# Pebble Goes Fully Open Source
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 23:22:01 2025-11-24
Core Devices has fully open-sourced the entire Pebble software stack and confirmed the first Pebble Time 2 shipments will start in January. "This is the clearest sign yet that the platform is shifting from a company-led product to a community-backed project that can survive independently," reports Gadgets & Wearables. From the report: The announcement follows weeks of tension between Core Devices and parts of the Pebble community. By moving from 95 to 100 percent open source, the company has essentially removed itself as a bottleneck. Users can now build, run, and maintain every piece of software needed to operate a Pebble watch. That includes firmware for the watch and mobile apps for Android and iOS. This puts the entire software stack into public hands. According to the announcement, Core Devices has released the mobile app source code, enabled decentralized app distribution, and made hardware more repairable with replaceable batteries and published design files.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/2152211/pebble-goes-fully-open-source?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 23:22:01 2025-11-24
Core Devices has fully open-sourced the entire Pebble software stack and confirmed the first Pebble Time 2 shipments will start in January. "This is the clearest sign yet that the platform is shifting from a company-led product to a community-backed project that can survive independently," reports Gadgets & Wearables. From the report: The announcement follows weeks of tension between Core Devices and parts of the Pebble community. By moving from 95 to 100 percent open source, the company has essentially removed itself as a bottleneck. Users can now build, run, and maintain every piece of software needed to operate a Pebble watch. That includes firmware for the watch and mobile apps for Android and iOS. This puts the entire software stack into public hands. According to the announcement, Core Devices has released the mobile app source code, enabled decentralized app distribution, and made hardware more repairable with replaceable batteries and published design files.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/2152211/pebble-goes-fully-open-source?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Arduino's New Terms of Service Worries Hobbyists Ahead of Qualcomm Acquisition
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 22:22:01 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Some members of the maker community are distraught about Arduino's new terms of service (ToS), saying that the added rules put the company's open source DNA at risk. Arduino updated its ToS and privacy policy this month, which is about a month after Qualcomm announced that it's acquiring the open source hardware and software company. Among the most controversial changes is this addition: "User shall not: translate, decompile or reverse-engineer the Platform, or engage in any other activity designed to identify the algorithms and logic of the Platform's operation, unless expressly allowed by Arduino or by applicable license agreements ..."
In response to concerns from some members of the maker community, including from open source hardware distributor and manufacturer Adafruit, Arduino posted a blog on Friday. Regarding the new reverse-engineering rule, Arduino's blog said: "Any hardware, software or services (e.g. Arduino IDE, hardware schematics, tooling and libraries) released with Open Source licenses remain available as before. Restrictions on reverse-engineering apply specifically to our Software-as-a-Service cloud applications. Anything that was open, stays open."
But Adafruit founder and engineer Limor Fried and Adafruit managing editor Phillip Torrone are not convinced. They told Ars Technica that Arduino's blog leaves many questions unanswered and said that they've sent these questions to Arduino without response. "Why is reverse-engineering prohibited at all for a company built on openly hackable systems?" Fried and Torrone asked in a shared statement. There are also concerns about the ToS' broad new AI-monitoring powers, which offer little clarity on what data is collected, who can access it, or how long it's retained. On top of that, the update introduces an unusual patent clause that bars users from using the platform to identify potential infringement by Arduino or its partners, along with sweeping, perpetual rights over user-generated content. This could allow Arduino, and potentially Qualcomm, to republish, modify, monetize, or redistribute user uploads indefinitely.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/2144256/arduinos-new-terms-of-service-worries-hobbyists-ahead-of-qualcomm-acquisition?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 22:22:01 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Some members of the maker community are distraught about Arduino's new terms of service (ToS), saying that the added rules put the company's open source DNA at risk. Arduino updated its ToS and privacy policy this month, which is about a month after Qualcomm announced that it's acquiring the open source hardware and software company. Among the most controversial changes is this addition: "User shall not: translate, decompile or reverse-engineer the Platform, or engage in any other activity designed to identify the algorithms and logic of the Platform's operation, unless expressly allowed by Arduino or by applicable license agreements ..."
In response to concerns from some members of the maker community, including from open source hardware distributor and manufacturer Adafruit, Arduino posted a blog on Friday. Regarding the new reverse-engineering rule, Arduino's blog said: "Any hardware, software or services (e.g. Arduino IDE, hardware schematics, tooling and libraries) released with Open Source licenses remain available as before. Restrictions on reverse-engineering apply specifically to our Software-as-a-Service cloud applications. Anything that was open, stays open."
But Adafruit founder and engineer Limor Fried and Adafruit managing editor Phillip Torrone are not convinced. They told Ars Technica that Arduino's blog leaves many questions unanswered and said that they've sent these questions to Arduino without response. "Why is reverse-engineering prohibited at all for a company built on openly hackable systems?" Fried and Torrone asked in a shared statement. There are also concerns about the ToS' broad new AI-monitoring powers, which offer little clarity on what data is collected, who can access it, or how long it's retained. On top of that, the update introduces an unusual patent clause that bars users from using the platform to identify potential infringement by Arduino or its partners, along with sweeping, perpetual rights over user-generated content. This could allow Arduino, and potentially Qualcomm, to republish, modify, monetize, or redistribute user uploads indefinitely.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/2144256/arduinos-new-terms-of-service-worries-hobbyists-ahead-of-qualcomm-acquisition?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Americans Are Holding Onto Devices Longer Than Ever
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 22:22:01 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader shares a report: The average American now holds onto their smartphone for 29 months, according to a recent survey by Reviews.org, and that cycle is getting longer. The average was around 22 months in 2016.
[...] Research released by the Federal Reserve last month concludes that each additional year companies delay upgrading equipment results in a productivity decline of about one-third of a percent, with investment patterns accounting for approximately 55% of productivity gaps between advanced economies.
The good news: businesses in the U.S. are generally quicker to reinvest in replacing aging equipment. The Federal Reserve report shows that if European productivity had matched U.S. investment patterns starting in 2000, the productivity gap between the U.S and European economic heavyweights would have been reduced by 29 percent for the U.K., 35 percent for France, and 101% for Germany.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1754230/americans-are-holding-onto-devices-longer-than-ever?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 22:22:01 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader shares a report: The average American now holds onto their smartphone for 29 months, according to a recent survey by Reviews.org, and that cycle is getting longer. The average was around 22 months in 2016.
[...] Research released by the Federal Reserve last month concludes that each additional year companies delay upgrading equipment results in a productivity decline of about one-third of a percent, with investment patterns accounting for approximately 55% of productivity gaps between advanced economies.
