Réunis sous la bannière « le Stream Populaire », 200 créatrices et créateurs de l’internet français appellent leur public à voter en faveur du Nouveau Front Populaire.

« L’heure n’est plus à la neutralité », écrivent-ils. « L’extrême-droite n’était pas, n’est pas et ne sera jamais la solution. »

Et de préciser qu’en visant les minorités, le RN cible « une partie d’entre nous, et les personnes qui nous regardent, nous suivent et nous écoutent ». S’attaquer à ces populations, « c’est aussi la première étape avant de s’en prendre aux droits de toutes et tous ».

Citant les besoins de « répondre à l’urgence écologique », « sauvegarder les services publics » et « améliorer le quotidien des travailleurs et travailleuses », ils appellent expressément à voter pour le Nouveau Front Populaire.

Parmi les signataires, le vidéaste et humoriste Antoine Daniel, le chroniqueur et spécialiste de jeux FibreTigre, la vulgarisatrice d’histoire Manon Bril et l’animateur tech et mode Lâm Hua (avec lequel nous collaborons quelquefois) se retrouvent aux côtés de figures plus classiques de l’internet de gauche, comme les chroniqueurs Usul, Ostopolitik ou la gameuse féministe Nat’Ali.

Avec eux, divers collectifs et associations, dont les médias Origami et Canard PC ou les collectifs Agrogameuses et Persos Cachés.

Quelques jours avant la publication de leur tribune, le 2ᵉ youtubeur le plus suivi de France, Squeezie, était sorti de sa réserve habituelle sur les questions politiques. Dans une publication Instagram, il appelait son public à « s’opposer fermement à une idéologie qui prône la haine et les discriminations » et à aller voter en conséquence.

• Tibo InShape, nouveau roi de YouTube : des muscles et des shorts

Réunis sous la bannière « le Stream Populaire », 200 créatrices et créateurs de l’internet français appellent leur public à voter en faveur du Nouveau Front Populaire.

« L’heure n’est plus à la neutralité », écrivent-ils. « L’extrême-droite n’était pas, n’est pas et ne sera jamais la solution. »

Et de préciser qu’en visant les minorités, le RN cible « une partie d’entre nous, et les personnes qui nous regardent, nous suivent et nous écoutent ». S’attaquer à ces populations, « c’est aussi la première étape avant de s’en prendre aux droits de toutes et tous ».

Citant les besoins de « répondre à l’urgence écologique », « sauvegarder les services publics » et « améliorer le quotidien des travailleurs et travailleuses », ils appellent expressément à voter pour le Nouveau Front Populaire.

Parmi les signataires, le vidéaste et humoriste Antoine Daniel, le chroniqueur et spécialiste de jeux FibreTigre, la vulgarisatrice d’histoire Manon Bril et l’animateur tech et mode Lâm Hua (avec lequel nous collaborons quelquefois) se retrouvent aux côtés de figures plus classiques de l’internet de gauche, comme les chroniqueurs Usul, Ostopolitik ou la gameuse féministe Nat’Ali.

Avec eux, divers collectifs et associations, dont les médias Origami et Canard PC ou les collectifs Agrogameuses et Persos Cachés.

Quelques jours avant la publication de leur tribune, le 2ᵉ youtubeur le plus suivi de France, Squeezie, était sorti de sa réserve habituelle sur les questions politiques. Dans une publication Instagram, il appelait son public à « s’opposer fermement à une idéologie qui prône la haine et les discriminations » et à aller voter en conséquence.

• Tibo InShape, nouveau roi de YouTube : des muscles et des shorts

Peu de temps avant le COMPUTEX, Antec surprenait le petit monde des consoles portables sous Windows en présentant sa première console, le Core HS. Ou plutôt, sa première console en partenariat avec AYANEO puisque la machine est tout simplement une SLIDE renommée. Avec cette stratégie, Antec s'offre un nouveau marché tandis qu'AYANEO profite du réseau de distribution du premier. Qui a décidé de frapper fort pour le lancement, avec des tarifs particulièrement agressifs malgré un positionnement qui reste haut de gamme : 966 USD la console avec 32 Go de mémoire vive et un espace de stockage de 2 To, quand la machine en 32 Go et 512 Go est à 899 USD directement chez AYANEO. […]

