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What Is Open Source?

I published a version of this article on Medium eight years ago. This version is updated with new references and arguments. Over the last few years, I’ve been a part of lots of discussions — across domains, from technology to journalism and education — about Silicon Valley and how technology business models are affecting other industries. Outside technology industry circles, there’s lots of talk about how open source software is a more respectful model. What’s missing from many of these discus

The App Store’s new AI-generated tags are live in the beta

Apple’s plans to improve App Store discoverability using AI tagging techniques are now available in the developer beta build of iOS 26. However, the tags do not appear on the public App Store as of yet, nor are they informing the App Store Search algorithm on the public store. Image Credits:App Store screenshot (developer beta 1, iOS 26) Of course, with any upcoming App Store update, there’s speculation about how changes will impact an app’s search ranking. A new analysis by app intelligence

After a week with the Nintendo Switch 2, these are the 4 things I love and 3 I don’t

Nintendo Switch 2 The Switch 2 isn't as exciting or innovative as you might want or expect from the big N, but it proves that even when Nintendo plays it safe, there's still a unique magic to be found. I wasn’t going to buy a Nintendo Switch 2. With no major Nintendo games releasing for a while and better and cheaper ways of playing indie titles, my original Switch had been gathering dust for months; I’d largely pivoted to spending my fleeting gaming hours on my PC rig, a Steam Deck OLED, and t

Just add humans: Oxford medical study underscores the missing link in chatbot testing

Join the event trusted by enterprise leaders for nearly two decades. VB Transform brings together the people building real enterprise AI strategy. Learn more Headlines have been blaring it for years: Large language models (LLMs) can not only pass medical licensing exams but also outperform humans. GPT-4 could correctly answer U.S. medical exam licensing questions 90% of the time, even in the prehistoric AI days of 2023. Since then, LLMs have gone on to best the residents taking those exams and

UK unis to cough up to £10M on Java to keep Oracle off their backs

UK universities and colleges have signed a framework worth up to £9.86 million ($13.33 million) with Oracle to use its controversial Java SE Universal Subscription model, in exchange for a "waiver of historic fees due for any institutions who have used Oracle Java since 2023." Jisc, a membership organization that runs procurement for higher and further education establishments in the UK, said it had signed an agreement to purchase the new subscription licenses after consultation with members.

Beyond GPT architecture: Why Google’s Diffusion approach could reshape LLM deployment

Join the event trusted by enterprise leaders for nearly two decades. VB Transform brings together the people building real enterprise AI strategy. Learn more Last month, along with a comprehensive suite of new AI tools and innovations, Google DeepMind unveiled Gemini Diffusion. This experimental research model uses a diffusion-based approach to generate text. Traditionally, large language models (LLMs) like GPT and Gemini itself have relied on autoregression, a step-by-step approach where each

HomeKit Weekly: Protect your wood floors with a HomeKit-enabled water leak sensor from FIBARO

Water damage is one of my biggest fears as a homeowner. With hardwood floors throughout my house, even a small leak could turn into a massive repair bill and a huge inconvenience. A slow drip from a sink can quickly become thousands of dollars in damage for your floors and cabinets. Thankfully, with a HomeKit-enabled flood sensor from FIBARO, you can catch leaks early and avoid a major headache. The FIBARO water leak sensor is one of my oldest HomeKit devices I am using, but it still works great

Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 14, #264

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles. Today's Connections: Sports Edition has a whopper of a purple category, but since the other three categories aren't that tough, it kind of fills itself in. Read on for hints and the answers. Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That's

Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 14, #734

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles. Dog-lovers, today's NYT Connections puzzle is barking out your name. Two dog-related categories should make it easy for fans of our furry friends. Read on for clues and today's Connections answers. The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there aft

Today's Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for June 14, #1456

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today's Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles. Today's Wordle puzzle might make you think of Halloween. People who use ADIEU as your first word, this is not your day. There's only one vowel and it's not in that word. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you

Apple announces global in-person sessions to dive deeper into WWDC25 updates

Apple is taking WWDC25 on the road. Following the close of its week-long developer conference, the company has scheduled a worldwide series of in-person events and online appointments to give developers, designers, and product managers a closer look at what’s new. Here’s how you can register. Branded as “Explore the biggest updates from WWDC25”, (via MacMagazine) these sessions aim to highlight key technologies unveiled during the conference, including updates to Apple Intelligence, visionOS, d

AT&T's Cheaper Mobile Plan Creates a New Deal for Seniors. (Yes, That's Anyone 55 or Older)

