Fixing Retail With Land Value Capture
The independent coffee shops and quirky boutiques that make neighborhoods like Hayes Valley in San Francisco or Williamsburg in Brooklyn desirable are caught in a frustrating economic trap: they create value that ends up in the pockets of nearby homeowners rather than their own cash registers.

An essay in Works in Progress magazine argues that when an interesting new store or restaurant opens, commercia … ⌘ Read more

World Not Ready For Rise In Extreme Heat, Scientists Say
Nearly 3.8 billion people could face extreme heat by 2050 and while tropical countries will bear the brunt cooler regions will also need to adapt, scientists said Monday. From a report: Demand for cooling will “drastically” increase in giant countries like Brazil, Indonesia and Nigeria, where hundreds of millions of people lack air conditioning or other means of … ⌘ Read more

Saudi Arabia To Scale Back Neom Megaproject
Saudi Arabia is preparing to significantly scale back Neom, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s flagship development that sprawls across a Belgium-sized stretch of Red Sea coastline and was once billed as the world’s largest construction site. Financial Times is reporting that Prince Mohammed, who chairs the project, now envisions something “far smaller” as a year-long review nears comple … ⌘ Read more

Revisiting The Linux 6.19 Performance With “NEXT_BUDDY” Now Disabled
Back at the start of the Linux 6.19 kernel cycle I ran benchmarks showing some scheduler performance regressions with the new kernel. Fortunately, two weeks out from the Linux 6.19 stable release, merged this weekend was disabling the scheduler’s NEXT_BUDDY feature due to performance regressions. Here are some fresh benchmarks looking at the latest Linux 6.19 Git state with/without NEXT_BUDDY and comparing it to Linux 6.18 stable for reference. ⌘ Read more

AI is Hitting UK Harder Than Other Big Economies, Study Finds
The UK is losing more jobs than it is creating because of AI and is being hit harder than rival large economies, new research suggests. From a report: British companies reported that AI had resulted in net job losses over the past 12 months, down 8% – the highest rate among other leading economies including the US, Japan, Germany and Australia, accordi … ⌘ Read more

Patch Proposed To Allow Toggling Linux Kernel VT Support At Boot Time
A patch causing a healthy technical debate today on the Linux kernel mailing list would allow the kernel virtual terminal “VT” support to be enabled/disabled at boot time rather than being limited to the current CONFIG_VT build-time option… ⌘ Read more

Angry Gamers Are Forcing Studios To Scrap or Rethink New Releases
The video game industry is experiencing something that most consumer-facing businesses would consider remarkable: organized online campaigns from players are actually forcing studios to cancel projects or publicly walk back any association with AI-generated content.

Running With Scissors, the publisher behind the Postal shooter franchise, rec … ⌘ Read more

Initial AMD GFX13 Target Merged To LLVM 23 Git - Presumably RDNA5
Added to the LLVM 23 Git codebase minutes ago is a pull request adding the initial AMDGPU GFX13 target for their next-generation graphics core IP. AMD GFX13 is presumably for RDNA5… ⌘ Read more

Richard Stallman Was Asked: Is Software Piracy Wrong?
Friday 72-year-old Richard Stallman made a two-hour-and-20-minutes appearance at the Georgia Institute of Technology, talking about everything from AI and connected cars to smartphones, age verfication laws, and his favorite Linux distro. But early on, Stallman also told the audience how “I despise DRM…I don’t want any copy of anything with DRM. Whatever it is, I neve … ⌘ Read more

AMDGPU Patches Updated For HDMI Gaming Features On Linux With Radeon Graphics
A patch series posted last week for the open-source AMDGPU kernel driver implements HDMI Variable Rate Refresh “VRR” and other gaming features for HDMI displays. With the HDMI Forum blocking HDMI 2.1 open-source support, these HDMI gaming features for the AMDGPU driver were developed via trial-and-error and the limited public knowledge available. A second iteration of these patches are now available for testing… ⌘ Read more

LG Gram Style 14 Laptop To See Working Speaker Support With Linux 7.0
For the Intel-powered LG Gram Style 14 laptop one of the Linux support caveats is the internal speakers not working properly under Linux, but with a patch expected for the upcoming Linux 6.20~7.0 kernel cycle it will finally fix the laptop speaker support for one of the laptop models in this series… ⌘ Read more

ASRock Rack PAUL PCIe IPMI Card Sees DT Patches For The Mainline Linux Kernel
ASRock Rack’s PAUL is a low-profile PCIe IPMI card built around the widely-used ASPEED AST2500 controller for providing IPMI/BMC capabilities for any platform. New patches provide mainline Linux kernel support for ASRock Rack PAUL with the necessary Device Tree bits… ⌘ Read more

New Patches Aim To Lower Linux Memory Use For Swap, Slightly Improve Performance
Kairui Song of Tencent sent out a new patch series overnight working on enhancing the Linux kernel’s swap code. With the patches there are some memory savings – and more on the way – while also providing for slightly faster performance… ⌘ Read more

Is Google Prioritizing YouTube and X Over News Publishers on Discover?
Earlier this month, the media site Press Gazette reported that now Google “is increasingly prioritising AI summaries, X posts and Youtube videos” on its “Discover” feed (which appears on the leftmost homescreen page of many Android phones and the Google app’s homepage).

