Comment Re:A recent experience (Score 1) 166
This happened with others like Apple stores.
Submission + - Iranian hackers are exploiting lazy American security and nobody seems to care (nerds.xyz)
BrianFagioli writes: The U.S. government is sounding the alarm about a growing cyber threat tied to Iran. A new joint advisory from CISA, the FBI, NSA, and the Department of Defense warns that Iranian-affiliated hackers and hacktivists could be preparing cyberattacks against vulnerable American systems.
The targets? Critical infrastructure and defense-related companies, especially those with links to Israeli research or technology. According to the agencies, these threat actors are already scanning for exposed systems running outdated software, using default passwords, or connected directly to the internet without proper security.
And if that sounds like old news, that’s part of the problem.
This isn’t theoretical. During the Israel-Hamas conflict last year, Iranian actors breached dozens of U.S. industrial systems, including water utilities and manufacturers. Many were compromised through unsecured PLCs and HMIs left wide open online.
The same tactics are still in play. From website defacements to DDoS attacks and hack-and-leak operations, Iranian-aligned groups are combining technical intrusions with social and political messaging. Some work directly with ransomware gangs, stealing data and threatening public leaks if demands aren’t met.
The advisory makes it clear that the U.S. remains an active target. Sadly, it’s not because of sophisticated zero-days, but actually, because many organizations continue to ignore basic cyber hygiene. Sigh.
The suggested mitigations are mostly common sense. Disconnect OT systems from the public internet. Kill default passwords. Apply patches. Use MFA. Monitor logs. And perhaps most importantly, rehearse incident response plans like your business depends on it. After all, it might.
Too often, organizations with the least resources are left running the most critical infrastructure. That reality hasn’t changed, and neither has the threat.
The targets? Critical infrastructure and defense-related companies, especially those with links to Israeli research or technology. According to the agencies, these threat actors are already scanning for exposed systems running outdated software, using default passwords, or connected directly to the internet without proper security.
And if that sounds like old news, that’s part of the problem.
This isn’t theoretical. During the Israel-Hamas conflict last year, Iranian actors breached dozens of U.S. industrial systems, including water utilities and manufacturers. Many were compromised through unsecured PLCs and HMIs left wide open online.
The same tactics are still in play. From website defacements to DDoS attacks and hack-and-leak operations, Iranian-aligned groups are combining technical intrusions with social and political messaging. Some work directly with ransomware gangs, stealing data and threatening public leaks if demands aren’t met.
The advisory makes it clear that the U.S. remains an active target. Sadly, it’s not because of sophisticated zero-days, but actually, because many organizations continue to ignore basic cyber hygiene. Sigh.
The suggested mitigations are mostly common sense. Disconnect OT systems from the public internet. Kill default passwords. Apply patches. Use MFA. Monitor logs. And perhaps most importantly, rehearse incident response plans like your business depends on it. After all, it might.
Too often, organizations with the least resources are left running the most critical infrastructure. That reality hasn’t changed, and neither has the threat.
Submission + - NASA teams with Netflix to stream rocket launches and spacewalks this summer (nerds.xyz)
BrianFagioli writes: NASA is coming to Netflix. No, not a drama or sci-fi reboot. The space agency is actually bringing real rocket launches, astronaut spacewalks, and even views of Earth from space directly to your favorite streaming service.
Starting this summer, NASA+ will be available on Netflix, giving the space-curious a front-row seat to live mission coverage and other programming. The space agency is hoping this move helps it connect with a much bigger audience, and considering Netflix reaches over 700 million people, that’s not a stretch.
This partnership is about accessibility. NASA already offers NASA+ for free, without ads, through its app and website. But now it’s going where the eyeballs are. If people won’t come to the space agency, the space agency will come to them.
Starting this summer, NASA+ will be available on Netflix, giving the space-curious a front-row seat to live mission coverage and other programming. The space agency is hoping this move helps it connect with a much bigger audience, and considering Netflix reaches over 700 million people, that’s not a stretch.
This partnership is about accessibility. NASA already offers NASA+ for free, without ads, through its app and website. But now it’s going where the eyeballs are. If people won’t come to the space agency, the space agency will come to them.
Comment Re:glad I uninstalled the app (Score 1) 19
And Apple with its devices. Can't trust anyone.
Comment When will iPhone users get this? (Score 1) 51
Or does it already have it?
Submission + - Mercedes-AMG to Drop Four-Cylinder compiance engines due to lack of demand (caranddriver.com)
sinij writes:
Acknowledging that the four-cylinder "failed to resonate" with customers, the automaker's performance division will move forward with inline-six and V8 engines.
