Intel Quietly Discontinues Its Open-Source User-Space Gaudi Driver Code Intel has quietly stopped maintaining its open-source user-space driver stack for Gaudi accelerators. Phoronix reports: It turns out earlier this year Intel archived the SynapseAI Core open-source code and is no longer maintained by Intel. The open-source Synapse AI Core GitHub repository was archived in February and README updated with: "This project will no longer be maintained by Intel. Intel has ceased development and contributions including, but not limited to, maintenance, bug fixes, new releases, or updates, to this project. Intel no longer accepts patches to this project. If you have an ongoing need to use this project, are interested in independently developing it, or would like to maintain patches for the open source software community, please create your own fork of this project." <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Intel+Quietly+Discontinues+Its+Open-Source+User-Space+Gaudi+Driver+Code%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F2153226%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F2153226%2Fintel-quietly-discontinues-its-open-source-user-space-gaudi-driver-code%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

Intel Quietly Discontinues Its Open-Source User-Space Gaudi Driver Code - Slashdot

Intel has quietly stopped maintaining its open-source user-space driver stack for Gaudi accelerators. Phoronix reports: It turns out earlier this ...

at Slashdot.

Intel Quietly Discontinues Its Open-Source User-Space Gaudi Driver Code - Slashdot

Intel has quietly stopped maintaining its open-source user-space driver stack for Gaudi accelerators. Phoronix reports: It turns out earlier this ...

Reporter Suggests Half-Life 3 Will Be a Steam Machine Launch Title A veteran games journalist claims Half-Life 3 is real and still planned as a Spring 2026 launch title tied to Valve's next Steam Machine push. Ars Technica reports: On the contrary, veteran journalist Mike Straw insisted on a recent Insider Gaming podcast that "everybody I've talked to are still adamant [Half-Life 3] is a game that will be a launch title with the Steam Machine." Straw -- who has a long history of reporting gaming rumors from anonymous sources -- said this Half-Life 3 information is "not [from] these run-of-the-mill sources that haven't gotten me information before. ... These aren't like random, one-off people." And those sources are "still adamant that the game is coming in the spring," Straw added, noting that he was "specifically told [that] spring 2026 [is the window] for the Steam Machine, for the Frame, for the Controller, [and] for Half-Life 3." [...] Timing specifics aside, Straw said his sources have him convinced that the long wait for Half-Life 3 is coming to an end in the near future. "The game's real," he said. "At the end of the day, the game is real. There's no denying it. It's just a 'when' and not an 'if' at this point." <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Reporter+Suggests+Half-Life+3+Will+Be+a+Steam+Machine+Launch+Title%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fgames.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F2143202%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fgames.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F2143202%2Freporter-suggests-half-life-3-will-be-a-steam-machine-launch-title%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

Reporter Suggests Half-Life 3 Will Be a Steam Machine Launch Title - Slashdot

A veteran games journalist claims Half-Life 3 is real and still planned as a Spring 2026 launch title tied to Valve

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Reporter Suggests Half-Life 3 Will Be a Steam Machine Launch Title - Slashdot

A veteran games journalist claims Half-Life 3 is real and still planned as a Spring 2026 launch title tied to Valve

Utah Leaders Hinder Efforts To Develop Solar Energy Supply Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed two bills this year that ended solar development tax credits and imposed a new tax on solar generation despite solar power accounting for two-thirds of the new projects waiting to connect to the state's power grid. The legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature has already had an impact. Since May, when the laws took effect, 51 planned solar projects withdrew their applications to connect to the grid. That represents more than a quarter of all projects in Utah's transmission connection queue. The moves came as Cox promoted Operation Gigawatt, an initiative to double the state's energy production in the next decade through what he called an "any of the above" approach. A third bill aimed at limiting solar development on farmland narrowly missed the deadline for passage but is expected to return next year. Rocky Mountain Power earlier this year asked regulators to approve a 30% electricity rate hike. Regulators eventually awarded a 4.7% increase. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Utah+Leaders+Hinder+Efforts+To+Develop+Solar+Energy+Supply%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F1959202%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F1959202%2Futah-leaders-hinder-efforts-to-develop-solar-energy-supply%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

Utah Leaders Hinder Efforts To Develop Solar Energy Supply - Slashdot

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed two bills this year that ended solar development tax credits and imposed a new tax on solar generation despite solar p...