“The changes could be devastating for publishers who rely heavily … ⌘ Read more

Startup Uses SpaceX Tech to Cool Data Centers With Less Power and No Water
California-based Karman Industries “says it has developed a cooling system that uses SpaceX rocket engine technology to rein in the environmental impact of data centers,” reports the Los Angeles Times, “chilling them with less space, less power and no water.”

Karman has developed a cooling system similar to the heat pumps … ⌘ Read more

Early Arthropods
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New Linux/Android 2-in-1 Tablet ‘Open Slate’ Announced by Brax Technologies
Brax Technologies just announced “a privacy-focused alternative to locked-down tablets” called open_slate that can double as a consumer tablet and a Linux-capable workstation on ARM.

Earlier Brax Technologies built the privacy-focused smartphone BraX3, which co-founder Plamen Todorov says proved “a privacy-focused mobile devi … ⌘ Read more

KDE’s ‘Plasma Login Manager’ Stops Supporting FreeBSD - Because Systemd
KDE’s “Plasma Login Manager” is apparently dropping support for FreeBSD, the Unix-like operating system, reports the blog It’s FOSS. They cite a recently-accepted merge request from a KDE engineer to drop the code supporting FreeBSD, since the login manager relies on systemd/logind:

systemd and logind look like hard dependencies of the … ⌘ Read more

Several New X.Org Libraries See 2026 Releases
While we wait to see what comes of the new X.Org Server Git branch plans and a possible X.Org Server 26.1 release, several X.Org libraries saw new point releases this weekend. These seldom-updated libraries saw new releases to ship various build fixes and other minor improvements… ⌘ Read more

Washington State May Mandate ‘Firearm Blueprint Detection Algorithms’ For 3D Printers
Adafruit managing director Phillip Torrone (also long-time Slashdot reader ptorrone ) writes: Washington State lawmakers are proposing bills (HB 2320 and HB 2321) that would require 3D printers and CNC machines to block certain designs using software-based “firearms blueprint detection algorithms.” In p … ⌘ Read more

Google Discover Replaces News Headlines With Sometimes Inaccurate AI-Generated Alternatives
An anonymous reader shared this report from The Verge:

In early December, I brought you the news that Google has begun replacing Verge headlines, and those of our competitors, with AI clickbait nonsense in its content feed [which appears on the leftmost homescreen page of many Android phones … ⌘ Read more

Linux 6.19-rc7 Released With Kernel Continuity Plan, A Few Important Fixes
The Linux 6.19 kernel remains on track for its official release two weeks from today, with the extra RC being baked in due to the end of year holidays. Out today is Linux 6.19-rc7 with a few changes worth highlighting for the week… ⌘ Read more

Gasoline Out of Thin Air? It’s a Reality!
Can Aircela’s machine “create gasoline using little more than electricity and the air that we breathe”? Jalopnik reports…

The Aircela machine works through a three-step process. It captures carbon dioxide directly from the air… The machine also traps water vapor, and uses electrolysis to break water down into hydrogen and oxygen… The oxygen is released, leaving hydrogen and carbon di … ⌘ Read more

Richard Stallman Critiques AI, Connected Cars, Smartphones, and DRM
Richard Stallman spoke Friday at Atlanta’s Georgia Institute of Technology, continuing his activism for free software while also addressing today’s new technologies.

Speaking about AI, Stallman warned that “nowadays, people often use the term artificial intelligence for things that aren’t intelligent at all…” He makes a point of calling lar … ⌘ Read more

LACT 0.8.4 Brings Improved Overclocking UI For GPUs On Linux
In the absence of any official GUI control panel from AMD or Intel for their graphics cards on Linux, LACT remains a popular choice particularly for AMD Radeon Linux gamers/enthusiasts to manage various aspects of their GPU from a convenient UI. LACT also supports Intel GPUs and some features on NVIDIA GPUs too. Out today is LACT 0.8.4 for further enhancing this third-party GPU driver user interface… ⌘ Read more

US Congress Fails to Repeal ‘Kill Switch’ for Cars Mandate
Newsweek reports on how the U.S. Congress is debating “kill switch” technology for vehicles, “which would be able to monitor diver behavior, detect impairment such as intoxication and intervene…”

“While the technology is not yet a legal requirement in cars, Congress passed a law with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021 that requires the Depar … ⌘ Read more

AMD Sends In A Variety Of Graphics Driver Fixes Ahead Of Linux 7.0 Cycle
This week’s batch of AMDGPU and AMDKFD changes queued up ahead of the next kernel merge window is focused on delivering a variety of driver fixes… ⌘ Read more

The Android ‘NexPhone’: Linux on Demand, Dual-Boots Into Windows 11 - and Transforms Into a Workstation
The “NexDock” (from Nex Computer) already turns your phone into a laptop workstation. Purism chose it as the docking station for their Librem 5 phones.

