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After 34 years the Linux kernel finalizes a backup plan for leadership  TechRadar

After 34 years the Linux kernel finalizes a backup plan for leadership  TechRadar

Resources 1.10 can now monitor AMD NPU usage on Linux  OMG! Ubuntu

Resources 1.10 can now monitor AMD NPU usage on Linux  OMG! Ubuntu

This is the one Linux distro I recommend to every Windows 11 user  MakeUseOf

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan "have created the world's smallest fully programmable, autonomous robots," according to a recent announcement. The announcement calls them "microscopic swimming machines that can independently sense and respond to their surroundings, operate for months and cost just a penny each." Barely visible to the naked eye, each robot measures about 200 by 300 by 50 micrometers, smaller than a grain of salt. Operating at the scale of many biological microorganisms, the robots could advance medicine by monitoring the health of individual cells and manufacturing by helping construct microscale devices. Powered by light, the robots carry microscopic computers and can be programmed to move in complex patterns, sense local temperatures and adjust their paths accordingly... "We've made autonomous robots 10,000 times smaller," says Marc Miskin, Assistant Professor in Electrical and Systems Engineering at Penn Engineering and the papers' senior author. "That opens up an entirely new scale for programmable robots." The announcement describes them as "the first truly autonomous, programmable robots at this scale" (as described in two recent academic articles). The team had to design a new propulsion system that utilized the unique locomotion physics in the microscopic realm, according to the university's announcement. So the robots "generate an electrical field that nudges ions in the surrounding solution." Those ions, in turn, push on nearby water molecules, animating the water around the robot's body. "It's as if the robot is in a moving river," says Miskin, "but the robot is also causing the river to move." The robots can adjust the electrical field that causes the effect, allowing them to move in complex patterns and even travel in coordinated groups, much like a school of fish, at speeds of up to one body length per second... To be truly autonomous, a robot needs a computer to make decisions, electronics to sense its surroundings and control its propulsion, and tiny solar panels to power everything, and all that needs to fit on a chip that is a fraction of a millimeter in size. This is where David Blaauw's team at the University of Michigan came into action... The robots are programmed by pulses of light that also power them. Each robot has a unique address that allows the researchers to load different programs on each robot. "This opens up a host of possibilities," adds Blaauw, "with each robot potentially performing a different role in a larger, joint task." Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader fahrbot-bot for sharing the news.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

"A box full of viruses and bacteria has completed its return trip to the International Space Station," reports ScienceAlert, "and the changes these 'bugs' experienced in their travels could help us Earthlings tackle drug-resistant infections..." Scientists aboard the space station incubated different combinations of bacteria and phages for 25 days, while the research team led by biochemist Vatsan Raman carried out the same experiments in Madison, down here on Earth. "Space fundamentally changes how phages and bacteria interact: infection is slowed, and both organisms evolve along a different trajectory than they do on Earth," the researchers explain. In the weightlessness of space, bacteria acquired mutations in genes involved in the microbe's stress response and nutrient management. Their surface proteins also changed. After a slow start, the phages mutated in response, so they could continue binding to their victims. The team found that certain space-specific phage mutations were especially effective at killing Earth-bound bacteria responsible for urinary tract infections (UTIs). More than 90 percent of the bacteria responsible for UTIs are antibiotic-resistant, making phage treatments a promising alternative.

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Liya Linux proves high performance doesn’t require a command line  The New Stack

Stop treating your daily driver Linux PC like a science experiment  How-To Geek

Linux has a price, it's just not money  How-To Geek

This year in America, renewables and battery storage "will account for 99.2% of net new capacity — and even higher if small-scale solar were included," reports Electrek, citing EIA data reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign: EIA's latest monthly "Electric Power Monthly" report (with data through November 30, 2025), once again confirms that solar is the fastest-growing among the major sources of US electricity... [U]tility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 34.5% while that from small-scale systems rose by 11.3% during the first 11 months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by 28.1% and produced a bit under 9.0% (utility-scale: 6.74%; small-scale: 2.13%) of total US electrical generation for January to November, up from 7.1% a year earlier. Wind turbines across the US produced 10.1% of US electricity in the first 11 months of 2025 — an increase of 1.2% compared to the same period in 2024. In November alone, wind-generated electricity was 2.0% greater than a year earlier... The mix of all renewables (wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal) produced 8.7% more electricity in January-November than a year earlier and accounted for 25.7% of total US electricity production, up from 24.3% 12 months earlier. Renewables' share of electrical generation is now second to only that of natural gas, whose electrical output actually dropped by 3.7% during the first 11 months of 2025... Since January 1 to November 30, roughly the beginning of the Trump administration, renewable energy capacity, including battery storage, small-scale solar, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass, ballooned by 45,198.1 MW, while all fossil fuels and nuclear power combined declined by 519.2 MW... [In 2026] natural gas capacity will increase by only 3,960.7 MW, which will be almost completely offset by a decrease of 3,387.0 MW in coal capacity.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

