Just like buying a new iPhone through Apple’s online store, you now select each spec of your new Mac device when purchasing through the website. As first spotted by MacWorld, Apple updated its online configuration tool for purchasing a Mac. Compared to the previous design that allowed you to pick between several prebuilt options, the new configurator lets you choose one spec after another instead.

It’s not a major difference compared to choosing between preconfigured options, but interested buyers have more customization since they can select the color, display, chip, memory, storage and even power adapter. The updated page also gives customers the option to add pre-installed apps, like Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro, to their new Mac.

The updated configuration design might hint towards the expected release of the upgraded MacBook Pros. According to MacWorld, there are rumors that Apple will offer the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips with more flexibility that lets you choose how many CPU and GPU cores you want. As reported by Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, the latest MacBook Pro could be queued up for a release alongside macOS 26.3, which has a release cycle between February and March.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/apples-online-store-now-lets-you-build-a-new-mac-exactly-the-way-you-want-190430251.html?src=rss

Grok is once again available in Indonesia, after the country lifted its ban on the AI chatbot that was seen generating millions of sexualized deepfakes, thousands of which included children. The country’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs released a statement earlier today, which said X is allowed to resume service in Indonesia but will be subject to monitoring for any future violations.

According to the Indonesian government agency, X provided a letter that detailed several implemented measures that prevent the misuse of its Grok chatbot. Alexander Sabar, the ministry’s director general of digital space supervision, said in the statement that the agency will test the new measures on an ongoing basis and will ban Grok again if it’s found spreading illegal content or violating the country’s laws regarding children.

The issue dates back to earlier this year, when Indonesia, along with Malaysia and the Philippines, banned the AI chatbot after it was found producing sexually explicit deepfake images of women and children without their consent in response to user requests. Later that month, the Philippines lifted its ban on Grok, followed by Malaysia doing the same just a couple of days after. Similar to Indonesia, Malaysian authorities said they will continue to monitor Grok and threatened more enforcement actions if the AI chatbot repeats its past offenses. Beyond the bans, Grok is also facing investigations from California’s attorney general and the UK’s media regulator concerning the same issue.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/indonesia-is-lifting-its-ban-on-grok-but-with-some-conditions-175305634.html?src=rss

Vineyard Wind (powering Massachusetts) is one of five offshore wind projects “that the Trump administration tried to hold up in December,” reports The Hill.

This week it became the fourth of those wind projects allowed by a judge to resume construction, the article notes, while even the fifth project “is still awaiting court proceedings.”

Federal Judge Brian Murphy, a Biden appointee, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the administration’s stop work order against Vineyard Wind… According to its website, when complete, Vineyard Wind would be able generate enough power for 400,000 homes and businesses. The project already has 44 operational wind turbines and was working on an additional 18. The Trump pause applied to the construction work that was not yet complete.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan “have created the world’s smallest fully programmable, autonomous robots,” according to a recent announcement.

The announcement calls them “microscopic swimming machines that can independently sense and respond to their surroundings, operate for months and cost just a penny each.”

Barely visible to the naked eye, each robot measures about 200 by 300 by 50 micrometers, smaller than a grain of salt. Operating at the scale of many biological microorganisms, the robots could advance medicine by monitoring the health of individual cells and manufacturing by helping construct microscale devices. Powered by light, the robots carry microscopic computers and can be programmed to move in complex patterns, sense local temperatures and adjust their paths accordingly… “We’ve made autonomous robots 10,000 times smaller,” says Marc Miskin, Assistant Professor in Electrical and Systems Engineering at Penn Engineering and the papers’ senior author. “That opens up an entirely new scale for programmable robots.”
The announcement describes them as “the first truly autonomous, programmable robots at this scale” (as described in two recent academic articles). The team had to design a new propulsion system that utilized the unique locomotion physics in the microscopic realm, according to the university’s announcement. So the robots “generate an electrical field that nudges ions in the surrounding solution.”

Those ions, in turn, push on nearby water molecules, animating the water around the robot’s body. “It’s as if the robot is in a moving river,” says Miskin, “but the robot is also causing the river to move.” The robots can adjust the electrical field that causes the effect, allowing them to move in complex patterns and even travel in coordinated groups, much like a school of fish, at speeds of up to one body length per second…

To be truly autonomous, a robot needs a computer to make decisions, electronics to sense its surroundings and control its propulsion, and tiny solar panels to power everything, and all that needs to fit on a chip that is a fraction of a millimeter in size. This is where David Blaauw’s team at the University of Michigan came into action… The robots are programmed by pulses of light that also power them. Each robot has a unique address that allows the researchers to load different programs on each robot. “This opens up a host of possibilities,” adds Blaauw, “with each robot potentially performing a different role in a larger, joint task.”

