Robot vacuum maker iRobot files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Starlink reports a near-miss collision with newly launched Chinese satellite, and Amazon rolls out AI-feature ‘Ask This Book’ with no way for authors to opt-out.
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Show Notes
On Sunday, robot vacuum maker iRobot filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after 35 years of operation. iRobot plans to be acquired by Chinese company Picea Robotics in a deal expected to close in February 2026, if approved by the bankruptcy court. In a press release iRobot said business would continue “with no anticipated disruption to its app functionality, customer programs, global partners, supply chain relationships or ongoing product support.” After European regulators threatened to veto an acquisition of iRobot by Amazon in 2024, the company issued a statement to investors in March 2025 about its doubt about the company’s continued operations.
Source: Engadget
In Reddit’s lawsuit against being included in Australia’s ban on social media for those under 16 years of age, Reddit said it “operates as a collection of public fora arranged by subject.” and “This law is applied to Reddit inaccurately, since we’re a forum primarily for adults and we don’t have the traditional social media features the government has taken issue with”. The suit was filed on Friday against the Commonwealth of Australia and its Minister of Communications, also claiming the new law “infringes the implied freedom of political communication.”
Source: Business Insider
Late Friday on X, VP of Starlink Engineering Michael Nicolls shared details on a near miss of a collision in space between a Starlink satellite and a newly launched Chinese satellite, with the two passing each other within 200 meters. Nicholls said the satellites were launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwestern China, with no data provided to allow other satellites to make course adjustments.
Source: The Verge
Amazon is rolling out a feature to the Kindle iOS app called ‘Ask This Book’, using AI to answer questions about books in the Kindle library. Amazon has not disclosed how many books the feature currently works with other than “thousands” of English-language bestsellers. Reactor, rebranded from Tor.com in 2024, reports an Amazon spokesperson said “To ensure a consistent reading experience, the feature is always on, and there is no option for authors or publishers to opt titles out.” The feature is expected to roll out to Android and physical Kindle devices in 2026.
Source: PCMag
Last week Google removed dozens of YouTube videos featuring AI-generated Disney IP after previously receiving a cease and desist letter claiming Google is using AI to engage in copyright infringement on a ‘massive scale’. Variety reports seeing the letter, which specifically calls out not just YouTube hosting the videos but that Google used copyrighted works to train video generation for Nano Banana and Veo. Disney has previously challenged Character.AI and Midjourney over AI copyright infringement. Last week Disney announced a deal with OpenAI to bring Disney characters to Sora and ChatGPT.
Source: Variety
Uber launched its own yearly wrap-up for users called YOUBER. Starting today, US customers of Uber and Uber Eats have access to the feature, offering details like if users are in the top 1% of a particular restaurant’s customers, how often Uber Comfort was requested, and be assigned an ‘Uber Personality Profile’. Among the 14 available profiles are ‘Rise & Shiner’ for early morning rides, ‘Do-Gooder’ for using Uber Electric, and “Delivery Darling” for those frequently ordering all kinds of deliveries.
Source: Engadget
X added widgets for iOS, which were first showed back at WWDC20, over five years ago. The Home Screen widget, called X News Highlights, is available in three sizes and shows which headlines are trending on X. There are more widget options for the Lock Screen, including X Notifications, X Messages, and two widgets for Grok: one for voice and one for quick access.
Source: 9to5Mac
Chinese handheld gaming manufacturer Ayaneo announced a Kickstarter for a Pocket Play smartphone resembling the old Sony Ericsoon Xperia Play, with a slide out panel featuring a controller. The Pocket Play’s controller has a d-pad, ABXY buttons, and two touchpads acting as virtual joysticks or customized for other inputs. This will be Ayaneo’s first smartphone, and no specs or potential price available at this time, with the Kickstarter’s launch coming soon.
Source: Engadget