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Qatar Helium Shutdown Puts Chip Supply Chain On a Two-Week Clock Iranian drone strikes shut down a major helium facility in Qatar, removing about 30% of global helium supply and raising concerns for the semiconductor industry, which relies on the gas for chip fabrication. "QatarEnergy declared force majeure on existing contracts on March 4, freeing it from supply obligations to customers," reports Tom's Hardware. The industry outlet Gasworld reports that no imminent restart is planned. From the report: Helium consultant Phil Kornbluth, speaking at a Gasworld webinar on March 4, said that if the outage extends beyond roughly two weeks, industrial gas distributors could be forced to relocate cryogenic equipment and revalidate supplier relationships, a process that could stretch over months regardless of when Qatari output resumes. South Korea is among the most exposed countries, which, according to the Korea International Trade Association, imported 64.7% of its helium from Qatar in 2025. The country relies heavily on helium imports to cool silicon wafers during fabrication and is understood to have no viable substitute. The country's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources has reportedly launched an investigation into supply and demand for 14 semiconductor materials and equipment types with high dependence on Middle Eastern sources, Nikkei reported on Wednesday. Bromine, which is used in circuit formation, is another big concern, with South Korea sourcing 90% of its imports from Israel, also party to the ongoing conflict in Iran. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Qatar+Helium+Shutdown+Puts…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.s…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/13/190216/qatar-hel… at Slashdot. https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/13/190216/qatar-hel…

Meta Delays Rollout of New AI Model After Performance Concerns Meta has delayed the release of its next major AI model after internal tests showed it lagging behind competing systems from Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. The New York Times reports: The model, code-named Avocado, outperformed Meta's previous A.I. model and did better than Google's Gemini 2.5 model from March, two of the people said. But it has not performed as strongly as Gemini 3.0 from November, they said. As a result, Meta has delayed Avocado's release to at least May from this month, the people said. They added that the leaders of Meta's A.I. division had instead discussed temporarily licensing Gemini to power the company's A.I. products, though no decisions have been reached. [...] It takes time to improve A.I. models, and Meta can still catch up to rivals, A.I. experts said. But a longer timeline has set in at the company, with Mr. Zuckerberg tempering expectations for Avocado in the past few months. "I expect our first models will be good, but more importantly will show the rapid trajectory we're on," he said on a call with investors in January. A Meta spokesperson said in a statement: "As we've said publicly, our next model will be good but, more importantly, show the rapid trajectory we're on, and then we'll steadily push the frontier over the course of the year as we continue to release new models. We're excited for people to see what we've been cooking very soon." <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Meta+Delays+Rollout+of+New…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.s…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/13/1756229/meta-del… at Slashdot. https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/13/1756229/meta-del…

Live Nation Execs Brag About 'Robbing' Ticket Buyers In Slack DMs An anonymous reader quotes a report from Pitchfork: Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice and Live Nation reached a settlement in the DOJ's antitrust lawsuit against the concert giant. During the trial, which lasted only a week, representatives for Live Nation had moved to exclude a collection of Slack direct messages from 2022 between two of the company's regional directors from the evidence presented to the jury. Bloomberg and a number of other publications have, as of today (March 12), successfully petitioned New York federal judge Arun Subramanian to release the chats. The conversations are between Ben Baker, now head of ticketing for Venue Nation, and Jeff Weinhold, currently a senior director in the ticketing department. Baker and Weinhold joke about overcharging and price-gouging fans -- "Robbing them blind, baby," Baker brags in one exchange pertaining to a Kid Rock show in Tampa Bay -- as well as being able to raise prices on ancillary services such as parking seemingly at will. "These people are so stupid," Baker writes. "I almost feel bad taking advantage of them BAHAHAHAHAHA." Live Nation described the messages as "off-the-cuff banter, not policy, decision-making, or facts of consequence." In a statement the company has since added: "The Slack exchange from one junior staffer to a friend absolutely doesn't reflect our values or how we operate." <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Live+Nation+Execs+Brag+Abo…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyro.sl…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/03/13/0524226/live-nati… at Slashdot. https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/03/13/0524226/live-nati…

