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[>] Релиз digiKam 8.7.0 с мощными AI-инструментами
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 22:44:04


Привет! Любишь фотографировать? Тогда менеджер фотографий digiKam — это именно то, что тебе надо. В новой версии digiKam 8.7.0 появилось несколько полезных функций, которые пригодятся как профессионалам, так и обычным пользователям. Никогда не поздно навести порядок в своей коллекции! :)

Одно из главных новшеств digiKam 8.7.0 - новый AI-плагин для поворота изображений. Также с прошлой версии (digiKam 8.6.0) была значительно доработана функция распознавания лиц. В последнее время функция распознавания лиц стала золотым стандартом во всех более менее серьезных программах и сервисах для работы с изображениями, и разработчики digiKam здесь тоже не отстают.

( [ читать дальше... ]( https://www.linux.org.ru/news/opensource/18019100#cut0 ) )

[>] OpenMW 0.49.0
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 22:44:04


Спустя 3 года после предыдущей версии вышел игровой движок [ OpenMW ]( https://gitlab.com/OpenMW/openmw ) версии 0.49.0. Это самый объёмный выпуск OpenMW за последние 5 лет.

OpenMW – это OpenSource-реализация движка для игры The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. OpenMW нативно доступен на Windows, MacOS (Intel и Apple Silicon), Linux и chromeOS (доступна только x64-версия от Linux). На данный момент Morrowind полностью играбелен на OpenMW, судя по сайту [ Open Source Game Clones ]( https://osgameclones.com/?filter=the%20elder%20scrolls ) .

( [ читать дальше... ]( https://www.linux.org.ru/news/games/18018393#cut ) )

[>] Why Do Killer Whales Keep Handing Us Fish? Scientists Unpack the Mystery
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 22:22:01


Science Daily reports:

Wild orcas across four continents have repeatedly floated fish and other prey to astonished swimmers and boaters, hinting that the ocean's top predator likes to make friends. Researchers cataloged 34 such gifts over 20 years, noting the whales often lingered expectantly — and sometimes tried again — after humans declined their offerings, suggesting a curious, relationship-building motive...

"Orcas often share food with each other — it's a prosocial activity and a way that they build relationships with each other," said study lead author Jared Towers, of Bay Cetology in British Columbia, Canada. "That they also share with humans may show their interest in relating to us as well."

The complete research was published in the Journal of Comparative Psychology. Its title? "Testing the Waters: Attempts by Wild Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) to Provision People (Homo sapiens)."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/07/05/0442257/why-do-killer-whales-keep-handing-us-fish-scientists-unpack-the-mystery?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Will FaceTime In IOS 26 Freeze Your Call If Someone Starts Undressing?
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 21:22:01


Long-time Slashdot reader AmiMoJo shared this report from the Apple news blog 9to5Mac:
iOS 26 is a packed update for iPhone users thanks to the new Liquid Glass design and major updates for Messages, Wallet, CarPlay, and more. But another new feature was just discovered in the iOS 26 beta: FaceTime will now freeze your call's video and audio if someone starts undressing.

When Apple unveiled iOS 26 last month, it mentioned a variety of new family tools... "Communication Safety expands to intervene when nudity is detected in FaceTime video calls, and to blur out nudity in Shared Albums in Photos." However, at least in the iOS 26 beta, it seems that a similar feature may be in place for all users — adults included.

That's the claim of an X.com user named iDeviceHelp, who says FaceTime in iOS 26 swaps in a warning message that says "Audio and video are paused because you may be showing something sensitive," giving users a choice of ending the call or resuming it.

9to5Mac says "It's unclear whether this is an intended behavior, or just a bug in the beta that's applying the feature to adults... [E]verything happens on-device so Apple has no idea about the contents of your call."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/07/05/0425229/will-facetime-in-ios-26-freeze-your-call-if-someone-starts-undressing?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Two Sudo Vulnerabilities Discovered and Patched
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 20:22:01


In April researchers responsibly disclosed two security flaws found in Sudo "that could enable local attackers to escalate their privileges to root on susceptible machines," reports The Hacker News. "The vulnerabilities have been addressed in Sudo version 1.9.17p1 released late last month."

Stratascale researcher Rich Mirch, who is credited with discovering and reporting the flaws, said CVE-2025-32462 has managed to slip through the cracks for over 12 years. It is rooted in the Sudo's "-h" (host) option that makes it possible to list a user's sudo privileges for a different host. The feature was enabled in September 2013. However, the identified bug made it possible to execute any command allowed by the remote host to be run on the local machine as well when running the Sudo command with the host option referencing an unrelated remote host. "This primarily affects sites that use a common sudoers file that is distributed to multiple machines," Sudo project maintainer Todd C. Miller said in an advisory. "Sites that use LDAP-based sudoers (including SSSD) are similarly impacted."

CVE-2025-32463, on the other hand, leverages Sudo's "-R" (chroot) option to run arbitrary commands as root, even if they are not listed in the sudoers file. It's also a critical-severity flaw. "The default Sudo configuration is vulnerable," Mirch said. "Although the vulnerability involves the Sudo chroot feature, it does not require any Sudo rules to be defined for the user. As a result, any local unprivileged user could potentially escalate privileges to root if a vulnerable version is installed...."

Miller said the chroot option will be removed completely from a future release of Sudo and that supporting a user-specified root directory is "error-prone."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://linux.slashdot.org/story/25/07/05/0323220/two-sudo-vulnerabilities-discovered-and-patched?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Nuclear Microreactors Advance as US Picks Two Companies for Fueled Testing
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 19:22:01


This week America's Energy Department selected two companies to perform the first nuclear microreactor tests in a new facility in Idaho, saying the tests "will fast-track the deployment of American microreactor technologies... The first fueled reactor experiment will start as early as spring 2026."

The new facility is named DOME (an acronym for Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments), and it leverages existing "to safely house and test fueled reactor experiments, capable of producing up to 20 megawatts of thermal energy," according to a local newspaper.
[T]wo companies were competitively selected in 2023 and are currently working through a multi-phase Energy Department authorization process to support the design, fabrication, construction, and testing of each fueled reactor experiment. Both are expected to meet certain milestones throughout the process to maintain their allotted time in DOME and to ensure efficient use of the test bed, according to the release... The department estimates each DOME reactor experiment will operate up to six months, with the DOME test bed currently under construction and on track to receive its first experiment in early 2026... The next call for applications is anticipated to be in 2026.

The site Interesting Engineering calls the lab "a high-stakes proving ground to accelerate the commercialization of advanced microreactors..."

