Pinokio describes itself as a browser that lets you install, run, and manage any server application, on your local machine. These applications are AI software.
Monthly Archives: March 2025
9to5Linux Weekly Roundup: March 2nd, 2025
The 229th installment of the 9to5Linux Weekly Roundup is here for the week ending on March 2nd, 2025, keeping you updated with the most important things happening in the Linux world.
NASA Photo Captures Sound Barrier Being Broken
NASA used specialized Schlieren photography to capture an image of Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator aircraft breaking the sound barrier on February 10, 2025 and producing shock waves as it exceeded Mach 1. The flight produced no audible sonic boom, marking progress toward the goal of quiet supersonic travel. CNN reports: “This image makes the invisible visible,” said Blake Scholl, founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, in a press release. In order to capture the Schlieren images, Boom chief test pilot Tristan “Geppetto” Brandenburg positioned XB-1 at an exact time in a precise location over the Mojave Desert.
As the aircraft flew in front of the sun, NASA’s team documented the changing air speeds as speeds over Mach 1, the speed of sound (761.23 miles per hour or 1,225.1 kilometers per hour). The images were captured during ground telescopes with special filters that detect air distortions. You can view the photo here.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Rust-Written Redox OS Expands Use Of Dynamic Linking
The Redox OS open-source operating system written from scratch in the Rust programming language is continuing to enjoy nice progress in 2025 on its goals. The Redox OS project has published their February 2025 status update that highlights achievements made over the past month…
Wake, Boot, Repeat: Remote OS Selection With GRUB And ESP
What do you do when you need to choose an OS at boot but aren’t physically near your machine? [Dakhnod]’s inventive solution is a mix of GRUB, Wake-on-LAN (WOL), and a lightweight ESP8266 running a simple HTTP server. In the past, [dakhnod] already enlightened us with another smart ESP hack.
Google Play Is Going To Start Highlighting Apps With Widgets
Google Play on Android devices is being updated to include a new search filter for widgets, widget badges on app detail pages, and a curated editorial page dedicated to widgets. The Verge reports: With the search filter, users will be able to more easily search for apps with widgets. The badge “eliminates guesswork for users and highlights your widget offerings, encouraging them to explore and utilize this capability,” Taiwo-Peters says. And the curated editorial page will show off “collections of excellent widgets.” The updated widget discoverability tools will be “coming soon,” Taiwo-Peters says. “Historically, one of the challenges with investing in widget development has been discoverability and user understanding,” product manager Yinka Taiwo-Peters says in the post. “You’ve asked for better ways for users to find and utilize your widgets, and we’re delivering.” Yinka Taiwo-Peters also acknowledges that “we understand that the effort required to build and maintain widgets needs to be justified by user adoption.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
US To Halt Offensive Cyber Operations Against Russia
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: The United States has suspended its offensive cyber operations against Russia, according to reports, amid efforts by the Trump administration to grant Moscow concessions to end the war in Ukraine. The reported order to halt U.S.-launched hacking operations against Russia was authorized by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to The Record. The new guidance affects operations carried out by U.S. Cyber Command, a division of the Department of Defense focused on hacking and operations in cyberspace, but does not apply to espionage operations conducted by the National Security Agency. The reported order has since been confirmed by The New York Times and The Washington Post.
The order was handed down before Friday’s Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to the reports. The New York Times said that the instruction came as part of a broader effort to draw Russian President Vladimir Putin into talks about the country’s ongoing war in Ukraine. The Guardian also reports that the Trump administration has signaled it no longer views Russian hackers as a cybersecurity threat, and reportedly ordered U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA to no longer report on Russian threats. The newspaper cites a recent memo that set out new priorities for CISA, including threats faced by China and protecting local systems, but the memo did not mention Russia. CISA employees were reportedly informed verbally that they were to pause any work on Russian cyber threats.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Driverless Race Car Sets a New Autonomous Speed Record
A fully driverless Maserati MC20 Coupe set a new autonomous land speed record, reaching 197.7 mph at the Kennedy Space Center. The Verge reports: The Maserati was running self-driving software developed by Politecnico di Milano, Italy’s largest scientific and technological university. The team also worked with the Indy Autonomous Challenge, which most recently ran at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during CES 2025. In the shadow of NASA’s iconic Space Shuttles, the race car flew down the 2.8-mile runway at record-breaking speeds, surpassing the 192.2mph record that was also held by Indy Autonomous Challenge and PoliMOVE, set by an IAC AV-21 race car in April 2022.
