Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the digital-sovereignty department: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols writes in an opinion piece for The Register: Microsoft, tactically admitting it has failed at talking all the Windows 10 PC users into moving to Windows 11 after all, is -- sort of, kind of -- extending Windows 10 support for another year. For most users, that means they'll need to subscribe to Microsoft 365. This, in turn, means their data and meta-information will be kept in a US-based datacenter. That isn't sitting so well with many European Union (EU) organizations and companies. It doesn't sit that well with me or a lot of other people either.
A few years back, I wrote in these very pages that Microsoft didn't want you so much to buy Windows as subscribe to its cloud services and keep your data on its servers. If you wanted a real desktop operating system, Linux would be almost your only choice. Nothing has changed since then, except that folks are getting a wee bit more concerned about their privacy now that President Donald Trump is in charge of the US. You may have noticed that he and his regime love getting their hands on other people's data.
Privacy isn't the only issue. Can you trust Microsoft to deliver on its service promises under American political pressure? Ask the EU-based International Criminal Court (ICC) which after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes, Trump imposed sanctions on the ICC. Soon afterward, ICC's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, was reportedly locked out of his Microsoft email accounts. Coincidence? Some think not. Microsoft denies they had anything to do with this.
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Posted by from MMO Champion
WoW Hotfixes - June 27, 2025
Originally Posted by Blizzard
(
Blue Tracker /
Official Forums)
Classes
Mage
Arcane
Updated the Single-Button Assistant and the Assisted Highlight recommendations to work with the Leydrinker, Glorious Incandescence, and Magi's Spark talents. They will also wait for maximum Arcane Charges to recommend Arcane Barrage.
Dastardly Duos
Improved the Winner's Podium upgrades to have a better chance from the rewards chest at the end of a match. This chance increases if you open many chests without getting an upgrade.
Delves
Fixed an issue where the Durable Information Securing Container's Charged Bolts were targeting Breakable Crowd Controlled targets.
Lorewalking
Fixed an issue where players were able to exit Lorewalking while in combat.
Fixed an issue where players who have not purchased The War Within were unable to enter the Lordaeron Garrison to complete Arthas Lorewalking.
Fixed an issue causing players to be directed to Dornogal to turn in the quest "Lorewalking" despite not being at a high enough level to go to Dornogal.
Cataclysm Classic
Dragon Soul
Deck Defender should no longer erroneously fail during Phase 2 of Warmaster Blackhorn.
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the IRL-ad-blocker department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from UploadVR: Software developer Stijn Spanhove used the newest SDK features of Snap OS to build a prototype of [a real-world ad blocker for Snap Spectacles]. If you're unfamiliar, Snap Spectacles are a bulky AR glasses development kit available to rent for $99/month. They run Snap OS, the company's made-for-AR operating system, and developers build apps called Lenses for them using Lens Studio or WebXR.
Spanhove built the real-world ad blocker using the new Depth Module API of Snap OS, integrated with the vision capability of Google's Gemini AI via the cloud. The Depth Module API caches depth frames, meaning that coordinate results from cloud vision models can be mapped to positions in 3D space. This enables detecting and labeling real-world objects, for example. Or, in the case of Spanhove's project, projecting a red rectangle onto real-world ads.
However, while the software approach used for Spanhove's real-world ad blocker is sound, two fundamental hardware limitations mean it wouldn't be a practical way to avoid seeing ads in your reality. Firstly, the imagery rendered by see-through transparent AR systems like Spectacles isn't fully opaque. Thus, as you can see in the demo clip, the ads are still visible through the blocking rectangle. The other problem is that see-through transparent AR systems have a very limited field of view. In the case of Spectacles, just 46 degrees diagonal. So ads are only "blocked" whenever you're looking directly at them, and you'll still see them when you're not.
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the PSA department: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told the U.S. Senate that while AI hasn't yet dramatically impacted the economy or labor market, its transformative effects are inevitable -- though the timeline remains uncertain. The Register reports: Speaking to the US Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday to give his semiannual monetary policy report, Powell told elected officials that AI's effect on the economy to date is "probably not great" yet, but it has "enormous capabilities to make really significant changes in the economy and labor force." Powell declined to predict how quickly that change could happen, only noting that the final few leaps to get from a shiny new technology to practical implementation can be a slow one.
"What's happened before with technology is that it seems to take a long time to be implemented," Powell said. "That last phase has tended to take longer than people expect." AI is likely to follow that trend, Powell asserted, but he has no idea what sort of timeline that puts on the eventual economy-transforming maturation point of artificial intelligence. "There's a tremendous uncertainty about the timing of [economic changes], what the ultimate consequences will be and what the medium term consequences will be," Powell said. [...]
That continuation will be watched by the Fed, Powell told Senators, but that doesn't mean he'll have the power to do anything about it. "The Fed doesn't have the tools to address the social issues and the labor market issues that will arise from this," Powell said. "We just have interest rates."