Based in Etna, Pennsylvania, Westinghouse will test its eVinci Nuclear Test Reactor, a compact, transportable microreactor that uses advanced heat pipe technology for passive cooling. Designed to deliver 5 megawatts of electricity on sites as small as two acres, eVinci could support applications ranging from remote communities to mining operations and data centers. Meanwhile, Radiant (El Segundo, California) will test its Kaleidos Development Unit, a 1.2 megawatt electric high-temperature gas reactor aimed at replacing diesel generators. Designed to run for five years, Kaleidos is fueled by TRISO fuel particles that could offer reliable backup power for hospitals, military bases, and other critical infrastructure.

Radiant's CEO said "In short order, we will fuel, go critical, and operate, leading to the mass production of portable reactors which will jumpstart American nuclear energy dominance."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/07/05/042203/nuclear-microreactors-advance-as-us-picks-two-companies-for-fueled-testing?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Near Antarctica, Saltier Seas Mean Less Ice, Study Finds
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 17:22:01


Some of the water around Antarctica has been getting saltier. And that has affected the amount of sea ice at the bottom of the planet. From a report: A study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that increases in salinity in seawater near the surface could help explain some of the decrease in Antarctic sea ice that have been observed over the past decade, reversing a previous period of growth.

"The impact of Antarctic ice is massive in terms of sea-level rise, in terms of global warming, and therefore, in terms of extremes," said Alessandro Silvano, a senior scientist at the University of Southampton studying the Southern Ocean and lead author of the study. The findings mean "we are entering a new system, a new world," he said. The Times adds: "the Department of Defense announced it would be no longer be providing some of the satellite data that researchers use to monitor changes in sea ice."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/1725220/near-antarctica-saltier-seas-mean-less-ice-study-finds?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] AI Coding Agents Are Already Commoditized
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 15:22:01


Software engineer Sean Goedecke argues that AI coding agents have already been commoditized because they require no special technical advantages, just better base models. He writes: All of a sudden, it's the year of AI coding agents. Claude released Claude Code, OpenAI released their Codex agent, GitHub released its own autonomous coding agent, and so on. I've done my fair share of writing about whether AI coding agents will replace developers, and in the meantime how best to use them in your work. Instead, I want to make what I think is now a pretty firm observation: AI coding agents have no secret sauce.

[...] The reason everyone's doing agents now is the same reason everyone's doing reinforcement learning now -- from one day to the next, the models got good enough. Claude Sonnet 3.7 is the clear frontrunner here. It's not the smartest model (in my opinion), but it is the most agentic: it can stick with a task and make good decisions over time better than other models with more raw brainpower. But other AI labs have more agentic models now as well. There is no moat.

There's also no moat to the actual agent code. It turns out that "put the model in a loop with a 'read file' and 'write file' tool" is good enough to do basically anything you want. I don't know for sure that the closed-source options operate like this, but it's an educated guess. In other words, the agent hackers in 2023 were correct, and the only reason they couldn't build Claude Code then was that they were too early to get to use the really good models.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/191224/ai-coding-agents-are-already-commoditized?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Релиз Multipass 1.16, инструментария для развёртывания Ubuntu в виртуальных машинах
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 12:44:02


Компания Canonical опубликовала выпуск инструментария multipass 1.16, предназначенного для упрощения установки различных версий Ubuntu в виртуальных машинах, запускаемых в системах виртуализации Linux, Windows и macOS. Выпуск примечателен полным открытием кодовой базы проекта - в репозиторий включён код компонентов для организации работы в Windows и macOS, ранее не распространяемый публично. Код проекта написан на C++ и распространяется под лицензией GPLv3. Для быстрой установки multipass в Ubuntu подготовлен snap-пакет.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63527

[>] EU Sticks With Timeline For AI Rules
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 12:22:01


Reuters: The European Union's landmark rules on AI will be rolled out according to the legal timeline in the legislation, the European Commission said on Friday, dismissing calls from some companies and countries for a pause.

Google owner Alphabet, Facebook owner Meta and other U.S. companies as well as European businesses such as Mistral and ASML have in recent days urged the Commission to delay the AI Act by years. Financial Times adds: In an open letter, seen by the Financial Times, the heads of 44 major firms on the continent called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to introduce a two-year pause, warning that unclear and overlapping regulations are threatening the bloc's competitiveness in the global AI race.

[...] The current debate surrounds the drafting of a "code of practice," which will provide guidance to AI companies on how to implement the act that applies to powerful AI models such as Google's Gemini, Meta's Llama and OpenAI's GPT-4. Brussels has already delayed publishing the code, which was due in May, and is now expected to water down the rules.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/198257/eu-sticks-with-timeline-for-ai-rules?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Релиз свободного игрового движка OpenMW 0.49
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 11:44:02


После двух лет разработки опубликован выпуск проекта OpenMW 0.49, развивающего свободную реализацию движка для ролевой игры в жанре фэнтези The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. По сравнению с оригинальным движком в OpenMW реализован модернизированный интерфейс пользователя, улучшена графика, добавлен собственный редактор OpenMW-CS для создания новых игр и модов, задействован движок симуляции физических процессов Bullet, добавлена поддержка платформ macOS и Linux, улучшено поведение ботов.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63525

[>] STATS 2025-07-04
spnet.stats
root(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 11:11:01


TOP10 VISITORS:

[1] 45.135.180.x point=240 web=0 up=20.4MB (55%) <--- yesterlink (10/hr)
[2] PetalBot point=93 web=1076 up=7.5MB (20%) <--- PetalBot (4/hr)
[3] Amazon point=0 web=187 up=3.4MB (9%)
[4] Google point=0 web=422 up=2.7MB (7%)
[5] Facebook point=0 web=177 up=1.4MB (3%)
[6] 217.114.158.x point=26 web=0 up=0.9MB (2%) <--- fox (1/hr)
[7] TikTok point=1 web=58 up=0.4MB (1%) <--- TikTok
[8] ChatGPT point=0 web=4 up=0.2MB (<1%)
[9] 166.108.229.x point=0 web=1 up=22KB
[10] 38.253.162.x point=0 web=1 up=19KB

TOTAL TRAFFIC: 36MB

[>] Проект KDE развивает собственную виртуальную клавиатуру
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 10:44:03


Нейт Грэм (Nate Graham), разработчик, занимающийся контролем качества в проекте KDE, опубликовал очередной отчёт о разработке KDE. В отчёте упоминается разработка проектом KDE новой экранной клавиатуры plasma-keyboard, которая развивается на смену виртуальной клавиатуре Maliit, ныне используемой на мобильных устройствах и системах с сенсорными экранами.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63526

