TechCapsules

Philips Hue has increased the price of its Bridge Pro, a key smart‑home lighting hub, from $99 to $139 in the United States and from €89 to €149 in Europe. The 40% hike, effective mid‑August, coincides with rising memory costs, as the device now includes 8 GB of RAM. European retailers have also raised prices on other Hue items, such as the Essential bulb 4‑pack, by €10‑20. The price change reflects broader supply‑chain pressures affecting consumer electronics worldwide.

A cult‑classic PS3 action‑adventure, Lollipop Chainsaw, returns with a sequel for PS5 titled Lollipop Chainsaw 2 Back2Back. Developed by JP Universe and published by Dragami Games and Nada Holdings, the game was showcased at Tokyo Game Show 2026 and is slated for a 2027 release. The original, created by Grasshopper Manufacture, will not return. The new title follows high‑school zombie hunter Juliet in a rebuilt San Romero, now the film‑industry hub Jaredwood, as she battles a director‑controlled [...]

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed embedding third‑party safety evaluators inside frontier AI firms, granting them access to training checkpoints, logs, and employee interviews to independently assess alignment and report incidents. OpenAI’s Sam Altman echoed the commitment, signaling a potential industry shift toward external oversight. Evaluators such as METR, Redwood Research, and FAR.AI welcomed the idea but stressed that true independence requires clear terms, possibly backed by legislation, to avoid vendor‑like constraints. The proposal aims to counter models [...]

Helldivers 2 and Horizon Forbidden West vanished from the UK Steam storefront without warning, leaving new‑buyer users unable to purchase the titles. Existing owners could still launch the games, but a greyed‑out listing displayed an error message stating the items were unavailable in the region. Sony confirmed the removal was accidental, apologized, and said it was working with Valve to restore availability. The glitch is expected to be resolved shortly, restoring full access for UK and Isle of Man customers. [...]

Google has released an Android Auto update that lets users change their Google Maps “driving avatar” directly from the car’s display. The feature, previously available only on phones, now appears in the Maps app on Android Auto alongside home, work, and alert settings. Users can tap the avatar option to select an icon and color. The update is part of a server‑side rollout, first noted in Android Auto 17.8.163744 and Maps 26.38.01.980791571, though the option remains unavailable [...]

Casper College received a $444,059 National Science Foundation grant (Award #2609718) to launch a statewide quantum workforce pipeline in Wyoming. The Innovation in Two‑Year College STEM Education program will deploy 130 portable “Quantum Trunks” across all 23 counties, host an annual summer quantum science camp for high‑school students and teachers, and introduce a new undergraduate course, Quantum Topics and Experiments. The initiative partners with Texas A&M’s Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering and the University of Wyoming, [...]

Microsoft’s Xbox broadcast at the Tokyo Game Show 2026 unveiled a slate of new titles and updates. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 received a campaign trailer featuring Mads Mikkelsen. Sega’s Crazy Taxi World Tour, ArtPlay’s Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, and Atlus’ Persona 4 Revival were showcased with fresh trailers. Hideo Kojima announced two upcoming Xbox games—OD – KNOCK and Physint—revealing Bill Skarsgård as the lead in the latter. No release dates were set.

The International Hydropower Association released the Delhi Declaration, outlining five policy priorities to unlock India’s estimated 288 GW of pumped‑hydro energy storage (PHES) potential. It urges faster project clearances, stronger revenue mechanisms, and tighter coordination between central and state bodies to meet the 100 GW PHES target by 2035‑36. The declaration calls for parallel approval processes, single‑window clearances, dedicated development zones, and market reforms that compensate PHES for ancillary services. It aligns with the Central Electricity Authority’s roadmap and [...]