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Another year wraps up, and with it comes the annual ritual of taking stock. What were the movies, TV shows and books from this year that stood out to you? Not necessarily the ones that dominated conversation or topped charts, but the ones you found yourself recommending to friends, or returning to for a second watch or read. Share your picks and, if you're inclined, a line or two on what made them stick.

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Colossal Biosciences, the Texas-based startup now valued at more than $10 billion that has attracted investments from Paris Hilton, Peter Jackson and Tom Brady, claimed earlier this year to have resurrected the dire wolf -- an animal that disappeared at the end of the last ice age -- but a group of leading canid experts concluded the company had done no such thing. The scientists found that Colossal had made 20 edits to the DNA of grey wolves and the resulting animals did not substantially differ from wolves currently roaming North America. Beth Shapiro, Colossal's own chief scientist, acknowledged to New Scientist: "It's not possible to bring something back that is identical to a species that used to be alive. Our animals are grey wolves with 20 edits that are cloned." Nic Rawlence, director of the palaeogenetics laboratory at the University of Otago in New Zealand, added: "Rather than true de-extinction, Colossal's attempts are genetically engineered poor copies at best, passed off as the real deal." The company has nevertheless pressed forward. It has launched projects to revive the Tasmanian tiger, the dodo, and the moa and plans to unveil its interpretation of the woolly mammoth -- a genetically modified Asian elephant adapted to survive at -40C -- in the coming years. The Trump administration cited the dire wolf announcement while making efforts to cut the US endangered species list, calling de-extinction technology a potential "bedrock for modern species conservation."

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Intel Meteor Lake On Linux Two Years Post-Launch: 93% The Original Performance  Phoronix

Starting in July 2026, every public school district in California will be required to have policies on the books that restrict or prohibit students from using smartphones during the school day, thanks to Assembly Bill 3216 that Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law back in 2024. The legislation also mandates that districts update these policies every five years. Newsom had previously signed related legislation in 2019, though that earlier law merely affirmed that school districts have the authority to regulate smartphone use rather than requiring them to do so.

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Finnish authorities on Wednesday seized a vessel suspected of severing an undersea telecommunications cable that connects Helsinki to Tallinn by dragging its anchor across the Gulf of Finland, the latest in a string of infrastructure incidents that have put Baltic Sea nations on edge since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Police are investigating the case as aggravated criminal damage and have not disclosed the ship's name, nationality or details about its crew. The cable belongs to Finnish telecoms group Elisa. Estonia's justice ministry reported that a second telecoms cable connecting the two countries -- owned by Sweden's Arelion -- also went down on Wednesday. This follows Finland's December 2024 boarding of the Russian-linked oil tanker Eagle S, which investigators said damaged a power cable and multiple telecoms links using the same anchor-dragging method. A Finnish court in October dismissed criminal charges against the Eagle S crew after prosecutors failed to prove intent.

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Puppy Linux vs. Linux Lite: Which distro is right for your old Windows 10 PC?  ZDNET

China's Commerce Ministry on Wednesday demanded that the Netherlands "immediately correct its mistakes" over chipmaker Nexperia, escalating a standoff that has disrupted global semiconductor supply chains and triggered warnings from automakers about component shortages. The Dutch government in September invoked a Cold War-era law to effectively seize control of the Chinese-owned chipmaker, reportedly after the United States raised security concerns. China responded by blocking Nexperia products from leaving the country. Nexperia manufactures billions of foundation chips -- transistors, diodes and power management components -- that are produced in Europe, assembled and tested in China, and then re-exported to customers worldwide. These low-tech, inexpensive chips are essential in almost every device that uses electricity, from car braking systems and airbag controllers to electric windows and entertainment systems. The Commerce Ministry spokesperson said the Netherlands "remains indifferent and stubbornly insists on its own way, showing absolutely no responsible attitude towards the security of the global semiconductor supply chain." Dutch Economy Minister Vincent Karremans has repeatedly defended the intervention. Auto industry groups have warned that disruptions have not been fundamentally resolved. Japan's Nissan and German supplier Bosch have flagged looming shortages, and the German Association of the Automotive Industry warned of elevated supply risks "particularly for the first quarter" of 2026.

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What exactly is Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu?  How-To Geek

The U.S. has surpassed 2,000 measles cases for the first time in more than 30 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From a report: As of Dec. 23, a total of 2,012 cases have been reported in the U.S. Of those cases, 24 were reported among international visitors to the U.S.

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Arch Linux Installer Adds CUPS, rEFInd Boot, IWD, COSMIC & Power Management Options  Phoronix

This fully atomic Linux distro is a challenge to install but a treat to use  ZDNET

Longtime Slashdot reader ptorrone writes: The January 1, 2026, NYC mayoral inauguration prohibits attendees from bringing specific brand-name devices, explicitly banning Raspberry Pi single-board computers and the Flipper Zero, listed alongside weapons, explosives, and drones. Rather than restricting behaviors or capabilities like signal interference or unauthorized transmitters, the policy names two widely used educational and testing tools while allowing smartphones and laptops that are far more capable. Critics argue this device-specific ban creates confusion, encourages selective enforcement, and reflects security theater rather than a clear, capability-based public safety framework. New York has handled large-scale events more pragmatically before.

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Arch Linux Installer Archinstall 3.0.15 Adds Support for the rEFInd Boot Manager  9to5Linux

Linux 6.19 Closing Out 2025 With Several Laptop Additions  Phoronix

It’s Time To Make A Major Change To D-Bus On Linux  Hackaday

Linux's contemporary filesystem mount API went without documentation for six years — latest man-page package finally adds content for 2019 code  Tom's Hardware

Linux's contemporary filesystem mount API went without documentation for six years — latest man-page package finally adds content for 2019 code  Tom's Hardware

Linux's contemporary filesystem mount API went without documentation for six years — latest man-page package finally adds content for 2019 code  Tom's Hardware

Linux's contemporary filesystem mount API went without documentation for six years — latest man-page package finally adds content for 2019 code  Tom's Hardware

It’s Time To Make A Major Change To D-Bus On Linux  Hackaday