Lenovo has unveiled a new variant of its flagship ThinkPad business laptop range but has deviated from the black, boxy, and functional design principles which have sustained it for over three decades.
The new Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Aura “White Moonlight” Edition eliminates the iconic red TrackPoint and the physical touchpad buttons - in their place, this device offers a sleek white slab with only four ports.
The lack of a discrete GPU and premium price tag, starting around $1810, also make it a niche option rather than a broadly recommended pick.
Design and portability trade-offsAt just 1.4 kg and a svelte 6.8mm thick, the 14-inch model targets users who value extreme portability, and is one of the lightest laptop options Lenovo has ever produced.
It comes with Intel’s new Core Ultra chips based on the Lunar Lake platform (Core Ultra 7258V and Core Ultra 9 288V processors) and integrated Arc Xe2 graphics.
Combined with 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM and up to 2TB of PCIe-NVMe SSD storage, it can easily handle demanding business or creative tasks.
On paper, it checks off many of the features expected of a top business-focused device, as its 2.8K OLED display with HDR, 120Hz refresh rate, and 1ms response time should appeal to professionals who need clarity and speed.
Its on-device AI acceleration, up to 48 TOPS, is another nod toward the engineering and creative crowd, making it a contender for the best laptop for engineering students' needs as well.
Yet, practicality suffers because the drastic slimming down comes at a cost. With only two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, users who rely on multiple external devices like USB-A devices, SD cards, and Ethernet may find the connectivity underwhelming.
At least it supports the latest wireless connectivity options, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.
The biggest sticking point, however, remains the design’s ideological shift - this machine feels less like a continuation of the ThinkPad ethos and more like a clean break.
The white finish and minimalist profile may attract new users, but long-time fans will wonder whether the brand has abandoned the very features that once made it iconic.
Via Videocardz
You might also likeThe best streaming services are always adding new features and trialing new things, but Netflix's decision to focus on interactive ads might frustrate subscribers.
Speaking in a conference call, Netflix co-CEO Gregory K. Peters said: "The most immediate benefit from this rollout is just making it easier for advertisers to buy on Netflix. We hear that benefit, that ease from direct feedback talking to advertisers. They tell us that it's easier. We see it in our overall sales performance."
He added: "There's also leveraging advertiser and third-party data sources, which we definitely hear demand for as well. And it will ultimately allow us to improve the ad experience for our members, which is critically important. So that means better ads personalization."
This isn't the only change Netflix has teased, as they also discussed making their adverts more interactive for viewers.
Peters concluded: "We're also going to be introducing interactivity in the second half of the year. So that's exciting. So that's all to say this is a pretty significant milestone for us, one we're super excited to get behind us because now we can shift into the steady release cycle where we're dropping new features all the time, both for advertisers and for members."
Focus on ads might provide frustration for Netflix subscribersSquid Game, Netflix's biggest non-English language series, recently came to an end in 2025. (Image credit: Netflix)If you're currently on Netflix's "with ads" plan, you should expect to see these changes coming soon. However, while it's an exciting time for the streamer, viewers may not be as enthusiastic.
Subscribers are currently paying $7.99 per month for Netflix Standard with Ads. And when you look at ad-free streaming services like Apple TV+, which charges slightly more at $9.99 per month, it might make people wonder if they're getting the best value for money.
Ad-supported tiers are common now, of course, with rival streaming services like Disney+ and Hulu also offering this option. But constant ad-breaks are a pain, and one of the reasons many of us move away from linear TV.
Everyone will have their own opinion on this decision, as some people don't mind the ad breaks and use them as an opportunity to have a break themselves. We'll just have to wait and see how these personalized ads do once the rollout is complete.
You might also likeYou know what my favorite kind of audio gadget is? One that makes people go 'What is that?' ideally with the follow-up question, 'And also, what do the numbers mean?'
This is one such piece of kit. It's almost like the handheld super-computer Ziggy in Quantum Leap – because while nobody really understands everything about it, everyone agrees it's a Good Thing. And with Spotify HiFi launch rumors gathering momentum (recent reports suggest it might land in late 2025, and be called 'Spotify Music Pro'), when hi-res goes mainstream, you don't want to be left unable to take advantage…
What you're looking at is the FiiO QX13, a pocket DAC and headphone amp for your phone, laptop, or games console – a gateway to the world of hi-res audio on the go. And although it is a flagship product and one that marks 18 years of FiiO’s audio expertise, it isn't particularly pricey either.
New to the world of headphone DACs? That's fine: every product you own that accepts and plays a digital music signal (your phone, wireless earbuds, laptop, Bluetooth speakers, and so on) has its own built-in DAC.