Apple MacBook Neo Beats Ever Single x86 PC CPU For Single-Core Performance Early benchmarks show the A18 Pro-powered MacBook Neo beating every current x86 CPU in single-core Cinebench performance, including chips from Intel and AMD. Notebookcheck reports: We have performed a couple of benchmarks and were particularly impressed by the single-core performance. Not in the short Geekbench test, but in Cinebench 2024, where a single-core test takes about 10 minutes. The A18 Pro consumes between 3.5-4 Watts in this scenario and scores 147 points. This means it is faster than every other x86 processor in our database, including the two desktop processors Intel Core Ultra 9 285K & AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D. This also means the MacBook Neo beats every modern mobile processor from AMD, Intel and also Qualcomm, even though the upcoming Snapdragon X2 chips should be a bit faster. The A18 Pro is also slightly faster than Apple's own M3 generation in this scenario. Further reading: ASUS Executive Says MacBook Neo is 'Shock' to PC Industry <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Apple+MacBook+Neo+Beats+Ev…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fhardwa…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/230230/apple… at Slashdot. https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/230230/apple…

Apple's MacBook Neo Makes Repairs Easier, Cheaper Than Other MacBooks Apple's new MacBook Neo is "easier to repair than other modern MacBooks," according to Ars Technica's Andrew Cunningham. It introduces a more repairable internal design that makes components like the battery and keyboard easier and cheaper to replace. An anonymous reader quotes an excerpt from the report: Replacements for pretty much any component in the Neo are simpler and involve fewer steps and tools than in the M5 MacBook Air. That includes the battery, which in the MacBook Air is attached to the chassis with multiple screws and adhesive strips but which in the Neo comes out relatively easily after you get some shielding and flex cables out of the way. But the most significant change in the Neo is that the keyboard is its own separate component. For essentially all modern MacBooks, going back at least as far as the late-2000s unibody aluminum MacBook designs, the keyboard has been integrated into the top part of the laptop case and is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to replace independently. [...] Apple hasn't yet listed MacBook Neo components in its parts store, but based on the repair prices it has announced, Neo components should cost quite a bit less than those for higher-end MacBooks. An out-of-warranty battery replacement for the Neo will cost $149, down from $199 for current Airs and $229 for current MacBook Pros; fixing accidental screen or external enclosure damage will cost AppleCare+ subscribers $49 for a Neo, down from $99 for other MacBooks. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Apple's+MacBook+Neo+Makes+…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fapple.…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://apple.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/2042240/apples-… at Slashdot. https://apple.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/2042240/apples-…

Perplexity's 'Personal Computer' Lets AI Agents Access Your Local Files Perplexity AI has introduced a "Personal Computer" agent system that can run on a local machine such as a Mac mini, giving its AI agents access to a user's files and applications to automate tasks. According to CEO Aravind Srinivas, the heavy AI processing runs on Perplexity's "secure servers" but sensitive actions will require user approval. There will also be activity logs and a kill switch available to help ease concerns. AppleInsider reports: Perplexity Computer is, effectively, an AI that is a go-between for other AIs. Instead of issuing specific instructions to multiple AIs, you provide the general outcome of the task to Perplexity Computer. Perplexity Computer then breaks down the task into subtasks, which it then provides to sub-agents to do the actual work. In effect, you're talking to a project manager, who then delegates the task to other AIs, before combining the results and presenting them to you. The managing AI has a lot more freedom in how it orders its subordinates than users may think. While one may create documents while another gathers data, the manager may go as far as to order the creation of software to complete its tasks. Personal Computer is an extension of this, in that it is a locally run app that ideally runs on a Mac mini. The app gives always-on, local access to the Mac's files and apps, which Perplexity Computer and the Comet Assistant can use and alter if required. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Perplexity's+'Personal+Com…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fslashd…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/191200/perplexitys-pe… at Slashdot. https://slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/191200/perplexitys-pe…

