SoylentNews

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://gizmodo.com/apple-requires-device-level-age-verification-in-the-uk-now-could-the-us-be-next-2000738481

On Wednesday, Apple unveiled new device-level age restrictions in the UK. After downloading a new update, users will now have to confirm that they are 18 or older to access unrestricted features.

Users will be able to confirm their age with a credit card or by scanning an ID.

For those underage or who have not confirmed their age, Apple will turn on Web Content Filter and Communication Safety, which will not only restrict access to certain apps or websites, but will also monitor messages, shared photo albums, AirDrop, and FaceTime calls for nudity.

Apple didn’t specify exactly which services and features are banned for under-18 users, but it will likely be in compliance with UK legislation. Gizmodo reached out to the Cupertino giant for comment, and we’ll update this post when we receive a reply.

The British government does not require Apple and other OS providers to institute device-level age checks, but it does restrict minor access to online pornography under the Online Safety Act, which passed in 2023. So far, that restriction has only been implemented at the website level, but UK officials have been worried about easy loopholes to evade the age restrictions, like VPNs.

The broader tech industry has been campaigning for some time to use device-level age checks instead in response to the rising tide of under-16 social media and internet bans around the world.

Last month, in a landmark social media trial in California, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also supported this idea, saying that conducting age verification “at the level of the phone is just a lot clearer than having every single app out there have to do this separately.”

Pornhub-operator Aylo had advocated for device-level restrictions in the UK as well, and even sent out letters to Apple, Google, and Microsoft in November asking for OS-level age verification. At the time, British authorities had responded to Aylo, saying that OS-level restrictions would have to be industry-led, as nothing was stopping these tech companies from implementing the method and showing evidence of its effectiveness.

The most obvious question: Could this be brought stateside?

Artemis II Astronaut: 'I Have Two Microsoft Outlooks, and Neither One of Those Are Working'

hubie writes:

In space no one can hear you scream -- at Microsoft:

Many a frustrated user has sworn they'll launch Microsoft Outlook into space, but NASA has actually done it – on a journey around the Moon, where it's now causing problems for astronauts.

The astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft currently circling the Earth are taking care of a bunch of housekeeping tasks, including getting their devices working. Judging by some space-to-ground communications with controllers at Houston, it isn't going well.

NASA has helpfully provided a YouTube channel showing live views from the Orion spacecraft, as well as snippets of communication. During this stream, one of the astronauts can be heard first asking for help with network connectivity (IT support staff will be delighted to know that one troubleshooting step involves turning the device off and on) before telling controllers, "I have two Microsoft Outlooks, and neither one of those are working."

Multiple Outlooks is something that is all too familiar to many Windows users. A year ago, the acceptable face of development at Microsoft, Scott Hanselman, parodied the situation by listing some tongue-in-cheek variants to go with Outlook (Classic) and Outlook (New). How about Outlook (Zero Sugar), Outlook (Caffeine Free), and so on? The Orion 'nauts could well be looking at Outlook (Deep Space), Outlook (Low Earth Orbit), or even Outlook (Tentacle Edition).

And, for at least one of the four Artemis II crew members, none of the Outlooks is working.

Even if you go 384,000 km away, you still can't get away from your email.

Update: As of Saturday morning, Artemis 2 is now closer to the moon than it is to earth. [JR-04012026-0640utc]

owl writes:

https://petapixel.com/2026/03/27/sony-shuts-down-nearly-its-entire-memory-card-business-due-to-ssd-shortage/

The global shortage of solid state memory has claimed its first photographic victim, as Sony has announced that it is suspending fulfillment of all orders for nearly its entire SD and CFexpress memory card product lines.

Sony Japan published the notice on its website today:

Thank you for your continued patronage of Sony products.

Due to the global shortage of semiconductors (memory) and other factors, it is anticipated that supply will not be able to meet demand for CFexpress memory cards and SD memory cards for the foreseeable future. Therefore, we have decided to temporarily suspend the acceptance of orders from our authorized dealers and from customers at the Sony Store from March 27, 2026 onwards.

Regarding the resumption of order acceptance, we will consider it while monitoring the supply situation and will announce it separately on the product information page.

Original Submission

hubie writes:

GitHub will now use developer data to train its AI models by default:

GitHub has confirmed it will begin using developer interaction data to train its artificial intelligence models, marking a significant shift in how user data is handled across its platform.

The move, set to take effect on April 24, introduces an opt-out system, meaning most users will be automatically enrolled unless they explicitly disable the setting.

