All the News that Matters

• Debian 11: gpsd Critical DoS Heap Issue DLA-4441-1 CVE-2025-67268
  Multiple vulnerabilities were fixed in gpsd a service daemon that monitors one or more GNSS (GPS) or AIS receivers attached to a host computer through serial or USB ports. CVE-2025-67268 gpsd contains a heap-based out-of-bounds write

• Fedora 43: python-biopython Important Information Disclosure CVE-2025-68463
  Initial fix for security bug CVE-2025-68463

• openSUSE 16.0: go-sendxmpp Moderate Security Update 2026:20058-1
  An update that solves 3 vulnerabilities and has 3 bug fixes can now be installed.

• openSUSE: Docker Critical CVE-2025-54388 Advisory 2026:20057-1
  An update that solves one vulnerability and has 4 bug fixes can now be installed.

• openSUSE: cpp-httplib Exposed to IP Spoofing Log Pollution CVE-2026:20056-1
  An update that solves 2 vulnerabilities and has 2 bug fixes can now be installed.

• openSUSE Tumbleweed: freerdp Moderate Security Flaws Advisory 2026:10059-1
  An update that solves 9 vulnerabilities can now be installed.

• Linux 6.19-rc6 Released With More Bug Fixes
  Linus Torvalds just tagged the Linux 6.19-rc6 kernel in working toward the stable Linux 6.19 kernel release likely on 8 February...

• Setup Arch Linux KVM Guest via archinstall 3.0.15-2
  Following below is an attempt to deploy Arch Linux KVM Guest via archinstall 3.0.15-2. Load Guest via virt-manager into spice console. Pre-install archinstall 3.0.15-2 seems to be needless. However, straight forward run `python -m archinstall` having git clone done and skipping first upgrade didn't work for me .

• Not hot on bots, project names and shames AI-created open source software
  'OpenSlopware' briefly flowers, fades, falls – but fortunately was forked, fastThe splendidly-named "OpenSlopware" was, for a short time, a list of open source projects using LLM bots. Due to harassment, it's gone, but forks of it live on.…

• ReactOS For "Open-Source Windows" Achieves Massive Networking Performance Boost
  ReactOS as the long-in-development "open-source Windows" project has been on quite a roll recently. Beyond a big Windows NT 6 compatibility improvement and fixing a very annoying usability issue, for this third week of the year there is another big change landing: a significant improvement in networking performance on ReactOS...

• 9to5Linux Weekly Roundup: January 18th, 2026
  The 275th installment of the 9to5Linux Weekly Roundup is here for the week ending on January 18th, 2026, keeping you updated with the most important things happening in the Linux world.

• Axiomtek Previews Jetson Thor T5000/T4000 Developer Kit for Robotics Systems
  Axiomtek has unveiled the AIE015-AT, a robotics developer kit built around NVIDIA Jetson Thor. The system is described as combining high compute density with multi-camera support and industrial I/O for robotics and physical AI workloads. The platform is shown with Jetson Thor T5000 or T4000 modules, offering up to 2070 TFLOPS of compute performance. Axiomtek […]

• Synex Server: A New Debian Based Linux Distro With Native ZFS Installation Support
  Synex is a Linux distribution that's been around for some months as a Debian-based, minimalistic Linux distribution out of Argentina focused on the needs of small and medium businesses. Making it a bit more intriguing for some now is that with their new release based on Debian 13 is a server edition and they have added native OpenZFS file-system support for new installations...

• Linux Rescue and Repair Distros in 2025: Your Safety Net When Things Go Wrong
  No matter how reliable Linux systems are, failures still happen. A broken bootloader, a corrupted filesystem, a failed update, or a dying disk can leave even the most stable setup unbootable. That’s where Linux rescue and repair distributions come in.

• ChaosBSD Is A New BSD For "Broken Drivers, Half-Working Hardware, Vendor Trash" Test Bed
  A new BSD on the block is ChaosBSD that intends to serve as a testing distribution for unfinished and broken drivers not suitable for upstreaming to FreeBSD proper...

• Amarok 3.3.2 Brings Improvements to User Interface, Audio Backend, and More
  Amarok 3.3.2 has been released today as the second minor update to the latest Amarok 3.3 “Far Above the Clouds” series of this open-source music player application designed for the KDE Plasma desktop environment.

• CVE-2026-0915: GNU C Library Fixes A Security Issue Present Since 1996
  CVE-2026-0915 was published on Friday as a security issue with the GNU C Library "glibc" for code introduced 30 years ago. The latest Glibc Git code is now patched for this issue introduced in 1996...

• Zorin OS 18 Crosses 2 Million Downloads, Cementing Its Appeal to New Linux Users
  Zorin OS has reached an important milestone. The team behind the popular Linux distribution has announced that Zorin OS 18 has surpassed two million downloads, underscoring the growing interest in Linux as a practical alternative to mainstream operating systems.

• Shotcut 26.1 Beta Video Editor Adds New Hardware Decoder Options
  The Shotcut 26.1 beta was released overnight as the newest version of this Qt6-based, cross-platform video editing solution. Standing out the most with this new development release are some new GPU-accelerated hardware decode options for aiming to help speed-up this free software video editor...

• GNOME 49.3 Desktop Released with More Improvements and Bug Fixes
  The GNOME Project released today GNOME 49.3 as the third point release to the latest GNOME 49 “Brescia” desktop environment series with various bug fixes and improvements.

• GNOME 50 Will Make Sure You Don't Use Your Computer Past Your Bedtime
  As part of the GNOME Foundation funded Digital Wellbeing project, the GNOME Shell for GNOME 50 has merged options to prevent unlocking the desktop session past their bed time. The intent here is on rounding out GNOME's parental controls functionality...

• Sequent Microsystems Multichemistry Watchdog HAT Adds UPS Support for Raspberry Pi
  Sequent Microsystems has unveiled a multichemistry Watchdog HAT designed to provide battery-backed power, system monitoring, and automatic recovery for Raspberry Pi boards. The HAT targets mission-critical and unattended deployments, combining a hardware watchdog timer with an integrated UPS and battery charger. The Watchdog HAT supports a wide range of rechargeable battery chemistries, including Lithium-Ion, Lithium-Polymer, […]

• FreeBSD 15.1 Aims To Have KDE Desktop Installer Option
  FreeBSD 15.0 had been aiming to offer a KDE desktop installation option as part of the FreeBSD OS installer. This initiative as part of the FreeBSD laptop support enhancements project didn't pan out in time for FreeBSD 15.0 but now they are working on getting the installer option ready for FreeBSD 15.1. Adding a NVIDIA GPU driver option to the FreeBSD installer was also recently carried out...

• How to Install and Use Flutter on Linux
  In this article, you will learn how to setup and configure Flutter with Android Studio on Linux and quickly run a Flutter app to confirm the setup.

• Origami Linux’s COSMIC Desktop on Fedora Atomic Almost Wins Me Over
  Origami Linux pairs the Cosmic desktop with a Fedora Atomic base and a deliberately sparse default install, leaving most of the customization to you.

• Running Debian on the OpenWrt One
  With openwrt-one-debian, you can now install and run a full Debian system leveraging the OpenWrt One’s NVMe storage, enabling everything from custom services and containers to development tools and lightweight server workloads, all on open hardware. This turns the OpenWrt One from a network appliance into a compact, general-purpose Linux system suitable for services, containers, and development work.

• IMF Warns Global Economic Resilience at Risk if AI Falters
  The "surprisingly resilient" global economy is at risk of being disrupted by a sharp reversal in the AI boom, the IMF warned on Monday, as world leaders prepared for talks in the Swiss resort of Davos. From a report: Risks to global economic expansion were "tilted to the downside," the fund said in an update to its World Economic Outlook, arguing that growth was reliant on a narrow range of drivers, notably the US technology sector and the associated equity boom. Nonetheless, it predicted US growth would strongly outpace the rest of the G7 this year, forecasting an expansion of 2.4 per cent in 2026 and 2 per cent in 2027. Tech investment had surged to its highest share of US economic output since 2001, helping drive growth, the IMF found. "There is a risk of a correction, a market correction, if expectations about AI gains in productivity and profitability are not realised," said Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, IMF chief economist. "We're not yet at the levels of market frothiness, if you want, that we saw in the dotcom period," he added. "But nevertheless there are reasons to be somewhat concerned."
  
  
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• China Birth Rate Falls To Lowest Since 1949
  China's birth rate fell to 5.6 per 1,000 people in 2025, the lowest figure since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, and the country's total population contracted by 3.39 million, the sharpest decline since the Mao Zedong era. The drop marks the fourth straight year of population decline and comes despite government efforts to encourage childbearing, including subsidies of about $500 annually per child born on or after January 1, 2025. Beijing has also imposed a 13% value-added tax on contraceptives this year. The government is betting on automation and productivity to offset the shrinking workforce -- China already leads the world in robot installations -- and President Xi Jinping has written that population policy must transition "from being mainly about regulating quantity to improving quality."
  
  
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• China Consumed 10.4 Trillion Kilowatt-Hours of Electricity In 2025 - Double the US
  Slashdot reader hackingbear summarizes this report from Bloomberg: China consumed totally 10.4 trillion kilowatt hours (10.4 petaWh) in 2025 according to data from the National Energy Administration. That's the highest annual electricity use ever recorded by a single country, and doubled the amount used by the US and surpassed the combined annual total of the EU, Russia, India and Japan. The surge in demand for power are results of growth in data centers for artificial intelligence (+17% over 2024) and use of electric vehicles (+48.8%)... However, on a per-capita basis, China uses about 7,300 kWh per person vs about 13,000 kWh per American. More details from Reuters:China's mostly coal-based thermal power generation fell in 2025 for the first time in 10 years, government data showed on Monday, as growing renewable generation met growth in electricity demand even as overall power usage hit a record. The data is a positive signal for the decarbonisation of China's power sector as China sets a course for carbon emissions to peak by 2030... Thermal electricity, generated mostly by coal-fired capacity with a small amount from natural gas, fell 1% in 2025 to 6.29 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh), according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). It fell more sharply in December, down by 3.2%, from a year earlier, the data showed... [Though the article notes that coal output still edged up to a record high last year.] Hydropower grew at a steady pace, up 4.1% in December and rising 2.8 % for the full year, the NBS data showed. Nuclear power output rose 3.1 in December and 7.7% in 2025, respectively.Thermal power generation is unlikely to accelerate in 2026 as renewables growth continues apace.
  
  
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• More US States are Putting Bitcoin on Public Balance Sheets
  An anonymous reader shared this report from CNBC:Led by Texas and New Hampshire, U.S. states across the national map, both red and blue in political stripes, are developing bitcoin strategic reserves and bringing cryptocurrencies onto their books through additional state finance and budgeting measures. Texas recently became the first state to purchase bitcoin after a legislative effort that began in 2024, but numerous states have joined the "Reserve Race" to pass legislation that will allow them to ultimately buy cryptocurrencies. NewHampshire passed its crypto strategic reserve law last May, even before Texas, giving the state treasurer the authority to invest up to 5% of the state funds in crypto ETFs, though precious metals such as gold are also authorized for purchase. Arizonapassed similar legislation, while Massachusetts,Ohio,and SouthDakota have legislation at various stages of committee review... Similarities in the actions taken across states to date includeinclude authorizing the state treasurer or other investment officialto allow the investment of a limited amount of public funds in cryptoand building out the governance structure needed to invest incrypto... [New Hampshire] became the first state to approve theissuance of a bitcoin-backed municipal bond last November, a $100 million issuance that would mark the first time cryptocurrency is used as collateral in the U.S. municipal bond market. The deal has not taken place yet, though plans are for the issuance to occur this year... "What's different here is it's bitcoin rather than taxpayer dollars as the collateral," [said University of Chicago public policy professor Justin Marlowe]. In numerous states, including, Colorada,Utah, and Louisiana,crypto is now accepted as payment for taxes and other statebusiness... "For many in the state/local investing industry, crypto-backed assets are still far too speculative and volatile for public money," Marlowe said. "But others, and I think there's a sort of generational shift in the works, see it as a reasonable store of value that is actually stronger on many other public sector values like transparency and asset integrity," he added. Public policy professor Marlowe "sees the state-level trend as largely one of signaling at present," according to the article. (Marlowe says "If you're a governor and you want to broadcast that you are amenable to innovative business development in the digital economy, these are relatively low-cost, low-risk ways to send that signal.") But the bigger steps may reflect how crypto advocates have increasing political power in the states. The article notes that the cryptocurrency industry was the largest corporate donor in a U.S. election cycle in 2024, "with support given to candidates on both sides." "It is already amassing a war chest for the 2026 midterms."
  
  
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• Is the Possibility of Conscious AI a Dangerous Myth?
  This week Noema magazine published a 7,000-word exploration of our modern "Mythology Of Conscious AI" written by a neuroscience professor who directs the University of Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science:The very idea of conscious AI rests on the assumption that consciousness is a matter of computation. More specifically, that implementing the right kind of computation, or information processing, is sufficient for consciousness to arise. This assumption, which philosophers call computational functionalism, is so deeply ingrained that it can be difficult to recognize it as an assumption at all. But that is what it is. And if it's wrong, as I think it may be, then real artificial consciousness is fully off the table, at least for the kinds of AI we're familiar with. He makes detailed arguments against a computation-based consciousness (including "Simulation is not instantiation... If we simulate a living creature, we have not created life.") While a computer may seem like the perfect metaphor for a brain, the cognitive science of "dynamical systems" (and other approaches) reject the idea that minds can be entirely accounted for algorithmically. And maybe actual life needs to be present before something can be declared conscious. He also warns that "Many social and psychological factors, including some well-understood cognitive biases, predispose us to overattribute consciousness to machines." But then his essay reaches a surprising conclusion:As redundant as it may sound, nobody should be deliberately setting out to create conscious AI, whether in the service of some poorly thought-through techno-rapture, or for any other reason. Creating conscious machines would be an ethical disaster. We would be introducing into the world new moral subjects, and with them the potential for new forms of suffering, at (potentially) an exponential pace. And if we give these systems rights, as arguably we should if they really are conscious, we will hamper our ability to control them, or to shut them down if we need to. Even if I'm right that standard digital computers aren't up to the job, other emerging technologies might yet be, whether alternative forms of computation (analogue, neuromorphic, biological and so on) or rapidly developing methods in synthetic biology. For my money, we ought to be more worried about the accidental emergence of consciousness in cerebral organoids (brain-like structures typically grown from human embryonic stem cells) than in any new wave of LLM. But our worries don't stop there. When it comes to the impact of AI in society, it is essential to draw a distinction between AI systems that are actually conscious and those that persuasively seem to be conscious but are, in fact, not. While there is inevitable uncertainty about the former, conscious-seeming systems are much, much closer... Machines that seem conscious pose serious ethical issues distinct from those posed by actually conscious machines. For example, we might give AI systems "rights" that they don't actually need, since they would not actually be conscious, restricting our ability to control them for no good reason. More generally, either we decide to care about conscious-seeming AI, distorting our circles of moral concern, or we decide not to, and risk brutalizing our minds. As Immanuel Kant argued long ago in his lectures on ethics, treating conscious-seeming things as if they lack consciousness is a psychologically unhealthy place to be... One overlooked factor here is that even if we know, or believe, that an AI is not conscious, we still might be unable to resist feeling that it is. Illusions of artificial consciousness might be as impenetrable to our minds as some visual illusions... What's more, because there's no consensus over the necessary or sufficient conditions for consciousness, there aren't any definitive tests for deciding whether an AI is actually conscious.... Illusions of conscious AI are dangerous in their own distinctive ways, especially if we are constantly distracted and fascinated by the lure of truly sentient machines...If we conflate the richness of biological brains and human experience with the information-processing machinations of deepfake-boosted chatbots, or whatever the latest AI wizardry might be, we do our minds, brains and bodies a grave injustice. If we sell ourselves too cheaply to our machine creations, we overestimate them, and we underestimate ourselves... The sociologist Sherry Turkle once said that technology can make us forget what we know about life. It's about time we started to remember.
  
  
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• EHT Astronomers Will Film Swirling of a Supermassive Black Hole for the First Time
  "Astronomers are preparing to capture a movie of a supermassive black hole in action for the first time," reports the Guardian:The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) will track the colossal black hole at the heart of the Messier 87 galaxy throughout March and April with the aim of capturing footage of the swirling disc that traces out the edge of the event horizon, the point beyond which no light or matter can escape... The EHT is a global network of 12 radio telescopes spanning locations from Antarctica to Spain and Korea, which in 2019 unveiled the first image of a black hole's shadow. During March and April, as the Earth rotates, M87's central black hole will come into view for different telescopes, allowing a complete image to be captured every three days... Measuring the black hole's spin speed matters because this could help discriminate between competing theories of how these objects reached such epic proportions. If black holes grow mostly through accretion — steadily snowballing material that strays nearby — they would be expected to end up spinning at incredibly high speeds. By contrast, if black holes expand mostly through merging with other black holes, each merger could slow things down. The observations could also help explain how black hole jets are formed, which are among the largest, most powerful structures produced by galaxies. Jets channel vast columns of gas out of galaxies, slowing down the formation of new stars and limiting galaxy growth. In turn this can create dense pockets of material that trigger bursts of star formation beyond the host galaxy... While the movie campaign will take place in the spring, the sheer volume of data produced by the telescopes means the scientists will need to wait for Antarctic summer before the hard drives can be physically shipped to Germany and the US for processing. So it is likely to be a lengthy wait before the rest of the world gets a glimpse of the black hole in action. In a correction, the Guardian apologizes for originally including an AI-generated illustration of black hole with a caption suggesting it was a photo from telescopes. They've since swapped in an actual picture of the Messier 87 galaxy black hole.
  
  
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• Porsche Sold More Electrified Cars in Europe Last Year than Pure Gas-Powered Models
  Porsche made an announcement Friday. In Europe they sold more electrified Porsches last year than pure combustion-engined models, reports Electrek:in Europe, a majority (57.9%) of Porsche's deliveries were plug-ins, with 1/3 of its European sales being fully electric. For models that have no fully electric version but do have a PHEV (Cayenne and Panamera), the plug-in hybrid version dominated sales. Of particular note, the Macan sold better with an electric powertrain than it did with a gas one, and was the company's strongest-selling model line and the line with the largest sales growth. The Macan sold 84,328 units globally (up 2% from last year), with 45,367 (53.8%) of those being electric. That 53.8% may seem like a slim majority, but when compared to EV sales globally, it's incredibly high. About a quarter of new cars sold globally were electric in 2025, so Porsche is beating that number with the one model where direct comparisons are available. And even in the US, about a third of Macans sold were electric. That's notable given the tough year EVs had in the US, with it being the only major car-buying region that experienced a tick down in EV sales... And again, while 1/3 is a minority of Macan sales in the US, it's also well over the US' average ~10% EV sales. So it's clear the EV Macan isn't just performing like an average EV, but well beyond it. The article adds that "we're quite excited about the Cayenne EV, which will be the most powerful Porsche ever."
  
  
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• Young US College Graduates Suddenly Aren't Finding Jobs Faster Than Non-College Graduates
  U.S. college graduates "have historically found jobs more quickly than people with only a high school degree," writes Bloomberg. "But that advantage is becoming a thing of the past, according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.""Recently, the job-finding rate for young college-educated workers has declined to be roughly in line with the rate for young high-school-educated workers, indicating that a long period of relatively easier job-finding prospects for college grads has ended," Cleveland Fed researchers Alexander Cline and BarıÅY Kaymak said in a blog post published Monday. The study follows the latest monthly employment data released on Nov. 20, which showed the unemployment rate for college-educated workers continued to rise in September amid an ongoing slowdown in white-collar hiring... The unemployment rate for people between the ages of 20 to 24 was 9.2% in September, up 2.2 percentage points from a year prior. There is a caveat. "Young college graduates maintain advantages in job stability and compensation once hired..." the researchers write. "The convergence we document concerns the initial step of securing employment rather than overall labor market outcomes." Their research includes a graph showing how the "unemployment gap" first increased dramatically after 2010 between college-educated and high school-educated workers, which the researchers attribute to "the prolonged jobless recovery after 2008". But that gap has been closing ever since, with that gap now smaller than at any time since the 1970s. "Young high school workers are riding the wave of the historically tight postpandemic labor market with well-below-average unemployment compared to that of past high school graduates, while young college workers are experiencing unemployment rates rarely observed among past college cohorts barring during recessions."The labor market advantages conferred by a college degree have historically justified individual investment in higher education and expanding support for college access. If the job-finding rate of college graduates continues to decline relative to the rate for high school graduates, we may see a reversal of these trends. The convergence we document concerns the initial step of securing employment rather than overall labor market outcomes. These details suggest a nuanced shift in employment dynamics, one in which college graduates face greater difficulty finding jobs than previously but maintain advantages compared with high school graduates in job stability and compensation once hired. Two key quotes:"Declining job prospects among young college graduates may reflect the continued growth in college attainment, adding ever larger cohorts of college graduates to the ranks of job seekers, even though technology no longer favors college-educated workers.""Developments related to AI, which may be affecting job-finding prospects in some cases, cannot explain the decades-long decline in the college job-finding rate."
  
