Contact visits reduced at Tasmania’s prisons due to staff shortages
The ABC has heard of a five-year-old’s distress at being unable to speak with her father in a Tasmanian prison. Workers say that lockdowns due to staff shortages are to blame. ⌘ Read more

The online war for Australian visas and how much it costs to win
Thousands of young Indonesians want the chance to come to Australia to work, but first they have to win a visa application “war” that puts them in the sights of scammers and dodgy operators promising them what they want — for a price. ⌘ Read more

Fingerprints, fibres and DNA: Do you know forensic facts from fiction?
Forensics has provided the biggest breakthrough in criminal justice in the last century. It’s also become the perfect subject matter for TV crime shows. But do you know forensic facts from fiction? Take our quiz to find out. ⌘ Read more

How a daughter’s ‘puzzle’ inspired one of the world’s most popular cameras
On November 26, 1948, the first Polaroid camera was released commercially, changing photography forever. ⌘ Read more

Drowned boy was able to slip through ‘ineffective’ fence, lawsuit claims
The grieving parents of a four-year-old boy who drowned in a suburban lagoon are suing Melbourne Water and a council over the tragedy. ⌘ Read more

Mumbai Families Suffer As Data Centers Keep the City Hooked on Coal
Two coal plants in Mumbai (in India) that were scheduled to close last year continue operating after the state government of Maharashtra reversed shutdown decisions in late 2023 and extended the life of at least one facility by five years. The largest single factor the Indian conglomerate Tata cited in its petition for an extension was i … ⌘ Read more

NTFSPLUS Driver Updated As It Works Toward The Mainline Kernel
Announced last month was the NTFSPLUS driver as a new NTFS file-system driver for the Linux kernel with better write performance and more features compared to the existing NTFS options. A second iteration of that driver was recently queued into “ntfs-next” raising prospects that this NTFSPLUS driver could soon attempt to land in the mainline Linux kernel… ⌘ Read more

Nvidia Claims ‘Generation Ahead’ Advantage After $200 Billion Sell-off on Google Fears
Nvidia pushed back against investor concerns about Google’s competitive positioning in AI on Tuesday after the chipmaker’s shares tumbled 4.4% and erased nearly $200 billion in market cap on fears that Alphabet’s tensor processing units were gaining ground against its dominance in AI computing. The company said … ⌘ Read more

Evidence from the One Laptop per Child Program in Rural Peru
The abstract of a paper on NBER: This paper examines a large-scale randomized evaluation of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program in 531 Peruvian rural primary schools. We use administrative data on academic performance and grade progression over 10 years to estimate the long-run effects of increased computer access on (i) school performance over time … ⌘ Read more

FBI set to interview Democrats who urged US military to ignore illegal orders
It comes after the six US politicians appeared in a social media video which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth described as “seditious”. ⌘ Read more

Adolescence Lasts Into 30s - New Study Shows Four Pivotal Ages For Your Brain
The brain goes through five distinct phases in life, with key turning points at ages nine, 32, 66 and 83, scientists have revealed. From a report: Around 4,000 people up to the age of 90 had scans to reveal the connections between their brain cells. Researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that the brain stays … ⌘ Read more

Recurring Events for Meetable
In October, I launched an instance of Meetable for the MCP Community. They’ve been using it to post working group meetings as well as in-person community events. In just 2 months it already has 41 events listed! ⌘ Read more

The long-overlooked insects that could save our crops
Hoverflies, often mistaken for bees and wasps, pollinate three quarters of our crops. Now we’re discovering we can train them to be even more efficient ⌘ Read more

Improved Upstream Kernel Support For TUXEDO Laptops Being Worked On
While TUXEDO Computers recently ended their efforts for a Snapdragon X Elite Linux laptop, their Linux Intel/AMD laptop efforts continue going well and recently they have been posting patches working to enhance the upstream kernel support for those x86_64 devices… ⌘ Read more

Nix Package Tool Approved For Availability In Fedora 44
Following approval of the /nix top-level directory with Fedora Linux, the Fedora Engineering and Steering Committee (FESCo) has additionally signed off on allowing the Nix package tool to appear in the Fedora 44 repository… ⌘ Read more

Unpowered SSDs in Your Drawer Are Slowly Losing Data
An anonymous reader shares a report: Solid-state drives sitting unpowered in drawers or storage can lose data over time because voltage gradually leaks from their NAND flash cells, and consumer-grade drives using QLC NAND retain data for about a year while TLC NAND lasts up to three years without power. More expensive MLC and SLC NAND can hold data for five and ten … ⌘ Read more

ProcessOne: Stop Telling Us XMPP Should Use JSON

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We hear this too often: “XMPP uses XML. It should use JSON—it’s more modern.”

