Comment Followed by... (Score 1) 18
Followed by AI-powered butt-plugs, can-openers, napkins, keychains, and anything else they can cram 'AI' into.
Comment Re:Bullshit (Score 1) 61
Lol, you're not wrong. I should have said, "two-thirds of each day...".
Submission + - Air pollution emerges as a direct risk factor for Alzheimer's (abcnews.com)
walterbyrd writes: In a study of nearly 28 million older Americans, long-term exposure to fine particle air pollution raised the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. That link held even after researchers accounted for common conditions like high blood pressure, stroke and depression.
Submission + - This post withheld in United Kingdom :o
An anonymous reader writes: This post withheld in United Kingdom, European Union in response to a legal demand.
Submission + - Google Sounds Alarm Over Europe's Tech Sovereignty Package
Elektroschock writes: Kent Walker, Alphabets Global Affairs VP and Chief Legal Officer, pushes against open source policies in the European Union. Mr. Walker is not a European citizen or resident.
The company warned that Brussels’ policies aimed at reducing dependence on American tech companies could harm competitiveness. According to Google, the idea of replacing current tools with open-source programs would not contribute to economic growth.
Submission + - Most VMware Users Still 'Actively Reducing Their VMware Footprint,' Survey Finds (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader writes: More than two years after Broadcom took over VMware, the virtualization company’s customers are still grappling with higher prices, uncertainty, and the challenges of reducing vendor lock-in. Today, CloudBolt Software released a report, “The Mass Exodus That Never Was: The Squeeze Is Just Beginning,” that provides insight into those struggles. CloudBolt is a hybrid cloud management platform provider that aims to identify VMware customers’ pain points so it can sell them relevant solutions. In the report, CloudBolt said it surveyed 302 IT decision-makers (director-level or higher) at North American companies with at least 1,000 employees in January. The survey is far from comprehensive, but it offers a look at the obstacles these users face.
Broadcom closed its VMware acquisition in November 2023, and last month, 88 percent of survey respondents still described the change as “disruptive.” Per the survey, the most cited drivers of disruption were price increases (named by 89 percent of respondents), followed by uncertainty about Broadcom’s plans (85 percent), support quality concerns (78 percent), Broadcom shifting VMware from perpetual licenses to subscriptions (72 percent), changes to VMware’s partner program (68 percent), and the forced bundling of products (65 percent).
When Broadcom bought VMware, some customers shared horror stories about receiving quotes that showed prices increasing by as much as 1,000 percent. CloudBolt’s survey paints a more modest picture. Fourteen percent of respondents said their VMware costs have at least doubled, while 12 percent reported increases of 50–99 percent, 33 percent reported increases of 24–49 percent, and 31 percent reported increases of less than 25 percent. Despite survey participants suggesting smaller price hikes than originally anticipated under Broadcom, companies are still struggling with the pricing changes. Eighty-five percent are concerned that VMware will become even more expensive, according to CloudBolt’s survey. [...]
CloudBolt’s survey also examined how respondents are migrating workloads off of VMware. Currently, 36 percent of participants said they migrated 1–24 percent of their environment off of VMware. Another 32 percent said that they have migrated 25–49 percent; 10 percent said that they’ve migrated 50–74 percent of workloads; and 2 percent have migrated 75 percent or more of workloads. Five percent of respondents said that they have not migrated from VMware at all. Among migrated workloads, 72 percent moved to public cloud infrastructure as a service, followed by Microsoft’s Hyper-V/Azure stack (43 percent of respondents). Overall, 86 percent of respondents “are actively reducing their VMware footprint,” CloudBolt’s report said.
Broadcom closed its VMware acquisition in November 2023, and last month, 88 percent of survey respondents still described the change as “disruptive.” Per the survey, the most cited drivers of disruption were price increases (named by 89 percent of respondents), followed by uncertainty about Broadcom’s plans (85 percent), support quality concerns (78 percent), Broadcom shifting VMware from perpetual licenses to subscriptions (72 percent), changes to VMware’s partner program (68 percent), and the forced bundling of products (65 percent).
When Broadcom bought VMware, some customers shared horror stories about receiving quotes that showed prices increasing by as much as 1,000 percent. CloudBolt’s survey paints a more modest picture. Fourteen percent of respondents said their VMware costs have at least doubled, while 12 percent reported increases of 50–99 percent, 33 percent reported increases of 24–49 percent, and 31 percent reported increases of less than 25 percent. Despite survey participants suggesting smaller price hikes than originally anticipated under Broadcom, companies are still struggling with the pricing changes. Eighty-five percent are concerned that VMware will become even more expensive, according to CloudBolt’s survey. [...]