The Microsoft-owned platform said it will start collecting and using interaction data from its AI coding assistant, GitHub Copilot, to improve model performance.

This includes:

• Code snippets entered by users
• Prompts and inputs
• AI-generated outputs and edits
• Context such as file structure and repository data
• User feedback like ratings and interactions

GitHub says this data will help build "more intelligent, context-aware" coding tools and improve accuracy across different programming languages and workflows.

[...] Users who do not want their data used for training must manually disable the setting in their account preferences.

However, enterprise-focused tiers including Copilot Business and Enterprise are excluded from the change, reflecting stricter data governance expectations in corporate environments.

GitHub says real-world developer interactions are essential to improving AI systems.

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

The Vatican has published a document asking about the future of humanity. It is now in several languages, including English, and there is a summary in English. Issues like AI, LLMs, transhumanism, posthumanism, social control media, and digital technology in general are raised in 164 points.

1. The method of the document on the sixtieth anniversary of Gaudium et spes [...]

6. Reason enlightened by faith must establish a critical comparison between new anthropological horizons and the perennial needs of the human condition: ‘Discernment must carefully distinguish between elements compatible with the Gospel and those contrary to it, between positive contributions and ideological aspects, but the more acute understanding of the world that results cannot fail to prompt a more penetrating appreciation of Christ the Lord and of the Gospel, since Christ is the Saviour of the world.’[5]

7. This discernment is inspired by the sixtieth anniversary of the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes (1965-2025), an anniversary that points the present document towards a new reflection linked to the personal and social anthropology proposed in the Constitution and in the subsequent Magisterium that has received and developed its teaching. The unique nature of Gaudium et spes must be emphasised, a conciliar Constitution with specific magisterial value, expressed in its commitment to consider carefully the condition of humanity in today’s world. For the first time in history, a document of this level systematically proposed a vision of the human being illumined by the mystery of Christ. In its wake, therefore, we have the question of re-proposing Christian anthropology today in an open and critical dialogue with the more recent questions coming from human experience and cultures. Precisely in reference to Gaudium et spes, the document places at its centre the human being, ‘whole and entire, body and soul, heart and conscience, mind and will’,[6] in order to promote that ‘integral and solidary humanism capable of creating a new social, economic and political order, founded on the dignity and freedom of every human person, to be brought about in peace, justice and solidarity.’[7] [...]

[...] 2. The challenge of the poor

164. The relentless technological development that we consider in this text, which favours above all those who already have much power, challenges us to turn our gaze to the poorest. If this development, together with the ideologies that accompany it, involves serious risks, as we have seen, these will be even greater for the weakest and most defenceless, that is, for those who count for nothing because they are of no use to the workings of the more powerful. They run the risk of becoming waste material, ‘collateral damage’, swept away without mercy. As Christians, however, we are called to see them through the eyes of Christ, who says to each of them: ‘I have loved you.’ (Rev 3:9) As Pope Leo XIV explains, Christ ‘by his love given to the end, shows the dignity of every human being.’[199] This encourages us to ‘perceive the strong connection that exists between Christ’s love and his call to be close to the poor.’[200] From this arises the duty to be particularly attentive—as humble sentinels—to the consequences that new developments in society may have on the lives of the least among us. We must respond with a prophetic word and with generous involvement. The authenticity of our faith and the human value of our lives are at stake.

Previously:
(2015) Pope Francis to Issue Encyclical on Global Warming
(2014) Vatican Hosts Conference On Alien Life in Universe

Original Submission

"c0lo" writes:

Scientists Just Spotted a Black Hole Collision That Defies All Odds:

an international team of astronomers has detected an extraordinary cosmic event that could redefine our understanding of black hole mergers. For the first time, a binary black hole merger, observed in November 2024, has been linked with a short gamma-ray burst (GRB) , a phenomenon that was previously thought impossible. This unprecedented event, detailed in The Astrophysical Journal, could open a new frontier in multi-messenger astronomy, combining the "sound" of gravitational waves with the "flash" of high-energy light.

On November 2024, the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observatories captured a signal from an immense gravitational wave event, identified as S241125n. What made this discovery particularly extraordinary was the immediate detection of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) that followed just 11 seconds later. Gamma-ray bursts, known for their intense energy and brief duration, are typically associated with neutron star mergers, not black hole mergers. For a long time, scientists believed that black hole mergers would remain invisible to traditional telescopes. This new finding upends that assumption, suggesting that under the right conditions, even the darkest of cosmic collisions can emit visible radiation.

