Comment Re:WIndows is useless (Score 1) 38
Same, sadly.
It's fine for our developers but apparently too damn tricky for mere mortals like myself.
Comment Re:Other way around (Score 1) 38
I honestly can't recall the last time I ran a windows app on my Mint box...I think maybe I was trying to install Snagit a couple of years ago, but it wouldn't install properly.
Comment O BRAVE NEW WORLD (Score 1) 1
Another fabulous use of AI to umm, errr, "fuck shit up".
Submission + - South Korea To Spend $1 Trillion On More Memory Chip Production, Humanoid Robots (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader writes: South Korea’s government and top tech companies are committing $1 trillion to several flagship megaprojects that could bolster global memory chip supply, build new AI data centers and spur commercial deployment of humanoid robots by 2028. [...] “We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country,” said South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in a televised speech on June 29, as reported by BBC News and other media outlets. “Semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers are the triple axis for a great leap forward.” [...]
The most costly of the megaprojects involves Samsung and SK Hynix committing $585 billion to building new chip fabrication plants in the southwest provinces of South Korea, along with boosting semiconductor fab construction in the Seoul capital region, according to Reuters. The government’s goal is to double South Korea’s production of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) within five years. [...] The second flagship megaproject involves a $357 billion investment by the South Korean tech companies SK Group, GS Group, and Naver into building large-scale AI data centers in more outlying provinces, including South Chungcheong Province in the west, Gangwon Province in the east, and the North and South Jeolla Provinces in the southwest corner of South Korea.
The third flagship megaproject revolves around the South Korean government assigning a “national strategic industry” designation to physical AI—the AI systems that enable robots and self-driving vehicles to interact more autonomously with the real world. The government aims to develop a Korean “general-purpose foundation model” based on a world model to support robots within three years, according to The Chosun Daily. Hyundai Motor Company has also committed $5.8 billion to build a robot manufacturing facility and AI data center in the Saemangeum region of North Jeolla Province in the southwest, The Chosun Daily reported.
The South Korean automaker has already been helping Boston Dynamics—the US robotics company it acquired in 2021—use the South Korean supply chain in scaling up manufacturing to produce 30,000 Atlas humanoid robots each year by 2028. Similarly, the South Korean government announced it would aim to commercialize humanoid robots in 10 major industries by 2028, along with training 10,000 human workers as “AI robotics specialists” over the next five years, Reuters reported.
The most costly of the megaprojects involves Samsung and SK Hynix committing $585 billion to building new chip fabrication plants in the southwest provinces of South Korea, along with boosting semiconductor fab construction in the Seoul capital region, according to Reuters. The government’s goal is to double South Korea’s production of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) within five years. [...] The second flagship megaproject involves a $357 billion investment by the South Korean tech companies SK Group, GS Group, and Naver into building large-scale AI data centers in more outlying provinces, including South Chungcheong Province in the west, Gangwon Province in the east, and the North and South Jeolla Provinces in the southwest corner of South Korea.
The third flagship megaproject revolves around the South Korean government assigning a “national strategic industry” designation to physical AI—the AI systems that enable robots and self-driving vehicles to interact more autonomously with the real world. The government aims to develop a Korean “general-purpose foundation model” based on a world model to support robots within three years, according to The Chosun Daily. Hyundai Motor Company has also committed $5.8 billion to build a robot manufacturing facility and AI data center in the Saemangeum region of North Jeolla Province in the southwest, The Chosun Daily reported.
The South Korean automaker has already been helping Boston Dynamics—the US robotics company it acquired in 2021—use the South Korean supply chain in scaling up manufacturing to produce 30,000 Atlas humanoid robots each year by 2028. Similarly, the South Korean government announced it would aim to commercialize humanoid robots in 10 major industries by 2028, along with training 10,000 human workers as “AI robotics specialists” over the next five years, Reuters reported.