The thing is, many of them are inexpensive, and adding a standalone dedicated (read: better) option to the audio path can level up what you hear a lot. Additionally, the added amplification can help give oomph and volume to hard-to-drive headphones wired up to your phone or a portable player.
How does this particular DAC work? Add any audio source with USB-C, and you've got it. You just breathed new life into your wired headphones.
The QX13 can fully decode MQA music and is compatible with file formats such as DSD512 and 768Hz / 32-bit tracks. A 3.5mm and balanced 4.4mm headphone socket ensures wide compatibility with all headphones, too.
(Image credit: FiiO )DAC's rightAnd it's quite a looker, no? The QX13 is made with 21 layers of carbon fiber for a lightweight yet durable build to show off its "extra large" 1.99-inch hardened IPS color display.
The QX13 also introduces the flagship Ess Sabre Pro ES9027PRO chip, recommended for use in full-size hi-fi systems. However, FiiO has achieved a "micro DAC/AMP design" created to make the most of your headphones and IEMs. The chip features 8 channels set up in parallel, and is paired with two ultra-low-noise ES9312 regulators for precise output matching on each audio channel.
Of course, FiiO would point you towards its own IEMs to pair them with – possibly the FiiO FH19 (which are very good indeed) and FiiO notes that the QX13 arrives with an (optional) magnetic leather case, compatible with the custom FiiO power 'estick' pack for lightweight portability with powerhouse performance in Desktop Mode. Choose the magnetic leather case to combine both devices in one unit.
The QX13 is now available, priced $219 / £219 (around AU$450), and if that sounds a little rich for your blood, note that rival iFi's flagship DAC, the iFi iDSD Valkyrie, comes in at a cool $1,699 / £1,699 / AU$2,999 (approx). So, there's that option also…
You may also likeZimperium zLabs has uncovered a new version of the GodFather malware that uses on-device virtualization to hijack real banking and cryptocurrency apps.
Unlike older attacks that showed fake login screens, this malware launches the actual apps in a virtual space where attackers can see everything the user does.
The attack begins with a host app that includes a virtualization tool - this host app downloads the targeted banking or crypto app and runs it in a private environment.
Moving beyond simple overlaysWhen users open their app, they are unknowingly redirected into the virtual version. From there, every tap, login, and PIN entry is tracked in real time.
Because the user is interacting with a real app, it is almost impossible to spot the attack by looking at the screen.
GodFather also uses ZIP tricks and hides much of its code in a way that defeats static analysis. It requests accessibility permissions and then silently grants itself more access, making the attack smooth and hard to detect.
“Mobile attackers are moving beyond simple overlays; virtualization gives them unrestricted, live access inside trusted apps,” said Fernando Ortega, Senior Security Researcher, Zimperium zLabs.
“Enterprises need on-device, behavior-based detection and runtime app protection to stay ahead of this shift toward a mobile-first attack strategy.”
Zimperium’s analysis shows that this version of GodFather is focused on Turkish banks, but the campaign targets almost 500 apps globally. These include financial services, cryptocurrency platforms, e-commerce, and messaging apps.
The malware checks for specific apps on the device, clones them into the virtual space, and uses the cloned version to collect data and track user behavior.
It can also steal device lock screen credentials using fake overlays that look like system prompts.
Attackers can control the infected phone remotely using a set of commands. These can perform swipes, open apps, change brightness, and simulate user actions.
How to stay safeAfter a memorable All-Star game, today we listen back to some favorite baseball interviews from the Fresh Air archives: conversations with Jamie Moyer, Mike Piazza, Tony La Russa and Brad Ausmus.
Attention Hulu subscribers, for the time is almost here when the platform will remove the next group of movies from its library to free up some space for its next wave of new titles. All of the best streaming services do it, but Hulu seems to only target its lesser-known titles, which is a relief.
Over the next few weeks, a total of 16 movies will leave the service one by one and though this isn't a huge number, there's a handful of movies that we think you should catch. The main title we have our eyes on is Skinamarink (2022), a horror movie that shocked audiences despite its low budget, which leaves on August 1.