"This estimate is deliberately conservative, and the true probability of a chance alignment may be even lower," said the research team. "However, in the interest of scientific rigor, we cannot yet draw a definitive conclusion. Regardless, this is clearly a very intriguing event."

The findings suggest that the correlation between gravitational waves and a gamma-ray burst is not merely coincidental but a rare, albeit possible, occurrence.

The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal , presents compelling evidence that S241125n is a multi-messenger event that bridges gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation, specifically gamma rays and X-rays. Gravitational waves , detected by the observatories, are ripples in spacetime caused by the violent collision of massive objects like black holes. In this case, scientists recorded the waves from a black hole merger about 4.2 billion light-years away , an astonishing distance that places the event in the early universe.

Just after the gravitational-wave signal, NASA's Swift satellite detected a short GRB, followed by an X-ray afterglow from China's Einstein Probe. These electromagnetic signals were pinpointed to the same region of the sky, making it highly improbable that they were unrelated. Such an alignment, researchers assert, could occur only once in several decades.

One of the most striking aspects of S241125n is the extreme mass of the black holes involved. The study suggests that the two black holes involved in the merger each had a mass more than 100 times that of our Sun. This is significantly larger than most previous black hole mergers detected by LIGO, which typically involve black holes with masses in the tens of solar masses. These unusually massive black holes raise intriguing questions about their origins, suggesting they might have formed through previous mergers or exotic formation processes.

The discovery challenges existing theories of black hole formation and suggests that such heavy black holes can exist in distant regions of the universe. The large mass of the merging black holes implies that these events could be observed across vast cosmic distances, opening up new possibilities for understanding the history and evolution of black holes and their environments.

hubie writes:

40 Google features to find exactly what you need, the alternative search engines that do things Google won't, and the reference desk framework underneath all of it:

Most of us search Google the same way we always have: type a few words, scroll, click something that looks close enough, and hope. For a while, that worked. Google handed us a list of links and let us take it from there.

What's happening now is something different. A 2024 study by SparkToro found that nearly 60% of Google searches end without anyone clicking through to a website, and the trend has accelerated since. By February 2026, Ahrefs found that queries triggering AI Overviews now see a 58% reduction in clicks. Google has been systematically inserting itself between you and the original source, answering questions with AI-generated summaries before you ever reach the page those answers came from. The results you do see are filtered through an algorithm that weighs your search history, your location, and the billions of dollars advertisers have spent to appear for particular queries. Two people searching identical phrases on the same day can get meaningfully different results without either of them knowing it. And because Google controls roughly 90% of the world's search traffic, most people have no frame of reference for what a less mediated search experience would even look like.

The search bar replaced the reference desk without replacing the skills behind it: knowing how to ask a question precisely, understanding how information is organized and who funds it, knowing the difference between a primary source and a summary of one. The assumption was that the technology made all of that unnecessary, which suited Google; a user who can't navigate information independently is a user who keeps coming back to be guided.

The search bar you already have is more capable than that arrangement requires you to know. With the right syntax, it becomes a precision instrument: narrow by domain, by date, by file type, by exact phrase. We can pull up archived pages, surface open file directories, and even find what people said in forums instead of what brands want us to find. None of it requires a new tool or a paid account. The capability has been there the whole time.

Google is constantly interpreting you. It swaps in synonyms, personalizes results based on your history, and decides what you probably meant rather than returning what you typed. Most of the time that interpretation is invisible. These tools are how you override it.

Anybody have any tips or pointers to add to this?

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://gizmodo.com/attorney-hit-with-historic-fine-for-citing-ai-generated-cases-2000738651

A court in Oregon has issued a fine of $10,000 to an attorney who submitted a legal brief with citations and quotes hallucinated by AI, according to a new report from the Oregonian. It’s the highest fine yet for citing fake cases in the state and would have been higher, but the judges offered some leniency, according to the newspaper.

The attorney, identified by the Oregonian as Bill Ghiorso in Salem, submitted a legal brief to the Oregon Court of Appeals that contained 15 fake citations and nine fake quotes. Ghiorso reportedly blamed a paralegal for the AI hallucinations and initially challenged the fine.

