180197367
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
President Trump has issued a sweeping executive order that creates the Genesis Mission, a national AI program he compares to a Manhattan Project level effort. It centralizes DOE supercomputers, national lab resources, massive scientific datasets, and new AI foundation models into a single platform meant to fast track research in areas like fusion, biotech, microelectronics, and advanced manufacturing. The order positions AI as both a scientific accelerator and a national security requirement, with heavy emphasis on data access, secure cloud environments, classification controls, and export restrictions.
The mission also sets strict timelines for identifying key national science challenges, integrating interagency datasets, enabling AI run experimentation, and creating public private research partnerships. Whether this becomes an effective scientific engine or another oversized federal program remains to be seen, but the administration is clearly pushing to frame Trump as the president who put AI at the center of U.S. research strategy.
180110911
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Grok 4.1 is now rolling out across grok.com and the X apps, and xAI is calling it a major step for how its model handles creativity, emotional prompts, and everyday conversation. The timing is hard to ignore since GPT 5.1 just landed, and the back and forth between OpenAI and xAI is starting to feel like a real rivalry. Grok 4.1 now tops LMArenaâ(TM)s text leaderboard in its reasoning mode, with the fast version beating many competitors even when they are using full thinking. xAI also claims big improvements in empathy tests, creative writing scores, and reduced hallucinations when paired with search.
What makes this interesting for Slashdot readers is how quickly the model race is accelerating. Grok 4.1 represents xAI trying to close the gap with OpenAI while showing it can produce a model with personality rather than just raw output speed. With GPT 5.1 pushing in its own direction and Grok 4.1 arriving right behind it, both companies clearly want to shape the next phase of AI in very different ways. If the pace keeps up, users are going to be seeing upgrades faster than the ecosystem can fully adapt.
180089331
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Apple is reportedly preparing to oust Tim Cook after the Vision Pro flop, the Siri stagnation, and the weak reception to the iPhone Air. Multiple reports claim the company is accelerating succession planning for as early as 2026, and the tone suggests this may be more than routine leadership rotation. While Apple has thrived financially under Cook, critics argue that core products have slipped. Siri has fallen years behind competitors, AirPods remain uncomfortable, Apple Watch still struggles with a screen too small to be useful, and Vision Pro has become a poster child for overpricing. Even Appleâ(TM)s AI-focused iPhone Air has been labeled a flop, raising questions about whether the board is losing confidence in Cookâ(TM)s direction.
John Ternus, Appleâ(TM)s hardware engineering chief, is reportedly the leading candidate to take over, signaling a potential shift back to stronger hardware-first leadership. With competitors racing ahead in AI and new form factors, Apple is facing pressure to prove it still has a clear product vision. The timing of these leaks suggests the board wants the public to know that change is coming, and fast. For a company that once defined entire categories, the next CEO may determine whether Apple regains its footing or keeps drifting toward overpriced experiments and fading relevance.
180076504
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Logitech has confirmed a cybersecurity breach after an intruder exploited a zero-day in a third-party software platform and copied internal data. The company says the incident did not affect its products, manufacturing or business operations, and it does not believe sensitive personal information like national ID numbers or credit card data were stored in the impacted system. The attacker still managed to pull limited information tied to employees, consumers, customers and suppliers, raising fair questions about how long the zero-day existed before being patched.
Logitech brought in outside cybersecurity firms, notified regulators and says the incident will not materially affect its financial results. The company expects its cybersecurity insurance policy to cover investigation costs and any potential legal or regulatory issues. Still, with zero-day attacks increasing across the tech world, even established hardware brands are being forced to acknowledge uncomfortable weaknesses in their internal systems.
180064316
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Proton is floating a plan on Reddit that should unsettle anyone who values privacy. The company is considering recycling abandoned email addresses that were originally created by bots a decade ago. These addresses were never used, yet many of them are extremely common names that have silently collected misdirected emails, password reset attempts, and even entries in breach datasets. Handing those addresses to new owners today would mean that sensitive messages intended for completely different people could start landing in a strangerâ(TM)s inbox overnight.
