https://slashdot.org/ News for nerds, stuff that matters en-us Copyright Slashdot Media. All Rights Reserved. 2026-06-09T08:34:13+00:00 Slashdot Media feedback@slashdot.org Technology 1970-01-01T00:00+00:00 1 hourly https://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topicslashdot.gif https://slashdot.org/ https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/235214/donut-labs-solid-state-battery-exposed-as-regular-li-ion?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed A battery researcher's investigation, backed by more than 20 independent experts, claims Donut Lab's much-hyped "solid-state" battery is actually a conventional lithium-ion cell, with voltage curves and expansion data matching high-nickel NCM chemistry rather than the promised sodium-ion solid-state design. Electrek reports the company raised about $25 million from more than 1,300 mostly small investors on claims of 400 Wh/kg energy density, 100,000-cycle life, and 5-minute charging that now appear unsupported. From the report: The investigation consulted over 20 independent battery experts, including Julian Zanau from the Fraunhofer Research Institute, Dr. Yahim San from Justus-Liebig University, Tom Bicha from Leona, and Dr. Yuo Hesca from Seinajoki University of Applied Sciences. Every single one confirmed the tested cell is lithium-ion. There are two key pieces of evidence. First, the voltage curves from VTT testing match high-nickel lithium-ion cells (NCM chemistry). The cell sits at 3.7-3.8 volts at 50% state of charge -- right where lithium-ion cells operate. Sodium-ion cells don't go significantly past 3.5 volts at 50% SOC. The second piece of evidence is even more damning: VTT's cell expansion data. When a battery charges, ions squeeze into the anode material, causing it to expand in a predictable pattern. A graphite anode produces a distinctive "kink" in the expansion curve around 50-70% state of charge, caused by how ions reorder themselves in graphite's layered structure. The Donut Lab cell shows exactly that kink. This is critical because sodium ions are physically too large to fit into graphite layers. The graphite anode signature proves the cell uses lithium ions. The investigation puts it well: "it's like we have a slightly noisy fingerprint and a picture of the suspect's face. And yet again, it's a match." The calculated energy density? About 298 Wh/kg -- what you'd expect from a good lithium-ion cell, not the 400 Wh/kg claimed. The investigation reveals that the battery technology traces back to CT Coatings, a German company with an "eclectic" array of patents -- including inventions for screen-printed paving slabs, menu folders, and warning triangles. CT Coatings promised Nordic Nano and Donut Lab a screen-printed sodium-ion solid-state battery. What it delivered was a lithium-ion pouch cell.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Donut+Lab's+'Solid-State'+Battery+Exposed+As+Regular+Li-Ion%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F235214%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F235214%2Fdonut-labs-solid-state-battery-exposed-as-regular-li-ion%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/235214/donut-labs-solid-state-battery-exposed-as-regular-li-ion?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24013264&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> BeauHD 2026-06-09T07:00:00+00:00 power would-you-look-at-that hardware 8 8,8,8,6,1,0,0 https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/2251201/severe-stress-on-oceans-as-rate-of-sea-level-rise-doubles-in-10-years-un-warns?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The world's oceans are under "severe and accelerating" pressure from human activities, with the rate of sea-level rise double that of a decade ago, according to a damning assessment from the United Nations. The "intensifying" stressors, which include pollution and large-scale industrial fishing, are cumulative, said the report, resulting in widespread biodiversity loss and putting ocean systems under "severe strain." The UN's third World Ocean Assessment, which reflects the work of nearly 600 scientists from 86 countries, looked at the oceans' health from 2021-25. The previous report, that covered up to 2018, found persistent degradation of the marine environment. Five years on, scientists know more about the cumulative impacts of anthropogenic pressures on the ocean, and the latest report shows just how much of the damage has been done in the past few years. The scientists' key findings include: - Sea levels continue to rise at an increasing rate, from 2mm a year prior to 2015 to 4.3mm a year in 2023. - 16% of the increase in global ocean heat since 1955 occurred after 2018. - The greatest relative warming has been observed in the Atlantic Ocean and the southern parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. - Large gaps in knowledge persist -- with only 27% of the ocean floor mapped by 2025, deep-sea ecosystems remain poorly understood. Lukas Meus, Greenpeace's global ocean campaigner, said: "We are calling on governments to create fully protected ocean sanctuaries that will close vast areas of the ocean off from extractive human activities. Governments have promised to protect 30% of the world's ocean by 2030 -- the minimum scientists say we need for the ocean to be able to recover."