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Linux Patches Fix eMMC Secure Erase Of 1GB Taking ~10 Minutes To Now Just 2 Seconds  Phoronix

Bye, Windows: Which Linux distribution should I use?  PCWorld

The SEC has granted the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., or DTCC, a no-action letter allowing it to custody and recognize tokenized stocks, ETFs, and Treasuries on approved blockchains for three years. "Although this program is a pilot subject to various operational limitations, it marks a significant incremental step in moving markets onchain," SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said in a statement. Bloomberg reports: With the permission, DTCC will also extend their record-keeping to the blockchain, Michael Winnike, global head of strategy and market solutions at DTCC Clearing & Securities Services, said in an interview. "It's the same legal entitlement, the same stock that you would hold in your account from the DTCC in traditional form," Winnike said. [...] The SEC's authorization of tokenization services only applies to a specific set of securities that trade often. The approval includes the Russell 1000 index which represents the 1,000 largest publicly traded US companies, as well as exchange-traded funds that track major indices and US Treasury bills, bonds and notes, Winnike said. "This allows us both to create value for the markets, while staying in a pre-defined pool of highly-liquid securities to start," said Winnike. The firm's ultimate aspiration is to add its entire depository, which represents $100 trillion in securities, to the blockchain, a move that would require further expansion of the no-action relief from the SEC, he said. Winnike said the tokenization service will help bridge the traditional and digital worlds in part because the new technology will have the same legal entitlements and controls as traditional markets, including freezing or forced transfers if assets are stolen. "This enables participants to adopt and integrate, because they know there is a trusted party that can recover their securities as needed" and can address potential errors, he said. The new blockchain service will also allow investors to move assets all the time, not just Monday through Friday when traditional markets are open. "That creates a lot of new utility," Winnike said. "It brings the two ecosystems together."

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CyberVolk Hackers Target Linux and Windows with New VolkLocker Payloads  Cyber Press

Cinnamon 6.6 Release Sets the Tone for the Next Linux Mint Release  It's FOSS

pearOS Is Back, Now Based on Arch Linux and Featuring the KDE Plasma Desktop  9to5Linux

pearOS Is Back, Now Based on Arch Linux and Featuring the KDE Plasma Desktop  9to5Linux

pearOS Is Back, Now Based on Arch Linux and Featuring the KDE Plasma Desktop  9to5Linux

pearOS Is Back, Now Based on Arch Linux and Featuring the KDE Plasma Desktop  9to5Linux

CyberVolk Hackers Target Linux and Windows Systems with New VolkLocker Payloads  gbhackers.com

Sometimes it seems like everyone just wants risk these days. Crypto. Sports gambling. Options trading, ETFs that magically yield 10% or more. However, if you’re in the opposite camp and you want the absolute least amount of risk, you’d want to retire off an investment that has a return that is fully-guaranteed, pays out a monthly income like clockwork, is even guaranteed to grow with inflation. Inflation was relatively mild for a long time until recently, but historically it has been a significant risk factor.

If that interests you, check out 3 Ways to Build an Inflation-Adjusted Pension by Allan Roth – which first reminds you that Social Security is exactly this! – but also introduces a new series of LifeX Inflation-Protected Longevity Income ETFs.

At current rates as of 12/11/25, the LifeX 2055 Inflation-Protected Longevity Income ETF (LIAM) contains a managed portfolio of United States Treasury Inflation Indexed Bonds (TIPS) that can provide you with a 4.26% guaranteed real withdrawal rate for 30 years. That means a $1,000,000 portfolio would distribute roughly $42,600 in annual income this year, but that number would increase with CPI inflation each year for 30 years (through the year 2055). At 3% average inflation, your 30th year’s income would have grown to over $100,000 a year. Of course, inflation could be a lot higher, which is why no private insurance company will sell you inflation protection over such a long period of time.

After those 30 years, you will be left with nothing. Your initial principal will be gone. Therefore, your income taken each year is partially a return of principal.

The expense ratio is 0.25%, which isn’t Vanguard-level but not horrible. I like that it does all of the work for you in a tidy ETF package, as building a TIPS ladder yourself can be a bit tricky (and do you want to keep doing it at age 80, 90?). Of course, I also worry about what happens if you bought a 30-year ladder at 65 and happen to live past 95. It could happen, and remember, this product is meant for the risk-averse folks that like to cover all the bases.