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Utah Leaders Hinder Efforts To Develop Solar Energy Supply - Slashdot

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed two bills this year that ended solar development tax credits and imposed a new tax on solar generation despite solar p...

MI6 Chief: We'll Be as Fluent in Python As We Are in Russian The new chief of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service told officers this week that they must become as fluent in programming languages like Python as they are in foreign languages like Russian as the spy agency adapts to what she described as a space between peace and war. Blaise Metreweli, MI6's first female chief and previously the service's director general of technology and innovation, said in her first public speech that mastery of technology is now required across the organization. She warned that advanced technologies including AI, biotechnology and quantum computing are revolutionizing both economies and the reality of conflict. Metreweli focused particularly on threats from Russia, saying the country is testing the UK in the grey zone through cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, drones near sensitive sites and propaganda operations. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=MI6+Chief%3A+We'll+Be+as+Fluent+in+Python+As+We+Are+in+Russian%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fdevelopers.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F1949244%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fdevelopers.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F1949244%2Fmi6-chief-well-be-as-fluent-in-python-as-we-are-in-russian%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

MI6 Chief: We

The new chief of Britain

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MI6 Chief: We

The new chief of Britain

US Threatens Penalties Against European Tech Firms Amid Regulatory Fight U.S. officials excoriated the European Union for discriminating against American technology companies and threatened to penalize European tech companies in return, in a social media post on Tuesday. From a report: The pronouncement appeared to signal a rockier period for U.S.-E.U. trade relations, as the two governments work to finalize a trade framework they announced this year. The United States has been pushing Europe to open up its tech sector to American firms. But U.S. officials have complained that the European Union has not walked back broader regulation of company business practices while also proceeding with investigations of major American tech firms like Google, X, Amazon and Meta. In a social media post, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, which has carried out the negotiations, said that the European Union and some member states had "persisted in a continuing course of discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines and directives" against American companies. The United States had raised concerns with the European Union about these issues for years "without meaningful engagement," all while allowing European companies to operate freely in the United States, it said. If the European Union continues these policies, the United States would "have no choice but to begin using every tool at its disposal to counter these unreasonable measures," the U.S.T.R. said. It named fees and restrictions on service companies among the possibilities, and said it would use the same approach against other countries that echoed Europe's strategy. The post singled out potential European service providers that could be targeted by name, listing Accenture, DHL, Mistral, SAP, Siemens and Spotify, among others. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=US+Threatens+Penalties+Against+European+Tech+Firms+Amid+Regulatory+Fight%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F1850216%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F1850216%2Fus-threatens-penalties-against-european-tech-firms-amid-regulatory-fight%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

US Threatens Penalties Against European Tech Firms Amid Regulatory Fight - Slashdot

U.S. officials excoriated the European Union for discriminating against American technology companies and threatened to penalize European tech comp...

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US Threatens Penalties Against European Tech Firms Amid Regulatory Fight - Slashdot

U.S. officials excoriated the European Union for discriminating against American technology companies and threatened to penalize European tech comp...

High-Speed Traders Are Feuding Over a Way To Save 3.2 Billionths of a Second A millisecond used to be a big deal for the world's quickest traders. A dispute over huge trading profits at one of the world's largest futures exchanges shows they now think a million times faster [non-paywalled source]. From a report: The controversy is about an arcane technical maneuver in which high-speed traders bombard Frankfurt-based Eurex with useless data. The idea is to keep their connections to the exchange warm so they can react fractionally faster to market-moving information. The battle is the latest chapter in a decadeslong contest among secretive ultrafast trading firms, which have pursued a relentless quest for minuscule speed advantages. A group of high-frequency trading firms has exploited the practice to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars, says Mosaic Finance, a French firm that has complained to Eurex and European regulators. "An arms race is OK, but you must use legal weapons," said Hugues Morin, founder of Mosaic. Eurex says Mosaic's claims are baseless. [...] High-speed traders often seek to capture fleeting differences between prices of related assets, making quick response times critical. If benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 index futures rise, for example, contracts tied to Germany's DAX will usually follow. A first mover will be able to buy DAX futures before they tick higher, then sell out at a higher price -- a strategy that can add up to big profits over time. The maneuver that prompted Mosaic's spat with Eurex can improve reaction times by about 3.2 nanoseconds, according to the French firm, which calls it "corrupted speculative triggering," or CST for short. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=High-Speed+Traders+Are+Feuding+Over+a+Way+To+Save+3.2+Billionths+of+a+Second%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fit.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F1621254%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fit.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F1621254%2Fhigh-speed-traders-are-feuding-over-a-way-to-save-32-billionths-of-a-second%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

