Researchers found enterprises are spending time troubleshooting cloud connectivity due to increased AI workloads, reports Computer Weekly. More than 400 IT and infrastructure decision-makers (US and UK) were surveyed for internet/cloud/AI exchange operator DE-CIX by market researchers Censuswide. But despite 96% of respondents claiming their enterprise networks are ready for cloud/AI loads, the average IT team still spends more than 11 hours each week resolving cloud connectivity problems


Other leading concerns included downtime or reliability issues (26%), latency or slow performance (28%), and security vulnerabilities/DDoS attacks (27%). Cost of connectivity, staff expertise and lack of visibility/control over data flows were also cited as major challenges... As a result, as indicated in the study, many businesses are now turning to private interconnection, which enables enterprises to connect directly to cloud providers over dedicated infrastructure rather than routing traffic across the public Internet. Designed to deliver lower latency, greater resilience, enhanced security and more predictable performance, private interconnection has become an increasingly important way of supporting modern cloud and AI workloads. Specifically, the data showed that 61% of companies are already using private connectivity to clouds, while another 31% are actively considering it... [And 71% of enterprises with 1000 or more employees]

Only 8.62% of the smaller companies were spending 21 to 40 hours per week dealing with connectivity issues, while just 2.53% of the largest companies in the sample do. Summing up these findings, DE-CIX said that together they suggest direct interconnection is rapidly becoming a core component of enterprise cloud and AI infrastructure and a competitive advantage for companies, though optimising interconnection strategies clearly remains a pressing challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises... "Every AI application depends on data moving quickly, securely and predictably between users, clouds and AI infrastructure. Our research suggests that far too many enterprises are still spending valuable time trying to maintain that kind of connectivity, with more than a third spending between 11 and 20 hours per week, and just under one in 10 spending between 21 to 40 hours per week. This confirms what we already knew — that that network architecture can make or break AI adoption."


Elsewhere The Register reports that cloud infrastructure services "grew at their fastest for eight years during the second quarter of 2026, thanks to the AI craze and continued demand for flexible and scalable IT infrastructure."

According to the latest figures from Synergy Research, enterprise spending on cloud infrastructure passed $143 billion in Q2, a year-on-year growth rate of 43 percent. This followed 11 successive quarters of increasing growth rates, during which the market has now doubled in size... "AI has, of course, driven most of that incremental growth, and we now see year-on-year growth rates of 165 percent for AI-specific cloud services...." And the top three global players continue to dominate the market, with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud together accounting for 67 percent of all the cloud revenue during the quarter. That percentage has increased since the third quarter of last year, when the triumvirate made up 63 percent of enterprise cloud infra spending.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Long-time Slashdot reader pyroclast shared this report from Linux Journal:

After years of requests from the Linux gaming community, GOG has officially confirmed that it is developing native Linux support for the GOG Galaxy launcher. The announcement marks one of the biggest shifts in the company's history and signals a stronger commitment to Linux as a first-class gaming platform. While GOG has offered DRM-free Linux game downloads since 2014, its Galaxy launcher has remained exclusive to Windows and macOS — until now. Although the company has not announced a release date, GOG says Linux has become a major area of investment, with development already underway...

Unlike the web-based game downloads that Linux users already have access to, GOG Galaxy serves as a full-featured game management application. The launcher currently offers features including:
— Automatic game installation and updates
— Cloud save synchronization
— Achievement tracking
— Playtime statistics
— Game library organization
— Integrated storefront browsing
— Friends lists and social features
— Cross-platform launcher integration
Today, Linux users typically access these capabilities through community projects such as Heroic Games Launcher, Lutris, or Bottles. A native Galaxy client would provide an officially supported alternative with direct integration into GOG's ecosystem...

For GOG, supporting Linux more fully aligns with its philosophy of giving users greater control over their purchased games.



The article argues this news shows Linux growing in importance for game publishers. After the rapid adoption of Valve's Steam Deck, there's also been continuous improvements to Proton and Vulkan, increasing hardware compatibility, and native Linux game development efforts.

