Mini Organs Launching to Space For Study On Aging
Researchers from Mount Sinai, NASA, and Space Tango have launched miniature human hearts and brains to the International Space Station to study how microgravity and radiation affect organs and potentially accelerate aging. “If people are going to be living and working in space, then we need to understand what’s going to happen to them,” David Sachs, assistant professor of … ⌘ Read more

Schools Across US Protest FCC Plan That Could Disconnect Kids From Internet
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Schools and libraries from around the U.S. pleaded with the Federal Communications Commission to drop the idea of ending E-Rate, a $2 billion-a-year program that connects students and library visitors to the Internet. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has criticized school distr … ⌘ Read more

Eight US States Sue OpenAI, Claiming ChatGPT Harms Young Users
Eight US states, including Kansas, Arizona, and Montana, have sued OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT encourages children to harm themselves. The states are seeking changes to how the company’s products interact with young users and the forfeiture of profits generated from their activity. Reuters reports: Attorneys general from the states, which include Iow … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Defender Now Supports Linux Desktops
“Starting today, Linux desktops are now officially supported by Microsoft Defender,” reports Neowin. A public preview of the threat detection app extends its enterprise security platform beyond servers to developer workstations running distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and RHEL. The offering includes antivirus protection, endpoint detection and response, vulnerability … ⌘ Read more

Epic Games’ New Vibe-Coded Launcher Is 46% Faster Than Steam
Epic has launched a preview of a new AI-generated Games Launcher that it says cold-starts 46% faster than Steam. Neowin reports: Epic commissioned a third-party company to benchmark this new launcher in its current Preview build versus the Steam client on Windows machines. The results reported that Epic’s client is 46% faster than Valve’s client during co … ⌘ Read more

US Tech Giants Warn Europe That Data Sovereignty Requirements Could Cost $128 Billion
A study commissioned by CCIA Europe, whose members include Amazon, Google, and Meta, estimates that the EU’s proposed Cloud and AI Development Act could impose 115 billion euros ($128 billion) in costs over a decade as governments and companies migrate workloads and rewrite software. The figure is more tha … ⌘ Read more

Google Is Silently Linking Your Phone Number Across All Signed-In Accounts
Google has made Android’s phone-number verification opt-out, automatically verifying and associating a device’s phone number with every Google account signed in on that phone, including secondary and work accounts. Android Authority reports: As spotted in a recent Reddit thread, users report receiving confirmation emails out o … ⌘ Read more

Anthropic Warns Small AI Models Could Self-Replicate Through IoT Devices
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: AI company Anthropic is warning that advances in small AI models could soon usher in a new era of self-replicating malware that’s capable of infecting smart fridges, vacuum cleaners, and a wide range of other Internet-of-things devices and is more resistant to takedown. By next … ⌘ Read more

Google Play Now Lets Anyone Build Private, Vibe-Coded Apps That Run On Android
Google Play is adding support for private personal Android apps, allowing users to build an app with tools like Google AI Studio and run it on their own devices without publishing it publicly to the Play Store. “These personal apps won’t show up in Google Play’s search or listing pages, and won’t be shared with anyone e … ⌘ Read more

Netflix Cuts About 6% of Jobs In Biggest Layoffs Since 2022
Netflix is laying off about 1,000 employees, or 6% of its workforce, in its largest round of cuts since 2022. The company says its business remains strong, but it is facing growing pressure from YouTube, TikTok, and other rivals. Reuters reports: The bulk of the job cuts would be in Netflix’s product, tech, legal and human-resources teams, the email Co-CEOs Greg … ⌘ Read more

Dutch Tax Authorities Cancel Microsoft 365 Cloud Rollout, Turn Toward Open Source
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: The Netherlands’ Tax and Customs Administration has abandoned its planned Microsoft 365 public-cloud rollout. Why? The reasons were clear at the Open Source Summit Europe conference, where the Linux Foundation (LF) released the 2026 State of Open Source in Europe. In … ⌘ Read more

Anthropic Reinvents Source Control As Claude Floods the World With Code
Anthropic says Claude-generated code has scaled so quickly that its existing Git-based infrastructure could not keep up. In response, the company built a custom centralized source-control system called Scion, along with AI-assisted review and search tools. The Register reports: “In May 2026, Anthropic averaged around 2,500 cod … ⌘ Read more

Skydance’s Discovery+ Prices Increase By Up to 20%
Discovery+ has raised prices for new subscribers, increasing its ad-free plan from $10 to $12 per month and its ad-supported plan from $6 to $7. The hike comes shortly after Paramount Skydance acquired Warner Bros. Discovery. Ars Technica reports: The new prices take effect for new subscribers immediately. Current subscribers to the streaming service, which primarily features … ⌘ Read more