The Maserati MC20 is a stylish — and expensive — choice for the autonomous run. Retailing for at least $239,000, the race car sports a mid-mounted, twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 that Maserati calls the Nettuno. The engine makes serious power: 621 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of torque, which is sent through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission to the rear wheels.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
9 Best Free and Open Source Linux Library Management Systems
This article focuses on selecting the best open source Linux software which enables a library to catalogue, track circulation and inventory their assets using an integrated system.
Meta Support Page Suggests Quest’s Passthrough API Is Imminent
Meta’s support website now describes a “headset camera” permission for Quest headsets, suggesting the Passthrough API is launching soon.
What Is Passthrough Camera Access?
While headsets like Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro use cameras to let you see the real world, today only the system software gets raw access to these cameras. Third-party developers can use passthrough as a background, sure, but they don’t actually get access to it. They instead get higher-level data derived by the system, such as hand and body skeletal coordinates, a 3D mesh of your environment with bounding boxes for furniture, and limited object tracking capabilities. That means they can’t run their own computer vision models, which severely limits the augmentation capabilities of these headsets.
The exception is that on visionOS 2, Apple is now giving enterprise companies raw access to Vision Pro’s passthrough cameras for non-public internal apps, but this requires a special licence from Apple and is restricted to “in a business setting only”.
Meta announced the Passthrough API at Connect 2024 back in September, saying that it will “enable all kinds of cutting-edge MR experiences”.
Now, just over five months later, a Meta support page just went live describing a new “headset camera” permission which “allows an app to access the real-time passthrough camera feed from the front of your headset”.
The page was first spotted by VR enthusiast Luna, and gives three examples of how Quest apps could leverage the passthrough view:
• Object recognition. Developers can create apps that recognise and use specific objects within your real-environment. For example, a digital board game that incorporates physical game pieces or boards.
• Location recognition. Developers can create experiences that respond differently depending on where the camera feed shows you are located . For example, indoors or outdoors, at a famous landmark, or in a specific type of room.
• Other machine learning functionality. Developers are able to run custom machine learning models against data from the real-time camera feed. This could be used for retexturing/shading, games involving participants who are not wearing headsets, person/animal detection, or any number of custom industrial/training use-cases.
Android XR Will Let Apps Access The Passthrough Camera View, Google Confirms
Android XR will let apps access the passthrough camera view to, for example, run custom computer vision models, Google confirmed.
David Heaney
Meanwhile, Google confirmed last month that Android XR, its upcoming OS set to debut in Samsung’s standalone headset, will let apps access the passthrough camera view at launch.
Mercedes-Benz GLC with EQ Technology prototype drive: Better when chilled
Before a new car comes to market, it’s subjected to many months, sometimes years, of rigorous testing around the world. Sweden often hosts a big part of that journey, its cold northern expanses offering the perfect mix of frigid temperatures and frozen surfaces.
It’s there that I myself got to do a little testing of an upcoming new EV from Mercedes-Benz. It’s the GLC with EQ Technology, an all-electric version of one of the company’s most popular SUVs. With new batteries, new motors and a higher-voltage charging system, it marks a significant departure from, and upgrade over, the company’s current EV offerings like the EQE SUV.
But could it be better to drive? That’s the question that brought me to Sweden. I’m generally quite comfortable driving on the ice and snow. I’ve certainly been doing it long enough, living in the northeast my entire life and ice racing for the last 20 years. But, put me behind the wheel of a priceless, hand-built prototype and I’ll usually take a few extra minutes before I start to really push things.
Not so when I got behind the steering wheel of the electric GLC SUV. Within 30 seconds, I had my foot flat to the floor, and I, along with a wide-eyed development engineer, were flying down an ice-covered trail bisecting a birch tree stand.
Andre Tillmann on behalf of Mercedes-Benz AG
That’s how good the new GLC’s traction and stability control systems are. Where most cars will simply cut all the power in a slippery situation like that, especially practical-minded ones like a typical crossover SUV, the GLC was far more giving. When the grip was low over sections of dark, glassy ice, the system reduced the power application and kept me from making a big, expensive dent in a snowbank.
When the grip was there, though, the GLC quickly ramped back up to maximum acceleration, relying on the power of its dual electric motors and all-wheel drive to keep us tracking smoothly and cleanly between the trees. Those motors and the smarts that control them are all part of Mercedes-Benz’s new platform, MB.EA. These are permanent magnet type motors, with the front one featuring a physical disconnect to reduce its drag when it’s not needed.