The appeals court in Oregon first fined a different attorney for the practice back in December 2025. The three-judge panel established that this kind of issue should be met with $500 for each fake citation and $1,000 for each false quotation or statement of law. Adding up all the hallucinations, Ghiorso was first hit with a $16,500, but the judges capped that at $10,000.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://www.engadget.com/ai/wikipedia-has-banned-ai-generated-articles-173641377.html?src=rss

English Wikipedia has banned the use of generative AI when writing or rewriting articles. The platform says it came to this decision because using AI to whip up copy "often violates several of Wikipedia's core content policies."

There are a couple of minor exceptions. Editors can use large language models (LLMs) to refine their own writing, but only if the copy is checked for accuracy. The policy states that this is because LLMs "can go beyond what you ask of them and change the meaning of the text such that it is not supported by the sources cited."

Editors can also use LLMs to assist with language translation. However, they must be fluent enough in both languages to catch errors. Once again, the information must be checked for inaccuracies.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://phys.org/news/2026-03-ancient-alphabets-insights-uncover-hidden.html

With artificial intelligence (AI) as an essential tool, San Diego State University researchers have discovered surprising similarities among ancient writing systems from Africa and the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Their study suggests that the Armenian alphabet may be more closely related in structure to the ancient Ethiopic writing system than linguists and historians previously thought. The paper is published in the journal Digital Scholarship in the Humanities.

For many years, historians noticed some Armenian, Georgian and Caucasian Albanian letters look similar to letters from Ethiopic, also known as Ge'ez, a writing system developed in the Horn of Africa more than 1,600 years ago.

Most of these early studies, however, relied on scholars' own visual inspection of the letters to determine whether they appeared alike.

Researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering tested this idea using AI instead of human judgment. They trained a computer program to study more than 28,000 images of Ethiopic characters so it could learn the basic shapes and patterns in the writing system. The program learned to recognize curves, straight lines, angles and the overall structure of each letter.

Importantly, the computer had no data on history, religion, geography or culture. It only looked at shapes. After learning the Ethiopic characters, the program compared them to letters from the Armenian, Georgian and Caucasian Albanian alphabets. It then calculated how similar the shapes were.

Daniel Zemene et al, Machine learning techniques for exploring influence, commonalities, and shared origin of scripts: cases of Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, and Caucasian Albanian scripts, Digital Scholarship in the Humanities (2026). DOI: 10.1093/llc/fqag029

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://www.techradar.com/pro/why-october-1-2026-could-be-the-day-ssl-tls-certificates-break-the-internet

As SSL/TLS certificate lifespans shrink, IT departments must adapt to faster renewal cycles. This shift toward shorter lifecycles, driven by a need for better security, will soon create immense operational pressure.

We predict major internet instability on October 1, 2026, when expiring SSL certificates could begin disrupting global internet services.

This stark prediction is rooted in a fundamental policy shift already underway, an industry mandate driven by major browser vendors and formalized through the CA/Browser Forum.

[..] For organizations that issue certificates in March 2026, their maximum 6-month (approx. 200-day) term will expire in early October 2026. On the week of October 1, 2026, we expect to see headlines about unexpected outages as the wave of these first short-lived certificates begin to expire.

While some Fortune 500 companies with robust IT teams and abundant resources may weather the storm and avoid disruption thanks to proper planning and implementation of automated certificate management tools, the story will be different for smaller organizations with less resources.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://linuxiac.com/ubuntu-mate-founder-steps-back-after-12-years/

Every beginning has an end. Martin Wimpress has announced his departure from active involvement in Ubuntu MATE, marking a significant leadership change for the project he founded in 2014.

In a message to the community, Wimpress stated his time with Ubuntu MATE is "coming to a close," citing changes in his availability and personal focus. After more than a decade of leadership, he is seeking to transfer responsibilities to new contributors.

        "As another development cycle passes, I find myself lacking the time I once had to work on Ubuntu MATE. And, to be frank, I don't have the passion for the project that I once had. When I have time to tinker, my interests are elsewhere."

The announcement does not name a successor. Instead, Wimpress is inviting individuals with experience maintaining Ubuntu archive packages to help sustain development. There is a clear need for maintainers to manage core distribution tasks such as packaging, updates, and release coordination.

Original Submission

"c0lo" writes:

Euro-Office is a free, open-source alternative to Microsoft 365 and Google Docs:

• Euro-Office is an open-source fork of OnlyOffice. Nextcloud, Ionos, and other EU-based partners have launched the project.
• The web-based editor integrates with other platforms (Nextcloud, wikis, PM tools). It's now available in preview on GitHub.
• It supports DOCX/PPTX/XLSX and OpenDocument formats; it aims for EU digital sovereignty amid trust concerns.

