[1]VP.NET has released the source code for its Intel SGX enclave on [2]GitHub , allowing anyone to build the enclave and verify its mrenclave hash matches what's running on the servers. This takes "don't trust, verify" from marketing to reality, making privacy claims testable all the way down to hardware-enforced execution.

A move like this could set a new benchmark for transparency in privacy tech.



[1] https://vp.net/

[2] https://github.com/vpdotnet/vpnetd-sgx

Sam Altman's brain-chip venture is [1]exploring the idea of genetically altering brain cells to make better implants . "The company, which has been referred to as Merge Labs, is looking at an approach involving gene therapy that would modify brain cells," reports Bloomberg. "In addition, an ultrasound device would be implanted in the head that could detect and modulate activity in the modified cells." From the report:

> It's one of a handful of ideas and technologies the company has been exploring, they said. The venture is still in early stages and could evolve significantly. "We have not done that deal yet," Altman told journalists at a dinner Thursday in San Francisco, referring to a question about a brain-computer interface venture. "I would like us to." Altman said he wants to be able to think something and have ChatGPT respond to it. [...]

>

> For years, researchers have been studying how to genetically change cells to make them respond to ultrasound, a field called sonogenetics. The idea Merge is considering to combine ultrasound with gene therapy could take years, some of the people said. Ultrasound has attracted significant attention recently as a possible brain therapy. Other companies are exploring the idea of using ultrasound transmitters outside the brain to massage brain tissue, with the goal of treating psychiatric conditions. That kind of technology has shown promise in research studies.



[1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sam-altman-brain-chip-venture-163955954.html

Wine 10.13 has been [1]released after a one-month break , introducing a Windows Gaming Input configuration tab for the Joystick Control Panel, new ECDSA_P521 and ECDH_P521 cryptographic algorithms, OpenGL WoW64 thunk generation, and expanded Windows Runtime metadata support. The update also delivers 32 bug fixes," which is more than normal given the month of time between releases," writes Phoronix's Michael Larabel. "There are fixes for Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express, Doom 3 BFG Edition, and a variety of other game and application fixes."

You can download and learn more about the release at [2]WineHQ.org GitLab .



[1] https://www.phoronix.com/news/Wine-10.13-Released

[2] https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/wine/-/releases/wine-10.13

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters:

> The United States' practice of installing location trackers in chip shipments at risk of diversion to China [1]reflects the "instincts of a surveillance empire ," China's state-run media outlet Xinhua said in a commentary published on Friday. Reuters reported earlier this week that U.S. authorities had [2]secretly placed location tracking devices in targeted shipments of advanced chips to detect diversions to China, which is under U.S. curbs for advanced chip exports. The Xinhua commentary, titled "America turns chip trade into a surveillance game," cited "reports" that Washington had embedded such trackers, accusing the United States of running "the world's most sprawling intelligence apparatus." [...] In its commentary, Xinhua accused the U.S. government of seeing its trading partners as "rivals to be tripped up or taken down," adding that "if U.S. chips are seen as Trojan horses for surveillance, customers will look elsewhere."

Further reading: [3]China Urges Firms To Avoid Nvidia H20 Chips After Trump Resumes Sales



[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinese-state-media-calls-us-surveillance-empire-over-trackers-chip-shipments-2025-08-15/

[2] https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/08/13/1355200/us-embeds-trackers-in-ai-chip-shipments-to-catch-diversions-to-china

[3] https://slashdot.org/story/25/08/12/2011252/china-urges-firms-to-avoid-nvidia-h20-chips-after-trump-resumes-sales

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ScientificAmerican:

> After a brain stem stroke left him almost entirely paralyzed in the 1990s, French journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby wrote a book about his experiences -- letter by letter, blinking his left eye in response to a helper who repeatedly recited the alphabet. Today people with similar conditions often have far more communication options. Some devices, for example, track eye movements or other small muscle twitches to let users select words from a screen. And on the cutting edge of this field, neuroscientists have more recently developed brain implants that can turn neural signals directly into whole words. These brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) largely require users to physically attempt to speak, however -- and that can be a slow and tiring process. But now a new development in neural prosthetics changes that, [1]allowing users to communicate by simply thinking what they want to say .