  
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• SpaceX Launches New NASA Telescope to Help JWST Study Exoplanets
  Last week a University of Arizona astronomy professor "watched anxiously...as an awe-inspiring SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried NASA's new exoplanet telescope, Pandora, into orbit." In 2018 NASA had approached Daniel Apai to help build the telescope, which he says will "shatter a barrier — to understand and remove a source of noise in the data — that limits our ability to study small exoplanets in detail and search for life on them."Astronomers have a trick to study exoplanet atmospheres. By observing the planets as they orbit in front of their host stars, we can study starlight that filters through their atmospheres... But, starting from 2007, astronomers noted that starspots — cooler, active regions on the stars — may disturb the transit measurements. In 2018 and 2019, then-Ph.D. student Benjamin V. Rackham, astrophysicist Mark Giampapa and I published a series of studies showing how darker starspots and brighter, magnetically active stellar regions can seriously mislead exoplanets measurements. We dubbed this problem "the transit light source effect...." In our papers — published three years before the 2021 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope - we predicted that the Webb cannot reach its full potential. We sounded the alarm bell...Pandora will do what Webb cannot: It will be able to patiently observe stars to understand how their complex atmospheres change. By staring at a star for 24 hours with visible and infrared cameras, it will measure subtle changes in the star's brightness and colors. When active regions in the star rotate in and out of view, and starspots form, evolve and dissipate, Pandora will record them. While Webb very rarely returns to the same planet in the same instrument configuration and almost never monitors their host stars, Pandora will revisit its target stars 10 times over a year, spending over 200 hours on each of them. It's the first space telescope "built specifically for detailed multi-color observations of starlight filtered through the atmospheres of exoplanets," reports the Arizona Daily Star, noting the University of Arizona will serve as mission control:[T]echnicians will operate Pandora in real time and monitor its telemetry and overall health under a contract with NASA... The spacecraft will undergo about a month of commissioning before beginning science operations, which are scheduled to last for a year... Pandora was selected as part of NASA's Astrophysics Pioneers program, which was created in 2020 to foster compelling, relatively low-cost science missions using smaller, cheaper hardware and flight platforms with a price cap of no more than $20 million. By comparison, the Webb telescope — the largest and most powerful astronomical observatory ever sent into space — carries a pricetag of about $10 billion. Pandora is a joint mission NASA and California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
  
  
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• Hundreds Answer Europe's 'Public Call for Evidence' on an Open Digital Ecosystem Strategy
  The European Commission "has opened a public call for evidence on European open digital ecosystems," writes Help Net Security, part of preparations for an upcoming Communication "that will examine the role of open source in EU's digital infrastructure."The consultation runs from January 6 to February 3, 2026. Submissions will be used to shape a Commission Communication addressed to the European Parliament, the Council, and other EU bodies, which is scheduled for publication in the first quarter of 2026... The call for evidence links Europe's reliance on digital technologies developed outside the EU to concerns over long term control of infrastructure and software supply chains... Open digital ecosystems are discussed in the context of technological sovereignty and the use of technologies that can be inspected, adapted, and shared. Long-time Slashdot reader Elektroschock describes it as the European Commission "stepping up its efforts behind open-source software"Building on President von der Leyen's political guidelines, the initiative will review the Commission's 2020-2023 open-source approach and set out concrete actions to strengthen Europe's open-source ecosystem across key areas such as cloud, AI, cybersecurity and industrial technologies. The strategy will be presented alongside the upcoming Cloud and AI Development Act, forming a broader policy package aimed at reducing strategic dependencies and boosting Europe's digital resilience. And "In just a few days, over 370 submissions have already been filed, indicating that the issue is touching a nerve across the EU," writes CyberNews.com:"Europe must regain control over its software supply chain to safeguard freedom, security, and innovation," suggests an individual from Slovakia. Similar perspectives appear to be widely shared among respondents... The document doesn't mention US tech giants specifically, but rather aims to support tech sovereignty and seek "digital solutions that are valid alternatives to proprietary ones...." "This is not a legislative initiative. The strategy will take the form of a Commission communication. The initiative will set out a general approach and will propose: actions relying on further commitments and an implementation process," the EC explains. Policymakers expect the strategy to help EU member states identify the necessary steps to support national open-source companies and communities.
  
  
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• Microsoft Forced to Issue Emergency Out-of-Band Windows Update
  The senior editor at the blog Windows Central decries two serious Windows issues "that were not spotted by Microsoft during testing, and are so severe that the company has now issued an emergency fix to address the problems."Microsoft's first update for Windows 11 in 2026 has already caused two major issues that saw users unable to fully shutdown their PCs or sign-in into a device when using Remote Desktop... Being unable to shut down your PC due to a recent OS update is a huge oversight on Microsoft's part, but this is the latest in a long list of updates over the last year to cause a major issue like this... Other issues that have cropped up in Windows 11 in the last year include a bug that caused Task Manager to fail to close when the user exited the application, causing system resources to lock up after a prolonged period of time if the user had opened and closed Task Manager multiple times in a session.Another update caused saw File Explorer flashbang users with a white screen when opening it in dark mode, which appeared in an update that was supposed to improve dark mode on Windows 11... For whatever reason, the Windows Insider Program doesn't appear to be working anymore, as severe bugs are somehow making it into shipping versions of the OS. "The out of band updates, KB5077744 and KB5077797, are available now via Windows Update and is rolling out to everybody," they write. "Once installed, your PC should go back to being able to shut down successfully, and signing-in via Remote Desktop should work again." Microsoft has also officially acknowledged a third bug which crashes Outlook Classic when using POP accounts, according to the blog Windows Latest, which adds that that bug has not yet been fixed. They've also identified other minor bugs, including "a black screen problem in Windows 11 KB5074109... either due to the update itself or some compatibility issues with GPU drivers."After you install the January 2026 Update, Windows triggers random black screens where the desktop freezes for a second or two, the display goes black, then everything comes back. I can't pinpoint any specific configuration, but I can confirm the black screen issue has been observed on a small subset of PCs with both Nvidia and AMD GPUs. After you install the January 2026 Update, Windows triggers random black screens where the desktop freezes for a second or two, the display goes black, then everything comes back.
  
  
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• Astronomers Finally Explain How Molecules From Earth's Atmosphere Keep Winding Up On the Moon
  An anonymous reader shared this report from CNN:Particles from Earth's atmosphere have been carried into space by solar wind and have been landing on the moon for billions of years, mixing into the lunar soil, according to a new study [published in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment last month]. The research sheds new light on a puzzle that has endured for over half a century since the Apollo missions brought back lunar samples with traces of substances such as water, carbon dioxide, helium and nitrogen embedded in the regolith — the moon's dusty surface layer. Early studies theorized that the sun was the source of some of these substances. But in 2005 researchers at the University of Tokyo suggested that they could have also originated from the atmosphere of a young Earth before it developed a magnetic field about 3.7 billion years ago. The authors suspected that the magnetic field, once in place, would have stopped the stream by trapping the particles and making it difficult or impossible for them to escape into space. Now, the new research upends that assumption by suggesting that Earth's magnetic field might have helped, rather than blocked, the transfer of atmospheric particles to the moon — which continues to this day. "This means that the Earth has been supplying volatile gases like oxygen and nitrogen to the lunar soil over all this time," said Eric Blackman, coauthor of the new study and a professor in the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester in New York. Earth's magnetic field "somewhat inflates the atmosphere of Earth" when it's hit by solar winds, according to study coauthor Eric Blackman, a physics/astronomy professor at New York's University of Rochester. He told CNN the moon passes through this region for a few days each month, with particles landing on the lunar surface and embedding in the soil (because the moon lacks an atmosphere that would block them). This also means the moon's soil could actually contain a chemical record of Earth's ancient atmosphere, according to the study — "spanning billions of years..."
  
  
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• Acer Sues Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, Alleging Infringment on Acer's Cellular Networking Patents
  Slashdot reader BrianFagioli writes: Acer has filed three separate patent infringement lawsuits against AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, taking the unusual step of hauling the nation's largest wireless carriers into federal court. The suits, filed in the Eastern District of Texas, claim the companies are using Acer-developed cellular networking technology without paying for the privilege. Acer says it tried to negotiate licenses for years but reached a dead end, arguing it was left with no option except litigation. The case centers on six U.S. patents Acer asserts are core to modern wireless networks, rather than anything tied to PCs or laptops. The company describes itself as reluctant to pursue courtroom battles, but it has been quietly building a large global patent portfolio after pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into R&D. Acer also notes that some of its patents count as standard-essential, hinting the carriers may be required to license them. All three companies are expected to push back, and the dispute could become another long-running telecom patent saga. Consumers will not notice any immediate changes, but if Acer wins or settles, it may find a new revenue stream far beyond its traditional hardware business. Further coverage from Hot Hardware
  
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• China Builds 'Hypergravity' Machine 2,000X Stronger Than Earth
  Long-time Slashdot reader schwit1 shared this report from Futurism:China has unveiled an extremely powerful "hypergravity machine" that can generate forces almost two thousand times stronger than Earth's regular gravity. The futuristic-looking machine, called CHIEF1900, was constructed at China's Centrifugal Hypergravity and Interdisciplinary Experiment Facility (CHIEF) at Zheijang University in Eastern China, and allows researchers to study how extreme forces affect various materials, plants, cells, or other structures, as the South China Morning Post reports... [Once up and running, it will allow researchers to recreate "catastrophic events such as dam failures and earthquakes inside a laboratory, according to the university."] For instance, it can analyze the structural stability of an almost 1,000-feet-tall dam by spinning a ten-foot model at 100 Gs, meaning 100 times the Earth's regular gravity. It could also be used to study the resonance frequencies of high-speed rail tracks, or how pollutants seep into soil over thousands of years. The machine officially dethroned its predecessor, CHIEF1300, which became the world's most powerful centrifuge a mere four months ago... It can generate 1,900 g-tonnes of force, or 1,900 times the Earth's gravity. To put that into perspective, a washing machine only reaches about two g-tonnes.
  
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Could We Provide Better Cellphone Service With Fewer, Bigger Satellites?
  European satellite operator Eutelsat "plans to launch 440 Airbus-built LEO satellites in the coming years to replenish and expand its constellation," Reuters reported Friday. And last week America's Federal Communications Commission approved SpaceX's request to deploy another 7,500 Starlink satellites, while Starlink "projects it will eventually have a constellation of 34,000 satellites," writes Fast Company, and Amazon's Project Leo "plans to launch more than 3,200 satellites." Meanwhile "Beijing and some Chinese companies are planning two separate mega-constellations, Guowang and G60 Starlink, totaling nearly 26,000 satellites," and this week the Chinese government "applied for launch permits for 200,000 satellites." But a small Texas-based company called AST SpaceMobile "believes it can provide better service with fewer than 100 gigantic satellites in space." AST SpaceMobile has developed a direct-to-cell technology that utilizes large satellites called BlueBirds. These machines use thousands of antennas to deliver broadband coverage directly to standard mobile phones, says the company's president, Scott Wisniewski. "This approach is remarkably efficient: We can achieve global coverage with approximately 90 satellites, not thousands or even tens of thousands required by other systems," Wisniewski writes in an email... The key is its satellites' size and sophistication. AST's first generation of commercial satellite, the BlueBird 1-5, unfolds into a massive 693-square-foot array in space. Today, the company has five operational BlueBird 1-5 satellites in orbit, but its ambitions are much bigger. On December 24, 2025, AST launched the first of its next-generation satellites from India — called Block 2 — and this one broke records. The BlueBird 6 has a surface of almost 2,400 square feet, making it the largest single satellite in low Earth orbit. The company plans to launch up to 60 more by the end of 2026. "This large surface area is essential for gathering faint signals from standard, unmodified mobile phones on the ground," Wisniewski explains. It is essentially a single, extremely powerful and sensitive cell tower in the sky, capable of serving a huge geographical area... To be clear, AST SpaceMobile's approach is not without its own controversies. The sheer size of the company's satellites makes them incredibly bright in the night sky, a significant source of frustration for ground-based astronomers. McDowell confirms that when it launched in 2022, AST's prototype satellite, BlueWalker 3, became "one of the top 10 brightest objects in the night sky for a while." "It's a serious issue, and we are working directly with the astronomy community to mitigate our impact," Wisniewski says. The company is exploring solutions like anti-reflective coatings and operational adjustments to minimize the time its satellites are at maximum brightness... AST SpaceMobile has already proven its technology works, the article points out, with six working satellites now transmitting at typical 5G speeds directly to regular phones.
  
  
  Read more of this story at Slashdot.
  

• Celebrating the Second Year of Linux Man-Pages Maintenance Sponsorship
  Sustaining a Core Part of the Linux Ecosystem The Linux Foundation has announced a second year of sponsorship for the ongoing maintenance of the Linux manual pages (man-pages) project, led by Alejandro (Alex) Colomar. This critical initiative is made possible through the continued support of Google, Hudson River Trading, and Meta, who have renewed their [0]
  
  The post Celebrating the Second Year of Linux Man-Pages Maintenance Sponsorship appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Disaggregated Routing with SONiC and VPP: Lab Demo and Performance Insights  Part Two
  In Part One of this series, we examined how the SONiC control plane and the VPP data plane form a cohesive, software-defined routing stack through the Switch Abstraction Interface.` We outlined how SONiC’s Redis-based orchestration and VPP’s user-space packet engine come together to create a high-performance, open router architecture. In this second part, we’ll turn [0]
  
  The post Disaggregated Routing with SONiC and VPP: Lab Demo and Performance Insights  Part Two appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Disaggregated Routing with SONiC and VPP: Architecture and Integration  Part One
  The networking industry is undergoing a fundamental architectural transformation, driven by the relentless demands of cloud-scale data centers and the rise of software-defined infrastructure. At the heart of this evolution is the principle of disaggregation: the systematic unbundling of components that were once tightly integrated within proprietary, monolithic systems.` This movement began with the separation [0]
  
  The post Disaggregated Routing with SONiC and VPP: Architecture and Integration  Part One appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Kubernetes on Bare Metal for Maximum Performance
  When teams consider deploying Kubernetes, one of the first questions that arises is: where should it run? The default answer is often the public cloud, thanks to its flexibility and ease of use. However, a growing number of organizations are revisiting the advantages of running Kubernetes directly on bare metal servers. For workloads that demand [0]
  
  The post Kubernetes on Bare Metal for Maximum Performance appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• How to Deploy Lightweight Language Models on Embedded Linux with LiteLLM
  This article was contributed by Vedrana Vidulin, Head of Responsible AI Unit at Intellias (LinkedIn). As AI becomes central to smart devices, embedded systems, and edge computing, the ability to run language models locally — without relying on the cloud — is essential. Whether its for reducing latency, improving data privacy, or enabling offline functionality, local AI [0]
  
  The post How to Deploy Lightweight Language Models on Embedded Linux with LiteLLM appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Automating Compliance Management with UTMStacks Open Source SIEM 8 XDR
  Achieving and maintaining compliance with regulatory frameworks can be challenging for many organizations. Managing security controls manually often leads to excessive use of time and resources, leaving less available for strategic initiatives and business growth. Standards such as CMMC, HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC2 and GDPR demand ongoing monitoring, detailed documentation, and rigorous evidence collection. Solutions [0]
  
  The post Automating Compliance Management with UTMStacks Open Source SIEM & XDR appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• A Simple Way to Install Talos Linux on Any Machine, with Any Provider
  Talos Linux is a specialized operating system designed for running Kubernetes. First and foremost it handles full lifecycle management for Kubernetes control-plane components. On the other hand, Talos Linux focuses on security, minimizing the user’s ability to influence the system. A distinctive feature of this OS is the near-complete absence of executables, including the absence [0]
  
  The post A Simple Way to Install Talos Linux on Any Machine, with Any Provider appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Using OpenTelemetry and the OTel Collector for Logs, Metrics, and Traces
  OpenTelemetry (fondly known as OTel) is an open-source project that provides a unified set of APIs, libraries, agents, and instrumentation to capture and export logs, metrics, and traces from applications. The project’s goal is to standardize observability across various services and applications, enabling better monitoring and troubleshooting. Read More at Causely
  
  The post Using OpenTelemetry and the OTel Collector for Logs, Metrics, and Traces appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Project Tazama, A Project Hosted by LF Charities With Support From the Gates Foundation, Receives Digital Public Good Designation.
  Exciting news! The Tazama project is officially a Digital Public Good having met the criteria to be accepted to the Digital Public Goods Alliance ! Tazama is a groundbreaking open source software solution for real-time fraud prevention, and offers the first-ever open source platform dedicated to enhancing fraud management in digital payments. Historically, the financial [0]
  
  The post Project Tazama, A Project Hosted by LF Charities With Support From the Gates Foundation, Receives Digital Public Good Designation. appeared first on Linux.com.
  

• Xen 4.19 is released
  Xen Project 4.19 has been officially out since July 31st, 2024, and it brings significant updates. With enhancements in performance, security, and versatility across various architectures like Arm, PPC, RISC-V, and x86, this release is an important milestone for the Xen community. Read more at XCP-ng Blog
  
  The post Xen 4.19 is released appeared first on Linux.com.
  

Engadget"Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics"

• The best instant cameras for 2026
  Instantcameras have become a popular category for one simple reason: they’re fun. You can whip one out at a party or event and take a snap, then a couple of minutes later you have a real, physical, instant photo that everyone can touch, feel and enjoy instead of staring at a screen. It’s also a lot cooler than a smartphone shot thanks to the retro, nostalgic vibes of analog photography.
  
  Given the large number of camera brands on the market, choosing one can be tricky. That’s why we’ve put together this buying guide that will help you choose the best instant camera for you based on factors like price, instant film size, photo quality and more.
  Best instant cameras for 2026
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  What to consider before buying an instant camera
  The main factor for most people is the size of the film. When most people think of retro instant cameras, they think of a square image size. That’s why Instagram, which used to have a Polaroid-like app icon, only supported square images for years. If that’s what you want, then Fuji’s Square or either of Polaroid’s formats are best.
  
  However, if you want as large an image as possible, Fujifilm’s Instax wide is the way to go. For those who prefer a smaller size to pin on their fridge or slip in an envelope (or the cheaper film), Fujifilim’s Instax Mini or Polaroid’s Go format are best.
  
  With that in mind, here are the choices. Fujifilm’s Instax alone offers three formats: Mini, Square and Wide, with film sizes of 3.4 x 2.1 inches, 3.4 x 2.8 inches and 3.4 x 4.3 inches. The corresponding image sizes are 2.44 x 1.81 inches, 2.44 x 2.44 inches and 2.44 x 3.9 inches.
  
  Leica’s Sofort 2 and Lomography models also uses Fujifilm’s Mini format, while Polaroid’s smaller Go format is 2.64 x 2.13 inches (1.81 x 1.83-inch image) and its i-Type size is 3.46 x 4.21 inches, with a square image size of 3.11 x 3.11 inches.
  
  As for prices, Fujifilm’s Instax films are generally around $1 - $1.20 per shot for square or wide color film and $.60 - $.75 for mini color film. Those prices go up a bit if you choose custom models with colorful or patterned borders, and down if you buy in bulk. Polaroid’s i-Type film is a bit more at about $2.00 per shot or $1.00 - $1.35 per shot for Go color film.
  
  Image quality isn’t really the point with instant cameras of course, as they’re always going to be fuzzy compared to digital photos. However, some models (notably Fujifilm and Polaroid models) are a bit better than others.
  
  And in terms of pricing for the cameras themselves, models with larger film are generally more expensive. It also increases if you add hybrid features like USB-C connectivity, smartphone sharing, the ability to print out photos and more, along with niceties like a selfie mirror. The best, most feature-laden cameras can cost upwards of $200 and basic versions can be well under $100.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/best-instant-camera-120034778.html?src=rss

• ExpressVPN two-year plans are up to 78 percent off
  ExpressVPN is back on sale again, and its two-year plans are up to 78 percent off right now. You can get the Advanced tier for $101 for 28 months. This is marked down from the $392 that this time frame normally costs. On a per-month basis, it works out to roughly $3.59 for the promo period.
  
  We’ve consistently liked ExpressVPN because it’s fast, easy to use and widely available across a large global server network. In fact, it's our current pick for best premium VPN. One of the biggest drawbacks has always been its high cost, and this deal temporarily solves that issue.
  
  
  
  In our review we were able to get fast download and upload speeds, losing only 7 percent in the former and 2 percent in the latter worldwide. We found that it could unblock Netflix anywhere, and its mobile and desktop apps were simple to operate. We gave ExpressVPN an overall score of 85 out of 100.
  
  The virtual private network service now has three tiers. Basic is cheaper with fewer features, while Pro costs more and adds extra perks like support for 14 simultaneous devices and a password manager. Advanced sits in the middle and includes the password manager but only supports 12 devices.
  
  The Basic plan is $78 right now for 28 months, down from $363, and the Pro plan is $168, down from $560. That's 78 percent and 70 percent off, respectively. All plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users, so you can try it without committing long term if you’re on the fence.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/expressvpn-two-year-plans-are-up-to-78-percent-off-180602104.html?src=rss

• Microsoft issues emergency fix after a security update left some Windows 11 devices unable to shut down
  If you weren9t able to shut down your Windows 11 device recently, Microsoft has rolled out an emergency fix addressing a couple of critical bugs that popped up with its latest January 2026 Windows security update. The latest "out-of-band" update repairs an issue for some Windows 11 devices that would only restart when users tried to shut down or hibernate. The same update restores the ability for Windows 10 and Windows 11 users to log into their devices via remote connection apps.
  
  Microsoft said the inability to shut down or hibernate affected Windows 11 devices using Secure Launch, a security feature that protects a computer from firmware-level attacks during startup. As for the remote connection issue, Microsoft explained in its Known issues page that credential prompt failures were responsible when users tried to log in remotely to affected Windows 10 and 11 devices.
  
  According to Windows Recovery Environment. For those still hesitant to upgrade to Windows 11, Microsoft is allowing you to squeeze some more life out of Windows 10 by enrolling in Extended Security Updates.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/microsoft-issues-emergency-fix-afer-a-security-update-left-some-windows-11-devices-unable-to-shut-down-192216734.html?src=rss

• Three months of Audible is on sale for $3 right now
  Have a hankering for some audiobooks? Audible is holding one heck of a sale right now, giving users three months of access for $3. That9s a dollar per month. This is something of a winter tradition for the Amazon-owned platform and the promotion ends on January 21.
  
  An Audible subscription grants one audiobook per month to keep. This can be selected from a massive catalog of new releases and bestsellers. The collection here has just about everything.
  
  
  
  However, it9s easy to plow through a single book in a month. Users also get streaming access to thousands of curated titles. Think of it like Netflix for audiobooks. The catalog is limited, but it gets the job done in a pinch. Subscribers do get access to all Audible original content and they will receive discounts on purchasing audiobooks outright.
  
