China Hacked Email Systems of US Congressional Committee Staff

Posted on by

China has hacked the emails used by congressional staff on powerful committees in the US House of Representatives, as part of a massive cyber espionage campaign known as Salt Typhoon. An anonymous reader shares a report: Chinese intelligence accessed email systems used by some staffers [non-paywalled source] on the House China committee in addition to aides on the foreign affairs committee, intelligence committee and armed services committee, according to people familiar with the attack. The intrusions were detected in December.

The attacks are the latest element of an ongoing cyber campaign against US communication networks by the Ministry of State Security, China’s intelligence service. One person familiar with the attack said it was unclear if the MSS had accessed lawmakers’ emails. The MSS has been operating Salt Typhoon for several years. It allows China to access the unencrypted phone calls, texts and voicemails of almost every American, and in some cases enables access to email accounts. Salt Typhoon has also intercepted the calls of senior US officials over the past couple of years, said people familiar with the campaign.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

How the Race Was Won: Drunken Intersections on the Neon Shore Loop (TTT)

Posted on by

The first race of Zwift Racing League Round 3 happened on Tuesday: a team time trial on the new Neon Shore Loop in Makuri Islands. While the very climby list of routes selected for Round 3 struck a bit of fear in my “overmuscled” heart, this looked like the sort of race my team (Coalition Delusion) could win…

Heat Training: Fool Me Once…

You may recall that the last TTT we won was in NYC, despite me mistakingly doing a hard heat training session the day before that definitely limited my race efforts.

This time around, I made sure I didn’t push too hard the day before. I rode the first event of Tour de Zwift at an easier pace, then turned off the fan and road easy for another 15 minutes to get just a bit of heat training in, to keep my adaptation level up. (More on heat training in an upcoming post… I’ve been doing a lot of it, and learning a lot along the way!)

Planning Our Race

Heading into the race, my team was chatting about all things course and strategy as usual. Captain Neil had our pull order worked out, with a bit of help from the Zwift TTT Calculator:

It was William’s first time riding with us, but we knew the drill: call out when you’re on deck. Call your stopping time when you get to the front. Call when you’ve got 5-10 seconds left in your pull. Call out if there’s a gap.

Basically: stick to the plan, and communicate well. Chris M would be our DS on the day, since he wasn’t riding. Always nice to have a non-riding DS for TTT weeks!

The new Neon Shore Loop route seemed fairly straightforward as a TTT course, since it was essentially flat, with three short and draftable climbs thrown in to make things interesting. We would hold formation on the flats, trying to hold our target power on our pulls, then push as hard as possible on the climbs. It’s proved a winning formula thus far… and we had no better ideas. Let’s race!

The Race

We began our race in Neokyo with around 10km of flat roads. This is a lovely way to start a TTT, especially if you’ve got some new team members. It lets you work on the fundamentals: hitting your pull targets, rotating smoothly, communicating clearly.

Two things we quickly noticed:

  1. The new drafting indicator was nice
  2. The game’s auto-steering made us look like a bunch of n00bs at every intersection, breaking formation and veering across the road

Here’s a quick screenshot of what our lovely single-file formation looked like just after a 90-degree turn at a Neokyo intersection:

Most TTTs aren’t on intersection-heavy roads like Neokyo, so perhaps I just haven’t noticed this issue before. Or perhaps it’s because I can easily see what I’m missing now that the draft indicator is live!

This may not be a popular opinion, but I think it’s time to allow steering in these races. Maybe I’d change my mind after actually racing a TTT with steering (I never have), but I really like the idea of being able to control my left-right position.

I was on the front, taking my third rotation on the day, when we hit the first little uphill: the riser to the second level, which takes us to the Rooftop KOM. I bumped my power up from my target (370W) to just over 400W, to keep speeds high on the climb without blowing myself or my teammates up. It seemed to work well, which was a good sign for me: it meant I was riding strong enough that teammates who are better climbers weren’t coming around me on uphills. But as we crested the top and Will began his pull, a gap opened up to Captain Neil, who was valiantly riding his second TTT of the day.

