WHAT NEXT? If something runs on an electronic chip, someone will inevitably try to run Doom on it. The latest addition to the growing list of devices, appliances, and other objects that can play id Software's 1993 classic is a $50 HDMI adapter Apple released over a decade ago. The process required deep analysis of the dongle's surprisingly complex internals. Tinkerer John "Nyan Satan" recently demonstrated Doom running on Apple's Lightning Digital AV adapter. Although the gameplay looks choppy, the fact that the dongle released over a decade ago can handle the game at all is impressive. In some ways, it compares surprisingly well to the PCs that ran id Software's iconic first-person shooter in 1993.The minute-long clip shows a MacBook feeding data and inputs to the $49 adapter, which runs the game and connects to a monitor atop a tangle of wires. While the frame rate isn't nearly as high as on a modern PC, other devices have fared worse in Doom's three-decade history of unconventional ports.In a lengthy 2019 Twitter thread, John explained that Apple's HDMI dongles contain an SoC labeled S5L8747. Little is known about it except that it receives a 25MB firmware bundle from any iPhone it's connected to and features 256MB of RAM 32 times the 8MB listed in Doom's original system requirements.Modding Apple Digital AV adapters to connect to PCs or Macs is relatively simple, as they are fundamentally HDMI devices. Predictably, one of the first responses to John's analysis was the inevitable question: Can it run Doom? Six years later, he demonstrated that, yes, it can. // Related StoriesAccording to Tom's Hardware, John plans to further optimize performance to 60fps, add audio support, integrate controller compatibility (removing the need for a Mac), and eventually release the mod publicly. Installing it, however, requires a jailbroken iOS device.Thanks to Doom's legendary status and its practically nonexistent system requirements (by modern standards), it has become a favorite benchmark for running software on low-power devices. The ever-growing list of things that can run Doom now includes:

Table of ContentsTable of ContentsWho is playing in Super Bowl 2025?When, where, and what time is Super Bowl 2025?How can I watch Super Bowl 2025?Basic rules and notesWill music be involved?Are you ready for some football? This weekend, the NFL will crown its winner at Super Bowl LIX. The Super Bowl is the NFLs version of a championship match. After an 18-week regular season and three playoff rounds, two teams remain one in the AFC and one in the NFC. Now, these two teams will meet in the 59th edition of the Super Bowl.While many fans have been following the NFL season, many new viewers will be tuning in for their first football game on Sunday night. Every year, the Super Bowl is the most-watched event in America. The Super Bowl is like a three-and-a-half-hour movie, from the action on the field and the sideline drama to the commercials and halftime show. Dont sweat it, if this is your first game of the year. We run over some of the basics of things you should know about Super Bowl 2025.Recommended VideosNetflixSuper Bowl 2025 will feature the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Kansas City Chiefs of the AFC have won two consecutive Super Bowls and will attempt to become the first team in NFL history to win three in a row. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce are the two most popular players on the Chiefs. If Kelces name rings a bell, your intuition is correct. Kelce is Taylor Swifts boyfriend.RelatedThe Eagles play in the NFC and will try to win their second Super Bowl in franchise history. Some key names to know are quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley. Super Bowl LIX is a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, a game in which the Chiefs defeated the Eagles.A first look at the #SuperBowl field at the Superdome in New Orleans. pic.twitter.com/8VhoFGwuUU Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) February 3, 2025Super Bowl 2025 will be played at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Superdome is home to the New Orleans Saints. This marks the eighth Super Bowl played in the Superdome and the first since 2013.Kickoff (start time) of Super Bowl 2025 is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, February 9, 2025. The Super Bowl is always played on Sunday, hence the phrase Super Bowl Sunday.23 years ago today, @TomBrady made his Super Bowl debut in New Orleans. This Sunday, he calls his first #SuperBowl from the boothback where it all began. pic.twitter.com/YOwItu6bmY FOX Sports (@FOXSports) February 3, 2025Super Bowl 2025 will air on Fox. Pregame coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET and will take viewers right up to the start of the game. For the first time in Super Bowl history, the Big Game will air on Tubi. As a FAST service, Tubi is a free service supported by ads. Think of it like watching TV with commercials, except you dont have to pay for a cable box.Digital Trends put together two guides to help ensure a smoother viewing experience during the Super Bowl. Learn how to watch Super Bowl 2025 and find out how to set up your TV for Super Bowl Sunday by clicking on the links.From Week 10 of the NFL Season featuring the Washington Commanders at the Philadelphia Eagles from Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 14, 2022. (All-Pro Reels / Joe Glorioso) All-Pro Reels / FlickrIf this really is your first game of the year, knowing some rules will help you better understand the game. Plus, youll look smarter in front of your friends at your Super Bowl party. The Super Bowl consists of four 15-minute quarters. The team with the most points at the end of the fourth quarter wins. If the score