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Many consider two of the most valuable companies in the world, Microsoft and Apple, to be at different ends of a spectrum. While different in their broad target market, they compete intensely in similar markets like operating systems, consumer hardware and enterprise software. It's little surprise, then, that their respective leaders have looked at each other with disdain throughout history.

Big Macs and chips

Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs compared Microsoft to the fast food chain McDonald's in an interview for the 1995 PBS documentary series 'Triumph of the Nerds'.

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In a set of scathing comments, he said the company that Bill Gates founded was only able to enjoy its reach and success due to a "Saturn-5 booster called IBM". Gates used the opportunity granted by IBM outsourcing the operating system for the first IBM PC to Microsoft, called MS-DOS, with Gates retaining the rights to license the software and "create more opportunity", as Jobs phrased it.

Although he praised this aspect of the business – reiterating that Microsoft deserves its success – Jobs was adamant the firm doesn't add any originality into the broader ecosystem and isn't interested in the user experience. They have no "spirit" he said, and described their products as "very pedestrian".

From enemies to friends

Despite the decades-long sparring that Gates and Jobs engaged in, they eventually underwent a multi-stage reconciliation process that eventually led to a very different kind of relationship before Jobs' death in 2013.

In today's technology landscape, the two companies enjoy less of a heated rivalry that peaked during the operating system wars in the 1990s – with each enjoying a moat (Microsoft in the enterprise space and Apple in the consumer space).

Instead, they now compete in domains like AI and cloud computing alongside plenty of other Silicon Valley rivals. However, that doesn't mean there isn't the occasional jab – like outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook dunking on the Surface Pro.

The memory shortage is likely to lead to fewer budget devices and more refurbished models, a report says, as Apple and Samsung gain market share.

According to a report, the company plans to skip higher-performance versions of some of its processors along the way.

• Kyiv has floated more than 1,000 cheap balloons into Russia as decoys, relays, and now even launch platforms, with a balloon-dropped Hornet drone reportedly doubling its strike range to around 300 km
• The DART missile drops from balloons at 12–18 km and deliberately kills its own navigation in the terminal phase, leaving Russian jammers nothing to attack
• Prevailing west-to-east winds hand Ukraine a near-monopoly on the tactic, even as Russia trials its Barrazh-1 relay balloon as an alternative to Starlink

Google might have written off its Project Loon endeavor, a goal to use stratospheric balloons as flying cell towers due to economic considerations, but they are back in an unexpected setting: a deepening frontline between Ukraine and Russia.

This is largely because Ukraine has cracked the economics with the business model that Alphabet, Google's parent company, could not have: a cheap, easy-to-employ weapons platform that can't be jammed or shot down affordably while building up on its threat to Russian cities far from the frontlines.

The DART is a Ukraine-deployed, balloon-launched missile system developed by the Ukrainian firm Center of Innovative Technologies Program (CITP), which launches projectiles from the lower stratosphere at intended targets.

A smart 'dumb' missile approach by design

While most of the world continues to focus on better smart satellite- or laser-guided missiles (or precision-guided weapons), Ukraine is taking a different approach altogether, and it might be a much smarter play given how it could play out.

The balloon-based DART missile starts off 'smart', relying on satellite guidance to align and aim at a target before cutting off guidance altogether for the last 6km of the journey, relying only on its solid-fuel engine to reach its intended position.

The approach, though slightly crude, renders Russian jammers completely ineffective, unable to pull a DART missile off-target or 'confuse' it in any way. The target seems not to be civilians or combatants but rather to restrict Russia's ability to wage war by targeting infrastructure because of how the missile functions.

DART carries a warhead of roughly 10 kilograms that scatters conductive graphite filaments, a small-scale graphite bomb meant to short out electrical infrastructure. This also means it might not need the level of precision that many other missiles do: power stations and electric grids tend to sprawl, making them much easier targets than alternatives.