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status='Severe'+Stress+On+Oceans+As+Rate+of+Sea+Level+Rise+Doubles+In+10+Years%2C+UN+Warns%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F2251201%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F2251201%2Fsevere-stress-on-oceans-as-rate-of-sea-level-rise-doubles-in-10-years-un-warns%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/2251201/severe-stress-on-oceans-as-rate-of-sea-level-rise-doubles-in-10-years-un-warns?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24013250&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> BeauHD 2026-06-09T03:30:00+00:00 earth wake-up-call news 25 25,23,13,12,1,0,0 https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/2242200/openai-files-for-ipo?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed OpenAI has confidentially filed for an IPO, "setting it up for what may be the most highly anticipated market debut in recent history and a massive payday for early investors," reports CNN. The decision follows recent IPO announcements from Anthropic and SpaceX. From the report: OpenAI said it has not decided on timing yet. And because the filing is confidential, it's not yet clear how many shares the company plans to sell or at what price. "It may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company," it said in a post on its newsroom page. But the company said the filing "gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best." The transition to a public company will give Wall Street a window into OpenAI's finances as the company pours billions into AI infrastructure and computing resources. Investors dumped tech stocks last week as they questioned whether a recent run-up in those shares had gone too far. OpenAI was last valued at $852 billion after raising $122 billion in March, but it's faced pressure to demonstrate it can generate the cash to match that valuation.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=OpenAI+Files+For+IPO%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F2242200%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F2242200%2Fopenai-files-for-ipo%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/2242200/openai-files-for-ipo?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24013246&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> BeauHD 2026-06-08T23:00:00+00:00 business another-day-another-IPO news 36 36,35,30,25,13,3,0 https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1945252/meta-deletes-face-recognition-system-from-its-smart-glasses-app?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed Last Thursday, Wired reported that Meta had quietly embedded an unreleased facial recognition system called NameTag into software installed on millions of phones. In a follow-up report, Wired says the tech giant has now removed the face-recognition-related code, while saying "no final decision" has been made about whether the feature will launch. From the report: On Thursday, WIRED reported that Meta had quietly integrated substantial portions of the NameTag system into the Meta AI app. Though never publicly enabled, the feature was designed to convert faces captured by the glasses into unique biometric signatures, commonly known as faceprints, and compare them against a database of faceprints stored on the user's device. WIRED also found that faces the system failed to recognize were cropped, indexed, and stored locally for future processing. NameTag first surfaced in February, when The New York Times, citing internal Meta documents, reported that the company was developing face recognition for its smart glasses and weighing a launch as soon as this year. One memo reportedly described releasing it during a "dynamic political environment," when privacy and civil liberties advocates would be distracted. Last week, WIRED reported that much of NameTag's machinery was already built into the Meta AI app, downloaded by millions of users, as early as January, even as Meta publicly said it had made no final decision about face recognition. After WIRED's report, Stone dismissed the findings, writing that the company couldn't answer questions about how the system would work because "the feature does not exist." Andrew Bosworth, Meta's chief technology officer, called the reporting "incredibly misleading" and "absolutely dishonest." [...] The newly released version of Meta AI removes nearly all traces of the feature Meta said did not yet exist. Gone is the face-recognition software itself, along with the code that ran the NameTag recognition process and the "Person recognized" alert the app would have shown if someone were identified. The update also strips out a folder where the app would have stored the cropped images and biometric signatures of faces it captured but could not identify. [...] A few fragments of the NameTag system remain in the version of latest Meta AI, including an internal debug menu label and a dormant link meant to open a recognized person's profile. The leftover code points to parts of the system that are no longer there.