Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the new-purpose-in-life department: UK Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has written to the UK's national institute for AI to tell its bosses to refocus on defense and security. BBC: In a letter, Kyle said boosting the UK's AI capabilities was "critical" to national security and should be at the core of the Alan Turing Institute's activities. Kyle suggested the institute should overhaul its leadership team to reflect its "renewed purpose."

The cabinet minister said further government investment in the institute would depend on the "delivery of the vision" he had outlined in the letter. A spokesperson for the Alan Turing Institute said it welcomed "the recognition of our critical role and will continue to work closely with the government to support its priorities." Further reading, from April: Alan Turing Institute Plans Revamp in Face of Criticism and Technological Change.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the tone-deaf department: An anonymous reader shares a report: The sweeping layoffs announced by Microsoft this week have been especially hard on its gaming studios, but one Xbox executive has a solution to "help reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss": seek advice from AI chatbots.

In a now-deleted LinkedIn post captured by Aftermath, Xbox Game Studios' Matt Turnbull said that he would be "remiss in not trying to offer the best advice I can under the circumstances." The circumstances here being a slew of game cancellations, services being shuttered, studio closures, and job cuts across key Xbox divisions as Microsoft lays off as many as 9,100 employees across the company.

Turnbull acknowledged that people have some "strong feelings" about AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot, but suggested that anybody who's feeling "overwhelmed" could use them to get advice about creating resumes, career planning, and applying for new roles.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the score-takes-care-of-itself department: Windows 11 has finally overtaken the market share of its predecessor, with just three months remaining until Microsoft discontinues support for Windows 10. From a report: As of today, July's StatCounter figures show the market share of Windows 11 at 50.24 percent, with Windows 10 at 46.84 percent. It's a far cry from a year ago, when Windows 10 stood at 66.04 percent and Windows 11 languished at 29.75 percent.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the closer-look department: Software developer Anton Zaides argues that software engineers have had it easy over the decades and the "best profession" on earth deserved the wake up call. He writes:It's not just one of the hardest times, it's also one of the most exciting.

I'm hugely optimistic about the software engineering career. All those companies started by vibe-coders all around you? Many will succeed, and will need great engineers to scale up.

Some engineers understand this, and use the chance to skill up. To succeed, you'll probably need all the skills of an engineer, some of a PM, and even a bit of design taste. It's not just about shipping code anymore.

But if you work as a code monkey, getting detailed tickets and just shipping them, you've done this to yourself. You won't be needed pretty soon.

I believe there are too many mediocre engineers, but also not enough great ones.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the no-longer-hypothetical department: Climate change is already having an impact on companies around the world. More than half of companies surveyed by Morgan Stanley experienced climate-related operational disruptions within the past year, including increased costs, worker disruption and revenue losses. Extreme heat and storms caused the most frequent disruptions, followed by wildfires and smoke, water shortages, and flooding.

The US spent nearly $1 trillion on disaster recovery and climate-related needs over the past year, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysis, while nearly two-thirds of Tampa metro businesses reported losses from hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Posted by Black Convoy from TFW2005


We are catching up with some recent Transformers sightings in the UK, thanks to our fellow 2005 Boards member and UK residents: More Than Meets The Eye Collection Transformers Devastation Elite Seeker & Ground Soldier 2-Pack – It was spotted at a Smyths store in North Wales by renkencen. Cyberworld Stomp And Battle Grimlock – One of the biggest Cyberworld toys was spotted at the same Smyths store in North Wales by renkencen. Age Of The Primes Wave 2 Deluxe – Vortex was found at Smyths St. Helens by cynw32618. Alchemist Prime showed up at Smyths Wigan as reported by Accelerate. Age Of The Primes Wave 2 Voyager – Heatwave » Continue Reading.

The post Transformers Devastation Elite Seeker & Ground Soldier 2-Pack, Age Of The Primes Wave 2 Deluxe & Voyager And Cyberworld Chomp & Battle Grimlock Out In The UK appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the stranger-things department: Researchers have discovered that appending irrelevant phrases like "Interesting fact: cats sleep most of their lives" to math problems can cause state-of-the-art reasoning AI models to produce incorrect answers at rates over 300% higher than normal [PDF]. The technique -- dubbed "CatAttack" by teams from Collinear AI, ServiceNow, and Stanford University -- exploits vulnerabilities in reasoning models including DeepSeek R1 and OpenAI's o1 family. The adversarial triggers work across any math problem without changing the problem's meaning, making them particularly concerning for security applications.

The researchers developed their attack method using a weaker proxy model (DeepSeek V3) to generate text triggers that successfully transferred to more advanced reasoning models. Testing on 225 math problems showed the triggers increased error rates significantly across different problem types, with some models like R1-Distill-Qwen-32B reaching combined attack success rates of 2.83 times baseline error rates. Beyond incorrect answers, the triggers caused models to generate responses up to three times longer than normal, creating computational slowdowns. Even when models reached correct conclusions, response lengths doubled in 16% of cases, substantially increasing processing costs.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the end-of-road department: Newspaper Pakistan Today: In a significant moment for Pakistan's technology sector, Microsoft has officially shut down its operations in the country, concluding a 25-year journey that began with high hopes for digital transformation and global partnership.