The car also features a new heat pump that’s able to absorb thermal energy from the ambient air as well as the car’s various internal systems. Mercedes engineers said it will warm the cabin twice as fast using half the energy as their current EVs. Indeed, the interior in the GLC was quite cozy despite temperatures well below freezing.
Unfortunately, I can’t comment on the vehicle’s range in those conditions. This is just a pre-production prototype, after all. Still, I’m expecting a substantial improvement over the 307 miles the EQE SUV can manage on a charge. The batteries in the GLC rely on a revised chemistry, said to reduce the reliance on troublesome cobalt while also increasing energy density. That means more miles per pound of battery.
Andre Tillmann on behalf of Mercedes-Benz AG
Another thing helping to extend range is a revised regenerative braking system. The GLC will feature multiple different rates of regen, including a one-pedal mode that will bring the SUV to a complete stop. When you do go for the brake pedal, though, you might notice it feels a little weird.
That’s because stepping on the pedal doesn’t really do anything. Similar to a sim-racing pedal set, the resistance here is simulated. You’re not feeling a hydraulic system squeezing pistons, just springs compressing.
It’s a different sensation, but not a bad one. The idea is that the car will give you a steady, consistent feel regardless of what you’re doing or how you’re driving. The car itself will determine how much of your desired deceleration can come from the regenerative power of the electric motors. When it needs more than they can provide, it seamlessly calls in the physical brakes for reinforcement.
In practice, it works brilliantly. The car stops smoothly and cleanly, and there’s none of the occasional uneven braking that you get when stomping hard on the stop pedal in an EV. The lack of pedal feedback when ABS engages is a bit disappointing, but then I’ve heard that pulse causes some people to lift off the brake pedal, so perhaps it’s for the best.
Andre Tillmann on behalf of Mercedes-Benz AG
When stomping on the other pedal, again, the GLC accelerates strongly. It’s quick enough to keep performance-minded drivers entertained. Still, given the low-grip nature of the roads and trails I covered, I can’t say just how competent a handler it will be.
I can say that the optional air suspension did a sublime job over truly terrible road conditions. Ruts, washboards, frost heaves, you name it, the car happily soaked it up, even raising the suspension by an inch when some deeper snow and ice necessitated a little more ground clearance. On smoother roads, the GLC was every bit the quiet limousine that you want a luxury EV to be. There was a bit of road noise from the aggressively treaded snow tires, but this thing should be a delightful cruiser on normal tires.
The only problem? We’ll have to be patient. The GLC is set to make its formal debut in Germany in September, which means it likely won’t enter production until well into 2026. Mercedes-Benz hasn’t set a price for the electric GLC yet either. Given the state of the world right now, it’s anyone’s guess what the incentive/tariff situation will look like for foreign EVs, even those built in the US like Mercedes-Benz’s current EQS SUV.
If it’s priced right, though, and if it doesn’t look too awful once those camouflage stickers and taped-on protrusions are removed, it should be a winner. I already can’t wait for another go behind the wheel and another chance to get even more comfortable.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/mercedes-benz-glc-with-eq-technology-prototype-drive-better-when-chilled-230157718.html?src=rss
Meta Researchers Generate Photorealistic Avatars From Just Four Selfies
Meta researchers built a “large reconstruction model (LRM)” that can generate an animatable photorealistic avatar head in minutes from just four selfies.
Meta has been researching photorealistic avatar generation and animation for more than six years now, and its highest-quality version even crosses the uncanny valley, in our experience.
One of the biggest challenges for photorealistic avatars to date has been the amount of data and time needed to generate them. Meta’s highest-quality system requires a very expensive specialized capture rig with over 100 cameras. The company has shown research on generating lower quality avatars with a smartphone scan, but this required making 65 facial expressions over the course of more than three minutes, and the data captured took multiple hours to process on a machine with four high end GPUs.
Now, in a new paper called Avat3r, researchers from Meta and Technical University of Munich are presenting a system that can generate an animatable photorealistic avatar head from just four phone selfies, and the processing takes a matter of minutes, not hours.
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On a technical level, Avat3r builds on the concept of a large reconstruction model (LRM), leveraging a transformer for 3D visual tasks in the same sense that large language models (LLMs) do for natural language. This is often called a vision transformer, or ViT. This vision transformer is used to predict a set of 3D Gaussians, akin to the Gaussian splatting you may have heard about in the context of photorealistic scenes such as Varjo Teleport, Meta’s Horizon Hyperscapes, Gracia, and Niantic’s Scaniverse.