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Meta+Deletes+Face-Recognition+System+From+Its+Smart+Glasses+App%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1945252%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1945252%2Fmeta-deletes-face-recognition-system-from-its-smart-glasses-app%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1945252/meta-deletes-face-recognition-system-from-its-smart-glasses-app?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24013088&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> BeauHD 2026-06-08T22:00:00+00:00 privacy hoping-nobody-would-notice yro 15 15,15,14,13,5,3,2 https://games.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1833245/xbox-game-exclusivity-will-be-decided-on-a-case-by-case-basis-microsoft-says?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed Microsoft executive Matt Booty says future Xbox exclusivity will be decided "case-by-case," with Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution remaining Xbox console exclusives while major multiplayer, live-service, and previously promised PlayStation releases stay multiplatform. But IGN's Tom Phillips says Microsoft's announcement still leaves numerous questions unanswered, like "why just Gears and Clockwork Revolution?" and "how will this policy be enforced in future?" From the report: Last night's Xbox Showcase featured the return of games specifically earmarked as exclusives for Xbox consoles (though, of course, they'll still also be coming to PC). But why just Gears and Clockwork Revolution? And how will this policy be enforced in future? Microsoft's announcement left numerous questions unanswered. "We want a reason for people to get on board with Xbox, we want them to have a reason to buy an Xbox, we want them to have a reason to be an Xbox fan," Booty said. "At the same time, we want to reward all our players that have been with us for a long time -- we know that exclusives are important, and that's why we've got Gears coming in 2026 and Clockwork [Revolution] coming in 2027." "We also want to be clear that our big multiplayer games and live-service games are going to continue to be multiplatform," he continued. "If we've promised something to players already, we're going to honor that promise. And then -- I think Asha said it -- we're going to make the right decision and not the fast decision. "We're going to keep thinking about this going forward," Booty continued, "and, I think you guys know already, our principle is when we announce the date, we announce the platforms. So, it's going to be case-by-case, but we're going to be clear, that when it's got a date, it's got a platform and you'll know what the choice is going to be." Beyond those games already confirmed for PlayStation (such as the upcoming Halo: Campaign Evolved, and the PS5 version of Forza Horizon 6 due later this year), last night saw Microsoft make the call that other upcoming titles would still be coming to PS5 as well. While it had been assumed that State of Decay 3 would get a PS5 version, yesterday saw it made official. Hellblade threequel Senua was unveiled, and is getting a PS5 version. And, unsurprisingly, Spyro: A Realm Beyond is coming to Xbox, PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Xbox+Game+Exclusivity+Will+Be+Decided+on+a+'Case-by-Case'+Basis%2C+Microsoft+Says%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fgames.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1833245%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fgames.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1833245%2Fxbox-game-exclusivity-will-be-decided-on-a-case-by-case-basis-microsoft-says%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://games.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1833245/xbox-game-exclusivity-will-be-decided-on-a-case-by-case-basis-microsoft-says?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24013040&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> BeauHD 2026-06-08T21:00:00+00:00 xbox more-complicated-than-ever games 11 11,11,7,7,1,0,0 https://apple.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1822233/apple-announces-macos-27-golden-gate-drops-support-for-intel-macs?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed An anonymous reader quotes a report from AppleInsider: Apple has unveiled its next Mac operating system, macOS Golden Gate, with Apple promising better performance, the improved Siri, and more. [...] On the surface, macOS Golden Gate is not as significant an upgrade as macOS Big Sur, or even macOS Tahoe with its Liquid Glass redesign. But under the surface, it is much more significant than it seems. Apple has chosen this release to draw a line in the sand. For the first time, the new macOS Golden Gate will not support Macs that have Intel processors. [...] Nonetheless, as of when this is released to the public in September or October, no Intel Macs will ever be supported again. One of the most notable design tweaks in this new release is a refinement of macOS toolbars and sidebars: toolbars are now more distinct, sidebars can stretch all the way to the window edge, and sidebar icons have regained color. Apple is also tightening window corner radii to address complaints about resizing behavior.