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Lego's 2026 Advent Calendars are here, and there are six new sets to explore. The Lego City calendar is the traditional option, centered around Santa's workshop, with elves, toys, Mr and Mrs Claus, and snowman figurines. The box transforms into a scene onto which the completed models can sit — a perfect addition to your Holiday decorations.

Marvel and Star Wars fans are catered for, too, with calendars that include fan-favorite characters with a festive twist. There's Doctor Doom angrily enjoying his candy cane, Spider-Man on skis, and Mandalorian, Moff Gideon and Grogu all sporting Holiday sweaters.

Finally, there are a couple more child-focused options; a festive-themed Lego Friends calendar, and a Disney calendar that turns into a board game. The latter includes princesses and their sidekicks kitted out in their holiday best (Cinderella's Gus has antlers), plus buildable scenes like a gingerbread castle and train set.

If you head to Amazon there are also a number of previous years' calendars still available to purchase — including some classics like the Harry Potter sets. Because they're just numbered 1-25 they'll work just as well this year as the year they launched in.

Lego's Advent calendars have proven themselves reliably popular year-in, year-out, and some of the 2026 sets are already showing as sold out in some places. So although it might feel a bit premature to be planning for the holidays in mid-October, now is actually quite a smart time to buy. Scroll down for a roundup of your Lego Advent calendar options available to buy now...

US Lego Advent calendars

Hop straight to the UK calendars

Lego Marvel 2026 Advent Calendar 76340

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar 2026 75456

Lego Disney Princess 2026 Advent Calendar 43298

Lego Friends 2026 Advent Calendar 42698

Lego City 2026 Advent Calendar 60510

Lego Countdown to Christmas Jigsaw Puzzles [NO MINIFIGS]

Previous years' calendars

LEGO Disney Frozen Advent Calendar 2025 43273

LEGO Disney Advent Calendar 2024 43253

Lego City Advent Calendar 2025 60475

LEGO City Advent Calendar 2024

Lego Harry Potter Advent Calendar 2025 76456

Lego Harry Potter 2019 Advent Calendar 75964

LEGO Star Wars 2025 Advent Calendar 75418

Lego Friends 2023 Advent Calendar 41758

UK Lego Advent calendars

Hop back to the US calendars

Lego Marvel 2026 Advent Calendar 76340

Lego Star Wars 2026 Advent Calendar 75456

Lego Friends 2026 Advent Calendar 42698

Lego City 2026 Advent Calendar 60510

Previous years' calendars

LEGO Guardians of the Galaxy 2022 Advent Calendar 76231

Lego Harry Potter 2025 Advent Calendar 76456

Lego City 2025 Advent Calendar 60475

LEGO Disney Frozen 2025 Advent Calendar 43273

Lego Friends 2025 Advent Calendar 42668

• Ukraine combines centuries-old balloon technology with a modern long-range strike drone
• The Mara drone reportedly travels beyond 1,000km aboard the Balun aerostat
• After balloon release, Mara can reportedly fly another 60km independently

Ukrainian engineers are combining aerostat technology, which dates back approximately 240 years, with a strike drone capable of reaching locations more than 1,000km away.

The Mara drone travels aboard the Balun aerostat, developed by the Ukrainian Mariupol design bureau, which carries the aircraft beyond 10km altitude before releasing it.

The manufacturer estimates that the combined Mara and Balun system costs up to $6,000, although it has not disclosed a detailed breakdown of the price.

Balloon transport extends the drone's operational reach

Mara hangs beneath the balloon on a release mechanism, then continues in guided flight and can cover extra distance in glider mode.

Once separated from the carrier, the fixed-wing aircraft can continue flying independently for approximately 60km before reaching its intended destination.

This takes the total covered distance of the entire system to at least 1060 km.

The Balun aerostat incorporates ballast equipment, navigation hardware, data transmission components, and a release mechanism for deploying the aircraft during its flight.

The bureau built its data links and flight controls in-house but has not disclosed the warhead weight or detailed specifications for either.

The designers claim the altitude keeps the system beyond reach of inexpensive defences, such as small interceptors or light cannons, so Russia needs costlier missiles.

This arrangement combines an established form of lighter-than-air transportation with contemporary unmanned aviation technology, reducing the distance Mara must cover independently.

Production plans follow reported battlefield deployment

The bureau reports that the drone has undergone combat testing and struck locations in occupied Crimea and Berdiansk, although independent verification remains unavailable.

Following the reported combat trials, the Ukrainian Mariupol bureau intends to begin manufacturing Mara drones commercially by the middle of October.

Its production ambitions form part of an existing manufacturing operation that supplies unmanned aircraft and related equipment to Ukrainian military formations.

Some reports claim that serial production has started, but there are no official figures or delivery numbers.

Neither the Balun aerostat’s claimed altitude nor its supposed shield against cheap air defences has been independently tested.

Winds at those heights could also carry the balloon far from its planned release point, which could leave the destination beyond Mara’s own flight range.

The bureau has also not stated Mara’s cruising speed, which matters because a slow aircraft would stay exposed to air defences throughout its final approach.

A Tomahawk cruise missile covers up to 1,600km and costs between $1.3 million and $2.5 million depending on the variant.

At its reported price of up to $6,000, the Mara and Balun system costs substantially less than a Tomahawk, although their capabilities are not directly equivalent.

However, until independent evidence of its performance emerges, the system remains a manufacturer claim rather than a proven weapon.

