TechCapsules

Gigaphoton, a Komatsu subsidiary that has supplied over 2,500 KrF and ArF excimer lasers to DUV scanners for 26 years, announced at SEMICON West that it is expanding beyond lithography into four new fab applications. The company unveiled the G300K, a 248 nm KrF laser delivering 300 W at up to 4 kHz, designed for ultra‑fine ablation of advanced‑packaging substrates. Using mask‑projection optics, the system can drill multiple vias simultaneously, achieving diameters as small as 3 µm with near‑vertical sidewalls and minimal [...]

Google updated its privacy policy on October 16, 2026 to clarify that enabling personalized AI features in Search or Gemini can allow the company to serve targeted ads based on data from other Google services such as Gmail, Drive, and Photos. The policy states that ads are not personalized by default, but if users opt to share content through the Personal Intelligence feature, that data may inform ad targeting. Users can opt out by disconnecting apps or disabling personalized [...]

On October 23, 2026, Apple Music’s web portal revealed a hidden, fully functional virtual iPod on its 404 error page, timed to the 25th anniversary of Steve Jobs’s original iPod announcement. Users who long‑press or right‑click the URL https://music.apple.com/404 and select “Open” in a browser are presented with an interactive replica that mimics the classic click‑wheel interface, complete with scrolling, selection sounds and a progress bar for up to roughly 1,000 tracks. The Easter egg, discovered by blogger Edward Munn, [...]

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney publicly denounced Valve’s mandatory AI disclosure policy for Steam games, calling it “abhorrent.” Sweeney argues that requiring developers to label AI usage forces them into political statements that could attract harassment. He has previously criticized Valve’s approach, comparing it to a “Scarlet Letter,” and highlighted the growing prevalence of generative AI in game development. Valve’s policy mandates developers disclose AI involvement, citing examples like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. Sweeney’s comments [...]

At TechCrunch Disrupt, Iconiq partner Anu Bharadwaj, Sapphire Ventures partner Rajeev Dham and Superhuman Mail founder Rahul Vohra warned that AI‑driven startups are inflating product‑market‑fit metrics. Bharadwaj said pilots are easy to secure but converting them to production is the real hurdle, and investors are being fed ambiguous revenue figures such as “ARR” versus “run rate.” She highlighted the practice of counting short‑term pilots in annualized run‑rate calculations as a red flag, especially when a handful of [...]

A life‑size gallium statue of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis melted in Tallahassee on October 23, 2026, as part of the “DENIAL” installation by climate‑action group 350 Action. The sculpture, which melts at 85.6 °F, was unveiled ahead of midterm elections and Climate Week NYC to protest DeSantis’s 2024 repeal of the phrase “climate change” from state law. The piece uses 3D scanning and printing for photorealism and urges voters to support climate‑conscious candidates.

Trailmark Games and Four Trees Media have released Warrior Cats: Clans of the Forest, an action‑adventure RPG based on the popular Warriors book series, now available on the PlayStation Store for $29.99. The title lets players create and customize their own cat, choosing fur, markings, and accessories, and then explore four distinct campaign settings that reflect each Clan’s culture and lore. Players can visit and decorate dens, engage in combat with varied stances, and explore forests, marshes, and sacred locations. The game [...]

Google Messages for Android is launching an opt‑in Enhanced Protection mode to combat spam and scams. The new feature adds three core capabilities: Scam Detection, which uses cloud Gemini models and Android’s Private AI Compute to analyze message context and identify sophisticated attacks; enhanced link protection, employing on‑device Gemini Nano and real‑time web signals to assess link safety; and redesigned warnings that give users more time and context before tapping unfamiliar links. The update is available on [...]