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader fahrbot-bot for sharing the news.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

“A box full of viruses and bacteria has completed its return trip to the International Space Station,” reports ScienceAlert, “and the changes these ‘bugs’ experienced in their travels could help us Earthlings tackle drug-resistant infections…”

Scientists aboard the space station incubated different combinations of bacteria and phages for 25 days, while the research team led by biochemist Vatsan Raman carried out the same experiments in Madison, down here on Earth. “Space fundamentally changes how phages and bacteria interact: infection is slowed, and both organisms evolve along a different trajectory than they do on Earth,” the researchers explain. In the weightlessness of space, bacteria acquired mutations in genes involved in the microbe’s stress response and nutrient management. Their surface proteins also changed. After a slow start, the phages mutated in response, so they could continue binding to their victims.
The team found that certain space-specific phage mutations were especially effective at killing Earth-bound bacteria responsible for urinary tract infections (UTIs). More than 90 percent of the bacteria responsible for UTIs are antibiotic-resistant, making phage treatments a promising alternative.

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Apple’s AirTag is designed to run quietly in the background, helping you keep track of everyday items like keys, bags and luggage. Unlike many small trackers, an AirTag doesn’t need to be charged. Instead, it uses a standard replaceable coin cell battery that typically lasts around a year, depending on usage.

When the battery runs low, your iPhone will alert you. Replacing it is a simple process that takes just a few minutes and doesn’t require any tools. This guide explains how to tell when your AirTag battery needs replacing, which battery to use and how to swap it safely.

How to replace the battery in your AirTag

Replacing the battery only takes a few steps.

1. Hold the AirTag with the polished stainless steel side facing up. 

2. Press down firmly on the metal battery cover and rotate it counterclockwise. Continue turning until the cover stops moving.

3. Lift off the cover and remove the old battery.

4. Insert a new CR2032 battery with the positive (+) side facing up. Once the battery is seated correctly, the AirTag will emit a brief chime, confirming that power has been restored.

5. Place the battery cover back onto the AirTag. Align the three small tabs on the cover with the matching slots on the AirTag body.

6. Press down gently and rotate the cover clockwise until it stops. The cover should sit flush with the AirTag and feel secure once locked into place.

No pairing or setup steps are required after replacing the battery. Your AirTag will automatically reconnect to your Apple ID.

When to replace your AirTag battery

Your iPhone will automatically notify you when an AirTag battery is running low. The alert appears as a notification and doesn’t interrupt tracking, but it’s a good idea to replace the battery quickly to avoid losing location updates.

If you’re unsure whether your AirTag battery needs replacing, open the Find My app, tap the Items tab and select your AirTag. If a message appears under the AirTag name stating “Low Battery”, you’ll know it needs replacing. If no message appears, it’s safe to assume the battery level is fine for now. AirTags don’t have a screen or any other battery indicator, but Apple does show a battery percentage for AirTags in the FindMy app. The low battery warning is the only signal Apple provides before replacement becomes necessary.

What to do if your AirTag doesn’t make a sound

If you don’t hear a sound after inserting the new battery, remove it and check that it’s oriented correctly with the positive side facing up. You should also secure the back cover onto the AirTag as well, to see if the chime sounds after that.

If the battery is oriented properly and still doesn’t trigger a sound, try a different CR2032 battery. AirTag uses a CR2032 lithium 3V coin battery, a common type available at most electronics stores, supermarkets and pharmacies. Some batteries, particularly those with thick coatings, may not make consistent contact. Apple suggests looking for packaging that states “Compatible with AirTag.” Once a working battery is installed, the AirTag should resume normal operation immediately.

How often should you replace your AirTag battery

Most AirTag batteries last about a year under typical use. Frequent use of Precision Finding, sound playback or location updates may reduce battery life. iOS will notify you before the battery is fully depleted, so there’s no need to replace it preemptively unless you’re preparing for long-term travel or storage.

Used coin batteries should not be thrown in household trash. Many retailers and recycling centers accept lithium batteries for proper disposal. Check local recycling guidelines for battery drop-off locations. Storing used batteries in a secure container until they can be recycled helps reduce the risk of accidental contact or ingestion.

Replacing an AirTag battery is one of the simplest maintenance tasks Apple devices require. With a readily available battery and no tools involved, most users can complete the process in under a minute. As long as you pay attention to low battery notifications and follow basic safety precautions, your AirTag should continue tracking your belongings reliably with minimal effort.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/how-to-replace-your-airtag-battery-130000463.html?src=rss

This year in America, renewables and battery storage “will account for 99.2% of net new capacity — and even higher if small-scale solar were included,” reports Electrek, citing EIA data reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign:

EIA’s latest monthly “Electric Power Monthly” report (with data through November 30, 2025), once again confirms that solar is the fastest-growing among the major sources of US electricity… [U]tility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 34.5% while that from small-scale systems rose by 11.3% during the first 11 months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by 28.1% and produced a bit under 9.0% (utility-scale: 6.74%; small-scale: 2.13%) of total US electrical generation for January to November, up from 7.1% a year earlier.

