TechCapsules

Apple Music expanded its global footprint on Wednesday, adding Albania, Brunei, Burkina Faso, and Pakistan to its streaming roster. The move brings the service to 104 countries, 11 years after its 2015 launch in over 100 markets. The expansion follows recent updates, including countdown clocks for album releases and the opening of the Apple Music Hall in London. Apple Pay also debuted in India that day, marking a significant Services rollout. The new territories reflect Apple's ongoing [...]

Apple Pay has launched in India on a limited basis, initially supporting only Visa and MasterCard credit cards issued by Axis Bank. The service does not yet work with cards from other major banks such as State Bank of India or HDFC Bank, nor with the local RuPay network. Apple plans to charge a 0.2 percent transaction fee, with terms still under negotiation with other banks. The payment method will be accepted at millions of merchants, including [...]

Yellow.ai unveiled Nexus EDGE, an agentic desktop application that integrates its Nexus Universal Agentic Interface directly into employees’ computers. The tool automatically detects and resolves IT, HR, and operations problems on the device, using the employee’s existing role-based permissions. Unlike traditional search assistants that merely provide answers, Nexus EDGE executes remediation steps in real time, drawing on the company’s knowledge base, SOPs, and enterprise systems. The launch introduces a new category, Employee Experience Automation (EX Automation), extending [...]

Cloudflare announced plans to launch a public Certificate Authority (CA) that will issue both traditional TLS certificates and post‑quantum Merkle Tree Certificates (MTCs). The company will acquire GlobalSign’s root key material and apply for inclusion in major browser root stores, ensuring immediate backward compatibility. MTCs batch certificate requests into a Merkle tree, signing only the tree head to reduce signature size and maintain auditability. Cloudflare will pilot the system on its edge network, with full production issuance [...]

Factory co‑founder and CEO Matan Grinberg fired VC Chris Degnan from his board‑advisor role after alleging Degnan leaked confidential information to Factory’s main competitor, Cognition. Degnan, who had spent 11 years as Snowflake’s chief revenue officer, announced his new position as Cognition’s chief revenue officer two hours later and denied the accusations, claiming he resigned voluntarily. The dispute follows Factory’s recent $200 million raise at a $5 billion valuation and Cognition’s $2 billion funding round, underscoring heightened tensions among AI‑focused venture [...]

Microsoft has released WSL Containers as a general‑availability feature, enabling Windows users to build, run, and manage Linux containers directly from the wsl command line. The update includes wslc.exe, a Docker‑style CLI, and a WSL Containers API packaged in Microsoft.WSL.Containers, supporting stdin/stdout, file mounts, networking, and GPU access. The new architecture spawns a user‑level wslcsession.exe process, improving isolation and security, and introduces Consommé networking for better VPN and firewall compatibility. [...]

Edmunds has released a list of the top ten used SUVs for families, highlighting models such as the Kia Sportage, Toyota Grand Highlander, Honda CR‑V, Chevrolet Traverse, Lincoln Navigator, and Rivian R1S. The article details each vehicle’s strengths, including the CR‑V’s spacious cabin and hybrid fuel economy, the Sportage Hybrid’s low price and cargo capacity, and the Traverse’s hands‑free driving system. It also notes towing limits, infotainment updates, and warranty coverage, helping buyers match vehicle features to [...]

AMD announced an $8.2 billion stock acquisition of World Labs, a 2024‑founded San Francisco AI startup specializing in spatial intelligence. The deal, slated for completion by the end of 2026 pending regulatory approval, will be paid entirely in AMD shares. World Labs develops 3D environment models that generate, reconstruct, and simulate spatial scenes from text, images, and video, with applications in robotics, design, and scientific research. The acquisition aims to broaden AMD’s portfolio beyond processors and accelerators to include [...]