>

> The new system relies on much of the same technology as the more common "attempted speech" devices. Both use sensors implanted in a part of the brain called the motor cortex, which sends motion commands to the vocal tract. The brain activation detected by these sensors is then fed into a machine-learning model to interpret which brain signals correspond to which sounds for an individual user. It then uses those data to predict which word the user is attempting to say. But the motor cortex doesn't only light up when we attempt to speak; it's also involved, to a lesser extent, in imagined speech. The researchers took advantage of this to develop their "inner speech" decoding device and [2]published the results on Thursday in Cell . The team studied three people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and one with a brain stem stroke, all of whom had previously had the sensors implanted. Using this new "inner speech" system, the participants needed only to think a sentence they wanted to say and it would appear on a screen in real time. While previous inner speech decoders were limited to only a handful of words, the new device allowed participants to draw from a dictionary of 125,000 words.

To help keep private thoughts private, the researchers implemented a code phrase "chitty chitty bang bang" that participants could use to prompt the BCI to start or stop transcribing.



[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-brain-device-is-first-to-read-out-inner-speech/

[2] https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)00681-6

Croatia has extended its digital nomad visa [1]from one year to up to three years , allowing non-EU residents and their close family members to live and work remotely in the country. CNBC reports:

> A digital nomad visa is a short-term permit that allows individuals to stay in a country for an extended period and work remotely. The length of time a nomad can stay varies from place to place but most countries allow for six months to a year -- unless you have your eye on Croatia. Recently, the Balkan country [2]announced it an update its digital nomad visa, which will allow non-EU residents to stay for up to three years. The visa also permits close family members of a digital nomad to join them.

>

> Croatia's digital nomad visa website states that close family members also include partners or non-married couples who have been together for longer than three years without children, or for less time if they do have children together. Madrid Sartoretto believes that Croatia's expansion of its digital nomad program is a sign that the country is trying to attract more talent and compete with neighboring countries and their offerings.

>

> "I think they are competing with other countries that are in the same region, like Estonia and Romania, that also attract a lot of digital nomads. If you give more benefits to people to come to your country, then you attract more talent. It's all about competition now," she adds. For those looking to apply for Croatia's digital nomad visa, Dr. Madrid Sartoretto says the country offers a low cost of living but still needs to improve its infrastructure, like more reliable internet speeds. "If you compare internet speed and reliability to countries like Romania, which has one of the fastest speeds in the world, Croatia needs to improve its infrastructure," she adds.

>

> To apply for Croatia's digital nomad visa [3]online , applicants must provide proof that they work outside of Croatia. Additionally, they must provide a copy of a valid travel document, proof of health insurance, proof of address in Croatia, and a minimum monthly income of 3,295 euros or $3,855 USD. For proof of income, applicants can submit a bank statement showing the total amount required, a bank statement demonstrating regular income, or pay slips for at least six months. Applicants must also send evidence that they have not been convicted of criminal offences in their home country or the country in which they have resided for more than a year immediately before arriving in Croatia.



[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/15/croatia-digital-nomad-visa.html

[2] https://mup.gov.hr/aliens-281621/stay-and-work/temporary-stay-of-digital-nomads/286833

[3] https://digitalnomadscroatia.mup.hr/Pages/Zahtjev2

New data from Digital Content Next shows Google's AI Overviews are linked to notable drops in publisher referral traffic, with surveyed sites seeing [1]year-over-year declines between 1% and 25% . From a report:

> Digital Content Next (DCN), which counts the New York Times, Conde Nast and Vox among its approximately 40 member companies, [2]checked in with 19 of them between May and June to see what was happening to their Google search referral traffic. The upshot: Google AI Overviews is indeed harming publisher traffic. Organic search referral traffic from Google is declining broadly, with the majority of DCN member sites -- spanning both news and entertainment -- experiencing traffic losses from Google search between 1% and 25%. Twelve of the respondent companies were news brands, and seven were non-news.

>

> Over eight weeks in May and June 2025, the median Google Search referral was down almost every week, with losses outpacing gains two-to-one. For the seven non-news brands in the survey, the downward slope was steady and unbroken. Across the eight weeks, the median YoY decline in referred traffic from Google Search was -10% overall, -7% for news brands, and -14% for non-news brands, per the results.