  In other words, it9s a neat little service and well worth a buck. The regular price is $15, so make sure to cancel at the end of that three months if you aren9t enjoying the platform.
  
  Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/three-months-of-audible-is-on-sale-for-3-right-now-193859793.html?src=rss

• This UGreen 3-in-1 wireless charger is 32 percent off right now
  You can easily spruce up your nightstand or desk by decluttering a bit, replacing some of those annoying charging cables with a good wireless charging setup. One of our favorites that can handle three devices at once is the UGREEN MagFlow Qi2 3-in-1 Charger Station 25W. Normally $140, it9s on sale right now for $95; that9s 32 percent off and only about $5 more than its record-low price.
  
  
  
  This is our top pick for a 3-in-1 charging pad thanks to its versatility. The UGREEN can work equally well as a permanent fixture in your home or act as a portable charging station. It boasts a foldable design and has smart little design details to keep it feeling like a premium product.
  
  The Qi2 25W charging works across a range of iPhone models and accessories, such as AirPods. There9s also a dedicated part of the pad9s design for an Apple Watch, which uses a proprietary charging standard, to power up too. Just note that you9ll need a newer model of phone and the latest iOS 26 in order to take full advantage of the 25W charging capability. The wireless pad also comes with both a charging plug and a cable. We felt this UGREEN model was a great value at $140, so being able to snag one for a third of the usual price is an even better deal.
  
  Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/this-ugreen-3-in-1-wireless-charger-is-32-percent-off-right-now-214707378.html?src=rss

• Washington is the latest state pursuing an age verification law for porn sites
  Washington state residents may soon be forced to produce IDs before getting onto websites with pornographic content. Within the state9s House of Representatives, Rep. Mari Leavitt introduced House Bill 2112, which is informally known as the Keep Our Children Safe Act. Similar to the initiatives seen in other states, the bill proposes to restrict access to "online sexual material harmful" to anyone under 18.
  
  In practical terms, those living in Washington state could see websites asking for digital identification or demanding the user go through an age verification system that requests a government-issued ID. If a website that has more than one-third of its content being "sexual material harmful to minors" is found not following these rules, the state9s attorney general can pursue steep civil penalties.
  
  If those restrictions sound familiar, it9s because many other states have also passed similar constraints. Washington state9s proposed bill is very similar to Texas9 age verification law that went into effect in September 2023 and was recently upheld by the US Supreme Court. Like the Texas law, several groups expressed disapproval of the bill during the public hearing at the House committee level. As reported by The Seattle Times, groups including the ACLU, Lavender Rights Project and the Northwest Progressive Institute warned of privacy risks related to potential data breaches and the loose definition of "sexual material harmful to minors" in the bill9s language.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/washington-is-the-latest-state-pursuing-an-age-verification-law-for-porn-sites-174423529.html?src=rss

• New users can get a year of one of our favorite budgeting apps for only $50
  A new year is the perfect time to get your spending in order, and if you9re not trying to build your own spreadsheet, budgeting apps are one of the best ways to do it. To save yourself some money in the process, you can pick up a year-long subscription to Monarch Money, one of Engadget9s favorite budgeting apps, for just $50 if you use code NEWYEAR2026 at checkout and you9re a new subscriber. That9s a 50 percent discount on the service9s normal $100 price.
  
  Monarch Money makes for a capable and detailed budgeting companion. You can use the service via apps for iOS, Android, iPadOS or the web, and Monarch also offers a Chrome extension that can sync your Amazon and Target transactions and automatically categorize them. Like other budgeting apps, Monarch Money lets you connect multiple financial accounts and track your money based on where you spend it over time. Monarch offers two different approaches to tracking budgeting (flexible and category budgeting) depending on what fits your life best, and the ability to add a budget widget on your phone so you can know how you9re tracking that month.
  
  
  
  How budgeting apps turn your raw transactions into visuals you can understand at a glance is one of the big things that differentiates one app from another, and Monarch Money offers multiple graphs and charts to look at for things like spending, investments or categories of your choice based on how you9ve labelled your expenses. The app can also monitor the spending of you and your partner all in one place, to make it easier to plan together.
  
  The main drawbacks Engadget found in testing Monarch Money were the app9s learning curve, and the differences in features (and bugginess) between Monarch9s web and mobile versions. Still, for 50 percent off, the Monarch Money is well worth experimenting with if you9re trying to save money in 2026, especially if you want to do it collaboratively with a partner.
  
  Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/new-users-can-get-a-year-of-one-of-our-favorite-budgeting-apps-for-only-50-204507576.html?src=rss

• Apple's latest 25W MagSafe charger is on sale for $30
  If you want a wireless charger for your iPhone and prefer to stick with Apple, Amazon has a sale that may pique your interest. The retailer is selling the one meter Apple Magsafe charger for $30, saving you $10 off the regular price, while also selling the two meter model for $40 ($10 off).
  
  
  
  If you have an iPhone 16, iPhone 17 or iPhone Air, this cable can charge your device at 25W as long as it9s connected to a 30W power adapter on the other end. While you9ll need a more recent iPhone to get the fastest MagSafe charging speeds, the charger can wirelessly top up the battery of any iPhone from the last eight years (iPhone 8 and later). With older iPhones, the charging speed tops out at 15W. The cable works with AirPods wireless charging cases too — it9s certified for Qi2.2 and Qi charging.
  
  The MagSafe charger is one of our favorite iPhone accessories, and would pair quite nicely with your new iPhone if you9re picking up one of the latest models. If you9re on the fence about that, be sure to check out our reviews of the iPhone 17, iPhone Pro/Pro Max and iPhone Air.
  
  Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-latest-25w-magsafe-charger-is-on-sale-for-30-141707297.html?src=rss

• Disney+ and Hulu deal: Get one month of the bundle for only $10
  The peak time for deals on streaming services — the holiday shopping season — has come and gone, but Disney is back with a fresh offer for the new year. New and eligible returning subscribers can get one month of the ad-supported Disney+ Hulu bundle for just $10. That9s $3 off the usual monthly rate for the bundle, and more than 58 percent off if you consider the prices for each service individually (Disney+ at $12 per month and, separately, Hulu also at $12 per month).
  
  We9d be remiss if we didn9t mention that this isn9t quite as good as the Black Friday deal we saw last year, which offered the same bundle for $5 per month for one year. However, if you missed that offer or just want to try out Disney+ and Hulu for a brief period of time, this is a good way to do so.
  
  
  
  Disney+ and Hulu make one of the most balanced streaming pairs available, blending family-friendly favorites with acclaimed originals and network TV staples. Disney+ brings a vast library of animated classics, blockbuster franchises and exclusive content from Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and National Geographic. It’s the place to stream nearly every Star Wars film and series, plus the full Marvel Cinematic Universe lineup and Disney’s most recent theatrical releases.
  
  Hulu balances things out with a more adult-oriented lineup of current TV shows, next-day network episodes and a growing roster of award-winning originals. The platform hosts series like The Bear, The Handmaid’s Tale and Only Murders in the Building, alongside comedies, thrillers and documentaries that regularly feature in awards conversations. It’s also the home for next-day streaming of ABC and FX shows, making it especially useful if you’ve already cut the cable cord but still want to keep up with primetime TV.
  
  The Duo Basic bundle ties these two services together under a single subscription, offering a simple way to expand your library without juggling multiple accounts. This tier includes ads on both platforms, but the trade-off is significant savings compared with paying for each service separately. For many households, that’s an acceptable compromise when it means access to such a wide range of content.
  
  Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/disney-and-hulu-deal-get-one-month-of-the-bundle-for-only-10-192814033.html?src=rss

• The plan for a gaming-themed Atari hotel in Las Vegas has reportedly been scrapped
  Six years after the announcement of plans to build Atari Hotels in eight cities across the US, including Las Vegas, only one now seems to be moving forward, in Phoenix, Arizona. The Las Vegas deal ultimately "didn9t come to fruition," spokesperson Sara Collins told Las Vegas Sun this week, and Atari Hotels is putting its focus into the Phoenix site "for the time being."
  
  Phoenix was always meant to be the first site, followed by other hotels in Austin, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Jose and Seattle. But Las Vegas is now apparently off the table, and there haven9t been any signs of life around the other planned locations. The FAQ on the Atari Hotels website notes, "Additional sites, including Denver, are being explored under separate development and licensing agreements." The Atari Hotel project was announced in 2020 just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and consequently experienced development delays. Construction on the Phoenix hotel, which was supposed to break ground in 2020, is expected to begin late this year, with its opening now planned for 2028. 
  
  But maybe don9t hold your breath. According to a December press release, the company is still trying to raise $35 million to $40 million to fund the "playable destination" for gamers in Phoenix.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-plan-for-a-gaming-themed-atari-hotel-in-las-vegas-has-reportedly-been-scrapped-214212269.html?src=rss

• Amazon's live-action God of War adaptation adds Teresa Palmer
  Amazon is reportedly adding Teresa Palmer (The Fall Guy, Warm Bodies, Hacksaw Ridge) to its pantheon of Norse gods for its God of War TV show adaptation. As first reported by Ryan Hurst, but it could hint at the direction the TV show may take.
  two seasons.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/amazons-live-action-god-of-war-adaptation-adds-teresa-palmer-201604602.html?src=rss

• TikTok's latest spinoff app feels a lot like Quibi, but with shorter and cornier content
  In another attempt to reduce our attention spans to mush, TikTok has released the PineDrama app, which offers serialized drama series that are roughly a minute per episode. As first spotted by TikTok, but instead of trendy dance videos, you can scroll through and watch "micro dramas."
  
  For those new to the category, micro dramas are bite-sized TV shows shot in vertical video and available in minute-long episodes. Don9t expect any nominations for Best Original Screenplay with series like The Officer Fell For Me or Married to my past life9s nemesis, since they typically offer soap opera vibes with cliffhangers that keep users scrolling to the next episode. The app is designed to keep people on it with a Discover tab, a place to save favorites and the ability to react in real time alongside other viewers.
  
  Right now, the micro dramas on PineDrama are all free to watch and don9t have any ads. It9s unclear if TikTok will introduce any costs or ads to the app, since other micro drama options like DramaBox or ReelShort have a paid structure. Late last year, TikTok also introduced a way to watch micro dramas within its own app, with a section called Minis. It9s not the first time we9re seeing shorter TV show formats, since Quibi made waves with a format of episodes that were less than 10 minutes long. However, maybe even 10 minutes was too long since the startup eventually called it quits after eight months.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/tiktoks-latest-spinoff-app-feels-a-lot-like-quibi-but-with-shorter-and-cornier-content-185702010.html?src=rss

• It's the last day to get up to $90 off reMarkable E Ink tablet bundles
  E Ink tablet maker reMarkable is running a bundle deal right now that can save you between $80 and $90 when buying a reMarkable 2 along with a Marker stylus and a folio case. The savings vary depending on the bundle you configure, but this can bring your out-the-door cost down to $449 from $529 for the tablet, Marker stylus and polymer weave book folio. The offer runs through January 17.
  
  The company also sells a newer stylus called Marker Plus that lets you erase by flipping it around just like a real pencil, but that will cost you an extra $50. If you’ve been eyeing a dedicated writing tablet for work, school or just jotting down notes without the distraction of endless apps, this bundle deal is an ideal opportunity to pick one up.
  
  
  
  The reMarkable 2 earned our top pick for best e-ink tablet. In our review, we said the tablet was prettier than ever with a 10.3-inch display and a handsome aluminum frame. The tablet is only 4.7mm thick and weighs less than a pound, helping it feel lean and portable.
  
  The display can detect over 4,000 different levels of pressure with the Marker stylus, allowing for precise shading when sketching and the latency between the stylus and the screen is just 21ms. reMarkable fitted the display with a resin layer on top of the glass to make writing on it feel more realistic. We didn9t think this passed muster, but we found writing on it was a joy nonetheless.
  
  The tablet supports PDFs and ePUBs, which can be added via the companion mobile app or a desktop computer. You can also pair the reMarkable 2 with Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive or Dropbox to access files. The battery is rated for an impressive two weeks between charges.
  
  The reMarkable Paper Pro, a higher-end model with a richer feature set like a full color display and a built-in reading light, is our pick for best premium e-ink tablet. The pricier tablet also has bundle deals right now with savings up to $80 depending on configuration.
  
  Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/its-the-last-day-to-get-up-to-90-off-remarkable-e-ink-tablet-bundles-150242090.html?src=rss

• Get NBA League Pass for up to 55 percent off right now
  NBA League Pass, the streaming service that lets you catch hundreds of out-of-market NBA games, is on sale right now for up to 55 percent off. The League Pass Premium subscription is on sale for $75, down from $160, while League Pass Standard is marked down to $50 from $110. We9re almost halfway through the season at this point, so it makes sense for a service like League Pass to start offering some discounts.
  
  The Standard plan includes commercials and support for only one device at a time, while the Premium tier offers no commercials, in-arena streams during breaks in the game, offline viewing of full games and concurrent streams on up to three devices at once.
  
  
  
  Last year, League Pass added multiview, which allows you to view up to four games at once on a single screen. This is included across both subscription tiers. The service also added a smart rewind tool that automatically selects key highlights and plays from each game.
  
  Outside the US and Canada, League Pass carries every single NBA game live, but within these countries a bevy of restrictions apply. In the US, any games being shown on your regional sports network will be blacked out as the service is meant for out-of-market games only. Also, any nationally broadcast games will not be available live, but instead will be available for on-demand viewing at 6AM ET the following day. The service is only for regular-season games.
  
  If you9re an avid NBA fan that follows multiple teams then the League Pass almost certainly carries dozens of games you can watch even with the restrictions in the US. Subscribers can get a list of applicable blackouts by entering their ZIP code before signing up.
  
  Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/get-nba-league-pass-for-up-to-55-percent-off-right-now-163421800.html?src=rss

• Elon Musk is looking for a $134 billion payout from OpenAI and Microsoft
  We now have some idea of what9s at stake in the longstanding feud between Elon Musk and OpenAI. As first reported by $500 billion, after contributing $38 million in "seed funding" during the AI company9s startup years. Along with providing "roughly 60 percent of the nonprofit9s seed funding," Musk offered recruiting of key employees, introductions with business contacts and startup advice, according to the filing. The monetary estimate comes from C. Paul Wazzan, a financial economist who9s serving as Musk9s expert in the case. According to Wazzan9s calculations, OpenAI earned between $65.5 billion and $109.43 billion in wrongful gains, while Microsoft saw between $13.3 billion and $25.06 billion.
  
  The lawsuit between Elon Musk and OpenAI dates back to March 2024, when the xAI CEO first filed a legal action claiming that OpenAI violated its non-profit status. Musk later added Microsoft as another defendant and even tried to get an injunction when OpenAI announced efforts to reorganize its corporate structure. Besides this suit, Musk has named OpenAI in another legal battle, accusing the company, along with Apple, of monopolistic practices that prevent xAI from getting a fair shot in the App Store.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/elon-musk-is-looking-for-a-134-billion-payout-from-openai-and-microsoft-171824945.html?src=rss

• Grab a four-pack of AirTags on sale for $65
  Most Apple products are pretty expensive, but some of the most affordable (and useful) ones are AirTags. The Bluetooth trackers are priced pretty reasonably even when not on sale, but they can be a steal if you can get them on a discount — like right now. A four pack of AirTags is on sale for $65 at Amazon, which is only a few dollars more than the record-low price we saw during Black Friday this year.
  
  
  
  AirTags can be useful for people who travel frequently, helping you to keep track of essentials like your passport as well as a way to keep tabs on luggage while you9re on the go. If you do purchase some AirTags, we have some recommendations for useful accessories to go along with them, such as different styles of cases to best attach the trackers to different types of items. These are worth looking over and adding to your shopping cart in order to make the most of the product. 
  
  AirTags have an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance and their replaceable batteries should last for about a year. They can also support Precision Finding, which gives more exact directions to a lost item, when paired with most models after the iPhone 11. Up to five people can share an AirTag9s location, which is helpful for families or large travel groups. 
  
  Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/grab-a-four-pack-of-airtags-on-sale-for-65-202333514.html?src=rss

• California AG sends cease and desist to xAI over Grok's explicit deepfakes
  California Attorney General Rob Bonta has sent a cease and desist letter to xAI, days after his office launched an official investigation into the company over reports that Grok was generating nonconsensual
  
  If you’ll recall, xAI and Grok have been under fire for taking images of real individuals and putting them in revealing clothing like bikinis upon random users’ requests.
  
  Bonta’s office demands that xAI immediately cease and desist from creating “digitized sexually explicit material” when the depicted individual didn’t consent to it or if the individual is a minor. It also demanded that xAI stop “facilitating or aiding and abetting the creation… or publication of digitized sexually explicit material” of nonconsenting individuals and persons under 18 years of age.
  
  X changed its policies after the issue broke out and prevented the Grok account from being able to edit images of real people into revealing clothing. xAI also moved Grok’s image-generating features behind a paywall and geoblocked paying users’ ability to edit images of real people into bikinis, but only in regions where it’s illegal.
  
  In his announcement, Bonta said xAI developed a “spicy mode” for Grok to generate explicit content and used it as a marketing point. The California AG also said that Grok-generated sexual images are being used to harass both public figures and ordinary users. “Most alarmingly, news reports have described the use of Grok to alter images of children to depict them in minimal clothing and sexual situations,” Bonta’s announcement reads.
  
  “The actions above violate California law, including California Civil Code section 1708.86, California Penal Code sections 311 et seq. and 647(j)(4), and California Business & Professions Code section 17200,” it said. The state’s Department of Justice now expects to hear from xAI on the steps it’s taking to address these issues within the next five days.
  xAI has been producing deepfake nonconsensual intimate images used to harass women & girls across the internet.
  
  This is unacceptable. We’re demanding immediate answers on their plan to stop the creation & spread of this content.
  
  We’ll use all tools at our disposal to keep… pic.twitter.com/2elGTV0wRq
  — Rob Bonta (@AGRobBonta) January 16, 2026
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/california-ag-sends-cease-and-desist-to-xai-over-groks-explicit-deepfakes-140000574.html?src=rss

• How to pair AirPods with any device
  AirPods work most smoothly with Apple hardware, but they also connect reliably to Android phones, Windows laptops and other Bluetooth devices. The pairing process depends on the platform in use although the basics remain the same. Once the AirPods are placed in pairing mode, most devices detect them quickly and handle the remaining steps in the background. The guide below explains how to pair AirPods with Apple products, how the process differs on newer iPhones that support H2 features and how to connect them to non-Apple devices.
  How to pair AirPods with Apple devices
  Apple builds AirPods to pair almost instantly with devices in its own ecosystem. Opening the charging case near an unlocked iPhone or iPad usually brings up an on-screen prompt. Tapping Connect links the earbuds to the device and to every other Apple product signed into the same iCloud account. After that, switching between devices is automatic. Audio output follows the active device as long as each product is using updated software and is signed in with the same Apple ID.
  
  If the pairing prompt does not appear, there are a few simple checks that help things move along. Opening the Control Center and selecting the audio output menu confirms whether the AirPods already appear as an available device. If they are listed there, choosing them establishes the connection. If they do not appear, opening the Settings app and checking Bluetooth usually reveals whether the AirPods are in range or already recognized. Opening the case while viewing the Bluetooth menu often triggers the pairing card once more.
  
  The process is similar across Apple Watch and Mac. When the AirPods are already linked to an iPhone, they tend to show up automatically on a paired Apple Watch. On Mac, opening System Settings and viewing the Bluetooth section reveals the same device list seen on an iPhone. Selecting the AirPods from that list completes the connection and also syncs the pairing status back to every other Apple device using the same account.
  Enhanced pairing with newer iPhones
  Some newer iPhones support features enabled by the H2 chip used in newer AirPods models. With compatible AirPods, models such as iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 lineup tend to deliver a faster and more responsive setup experience. When an AirPods case is opened near one of these phones, the device quickly detects the earbuds and displays the pairing card with little delay. This also tends to speed up transitions between devices and improves reliability when switching audio sources.
  
  If the fast pairing prompt does not appear on a newer iPhone, reopening the case while the phone is unlocked is usually enough to reinitiate the process. It also helps to confirm that Bluetooth is turned on. Placing the AirPods back in the case for a few seconds and trying again will often reset the pairing state if the earbuds were connected elsewhere.
  AirPods Pro 3EngadgetHow to put AirPods into pairing mode
  Every AirPods model supports a manual pairing mode. This is essential when linking the earbuds to devices outside the Apple ecosystem, or when the automatic prompt fails to appear on an iPhone or Mac. On older AirPods models, pairing mode is activated by opening the lid and pressing and holding the setup button on the back of the case until the LED light flashes white. Newer models, including AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 3, use a touch-based method instead. With the lid open, tapping the area near the LED light places the earbuds into pairing mode. Leaving the lid open keeps the AirPods discoverable for nearby devices. Closing the case ends the process and requires it to be repeated if the device fails to detect them.
  
  Pairing mode does not remove any previous connections. It simply makes the AirPods available to new devices, which is helpful when switching between ecosystems. However, connecting to a new device usually takes priority. If the AirPods are already linked to something else that is nearby, turning off Bluetooth on the previously connected device prevents interference and helps the new device detect them more easily.
  How to pair AirPods with Android devices
  Although AirPods are designed for Apple hardware, they function like any other Bluetooth earbuds on Android. Opening the case and placing the AirPods in pairing mode allows Android phones to detect them through the standard Bluetooth menu. The earbuds appear in the list of available devices and selecting them initiates the connection. Once paired, AirPods work for calls and media playback. Some features, such as automatic ear detection and battery status indicators, may require a third-party app on Android and are not supported at a system level. Features such as spatial audio and device switching remain exclusive to Apple’s ecosystem but day-to-day performance is consistent on Android.
  