Honda Cancels All Three EVs That It Planned To Build In the US sinij shares a report from Car and Driver: Honda is making a monumental shift in its business plans. The automaker is canceling the development and launch of the 0 Series SUV, the 0 Series saloon, and the Acura RSX, and as a result, expects to take a significant financial hit in 2026 [of up to $15.8 billion]. The automaker was blunt in its announcement of the changing plans, citing American tariff policies and the unpredictable nature surrounding American EV incentives and fossil fuel regulations. In its release marking the announcement, Honda made it clear that it expected to incur further financial losses over the long term if it went through with launching the cars. Honda also called out changing customer values in China, with buyers focusing more on software features and less on things like fuel efficiency and cabin space. In its release regarding the changing product plans, Honda was shockingly blunt about its situation, saying that it was simply unable to deliver products that offer a better value than that of newer Chinese manufacturers. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Honda+Cancels+All+Three+EV…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.s…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/1836249/honda-ca… at Slashdot. https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/1836249/honda-ca…

Anthropic's Claude AI Can Respond With Charts, Diagrams, and Other Visualschat Anthropic updated Claude so it can automatically generate charts, diagrams, and other interactive visualizations directly inside conversations, rather than only in a side panel. The new visualizations are rolling out now to all users. The Verge reports: As an example, Anthropic says a conversation about the periodic table could lead Claude to generate a visualization of it, featuring interactive elements that let you click inside the table for more information. Another example shows how Claude can generate a visual related to a question about how weight travels through a building. Though Claude will automatically determine whether it should generate a visualization in your chat, Anthropic notes that you can also ask the chatbot to generate a diagram, table, or chart directly. [...] Anthropic already allows you to create charts, documents, tools, and apps through Claude's "artifacts" feature, which opens in a side panel where you can interact, share, and download the AI-generated creation. But, as noted by Anthropic, artifacts are persistent, while the visualizations created within Claude's conversations will change or disappear as the conversation progresses. You can also ask Claude to make changes to the visualizations it creates. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Anthropic's+Claude+AI+Can+…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ffeatur…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://features.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/1710246/anth… at Slashdot. https://features.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/1710246/anth…

Google Maps Gets Its Biggest Navigation Redesign In a Decade, Plus More AI Google Maps is rolling out its biggest update in more than a decade, introducing a Gemini-powered chatbot and a new "Immersive Navigation" interface. "Ask Maps" lets users plan trips, ask questions, and refine travel suggestions conversationally within the app. "The new chatbot will be accessible via a button up near the search bar," notes Ars Technica. "You can ask it anything you're likely to find in Google Maps without jumping into another app. You can ask for directions, of course, but it can also plan out road trips and vacations from a single prompt. Ask Maps works like a chatbot, so it accepts follow-up prompts to refine and expand on its suggestions." Meanwhile, Google is promising a "complete transformation" of the navigation experience in Maps with what they're calling "Immersive Navigation." It brings detailed 3D visuals, smarter route previews, and improved guidance powered by data from Street View and aerial imagery. "You'll see accurate overpasses, crosswalks, landmarks, and signage in the new navigation experience," reports Ars. "Google also aims to solve some of the biggest usability issues with turn-by-turn navigation in this update. [...] Immersive Navigation tries to show you more of the route as you drive, using smart zoom and transparent buildings to help you plan ahead. Voice guidance will also reference turns after the next one where appropriate." Immersive Navigation will also highlights the tradeoffs between different route options, such as longer routes that avoid traffic or tolls. And, as you approach your destination, it will uses Street View imagery, building entrances, and parking information to help you orient yourself. The features are launching on Android and iOS first, with broader platform support coming later. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Google+Maps+Gets+Its+Bigge…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.s…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/1546207/google-m… at Slashdot. https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/1546207/google-m…

Atlassian CEO Cites AI Shift When Announcing Plan To Shed 1,600 Jobs An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Atlassian plans to cut 1,600 jobs or a 10th of its global workforce, joining rivals in slashing staffing to cope with the advent of AI and a broader post-Covid industry slowdown. Australian billionaire founder Mike Cannon-Brookes explained the reductions in a staff memo, while also announcing his chief technology officer was leaving the Sydney-based company. "It would be disingenuous to pretend AI doesn't change the mix of skills we need or the number of roles required in certain areas," Cannon-Brookes said. "It does." <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Atlassian+CEO+Cites+AI+Shi…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fslashd…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/0722207/atlassian-ceo… at Slashdot. https://slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/0722207/atlassian-ceo…

