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Not sure what to make of this, perhaps people more knowledgeable about computers than I can add some insight: I opened up my Lenovo laptop, I had not shut it down over night, just closed the screen. I could faintly hear music and some background noise. It sounded as if I was listening to a phone, that had been left off the hook with the line open. I had no programs running. I then shut down and restarted. Problem went away. I do subscribe to a computer help system that has in the past come into my computer to resolve...

Walmart is reportedly laying off more than 100 employees in its technology offices in Silicon Valley, part of larger corporate layoffs across the country. The company’s tech workers in the San Francisco Bay Area are being axed as part of Walmart’s plan to lay off around 1,500 corporate employees across the country, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle. Positions within Walmart’s global technology, U.S. e-commerce fulfillment, and advertising divisions will reportedly also be hit as a result of the company being restructured. The company, however, did not disclose all of the locations that will be affected.

Reporting Highlights Temp to Permanent: There’s periodic debate over the 120,000 foreigners annually awarded temporary H-1B visas, but almost no attention to the process by which many receive green cards. Filled, Then Verified: Foreign workers are eligible for permanent residency only when no U.S. citizens can do the job — but companies confirm that after foreigners have been employed as temps. Lost in Print: The law also requires that companies advertise these jobs in the classified ads of Sunday print newspapers, decreasing the chances that U.S. applicants see the listing. It’s a tough time for the rank-and-file tech worker or...

I have been using this TP-Link router for 9 years. In the beginning years, it ran without any problems or freezes. Last 6 months, it froze once every day like clockwork. Every morning I had to reboot by unplugging and plugging power. Usually it only froze once every day. On rare occasions it froze twice in a day but that was rare. I was getting ready to buy a new one thinking it is just getting old.. But.... Strangely, during last two weeks it has not frozen or crashed even once! Nothing has changed. Same PC's and phones and security...

Tax bods characterize it more as a brainstorming session, says Elon's unit wasn't involvedCongressional Democrats are again demanding answers from a federal agency over whether DOGE's latest tech makeover could put taxpayer data at risk. The latest please-explain-this-DOGE-activity letter letter [PDF] landed yesterday on the desk of the Internal Revenue Service's acting inspector general, Heather Hill. It is from Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and perennial DOGE gadfly. This time, Connolly is demanding answers about a 30-day "hackathon" reportedly launched last month by DOGE staffers embedded at the IRS, in...

If you have an ounce of historical awareness (and basic empathy), the name “Guantánamo Bay” triggers images of torture and pain. It’s a site where the deprivation of the powers that be has been on full display. But what if Guantánamo wasn’t such a downer? What if it became a “prosperous charter city”? That’s the proposal coming from the most recent group of libertarian tech weirdos trying to rebrand Guantanamo with the help of a little modern-day slave labor. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has been courted by several groups proposing “charter”, “startup”, or “freedom” cities in the United...

An Oregon bill that would require big tech companies including Google and Meta to pay money to local newsrooms and journalists is steadily advancing despite protests from tech industry groups. The latest version of Senate Bill 686 would require companies of Google’s magnitude to pay at least $104 million annually to Oregon newsrooms and journalism programs. Companies of Meta’s scope would pay at least $18 million. Alternatively, companies could choose to undergo an arbitration process to determine a different payment amount. Lawmakers from both parties and numerous Oregon publishers have said the bill would be a financial lifeline for newsrooms...

... They're masking IPs, exporting laptop farms to America so they can connect into those machines and appear to be working from the USA, and they are using AI – but there's a question during job interviews that never fails to catch them out and forces them to drop out of the recruitment process. "My favorite interview question, because we've interviewed quite a few of these folks, is something to the effect of 'How fat is Kim Jong Un?' They terminate the call instantly, because it's not worth it to say something negative about that," he told a panel session...

This week, Silicon Valley heavyweights mingled with top Trump administration officials at a conference at the Ritz-Carlton in Miami. The event was hosted by the Rockbridge Network, a secretive yet increasingly powerful organization at the center of business, technology, and Republican politics. Those in attendance included venture capitalists Chamath Palihapitiya and Keith Rabois, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and real estate developer-turned-United States Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. The Rockbridge Network was founded in 2019 by now-Vice President J.D. Vance and financier Chris...

The entire staff of the Defense Digital Service (DDS), the Pentagon’s decade-old technology development office, is leaving by the start of May, with nearly all individuals resigning, a current member of the office confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday. The mass exodus, first reported by Politico, means the service will effectively shutter in less than a month. Of the 14 members of the office, a dozen including Director Jennifer Hay have requested the Trump administration’s deferred resignation option and plan to leave by May 1. Two other staffers are also leaving in that time frame. “Although DDS was excited to...

