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"Maybe you've heard that artificial intelligence is a bubble poised to burst," writes a Washington Post technology columnist. "Maybe you have heard that it isn't. (No one really knows either way, but that won't stop the bros from jabbering about it constantly.)" "But I can confidently tell you that the money being thrown around for AI is so huge that numbers have lost all meaning." The companies pouring money in are so rich and so power-hungry (in multiple meanings of that term) that our puny human brains cannot really comprehend. So let's try to give some meaning and context to the stratospheric numbers in AI. Is it a bubble? Eh, who knows. But it is completely bonkers. In just the past year, the four richest companies developing AI — Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta — have spent roughly $360 billion combined for big-ticket projects, which included building AI data centers and stuffing them with computer chips and equipment, according to my analysis of financial disclosures.... How do companies pay for the enormous sums they are lavishing on AI? Mostly, these companies make so much money that they can afford to go bananas... Eight of the world's top 10 most valuable companies are AI-centric or AI-ish American corporate giants — Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Broadcom, Meta and Tesla. That's according to tallies from S&P Global Market Intelligence based on the total price of the companies' stock held by investors. My analysis of the S&P data shows that the collective worth of those eight giants, $23 trillion, is more than the value of the next 96 most valuable U.S. companies put together, which includes many still very rich names such as JPMorgan, Walmart, Visa and ExxonMobil. No. 1 on that list, the AI computer chip seller Nvidia, last week become the first company in history to reach a stock market value of $5 trillion. That alone was more than the value of entire stock markets in most countries, Bloomberg News reported, other than the five biggest (in the U.S., China, Japan, Hong Kong and India)... All the announced or under-construction data centers for powering AI would consume roughly as much electricity as 44 million households in the United States if they run full tilt, according to a recent analysis by the Barclays investment bank as reported by the Financial Times. For context, that's nearly one-third of the total number of residential housing units in the entire country, according to U.S. Census Bureau housing estimates for 2024.

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Ryzen AI Software 1.6.1 Advertises Linux Support  Phoronix

This PS5-based AMD BC250 board was turned into a $120 Linux gaming PC that runs GTA V at 65 FPS  Notebookcheck

This PS5-based AMD BC250 board was turned into a $120 Linux gaming PC that runs GTA V at 65 FPS  Notebookcheck

This PS5-based AMD BC250 board was turned into a $120 Linux gaming PC that runs GTA V at 65 FPS  Notebookcheck

This PS5-based AMD BC250 board was turned into a $120 Linux gaming PC that runs GTA V at 65 FPS  Notebookcheck

This PS5-based AMD BC250 board was turned into a $120 Linux gaming PC that runs GTA V at 65 FPS  Notebookcheck

New DirectX7 emulation tool brings more games to Steam Deck, SteamOS, and other Linux distros through Vulkan, with caveats  Tom's Hardware

New DirectX7 emulation tool brings more games to Steam Deck, SteamOS, and other Linux distros through Vulkan, with caveats  Tom's Hardware

New DirectX7 emulation tool brings more games to Steam Deck, SteamOS, and other Linux distros through Vulkan, with caveats  Tom's Hardware

New DirectX7 emulation tool brings more games to Steam Deck, SteamOS, and other Linux distros through Vulkan, with caveats  Tom's Hardware

New DirectX7 emulation tool brings more games to Steam Deck, SteamOS, and other Linux distros through Vulkan, with caveats  Tom's Hardware

New DirectX7 emulation tool brings more games to Steam Deck, SteamOS, and other Linux distros through Vulkan, with caveats  Tom's Hardware

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Facebook Dating, which debuted in 2019, has become a surprise hit for the company. It lets people create a dating profile free in the app, where they can swipe and match with other eligible singles. It has more than 21 million daily users, quietly making it one of the most popular online dating services. Hinge, a leading dating app in the United States, has around 15 million users. "Underlying it all is that there are real people on Facebook," Tom Alison, the head of Facebook, said in an interview. "You can see who they are, you can see how you're connected to them, and if you have mutual friends, we make it easy to see where you have mutual interests." Facebook Dating's popularity is a sign of how Facebook has been reinventing itself. One of the early social networks, its main social feed has become less popular over time than younger apps like Instagram and TikTok. But along with Facebook Marketplace, where people look for deals on things like couches and used cars, Facebook Dating shows how an older social network can remain relevant. "When you look at Gen Z usage on Facebook, they aren't using the social media feed," said Mike Proulx, a research director at Forrester VP, a research firm. "What's bringing them back to the platform is Marketplace, Messenger, Dating."

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Linux Kernel Patches & Device Tree Additions For PCIe M.2 Connectors  Phoronix

Tuxedo InfinityBook Max 15 Linux laptop offers desktop-grade power  BetaNews

Unesco has adopted the first global ethical standards for neurotechnology, defining "neural data" and outlining more than 100 recommendations aimed at safeguarding mental privacy. "There is no control," said Unesco's chief of bioethics, Dafna Feinholz. "We have to inform the people about the risks, the potential benefits, the alternatives, so that people have the possibility to say 'I accept, or I don't accept.'" The Guardian reports: She said the new standards were driven by two recent developments in neurotechnology: artificial intelligence (AI), which offers vast possibilities in decoding brain data, and the proliferation of consumer-grade neurotech devices such as earbuds that claim to read brain activity and glasses that track eye movements. The standards define a new category of data, "neural data," and suggest guidelines governing its protection. A list of more than 100 recommendations ranges from rights-based concerns to addressing scenarios that are -- at least for now -- science fiction, such as companies using neurotechnology to subliminally market to people during their dreams. "Neurotechnology has the potential to define the next frontier of human progress, but it is not without risks," said Unesco's director general, Audrey Azoulay. The new standards would "enshrine the inviolability of the human mind," she said.

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Linux App Release Roundup (October 2025)  OMG! Ubuntu

Linux Mint's upcoming changes include a redesigned Cinnamon Start Menu, a System Information tool  gHacks Technology News

Linux Mint's upcoming changes include a redesigned Cinnamon Start Menu, a System Information tool  gHacks Technology News