Reddit’s Largest Open Source Community Dumbfounded By AI Ban: ‘I Guess Linux Is No Longer Allowed?’
Kotaku reports:

r/opensource, Reddit’s primary “subreddit for everything open source related,” has banned all AI-assisted and AI-related projects…. As reported by The Verge, the subreddit’s October 24 post, titled “Your tokens aren’t valuable: No more AI,” features four new main … ⌘ Read more

Amazon Deforestation Fell To Lowest Level Since 1988 - And Silva Wins Reelection
Brazil’s 80-year-old president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was re-elected Sunday, reports the Guardian, “defeating his far-right opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, to claim a historic fourth term in power.”

And the results could impact the climate, suggests the Associated Press, since under da Silva the annual deforestation … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Announces Open Source Tool Evaluating Your Software’s Optimization For AI Coding Agents
The problem? Understanding how AI coding agents interact with the software you build. “Whether you’re maintaining an SDK, building a command-line interface, or publishing an MCP server or skills… you need to understand whether agents can discover and use what you ship, and what yo … ⌘ Read more

25% of Incoming Pull Requests May Be AI Slop, Finds Study From Linux Foundation Research
“59% of maintainers report growing contribution volume since the rise of GenAI,” according to a new study published by Linux Foundation Research. But 25% of their incoming pull requests “are estimated to be low-quality, also known as ‘AI slop’.” And on large projects, 69% see growing contributions — a … ⌘ Read more

Systemd Merges Support for Rust Programs
“As of today in systemd Git it’s now possible for the systemd programs to be written in the Rust programming language as an alternative to C,” reports Phoronix:

Core systemd code like the systemd library doesn’t yet support Rust code, but for the various systemd programs / leaf components there is now support for using Rust… The new systemd-keyring-setup utility in Rust is used for provisi … ⌘ Read more

AI Use Convinces California Math Professor There’s ‘No Point’ Grading Homework
From the student newspaper at the University of California, Berkeley:

Richard Borcherds, a UC Berkeley professor and Fields medalist, no longer grades his students’ homework. After seeing how many of his students used AI to consistently receive top scores, he felt there was “no point” in paying readers to grade for correc … ⌘ Read more

A Newly Proposed Linux Filesystem Can Fix Corrupted Data
BeamFS creator Aurelien Desbrieres is not calling for a merge, but is requesting feedback on an 18-patch proposal that takes the place of FTRFS, an earlier filesystem he proposed in April.

The Linux/Open Source blog It’s FOSS reports:

Filesystems that can repair damage, like Btrfs and ZFS, usually do it by falling back on a spare copy of the data. BeamFS skip … ⌘ Read more

AI Delivers ‘Zero Financial Payoff’ To Most Companies, Economist Says
“Despite massive investments and widespread hype around AI , the technology has delivered zero financial payoff to corporate America outside of tech,” writes the chief economist at U.S. asset management firm Apollo Global.

He adds that “there are still no signs of AI boosting productivity growth… [M]ainstream corporate America is pulling b … ⌘ Read more

Google Says Gmail and Photos Data Shared with AI Search Could Be Used for Targeted Ads
The blog Android Authority offers this TLDR:

Google updated its privacy policy to clarify that it could use information shared through Personal Intelligence to personalize ads. Gmail, Drive, and Photos content isn’t used for targeted ads by default, but connecting them to eligible Google services could … ⌘ Read more

Free Software Foundation Hosts Free ‘Encryptfest’ Event on Sunday
The Free Software Foundation’s “EncryptFest” today covers both encryption and privacy. The free two-hour event runs from 13:00-15:00 Eastern Daylight Time (17:00-19:00 UTC), and includes:

— A discussion on “bulk surveillance, and how encryption protects personal privacy”
— A short video from renowned cryptographer Bruce Schneier.
— A discussio … ⌘ Read more

As eMudhra Exits Cert Business, Users Face New PKI Trust Decisions
“As of 2026, the company has issued more than 60 million digital certificates,” notes Wikipedia. But now, InfoWorld reports:

A certificate authority’s decision to abandon the global SSL/TLS market is exposing a weakness many organizations rarely examine: their dependence on complex PKI trust chains. Following the compromise of private keys behi … ⌘ Read more

Getty Images Files For US Bankruptcy, Advances Restructuring Plan
Reuters reports:

Last week, Getty announced plans to file for bankruptcy, marking a major reset after its planned merger with rival Shutterstock collapsed under the weight of heavy debt and growing competition from AI-generated imagery. Getty said the affiliates of the Getty family and Koch Equity Development, which committed to provide up to $533 m … ⌘ Read more

Old Blood Cells Have Been Transformed Into Brain Stem Cells That Get Younger
“Scientists have transformed old blood cells into young brain stem cells, which continued to grow younger as they grew older,” reports ScienceAlert:

Cellular transformations can be done in two main ways. The first, more circuitous route turns a specific cell back into a pluripotent stem cell, or an embryonic “blank slat … ⌘ Read more

CIOs Admit They Are Being Forced To Upgrade Enterprise IT
Computer Weekly reports:

A Censuswide survey of 2,018 CIOs and senior IT decision-makers at large organisations in the US and UK for independent software maintenance provider Origina has found that organisations spend almost $13m on upgrades pushed by IT providers. On average, 28% of enterprise software budgets go on upgrades, migrations and licensing changes d … ⌘ Read more

America’s Defense Department Is Building an ‘Elite New Tech Sabotage Agency’
America’s Defense Department “has spent months quietly building an elite new tech agency,” reports Politico, “to help covertly disrupt and sabotage foreign technology programs considered threats to American military superiority.”

Information on the Technology Support Office, or TSO as it is called internally, is nearly impos … ⌘ Read more

Singapore Boffins Weave a GUI Into Fabric
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a machine-washable electronic fabric that can turn clothing into an interactive graphical user interface. The prototype reportedly survived 50 gentle machine washes and 1,000 bending cycles, though it still relies on external batteries and controllers. The Register reports: The development could lead - at some point - to a “f … ⌘ Read more

People Are Vibe Coding Their Way to Better TVs
Frustrated by intrusive ads, sluggish interfaces, and data tracking, smart TV owners are using AI coding tools and open-source projects to strip unwanted software from their televisions and build customized home screens. The Verge reports: Several vibe-coded TV-debloating projects exploded in popularity over the weekend. Cleanyourtv (known as tv-vibehack until the 19th), t … ⌘ Read more

Greece Enacts Social Media Ban For Kids Under 15
Greece has passed a law banning children under 15 from social media platforms beginning January 1, 2027. The legislation requires platforms to implement reliable age verification and parents to use government-backed apps to restrict access, with penalties for noncompliance under the EU’s Digital Services Act. Engadget reports: “It would have been very easy to do absolutely noth … ⌘ Read more

SpaceX In Talks to Access 80,000 Cell Sites For New Network
SpaceX is reportedly seeking access to at least 80,000 cellular tower sites across the U.S. as it prepares to launch Starlink Mobile as a fourth nationwide wireless carrier. “We will be building out our terrestrial networks so there’s broad-based connectivity anywhere that SpaceX and Starlink are allowed to operate,” Musk said during SpaceX’s earnings cal … ⌘ Read more

Knicks Sent Employees Fake Offer of Championship Rings In Phishing Test
The New York Knicks reportedly sent employees a fake offer of complimentary NBA championship rings as part of an internal phishing test, requiring anyone who clicked the link to attend mandatory cybersecurity training. “Congratulations, your Employee Championship Ring is here,” the email said. According to The New York Times, Madison S … ⌘ Read more

Left Alone With Nothing To Do, AI Agents Started Playing
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: AI agents left to explore a virtual island without a specific task began inventing challenges of their own. MIT researchers say the behavior bears the hallmarks of play. The researchers put 13 AI agents called Eko, each running on Claude Opus 4.7, alone on a simulated desert island for 30 hours. They describe the ex … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Announces Per-Hour Cost for Xbox Cloud Gaming Service
Microsoft has revealed pay-as-you-go pricing for Xbox Cloud Gaming, with introductory packages costing $3.99 for 10 hours, $7.99 for 25 hours, or $11.99 for 50 hours. Starting in November, Game Pass subscribers will receive only 5 to 15 included cloud-gaming hours depending on their tier and will have to buy additional time – even to stream games … ⌘ Read more

Ukraine Is Wiping Out Data Centers Across the Border
Ukrainian drone strikes have damaged three major Yandex data centers as well as facilities serving Sberbank and VKontakte (the country’s equivalent to Facebook), disrupting cloud services, banking, e-commerce, ride-hailing and other digital services across Russia. The attacks may deal a longer-lasting blow to Russia’s AI ambitions: Yandex’s affected facilities housed it … ⌘ Read more

Comcast Loses More Customers, Claims Other ISPs’ Cheap Prices Are ‘Irrational’
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Comcast reportedly plans significant job cuts in its cable division as the firm continues to lose residential broadband and TV customers. Comcast lost 144,000 residential broadband customers in Q3 2026, up from a 91,000-customer loss in the same quarter a year ago, the … ⌘ Read more

Physicists Trap a Single Antimatter Particle For a Month
Physicists at Northwestern University have successfully trapped a single positron for an entire month, allowing researchers to study its quantum properties with unprecedented precision. “Further investigations using the trap might reveal the secret of why the world around us is made of matter and not antimatter, when things could have presumably gone either wa … ⌘ Read more