The logic seems straightforward: JSON came later, so it must be better. But better for what, exactly?

JSON became successful because it’s the standard serialization format for JavaScript. That made it convenient for browser-based applications.

Does that m … ⌘ Read more

Singapore Orders Apple, Google To Prevent Government Spoofing on Messaging Platforms
An anonymous reader shares a report: Singapore’s police have ordered Apple and Google to prevent the spoofing of government agencies on their messaging platforms, the home affairs ministry said on Tuesday. The order under the nation’s Online Criminal Harms Act came after the police observed scams on Apple’s … ⌘ Read more

Amazon Discounts USB-C AirPods Max to $399.99
Amazon today has the USB-C AirPods Max on sale for $399.99 in Starlight, down from $549.00. This is a match of the best price we’ve ever seen on the AirPods Max, and we expect more colors to match this price soon.

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Microsoft To Preload File Explorer in Background For Faster Launch in Windows 11
In the latest Windows Insider beta update, Microsoft has announced that it is exploring preloading File Explorer in the background to improve launch performance. The feature will load File Explorer silently before users click on it and can be toggled off for those who prefer not to use it. Microsoft introduced a sim … ⌘ Read more

Four more arrested in connection with Louvre jewel heist
Four other people were already arrested and placed under formal investigation on October 29 and November 1. ⌘ Read more

Father Ted creator Graham Linehan cleared of harassing trans woman
The Irish co-creator of the British TV comedy show Father Ted has been found guilty of damaging the phone of a trans woman but cleared of harassing her by posting comments about her online. ⌘ Read more

HiSilicon Proposes “Cache Lockdown” Driver For More Control Over L3 Cache
A Huawei engineer sent out a proposed driver for the Linux kernel to enable “cache lockdwon” behavior for HiSilicon ARM64 processors for greater control over the processor’s L3 cache usage… ⌘ Read more

US and Russia hold peace talks as further strikes pummel Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could also travel to the White House this week, amid a flurry of diplomacy over a US-proposed peace plan. ⌘ Read more

Lenovo Stockpiling PC Memory Due To ‘Unprecedented’ AI Squeeze
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Lenovo is stockpiling memory and other critical components to navigate a supply crunch brought on by the boom in artificial intelligence. The world’s biggest PC maker is holding on to component inventories that are roughly 50% higher than usual, Chief Financial Officer Winston Cheng told Bloomberg … ⌘ Read more

Japan scrambles jets after suspected Chinese drone spotted near Taiwan
The incident comes amid an ongoing diplomatic spat between Tokyo and Beijing. ⌘ Read more

X.Org Server 21.1.21 Released To Fix Several Regressions
For those continuing to make use of the X.Org Server, a new point release is now available in the 21.1 series. While most often X.Org Server stable releases these days are driven by shipping new security fixes, the X.Org Server 21.1.21 release is to fix several regressions introduced for various functional issues… ⌘ Read more

libinput 1.30 Released With Support For Writing Plug-Ins In Lua
Red Hat’s leading Linux input expert Peter Hutterer released libinput 1.30 today as the newest update to this input handling library used on both X.Org and Wayland desktops… ⌘ Read more

Government backtracks on default speed limit
The truck industry has welcomed a federal government decision to walk away from lowering speeds on unsigned roads, but road safety experts question the move. ⌘ Read more

Easily taxed grains were crucial to the birth of the first states
The cultivation of wheat, barley and maize, which are easily stored and taxed, seems to have led to the emergence of large societies, rather than agriculture generally ⌘ Read more

Your brain undergoes four dramatic periods of change from age 0 to 90
Our brain wiring seems to undergo four major turning points at ages 9, 32, 66 and 83, which could influence our capacity to learn and our risk of certain conditions ⌘ Read more