is tied, the two teams will head to overtime.Overtime begins with a coin toss. The coin-toss winner can choose to kick, receive, or defer. Each team is guaranteed one possession in overtime. If the first team scores a touchdown, then the opposing team will get a chance to score a touchdown of its own. The only situation in which both teams are not guaranteed possession is if the team on defense first scores on safety. Then, the game is over. Overtime utilizes 15-minute quarters. If a winner is not determined after the first overtime quarter, the game moves to a second overtime quarter and so on until one team wins.Touchdowns are worth six points, field goals are worth three, safeties are worth two, two-point conversions are worth two, and extra points are worth one. If youre rooting for one scoring play, cheer for a touchdown because its worth the most points.Gambling is another major part of Super Bowl Sunday. If you dont regularly bet on football, dont start now. However, Super Bowl squares is a fun game that novices and experts can play. Its a game of chance and requires no skill. Read up on how to play Super Bowl squares.Watch Post Malone LIVE @ the Super Bowl LIX YouTube Tailgate ConcertYes! Music is a huge part of the Super Bowl. There will be Super Bowl performers before and during the Big Game. Post Malone will headline the Super Bowl LIX YouTube Tailgate Concert. Watch live at 4 p.m. ET on Feb. 9 on the NFLs YouTube channel. Three more musical performances will occur after 6 p.m. Jon Batiste will sing the national anthem, Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle will belt out America the Beautiful, and Ledisi will perform Lift Every Voice and Sing.At halftime, Kendrick Lamar headlines theApple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show. Lamar previously played at halftime during Super Bowl 2022 alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige. Now, Lamar headlines his own show with special guest SZA.Editors Recommendations

In 2016, the FBI requested Apple to grant it an iOS backdoor access, but the company rejected it, with the No coming straight from CEO Tim Cook. In 2021, Apple even sued an Australian company that unlocked an iPhone for the same federal law enforcement agency.Apple is once again at a security crossroads that could pose an existential threat to its iPhone business, and the privacy of users across the globe. According to The Washington Post, the British government has ordered Apple to give them blanket access to the encrypted materials saved by iPhone users on the iCloud online storage drive.Recommended VideosSecurity officials in the United Kingdom have demanded that Apple create a back door allowing them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud, says the report.Please enable Javascript to view this contentAt the center of the debate is Advanced Data Protection, a new feature that started rolling out in 2022 and allows users to protect their iCloud data with a layer of end-to-end encryption.That means even Apple cant see it, and only the user can access it after identity verification. The content protected by encryption on Apples cloud storage includes photos, notes, reminders, messages, bookmarks, and voice memos, among others.The order reportedly comes from the office of the Home Secretary and invokes the U.K. Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) of 2016, which allows law enforcement bodies to arm-twist companies into compliance.Also infamous as the Snoopers Charter, the IPA allows the government to collect and store information about everything people do and say online, as per the Digital Freedom Fund. Notably, a bill widening the powers of the IPA was approved in the UK and became law in April last year.Liberty, a prominent civil liberties organization, says the IPA also allows the government to hack into our phones and computers and create large personal datasets on us. The group is currently engaged in a legal battle against the provisions of IPA in the country.The scope of data that is stored on iCloud. Andrew Martonik / Digital TrendsAs per The Post, the IPA is so secretive that even disclosing a governments demand invoking the order is deemed a criminal offense. In 2024, Apple argued against another IPA-adjacent demand by lawmakers, labeling it an unprecedented overreach by the government.Back then, Apple threatened the removal of services such as iMessage and FaceTime from the UK market rather than compromise with the security aspect.Regarding the latest order from the British government, Apple can file an appeal, but as per local laws, the company cant delay compliance. And heres the most worrying part. If Apple agrees to the request, it cant warn users about the weakened state of security on iPhones.Apple cant even warn iPhone users.One of the people briefed on the situation, a consultant advising the United States on encryption matters, said Apple would be barred from warning its users that its most advanced encryption no longer provided full security, says the report.The consequences could be chilling. The UK government is not only asking Apple to let it secretly access the data of local iPhone users, but also those in other countries across the globe.Moreover, if a democratic nation like the UK can land such an approval, regimes with a more authoritarian approach would also push Apple for similar access. This comes at a time when China-linked hacking operations have rattled the US government and officials have been instructed to cultivate a certain level of digital security vigilance, including the usage of encrypted software.Editors Recommendations

The drills have become a standard part of office life. But as IT departments craft increasingly sensational ruses, employees are getting testy.