>

> Jason Kint, CEO of DCN, stressed that these losses are a direct consequence of Google AI Overviews, as many publishers claimed in their responses. The latest data offers a "ground truth" of what's actually happening, cutting through Google's vague claims about "quality clicks," made in its latest post, he added. "I think all publishers are ignoring Google's post. But this probably helps ground that," added Kint. The findings come shortly after a recent Pew survey of 900 U.S. consumers found that AI summaries are making users less likely to click through to links.

The U.K.'s Professional Publishers Association (PPA) also [3]found that AI Overviews and AI Mode are steering users toward zero-click results, reducing visits to source sites, and expanding into Google Discover where sources are relegated to citations. Evidence from members shows click-through rates [4]falling 10-25% year-over-year despite stable rankings, with examples including a lifestyle publisher's CTR dropping from 5.1% to 0.6% and an automotive publisher's CTR falling from 2.75% to 1.71% despite increased visibility.



[1] https://digiday.com/media/google-ai-overviews-linked-to-25-drop-in-publisher-referral-traffic-new-data-shows/

[2] https://digitalcontentnext.org/blog/2025/08/14/facts-googles-push-to-ai-hurts-publisher-traffic/

[3] https://ppa.co.uk/how-google-ai-offerings-are-harming-publishers-ppa-submits-recommendations-to-the-competition-and-markets-authority

[4] https://ppa.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/PPA-Evidence-to-the-CMA-on-Google-Search-Services-SMS-Designation.pdf

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CleanTechnica:

> In a sharp rebuke to the anti-electrification agenda in the US, global EV sales are [1]up 27% over last year , with some legacy automakers -- but not all -- indicating the potential for a successful transition to electric mobility. CleanTechnica has spilled much ink on the pace of plug-in hybrid and full EV adoption, and the [2]latest report from the UK firm Rho Motion (a branch of the price reporting agency Benchmark Mineral Intelligence) adds some fresh insights.

>

> Covering the first seven months of 2025, earlier today Rho Motion totaled up more than 10.7 million EVs sold for a "robust" 27% increase over the same period last year, with China leading the pack by a wide margin. Europe also contributed to the overall robustness. Germany and the UK racked up impressive gains and Italy also turning in a mentionable performance. "The European EV market has grown by 30% year-to-date, with strong momentum in both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), up 30% and 32% respectively," Rho Motion summarized.

>

> "In contrast, North America's growth has been muted so far in 2025, with the US facing policy headwinds and Canada seeing a slowdown," Rho Motion Data Manager Charles Lester observed. "We expect a short-term lift in US demand ahead of the IRA consumer tax credit deadline in September, followed by a likely dip," Lester added. That short-term lift won't help North America catch up to Europe [...]

Rho Motion's EV sales snapshot shows the recent gains:

Global: 10.7 million, +27%

China: 6.5 million, +29%

Europe: 2.3 million, +30%

North America: 1.0 million, +2%

Rest of World: 0.9 million, +42%



[1] https://cleantechnica.com/2025/08/13/global-ev-sales-up-27-in-2025-despite-anti-electrification-policies-in-the-us/

[2] https://rhomotion.com/news/global-ev-sales-grow-by-27-in-the-opening-seven-months-of-the-year/

Proton has begun relocating infrastructure outside Switzerland ahead of proposed surveillance legislation requiring VPNs and messaging services with over 5,000 users to identify customers and retain data for six months.

The company's AI chatbot Lumo [1]became the first product hosted on German servers rather than Swiss infrastructure. CEO Andy Yen confirmed the decision and a spokesperson told TechRadar that the company isn't fully exiting Switzerland.

In [2]a blog post about the launch of Lumo last month, Proton's Head of Anti-Abuse and Account Security, Eamonn Maguire, explained that the company had decided to invest outside Switzerland for fear of the looming legal changes. He wrote: "Because of legal uncertainty around Swiss government proposals to introduce mass surveillance -- proposals that have been outlawed in the EU -- Proton is moving most of its physical infrastructure out of Switzerland. Lumo will be the first product to move."

The proposed amendments to Switzerland's Ordinance on the Surveillance of Correspondence by Post and Telecommunications would also mandate decryption capabilities for providers holding encryption keys. Proton is developing additional facilities in Norway.



[1] https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/is-proton-leaving-switzerland-legal-uncertainty-of-proposed-surveillance-laws-is-pushing-them-to-make-several-changes

[2] https://proton.me/blog/lumo-ai

The Linux kernel project [1]lacks a formal succession plan for when Linus Torvalds steps down, Register columnist Rupert Goodwins writes. Torvalds has said "there's no need for formality" and that succession will occur naturally through community trust. "The next benevolent overlord will appear naturally," Torvalds believes.

