Free Republic

8 min video Boston Dynamics’ advanced humanoid robot, Atlas, is set to begin trial operations in Hyundai Motor Group’s US manufacturing facilities later this year, marking a significant step in integrating cutting-edge robotics into automotive production, the company announced. The all-electric Atlas, capable of performing complex tasks like sorting car parts and maneuvering heavy loads, will be deployed at Hyundai’s Metaplant in Georgia to test its capabilities in real-world factory settings. Atlas, unveiled in its electric form in April 2024, showcases elite athletic abilities, including running, crawling, and cartwheeling, enabled by custom-designed motors. The robot’s deployment comes amid advancements in...

Osmium, the world’s rarest metal, is set to disappear by 2026—driving its price to unprecedented heights and sparking a global crisis. Osmium metal pieces Image credit: Canva | The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel =================================================================== Osmium, the rarest metal on Earth, is drawing increasing attention not only for its unique properties but also for its staggering value. Currently priced at $1,350 per gram, it is already 15 times more valuable than gold. This extraordinary price reflects osmium’s scarcity and the specialized uses it serves, particularly in high-end jewelry, watchmaking, and scientific applications. However, a recent report has sent shockwaves through...

A yearslong malicious cyber operation spearheaded by the notorious Chinese state actor, APT 41, has siphoned off an estimated trillions in intellectual property theft from approximately 30 multinational companies within the manufacturing, energy and pharmaceutical sectors.A new report by Boston-based cybersecurity firm, Cybereason, has unearthed a malicious campaign — dubbed Operation CuckooBees — exfiltrating hundreds of gigabytes of intellectual property and sensitive data, including blueprints, diagrams, formulas, and manufacturing-related proprietary data from multiple intrusions, spanning technology and manufacturing companies in North America, Europe, and Asia. "We're talking about Blueprint diagrams of fighter jets, helicopters, and missiles," Cybereason CEO Lior Div...

To hear local Realtors tell it, losing a few bidding wars is a rite of passage for any prospective homebuyer in Rochester, N.Y.In the western New York city, homes typically go from listed to under contract in a matter of days. A well-kept home can command dozens of offers. Listing prices might as well be starting bids. Agents often advise clients surfing online listings to set their price filters well below what they actually hope to pay, to account for the inevitable bidding wars.

What is PCPartPicker?PCPartPicker is a popular online platform that assists users in selecting compatible PC components, such as CPUs, motherboards, RAM, graphics cards, power supplies, storage devices, and more. It offers a user-friendly interface with powerful tools that help streamline the process of building a PC. Key features of PCPartPicker include:Component Compatibility Checking: PCPartPicker automatically checks the compatibility of selected components to ensure they work together seamlessly.Price Comparison: It provides real-time price comparisons from various retailers, allowing users to find the best deals on components.Build Guides: PCPartPicker offers pre-configured build guides for different budgets and purposes, making it easier for...

We’re talking Windows 10, of course, which will soon retire from service. “On October 14, 2025,” Microsoft has just confirmed, again, “Windows 10 PCs will no longer receive feature or security updates, increasing security risks and operational challenges.” Microsoft is taking this opportunity to push Copilot+ PCs, complete with a raft of new AI tools including its controversial Recall. But the primary benefit is the upgrade to Windows 11, which combines with a compatible PCs security module to better protect against all those threats targeting the world of Windows.Those using Windows 11, Microsoft says, “have reported a 62% drop in...

...A new round of security features scheduled to appear in Windows 11 over the next year will address more fundamental security concerns.... The biggest security issue is that the overwhelming majority of Windows users run using an account with administrator privileges. .. The fix is a feature called Administrator Protection, which gives the user standard permissions by default. If they need to perform an action that requires administrator rights, such as installing an app or changing a system setting, they'll need to authenticate using Windows Hello biometrics or a device-specific PIN. That authorization creates a temporary token that is valid...

Initially announced in May 2024, the controversial AI tool was branded a privacy and security nightmare right out of the gate due to how the feature stored the data it collected locally on the PC.This resulted in Microsoft being forced to pull Recall from launch just days before it was supposed to. The company has since worked to address the security issuesWindows Recall is a feature that captures everything you do on your PC via snapshots, and stores them securely on your PC.The Recall app lets you triage and view these snapshots, going as far back as you like. The...

Recently, I learned of two phenomena: that people today actually publish books almost entirely written by artificial intelligence and that AI programs, rather than admitting ignorance, may sometimes “hallucinate” a plausible sounding answer. I’ve now experienced both. My journey into Münchhausen’s AI Syndrome began with my own very flawed human memory. Many years ago I read a short science fiction story in an old anthology that is now long lost. It made a deep impression on me, but I’m unable to recall the title or author. Suddenly the thought struck me, perhaps Elon Musk’s synthetic AI brainchild Grok could collate...

