Author: Olivia Hartman
Olivia Hartman is GeekBlog's general technology reporter, covering the wider world of tech beyond smartphones: AI and software, laptops and PCs, gaming, streaming, space, science, consumer gadgets, deals and the policy stories shaping the industry. A versatile journalist with a nose for what actually matters, Olivia turns breaking news and product launches into accessible, no-hype reporting for everyday readers.
Pew Research Center sampled roughly 490,000 web pages to put dead internet theory to the test. Ten percent of the live web shows signs of AI authorship. Among pages published since ChatGPT launched, it is 35 percent.
Three Phosphatine branded Game & Watch handhelds are heading to auction at Ewbank’s with a combined estimate of around $12,200. Fewer than ten are verified worldwide, and the reason they exist at all is a French cereal promotion.
A developer chasing a Bluetooth headphone glitch found AliExpress running silent audio through the Web Audio API to fingerprint visitors. No microphone involved, no way to see it happening, and no setting that turns it off.
Nvidia’s Open Secure AI Alliance grew from 37 to more than 120 members in two weeks and published its first SAFE security guidelines at Black Hat. OpenAI, Anthropic and Google still are not in it.
Walmart and Sam’s Club start accepting Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Wallet on August 24, ending a twelve year refusal to switch on contactless. Here is where it works, what stays the same, and the fintech reason the holdout finally collapsed.
Bricks & Minifigs has settled with the Mansell family over a LEGO Star Wars collection worth up to $200,000 that went missing after a consignment deal. The YouTuber whose videos made the case impossible to ignore is still facing the company in court.
Cherokee Nation banned hyperscale data centers on tribally owned and trust land after a task force found 64% of citizens opposed them. The same survey found 73% of those citizens use generative AI, and the report says so out loud.
Demon Hunter, a Christian metalcore band that has used the name for 25 years, is suing Netflix and AEG Presents over KPop Demon Hunters. The fan who paid $500 for the wrong concert is now evidence, and the band is asking for triple damages.
A clip of someone spelling LEEK on a wall with bullets proved CyberLeek is not recycling stolen footage. They are playing GTA 6. With the game three months out and no disc in the box, the leaker says the leaks stop only when Rockstar apologizes.
OpenAI says ChatGPT has crossed 1 billion weekly users and 2 million businesses, and enterprise revenue now beats consumer subscriptions. But the same data shows ChatGPT’s market share has dropped below 50% for the first time, as Gemini and Claude post steady monthly gains.