High-Speed Traders Are Feuding Over a Way To Save 3.2 Billionths of a Second - Slashdot

A millisecond used to be a big deal for the world

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High-Speed Traders Are Feuding Over a Way To Save 3.2 Billionths of a Second - Slashdot

A millisecond used to be a big deal for the world

The Entry-Level Hiring Process Is Breaking Down The traditional signals that employers used to evaluate entry-level job candidates -- college GPAs, cover letters, and interview performance -- have lost much of their value as grade inflation and widespread AI use render these metrics nearly meaningless, writes The Atlantic. The recent-graduate unemployment rate now sits slightly higher than the overall workforce's, a reversal from historical norms where new college graduates were more likely to be employed than the average worker. Job postings on Handshake, a career-services platform for students and recent graduates, have fallen by more than 16 percent in the past year. At Harvard, 60% of undergraduate grades are now A's, up from fewer than a quarter two decades ago. Seven years ago, 70% of new graduates' resumes were screened by GPA; that figure has dropped to 40%. Two working papers examining Freelancer.com found that cover-letter quality once strongly predicted who would get hired and how well they would perform -- until ChatGPT became available. "We basically find the collapse of this entire signaling mechanism," researcher Jesse Silbert said. The average number of applications per open job has increased by 26% in the past year. Students at UC Berkeley are now applying to 150 internships just to land one or two interviews. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=The+Entry-Level+Hiring+Process+Is+Breaking+Down%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F1521248%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F1521248%2Fthe-entry-level-hiring-process-is-breaking-down%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

The Entry-Level Hiring Process Is Breaking Down - Slashdot

The traditional signals that employers used to evaluate entry-level job candidates -- college GPAs, cover letters, and interview performance -- hav...

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The Entry-Level Hiring Process Is Breaking Down - Slashdot

The traditional signals that employers used to evaluate entry-level job candidates -- college GPAs, cover letters, and interview performance -- hav...

Mozilla's New CEO Bets Firefox's Future on AI Mozilla has named Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as its new chief executive, promoting the executive who has spent the past year leading the Firefox browser team and who now plans to make AI central to the company's future. Enzor-DeMeo announced on Tuesday that an "AI Mode" is coming to Firefox next year. The feature will let users choose from multiple AI models rather than being locked into a single provider. Some options will be open-source models, others will be private "Mozilla-hosted cloud options," and the company also plans to integrate models from major AI companies. Mozilla itself will not train its own large language model. "We're not incentivized to push one model or the other," Enzor-DeMeo told The Verge. Firefox currently has about 200 million monthly users, a fraction of Chrome's roughly 4 billion, though Enzor-DeMeo insists mobile usage is growing at a decent clip. He takes over from interim CEO Laura Chambers, who led the company through a major antitrust case and what Mozilla describes as "double-digit mobile growth" in Firefox. Chambers is returning to the Mozilla board of directors. The new CEO has outlined three priorities: ensuring all products give users control over AI features including the ability to turn them off, building a business model around transparent monetization, and expanding Firefox into a broader ecosystem of trusted software. Mozilla VPN integration is planned for the browser next year. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Mozilla's+New+CEO+Bets+Firefox's+Future+on+AI%3A+https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F1359204%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F16%2F1359204%2Fmozillas-new-ceo-bets-firefoxs-future-on-ai%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

Mozilla

Mozilla has named Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as its new chief executive, promoting the executive who has spent the past year leading the Firefox browser t...

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Mozilla

Mozilla has named Anthony Enzor-DeMeo as its new chief executive, promoting the executive who has spent the past year leading the Firefox browser t...

