Free Republic

“When he posts a five-minute video in Hebrew, in the first 60 seconds, most of the shares are from abroad, and [those] posts happen within about five seconds,” Jonathan Hasidim, of the Scooper research group, told Channel 12. “The strongest [bot-farmers] in the world are the Russians, and the Qataris after that. We’re kids compared to the Russian world, and the Qataris, in terms of changing and shaping consciousness,” an expert in the field, Tal Klinger, told the network.

Simply having a computer-science degree isn't enough as AI replaces low-level coders "The computer science graduates that are going to be successful now are going to be people that understand how software comes together holistically" - Andrew Anagnost, CEO of Autodesk A degree in computer science once carried the promise of stable work, high pay, and a certain level of social status. Now, many entry-level workers are struggling to find jobs. One problem is that the allure of well-paying programming jobs at flashy technology companies made computer science such a popular field that the hiring market is now oversaturated. Another...

The family-owned company that operates The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said on Wednesday that the newspaper will cease publication on Sunday, May 3, signaling the end of a publication whose origins date to 1786. The company, Block Communications, said it had lost more than $350 million over the past 20 years while publishing the newspaper. In a statement, it said the financial pressures facing local journalism had made “continued cash losses at this scale no longer sustainable.” The company cited recent court decisions that required The Post-Gazette to operate under the terms of a 2014-17 labor contract, which it described as imposing...

A simple software setup has become another checkpoint in Microsoft’s expanding web of identity and control.Microsoft’s removal of phone activation for Windows and Office is another signal that the company is locking users into a fully connected, account-bound environment where privacy and ownership steadily fade.In the past, activating Windows could be done privately without linking the computer to any online profile. Users could install the system, call an automated number, and receive a confirmation code. No internet, no account, no tracking.That layer of independence is gone. Today, activation demands a Microsoft account and an active connection to the company’s servers.The...

The Trump administration paused $10 billion of child care funds to California amid widespread fraud claims — and demanded Gov. Gavin Newsom send the feds a list of vendors, contractors and individuals getting tax money. The Department of Health and Human Services will put the brakes on taxpayer funding to the Golden State’s Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program, the Administration for Children and Families said in a series of letters to Newsom dated Tuesday. The CCDF and SSBG letters demanded California turn over “verified...

What if, rather than make a Linux distro that can run Windows apps, you built the whole distro around Windows binaries instead?Loss32 is the most gleefully deranged idea for how to put together a Linux OS that we think we have ever read about in three and a half decades… but it's not impossible. Not only could it be done, there could be real advantages to doing it this way.The idea comes from a blogger and developer known as Hikari no Yume ("Dream of Light" in Japanese) who made it public at the 39th Chaos Communication Congress in Germany at...

Remember when HP made its own CPUs and Unix? We wonder if it doesThe final version of HPE's own flavor of Unix, HP-UX 11i v3, is now out of support. It is the end of a line that started in 1982. According to HPE's HP-UX support matrix, the end of life for the final version was the last day of last year: HP-UX 11i v3 11.31 HPE Integrity: standard support through 31-Dec-2025 The product status is now "Mature Software Product Support without Sustaining Engineering through at least 31-Dec-2028." HPE's version numbers are complex, but the last release of HP-UX that...

Transcript SummaryThe podcast episode is the second installment of "Bot Stoppers," hosted by the creator of Rebunked News. The host announces plans to release episodes every Monday, aiming for consistency, and encourages viewers/listeners to subscribe to his Substack (rebunked.substack.com) for updates, links, and optional paid support.The episode focuses on documenting rapid advancements in robotics and AI, showcasing various recent and notable examples of robotic technology, while discussing potential job displacement and broader implications.Key robotic developments highlighted:Comparison of humanoid robot mobility from 2023 (stiff, jerky movements) to late 2025 (highly fluid, human-like running and agility).Weave Robotics' "Isaac" robot deployed in a...

If the number of features is much greater than the number of samples, avoid over-fitting in choosing Kernel functions and regularization term is crucial.

Kamala Harris on Saturday blasted President Trump for ordering Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro’s capture, calling the move “unlawful and unwise,” which backfired when X users clobbered her in the replies. “Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable,” Harris said in a lengthy X post. She further accused the President of lying to Americans, as well as “putting troops at risk, spending billions, destabilizing a region, and offering no legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home.” Conversely, Joe Biden in 2020 attacked Trump, saying he “admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas...

