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180716198
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
day February 01, 2026 @01:09PM
BrianFagioli writes: McDonald’s Netherlands is using a surprisingly effective example to highlight just how bad people still are at password hygiene. To mark Change Your Password Day, it pointed to data from the breach tracking site Have I Been Pwned showing that the password “bigmac” has appeared more than 110,000 times in leaked datasets. Other McDonald’s themed passwords like “frenchfries,” “happymeal,” and “mcnuggets” also show up tens of thousands of times, often with predictable number or symbol variations that offer little real protection.
The campaign underscores a problem security experts have warned about for years: attackers no longer guess passwords manually. They use massive automated lists built from past breaches, meaning any reused or common password is already compromised. McDonald’s is using humor and embarrassment rather than fear to get the point across, nudging users toward password managers, unique logins, and two factor authentication as the only realistic way to stay ahead of the endless breach cycle.
180686156
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
rsday January 29, 2026 @10:12AM
BrianFagioli writes: Google has rolled out Gemini in navigation for walking and cycling in Google Maps, extending its AI assistant beyond cars and onto sidewalks and bike lanes. Users can now ask Gemini where they are, get restaurant recommendations along their route, check ETAs, or even send texts hands free while moving. Google says this is about convenience and safety, especially for cyclists, but it also highlights how aggressively the company is pushing Gemini into every daily activity it can touch.
The update feels like a solution looking for a problem. Walking is already a low friction, low distraction activity, and adding an AI layer risks turning a simple stroll into another stream of prompts, suggestions, and digital noise. While tourists and accessibility users may find real value in voice guidance, the broader move suggests Google is less interested in whether AI is needed and more interested in making sure Gemini is everywhere, even when common sense might already be enough.
180658470
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
day January 26, 2026 @06:10AM
BrianFagioli writes: Gen Z is turning to ChatGPT for sexual health advice, and in some cases, for actual diagnosis. A new January 2026 survey of 2,520 U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 found that 1 in 10 Gen Zers have asked an AI chatbot to help diagnose a possible STD. Nearly half of those who used AI for health questions said they specifically asked about STDs, with many sharing detailed symptoms, sexual history, and even photos. Doctors warn this crosses a dangerous line, since AI cannot confirm infections without lab testing and can easily give false reassurance or unnecessary panic.
The data shows those concerns are justified. Among users who followed up with real testing, AI was wrong about 31 percent of the time, including false negatives and false positives. Despite that, more than 9 in 10 respondents say they would use AI again for STD questions, even while acknowledging privacy risks and the lack of HIPAA protections. The survey highlights a growing gap between convenience and medical safety, as AI becomes the first stop for sensitive health questions that still require real doctors, real tests, and real confidentiality.
180646388
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
day January 23, 2026 @06:40PM
BrianFagioli writes: Donald Trump posted a White House image telling people to âoeembrace the penguin,â and Linux nerds immediately did what Linux nerds do, assuming it was a wink at Tux and open source. The image shows Trump walking across an icy landscape with a penguin holding an American flag, which briefly looked like the strangest Linux endorsement in history. It was funny, confusing, and perfectly engineered for internet chaos.
But the penguin is a distraction. Penguins do not live in Greenland, and Trump has been very serious in his second term about asserting U.S. control and influence over the island for national security and Arctic dominance. The image reads less like a Linux joke and more like a meme wrapped geopolitical message, with the bird pulling attention away from the flags, the ice, and the unmistakable symbolism.
180637682
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
rsday January 22, 2026 @08:32AM
BrianFagioli writes: As hiring gets more automated, job seekers are responding by bloating their resumes instead of clarifying them. New data from Monster shows nearly half of candidates now use resumes longer than one page, with many stretching to two pages or more because they fear Applicant Tracking Systems will reject them before a human ever sees them. Seventy seven percent of job seekers say they worry their resume is filtered out by software, and that fear is reshaping how people write, optimize, and present their work history.
The result looks a lot like what Slashdot readers have seen in other black box systems. When people do not understand how an algorithm makes decisions, they game it. Resumes turn into keyword dumps, signal gets buried under noise, and hiring becomes worse for everyone involved. The tech was supposed to make hiring more efficient. Instead, it may be breaking the resume itself.
180636076
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
nesday January 21, 2026 @10:19PM
BrianFagioli writes: DeVry University plans to embed AI literacy and skill-building into every course by the end of 2026, effectively turning artificial intelligence into a general education requirement for all students. The career-focused school says AI skills will no longer be limited to tech majors, but taught across business, healthcare, and other programs as a basic workplace competency, similar to email or spreadsheets. DeVry has been building toward this since 2020, gradually expanding automation and machine learning coursework before making AI part of its core curriculum.