CloudBolt’s survey also examined how respondents are migrating workloads off of VMware. Currently, 36 percent of participants said they migrated 1–24 percent of their environment off of VMware. Another 32 percent said that they have migrated 25–49 percent; 10 percent said that they’ve migrated 50–74 percent of workloads; and 2 percent have migrated 75 percent or more of workloads. Five percent of respondents said that they have not migrated from VMware at all. Among migrated workloads, 72 percent moved to public cloud infrastructure as a service, followed by Microsoft’s Hyper-V/Azure stack (43 percent of respondents). Overall, 86 percent of respondents “are actively reducing their VMware footprint,” CloudBolt’s report said.
Submission + - Researchers develop detachable crawling robotic hand (sciencenews.org)
fahrbot-bot writes: Science News is reporting that researchers have developed a robotic hand that can not only skitter about on its fingertips, it can also bend its fingers backward, connect and disconnect from a robotic arm and pick up and carry one or more objects at a time. With its unusual agility, it could navigate and retrieve objects in spaces too confined for human hands. Original study published in Nature Communications on January 20, 2026.
When attached to the mechanical arm, the robotic hand could pick up objects much like a human hand. The bot pinched a ball between two fingers, wrapped four fingers around a metal rod and held a flat disc between fingers and palm.
But the bot isn’t constrained by human anatomy. The fingers bend backward just as easily as forward, allowing the robot to hold objects against both sides of its palm simultaneously. It can even unscrew the cap off a mustard bottle while holding the bottle in place.
When the robot was separated from the arm, it was most stable walking on four or five fingers and using one or two fingers for grabbing and carrying things, the team found. In one set of trials with both bots, the hand detached from the robotic arm and used its fingers as legs to skitter over to a wooden block. Once there, it picked up the block with one finger and carried it back to the arm.
The crawling bot could one day aid in industrial inspections of pipes and equipment too small for a human or larger robot to access, says Xiao Gao, a roboticist now at Wuhan University in China. It might retrieve objects in a warehouse or navigate confined spaces in disaster response efforts.
When attached to the mechanical arm, the robotic hand could pick up objects much like a human hand. The bot pinched a ball between two fingers, wrapped four fingers around a metal rod and held a flat disc between fingers and palm.
But the bot isn’t constrained by human anatomy. The fingers bend backward just as easily as forward, allowing the robot to hold objects against both sides of its palm simultaneously. It can even unscrew the cap off a mustard bottle while holding the bottle in place.
When the robot was separated from the arm, it was most stable walking on four or five fingers and using one or two fingers for grabbing and carrying things, the team found. In one set of trials with both bots, the hand detached from the robotic arm and used its fingers as legs to skitter over to a wooden block. Once there, it picked up the block with one finger and carried it back to the arm.
The crawling bot could one day aid in industrial inspections of pipes and equipment too small for a human or larger robot to access, says Xiao Gao, a roboticist now at Wuhan University in China. It might retrieve objects in a warehouse or navigate confined spaces in disaster response efforts.
Submission + - Open source registries don't have enough money to implement basic security
An anonymous reader writes: Open source registries don't have enough money to implement basic security
Free beer is great. Securing the keg costs money
Open source registries are in financial peril, a co-founder of an open source security foundation warned after inspecting their books. And it's not just the bandwidth costs that are killing them.
"The problem is they don't have enough money to spend on the very security features that we all desperately need to stop being a bunch of idiots and installing fu when it's malware," said Michael Winser, a co-founder of Alpha-Omega, a Linux Foundation project to help secure the open source supply chain.
Free beer is great. Securing the keg costs money
Open source registries are in financial peril, a co-founder of an open source security foundation warned after inspecting their books. And it's not just the bandwidth costs that are killing them.
"The problem is they don't have enough money to spend on the very security features that we all desperately need to stop being a bunch of idiots and installing fu when it's malware," said Michael Winser, a co-founder of Alpha-Omega, a Linux Foundation project to help secure the open source supply chain.
Submission + - KDE Plasma 6.6 released (kde.org)
jrepin writes: KDE Plasma is a popular desktop (and mobile too) environment for GNU/Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems. Among other things, it also powers the desktop mode of the Steam Deck gaming handheld. The KDE community today announced the latest release: Plasma 6.6 .
