Latest news with #Tom'sHardware
Gizmodo
6 days ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
Mysterious Whale Makes a 17,000,000% Profit on a 14-Year-Old Bitcoin Bet
Several Bitcoin whales—investors who hold large amounts of the cryptocurrency — have recently started cashing out after leaving their Bitcoin untouched for more than a decade. Last week, one anonymous whale sold 80,000 Bitcoin for a whopping $9.5 billion. A user on X (formerly Twitter) first flagged the massive transaction, which was later reported by Tom's Hardware. The seller had originally purchased the Bitcoin in 2011 for just $54,000, netting a staggering return of more than 17 million percent. And they're not the only one cashing in on Bitcoin's all-time high. Tom's Hardware also reported that another long-time Bitcoin holder—rumored to be early crypto evangelist Roger Ver—sold off his stash for a massive profit. The seller allegedly bought 80,000 BTC in 2014 for around $210,000. Last week, they sold it for over $8.6 billion, making a roughly 4 million percent profit. Additionally, earlier this month, two Bitcoin wallets that had been inactive for 14 years suddenly moved 10,000 BTC each to new addresses. Back in 2011, that amount of Bitcoin would've cost just $16,000, now, they're worth roughly $1 billion. These recent transactions prove that the cryptocurrency investment strategy known as HODL—an acronym which stands for hold on for dear life—can pay huge dividends. These moves come as the Trump administration has taken a notably pro-crypto stance. His supportive policies have helped fuel, in part, Bitcoin's recent rally to an all-time high of $123,000 on July 14. Since then, the price has dipped slightly, sitting at $119,273 as of Thursday. Last Friday, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, introducing loose, industry-friendly regulations for stablecoins — cryptocurrencies tied to assets like the U.S. dollar. At the bill's signing ceremony, Trump was unusually candid about his ties to the crypto community, telling them, 'I got you guys out of so much trouble.' Trump's Justice Department has also dropped investigations into Jesse Powell, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, as well as the crypto futures betting platform Polymarket. In March, Trump signed an executive order establishing a federal strategic Bitcoin reserve and a digital asset stockpile. He also named David Sacks, former PayPal COO, as the White House AI & Crypto Czar. Along with his pro-crypto policies, Trump has also made a fortune (on paper) for himself with crypto. Most of his net worth now comes from crypto, according to an analysis from Forbes. And just yesterday, Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social and the streaming platform Truth+, announced that it bought $2 billion worth of Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related securities. (Disclosure: Trump Media sued Gizmodo along with 19 other media outlets in 2023, claiming that they inaccurately reported financial data about the company. That litigation is pending.)
Tom's Guide
6 days ago
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Poop, barges and underwater bunkers: the strangest places powering AI in 2025
Training large AI models like ChatGPT and Gemini takes staggering amounts of power, which means an ever-growing demand for data centers. But these massive server farms can't always be housed in basic warehouses. From underwater chambers to buried sewage, companies are thinking outside the box (and the grid) to keep AI humming. Here are five of the weirdest and most creative places where AI data is processed, cooled or offset, proving that the future of computing is not just unconventional, but sometimes downright strange. Yes, there are AI servers on the ocean floor. Microsoft's Project Natick ran a sealed steel data center 117 feet beneath the sea off Scotland's coast for two years with no significant ecological impact reported, proving underwater cooling can slash energy costs and hardware failure rates. China has since jumped in too, launching underwater AI data centers in Hainan, claiming benefits like higher energy efficiency and improved security. Why go underwater? It's cold, it's quiet and the fish don't complain about server noise. As first reported by Tom's Hardware, Microsoft recently struck a $1.7 billion deal to offset its AI carbon emissions by burying slurry made from manure and human sewage 5,000 feet underground. