180771706
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
The Linux Mint developers say they are considering adopting a longer development cycle, arguing that the projectâ(TM)s current six month cadence plus LMDE releases leaves too little room for deeper work. In a recent update, the team reflected on its incremental philosophy, independence from upstream decisions like Snap, and heavy investment in Cinnamon and XApp. While the release process âoeworks very wellâ and delivers steady improvements, they admit it consumes significant time in testing, fixing, and shipping, potentially capping ambition.
Mintâ(TM)s next release will be based on a new Ubuntu LTS, and the team says it is seriously interested in stretching the development window. The stated goal is to free up resources for more substantial development rather than constant release management. Whether this signals bigger technical changes or simply acknowledges bandwidth limits for a small team remains unclear, but it marks a notable rethink of one of desktop Linuxâ(TM)s most consistent release rhythms.
180766964
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
New research from McAfee suggests romance scams are no longer edge cases on dating apps, but a routine part of the experience. One in four Americans reports encountering a fake profile or AI-driven bot, with scammers increasingly relying on automation rather than obvious phishing links. McAfee Labs observed users receiving dozens of unsolicited messages in short periods, even without profile photos, indicating bots are casting wide nets and waiting for emotional engagement rather than targeting carefully curated victims.
While traditional dating-app-themed malicious URLs declined year over year, the data suggests scammers are simply changing tactics. QR codes, cloned mobile apps, and long-form conversational scams appear to be replacing crude link-based attacks. Losses remain highly gendered, with men far more likely to report financial harm and larger dollar losses, while emotional damage cuts across age groups. The takeaway is less about malware and more about psychology: trust is built first, money comes later, and AI is making that process faster, cheaper, and harder to detect.
180760518
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
AV-Comparatives has released its Security Survey 2026, based on responses from more than 1,300 participants across 87 countries, offering a look at how security conscious users are actually protecting their systems. Windows 11 now dominates the desktop among respondents, but most users still do not rely on the operating system alone. Paid third party security software remains the norm, with familiar vendors like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, ESET, and Microsoftâ(TM)s own tools topping the list. The data suggests trust and reputation continue to matter more than cost or convenience.
What stands out is Linuxâ(TM)s growing credibility. Usage among respondents is now roughly on par with macOS, signaling that Linux is no longer just a niche choice for hobbyists in security circles. At the same time, respondents expressed growing concern about state linked cyber threats, most frequently naming Russia and China, while also voicing unease about domestic surveillance within their own countries. Together, the results suggest cybersecurity in 2026 is as much about trust in platforms and institutions as it is about malware and exploits.
180757642
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
A reported $6 million bitcoin ransom connected to the alleged kidnapping of Savannah Guthrie’s mother has dragged cryptocurrency back into an uncomfortable spotlight. While the priority should be empathy for a family facing an unthinkable situation, the use of bitcoin once again reinforces public fears about crypto being the payment method of choice for extortion and serious crime.
Supporters argue that bitcoin is traceable and that crime long predates digital currency, but repeated headlines like this keep eroding trust. As crypto continues to appear in ransomware attacks and now alleged kidnapping cases, the debate is shifting from regulation to a more blunt question: whether bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies should be banned or heavily restricted before their downsides outweigh their promised benefits.
180755146
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
New York lawmakers have introduced a bill that would freeze permits for new large data centers for at least three years while the state studies their environmental, energy, and utility impacts. The proposal targets facilities using 20 megawatts of power or more and would pause approvals statewide while regulators prepare a broad environmental impact study and rewrite rules governing energy use, water consumption, and grid costs.
Supporters argue the pause is needed to protect ratepayers and meet climate goals, but critics warn it could push data center investment, tech jobs, and AI infrastructure to other states. Rather than setting clear requirements and letting compliant projects move forward, the bill creates years of uncertainty around permitting in a sector that underpins cloud computing and modern digital services, raising questions about whether New York is choosing caution or simply opting out of the next wave of infrastructure growth.
