Author: Samuel Alejandro

KDE Plasma is set to roll out significant updates, including a system-wide push-to-talk feature that allows users to mute and unmute their microphones across all applications. Additionally, Plasma 6.6.0 will introduce a new graphical process priority manager, and Plasma 6.7.0 will enhance the Brightness & Color widget with a light/dark mode toggle, bringing a suite of improvements that many operating systems currently lack.

The Charmera will probably disappoint with every shutter press, but it’s oozing with charm that’s hard to resist.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has initiated an investigation into xAI, the company behind the Grok AI model, following widespread reports of its use in generating nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfakes of women and children. The probe will examine whether xAI violated state law by facilitating the creation and dissemination of such content, particularly through Grok’s “spicy mode.” This action coincides with the recent unanimous Senate passage of the DEFIANCE Act, a bill aimed at providing civil recourse for victims of nonconsensual deepfakes.

The largest parrot rescue in eastern Ontario is launching a pilot project to help address what experts are calling a parrot crisis. CTV’s Katelyn Wilson reports.

The prospect of humanoid robots performing household tasks is generating excitement, particularly in Silicon Valley, where they are viewed as the next major advancement in AI. However, many of these human-like machines still face challenges with basic functions like grasping objects or watering plants, prompting questions about their readiness for home integration.

The 2025 Mozilla Ventures Portfolio Convening brought together founders to discuss critical challenges in technology, particularly concerning AI. Key themes included the strategic importance of open source, the competitive advantage of community building, the necessity of ethical design as core infrastructure, and overcoming fear as a barrier to adoption. This report highlights how a new generation of founders is building responsible, trustworthy, and inclusive technology.

Google DeepMind and Google Research have launched Weather Lab, an interactive platform featuring an experimental AI-based tropical cyclone model. This model aims to significantly improve the accuracy of cyclone predictions, including formation, track, intensity, size, and shape, up to 15 days in advance. Partnering with the U.S. National Hurricane Center, the AI model demonstrates accuracy comparable to, and often exceeding, current physics-based methods, offering a substantial advancement in forecasting lead time for critical disaster preparedness.

This tutorial details building a status monitoring application from scratch using Go. It covers probing services, detecting outages, sending alerts, tracking incidents, exposing metrics for Prometheus and Grafana, and running the entire system in Docker. The application, named ‘StatusD’, is designed for proactive incident response.

Learn how Apple’s Contact Key Verification feature enhances security for iMessage users, helping to prevent impersonation and ensure you’re communicating with the right person.

The Alliwava GH8 mini PC features the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor, offering a significant upgrade over previous models. While it provides decent performance and expansion options in a compact, VESA-mountable design, it has some drawbacks, including unlabelled ports and only one USB4 port. The system balances affordability with enhanced capabilities, making it a versatile choice for various uses, though some technical choices, like a Gen 3 SSD in a Gen 4 slot, slightly hinder its potential.