The move also leans heavily on AI inside the classroom itself. Every course will include an AI learning assistant for 24/7 support, and students will have access to AI-powered advising and administrative tools. While DeVry frames this as freeing faculty to focus on higher-value teaching, the shift raises questions about how much instruction is being automated. It also highlights a growing divide in higher education, where career schools are moving fast to embrace AI while traditional universities are still debating whether students should be allowed to use it at all.
180614426
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
day January 19, 2026 @09:13AM
BrianFagioli writes: The New York Stock Exchange, owned by Intercontinental Exchange, is developing a platform for trading tokenized versions of U.S. listed stocks and ETFs around the clock, pending regulatory approval. The system would combine the NYSEâ(TM)s existing matching engine with blockchain-based settlement, enabling 24x7 trading, instant settlement, and fractional share purchases priced in dollar amounts. Shares would remain fully regulated securities, with dividends and voting rights intact, rather than cryptocurrencies, even though the backend would run on blockchain-style infrastructure.
If approved, the move would quietly rewrite how markets operate, replacing multi-day settlement cycles with near-instant clearing and allowing money to move outside normal banking hours using stablecoin-based funding. ICE is already working with major banks to support tokenized deposits at its clearinghouses, signaling a shift toward always-on market infrastructure. The big question is whether regulators, brokers, and institutional investors are ready for a stock market that never closes, and what happens when Wall Street volatility has no off switch.
180576324
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
sday January 13, 2026 @05:10PM
BrianFagioli writes: A new survey from PasswordManager.com suggests Americans still have not learned their lesson about password security. Polling 1500 adults nationwide, the report finds that 84 percent reuse passwords across accounts and nearly two-thirds rely on predictable patterns such as pet names, birthdays, simple number strings and everyday words like âoebaseballâ or âoepassword.â Even after years of security warnings and highly publicized breaches, many respondents said they avoid changing passwords because they fear forgetting them or find updates too inconvenient.
The survey also highlights a gap between security awareness and real-world behavior. About 43 percent of respondents have already been notified that one of their accounts was involved in a hack or scam, yet password managers are only used by 23 percent of users. Two-factor authentication sees better adoption, but nearly half still only enable it when forced to do so. Awareness of passkeys is growing, but consumers want clearer guidance before shifting away from passwords entirely.
180574940
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
sday January 13, 2026 @01:12PM
BrianFagioli writes: Wine 11.0 has officially landed, wrapping up a year of development with more than 6,000 code changes and a broad set of upgrades that touch gaming, desktop behavior, and long-standing architectural work. The biggest milestone is the completion of the new WoW64 model, which is now considered fully supported and allows 32-bit and even 16-bit applications to run in a cleaner way inside 64-bit prefixes. Wine also gains support for the NTSYNC kernel module now bundled in Linux 6.14, which cuts overhead from thread synchronization and should deliver observable performance benefits in games and multi-threaded applications. A single unified wine binary now replaces the old wine64 launcher, and several system behaviors align more closely with modern Windows, including syscall numbering and NT reparse points.
Graphics and desktop integration received more polish, including deeper Vulkan support (up to API 1.4.335), hardware-accelerated H.264 decoding through Direct3D, and further improvements to Wineâ(TM)s Wayland driver, which now supports clipboard operations, IMEs, and shaped windows. X11 users gain better window activation and fullscreen handling, and legacy DirectX features continue to expand under Wineâ(TM)s Vulkan renderer. Device support also moves forward, with better joystick handling, improved Bluetooth visibility and pairing, and working TWAIN scanning on 64-bit apps. Broad multimedia updates, DirectMusic refinements, .NET/XNA improvements, and developer-facing tools round out a release that appears focused on smoothing sharp edges rather than introducing flashy experiments. As always, source is live now and distro packages are rolling out.
180570552
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
day January 12, 2026 @06:45PM
BrianFagioli writes: Acer has filed three separate patent infringement lawsuits against AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, taking the unusual step of hauling the nation’s largest wireless carriers into federal court. The suits, filed in the Eastern District of Texas, claim the companies are using Acer-developed cellular networking technology without paying for the privilege. Acer says it tried to negotiate licenses for years but reached a dead end, arguing it was left with no option except litigation. The case centers on six U.S. patents Acer asserts are core to modern wireless networks, rather than anything tied to PCs or laptops.
The company describes itself as reluctant to pursue courtroom battles, but it has been quietly building a large global patent portfolio after pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into R&D. Acer also notes that some of its patents count as standard-essential, hinting the carriers may be required to license them. All three companies are expected to push back, and the dispute could become another long-running telecom patent saga. Consumers will not notice any immediate changes, but if Acer wins or settles, it may find a new revenue stream far beyond its traditional hardware business.
180563594
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
day January 11, 2026 @11:43AM
BrianFagioli writes: Walmart and Google are teaming up to plug Walmartâ(TM)s catalog straight into Gemini, letting people browse and buy everyday items inside an AI chat instead of jumping through apps or search engines. The idea is simple but timely: if people increasingly ask an AI how to plan a camping trip, stock a pantry, or prep for a party, Walmart wants Gemini to serve up product suggestions automatically and complete the purchase within Walmart or Samâ(TM)s Club. Linked accounts pull in past shopping history, Walmart Plus perks still apply, and the retailerâ(TM)s same-day delivery network closes the loop in as little as thirty minutes in some regions.
