Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror

Submission + - Co-founder of Supermicro allegedly smuggled $2.5B worth of GPUs to China (cnn.com)

Submitted by AmiMoJo
AmiMoJo writes: The co-founder of Super Micro Computer and two others were charged with diverting $2.5 billion worth of servers with Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips to China, in violation of US laws barring exports to that country without a license.

Yih-Shyan Liaw, known as Wally; Ruei-Tsang Chang, known as Steven; and Ting-Wei Sun, known as Willy, were charged with conspiring to violate export control laws, smuggling goods from the US and conspiring to defraud the US.

Liaw, who co-founded Super Micro Computer and served on its board of directors, was arrested Thursday in California and released on bail. Sun, a contractor, is held awaiting a detention hearing. Chang, who worked in the Taiwan office of Super Micro, remains at large.

Submission + - OpenAI to merge Atlas browser, ChatGPT, Codex into a single desktop super app (neowin.net)

Submitted by joshuark
joshuark writes: OpenAI is planning to combine its Atlas web browser, ChatGPT app, and Codex coding app into a singular desktop super app. CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo, said the company was doubling down on its successful products.

By taking this move, the AI company aims to streamline the user experience and reduce fragmentation. With that said, each of the apps currently do quite different things so it will be interesting to see how they put this all together. Simo said in an internal memo: “We realized we were spreading our efforts across too many apps and stacks, and that we need to simplify our efforts. That fragmentation has been slowing us down and making it harder to hit the quality bar we want.”

OpenAI is in a fierce battle with companies like Anthropic and Google to produce the best models and products. By unifying and speeding up the development of their desktop offering, it gives OpenAI a leg up in the race.

Atlas is probably the least known among the three products. It lets users browse the web with ChatGPT packed in. This browser is only available on macOS, so fewer people have had a chance to use it.

Submission + - r/linux poster unearths Meta's lobbying net behind OS Age Verfication blitz (archive.org)

Submitted by He Who Has No Name
He Who Has No Name writes: In an incredibly in-depth researched post that was removed by Reddit mods almost as soon as it went up but is preserved at Archive.org, Reddit user Ok_Lingonberry3296 has dug deep into lobbying activity and records across multiple states and at the federal level to unearth what — or who — is behind the nationwide state-level and federal legislation blitz of nearly identical age verification laws targeting operating systems instead of companies — with no carveout for open source, no awareness of how these centralized control models break when applied to a FOSS operating system like Linux, and no apparent regard for the avalanche of second order effects the legislation could cause in contexts like embedded devices, VMs, and data centers.

The culprit that emerges isn't a huge surprise: a recently created lobbying org called the Digital Childhood Alliance, which appears to be functionally a front group for the lobbying efforts of... (drumroll) ...Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, formerly Facebook.

Ok_Lingonberry3296 writes: "...Rep. Kim Carver (R-Bossier City), the sponsor of Louisiana's HB-570, publicly confirmed that a Meta lobbyist brought the legislative language directly to her. The bill as drafted required only app stores (Apple, Google) to verify user ages. It did not require social media platforms to do anything.

...Senator Jay Morris, who expanded the bill to include app developers alongside app stores after Google's senior director of government affairs publicly questioned why "Mark Zuckerberg is so keen on passing these bills." When Morris introduced his amendment, Meta went silent. The conference committee compromise maintained dual responsibility but kept the primary burden on app stores, which is what Meta wanted from the start.

At that same Senate hearing, Morris directly questioned DCA Executive Director Casey Stefanski about who funds her organization. She reportedly deflected, said she "wasn't comfortable answering," then under continued pressure admitted tech companies provide funding but refused to name them."

The research gets into funding, connected groups (on both sides of the political aisle) involved with lobbying, messaging, funding, and other parts of the legislative push, and most of all, tracks the money.

For those that want to dig into the research itself, OK_Lingonberry3296 posted their entire folder of research and sources on github, here: github.com/upper-up/meta-lobbying-and-other-findings

A quick synopsis of where the US laws currently stand:

CA | AB-1043 | Enacted, effective Jan 1, 2027
CO | SB26-051 | Passed Senate, in House committee
LA | HB-570 | Enacted, effective July 1, 2026
UT | SB-142 | Enacted, first in nation
TX | SB-2420 | Enjoined by federal judge
NY | S8102A | Pending
IL | HB-3304, HB-4140, SB-2037 | Pending
Federal | KOSA, ASAA | Pending

Submission + - Tech Giant CEOs No-Shows at Rev. Jesse Jackson's Memorial Service

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Before this week, the last time the three living former U.S. Presidents got together was at the Trump Inauguration in 2025 in Washington, DC. Joining them were current and former CEOs of Google, Meta, Amazon, and Apple (Microsoft's CEO didn't attend, but the company sent a $1 million check).