A bit of instruction from Chris for the front to ease, and we were back together for the start of the Rooftop KOM. We stayed roughly in formation on the lower part of the climb where speeds are high as you stairstep between slack climbing and flat road. Then it was time for my fourth pull as we hit the spot where racers traditionally attack, so I let everyone know I would just hold steady power and try to pace us to the top of the KOM.

Climbs can be messy in a TTT, and it can really simplify things if you know a particular rider is just going to keep it steady to the top.

I probably should have kept my #6 camera view live during this entire pull, but I didn’t activate it until I heard Chris ask me to ease up a bit, as a gap was forming. It’s never easy to hit that perfect pace in a situation like this, because you basically want to push as hard as your team can possibly go on a climb, since that’s where you can make up a lot of time in a TTT scenario.

Anyway, I eased, we regrouped, then we came over the top and settled in for lots of descent and flat roads, all the way down to Urukazi.

As usual, I had Sauce for Zwift running so I could see time gaps to nearby teams. It was showing that we were catching riders ahead, and pulling away from the team behind. Good signs! But it ain’t over ’til it’s over…

The next big effort we’d face would be the Pain Cavern, and as we were getting close to it, teammate Will had to skip some pulls. We made the call to have him do one last suicide pull in the run-in to Pain Cavern, and he executed it perfectly, holding the target pace until he blew up. We came around and kept pushing on, rotating through our remaining riders.

As I started my pull, we were in the middle of the figure 8 portion of the Pain Cavern, where racers typically attack. I eased a bit to keep the team together, then the road flattened and speeds ramped up as we exited the cavern with 2km to go and a team just a few seconds ahead!

Shorter pulls are often the way to go in the final 1-2 minutes of a race, as legs are tired but you want to finish fast. With 1.3km left in the race I came to the front and announced I’d be pulling for just 30 seconds, but pulling hard to catch the team ahead. Let’s go, boys! I do love a good carrot.

We passed the team with 900 meters to go, and I dropped a Ride On bomb as their lead rider waved. Class! Then Fabian came to the front and three down one last pull before rotating off with 500 meters left. Go go go!

Everyone on the team was pushing hard, a sort of friendly final race to empty the tank and not be last across the line. If it was a race, I guess I pipped Andrew at the line:

See my ride on Strava >

Watch the Video

Results and Takeaways

Heading over to WTRL’s website, we learned that we had indeed taken first place:

WTRL has placed us in the B2 division this round, which seems a bit odd since we took second place in B1 last round. Perhaps WTRL will re-sort the divisions after this race?

On the other hand, given the hilly nature of every other race this round, perhaps B2 is exactly where we should be. Because while our TTT result would have beaten all the B1 teams as well, our strength as a team has never been found in the hills.

Personally, I was happy with my performance in this race. I felt like my heart rate was a bit lower than usual, possibly a product of all the heat training I’ve been doing. And I was able to consistently put in 1-minute pulls, which I haven’t always been able to do.

We wrapped up the day with our traditional team photo:

What about you?

How did your TTT go? Share below…

Super Star Torn To Pieces By Black Hole Releases Energy Equal To 400 Billion Suns

Posted on by
Super Star Torn To Pieces By Black Hole Releases Energy Equal To 400 Billion Suns
Astronomers have captured the moment a supermassive black hole literally tore apart a super sun (one 30 times larger than our own) and released a burst of energy equivalent to 400 billion suns. 

Affectionately called the “Whippet” (officially AT2024wpp), this Tidal Disruption Event (TDE) occurred on a scale that defied traditional expectations.

Why AMD Isn’t Losing Sleep Over Panther Lake’s Big GPU Upgrade

Posted on by
Why AMD Isn't Losing Sleep Over Panther Lake's Big GPU Upgrade
As impressive as the debut of Intel’s mobile Panther Lake lineup at CES 2026 was, AMD has gone on the record as being “not afraid” of Intel’s latest and greatest architecture. The reason for this is because Intel didn’t compare Panther Lake to AMD’s top-of-the-line Strix Halo in its slides, with an AMD executive saying, “Strix Halo, or Ryzen

The next Xbox Developer Direct showcase is on January 22

Posted on by

Xbox will kick off the fourth installment of its Developer Direct event on January 22 at 1PM ET. As usual, we’ll get a glimpse at what the upcoming year has in store along with news, new gameplay footage and more directly from the teams behind this year’s slate of games.

