The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Launch Your Name Around Moon in 2026 on NASA’s Artemis II Mission

NASA is inviting the public to join the agency’s Artemis II test flight as four astronauts venture around the Moon and back to test systems and hardware needed for deep space exploration. As part of the agency’s “Send Your Name with Artemis II” effort, anyone can claim their spot by signing up before Jan. 21. Read more about Launch Your Name Around Moon in 2026 on NASA’s Artemis II Mission[…]

Plex tells users to reset passwords after new data breach. Again.

Popular media streaming platform Plex has informed its users of yet another data breach, urging them to change their passwords as soon as possible.  Criminals often target media streaming platforms because they deal with sensitive information. Plex has fallen victim to a similar intrusion in the past, and a couple of years ago went through Read more about Plex tells users to reset passwords after new data breach. Again.[…]

Maker of remote working software Teams orders employees back to office

Microsoft is rolling out a new return-to-office policy that will see first Redmond, then US, and then global staff getting back on-prem at least three days a week. “How we work has forever changed,” Microsoft’s Chief People Officer Amy Coleman told staff in a blog post. And that change will start in Redmond by the Read more about Maker of remote working software Teams orders employees back to office[…]

Judge rejects Anthropic’s record-breaking $1.5 billion settlement for AI book piracy lawsuit because it looks like a publisher and lawyer grab

Judge William Alsup has rejected the record-breaking $1.5 billion settlement Anthropic has agreed to for a piracy lawsuit filed by writers. According to Bloomberg Law, the federal judge is concerned that the class lawyers struck a deal that will be forced “down the throat of authors.” Alsup reportedly felt misled by the deal and said Read more about Judge rejects Anthropic’s record-breaking $1.5 billion settlement for AI book piracy lawsuit because it looks like a publisher and lawyer grab[…]

Scientists figure out why the flu is deadly for older patients

Scientists have discovered why older people are more likely to suffer severely from the flu, and can now use their findings to address this risk. In a new study, which is published in PNAS, experts discovered that older people produce a glycosylated protein called apoplipoprotein D (ApoD), which is involved in lipid metabolism and inflammation, Read more about Scientists figure out why the flu is deadly for older patients[…]

Microsoft software reselling dispute heads back to UK court

Microsoft’s tussle with UK-based reseller ValueLicensing over the sale of secondhand licenses returns to the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal this week, with the Windows behemoth now claiming that selling pre-owned Office and Windows software is unlawful. ValueLicensing’s representatives say this week’s trial – due to start tomorrow – will “address whether the entire pre-owned license Read more about Microsoft software reselling dispute heads back to UK court[…]

ASML invests €1.3B to become the largest shareholder in Nvidia-backed Mistral AI

Mistral AI, the Paris-based startup rapidly establishing itself as Europe’s leading AI company, has secured a €1.3 billion investment from Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML in its ongoing Series C funding round. This round, totalling approximately €1.7 billion, values Mistral at around €14 billion, with ASML emerging as the largest shareholder in the company. With Read more about ASML invests €1.3B to become the largest shareholder in Nvidia-backed Mistral AI[…]

Smartphone Sensors Unlocked: Turn Your Phone Into A Physics Lab

These days, most of us have a smartphone. They are so commonplace that we rarely stop to consider how amazing they truly are. The open-source project Phyphox has provided easy access to your phone’s sensors for over a decade. We featured it years ago, and the Phyphox team continues to update this versatile application. Phyphox Read more about Smartphone Sensors Unlocked: Turn Your Phone Into A Physics Lab[…]

Russian Drones Repeatedly Crossing into NATO’s Eastern Flank. No reaction from NATO.

Repeated drone incursions into Polish airspace show that Russia and Belarus are testing NATO and EU defenses. These incidents are not isolated but part of a wider hybrid warfare strategy that combines military pressure, information operations, and electronic warfare. The challenge for the Alliance is how to respond effectively without escalating into open conflict. In Read more about Russian Drones Repeatedly Crossing into NATO’s Eastern Flank. No reaction from NATO.[…]

Critical, make-me-super-user SAP S/4HANA bug being exploited

A critical code-injection bug in SAP S/4HANA that allows low-privileged attackers to take over your SAP system is being actively exploited, according to security researchers. SAP issued a patch for the 9.9-rated flaw in August. It is tracked as CVE-2025-42957, and it affects both private cloud and on-premises versions. According to SecurityBridge Threat Research Labs, Read more about Critical, make-me-super-user SAP S/4HANA bug being exploited[…]

Europe must reach for the bazooka‚ or be humiliated

Last week, Donald Trump issued a stark warning: European states that enforce EU law against American tech giants risk trade tariffs. This is not a negotiation tactic. It is an assertion of power‚ a demand that Europe surrender its legal order to foreign influence. This is not a negotiation. It is a test. Europe possesses Read more about Europe must reach for the bazooka‚ or be humiliated[…]

Did Apple do an Anthropic? Faces lawsuit over alleged use of pirated books for AI training

Two authors have filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of infringing on their copyright by using their books to train its artificial intelligence model without their consent. The plaintiffs, Grady Hendrix and Jennifer Roberson, claimed that Apple used a dataset of pirated copyrighted books that include their works for AI training. They said Read more about Did Apple do an Anthropic? Faces lawsuit over alleged use of pirated books for AI training[…]