FBI Arrests Saudi OpenAI Employee For Planting Recording Device In Conference Room
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: An OpenAI employee was arrested after a “sophisticated recording device” was found hidden inside the executive conference room. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, who is a national of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was arrested in connection with the matter, the DOJ said. The c … ⌘ Read more

GTA 6 Is Reportedly Coming to PC In Early 2027
GamesBeat reports that Rockstar plans to release Grand Theft Auto VI on PC in the first quarter of 2027, just a few months after its November 19, 2026 launch on consoles. The report follows Microsoft’s announcement last week that it had secured exclusive cloud-streaming rights to the game. Since Rockstar has yet to officially announce a PC version, “this deal will allow Xbox to mar … ⌘ Read more

Disney Offers $20 Million For Character.AI Assets As Startup Files For Bankruptcy
Character.AI has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to sell substantially all of its assets, with Disney offering $20 million as a “stalking-horse bidder” for select intellectual property and company claims. However, the company said Disney’s bid is subject to “higher or better offers.” Deadline re … ⌘ Read more

Kroger to Lay Off 3,000 Corporate Employees In AI Restructuring
Kroger says it will cut 3,000 corporate jobs over the next three years as it expands its use of AI and other technology to streamline operations. “Technology is reshaping what’s possible,” CEO Greg Foran wrote in a memo to employees on Monday. “The way work gets done is changing across every industry; we must adapt and take advantage of technology. We ne … ⌘ Read more

Ledger Confirms Spy Chip Implant Behind Wallet Crypto Thefts
Longtime Slashdot reader AmiMoJo shares a report from BleepingComputer: Ledger has confirmed that some of its devices distributed through Southeast Asian reseller CryptoBilis were compromised with a hardware implant that drained users’ cryptocurrency wallets. The company has been investigating reports of users losing funds from wallets purchased through Cr … ⌘ Read more

Anthropic Bans Cruelty Toward Claude
New submitter CubicleZombie writes: Anthropic has updated its Usage Policy to prohibit “sustained and needless abusive or cruel behavior” toward its Claude AI models. While ordinary frustration, criticism, and adversarial testing remain acceptable, repeated cruelty could result in account restrictions. Anthropic acknowledges there’s no evidence Claude can suffer but argues that uncertainty about AI conscio … ⌘ Read more

Google Launches Flagship AI Model Gemini 4 Argon
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Alphabet’s Google on Wednesday released its flagship AI model Gemini 4 Argon to developers and businesses worldwide, seeking to regain ground against rivals OpenAI and Anthropic after months of delays and a leadership shakeup at its DeepMind lab. The model excels at “deep work” on complex, multi-step tasks in coding, finance, la … ⌘ Read more

FBI Arrests Canadian Cybersecurity Expert In ShinyHunters Hacking Case
Canadian cybersecurity figures say they were shocked after ransomware negotiator Edward Dubrovsky was reportedly arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with the FBI’s ShinyHunters hacking investigation. “We will continue to work closely with our partners to disrupt what’s left of the ShinyHunters group and their associates, no matter w … ⌘ Read more

Apple Launches HomeView, Its First Smart Display For the Home
Apple has unveiled the $299 HomeView, a 7-inch smart display that combines Siri AI, FaceTime, customizable widgets, and Apple Home controls in a countertop or wall-mounted design. It also acts as a Matter controller and Thread Border Router, supports up to six facial-recognition profiles, and can use personal context from messages, calendars, and email … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft Reveals Maia 300 AI Chip As It Works To Reduce Dependence On Nvidia
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Yahoo Finance: Microsoft has debuted its latest AI chip, the Azure Maia 300, as it looks to reduce its reliance on third-party processors from the likes of Nvidia and AMD. Unveiled at the OCP Global Summit 2026 in San Jose on Monday, the Maia 300 will join Microsoft’s Maia 200 … ⌘ Read more

After a 10-Year Redemption Arc, No Man’s Sky Is Coming to the iPhone and iPad
No Man’s Sky is coming to iPhone and iPad on October 28, more than a decade after its rocky launch and long-running redemption arc. The title will cost $19.99, but a free trial will let users try it out before purchasing. Ars Technica reports: It will run on devices as far back as the iPhone 11 and the third-generation iP … ⌘ Read more

A New ‘Super Ice’ Is 10 Times Stronger, Bringing It Close to The Strength of Concrete
Researchers have created a strengthened “BioPykrete” by combining ice with cellulose nanocrystals and a custom protein that binds the plant-based crystals to the ice structure. In small-scale tests, the material was about 10 times stronger than regular ice and absorbed 70 times more energy before breaking … ⌘ Read more

