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Today, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened a consultation on potential new requirements for Google Search, including on the controls we provide to we…Today, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened a consultation on potential new requirements for Google Search, including on the controls we provide to websites to manage their content in Search AI features.

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....

The DistroWatch news feed is brought to you by TUXEDO COMPUTERS. The MX Linux team has announced an update to the distribution's 25.x series. MX Linux 25.1 maintains the existing Debian 13.1 base and sees a return to offering a choice of init software at boot time. "Making a return as of 25.1 is a dual-init setup with both....

The DistroWatch news feed is brought to you by TUXEDO COMPUTERS. ELEGANCE, a French desktop distribution based on Manjaro Linux and featuring the Cinnamon desktop and a huge collection of popular open-source software, has been updated to version 26.0.1. The new release, which is also known as version 4 and has a code name of "Leanora", comes shortly after....

Mecha Comet – Modular Linux Handheld with Snap-On Modules  OMG! Ubuntu

alternative_right shares a report from Phys.org: New findings from NASA's Perseverance rover have revealed evidence of wave-formed beaches and rocks altered by subsurface water in a Martian crater that once held a vast lake -- considerably expanding the timeline for potential habitability at this ancient site. In an international study led by Imperial College London, researchers uncovered that the so-called 'Margin unit' in Mars's Jezero crater preserves evidence of extensive underground interactions between rock and water, as well as the first definitive traces of an ancient shoreline. These are compelling indicators that habitable, surface water conditions persisted in the crater (home to a large lake around 3.5 billion years ago) further back in time than previously thought. "Shorelines are habitable environments on Earth, and the carbonate minerals that form here can naturally seal in and preserve information about the ancient environment," said lead author Alex Jones, a Ph.D. researcher in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering (ESE) at Imperial. The findings have been published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Valve’s Proton Update Brings 19 More Games to Linux  gHacks Technology News

GOG calls Linux "the next major frontier" for gaming as it works on a native client  XDA

I haven’t paid “full price” for a cellular phone plan for decades, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any trade-offs. Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) buy network capacity in bulk from major carriers (MNOs like T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T) and resell them to individual customers. For a while, the main trade-off for going with an MVNO (which buys bulk minutes and data from the major carriers) was slightly worse cellular coverage due to a lack of roaming agreements with other carriers. If you were on a AT&T MVNO, you could only use AT&T cell towers.

These days, the primary catch is data de-prioritization. To manage the demand, there are different Quality of Service Class Identifiers (QCI levels) that have different priorities on the network. In areas where there are a lot of people, especially things like concerts and sporting events, there is a lot of demand and those not at the front of the line will notice slow or no data.

This r/NoContract Reddit post provides an excellent collection of the data prioritization policies of the major carriers. It’s still a lot, so I have attempted to summarize everything below as much as possible.

For Verizon, QCI 8 is the highest priority level for consumers. Includes:

• All Verizon Postpaid “Traditional” plans (except “Welcome”).
• Visible+ and Visible+ Pro (owned by Verizon).
• Total Wireless’ Total 5G Unlimited and Total 5G+ Unlimited (owned by Verizon).
• Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile (owned by cable companies).
• US Mobile Unlimited Premium “Warp” (*for 5G w/ Premium Only)

QCI 9 is a step lower, the base tier. Includes:

• Verizon’s Unlimited Welcome plan (their most basic plan)
• Visible Base plan
• US Mobile Unlimited Starter “Warp” and other Warp plans.
• All other Verizon prepaid MVNOs.

For AT&T, QCI 7 is the highest priority level for consumers. Includes:

• Select AT&T Plans with special “Turbo” data.

QCI 8 is a step lower, but still considered higher priority. Includes:

• Select AT&T Plans with “Extra/Premium/Max” data.
• Cricket Supreme Unlimited, Cricket Sensible 10GB plans (*owned by AT&T)
• H2o, Consumer Cellular, and PureTalk MVNOs.
• US Mobile Unlimited Premium “Dark Star” (*Premium Only)

QCI 6 is another step lower, the base tier. Includes:

• AT&T base Unlimited plans for both AT&T postpaid and AT&T Prepaid.
• All other AT&T plans once the “Turbo/Premium” data is used up.
• Cricket Select Unlimited, Cricket Smart Unlimited plans (*owned by AT&T)
• US Mobile Unlimited Starter “Dark Star” and other Dark Star plans.
• All other AT&T prepaid MVNOs.

For T-Mobile, QCI 6 is the highest priority level for consumers. Includes:

• All T-Mobile Postpaid and Prepaid plans (except “Essentials”)
• Google Fi

QCI 7 is a step lower, the base tier. Includes:

• T-Mobile Essentials plans (their most basic plan)
• All other T-Mobile prepaid MVNOs, including Metro and Mint Mobile (both owned by T-Mobile).