"As more companies recognize the platform's growth, Linux users can expect broader support from game publishers and software developers alike."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Researchers found enterprises are spending time troubleshooting cloud connectivity due to increased AI workloads, reports Computer Weekly. More than 400 IT and infrastructure decision-makers (US and UK) were surveyed for internet/cloud/AI exchange operator DE-CIX by market researchers Censuswide. But despite 96% of respondents claiming their enterprise networks are ready for cloud/AI loads, the average IT team still spends more than 11 hours each week resolving cloud connectivity problems


Other leading concerns included downtime or reliability issues (26%), latency or slow performance (28%), and security vulnerabilities/DDoS attacks (27%). Cost of connectivity, staff expertise and lack of visibility/control over data flows were also cited as major challenges... As a result, as indicated in the study, many businesses are now turning to private interconnection, which enables enterprises to connect directly to cloud providers over dedicated infrastructure rather than routing traffic across the public Internet. Designed to deliver lower latency, greater resilience, enhanced security and more predictable performance, private interconnection has become an increasingly important way of supporting modern cloud and AI workloads. Specifically, the data showed that 61% of companies are already using private connectivity to clouds, while another 31% are actively considering it... [And 71% of enterprises with 1000 or more employees]

Only 8.62% of the smaller companies were spending 21 to 40 hours per week dealing with connectivity issues, while just 2.53% of the largest companies in the sample do. Summing up these findings, DE-CIX said that together they suggest direct interconnection is rapidly becoming a core component of enterprise cloud and AI infrastructure and a competitive advantage for companies, though optimising interconnection strategies clearly remains a pressing challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises... "Every AI application depends on data moving quickly, securely and predictably between users, clouds and AI infrastructure. Our research suggests that far too many enterprises are still spending valuable time trying to maintain that kind of connectivity, with more than a third spending between 11 and 20 hours per week, and just under one in 10 spending between 21 to 40 hours per week. This confirms what we already knew — that that network architecture can make or break AI adoption."


Elsewhere The Register reports that cloud infrastructure services "grew at their fastest for eight years during the second quarter of 2026, thanks to the AI craze and continued demand for flexible and scalable IT infrastructure."

According to the latest figures from Synergy Research, enterprise spending on cloud infrastructure passed $143 billion in Q2, a year-on-year growth rate of 43 percent. This followed 11 successive quarters of increasing growth rates, during which the market has now doubled in size... "AI has, of course, driven most of that incremental growth, and we now see year-on-year growth rates of 165 percent for AI-specific cloud services...." And the top three global players continue to dominate the market, with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud together accounting for 67 percent of all the cloud revenue during the quarter. That percentage has increased since the third quarter of last year, when the triumvirate made up 63 percent of enterprise cloud infra spending.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

To design invisible drones, researchers have tried camouflage, transparent materials and light-bending optical systems. But engineers at Northwestern University used "motion blur," which an announcement from the school notes is the effect that makes fast-spinning fans seem to disappear.

"The drone spins up to 25 times per second, which is too fast for the human eye to see clearly. While it isn't completely invisible, it morphs into a ghostly smudge that seamlessly blends into the background... "

To design the drone, the Northwestern team first used a computational model to generate roughly 20,000 drone configurations capable of stable flight. Then, they used artificial intelligence (AI) and optimization algorithms to repeatedly rearrange the drones' major components, including a motor, propeller, circuit board, counterweight and batteries. After sifting through many different configurations, the algorithms determined the ideal placement of the drone's components to minimize its visibility from virtually every viewing angle while allowing for stable flight.
After selecting promising candidates, the engineers simulated each drone spinning in flight and overlaid those images a hundred real-world backgrounds. Then, they used a perception model that approximates human vision to determine how noticeable each design appeared. Designs that blended into their surroundings received lower visibility scores. The team selected the 500 lowest-scoring designs and applied the optimization algorithm, which repeatedly adjusted the positions of components to further minimize those scores. "The design process was fully automated," [said Northwestern's associate CS professor Michael Rubenstein, who led the work]. "Then, when we were confident that a drone met all our criteria, we built it."

They've named the drone "Phantom Twist"," and plan to design future iterations with more transparent materials or quieter propulsion to make it even less noticeable.

The Northwestern team presented the work on July 16 at Robotics: Science and Systems 2026 in Sydney, Australia...


Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader fahrbot-bot for sharing the news.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Tone'o Down-Under has added a photo to the pool:

