In astronomy, some of the most profound discoveries happen by accident. As the saying goes, “The most exciting phrase in science is not ‘eureka!’ but ‘that’s funny.’” This was certainly the case with Matus Rybak – a postdoctoral researcher at Leiden University – and his colleagues were observing RXJ1131-1231, a quasar located 6 billion light-years away in the constellation Crater. This active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a favorite among astronomers because of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) at its center and the fact that there is an intervening galaxy between it and Earth.
This galaxy magnifies the light from RXJ1131-1231 by a factor of three, a phenomenon known as macrolensing, related to “gravitational lensing.” When observing this quasar for variations in brightness, Rybak and an international team of astronomers witnessed a microlensing event caused by an intervening star. This “double zoom,” which the team stumbled upon by accident, allowed them to study the quasar more closely and resolve millimeter radiation emanating from an SMBH for the first time.
The research team was composed of astronomers from the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), the STAR Institute, the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC), the Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics, the Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICC), the Institución Catalana de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados (ICREA), the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and multiple universities.
Images of RX J1131-1231 taken by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/CXC/Univ of Michigan/R.C.Reis et al (X-ray)/NASA/STScI (optical)
In 2008, Rybak and colleagues – including co-authors Dominique Sluse from the STAR Institute and Frédéric Courbin from ICREA and the University of Barcelona – conducted pioneering research in microlensing in visible light. Between 2015 and 2020, they observed RXJ1131-1231 to look for signs of cold gas and monitor variations in its brightness. When they observed the quasar again recently using the Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array (ALMA), they saw that three images of the quasar varied in brightness independently of each other. As Rybak explained in a Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA) press release:
That’s a smoking gun for microlensing, a phenomenon that occurs when a star is located between the foreground galaxy and the observer. We immediately knew we had to pursue this further. The combination of microlensing and macrolensing reveals things that remain invisible even with the best telescopes in the world and with macrolensing alone.
The team’s observations revealed that the quasar flickers in millimeter radiation on timescales of years, which they think is coming from the hot, magnetic torus (the “corona”) surrounding the SMBH. Millimeter radiation has been observed near black holes before, but it was unclear if this was caused by gas and dust or if some other mechanism was at work. Based on their analysis, the team concluded that this radiation was mainly produced by cold gas and dust, which is a remarkable find. They will be conducting follow-up observations shortly using the Chandra X-ray Telescope.
Their ultimate goal is to study the temperature and magnetic environment close to the black hole, which is significant because those conditions are known to influence the surrounding galaxy. The team’s findings were presented in a paper recently accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
While the consumer tech expo Innovation for All (IFA) hasn’t quite started, an early release on Amazon’s UK site has apparently unveiled a number of new Philips Hue products that look ripe for announcement in the coming days.
Notably, the leak revealed a new Philips Hue Doorbell, sporting two-way audio, package detection and plenty of integration with Philips Hue smart lights. There was also another model of the Philips Hue Bridge, which is needed to connect many Hue lighting products to Wi-Fi.
Philips Hue also seems to be releasing a new line of lighting called Essential, which appears to be affordable bulbs and lights. Perhaps they’ll avoid the need for a bridge connector, which many other smart lighting brands already have.
While it’s a little more technical, mentions of a new technology called MotionAware also caught my eye. It looks like it uses Philips Hue’s existing ZigBee support in smart bulbs to act as a type of motion detection, potentially turning bulbs on and off automatically without needing additional sensors or even offering security alerts. I can’t wait to try it out if that’s the case.
As both IFA and CEDIA — another expo for smart home tech — kick off this week, I’ll cover the juiciest new smart-home tech announcements and share what could be new staples for smart-home consumers who want a tech upgrade.
Philips Lighting/Signify did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SAVE 21%: As of Sept. 3, you can get the 16-inch Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 Copilot+ (Intel Core 7 Ultra, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDS) for $1,349.99, down from $1,699.99. That’s a 21% discount and a $350 saving on list price.
