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4MLinux 48.0 Is Now Available for Download, Powered by Linux Kernel 6.12 LTS - 9to5Linux
Categories: Linux
Monero Likely Pumped 50% Due To Suspected $330 Million Bitcoin Theft
Onchain investigator ZachXBT flagged a suspicious $330.7 million Bitcoin transfer that was quickly laundered into Monero, causing XMR's price to spike by 50%. CoinTelegraph reports: The transaction, reported on April 28, saw funds moved from a potential victim's wallet to the address bc1qcry...vz55g. Following the transfer, the stolen stash was quickly laundered through over six instant exchanges and swapped into privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero. The large-scale conversion led to a 50% spike in XMR's price with the token reaching an intraday high of $339, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
At the time of writing, XMR has settled slightly but remains up 25% in the past 24 hours, trading at $289. When asked whether North Korea's Lazarus Group was behind the attack, ZachXBT dismissed the theory, stating it was "highly probable it's not," suggesting independent hackers were responsible. "While there are concerns of more criminals moving to privacy coins for anonymity, the vast majority of criminal activity still uses mainstream cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and stablecoins," Chainalysis said. "Cryptocurrency is only useful if you can buy and sell goods and services or cash out into fiat, and that is much more difficult with privacy coins, especially as many mainstream exchanges have offboarded the use of privacy coins, such as Monero."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Neurotech Companies Are Selling Brain Data, Senators Warn
Three Democratic senators are sounding the alarm over brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies' ability to collect -- and potentially sell -- our neural data. From a report: In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maria Cantwell (D-IN), and Ed Markey (D-MA) called for an investigation into neurotechnology companies' handling of user data, and for tighter regulations on their data-sharing policies. "Unlike other personal data, neural data -- captured directly from the human brain -- can reveal mental health conditions, emotional states, and cognitive patterns, even when anonymized," the letter reads. "This information is not only deeply personal; it is also strategically sensitive."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Turntable is a Universal Scrobbler App for Linux - OMG! Ubuntu
Turntable is a Universal Scrobbler App for Linux OMG! Ubuntu
Categories: Linux
Turntable is a Universal Scrobbler App for Linux - OMG! Ubuntu
Turntable is a Universal Scrobbler App for Linux OMG! Ubuntu
Categories: Linux
23andMe Requiring Potential Bidders To Affirm They Will Uphold Data Privacy
The sale of bankrupt DNA data bank 23andMe is delayed as the company struggles to secure a lead bidder who can meet regulatory and privacy requirements, pushing the initial auction deadline from Friday to Monday. Seeking Alpha reports: 23andMe Holdings (OTC:MEHCQ), currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, is requiring that any potential bidders for the company's assets "guaranty that they will comply with the Company's privacy policies and applicable law." The genetics company said this is necessary to protect customers' data.
In addition, bidders will need to submit documentation of their intended use of any data, describe the privacy programs and security controls they have in place or would implement, and say whether they would ask for current privacy policies to be amended. 23andMe has also filed a motion asking for the appointment of an independent customer Data representative to review whether a proposed deal is in alignment with the company's privacy policies and data privacy laws.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Kickstarter Introduces 'Tariff Manager Tool' To Add Charges To Already Fully Funded Projects
An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: Here's an easy to understand example of how Donald Trump's tariffs on imported products have completely screwed small U.S. businesses and entrepreneurs: the crowdfunding site Kickstarter is introducing a "Tariff Manager tool" that will allow creators to add extra charges to projects that were already fully funded in order to deal with the higher and unexpected costs of the president's global trade war. "Over the past few weeks, we've been hard at work developing tariff-relevant resources to support our community. From guidance to help creators navigate rapidly changing policies, to tips on shipping logistics, and even information to help backers better understand the challenges creators are facing. Our focus has been supporting you through uncertain times, but we also know that information alone isn't always enough," Kickstarter said in a blog post published last week announcing the Tariff Manager tool. "Built specifically to address the financial challenges posed by U.S. import tariffs, Kickstarter's Tariff Manager is designed to give creators more control, flexibility, and transparency at one of the most critical phases of your journey: fulfillment."
Kickstarter's Tariff Manager will allow some creators to apply per-item surcharges which will appear as a separate line item on the payment page for people who backed their project. "We understand that asking backers to pay an additional fee -- especially after a campaign has ended -- can be sensitive," Kickstarter said. "If a backer chooses not to pay the tariff cost during the pledge manager process, they'll need to reach out to you directly." Backers can pay the additional fee to get the item they had already backed in order to still get it when it's ready. If they decline, the creator can issue them a refund, or find "another resolution," the blog post says. "While this tool helps offset rising costs, we recognize that every project and backer relationship is unique," Kickstarter said. "Our goal is to provide you with the flexibility and transparency necessary to navigate those conversations with clarity and care." "Creators continue to launch, adapt, and find success on Kickstarter, even as the external landscape shifts," a Kickstarter spokesperson told 404 Media. "We know creators are navigating a lot right now, and we're focused on giving them the tools and support to adjust as needed. Our role at Kickstarter is to help creators bring their projects to life, and that includes supporting them through moments of uncertainty. That's why we're doubling down on tools that help creators stay flexible and responsive: from our Tariff Manager within our integrated pledge manager -- which we're rolling out to all of our creators soon -- to offering 24-hour support and expanding educational resources."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
China's Huawei Develops New AI Chip, Seeking To Match Nvidia
Huawei is gearing up to test its newest and most powerful AI processor, which the company hopes could replace some higher-end products of U.S. chip giant Nvidia. From a WSJ report: Huawei has approached some Chinese tech companies about testing the technical feasibility of the new chip, called the Ascend 910D, people familiar with the matter said. The company is slated to receive the first batch of samples of the processor as soon as late May, some of the people said.