UN Says Breaching 1.5C Warming Limit Is ‘Imminent and Unavoidable’
For the first time, the UN has declared that exceeding the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C warming limit is “imminent and unavoidable.” “We are now saying this window has closed, but we can open it again by making the overshoot as brief as possible,” UN Environment Program Executive Director Inger Andersen said on a call with reporters. “This is about ho … ⌘ Read more

Unvetted AI Agents Are Accessing US Bank Accounts
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Axios: Major U.S. banks are detecting unauthorized third-party AI agents operating inside customer accounts, with some agents attempting to take actions that appear to be independent of user instructions, sources tell Axios. The difficulty in distinguishing between a human and an unauthorized bot is forcing banks to block the technolog … ⌘ Read more

To Make Way For Data Centers, Google Will Pay Others to Use Less Power
Google is funding one of the nation’s largest “virtual power plants,” paying homes and businesses indirectly to reduce electricity consumption during periods of peak demand so more grid capacity can be available for data centers. Under its expanded deal with Voltus, the program could provide up to 1,070 megawatts in the Mid-Atlantic … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Says October Updates Didn’t Actually Fix VPN Issues
joshuark shares a report from BleepingComputer: Microsoft says it mistakenly flagged a bug causing Always On VPN connection issues as fixed in the October 2026 Windows 11 cumulative updates. Always On VPN replaced the legacy DirectAccess technology and supports domain-joined, non-domain-joined, and Microsoft Entra ID-joined devices running Windows 10, Win … ⌘ Read more

The Browser Company Retires Its Arc Browser, Pushes Users to Dia
The Browser Company is shutting down its Arc browser on December 22 and encouraging users to migrate to Dia, its newer AI-powered browser for Apple Silicon Macs and Windows 11 PCs. Thurrott reports: In the message explaining why it was sunsetting Arc, The Browser Company explained that maintaining two separate browsers was difficult to justify, es … ⌘ Read more

Moderna Shares Plunge After Leak of Cancer Vaccine Data
Moderna shares plunged as much as 25% after partial clinical trial data leaked for its personalized cancer vaccine developed with Merck, despite the full results showing promising outcomes for melanoma patients. Analysts attribute the selloff largely to inflated investor expectations rather than disappointing clinical results. CNBC reports: The personalized vaccine, kno … ⌘ Read more

Bose Is Buying Skullcandy
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Longtime audio giant Bose announced on Wednesday that it’s acquiring Skullcandy, the lifestyle brand known for its bass-heavy headphones. Skullcandy will remain a separate company within Bose’s Premium Consumer Audio business and will still be based in Park City, Utah.

The acquisition isn’t out of left field. Bose has lent its audio expertise to Skullcandy over the … ⌘ Read more

Zoe Kleinman: PHP Is the Cyber Equivalent of an Unexploded Bomb
BBC technology editor Zoe Kleinman likens the recently discovered PHP security vulnerabilities to an unexploded bomb, writing, “The PHP story feels like the cyber equivalent of an unexploded bomb – I have never seen such a dramatic, public and global response to a cyber event that hasn’t happened yet.” Although no successful attacks have been confi … ⌘ Read more

Anthropic Takes On Muse With Claude Duet
Anthropic has launched Claude Duet, an AI agent aimed at professionals and small businesses that competes with Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s Dots. Here’s Anthropic’s description of what it can do: Each morning, it sends you a short brief on the most important items across your connected apps. Throughout the day, it keeps tabs on those apps and messages you only when something needs your attention. You c … ⌘ Read more

Several Linux Kernel Vulnerabilities Accidentally Posted To Public Kernel Mailing List
Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative appears to have accidentally disclosed several unpatched Linux kernel vulnerabilities on the public LKML instead of the private security list, including two CVSS 9.0 flaws that could enable remote code execution through SMB Direct and KSMBD. “This seemingly was a mistake … ⌘ Read more

Google Staff Resign In Backlash Over Its AI Contracts With Military
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Google is facing a backlash from some staff members over the company’s deployment of its AI technology for military use. The BBC has spoken to several tech workers who have either recently resigned from Google’s AI company, Google DeepMind, or are in the process of leaving, over concerns wit … ⌘ Read more

Airbnb Bans Making Guests Do Dishes, Take Out the Trash
Airbnb is banning hosts from requiring guests to perform time-consuming checkout chores, including washing dishes, stripping beds, doing laundry, and taking trash off-site. The updated policy applies to reservations booked on or after November 20. The Verge reports: Airbnb is displaying hosts’ requests more prominently now in a new “rules and requests” section on listin … ⌘ Read more