Lidar-Maker Luminar Files For Bankruptcy Once a star of the self-driving hype cycle, lidar maker Luminar has filed for bankruptcy amid legal turmoil, layoffs, and a cooling autonomous-vehicle market. It plans to sell off its assets before shutting down entirely. The Verge reports: As part of its bankruptcy, Luminar is seeking permission to sell both its lidar and semiconductor businesses, the latter of which it has already agreed to sell to Quantum Computing for $110 million. The company plans to continue to operate during the bankruptcy proceedings "to minimize disruptions and maintain delivery of its LiDAR hardware and software." That said, Luminar will cease to exist once the process is complete. "As we navigate this process, our top priority is to continue delivering the same quality, reliability and service our customers have come to expect from us," CEO Paul Ricci said in a statement. After launching in 2017, Luminar muscled its way to the front of the autonomous vehicle industry as a top maker of lidar systems, a key technology that driverless cars use to sense the shapes and distances of objects around them. Luminar has sold sensors to Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Audi, Toyota Research Institute, Caterpillar, and even Tesla, which has dismissed lidar sensors in favor of traditional cameras. The company was valued at nearly $3 billion when it went public through a reverse merger with a SPAC in 2020. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Lidar-Maker+Luminar+Files+For+Bankruptcy%3A+https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F2238214%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F2238214%2Flidar-maker-luminar-files-for-bankruptcy%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

Lidar-Maker Luminar Files For Bankruptcy - Slashdot

Once a star of the self-driving hype cycle, lidar maker Luminar has filed for bankruptcy amid legal turmoil, layoffs, and a cooling autonomous-vehi...

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Lidar-Maker Luminar Files For Bankruptcy - Slashdot

Once a star of the self-driving hype cycle, lidar maker Luminar has filed for bankruptcy amid legal turmoil, layoffs, and a cooling autonomous-vehi...

China, Iran Are Having a Field Day With React2Shell, Google Warns A critical React vulnerability (CVE-2025-55182) is being actively exploited at scale by Chinese, Iranian, North Korean, and criminal groups to gain remote code execution, deploy backdoors, and mine crypto. The Register reports: React maintainers disclosed the critical bug on December 3, and exploitation began almost immediately. According to Amazon's threat intel team, Chinese government crews, including Earth Lamia and Jackpot Panda, started battering the security hole within hours of its disclosure. Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 responders have put the victim count at more than 50 organizations across multiple sectors, with attackers from North Korea also abusing the flaw. Google, in a late Friday report, said at least five other suspected PRC spy groups also exploited React2Shell, along with criminals who deployed XMRig for illicit cryptocurrency mining, and "Iran-nexus actors," although the report doesn't provide any additional details about who the Iran-linked groups are and what they are doing after exploitation. "GTIG has also observed numerous discussions regarding CVE-2025-55182 in underground forums, including threads in which threat actors have shared links to scanning tools, proof-of-concept (PoC) code, and their experiences using these tools," the researchers wrote. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=China%2C+Iran+Are+Having+a+Field+Day+With+React2Shell%2C+Google+Warns%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fit.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F2227217%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fit.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F2227217%2Fchina-iran-are-having-a-field-day-with-react2shell-google-warns%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

China, Iran Are Having a Field Day With React2Shell, Google Warns - Slashdot

A critical React vulnerability (CVE-2025-55182) is being actively exploited at scale by Chinese, Iranian, North Korean, and criminal groups to gain...

at Slashdot.

China, Iran Are Having a Field Day With React2Shell, Google Warns - Slashdot

A critical React vulnerability (CVE-2025-55182) is being actively exploited at scale by Chinese, Iranian, North Korean, and criminal groups to gain...

JPMorgan Steps Further Into Crypto With Tokenized Money Fund An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Wall Street Journal: JPMorgan Chase is joining the list of traditional financial firms seeking to bring blockchain technology to an investing staple: the money-market fund. The banking giant's $4 trillion asset-management arm is rolling out its first tokenized money-market fund on the Ethereum blockchain. JPMorgan will seed the fund with $100 million of its own capital, and then open it to outside investors on Tuesday. Called My OnChain Net Yield Fund, or "MONY," the private fund is supported by JPMorgan's tokenization platform, Kinexys Digital Assets, and will be open to qualified investors, or individuals with at least $5 million in investments and institutions with a minimum of $25 million. The fund has a $1 million investment minimum. Wall Street has waded deeper into tokenization since the passage of the Genius Act earlier this year. The landmark measure, which establishes a regulatory framework for tokenized dollars known as stablecoins, has unleashed a wave of efforts to tokenize everything from stocks and bonds to funds and real assets. "There is a massive amount of interest from clients around tokenization," said John Donohue, head of global liquidity at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "And we expect to be a leader in this space and work with clients to make sure that we have a product lineup that allows them to have the choices that we have in traditional money-market funds on blockchain." <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=JPMorgan+Steps+Further+Into+Crypto+With+Tokenized+Money+Fund%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F2139238%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F2139238%2Fjpmorgan-steps-further-into-crypto-with-tokenized-money-fund%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

JPMorgan Steps Further Into Crypto With Tokenized Money Fund - Slashdot

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Wall Street Journal: JPMorgan Chase is joining the list of traditional financial firms seeking to brin...