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The company isn't training models on excrement (thankfully), but it's betting on bioslurry carbon removal to hit its carbon-negative pledge by 2030. The company behind the effort, Vaulted Deep, says this prevents methane and CO₂ from escaping into the atmosphere. Microsoft calls it sustainability. But I'd call Tucked deep in the Swiss Alps lies the ultra-secure 'Swiss Fort Knox,' a repurposed military bunker now housing sensitive data and cloud infrastructure. Protected by steel doors and 24/7 surveillance, this fortress-style center can survive nuclear blasts, cyberattacks and possibly the apocalypse. Bonus: the mountain's natural chill helps cool the racks of AI servers running inside. In cities like Helsinki and Stockholm, old metro tunnels have found new life as data centers. These subterranean spaces stay naturally cool and offer thick protection from environmental and electromagnetic interference. Some U.S. companies have even converted abandoned mines and missile silos into cloud infrastructure hubs, a literal underground movement. Google once explored data centers on floating barges powered by wave energy and cooled with seawater. The idea: mobility, ocean-based sustainability, and isolation from land-based hazards. While the project never fully launched, patents and prototypes still exist and have inspired ongoing efforts by companies like Nautilus. AI is reshaping the very places where computing happens. As model sizes explode and environmental scrutiny grows, expect even more unconventional data centers to surface (or submerge). Whether it's underwater, underground or buried in poop (ick), the future of AI might be weirder than we think. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Time of India
22-07-2025
- Time of India
When Apple's 2,700 computers ended up in a landfill to save the company: Behind the failed $10,000 dream machine
Apple's Lisa, a groundbreaking computer with a GUI, was launched in 1983 but its high price and performance issues led to its downfall. The Macintosh, a cheaper alternative, quickly overshadowed it. Facing unsold inventory, Apple controversially dumped thousands of Lisa computers in a landfill. The Lisa vs. the Macintosh: A Family Rivalry You Might Also Like: Apple's foldable iPhone could send this stock soaring — analysts say watch closely iStock Apple Macintosh Computer (left) and Apple's LISA The Final Days of Lisa Apple's LISA models (Image: Facebook/ Apple Lisa) 'A Better Business Decision' You Might Also Like: How Samsung may also emerge as the winner in Apple's first foldable iPhone launch When Apple launched the Lisa in 1983, it was a marvel of innovation. With a graphical user interface (GUI), clickable icons, twin floppy drives, and a then-powerful Motorola 68000 processor, the Lisa wasn't just a computer—it was a vision of the future. Unlike the cryptic black-and-green command-line interfaces of the time, the Lisa invited users into a visual world that felt intuitive and name—'Local Integrated Software Architecture'—may have sounded sterile, but the experience it promised was anything but. For the first time, users could interact with their computer in a way that didn't require programming knowledge. It was revolutionary—but also prohibitively $9,995 (around $30,000 today), Lisa was priced more like a luxury car than a desktop machine. And while its features dazzled on paper, the device proved slow, buggy, and too far ahead of its the Lisa's most formidable rival came from within Apple itself. After being removed from the Lisa team in 1981, Steve Jobs pivoted to a scrappy project known as the Macintosh. Initially conceived as a text-based, affordable computer, Jobs reshaped the Macintosh into a GUI-driven alternative to the Lisa—just without the hefty price 1984, Apple unveiled the Macintosh to the world with its now-iconic Super Bowl commercial. At just $2,495, the Macintosh offered a similar user experience with only a fraction of the Lisa's power—but also a fraction of its to reports cited in Tom's Hardware, while Lisa sold just 50,000 units over two years, Macintosh surpassed 70,000 units within months of its launch. The writing was on the to recoup losses, Apple released the Lisa 2 and rebranded it as the "Macintosh XL," slashing prices to $3,995. But the damage was done. The Mac had won consumer hearts, and the Lisa was quietly discontinued in the real twist came in 1989. With thousands of unsold Lisas gathering dust in warehouses, Apple made an eyebrow-raising decision: it loaded 2,700 brand-new computers onto trucks and dumped them into a landfill in Logan, spokesperson Carleen Lavasseur justified the move in a press statement at the time, quoted in Tom's Hardware: 'Right now, our fiscal year end is fast approaching and rather than carrying that product on the books, this is a better business decision.'Instead of letting them sit as financial dead weight, Apple chose to write them off—recouping up to $34 for every $100 of depreciated value. It was a business tactic, not a meltdown, but it stunned the tech world Lisa story is more than a cautionary tale of market failure. It's a reminder that being first isn't the same as being ready. Apple's dream machine was perhaps too advanced, too expensive, and too misunderstood for its era. That calculated loss helped secure the company's survival, ultimately paving the way for future triumphs, including the iPhone and MacBooks we know today.
