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Fighting Back Against Windows 11's Built-in Malware: An Open Source Counter-Offensive

2025-07-28

Fighting Back Against Windows 11's Built-in Malware: An Open Source Counter-Offensive

Windows 11 is riddled with distracting ads and tracking features, akin to built-in malware. This article calls for the development of an automated Windows cleanup tool to counter Microsoft's tactics. The tool should be open-source, user-friendly, configurable, and integrate existing excellent tools. The ultimate goal is to force Microsoft to change course and improve user experience through community pressure; a prime example of FOSS fighting back against Microsoft's dominance.

(www.theregister.com)

Development

Intel Cuts 24,000 Jobs, Announces Major Strategic Restructuring

2025-07-25

Intel Cuts 24,000 Jobs, Announces Major Strategic Restructuring

Intel announced its Q2 2025 earnings, revealing a plan to lay off approximately 24,000 employees and significantly scale back projects in Germany, Poland, and Costa Rica. This restructuring aims to correct previous overinvestment in manufacturing capacity and align future growth with actual market demand. CEO Pat Gelsinger emphasized a shift towards building chips based on customer needs and stricter design review processes. Despite a reported loss, Intel affirmed that key flagship chip projects remain on track, with new leadership for its data center business and a detailed AI strategy expected in the coming months.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech

Crypto Utopia: Experimenting with Network States in Malaysia's Forest City

2025-09-01

Crypto Utopia: Experimenting with Network States in Malaysia's Forest City

In a repurposed hotel on a reclaimed island in Malaysia, crypto and tech entrepreneurs are conducting a real-life experiment: building new sovereign states from scratch. Network School, the brainchild of former Coinbase executive Balaji Srinivasan, attracts nearly 400 students learning coding, decentralized governance, and building crypto projects. The curriculum blends practical skills with ideological exploration, combining coding sprints with seminars on topics like the Meiji Restoration and Singapore's statecraft. Srinivasan's vision is to create "startup societies" defined by shared beliefs, not territory, and he sees the world as ripe for his brand of nation-state disruption, using Forest City as a testing ground for global rollout. Despite challenges, the project injects energy into Forest City, offering a unique case study in exploring future models of societal governance.

(www.latimes.com)

Startup network state startup society

Japanese Scientists Develop Artificial Blood with Years-Long Shelf Life

2025-06-02

Japanese Scientists Develop Artificial Blood with Years-Long Shelf Life

Scientists at Nara Medical University in Japan, led by Hiromi Sakai, have developed a new type of artificial blood compatible with all blood types. This artificial blood, created by extracting hemoglobin from expired blood and encapsulating it in a protective shell, is stable and virus-free. Remarkably, it can be stored for up to two years at room temperature and five years under refrigeration, a significant improvement over donated blood's 42-day shelf life. Human trials are underway, with the aim of practical application by 2030, promising a revolution in global healthcare, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

(www.tokyoweekender.com)

Tech artificial blood hemoglobin

Building a Cross-Platform Encrypted Search Engine: Tackling Browser Storage

2025-03-29

This article tackles the initial hurdle in building a cross-platform encrypted search engine: secure and efficient browser-side data storage. The author compares LocalStorage, IndexedDB, and the FileSystem API, ultimately choosing the FileSystem API for its file-system-like interface, better performance, and consistency with other platforms. The article details using Rust and web-sys to interact with the FileSystem API and implements an AES-GCM encryption layer for security. Finally, a unified `File` trait is created for managing both encrypted and unencrypted files.

(jdrouet.github.io)

Development encrypted storage

Why I Previously Overlooked Parallelisation: A Retrospective on Multithreaded Programming

2025-04-05

The author revisits a previous post, admitting to overlooking parallelisation as a crucial optimisation technique. Using his website rebuild as a case study, he demonstrates the significant performance gains achieved through parallelisation. The article delves into the challenges of parallel programming, including hardware and software limitations, and the complexities of synchronization in multithreaded environments. The author shares his experiences with multithreaded programming in Rust, highlighting how Rust's features make multithreading safer, more reliable, and more efficient. Ultimately, the author advocates for developers to embrace parallelisation as a powerful tool for improving software performance.