Reducing Europe's Nuclear Energy Sector Was 'Strategic Mistake', EU Chief Says An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Reducing Europe's nuclear energy sector was a "strategic mistake," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday, as governments grapple with an energy crunch from the Iran war. Europe produced around a third of electricity from nuclear power in 1990 but that has fallen to 15%, she told an event in Paris, leaving it reliant on oil and gas imports whose prices have surged in recent days. Being "completely dependent on expensive and volatile imports" of fossil fuels puts Europe at a disadvantage to other regions, von der Leyen said in a speech. "This reduction in the share of nuclear was a choice. I believe that it was a strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a reliable, affordable source of low-emissions power." The report notes that the EU does not directly fund nuclear energy projects because all 27 member states have not unanimously supported the technology. However, von der Leyen said the Commission plans to provide a 200-million-euro guarantee from the EU's carbon market to help attract private investment in innovative nuclear technologies. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Reducing+Europe's+Nuclear+…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fhardwa…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/0137208/redu… at Slashdot. https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/03/12/0137208/redu…

Only Half of Americans Went To a Movie Theater In 2025, Study Finds A Pew Research Center survey found that only 53% of U.S. adults went to a movie theater in the past year, while 7% said they've never seen a movie in a theater at all. "The findings reflected a domestic box office still fighting to regain its footing since the COVID-19 pandemic, when ticket sales collapsed 81% in 2020 due to theater closures," reports Variety. From the report: In 2025, moviegoers in the U.S. and Canada bought 769.2 million tickets, less than half of the all-time peak of roughly 1.6 billion tickets sold in 2002, according to data from Nash Information Services. However, an August 2025 study field by NRG/National Research Group showed that 77% of Americans ages 12-74 went to see at least one movie in a theater in the previous 12 months. Box office revenue peaked at an inflation-adjusted $16.4 billion in 2002, and annual ticket revenue held relatively steady through the 2000s and 2010s before falling to under $3 billion in 2020 when theaters closed for months. Last year, U.S. theaters sold just over $9 billion worth of tickets, per media analytics firm Comscore. The number represents a recovery, but nowhere near a full one, as ticket sales have been lagging around 20% below pre-pandemic levels. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Only+Half+of+Americans+Wen…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fentert…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/2348256… at Slashdot. https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/2348256…

GFiber and Astound Broadband To Join Forces GFiber (a.k.a. Google Fiber) and Astound Broadband announced that they plan to merge into a deal backed by infrastructure investor Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners. The resulting company will be majority owned by Stonepeak, with Alphabet becoming a "significant minority shareholder." Light Reading reports: Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners teamed with Patriot Media to acquire Astound in November 2020 for $8.1 billion. Stonepeak is Astound's largest investor. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. The combined business will be led by the existing GFiber executive team. GFiber is currently led by CEO Dinni Jain. Jain, a former Time Warner Cable and Insight Communications exec, took the helm of what was then called Google Fiber in 2018. "This agreement advances GFiber's mission of redefining internet connectivity and represents a major step toward its goal of operational and financial independence," the companies said. "GFiber will have the external capital and strategic focus needed to accelerate its next phase of growth, expanding its customer-first approach and pioneering fiber technology across the country." GFiber's combination with Astound represents "a strategic opportunity to scale our customer-focused approach to connect more households to a truly different type of internet service," Jain said in a statement. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=GFiber+and+Astound+Broadba…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.s…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/2342217/gfiber-a… at Slashdot. https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/2342217/gfiber-a…

