Sent out today and already merged for the in-development Linux 6.18 kernel is the latest batch of 64-bit ARM "ARM64" architecture fixes. Most notable is a fix for addressing a "catastrophic performance issue" that was uncovered...

FFmpeg, the open source multimedia framework that powers video processing in Google Chrome, Firefox, YouTube and other major platforms, has called on Google to either fund the project or stop burdening its volunteer maintainers with security vulnerabilities found by the company's AI tools. The maintainers patched a bug that Google's AI agent discovered in code for decoding a 1995 video game but described the finding as "CVE slop." The confrontation centered on a Google Project Zero policy announced in July that publicly discloses reported vulnerabilities within a week and starts a ninety-day countdown to full disclosure regardless of patch availability. FFmpeg, written primarily in assembly language, handles format conversion and streaming for VLC, Kodi and Plex but operates without adequate funding from the corporations that depend on it. Nick Wellnhofer resigned as maintainer of libxml2, a library used in all major web browsers, because of the unsustainable workload of addressing security reports without compensation and said he would stop maintaining the project in December.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is escalating pressure on the defense industry to stop opposing military right-to-repair legislation, as House and Senate negotiators work to finalize the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. From a report: In a sharply-worded November 5 letter to the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) obtained by Reuters, Warren accused the industry group of attempting to undermine bipartisan efforts to give the Pentagon greater ability to repair weapons and equipment it owns. She called the group's opposition "a dangerous and misguided attempt to protect an unacceptable status quo of giant contractor profiteering." Currently, the government is often required to pay contractors like NDIA members Lockheed Martin, Boeing and RTX to use expensive original equipment and installers to service broken parts, versus having trained military maintainers 3D print spares in the field and install them faster and more cheaply.

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Est-ce que nous arriverons bientôt à la même situation en France ? C'est la question que l'on peut se poser en observant ce qui se déroule en ce moment dans le célèbre quartier de Tokyo Akihabara, notamment réputé pour ses nombreux revendeurs de matériels informatiques. La flambée des prix des la DR...

China has introduced a visa that will allow young foreign researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to move there without having to secure a job first. From a report: Before the introduction of the K visa, most foreign STEM researchers hoping to move to China had to find a job in advance and then apply for a work visa. The Chinese government is making "a serious bid" to attract the world's brightest minds in STEM, says Jeremy Neufeld, the director of immigration policy at the Institute for Progress, a think tank in Washington DC. South Korea, Singapore and several other countries have also launched STEM-oriented visa programmes. The K visa was officially rolled out on 1 October, but Nature understands that applications are yet to open. Few details about eligibility have been released, except that restrictions will apply on the basis of an applicant's age, education and work experience. Foreign researchers who have graduated from 'famous' universities or institutes in China or abroad with a bachelor-or-higher degree in STEM will be eligible to apply. That also includes people who teach or research STEM topics in such organizations.

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It's "Patch Tuesday" and Intel is out with new CPU microcode for Linux users in addition to making public 30 new security advisories that affect a range of Intel products...

Animal testing in science would be phased out faster under a new plan to increase the use of artificial intelligence and 3D bioprinted human tissues, a UK minister has said. The Guardian: The roadmap unveiled by the science minister, Patrick Vallance, backs replacing certain animal tests that are still used where necessary to determine the safety of products such as life-saving vaccines and the impact pesticides have on living beings and the environment. The strategy says phasing out the use of animals in science can only happen when reliable and effective alternative methods with the same level of safety for human exposure can replace them. The government said new funding for researchers and streamlined regulation would help develop methods such as organ-on-a-chip systems -- tiny devices that mimic how human organs work using real human cells. Greater use of AI to analyse vast amounts of data about molecules and predict whether new medicines will be safe and work well on humans would be deployed, while 3D bioprinted tissues could create realistic human tissue samples, from skin to liver, for testing. Other plans under the strategy include an end to regulatory testing on animals to assess the potential for skin and eye irritation and skin sensitisation by the end of 2026. By 2027, researchers are expected under the strategy to end tests of the strength of botox on mice, while by 2030 pharmacokinetic studies -- which track how a drug moves through the body over time -- on dogs and non-human primates will be reduced.