Fremantle Prison, sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a former Australian prison and World Heritage Site in Fremantle, Western Australia. The site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages, and tunnels. It was initially used for convicts transported from Britain, but was transferred to the colonial government in 1886 for use for locally-sentenced prisoners. Royal Commissions were held in 1898 and 1911, and instigated some reform to the prison system, but significant changes did not begin until the 1960s. The government department in charge of the prison underwent several reorganisations in the 1970s and 1980s, but the culture of Fremantle Prison was resistant to change. Growing prisoner discontent culminated in a 1988 riot with guards taken hostage, and a fire that caused $1.8 million worth of damage. The prison closed in 1991, replaced by the new maximum-security Casuarina Prison.
The prison was administered by a comptroller general, sheriff, or director, responsible for the entire convict or prison system in Western Australia, and a superintendent in charge of the prison itself. Prison officers, known as warders in the 19th century, worked under stringent conditions until they achieved representation through the Western Australian Prison Officers' Union. Convicts were initially of good character as potential future colonists, but less desirable convicts were eventually sent. As a locally-run prison, Fremantle's population was generally short-sentenced white prisoners in the 1890s, with very few Aboriginal prisoners. By the late 20th century, most prisoners were serving longer sentences, a higher proportion of them were violent, and Aboriginal people were present in large numbers.
Prison life at Fremantle was extremely regulated. Meals were an important part of the day, eaten in the cells throughout the operational life of the prison. Convict or prisoner labour was used on public infrastructure works until around 1911; subsequently, only work inside the prison was allowed, though there was never enough to fully occupy the inmates. Punishments varied over the years, with flogging and time in irons eventually replaced by lengthening of sentences and deprivation of visitors or entertainment. More than 40 hangings were carried out at Fremantle Prison, which was Western Australia's only lawful place of execution between 1888 and 1984. Prominent escapees included Moondyne Joe, as well as John Boyle O'Reilly and six other Fenians in the 19th century, and Brenden Abbott in 1989. There have been various riots and other disturbances, with major riots causing damage in 1968 and 1988.
Since 1991, Fremantle Prison has been conserved as a recognised heritage site, and various restoration works have been undertaken. New uses have been found for some buildings within the prison, which has also become a significant tourist attraction. The process of obtaining World Heritage listing as part of the Australian Convict Sites submission focused historical interpretation and conservation efforts on the prison's convict era (1850 – 1886), at the expense of its more recent history, including Aboriginal prisoners held there. (Wikipedia)

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

ajpscs posted a photo:

51st Edogawa Fireworks Festival

江戸川区花火大会 / 市川市民納涼花火大会
FIREWORKS
© ajpscs

ajpscs posted a photo:

51st Edogawa Fireworks Festival

江戸川区花火大会 / 市川市民納涼花火大会
FIREWORKS
© ajpscs

The US president did not provide details of where Monday meeting would take place or who would be involved

Donald Trump said talks with Iran will happen on Monday but declined to set a deadline for an agreement after earlier saying he had called ⁠off an imminent attack in the hope ⁠of quickly reaching a deal to ​reopen the strait of Hormuz and resolve the impasse over Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.

For its part, Iran said it was nearing a deal with Oman over a new route through the strait of Hormuz, where a tanker reported an explosion nearby on Sunday, underscoring the continued volatility of the strategic waterway. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre reported that the vessel and crew were all safe.

Continue reading...

Officials are banning some ‘compressed hikes’ which involve walkers tackling demanding routes in short timeframes

Malaysia’s government is tightening hiking rules nationwide after a social media trend left increasing numbers of adventurers needing to be rescued when they became lost or stranded in remote locations.

In the first five months of 2026, Malaysia saw 52 cases of lost hikers, an increase of nearly 30% compared with the same period the previous year, the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department told local media.

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Drones attack warehouse of Russian retailer as at least 14 killed in latest cross-border exchanges; EU force boards Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker. What we know on day 1,622

Ukrainian drone strikes killed at least nine people in Russia on Sunday, with targets again including retail giant Wildberries, while Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least five, according to officials in both countries. Drones attacked a Wildberries warehouse in the Samara region, about 800km (500 ​miles) from Ukraine’s most advanced military positions, governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev ‌said. There were ‌no casualties and a fire triggered by the attack was being put out, he said. Ukrainian forces have attacked about a dozen Wildberries sites since 18 July in an attempt to disrupt the operations of the company, which is Russia’s largest online retailer and a linchpin of the consumer economy often described as the country’s version of Amazon.

Three people were killed and two injured in a drone attack on the Udmurtia region of Russia, acting governor Olga Abramova said. In the border region of ⁠Belgorod, three people were killed and five injured in Ukrainian strikes, the local taskforce reported. A Ukrainian drone struck an area next to ⁠a playground, killing one child and injuring two, acting regional governorAlexander Shuvayev said.

Russian strikes in Ukraine killed two people in the eastern region of Dnipropetrovsk, and at least one person each in the southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, according to regional authorities. A separate Russian strike destroyed a postal terminal in the northern Kharkiv region, killing a worker, the mail operator Nova Poshta said.

