news aggregator

Windows 11 users will receive significant UI refinements and AI improvements starting next month as Microsoft prepares its September feature drop followed by additional updates through fall. The update, Windows Central reports, will bring customizable lock screen widgets globally after months of European exclusivity, photo grid views in Windows Search, and a redesigned Windows Hello authentication interface. Copilot+ PCs will gain a revamped Recall application with workflow suggestions and File Explorer AI integration through Click To Do. October and November releases will introduce a larger, customizable Start menu allowing removal of the Recommended section and expanded dark mode support for legacy File Explorer dialogs.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Performance-tuned and optimized spin seems to be winning fans

CachyOS bills itself as a Blazingly Fast & Customizable Linux distribution and that seems to be winning it friends. In the last month, it's the number one distro on the popularity chart on the widely-used DistroWatch comparison site.…

AI-powered salespeople are outperforming their human counterparts on Chinese e-commerce platforms, working around the clock without fatigue to sell products ranging from printers to wet wipes. Shanghai marketing firm PLTFRM has deployed 30 virtual avatars across Taobao and Pinduoduo using Baidu video models and DeepSeek language models. Brother's AI avatar generated $2,500 in printer sales within two hours and increased livestream revenue 30 percent. The company now checks overnight AI sales data each morning as routine. Livestreaming drives over one-third of China's e-commerce sales, with half the population shopping via broadcast in 2024. Baidu's June livestream featuring an AI version of influencer Luo Yonghao drew 13 million views and generated $7.7 million in sales. American and European companies have expressed interest, Wired reports, after PLTFRM successfully tested English-language avatars on YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Snarfing up config files for 'thousands' of devices…just for giggles, we're sure

The FBI and security researchers today warned that Russian government spies exploited a seven-year-old bug in end-of-life Cisco networking devices to snoop around in American critical infrastructure networks and collect information on industrial systems.…

FTC, in a press release Wednesday: The Federal Trade Commission today sued the operators of LA Fitness and other gyms over allegations they make it exceedingly difficult for consumers to cancel their gym memberships and related services that continued indefinitely unless cancelled. The agency is seeking a court order prohibiting the allegedly unfair conduct and money back for consumers harmed by the difficulty in cancelling memberships. "The FTC's complaint describes a scenario that too many Americans have experienced -- a gym membership that seems impossible to cancel," said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Tens of thousands of LA Fitness customers reported difficulties -- cancellation was often restricted to specific times or required speaking to specific managers who were often not present or available. The FTC will not hesitate to act on behalf of consumers when it believes companies are stifling consumers' ability to choose which recurring charges they want to keep."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

GSA AI chief says market can do better but the feds needed a kickstart

The Trump administration just launched a detailed, AI-pushing platform for federal agencies last week, but a government leader is already promising to kill it. …

India has moved a legislation to ban online money gaming due to rising instances of addiction, money laundering and financial frauds through these apps. From a report: A bill passed in the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday seeks to prohibit promotion and operation of gaming apps that require users to pay money for the chance to win cash. The move threatens India's $3.8 billion gaming industry that has drawn global investors and also fostered homegrown fantasy sports betting apps such as Dream11, Games24X7 and Mobile Premier League. "People lose their life's savings in online money gaming," India's Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw told lawmakers in New Delhi. He said the government intends to curb the addiction and financial harm that comes with online money gaming, but will promote e-sports and social gaming.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Plessey sold to Haylo Labs, financed by $100M Goertek loan

The UK's Plessey Semiconductors has been acquired by Haylo Labs, using funding supplied by a Chinese company, Goertek Inc. The move was cleared by the British government.…

Researchers disclosing their findings said 'it's as bad as it sounds'

Researchers at watchTowr just published working proof-of-concept exploits for two unauthenticated remote code execution bug chains in backup giant Commvault.…

