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20 Apr 2026 12:12pm GMT

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20 Apr 2026 12:05pm GMT

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20 Apr 2026 11:58am GMT

There's been a few complaints about Amazon's drone delivery service. "The automated mailmen are dropping off packages from 10 feet in the air," reports the New York Post, "rendering the contents of each box susceptible to crashing and smashing." One example? Tamara Hancock filmed a drone delivering a bottle of Torani flavoring syrup to her home in Arizona (as a test of how Amazon handled fragile items). It was delivered it in a plastic bottle - not glass - but the massive drone drops the drone from so high that the impact cracked the bottle's cap. (In the video Hancock opens her delivery to find leaked flavoring syrup "everywhere.") The delivery was hard to film, Hancock says, because "If the drone sees me in the back yard, it will not drop, because it is worried about hurting humans or animals." The Post notes Amazon's "AI-charged fleet" of drones are "Outfitted with industry-leading 'sense and avoid' technology, the aerodynamic machines are equipped to drop off eligible items, weighing a maximum of five pounds, at designated areas in 60 minutes or less." The high-tech, however, apparently does not ensure gentle landings. Collisions, including a recent crash-and-burn into a Texas building, as well as several mid-flight malfunctions in rainy weather, have abounded since the drones' inaugural launch.... Tasha, a separate Amazon user, spotted the drone plunging a package near the paved driveway of a neighbor's yard. Unfortunately, its propellers caused other, previously delivered parcels to blow away, sending one into the street... In a statement to The Post, Amazon said it apologized for one of the "rare instances when products don't arrive as expected." Amazon's drone fleet has been running since late 2024, the Post adds, and are now offering "ultra-fast" shipping in U.S. states including Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Kansas and Texas. The machines do seem massive. I'm surprised neighbors aren't complaining about the noise...

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

20 Apr 2026 11:34am GMT

LXQt 2.4 releases with improved multi-monitor Wayland behavior, refined power management, and several fixes across desktop components.

20 Apr 2026 9:51am GMT

Debian's leadership is changing hands as Sruthi Chandran succeeds Andreas Tille following the official 2026 vote.

20 Apr 2026 8:28am GMT

Zoom "has partnered with World, Sam Altman's iris-scanning identity company (previously known as Worldcoin), " reports Digital Trends, "to add real-time human verification inside meetings." Zoom is now inviting organizations to join the beta version of the rollout, which Digital Trends says "lets hosts confirm that every face on the call belongs to a real person, not an AI-generated imposter. " For those wondering how World's Deep Face technology works, it includes a three-step process. It cross-references a signed image from a user's original Orb registration, a live face scan from the device, and the frame of the video that's visible to the other participants in the meeting. Only when the three samples match does a "Verified Human" badge appear next to the user's name... Hosts can also make Deep Face verification mandatory for joining meetings, preventing unverified participants from joining entirely. Mid-call, on-the-spot checks are also possible...

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

20 Apr 2026 7:34am GMT

The Brave browser "has introduced Brave Origin, a stripped-down version of its browser that removes built-in monetization features like Rewards and other extras tied to its business model," writes Slashdot reader BrianFagioli" The stripped-down browser is available either as a separate browser download or as an upgrade to the existing Brave install, unlocked through a one-time purchase that can be activated across multiple devices. The idea is simple on paper: pay once, and you get a cleaner, more minimal browsing experience without the add-ons that fund Brave's ecosystem. What makes the move unusual is the pricing model itself. While paying to support a browser is not controversial, charging users specifically to remove features raises questions about whether those additions are seen as value or clutter. The situation gets even stranger on Linux, where Brave Origin is reportedly available at no cost, creating an uneven experience across platforms and leaving some users wondering why they are being asked to pay for something others get for free.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

20 Apr 2026 4:34am GMT

Catch up on the latest Linux news: Solus 4.9, Zorin OS 18.1, COSMIC Desktop 1.0.10, Wine 11.7, Linux 7.1 merges new NTFS driver, Fedora 44 faces second release delay, and more.

19 Apr 2026 10:21pm GMT

Blue Origin's reused first stage hit its targets, but New Glenn's upper stage did not.

19 Apr 2026 6:19pm GMT

The laser was used to study the physics of stellar interiors and fusion energy, among other things.

19 Apr 2026 11:17am GMT

The sharks might also be the most physiologically vulnerable to warming waters.

18 Apr 2026 11:07am GMT