EPA Approves New ‘Forever Chemical’ Pesticides For Use On Food
The EPA has approved new pesticides that qualify as PFAS “forever chemicals” (paywalled; alternative source), sparking criticism from scientists and environmental groups who warn these decisions could increase Americans’ exposure through food and water at a time when many states are moving to restrict such substances. The Washington Post reports: This … ⌘ Read more

next-20251125: linux-next
Version:next-20251125 (linux-next)Released:2025-11-25 ⌘ Read more

Two mountain climbers have been found dead on NZ’s tallest peak
Two climbers have died on Aoraki, New Zealand’s tallest mountain, and two others from the same group have been rescued. ⌘ Read more

Asbestos scare school bill tipped to exceed $1.5m in SA
SA’s Minister for Education, Blair Boyer, is calling on retailers to help pay the climbing clean-up bill for removing coloured sand products linked to the asbestos scare. ⌘ Read more

Heyman ‘uncomfortable’ with missing ALW for Matildas
Michelle Heyman is ‘uncomfortable’ with the A-League Women continuing without international players as the Matildas prepare for their last matches before the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. ⌘ Read more

‘No fight, no plan’: NSW slammed for Shield collapse as Tassie win
Former Australia batters Sam Konstas and Kurtis Patterson have been dismissed cheaply in NSW’s crushing innings and 58-run Sheffield Shield defeat to Tasmania. ⌘ Read more

Wangetti locals give evidence at Toyah Cordingley murder trial
A court has heard police asked locals to hand over knives for forensic examination as part of the investigation into the alleged murder of Toyah Cordingley in Far North Queensland. ⌘ Read more

Family of firefighter killed battling SA blaze pays tribute to ‘great bloke’
Tributes flow for a firefighter who was killed while attending a scrub fire on the Eyre Peninsula over the weekend. ⌘ Read more

Former ANU vice-chancellor Genevieve Bell paid more than $400,000 in severance
Former ANU vice-chancellor Genevieve Bell received a severance package of more than $400,000 after resigning in September. ⌘ Read more

Murder trial jury shown video of Darwin share house where student died
A man accused of murdering 23-year-old student is facing trial in the NT Supreme Court, with the jury shown video footage of the home where Md Isfaqur Rahman died. ⌘ Read more

Ozone Hole Ranked As 5th Smallest In More Than 30 Years
Scientists report that the Antarctic ozone hole in 2025 is the fifth-smallest since 1992, thanks largely to decades of global restrictions on ozone-depleting chemicals under the Montreal Protocol. ABC News reports: The ozone hole reached its greatest one-day extent for 2025 in early September, measuring 8.83 million square miles, about 30% smaller than the largest … ⌘ Read more

Copy of first Superman comic sells for $14m after being found in attic
The edition was found by three brothers while they were cleaning out their late mother’s San Francisco home. Now it has become the most expensive comic ever sold. ⌘ Read more

The Tulsa Race Massacre, in the words of its oldest survivor
Viola Ford Fletcher and her family were told to leave and never tell anyone of what happened. It would take 70 years for the massacre to be investigated. ⌘ Read more

ACT private schools announce fee increases, leaving some families ‘distraught’
Financial errors are being blamed for one school being hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and hiking school fees by 23 per cent. ⌘ Read more

Former worker recalls last interaction with pilot before helicopter crash
A former Sea World worker has appeared before a coronial inquest on the moments leading up to the fatal crash of two helicopters in 2023. ⌘ Read more

Cummins bowls with the pink ball in bid to play second Ashes Test
Injured Australian cricketers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have bowled in the nets as the pace stars attempt to return from injury for the Ashes. ⌘ Read more

Gold Coast man dies after alleged one-punch attack
The 62-year-old man died today after spending two days in an intensive care unit. A 32-year-old man has been charged over the incident. ⌘ Read more

Are hailstorms getting more frequent in south-east Queensland?
The region has been hit by another round of storms which brought large and even giant hailstones. Is this the new normal? ⌘ Read more

Service warns more people are seeking help when facing imminent risk
New data, released to coincide with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, shows more people are seeking support when at imminent risk across central Victoria. ⌘ Read more