Today: 7 February 2026
Subscribe

SpaceX Wins $81.6 Million U.S. Space Force Deal to Launch WSF-M2 Weather Satellite in 2027

SpaceX’s Action-Packed 48 Hours: Starlink Outage Shakes Users, Satellite Phone Service Debuts, Launch & Starship Updates

From July 24 to July 25, 2025, Starlink endured one of its largest outages, knocking tens of thousands offline with more than 60,000 outage reports before service largely returned in about 2.5 hours. Starlink’s outage was attributed by VP of Engineering Michael Nicolls to a failure of key internal software services that operate the core network, and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk publicly apologized on X. Starlink now serves over 6 million users across roughly 140 countries. On July 24, 2025, T-Mobile launched T-Satellite, a satellite-to-cell texting service, after a six‑month beta with nearly 2 million participants and up to 30,000
25 July 2025
·
Crypto News Roundup (July 24–25, 2025): Bitcoin Nears $120K, U.S. Stablecoin Law Signed, Exchange Hacks & More

Crypto News Roundup (July 24–25, 2025): Bitcoin Nears $120K, U.S. Stablecoin Law Signed, Exchange Hacks & More

Bitcoin briefly spiked to $120,000, retraced about 2%, and triggered liquidations of over 176,000 positions totaling more than $500 million in losses. On July 18, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act, creating the first federal framework for stablecoins and requiring issuers to obtain federal or qualifying state licenses with reserve and monthly disclosure standards. CoinShares became the first European crypto firm to secure a MiCA license from France’s AMF, enabling passporting across all 27 EU countries. Kitabo Inc. added Bitcoin to its balance sheet as a strategic reserve asset. Coinbase announced on July 22, 2025 that BankrCoin (BNKR),
25 July 2025
··
Space Race Heats Up: Russia’s 21-Satellite Launch, Amazon’s $140 M Bet, and a New Artemis Ally

Space Race Heats Up: Russia’s 21-Satellite Launch, Amazon’s $140 M Bet, and a New Artemis Ally

On July 25 at 1:54 a.m. ET, a Soyuz-2.1b from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome lofted 21 satellites into orbit, including two Ionosfera-M space weather satellites, Iran’s Nahid-2, and 18 rideshares. The four Ionosfera-M satellites will provide three-dimensional near-Earth space coverage to study solar wind effects on radio communications and satellites, with the first two launched in late 2024. Amazon announced a $139.5 million investment to accelerate Project Kuiper, including a new 100,000-square-foot payload processing facility at Kennedy Space Center that opened in April. Senegal joined the Artemis Accords on July 24, becoming the 56th signatory to commit to peaceful, transparent space
25 July 2025
··
Ukraine’s Sky Guardians: From MiG-29s to F-16s – Every Fighter Jet Defending Ukraine’s Skies

Ukraine’s Sky Guardians: From MiG-29s to F-16s – Every Fighter Jet Defending Ukraine’s Skies

The MiG-29 Fulcrum is described as agile, capable of speeds over Mach 2.25, with a roughly 700 km internal range, six external hardpoints, and a typical loadout of up to 4 R-73 and 2 R-27R missiles, plus the notable HARMs SEAD capability. The Su-27 Flanker serves as Ukraine’s heavyweight air superiority fighter with speeds over Mach 2.3, ferry range over 3,500 km, a combat radius around 1,500 km, 10 hardpoints, and has been observed carrying HARMs and conducting long-range strikes. The Su-24 Fencer is a swing-wing bomber capable of Mach 1.35–1.6, ferry range 2,700–3,000 km, combat radius ~600 km, eight
25 July 2025
···
AI Revolution Unleashed: GPT-5, Global Showdowns, and Tech Turmoil (July 24–25, 2025)

AI Revolution Unleashed: GPT-5, Global Showdowns, and Tech Turmoil (July 24–25, 2025)

OpenAI plans to release GPT-5 as early as August 2025, merging multiple specialized “o-series” models into a single versatile AI that can utilize all available tools. Ash, Slingshot AI’s therapy-focused AI, launched publicly after 18 months in beta with $93 million in funding and clinical advisers including a former NIMH director. Unitree Robotics unveiled the bipedal humanoid robot R1 priced at ¥39,900 (~$5,600), weighing 25 kg, and equipped with a multimodal LLM for vision and speech. The Trump AI Action Plan, a 28-page blueprint with about 90 recommendations and three executive orders, aims to roll back environmental constraints and expand
25 July 2025
··
OpenAI’s Meteoric Rise: Breakthroughs, Billions, and Backlash in 2025

