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Security is always a moving target. But AI has made it move faster than many organizations can manage, presenting a gargantuan challenge for SOC teams. The near constant stream of announcements of new models or providers has resulted in a massively expanded attack surface.

While security teams work hard to review and approve as many tools as possible, the volume is still crushingly high. Today, only 22% of workers rely exclusively on the AI tools their employer provides, while more than a third (35%) of Gen Z employees say they prefer using personal AI applications over company-approved ones. For every sanctioned tool a business governs, most of its workforce is quietly working around it.

If almost 80% of employees use unapproved AI tools, then it isn’t an aberration - it’s the default. Shadow AI is normal across organizations, but the scale of the challenge is badly underestimated by the people responsible for managing it.

Why the crackdown backfires

Faced with unsanctioned use, the instinct is to clamp down. Blacklist as many tools as possible and pull usage back inside the lines. The problem is that, while this feels like control, in reality it just leaves security blind.

Blocking doesn’t stop an employee using a tool, it just drives the risk out of sight. If their tool of choice is blocked on their laptop, they’ll access it on their phone. Or with their personal email address instead of their work one.

This is true of many IT tools, but especially so with AI because people can become extremely attached to specific chatbot personalities. Consequently, AI use is driven deeper into the shadows, leaving zero visibility or record for security teams about potential data leakages or other risks.

This is the trap at the center of most shadow AI strategies. The harder an organization tries to eliminate the problem, the less it can see. And the less it can see, the more dangerous the problem becomes. Governance that looks airtight on paper can bear little resemblance to what’s actually happening across the business.

The consequences are not abstract. When confidential information flows into unmanaged third-party platforms, the fallout can add as much as $670,000 to the cost of a data breach, and most of the employees responsible have no idea they’ve created a risk at all.

Policy isn’t enforcement

The reason for these problems comes back to the speed at which AI development is moving. ChatGPT is barely five years old and the difference in performance over that time is immense. One result of this is that pretty much any AI security and best practice training employees have done has not been adequate.

The idea was not to overload employees with too much information. By keeping it ultra-straightforward and focusing on only one or two tools that were security-approved with examples looking at low-risk, early-adoption scenarios, companies could make compliance as easy possible.

For a normal technology, it would be a sensible strategy. However, the level of self-driven AI adoption we’ve seen has been far higher than companies expected. Shadow AI use is rampant and so security cannot afford to continue blindly enforcing rules that aren’t working.

Rather, to govern employee behavior, you need to be able to understand and analyze it. When it comes to AI that means gaining visibility into what tools and models employees are using, how, and where it’s actually delivering value.

An experience-based approach

That shift requires visibility into how AI is used across the workforce. A DEX (Digital Employee Experience) approach delivers exactly that, automatically detecting both approved and shadow AI through traffic patterns and endpoint activity, without relying on employees to self-report.

Usage and experience data sit in a single view, broken down by team and workflow, so leaders can see where people are working around the rules and act on it.

From there, the response stops being a blunt ban and becomes far more useful. In-app guidance can steer employees towards sanctioned tools in the flow of work, reinforcing the right behavior without killing the productivity they were chasing in the first place.

Policies can be built around real usage instead of guesswork. And because 96% of leaders now say digital adoption support is critical to AI readiness, that same visibility shows exactly where training will close a gap rather than tick a box.

It’s time to manage shadow AI

Shadow AI isn't going anywhere, and pretending otherwise is how organizations end up exposed. The companies that handle it well will be the ones that stop trying to ban it and start paying attention to it. Everyone else is just hoping their policy is being followed, with no real way of knowing whether it is.

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• Post-quantum encryption is now live on Norton VPN's Mimic and WireGuard
• Rebuilt iOS and Android apps have slashed connect times by more than 50%
• Norton has added 12 new countries across Asia and Africa

Competition for the title of best VPN is fiercer than ever, and Norton is making a strong case for the crown. The cybersecurity veteran has just unveiled the final releases from its first-half 2026 roadmap, delivering a robust mix of future-proofed privacy tools, significantly faster mobile applications, and an expanded global footprint.

The standout feature of this latest rollout is the introduction of post-quantum encryption. This comes alongside improved Software Development Kits (SDKs) for its mobile apps and an expanded server network across Asia and Africa.

At first glance, these releases may appear to be separate features. But for the provider, they all address the same need — customers must count on Norton VPN, wherever they are.

As Himmat Bains, Product Lead at Norton VPN, told TechRadar, post-quantum encryption is crucial to protect users' data from future threats. Faster, more reliable mobile connections mean VPN protection is there exactly when they need it. And coverage in 12 new countries means that more people can connect locally.

"Different problems, same answer — we want this to be the VPN you can simply trust and forget about," said Bains.

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Post-quantum ecryption lands on Norton's Mimic and WireGuard

As quantum computing advances, cybersecurity experts have increasingly warned of "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks. This is a tactic where cybercriminals or state actors steal encrypted data today, hoarding it with the intention of cracking it when quantum computers become powerful enough to break traditional encryption standards.

To combat this long-term risk, Norton VPN has upgraded its proprietary Mimic protocol to utilize the ML-KEM-1024 encryption algorithm by default across all platforms.

The company is also rolling out the exact same post-quantum protection to the popular WireGuard protocol on both desktop and mobile devices, ensuring that user traffic remains fully secure against tomorrow's technological threats.

Turbocharging mobile performance

(Image credit: Norton)

While future-proofing encryption is crucial for long-term privacy, everyday users will immediately feel the benefits of Norton’s revamped mobile experience. The provider has entirely rebuilt its iOS and Android SDKs, the underlying code architecture that powers its mobile applications, from the ground up.

The performance gains are impressive. According to Norton's release notes, the new mobile architecture reduces connection times by more than 50% and connection errors by over 60%. For mobile users who constantly hop between home Wi-Fi, public hotspots, and cellular networks, this means a much smoother, almost instantaneous protective shield.

Just as importantly, this rebuilt framework will allow Norton to ship bug fixes and new features much faster going forward. The overhaul has already paid immediate dividends, leading directly to a rebuilt mobile widget that patches previous usability issues users had been facing.

"

A broader network and a busy 2026

Beyond the apps themselves, Norton is continuing to scale up its physical infrastructure. The provider has added 12 more countries to its network, specifically targeting underserved regions across Asia and Africa.

This expansion brings Norton's total reach to an impressive 102 countries and more than 140 global locations, seamlessly building on the momentum of previous network upgrades earlier this year.

This latest announcement caps off a remarkably busy start to the year for the Norton VPN team.

The provider brought a native Amazon Fire TV app (Fire OS 8 and newer) in March and introduced the industry's first AI-native VPN for Agents in April. It also successfully added Split Tunnelling on Mac in June, joining its Android and Windows counterparts.

Furthermore, WireGuard is now live across Mac, iOS, and tvOS, with a new Pause VPN feature on iOS closing the platform's last functional gap. The company also rolled out 25 Gbps servers across busy cities and added Manual IP Rotation.

"Our goal is simple: deliver a VPN for the masses," Bains told TechRadar, arguing that these releases weren't about shipping a longer list; "it was about closing the gaps customers actually feel."

Looking ahead, Bains confirmed that Norton's second-half roadmap pushes even further, noting that "we'll have third-party audits for the third year launching later in the summer, along with meaningful updates coming to our streaming and performance.

I've had a Spotify premium account long enough to be hit with multiple price hikes from my original, stable subscription plan.

Throughout those years, the streaming platform has defined how and what music I listened to, mostly for the better, though in some ways for the worse; it could be my stage of life, but I don't feel music like I used to.

So when I recently rediscovered my iPod nano in a drawer during a clear out, it was the shot in the arm that this tired music lover needed.

The model in question was the iPod nano (2006) in black, and I couldn't for the life of me remember when I had last used it.

I peeled my old portable media player free from its disintegrating soft case and drank in that slice of nostalgia, running my fingers over its aluminum casing and wheel.

I just had to know what music I had painstakingly added to the 8GB of flash memory, however long ago that was.

After persistent rummaging, I found the 30-pin to USB charging cable I needed and, after a moment, sure enough my nano sprang back into life...

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)The time capsule I needed

2015. That was the most recent period of the music and playlists on my iPod nano. Had it really been over a decade since I had last used a portable media player and moved exclusively to Spotify streaming?

My albums, and more specifically my playlists, spanned 2011 to 2015, with the majority being pre 2013 — the year my first child was born. Back then (pre kids), I was clearly into three genres; electronica, alternative and Christian gospel.

I span the click wheel with my thumb to scroll through the lists, neatly categorized into Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs, Genres, Composers and Search options.

God, I had forgotten that tactile feeling of the click wheel and the outright simplicity of the distraction-free interface. And with my Bluetooth-faff-free wired headphones attached, I started exploring this little audio time capsule.

Spotify streaming has turned music into fast food. The iPod nano was like a sit down meal.

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Reader, I used to painstakingly curate Final Mix playlists of my favorite tunes each year, and 2012 was so prolific I had also split it into two parts. Three, year-long alternative and electronica playlists! Heck, I even made my own Desert Island Discs list (dated 2013) packed with my eclectic all-time faves, which spanned everything from the hymn Amazing Grace sung by Aretha Franklin to dance house classics like Rez by Underworld and my wedding first dance, Your Love Gets Sweeter by Finley Quaye.

I cued up my 2012 playlist, which opened with This Year by The Mountain Goats, a defiant narrative of endurance in tough times and a simple chorus that resounded "I’m gonna make it through this year, if it kills me".