(tratt.net)

Development parallelisation multithreaded programming

US Population Could Shrink for the First Time Ever: The Unintended Consequence of Trump's Immigration Policies?

2025-09-02

US Population Could Shrink for the First Time Ever: The Unintended Consequence of Trump's Immigration Policies?

The US population may shrink for the first time in its history in 2025, not due to war or plague, but potentially due to Trump's strict immigration policies. Data from the Pew Research Center shows a drop of over one million in the foreign-born population in the first half of the year. This, combined with the birth-death rate differential, could lead to population decline. This decline will have profound economic impacts, including labor shortages, rising food prices, housing shortages, and strain on the healthcare system. Additionally, a shrinking population will exacerbate fiscal pressures on Social Security and Medicare. The article explores the potential political and economic consequences of this demographic shift and potential future policy adjustments.

(www.derekthompson.org)

Tech

Japan Unveils First Homegrown Quantum Computer

2025-08-28

Japan Unveils First Homegrown Quantum Computer

Japan has launched its first quantum computer built entirely with domestically produced components. Located at Osaka University's Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology, the system utilizes a superconducting qubit chip and open-source software called OQTOPUS, both developed in Japan. This milestone represents a significant advancement in Japan's technological capabilities and paves the way for future breakthroughs in quantum computing, with potential applications in drug discovery, traffic optimization, and more.

(www.livescience.com)

Tech Japanese Technology Superconducting Qubits

Emulating FMAdd: A Deep Dive into 32-bit Floats

2025-01-02

This post delves into emulating the FMAdd (fused multiply-add) instruction on hardware lacking native support, specifically focusing on a 32-bit float SIMD implementation. It explains FMAdd's operation and how to avoid double rounding errors inherent in intermediate floating-point calculations. The author details a clever technique using 'rounding to odd' and the extra precision of double-precision floats to eliminate rounding errors, achieving accurate FMAdd results. The post also briefly covers calculating precise addition results and error terms, promising a follow-up on handling 64-bit floats.

(drilian.com)

Development floating-point arithmetic FMAdd instruction

Hidden Tax Bomb: How a 2017 Tax Code Tweak Triggered Tech Layoffs

2025-06-06

Hidden Tax Bomb: How a 2017 Tax Code Tweak Triggered Tech Layoffs

A little-noticed change to Section 174 of the 2017 US tax code, effective in 2022, unexpectedly triggered a massive wave of layoffs in the tech industry. The amendment changed the immediate expensing of R&D costs to amortization over five or fifteen years, significantly increasing the tax burden for tech companies. This led to widespread layoffs, impacting companies of all sizes, resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs. While over-hiring during the pandemic and the rise of AI are cited as causes, the Section 174 change acted as a hidden accelerant. A bipartisan effort is underway to repeal the change, but the damage is done, impacting far beyond the tech sector, and a reversal may be too late.

(qz.com)

Tech tax reform section 174

Cheap Port Radar Uses Existing Cell Towers

2025-06-30

Cheap Port Radar Uses Existing Cell Towers

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute have developed a novel security system that repurposes existing cell towers as a low-cost radar system for ports. The system uses Passive Coherent Location (PCL) to detect ships, even small ones, up to 4 kilometers away. By analyzing reflections of cell tower signals, the system creates a dynamic map of port traffic. This eliminates the need for expensive radar installations, making it a budget-friendly solution for enhancing port security, especially in remote locations.

