IBM is laying off thousands of employees across the United States, with approximately 25% of staff at its Cloud Classic operation affected, The Register reports, citing a source. “Concrete numbers are being kept private,” a source told the publication. “It is in the thousands.”

Staff reductions have occurred in Raleigh, North Carolina; New York; Dallas, Texas; and California, the report said. Affected departments include consulting, corporate social responsibility, cloud infrastructure, sales, and internal systems teams. The report adds: With regard to IBM Cloud Classic — the infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) outfit offering built on IBM’s 2013 acquisition of SoftLayer — another source told us: “It’s a resource action. I don’t know how many people are in IaaS classic. They don’t typically make that information easy to find. What I can say is that they have been making a lot of changes to shift employment to India as much as possible.”

A third source, newly let go by Big Blue, said it was fair to characterize this a layoff. “Everyone I know that was affected, myself included, was simply offered a separation agreement,” this individual said, estimating that 10 percent of the Cloud group (which is not the same as Cloud Classic) has been let go.

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You can add Walmart to the list of retail behemoths hosting spring-time sales, joining the likes of Amazon, Target, and Best Buy, who each have similar sales around the same time. Here is everything you need to know about Walmart’s upcoming Super Savings Week sale.

When is Walmart’s Super Savings Week?

Walmart will run its spring sale for a full week from March 25 to March 31.

Do you need to be a member to shop for Walmart’s Super Savings Week?

Walmart has a Walmart+ membership that goes $12.95 per month or $98 per year (you can always get a free 30-day trial), but Walmart hasn’t yet said if its sale is exclusively for members or not. Based on its previous sales though, you likely won’t need to be, but members will likely get a head start on deals.

What can you expect during Walmart’s Super Savings Week?

You can expect deals on virtually every category that Walmart sells, from tech to home decor. According to CNET, Walmart confirmed that it will include 30% off TVs, 30% off patio and garden, 50% off jewelry, and up to 55% off Crocs.

Some early deals are already live

As is usually the case, Walmart kicks off its sales with some early deals that lead up to the main event. Keep in mind these aren’t technically Super Savings Week deals, though. You’ll likely find better deals once the sale officially starts. Here are a few:

• Apple Watch Series 10: $329 (save $70)

• LG UltraGear 32-inch QHD monitor: $188 (save $161)

• Arlo Essential indoor camera: $20 (save $20)

• JBL Charge 5: $119 (save $60)

• Apple M2 iPad Air: $699 (save $100)

• Roku Express 4K Plus: $29 (save $11)

• Hisense 75-inch Class U6H QLED 4K TV: $488 (save $210)

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the hit animated feature inspired by Mexico’s Dia de Los Muertos is getting a sequel.

The company warns against applying strong supervision to chatbots, as they will continue lying and just not admit it.

CBP denies the researcher was turned away for political reasons.

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Home renovations are expensive—and exciting. It’s never cheap to rip out the old and install the brand-new, but a quality renovation can turn your house into a dream home, or at least solve some nagging problems that have bothered you for years. While not every renovation project gives you the results you’re looking for, there’s no doubt that putting some work into your home usually results in a happier, more valuable place to live.

But renovation projects aren’t “set it and forget it.” You’ve hired people to come into your private space with tools and materials, to rip out old stuff (that sometimes doesn’t want to be ripped out and puts up quite a fight), and generally make an enormous mess of the place. Hiring reputable contractors will protect you from the worst-case scenarios in most renovations, but any time tools and big, heavy materials are involved there’s a chance of damage. If your contractors smash up the place, your homeowners insurance may cover the costs, but it’s best if you avoid the damage in the first place. Here are some straightforward precautions to take to protect your home during a renovation.

Sequester the renovation zones

If you’re only renovating part of your home, your first step should be encapsulating the area with plastic sheeting. This doesn’t have to be a complicated process:

• Apply painter’s tape around the doorway or opening that leads to the area where the renovation will occur.

• Cut a sheet of plastic sheeting so that it fits over the doorway or opening with margins of an inch or more all around.

• Tape the plastic into place with duct tape, making sure to adhere it to the painter’s tape so you don’t damage the walls or floors.

• Apply a tarp zipper to the plastic barrier, then slice it open to create an opening for you and your contractors to pass through.

This will help contain dust and debris, preventing damage to your furniture or HVAC systems.

Turn off the HVAC

If your home has central heating and cooling, you should take some precautions to ensure that it isn’t affected by dust and debris, which can clog the filters and damage the unit itself:

• Cover vents. Use magnetic vent covers or tape down more plastic to completely cover vents within the work zone.

• Turn the system off. When mudding drywall or painting, some contractors want to run your HVAC system to assist with drying, but don’t let them. In fact, turn the HVAC system off (in just the affected zone, if you can) to ensure it isn’t sucking up heavy construction dust all day long. If your contractors want to speed up the drying or setting process they can bring in portable heaters or dehumidifiers to do the job without risking your home’s infrastructure.

Protect important surfaces from damage

Now that dust isn’t going to coat your entire home in a fine layer, it’s important to protect various parts of your home from scratches, dings, and dents.

Doors

Doors are easy targets for damage during a renovation. Contractors carrying large, bulky items can smash into them, and tools can easily scrape and dent as they’re carried around a space. Adding some snap-on door jamb protectors and removing or covering the door with builder’s paper will protect it from these kinds of accidents.

Tubs and sinks

If your workers will be anywhere near your kitchen and bathroom fixtures, you’ll want to protect them from dirt and dust as well as scratches and other damage. You can plug drains with some rags or tape them up, then cover the sinks and bathtubs with heavy-duty cardboard (or invest in an adjustable tub protector or temporary, peelable tub film). This way, when your contractor drops their hammer on your brand-new tub, you’ll be able to just shrug it off.