Lire la suite

Annoncés en ouverture du COMPUTEX il y a quelques jours, les prochains processeurs Ryzen 9000 d'AMD auront la lourde tâche de succéder à une très intéressante série Ryzen 7000, avec un désavantage dès la sortie : les performances du Ryzen 9 9950X seront moindres en jeu qu'avec un Ryzen 9 7950X3D. Un point important alors que de nombreux joueurs en veulent toujours plus, et c'est là qu'entrera peut-être en jeu le positionnement tarifaire. Repéré chez le revendeur Canada Computers via les remontées Google, le Ryzen 9 9950X pourrait être à 839 CAD quand le Ryzen 9 7950X était à 839 CAD en tarif recommandé. […]

Lire la suite

XFX est un constructeur à part, habitué de la communication décalée, voire borderline par moment, son dernier post sur X le confirme, puisque le constructeur tease un ventilateur ! […]

Lire la suite

Nouvelle marque, TRYX faisait sensation lors du COMPUTEX avec un très grand stand rempli de produits originaux. Peut-être trop pour certains, mais nous n'allons pas nous plaindre de voir des choses différentes, à l'image du boitier LUCA L70. Imposant avec des dimensions de 540.4 x 261.8 x 571.85 mm avec une compatibilité E-ATX, il met en avant un design très travaillé autant en haut qu'en bas, avec en prime un châssis personnalisable qui permet de multiplier les possibilités pour les utilisateurs grâce à un plateau carte mère qu'on pourra positionner sur deux niveaux, tandis que le cache alimentation pourra aller en haut ou en bas en fonction du plateau. Cerise sur le gâteau, l'ensemble est compatible avec les cartes disposant de connecteurs au dos du PCB, avec un espace imposant de 63 mm au dos pour organiser les câbles. […]

Lire la suite

Visible lors du COMPUTEX sur le stand de JONSBO, le T6 est un petit boitier Mini-ITX qui avance une carte originale : une poignée amovible qui va avoir des utilités différentes selon où on l'installe. Une poignée de transport bien évidemment si on la met sur le dessus, ou alors un support de casque en cas d'installation verticale avec en prime la possibilité d'enrouler un câble, ou alors tout simplement un support pour des objets si on la place horizontalement. Un détail ? Oui, mais sa jolie finition en noyer nord-américain lui donne un look sympathique, avec un rappel dans le bas de la façade. C'est réussi, mais ce n'est pas le seul atout du Y6. […]

Lire la suite

En juin 2022, lors de sa WWDC, Apple avait présenté un service nommé Pay Later. Il était annoncé comme disponible aux États-Unis dans un premier temps et promettait des paiements étalés, sans frais de gestion ni intérêts.

Il avait fallu attendre mai 2023 pour qu’une préversion du service soit lancée outre-Atlantique, pour une partie des utilisateurs seulement. En octobre, Apple Pay Later est finalement lancé dans tout le pays. La disponibilité dans les autres marchés devait faire l’objet plus tard d’une communication, qui n’est jamais venue.

Apple vient cependant de confirmer à 9to5Mac que Pay Later allait être enterré et remplacé par une autre solution. Cette dernière serait plus souple et pensée pour une disponibilité plus générale :

« Avec l’introduction de cette nouvelle offre mondiale de prêts, nous ne proposerons plus Apple Pay Later aux États-Unis. Nous continuons à nous concentrer sur l’accès de nos utilisateurs à des options de paiement simples, sécurisées et privées avec Apple Pay, et cette solution nous permettra d’apporter des paiements flexibles à plus d’utilisateurs, dans plus d’endroits à travers le monde, en collaboration avec des banques et des prêteurs compatibles avec Apple Pay »

Quelques pays ont été cités, dont le Royaume-Uni, l’Australie et l’Espagne, mais pas encore la France. Les clients étant passés par Apple Pay Later peuvent continuer l’étalement de leurs paiements jusqu’à remboursement du crédit, sans passer par une procédure spécifique.

La Federal Trade Commission (FTC), agence américaine du contrôle du droit de la consommation, vient de déposer une plainte contre Adobe, explique Ars Technica. Elle lui reproche (.pdf) d’avoir mis en place une procédure de résiliation d’abonnement « alambiquée » pour ses abonnements annuels payés mensuellement, de plus sans avertir correctement l’utilisateur lorsqu’il accepte un abonnement annuel.