Eyes closed, I was already finding myself getting emotional.

These were house party days, pub hang-outs and those conversations that went, ‘Hey have you heard this?’. Songs recommended by friends. Songs shared by friends.

I locked in on that playlist, clicking the wheel to crank up the volume to levels probably unsafe for my ears, with no on-screen warning micromanaging my experience.

Tim ColemanTim ColemanA timely reminder to simplify

Immersing myself in that old iPod nano reminded me why I love music. It took me back to the times when listening to an album might be the only thing I was doing in that moment.

Today, music is far more likely to be an accompaniment to the multiple activities I simultaneously have on the go, interrupted by the notification alerts and social apps on my phone.

For me, Spotify streaming had turned music into fast food. The iPod Nano was like a sit down meal.

And although my Nano’s battery is effectively dead — it needed constant power to operate — it has called me back to enjoy music in a deeper way once more. That fast food had grown dry, and I was appreciating deeper flavors again.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has finally swung into theaters worldwide — and I bet you've got questions about Tom Holland's latest Marvel movie.

Haven't seen it yet? Read my Spider-Man: Brand New Day review for a spoiler-light insight into the newly released film. Then, bookmark this page, go and see it, and come back to carry on reading this article, because I'm not kidding when I say full spoilers immediately follow for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Of course, if you have watched it, by all means scroll on — it's worth the read, I promise!

Does Sadie Sink play Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

There have been myriad rumors about who Sadie Sink is playing in the MCU (Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel Entertainment)

Yes. One of the worst-kept secrets in Hollywood is finally confirmed about 70 minutes into Spider-Man 4: Sink is playing the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) version of iconic X-Men member Jean Grey.

It's a reveal that's been a long time coming. Sink was first rumored to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day last March, so we've had to wait 16 months to learn which Marvel character she was actually playing.

Of course, there's been all manner of speculation about the identity of her character, with everyone from Mayday Parker — aka Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson's daughter in the comics — and Typhoid Mary to Firestar and Shathra mentioned as potential candidates.

Now that we know Sink is playing Grey, she's a shoo-in to appear in Marvel's new X-Men movie (more on this later). Her next outing as Jean Grey is expected to be in Avengers: Secret Wars, though, so we'll see her again when that film arrives next December.

Who is the real villain in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

You messed up, Metzger (Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel Entertainment)

That'll be William Metzger, aka the head of the Department of Damage Control (DoDC).

Metzger is played by Tramell Tillman, the Severance star signing on to appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day last August. It's unclear when or where he'll appear in the MCU next, but I have my suspicions about his next appearance, which I cover later in this article.

Anyway, Metzger is revealed to be the Marvel Phase 6 flick's actual villain in its third act. Initially positioning himself and the DoDC as an ally of Spider-Man's, we eventually learn that Metzger was the one who kidnapped, experimented on, and ultimately killed Jean's older sister Sarah. A fellow telepath, Sarah was taken to the DoDC's main testing facility on Staten Island, where she was used as a lab rat for the company's investigations into new tech powered by superhuman abilities.

Of course, as soon as Spidey learns the truth, our friendly neighborhood hero sets out to rescue Jean, whom he naively helped the DoDC to capture earlier in Brand New Day. Little does Peter Parker know, though, that it could've been his last mission...

Does Peter Parker die in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

Don't worry, Spidey lives to fight another day (Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel Entertainment)

No, but he comes mightily close to losing his life.

After he infiltrates the DoDC's Staten Island headquarters, Spidey uses his upgraded powers to defeat members of The Hand controlled by an antagonistic Jean — remember, she still thinks Spider-Man is the enemy at this point.

Eventually, Peter tracks down Jean, who's holding Metzger hostage. Metzger tried to experiment on Jean as he did with Sarah, but the test not only goes awry, it unlocks Jean's full powerset. No longer limited by the 33-foot radius that her telepathic abilities had, Jean utilizes her powers to paralyze a large part of New York's human population, and threatens Peter that she'll hurt them all — including his former girlfriend M.J. and best friend Ned, who are caught in her paralyzing telepathic wave — if he tries to stop her from enacting revenge on Metzger.

I wonder if Frank will stop being so reckless from now on... (Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel Entertainment)

Being the good guy that he is, Peter manages to talk her down. He does so by allowing the souped-up Jean to enter his mind, where he shows her a very specific memory of Aunt May that helps Jean understand that, despite Sarah's death, she's not alone.

Happy ending, right? Not exactly. Like Spider-Man, Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, sprang into action when Jean used her upgraded powers on New York's residents. Unable to reach DoDC HQ, he heads to a nearby rooftop outside of the impacted zone. There, he uses his marksmanship skills to take a shot at Jean with a heavy-duty sniper rifle.

Sensing the incoming bullet, Spidey shields Jean from the sniper round and is critically injured by it. As he bleeds out, Jean employs her powers to keep him alive before Frank races him to a nearby hospital to undergo life-saving surgery.

Some time later, Peter wakes from his coma. After a heart-to-heart — and some light banter — with an apologetic and remorseful Frank, Peter checks himself out of the hospital.

A crowd of dedicated Spider-Man fans, who've congregated outside the hospital to hold a vigil for his swift recovery, awaits him. Fortunately, Frank stays behind, dons the Spider-Man mask, and waves to the assembled crowd from Spidey's hospital room, allowing a profoundly moved Peter to walk away without anyone knowing he's the real wallcrawler.

Does Jean Grey make M.J. and Ned remember Peter Parker in Spider-Man 4?

M.J. and Ned remember Peter Parker without Jean Grey's help (Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel Entertainment)

No — she doesn't need to, because the pair end up finding out that Peter is Spider-Man.

M.J. learns who he is when she discovers the note Peter had written back in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home. Meanwhile, Ned appears to remember Peter when the duo performs their secret handshake in Brand New Day's final scene. Ultimately, then, Jean's possible intervention wasn't necessary.

Which Marvel characters make a cameo in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

Does Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock appear in Spider-Man 4? (Image credit: Marvel Television/Disney+)

We already knew the vast majority of Spider-Man: Brand Day's cast heading into the film, but the MCU's latest movie has a couple of surprises up its sleeve.

For one, Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova makes an unexpected yet scene-stealing cameo. Spider-Man meets her at a New York bathhouse to obtain information about the attack on the DoDC in the film's first act. Later on, she appears once more when the eponymous hero starts to suspect Metzger isn't all that he seems and seeks details on Jean's sister Sarah.

The other big cameo is Marisa Tomei's Aunt May. Peter's surrogate mom, who died in No Way Home, appears by way of the memory I mentioned earlier in this article.

"But what about Daredevil?", you might be asking. Given what happened in the final episode of Daredevil: Born Again season 2, some fans had expected Spidey to come across Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock and join forces to take on The Hand in Spider-Man 4's prison-set action sequence. Unfortunately, Cox doesn't show up in Brand New Day, so the wait for a Daredevil and Spider-Man MCU team-up goes on.

Is there an end-credits scene in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

Brand New Day's post-credits scene shows Spidey has swung off into the cosmos (Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel Entertainment)

Yes. Right at the end of the film's final credits, the Spidey Tracker — an app built by Ned Leeds to, well, track Spider-Man's whereabouts — flashes up on the screen.

As an automated message that says "Location unknown" starts to play over and over, the app zooms out from planet Earth and eventually pinpoints that the webslinger is somehow in space.

What does this mean? I have a wild theory that Spider-Man: Brand New Day's post-credits scene might not mean what we think it does, but the most likely scenario is that Peter Parker has been transported somewhere due to events that'll go down in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars. Speaking of which...

How does Spider-Man 4 set up Avengers: Doomsday and/or Avengers: Secret Wars?

Avengers: Doomsday will be released in theaters worldwide on December 18, 2026 (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Andy Park)

In short: I don't know. Spider-Man 4's end credits scene could be related to either of the aforementioned movies, so until Avengers: Doomsday is released this December, your guess is as good as mine.

That said, at this moment in time, Tom Holland isn't slated to appear in Doomsday, and that film is already packed with enough characters as it is. You can find out who'll appear and more by finding out everything we know so far about Avengers: Doomsday.

If Holland doesn't show up in Avengers 5, he'll be a dead cert to star in its sequel. Marvel and Sony won't miss the opportunity to put one of their most bankable characters in at least one of the next two Avengers movies, so the smart money is on him having a substantial role to play in Avengers 6. For more on that flick, find out what we know so far about Avengers: Secret Wars.

How does Spider-Man: Brand New Day set up Marvel's new X-Men movie?

A new generation of Marvel's popular mutant superteam will join the MCU in due course (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

It doesn't. With Doomsday and Secret Wars set to be the next two MCU movies to hit theaters, that pair is far more likely to impact the MCU's first mutant-based film.

Nevertheless, Spider-Man 4's final minutes do show Jean Grey traveling on a bus to an unknown location. Maybe she's attempting to track down more of her fellow mutants? If she is and she's successful, it's possible that whoever she locates will not only have roles to play in Secret Wars, but also form a prototype version of the X-Men ahead of their actual founding/formation in their first dedicated MCU adventure.

While we wait for more news on one of the few confirmed post-Multiverse Saga projects, find out what we know so far about Marvel's new X-Men movie.

• Report finds adults are spending four hours a week on reputation management, compared with 2.5 hours on developing skills
• This seems to be a response to the belief that professional opportunities increasingly favour people who communicate confidence publicly
• Workers think they need to not just be capable, but also demonstrate their abilities

Research from MyIQ has uncovered a new trend: establishing professional credibility requires regular reputation management on social media, and is becoming more important than actually developing new skills.