PC repair chap turned pet detective to diagnose the defectiveOn Call The unconditional love of a pet is often a solace, and perhaps never more so than at the end of a busy working week. Which is when The Register competes with the animal kingdom for your affection by delivering a new edition of On Call, our Friday column in which we share your stories of scratching out a living delivering tech support. This week, meet a reader we'll Regomize as "Walt" who fixes computers. "One day a client came in and complained that her laptop would not turn on."...

In a new advancement for brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, Brad Smith, the first nonverbal patient to receive Neuralink’s brain implant, has demonstrated how he edited and narrated video footage using only his brain signals. Smith is currently living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that impairs voluntary muscle control. In the video posted on YouTube last month, he demonstrated how he relies on Neuralink for all forms of communication. Smith is now the third person in the world to receive Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip, and the first with ALS. In January, Musk seemingly confirmed Smith’s participation...

His last retweet, on April 14, slams the Trump administration's deportation of undocumented migrant and Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador. The post reads: 'Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?' Pope Leo XIV also shared several articles that address Catholic JD Vance's stance on immigration. One of them is titled: 'JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others.'

The co-founder of the open-source company Nextcloud reminds us that the free software philosophy that’s the foundation of open source is much more than a software development model.Installfest hosted by the Rutgers University Student Linux Users’ Group in 2005.Open Source has won. Seriously. The Linux Foundation found in a study in 2022 that 70-90% of all code bases are made up of open source. Black Duck reported in 2023 that 96% of all software projects contain at least some open source. So we’re everywhere, we’re done.Cue the famous XKCD dependency comic.This picture is sadly very realistic. The median open source...

Apple is going to add AI search providers to the Safari browser on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Bloomberg reports Apple SVP Eddy Cue made the disclosure in court testimony today, stating “we will add them to the list — they probably won’t be the default” in reference to providers like Perplexity and Anthropic. Cue also revealed that the number of searches through Safari fell for the first time ever in April, suggesting users are looking to AI sources as alternative ways to find information. Through its lucrative deal with Google and other search engines, Apple gets a cut of ad...

Clothing Made in USALuggage Made in USACookwear Made in USAFurniture Made in USAGifts Made in USATools Made in USAFootwear Made in USAand many more

With Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 in October 2025, millions of Windows 10 users will be left behind by the company. Upgrades to Windows 11 may be out of the question, due to stricter system requirements. While these can be bypassed, many Windows 10 users may lack the expertise to do so. This leaves Microsoft's recommendation to buy a new Windows 11 PC or subscribe to one year of extended security updates as the only options that Microsoft highlights in its recommendations. There are at least two additional options available to users, but Microsoft makes no mention of them....

Chinese tech giant Huawei is reportedly ready to test a new artificial-intelligence chip to compete with Nvidia — but the U.S. chipmaker shouldn’t be too concerned, according to one analyst. Huawei is looking to test its Ascend 910D chip with fellow homegrown tech companies and is expected to get its first samples of the chips next month, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed people described as familiar with the matter. The Chinese company, which was added to the U.S. Entity List in 2019, reportedly is aiming to take on Nvidia Corp.’s H100 chips, which are used to train some...

Despite its dark image, the dark web is not entirely criminal. Human rights organizations use the platform to circumvent government censorship and spread life-saving information.As social media networks continue to attract more users and as we get increasingly addicted to them, a new phenomenon is emerging: new underground movements that are changing cities and raising concerns. While most people are busy documenting every detail of their lives, some are heading in the opposite direction. In the streets of Tel Aviv, New York, and Berlin, secret communities have been sprouting in recent years – groups of activists and change-seekers who prefer...

A bit of a surprise for you as you enter your weekend: somewhere around 20% to 30% of Microsoft’s code in “repos”, according to CEO Satya Nadella, is written by artificial intelligence (AI). This is, perhaps, not quite as surprising as it could be—at Meta Platforms , it is actually closer to half—but it still made investors take notice. Shares of Microsoft gained nearly 2.5% in the closing minutes of Friday’s trading. While at LlamaCon, Nadella noted the figure in question, and noted that that number was not standing still, either. In fact, the proportion of code written by AI...

Microsoft is optimistic that our reliance on passwords is coming to a close. Microsoft is once again moving closer to a passwordless future. In a bold step toward embracing passkeys – which uses cryptography to better protect data from hackers and phishing scams – new Microsoft accounts will now be passwordless by default. Instead, the company will issue a prompt to set up passkeys as part of an effort to make the process more secure. The need to get a better grasp on password protection comes at a time when many big tech companies are pushing to eliminate passwords altogether....