Submission + - Satellite Pay-TV Provider Dish DBS Prepares for Bankruptcy Filing (cordcuttersnews.com)
schwit1 writes: EchoStar Corporation’s satellite television subsidiary Dish DBS is set to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as early as Tuesday, marking a significant step in the company’s long-running effort to restructure its heavy debt load amid declining traditional pay-TV subscribers and ongoing regulatory challenges, according to the Wall Street Journal. The popular satellite TV service providing access to cable TV networks has struggled to find a way to be profitable in the world of cord-cutting. The move, which has been anticipated for months, would allow the Englewood, Colorado-based company to implement a pre-negotiated deleveraging plan while seeking to stabilize its operations in a rapidly evolving telecommunications landscape.
EchoStar, led by founder and chairman Charlie Ergen, has faced mounting financial pressure for years. The company carries approximately $25 billion in debt across its various entities, including its core satellite television businesses under the Dish Network and Sling TV brands, as well as its wireless operations through Boost Mobile. Subscriber losses in the traditional linear television segment have accelerated as consumers increasingly shift toward streaming services, cord-cutting trends, and alternative entertainment options. This erosion of the customer base has squeezed revenue and heightened the urgency for a comprehensive financial reset.
EchoStar, led by founder and chairman Charlie Ergen, has faced mounting financial pressure for years. The company carries approximately $25 billion in debt across its various entities, including its core satellite television businesses under the Dish Network and Sling TV brands, as well as its wireless operations through Boost Mobile. Subscriber losses in the traditional linear television segment have accelerated as consumers increasingly shift toward streaming services, cord-cutting trends, and alternative entertainment options. This erosion of the customer base has squeezed revenue and heightened the urgency for a comprehensive financial reset.
Submission + - Microsoft wants to kill Docker Desktop on Windows with WSL containers (nerds.xyz)
BrianFagioli writes: Microsoft has opened the public preview of WSL containers, bringing native Linux container support directly into the Windows Subsystem for Linux. The new wslc tool allows developers to build, run, and manage Linux containers without installing separate software such as Docker Desktop.
While Microsoft insists Docker Desktop, Podman Desktop, and Rancher Desktop remain important parts of the ecosystem, the direction seems obvious. If Windows eventually ships with a capable container platform built directly into WSL, many developers may decide they no longer need third-party container tools for everyday work.
The announcement also includes APIs that allow Windows applications to launch Linux containers programmatically, along with enterprise management features, improved file performance, new networking technology, and tighter integration with existing Windows tooling.
While Microsoft insists Docker Desktop, Podman Desktop, and Rancher Desktop remain important parts of the ecosystem, the direction seems obvious. If Windows eventually ships with a capable container platform built directly into WSL, many developers may decide they no longer need third-party container tools for everyday work.
The announcement also includes APIs that allow Windows applications to launch Linux containers programmatically, along with enterprise management features, improved file performance, new networking technology, and tighter integration with existing Windows tooling.
Submission + - How an edtech pro uses Raspberry Pis as thin clients (itbrew.com)
An anonymous reader writes: From IT Brew: "At first glance, a computer at one of Explore Learning’s almost 100 tutoring facilities in the UK might look pretty normal: monitor, keyboard, and mouse... but tucked behind each screen is a Raspberry Pi, a small single-board device often used by hobbyists for prototyping hardware projects." The company had Raspberry Pis running on close to 3,000 machines by 2016.
Will Raspberry Pi catch on as a new hardware paradigm for companies, especially as the cost of hardware skyrockets? "While IDC’s Director of Consumer Devices Research Jitesh Ubrani has been hearing more organizations consider thin clients, given the rising prices of PCs, he considers Raspberry PI usage to be a niche application—one that requires configuration expertise, since the devices arrive without an operating system. 'With Raspberry Pi, in general, you can get a lot of your basic work done. They’re capable machines, they’re just not ideal for businesses, partly because of the maintenance and setup processes,' he said. 'But also they lack the typical tools that many employees have come to expect when they work in a business.'"