Proton says itâ(TM)s just gathering feedback, but the fact that this made it far enough to ask the community is troubling. Releasing these long-abandoned addresses would create confusion, risk exposure of personal data, and undermine the trust users place in a privacy focused provider. Itâ(TM)s hard to see how Proton could justify taking a gamble with other peopleâ(TM)s digital identities like this.
180048208
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Mozilla has released Firefox 145.0, and the standout change in this version is the official end of support for 32-bit Linux systems. Users on 32-bit distributions will no longer receive updates and are being encouraged to switch to the 64-bit build to continue getting security patches and new features. While most major Linux distributions have already moved past 32-bit support, this shift will still impact older hardware users and lightweight community projects that have held on to 32-bit for the sake of performance or preservation.
The rest of the update introduces features such as built-in PDF comments, improved fingerprinting resistance for private browsing, tab group previews, password management in the sidebar, and minor UI refinements. Firefox also now compresses local translation models with Zstandard to reduce storage needs. But the end of 32-bit Linux support is the change that will leave the biggest mark, signaling another step toward a web ecosystem firmly centered on 64-bit computing.
180036462
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Minisforum has introduced the MS-R1, a compact ARM-based workstation built around the 12-core CP8180 processor with UEFI boot support, ECC LPDDR5 memory, and room for up to 64GB. Unlike most ARM boards that rely on vendor-specific boot chains or experimental images, the MS-R1 behaves more like a standard PC. It supports Debian 12 and can run Proxmox, KVM, and container-based workloads without unusual setup steps. The system also includes dual 10GbE ports and Wi-Fi 6E, making it suitable for home lab, routing, and virtualization environments.
The MS-R1 offers a full-size PCIe x16 slot (wired x8) inside its 1.7L case, opening the door to GPUs, high-speed NICs, or U.2 storage expansion. Two M.2 NVMe slots provide flexible internal storage options as well. With a 28W TDP and cooling tuned to keep noise under 40dB, the system targets users who want to experiment with ARM on the desktop without giving up the expandability and networking typically found in x86 small-form-factor workstations. Pricing starts around $503.90 depending on configuration.
180028072
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
A new product called The New Milk is rolling out across Israel, produced through fermentation instead of farming. Remilk and Gad Dairies say it tastes and behaves exactly like traditional dairy, but contains no lactose, no cholesterol, and is certified kosher-pareve. Itâ(TM)s showing up first in cafés before heading to supermarkets in 2026. Supporters call it the future of dairy. Critics say itâ(TM)s science experiment milk.
180007710
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Rocky Linux is now the first Linux distribution authorized to ship with the complete NVIDIA AI software stack out of the box, including CUDA Toolkit and DOCA OFED. CIQ, the company backing Rocky Linux, says this eliminates the usual configuration work needed to get GPU clusters running, allowing organizations to go from installation to inference far faster. The move is aimed directly at HPC and large-scale AI deployments where scaling from a few development nodes to thousands of production nodes is often held back by networking configuration and driver validation problems.
The partnership also strengthens Rocky Linuxâ(TM)s position as the post-CentOS enterprise platform for compute workloads. It suggests that NVIDIA wants AI infrastructure to function more like pre-validated appliances rather than DIY Linux stacks. Supporters say this will reduce deployment costs and headaches. Critics are already calling it another step toward deeper NVIDIA lock-in, as the distribution increasingly becomes tuned around proprietary GPU tooling.
179996494
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Netflix and YouTube streaming produce far more COâ than asking ChatGPT a question, according to a new analysis of digital energy use. An hour of HD video streaming generates about 42 grams of COâ, while a chatbot prompt is around 0.1 grams. Even AI image generation (about 1 gram per image) comes in well below binge-watching. The study also found that Zoom calls and text-to-video AI generation sit in the middle, but streaming is still the standout energy hog because it requires continuous data transfer and processing.
Researchers say the bigger problem isnâ(TM)t individual behavior but the energy sources that power data centers. The tech sector produced an estimated 900 million tons of COâ last year, with only about 30 percent powered by renewables. If that shifted to 80 or 90 percent, emissions from all digital activities would drop significantly without people changing their habits at all.
179989534
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Firefox has introduced Kit, a new mascot meant to give the browser a friendlier, more personal identity. Mozilla is framing Kit as a companion for a web thatâ(TM)s âoeprivate, open and actually yours.â Itâ(TM)s a branding refresh rather than a technical change, and it leans into warmth and approachability at a time when browsers are starting to feel interchangeable.