Google deletes net-zero pledge from sustainability website

Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai stood smiling in a leafy-green California garden in September 2020 and declared that the IT behemoth was entering the “most ambitious decade yet” in its climate action. “Today, I’m proud to announce that we intend to be the first major company to operate carbon free — 24 hours a day, seven Read more about Google deletes net-zero pledge from sustainability website[…]

Google hit with $3.45 billion EU antitrust fine over adtech practices where US judge also found guilt but refused to punish

Alphabet’s Google was hit with a 2.95-billion-euro ($3.45 billion) European Union antitrust fine on Friday for anti-competitive practices in its lucrative adtech business, a sharp sanction that riled up U.S. President Donald Trump. The fine, the fourth penalty Google has faced in its decade-long fight with EU competition regulators, follows bubbling trade tensions between major Read more about Google hit with $3.45 billion EU antitrust fine over adtech practices where US judge also found guilt but refused to punish[…]

Scientists tap fresh water under the sea, raising hopes for a thirsty world

Deep in Earth’s past, an icy landscape became a seascape as the ice melted and the oceans rose off what is now the northeastern United States. Nearly 50 years ago, a U.S. government ship searching for minerals and hydrocarbons in the area drilled into the seafloor to see what it could find. It found, of Read more about Scientists tap fresh water under the sea, raising hopes for a thirsty world[…]

Anthropic Agrees to $1.5 Billion Settlement for Downloading Pirated Books to Train AI

Anthropic has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by authors and publishers over its use of millions of copyrighted books to train the models for its AI chatbot Claude, according to a legal filing posted online. A federal judge found in June that Anthropic’s use of 7 million pirated books was Read more about Anthropic Agrees to $1.5 Billion Settlement for Downloading Pirated Books to Train AI[…]

BMW kills home assistant integration access to paid ConnectedDrive API to “protect security”

So you pay hundreds yearly for access to the Connected Drive API. You use Home Assistant to set the charging times of your BMW depending on when the price of electricity is low. BMW shuts you down (no re-imbursement, of course) and forces you to use one of their Charge Point providers. BMW then says Read more about BMW kills home assistant integration access to paid ConnectedDrive API to “protect security”[…]

18 popular VPNs turn out to belong to 3 different owners – and contain insecurities as well

A new peer-reviewed study alleges that 18 of the 100 most-downloaded virtual private network (VPN) apps on the Google Play Store are secretly connected in three large families, despite claiming to be independent providers. The paper doesn’t indict any of our picks for the best VPN, but the services it investigates are popular, with 700 Read more about 18 popular VPNs turn out to belong to 3 different owners – and contain insecurities as well[…]

Batshit crazy UK judge rules you can’t be fired for calling your bosses dickheads

Managers and supervisors brace yourselves: calling the boss a dickhead is not necessarily a sackable offence, a tribunal has ruled. The ruling came in the case of an office manager who was sacked on the spot when – during a row – she called her manager and another director dickheads. Kerrie Herbert has been awarded Read more about Batshit crazy UK judge rules you can’t be fired for calling your bosses dickheads[…]

AI Slop Is Great For Internet (Re-)Decentralisation

In this article I take a look at AI Slop and how it is effecting the current internet. I also look at what exactly the internet of today looks like – it is hugely centralised. This centralisation creates a focused trashcan for the AI generated slop. This is exactly the opportunity that curated content creators Read more about AI Slop Is Great For Internet (Re-)Decentralisation[…]

The worst possible antitrust outcome – unless you are Google

Last year, Google lost an antitrust case to Biden’s DoJ. The DoJ lawyers beat Google like a drum, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Google had deliberately sought to create and maintain a monopoly over search, and that they’d used that monopoly to make search materially worse, while locking competitors out of the Read more about The worst possible antitrust outcome – unless you are Google[…]

Top German court says maybe the Web should be more like television in order to protect copyright and intrusive business models

Back in 2022, Walled Culture wrote about a legal case involving ad blockers. These are hugely popular programs: according to recent statistics, around one billion people use ad blockers when they are online. That’s a testament to the importance many people attach to being in control of their browser experience, and to a wide dislike Read more about Top German court says maybe the Web should be more like television in order to protect copyright and intrusive business models[…]

ReMarkable Paper Pro Move review: e-ink notepad gets nice and small (7.8″)

Since I fell in love reviewing the ReMarkable 2 in 2020, I’ve had one wish for the Norwegian whizz kids behind this state-of-the-art e-ink tablet: Make one like this but smaller, please. Why? Because while it’s nice to write on a super-slim, silver, LED-free “magic legal pad from the future,” as I still call it, Read more about ReMarkable Paper Pro Move review: e-ink notepad gets nice and small (7.8″)[…]

Judge who ruled Google is a monopoly says no need for punishment.

So the judge says that because things changed  in the search space (AI / GPT searching) that changes the advertising space (which the GPTs don’t really do much of – yet) which is what the case was about. The anti-competitive facts of the case were before GPTs came along and are not relevant to the Read more about Judge who ruled Google is a monopoly says no need for punishment.[…]