It also reflects a defensive move. If AI becomes the main gateway to online shopping, retailers risk losing customers before they ever hit a website. Walmart securing a default presence inside Gemini positions it ahead of the curve, while Google gets a more practical use case than just generating answers or explanations. The pilot starts in the United States with plans to expand internationally, and it lands right as investors are watching whether conversational commerce is hype or the next shift in how people buy things online.
180555982
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
day January 09, 2026 @04:51PM
BrianFagioli writes: The IRS has flipped the switch on Free File for the 2026 tax season, letting most Americans file federal taxes for exactly zero dollars. Anyone with 2025 adjusted gross income of $89,000 or less qualifies, covering an estimated 70 percent of taxpayers. The catch is that you have to start at IRS.gov/FreeFile, not the commercial sites that steer users into paid upgrades. Free File partners include familiar software brands like TaxAct, FreeTaxUSA, 1040.com and TaxSlayer, and many will throw in free state returns too. The program works on computers and phones and supports e-filing before the official opening of tax season.
What surprises me every year is how few people know this exists. Despite more than 77 million returns filed through Free File since 2003, most folks reach for TurboTax or H&R Block and end up paying for something the government already supports at no cost. Even gig workers and renters qualify now if their AGI is under the limit. If you want to keep more money in your wallet, start at IRS.gov/FreeFile and skip the upsell parade.
180520813
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
day January 05, 2026 @07:26PM
BrianFagioli writes: Red Hat and NVIDIA are clearly done pretending AI lives on a single GPU shoved into a lonely server. Their expanded collaboration is all about rack scale AI, and the star of the show is Red Hat Enterprise Linux for NVIDIA. The idea is simple and very enterprise: when NVIDIA rolls out new hardware like Vera Rubin, Red Hat wants Linux ready on day zero, not six months later after admins burn weekends chasing drivers and compatibility issues. This is Red Hat saying, flat out, that production AI needs boring reliability before it needs hype.
What makes this interesting is how aggressively Red Hat is centering Linux again. RHEL for NVIDIA is not a weird fork or science project. It stays aligned with regular RHEL, meaning enterprises can adopt it early and still land safely back on the main platform later. Tie that into OpenShift, Confidential Computing, and rack scale systems packed with accelerators, and you can see the play. Red Hat wants to be the default OS underneath enterprise AI factories, quietly doing its job while everyone else argues about models and agents.
180515483
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
day January 04, 2026 @09:54PM
BrianFagioli writes: Hyundai Motor Group is telling employees and the industry that AI, not engines or even batteries, will define the next era of cars. In a wide ranging internal address outlining its 2026 vision, executive chair Euisun Chung framed AI as something deeper than a feature set or software layer, arguing it must become part of the companyâ(TM)s organizational DNA. Hyundai is betting that its scale, manufacturing data, robotics work, and software defined vehicle efforts will give it an edge as the industry shifts toward what it calls physical AI, systems that learn from real world interaction rather than simulations alone.
Whatâ(TM)s notable is what Hyundai did not announce. There were no new vehicles, no timelines drivers can mark on a calendar, and no promises that infotainment systems or voice controls will suddenly stop being annoying. Instead, the company focused on internal change, faster decision making, ecosystem coordination, and long term bets on robotics, factories, and AI trained on real world usage. It is a sober acknowledgment that meaningful AI in cars is harder than press releases make it sound, and that drivers may not feel the payoff for a while, even if the race to get there is already underway.
180512927
submission
Submitted
by
BrianFagioli
day January 04, 2026 @11:26AM
BrianFagioli writes: The Retro X5 from Acemagic is a modern mini PC wrapped in nostalgia, but its inspiration is anything but subtle. The box closely mirrors the original Nintendo Entertainment System in shape, color, ribbed detailing, and even power button placement. While it avoids Nintendo logos and branding, the resemblance is immediately obvious, raising questions about whether nostalgia has crossed into imitation. Given Nintendoâ(TM)s long history of aggressively defending its intellectual property, Acemagicâ(TM)s NES-like design choice could attract unwanted legal attention.
Under the hood, however, this is no toy. The Retro X5 runs on AMDâ(TM)s AI 9 HX 370 processor with 12 cores, 24 threads, Radeon 890M graphics, and an integrated XDNA 2 NPU rated at up to 50 TOPS. Acemagic pairs the hardware with RetroPlay Box software designed to strip away emulator setup friction and make classic gaming feel plug-and-play. Whether the system ends up remembered for its technical ambition or for provoking a potential design dispute may depend on how much Nintendo is willing to tolerate a look that feels uncomfortably familiar.
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