Tech News Roundup — July 17, 2026 (AM)
Lead paragraph — this morning’s tech press spans three eras at once. Microsoft is open-sourcing a 30-year-old IRC client that helped give the world Comic Sans; the Wayland display-server project shipped a stable 1.26 release; and a hobbyist dropped an X11 server written entirely in x86_64 assembly. On the consumer side, Google is teasing the Pixel 11 ahead of an August 12 launch, the EU is forcing Google to give AI rivals access to Android, and both Roblox and Fortnite are racing to put generative AI tools in their creators’ hands. Streaming and regulation round out the headlines, with Netflix disclosing that about 300 titles used generative AI in the latest quarter and New York’s governor turning to AI to scrub the state’s rulebook.
Apple
- OLED iPad Mini arrives as soon as October, and Apple is already lifting prices again. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports an OLED iPad Mini is heading for an October launch, the most significant Mini refresh since 2021, with a price hike now expected on top of last month’s $100 bump to the current model. AppleCare Plus for Mac and iPad is also rising. [The Verge]
Google & Android
Google officially confirms Pixel 11 and shows off “Pixel Glow.” Google’s Made by Google event is locked in for August 12; the company confirmed the Pixel 11 name and showed the first look at the new “Pixel Glow” lighting feature. [Pplware]
EU orders Google to give rival AI assistants access to Android. The European Commission handed down two decisions requiring Google to open Android and Search data to rival AI assistants, a long-running DMA fight that Google spent years resisting. The Verge argues the move is actually a regulatory win for Google because the company has played Brussels’ AI-rules game more skilfully than Apple. [The Verge]
NotebookLM gets renamed to “Gemini Notebook.” Google is rebranding NotebookLM, its AI research notebook, as Gemini Notebook. [The Verge]
Microsoft
- Microsoft Comic Chat, the 1996 IRC client that helped popularise Comic Sans, is now open source. Microsoft open-sourced Comic Chat to mark its 30th anniversary, with Scott Hanselman posting the news alongside a screenshot of the app running on Windows 11. The source code is live on GitHub at microsoft/comic-chat and the build still works as an IRC client today. [Windows Central] [Phoronix]
- Six new Windows 11 Insider features land, including a “Cloud rebuild” recovery option. Build 26300.8772 in the Experimental channel introduces Cloud rebuild, a WinRE option that re-downloads Windows 11 and drivers without needing a bootable USB, plus a redesigned Account Control flyout. Other changes include Taskbar position settings (top, left, right), a unified Windows Update that aims to drop monthly reboots to one, a free Windows 11 Home → Pro Education upgrade path for K-12, and a major overhaul of Windows Search that prioritises local results over web clutter. [Windows Central]
Linux & Open Source
Wayland 1.26 released with a new pointer-warp event. Simon Ser announced the stable Wayland 1.26 release, headlined by a new pointer-warp event for compositors. [Phoronix]
KDE KWin gains server-side drop shadows in Plasma 6.8. The server-side drop-shadow feature has been merged into KWin ahead of the KDE Plasma 6.8 release. [Phoronix]
FreeBSD intern is porting AMD’s ROCm compute stack to BSD. A FreeBSD Foundation intern is working on a BSD port of AMD’s ROCm compute stack, building on the ROCm 7.14 release that shipped as the first production build using TheRock. [Phoronix]
AMD’s GAIA 0.22 lands ahead of next week’s Advancing AI event. AMD shipped GAIA 0.22, the latest version of its open-source AI companion project for emails, on top of Lemonade 11.0 and ROCm 7.14. [Phoronix]
Hardware
- An X11 server written entirely in x86_64 assembly lands. A Phoronix reader shared Frame, an X11 server implemented in pure x86_64 assembly with heavy LLM assistance, following the earlier Rust + Claude Code YSERVER project. [Phoronix]
- Tesla driver overrode FSD “100 percent” in fatal Texas crash, NTSB confirms. NTSB’s preliminary report says the Tesla Model 3 that crashed into a Katy, Texas home in June, killing a 76-year-old woman, was travelling above 70mph in a 30mph zone after the driver manually floored the accelerator to override Full Self-Driving. [The Verge]