  If the AirPods fail to appear, refreshing the Bluetooth device list on the Android phone usually helps. Making sure the earbuds are still in pairing mode is essential since the white LED indicator stops flashing after a short period. Reopening the case and holding the button again, or tapping on the front for newer models, restores discoverability.
  How to pair AirPods with Windows laptops
  Windows 11 handles AirPods as a regular audio device. Opening the Bluetooth and Devices menu in System Settings displays a list of nearby accessories. With the AirPods in pairing mode, the laptop should detect them and display them as an audio device. Selecting them completes the process and adds the earbuds to the device’s known accessories. Windows generally reconnects to AirPods automatically on future sessions as long as Bluetooth remains enabled.
  
  If the earbuds do not appear in the list, toggling Bluetooth off and back on helps the system refresh the device scan. Checking whether the AirPods are already linked to a different device is another useful step. Windows sometimes struggles to take over a connection when the earbuds remain in range of a previously paired phone so disabling Bluetooth on the other device often resolves the issue.
  Troubleshooting common pairing issues
  Most pairing problems come down to the AirPods not being in discoverable mode or being connected to another device nearby. Resetting the earbuds solves many problems. On AirPods models with a setup button, placing the AirPods in the case, leaving the lid open and holding the button until the LED turns amber then white restores the factory pairing state. On newer models without a physical button, place the AirPods in the case, close the lid for about 30 seconds, then open it and quickly tap the front of the case three times. The status light should then flash amber and then white, to indicate that the reset is complete. This clears previous connections and makes the AirPods behave as if they are new out of the box. 
  
  Low battery levels can also interrupt pairing. Ensuring both the earbuds and the case have enough charge prevents unexpected disconnections during setup. Interference from other wireless accessories affects pairing on crowded networks. Moving to a quieter spot or turning off surrounding Bluetooth devices helps the AirPods stand out when scanning.
  
  AirPods are built to pair quickly with Apple devices but they also integrate smoothly with other platforms. Keeping the earbuds in pairing mode and confirming that Bluetooth is enabled on the device in use ensures a smooth setup every time. Once connected, the AirPods tend to remember the device and reconnect whenever they are nearby which keeps day-to-day use simple regardless of the platform.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/how-to-pair-airpods-with-any-device-140000234.html?src=rss

• How to cancel CyberGhost and get a refund
  I came out of my CyberGhost review with a positive opinion, feeling it had earned its spot in my best VPN roundup. However, even an expert review is subjective, and there9s a chance CyberGhost will not work for you. If that’s the case, here9s how to cancel your subscription.
  How to stop your CyberGhost subscription renewing
  Cancelling your CyberGhost subscription won9t end it right away, unless you delete your account or get the refund (I9ll explain how to do both of those later). Instead, the way to cancel CyberGhost is to stop your subscription from renewing at the end of each billing period. Once you9ve done that, you can keep using CyberGhost until your current period ends.
  
  The following steps will cancel auto-renewal if you got CyberGhost through its website. If you bought it through an app store instead, see the next section.
  
  Open your browser and go to through this link or open a live chat conversation by clicking the Live Chat button at the bottom-right of any page on the benefits of masking your IP address and changing your virtual location don9t go anywhere. You can check out my best list (linked at the top) or best free VPN roundup for ideas, or check out the review for my favorite service, Proton VPN.
  
  Proton VPN is my top choice because of its focus on user freedoms and attention to quality in everything it does. If you9re willing to pay a bit more for extreme simplicity and total reliability, ExpressVPN is ideal for beginners. If you9re a speed demon and just want to keep your downloads fast, go with Surfshark.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/how-to-cancel-cyberghost-and-get-a-refund-130000311.html?src=rss

• Papers Please but with zombies, a farming-based shoot-'em-up and other new indie games worth checking out
  Welcome to our latest roundup of what9s going on in the indie game space. Several neat-looking games arrived this week, we got release dates for several others that I9m really looking forward to and a brand-new Steam festival was announced. 
  
  The Love, Romance, and Heartbreak Debutante Ball is said to be the first Valentine9s Day-themed Steam festival. It9ll run from February 13 to 20 and feature more than 100 games, including discounts and demos. A showcase will take place on February 13 at 1PM ET on the Sunny Demeanor Games YouTube channel too.
  
  Organizers say the festival includes a wide variety of games about love, including RPGs, puzzle games and (naturally) visual novels. You might play as a cat or someone trying to fish an engagement ring out of a claw machine, as a secret agent or a couple that9s run off to another planet. I9m intrigued! There will be some NSFW games involved, for what it9s worth.
  New releases
  Quarantine Zone: The Last Check seems like a 3D version of Papers Please but with zombies. At a checkpoint amid a zombie outbreak, your mission is to screen survivors for signs of infection. If you9re unsure of their status, you can send an individual to quarantine for further observation or a lab for additional screening. Otherwise, you can let them in or send them to "liquidation." Get things wrong and it could spell disaster, but at least you have a sidearm (and a weaponized drone) to help you deal with sticky situations.
  
  It looks like there9s a lot going on in Quarantine Zone: The Last Check, which is from Brigada Games and publisher Devolver Digital. There are base and resource management aspects as well. It9s out now on Steam (usually $20, but there9s a 10 percent discount until January 26) and PC Game Pass.
  
  Air Hares seems to draw inspiration from classic top-down shoot-9em-ups. But instead of simply blowing up countless ships, your mission is to restore farmland. You9ll fire seeds and water to turn barren land into fertile carrot fields. There are still enemies to contend with — you (and perhaps a co-op partner) can dodge and ram them as you try to protect the land. Expect boss battles, too.
  
  I really like the aesthetic here. It has a 990s-style cartoon look (I suddenly really want a modern Bucky O9Hare game). Also, the song from the trailer is going to live in my head for weeks.
  
  Husband-and-wife team Tim and Megan Bungeroth created Air Hares over six years with the help of several contributors. According to a press release, the game is "inspired by the creators’ personal journey with infertility and the idea of creating life rather than destroying it." 
  
  Air Hares is out now on Steam. It typically costs $9, but there9s a 20 percent discount until January 28.
  
  Luckshot Games9 Big Hops looks like my kind of 3D platformer: joyous and playful. As a young frog who has been kidnapped, you9ll try to find airship parts for a raccoon who has promised to help get you home.
  
  There are tons of movement mechanics here, and Hop9s tongue plays a major role in those. You can use it to swing across gaps, hookshot your way to higher platforms and solve puzzles. 
  
  Big Hops is out now on Steam, Nintendo Switch and PS5 for $20. The Switch and Steam versions have a 10 percent launch discount until January 19.
  
  Cassette Boy is a pixel-art game that might appear to be a 2D exploration puzzler, but there9s more going on here. You can rotate the world to discover new secrets and hide enemies and hazards from view so you can move past them. If you can9t see something on your screen, it doesn9t exist. There9s a bit of a Fez influence here, it would appear.
  
  Wonderland Kazakiri and publisher Pocketpair are behind this one, which I9m looking forward to checking out when I have a chance. Cassette Boy is available on Steam, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S for $13.
  Upcoming 
  I really enjoyed the demo for Aerial_Knight’s DropShot (as well as Aerial_Knight’s previous games). I9m for sure going to be playing the full game when it hits PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam and Epic Games Store on February 17.
  
  This is a single-player first-person shooter in which you9re skydiving with finger guns. You compete with four enemies to grab the only available parachute as you9re falling through the air. Rounds are fast-paced too, generally lasting under a minute.
  
  Point-and-click adventure Earth Must Die has been on my radar for a while and we9ll all get a chance to try it soon. It9s designed to be a playable cartoon (with a runtime of about eight hours) and it has an art style to match. 
  
  The cast is pretty stellar, with Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hades II), Joel Fry (Our Flag Means Death) and a whole load of British comedy figures on board. There9s a demo available on Steam now and the full game — from Size Five Games and publisher No More Robots — will land on January 27.
  
  Let9s wrap things up for this week something very silly-looking from Monster Shop Games. Pie in the Sky is a Tony Hawk9s Pro Skater-inspired action arcade game in which you play as a magpie that terrorizes bystanders. You can knock people off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, ram kids off of scooters, actually go skateboarding and, uh, cause havoc from above. In classic THPS-style, there are hidden areas too. 
  
  This looks like a fun distraction from [gestures at everything]. Pie is the Sky will swoop onto Steam on February 2.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/papers-please-but-with-zombies-a-farming-based-shoot-em-up-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-123000437.html?src=rss

• The best VPN service for 2026
  As frustrating as it is that governments and businesses are running roughshod over our online freedoms, at least we have plenty of good VPNs to choose from to keep us protected online. There are so many fast, intelligently designed, full-featured and affordable services on the market that the biggest problem is picking one. For any use case, you can bet at least two providers will be neck-and-neck for first place.
  
  On the other hand, the VPN world is still the Wild West in some ways. It9s easy enough to slap a cheap VPN together that the market is flooded with low-quality apps that put more money into advertising than infrastructure. They may look good, but it9s all styrofoam under the hood.
  
  I built this list of the best VPNs after intensive testing to help you reorient your focus on the providers that actually deserve your time and money. Which one truly fits your needs is dependent on who you are and what you do online, but if you pick any of my seven recommendations, you can9t go too far wrong. If you9re interested in a service you can use without paying, head over to my list of the best free VPNs — and if you9re willing to pay but want to save money, I keep a list of the best VPN deals updated weekly.
  
  For each VPN on this list, I9ve shared which platforms it works on, how much it cuts into your download speed, where it offers servers, what other features are included and how much the best available deal costs. At the end, I9ll list some honorable and dishonorable mentions, then answer some of the most common questions I hear about VPNs.
  
  Editor9s note: This list is up-to-date as of January 2026. We intend to revisit this list every three months at a minimum, at which time our picks may be adjusted based on changes in pricing, features, testing results and other factors.
  Table of contents
  Best VPNs for 2026?
  
  Other VPNs we tested?
  
  What to look for in a VPN?
  
  VPN FAQs?
  Best VPNs for 2026
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Other VPNs we tested
  The VPNs in this section didn9t crack our top list above, but we9re summarizing them here so you can see their positives and negatives as of the time of our evaluation. 
  Windscribe
  Windscribe is another well-known free VPN supported by paid subscriptions. In many ways, it takes the best from both Mullvad and Proton VPN, with the former9s no-nonsense privacy and the latter9s healthy free plan. Without paying, you can connect to 10 of Windscribe9s server locations on an unlimited number of devices at once.
  
  Unfortunately, Windscribe didn9t copy the most important part of Proton VPN9s free plan — the unlimited data. You9re only allowed to use 10GB per month, which isn9t enough for regular streaming. It9s also committed to a cramped and headache-inducing user interface that stands out from the crowd in all the worst ways.
  Private Internet Access
  Private Internet Access (PIA VPN) has a deeply annoying name — I assume whoever invented it also likes to hop in their Toyota Forward Motion to grab a gallon of Sustaining Cow Extract from the grocery store — but it9s a worthwhile VPN whose pricing provides incredible value. Its monthly and yearly plans are good enough, but its three-year plan is the clincher. Not only is it longer than average, but you can continue to renew at the three-year level, so you won9t see an unpleasant price jump the first time you re-up.
  
  PIA9s apps have a dark UI reminiscent of Proton VPN, which is always a good thing. It also supports port forwarding, custom DNS and the use of a SOCKS5 or Shadowsocks proxy as a second step in the VPN connection. You can even set the maximum data packet size to help out a struggling connection, as I cover in my full PIA VPN review.
  
  The downside is that your connection will struggle a lot. While well-designed, PIA9s apps have a tendency to lag. In my most recent battery of tests, it dragged oddly on my internet in ways that weren9t directly reflected in the speed tests. It9s also not always capable of unblocking streaming services in other countries, and while its server network offers 152 IP address options in 84 countries, it9s heavily bulked out by virtual locations.
  TunnelBear
  TunnelBear has a decent interface, which its target audience of VPN beginners will find very easy to use. Its speeds are perfectly good too, and I appreciate the depth and breadth of its transparency reports. But it9s far too limited overall, with few extra features, less than 50 server locations and a free plan that caps data at 2GB per month.
  VyprVPN
  VyprVPN often flies under the radar, but it has some of the best apps in the business and a very good security record (there was a breach in 2023, but it didn9t crack the VPN encryption itself). It9s also got a verified privacy policy, a solid jurisdiction and runs every connection through an in-house DNS to prevent leaks.
  
  Despite all that, it didn9t make the top seven because its connection speeds aren9t up to scratch — you9ll likely notice a bigger slowdown than average. It also has a troubling history of wild, seemingly experimental swings in its pricing and simultaneous connection limits.
  Norton VPN
  Norton VPN is part of the Norton 360 package that includes the well-known antivirus software and other security apps. It9s a nice bonus if you use Norton already, but as a standalone VPN, it falls short. My tests repeatedly showed it dropping encryption and revealing my IP address whenever I switched servers, and not all of its locations managed to unblock Netflix.
  
  This isn9t to say Norton VPN is terrible. It has a fairly large server network, user-friendly apps and some cool features like an IP rotator. It also recently revamped its OpenVPN infrastructure to improve speeds on Windows. But you probably won9t find those things sufficient to balance out significant speed drops on other platforms or poorly written FAQs. I especially advise against Norton VPN for Apple users, as its Mac and iPhone apps are much more limited than their Windows and Android counterparts.
  What to look for in a VPN
  Choosing a VPN can quickly get you mired in analysis paralysis. We9re here to help, but since only you know your particular needs, you should know the major red and green flags so you can make the final call yourself. Every reputable VPN provider offers a free trial or refund guarantee you can use to run the tests below.
  
  Compatibility: First, make sure your VPN works on all the platforms you plan to use it on. Most VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, but those apps aren9t always created equal — check that the app for your chosen OS is user-friendly and has all the features you need.
  
  Speed: Use a speed testing app to see how fast your internet is before and after connecting to the VPN (I use Ookla9s speedtest.net). To check security, look up your IP address while connected to a VPN server and see if it9s actually changed your virtual location. Be sure it9s using expert-vetted protocols like OpenVPN, WireGuard and IKEv2. Try connecting to streaming services and seeing whether the VPN changes the available content.
  
  Background: Do some outside research into the VPN9s origins, especially its parent company, privacy policy and any past incidents. It9s a dealbreaker if you can9t figure out where the VPN is headquartered (which indicates a lax approach to transparency) or if it seems to have never passed a real third-party audit.
  
  Server network: Look at the server network to make sure the VPN has locations near you and in any countries where you9ll want an IP address — e.g. if you need a VPN to unblock Canadian Netflix, look for multiple server locations in Canada.
  
  Customer Service: I also advise testing the customer support options by looking for the answer to a straightforward question. If phone support (versus email and chat) is important to you, make sure to prioritize that — and make sure it9s available at convenient times in your timezone.
  
  Pricing: Finally, check prices. See if the VPN is affordable and decide whether you9re comfortable taking a long-term subscription for better savings. If you do get a multi-year plan, check what price it will renew at, since many of the cheapest subscriptions are only introductory deals.
  VPN FAQs
  To wrap up, let9s answer some of the most common questions we get about VPNs. Feel free to get in touch if you have a query I don9t cover here.
  What is a VPN?
  VPN stands for virtual private network. There are a few different types of VPNs, but for this list, we9re talking about commercial services that let individual users access the internet with an assumed identity.
  
  Whenever you get online, you9re assigned an IP address — a digital nametag that tells websites where to send the information you request. For an IP address to work, it needs to be unique, which means it9s possible to create a record of what an individual does online.
  
  When you use a VPN, all the data you send to the internet goes through one of the VPN9s servers before heading to its final destination. The VPN encrypts the connection between your computer and its server so the data won9t trace back to you. Any website, ISP or third party that cares to look will only see the VPN9s IP address, not yours. If you9re interested in more detail, I9ve written a whole article on how a VPN works.
  What are some things VPNs are used for?
  The three main use cases for a commercial VPN are security, privacy and entertainment. Using a VPN conceals your real IP address from anyone who might want to use it for nefarious purposes like cyberstalking, DDoS attacks or deducing your real location. It also keeps your ISP from profiling you for ads based on where you live or what you do online.
  
  One side effect of borrowing a VPN9s IP address is that you can make it appear as though your connection is coming from another country. You can use this to access streaming content and platforms that are only available in certain regions due to copyright. Changing your location can even get you better prices when shopping online.
  
  Location spoofing can also be used to get online in countries that censor internet access, like China and Russia, as well as certain US states or countries — like the UK — that are adding barriers like age-gating to previously unfettered online access. All you have to do is connect to a neighboring country (or locality) where the internet isn9t blocked. If you plan to do this while traveling, make sure you have the VPN downloaded before you go, as some nations prevent you from even loading a VPN9s homepage. Make sure you check with local laws regarding the legality of VPN use as well — just because your VPN traffic is encrypted doesn9t mean that authorities can9t detect that it9s being used in a given location.
  Are VPNs worth it?
  Whether a VPN is worth the price depends on how much you value those three use cases above. It9s no secret that your personal information is profitable for a lot of people, from illicit hackers to corporations to law enforcement. A VPN will not make you completely anonymous, nor is it a license to commit crimes (see the next question) but it will give you a lot more control over what you transmit to the world.
  
  With entertainment, the value is even clearer. You can use a VPN to fight back against streaming balkanization by getting more shows and movies out of a single platform — for example, a lot of shows that have been kicked off American Netflix are still on Netflix in other countries.
  What information does a VPN hide?
  A VPN does not make it impossible for you to be unmasked or taken advantage of online. It prevents you from passively leaking information, keeps your IP address undiscoverable on public wi-fi networks and gets you around online censorship.
  
  However, if you share personal information of your own volition, there9s nothing the VPN can do. If you reveal your password in a social media post or click a link in a phishing email, that information bypasses the VPN. Likewise, if you do anything sensitive while logged into an account, the account holder will have that information even if you9re using a VPN.
  
  A VPN is a critical part of your online security, but it can9t do the whole job by itself. Healthy passwords, malware scanners, private search engines and common sense all have roles to play. Never forget, too, that using a VPN means trusting the VPN provider with access to information that9s concealed from everyone else — make sure you trust the privacy policy before signing up.
  Are VPNs safe?
  As far as we can determine, all the VPNs recommended in this story are safe to use. As with anything you subscribe to online, due diligence is important, but there9s very little inherent risk; generally, the worst thing a bad VPN will do is fail to work, leaving you no worse off than before.
  
  All that said, there are some VPNs (usually offered for free) that transmit malware, and others that pretend to be independent services while all secretly working off the same backend. Always make sure to look up any complaints or warnings about a service before you download it.
  Can you get a VPN on your phone?
  Absolutely — almost every VPN has apps for both desktop and mobile devices. A good VPN will redesign its app to be mobile-friendly without dropping too many features. Both iOS and Android natively support VPN connections, so you9re free to choose whichever provider you like.
  What about Google9s One VPN?
  Google One VPN was, as you might expect, a VPN provided by Google. It was launched in 2020 for Google One subscribers and discontinued in 2024 due to lack of use. If you really want a Google VPN, you can still get one if you have certain Pixel models or if you9re a Google Fi subscriber.
  
  That said, I don9t recommend using a VPN from Google even if you do still have access to one. Google is one of the worst big tech companies at protecting user privacy. While its VPN might not leak, I wouldn9t trust it to guard your sensitive information.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/best-vpn-130004396.html?src=rss

• X is fully online after going down for most of the morning
  X seems to be working again after struggling with an outage that took the service offline and made it slow to load for much of the morning. According to X’s developer platform page, there is an ongoing incident related to streaming endpoints that’s caused increased errors. The incident started at 7:39AM PT, according to the page.
  
  That roughly coincides with a spike in reports at Down Detector. The issues seemed to be somewhat intermittent. At some points, X’s website loaded partially and only showed older posts. At other times, the app and website failed to load at all.
  
  As of 9:30AM PT, X’s Explore and trending pages were loading, but the “following” tab wasn’t showing posts and instead suggested users “find some people and topic to follow” (as shown in the screenshot below).
  Posts aren9t loading.X
  As of 11:15AM PT, X’s developer site was still indicating ongoing issues, so there may still be some lingering problems even though the website seems to be functioning normally again. Reports on Down Detector have also dropped off considerably.
  
  X didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the outage. As TechCrunch notes, this is the second time this week that X has experienced significant issues. The service also went down for many users around the world on Tuesday.
  Bluesky changed its profile photo earlier in the week.X
  But while the latest issues were widespread, some posts are were still managing to go through. Rival Bluesky, which earlier in the week changed its profile picture on X to its butterfly logo in a bikini, took the opportunity to throw some shade.
  
  At 1PM PT, X updated its status page to indicate the issue had been resolved after nearly six hours. It didn’t elaborate on the underlying cause.
  
  Update, January 16, 2026, 2:09PM PT: Updated with the latest information from X’s status page.
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-is-fully-online-after-going-down-for-most-of-the-morning-171843711.html?src=rss

• Google is appealing the ruling from its search antitrust case to avoid sharing data with rivals
  Google has filed its appeal to the Department of Justice’s antitrust case that ended with a federal judge ruling that the company was maintaining a monopoly with its search business. While the company goes through the appeals process, it’s also asking that implementation of the remedies from the case, which include a requirement that Google share search data with its competitors, also be paused.
  
  “As we have long said, the Court’s August 2024 ruling ignored the reality that people use Google because they want to, not because they’re forced to,” Google said in a statement. “The decision failed to account for the rapid pace of innovation and intense competition we face from established players and well-funded start-ups. And it discounted compelling testimony from browser makers like Apple and Mozilla who said they choose to feature Google because it provides the highest quality search experience for their consumers.”
  
  The company says that the requirement that it “provide syndication services to rivals” and share search data is a privacy risk and could “discourage competitors from building their own products.” Both remedies where compromises based on what the Justice Department originally proposed, which included forcing Google to sell its Chrome web browser.
  