America’s War Department Will Test Heat Ray Weapon For Potential Use
Longtime Slashdot reader destinyland shares a report from CNN: The Pentagon has given the Department of Homeland Security permission to test a military-grade heat ray and develop tactics to potentially use it in operations at the southern US border, according to a memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last month and obtained by CNN … ⌘ Read more

Startup Claims To Use AI-Created Viruses To Treat a Patient
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: For the first time, scientists say they have used viruses designed by artificial intelligence to treat a human patient. Researchers announced on Tuesday that they had administered the virus, known as a phage, to a patient suffering from a deadly bacterial infection. Phages attack bacteria, and … ⌘ Read more

eBay to Cut 9% of Workforce
eBay plans to cut about 1,000 jobs, or 9% of its workforce, as CEO Jamie Iannone moves to redirect resources toward the company’s fastest-growing businesses. Reuters reports: The company had 12,300 employees at the end of last year. It also let go about 6% of its workforce, or 800 employees, in February as part of efforts to streamline operations. EBay has set itself apart from rivals by pushing into authenticated luxury goo … ⌘ Read more

AMD Brings Ryzen Overclocking Driver to Linux
AMD has published Linux kernel patches for an official Ryzen overclocking driver that allows users to adjust CPU power and current limits through a firmware interface exposed via sysfs. Phoronix reports: AMD engineer Shyam Sundar S K posted the patches for the AMD Overclocking “AOD” WMI driver as an interface to the platform firmware for managing overclocking and power/current limit … ⌘ Read more

More Than 1.5 Million Canadian Crime Stoppers Tips Leaked
A CBC investigation found that more than 1.5 million Canadian Crime Stoppers tips spanning 25 years were exposed in a breach of the P3 Global Intel tip-management platform. About 850,000 records contained personally identifiable information, including addresses, phone numbers, emails, license plates and some banking details. Longtime Slashdot reader doconnor sha … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Reportedly Projects $1,200 To $1,800 Price For Next-Gen Xbox
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: We haven’t heard many details about Microsoft’s upcoming “Project Helix” gaming hardware since the company announced it in March as a device that will “play your Xbox and PC games.” In a new wide-ranging profile of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, though, Fortune alludes to a dual release strate … ⌘ Read more

Meta Ordered to Pay New Mexico $25 Billion for Deceiving Users About Privacy On Facebook
A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found Facebook liable for deceiving users about privacy during the Cambridge Analytica scandal. State Attorney General Raul Torrez called it “one of the largest, if not the single largest state verdict against a company in American his … ⌘ Read more

EA Is Shutting Down BioWare
“According to a recent report by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier (paywalled), EA has reportedly decided to shut down BioWare,” the studio behind the Dragon Age and Mass Effect games, writes longtime Slashdot reader atari_kid. Quartz reports: Chief Studios Officer Cam Weber and Chief Operating Officer David Tinson wrote that “over the past several months, we’ve taken a hard look at our business.” They said a small BioWare … ⌘ Read more

OpenAI Models Are Now On All Three Major US Cloud Platforms
OpenAI is bringing its models to Google Cloud’s model garden and Antigravity coding tool, putting its technology on all three major U.S. cloud platforms after Microsoft’s exclusive license ended earlier this year. “Google Cloud’s longstanding investment in machine learning and AI has made it a destination for AI workloads and the developers and data scient … ⌘ Read more

Government Websites Go Dark After Severe PHP Vulnerabilities Disclosed
“PHP disclosed two critical vulnerabilities in their programming language and urged web site operators to immediately apply the fix,” writes longtime Slashdot reader smooth wombat. “As a result, government web sites in Europe and elsewhere temporarily went dark on Wednesday as operators worked to protect their systems.” The Inde … ⌘ Read more

PHP Warns It Plans To Release 2 Emergency Patches Imminently
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Website admins, brace yourselves. Fixes for what are believed to be uncommonly severe vulnerabilities are scheduled to drop in a little more than 12 hours for PHP, a programming language that powers websites and Web applications everywhere. PHP maintainers said Monday that they planned to release patc … ⌘ Read more

Tesla-SpaceX Merger Being Considered
Elon Musk says a merger between Tesla and SpaceX is under active consideration, with special committees at both companies evaluating a deal that could combine businesses valued at roughly $3.5 trillion. “Do I think it would be a good idea? Yes,” Musk said during a call with financial analysts over the quarterly business results of SpaceX on Tuesday. The BBC reports: While Musk noted the certainty of s … ⌘ Read more

Russian Satellite’s Close Shadowing of Radar Imaging Satellite Is a Big Deal
Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from TWZ: A Russian satellite, Kosmos 2612, may have passed within approximately 85 feet (26 meters) of a U.S.-registered satellite belonging to commercial imagery provider ICEYE. This would be an extraordinarily close and potentially dangerous pass-by for two objects in s … ⌘ Read more