Slashdot

News for nerds, stuff that matters

UK Antitrust Regulator Is Officially Investigating Microsoft Office

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority is opening a formal investigation into whether Microsoft's bundling of Windows, Office, Teams, Copilot, and related products harms competition. Engadget reports: "Our aim is to understand how these markets are developing, Microsoft's position within them and to consider what, if any, targeted action may be needed to ensure UK organizations can benefit from choice, innovation and competitive prices," CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell said in a statement published by Reuters.

She also stressed the importance of the investigation by noting that hundreds of thousands of UK residents use business software and Microsoft products. The organization will take a look into the company's cloud licensing practices. The CMA has stated that the inquiry will conclude by February. At that point, Microsoft could get slapped with a strategic market label.

Microsoft says it's "committed to working quickly and constructively with the CMA to facilitate its review of the business software market." A strategic market designation doesn't automatically assume wrongdoing, but will give the CMA more leeway when conducting further interventions.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile Team Up To Eliminate 'Dead Zones' Across US

AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have agreed in principle to form a joint venture (JV) aimed at reducing U.S. mobile dead zones through satellite connectivity, especially in rural areas and during emergencies when ground networks fail. Here are three of the customer benefits listed by the JV (as highlighted by Droid Life):
Fewer coverage gaps: Will nearly eliminate dead zones in the U.S. currently without mobile service, reaching previously unserved areas.
Reliable connectivity in emergencies: Redundant connectivity will become available when existing ground-based networks are unavailable due to extreme natural disasters or other unusual disruptions.
Improved network performance: Will give customers more consistent performance and simpler access to satellite services across providers. This will speed up feature updates and improve connectivity for everyone, everywhere. "It will still take time for these improvements to be available to customers, but this all seems like a positive step," writes Droid Life's Tim Wrobel.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Writers Are Fleeing the Substack Tax

A growing number of writers are leaving Substack for alternatives most people haven't heard of like Ghost, Beehiiv, Patreon, and Passport. The reason, writes The Verge's Emma Roth, is the "platform's increased focus on social features as well as a pricing model that puts a chokehold on their business." From the report: Sean Highkin, the creator of the NBA-focused publication The Rose Garden Report, tells The Verge that he makes "significantly more money" after switching from Substack to Ghost last April. "When I first joined up, [Substack] gave me a big push and featured me and funneled a lot of traffic to me, which led to a good amount of growth," Highkin says. "But once I wasn't one of the 'new recruited talent' they could tout, they stopped featuring me and I saw my growth stagnate." Highkin now pays $2,052 per year using Ghost and an add-on called Outpost, compared to $4,968 per year on Substack. The Rose Garden Report's subscriber base has grown 22 percent since the end of 2024, Highkin says. [...]

Substack launched in 2017 as a platform that allows writers to create their own newsletters and manage paying subscribers. Unlike some of its biggest rivals, Substack takes a 10 percent cut of total subscription revenue. That tax may not seem substantial at first, but it quickly adds up as creators gain subscribers and begin charging more for their subscriptions. A calculator on Substack's own website estimates that for a newsletter charging $10 per month with 400 subscribers, the total monthly cost -- including the platform's 10 percent cut and credit card processing fees -- would add up to $636. That cost jumps to $15,900 per month with 10,000 subscribers and skyrockets to $79,500 per month for 50,000 members -- nearly $1 million per year.

Many Substack rivals charge a flat monthly fee, rather than a commission. Ghost, an open-source platform for blogs and newsletters, starts at $15 per month with 1,000 members for website creation, email newsletter capabilities, and a custom domain. Beehiiv, a creator platform with tools for launching a newsletter, website, and podcast, is free for up to 2,500 subscribers with limited access to certain features, like a built-in ad network, while its other plans vary in price based on subscriber count. A person with 10,000 subscribers, for example, will pay $96 per month for Beehiiv's "Scale" plan. There's also Kit, a newsletter platform that offers a tiered pricing model similar to Beehiiv, costing $116 per month with 10,000 subscribers on its "Creator" plan. It's not just the 10% fee critics are complaining about; they also argue the platform offers limited customization and third-party integrations compared to some of the mentioned alternatives, heavily promotes its own branding and social features, and makes creators more dependent on its ecosystem.

Beehiiv founder Tyler Denk argues that creators should be able to build their own brands without the platform taking center stage: "We don't want to take credit for the work of our content creators." While writers can export subscribers, content, and some payment relationships, they cannot take Substack "followers" or Apple-managed iOS billing data with them.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Golden Glow through the Branches (Gouden gloed door de takken)

BertvB posted a photo:

Golden Glow through the Branches (Gouden gloed door de takken)

The setting sun creates a dramatic silhouette against the vibrant orange sky of the Amsterdam Water Supply Dunes (Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen). By framing the sun behind the intricate network of branches, the warm evening light is beautifully filtered, capturing the peaceful end of a day in this unique Dutch coastal nature reserve.
(De ondergaande zon zorgt voor een dramatisch silhouet tegen de levendige oranje lucht van de Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen. Door de zon achter het fijne netwerk van takken te kaderen, wordt het warme avondlicht prachtig gefilterd, wat het vredige einde van een dag in dit unieke Nederlandse kustreservaat vastlegt.)

"You can take my picture for a dollar"

Greg Adams Photography posted a photo:

"You can take my picture for a dollar"

she told me After I took her picture...

