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Do a presentation at NTLUG.
What is the Linux Installation Project?
Real companies using Linux!
Not just for business anymore.
Providing ready to run platforms on Linux
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- AlmaLinux 10.1 Released - Complete With Btrfs Support
Building off the release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.1 from two weeks ago, AlmaLinux 10.1 is now available in GA form for this community-oriented RHEL10 downstream. Making AlmaLinux 10.1 all the more interesting is the project's decision to promote Btrfs file-system support...
- VERSA Embedded Platform Features Dual-Core i.MX93 and Ethos microNPU Support
The i.MX93 VERSA Evaluation Kit provides a compact platform for developing with Calixto’s i.MX93 VERSA SoM, combining a dual-core processor, real-time control, an edge NPU, and interfaces such as Ethernet, CAN, RS485, USB, MIPI camera, and multiple display outputs. The i.MX93 VERSA SoM uses NXP’s i.MX93 processor, combining a 1.7GHz dual Arm Cortex-A55, a 250MHz Cortex-M33 […]
- Dell Pro Max with GB10 Arrives For Linux Performance Benchmarking
The most exciting hardware to arrive this month in the Phoronix lab is Dell having sent over two of their new Dell Pro Max with GB10 systems. The Dell Pro Max with GB10 is their build-out around NVIDIA's GB10 superchip with ten Cortex-X925 CPU cores and ten Cortex-A725 cores plus the GB10 Blackwell GPU. With 128GB of LPDDR5X memory and 2TB or 4TB SSD by default all within the small chassis, this is an interesting workstation for AI developers.
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- Hacker Conference Installed a Literal Antivirus Monitoring System
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Hacker conferences -- like all conventions -- are notorious for giving attendees a parting gift of mystery illness. To combat "con crud," New Zealand's premier hacker conference, Kawaiicon, quietly launched a real-time, room-by-room carbon dioxide monitoring system for attendees. To get the system up and running, event organizers installed DIY CO2 monitors throughout the Michael Fowler Centre venue before conference doors opened on November 6. Attendees were able to check a public online dashboard for clean air readings for session rooms, kids' areas, the front desk, and more, all before even showing up. "It's ALMOST like we are all nerds in a risk-based industry," the organizers wrote on the convention's website. "What they did is fantastic," Jeff Moss, founder of the Defcon and Black Hat security conferences, told WIRED. "CO2 is being used as an approximation for so many things, but there are no easy, inexpensive network monitoring solutions available. Kawaiicon building something to do this is the true spirit of hacking." [...] Kawaiicon's work began one month before the conference. In early October, organizers deployed a small fleet of 13 RGB Matrix Portal Room CO2 Monitors, an ambient carbon dioxide monitor DIY project adapted from US electronics and kit company Adafruit Industries. The monitors were connected to an Internet-accessible dashboard with live readings, daily highs and lows, and data history that showed attendees in-room CO2 trends. Kawaiicon tested its CO2 monitors in collaboration with researchers from the University of Otago's public health department. The Michael Fowler Centre is a spectacular blend of Scandinavian brutalism and interior woodwork designed to enhance sound and air, including two grand pou -- carved Mori totems -- next to the main entrance that rise through to the upper foyers. Its cathedral-like acoustics posed a challenge to Kawaiicon's air-hacking crew, which they solved by placing the RGB monitors in stereo. There were two on each level of the Main Auditorium (four total), two in the Renouf session space on level 1, plus monitors in the daycare and Kuracon (kids' hacker conference) areas. To top it off, monitors were placed in the Quiet Room, at the Registration Desk, and in the Green Room. Kawaiicon's attendees could quickly check the conditions before they arrived and decide how to protect themselves accordingly. At the event, WIRED observed attendees checking CO2 levels on their phones, masking and unmasking in different conference areas, and watching a display of all room readings on a dashboard at the registration desk. In each conference session room, small wall-mounted monitors displayed stoplight colors showing immediate conditions: green for safe, orange for risky, and red to show the room had high CO2 levels, the top level for risk. Colorful custom-made Kawaiicon posters by New Zealand artist Pepper Raccoon placed throughout the Michael Fowler Centre displayed a QR code, making the CO2 dashboard a tap away, no matter where they were at the conference. Resources, parts lists, and assembly guides can be found here.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Mind-Altering 'Brain Weapons' No Longer Only Science Fiction, Say Researchers