From LinkedIn profile updates to posts promoting new roles, responsibilities, qualifications and sharing thoughts on the relevant industry events, workers are finding that they need to not just be capable, but also demonstrate their abilities with regular social media posts.

A survey of 11,742 adults, almost 6 in 10 admitted that their “professional visibility” took up more of time every week than learning new skills. They’re using around 4 hours per week to polish profiles, update live resumes, and develop thought leadership posts, compared with just 2.5 hours working on new skills.

Skills vs. shares

While there may be some interpretation of these figures as a trend towards people attempting to become thought leaders and public figures, this trend isn’t limited to those with an eye on guesting on a podcast or called in as an expert on a televised discussion. It isn’t all about TED Talks – this trend is being followed by people who just don’t want to be left behind.

Over half (57%) of those surveyed feel pressure to post content, share ideas, and maintain a public profile, even if they have little interest in doing so. Worryingly, 49% feel they would be seem less accomplished than colleagues by limiting their activity on sites like LinkedIn.

Yet skills remain more important, both in hiring and as a personal achievement. Reputation management is not something that can ever be completed, observes MyIQ, whereas learning new skills feels like a step forward been achieved.

Visibility is changing

“Visibility was once a by-product of good work. Increasingly, it is treated as proof that good work is happening at all," noted Sarah Meyer, the Managing Director of MyIQ.

"The risk is that people begin spending more time signalling progress than making it. At that point, professional reputation stops being the result of a career and becomes a separate workload within it.”

In short, visibility is changing – it is not longer a consequence of professional success, but has become perceived as a key requirement, something that need to be permanently managed. This is reflected in the response to this visibility, where achievements are celebrated on LinkedIn, and long-form posts are shared, commented on, and portray that person as an expert.

With the 64% believing that confident communication favors promotion over developing in-work skills and expertise, this trend of LinkedIn-focused reputation management seems likely to continue.

• Microsoft has won an extended stay at the Competition Appeal Tribunal while it seeks permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court, having lost at both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal
• Its argument that Office's icons and clip art placed it outside software exhaustion rules was rejected as producing "odd results", including CD software being resellable while identical downloads were not
• The jurisdiction ruling matters more than the £270 million claim, as it clears the way for a parallel collective action that could expose Microsoft to billions

Microsoft has bought itself time in its long-running fight with a British software reseller, securing an extended stay of proceedings at the Competition Appeal Tribunal while it prepares to seek permission from the UK Supreme Court to appeal.

While Microsoft has yet to appeal formally, its indication that it intends to do so buys it some breathing room against a judgment that could mean that parallel proceedings, including a £3.5 billion class action lawsuit that could compromise as many as 2.7 million members, could become a centerpiece of the software giant's future legal troubles in the UK.

The UK CAT (Competition Appeal Tribunal) has paused parts of the case as a result, and Chair Justin Turner KC noted that it was not yet known whether permission would be granted, and framed his decision as balancing the potential waste of costs if permission were granted and an appeal succeeded against the undesirability of delay in the proceedings.

A legal quagmire exacerbated by shifting legal defense from Microsoft?

Microsoft has been fighting this claim for years, dating back to 2021, when JJH Enterprises, a Derby-based reseller trading as ValueLicensing, sued Microsoft for £270 million.

The allegation is that Microsoft wrote terms into its agreements that offered customers better subscription pricing in exchange for surrendering the right to resell their perpetual licenses, thereby choking off the secondary market and pushing buyers toward Microsoft 365 even as the software giant denies wrongdoing.

ValueLicensing's case rests on the Court of Justice's 2012 decision in UsedSoft v Oracle, which held that a software vendor's distribution right is exhausted once it sells a perpetual license, including one delivered by download, so it cannot use copyright to block the onward sale of that copy.

Having contested the case as a competition matter for years, Microsoft changed its argument in 2025, recasting it as a copyright dispute. Office, it said, is not merely a computer program. It ships with icons, user interface elements, help files, and clip art, and those creative components should be governed by a different copyright regime in which exhaustion does not bite.

That argument has now failed twice. The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) unanimously decided the preliminary copyright issues in ValueLicensing's favor in November 2025, and on July 7, 2026, the Court of Appeal dismissed both of Microsoft's appeals, one challenging the CAT's jurisdiction to rule on copyright questions at all, the other contesting the copyright findings themselves.

Microsoft's reading, the court observed, would produce "odd results": software supplied on a CD-ROM could be freely resold while the identical software delivered as a download could not, and a vendor could defeat established exhaustion principles simply by bundling some icons with its code.

At the same time, the CAT did not grant resellers unlimited freedom. Under UsedSoft, a buyer holding a single copy installed on a server and licensed for several users cannot carve off part of that user capacity for resale, because exhaustion attaches to the copy rather than the seat.

The Tribunal distinguished that from a genuine volume arrangement comprising multiple independent copies or licenses, in which reselling a corresponding number may be permissible once the seller has stopped using the copies it has passed on. That distinction sets real limits on how the secondary market can operate.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft has spent most of the period covered by the claim moving its customer base from perpetual licenses to Microsoft 365. If ValueLicensing wins outright, it wins the right to trade in a category that its opponent has been deliberately retiring for a decade. Should the Supreme Court decline to take the case, proceedings return to the Tribunal, with a trial mooted for 2027.

The jurisdiction ruling matters well beyond this claim. By confirming that the CAT can decide copyright questions where they are necessary to resolve a competition case, the Court of Appeal cleared a path for others, and The Register reported in April 2026 that Microsoft had viewed that appeal as a complete answer to Alexander Wolfson's collective action, on the basis that copyright issues could not be transferred to the High Court in a class action.

Wolfson was granted permission to intervene in support of ValueLicensing, and his claim, which could expose Microsoft to liability in the billions, now stands to benefit from the ruling.

What could this mean?

Britain's regulators have taken an interest in the same broad shift, too. On July 29 2026, the Competition and Markets Authority opened a consumer protection investigation into how Microsoft marketed its Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans.

From January 2025, existing subscribers were given Copilot and other new features at no extra cost for the remainder of their term, then automatically moved onto a higher-priced plan at renewal unless they chose an alternative or canceled.

A time-limited "Classic" plan preserved the old feature set at the old price, and for annual subscribers the Copilot version cost £25 more per year.

"When a business changes its subscription plans, customers need clear and timely information about their options," said Hayley Fletcher, senior director for consumer protection at the CMA. "Our investigation will consider whether Microsoft customers were misled and ended up paying more as a result."

Microsoft said consumer trust is a priority and that it is reviewing the claims while cooperating with the inquiry. The CMA has reached no conclusions and has not accused the company of breaking the law.

That probe concerns consumer subscriptions rather than the commercial agreements at issue in the ValueLicensing case, so the two are separate matters under different regimes. What links them is the same underlying transition from one-off purchases to recurring ones.

Microsoft already faces a CMA strategic market status investigation into its business software, and Australia's competition regulator is suing the company in the Federal Court over the same Copilot and Classic plan issue, affecting an estimated 2.7 million customers. Whichever way the Supreme Court application goes, the legal scrutiny of how Microsoft moved the world onto subscriptions is not ending soon.

The scrutiny also lands in a fraught transatlantic moment. On July 24, days after the European Commission fined Google $1 billion under the Digital Markets Act, Trump announced a Section 301 investigation into EU trade practices, declaring that the United States is not a "PIGGYBANK" for Europe and promising a substantial tariff.

Brussels has consistently maintained that regulating economic activity within the bloc is its sovereign right, and that its digital rules apply to all firms operating there. Britain sits awkwardly beside that fight. Its courts are no longer bound by EU case law, and its regulators answer to nobody in Brussels, but the president's stated targets have been digital taxes and digital markets rules in general rather than the EU alone, and the UK has both.

Anyone who has dealt with spotty Wi-Fi knows that a fast NBN plan doesn’t mean your Wi-Fi will work equally well in every room.

The connection might work well in the living room near the router but be frustratingly slow upstairs or at the other end of your house, especially in homes with thick walls or concrete floors.

That’s where a mesh Wi-Fi system can help, as it improves coverage by using several connected units around your home instead of relying on a single router.

This guide explains how mesh Wi-Fi works, how it connects to NBN services and whether your home needs it.

If you want to read more about the best mesh systems we have tested, take a look at our guide to the best mesh Wi-Fi systems in Australia.

What is mesh Wi-Fi and how does it work?

A mesh system consists of a main router and one or more extra units, usually called nodes or satellites.

Mesh nodes usually communicate with each other over Wi-Fi, which can make the system easier to set up. The mesh system can’t increase the speed of your NBN plan, but it can help more of that speed reach your devices.

The advantage of a mesh system is that each node uses the same network name and password. This means your devices can automatically connect to a nearby node as you move between rooms, helping them maintain a more reliable connection around your home.

Since mesh systems connect to each other wirelessly, there’s no need to run extra Ethernet cabling through your house. If you already have Ethernet ports, though, you can connect the nodes to them for more consistent performance.

(Image credit: Google)What can mesh Wi-Fi fix?

Mesh systems are most useful when internet speeds over Wi-Fi are good near the router but drop in other parts of your home. If your home still has slow or weak areas, you can add another node to extend the coverage.

This can extend coverage across multiple storeys, into a garage and through obstacles that can weaken Wi-Fi, such as double-brick walls and concrete floors.

