What Happens When an 'Infinite-Money Machine' Unravels
December 10, 2025 at 01:25AM
December 10, 2025 at 01:25AM
news.slashdot.org
What Happens When an 'Infinite-Money Machine' Unravels
Michael Saylor's software company Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, built a financial model that some observers called an "infinite-money machine" by stockpiling hundreds of thousands of bitcoins and issuing stock and debt to buy more, but that machine…
Microsoft To Invest $17.5 Billion in India
December 10, 2025 at 02:15AM
December 10, 2025 at 02:15AM
slashdot.org
Microsoft To Invest $17.5 Billion in India
Microsoft announced on Tuesday its largest-ever investment in Asia -- $17.5 billion over four years starting in 2026 -- to expand cloud and AI infrastructure across India, fund skilling programs, and support ongoing operations in the country. The commitment…
How Pokemon Cards Became a Stock Market For Millennials
December 10, 2025 at 03:28AM
December 10, 2025 at 03:28AM
games.slashdot.org
How Pokemon Cards Became a Stock Market For Millennials
The Pokemon Trading Card Game has quietly transformed into something its creators never intended: a speculative asset class dominated by adults hunting for profit while children struggle to find a single pack on store shelves. The resale market has climbed…
The Inevitable Shape of Cheap Online Retail
December 10, 2025 at 04:01AM
December 10, 2025 at 04:01AM
slashdot.org
The Inevitable Shape of Cheap Online Retail
Pinduoduo in China, Shopee in Southeast Asia, and Meesho in India operate in markets that could hardly be more different -- an upper-middle-income industrial state, a stitched-together archipelago of under-banked economies, and a country where three-quarters…
Microsoft 365 Prices Rising For Businesses and Governments in July 2026
December 10, 2025 at 04:41AM
December 10, 2025 at 04:41AM
it.slashdot.org
Microsoft 365 Prices Rising For Businesses and Governments in July 2026
Microsoft has announced that it will raise prices on its Microsoft 365 productivity suites for businesses and government clients starting in July 2026, marking the first commercial price increase since 2022. Small business and frontline worker plans face…
2025 Will Be World's Second or Third-Hottest Year on Record, EU Scientists Say
December 10, 2025 at 05:22AM
December 10, 2025 at 05:22AM
news.slashdot.org
2025 Will Be World's Second or Third-Hottest Year on Record, EU Scientists Say
This year is set to be the world's second or third-warmest on record, potentially surpassed only by 2024'S record-breaking heat, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Tuesday. From a report: The data is the latest from C3S following…
Apple's Slow AI Pace Becomes a Strength As Market Grows Weary of Spending
December 10, 2025 at 06:02AM
December 10, 2025 at 06:02AM
apple.slashdot.org
Apple's Slow AI Pace Becomes a Strength As Market Grows Weary of Spending
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Shares of Apple were battered earlier this year as the iPhone maker faced repeated complaints about its lack of an artificial intelligence strategy. But as the AI trade faces increasing scrutiny, that hesitance…
Millions of Australian Teens Lose Access To Social Media As Ban Takes Effect
December 10, 2025 at 06:40AM
December 10, 2025 at 06:40AM
tech.slashdot.org
Millions of Australian Teens Lose Access To Social Media As Ban Takes Effect
Australia's world-first ban blocking under-16s from major social platforms has come into effect. The BBC is live reporting the reactions "both from within Australia and outside it." From the report: I've been speaking to 12-year-old Paloma, who lives in Sydney…
Congress Quietly Strips Right-To-Repair Provisions From US Military Spending Bill
December 10, 2025 at 07:20AM
December 10, 2025 at 07:20AM
yro.slashdot.org
Congress Quietly Strips Right-To-Repair Provisions From US Military Spending Bill
Congress quietly removed provisions that would have let the U.S. military fix its own equipment without relying on contractors, despite bipartisan and Pentagon support. The Register reports: The House and Senate versions of the NDAA passed earlier both included…
More People Crowdfunded Basic Needs In 2025, GoFundMe Report Shows
December 10, 2025 at 08:02AM
December 10, 2025 at 08:02AM
news.slashdot.org
More People Crowdfunded Basic Needs In 2025, GoFundMe Report Shows
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fast Company: More and more people are turning to GoFundMe for help covering the cost of housing, food, and other basic needs. The for-profit crowdfunding platform's annual "Year in Help" report, released Tuesday,…
Ask Slashdot: What Are the Best Locally-Hosted Wireless Security Cameras?