  After a 10-week trial held in 2023, Google was found to have a search monopoly in 2024 because of the placement it maintained as the default search engine on multiple platforms, and the control it exerted over the ads that appear in search results. Both arguments were key points in the DOJ’s original 2020 lawsuit.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-is-appealing-the-ruling-from-its-search-antitrust-case-to-avoid-sharing-data-with-rivals-215107905.html?src=rss

• CyberGhost VPN review: Despite its flaws, the value is hard to beat
  CyberGhost is the middle child of the Kape Technologies VPN portfolio, but in quality, it9s much closer to ExpressVPN than Private Internet Access. I mainly put it on my best VPN list because it9s so cheap, but I wouldn9t have done that if it didn9t earn its place in other ways — affordable crap is still crap, after all.
  
  My universal impression of CyberGhost is a VPN that9s not perfect but is always genuinely working to make itself better. It makes decisions based on what will help its users, not to set itself apart in a crowded market. This makes it similar to a lot of other VPNs, but that9s not a bad thing — especially at such a low price.
  
  Other than its price, the best things about CyberGhost are its intuitive app design, its frictionless user experience and the super-low latencies that make it an ideal pick for gamers. Download speeds are great up close but middling far away. While I love how many servers it9s got in Africa and South America, a few too many of them are virtual locations. I9ll get into all this and more in the review; feel free to read straight through or use the contents table to find the area that interests you most.
  
  Editor9s note (1/16/26): We9ve overhauled our VPN coverage to provide more detailed, actionable buying advice. Going forward, we9ll continue to update both our how a VPN works. The extension library pages for the CyberGhost proxies are vague about this, but they9re no substitute for a full VPN. They9re free and may be convenient for occasional streaming if they don9t get caught, but they aren9t secure.
  CyberGhost speed test
  I conducted all these tests on a wireless connection using the WireGuard protocol. For each, I selected either a physical server or a virtual location close to its physical source. Here9s what each metric means in the table below:
  
  Ping, measured in milliseconds (ms), is a measure of latency — how long it takes to send a signal from your device to its destination via the VPN server. Lower pings are better. Since signals can only move so quickly, latency tends to increase with distance.
  
  Download speed, measured in megabits per second (Mbps), is what you probably think of as "internet speed" — how fast websites load and how much video you can stream without any pause to load.
  
  Upload speed, also measured in Mbps, determines the rate at which data travels from your device to its destination. It9s useful for posting content, saving files to the cloud, torrenting and two-way video calls.
  
  Server location
  
  Ping (ms)
  
  Increase factor
  
  Download speed (Mbps)
  
  Percentage drop
  
  Upload speed (Mbps)
  
  Percentage drop
  
  Portland, USA (unprotected)
  
  16
  
  —
  
  58.70
  
  —
  
  5.80
  
  —
  
  Seattle, USA (fastest location)
  
  22
  
  1.4x
  
  55.88
  
  4.8
  
  5.60
  
  3.4
  
  New York, USA
  
  155
  
  9.7x
  
  45.43
  
  22.6
  
  5.43
  
  6.4
  
  Montevideo, Uruguay
  
  111
  
  6.9x
  
  46.25
  
  21.2
  
  5.55
  
  4.3
  
  Lisbon, Portugal
  
  328
  
  20.5x
  
  45.60
  
  22.3
  
  4.36
  
  24.8
  
  Johannesburg, South Africa
  
  632
  
  39.5x
  
  34.12
  
  41.9
  
  3.68
  
  36.6
  
  Vientiane, Laos
  
  350
  
  21.9x
  
  38.04
  
  35.2
  
  4.78
  
  17.6
  
  Average
  
  266
  
  16.6x
  
  44.22
  
  24.7
  
  4.90
  
  15.5
  
  CyberGhost9s speed test gave me mixed results — mostly good, but with some reasons for caution. To start on the positive side, latency results were excellent. No matter where I went in the world, the numbers only jumped above 400 milliseconds in one place, and that was the Johannesburg server that had problems across the board. CyberGhost9s 266 average is significantly better than I got when testing Surfshark, currently the fastest VPN overall.
  A speed test using the fastest location chosen by the CyberGhost app. Sam Chapman for Engadget
  Download and upload speeds looked good in my fastest location, Seattle. Using CyberGhost only slowed my browsing by 4.8 percent and dropped my upload rates by 3.4 percent, comparable to most of its leading competitors. At a distance, though, speeds started to falter. Things in New York remained reasonably fast, but with a lot of fluctuation between tests; unlike Seattle, numbers swung between the 30s and 50s.
  
  As I virtually traveled the world, I saw more and more swings, plus sharp declines in South Africa (which is always the problem child of VPN servers, for some reason). To put this in perspective, CyberGhost never dragged that much on my browsing speed, and the internet remained usable no matter where I went. It9s just slightly more sluggish than my favorite VPNs in every area — except latency, where it soars ahead.
  CyberGhost security test
  VPNs need to secure your internet activity against two things: intentional attacks and leaks due to negligence. A VPN should be watertight enough that it never lets your information slip by accident, while also defending your data against outside interference.
  
  It9s not hard to test whether a provider is meeting these two criteria. First, make sure it9s using safe VPN protocols with modern encryption. Second, use an IP address checker to test for DNS, WebRTC and IPv6 leaks. Third, test encryption itself to ensure it9s being applied equally to all data packets. Let9s get started.
  VPN protocols
  CyberGhost supports three different VPN protocols, all of them up-to-date and secure. OpenVPN, available on Windows, Android, Linux and Fire TV, is my typical recommendation, balanced and secured through a multi-decade history of refinement. WireGuard, supported on every platform, is the new hotshot on the block, fast and stable but not quite as rigorously tested as OpenVPN. IKEv2, which works on macOS, iOS and Windows, connects more quickly than the others but isn9t open-source.
  
  I have some quibbles about how available these protocols are. OpenVPN should always be an option for everybody; leaving it off Apple devices doesn9t make sense. I’ve asked CyberGhost about this and will update here when I get a reply. In the meantime, I can9t complain about the protocols themselves, which use uncracked encryption ciphers and present no obvious weak points.
  Leak test
  I used here if you9d like to follow along. It starts with the usual promise of "uncompromising protection": CyberGhost swears that "we are NOT storing connection logs, meaning that we DON9T have any logs tied to your IP address, connection timestamp or session duration" (all emphasis theirs).
  
  That9s the standard I9ll be checking against: a total lack of any way for CyberGhost to read or share information on its own users. Let9s see how it holds up.
  These may just be words, but they have legal force, at least in civil court. Sam Chapman for Engadget
  The privacy policy wins early points by clarifying all the data it collects. You can see the whole quote in the screenshot above, but to summarize, any PII (like your email or IP address) will never be connected with anything you do online. Since absolute anonymity is impossible, this is the best we can hope for from a VPN.
  
  Later on, the policy clarifies everything CyberGhost might do with personal data, none of which involves turning it over to authorities or selling it to advertisers. The most suspicious reasons given are "fraud detection/prevention" and "To enforce the terms of service," but these both relate to kicking users off CyberGhost itself, not tattling on them to the government.
  
  The only potential problem comes in the section titled "Sharing Your Personal Data." Here, CyberGhost states that "we may communicate your personal data to a member of our group of companies," meaning all subsidiaries of Kape Technologies. I won9t rehash the case against Kape in full — my ExpressVPN review covers it in detail.
  
  Suffice to say the only real risk here is that CyberGhost might share PII with another Kape company located in a region with worse privacy laws than Romania or the EU. To me, this isn9t a serious concern. First of all, Kape doesn9t own any companies based in truly anti-privacy nations like China, India or Russia.
  
  Moreover, the privacy policy states that CyberGhost won9t share information with any entity not "located in the EU or another jurisdiction offering equivalent data protection standards." Every bit of data gets the same protections. This may mean PII enters a country in the Five/Nine/14 Eyes alliance, but the Eyes only matter if a VPN is already logging data it shouldn9t have. It9s not that abuse of intelligence-sharing agreements isn9t a problem; it9s just that the risk it poses starts with the VPN itself, not where it9s located.
  
  To sum up, I didn9t see any red flags or loopholes in the CyberGhost privacy policy. Some clauses could be tightened up, and it always pays to be suspicious, but I9m confident that using this VPN doesn9t risk your personal privacy.
  Independent corroboration
  CyberGhost has been audited twice by Deloitte Romania, once in 2022 and again in 2024. Following that pattern, I9ll be looking out for another one this year. You need an account to read the full audit report, but it9s only 10 pages and easy to summarize: the auditors found nothing in CyberGhost9s systems that conflicted with its privacy policy.
  
  The audit notes CyberGhost9s server infrastructure as evidence. All servers are run on RAM with full-disk encryption, making any information they store completely ephemeral. Even if CyberGhost staff wanted to spy on you, they wouldn9t see anything. The same goes for third-party hackers.
  
  CyberGhost also posts a regular transparency report that lists how often law enforcement has asked it for information. As far as I could find, after hundreds of requests, there9s never been a case where CyberGhost provided any information to cops.
  Can CyberGhost change your virtual location?
  For this section, I used Netflix to test whether CyberGhost9s virtual location changes are detectable by other websites. Ideally, every time I change location with CyberGhost, Netflix would accept it as real and show me the content library from that country. If either of those things doesn9t happen within three tests, the VPN has a problem.
  
  Since CyberGhost has servers built for streaming, I used those for each of the five locations. You can see my results below.
  
  Server location
  
  Unblocked Netflix?
  
  Changed content?
  
  United Kingdom
  
  3/3
  
  3/3
  
  Japan
  
  3/3
  
  3/3
  
  Germany
  
  3/3
  
  3/3
  
  Australia
  
  3/3
  
  3/3
  
  Brazil
  
  3/3
  
  3/3
  
  This test was a smashing success for CyberGhost. Every time, it showed me the proper video library for the location I chose and never once got caught by Netflix9s firewalls. It9s the best result I9ve seen in this section since I tested Proton VPN, and that9s high praise if you know me.
  CyberGhost unblocks Netflix Japan, revealing exclusive titles. Sam Chapman for Engadget Investigating CyberGhost9s server network
  CyberGhost has 125 server locations in 100 countries. Of those locations, 75 are real and 50 are virtual, which makes the math easy: CyberGhost9s VPN server network is 60 percent bare-metal and 40 percent virtual. That9s good, since physical servers let you calculate how much performance will deteriorate over distance — virtual servers are just as safe, but speeds might fluctuate depending on where they really are.
  
  Region
  
  Countries with servers
  
  Total server locations
  
  Virtual server locations
  
  North America
  
  9
  
  21
  
  5
  
  South America
  
  9
  
  9
  
  9
  
  Europe
  
  45
  
  56
  
  13
  
  Africa
  
  6
  
  6
  
  3
  
  Middle East
  
  6
  
  6
  
  4
  
  Asia
  
  23
  
  23
  
  16
  
  Oceania
  
  2
  
  4
  
  0
  
  Total
  
  100
  
  125
  
  50
  
  Looking at the distribution of servers, we get good news and bad news. The good news is that there really are 100 different countries and territories to choose from, encompassing nearly all the virtual globetrotting you9re likely to need. There are also lots of servers in the southern hemisphere, which is often the last place VPNs grow into. There9s a wealth of choices in South America, plus several options in Africa and Central Asia.
  CyberGhost9s selection of VPN servers. Sam Chapman for Engadget
  The bad news is that the distribution of real servers is skewed toward Europe and the United States. None of the nine South American servers are actually located in South America; worse, a large number of them are physically located in Miami. If you9re using CyberGhost in Argentina, don9t expect top speeds from the Buenos Aires server, since it9s actually over 4,000 miles away. CyberGhost9s support center does include a list of where the virtual servers are relayed through, but it9s not up to date.
  Extra features of CyberGhost
  CyberGhost has a few features beyond the VPN itself, though not as many as you might think. Compared to a provider like NordVPN, which goes all in on extra features, CyberGhost9s offerings look pretty lean. But that doesn9t matter as much if the features work well. Let9s see how they do.
  Kill switch
  CyberGhost takes an unusual approach to its kill switch. In case you aren9t familiar with the term, a kill switch cuts off your internet connection if your link to the VPN ever drops, protecting your anonymity in case of unexpected incidents. Most VPNs let you toggle the kill switch on and off, but on CyberGhost, it9s fully engaged 100 percent of the time — except on Windows, where you can turn it on and off as desired.
  
  Turning on the kill switch is almost always a good idea, but it9s still annoying that Cyberghost gives many of its users no way to turn it off. In rare cases, kill switches can get overzealous, preventing you from getting online even when conditions are safe. It9s an odd choice to remove a potential troubleshooting step from the user9s control.
  Split tunneling
  Split tunneling lets you name some apps or websites that will run unprotected even while the VPN is active. This can help with certain services that refuse to work if they detect a VPN, or alternatively, can protect only one sensitive app or site while the others enjoy faster unprotected speeds.
  
  CyberGhost only has full split tunneling on Android. It also offers a slightly different feature called Exceptions on Windows. Android split tunneling works by app, while Exceptions works by URL. In both cases, you choose individual apps or websites to leave out of the VPN. It9s limited, but works as advertised.
  Optimized servers
  As I mentioned in the Netflix testing section, CyberGhost includes specialized servers designed for specific tasks. Other than the add-on dedicated IP servers, these come in four forms: "For gaming," "For torrenting," "For streaming" and "NoSpy." Gaming servers are apparently built to keep latency low, but I couldn9t see much difference between them and the normal servers.
  
  "For torrenting" is called "For downloading" on Mac, but it9s all the same torrent-optimized servers. These are built to meet the download and upload speed requirements for effectively using P2P filesharing clients. CyberGhost has P2P servers in 86 countries, which makes it a good VPN for torrenting; only the lack of port forwarding keeps it from being truly great.
  A few of CyberGhost9s specialty servers on a MacBook. Sam Chapman for Engadget
  Each streaming server is built to unblock a specific streaming site in a particular country, occasionally for a single type of device. For example, United States streaming servers are aimed at Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video and more, many in their Android or Smart TV forms. UK servers work for Netflix UK, BBC iPlayer, ITV and more. In total, there are 106 streaming servers in 22 countries — not quite as extensive as the overall list, but it9s important to remember that non-optimized servers still work fine for streaming.
  
  Finally, the NoSpy options connect to a set of servers in Romania that CyberGhost claims to manage entirely in-house, with nobody able to access them except CyberGhost9s own team. This is good, but it leaves me suspicious about who9s running the rest of the servers. Are they all run by third parties except the NoSpy locations? That9s relatively common, but it creates vulnerabilities if the VPN provider doesn9t insist on high standards from collaborators.
  Content blocker
  CyberGhost9s content blocker is underwhelming. All you can do is turn it on and off. There9s no customization like you get with Windscribe9s R.O.B.E.R.T. and no clear statement of where it9s getting its list of domains to block. In practice, it does block in-page ads, but without specifics I couldn9t test it in more detail.
  There9s no customization on CyberGhost9s blocker -- just turn it on or off. Sam Chapman for Engadget Smart Rules
  The Smart Rules automation suite is the crown jewel of CyberGhost9s features and the most common reason I recommend it. Using Smart Rules, you can automate CyberGhost9s behavior to a degree inconceivable on most other VPNs.
  You can program CyberGhost to take different actions on each of your usual networks. Sam Chapman for Engadget
  Smart Rules come in two forms: actions performed automatically when CyberGhost launches or connects and actions that respond to new Wi-Fi networks. In the former category, you can set CyberGhost to connect when you open the app, determine which location it connects to and even set an app to automatically open after it connects.
  
  Wi-Fi rules depend on whether the network CyberGhost detects is secured or not. For each type of network, you can set the VPN to connect, disconnect, ask you what to do or ignore it entirely. Once it recognizes a Wi-Fi network, you can set specific rules for that network. It9s at once very easy to use and capable of surprising depth.
  CyberGhost customer support options
  CyberGhost primarily offers customer assistance through its online portal, which can be reached at a Zendesk portal. This gives you all the time you need to frame your question and add supporting materials, at the cost of waiting longer for a reply.
  
  Your other option is to access live chat, which you can do from anywhere on Private Internet Access, plus two websites that review VPNs) is bad enough without having to look for additional conspiracies. It9s up to you to decide whether or not CyberGhost9s parent company presents a hard line you won9t cross.
  Final verdict
  At the end of my journey with CyberGhost, I may not be blown away, but I9m definitely pleased. After my poor experience with PIA, I was afraid the only budget VPN I could wholeheartedly recommend was a two-year subscription to Surfshark. CyberGhost is a meat-and-potatoes VPN — it9s not pushing any envelopes, but it9s cheap and it does the job.
  
  All that said, I recommend it more to casual users than to people who really need secrecy. There are just enough reddish flags that I wouldn9t necessarily trust it with life-and-death information: the (possible) use of third-party managers for all servers outside Romania, the freedom to share information with any Kape subsidiary, the loss of encryption when switching servers. It9ll keep you anonymous and let you stream foreign TV for cheap, but you should still choose Proton VPN if you need serious privacy.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/cyberghost-vpn-review-despite-its-flaws-the-value-is-hard-to-beat-200000250.html?src=rss

• Anthropic opens up its Claude Cowork feature to anyone with a $20 subscription
  Claude Cowork, Anthropic9s AI assistant for taking care of simple tasks on your computer, is now available for anyone with a $20 per month Pro subscription to try. Anthropic launched Cowork as an exclusive feature for its Max subscribers, who pay a minimum of $100 per month for more uses of Claude9s expensive reasoning models and early access to experimental features. Now Claude Cowork is available at a cheaper price, though Anthropic notes "Pro users may hit their usage limits earlier" than Max users do.
  
  Like other AI agents, the novelty of Claude Cowork is its ability to work on its own. If you have the macOS Claude app and a Pro subscription, you can prompt Claude Cowork to work on tasks on your local computer, like creating documents based on files you have saved or organizing your folders. The feature is an evolution of Claude Code, Anthropic9s AI coding agent, and can similarly use connectors and the Claude Chrome plugin to work with other apps and the web.
  
  As part of this expanded rollout, Anthropic has included a few fixes inspired by early user feedback. You9ll now be able to rename sessions with Claude Cowork ("Tasks" in the parlance of the Claude app) and the company says the AI assistant will offer better file format previews, more reliable use of connectors to other apps and confirmation messages before it deletes files.
  
  Coding agents top the list of applications of AI that have gained real traction in the last year, so Anthropic applying what it learned with Claude Code to a more general collection of computer tasks makes sense. Claude Cowork is still limited to macOS and Anthropic9s paid subscribers, but assuming the AI agent continues to be popular, it wouldn9t be surprising if the company brought it to other platforms.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropic-opens-up-its-claude-cowork-feature-to-anyone-with-a-20-subscription-194000021.html?src=rss

• Anthropic launches Claude Cowork, a version of its coding AI for regular people
  If you follow Anthropic, you9re probably familiar with Claude Code. Since the fall of 2024, the company has been training its AI models to use and navigate computers like a human would, and the coding agent has been the most practical expression of that work, giving developers a way to automate rote programming tasks. Starting today, Anthropic is giving regular people a way to take advantage of those capabilities, with the release of a new preview feature called Claude Cowork.
  
  The company is billing Cowork as "a simpler way for anyone — not just developers — to work with Claude." After you give the system access to a folder on your computer, it can read, edit or create new files in that folder on your behalf.
  
  Anthropic gives a few different example use cases for Cowork. For instance, you could ask Claude to organize your downloads folder, telling it to rename the files contained within to something that9s easier to parse at a glance. Another example: you could use Claude to turn screenshots of receipts and invoices into a spreadsheet for tracking expenses. Cowork can also navigate websites — provided you install Claude’s Chrome plugin — and make can use Anthropic9s Connectors framework to access third-party apps like Canva.
  
  "Cowork is designed to make using Claude for new work as simple as possible. You don’t need to keep manually providing context or converting Claude’s outputs into the right format," the company said. "Nor do you have to wait for Claude to finish before offering further ideas or feedback: you can queue up tasks and let Claude work through them in parallel."         
  
  If the idea of granting Claude access to your computer sounds ill-advised, Anthropic says Claude "can’t read or edit anything you don’t give it explicit access to." However, the company does note the system can "take potentially destructive actions," such as deleting a file that is important to you or misinterpreting your instructions. For that reason, Anthropic suggests it9s best to give "very clear" guidance to Claude.   
  
  Anthropic isn’t the first to offer a computer agent. Microsoft, for example, has been pushing Copilot hard for nearly three years, despite seemingly limited adoption. For Anthropic, the challenge will be convincing people these tools are useful where others have failed. The fact Claude Code has been universally loved by programmers may make that task easier.
  
  Anthropic briefly made Cowork preview only available to users of its pricey Claude Max subscription. That changed on Friday when the company expanded access to include customers of its $20 per month Pro plan. If you want to try Cowork for yourself, you9ll need a Mac with the Claude macOS app installed.
  
  Update 01/16/26 2:30PM ET: Updated to reflect Claude Cowork is now also available to Claude Pro customers.
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropic-launches-claude-cowork-a-version-of-its-coding-ai-for-regular-people-193000849.html?src=rss

• OpenAI is bringing ads to ChatGPT
  OpenAI plans to start testing ads inside of ChatGPT "in the coming weeks." In a blog post published Friday, the company said adult users in the US of its free and Go tiers (more on the latter in a moment) would start seeing sponsored products and services appear below their conversations with its chatbot. "Ads will be clearly labeled and separated from the organic answer," OpenAI said, adding any sponsored spots would not influence the answers ChatGPT generates. "Answers are optimized based on what9s most helpful to you." 
  
  OpenAI says people won9t see ads appear when they9re talking to ChatGPT about sensitive subjects like their health, mental state of mind or current politics. The company also won9t show ads to teens under the age of 18. As for privacy, OpenAI states it won9t share or sell your data with advertisers. The company will also give users the option to disable ad personalization and clear the data it uses to generate sponsored responses. "We’ll always offer a way to not see ads in ChatGPT, including a paid tier that’s ad-free," OpenAI adds. Users can dismiss ads, at which point they9ll be asked to explain why they didn9t engage with it.   
  Users will be able to ask follow-up questions about sponsored content. OpenAI
  "Given what AI can do, we9re excited to develop new experiences over time that people find more helpful and relevant than any other ads. Conversational interfaces create possibilities for people to go beyond static messages and links," OpenAI said. However, the company was also quick to note its "long-term focus remains on building products that millions of people and businesses find valuable enough to pay for."
  
