Intel Ends Work On Open-Source kAFL-Fuzzer For Fuzzing VMs
An Intel project developed the past several years was kAFL-Fuzzer as a hardware-assisted feedback fuzzer for x86 virtual machines (VMs) to help with security. While it saw a lot of work in prior years, development activity slowed down last year and now the project has been formally ended… ⌘ Read more
Nvidia Announces Vera Rubin Space-1 Chip System For Orbital AI Data Centers
Nvidia unveiled its Vera Rubin Space-1 system for powering AI workloads in orbital data centers. “Space computing, the final frontier, has arrived,” said CEO Jensen Huang. “As we deploy satellite constellations and explore deeper into space, intelligence must live wherever data is generated.” CNBC reports: In a press rel … ⌘ Read more
Are Split Spacebars the Next Big Gaming Keyboard Trend?
“There are countless upgrades you could make to your gaming setup,” writes PC Gamer’s Jacob Ridley. “A wireless this, a bigger that, a faster thing. But how do you know what’s going to be a genuine upgrade worth investing in? Personally, I think it might be split spacebars.” His argument centers on the fact that spacebars take up a “greedy” amount of keyboard s … ⌘ Read more
Intel Compute Runtime 26.09.37435.1 Brings More Features & Performance Optimizations
Following this morning’s Intel Graphics Compiler 2.30.1 release, the Intel Compute Runtime 26.09.37435.1 is now available for this open-source OpenCL and Level Zero compute stack for Intel graphics hardware on Windows and Linux… ⌘ Read more
Hydropower Line From Quebec Could Power a Million NYC Homes
The Champlain Hudson Power Express, a $6 billion, 339-mile buried transmission line, will soon deliver Canadian hydropower from Hydro-Quebec to New York City. The project could supply up to 20% of the city’s electricity and power roughly one million homes throughout the year. “This is far and away the largest project I have ever worked on,” said Bob Ha … ⌘ Read more
‘Pokemon Go’ Players Unknowingly Trained Delivery Robots With 30 Billion Images
More than 30 billion images captured by Pokemon Go players have helped train a visual mapping system developed by Niantic. The technology is now being used to guide delivery robots from Coco Robotics through city streets where GPS often struggles. Popular Science reports: This week, Niantic Spatial, part of the tea … ⌘ Read more
Sodium-Ion Battery Tested for Grid-Scale Storage in Wisconsin
“A new type of battery storage is about to be deployed on the Midwestern grid for the first time,” reports Electrek:
Sodium-ion battery storage manufacturer Peak Energy and global energy company RWE Americas will pilot a passively cooled sodium-ion battery system in eastern Wisconsin on the Midcontinent Independent System Operator network — the fi … ⌘ Read more
The UK Will Invest Billions to Build a Nuclear Fusion Industry
The UK’s science minister is announcing details of a five-year, £2.5 billion investment in nuclear fusion, reports the Times of London, “including building one of the world’s first prototype fusion power plants in Nottinghamshire and developing a UK sector projected to employ 10,000 people by 2030.”
Despite the potentially transformative impact … ⌘ Read more
Uber Co-founder Travis Kalanick’s Newest Venture? ‘Gainfully Employed Robots’
Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick launched a new venture that “will focus on creating ‘gainfully employed robots’ for the food, mining and transport industries,” Bloomberg reports.
“I left Uber in 2017 heartbroken,” writes Kalanick on the new company’s web site. Kalanick resigned under pressure in 2017, and complains he … ⌘ Read more
Qatar Helium Shutdown Puts Chip Supply Chain On a Two-Week Clock
Iranian drone strikes shut down a major helium facility in Qatar, removing about 30% of global helium supply and raising concerns for the semiconductor industry, which relies on the gas for chip fabrication. “QatarEnergy declared force majeure on existing contracts on March 4, freeing it from supply obligations to customers,” reports Tom’s Hardwar … ⌘ Read more
Backblaze Hosts 314 Trillion Digits of Pi Online
BrianFagioli shares a report from NERDS.xyz: Cloud storage company Backblaze has partnered with StorageReview to make a massive dataset containing 314 trillion digits of Pi publicly accessible. The digits were calculated by StorageReview in December 2025 after months of heavy computation designed to stress modern hardware. The dataset now hosted in the cloud weighs in at over … ⌘ Read more