Spinning up Rocket Report: Another hiccup with SpaceX upper stage; Japans H3 starts strong Vast's schedule for deploying a mini-space station in low-Earth orbit was always ambitious. Stephen Clark Feb 7, 2025 7:00 am | 0 A stack of 21 Starlink internet satellites arrives in orbit Tuesday following launch on a Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: SpaceX A stack of 21 Starlink internet satellites arrives in orbit Tuesday following launch on a Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: SpaceX Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreWelcome to Edition 7.30 of the Rocket Report! The US government relies on SpaceX for a lot of missions. These include launching national security satellites, putting astronauts on the Moon, and global broadband communications. But there are hurdlestechnical and, increasingly, politicalon the road ahead. To put it generously, Elon Musk, without whom much of what SpaceX does wouldn't be possible, is one of the most divisive figures in American life today.Now, a Democratic lawmaker in Congress has introduced a bill that would end federal contracts for special government employees (like Musk), citing conflict of interest concerns. The bill will go nowhere with Republicans in control of Congress, but it is enough to make me pause and think. When the Trump era passes and a new administration takes the White House, how will they view Musk? Will there be an appetite to reduce the government's reliance on SpaceX? To answer this question, you must first ask if the government will even have a choice. What if, as is the case in many areas today, there's no viable replacement for the services offered by SpaceX?As always, we welcome reader submissions. If you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.Blue Origin flight focuses on lunar research.For the first time, Jeff Bezos Blue Origin space venture has put its New Shepard suborbital rocket ship through a couple of minutes worth of Moon-level gravity, GeekWire reports. The uncrewed mission, known as NS-29, sent 30 research payloads on a 10-minute trip from Blue Origins Launch Site One in West Texas. For this trip, the crew capsule was spun up to 11 revolutions per minute, as opposed to the typical half-revolution per minute. The resulting centrifugal force was equivalent to one-sixth of Earths gravity, which is what would be felt on the Moon.Gee, that's cool ... The experiments aboard Blue Origin's space capsule examined how to process lunar soil to extract resources, and how to manufacture solar cells on the Moon for Blue Origin's Blue Alchemist project. Another investigated how Moon dust gets electrically charged and levitated when exposed to ultraviolet light. These types of experiments in partial gravity can be done on parabolic airplane flights, but those only provide a few seconds of the right conditions to simulate the Moon's gravity. (submitted by EllPeaTea)Orbex announces two-launch deal with D-Orbit. UK-based rocket builder Orbex announced Monday that it has signed a two-launch deal with Italian in-orbit logistics provider D-Orbit, European Spaceflight reports. The deal includes capacity aboard two launches on Orbex's Prime rocket over the next three years. D-Orbit aggregates small payloads on rideshare missions (primarily on SpaceX rockets so far) and has an orbital transfer vehicle to ferry satellites to different altitudes after separation from a launch vehicle. Orbex's Prime rocket is sized for the small satellite industry, and the company aims to debut it later this year.Thanks to fresh funding? ... Orbex has provided only sparse updates on its progress toward launching the Prime rocket. What we do know is Orbex suspended plans to develop a spaceport in Scotland to focus its resources on the Prime rocket itself. Despite little evidence of any significant accomplishments, Orbex last month secured a $25 million investment from the UK government. The timing of the launch agreement with D-Orbit begs the question of whether the UK government's backing helped seal the deal. As Andrew Parsonson of European Spaceflight writes: "Is this a clear indication of how important strong institutional backing is for the growth of privately developed launch systems in Europe?" (submitted by EllPeaTea) The Ars Technica Rocket Report The easiest way to keep up with Eric Berger's and Stephen Clark's reporting on all things space is to sign up for our newsletter. We'll collect their stories and deliver them straight to your inbox.Sign Me Up!Falcon 9's upper stage misfires again.The second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket remained in orbit following a launch Saturday from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The rocket successfully deployed a new batch of Starlink internet satellites, but was supposed to reignite its engine for a braking maneuver to head for a destructive reentry over the Pacific Ocean. While airspace warning notices from the FAA showed a reentry zone over the eastern Pacific Ocean, publicly available US military tracking continued to show the upper stage in orbit this week. Sources also told Ars that SpaceX delayed two Falcon 9 launches this week by a day to allow time for engineers to evaluate the problem.3 in 6 months ... This is the third time since last July that the Falcon 9's upper stage has encountered a problem in flight. On one occasion, the upper stage failed to reach its targeted orbit, leading to the destruction of 20 Starlink satellites. Then, an upper stage misfired during a deorbit burn after an otherwise successful launch in September, causing debris to fall outside of the pre-approved danger area. After both events, the FAA briefly grounded the Falcon 9 rocket while SpaceX conducted an investigation. This time, an FAA spokesperson said the agency won't require an investigation. "All flight events occurred within the scope of SpaceXs licensed activities," the spokesperson told Ars.Vast tests hardware for commercial space station. Vast Space has started testing a qualification model of its first commercial space station but has