The good news: businesses in the U.S. are generally quicker to reinvest in replacing aging equipment. The Federal Reserve report shows that if European productivity had matched U.S. investment patterns starting in 2000, the productivity gap between the U.S and European economic heavyweights would have been reduced by 29 percent for the U.K., 35 percent for France, and 101% for Germany.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1754230/americans-are-holding-onto-devices-longer-than-ever?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Udio Users Can't Download Their AI Music Creations Anymore
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 21:22:01 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader shares a report: As part of the settlement with Universal, Udio has amended its terms of service, and users can no longer download their outputs. This has AI music makers furious, and with good reason. Unfortunately, they have little recourse, as the contract they sign when creating a Udio account includes a waiver of the right to bring a class action.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1845207/udio-users-cant-download-their-ai-music-creations-anymore?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 21:22:01 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader shares a report: As part of the settlement with Universal, Udio has amended its terms of service, and users can no longer download their outputs. This has AI music makers furious, and with good reason. Unfortunately, they have little recourse, as the contract they sign when creating a Udio account includes a waiver of the right to bring a class action.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1845207/udio-users-cant-download-their-ai-music-creations-anymore?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Obesity Jab Drug Fails To Slow Alzheimer's
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 21:22:01 2025-11-24
Drug maker Novo Nordisk says semaglutide, the active ingredient for the weight loss jab Wegovy, does not slow Alzheimer's -- despite initial hopes that it might help against dementia. From a report: Researchers began two large trials involving more than 3,800 people after reports the medicine was having an impact in the real world. But the studies showed the GLP-1 drug, which is already used to manage type 2 diabetes and obesity, made no difference compared to a dummy drug. The disappointing results are due to be presented at an Alzheimer's disease conference next month and are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1834244/obesity-jab-drug-fails-to-slow-alzheimers?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 21:22:01 2025-11-24
Drug maker Novo Nordisk says semaglutide, the active ingredient for the weight loss jab Wegovy, does not slow Alzheimer's -- despite initial hopes that it might help against dementia. From a report: Researchers began two large trials involving more than 3,800 people after reports the medicine was having an impact in the real world. But the studies showed the GLP-1 drug, which is already used to manage type 2 diabetes and obesity, made no difference compared to a dummy drug. The disappointing results are due to be presented at an Alzheimer's disease conference next month and are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1834244/obesity-jab-drug-fails-to-slow-alzheimers?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Google's 'Aluminium OS' Will Eventually Replace ChromeOS With Android
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 21:22:01 2025-11-24
Google's long-rumored plan to merge ChromeOS and Android into a single desktop operating system now has a name: Aluminium OS, AndroidAuthority reports, citing a job listing.
The job listing explicitly tasks applicants with "working on a new Aluminium, Android-based, operating system." The job listing confirms Google intends to eventually replace ChromeOS entirely, though the two platforms will coexist during a transition period. Aluminium OS won't be limited to budget hardware -- the listing references "AL Entry," "AL Mass Premium," and "AL Premium" tiers across laptops, detachables, tablets, and mini-PCs.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1855243/googles-aluminium-os-will-eventually-replace-chromeos-with-android?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 21:22:01 2025-11-24
Google's long-rumored plan to merge ChromeOS and Android into a single desktop operating system now has a name: Aluminium OS, AndroidAuthority reports, citing a job listing.
The job listing explicitly tasks applicants with "working on a new Aluminium, Android-based, operating system." The job listing confirms Google intends to eventually replace ChromeOS entirely, though the two platforms will coexist during a transition period. Aluminium OS won't be limited to budget hardware -- the listing references "AL Entry," "AL Mass Premium," and "AL Premium" tiers across laptops, detachables, tablets, and mini-PCs.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1855243/googles-aluminium-os-will-eventually-replace-chromeos-with-android?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Science-Centric Streaming Service Curiosity Stream is an AI-licensing Firm Now
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 19:22:01 2025-11-24
Curiosity Stream, the decade-old science documentary streaming service founded by Discovery Channel's John Hendricks, expects its AI licensing business to generate more revenue than its 23 million subscribers by 2027 -- possibly earlier. The company's Q3 2025 earnings revealed a 41% year-over-year revenue increase, driven largely by deals licensing its content to train large language models. Year-to-date AI licensing brought in $23.4 million through September, already exceeding half of what the subscription business generated for all of 2024.
The streaming service's library contains 2 million hours of content, but the "overwhelming majority" is earmarked for AI licensing rather than subscriber viewing, CEO Clint Stinchcomb said during the earnings call. Curiosity Stream is licensing 300,000 hours of its own programming and 1.7 million hours of third-party content to hyperscalers and AI developers. The company has completed 18 AI-related deals across video, audio, and code assets.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1643247/science-centric-streaming-service-curiosity-stream-is-an-ai-licensing-firm-now?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 19:22:01 2025-11-24
Curiosity Stream, the decade-old science documentary streaming service founded by Discovery Channel's John Hendricks, expects its AI licensing business to generate more revenue than its 23 million subscribers by 2027 -- possibly earlier. The company's Q3 2025 earnings revealed a 41% year-over-year revenue increase, driven largely by deals licensing its content to train large language models. Year-to-date AI licensing brought in $23.4 million through September, already exceeding half of what the subscription business generated for all of 2024.
The streaming service's library contains 2 million hours of content, but the "overwhelming majority" is earmarked for AI licensing rather than subscriber viewing, CEO Clint Stinchcomb said during the earnings call. Curiosity Stream is licensing 300,000 hours of its own programming and 1.7 million hours of third-party content to hyperscalers and AI developers. The company has completed 18 AI-related deals across video, audio, and code assets.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1643247/science-centric-streaming-service-curiosity-stream-is-an-ai-licensing-firm-now?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Google Denies 'Misleading' Reports of Gmail Using Your Emails To Train AI
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 18:22:01 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader shares a report: Google is pushing back on viral social media posts and articles like this one by Malwarebytes, claiming Google has changed its policy to use your Gmail messages and attachments to train AI models, and the only way to opt out is by disabling "smart features" like spell checking.
But Google spokesperson Jenny Thomson tells The Verge that "these reports are misleading -- we have not changed anyone's settings, Gmail Smart Features have existed for many years, and we do not use your Gmail content for training our Gemini AI model."
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1625249/google-denies-misleading-reports-of-gmail-using-your-emails-to-train-ai?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 18:22:01 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader shares a report: Google is pushing back on viral social media posts and articles like this one by Malwarebytes, claiming Google has changed its policy to use your Gmail messages and attachments to train AI models, and the only way to opt out is by disabling "smart features" like spell checking.
But Google spokesperson Jenny Thomson tells The Verge that "these reports are misleading -- we have not changed anyone's settings, Gmail Smart Features have existed for many years, and we do not use your Gmail content for training our Gemini AI model."
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1625249/google-denies-misleading-reports-of-gmail-using-your-emails-to-train-ai?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# NATO Taps Google For Air-Gapped Sovereign Cloud
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 18:22:01 2025-11-24
NATO has hired Google to provide "air-gapped" sovereign cloud services and AI in "completely disconnected, highly secure environments." From a report: The Chocolate Factory will support the military alliance's Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Centre (JATEC) in a move designed to improve its digital infrastructure and strengthen its data governance. NATO was formed in 1949 after Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States signed the North Atlantic Treaty. Since then, 20 more European countries have joined, most recently Finland and Sweden. US President Donald Trump has criticized fellow members' financial contribution to the alliance and at times cast doubt over how likely the US is to defend its NATO allies.
In an announcement this week, Google Cloud said the "significant, multimillion-dollar contract" with the NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) would offer highly secure, sovereign cloud capabilities. The agreement promises NATO "uncompromised data residency and operational controls, providing the highest degree of security and autonomy, regardless of scale or complexity," the statement said.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1531202/nato-taps-google-for-air-gapped-sovereign-cloud?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 18:22:01 2025-11-24
NATO has hired Google to provide "air-gapped" sovereign cloud services and AI in "completely disconnected, highly secure environments." From a report: The Chocolate Factory will support the military alliance's Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Centre (JATEC) in a move designed to improve its digital infrastructure and strengthen its data governance. NATO was formed in 1949 after Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States signed the North Atlantic Treaty. Since then, 20 more European countries have joined, most recently Finland and Sweden. US President Donald Trump has criticized fellow members' financial contribution to the alliance and at times cast doubt over how likely the US is to defend its NATO allies.