This year in America, renewables and battery storage "will account for 99.2% of net new capacity — and even higher if small-scale solar were included," reports Electrek, citing EIA data reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign: EIA's latest monthly "Electric Power Monthly" report (with data through November 30, 2025), once again confirms that solar is the fastest-growing among the major sources of US electricity... [U]tility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 34.5% while that from small-scale systems rose by 11.3% during the first 11 months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by 28.1% and produced a bit under 9.0% (utility-scale: 6.74%; small-scale: 2.13%) of total US electrical generation for January to November, up from 7.1% a year earlier. Wind turbines across the US produced 10.1% of US electricity in the first 11 months of 2025 — an increase of 1.2% compared to the same period in 2024. In November alone, wind-generated electricity was 2.0% greater than a year earlier... The mix of all renewables (wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal) produced 8.7% more electricity in January-November than a year earlier and accounted for 25.7% of total US electricity production, up from 24.3% 12 months earlier. Renewables' share of electrical generation is now second to only that of natural gas, whose electrical output actually dropped by 3.7% during the first 11 months of 2025... Since January 1 to November 30, roughly the beginning of the Trump administration, renewable energy capacity, including battery storage, small-scale solar, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass, ballooned by 45,198.1 MW, while all fossil fuels and nuclear power combined declined by 519.2 MW... [In 2026] natural gas capacity will increase by only 3,960.7 MW, which will be almost completely offset by a decrease of 3,387.0 MW in coal capacity.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I’ve tested dozens of Linux distros, and these 3 are the only ones I’d put on a laptop  How-To Geek

Linux's b4 Kernel Development Tool Now Dog-Feeding Its AI Agent Code Review Helper  Phoronix

cTGP Graphics Power Setting Coming For Uniwill / TUXEDO Laptops With Linux 7.0  Phoronix

We’re celebrating Black History Month by highlighting the creators, developers and businesses at the heart of the Black community, and we’re launching new features and c…

Framework 13 To See Fan Target & Fan Temperature Thresholds Support With Linux 7.0  Phoronix

The BBC reports: China has executed 11 members of a notorious mafia family that ran scam centres in Myanmar along its north-eastern border, state media report. The Ming family members were sentenced in September for various crimes including homicide, illegal detention, fraud and operating gambling dens by a court in China's Zhejiang province. The Mings were one of many clans that ran the town of Laukkaing, transforming an impoverished backwater town into a flashy hub of casinos and red-light districts. Their scam empire came crashing down in 2023, when they were detained and handed over to China by ethnic militias that had taken control of Laukkaing during an escalation in their conflict with Myanmar's army. With these executions Beijing is sending a message of deterrence to would-be scammers. But the business has now moved to Myanmar's border with Thailand, and to Cambodia and Laos, where China has much less influence. Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to run online scams in Myanmar and elsewhere in South East Asia, according to estimates by the UN. Among them are thousands of Chinese people, and their victims who they swindle billions of dollars from are mainly Chinese too. Frustrated by the Myanmar military's refusal to stop the scam business, from which it was almost certainly profiting, Beijing tacitly backed an offensive by an ethnic insurgent alliance in Shan State in late 2023. The alliance captured significant territory from the military and overran Laukkaing, a key border town. Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader sinij for sharing the news.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Updated with new 5% deposit bonus. Crypto exchange OKX is currently offering a few different bonuses which may be stackable. Details below.

1. New customers: $200 referral bonus Should auto-populate the promo code 79795662. That’s mine, thanks if you use it! Details below.
2. New and existing customers: New 5% Deposit Match for all deposits of at least $1,000 (max $250 on $50k deposit). 24 week hold period to get full deposit match, paid out every 14 days. Details below. If you use your deposits to hold USDG, then you will stack on top of the 5% APY earned on USDG.
3. New and existing customers: 5% APY on USDG (stablecoin)
4. New and existing customers: Free crypto via X Drops Club. Must maintain a $1,000+ portfolio of crypto (cash, USDC, USDT and USDG stablecoin does not count). BTC, ETH do count. You must also “join” each airdrop before the window closes. More details here and here.