So, on Friday, when former Presidents Bush, Obama, and Biden reconvened in Chicago at the memorial service for civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., one might have expected to see the tech giant CEOs join them again. After all, their companies pledged to work with Jackson to do better on their hiring efforts, as Jackson first pressured Google and then the others into finally publishing their woeful EEO-1 diversity numbers that they formerly kept under wraps under the guise of 'trade secrets'. "We’ve always been reluctant to publish numbers about the diversity of our workforce at Google," confessed Google HR Chief Laszlo Bock in a 2014 mea culpa blog post. "We now realize we were wrong, and that it’s time to be candid about the issues. Put simply, Google is not where we want to be when it comes to diversity, and it’s hard to address these kinds of challenges if you’re not prepared to discuss them openly." The tech giants redoubled their racial equity pledges in 2020.

So, why wouldn't the tech CEOs come together at Jackson's memorial service and celebrate Jackson's life and accomplishments? Even Trump publicly praised Jackson (albeit with some unnecessary swipes at others). Well, one possible explanation might be that the workforce transparency the tech giants promised Jackson to determine how successful their efforts were going never fully materialized. The tech giants largely chose to spin their own cherrypicked metrics of workforce diversity success instead of publishing meaningful raw data for others to objectively analyze. Worse than that, a Wired report in November 2025 revealed that as Jackson's health took a turn for the worse, some tech giants — including Google, Microsoft, and Meta — stopped their decade-long practice of publishing statistics about the gender and racial makeup of their workforce altogether. "The broad loss in transparency," Wired reported, "could obscure the impact of President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI policies on the tech workforce." Yusef Jackson [Jesse Jackson's son], who now leads the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, said the group would fight the nondisclosure of diversity data.

All of which would certainly not make for the greatest of press, especially if it came out in the same week that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg closed on a new record breaking $170 million mansion on Miami's exclusive 'Billionaire Bunker' island that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also calls home (and a billion-dollar tax shelter). By the way, Meta's last-published EEO-1 report shows that the number of reported Black employees was 43.6% lower at the end of 2023 than at the end of 2022, compared to an overall workforce reduction of 21.8% (Zuckerberg dubbed 2023 Meta's "Year of Efficiency").

Writing in Fortune, Brennan Nevada Johnson has a message for tech CEOs: "Reverend Jackson did not protest technology, but rather insisted on participating in shaping it. He forced an industry that prides itself on innovation to innovate socially. Today, despite much pushback due to the current administration, diversity reports, inclusive recruiting pipelines, and equity initiatives do exist across major tech firms. It’s so important that we honor Reverend Jackson’s legacy of continuing accountability. The future is still being built, and as Reverend Jesse Jackson reminded Silicon Valley [and even children], it must be built by all, for all."

Submission + - Oil surges 35% this week for biggest gain in futures trading history (cnbc.com)

Submitted by fjo3
fjo3 writes: President Donald Trump on Friday demanded unconditional surrender from Iran, raising fears of a prolonged war that could wreak havoc on the global oil and gas market. The war has already brought traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for energy supplies, to a near standstill.

Qatar’s energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, told The Financial Times on Friday that crude prices could reach $150 per barrel in the coming weeks if oil tankers were unable to pass through the Strait.

This could “bring down the economies of the world,” Kaabi said.

Submission + - NY AG Letitia James is suing Valve (cbsnews.com)

Submitted by DesScorp
DesScorp writes: James is going after Valve on gambling charges, stating that loot boxes are predatory, especially for underage gamers:

"This loot box model that Valve has developed—charging an individual for a chance to win something of value based on luck alone—is quintessential gambling, prohibited under New York's Constitution and Penal Law," the complaint says. In one of the games, the process even resembles a slot machine, according James. Since the prizes in the loot boxes are determined randomly in accordance with odds set by Valve, James alleges, that effectively makes Valve an online casino. "Valve, a video game developer, has made billions of dollars by letting children and adults illegally gamble for the chance to win valuable virtual prizes," James posted on social media. "These features are addictive and harmful. That's why I'm suing to stop Valve's unlawful conduct and protect New Yorkers."

