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Updated 2026-02-16 09:46
Ubisoft Workers Strike in Protest of Job Cuts and Return-to-Office Mandate
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:The company recently announced a major restructure resulting in job losses, as well as a return-to-office mandate:
Anthropic Launches New Model That Spots Zero Days
upstart writes:Anthropic Launches New Model That Spots Zero Days, Makes Wall Street Traders Lose Their Minds:
Astronomers Discover the Surprising Reason for a Star's Disappearance
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:Astronomers discover the surprising reason for a star's disappearance
Happy Birthday SoylentNews - 12 Years Old!
Today is SN's birthday - we are 12 years old!The site published its first discussion on the 12 February 2014 but had to be reset a few days later on 16 Feb because of software problems which had not been apparent until the community grew. But after 12 years I won't quibble over a few days difference.This site would not exist without many people who wrote code, configured hardware, tested software, and squashed bugs. It would not be fair to try to name them - I would surely miss many who have been instrumental in getting us where we are today. We initially had a Board comprising of 'shareholders', but today we have a Board of volunteers. The running costs which once were around $6,000 pa are now almost zero due to the generosity of those who donate free hardware and the essential internet connection. Many others over the years have given freely of their time in various roles to keep this site running. No ads, no sponsorship, no commercial pressure.But the most important people are you - the community. There are still many accounts active that have been with us from the beginning, but those that have joined sometime over the 12 years are equally important and just as welcome. We hope that you all find something of interest in at least some of the stories that we publish. Please keep commenting in them. And if you can, please make the occasional submissions that are essential for our continued operation.Thank you - this is your site. So I raise my glass to SoylentNews, to this community and, hopefully, to the next 12 years!Read more of this story at SoylentNews.
Claude Opus 4.6 Spends $20K Trying to Write a C Compiler
upstart writes:Claude Opus 4.6 spends $20K trying to write a C compiler:
5 Linux Servers That Let You Ditch the Public Cloud and Reclaim Your Privacy
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://www.zdnet.com/article/personal-digital-sovereignty-choices-free-linux-servers/
Hiroshima Scientists Crack the Code for 3D Printing Tungsten Carbide
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://www.techspot.com/news/111247-hiroshima-scientists-crack-code-3d-printing-tungsten-carbide.html
Ford Posts $11.1 Billion Net Loss in Fourth Quarter as EV Losses, Tariffs Weigh
fliptop writes:Ford Motor Company on Feb. 10 reported fourth-quarter revenue 2025 of $45.9 billion, a 5 percent year-over-year decline that led to its largest earnings miss since the same quarter in 2021:
We Finally Know How the Most Common Types of Planets Are Created
hubie writes:Four baby planets show how super-Earths and sub-Neptunes form:
'Another Dark Day': Users Slam Microsoft Over Polyglot Notebooks Deprecation
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:Visual Studio Code extension faces March shutdown with no transition guidance:
AI-Generated Text is Overwhelming Institutions – Setting Off a No-Win ‘Arms Race’ With AI Detectors
fliptop writes:In 2023, the science fiction literary magazine Clarkesworld stopped accepting new submissions because so many were generated by artificial intelligence. Near as the editors could tell, many submitters pasted the magazine's detailed story guidelines into an AI and sent in the results. And they weren't alone:
Wikipedia May Remove Nearly 700,000 Links After Archive.today DDoS Fallout
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:Dispute erupts between popular web archive and independent blogger:
AMD Rockets Past 35% Market Share in Desktop PC Market as Intel's Share Loss Accelerates
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:Another quarter, another gain for AMD:
El Paso Airport Closed After Military Used New Anti-Drone Laser to Zap Party Balloon
Freeman writes:https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/02/el-paso-airport-closed-after-military-used-new-anti-drone-laser-to-zap-party-balloon/
80386 Barrel Shifter
owl writes:https://nand2mario.github.io/posts/2026/80386_barrel_shifter/
Taiwan Tells Uncle Sam its Chip Ecosystem Ain't Going Anywhere
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/09/taiwan_us_chip_production/
New Critique Debunks Claim That Trees Can Sense a Solar Eclipse
upstart writes:Controversial 2025 study "represents the encroachment of pseudoscience into the heart of biological research":
Google Recovers “Deleted” Nest Video in High-Profile Abduction Case
Freeman writes:https://arstechnica.com/google/2026/02/google-recovers-deleted-nest-video-in-high-profile-abduction-case/
SpaceX is Pivoting to Focus on a Moon Base Before Mars
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:Elon Musk says launch windows and other logistics are behind the shift in strategy:
Byte Magazine Artist Robert Tinney, Who Illustrated the Birth of PCs, Dies at 78
owl writes:https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/02/byte-magazine-artist-robert-tinney-who-illustrated-the-birth-of-pcs-dies-at-78/
Malicious Packages for dYdX Cryptocurrency Exchange Empties User Wallets
upstart writes:Incident is at least the third time the exchange has been targeted by thieves:
Terry Pratchett's Novels May Have Held Clues to His Dementia a Decade Before Diagnosis
hubie writes:Subtle changes in Sir Terry Pratchett's use of language in his books anticipated his dementia diagnosis by almost ten years, research has shown:
MIT Scientists Build Terahertz Microscope That Reveals Hidden Superconducting Motion
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://www.techspot.com/news/111241-mit-scientists-build-terahertz-microscope-reveals-hidden-superconducting.html
EU Interferes In Its Own Elections And Ours, Say US Tech Bros
quietus writes:
After a $26 Billion Hit, Stellantis Shifts Focus Back to What Buyers Want
fliptop writes:Stellantis says it overestimated the EV transition and is shifting back to hybrids, V8s, and what customers actually want:
Discord Will Require a Face Scan or ID for Full Access Next Month
hubie writes:Beginning in March, all accounts will have a 'teen-appropriate experience by default'
Newly Discovered Sungrazing Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) Could be the Brightest of the Year
An Anonymous Coward writes:Or it might just be destroyed by the Sun. It's a tough call:
Microsoft Does Something Useful, Adds Sysmon to Windows
upstart writes:After years of bolting AI onto everything, Redmond remembers admins exist:
Ask SN - "Opt-Out Signal Honored" - Screen Message
When reading my local newspaper online this morning, I noticed for the first time a small message, lower-left of the window, "Opt-Out Signal Honored". A little quick searching turned up GPC, Global Privacy Control https://globalprivacycontrol.org/
AI.Com's $85 Million Super Bowl Ad Campaign Falls Foul as Traffic Crashes Servers
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/ai-dot-com-super-bowl-ad-drove-massive-traffic-and-then-it-crashedThe campaign allegedly cost $15 million for the ads, $70 million for the domain name.