December 10, 2025 at 08:45AM
December 10, 2025 at 08:45AM
yro.slashdot.org
Ask Slashdot: What Are the Best Locally-Hosted Wireless Security Cameras?
Longtime Slashdot reader Randseed writes: With the likes of Google Nest, Ring, and others cooperating with law enforcement, I started to look for affordable wireless IP security cameras that I can put around my house. Unfortunately, it looks like almost every…
Microsoft Excel 诞生 40 年
有 40 年历史的电子表格软件 Microsoft Excel 几乎毫发无损的经受住了云计算的兴起和今天的 AI 热。它源于 1983 年，研发代号是 Odyssey，工程师当时的目标是克隆 Lotus 1-2-3，而 Lotus 1-2-3 则克隆自第一个电子表格软件 VisiCalc。VisiCalc 由 Dan Bricklin 为苹果 Apple II 开发，他没有为这款软件申请专利。他说，如果申请专利的话，那么 MIT 应该会有一座 Bricklin Building 而不是 Gates Building。Excel 目前有 5 亿付费用户。市场上有很多竞争对手，但没有一款能真正对 Microsoft Excel 构成威胁。它面临的最新挑战是 AI 聊天机器人，但风险投资家表示，几乎所有 AI 电子表格初创公司都是在 Excel 基础上构建产品，而不是试图取代它。 via Solidot
有 40 年历史的电子表格软件 Microsoft Excel 几乎毫发无损的经受住了云计算的兴起和今天的 AI 热。它源于 1983 年，研发代号是 Odyssey，工程师当时的目标是克隆 Lotus 1-2-3，而 Lotus 1-2-3 则克隆自第一个电子表格软件 VisiCalc。VisiCalc 由 Dan Bricklin 为苹果 Apple II 开发，他没有为这款软件申请专利。他说，如果申请专利的话，那么 MIT 应该会有一座 Bricklin Building 而不是 Gates Building。Excel 目前有 5 亿付费用户。市场上有很多竞争对手，但没有一款能真正对 Microsoft Excel 构成威胁。它面临的最新挑战是 AI 聊天机器人，但风险投资家表示，几乎所有 AI 电子表格初创公司都是在 Excel 基础上构建产品，而不是试图取代它。 via Solidot
Netflix Faces Consumer Class Action Over $72 Billion Warner Bros Deal
December 10, 2025 at 09:25AM
December 10, 2025 at 09:25AM
yro.slashdot.org
Netflix Faces Consumer Class Action Over $72 Billion Warner Bros Deal
Netflix's $72 billion bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery has triggered a consumer class action claiming the merger would crush competition, erase HBO Max as a rival, and hand Netflix control over major franchises. Reuters reports: The proposed class action…
OpenAI Joins the Linux Foundation's New Agentic AI Foundation
December 10, 2025 at 10:02AM
December 10, 2025 at 10:02AM
news.slashdot.org
OpenAI Joins the Linux Foundation's New Agentic AI Foundation
OpenAI, alongside Anthropic and Block, have launched the Agentic AI Foundation under the Linux Foundation, describing it as a neutral home for standards as agentic systems move into real production. It may sound well-meaning, but Slashdot reader and NERDS.xyz…
'Food and Fossil Fuel Production Causing $5 Billion of Environmental Damage an Hour'
December 10, 2025 at 11:30AM
December 10, 2025 at 11:30AM
news.slashdot.org
'Food and Fossil Fuel Production Causing $5 Billion of Environmental Damage an Hour'
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: The unsustainable production of food and fossil fuels causes $5 billion of environmental damage per hour, according to a major UN report. Ending this harm was a key part of the global transformation of…