Submission + - The Trump Phone no longer promises it's made in America (theverge.com) 1
ArchieBunker writes: When the Trump Organization launched the Trump Mobile wireless carrier, it also launched a flagship phone called the T1 Phone 8002 (gold version). One of the phone’s main selling points was that it was to be made in America. We figured that was unlikely to be true. And we were right: sometime in the last several days, the Trump Mobile site appears to have been scrubbed of all language indicating the phone is to be made in the USA. (Like, for instance, the huge banner on the homepage that says the T1 is “MADE IN THE USA.” Just to name one example.)
Instead, the Trump Mobile website now includes what can only be described as vague, pro-American gestures in the direction of smartphone manufacturing. The T1’s new tagline is “Premium Performance. Proudly American.” Its website says the device is “designed with American values in mind” and there are “American hands behind every device.” Under Key Features, the first thing listed is “American-Proud Design.” None of this indicates, well, anything. It certainly doesn’t say the device is made in the USA, or even designed in the USA. There are just some hands. In America.
That’s not the only thing that appears to have changed about the phone since its launch last week. It was originally advertised to have a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen, but now the T1’s site says it’s 6.25 inches. The site used to list the phone as having 12GB of RAM, and now doesn’t list RAM at all. It’s not entirely clear what’s happening here — the Trump Organization hasn’t responded to a request for comment — but it looks like Trump Mobile may have switched suppliers for the T1. Whatever’s going on, it’s certainly another reason to doubt whether this phone is for real. (The badly photoshopped image of the phone hasn’t changed, though, so that’s something.)
When Trump Mobile first launched, it was also promising the T1 Phone 8002 would ship in September. Now, the only timing I could find was “later this year.” Probably best not to hold your breath.
Instead, the Trump Mobile website now includes what can only be described as vague, pro-American gestures in the direction of smartphone manufacturing. The T1’s new tagline is “Premium Performance. Proudly American.” Its website says the device is “designed with American values in mind” and there are “American hands behind every device.” Under Key Features, the first thing listed is “American-Proud Design.” None of this indicates, well, anything. It certainly doesn’t say the device is made in the USA, or even designed in the USA. There are just some hands. In America.
That’s not the only thing that appears to have changed about the phone since its launch last week. It was originally advertised to have a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen, but now the T1’s site says it’s 6.25 inches. The site used to list the phone as having 12GB of RAM, and now doesn’t list RAM at all. It’s not entirely clear what’s happening here — the Trump Organization hasn’t responded to a request for comment — but it looks like Trump Mobile may have switched suppliers for the T1. Whatever’s going on, it’s certainly another reason to doubt whether this phone is for real. (The badly photoshopped image of the phone hasn’t changed, though, so that’s something.)
When Trump Mobile first launched, it was also promising the T1 Phone 8002 would ship in September. Now, the only timing I could find was “later this year.” Probably best not to hold your breath.
Comment Re:Stop repeating misleading scare talking points (Score 1) 70
And how do home users get W10 IoT Enterprise LTSC?
Submission + - The Computer-Science Bubble Is Bursting
theodp writes: "The job of the future might already be past its prime," writes The Atlantic's Rose Horowitch in The Computer-Science Bubble Is Bursting. "For years, young people seeking a lucrative career were urged to go all in on computer science. From 2005 to 2023, the number of comp-sci majors in the United States quadrupled. All of which makes the latest batch of numbers so startling. This year, enrollment grew by only 0.2 percent nationally, and at many programs, it appears to already be in decline, according to interviews with professors and department chairs. At Stanford, widely considered one of the country’s top programs, the number of comp-sci majors has stalled after years of blistering growth. Szymon Rusinkiewicz, the chair of Princeton’s computer-science department, told me that, if current trends hold, the cohort of graduating comp-sci majors at Princeton is set to be 25 percent smaller in two years than it is today. The number of Duke students enrolled in introductory computer-science courses has dropped about 20 percent over the past year."
"But if the decline is surprising, the reason for it is fairly straightforward: Young people are responding to a grim job outlook for entry-level coders. In recent years, the tech industry has been roiled by layoffs and hiring freezes. The leading culprit for the slowdown is technology itself. Artificial intelligence has proved to be even more valuable as a writer of computer code than as a writer of words. This means it is ideally suited to replacing the very type of person who built it. A recent Pew study found that Americans think software engineers will be most affected by generative AI. Many young people aren’t waiting to find out whether that’s true."