Linux Kernel 6.19 is Released and the Next Version is Confirmed to be 7.0
hubie writes:Linus Torvalds Confirms The Next Kernel Is Linux 7.0:
Your iPhone is About to Get a New Privacy Feature to Protect Your Location Data From Prying Eyes
upstart writes:Location, location, location:
Microsoft Releases Urgent Office Patch While Russian-State Hackers Pounce
upstart writes:The window to patch vulnerabilities is shrinking rapidly:
A Fresh Look at IBM 3270 Information Display System
owl writes:https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/a-fresh-look-at-ibm-3270-information-display-system
New York Lawmakers Introduce Bill That Aims to Halt Data Center Development for Three Years
upstart writes:Five other states have introduced similar bills recently as data center development skyrockets:
Taking a Second to Change the Time
hubie writes:Time is almost up on the way we track each second of the day, with optical atomic clocks set to redefine the way the world measures one second in the near future:
Vibe Coding is Killing Open Source Software
hubie writes:Vibe Coding Is Killing Open Source Software, Researchers Argue:
The AI productivity trap: Why your Best Engineers are Getting Slower
jelizondo writes:CIO published a very interesting article about how the use of AI by the best engineers actually is slowing them down, and quite not delivering on the promised speed up of production code:
FBI Stymied by Apple's Lockdown Mode After Seizing Journalist's iPhone
upstart writes:FBI stymied by Apple's Lockdown Mode after seizing journalist's iPhone:
Russian Spy Satellites Have Intercepted EU Communications Satellites
upstart writes:Russian spy satellites have intercepted EU communications satellites:
Lessons from China’s Delicate Dance of Censorship and Expression
jelizondo writes:A very interesting article was published by The New Republic, which centers on the intersection of social media, government censorship and activism, China style. It is a long read but very much worth you while, as the "spring" of public freedom becomes the hard, cold winter at the hands of an authoritarian regime.A very interesting article was published by The New Republic, which centers on the intersection of social media, government censorship and activism, China style. It is a long read but very much worth you while, as the "spring" of public freedom becomes the hard, cold winter at the hands of an authoritarian regime.Weibo, the Chinese uber social media platform, is an unlikely vehicle for protests, demand for change and surprisingly results, in the form of government reform, changes to the law and favorable judgments in courts.While China, and its famous Great Firewall, (built using "American bricks" in the form of technology from Cisco and others) is known for its unforgiving censorship of citizen's protests, something changed with social media. This is not to say that China has given up on censorship, some subjects are very much forbidden, for example the so called "Three Ts": Tibet, Tiananmen and Taiwan. No criticism or protest on those subjects is allowed, not even a suggestion of a protest.Other subjects are open for debate. Some examples follow:
Linux From Scratch Abandoning SysVinit Support
hubie writes:Linux From Scratch Abandoning SysVinit Support:
Self-Driving Cars In ‘Difficult Driving Situations’ Are Guided By Random Filipinos Overseas
fliptop writes:The chief safety officer for a leading self-driving car company admitted during a Senate hearing Wednesday that it hires remote human operators overseas to guide cars in "difficult driving situations:"
A Century of Hair Samples Proves Leaded Gas Ban Worked
hubie writes:"We should not forget the lessons of history. And the lesson is those regulations have been very important."
France Might Seek Restrictions on VPN Use in Campaign to Keep Minors Off Social Media
upstart writes:France might seek restrictions on VPN use in campaign to keep minors off social media:
Used EVs Currently Offer Car Buyers Lowest Lifetime Cost of Ownership
hubie writes:Used electric vehicles currently are a comparative bargain that could help more drivers reduce their carbon footprints:
The World Factbook Shut Down Unceremonously
canopic jug writes:Spotted via Simon Willison's blog, the plug has been pulled very suddenly on the CIA World Factbook. The old pages all redirect and the CIA has only some short comments and offer no explanation for the bizarre act of cultural vandalism.
US Spy Satellite Agency Declassifies High-Flying Cold War Listening Post
upstart writes:The JUMPSEAT satellites loitered over the North Pole to spy on the Soviet Union:
AI Agents Now Have Their Own Reddit-Style Social Network, and It's Getting Weird Fast
upstart writes:Moltbook lets 32,000 AI bots trade jokes, tips, and complaints about humans:
The TV Industry Finally Concedes That the Future May Not be in 8K
upstart writes:With virtually no content and limited benefits, 8K TVs were doomed:
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