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BrianFagioli writes: Mozilla has released Firefox 145.0, and the standout change in this version is the official end of support for 32-bit Linux systems. Users on 32-bit distributions will no longer receive updates and are being encouraged to switch to the 64-bit build to continue getting security patches and new features. While most major Linux distributions have already moved past 32-bit support, this shift will still impact older hardware users and lightweight community projects that have held on to 32-bit for the sake of performance or preservation. The rest of the update introduces features such as built-in PDF comments, improved fingerprinting resistance for private browsing, tab group previews, password management in the sidebar, and minor UI refinements. Firefox also now compresses local translation models with Zstandard to reduce storage needs. But the end of 32-bit Linux support is the change that will leave the biggest mark, signaling another step toward a web ecosystem firmly centered on 64-bit computing.

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The Linux kernel's Human Interface Devices (HID) subsystem has an existing architectural limitation that there is just up to one battery per HID device. But with modern devices -- especially among various gaming peripherals -- there can be more than one battery when considering earbuds with a battery for each earbud, multi-device wireless receivers, etc. A proposal was raised today to address this limitation...

The furious push by AI hyperscalers to build out data centers will need about $1.5 trillion of investment-grade bonds over the next five years and extensive funding from every other corner of the market, according to an analysis by JPMorgan. From a report: "The question is not 'which market will finance the AI-boom?' Rather, the question is 'how will financings be structured to access every capital market?'" according to strategists led by Tarek Hamid. Leveraged finance is primed to provide around $150 billion over the next half decade, they said. Even with funding from the investment-grade and high-yield bond markets, as well as up to $40 billion per year in data-center securitizations, it will still be insufficient to meet demand, the strategists added. Private credit and governments could help cover a remaining $1.4 trillion funding gap, the report estimates. The bank calculates an at least $5 trillion tab that could climb as high as $7 trillion, singlehandedly driving a reacceleration in growth in the bond and syndicated loan markets, the strategists wrote in a report Monday. The analysts project $300 billion in high-grade bonds going toward AI data centers next year. That could account for nearly one fifth of total issuance in that market, which a report from Barclays estimates will grow to $1.6 trillion.

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Ce petit Dock Hagibis reprend la forme d’un ordinateur de bureau des années 80-90. Avec une partie classique en forme de PC Desktop qui propose une connectique traditionnelle et, par-dessus, un moniteur de type CRT qui abrite en réalité un écran IPS.

La disposition du dock Hagibis est originale et les usages assez variés. La partie inférieure propose en façade deux ports USB 3.0 Type-A, un USB 3.0 Type-C et deux lecteurs de cartes MicroSDXC et SDXC. Au-dessus, le petit écran propose une diagonale de 3.5″ à la définition évidemment très faible. La dalle ne propose pas physiquement plus de 480 x 320 pixels même si elle peut monter en 1920 x 1080 par interpolation. Les données affichables resteront donc limitées mais ce sera suffisant pour suivre certaines activités. 

La lecture d’un album de musique, par exemple, ou l’état d’un téléchargement, des photos personnelles en provenance d’un album de famille. La santé d’une machine au travers d’un logiciel de monitoring comme AIDA64. Les remontées d’un serveur distant ou même la vidéo live d’une impression 3D. L’écran peut également servir à remonter l’état d’un serveur maison pour des usages domotiques ou autres. Une vidéo en direct pourra être suivie pour ne pas louper le début d’un évènement pendant que l’on continue de travailler sur son PC.

Sur le côté droit de l’écran, deux petits boutons permettront pour le premier de régler la luminosité de l’affichage, mais surtout pour le second de basculer entre deux sources distinctes.