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the slippery-slope department: Facebook is prompting users to opt into a feature that uploads photos from their camera roll -- even those not shared on the platform -- to Meta's servers for AI-driven suggestions like collages and stylized edits. While Meta claims the content is private and not used for ads, opting in allows the company to analyze facial features and retain personal data under its broad AI terms, raising privacy concerns. TechCrunch reports: The feature is being suggested to Facebook users when they're creating a new Story on the social networking app. Here, a screen pops up and asks if the user will opt into "cloud processing" to allow creative suggestions. As the pop-up message explains, by clicking "Allow," you'll let Facebook generate new ideas from your camera roll, like collages, recaps, AI restylings, or photo themes. To work, Facebook says it will upload media from your camera roll to its cloud (meaning its servers) on an "ongoing basis," based on information like time, location, or themes.
The message also notes that only you can see the suggestions, and the media isn't used for ad targeting. However, by tapping "Allow," you are agreeing to Meta's AI Terms. This allows your media and facial features to be analyzed by AI, it says. The company will additionally use the date and presence of people or objects in your photos to craft its creative ideas. [...] According to Meta's AI Terms around image processing, "once shared, you agree that Meta will analyze those images, including facial features, using AI. This processing allows us to offer innovative new features, including the ability to summarize image contents, modify images, and generate new content based on the image," the text states.
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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the closer-look department: In a year when average air temperatures consistently breached the 1.5C warming threshold, global COâ-equivalent emissions from energy rose by 1%, marking yet another record, the fourth in as many years. From a report: Wind and solar energy alone expanded by an impressive 16% in 2024, nine times faster than total energy demand. Yet this growth did not fully counterbalance rising demand elsewhere, with total fossil fuel use growing by just over 1%, highlighting a transition defined as much by disorder as by progress.
Crude oil demand in OECD countries remained flat, following a slight decline in the previous year. In contrast, non-OECD countries, where much of the world's energy demand growth is concentrated and fossil fuels continue to play a dominant role, saw oil demand rise by 1%. Notably, Chinese crude oil demand fell in 2024 by 1.2%, indicating that 2023 may have reached a peak. Elsewhere, global natural gas demand rebounded, rising by 2.5% as gas markets rebalanced after the 2023 slump. India's demand for coal rose 4% in 2024 and now equals that of the CIS, Southern and Central America, North America, and Europe combined.
Posted by from MMO Champion
Mists of Pandaria Classic: Travel Through Time in the Burdens of Shaohao
Originally Posted by Blizzard
(
Blue Tracker /
Official Forums)
Embark on a journey through the enchanting land of Pandaria, where legends come to life. Relive the epic saga of Shaohao, the last pandaren emperor, through a series of six captivating shorts. Prepare to be immersed in the magic and mystery of this timeless tale as you prepare to venture into Pandaria once more.
The Burdens of Shaohao—Prelude: The Vision
Ten thousand years ago in the ancient empire of Pandaria, Emperor Shaohao asked the Great Waterspeaker to peer into his future. He was eager to hear of the happiness and prosperity his rule would bring. What did the rippling waters foretell?
The Burdens of Shaohao—Part 1: Doubt
Fearing for the future of his people, Emperor Shaohao sought out the Jade Serpent, Spirit of Wisdom, for council. He struggled to find meaning and fell into Doubt. Would the emperor triumph over his inner demons? Watch “The Burdens of Shaohao—Part 1: Doubt” to find out.
The Burdens of Shaohao—Part 2: Despair
Emperor Shaohao pursued his friend with great haste, but one misstep took him from his path. He fought to free himself from the swamp, struggling only making him sink into Despair. Would Shaohao find a way to escape? Watch “The Burdens of Shaohao—Part 2: Despair” to find out.
The Burdens of Shaohao—Part 3: Fear
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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the connectivity-confirmed department: The Supreme Court ruled Friday that the FCC's Universal Service Fund can continue operating, rejecting claims that the program's funding mechanism violates the Constitution. In a 6-3 decision written by Justice Elena Kagan, the court found that Congress did not exceed its authority when it enacted the 1996 law establishing the fund and that the FCC could delegate administration to a private corporation. The Universal Service Fund subsidizes telecommunications services for low-income consumers, rural health care providers, schools and libraries through fees generally passed on to customers that raise billions of dollars annually.
The program is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company, a nonprofit the FCC designated to run the fund. Conservative advocacy group Consumers' Research challenged the structure, arguing that "a private company is taxing Americans in amounts that total billions of dollars every year, under penalty of law, without true governmental accountability."
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Consumers' Research, prompting the FCC to petition the Supreme Court for review. Kagan wrote that Congress "sufficiently guided and constrained the discretion that it lodged with the FCC to implement the universal-service contribution scheme," adding that the FCC "retained all decision-making authority within that sphere." She concluded that "nothing in those arrangements, either separately or together, violates the Constitution." The challengers argued the program violates the "nondelegation doctrine," a conservative legal theory that says Congress has limited powers to delegate its lawmaking authority to the executive branch.
To combat the threat, many airlines are installing wing-mounted spray bottles. 