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Apple+Announces+macOS+27+'Golden+Gate'%2C+Drops+Support+For+Intel+Macs%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fapple.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1822233%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fapple.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1822233%2Fapple-announces-macos-27-golden-gate-drops-support-for-intel-macs%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://apple.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1822233/apple-announces-macos-27-golden-gate-drops-support-for-intel-macs?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24013018&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> BeauHD 2026-06-08T20:00:00+00:00 macosx new-and-improved apple 53 53,52,47,44,7,4,1 https://apple.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1811209/apple-announces-siri-ai-next-generation-of-apple-intelligence?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed At WWDC 2026, Apple announced a new "Siri AI," describing it as a more conversational, personalized, and systemwide assistant that can understand on-screen context and interact with apps while relying on on-device processing or Private Cloud Compute. The relaunch comes two years after Apple's original Apple Intelligence promises stumbled and "never fully materialized," reports The Verge. MacRumors reports: Siri is now embedded directly in the Dynamic Island, accessible by swiping down from it, pressing the side button, or saying "Hey Siri." A revamped voice engine makes the assistant sound more expressive, with micro-adjustable voice settings available during initial setup. During Apple's keynote demo, presenters showed Siri handling chained, multi-step requests with apparent ease. In one sequence, a presenter asked about a Suki Waterhouse concert, was told tickets require a lottery entry, and asked Siri to set a reminder when the lottery opens, which it did. In another, the assistant identified a photo's landmark, pulled up navigation to that location, and surfaced photos from a recent family trip, adding a specific image to a shared family album on request. Another demo showcased Siri's ability to synthesize information across apps. A presenter asked about a dessert he had heard about at an event, and Siri located the relevant details from his Messages history. It then compiled the information into a watch-party menu, drafted a message to his contacts with the menu included, and presented send and edit options. In a further demo, a presenter asked about something his son had shared in a message and followed it up by asking Siri to compose an email on the subject. A new dedicated Siri app lets users scroll back through prior conversations and kick off new ones, with conversation history synced via iCloud so sessions carry seamlessly between devices. The app is also coming to watchOS. On the Mac, Siri is now also integrated into Spotlight and available via right-click context menus on any file or window. On visionOS, Siri AI gains a 3D visualization that users can place anywhere in their space.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Apple+Announces+Siri+AI%2C+Next+Generation+of+Apple+Intelligence%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fapple.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1811209%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fapple.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1811209%2Fapple-announces-siri-ai-next-generation-of-apple-intelligence%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://apple.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1811209/apple-announces-siri-ai-next-generation-of-apple-intelligence?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24012994&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> BeauHD 2026-06-08T19:00:00+00:00 ai new-and-improved apple 24 24,24,22,19,4,1,0 https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1656222/whatsapp-catches-spyware-firm-nso-defying-no-hacking-court-order?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed wiredmikey shares a report from SecurityWeek: Meta-owned communications app WhatsApp says it recently detected and disrupted a spear-phishing attempt linked to spyware company NSO Group. The attack is allegedly in defiance of a court order that bars the spyware maker from targeting WhatsApp. WhatsApp filed a lawsuit against NSO in 2019, after it came to light that a zero-day vulnerability had been exploited to deliver spyware to users. [...] NSO has been seeking to overturn the order blocking it from targeting WhatsApp users, arguing that the company will "suffer irreparable harm." According to WhatsApp, the spyware maker has violated the permanent injunction. The messaging app reported on Monday that it had recently learned of a social engineering attack that attempted to trick users into clicking on malicious links. WhatsApp has only shared a few domains as an indicator of compromise (IoC), but says it was able to link the attack to NSO, pointing to similarities to previously reported one-click phishing campaigns tied to the spyware company. WhatsApp says it also caught the attackers creating test accounts and groups. Those accounts and groups have been disabled, but further action is also being taken. WhatsApp says it is asking a federal court to hold NSO in contempt for allegedly violating a permanent injunction barring it from targeting WhatsApp and its users. The company also said it is making a "significant contribution" to the Spyware Accountability Initiative, a fund aimed at exposing and stopping spyware abuse.