Microsoft is turning Azure Linux into a general-purpose, Fedora-based cloud distribution available to all Azure customers, while also productizing Flatcar as Azure Container Linux for immutable container hosts. "When Microsoft joined the Linux Foundation, there was this big conspiracy theory that somehow the Linux Foundation was undermining open source in partnership with Microsoft, and now you announce that you're shipping a Linux distribution," Jim Zemlin, the Linux Foundation's CEO, said in response to Microsoft's surprise announcement. "That's amazing." ZDNet reports: Until now, [Lachlan Everson, Microsoft's Principal Program Manager on Azure's open-source team] noted, "we had Azure Linux only available to third-party customers through AKS specifically, and that was Azure Linux 3.0." Going forward, this will be ACL. Everson emphasized that Azure Linux 4.0 is the culmination of years of internal usage and the evolution of the earlier Mariner distribution. "So we've been running Azure Linux for many years internally, and we got through to 3.0, and we only allowed it on as a container host on AKS. What we've done is make it a general-purpose, so this is all the learnings that we've had in the heritage of Mariner."

Under the hood, Azure Linux 4.0 is based on Fedora Linux and is delivered as an open distribution on GitHub. This code is available now. Yes, Red Hat knows that Microsoft has done this. Everson continued, "So, we made a decision to use Fedora as an upstream, so it's using RPMs in the Fedora ecosystem. Microsoft curates the packages and the supply chain to fit Azure's cloud platform." Microsoft also created "it to be purpose-built for Azure, which integrates vertically into all of our infrastructure to give you the best Azure Linux experience on Azure." While Azure Linux will ship as a VM image, Microsoft is already preparing a developer-friendly path onto Windows desktops: "And as of today, we have it as a VM image for your VM host on Azure. We're going to announce WSL images as well."

While developers will be able to run Azure Linux locally through WSL, Microsoft is not positioning it as a traditional desktop Linux. Asked whether he could run it on his laptop, Everson said: "I will be able to run it on my laptop, or what have you. Yes, on Windows 11." However, when pressed about a desktop experience, Everson was clear that there are "no plans" for a graphical environment. "It's optimized for server-side in the cloud," he said, adding that even on a developer machine, users should expect a lean environment. "Minimal packages, yeah. The idea is that we offer you a consistent experience to do your development on your machine, and that you can take your workloads as you develop them on your machine and run them with VS Code. You can run your applications on that, and know that the platform is the same that you're running on the cloud, so that you have that kind of consistency between environments."

Flatcar itself remains the upstream project, but Microsoft is packaging it for Azure customers. Everson described Flatcar as "purpose-built, immutable, secure by default, production-ready operating system, and Azure Container Linux is the productization of that, but we're still investing in the upstream Flatcar ecosystem and pulling that downstream into a productized exterior experience just for container workloads, so it's a container hosting in AKS." To underscore the immutable model, he added that "Everything's baked in, so there is no package manager. We bake the bits into the immutable, and they're in the immutable version. So Azure Container Linux is the immutable version. So you shouldn't be changing any system packages or any application packages. Anything that you need to change is customer workloads run in containers."

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Meta told employees on Monday that it was reassigning 7,000 workers to focus on new initiatives around artificial intelligence, the latest change in a company transformation spurred by the powerful technology. Employees will be moved to four new organizations focused on building new A.I. tools and apps, Janelle Gale, Meta's head of human resources, said in an internal memo. The organizations will use "A.I. native design structures" and have fewer managers per employee than other parts of the company, she said, adding that company leaders will send details about the new roles on Wednesday. The restructuring "will make us more productive and make the work more rewarding," Ms. Gale wrote. Meta declined to comment further on the changes.
The move comes shortly before Meta begins laying off roughly 8,000 employees, or 10 percent of its work force. Ms. Gale also mentioned Wednesday's layoffs in her memo. "We know days like this are extremely hard, and we appreciate you showing up for each other," Ms. Gale said.

According to the NYT, employees have been asked to work remotely that day and emails about the layoffs would be sent at 4 a.m. local time. Employees in the United States will receive 16 weeks of severance pay, along with two extra weeks for every year they worked at Meta.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Former F1 driver David Coulthard has shared an insight into why he believes that Max Verstappen will not leave Red Bull.