Wind turbines across the US produced 10.1% of US electricity in the first 11 months of 2025 — an increase of 1.2% compared to the same period in 2024. In November alone, wind-generated electricity was 2.0% greater than a year earlier… The mix of all renewables (wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal) produced 8.7% more electricity in January-November than a year earlier and accounted for 25.7% of total US electricity production, up from 24.3% 12 months earlier. Renewables’ share of electrical generation is now second to only that of natural gas, whose electrical output actually dropped by 3.7% during the first 11 months of 2025…

Since January 1 to November 30, roughly the beginning of the Trump administration, renewable energy capacity, including battery storage, small-scale solar, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass, ballooned by 45,198.1 MW, while all fossil fuels and nuclear power combined declined by 519.2 MW…

[In 2026] natural gas capacity will increase by only 3,960.7 MW, which will be almost completely offset by a decrease of 3,387.0 MW in coal capacity.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

This year in America, renewables and battery storage “will account for 99.2% of net new capacity — and even higher if small-scale solar were included,” reports Electrek, citing EIA data reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign:

EIA’s latest monthly “Electric Power Monthly” report (with data through November 30, 2025), once again confirms that solar is the fastest-growing among the major sources of US electricity… [U]tility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 34.5% while that from small-scale systems rose by 11.3% during the first 11 months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by 28.1% and produced a bit under 9.0% (utility-scale: 6.74%; small-scale: 2.13%) of total US electrical generation for January to November, up from 7.1% a year earlier.

Wind turbines across the US produced 10.1% of US electricity in the first 11 months of 2025 — an increase of 1.2% compared to the same period in 2024. In November alone, wind-generated electricity was 2.0% greater than a year earlier… The mix of all renewables (wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal) produced 8.7% more electricity in January-November than a year earlier and accounted for 25.7% of total US electricity production, up from 24.3% 12 months earlier. Renewables’ share of electrical generation is now second to only that of natural gas, whose electrical output actually dropped by 3.7% during the first 11 months of 2025…

Since January 1 to November 30, roughly the beginning of the Trump administration, renewable energy capacity, including battery storage, small-scale solar, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass, ballooned by 45,198.1 MW, while all fossil fuels and nuclear power combined declined by 519.2 MW…

[In 2026] natural gas capacity will increase by only 3,960.7 MW, which will be almost completely offset by a decrease of 3,387.0 MW in coal capacity.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

When a new presidential administration comes in, it is responsible for filling around 4,000 jobs sprinkled across the federal government’s vast bureaucracy. These political appointees help carry out the president’s agenda, and, at least in theory, make government agencies responsive to elected officials.

Some of these roles—the secretary of state, for example—are well-known. Others, such as the deputy assistant secretary for textiles, consumer goods, materials, critical minerals & metals industry & analysis, are more obscure.

Historically, science agencies like NASA or the National Institutes of Health tend to have fewer political appointees than many other parts of the federal government. Sometimes, very senior roles—with authority over billions of dollars of spending, and the power to shape entire fields of research—are filled without any direct input from the White House or Congress. The arrangement reflects a long-running argument that scientists should oversee the work of funding and conducting research with very little interference from political leaders.

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Exterminators keep getting calls for a reason. Wood-devouring insects, such as beetles, termites, and carpenter ants, are constantly chewing through walls or infecting trees and breaking them down. The fight against these insects usually involved noxious insecticides; but now, at least some of them can be eliminated using a certain species of fungus.

Infestations of bark beetles are the bane of spruce trees. Eurasian spruce bark beetles (Ips typographus) ingest bark high in phenolic compounds, organic molecules that often act as antioxidants and antimicrobials. They protect spruce bark from pathogenic fungi—and the beetles take advantage. Their bodies boost the antimicrobial power of these compounds by turning them into substances that are even more toxic to fungi. This would seem to make the beetles invulnerable to fungi.

There is a way to get past the beetles’ borrowed defenses, though. Led by biochemist Ruo Sun, a team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, found that some strains of the fungus Beauveria bassiana are capable of infecting and killing the pests.

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The BBC reports:

China has executed 11 members of a notorious mafia family that ran scam centres in Myanmar along its north-eastern border, state media report.
The Ming family members were sentenced in September for various crimes including homicide, illegal detention, fraud and operating gambling dens by a court in China’s Zhejiang province. The Mings were one of many clans that ran the town of Laukkaing, transforming an impoverished backwater town into a flashy hub of casinos and red-light districts. Their scam empire came crashing down in 2023, when they were detained and handed over to China by ethnic militias that had taken control of Laukkaing during an escalation in their conflict with Myanmar’s army. With these executions Beijing is sending a message of deterrence to would-be scammers.

But the business has now moved to Myanmar’s border with Thailand, and to Cambodia and Laos, where China has much less influence.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to run online scams in Myanmar and elsewhere in South East Asia, according to estimates by the UN. Among them are thousands of Chinese people, and their victims who they swindle billions of dollars from are mainly Chinese too. Frustrated by the Myanmar military’s refusal to stop the scam business, from which it was almost certainly profiting, Beijing tacitly backed an offensive by an ethnic insurgent alliance in Shan State in late 2023. The alliance captured significant territory from the military and overran Laukkaing, a key border town.

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader sinij for sharing the news.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.