Additionally, the Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin comedy/ drama Moving On (2022) is set to be removed on August 13, shortly followed by the Bruce Willis action-thriller flick Vendetta (2022), and the French-language romance movie Anaïs in Love (2021), which has a 91% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Everything leaving Hulu in August 2025Leaving on August 1
Skinamarink (movie)
Leaving on August 7
Just Super (movie)
Leaving on August 9
The Friendship Game (movie)
Leaving on August 13
Moving On (movie)
One True Loves (movie)
Leaving on August 16
Four Samosas (movie)
Leaving on August 18
The Last Son (movie)
Leaving on August 21
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (movie)
Leaving on August 23
Hostile Territory (movie)
Nocebo (movie)
Leaving on August 24
7 Days (movie)
Leaving on August 25
Assailant (movie)
Vendetta (movie)
Leaving on August 31
American Rapstar (movie)
Anais in Love (movie)
Tell It to the Bees (movie)
A Chinese state-sponsored threat actor known as Salt Typhoon was lurking in the network of the US Army National Guard for nine months, the US Government has confirmed.
TheDepartment of Homeland Security (DHS) said the attackers were present in the networks between March and December 2024.
During this time, the group stole sensitive data from its victims, including administrator credentials, network traffic diagrams, geographical maps, and personally identifiable information (PII) of service members. Furthermore, the attackers accessed data traffic between the state’s network and every other US state, and at least four additional territories. This means that they could have pivoted to other networks as well, compromising even more government and military targets.
Typhoon over AmericaIt was not discussed how the breach happened, but DHS did say the group was known for exploiting existing vulnerabilities (CVEs) in Cisco’s routers and similar hardware.
Salt Typhoon is a known Chinese state-sponsored threat actor, part of the wider “typhoon” organization that includes groups such as Brass Typhoon, Volt Typhoon, and others.
These organizations were tasked with infiltrating different core organizations within the US, such as critical infrastructure organizations, communications firms, government, military, and defense organizations, and similar.
The goal of the campaign was to be present inside the networks should tensions between the US and China over Taiwan escalate into a full-blown war, giving it the ability to disrupt networks, and steal key intelligence.
Salt Typhoon is often in the media - with recent attacks against the likes of AT&T, Verizon, Lumen, Charter, Windstream, and Viasat, to name a few, often abusing unpatched Cisco routers to gain access, before deploying custom malware such as JumblePath and GhostSpider.
Via BleepingComputer
You might also likeIntel's Raptor Lake (and Raptor Lake Refresh) 13th and 14th-gen processors are struggling with the heatwave in Europe, which is seemingly causing these CPUs to crash more frequently with a popular web browser.
Tom's Hardware reports that Gabriele Svelto, a senior staff engineer on Mozilla's Firefox browser, flagged up the issue on Mastodon, observing that: "If you have an Intel Raptor Lake system and you're in the northern hemisphere, chances are that your machine is crashing more often because of the summer heat."
To clarify, these are browser crashes - as opposed to full system lock-ups - and Svelto adds that he's obtained this info thanks to Firefox crash reports coming from Raptor Lake PCs, which are tied to specific countries in the EU. There's a greater prevalence of crashes in places where temperatures have markedly spiked during the summer.
The issue is so bad that we're told that the level of crashes has become overwhelming, meaning Mozilla had to take action to disable the bot filing these reports.
Svelto notes: "Raptor Lake systems have known timing/voltage issues that get worse with temperature. Things are so bad at this time that we had to disable a bot that was filing crash reports automatically because it was almost only finding crashes from people with affected systems."
Another Mastodon user makes the assumption that this is related to the known degradation issues that hit 13th and 14th-gen Intel CPUs, with the heat exacerbating the problem. Svelto replies to agree that yes, this is true, while adding a caveat, saying: "Yes, though some of these bugs are very repeatable and predictable which is puzzling. They might be timing-related or even genuine consistent CPU bugs (we've seen a fair bit of those too)."
As the Mastodon thread progresses, the engineer suggests that Intel's most recent microcode update, codenamed '0x12F' for Raptor Lake (and Raptor Lake Refresh), actually made things worse, at least in terms of what Firefox is seeing here.
Svelto notes: "In particular microcode 0x12C had reduced the incidence of a number of bugs, but they've come back in full force when Intel released version 0x12F."
The 0x12F patch was pushed out in May 2025, a good while after the previous updates, as a fix for a more niche scenario where issues occurred with PCs that were left on continuously (for days at a time, running light workloads). Svelto is therefore suggesting that while this patch improved matters for those outlying scenarios, it made things worse for other folks.
According to the engineer, these crashing issues with Raptor Lake chips are happening the most with Intel Core i7-14700K models.
Analysis: Hot hot heat(Image credit: Phuwadach Pattanatmon / Shutterstock)Clearly, we need to be careful around pinning the blame here, though. Seemingly, something has gone substantially awry if Mozilla needed to disable a system because it was becoming overloaded with crash reports.