Will Raspberry Pi catch on as a new hardware paradigm for companies, especially as the cost of hardware skyrockets? "While IDC’s Director of Consumer Devices Research Jitesh Ubrani has been hearing more organizations consider thin clients, given the rising prices of PCs, he considers Raspberry PI usage to be a niche application—one that requires configuration expertise, since the devices arrive without an operating system. 'With Raspberry Pi, in general, you can get a lot of your basic work done. They’re capable machines, they’re just not ideal for businesses, partly because of the maintenance and setup processes,' he said. 'But also they lack the typical tools that many employees have come to expect when they work in a business.'"
Submission + - Privacy wins at SCOTUS on geofence warrants (supremecourt.gov)
schwit1 writes: The case Chatrie v. United States (No. 25-112), decided by the Supreme Court on June 29, 2026, centers on the constitutionality of "geofence warrants" under the Fourth Amendment.
The Background
The case originated from a 2019 armed robbery of a credit union in Midlothian, Virginia. Lacking leads, law enforcement obtained a "geofence warrant" directed at Google. This warrant required Google to provide location data for all mobile devices within a 150-meter radius of the bank during a one-hour window around the time of the robbery.
Through a three-step process, Google provided anonymized data for devices in the area, then narrowed the data to specific users, and finally "de-anonymized" three individuals. Okello Chatrie was one of those individuals, and the resulting location history was used to identify him as the suspect and secure his conviction.
The Supreme Court's Ruling
On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled (6–3) that the government's use of a geofence warrant to acquire this location data constitutes a "search" under the Fourth Amendment.
Reasonable Expectation of Privacy: Writing for the Court, Justice Elena Kagan held that an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy in their cell phone location information, even when that data is held by a third party like Google.
Rejection of the Third-Party Doctrine: The Court rejected the government's argument that users "voluntarily" shared their location data with Google, noting that modern cell phone use essentially requires this data collection and that such sensitive, detailed tracking creates an expectation of privacy that the Fourth Amendment protects.
The Outcome: By establishing that these actions constitute a search, the Court essentially determined that such warrants must meet constitutional standards of probable cause and particularity. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case, instructing the lower courts to determine if the specific warrant in this instance met those Fourth Amendment requirements.
In short, the decision represents a significant victory for privacy advocates, clarifying that the digital "sweeping" of location data through geofence warrants is subject to the same constitutional protections as other government searches.
The Background
The case originated from a 2019 armed robbery of a credit union in Midlothian, Virginia. Lacking leads, law enforcement obtained a "geofence warrant" directed at Google. This warrant required Google to provide location data for all mobile devices within a 150-meter radius of the bank during a one-hour window around the time of the robbery.
Through a three-step process, Google provided anonymized data for devices in the area, then narrowed the data to specific users, and finally "de-anonymized" three individuals. Okello Chatrie was one of those individuals, and the resulting location history was used to identify him as the suspect and secure his conviction.
The Supreme Court's Ruling
On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled (6–3) that the government's use of a geofence warrant to acquire this location data constitutes a "search" under the Fourth Amendment.
Reasonable Expectation of Privacy: Writing for the Court, Justice Elena Kagan held that an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy in their cell phone location information, even when that data is held by a third party like Google.
Rejection of the Third-Party Doctrine: The Court rejected the government's argument that users "voluntarily" shared their location data with Google, noting that modern cell phone use essentially requires this data collection and that such sensitive, detailed tracking creates an expectation of privacy that the Fourth Amendment protects.
The Outcome: By establishing that these actions constitute a search, the Court essentially determined that such warrants must meet constitutional standards of probable cause and particularity. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case, instructing the lower courts to determine if the specific warrant in this instance met those Fourth Amendment requirements.
In short, the decision represents a significant victory for privacy advocates, clarifying that the digital "sweeping" of location data through geofence warrants is subject to the same constitutional protections as other government searches.
