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Linux Battery Utility Flaw Lets Hackers Bypass Authentication and Tamper System Settings  Cyber Security News

Linux Battery Utility Vulnerability Allows Authentication Bypass and System Tampering  Cyber Press

Updated with new offer. The Webull brokerage app is offering an updated ACAT Transfer bonus of up to 4% of assets transferred plus up to $100 in outgoing fee reimbursements on your first transfer of at least $2,000. This specific offer ends March 31, 2026. This is for individual taxable brokerage accounts. Joint, Crypto, and IRA accounts are excluded.

You must transfer at least $100,000 in assets to get a 4% match, with a minimum hold of 5 years to get the full payout (they break it up into installments with the last one being paid March 2031). Max funding is $2,000,000. You must transfer at least $2,000 in assets to get a 3% match, also with a minimum hold of 5 years. 4% is a very high bonus, but it is a long hold period. Be sure to read all the terms and conditions.

Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from Autoblog: ... the problem is that the federal brightness standards for automotive headlights have not changed for decades. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108 hasn't had significant updates since 1986, with an addition allowing Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) headlights coming only in 2022. The NHTSA last investigated (PDF) the issue of headlamp glare in 2003. The current standards include huge loopholes for auto manufacturers to emit as much light as desired, as long as the manufacturer meets the requirements of the other parts of the regulation. LEDs can be made to focus light using lasers, and auto manufacturers use this ability to their advantage. The regulatory standard prohibits excessive light in certain areas by referencing old technologies, but manufacturers design the areas in question to be shaded so that the total light output can still be increased greatly overall. Manufacturers want as much light as possible in order to get a high score for the IIHS headlight safety ratings. [...] Although the U.S. finally approved the ADB technology in 2022, manufacturers are wary of implementing it because of conflicting regulations, with a few exceptions, such as Rivian. To fix this problem, the first step is to update Standard 108 with a cap on the maximum allowable brightness for LED technology. Next, states should begin requiring headlight alignment inspection during vehicle inspections. Finally, NHTSA should enforce a ban against the sale of aftermarket LEDs that exceed the allowed brightness, at least for on-road use. The Soft Lights Foundation has collected over 77,000 signatures calling for federal action to limit headlight brightness. People are frustrated with being temporarily blinded while driving, and it's high time some regulation was put into place. Vehicles have become cleaner and safer through smart regulation; the same just needs to be done with headlights.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

FOSS Weekly #26.02: Level Up in 2026, Liquorix Kernel, Open Source Apps from Web Browser and More  It's FOSS

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: Japan's nuclear watchdog said Wednesday it is scrapping the safety screening for two reactors at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in central Japan, after its operator was found to have fabricated data about earthquake risks. It was a setback to Japan's attempts to accelerate nuclear reactor restarts. Less than a quarter of commercial nuclear reactors are operational in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi meltdowns, but rising energy costs and pressure to reduce carbon emissions have pushed the government to prioritize nuclear power. Chubu Electric Power Co. had applied for safety screening to resume operations at the No. 3 and 4 reactors at the Hamaoka plant in 2014 and 2015. Two other reactors at the plant are being decommissioned, and a fifth is idle. The plant, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Tokyo, is located on a coastal area known for potential risks from so-called Nankai Trough megaquakes. The Nuclear Regulation Authority said it started an internal investigation last February, after receiving a tip from a whistleblower that the utility had for years provided fabricated data that underestimated potential seismic risks. The regulator suspended the screening for the reactors after it confirmed the falsification and the utility acknowledged the fabrication in mid-December, said Shinsuke Yamanaka, the watchdog's chair. The NRA is also considering inspecting the utility headquarters. [...] The scandal surfaced Monday when Chubu Electric President Kingo Hayashi acknowledged that workers at the utility used inappropriate seismic data with an alleged intention to underestimate seismic risks. He apologized and pledged to establish an independent panel for investigation. The screening, including data that had been approved earlier, would have to start from scratch or possibly be rejected entirely, Yamanaka said. The NRA will decide on the case next week, without waiting for the utility's probe results, he said. "Ensuring safety is the first and foremost responsibility for nuclear plant operators," Yamanaka said. "It is outrageous and it's a serious challenge to safety regulation."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

TUXEDO InfinityBook Max 16: Linux ultrabook combines business power, gaming graphics and OLED technology  Basic Tutorials