On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Ingraham Angle,” White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz stated that it is odd that Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who has “gone to just all kinds of lengths to lie and smear the president of the United States, and he’s the one that, somehow, gets on somebody’s contact and then gets sucked into this group.” He also stated that Goldberg wasn’t on his phone, “a staffer wasn’t responsible. And, look, I take full responsibility.” Waltz also said that Goldberg’s contact “looked like someone else. Now, whether he did it deliberately or it...

The European Parliament has, once again, found itself at the heart of a corruption scandal, this time involving the Chinese tech giant Huawei. Police raids have been carried out across Belgium and Portugal amid suspicions of bribery, forgery, money laundering, and organized criminal activity. The European Parliament’s latest corruption scandal unfolds even as the previous one—the so-called ‘Qatargate’ affair—remains under investigation and litigation, further deepening preexisting concerns about foreign influence in EU institutions. The Qatargate scandal, which surfaced more than two years ago, involves allegations that Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), lobbyists, and their families accepted substantial sums of...

For almost a year I have been emphasizing the fact that the DemoKKKrats have two major internal civil wars, neither of which they could win without massive electoral damage to the party. Civil War #1 was the Pale/Hamas vs. Jewish/Israel civil war. The DemoKKKrats cannot come down too hard on the Hamas Murder Pirates without losing---as they did in Michigan in November---their Muslim support. Trump didn't have to do anything except promise some generic version of peace. He did not overtly side with Israel, even though that is in fact where his support lies. DemoKKKrats unfortunately for us cannot alienate...

Users beware: This ransomware poses a threat to precious data. The FBI has issued a warning regarding malicious malware that demands a ransom from victims in order to release their data. Dubbed “Medusa,” the “ransomware-as-a-service” has affected more than 300 known people “from a variety of critical infrastructure sectors” since it was first discovered in 2021, according to a recent advisory penned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center. In order to protect themselves, people can follow the agencies’ tips and tricks for securing accounts and personal...

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has pushed for a massive upgrade of the Federal Aviation Administration, claiming their computer system still uses 'floppy discs.' As the nation is reeling from recent plane crashes, Duffy sounded the alarm on the antiquated FAA claiming there are systems in the network 'that are run on floppy discs.' 'The systems that we use are so old. I need the Congress to move faster with us. We can't wait four years, six years, 10 years. We have to do it right now,' Duffy told CBS News. Donald Trump's Administration has set its sights on replacing the...

Thank you for the kind introduction. I want to start by thanking President Macron for hosting the event and of course, for the lovely dinner last night. During the dinner, President Macron looked at me and asked if I would like to speak, and I said, "Mr. President, I'm here for the good company and free wine, but I have to earn my keep today." I, of course, want to thank Prime Minister Modi for being here and for co-hosting the summit, and all of you for participating. I'm not here this morning to talk about AI safety, which was...

Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson 🚨BREAKING: The Biden administration’s CBP One app, which facilitated the transportation of over 1 million illegal immigrants on domestic flights, has been officially shut down. 12:25 PM · Jan 20, 2025

Unfair. Astonishing. Un-American. That is how tech entrepreneur Jeff Atwood sees the staggering wealth inequality in the U.S. today. In response, he and his family have pledged to give away half their wealth within five years, starting with $1 million gifts to eight nonprofits this month. His warning about the dangers of growing inequity was echoed by outgoing President Joe Biden in his final primetime speech Wednesday. “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get...

Former Trump White House advisor turned MAGA-world podcaster, Steve Bannon, remained unconvinced on Monday that Mark Zuckerberg’s latest moves at Meta mean the CEO has actually bought into any of President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda or the MAGA movement. Zuckerberg raised eyebrows and grabbed headlines last week when he announced that Meta would do away with its fact-checking and phase in a “more comprehensive community note system” – as Elon Musk’s X has done. Zuckerberg also said Meta would move its “trust and safety and content moderation teams out of California, and our US-based content review is going to be based...

US President-elect Donald Trump has invited world leaders to his inauguration breaking with traditional US foreign policy where it is not customary for world leaders to attend the US President’s formal ascension ceremony to the Oval Office. Trump invited Chinese President Xi Jinping who is not attending but is likely to send a highly placed envoy which could either be Han Zheng, vice president and foreign minister Wang Yi. It is yet to be confirmed who shall attend. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be representing the Indian government. The Trump-Vance inaugural committee, which is organizing the swearing-in ceremony for...