Technology

• The Great Han can manage over 600 miles on China's test cycles
• Full battery top-ups take as little as nine minutes
• The world’s luxury car makers could soon face stiff competition

BYD has revealed its latest flagship electric large sedan in China, capable of delivering Lucid Air Grand Touring-level range for a fraction of the cost.

Badged the BYD Han (the Great Han), the opulent sedan will cost just 235,900 yuan (around $35,200/£26,500/AU$51,000) in its domestic market, yet it is capable of delivering almost 630 miles on the CLTC test cycle — or around 508 miles on the much stricter European WLTP cycle.

Thanks to advanced technologies such as rear-wheel steering, an augmented-reality head-up display, and dual-chamber air suspension, the car has positioned to rival luxury models from Germany, the UK, and beyond.

Compatible with BYD’s Flash Charge system, the Great Han can charge from 10% to 97% in just 9 minutes, outdoing almost every EV on sale today for charging convenience.

There is no word on whether BYD will introduce the luxurious sedan to Europe and other markets, but seeing as it is rapidly expanding its network across the globe, it may well decide to offer it through its high-end Denza brand in the near future.

Analysis: Lucid numbers for less

(Image credit: BYD China)

The Lucid Gravity Air Grand Touring is often considered the benchmark for electric range, luxury, and cutting-edge technology in the EV market, but that car costs almost $110,000 in the US.

Naturally, the BYD Great Han will cost much more than the approximate $35,000 exchange rate from Chinese yuan if it ever sells elsewhere, but it would likely still undercut its premium rivals by a tempting amount.

Once again, China is proving that it can deliver the latest automotive tech, such as LiDAR-based autonomous driving systems, “crab walking” air suspension and lashings of infotainment displays, at rock-bottom prices.

With Chinese badge snobbery rapidly evaporating, particularly in BYD’s case, luxury legacy automakers, such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz, could soon find sales of their range-topping models not only suffer in China, but also in those European markets that they once dominated.

• Windows 11 is now 'up to 20% more responsive,' Microsoft tells us, based on benchmarking typical interface workloads
• Apparently, this performance honing 'can make an especially meaningful difference on PCs with 8GB of memory'
• A new Photos app is also out, which is a good deal speedier, alongside changes for Windows 11's Gallery and photo viewer

Microsoft has underlined how it's making Windows 11 faster and ensuring the OS uses system RAM more optimally, while also introducing a new and more performant Photos app.

In a blog post, Microsoft explained how it's been tinkering with Windows 11 to make it run faster, and that: "The result is a Windows experience that's up to 20% more responsive, with improvements you can feel as soon as you boot into your PC."

That 20% figure is quite vague, but Microsoft says it's based on measured speed increases in Windows 11 search, the right-click menu, Settings, Start menu, as well as File Explorer (the folders on the desktop) and the Snipping Tool.

These are performance boosts seen in the most recent October update for Windows 11 (well, they were tested in the September preview update, but it's the same thing) compared to the OS as it stood at the beginning of 2026. Naturally, performance will vary by device and configuration, but the gist is clear: there's a sizeable speed boost.

Microsoft observes that a big part of this nippier performance lies in better use of system resources and RAM, with improvements in memory management and efficiency.

The software giant notes: "That work can make an especially meaningful difference on PCs with 8GB of memory. Windows can now keep up to 2GB more of your active data in memory instead of moving it to slower storage, helping your PC stay responsive as you open more apps or browser tabs."

We're also told that Windows 11's background RAM use is being trimmed back, so on PCs with only 8GB of memory (or less), widgets load only when opened, reducing background workload by 200 MB.

In this blog post, Microsoft also reminds us of all the work it's done to fix Windows 11. From key interface changes for the likes of the Start menu and taskbar, through to improving Windows updates, we've also witnessed recent changes that make search faster, more accurate, and useful (and more efficient with RAM usage).

There's an entirely fresh revelation here, though, in the form of the new Photos app as mentioned at the outset.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft says it rebuilt the native Photo editor around WinUI 3 (the modern interface framework for Windows 11), and it now launches 25% faster than before. It sports a reorganized set of menus and features, including repair (unwanted object removal) and relight (to swiftly adjust the lighting of a photo).

