Mobilität Nachrichten: 28 August 2025

October 13, 2025, 1:54 AM EDT. More holidaymakers are turning to AI to plan trips, ABTA reports. The travel association found that 8% of travelers used AI for planning or booking, up from 4% last year, with younger holidaymakers more likely to use the tech. But traditional methods still dominate: 48% rely on general internet searches, 41% ask family and friends, and 36% consult travel sites and guidebooks. Fewer than a fifth would entrust their entire holiday planning to AI. ABTA calls the rise both a challenge and an opportunity for travel businesses. OpenAI’s ChatGPT has started to partner with platforms like Booking.com and Expedia to boost planning capabilities, while many agents remain relied upon for larger trips.

October 13, 2025, 1:51 AM EDT. Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025, after which Microsoft stops free security updates, bug fixes, and technical support. Your PC won’t suddenly stop running, but it will become riskier to connect to the internet as new vulnerabilities go unpatched. Over time, you may see compatibility issues, losing driver updates and support from apps and peripherals. Microsoft Defender will still receive virus definitions for a limited time, but relying on antivirus alone isn’t enough. To extend life, Microsoft offers Extended Security Updates (ESU) through October 13, 2026, now available to consumers (no new features). If your PC meets your needs, you can delay replacement, otherwise plan an upgrade to Windows 11 or newer hardware.

October 13, 2025, 1:49 AM EDT. Google Translate is testing two AI-powered buttons to make translations more transparent and customizable. The app replaces the old 'Ask A Follow-up' with Understand, which reveals the reasoning behind a translation—covering grammar, word sense, idioms, and cultural notes—and Ask, which lets users request a customized result (different tone such as formal or casual, alternative translations, regional variants, or specific sentence usage). Both features are labeled experimental. Separately, an Android test shows a larger font option, including full‑screen mode, to improve readability. Google says Translate is moving toward more educational uses, building on mentions of Duolingo-style lessons. These updates aim to improve accuracy and user control in translation.

October 13, 2025, 1:48 AM EDT. Satellite internet is expanding, and Reflect Orbital aims to disrupt the field by pursuing on-demand night-time sunlight from space. The California startup is seeking FCC approval for a test satellite to reflect light at request, with a plan for a roughly 4,000-satellite constellation by 2030 to deliver continuous energy to solar-reliant facilities. The promise could boost global access to power, but experts warn about consequences of bright night beams: light pollution could ruin ground-based astronomy, and wildlife could be harmed. Rubin Observatory's Anthony Tyson has warned that such beams might blanket areas kilometers across, posing environmental and observational risks.

October 13, 2025, 1:47 AM EDT. China has unveiled the world’s first commercial underwater data center in Hainan, using seawater cooling to slash energy consumption. Submerged 115 feet below the surface, each cabin houses 24 racks and can support up to 500 servers, part of a broader push under Hainan’s plan to become a tech and maritime hub. The project, backed by offshore wind power, aims to reduce cooling costs, lower carbon footprint, and advance the nation’s blue economy ambitions. It is a move beyond Microsoft’s Project Natick, commercializing underwater data centers as a strategic asset within the 14th Five-Year Plan and the goal of deploying around 100 underwater data cabins to bolster marine research, digital services, and smart manufacturing.