  To that point, OpenAI said it would also make its ChatGPT Go subscription available to users in the US. The company first launched the tier in India last August, marketing it as a low-cost alternative to its more expensive Plus and Pro offerings. In the US, Go will cost $8 per month — or $12 less than the monthly price of the Plus plan — and offer 10 times higher rate limits for messages, file uploads and image creation than the free tier. The subscription also extends ChatGPT9s memory and context window, meaning the chatbot will be better at remembering details from past conversations. That said, you9ll see ads at this tier. To go ad-free, you9ll need to subscribe to one of OpenAI9s more expensive plans. For consumers, that means either the Plus or Pro plans.       
  
  According to reports, OpenAI had been testing ads inside of ChatGPT since at least the end of last year. As companies continue to pay a high cost for model training and inference, all chatbots are likely to feature ads in some form.
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-is-bringing-ads-to-chatgpt-192831449.html?src=rss

• The mother of one of Elon Musk's children is suing xAI over nonconsensual deepfake images
  Although X removed Grok’s ability to create nonconsensual digitally undressed images on the social platform, the standalone Grok app is another story. It reportedly continues to produce “nudified” deepfakes of real people. And now, Ashley St. Clair, a conservative political strategist and mother of one of Elon Musk’s 14 children, has sued xAI for nonconsensual sexualized images of her that Grok allegedly produced.
  
  In the court filing, St. Clair accused xAI’s Grok chatbot of creating and disseminating deepfakes of her “as a child stripped down to a string bikini, and as an adult in sexually explicit poses, covered in semen, or wearing only bikini floss.” In some cases, the chatbot allegedly produced bikini-clad deepfakes of St. Clair based on a photo of her as a 14-year-old. “People took pictures of me as a child and undressed me. There’s one where they undressed me and bent me over, and in the background is my child’s backpack that he’s wearing right now,” she said.
  
  “I am also seeing images where they add bruises to women, beat them up, tie them up, mutilated,” St. Clair told an open letter from 28 advocacy groups — neither company has removed the X or Grok apps from their app stores. Both the App Store and Play Store have policies that explicitly prohibit apps that generate such content.
  
  Neither Apple nor Google has responded to multiple requests for comment from Engadget. That includes a follow-up email sent on Friday, regarding the Grok app continuing to “nudify” photos of real women and other people.
  
  While Apple and Google fail to act, many governments have done the opposite. On Monday, Malaysia and Indonesia banned Grok. The same day, UK regulator Ofcom opened a formal investigation into X. California opened one on Wednesday. The US Senate even passed the Defiance Act for a second time in the wake of the blowback.
  
  “If you are a woman, you can’t post a picture, and you can’t speak, or you risk this abuse,” St. Clair told The Guardian. “It’s dangerous, and I believe this is by design. You are supposed to feed AI humanity and thoughts, and when you are doing things that particularly impact women, and they don’t want to participate in it because they are being targeted, it means the AI is inherently going to be biased.”
  
  Speaking about Musk and his team, she added that “these people believe they are above the law, because they are. They don’t think they are going to get in trouble, they think they have no consequences.”
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-mother-of-one-of-elon-musks-children-is-suing-xai-over-nonconsensual-deepfake-images-191451979.html?src=rss

• Lego's latest educational kit seeks to teach AI as part of computer science, not to build a chatbot
  Last week at CES, Lego introduced its new Smart Play system, with a tech-packed Smart Brick that can recognize and interact with sets and minifigures. It was unexpected and delightful to see Lego come up with a way to modernize its bricks without the need for apps, screens or AI. 
  
  So I was a little surprised this week when the Lego Education group announced its latest initiative is the Computer Science and AI Learning Solution. After all, generative AI feels like the antithesis of Lego’s creative values. But Andrew Silwinski, Lego Education’s head of product experience, was quick to defend Lego’s approach, noting that being fluent in the tools behind AI is not about generating sloppy images or music and more about expanding what it means by teaching computer science.
  
  “I think most people should probably know that we started working on this before ChatGPT [got big],” Silwinski told Engadget earlier this week. “Some of the ideas that underline AI are really powerful foundational ideas, regardless of the current frontier model that9s out this week. Helping children understand probability and statistics, data quality, algorithmic bias, sensors, machine perception. These are really foundational core ideas that go back to the 1970s.” 
  
  To that end, Lego Education designed courses for grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8 that incorporate Lego bricks, additional hardware and lessons tailored to introducing the fundamentals of AI as an extension of existing computer science education. The kits are designed for four students to work together, with teacher oversight. Much of this all comes from learnings Lego found in a study it commissioned showing that teachers often find they don’t have the right resources to teach these subjects. The study showed that half of teachers globally say “current resources leave students bored” while nearly half say “computer science isn’t relatable and doesn’t connect to students’ interests or day to day.” Given kids’ familiarity with Lego and the multiple decades of experience Lego Education has in putting courses like this together, it seems like a logical step to push in this direction. 
  
  In Lego’s materials about the new courses, AI is far from the only subject covered. Coding, looping code, triggering events and sequences, if/then conditionals and more are all on display through the combination of Lego-built models and other hardware to motorize it. It feels more like a computer science course that also introduces concepts of AI rather than something with an end goal of having kids build a chatbot.
  
  In fact, Lego set up a number of “red lines” in terms of how it would introduce AI. “No data can ever go across the internet to us or any other third party,” Silwinski said. “And that9s a really hard bar if you know anything about AI.” So instead of going to the cloud, everything had to be able to do local inference on, as Silwinski said, “the 10-year-old Chromebooks you’ll see in classrooms.” He added that “kids can train their own machine learning models, and all of that is happening locally in the classroom, and none of that data ever leaves the student9s device.”
  
  Lego also says that its lessons never anthropomorphize AI, one of the things that is so common in consumer-facing AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and many more. “One of the things we9re seeing a lot of with generative AI tools is children have a tendency to see them as somehow human or almost magical. A lot of it9s because of the conversational interface, it abstracts all the mechanics away from the child.” 
  
  Lego also recognized that it had to build a course that’ll work regardless of a teacher’s fluency in such subjects. So a big part of developing the course was making sure that teachers had the tools they needed to be on top of whatever lessons they’re working on. “When we design and we test the products, we9re not the ones testing in the classroom,” Silwinski said. “We give it to a teacher and we provide all of the lesson materials, all of the training, all of the notes, all the presentation materials, everything that they need to be able to teach the lesson.” Lego also took into account the fact that some schools might introduce its students to these things starting in Kindergarten, whereas others might skip to the grade 3-5 or 6-8 sets. To alleviate any bumps in the courses for students or teachers, Lego Education works with school districts and individual schools to make sure there’s an on-ramp for those starting from different places in their fluency.
  
  While the idea of “teaching AI” seemed out of character for Lego initially, the approach it’s taking here actually reminds me a bit of Smart Play. With Smart Play, the technology is essentially invisible — kids can just open up a set, start building, and get all the benefits of the new system without having to hook up to an app or a screen. In the same vein, Silwinski said that a lot of the work you can do with the Computer Science and AI kit doesn’t need a screen, particularly the lessons designed for younger kids. And the sets themselves have a mode that acts similar to a mesh, where you connect numerous motors and sensors together to build “incredibly complex interactions and behaviors” without even needing a computer.
  
  For educators interested in checking out this latest course, Lego has single kits up for pre-order starting at $339.95; they’ll start shipping in April. That’s the pricing for the K-2 sets, the 3-5 and 6-8 sets are $429.95 and $529.95, respectively. A single kit covers four students. Lego is also selling bundles with six kits, and school districts can also request a quote for bigger orders. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/legos-latest-educational-kit-seeks-to-teach-ai-as-part-of-computer-science-not-to-build-a-chatbot-184636741.html?src=rss

• Canada cuts tariffs on Chinese EVs as part of new deal
  Canada has agreed to drastically reduce its tariffs on imported Chinese EVs from 100 percent to 6.1 percent as part of a
  
  between the two countries. In return, China will be reducing tariffs on Canadian canola seeds from 84 percent to about 15 percent.
  
  The move is a break from the United States, which maintains a 100 percent tariff on EVs from China, effectively banning them in the country. Mexico currently tariffs the vehicles at 50 percent after
  
  last year.
  
  Under the agreement, which Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
  
  "preliminary," Canada will allow up to 49,000 Chinese EVs into the country, with that number rising to 70,000 after five years. Until now the three major North American trading partners had been aligned in trying to protect their domestic electric vehicle manufacturing. Chinese EV companies benefit from
  
  , and as such can often be priced at a far better value than domestic alternatives.
  
  “Our relationship has progressed in recent months with China. It is more predictable and you see results coming from that,” Carney
  
  . A warmer relationship may be forming in response to the Trump administration9s
  
  , with China hoping that alienated nations may
  
  with the Eastern power.
  
  As to concerns that cheaper electric vehicles from China could hurt the Canadian auto market, the prime minister was unconcerned, saying "it’s still in low, single-digit proportion of the size of the Canadian auto sector," Carney added, “Canadians buy about 1.8 million autos a year.” China remains Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the United States.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/canada-cuts-tariffs-on-chinese-evs-as-part-of-new-deal-174241990.html?src=rss

• The latest Legend of Zelda Lego set pays tribute to Ocarina of Time's final battle
  We already knew something Ocarina of Time-related was coming from Nintendo and Lego in 2026, and now we know exactly what that set will look like. Weighing in at a surprisingly modest 1,003 pieces, the typically word salad-y Lego The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - The Final Battle is the second Lego Zelda set, following the 2,500-piece Great Deku Tree set in 2024.
  
  While the latter lets you choose between building either a Breath of the Wild or OoT-themed replica of the wise old guardian of the forest, the upcoming set is aimed squarely at fans of the series’ debut 3D outing. As you can probably guess from the name, it’s a brick-built tribute to Link and Princess Zelda’s climactic battle with Ganondorf in the seminal Nintendo 64 game, in what remains of the castle. Inside the rubble are three recovery hearts.
  
  It’s hard to see how this works without a video, but Lego says you can release Link’s nemesis by pressing a button that raises him from the debris. As well as the minifigures for Zelda and Link — complete with his Master Sword and Hylian Shield — you also get a suitably transparent Navi to display. And then there’s the large poseable Ganon (the pig demon version of Ganondorf), which is probably the highlight of the whole set.
  
  Interestingly, the new Ocarina of Time set is the first high-profile Lego announcement since unveiling its new Smart Brick at CES, but it looks like we’ll be playing with regular dumb Lego only here. You’ll just have to do the final Hyrule-saving "Hyah!" yourself, I guess.
  
  Lego The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time - The Final Battle is available to pre-order from today and will be available from March 1, priced at $130.
  
  
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-latest-legend-of-zelda-lego-set-pays-tribute-to-ocarina-of-times-final-battle-172212137.html?src=rss

• TikTok sued by former workers over alleged union-busting
  You know things are messed up when a Big Tech company fights accusations of union-busting by insisting it was only AI layoffs. That9s where things stand after a group of fired TikTok moderators in the UK filed a legal claim with an employment tribunal. The Guardian reported on Friday that around 400 TikTok content moderators who were unionizing were laid off before Christmas.
  
  The workers were sacked a week before a vote was scheduled to establish a collective bargaining unit. The moderators said they wanted better protection against the personal toll of processing traumatic content at a high speed. They accused TikTok of unfair dismissal and violating UK trade union laws.
  
  "Content moderators have the most dangerous job on the internet," John Chadfield, the national officer for tech workers at the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said in a statement to The Guardian. "They are exposed to the child sex abuse material, executions, war and drug use. Their job is to make sure this content doesn9t reach TikTok9s 30 million monthly users. It is high pressure and low paid. They wanted input into their workflows and more say over how they kept the platform safe. They said they were being asked to do too much with too few resources."
  
  TikTok denied that the firings were union-busting, calling the accusations "baseless." Instead, the company claimed the layoffs were part of a restructuring plan amid its adoption of AI for content moderation. The company said 91 percent of transgressive content is now removed automatically.
  
  The company first announced a restructuring exercise in August, just as hundreds of moderators in TikTok9s London offices were organizing for union recognition. At the time, John Chadfield, CWU9s National Officer for Tech, said the workers had long been "sounding the alarm over the real-world costs of cutting human moderation teams in favour of hastily developed, immature AI alternatives."
  
  "That TikTok management have announced these cuts just as the company9s workers are about to vote on having their union recognised stinks of union-busting and putting corporate greed over the safety of workers and the public,” Chadfield said.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/tiktok-sued-by-former-workers-over-alleged-union-busting-170446921.html?src=rss

• How to claim Verizon's $20 credit for Wednesday's service outage
  Verizon is offering a very small mea culpa after Wednesday9s massive outage, which drew more than 1.5 million reports on Downdetector and lasted hours. Initially, the carrier posted on X that it will offer a $20 credit, but customers must redeem it in the myVerizon app. The company then said the credit could be claimed though customer service (via phone or chat), but our editors’ attempts to do so via chat were met with a message to wait for a text with further instructions.
  
  Engadget editors began receiving the texts this morning (Jan 16) with a link to redeem. From there, you need to log into your account and visit the Account Overview section. Up top, there should be a Take Action or Mobile Actions button with a red notification circle. Click that and you’ll see a pop-up about the credit and a Redeem Now button. After you click that, you’re done, and Verizon says you should see the credit in one or two billing cycles. Of course, you’ll want to keep an eye out that it actually happens and contact the company if it doesn’t show up.
  
  "This credit isn’t meant to make up for what happened. No credit really can," the company wrote. "But it’s a way of acknowledging your time and showing that this matters to us." Incensed customers have largely replied with incredulity, both at the miniscule amount, and that it isn9t being applied automatically. The entire redemption process takes a few clicks and about a minute to complete, which makes it even more frustrating that it can’t be automatically applied to every customer’s bill.
  
  Update, January 15 2026, 11:57 PM ET: Verizon says the credit can be claimed through customer service via phone, chat and online in addition to the myVerizon app. 
  
  Update, January 16 2026, 10:29 AM ET: This story has been updated with detailed info about the redemption process which Verizon now says is completed with a link that will be texted to customers.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/how-to-claim-verizons-20-credit-for-wednesdays-service-outage-171909695.html?src=rss

• Engadget Podcast: Why did Apple choose Gemini for next-gen Siri?
  Apple9s next-gen Siri is still far off, but this week the company announced that it9ll be using Google9s Gemini AI for its new foundation models. In this episode, Devindra and Engadget9s Igor Bonifacic discuss why Apple teamed up with Google again, instead of OpenAI or Anthropic. Also, they chat about Meta9s Reality Lab layoffs, which is refocusing the company on AI hardware like its smart glasses.
  Subscribe!
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  Topics
  Meta announces 1000+ layoffs, closes 3 VR studios as it shifts focus to AI hardware – 2:12
  
  Gemini can now pull context from the rest of your Google apps including photos and Youtube history – 12:31
  
  Framework raises the price of its desktop by $460 because of the global RAM shortage – 18:36
  
  NVIDIA may revive the RTX 3060 and kill off 5070 Ti due to its VRAM demands – 21:57
  
  Apple creates a subscription bundle for Pro creative apps like Final Cut Pro, Logic, and others – 23:00
  
  Tesla’s Full Self Driving is also going subscription only, a year costs $999 – 29:15
  
  Matthew McConaughey trademarks himself to fight unauthorized AI likenesses – 33:27
  
  Apple announces that its long delayed ’smarter Siri’ will be powered by Google Gemini – 35:15
  
  X finally responds to Grok’s CSAM and nudity generation with limits – 51:46
  
  Cursor claims their AI agents wrote 1M+ lines of code to make a web browser from scratch, are developers cooked? – 57:52   
  Credits
  Host: Devindra Hardawar
  Guest: Igor Bonafacic
  Producer: Ben Ellman
  Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/engadget-podcast-why-did-apple-choose-gemini-for-next-gen-siri-150000993.html?src=rss

• Get $100 off Apple's Mac mini M4 desktop
  The holiday season is fully in the rear view mirror and real life is here to stay. But that doesn9t mean the time for gifts is over — especially ones for yourself. You can still take advantage of great January sales on some awesome tech products.
  
  Take the Apple Mac mini M4, which is down to $500 from $599. The 17 percent discount gives you 16GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD for only about $20 more than the computer9s Black Friday sale. Its beefier models are also on sale: opting for 512GB of SSD will cost you $690, down from $799, while also upping your RAM to 24GB is available for $890, dropping from $999.
  
  We gave the Apple Mac mini M4 a 90 in our review thanks in large part to its powerful chip. The M4 works very fast despite being in such a small device. It also offers front-facing headphone and USB-C ports. You can further upgrade to the Apple M4 Pro chip for $1,270, down from $1,399 — a nine percent discount. The Pro model also has Thunderbolt 5 support. 
  
  
  
  Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/get-100-off-apples-mac-mini-m4-desktop-141615926.html?src=rss

• Netflix will give WBD movies 45-day theater exclusivity if deal goes through
  The fate of Warner Bros. Discovery remains the biggest story in Hollywood, with Paramount Skydance refusing to back down from its rival bid to the proposed Netflix acquisition of the company. If the Netflix deal does go through, the company’s co-chief executive, Ted Sarandos, has attempted to ease concerns around what that could mean for theaters.
  
  In an interview with reported that it had been told by sources that Netflix was supportive of a 17-day window, which would obviously be far more damaging to theaters. This came after the Stranger Things finale reportedly banked north of $25m during its brief theatrical run over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
  
  Sarandos was also asked if he regretted saying the theatrical business as we know it today is an "outmoded" idea. He told the NYT: "You have to listen to that quote again. I said 9outmoded for some.9 I mean, like the town that 9Sinners9 is supposed to be set in does not have a movie theater there. For those folks, it’s certainly outmoded. You’re not going to get in the car and go to the next town to go see a movie." (Movies are actually nascent technology in Sinners, which is set in the 1930s. Bad example, Ted!) He went on to explain that for someone like his daughter, who lives in Manhattan and has a number of theaters within walking distance of her home, the term does not apply in the same way.
  
  The Netflix co-chief exec’s latest comments seem to be designed to appease theater owners as much as the movie-going public, after a number of chains opposed the proposed WBD sale. "Such an acquisition will further consolidate control over production and distribution of motion pictures in the hands of a single, dominant, global streaming platform in a market that is already highly concentrated," said trade organization Cinema United in a statement to Congress.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/netflix-will-give-wbd-movies-45-day-theater-exclusivity-if-deal-goes-through-141223786.html?src=rss

• Meta is closing down its VR meeting rooms as part of its wider cull
  Meta is killing the standalone Workrooms app on February 16, 2026. The company presented Workrooms as a virtual reality space where teams can meet and collaborate in an immersive environment when it launched the product. Now Meta says its Horizon platform has evolved enough to support “a wide range of productivity apps and tools,” so it “made the decision to discontinue Workrooms as a standalone app.”
  
  The company recently slashed its spending on the metaverse and started the process to lay off more than 1,000 employees from its Reality Labs division. Due to those layoffs and organizational changes, it closed three of its VR studios. Reality Labs had lost more than $70 billion since 2021, and Meta told Engadget that it had decided to shift some of its investments from the metaverse towards wearables, such as its AI-powered Ray-Ban smart glasses. The company is also discontinuing Horizon managed services, its subscription service that helps organizations manage their Quest headsets, in February.
  
  Users will no longer be able to access the Workrooms app or any of their data in it starting on February 16. Meta is allowing people to download their data if they need it until that date.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-is-closing-down-its-vr-meeting-rooms-as-part-of-its-wider-cull-140000422.html?src=rss

• Italian regulators are investigating Activision Blizzard's monetization practices
  The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) has opened two investigations into Microsoft-owned game studio Activision Blizzard, centered around the mobile games Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty: Mobile. The AGCM alleges the free-to-play games use "misleading and aggressive practices" to encourage in-game purchases.
  
  Regulators say the games rely on a "deceptive user interface design" meant to encourage longer and more frequent play sessions while bombarding players with reminders and opportunities to spend real money in-game. Players might be reminded to buy a limited-time item before it9s gone or urged not to miss out on rewards, with in-app messages and push notifications that reach players during and outside gameplay. The authority also raised concerns about virtual currency and in-game currency bundles that can make it harder to understand real-world costs.
  
  Parental control settings are also being scrutinized as the AGCM says the default settings are too permissive, such as allowing in-game purchases and unlimited play time. The watchdog will also investigate potential violations of consumer contractual rights and practices that may encourage players to unknowingly give up those rights, such as the EU9s 14-day right of withdrawal.
  
  Free-to-play games have long leaned on loot boxes and other in-game purchases to drive monetization. Unlike full-priced games like Diablo IV, these systems can blur the line between natural progression and pay-to-win. For an idea of how quickly costs can add up, consider one player who reportedly spent $100,000 on Diablo Immortal.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/italian-regulators-are-investigating-activision-blizzards-monetization-practices-135057481.html?src=rss

• XREAL files lawsuit against rival smart glass maker Viture
  San Francisco-founded Smart glasses maker Viture has been sued in a US court by rival XREAL over claims it infringed on its patents, XREAL announced in a press release. The complaint, lodged in a federal Texas court, accuses Viture of illegally incorporating XREAL9s patented tech into its products including the Luma Pro, Luma Ultra and Beast models. 
  
  "The lawsuit is not merely about enforcing a single patent," the company wrote. "It is about stopping a pattern of intellectual property infringement that undermines the integrity of innovation and endangers continued technological development in this industry." 
  
  XREAL has already won a preliminary injunction against Viture in Germany. That resulted in a sales freeze in that country, which could spread to nine other European nations including France, Italy and Spain. That injunction affects Viture9s Pro, Luma and Luma Pro smart glasses.
  