It won’t fix every internet problem, though. A mesh system can’t increase the speed of your NBN plan, repair a faulty connection or fix congestion on your provider’s network. It may also struggle if the nodes are too far apart or positioned where their signal is blocked.

There’s a simple test to see if a mesh system can help your connection. Head to speedtest.net and run one test beside your router, then repeat it in the problem area using the same device.

If there’s a large difference in the results, your Wi-Fi coverage may be the issue. Poor results in both locations are more likely to point to a problem with your internet service, router or connected device.

Does mesh Wi-Fi work with the NBN?

(Image credit: Generated with Adobe Firefly AI / NBN Co)

Mesh Wi-Fi works with the main NBN connection types, but setup depends on the equipment installed in your home.

With Fibre to the Premises (FTTP), Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC), Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) and Fixed Wireless, the main mesh unit usually connects to the NBN connection box using an Ethernet cable.

It can often replace the Wi-Fi router supplied by your provider. You may need to enter provider-specific settings first, but this is usually handled through an easy-to-use setup app or wizard.

Fibre to the Node (FTTN) and Fibre to the Building (FTTB) connections are different because they require a compatible VDSL2 modem to handle the connection over the existing copper line. A mesh router can’t normally replace that modem, but it can connect to the modem or modem-router and then handle Wi-Fi across your home.

If you’re unsure, your provider can confirm the best setup for your connection. Some providers offer mesh Wi-Fi systems when you sign up, and our guide to the best NBN providers in Australia can help you compare your options.

Do you actually need mesh Wi-Fi?

A mesh system makes the most sense when one router can’t cover all parts of your home reliably. That often includes multi-storey homes, double-brick houses, converted garages or even a backyard granny flat.

You probably don’t need a mesh setup if you live in a compact unit or apartment and already get reliable Wi-Fi in every room. Repositioning your router, upgrading an older model or connecting key devices by Ethernet may solve the problem much more cheaply.

A basic Wi-Fi extender can be cheaper when you only need to improve one small weak area. A mesh system costs more, but it is usually easier to manage when you have several problem areas.

How many mesh nodes do you need?

(Image credit: TP-Link)

The right number of nodes depends more on layout and building materials than floor area alone. A two-node system is a sensible starting point for a smaller townhouse or single-storey home, while a larger or multi-storey property may need three or more.

More nodes aren’t automatically better. Too many can leave several units covering the same area.

Too few can also cause problems because each node needs a reliable connection to the main router or another unit. A node placed deep inside a dead zone may have too little signal to connect properly.

Placing your main router or mesh node in an open position is usually best, but the exact spot tends to depend on where your internet connection enters your home. The goal is to place the next node a bit over halfway towards the problem area.

A higher, open position is often better. Keep nodes off the floor and away from closed-off areas or cluttered shelves, and avoid placing them directly beside large appliances or behind thick internal walls.

For a home office, converted garage or granny flat, Ethernet backhaul may be more reliable where cabling is available. Start with fewer nodes and add another if coverage remains patchy.

Is Wi-Fi 7 worth it over Wi-Fi 6?

Wi-Fi 6 is enough for many Australian homes, particularly when the main goal is improving coverage rather than reaching the highest possible speeds.

Wi-Fi 6E adds the less congested 6GHz band for compatible devices, though its shorter range makes node placement particularly important. Wi-Fi 7 is more useful for newer devices, very fast NBN plans or demanding local-network use.

The newest standard isn’t always the best value. Check how many units are included, whether you can expand the system later, the speed of its Ethernet ports, wired backhaul support and whether parental controls or security features require a subscription.

(Image credit: The Register)Mesh Wi-Fi FAQsDoes mesh Wi-Fi make your internet faster?

Mesh can improve the speeds devices receive in weak coverage areas, but it can’t make your NBN plan faster. For faster plan options, see our guide to the best NBN plans.

Is mesh Wi-Fi better than an extender?

Mesh is usually easier to manage across several rooms and keeps one network around your home. An extender can still be the cheaper option for one small weak spot.

Does mesh Wi-Fi replace your NBN modem?

Sometimes. FTTP, HFC and FTTC users may be able to connect a mesh router to the NBN connection box, though provider settings or a bundled phone service can affect the setup. FTTN and FTTB services still need a compatible modem. If you’re unsure, ask your provider.

Is a Wi-Fi 7 mesh system worth it?

Wi-Fi 7 makes more sense for newer devices, very fast NBN plans and demanding local-network use. Wi-Fi 6 is still perfectly fine for many households and usually costs less.

Is mesh Wi-Fi worth it?

Mesh Wi-Fi is worth considering when one router leaves several parts of your home with weak or unreliable coverage. It won’t improve the NBN connection itself, but it can distribute that connection more consistently around your home, particularly if it is large or multi-storey. If you only have one small weak spot, repositioning your router or using an extender may be cheaper.

Useful guides and extra info

• Best mesh Wi-Fi systems in Australia
• Best NBN plans in Australia
• Best NBN provider in Australia
• Fastest NBN plans in Australia
• Best NBN 1000 plans
• Best NBN 2000 plans

Spoilers for Stuart Fails to Save the Universe episode 2 ahead.

We've jumped into a completely different universe in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe episode 2, waving the Mad Max feel of the initial post-apocalyptic world goodbye (thankfully).

However, there's a new problem in the new HBO Max show. Stuart (Kevin Sussman), Denise (Lauren Lapkus), Kripke (John Ross Bowie) and Bert (Brian Posehn) have landed somewhere where everybody is incessantly nice to each other... a little too nice, if anything.

As Stuart quickly finds out, this is because they each have a device attached to their neck to prevent them from being mean or exhibiting any kind of bad behavior. If they try to fight it, they get tased from the inside, and eventually, shipped off to an AI correctional facility.

After years of rehabilitation (really, it's about two minutes), we find out that Penny (Kaley Cuoco) is leading the rebellion against the AI overlords, eventually helping the gang escape after she trusts them enough.

But while Penny is a Big Bang Theory cameo that fans have been waiting for, it's not the one that I think is the most interesting. For that, we need to look to the universe's AI overlord herself... film and TV's Christine Baranski.

'I think she was forced into it'

Yes, that's right... Christine Baranski is the person in charge of this AI uprising. Via video, she explains to the gang what the neck devices are and why society needs them, giving creators Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, and Bill Prady ample opportunity to criticize the growing use of AI in the entertainment industry.

TBBT fans will know that Baranski played Leonard's (Johnny Galecki) absent and standoffish mother Beverly in the original series. But in this universe, Beverly clearly doesn't exist.

"I think she was forced into doing it... not in real life, but in this universe," Penn tells me about Baranski's cameo. "In real life, she was totally willing. But in that universe, I don't think she had a choice but to record that message.

"Maybe it would be better if she was driving that universe... but she's not. She might end up getting accused of collaboration with the AI overlords, but I think that AI made her an offer that she couldn't refuse."

Prady adds, "We'll have to see how the rebellion goes and what happens afterwards. What do they do to her afterwards?"

"She'd be tried," Lorre agrees. "Well there we go — there's something we can do if we get a second season."

Lorre's comment suggests that this is a one-and-done appearance from Baranski in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, but Penn's take on AI is particularly interesting in the week after fans accused the show's title sequence in episode 1 of being "AI slop."

the word slop is so overused today (like when referring to marvel movies) but this is absolute slop. literally ai slop. https://t.co/45cFGcMAsXJuly 26, 2026

Whether the titles were actually generated by AI is unconfirmed, but episode 2 suggests that the team clearly doesn't think the technology is a good thing.

As I tell the trio, if anybody can lead us through perilous technological times, I'd put all my faith in film and TV's Christine Baranski.

Australian office furniture company Desky offers some competitively priced chairs to pair with its standing desk range, and the CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair is no different. It sits below Desky’s Pro and Pro Plus chairs, but it also features a spring-reinforced cushioned seat aiming to provide responsive, floating support.

Rounding out the seat technology is a mesh backrest for breathability, easy-to-adjust lumbar support, adjustable armrests and an optional headrest. The CoilFlex includes features you’d expect from many of the best office chairs in Australia, but at a mid-range price that’s lower than some of its competition.

I tested the Desky CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair at TechRadar’s Sydney office for over two months to find out if it truly offers good bang for buck, as well as all-day comfort and support.

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)Desky CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair review: Price and availability

Aside from its Australian store, Desky also has local stock in the US. While Desky sells through Amazon UK, the CoilFlex isn’t currently listed at the time of writing.

The CoilFlex is available for $499 / AU$599, and the optional headrest costs an extra $50 / AU$50. Easy-glide caster wheels are also available as another add-on for $39.90 / AU$49.90. US and Canadian customers get free shipping, while Aussies pay an extra AU$39.95 for delivery.

Desky rarely offers discounts on its products, save for maybe major sale events like Black Friday, but the discounts aren’t typically too much, which is something worth considering when compared to brands that are more generous with their offers.

Desky CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair review: Unboxing and first impressionsDesky CoilFlex specs

Material: Mesh (backrest) and fabric (seat)

Colors: 7 (black, wheat, dark green, blue, peach, yellow and yellow/grey)

Max load: 136 kg / 200lbs

Seat height: 445mm - 530mm / 17.5” - 20.8”

Seat depth: 420mm - 470 mm / 16.5” - 18.5”

User height range: up to 200cm / 6’7”

Adjustability: 6 (8 with headrest)

This isn’t our first Desky rodeo and getting one of the company’s products delivered has always been a seamless experience. Like other Desky chairs we’ve reviewed previously, the CoilFlex came unassembled, but where other brands have neatly packaged parts, everything inside the Desky box looked like they were just thrown in. Thankfully, bubble wrapping and plastic sheets kept scratches and tears at bay, as movement during transport would definitely have left some damage to the parts.