Via Defender Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

Analysis: Lucid numbers for less

(Image credit: BYD China)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Image credit: Microsoft)

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

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

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

Analysis: progress in the right direction

(Image credit: Microsoft)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Funding advances development of runway-independent aircraft

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ambitious performance targets face demanding tests

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Via Defense One

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, October 15 (game #1725).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

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

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

Quordle today (game #1726) — hint #1 — VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quordle today (game #1726) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

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

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

• S

• W

• J

• S

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

Quordle today (game #1726) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

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

• SHORT
• WORTH
• JOIST
• SLUNK

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

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

Daily Sequence today (game #1726) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

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

• DOWD
• ADOPT
• MOSSY
• DANDY

Quordle answers: The past 20

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

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Thursday, October 15 (game #956).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Spangram has 10 letters

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

• First side: left, 5th row

• Last side: right, 5th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #957) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

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

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

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

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

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

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

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

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

What is NYT Strands?

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

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

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, October 15 (game #1222).

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

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

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

NYT Connections today (game #1223) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

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

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

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

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

Need more clues?

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

NYT Connections today (game #1223) - hint #2 - group answers

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

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

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

NYT Connections today (game #1223) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

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

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

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

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

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

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

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

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

What is NYT Connections?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Framed packet

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

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

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

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

The document continues in a similar vein.

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

Artful hack

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LibreOffice had to reverse-engineer Publisher

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

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

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

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

• Microsoft helped dismantle a cybercrime marketplace that sold phishing tools, accounts, and scam infrastructure
• Platforms CoGUI and Iron Man enabled large-scale phishing campaigns targeting organizations worldwide
• The operation drove over a billion phishing messages before domains and thousands of accounts were seized

Late last year, Microsoft set out to investigate what seemed to be yet another phishing campaign.

However, what it uncovered under the surface was a lot bigger - it was a sprawling Chinese-language cybercrime marketplace where countless threat actors bought, traded, and sold digital accounts, web hosting services, as well as different tools needed to create spoofed websites and fake identities.

The company has now revealed how it led the move to dismantle the marketplace, together with private cybersecurity companies including Proofpoint, and law enforcement agencies from Japan.

YAM Store, CoGUI, and Iron Man

The investigation began after Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) tipped Microsoft off about a wave of fraud and scam activity targeting both individuals and businesses in the country.

The researchers uncovered a major underground marketplace called YAM Store, where they saw fraudulent Microsoft and Google accounts being offered for sale, as well as different ready-made tools for carrying out scams, including credential theft.

In the store, two specific tools stood out: CoGUI, and Iron Man. The former seems to be a website building framework, while the latter - a template gallery.

“CoGUI supplied criminals with ready-made websites and messages impersonating companies, financial institutions, government agencies, and other trusted organizations,” Microsoft explained. “Instead of creating fraudulent websites themselves, criminals could quickly deploy pages designed to steal passwords, payment information, and other personal data.”

According to the researchers, CoGUI became one of the most widely used offerings in the ecosystem, primarily for targeting victims in Japan and the United States. However, by mid-2026 it was steadily being replaced by Iron Man:

“Iron Man expanded the model by giving criminals access to thousands of ready-made templates designed to impersonate trusted organizations,” the researchers said. “Criminals could then quickly deploy email, text and web content tailored to specific brands, industries and countries.”

Microsoft said the tool offered more than 2,300 templates of different banks, retailers, healthcare providers, police departments, and other organizations, found in more than 150 countries around the world.

The store, and its offerings, were very popular in the cybercriminal community. Just this year, they facilitated more than a billion phishing messages being aimed at 75,000 organizations around the world. Microsoft customers alone received more than 750 million of these messages since the start of the year.

These attacks translated to “tens of millions of dollars” in profit for the operators.

Dismantling the operation

The network is now being torn down, Microsoft said. After receiving the order from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Microsoft and Health-ISAC (a global non-profit helping healthcare firms share cyber intelligence) seized and redirected the domains leading to YAM Store, CoGUI, and Iron Man. At the same time, Microsoft disabled more than 20,000 accounts connected to the store and “continues to dismantle the operation by removing infrastructure hosted on its services.”

So far, the action has blocked more than 100,000 domains used for both impersonation, and fraud.

“What began with scam activity targeting people and organizations in Japan led investigators to an underground service economy supplying criminals around the world,” the researchers concluded.

“YAM Store, CoGUI and Iron Man are only part of that larger criminal network, but disrupting them makes it harder for criminals to obtain the accounts, tools and infrastructure they rely on.”

While tearing down the infrastructure is commendable, without arrests chances are the marketplace will re-emerge sooner or later. For example, when law enforcement agencies took down two major platforms Cracked and Nulled early in 2025, they arrested two suspects, and seized 17 servers and more than 50 electronic devices.

Cracked and Nulled, forums that offered illegal goods and cybercrime-as-a-service, counted more than 10 million users in total, and investigators estimated the arrested suspects earned more than a million dollars in criminal profits.

There's nothing more frustrating than paying for fast broadband only to discover that the signal barely reaches certain rooms. The Netgear Orbi 770 Series Wi-Fi 7 Mesh System could be the upgrade you're looking for, and it's reduced in price right now.

Rather than relying on a single router to reach every corner of your home, the Netgear Orbi 770 uses three coordinated units to distribute the wireless signal throughout. The package includes one Orbi RBE771 router and two RBE770 satellites, making it suitable for larger properties, and Netgear advertises coverage of up to 8,000 sq ft. and supports up to 100 connected devices.

• Best for: Larger homes, multi-story properties, and busy households and offices with numerous connected devices.

• The deal: The Netgear Orbi 770 Series three-pack is $628 (was $700) at Amazon.

Today's best Wi-Fi 7 mesh router deal

Orbi 770 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh System (3-pack): was $699.99 now $627.72
The Netgear Orbi 770 includes one WiFi 7 router and two satellites, offering tri-band connectivity, up to 8,000-square-foot coverage, 11Gbps combined wireless speeds, 100-device capacity, and 2.5Gbps Ethernet support.View Deal

Why we recommend it

In his four-and-a-half star review, our expert Cliff said it offered "excellent performance for home users and small businesses."