In an announcement this week, Google Cloud said the "significant, multimillion-dollar contract" with the NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) would offer highly secure, sovereign cloud capabilities. The agreement promises NATO "uncompromised data residency and operational controls, providing the highest degree of security and autonomy, regardless of scale or complexity," the statement said.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1531202/nato-taps-google-for-air-gapped-sovereign-cloud?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# The Slow Transformation of Notepad Into Something Else Entirely Continues
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 17:22:02 2025-11-24
Microsoft is rolling out yet another update to Notepad for Windows 11 Insiders that adds table support and faster AI-generated responses, continuing a transformation of the once-minimal text editor that has drawn sustained criticism from users who preferred its original simplicity. The update, version 11.2510.6.0, lets users insert tables via a formatting toolbar or Markdown syntax and enables streaming responses for the app's Write, Rewrite, and Summarize AI features.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1512259/the-slow-transformation-of-notepad-into-something-else-entirely-continues?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 17:22:02 2025-11-24
Microsoft is rolling out yet another update to Notepad for Windows 11 Insiders that adds table support and faster AI-generated responses, continuing a transformation of the once-minimal text editor that has drawn sustained criticism from users who preferred its original simplicity. The update, version 11.2510.6.0, lets users insert tables via a formatting toolbar or Markdown syntax and enables streaming responses for the app's Write, Rewrite, and Summarize AI features.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1512259/the-slow-transformation-of-notepad-into-something-else-entirely-continues?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Lenovo Stockpiling PC Memory Due To 'Unprecedented' AI Squeeze
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 16:22:01 2025-11-24
Lenovo is stockpiling memory and other critical components to navigate a supply crunch brought on by the boom in AI. From a report: The world's biggest PC maker is holding on to component inventories that are roughly 50% higher than usual, [non-paywalled source] Chief Financial Officer Winston Cheng told Bloomberg TV on Monday. The frenzy to build and fill AI data centers with advanced hardware is raising prices for producers of consumer electronics, but Lenovo also sees opportunity in this to capitalize on its stockpile.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/154202/lenovo-stockpiling-pc-memory-due-to-unprecedented-ai-squeeze?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 16:22:01 2025-11-24
Lenovo is stockpiling memory and other critical components to navigate a supply crunch brought on by the boom in AI. From a report: The world's biggest PC maker is holding on to component inventories that are roughly 50% higher than usual, [non-paywalled source] Chief Financial Officer Winston Cheng told Bloomberg TV on Monday. The frenzy to build and fill AI data centers with advanced hardware is raising prices for producers of consumer electronics, but Lenovo also sees opportunity in this to capitalize on its stockpile.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/154202/lenovo-stockpiling-pc-memory-due-to-unprecedented-ai-squeeze?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Apple iOS 27 to Be No-Frills 'Snow Leopard' Update, Other Than New AI
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 16:22:01 2025-11-24
Apple's next major iPhone software update will prioritize stability and performance over flashy new features, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who reports that iOS 27 is being developed as a "Snow Leopard-style" release [non-paywalled source] focused on fixing bugs, removing bloat and improving underlying code after this year's sweeping Liquid Glass design overhaul in iOS 26.
Engineering teams are currently combing through Apple's operating systems to eliminate unnecessary code and address quality issues that users have reported since iOS 26's September release. Those complaints include device overheating, unexplained battery drain, user interface glitches, keyboard failures, cellular connectivity problems, app crashes, and sluggish animations.
iOS 27 won't be feature-free. Apple plans several AI additions: a health-focused AI agent tied to a Health+ subscription, expanded AI-powered web search meant to compete with ChatGPT and Perplexity, and deeper AI integration across apps. The company has also been internally testing a chatbot app called Veritas as a proving ground for its re-architected Siri, though a standalone chatbot product isn't currently planned.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1457245/apple-ios-27-to-be-no-frills-snow-leopard-update-other-than-new-ai?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 16:22:01 2025-11-24
Apple's next major iPhone software update will prioritize stability and performance over flashy new features, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who reports that iOS 27 is being developed as a "Snow Leopard-style" release [non-paywalled source] focused on fixing bugs, removing bloat and improving underlying code after this year's sweeping Liquid Glass design overhaul in iOS 26.
Engineering teams are currently combing through Apple's operating systems to eliminate unnecessary code and address quality issues that users have reported since iOS 26's September release. Those complaints include device overheating, unexplained battery drain, user interface glitches, keyboard failures, cellular connectivity problems, app crashes, and sluggish animations.
iOS 27 won't be feature-free. Apple plans several AI additions: a health-focused AI agent tied to a Health+ subscription, expanded AI-powered web search meant to compete with ChatGPT and Perplexity, and deeper AI integration across apps. The company has also been internally testing a chatbot app called Veritas as a proving ground for its re-architected Siri, though a standalone chatbot product isn't currently planned.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1457245/apple-ios-27-to-be-no-frills-snow-leopard-update-other-than-new-ai?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Ubisoft Shows Off New AI-Powered FPS And Hopes You've Forgotten About Its Failed NFTs
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 15:22:02 2025-11-24
Ubisoft has revealed Teammates, a first-person shooter built around AI-powered squadmates that the company is calling its "first playable generative AI research project" -- not long after the publisher went all-in on NFTs and the metaverse only to largely move on from both. Built in the Snowdrop Engine that powers The Division 2 and Star Wars Outlaws, the game features an AI assistant named Jaspar and two AI squadmates called Pablo and Sofia. Players can issue natural voice commands to direct the squadmates in combat or puzzle-solving, while Jaspar handles mission tracking and guidance. The project comes from the same team behind Ubisoft's Neo NPCs, demonstrated at GDC 2024.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1431236/ubisoft-shows-off-new-ai-powered-fps-and-hopes-youve-forgotten-about-its-failed-nfts?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 15:22:02 2025-11-24
Ubisoft has revealed Teammates, a first-person shooter built around AI-powered squadmates that the company is calling its "first playable generative AI research project" -- not long after the publisher went all-in on NFTs and the metaverse only to largely move on from both. Built in the Snowdrop Engine that powers The Division 2 and Star Wars Outlaws, the game features an AI assistant named Jaspar and two AI squadmates called Pablo and Sofia. Players can issue natural voice commands to direct the squadmates in combat or puzzle-solving, while Jaspar handles mission tracking and guidance. The project comes from the same team behind Ubisoft's Neo NPCs, demonstrated at GDC 2024.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/1431236/ubisoft-shows-off-new-ai-powered-fps-and-hopes-youve-forgotten-about-its-failed-nfts?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# How Google Finally Leapfrogged Rivals With New Gemini Rollout
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 14:22:01 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader shares a report: With the release of its third version last week, Google's Gemini large language model surged past ChatGPT and other competitors to become the most capable AI chatbot, as determined by consensus industry-benchmark tests. [...] Aaron Levie, chief executive of the cloud content management company Box, got early access to Gemini 3 several days ahead of the launch. The company ran its own evaluations of the model over the weekend to see how well it could analyze large sets of complex documents. "At first we kind of had to squint and be like, 'OK, did we do something wrong in our eval?' because the jump was so big," he said. "But every time we tested it, it came out double-digit points ahead."