OpenAI’s GPT‑5 Could Drop as Soon as August—Here’s What It Means for the Future of AI

GPT-5 could debut as early as August, according to Reuters, and will fuse several distinct systems rather than ship as a single monolith. The Verge reports mini and nano variants will launch alongside the flagship to offer tiered pricing and lower-latency or on-device use. Early testers say GPT-5 will be multimodal and agentic, able to mix text, images, audio and file manipulation inside task-running agents. There are rumors of a million-token context window with persistent memory baked into the core, enabling handling entire projects. Leaks indicate GPT-5 includes a safety and biosecurity focus with internal ‘BioSec Benchmarks’ to harden against
24 July 2025
··
Inside Vanuatu’s Digital Leap: How Satellite Internet Is Transforming Island Connectivity

Inside Vanuatu’s Digital Leap: How Satellite Internet Is Transforming Island Connectivity

Vanuatu is a Y-shaped archipelago of roughly 80 islands with a population of about 330,000, of which nearly 74% live in rural areas. A 7.3-magnitude earthquake in late 2024 severed Vanuatu’s sole international submarine cable, the Interchange Cable Network (ICN1), causing a nationwide internet outage. The ICN1 is a 1,280 Gbit/s submarine fiber cable connecting Port Vila to Suva, Fiji, and its 2014 launch expanded national bandwidth by more than 200x. A second international cable, SMART TamTam, is under development to link New Caledonia to Vanuatu and is expected online around 2025, providing redundancy and climate-sensor capabilities. Since the 2014
24 July 2025
··
China’s 2025 Drone Export Crackdown: DJI Grounded in the West While Russia Still Flies

China’s 2025 Drone Export Crackdown: DJI Grounded in the West While Russia Still Flies

In 2025 Beijing imposed sweeping new limits on drone exports, halting or sharply reducing sales to Ukraine, the United States, and Europe while shipments to Russia appear to continue. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “Chinese Mavic is open for Russians but is closed for Ukrainians,” referencing DJI’s Mavic drones used in the war. On September 1, 2024, China’s export controls took effect, banning exports of all unregulated civilian drones that could serve military uses and adding high-end infrared imaging gear, laser rangefinders, and precision inertial navigation units to the export-control list. Under the new rules, exports of drone parts
24 July 2025
·
HP Spectre vs MacBook, XPS, Yoga & Surface – The Ultimate 2025 Laptop Showdown

HP Spectre vs MacBook, XPS, Yoga & Surface – The Ultimate 2025 Laptop Showdown

HP Spectre x360 (2024 refresh) uses Intel’s 13th/14th-gen Core “Ultra” CPUs, delivering strong productivity performance and AI acceleration. In benchmarks, the Spectre x360 with an Intel Core i7 outpaced Dell XPS 13 in most tests thanks to a higher-wattage processor. The MacBook Air (M2) is fanless and achieves strong performance per watt, with PugetBench Premiere Pro showing the MacBook Air scoring about 50% higher than an Iris Xe Spectre in CPU tasks. Apple’s MacBook Pro 14/16 with M2 Pro/Max chips remains in a performance league of its own for demanding content creation, outperforming Windows ultraportables. Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023)
24 July 2025
·····
This Common Phone Feature Could Land You in Jail Abroad: Inside the Global Crackdown on GPS and Satellite Phones

This Common Phone Feature Could Land You in Jail Abroad: Inside the Global Crackdown on GPS and Satellite Phones

India bans unlicensed satellite communication and navigation devices, including Thuraya and Iridium phones and Garmin InReach, under the Indian Telegraph Act (1885) and Wireless Telegraphy Act (1933), with penalties up to three years in prison or ₹5 million in fines, and limited DoT licensing for Inmarsat devices. The 2008 Mumbai attacks involved a Thuraya satellite phone, prompting India’s tougher crackdown on civilian satphones. In March 2025 at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, three American travelers and one Australian were booked under Indian telecom laws for carrying Garmin GPS units and an Iridium satphone. Between January 2020 and September 2021, Karnataka
24 July 2025
··
Dell XPS vs MacBook Pro vs Spectre vs ThinkPad vs Surface vs ZenBook vs Razer: 2025’s Ultimate Premium Laptop Showdown

Dell XPS vs MacBook Pro vs Spectre vs ThinkPad vs Surface vs ZenBook vs Razer: 2025’s Ultimate Premium Laptop Showdown