It’s officially Developer_Direct season!

Join us on January 22 at 10am PT for an exclusive look at Fable, Forza Horizon 6, and Beast of Reincarnation: https://t.co/FvFUT7RzVZ | #DeveloperDirect pic.twitter.com/GMRpVDxucs

— Xbox (@Xbox) January 8, 2026

In a blog post announcing the event, Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief Jon Skrebels said Xbox’s 25-year anniversary will be marked by the return of some beloved franchises. Gamers will also get their first extended look at Fable, a reboot of the iconic series. The event will also be unveiling gameplay footage for Forza Horizon 6, the upcoming open-world racing game set in Japan. UK studio Playground Games is behind both titles.

The showcase will also include new details and gameplay from Beast of Reincarnation, the “one-person, one-dog” role-playing game. The game is being developed by Game Freak, the studio best known for its series of Pokémon games, and follows protagonist Emma and her canine companion in post-apocalyptic Japan.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/the-next-xbox-developer-direct-showcase-is-on-january-22-154444166.html?src=rss

‘UNDERDOGS’ PSVR 2 Port Won’t Get Multiplayer Due to Low Player Numbers

Posted on by

UNDERDOGS (2024) landed on PSVR 2 back in March 2025, making the popular physics-based mech brawler available across all major VR headsets. While the game is slated to get full multiplayer support on Quest and SteamVR, PSVR 2 owners won’t be so lucky.

The News

Developer One Hamsa released the news via an Instagram reel this week that Underdogs won’t be getting multiplayer content on PSVR 2.

“Porting to PlayStation is a ton of work. It took months to port Underdogs,” said Game Director Dave Levy. “We are a really small team. We have a pretty small budget to work with and we really need to make every work hour count, so we were hoping to reach a lot of new players with this port, but that didn’t happen. It really bums me to say it, but the truth is that without more of you we simply can’t afford to add whole new parts of the game like multiplayer.”

While full multiplayer support is still in the works for Quest and PC VR versions, both platforms recently received an update last month that brought a multiplayer mini-game, called ‘BALLTAG’, which the studio maintains is “the first stop on the way to multiplayer.”

The single player roguelike is highly rated across PC VR and Quest, garnering both an ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ overall user score on Steam and a [4.8/5] user score on Quest.

Underdogs was also awarded our Excellence in Locomotion and Excellence in Indie Development in in 2024’s Road to VR Game of the Year Awards.

My Take

Here I go again, rehashing the same points I made in my recent piece on why Capcom isn’t bringing a VR adaptation of Resident Evil Requiem to PSVR 2. Every time I hear a veteran developer essentially say “PSVR 2 isn’t worth it,” it bears mentioning: Sony basically gave up on PSVR 2 right after its 2023 launch.

And honestly, I’m surprised developer interest in PSVR 2 hadn’t waned earlier. Not only has Sony not invested in its second-gen VR platform to nearly the same degree it did with the original 2016 PSVR for PS4, it has also entirely cut PSVR 2 loose from the PS5 console ecosystem with the addition of an optional wired adapter that allows users to play SteamVR games via a VR-capable computer. It’s contrary to the entire ethos of the closed console ecosystem.

If you own a PSVR 2, you might still be getting new games in the coming month/years—some developers have large enough teams and enough console know-how to make porting relatively straight forward. Still, I’d expect to hear a lot more developer stories like One Hamsa’s, as the player pool will only continue shrinking without strong support from Sony.

The post ‘UNDERDOGS’ PSVR 2 Port Won’t Get Multiplayer Due to Low Player Numbers appeared first on Road to VR.

[$] SFC v. VIZIO: who can enforce the GPL?

Posted on by

The

Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) is

suing

VIZIO over smart TVs that
include software licensed under the GPL and LGPL (including the Linux kernel,
FFmpeg, systemd, and others).
VIZIO didn’t provide the source code along with the device, and on request they
only provided some of it. Unlike a typical lawsuit about enforcing the GPL, the
SFC isn’t suing as a copyright holder; it’s suing as
a normal owner of the TV
in question. This approach opens some important legal questions, and after years
of pre-trial maneuvering (most recently resulting in
a ruling related to signing keys that
is the subject of a separate article),
we might finally obtain some answers when the case goes
to trial on January 12. As things stand, it seems likely that the judge in
the case will rule that that the GPL-enforcement lawsuits can be a matter of
contract law, not just copyright law, which would be a major change to how GPL
enforcement works.