The school year has started, and for many, that means upgrading outdated tech to fit the demands of whatever new academic (and creative) challenges the semester has in store. Luckily, most of Amazon’s Labor Day discounts are still available, so you can snag a new laptop, headphones, and other tech essentials at a fraction of the list price.
If you’re looking for a deal on a powerful 2-in-1 laptop, this one’s for you. As of Sept. 3, you can get the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 Copilot+ (Intel Core 7 Ultra, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDS) for $1,349.99, down from $1,699.99. That’s a 21% discount and a $350 saving. It’s also the lowest price we’ve tracked on this model to date.
SEE ALSO:
The 6 best laptops under $500: Back-to-school edition
This AI-powered laptop is built for performance. It’s stacked with a next-gen Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor, an Intel Arc GPU, and a dedicated NPU that chew through demanding tasks without a problem. Everything pops on the Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen, thanks to its wide color gamut and super-smooth 120Hz refresh rate. It also includes the S Pen, giving you the precision to sketch out your next big idea.
Mashable Deals
Save over $300 on the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 Copilot at Amazon.
Sextortion-based hacking, which hijacks a victim’s webcam or blackmails them with nudes they’re tricked or coerced into sharing, has long represented one of the most disturbing forms of cybercrime. Now one specimen of widely available spyware has turned that relatively manual crime into an automated feature, detecting when the user is browsing pornography on their PC, screenshotting it, and taking a candid photo of the victim through their webcam.
On Wednesday, researchers at security firm Proofpoint published their analysis of an open-source variant of “infostealer” malware known as Stealerium that the company has seen used in multiple cybercriminal campaigns since May of this year. The malware, like all infostealers, is designed to infect a target’s computer and automatically send a hacker a wide variety of stolen sensitive data, including banking information, usernames and passwords, and keys to victims’ crypto wallets. Stealerium, however, adds another, more humiliating form of espionage: It also monitors the victim’s browser for web addresses that include certain NSFW keywords, screenshots browser tabs that include those words, photographs the victim via their webcam while they’re watching those porn pages, and sends all the images to a hacker—who can then blackmail the victim with the threat of releasing them.
“When it comes to infostealers, they typically are looking for whatever they can grab,” says Selena Larson, one of the Proofpoint researchers who worked on the company’s analysis. “This adds another layer of privacy invasion and sensitive information that you definitely wouldn’t want in the hands of a particular hacker.”
“It’s gross,” Larson adds. “I hate it.”
Proofpoint dug into the features of Stealerium after finding the malware in tens of thousands of emails sent by two different hacker groups it tracks (both relatively small-scale cybercriminal operations), as well as a number of other email-based hacking campaigns. Stealerium, strangely, is distributed as a free, open source tool available on Github. The malware’s developer, who goes by the named witchfindertr and describes themselves as a “malware analyst” based in London, notes on the page that the program is for “educational purposes only.”
“How you use this program is your responsibility,” the page reads. “I will not be held accountable for any illegal activities. Nor do i give a shit how u use it.”
In the hacking campaigns Proofpoint analyzed, cybercriminals attempted to trick users into downloading and installing Stealerium as an attachment or a web link, luring victims with typical bait like a fake payment or invoice. The emails targeted victims inside companies in the hospitality industry, as well as in education and finance, though Proofpoint notes that users outside of companies were also likely targeted but wouldn’t be seen by its monitoring tools.
Once it’s installed, Stealerium is designed to steal a wide variety of data and send it to the hacker via services like Telegram, Discord, or the SMTP protocol in some variants of the spyware, all of which is relatively standard in infostealers. The researchers were more surprised to see the automated sextortion feature, which monitors browser URLs a list of pornography-related terms such as “sex” and “porn,” which can be customized by the hacker and trigger simultaneous image captures from the user’s webcam and browser. Proofpoint notes that it hasn’t identified any specific victims of that sextortion function, but the existence of the feature suggests it was likely used.
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ZDNET’s key takeaways
Apple Intelligence can transcribe your voice memos for free.
The transcriptions are easy to access and fairly accurate.
The Otter.ai alternative is $17 per month.