Why Falling Cats Always Seem To Land On Their Feet An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: In a paper, published last month in the journal The Anatomical Record, researchers offered a novel take on falling felines. Their evidence suggests new insights into the so-called falling cat problem, particularly that cats have a very flexible segment of their spines that allows them to correct their orientation midair. [...] People have been curious about falling cats perhaps as long as the animals have been living with humans, but the method to their acrobatic abilities remains enigmatic. Part of the difficulty is that the anatomy of the cat has not been studied in detail, explains Yasuo Higurashi, a physiologist at Yamaguchi University in Japan and lead author of the study. [...] Modern research has split the falling cat problem into two competing models. The first, "legs in, legs out," suggests that cats correct their falling trajectory by first extending their hind limbs before retracting them, using a sequential twist of their upper and then lower trunk to gain the proper posture while in free fall. The second model, "tuck and turn," suggests that cats turn their upper and lower bodies in simultaneous juxtaposed movements. [...] The researchers found that the feline spine was extremely flexible in the upper thoracic vertebrae, but stiffer and heavier in the lower lumbar vertebrae. The discovery matches video evidence showing the cats first turn their front legs, and then their lower legs. The results suggest the cat quickly spins its flexible upper torso to face the ground, allowing it to see so that it can correctly twist the rest of its body to match. "The thoracic spine of the cat can rotate like our neck," Dr. Higurashi said. Experiments on the spine show the upper vertebrae can twist an astounding 360 degrees, he says, which helps cats make these correcting movements with ease. The results are consistent with the "legs in, legs out" model, but definitively determining which model is correct will take more work, Dr. Higurashi says. The results also yielded another discovery: Cats, like many animals, appear to have a right-side bias. One of the dropped cats corrected itself by turning to the right eight out of eight times, while the other turned right six out of eight times. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Why+Falling+Cats+Always+Se…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fscienc…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/2151249/why-f… at Slashdot. https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/2151249/why-f…

Researchers Discover 14,000 Routers Wrangled Into Never-Before-Seen Botnet An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Researchers say they have uncovered a takedown-resistant botnet of 14,000 routers and other network devices -- primarily made by Asus -- that have been conscripted into a proxy network that anonymously carries traffic used for cybercrime. The malware -- dubbed KadNap -- takes hold by exploiting vulnerabilities that have gone unpatched by their owners, Chris Formosa, a researcher at security firm Lumen's Black Lotus Labs, told Ars. The high concentration of Asus routers is likely due to botnet operators acquiring a reliable exploit for vulnerabilities affecting those models. He said it's unlikely that the attackers are using any zero-days in the operation. The number of infected routers averages about 14,000 per day, up from 10,000 last August, when Black Lotus discovered the botnet. Compromised devices are overwhelmingly located in the US, with smaller populations in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Russia. One of the most salient features of KadNap is a sophisticated peer-to-peer design based on Kademlia (PDF), a network structure that uses distributed hash tables to conceal the IP addresses of command-and-control servers. The design makes the botnet resistant to detection and takedowns through traditional methods. [...] Despite the resistance to normal takedown methods, Black Lotus says it has devised a means to block all network traffic to or from the control infrastructure." The lab is also distributing the indicators of compromise to public feeds to help other parties block access. [...] People who are concerned their devices are infected can check this page for IP addresses and a file hash found in device logs. To disinfect devices, they must be factory reset. Because KadNap stores a shell script that runs when an infected router reboots, simply restarting the device will result in it being compromised all over again. Device owners should also ensure all available firmware updates have been installed, that administrative passwords are strong, and that remote access has been disabled unless needed. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Researchers+Discover+14%2C…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fit.sla…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/2140227/researcher… at Slashdot. https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/2140227/researcher…