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=WhatsApp+Catches+Spyware+Firm+NSO+Defying+No-Hacking+Court+Order%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fit.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1656222%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fit.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1656222%2Fwhatsapp-catches-spyware-firm-nso-defying-no-hacking-court-order%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1656222/whatsapp-catches-spyware-firm-nso-defying-no-hacking-court-order?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24012940&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> BeauHD 2026-06-08T18:00:00+00:00 security tisk-tisk it 27 27,24,19,15,10,9,4 https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1630210/firefox-merges-support-for-vulkan-video-decoding?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed Firefox has merged initial support for Vulkan Video decoding, giving the browser a more cross-platform path for GPU-accelerated video playback beyond Linux's long-running reliance on VA-API. Phoronix reports: Firefox on Linux has long been focused on the Video Acceleration API (VA-API) that isn't universally supported by Linux graphics drivers. This has left to efforts like NVIDIA-VAAPI-Driver to layer VA-API atop NVIDIA NVDEC interfaces to enjoy GPU-accelerated video playback in Firefox. Smaller Arm/embedded graphics drivers also have been largely left out of the game in the VA-API space. But with Vulkan Video we are beginning to see more adoption and in a cross-platform manner. [...] The Firefox 153 release due out in July will have Vulkan Video decoding support available. The Vulkan Video activity in Firefox Git culminated this week with the work of NVIDIA engineer Tymur Boiko and Red Hat's Martin Stransky. Firefox 153.0 is expected for release on 21 July with this Vulkan Video support assuming no last minute issues.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Firefox+Merges+Support+For+Vulkan+Video+Decoding%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1630210%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1630210%2Ffirefox-merges-support-for-vulkan-video-decoding%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1630210/firefox-merges-support-for-vulkan-video-decoding?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24012918&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> BeauHD 2026-06-08T17:00:00+00:00 firefox exciting-developments news 7 7,6,5,5,3,1,1 https://slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1623233/italys-bending-spoons-owner-of-aol-and-vimeo-files-for-nasdaq-ipo?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed Bending Spoons, the Italian app studio behind acquisitions like Eventbrite, Vimeo, WeTransfer, Evernote, and AOL, has filed to go public in the U.S. after growing into a subscription-heavy app conglomerate with more than 500 million monthly active users. TechCrunch reports: In its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bending Spoons said it ended the year with $1.31 billion in revenue and has generated $601 million in Q1, a 132% year-on-year jump. The company gets the majority of its revenue from subscriptions, which account for 84% of its business. It generated $27.4 million in profit in Q1 2026. The company raised funding at an $11 billion valuation last year, up from $2.8 billion in 2024. In April, Reuters reported that the company could seek a $20 billion valuation with the IPO.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Italy's+Bending+Spoons%2C+Owner+of+AOL+and+Vimeo%2C+Files+For+Nasdaq+IPO%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fslashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1623233%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fslashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F1623233%2Fitalys-bending-spoons-owner-of-aol-and-vimeo-files-for-nasdaq-ipo%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/1623233/italys-bending-spoons-owner-of-aol-and-vimeo-files-for-nasdaq-ipo?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24012916&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> BeauHD 2026-06-08T16:25:00+00:00 business another-day-another-IPO slashdot 21 21,21,19,14,9,3,1 https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/0418226/jeff-bezos-is-funding-a-wild-hunt-for-the-brains-core-algorithm?