I Thought This Wikipedia App for Linux was Pointless (I Was Wrong)  It's FOSS

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are projected to raise server memory prices by up to 70% in early 2026, according to Korea Economic Daily. "Combined with 50 percent increases in 2025, this could nearly double prices by mid-2026," reports the Register. From the report: The two Korean giants, alongside US-based Micron, dominate global memory production. All three are reallocating advanced manufacturing capacity to high-margin server DRAM and HBM chips for AI infrastructure, squeezing supply for PCs and smartphones. Financial analysts have raised their earnings forecasts for the firms in response, as they look to benefit from the AI infrastructure boom that is driving up prices for everyone else. Taiwan-based market watcher TrendForce reports that conventional DRAM prices already jumped 55-60 percent in a single quarter. Yet despite the focus on server chips, supply of these components continues to be strained too, with supplier inventories falling and shipment growth reliant on wafer output increases, according to TrendForce. As a result, it forecasts that server DRAM prices will jump by more than 60 percent in the first quarter of 2026. Prior to Christmas, analyst IDC noted the "unprecedented" memory chip shortage and warned this would have knock-on effects for both hardware makers and end users that may persist well into 2027.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

FEX 2601 Brings Various Fixes, Improvements For Wine & DXVK/VKD3D-Proton  Phoronix

Google and Character.AI have agreed to settle multiple lawsuits from families alleging the chatbot encouraged self-harm and suicide among teens. "The settlements would mark the first resolutions in the wave of lawsuits against tech companies whose AI chatbots encouraged teens to hurt or kill themselves," notes Axios. From the report: Families allege that Character.AI's chatbot encouraged their children to cut their arms, suggested murdering their parents, wrote sexually explicit messages and did not discourage suicide, per lawsuits and congressional testimony. "Parties have agreed to a mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims between them in the above-referenced matter," one document filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida reads. The documents do not contain any specific monetary amounts for the settlements. Pricy settlements could deter companies from continuing to offer chatbot products to kids. But without new laws on the books, don't expect major changes across the industry. Last October, Character.AI said it would bar people under 18 from using its chatbots, in a sweeping move to address concerns over child safety.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

OpenAI has unveiled ChatGPT Health, a sandboxed health-focused mode that lets users connect medical records and wellness apps for more personalized guidance. The company makes sure to note that ChatGPT Health is "not intended for diagnosis or treatment." The Verge reports: The company is encouraging users to connect their personal medical records and wellness apps, such as Apple Health, Peloton, MyFitnessPal,Weight Watchers, and Function, "to get more personalized, grounded responses to their questions." It suggests connecting medical records so that ChatGPT can analyze lab results, visit summaries, and clinical history; MyFitnessPal and Weight Watchers for food guidance; Apple Health for health and fitness data, including movement, sleep, and activity patterns"; and Function for insights into lab tests. On the medical records front, OpenAI says it's partnered with b.well, which will provide back-end integration for users to upload their medical records, since the company works with about 2.2 million providers. For now, ChatGPT Health requires users to sign up for a waitlist to request access, as it's starting with a beta group of early users, but the product will roll out gradually to all users regardless of subscription tier. [...] In a blog post, OpenAI wrote that based on its "de-identified analysis of conversations," more than 230 million people around the world already ask ChatGPT questions related to health and wellness each week. OpenAI also said that over the past two years, it's worked with more than 260 physicians to provide feedback on model outputs more than 600,000 times over 30 areas of focus, to help shape the product's responses. "ChatGPT can help you understand recent test results, prepare for appointments with your doctor, get advice on how to approach your diet and workout routine, or understand the tradeoffs of different insurance options based on your healthcare patterns," OpenAI claims in the blog post.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Senator Steve Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill [dubbed SB 867] on Monday that would place a four-year ban on the sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbot capabilities for kids under 18. The goal is to give safety regulators time to develop regulations to protect children from "dangerous AI interactions." "Chatbots and other AI tools may become integral parts of our lives in the future, but the dangers they pose now require us to take bold action to protect our children," Senator Padilla said in a statement. "Our safety regulations around this kind of technology are in their infancy and will need to grow as exponentially as the capabilities of this technology do. Pausing the sale of these chatbot-integrated toys allows us time to craft the appropriate safety guidelines and framework for these toys to follow." [...] "Our children cannot be used as lab rats for Big Tech to experiment on," Padilla said.