[...] Google has been scrambling to get an edge in the AI race since the launch of ChatGPT three years ago, which stoked fears among investors that the company's iconic search engine would lose significant traffic to chatbots. The company struggled for months to get traction. Chief Executive Sundar Pichai and other executives have since worked to overhaul the company's AI development strategy by breaking down internal silos, streamlining leadership and consolidating work on its models, employees say. Sergey Brin, one of Google's co-founders, resumed a day-to-day role at the company helping to oversee its AI-development efforts.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/141259/how-google-finally-leapfrogged-rivals-with-new-gemini-rollout?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 14:22:01 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader shares a report: With the release of its third version last week, Google's Gemini large language model surged past ChatGPT and other competitors to become the most capable AI chatbot, as determined by consensus industry-benchmark tests. [...] Aaron Levie, chief executive of the cloud content management company Box, got early access to Gemini 3 several days ahead of the launch. The company ran its own evaluations of the model over the weekend to see how well it could analyze large sets of complex documents. "At first we kind of had to squint and be like, 'OK, did we do something wrong in our eval?' because the jump was so big," he said. "But every time we tested it, it came out double-digit points ahead."
[...] Google has been scrambling to get an edge in the AI race since the launch of ChatGPT three years ago, which stoked fears among investors that the company's iconic search engine would lose significant traffic to chatbots. The company struggled for months to get traction. Chief Executive Sundar Pichai and other executives have since worked to overhaul the company's AI development strategy by breaking down internal silos, streamlining leadership and consolidating work on its models, employees say. Sergey Brin, one of Google's co-founders, resumed a day-to-day role at the company helping to oversee its AI-development efforts.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/141259/how-google-finally-leapfrogged-rivals-with-new-gemini-rollout?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# New Mars Orbiter Manuever Challenges Theory: That May Not Be an Underground Lake on Mars
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 13:22:01 2025-11-24
In 2018 researchers claimed evidence of a lake beneath the surface of Mars, detected by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding instrument (or Marsis for short).
But new Mars observations "are not consistent with the presence of liquid water in this location and an alternative explanation, such as very smooth basal materials, is needed." Phys.org explains
Aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Shallow Radar (SHARAD) uses higher frequencies than MARSIS. Until recently, though, SHARAD's signals couldn't reach deep enough into Mars to bounce off the base layer of the ice where the potential water lies — meaning its results couldn't be compared with those from MARSIS. However, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter team recently tested a new maneuver that rolls the spacecraft on its flight axis by 120 degrees — whereas it previously could roll only up to 28 degrees. The new maneuver, termed a "very large roll," or VLR, can increase SHARAD's signal strength and penetration depth, allowing researchers to examine the base of the ice in the enigmatic high-reflectivity zone. Gareth Morgan and colleagues, for their article published in Geophysical Research Letters, examined 91 SHARAD observations that crossed the high-reflectivity zone.
Only when using the VLR maneuver was a SHARAD basal echo detected at the site. In contrast to the MARSIS detection, the SHARAD detection was very weak, meaning it is unlikely that liquid water is present in the high-reflectivity zone.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/0623250/new-mars-orbiter-manuever-challenges-theory-that-may-not-be-an-underground-lake-on-mars?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 13:22:01 2025-11-24
In 2018 researchers claimed evidence of a lake beneath the surface of Mars, detected by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding instrument (or Marsis for short).
But new Mars observations "are not consistent with the presence of liquid water in this location and an alternative explanation, such as very smooth basal materials, is needed." Phys.org explains
Aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Shallow Radar (SHARAD) uses higher frequencies than MARSIS. Until recently, though, SHARAD's signals couldn't reach deep enough into Mars to bounce off the base layer of the ice where the potential water lies — meaning its results couldn't be compared with those from MARSIS. However, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter team recently tested a new maneuver that rolls the spacecraft on its flight axis by 120 degrees — whereas it previously could roll only up to 28 degrees. The new maneuver, termed a "very large roll," or VLR, can increase SHARAD's signal strength and penetration depth, allowing researchers to examine the base of the ice in the enigmatic high-reflectivity zone. Gareth Morgan and colleagues, for their article published in Geophysical Research Letters, examined 91 SHARAD observations that crossed the high-reflectivity zone.
Only when using the VLR maneuver was a SHARAD basal echo detected at the site. In contrast to the MARSIS detection, the SHARAD detection was very weak, meaning it is unlikely that liquid water is present in the high-reflectivity zone.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/0623250/new-mars-orbiter-manuever-challenges-theory-that-may-not-be-an-underground-lake-on-mars?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# How An MIT Student Awed Top Economists With His AI Study - Until It All Fell Apart
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 10:22:01 2025-11-24
In May MIT announced "no confidence" in a preprint paper on how AI increased scientific discovery, asking arXiv to withdraw it. The paper, authored by 27-year-old grad student Aidan Toner-Rodgers, had claimed an AI-driven materials discovery tool helped 1,018 scientists at a U.S. R&D lab.
But within weeks his academic mentors "were asking an unthinkable question," reports the Wall Street Journal. Had Toner-Rodgers made it all up?
Toner-Rodgers's illusory success seems in part thanks to the dynamics he has now upset: an academic culture at MIT where high levels of trust, integrity and rigor are all — for better or worse — assumed. He focused on AI, a field where peer-reviewed research is still in its infancy and the hunger for data is insatiable. What has stunned his former colleagues and mentors is the sheer breadth of his apparent deception. He didn't just tweak a few variables. It appears he invented the entire study. In the aftermath, MIT economics professors have been discussing ways to raise standards for graduate students' research papers, including scrutinizing raw data, and students are going out of their way to show their work isn't counterfeit, according to people at the school.
Since parting with the university, Toner-Rodgers has told other students that his paper's problems were essentially a mere issue with data rights. According to him, he had indeed burrowed into a trove of data from a large materials-science company, as his paper said he did. But instead of getting formal permission to use the data, he faked a data-use agreement after the company wanted to pull out, he told other students via a WhatsApp message in May... On Jan. 31, Corning filed a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization against the registrar of the domain name corningresearch.com. Someone who controlled that domain name could potentially create email addresses or webpages that gave the impression they were affiliated with the company. WIPO soon found that Toner-Rodgers had apparently registered the domain name, according to the organization's written decision on the case. Toner-Rodgers never responded to the complaint, and Corning successfully won the transfer of the domain name. WIPO declined to comment...
In the WhatsApp chat in May, in which Toner-Rodgers told other students he had faked the data-use agreement, he wrote, "This was a huge and embarrassing act of dishonesty on my part, and in hindsight it clearly would've been better to just abandon the paper." Both Corning and 3M told the Journal that they didn't roll out the experiment Toner-Rodgers described, and that they didn't share data with him.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/0429245/how-an-mit-student-awed-top-economists-with-his-ai-study---until-it-all-fell-apart?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 10:22:01 2025-11-24
In May MIT announced "no confidence" in a preprint paper on how AI increased scientific discovery, asking arXiv to withdraw it. The paper, authored by 27-year-old grad student Aidan Toner-Rodgers, had claimed an AI-driven materials discovery tool helped 1,018 scientists at a U.S. R&D lab.