The assembly instructions are also bare minimal and, if this would be your first DIY project, or you’ve never assembled an office chair before, you’ll likely be left scratching your head. There are Desky videos online you can watch to get the chair assembled, but I think a proper manual would have been very helpful indeed.

However, the CoilFlex can be put together without instructions, but it will take some brain power to do so without help from the online video, which also offers insights into adjusting the chair to suit your body — another thing the tiny instruction pamphlet doesn’t provide.

Future | Nico ArboledaFuture | Nico Arboleda

Assembling the CoilFlex can be handled alone, although having someone to help with the seatpan would be ideal, as it’s the heaviest part. Full assembly can take about 15-20 minutes, even if you’re working solo.

We were sent the Wheat color variant for this review and, at first glance, it looked rather lovely. However, the grey wheels and arm pads stand out like sore thumbs, taking away from the overall aesthetic.

If the mismatched color scheme doesn’t bother you — and this does seem to be the case with the other variants of the CoilFlex as well — then you’ll end up with a solidly built chair that looks inviting enough to plonk onto immediately.

Desky CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair review: Design and build quality

As I’ve already mentioned, the Desky CoilFlex ain’t bad at all to look at… until you notice mismatched parts which is most evident in the Wheat colorway. While the mesh backrest and optional headrest look stylish enough to stand out from more affordable office chairs, grey wheels and armrests ultimately detract from what is an otherwise solid mid-range office chair.

It’s a strange design choice, and it’s not unique to the one color — all the variants have either black armrests and wheels or grey ones. This doesn’t look too bad on the darker CoilFlex options, like the Black or Blue, but it sure stands out on the others. I would have preferred to have most of the frame in a consistent colour throughout, or at least better contrasting or complementary colours. It makes the chair look like it was made out of spare parts left over from other seats, even though it’s well put together.

(Image credit: Future | Sharmishta Sarkar)

There are some considered design choices, though, and I particularly like that the seat-depth release panel being part of the frame, though it may be a little too subtle and users may not know it exists. It doesn’t help that there’s no mention of it anywhere in the instructions leaflet and I only found out about it from Desky’s promo video. It’s a nice touch to have one less lever to fiddle with underneath the seat.

Overall, I think the CoilFlex looks nicer than the more expensive Desky Pro Plus Ergonomic office chair, but nowhere near as aesthetically pleasing as offerings from some other, more premium brands.

Another aspect the CoilFlex does better than the Desky Pro Plus is in its overall build quality, which I think is superior. The latter’s plastic frame looks cheaper in comparison (we still have the chair in TechRadar’s Sydney office), and the headrest and arms sound and feel rattly when adjusting them, which is not the case at all with the CoilFlex, despite the lower price point. The plastic appears to be of excellent quality and the adjustments are smooth, which makes the chair feel more premium than it looks.

(Image credit: Future | Sharmishta Sarkar)

This chair takes its name from what Desky calls the Dynamic CoilFlex seat cushion technology, a multi-layered design that uses wave springs to provide extra support under a high-density shaping foam. Desky claims the system eliminates pressure points, absorbs movement and maintains alignment, so users can stay energized and focused throughout an 8-hour workday.

Personally, I’d say the claims check out — the seat feels comfortable and responsive as I shift my weight, and I never felt any pressure points developing in my lower back over the two-month testing period. That said, I have no pre-existing back issues, so your mileage may vary. For example, my colleague Sharmishta Sarkar, who has previously reviewed a fair few office chairs, found that the CoilFlex seat didn’t provide the kind of ergonomic support she needed, but she suffers from back issues.

It’s been only a few months, though, so the verdict’s still out on whether the seat’s foam will hold its shape or if the cushion will eventually compress and harden in the process. For reference, the Desky Pro Plus we’ve previously tested now has a flattened cushion seat after two years of use.

Desky CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair review: In use

Having tested more expensive office chairs in the TechRadar Sydney office from the likes of ErgoTune and Steelcase, I had low expectations from the Desky CoilFlex with its cheaper price tag and mostly plastic frame.

I was, however, pleasantly surprised at how comfortable it was when I began to use it. The cushion immediately felt comfortable and it felt far better than a lot of other chairs I’ve used previously. That said, it does fall short in terms of comfort and ergonomics compared to the ErgoTune Joobie and the Herman Miller Aeron, both of which I’ve used previously, but credit where credit is due — both the aforementioned chairs cost more, a heck of a lot more when it comes to the latter.

(Image credit: Future | Sharmishta Sarkar)

Even though one of my colleagues wasn’t keen on the minimal lumbar support, I found it to be just right, and a few adjustments to suit my height and body made the CoilFlex feel very good indeed. After two months, my back is still well supported, but potential users with pre-existing musculoskeletal issues might want to look elsewhere.

The adjustments are easy to do with levers under the seat within reach, and pulling or pushing the lumbar support and headrest into position doesn’t require you to get off the chair — just reach and fiddle with either of them until you find the setting that works best for you. The release panel I mentioned earlier for adjusting the seat depth was effective, but I do wish there were better instructions on where to find them as hidden under the cushion and not in an obvious or intuitive spot. The only way you can tell something is under the seat is because of the thin slits on one side of the seat’s plastic frame.

In total, there are 8 points of adjustment, or 6 without the headrest, which is fewer than on the ErgoTune Joobie with its 15 points, allowing for a more finely tuned setup. These 8 adjustment points are more than enough for the average user, though.

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

The CoilFlex’s mesh backrest and adjustable lumbar support did an OK job of keeping my posture in check, although I wouldn’t say it fixed my slouching habit. If, like me, you too tend to not mind your posture, again, I would recommend you look elsewhere.

The optional headrest is wide, especially when compared to the much narrower one on the Desky Pro Plus, supporting my neck whenever I shifted, turned or tilted my head throughout the workday.

The mesh backrest is breathable and is of good quality that’s more fabric than plastic (which also makes it more absorbent), but the cushioned seat means your derriere might still be too warm when the mercury’s up.

(Image credit: Future | Sharmishta Sarkar)Desky CoilFlex Ergonomic Office Chair review: Final verdict

If you want a comfortable office chair but don’t want to spend four figures on a Steelcase or Herman Miller, and you also don’t want something cheap and flimsy, Desky’s CoilFlex is a strong mid-tier option that punches above its $499 / AU$599 price tag.

While the seat width is more conventionally sized and may not fit broader body types, the armrests and optional headrest can accommodate taller users (up to 200cm or 6’7”) well. The relatively low 6-8 points of adjustment mean your fit may not be as fine-tuned as more premium chairs that have at least 11 or more, but that’s to be expected at this price point.

The CoilFlex also outperforms its more expensive sibling, the Desky Pro Plus Ergonomic chair, thanks to the new spring-supported seat and a more premium-feeling plastic frame that doesn’t feel as rattly when making adjustments. It still isn’t as good as some of our best office chairs, especially the likes of the ErgoTune Joobie and Vesby that cost a little bit more when discounted, but the CoilFlex is still a solid choice for the price.

First reviewed: July 2026

• Antares closes $470 million Series C, $370 million in equity and $100 million in debt, co-led by Paradigm and Caffeinated Capital
• The move follows the Mark-0 reaching criticality at Idaho National Laboratory and helps fund an electricity-producing Mark-1 in 2027 and military deployments in 2028
• Antares' military-first strategy targets a price-insensitive customer bound by an executive order requiring a reactor on a US base September 30 2028

Nuclear fission startup Antares has announced it has raised a total of $470 million in funding as it looks to supply a single client with a looming deadline: the US Military.

The Torrance, California company closed a Series C co-led by Paradigm and Caffeinated Capital, with Point72 Ventures, Shine Capital and Industrious Ventures among the participants, according to TechCrunch's look at its PitchBook data.

Antares' raise comes seven weeks after its Mark-0 microreactor reached criticality at Idaho National Laboratory under the Department of Energy's authorization in a demonstration run with the DOE, the lab, and BWX Technologies, with the US Army observing.

A direct beneficiary of the White House

Antares calls it the "first privately developed non-light-water reactor to achieve criticality in the United States in more than four decades," underscoring how important the test was for both Antares and the US military.

The US military's presence is not by chance; It is mandated by an executive order ("Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security") signed by US President Donald Trump to ensure that it has an operating army-regulated nuclear reactor on a domestic military site by September 30, 2028.

Antares happens to be one of three finalists in the Pentagon’s Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program that aims to test-deploy a small module reactor (SMR) on two different air force bases.

With Antares being the first private company to go through that gate under the DOE's Reactor Pilot Program, it plans to build an electricity-producing Mark-1 reactor in 2027, followed by initial deployments to defense customers by 2028.

The Mark-1 uses the same full-scale core, facility, and TRISO fuel as the Mark-0, which is the company's argument for why the 2027 date is credible rather than aspirational.

Antares CEO Jordan Bramble says the reactor is being engineered to run reliably for six-plus years deployed without refueling, at an output the company, while noting that firm contracts to build reactors and the capital raised would allow the company to build "the first microreactor producing useful electricity in a truly commercially viable design."

The claim might hold for the US military, but insights from financial advisory firm Lazard suggest the approach is more expensive for now than all but the most expensive gas turbines in operation, with renewables clocking in considerably cheaper.