Goodwins calls this approach dangerous, noting that "succession is always a time of uncertainty for those who like the way things are, and opportunity for those who do not." The kernel project faces existing tensions including overstretched maintainers doing "two jobs, the one they're paid for, and the Linux kernel work," commercial pressures from companies like Red Hat, and increasing maintenance burdens from automated bug reports. "Hope, as they say, is not a strategy," Goodwins writes.



[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/14/the_plan_for_linux_after/

An anonymous reader writes:

> Kaisen Linux, a Debian-based distro packed with tools for sysadmins, system rescue, and network diagnostics, is [1]shutting down . This comes not long after Intel's Clear Linux also [2]reached the end of the road.

>

> Kaisen offered multiple desktop environments like KDE Plasma, LXQt, MATE, and Xfce, plus a "toram" mode that could load the whole OS into RAM so you could free up your USB port. The final release, Rolling 3.0, updates the base to Debian 13, defaults to KDE Plasma 6, replaces LightDM with SDDM, drops some packages like neofetch and hping3, and adds things like faster BTRFS snapshot restores, full ZFS support, and safer partitioning behavior.

>

> Unlike Clear Linux, Kaisen will still get security updates for the next two years, giving current users time to migrate without rushing.



[1] https://www.neowin.net/news/sad-news-another-linux-distro-is-shutting-down/

[2] https://linux.slashdot.org/story/25/07/19/0016204/intel-kills-clear-linux-os-as-support-ends-without-warning

New research suggests exposure to some common Pfas or "forever chemical" compounds [1]causes changes to gene activity , and those changes are linked to health problems including multiple cancers, neurological disorders and autoimmune disease. From a report:

> The [2]findings are a major step toward determining the mechanism by which the chemicals cause disease and could help doctors identify, detect and treat health problems for those exposed to Pfas before the issues advance. The research may also point toward other diseases potentially caused by Pfas that have not yet been identified, the authors said.

>

> The study is among the first to examine how Pfas chemicals impact gene activity, called epigenetics. "This gives us a hint as to which genes and which Pfas might be important," said Melissa Furlong, a University of Arizona College of Public Health Pfas researcher and study lead author.



[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/15/forever-chemicals-pfas-exposure-gene-activity

[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935125010175

[1]alternative_right writes:

> A team of researchers at Columbia University, funded in part by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, have developed " [2]machines that can grow by consuming other machines ." Video of the experiment shows tubular robots that move by extending their shafts to inch along the ground. As the tubes gather, they connect and form into more complex shapes like triangles and tetrahedrons. With each piece consumed, the whole moves faster and with more elegance.

>

> "AI systems need bodies to move beyond current limitations. Physical embodiment brings the AI into the messy, constraint-rich real world -- and that's where true generalization has to happen," Phillipe Martin Wyder, lead researcher on the project, told 404 Media.



[1] https://slashdot.org/~alternative_right

[2] https://www.404media.co/pentagon-funded-experiment-develops-robots-that-change-by-consuming-other-robots/

WIRED identified 120 YouTube channels [1]creating AI-generated celebrity confrontation/rage-baiting videos using still images and artificial voiceovers (rather than deepfake technology). One channel, Talk Show Gold, accumulated 88,000 subscribers with a fake Mark Wahlberg and Joy Behar confrontation that drew 460,000 views. YouTube removed 37 flagged channels following WIRED's inquiry, including Celebrity Central and United News.

The platform updated its policies on July 15 requiring disclosure when content shows real people doing things they didn't do. University of Bristol cognitive psychologist Simon Clark characterized the videos as "cheapfakes" that exploit emotional triggers despite their unsophisticated production. Most channels operate from outside the United States and display signs of coordinated content farming operations.



[1] https://www.wired.com/story/cheapfake-ai-celeb-videos-are-rage-baiting-people-on-youtube/

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told reporters that AI investments [1]have entered bubble territory . His remarks:

> "Are we in a phase where investors as a whole are overexcited about AI? My opinion is yes."

>

> "When bubbles happen, smart people get overexcited about a kernel of truth. If you look at most of the bubbles in history, like the tech bubble, there was a real thing. Tech was really important. The internet was a really big deal. People got overexcited."