Researchers warn that rapid advances in neuroscience, pharmacology, and AI are bringing "brain weapons" out of science fiction and into real-world plausibility. They argue current arms treaties don't adequately cover these emerging tools and call for a new, proactive framework to prevent the weaponization of the human mind. The Guardian reports: Michael Crowley and Malcolm Dando, of Bradford University, are about to publish a book that they believe should be a wake-up call to the world. [...] The book, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, explores how advances in neuroscience, pharmacology and artificial intelligence are coming together to create a new threat. "We are entering an era where the brain itself could become a battlefield," said Crowley. "The tools to manipulate the central nervous system -- to sedate, confuse or even coerce -- are becoming more precise, more accessible and more attractive to states." The book traces the fascinating, if appalling, history of state-sponsored research into central nervous system (CNS)-acting chemicals. [...] The academics argue that the ability exists to create much more "sophisticated and targeted" weapons that would once have been unimaginable. Dando said: "The same knowledge that helps us treat neurological disorders could be used to disrupt cognition, induce compliance, or even in the future turn people into unwitting agents." The threat is "real and growing" but there are gaps in international arms control treaties preventing it from being tackled effectively, they say. [...] The book makes the case for a new "holistic arms control" framework, rather than relying on existing arms control treaties. It sets out a number of practical steps that could be taken, including establishing a working group on CNS-acting and broader incapacitating agents. Other proposals concern training, monitoring and definitions. "We need to move from reactive to proactive governance," said Dando. Both men acknowledge that we are learning more about the brain and the central nervous system, which is good for humanity. They said they were not trying to stifle scientific progress and it was about preventing malign intent. Crowley said: "This is a wake-up call. We must act now to protect the integrity of science and the sanctity of the human mind."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Trump Launches Genesis Mission, a Manhattan Project-Level AI Push
BrianFagioli writes: President Trump has issued a sweeping executive order that creates the Genesis Mission, a national AI program he compares to a Manhattan Project level effort. It centralizes DOE supercomputers, national lab resources, massive scientific datasets, and new AI foundation models into a single platform meant to fast track research in areas like fusion, biotech, microelectronics, and advanced manufacturing. The order positions AI as both a scientific accelerator and a national security requirement, with heavy emphasis on data access, secure cloud environments, classification controls, and export restrictions. The mission also sets strict timelines for identifying key national science challenges, integrating interagency datasets, enabling AI run experimentation, and creating public private research partnerships. Whether this becomes an effective scientific engine or another oversized federal program remains to be seen, but the administration is clearly pushing to frame Trump as the president who put AI at the center of U.S. research strategy.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Jony Ive and Sam Altman Say They Finally Have an AI Hardware Prototype
Sam Altman and Jony Ive say they've settled on a prototype for OpenAI's first hardware device that could ship in "less than" two years. The Verge reports: In an interview with Laurene Powell Jobs at Emerson Collective's 2025 Demo Day, they said they are currently prototyping the device, and when asked about a timeframe, Ive said it could arrive in "less than" two years. Little has been revealed so far about the OpenAI device in development, but it's rumored to be screen-free and "roughly the size of a smartphone." Altman described the design as "simple and beautiful and playful," adding that, "There was an earlier prototype that we were quite excited about, but I did not have any feeling of, "I want to pick up that thing and take a bite out of it,' and then finally we got there all of a sudden." Ive similarly emphasized simplicity and whimsy, saying, "I love solutions that teeter on appearing almost naive in their simplicity, and I also love incredibly intelligent, sophisticated products that you want to touch, and you feel no intimidation, and you want to use almost carelessly, that you use them almost without thought, that they're just tools." Altman went on to comment, "I hope that when people see it, they say, 'That's it!,'" to which Ive responded, "Yeah, they will."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Japan's High-Stakes Gamble To Turn Island of Flowers Into Global Chip Hub