More importantly, the US supply chain for advanced reactors remains immature; no company has yet to manufacture microreactors at a production scale, and a first-of-a-kind electricity-producing reactor may reveal problems that a zero-power core does not currently exhibit.

Half a billion dollars in capital buys Antares a serious attempt at the deadline. Whether it manages to buy a reactor running on a US base in time to meet the executive order remains to be seen for now, even as it remains committed to trying.

• Washington wants Ukraine's drone tech without signing a formal partnership deal
• Ukrainian drones now hit targets even after losing operator control entirely
• Six agreements signed already, ten more contracts reportedly still in the works

Ukraine's drone program has become one of the most closely watched defense innovations of the current war, drawing global attention.

Analysts now argue that Washington is seeking direct access to that technology's intellectual property rather than a formal partnership agreement.

Some experts compare the approach to how China previously extracted proprietary aerospace knowledge from Boeing through joint manufacturing deals years ago.

Ukraine's drone leverage

Ukraine's drone ecosystem stands out not merely for its hardware, but for its software integration and battlefield resilience against jamming.

American systems have often struggled in contested electronic environments, while Ukrainian drones evolved rapidly against Russian electronic warfare tactics.

The Pentagon reportedly wants Ukraine's AI-assisted terminal guidance, which lets drones strike objectives autonomously even after losing operator control.

Washington is also said to be interested in navigation systems capable of functioning reliably within GPS-denied combat environments overseas and abroad.

Kyiv has meanwhile launched a multi-year cooperative program involving nearly 20 countries, aimed at expanding defense capabilities through drone technology.

As of June 9, six agreements had already been signed, with additional contracts still in preparation.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, claims the framework will include at least 10 contracts covering weapons exports, co-production, and new technology development.

In March, Ukraine sent interceptor drones and a team of specialists to help defend American military bases located in Jordan.

The Pentagon later announced in May that U.S. personnel would travel to Ukraine to study combat drone operations firsthand on site.

Ukrainian drone strikes have been reportedly effective against Russian oil infrastructure, affecting 40% of its export capacity.

Unverified reports claim that these strikes pushed oil prices towards a near $100 per barrel spike back in March.

According to Zelenskyy, Washington is not comfortable with rising oil prices, and this is why it has been in quiet talks with Moscow.

Manufacturing strategy fuels debate over intellectual property

American and Ukrainian defence industries currently follow contrasting manufacturing approaches despite pursuing similar objectives around autonomous military capability and battlefield effectiveness.

The United States typically produces a relatively limited number of expensive defence platforms built for precision rather than volume.

Ukraine, by contrast, has expanded decentralised manufacturing capable of producing hundreds of thousands of affordable FPV and long-range strike drones annually.

The recent conflict involving Iran appears to have taught Washington that sheer volume can matter as much as precision on today's battlefield.

It simply does not make financial sense for 50 $10,000 drones to bring down a single $50 million fighter jet; therefore, the Ukraine route now seems as important for the U.S.

The U.S. is now demanding access to intellectual property rights covering Ukrainian drone technologies.

This would allow the United States to secure valuable Ukrainian technological advances without expanding formal commitments connected to Ukraine's wartime operations.

The US will be able to manufacture comparable systems domestically while retaining greater control over supply chains and industrial capacity.

Analysts argue that legal ownership of those IP rights would permit future modification, replication, and scaling without continuous Ukrainian involvement or approval.

Even so…American manufacturers could still require Ukrainian production facilities, since wartime experience has produced a manufacturing speed that existing U.S. procurement systems may struggle to match.

"The question hanging over Washington is no longer whether Ukrainian drone technology is vital to U.S. national security, but how much control over that technology the U.S. can successfully extract," an analyst said

Via DSM

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 Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Tuesday, July 28 (game #1646).

• Quordle #1647, Wednesday, 29 July: GAWKY, ALLOY, AUDIT, LATCH
• Quordle #1646, Tuesday, 28 July: SMITE, ROACH, RUDDY, GLOBE

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, July 30 (game #1648).

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 #1649) — 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 #1649) — hint #2 — repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1649) — 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 #1649) — 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 #1649) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• M

• S

• S

• L

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

Quordle today (game #1649) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1649, are…

• MANIA
• SINGE
• STOOL
• LOFTY

Another challenging game today, although I managed to not take this one right to the edge.

The tricky part was having so many possibilities for each word.

Curiously, LOFTY featured in yesterday’s Daily Sequence and that’s how I got there despite my temptation to guess “jolty”. I’m glad I resisted.

Daily Sequence today (game #1649) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1649, are…

• LEERY
• DINGY
• CHIME
• LUMPY

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1648, Thursday, 30 July: MODAL, IDLER, CHUMP, LUMPY
• Quordle #1647, Wednesday, 29 July: GAWKY, ALLOY, AUDIT, LATCH
• Quordle #1646, Tuesday, 28 July: SMITE, ROACH, RUDDY, GLOBE
• Quordle #1645, Monday, 27 July: TAFFY, FIGHT, GUILD, WAGER
• Quordle #1644, Sunday, 26 July: STOMP, LIMIT, FUNKY, STEAD
• Quordle #1643, Saturday, 25 July: SALON, SHEEN, BURST, GOURD
• Quordle #1642, Friday, 24 July: DOLLY, EDIFY, LAGER, PRANK
• Quordle #1641, Thursday, 23 July: LADEN, EVICT, WOVEN, SHIRE
• Quordle #1640, Wednesday, 22 July: COYLY, SINGE, AWASH, AWOKE
• Quordle #1639, Tuesday, 21 July: TRUSS, AXIAL, SWINE, THING
• Quordle #1638, Monday, 20 July: ICING, SLICK, GAILY, RISEN
• Quordle #1637, Sunday, 19 July: SPURT, ACRID, THRUM, BLEEP
• Quordle #1636, Saturday, 18 July: KNAVE, TIGHT, BLEAT, CHAOS
• Quordle #1635, Friday, 17 July: CUMIN, PALER, GRASS, INBOX
• Quordle #1634, Thursday, 16 July: IGLOO, PLAIT, YEAST, AROMA
• Quordle #1633, Wednesday, 15 July: PROXY, BRICK, BROTH, SURGE
• Quordle #1632, Tuesday, 14 July: EBONY, AVOID, RODEO, CUTIE
• Quordle #1631, Monday, 13 July: VOICE, BISON, BURNT, BUILT
• Quordle #1630, Sunday, 12 July: STAIN, BINGO, LARVA, DICEY
• Quordle #1629, Saturday, 11 July: WORTH, PRONG, DINGO, DRUID

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, July 30 (game #1145).

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 #1146) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• MOLD
• SPEAR
• DAPPLE
• PRINCESS
• MUSHROOM
• JOYSTICK
• SLIME
• FUNGUS
• CHEERIOS
• DINOSAUR
• FASHION
• MODEL
• GLEEK
• SHAPE
• PLUMBER
• JDATE

NYT Connections today (game #1146) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Well built
• GREEN: Featured in Luigi’s world
• BLUE: Produce
• PURPLE: Happy start

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 #1146) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: CONSTRUCT
• GREEN: SUPER MARIO FIGURES
• BLUE: FRUITS PLUS STARTING LETTER
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH MERRIMENTS

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

NYT Connections today (game #1146) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1146, are…

• YELLOW: CONSTRUCT: FASHION, MODEL, MOLD, SHAPE
• GREEN: SUPER MARIO FIGURES: DINOSAUR, MUSHROOM, PLUMBER, PRINCESS
• BLUE: FRUITS PLUS STARTING LETTER: DAPPLE, JDATE, SLIME, SPEAR
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH MERRIMENTS: CHEERIOS, FUNGUS, GLEEK, JOYSTICK

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

All four SUPER MARIO FIGURES are permanently imprinted on my retinas thanks to the hours I dedicated to my Nintendo DS, so that’s where I began, but after this easy connection I floundered.

My mistake came by collecting SLIME, FUNGUS, and MOLD and then fudging a fourth tile into the mix — I went for GLEEK, as I had no idea what it meant.

Finally, my ignorance over what JDATE was (I have subsequently learned) helped me see the four FRUITS PLUS STARTING LETTER.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Thursday, July 30, 2026, game #1145)

• YELLOW: VIRTUOUS: FAIR, GOOD, JUST, RIGHT
• GREEN: ACTIVITIES WITH MULTIPLE BALLS: BEER PONG, BINGO, JUGGLING, POOL
• BLUE: CRUISE LINES: CARNIVAL, CELEBRITY, PRINCESS, VIKING
• PURPLE: ON THE __, TO MEAN "PRECISE": DOT, MARK, MONEY, NOSE

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.

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, July 30 (game #879).

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Summer sign

NYT Strands today (game #880) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• SLOTH
• HOTEL
• CHILLY
• BOTHER
• COLD
• THEY
• LION

NYT Strands today (game #880) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #880) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: left, 1st 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 #880) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #880, are…

• CHARMING
• BOLD
• BOSSY
• LOYAL
• GENEROUS
• DRAMATIC
• SPANGRAM: LEOTHELION

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

It took me far too long to understand that today’s words were about astrology.

My first word of CHARMING seemed to have nothing to do with the summer and so it continued until I realized that BOSSY, LOYAL and GENEROUS had nothing to do with the season and a lot to do with personality — and in particular the (supposed) personality of a LEO.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, July 30, game #879)

• SMITH
• MASON
• JOINER
• TANNER
• COOPER
• WEAVER
• SPANGRAM: ARTISANS

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.

