Apple Reports Best-Ever Quarter For iPhone Sales

SlashDot - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 20:25
Apple posted its biggest quarter ever, with iPhone revenue hitting a record ~$85.3 billion and Services climbing 14% to ~$30 billion. Total revenue reached nearly $143.76 billion. "The demand for iPhone was simply staggering," CEO Tim Cook said on a conference call discussing the results. "This is the strongest iPhone lineup we've ever had and by far the most popular."

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Decades Later, a Man’s Conviction Is Overturned With Ex-Inmate’s Help

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 20:24
On Friday, a Queens judge vacated the double-murder conviction of Allen Porter. Jabbar Collins, who was exonerated 16 years ago, never stopped fighting for the friend he met in custody.

Belkin's Wemo Smart Devices Will Go Offline On Saturday

SlashDot - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 19:45
Belkin is shutting down cloud support for most Wemo smart home devices on January 31, leaving only Thread-based models and devices already set up in Apple HomeKit functional. Everything else will lose remote access, voice assistant integrations, and future app updates. The Verge reports: The shut down was first announced in July and impacts most Wemo devices, ranging from smart plugs to a coffee maker, with the exception of a handful of Thread-based devices: the 3-way smart light switch (WLS0503), stage smart scene controller (WSC010), smart plug with Thread (WSP100), and smart video doorbell camera (WDC010). Wemo devices configured through Apple's HomeKit will also continue to work, but you have to set them up in HomeKit before January 31st if you want to use that option. Other affected devices will only work manually after Saturday. If your Wemo device is still under warranty, you may be able to get a partial refund for it after cloud services shut down.

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GNU gettext Reaches Version 1.0 After 30 Years

SlashDot - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 19:22
After more than 30 years of development, GNU gettext finally "crossed the symbolic 'v1.0' milestone," according to Phoronix's Michael Larabel. "GNU gettext 1.0 brings PO file handling improvements, a new 'po-fetch' program to fetch translated PO files from a translation project's site on the Internet, new 'msgpre' and 'spit' pre-translation programs, and Ocaml and Rust programming language improvements." From the report: With this v1.0 release in 2026, the "msgpre" and "spit" programs do involve.... Large Language Models (LLMs) in the era of AI: "Two new programs, 'msgpre' and 'spit', are provided, that implement machine translation through a locally installed Large Language Model (LLM). 'msgpre' applies to an entire PO file, 'spit' to a single message." And when dealing with LLMs, added documentation warns users to look out for the licensing of the LLM in the spirit of free software. More details on the GNU gettext 1.0 changes via the NEWS file. GNU gettext 1.0 can be downloaded from GNU.org.

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Here’s What to Know About the Millions of Pages of Epstein Documents

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 19:20
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche signaled that this would be the last major release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

U.N. Says It’s in Danger of Financial Collapse Because of Members’ Unpaid Dues

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 19:09
The world body warned it would run out of money by July and have to close its New York headquarters if countries, namely the United States, did not pay annual dues that amount to billions of dollars.

White House Scraps 'Burdensome' Software Security Rules

SlashDot - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 19:02
An anonymous reader quotes a report from SecurityWeek: The White House has announced that software security guidance issued during the Biden administration has been rescinded due to "unproven and burdensome" requirements that prioritized administrative compliance over meaningful security investments. The US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued Memorandum M-26-05 (PDF), officially revoking the previous administration's 2022 policy, 'Enhancing the Security of the Software Supply Chain through Secure Software Development Practices' (M-22-18), as well as the follow-up enhancements announced in 2023 (M-23-16). The new guidance shifts responsibility to individual agency heads to develop tailored security policies for both software and hardware based on their specific mission needs and risk assessments. "Each agency head is ultimately responsible for assuring the security of software and hardware that is permitted to operate on the agency's network," reads the memo sent by the OMB to departments and agencies. "There is no universal, one-size-fits-all method of achieving that result. Each agency should validate provider security utilizing secure development principles and based on a comprehensive risk assessment," the OMB added. While agencies are no longer strictly required to do so, they may continue to use secure software development attestation forms, Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs), and other resources described in M-22-18.

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Death Toll During New York City Cold Snap Rises to 13

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 18:59
The growing number of deaths comes amid heightened concern about Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s handling of last weekend’s winter storm and the aftermath.

Where to Watch Catherine O’Hara’s Best Performances, From ‘Beetlejuice’ to ‘Best in Show’

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 18:58
Her characters were as varied as they were eccentric and lovable. These are some of the best.

