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Linux Prepares To Support Microsoft's "Turn On Display" DSM To Address Laptop Issues  Phoronix

Microsoft is reevaluating its AI strategy on Windows 11 and plans to scale back or remove Copilot integrations across built-in apps after months of sustained user backlash, according to a Windows Central report citing people familiar with the company's plans. Copilot features in apps like Notepad and Paint are under review and could be pulled entirely or stripped of their Copilot branding in favor of a more streamlined experience. The company has paused work on adding new Copilot buttons to any other in-box apps. Windows Recall, the screenshot-based search feature delayed by an entire year in 2024 over security and privacy concerns, is separately under review -- Microsoft internally considers the current implementation a failure and is exploring ways to rework or rename the feature rather than scrap it entirely, the report said.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I installed these 6 lightweight Linux tools on a cheap mini PC and turned it into a silent home server  MakeUseOf

Loongson 3B6000 Benchmarks: How China's LoongArch CPU Compares To AMD Zen 5, Intel Arrow Lake & Raspberry Pi 5 Review  Phoronix

Updated for 2026. As the brokerage 1099 forms for the 2025 Tax Year are coming out, here is a quick reminder for those subject to state and/or local income taxes. If you earned interest from a money market fund, a significant portion of this interest may have come from “US Government Obligations” like Treasury bills and bonds, which are generally exempt from state and local income taxes. However, in order to claim this exemption, you’ll likely have to manually enter it on your tax return after digging up a few extra details.

(Note: California, Connecticut, and New York exempt dividend income only when the mutual fund has met certain minimum investments in U.S. government securities. They require that 50% of a mutual fund’s assets at each quarter-end within the tax year consist of U.S. government obligations.)

Fidelity has released 2025 Percentage of Income from U.S. Government Securities [pdf]. Here are the results for the most popular core Fidelity money market funds:

• Fidelity® Treasury Only Money Market Fund (FDLXX, CUSIP 31617H300) – 98.67%.
• Fidelity® Government Money Market Fund (SPAXX, CUSIP 31617H102) – 50.90%. *Did not meet the minimum investment in U.S. Government securities required to exempt the distribution from tax in California, Connecticut, and New York.
• Fidelity® Government Cash Reserves (FDRXX, CUSIP 316067107) – 52.17%. *Did not meet the minimum investment in U.S. Government securities required to exempt the distribution from tax in California, Connecticut, and New York.
• Fidelity® Treasury Money Market Fund* (FZFXX, CUSIP 316341304) – 61.52%. *Did not meet the minimum investment in U.S. Government securities required to exempt the distribution from tax in California, Connecticut, and New York.

It is disappointing that SPAXX as a default cash sweep did not meet the requirements to exempt any of their interest from state income tax in California, Connecticut, and New York. They must have missed the 50% minimum cut-off in one of the four quarters of 2025.

This is why I mostly own FDLXX as my “pseudo-core” money market fund via automated recurring purchases. For more information on this “hack”, see my post Fidelity Treasury Only Money Market (FDLXX) as Fidelity Core Position Workaround.

To find the portion of Fidelity dividends that may be exempt from your state income tax, multiply the amount of “ordinary dividends” reported in Box 1a of your Form 1099-DIV by the percentage listed in the PDF. For example, if you earned $1,000 in total interest from Fidelity Treasury Only Money Market Fund (FDLXX) in 2025, then $986.70 could possibly be exempt from state and local income taxes. If your marginal state income tax rate was 10% that would be a ~$99 tax savings for every $1,000 in total interest earned.

On a net after-tax basis, folks with a ~10% state income tax rate will likely find that FDLXX earns more interest than the default core holdings of SPAXX/FZFXX, even though the gross yield of SPAXX/FZFXX is higher than that of FDLXX.

To obtain these tax savings, you’ll have to manually adjust your state/local income tax return. I don’t believe that TurboTax, H&R Block, and other tax software will do this automatically for you, as they won’t have the required information on their own. (I’m also not sure if they ask about it in their interview process.) If you use an accountant, you should also double-check to make sure they use this information. Here is some information on how to enter this into a previous version of TurboTax:

• When you are entering the 1099-DIV Box 1a, 1b, and 2a – click the “My form has info in other boxes (this is uncommon)” checkbox.
• Next, click on the option “A portion of these dividends is U.S. Government interest.”
• On the next screen enter the Government interest amount. This will be subtracted from your state return.

