Daily Tech News Digest – 2026-07-17

Top tech headlines from BBC Technology, TechRadar and Ars Technica in the last 24 hours.

BBC Technology

• Trump Media to sell instant access to 'market-moving' social posts
  Trump Media is launching a fast, paid feed to its most influential posts for Wall Street traders.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 07:25:31 GMT

TechRadar Tech

• Ugreen's 'exceptionally powerful' NASync DXP4800 Plus NAS drops in price — and its 10GbE speed is a win for small businesses
  We found the hardware "well-considered and powerful" in our time testing this NAS system.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:25:50 +0000
• Experts warn software budgets could be set to soar as AI bills are on the rise
  AI software vendors are increasingly charging per consumption rather than a flat per-seat rate, making expenses more unpredictable.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:25:00 +0000
• Taylor Sheridan's 'most underrated series' finally releases explosive full trailer — but Lioness season 3 has already impressed me in a completely different way
  The full trailer for Lioness season 3 is finally here — but the most impressive part isn't anything seen in Taylor Sheridan's new story arc.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:12:05 +0000
• 'I thought it was satire': Sam Altman mocks Anthropic's latest AI ad that's getting widely blasted for being 'dystopian marketing slop'
  There's a new Anthropic ad for Claude in the wild, but it hasn't had quite the impact that its creators might have been hoping for.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:09:39 +0000
• Viaim OpenNote review: I wore this open-ear voice recorder all day, and its AI meeting summaries proved invaluable
  Open-ear design is more comfortable and social than standard earphones, but music is secondary to the AI feature set.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:03:12 +0000
• Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced director says the team scrapped the original hidden blade combat because it 'prioritized core combat' but is 'listening to the community' and is 'interested in what people want the most'
  Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced director Richard Knight has explained why the remaster doesn't feature the original game's hidden blade combat.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:00:38 +0000
• iPhone fans aren't happy as Apple closes a popular money-saving loophole — but there’s better news for iPad buyers
  Apple will no longer let you buy an unlocked iPhone on carrier financing direct from its website.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:58:38 +0000
• GameStop CEO says Sony's axing of physical games 'doesn't matter at all' in a statement sure to enrage gamers
  GameStop CEO shares hot take on Sony's decision to eliminate physical game copies on PlayStation, one that's only set to harm consumers rather than help.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:51:48 +0000
• This clever Anker portable projector is 19% off at Amazon — and its flippable speakers are a win for presentations and screenings
  Save big on the Anker Nebula P1i projector with 380 ANSI lumens, 4K support, and built-in Google TV.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:37:31 +0000
• What is the Codex Micro? OpenAI's first hardware gadget explained
  Confused about what the point of the Codex Micro is? Here's everything you need to know, including how it's been received by the target audience of coders.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:32:35 +0000
• The Medion Signium 27 S1 isn't going to turn the computing world upside down, but it's a surprisingly capable all-in-one desktop with a sensible price tag
  The Medion Signium 27 S1 is a capable and reasonably priced all-in-one desktop PC, but it hardly sparks excitement and the bundled peripherals are weak.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:27:57 +0000
• Teenage TfL hackers sentenced to years in prison following Scattered Spider attacks
  Two young men pleaded guilty to hacking into Transport for London in 2024 and were given long prison sentences.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:15:00 +0000
• This sneaky Lenovo promo code combo cuts almost $400 off the ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 AMD — and it works on other PCs, too
  With an AMD Ryzen 5 PRO processor, 16GB of RAM, and two stackable discounts, Lenovo's ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 AMD is an easy recommendation from me.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:04:11 +0000
• Human-led, AI-assisted testing: Why AI won’t replace penetration testers...yet.
  Why human expertise remains essential in AI-powered testing.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:00:17 +0000
• How to watch Belgian Grand Prix 2026 F1: live stream from anywhere
  All the ways to watch Belgian Grand Prix 2026 live streams online and from anywhere, and potentially for free.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000
• You can't deny it any more: physical music is back in a big way with new sales figures proving it... and no, this time it's not vinyl
  Stats prove that nostalgic CD-buying is even bigger than nostalgic vinyl-buying, which could prompt a sea change for some music lovers.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:47:56 +0000
• Windows 10 still powers one in six PCs around today — and that could be a major security issue very soon
  The average Windows 10 device has around 3x as many active CVEs as a Windows 11 device, and migration is slowing down.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:35:00 +0000
• How to watch Ann Droid online from anywhere – it's *FREE*
  Here's how to watch Ann Droid, a new British comedy series starring Diane Morgan, online from anywhere in the world, completely FREE.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:33:29 +0000
• 'The first week of pre-orders brought in $180 million' — Analysts report that GTA 6 has 'the strongest pre-order campaign ever recorded'
  Grand Theft Auto 6 reportedly achieved the strongest pre-order period ever and is on track to earn over $5 billion by the end of its launch week.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:32:22 +0000
• Nothing Phone (3) gets another price cut at Amazon — is this under-rated phone now a better buy than the Pixel 10, Galaxy S25, or iPhone 17?
  We're big fans of the Nothing Phone (3) at TechRadar — especially when it's going this cheap at Amazon.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:27:18 +0000

