Technology

Hypixel says early access for Hytale begins January 13 and is asking users to download the game launcher ahead of that date; the studio estimates over 1 million players on launch day based on preorder interest.

A Wall Street Journal profile describes Gwynne Shotwell, the longtime president of SpaceX, as a central leader who often acts as a translator and defender for Elon Musk ahead of the company's potential IPO.

Mattel's Fashionistas line adds an autistic Barbie designed with flexible joints for stimming, sensory-friendly clothing and accessories including noise-canceling headphones and a tablet with communication apps; the doll debuts Jan. 12 at Mattel Shop and Target with a Walmart rollout in March.

Malaysia and Indonesia temporarily blocked access to Elon Musk’s Grok after regulators said the chatbot was used to generate non-consensual and sexually explicit images. xAI has limited image-generation features to paying subscribers and officials have requested clarifications.

Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol to let Gemini and AI Mode display purchase buttons that open in‑app checkout using Google Pay and single‑click Google Account login.

A U-Haul truck drove into a crowd at a Los Angeles rally supporting Iranian protesters on Jan. 11; two people were evaluated at the scene and both declined transport to a hospital.

A shortage of memory chips driven by strong demand from AI data centers has pushed mobile DRAM and NAND prices higher, and smartphone prices have risen about 10–25% in several markets.

Logistical strain and budget pressure after the Israel–Hamas war have left arming for some IDF reservist units uneven, officials say procurement of tens of thousands of M4 rifles and other weapons is underway, and replacing older sharpshooter night sights with T75 systems is expected to take several months.

Launched Jan. 11, 2026, NASA's Pandora telescope will monitor host stars' brightness and color changes to reduce stellar contamination in exoplanet transit measurements.

This article lists ten mostly free software tweaks—such as malware scans and disabling unneeded startup apps—that can improve performance on older Windows laptops.

Google introduced an experimental AI Inbox for consumer Gmail that shows AI-generated to-dos and topics instead of a standard email list; the feature is currently limited to trusted testers and does not support Workspace accounts.

Meta said it fixed an issue that allowed external parties to request password reset emails and stated there was no breach of its systems; a dataset reported to contain 17.5 million Instagram account records was posted to a dark web forum around the same time, and Instagram's support material notes two-factor authentication is available and enabled by default for creator accounts.

The proposal would impose a one-time 5% tax on residents worth more than $1 billion and is reported to be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2026 if voters approve it in November; some wealthy Californians have moved entities out of state while others have voiced support or indifference.

Viral posts claimed Microsoft renamed Office to "Microsoft 365 Copilot" and that 400 million users had become "AI users," while Microsoft responded that Word, Excel and PowerPoint remain unchanged and that only the Office hub was renamed earlier.

NetBlocks reported that Iran implemented a near‑total internet shutdown during nationwide protests, and rights groups reported dozens killed and thousands arrested. Undetermined at this time.

Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew Percoco told clients that Tesla retains a multi‑year advantage in autonomy despite Nvidia's CES demonstrations of Alpamayo, AlpaSim and related simulation and dataset tools aimed at speeding OEM development.

A How-To Geek writer reports that installing an Arch-based Linux distro (CatchyOS) and a tiling window manager revived an older PC, which now idles with low resource use and quiet fans; he also says he runs daily rolling updates with pacman to keep software current.

Malwarebytes reported that data linked to about 17.5 million Instagram accounts reappeared on a hacking forum in January 2026 and said the set traces back to a 2024 misconfigured Instagram API; Meta had not commented as of January 11, 2026.

A Public Interest Research Groups report found some chatbot-enabled toys gave inappropriate responses, prompting a temporary sales pause and software updates; exhibitors at CES emphasized careful design and privacy work.

Reports say Grok generated sexualized images of children or child‑like bodies, and regulators and prosecutors in the U.K., EU and U.S. have opened inquiries while X and xAI have applied partial limits on some interfaces.

After an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis, social media users circulated images claiming to show an unmasked agent that were later found to be AI-altered; multiple outlets subsequently identified the agent as Jonathan Ross.

U.S. Central Command announced that the Department of War carried out large-scale airstrikes against multiple ISIS targets across Syria on Saturday; the statement said the strikes were conducted alongside partner forces and follow December strikes after a Dec. 13 attack that killed two U.S. service members and a civilian.

Elon Musk said X will publish its recommendation and ad-ranking algorithm in seven days and that the company will repeat open-source releases every four weeks with developer notes.

xAI’s Grok acknowledged generating a sexualized AI image of young girls and said the content violated ethical standards and could breach U.S. child-abuse laws; regulators in France and India have opened reviews and xAI was given 72 hours to report on its response.

MS NOW host Jen Psaki aired footage tied to the killing of Renee Good and said syncing that video with other angles does not appear to show the car running over the ICE agent; the agent reportedly walked away from the scene.

Shen Yun dancer Kathy Wu uses story-based performances to share her family's experience of reported actions against Falun Gong dating back to 1999; the company reported heightened threats and increased security at shows in 2025.

Ashley St. Clair said X's AI chatbot Grok produced sexualized edits of her photos, including an image she says dated to when she was 14, and that removal requests yielded uneven results; regulators and some governments have raised broader concerns about Grok's image features.

CES 2026 featured a strong industry push toward Micro RGB backlights and TCL's Super Quantum Dots, alongside brighter OLED flagships and extra-large screens up to 130 inches.

Keychron unveiled the Nape Pro, its first trackball, which can sit to the left or right of a keyboard or be tucked in front for use without moving your hands; the company said it will launch via crowdfunding in Japan and reach the US in spring with a reported price of $60–$100.

A Climate Central report says the U.S. experienced 23 separate billion‑dollar weather and climate disasters in 2025, costing about $115 billion in total, with the LA wildfires the single costliest event at $61.2 billion.