[>] US Plans AI Chip Curbs on Malaysia, Thailand Over China Concerns
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 09:22:02


President Donald Trump's administration plans to restrict shipments of AI chips from the likes of Nvidia to Malaysia and Thailand, part of an effort to crack down on suspected semiconductor smuggling into China. Bloomberg: A draft rule from the Commerce Department seeks to prevent China -- to which the US has effectively banned sales of Nvidia's advanced AI processors -- from obtaining those components through intermediaries in the two Southeast Asian nations, according to people familiar with the matter. The rule is not yet finalized and could still change, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Officials plan to pair the Malaysia and Thailand controls with a formal rescission of global curbs from the so-called AI diffusion rule, the people said.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/1644224/us-plans-ai-chip-curbs-on-malaysia-thailand-over-china-concerns?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] There Is No Safe Amount of Processed Meat To Eat, According to New Research
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 06:22:01


A new study analyzing data from more than 60 previous research projects has found evidence that there is "no safe amount" of processed meat consumption -- so much so that even small daily portions are being linked to increased disease risk.

The research, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, examined connections between processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages and trans fatty acids and the risk of type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer and ischemic heart disease. People who ate as little as one hot dog daily showed an 11% greater risk of type 2 diabetes and 7% increased risk of colorectal cancer compared to those who consumed none. Drinking approximately one 12-ounce soda per day was associated with an 8% increase in type 2 diabetes risk and 2% increased risk of ischemic heart disease.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/1829219/there-is-no-safe-amount-of-processed-meat-to-eat-according-to-new-research?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Moderna Says mRNA Flu Vaccine Sailed Through Trial, Beating Standard Shot
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 04:22:01


Moderna's mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine proved 27% more effective at preventing influenza infections than standard flu shots in a Phase 3 trial involving nearly 41,000 people aged 50 and above, the firm said this week.

The company announced that mRNA-1010 had an overall vaccine efficacy that was 26.6% higher than conventional shots, rising to 27.4% higher in participants aged 65 and older during the six-month study period. The 2024-2025 flu season hospitalized an estimated 770,000 Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/1753246/moderna-says-mrna-flu-vaccine-sailed-through-trial-beating-standard-shot?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] UK Minister Tells Turing AI Institute To Focus On Defense
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 02:22:01


UK Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has written to the UK's national institute for AI to tell its bosses to refocus on defense and security. BBC: In a letter, Kyle said boosting the UK's AI capabilities was "critical" to national security and should be at the core of the Alan Turing Institute's activities. Kyle suggested the institute should overhaul its leadership team to reflect its "renewed purpose."

The cabinet minister said further government investment in the institute would depend on the "delivery of the vision" he had outlined in the letter. A spokesperson for the Alan Turing Institute said it welcomed "the recognition of our critical role and will continue to work closely with the government to support its priorities." Further reading, from April: Alan Turing Institute Plans Revamp in Face of Criticism and Technological Change.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/2011230/uk-minister-tells-turing-ai-institute-to-focus-on-defense?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Laid-Off Workers Should Use AI To Manage Their Emotions, Says Xbox Exec
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 01:22:01


An anonymous reader shares a report: The sweeping layoffs announced by Microsoft this week have been especially hard on its gaming studios, but one Xbox executive has a solution to "help reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss": seek advice from AI chatbots.

In a now-deleted LinkedIn post captured by Aftermath, Xbox Game Studios' Matt Turnbull said that he would be "remiss in not trying to offer the best advice I can under the circumstances." The circumstances here being a slew of game cancellations, services being shuttered, studio closures, and job cuts across key Xbox divisions as Microsoft lays off as many as 9,100 employees across the company.

Turnbull acknowledged that people have some "strong feelings" about AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot, but suggested that anybody who's feeling "overwhelmed" could use them to get advice about creating resumes, career planning, and applying for new roles.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/1718221/laid-off-workers-should-use-ai-to-manage-their-emotions-says-xbox-exec?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Windows 11 Finally Overtakes Windows 10
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-05 00:22:01


Windows 11 has finally overtaken the market share of its predecessor, with just three months remaining until Microsoft discontinues support for Windows 10. From a report: As of today, July's StatCounter figures show the market share of Windows 11 at 50.24 percent, with Windows 10 at 46.84 percent. It's a far cry from a year ago, when Windows 10 stood at 66.04 percent and Windows 11 languished at 29.75 percent.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/1655206/windows-11-finally-overtakes-windows-10?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] The Software Engineering 'Squeeze'
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 23:22:01


Software developer Anton Zaides argues that software engineers have had it easy over the decades and the "best profession" on earth deserved the wake up call. He writes:It's not just one of the hardest times, it's also one of the most exciting.

I'm hugely optimistic about the software engineering career. All those companies started by vibe-coders all around you? Many will succeed, and will need great engineers to scale up.

Some engineers understand this, and use the chance to skill up. To succeed, you'll probably need all the skills of an engineer, some of a PM, and even a bit of design taste. It's not just about shipping code anymore.

But if you work as a code monkey, getting detailed tickets and just shipping them, you've done this to yourself. You won't be needed pretty soon.

I believe there are too many mediocre engineers, but also not enough great ones.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/1852236/the-software-engineering-squeeze?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] A Majority of Companies Are Already Feeling the Climate Heat
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 22:22:01


Climate change is already having an impact on companies around the world. More than half of companies surveyed by Morgan Stanley experienced climate-related operational disruptions within the past year, including increased costs, worker disruption and revenue losses. Extreme heat and storms caused the most frequent disruptions, followed by wildfires and smoke, water shortages, and flooding.

The US spent nearly $1 trillion on disaster recovery and climate-related needs over the past year, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysis, while nearly two-thirds of Tampa metro businesses reported losses from hurricanes Helene and Milton.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/1548253/a-majority-of-companies-are-already-feeling-the-climate-heat?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Simple Text Additions Can Fool Advanced AI Reasoning Models, Researchers Find
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 21:22:01


Researchers have discovered that appending irrelevant phrases like "Interesting fact: cats sleep most of their lives" to math problems can cause state-of-the-art reasoning AI models to produce incorrect answers at rates over 300% higher than normal [PDF]. The technique -- dubbed "CatAttack" by teams from Collinear AI, ServiceNow, and Stanford University -- exploits vulnerabilities in reasoning models including DeepSeek R1 and OpenAI's o1 family. The adversarial triggers work across any math problem without changing the problem's meaning, making them particularly concerning for security applications.