The Photo viewer also launches faster (by about 15% on average, Microsoft claims), opens photos up to 30% faster, and has a cleaner, more streamlined design, so you see more of the picture.

It also adds a new Gallery that brings together photos on your PC and in the cloud (OneDrive and Apple iCloud). Again, expect faster launch times, more responsive scrolling, and natural-language search, so you can ask for 'pictures of my dog on the beach,' and Windows will find them (hopefully).

Analysis: progress in the right direction

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft previously promised to work hard on memory optimization for Windows 11, and it's presenting clear evidence of that here, which is good to see. As I've said before, though, it's a puzzle why Microsoft hasn't done this before now, and you've got to wonder why, for example, widgets were ever allowed to eat up memory if they're not being used.

At any rate, this is useful progress, and there's a very handy bunch of enhancements for the Photos app, too, along with the associated Viewer and Gallery, with impressive performance improvements therein.

Microsoft is crystal clear about there being significant speed-ups present in Windows 11 all-round with the latest update for the OS, although we're yet to see any commentary from users who are noticing this. Admittedly, the October update has only been out for a couple of days, so it'll be interesting to watch the ongoing reaction.

Overall, this seems like continued progress in the right direction, and we can expect more performance tuning before 2026 is out.

• Shield AI expects its first full-scale X-BAT prototype by October's end
• X-BAT aims to fly 2,000 nautical miles and reach 50,000 feet
• The aircraft's projected combat radius ranges from 1,000 to 1,340 nautical miles

Shield AI expects to unveil its full-scale X-BAT unmanned combat aircraft by the end of October 2026 ahead of planned flight tests later this year.

In addition to its initial $50 million investment, the U.S. Navy has committed another $150 million toward X-BAT’s development, bringing the total external funding to $200 million.

The aircraft is designed for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), with a projected range of 2,000 nautical miles and an operating ceiling of 50,000 feet.

Funding advances development of runway-independent aircraft

The latest funding comes through a US Navy development agreement that links payments to specific technical milestones, rather than providing the entire sum upfront.

Shield AI must match the Navy's $150 million contribution, following an earlier $50 million government investment accompanied by equivalent company funding.

According to the company, the first full-scale prototype of the aircraft should be completed within weeks.

“We've been building two prototype vehicles—they're full scale. The first one will be done in the next couple of weeks here,” said Armor Harris, Shield AI’s senior vice president of aircraft.

“And then we'll be getting into flight testing at the end of this year…going straight to the vertical takeoff and landing tests as the final de-risk of the [technology].”

The company has spent the past year conducting wind tunnel, engine and thermal testing to reduce technical risks before moving toward flight demonstrations.

X-BAT uses a tail-sitting design, allowing it to launch and recover vertically without a conventional runway.

Its propulsion system combines a General Electric F110 engine with an axisymmetric vectoring exhaust nozzle, which helps control the aircraft during vertical flight.

Ambitious performance targets face demanding tests

Shield AI revealed that the X-BAT comes with a potential combat radius of around 1,340 nautical miles, approximately twice that of the F-35.

Its planned weapons capacity includes internal bays comparable in size to those aboard the F-35, alongside two hardpoints beneath the wings.

These external stations can accommodate weapons, drop tanks or buddy-refuelling equipment, potentially extending X-BAT's mission options.

Its internal weapons bays can carry strike weapons, while its modular architecture is designed to support electronic warfare and air-to-air missions.

The company expects to achieve a fully equipped flight-test aircraft in 2028, with early operational capability planned for 2029.

Serial production is expected to follow, although the schedule depends on successful testing and the Navy's assessment of development milestones.

The programme forms part of the Navy's Runway Independent Maritime Expeditionary Strike initiative, which aims to operate combat aircraft without depending on conventional airfields.

Shield AI envisages deploying X-BAT from amphibious warfare ships and dispersed land locations, potentially increasing access to aircraft without using additional carrier deck space.

However, the aircraft has not yet demonstrated its defining vertical flight capability, and its projected range, payload and autonomy remain developmental goals.

Earlier attempts to develop tail-sitting combat aircraft encountered substantial engineering difficulties, making successful testing essential before the programme's ambitious schedule can be assessed.

Via Defense One

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 Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, October 15 (game #1725).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 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 #1726) — hint #1 — VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* 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 #1726) — hint #2 — repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #1726) — hint #3 — uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1726) — 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 2.

