“According to court filings and interviews with lawyers and scholars, the legal profession in recent months has increasingly become a hotbed for AI blunders,” reports the New York Times:
Earlier this year, a lawyer filed a motion in a Texas bankruptcy court that cited a 1985 case called Brasher v. Stewart. Only the case doesn’t exist. Artificial intelligence had concocted that citation, along with 31 others. A judge blasted the lawyer in an opinion, referring him to the state bar’s disciplinary committee and mandating six hours of A.I. training.
That filing was spotted by Robert Freund, a Los Angeles-based lawyer, who fed it to an online database that tracks legal A.I. misuse globally. Mr. Freund is part of a growing network of lawyers who track down A.I. abuses committed by their peers, collecting the most egregious examples and posting them online. The group hopes that by tracking down the A.I. slop, it can help draw attention to the problem and put an end to it… [C]ourts are starting to map out punishments of small fines and other discipline. The problem, though, keeps getting worse. That’s why Damien Charlotin, a lawyer and researcher in France, started an online database in April to track it.
Initially he found three or four examples a month. Now he often receives that many in a day. Many lawyers… have helped him document 509 cases so far. They use legal tools like LexisNexis for notifications on keywords like “artificial intelligence,” “fabricated cases” and “nonexistent cases.” Some of the filings include fake quotes from real cases, or cite real cases that are irrelevant to their arguments. The legal vigilantes uncover them by finding judges’ opinions scolding lawyers…
Court-ordered penalties “are not having a deterrent effect,” said Freund, who has publicly flagged more than four dozen examples this year. “The proof is that it continues to happen.”
For about the price of a mid-range custom PC build, you could instead opt for a top-of-the-line gaming handheld called the OneXFly Apex. OneXPlayer launched its latest Indiegogo campaign for its upcoming handheld that starts at $1,399 and goes up to $2,299 for a fully kitted-out version. While most portable gamers are better off with the Steam Deck, the OneXFly Apex separates itself from the crowd with high-end specs, an external 85Wh battery, and the option for liquid cooling.
OneXPlayer hasn’t divulged the estimated play time you’ll get with its massive battery, but it’s designed to be quickly swapped out with a spare battery that’s sold separately. If the battery runs low, you can either wait a few hours to recharge or hardwire into a power outlet to keep gaming. You can build the OneXFly Apex with up to an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip and 128GB of memory. The Windows handheld has up to 4TB of local storage, but you can expand it by another 4TB thanks to both a mini SSD and a microSD card slot.
OneXPlayer uniquely offers an optional liquid cooling module for the OneXFly Apex, which you have to pay $60 more for. While the starting price may turn people away, OneXPlayer also included non-contact capacitive joysticks that will never get stick drift and Hall triggers that can be toggled for short or long travel modes to justify the handheld’s cost. The OneXFly Apex crowdfunding campaign managed to reach its goal of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars, or roughly $12,850, in less than two minutes. OneXPlayer currently offers four configurations of its gaming handheld, which is expected to start shipping in January 2026.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/onexplayers-premium-gaming-handheld-packs-an-external-85wh-battery-185515162.html?src=rss
Based on some odd Steam Sale timing and a giant gap between them in November, which seems characteristic for Valve when it wants to showcase a product, the studio’s most dedicated fans believe that Half-Life 3 or Valve’s next-gen Steam Frame / Deckard VR headset, may be announced later this month. A Redditor on the r/ValveDeckard subreddit
“A tape-based piece of unique Unix history may have been lying quietly in storage at the University of Utah for 50+ years,” reports The Register. And the software librarian at Silicon Valley’s Computer History Museum, Al Kossow of Bitsavers, believes the tape “has a pretty good chance of being recoverable.”
Long-time Slashdot reader bobdevine says the tape will be analyzed at the Computer History Museum. More from The Register:
The news was posted to Mastodon by Professor Robert Ricci of the University of Utah’s Kahlert School of Computing [along with a picture. “While cleaning a storage room, our staff found this tape containing #UNIX v4 from Bell Labs, circa 1973…” Ricci posted on Mastodon. “We have arranged to deliver it to the Computer History Museum.”] The nine-track tape reel bears a handwritten label reading: UNIX Original From Bell Labs V4 (See Manual for format)…
If it’s what it says on the label, this is a notable discovery because little of UNIX V4 remains. That’s unfortunate as this specific version is especially interesting: it’s the first version of UNIX in which the kernel and some of the core utilities were rewritten in the new C programming language. Until now, the only surviving parts known were the source code to a slightly older version of the kernel and a few man pages — plus the Programmer’s Manual [PDF], from November 1973.