The more impressive part might be that the balloons, which often cost as little as $200, can lure out expensive S-300 and S-400 interceptors to respond, depleting far more costly ammunition and batteries on the Russian side.

Ukraine is also a direct beneficiary of geography: winds across the front generally blow west to east, allowing balloons from Ukraine to easily reach Russian territory, while Russian ones have to fight the current, often floating back into their own territory as a result.

While DART remains uncodified by Ukraine's military, it has already been showcased at trade shows, with the Eurosatory defense expo outside Paris in June marking its first major outing. It also has both allies and adversaries taking notice as the Ukrainian conflict continues to offer modern battlefield lessons.

The US Army has been evaluating tethered aerostats for drone detection and communications relay, with an eye toward launching drone swarms from them in the future.

Russians, on the other hand, are investing in a different kind of drone technology: the Barrazh-1, a stratospheric relay balloon carrying a communications payload of roughly 100 kilograms, which it says is entirely domestically built and aims to balance out the lack of Starlink terminals available to the country for data and internet services on the battlefield.

There has been a developer beta of iOS 27 for a while, but now it’s available in public beta, which both makes it slightly easier to get hold of and suggests it might be more stable than it was initially.

That said, this still isn’t finished software, so while stability may have improved, you’re still likely to encounter bugs and potentially unfinished features.

So this isn’t for everyone, and as a general rule we’d recommend running it only on a secondary handset. If in doubt, simply wait for the finished iOS 27 release, which we’re expecting in September.

But if you do have a spare phone lying around or want to take the jump with your main device, then the beta could be worth checking out, as it comes with loads of new and improved features — some of which we’ve looked at further down.

How to install the iOS 27 public beta on your iPhone

Before you start downloading and installing the iOS 27 public beta, make sure your iPhone is backed up, just to be on the safe side. We won’t detail that here because we’ve got a full guide covering how to back up your iPhone.

Once your data is safely backed up, the next step — if you haven’t run a beta before — is to sign up for Apple’s beta program. You can do this by heading to the Apple beta page and tapping ‘Sign up’, after which you’ll have to log into your Apple account to enroll. If you’re not sure whether you’ve already signed up for this or not, then instead press the ‘Sign in’ button on that page — if it doesn’t let you sign in, then sign up instead.

Once you’re registered, you can simply head to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates on your phone, and tap ‘iOS 27 Public Beta’. There may be other betas listed too, but this is the one you want.

Then tap the back arrow at the top of the screen, and the page you were on before will now show the beta you selected, complete with notes on it and a download size. From there, just tap ‘Update Now’ to grab it, or ‘Update Overnight’ if you’d rather wait until you’re sleeping to put your phone temporarily out of action.

Then you just need to wait for it to install. Once it has, there’s plenty to check out, but below we’ve highlighted some of what you might want to try first.

3 things to try first

iOS 27 has an enormous number of features — so many in fact that we found 21 that Apple didn’t even have time to mention during its announcement. But below, you’ll find some of the biggest and best to start off with.

1. Siri’s AI overhaul

(Image credit: Apple)

By far the biggest thing in iOS 27 is the long-awaited AI overhaul for Siri. There are many elements to this, but the main one is that Siri now works much like ChatGPT or other AI chatbots — you can have natural, back-and-forth conversations with it, and its responses aren’t just preset or based on basic web searches.

Siri can both search the web and interact with apps to get answers or carry out the tasks you need, and it now comes with a dedicated Siri app where you can find and pin previous conversations.

2. Improved photo editing

(Image credit: Apple)

Photo editing has also gotten a lot better with iOS 27, allowing you to do things like reframe or extend photos after they’ve been taken, and remove larger objects than previously.

It makes the photo editing tools far more powerful and brings them more in line with those available on Pixel and Samsung phones.

3. New ‘Describe a Shortcut’ tool

(Image credit: Apple)

Shortcuts has long been one of the most powerful apps that comes with your iPhone, but it can also feel a bit impenetrable. Now, though, it’s far simpler.