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 #1726) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• S

• W

• J

• S

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

Quordle today (game #1726) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1726, are…

• SHORT
• WORTH
• JOIST
• SLUNK

I came close to a perfect four-in-a-row run of correct guesses but faltered on my final word, opting for “slung” ahead of SLUNK.

Meanwhile, the rare letter J made an appearance in a game that was also notable for its absence of As and Es.

Daily Sequence today (game #1726) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1726, are…

• DOWD
• ADOPT
• MOSSY
• DANDY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1725, Thursday, 15 October: STALE, EPOCH, PIANO, CORNY
• Quordle #1724, Wednesday, 14 October: TIMID, GROUP, GRILL, EVERY
• Quordle #1723, Tuesday, 13 October: FLUFF, DEBUT, TEETH, STEIN
• Quordle #1722, Monday, 12 October: HELLO, BELOW, RIGHT, SLANT
• Quordle #1721, Sunday, 11 October: LILAC, INLET, TRIAD, SHAPE
• Quordle #1720, Saturday, 10 October: SWEAT, THIRD, RURAL, CLASP
• Quordle #1719, Friday, 9 October: OLDEN, DUNCE, SWATH, HILLY
• Quordle #1718, Thursday, 8 October: MINTY, ROWER, BROOD, RESET
• Quordle #1717, Wednesday, 7 October: PALER, FROTH, DOZEN, ERASE
• Quordle #1716, Tuesday, 6 October: FRESH, SKULK, BATCH, ENSUE
• Quordle #1715, Monday, 5 October: SIXTH, SPEAK, SEDAN, HEIST
• Quordle #1714, Sunday, 4 October: INFER, RAINY, THING, ARENA
• Quordle #1713, Saturday, 3 October: CHORE, FLYER, STICK, PURSE
• Quordle #1712, Friday, 2 October: IVORY, SADLY, ANGEL, LLAMA
• Quordle #1711, Thursday, 1 October: NAVEL, SHEER, BIRTH, TACKY
• Quordle #1710, Wednesday, 30 September: CHOKE, BATCH, MOSSY, EAGER
• Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE

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 Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, October 15 (game #956).

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Just a little bit

NYT Strands today (game #957) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• PILL
• STATE
• LAME
• SALT
• LOCAL
• WORM

NYT Strands today (game #957) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #957) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: left, 5th row

• Last side: right, 5th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #957) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #957, are…

• PINPOINT
• MOLECULE
• ATOM
• MITE
• FOLLICLE
• AMOEBA
• SPANGRAM: SMALLWORLD

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Yet again, looking in the top left-hand corner paid off. However, it was at the expense of a fairly easy-to-spot spangram — congratulations if you got a Spangram First today.

After spotting PINPOINT and SMALLWORLD (did everyone have the Disney ride theme tune churning around their heads afterwards?) I was convinced that MINIATURE would be lurking on the board somewhere.

Instead, the remaining words were all scientific leaning, with only the spelling of AMOEBA causing me pause.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, October 15, game #956)

• BEACON
• STAIRCASE
• DOME
• LANTERN
• GALLERY
• SPANGRAM: LIGHTHOUSE

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 Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, October 15 (game #1222).

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 #1223) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• HUNGARY
• HUNGRY
• HIPPO
• CHICKEN
• CHIP
• CHAD
• COOLIDGE
• CYRUS
• SPAN
• MARK
• LAOS
• NICK
• PARAGUAY
• SMARTIES
• BULGARI
• SCRATCH

NYT Connections today (game #1223) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Paint repair required
• GREEN: Nations without a coastline
• BLUE: Nations with something absent
• PURPLE: Fashionable to begin with

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 #1223) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: SURFACE IMPERFECTIONS
• GREEN: LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES
• BLUE: EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MINUS A LETTER
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH WORDS FOR "STYLISH"

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

NYT Connections today (game #1223) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1223, are…

• YELLOW: SURFACE IMPERFECTIONS: CHIP, MARK, NICK, SCRATCH
• GREEN: LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES: CHAD, HUNGARY, LAOS, PARAGUAY
• BLUE: EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MINUS A LETTER: BULGARI, CYRUS, HUNGRY, SPAN
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH WORDS FOR "STYLISH": CHICKEN, COOLIDGE, HIPPO, SMARTIES

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Having HUNGRY and HIPPO beside each other on the board, not to mention HUNGRY and HUNGARY, was very distracting. Fortunately I managed to focus and completed the game without a hitch.

