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Submission + - Scientists found a way to cool quantum computers using noise (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Quantum computers need extreme cold to work, but the very systems that keep them cold also create noise that can destroy fragile quantum information. Scientists in Sweden have now flipped that problem on its head by building a tiny quantum refrigerator that actually uses noise to drive cooling instead of fighting it. By carefully steering heat at unimaginably small scales, the device can act as a refrigerator, heat engine, or energy amplifier inside quantum circuits.

Submission + - Microbes in Space Mutated And Developed a Remarkable Ability (sciencealert.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: "Space fundamentally changes how phages and bacteria interact: infection is slowed, and both organisms evolve along a different trajectory than they do on Earth," the researchers explain.

In the weightlessness of space, bacteria acquired mutations in genes involved in the microbe's stress response and nutrient management. Their surface proteins also changed. After a slow start, the phages mutated in response, so they could continue binding to their victims.

The team found that certain space-specific phage mutations were especially effective at killing Earth-bound bacteria responsible for urinary tract infections (UTIs). More than 90 percent of the bacteria responsible for UTIs are antibiotic-resistant, making phage treatments a promising alternative.

Submission + - ReactOS celebrates 30 years in pursuit of becoming an open-source Windows (reactos.org)

Submitted by jeditobe
jeditobe writes: ReactOS, the open-source operating system aimed at binary compatibility with Windows, recently marked its 30th anniversary. Launched in 1996, ReactOS has focused on providing a free alternative to Windows, with compatibility for Windows applications and drivers. Though still in development, it has made significant progress in recent years, including improvements to USB support, better hardware compatibility, and enhanced performance with the release of version 0.4.15. The upcoming 0.4.16 release is set to introduce UEFI support, KMDF and WDDM graphics driver support, marking a major step forward in ReactOS's development.
https://www.phoronix.com/news/...

Submission + - Washington State Wants DRM for 3D Printers (adafruit.com)

Submitted by ptorrone
ptorrone writes: Washington State lawmakers are proposing bills (HB 2320 and HB 2321) that would require 3D printers and CNC machines to block certain designs using software-based “firearms blueprint detection algorithms.” In practice, this means scanning every print file, comparing it against a government-maintained database, and preventing “skilled users” from bypassing the system.

Supporters frame this as a response to untraceable “ghost guns,” but even federal prosecutors admit the tools involved are ordinary manufacturing equipment. Critics warn the language is overbroad, technically unworkable, hostile to open source, and likely to push printing toward cloud-locked, subscription-based systems—while doing little to stop criminals.

Full analysis:
Washington’s 3D Printing Bills Are Bad for STEM, Business, and Open Source

Submission + - New, faster solution to removing PFAS (the 'forever chemicals') from water (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Bruce66423
Bruce66423 writes: 'New filtration technology developed by Rice University may absorb some Pfas “forever chemicals” at 100 times the rate than previously possible, which could dramatically improve pollution control and speed remediations.

'Researchers also say they have also found a way to destroy Pfas, though both technologies face a steep challenge in being deployed on an industrial scale.

'A new peer-reviewed paper details a layered double hydroxide (LDH) material made from copper and aluminum that absorbs long-chain Pfas up to 100 times faster than commonly used filtration systems.'

Comment Microsoft is apparently not managed well. (Score 1) 75

by Futurepower(R) (#65933566) Attached to: Microsoft Forced to Issue Emergency Out-of-Band Windows Update
Apparently Microsoft needs much better management.

Also, the world needs open-source Operating Systems. Improving an operating system should not be a way of making a huge amount of money.

There is a HUGE difference between managing a business to make the most money and serving the users of operating systems well.

Comment MANY problems with drones (Score 4, Interesting) 20

Drones can crash on your roof or fly through your window, and then burn your house down with a lithium battery fire.

Other drone problems:

1) Dogs will attack drones. From a Slashdot story: "... they hover 23 feet in the air and lower their cargo to the ground on a tether." Dogs will grab the tether.

2) Some people will shoot at drones.

3) Over houses, they will be noisy, scarily noisy, for the local neighborhood.

4) If there is a technology failure, someone in the neighborhood may die, or a house may be burned down.

Remote control over drones can ALWAYS be eliminated or hijacked by radio frequency interference.

I don't want drones near where I live. Will drones be allowed near where Jeff Bezos of Amazon lives? No, of course not.

Submission + - Stop paying TurboTax when IRS Free File covers most taxpayers for FREE (nerds.xyz)

Submitted by BrianFagioli
BrianFagioli writes: The IRS has flipped the switch on Free File for the 2026 tax season, letting most Americans file federal taxes for exactly zero dollars. Anyone with 2025 adjusted gross income of $89,000 or less qualifies, covering an estimated 70 percent of taxpayers. The catch is that you have to start at IRS.gov/FreeFile, not the commercial sites that steer users into paid upgrades. Free File partners include familiar software brands like TaxAct, FreeTaxUSA, 1040.com and TaxSlayer, and many will throw in free state returns too. The program works on computers and phones and supports e-filing before the official opening of tax season.

What surprises me every year is how few people know this exists. Despite more than 77 million returns filed through Free File since 2003, most folks reach for TurboTax or H&R Block and end up paying for something the government already supports at no cost. Even gig workers and renters qualify now if their AGI is under the limit. If you want to keep more money in your wallet, start at IRS.gov/FreeFile and skip the upsell parade.

Submission + - Fusion Physicists Found a Way Around a Long-Standing Density Limit (sciencealert.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Experiments inside a fusion reactor in China have demonstrated a new way to circumvent one of the caps on the density of the superheated plasma swirling inside.

At the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), physicists successfully exceeded what is known as the Greenwald limit, a practical density boundary beyond which plasmas tend to violently destabilize, often damaging reactor components.

For a long time, the Greenwald limit was accepted as a given and incorporated into fusion reactor engineering. The new work shows that precise control over how the plasma is created and interacts with the reactor walls can push it beyond this limit into what physicists call a 'density-free' regime.

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