(spectrum.ieee.org)

Tech Port Security Passive Coherent Location Cell Tower Radar

China's New Phone-Hacking Malware: Massistant

2025-07-17

China's New Phone-Hacking Malware: Massistant

Security researchers have uncovered a new malware, Massistant, used by Chinese authorities to extract data from seized phones. Developed by Xiamen Meiya Pico, this Android software allows access to text messages (including from apps like Signal), images, location data, audio recordings, contacts, and more. While physical access is required, its widespread use poses significant risks to Chinese residents and visitors. Although Massistant leaves traces, allowing potential removal via tools like the Android Debug Bridge, the data is already compromised by the time of installation. Xiamen Meiya Pico, holding a reported 40% share of China's digital forensics market, was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2021. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech china

Denmark Deploys AI-Powered USVs to Bolster Baltic Sea Security

2025-06-29

Denmark Deploys AI-Powered USVs to Bolster Baltic Sea Security

Amid rising maritime tensions in the Baltic Sea, Denmark has invested $60 million in four AI-powered unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) called 'Voyagers.' These solar and wind-powered vessels, equipped with advanced sensors and AI data analysis, can autonomously operate for months, conducting surveillance, combating illegal fishing, and protecting critical underwater infrastructure. This deployment is part of a larger Danish defense technology investment aimed at enhancing situational awareness in the Baltic and North Seas, responding to incidents like the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage. USV manufacturer Saildrone is establishing its European headquarters in Copenhagen.

(www.euronews.com)

Tech USVs Defense Tech

Google's September Pixel Drop: Material 3, Auracast, and AI Enhancements Arrive

2025-09-04

Google's September Pixel Drop: Material 3, Auracast, and AI Enhancements Arrive

Google's September update brings a wave of new features to Pixel devices. Pixel 6 and later models get Material 3 Expressive, offering lock screen customization, improved contact cards, and a revamped Quick Settings pane. Pixel Buds Pro 2 gains Adaptive Audio, loud noise protection, and head gesture controls. Android now supports Auracast, enabling simultaneous audio playback on two devices or creating public broadcasts. Gboard adds AI writing tools, and the Androidify app lets users create AI-powered Android bot avatars. This update spans interface, audio, and AI improvements for a richer user experience.

(www.engadget.com)

Tech Pixel update

Debugging Chez Scheme Programs: A Comprehensive Guide

2025-09-18

This guide by R. Kent Dybvig provides a comprehensive approach to debugging Chez Scheme programs. It starts with fundamental techniques like understanding error messages, simplifying code and input, and strategically placing print statements. The guide then progresses to advanced methods, including using Chez Scheme's tracing facilities and debugger to inspect program state and identify elusive bugs. Whether you're a beginner or experienced programmer, this guide offers valuable insights for efficient debugging.

(www.scheme.com)

Development

Linux Kernel 6.16: Subtle Changes, Significant Improvements

2025-07-30

Linux Kernel 6.16: Subtle Changes, Significant Improvements

The Linux 6.16 kernel release, while seemingly minor, packs significant improvements. Rust integration deepens with new bindings for the driver core and PCI subsystem, simplifying the addition of Rust-based hardware drivers. The Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) gains new Rust abstractions, boosting graphics performance and reducing vulnerabilities. XFS and Ext4 filesystems receive enhancements resulting in performance boosts up to 37%. Security is enhanced with support for Intel TXT and TDX, and improvements are made for Intel APX and Nvidia Blackwell GPUs. Network performance is also boosted with changes to how TCP/IP interacts with DMABUF.

(www.zdnet.com)

Development

New Zealand's Superconducting Thruster Heads to the ISS

2025-02-28

New Zealand's Superconducting Thruster Heads to the ISS

Victoria University of Wellington's Paihau-Robinson Research Institute has developed a magnetoplasmadynamic (AF-MPD) thruster using high-temperature superconductors (HTS). This innovative thruster boasts 99% less power consumption and three times the magnetic field strength compared to traditional copper electromagnets. A technology demonstrator, 'Hēki,' is en route to the ISS for testing, validating the HTS magnet and flux pump's reliability in space and conducting a radiation shielding experiment. This paves the way for a more efficient 'Kōkako' thruster, promising a significant reduction in the space industry's reliance on chemical rockets.

(spectrum.ieee.org)

Tech space propulsion superconducting technology ISS experiment

SCIM: A Lifeline for Enterprise User Management?