• US Army commits $447 million to surveillance balloons despite drone vulnerabilities
• Cheap drones continue challenging expensive military surveillance systems across modern battlefields
• Hezbollah attacks exposed growing risks facing large airborne surveillance platforms during conflicts

The US Army has awarded TCOM LP a contract worth as much as $447 million to continue producing, deploying, and supporting its Persistent Surveillance Systems-Tethered aerostat fleet.

The award signals continued confidence in large surveillance balloons despite increasing reliance across modern militaries on budget drones, satellites, and autonomous platforms.

Analysts have questioned whether these highly visible systems can remain effective against increasingly sophisticated adversaries capable of detecting and destroying fixed aerial assets.

A costly bet against a cheap threat

The Persistent Surveillance Systems-Tethered program traces back to 2016, when the Army merged two earlier aerostat efforts into one unified initiative.

Those tethered balloons proved valuable in identifying roadside bombs and tracking insurgent movement across Iraq and Afghanistan for over a decade.

TCOM has remained the Army's core partner throughout, having previously won a nearly $979 million contract back in September 2019.

That earlier deal covered engineering, logistics and operations support across facilities in Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

Each aerostat can reportedly fly at altitudes up to 16,000 ft (4,880 m) and watch an area continuously for over 30 days straight.

Yet recent battlefield lessons from Lebanon suggest that the same altitude offers little protection against a determined, low-cost adversary.

Hezbollah fighters used a swarm of cheap drones to kill four Israeli soldiers and wound 61 others near Binyamina in October 2024.

Israeli officials later said Hezbollah was launching more than 10 drones daily against troops, alongside rockets and anti-tank fire.

One Israeli commander described the wider campaign bluntly, saying "this is full-scale war," after drones struck an Iron Dome battery on camera.

Al Jazeera reported that Israel's costly defense systems were rendered ineffective by drones costing only a fraction of what they threatened.

Betting on persistence over cheaper alternatives

American defense planners have pushed hard toward cheaper, expendable drone and satellite platforms as a modernization priority in recent years.

A large tethered aerostat is neither cheap nor easily replaced once it comes under serious attack.

It remains fixed in place and clearly visible, making it a plausible objective for any adversary armed with modern strike weapons.

That vulnerability has fueled quiet debate within defense circles about how long aerostat surveillance stays viable against a well-equipped adversary.

Still, the Army solicited bids from ten companies for this contract and received responses from only two, suggesting limited industrial appetite for this niche.

The agreement will run through July 20, 2031, suggesting that the service still values an aerostat's unmatched ability to loiter continuously over one location for weeks.

However, the Army is simultaneously investing in smaller, more distributed drone and satellite alternatives across its wider surveillance architecture.

Via Defence Blog

When it comes to long-standing TV franchises that I'm most terrified to cover, Star Trek is easily at the top of the list. With so many seasons, opinions, and legacies developing in popular culture since the mid-1960s and the original series, I feel like I'm a dunce constantly playing catch-up with something complex that keeps slipping from my grasp.

However, if I were to hedge my bets and choose two seasons to binge, I'd pick Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard. Not just because they feel like the two iterations of the franchise that I can't afford to miss out on, but because I'm unashamedly in love with Jeri Ryan.

What Stars Watch

Everyone gets stuck on what to watch next — so let’s make that choice easier with the help of your favorite actors. What Stars Watch pairs the latest TV shows and movies with cinematic classics or underrated gems, based on A-List tastes. Read the full series here.

Trekkies will know her best for playing Seven of Nine in both shows, a former Borg drone who initially joins the crew of the Federation starship Voyager. By the time she tries to leave in Picard, she's promoted to Captain — but as of writing, a story of her time in charge has yet to materialize.

According to Ryan herself [via TrekMovie], she has already turned down a solo spinoff that "wasn't in line with the Star Trek legacy," so we could be waiting a while for the perfect fit... if it ever arrives.

If we can't get Seven of Nine back, let's go with the next best thing: Ryan's own recommendations for what to watch alongside your annual Voyager and Picard binges (it never hurts to freshen things up).

But when I ask her the question, her answer takes me completely by surprise, especially as she's considered the potential long-standing impacts of AI in relation to sci-fi itself.

'People aren't paying enough attention to AI'

"Not that they have anything to do with Star Trek directly, but given the AI situation, I think The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day would be really good things to watch now," Ryan tells me.

"I think they'd be very timely. I feel like a lot of people, or not enough people, have paid attention to AI. I think a few more people could do to listen to how that ended up for humanity."

It's an unexpected and dark suggestion, but I certainly see the link. Like Star Trek, Terminator was ahead of its time, transforming the sci-fi genre into something iconic that would later serve as an archetype for TV shows and movies to come.

In fact, both movies go way beyond Arnold Schwarzenegger saying "Hasta la vista, baby," in dark sunglasses and a leather jacket. His Terminator Borg is the polar opposite of Seven of Nine, working as an assassin from the future intent on killing the woman who will supposedly give birth to a man who will save humankind from extinction.

By the end of Judgment Day, Terminator is a good guy, having been reprogrammed to protect instead of destroy. It's this conclusion, I think, that Ryan would like to reach... or at least remind fans that there is still light at the end of the tunnel.

If you look beyond Star Trek, protection against AI is something Ryan is clearly passionate about. In April 2026, she testified in support of the California Senate Bill 1050, which would "target false advertising by requiring clear and conspicuous consumer disclosures whenever a synthetic digital performer is used in state advertisements."

Would a Seven of Nine spinoff featuring a synthetic lead character flop if Ryan resolutely disagreed to it? Yes. But let's face it... we don't want that kind of spinoff anyway.

At this point, Ryan is leaving us with a lot of food for thought when it comes to what the future looks like, with some iconic sci-fi action sprinkled in for good measure. How can you not love her?

• Watch The Terminator on Prime Video in the US
• Watch The Terminator on Prime Video in the UK
• Watch The Terminator on Prime Video in Australia

With AI, the genie is out of the bottle, and there's no turning back. That's the overriding viewpoint across science and in Silicon Valley, where execs are increasingly building powerful systems. Beyond just building smarter machines, many among them have actually invoked quasi-religious imagery to describe the future.

Science and magic

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously echoed science-fiction author Arthur C Clark when he likened scientific progress to magic.

Quote of the day

This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here.

In comments he made to students during an interview at the AeroAstro Centennial Symposium at MIT, Musk once again used colorful language to explain how he saw the progress we were making on AI.

In pursuing the goal of building advanced machine intelligence, beginning with AGI, he suggested there would be limited ways of controlling such an entity, and that any attempts to do so would be futile.

The following year after making these comments, alongside Sam Altman and other tech executives, Musk co-founded OpenAI, which spearheaded the release of ChatGPT and thrust modern AI systems into the mainstream.

The machine god

Musk's likening of AI to a demon has inherent connotations of danger or doom – which is appropriate, considering he and others have previously said AI is the biggest existential threat that humanity faces in the years to come.

For example, AI researchers Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, published a book in 2025 called 'If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies' in which they laid out the case against building a superintelligent AI that could wipe us out.

These comparisons, however, are rejected by many others who see AI as unlikely to instigate science-fiction-type (or even supernatural-esque) doomsday scenarios. Chief among these voices is Jensen Huang, while just 3% of researchers say they were most worried about a scenario in which an out-of-contorl AI poses a threat to humanity.

“It’s not red,” IBM’s design center manager patiently explained. “It’s magenta.”

The safety function officer wasn’t buying it. Between his fingers, he held up a small, rubbery disc that looked like a pencil eraser. “You know it’s red and I know it’s red,” he said.

The design manager didn’t back down. He insisted that what the man held was indeed magenta. The safety officer called his boss. The boss called Tom Hardy, Design Program Director at IBM. Hardy didn't flinch.

“It’s not red. It’s magenta.”

It was one of the boldest lies ever told in tech. And it made the ThinkPad iconic.

Years later, Hardy relayed the incident in an interview with Laptop Retrospective, detailing the design origins of the TrackPoint, the input stick resting in a central position of the ThinkPad keyboard since 1992.

Instantly recognizable today, the little red nub remains core to the ThinkPad’s identity. For anyone working in design, its history serves as a lesson on creative control and innovation.

Every designer knows red on black is a classic combination. So, for Hardy’s team, it was a no-brainer choice when first tasked with adding the TrackPoint to the system.

However, at the time, IBM instituted a strict color-code. For control systems like the TrackPoint, the standard was blue. Playing by the rules, the team toyed with that. According to Hardy, “it just didn’t sing like red did.”

They switched back to red. But there was a major problem with that.

Red was reserved for emergency power shutdowns. It’s the kill-switch color. Hardy knew, even then, the safety team had to approve the color scheme. There was no way they’d let it ship with a red cursor control. That simply wasn’t the way it was done.

Rather than fight and inevitably lose that battle, the designers got creative.

They scrapped every trace of ‘red’ in the documentation. They replaced it with ‘magenta’.

“The safety guys,” Hardy explained, “They may not know what magenta is, but they’ll know it’s not red.”

They may not know what magenta is, but they’ll know it’s not red.

Soon, the parts came in, labeled as magenta. No-one looked twice at them until the safety official snooped on a box of TrackPoints and demanded to know who approved the color for non-power related functions. He didn’t get an answer he liked. He threatened to shut down the whole production line.