Flooring

Floors take a beating during any sort of construction. Dirt and grit can act like sandpaper on the finish, and there are endless opportunities for scrapes and scratches. Depending on the work being done, you might get away with a simple drop cloth or carpet film, but if the work is more involved, you should consider something a little tougher to protect your hardwood, tile, or laminate flooring. Floor surface protection sheets are relatively easy to install, and are very effective at protecting against damage from even the most careless contractors, and neoprene runners are a solid option for easier, more temporary protection because they can be rolled out and rolled up quickly. You could also use

To protect your stairs, an easy and effective solution is a no-slip drop cloth like this that will stay in place, even on stairs.

Countertops

In kitchens and bathrooms, contractors usually can’t resist seeing countertops as extra workspace, a place to drop tools, store materials, and otherwise abuse. Covering your countertops with a dropcloth or protective film can spare them dust, dirt, and greasy spills, but won’t protect them from chips and gouges. Covering them with the same board material you use on the floors can give you that extra layer of protection that ensures you still have countertops when the work is done.

Gboard, the default keyboard on many Android phones, is finally getting a proper undo button. Up until now, you had to use a Japanese keyboard to access the undo button, but Google has finally addressed that gap. With Gboard 15 for Android, you’ll be able to use the undo button that, thankfully, works with all languages. 

How to set up the undo and redo buttons in Gboard

First up, go to Google Play store and update Gboard to the latest version. After that, open any app where you can see the keyboard, such as Messages or Chrome. Fire up the keyboard and tap the four squares icon in the top-left corner of the keyboard. This will show you all the shortcuts that you can add to the suggestions row up top. Undo should be one of the shortcuts. You can drag it to the suggestions row at the top of the keyboard to make it easy to access.

The redo button appears in the suggestions row, once you try to undo something using Gboard.

How undo and redo work in Gboard

Once you type something using Gboard, you can easily use undo and redo to, well, undo or redo things! The trick is to get the button to show up in the suggestions row, which may not happen immediately if you also have autocorrect enabled, since autocorrect suggestions populate here, too. So, to use Gboard’s undo button, you can type something first, then tap the four squares button in the top-left corner. This will replace all the autocorrect suggestions with the undo button. Tap undo once, and you’ll also see the redo button appear right next to it.

Gboard’s undo is the equivalent of hitting the delete button on the keyboard once. You can’t press and hold undo to erase a bunch of words quickly, but you can press it to remove the previous thing you typed. If you regret pressing undo or if you pressed it one time too many, you can use the redo button to restore one character at a time. The good thing is that the undo/redo feature works even if you switch to another app and return to the original one. Unfortunately, if you end up force quitting an app, then your undo history is wiped and you have to start afresh. This means that after force quitting an app and opening it again, pressing undo won’t do anything until you type some more words.

Feeling a little betrayed by Plex at the moment.

The Hulu series’ 2017 debut season hits differently in our current political climate.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a beautiful game, though you may want to consider playing it on Balanced mode at least if you’re on a regular PS5.

Seven years in the making, this is a video of BuildsByBaz’s lifesize (28-foot) replica of a Colonial Viper Mark II spaceship from Battlestar Galactica. It’s glorious. Could you imagine sitting in the cockpit of that thing making pew-pew noises to yourself? That’s what my dreams are made of. Just kidding, most of my dreams are made of being chased or all my teeth falling out, and sometimes I’ll pee a little IRL.

A bunch more build photos, videos and information at Baz’s website HERE.

In case you need further evidence that companies involved in AI chip manufacturing are looking to give themselves whatever edge they can, SoftBank is adding to its institutional expertise by buying former Intel president Renee James’ Ampere Computing. The conglomerate is paying $6.5 billion in cash for the chip design business.

Ampere, which James founded in 2018, focused on cloud-native computing at first. No prizes for guessing which area the company has moved into since then: “sustainable AI compute,” according to a press release.

SoftBank is betting that Ampere will bolster Arm’s research and development. It was reported last month that Arm, which SoftBank also owns, is working on an in-house chip.

“As SoftBank Group broadens its AI infrastructure investments in ventures such as Cristal intelligence and Stargate, the acquisition will help enhance SoftBank Group’s capabilities in key areas and accelerate its growth initiatives,” the company said in a statement. Ampere is set to keep its name and run as a wholly owned subsidiary after the deal closes, which is expected to happen later this year pending regulatory approval and other closing conditions.

“With a shared vision for advancing AI, we are excited to join SoftBank Group and partner with its portfolio of leading technology companies,” James, who is CEO of Ampere, said in a statement. “This is a fantastic outcome for our team, and we are excited to drive forward our AmpereOne roadmap for high performance Arm processors and AI.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/softbank-is-buying-ex-intel-president-renee-james-chip-design-company-for-65-billion-141112408.html?src=rss

A new report claims the Trump administration has paused some activity aimed at countering Russian aggression.

Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky has warned that the company’s revived smartwatch line will face significant functionality limitations when paired with iPhones, blaming Apple’s restrictive policies that favor its own Apple Watch. “It’s impossible for a 3rd party smartwatch to send text messages, or perform actions on notifications (like dismissing, muting, replying) and many, many other things,” Migicovsky wrote in a blog post, adding that the situation has “actually gotten worse over the last 8 years.”

A 2024 class action lawsuit cited in the post claims Apple has added further restrictions since iOS 13, including requiring users to display full content previews on their lock screens for notifications to reach third-party watches. Pebble is still developing an iOS app because 40% of potential customers use iPhones, he said. Migicovsky warned that the watch will “always appear to have less developed functionality on iOS than Android” and some features will arrive on Android first.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.