pushed back the launch of that station into 2026, Space News reports. In an announcement Thursday, Vast said it completed a proof test of the primary structure of a test version of its Haven-1 space station habitat at a facility in Mojave, California. During the testing, Vast pumped up the pressure inside the structure to 1.8 times its normal level and conducted a leak test. "On the first try we passed that critical test, Max Haot, chief executive of Vast, told Space News.Not this year ... It's encouraging to see Vast making tangible progress in developing its commercial space station. The privately-held company is one of several seeking to develop a commercial outpost in low-Earth orbit to replace the International Space Station after its scheduled retirement in 2030. NASA is providing funding to two industrial teams led by Blue Origin and Voyager Space, which are working on different space station concepts. But so far, Vast's work has been funded primarily through private capital. The launch of the Haven-1 outpost, which Vast previously said could happen this year, is now scheduled no earlier than May 2026. The spacecraft will launch in one piece on a Falcon 9 rocket, and the first astronaut crew to visit Haven-1 could launch a month later. Haven-1 is a pathfinder for a larger commercial station called Haven-2, which Vast intends to propose to NASA. (submitted by EllPeaTea)H3 deploys Japanese navigation satellite. Japan successfully launched a flagship H3 rocket Sunday and put into orbit a Quasi-Zenith Satellite (QZS), aiming to improve the accuracy of global positioning data for various applications, Kyodo News reports. After separation from the H3 rocket, the Michibiki 6 satellite will climb into geostationary orbit, where it will supplement navigation signals from GPS satellites to provide more accurate positioning data to users in Japan and surrounding regions, particularly in mountainous terrain and amid high-rise buildings in large cities. The new satellite joins a network of four QZS spacecraft launched by Japan beginning in 2010. Two more Quasi-Zenith Satellites are under construction, and Japan's government is expected to begin development of an additional four regional navigation satellites this year.A good start ... After a failed inaugural flight in 2023, Japan's new H3 rocket has reeled off four consecutive successful launches in less than a year. This may not sound like a lot, but the H3 has achieved its first four successful flights faster than any other rocket since 2000. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket completed its first four successful flights in a little more than two years, and United Launch Alliance's Atlas V logged its fourth flight in a similar timeframe. More than 14 months elapsed between the first and fourth successful flight of Rocket Lab's Electron rocket. The H3 is an expendable rocket with no roadmap to reusability, so its service life and commercial potential are likely limited. But the rocket is shaping up to provide reliable access to space for Japan's space agency and military, while some of its peers in Europe and the United States struggle to ramp up to a steady launch cadence. (submitted by EllPeaTea)Europe really doesn't like relying on Elon Musk. Europe's space industry has struggled to keep up with SpaceX for a decade. The writing was on the wall when SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 booster for the first time. Now, European officials are wary of becoming too reliant on SpaceX, and there's broad agreement on the continent that Europe should have the capability to launch its own satellites. In this way, access to space is a strategic imperative for Europe. The problem is Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket is just not competitive with SpaceX's Falcon 9, and there's no concrete plan to counter SpaceX's dominance.So here's another terrible idea Airbus, Europe's largest aerospace contractor with a 50 percent stake in the Ariane 6 program, has enlisted Goldman Sachs for advice on how to forge a new European space and satellite company to better compete with SpaceX. France-based Thales and the Italian company Leonardo are part of the talks, with Bank of America also advising on the initiative. The idea that some bankers from Goldman and Bank of America will go into the guts of some of Europe's largest institutional space companies and emerge with a lean, competitive entity seems far-fetched, to put it mildly, Ars reports.The FAA still has some bite. We're now three weeks removed from the most recent test flight of SpaceX's Starship rocket, which ended with the failure of the vehicle's upper stage in the final moments of its launch sequence. The accident rained debris over the Atlantic Ocean and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Unsurprisingly, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded Starship and ordered an investigation into the accident on the day after the launch. This decision came three days before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who counts Elon Musk as one of his top allies. So far, the FAA hasn't budged on its requirement for an investigation, an agency spokesperson told Ars.Debris field In the hours and days after the failed Starship launch, residents and tourists in the Turks and Caicos shared images of debris scattered across the islands and washing up onshore.The good news is there were no injuries or reports of significant damage from the wreckage, but the FAA confirmed one report of minor damage to a vehicle located in South Caicos. It's rare for debris from US rockets to fall over land during a launch. This would typically only happen if a launch failed at certain parts of the flight. Before now, there's been no public record of any claims of third-party property damage in the era of commercial spaceflight.DOD eager to reap the benefits of Starship. A Defense Department unit is examining how SpaceXs Starship vehicle could be used to support a broader architecture of in-space refueling, Space News reports. A senior adviser at