Posts

The AI Margin Collapse Frontier AI labs face a potential margin collapse as open-weights models like GLM 5.2 reach parity with GPT-5.5 and Claude Opus at a fraction of the cost. Because switching costs for developers are now trivial, the high profit margins previously earned on inference are under threat, shifting the value from model providers to those who can optimize serving costs. https://martinalderson.com/posts/the-upcoming-ai-margin-collapse-part-1-glm-5-2/ Windows ‘Global Device ID’ Surveillance A federal arrest of a hacker revealed that Microsoft uses a ‘Global Device ID’ (GDID) to uniquely identify Windows installations. This persistent ID allows Microsoft to link specific devices to third-party web activity, effectively enabling OS-level surveillance that bypasses traditional browser privacy protections and is difficult for users to opt out of. ...

AI Browsers Vulnerable to ‘BioShocking’ Hypnosis Hackers can ‘hypnotize’ AI browsers like ChatGPT Atlas and Claude by tricking them into thinking they are playing a game where rules are made up. This allows attackers to steal user information, change passwords, or access private repositories without the user’s knowledge. https://tech.yahoo.com/cybersecurity/articles/ai-browsers-basically-hypnotized-turning-110100835.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&segment_id=DY_VTO_50_Supernova&ncid=crm_19908-1475736-20260705-0–A&bt_ee=LNnW5w3ToxxHK5QvWxxOaPQeEaxl5QDWCnDs4yYBVCVrYcDQIrFKhzAikC%2F1f3qO&bt_ts=1783257932840 Apple’s ‘Hide My Email’ Leaks Real Addresses A critical flaw in Apple’s Hide My Email service has reportedly leaked real email addresses for over a year. Despite being reported to Apple in 2025, the issue remains exploitable, compromising the privacy of users who rely on the tool to avoid sharing their personal data. ...

Windows 11 Now Runs Linux Containers Natively Microsoft has released a public preview of WSL Containers, enabling Windows 11 users to build and run Linux containers without needing Docker Desktop. This removes a significant dependency for developers, offering a first-party ‘front door’ to containers with built-in GPU passthrough and enterprise-grade security controls via Group Policy. https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/07/02/hands-on-with-linux-container-using-wsl-container-on-windows-11-without-docker-desktop/ Linux 7.3 to Axe 20-Year-Old EFS File System The EFS file-system driver, originally used for SGI IRIX systems, is slated for removal in Linux 7.3. Kernel developers decided to purge the outdated code after it had been unmaintained for 20 years, noting that the driver is virtually nonexistent in the wild since 1999. ...

PS5 Now Supports Linux The ps5-linux project has successfully expanded its support to newer firmware versions and the PS5 Slim, effectively turning the console into a Linux-based gaming rig. The project now supports 4K60 video/audio output, M.2 SSD partitions, and full USB, Bluetooth, and Ethernet connectivity. However, support for firmware version 8.00 and above is currently not supported. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/07/playstation-5-linux-project-gets-upgraded-to-support-new-firmware-and-ps5-slim/

RAM Giants Accused of Price Fixing Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron—who control 90% of the RAM market—are facing a class-action lawsuit alleging they conspired to drive up consumer RAM prices by up to 700% over four years. The suit claims the companies intentionally cut production of standard DDR3 and DDR4 memory to prioritize more lucrative AI data center hardware, directly increasing the cost of PCs and gaming consoles. https://www.polygon.com/ram-manufacturers-sued-supply-price-fixing/ https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/us-lawsuit-accuses-samsung-sk-hynix-and-micron-of-worsening-the-ram-crisis-by-fixing-memory-prices-and-supply AI Costs Force ‘Caveman’ Speech Companies are using a ‘caveman’ plugin to force AI models like Claude and Codex to provide blunt, minimal answers instead of verbose responses. This strategy aims to curb skyrocketing token expenditures, with developers at OpenAI, Nvidia, and GitHub reportedly using the tool to stop ‘burning through’ AI budgets. ...

Microsoft Launches WSL Containers Windows 11 users can now run native Linux containers via the ‘wslc’ command line tool in public preview. This move significantly streamlines cloud-native development and testing on Windows by integrating GPU support and high-performance file systems from day one. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/wslc Git 2.55 Shifts to Rust by Default Git 2.55 has been released, now enabling Rust support by default. This is a critical step toward a potential mandatory Rust requirement for Git 3.0, while also introducing ‘git history fixup’ to allow merging changes into older commits without interactive rebasing. ...

Ford’s AI Failure Leads to ‘Gray Beard’ Rehiring Ford has rehired 350 veteran engineers to fix quality issues after relying too heavily on automated AI systems for vehicle design. The company expects this return to human-led ‘failure point’ hunting to save $1 billion this year. https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/28/ford-rehires-gray-beard-engineers-after-ai-falls-short/ US Government Websites Caught Using Stealth Tracking A White House-led ‘National Design Studio’ has been caught installing commercial tracking software on federal websites for passports and voter registration. The tools were configured to evade privacy software and record detailed user interactions without legal privacy filings. ...

The Art of Making CPUs Angry A technical deep-dive reveals that summing numbers can be done slower than random access by exploiting memory pitfalls. By striding data access by 8 pages, the author achieved a 2.06B cycle count, effectively neutralizing hardware prefetchers and forcing the MMU to perform a page walk on every single access. https://blog.weineng.me/posts/slowest_add/

Polymarket’s Fake Win Campaign Polymarket paid social media creators to film fake bets on cloned websites to lure US users into its platform, despite being largely barred in the US. An investigation found over 1,100 videos showing $1.9 million in simulated wins that never occurred on the actual exchange. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/polymarkets-viral-videos-showed-people-winning-big-but-the-bets-were-fake/ The AI Affordability Crisis AI platforms are transitioning from heavily subsidized subscription models to expensive token-based billing as losses mount. With OpenAI reporting a $38.5 billion net loss in 2025, the industry faces a ‘sucker farming’ cycle where massive debt may force the rapid displacement of millions of human jobs to achieve profitability. ...

Linux Kernel Purges strncpy After 6 Years Linux 7.2 has officially removed the strncpy API after a six-year effort involving over 360 patches. The function was a persistent source of bugs due to counter-intuitive NUL termination behavior and redundant zero-filling. https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-7.2-Drops-strncpy Loupe Exposes iOS Device Fingerprinting Loupe is an open-source iOS app that reveals the raw data iPhones quietly expose to apps. It categorizes signals into passive, permission-based, and advanced side-channels, illustrating how trackers identify users without needing names or emails. ...