2025-06-06

Large enterprises face the challenge of managing numerous SaaS applications and employee access permissions. SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management) emerges as a solution, synchronizing user information (add, modify, delete) between Identity Providers (like Okta, Entra) and various software applications via standardized JSON. This simplifies integration, avoiding complex custom development. However, SCIM isn't perfect; PATCH operations are complex, and some Identity Providers (like Microsoft) deviate from the specification, requiring extra handling. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, building SCIM support from scratch is not recommended; opt for off-the-shelf solutions instead.

(tesseral.com)

Development

FracTran: A Turing-Complete Programming Language Based on Fractions

2025-04-10

This essay commemorates mathematician John Horton Conway and explores his creation, the FRACTRAN programming language. FRACTRAN uses a sequence of fractions as a program, achieving Turing completeness through simple multiplication and division. The article details FRACTRAN's operation, implementing a FRACTRAN program for the Fibonacci sequence in JavaScript. Furthermore, it examines the relationship between FRACTRAN and Minsky machines, showing how to transform multi-state Minsky machines into single-state ones. Finally, it highlights FRACTRAN's potential applications in tackling problems like the Collatz conjecture.

(raganwald.com)

Development Turing-complete Minsky machine

Veena Chromatic Tuner: Precise Tuning for Musicians

2025-09-08

Veena Chromatic Tuner: Precise Tuning for Musicians

Veena Chromatic Tuner is a powerful tuning app for musicians needing precise control across various musical traditions. It features Equal Temperament and Just Intonation tuning, a unique oscilloscope-like waveform display for visual feedback, and support for multiple note naming systems (including Indian classical). Users can customize the reference pitch, transpose notes, and create custom tuning profiles. A dedicated Veena instrument mode assists in fretting and tuning, making it ideal for instrument makers and players alike. While ad-supported and compatibility may vary, it offers a versatile solution for precise tuning.

(play.google.com)

Game tuning app music software instrument tuning

Logitech's Solar-Powered Wireless Keyboard: Signature Slim Solar+

2025-09-05

Logitech's Solar-Powered Wireless Keyboard: Signature Slim Solar+

Logitech is gearing up to launch the Signature Slim Solar+, a wireless keyboard boasting a solar panel promising up to 10 years of battery life. Resembling the MX Keys S but with an added solar panel above the keys, this keyboard charges using ambient light. Made with 70% recycled plastic, it's lightweight and connects to up to three devices. Customization options via the Logi Options+ app and an AI Launch key (Copilot) are also included. Pricing and availability remain unannounced.

(www.tomshardware.com)

Hardware Wireless Keyboard

Classical Nova Discovered: Spectroscopic Confirmation of ASASSN-25cm

2025-06-23

ASASSN-25cm (AT 2025nlr), discovered by ASAS-SN on June 12th, 2025, has been spectroscopically classified as a classical nova. Observations using the Mookodi spectrograph on the 1-meter Lesedi telescope at the South African Astronomical Observatory revealed prominent Balmer lines and He I or Fe II lines with P Cygni profiles, indicating a strong stellar wind. The large eruption amplitude further supports the classification. This nova lacked any counterpart in archival surveys.

(www.astronomerstelegram.org)

Tech Spectroscopic Observation Astronomical Discovery

Titans: A Brain-Inspired AI Architecture Conquering Long-Sequence Modeling

2025-02-21

Titans: A Brain-Inspired AI Architecture Conquering Long-Sequence Modeling

Google researchers introduce Titans, a groundbreaking AI architecture inspired by the human brain's memory system. Addressing the memory limitations and scalability challenges of existing deep learning models in processing long sequences, Titans combine attention mechanisms with a neural long-term memory module. This allows for efficient processing and memorization of historical data, excelling in tasks like language modeling, genomics, and time-series forecasting. Further, its test-time learning capability enables dynamic memory updates based on input data, enhancing generalization and adaptability. Experiments show Titans significantly outperform state-of-the-art models across various long-sequence tasks, opening new avenues for AI advancements.

