Technology

Reuters reports that Google, Meta Platforms, Netflix, Microsoft and Amazon will not face heavy-handed rules in the EU's planned Digital Networks Act; EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen will present the proposal on January 20.

The article profiles the 2026 Honda Civic Hybrid, reporting roughly 200 horsepower and an EPA combined figure near 49 mpg for the sedan, and noting upgraded interior and infotainment features on hybrid trims.

Nvidia hired Alison Wagonfeld from Google as its first chief marketing officer; she will report to CEO Jensen Huang and lead the company's marketing and communications teams starting in February.

Nintendo offers a free Animal Crossing Island Transfer Tool in the eShop to move New Horizons island save data from an original Switch to a Switch 2; the tool must be downloaded on both consoles. After transfer the save is removed from the source system but can be transferred back later.

The article reports CES highlighted distinct positions for Nvidia, AMD and Intel in AI chipmaking, noting strong demand for Nvidia's new Vera Rubin chips while AMD reinforced a challenger role and Intel seeks relevance with Panther Lake and reported outside backing.

Northrop Grumman won a competitively awarded MUX TACAIR deal to supply a mission kit — including its Prism autonomy software and sensors — to help turn Kratos' XQ-58A Valkyrie into a Marine Corps Collaborative Combat Aircraft; the company told Breaking Defense the agreement is about $231.5 million over 24 months.

At CES 2026, TCL unveiled the Note A1 with an 11.5-inch NxtPaper Pure display running at 120Hz; the tablet is positioned as a notes-first device with a stylus and will be offered on Kickstarter for about $437.

The King Center in Atlanta opened an 11-day series of events marking the 40th observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day; Dr. Bernice King announced the theme as "Mission Possible 2: Building Community, Uniting a Nation the Non-Violent Way."

President Trump announced the United States would withdraw from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the administration has stepped up strategic interest in Greenland as warming opens Arctic shipping routes and exposes mineral resources.

The article lists seven built-in iPhone features — including the Health app, Wind Down, Sleep Focus, Sleep Schedule, App Limits, Downtime and Night Shift — that can monitor rest and limit nighttime disruptions.

Rokid showed its display-free Rokid Style smart glasses at CES 2026 and announced a partnership with Mudra to pair the glasses with the Mudra Link neural wristband; Rokid Style is priced at $299 and goes on sale January 19, while Mudra Link is listed around $249.

FIFA said short live clips and selected behind-the-scenes World Cup content will be broadcast on TikTok, and the collaboration will run through the end of 2026.

At CES 2026 Laifen presented the Wave Pro electric toothbrush plus a compact Mini Hair Dryer and the premium Swift 4 dryer, framing its work around thoughtful design for everyday routines.

Embark Studios said it will implement significant rule changes, update anti-cheat detection, and apply client-side fixes after players reported widespread cheating in Arc Raiders.

Executives say new smart glasses are lighter and more useful because of AI, and industry data show the category grew sharply in 2025.

The article reports Alphabet's market value rose to about $3.89 trillion, passing Apple's roughly $3.85 trillion to become the second-most valuable company, with Nvidia remaining largest at about $4.6 trillion.

Elon Musk said Nvidia's new autonomous models unveiled at CES could pose competitive pressure on Tesla's Full Self-Driving in about five to six years, and he added that legacy automakers likely will not integrate the required cameras and AI hardware at scale until later.

One to two drops of dish soap in a spray bottle of water is described as an inexpensive, skin-safe cleaner that cuts oil-based grime on many household surfaces, and using a damp cloth helps remove residue to prevent streaking.

The University of California enrolled 301,093 students in Fall 2025, an increase of 1,686 from the prior year, with more than 200,000 California resident undergraduates and 76.8% of students reported as state residents.

Optimove announced an AI Marketing Tools Hub that launches with 13 curated tools to guide marketers; the company says teams adopting Positionless Marketing improved campaign execution speed by 88% on average.

Volvo Car said global sales rose 2% year-on-year to 75,049 vehicles in December, while full-year 2025 sales fell 7% to 710,042 units.

Humanoid home robots still encounter major technical hurdles, and some models raise privacy concerns because companies may allow remote human control.

Cambodian officials say Chen Zhi was arrested in Cambodia at China’s request and extradited to China; US prosecutors had sought his arrest after seizing 127,271 bitcoin tied to alleged fraud totaling at least $11 billion.

The article reports the post-quantum cryptography market could grow to about $30 billion by 2034, and that several firms including Quantum Secure Encryption Corp., IonQ, Kyndryl, Accenture and CyberArk are advancing post-quantum and identity-security efforts.

At CES, Tensor showed the Robocar, which can switch between full autonomous mode and a manual driving mode and includes four passenger screens and in-cabin cameras; Tensor plans a limited launch later this year in parts of the US, Europe and the UAE.

Court filings say Google and Character.AI have agreed in principle to mediated settlements with families who sued over alleged harmful interactions between chatbots and minors; details and terms were not disclosed.

A federal judge in California found there is enough evidence to send Elon Musk's 2024 lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman to a jury trial, rejecting motions to dismiss; the trial is scheduled for March.

Nintendo will release its My Mario line in the US starting February 19, 2026, with a free Hello, Mario! app for Switch, Switch 2, iOS and Android and physical items appearing first at Nintendo’s New York and San Francisco stores; the collection will reach select retailers this spring and expand through the year.

A tech expert warned that Gmail Smart Features appearing in two settings may allow email content to be accessed for AI training. Google responded that the reports are misleading and said it does not use Gmail content to train the Gemini model.

At CES 2026 Donut Lab's CEO Marko Lehtimaki said the company's solid-state cells are in production in Finland with initial capacity of about 1 gigawatt-hour, and the company provided claims about higher energy density, faster charging, and long cycle life.