  Both companies make augmented reality (AR) glasses with built-in displays that connect to smartphone or laptops, letting you play games, watch movies or do productivity tasks. Their products offer similar display resolutions and fields of view, both of which are key specifications for those products. 
  
  In response, Viture issued its own statement: "Our product does not infringe upon the cited patent in any way," the company told Tom9s Guide. "We encourage everyone to look closely at the patent itself and form their own judgment, it becomes clear very quickly how weak and questionable it is. XREAL has simultaneously circulated false claims suggesting that Viture is 9banned across nine European countries.9 This is entirely untrue." The company added that it9s taking legal action itself because of XREAL9s comments. 
  
  Viture is a relatively new player in the AR/VR world, but XREAL9s lawsuit could be a prelude to similar actions, judging by the wording in its press release. XREAL holds over 800 patent and patent applications around the world around AR, VR and other tech, and claims that Viture has fewer than 70 and none in the US and Europe. At CES 2026, XREAL unveiled several new products, including the ROG X R1 AR glasses built in conjunction with ASUS. 
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/xreal-files-lawsuit-against-rival-smart-glass-maker-viture-133018692.html?src=rss

• ASUS changes mind, will continue selling the RTX 5070 Ti after all
  After telling the YouTube channel press release." The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB have not been discontinued or designated as end-of-life (EOL). ASUS has no plans to stop selling these models."
  
  ASUS further clarified that supply fluctuations, primarily due to memory supply constraints, have temporarily affected production output and stocks. "As a result, availability may appear limited in certain markets, but this should not be interpreted as a production halt or product retirement. ASUS will continue to support the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB and is working closely with partners to stabilize supply as conditions improve."
  
  Yesterday, Hardware Unboxed said that ASUS "explicitly told us this model is currently facing a supply shortage and, as such, they have placed the model into end-of-life status." In a new pinned comment, the channel noted that the new information "completely walks back their original statement to us."
  
  Hardware Unboxed learned of the shortage by speaking to resellers in Australia, who said that the 5070 Ti is “no longer available to purchase from partners and distributors,” adding they expect that to be the case throughout at least the first quarter of the year. Based on that, along with ASUS9s statement, they released the video in question yesterday. 
  
  Although ASUS now says that it will still make both of those GPUs, being able to buy one could be next to impossible, based on what retailers told Hardware Unboxed. The AI boom has sent the cost of memory soaring, leading to price hikes for GPUs and other PC components. That in turn has led to anger among gamers, and the problem may get much worse before it gets better. 
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/asus-changes-mind-will-continue-selling-the-rtx-5070-ti-after-all-130934271.html?src=rss

• TikTok tightens age verification across Europe
  TikTok is bolstering its age-verification measures across Europe. In the coming weeks, the platform will roll out upgraded age-detection tech in the European Economic Area, as well as in the UK and Switzerland.
  
  The systems will assess the likely age of a user based on their profile information and activity. When the tech flags an account that may belong to a user aged under 13 (the minimum age to use TikTok), a specialist moderator will assess whether it should be banned. TikTok will send users in Europe a notification to tell them about these measures and offer them a chance to learn more.
  
  Also, if a moderator is looking at content for other reasons and thinks an account might belong to an underage user, they can flag it to a specialist for further review. Anyone can report an account they suspect is used by someone under 13 as well. TikTok says it removes about 6 million underage accounts in total from the platform every month.
  
  Those whose accounts are banned can appeal if they think their access was wrongly terminated. Users can then provide a government-approved ID, a credit card authorization or selfie for age estimation (the latter process has a blog post. "At TikTok, we9re committed to keeping children under the age of 13 off our platform, providing teens with age-appropriate experiences and continuing to assess and implement a range of solutions. We believe that a multi-layered approach to age assurance — one in which multiple techniques are used — is essential to protecting teens and upholding safety-by-design principles."
  
  TikTok is rolling out these practices after a pilot in Europe over the last year. That project helped the platform to identify and remove thousands more underage accounts. It worked with the Data Protection Commission (its main privacy regulator in the EU) to help ensure it complied with the bloc’s strict data protection standards.
  
  These measures are coming into force amid intensifying calls to keep kids off social media. A social media ban for under 16s in Australia went into effect last month. Affected platforms have collectively closed or restricted millions of accounts as a result. Reddit has filed a lawsuit over the ban. 
  
  A similar ban might be on the cards in the UK amid public pressure and cross-party support. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said "all options are on the table" and that he was watching "what is happening in Australia."
  
  The House of Lords is set to vote on proposals for an under-16 social media ban next week. If an amendment passes, members of parliament will hold a binding vote on the matter in the coming months.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/tiktok-tightens-age-verification-across-europe-130000847.html?src=rss

• The Morning After: ASUS stops making some NVIDIA GPUs due to memory supply crunch
  If you thought we were Matthew McConaughey just trademarked himselfIn the fight against AI.Getty
  Matthew McConaughey filed trademark applications to prevent AI companies from using his likeness without permission, and the US Patent and Trademark Office has approved eight so far.
  
  Trademarks were for video and audio clips featuring the actor staring, smiling and talking. One was for an audio recording of him saying “alright, alright, alright,” his catchphrase from the movie Dazed and Confused. Under the law, it’s already prohibited for companies to steal someone’s likeness to sell products. However, given the vague rules governing the use of someone’s likeness, McConaughey is taking a proactive approach. McConaughey himself is an investor in ElevenLabs and has partnered with the AI startup to create a Spanish version of his newsletter. Está bien, está bien, está bien.
  
  Amazon is making a Fallout competition reality TV showAddiction! Radiation poisoning! Skeletal law enforcement?X says Grok will no longer edit images of real people into bikinisBut image generation isn’t going anywhere.
  Following numerous complaints and several state and national investigations, X is revising its policies on Grok’s image-editing capabilities. New safeguards will place Grok’s image-generating features behind X’s subscription offering, and it will geoblock all users’ ability to generate images of real people in… well, less clothing, in regions where it’s illegal.
  
  California Attorney General Rob Bonta cited one analysis that found “more than half of the 20,000 images generated by xAI between Christmas and New Year depicted people in minimal clothing.” That’s been the primary use?
  
  Continue reading.
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121506027.html?src=rss

• The best midrange smartphone for 2026
  Gone are the days in which you needed to spend a fortune to get a good smartphone. In 2026, features once exclusive to high-end smartphones – big batteries, multi-camera arrays, high refresh rate OLED displays and more – have made their way down to more affordable models. Yes, you’ll still need to buy a flagship smartphone to get the best camera or fastest processor, but you don9t have to make nearly as many compromises as you once did if you have a strict budget to adhere to when you go shopping for your next smartphone. If you have less than $600 to spend, let us help you figure out what features to prioritize when trying to find the best midrange smartphone.
  Table of contents
  Best midrange phones in 2026?
  
  What is a midrange phone??
  
  What to consider before buying a midrange smartphone?
  
  What won9t you get from a midrange phone?
  Best midrange phones for 2026
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  What is a midrange phone?
  While the term frequently appears in articles and videos, there isn’t an agreed-upon definition for “midrange” beyond a phone that isn’t a flagship or an entry-level option. Most of our recommendations cost between $400 and $600 — any less and you should expect significant compromises. If you have more to spend, you might as well consider flagships like the Apple iPhone 17 and the Samsung Galaxy S25 if you want the best smartphone experience. Devices like Pixel phones often sit in this price range too, offering some of the best value for Android buyers.
  What to consider before buying a midrange smartphone
  Buying a new device can be intimidating, but a few questions can help guide you through the process. First: what platform do you want to use? If the answer is iOS, that narrows your options down to exactly one phone. (Thankfully, it’s great.) And if you’re an Android fan, there’s no shortage of compelling options. Both platforms have their strengths, so you shouldn’t rule either out.
  
  Of course, also consider how much you’re comfortable spending. Even increasing your budget by $100 more can get you a dramatically better product. Moreover, manufacturers tend to support their more expensive devices for longer with software updates and security updates, so it’s worth buying something toward the top limit of what you can afford. 
  
  Having an idea of your priorities will help inform your budget. Do you want a long battery life or fast charging? Do you value speedy performance above all else? Or would you like the best possible cameras with high megapixel counts? While they continue to improve every year, even the best midrange smartphones still demand some compromises, and knowing what’s important to you will make choosing one easier.
  What won’t you get from a midrange smartphone?
  Every year, the line between midrange and flagship phones blurs as more upmarket features and functions trickle down to more affordable models. When Engadget first published this guide in 2020, it was tricky to find a $500 phone with waterproofing and 5G. In 2026, the biggest thing you might miss out on is wireless charging – and even then, that’s becoming less true.
  
  One thing your new phone probably won’t come with is a power adapter; many companies have stopped including chargers with all of their smartphones. Performance has improved in recent years, but can still be hit or miss as most midrange phones use slower processors that can struggle with multitasking. Thankfully, their camera systems have improved dramatically, and you can typically expect at least a dual-lens system on most midrange smartphones below $600 with decent camera quality, selfie performance and software support to keep things running smoothly for years to come..
  Midrange smartphone FAQs How long do midrange phones get software updates?
  Support varies by brand, but most midrange phones receive around three to five years of software and security updates. Apple tends to support iPhones longer while companies like Google and Samsung now promise several years of Android and security patches for their midrange models. Budget-focused brands might offer less so it’s worth checking the update policy before you buy.
  Are midrange phones good for gaming?
  Yes, many midrange phones handle gaming well, especially popular titles like Fortnite, Genshin Impact and Call of Duty Mobile. They usually include capable processors, though you won’t always get the smoothest performance in the most demanding mobile games or at max settings. If you play casually or stick to less graphically intensive titles a midrange phone will feel more than adequate.
  
  Georgie Peru contributed to this report.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/best-midrange-smartphone-183006463.html?src=rss

• Kathleen Kennedy steps down as Lucasfilm president, marking a new era for the Star Wars franchise
  Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down as president of Lucasfilm. Although she will continue as a producer for several Star Wars projects, including upcoming movie The Mandalorian and Grogu, the company will now be helmed by a duo in Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan. It9s a big changing of the guard for Star Wars fans, and marks the start of a fresh chapter for the sci-fi universe. 
  
  Before taking over at Lucasfilm, Kennedy had seen great success as a producer with a couple little films you may have heard of: E.T. and Jurassic Park. She became Lucasfilm9s president in 2012 when the company was acquired by Disney. At that point, it had been several years since the last Star Wars movie; Revenge of the Sith closed out the generally panned prequel trilogy in 2005. Fans9 best option for Star Wars content was The Clone Wars, a standalone film and animated series which were well-regarded but primarily popular among the hardcore devotees rather than reaching the widespread cultural relevance of the prior feature films. 
  
  During Kennedy9s tenure, Star Wars returned to the big screen with The Force Awakens in 2015. Although that J.J. Abrams-led trilogy was also a roller coaster for many fans, it marked a renaissance for the franchise. Lucasfilm embarked on two standalone movies in Rogue One and Solo, which generated yet more buzz and more money for the company. Star Wars got the full cinematic universe treatment, with critically acclaimed live-action television projects and several new video games. The world fell in love with Baby Yoda. Ewan McGregor finally got to don his Obi-Wan Kenobi robe in a better vehicle. The franchise was back in the mainstream, with the budgets and expectations of media behemoth Disney at its back. No matter your feelings on the current state of Star Wars, it9s an impressive accomplishment by Kennedy and a big legacy that she leaves behind at Lucasfilm.
  
  So now that Lucasfilm has arguably ended this phase on a high note, what9s next? Dave Filoni moving into the top spot isn9t much of a surprise. He9s long been seen by fans and seemingly by the company as George Lucas9 spiritual successor. Filoni was also the showrunner on The Clone Wars back in the day and has been involved in some capacity with many of the recent TV series, most notably The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. All that history means his new role of President and Chief Creative Officer is pretty expected, and the Star Wars faithful likely feel that they are in good hands. 
  
  As the title implies, Filoni will be responsible for the artistic side of the operation, while as Co-President, Lynwen Brennan will be in charge of the business side. Brennan may be a less familiar name, but her tenure with Lucas9 businesses dates back to 1999 when she joined the legendary effects studio Industrial Light & Magic. Dividing the art and the commerce can yield good results if the two are able to find a good synergy. Star Wars has proven that it9s a moneymaker even when the films and series aren9t particularly well-received, but here9s hoping that Filoni and Brennan will each be able to maintain high standards for Lucasfilm and the Star Wars fandom.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/kathleen-kennedy-steps-down-as-lucasfilm-president-marking-a-new-era-for-the-star-wars-franchise-003407687.html?src=rss

• ASUS has stopped producing the NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti and 5060 Ti 16GB, saying they've reached 'end of life'
  YouTube channel RTX 5070 Ti and 5060 Ti 16GB due to the ongoing memory crunch. In its most recent video, the channel states ASUS “explicitly” told it the RTX 5070 Ti is “currently facing a supply shortage.” As a result, the company has “placed the model into end of life status,” and no longer plans to produce it.
  
  Hardware Unboxed also spoke to retailers in Australia, who told the channel the 5070 Ti is “no longer available to purchase from partners and distributors,” adding they expect that to be the case throughout at least the first quarter of the year. The 5060 Ti 16GB “is almost done as well," with ASUS stating it no longer plans to produce that model going forward either. Both GPUs are 16GB models, making them more expensive to manufacture in the current economic climate. And while there might be some hope of the 5070 Ti and 5060 Ti 16GB returning later this year, the channel suggests both are unlikely to make a comeback.
  
  “Demand for GeForce RTX GPUs is strong, and memory supply is constrained. We continue to ship all GeForce SKUs and are working closely with our suppliers to maximize memory availability,” a NVIDIA spokesperson told Engadget. ASUS did not immediately respond to Engadget’s comment request.
  
  After uploading its video, Hardware Unboxed published a clarification. “ASUS did not tell us that NVIDIA said the RTX 5070 Ti has been discontinued. ASUS told us there is very little supply of the 5070 Ti, so their own 5070 Ti products (e.g, the Prime and TUF Gaming) have been put into end of life status,” the channel said. “With retailers also unable to source 5070 Ti SKUs from any AIB, this effectively makes it a dead product.”
  
  The AI boom has created an insatiable demand for RAM and other computer components from data center infrastructure companies. In response, many memory manufacturers have shifted their production lines to focus on high bandwidth memory for those clients at the expense of their regular offerings, leading to dramatically increased prices among consumer RAM kits, GPUs and SSDs. In December, Micron Technology announced it would wind down its consumer-facing Crucial brand to focus exclusively on providing components to the AI industry.
  
  ASUS is the first of NVIDIA’s add-in board (AIB) partners to comment on the memory crunch. AIBs are the companies that produce the majority of GPUs you can buy from NVIDIA and AMD. Historically, NVIDIA has provided its board partners with both the die and memory needed to make a graphics cards. However, a recent rumor suggested the company had told it partners they would need to start sourcing memory on their own.
  
  Update 12:55PM ET: Added more context.
  
  Update 2:06PM ET: Added comment from NVIDIA.
  
  Update 6:31PM ET: Added additional comment from Hardware Unboxed.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/asus-has-stopped-producing-the-nvidia-rtx-5070-ti-and-5060-ti-16gb-saying-theyve-reached-end-of-life-162012253.html?src=rss

• Senate passes minibus bill funding NASA, rejecting Trump's proposed cuts
  After a tumultuous 2025 that saw it lose around 4,000 employees, NASA finally has an operating budget for 2026, and one that largely preserves its scientific capabilities. On Thursday, the Senate passed an appropriations bill funding NASA, alongside the National Science Foundation and a handful of other federal agencies. 
  
  Going into the appropriations process, the president called for a 24 percent year over year reduction to NASA9s total operating budget. As part of that plan, the White House wanted to reduce the Science Mission Directorate9s funding by nearly half, a move that would have forced NASA to cancel 55 ongoing and planned missions, including efforts like OSIRIS-APEX. The bill effectively rejects President Trump9s plan, reducing NASA9s total operating budget by just 1.6 percent year over year to $24.4 billion. 
  
  Per the new appropriations, NASA9s science budget will stand at $7.25 billion, 1.1 percent less relative to fiscal 2024, while shuffling the remaining funds to focus on different priorities. For instance, the House and Senate allocated $874 million (+8.7 percent) for the agency9s heliophysics work; planetary sciences, which oversees missions like New Horizons, was cut to $2.5 billion (-6.5 percent) compared to 2024. At the same time, NASA9s STEM engagement office, which the president proposed eliminating, escaped unscathed with its funding maintained at parity.
  
  "It9s almost everything we had been asking for, and it9s very encouraging to see a House and Senate run by the president9s own party agreeing that we need to keep investing in things like NASA science," says Casey Dreier, chief of policy at the Planetary Society, a nonprofit founded by Carl Sagan that advocates for the exploration and study of space. "It contains very clear and direct language that not only is this funding made available to these projects, but that it will be spent on the initiatives that Congress states."
  
  Lawmakers also rejected Trump9s effort to scuttle the Space Launch System after its third flight. NASA9s heavy-lift rocket is billions of dollars over budget, but remains — as of now — the only spacecraft ready to ferry astronauts to the Moon. Compared to the rest of NASA, the fate of the SLS was never really in doubt. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) secured funding for the rocket as part of Trump9s Big Beautiful Bill. "I9ve been saying for a long time you should never underestimate the political coalition behind the SLS, and I think that was very much validated this year," says Dreier. 
  
  More importantly, it appears the Goddard Space Flight Center will be safe from further damage. Over the summer, the future of the facility, known for its work on projects like the James Webb Space Telescope, was put in jeopardy. By some estimates, the campus has lost a third of its staff due to workforce cuts, and dozens of buildings, including some 100 laboratories, have been shut down by management. One of the casualties was NASA9s largest library, which houses irreplaceable documents chronicling the history of the space race. As part of a "consolidation" effort, many of those documents will be thrown out.
  
  Under the appropriations bill, the Senate has directed NASA to “preserve all the technical and scientific world-class capabilities at Goddard.” It has also instructed the agency to ensure employees of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies are able to continue their work with "minimal disruption." The New York-based office, one of America9s leading climate labs, was sent into limbo last spring after the Trump administration moved to shut it down. 
  
  The bill also provides a lifeline for NASA9s to bring back samples of Martian dirt collected by the Perseverance rover. Congress has effectively cancelled the official program tied to that ambition, the Mars Sample Return (MSR), but has set aside $110 million for the agency to continue developing technologies for future science missions to the Red Planet. MSR advocates have argued the mission could lead to significant scientific discoveries, but Dreier notes the program was "ripe for cancellation" after it became mired in mismanagement. 
  
  "I worry MSR now has this stink of bloat, excess cost and threat of overruns that are really going to make it challenging to restart this without having a dramatically different approach," says Dreier, adding that deciding what to do with mission will likely be top of mind for the agency9s new administrator, Jared Isaacman. 
  
  The 2026 budget leaves NASA with fewer resources. Even in areas where Congress allocated the same amount of funds as it did in 2024, the agency will need to do more with less due to inflation. Compared to the absolute blood bath that would have been Trump9s proposed budget, a marginal funding cut is the best case scenario given the circumstances, but the circumstances remain less than ideal. 
  
  "There will be another presidential budget request coming out in the next couple of months," Dreier said. "They could do this all over again if they wanted to."
  
  In the immediate future, NASA and its employees are at least protected from the potential fallout of another impending government shutdown. Congress has until January 30 to fully fund the federal government, and as of earlier this week, it has yet to find a way forward on appropriations for agencies like the Department of Labor.  
  
  Correction 9:05PM ET: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Casey Dreier’s surename as Drier. We regret the error.
  
  
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/senate-passes-minibus-bill-funding-nasa-rejecting-trumps-proposed-cuts-231605536.html?src=rss

• A $250 billion trade deal will see Taiwan bring more semiconductor production to the US
  The US and Taiwan have signed an agreement that will see a multi-billion dollar investment into domestic development of semiconductors and related infrastructure. The US Department of Commerce announced that Taiwanese businesses will make an upfront investment of at least $250 billion into their US production capacity, while Taiwan9s government will provide credit guarantees of at least another $250 billion in support of the semiconductor industry and supply chain in the US. 
  
  In exchange, Taiwan will receive a better deal on tariffs. Reciprocal tariffs will be limited to 15 percent, compared with the previous 20 percent rate. Generic pharmaceuticals and their generic ingredients, aircraft components, and unavailable natural resources will be not be subjected to reciprocal tariffs under the arrangement. Taiwanese companies with US production will also see increased import amounts without being charged duties under the Section 232 framework.  
  
  According to reports from $100 billion in its US operations over four years. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC in an interview that the current US government wants to bring 40 percent of Taiwan9s semiconductor supply chain stateside, continuing to use tariffs as an incentive. "If they don’t build in America, the tariff’s likely to be 100 percent,” Lutnick said.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/a-250-billion-trade-deal-will-see-taiwan-bring-more-semiconductor-production-to-the-us-224326501.html?src=rss

• Bluesky's 'Live Now' badge is available to everyone
  After testing the feature in a limited beta, Bluesky is making its "Live Now" badge for streamers available for everyone on the social network to try. Live Now is included as part of Bluesky9s v1.114 update, alongside "cashtags," a separate type of hashtag for collecting conversations about publicly-traded companies.
  
  Bluesky first started testing its Live Now badge in May 2025 with a limited group of accounts, including the official NBA account. The feature lets Twitch streamers with Bluesky profiles append a Live Now badge to their profile picture that links directly to their livestream. Live Now badges are limited to Twitch links for now, but Bluesky says "support for other streaming platforms may follow" as it learns from the beta. Linking to other social platforms shouldn9t be a radical concept, but since Bluesky9s competitor X has tried to prevent users from posting links in the past, the company has made it a point of trying to do the opposite.
  