He added that "the Orbi 770 doesn’t cut any corners when it comes to performance. Its 11Gbps speed is more than fast enough to cope with most domestic broadband services, and even many business networks as well, and it’s not even slightly bothered by the troublesome Wi-Fi ‘deadspot’ that we have in an office located towards the back of our building."

It supports WiFi 7, with combined theoretical wireless speeds of up to 11Gbps. Enhanced Backhaul technology helps maintain fast, reliable connections between the router and satellites.

We rated it the top pick for homes in our guide to the best mesh Wi-Fi systems.

Price Context & Historical Value

Amazon usually sells the Netgear Orbi 770 three pack for $699 but it's currently down to $627.72 right now, a $72.27 (10%) discount.This isn't the cheapest price it's been at Amazon, as we've seen it there for $569.89 in the past, but this is still a solid reduction. For comparison, Best Buy currently lists the same system at $699.99, as does Netgear direct. However, I have found a refurbished three-pack for $574 at Target if you don't need to buy new.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Netgear Orbi 770 if...

You have a large home with unreliable Wi-Fi coverage, particularly if — like in my house — the signal weakens across floors or in rooms far from your existing router. It's also worth considering if your house has dozens of connected devices.

❌ Skip the Netgear Orbi 770 if...

You live in a smaller apartment or already have reliable Wi-Fi coverage throughout your property. A less expensive router or two-unit mesh system could meet your needs.

More Wi-Fi 7 mesh router deals

Orbi 370 Series Wifi 7 Mesh System: was $349.99 now $299.99
This cheaper dual-band WiFi 7 mesh system offers speeds up to 5Gbps, coverage of 6,000 square feet, support for 70 devices, 2.5Gbps Ethernet connectivity, built-in security features, and straightforward app-based setup.View Deal

Deco 7 Pro Tri-Band Whole Home Mesh System: was $469.99 now $396.5
This tri-band WiFi 7 mesh system offers 10Gbps speeds, four 2.5Gbps ports, wired backhaul, AI roaming, HomeShield security, VPN support, and coverage of up to 7,600 square feet across homes.View Deal

• See all mesh router systems at Amazon

If you've been thinking about getting into 3D printing, or upgrading from a smaller machine, the Creality K1 Max 2025 3D printer, currently discounted as part of the company's Halloween sale, combines a generous build area with fast printing speeds and AI-assisted features.

The K1 Max is particularly appealing if you've outgrown a smaller 3D printer or want to tackle more ambitious projects without spending hours waiting for each print to complete. We tested out the 2023 model and came away highly impressed with its speed and accuracy.

• Best for: Hobbyists, makers, designers, and small businesses that want to create larger models, prototypes, and functional parts.

• The deal: The Creality K1 Max 2025 3D printer is $549 (was $899) at Creality Store.

K1 Max 2025 AI Fast 3D Printer: was $899 now $549
This enclosed 3D printer offers 600mm/s maximum printing speed, 300mm cubed build volume, AI LiDAR, camera monitoring, automatic leveling, 300°C nozzle, dual-gear extrusion, Wi-Fi connectivity, and power-loss recovery for projects.View Deal

Why we recommend it

In his four-and-a-half-star review, our expert Alastair said: "The Creality K1 Max offers an impressive blend of innovation, speed, and quality... The machine's AI-driven capabilities certainly set a new standard in handling complex designs, while the extensive material compatibility and decent build volume make it an ideal solution for all levels of 3D print enthusiasts."

He added that "The K1 Max offers something new and completely refined. The enclosed design, network operation, AI monitoring and print quality make it stand out", describing the machine as "close to perfect".

Price context & historical value

Creality Store has reduced the price of the K1 Max 2025 3D printer from $899 to $549 as part of its Halloween sale, saving you a huge $350. We've seen it on sale for a few dollars cheaper in the past, but this is a great deal and one I'd definitely recommend.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Creality K1 Max 2025 if...

You want to create larger 3D prints, work on detailed prototypes, or move beyond the limitations of a smaller printer. It's also worth considering if automatic bed leveling and AI-assisted monitoring appeal to you.

❌ Skip the Creality K1 Max 2025 if...

You only plan to print small objects occasionally. A compact, less expensive printer may be more than enough.

• Shop all 3D printers in the Creality Halloween sale

Private Internet Access (PIA) has announced the addition of 10 new locations to its server network, building on recent expansions by adding servers in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia.

The announcement follows the addition of 15 new locations in September 2026 and forms part of a larger effort to improve and expand the Colorado-based VPN’s server network.

The full list of new locations includes:

• Bermuda
• Brooklyn, NY
• Dominican Republic
• Honduras
• Puerto Rico
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Ghana
• Kenya
• Lebanon
• Woolloomooloo (Sydney, AU)

PIA says the new locations include some virtual servers, writing in the announcement: “Virtual server locations allow us to offer our users more locations while ensuring they meet our strict privacy and security standards”.

Virtual servers are employed by all major consumer VPNs and are considered as safe and reliable as on-site servers if properly managed.

As we recently covered, previous expansions have focused on the Caribbean, Central and Southeast Asia, with new dedicated streaming servers in Europe and the Americas.

According to PIA, these recent expansions bring the total number of locations in its network to 170 locations across 104 countries and territories.

However, our independent tracking suggests the firm might be speaking a little too modestly about its total number of locations – our testing suggests PIA currently offers 176 server locations in 112 countries.

More curiously, our numbers match what PIA's Windows app shows too, so it seems PIA's press release isn't quite showing just how vast its improvements have been in recent months.

Like most consumer VPNs, PIA leans towards North America and Europe with its server network, offering 69 locations in the former and 50 in the latter.

Asia comes in third with 33 locations to choose from, while South America, Oceania and Africa get nine, eight, and seven locations respectively.

PIA is certainly no slouch when it comes to choice of server locations, but it still falls behind industry leaders like NordVPN (225 locations in 150 countries) and ExpressVPN (196 locations in 113 countries).