The Unix Heritage Society hosts those surviving parts — and apparently some other items of interest, according to a comment posted on Mastodon. “While going through the tapes from Dennis Ritchie earlier this year, I found some UNIX V4 distribution documents,” posted Mastodon user “Broken Pipe,” linking to tuhs.org/Archive/Applications/Dennis_Tapes/Gao_Analysis/v4_dist/.
There’s a file called license (“The program and information transmitted herewith is and shall remain the property of Bell Lab%oratories…”) and coldboot (“Mount good tape on drive 0…”), plus a six-page “Setup” document that ends with these words…
We expect to have a UNIX seminar early in 1974.
Good luck.
Ken Thompson
Dennis Ritchie
Bell Telephone Labs
Murray Hill, NJ 07974
Your iPhone may soon be able to do more than call for emergency help and send messages via satellite, according to the latest Power On newsletter. Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reported that Apple is planning to expand on satellite features available on iPhones.
Apple introduced the ability to send and receive texts with the Messages via Satellite feature last year, but is reportedly looking to enhance this with the option to send photos too. Beyond texting, Apple wants to enable 5G NTN support on its iPhones, which allows cell towers to get a coverage boost by tapping into satellites, according to Gurman. For anyone who needs directions in a remote area without a cellular or Wi-Fi connection, Apple reportedly has plans to introduce satellite connectivity to Apple Maps.
Along with these upgrades, Gurman reported that Apple is looking into “natural usage” improvements where users won’t have to point their iPhones towards the sky to connect to a satellite network. Instead, an iPhone could stay connected even when there’s no clear view of the sky, like in indoor environments. On the developer side of things, Gurman said that Apple is also working on an API that allows app makers to add satellite connections.
There’s no timeline for when these rumored satellite features will go live, but Apple previously waited a couple of years between introducing Emergency SOS via Satellite in 2022 and Messages via Satellite with the release of iOS 18.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/apple-is-reportedly-working-on-more-satellite-features-for-iphone-172151203.html?src=rss
Neurodiverse professionals may see unique benefits from artificial intelligence tools and agents, research suggests. With AI agent creation booming in 2025, people with conditions like ADHD, autism, dyslexia and more report a more level playing field in the workplace thanks to generative AI.
A recent study from the UK’s Department for Business and Trade found that neurodiverse workers were 25% more satisfied with AI assistants and were more likely to recommend the tool than neurotypical respondents.
[The study involved 1,000 users of Microsoft 365 Copilot from October through December of 2024.]
“Standing up and walking around during a meeting means that I’m not taking notes, but now AI can come in and synthesize the entire meeting into a transcript and pick out the top-level themes,” said Tara DeZao, senior director of product marketing at enterprise low-code platform provider Pega. DeZao, who was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, has combination-type ADHD, which includes both inattentive symptoms (time management and executive function issues) and hyperactive symptoms (increased movement). “I’ve white-knuckled my way through the business world,” DeZao said. “But these tools help so much….”
Generative AI happens to be particularly adept at skills like communication, time management and executive functioning, creating a built-in benefit for neurodiverse workers who’ve previously had to find ways to fit in among a work culture not built with them in mind. Because of the skills that neurodiverse individuals can bring to the workplace — hyperfocus, creativity, empathy and niche expertise, just to name a few — some research suggests that organizations prioritizing inclusivity in this space generate nearly one-fifth higher revenue. “Investing in ethical guardrails, like those that protect and aid neurodivergent workers, is not just the right thing to do,” said Kristi Boyd, an AI specialist with the SAS data ethics practice. “It’s a smart way to make good on your organization’s AI investments.”
Trinity Desktop Environment (TDE) R14.1.5 desktop environment has been released for nostalgic KDE 3.5 users as the fifth maintenance release of the R14.1.x series with various new features and enhancements.
Apple’s AirPods 4 have dropped back down to a record low price in an early Black Friday deal on Amazon. If you aren’t looking for active noise cancellation, the model without ANC is a steal at 30 percent off, bringing it down to just $90 from its usual price of $130. The ANC version is on sale too, for anyone not on as tight a budget. AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation are going for $150 right now, down from $180.