This certainly suggests Firefox is pointing to a chip-related problem - even if the cause could be (theoretically) partly down to buggy behavior with the browser, it's still only manifesting with certain Intel silicon (to an apparently profound level, correlating with hotter locations in Europe).
Cooling may play a role here, too, of course, in terms of the CPU coolers being used. The reason the 14700K may be showing up a lot more in these crashes could be because it's a more mainstream speedy chip, possibly coupled with a less effective cooling solution as a result. Whereas those running the even faster top dog 14900K (or indeed 13900K) have probably invested in an expensive cooler to go with the processor, and thus it may be less prone to overheating issues as temperatures climb, so there aren't as many crashes recorded. There won't be nearly as many 14900K chips out there, either, due to their more pricey nature.
What will be interesting to see is if other software developers are noticing a similar kind of pattern with their products crashing (browsers, or otherwise) - and now this report has been aired, others may have cause to investigate crash logs further, perhaps.
Of course, another factor to watch will be the performance of Raptor Lake CPUs if temperatures continue to rise (over the summer in Europe, or elsewhere - or indeed more broadly as the next couple of years roll on).
Even before this, my worry has always been what underlying degradation the instability issues may have caused with 13th and 14th-gen processors. As we know, these chips were running in PCs for some time in a problematic state, with the microcode fixes applied being preventative in nature - not a cure, meaning they don't reverse any damage that was already done. So, there could be undetectable deterioration under the hood of the chip that only manifests much later in its lifespan - a process possibly sped up by the processor running too hot, perhaps?
Now, the good news - as those affected no doubt recall - is that Intel did up the warranty coverage for these CPUs to five years. However, as I've pointed out in the past, what if in the sixth year, your Raptor Lake CPU starts going down the plughole in terms of recurring instability issues? You're out of luck in that case, which doesn't seem very fair - it's not unreasonable to expect a processor, the engine of a PC, to last longer than half a decade.
Of course, we can't go jumping to any negative conclusions yet, but this situation is certainly worth monitoring.
You might also likeBavarian palaces, imperial tombs in China and memorials to Khmer Rouge victims are among the sites being recognized by the United Nations agency.
(Image credit: Hellio & van Ingen/IBAP)
There are no reasons to consider picking up a copy of Tamagotchi Plaza, especially if you just got your hands on a Nintendo Switch 2.
Review infoPlatform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch
Release date: June 27, 2025
It’s a basic collection of boring, uninspired minigames that all ultimately just boil down to hitting the same few buttons for minutes at a time. This is paired with a laughably tiny hub world, that’s conspicuously devoid of activities and an absolute nightmare to customize or upgrade.
It all feels like something that you would find in a free mobile phone game, not a $49.99 / £44.99 release for a brand new console.
Sure, the serviceable graphics and abundance of Tamagotchi characters might prove enough to entertain a very small child for an hour or two, but with games like Mario Kart World and recent Donkey Kong Bananza on the scene there’s no real reason not to spend your time and money more wisely and go for one of them instead.
Again and again(Image credit: Bandai Namco)A spiritual successor to the Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop series on Nintendo DS, Tamagotchi Plaza is ostensibly about helping out in the various shops of a cute Tamagotchi town. This is accomplished through the completion of short minigames, of which there are 12 - one for each shop.
The first thing that you’ll notice is that none of them feature tutorials. You’re just expected to work out what you’re meant to do from the get-go, though this omission isn’t much of an impediment given just how simple the minigames are.
The first I tried involves cooking galettes (the flat, French pastry) by looking at an image of a customer’s desired order and mindlessly hitting buttons to bake the crust and fill it with the desired ingredients.
Accompanied by annoying sound effects which I later found can, mercifully, be turned off in the settings menu and protracted, overly slow animations, it becomes stale almost instantly.
The others are all a similar story: helping out in the personal gym, for example, involves spamming the shoulder buttons at a set pace, while the afternoon tea shop is simply dragging and dropping a few items on a table.
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)The only one that I find remotely entertaining was the dentist minigame, which has you drilling Tamagotchi teeth to weed out creepy little critters causing decay and even this just involved selecting options from a menu and hitting a button.
On the other end of the spectrum is the manga shop minigame, which is just nonsensical. You’re meant to design manga panels by dragging and dropping a few pre-made assets into position, but the scoring, measured on a scale of zero to three stars, doesn’t seem to correlate to anything other than how many characters you manage to cram on the screen.
If you keep grinding a particular minigame enough, you’re eventually offered the chance to upgrade it. This introduces some new options, which does break up the monotony somewhat, but takes quite a long time to appear and isn’t substantial enough to justify the effort.