Dell will retire the XPS brand in 2025 and replace it with a new Dell Premium lineup, though XPS models will remain on sale for now. The 2025 Dell Premium 14 and 16 use a 16:10 chassis, offer 120Hz displays, support RTX 5070 GPUs, and claim up to 27 hours of battery life in some configurations. The MacBook Pro 14 and 16 with M2 Pro/Max boast 14.2-inch 3024×1964 and 16.2-inch 3456×2234 mini-LED panels, a 16:10 aspect, 120Hz ProMotion, and around 1000 nits sustained brightness (HDR up to 1600 nits). HP Spectre x360 models offer OLED options, including a 13.5-inch 3:2
24 July 2025
········
Apple Watch Series 9 vs Galaxy Watch 6 vs Pixel Watch 2 vs Garmin Venu 3 vs Fitbit Sense 2: The Ultimate Smartwatch Showdown 2025

Apple Watch Series 9 vs Galaxy Watch 6 vs Pixel Watch 2 vs Garmin Venu 3 vs Fitbit Sense 2: The Ultimate Smartwatch Showdown 2025

Apple Watch Series 9 has ECG for AFib, SpO₂, skin-temperature tracking, continuous heart-rate monitoring, on-device Siri via the S9 chip, and about 18 hours of typical battery life. Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 adds a bioimpedance body composition sensor, skin-temperature sensor for cycle tracking, Thermo Check ambient temperature, and around 2 days of battery life, with the Classic model featuring a rotating bezel. Google Pixel Watch 2 introduces a multipath optical heart-rate sensor, continuous electrodermal activity for stress, a skin-temperature sensor, improved heart-rate accuracy (within about 5 BPM of a chest strap in tests), and a 24-hour battery life. Garmin Venu
24 July 2025
·
Saudi Arabia’s Drone Laws in 2025: Strict Rules, New Updates & How They Compare Globally

Saudi Arabia’s Drone Laws in 2025: Strict Rules, New Updates & How They Compare Globally

Drones are legal in Saudi Arabia but are strictly regulated, with both recreational and commercial use requiring adherence to GACA regulations. Drones weighing 250 grams or more must be registered with GACA, with a certificate valid for 3 years and a unique registration ID affixed to the drone. All drone pilots must hold a GACA Remote Pilot Certificate (RPC) under GACAR Part 61, with a minimum age of 18, English proficiency, medical fitness, and passing an Aeronautical Knowledge Test. The maximum allowable altitude for drones is 120 meters above ground level, unless explicit authorization from GACA allows higher flight. Drones
24 July 2025
World Court Climate Bombshell, Hydrogen Stalls, and EV Breakthroughs – Climate Tech News Roundup (July 23–24, 2025)

World Court Climate Bombshell, Hydrogen Stalls, and EV Breakthroughs – Climate Tech News Roundup (July 23–24, 2025)

The United Nations’ International Court of Justice on July 23 issued an advisory opinion declaring climate change an urgent and existential threat and urged states to cooperate to achieve concrete emission reduction targets, warning of potential compensation claims for wealthy polluters under international law. On July 23, the Trump administration moved to dismantle the EPA’s endangerment finding by arguing federal law does not require carbon emission limits, with a draft proposal to overturn the 2009 finding aiming to derail virtually all U.S. climate pollution rules. In the UK, Masdar (UAE) and Iberdrola (Spain) secured £3.6 billion financing for the 1.4
24 July 2025
Global Robotics Revolution – Breakthroughs, Big Deals, and Bold Moves (July 23–24, 2025)

Global Robotics Revolution – Breakthroughs, Big Deals, and Bold Moves (July 23–24, 2025)

The White House unveiled an AI Action Plan to cement U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence and robotics, including open-source models and reduced regulatory red tape. The plan proposed punishing states with burdensome AI regulations by cutting their federal tech funding. AI advisor David Sacks stressed that the U.S. must win the AI race through innovation, infrastructure, and global partnerships while prioritizing American workers and avoiding Orwellian uses. Taiwan launched a $510 billion initiative to boost its AI and robotics sectors, aiming to generate $510 billion in value by 2040 and to implement the Ten Major AI Infrastructure Projects. Hangzhou-based Unitree
24 July 2025
·
XR Revolution Unfolds: Major Spatial Computing News (July 23–24, 2025)

XR Revolution Unfolds: Major Spatial Computing News (July 23–24, 2025)

Apple WWDC 2025: Vision Pro gains visionOS 26 with integrated generative AI, smarter 3D widgets, enhanced photos and videos, and multi-user FaceTime in virtual spaces, plus support for external controllers including PlayStation VR2 Sense for 6DoF tracking and haptics. Bloomberg reports an upgraded Vision Pro with a faster M4 chip and lighter design could arrive as early as this year, though likely not at a lower price. Google and Samsung’s Android XR alliance centers on Project Moohan, a secretive headset running Android XR with ultra-high‑resolution micro‑OLED displays and a limited initial run of about 100,000 units in 2025, powered by
24 July 2025
·······
Shockwaves in Silicon: Global Chip Industry’s Two-Day Upheaval (July 23–24, 2025)