In general, I feel a TIPS ladder or equivalent that adjusts with inflation would work well in combination with a traditional annuity like an SPIA or a deferred longevity annuity that starts at a later age, which doesn’t adjust with inflation but does provide an higher initial fixed income that can last as long as you live. This is what I have set up for my parents – Social Security that rises with inflation, plus a joint income annuity that pays out as long as one is living.

Quantum computing holds the potential to solve some of the world's most complex challenges. Today, we’re announcing a new collaboration with the UK National Quantum Comp…

Quantum computing holds the potential to solve some of the world's most complex challenges. Today, we’re announcing a new collaboration with the UK National Quantum Comp…

Cadmium zinc telluride (CZT), a hard-to-manufacture semiconductor produced by only a handful of companies, is enabling a quiet revolution in medical imaging, science, and security by delivering faster scans, lower radiation doses, and far more precise X-ray and gamma-ray detection. "You get beautiful pictures from this scanner," says Dr Kshama Wechalekar, head of nuclear medicine and PET. "It's an amazing feat of engineering and physics." The BBC reports: Kromek is one of just a few firms in the world that can make CZT. You may never have heard of the stuff but, in Dr Wechalekar's words, it is enabling a "revolution" in medical imaging. This wonder material has many other uses, such as in X-ray telescopes, radiation detectors and airport security scanners. And it is increasingly sought-after. Investigations of patients' lungs performed by Dr Wechalekar and her colleagues involve looking for the presence of many tiny blood clots in people with long Covid, or a larger clot known as a pulmonary embolism, for example. The 1-million-pound scanner works by detecting gamma rays emitted by a radioactive substance that is injected into patients' bodies. But the scanner's sensitivity means less of this substance is needed than before: "We can reduce doses about 30%," says Dr Wechalekar. While CZT-based scanners are not new in general, large, whole-body scanners such as this one are a relatively recent innovation. CZT itself has been around for decades but it is notoriously difficult to manufacture. "It has taken a long time for it to develop into an industrial-scale production process," says Arnab Basu, founding chief executive of Kromek. [...] The newly formed CZT, a semiconductor, can detect tiny photon particles in X-rays and gamma rays with incredible precision -- like a highly specialized version of the light-sensing, silicon-based image sensor in your smartphone camera. Whenever a high energy photon strikes the CZT, it mobilizes an electron and this electrical signal can be used to make an image. Earlier scanner technology used a two-step process, which was not as precise. "It's digital," says Dr Basu. "It's a single conversion step. It retains all the important information such as timing, the energy of the X-ray that is hitting the CZT detector -- you can create color, or spectroscopic images."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Linux Foundation launches Agentic AI Foundation backed by industry  Telecompaper

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Do Kwon, the South Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur behind two digital currencies that lost an estimated $40 billion in 2022, was sentenced in New York federal court on Thursday to 15 years in prison for fraud and conspiracy. Kwon, 34, who co-founded Singapore-based Terraform Labs and developed the TerraUSD and Luna currencies, previously pleaded guilty and admitted to misleading investors about a coin that was supposed to maintain a steady price during periods of crypto market volatility. Kwon was one of several cryptocurrency moguls to face federal charges after a slump in digital token prices in 2022 prompted the collapse of a number of companies. [...] Kwon was accused of misleading investors in 2021 about TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin designed to maintain a value of $1. Prosecutors alleged that when TerraUSD slipped below its $1 peg in May 2021, Kwon told investors a computer algorithm known as "Terra Protocol" had restored the coin's value. Instead, Kwon arranged for a high-frequency trading firm to secretly buy millions of dollars of the token to artificially prop up its price, according to charging documents. "I made false and misleading statements about why it regained its peg by failing to disclose a trading firm's role in restoring that peg," Kwon said in court. "What I did was wrong." He also faces charges in South Korea, and under his plea deal, prosecutors won't oppose his transfer abroad after he serves half of his U.S. sentence.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Added new $25 off $25 link (may be targeted). inKind is a startup that provides restaurants financing in exchange for “food and beverage credit”. Retail customers can use inKind to pay their food bill at participating restaurants through the app and get 20% back in “inKind Cash” credit on their bills. They say over 4,000 restaurants are in their network, mostly nicer local spots, but some chains like California Pizza Kitchen are also included (which is a favorite for our family).