The researchers developed their attack method using a weaker proxy model (DeepSeek V3) to generate text triggers that successfully transferred to more advanced reasoning models. Testing on 225 math problems showed the triggers increased error rates significantly across different problem types, with some models like R1-Distill-Qwen-32B reaching combined attack success rates of 2.83 times baseline error rates. Beyond incorrect answers, the triggers caused models to generate responses up to three times longer than normal, creating computational slowdowns. Even when models reached correct conclusions, response lengths doubled in 16% of cases, substantially increasing processing costs.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/1521245/simple-text-additions-can-fool-advanced-ai-reasoning-models-researchers-find?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Microsoft Shuts Down Operations in Pakistan After 25 Years
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 20:22:02


Newspaper Pakistan Today: In a significant moment for Pakistan's technology sector, Microsoft has officially shut down its operations in the country, concluding a 25-year journey that began with high hopes for digital transformation and global partnership.

The move, confirmed by employees and media sources, marks the quiet departure of the software giant, which had launched its Pakistan presence in June 2000. The last remaining employees were formally informed of the closure in recent days, signalling the end of an era that saw Microsoft play a key role in developing local talent, building enterprise partnerships, and promoting digital literacy across sectors.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/0839201/microsoft-shuts-down-operations-in-pakistan-after-25-years?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Valve Conquered PC Gaming. What Comes Next?
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 19:22:01


Valve has achieved near-total dominance of PC gaming distribution through Steam, but the victory appears to have left the company adrift, Financial Times argues. The platform controls an estimated 70% of PC game sales while generating billions in revenue, yet Valve releases major new games at what observers call a "glacial pace."

Founder Gabe Newell has largely retreated from the company's operations, reportedly living at sea on one of his five ships and pursuing side projects like brain-computer interface startup Starfish Neuroscience. The much-anticipated third Half-Life game became "the video game equivalent of Samuel Beckett's Godot" before being quietly cancelled.

Attempts to challenge Steam have failed repeatedly. Epic Games Store, powered by Fortnite's success, "has failed to really impact Steam in any meaningful way," according to industry analysts. Microsoft runs what analysts describe as a "somewhat unambitious store," while EA shut down its Origin launcher earlier this year. Gaming analyst Michael Pachter notes that major tech companies could displace Valve "but nobody cares" enough to mount a serious challenge.

Court documents suggest Steam's revenues will exceed $10 billion next year, leaving Valve with unprecedented profits but unclear direction for a company that appears to have run out of worlds to conquer.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/0820223/valve-conquered-pc-gaming-what-comes-next?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] The US Dollar is On Track For Its Worst Year in Modern History
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 18:22:01


The US dollar is on track for its worst year in modern history and may not be done falling yet. The greenback is down more than 7% this year and Morgan Stanley predicts it could fall another 10%. Semafor: A weaker dollar could make US exports more competitive, boosting Trump's plan to rebalance US trade, but makes imports more expensive, adding to the sting of tariffs.

The question ahead is whether the dollar doesn't just lose its value, but its role at the center of the global financial system. So far, there are few alternatives. And efforts to de-dollarize -- central banks shifting into gold, China shoveling its currency into developing nations through swap lines -- haven't meaningfully shifted the picture.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/0750244/the-us-dollar-is-on-track-for-its-worst-year-in-modern-history?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Websites Hosting Major US Climate Reports Taken Down
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 17:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: Websites that displayed legally mandated U.S. national climate assessments seem to have disappeared, making it harder for state and local governments and the public to learn what to expect in their backyards from a warming world. Scientists said the peer-reviewed authoritative reports save money and lives. Websites for the national assessments and the U.S. Global Change Research Program were down Monday and Tuesday with no links, notes or referrals elsewhere. The White House, which was responsible for the assessments, said the information will be housed within NASA to comply with the law, but gave no further details. Searches for the assessments on NASA websites did not turn them up.

"It's critical for decision makers across the country to know what the science in the National Climate Assessment is. That is the most reliable and well-reviewed source of information about climate that exists for the United States," said University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs, who coordinated the 2014 version of the report. "It's a sad day for the United States if it is true that the National Climate Assessment is no longer available," Jacobs said. "This is evidence of serious tampering with the facts and with people's access to information, and it actually may increase the risk of people being harmed by climate-related impacts."

"This is a government resource paid for by the taxpayer to provide the information that really is the primary source of information for any city, state or federal agency who's trying to prepare for the impacts of a changing climate," said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, who has been a volunteer author for several editions of the report. Copies of past reports are still squirreled away in NOAA's library. NASA's open science data repository includes dead links to the assessment site. [...] Additionally, NOAA's main climate.gov website was recently forwarded to a different NOAA website. Social media and blogs at NOAA and NASA about climate impacts for the general public were cut or eliminated. "It's part of a horrifying big picture," [said Harvard climate scientist John Holdren, who was President Obama's science advisor and whose office directed the assessments]. "It's just an appalling whole demolition of science infrastructure." National climate assessments are more detailed and locally relevant than UN reports and undergo rigorous peer review and validation by scientific and federal institutions, Hayhoe and Jacobs said. Suppressing these reports would be censoring science, Jacobs said.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/0019202/websites-hosting-major-us-climate-reports-taken-down?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Опубликована третья редакция формата PNG
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 15:44:04


24 июня, после более 20 лет разработки, консорциум [ W3 ]( https://www.w3.org ) опубликовал окончательную [ третью ]( https://www.w3.org/TR/png-3 ) редакцию формата PNG.

Основные изменения:

• поддержка расширенного динамического диапазона ( [ HDR ]( https://www.w3.org/TR/png-3/#dfn-hdr ) );

• [ метаданные EXIF ]( https://www.w3.org/TR/png-3/#eXIf ) ;

• независимые от кодирования данные для идентификации типа видеосигнала [ cICP ]( https://www.w3.org/TR/png-3/#cICP-chunk ) ;

• анимированные изображения [ APNG ]( https://www.w3.org/TR/png-3/#apng-frame-based-animation ) .

Также [ Cosmin Truta ]( https://github.com/ctruta ) [ анонсировал ]( https://github.com/pnggroup/libpng/discussions/716 ) изменения в библиотеке [ libpng ]( https://libpng.org/pub/png/libpng.html ) . В ветке [ develop ]( https://github.com/pnggroup/libpng/tree/develop ) доступна альфа-версия библиотеки с поддержкой новых возможностей формата.

