Nvidia says its AI data center design runs hotter to use a lot less water
Public pushback against data centers has emphasized their water and energy consumption, and now Nvidia is highlighting its claim that the Rubin generation reference design for a fully liquid-cooled data center has "eliminated massive amounts of power usage and pretty much all water usage." Still, it doesn't address all of the concerns around AI data centers, including during their construction, and for the power generation requirements of the massive facilities. Also, as Gizmodo points out, Nvidia's blog post doesn't mention the cost of building this style of data center vs. one using less efficient air cooling, but claims that "every cloud …
Valve describes just how brutal RAM negotiations are in 2026
Valve's Steam Machine finally has a price: a whopping $1,049 for the 512GB configuration or $1,349 for the 2TB version. And those are without bundled controllers, which drive up the cost more.
The prices are so high in part because Valve isn't subsidizing the hardware, and the company has already indicated that the component crisis forced it to reconsider its initial pricing plans. In an interview with the YouTube channel Gamers Nexus, Valve engineers discussed the reality of sourcing RAM in 2026, with take-it-or-leave-it prices as memory and other components remain in short supply, from only a few vendors like Samsung, Micron, and SK Hyni …
AI is cursing renters with the promise of impossible homes
Joyce, a native New Yorker, didn't think finding her first solo apartment in the city would be easy. But she also didn't think it'd be "hell." After looking at a lot of tiny, overpriced places she described as "shitholes," Joyce found her dream apartment: a reasonably priced studio in Manhattan.
"It was big and airy, and there was a fireplace," she said. The kitchen was small but well equipped and looked like it had been recently renovated. She dropped everything to see the apartment, and when she got there, she learned that five other women, all around her age, had viewings scheduled after hers.
"I get in, and it's not the same apartment …
The Apple Watch SE 3 is just $199 for Prime Day
The Apple Watch SE 3 is at an all-time low of $199, making the sleeper hit of last year’s Apple Watches an even better value. While the Series 11 and Ultra 3 were iterative updates, the SE 3 was a wide-ranging glow-up that added an always-on display, gestures like double tap and wrist flick, a wrist-temperature sensor, 5G connectivity, fast charging, a speaker, and an upgraded processor that’ll support watchOS 27 when it arrives in the fall.
Apple Watch SE 3
The Apple Watch SE 3 is a major glow-up, adding an always-on display, wrist-temperature sensor, a more powerful processor, and fast charging.
Where to Buy:
This is the Apple Watch that I recommend for most people, unless you really want a watch with thinner bezels and EKG and atrial fibrillation detection. The 40mm size is also great if you have a smaller wrist. When I was testing the watch, I really didn’t feel any FOMO. But if advanced health features are a sticking point, the Apple Watch Series 11 is also $50 off for an all-time low price of $279. Just a note for bargain hunters: Keep in mind that we’re expecting to see a Series 12 in a few months, while we likely won’t see an update to the SE line for at least another year.
Read our Apple Watch SE 3 review.
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It's no secret that just about every aspect of video games is getting more expensive. Game consoles are getting regular price hikes, PC components are spiking in cost, and the golden age of affordable handhelds is over, all largely due to the global RAM shortage, which has had a similarly costly impact on PC gaming, including portable devices like the Steam Deck. This all led to some trepidation around the Steam Machine, Valve's latest attempt to bring the breadth and openness of PC gaming into a form factor designed for your living room. The fact that the device was delayed in February due specifically to the memory crisis only exacerbated …
Google invests in A24 to build AI movie tools
Google's DeepMind AI lab is teaming up with A24 to develop new movie production technologies that aim to help future filmmakers "expand their storytelling possibilities." As part of this new research and development collaboration, The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is investing "around $75 million" into A24, marking the first time the search giant has taken a stake in a film studio.
"The collaboration pairs a world-leading research lab with the industry's most filmmaker-forward studio to help artists develop new workflows and techniques," Google said in its announcement blog. "This ensures the tools of the future are shaped by the …
Valve is working with AMD to bring FSR 4 to the Steam Machine
The Steam Machine is a cool little console that's about as powerful as a PlayStation 5, according to my colleague Sean Hollister's in-depth review. But one area where it lags behind is with its earlier version of AMD FSR upscaler: It's just not as good as it should be. Yes, it can sharpen low-res graphics to make games look higher-res, but the PS5 (and especially the PS5 Pro) render a clearer image in motion with some games we compared.
That's not great news for the Steam Machine, especially since it's launching at $1,049 for the 512GB version - a higher price than anyone hoped for. But there is some hope that games on the console will look …
Here’s how you can reserve a Steam Machine
The Steam Machine is here, but getting one is a little complicated. Valve is taking preorders using a reservation system, which is intended to make the process more fair and harder for bots to exploit. However, it's a bit different than the $5 reservations Valve used for the Steam Deck.
Starting today, you can sign up for a chance to reserve the Steam Machine, choosing from four different options:
- Steam Machine 512GB: $1,049 / $1,509 CAD / €1,039 / £879 / $1,609 AUD / 4,389 zlotys
- Steam Machine 512GB with Steam Controller: $1,128 / $1,628 CAD / €1,108 / £938 / $1,728 AUD / 4,698 zlotys
- Steam Machine 2TB: $1,349 / $1,919 CAD / €1,35 …
Valve will finally let you build your own Steam Machine with SteamOS for desktop
If you don't get lucky with Valve's Steam Machine reservation system, you can make your own Steam Machine instead. Valve says that "starting with the SteamOS 3.8 release, you can put together your own Steam Machine using whatever PC parts you want." SteamOS 3.8.10 launched last week with a slew of updates, including "improved compatibility with recent Intel and AMD platforms." Alongside that improved compatibility, Valve is giving gamers the green light to install SteamOS on their own desktops.
In an interview with The Verge, Valve's Pierre-Loup Griffais said Valve has been "rolling out improvements to [SteamOS] so it's more compatible wit …
Valve explains why it isn’t subsidizing the Steam Machine
Valve finally announced the price of the Steam Machine, and like a lot of new gadgets these days, it's not cheap: It starts at $1,049 for a 512GB model, and a 2TB model costs $300 more. Configurations with a bundled Steam Controller cost an extra $79 each.
Despite Valve offering a console alternative with the Steam Machine - a compact piece of hardware that can easily hook up to your TV to play your Steam library - those prices mean the Machine is much more expensive than console counterparts like the PS5 ($599.99), Xbox Series X ($649.99), and PS5 Pro ($899.99) while performing similarly to a PS5. (Those console prices are also higher than …