Apple MacBook Neo Beats Ever Single x86 PC CPU For Single-Core Performance
Early benchmarks show the A18 Pro-powered MacBook Neo beating every current x86 CPU in single-core Cinebench performance, including chips from Intel and AMD. Notebookcheck reports: We have performed a couple of benchmarks and were particularly impressed by the single-core performance. Not in the short Geekbench test, but in … ⌘ Read more
Intel Updates LLM-Scaler-vLLM With Support For More Qwen3/3.5 Models
Intel’s LLM-Scaler project that makes it easy to deploy various large language models on modern Arc Graphics hardware is out with a new test release to expand its LLM coverage… ⌘ Read more
Google Chrome Is Finally Coming To ARM64 Linux
BrianFagioli writes: Google says it will finally release Chrome for ARM64 Linux in the second quarter of 2026, bringing the company’s full browser to a platform that has existed for years without official support. Until now, Linux users running Arm hardware have largely relied on Chromium builds or unofficial packages if they wanted something close to Chrome. Google says the new b … ⌘ Read more
Reducing Europe’s Nuclear Energy Sector Was ‘Strategic Mistake’, EU Chief Says
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Reducing Europe’s nuclear energy sector was a “strategic mistake,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday, as governments grapple with an energy crunch from the Iran war. Europe produced around a third of electricity from nuclear power in 1990 bu … ⌘ Read more
Exclusive Preview Of System76’s Completely Redesigned Thelio Desktop
It has been eight years already since System76 announced Thelio as their own built-in-the-USA, custom-engineered cases for desktops and workstations. System76 Thelio is an open hardware design and built exceptionally well out of their facilities in Colorado. System76 Thelio has served them well for their range of desktop systems over the years from ARM64 developer workstations to high-end AMD Linux systems. Now though they are preparing to introduc … ⌘ Read more
ASUS Executive Says MacBook Neo is ‘Shock’ to PC Industry
ASUS says the MacBook Neo is a “shock” to the Windows PC ecosystem. “In the past, Apple’s pricing situation has always been high, so for them to release a very budget-friendly product, this is obviously a shock to the entire industry,” said ASUS co-CEO S.Y. Hsu in a Tuesday earnings call. While he expects PC makers to respond, rising AI-driven memory shortag … ⌘ Read more
FSF Hiring New Manager For Leading Their Hardware Certification Program
The Free Software Foundation is hiring a new engineering and certification manager for leading the Respect Your Freedom “RYF” hardware certification program. The FSF RYF program is about certifying hardware that respects the user’s freedom and privacy for control over the device, such as no proprietary firmware blobs needed to be loaded at run-time, no digital rights management / digital restrictions, and complies with their other free software … ⌘ Read more
Qualcomm’s New Arduino Ventuno Q Is an AI-Focused Computer Designed For Robotics
Qualcomm and Arduino have unveiled the Arduino Ventuno Q, a new AI-focused single-board computer built for robotics and edge systems. Engadget reports: Called the Arduino Ventuno Q, it uses Qualcomm’s Dragonwing IQ8 processor along with a dedicated STM32H5 low-latency microcontroller (MCU). “Ventuno Q is enginee … ⌘ Read more
Could Home-Building Robots Help Fix the Housing Crisis?
CNN reports on a company called Automated Architecture (AUAR) which makes “portable” micro-factories that use a robotic arm to produce wooden framing for houses (the walls, floors and roofs):
Co-founder Mollie Claypool says the micro-factories will be able to produce the panels quicker, cheaper and more precisely than a timber framing crew, freeing up carpente … ⌘ Read more
OpenAI’s Head of Robotics Resigns, Says Pentagon Deal Was ‘Rushed Without the Guardrails Defined’
In a tweet that’s been viewed 1.3 million times in the last six hours, OpenAI’s head of robotics announced their resignation. They said they “care deeply about the Robotics team and the work we built together,” so this “wasn’t an easy call,” but offered this reason for resigning:
… ⌘ Read more
Seagate Just Unleashed 44TB Hard Drives
“Seagate says it is now shipping its Mozaic 4+ HAMR-based hard drives at up to 44TB per drive,” writes Slashdot reader BrianFagioli, “with production deployments already underway at two hyperscale cloud providers.