« Lors de l’inscription, Adobe dissimule les conditions matérielles de son plan annuel payé mensuellement en petits caractères et derrière des zones de texte et des liens hypertextes facultatifs, fournissant des informations conçues pour passer inaperçues et que la plupart des consommateurs ne voient jamais » affirme la FTC dans sa plainte.

L’agence indépendante considère aussi que les frais de résiliation anticipée pouvant atteindre « des centaines de dollars » sont particulièrement « élevés ». Selon Bloomberg, ces frais pourraient atteindre 700 dollars pour les particuliers.

La FTC ajoute dans sa plainte qu’Adobe a un lourd passé concernant ce genre de comportement et « a décidé à plusieurs reprises de ne pas rectifier certaines de ses pratiques illégales en raison des implications en termes de revenus ».

Dans un court communiqué, Adobe affirme que « les services d’abonnement sont pratiques, flexibles et rentables pour permettre aux utilisateurs de choisir le plan qui correspond le mieux à leurs besoins, à leur calendrier et à leur budget ». L’entreprise ajoute : « notre priorité est de toujours veiller à ce que nos clients aient une expérience positive. Nous sommes transparents sur les termes et conditions de nos contrats d’abonnement et disposons d’une procédure d’annulation simple. Nous réfuterons les allégations de la FTC devant les tribunaux ».

En juin 2022, lors de sa WWDC, Apple avait présenté un service nommé Pay Later. Il était annoncé comme disponible aux États-Unis dans un premier temps et promettait des paiements étalés, sans frais de gestion ni intérêts.

Il avait fallu attendre mai 2023 pour qu’une préversion du service soit lancée outre-Atlantique, pour une partie des utilisateurs seulement. En octobre, Apple Pay Later est finalement lancé dans tout le pays. La disponibilité dans les autres marchés devait faire l’objet plus tard d’une communication, qui n’est jamais venue.

Apple vient cependant de confirmer à 9to5Mac que Pay Later allait être enterré et remplacé par une autre solution. Cette dernière serait plus souple et pensée pour une disponibilité plus générale :

« Avec l’introduction de cette nouvelle offre mondiale de prêts, nous ne proposerons plus Apple Pay Later aux États-Unis. Nous continuons à nous concentrer sur l’accès de nos utilisateurs à des options de paiement simples, sécurisées et privées avec Apple Pay, et cette solution nous permettra d’apporter des paiements flexibles à plus d’utilisateurs, dans plus d’endroits à travers le monde, en collaboration avec des banques et des prêteurs compatibles avec Apple Pay »

Quelques pays ont été cités, dont le Royaume-Uni, l’Australie et l’Espagne, mais pas encore la France. Les clients étant passés par Apple Pay Later peuvent continuer l’étalement de leurs paiements jusqu’à remboursement du crédit, sans passer par une procédure spécifique.

La Federal Trade Commission (FTC), agence américaine du contrôle du droit de la consommation, vient de déposer une plainte contre Adobe, explique Ars Technica. Elle lui reproche (.pdf) d’avoir mis en place une procédure de résiliation d’abonnement « alambiquée » pour ses abonnements annuels payés mensuellement, de plus sans avertir correctement l’utilisateur lorsqu’il accepte un abonnement annuel.

« Lors de l’inscription, Adobe dissimule les conditions matérielles de son plan annuel payé mensuellement en petits caractères et derrière des zones de texte et des liens hypertextes facultatifs, fournissant des informations conçues pour passer inaperçues et que la plupart des consommateurs ne voient jamais » affirme la FTC dans sa plainte.

L’agence indépendante considère aussi que les frais de résiliation anticipée pouvant atteindre « des centaines de dollars » sont particulièrement « élevés ». Selon Bloomberg, ces frais pourraient atteindre 700 dollars pour les particuliers.

La FTC ajoute dans sa plainte qu’Adobe a un lourd passé concernant ce genre de comportement et « a décidé à plusieurs reprises de ne pas rectifier certaines de ses pratiques illégales en raison des implications en termes de revenus ».

Dans un court communiqué, Adobe affirme que « les services d’abonnement sont pratiques, flexibles et rentables pour permettre aux utilisateurs de choisir le plan qui correspond le mieux à leurs besoins, à leur calendrier et à leur budget ». L’entreprise ajoute : « notre priorité est de toujours veiller à ce que nos clients aient une expérience positive. Nous sommes transparents sur les termes et conditions de nos contrats d’abonnement et disposons d’une procédure d’annulation simple. Nous réfuterons les allégations de la FTC devant les tribunaux ».