Meanwhile, writing in the Communications of the ACM, Orit Hazzan and Avi Salmon ask: Should Universities Raise or Lower Admission Requirements for CS Programs in the Age of GenAI? "This debate raises a key dilemma: should universities raise admission standards for computer science programs to ensure that only highly skilled problem-solvers enter the field, lower them to fill the gaps left by those who now see computer science as obsolete due to GenAI, or restructure them to attract excellent candidates with diverse skill sets who may not have considered computer science prior to the rise of GenAI, but who now, with the intensive GenAI and vibe coding tools supporting programming tasks, may consider entering the field?"
"But if the decline is surprising, the reason for it is fairly straightforward: Young people are responding to a grim job outlook for entry-level coders. In recent years, the tech industry has been roiled by layoffs and hiring freezes. The leading culprit for the slowdown is technology itself. Artificial intelligence has proved to be even more valuable as a writer of computer code than as a writer of words. This means it is ideally suited to replacing the very type of person who built it. A recent Pew study found that Americans think software engineers will be most affected by generative AI. Many young people aren’t waiting to find out whether that’s true."
Meanwhile, writing in the Communications of the ACM, Orit Hazzan and Avi Salmon ask: Should Universities Raise or Lower Admission Requirements for CS Programs in the Age of GenAI? "This debate raises a key dilemma: should universities raise admission standards for computer science programs to ensure that only highly skilled problem-solvers enter the field, lower them to fill the gaps left by those who now see computer science as obsolete due to GenAI, or restructure them to attract excellent candidates with diverse skill sets who may not have considered computer science prior to the rise of GenAI, but who now, with the intensive GenAI and vibe coding tools supporting programming tasks, may consider entering the field?"
Comment Users' easy battery replacements? (Score 1) 24
What about easy to replace batteries by users?
Submission + - Reviving an old Win7 laptop 1
UnixUnix writes: I inherited an Acer Aspire 7730. Good machine back then...my uncle had bought it recently for 55 Euro. Inexpensive?! No wonder...it DID NOT WORK!
Vista originally...had been upped to Win 7 Ultimate.
Internet Explorer could not connect to Microsoft (!!). --Or to anything else, for that matter! Troubleshooting found no problems.
Tried to create a Win7 recovery DVD. "Insert disk in D:" I did, and hit go. "There is no disk in D:, insert disk"!!
Device Manager saw the CD/DVD drive just fine,
drivers and all. Still, it did not work!
Connected an external Dell CD/DVD to a USB port...happily that did work.
I used a Linux laptop to connect to sevenforums.com for advice, and also to locate an old enough version of Firefox, put it on a USB stick and transfer it to our ailing patient. After a few tries I found one that worked.
Tried to install uBlock Origin. Red banner: cannot install, app is corrupt!
Could not install any of the major antiviruses, or Chrome, or Brave! "Not a Win32 app" "SP1 missing"
I found Simplix in sevenforums, brought it over, and was able to install updates. After many reboots. Also, the KB_spy.cmd script removed any telemetry or bloat glop.
Then with SP1 and more present I was able to install Brave, Chrome, and Malwarebytes.
Scanned, got rid of a few detections.
Temperature was kinda high. I used a cooling base with fans that came with the laptop.
Had to tie up two USB ports, but ok. Instead of temperature in the 60s the RealTemp app showed me it was in the 40s.
I created a Win7 Recovery disk with Windows. Then I used MinitoolShadowMaker to back up to a USB stick, and also to create Recovery DVD and Recovery USB stick. So much work
(more than a day) should not go to waste!
Was it worth it? If you do need Windows for something, Win7 is the thing, before tracking, telemetry and bloatware.
Oh, does IE work now? I don't know, didn't try it. Who cares!
Vista originally...had been upped to Win 7 Ultimate.
Internet Explorer could not connect to Microsoft (!!). --Or to anything else, for that matter! Troubleshooting found no problems.
Tried to create a Win7 recovery DVD. "Insert disk in D:" I did, and hit go. "There is no disk in D:, insert disk"!!
Device Manager saw the CD/DVD drive just fine,
drivers and all. Still, it did not work!
Connected an external Dell CD/DVD to a USB port...happily that did work.
I used a Linux laptop to connect to sevenforums.com for advice, and also to locate an old enough version of Firefox, put it on a USB stick and transfer it to our ailing patient. After a few tries I found one that worked.
Tried to install uBlock Origin. Red banner: cannot install, app is corrupt!
Could not install any of the major antiviruses, or Chrome, or Brave! "Not a Win32 app" "SP1 missing"
I found Simplix in sevenforums, brought it over, and was able to install updates. After many reboots. Also, the KB_spy.cmd script removed any telemetry or bloat glop.