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JPMorgan Steps Further Into Crypto With Tokenized Money Fund - Slashdot

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Wall Street Journal: JPMorgan Chase is joining the list of traditional financial firms seeking to brin...

Merriam-Webster's 2025 Word of the Year Is 'Slop' Merriam-Webster crowned "slop" its 2025 Word of the Year, reflecting growing public awareness and and fatigue around low-quality, AI-generated content flooding the internet. "It's such an illustrative word," said Greg Barlow, Merriam-Webster's president. "It's part of a transformative technology, AI, and it's something that people have found fascinating, annoying and a little bit ridiculous." The Associated Press reports: "Slop" was first used in the 1700s to mean soft mud, but it evolved more generally to mean something of little value. The definition has since expanded to mean "digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence." In other words, "you know, absurd videos, weird advertising images, cheesy propaganda, fake news that looks real, junky AI-written digital books," Barlow said. "Words like 'ubiquitous,' 'paradigm,' 'albeit,' 'irregardless,' these are always top lookups because they're words that are on the edge of our lexicon," Barlow said. "'Irregardless' is a word in the dictionary for one reason: It's used. It's been used for decades to mean 'regardless.'" The announcement can be found here. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Merriam-Webster's+2025+Word+of+the+Year+Is+'Slop'%3A+https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F2133250%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F2133250%2Fmerriam-websters-2025-word-of-the-year-is-slop%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster crowned &#34;slop&#34; its 2025 Word of the Year, reflecting growing public awareness and and fatigue around low-quality, AI-genera...

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Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster crowned &#34;slop&#34; its 2025 Word of the Year, reflecting growing public awareness and and fatigue around low-quality, AI-genera...

Russian Ban On Roblox Gaming Platform Sparks Rare Protest An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Several dozen people protested on Sunday in the Siberian city of Tomsk against Russia's ban on U.S. children's gaming platform Roblox, a rare show of public dissent as popular irritation over the ban gains some momentum. In wartime Russia, censorship is extensive: Moscow blocks or restricts social media platforms such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube while distributing its own narrative through a network of social media and Russian media. Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said on December 3 it had blocked Roblox because it was "rife with inappropriate content that can negatively impact the spiritual and moral development of children." In Tomsk, 2,900 km (1,800 miles) east of Moscow, several dozen people braved the snow to hold up hand-drawn placards reading "Hands off Roblox" and "Roblox is the victim of the digital Iron Curtain" in Vladimir Vysotsky Park, according to photographs provided by an organizer of the protest. "Bans and blocks are all you are able to do," read one placard. The photographs showed about 25 people standing in a circle in the snow, holding up placards. In Russia, the ban on Roblox has triggered a debate over censorship, child safety in relation to technology and even the effectiveness of censorship in a digitalized world where children can bypass many bans in a few clicks. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Russian+Ban+On+Roblox+Gaming+Platform+Sparks+Rare+Protest%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F2121240%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F2121240%2Frussian-ban-on-roblox-gaming-platform-sparks-rare-protest%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

Russian Ban On Roblox Gaming Platform Sparks Rare Protest - Slashdot

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Several dozen people protested on Sunday in the Siberian city of Tomsk against Russia

at Slashdot.

Russian Ban On Roblox Gaming Platform Sparks Rare Protest - Slashdot

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Several dozen people protested on Sunday in the Siberian city of Tomsk against Russia

Verizon Refused To Unlock Man's iPhone, So He Sued the Carrier and Won A Kansas man who sued Verizon in small claims court after the carrier refused to unlock his iPhone has won his case, scoring a small but meaningful victory against a company that retroactively applied a policy change to deny his unlock request. Patrick Roach bought a discounted iPhone 16e from Verizon's Straight Talk brand in February 2025, intending to pay for one month of service before switching the device to US Mobile. Under FCC rules dating back to a 2019 waiver, Verizon must unlock phones 60 days after activation on its network. Verizon refused to unlock the phone, citing a new policy implemented on April 1, 2025 requiring "60 days of paid active service." Roach had purchased his device over a month before that policy took effect. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Henry ruled in October 2025 that applying the changed terms to Roach's earlier purchase violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. The court ordered Verizon to refund Roach's $410.40 purchase price plus court costs. Roach had previously rejected a $600 settlement offer because it would have required him to sign a non-disclosure agreement. He estimated spending about 20 hours on the lawsuit but said "it wasn't about" the money. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Verizon+Refused+To+Unlock+Man's+iPhone%2C+So+He+Sued+the+Carrier+and+Won%3A+https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F190217%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F190217%2Fverizon-refused-to-unlock-mans-iphone-so-he-sued-the-carrier-and-won%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

Verizon Refused To Unlock Man

A Kansas man who sued Verizon in small claims court after the carrier refused to unlock his iPhone has won his case, scoring a small but meaningful...

at Slashdot.

