If greed stops you from preserving your company‘s reputation…

How stupid and shortsighted is that?

The tax bill or short term capital gains vs long term capital gains is not large enough. Wall street focuses on the next quarter. Beyond that does not exist.

Maybe people will upgrade their cell phones and computers more often if it were not so expensive and more ('green') ecological friendly.

Americans are holding onto devices longer than ever and it’s costing the economy

Key Points:
* Americans are hanging onto their smartphones for much longer than they did a decade ago, but new releases like Apple’s iPhone 17 can entice consumers to upgrade.

* Businesses tend to hang onto their devices even longer than individual consumers, especially overseas.

* While it may seem to be a smart money move, it can result in a costly productivity and innovation lag for the economy.

The people may would also replace their aging computers more often if it wouldn't be such a pain in the **** to have to use the newest Microsoft OS on a new computer.

I'd rather prefer to read a book than to spend hours configuring such a new OS to stop it from sending all my private documents, all my personal activity information without my explicit consent back to these data addicted junkies at M$.

Sounds more like some wanting to accelerate today's throw away economy and adding more unnecessary stuff to landfill to me.

Possible Chinese Spyware found in popular shopping app:

Allegations Claim Temu Operates Like Mobile Spyware

According to the complaint, Temu’s mobile app is engineered to harvest far more information than a typical retail application. 

Once installed, the app allegedly gains unauthorized access to:

Precise geolocation

Microphone and camera functionality

Activity within other installed apps

Sensitive and personally identifiable information (PII)

A review of Temu’s codebase allegedly shows layers of encryption intended to evade inspection and even the ability for the app to alter its own code post-installation — behavior that mirrors tactics used in mobile spyware. 

These capabilities could enable Temu to exfiltrate user data or manipulate a device in ways that remain undisclosed and undetectable.

Compounding these concerns, Temu is wholly owned by a Chinese company and is therefore subject to Chinese national security laws, which mandate cooperation with state intelligence services. 

What could of possibly gone wrong with the "appliance"?
Kohler’s Smart Toilet Camera Isn’t Actually End-to-End Encrypted

Kohler’s smart toilet camera claims end-to-end encryption, but its design still exposes sensitive user data.

No word on if the child has been given a permanent job in "Durability Testing/Quality Control"
Box of 50 Samsung M.2 SSDs ruined after child bends them to test ‘durability’, $3800 worth of SSD destroyed
Photo in article.

Just geekie beautiful:


Building the PERFECT Linux PC with Linus Torvalds


The very real Linus meets his namesake.

Note:

No business suits;
No egos;
Lots of genuine giggles;
Good tech;
A cast of many thousands of volunteers;
Our technological world depends upon this;
And meekly mentioned in passing as a castoff comment, all too easily missed, quietly and unobtrusively yet significantly, noting the total shrug-off of the Microsoft multiple E's.

And a very apt comment in the comments is:

One of them is /home/Linus and the other is /root

Enjoy!

Truly a beautiful Merry Christmas!
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Do you think this sudden (in last 6 to 8 weeks) double to quadruple price increases in DRAM are intentional?

IDC warns PC market could shrink up to 9% in 2026 due to skyrocketing RAM pricing — even moderate forecast hits 5% drop as AI-driven shortages slam into PC market

Since then, the global memory shortage, which began accelerating in mid-October, has intensified beyond what IDC originally modeled. While the firm isn't formally rewriting its official forecast entirely, it's now laying out scenarios that are notably more pessimistic than what it projected just a few weeks ago.

The underlying driver is the same force distorting much of the tech industry in late 2025: AI infrastructure. Memory demand from hyperscalers has surged so aggressively that DRAM and NAND production has been structurally redirected away from consumer devices and toward high-margin enterprise components like high-bandwidth memory and dense DDR5. This is an economically rational choice on the part of memory manufacturers, but IDC is clear that this isn't a typical boom-and-bust cycle; it's a strategic reallocation of silicon capacity that could persist for years, not quarters.

... Instead, IDC's conclusion is cautious but unmistakable: what began as an AI infrastructure boom is now reshaping consumer hardware markets in unintended ways. Memory scarcity is tightening supply, inflating prices, and forcing vendors to rethink product roadmaps at exactly the wrong moment. 2025 was already tough for the PC market, with GPUs scarce on the ground and little else to convince buyers to upgrade their perfectly serviceable machines.