But within weeks his academic mentors "were asking an unthinkable question," reports the Wall Street Journal. Had Toner-Rodgers made it all up?
Toner-Rodgers's illusory success seems in part thanks to the dynamics he has now upset: an academic culture at MIT where high levels of trust, integrity and rigor are all — for better or worse — assumed. He focused on AI, a field where peer-reviewed research is still in its infancy and the hunger for data is insatiable. What has stunned his former colleagues and mentors is the sheer breadth of his apparent deception. He didn't just tweak a few variables. It appears he invented the entire study. In the aftermath, MIT economics professors have been discussing ways to raise standards for graduate students' research papers, including scrutinizing raw data, and students are going out of their way to show their work isn't counterfeit, according to people at the school.
Since parting with the university, Toner-Rodgers has told other students that his paper's problems were essentially a mere issue with data rights. According to him, he had indeed burrowed into a trove of data from a large materials-science company, as his paper said he did. But instead of getting formal permission to use the data, he faked a data-use agreement after the company wanted to pull out, he told other students via a WhatsApp message in May... On Jan. 31, Corning filed a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization against the registrar of the domain name corningresearch.com. Someone who controlled that domain name could potentially create email addresses or webpages that gave the impression they were affiliated with the company. WIPO soon found that Toner-Rodgers had apparently registered the domain name, according to the organization's written decision on the case. Toner-Rodgers never responded to the complaint, and Corning successfully won the transfer of the domain name. WIPO declined to comment...
In the WhatsApp chat in May, in which Toner-Rodgers told other students he had faked the data-use agreement, he wrote, "This was a huge and embarrassing act of dishonesty on my part, and in hindsight it clearly would've been better to just abandon the paper." Both Corning and 3M told the Journal that they didn't roll out the experiment Toner-Rodgers described, and that they didn't share data with him.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/0429245/how-an-mit-student-awed-top-economists-with-his-ai-study---until-it-all-fell-apart?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# 'We Could've Asked ChatGPT': UK Students Fight Back Over Course Taught By AI
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 06:22:02 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Guardian:
James and Owen were among 41 students who took a coding module at the University of Staffordshire last year, hoping to change careers through a government-funded apprenticeship programme designed to help them become cybersecurity experts or software engineers. But after a term of AI-generated slides being read, at times, by an AI voiceover, James said he had lost faith in the programme and the people running it, worrying he had "used up two years" of his life on a course that had been done "in the cheapest way possible".
"If we handed in stuff that was AI-generated, we would be kicked out of the uni, but we're being taught by an AI," said James during a confrontation with his lecturer recorded as a part of the course in October 2024. James and other students confronted university officials multiple times about the AI materials. But the university appears to still be using AI-generated materials to teach the course. This year, the university uploaded a policy statement to the course website appearing to justify the use of AI, laying out "a framework for academic professionals leveraging AI automation" in scholarly work and teaching...
For students, AI teaching appears to be less transformative than it is demoralising. In the US, students post negative online reviews about professors who use AI. In the UK, undergraduates have taken to Reddit to complain about their lecturers copying and pasting feedback from ChatGPT or using AI-generated images in courses.
"I feel like a bit of my life was stolen," James told the Guardian (which also quotes an unidentified student saying they felt "robbed of knowledge and enjoyment".) But the article also points out that a survey last year of 3,287 higher-education teaching staff by edtech firm Jisc found that nearly a quarter were using AI tools in their teaching.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/0523258/we-couldve-asked-chatgpt-uk-students-fight-back-over-course-taught-by-ai?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 06:22:02 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Guardian:
James and Owen were among 41 students who took a coding module at the University of Staffordshire last year, hoping to change careers through a government-funded apprenticeship programme designed to help them become cybersecurity experts or software engineers. But after a term of AI-generated slides being read, at times, by an AI voiceover, James said he had lost faith in the programme and the people running it, worrying he had "used up two years" of his life on a course that had been done "in the cheapest way possible".
"If we handed in stuff that was AI-generated, we would be kicked out of the uni, but we're being taught by an AI," said James during a confrontation with his lecturer recorded as a part of the course in October 2024. James and other students confronted university officials multiple times about the AI materials. But the university appears to still be using AI-generated materials to teach the course. This year, the university uploaded a policy statement to the course website appearing to justify the use of AI, laying out "a framework for academic professionals leveraging AI automation" in scholarly work and teaching...
For students, AI teaching appears to be less transformative than it is demoralising. In the US, students post negative online reviews about professors who use AI. In the UK, undergraduates have taken to Reddit to complain about their lecturers copying and pasting feedback from ChatGPT or using AI-generated images in courses.
"I feel like a bit of my life was stolen," James told the Guardian (which also quotes an unidentified student saying they felt "robbed of knowledge and enjoyment".) But the article also points out that a survey last year of 3,287 higher-education teaching staff by edtech firm Jisc found that nearly a quarter were using AI tools in their teaching.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/0523258/we-couldve-asked-chatgpt-uk-students-fight-back-over-course-taught-by-ai?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Napster Said It Raised $3 Billion From a Mystery Investor. But Now the 'Investor' and 'Money' Are Gone
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 03:22:02 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader shared this report from Forbes:
On November 20, at approximately 4 p.m. Eastern time, Napster held an online meeting for its shareholders; an estimated 700 of roughly 1,500 including employees, former employees and individual investors tuned in. That's when its CEO John Acunto told everyone he believed that the never-identified big investor — who the company had insisted put in $3.36 billion at a $12 billion valuation in January, which would have made it one of the year's biggest fundraises — was not going to come through.
In an email sent out shortly after, it told existing investors that some would get a bigger percentage of the company, due to the canceled shares, and went on to describe itself as a "victim of misconduct," adding that it was "assisting law enforcement with their ongoing investigations." As for the promised tender offer, which would have allowed shareholders to cash out, that too was called off. "Since that investor was also behind the potential tender, we also no longer believe that will occur," the company wrote in the email.
At this point it seems unlikely that getting bigger stakes in the business will make any of the investors too happy. The company had been stringing its employees and investors along for nearly a year with ever-changing promises of an impending cash infusion and chances to sell their shares in a tender offer that would change everything. In fact, it was the fourth time since 2022 they've been told they could soon cash out via a tender offer, and the fourth time the potential deal fell through. Napster spokesperson Gillian Sheldon said certain statements about the fundraise "were made in good faith based on what we understood at the time. We have since uncovered indications of misconduct that suggest the information provided to us then was not accurate."
The article notes America's Department of Justice has launched an investigation (in which Napster is not a target), while the Securities and Exchange Commission has a separate ongoing investigation from 2022 into Napster's scrapped reverse merger.
While Napster announced they'd been acquired for $207 million by a tech company named Infinite Reality, Forbes says that company faced "a string of lawsuits from creditors alleging unpaid bills, a federal lawsuit to enforce compliance with an SEC subpoena (now dismissed) and exaggerated claims about the extent of their partnerships with Manchester City Football Club and Google. The company also touted 'top-tier' investors who never directly invested in the firm, and its anonymous $3 billion investment that its spokesperson told Forbes in March was in "an Infinite Reality account and is available to us" and that they were 'actively leveraging' it..."