Macaulay Culkin And Others Pay Tribute to Catherine O’Hara After Her Death

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 18:49
Videos and photos filled social media as fans shared their favorite scenes from O’Hara’s acting career and co-stars memorialized her.

Catherine O’Hara, ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Actress, Dies at 71

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 18:27
An Emmy-winning comedian with oddball charm, she got her start with the influential Canadian sketch comedy series “SCTV.”

‘Heated Rivalry’ Fans Want the Fleece. They’ll Be Able to Get It.

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 18:22
American and Canadian “Heated Rivalry” fans are hot for the jacket worn by the character Shane Hollander.

Oracle May Slash Up To 30,000 Jobs

SlashDot - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 18:20
An anonymous reader shares a report: Oracle could cut up to 30,000 jobs and sell health tech unit Cerner to ease its AI datacenter financing challenges, investment banker TD Cowen has claimed, amid changing sentiment on Big Red's massive build-out plans. A research note from TD Cowen states that finding equity and debt investors are increasingly questioning how Oracle will finance its datacenter building program to support its $300 billion, five-year contract with OpenAI. The bank estimates the OpenAI deal alone is going to require $156 billion in capital spending. Last year, when Big Red raised its capex forecasts for 2026 by $15 billion to $50 billion, it spooked some investors. This year, "both equity and debt investors have raised questions about Oracle's ability to finance this build-out as demonstrated by widening of Oracle credit default swap (CDS) spreads and pressure on Oracle stock/bonds," the research note adds.

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Escape to Alcatraz: Coyote Swims a Mile in Search of New Turf

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 18:07
The coyote struggled onto the rocky shore this month. It is the first documented coyote on Alcatraz since the island was transferred to the National Park Service in 1972.

Los Angeles Aims To Ban Single-Use Printer Cartridges

SlashDot - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 17:40
Los Angeles is moving to ban single-use printer cartridges that can't be refilled or taken back for recycling. Tom's Hardware reports: Printer cartridges are usually built with a combination of plastic, metal, and chemicals that makes them hard to easily dispose. They can be treated as hazardous waste by the city, but even then it would take them hundreds of years to actually disintegrate at a waste site. Since they're designed to be thrown away in the first place, the real solution is to target the root of the issue -- hence the ban.

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Trump’s Lawsuit Against I.R.S. Creates ‘Enormous Conflict of Interest’

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 17:33
The president is demanding that the federal government pay him at least $10 billion over the unauthorized disclosure of his tax returns during his first term.

6 Takeaways from ‘Melania,’ the Melania Trump Documentary

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 17:06
The film, which counts Melania Trump as a producer, touches on her immigrant roots, her love for her mother and her style, but there are few revelations.

Videogame Stocks Slide On Google's AI Model That Turns Prompts Into Playable Worlds

SlashDot - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 17:00
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Shares of videogame companies fell sharply in afternoon trading on Friday after Alphabet's Google rolled out its artificial intelligence model capable of creating interactive digital worlds with simple prompts. Shares of "Grand Theft Auto" maker Take-Two Interactive fell 10%, online gaming platform Roblox was down over 12%, while videogame engine maker Unity Software dropped 21%. The AI model, dubbed "Project Genie," allows users to simulate a real-world environment through prompts with text or uploaded images, potentially disrupting how video games have been made for over a decade and forcing developers to adapt to the fast-moving technology. "Unlike explorable experiences in static 3D snapshots, Genie 3 generates the path ahead in real time as you move and interact with the world. It simulates physics and interactions for dynamic worlds," Google said in a blog post on Thursday. Traditionally, most videogames are built inside a game engine such as Epic Games' "Unreal Engine" or the "Unity Engine", which handles complex processes like in-game gravity, lighting, sound, and object or character physics. "We'll see a real transformation in development and output once AI-based design starts creating experiences that are uniquely its own, rather than just accelerating traditional workflows," said Joost van Dreunen, games professor at NYU's Stern School of Business. Project Genie also has the potential to shorten lengthy development cycles and reduce costs, as some premium titles take around five to seven years and hundreds of millions of dollars to create.

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Young People Are Using A.I. to Skip the Hardest Part of Growing Up

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 16:59
Artificial intelligence is replacing young people's social intuitions.

Federal Judge Drops Death Penalty Charge Against Luigi Mangione

NY Times - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 16:46
Judge Margaret Garnett of Federal District Court dismissed two charges against Luigi Mangione, including one that carried the death penalty.

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