Submission + - Eradicating Fujitsu and Horizon from the Post Office

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Eradicating Fujitsu and Horizon from the Post Office, step by step

“Decommissioning and replacing an IT system that has caused irreparable harm to thousands of people is not the usual job description of an incoming chief technology officer (CTO), but that’s what Paul Anastassi signed up for when he took on the role at the Post Office.”

Submission + - Did Ring's Super Bowl commercial destroy its brand? (nj.com) 1

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Super Bowl commercials often spark conversation, but one 2026 ad in particular has caused quite a stir.

The home security company Ring aired a Super Bowl advertisement highlighting the AI-powered Search Party feature. When a pet owner reports their pet missing in the Ring app, Search Party kicks in on participating outdoor Ring cameras, scanning the area for the missing pet.

The commercial presented the feature as a wholesome way to reunite pets with their beloved owners, but many viewers took issue with the implications of Search Party.

“Do you see what I did there? I disguised mass human surveliance [sic] as a puppy search party,” one X user wrote.

Other social media posts slammed the commercial as “creepy as can be,” “concerning” and “invasive.”

“Marketing team at Ring Camera HQ seriously sat around and was like, ‘How do we sell unconstitutional surveillance of our citizens during the Super Bowl?’ And one guy was like “DOGS!’” one person quipped.

Submission + - Dave Farber has died 1

Submitted by alanw
alanw writes: From the NANOG mailing list: https://seclists.org/nanog/202...

We are heartbroken to report that our colleague — our mentor, friend, and conscience — David J. Farber passed away suddenly at his home in Roppongi, Tokyo. He left us on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the too-young age of 91.

https://www.internethalloffame...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

https://www.scientificamerican...

Farber is sometimes called the "Grandfather of the Internet" both because of his pioneering work in distributed computing and his mentoring of graduate students who helped build the Internet. He remains deeply involved in debates over how to maximize benefits and minimize risks of the Internet.

Submission + - China's 'fizzy' method recovers 95% lithium from dead batteries with CO2+H2O (interestingengineering.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Chinese researchers have found a method to extract lithium from used lithium-ion batteries using a mix of carbon dioxide (CO) and water. This process is safer than others that involve harsh acids and harmful chemicals, allowing for the reuse of leftover metals while also capturing carbon dioxide.

The first step is to use CO and water to gently dissolve lithium from the batteries. The CO reacts with water to form carbonic acid, which is a very weak acid, a bit like fizzy water.

This, the researchers explain, is just strong enough to pull lithium out of the battery cathode. This resulted in over 95% lithium recovery, which matches harsh chemical methods.

The second part involves the use of cathodes that contain cobalt, nickel, and manganese. Following the process, instead of discarding them, the new method “upcycles” these materials into useful catalysts.

Those catalysts can be reused in energy and chemical reactions. Throughout the entire process, the CO is permanently locked away too.

This is achieved by some of the CO ending up chemically bound in solid by-products. That means carbon sequestration, not emissions.

Interestingly, unlike traditional methods, the new lithium recovery process is able to run at room temperature and normal pressure. No grinding agents or added leaching chemicals are required, making it safer, cheaper, and easier to scale.

“Conducted under ambient conditions without additional grinding aids or leaching agents, this method minimises environmental impact,” the research team explained.

Submission + - Cory Doctorow explains how legalising reverse engineer would end enshitification (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Bruce66423
Bruce66423 writes: 'Donald Trump’s tariffs have opened up a new possibility for the technology we have become increasingly dependent on. Today, nearly all of our tech comes from US companies, and it arrives as a prix fixe meal. If you want to talk with your friends on a Meta platform, you have to let Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg eavesdrop on your conversations. If you want to have a phone that works, you have to let Apple’s Tim Cook suck 30p out of every pound you spend and give him a veto over which software you can run. If you want to search the web, you have to let Google’s Sundar Pichai know what colour underwear you’ve got on.

'This is a genuinely odd place for digital computers to have got to. Every computer in your life, from your mobile phone to your smart speaker to your laptop to your TV, is theoretically capable of running all programmes, including the ones the manufacturers would really prefer you stay away from. This means that there are no prix fixe menus in technology – everything can be had à la carte. Thanks to the infinite flexibility of computers, every 10-foot fence a US tech boss installs in a digital product you rely on invites a programmer to supply you with a four-metre ladder so you can scamper nimbly over it. However, we adopted laws – at the insistence of the US trade rep – that prohibit programmers from helping you alter the devices you own, in legal ways, if the manufacturer objects. This is one thing that leads to what I refer to as the enshittification of technology.