“The company claims the platform is the only heat-assisted magnetic recording [HAMR] implementation currently operating at scale, and it is targeting a path from today’s 4+TB pe … ⌘ Read more
AMD GAIA 0.16 Introduces C++17 Agent Framework For Building AI PC Agents In Pure C++
AMD’s GAIA open-source framework for building AI agents that run locally on Ryzen AI hardware via the Radeon iGPUs and/or NPUs is up to version 0.16. With this new GAIA release is support for developing AI agents purely in C++ with no longer needing to depend upon Python… ⌘ Read more
Resources For GNOME Adds Intel Xe GPU Power Usage & Intel NPU Frequency Reporting
Resources, the modern GNOME GTK4/libadwaita-based GUI application for system resource monitoring and an alternative to GNOME System Monitor, is out with a new update. Resources 1.10.2 brings some nice improvements for those running GNOME on modern Intel hardware… ⌘ Read more
New ASUS, Dell & OneXPlayer Hardware Support In Linux 7.0-rc3
A pull request sent out today and already merged to Linux Git ahead of Sunday’s Linux 7.0-rc3 has some new hardware driver support additions for the likes of ASUS, HP, Dell, and OneXPlayer… ⌘ Read more
ZimaBoard 2: An Interesting Intel-Powered Linux Home Mini Server
For those looking for a low-power, well-built small office / home office Linux server with interesting connectivity options, the ZimaBoard 2 is an interesting option that has been available for some months now and powered by the Intel N150 processor. Besides the interesting single board hardware and well built aluminum chassis, the offering is rounded out by being preloaded with ZimaOS as a Linux-based “personal cloud OS” to easily get hosting for your own SOHO … ⌘ Read more
AMD CPPC Performance Priority Being Prepared For Linux - New Zen 6 Feature
Patches were posted today to the Linux kernel mailing list for enabling a new feature called AMD CPPC Performance Priority as a new hardware feature being found with “future AMD processors”…. Which given the timing of these patches, almost certainly means the upcoming Zen 6 processors… ⌘ Read more
Microsoft Confirms ‘Project Helix,’ a Next-Gen Xbox That Can Run PC Games
An anonymous reader quotes a report from 80 Level: Microsoft has officially confirmed development of its next-generation Xbox console, currently known internally as Project Helix. While concrete details remain limited, early information suggests the company is positioning the device as a hybrid between a traditional console and … ⌘ Read more
Mac Studio 512GB RAM Option Disappears Amid Global DRAM Shortage
Apple has removed the 512GB RAM configuration for the Mac Studio, leaving 256GB as the new maximum. The remaining 256GB upgrade has also increased in price and now faces longer shipping delays as demand grows “due to consumers seeking machines suitable for running local AI agents,” reports MacRumors. From the report: The Mac Studio starts with … ⌘ Read more
AMD Will Bring Its ‘Ryzen AI’ Processors To Standard Desktop PCs For First Time
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: AMD has been selling “Ryzen AI”-branded laptop processors for around a year and a half at this point. In addition to including modern CPU and GPU architectures, these are attempting to capitalize on the generative AI craze by offering chips with neural processi … ⌘ Read more
Solar In Poor Countries Is Creating a Huge Lead Hazard
schwit1 shares a report from Slow Boring: A new report (PDF) from the Center for Global Development documents that most of [the decentralized solar/battery systems used in poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa] use lead-acid batteries, like Americans use in cars. Lead-acid batteries work for a while and then need to be recycled. If they’re recycled safely, that … ⌘ Read more
A Nuclear Reactor Backed By Bill Gates Gets Federal Approval To Start Building
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: A novel type of nuclear power plant in Wyoming backed by Bill Gates received a key federal permit on Wednesday, making it the first new U.S. commercial reactor in nearly a decade to receive clearance to begin construction. The Nuclear Regulatory Commissio … ⌘ Read more
Apple Announces Low-Cost ‘MacBook Neo’ With A18 Pro Chip
Continuing its product launches this week, Apple today announced the “MacBook Neo,” an all-new, low-cost Mac featuring the A18 Pro chip. It starts at $599 and begins shipping on Wednesday, March 11. MacRumors reports: The MacBook Neo is the first Mac to be powered by an iPhone chip; the A18 Pro debuted in 2024’s iPhone 16 Pro models. Apple says it is up to 50% … ⌘ Read more
Intel’s Make-Or-Break 18A Process Node Debuts For Data Center With 288-Core Xeon 6+ CPU
Intel has formally unveiled its Xeon 6+ “Clearwater Forest” data-center processor with up to 288 cores, built on the company’s new Intel 18A process and using Foveros Direct packaging. The chip targets telecom, cloud, and edge-AI workloads with massive parallelism, large caches, and high-bandwidth D … ⌘ Read more
The 19th Century Silent Film That First Captured a Robot Attack
The Library of Congress has restored Gugusse et l’Automate, an 1897 short by Georges Melies that likely features the first robot ever shown on film. Long thought lost, the reel was discovered in a box of decaying nitrate films donated from a Michigan family collection. NPR reports: The film, which can be viewed on the Library of Congress’ websi … ⌘ Read more
South Korean Police Lose Seized Crypto By Posting Password Online
South Korean tax authorities lost millions in seized cryptocurrency after publishing high-res photos of Ledger hardware wallets that clearly displayed the wallets’ seed phrases, allowing an unknown party to drain the funds. Gizmodo reports: South Korea’s National Tax Service seized crypto assets during recent enforcement actions against 124 high-val … ⌘ Read more
Japan To Ban In-Flight Use of Power Banks
Japan will effectively ban the in-flight use of power banks starting in mid-April after a “recent series of alarming incidents,” reports the Asahi Shimbun. From the report: Currently, mobile batteries in Japan are classified as “spare batteries” and are prohibited in checked luggage. For carry-on bags, those exceeding 160 watt-hours are banned, while passengers are limited to two units f … ⌘ Read more
Steam Survey Results Published For February 2026
Valve just published the latest Steam Survey monthly figures to provide insight on various software and hardware trends across this dominant gaming ecosystem. One of the most interesting measurements is the monthly changes in the size of the Linux gaming marketshare… ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.0 Development & Intel Panther Lake Proved Most Popular In February
During the last month on Phoronix there were 289 original open-source/Linux-related news articles and another 20 featured articles as in Linux hardware reviews and multi-page benchmark articles. There was a lot of interesting software and hardware happenings the past month but standing out the most was the Linux 7.0 merge window developments and the ramp of Intel Panther Lake Linux testing… ⌘ Read more
I’ve exhausted my stock of 5x30mm wooden dowels. Looking online for supplies yielded tons of merchants who are out of stock, ship only to businesses, offer only insane quantities (minimum of 10kg) or charge overprice for absolute joke amounts.
