USB accessories, passwords, Norovirus, microplastics, Confetti, spreadsheets, The Beatles, Alexa AI, Google Pixel 4a, Viking penny and tennis balls. I have to admit, my focus hasn’t been as closely tuned to technology this week as normal. Over the weekend I celebrated a milestone birthday with a neighbor and since then I’ve had my Kansas City Chiefs on my mind. In between I’ve been upgrading Web sites for myself and my clients. There was still news in the technology world and I’ve rounded up the headlines below.

• Microsoft Announces Intel Versions of Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7
• Acer Swift 16 AI Review: The Perfect Midrange Entertainment Laptop but for 1 Flaw
• My favorite USB-C accessory just got a major functionality upgrade – and it’s just as cheap
  ***** Get USB C Magnetic Adapter PD 240W (2 Pack) at Amazon *****
• This cheap USB power meter is shockingly accurate – and I highly recommend it
  ***** Get USB C Tester Power Meter at Amazon *****

• Cracked.io Helped Hackers Target 17 Million US Users Before Shutdown
• Deepseek’s AI model proves easy to jailbreak – and worse
• Stop Changing Your (Strong, Unique) Passwords So Much
• Spyware Vendor Allegedly Targeted 90 WhatsApp Users With Zero-Click Attack
• Chinese-Made Patient Monitor Contains a Secret Backdoor
• 8 Million Requests Later, We Made The SolarWinds Supply Chain Attack Look Amateur
• Google Fixes Android Bug Potentially Exploited by Law Enforcement

• FDA approves new class of painkiller – the first in more than 20 years
• 7 Need-to-Know Facts About Norovirus
• Stem cells used to partially repair damaged hearts
• Our Brains Are Soaking Up Microplastics More Than Other Organs

• Microsoft’s latest optional patch is a bug-fix bonanza for Windows 11 24H2
• Microsoft 365 to Remove VPN Protection From Defender App
• Apple Calendar’s ‘Confetti’ could offer three advantages over competitors
• Write This Down: 24 Things You Didn’t Realize Apple’s Notes App Could Do
• Apple launches Invites, a new app for creating custom invitations
• Spreadsheets for exploring scenarios
• Dumping open source for proprietary rarely pays off: Better to stick a fork in it

• Google quietly announces its next flagship AI model
• Books written by humans are getting their own certification
• Amazon’s Music-Streaming Service Is About to Get More Expensive
• Offline Audio: How to Convert YouTube Videos to MP3 Files
• AI won The Beatles a Grammy 55 years after they broke up
• RTX 50-Series GPUs Aren’t Melting Power Cables, But 4090s Still Are
• DeepSeek Sees Huge Surge to Become Second Most Popular AI Chatbot
• I Chatted With Bill Gates About How He Became the Ultimate Computer Nerd
• AMD Sees Record Desktop Processor Sales, Thanks to Ryzen 9800X3D
• USPS and Shipments From China: What’s Actually Going On With Your Packages
• I opened up a cheap 600W charger to test its build, and found ‘goo’ inside
• Amazon Plans to Unveil Next-Generation Alexa AI Later This Month

• Apple Needs to Steal This Galaxy S25 Ultra Feature for the iPhone
• Feast Your Eyes on What the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus Cameras Can Do
• Google Pixel 4a’s ruinous “Battery Performance” update is a bewildering mess
• I thought a privacy screen protector was a great idea – until I put one on my Galaxy S25 Ultra

• Lucid CEO: This Is How Elon Musk Picked Tesla’s Strange Charge Port Placement
• Ford Opens 2025 Mustang Mach-E Orders With Reduced Price, Added Heat Pump
• Trump Threats Haven’t Scared Off EV Buyers Yet, But How Long Will That Last?
• Cruise Robotaxis Are Dead, But Their Tech Will Live On in GM Cars You Can Buy
• Why it makes perfect sense for this bike to have two gears and two chains
• Tesla’s 2024 financial results are out—and they’re terrible

Each week we’ll share a meme that we find thought provoking or just plain funny.

“If one day you see me in my room, all nervous, yelling and screaming, with lots of snacks and supporting the Chiefs, leave me alone, that’s exactly where I want to be.”

• How Often Should You Wash Your Towels? The Answer Is Shocking
• Masters of the Knight: The Art of Chess Carving in India
• The Mystery of Maine’s Viking Penny
• The World’s Oldest Anus Has an Unexplained Glow in Florida
• The Vinland Map: How a Mysterious Forgery Fooled Experts for Decades
• Meet Bathynomus Vaderi, the Foot-Long Sea Bug Named After Darth Vader
• Why Do Dogs Love Tennis Balls?
• Atlas Obscura’s Juiciest Pope Drama

If you see some important tech news that you feel we should share with our readers, please let us know and we’ll consider including it in our next post.