Senior mobile customers have another quality choice for discount cellphone service, as AT&T's new 55 Plus plan is now available to almost anyone in the US who's older than 55. The new plan focuses on the essentials -- unlimited voice calls, texting and data in the US, Canada and Mexico -- while dropping more advanced features, but it's also cheaper. Carriers typically offer several plans to satisfy a range of customers, from the frugal to those that are willing to pay for every perk and bundled

AT&T Cheaper Mobile Plan Creates a New Deal for Seniors. (Yes, That's Anyone 55 or Older)

Senior mobile customers have another quality choice for discount cellphone service, as AT&T's new 55 Plus plan is now available to almost anyone in the US who's older than 55. The new plan focuses on the essentials -- unlimited voice calls, texting and data in the US, Canada and Mexico -- while dropping more advanced features, but it's also cheaper. Carriers typically offer several plans to satisfy a range of customers, from the frugal to those that are willing to pay for every perk and bundled

Magic Cue on the Pixel 10 sounds like Pixel Screenshots on steroids

Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR Google has reportedly been working on a new AI-powered assistance tool for Pixel devices since 2023. The system would monitor your screen and actions in apps, and offer “personal predictive suggestions.” First known as Pixie, and then Pixel Sense, a new leak suggests Google has renamed the tool to Magic Cue. Who doesn’t love a good mystery? In the smartphone world, upcoming high-profile devices sometimes leak so much that it feels like there’s nothing lef

Inside the firm turning eerie blank streaming ads into useful nonprofit messages

StreamTV Insider provided flights from New York City to Denver and two nights of accommodation so Ars could attend its StreamTV Show. Ars does not accept paid editorial content. DENVER—Ads shown while you're streaming shows or movies are disruptive enough. But there's something uniquely eerie about what you see when a connected TV (CTV) platform fails to sell ad inventory. You may get a black screen accompanied by ethereal music or a confusing thumping beat, alongside a graphic that says someth

Topics: ad adgood ctv johns space

Anbernic’s sliding screen handheld might be too chunky and heavy for your pockets

is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid. Anbernic hasn’t officially released or even put its new RG Slide handheld up for preorder yet, but a handful of reviewers have recently shared their first impressions of the new console. Anbernic may be leaning a bit too far into novelty and nostalgia with the RG Slide’s design, while not actually capitalizing on what made devices like the light

Another one for the graveyard: Google to kill Instant Apps in December

Apps used to be the measure of a mobile platform's worth, with Apple and Google dueling over who could list the most items in their respective stores. Today, the numbers don't matter as much—there are enough apps, and Google's attempt to replace parts of the web with apps is going away. Instant Apps, a feature that debuted in 2017, will reportedly be scrapped in December 2025. In its place, you'll just have to use the Internet. Developer Leon Omelan spotted this news buried in the latest Canary

Switch 2 Pro Controller review: Nintendo's best gamepad simply costs too much

Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products . For as long as I can remember, Nintendo's gamepads have been a core part of my life. The NES's original rectangular controller was awfully unergonomic, but I still loved it, and it set me down the path of being a lifelong gaming and gadget geek. The SNES's rounded gamepad practically d

Games Workshop Just Can’t Stop ‘Horus Heresy’ Scalpers

It’s become an unfortunate par for the course in modern collecting that if you want something, you’re no longer just racing against fellow fans who want it: you’re facing off against a bot army driven by scalpers who want to make a pretty profit on the aftermarket. From trading cards to action figures, from sneakers to event tickets, bots are everywhere… including the grim dark future of Warhammer. This week Games Workshop announced plans to launch pre-orders for a bonus “final” entry in its lo

OxCaml - a set of extensions to the OCaml programming language.

Let’s talk about what this means! OxCaml’s extensions are meant to make OCaml a great language for performance engineering. Performance engineering requires control, and we want that control to be: Safe. Safety is a critical feature for making programmers more productive, and for shipping correct code. Languages that are pervasively unsafe are too hard to use correctly. Convenient. We want to provide control without bewildering programmers, or drowning them in endless annotations. To achieve

If You Own an Xbox Series X/S, You Can Buy an Official 2TB Expansion Card for 40% Off on Amazon

If you own an Xbox Series X or S, you’re already aware of how quickly your storage fills up with new games. Expansions are inevitable and the Seagate Expansion Card SSD is designed specifically for these Microsoft consoles which makes it perfect for gamers who want to maintain their library within reach without sacrificing performance. Amazon currently has this must-have accessory on sale for a low of $219, down from a list price of $360. That’s a 39% discount (just barely within Black Friday t