Found Kodachrome Slide

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Found Kodachrome Slide

date stamped on slide, October 1964

Found Slide

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Found Slide

To Close a Little Distance in My Mind

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

To Close a Little Distance in My Mind

The Sound They Made Was Love

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

The Sound They Made Was Love

Rotterdam - FediMeteo (@rotterdam@nl.fedimeteo.com)

Weer voor de stad Rotterdam Deze bot wordt beheerd door het FediMeteo-project. Voor informatie en contact kunt u de pagina https://fedimeteo.com raadplegen.

Weer voor Rotterdam 🌕 - 15-05-2026 01:15 CEST...

Weer voor Rotterdam 🌕 - 15-05-2026 01:15 CEST

In één oogopslag:
• 8.5°C · Helder 🌕 | Min 7.4°C / Max 12.2°C | Kans op neerslag 58%

Verwachting voor vandaag:
• Min 7.4°C, Max 12.2°C (Lichte regen) 🌧️, Neerslag 9.5 mm, Kans op neerslag 58%, 🧭 1003.6 hPa ↗️ +2.2 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 20.5 km/u (5.7 m/s), richting: ↘ 334°

Uurlijkse voorspelling voor de komende 12 uur:

02:00: 8.3°C (Licht bewolkt) 🌕, 🧭 1001.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 7.6 km/u (2.1 m/s), richting: → 292°
03:00: 8.5°C (Gedeeltelijk bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1001.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 7.9 km/u (2.2 m/s), richting: → 287°
04:00: 8.2°C (Gedeeltelijk bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1001.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 8.3 km/u (2.3 m/s), richting: → 277°
05:00: 9.0°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, 🧭 1001.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 9.0 km/u (2.5 m/s), richting: → 276°
06:00: 9.0°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 3%, 🧭 1001.6 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 9.7 km/u (2.7 m/s), richting: → 278°
07:00: 9.4°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 8%, 🧭 1002.0 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 9.7 km/u (2.7 m/s), richting: → 284°
08:00: 9.4°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 20%, 🧭 1002.3 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 13.0 km/u (3.6 m/s), richting: ↘ 327°
09:00: 8.9°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.1 mm, Kans op neerslag 45%, 🧭 1002.6 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 11.5 km/u (3.2 m/s), richting: → 272°
10:00: 10.4°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 77%, 🧭 1002.9 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 11.5 km/u (3.2 m/s), richting: → 278°
11:00: 10.2°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.1 mm, Kans op neerslag 100%, 🧭 1003.3 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 13.7 km/u (3.8 m/s), richting: ↘ 326°
12:00: 9.6°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 0.3 mm, Kans op neerslag 100%, 🧭 1003.5 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 10.8 km/u (3.0 m/s), richting: → 282°
13:00: 10.9°C (Bewolkt) ☁️, Kans op neerslag 100%, 🧭 1003.7 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/1h, Windsnelheid: 17.6 km/u (4.9 m/s), richting: ↘ 302°

Voorspelling voor de komende dagen:

zaterdag 16 mei: Min 8.2°C, Max 10.9°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 1.2 mm, Kans op neerslag 53%, 🧭 1008.1 hPa ↗️ +4.5 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 18.0 km/u (5.0 m/s), richting: ↘ 298°
zondag 17 mei: Min 8.5°C, Max 13.6°C (Lichte regen) 🌧️, Neerslag 4.2 mm, Kans op neerslag 25%, 🧭 1012.1 hPa ↗️ +4.0 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 20.9 km/u (5.8 m/s), richting: → 257°
maandag 18 mei: Min 9.1°C, Max 14.0°C (Zware motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 4.0 mm, Kans op neerslag 47%, 🧭 1014.1 hPa ↗️ +2.0 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 15.8 km/u (4.4 m/s), richting: ↑ 197°
dinsdag 19 mei: Min 9.8°C, Max 14.6°C (Lichte regen) 🌧️, Neerslag 5.0 mm, Kans op neerslag 43%, 🧭 1018.2 hPa ↗️ +4.1 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 15.9 km/u (4.4 m/s), richting: ↗ 226°
woensdag 20 mei: Min 10.2°C, Max 16.5°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 1.8 mm, Kans op neerslag 36%, 🧭 1022.8 hPa ↗️ +4.6 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 18.3 km/u (5.1 m/s), richting: ↑ 189°
donderdag 21 mei: Min 12.4°C, Max 17.6°C (Lichte motregen) 🌦️, Neerslag 2.4 mm, Kans op neerslag 26%, 🧭 1027.2 hPa ↗️ +4.4 hPa/24h, Windsnelheid: 19.2 km/u (5.3 m/s), richting: ↗ 232°

Details:
• 🌡️ Huidige temperatuur (om 01:15): 8.5°C (Helder)
• 🤚 Gevoelstemperatuur: 5.5°C (-3.0°C)
• 💨 Windsnelheid: 7.2 km/u (2.0 m/s), richting: ↘ 293°
• 🌬️ Windstoten: 11.9 km/h (3.3 m/s)
• 💧 Luchtvochtigheid: 66%
• 🧭 Luchtdruk: 1001.4 hPa ➡️ 0.0 hPa/3h
• 👁️ Zichtbaarheid: 21.7 km
• ☀️ UV-index: 0.0
• 🌅 Zonsopgang: 05:49 · 🌇 Zonsondergang: 21:27

Luchtkwaliteit:
• AQI: 34 🟢 (Goed)
• PM2.5: 5.4 μg/m³
• PM10: 9.8 μg/m³

Gegevens geleverd door Open-Meteo