Toto Wolff has no concerns around George Russell bouncing back after a frustrating Miami Grand Prix weekend.

Investigation launched as video circulates online showing officer firing at vehicle and colleagues dragging away body

Authorities in Jamaica have launched an investigation after CCTV footage of a woman’s fatal shooting by police sent shock waves across the Caribbean nation.

Footage circulating on social media shows a police officer firing at a vehicle during a protest on Sunday in Granville, in Jamaica’s north-western parish of St James. The bullet hit Latoya Bulgin, 45, who was behind the wheel of the vehicle.

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A long and bitter legal battle between tech billionaires Elon Musk and Sam Altman has culminated in victory for the OpenAI boss. Musk has vowed to appeal the verdict. But what did the trial reveal about big tech and the global AI race? Lucy Hough speaks to Guardian US tech and power reporter Nick Robins-Early

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Nearly 48,000 workers are threatening an 18-day walkout amid fears of global memory chip shortages

South Korean memory chip maker Samsung Electronics is facing its worst-ever strike, with nearly 48,000 workers threatening to walk off production lines on Thursday for 18 days over a dispute about bonus payouts.

Here are key things to know:

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London’s biggest productions could be hit if industrial action over pay and conditions goes ahead, says union

Some of the biggest West End shows could be forced to temporarily close during a “summer of turbulence” in London after union members voted to move towards strike action over a dispute about pay and conditions.

An indicative ballot held by the performing arts union, Equity, was overwhelmingly backed by its membership: 98% voted yes to potential strikes. The result means the union now has the right to have a statutory ballot on taking industrial action.

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From beans, lentils and tofu to chicken, pork, beef and fish, experts weigh the health benefits and potential drawbacks

Do you think you’re not getting enough protein? Debbie Fetter, an associate professor in nutrition at the University of California, Davis, likes to ask her students this same question. In a lecture hall of more than 500 people, “almost every hand shoots up”, she says.

Protein is top of mind for consumers. A 2024 survey of 3,000 Americans suggests most are trying to eat more of it, and research shows that foods labeled “more protein” are especially appealing to consumers.

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Weer ontkent FVD dat een vertegenwoordiger van de partij het white power-teken maakt. Toch werd een TikTok-filmpje waarin een Alkmaars commissielid te zien is die dat teken uitbeeldt, verwijderd. „Het is een provocatie naar de media, omdat de echte betekenis altijd wordt ontkend.”

Een vrouwenstem komt van alle kanten op me af, begeleid door opzwepende muziek. Nee, dit is geen bad trip, maar een 360-gradenbioscoop. Die is onderdeel van het pas geopende interactieve EU-informatiecentrum. Je kunt het gerust EU-propaganda noemen.

MARMARIS (ANP) - Er is geen enkele boot van de Global Sumud Flotilla meer onderweg naar Gaza. Dat bevestigt de organisatie nadat ook de laatste livestream van een boot is gestopt toen het Israëlische leger dat schip enterde.

In totaal probeerden zeker zeventig schepen Gaza te bereiken door de Israëlische blokkade te doorbreken en medicijnen, voedsel en andere hulp naar het Palestijnse gebied te brengen. Onder de duizend opvarenden uit meer dan zeventig landen waren ook zes Nederlanders. Drie van hen werden dinsdag aangehouden. Twee boten zijn zelf gestopt, de andere zijn allemaal door Israël tegengehouden en de opvarenden zijn meegenomen.

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

"If the ball were only made large", he thought, "yes, large enough so that a player on one side could not see who was on the other, you would then have a chance to interest spectators in watching the whole game and in introducing much merriment, as well as skill".

guineapig33 has added a photo to the pool:

One aspect that many people will often notice in Japan are the numerous billboards on many of the buildings in major cities such as Tokyo & Osaka. Some billboards range from the standard mundane ads, while others can be eye catching.

Indeed, it can sometimes be an overwhelming experience for the senses, especially for the first time visitor.

In een leegstaand bedrijfspand in het centrum van Schiedam is dinsdagavond brand geweest. De brand brak uit op de eerste verdieping van het pand aan de Noordmolenstraat. Volgens een 112-correspondent sloegen de vlammen uit het gebouw toen de brandweer aankwam.