800+ F-35 airplane fleet struggles to justify $1.6 trillion price tag with just 25% fully mission capable rate amidst systemic software bugs and chronic hardware failures, scathing new GAO report finds

The Pentagon’s $1.6 trillion F-35 program reached just 25% full mission capability as software issues and shortages persisted.
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It looks like an old PC, but this bleeding-edge ‘server’ may well save us from hackers causing chaos in a post-quantum computing world — 4.1Gb/s ‘rackable’ quantum random number generator brings entropy to the data center

Fraunhofer IPMS launches Q-Dice, a quantum random number generator designed to strengthen encryption, authentication, and future security infrastructure.
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‘Plastic trash is now a low-cost aircraft fuel’: This new reactor system converts plastic waste into sustainable jet fuel with promising economics

Researchers develop a reactor system converting plastic waste into jet fuel, using advanced catalysts with estimated costs of $1.0–$1.8 per kilogram.
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Popular free VPN, streaming apps bombard business networks with ‘laundered’ traffic used by criminals to ‘blend into normal consumer noise’ — here’s how to keep safe

Residential proxies are both a boon for threat actors and a detriment for their victims, and many of them exist due to a lack of awareness
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Adobe’s free Photoshop rival scores a huge hit as Microsoft bundles it with its flagship Surface laptop, tablets, and hints at something big with a ‘partnership that runs deeper than a touchpad gesture’

Microsoft bundled Affinity with flagship Surface devices, increasing visibility for the Adobe alternative and fueling partnership speculation.
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Study finds people are starting to fear sounding like AI — here’s what to avoid so you don’t suffer the same fate

Writers and creators now frequently simplify their work so that it doesn’t sound ‘too AI’ – many would stop supporting others if they used undisclosed AI.
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‘The defining divide in enterprise software over the next five years will be between companies that rent intelligence versus companies that own it’: Enterprise AI is becoming increasingly distributed

InstaLILY CEO Amit Shah says future enterprise success relies on owning intelligence more than renting models from hyperscalers.
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‘The companies that will not respond, will not align with those requirements, will have difficulties in the European market’: Zscaler’s Casper Klynge on the question of European sovereignty, the transatlantic relationship, and the future of AI

Zscaler’s Casper Klynge on the question of sovereignty, the US, and the future of AI

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‘Simply being aware is no longer sufficient protection’ — Security experts warn of AI-boosted scam campaigns that can trick even the smartest victims

AI-powered scams are tricking victims faster than ever, with many losing money within minutes through convincing fake identities.
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GPD debuts mini PC with a 25W Core Ultra X7 358H CPU with an iGPU that’s almost as fast as the 3050M — but shame about the GPIO snub

GPD’s Panther Lake Mini PC combines powerful Arc B390 graphics with high-speed connectivity, though the X7 model loses MCIO expansion.
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