Lin Qi, chairman of China's Yoozoo Group and executive producer on Netflix's "The Three-Body Problem," is currently hospitalized in Shanghai following a suspected deliberate poisoning by colleague Xu Yao, who has been detained by police. Despite internal strife, Yoozoo reassured stakeholders that operations have returned to normal, with Lin in stable condition. Variety reports: Netflix announced in September that it will adapt all three books in the critically acclaimed "Three-Body Problem" sci-fi trilogy by Chinese writer Liu Cixin, with "Game of Thrones" creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with Alexander Woo, set to write and executive produce. The streamer bought the rights to adapt the series in English from video game developer Yoozoo, a Shenzhen-listed firm that acquired the rights itself in 2015, and is currently at work on other Chinese-language film and TV adaptations of its own. A male, 39-year-old patient surnamed Lin was "suspected of having been poisoned while receiving diagnosis and treatment at a hospital," the Shanghai Public Security Bureau said at 7pm local time Wednesday in a post on its official social media account. Police had received report of the incident last Thursday, Dec. 17. The statement continued: "After on-site surveys and investigations, it was discovered that Lin's colleague surnamed Xu (male, 39) was suspected of committing a major crime. At present, Xu has been criminally detained by the police in accordance with the law, and related investigations are being further carried out." The post did not tie the case directly to Yoozoo. Typical of such announcements in China, it also did not list either the victim or perpetrator's full name. Nevertheless, Chinese reports have tied the statement to 39-year-old Lin, who founded Yoozoo in 2009. Citing sources inside the firm, reports from outlets including respected financial publication Caixin identify the perpetrator as Yoozoo exec Xu Yao, 39. The University of Michigan Law School grad joined the company in 2017 and rose to become CEO of The Three-Body Universe, a branch of the broader group within its newer film production arm involved in managing and developing the "Three-Body" IP. In recent days, Chinese media had written in a more speculative fashion about in-fighting among Yoozoo executives that had led to a poisoning. Some reports allege that Lin was poisoned via an aged, prized varietal of fermented tea known as pu'er. Yoozoo Group's co-president Chen Fang has previously denied such claims on social media, saying that "there's no in-fighting -- rumors are the real poison," according to such reports. But after the public security bureau post gave new credibility to earlier speculation, Yoozoo on Wednesday issued a formal statement on the matter. "Although the company's management has recovered from the emergency situation last week and resumed normal operations, some friends are still uneasy and members of the public are curious" about the affair, it began. The series was in hit by a previous conflict a few months after its announcement, "after certain U.S. politicians questioned the company for choosing to adapt a work by Liu," notes Variety. "The author has previously expressed support for Chinese government policies in Xinjiang, a region where Beijing has forcibly jailed more than a million ethnic minority Uyghurs in detention camps."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader shares a report: IT asset management platform Lansweeper has dispensed a warning for enterprise administrators everywhere. Exactly how old is that Microsoft SQL Server on which your business depends? According to chief strategy officer Roel Decneut, the biz scanned just over a million instances of SQL Server and found that 19.8 percent were now unsupported by Microsoft. Twelve percent were running SQL Server 2014, which is due to drop out of extended support on July 9 -- meaning the proportion will be 32 percent early next month. For a fee, customers can continue receiving security updates for SQL Server 2014 for another three years. Still, the finding underlines a potential issue facing users of Microsoft's flagship database: Does your business depend on something that should have been put out to pasture long ago? While Microsoft is facing a challenge in getting users to make the move from Windows 10 to Windows 11, admins are facing a similar but far less publicized issue. Sure, IT professionals are all too aware of the risks of running business-critical processes on outdated software, but persuading the board to allocate funds for updates can be challenging.