Ars Technica Technology

• The report oil companies are worried about: Climate attribution science
  New report says our ability to tie weather damages to climate change is improving.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:30:10 +0000
• FCC took pricey gifts from Paramount as the company needed approval for deals
  FCC chair has been gifted at least $63,000 worth of tickets by CBS or its parent company.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:15:55 +0000
• 2026 Lucid Gravity Touring review: A strong act 2
  Quick, comfortable, roomy, and agile for a large electric SUV.
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:00:30 +0000
• Rocket Report: India's Vikram-1 nears debut flight; AST to become rocket company?
  "We have done everything that could be done to test Vikram-1 on ground."
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:00:04 +0000
• SpaceX scrubs Starship launch after some of its engines didn't start
  "Now offloading propellant. Next launch attempt hopefully in a few days."
  Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:02:54 +0000
• Two Trump health nominees crash and burn in tense Senate hearing
  Both nominees flailed in their own unique ways as senators sought answers.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 22:33:24 +0000
• HP fined 1.4 billion rupees for “cartelization” of ink cartridges, toner, PCs
  Resellers threatened to ditch HP printing supplies for counterfeits.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 22:02:31 +0000
• T-Mobile bungled forced plan migration, canceling some users' free lines
  T-Mobile to restore free lines lost during plan migration, but price hikes remain.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 20:52:47 +0000
• It's official: EU will force Google to share search data and open up AI on Android
  Google says these changes could endanger user privacy and security.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 20:41:45 +0000
• xAI can’t deny Grok makes CSAM anymore. So it’s suing users.
  Elon Musk's xAI files first lawsuit against Grok user accused of making child sex images.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 20:26:23 +0000
• Fear of humanoid robots spurs human workers to strike at Hyundai auto factory
  Hyundai aims to deploy 25,000 Atlas robots starting with US factories in 2028.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 20:09:48 +0000
• Trump teleprompter aide made $100,000 betting on what Trump would say, reports say
  If only someone could have predicted it.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 19:55:46 +0000
• 2026 Toyota RAV4 plug-in: Big battery means daily drives are all-electric
  Toyota's everyday small SUV should rarely require trips to the gas station.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 19:46:22 +0000
• Now, even Russia's most elite hackers are using Clickfix to infect devices
  The social-engineering technique has primarily been a tool of financially motivated criminals.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 19:28:33 +0000
• Linus Torvalds to critics of AI coding in Linux: "Fork it. Or just walk away."
  Creator says he will "very loudly ignore" those arguing for a ban on AI tools.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 19:18:23 +0000
• We've seen helium baked off a rocky exoplanet's atmosphere
  If the large, rocky planet is losing helium, then we can infer what is left behind.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:00:15 +0000
• OnePlus confirms shutdown in the US and Europe, ending months of speculation
  OnePlus promises to continue supporting the phones it has already released.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:29:46 +0000
• Could China and Russia really destroy Starlink? Only with a boomerang.
  "We will likely have similar concerns and discussions when China fields its Starlink-like constellation."
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 16:19:28 +0000
• Energy IPOs surge as investors hunt for ways to play AI boom
  Companies coming to market are raising money at fastest pace this century.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 15:48:21 +0000
• Tesla driver who blamed crash on autopilot pressed accelerator 100%, NTSB finds
  NTSB findings back Elon Musk's claim that driver manually overrode FSD.
  Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:48:32 +0000

— Auto-generated digest