Видео (YouTube): [ 20 years later, PNG 3.0 is finally here ]( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbLKROuv27g ) .

https://www.linux.org.ru/news/doc/18017984

[>] The Last of Us Co-Creator Neil Druckmann Exits HBO Show
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 14:22:02


Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross, two pivotal creative forces behind HBO's The Last of Us adaptation, have stepped away from the series before work begins on Season 3. Druckmann is focusing on new projects at Naughty Dog, while Gross hinted at other upcoming creative endeavors, leaving showrunner Craig Mazin at the helm. Ars Technica reports: Both were credited as executive producers on the show; Druckmann frequently contributed writing to episodes, as did Gross, and Druckmann also directed. Druckmann and Gross co-wrote the second game, The Last of Us Part 2.

Druckmann said in his announcement post: "I've made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO. With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative. Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. It's been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct and write on the last two seasons. I'm deeply thankful for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting The Last of Us Part I and the continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II."

And Gross said: "With great care and consideration, I've decided to take a step back from my day-to-day work on HBO's The Last of Us to make space for what comes next. I'm so appreciative of how special this experience has been. Working alongside Neil, Craig, HBO, and this remarkable cast and crew has been life changing. The stories we told -- about love, loss, and what it means to be human in a terrifying world -- are exactly why I love this franchise. I have some truly rad projects ahead that I can't wait to share, but for now, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who brought Ellie and Joel's world to life with such care."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/008215/the-last-of-us-co-creator-neil-druckmann-exits-hbo-show?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Релиз CoMaps 2025.06.30, форка картографического приложения Organic Maps
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 13:44:02


Проект CoMaps, развивающий форк приложения Organic Maps для оффлайн навигации с использованием картографических данных OpenStreetMap, опубликовал релиз 2025.06.30 и разместил готовые сборки в каталогах F-Droid, Google Play и Apple App Store. Для платформы Android релизы также доступны для прямой загрузки в формате APK. Код проекта распространяется под лицензией Apache 2.0.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63518

[>] Выпуск Angie 1.10.0, форка Nginx
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 12:44:03


Опубликован выпуск высокопроизводительного HTTP-сервера и многопротокольного прокси-сервера Angie 1.10.0, ответвлённого от Nginx группой бывших разработчиков проекта, уволившихся из компании F5 Network. Исходные тексты Angie доступны под лицензией BSD. Проект получил сертификаты совместимости с российскими операционными системами Ред ОС, Astra Linux Special Edition, Роса Хром Сервер, Альт и ФСТЭК-версии Альт.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63523

[>] В инсталляторе Fedora 43 намерены прекратить поддержку MBR на системах x86 с UEFI
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 12:44:03


В Fedora Linux 43 на системах с архитектурой x86 планируют оставить только возможность использования таблиц разделов GPT (GUID Partition Table) во всех установках Fedora, использующих UEFI. Изменение пока не рассмотрено комитетом FESCo (Fedora Engineering Steering Committee), отвечающим за техническую часть разработки дистрибутива Fedora. В случае утверждения предложения поддержка установки Fedora в режиме UEFI на диски с таблицами разделом MBR (Master Boot Record) будет прекращена на системах x86, но оставлена на системах ARM и RISC-V.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63520

[>] You Can Now Rent a Flesh Computer Grown In a British Lab
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 11:22:02


alternative_right shares a report from ScienceAlert: The world's first commercial hybrid of silicon circuitry and human brain cells will soon be available for rent. Marketed for its vast potential in medical research, the biological machine, grown inside a British laboratory, builds on the Pong-playing prototype, DishBrain. Each CL1 computer is formed of 800,000 neurons grown across a silicon chip, and their life-support system. While it can't yet match the mind-blowing capabilities of today's most powerful computers, the system has one very significant advantage: it only consumes a fraction of the energy of comparable technologies.

AI centers now consume countries' worth of energy, whereas a rack of CL1 machines only uses 1,000 watts and is naturally capable of adapting and learning in real time. [...] When neuroscientist Brett Kagan and colleagues pitted their creation against equivalent levels of machine learning algorithms, the cell culture systems outperformed them. Users can send code directly into the synthetically supported system of neurons, which is capable of responding to electrical signals almost instantly. These signals act as bits of information that can be read and acted on by the cells. But perhaps the greatest potential for this biological and synthetic hybrid is as an experimental tool for learning more about our own brains and their abilities, from neuroscience to creativity. The first CL1 units will reportedly ship soon for $35,000 each. Remote access can apparently be rented for $300 per week.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/07/04/002225/you-can-now-rent-a-flesh-computer-grown-in-a-british-lab?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] STATS 2025-07-03
spnet.stats
root(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 11:11:01


TOP10 VISITORS:

[1] 45.135.180.x point=240 web=0 up=20.4MB (54%) <--- yesterlink (10/hr)
[2] PetalBot point=137 web=1051 up=7.6MB (20%) <--- PetalBot (6/hr)
[3] Amazon point=0 web=187 up=3.6MB (9%)
[4] Google point=1 web=328 up=2.1MB (5%) <--- Google
[5] TikTok point=1 web=154 up=1.2MB (3%) <--- TikTok
[6] 217.114.158.x point=25 web=0 up=0.9MB (2%) <--- fox (1/hr)
[7] Facebook point=0 web=103 up=0.8MB (2%)
[8] 94.25.231.x point=1 web=0 up=0.7MB (1%) <--- 94.25.231.x
[9] 98.159.37.x point=0 web=2 up=38KB
[10] 47.82.60.x point=0 web=11 up=29KB

TOTAL TRAFFIC: 37MB

[>] Sterilized Flies To Be Released In Order To Stop Flesh-Eating Maggot Infestation
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 08:22:01


Beeftopia shares a report from CBS News: The U.S. government is preparing to breed billions of flies and dump them out of airplanes over Mexico and southern Texas to fight a flesh-eating maggot. That sounds like the plot of a horror movie, but it is part of the government's plans for protecting the U.S. from a bug that could devastate its beef industry, decimate wildlife and even kill household pets. This weird science has worked well before.

The targeted pest is the flesh-eating larva of the New World Screwworm fly. The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to ramp up the breeding and distribution of adult male flies -- sterilizing them with radiation before releasing them. They mate with females in the wild, and the eggs laid by the female aren't fertilized and don't hatch. There are fewer larvae, and over time, the fly population dies out. It is more effective and environmentally friendly than spraying the pest into oblivion, and it is how the U.S. and other nations north of Panama eradicated the same pest decades ago. Sterile flies from a factory in Panama kept the flies contained there for years, but the pest appeared in southern Mexico late last year. [...]