And by the end, "Napster appears to have been scrambling to raise cash to keep the lights on, working with brokers and investment advisors including a few who had previously gotten into trouble with regulators.... If it turns out that Napster knew the fundraise wasn't happening and it benefited from misrepresenting itself to investors or acquirees, it could face much bigger problems. That's because doing so could be considered securities fraud."
[ Read more of this story ]( https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/022212/napster-said-it-raised-3-billion-from-a-mystery-investor-but-now-the-investor-and-money-are-gone?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
>> Читать далее
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 03:22:02 2025-11-24
An anonymous reader shared this report from Forbes:
On November 20, at approximately 4 p.m. Eastern time, Napster held an online meeting for its shareholders; an estimated 700 of roughly 1,500 including employees, former employees and individual investors tuned in. That's when its CEO John Acunto told everyone he believed that the never-identified big investor — who the company had insisted put in $3.36 billion at a $12 billion valuation in January, which would have made it one of the year's biggest fundraises — was not going to come through.
In an email sent out shortly after, it told existing investors that some would get a bigger percentage of the company, due to the canceled shares, and went on to describe itself as a "victim of misconduct," adding that it was "assisting law enforcement with their ongoing investigations." As for the promised tender offer, which would have allowed shareholders to cash out, that too was called off. "Since that investor was also behind the potential tender, we also no longer believe that will occur," the company wrote in the email.
At this point it seems unlikely that getting bigger stakes in the business will make any of the investors too happy. The company had been stringing its employees and investors along for nearly a year with ever-changing promises of an impending cash infusion and chances to sell their shares in a tender offer that would change everything. In fact, it was the fourth time since 2022 they've been told they could soon cash out via a tender offer, and the fourth time the potential deal fell through. Napster spokesperson Gillian Sheldon said certain statements about the fundraise "were made in good faith based on what we understood at the time. We have since uncovered indications of misconduct that suggest the information provided to us then was not accurate."
The article notes America's Department of Justice has launched an investigation (in which Napster is not a target), while the Securities and Exchange Commission has a separate ongoing investigation from 2022 into Napster's scrapped reverse merger.
While Napster announced they'd been acquired for $207 million by a tech company named Infinite Reality, Forbes says that company faced "a string of lawsuits from creditors alleging unpaid bills, a federal lawsuit to enforce compliance with an SEC subpoena (now dismissed) and exaggerated claims about the extent of their partnerships with Manchester City Football Club and Google. The company also touted 'top-tier' investors who never directly invested in the firm, and its anonymous $3 billion investment that its spokesperson told Forbes in March was in "an Infinite Reality account and is available to us" and that they were 'actively leveraging' it..."
And by the end, "Napster appears to have been scrambling to raise cash to keep the lights on, working with brokers and investment advisors including a few who had previously gotten into trouble with regulators.... If it turns out that Napster knew the fundraise wasn't happening and it benefited from misrepresenting itself to investors or acquirees, it could face much bigger problems. That's because doing so could be considered securities fraud."
[ Read more of this story ]( https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/11/24/022212/napster-said-it-raised-3-billion-from-a-mystery-investor-but-now-the-investor-and-money-are-gone?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
>> Читать далее
# New Research Finds America's Top Social Media Sites: YouTube (84%) Facebook (71%), Instagram (50%)
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 01:22:01 2025-11-24
Pew Research surveyed 5,022 Americans this year (between February 5 and June 18), asking them
"do you ever use" YouTube, Facebook, and nine of the other top social media platforms. The results?
YouTube 84%
Facebook 71%
Instagram 50%
TikTok 37%
WhatsApp 32%
Reddit 26%
>> Читать далее
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 01:22:01 2025-11-24
Pew Research surveyed 5,022 Americans this year (between February 5 and June 18), asking them
"do you ever use" YouTube, Facebook, and nine of the other top social media platforms. The results?
YouTube 84%
Facebook 71%
Instagram 50%
TikTok 37%
WhatsApp 32%
Reddit 26%
>> Читать далее
# Was the Moon-Forming Protoplanet 'Theia' a Neighbor of Earth?
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 00:22:02 2025-11-24
Theia crashed into earth and formed the moon, the theory goes. But then where did Theia come from? The lead author on a new study says "The most convincing scenario is that most of the building blocks of Earth and Theia originated in the inner Solar System. Earth and Theia are likely to have been neighbors."
Though Theia was completely destroyed in the collision, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research led a team that was able to measure the ratio of tell-tale isotopes in Earth and Moon rocks, Euronews explains:
The research team used rocks collected on Earth and samples brought back from the lunar surface by Apollo astronauts to examine their isotopes. These isotopes act like chemical fingerprints. Scientists already knew that Earth and Moon rocks are almost identical in their metal isotope ratios. That similarity, however, has made it hard to learn much about Theia, because it has been difficult to separate material from early Earth and material from the impactor.
The new research attempts a kind of planetary reverse engineering. By examining isotopes of iron, chromium, zirconium and molybdenum, the team modelled hundreds of possible scenarios for the early Earth and Theia, testing which combinations could produce the isotope signatures seen today. Because materials closer to the Sun formed under different temperatures and conditions than those further out, those isotopes exist in slightly different patterns in different regions of the Solar System.
By comparing these patterns, researchers concluded that Theia most likely originated in the inner Solar System, even closer to the Sun than the early Earth.
The team published their findings in the journal Science. Its title? "The Moon-forming impactor Theia originated from the inner Solar System."
[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/11/23/2327252/was-the-moon-forming-protoplanet-theia-a-neighbor-of-earth?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 00:22:02 2025-11-24
Theia crashed into earth and formed the moon, the theory goes. But then where did Theia come from? The lead author on a new study says "The most convincing scenario is that most of the building blocks of Earth and Theia originated in the inner Solar System. Earth and Theia are likely to have been neighbors."
Though Theia was completely destroyed in the collision, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research led a team that was able to measure the ratio of tell-tale isotopes in Earth and Moon rocks, Euronews explains:
The research team used rocks collected on Earth and samples brought back from the lunar surface by Apollo astronauts to examine their isotopes. These isotopes act like chemical fingerprints. Scientists already knew that Earth and Moon rocks are almost identical in their metal isotope ratios. That similarity, however, has made it hard to learn much about Theia, because it has been difficult to separate material from early Earth and material from the impactor.
The new research attempts a kind of planetary reverse engineering. By examining isotopes of iron, chromium, zirconium and molybdenum, the team modelled hundreds of possible scenarios for the early Earth and Theia, testing which combinations could produce the isotope signatures seen today. Because materials closer to the Sun formed under different temperatures and conditions than those further out, those isotopes exist in slightly different patterns in different regions of the Solar System.
By comparing these patterns, researchers concluded that Theia most likely originated in the inner Solar System, even closer to the Sun than the early Earth.
The team published their findings in the journal Science. Its title? "The Moon-forming impactor Theia originated from the inner Solar System."
[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/11/23/2327252/was-the-moon-forming-protoplanet-theia-a-neighbor-of-earth?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Cryptologist DJB Criticizes Push to Finalize Non-Hybrid Security for Post-Quantum Cryptography
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 22:22:02 2025-11-23
In October cryptologist/CS professor Daniel J. Bernstein alleged that America's National Security
Agency (and its UK counterpart GCHQ) were attempting to influence NIST to adopt weaker post-quantum cryptography
standards without a "hybrid" approach that would've also included pre-quantum ECC.