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: The island of Hokkaido has long been an agricultural powerhouse -- now Japan is investing billions to turn it into a global hub for advanced semiconductors. More than half of Japan's dairy produce comes from Hokkaido, the northernmost of its main islands. In winter, it's a wonderland of ski resorts and ice-sculpture festivals; in summer, fields bloom with bands of lavender, poppies and sunflowers. These days, cranes are popping up across the island -- building factories, research centers and universities focused on technology. It's part of Japan's boldest industrial push in a generation: an attempt to reboot the country's chip-making capabilities and reshape its economic future. Locals say that beyond the cattle and tourism, Hokkaido has long lacked other industries. There's even a saying that those who go there do so only to leave. But if the government succeeds in turning Hokkaido into Japan's answer to Silicon Valley -- or "Hokkaido Valley", as some have begun to call it -- the country could become a new contender in the $600 billion race to supply the world's computer chips. At the heart of the plan is Rapidus, a little-known company backed by the government and some of Japan's biggest corporations including Toyota, Softbank and Sony. Born out of a partnership with IBM, it has raised billions of dollars to build Japan's first cutting-edge chip foundry in decades. The government has invested $12 billion in the company, so that it can build a massive semiconductor factory or "fab" in the small city of Chitose. In selecting the Hokkaido location, Rapidus CEO Atsuyoshi Koike points to Chitose's water, electricity infrastructure and its natural beauty. Mr Koike oversaw the fab design, which will be completely covered in grass to harmonize with Hokkaido's landscape, he told the BBC. Local authorities have also flagged the region as being at lower risk of earthquakes compared to other potential sites in Japan.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Amazon Pledges Up To $50 Billion To Expand AI, Supercomputing For US Government
Amazon is committing up to $50 billion to massively expand AI and supercomputing capacity for U.S. government cloud regions, adding 1.3 gigawatts of high-performance compute and giving federal agencies access to its full suite of AI tools. Reuters reports: The project, expected to break ground in 2026, will add nearly 1.3 gigawatts of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing capacity across AWS Top Secret, AWS Secret and AWS GovCloud regions by building data centers equipped with advanced compute and networking technologies. The project, expected to break ground in 2026, will add nearly 1.3 gigawatts of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing capacity across AWS Top Secret, AWS Secret and AWS GovCloud regions by building data centers equipped with advanced compute and networking technologies. Under the latest initiative, federal agencies will gain access to AWS' comprehensive suite of AI services, including Amazon SageMaker for model training and customization, Amazon Bedrock for deploying models and agents, as well as foundation models such as Amazon Nova and Anthropic Claude. The federal government seeks to develop tailored AI solutions and drive cost-savings by leveraging AWS' dedicated and expanded capacity.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Pebble Goes Fully Open Source
Core Devices has fully open-sourced the entire Pebble software stack and confirmed the first Pebble Time 2 shipments will start in January. "This is the clearest sign yet that the platform is shifting from a company-led product to a community-backed project that can survive independently," reports Gadgets & Wearables. From the report: The announcement follows weeks of tension between Core Devices and parts of the Pebble community. By moving from 95 to 100 percent open source, the company has essentially removed itself as a bottleneck. Users can now build, run, and maintain every piece of software needed to operate a Pebble watch. That includes firmware for the watch and mobile apps for Android and iOS. This puts the entire software stack into public hands. According to the announcement, Core Devices has released the mobile app source code, enabled decentralized app distribution, and made hardware more repairable with replaceable batteries and published design files.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Arduino's New Terms of Service Worries Hobbyists Ahead of Qualcomm Acquisition