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed Jeff Bezos is backing Flourish, a new "neuro AI" startup with $500 million in funding and a reported $2.5 billion valuation, that aims to reinvent AI by studying the brain's architecture and building systems that learn continuously while using far less power than today's large language models. The company's long-term bet is that neuroscientists and AI researchers working together can uncover the brain's "core algorithm" and eventually create brain-inspired AI that runs on a tiny fraction of current compute. Wired reports: Rob Williams knows how to pitch Jeff Bezos: You write a press release as if your product has already been built. Bezos reads it and gives a thumbs up or down. Williams went through this process a lot as an executive on Amazon's "S-team," in charge of software products such as Alexa, until his departure last fall. But the pitch he made a few weeks later -- in December 2025 -- was different. Now he was collaborating with Thomas Reardon, a neuroscientist and repeat startup founder, and approaching Bezos as a funder, not a boss. Here's what Bezos, sitting on his yacht somewhere, read while Williams anxiously watched on Zoom: "Flourish is a neuro AI company that is solving the two most difficult problems facing AI today: power efficiency and continuous learning. We are building Cortex AI, the first synthetic intelligence system designed to match the computational capacity, learning efficiency, and power budget of the human brain." A month later, I'm lunching with Reardon and Williams in the Flatiron neighborhood in New York City. Reardon gets right to the point. AI has dug itself into a hole, he says. Though increasingly powerful, large language models are greedy consumers of computer power and data. Though the inspiration for LLMs was rooted in biology, current frontier models have little in common with the human brain. A person uses about 20 watts of energy to process information; a single chip in an AI training cluster uses more than 30 times that amount. The hyperscalers require thousands of chips and gigawatts of energy, enough to power small cities. And those models need to suck up virtually all of what humans have written. Each new model requires more, more, more. For all of that, the models don't learn. Once you train them, they're stuck. The goal, Reardon tells me, is to build "a synthetic artificial intelligence brain that runs on 50 watts or less." It should adapt to its conditions, be as nimble as a human mind, and burn a tiny fraction of an LLM's compute power and energy. The proof of concept is thriving inside our skulls. "There's something fundamentally wrong with saying, "I need to basically read every book ever written 20 times over in order to learn English,'" Reardon says. "A human baby does it with a couple hundred thousand utterances." Reardon and Williams haven't figured out yet how to build systems that match the magic of a human brain. What they have is a belief that an expert, well-resourced team -- of AI researchers and neuroscientists working essentially side by side -- can find the answer. The neuroscientists will conduct original wet lab experiments with some of the most advanced lab equipment available, to hunt for usable intel on the brain's architecture. They plan to release the models they're currently developing as near-term products on the path to a full reinvention of AI. The fuzziness of the proposal didn't bother Jeff Bezos. After reading Williams' two-pager, he chipped in $50 million. Other funding came from Lux Capital, Google Ventures, and Catalio, among others. Bezos then almost doubled his initial stake and told Reardon he'd have given more if they'd asked. Now with a war chest of $500 million and a reported valuation of $2.5 billion, Flourish just needs to invent a new way to do AI.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Jeff+Bezos+Is+Funding+a+Wild+Hunt+for+the+Brain's+'Core+Algorithm'%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F0418226%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fscience.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F0418226%2Fjeff-bezos-is-funding-a-wild-hunt-for-the-brains-core-algorithm%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/0418226/jeff-bezos-is-funding-a-wild-hunt-for-the-brains-core-algorithm?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24012544&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> BeauHD 2026-06-08T15:00:00+00:00 biotech brain-as-a-service science 157 157,155,139,132,45,25,13 https://developers.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/0511207/ruby-fights-supply-chain-attacks-with-filter-offering-cooldown-before-installing-new-packages?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed Most supply-chain attacks using Ruby's package hosting site "exploit a narrow window," according to a new blog post form Ruby core maintainer Hiroshi Shibata. So its packaging-managing Bundler tool now offers a filter that blocks new version until it's been public "for at least N days. Releases too new to have been scrutinized are passed over in favor of ones that have aged past the window." The feature was designed in the open, drawing on how other ecosystems approach the same problem. It is opt-in, and complements rather than replaces existing defenses like mandatory 2FA and trusted publishing... Cooldown is unset by default, so a project without it keeps resolving to the newest versions.... Passing 0 disables cooldown for the run... Cooldown is most useful as one part of the wider security investment happening on rubygems.org. The registry now validates gem contents at push time and checks logins against Have I Been Pwned so that compromised passwords cannot be reused, work described in Protecting rubygems.org from the outside in. A dedicated team is running AI-assisted vulnerability scanning against the most critical gems, backed by Alpha Omega and Anthropic, and the direction of all of this is tracked on a public roadmap. Trusted publishing and mandatory 2FA already raise the bar for who can push a release in the first place. <p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Ruby+Fights+Supply-Chain+Attacks+With+Filter+Offering+'Cooldown'+Before+Installing+New+Packages%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fdevelopers.