When you hear of AI features on smartphones, you often think of the flashiest, agentic AI features that could carry out tasks for you without you having to lift a finger. However, I am a firm believer that the litmus test as to whether an AI feature is worth it should be whether it is returning real value to your life, whether that be time or money, and in the best case, both. This transcription feature in Voice Memos does just that.
As a reporter, my job involves recording interviews. These interviews require transcribing to not only make it easier to pull quotes but also to parse through lengthy interviews. Ever since undergrad, I have relied on services such as Otter.ai, which also came in handy for other uses, such as transcribing meetings, lectures, and conferences.
Also: 7 AI features I’d like to see the iPhone 17 embrace from Google, OpenAI, and others
That said, the Apple Intelligence Voice Memo transcription feature solved a major issue I had with the transcription service, and I am likely never going back — and here’s why you shouldn’t either if you are an Apple user who values a bang for your buck.
Otter.ai jail
Before I explain what makes the Apple intelligence feature so good, I need to explain the biggest issue with its more popular competitor, Otter.ai. The transcription service used AI to provide high-quality transcriptions long before the technology exploded in popularity.
While Otter.ai has a free subscription tier, it only allows three lifetime audio/video file imports and 300 monthly minutes, which are easy to fly through if you’re using it on a regular basis, as one meeting, interview, or lecture alone can be 60 minutes long.
However, I was willing to deal with that, as most of the time, I just logged on from different emails whenever I hit a limit, and the transcriptions were mostly accurate, with a convenient and easy interface.
Also: Apple’s new chatbot reportedly rolls out ahead of iPhone 17 – but it’s not for you
Being sent to Otter.ai jail was my last straw.
Essentially, if you are on a free plan, Otter.ai only lets you view your 25 most recent conversations. Any older conversations over 25 are archived and inaccessible. This is especially problematic if, like me, you require access to your recordings months later, either for class, studying, or an article.
The worst part is that you can’t export the audio, even if you recorded it in the app. The only way to access it is to upgrade to Otter Pro for $17 per month. Once that happened, I knew I had to find an alternative: Apple’s Voice Memo.
Apple Voice Memo Transcriptions (and how to access)
Since my daily driver is an iPhone 16 Pro, I already record most of my voice memos on the app. From covering Apple Intelligence extensively, I knew there was a transcription option, so I decided to give it a try.
After months of using it, I have found the transcriptions to be accurate. Most importantly, not only is it free to access, but it is extremely easy to do so natively without having to export files. All you need is iOS 18.0 or later on an iPhone 12 or later, which makes it one of Apple’s more accessible features. The broader suite of Apple’s AI features is available only to phones with the A17 Pro chip or higher, which includes the iPhone 15 Pro or later.
Also: Nearly 70% of iPhone users plan to upgrade to iPhone 17 – here’s why (it’s not AI)
Then, to access the transcripts, click on the icon that looks like a quotation mark inside a thought bubble while recording to see a live transcript. Or, you can see the text after the fact. Like with Otter.ai, if you click on the text, it will play the corresponding audio, which I often do to verify the accuracy of the transcription or grab some words it may have missed.
While it lacks some tools that Otter.ai has, such as the ability to highlight or add comments, you can select content and copy it to another app or document, and you can also choose to copy the entire transcript and import it elsewhere. I have done this before and imported it into a Google Doc so that I can more easily highlight or make notes. The best part is knowing that my audio messages are not going to be locked behind a paywall at any time.
If you want step-by-step instructions on how to initiate a recording in the Voice Memos app or how to access the transcripts, you can follow Apple’s step-by-step guide. But as mentioned above, the process is pretty intuitive.
My favorite part of this feature? A reminder that AI features can be simple to be good.
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Fitness tracking company Polar has launched Loop, a $200 screenless wearable that it says will have no subscription fees. Preorders opened on Sept. 3, and the Polar Loop will start shipping on Sept. 10.
