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Submission + - Memory-safe sudo to become the default in Ubuntu

Submitted by RoccamOccam
RoccamOccam writes: Ubuntu 25.10 is set to adopt sudo-rs by default. Sudo-rs is a memory-safe reimplementation of the widely-used sudo utility, written in the Rust programming language. This move is part of a broader effort by Canonical to improve the resilience and maintainability of core system components.

Submission + - US Lawmakers Push Location-Tracking/Phoning Homne For High Powered AI Chips (reuters.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: U.S. lawmaker plans to introduce legislation in coming weeks to verify the location of artificial-intelligence chips like those made by Nvidia after they are sold.

The effort to keep tabs on the chips, which drew bipartisan support from U.S. lawmakers, aims to address reports of widespread smuggling of Nvidia's chips into China in violation of U.S. export control laws.

U.S. Representative Bill Foster, a Democrat from Illinois who once worked as a particle physicist, said the technology to track chips after they are sold is readily available, with much of it already built in to Nvidia's chips. Independent technical experts interviewed by Reuters agreed.

Foster, who successfully designed multiple computer chips during his scientific career, plans to introduce in coming weeks a bill that would direct U.S. regulators to come up with rules in two key areas: Tracking chips to ensure they are where they are authorized to be under export control licenses, and preventing those chips from booting up if they are not properly licensed under export controls.

Foster's bill has support from fellow Democrats such as Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking member on the House Select Committee on China. "On-chip location verification is one creative solution we should explore to stop this smuggling," Krishnamoorthi said in a statement.

Republicans are also supportive, though none have yet signed on to specific legislation because it has not yet been introduced. Representative John Moolenaar, who chairs the committee, supports the concept of location tracking and plans to meet with lawmakers in both the House and U.S. Senate this week on potential legislative approaches.

"The Select Committee has strong bipartisan support for requiring companies like Nvidia to build location-tracking into their high-powered AI chips — and the technology to do it already exists," Moolenaar told Reuters.

The technology for verifying the location of chips would rely on the chips communicating with a secured computer server that would use the length of time it takes for the signal to reach the server to verify where chips are, a concept that relies on knowing that computer signals move at the speed of light.

Submission + - Signal Clone Used by Trump Administration Was Hacked 1

Submitted by bitwraith
bitwraith writes: "A hacker has breached and stolen customer data from TeleMessage, an obscure Israeli company that sells modified versions of Signal and other messaging apps to the U.S. government to archive messages, 404 Media has learned. The data stolen by the hacker contains the contents of some direct messages and group chats sent using its Signal clone, as well as modified versions of WhatsApp, Telegram, and WeChat. TeleMessage was recently the center of a wave of media coverage after Mike Waltz accidentally revealed he used the tool in a cabinet meeting with President Trump."

Note for the editor: The above is an exact quote from the article, except for hyperlinks. It would probably be appropriate to replace, "bitwraith writes:" with, "bitwraith shares an article from 404media:"

Comment Good and this is why (Score 3, Informative) 141

Mozilla failed to concentrate their resources on the browser and Thunderbird which is why they're not competitive.

It was not always thus but Google money removed any need to compete for market share.

Firefox used to be the default recommendation for new Windows installs with Internet Explorer used to download Firefox then ignored. It spread thanks to user advocacy but that was a long time ago.

Submission + - Boffins report: "AI" creates more "work" than it saves (arstechnica.com) 1

Submitted by Mr. Dollar Ton
Mr. Dollar Ton writes: Moreover, previous estimates of huge "productivity gains" are largely faked and the new "work" it is not necessarily useful.

A new study analyzing the Danish labor market in 2023 and 2024 suggests that generative AI models like ChatGPT have had almost no significant impact on overall wages or employment yet, despite rapid adoption in some workplaces.

The reported productivity benefits were modest in the study. Users reported average time savings of just 2.8 percent of work hours (about an hour per week).

The finding contradicts a randomized controlled trial published in February that found generative AI increased worker productivity by 15 percent on average. The difference stems from other experiments focusing on tasks highly suited to AI, whereas most real-world jobs involve tasks AI cannot fully automate.

Submission + - Army Will Seek Right to Repair Clauses in All Its Contracts (404media.co)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A new memo from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is calling on defense contractors to grant the Army the right-to-repair. The Wednesday memo is a document about “Army Transformation and Acquisition Reform” that is largely vague but highlights the very real problems with IP constraints that have made it harder for the military to repair damaged equipment.

Hegseth made this clear at the bottom of the memo in a subsection about reform and budget optimization. “The Secretary of the Army shallidentify and propose contract modifications for right to repair provisions where intellectual property constraints limit the Army's ability to conduct maintenance and access the appropriate maintenance tools, software, and technical data—while preserving the intellectual capital of American industry,” it says. “Seek to include right to repair provisions in all existing contracts and also ensure these provisions are included in all new contracts.” [...] The memo would theoretically mean that the Army would refuse to sign contracts with companies that make it difficult to fix what it sells to the military. The memo doesn’t carry the force of law, but subordinates do tend to follow the orders given within. The memo also ordered the Army to stop producing Humvees and some other light vehicles, and Breaking Defense confirmed that it had.