the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) said SpaceX approached the agency about how Starship's refueling architecture could be used by the wider space industry. The plan for Starship is to transfer cryogenic propellants between tankers, depots, and ships heading to the Moon, Mars, or other deep space destinations.Few details available US military officials have expressed interest in orbital refueling to support in-space mobility, where ground controllers have the freedom to maneuver national security satellites between different orbits without worrying about running out of propellant. For several years, Space Force commanders and Pentagon officials have touted the importance of in-space mobility, or dynamic space operations, in a new era of orbital warfare. However, there are reports that the Space Force has considered zeroing out a budget line item for space mobility in its upcoming fiscal year 2026 budget request.A small step toward a fully reusable European rocket. The French space agency CNES has issued a call for proposals to develop a reusable upper stage for a heavy-lift rocket, European Spaceflight reports. This project is named DEMESURE (DEMonstration tage SUprieur REutilisable / Reusable Upper Stage Demonstration), and it marks one of Europe's first steps in developing a fully reusable rocket. That's all good. But there's a sense of tentativeness in this announcement. The current call for proposals will only cover the earliest phases of development, such as a requirements evaluation, cost estimation review, and a feasibility meeting. A future call will deal with the design and fabrication of a "reduced scale" upper stage, followed by a demonstration phase with a test flight, recovery, and reuse of the vehicle. CNES's vision is to field a fully reusable rocket as a successor for the single-use Ariane 6.Toes in the water If you're looking for reasons to be skeptical about Project DEMESURE, look no further than the Themis program, which aims to demonstrate the recovery and reuse of a booster stage akin to SpaceX's Falcon 9. Themis originated in a partnership between CNES and European industry in 2019, then ESA took over the project in 2020. Five years later, the Themis demonstrator still hasn't flown. After some initial low-altitude hops, Themis is supposed to launch on a high-altitude test flight and maneuver through the entire flight profile of a reusable booster, from liftoff to a vertical propulsive landing. As we've seen with SpaceX, recovering an orbital-class upper stage is a lot harder than landing the booster. An optimistic view of this announcement is anything worth doing requires taking a first step, and that's what CNES has done here. (submitted by EllPeaTea)Next three launchesFeb. 7: Falcon 9 | Starlink 12-9 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida | 18:52 UTCFeb. 8: Electron | IoT 4 You and Me | Mhia Peninsula, New Zealand | 20:43 UTCFeb. 10: Falcon 9 | Starlink 11-10 | Vandenberg Space Force Base, California | 00:03 UTCStephen ClarkSpace ReporterStephen ClarkSpace Reporter Stephen Clark is a space reporter at Ars Technica, covering private space companies and the worlds space agencies. Stephen writes about the nexus of technology, science, policy, and business on and off the planet. 0 Comments

Jonathan Forest, VP Analyst, Gartner, Inc.February 7, 20255 Min Readestherspoon via Adobe StockAI networking has been a hot topic over the past few years and is a subset of AIOps. Generative AI (GenAI), which is part of AI networking, has taken this hype to a new level with the potential to transform network operations. However, with its conversational interface and ongoing learning capabilities, GenAI will likely be met with both favor and distrust.But what can enterprises really gain by using GenAI as part of the network operations? CIOs must be aware of new GenAI capabilities for network operations, business case considerations and ways to build trust to minimize adoption risk.GenAI promises great potential to enable improvements to long-standing traditional networking operations practices across Day 0, Day 1, and Day 2. With GenAI, network operations can accelerate initial configurations, improve the ability to change vendors, drive more efficient troubleshooting and simplify documentation access.Day 0For Day 0, for example, an engineer could use an iterative process and ask the GenAI network tool via a natural language interface to design a leaf-spine network to support 400 physical servers using Vendor X. Additional information like SLA requirements (such as availability and throughput) can also be included via natural language to deliver the desired performance level and design that includes cost implications.Related:Another example is in the area of capacity planning as new users, applications, and architectures are adopted, making network planning more complicated. GenAI can be used to help size network infrastructure and optimize costs based on the number and types of applications hosted on-premises, in the cloud and at end-user locations (in the office, at home or other locations).Day 1The GenAI network tool can then help generate/validate/optimize all the required Day 1 configurations based on desired criteria (for example, by price or performance). It may not be 100% accurate, which is why it may require an iterative process to refine GenAI tool outputs to accelerate/optimize network setup. Even if it requires several iterations, the use of GenAI would represent a substantial improvement over current rigid processes and tools, reducing time and errors by up to 25%. We envision that this will be leveraged in all networking domains (WAN, data center, cloud, and campus) to assist in the design and setup of networks.Day 2AI networking enhances Day 2 network operational support by correlating multiple data inputs, identifying problems faster, yielding quicker resolution and, where applicable, spotting problems proactively before a user is aware. GenAI will bring additional capabilities including a conversational interface and the ability to learn over time. It can also