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The first rival Android app store just arrived in the US Play Store

Google appears to have prepared a dedicated section for third-party app stores within Google Play, and Aptoide is just the first. | Screenshot: Google Play Store Following the latest twist in Google's legal battles with Epic, US Android users are now able to open Google's Play Store and download a third-party digital store with its own selection of apps. Aptoide, a store specializing in mobile games, is the first to become available. Third-party app stores have always been available on Android,

Aug 10, 2026 ·The Verge

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Because It's Not Fun Enough: why languages fail

Andrew Oram asked why programming languages rise and fall, and quoted the answer without noticing. Programming is a vocation, an art, and a job. Make any of those harder than they need to be, and your language survives exactly as long as it can't be replaced.

Aug 10, 2026 ·Hacker News

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The iPhone 18 Pro will cost Apple 38% more in parts – but there’s some good news

A new TrendForce analysis estimates that Apple will pay 38% more for iPhone 18 Pro components than it did for its predecessor. Unsurprisingly, the biggest hike is in the cost of memory, with Apple said to be paying around three times more this year. However, the firm’s analysis supports my own view that this year’s increase in price will not be as high as some have suggested …

Aug 10, 2026 ·9to5Mac

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Space mirrors could ruin astronomy — and your eyes

Solar energy, at any time of day or night - that's the dream of space mirror projects. Futurists have been imagining satellite mirrors that could reflect the sun's light onto the Earth's surface for over a century. Russian scientists experimented with the concept in the '90s with the Znamya project. The idea is to put a large mirror in orbit and angle it such that sunlight can be reflected onto a specific geographical area for illumination or the generation of solar power. Now, the California-ba

Aug 10, 2026 ·The Verge

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Ford’s new AI assistant can check your fuel levels and tire pressure

Ford is rolling out a new AI-powered assistant that can answer questions about your Ford or Lincoln vehicle, such as how much fuel you'll need for your next road trip or whether your truck can tow that new motor boat. The app is rolling out first to the Ford and Lincoln mobile apps, where it will work as a chatbot that can answer questions about the vehicle's capabilities or future service needs. Since the app is linked to the customer's vehicle, the assistant knows many of the details about the

Aug 10, 2026 ·The Verge

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Show HN: Voice driven murder mystery, Interview AI suspects with your voice

Hey HN! I'm excited to show off this really fun project I put together. I originally built this project 2-3 years ago, AI was already booming at the time, however voice AI agents were still very early. I loved my proof of concept at the time, but wasn't quite happy with it. I recently had the desire to check out the tech again, and know many of you will be interested. Interviews are speech to speech with OpenAI's gpt-realtime-2.1 over WebRTC. This model is... expensive, and because of that, I ha

Aug 10, 2026 ·Hacker News

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