[$] GPLv2 and installation requirements

Posted on by

On December 24 2025, Linus Torvalds posted a strongly
worded message celebrating a ruling in
the ongoing GPL-compliance lawsuit filed
against VIZIO by the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC). This case and
Torvalds’s response have put a spotlight on an old debate over the extent
to which the source-code requirements of the GNU
General Public License (version 2) extend to keys and other data
needed to successfully install modified software on a device. It is worth
looking at whether this requirement exists, the subtleties in
interpretation that cloud the issue, and the extent to which, if any, the
SFC is demanding that information.

How Did TVs Get So Cheap?

Posted on by

A 50-inch TV that would have set you back $1,100 at Best Buy during Black Friday 2001 now costs less than $200, and the price per area-pixel — a metric accounting for both screen size and resolution — has dropped by more than 90% over the past 25 years. The story behind this decline is largely one of liquid crystal display technology maturing from a niche product to a mass-manufactured commodity.

LCDs represented just 5% of the TV market in 2004; by 2018, they commanded more than 95%. The largest driver of cost reduction has been the scaling up of “mother glass” sheets — the large panels of extremely clear glass onto which semiconductor materials are deposited before being cut into individual displays. The first generation sheets measured roughly 12 by 16 inches. Today’s Generation 10.5 sheets span 116 by 133 inches, nearly 100 times the original area. This scaling delivers substantial savings because equipment costs rise more slowly than glass area increases.

Moving from Gen 4 to Gen 5 mother glass cut the cost per diagonal inch by 50%. Equipment costs per unit of panel area fell 80% between Gen 4 and Gen 8. Process improvements have compounded these gains: masking steps required for thin-film transistors dropped from eight to four, yields climbed from 50% to above 90%, and a “one drop fill” technique reduced liquid crystal filling time from days to minutes.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Future iPhones May Use 200MP Camera And Cutting-Edge Multispectral Tech

Posted on by
Future iPhones May Use 200MP Camera And Cutting-Edge Multispectral Tech
Apple is reportedly exploring camera technology currently being used in medical, archeology, and the military, with rumors suggesting the integration of multispectral imaging and high-resolution 200MP sensors in forthcoming iPhones. That would certainly be exciting if true, though as always, treats rumors like this with a grain of salt.

According

ASUS ROG NeoCore Wi-Fi 8 Router Concept Brings Dungeons And Dragons Vibes

Posted on by
ASUS ROG NeoCore Wi-Fi 8 Router Concept Brings Dungeons And Dragons Vibes
Forget for a moment that ASUS is already embracing the Wi-Fi 8 standard when the vast majority of consumers have yet to upgrade their home networks to Wi-Fi 7 hardware, let alone Wi-Fi 6E or even Wi-Fi 6. The real story here is the design of ASUS ROG’s NeoCore Wi-Fi 8 router concept—is it just me or does it look it could be rolled like a D20

[$] LWN.net Weekly Edition for January 8, 2026

Posted on by

Inside this week’s LWN.net Weekly Edition:

  • Front: What to expect in 2026; LAVD scheduler; libpathrs; Questions for the TAB; Graphite; 2025 timeline.
  • Briefs: shadow-utils 4.19.0; Android releases; IPFire 2.29-199; Manjaro 26.0; curl strcpy(); GNU ddrescue 1.30; Ruby 4.0; Partial GPL ruling; Quotes; …
  • Announcements: Newsletters, conferences, security updates, patches, and more.

Mondraker’s ‘playful’ entry-level Scree gets latest Bosch motor and 130mm of travel

Posted on by

Mondraker has revealed the Scree, an all-aluminium trail bike that promises to open the door to the ebike world for new riders as well as those transitioning from non-assisted bikes.

The electric mountain bike features an all-aluminium frame, which has sleek welds that make it look almost monocoque.

It’s powered by a Bosch Performance CX Gen 5 motor with 100Nm of torque, and removable 800Wh and 600Wh batteries.

While the bike is designed for trail riding, with 130mm rear suspension, the 150mm fork up front shows all-mountain ambition.

