Aggregator

AmiMoJo writes: The Irish Government's basic income scheme for artists is set to become a permanent fixture from next year, with 2,000 new places to be made available under Budget 2026. Minister for Culture Patrick O'Donovan has secured agreement with other government departments to continue and expand the initiative, which had previously operated on a pilot basis. Participants in the scheme receive a weekly payment of $379.50. The pilot programme, launched in 2022, provided basic income support to 2,000 artists and creative arts workers across Ireland. It aimed to support the arts sector's recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, during which many artists experienced significant income loss due to restrictions on live performances and events. The scheme provides unconditional, regular payments to eligible artists and creative workers, allowing them to focus on their practice without the pressure of commercial viability. It is not means-tested and operates independently of social welfare payments. An independent evaluation of the pilot, published earlier this year, found that recipients reported increased time spent on creative work, reduced financial stress, and improved well-being.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Lotus Bowker, 15, had gone to swim in the River Wyre in Lancashire with three friends after being repeatedly warned by his parents not to visit the area because he couldn't swim.

When Lynn McCarthy began to notice unusual bruising on her legs and her energy levels plummeting, she attributed the symptoms to being a busy mother to two schoolgirls.

There are plenty of reasons why people are drawn to the attractions of village life - from the sense of community and the tranquillity of the setting, to the ducks on the green and slow pace of life.

by George Whittaker Introduction

Android has long been focused on running mobile apps, but in recent years, features aimed at developers and power users have begun pushing its boundaries. One exciting frontier: running full Linux graphical (GUI) applications on Android devices. What was once a novelty is now gradually becoming more viable, and recent developments point toward much smoother, GPU-accelerated Linux GUI experiences on Android.

In this article, we’ll trace how Linux apps have run on Android so far, explain the new architecture changes enabling GPU rendering, showcase early demonstrations, discuss remaining hurdles, and look at where this capability is headed.

The State of Linux on Android Today The Linux Terminal App

Google’s Linux Terminal app is the core interface for running Linux environments on Android. It spins up a virtual machine (VM), often booting Debian or similar, and lets users enter a shell, install packages, run command-line tools, etc.

Initially, the app was limited purely to text / terminal-based Linux programs; graphical apps were not supported meaningfully. More recently, Google introduced support for launching GUI Linux applications in experimental channels.

Limitations: Rendering & Performance

Even now, most GUI Linux apps on Android are rendered in software, that is, all drawing happens on the CPU (via a software renderer) rather than using the device’s GPU. This leads to sluggish UI, high CPU usage, more thermal stress, and shorter battery life.

Because of these limitations, running heavy GUI apps (graphics editors, games, desktop-level toolkits) has been more experimental than practical.

What’s Changing: GPU-Accelerated Rendering

The big leap forward is moving from CPU rendering to GPU-accelerated rendering, letting the device’s graphics hardware do the heavy lifting.

Lavapipe (Current Baseline)

At present, the Linux VM uses Lavapipe (a Mesa software rasterizer) to interpret GPU API calls on the CPU. This works, but is inefficient, especially for complex GUIs or animations.

Introducing gfxstream

Google is planning to integrate gfxstream into the Linux Terminal app. gfxstream is a GPU virtualization / forwarding technology: rather than reinterpreting graphics calls in software, it forwards them from the guest (Linux VM) to the host’s GPU directly. This avoids CPU overhead and enables near-native rendering speeds.

Go to Full Article

Judges for the 2026 Fish and Chip Takeaway of the Year title have narrowed the choices down to the top 20 in the UK.

Police raced to 100mph to pursue the car

Judges for the 2026 Fish and Chip Takeaway of the Year title have narrowed the choices down to the top 20 in the UK.

Research by US journal Deviant Behaviour found a link between hybristophilia - individuals who lust after people that commit criminal acts - and the behaviour of young women who use TikTok

Florida comms outfit serving cops, firefighters, and the military says hackers pinched some employee data but insists its systems stayed online

BK Technologies, the Florida-based maker of mission-critical radios for US police, fire, and defense customers, has confessed to a cyber intrusion that briefly rattled its IT systems last month.…

Shocking video footage taken by the unknown balaclava-clad group shows them wreaking havoc in Securitas and Leonardo UK's premises' in Edinburgh in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Niall Geany, 19, of Kirkliston, near Edinburgh, raped his victim in her own home while she repeatedly told him 'no'.

Once reserved for the rich and famous, this picture-perfect fishing village on the Italian Riviera is known for its pastel-coloured buildings, narrow streets and scenic harbour.

Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days have officially started, with the retail giant offering huge discounts on a range of products - these home must-haves will help keep you cosy.

David and Victoria Beckham have jetted away on a Spanish getaway with their children Cruz and Harper days after her Paris Fashion Week show.

Meghan Markle's debut at Paris Fashion Week was not exactly perfect, according to publicity experts.

Surrounded by impressive stone walls, the city takes the crown and was awarded a near-perfect score of 97.33 by Condé Nast Traveller.

The town's MP said using the property would have been "simply wrong"

Rachel Allen had been married to her ex-husband for eight years and together for 12, having first met in 2004 on an Excel spreadsheet course.

Bottled water could contain dangerous levels of microplastics that can slip through the body's defenses and lodge in vital organs increasing the risk of cancer , concerning new research has suggested.