The specific implementation of Avat3r’s animation system isn’t driven by a VR headset’s face and eye tracking sensors, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be adapted to leverage this as the input.
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However, while Avat3r’s data and compute requirements for generation are remarkably low, it’s nowhere near suitable for real-time rendering. According to the researchers, the end result system runs at just 8 FPS on an RTX 3090. Still, in AI it’s common to see subsequent iterations of new ideas achieve orders of magnitude optimizations, and Avat3r’s approach shows a promising path to one day, eventually, letting headset owners set up a photorealistic avatar with a few selfies and minutes of generation time.
Microsoft Unveils New Voice-Activated AI Assistant For Doctors
Microsoft has introduced Dragon Copilot, a voice-activated AI assistant for doctors that integrates dictation and ambient listening tools to automate clinical documentation, including notes, referrals, and post-visit summaries. The tool is set to launch in May in the U.S. and Canada. CNBC reports: Microsoft acquired Nuance Communications, the company behind Dragon Medical One and DAX Copilot, for about $16 billion in 2021. As a result, Microsoft has become a major player in the fiercely competitive AI scribing market, which has exploded in popularity as health systems have been looking for tools to help address burnout. AI scribes like DAX Copilot allow doctors to draft clinical notes in real time as they consensually record their visits with patients. DAX Copilot has been used in more than 3 million patient visits across 600 health-care organizations in the last month, Microsoft said.
Dragon Copilot is accessible through a mobile app, browser or desktop, and it integrates directly with several different electronic health records, the company said. Clinicians will still be able to draft clinical notes with the assistant like they could with DAX Copilot, but they’ll be able to use natural language to edit their documentation and prompt it further, Kenn Harper, general manager of Dragon products at Microsoft, told reporters on the call. For instance, a doctor could ask questions like, “Was the patient experiencing ear pain?” or “Can you add the ICD-10 codes to the assessment and plan?” Physicians can also ask broader treatment-related queries such as, “Should this patient be screened for lung cancer?” and get an answer with links to resources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. […]
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
No Borders, No Threats – Secure Your Online Adventures With NordVPN
Tired of internet restrictions? Here’s a VPN that’s set to change your browsing experience—for the better.
The Best Star Wars, Marvel, and Transformers Toys We Saw at New York Toy Fair
We’ve also got Godzilla, One Piece, Pokémon, Twilight, and so much more.
Researchers surprised to find less-educated areas adopting AI writing tools faster
Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, experts have debated how widely AI language models would impact the world. A few years later, the picture is getting clear. According to new Stanford University-led research examining over 300 million text samples across multiple sectors, AI language models now assist in writing up to a quarter of professional communications across sectors. It’s having a large impact, especially in less-educated parts of the United States.
“Our study shows the emergence of a new reality in which firms, consumers and even international organizations substantially rely on generative AI for communications,” wrote the researchers.
The researchers tracked large language model (LLM) adoption across industries from January 2022 to September 2024 using a dataset that included 687,241 consumer complaints submitted to the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), 537,413 corporate press releases, 304.3 million job postings, and 15,919 United Nations press releases.
Apple’s ‘Friday Night Baseball’ is back on March 28 with a World Series documentary in tow
Apple’s offered Major League Baseball games through the Apple TV app since 2022, and that’s continuing in 2025, with new programming at no additional cost. The company announced that “Friday Night Baseball” is coming back on March 28, and that its releasing a three-part docuseries on the 2024 World Series and a new Yankees-focused Immersive Video for the Vision Pro.
The opening weekend double-header on March 28 features a match between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays at 6:30 PM ET and the New York Mets and Houston Astros at 7:30 PM ET. Apple says its season coverage will also include a rematch between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers after their World Series face-off in 2024, a game between the Texas Rangers and Astros, and match-ups between the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies and the Dodgers and the Mets. You can view the complete schedule for the first half of the season in Apple’s press release.
Apple TV+ subscribers will also be able to watch coverage throughout the week on MLB shows like MLB Big Inning or Countdown to First Pitch, along with game recaps and replays of classic games. What’s more interesting is the narrative documentary work Apple plans to release this season. The docuseries Fight For Glory: 2024 World Series covers the Dodgers and Yankees journey to last year’s World Series and how each team handled their post-season. Meanwhile, the small Venn diagram of Yankees devotees who also happen to be Vision Pro owners will be able to watch VIP: Yankee Stadium, a short film shot in Apple’s Immersive Video format that “gives viewers an all-access pass to one of the world’s most iconic sports venues.”