Google announced its Pixel 10 smartphone lineup today, introducing the Tensor G5 processor and Qi2 magnetic wireless charging across four models priced from $799 to $1,799. The base Pixel 10 adds a 5x telephoto lens for the first time at $799. The Pixel 10 Pro maintains its $999 starting price in a 6.3-inch size while the Pro XL starts at $1,199 for the 6.8-inch variant. The $1,799 Pixel 10 Pro Fold becomes the first foldable phone to achieve IP68 water and dust resistance through a redesigned gearless hinge. All models feature 3,000-nit peak brightness displays, Android 16, and Google's Material 3 Expressive interface redesign. The Tensor G5 enables on-device AI features including Magic Cue for contextual information retrieval and Camera Coach for photography guidance. Pro models gain 100x hybrid zoom capabilities through computational photography. Preorders begin today for August 28 availability, except the Pro Fold which ships October 9.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

iiNet breach blamed on single stolen login, with emails, phone numbers, and addresses exposed

Aussie telco giant TPG Telecom has opened an investigation after confirming a cyberattack at subsidiary iiNet.…

Sony will increase PlayStation 5 console prices by $50 across all models in the United States starting August 21. The standard PS5 rises to $550, the Digital Edition to $500, and the PS5 Pro to $750. The company cited navigating a challenging economic environment for the increases.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

No word yet on when any homegrown hardware production begins

Texas fabless chip firm Cirrus Logic has announced a new partnership with GlobalFoundries on next-generation bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) and gallium nitride (GaN) parts.…

In a pair of class actions filed this week, passengers from each coast quibbled with United Airlines and Delta Air Lines' policies charging extra for window seats that are not actually beside windows, instead offering a view of a blank aircraft wall. From a report: "Delta indicated to the plaintiff and class members that the particular seats they chose had a 'window'; even though Delta knew full well they did not," the plaintiffs taking on Delta said in an 18-page complaint filed in federal court in New York, accusing the airline of false advertising and deceptive business practices. Half of Delta's fleet of nearly 1,000 aircraft comprises Boeing 737s, Boeing 757s and Airbus A321s -- all of which have at least one wall-adjacent seat with no window, according to the plaintiffs. It's where vertical air conditioning riser ducts are located, making putting a window there impossible, the competing Alaska Airlines explains on its website. But unlike Alaska and others, the plaintiffs complain, Delta advertises the seats as having a window, offering them as a "window seat" option on its seat map during checkout.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Epic boss brands the changes 'malicious compliance'

Google has announced changes to its Play Store rules in an effort to appease the European Commission and dodge Digital Markets Act (DMA) fines.…

An analysis of Rotten Tomatoes data reveals average Tomatometer scores have climbed steadily since Fandango's 2016 acquisition of the review aggregation platform. The average number of reviewers per mainstream film release increased by 40 to 70 critics following the purchase. New additions to the critic pool include smaller outlets such as Denerstein Unleashed and KKFI-FM Kansas City. Prior to 2016, critic and audience scores demonstrated stable correlation year-over-year. Post-acquisition data shows the two metrics diverged sharply as Tomatometer ratings rose. Fandango, America's largest movie-ticketing platform, is partially owned by NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. In 2023 Vulture reported PR firms court reviewers from smaller outlets to secure higher Tomatometer scores before film releases.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Government says move will cut red tape, but startups fear sector could be sidelined

The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is set to join the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in an effort to "cut red tape" and, presumably, save some cash.…

Microsoft is testing a COPILOT function in Excel that uses OpenAI's gpt-4.1-mini model to automatically fill spreadsheet cells through natural language prompts. The function can classify feedback, generate summaries, and create tables based on specified cell ranges. Microsoft warns against using the AI function for numerical calculations or scenarios involving legal, regulatory, and compliance implications because COPILOT "can give incorrect responses." The feature processes up to 100 functions every 10 minutes and cannot access information outside the spreadsheet.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Micron, TSMC, and more have also been awarded billions in subisidies

The US government is considering taking a stake in Intel and other semiconductor companies that benefit from CHIPS Act funding, according to officials from the Trump administration. The move follows SoftBank's $2 billion investment in the faltering chip giant.…

LLMs flop at selling Fair Trade – unless you're a true believer

Interview Large language models stumble when trying to sway buyers with moral arguments, according to research from the SGH Warsaw School of Economics and Sakarya Business School.…