Rather than creating a shortcut or automation through various menus and complicated ‘if this then that’ rules, you can now simply use natural language to describe what you want.

So, for example, you could say “When I’m leaving work, message Pedro I’m on my way with my ETA,” and the app will automatically create an automation that does exactly this.

• Microsoft has blocked Secure Boot updates on some devices
• There have been issues with some devices updating from the 2011 certificate to the latest 2023 certificate
• Some older devices or those not supported by their OEM may be restricted in downloading the latest Secure Boot certificates

Microsoft has blocked some Windows 11 PCs from installing Secure Boot updates due to known issues with certificate updates.

The company is currently rolling out an update for Secure Boot on devices using certificates issued in 2011, which are now expired. The new 2023 certificate is being applied through Windows Update, but issues on devices with faulty firmware have forced Microsoft to halt the rollout.

“Devices in this group are affected by a known issue. To reduce risk, Secure Boot certificate updates are temporarily paused while Microsoft and partners work toward a supported resolution,” Microsoft said.

Secure Boot issues

Secure Boot has long been a device-saving feature when it comes to removing malicious files, as it allows the device to verify and load only authentic software before booting to Windows. However if the device cannot receive certificate updates it can fall victim to threats at the boot-level before Windows is loaded.

Microsoft is currently working with manufacturers to issue a patch that will allow affected devices to install the new Secure Boot 2023 certificate, with HP issuing a BIOS update to allow the installation of the latest certificate.

What this means in practice is that some older devices, or devices that no longer receive updates via their Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), will not be able to apply Secure Boot and Boot Manager protections. Microsoft clarified that, “this results in a gradual reduction in long-term security—not an immediate risk or system failure. Continue to follow standard security practices, including staying current with Windows updates.”

So even if your device is blocked from installing the latest Secure Boot certificate, it will continue to work properly, other Windows updates will continue to work, and your Secure Boot version will continue to protect against known vulnerabilities. It’s just future vulnerabilities that users affected by this issue will need to be aware of.

Many users may not be aware of issues until they need to use Secure Boot, so the silver lining in Microsoft’s warning is that now is the perfect time to check if your Secure Boot is working properly.

How to check Secure Boot is up to date

To check if you are using the latest Secure Boot certificate, take the following steps:

• Open the Windows Security app using the search bar
• Navigate to the Device Security dashboard using the menu on the right hand side
• Look at the Secure Boot section, and check for the following messages:

(Image credit: Microsoft)

1. "Secure Boot is on"

If you see this message, Secure Boot is likely working properly. However, this does not display your certificates’ current state. Microsoft has been rolling out an update to show if your Secure Boot is running on the latest certificate, so make sure your don't have any pending Windows updates.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

2. “Devices in this group are affected by a known issue.”

Devices with this message will likely be able to install the latest certificates once a firmware update has been issued by your OEM. Check your OEM update channel for availability.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

3. “Secure Boot is on, but your device does not support the automated Secure Boot certificate update due to hardware or firmware limitations.”

Devices with this message may no longer be supported by your OEM, or the OEM might no longer be able to provide the firmware updates needed. Microsoft recommends checking your OEM’s Secure Boot support page to confirm whether your device is out of support.

Via WindowsLatest

NPR has learned that the Department of Health and Human Services will not be finalizing its most aggressive attempt to end gender-affirming care for youth nationally.

(Image credit: Erik McGregor)

South Carolina's governor says he is appointing Darline Graham to finish the term of her late brother. Top Republicans, including President Trump, have coalesced around the pick.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

Over the course of his three decades in Congress, Lindsey Graham was a major influence on Capitol Hill and throughout the world as one of the most vocal advocates for U.S. military might.

• 32 “Meadowlands” Counter Communication Systems have been commissioned by U.S. Space Force Combat Forces Command
• Rather than laser, microwave or plasma, the weapon is an electromagnetic beam
• Enemy satellites can be disabled and signals jammed using the weapon

A fleet of 32 “Meadowlands” Counter Communication Systems (CCS) is being assembled by US Space Force Combat Forces Command, which has just taken receipt of the first mobile electromagnetic warfare system.