While Apple has reportedly toyed with buying the rights to NFL Prime Ticket in the past, so far the company’s sports programming only covers Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball. “Friday Night Baseball” launched for free in the Apple TV app in 2022, and was moved behind the Apple TV+ paywall in 2023. That subscription required continues in 2025, though Apple is clearly trying to sweeten the deal with some additional baseball content this season.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/apples-friday-night-baseball-is-back-on-march-28-with-a-world-series-documentary-in-tow-222335747.html?src=rss
DOGE Just Keeps Deleting Its ‘Savings’
Another $4 billion was pulled off the “wall of receipts.”
TSMC Pledges To Spend $100 Billion On US Chip Facilities
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Chipmaker TSMC said that it aims to invest “at least” $100 billion in chip manufacturing plants in the U.S. over the next four years as part of an effort to expand the company’s network of semiconductor factories. President Donald Trump announced the news during a press conference Monday. TSMC’s cash infusion will fund the construction of several new facilities in Arizona, C. C. Wei, chairman and CEO of TSMC, said during the briefing. “We are going to produce many AI chips to support AI progress,” Wei said.
TSMC previously pledged to pour $65 billion into U.S.-based fabrication plants and has received up to $6.6 billion in grants from the CHIPS Act, a major Biden administration-era law that sought to boost domestic semiconductor production. The new investment brings TSMC’s total investments in the U.S. chip industry to around $165 billion, Trump said in prepared remarks. […] TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip maker, already has several facilities in the U.S., including a factory in Arizona that began mass production late last year. But the company currently reserves its most sophisticated facilities for its home country of Taiwan.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The Google Pixel 9 Is $200 Off Right Now
We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.
The Pixel 9 is the latest series of the Google Pixel phone lineup. They were released late last summer with the 9 Pro and Pro XL getting released as well. But if you’re OK with an already good camera and prefer to save some money, the 128 GB unlocked Pixel 9 is just $599 (originally $799) after a $200 discount, the lowest price it has been since its release, according to price-tracking tools. You can get it in obsidian, peony, or porcelain.
Brand: Google, OS: Android 14, RAM: 12 GB, Storage: 128 GB, Screen Size: 6.3 Inches.
Google Pixel 9 (Obsidian)
$599.00
at Amazon
$799.00
Save $200.00
Save $200.00
$599.00
at Amazon
$799.00
Save $200.00
Save $200.00
Brand: Google, OS: Android 14, RAM: 12 GB, Storage: 128 GB, Screen Size: 6.3 Inches.
Google Pixel 9 (Peony)
$599.00
at Amazon
$799.00
Save $200.00
Save $200.00
$599.00
at Amazon
$799.00
Save $200.00
Save $200.00
Brand: Google, OS: Android 14, RAM: 12 GB, Storage: 128 GB, Screen Size: 6.3 Inches.
Google Pixel 9 (Porcelain)
$599.00
at Amazon
$799.00
Save $200.00
Save $200.00
$599.00
at Amazon
$799.00
Save $200.00
Save $200.00
As most Pixel fans are probably aware, the budget Pixel 9a is expected to release sometime this month, which probably explains the new discount of the Pixel 9. If the pattern continues, you’ll likely see the Pixel 9a come out for $500 during the pre-order sale. Also, if the trend of a-series phones continues, the Pixel 9 might still be a better value than the 9a.
The Pixel 9 comes with 12GB of RAM, starts with 128GB of memory storage, a maximum 120 HZ refresh rate, and the Android 14 operating system. Lifehacker’s associate tech editor Michelle Ehrhardt deemed the more premium Pixel 9 Pro’s hardware as the best Google has made so far, but its AI features still had hiccups. However, AI features will keep improving over time; the most important thing to get right is the hardware.
The battery life can last almost 12 hours, according to PCMag’s “excellent” review. The main camera has a 50MP shooter, a 48MP ultra-wide camera with a 123-degree field of view, same as the Pro models, but it has a single-zone laser detect autofocus (LDAF) sensor (the pro has multi-zone LDAF).
If you have the Pixel 8, you might not notice a huge upgrade in this version. However, if you’re upgrading from an older version or doing a switch from a non-Pixel phone, the 9 has a lot to offer. One of my favorite things about Pixel phones is the ongoing support for many years. My Pixel 6A still gets all of the updates and tons of AI features that make the phone feel fresh many years later, with the latest ones dropping last month. With the Pixel 9, you’ll be getting a quality phone with software updates for a while (as long as seven years).