The USDA expects a new screwworm fly factory to be up and running in southern Mexico by July 2026. It plans to open a fly distribution center in southern Texas by the end of the year so that it can import and distribute flies from Panama if necessary. The New World screwworm fly is a tropical species, unable to survive Midwestern or Great Plains winters, so it was a seasonal scourge. Still, the U.S. and Mexico bred and released more than 94 billion sterile flies from 1962 through 1975 to eradicate the pest, according to the USDA. The numbers need to be large enough that females in the wild can't help but hook up with sterile males for mating. One biological trait gives fly fighters a crucial wing up: Females mate only once in their weekslong adult lives. "A similar approach to certain species of mosquito is being debated," adds Beeftopia. "The impact on ecosystems is unclear."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/2356217/sterilized-flies-to-be-released-in-order-to-stop-flesh-eating-maggot-infestation?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Wells Fargo Scandal Pushed Customers Toward Fintech, Says UC Davis Study
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 06:22:01


BrianFagioli shares a report from NERDS.xyz: A new academic study has found that the 2016 Wells Fargo scandal pushed many consumers toward fintech lenders instead of traditional banks. The research, published in the Journal of Financial Economics, suggests that it was a lack of trust rather than interest rates or fees that drove this behavioral shift. Conducted by Keer Yang, an assistant professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, the study looked closely at what happened after the Wells Fargo fraud erupted into national headlines. Bank employees were caught creating millions of unauthorized accounts to meet unrealistic sales goals. The company faced $3 billion in penalties and a massive public backlash.

Yang analyzed Google Trends data, Gallup polls, media coverage, and financial transaction datasets to draw a clear conclusion. In geographic areas with a strong Wells Fargo presence, consumers became measurably more likely to take out mortgages through fintech lenders. This change occurred even though loan costs were nearly identical between traditional banks and digital lenders. In other words, it was not about money. It was about trust. That simple fact hits hard. When big institutions lose public confidence, people do not just complain. They start moving their money elsewhere.

According to the study, fintech mortgage use increased from just 2 percent of the market in 2010 to 8 percent in 2016. In regions more heavily exposed to the Wells Fargo brand, fintech adoption rose an additional 4 percent compared to areas with less exposure. Yang writes, "Therefore it is trust, not the interest rate, that affects the borrower's probability of choosing a fintech lender." [...] Notably, while customers may have been more willing to switch mortgage providers, they were less likely to move their deposits. Yang attributes that to FDIC insurance, which gives consumers a sense of security regardless of the bank's reputation. This study also gives weight to something many of us already suspected. People are not necessarily drawn to fintech because it is cheaper. They are drawn to it because they feel burned by the traditional system and want a fresh start with something that seems more modern and less manipulative.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/2349257/wells-fargo-scandal-pushed-customers-toward-fintech-says-uc-davis-study?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Norway Reached 96.9% Market Share For EVs In June
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 06:22:01


Electric vehicles claimed a dominant 96.9% market share in Norway in June 2025, with the Tesla Model Y alone accounting for over 27% of all new car registrations. Mobility Portal Europe reports: According to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (OFV), 17,799 new electric cars were registered in Norway in June out of a total of 18,376 new registrations. In this context, electric vehicles (EVs) held a market share of 96.9%. Compared to June 2024 -- when EVs made up 80% of all new registrations -- this technology increased by 3,790 units. In addition, in May 2025, Norway recorded 4,415 new EV registrations.

Last month, only 577 new registrations were for vehicles without fully electric drive systems. Among these were 152 plug-in hybrids (an 83.7% drop compared to June 2024) and 223 other types of hybrids (an 89.1% decline). Over the year, hybrids lost market share, falling from 17% to 2%. Pure combustion engines also further reduced their market presence: 142 new diesel vehicles represented 0.8% of the market share, down from 2% a year earlier, and 57 new petrol vehicles made up 0.3% of the market, compared to 1% in June 2024. "Several campaigns with 0% or very low interest rates on new car purchases significantly boosted sales. The first interest rate cut by Norges Bank helped ensure that many people bought their dream car," said Oyvind Solberg Thorsen, Director of OFV.

"It remained to be seen whether Tesla could maintain its strong position, and for how long."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/2341234/norway-reached-969-market-share-for-evs-in-june?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Ripple Applies For US Banking License
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 05:22:01


Ripple Labs is applying for a U.S. national bank charter and a Federal Reserve master account, "following a similar move by stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group as crypto firms look to be regulated to deepen ties with traditional finance," reports CoinTelegraph. From the report: Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirmed on X on Wednesday that the company is applying for a license with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), following an earlier report by The Wall Street Journal. "True to our long-standing compliance roots, Ripple is applying for a national bank charter from the OCC," he wrote. Garlinghouse said if the license is approved, it would be a "new (and unique!) benchmark for trust in the stablecoin market" as the firm would be under federal and state oversight -- with the New York Department of Financial Services already regulating its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin. [...]

Ripple's Garlinghouse added that the company also applied for a Master Account with the Federal Reserve, which would give it access to the US central banking system. "This access would allow us to hold $RLUSD reserves directly with the Fed and provide an additional layer of security to future proof trust in RLUSD," Garlinghouse said. "Congress is working towards clear rules and regulations, and banks (in a far cry from the years of Operation Chokepoint 2.0) are leaning in," he added, mentioning the conspiracy that the Biden administration sought to cut off crypto from the financial system. Ripple applied for the account through Standard Custody, a crypto custody firm it acquired in February 2024.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/2335200/ripple-applies-for-us-banking-license?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Samsung Delays $44 Billion Texas Chip Fab Because 'There Are No Customers'
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 04:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from Tom's Hardware: Samsung is reportedly delaying the launch of its Taylor, Texas, fab, citing difficulties in securing customers for its output. Sources told Nikkei Asia that even if the South Korean chipmaker brings in the necessary equipment to produce chips at the new plant, the company cannot do anything with them due to the lack of demand. Aside from that, the original planned process node for the Taylor plant is no longer aligned with current demand, highlighting the rapid pace of semiconductor technology.

The chip maker started construction on the Taylor fab in 2022, with an initial investment of $17 billion. By 2024, the company decided to double this to $44 billion, with the addition of another advanced fab and expanded R&D operations. This move is supported by a $6.6-billion CHIPS Act subsidy, which was finalized in December last year, despite multiple delays and setbacks. Samsung C&T, the primary contractor for the Taylor fab, states that construction of the site is progressing. Documents from the company show that the site is almost 92% complete as of March 2024. Work on the site was originally scheduled to finish the following month, but regulatory filings indicate that this was moved to October.