Linus Torvalds On Why AI Works For Him
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: Many open-source developers still dislike AI. The latest example is System76 banning AI-generated content from its COSMIC desktop. At Open Source Summit Europe, Linux creator Linus Torvalds offered a different take: “I actually really like using AI,” Torvald told Dirk Hohndel, his good friend and head of Ericsson Software Technology, in their latest … ⌘ Read more

Firefox 158 Now Available With JPEG-XL Support By Default
Firefox 158 is now available with JPEG XL image support enabled by default, making .jxl images a standard part of the browser rather than an experimental feature. The release also adds JPEG XL to Firefox’s default image Accept header, improves Smart Window form filling, and brings new CSS typed-arithmetic support for developers. Phoronix reports: At long last, … ⌘ Read more

Epic Games Delays Disney Project, Asks Developers To Use More AI
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Epic Games delayed the release of an upcoming video-game collaboration with Walt Disney and told its developers to use more artificial intelligence tools to finish the game, according to people familiar with the project. The title had been slated for release in March, but is now delayed with no … ⌘ Read more

Mark Zuckerberg Says Meta Has Reached AI ‘Frontier’, Rejects Calls For Slowdown
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the company has reached the AI “frontier” with its new Muse Wonder model and will be offered as a closed, paid product for businesses. Zuckerberg also rejected calls for an industry-wide slowdown, arguing that AI can be managed with conventional guardrails as Meta continues spending heavily … ⌘ Read more

Google’s Fitbit Edge Debuts a Replaceable Battery, Brings Back the Screen
Google has introduced the $179 Fitbit Edge, a new fitness tracker with a 1.34-inch OLED display, built-in GPS, ECG support, week-long battery life, and Fitbit’s first user-replaceable battery. “And unlike the Pixel Watch, it’s compatible with Android and iPhones via the Google Health app,” reports Wired. From the report: The Edge … ⌘ Read more

Russia Was Not Ready For the Data Center War It Started With Ukraine
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: When Russia began attacking Ukrainian data centers and telecommunication infrastructure, it apparently failed to prepare for possible retaliation. Now Russia’s digital services are facing widespread outages after Ukrainian drone strikes knocked out three of the largest data centers ow … ⌘ Read more

Hackers Heat French Supermarket Fridges, Sparking Fires and Spoiling Food
Hackers remotely manipulated connected refrigeration systems at hundreds of French supermarkets, reportedly pushing some fridges and freezers to 50C (122F), spoiling food and even sparking fires. According to Reuters, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu ordered a cybersecurity investigation into the hacks, with similar incident … ⌘ Read more

AI Coding Agents Generate More Code, But Not More Software
A study of more than 700 software firms found that AI coding agents significantly increase the amount of code developers produce, but not the amount of software companies actually ship. Ars Technica reports: A recent study (PDF) of actual coding practices across hundreds of firms finds that human code review forms a significant “bottleneck” for the overall ef … ⌘ Read more

Amazon In Talks To Buy AI Startup Decart For Around $7 Billion
Amazon is reportedly in talks to acquire AI startup Decart in a deal that could value the company at up to $7 billion. Decart’s DOS software helps developers optimize AI models for different processors in weeks rather than months, a capability that could be particularly useful to AWS as it pushes its own Trainium chips. SiliconANGLE reports: The c … ⌘ Read more

Q3 2026 Was Historically Bad For PC Shipments
PC shipments fell 20.1% year over year to 62.7 million units in the third quarter of 2026, the worst Q3 decline IDC has recorded. “The top three PC makers – Lenovo, Dell, and HP – also saw their shipments fall by over 20% year over year,” reports PCMag. From the report: “If looking at all quarters, then we have seen other quarters in recent years with larger declines, such as 2 … ⌘ Read more

Should We Beware of Other License Plate Surveillance Companies Besides Flock?
NPR reports:

Police officers in cities across the U.S. are quick to extol the virtues of real-time crime centers as a game changer that helps them find missing children, monitor large events from the skies and scope out dangerous scenes before putting an officer in harm’s way. Hundreds of police departments have one of th … ⌘ Read more

How the US Nuclear Plant Fleet Is Leaning Into AI
“This year, nearly the entire fleet of 94 U.S. nuclear reactors has been offered the chance to integrate AI into its operations, and most have taken it,” reports IEEE Spectrum:

In August, California-based Atomic Canyon launched NIVA, the Nuclear Industry Virtual Assistant, which was developed in cooperation with nuclear-industry groups. The assistant was pilot-tested in … ⌘ Read more

Let’s Encrypt to Cut SSL Certificate Lifetimes to 64 Days in February 2027
Let’s Encrypt “will shorten the default validity period of its TLS certificates from 90 days to 64 days, starting February 10, 2027,” reports the blog Linuxiac:

All certificates issued or renewed from that date will have a 64-day lifespan unless users explicitly select one of the shorter options already available: 45 or six days … ⌘ Read more