The Apple AirPods 4 are the best budget AirPods you can get in 2025, with Apple’s H2 audio chip to support some of the more advanced audio features from more expensive models. They offer Voice Isolation, Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking and more. If you get the model without active noise cancellation, you won’t have features like Transparency Mode and Conversation Awareness, or Apple’s hearing health tools. But, the entry-level model still offers great sound quality for the price.
This model also features the redesigned shape, which makes for a more comfortable and secure fit so you don’t have to worry about them falling out of your ears. A force sensor on the stem allows for basic touch controls, including play and pause, play next track, previous track and answer a call. You can also summon Siri by pressing and holding the stem. With the ANC version, you also have access to Live Translation, which can be initiated by pressing and holding the stem on both AirPods simultaneously.
You can expect to get up to 5 hours of battery life on a charge with the non-ANC model, and up to 30 hours using the USB-C charging case. On the other model with ANC active, that play time drops by about an hour.
Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/black-friday-apple-deals-include-the-airpods-4-for-90-162917761.html?src=rss
UPDATE (11/9): America’s Federal Aviation Administration has now grounded all U.S. MD-11 and MD-11F aircrafts after Tuesday’s crash “because the agency has determined the unsafe condition is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design,” according to an emergency airworthiness directive obtained by CBS News.
American multinational freight company UPS had already “grounded its fleet of MD-11 aircraft,” reported the Guardian, “days after a cargo plane crash that killed at least 13 people in Kentucky. The grounded MD-11s are the same type of plane involved in Tuesday’s crash in Louisville. They were originally built by McDonnell Douglas until it was taken over by Boeing.”
More details from NBC News:
UPS said the move to temporarily ground its MD-11 fleet was made “out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of safety.” MD-11s make up 9% of the company’s air fleet, it said. “We made this decision proactively at the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our employees and the communities we serve,” UPS spokesman Jim Mayer said… FedEx said early Saturday that it was also grounding its MD-11s. The UPS rival has 28 such planes in operation, out of a fleet of around 700, FedEx said.
Video shows that the left engine of the plane caught fire during takeoff and immediately detached, National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman said Wednesday. The National Transportation Safety Board is the lead agency in the investigation.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader echo123 for suggesting the article.
Budgeting can be a stressful, challenging and uncomfortable experience. While it’s completely possible to do it on your own, we’ve become fans of a few great budgeting apps. Take our favorite budgeting app Quicken, which is having a 50 percent off sale for Black Friday.
The Quicken Simplifi app is down to $3 monthly from $6 monthly, adding up to $36 for the year. Quicken Classic, the company’s “original desktop software” for “experienced investors” is also half off at $6 monthly, down from $12 monthly. The sale starts today and is available until Wednesday, December 3.
One of the many things that sets Quicken Simplifi apart from its competitors is its sleek, easy to use interface. The setup is pretty straightforward and it allows for your spouse or financial advisor to act as co-manager of the account.
It also clearly shows figures like net worth, recent spending, upcoming recurring payments and more. Plus, there’s an option to say if you’re expecting a refund. Quicken Simplifi unfortunately doesn’t offer a free trial so testing it out with a discount means less money invested if it’s not for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/get-half-off-our-favorite-budgeting-app-for-black-friday-140025864.html?src=rss
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida—The field of astrodynamics isn’t a magical discipline, but sometimes it seems trajectory analysts can pull a solution out of a hat.
That’s what it took to save NASA’s ESCAPADE mission from a lengthy delay, and possible cancellation, after its rocket wasn’t ready to send it toward Mars during its appointed launch window last year. ESCAPADE, short for Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, consists of two identical spacecraft setting off for the red planet as soon as Sunday with a launch aboard Blue Origin’s massive New Glenn rocket.
“ESCAPADE is pursuing a very unusual trajectory in getting to Mars,” said Rob Lillis, the mission’s principal investigator from the University of California, Berkeley. “We’re launching outside the typical Hohmann transfer windows, which occur every 25 or 26 months. We are using a very flexible mission design approach where we go into a loiter orbit around Earth in order to sort of wait until Earth and Mars are lined up correctly in November of next year to go to Mars.”
A maintainer of Debian’s Advanced Package Tool (APT) “has announced plans to introduce hard Rust dependencies into APT starting May 2026,” reports the blog It’s FOSS.
The integration targets critical areas like parsing .deb, .ar, and tar files plus HTTP signature verification using Sequoia. [APT maintainer Julian Andres Klode] said these components “would strongly benefit from memory safe languages and a stronger approach to unit testing.”