Submission + - Chase CISO Condemns SaaS Security (csoonline.com)

Submitted by itwbennett
itwbennett writes: In an open letter to suppliers, Chase CISO Patrick Opet, took the industry to task for 'quietly enabling cyber attackers,' among a litany of other security sins. Sources quoted in this CSOonline article didn't disagree with what is generally agreed to be an accurate description of today's security challenges, but what Opet hoped to accomplish with this letter is unclear. One analyst described it as 'more of a call to discussion than a call to action.' Another pinned the lack of specificity on the likely involvement of Chase legal and other officials making edits that watered down the substance, so 'the essence of the letter is lost trying to protect themselves.'

Submission + - AI-driven robot installs nearly 10,000 solar modules in Australia (renewablesnow.com)

Submitted by AmiMoJo
AmiMoJo writes: Chinese tech company Leapting has successfully completed its first commercial deployment of photovoltaic (PV) modules with an AI-driven solar module mounting robot in Australia. The Chinese company was tasked with supporting the installation of French Neoen’s (EPA:NEOEN) 350-MW/440-MWp Culcairn Solar Farm in New South Wales’ Riverina region. Shanghai-based Leapting said this week that its intelligent robot has installed almost 10,000 modules at an “efficient, safe, and stable” pace that has “significantly” reduced the original construction timeline.

Litian Intelligent was deployed at the Australian project site in early February. The machine has a 2.5-metre-high robotic arm sitting on a self-guided, self-propelled crawler. Equipped with a navigation system, and visual recognition technology, it can lift and mount PV panels weighing up to 30 kilograms. By replacing labour-intensive manual operations, the robot shortens the module installation cycle by 25%, while the installation efficiency increases three to five times as compared to manual labour and is easily adapted to complex environments, Leapting says.

Submission + - Apple Violated Antitrust Ruling, Federal Judge Finds (ground.news)

Submitted by walterbyrd
walterbyrd writes: On April 30, 2025, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland ruled that Apple willfully violated a 2021 injunction related to its App Store practices.
The violation occurred because Apple imposed new fees and policies that blocked meaningful competition for external app purchases, defying the court's original order.
The court found Apple engineered obstacles like 27% commissions on off-App Store purchases, scare screens, and static URLs to deter users from using alternative payment methods.
Judge Rogers described Apple's response as a "blatant attempt to sidestep the court's authority" and referred Apple and VP Alex Roman for potential criminal contempt after finding Roman lied under oath.
The ruling bars Apple from interfering with developers' ability to communicate alternative payment options and may lead to criminal charges, while Epic Games signals potential return of Fortnite to iOS.

Submission + - Google, Microsoft CEOs: No Developers, Developers, Developers!

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Last week saw Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai boast to Wall Street that AI is now writing "well over 30%" of the code at Google (up from 25% last fall).

This week saw Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella boast that AI is writing 20%-30% of the code at Microsoft during a fireside chat with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at Meta’s LlamaCon conference (Zuckerberg said he didn’t know how much of Meta’s code is being generated by AI).

So, is "No Developers, Developers, Developers!" the new "Developers, Developers, Developers!"?

Submission + - New York Budget Deal Includes 'Bell-To-Bell' School Cellphone Ban (cbsnews.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says a $254 billion state budget deal has been reached, including a "bell-to-bell" school cellphone ban. [...] The distraction-free policy would take effect next school year, making New York the largest state in the country with a "bell-to-bell" cellphone ban. Hochul says the plan will help protect children from addictive technology and improve their mental health. The New York State United Teachers union also came out in support of the ban, saying "we are at a crisis point."

The governor previously outlined the proposal back in January, saying it would ban the use of smartphones and other internet-enabled devices on school grounds during the school day. That includes classroom time, lunch and study hall periods. "A bell-to-bell ban, morning until the day is over, is not going to hurt your kids. It's going to help them emerge with stronger mental health and resiliency," she told CBS News New York at the time.

Hochul said the ban would include smartphones and other personal "smart" devices, like smartwatches. Exemptions could be made if a student requires a device to manage a medical condition or for translation purposes. Cellphones that don't have internet capability and devices that are provided by the school for lesson plans would still be allowed. The proposal would let individual schools come up with their own ways to implement the ban and store the devices, and schools would be able to decide whether to have students leave them in things like pouches, lockers or cubbies. It would also require schools to make sure parents have a way to contact their children during the day, if needed.

Submission + - Soft vine-like robot helps rescuers find survivors in disaster zones. (foxnews.com)

Submitted by MicroBitz
MicroBitz writes: "SPROUT, short for Soft Pathfinding Robotic Observation Unit, is a flexible, vine-like robot developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory in collaboration with the University of Notre Dame. Unlike rigid robots or static cameras, SPROUT can "grow" into tight, winding spaces that are otherwise inaccessible, giving first responders a new way to explore, map and assess collapsed structures."

"Beyond disaster response, the technology could be adapted for inspecting military systems or critical infrastructure in hard-to-reach places, making SPROUT a versatile tool for a variety of high-stakes scenarios."

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