The move, confirmed by employees and media sources, marks the quiet departure of the software giant, which had launched its Pakistan presence in June 2000. The last remaining employees were formally informed of the closure in recent days, signalling the end of an era that saw Microsoft play a key role in developing local talent, building enterprise partnerships, and promoting digital literacy across sectors.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the uncertain-future department: Valve has achieved near-total dominance of PC gaming distribution through Steam, but the victory appears to have left the company adrift, Financial Times argues. The platform controls an estimated 70% of PC game sales while generating billions in revenue, yet Valve releases major new games at what observers call a "glacial pace."

Founder Gabe Newell has largely retreated from the company's operations, reportedly living at sea on one of his five ships and pursuing side projects like brain-computer interface startup Starfish Neuroscience. The much-anticipated third Half-Life game became "the video game equivalent of Samuel Beckett's Godot" before being quietly cancelled.

Attempts to challenge Steam have failed repeatedly. Epic Games Store, powered by Fortnite's success, "has failed to really impact Steam in any meaningful way," according to industry analysts. Microsoft runs what analysts describe as a "somewhat unambitious store," while EA shut down its Origin launcher earlier this year. Gaming analyst Michael Pachter notes that major tech companies could displace Valve "but nobody cares" enough to mount a serious challenge.

Court documents suggest Steam's revenues will exceed $10 billion next year, leaving Valve with unprecedented profits but unclear direction for a company that appears to have run out of worlds to conquer.

Posted by Randall Munroe from XKCD
Low gravity can cause bone loss, so we're pleased to report that, since we initiated capsule motion, the number of bones in each crew member has been steadily increasing.

Posted by Mechafire from TFW2005


Another rumor coming to us this morning is claiming that a Missing Link Nemesis Prime may be coming, presumably a repaint of the previous Optimus release, and that it’ll be the first Decepticon in the line. No other details for now but you can let us know if you’d be interested in the discussion thread.

The post Rumor: Missing Link Nemesis Prime Coming? appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by from MMO Champion
Enter the World of Warcraft Cosplay Contest at Gamescom 2025!

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

World of Warcraft is returning to gamescom 2025, and so is our traditional Cosplay Contest!

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On Saturday 23 August at 15:00 CEST, step into the spotlight at the World of Warcraft booth in Hall 8 and bring your character to life. Whether you’re a stoic footman of Stormwind, a member of the Forsaken, or just a lone murloc looking to make a little mayhem, this is your moment to shine. Glory, epic prizes, and the cheers of the crowd await!

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How to Enter

Participates age 13 and older will need to fill out the official entry form below before 21 July 2025. Once the form closes, no further entries will be accepted.

Apply Here!

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Terms and Conditions

< This article continues on their website >

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the keeping-count department: The US dollar is on track for its worst year in modern history and may not be done falling yet. The greenback is down more than 7% this year and Morgan Stanley predicts it could fall another 10%. Semafor: A weaker dollar could make US exports more competitive, boosting Trump's plan to rebalance US trade, but makes imports more expensive, adding to the sting of tariffs.

The question ahead is whether the dollar doesn't just lose its value, but its role at the center of the global financial system. So far, there are few alternatives. And efforts to de-dollarize -- central banks shifting into gold, China shoveling its currency into developing nations through swap lines -- haven't meaningfully shifted the picture.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the science-censorship department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: Websites that displayed legally mandated U.S. national climate assessments seem to have disappeared, making it harder for state and local governments and the public to learn what to expect in their backyards from a warming world. Scientists said the peer-reviewed authoritative reports save money and lives. Websites for the national assessments and the U.S. Global Change Research Program were down Monday and Tuesday with no links, notes or referrals elsewhere. The White House, which was responsible for the assessments, said the information will be housed within NASA to comply with the law, but gave no further details. Searches for the assessments on NASA websites did not turn them up.

"It's critical for decision makers across the country to know what the science in the National Climate Assessment is. That is the most reliable and well-reviewed source of information about climate that exists for the United States," said University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs, who coordinated the 2014 version of the report. "It's a sad day for the United States if it is true that the National Climate Assessment is no longer available," Jacobs said. "This is evidence of serious tampering with the facts and with people's access to information, and it actually may increase the risk of people being harmed by climate-related impacts."

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Posted by Mechafire from TFW2005


We have an interesting rumor this 4th of July morning from reliable leaker 塞伯坦国际庄分坦, this time claiming that the the MPM line – which has been on hiatus for some time now (with rumors having previously circulated about it being outright cancelled) – has been revived, and that its returning figure will be ROTF Sideswipe. Take it with a grain of salt as no other details are provided, but for now you can let us know if you’d be interested and also let us know what other characters you’d like to see in the discussion thread.

