CNO Orrery Edition <div><br /> </div> <h2>Top Story</h2> <div> <ul> <li>[url=https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/25/apple-announces-2026-mac-mini/]Apple has announced new Mac Mini models based on the M5 Pro and M6 CPUs.[/url]&nbsp; (MacRumors)<br /> <br /> The M6 is a marked upgrade over the M4 - the M5 never showed up on the Mac Mini - but there is no M6 Pro, so the higher-end models of the Mac Mini, anything with more than 32GB of RAM, steps back to the M5 Pro.<br /> <br /> But if you don't need that the M6 should run a lot faster.&nbsp; Apple says up to 40%, and that's actually believable, because it not only increases the core count from 10 to 12, it adds two high-end "super" cores, not just two low-end efficiency cores.<br /> <br /> Oh, and 2.5 Gbit Ethernet is standard, not the ancient 1 Gbit.<br /> <br /> Not cheap - the 64GB model costs five times as much as I paid for a 64GB mini-PC last December, but the same mini-PC at the same price now only has 32GB, so it has gotten closer.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <br /> </li> <li>[url=https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/25/apple-announces-new-mac-studio-with-m5-ultra-chip/]If you need more than that, Apple also announced M5 Max and M5 Ultra Mac Studios with up to 512G of RAM.[/url]&nbsp; (Mac Rumors)<br /> <br /> That's a big jump as well, because the high-end Studio model was limited to the old M3 Ultra, and even then maxed out at...&nbsp; I think 96GB of RAM, with anything faster sold out.&nbsp; Now you can get those high-end models again, and they come with 1.2TB of bandwidth, suitable for pretty serious tasks.<br /> <br /> Yes, they're wildly expensive, but right now so is everything, so Apple looks, if not more affordable, less unaffordable.</li> </ul> <div><br /> </div></div> <div><br /> </div> <h2>Tech News</h2> <div> <ul> <li>[url=https://venturebeat.com/infrastructure/perplexity-partners-with-nvidia-to-launch-portable-computer-a-fully-local-ai-agent-with-zero-token-costs]Perplexity has partnered with Nvidia to launch a local AI platform with no token costs.[/url]&nbsp; (Venturebeat)<br /> <br /> All you need is a Pro or Pro Max Perplexity subscription and a $4700 DGX Spark or a $4700 RTX 5090.<br /> <br /> Uh.<br /> <br /> <br /> </li> <li>[url=https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/nda-5pm-et-tuesday-commodore-77-special-edition-c64u-uses-more-powerful-amd-artix-xc7a100t-processor-preorders-for-cyberpunk-2077-inspired-design-open-today-at-usd377]Commodore has unveiled a Cyberpunk 2077 themed Commodore 64 that runs at 77MHz.[/url]&nbsp; (Tom's Hardware)<br /> <br /> $377.<br /> <br /> <br /> </li> <li>[url=https://www.theregister.com/hpc/2026/08/25/intel-diamond-rapids-xeon-7-cpu-deep-dive/5292427]Intel has announced the announcement of its 256 core Xeon 7 server CPUs.[/url]&nbsp; (The Register)<br /> <br /> The actual announcement will follow in 2027.<br /> <br /> <br /> </li> <li>[url=https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/25/spacex-will-build-a-second-100b-starbase-spaceport-in-louisiana/]SpaceX is building a new spaceport in Louisiana.[/url]&nbsp; (Tech Crunch)<br /> <br /> Price tag $100 billion.<br /> <br /> Learn a trade.<br /> <br /> <br /> </li> <li>[url=https://www.jurist.org/news/2026/08/new-zealand-pm-introduces-under-16-social-media-and-ai-companion-ban/]New Zealand just announced legislation that bans children under 16 from social media and from using AI companions.[/url]&nbsp; (Jurist)<br /> <br /> They kicked their communists to the curb and replaced them with communists.<br /> <br /> <br /> </li> <li>Accidentally vibe-coded a blogging platform - a lot less capable than Minx but incredibly fast since it's written in Rust with an embedded database - and then took a step back and started properly designing the embedded database component using existing libraries where available.<br /> <br /> Spent about $10 of the $100 worth of free credits Anthropic gave me when they cut Fable out of my cheapo plan, but those credits expire in three weeks so it's time I started using them.<br /> <br /> If that works I'll retarget my existing blogging/social platform on top - the one that never went live because Elon bought Twitter and it didn't seem there was a market anymore.</li> </ul></div> <div><br /> </div> <h2>Musical Interlude</h2> <div>[ytlite=F_HoMkkRHv8]</div> <div><br /> </div> <div><br /> </div> <div><br /> </div> <div><br /> </div> <div><span style="font-style: italic;">Disclaimer: Long skirt, short jacket.</span></div>