He also gave a firm message to maintainers of Debian ports: “If you maintain a port without a working Rust toolchain, please ensure it has one within the next 6 months, or sunset the port.”
The reasoning is straightforward. Debian wants to move forward with modern tools rather than being held back by legacy architecture… Debian ports running on CPU architectures without Rust compiler support have six months to add proper toolchains. If they can’t meet this deadline, those ports will need to be discontinued. As a result, some obscure or legacy platforms may lose official support. For most users on mainstream architectures like x86_64 and ARM, nothing changes. Your APT will simply become more secure and reliable under the hood.
It’s FOSS argues that “If done right, this could significantly strengthen APT’s security and code quality.”
And the blog Linuxiac also supports the move. “By embedding Rust into APT, the distro joins a growing number of major open-source projects, such as the Linux kernel, Firefox, and systemd, that are gradually adopting Rust. And if I had to guess, I’d say this is just one of the first steps toward even deeper Rust integration in this legendary distribution, which is a good thing.”
You know what time it is, right? It’s time to shop early Black Friday deals with retailers getting a jump on the annual sale event. If it’s also time to get a new smartwatch, you’re in luck. The Apple Watch Series 10 is back down to an all-time low price. And remember those MacBook Air deals we highlighted a few days ago? Those are still available
Apple has continued its trend of giving users more creative freedom over how their iPhones look and feel, and one of the most striking new customization options in iOS 26 is the ability to stretch the clock on your lock screen. The feature, part of Apple’s refreshed design language for iPhone software, allows the time to expand across more of the screen, giving it a bold, modern appearance. Whether you prefer the minimalist look of small numerals or the dramatic impact of an oversized clock, iOS 26 makes it easy to adjust your lock screen style to suit your taste.
This new resizing option is officially referred to as “adaptive time,” and it transforms what used to be a static lock-screen element into something that feels more fluid and responsive. By dragging a simple on-screen handle, you can expand or shrink the size of the time display, creating a distinctive visual effect that gives your lock screen a fresh new personality.
How to stretch your lock-screen clock
To access the stretch option, start by waking your iPhone and remaining on the lock screen. Instead of unlocking the device, press and hold anywhere on the display to enter customization mode. This brings up a carousel of your saved lock screens, allowing you to edit the one that’s currently active. Tap “Customize,” then choose the “Lock Screen” option to enter the editor.
Once the editing screen appears, tap directly on the clock. This will bring up the familiar font and color panel introduced in earlier versions of iOS. To make the stretch feature available, the first font option (the default and leftmost style) must be selected. It should also be set to use the Arabic Western script. After confirming these settings, tap the clock again to close the font panel.
If the wallpaper supports the feature, a small circular drag handle will appear in the lower-right corner of the clock. Touch and hold this handle, then drag it downward to stretch the clock. The digits will expand in real time as you move your finger. When you’re happy with the size, release the handle. To save your changes, tap “Done” in the top-right corner of the screen. Exiting customization mode will reveal your new, enlarged clock on the lock screen.
If the stretch feature doesn’t appear, the issue is usually related to the font or wallpaper. Some wallpapers, particularly those with subjects that fill the upper portion of the frame, limit how much the clock can expand. If the image leaves little open space, iOS hides the handle to prevent the time from overlapping key parts of the photo. Switching to a simpler or more spacious wallpaper usually resolves this.
Understanding the stretched clock feature
In previous versions of iOS, the lock-screen clock was fixed in place. Regardless of the wallpaper used, its size and position remained the same. iOS 26 changes that by introducing a resize handle that appears on the bottom-right corner of the clock once the screen is in edit mode. When this handle is dragged downward, the digits expand, allowing the time to stretch dramatically toward the center of the screen. The feature works in both directions, meaning the clock can also be shrunk back to its previous size if the stretched look is too much for you.
The stretched clock effect works best with the new Liquid Glass interface design Apple introduced in iOS 26. This approach blends the clock’s font with the background, creating a subtle depth effect where the time appears to hover over the wallpaper. However, the resizing tool is not available on every setup. It only works when specific conditions are met, including the use of the default clock font and the standard Arabic Western script. If any other font or script is selected, the stretch handle will not appear.
