The Register

Owners of Macs running M1 silicon now have a a native – but rough – Linux to test Asahi Linux – the most prominent effort to create a Linux distribution for Apple's M1 silicon – has loosed what project lead Hector Martin has described as "a very early alpha release."…

One screen sits above the keyboard, another is where you'd expect to find it. And we think you'll find a use for both Desktop Tourism PCs and alternative devices have increasingly diversified into myriad and marvelous forms, so I've decided that in 2022 I'll use a different one each month and share the experience.…

Shenzhen still restricts movement and crowds, so supply chains may yet splutter The Chinese city of Shenzhen – widely billed as the tech manufacturing capital of the world – has relaxed its COVID-19 restrictions in ways the city government expects will allow industrial production to resume.…

Linus Torvalds suggests version 5.18 will be a little larger, hopefully also warm, fuzzy, low-drama Linus Torvalds has released version 5.17 of the Linux kernel.…

Whether it's Mint-flavoured Debian or Debian-flavoured Mint, it's tasty The Linux Mint project has announced version 5 of its Debian edition, code-named Elsie.…

Outage tripped up web, native apps while cloud had a wobble Google Maps Platform services went missing for a few hours on Friday as various APIs fell over.…

Yes, the ones that don't exist yet America's National Science Foundation has signaled yet again how important it thinks quantum computing is with a six-figure grant to Penn State. …

Colocation giant goes on a Santiago shopping spree Equinix is set to acquire four datacenter facilities in South America, three in Chile and one in Peru, from Chilean telecom giant Entel in a sale expected to close the second quarter of 2022.…

If you're involved in malvertising, please don't read this. We don't want to give you ideas A novel way of tricking people out of their passwords has left us wondering if there's a need to rethink how much we trust our web browsers to protect us and to accelerate efforts to close web security gaps.…

Kremlin-backed Sandworm has its VPNFilter replacement, it seems Cyclops Blink malware has infected ASUS routers in what Trend Micro says looks like an attempt to turn these compromised devices into command-and-control servers for future attacks.…

New signups bring skills in mainframes, IT services, hosting in quest for RHEL parity The AlmaLinux OS Foundation is pulling in new members from the world of mainframes, hosting and IT services to contribute to the project and deliver a community-supported Linux compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).…

Maturity and merging: Manageable for bcachefs? The lead developer of the bcachefs filesystem is gunning to get it accepted into the Linux kernel… again.…

Google's TAG details operations of prolific group, including 9-to-5 workdays A group with links to high-profile ransomware crews Conti and Diavol is working as an internet access broker (IAB) for a Russia-linked cybercriminal gang, according to Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG).…

A quarter of a century can put a fair few inches on the waistline, am I right, devs? Microsoft is celebrating 25 years of Visual Studio, as devs take a moment to ponder whether another quarter of a century of Microsoft's flagship Integrated Development Environment is in the cards.…

Can the US market manage without them? Commission wants to know A bunch of toner manufacturers and sellers have infringed on Japanese electronics outfit Canon's patents, according to an initial finding from the US International Trade Commission (ITC), with a judge recommending imports of their products be banned.…

Our model took mere hours to suggest 40,000 potentially lethal compounds, says startup AI algorithms designed to generate therapeutic drugs can be easily repurposed to invent lethal biochemical weapons, a US startup has warned.…

As some nations turn a blind eye, defense becomes life-or-death matter With not just ransomware gangs raiding network after network, but nation states consciously turning a blind eye to it, today's chief information security officers are caught in a "perfect storm," says Cybereason CSO Sam Curry.…

Scammers exploit global supply-chain crunch Counterfeiters are making the most of the ongoing electronics supply crunch by peddling sham semiconductors to desperate buyers – and it's caught the attention of governments.…

Database dump accessible via the OData protocol, but software giant says it's working as intended A website for SAP's Customer Influence programs is exposing member data, creating the possibility for targeted social-engineering attacks.…

Won't reveal how much of that is actually being spent on data centers, though Amazon Web Services claims it is to invest upwards of £1.8bn ($2.36bn) over the next two years in building and operating data centers in the UK, meet the ever growing demand for cloudy tech.…

Procurement comes as Manchester City Council looks for SAP next steps Greater Manchester Combined Authority has launched a £31m tender to find a single supplier to provide a software-as-a-service HR system for all its member and partner organizations.…

Don't fret, we're just having a technical Something for the Weekend? Please accept our apologies. We had a technical which slowed down our response times.…

DNS means Do Not Shove under desk On Call Welcome to a continent-trotting edition of On Call, in which a Register reader takes a trip to sunnier climes only to be let down by a clown in windswept Blighty.…

A reminder: ML absolutely wipes the floor with humans at ancient game The Chinese Go Association – the body that oversees professional and high-level amateur play of the board game – has suspended a player for apparently using artificial intelligence during a tournament.…

Using tiny samples, too, a claim we're sure you haven't heard before Could the light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors in your future smartphone take the place of laboratory equipment in health and food safety applications? It's looking like a possibility.…