The good thing is that you don’t have to let the server know ahead of time, or do anything awkward like using a coupon. You just get the check and then use the inKind app to pay. All the restaurants use the same backend Toast software, so you just need a number from the top of the paper bill. Within the inKind app, you can link your existing rewards credit card and also earn those rewards on your net cost (will still code as dining). inKind works primarily for dine-in, but some restaurants do specifically allow take-out. You are supposed to order the takeout from within the inKind app, but as long as you get the bill with the code, you should be able to pay using the app.

Current promos:

• New customers should first open via a $25 off $50+ referral link (that’s mine, thanks if you use it!). Expires 30 days after claiming. “Friend of Jonathan”.
• Existing customers can visit this separate $25 off $25+ link for another order. May be targeted. “Your End of Year Reward”. Expires 12/14/2025.
• Existing customers can visit this separate $25 off $50+ link for another order. May be targeted. “Mystery Reward”. Expires 45 days after claiming.
• Existing customers can visit this separate $25 off $50+ link for another order. May be targeted. “We Miss You”. Expires 30 days after claiming. Hat tip to DoC.
• $10 off $30. Expires 11/25.
• Existing customers can visit this separate $25 off $75+ link for another order. Expires 30 days after claiming. Marked as “Anniversary Gift”.
• Existing customers can visit this separate $15 off $15+ link for another order. May be targeted. Added October 2025 and marked as “Thanks for your feedback”.
• Existing customers can visit this separate $25 off $50+ link for another order. May be targeted. Added October 2025 and marked as “Thanks for your feedback”.

If you have a big bill, know that you can “split the check” within the app, so that two separate people can use a $25 off $50 discount in their respective inKind apps.

You should see your multiple offers in the app:

California Pizza Kitchen is part of the inKind network, and they are a reliable way to use these offers. They usually have some sort of promo going, like right now they have $10 Pizzas on Monday and Tuesday that you can stack.

Now, I can’t guarantee this will work for you, but this may work with CPK take-out and not just dine-in. (Be sure order directly from CPK.com or over the phone, not another app like Doordash or Grubhub.) The place we go to just has a separate take-out counter and the default check that comes from them should work with inKind. If not, tell them you want to pay with inKind and they should be able to generate the right check with the number on top. Make sure you meet the minimum purchase amount.

Longtime Slashdot reader Gilmoure shares a report from Nature: Scientists have produced the most detailed 3D map of almost all buildings in the world. The map, called GlobalBuildingAtlas, combines satellite imagery and machine learning to generate 3D models for 97% of buildings on Earth. The dataset, published in the open-access journal Earth System Science Data on December 1, covers 2.75 billion buildings, each mapped with footprints and heights at a spatial resolution of 3 meters by 3 meters. The 3D map opens new possibilities for disaster risk assessment, climate modeling and urban planning, according to study co-author Xiaoxiang Zhu, an Earth observation data scientist at the Technical University of Munich in Germany. "Imagine a video game with the world's buildings already mapped in basic spatial dimensions!" writes Gilmoure.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Windows WSL 2.7.0 Released With Newer Linux 6.6 LTS Point Release, Many Fixes  Phoronix

joshuark shares a report from BleepingComputer: More than 10,000 Docker Hub container images expose data that should be protected, including live credentials to production systems, CI/CD databases, or LLM model keys. After scanning container images uploaded to Docker Hub in November, security researchers at threat intelligence company Flare found that 10,456 of them exposed one or more keys. The most frequent secrets were access tokens for various AI models (OpenAI, HuggingFace, Anthropic, Gemini, Groq). In total, the researchers found 4,000 such keys. "These multi-secret exposures represent critical risks, as they often provide full access to cloud environments, Git repositories, CI/CD systems, payment integrations, and other core infrastructure components," Flare notes. [...] Additionally, they found hardcoded API tokens for AI services being hardcoded in Python application files, config.json files, YAML configs, GitHub tokens, and credentials for multiple internal environments. Some of the sensitive data was present in the manifest of Docker images, a file that provides details about the image.Flare notes that roughly 25% of developers who accidentally exposed secrets on Docker Hub realized the mistake and removed the leaked secret from the container or manifest file within 48 hours. However, in 75% of these cases, the leaked key was not revoked, meaning that anyone who stole it during the exposure period could still use it later to mount attacks. Flare suggests that developers avoid storing secrets in container images, stop using static, long-lived credentials, and centralize their secrets management using a dedicated vault or secrets manager. Organizations should implement active scanning across the entire software development life cycle and revoke exposed secrets and invalidate old sessions immediately.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.