But now Nex is offering its own smartphone “that runs Android 16, launches Debian, and dual-boots into Windows 11,” acco … ⌘ Read more

The Case Against Small Modular Nuclear Reactors
Small modular nuclear reactors (or SMRs) are touted as “cheaper, safer, faster to build and easier to finance” than conventional nuclear reactors, reports CNN. Amazon has invested in X-Energy, and earlier this month, Meta announced a deal with Oklo, and in Michigan last month, Holtec began the long formal licensing process for two SMRs with America’s Nuclear Regulatory Commis … ⌘ Read more

The Risks of AI in Schools Outweigh the Benefits, Report Says
This month saw results from a yearlong global study of “potential negative risks that generative AI poses to student”. The study (by the Brookings Institution’s Center for Universal Education) also suggests how to prevent risks and maximize benefits:

After interviews, focus groups, and consultations with over 500 students, teachers, parents, education … ⌘ Read more

Linux Kernel Continuity Document Added: What Happens If Torvalds’ Git Repo Goes Away?
Following discussions from the 2025 Linux Maintainer Summit, merged overnight for the Linux 6.19 kernel is documentation concerning the Linux kernel project’s continuity in the event that Linus Torvalds’ official Git repository were to disappear or otherwise be inaccessible for continuing the upstream development of the Linux kernel… ⌘ Read more

Focusrite Forte USB Audio Interface To Be Supported By Linux 7.0
The Focusrite Forte 2-in, 4-out USB audio interface as a portable audio recording solution will be supported by the mainline Linux 7.0 kernel. The patches are queued in the Linux kernel’s sound subsystem development tree. While a convenient little device, the Focusrite Forte is no longer manufactured but can still be found used online… ⌘ Read more

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Display Support & Old Adreno 225 Enablement For Linux 7.0
Rob Clark this week sent out the latest MSM DRM kernel driver updates for the latest Qualcomm display/graphics enhancements ahead of next month’s Linux 7.0 merge window… ⌘ Read more

SVT-AV1 4.0 Released With More Performance Optimizations
SVT-AV1 4.0 is out as the newest major feature release for this open-source AV1 video encoder that was originally started by Intel as an open-source project and now continuining on thanks to the Alliance For Open Media… ⌘ Read more

Former Canonical Developer Advocate Warns Snap Store Isn’t Safe After Slow Responses to Malware Reports
An anonymous reader shared this article from the blog Linuxiac
In a blog post, Alan Pope, a longtime Ubuntu community figure and former Canonical employee who remains an active Snap publisher… [warns of] a persistent campaign of malicious snaps impersonating cryptoc … ⌘ Read more

Google’s ‘AI Overviews’ Cite YouTube For Health Queries More Than Any Medical Sites, Study Suggests
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Guardian:

Google’s search feature AI Overviews cites YouTube more than any medical website when answering queries about health conditions, according to research that raises fresh questions about a tool seen by 2 billion people each m … ⌘ Read more

Infotainment, EV Charger Exploits Earn $1M at Pwn2Own Automotive 2026
Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative sponsored its third annual Pwn2Own Automotive competition in Tokyo this week, receiving 73 entries, the most ever for a Pwn2Own event.

“Under Pwn2Own rules, all disclosed vulnerabilities are reported to affected vendors through ZDI,” reports Help Net Security, “with public disclosure delayed to allow time … ⌘ Read more

GIMP 3.0.8 Released In Advance Of GIMP 3.2
While the GIMP 3.2 release is expected out soon, GIMP 3.0.8 is available tonight as what could end up being the last set of bug fixes for GIMP 3.0… ⌘ Read more

Has a bit of a long history story behind this, where last year at work we were reading this book called Engineering a Safer World and initially came across a service called Speech Reply that allowed me to upload a PDF copy of the book and start to read it, but unfortunately, the free trial right now before I can finish reading it turns out that Speech Reply service cost a whopping US$30 a month and expected me to pay a full year upfront, which was well over US$300 just for one fucking book! So I sent their sales and support staff a message kindly asking if it were possible to just pay for the audio transcription of just a single book or to change to a monthly subscription fee, to which they refused, so basically in the end I got very angry and told them to go fuck themselves and built my own service. A year later here we are :-)

Wine-Staging 11.1 Adds Patches For Enabling Recent Adobe Photoshop Versions On Linux
Following yesterday’s release of Wine 11.1 for kicking off the new post-11.0 development cycle, Wine-Staging 11.1 is now available for this experimental/testing version of Wine that present is around 254 patches over the upstream Wine state… ⌘ Read more

Work-From-Office Mandate? Expect Top Talent Turnover, Culture Rot
CIO magazine reports that “the push toward in-person work environments will make it more difficult for IT leaders to retain and recruit staff, some experts say.”