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Kilifi County's white sandy beaches have made it one of Kenya's most popular tourist destinations. Hotels and beach bars line the 165 mile-long (265km) coast; fishers supply the district's restaurants with fresh seafood; and visitors spend their days boating, snorkelling around coral reefs or bird watching in dense mangrove forests. Soon, this idyllic coastline will host Kenya's first nuclear plant, as the country, like its east African neighbour Uganda, pushes forward with atomic energy plans. The proposals have sparked fierce opposition in Kilifi. In a building by Mida Creek, a swampy bayou known for its birdlife and mangrove forests, more than a dozen conservation and rights groups meet regularly to discuss the proposed plant. "Kana nuclear!" Phyllis Omido, an award-winning environmentalist who is leading the protests, tells one such meeting. The Swahili slogan means "reject nuclear", and encompasses the acronym for the Kenya Anti-Nuclear Alliance who say the plant will deepen Kenya's debt and are calling for broader public awareness of the cost. Construction on the power station is expected to start in 2027, with it due to be operational in 2034. "It is the worst economic decision we could make for our country," says Omido, who began her campaign last year. A lawsuit filed in the environmental court by lawyers Collins Sang and Cecilia Ndeti in July 2023 on behalf of Kilifi residents, seeks to stop the plant, arguing that the process has been "rushed" and was "illegal", and that public participation meetings were "clandestine". They argue the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (Nupea) should not proceed with fixing any site for the plant before laws and adequate safeguards are in place. Nupea said construction would not begin for years, that laws were under discussion and that adequate public participation was being carried out. Hearings are continuing to take place. In November, people in Kilifi filed a petition with parliament calling for an inquiry. The petition, sponsored by the Centre for Justice Governance and Environmental Action (CJGEA), a non-profit founded by Omido in 2009, also claimed that locals had limited information on the proposed plant and the criteria for selecting preferred sites. It raised concerns over the risks to health, the environment and tourism in the event of a nuclear spill, saying the country was undertaking a "high-risk venture" without proper legal and disaster response measures in place. The petition also flagged concerns over security and the handling of radioactive waste in a nation prone to floods and drought. The senate suspended (PDF) the inquiry until the lawsuit was heard. "If we really have to invest in nuclear, why can't [the government] put it in a place that does not cause so much risk to our ecological assets?" says Omido. "Why don't they choose an area that would not mean that if there was a nuclear leak we would lose so much as a country?" Peter Musila, a marine scientist who monitors the impacts of global heating on coral reefs, fears that a nuclear power station will threaten aquatic life. The coral cover in Watamu marine national reserve, a protected area near Kilifi's coast, has improved over the last decade and Musila fears progress could be reversed by thermal pollution from the plant, whose cooling system would suck large amounts of water from the ocean and return it a few degrees warmer, potentially killing fish and the micro-organisms such as plankton, which are essential for a thriving aquatic ecosystem. "It's terrifying," says Musila, who works with the conservation organisation A Rocha Kenya. "It could wreak havoc." Nupea, for its part, "published an impact assessment report last year that recommended policies be put in place to ensure environmental protections, including detailed plans for the handling of radioactive waste; measures to mitigate environmental harm, such as setting up a nuclear unit in the national environment management authority; and emergency response teams," notes the Guardian. "It also proposed social and economic protections for affected communities, including clear guidelines on compensation for those who lose their livelihoods, or are displaced from their land, when the plant is set up." "Nupea said a power station could create thousands of jobs for Kenyans and said it had partnered with Kilifi universities to start nuclear training programs that would enable more residents to take up jobs at the plant. Wilfred Baya, assistant director for energy for Kilifi county, says the plant could also bring infrastructural development and greater electricity access to a region which suffers frequent power cuts."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

