TP-Link opened preorders for the Archer 8 Ultra, its first WiFi 8 router, and one of the first WiFi 8 routers on the market, in the UK, Germany, and Australia. Surprisingly, the US is not on the list. The FCC put every foreign-produced consumer router on its Covered List in March, and TP-Link holds no Conditional Approval, the exemption from it. The agency’s official reasoning is security, somehow based off of a router’s origin of production.
From Op-ed
OpenAI Can’t Explain Zero Quota, Free Reset with Caveats Pt. 1
I downgraded my ChatGPT plan from Pro to Plus on September 16. The morning the $20 charge went through, my weekly Codex allowance read 0%. It stayed there for the better part of a week. Even OpenAI does not know what happens to an account when a reset and a billing date collide. Their own support admits it.
Is GPT Losing High Ground?
OpenAI released GPT-6.1 Sol on September 29, only a week after GPT-6 Sol. OpenAI says it “delivers near-Astra performance at a lower cost”, at a fifth of Astra’s list price, and some on Reddit even go so far as to call it Astra minor. Cost-effective Astra-level performance is great news. But GPT’s sweet spot is increasingly the lower bound, and OpenAI is no longer competing at the flagship level.
Microsoft Files Patent for In-Game Ad
Microsoft has a patent application for pausing your game to show you an ad. Published on September 3, it describes a system that suspends play at a quiet moment, plays “promoted content”, then grants a credit that holds off the next break for a while. Not on public displays, but on private user displays. It is becoming increasingly obvious that Microsoft is trying to blur the boundary of where ads are acceptable, and this time the boundary runs through the games themselves.
Big Surprise Week from Claude and Codex: Opus 5.5, GPT-6 Sol, and Luna
Anthropic released Claude Opus 5.5 on September 22, the same day OpenAI released GPT-6 Sol and Luna. OpenAI is making its lower-end models cheaper, while Anthropic is still pushing upward. On price to performance, Opus 5.5 now beats Fable 5.1, which makes one wonder who would still use Fable.
Claude Talks Too Much
Claude’s answers have become incredibly verbose and full of tics, and the community has a name for it: Claudism. This is not a taste problem. Anthropic never calls Sonnet 5, Opus 5, and Fable 5 a family, but the condition seems rather hereditary. Claude is wordier than it was a generation ago, the extra words make the work worse, and Anthropic’s advice is to just prompt better.
Gemini 3.8 Live Chases Voice
Google shipped Gemini 3.8 Live and Live Extended Thinking on Tuesday, a day after Apple released Siri AI. Both aim at home and personal users, both are free to start. And hindsight being 20/20, it appears Gemini and Siri AI (i.e. built with Google’s Gemini) are losing to Claude and Codex on performance. I would argue Gemini is chasing a different axis entirely. A model that is faster, auditory, and personal. And as it stands for the time being, there is no automatic delegation between them.
XCancel Suspended Again
I had recommended XCancel before to read X (Twitter) threads without logins. That same XCancel is suspended again, with its notice citing developments in ongoing legal proceedings. X is now effectively unsuitable for public announcements or discourses.
Streaming Remains Competitive Despite Hikes
Streaming subscriptions keep getting more expensive, and a recurring bill that keeps changing is the last thing anyone wants to see on their spreadsheet. We know that. Been through it. I am not arguing for the price hikes. But looking at the alternatives for private viewing, I believe the streaming model still offers a substantially better experience at competitive prices.
iPhone Duo Needs Killer App
Apple’s unveiling of iPhone Duo makes me feel vindicated. When the original Galaxy Fold was released, I argued that a foldable form factor must give us a unique platform. Opening a small phone into a larger one was only part of the proposition. What the form factor needs is exclusivity. Apple’s keynote gives me something more interesting to discuss than opening and closing.
To Fold or Not to Fold and Ferry Two Devices
Apple is expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone at its September 9 event. The rumored price has hovered around $2,200, though the latest Bloomberg report puts it nearer $2,000. Either figure puts the device on the upper end of premium, even against Apple’s own. Apple’s own iPhone Air and iPad mini, together, make an awkward comparison for its newest device.
Right to Repair Left Price Tag Home
Texas is the new state which has passed the right-to-repair law. It took effect on September 1, requiring access to parts, tools and documentation for covered electronics. I also happen to know how a repair enquiry often ends with a suggestion to buy a new device. A right to obtain the necessary materials does little for an owner who cannot justify the bill.
Streamlining Analytics, Migrating with AI Pt. 5
Post-migration, I knew some jobs were left untouched. Not because of the amount of work involved — again, I don’t think the workload has meaningfully increased. For the first project afterward, I wanted to focus on a part of the website I hadn’t touched in a while: analytics.
Fable 5.1 Released
Anthropic released Fable 5.1 while Opus 5 was still new, making the company look on fire. Its recent commercial opened with an actual house on fire, so the joke is on us for not taking it seriously. Once more, the company claims its new model is outrageously exceptional. Yet vendor-drawn benchmark charts cannot tell us the true performance out in the field. They merely support the existing adage in the community: let the frontier model design the work, then let cheaper models grind.
Claude Max 20x Revealed as 8.5x
Claude Max 20x’s fine print has become the talk of the town, thanks to a viral tweet. Anthropic’s $200 plan does provide 20 times the Pro usage — but only inside each five-hour session. For the separate weekly limit, a proposed class-action complaint puts the upgrade over $100 Max 5x at 1.7 times, not four. Apply that multiplier to the advertised 5x baseline and Max 20x becomes 8.5x. Calling it “20x” is a euphemism.