Shockwaves in Silicon: Global Chip Industry’s Two-Day Upheaval (July 23–24, 2025)

SK Hynix plans to double its sales of high-bandwidth memory chips this year to meet surging AI demand and will boost CAPEX, especially for HBM production. Intel’s new CEO Lip-Bu Tan is shifting from the 18A process to the 14A process to make Intel Foundry Services more competitive and catch up to TSMC. Nvidia’s high-end H20 AI chips sales to China were allowed to resume by the U.S. government, a win that bolsters demand for TSMC’s most advanced manufacturing lines. SK Hynix posted a record Q2 with operating income up 69% to ₩9.2 trillion ($6.7 billion) and revenue up 35%
24 July 2025
Quantum Tech Leap: Breakthroughs, Billion‑Dollar Bets & Bold Moves (July 23–24, 2025)

Quantum Tech Leap: Breakthroughs, Billion‑Dollar Bets & Bold Moves (July 23–24, 2025)

On July 23, 2025, French researchers led by Eleni Diamanti published a protocol in PRX Quantum to quantify the accuracy of quantum information transmissions with untrusted devices, enabling verification of entangled photon messages even with simulated loss and attacks while preserving quantum data. Two independent groups reported that diamond-based quantum sensors could operate more than 100 sensor qubits in parallel using NV-center diamonds, marking a ninefold increase toward scalable quantum sensing. On July 24, 2025, SuperQ Quantum Computing Inc. announced its first commercial revenue from a project with D-Wave and Verge Ag to optimize route planning for autonomous farm robots
24 July 2025
·
Battle of the Titans: Microsoft Surface vs Apple, Dell, HP, Lenovo & Samsung – The Ultimate 2025–2026 Laptop & Tablet Showdown

AI-Powered Gadgets and Game-Changing Tech: Consumer Electronics Roundup (July 23–24, 2025)

Microsoft unveiled the Surface Laptop 5G, a 13.8-inch business notebook powered by Intel’s Core Ultra with a neural processing unit capable of 40+ trillion operations per second and an integrated 5G modem, shipping in late August. Dell announced the Precision Pro Max 18 Plus, a workstation-class laptop supporting up to 256GB of RAM via CAMM2 memory modules, expected to ship later this year. Oculus founder Palmer Luckey polled users on X about buying a Made in America laptop at a 20% price premium, with almost two-thirds saying they would pay more. Samsung’s 2025 Neo QLED lineup introduces Samsung Vision AI,
24 July 2025
1 … 1,585 1,586 1,587 1,588 1,589 … 1,631

Stock Market Today

Applied Digital stock jumps 25% as AI data-center names rebound — what’s next for APLD

Applied Digital stock jumps 25% as AI data-center names rebound — what’s next for APLD

7 February 2026
Applied Digital Corporation shares jumped 25.52% Friday to $34.95, then slipped to $34.60 after hours. The company reported fiscal Q2 revenue up 250% to $126.6 million and signed leases for 600 MW of data center capacity in North Dakota. Applied Digital broke ground on a new 430‑MW campus in the southern U.S. in January. Financing includes a $100 million promissory note with 8% interest, paid in kind.
Eli Lilly stock pops as FDA targets cheap weight-loss copycats — what to know before Monday

Eli Lilly stock pops as FDA targets cheap weight-loss copycats — what to know before Monday

7 February 2026
Eli Lilly shares rose 3.7% to $1,058.18 Friday after the FDA said it would act against telehealth firm Hims & Hers for marketing a $49 compounded weight-loss pill. The move followed a sharp selloff Thursday when Hims announced plans to sell a version of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy. Investors remain uncertain how aggressively regulators will police copycat drugs and pricing in the obesity drug market.
Saudi Aramco share price set for Sunday test after Tadawul ends market-making deal

Saudi Aramco share price set for Sunday test after Tadawul ends market-making deal

7 February 2026
Saudi Exchange approved Merrill Lynch KSA’s exit as market maker for Saudi Aramco, effective Feb. 8. Aramco shares closed at 25.60 riyals Thursday, down 0.06, with 22.1 million traded. The Tadawul index fell 1.3% as Brent crude dropped to $67.93. Aramco set March official selling prices at $2.10 above Argus for North America and $0.65 above ICE Brent for Western Europe.
Go toTop