Daily Tech News 26 August 2026

• Apple has announced new Mac Mini models based on the M5 Pro and M6 CPUs. (MacRumors)
  
  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.
  
  But if you don't need that the M6 should run a lot faster. 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.
  
  Oh, and 2.5 Gbit Ethernet is standard, not the ancient 1 Gbit.
  
  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.
  
  
  
• If you need more than that, Apple also announced M5 Max and M5 Ultra Mac Studios with up to 512G of RAM. (Mac Rumors)
  
  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... I think 96GB of RAM, with anything faster sold out. Now you can get those high-end models again, and they come with 1.2TB of bandwidth, suitable for pretty serious tasks.
  
  Yes, they're wildly expensive, but right now so is everything, so Apple looks, if not more affordable, less unaffordable.

• Perplexity has partnered with Nvidia to launch a local AI platform with no token costs. (Venturebeat)
  
  All you need is a Pro or Pro Max Perplexity subscription and a $4700 DGX Spark or a $4700 RTX 5090.
  
  Uh.
  
  
  
• Commodore has unveiled a Cyberpunk 2077 themed Commodore 64 that runs at 77MHz. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  $377.
  
  
  
• Intel has announced the announcement of its 256 core Xeon 7 server CPUs. (The Register)
  
  The actual announcement will follow in 2027.
  
  
  
• SpaceX is building a new spaceport in Louisiana. (Tech Crunch)
  
  Price tag $100 billion.
  
  Learn a trade.
  
  
  
• New Zealand just announced legislation that bans children under 16 from social media and from using AI companions. (Jurist)
  
  They kicked their communists to the curb and replaced them with communists.

posted by Pixy Misa at 04:40 AM

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