Bernstein is of the opinion that "Given how
many post-quantum proposals have been broken and the continuing flood of side-channel attacks, any competent engineering evaluation will conclude that
the best way to deploy post-quantum [PQ] encryption for TLS, and for the Internet more broadly, is as double encryption: post-quantum cryptography on top of ECC." But
he says he's seen it playing out differently:
By 2013, NSA had a quarter-billion-dollar-a-year
budget to "covertly influence and/or overtly leverage"
systems to "make the systems in question exploitable"; in
particular, to "influence policies, standards and specification
for commercial public key technologies". NSA is quietly
using stronger cryptography for the data it cares about, but
>> Читать далее
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 22:22:02 2025-11-23
In October cryptologist/CS professor Daniel J. Bernstein alleged that America's National Security
Agency (and its UK counterpart GCHQ) were attempting to influence NIST to adopt weaker post-quantum cryptography
standards without a "hybrid" approach that would've also included pre-quantum ECC.
Bernstein is of the opinion that "Given how
many post-quantum proposals have been broken and the continuing flood of side-channel attacks, any competent engineering evaluation will conclude that
the best way to deploy post-quantum [PQ] encryption for TLS, and for the Internet more broadly, is as double encryption: post-quantum cryptography on top of ECC." But
he says he's seen it playing out differently:
By 2013, NSA had a quarter-billion-dollar-a-year
budget to "covertly influence and/or overtly leverage"
systems to "make the systems in question exploitable"; in
particular, to "influence policies, standards and specification
for commercial public key technologies". NSA is quietly
using stronger cryptography for the data it cares about, but
>> Читать далее
# Google Revisits JPEG XL in Chromium After Earlier Removal
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 21:22:02 2025-11-23
"Three years ago, Google removed JPEG XL support from Chrome, stating there wasn't enough interest at the time," writes the blog Windows Report. "That position has now changed."
In a recent note to developers, a Chrome team representative confirmed that work has restarted to bring JPEG XL to Chromium and said Google "would ship it in Chrome" once long-term maintenance and the usual launch requirements are met.
The team explained that other platforms moved ahead. Safari supports JPEG XL, and Windows 11 users can add native support through an image extension from Microsoft Store. The format is also confirmed for use in PDF documents. There has been continuous demand from developers and users who ask for its return.
Before Google ships the feature in Chrome, the company wants the integration to be secure and supported over time. A developer has submitted new code that reintroduces JPEG XL to Chromium. This version is marked as feature complete. The developer said it also "includes animation support," which earlier implementations did not offer.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/23/2026246/google-revisits-jpeg-xl-in-chromium-after-earlier-removal?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 21:22:02 2025-11-23
"Three years ago, Google removed JPEG XL support from Chrome, stating there wasn't enough interest at the time," writes the blog Windows Report. "That position has now changed."
In a recent note to developers, a Chrome team representative confirmed that work has restarted to bring JPEG XL to Chromium and said Google "would ship it in Chrome" once long-term maintenance and the usual launch requirements are met.
The team explained that other platforms moved ahead. Safari supports JPEG XL, and Windows 11 users can add native support through an image extension from Microsoft Store. The format is also confirmed for use in PDF documents. There has been continuous demand from developers and users who ask for its return.
Before Google ships the feature in Chrome, the company wants the integration to be secure and supported over time. A developer has submitted new code that reintroduces JPEG XL to Chromium. This version is marked as feature complete. The developer said it also "includes animation support," which earlier implementations did not offer.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/23/2026246/google-revisits-jpeg-xl-in-chromium-after-earlier-removal?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# Mozilla Announces 'TABS API' For Developers Building AI Agents
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 20:22:01 2025-11-23
"Fresh from announcing it is building an AI browsing mode in Firefox and laying the groundwork for agentic interactions in the Firefox 145 release, the corp arm of Mozilla is now flexing its AI muscles in the direction of those more likely to care," writes the blog OMG Ubuntu:
If you're a developer building AI agents, you can sign up to get early access to Mozilla's TABS API, a "powerful web content extraction and transformation toolkit designed specifically for AI agent builders"... The TABS API enables devs to create agents to automate web interactions, like clicking, scrolling, searching, and submitting forms "just like a human". Real-time feedback and adaptive behaviours will, Mozilla say, offer "full control of the web, without the complexity."
As TABS is not powered by a Mozilla-backed LLM you'll need to connect it to your choice of third-party LLM for any relevant processing... Developers get 1,000 requests monthly on the free tier, which seems reasonable for prototyping personal projects. Complex agentic workloads may require more. Though pricing is yet to be locked in, the TABS API website suggests it'll cost ~$5 per 1000 requests.
Paid plans will offer additional features too, like lower latency and, somewhat ironically, CAPTCHA solving so AI can 'prove' it's not a robot on pages gated to prevent automated activities.
Google, OpenAI, and other major AI vendors offer their own agentic APIs. Mozilla is pitching up late, but it plans to play differently. It touts a "strong focus on data minimisation and security", with scraped data treated ephemerally — i.e., not kept. As a distinction, that matters. AI agents can be given complex online tasks that involve all sorts of personal or sensitive data being fetched and worked with.... If you're minded to make one, perhaps without a motivation to asset-strip the common good, Mozilla's TABS API look like a solid place to start.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/23/206245/mozilla-announces-tabs-api-for-developers-building-ai-agents?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 20:22:01 2025-11-23
"Fresh from announcing it is building an AI browsing mode in Firefox and laying the groundwork for agentic interactions in the Firefox 145 release, the corp arm of Mozilla is now flexing its AI muscles in the direction of those more likely to care," writes the blog OMG Ubuntu:
If you're a developer building AI agents, you can sign up to get early access to Mozilla's TABS API, a "powerful web content extraction and transformation toolkit designed specifically for AI agent builders"... The TABS API enables devs to create agents to automate web interactions, like clicking, scrolling, searching, and submitting forms "just like a human". Real-time feedback and adaptive behaviours will, Mozilla say, offer "full control of the web, without the complexity."
As TABS is not powered by a Mozilla-backed LLM you'll need to connect it to your choice of third-party LLM for any relevant processing... Developers get 1,000 requests monthly on the free tier, which seems reasonable for prototyping personal projects. Complex agentic workloads may require more. Though pricing is yet to be locked in, the TABS API website suggests it'll cost ~$5 per 1000 requests.
Paid plans will offer additional features too, like lower latency and, somewhat ironically, CAPTCHA solving so AI can 'prove' it's not a robot on pages gated to prevent automated activities.
Google, OpenAI, and other major AI vendors offer their own agentic APIs. Mozilla is pitching up late, but it plans to play differently. It touts a "strong focus on data minimisation and security", with scraped data treated ephemerally — i.e., not kept. As a distinction, that matters. AI agents can be given complex online tasks that involve all sorts of personal or sensitive data being fetched and worked with.... If you're minded to make one, perhaps without a motivation to asset-strip the common good, Mozilla's TABS API look like a solid place to start.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/23/206245/mozilla-announces-tabs-api-for-developers-building-ai-agents?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
# One Company's Plan to Sink Nuclear Reactors Deep Underground
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 19:22:01 2025-11-23
Long-time Slashdot reader jenningsthecat shared this article from IEEE Spectrum:
By dropping a nuclear reactor 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) underground, Deep Fission aims to use the weight of a billion tons of rock and water as a natural containment system comparable to concrete domes and cooling towers. With the fission reaction occurring far below the surface, steam can safely circulate in a closed loop to generate power.