Submission + - Even the Secret Service won't use company-issued phones
An anonymous reader writes: Personal cell phones on protective missions, no threat detection on government-issued devices among the litany of sins
“It seems like nobody wants to carry a work phone and that includes even those charged with protecting the US president. The US Secret Service’s extremely lax mobile phone security practices — including using unsecured personal devices during mission operations — put America’s leaders’ and agents’ lives at risk, according to a government-issued report.”
“It seems like nobody wants to carry a work phone and that includes even those charged with protecting the US president. The US Secret Service’s extremely lax mobile phone security practices — including using unsecured personal devices during mission operations — put America’s leaders’ and agents’ lives at risk, according to a government-issued report.”
Submission + - Microsoft fake Windows error ended in a $280 million secret settlement (makeuseof.com)
joshuark writes: Facing real competition from Digital Research's DR DOS, Microsoft secretly embedded a sabotaging mechanism known as "AARD code" into beta versions of Windows 3.1 to prevent it from running on Digital Research's competing DR DOS operating system.
This code triggered fake, alarming error messages to convince developers that DR DOS was unstable, effectively eliminating a significant market threat through fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Although the company disabled the feature in the final retail release, the California-based firm Caldera, Inc., which had acquired DR DOS assets, sued Microsoft for anti-competitive practices.
Microsoft settled the lawsuit out of court in 2000 for $280 million, a figure that remained sealed until it was unsealed in 2009. Nothing says taking ownership and responsibility than keeping it a sealed secret for a decade. Microsoft paid for being clumsy enough to write the intent down in an email. The lesson the industry took away wasn't "don't do it." It was "don't put it in writing." Something Bill Gates forgot with Epstein.
This code triggered fake, alarming error messages to convince developers that DR DOS was unstable, effectively eliminating a significant market threat through fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Although the company disabled the feature in the final retail release, the California-based firm Caldera, Inc., which had acquired DR DOS assets, sued Microsoft for anti-competitive practices.
Microsoft settled the lawsuit out of court in 2000 for $280 million, a figure that remained sealed until it was unsealed in 2009. Nothing says taking ownership and responsibility than keeping it a sealed secret for a decade. Microsoft paid for being clumsy enough to write the intent down in an email. The lesson the industry took away wasn't "don't do it." It was "don't put it in writing." Something Bill Gates forgot with Epstein.
Submission + - Ex-Governors, Big Tech Launch RAISE US to Help Workers 'Navigate the AI Economy'
theodp writes: "Just how many jobs will AI upend?" asks the WSJ. "A new coalition of companies and policymakers said it is time to ready the U.S. workforce for major disruption, no matter the ultimate scale. To that end, the bipartisan consortium, which includes state governments, philanthropic groups and employers ranging from Amazon.com and Microsoft to Bank of America and Eli Lilly, is coming together to develop a new 'people strategy' for the artificial-intelligence era. Called RAISE US, it launches Thursday and will be led by former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who served under former President Joe Biden, and former Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican."
"Its mandate, they said, isn’t just to build retraining programs but also to reconsider decades-old policies such as unemployment insurance and act as a working lab for testing the most effective ways to transition workers to new fields. The group will explore corporate incentives for employers to hold on to workers whose jobs are disrupted by AI and prep them for new roles. The organization said it has so far raised more than $500 million—about half of its multiyear goal—from companies and nonprofit groups. It will initially work with state governments in Arkansas, Maryland, Utah and Connecticut. OpenAI and Anthropic are also involved, and academics including MIT economist David Autor sit on an advisory board."
With AI "there’s an enormous amount of money and focus right now on winning the technology: the chips, the models," said Raimondo, the group’s CEO. " There’s not enough attention on securing the future for the American worker." The NY Times reported the group plans to furnish technical assistance for companies that want to retain workers as A.I. changes their roles, rather than eliminating them. Microsoft, one of the companies backing the organization, said it had already found a promising model: cross-training its entry-level lawyers in different parts of the organization and equipping them with A.I. skills in order for them to be repositioned as technology evolves. "You can think of doing that with almost any job we have," said Brad Smith, vice chair and president at Microsoft [and formerly its Chief Counsel], who recently likened AI doubters to 19th century photography naysayers. "It creates an opportunity to transfer people from jobs that are being eliminated to jobs that are being created."