Xi's vision for once-in-a-lifetime transformation includes singular identity cards, shared data, and huge clouds China's president Xi Jinping has declared "there can be no modernization without informatization,” and outlined a strategy for how the world's most populous nation will use information technology to transform society and government.…

The mid-range A-Series matches top-end models for software updates Samsung has updated its Galaxy A smartphone range – a midrange collection of handsets that quietly outsells its premium Galaxy S series and is one of just three non-iPhone units to crack top ten global sales charts.…

Silicon engineers, you are now in the PRIME of your life Googlers and UC Berkeley academics say they have devised a way to use artificial intelligence to design faster and smaller chips that accelerate artificial intelligence.…

Watchdog claims Facebook parent sat on its hands as fake ads fleeced netizens The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed suit against The Artist Formerly Known As Facebook over its publication of ads allegedly featuring celebrities peddling a supposedly surefire-route to cryptocurrency riches.…

Package used by big apps now drops anti-war text files on desktops The developer of JavaScript library node-ipc, which is used by the popular vue.js framework, deliberately introduced a critical security vulnerability that, for some netizens, would destroy their computers' files.…

Strap in for a wild ride of forks, trademarks, and licensing Last year, the Graph Foundation had to rethink how it develops and distributes its Open Native Graph Database (ONgDB) after it settled a trademark and copyright claim by database biz Neo4j.…

Get ready for machine-made decisions, whether you're shopping, banking, reading, working Corporate funding splurged on AI technology is expected to grow to $120bn by 2025 in the US, a yearly increase of 26 percent over the next four financial years, according to IDC.…

Thanks... Micro... soft... OK, there, we said it Microsoft has published a tool that scans for and detects MikroTik-powered Internet-of-Things devices that have been hijacked by the Trickbot gang.…

@zverok asks dev world for support as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues Interview Victor Shepelev, known as @zverok on Twitter and GitHub, is a Ruby developer and software architect who lives in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Since Russia invaded his country on February 24, 2022, he's had more pressing concerns than writing code, such as keeping his family safe and helping his fellow citizens survive.…

Turns out the internet is a set of tubes after all Microsoft and Finland's largest energy company have partnered to build a new datacenter near Helsinki that will heat homes as it cools servers.…

Bold moves to create a 'semi' literate pool of factory workers Intel plans to spend $100m on improving semiconductor engineering education and research in the US.…

Plus granting powers to undo previous takeovers A pair of law bills before the US House and Senate would give watchdogs stronger powers to block big mergers, and allow regulators to reach back into the past to dismantle previous M&As deemed to be harmful. …

Several companies 'taking action to ensure a level playing field among cloud services providers' in Europe Microsoft is facing an antitrust complaint in Europe from France's OVHcloud.…

ESA will need to source a different rocket, lander, and descent stage in time for next window in 2024 The European Space Agency (ESA) has slammed the brakes on its ExoMars rover, Rosalind Franklin.…

Policy via social media: It's a thing now. Even though Russia won't be able to read it... Chipmaker Qualcomm is the latest tech firm to stop doing business with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.…

Who benefits from changes to the Partner Network? Well, it's not partners... or even their customers Microsoft has "evolved" its Partner Network, but changing the name to the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program has done little to dispel concerns over the company's New Commerce Experience (NCE).…

Shutdowns in factories put crunch on weakened supply chain Wednesday's 7.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Fukushima, Japan, caused the temporary shutdown of some major manufacturers, including chip and component-makers Murata, Renesas and Kioxia, in addition to broader manufacturing companies in the area.…

Tribunal finds evidence of 'irregularly concluded software, support agreements' Global application giant SAP is being ordered to pay South Africa's Department of Water and Sanitation ZAR 345m ($23.1m) after a couple of contracts between the two parties were set aside by the courts.…

Agency signals more actions targeting Chinese companies to come in the name of national security Chinese telco Pacific Networks and its subsidiary ComNet must cease all services within the United States within 60 days from Wednesday March 16 following an order issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).…

Homespun companion Linux system distro gets an update, but stays small – and 1.0 Microsoft has released the March-2022 update for CBL-Mariner, but the version number hasn't budged from 1.0.…

Select all images of you being duped into providing your credentials CAPTCHA puzzles, designed to distinguish people from computer code, are being used to separate people from their login credentials.…

Verified third-party tools do not guarantee compliance position Oracle customers can only use its licensing tools after the company has started to talk to them about software audits or offered license advice. Meanwhile, third-party tools that have been verified by Oracle do not help users in terms of license compliance.…

Businesses targeted elderly, made 750,000 calls to people on Telephone Preference System Five British companies are collectively nursing a £405,000 fine from the UK's data watchdog for making a combined total of 750,000 unsolicited marketing calls targeting vulnerable elderly people.…

An accidental glimpse of things to come or somebody hitting the wrong button? Comment Microsoft's hurried backpedal over advertisements in File Explorer has industry watchers concerned.…

The move follows lack of progress in equality and two resignations, campaign group says A group of activist investors is targeting Salesforce in an effort to force the SaaS CRM giant to become the subject of an independent investigation into its practices regarding racial equality.…