I got the four EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MINUS A LETTER first, but it was a toss of a coin between that and the quartet of LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES.

Once again I managed to get Yellow last, which is something of an achievement considering that it was the most straightforward of today's groups and required no lateral thinking. Perhaps Hungry Hippo was a mental distraction after all.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, October 15, 2026, game #1222)

• YELLOW: WAYS TO PRESERVE FOOD: CURE, DRY, PICKLE, SMOKE
• GREEN: THINGS YOU CAN SCORE IN SPORTS: BASKET, GOAL, RUN, TOUCHDOWN
• BLUE: LOWEST PART: BASE, BOTTOM, FOOT, FOUNDATION
• PURPLE: LOW LANDFORMS WITH A LETTER CHANGED: CANNON, FORGE, RACINE, VOLLEY

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.

Doing away with the leap second might prevent time-related computer anomalies in the future.

• A printed data packet has been sold at auction via Christie’s
• The sale price was $24,600 for a piece of paper that was once secured to a pigeon’s leg
• Pigeon internet began life as an April Fool’s proposal

A printed internet packet intended has been sold at auction for $24,600 (close to £20,800) at Christie’s - and while the lot had a listing of a comparatively modest $4,000 (call it £3,040), it had attracted considerable attention due to the fact that it was deployed via carrier pigeon.

The lot is a rare survivor of a 2001 experiment into the concept of pigeon-powered internet. Initially conceived as an April Fool’s joke, the ruse was embraced by the early Linux community, resulting in a 2001 proof of concept, which employed a racing pigeons.

Sold as part of Christie’s “Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts Including Americana and Science” auction, the tiny scroll came from the collection of American network engineer David Waitzman, to whom it was framed and presented in 2002.

Framed packet

In what might be described as one of the slowest pings in history, Norway’s Bergen Linux User Group (BLUG) ran the live experiment over 3 miles.

Measuring a tiny 41mm by 210mm (that’s 1.61 inches by 8.27 inches), the framed packet would have been tightly rolled and placed in a small message capsule attached to its pigeon’s leg.

The live experiment in 2001 occurred 11 years after Waitzman’s original proposal, entitled “A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers.” The document, labelled RFC 1149, remains online for posterity, and opens with the following passage:

“Avian carriers can provide high delay, low throughput, and low altitude service. The connection topology is limited to a single point-to-point path for each carrier, used with standard carriers, but many carriers can be used without significant interference with each other, outside of early spring.”

The document continues in a similar vein.

Keeping to the spirit of RFC 1149, the BLUG employed nine racing pigeons with a 3 mile flight between lofts, carrying printed IP packets in hexadecimal form, and dispatched them to their destination. Once the packets were scanned at the other end to confirm receipt, the process was repeated in the opposite direction… but with just four replies.

Artful hack

Auctioned by David Waitzman and the Bergen Linux User Group, the new owner of the framed packet will be responsible for a comparatively early – and certainly amusing – piece of internet history.

As the listing notes, “The RFC 1149 implementation has been described as a quintessential example of the Internet's tradition of the "artful hack," embodying the playfulness, technical ingenuity, and collaborative spirit that characterized the early Internet community.”

The Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse use artificial intelligence to process conversations into summaries, to-do lists and more. Just make sure you ask people for permission to record first.

A 1988 federal law could bar tech companies from using video viewing data for targeted ads without explicit user consent.

Coway unveiled the Airmega Mighty2 Mini today.

The Universal Cart tracks stock availability and price drops, but you’ll need to shop on Google first.

Epic Games’ redesigned launcher enters preview on Windows, Mac and Linux. Explore speed claims, compatibility limits and what to check before installing.

The post Epic Games Releases Redesigned Launcher for Windows, Mac and Linux appeared first on TechRepublic.

SpaceXSI launches Grok Voice 3.0 for AI customer support. Explore benchmark results, API pricing, billing details, and what businesses should test.

The post SpaceXSI Launches Grok Voice 3.0 for AI Customer Support appeared first on TechRepublic.