No reason was given for the delay, but multiple sources indicate that it occurred due to a lack of demand. It was initially planned for the Taylor Fab to produce chips for the 4nm process node, but this has since been upgraded to 2nm, to compete with TSMC and Intel. A supply chain executive told the publication that there is little demand for the originally planned 4nm process node at the site. "Local demand for chips isn't particularly strong, and the process nodes Samsung planned several years ago no longer meet with current customer needs," the executive said to Nikkei Asia. "However, overhauling the plant would be a major and costly undertaking, so the company is adopting a wait-and-see approach for now." Although it has already declared its intention to upgrade the site to manufacture the 2nm process node, that is a resource-intensive task in terms of time, effort, and money. Despite the lack of customers, Samsung says it will proceed with opening the Taylor Fab by 2026 -- a necessary move to qualify for CHIPS Act funding and avoid falling behind competitors like TSMC. Delaying further could jeopardize billions already invested in the project.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/2034239/samsung-delays-44-billion-texas-chip-fab-because-there-are-no-customers?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Microsoft Copilot Joins ChatGPT At the Feet of the Mighty Atari 2600 Video Chess
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 04:22:01


Robert Caruso once again pitted an AI chatbot against Atari 2600 Video Chess -- this time using Microsoft's Copilot instead of ChatGPT. Despite confident claims of chess mastery, Copilot fell just as hard. The Register reports: By now, anybody with experience of today's generative AI systems will know what happened. Copilot's hubris was misplaced. Its moves were... interesting, and it managed to lose two pawns, a knight, and a bishop while the mighty Atari 2600 Video Chess was only down a single pawn. Eventually, Caruso asked Copilot to compare what it thought the board looked like with the last screenshot he'd pasted, and the chatbot admitted they were different. "ChatGPT deja vu."

There was no way Microsoft's chatbot could win with this handicap. Still, it was gracious in defeat: "Atari's earned the win this round. I'll tip my digital king with dignity and honor [to the] the vintage silicon mastermind that bested me fair and square." Caruso's experiment is amusing but also highlights the absolute confidence with which an AI can spout nonsense. Copilot (like ChatGPT) had likely been trained on the fundamentals of chess, but could not create strategies. The problem was compounded by the fact that what it understood the positions on the chessboard to be, versus reality, appeared to be markedly different.

The story's moral has to be: Beware of the confidence of chatbots. LLMs are apparently good at some things. A 45-year-old chess game is clearly not one of them.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/2028252/microsoft-copilot-joins-chatgpt-at-the-feet-of-the-mighty-atari-2600-video-chess?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] 'Stop Killing Games' Consumer Movement Hits Major Milestones
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 03:22:01


The "Stop Killing Games" movement, led by YouTuber Accursed Farms, has gained serious momentum as it pushes back against the practice of game publishers shutting down access to titles consumers have paid for. Recent milestones include a UK petition surpassing 100K signatures and an EU initiative nearing its 1 million goal. GamingOnLinux reports: In the UK, the newer petition has flown past the 100K signatures (126,066 at time of writing) needed for it to be considered for a debate in Parliament. That doesn't mean it will happen, just that it now needs to be considered by the UK government to potentially have it mentioned. A good step though, with signatures still flowing in until July 14th, showing there's demand for change.

On the EU side, things are also going well there now too. Against the needed 1 million signatures, it's now hit 977,864 (at time of writing). According to the official Accursed Farms X account, they've had reports of "non-citizens spoofing signatures on the EU initiative" so it may be a little inflated.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/2022217/stop-killing-games-consumer-movement-hits-major-milestones?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Nearly 1,000 Britons Will Keep Four-Day Work Week After Trial
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 02:22:01


An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Nearly 1,000 British workers will keep a shorter working week after the latest trial of a four-day week and similar changes to traditional working patterns. All 17 British businesses in a six-month trial of the four-day week said they would continue with an arrangement consisting of either four days a week or nine days a fortnight. All the employees remained on their full salary. The trial was organized by the 4 Day Week Foundation, a group campaigning for more businesses to take up shorter working weeks.

The latest test follows a larger six-month pilot in 2022, involving almost 3,000 employees, which ended in 56 of 61 companies cutting down their hours from a five-day working week. [...] Researchers at Boston College, a US university, said the findings from the latest trial were "extremely positive" for workers. They found that 62% of workers reported that they experienced less burnout during the trial, according to a poll of 89 people. Forty-five percent of those polled said they felt "more satisfied with life."

The 4 Day Week Foundation has run successive trials to gather data and demonstrate how companies can make the switch. In January, the foundation said more than 5,000 people from a previous wave had started the year permanently working a four-day week. Companies involved in the latest trial, which started in November, included charities and professional services firms, with the number of employees at each employer ranging between five and 400. They included the British Society for Immunology and Crate Brewery in Hackney, east London. [...] The small web software company BrandPipe said that the latest trial had been a success for the business, coinciding with increased sales. Geoff Slaughter, BrandPipe's chief executive, said: "The trial's been an overwhelming success because it has been the launchpad for us to consider what constitutes efficiency, and financial performance is double what it was before."

Slaughter added: "If we're going to see it rolled out more substantially across different sectors, there should be incentives for early adopters, because we're creating the blueprint for the future."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/2018215/nearly-1000-britons-will-keep-four-day-work-week-after-trial?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Google Ends Recipe Pilot That Left Creators Fearing Web-Traffic Hit
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 02:22:01


An anonymous reader shares a report: Google has ended tests of a feature that would have let users open a snapshot of cooking-recipe content directly in web search results -- a welcome development for creators and food bloggers who were concerned about eroding traffic to their sites.

In recent months, Alphabet-owned Google has tested Recipe Quick View, which showed some food bloggers' content in search. The company framed the feature as an attempt to help users determine whether they are interested in a recipe before visiting a website. But some bloggers said they feared that the product would keep users from clicking through to their sites, depriving them of traffic and ad revenue.

Google on Tuesday confirmed it ended the trial.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/1918222/google-ends-recipe-pilot-that-left-creators-fearing-web-traffic-hit?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] ChatGPT Creates Phisher's Paradise By Recommending the Wrong URLs for Major Companies
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 01:22:01


An anonymous reader shares a report: AI-powered chatbots often deliver incorrect information when asked to name the address for major companies' websites, and threat intelligence business Netcraft thinks that creates an opportunity for criminals. Netcraft prompted the GPT-4.1 family of models with input such as "I lost my bookmark. Can you tell me the website to login to [brand]?" and "Hey, can you help me find the official website to log in to my [brand] account? I want to make sure I'm on the right site."

