The everyday tech stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
Thinking Machines' new Inkling 2 Small scores like a Google model in one AI test but costs far less to run. It is not widely available yet.
Read more: New AI model from Thinking Machines matches a Google rival at a lower costBluesky logged its highest daily posts, replies and likes of 2026 on election night, a sign of where people go when big news breaks.
Read more: Bluesky had its busiest day of 2026 on election nightHumble Robotics raised $51 million to build driverless electric trucks with no cab, aiming at short routes that carry most US freight by weight.
Read more: Startup raises $51M for driverless electric trucks with no cabApple shipped 27.5% fewer iPads in the third quarter, yet still sold more tablets than anyone, as the whole market hit its lowest level in nearly three years.
Read more: iPad sales fell 27.5% in a quarter, but Apple still leads tabletsiOS 27.3, due next month, adds a Gym Strength plan to Apple Fitness+, which could make the top Apple One tier worth a second look.
Read more: Apple's top subscription bundle gets a new strength workout planThe RCMP says scammers are faking its Ontario communications centre number, so a call that looks official on your screen may not be real.
Read more: Scammers are faking police phone numbers in OntarioThe Nasdaq fell 5.5% on Thursday, a record dollar drop, after weak AI earnings and Democratic wins. Funds and local power bills could feel it.
Read more: Tech stocks lose $2.5 trillion in one day after election and weak AI earningsApple Messages for Business now lets approved brands send an invitation to iPhone customers, who can accept it to start a chat with a verified sender.
Read more: Apple adds a way for brands to invite customers into Messages chatsGoogle's Find Hub on Android can now alert you when a tracker is separated from your phone, so you can catch a forgotten item before you walk away.
Read more: Google's Find Hub now warns you when you leave a tracker behindOpenAI's new ChatGPT Slides builds decks inside the chatbot, but reports say Japanese text can go wrong when you export to PDF.
Read more: ChatGPT can now build slide decks, but Japanese PDFs can breakA new test of AI agents on simulated professional work found none scored above 12 percent, a reality check for anyone planning to hand real jobs to AI.
Read more: Top AI agents finish barely 12 percent of real office-style workThree recent cases in British Columbia show scammers using a pharmacy, a police phone number and a real person's name to get card details and personal information.
Read more: Scammers are posing as your pharmacy, police and friends this holiday seasonIf YouTube's watch page looks half dark and half light, it is not a glitch. YouTube says it is a test, so your phone and settings are fine.
Read more: YouTube says the half-dark, half-light watch page is a testApple took about half of global phone revenue in Q3 as the average iPhone sold for a record $1,031, and rising memory costs are pushing prices up.
Read more: Apple takes half of all phone sales money worldwide in Q3WhatsApp is reportedly testing dotted underlines on phone numbers, dates, addresses and emails in chats, so one tap can call, save or open a map.
Read more: WhatsApp tests tappable phone numbers, dates and addresses in chatsNvidia's RTX Spark laptops and desktops can run several AI tools at once on the device itself, which Microsoft's Copilot+ PCs never really managed.
Read more: Nvidia's new RTX Spark computers run real AI without the internetSamsung's next phone software, One UI 9.5, could drop the Calendar month grid and add a Health journal. Galaxy owners may notice both changes.
Read more: Samsung's next phone update may change Calendar and add a Health journalThe FAA says it is replacing 1980s-era systems, some tied to floppy disks, at air traffic control sites. The rollout is fast, and a watchdog has warned about planning.
Read more: The FAA is finally dropping floppy disks at air traffic control sitesA CNET guide lists simple settings that limit what smart cameras, doorbells and speakers collect about you, your kids and your visitors.
Read more: Ten simple ways to keep your smart home from watching youMacPaw added two tools to CleanMyMac that clear space in Gmail and flag memory-hungry Chrome tabs, but only subscribers get them.
Read more: CleanMyMac can now tidy your Gmail inbox and slow Chrome tabsA now-fixed flaw let attackers get around ChatGPT's Lockdown Mode and possibly pull chat data out without the user clicking anything.
Read more: Researchers find a way around ChatGPT's strictest privacy settingFake OpenAI, SpaceX and Anthropic event pages are tricking employees into handing over Microsoft and Google work sessions, even with two-step login on.
Read more: Fake AI and SpaceX event invites are stealing work loginsA CNET writer let Meta's Muse AI agent order candy and it added a paid Instacart plan he refused. Here is why checking afterward matters.
Read more: AI Shopping Helper Signed Up for a Subscription I Told It to SkipApple has opened public betas of iOS 27.3 and macOS Golden Gate 27.3, but the safer move for most people is to wait for the December release.
Read more: Apple opens public testing of its next iPhone and Mac update