While recent projectile-free weapons systems have employed lasers, microwaves, and ionized plasma gas, a Meadowlands unit – portable enough to be transported by air – uses targeted electromagnetic fields.

Electromagnetic warfare has proved successful in recent years, with Operation Midnight Hammer – the June 2025 US airstrikes on Iran – using the technology to create a “silence zone” over the country to facilitate the attack. By disrupting communications with the electromagnetic weapon on that occasion, targets were struck with minimal countermeasures deployed.

What does an Electromagnetic Weapon (EW) do?

Systems like Meadowlands CCS have the capability to interfere with enemy satellites and jam their signals (affecting uplink and downlink transfers). Described as being able to “detect, deny, disrupt, and degrade adversary capabilities” the technology can also change or disrupt target data, and generate confusion.

US Space Force Col. Angelo Fernandez is the commander of Mission Delta 3 – Space Electromagnetic Warfare, a unit dedicated to “training and equipping electromagnetic warfare professionals.”

He states: “Our Guardians are at the forefront of joint operations, so we are fielding capability that best enables their success and the success of the joint force. Every day, Space Force electromagnetic warfare forces become better organized, trained, equipped, and mentally prepared to operate in hostile environments.

The Meadowlands units are mounted on a six-wheel chassis, and appear to be intended for ground deployment using a separate tractor. They’re small enough to be deployed in harsh environments or behind front lines, and can be controlled remotely.

What is Space Force?

It was reported in February 2026 that Space Force was involved in Operation Midnight Hammer, which included gaining control of the electromagnet spectrum.

While sounding like a fictional arm of the military, Space Force was created in 2019 to protect U.S. interests in space. Operating under the Department of Air Defense, it is concerned with putting satellites into space, managing GPS, and tracking space debris. Its operatives are referred to as “Guardians.” These are recruited from the USAF, other branches of the military, or from civilian application pools.

(Conversely, NASA is concerned with exploration and scientific research, and is a civilian agency.)

Meadowlands CCS join existing high-powered microwaves, precision lasers within the arsenal of Space Force, which holds no kinetic weapons for deployment.

“This upgraded system enables us to more effectively and efficiently support the joint scheme of maneuver across the continuum of conflict,” said U.S. Space Force Lt. Col. Ryan Skilling, 4th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron commander.

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for July 14, No. 1,129.

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle for July 14, No. 1,851.

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for July 14 No. 863.

Fridges are one of the most important home appliances to keep powered during an outage. Our lab testing revealed the power stations that can keep yours running the longest.

Instead of an outright ban, EU President Ursula von der Leyen is suggesting social media start dates that will allow kids gradual access to platforms.

• Engineers at the German Aerospace Center are developing a morphing wing currently intended to reduce drag and replace functions of other parts of the plane’s design
• A drone equipped with a morphing wing has been used in testing
• The Morphing Technologies and Artificial Intelligence Research (morphAIR) project has a one million Euro budget

A wing that changes shape is in development at the German Aerospace Center, as part of a one million Euro project that could redefine the traditional view of an aircraft.

Rather than a tube with fixed wings and tailplane, future aircraft based on this technology could change shape to cope with changes in flight conditions, reduce drag, and even morph a portion of the wings to handle pitch control and other tailplane functions.

Engineers have tested the technology – part of the Morphing Technologies and Artificial Intelligence Research (morphAIR) project – with a 70 kilo drone, equipped with a 3-meter wide morphing wing.

How does the AI morphing wing work?

The morphing wing relies on a smooth surface with motorized components inside that can alter its shape. Success so far has led to the introduction of a follow-up program, UAdapt (Unmanned Aircraft Wing Adaption) to focus on reducing fuel consumption, by making the plane’s surface less prone to drag, and potentially removing the tail completely.