There are four build options, starting at £4,999 / $5,999 / €5,199 for the Scree S 600 and topping out at £6,599 / $8,199 / €6,999 for the Scree RR.

All-alloy frame

Mondraker Scree rear suspension
The updated Zero Suspension System lowers the bike’s centre of gravity. Mondraker

Mondraker says the Scree borrows from its enduro models, with the bike featuring its updated Zero Suspension System that sees the rear shock placed low in the frame, dissecting the seat tube.

The brand says it inherits performance from the Crafty, while packaging it in a more playful format for assisted newcomers.

Mondraker Scree Kiosk 400
All models feature the Kiosk 400 display. Mondraker

It has 20mm less travel than the carbon bike, 130mm compared to 150mm in the frame, and 10mm less up front.

The frame is made from the brand’s premium Stealth Evo aluminium, and has a purposely low standover height for more confidence on the trails.

Mondraker Scree Bosch Performance Line CX
The Bosch Performance Line CX is a benchmark motor. Mondraker

Driving the bike is Bosch’s Performance CX Gen 5, which now has the full 100Nm of torque, and is controlled via a Kiox 400 display on the top tube and mini remote on the bar.

Mondraker Scree battery
A hex key is needed to drop the battery. Mondraker

The battery is removable and is accessed via a latch on the down tube, making it easy to swap should you plan on some epic days.

There are two battery options for the bike, with the Scree S 600 featuring a 600Wh battery and the Scree S, Scree R and Scree RR using the 800Wh battery.

Mondraker Scree on mountain trail
The Scree has a low standover height, which should benefit smaller riders. Mondraker

Cable routing is through ports on the head tube, meaning maintenance should involve less hassle, while there’s a soft plastic chain protector, mudguard and sump protector to keep things running quietly.

Mondraker Scree S 600 price and spec

Mondraker Scree S 600
The Scree S 600 is the cheapest in the range. Mondraker
  • Fork: RockShox Psylo Silver 29, 150mm
  • Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select DebonAir
  • Motor: Bosch Performance Line CX
  • Battery: Bosch PowerTube 600Wh
  • Drivetrain: SRAM 70 Eagle
  • Brakes: SRAM DB6
  • Wheels: WTB Sportterra Tough
  • Tyres: Maxxis Dissector 29×2.6in
  • Price:  £4,999 / $5,999 / €5,199

Mondraker Scree S price and spec

Mondraker Scree S
The Scree S is the first in the range to feature an 800Wh battery. Mondraker
  • Fork: RockShox Psylo Silver 29, 150mm
  • Shock: RockShox Deluxe Select DebonAir
  • Motor: Bosch Performance Line CX
  • Battery: Bosch PowerTube 800Wh
  • Drivetrain: SRAM 70 Eagle
  • Brakes: SRAM DB6
  • Wheels: WTB Sportterra Tough
  • Tyres: Maxxis Dissector 29×2.6in
  • Price: £5,399 / $6,399 / €5,499

Mondraker Scree R price and spec

Mondraker Scree R
With Fox suspension, the Scree R looks to be a great build. Mondraker
  • Fork: Fox 36 29 Float Rhythm, 150mm
  • Shock: Fox Float Rhythm EVOL
  • Motor: Bosch Performance Line CX
  • Battery: Bosch PowerTube 800Wh
  • Drivetrain: SRAM 70 Eagle
  • Brakes: SRAM DB6
  • Wheels: e*thirteen Grappler Core
  • Tyres: Maxxis Dissector 29×2.6in
  • Price: £5,799 / $7,199 / €5,999

Mondraker Scree RR price and spec

Mondraker Scree RR
The Scree RR is the top-of-the-range model. Mondraker
  • Fork: Fox 36 29 Float GRIPX2 Factory Kashima, 150mm
  • Shock: Fox Float Factory Kashima EVOL
  • Motor: Bosch Performance Line CX
  • Battery: Bosch PowerTube 800Wh
  • Drivetrain: SRAM S1000 Eagle AXS T-Type
  • Brakes: SRAM DB8
  • Wheels: e*thirteen Grappler Core
  • Tyres: Maxxis Dissector 29×2.6in
  • Price: £6,599 / $8,199 / €6,999