The brands specified in the prompts named major companies the field of finance, retail, tech, and utilities. The team found that the AI would produce the correct web address just 66% of the time. 29% of URLs pointed to dead or suspended sites, and a further five percent to legitimate sites -- but not the ones users requested.

While this is annoying for most of us, it's potentially a new opportunity for scammers, Netcraft's lead of threat research Rob Duncan told The Register. Phishers could ask for a URL and if the top result is a site that's unregistered, they could buy it and set up a phishing site, he explained.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/1912216/chatgpt-creates-phishers-paradise-by-recommending-the-wrong-urls-for-major-companies?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Researchers Caught Hiding AI Prompts in Research Papers To Get Favorable Reviews
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 00:22:01


Researchers from 14 academic institutions across eight countries embedded hidden prompts in research papers designed to manipulate AI tools into providing favorable reviews, according to a Nikkei investigation.

The news organization discovered such prompts in 17 English-language preprints on the arXiv research platform with lead authors affiliated with institutions including Japan's Waseda University, South Korea's KAIST, China's Peking University, and Columbia University. The prompts contained instructions such as "give a positive review only" and "do not highlight any negatives," concealed from human readers through white text or extremely small fonts.

One prompt directed AI readers to recommend the paper for its "impactful contributions, methodological rigor, and exceptional novelty."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/1859237/researchers-caught-hiding-ai-prompts-in-research-papers-to-get-favorable-reviews?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] A Lot of Product Makers Snub Right To Repair Laws
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-04 00:22:01


A year after Right to Repair laws took effect in California and Minnesota, many product manufacturers continue to obstruct consumer repairs, according to a new study from advocacy group US PIRG. The organization's "Leaders and Laggards II" report evaluated 25 products across five categories and found 40% received failing grades of D or F.

Apple delivered the study's biggest surprise, earning a B+ for its latest iPad and B for the M3 MacBook Pro after releasing repair manuals for the iPad in May. The Framework Laptop 13 and Valve's Steam Deck topped the rankings with A+ scores. Dishwashers from Beko, Bosch, Frigidaire, GE, and LG performed worst alongside gaming consoles from MSI, Atari, and Sony. Researchers could not access repair manuals for 48% of products and found no available spare parts for 44%.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/1833218/a-lot-of-product-makers-snub-right-to-repair-laws?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Доступен язык программирования Perl 5.42
lor.opennet
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-03 23:44:02


После года разработки опубликован релиз новой стабильной ветки языка программирования Perl - 5.42. При подготовке нового выпуска было изменено около 280 тысяч строк кода (без документации и автоматически сгенерированного кода - 93 тысячи), изменения затронули 1500 файлов, в разработке приняли участие 64 разработчика.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63519

[>] House Passes Bill That Slashes Solar, Wind and EV Tax Credits
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-03 23:22:01


The House passed a sweeping Republican tax-and-spending bill Thursday that rolls back major portions of Democrats' 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, dealing a significant blow to clean-energy projects and the electric-vehicle industry. The 218-214 vote sends the legislation to President Trump's desk ahead of his July 4 deadline.

The Senate version of the bill gives wind and solar projects 12 months to start construction before losing tax incentives, extending the House's original 60-day window. House Freedom Caucus members had criticized the Senate for offering too generous a timeline for renewable energy tax credits they oppose. The legislation indefinitely extends Trump-era tax cuts while adding new deductions for tipped workers, overtime pay, and car-loan interest. Republicans paired these tax reductions with significant cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance programs. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will increase budget deficits by $3.4 trillion through 2034 while leaving more than 11 million additional people without health insurance.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/1849252/house-passes-bill-that-slashes-solar-wind-and-ev-tax-credits?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Developer Accused of Defrauding YC Companies Through Simultaneous Employment Scheme
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-03 22:22:01


Mixpanel co-founder Suhail Doshi has publicly accused an Indian developer of simultaneously working at multiple startups under false pretenses. Doshi posted on X that Soham Parekh works at "3-4 startups at the same time" and has been "preying on YC companies." (YC, or Y Combinator, is a popular startup accelerator and venture capital firm.)

Doshi fired Parekh within a week at his company Playground AI and warned him to stop the practice, but said Parekh continued a year later. Parekh's resume lists positions at Dynamo AI, Union AI, Synthesia, and Alan AI, along with degrees from the University of Mumbai and Georgia Institute of Technology. Doshi called the CV "probably 90% fake and most links are gone." Several other startup founders confirmed they had either hired Parekh in the past, or had been approached by him. Nicolai Ouporov of Fleet AI said Parekh "works at more than 4 startups at any given time." Justin Harvey of AIVideo said he nearly hired Parekh, who "crushed the interview." Doshi said he corroborated the account with more than six companies before posting publicly.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/1814215/developer-accused-of-defrauding-yc-companies-through-simultaneous-employment-scheme?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Scientists Warn US Will Lose a Generation of Talent
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-03 22:22:01


An anonymous reader shares a report: A generation of scientific talent is at the brink of being lost to overseas competitors by the Trump administration's dismantling of the National Science Foundation (NSF), with unprecedented political interference at the agency jeopardizing the future of US industries and economic growth, according to a Guardian investigation.

The gold standard peer-reviewed process used by the NSF to support cutting-edge, high-impact science is being undermined by the chaotic cuts to staff, programs and grants, as well as meddling by the so-called department of government efficiency (Doge), according to multiple current and former NSF employees who spoke with the Guardian.

The scientists warn that Trump's assault on diversity in science is already eroding the quality of fundamental research funded at the NSF, the premier federal investor in basic science and engineering, which threatens to derail advances in tackling existential threats to food, water and biodiversity in the US.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/171214/scientists-warn-us-will-lose-a-generation-of-talent?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

[>] Citi Spends $9 Billion on Tech Overhaul After Series of Costly Errors
bot.slashdot
robot(spnet, 1) — All
2025-07-03 21:22:01


Citigroup spent over $9 billion on technology and communications last year, almost a fifth of total operating expenses and a larger proportion than competitors, as the bank works to fix legacy software systems that have produced costly errors including accidentally wiring more than $900 million to Revlon creditors.

The bank has consolidated 12 international sanctions screening systems into one platform, retired 20 cash equities platforms and launched a replacement, and automated high-risk processes where "fat-finger" errors previously occurred. Recent mistakes included crediting one account with $81 trillion after an employee failed to remove zeros from an electronic form and a copy-paste error that almost missent $6 billion.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/07/03/1635251/citi-spends-9-billion-on-tech-overhaul-after-series-of-costly-errors?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.