Car au dos de ce dock Hagibis, on retrouve deux entrées vidéo. D’abord un port USB Type-C pour accueillir un signal DisplayPort et ensuite un port HDMI. Une prise Jack 3.5 mm stéréo permettra de brancher un petit casque pour reprendre le sont des sources vidéo et l’alimentation se fera au travers d’un port USB Type-C. On pourra donc brancher deux machines différentes sur le dock même si la seule à proposer un signal de données sera celle connectée en USB Type-C évidemment.

L’ensemble mesure 10 cm de large pour 7.2 cm de profondeur et au total 9.4 cm de haut. Totalement gadget, absolument dispensable, ce petit dock Hagibis peut tout de même rendre pas mal de services au quotidien même si sa connectique n’est pas formidable.

Il est proposé à 49.39€ sur AliExpress avec 5€ de réduction grâce au code 11FR05 pour un total de 44.39€. Cela pourrait également donner des idées de développement DIY autour de docks existants.

Voir l’offre sur AliExpress

Hagibis : Le dock le plus mignon du marché propose un écran © MiniMachines.net. 2025

The iPad Pro went on sale ten years ago, launching with a 12.9-inch screen that Apple believed would redefine computing through size alone. The company initially resisted making the device a laptop replacement and maintained strict limitations on multitasking, browser capabilities, and app installation. Over the past decade, Apple reversed course. The iPad Pro gained USB-C ports, external drive support, keyboard and trackpad accessories, and an improved Files app. The current M5 model includes OLED screens in 13- and 11-inch sizes. iPadOS 26 added free-form multitasking, a menu bar and the Preview app. The webcam now sits in landscape orientation. Despite these advances, the device remains constrained by App Store-only software installation, The Verge writes, limited system access, and the absence of desktop-class browsers. Apple spent years positioning the iPad as a third category between phones and computers. The hardware and accessories now support full computer functionality, but artificial software limitations remain in place.

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Lenovo recently sent over their new ThinkPad P1 Gen 8 laptop for review under Linux. My Linux review on that ThinkPad P1 Gen 8 laptop will be coming up in the near future along with some other benchmarks from that premium mobile workstation. But with this being the first time I've had an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H "Arrow Lake H" device at Phoronix, here are some standalone benchmarks looking at the CPU performance of that 16-core mobile processor compared to various other Intel and AMD SoCs in different laptops while running Ubuntu Linux.

YMTC (Yangtze Memory Technologies Co.), vous connaissez ? C'est vrai que nous ne parlons pas forcément très souvent de cette entreprise sur H&Co. Il s'agit d'un acteur important de la fabrication de puces NAND, même s'il n'est évidemment pas à un niveau de distribution aussi important que Samsun...

Apple has launched the iPhone Pocket, a knitted bag designed to hold iPhones. The limited edition collaboration with Japanese designer Issey Miyake costs $229.95 for the crossbody version. A shorter version is priced at $149.95. Apple said the 3D-knitted design was inspired by "a piece of cloth" and was born from the idea of creating an additional pocket for any iPhone and small everyday items. Yoshiyuki Miyamae, design director at Miyake Design Studio, said the product "speaks to the bond between iPhone and its user" and explores "the joy of wearing iPhone in your own way." Steve Jobs mocked similar $29 iPod Socks as "a revolutionary new product" in 2004.

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Sam Altman's Tools for Humanity has verified around 17.5 million people through its iris-scanning Orb device. The company has set a goal of reaching 1 billion users, so it is less than 2% of the way there. The startup has raised $240 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital and Khosla Ventures. PitchBook estimates its valuation at $2.5 billion. The Orb is a volleyball-sized metal sphere that scans irises to generate a World ID. Users can claim tokens of the cryptocurrency Worldcoin, currently worth around 80 cents per coin. Business Insider spoke to former Tools for Humanity employees, a former Orb operator from Kenya, and a former head of operations in Mexico City. Some questioned whether the company had a clear long-term strategy. Nick Maynard, vice president of fintech market research at Juniper Research, said he does not see a killer use case that will drive major traction. The company also continues to face regulatory headwinds. In October, agencies in the Philippines, Colombia and Thailand took action to halt operations. German authorities determined last year that the company's data protection measures would not be sufficient to protect against cybercriminals or state attackers.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