Hardy got involved shortly after. Corporate on corporate combat ensued, arguing over the subjective difference between magenta and red. “The next stop in the line,” Hardy reminded them, “It goes to the CEO.”

Fighting his corner, he tells them, will be famed industrial designer Richard Sapper who created the classic ThinkPad design, as well as corporate graphic design consultant Paul Rand, the man behind the IBM logo. Both are color experts.

Even as the back and forth continued, Hardy’s team had linked up with the advertising team. The ad agency had poured millions of dollars into a campaign that was ready to launch. “So hot,” the adverts said with a close-up on the new TrackPoint, “We had to make it red.”

It was enough to make the safety team think twice. Later that day, an email was sent. It said: ‘Make them red.’

They’ve been the same iconic color ever since.

It's no secret I'm a massive ThinkPad fan ever since I got my paws on a T431s, but check out the best business laptops my team and I have tested.

• Iconic musician Willie Nelson has launched a fight against data centers
• The singer-songwriter cites noise, light pollution, and water theft among other complaints, and underlines the importance of family farmers
• The 93 year old country music icon’s statement was issued on Instagram

Willie Nelson has issued a strongly-worded statement about the growing impact of data centers on rural locations across the US.

Texas has seen an unprecedented data center boom over the past few years, with 300 installations already in operation and a further 250 planned, and facilities centered around Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio. Only Virginia has more data centers.

The writer of Wake Me When Its Over has had hit records and toured extensively for the past 70 years, and grew up in the Abbott, Texas area.

Data centers are concerning Texans

Nelson has a long history of political activism, notably forming the Farm Aid benefit in 1985 with Neil Young and John Mellencamp, to support and increase awareness of American family farms.

The growth of data centers has unsurprisingly concerned Texans for some time, with matters coming to increasing prominence in recent months.

Nelson’s words of concern over the increasing number of data centers and their impact on rural communities in America’s second-largest state is the highest profile intervention, however.

A post shared by Willie Nelson (@willienelsonofficial)

A photo posted by on

Nelson's unsurprisingly passionate and eloquent statement highlights many of the challenges that data centers pose.

With more facilities being built to handle AI processing, it could be argued that some data centers solve problems that don’t really exist, such as generative AI, a technology that Willie Nelson has previously expressed deep concerns about.

Willie Nelson and friends

Nelson is far from the only opponent of data centers, and is joined by others in the music community.

Georgia-born Gavin Adcock, who like Nelson grew up in a rural area, may have a very different persona but has also expressed opposition: “These rich, money-grabbing assholes that wanna slap a data center straight in the country,” and suggesting the facilities are built in cities instead.

Fellow Texan Tanya Tucker, meanwhile, has already issued a video in which she asks Texans to contact Gov. Abbott and request a pause on developments, noting “I’m concerned about the 765 KV of transmission lines coming through all the ranches in Texas, and destroying our property. It hurts. It’s gonna hurt our health, our wildlife, our water table, our water resources. It’s going to scar our land forever.”

While no tech companies have responded to Willie Nelson’s statement, Gov. Greg Abbott has stated that the Texas Legislature will begin hearings regarding data centers this week.

It starts on the 4 Train, that straight-run subway line from Grand Central to Yankee Stadium, where I start to notice the red shirts. By the time I reach the massive gray stadium, people are circling the Bronx Bomber’s edifice like thousands of red ants, all queuing up for a rare baseball season sight: football (soccer) in Yankee Stadium.

Most of the shirts are for Premier League side Liverpool FC, but there's a smattering of Wrexham kits. Some of them look threadbare, and none feature the club’s newest sponsor: Firefox. The travel and away kits were unveiled just days before — too soon for die-hard fans to show their support for the team and its well-known but, by some measures, marginal web browser.

Walking through Babe Ruth Plaza, I follow behind the red shirts until I’m lined up behind fans who have come from as far as Arkansas and California to witness the pre-season match. None are musing about Firefox’s new Wrexham sponsorship or how Mozilla (Firefox’s parent) took over from United, which itself took over from TikTok.

The Reynolds effect

(Image credit: FX/Disney Plus)

The scrappy Welsh club enjoys outsized notoriety thanks to its owners, actors and entrepreneurs Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, and the popular Hulu docu-series Welcome to Wrexham, which recounts the club’s rise from the ashes and ascent to, as of last season, just short of Premier League status.

While we wait to enter the stadium, the Liverpool team arrives late — following a day of storms and flight cancellations — on a pair of giant red touring buses to hearty cheers from the crowd. Everyone knows Wrexham, but the fans seem to be with Liverpool.

Lance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureHow does a browser and a keeper connect?

As we file in, I have time to think about the connection between Wrexham and Firefox. The kits, which I view later in person and on the field, are quite fetching. On top of the bold, red stretchable fabric is the iconic Firefox flame. It makes me think of the heat Mozilla hopes to generate around its best-known product.

The fit, though, between a scrappy football team and a portal you use to navigate the web, seems tenuous and as ill-fitted as the rectangular pitch they’ve somehow jury-rigged onto the baseball diamond. A covered home plate, third base, and right field jut out awkwardly, and much later a fan tells me the pitch looked kind of messy and maybe not a great experience for some of the players.

Lance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / Future

It’s not that I don’t understand why Mozilla tied its sails to Wrexham. As I write this, Firefox sits, according to StatCounter, at 3.4% of the global browser market share. By contrast, Chrome has 69% and Safari almost 16%. Put another way, the browser wars are over.

It's not that Firefox is irrelevant, but it's not as relevant as it once was. There was a time, maybe 15 years ago, when I was firmly in the Firefox camp. I’d adopted it because I was working with so many developers, who were all using the leaner and (some thought) meaner platform. It was built on the premise of openness, running counter to Internet Explorer (RIP) and the fast-growing Google Chrome.

Over time, though, it started to suffer from the same resource-hogging issues as Internet Explorer. I eventually gave it up and migrated to Chrome, then had a dalliance with Microsoft Edge and have now settled on Chrome on the desktop and Safari for mobile. If I’m being honest, I stopped considering Firefox years ago.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)The most obvious answer

As the team took the makeshiift pitch and the stands filled with red shirts, I waited for Mozilla’s relatively new CEO Anthony Enzor-DeMeo and CMO John Solomon to arrive so I could quiz them about product plans and Mozilla’s dive into AI.

Enzor-DeMeo joined Mozilla in 2024 after stints at Roofstock, Better, and Wayfair. In each, the admitted nerd appears to have held positions relating to products, technology, and engineering. Solomon comes to Mozilla from Apple and Beats.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

When Enzor-DeMeo finally does arrive, he looks younger than I expected and has a sort of nervous energy. It’s been a busy few days with a lot of interviews, and when I try to ask about Mozilla and AI, he tells me he doesn’t want to do any more. Still, he’s open and affable, explaining that he’s a die-hard It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Rob McElhenney is a series star) fan, so much so that when someone else says they love the show, he asks them to name their favorite episode and then, without waiting for an answer, tells us his.

Still, Enzor-DeMeo was not a closet fan of the beautiful game. Instead, Solomon, who comes from the much more culturally connected Beats brand, suggested this partnership. Enzor-DeMeo watched Reynold’s Welcome to Wrexham doc and thought, “Oh, this makes a lot of sense.”

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

I stared at him, wondering what he saw that I didn’t. Sure, a partnership with the Red Dragons, as Wrexham are also known (I even spotted their red dragon mascot wandering the pitch and hugging fans) makes some sense. You know, fire, dragons? And this would be Wrexham’s second tech sponsorship after TikTok, which was widely featured in early seasons of Welcome to Wrexham. Mozilla confirmed that as they film the new season, we will see the Firefox brand on display in some fashion.

I looked at Enzor-DeMeo, who was still enthusiastically talking about It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and asked him, “What’s the throughline from Firefox to Wrexham?” Enzor-DeMeo smiled and quickly answered, “Underdog.”

The only thing that would’ve made the moment more perfect is if an announcer suddenly screamed, “Goooooaaaallll!” But I got it.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)It's never just about money

If you’ve never seen the documentary, Wrexham AFC was the disintegrating center of a hardscrabble town that, despite over 150 years of footballing history, had been largely forgotten and fallen to the fifth tier of the English league system. Achieving Premier League status, a feat they very nearly accomplished last season, seemed impossible. Until Reynolds and McElhenney arrived.

Sure, there are people unhappy with the way celebrity and money have throw off the balance of a well-worn system, but if you watch the doc, you know that it was never enough to throw money and fame at it. It’s a very human story with equal measures of failure and success.

Firefox is surely the underdog in the browser game. Built on its own Gecko browser engine, it stands apart from Google, Apple and Microsoft, which all have a profit motive in having you use their platforms. Mozilla’s parent organization is non-profit, and although the Mozilla Corp, under which Firefox lives, is for-profit, its revenues are used to fund the non-profit effort.

Like its competitors, Firefox has AI features, letting you access the AI chatbot of your choice in a sidebar, and using AI to help you organize tabs. It does, though, seem a bit less interested in force-feeding AI.

Still, underdog status is no guarantee of a Cinderella story, and as the game drags on with countless missed shots and a handful of fouls, I wonder if Wrexham can embarrass Liverpool in front of its US fans. A moment later, Liverpool manages at roughly 60 minutes in to sail one over the outstretched arms of Wrexham substitute goalkeeper Callum Burton.

There’s no victory for the underdog this time, but it’s the pre-season, and Wrexham and its new sponsor Firefox should have many more chances to win on the pitch.