"Over at Fast Company, where we're celebrating 1994 Week, I wrote about the year of Peak CD-ROM, when excitement over the medium's potential was sky-high and the World Wide Web's audience still numbered in the extremely low millions," writes Slashdot reader and Fast Company technology editor Harry McCracken (harrymcc). "I cover once-famous products such as Microsoft's Encarta encyclopedia, the curse of shovelware, the rise of a San Francisco neighborhood known as 'Multimedia Gulch,' and why the whole dream soon came crashing down." Here's an excerpt from the article: Thirty years ago, a breakthrough technology was poised to transform how people stayed informed, entertained themselves, and maybe even shopped. I'm not talking about the World Wide Web. True, it was already getting good buzz among early adopter types. But even three years after going online, Tim Berners-Lee's creation was "still relatively slow and crude" and "limited to perhaps two million Internet users who have the proper software to gain access to it," wrote The New York Times' Peter H. Lewis in November 1994. At the time, it was the CD-ROM that had captured the imagination of consumers and the entire publishing industry. The high-capacity optical discs enabled mass distribution of multimedia for the first time, giving software developers the ability to create new kinds of experiences. Some of the largest companies in America saw them as media's next frontier, as did throngs of startups. In terms of pure mindshare, 1994 might have been the year of Peak CD, with 17.5 million CD-ROM drives and $590 million in discs sold, according to research firms Dataquest and Link Resources. You already know that the frenzy didn't last. As the web got faster, slicker, and more readily accessible, CD-ROMs came to look pretty mundane, and eventually faded from memory. Myst, once the best-selling PC game of all time, might be the only 1990s disc that retains a prominent spot in our shared cultural consciousness. (Full disclosure: I do have a friend who can be relied upon to fondly bring up Microsoft's Cinemania movie guide about once a year for no apparent reason.) Revisiting the discs that defined the mid-1990s -- all of which are incompatible with modern operating systems -- isn't easy. To get some of them up and running again, I downloaded virtual CD-ROM files from the Internet Archive and used them with Windows 3.1 on my iPad Pro, courtesy of a piece of software Apple removed from the App Store in 2021. Spending time with titles such as Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia and It's a Wonderful Life Multi-Media Edition, three decades after they last commanded my attention, was a Proustian rush. You may not want to go to similar extremes. But would you indulge me as I wallow in enough CD-ROM nostalgia to get it out of my system?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Thomas Claburn reports via The Register: Meta allegedly tried to discredit university researchers in Brazil who had flagged fraudulent adverts on the social network's ad platform. Nucleo, a Brazil-based news organization, said it has obtained government documents showing that attorneys representing Meta questioned the credibility of researchers from NetLab, which is part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). NetLab's research into Meta's ads contributed to Brazil's National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon) decision in 2023 to fine Meta $1.7 million (9.3 million BRL), which is still being appealed. Meta (then Facebook) was separately fined of $1.2 million (6.6 million BRL) related to Cambridge Analytica. As noted by Nucleo, NetLab's report showed that Facebook, despite being notified about the issues, had failed to remove more than 1,800 scam ads that fraudulently used the name of a government program that was supposed to assist those in debt. In response to the fine, attorneys representing Meta from law firm TozziniFreire allegedly accused the NetLab team of bias and of failing to involve Meta in the research process. Nucleo says that it obtained the administrative filing through freedom of information requests to Senacon. The documents are said to date from December 26 last year and to be part of the ongoing case against Meta. A spokesperson for NetLab, who asked not to be identified by name due to online harassment directed at the organization's members, told The Register that the research group was aware of the Nucleo report. "We were kind of surprised to see the account of our work in this law firm document," the spokesperson said. "We expected to be treated with more fairness for our work. Honestly, it comes at a very bad moment because NetLab particularly, but also Brazilian science in general, is being attacked by far-right groups." On Thursday, more than 70 civil society groups including NetLab published an open letter decrying Meta's legal tactics. "This is an attack on scientific research work, and attempts at intimidation of researchers and researchers who are performing excellent work in the production of knowledge from empirical analysis that have been fundamental to qualify the public debate on the accountability of social media platforms operating in the country, especially with regard to paid content that causes harm to consumers of these platforms and that threaten the future of our democracy," the letter says. "This kind of attack and intimidation is made even more dangerous by aligning with arguments that, without any evidence, have been used by the far right to discredit the most diverse scientific productions, including NetLab itself." The claim, allegedly made by Meta's attorneys, is that the ad biz was "not given the opportunity to appoint a technical assistant and present questions" in the preparation of the NetLabs report. This is particularly striking given Meta's efforts to limit research into its ad platform. A Meta spokesperson told The Register: "We value input from civil society organizations and academic institutions for the context they provide as we constantly work toward improving our services. Meta's defense filed with the Brazilian Consumer Regulator questioned the use of the NetLab report as legal evidence, since it was produced without giving us prior opportunity to contribute meaningfully, in violation of local legal requirements."