Why does having more VPN server locations matter?

The ability to connect to more locations across the globe is one of the factors we look for when choosing the best VPNs

As our Private Internet Access review details, PIA fills a niche for budget-conscious users looking for solid privacy tools and customization – and by expanding its server network, PIA has made itself even easier to recommend for a wider range of potential users.

For certain use cases, a VPN is only as strong as its server network. Users hoping to stream high-definition video over a VPN will look for options with dedicated streaming servers, and those wanting to access content in other countries while travelling will opt for a VPN with plenty of server locations across the globe.

Multiple locations within the same country or region are also welcome – if a VPN has multiple servers in, say, California, users have options if one starts lagging or goes offline altogether.

The five options in our list of the best VPNs all offer a large, varied server network, with some offering dedicated locations for streaming and gaming

Though it is one of the best cheap VPNs, PIA doesn’t rank in our main list just yet – but continued expansion of its network is sure to make this budget-friendly option a stronger contender.

If you're building a NAS or running out of room on your existing one, you'll know that high-capacity hard drives can be expensive. But one I'd definitely consider is the 16TB Seagate IronWolf, which is tailored for adding more space for backups, media libraries, or shared files.

Ideal for NAS owners, home server enthusiasts, content creators, and small businesses needing large amounts of always-accessible storage, the 16TB Seagate IronWolf NAS hard drive is $671 (was $790) at Newegg.

Unlike an ordinary desktop hard drive, the IronWolf NAS is designed to operate continuously in NAS systems that remain powered on throughout the day and night. The drive uses conventional magnetic recording (CMR), useful in RAID configurations, and it spins at 7200 RPM and includes a 256MB cache.

Today's best Seagate NAS drive deal

16TB IronWolf NAS Hard Drive: was $789.75 now $670.99
The 16TB Seagate NAS drive features 7200 RPM performance, 256MB cache, SATA 6Gbps connectivity, CMR recording, rotational vibration sensors, AgileArray optimization, IronWolf Health Management, and 24/7 operational support capabilities.View Deal

Why we recommend it

While we haven't tested the 16TB capacity drive, we have gone hands-on with the 8TB Seagate Ironwolf. We scored it 4 stars in our review, and Seagate NAS drives have always proved reliable in our tests - although the skyrocketing component prices are starting to bite now.

16TB of hard drive space is enough to comfortably store thousands of high-resolution photographs, large video libraries, computer backups, and shared documents.

Seagate's AgileArray technology helps optimize performance in multi-bay NAS systems, while rotational vibration sensors help maintain stability. There's also IronWolf Health Management, which provides monitoring and diagnostic information on compatible devices.

The 180TB/year workload rating makes the drive suitable for demanding home and small-business environments.

Price Context & Historical Value

Newegg is selling the 16TB Seagate IronWolf for $670.99, down from $789.75. That's a saving of $118.76, or approximately 15%, bringing the cost to around $41.94 per terabyte. This is far from the cheapest it's every been however, as we've seen it as low as $579.99 in the past year, and even cheaper when it first came out. But that's the component cost crisis for you, pushing up prices even on HDDs.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the 16TB Seagate IronWolf NAS hard drive if...

You own a NAS and need more room for backups, media files, or shared storage. The combination of 16TB capacity, CMR recording, and NAS-specific features make this a practical upgrade.

❌ Skip the 16TB Seagate IronWolf NAS hard drive if...

You only need a small amount of additional storage or want a portable drive that connects directly to your computer. You should also look for an SSD if transfer speed is your main priority.

• Shop all internal drives at Newegg

For technology teams, connecting telemetry has traditionally been seen as a route to greater visibility. The assumption is straightforward: the more information available about what is happening across an environment, the easier it should be to understand problems and respond to them.

But as modern technology environments have grown in scale and complexity, that equation no longer looks quite so simple and teams have found themselves dealing with fragmented telemetry and unclear signals. It now takes longer to understand what’s gone wrong, and even longer to fix it. And to add to the challenge further, the cost of storing and processing all this telemetry and data continues to be on the rise.

This is prompting organizations to reconsider where the problem should be addressed. Rather than collecting everything and attempting to make sense of it later, attention is shifting towards improving telemetry earlier in its lifecycle. Filtering, enriching and directing it from the outset can make the information reaching teams more relevant and ultimately easier to act on.

More data doesn’t always mean better insight

The volume of telemetry available isn’t the fundamental issue. Its quality is. As AI-driven capabilities become deeply embedded in software delivery and operations, the quality of observability telemetry becomes even more important. Collecting telemetry without filtering out what isn’t needed can leave employees spending more time managing information than extracting value from it.

Fragmentation makes this even more challenging. With data sitting across several tools and agents, each of which generates varied forms of signal and alert. When an outage occurs, teams may then need to piece together inconsistent information from across those tools before they can understand the root-cause of the problem. Consuming valuable time while the impact on the business continues to grow.

There is also a significant financial cost attached to this approach. Processing and storing telemetry and data at scale requires considerable resources, particularly when organizations are retaining information that contributes more noise than insight. In the traditional sense, this isn’t a technology problem. It’s a telemetry and data quality concern, and the longer it’s ignored, the worse it usually gets.

Rethinking where telemetry is processed

One way organizations are responding is by moving intelligence further upstream in the technology stack. In practice, that means making decisions about telemetry earlier – filtering out what isn’t useful, enriching important information and routing meaningful telemetry before it reaches downstream systems.

Teams are beginning to collect, process and route relevant observability telemetry in real-time before it is ingested into downstream systems. As a result, there is a less volume to handle, reduced expenses and cleaner telemetry to deal with since only the relevant signals are sent downstream.

Open standards such as OpenTelemtry are making it increasingly possible to take this approach across complex environments. They allow teams to gather telemetry consistently without being dependent on a particular vendor or set of tools. That flexibility is particularly valuable when working with intricate, distributed systems that span several clouds, security and storage platforms.