Then with SP1 and more present I was able to install Brave, Chrome, and Malwarebytes.
Scanned, got rid of a few detections.
Temperature was kinda high. I used a cooling base with fans that came with the laptop.
Had to tie up two USB ports, but ok. Instead of temperature in the 60s the RealTemp app showed me it was in the 40s.
I created a Win7 Recovery disk with Windows. Then I used MinitoolShadowMaker to back up to a USB stick, and also to create Recovery DVD and Recovery USB stick. So much work
(more than a day) should not go to waste!
Was it worth it? If you do need Windows for something, Win7 is the thing, before tracking, telemetry and bloatware.
Oh, does IE work now? I don't know, didn't try it. Who cares!
Submission + - Why Your Car's Touchscreen Is More Dangerous Than Your Phone (carsandhorsepower.com) 1
schwit1 writes: Modern vehicles have quietly become rolling monuments to terrible user experience, trading intuitive physical controls for flashy but dangerous touchscreen interfaces. What began as a luxury feature in early Tesla models has metastasized into an industry-wide plague of poorly designed digital dashboards that demand more attention from drivers than the road itself.
The consequences are measurable and severe: studies now show touchscreen vehicles require up to four times longer to perform basic functions than their button-equipped counterparts, creating a distracted driving crisis that automakers refuse to acknowledge.
Aftermarket solutions can restore functionality. Companies like Analog Automotive are developing physical control panels that interface with popular infotainment systems, bringing back tactile operation.
Voice commands, when properly implemented, offer a safer alternative. GM's latest systems allow natural language requests like "make it warmer" or "defrost the windshield" without menu diving.
Ultimately, the solution requires consumer pushback against dangerous interface trends. Until buyers reject vehicles that prioritize form over function, automakers will continue sacrificing safety at the altar of minimalist design and cost cutting. The road deserves our full attention, not divided focus between driving and debugging a poorly designed tablet on wheels.
The consequences are measurable and severe: studies now show touchscreen vehicles require up to four times longer to perform basic functions than their button-equipped counterparts, creating a distracted driving crisis that automakers refuse to acknowledge.
Aftermarket solutions can restore functionality. Companies like Analog Automotive are developing physical control panels that interface with popular infotainment systems, bringing back tactile operation.
Voice commands, when properly implemented, offer a safer alternative. GM's latest systems allow natural language requests like "make it warmer" or "defrost the windshield" without menu diving.
Ultimately, the solution requires consumer pushback against dangerous interface trends. Until buyers reject vehicles that prioritize form over function, automakers will continue sacrificing safety at the altar of minimalist design and cost cutting. The road deserves our full attention, not divided focus between driving and debugging a poorly designed tablet on wheels.
Submission + - JD Vance joined Bluesky - was banned 11 minutes later. (x.com) 7
RoccamOccam writes: U.S. Vice President JD Vance joined Bluesky with the post "Hello, Bluesky, I've been told this app has become the place to go for common sense political discussion and analysis. So I'm thrilled to be here to engage with all of you." His post included a screenshot from the United States Supreme Court Decision that upheld Tennessee's law barring "gender-affirming" treatments on minors.
He then wrote "To that end, I found Justice Thomas's concurrence on medical care for transgender youth quite illuminating. He argues that many of our so-called 'experts' have used bad arguments and substandard science to push experimental therapies on our youth. I might add that many of those scientists are receiving substantial resources from big pharma to push these medicines on kids. What do you think?".
He was banned 11 minutes later.
He then wrote "To that end, I found Justice Thomas's concurrence on medical care for transgender youth quite illuminating. He argues that many of our so-called 'experts' have used bad arguments and substandard science to push experimental therapies on our youth. I might add that many of those scientists are receiving substantial resources from big pharma to push these medicines on kids. What do you think?".
He was banned 11 minutes later.
Submission + - Starship destroyed in test stand explosion (spacenews.com)
An anonymous reader writes: “SpaceX provided no other details about the explosion. It took place as Ship 36 was being prepared for a static-fire test. However, the explosion occurred before the vehicle ignited its Raptor engines.”
Submission + - Axolotl Discovery Brings Us Closer Than Ever to Regrowing Human Limbs (sciencealert.com)
alternative_right writes: A team of biologists from Northeastern University and the University of Kentucky has found one of the key molecules involved in axolotl regeneration. It's a crucial component in ensuring the body grows back the right parts in the right spot: for instance, growing a hand, from the wrist.
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I've got a bad feeling about this.