A strike on a Russian residential building in Samara’s neighbouring region of Saratov killed two people in the city of Engels, governor Roman Busargin ‌said. Civil infrastructure was damaged in Engels and the city of Saratov, he said. Ukraine’s military said on Sunday that their forces attacked the Saratov oil refinery and the Engels military airbase, sparking fires at both facilities. It said its forces also struck an oil depot in the western Kaluga region.

Russia’s defence ​ministry said its forces struck infrastructure and two vessels with military cargo in the Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv, as well as a vessel carrying military supplies in the Black Sea.

An EU naval mission led by Italy boarded a tanker from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” on Sunday, the ⁠second such operation in ⁠less than ​two weeks as Europe intensifies scrutiny of vessels suspected of helping Moscow circumvent oil sanctions. Italy’s defence ministry said the Toa Payoh, a ⁠tanker subject to EU sanctions, was intercepted west of the Sicilian island of Pantelleria while sailing from Benin to Istanbul. The vessel had switched to ⁠a Cameroon registry only last week, a source familiar with the operation said.

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Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige hails ‘phenomenal’ opening, which followed box office already buoyed by The Odyssey and Toy Story 5

Spider-Man: Brand New ⁠Day brought in a blockbuster $927m ⁠in worldwide ticket sales to deliver the second most lucrative opening weekend of all time both domestically and globally.

The movie, which marks actor Tom Holland’s fourth ⁠outing as the web-slinging superhero, depicts Peter Parker fighting crime in a world that has forgotten he is Spider-Man. Zendaya, who is married to Holland, co-stars as MJ, the love of Parker’s life. The film explores Parker’s struggles ⁠with loneliness and his pursuit of human connection.

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ajpscs has added a photo to the pool:

51st Edogawa Fireworks Festival

江戸川区花火大会 / 市川市民納涼花火大会
FIREWORKS
© ajpscs

TRUE 2 DEATH has added a photo to the pool:

Last train into Ōimachi.
By the end of the night, the crowds are gone, the conversations have faded, and even one of Tokyo's busiest railways finds a moment of calm. Sometimes the journey home is the quietest part of the day.

Ōimachi Station, Tokyo, Japan
July 2026

TRUE 2 DEATH has added a photo to the pool:

Closed for well over a decade, this former roadside restaurant in Happō, Akita still stands as a reminder of another era. My wife's family used to eat here, making this more than just another abandoned building to me. I enjoy photographing places like this because they're part of someone's story, even after the doors have closed.

RECENSIE - De tweede aflevering van het laatste seizoen Zomergasten zat vol met dromen. Die niet zelden verstoord werden door de werkelijkheid. Journaliste Nasrah Habiballah leidde ons langs schitterende fragmenten zonder haar journalistieke masker te laten zakken.

‘Ik wil de openingsscène van Oklahoma! verfilmen’, zegt een van de hoofdpersonen uit A Bunch Of Amateurs, een documentaire over een groep bejaarde filmliefhebbers. De man heeft een geruite hemd aan, een rode kiel om zijn hals en een cowboyhoed op zijn hoofd. Hij wil gefilmd worden terwijl hij op een witte hengst door het maisveld rijdt en ‘Oh, what a beautiful morning’ zingt. ‘Heb je ooit op een paard gereden?’, vraagt iemand. ‘Nee’, zegt hij. ‘En waar vind je mais zo hoog als het oog van een olifant?’ ‘Niet hier in de buurt’, geeft hij toe.

Even later staan ze in het enkelhoge gras van een weiland. Een vrouw met dezelfde kleren is zijn stand-in. ‘Vanuit deze hoek zie je niet dat ik het niet ben’, zegt de man terwijl hij door de camera naar de vrouw kijkt op het witte paard.

De man had een droom. Of het uiteindelijke resultaat overeenkomt met het droombeeld, is nog maar de vraag. Maar doet dat er toe? Hij heeft het toch maar mooi gerealiseerd. Dat hij zelf niet op het paard zat? Een kniesoor die daarover valt.

Zomergast Nasrah Habiballah had ook een droom. Als dochter van een Nederlandse moeder en een Palestijnse vader wilde ze genuanceerde achtergrondverhalen vertellen over het gebied waar ze vroeger zulke fijne vakanties had beleefd. Haar vader was voor de liefde uit Israël naar Nederland gekomen. Die liefde ging uit. Hij runde een shoarmatent in Zierikzee en verliefd op een andere Nederlandse vrouw, met wie hij drie kinderen kreeg. En een daarvan was Nasrah.