Do you think this sudden (in last 6 to 8 weeks) double to quadruple price increases in DRAM are intentional?

No, I think pure market forces... the article stated the rationale...

Another step in the agglomeration of the IT industry towards ever larger, globally operating behemoths that absorb all smaller entities, if necessary: undercutting prices, cutting off resources, pushing out competitors. Monopolization. Even in the theory of liberal markets, an antitrust authority is paramount. Is it effective a.t.m.?

Memory demand from hyperscalers has surged so aggressively that DRAM and NAND production has been structurally redirected away from consumer devices and toward high-margin enterprise components like high-bandwidth memory and dense DDR5. This is an economically rational choice on the part of memory manufacturers, but IDC is clear that this isn't a typical boom-and-bust cycle; it's a strategic reallocation of silicon capacity that could persist for years, not quarters.

Let me translate: Stick to your smartphone and tablet computers. Use our cloud services. That's all you need to be happy. You do not need a desktop computer, resp. your own computing or storage capacities. Listen and repeat: "The Network is the Computer"(C) [1]

[1] a forgotten ad slogan of Sun Microsystems btw., long since devoured by Oracle.

Do you think this sudden (in last 6 to 8 weeks) double to quadruple price increases in DRAM are intentional?

No, I think pure market forces... the article stated the rationale...

Another step in the agglomeration of the IT industry towards ever larger, globally operating behemoths that absorb all smaller entities, if necessary: undercutting prices, cutting off resources, pushing out competitors. Monopolization. Even in the theory of liberal markets, an antitrust authority is paramount. Is it effective a.t.m.?

Memory demand from hyperscalers has surged so aggressively that DRAM and NAND production has been structurally redirected away from consumer devices and toward high-margin enterprise components like high-bandwidth memory and dense DDR5. This is an economically rational choice on the part of memory manufacturers, but IDC is clear that this isn't a typical boom-and-bust cycle; it's a strategic reallocation of silicon capacity that could persist for years, not quarters.

Let me translate: Stick to your smartphone and tablet computers. Use our cloud services. That's all you need to be happy. You do not need a desktop computer, resp. your own computing or storage capacities. Listen and repeat: "The Network is the Computer"(C) [1]

[1] a forgotten ad slogan of Sun Microsystems btw., long since devoured by Oracle.

Matthew McConaughey Trademarks “Alright, Alright, Alright” to Shut Down AI Imitations

Matthew McConaughey’s voice is instantly recognizable. Say three words, and most people can already hear him. That’s exactly why the actor is drawing a firm legal line in the sand.

According to recent reports, McConaughey was granted at least eight trademarks covering some of his most iconic scenes and spoken lines. Some of the covered works include a brief clip of him sitting in front of a Christmas tree, another clip of him standing on a porch, and even the line “Alright, alright, alright,” which was originally seen in “Dazed and Confused.”

Rock and Sock 'Em Robots...
Unitree’s H2 Humanoid Throws Punches, Kicks, and Wins Robot Sparring

Unitree just showed its H2 humanoid trading blows in a robot sparring match — and winning. The six-foot machine hits with enough force to lift its smaller G1 opponent clean off the ground.

In new footage from Unitree, the H2 unloads punches, kicks, and a lifting knee strike, turning the session into a one-sided fight. The clip marks a change from polished acrobatics to full-contact sparring, with the larger robot dominating the exchange.

Flickr Notifies Users of Potential Third-Party Data Exposure

According to Flickr, the vulnerability was identified on Feb. 5, 2026, in a system operated by one of its third-party email service providers.

The company said it moved quickly to contain the issue, shutting down access to the affected system within hours of being notified.

Flickr has not disclosed which provider was involved or how many users may have been affected, but the platform reports approximately 35 million monthly users and hosts more than 28 billion photos and videos, underscoring the potential scale of exposure.

The data potentially accessed includes users’ real names, email addresses, Flickr usernames, account types, IP addresses, general location information, and details related to account activity.

Flickr emphasized that no passwords or payment card information were compromised, limiting the immediate risk of account takeover or direct financial fraud.

However, the exposure of contact and account metadata still presents meaningful privacy and security considerations.