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Comment Re:slow day? (Score 1) 177

by JustAnotherOldGuy (#65875475) Attached to: What the Linux Desktop Really Needs To Challenge Windows

Seriously, "the Linux desktop is too fragmented" is bullshit.

You're not wrong, but it's definitely a contributing factor. The average user can basically just run out get get Windows, and for better or worse they know what they're getting. To them, Windows is Windows is Windows.

But it's more difficult for them to "run out and get Linux", partly because it's like the toothpaste aisle at the supermarket- 137 different options and they *genuinely* don't know what the differences are or why it would matter. They're afraid of making the 'wrong' choice, and I get it- I was there once.

I think a lot of folks look into Linux, get overwhelmed with all the choices and either freeze or go into "analysis paralysis" trying to figure which distro is right for them. (Most of the different flavors would be fine for them, but they don't know that.) And for a lot of people, I suspect that's where they stop.

Comment What Linux needs (Score 1) 177

by JustAnotherOldGuy (#65875425) Attached to: What the Linux Desktop Really Needs To Challenge Windows

What Linux needs is the exact opposite of what Linux is based on. Linux is based on freedom and variety, while mainstream adoption needs standardization and hand-holding.

To achieve Joe Sixpack-level adoption, Linux needs 1) a standard interface (desktop), and 2) someone to call when shit doesn't work right.

Both of those will be hard, especially the second one.

Submission + - Garmin Emergency Autoland has First Save (avbrief.com)

Submitted by slipped_bit
slipped_bit writes: Garmin's Collier Trophy award winning Autonomi emergency auto land, a system designed to safely land an aircraft in the event of pilot incapacitation, made it's first real world use and save on Saturday.

Submission + - How a power outage in Colorado caused U.S. official time to be 4.8 microseconds (npr.org) 1

Submitted by Tony Isaac
Tony Isaac writes: The U.S. government calculates the country's official time using more than a dozen atomic clocks at a federal facility northwest of Denver.

But when a destructive windstorm knocked out power to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratory in Boulder on Wednesday and a backup generator subsequently failed, time ever so slightly slowed down.

The lapse "resulted in NIST UTC [universal coordinated time] being 4.8 microseconds slower than it should have been," NIST spokesperson Rebecca Jacobson said in an email.

Comment In that case (Score 2) 70

In that case, guess who'll be taping over the cameras and sensors? Me, that's who.

I'm just waiting for the inevitable day when AI is shoved into everything- floss sticks, pop cans, hamburgers, dildos, nuclear weapons, crotchless underwear, snowstorms, farts, bad dreams, horses, etc etc.

Submission + - This AI finds simple rules where humans see only chaos (sciencedaily.com) 1

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: A new AI developed at Duke University can uncover simple, readable rules behind extremely complex systems. It studies how systems evolve over time and reduces thousands of variables into compact equations that still capture real behavior. The method works across physics, engineering, climate science, and biology. Researchers say it could help scientists understand systems where traditional equations are missing or too complicated to write down.

Submission + - Samsung is putting Google Gemini AI into your refrigerator, whether you need it (nerds.xyz)

Submitted by BrianFagioli
BrianFagioli writes: Samsung is bringing Google Gemini directly into the kitchen, starting with a refrigerator that can see what you eat. At CES 2026, the company plans to show off a new Bespoke AI Refrigerator that uses a built in camera system paired with Gemini to automatically recognize food items, including leftovers stored in unlabeled containers. The idea is to keep an always up to date inventory without manual input, track what is added or removed, and surface suggestions based on what is actually inside the fridge. It is the first time Googleâ(TM)s Gemini AI is being integrated into a refrigerator, pushing generative AI well beyond phones and laptops.

The pitch sounds convenient, but it also raises familiar questions. This is vision based AI tied to cloud services, not just local smarts, and it depends on cameras watching what goes in and out of your fridge over years of ownership. Samsung is framing this as friction free food management, but critics may see it as another example of AI being embedded into everyday appliances whether consumers asked for it or not. The real test will be whether this becomes a genuinely useful background feature, or just another smart screen that people stop paying attention to once the novelty wears off.

Submission + - Visa says AI will start shopping and paying for you in 2026 (nerds.xyz)

Submitted by BrianFagioli
BrianFagioli writes: Visa says it has completed hundreds of secure, AI initiated transactions with partners, arguing this proves agent driven shopping is ready to move beyond experiments. The company believes 2025 will be the last full year most consumers manually check out, with AI agents handling purchases at scale by the 2026 holiday season. Nearly half of US shoppers already use AI tools for product discovery, and Visa wants to extend that shift all the way through payment using its Intelligent Commerce framework.

The pilots are already live in controlled environments, powering consumer and business purchases through AI agents tied to Visaâ(TM)s payment rails. To prevent abuse, Visa and partners have introduced a Trusted Agent Protocol to help merchants distinguish legitimate AI agents from bots, with Akamai adding fraud and identity controls. While the infrastructure may be ready, the bigger question is whether consumers fully understand the risks of letting software spend their money.

Comment That's crazy (Score 1) 60

I would never knowingly buy a device that could be bricked remotely. The idea is nuts to me.

Like, I'll buy this thing and maybe one day it'll just stop working because someone somewhere on the other side of the world pushed a button?

Hell no, I will not buy anything that has a kill switch.

Submission + - 13.1 Million K-12 Schoolkids Participated in Inaugural 'Hour of AI'

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: At a high-profile White House gathering of AI tech leaders last September, tech-backed nonprofit Code.org pledged to engage 25 million K-12 schoolchildren in an "Hour of AI" this school year.

Preliminary numbers released this week by the Code.org Advocacy Coalition this week showed that 13.1 million users had participated in the inaugural Hour of AI, attaining 52.4% of its goal of 25 million participants.

In a pivot from coding to AI literacy, the Hour of AI replaced Code.org's hugely-popular Hour of Code this December as the flagship event of Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 8-14). According to Code.org's 2024-25 Impact Report, "in 2024–25 alone, students logged over 100 million Hours of Code, including more than 43 million in the four months leading up to and including CS Education Week."

Submission + - Protect us from Russian sabotage, drone firm begs Labour (telegraph.co.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Tom Redman, the chief executive of Evolve Dynamics, which builds reconnaissance drones for front-line troops in Ukraine, said his company had faced a surge in attempted phishing attacks by hackers, which he fears could have links to Moscow.

Submission + - Public Domain Day 2026

Submitted by davidwr
davidwr writes: January 1, 2026 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1930 are open to all, as are sound recordings from 1925!
By Jennifer Jenkins and James Boyle CC BY 4.0
On January 1, 2026, thousands of copyrighted works from 1930 enter the US public domain, along with sound recordings from 1925. They will be free for all to copy, share, and build upon. The literary highlights range from William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying to Agatha Christie’s The Murder at the Vicarage and the first four Nancy Drew novels. From cartoons and comic strips, the characters Betty Boop, Pluto (originally named Rover), and Blondie and Dagwood made their first appearances. Films from the year featured Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, the Marx Brothers, and John Wayne in his first leading role. Among the public domain compositions are I Got Rhythm, Georgia on My Mind, and Dream a Little Dream of Me. We are also celebrating paintings from Piet Mondrian and Paul Klee.


—

Last year's Slashdot coverage included Tintin, Popeye Enter Public Domain as 1929 Works Released (Jan 1) and Internet Archive Celebrates New Public Domain Works with Remixes in Short Film Contest (Feb. 8).

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