In 2023 werd haar droom werkelijkheid: ze werd correspondent voor de NOS in Israël en de Palestijnse gebieden. Maar tussen droom en daad staan vaak niet voorziene gebeurtenissen in de weg: niet veel later werd het 7 oktober en werd ze drie jaar lang in beslag genomen door een realiteit die zo duister en overdonderend was dat genuanceerde achtergrondverhalen zo goed als onmogelijk werden. Ergens had ik het gevoel dat ze nu, een paar maanden na haar laatste uitzending, nog steeds niet tot haar had laten doordringen wat er achter haar lag. Aan de andere kant: misschien was dit precies wie ze was, een journalist die, de film All The President’s Men indachtig, zo feitelijk mogelijk de waarheid probeert te benaderen. Zonder zich te laten afleiden door emotie. Janine Abbring deed hard haar best om door het journalistieke pantser heen te breken, maar Habiballah liet dat niet gebeuren.

Daarbij verborg ze haar afkomst en haar empathie met de Palestijnse zaak overigens niet. Dat begon met de fantasievolle documentaire over 80 koeien die door Israël als staatsgevaarlijk werd aangeduid. Daarna een documentaire over een geluidsman in Gaza. Het derde fragment ging over de Palestijnse literatuurcriticus Edward Said die uitlegde dat je als Palestijn je best moest doen om te begrijpen welke rol de holocaust heeft in het ontstaan van Israël, wat niet betekent dat je het gedrag van Israël hoeft te begrijpen, laat staan te vergoelijken.

Het laatste fragment in het hokje Israël-Palestina ging over de journaliste Mariam Barghouti uit Ramallah die brak toen de interviewer haar vroeg hoe het haar en haar collega’s lukte om ondanks alles toch door te gaan. ‘Dat is het punt’, zei ze, ‘We gaan helemaal niet door.’ Het enige wat ze deden, was niet dood gaan. Habiballah zei het gevoel te herkennen te verdrinken in alle ellende. Janine Abbring probeerde weer door het pantser heen te breken en haar te verleiden iets meer kleur te bekennen. Ik moest denken aan de Zomergasten met de Palestijns-Nederlandse fotograaf Sakir Khader, die volgens toenmalige presentator Joris Luyendijk niet neutraal genoeg was. ‘Ik kan het me niet permitteren neutraal te zijn’, zei Sakir Khader toen. Inmiddels is Joris Luyendijk, niet gehinderd door al te veel zelfinzicht, overal aan het verkondigen dat hij sinds zijn bezoek aan het front in Oekraïne zijn journalistieke neutraliteit aan de wilgen heeft gehangen en activist is geworden. Het kan verkeren, wil ik maar zeggen. Habiballah  op haar beurt bleef vasthouden aan haar journalistieke principes. Zij kan zich, met haar Palestijnse achtergrond, niet permitteren haar neutrale masker volledig te laten zakken.

Dromen en illusies
Deze Zomergasten zat vol met fragmenten waarin dromen en illusies de hoofdrol speelden. Het Gazaanse meisje dat heel even terugdenkt aan haar lievelingspop. Het paar dat zich op een cruiseschip laat fotograferen bij de ondergaande zon. De journalistieke idealen van All The President’s Men. De man die de openingsscène van Oklahoma! wil verfilmen. De Chinese componist die Chinese opera met westerse muziek wil combineren. Het Marokkaanse meisje dat voor het eerst naar Marokko gaat. De tweestatenoplossing. Meestal was er dan harde werkelijkheid die deze dromen in stukken sneed. Waarbij het de vraag is: hoe kom je die werkelijkheid  onder ogen? Kies je ervoor de ellende te negeren, zoals de wannabe kasteelvrouw uit Ik Vertrek die zich in haar bouwvallige chateau concentreert op het pittoreske torentje? Of ga je de confrontatie aan zoals Edward Said? Of word je erdoor opgeslokt, zoals Mariam Barghouti?

Nog een mogelijkheid: je kan ook besluiten de werkelijkheid te wissen, zoals de hoofdpersonen in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Maar dat was voor Habiballah niet de juiste weg. Alles wat ze de afgelopen drie jaar had meegemaakt, hoe zwaar het ook was en hoever het ook van haar oorspronkelijke droom verwijderd was: het heeft haar toch ook weer gevormd. Het gaat zoals het gaat. Misschien kwam haar uitnodiging voor Zomergasten iets te vroeg, bedacht ik me. Liggen deze tropenjaren te dichtbij om er écht op te kunnen reflecteren. Maar in combinatie met de schitterende, soms aangrijpende, soms ontroerende, soms grappige en altijd boeiende fragmenten, werd het toch een veelzeggende avond.