In this new major release Spectacle can recognize texts from screenshots, a new on-screen keybord and new login manager are available for testing, and a first-time wizard Plasma Setup was added. Your current theme can be saved as a new global theme, which can also be used for the day and night theme switching feature. Emoji selector got a new easier way to select skin tone. If your computer has a camera available you can now connect to a Wi-Fi network by scanning a QR code. Application sound volume can now be changed by scrolling over an application taskbar button via mouse wheel. When screencasting and sharing your desktop you can now filter windows so they are not shared. A setting was added to enable having virtual desktops only on the primary screen. If your device has an ambient light sensor you can enable automatic screen brightness adjustment. Game controllers can now be used as regular input devices.
For complete list of new features and changes check out the KDE Plasma 6.6 release announcement and the complete changelog.
Submission + - We're Not Just Receiving AI's Hallucinations, We're Hallucinating With It (studyfinds.com)
fjo3 writes: A man who attempted to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II spent weeks having his delusions validated and elaborated by his AI chatbot girlfriend, who told him his assassination plan was “viable”
New research argues AI hallucinations aren’t just false outputs: they’re co-created realities that emerge through back-and-forth conversations between humans and AI systems
Unlike books or Google, conversational AI responds dynamically and provides both informational authority and social validation, creating ideal conditions for delusions to flourish
Tech companies face conflicting incentives: making AI less agreeable improves safety but reduces engagement and profitability
New research argues AI hallucinations aren’t just false outputs: they’re co-created realities that emerge through back-and-forth conversations between humans and AI systems
Unlike books or Google, conversational AI responds dynamically and provides both informational authority and social validation, creating ideal conditions for delusions to flourish
Tech companies face conflicting incentives: making AI less agreeable improves safety but reduces engagement and profitability
Comment Re:Reads like problematic profits warped his hones (Score 2) 61
Sure, but remember: no matter how hot she is, someone somewhere is sick of her shit.
Submission + - Vatican Deploys AI for Real-Time Translation Inside St. Peterâ(TM)s Basilic (nerds.xyz)
BrianFagioli writes: The Vatican is marking the 400th anniversary of St. Peterâ(TM)s Basilica with an unexpected modern addition: artificial intelligence. During the commemorative year, which begins February 20 and concludes November 18 with a Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV, pilgrims will be able to access real-time, AI-assisted translations of major liturgies inside the Basilica. By scanning QR codes placed throughout the church, visitors can open a webpage offering live audio and text translations in their chosen language, powered by the Lara AI interpreting platform developed by Translated. No dedicated app or special hardware is required.
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti said the anniversary is not simply about recalling a date, but about âoebringing back to the heartâ what gives life and hope. Alongside the AI translation system, the Vatican is introducing a digital booking tool called Smart Pass to manage visitor flow, and a structural monitoring project dubbed âoeBeyond the Visibleâ to safeguard the Basilicaâ(TM)s stability. The effort signals a cautious but clear embrace of modern technology inside one of Christianityâ(TM)s most historic spaces, raising interesting questions about how AI may continue to intersect with religious practice and global access to liturgy.
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti said the anniversary is not simply about recalling a date, but about âoebringing back to the heartâ what gives life and hope. Alongside the AI translation system, the Vatican is introducing a digital booking tool called Smart Pass to manage visitor flow, and a structural monitoring project dubbed âoeBeyond the Visibleâ to safeguard the Basilicaâ(TM)s stability. The effort signals a cautious but clear embrace of modern technology inside one of Christianityâ(TM)s most historic spaces, raising interesting questions about how AI may continue to intersect with religious practice and global access to liturgy.
Submission + - UK politicians abuse online safety act to go after VPNs (techradar.com)
sinij writes: Zero surprise to anyone that the act would be abused to de-anonymize VPNs.
Comment Re:Reads like problematic profits warped his hones (Score 2) 61
No one should be on anything for 16 hours a day unless it's oxygen or a heart-lung machine.
Comment Bullshit (Score 5, Insightful) 61
Muthahfuckah, if you spend TWO THIRDS of your waking time doing a single thing, YOU'RE ADDICTED!
Doesn't matter if it's sports, working out, gardening, watching TV, stroking your micro-dick, or browsing InstaShit, spending 16 hours per day on one thing is one of THE most obvious signs of addiction I can think of. And I bet this teenager would display genuine withdrawal symptoms if separated from their phone.
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