In a Major New Report, Scientists Build Rationale For Sending Astronauts To Mars
December 10, 2025 at 03:00PM
December 10, 2025 at 03:00PM
science.slashdot.org
In a Major New Report, Scientists Build Rationale For Sending Astronauts To Mars
A major scientific report published Tuesday argues that sending astronauts to Mars is justified by the quest to find life and conduct research that robots alone can't achieve. "We're searching for life on Mars," said Dava Newman, a professor in the Department…
RoboCrop: Teaching Robots How To Pick Tomatoes
December 10, 2025 at 06:00PM
December 10, 2025 at 06:00PM
hardware.slashdot.org
RoboCrop: Teaching Robots How To Pick Tomatoes
alternative_right quotes a report from Phys.org: To teach robots how to become tomato pickers, Osaka Metropolitan University Assistant Professor Takuya Fujinaga, Graduate School of Engineering, programmed them to evaluate the ease of harvesting for each tomato…
Rubio Orders Diplomats To Return To Using Times New Roman Font
December 10, 2025 at 09:00PM
December 10, 2025 at 09:00PM
yro.slashdot.org
Rubio Orders Diplomats To Return To Using Times New Roman Font
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday ordered diplomats to return to using Times New Roman font in official communications, calling his predecessor Antony Blinken's decision to adopt Calibri a "wasteful"…
当视频编解码器赢得艾美奖
2025 年的技术工程艾美奖授予了 AV1 编解码器，以表彰其对全球视频内容传输的影响。在 2010 年代中期，视频编解码器是 Web 的隐形税，建立在封闭的授权系统基础之上，费用昂贵且难以预测。当时的大部分网络视频使用 H.264 编解码器，开源浏览器如 Firefox 依赖于思科的 OpenH.264 模块免于支付授权费。随着网络视频需求的增长，亟需新一代编解码器去实现更快更可靠的高质量串流。为避免生态系统的分裂，Mozilla 等在 2015 年联合成立了 Alliance for Open Media(AOM)合作开发下一代视频编解码器 AV1，AV1 融合了 Google 的 VP9、Mozilla 的 Daala 和思科的 Thor 技术。AV1 于 2018 年发布，下一代 AV2 也即将发布。 via Solidot
2025 年的技术工程艾美奖授予了 AV1 编解码器，以表彰其对全球视频内容传输的影响。在 2010 年代中期，视频编解码器是 Web 的隐形税，建立在封闭的授权系统基础之上，费用昂贵且难以预测。当时的大部分网络视频使用 H.264 编解码器，开源浏览器如 Firefox 依赖于思科的 OpenH.264 模块免于支付授权费。随着网络视频需求的增长，亟需新一代编解码器去实现更快更可靠的高质量串流。为避免生态系统的分裂，Mozilla 等在 2015 年联合成立了 Alliance for Open Media(AOM)合作开发下一代视频编解码器 AV1，AV1 融合了 Google 的 VP9、Mozilla 的 Daala 和思科的 Thor 技术。AV1 于 2018 年发布，下一代 AV2 也即将发布。 via Solidot
澳大利亚禁止青少年使用社媒禁令正式生效
澳大利亚禁止 16 岁以下青少年使用社媒的禁令正式生效。12 岁悉尼女孩 Paloma 在接受采访时对禁令表达了悲伤之情，称她通过 Snapchat 和 TikTok 等应用结识了来自不同国家的朋友，表示自己认识的每个人都对禁令感到生气，称通过禁止使用社交媒体政府剥夺了他们的一部分权利。15 岁少年 Noah Jones 和 Macy Neyland 在一家权利团体的支持下向澳大利亚最高法院提起诉讼，认为禁令剥夺了他们自由交流的权利。澳大利亚电信部长 Anika Wells 表示不会屈服，不会被法律战吓到，“我们将代表澳大利亚的父母坚定立场。” via Solidot
澳大利亚禁止 16 岁以下青少年使用社媒的禁令正式生效。12 岁悉尼女孩 Paloma 在接受采访时对禁令表达了悲伤之情，称她通过 Snapchat 和 TikTok 等应用结识了来自不同国家的朋友，表示自己认识的每个人都对禁令感到生气，称通过禁止使用社交媒体政府剥夺了他们的一部分权利。15 岁少年 Noah Jones 和 Macy Neyland 在一家权利团体的支持下向澳大利亚最高法院提起诉讼，认为禁令剥夺了他们自由交流的权利。澳大利亚电信部长 Anika Wells 表示不会屈服，不会被法律战吓到，“我们将代表澳大利亚的父母坚定立场。” via Solidot