Popularity in the tech world is hard to measure. I've talked at length about this in my discussions of programming language popularity. It really comes down to what you use to measure popularity -- and how available those metrics are to those doing the analysis. It's difficult to generically define popularity, especially when you're including tools that do wildly different things. For example, is a general-purpose text-to-image generator like Midjourney inherently more popular than a tool that removes backgrounds from images like Remove.bg?

In a darkened room, a fractured symphony of rattles, hums and warbles bounces off the walls – like an orchestra tuning up in some parallel universe. If you look closely there is a small fragment of a performer. In the centre of the room, visitors hover around a raised plinth, craning to glimpse the brains behind the operation. Under a magnifying lens sit two white blobs, like a tiny pair of jellyfish. Together, they form the lab-grown "mini-brain" of the late US musician Alvin Lucier – composing a posthumous score in real time.

A new report from Reuters has shed light on how Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is employing tech in its processes, including the alleged use of artificial intelligence to monitor communications. The initiative is said to be keeping an eye out for chatter that's considered hostile toward Musk or President Donald Trump. Some managers at the Environmental Protection Agency have reportedly been told that DOGE is deploying AI to monitor communication apps and software such as the widely used Microsoft Teams for anti-Musk or anti-Trump sentiment. It's said that DOGE is watching out for individuals whose work didn't square with the administration's agenda. One manager reportedly told EPA staffers to "Be careful what you say, what you type and what you do."

Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Imagine yourself strapped to a chair with your head held in place by some device. The only thing you're free to move is your eyes. You hear something to your left; you'd want to turn your head left to look, or at least take a sidelong glance. Your brain sends the necessary impulses to your muscles--only you can't move.

Motorola started the year off strong. The 2025 Moto G and Moto G Power proved to be solid midrange smartphones thanks to their lengthy battery life, high-definition screens, and decent camera systems. Now the company has announced a third model: the 2025 Moto G Stylus. As the name reveals, this model has a built-in stylus to help users jot down notes, navigate the UI, and enable better interactions with such key features as Sketch to Image, which utilizes artificial intelligence to bring crude drawings to life within the Moto Note app. There's also Google's Circle to Search, which lets owners look up on-screen items on the search engine just by circling them.

The RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. More than 1,500 people died when the ship, which was carrying 2,224 passengers and crew, sank under the command of Captain Edward Smith. Some of the wealthiest people in the world were on board, including property tycoon John Jacob Astor IV, great grandson of John Jacob Astor, founder of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Millionaire Benjamin Guggenheim, heir to his family's mining business, also perished, along with Isidor Straus, the German-born co-owner of Macy's department store. The ship was the largest afloat at the time and was designed in such a way that it was meant to be'unsinkable'.

A drone equipped with an antenna from a male moth can locate the source of a smell more accurately than any electrical sensors. Unfortunately, however, the only smell it can detect is the sex pheromone emitted by female moths. Electrical sensors for odours are commonly used to detect gas leaks, but these are relatively slow to react to smells and even slower to reset between measurements, says Daigo Terutsuki at Shinshu University, Japan. "It's very difficult to apply that to…

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released the administration's revised policies for the use of AI in federal agencies. As Reuters notes, it has altered Biden-era guidelines and has rescinded orders by the previous administration related to safety over the technology's use. The Trump administration said it's shifting towards a "forward-leaning, pro-innovation and procompetition mindset" instead of maintaining and "pursuing the risk-averse approach" of Biden's government. Before Trump took office, the government ordered federal agencies to ensure that any AI tools they use "do not endanger the rights and safety of the American people" and to be transparent about the technologies they use. It also placed restrictions on AI acquisitions.

SAVE 25: As of April 8, ASUS ROG Spatha X Wireless Gaming Mouse is available for 124.99 at Amazon. I'll admit it: I used to think "more buttons" on a mouse was just a flex for MMORPG players who assign macros like their life depends on it. Then I claw gripped an ASUS ROG Spatha X, and now I'm a convert. With 12 programmable buttons, a 19,000 DPI sensor, and a ridiculously slick magnetic charging stand, this mouse isn't just overkill -- it's the kind of overkill I crave. Still a premium mouse, yes, but considering what's packed into it, I think it's a fair price for something that basically moonlights as a spaceship.

Jon Stewart roasts Trump over the stock market crash "What are you doing?" By Sam Haysom Sam Haysom Sam Haysom is the Deputy UK Editor for Mashable. He covers entertainment and online culture, and writes horror fiction in his spare time. Read Full Bio on April 8, 2025 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Flipboard Watch Next Jon Stewart roasts Trump cabinet for leaking its own military plans via group chat Stephen Colbert brutally roasts Trump for tanking the stock market Jon Stewart weighs in on DeepSeek AI hammering the U.S. stock market Jon Stewart mocks Trump with a'Severance' joke With stock prices cratering following Trump's tariff trade war, Jon Stewart has turned his attention to the economy. In the Daily Show monologue above, the host breaks down everything from Trump disappearing to play a golf tournament while the economy burned down to Trump's shouty "ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL!"reaction on TruthSocial.