The phone number on one the Somali day care center does not ring into the center. This is that number 651 201 3400 "Sweet Angel Child Care" A recording comes on but it's not for this child care center. Call it and find out for yourself.

Hiya kids! Hiya, Hiya!Good Morning Crypto-FReepers.I see some of the same old faces out there.But that's OK - I like you anyway.Here's today's quote. I think it's timely.Some of you will complain about the language.But I tell you, it's the way it was written.If anybody needs help, just ask me.Have fun!!! Ha Ha Ha!I'll be good - I will, (like heck) I will. Ha ha ha. QSX GYNEN'H Q YQSX, FI GEBHGI VNKEN, QSX LKN'H Q YQSX P' GYKSN; QSX TN'RR GQJ Q EKLYG LBXN-TKRRKN TQBLYG, VPE QBRX RQSL HISN.- EPONEG OBESHWhere'd I put my magic twanger? Oh, here it...

Quantum computers have made a massive splash over the past years, with quantum computing projects racking up billions of dollars in private and public investment. But according to a small group of physicists, quantum computers will never scale to any meaningful level. Let’s take a look at their reasoning.

Built by a small Italian team, the bot exploded in popularity.Turns out robots can trade, too. A new AI trading bot reportedly flipped a $3,200 investment into $14,158 in just one week, with the receipts to prove it, according to verified trading records and third-party data from MyFxBook. The story doesn’t end with the initial success. Starting from July 2025, with a $1,000 investment, the bot once again stunned traders. By December 2025, it earned a profit of $5,600 — an astonishing 560% gain over the 5-months period. Skepticism was expected... and honestly, deserved. Sure, there are glowing reviews online...

COBOL turned 66 this year and is still in use today. Major retail and commercial banks continue to run core account processing, ATM networks, credit card clearing, and batch end-of-day settlement. On top of that, many payment networks, stock exchanges, and clearinghouses rely on COBOL for high‑volume, high‑reliability batch and online transaction processing on mainframes. Which reminds me, mainframes are still alive and well too. Banking, insurance, governments, inventory management – all the same places you'll find COBOL, you'll find mainframes as well.None of that is as sexy as the latest AI program or the newest cloud-native computing release, but...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3JfOxx6Hh4 In this video, we walk through the anti-consumer AI circlejerk contributing to what we think is an "AI bubble." NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel are now all sort of working with each other, despite also being the only competitors in some of their market segments. This creates opportunity, we think, for price fixing and anti-consumer collusion; at the same time, the three are now crossing over in their partnerships with OpenAI, CoreWeave, Oracle, xAI, and other AI-obsessed companies demanding more AI pickaxes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3JfOxx6Hh4

Over the last year, these online witches have been credited with saving weddings, securing jobs, influencing basketball games and sparking outrage after Charlie Kirk’s death.Katie Begley needed “some good juju” this summer. Begley, a New York-based content creator and fitness instructor, was waiting to hear back about several big work opportunities, including a potential Little Caesars commercial with Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. So she turned to a figure praised online for offering low-stakes help for the price of a latte: an Etsy witch. “It can’t hurt. I love witches. I love magic. I love all of that,” Begley,...

Kapwing reports up to 33% of YouTube feeds are low-quality AI content. Spain and South Korea top in subscribers and views, sparking global concern.Once a fringe term, "AI slop" has become part of the global vocabulary. In 2025, both The Economist and Australia’s Macquarie Dictionary highlighted the phrase as shorthand for the surge of low-quality, auto-generated content flooding the internet — from shallow articles and spammy videos to algorithmic filler produced at scale. That growing frustration has data to back it up.A new report by Kapwing suggests that between 21% and 33% of YouTube feeds, as of October 2025, may...

I have win10 on a couple computers and it turns out they can't be updated to win11

Recently freerepublic stopped loading correctly on my Samsung phone. The spacing between lines are off and the font is too small and can't be adjusted to fit the page correctly. I've tried all the options on the phone, and returned to my carrier to fix it. They claim it has to be a website problem. Is anyone else having this problem, or know how to correct it?