The development is still at an early stage, and a series of tests will be needed to assess the chip's performance and get it ready for customers, the people said. Huawei hopes that the latest iteration of its Ascend AI processors will be more powerful than Nvidia's H100, a popular chip used for AI training that was released in 2022, said one of the people. Previous versions are called 910B and 910C.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Unauthorized AI Bot Experiment Infiltrated Reddit To Test Persuasion Capabilities
Researchers claiming affiliation with the University of Zurich secretly deployed AI-powered bots in a popular Reddit forum to test whether AI could change users' minds on contentious topics. The unauthorized experiment, which targeted the r/changemyview subreddit, involved bots making over 1,700 comments across several months while adopting fabricated identities including a sexual assault survivor, a Black man opposing Black Lives Matter, and a domestic violence shelter worker.
The researchers "personalized" comments by analyzing users' posting histories to infer demographic information. The researchers, who remain anonymous despite inquiries, claimed their bots were "consistently well-received," garnering over 20,000 upvotes and 137 "deltas" -- awards indicating successful opinion changes. Hundreds of bot comments were deleted following the disclosure.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Kali Linux warns of update failures after losing repo signing key - BleepingComputer
Kali Linux warns of update failures after losing repo signing key BleepingComputer
Categories: Linux
Kali Linux warns of update failures after losing repo signing key - BleepingComputer
Kali Linux warns of update failures after losing repo signing key BleepingComputer
Categories: Linux
Dyson Founder Says He Has Lived a 'Life of Failure'
Inventor James Dyson described his career as "a life of failure" in a recent Wall Street Journal interview, citing setbacks as drivers of innovation. The 77-year-old creator of the bagless vacuum cleaner, who built a $16.8 billion fortune according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index, created 5,127 prototypes over five years before successfully launching his signature product in 1993. "If something works, it's less challenging, it's less interesting," Dyson said. "If something's gone wrong, you want to know why it's gone wrong, and it's a learning process."
Dyson's company abandoned its electric vehicle project in 2019 despite investing over $600 million, concluding it wasn't commercially viable. The prototype now sits prominently at the company's Singapore headquarters. "I had to be pragmatic about it and say it's too risky for us to do, which is a shame because I loved doing it," Dyson said.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
IBM Pledges $150 Billion US Investment
IBM announced plans to invest $150 billion in the United States over the next five years, with more than $30 billion earmarked specifically for research and development of mainframes and quantum computing technology. The investment follows similar commitments from tech giants including Apple and Nvidia -- each pledging approximately $500 billion -- in the wake of President Trump's election and tariff threats.
"We have been focused on American jobs and manufacturing since our founding 114 years ago," said IBM CEO Arvind Krishna in a statement. The company currently manufactures its mainframe systems in upstate New York and plans to continue designing and assembling quantum computers domestically. The announcement comes amid challenging circumstances for IBM, which recently saw 15 government contracts shelved under the Trump administration's cost-cutting initiatives.
Further reading: IBM US Cuts May Run Deeper Than Feared - and the Jobs Are Heading To India;
IBM Now Has More Employees In India Than In the US (2017).
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
'Don't Make Google Sell Chrome'
Ruby on Rails creator and Basecamp CTO David Heinemeier Hansson, makes a case for why Google shouldn't be forced to sell Chrome: First, Chrome won the browser war fair and square by building a better surfboard for the internet. This wasn't some opportune acquisition. This was the result of grand investments, great technical prowess, and markets doing what they're supposed to do: rewarding the best. Besides, we have a million alternatives. Firefox still exists, so does Safari, so does the billion Chromium-based browsers like Brave and Edge. And we finally even have new engines on the way with the Ladybird browser.
Look, Google's trillion-dollar business depends on a thriving web that can be searched by Google.com, that can be plastered in AdSense, and that now can feed the wisdom of AI. Thus, Google's incredible work to further the web isn't an act of charity, it's of economic self-interest, and that's why it works. Capitalism doesn't run on benevolence, but incentives.
We want an 800-pound gorilla in the web's corner! Because Apple would love nothing better (despite the admirable work to keep up with Chrome by Team Safari) to see the web's capacity as an application platform diminished. As would every other owner of a proprietary application platform. Microsoft fought the web tooth and nail back in the 90s because they knew that a free, open application platform would undermine lock-in -- and it did!
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