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F0511207%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fdevelopers.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F0511207%2Fruby-fights-supply-chain-attacks-with-filter-offering-cooldown-before-installing-new-packages%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://developers.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/0511207/ruby-fights-supply-chain-attacks-with-filter-offering-cooldown-before-installing-new-packages?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24012568&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> EditorDavid 2026-06-08T11:34:00+00:00 programming what-a-Gem developers 24 24,23,23,21,6,3,0 https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/0557251/a-san-francisco-burglar-escaped-in-a-robotaxi---and-police-still-cant-find-him?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed A burglar took a self-driving Waymo taxi to rob a San Francisco yoga studio this past January, reports TechCrunch &mdash; "and police have still not caught them." Even the police officer assigned to the case thought it would be easier to solve, notes The San Francisco Chronicle, since Waymos are outfitted with multiple high-definition cameras and require users to make accounts with their credit card numbers: It's common for officers to seek video footage of a crime from any of the Waymos, Teslas and other high-tech vehicles that record their surroundings. That information can be crucial for identifying suspects or creating a reliable timeline of events. At times, police will go so far as to obtain search warrants to tow the vehicle "witnesses" to ensure they don't lose valuable video evidence. In the Hot 8 Yoga burglary case, San Francisco police issued a search warrant that forced Waymo to turn over information on the account that ordered the ride and video footage from the white Jaguar that served as the getaway car, police records show. Faye said that he couldn't discuss certain details of the case, but that the Waymo user's account information didn't lead police to the suspect. In general, he said, it's not unusual for a criminal to order a service with stolen information or a burner phone. The video evidence didn't help much either, Faye said. He said that the company had not retained interior footage of the car by the time the search warrant was filed in April and that it had kept the faces seen outside the car blurred for privacy reasons... Waymo does not publicly disclose how long it retains video footage. The company blurs faces and license plates in the public-facing images it uses in a database designed for research.... Last year in Los Angeles, a person allegedly robbed a grocery store before hopping in a Waymo. Officers were able to chase down the vehicle after the suspect got inside, and the car pulled itself over after police turned on the car's emergency lights, according to Los Angeles-area news outlets. "Farah Issa, studio manager of Hot 8 Yoga, showed the Chronicle a copy of the surveillance video from her phone, noting how the Waymo dropped off the suspect and waited for him to finish the burglary before taking off again."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=A+San+Francisco+Burglar+Escaped+in+a+Robotaxi+-+and+Police+Still+Can't+Find+Him%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F0557251%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F0557251%2Fa-san-francisco-burglar-escaped-in-a-robotaxi---and-police-still-cant-find-him%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/0557251/a-san-francisco-burglar-escaped-in-a-robotaxi---and-police-still-cant-find-him?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24012584&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> EditorDavid 2026-06-08T07:34:00+00:00 crime seen-of-the-crime yro 56 56,55,43,37,18,8,5 https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/0416216/texas-grid-flags-risks-as-data-centers-crypto-sites-fail-voltage-tests?