If you think you've seen this movie before, prior to "partnering with governors, employers, and training partners to help the American workforce make a successful transition to an AI economy" with RAISE US, Raimondo and Holcomb partnered with governors, employers and training partners to help U.S. K-12 students make a successful transition to a CS economy with the Governors for Computer Science coalition. And much like a Who's Who of CEOs endorsed RAISE US in 2026 to make the U.S. workforce AI-savvy, a Who's Who of CEOs endorsed K-12 CS education in 2022 to make U.S. students entering the workforce CS-savvy. It's another reminder that Learn To AI Is the New Learn To Code.
"Its mandate, they said, isn’t just to build retraining programs but also to reconsider decades-old policies such as unemployment insurance and act as a working lab for testing the most effective ways to transition workers to new fields. The group will explore corporate incentives for employers to hold on to workers whose jobs are disrupted by AI and prep them for new roles. The organization said it has so far raised more than $500 million—about half of its multiyear goal—from companies and nonprofit groups. It will initially work with state governments in Arkansas, Maryland, Utah and Connecticut. OpenAI and Anthropic are also involved, and academics including MIT economist David Autor sit on an advisory board."
With AI "there’s an enormous amount of money and focus right now on winning the technology: the chips, the models," said Raimondo, the group’s CEO. " There’s not enough attention on securing the future for the American worker." The NY Times reported the group plans to furnish technical assistance for companies that want to retain workers as A.I. changes their roles, rather than eliminating them. Microsoft, one of the companies backing the organization, said it had already found a promising model: cross-training its entry-level lawyers in different parts of the organization and equipping them with A.I. skills in order for them to be repositioned as technology evolves. "You can think of doing that with almost any job we have," said Brad Smith, vice chair and president at Microsoft [and formerly its Chief Counsel], who recently likened AI doubters to 19th century photography naysayers. "It creates an opportunity to transfer people from jobs that are being eliminated to jobs that are being created."
If you think you've seen this movie before, prior to "partnering with governors, employers, and training partners to help the American workforce make a successful transition to an AI economy" with RAISE US, Raimondo and Holcomb partnered with governors, employers and training partners to help U.S. K-12 students make a successful transition to a CS economy with the Governors for Computer Science coalition. And much like a Who's Who of CEOs endorsed RAISE US in 2026 to make the U.S. workforce AI-savvy, a Who's Who of CEOs endorsed K-12 CS education in 2022 to make U.S. students entering the workforce CS-savvy. It's another reminder that Learn To AI Is the New Learn To Code.
Submission + - Former Colorado Bureau scientist pleads guilty in DNA testing scandal (denverpost.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Woods mishandled DNA testing in at least 1,045 criminal cases during her 29-year career at the statewide criminal justice agency, an internal investigation found. She deleted, omitted and manipulated data to speed up the testing process and boost her productivity, creating unreliable DNA testing results in hundreds of criminal cases and sending shockwaves through Colorado's criminal courts.
First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King charged Woods with 102 felonies in January 2025, including 52 counts of forgery of a government-issued document, 48 counts of attempting to influence a public servant, a single count of perjury and a single count of committing a cybercrime.
Woods' misconduct has led to at least one overturned murder conviction — in the 1994 killing of Marty Grisham in Boulder — and has raised questions about the validity of hundreds of other convictions, with many post-conviction challenges underway in courts across the state.
CBI officials reviewed 10,786 cases that Woods handled during her career, and found problems in 1,045 of them — about 10%. Sex assaults made up nearly half of those 1,045 problematic cases, and the majority of the cases that resulted in criminal charges against Woods were sex assaults.
Woods told internal affairs investigators she deleted data about low quantities of male DNA in some sex assault cases so that she wouldn’t have to complete additional testing that was unlikely to produce conclusive results on those small genetic samples. She deleted the data in sex assault cases “because it was easy,” she said, according to an internal affairs report.