1. $200 New customer bonus details. For new OKX customers:

• Sign up via special referral link. I think they allow either smartphone or browser sign-up, but identity verification may be easier on a smartphone. That’s my referral link, which should auto-populate with the promo code 79795662. Thanks if you use it!
• Complete identity verification (driver’s license and smartphone selfie).
• $200 BTC Bonus if you deposit $200+ of either cash (link bank account via Plaid) or crypto within 30 days, trade that $200 or more of crypto (can purchase stablecoin like USDG), and hold the assets for at least 30 days within a 90-day period. After 90 days, the bonus will be tradable and withdrawable.
• Stablecoins such as USDG, USDT, and USDC qualify for deposit, trading volume, and AUM holding requirements.

2. New 5% Deposit Match

• OKX is running a 5% bonus match on new deposits (minimum $1,000 and maximum $50,000). You must hold for 24 weeks to get the full 5%, but it is paid out gradually every 14 days (2 weeks). You still keep liquidity and can withdraw your deposits at any time, but you lose the match.
• Must opt in *first* by February 17, 2026, and then make the deposit.
• Full terms.
• This works out to over 10% annualized, and if you hold USDG that also earns 5% APY at OKX.

3. OKX is also paying 5% APY on USDG deposits currently. USDG stablecoin is not FDIC-insured. They claim to be fully backed by US Treasury Bills with monthly audits and regulated by Singapore, but I still plan to withdraw my USDG out into a real FDIC-insured bank as soon as the holding period is over. This is a short-term play for me; I’m in for the bonus duration and then I’m out.

4. X Drops Club is a recurring rewards program with automatic daily drops that scale with a user’s eligible crypto balance. Must maintain $1,000+ in eligible crypto assets (excluding fiat, USDC, USDT, and USDG).

Please perform your own due diligence on crypto apps. They are not regulated on the same level as bank account or brokerage accounts. I usually don’t like to keep significant funds in there any longer than is required for the bonus to clear; in this case the reward/risk ratio is acceptable to me. Here is the OKX Wikipedia page and they are profiled in the Forbes article “The World’s Most Trustworthy Crypto Exchanges”. (Also see: Kraken and Gemini bonuses.)

Note: OKX does not allow customers to be individuals residing in New York, Texas, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the US Virgin Islands.

Five French unions representing Ubisoft workers "have called for a 'massive international strike'," reports the gaming news site Aftermath. The move follows a "series of layoffs and cancellations" at Ubisoft, the article points out, plus what the company calls a "major organizational, operational and portfolio reset" that will lead to more layoffs and cancellations announced last week. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot even sent an end-of-day message warning that management continues to "make difficult decisions, including stopping certain projects" and "potentially closing select studios," an earlier article points out: Slipped in between the grand vision and subtle threats was the reversal of a popular hybrid work-from-home policy that would have a direct impact on everyone working at Ubisoft. Staff would be back in the office five days a week, but with the promise of a generous number of work from home days. "The intention is not to question individual performance, but to regenerate our collective performance, which is one of the key elements in creating the best games with the required speed," Guillemot wrote. There was immediate confusion and frustration. One French union representing Paris Ubisoft developers called for a half-day strike. "It is out of the question to let a boss run wild and destroy our working conditions," Solidaires Informatique wrote in a press release. "Perhaps we need to remind him that it is his employees who make the games...." [The article notes later that "There's concern that these shifts could make it harder for Ubisoft to recruit the talent it needs to improve, or even worse, actively drive away more of the company's existing veterans."] Particularly galling about the new return-to-office policy for some Paris staff was that they had only recently finished negotiating to ensure two days of work-from-home per week. "It's only been six months since the situation was more or less 'back to normal' and now it's shattered to the ground by Yves' sole decision with zero justification, zero documents, zero internal studies proving RTO increases productivity or morale, nothing," one developer told me. The specific details for the rollout of the return-to-office policy have yet to be communicated to everyone, could vary team by team, and might not go into effect for much of the year. The "massive international strike" would take place from February 10-12, Aftermath notes, citing the five French unions representing Ubisoft workers (CFE-CGC, CGT, Printemps Ãcologique, Solidaires Informatique, and STJV): "The announced transformation [at Ubisoft] claims to place games at the heart of its strategy, but without us, these games cannot exist," the unions wrote in a joint release.... We are not fooled: rather than taking financial responsibility for layoffs, they prefer to push us out by making our working conditions unbearable. It's outrageous...." The Ubisoft unions hope that February's strike will be the largest yet, and they're coordinating with unions outside France to present a globally united front against the company. A union representative at Ubisoft Paris even argued to Aftermath that because the CEO "needs to find 200€ million for the coming year, any person who has to quit because of this is a net benefit for him."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.