Verizon Refused To Unlock Man

A Kansas man who sued Verizon in small claims court after the carrier refused to unlock his iPhone has won his case, scoring a small but meaningful...

Why Floods Threaten One of the Driest Places in the World One of the most water-scarce regions on Earth is now experiencing a dramatic atmospheric shift that's pushing moisture onto Oman's northern coast at rates more than 1.5 times the global average, according to a Washington Post investigation of global atmospheric data [non-paywalled source]. The change has turned extreme rainfall into a recurrent source of catastrophe across the Arabian Peninsula. In the 126 years between 1881 and 2007, just six hurricane-strength storms hit Oman or came within 60 miles of the country. At least four more have made landfall in the past 15 years alone. Research from Sultan Qaboos University analyzing 8,000 storms across 69 rainfall stations found that half of all rain in Oman falls within the first 90 minutes of a 24-hour storm. These intense bursts quickly overwhelm the desert's ability to absorb water and send flash floods racing through wadis -- normally dry riverbeds where many communities are built. In response, Dubai is constructing an $8 billion underground stormwater network spanning more than 120 miles. Oman has agreements to build 58 new dams and is studying 14 major wadis that funnel to its al-Batinah coastline. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Why+Floods+Threaten+One+of+the+Driest+Places+in+the+World%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F1850220%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F1850220%2Fwhy-floods-threaten-one-of-the-driest-places-in-the-world%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

Why Floods Threaten One of the Driest Places in the World - Slashdot

One of the most water-scarce regions on Earth is now experiencing a dramatic atmospheric shift that

at Slashdot.

Why Floods Threaten One of the Driest Places in the World - Slashdot

One of the most water-scarce regions on Earth is now experiencing a dramatic atmospheric shift that

Google To Retire 'Dark Web Report' Tool That Scanned for Leaked User Data Google has decided to retire its free dark web monitoring tool, saying it wasn't as helpful as the company hoped. From a report: In a support page, Google announced the discontinuation of the "dark web report" tool, two years after offering it as a free perk to Gmail users before expanding it more broadly. The feature worked by scanning for your email addresses to determine whether they had appeared in data breaches, which often circulate on Dark Web marketplaces. The tool could then alert you about where the data was exposed, including any accompanying details such as dates of birth, addresses, and phone numbers. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Google+To+Retire+'Dark+Web+Report'+Tool+That+Scanned+for+Leaked+User+Data%3A+https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F186244%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F186244%2Fgoogle-to-retire-dark-web-report-tool-that-scanned-for-leaked-user-data%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

Google To Retire

Google has decided to retire its free dark web monitoring tool, saying it wasn

at Slashdot.

Google To Retire

Google has decided to retire its free dark web monitoring tool, saying it wasn

US Tech Force Aims To Recruit 1,000 Technologists The Trump administration announced Monday the United States Tech Force, a new program to recruit around 1,000 technologists for two-year government stints starting as soon as March -- less than a year after dismantling several federal technology teams and driving thousands of tech workers out of their jobs. The program will primarily recruit early-career software engineers and data scientists, paying between $150,000 and $200,000 annually. About 20 companies have signed on to participate, including Palantir, Meta, Oracle and Elon Musk's xAI. Some engineering managers will be allowed to take leaves of absence from their private-sector employers to join the program without divesting their stock holdings. The initiative follows the March closure of 18F, General Services Administration's internal tech consultancy, and the shuttering of the Social Security Administration's Office of Transformation in February. The IRS had lost over 2,000 tech workers by June. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=US+Tech+Force+Aims+To+Recruit+1%2C000+Technologists+%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F1648225%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F1648225%2Fus-tech-force-aims-to-recruit-1000-technologists%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

US Tech Force Aims To Recruit 1,000 Technologists - Slashdot

The Trump administration announced Monday the United States Tech Force, a new program to recruit around 1,000 technologists for two-year government...

at Slashdot.