Grammarly Disables Tool Offering Generative-AI Feedback Credited To Real Writers Grammarly has disabled its Expert Review feature after backlash from writers whose names were used to present AI-generated feedback without their permission. Superhuman (formerly Grammarly) CEO Shishir Mehrotra wrote in a LinkedIn post that the company will disable Expert Review while they "reimagine" the feature: Back in August, we launched a Grammarly agent called Expert Review. The agent draws on publicly available information from third-party LLMs to surface writing suggestions inspired by the published work of influential voices. Over the past week, we received valid critical feedback from experts who are concerned that the agent misrepresented their voices. This kind of scrutiny improves our products, and we take it seriously. As context, the agent was designed to help users discover influential perspectives and scholarship relevant to their work, while also providing meaningful ways for experts to build deeper relationships with their fans. We hear the feedback and recognize we fell short on this. I want to apologize and acknowledge that we'll rethink our approach going forward. After careful consideration, we have decided to disable Expert Review while we reimagine the feature to make it more useful for users, while giving experts real control over how they want to be represented -- or not represented at all. We deeply believe in our mission to solve the "last mile of AI" by bringing AI directly to where people work, and we see this as a significant opportunity for experts. For millions of users, Grammarly is a trusted writing sidekick -- ever-present in every application, ready to help. We're opening up this platform so anyone can build agents that work like Grammarly -- expanding from one sidekick to a whole team. Imagine your professor sharpening your essay, your sales leader reshaping a customer pitch, a thoughtful critic challenging your arguments, or a leading expert elevating your proposal. For experts, this is a chance to build that same ubiquitous bond with users, much like Grammarly has. But in this world, experts choose to participate, shape how their knowledge is represented, and control their business model. That future excites me, and I hope to build it with experts who want to develop it alongside us. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Grammarly+Disables+Tool+Of…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fslashd…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/2121238/grammarly-dis… at Slashdot. https://slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/2121238/grammarly-dis…

Swiss E-Voting Pilot Can't Count 2,048 Ballots After USB Keys Fail To Decrypt Them A Swiss e-voting pilot was suspended after officials couldn't decrypt 2,048 ballots because the USB keys needed to unlock them failed. "Three USB sticks were used, all with the correct code, but none of them worked," spokesperson Marco Greiner told the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation's Swissinfo service. The canton government says it "deeply regrets" the incident and has launched an investigation with authorities. The Register reports: Basel-Stadt announced the problem with its e-voting pilot, open to about 10,300 locals living abroad and 30 people with disabilities, last Friday afternoon. It encouraged participants to deliver a paper vote to the town hall or use a polling station but admitted this would not be possible for many. By the close of polling on Sunday, its e-voting system had collected 2,048 votes, but Basel-Stadt officials were not able to decrypt them with the hardware provided, despite the involvement of IT experts. [...] The votes made up less than 4 percent of those cast in Basel-Stadt and would not have changed any results, but the canton is delaying confirmation of voting figures until March 21 and suspending its e-voting pilot until the end of December, while its public prosecutor's office has started criminal proceedings. The country's Federal Chancellery said e-voting in three other cantons -- Thurgau, Graubunden, and St Gallen -- along with the nationally used Swiss Post e-voting system, had not been affected. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Swiss+E-Voting+Pilot+Can't…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fit.sla…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/1953224/swiss-e-vo… at Slashdot. https://it.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/1953224/swiss-e-vo…

Binance Sues WSJ, Panicked By Gov't Probes Into Sanctioned Crypto Transfers An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Binance is hoping that suing (PDF) The Wall Street Journal for defamation might help shake off a fresh round of government probes into how the cryptocurrency exchange failed to detect $1.7 billion in transfers to a network that was funding Iran-backed terror groups. The lawsuit comes after a Wall Street Journal investigation, based on conversations with insiders and reviews of internal documents, reported that Binance had quietly dismantled its own investigation into the unlawful transfers and then fired compliance staff who initially flagged them. Alleging that the report falsely accused Binance of retaliation -- among 10 other allegedly false claims -- Binance accused the Journal of conducting a "sham" investigation that intentionally disregarded the company's statements. That included supposedly failing to note that Binance had not closed its investigation into the unlawful transfers. Binance's role in the large-scale violation of US sanctions laws is currently being investigated by the Justice and Treasury Departments. Congress members also took notice, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), who launched an additional inquiry. In a letter to Binance CEO Richard Teng, Blumenthal cited the Journal's report, as well as reporting from The New York Times and Fortune, while demanding that Binance explain how it managed to overlook the money-laundering for so long and why compliance staff members were fired. In its complaint Wednesday, Binance claimed that these probes may "be just the tip of the iceberg" if the record is not corrected. The reputational harm is particularly damaging, the exchange noted, since Binance has allegedly worked hard to strengthen its compliance after reaching a settlement with the US government in 2023. In taking that plea deal, Binance admitted to violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws and paid a $4.3 billion fine, and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, eventually pled guilty to a related charge. Since that scandal, Binance claimed that the WSJ has "made a business of maligning both the cryptocurrency industry generally and Binance specifically." That's why the Journal allegedly rushed to publish its story following a similar New York Times investigation. Alleging that the WSJ was financially motivated to publish a negative story that would get more clicks, Binance claimed the Journal provided little time to respond and then failed to make necessary corrections before and after publication. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=Binance+Sues+WSJ%2C+Panick…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyro.sl…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/192225/binance-su… at Slashdot. https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/192225/binance-su…

