Here are today’s 11 verified tech & science stories, covering Tech & Apps, AI Tools and Science & Space.
Table of Contents
Every item below links to its original source.
The TLDR
- Tech & Apps: Steam Launches ‘Achievement Sets’ to Fix Broken Completion Lists
- AI Tools: Google’s Universal Cart Shopping Tool Goes Live in the US
- Science & Space: SpaceX Launches Classified Space Force Mission From California
Tech & Apps
Steam Launches ‘Achievement Sets’ to Fix Broken Completion Lists
Valve has launched a beta test of ‘Achievement Sets,’ a reorganized way of tracking Steam achievements. Instead of one long list, developers can now group achievements — for example, splitting base-game and DLC achievements into separate sets — so earning everything available no longer gets marked incomplete the moment new content ships, according to The Verge. Existing completion status is preserved going forward as developers add new sets.
Tesla’s Next-Gen Roadster Flips, Hovers, and Lands in Wild Reveal
Tesla showed off its next-generation Roadster at a live event in Waco, Texas on October 15, and the demonstration lived up to the hype: the car drove up a ramp, briefly hung upside down, and hovered in the air before landing back on its wheels, using thrusters developed with SpaceX, according to The Verge. Tesla has long said the production Roadster will hit 60 mph in under a second, making it one of the fastest-accelerating cars the company has shown off.
FTC Sends Subpoenas to OpenAI and Anthropic Over AI Safety Incidents
The Federal Trade Commission has sent civil subpoenas to OpenAI and Anthropic seeking records on AI safety incidents, following a report that President Trump had dismissed AI safety fears as a “hoax,” according to Ars Technica. The agency is reportedly looking at whether the companies’ security incidents harmed Americans, and could fine the firms similarly to companies that delay data breach disclosures.
Strava Adds Coach-Designed Strength Workouts With Live Rep Tracking
Strava rolled out coach-designed strength workouts with guided animations and live set-and-rep tracking that save automatically to your activity feed once you finish, according to 9to5Mac. The feature is rolling out to Strava subscribers over the coming weeks, though free users can still try sample workouts. If you’re weighing structured training apps in general, our Garmin Coach vs. Runna comparison breaks down another popular option.
Gmail Live Exits Beta, Lets You Talk to Your Inbox
Gmail Live, Google’s conversational AI search for your inbox, has exited beta and is rolling out this week to Google AI Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers, with support for Workspace business accounts coming later, according to Engadget. Instead of typing keywords, you can ask plain-language questions like a flight’s gate number and get an answer pulled straight from your messages.
KDE Marks 30th Anniversary With Plasma 6.8, Drops X11 Support
KDE marked its 30th anniversary this week by releasing Plasma 6.8, which drops support for old-style X11 desktop sessions in favor of Wayland, though X11 apps still work through compatibility software, according to Ars Technica. The release also adds a built-in backup tool and lets its screenshot app record system audio alongside your screen.
AI Tools
Google’s Universal Cart Shopping Tool Goes Live in the US
Google’s Universal Cart, a shopping tool that follows you across Search and the Gemini app and collects items you’re considering into one place, became generally available to US users on October 15 after first being previewed at Google I/O in May, according to TechCrunch. The cart tracks price drops and restocks so you don’t have to keep checking back on items yourself.
Meta Releases Muse Spark Open, an AI Model You Can Run on a Mac
Meta released Muse Spark Open, a new open-weight AI model built to run locally on a Mac instead of over the cloud, according to TechCrunch. It’s not for an average laptop — Meta says it takes serious hardware like a Mac Studio with 1TB of RAM to run well — but in demos it handled real coding work and video editing tasks, including fixing bugs in an app and trimming footage in DaVinci Resolve, entirely on-device.
Science & Space
SpaceX Launches Classified Space Force Mission From California
SpaceX launched a classified payload for the US Space Force, designated USSF-481, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on October 15, according to Space.com. It was the 114th Falcon 9 mission of the year for the company, though the payload’s details remain classified.
New Chip Could Help Detect Signs of Alien Life in Space Samples
Researchers at Japan’s University of Osaka built a small electrical sensor that can tell apart the ‘left-handed’ and ‘right-handed’ mirror-image versions of amino acids, a difference scientists use as a potential sign of life, since living things on Earth overwhelmingly favor one form, according to ScienceAlert. Using machine learning, the device hit over 80% accuracy telling the two forms apart, and it matched standard lab results when tested on meteorite material and soil from Chile’s Atacama Desert — all while being small and simple enough to potentially fit on a future rover.
Cannabis May Quietly Be Wrecking Your Sleep, Study Finds
A new study in JAMA Network Open, drawing on 35 years of data from the long-running CARDIA health study, found that cannabis users had measurably worse sleep — more fragmented rest and more time spent awake during the night — even though they didn’t report feeling like their sleep was any worse, according to ScienceAlert. Researchers tracked over 1,200 participants, with roughly 890 providing objective sleep-tracker data. If you’re curious how your own sleep stacks up without relying on self-reports, check out our guide to the best sleep tracking app if you don’t want to wear a ring.
Explore more: fixing an ‘iCloud storage almost full’ warning without paying for more, Garmin Coach vs. Runna comparison, best sleep tracking app if you don’t want to wear a ring.
Make Your Digital Life Better
More practical tech how-tos, tool picks, and guides to upgrade your everyday digital life. More on GTWebs.
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Photo: Steve Swayne / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.