Cherlynn Low for Engadget
Troubleshooting and limitations
The stretch function in iOS 26 is a visual adjustment, not a full-scale redesign of the lock screen, and there are a few limitations to be aware of. It works only with the default clock font, and changing the typeface or script will remove the resize option entirely. Users who rely on different numeral styles or custom fonts won’t see the handle appear. Similarly, widgets can interfere with resizing if they occupy too much space beneath the clock. Removing them temporarily can make it easier to adjust the clock size.
Some users have reported that the stretch handle disappears after software updates or when certain Focus modes are active. However, restarting your iPhone or disabling those modes typically restores it. As this is a relatively new feature, Apple may still be refining how it behaves across different iPhone models and lock-screen setups.
The visual impact of the stretched clock depends largely on your wallpaper. Minimal backgrounds with clean space at the top allow the time to expand without cluttering the screen. Complex or busy images tend to reduce the effect, as the clock will automatically adjust its transparency and positioning to stay readable. The stretched design looks particularly polished on wallpapers that match Apple’s new Liquid Glass aesthetic, where colors subtly blend through the numerals for a semi-transparent glow.
Making the most of your stretched clock
While the stretch feature is primarily cosmetic, it contributes to the broader trend of personalization across iOS. Apple’s lock-screen customization tools now include options for widgets, depth-aware wallpapers, color filters and dynamic animations, giving users more control than ever over their device’s appearance. The stretched clock fits naturally into this toolkit, offering an easy way to change the entire mood of your lock screen in seconds.
For users who prefer a bold, modern design, the larger clock size provides immediate impact and better visibility. Those who favor a more minimalist layout can keep it subtle by dragging the handle upward to restore the smaller, classic look. Whatever your preference, the process is reversible and quick, meaning you can experiment freely without losing your original layout.
Apple’s focus with iOS 26 is clearly on personalization and polish. The stretched clock may seem like a small detail, but it captures the overall philosophy behind this update, blending design flexibility with simple, intuitive gestures. With just a few taps and a short drag, your iPhone’s lock screen can transform into something uniquely yours, whether that’s a subtle enhancement or a bold statement across the display.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/how-to-stretch-the-clock-on-your-lock-screen-in-ios-26-130032926.html?src=rss
After popular arcade games like Mortal Kombat and Spy Hunter, Midway Games jumped into the home console market, and in 2003 launched their baseball game franchise “MLB Slugfest” for Xbox, PS2, and GameCube. But at times it was almost a parody of baseball, including announcers filling the long hours of airtime with bizarre, rambling conversations. (“I read today that kitchen utensils are gonna hurt more people tonight than lifting heavy objects during the day…”)
Now former Midway Games producer Mark Flitman has revealed the even weirder conversations rejected by Major League Baseball. (“Ah, baseball on a sunny afternoon. Is there anything better? We’ve been talking about breaking pop bottles with rocks. I guess that is…”) The nonprofit Video Game History Foundation published the text in their digital archive — and shared 79 seconds of sound clips that were actually recorded but never used in the final game. (“Enjoying some smoked whale meat up here in the booth today…”)
Their BlueSky post with the audio drew over 5,500 likes and 2,400 reposts, with one commenter wondering if the bizarre (and unapproved) conversations were “part of the tactic where you include overtly inappropriate content to make the stuff you actually want to keep seem more appropriate.” But the Foundation’s library director thinks the voice actors were just going wild. “We talked with Mark on our podcast and it sounds like they just did a lot of improv and got carried away.” He added later that the game’s producer “would give them prompts and they’d run with it. The voice actors (Kevin Matthews and Tim Kitzrow) have backgrounds in sports radio and comedy, so they came up with wild nonsense like this.”
The gaming site Aftermath notes the Foundation also has an archive page for all the other sound files on the CD. Maybe it’s the ultimate tribute to the craziness that was MLB Slugfest. Years ago some fans of the game shared their memories on Reddit…
“The first time my friend tried to bean me and my hitter caught the ball was so hype, we were freaking out. Every game quickly evolved into trying to get our hitters to charge the mound.”
“I just remembered you could also kick the shit out of the fielder near your base if he got too close. Man that game was awesome.”
“You could do jump kicks into the catcher like Richie from The Benchwarmers.”
“Every time someone got on base we would run the ball over to them and beat their asses for 30 seconds. Good times.”
Six years after the launch of the franchise, Midway Games declared bankruptcy.
Queued into the platform-drivers-x86 “for-next” Git branch ahead of the Linux 6.19 merge window is introducing the handling for the “Rapid Charge” USB-C charging mode to the Lenovo IdeaPad laptop driver…
