The Register

First US-Soviet joint mission showed détente in action, but astronauts had a close call on return home

It is 50 years since the last hurrah of the Apollo program, with a mission that saw the final launch of an Apollo vehicle, and a subsequent docking with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in orbit.…

We need more paranoid Androids. And, well, everything else

Opinion  The 21st century is turning out weirder than we thought. For the entire history of art, for example, tools could be used and abused and would work more or less well, but generally helped the wishes and skills of the user. They did not plot against us. Now they can – and do.…

PLUS: China’s massive lithium find; Cisco’s new Asia boss; Japan and EU plan satcomms collab; and more

Asia In Brief  Indonesia’s government is investigating possible corruption during a $600 million program that saw around a quarter of a million Chromebooks installed in schools.…

Cross-Channel pact aims to bolster navigation and timing tech as satellite signals face growing jamming threats

Britain and France are to work more closely on technology to back up the familiar Global Positioning System (GPS), which is increasingly subject to interference in many regions around the world.…

Report on serious organized crime fails to account for differences, agency says

The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has hit back at a think tank after it assessed its US counterpart, the FBI, to be nearly three times more effective.…

For the lack of a little documentation, two techies did a lot of accidental damage

Who, Me?  Alas, the weekend is over, but The Register tries to make your entry to the working week a little more enjoyable by bringing you a fresh installment of Who, Me? – the column in which you explain your worst slip-ups.…

Despite loathing the USA, Iran wants providers who match NIST’s definition of cloud computing

The Information Technology Organization of Iran (ITOI), the government body that develops and implements IT services for the country, is looking for suppliers of cloud computing.…

PLUS: Bluetooth mess leaves cars exposed; Bitcoin ATMs attacked; Deepfakers imitate US secretary of state Marco Rubio; and more

Infosec In Brief  Nvidia last week advised customers to ensure they employ mitigations against Rowhammer attacks, after researchers found one of its workstation-grade GPUs is susceptible to the exploit.…

Intruders looked up how to use curl mid-attack - rookie errors kept damage minimal

Huntress security researchers observed exploitation of the CVSS 10.0 remote code execution (RCE) flaw in Wing FTP Server on July 1, just one day after its public disclosure.…

It could have the same headcount as 1960 by the end of the month

NASA senior staff are being offered the opportunity to leave voluntarily before the axes start swinging, and it seems likely that thousands will take the escape hatch.…

A controversial and polarizing figure, but also widely hailed

obituary  Matt Trout will be missed by many, even though he was a divisive figure who featured several times on The Register.…

Many don't realize or forget, but the FOSS world has ideological wings, too

Comment  The new fork of the X.org X11 server is conservative… and we don't mean just technologically conservative.…

No reason given for the 6% cull, but the CEO has previously talked up AI taking jobs

Recruit Holdings, the Japanese job site conglomerate that owns recruitment job site Indeed and employer reviewer Glassdoor, has eliminated about 1,300 positions.…

Predicted a 24% boost, but clocked a 19% drag

Artificial intelligence coding tools are supposed to make software development faster, but researchers who tested these tools in a randomized, controlled trial found the opposite.…

An announcement so weird it could only come from the Trump administration

video  Flanked by a pair of buzzing drones that threatened to drown out his voice, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reached up to grab a memorandum hung from a third drone hovering above his head. …

Data poisoning, meet data detox

ai-pocalypse  Computer scientists say they've devised a way to remove image-based protection mechanisms developed to protect artists from unwanted use of their work for AI training.…

As allegations fly regarding fraudulent powers of attorney, one member wants to wind up AFRINIC and start again

The receiver of the African Network Information Center (AFRINIC) has not explained why he chose to annul its recent election, prompting ICANN to again warn that it may need to step in, and longtime AFRINIC litigant Cloud Innovation to call for the body to be wound up.…

Hush-hush settlement follows decision to wind down PeopleSoft support

Enterprise software support giant Rimini Street has entered into a confidential settlement agreement with Oracle, signaling the two companies may be nearing the end of their long-running legal dispute.…

Rare earth metals are vital to electronics, and most of them are mined in China

There is only one active rare earth mine in the whole of the United States. As of Friday, the Department of Defense has become the largest shareholder in the company that owns and operates it. …

A warmer world will affect bit barn resilience, warn consultants

Many of the world's top 100 datacenter hubs are at risk from rising global temperatures, as growing cooling requirements push up costs and water consumption, while shutdowns to prevent overheating during heat waves may become more frequent.…