>

> He added that he thinks it's "insane" that some AI startups with "three people and an idea" are receiving funding at such high valuations. "That's not rational behavior," Altman said. "Someone's gonna get burned there, I think. Someone is going to lose a phenomenal amount of money."



[1] https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/759965/sam-altman-openai-ai-bubble-interview

Microsoft is updating its pricing approach for Online Services in Enterprise Agreements in the name of consistency and transparency, but [1]could leave some customers paying more . From a report:

> Many customers, particularly larger ones, enjoy substantial discounts via volume licensing and the change, which will bring the Online Services pricing model into line with those already rolled out for services like Azure, "reflects our ongoing commitment to greater transparency and alignment across all purchasing channels." Online Services include products such as Dynamics 365 and Windows 365.

>

> Exactly how big a discount customers enjoyed depends on the deal they scored. The change will mean that "pricing will align with the pricing published on Microsoft.com." According to Microsoft, "This change reduces licensing complexity, enabling partners to invest less time evaluating Microsoft pricing and programs and more time working with customers on their business needs. With simplified and standardized prices, partners can shift their focus to delivering unique services that will propel their customers' growth."

The changes will take effect on November 1.



[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/15/microsoft_swats_volume_discounts_for/

New Zealand citizens leaving the country have [1]hit the highest levels in 13 years , with more than a third of those emigrating aged under 30 years as unemployment rises and economic growth remains soft. From a report:

> Data released by Statistics New Zealand on Friday showed 71,800 New Zealand citizens departed New Zealand in the year ended June 2025, up from 67,500 in the previous 12-month period and below the record 72,400 in the year ended February 2012. New Zealand's net migration, which is the number of those arriving minus those leaving, also fell with foreign nationals moving to the country of 5.3 million nearly halving from 2024.



[1] https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/zealands-population-exodus-hits-13-035658551.html

A Chinese storage manufacturer has [1]developed a solid-state drive smaller than a U.S. penny that delivers sequential read speeds of 3,700 megabytes per second, according to The Verge.

The "Mini SSD" by Biwin measures 15mm x 17mm x 1.4mm thick and connects via PCIe 4x2, offering 512GB to 2TB capacities. The drive inserts into devices using a SIM card-style tray mechanism and claims IP68 water resistance plus three-meter drop protection. Two gaming portables announced at ChinaJoy will include slots for the drives: GPD's Win 5 handheld and OneNetbook's OneXPlayer Super X hybrid laptop/tablet, both powered by AMD's Strix Halo processors. The Mini SSD outpaces MicroSD Express cards used in Nintendo Switch 2 by nearly four times, though full-size M.2 drives remain faster at up to 14,000MB/s.



[1] https://www.theverge.com/news/759624/china-is-about-to-launch-ssds-so-small-you-insert-them-like-a-sim-card

China launched the World Humanoid Robot Games on Friday. The three-day event will see 280 teams from 16 countries compete in football, track and field, and table tennis [1]alongside robot-specific challenges including medicine sorting and cleaning services. The event also features 192 university teams and 88 private enterprise teams from the U.S., Germany, Brazil and other nations as well as Chinese companies Unitree and Fourier among participants.

Beijing municipal government serves as an organizing body. The Chinese robotics sector has received over $20 billion in government subsidies in the past year with Beijing planning a one trillion yuan ($137 billion) fund for AI and robotics startups. A previous Beijing humanoid robot marathon saw several competitors emit smoke and fail to complete the course.



[1] https://www.reuters.com/sports/chinas-robot-olympics-sees-humanoids-16-nations-compete-table-tennis-football-2025-08-15/

An anonymous reader shares a report:

> Manufacturer to the stars Foxconn is building so many AI servers that [1]they're now bringing in more cash than consumer electronics -- even counting the colossal quantity of iPhones it creates for Apple.

>

> The Taiwanese company revealed the shift in its Thursday announcement of Q2 results, which saw revenue grow 16% to NT$1.79 trillion ($59.73 billion) and operating profit rise 27% to NT$56.6 billion ($1.9 billion). CEO Kathy Yang told investors the company's Cloud and Networking Products division delivered 41% of total revenue, up nine percent compared to Q2 2024, and surpassing the company's Smart Consumer Electronics unit for the first time. The latter business includes Foxconn's work for Apple.



[1] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/15/foxconn_q2_2025/