US Tech Force Aims To Recruit 1,000 Technologists - Slashdot

The Trump administration announced Monday the United States Tech Force, a new program to recruit around 1,000 technologists for two-year government...

Scientists Thought Parkinson's Was in Our Genes. It Might Be in the Water For decades, Parkinson's disease research has overwhelmingly focused on genetics -- more than half of all research dollars in the past two decades flowed toward genomic studies -- but a growing body of evidence now points to something far more mundane as a primary culprit: contaminated drinking water. A landmark study by epidemiologist Sam Goldman compared Marines stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where trichloroethylene (TCE) had contaminated the water supply for approximately 35 years, against those at Camp Pendleton in California, which has clean water. Marines exposed to TCE at Lejeune were 70% more likely to develop Parkinson's. The latest research suggests only 10 to 15 percent of Parkinson's cases can be fully explained by genetics. Parkinson's rates in the US have doubled in the past 30 years -- a pattern inconsistent with an inherited genetic disease. The EPA moved to ban TCE in December 2024. The Trump administration moved to undo the ban in January. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Scientists+Thought+Parkinson's+Was+in+Our+Genes.+It+Might+Be+in+the+Water%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F1550214%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F1550214%2Fscientists-thought-parkinsons-was-in-our-genes-it-might-be-in-the-water%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

Scientists Thought Parkinson

For decades, Parkinson

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Scientists Thought Parkinson

For decades, Parkinson

Electricity Is Now Holding Back Growth Across the Global Economy Grid constraints that were once a hallmark of developing economies are now plaguing the world's richest nations, and new research from Bloomberg Economics finds that rising electricity system stress is directly hurting investment. The analysis examined all G20 countries and found that a one-standard-deviation increase in grid stress relative to a country's historical average lowers the investment share of GDP by around 0.33 percentage points -- a 1.5% to 2% hit to capital outlays. The Netherlands is a case in point: 12,000 businesses are waiting for grid connections, congestion issues are expected to persist for a decade despite $9.4 billion in annual investments, and the country is already consuming as much electricity as was projected for 2030. ASML, the chip equipment maker whose fortunes can sway the Dutch economy, has no guarantee it will secure power for a new campus planned to employ 20,000 people. Data centers are particularly affected. Google canceled plans near Berlin, a Frankfurt facility cannot expand until 2033, Microsoft has shifted investments from Ireland and the UK to the Nordics, and a Digital Realty Trust data center in Santa Clara that was applied for in 2019 may sit empty for years. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Electricity+Is+Now+Holding+Back+Growth+Across+the+Global+Economy%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F1511233%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F1511233%2Felectricity-is-now-holding-back-growth-across-the-global-economy%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

Electricity Is Now Holding Back Growth Across the Global Economy - Slashdot

Grid constraints that were once a hallmark of developing economies are now plaguing the world

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Electricity Is Now Holding Back Growth Across the Global Economy - Slashdot

Grid constraints that were once a hallmark of developing economies are now plaguing the world

LG's Software Update Forces Microsoft Copilot Onto Smart TVs LG smart TV owners discovered over the weekend that a recent webOS software update had quietly installed Microsoft Copilot on their devices, and the app cannot be uninstalled. Affected users report the feature appears automatically after installing the latest webOS update on certain models, sitting alongside streaming apps like Netflix and YouTube. LG's support documentation confirms that certain preinstalled or system apps can only be hidden, not deleted. At CES 2025, LG announced plans to integrate Copilot into webOS as part of its "AI TV" strategy, describing it as an extension of its AI Search experience. The current implementation appears to function as a shortcut to a web-based Copilot interface rather than a native application. Samsung TVs include Google's Gemini in a similar fashion. Users wanting to avoid the feature entirely are left with one option: disconnecting their TV from the internet. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=LG's+Software+Update+Forces+Microsoft+Copilot+Onto+Smart+TVs%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fentertainment.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F1430224%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fentertainment.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F25%2F12%2F15%2F1430224%2Flgs-software-update-forces-microsoft-copilot-onto-smart-tvs%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a>

LG

LG smart TV owners discovered over the weekend that a recent webOS software update had quietly installed Microsoft Copilot on their devices, and th...

at Slashdot.

LG

LG smart TV owners discovered over the weekend that a recent webOS software update had quietly installed Microsoft Copilot on their devices, and th...