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3 reasons I still can’t switch to Linux: Where Windows still wins  How-To Geek

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: You wear them at work, you wear them at play, you wear them to relax. You may even get sweaty in them at the gym. But an investigation into headphones has found every single pair tested contained substances hazardous to human health, including chemicals that can cause cancer, neurodevelopmental problems and the feminization of males. [...] Researchers say that while individual doses from particular sources may be low, a "cocktail effect" of daily, multi-source exposure nevertheless poses potentially severe long-term risks to health. [...] Researchers bought 81 pairs of in-ear and over-ear headphones, either on the market in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Austria, or from the online marketplaces Shein and Temu, and took them for laboratory analysis, testing for a range of harmful chemicals. "Hazardous substances were detected in every product tested," they said. Bisphenol A (BPA) appeared in 98% of samples, and its substitute, bisphenol S (BPS), was found in more than three-quarters. Synthetic chemicals used to stiffen plastic, BPA and BPS mimic the action of oestrogen inside organisms, causing a range of adverse effects including the feminization of males, early onset puberty in girls, and cancer. Previous studies have shown that bisphenols can migrate from synthetic materials into sweat, and that they can be absorbed through the skin. "Given the prolonged skin contact associated with headphone use, dermal exposure represents a relevant pathway, and it is reasonable to assume that similar migration of BPA and its substitutes may occur from headphone components directly to the user's skin," the researchers said. Also found in the headphones tested were phthalates, potent reproductive toxins that can impair fertility; chlorinated paraffins, which have been linked to liver and kidney damage; and brominated and organophosphate flame retardants, which have similar endocrine disrupting properties to bisphenols. Most were, however, found in only trace quantities.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

eCryptfs Sees Renewed Patch Activity With Linux 7.0  Phoronix

Linux 7.0 Lands More AMDGPU Fixes For Old Radeon Hardware  Phoronix

Ceph In Linux 7.0 Lands Support For AES256K Keys  Phoronix

OpenAI is reportedly developing its first consumer hardware product: a $200-$300 smart speaker with a built-in camera capable of recognizing "items on a nearby table or conversations people are having in the vicinity." It's also said to feature Face ID-style authentication for purchases. The Verge reports: In addition to the smart speaker, OpenAI is "possibly" working on smart glasses and a smart lamp, The Information reports. (Apple may also be working on a smart lamp.) But OpenAI's glasses might not hit mass production until 2028, and while OpenAI has made prototypes of gadgets like the smart lamp, The Information says it's "unclear" if they'll be released and that OpenAI's devices plans are in early stages.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Intel works on making gaming on Linux better as it scouts for new talent  XDA

Researchers at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility are advancing Accelerator-Driven Systems (ADS) that use high-energy proton beams to transmute long-lived nuclear waste into shorter-lived isotopes. "The process also generates significant heat, which can be harnessed to produce additional electricity for the grid," reports Interesting Engineering. The projects are supported by $8.17 million in grants from the Department of Energy's NEWTON (Nuclear Energy Waste Transmutation Optimized Now) program. From the report: The researchers are developing ADS technology. This system uses a particle accelerator to fire high-energy protons at a target (such as liquid mercury), triggering a process called "spallation." This releases a flood of neutrons that interact with unwanted, long-lived isotopes in nuclear waste. The technology can effectively "burn" the most hazardous components of the waste by transmuting these elements. While unprocessed fuel remains dangerous for approximately 100,000 years, partitioning and recycling via ADS can reduce that window to just 300 years. [...] To make ADS economically viability, Jefferson Lab is tackling two primary technical hurdles: efficiency and power. Traditional particle accelerators require massive, expensive cryogenic cooling systems to reach superconducting temperatures. Jefferson Lab is pioneering a more cost-effective approach by coating the interior of pure niobium cavities with tin. These niobium-tin cavities can operate at higher temperatures, allowing for the use of standard commercial cooling units rather than custom, large-scale cryogenic plants. The team is also developing spoke cavities, which is a complex design intended to drive even higher efficiency in neutron spallation. The second project focuses on the power source behind the beam. Researchers are adapting the magnetron -- the same component that powers microwave ovens -- to provide the 10 megawatts of power required for ADS. The primary challenge is that the energy frequency must match the accelerator cavity precisely at 805 Megahertz. In collaboration with Stellant Systems, researchers are prototyping advanced magnetrons that can be combined to reach the necessary high-power thresholds with maximum efficiency. The NEWTON program aims to enable the recycling of the entire US commercial nuclear fuel stockpile within the next 30 years.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

I replaced my standard Linux coreutils with Rust versions and it’s surprisingly faster  MakeUseOf

You can control your Linux PC from your Android phone - here's how  ZDNET

I tried Mint, Kubuntu, and Debian — here’s what actually matters for Windows refugees  MakeUseOf

Intel Hiring More Linux Developers - Including For GPU Drivers / Linux Gaming Stack  Phoronix

The DistroWatch news feed is brought to you by TUXEDO COMPUTERS. The Emmabuntüs project has published an update for its DE5 branch. The new version improves volume handling, makes it easier to install WINE, and offers updated Italian language support. "The Emmabuntüs Collective is pleased to announce the release of Emmabuntüs Debian Edition 5 version 1.05, available in 32-bit....

The DistroWatch news feed is brought to you by TUXEDO COMPUTERS. DietPi is a Debian-based Linux distribution, primarily developed for single-board computers such as Raspberry Pi, Orange Pi or Odroid. It also supplies builds for 64-bit x86 personal computers and virtual machines. The project's latest release, version 10.0, introduces some important changes and drops support for some old single-board....

The DistroWatch news feed is brought to you by TUXEDO COMPUTERS. This week in DistroWatch Weekly:
Review: Setting up a home server
News: Malicious software finds a new way into the Snap store, postmarketOS automates more hardware tests, KDE's new login manager works with systemd only
Questions and answers: Why convergence has not become popular
Released last week: ELEGANCE 26.0.1, MX Linux....

The DistroWatch news feed is brought to you by TUXEDO COMPUTERS. The CachyOS team has announced the release of an updated ISO image of CachyOS, a Arch-based Linux distribution with the latest KDE Plasma as the chosen desktop on the live image. The new version 260114 comes with a reworked system installer, new Plasma login manager, and Wayland as....

The DistroWatch news feed is brought to you by TUXEDO COMPUTERS. Phil C has announced the release of Skywave Linux 5.10.0, a specialist live Linux distribution configured for connecting to internet-accessible software defined radio (SDR) receivers. It is based on Debian's "Unstable" branch and uses the dwm window manager. "Skywave Linux has been upgraded to version 5.10, bringing some....

The DistroWatch news feed is brought to you by TUXEDO COMPUTERS. The Liya Linux distribution is an Arch-based project which runs the Cinnamon desktop and features the Pamac package manager. The project has published a new snapshot which introduces integrated AI chat and improved support for connecting with Windows file shares. "I am pleased to announce the release of....

The DistroWatch news feed is brought to you by TUXEDO COMPUTERS. Guix System is a Linux-based, stateless operating system that is built around the GNU Guix package manager. The project has published its first release in about three years, introducing several changes and over 10,000 new packages: "Three years is a long time for free and open source software!....

The DistroWatch news feed is brought to you by TUXEDO COMPUTERS. An updated version of deepin, a Debian-based Linux distribution with a custom-built Deepin Desktop Environment, has been released. The new version 25.0.10 brings various improvements to installation, file management and interface polish: "In order to further optimize the deepin 25 system update experience and enhance stability, the deepin....