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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 + - 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 + - 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 + - Nintendo says your Switch 2 isn't really yours even if you paid for it (betanews.com) 1

Submitted by BrianFagioli
BrianFagioli writes: The new Nintendo Switch 2 is almost here. Next month, eager fans will finally be able to get their hands on the highly anticipated follow-up to the wildly popular hybrid console. But before you line up (or frantically refresh your browser for a preorder), you might want to read the fine print, because Nintendo might be able to kill your console.

Yes, really. That’s not just speculation, folks. According to its newly updated user agreement, Nintendo has granted itself the right to make your Switch 2 “permanently unusable” if you break certain rules. Yes, the company might literally brick your device.

Buried in the legalese is a clause that says if you try to bypass system protections, modify software, or mess with the console in a way that’s not approved, Nintendo can take action. And that action could include completely disabling your system. The exact wording makes it crystal clear: Nintendo may “render the Nintendo Account Services and/or the applicable Nintendo device permanently unusable in whole or in part.”

Submission + - 50+ House Democrats demand answers after whistleblower report on DOGE (npr.org) 2

Submitted by echo123
echo123 writes: Over fifty Democratic lawmakers have signed a letter demanding answers from senior U.S. government officials about a recent potential exposure of sensitive data about American workers.

The letter is addressed to the acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, William Cowen. The independent agency is in charge of investigating and adjudicating complaints about unfair labor practices and protecting U.S. workers' rights to form unions.

The lawmakers, who are part of the Congressional Labor Caucus, wrote the letter in light of news first reported by NPR, that a whistleblower inside the IT Department of the NLRB says DOGE may have removed sensitive labor data and exposed NLRB systems to being compromised.

"These revelations from the whistleblower report are highly concerning for a number of reasons," the lawmakers wrote in the letter to Cowen. "If true, these revelations describe a reckless approach to the handling of sensitive personal information of workers, which could leave these workers exposed to retaliation for engaging in legally protected union activity."

The letter refers to an official whistleblower disclosure made by Daniel Berulis, a cloud administrator in the IT department of the NLRB, who also spoke to NPR in multiple interviews.

In his disclosure, Berulis shared that he initially became concerned in March when members of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency initiative arrived at the agency and demanded high-level access to the systems without their activities being logged. Those fears escalated after he tracked a large chunk of data leaving the agency at the same time as many security controls and auditing tools were turned off, the disclosure continues.

Ultimately, Berulis became concerned that DOGE, which is effectively led by Trump adviser and billionaire CEO Elon Musk, could have accessed sensitive internal information about ongoing investigations into U.S. companies, witness affidavits and even corporate secrets. The alleged insecure practices and removal of data could also create vulnerabilities for criminal hackers or foreign adversaries to exploit, Berulis explained in his official disclosure.

Submission + - Groundbreaking Skype to be shut down (techcrunch.com)

Submitted by mspohr
mspohr writes: Launched in 2003, Skype promised its users unprecedented privacy, with calls “highly secure with end-to-end encryption,” which — in theory — made it impossible for internet hackers or spies to read the chats and listen in on calls while they traveled across the internet. That’s why Egyptians spies needed to hack directly into people’s computers with FinFisher to listen in on their targets’ Skype calls.

Now, more than 20 years later, end-to-end encryption is baked into apps that are used by billions of people, most of whom may not realize their messages and calls are secured with this data-scrambling technology. Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, Signal, and WhatsApp, among others, are all end-to-end encrypted by default.

But in 2003, Skype was the first one to offer this level of encryption and privacy.

After it launched, Skype sparked anger among law enforcement agencies all over the world. In Italy, the Polizia Postale (Postal and Communications Police), the agency tasked with investigating crimes on the internet, asked the small cybersecurity consulting startup Hacking Team to build phone spyware capable of getting around Skype’s encryption, among other snooping features, according to former Hacking Team employees who have I have spoken with.

While Skype is largely a relic of yesteryear and will soon stop operating, Skype’s legacy lives on in the technology that secures the communications of all of the world’s most popular chat apps. And the world is a safer, freer place, thanks to Skype’s original developers’ groundbreaking ideas about privacy.

Submission + - Musk Shows Us What Actual Government Censorship On Social Media Looks Like (techdirt.com)

Submitted by theweatherelectric
theweatherelectric writes: Self proclaimed "free speech absolutist" Elon Musk is now suppressing free speech on Twitter. Over the weekend, Wired reported on the inexperienced twenty-somethings between 19 and 24 working for Musk who have been given unprecedented access to sensitive government systems.

When someone posted these government employees’ names on Twitter, Musk first declared it “criminal” to name government employees (it isn't) and then he followed it up by having the comment removed.

Submission + - Techdirt: A Coup Is In Progress In America (techdirt.com) 4

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A coup is underway in the United States, and we must stop pretending otherwise. The signs are unmistakable and accelerating: in just the past 48 hours, Elon Musk’s DOGE commission has seized control of Treasury payment systems and gained unauthorized access to classified USAID materials, while security officials who followed protocols were removed. Career civil servants across agencies are being systematically purged for having followed legal requirements during previous administrations. The president openly declares he won’t enforce laws he dislikes, while Congress watches in complicit silence. This isn’t happening through tanks in the streets or soldiers at government buildings—it’s occurring through the systematic dismantling of constitutional governance and its replacement with a system of personal loyalty to private interests. Those who resist are being removed, while those who enable this transformation are being rewarded with unprecedented control over government functions. The time for euphemisms and careful hedging has passed. We are watching, in real time, the conversion of constitutional democracy into something darker and more dangerous. To pretend otherwise isn’t prudence—it’s complicity.