Like other fitness trackers, the Polar Loop will log steps, sleep patterns and daily activity patterns but Polar is touting the lack of a screen as “unobtrusive” and “discreet.” The Loop, which is a wearable band for your wrist, has eight days of battery life with continuous use and stores four weeks’ worth of data. It syncs with the Polar Flow app to view stats and analyze sleep and training data, among other information.
Because it has no buttons, activities can be started in the app or passively with what the company calls “automatic training detection.”
It’s available in the colors Greige Sand, Night Black and Brown Copper. Additional band colors are offered for $20 each.
There’s already a market of no-screen wearables, including the Whoop 5.0 wristband and smart rings such as the Oura Ring 3.
Will the Loop measure up?
Whether the Polar Loop’s attempt at simplifying a fitness wearable works out will largely depend on how well it runs and what it offers compared to other devices.
“The company is clearly tapping into the growing demand for screen-free wearables,” says CNET’s lead writer for wearables, Vanessa Hand Orellana. “It feels like a direct answer to the athlete-favorite Whoop band and even the Oura Ring, both of which collect similar health metrics to display and analyze in their respective apps.”
Hand Orellana says Polar has a good reputation, with its signature heart-rate chest straps, and may win over fans by eschewing the subscription fee that the Oura and Whoop require.
“That said, as with most devices in this space, the real differentiator often comes down to execution… specifically, how well the data translates into clear, actionable insights. Personally, I’m curious to see how the Loop integrates with Polar’s app, which, at least in my experience with their HR straps, hasn’t always been the most intuitive to navigate,” she said.
Apple’s Siri overhaul may include an AI-powered web search tool with technology powered by Google’s Gemini, according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The iPhone maker, which has been criticized for falling behind in the AI race, delayed its long-awaited Siri update until 2026. In the meantime, the company has been scrambling to determine whether its own AI models alone will work well enough to make its upgraded Siri competitive with the AI answer engines available today from tech companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Google.
Per Bloomberg, Apple could be turning to Google for a solution to its problems. The report claims that Apple and Google reached a formal agreement this week that will see Apple testing a Google AI model in Siri. If successful, the technology could also be used in other areas of iPhone software, including the Safari browser and Spotlight search, which is available on the Home Screen.
In previous years, Spotlight seemed to be ramping up to become a rival of sorts to Google, as it allowed iPhone users to bypass web searches to get basic answers about popular topics, like information about actors, musicians, TV shows, and movies, among other things. With AI chatbots, however, consumers can now source quick answers about a wide range of topics beyond those that could be found on Wikipedia.
The report suggests that the upgraded search experience’s interface will use a combination of text, photos, videos, and local points of interest, as well as an AI-powered summarization feature. It will also be able to tap into users’ personal data and let them navigate their devices via voice.
I have a dead cockroach in my ceiling, and I only noticed it thanks to a Switch 2 screen protector that, ironically, is supposed to tame reflections. The protector in question is a pre-production sample of the Jsaux Obsidian AR screen protector, which is coming in October for $21.99.
The company claims it’s better than standard screen protectors because it features a similar physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating found in the Apple Studio Display. It’s supposed to reduce glare while retaining a glossy appearance — an ideal combination for gamers, since you can’t always choose where you’ll play games.
In reality, this pre-production screen protector boasts minor improvements that are easy to miss. Obsidian AR slightly reduces the intensity of reflections hitting the screen that could otherwise distract me during gameplay. However, I noticed these differences in photos more than I did while actively using the Switch 2.
One thing I did have the misfortune to notice as I played my Switch 2 with the screen protector equipped was the roach in my ceiling. That little sucker has probably been dead for a while and I only just noticed. In defense of Jsaux’s claims, it makes the bold LED tube illuminating the trapped roach a little dimmer and tougher to pick out, but not nearly enough to wipe this encounter from my memory.
I won’t go as far as to say that the Obsidian AR isn’t worth your money, having only tried an early version. Everyone’s tolerance for glare is different, but I’m skeptical that the differences are worth paying for compared to cheaper alternatives. To reiterate, just one of these protectors will cost $21.99 while you can get a three-pack of good-enough tempered glass protectors for under $10.