Apple Intelligence may reach China in December with iOS 27.3, but Siri AI and other features will be missing. See what users can expect.

The post Apple Intelligence Gets China Approval: Siri AI Left Out appeared first on TechRepublic.

The wait is over, and it’s looking good.

Nvidia has made its complete Run:ai GPU orchestration platform open source. Here's what's free, which support options cost money, and what IT teams still need to operate.

The post Nvidia Run Is Now Open Source: What’s Free and Paid appeared first on TechRepublic.

The FTC has subpoenaed OpenAI and Anthropic over potential consumer protection violations. An AI security expert explains the risks of enterprise AI agents.

The post FTC Demands Answers From OpenAI and Anthropic About AI Safety appeared first on TechRepublic.

• 007 First Light will launch on Nintendo Switch 2 on March 18, 2027
• The edition was originally scheduled to launch this year but was delayed
• IO Interactive says it will continue "refining the game's optimisation and performance" in the lead-up to the game's release

IO Interactive has finally announced that 007 First Light will launch on Nintendo Switch 2 on March 18, 2027.

The release date is much later than initially promised — IOI originally said the Switch 2 edition would arrive this year after the game's PS5, Xbox, and PC launch in May — however, it's now said that the delay allowed the team extra time to address performance issues and that it will continue to improve optimisation in the following months.

"Since announcing additional development time to ensure the quality of experience players expect, IO Interactive has brought hands-on builds of 007 First Light to both Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show, where players and press had their first opportunity to experience Bond's world running on Nintendo's hardware," IOI said in a statement.

"Player response from both events has been positive, reflecting the progress being made across the game as development continues toward launch."

The studio added that "the development team will use the coming months to continue refining the game's optimisation and performance on Nintendo Switch 2, ensuring it meets the standard players expect at launch."

On top of a Switch 2 release date and a new gameplay trailer running on the hardware, the 007 First Light – Deluxe Edition is now available for pre-order for $69.99 / £69.99.

The Deluxe Edition offers the Gleaming Lighter, Gleaming Earphones, Gleaming Dart Gun, and Gleaming Pen gadgets, plus four additional outfits, including the Day of the Dead, the Desert Explorer, the Silent Anchor, and the Gentleman Operator.

In addition, the 007 First Light - Special Edition on Switch 2 is also available exclusively at Amazon, giving players access to the Classic Tuxedo.

Anyone who pre-orders the game on Switch 2 will also receive early access to the GoldenEye Suit at launch.

IOI released 007 First Light's first major free downloadable content (DLC) earlier this month, which included New Game Plus, Photo Mode, and a brand-new "00" difficulty level, among other activities.

• Microsoft has officially retired Publisher and ended support
• .pub is a proprietary file format, but the app used to access it has gone
• LibreOffice reverse-engineered the format so that you can use the Draw app

Microsoft has quietly ended more than three decades of Publisher after pulling support for Microsoft 365 subscribers earlier in October 2026 – even perpetual license under Publisher 2021 lost support following the company's decision.

While .pub files aren't set to be deleted, Microsoft fans will no longer be able to view and edit them, and are instead being told to move over to Word, PowerPoint or another suitable app.

But LibreOffice just declared its support, throwing Publisher users a lifeline – and it was a lot harder than you might've thought.

LibreOffice had to reverse-engineer Publisher

"From today, these documents are in a proprietary format, the only fully compatible application for which has been abandoned by the very company that created it," Italo Vignoli wrote, noting that the developers behind the Document Liberation Project had to reverse-engineer the .pub format, which isn't an open standard.

As a result, Publisher fans can now finally open .pub files with LibreOffice Draw, but that's only part of the news because LibreOffice's Italo Vignoli went on to slate Microsoft for forcing users into a vendor lock-in, restricting their access to controls and forcing unwanted updates onto them.

"If you are responsible for documents in a public sector organisation, a school or an association, now is the time to check whether your file format is proprietary and dependent on a single vendor’s application," Vignoli added, stressing that proprietary formats like .pub force users to hand over all access control to the vendor.

Users who have already lost access to Publisher via their M365 subscription are being advised to bulk-convert their .pub documents via a PowerShell script or another automation tool. Perpetual licenses, like Publisher 2021, don't remove the app, however its functionality will likely degrade over time as bugs creep in and attackers find vulnerabilities to exploit.