Submission + - Slashdot goes mental with advertising 9

Submitted by sizzlinkitty
sizzlinkitty writes: Has anyone else noticed Slashdot failing to load because of your ad blocker? I know I sure have and it's breaking my user experience like no other.

Please post the blocking patterns you're using to make Slashdot usable again.

Submission + - CES 'Worst in Show' Mocked in iFixit Ceremony (thenewstack.io)

Submitted by destinyland
destinyland writes: Thursday a "panel of dystopia experts" was livestreamed to iFixit’s feed of over 1 million subscribers on YouTube, with the video’s description warning about manufacturers “hoping to convince us that they have invented the future. But will their vision make our lives better, or lead humanity down a dark and twisted path?” The resulting video is a fun and rollicking romp that tries to forestall a future clogged with power-hungry AI and data-collecting sensors.

“We’re seeing more and more of these things that have basically surveillance technology built into them,” iFixit‘s Chamberlain told The Associated Press... Proving this point was EFF executive director Cindy Cohn, who gave a truly impassioned takedown for "smart" infant products that "end up traumatizing new parents with false reports that their baby has stopped breathing." But worst for privacy was the $1,200 "Revol" baby bassinet — equipped with a camera, a microphone, and a radar sensor. The video also mocks Samsung's "AI Home" initiative which let you answer phone calls with your washing machine, oven, or refrigerator. (And LG's overpowered "smart" refrigerator won the "Overall Worst in Show" award.)

One of the scariest presentations came from Paul Roberts, founder of SecuRepairs, a group advocating both cybersecurity and the right to repair. Roberts notes that about 65% of the routers sold in the U.S. are from a Chinese company named TP-Link — both wifi routers and the wifi/ethernet routers sold for homes and small offices.Roberts reminded viewers that in October, Microsoft reported “thousands” of compromised routers — most of them manufactured by TP-Link — were found working together in a malicious network trying to crack passwords and penetrate “think tanks, government organizations, non-governmental organizations, law firms, defense industrial base, and others” in North America and in Europe. The U.S. Justice Department soon launched an investigation (as did the U.S. Commerce Department) into TP-Link’s ties to China’s government and military, according to a SecuRepairs blog post. The reason? “As a China-based company, TP-Link is required by law to disclose flaws it discovers in its software to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology before making them public.” Inevitably, this creates a window “to exploit the publicly undisclosed flaw That fact, and the coincidence of TP-Link devices playing a role in state-sponsored hacking campaigns, raises the prospects of the U.S. government declaring a ban on the sale of TP-Link technology at some point in the next year.”

TP-Link won the award for the worst in security.

Submission + - Twitter/X and Musk's 'free speech' hypocrisy (www.cbc.ca)

Submitted by Baron_Yam
Baron_Yam writes: Musk's X has suspended a Canadian account for posting an image countering the current political narrative that Canadians want their country to become an American state, on the pretext that it is hate speech.

Submission + - Itch.io Knocked Offline by Idiot AI and Somnambulant Registrar

Submitted by ewhac
ewhac writes: Yesterday, the indie game publishing site Itch.io was knocked offline for several hours when its domain was temporarily revoked by its registrar, iwantmyname. Service was restored after several hours.

In a message posted to HackerNews, Itch.io's operator stated that a user-created fan page for Funko Fusion, a Funko Pop video game, was improperly flagged by BrandShield, a company retained by Funko who, "delivers cutting-edge online brand protection using AI-powered technology to proactively monitor digital landscapes for trademark infringements, phishing attempts, brand abuse, and counterfeit activity." Beginning about six days prior, the "AI" identified the fan page as "fraud and phishing." However, rather than inform Itch.io of the purported infringement, BrandShield instead sent nastygrams to Itch.io's hosting provider (Linode) and domain registrar (iwantmyname). Itch.io took down the "offending" page, and quickly resolved the matter with Linode. Iwantmyname, however, didn't respond to Itch.io's messages, and eventually revoked their domain (presumably part of an automated process). Creators and customers likewise were affected, with creators unable to update their pages, and customers unable to access or download their purchased goods.

The registrar eventually got around to revoking the revocation only after Itch.io escalated the issue to social media, and is currently back online.

Submission + - TCL's inkjet-printed OLED panels are now in mass production (techspot.com)

Submitted by jjslash
jjslash writes: TCL has officially entered the mass production phase for its inkjet-printed OLED panels. Known for being longer-lasting, more energy-efficient, and cheaper to produce, these cutting-edge displays are debuting with a 21.6-inch 4K model. TechSpot reports:

TCL's pledge to make cheaper and less power-hungry OLED monitors began in earnest this week when the Chinese company officially started mass production of inkjet-printed OLED displays. The first product isn't something consumers would be interested in, though: a 21.6-inch 4K OLED panel designed for medical monitors. However, TCL did also unveil a 27-inch prototype.

While the size may seem unconventional, it's tailored for professional use, particularly in the medical industry, offering 204 PPI density, 99% DCI-P3 color accuracy, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and 350 nits of brightness.

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