The California-based startup announced in October that prospective customers had signed non-binding letters of intent for 12.5 gigawatts of power involving data center developers, industrial parks, and other (mostly undisclosed) strategic partners, with initial sites under consideration in Kansas, Texas, and Utah... The company says its modular approach allows multiple 15-megawatt reactors to be clustered on a single site: A block of 10 would total 150 MW, and Deep Fission claims that larger groupings could scale to 1.5 GW. Deep Fission claims that using geological depth as containment could make nuclear energy cheaper, safer, and deployable in months at a fraction of a conventional plant's footprint...
The company aims to finalize its reactor design and confirm the pilot site in the coming months. [Company founder Liz] Muller says the plan is to drill the borehole, lower the canister, load the fuel, and bring the reactor to criticality underground in 2026. Sites in Utah, Texas, and Kansas are among the leading candidates for the first commercial-scale projects, which could begin construction in 2027 or 2028, depending on the speed of DOE and NRC approvals. Deep Fission expects to start manufacturing components for the first unit in 2026 and does not anticipate major bottlenecks aside from typical long-lead items.
In short "The same oil and gas drilling techniques that reliably reach kilometer-deep wells can be adapted to host nuclear reactors..." the article points out. Their design would also streamline construction, since "Locating the reactors under a deep water column subjects them to roughly 160 atmospheres of pressure — the same conditions maintained inside a conventional nuclear reactor — which forms a natural seal to keep any radioactive coolant or steam contained at depth, preventing leaks from reaching the surface."
Other interesting points from the article:
They plan on operating and controlling the reactor remotely from the surface.
Company founder Muller says if an earthquake ever disrupted the site, "you seal it off at the bottom of the borehole, plug up the borehole, and you have your waste in safe disposal."
>> Читать далее
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 19:22:01 2025-11-23
Long-time Slashdot reader jenningsthecat shared this article from IEEE Spectrum:
By dropping a nuclear reactor 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) underground, Deep Fission aims to use the weight of a billion tons of rock and water as a natural containment system comparable to concrete domes and cooling towers. With the fission reaction occurring far below the surface, steam can safely circulate in a closed loop to generate power.
The California-based startup announced in October that prospective customers had signed non-binding letters of intent for 12.5 gigawatts of power involving data center developers, industrial parks, and other (mostly undisclosed) strategic partners, with initial sites under consideration in Kansas, Texas, and Utah... The company says its modular approach allows multiple 15-megawatt reactors to be clustered on a single site: A block of 10 would total 150 MW, and Deep Fission claims that larger groupings could scale to 1.5 GW. Deep Fission claims that using geological depth as containment could make nuclear energy cheaper, safer, and deployable in months at a fraction of a conventional plant's footprint...
The company aims to finalize its reactor design and confirm the pilot site in the coming months. [Company founder Liz] Muller says the plan is to drill the borehole, lower the canister, load the fuel, and bring the reactor to criticality underground in 2026. Sites in Utah, Texas, and Kansas are among the leading candidates for the first commercial-scale projects, which could begin construction in 2027 or 2028, depending on the speed of DOE and NRC approvals. Deep Fission expects to start manufacturing components for the first unit in 2026 and does not anticipate major bottlenecks aside from typical long-lead items.
In short "The same oil and gas drilling techniques that reliably reach kilometer-deep wells can be adapted to host nuclear reactors..." the article points out. Their design would also streamline construction, since "Locating the reactors under a deep water column subjects them to roughly 160 atmospheres of pressure — the same conditions maintained inside a conventional nuclear reactor — which forms a natural seal to keep any radioactive coolant or steam contained at depth, preventing leaks from reaching the surface."
Other interesting points from the article:
They plan on operating and controlling the reactor remotely from the surface.
Company founder Muller says if an earthquake ever disrupted the site, "you seal it off at the bottom of the borehole, plug up the borehole, and you have your waste in safe disposal."
>> Читать далее
# Could High-Speed Trains Shorten US Travel Times While Reducing Emissions?
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 18:22:01 2025-11-23
With some animated graphics, CNN "reimagined" what three of America's busiest air and road travel routes would look like with high-speed trains, for "a glimpse into a faster, more connected future."
The journey from New York City to Chicago could take just over six hours by high-speed train at an average speed of 160 mph, cutting travel time by more than 13 hours compared with the current Amtrak route... The journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles could be completed in under three hours by high-speed train... The journey from Atlanta to Orlando could be completed in under three hours by high-speed train that reaches 160 mph, cutting travel time by over half compared with driving...
While high-speed rail remains a fantasy in the United States, it is already hugely successful across the globe. Passengers take 3 billion trips annually on more than 40,000 miles of modern high-speed railway across the globe, according to the International Union of Railways. China is home to the world's largest high-speed rail network. The 809-mile train journey from Beijing to Shanghai takes just four and a half hours... In Europe, France's Train a Grand Vitesse (TGV) is recognized as a pioneer of high-speed rail technology. Spain soon followed France's success and now hosts Europe's most extensive high-speed rail network...
[T]rain travel contributes relatively less pollution of every type, said Jacob Mason of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, from burning less gasoline to making less noise than cars and taking up less space than freeways. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is staggering: Per kilometer traveled, the average car or a short-haul flight each emit more than 30 times the CO2 equivalent than Eurostar high-speed trains, according to data from the UK government.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/11/22/201221/could-high-speed-trains-shorten-us-travel-times-while-reducing-emissions?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.
robot (spnet, 1) → All – 18:22:01 2025-11-23
With some animated graphics, CNN "reimagined" what three of America's busiest air and road travel routes would look like with high-speed trains, for "a glimpse into a faster, more connected future."
The journey from New York City to Chicago could take just over six hours by high-speed train at an average speed of 160 mph, cutting travel time by more than 13 hours compared with the current Amtrak route... The journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles could be completed in under three hours by high-speed train... The journey from Atlanta to Orlando could be completed in under three hours by high-speed train that reaches 160 mph, cutting travel time by over half compared with driving...
While high-speed rail remains a fantasy in the United States, it is already hugely successful across the globe. Passengers take 3 billion trips annually on more than 40,000 miles of modern high-speed railway across the globe, according to the International Union of Railways. China is home to the world's largest high-speed rail network. The 809-mile train journey from Beijing to Shanghai takes just four and a half hours... In Europe, France's Train a Grand Vitesse (TGV) is recognized as a pioneer of high-speed rail technology. Spain soon followed France's success and now hosts Europe's most extensive high-speed rail network...
[T]rain travel contributes relatively less pollution of every type, said Jacob Mason of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, from burning less gasoline to making less noise than cars and taking up less space than freeways. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is staggering: Per kilometer traveled, the average car or a short-haul flight each emit more than 30 times the CO2 equivalent than Eurostar high-speed trains, according to data from the UK government.
[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/11/22/201221/could-high-speed-trains-shorten-us-travel-times-while-reducing-emissions?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.