None of my local hardware stores has them, they’re either also out of stock or generally don’t carry them at all. Same with long 5mm diameter round sticks in general. What the heck?!
I just make a “dowel iron” tomorrow, a steel plate with a sharp edged 5mm hole. Since I’ve got heaps of 6x30mm dowels, I just hammer them through. They will be smooth and not corrugated, but that’s totally fine with me.
‘World’s Largest Battery’ Soon At Google Data Center: 100-Hour Iron-Air Storage
Interesting Engineering reports:
US tech giant Google announced on Tuesday that it will build a new data center in Pine Island, Minnesota. The new facility will be powered by 1.9 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy from wind and solar, coupled with a 300-megawatt battery, claimed to be the ‘world’s largest’, with a 30-gi … ⌘ Read more
Canonical Talks Up RISC-V This Year With Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
Canonical put out a new blog post today highlighting their RISC-V work over 2025 that included switching to the RVA23 profile baseline for Ubuntu 25.10 and moving forward. Now with RVA23-compatible RISC-V hardware coming to market this year, Canonical is talking up the RISC-V possibilities when paired with the upcoming Ubuntu 26.04 LTS release… ⌘ Read more
Memory Price Hikes Will Kill Off Budget PCs and Smartphones, Analyst Warns
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: Ballooning memory prices are forecast to kill off entry-level PCs, leading to a decline in global shipments this year – and a similar effect is going to hit smartphones. Analyst biz Gartner is projecting a drop in PC shipments of more than 10 percent during 2026, and a … ⌘ Read more
Fwupd 2.0.20 Brings New Hardware Support
Fwupd/LVFS lead developer Richard Hughes of Red Hat today released Fwupd 2.0.20 with continuing to advance firmware updating on Linux systems… ⌘ Read more
The US Had a Big Battery Boom Last Year
The United States installed a record 57 gigawatt hours of new battery storage on its electric grids in 2025, a nearly 30% increase over the prior year that arrived even as the Trump administration cut tax credits for wind and solar in last summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
The figures come from a Solar Energy Industries Association report published Monday, which also projects the market will … ⌘ Read more
Texas Is About To Overtake California In Battery Storage
U.S. battery storage installations hit a record 57.6 GWh in 2025, and Texas is now poised to surpass California as the nationâ™s largest storage market in 2026. Electrek reports: According to the US Energy Storage Market Outlook Q1 2026 from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, installations are now four times … ⌘ Read more
Mesa PanVK Driver Seeing Up To 25.7x Speedup For MSAA
The open-source PanVK driver providing Vulkan support for modern Arm Mali graphics hardware is seeing big speed-ups in the multi-sample anti-aliasing (MSAA) performance in Vulkan tests as a result of new code merged today to Mesa 26.1… ⌘ Read more
ASML Unveils EUV Light Source Advance That Could Yield 50% More Chips By 2030
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Researchers at ASML Holding say they have found a way to boost the power of the light source in a key chip making machine to turn out up to 50% more chips by decade’s end, to help retain the Dutch company’s edge over emerging U.S. and Chinese rivals. ASML is the world’ … ⌘ Read more
Red Hat Releases Tuned 2.27 For Adaptively Tuning Linux To Different Workloads
Red Hat engineers this weekend released Tuned 2.27, the newest version of their open-source project to provide a tuning profile delivery mechanism for Linux. Tuned makes it easier to adjust Linux power and performance characteristics depending upon the hardware and the different workload(s) for your Linux system deployment. Tuned is a replacement/alternative to Linux’s cpupower and power-profiles-daemon utilities… ⌘ Read more
Researchers Develop Detachable Crawling Robotic Hand
Long-time Slashdot reader fahrbot-bot writes: 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.
This article in Science News includes footage of the robotic arm reattaching itself to the sk … ⌘ Read more