While there is the AMD openSIL project for open-source CPU silicon initialization for platforms moving forward with plans to ultimately replace AGESA and be more friendly toward the likes of Coreboot, for those on aging AMD Bulldozer and Piledriver era platforms there is some updated open-source firmware available thanks to an independent free software project...

Samsung is rolling out new conversational AI across its 2025 TVs that lets users ask questions about what's on the screen and beyond it. From a report: First announced in September, the generative AI update is rolling out now with support for several languages. Vision AI Companion is based on an upgraded, generative AI-based version of Samsung's virtual assistant Bixby. Samsung suggests you can use it to ask questions about on-screen content -- what that actor is famous for, who painted that artwork, or what the final score was in a football game. It can go beyond that though, offering TV and movie recommendations along with cooking advice, travel tips, and local restaurant discovery.

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Vendu sur AliExpress et stocké en Allemagne, le MiniPC Soyo M4 Plus est un grand classique du genre. Il propose un processeur Intel N150 associé à 16 Go de mémoire vive de type DDR4 sur un emplacement de mémoire évolutif. Son stockage est confié à une solution M.2 2280 SATA de 512 Go.

Le Soyo M4 Plus mesure 10 cm de côté pour 3.4 cm d’épaisseur et propose un équipement basique comme souvent avec cette marque. Ici rien ne fait vraiment défaut et l’engin pourra répondre à la majorité des besoins classiques : bureautique, web, multimédia, retouche légère, programmation, un peu de jeu et autres travaux de modélisation ou de montage vidéo simple. 

La connectique associée est classique avec en façade, en plus du bouton de démarrage, une paire de ports USB 3.2 Type-A et un jack audio combo 3.5 mm. À l’arrière, un Ethernet Gigabit, des sorties vidéos DisplayPort et HDMI, deux USB 2.0 Type-A et une prise d’alimentation.

Au-dessus de cette connectique, un petit interrupteur permettra d’ouvrir le capot supérieur pour accéder aux composants. Un Antivol type Kensington Lock est également visible pour sécuriser l’engin. La connexion sans fil se fera au travers d’une solution Wi-Fi5 et Bluetooth 4.2. livrée avec Windows 11 Pro, la machine sera compatible avec diverses solutions Linux.

De l’air frais sera aspiré sous la machine pour être évacué vers des ailettes situées sur les côtés de l’engin. On retrouve ici un schéma assez classique de ces machines noname. Cela fonctionne en général très correctement sans être particulièrement novateur ou brillant. 

La machine est proposée sur AliExpress à 153.05€ TTC sans frais de port depuis son stock Allemand. En ajoutant le code promo 11FR20, elle baisse de 20€.

Le Soyo M4 Plus passe ainsi à 133.05€. Ce qui est un bon tarif pour un engin de ce calibre avec autant de mémoire et de stockage. Aucune idée de la durée de l’offre.

Voir l’offre sur AliExpress

 

Soyo M4 Plus : Intel N150 16 Go / 512 Go Windows 11 Pro – AliExpress
Mini-Score : C	+ compacité + performances correctes + SSD et RAM évolutif + livré prêt à l’emploi + Design classique efficace	– Clone OEM – garantie 3 mois – SAV en Europe – support en Europe – faible connectique – Wi-Fi daté

Bon Flan : Le MiniPC Soyo M4 Plus Intel N150 16/512Go à 133€ © MiniMachines.net. 2025

Intel on Monday released version 0.1 of their Low Power Mode Daemon, the open-source daemon in development for several years now for optimizing active idle power on modern Intel Core (Ultra) CPUs under Linux...