At a recent press event in Berlin, Germany, Nextcloud, Ionos, and a "coalition of other European enterprises and community organizations" announced Euro-Office , an open-source fork of OnlyOffice that aims to offer an alternative to more restrictive office platforms like Microsoft Office 365 and Google Docs .

Euro-Office's first stable release is set for this summer, and a preview build is already available on GitHub . The team behind the project says that it aims to offer "a solution for editing documents, spreadsheets and presentations, developed as a true sovereign community collaboration of over a dozen different organizations."

The suite of apps can open and edit standard Microsoft Office files, including DOCX, PPTX, and XLSX, as well as OpenDocument files such as ODS, ODT, ODP, and more, which are commonly used by LibreOffice and OpenOffice .

It's worth noting that Euro-Office isn't a stand-alone app. Instead, it's web-based and intended to be integrated with other platforms that handle documents, such as a file-sharing platform, an online wiki, or a project management tool. This means that Nexcloud, or another collaborator on the project, doesn't need to create its own document editor for Euro-Office to work.

The team behind Euro-Office says that it forked its project from OnlyOffice because it "typically does not review or accept pull requests" and "build instructions are unreliable, outdated, or just plain broken." It also mentions that the team behind OnlyOffice is based in Russia and says that the current "political situation in the country makes collaboration hard and trust difficult to earn," referencing the ongoing war in Ukraine.

According to How-To Geek , Euro-Office is just one of several similar projects from European tech companies that are building open-source alternatives to Google Docs and Microsoft 365, such as Collabora Online and LaSuite Docs .

You can find a full list of the companies involved in Euro-Office here . If you're interested in trying Euro-Office, an early version of the project is available on GitHub .

See at Github

Original Submission

AnonTechie writes:

A record-breaking microscopic QR code could make data storage last for centuries—no electricity required.

Summary:
Scientists have created a microscopic QR code so tiny it can only be seen with an electron microscope—smaller than most bacteria and now officially a world record. But this isn't just about size; it's about durability. By engraving data into ultra-stable ceramic materials, the team has opened the door to storing information that could last for centuries or even millennia without needing power or maintenance.

How small can a QR code get? A team of researchers has pushed the limits to an extreme, creating one so tiny it can only be detected using an electron microscope. Scientists at TU Wien, working with data storage company Cerabyte, produced a QR code measuring just 1.98 square micrometers, which is smaller than most bacteria. This achievement has now been officially confirmed and recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

[Source]: Vienna University of Technology TU Wien

[Covered By]: Science Daily

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Google gives Android users a way to install unverified apps if they prove they really, really want to

Described as an attempt to balance openess with safety:

It turns out you won't be limited to Google-verified apps and developers on Android after all. In the face of sustained community dissatisfaction with its developer verification requirement, Google has given Android users an out.

On Thursday, Google said it will offer Android users a way to continue installing software from unverified developers.

"We've heard from power users that they want to take educated risks to install software from unverified developers," wrote Matthew Forsythe, director of product management for Android App Safety, in a blog post.

Power users, for lack of a better term, have been vocal in their opposition to Google's plan, which was announced last August. Starting in September 2026, the Chocolate Factory required apps on certified Android devices to be linked to a verified developer account.

Although Google insisted it was important for security, many voices cried out against the verification process, which involves a $25 fee and providing Google with identity documentation. In February, 37 civil society groups, non-profit organizations, and tech companies published an open letter objecting to the requirement.

So, according to the blog post, Android users will still be able to install apps from unverified developers through a one-time process that has been designed to counter scenarios where the user is pressured to install malware.

"Because the consequences of these scams that use sophisticated social engineering tactics are so severe, we have carefully engineered the advanced flow to provide the critical time and space needed to break the cycle of coercion."

[...] The process is designed to create friction. Users must first enable developer mode in system settings. They then need to confirm that they're not being coerced. After that, they need to restart their phone and reauthenticate. And then they need to wait one day.

"There is a one-time, one-day wait and then you can confirm that this is really you who's making this change with our biometric authentication (fingerprint or face unlock) or device PIN," said Forsythe. "Scammers rely on manufactured urgency, so this breaks their spell and gives you time to think."

Thereafter, you can install apps from unverified developers on the device you notionally own. Users will have the option to enable such apps for seven days or indefinitely.