Long-time readers will know that I was with Mint Mobile for a long time. I didn’t need much data back then. But each year, I felt the low priority of Mint Mobile data became more and more noticeable. Anywhere crowded, even an airport, and things would slow down significantly. Oftentimes, I basically had no data at all, which was very frustrating when just trying to call up an Uber. T-Mobile sells a lot of data to MVNOs, so perhaps that’s another reason. I first tried to jump ship to Visible, but they messed up my number port so badly that I couldn’t get 2FA verification codes for days so I quickly switched back to Mint Mobile.

Late last year, after a positive experience with US Mobile’s customer service involving their Apple Watch plans, I decided to switch to US Mobile’s Unlimited Premium plan which offers “Priority Data” on their Warp (Verizon) and Dark Star (AT&T) plans. They run a lot of promotions (often extending them over and over) but I jumped on the Warp plan with Unlimited Premium because it also included a free Apple Watch cellular plan. I’m paying a bit more than I used to with Mint Mobile, but I’ve definitely noticed the improvement in data quality. My number port was nearly instant. With their Unlimited Premium plan, I can even switch between networks for free if one place has better coverage, allowing me access to AT&T and T-Mobile towers.

I am happy with US Mobile as I now have high data speeds, multi-network coverage, reasonable cost, and decent customer service.

The current US Winter Phone Deal is on Dark Star (AT&T). Unlimited Starter for $119/year prepaid upfront ($9.92/mo) for the first year (regular data priority) with promo code WINTER119 and Unlimited Premium for $149/year prepaid upfront ($12.42/mo) for the first year (which offers higher data priority and other perks) with promo code WINTER149. Port-in required. There are also some big discounts on the latest Google Pixel 10 phones and Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge if you scroll down. Starts 1/28 at 11am ET through 1/31.

You can stack the current promo with my referral link to get an additional $25 off:

To qualify for the $25 referral bonus, you must maintain active paid service in good standing for 6 months, port in a new line, and spend a total of $100 on Unlimited, By the Gig, or Smartwatch plans — Other plans, top-ups, devices, add-ons, roaming, and certain promotions (listed at usmobile.com/promo-archive) are excluded. Annual plans will be prorated monthly (e.g. $228 equals $114 after 6 months).

If you want a deal on Verizon (Warp), I’d just wait around for a bit. However, it probably won’t ever be as cheap as this Dark Star (AT&T) deal. I paid $299 for a year of Unlimited Premium (includes Priority Data and Apple Watch cellular plan) during a previous sale. Full price at renewal will be $390/year ($32.50/month), which is still much cheaper than any traditional major carrier plan after you add taxes/fees and $10/month for the Apple Watch add-on.

RFC Patches Posted For Klint Integration With The Linux Kernel: Rust-Based Linting Tool  Phoronix

Amazon appears to have prematurely acknowledged layoffs inside AWS after an internal email referencing "organizational changes" and "impacted colleagues" was mistakenly sent to cloud employees. CNBC reports: "Changes like this are hard on everyone," Colleen Aubrey, senior vice president of applied AI solutions at Amazon Web Services, wrote in an email viewed by CNBC. "These decisions are difficult and are made thoughtfully as we position our organization and AWS for future success." The note also references a post from Amazon's HR boss Beth Galetti and said the company notified "impacted colleagues in our organization." The subject of the email mentions "Project Dawn," and the email says it was "canceled," possibly indicating it was recalled by the sender after the fact. It's unclear what Project Dawn refers to. The job cuts come after Amazon announced in October that it would lay off 14,000 corporate employees. At the time, the company indicated the cuts would continue in 2026 as it found "additional places we can remove layers." Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the layoffs were meant to reduce management layers and bureaucracy inside the company. He also predicted last June that efficiency gains from AI would shrink Amazon's corporate staff in the coming years.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Handmade by human hands using machines  Digg

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Science.org: Some 10,109 doctoral-trained experts in science and related fields left their jobs last year as President Donald Trump dramatically shrank the overall federal workforce. That exodus was only 3% of the 335,192 federal workers who exited last year but represents 14% of the total number of Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) or health fields employed at the end of 2024 as then-President Joe Biden prepared to leave office. The numbers come from employment data posted earlier this month by the White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM). At 14 research agencies Science examined in detail, departures outnumbered new hires last year by a ratio of 11 to one, resulting in a net loss of 4224 STEM Ph.D.s. The graphs that follow show the impact is particularly striking at such scientist-rich agencies as the National Science Foundation (NSF). But across the government, these departing Ph.D.s took with them a wealth of subject matter expertise and knowledge about how the agencies operate. [...] Science's analysis found that reductions in force, or RIFs, accounted for relatively few departures in 2025. Only at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where 16% of the 519 STEM Ph.D.s who left last year got pink RIF slips, did the percentage exceed 6%, and some agencies reported no STEM Ph.D. RIFs in 2025. At most agencies, the most common reasons for departures were retirements and quitting. Although OPM classifies many of these as voluntary, outside forces including the fear of being fired, the lure of buyout offers, or a profound disagreement with Trump policies, likely influenced many decisions to leave. Many Ph.D.s departed because their position was terminated.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.