China Moves To Curb OpenClaw AI Use At Banks, State Agencies An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Chinese authorities moved to restrict state-run enterprises and government agencies from running OpenClaw AI apps on office computers, acting swiftly to defuse potential security risks after companies and consumers across China began experimenting with the agentic AI phenomenon. Government agencies and state-owned enterprises, including the largest banks, have received notices in recent days warning them against installing OpenClaw software on office devices for security reasons [...]. Several of them were instructed to notify superiors if they had already installed related apps for security checks and possible removal, some of the people said. Certain employees, including those at state-run banks and some government agencies, were banned from installing OpenClaw on office computers and also personal phones using the company's network, some of the people said. One person said the ban was also extended to the families of military personnel. Other notices stopped short of calling for an outright ban on OpenClaw software, saying only that prior approval is needed before use, the people said. The warning underscores Beijing's growing concern about OpenClaw, an agentic AI platform that requires unusually broad access to private data and can communicate externally, potentially exposing computers to external attack. [...] Despite the potential security risks, companies from Tencent to JD.com Inc. have been rolling out OpenClaw apps to try and capitalize on the groundswell of enthusiasm, while several local government agencies have declared millions of yuan in subsidies for companies that develop atop the platform. [...] Tech giants like Tencent and Alibaba, along with AI upstarts ranging from Moonshot to MiniMax, have rolled out their own tweaks of the software touting simple, one-click adoption. A slew of government agencies, in cities from Shenzhen to Wuxi, have issued notices offering multimillion-yuan subsidies to startups leveraging OpenClaw to make advances. The frenzy has helped drive up shares of AI model developer MiniMax nearly 640% since its listing just two months ago. It's now worth about $49 billion, surpassing Baidu -- once viewed as the frontrunner in Chinese AI development -- in market value. The company launched MaxClaw, an agent built on OpenClaw, in late February. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=China+Moves+To+Curb+OpenCl…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fslashd…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/0623220/china-moves-t… at Slashdot. https://slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/0623220/china-moves-t…

ASUS Executive Says MacBook Neo is 'Shock' to PC Industry ASUS says the MacBook Neo is a "shock" to the Windows PC ecosystem. "In the past, Apple's pricing situation has always been high, so for them to release a very budget-friendly product, this is obviously a shock to the entire industry," said ASUS co-CEO S.Y. Hsu in a Tuesday earnings call. While he expects PC makers to respond, rising AI-driven memory shortages could push hardware prices higher across the industry. PCMag reports: Hsu said he believes all the PC players -- including Microsoft, Intel, and AMD -- take the MacBook Neo threat seriously. "In fact, in the entire PC ecosystem, there have been a lot of discussions about how to compete with this product," he added, given that rumors about the MacBook Neo have been making the rounds for at least a year. Despite the competitive threat, Hsu argued that the MacBook Neo could have limited appeal. He pointed to the laptop's 8GB of "unified memory," or what amounts to its RAM, and how customers can't upgrade it. He also described the MacBook Neo as a "content consumption" device, similar to an iPad. "This is different from the use case of a mainstream notebook," which can handle more compute-intensive tasks, Hsu said. "How big of an impact [the MacBook Neo] will have on the PC industry will still require some time for us to observe," Hsu said while suggesting it might not gain traction among Windows PC users due to software differences. "Of course, the entire Windows PC ecosystem will push out products to compete against Apple," he added. <a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=ASUS+Executive+Says+MacBoo…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fhardwa…" rel="nofollow"><img src=""></a> https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/0615216/asus… at Slashdot. https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/03/11/0615216/asus…