  Cashtags are a similar attempt to appeal to a certain type of veteran X user. Originally a feature of pre-Musk Twitter, cashtags work like a hashtag, marking posts in a way that makes them easy to find in a search or by tapping the cashtag itself. On Bluesky, by typing a dollar sign ($) and the stock abbreviation of a company (AAPL for Apple, for example), you can add a cashtag to your post that links it to other posts using the same cashtag. So far, the cultural makeup of Bluesky hasn9t seemed as business-oriented as X, but the feature suggests Bluesky wants the option to be available for anyone who jumps ship.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/blueskys-live-now-badge-is-available-to-everyone-223335221.html?src=rss

• Amazon's New World: Aeternum MMO will go offline January 31, 2027
  Today, Amazon shared more details about the final chapter of its game New World: Aeternum. The company announced in October that it would wind down support for the MMO, with the Nighthaven season to be its last. New World will be delisted and no longer available for purchase starting today, but the game9s servers will not be taken offline until January 31, 2027. People who own the game will be able to continue playing until that date. Nighthaven season will continue through to that end date.
  
  Players who had previously purchased New World: Aeternum will be able to re-download and continue playing up to the shutdown date. In-game currency such as Marks of Fortune will no longer be available to buy starting July 20, 2026, and refunds will not be offered for Marks of Fortune purchases.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/amazons-new-world-aeternum-mmo-will-go-offline-january-31-2027-205449407.html?src=rss

• Netflix's expanded Sony deal includes streaming rights to the Legend of Zelda movie
  As part of a new agreement, films from Sony Pictures Entertainment will stream on Netflix first, the companies announced via a joint statement. The new deal expands on the exclusive rights Netflix had to Sony films in the US, and means the service will be the first place people will be able to stream upcoming projects like the live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda, and a quartet of biopics about The Beatles.
  
  Sony9s films will stream worldwide on Netflix in what9s called "Pay-1," the first window of availability after a movie9s theatrical and VOD releases. As part of the deal, Netflix is also licensing an undisclosed number of films and television shows from the Sony Pictures back catalog to help fill out its library. Netflix says the new arrangement "will roll out gradually" as licensing rights become available throughout the year, with full availability happening sometime in 2029. Neither company shared how long this new setup will last, but did describe the deal as a "multi-year agreement."
  
  Netflix and Sony9s partnership has been fruitful so far. Films like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Uncharted and Anyone But You have had popular second lives on the streaming service. In the case of a profitable theatrical run. Netflix will pay Sony north of $7 billion for this new deal, a similar deal with Universal, which has brought other Nintendo adaptations to the streaming service like The Super Mario Bros Movie. Beyond licensing, the company has an even bigger purchase in mind, though: buying Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion. In an effort to prevent the deal from going through, Paramount is now suing Warner Bros. Discovery for ignoring its own competing bid for the company.
  This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflixs-expanded-sony-deal-includes-streaming-rights-to-the-legend-of-zelda-movie-203011384.html?src=rss

• EU OS: A Bold Step Toward Digital Sovereignty for Europe
  Image
  A new initiative, called "EU OS," has been launched to develop a Linux-based operating system tailored specifically for the public sector organizations of the European Union (EU). This community-driven project aims to address the EU's unique needs and challenges, focusing on fostering digital sovereignty, reducing dependency on external vendors, and building a secure, self-sufficient digital ecosystem.
  What Is EU OS?
  EU OS is not an entirely novel operating system. Instead, it builds upon a Linux foundation derived from Fedora, with the KDE Plasma desktop environment. It draws inspiration from previous efforts such as France's GendBuntu and Munich's LiMux, which aimed to provide Linux-based systems for public sector use. The goal remains the same: to create a standardized Linux distribution that can be adapted to different regional, national, and sector-specific needs within the EU.
  
  Rather than reinventing the wheel, EU OS focuses on standardization, offering a solid Linux foundation that can be customized according to the unique requirements of various organizations. This approach makes EU OS a practical choice for the public sector, ensuring broad compatibility and ease of implementation across diverse environments.
  The Vision Behind EU OS
  The guiding principle of EU OS is the concept of "public money – public code," ensuring that taxpayer money is used transparently and effectively. By adopting an open-source model, EU OS eliminates licensing fees, which not only lowers costs but also reduces the dependency on a select group of software vendors. This provides the EU’s public sector organizations with greater flexibility and control over their IT infrastructure, free from the constraints of vendor lock-in.
  
  Additionally, EU OS offers flexibility in terms of software migration and hardware upgrades. Organizations can adapt to new technologies and manage their IT evolution at a manageable cost, both in terms of finances and time.
  
  However, there are some concerns about the choice of Fedora as the base for EU OS. While Fedora is a solid and reliable distribution, it is backed by the United States-based Red Hat. Some argue that using European-backed projects such as openSUSE or KDE's upcoming distribution might have aligned better with the EU's goal of strengthening digital sovereignty.
  Conclusion
  EU OS marks a significant step towards Europe's digital independence by providing a robust, standardized Linux distribution for the public sector. By reducing reliance on proprietary software and vendors, it paves the way for a more flexible, cost-effective, and secure digital ecosystem. While the choice of Fedora as the base for the project has raised some questions, the overall vision of EU OS offers a promising future for Europe's public sector in the digital age.
  
  Source: It's FOSS
  European Union

• Linus Torvalds Acknowledges Missed Release of Linux 6.14 Due to Oversight
  
  Linus Torvalds Acknowledges Missed Release of Linux 6.14 Due to Oversight
  
  Linux kernel lead developer Linus Torvalds has admitted to forgetting to release version 6.14, attributing the oversight to his own lapse in memory. Torvalds is known for releasing new Linux kernel candidates and final versions on Sunday afternoons, typically accompanied by a post detailing the release. If he is unavailable due to travel or other commitments, he usually informs the community ahead of time, so users don’t worry if there’s a delay.
  
  In his post on March 16, Torvalds gave no indication that the release might be delayed, instead stating, “I expect to release the final 6.14 next weekend unless something very surprising happens.” However, Sunday, March 23rd passed without any announcement.
  
  On March 24th, Torvalds wrote in a follow-up message, “I’d love to have some good excuse for why I didn’t do the 6.14 release yesterday on my regular Sunday afternoon schedule,” adding, “But no. It’s just pure incompetence.” He further explained that while he had been clearing up unrelated tasks, he simply forgot to finalize the release. “D'oh,” he joked.
  
  Despite this minor delay, Torvalds’ track record of successfully managing the Linux kernel’s development process over the years remains strong. A single day’s delay is not critical, especially since most Linux users don't urgently need the very latest version.
  
  The new 6.14 release introduces several important features, including enhanced support for writing drivers in Rust—an ongoing topic of discussion among developers—support for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile chip, a fix for the GhostWrite vulnerability in certain RISC-V processors from Alibaba’s T-Head Semiconductor, and a completed NTSYNC driver update that improves the WINE emulator’s ability to run Windows applications, particularly games, on Linux.
  
  Although the 6.14 release went smoothly aside from the delay, Torvalds expressed that version 6.15 may present more challenges due to the volume of pending pull requests. “Judging by my pending pile of pull requests, 6.15 will be much busier,” he noted.
  
  You can download the latest kernel here.
  Linus Torvalds kernel

• AerynOS 2025.03 Alpha Released with GNOME 48, Mesa 25, and Linux Kernel 6.13.8
  Image
  AerynOS 2025.03 has officially been released, introducing a variety of exciting features for Linux users. The release includes the highly anticipated GNOME 48 desktop environment, which comes with significant improvements like HDR support, dynamic triple buffering, and a Wayland color management protocol. Other updates include a battery charge limiting feature and a Wellbeing option aimed at improving user experience.
  
  This release, while still in alpha, incorporates Linux kernel 6.13.8 and the updated Mesa 25.0.2 graphics stack, alongside tools like LLVM 19.1.7 and Vulkan SDK 1.4.309.0. Additionally, the Moss package manager now integrates os-info to generate more detailed OS metadata via a JSON file.
  
  Future plans for AerynOS include automated package updates, easier rollback management, improved disk handling with Rust, and fractional scaling enabled by default. The installer has also been revamped to support full disk wipes and dynamic partitioning.
  
  Although still considered an alpha release, AerynOS 2025.03 can be downloaded and tested right now from its official website.
  
  Source: 9to5Linux
  AerynOS

• Xojo 2025r1: Big Updates for Developers with Linux ARM Support, Web Drag and Drop, and Direct App Store Publishing
  Image
  Xojo has just rolled out its latest release, Xojo 2025 Release 1, and it’s packed with features that developers have been eagerly waiting for. This major update introduces support for running Xojo on Linux ARM, including Raspberry Pi, brings drag-and-drop functionality to the Web framework, and simplifies app deployment with the ability to directly submit apps to the macOS and iOS App Stores.
  
  Here’s a quick overview of what’s new in Xojo 2025r1:
  1. Linux ARM IDE Support
  Xojo 2025r1 now allows developers to run the Xojo IDE on Linux ARM devices, including popular platforms like Raspberry Pi. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities for developers who want to create apps for ARM-based devices without the usual complexity. Whether you’re building for a Raspberry Pi or other ARM devices, this update makes it easier than ever to get started.
  2. Web Drag and Drop
  One of the standout features in this release is the addition of drag-and-drop support for web applications. Now, developers can easily drag and drop visual controls in their web projects, making it simpler to create interactive, user-friendly web applications. Plus, the WebListBox has been enhanced with support for editable cells, checkboxes, and row reordering via dragging. No JavaScript required!
  3. Direct App Store Publishing
  Xojo has also streamlined the process of publishing apps. With this update, developers can now directly submit macOS and iOS apps to App Store Connect right from the Xojo IDE. This eliminates the need for multiple steps and makes it much easier to get apps into the App Store, saving valuable time during the development process.
  4. New Desktop and Mobile Features
  This release isn’t just about web and Linux updates. Xojo 2025r1 brings some great improvements for desktop and mobile apps as well. On the desktop side, all projects now include a default window menu for macOS apps. On the mobile side, Xojo has introduced new features for Android and iOS, including support for ColorGroup and Dark Mode on Android, and a new MobileColorPicker for iOS to simplify color selection.
  5. Performance and IDE Enhancements
  Xojo’s IDE has also been improved in several key areas. There’s now an option to hide toolbar captions, and the toolbar has been made smaller on Windows. The IDE on Windows and Linux now features modern Bootstrap icons, and the Documentation window toolbar is more compact. In the code editor, developers can now quickly navigate to variable declarations with a simple Cmd/Ctrl + Double-click. Plus, performance for complex container layouts in the Layout Editor has been enhanced.
  What Does This Mean for Developers?
  Xojo 2025r1 brings significant improvements across all the platforms that Xojo supports, from desktop and mobile to web and Linux. The added Linux ARM support opens up new opportunities for Raspberry Pi and ARM-based device development, while the drag-and-drop functionality for web projects will make it easier to create modern, interactive web apps. The ability to publish directly to the App Store is a game-changer for macOS and iOS developers, reducing the friction of app distribution.
  How to Get Started
  Xojo is free for learning and development, as well as for building apps for Linux and Raspberry Pi. If you’re ready to dive into cross-platform development, paid licenses start at $99 for a single-platform desktop license, and $399 for cross-platform desktop, mobile, or web development. For professional developers who need additional resources and support, Xojo Pro and Pro Plus licenses start at $799. You can also find special pricing for educators and students.
  
  Download Xojo 2025r1 today at xojo.com.
  Final Thoughts
  With each new release, Xojo continues to make cross-platform development more accessible and efficient. The 2025r1 release is no exception, delivering key updates that simplify the development process and open up new possibilities for developers working on a variety of platforms. Whether you’re a Raspberry Pi enthusiast or a mobile app developer, Xojo 2025r1 has something for you.
  Xojo ARM

• New 'Mirrored' Network Mode Introduced in Windows Subsystem for Linux
  
  Microsoft's Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) continues to evolve with the release of WSL 2 version 0.0.2. This update introduces a set of opt-in preview features designed to enhance performance and compatibility.
  
  Key additions include "Automatic memory reclaim" which dynamically optimizes WSL's memory footprint, and "Sparse VHD" to shrink the size of the virtual hard disk file. These improvements aim to streamline resource usage.
  
  Additionally, a new "mirrored networking mode" brings expanded networking capabilities like IPv6 and multicast support. Microsoft claims this will improve VPN and LAN connectivity from both the Windows host and Linux guest. 
  
  Complementing this is a new "DNS Tunneling" feature that changes how DNS queries are resolved to avoid compatibility issues with certain network setups. According to Microsoft, this should reduce problems connecting to the internet or local network resources within WSL.
  
  Advanced firewall configuration options are also now available through Hyper-V integration. The new "autoProxy" feature ensures WSL seamlessly utilizes the Windows system proxy configuration.
  
  Microsoft states these features are currently rolling out to Windows Insiders running Windows 11 22H2 Build 22621.2359 or later. They remain opt-in previews to allow testing before final integration into WSL.
  
  By expanding WSL 2 with compelling new capabilities in areas like resource efficiency, networking, and security, Microsoft aims to make Linux on Windows more performant and compatible. This evolutionary approach based on user feedback highlights Microsoft's commitment to WSL as a key part of the Windows ecosystem.
  Windows

• Linux Threat Report: Earth Lusca Deploys Novel SprySOCKS Backdoor in Attacks on Government Entities
  
  The threat actor Earth Lusca, linked to Chinese state-sponsored hacking groups, has been observed utilizing a new Linux backdoor dubbed SprySOCKS to target government organizations globally. 
  
  As initially reported in January 2022 by Trend Micro, Earth Lusca has been active since at least 2021 conducting cyber espionage campaigns against public and private sector targets in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. Their tactics include spear-phishing and watering hole attacks to gain initial access. Some of Earth Lusca's activities overlap with another Chinese threat cluster known as RedHotel.
  
  In new research, Trend Micro reveals Earth Lusca remains highly active, even expanding operations in the first half of 2023. Primary victims are government departments focused on foreign affairs, technology, and telecommunications. Attacks concentrate in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Balkans regions. 
  
  After breaching internet-facing systems by exploiting flaws in Fortinet, GitLab, Microsoft Exchange, Telerik UI, and Zimbra software, Earth Lusca uses web shells and Cobalt Strike to move laterally. Their goal is exfiltrating documents and credentials, while also installing additional backdoors like ShadowPad and Winnti for long-term spying.
  
  The Command and Control server delivering Cobalt Strike was also found hosting SprySOCKS - an advanced backdoor not previously publicly reported. With roots in the Windows malware Trochilus, SprySOCKS contains reconnaissance, remote shell, proxy, and file operation capabilities. It communicates over TCP mimicking patterns used by a Windows trojan called RedLeaves, itself built on Trochilus.
  
  At least two SprySOCKS versions have been identified, indicating ongoing development. This novel Linux backdoor deployed by Earth Lusca highlights the increasing sophistication of Chinese state-sponsored threats. Robust patching, access controls, monitoring for unusual activities, and other proactive defenses remain essential to counter this advanced malware.
  
  The Trend Micro researchers emphasize that organizations must minimize attack surfaces, regularly update systems, and ensure robust security hygiene to interrupt the tactics, techniques, and procedures of relentless threat groups like Earth Lusca.
  Security

• Linux Kernel Faces Reduction in Long-Term Support Due to Maintenance Challenges
  
  The Linux kernel is undergoing major changes that will shape its future development and adoption, according to Jonathan Corbet, Linux kernel developer and executive editor of Linux Weekly News. Speaking at the Open Source Summit Europe, Corbet provided an update on the latest Linux kernel developments and a glimpse of what's to come.
  
  A major change on the horizon is a reduction in long-term support (LTS) for kernel versions from six years to just two years. Corbet explained that maintaining old kernel branches indefinitely is unsustainable and most users have migrated to newer versions, so there's little point in continuing six years of support. While some may grumble about shortened support lifecycles, the reality is that constantly backporting fixes to ancient kernels strains maintainers.
  
  This maintainer burnout poses a serious threat, as Corbet highlighted. Maintaining Linux is largely a volunteer effort, with only about 200 of the 2,000+ developers paid for their contributions. The endless demands on maintainers' time from fuzz testing, fixing minor bugs, and reviewing contributions takes a toll. Prominent maintainers have warned they need help to avoid collapse. Companies relying on Linux must realize giving back financially is in their interest to sustain this vital ecosystem. 
  
  The Linux kernel is also wading into waters new with the introduction of Rust code. While Rust solves many problems, it also introduces new complexities around language integration, evolving standards, and maintainer expertise. Corbet believes Rust will pass the point of no return when core features depend on it, which may occur soon with additions like Apple M1 GPU drivers. Despite skepticism in some corners, Rust's benefits likely outweigh any transition costs.
  
  On the distro front, Red Hat's decision to restrict RHEL cloning sparked community backlash. While business considerations were at play, Corbet noted technical factors too. Using older kernels with backported fixes, as RHEL does, risks creating divergent, vendor-specific branches. The Android model of tracking mainline kernel dev more closely has shown security benefits. Ultimately, Linux works best when aligned with the broader community.
  
  In closing, Corbet recalled the saying "Linux is free like a puppy is free." Using open source seems easy at first, but sustaining it long-term requires significant care and feeding. As Linux is incorporated into more critical systems, that maintenance becomes ever more crucial. The kernel changes ahead are aimed at keeping Linux healthy and vibrant for the next generation of users, businesses, and developers.
  kernel

• Linux Celebrates 32 Years with the Release of 6.6-rc2 Version
  
  Today marks the 32nd anniversary of Linus Torvalds introducing the inaugural Linux 0.01 kernel version, and celebrating this milestone, Torvalds has launched the Linux 6.6-rc2. Among the noteworthy updates are the inclusion of a feature catering to the ASUS ROG Flow X16 tablet's mode handling and the renaming of the new GenPD subsystem to pmdomain.
  
  The Linux 6.6 edition is progressing well, brimming with exciting new features that promise to enhance user experience. Early benchmarks are indicating promising results, especially on high-core-count servers, pointing to a potentially robust and efficient update in the Linux series.
  
  Here is what Linus Torvalds had to say in today's announcement:
  Another week, another -rc.I think the most notable thing about 6.6-rc2 is simply that it'sexactly 32 years to the day since the 0.01 release. And that's a roundnumber if you are a computer person.Because other than the random date, I don't see anything that reallystands out here. We've got random fixes all over, and none of it looksparticularly strange. The genpd -> pmdomain rename shows up in thediffstat, but there's no actual code changes involved (make sure touse "git diff -M" to see them as zero-line renames).And other than that, things look very normal. Sure, the architecturefixes happen to be mostly parisc this week, which isn't exactly theusual pattern, but it's also not exactly a huge amount of changes.Most of the (small) changes here are in drivers, with some tracingfixes and just random things. The shortlog below is short enough toscroll through and get a taste of what's been going on. Linus Torvalds

• Introducing Bavarder: A User-Friendly Linux Desktop App for Quick ChatGPT Interaction
  
  Want to interact with ChatGPT from your Linux desktop without using a web browser?
  
  Bavarder, a new app, allows you to do just that.
  
  Developed with Python and GTK4/libadwaita, Bavarder offers a simple concept: pose a question to ChatGPT, receive a response, and promptly copy the answer (or your inquiry) to the clipboard for pasting elsewhere.
  
  With an incredibly user-friendly interface, you won't require AI expertise (or a novice blogger) to comprehend it. Type your question in the top box, click the blue send button, and wait for a generated response to appear at the bottom. You can edit or modify your message and repeat the process as needed.
  
  During our evaluation, Bavarder employed BAI Chat, a GPT-3.5/ChatGPT API-based chatbot that's free and doesn't require signups or API keys. Future app versions will incorporate support for alternative backends, such as ChatGPT 4 and Hugging Chat, and allow users to input an API key to utilize ChatGPT3.
  
  At present, there's no option to regenerate a response (though you can resend the same question for a potentially different answer). Due to the lack of a "conversation" view, tracking a dialogue or following up on answers can be challenging — but Bavarder excels for rapid-fire questions.
  
  As with any AI, standard disclaimers apply. Responses might seem plausible but could contain inaccurate or false information. Additionally, it's relatively easy to lead these models into irrational loops, like convincing them that 2 + 2 equals 106 — so stay alert!
  
  Overall, Bavarder is an attractive app with a well-defined purpose. If you enjoy ChatGPT and similar technologies, it's worth exploring.
  ChatGPT AI

• LibreOffice 7.5.3 Released: Third Maintenance Update Brings 119 Bug Fixes to Popular Open-Source Office Suite
  
  Today, The Document Foundation unveiled the release and widespread availability of LibreOffice 7.5.3, which serves as the third maintenance update to the current LibreOffice 7.5 open-source and complimentary office suite series.
  
  Approximately five weeks after the launch of LibreOffice 7.5.2, LibreOffice 7.5.3 arrives with a new set of bug fixes for those who have successfully updated their GNU/Linux system to the LibreOffice 7.5 series.
  
  LibreOffice 7.5.3 addresses a total of 119 bugs identified by users or uncovered by LibreOffice developers. For a more comprehensive understanding of these bug fixes, consult the RC1 and RC2 changelogs.
  
  You can download LibreOffice 7.5.3 directly from the LibreOffice website��or from SourceForge as binary installers for DEB or RPM-based GNU/Linux distributions. A source tarball is also accessible for individuals who prefer to compile the software from sources or for system integrators.
  
  All users operating the LibreOffice 7.5 office suite series should promptly update their installations to the new point release, which will soon appear in the stable software repositories of your GNU/Linux distributions.
  
  In early February 2023, LibreOffice 7.5 debuted as a substantial upgrade to the widely-used open-source office suite, introducing numerous features and improvements. These enhancements encompass major upgrades to dark mode support, new application and MIME-type icons, a refined Single Toolbar UI, enhanced PDF Export, and more.
  
  Seven maintenance updates will support LibreOffice 7.5 until November 30th, 2023. The next point release, LibreOffice 7.5.4, is scheduled for early June and will include additional bug fixes.
  
  The Document Foundation once again emphasizes that the LibreOffice office suite's "Community" edition is maintained by volunteers and members of the Open Source community. For enterprise implementations, they suggest using the LibreOffice Enterprise family of applications from ecosystem partners.
  LibreOffice