Switch it up(Image credit: Bandai Namco)There are three additional minigames exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game too. They’re unlocked after you’ve spent some time in the initial 12 and utilize the Joy-Con 2 mouse control features. These are the strongest of the bunch, with the likes of the shuriken shop which has you using the Joy-Con 2 to aim ninja stars providing a few minutes of fun.
Unfortunately, it’s not enough to redeem the overall package and is nowhere near as interesting as some of the neat hardware tricks found in software like Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour.
Best bit(Image credit: Bandai Namco)There are more than 100 Tamagotchi characters here, with unique models and even the odd bit of dialogue.
Outside of minigames, there’s a small hub area to explore. Aside from the occasional conversation with another Tamagotchi, it’s empty and bland. You can upgrade it using currency earned from minigames, but progress is painfully slow and adding a few trees or the odd square here and there just isn’t worth the effort.
There’s also some light story content, centred around the protagonist being recruited to help improve the town so that it’s selected as the site of the Tamagotchi festival, but it’s basic and spread incredibly thin.
At the very least, I can say that Tamagotchi Plaza has no shortage of characters. There are more than a hundred Tamagotchis to discover, all with unique models that look quite nice. I just wish that this same amount of effort was put into literally every other facet of the game too.
Should I play Tamagotchi Plaza?Play it if…You find it super cheap
Tamagotchi Plaza might be worth buying if you find it at a heavy discount. The time spent trying each of the minigames a few times could justify a few bucks if you’re shopping for a child.
You’re more than four years old
There’s no way that anything in Tamagotchi Plaza could entertain anyone over the age of about four. If you’re able to read this, I would recommend giving it a miss.
There are no accessibility features in Tamagotchi Plaza. In fact, there’s barely a settings menu at all. You can adjust the game’s volume (with separate settings for music, sound, and voices) and change the direction of the camera controls, but that’s it.
How I reviewed Tamagotchi PlazaI subjected myself to more than four hours of Tamagotchi Plaza on Nintendo Switch 2, which is roughly four hours more than any reasonable person would play it for.
I tried every minigame in the package, and spent some time exploring the tiny world. I carefully evaluated the amount of fun that I was having at every juncture and compared my experience to my testing of other Nintendo Switch 2 games like Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World.
First reviewed July 2025
Buckle up, comedy fans! The hit Apple TV+ show Platonic season 2 is almost here, dropping its first two episodes on August 6. Starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as best friends Will and Sylvia, we can expect a 10-episode run to take us all the way to the beginning of October. That’s a lot of laughs waiting for us over the next few months, and the new trailer is no exception.
The show follows the pair as they contend with midlife hurdles, whether that be at work or at weddings – they’re partners in crises. As Apple TV+ puts it: “The duo tries their best to be each other’s rock – but sometimes rocks break things.” We’ve got some new stars joining the roster this time too, with Luke Macfarlane, Carla Gallo Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett and Milo Manheim all adding their weight in gold to new episodes.
We all know Apple TV+ is one of the best streaming services around for original content, and the Platonic season 2 trailer proves that the studio can up the stakes of what we saw the first time around in 2023. All I need is a pair of novelty sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt, and I’m ready to watch new episodes of the hit comedy when they drop.
Don’t get it twisted – Will and Sylvia are still very much besties as far as the Platonic season 2 trailer is concerned. However, it also hints that their friendship could be hitting the rocks sooner than we might like. "Will and I always get screwy when he's in a couple," Sylvia tells husband Charlie (Luke Macfarlane) in the clip. "I don't wanna lose him again. If I were to replace him now, it would take 25 years for me and this new friend to catch up to where Will and I are and by then I'm practically dead and who cares?"
But before we can even worry about getting that far, there’s a whole host of chaos coming our way. A greased up McFarlane is seen flexing his muscles in a white tank top while trying to get Will in shape (frankly, this is enough of a reason to tune in by itself), Sylvia throwing some shapes on a party dancefloor in a way reminiscent of Byrne’s Bridesmaids days, and an epic golfing accident turned into a buggy getaway mission, sporting a bleeding eye. The just over two minute trailer has enough twists that it will give you whiplash.
With such an enjoyable balance between flat-out comedy and relatability, everyone should be excited about having new episodes to binge. Rogan and Byrne’s chemistry is second to none, the writing is well-rounded and self-assured (though we were reminded of this recently by Rogen’s other TV show, The Studio) and as an ensemble, the performances are off the hook. We more than deserve a laugh this summer (for those of us in the northern hemisphere at least), so thank you, Will and Sylvia, for coming to our rescue.
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