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed Reuters reports: Several large data centers and crypto facilities planning to connect to the Texas power grid ahead of peak summer demand have failed key reliability tests, raising the risk of power outages just as electricity use hits its seasonal high, according to the state grid operator... Unlike traditional industrial customers, which tend to draw electricity steadily and predictably, data centers are engineered to cut their connection to the grid at the first sign of trouble to protect their equipment and keep services running. That makes them an unpredictable and potentially destabilizing force on grids already under pressure from rising demand. Four groups of unnamed large electricity users, including data centers, abruptly disconnected from the Texas grid during a test of how they would handle routine voltage disturbances, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said in a report dated May 21. When large customers abruptly cut their power use, it can knock the grid off balance and trigger wider outages. ERCOT, which manages electricity for most of Texas, said it reviewed about 20 gigawatts of large customers seeking to connect to the system, including eight projects totaling roughly 3.9 gigawatts aiming to start up before July 1. It said it identified four groups of large power users that could each trigger more than 5,000 megawatts of demand tripping under certain fault conditions, based on simulations of transmission system disturbances. Those abrupt drops in demand were equivalent to the electricity consumption of a large city such as Boston.<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Texas+Grid+Flags+Risks+As+Data+Centers%2C+Crypto+Sites+Fail+Voltage+Tests%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F0416216%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F08%2F0416216%2Ftexas-grid-flags-risks-as-data-centers-crypto-sites-fail-voltage-tests%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/06/08/0416216/texas-grid-flags-risks-as-data-centers-crypto-sites-fail-voltage-tests?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24012542&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> EditorDavid 2026-06-08T04:34:00+00:00 power offing-the-grid hardware 86 86,85,79,75,17,6,5 https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/06/07/2357243/police-sued-after-imprisoning-innocent-man-placed-near-violent-crime-by-flock-license-plate-reader?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed "When Hugo Parra was arrested last year on felony charges, his pleas of innocence fell on deaf ears," reports the Times of San Diego: San Diego police had a description of the Alfa Romeo car he was riding in [but no license plate number] and a witness who identified him during a curbside lineup as the man who brandished a handgun in Golden Hill. They had also checked the city's automatic license plate camera system, run by the private company Flock, and got a "hit," substantiating the claim. The problem, says attorney Alex Coolman, was that Parra was five miles away from Golden Hill at the time of the crime, and the so-called hit from the license plate reader was captured before any police pursuit began. "This Flock hit was obviously the wrong car, as it could not have been in both places simultaneously," said Coolman, who represents Parra and the driver, 23-year-old Ariel Beltran. Despite the signs pointing to it being a different Alfa Romeo, police arrested Beltran and Parra... [An officer had informed dispatch that one of the men "matched the victim's description, other than having a different-colored hooded sweatshirt."] Parra spent nearly one month behind bars, missing Thanksgiving and other special events with his family, before the assault with a firearm and evasion charges were dropped. Parras says he was incarcerated with actual murderers, according to the article, and Parra and Beltran are now preparing to sue the city, seeking $1.5 million each in damages for civil rights violations and negligence. Their claim notes they'd driven past several other Flock cameras which officers could've used to corroborate their story (not to mention location data on their cell phones). Meanwhile, the article also notes that last month the Institute for Justice "identified at least 17 cases in the United States of officers allegedly using Automated License Plate Reader technology to keep tabs on partners, exes, and strangers who had caught their eye..."<p><div class="share_submission" style="position:relative;"> <a class="slashpop" href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Police+Sued+After+Imprisoning+Innocent+Man+Placed+Near+Violent+Crime+By+Flock+License+Plate+Reader%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F07%2F2357243%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png"></a> <a class="slashpop" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyro.slashdot.org%2Fstory%2F26%2F06%2F07%2F2357243%2Fpolice-sued-after-imprisoning-innocent-man-placed-near-violent-crime-by-flock-license-plate-reader%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfacebook"><img src="https://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png"></a> </div></p><p><a href="https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/06/07/2357243/police-sued-after-imprisoning-innocent-man-placed-near-violent-crime-by-flock-license-plate-reader?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&amp;utm_medium=feed">Read more of this story</a> at Slashdot.</p><iframe src="https://slashdot.org/slashdot-it.pl?op=discuss&amp;id=24012414&amp;smallembed=1" style="height: 300px; width: 100%; border: none;"></iframe> EditorDavid 2026-06-08T01:34:00+00:00 privacy what-the-Flock yro 58 58,58,53,47,12,5,5 Search Slashdot stories query https://slashdot.org/search.pl