(medium.com)

AI AI architecture long-sequence modeling

Urban Raptor's Clever Hunting Strategy: Exploiting Red Lights

2025-05-27

Urban Raptor's Clever Hunting Strategy: Exploiting Red Lights

Dr. Vladimir Dinets, a research assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, observed a Cooper's hawk demonstrating remarkable adaptation to city life. The hawk learned to use the sound signal from extended red lights at an intersection to predict the formation of a car queue providing cover. It then ambushed birds near a house, utilizing the cars as camouflage during its attack. This indicates the hawk understood the correlation between the artificial signal and vehicle behavior, possessing excellent spatial memory to accurately strike prey even when obstructed from view. This showcases the exceptional intelligence and adaptability of urban raptors.

(www.frontiersin.org)

Tech raptor

Qantas Data Breach Impacts 5.7 Million Customers

2025-07-11

Qantas Data Breach Impacts 5.7 Million Customers

Australian airline Qantas confirmed a data breach affecting approximately 5.7 million customers. The breach, stemming from a cyberattack on a third-party platform, exposed varying levels of personal information, including names, email addresses, and Qantas Frequent Flyer details. For some, address, date of birth, and phone numbers were also compromised. Qantas is contacting affected customers and implementing enhanced security measures. The attack bears similarities to recent attacks on other airlines, linked to the 'Scattered Spider' threat actors known for social engineering and extortion.

(www.bleepingcomputer.com)

Tech Qantas

Qweremin: A C64-Based Qwerty Theremin Blends Old and New

2025-09-01

Following a 2022 C64-based theremin project, the author created the Qweremin, a novel instrument merging the classic theremin with a qwerty keyboard. The Qweremin addresses the theremin's notorious difficulty, improving volume control precision and responsiveness using external DACs. The article also recounts a chance encounter with legendary game composer Rob Hubbard, resulting in an autographed clamp for the instrument.

(www.linusakesson.net)

Hardware electronic instrument

Java's Compact Object Headers Graduate to Product Feature

2025-05-22

JEP 519 promotes the experimental 'Compact Object Headers' feature to a full product feature in Java. Initially introduced in JDK 24 to optimize object header layout and improve performance, it has undergone extensive testing at Oracle and Amazon, proving its stability and performance gains. The `-XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions` flag is no longer needed for activation. Future expansion for more object header bits is planned for, with Project Valhalla and Lilliput providing solutions.

(openjdk.org)

Development

Rocal UI: A Clean Template Engine in Rust

2025-04-26

Rocal UI: A Clean Template Engine in Rust

Rocal UI is a simple template engine written in Rust. While primarily designed for use with the Rocal framework to build views, it's adaptable to any Rust project. Its syntax is straightforward, supporting variable embedding, if-else statements, and for loops. The `view!{}` macro generates HTML strings that can be nested, facilitating partial template usage. Get started quickly with `cargo install rocal --features="cli"` and `rocal new -n yourapp`.

(github.com)

Development Template Engine

Humanity's Last Exam: A Groundbreaking AI Benchmark

2025-01-23

Humanity's Last Exam: A Groundbreaking AI Benchmark

Scale AI and the Center for AI Safety (CAIS) released the results of "Humanity's Last Exam," a new benchmark designed to push the limits of AI knowledge. The exam, featuring over 3,000 expert-level questions across various fields, revealed that even the most advanced AI models (like GPT-4, Claude 3.5, and Gemini 1.5) correctly answered less than 10% of the questions. This highlights significant gaps in complex reasoning capabilities. The benchmark tackles 'benchmark saturation,' where models excel on existing tests but struggle with novel problems. The dataset will be publicly released to further AI research and development, providing valuable insights into the current state and future direction of AI.

(scale.com)

AI AI Benchmark

Bogong Moths Navigate by the Stars: A Magnetic-Free Lab Unveils Neural Mechanisms

2025-06-27

Bogong Moths Navigate by the Stars: A Magnetic-Free Lab Unveils Neural Mechanisms

Scientists built a ferromagnetic-free laboratory to study the nocturnal migration of Bogong moths in Australia. By simulating natural starry skies and employing electrophysiology, they discovered that these moths use celestial cues for navigation. Specific neurons in their brains exhibited heightened sensitivity to the rotation of the projected star patterns, revealing the intricate neural mechanisms behind celestial navigation in insects.

(www.nature.com)

Tech Insect Navigation Neurobiology

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