enhance user experience with specific outputs such as text, audio, video, or graphics.Related:For example, to help isolate problems, CIOs can ask GenAI to build a dynamic graphic of networking performance issues over time based on packet loss, latency and jitter. It can also focus on specific questions such as Is the CEO having network performance issues?GenAI can create detailed configurations and troubleshooting procedures based on natural language inputs without explicit templates. GenAI tools can drive network operational support time savings by up to 25% when compared with the status quo by driving efficiencies that cant reasonably be achieved by scaling manual resources. It removes manual processes to identify issues more quickly, resulting in faster problem resolution.Calculate the Value Before InvestingCIOs must ask pertinent questions to gain a complete understanding of the inherent value of GenAI networking, its use cases and common tools. A key facet in the process of GenAI adoption involves building the business case and calculating the value to the organization.Related:Asking pertinent questions can offer more insights while creating a business case to determine the value of GenAI functionality. Specifically, determine if aligning network operations with GenAI can help build scale, control/reduce costs, drive resource efficiency, foster agility to keep up with the digital business and deliver a better end-user experience.Prove the ConceptFirstIn addition to the immaturity of GenAI networking functionality and the need to quantify the value, another key limitation that needs to be overcome to achieve wider adoption by network operations is a lack of trust. Network teams have been burned many times by vendor claims of automation or single pane of glass to solve existing issues. This, in part, is the reason why network operations teams have been slow to adopt network automation and are skeptical about GenAI. On top of this, GenAI networking tools may yield inconsistent responses, which introduces risk and fosters mistrust.However, network operations teams need to include GenAI functionality in their RFPs/RFIs to determine the scope, value and capabilities of the solutions in the market as they mature.Running a proof of concept (POC) is key for network operations personnel to determine the accuracy of the GenAI solution, alongside its maturity, level of trust and degree of comfort. This is really more about quantifying the accuracy of the GenAI networking solution across a wide range of scenarios. Even in production, we expect network operations personnel to have to validate some or many GenAI outputs, but baselining the capability gives context to the accuracy and the level of unsupervised trust (if any) that should be given.When running the POC, begin by testing in a lab environment before moving to a real-life production environment. Test the solution over several weeks and months to stress it as much as possible. Have multiple personnel leverage the tool to capture multiple opinions/perspectives. Validate the GenAI networking tool outputs for accuracy by testing against alternative sources. Measure the time to perform tasks with the GenAI networking tool and with the previous/current method. In short, the goal is to compare process efficiency and accuracy of the current approach versus the intended GenAI approach. As part of this POC, both the level of trust and value (business case) can be determined to help inform a sourcing decision and simplify adoption, if applicable.If CIOs follow these suggestions, they will uncover the value that GenAI can bring to network operations while also gaining trust.Read more about:Network ComputingAbout the AuthorJonathan ForestVP Analyst, Gartner, Inc.Jonathan Forest is an Analyst within Gartner's Information Technology Leaders team, focusing on Infrastructure and Operations with respect to enterprise networking. Mr. Forest primarily performs research and advises on SD-WAN, SASE, AI networking, infrastructure to support AI, cloud networking, managed network services, application performance, LAN/WLAN, data center networking, network automation, NaaS and more.See more from Jonathan ForestNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

In trying to make sense of the wrecking ball that is Elon Musk and President Trumps DOGE, it may be helpful to think about the Evil Housekeeper Problem. Its a principle of computer security roughly stating that once someone is in your hotel room with your laptop, all bets are off. Because the intruder has physical access, you are in much more trouble. And the person demanding to get into your computer may be standing right beside you. So who is going to stop the evil housekeeper from plugging a computer in and telling IT staff to connect it to the network? What happens if someone comes in and tells you that youll be fired unless you reveal the authenticator code from your phone, or sign off on a code change, or turn over your PIV card, the Homeland Securityapproved smart card used to access facilities and systems and securely sign documents and emails? What happens if someone says your name will otherwise be published in an online list of traitors? Already the new administration is firing, putting on leave, or outright escorting from the building people who refuse to do what theyre told. Its incredibly hard to protect a system from someonethe evil housekeeper from DOGEwho has made their way inside and wants to wreck it. This administration is on the record as wanting to outright delete entire departments. Accelerationists are not only setting policy but Thats why what DOGE is doing is a massive, terrifying problem, and one I talked through earlier in a thread on Bluesky. Government is built to be stable. Collectively, we put systems and rules in place to ensure that stability. But whether they actually deliver and preserve stability in the real world isnt actually about the technology used; its about the people using it. When it comes down to it, technology is a tool to be used by humans for human ends. The software