Daily reads: May 31, 2026

A user reports that Cloudflare Turnstile has begun looping indefinitely in a WebKitGTK-based browser because it flags spoofed or unavailable WebGL renderer data. Cloudflare’s explanation says fingerprinting helps distinguish humans from bots, while the post argues this effectively blocks privacy-preserving browsers and may affect Firefox users with stronger protections enabled.

Microsoft Office 2019 and 2021 for Mac are reportedly set to lose editing and saving functionality on July 13, 2026, when a license-validation certificate expires. The change would place perpetually licensed apps into reduced functionality mode, despite earlier assurances that Office 2019 installs would continue to work after support ended.

SoftBank says it will invest up to €75 billion, about $87 billion, to develop and operate up to 5 gigawatts of new data center capacity in France. The first phase targets Dunkirk, Bosquel, and Bouchain, delivering 3.1 gigawatts to the Hauts-de-France region by 2031 as part of its largest AI infrastructure investment in Europe.

The article argues that software’s hardest task has always been understanding the domain, not writing the code. With agentic AI now able to generate software, the critical constraint becomes knowing whether outputs are correct, making domain expertise more valuable than general coding ability in many contexts.

Kane Parsons’ Backrooms earned $38 million on Friday and is projected to reach as much as $90 million in its opening weekend. That would shatter A24’s previous opening-weekend record and outperform the debut of The Mandalorian and Grogu, despite Backrooms reportedly costing only $10 million to make.

Backrooms, directed by YouTube creator Kane Parsons, topped the box office with a projected $80 million to $90 million domestic opening, setting a new record for A24. Curry Barker’s Obsession took second place and is projected to grow for a second straight weekend, an extremely rare feat for a wide release.

The Verge profiles Cecil Baldwin, best known as the voice of Welcome to Night Vale, highlighting his work across podcasting, theater, television, and documentary narration. The piece frames Baldwin as a busy performer with a distinctive creative persona and a set of tech pet peeves tied to his daily workflow.

A group of 20 former Snap employees has formed Ghost Angels, a new fund focused on backing the next generation of social media companies. The fund aims to leverage the alumni network’s experience building consumer social products.

Microsoft is under scrutiny after a person using the name Nightmare Eclipse posted proof-of-concept exploit code and criticized the company’s vulnerability handling. Security researcher Kevin Beaumont highlighted Microsoft’s response, including threats of a criminal case over lack of coordinated disclosure and disabling the person’s GitHub, GitLab, and MSRC accounts.

Microsoft is moving GitHub Copilot from flat subscription pricing to a token-usage model starting June 1, prompting complaints from developers who say monthly costs could jump dramatically. Some users report projections rising from tens of dollars to hundreds or thousands, while others argue high bills may reflect inefficient or excessive AI-assisted coding habits.

Woot is running a limited-time sale on Samsung’s 2025 Frame TV and Hisense’s 2025 CanvasTV, with some models discounted by more than 40% through June 26. The 65-inch Hisense CanvasTV is available for $779.99, while Samsung’s Frame TV starts at $587.99, though warranty coverage varies by model.

Meta is reportedly developing an AI-powered pendant, building on its 2025 acquisition of Limitless, which made a wearable device for recording conversations. The company is also said to be expanding its AI glasses lineup and preparing a Wearables for Work subscription as Reality Labs continues to post heavy losses.