Standard disclosure: Check with your state or local tax office or with your tax advisor to determine whether your state allows you to exclude some or all of the income you earn from mutual funds that invest in U.S. government obligations.

[Image credit – Tax Foundation]

Galaxy S26 Ultra Could Bring Linux Terminal Support  SammyGuru

Ancient Linux distros you don't remember anymore  MakeUseOf

Apple's long-standing dominance over its electronics supply chain is eroding as AI companies outbid the iPhone maker for critical components like chips, memory and specialized glass fiber, giving suppliers the leverage to demand that Apple pay more. CEO Tim Cook acknowledged the pressure during a Thursday earnings call, noting constraints in chip supplies and significant increases in memory prices. Nvidia has overtaken Apple as TSMC's largest customer, CEO Jensen Huang said on a podcast; Apple had held that position by a wide margin for years. DRAM prices are set to quadruple from 2023 levels by year-end and NAND prices will more than triple, according to TechInsights. The firm estimates Apple could pay $57 more for memory in the base iPhone 18 due this fall compared to the base iPhone 17 currently on sale -- a significant hit on a device that retails for $799.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Linux From Scratch 12.3: The Minimalist Operating System That Refuses to Compromise  WebProNews

Moltbook, a Reddit-like social network that launched last week and bills itself as a platform "built exclusively for AI agents," had a security vulnerability that exposed private messages shared between agents, the email addresses of more than 6,000 human owners, and over a million credentials, according to research published Monday by cybersecurity firm Wiz. The flaw has since been fixed after Wiz contacted Moltbook. Wiz cofounder Ami Luttwak called it a classic byproduct of "vibe coding." Moltbook creator Matt Schlicht posted on X last Friday that he "didn't write one line of code" for the site. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment when reached out by Reuters. Luttwak said the vulnerability also allowed anyone to post to the site, bot or human. "There was no verification of identity," he said.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Scientists are working to sequence the genome of every known species on Earth.Scientists are working to sequence the genome of every known species on Earth.

We’re expanding Game Arena with Poker and Werewolf, while Gemini 3 Pro and Flash top our chess leaderboard.We’re expanding Game Arena with Poker and Werewolf, while Gemini 3 Pro and Flash top our chess leaderboard.

Luthair writes: Notepad++ claims to have been targeted by a state actor, given their previous stance on Uyghurs one can speculate about a candidate. Notepad++, in a blog post: According to the analysis provided by the security experts, the attack involved infrastructure-level compromise that allowed malicious actors to intercept and redirect update traffic destined for notepad-plus-plus.org. The exact technical mechanism remains under investigation, though the compromise occurred at the hosting provider level rather than through vulnerabilities in Notepad++ code itself. Traffic from certain targeted users was selectively redirected to attacker-controlled served malicious update manifests.

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Linux From Scratch Drops System V Init, Calls Decision Regrettable  Linuxiac

CachyOS says the Open Gaming Collective is an unnecessary 'collective with strings attached'  PC Gamer

The U.S. laid fiber-optic cables to a record number of homes last year as billions of dollars in federal broadband grants and a surge in data-center construction fueled an enormous buildout, but the industry does not have enough workers to sustain the pace. A 2024 report by the Fiber Broadband Association and the Power & Communication Contractors Association projects 58,000 new fiber jobs between 2025 and 2032 and estimates 120,000 workers will leave the field in that period, mostly through retirement -- a combined shortage of 178,000. The gap is especially acute among splicers, who fuse hair-thin filaments by hand, and directional drill operators. Telecommunications line installers and repairers earned annual median wages of $70,500 for the year ended May 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, against a $49,500 national median. Push, a utility-construction firm, raised hourly pay for fiber crews by 5% to 8% in each of the past several years and expects the pace to quicken.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

How immutable Linux can stop you from breaking your system  How-To Geek

Learn how to use simple Gemini prompts to create a 2026 budget, find hidden savings and organize your spending.Learn how to use simple Gemini prompts to create a 2026 budget, find hidden savings and organize your spending.

Linux Mint isn't the answer for Windows refugees anymore  XDA

GOG are giving away Alone in the Dark: The Trilogy to celebrate their Preservation Program  GamingOnLinux