Lee Duna

HP’s long-running use of firmware updates that block third-party ink and toner cartridges is drawing scrutiny again – this time under a new global sustainability standard that explicitly forbids the practice. The International Imaging Technology Council (Int’l ITC), a trade group for cartridge remanufacturers, says HP’s latest printer firmware rollout conflicts with the requirements of the General Electronics Council’s (GEC) updated Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, or EPEAT 2.0.

"Cancel ChatGPT" movement goes mainstream after OpenAI closes deal with U.S. Department of War — as Anthropic refuses to surveil American citizens

A Harvard Business Review study is answering the question ‘what will employees do if AI saves them time at work?’ The answer: more work.

Starting in early March, the platform will place every account into a default “teen-appropriate” experience unless it has proof that users are adults. The move has brought widespread criticism from Discord users, who are citing privacy and security concerns following a recent breach of a third-party vendor that ended up exposing around 70,000 government ID images used to verify the age of Discord users.

noyb has scored another win in its proceedings against Microsoft 365 Education: The Austrian data protection authority (DSB) has decided that the company illegally installed cookies on the devices of a pupil without consent. According to Microsoft’s own documentation, these cookies analyse user behaviour, collect browser data and are used for advertising. Microsoft now has four weeks to comply and cease the use of tracking cookies.

Nvidia and Micron are making emotional appeals to consumers while PC users express frustration with big AI companies’ practices and self-serving motives. Memory vendors predict DRAM and SSD shortages lasting until mid-2027, while new tariffs on advanced computing chips and potential Steam Machine pricing over $1,000 add to consumer concerns. The article highlights how corporations use emotional messaging to mask financial interests, advising consumers to remain skeptical of such appeals.

Google has firmly rejected allegations from a prominent consumer advocate that its forthcoming Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) for AI-powered shopping agents could enable data-driven overcharging. The claims, sparked by a viral social media post, have ignited debate over privacy and pricing in the era of artificial intelligence. Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative, warned that the protocol integrates shopping into Google’s AI tools like Search and Gemini, potentially using chat data for ‘personalised upselling’ to inflate prices. The tech giant, however, insists the features are designed to enhance user choice and value, not exploitation.

The ongoing protests in Iran that now pose the most significant threat to the regime since the founding of the Islamic Republic did not just erupt from political dissent or youthful demands for freedom, it started with the collapse of a bank. Late last year, Ayandeh Bank collapsed under the weight of nearly $5 billion in bad loans. The lender, controlled by regime insiders, was absorbed into a state-owned bank as the government printed money to plug the hole. The move masked the crisis, but didn’t fix it. The collapse exposed a financial system buckling under years of sanctions, reckless lending, and dependence on inflationary money-printing, leaving it dangerously insolvent and illiquid.

The AI-driven memory shortage doesn’t just affect PCs More capacity is coming, but not before 2027 Low-margin budget products are likely to be hit hardest

The right to assemble and protest is enshrined in American law, but it can still be dangerous to hit the streets to make your voice heard. Your devices are a treasure trove of information about you, and you may not always know who’s collecting that data. Take a few minutes before you go to assess your digital and physical safety. Even if you have nothing to hide, you don’t want to accidentally give law enforcement officials any information you didn’t intend to share. Follow these tips to lock down your phone before a protest or other peaceful assembly.

ESA confirmed cyberattack affecting external servers used for collaborative engineering activities Hacker “888” claims theft of 200 GB data, including source code, tokens, and configs Incident follows last year’s ESA web shop breach involving a credit card skimmer

Windows Latest discovered Discord and other Chromium and Electron-based applications with high RAM usage RAM usage spikes from 1GB to 4GB on Discord both in and out of voice chat