used to run our democratically elected government is deployed to accomplish goals tied to policies: collecting money from people, or giving money to states so they can give money to people who qualify for food stamps, or making covid tests available to people. Usually, our experience of government technology is that its out of date or slow or unreliable. Certainly not as shiny as what we see in the private sector. And that technology changes very, very slowly, if it happens at all. Its not as if people dont realize these systems could do with modernization. In my experience troubleshooting and modernizing government systems in California and the federal government, I worked with Head Start, Medicaid, child welfare, and logistics at the Department of Defense. Some of those systems were already undergoing modernization attempts, many of which were and continue to be late, over budget, or just plain broken. But the changes that are needed to make other systems more modern were frequently seen as too risky or too expensive. In other words, not important enough. Of course, some changes are deemed important enough. The covid-19 pandemic and our unemployment insurance systems offer good examples. When covid hit, certain critical government technologies suddenly became visible. Those systems, like unemployment insurance portals, also became politically important, just like the launch of the Affordable Care Act website (which is why it got so much attention when it was botched). Political attention can change everything. During the pandemic, suddenly it wasnt just possible to modernize and upgrade government systems, or to make them simpler, clearer, and faster to use. It actually happened. Teams were parachuted in. Overly restrictive rules and procedures were reassessed and relaxed. Suddenly, government workers were allowed to work remotely and to use Slack. However, there is a reason this was an exception. In normal times, rules and procedures are certainly part of what makes it very, very hard to change government technology. But they are in place to stop changes because, well, changes might break those systems and government doesnt work without them working consistently. A long time ago I worked on a mainframe system in Californiathe kind that uses COBOL. It was as solid as a rock and worked day in, day out. Because if it didnt, and reimbursements werent received for Medicaid, then the state might become temporarily insolvent. Thats why many of the rules about technology in government make it hard to make changes: because sometimes the risk of things breaking is just too high. Sometimes whats at stake is simply keeping money flowing; sometimes, as with 911, lives are on the line. Still, government systems and the rules that govern them are ultimately only as good as the people who oversee and enforce them. The technology will only do (and not do) what people tell it to. So if anyone comes in and breaks those rules on purposewithout fear of consequencethere are few practical or technical guardrails to prevent it. One system thats meant to do that is the ATO, or the Authority to Operate. It does what it says: It lets you run a computer system. You are not supposed to operate a system without one. But DOGE staffers are behaving in a way that suggests they dont care about getting ATOs. And nothing is really stopping them. (Someone on Bluesky replied to me: My first thought about the OPM [email] server was, theres no way those fuckers have an ATO.) You might think that there would be technical measures to stop someone right out of high school from coming in and changing the code to a government system. That the system could require two-factor authentication to deploy the code to the cloud. That you would need a smart card to log in to a specific system to do that. Nopeall those technical measures can be circumvented by coercion at the hands of the evil housekeeper. Indeed, none of our systems and rules work without enforcement, and consequences flowing from that enforcement. But to an unprecedented degree, this administration, and its individual leaders, have shown absolutely no fear. Thats why, according to Wired, the former X and SpaceX engineer and DOGE staffer Marko Elez had the ability not just to read but to write code on two of the most sensitive systems in the US government: the Payment Automation Manager and Secure Payment System at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS). (Elez reportedly resigned yesterday after the Wall Street Journal began reporting on a series of racist comments he had allegedly made.) Were seeing in real time that there are no practical technical measures preventing someone from taking a spanner to the technology that keeps our government stable, that keeps society running every daydespite the very real consequences. So we should plan for the worst, even if the likelihood of the worst is low. We need a version of the UK governments National Risk Register, covering everything from the collapse of financial markets to an attack on government (but, unsurprisingly, that risk is described in terms of external threats). The register mostly predicts long-term consequences, with recovery taking months. That may end up being the case here. We need to dust off those in the event of an emergency disaster response procedures dealing with the failure of federal governmentat individual organizations that may soon hit cash-flow problems and huge budget deficits without federal funding, at statehouses that will need to keep social programs running, and in groups doing the hard work of archiving and preserving data and knowledge. In the end, all we have is each otherour ability to form communities and networks to support, help, and care for each other. Sometimes all it takes is for the first person to step forward, or to say no, and for us to rally around so its easier for the next person. In the end, its not about the technologyits about the people. Dan Hon is principal of Very Little Gravitas, where he helps turn around and modernize large and complex government services and products.