Game Console Market Craters: Xbox and PS5 Sales Plummet Over 25%
“Video game console sales in the U.S. have cratered,” reports Tom’s Hardware, with sales through August far below where they’d been in 2025:

Mat Piscatella, the video game industry advisor at research firm Circana, shared the numbers on his Bluesky account — PlayStation 5 sales have dropped by 25%, putting it at its lowest point since 2013, whe … ⌘ Read more

Research Firm Calls Anthropic’s Upcoming IPO ‘Unprecedented Test of Investor Gullibity’
CNBC reports:

As Anthropic barrels toward a potential $2 trillion market cap on the Nasdaq, one research firm is valuing the artificial intelligence company at a mere $150 billion and says Wall Street is about to face an “unprecedented test of investor gullibility.” In a report on Tuesday, independent financ … ⌘ Read more

Gas Cars Fall Below 50% of Global New Car Sales for the First Time
“Gas cars are now a minority of the world’s new car sales,” reports Electrek.

Gasoline-only vehicles made up 49% of global new-vehicle sales in the first half of 2026, down from 73% in 2021, according to Mobility Global data first reported by Nikkei. It’s the first time on record that they’ve been under half. But there’s a catch: most of the … ⌘ Read more

‘The Social Reckoning’ Bombs with $5.5 Million Opening
Why didn’t The Social Reckoning enjoy the box office success of 2010’s The Social Network, asks IndieWire/A>:

[T]here wasn’t the same urgency in the story being told. The Social Reckoning focuses less on Zuckerberg, and more on data engineer Frances Haugen’s decision to blow the whistle on how Facebook’s algorithms were promoting political content that radica … ⌘ Read more

Blade Runner, Star Trek, Godzilla, Star Wars + Marvel (and Legos): News From New York Comic-Con
There was some Blade Runner news at New York Comic-Con this weekend — and also some news about Godzilla. Ars Technica reports:

We got our first look at Prime Video’s new sci-fi series Blade Runner 2099 in July at San Diego Comic-Con. With the show’s premiere roughly six weeks away, … ⌘ Read more

A College Told Flock to Remove Its Cameras. The Company Refused.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

When Elgin Community College hired Flock Safety to install six surveillance cameras in April 2025, President Peggy Heinrich thought they would “enhance the safety and security of students….” They were supposed to help locate stolen cars and missing people. But Heinrich started to wonder if the cameras were actually … ⌘ Read more

Original RFC1149 Packet Up For Auction At Christies
Long-time Slashdot reader badger.foo writes: As some of you may remember, in 2001 RFC1149 (TCP/IP over carrier pigeon) was implemented.

Now one of the packets preserved from that event is up for auction at Christies. Direct link to the auction (current bid: USD 2600) is here.

This is a unique chance to own a piece of Internet history!

[![](https://a.fsdn.com/ … ⌘ Read more

US Agency To Rewrite Rules To Finally Address Vehicle Headlight Glare
America’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “said on Tuesday that it will rewrite its vehicle lighting standards,” reports Reuters, “to address concerns about headlight glare and allow for the latest safety-improving lighting technologies.”

NHTSA said it plans to improve rules for LEDs, dusk sensors, automatic high beams a … ⌘ Read more

NASA Releases Data from Artemis II Moon Mission, Calls It ‘Sights and Sounds of Science’
“What did four astronauts see, notice, and document as they traveled around the Moon during NASA’s Artemis II mission?” asks a new NASA web page, offering some fascinating pictures and video:

Through photographs, spoken observations, drawings, and annotations, the Artemis II crew created a unique s … ⌘ Read more

FBI Arrests Cybersecurity Executive Over Data Breach After Contractor Fails to Update Oracle HR Platform
CNN reports:

The FBI arrested a Canadian cybersecurity executive and ransomware expert as part of the investigation of a damaging hack that exposed the sensitive data of current and former FBI employees, according to court documents and people familiar the investigatio … ⌘ Read more

Ubuntu Confirms Thursday’s Distributed Denial of Service Attack Against Its Web Infrastructure
On Thursday those trying to access the Ubuntu website, ISO downloads, and similar Ubuntu resources on Thursday found the site “inoperable,” reports Phoronix, with the disruption confirmed as a distributed denial of service attack.

“Our team is working diligently to resolve the incident,” … ⌘ Read more

UK Vegetables 20-50% Less Nutritious Than In the 1960s
The Telegraph reports that the nutritional value of fruit and vegetables has fallen by up to 50% since the Sixties, according a new study from researchers at startup studio Deep Science Ventures.

The study “found that humans needed to consume twice the number of vegetables to get the same level of minerals such as potassium, magnesium or copper as would have been … ⌘ Read more