Furthermore, as environments continue to evolve, it makes adapting to them that much easier.

AI needs reliable information to make reliable decisions

The implications become particularly important as organizations introduce more AI-powered capabilities into their operations. AI systems depend on accurate, contextualized telemetry and data to produce insights and automate decisions.

Teams are not only slowed down by incomplete or cluttered telemetry, but it’s this simple: poor quality telemetry leads to poor quality insights. When those insights are applied to large-scale automated decision-making, the margin for error drastically lowers.

The same principle applies to trust. Teams responsible for automated systems need to understand what has happened and explain why decisions about performance or security have been made. Doing so becomes much more difficult when those decisions are based on inconsistent information.

And this requirement for confidence matters far beyond just the technical teams. As senior management and board members are being increasingly asked to support AI-driven decision making, they need to trust the information those decisions are built upon. Credible, consistent telemetry and data can make that conversation much simpler.

The operational advantages are also evident. Teams can work quicker if they aren’t continuously battling erratic telemetry and data. They spend less time on manual research, detect issues early, and automate with greater confidence.

A strong telemetry and data foundation and a unified, context-driven platform not only enhance daily operations but also increases the successes of the AI-powered capabilities the organization invests in over time.

Quality has to be built in from the beginning

Ultimately, faster innovation and better customer outcomes depend on organizations having useful telemetry and signals available when they are needed. The good news is that it doesn't require starting from scratch, it's about making choices early in the telemetry lifecycle.

By introducing intelligence at that stage, teams can improve the quality of what ultimately reaches their observability platforms and ensure it can scale as their environments grow. The advantage will not come from simply collecting more. It will come from ensuring the telemetry an organization does collect is relevant, trustworthy and ready to support action.

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I've been reporting on AI for a year and a half now. Throughout that time, I’ve regularly visited Reddit's r/isthisAI community. This is where people share suspicious photos, videos and messages and ask other users to help them work out whether they're real or AI-generated.

I find it fascinating to see where AI is showing up in everyday life. But some of the posts are also pretty worrying. I've seen people questioning whether photos of damage to rental properties have been faked, whether someone their relative is dating actually exists, whether an ultrasound is real or whether the adorable puppy they're about to buy is just an illusion.

Of course, scams and deception like these have been around for years. But what's worrying is how AI can make them much both easier to pull off and harder to spot. I became so interested in this that I even ran my own series of tests, trying to create fake certificates, fossils and receipts to see whether ChatGPT would stop me. Most of the time, it didn’t.

While plenty of us have got used to questioning what we see online, not everyone knows just how convincing AI-generated content has become. That might be particularly true of friends and family who are less familiar with the technology.

So I've picked out some of the most worrying examples I've come across, along with a few practical ways to protect yourself and the people you care about. Because I think we could all benefit from knowing a little more about how AI can be used to deceive us.

1. Rental property damage

(Image credit: Reddit)

I've seen quite a few posts questioning whether AI has been used to fake damage to rental properties, like cracked floor tiles, stained rugs and, most recently, an overflowing toilet.

The concern is that landlords or holiday rental hosts could use manipulated photos to claim that guests and renters have caused damage and demand money to cover repairs.

Some of the examples I've seen are surprisingly convincing and I think the reason they're so difficult to spot is that much of the surrounding room looks perfectly normal. It's only the supposed damage that's suspicious.

I recommend taking plenty of photos when you arrive at a holiday rental, and again before you leave. That way, if you're ever accused of causing damage you don't recognize, you've got your own evidence to back you up.

2. Fake notices, warnings and announcements

(Image credit: Reddit)

I've seen a lot of suspicious notices circulating online over the past few months. Everything from warnings supposedly issued by schools and councils to missing pet posters and strange announcements pinned to noticeboards.

Granted, I've also seen plenty of bizarre notices in the wild that are real. But AI makes it incredibly easy to create convincing fakes and even the little details that might once have given them away, like handwritten text, marker pen or crumpled paper, are becoming more realistic.

The problem is that these notices often look like something someone has photographed them in passing, which can make them feel more authentic too. This notice about a drinking bottle is one example that really stumped Reddit for a while but turned out to be AI.

If you see an alarming warning or announcement, especially one that's being widely shared on social media, try to find its original source first. If it claims to come from a school, council or organization, then check whether they've published it through their official channels.

3. Real-world events

(Image credit: Reddit)

This is one of the most disturbing uses of AI-generated imagery I've come across recently. We've all seen fake images of things that never happened. But I've also noticed more images and videos circulating that claim to show events that genuinely took place.

Which I think makes them particularly misleading. Someone might check whether an incident really happened, find that it did, so then they'd assume the accompanying photos must be authentic too. One particularly upsetting example involved AI-generated images claiming to show a tragic incident at a Yorkshire wildlife park. These images can spread quickly because they're attached to stories people are already interested in.

If you come across dramatic images of a breaking news story, check whether they're being used by reputable news organizations or have been published by an official source. And remember that confirming an event happened doesn't automatically confirm that every photo or video claiming to show it is real.

4. Romance scams

(Image credit: Reddit)

This is one of the most upsetting sort of scams I've noticed on r/isthisAI. People regularly post photographs of someone their parent, grandparent or other relative has met online, asking whether the person actually exists. There are people worried about their aunts, their dads and their friends' grandparents.

A familiar pattern is someone claiming to work overseas or travel constantly, often with a convincing looking photo at an airport or in a workplace. Eventually, there tends to be a medical emergency or a problem accessing money so they ask for financial help.

Of course, romance scams have existed for decades. But AI-generated photos, messages and even video can give scammers more ways to build a believable identity. The difficult part is that people can become very emotionally invested in these relationships. Being told that someone they've fallen for might not exist can be incredibly painful and I’ve been surprised to read anecdotes of people still not believing their concerned loved ones even when they’re shown irrefutable evidence.

