08 Jul 2026
Hacker News
Show HN: Chiptune Radio
08 Jul 2026 12:55am GMT
An interactive explorer for Benford's Law across real datasets
08 Jul 2026 12:18am GMT
Show HN: Fortress – a stealth Chromium so your agents stop getting blocked
08 Jul 2026 12:08am GMT
07 Jul 2026
Slashdot
Doom Developer id Software Is Reportedly Losing Half Its Staff
Doom developer id Software is reportedly laying off about half its staff as part of Microsoft's broader Xbox cuts. The reported layoffs potentially affects around 90 employees. Engadget reports: While neither Microsoft nor id Software have formally acknowledged the layoffs, one former member of the studio's staff, Michael Maynard, has echoed the 50 percent figure on LinkedIn. According to at least one of Game Developer's sources, that could translate to around 90 job cuts, though it's so far unclear what departments at id Software have been hit hardest. [...] Bloomberg reported yesterday that as part of the "reset" at Xbox, ZeniMax Media, the parent company of id Software, will be focusing on its biggest franchises -- like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein and Doom -- going forward. It's possible that motivated the cuts to id Software, but the developer at least outwardly appears to be already heavily focused on Doom. The studio launched Doom: The Dark Ages in 2025 and an expansion to the game on July 7, 2026. Whatever the reason, the cuts at Xbox aren't over: While Microsoft eliminated 1,600 roles alongside the announcement that Xbox is restructuring, it still plans to lay off another 1,600 employees over the coming months.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
07 Jul 2026 11:00pm GMT
Ars Technica
Michigan sees explosive outbreak of diarrheal parasite with over 700 cases
Cases have risen quickly as officials are working to identify a common source.
07 Jul 2026 10:29pm GMT
Slashdot
Microsoft Flips Windows Backup On By Default Outside the EU
Microsoft will turn on Windows settings backup and restore by default for eligible Windows 11 business devices outside the EU, starting with Windows 11 26H2. The Register reports: Now dubbed "Windows settings backup and restore," the service backs up a device's settings and a list of installed Microsoft Store apps, which can then be restored to a new device. Microsoft gave a use case for the technology: "Imagine a lost laptop, a hardware refresh, or an unexpected reset. These are some of the moments when your users need backup most. And that's rarely when anyone wants to discover that backup was never turned on." However, some organizations might not want it on. Perhaps those with strict privacy or data sovereignty requirements, or those regulated by the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), for whom the default-on behavior won't apply. Windows 11 25H2 and earlier are also excluded, as is any device with a backup policy that explicitly disables the setting. Everything else running Windows 11 26H1 will get switched on after a feature update, and the same applies to 26H2, currently with Windows Insiders in the Experimental channel. Administrators might reasonably be wary of this being opt-out rather than opt-in. Backups are useful, but Microsoft is clear that this is not a comprehensive backup solution, calling it only "one step in a broader Windows resiliency effort." The implications still need consideration. An opt-out setting that quietly ships settings data off-device is exactly the sort of thing that adds to administrators' workloads rather than lightening them.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
07 Jul 2026 10:00pm GMT
Linuxiac
Proton 11.0 Released with Big Compatibility Boost for Linux Gaming

Valve's latest Proton update expands game compatibility with new playable titles, classic game fixes, better VR support, and launcher improvements.
07 Jul 2026 9:14pm GMT
Ars Technica
Data centers’ energy demand threatens Trump’s “Made in America” plan
Squeeze on Rust Belt electricity bills threatens Trump's manufacturing plan.
07 Jul 2026 9:03pm GMT
Slashdot
Samsung Passes Nvidia To Become Most Profitable Company In the World
Samsung's chip division is projected to earn more in 2026 than it made across its previous 40 years in semiconductors, driven by soaring AI-fueled demand for memory and storage. The company's latest quarterly operating profit reportedly topped Nvidia's, making Samsung the world's most profitable tech company for the period. Tom's Hardware reports: Brokerage consensus puts Samsung's full-year 2026 operating profit near 300 trillion won ($196 billion), and its second-quarter figure at about 84.6 trillion won ($55.1 billion). Samsung easily beat the consensus with $58.5 billion when it posted preliminary results on July 7, overtaking Nvidia's most recent quarterly operating profit of $53.54 billion and becoming the most profitable technology company in the world for the period, on the back of AI-driven memory demand. Samsung's DS division booked 53.7 trillion won ($35.1 billion) of the company's 57.2 trillion won in total operating profit during the first quarter of 2026, roughly 94% of the total, which is why the division's projection sits so close to Samsung's full-year consensus. "This year's profit will exceed the cumulative profit generated over the past 40 years since we entered the semiconductor business," Kim Yong-Kwan told staff, scoping the claim to the chip business rather than the wider conglomerate. Further reading: Samsung Chip Workers To Get $340,000 Average Bonus In AI Boom
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
07 Jul 2026 9:00pm GMT
Linuxiac
Frame Gives FFmpeg a Modern GUI for Everyday Media Conversion

Frame is an open-source media conversion utility that wraps FFmpeg in a native Rust GUI for video, audio, image, subtitle, and metadata workflows.
07 Jul 2026 8:53pm GMT
Ars Technica
Surprisingly large number of people may have marker for tick-linked meat allergy
There's still a slew of questions about why some people develop alpha-gal syndrome.
07 Jul 2026 8:32pm GMT
Linuxiac
Windows Drops Under 60% in Global Desktop OS Share for the First Time in Years

StatCounter's June 2026 report shows Linux at one of its strongest recent positions, while Windows falls to 56.55%.
07 Jul 2026 3:59pm GMT