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Some members of the maker community are distraught about Arduino's new terms of service (ToS), saying that the added rules put the company's open source DNA at risk. Arduino updated its ToS and privacy policy this month, which is about a month after Qualcomm announced that it's acquiring the open source hardware and software company. Among the most controversial changes is this addition: "User shall not: translate, decompile or reverse-engineer the Platform, or engage in any other activity designed to identify the algorithms and logic of the Platform's operation, unless expressly allowed by Arduino or by applicable license agreements ..." In response to concerns from some members of the maker community, including from open source hardware distributor and manufacturer Adafruit, Arduino posted a blog on Friday. Regarding the new reverse-engineering rule, Arduino's blog said: "Any hardware, software or services (e.g. Arduino IDE, hardware schematics, tooling and libraries) released with Open Source licenses remain available as before. Restrictions on reverse-engineering apply specifically to our Software-as-a-Service cloud applications. Anything that was open, stays open." But Adafruit founder and engineer Limor Fried and Adafruit managing editor Phillip Torrone are not convinced. They told Ars Technica that Arduino's blog leaves many questions unanswered and said that they've sent these questions to Arduino without response. "Why is reverse-engineering prohibited at all for a company built on openly hackable systems?" Fried and Torrone asked in a shared statement. There are also concerns about the ToS' broad new AI-monitoring powers, which offer little clarity on what data is collected, who can access it, or how long it's retained. On top of that, the update introduces an unusual patent clause that bars users from using the platform to identify potential infringement by Arduino or its partners, along with sweeping, perpetual rights over user-generated content. This could allow Arduino, and potentially Qualcomm, to republish, modify, monetize, or redistribute user uploads indefinitely.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Americans Are Holding Onto Devices Longer Than Ever
An anonymous reader shares a report: The average American now holds onto their smartphone for 29 months, according to a recent survey by Reviews.org, and that cycle is getting longer. The average was around 22 months in 2016. [...] Research released by the Federal Reserve last month concludes that each additional year companies delay upgrading equipment results in a productivity decline of about one-third of a percent, with investment patterns accounting for approximately 55% of productivity gaps between advanced economies. The good news: businesses in the U.S. are generally quicker to reinvest in replacing aging equipment. The Federal Reserve report shows that if European productivity had matched U.S. investment patterns starting in 2000, the productivity gap between the U.S and European economic heavyweights would have been reduced by 29 percent for the U.K., 35 percent for France, and 101% for Germany.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
- Udio Users Can't Download Their AI Music Creations Anymore
An anonymous reader shares a report: As part of the settlement with Universal, Udio has amended its terms of service, and users can no longer download their outputs. This has AI music makers furious, and with good reason. Unfortunately, they have little recourse, as the contract they sign when creating a Udio account includes a waiver of the right to bring a class action.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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- Meta knows how bad its sites are for kids, say lawyers
Multiple internal studies allegedly buried by the company
Is Meta acting like a tobacco company denying cigarettes cause cancer, or an oil giant downplaying climate science? Lawyers in a recent court filing claim the social media titan buried internal research for years suggesting its platforms can harm children's mental health.…
- Praise Amazon for raising this service from the dead
The hardest part is admitting you were wrong, which AWS did.
Opinion For years, Google has seemingly indulged a corporate fetish of taking products that are beloved, then killing them. AWS has been on a different kick lately: Killing services that frankly shouldn't have seen the light of day.…
- Anthropic reduces model misbehavior by endorsing cheating
By removing the stigma of reward hacking, AI models are less likely to generalize toward evil
Sometimes bots, like kids, just wanna break the rules. Researchers at Anthropic have found they can make AI models less likely to behave badly by giving them permission to do so.…
- Ex-CISA officials, CISOs dispel 'hacklore,' spread cybersecurity truths
Don't believe everything you read
Afraid of connecting to public Wi-Fi? Terrified to turn your Bluetooth on? You may be falling for "hacklore," tall tales about cybersecurity that distract you from real dangers. Dozens of chief security officers and ex-CISA officials have launched an effort and website to dispel these myths and show you how not to get hacked for real.…
- Old-school rotary phone dials into online meetings, hangs up when you slam it down
Stavros Korokithakis really wanted to slam the receiver on meetings, so he built his own device to do just that
We've all been there: A meeting goes sideways and you really wish you could physically slam the phone down and walk away. Maker Stavros Korokithakis knows that feeling well, so he took an old rotary phone and turned it into a device that can dial into - and hang up on - video calls in a decidedly retro fashion. …
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