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Tuxedo InfinityBook Max 16 Gen 10 Linux Laptop Preorders Open with Intel Core Ultra 9 and RTX 50 Series  Technetbook

According to the Wall Street Journal (paywalled), Goldman Sachs is transferring Apple Card and Apple Savings to JPMorgan Chase. "It was clear in 2023 that Goldman Sachs would exit the consumer credit game, abandoning its Apple Card partnership with it," reports AppleInsider. "However, it has taken 26 months to reach a point where it can finally hand over issuing control to another bank." From the report: Goldman Sachs is reportedly expected to hand over the $20 billion of outstanding balances at a $1 billion discount. Such discounts are rare, and allegedly reflect the higher-than-average delinquency rate found with Apple Card holders. JPMorgan will have to issue new Apple Cards to existing users, but it may be some time before that is done. A new Apple Savings will be opened by JPMorgan as well, but users will be given the option to move or stay.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Bose is end-of-lifing its SoundTouch smart speakers but softened the blow by open-sourcing the SoundTouch API and preserving limited local features, AirPlay, and Spotify Connect. Ars Technica reports: In October, Bose announced that its SoundTouch Wi-Fi speakers and soundbars would become dumb speakers on February 18. At the time, Bose said that the speakers would only work if a device was connected via AUX, HDMI, or Bluetooth (which has higher latency than Wi-Fi). After that date, the speakers would stop receiving security and software updates and lose cloud connectivity and their companion app, the Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said. Without the app, users would no longer be able to integrate the device with music services, such as Spotify, have multiple SoundTouch devices play the same audio simultaneously, or use or edit saved presets. The announcement frustrated some of Bose's long-time customers, some of whom own multiple SoundTouch devices that still function properly. Many questioned companies' increasingly common practice of bricking expensive products to focus on new devices or to minimize costs, or because they've gone through acquisitions or bankruptcy. SoundTouch speakers released in 2013 and 2015 with prices ranging from $399 to $1,500. Today, Bose had better news. In an email to customers, Bose announced that AirPlay and Spotify Connect will still work with SoundTouch speakers after EoL, expanding the wireless capabilities that people will still be able to access. Additionally, SoundTouch devices that support AirPlay 2 can play the same audio simultaneously. The SoundTouch app will also live on, albeit stripped of some functionality. "On May 6, 2026, the app will update to a version that supports the functions that can operate locally without the cloud. No action will be required on your part. Opening the app will apply the update automatically," Bose said. Bose also provided instructions (PDF) for a workaround for saving presets that uses the favorites options in music service apps.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Warner Bros Discovery's board unanimously turned down Paramount Skydance's latest attempt to acquire the studio, saying its revised $108.4 billion hostile bid amounted to a risky leveraged buyout that investors should reject. In a letter to shareholders on Wednesday, Warner Bros' board said Paramount's offer hinges on "an extraordinary amount of debt financing" that heightens the risk of closing. It reaffirmed its commitment to streaming giant Netflix's $82.7 billion deal for the film and television studio and other assets. Their assessment comes even after Paramount, which has a market value of around $14 billion, proposed to use $40 billion in equity personally guaranteed by Oracle billionaire co-founder Larry Ellison -- father of Paramount CEO David Ellison -- and $54 billion in debt to finance the deal. The decision keeps Warner Bros on track for its deal with Netflix, even after Paramount amended its bid on December 22 to address the earlier concerns about the lack of a personal guarantee from Larry Ellison. Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters welcomed Warner Bros' decision on Wednesday, saying it recognizes the streaming giant's deal "as the superior proposal that will deliver the greatest value to its stockholders, as well as consumers, creators and the broader entertainment industry."

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The humble power bank has transformed from a simple pocket-sized battery into a feature-laden gadget that now sometimes includes screensavers, Bluetooth connectivity and built-in Wi-Fi hotspots. The Verge's Thomas Ricker highlighted the $270 EcoFlow Rapid Pro X Power Bank 27k at CES 2026 as a prime offender -- a device he declared "too expensive, too big, too slow, and too heavy." Its giant display takes 30 seconds to wake from sleep, plays swirly graphics and blinking eyeballs, and requires a screensaver while slowly draining the battery it's meant to preserve. The feature creep is industry-wide. Anker no longer lists a display-less model in its 20,000mAh range, and both companies sell proprietary desk chargers. Basic alternatives exist -- Anker's PowerCore 10k runs $26 -- but they're becoming harder to find.

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AMD Linux GPU Driver Improvement Coming For DP-HDMI Dongles  Phoronix

This Linux distro is for people who just want games to work  MakeUseOf