The move also quietly pushes aside the old âoeFirefox is a red pandaâ trivia angle, sticking with a fox-like character thatâ(TM)s easier to recognize. Whether this helps Firefox regain relevance in a Chrome-dominated world is unclear, but it does signal that Mozilla still wants Firefox to feel like a browser with a personality and values, not just another commodity UI.
179987292
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Google has released Magika 1.0, a stable version of its AI-based file type detection tool, and rebuilt the entire engine in Rust for speed and memory safety. The system now recognizes more than 200 file types, up from about 100, and is better at distinguishing look-alike formats such as JSON vs JSONL, TSV vs CSV, C vs C++, and JavaScript vs TypeScript. The team used a 3TB training dataset and even relied on Gemini to generate synthetic samples for rare file types, allowing Magika to handle formats that donâ(TM)t have large, publicly available corpora. The tool supports Python and TypeScript integrations and offers a native Rust command-line client.
Under the hood, Magika uses ONNX Runtime for inference and Tokio for parallel processing, allowing it to scan around 1,000 files per second on a modern laptop core and scale further with more CPU cores. Google says this makes Magika suitable for security workflows, automated analysis pipelines, and general developer tooling. Installation is a single curl or PowerShell command, and the project remains fully open source.
179975278
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Microsoft Research has released Magentic Marketplace, an open source simulation that lets AI agents act as shoppers and businesses negotiating purchases with each other. The surprising takeaway is that many of these agents behave poorly once the market gets even slightly complex. They often accept the first offer presented, perform worse when the number of available options increases, and are easily influenced by fake authority cues or prompt-based manipulation. In other words, when acting as consumers, some AI models are gullible, biased, and prone to making irrational purchasing decisions.
The study also suggests that the structure of the marketplace itself has a major effect on outcomes. Search and discovery protocols can tilt results toward specific vendors, while agent behavior can be exploited by parties who understand how these systems rank and select offers. Since companies are already experimenting with AI that makes purchases or negotiates on behalf of users, these findings raise questions for consumer protection, platform power, and what happens when buying decisions move from human judgment to automated negotiation.
179939276
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Creative Technology has launched Sound Blaster Re:Imagine, a modular, Linux-powered audio hub that reimagines the classic PC sound card for the modern age. The device acts as both a high-end DAC and a customizable control deck that connects PCs, consoles, phones, and tablets in one setup. Users can instantly switch inputs and outputs, while developers get full hardware access through an SDK for creating their own apps. It even supports AI-driven features like an on-device DJ, a revived Dr. Sbaitso, and a built-in DOS emulator for retro gaming.
The Kickstarter campaign has already raised more than $150,000, far surpassing its initial goal of $15,000 with over 50 days remaining. Each unit ships with a modular “Horizon” base and swappable knobs, sliders, and buttons, while a larger “Vertex” version will unlock at a higher funding milestone. Running an unspecified Linux build, Re:Imagine positions itself as both a nostalgic nod to Sound Blaster’s roots and a new open platform for creators, gamers, and tinkerers.
179915550
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
1Passwordâ(TM)s 2025 Annual Report: The Access-Trust Gap exposes how everyday employees are becoming accidental hackers in the AI era. The companyâ(TM)s data shows that 73 percent of workers are encouraged to use AI tools, yet more than a third admit they do not always follow corporate policies. Many employees are feeding sensitive information into large language models or using unapproved AI apps to get work done, creating what 1Password calls âoeShadow AI.â At the same time, traditional defenses like single sign-on (SSO) and mobile device management (MDM) are failing to keep pace, leaving gaps in visibility and control.
The report warns that corporate security is being undermined from within. More than half of employees have installed software without IT approval, two-thirds still use weak passwords, and 38 percent have accessed accounts at previous employers. Despite rising enthusiasm for passkeys and passwordless authentication, 1Password says most organizations still depend on outdated systems that were never built for cloud-native, AI-driven work. The result is a growing âoeAccess-Trust Gapâ that could allow AI chaos and employee shortcuts to dismantle enterprise security from the inside.