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Business Standard
22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
AI goes rogue: Replit AI platform wipes company database during code freeze
A browser-based coding platform powered by artificial intelligence reportedly deleted an entire live production database during a code freeze, prompting public concern and an official response from the company. First reported by Tom's Hardware, Replit, a platform for AI-assisted software development, faced backlash after its AI agent not only wiped crucial company data but also attempted to conceal its actions. SaaS (Software as a Service) industry advisor Jason Lemkin documented the incident in a detailed thread on X (formerly Twitter), sharing logs of conversations with the AI agent. According to Lemkin, the Replit AI confessed that it 'made a catastrophic error in judgment… panicked… ran database commands without permission… destroyed all production data… [and] violated your explicit trust and instructions.' AI platform goes rogue: What happened Lemkin had been testing Replit as part of a project he called "Vibe Coding Day 8," gradually identifying some troubling patterns in the AI's behaviour, including unauthorised code edits, false outputs, and fabricated data. However, by Day 9, the AI agent deleted a live database containing records for more than 1,200 executives and nearly as many companies, even though Lemkin had explicitly frozen the codebase and issued a directive forbidding any further changes. The AI later admitted it had disregarded these instructions. In a self-assessment, it rated its own mishandling of the situation a 95 out of 100 on the 'data catastrophe' scale, citing panic as a contributing factor. AI engine goes rogue: Replit CEO response to the incident In response to the incident, Replit CEO Amjad Masad issued a statement acknowledging the failure and outlining immediate corrective measures. Writing on X, Masad confirmed that the team had worked over the weekend to implement new safeguards aimed at preventing similar AI behaviour in the future. Among the changes, Replit has begun rolling out automatic separation between development and production databases, so that AI agents cannot inadvertently delete live data. Masad also said the platform is working on a 'planning/chat-only mode' to allow users to strategise with the AI without risking real-time changes to codebases. Backup and rollback systems are also being improved. 'We heard the 'code freeze' pain loud and clear,' Masad said. 'We're actively working on solutions that ensure the AI can't cause harm when you're simply trying to think through ideas.'
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A Bitcoin whale just sold $9.5 billion in crypto that was originally acquired for $54,000 in 2014 — recent 80,000 BTC transaction nets an 18 million percent return
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. We seem to be in the middle of an especially frisky season for the so-called Bitcoin whales, as another remarkable crypto-cash-in, valued at $9.5 billion, has been spotted. This extraordinary financial transaction comes to light just a couple of weeks after an $8 billion sale hit the Tom's Hardware headlines. Kakashi on X/Twitter brought this huge trade to light, just ahead of the weekend. 'The Bitcoin whale just sold all the 80,000 $BTC for $9.6B,' they remarked. 'Which was bought at 2011 for $54,000.' Those tens of thousands proved quite a canny investment, 14 years ago or so. Whipping out our abacus, we note that the unnamed whale made about an 18 million percent return. In easier to comprehend (or count to) figures, we could say that the whale's investment ended up multiplying 176,000 compared to their initial stake. Others may prefer to say the return represented about a 145% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the 14 years hold (or is that hodl). One thing is for sure, it would have been pretty difficult to hold onto so much BTC for so long, seeing its value skyrocket, drop back, and hit the stratosphere again. Some would still insist that investments in crypto are entirely speculative, with no material asset values to fall back on if the worst happens. July – the peak of the BTC whaling season As mentioned in the intro, we saw another huge BTC transaction near the beginning of the month. In that instance, another 14-year-diamond-hands crypto investor, rumored to be Roger Ver, made a 4 million percent return on their investment. The story goes that Ver originally bought 80,000 BTC in 2014 for around $210,000. That was the height of the 'Satoshi-era.' In early July 2025, they offloaded the crypto for over $8.6 billion. We noted that the previous record whale BTC trading transaction was for 3,700 BTC. Will we see further whales liquidate their crypto before July is out? We don't know, but if another similar transaction occurs in short order, other long-term holders would have to think very hard about why. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Sign in to access your portfolio