If you're worried about a friend or relative, try to approach the conversation gently. Encourage them to verify the person's identity independently, be wary of excuses for never meeting in person and, above all, never send money to someone whose identity they can't establish.

5. Pet scams

(Image credit: Reddit)

Who doesn't love an adorable puppy photo? And that's exactly why these scams can be so effective. I've seen people on Reddit questioning whether photographs of dogs they're thinking of buying are AI-generated. In one example, someone was worried their mother was being scammed. In another, someone was trying to buy a puppy through Facebook but they were concerned some of the details in photos of the cute little guy didn’t quite add up.

The danger is that a realistic-looking photograph can help convince someone that a puppy exists and is available to buy, even when the seller isn't legitimate. Scammers might then ask for deposits or delivery fees before disappearing.

For me, this is an important point to get across to friends and family. Rather than focusing entirely on spotting telltale details in AI-generated images, look at what someone is asking you to do. Are they demanding money upfront and inventing reasons for extra charges? They should raise major red flags.

Always try to see a puppy in person before paying, and check the seller's credentials. A convincing photo, no matter how cute, isn’t a guarantee that an animal is available to buy. It’s not even a guarantee that it exists.

6. Scoring political points with misinformation

(Image credit: Reddit)

I'd hope most people are now aware that AI-generated images are often used to spread political misinformation. But judging by some of the things that still circulate on social media, there's plenty of reason to be concerned.

I've seen posts questioning whether political images are genuine, including this example shared by an Ohio conservative political action committee's Facebook page.

These images can be particularly effective when they reinforce something that someone already believes. Which means that if a picture appears to confirm your opinion of a politician, protest or political movement, you might be less inclined to question it.

My advice is to be especially suspicious of images that provoke an immediate emotional reaction, whether that's outrage, fear or even satisfaction. Look for the original source, check whether credible news organizations have verified the claim and resist the temptation to share something simply because it seems believable.

7. Fake documents, like medical photos, receipts and plane tickets

(Image credit: Reddit)

Another category I've noticed involves people questioning whether documents or photographs have been created to support a lie. For example, one Reddit user asked whether their ex had used AI to create a fake plane ticket and another wanted to know if an ultrasound had been faked with AI.

This is particularly interesting to me because I ran my own experiment to see whether ChatGPT would help me create fake evidence, including receipts and certificates. And in many cases, it did.

Documents that once might have required some really good Photoshop skills can now be much easier to fabricate. And as AI gets better at producing convincing text and layouts, spotting a fake simply by looking at it is becoming way less reliable.

If someone sends you a document as proof of something important, think about whether there's another way to verify it. For example, a booking reference may be something you can check directly with the relevant company. And a photograph of a medical document should never be treated as definitive proof of someone's health or circumstances either.

How to check if something is AI

We've got a more in-depth guide to spotting convincing AI images, deepfakes and scams, but there are a few simple things worth remembering.

Firstly, you can try reverse image searching suspicious photos with Google Lens. You can also check where a story or image originally came from and verify any claims through independent sources.

There are also tools that can help. Google recently expanded access to its SynthID Detector, which can identify invisible watermarks in AI-generated content from some AI tools, but not all of them. Just remember that if it doesn't detect a watermark, that doesn't necessarily mean something is real either.

But I think the most useful thing we can teach our friends and family is to look beyond whether something looks like AI and ask a more important question: What is someone trying to get me to believe or do?

Because whether it's a fake puppy or an urgent request for money from an attractive stranger, that's often the biggest warning sign. And the one we should pay the most attention to as it becomes even harder to distinguish what’s AI from what’s real.

• AI needs to replace 250 million jobs in order to make a return on the current $2.5 trillion investment
• AI is getting cheaper and more capable, but the underlying hardware is not
• Infrastructure providers for the AI boom could be left holding the bag

Since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, AI developers have entered into a frenzied arms race of hyperscaler data center build outs, silicon development, and huge power grid expansions.

The level of investment made by AI developers is unlike anything that has been seen (or spent) before. But a key question that IT leaders, investors, and enthusiasts keep asking is how will all this investment be paid for?

New analysis by Marin Ivezic, Founder of Applied Quantum, has found that the math really isn’t adding up. In order to justify the colossal investment, AI would need to generate approximately $2.5 trillion in annual revenue. Current estimates aren’t even close.

AI must replace 250 million jobs

Optimistic estimates put AI’s current revenues at between $150 billion and $250 billion per year, which is a multi-trillion shortfall.

Ivezic theorizes that AI would need to replace or deliver the equivalent productivity gains of 250 million full-time jobs in order to meet the $2.5 trillion revenue requirement - assuming each full-time employee costs $100,000.

The $2.5 trillion investment can be broken down into the $1.5 trillion already spent on hardware investments since 2022, with a subsequent $1 trillion being spent on additional investments every year. But there is one small problem: the US only has 159 million nonfarm jobs.

The infrastructure providers are also having difficulties reckoning with spending. High-performance AI chips are made obsolete around every five years, but the data centers infrastructure they are installed in is expected to last around 20 years - resulting in enormous depreciation costs. This problem is what Ivezic calls the ‘50-Cent Rule’; providers must generate around 50 cents in annual revenue for every single dollar they invest.

This is compounded by AI models that become cheaper to use but deliver far superior capabilities over previous models. GPT-4-class capability models for example have dropped in price 100-fold since 2022, but the costs borne by infrastructure providers have not dropped at all - and are rising instead - making it even harder for them to make a return on their initial investment.

This is a concerning development that echoes the dot-com bubble, Ivezic says. Similarly to how providers are footing the bill for the underlying AI infrastructure, telecommunications companies spent a fortune laying the fiber networks that powered the dot-com boom. Those telecommunications companies could not claw back their investment and - in the famous case of Global Crossing - went bankrupt.