Gaming
Roblox will let users build games with AI directly inside its mobile app. Roblox is rolling out mobile AI game creation that builds on its earlier AI world-models preview, AI 3D-asset foundation model, and developer chatbot. [The Verge]
Fortnite ships 36 AI-powered character “personas” on July 30. Epic is letting Fortnite creators publish experiences with AI-voiced NPCs starting July 30, with 36 launch characters including Agent Jonesy, Peely, Fishstick, and Cuddle Team Leader. Epic’s first AI character was last year’s Darth Vader NPC voiced by James Earl Jones. [The Verge]
Planet Zoo 2 trailer spotlights lions and animal welfare. Frontier dropped a new Planet Zoo 2 trailer showcasing lions, emotions, and animal welfare as new gameplay hooks. [Pplware]
Splatoon Raiders preorders still $10 cheaper at Walmart before launch. Walmart is still honouring the $49.99 preorder price on the physical Switch 2 edition ahead of Splatoon Raiders’ July 23 release, matching the digital price. [The Verge]
AI / ML
Netflix used generative AI on roughly 300 titles, mostly in post-production. Netflix disclosed in its Q2 shareholder letter that “around 300” titles used generative AI, primarily for enhanced crowds, historical battle sequences, and worldbuilding establishing shots in shows including The American Experiment, Glory, and Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri. [The Verge]
New York governor Kathy Hochul is using AI to audit every state rule. Governor Hochul told Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast her team is running AI over every rule, regulation, and policy to find outdated laws, citing examples like a $25 fee to take a dog hunting and a permit requirement for pregnant people working after midnight. [The Verge]
Google’s AI regulation game outpaces Apple’s. A separate Verge analysis argues Google has played Brussels’ regulatory game more shrewdly than Apple, after the EU ordered Google (but not Apple) to open up Android AI access under the DMA. [The Verge]
Kalshi says it caught Trump’s teleprompter operator insider trading. ABC News reports federal investigators believe Gabriel Perez, Trump’s teleprompter operator since 2016, used inside information to bet on Kalshi “mentions” markets predicting what Trump would say during more than a dozen events. [The Verge]
Proton’s CTO on trust, Lumo, and the foundation model. Proton CTO Bart Butler sat down with Decoder to discuss Proton’s transition to a Swiss nonprofit foundation, the launch of Lumo 2.0 as an in-house AI alternative for privacy-sensitive enterprise workloads, and the company’s threat to leave Switzerland and other EU countries if surveillance laws continue to tighten. [The Verge]
Privacy & Policy
Meta will alert parents if teens discuss self-harm with AI. Meta rolled out a new safety feature that notifies parents or guardians when young users discuss self-harm in conversations with AI on Meta’s platforms. [Pplware]
EU “digital passport” claim is misleading. Pplware debunks viral social-media claims that the EU will require a digital ID just to access the internet, explaining what the proposed age-verification rules actually cover. [Pplware]
In Brief
Chrome Remote Desktop: access your PC from anywhere. [Pplware]
xAI sues a Grok user over sexual deepfakes. [Pplware]
Range Rover confirms its second all-electric vehicle. [Pplware]
XPENG L03 lands in Europe with AI, fast charging, and aggressive pricing. [Pplware]
Trade Republic opens a Portuguese branch and rolls out a Portuguese IBAN. [Pplware]
PSP warns of “cloned profile” scams in Portugal. [Pplware]
Portuguese court employee shared confidential data on Discord. [Pplware]
Samsung’s 55-inch Frame art TV is $200 off. [The Verge]
Ecovacs’ self-cleaning Deebot X11 hits a new low price. [The Verge]
Ninja’s microwave air fryer aims to fix soggy reheated pizza. [The Verge]
Why are people still buying CDs? Physical music sales are up 16% YoY. [The Verge]
A 16" Intel Ultra Core 7 laptop deal timed for summer exams. [Windows Central]
How to Install Lunarr on Your Asustor NAS. [Marius Hosting]
Tech News roundup compiled from the TT-RSS Tech feed. 36 articles from 7 sources summarised across Linux, AI, gaming, hardware, and consumer gadgets.