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A Zillow listing for a $2.4 million house in a Dallas suburb is grabbing attention for its 5,786-square-foot data center with immersion cooling tanks, massive server racks, and two separate power grids. Tom's Hardware reports: With a brick exterior, cute paving, and mini-McMansion arch stylings, the building certainly looks to be a residential home for the archetypal Texas family. Prospective home-buyers will thus be disappointed by the 0 bedroom, 1 bathroom setup, which becomes a warehouse-feeling office from the first step inside where you are met with a glass-shielded reception desk in a white-brick corridor. The "Crypto Collective" branding betrays the former life of the unit, which served admirably as a crypto mining base. The purchase of the "upgraded turnkey Tier 2 Data Center" will include all of its cooling and power infrastructure. Three Engineered Fluids "SLICTanks," single-phase liquid immersion cooling tanks for use with dielectric coolant, will come with pumps and a 500kW dry cooler. The tanks are currently filled with at least 80 mining computers visible from the photos, though the SLICTanks can be configured to fit more machines. Also visible in proximity to the cooling array is a deep row of classic server racks and a staggering amount of networking. The listing advertises a host of potential uses for future customers, from "AI services, cloud hosting, traditional data center, servers or even Bitcoin Mining". Also packed into the 5,786 square feet of real estate is two separate power grids, 5 HVAC units, a hefty amount of four levels of warehouse-style storage aisles, a lounge/office space, and a fully-paved backyard. In other good news, its future corporate residents will not have an HOA to deal with, and will only be 20 minutes outside of the heart of Dallas, sitting just out of earshot of two major highways.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: A French court has ordered Google, Cloudflare, and Cisco to poison their DNS resolvers to prevent circumvention of blocking measures, targeting around 117 pirate sports streaming domains. The move is another anti-piracy escalation for broadcaster Canal+, which also has permission to completely deindex the sites from search engine results. [...] Two decisions were handed down by the Paris judicial court last month; one concerning Premier League matches and the other the Champions League. The orders instruct Google, Cloudflare, and Cisco to implement measures similar to those in place at local ISPs. To protect the rights of Canal+, the companies must prevent French internet users from using their services to access around 117 pirate domains. According to French publication l'Informe, which broke the news, Google attorney Sebastien Proust crunched figures published by government anti-piracy agency Arcom and concluded that the effect on piracy rates, if any, is likely to be minimal. Starting with a pool of all users who use alternative DNS for any reason, users of pirate sites -- especially sites broadcasting the matches in question -- were isolated from the rest. Users of both VPNs and third-party DNS were further excluded from the group since DNS blocking is ineffective against VPNs. Proust found that the number of users likely to be affected by DNS blocking at Google, Cloudflare, and Cisco, amounts to 0.084% of the total population of French Internet users. Citing a recent survey, which found that only 2% of those who face blocks simply give up and don't find other means of circumvention, he reached an interesting conclusion. "2% of 0.084% is 0.00168% of Internet users! In absolute terms, that would represent a small group of around 800 people across France!" In common with other courts presented with the same arguments, the Paris court said the number of people using alternative DNS to access the sites, and the simplicity of switching DNS, are irrelevant. Canal+ owns the rights to the broadcasts and if it wishes to request a blocking injunction, it has the legal right to do so. The DNS providers' assertion that their services are not covered by the legislation was also waved aside by the court. Google says it intends to comply with the order. As part of the original matter in 2023, it was already required to deindex the domains from search results under the same law. At least in theory, this means that those who circumvented the original blocks using these alternative DNS services, will be back to square one and confronted by blocks all over again. Given that circumventing this set of blocks will be as straightforward as circumventing the originals, that raises the question of what measures Canal+ will demand next, and from whom.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple appears ready to embrace a thinner design language with the upcoming MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, and iPhone. MacRumors reports: When the M4 iPad Pro was unveiled last month, Apple touted it as the company's thinnest product ever, and even compared it to the 2012 iPod nano to emphasize its slim dimensions. Writing in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman says that like the iPad Pro, Apple is now focused on delivering the thinnest possible devices across its lineups without compromising on battery life or major new features. Gurman writes that the new iPad Pro is the "beginning of a new class of Apple devices," and that Apple's aim is to offer "the thinnest and lightest products in their categories across the whole tech industry." Apple now reportedly has its sights on making thinner versions of iPhone, Apple Watch, and MacBook Pro over the next couple of years. Gurman's sources tell him Apple is now focused on developing a significantly skinnier iPhone in time for the iPhone 17 line in 2025, corroborating a May report by The Information. According to the latter report, Apple is planning to launch an all-new thinner iPhone 17 model next year that will allegedly feature a "major redesign" akin to the iPhone X. Gurman previously reported that Apple is planning a complete revamp of the Apple Watch for the device's tenth anniversary, dubbed "Apple Watch X." Since the original Apple Watch was unveiled in 2014 and launched in 2015, Gurman is unsure whether the Apple Watch X will be released in 2024 or 2025. However, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today claimed that this year's upcoming Apple Watch will have a larger screen and thinner design, which sounds like the sort of major overhaul and design signature that Gurman has suggested.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.