On the team is Martin Radestock, senior adaptive systems engineer, who told Aerospace America that current wings are essentially inefficient: “Aircraft are flying with turbulent flow over their wings, because they have steps and gaps [e.g. ailerons and flaps] between their control surfaces.”

Smooth wings have no gaps, no screws and rivets, and are assembled in a completely different way to standard aircraft. The wing is described as a “morphable trailing edge” and appears to be a series of motorized, actuator-controlled arms that move left, right, up, and down.

Morphing aircraft is nothing new

While morphAIR’s approach takes full advantage of modern technology, the concept of employing multiple profiles for aircraft to suit different flight conditions and deployment purposes is an old concept given a new life.

The most famous implementation of this is the “swing wing” technology, first tested in 1951 (the Bell X-5 experimental craft) and later a key element of 1967’s F-111 Aardvark. 13 production craft used the tech in total, although the most famous is probably the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, which co-starred with Tom Cruise in the movie Top Gun. These craft were able to sweep the wings backward, sharpening their angle (to 68 degrees from perpendicular to the fuselage) for stable high-speed flight, while the "straight" wings (22 degrees) generated lift for short takeoffs, such as on an aircraft carrier, where the runway is short.

Interestingly, a Grumman Gulfstream II was fitted with morphing flaps as part of testing by FlexSys in partnership with NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, so morphAIR is not the only group researching the next stage of flight.

Developments in aerodynamic flight technology and flight control made the swing wing generation obsolete, but morphAIR’s intriguing re-visitation of the concept of a craft that changes shape in midair could take it in a whole new direction.

The Penn State team behind these temporary tats hopes they can help spot heart attacks or power robotic prosthetics.

• Americans want the massive wealth of AI firms added to a sovereign wealth fund
• 69% would see AI firms forced to transfer 50% of stock into a sovereign fund
• The fund would help redistribute wealth and back new infrastructure and developments for working class Americans

A national survey has found over two-thirds (69%) of US citizens want to see AI firms transfer half of their stock into a sovereign wealth fund.

The survey, conducted by Verasight among 1,690 adults, also found that there was overwhelming support (89%) for AI companies to publicly disclose the results of all internal safety testing.

The sovereign wealth fund, proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders, would provide wealth for current and future generations, as well as acting as a source of capital for investment in new projects and developments designed to improve the lives of working class Americans.

Americans want AI wealth redistribution

At the announcement of Sanders’ proposed American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, the senator said, “It would guarantee that the economic benefits generated by AI are used to improve the lives of all of us — not simply to make the richest people in the world even richer.”

“The future of AI and the fate of humanity must not be decided behind closed doors in Silicon Valley by billionaires seeking to maximize their power and profit,” Sanders said.

Interestingly, the survey only saw a small dip in support to 64% when the sovereign wealth fund was tied directly to Sanders, showing the bi-partisan desire for the enormous growth in AI wealth to be redistributed among Americans.

According to a Goldman Sachs report, companies operating in the AI industry have added more than $27 trillion in market value since late 2022, with corporate profits and tech investment soaring. But at the other end of the scale, working class Americans are seeing jobs replaced and entry level positions disappearing due to AI technologies.

A further report from Goldman Sachs predicts that during the 10 year AI transitional period, up to 15 million US workers could lose their jobs - around 9% of the current US workforce.

In 2026 alone, the tech sector has seen more than 166,000 layoffs, with many attributed to the adoption of new AI technologies. The trueup layoff tracker expects this number to rise to 312,000 by the end of the year.

Electricity prices are also surging in the US due to the demand of AI data centers, raising the cost of day-to-day life of millions of Americans. As a result, US representatives have put forward a bi-partisan Ratepayer Protection Act that would force AI companies and hyperscalers to pay for the energy they use, with additional charges to help fund the expansion of electricity infrastructure that has been placed under additional load by data centers.

Via CNBC

Using a VPN on your Android device can help you keep your online activity private, stream geo-restricted content and bypass throttling from anywhere.