'There is only one reason the world isn’t bursting with wildly profitable products and projects that disenshittify the US’s defective products: its (former) trading partners were bullied into passing an “anti-circumvention” law that bans the kind of reverse-engineering that is the necessary prelude to modifying an existing product to make it work better for its users (at the expense of its manufacturer). But the Trump tariffs change all that. The old bargain – put your own tech sector in chains, expose your people to our plunder of their data and cash, and in return, the US won’t tariff your exports – is dead'

Submission + - KDE Plasma 6.5 released (kde.org)

Submitted by jrepin
jrepin writes: Plasma is a popular desktop (and mobile) environment for GNU/Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems. Among other things it also powers the desktop mode of Steam Deck gaming handheld. The KDE community today announced the latest release: Plasma 6.5. This fresh new release is all about fine-tuning, fresh features, and a making everything smooth and sleek for everyone.

The new version brings automatic light-to-dark theme switching based on the time of day. You can configure which global themes it switches between. You can also configure whether you want the wallpaper to switch between its light and dark versions based on the color scheme, the time of day, or be always light or dark. Next up is a “Pinned clipboard items” feature, which lets you save text you use regularly into the clipboard. Breeze-themed windows will now have the same level of roundness in all four corners, even the bottom one. Flatpak Permissions page has been transformed into a general Application Permissions page, where you can configure applications’ ability to do things like take screenshots and accept remote control requests. The utility that reads the level of ink or toner from your printer now informs you when it’s running low or empty. For the gamers out there, you can now see more relevant info about game controllers on System Settings’ Game Controller page. Artists among you can now configure any rotary dials and touch rings on your drawing tablet. Users sensitive to color can now make use of a grayscale color filter, which desaturates or removes color systemwide. Plasma 6.5 implements support for an experimental version of the Wayland picture-in-picture protocol that promises to allow apps like Firefox to eventually display proper PiP windows that stay above others automatically. Support for “overlay planes” was added, which can reduce CPU usage and power draw when displaying full-screen content using a compatible GPU.

You can read more about these and many other other new features in the Plasma 6.5 release anounncement and complete changelog.

Submission + - Tech Workers Versus Enshittification

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Writing for the Communications of the ACM, Corey Doctorow makes the case for unionization in Tech Workers Versus Enshittification:

"Now that tech workers are as disposable as Amazon warehouse workers and drivers, as disposable as the factory workers in iPhone City, it’s only a matter of time until the job conditions are harmonized downward. Jeff Bezos doesn’t force his delivery drivers to relieve themselves in bottles because he hates delivery drivers. Jeff Bezos doesn’t allow his coders to use a restroom whenever they need to because he loves hackers. The factor that determines how Jeff Bezos treats workers is 'What is the worst treatment those workers can be forced to accept?'"

"Throughout the entire history of human civilization, there has only ever been one way to guarantee fair wages and decent conditions for workers: unions. Even non-union workers benefit from unions, because strong unions are the force that causes labor protection laws to be passed, which protect all workers. [...] Now is the time to get organized. Your boss has made it clear how you’d be treated if they had their way. They’re about to get it. Walking a picket line is a slog, to be sure, but picket lines beat piss bottles, hands down."

Submission + - 80% of employees say their workplace is toxic (fastcompany.com) 1

Submitted by joshuark
joshuark writes: According to Monster’s newly released 2025 Mental Health in the Workplace survey of 1,100 workers, 80% of respondents described their workplace environment as toxic. Toxic work environments are playing a large role in an epidemic of worsening mental health.

The alarming statistic is an increase from 67% just a year ago. Mental health is incredibly important to employees. The majority (63%) care more about it than having a “brag-worthy” job. According to the survey, more than half of workers (57%) say they’d rather quit their job than continue working in an environment they feel is toxic and overall, causing major strains to their mental well-being.

Regardless of the fact that workers seem to be feeling strained, most of them don’t feel their employer is responding to workers’ mental health needs. The vast majority (93%) say their employer isn’t focused on supporting employee mental health—a statistic that rose drastically since just a year ago, with 78% claiming the same.

Slashdot Top Deals

Porsche: there simply is no substitute. -- Risky Business

Close