Tech News Roundup — July 12, 2026 (PM)

Lead stories: Apple sues OpenAI alleging misuse of hardware secrets in the next-gen AI-device race; Microsoft readies deeper Windows 11-Android coupling through a redesigned Phone Link experience and a wider Windows-K2 design pass; Xbox ports Call of Duty: Black Ops 1+2 to PlayStation 5 — and promptly tops the PlayStation charts, leaving Xbox fans fuming. Below: a Linux 7.2-rc3 cluster from Phoronix (RISC-V firmware, Dreamcast driver fixes, WiFi-driver hardening), Meta’s emotional-monitoring wearable patent, Netflix’s live-TV-channel experiment, and a Verge-only look at the AI-data-center backlash.

Apple & OpenAI

• Apple sues OpenAI over AI hardware secrets. Apple has opened a new legal front against OpenAI, alleging the company used trade secrets in its next-generation AI hardware projects. The lawsuit could reshape the race to ship AI-native consumer devices and lands alongside Apple’s ongoing push to keep its silicon roadmap tightly in-house. Pplware

Microsoft & Windows

• Windows 11 is about to feel more like your phone. Microsoft is planning deeper Windows 11-Android integration through a beefed-up Phone Companion in the Start menu — recent activity, notifications, and call controls will surface without launching the full Phone Link app — alongside broader Windows-K2 design-consistency work. Separately, the Start menu’s search box is set to grow by four pixels (a preview-build slip that’s being read as a small-but-signal commitment to fixing Windows 11’s mismatched UI). Windows Central Windows Central

Gaming

• Xbox ships a PlayStation “exclusive” — and it’s outselling GTA 6. Microsoft and Activision quietly ported Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and Black Ops 2 to PlayStation 5; the games are now #1 and #2 trending on the PlayStation Store, ahead of Grand Theft Auto VI. Xbox players are unhappy — not from gatekeeping but because the Xbox 360 backwards-compatible versions are overrun with hackers and the new PS5 ports aren’t. The basic ports (just a resolution bump) deliberately avoid extra polish so as not to rub more salt in the Xbox wound. Windows Central

• A family bonding weekend with Blue Prince. A personal essay on how the room-exploration roguelike Blue Prince became a shared activity for the writer’s spouse and 11-year-old son, including weekend sessions piecing together the in-game mansion. [The Verge]

Linux & Open Source

• Linux 7.2-rc3 lands with a SEGA Dreamcast surprise. The 7.2-rc3 merge window brought a stack of fixes to the SEGA Dreamcast drivers — not a headline feature, but a reminder that the kernel still maintains the 1998-era game console. Phoronix
• Realtek RTL8723BS WiFi driver hardened against rogue APs. Most of the staging fixes that landed ahead of 7.2-rc3 target the Realtek RTL8723BS — plugging out-of-bounds behaviour when connecting to malicious or misconfigured WiFi access points. Phoronix
• HFI BIOS: a POST-style power-on screen for RISC-V. The Harmonic Firmware Initiative is building a generic, standardized power-on firmware experience for RISC-V boards — graphics-card initialization plus a BIOS setup utility — bringing RISC-V closer to the out-of-box experience x86 users take for granted. Phoronix

Gadgets & Privacy

• Meta patents an always-listening emotional wearable. Meta has registered a patent for a wearable that listens to everything the user says throughout the day, infers emotional state from vocal cues (sighs, laughs, medication mentions), and uses that data to tailor content. Privacy advocates will read this as a logical extension of Meta’s ad-targeting playbook into affective computing. Pplware

Streaming & Media

• Netflix considers adding live TV channels. Netflix is reportedly exploring one of the most significant pivots in its history: bundling live television channels into its streaming platform, on top of its on-demand catalog. The move would put Netflix in more direct competition with traditional cable bundles and YouTube TV. Pplware

Infrastructure & AI

• The fight against AI data centers is just beginning. This week’s Stepback newsletter surveys the growing local backlash to hyperscale data-center buildouts — yard signs, municipal hearings, utility-rate pushback in counties hosting new AI-training campuses. The pattern is repeating from Virginia to Oregon, and the politics are still catching up. [The Verge]

In Brief

• PTES — the penetration-testing standard worth knowing. A primer on the Penetration Testing Execution Standard, the structured methodology that separates a real pentest from a vulnerability scan. Pplware
• Sniffnet: a free, GUI-friendly network monitor. A round-up of Sniffnet, the Rust-based, real-time network sniffer that’s approachable enough for non-admins. Pplware
• Recovering money sent to the wrong MB WAY number. A Portuguese consumer-rights explainer on legally clawing back funds transferred to the wrong recipient via the MB WAY payment system. Pplware

Roundup compiled from the TTRSS Tech feed. 14 articles from 4 sources (Pplware, Windows Central, Phoronix, The Verge) clustered into 11 stories.