180741878
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Joanna Stern is leaving The Wall Street Journal after twelve years to start her own consumer tech media company, and while the announcement is upbeat and grateful, the timing is hard to ignore. Stern has been one of the most recognizable voices in consumer tech journalism, especially through her video work, and her decision to go independent comes as traditional media continues to shrink, even at elite outlets. Her exit raises questions about whether legacy newsrooms can still support personality-driven tech coverage long term, or whether they are increasingly becoming launchpads rather than permanent homes.
Stern says she wants to continue helping real people understand the technology and AI shaping their lives, this time on her own terms through direct subscriptions and YouTube. That makes practical sense in an era where audiences follow individual journalists more than brands, but it also underscores a larger shift in the industry. When respected, audience-facing reporters decide their future is better outside major institutions, it signals that the economics of journalism may be changing faster than the institutions themselves.
180735802
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Google Cloud is using AI powered motion analysis to help U.S. Olympic skiers and snowboarders refine their tricks using nothing more than standard smartphone video. The system can break down takeoff angles, body position, and landings in near real time, giving athletes and coaches fast, data driven feedback on the mountain rather than hours later in a lab. Google says the goal is to expose tiny biomechanical details that are difficult to spot at full speed, especially in harsh outdoor conditions.
The approach raises an uncomfortable question about fairness in elite sports. While AI does not alter an athleteâ(TM)s physical capabilities the way steroids do, it does inject advanced intelligence into preparation, potentially widening the gap between well funded teams and everyone else. As AI driven training tools become more common, sports governing bodies may need to decide whether this is simply the next evolution of coaching or something closer to digital performance enhancement.
180728270
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Google has quietly retired the ZetaSQL name and rebranded its open source SQL analysis and parsing project as GoogleSQL. This is not a technical change but a naming cleanup meant to align the open source code with the SQL dialect already used across Google products like BigQuery and Spanner. Internally, Google has long called the dialect GoogleSQL, even while the open source project lived under a different name.
By unifying everything under GoogleSQL, Google says it wants to reduce confusion and make it clearer that the same SQL foundation is shared across its cloud services and open source tooling. The code, features, and team remain unchanged. Only the name is different. GoogleSQL is now the single label Google wants developers to recognize and use going forward.
180722226
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Mozilla is rolling out new AI controls in Firefox 148 that let users decide how much artificial intelligence they want in their browser, or whether they want it at all. The new settings include a single toggle to block all current and future AI features, along with granular controls for things like translations, PDF accessibility features, AI-assisted tab grouping, link previews, and optional sidebar chatbots. Once disabled, Firefox stops prompting users about AI features entirely, and those preferences persist across updates.
The move feels like a direct appeal to users who are skeptical or uncomfortable with AI being pushed into everyday software. While Mozilla continues to develop AI-powered features for those who want them, Firefox positions AI as strictly optional rather than inevitable. At a time when many browsers are aggressively integrating AI by default, Firefox is betting that giving users an easy opt-out will resonate with people who want control, predictability, and fewer surprises from their browser.
180716198
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
McDonald’s Netherlands is using a surprisingly effective example to highlight just how bad people still are at password hygiene. To mark Change Your Password Day, it pointed to data from the breach tracking site Have I Been Pwned showing that the password “bigmac” has appeared more than 110,000 times in leaked datasets. Other McDonald’s themed passwords like “frenchfries,” “happymeal,” and “mcnuggets” also show up tens of thousands of times, often with predictable number or symbol variations that offer little real protection.
The campaign underscores a problem security experts have warned about for years: attackers no longer guess passwords manually. They use massive automated lists built from past breaches, meaning any reused or common password is already compromised. McDonald’s is using humor and embarrassment rather than fear to get the point across, nudging users toward password managers, unique logins, and two factor authentication as the only realistic way to stay ahead of the endless breach cycle.