The post Rumor: MPM Line Revived, ROTF Sideswipe Coming? appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the last-of-them department: Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross, two pivotal creative forces behind HBO's The Last of Us adaptation, have stepped away from the series before work begins on Season 3. Druckmann is focusing on new projects at Naughty Dog, while Gross hinted at other upcoming creative endeavors, leaving showrunner Craig Mazin at the helm. Ars Technica reports: Both were credited as executive producers on the show; Druckmann frequently contributed writing to episodes, as did Gross, and Druckmann also directed. Druckmann and Gross co-wrote the second game, The Last of Us Part 2.

Druckmann said in his announcement post: "I've made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO. With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative. Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. It's been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct and write on the last two seasons. I'm deeply thankful for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting The Last of Us Part I and the continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II."

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Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the meat-machines department: alternative_right shares a report from ScienceAlert: The world's first commercial hybrid of silicon circuitry and human brain cells will soon be available for rent. Marketed for its vast potential in medical research, the biological machine, grown inside a British laboratory, builds on the Pong-playing prototype, DishBrain. Each CL1 computer is formed of 800,000 neurons grown across a silicon chip, and their life-support system. While it can't yet match the mind-blowing capabilities of today's most powerful computers, the system has one very significant advantage: it only consumes a fraction of the energy of comparable technologies.

AI centers now consume countries' worth of energy, whereas a rack of CL1 machines only uses 1,000 watts and is naturally capable of adapting and learning in real time. [...] When neuroscientist Brett Kagan and colleagues pitted their creation against equivalent levels of machine learning algorithms, the cell culture systems outperformed them. Users can send code directly into the synthetically supported system of neurons, which is capable of responding to electrical signals almost instantly. These signals act as bits of information that can be read and acted on by the cells. But perhaps the greatest potential for this biological and synthetic hybrid is as an experimental tool for learning more about our own brains and their abilities, from neuroscience to creativity. The first CL1 units will reportedly ship soon for $35,000 each. Remote access can apparently be rented for $300 per week.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the creating-a-buzz department: Beeftopia shares a report from CBS News: The U.S. government is preparing to breed billions of flies and dump them out of airplanes over Mexico and southern Texas to fight a flesh-eating maggot. That sounds like the plot of a horror movie, but it is part of the government's plans for protecting the U.S. from a bug that could devastate its beef industry, decimate wildlife and even kill household pets. This weird science has worked well before.

The targeted pest is the flesh-eating larva of the New World Screwworm fly. The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to ramp up the breeding and distribution of adult male flies -- sterilizing them with radiation before releasing them. They mate with females in the wild, and the eggs laid by the female aren't fertilized and don't hatch. There are fewer larvae, and over time, the fly population dies out. It is more effective and environmentally friendly than spraying the pest into oblivion, and it is how the U.S. and other nations north of Panama eradicated the same pest decades ago. Sterile flies from a factory in Panama kept the flies contained there for years, but the pest appeared in southern Mexico late last year. [...]

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Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the trust-issues department: BrianFagioli shares a report from NERDS.xyz: A new academic study has found that the 2016 Wells Fargo scandal pushed many consumers toward fintech lenders instead of traditional banks. The research, published in the Journal of Financial Economics, suggests that it was a lack of trust rather than interest rates or fees that drove this behavioral shift. Conducted by Keer Yang, an assistant professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, the study looked closely at what happened after the Wells Fargo fraud erupted into national headlines. Bank employees were caught creating millions of unauthorized accounts to meet unrealistic sales goals. The company faced $3 billion in penalties and a massive public backlash.

Yang analyzed Google Trends data, Gallup polls, media coverage, and financial transaction datasets to draw a clear conclusion. In geographic areas with a strong Wells Fargo presence, consumers became measurably more likely to take out mortgages through fintech lenders. This change occurred even though loan costs were nearly identical between traditional banks and digital lenders. In other words, it was not about money. It was about trust. That simple fact hits hard. When big institutions lose public confidence, people do not just complain. They start moving their money elsewhere.

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Posted by from MMO Champion
Baa'lial Soulstone Pet Hotfix - Now Sellable to Vendors

The Dastardly Duos and Greedy Emissary events come with a flood of event-related items that can quickly clutter your bags. In a hotfix pushed earlier today, Blizzard made the Baa'lial Soulstone pet sellable to vendors, which is great news if you've been getting a few too many.

However, other event-related items have not received a similar treatment. The 13 lucky charms from the Diablo-themed event remain unsellable, and Dastardly Duos items like the Bullhorn of Calling, Master Key, Burner Clock, and BIG Burner Clock also cannot be sold to vendors. On top of that, these items can only stack up to 5 or 10 times, taking up quite a lot of space if you're constantly queueing for Dastardly Duos to push your score or unlock upgrades for the Winner's Podium toy.