“In addition to resistance, there would also be the risk of talent turnover,” [says Lawrence Wolfe, CTO at marketing firm Converge]… “The truth is, both physical and virtual collabora … ⌘ Read more

Airlines Cancel Over 10,000 US Flights Due To Massive Winter Storm
“Airlines canceled more than 10,000 U.S. flights scheduled for this weekend,” reports CNBC, “as a massive winter storm sweeps across the country, with heavy snow and sleet forecast, followed by bitter cold… set to snarl travel for hundreds of thousands of people for days.”

More than 3,500 flights on Saturday were canceled, according to flig … ⌘ Read more

Cheap Green Tech Allows Faster Path To Electrification For the Developing World
Slashdot reader Mr. Dollar Ton summarizes this article from Bloomberg:

According to a new report from think tank “Ember”, the availability of cheap green tech can have developing countries profit from earlier investment and skip steps in the transition from fossil to alternatives.

India is put forward as an exa … ⌘ Read more

Microsoft 365 Endured 9+ Hours of Outages Thursday
Early Friday “there were nearly 113 incidents of people reporting issues with Microsoft 365 as of 1:05 a.m. ET,” reports Reuters. But that’s down “from over 15,890 reports at its peak a day earlier, according to Downdetector.” Reuters points out the outage affected antivirus software Microsoft Defender and data governance software Microsoft Purview, while CRN notes it also imp … ⌘ Read more

Another project where I’m going to use my terminal widget toolkit is a hex editor. This is still very young, obviously, and there’s a lot of work to do (both in the toolkit and this particular application), but I’m making some progress:

https://movq.de/v/2bae14ed16/vid-1769283187.mp4

Since this program is UTF-8 clean (I hope), you can do things like enter multi-byte UTF-8 sequences or paste them from the system clipboard (another hex editor I just tried failed to do this correctly):

https://movq.de/v/e9241034c1/vid-1769283755.mp4

Under the hood, I’m using mmap() with MAP_PRIVATE, which is really cool: I get the entire file as a byte array, no matter how large it is, no need to actually read it upfront; and MAP_PRIVATE means that I can write to this area however I like without changing the underlying file. The kernel does copy-on-write for me. Only when you hit Save, it will write to the filesystem. And it’s just a couple lines of code. The kernel does all the magic. 🥳

AI Luminaries Clash At Davos Over How Close Human-Level Intelligence Really Is
An anonymous reader shared this report from Fortune

The large language models (LLMs) that have captivated the world are not a path to human-level intelligence, two AI experts asserted in separate remarks at Davos. Demis Hassabis, the Nobel Prize-winning CEO of Google DeepMind, and the executive who leads the development of … ⌘ Read more

NASA Confident, But Some Critics Wonder if Its Orion Spacecraft is Safe to Fly
“NASA remains confident it has a handle on the problem and the vehicle can bring the crew home safely,” reports CNN.

But “When four astronauts begin a historic trip around the moon as soon as February 6, they’ll climb aboard NASA’s 16.5-foot-wide Orion spacecraft with the understanding that it has a known flaw — on … ⌘ Read more

CachyOS Starts 2026 By Switching To Plasma Login Manager & Live ISO Using Wayland
The Arch Linux powered CachyOS distribution is out with its first new ISO release of 2026. This Linux distribution continues to be quite popular with Linux gamers, enthusiasts craving peak performance, and others for wanting to enjoy a polished Arch Linux desktop experience… ⌘ Read more

US Insurer ‘Lemonade’ Cuts Rates 50% for Drivers Using Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ Software
An anonymous reader shared this report from Reuters:

U.S. insurer Lemonade said on Wednesday it would offer a 50% rate cut for drivers of Tesla electric vehicles when the automaker’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver assistance software is steering because it had data showing it reduced accidents. Lem … ⌘ Read more

DXVK-NVAPI 0.9.1 Released With New Override & Improvements
DXVK-NVAPI 0.9.1 is out today as this NVIDIA NVAPI implementation that is used by Valve’s Steam Play (Proton) with DXVK and VKD3D-Proton. This is the important piece of the Steam Play puzzle to allow for NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex, PhysX, and other features for Windows games running on Linux… ⌘ Read more