicon Graphics in the 1990s, it passed through the hands of Imagination Technologies, Tallwood Ventures, and Wave Computing.

It reemerged post-bankruptcy in 2020 with a pivot toward the open RISC-V architecture, a move many saw as an attempt to regain relevance in an era increasingly dominated by open standards.

However, MIPS's eVocore series struggled to impress, leading the company to launch its Atlas range of cores and the Atlas Explorer platform aimed at performance optimization.

With GlobalFoundries acquiring the firm, the narrative shifts again.

MIPS will now operate as a standalone unit focused on AI, autonomous mobility, and the industrial edge.

Sameer Wasson, MIPS CEO, claims, “Becoming part of GlobalFoundries marks the start of a bold new chapter for MIPS.”

Still, skepticism remains, particularly given the uncertain trajectory of the broader RISC-V ecosystem.

Via eenewseurope

You might also like

• These are the best mobile workstations you can buy right now
• We've also listed the best mini PCs for every budget
• Yet another mini PC vendor launches an eGPU — AOOStar's Radeon RX 7600XT

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for July 11, No. 495.

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for July 11, #761.

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle for July 11, No. 1,483.

The number of measles cases in the US has risen to a record level. Learn how to protect yourself.

CNET experts list the best iPads that suit your needs.

• xAI has launched the new Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy AI models
• Grok 4 requires a $30 monthly SuperGrok subscription
• The launch comes as Grok faces renewed criticism

xAI introduced new versions of its Grok AI model line. Grok 4 and its larger, more powerful sibling, Grok 4 Heavy, are part of CEO Elon Musk’s effort to position Grok as a serious competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude. That includes the new $300-a-month subscription tier called SuperGrok Heavy, which offers exclusive access to Grok 4 Heavy.

Musk boasted during the announcement livestream that “Grok 4 is better than PhD level in every subject, no exceptions. At times, it may lack common sense, and it has not yet invented new technologies or discovered new physics, but that is just a matter of time.”

And the model’s benchmark scores do suggest it's not hyperbolic to say so; it's a legitimate leap forward. Grok 4 scored 25.4% on the notoriously difficult Humanity’s Last Exam benchmark without tools, putting it ahead of Gemini 2.5 Pro and OpenAI’s o3. The bragging is even more apt for Grok 4 Heavy, because as a multi-agent version of Grok 4, it deploys several reasoning agents simultaneously. On the same test, it scored 44.4%, better than all current commercial offerings.

The takeaway, at least from a technical standpoint, is that Grok 4 is now firmly in frontier-model territory. That’s a meaningful shift for xAI, which just months ago was primarily known for its integration with X, the rechristened Twitter owned by Musk. xAI is clearly trying to be taken seriously as a legitimate AI research and enterprise company.

If you do pay the $300 a month for SuperGrok Heavy, you'll get not only access to Grok 4 Heavy but also developer tools, API usage, and be first to try out new and upcoming features like an AI coding assistant, a multi-modal agent, and an AI video generator. As OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic all roll out more expensive subscription tiers, xAI is likely to be keen to come out ahead in both timing and model quality.

Introducing Grok 4, the world's most powerful AI model. Watch the livestream now: https://t.co/59iDX5s2ckJuly 10, 2025

Grokking controversy

Of course, the benchmarks and demos shared by Musk and his team during the livestream could not quite overshadow how Grok’s official account on X this week spiraled into antisemitic madness.

The chatbot’s automated replies on X for hours included conspiracy theories about Jewish control of Hollywood, praise for Hitler, and even declaring itself as “MechaHitler.” The company swiftly deleted the posts as they appeared, and Grok briefly denied even making them before copping to the reality of screenshots.

Eventually, X deleted all of the eye-poppingly offensive posts and placed temporary restrictions on the account. The outburst appeared to be tied to a recent update to Grok’s internal system prompt that the company then reversed.

Musk didn’t address the incident directly during his Grok 4 livestream, nor did anyone at xAI offer a public explanation. Meanwhile, Linda Yaccarino stepped down as CEO of X on the very same day, though xAI insists the timing is unrelated.

With all that happening in the background, Grok 4's launch didn't have quite the clean innovation-centered debut xAI likely hoped for. And it's hard for the company to claim the praise for Hitler was simply a technical error when Musk, who is intimately tied to both X and xAI, has repeatedly insisted that Grok will be a non-politically correct AI model.

You can build the most powerful model in the world, but if users are constantly bracing for it to say something offensive or unhinged, that power won’t matter.

There’s no question xAI has the technical chops to build a top-tier model. But unless they start addressing trust, transparency, and content safety with the same intensity they apply to benchmarks, they’ll always be playing catch-up to companies with AI chatbots that don't remind people of major public relations disasters.

A company interested in what Grok 4 Heavy can do for them might be a little more hesitant to pay $300 a month if the first thing people think of when they hear about Grok powering the system is Holocaust denial. That kind of baggage is heavier than any dataset.

You might also like

• Grok may start remembering everything you ask it to do, according to new reports
• I tried Grok’s new AI image editing features – they’re fun but won’t replace Photoshop any time soon
• Grok 3’s voice mode is unhinged, and that’s the point

• Ryzen Threadripper 9980X delivers unmatched power for multi-core workflows
• PassMark scores show AMD’s 64-core chip leading the desktop market
• Expensive but effective, Threadripper 9980X sets a new bar in performance

AMD’s new Ryzen Threadripper 9000 series has finally gone on sale, with the flagship Threadripper 9980X available to buy now from Tech-America for a decidedly premium $5,198.

That’s expensive for sure, but for professionals who need top-tier multi-core performance, early benchmarks show the new chip delivers value where it matters - the proverbial bang for your buck, if you will.

Built on AMD’s Zen 5 architecture, the 9980X has 64 cores with 128 threads. It’s not just the core count that sets the new chip apart from competition, but how it performs under heavy load.

Topping the charts

The new chip is capable of handling demanding tasks like 3D rendering, simulation, and video production with impressive ease thanks to a base clock of 3.2GHz and a boost speed of up to 5.4GHz.

In fact, PassMark’s benchmarks (see below) suggest that it delivers a level of performance that outpaces even workstation-grade chips with more cores.

In PassMark’s multi-thread CPU test, the 9980X scored 147,481, placing it at the top of the desktop performance chart.

That’s higher than the 96-core Threadripper PRO 7995WX, which posted 145,572 points.

Despite having fewer cores, the 9980X comes out ahead, likely because of its higher base clock and superior efficiency across workloads that scale with clock speed.

(Image credit: PassMark)Single Thread results

In single-thread tests, the picture is a bit different. The 9980X scores 4,594, which puts it behind more consumer-oriented chips like Apple’s M3 Ultra and Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285K. That’s not unexpected of course, since the Threadripper 9980X is designed for multi-threaded applications rather than everyday desktop use.

Compared to the previous-gen Threadripper 7980X, the 9980X shows about an 8 percent gain in performance. While that may not sound huge, it is enough to comfortably lead the current charts.

The chip also includes 64MB of L2 and 256MB of L3 cache, giving it plenty of on-die memory to keep things running fast.

Full reviews are expected soon, but early results suggest that AMD’s Threadripper 9980X is a serious upgrade for high-end users with deep pockets.

(Image credit: PassMark)You may also like

• 16-Core AMD EPYC 4005 CPU is almost 3X faster than AMD's first server flagship
• Rare AMD CPU powers this just-announced NAS offering
• AMD just launched its 96-core Ryzen Threadripper Pro 9995WX CPU

Borrowers enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education plan just had another curveball thrown at them.