Saturday, October 17, 202612 stories

TikTok bans Musk documentary account

Software · 4 sources

Just ahead of the wider release of Alex Gibney's Musk documentary, TikTok has banned the film's social media account from its platform. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DeepSeek updates AI model as reports identify V4.1-Flash-1017

AI · 2 sources

DeepSeek says its updated model is faster and leaner. MarkTechPost identifies the checkpoint as V4.1-Flash-1017 and says it is available on the website, app and API, while RuntimeWire reports that public documentation still lists the stable deepseek-flash alias and that no separate release announcement has appeared.

  • MarkTechPost reports that DeepSeek claims shorter outputs than the September release.
  • RuntimeWire cites user reports of a changed API fingerprint.

Vivo expands V80 mid-range phone to Southeast Asia, Middle East and other regions

Devices · 2 sources

Vivo announced the V80 for markets beyond India, a week after its Indian launch, naming Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Availability, pricing and specifications will vary by local market, the company said. Forbes says the phone uses vivo's flagship camera software processing, which it credits with images above its price range.

  • Global colors are Starwish Purple, Wander Green, Sunrise Anthem and Vast Gray.
  • The V80 first launched in India last week.
  • Forbes describes the V80 as a mid-range phone.

Nvidia says RTX 5090 will keep shipping despite supply shortages

Chips & Data Centers · 4 sources

Reports of the flagship Blackwell GeForce GPU being discontinued have circulated alongside constrained supply. Tom's Hardware reports severe shortages and removed listings at multiple retailers, while Wccftech says Nvidia executive Jeff Fisher rejected the discontinuation claims and acknowledged supply constraints affecting the availability of the card.

Hackers access 173 Microsoft 365 tenants using stolen ConnectWise credential

Security · 3 sources

Attackers used a compromised credential for ConnectWise Cloud Backup to enter customer environments through a trusted backup application. Cyber Security News puts the number of affected partner and customer tenants at 173. ConnectWise shut down customer access to the backup service after the breach, according to BleepingComputer.

  • ConnectWise Cloud Backup was formerly called SkyKick.
  • The service provides cloud backup and recovery for managed service providers, according to The Hacker News.

Engadget details common Amazon Alexa problems and fixes

Devices · 2 sources

Amazon announced a new family of Alexa Tablets last week, and deliveries to customers began this past week, according to Thurrott. Separately, Engadget published a guide to common problems with Amazon Alexa, describing troubleshooting for issues that can arise while using the device at home.

Berkshire Hathaway adds $330 million to Bending Spoons investment

Software · 2 sources

The private placement was announced on October 14. Berkshire is buying 10 million shares at $33 each, following a $600 million investment at the company's July Nasdaq listing, according to The Next Web. The deal raises Berkshire's stake to 4%, with Bending Spoons citing more acquisition capacity and financial flexibility, RuntimeWire reports.

  • Bending Spoons is based in Milan, according to The Next Web.

Nvidia launches RTX Spark laptops with support for local AI agents

Devices · 11 sources

The Windows 11 on Arm systems target gaming, creative applications and AI workloads. According to Unite.AI, laptops are available globally from ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft and MSI, starting at $2,599. Nvidia says users can install agents without a command line during initial setup, The Next Web reports.

  • PCMag identifies N1X as the chip powering Nvidia's new laptop platform.