180686156
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Google has rolled out Gemini in navigation for walking and cycling in Google Maps, extending its AI assistant beyond cars and onto sidewalks and bike lanes. Users can now ask Gemini where they are, get restaurant recommendations along their route, check ETAs, or even send texts hands free while moving. Google says this is about convenience and safety, especially for cyclists, but it also highlights how aggressively the company is pushing Gemini into every daily activity it can touch.
The update feels like a solution looking for a problem. Walking is already a low friction, low distraction activity, and adding an AI layer risks turning a simple stroll into another stream of prompts, suggestions, and digital noise. While tourists and accessibility users may find real value in voice guidance, the broader move suggests Google is less interested in whether AI is needed and more interested in making sure Gemini is everywhere, even when common sense might already be enough.
180658470
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Gen Z is turning to ChatGPT for sexual health advice, and in some cases, for actual diagnosis. A new January 2026 survey of 2,520 U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 found that 1 in 10 Gen Zers have asked an AI chatbot to help diagnose a possible STD. Nearly half of those who used AI for health questions said they specifically asked about STDs, with many sharing detailed symptoms, sexual history, and even photos. Doctors warn this crosses a dangerous line, since AI cannot confirm infections without lab testing and can easily give false reassurance or unnecessary panic.
The data shows those concerns are justified. Among users who followed up with real testing, AI was wrong about 31 percent of the time, including false negatives and false positives. Despite that, more than 9 in 10 respondents say they would use AI again for STD questions, even while acknowledging privacy risks and the lack of HIPAA protections. The survey highlights a growing gap between convenience and medical safety, as AI becomes the first stop for sensitive health questions that still require real doctors, real tests, and real confidentiality.
180646388
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
Donald Trump posted a White House image telling people to âoeembrace the penguin,â and Linux nerds immediately did what Linux nerds do, assuming it was a wink at Tux and open source. The image shows Trump walking across an icy landscape with a penguin holding an American flag, which briefly looked like the strangest Linux endorsement in history. It was funny, confusing, and perfectly engineered for internet chaos.
But the penguin is a distraction. Penguins do not live in Greenland, and Trump has been very serious in his second term about asserting U.S. control and influence over the island for national security and Arctic dominance. The image reads less like a Linux joke and more like a meme wrapped geopolitical message, with the bird pulling attention away from the flags, the ice, and the unmistakable symbolism.
180637682
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
As hiring gets more automated, job seekers are responding by bloating their resumes instead of clarifying them. New data from Monster shows nearly half of candidates now use resumes longer than one page, with many stretching to two pages or more because they fear Applicant Tracking Systems will reject them before a human ever sees them. Seventy seven percent of job seekers say they worry their resume is filtered out by software, and that fear is reshaping how people write, optimize, and present their work history.
The result looks a lot like what Slashdot readers have seen in other black box systems. When people do not understand how an algorithm makes decisions, they game it. Resumes turn into keyword dumps, signal gets buried under noise, and hiring becomes worse for everyone involved. The tech was supposed to make hiring more efficient. Instead, it may be breaking the resume itself.
180636076
submission
BrianFagioli writes:
DeVry University plans to embed AI literacy and skill-building into every course by the end of 2026, effectively turning artificial intelligence into a general education requirement for all students. The career-focused school says AI skills will no longer be limited to tech majors, but taught across business, healthcare, and other programs as a basic workplace competency, similar to email or spreadsheets. DeVry has been building toward this since 2020, gradually expanding automation and machine learning coursework before making AI part of its core curriculum.
The move also leans heavily on AI inside the classroom itself. Every course will include an AI learning assistant for 24/7 support, and students will have access to AI-powered advising and administrative tools. While DeVry frames this as freeing faculty to focus on higher-value teaching, the shift raises questions about how much instruction is being automated. It also highlights a growing divide in higher education, where career schools are moving fast to embrace AI while traditional universities are still debating whether students should be allowed to use it at all.