USDOT wants more self-driving cars without pedals or steering wheels

is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State. The US Department of Transportation wants to make it easier for automakers and tech companies to deploy self-driving cars without traditional controls like steering wheels and pedals. In a letter sent to stakeholders, the department said it would streamline reviews of requests for exemptions from safety rules requiring vehi

HP Dimension offers sci-fi-style 3D video calls, built on Google Beam

Recap: The dream of a truly sci-fi-style communication device is finally here. Two years after Google revealed its Project Starline video booth, the company announced its rebranding as Google Beam last month. Now, HP has announced the technology will form the basis of the HP Dimension. Before anyone gets excited about the prospect of taking these 3D video calls at home, note that the HP Dimension is an enterprise product with a price to match: $24,999. The device, which HP says is designed to

Pirelli's new sensor-equipped tires to monitor road conditions in real time

What just happened? The Italian region of Apulia is preparing to begin a pilot program with Pirelli that will use advanced sensor technology to monitor the condition of its roads. Slated to start in July, this initiative will deploy an integrated system that combines real-time data from sensor-equipped tires with visual analytics from onboard cameras, marking a significant shift in how local governments approach road maintenance and public safety. At the heart of the project is Pirelli's Cyber

HP G5 11-in-1 Dock Just Hit Almost 55% Off, Listed as an Amazon Best Seller at Its Lowest Price Ever

There are lots of things that we’d like to improve about our laptops and computers. Memory is a big one for a lot of us, and so is general performance. However, one that’s a little easier to overlook and forget about is the number of USB ports you’ve got. You don’t have to suffer through that though, you can just buy more if you know how. See at Amazon There are a few devices that’ll do that for you, but a really good one is this HP USB-C Dock, which can turn one USB-C port into 11 different p

The SanDisk Ultra-Fast 2TB SSD Is Flying Off Shelves, Amazon Dropped Its Price (Again) to a New Low

If you’ve ever had to wait for the ancient speed of an old hard disk drive (HDD) to transfer large files, you know firsthand how infuriating it is. Now that files are becoming larger and workflows need faster transfers, a solid state drive (SSD) is no longer a luxury: it’s a must-have. The SanDisk 2TB SSD is one of them and Amazon just dropped the price to $144 from its list price of $210 (32% off) which is an all-time low for a drive that’s an absolute bestseller. See at Amazon Why Should Yo

HP reveals its Google Beam-powered 3D video conferencing device

Recap: The dream of a truly sci-fi-style communication device is finally here. Two years after Google revealed its Project Starline video booth, the company announced its rebranding as Google Beam last month. Now, HP has announced the technology will form the basis of the HP Dimension. Before anyone gets excited about the prospect of taking these 3D video calls at home, note that the HP Dimension is an enterprise product with a price to match: $24,999. The device, which HP says is designed to

I finally found the perfect 3-in-1 chargers for my Google Pixel devices

SwanScout 708G2 3-in-1 Pixel charger The SwanScout 708G2 is the perfect compact and foldable 3-in-1 charger for Pixel fans. With a 10W main wireless charging pad for Pixels (and other phones), a 3.5W wireless pad for Pixel Buds (and other earbuds), and a Pixel Watch 2/3 (or Fitbit Versa 3/4 and Sense 1/2), it's a wire tangle-free solution to top up your gear on your bedside table or at your desk. Since the launch of the first Pixel Watch, I’ve been keeping my eye on Amazon, AliExpress, Etsy, an

The Morning After: Our verdict on the Switch 2

You forget how much of a hit, how much of a turnaround, the Nintendo Switch turned out to be. After the major wobble (and baffling form factor) of the Wii U, Nintendo came back with a hybrid console that would replace and fuse its handheld and home console lineages. The console had no right being as playable (and enjoyable) as it was. Now, finally, its successor has landed . And for once, Nintendo’s calling its new console a sequel. Nintendo took the best features from the original and upgraded

Poop Transplants Not All They’re Cracked Up to Be

Fecal transplants have emerged as a potential treatment for a wide range of conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, and even depression. These so-called poop transplants have understandably received a lot of attention, but new research casts a bit of a wet blanket over the practice. The procedure involves taking microbes from the poop of a healthy person and transferring them into a patient’s colon. This should restore balance to their gut microbiome, but according to a study