The point Ivezic makes is that the companies that built on the infrastructure made a fortune, while those who funded the buildout were left holding astronomical investment costs without a way out.

This $2.5 trillion of investment eventually needs to be paid, and the entire infrastructure market rests atop this bubble. AI is getting cheaper, more advanced, and businesses are finding new ways to leverage the technology. But growth requires stability - and resting on a bubble is anything but stable.

Marshall Bromley 150 review

The Marshall Bromley 150 is the newest, and smallest model in its line, packing party-ready sound into a compact cube-shaped cabinet. Despite its diminutive stature, this Bluetooth speaker is pretty mighty, boasting a 200W power output with a single woofer and dual full-range drivers. But is it any good?

Well, I’ve spent many an hour putting the Marshall Bromley 150 through its paces, listening to countless tunes, messing around with its various features, and testing out its stage-inspired lighting. So here’s how I’d rate it after extensive use.

I’ve been really impressed with Marshall’s Bromley models to date, which easily compete with some of the best Bluetooth speakers around. They’ve provided ultra-deep, punchy bass that never subdues other sounds along the frequency range, look absolutely spectacular, and have great battery life to boot. And the Bromley 150 is no different.

(Image credit: Future)

Let’s start with sound quality. As you might expect from a party speaker (although it's not always a given), the Bromley 150’s low-end output is the main event. It provides the sort of bass that you feel in your soul — it's deliciously rich, palpable, and almost earth-shaking. And for a speaker of this size, that's impressive.

For instance, when tuning into Cowboy Killer by Kyle Walker and Nate Katz, deep bass hit with tremendous impact while remaining regimented, resulting in a powerful yet controlled listening experience. Even then, the raw power of the Bromley 150’s dynamic bass didn’t come at the expense of sounds elsewhere in the frequency range — higher-pitched drums were precise and expressive and keys in the mid-range were well-defined and clear in the mix.

Even tracks with rippling sub bass translated beautifully onto the Marshall Bromley 150. It can extend down to 42Hz, and handles the lowest frequencies with immense confidence, producing full-sounding low-end audio.

With more vocal-heavy tracks, the Bromley 150 continues to perform well. In Black Eye by Allie X, vocals were clear in the mix and drums in the treble sounded pleasantly forward, with a satisfyingly rapid decay for an energized, refined sound. I’d argue that vocals in the mid-range lacked the texture and detail that I’ve heard from some speakers at this price-point, though.

When I listened to some funk tracks, I similarly felt that electric guitars didn’t always sound as well-separated and defined as I’ve experienced elsewhere. But mids are still weighted nicely, and certainly sound clean and clear. There’s also no LDAC on board for higher-res Bluetooth listening — something that featured on the Marshall Acton IV and Marshall Stanmore IV. But then again, this is a party speaker, so the focus is understandably more on impact than insight.

One more note on sound. Marshall has continued to wow me with its True Stereophonic 360-degree sound, and this works well even on the small Bromley 150, with its impressive bass output and clean highs being retained, even from the rear or the side. This works even better here than on some larger rivals I’ve tested, like Sony’s ULT Tower 7, for instance.

(Image credit: Future)

Anyway, let’s move onto the next big attraction: the Bromley 150’s design. The Bromley 150 is a true beauty. It has an amp-inspired aesthetic, with quality faux-leather, stunning golden details, and premium-feeling control knobs. It also feels really robust and hardy, and comes with an IP55 rating, protecting it against high-pressure jets of water and dust ingress — that’s above average for a party speaker of this ilk.

The stage-light-style LEDs are to die for as well. They look so much classier than the RGB LEDs you’ll see on most party speakers, and mirror the deluxe aura of the Bromley 150 to perfection. Marshall has told me in the past that it considered leaving lights out of its party speakers entirely, as it wasn’t sure if it would suit the luxurious vibe it wanted to show off. But I’m glad they found a solution. There are various modes you can choose between too, and if you want to conserve battery life, you can switch them off entirely.

On top of that, the Bromley 150 is far smaller and lighter than its sibling models, and has a luxurious built-in handle that makes it very easy to take from A to B. While it could easily be a statement piece you could leave in your apartment or living room, being able to easily take it outdoors or on the go is a big bonus.

When it comes to features, the Bromley 150 hits most of the right notes too. First of all, it has an impeccable battery life of 40 hours, which will get you through multiple parties with ease. The battery is also fully replaceable and easy to remove — in fact multiple parts are replaceable, which only adds to the longevity of this speaker.

Other features such as Auracast connectivity for multi-speaker pairing and mic inputs for instrument or karaoke sessions are also most welcome, and make the speaker into a versatile party machine. There are a few other inputs, including USB-C and 3.5mm if you want to experience lossless audio. It would’ve been great to see RCA on the Bromley 150 for DJ controllers and turntables, though, especially as this was on the larger Bromley models.

My biggest gripe with this speaker, though, is its underwhelming companion app. This model is still using the old Marshall Bluetooth companion software, and it’s simply too basic. Here, you can tune into an Auracast broadcast, customize the M-button (to display stroboscope lighting, activate low volume mode, or do nothing), and set a power off timer… but that’s all.

You can’t make any alterations remotely to EQ, despite there being physical bass and treble dials and no way to alter effects for karaoke or instruments, meaning you always have to be by the speaker to make changes. The lack of depth is a bit disappointing, and I’m hoping this will be addressed in the future, potentially by migrating this model onto the more advanced Marshall app, used by the Marshall Heston 120 and Marshall Heston 60 soundbars, as well as the Homeline speakers.

The major question is, however, is the Marshall Bromley 150 worth the money? Well, I have to be honest and tell you that this is an expensive Bluetooth speaker. It comes in at $499.99 / £399.99 / AU$699 — more than you’d pay for significantly more powerful models like the Sony ULT Tower 5, for instance. However, I think it still earns its price-tag overall.