First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King charged Woods with 102 felonies in January 2025, including 52 counts of forgery of a government-issued document, 48 counts of attempting to influence a public servant, a single count of perjury and a single count of committing a cybercrime.
Woods' misconduct has led to at least one overturned murder conviction — in the 1994 killing of Marty Grisham in Boulder — and has raised questions about the validity of hundreds of other convictions, with many post-conviction challenges underway in courts across the state.
CBI officials reviewed 10,786 cases that Woods handled during her career, and found problems in 1,045 of them — about 10%. Sex assaults made up nearly half of those 1,045 problematic cases, and the majority of the cases that resulted in criminal charges against Woods were sex assaults.
Woods told internal affairs investigators she deleted data about low quantities of male DNA in some sex assault cases so that she wouldn’t have to complete additional testing that was unlikely to produce conclusive results on those small genetic samples. She deleted the data in sex assault cases “because it was easy,” she said, according to an internal affairs report.
Submission + - Britons ordered to remove air conditioning from homes in 40C heat under Net Zero (telegraph.co.uk) 2
schwit1 writes: Homeowners are being forced to tear out air conditioning from their private properties under climate laws, despite rising temperatures.
Council planning officers ordered residents to remove air-con units over fears they produce too much carbon dioxide, stating they should only be used as a “last resort”.
The net zero clampdown is part of building regulations that state “active cooling” should only ever be allowed when all other means of “passive cooling”, such as opening windows or using fans, have been exhausted.
The Tories said Britain was being “kept in the dark ages” under a net zero mindset that denies people “modern conveniences that are completely normal in other countries”.
Council planning officers ordered residents to remove air-con units over fears they produce too much carbon dioxide, stating they should only be used as a “last resort”.
The net zero clampdown is part of building regulations that state “active cooling” should only ever be allowed when all other means of “passive cooling”, such as opening windows or using fans, have been exhausted.
The Tories said Britain was being “kept in the dark ages” under a net zero mindset that denies people “modern conveniences that are completely normal in other countries”.
Submission + - The AI search boom could create a new accessibility crisis (nerds.xyz)
BrianFagioli writes: The latest Digital Accessibility Index found that interior pages on websites contain more accessibility issues than homepages, and that AI search tools are increasingly sending users directly to those deeper pages instead of routing traffic through a siteâ(TM)s front door.
The report examined more than 165,000 pages across 6,100 websites in the US and Europe and found that product pages, support articles, account portals, and checkout flows often receive less accessibility attention despite being where users actually interact with businesses.
As AI search changes how people discover information online, organizations may need to rethink accessibility strategies that focus primarily on homepages.
The report examined more than 165,000 pages across 6,100 websites in the US and Europe and found that product pages, support articles, account portals, and checkout flows often receive less accessibility attention despite being where users actually interact with businesses.
As AI search changes how people discover information online, organizations may need to rethink accessibility strategies that focus primarily on homepages.
Submission + - AI drone finds lost hikers (theguardian.com)
Falconhell writes: Two hikers who veered off a walking track in Kosciuszko national park have been found within five hours using a drone powered by artificial intelligence, a first-of-its-kind mission, Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) has said.
https://www.theguardian.com/au...
The two men, aged in their 20s, were reported missing at 7pm on Tuesday evening after they failed to return to a rendezvous point on time.
FRNSW’s remote air piloted system was put into the air, and was able to use thermal imaging to find the hikers who had been walking the Dead Horse Gap track, about 35km south-west of Jindabyne.
At the same time, the hikers used a red light on a mobile phone to attract the drone in the dark.
https://www.theguardian.com/au...
The two men, aged in their 20s, were reported missing at 7pm on Tuesday evening after they failed to return to a rendezvous point on time.
FRNSW’s remote air piloted system was put into the air, and was able to use thermal imaging to find the hikers who had been walking the Dead Horse Gap track, about 35km south-west of Jindabyne.
At the same time, the hikers used a red light on a mobile phone to attract the drone in the dark.
