Platypus PP-Ethernet-RS422/485 with Raspberry Pi RP2040 and W5500 for Serial-to-Ethernet Conversion

The PP-Ethernet-RS422/485 from Platypus is a compact module that bridges serial communication with Ethernet networks. It is based on WIZnet’s W55RP20, a chip combining Raspberry Pi’s RP2040 MCU and the W5500 Ethernet controller, providing a low-cost and integrated solution for serial-to-Ethernet conversion. The RP2040 provides dual Arm Cortex-M0+ processors with 264 KB of SRAM, while […]

85% of College Students Report AI Use

College students have integrated generative AI into their academic routines at an unprecedented scale as 85% report usage for coursework in the past year, according to new Inside Higher Ed survey data. The majority employ AI tools for brainstorming ideas, seeking tutoring assistance, and exam preparation rather than wholesale academic outsourcing. Only 25% admitted using AI to complete assignments entirely, while 19% generated full essays.

Students overwhelmingly reject institutional policing approaches, with 53% favoring education on ethical AI use over detection software deployment. Despite widespread adoption, 35% of respondents report no change in their perception of college value, while 23% view their degrees as more valuable in the AI era.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Steam On Linux Use Recedes Slightly During August

For the Steam Survey results published last month for July it showed Steam on Linux use approaching 3%. With hitting 2.89% in July there was hope that perhaps in August it would breach the elusive 3.0% threshold not seen since the original days of Steam on Linux when the overall Steam user base was also much smaller than it is today. But that didn’t pan out and Steam on Linux numbers for August are showing a small dip…

US Tourism Suffers 8.2% Decline

International tourism to the United States faces an unprecedented 8.2% decline in 2025, with the World Travel and Tourism Council projecting a $12.5 billion loss in visitor spending — the only decline among 184 economies analyzed. Canadian visitors, traditionally comprising 28% of international arrivals, have dropped by approximately 25% through July.

Seattle tour operators report 30-50% fewer Canadian customers with many explicitly citing recent tariff policies and political rhetoric as deterrents. The newly implemented $250 “visa integrity fee” for certain countries compounds existing concerns about immigration policies and National Guard deployments in major cities. Tourism Economics now projects full recovery to pre-pandemic levels won’t occur until 2029, three years later than initially forecast.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Salesforce CEO Says AI Enabled Him To Cut 4,000 Jobs

An anonymous reader shares a report: Speaking to The Logan Bartlett Show on Friday, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said the use of AI agents had enabled him to “rebalance” his headcount in the customer support division by trimming 4,000 jobs. “I’ve reduced it from 9,000 head to about 5,000 because I need less heads,” Benioff said. Benioff called the first eight months of 2025, during which an estimated 10,000 jobs have been lost to AI, “eight of the most exciting months of my career.”

“There were more than 100 million leads that we have not called back at Salesforce in the last 26 years because we have not had enough people,” Benioff said. “We just couldn’t call them back. But we now have an agentic sales that is calling back every person that contacts us.”


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google says reports of a major Gmail security issue are ‘entirely false’

Google is officially debunking a series of reports that claimed Gmail has been hit with a “major” security issue in recent days. “We want to reassure our users that Gmail’s protections are strong and effective,” the company said in a somewhat unusual statement. “Several inaccurate claims surfaced recently that incorrectly stated that we issued a broad warning to all Gmail users about a major Gmail security issue. This is entirely false.”

Google doesn’t detail the erroneous claims in its post. But, as Forbes points out, it seems to be referring to several recent reports that stated the company issued an “emergency warning” to all of its 2.5 billion users in response to a phishing attack that targeted a Salesforce instance used by the company. That incident, however, was first reported by Google in early June, and the company said in an August 8 update that it had finished notifying everyone affected.

It’s not clear why that report resurfaced now or how it was misconstrued into a supposed warning impacting all Gmail users, but Google is now trying to set the record straight. “While it’s always the case that phishers are looking for ways to infiltrate inboxes, our protections continue to block more than 99.9% of phishing and malware attempts from reaching users,” the company said. “It’s crucial that conversation in this space is accurate and factual.”

Google also notes that it encourages all users to set up “a secure password alternative,” such as a passkey for maximum protection.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/google-says-reports-of-a-major-gmail-security-issue-are-entirely-false-224812292.html?src=rss

US Gov’t Deals Major Blow To Samsung And SK Hynix Chip Production In China

US Gov't Deals Major Blow To Samsung And SK Hynix Chip Production In China
The U.S. government increased technology export restrictions into China today, in a move that delivered crushing blow to Korean manufacturers Samsung and SK Hynix. The restrictions specifically affect production of memory (DRAM) and storage chips (NAND) that are in manufactured inside China.

Until today, both Samsung and SK Hynix enjoyed

Meta Allegedly Made Flirty AI Chatbots Of Taylor Swift & Other Celebs Without Consent

Meta Allegedly Made Flirty AI Chatbots Of Taylor Swift & Other Celebs Without Consent
A recent report has shown that some AI chatbots, which users have created with Meta’s AI Studio, allegedly impersonate and sexually objectify celebrities without their consent.

Meta users can AI Studio to create chatbot characters with unique names, personalities, tones, and avatars, which can be shared across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

GNOME loses another executive director

The GNOME Foundation has announced
that Steven Deobald will be leaving the position of Executive Director
after just four months.

We are extremely grateful to Steven for all this and more. Despite
these many positive achievements, Steven and the board have come to
the conclusion that Steven is not the right fit for the Executive
Director role at this time. We are therefore bidding Steven a fond
farewell.

MINIX Expands Elite Series with EU512-AI Mini PC Based on Intel Core Ultra 5 125H

The EU512-AI is a compact mini PC built for multi-display setups, AI-assisted workloads, and high-speed networking. It supports four 4K displays, offers wired and wireless connectivity, and integrates an NPU for edge inference in space-limited environments. This system is functionally identical to the MINIX Elite EU715-AI introduced in April, except that it features the Intel […]