This is a premium product, not just in its sound, but in its design. Yes, you’re paying for a party speaker, but this is a statement piece in equal parts. It performs fantastically well across the board, and with replicable parts, this speaker is an investment that should serve you well for many years to come. If you want great sound at a more affordable price-point, you really can’t go wrong with the Sony ULT Tower 5, but for a compact party speaker that’s oozing with style, then the Marshall Bromley 150 is the ideal pick.

(Image credit: Future)Marshall Bromley 150 review: price & release date

• Priced at $499.99 / £399.99 / AU$699
• Released in October 2026

The Marshall Bromley 150 was released in October 2026, just over one year after Marshall launched its first ever party speaker, the Bromley 750. It has a list price of $499.99 / £399.99 / AU$699, meaning it firmly sits in the premium category for a speaker of this size. By comparison the much larger and more powerful Sony ULT Tower 5 is $50 / £50 / AU$150 cheaper than this model, so you’re paying a bit of a premium for the Bromley 150’s deluxe build.

Marshall Bromley 150 review: specs

Weight

13.9lbs / 6.3kg

Dimensions

11.4 x 8.2 x 11.7 inches / 290 x 208 x 297mm

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm (in and out), USB-C, 2x XLR/6.35mm combo jacks

Battery life

40 hours

Speaker drivers

1x 6.5-inch woofer, 2x 2-inch full-range

Waterproofing

IP55

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Marshall Bromley 150?

Attribute

Notes

Score

Features

Great battery life, solid connectivity options, but the app is weak.

4/5

Performance

Mesmerizing bass, solid mids and articulate highs, plus great 360-degree sound.

4.5/5

Design

Stunning looks with gorgeous lights and good IP55 rating, easy to transport around.

5/5

Value

Undoubtedly expensive for its size, but luxurious build and great audio work in its favor.

4/5

Buy it if…

You’re looking for highly portable party sound
The Bromley 150 produces incredibly powerful, weight sound, but it’s far lighter and smaller than the Bromley 450 and 750, and is incredibly easy to transport around thanks to its neat carry handle.

You want a lavish-looking speaker
Arguably the best thing about the Marshall Bromley 150 is its staggeringly good looks. Its amp-inspired aesthetic, golden details, and classy lights make it feel just as much of a statement piece as it is a party speaker.

Don’t buy it if…

You’d like a convenient control app
The Marshall Bluetooth app is an underwhelming companion for the Bromley 150. It doesn’t have built-in EQ tweaking or light controls, so there are very few changes that you can make on the fly if you’re not right next to the speaker.

You want to get the best possible bang for your buck
While the luxury of the Bromley 150 helps it to earn its price overall, you can get more powerful sound at this cost. For instance, the recently released Sony ULT Tower 5 is far meatier, offers exceptional sound and connectivity options, and has some pretty appealing lighting of its own.

Marshall Bromley 150 review: also consider

Marshall Bromley 150

Sony ULT Tower 5

JBL Xtreme 5

Price

$499.99 / £399.99 / AU$699

$449.99 / £349 / AU$549

$399.95 / £329.99 (about AU$560)

Weight

13.9lbs / 6.3kg

28lbs / 12.7kg

6.4lbs / 2.9kg

Dimensions

11.4 x 8.2 x 11.7 inches / 290 x 208 x 297mm

14.1 x 21 x 11 inches / 358 x 534 x 280mm

13.6 x 6.5 x 6.1 inches / 346 x 165 x 155mm

Connectivity

Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm (in and out), USB-C, 2x XLR/6.35mm combo jacks

Bluetooth 5.3, RCA, XLR (in and out), USB-A, USB-C, mic input (6.3mm)

Bluetooth 6.0, USB-C

Battery life

40 hours

20 hours

24 hours (28 hours with PlayTime Boost active)

Speaker drivers

1x 6.5-inch woofer, 2x 2-inch full-range

1x 230mm woofer, 2x 60mm tweeters

1x 90W woofer, 2x 20W tweeters (AC power mode)

Waterproofing

IP55

IPX4

IP68

Sony ULT Tower 5
This is a considerably larger model than the Marshall Bromley 150, but it’s actually cheaper. The ULT Tower 5 is an exceptional party speaker that provides palpable bass, no end of connectivity options, and a sleek design. It may not look as luxurious as the Bromley 150 or have quite as good battery life or waterproofing, but for pure sound-for-pound value, it’s unbeatable. Read my full Sony ULT Tower 5 review.

JBL Xtreme 5
While the JBL Xtreme 5 isn’t quite as mighty as the Bromley 150, it still delivers powerful, refined sound while also providing the benefits of an ultra-rugged design. That’s right, you’re getting excellent IP68 dust and waterproofing, a drop-proof build, and a neat carry strap for carrying the speaker about. It can’t compare in terms of battery life or connectivity options, however. Read my full JBL Xtreme 5 review.

How I tested the Marshall Bromley 150

(Image credit: Future)

• Tested at our music testing space at Future Labs
• Mainly streamed tunes over Tidal
• I have tested and reviewed more than 60 Bluetooth speakers

I spent many hours blasting tunes on the Marshall Bromley 150, and spent the vast majority of my time assessing its qualities in our music testing space at Future Labs.

For the most part, I streamed tunes over Bluetooth via Tidal on my Xiaomi 17 phone. However, I also tried out a wired connection as well as Auracast functionality. I commenced testing by sifting through the TechRadar reference playlist, which includes songs from a wide variety of genres, but I also listened to hours worth of tracks from my personal library.

More generally, I’ve been testing audio gear for years here at TechRadar, where I serve as a Senior Reviews Writer. I’ve tested more than 60 Bluetooth speakers, including other Marshall party speakers, such as the Marshall Bromley 750 and 450, and rivals like the Sony ULT Tower 5.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: October 2026