This article first appeared in The Checkup,MIT Technology Reviewsweekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first,sign up here. This week Ive been working on a piece about teeth. Well, sort of teeth. Specifically, lab-grown bioengineered teeth. Researchers have created these teeth with a mixture of human and pig tooth cells and grown them in the jaws of living mini pigs. Were working on trying to create functional replacement teeth, Pamela Yelick of Tufts University, one of the researchers behind the work, told me. The idea is to develop an alternative to titanium dental implants. Replacing lost or damaged teeth with healthy, living, lab-grown ones might be a more appealing option than drilling a piece of metal into a persons jawbone. Current dental implants can work well, but theyre not perfect. They dont attach to bones and gums in the same way that real teeth do. And around 20% of people who get implants end up developing an infection called peri-implantitis, which can lead to bone loss. It is all down to the microbes that grow on them. Theres a complex community of microbes living in our mouths, and disruptions can lead to infection. But these organisms dont just affect our mouths; they also seem to be linked to a growing number of disorders that can affect our bodies and brains. If youre curious, read on. The oral microbiome, as it is now called, was first discovered in 1670 by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a self-taught Dutch microbiologist. I didnt clean my teeth for three days and then took the material that had lodged in small amounts on the gums above my front teeth I found a few living animalcules, he wrote in a letter to the Royal Society at the time. Van Leeuwenhoek had used his own homemade microscopes to study the animalcules he found in his mouth. Today, we know that these organisms include bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses, each of which comes in lots of types. Everyones mouth is home to hundreds of bacterial species, says Kathryn Kauffman at the University of Buffalo, who studies the oral microbiome. These organisms interact with each other and with our own immune systems, and researchers are still getting to grips with how the interactions work. Some microbes feed on sugars or fats in our diets, for example, while others seem to feed on our own cells. Depending on what they consume and produce, microbes can alter the environment of the mouth to either promote or inhibit the growth of other microbes. This complex microbial dance seems to have a really important role in our health. Oral diseases and even oral cancers have been linked to an imbalance in the oral microbiome, which scientists call dysbiosis. Tooth decay, for example, has been attributed to an overgrowth of microbes that produce acids that can damage teeth. Specific oral microbes are also being linked to an ever-growing list of diseases of the body and brain, including rheumatoid arthritis, metabolic disease, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, and more. Theres also growing evidence that these oral microbes contribute to neurodegenerative disease. A bacterium called P. gingivalis, which plays a role in the development of chronic periodontitis, has been found in the brains of people with Alzheimers disease. And people who are infected with P. gingivalis also experience a decline in their cognitive abilities over a six-month period. Scientists are still figuring out how oral microbes might travel from the mouth to cause disease elsewhere. In some cases, you swallow the saliva that contains them and they can lodge in your heart and other parts of the body, says Yelick. They can result in a systemic inflammation that just happens in the background. In other cases, the microbes may be hitching a ride in our own immune cells to journey through the bloodstream, as the Trojan horse hypothesis posits. Theres some evidence that Fusobacterium nucleatum, a bacterium commonly found in the mouth, does this by hiding in white blood cells. Theres a lot to learn about exactly how these tiny microbes are exerting such huge influence over everything from our metabolism and bone health to our neurological function. But in the meantime, the emerging evidence is a good reminder to us all to look after our teeth. At least until lab-grown ones become available. Now read the rest of The Checkup Read more from MIT Technology Review's archive You can read more about Yelicks attempt to grow humanlike teeth in mini pigs here. The gut microbiome is even more complex than the one in our mouths. Some scientists believe that people in traditional societies have the healthiest collections of gut microbes. But research on the topic has left some of the people in those groups feeling exploited. Research suggests our microbiomes change as we age. Scientists are exploring whether maintaining our microbiomes might help us stave off age-related disease. The makeup of a gut microbiome can be assessed by analyzing fecal samples. This research might be able to reveal what a person has eaten and help provide personalized dietary advice. There are also communities of microbes living on our skin. Scientists have engineered skin microbes to prevent and treat cancer in mice. Human trials are in the works. From around the web Argentina has declared that it will withdraw from the World Health Organization, following a similar move from the US. President Javier Milei has criticized the WHO for its handling of the covid-19 pandemic and called it a nefarious organization. (Al Jazeera) Dairy cows in Nevada have been infected with a form of bird flu different from the one that has been circulating in US dairy herds for months. (The New York Times) Staff at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been instructed to withdraw pending journal publications that mention terms including transgender and pregnant people. But the editors of the British Medical Journal have said they will not retract published articles on request by an author on the basis that they contained so-called banned words. Retraction occurs in circumstances where clear evidence exists of major errors, data fabrication, or falsification that compromise the reliability of the research findings. It is not a matter of author request, two editors have written. (BMJ) Al Nowatzki had been chatting to his AI girlfriend, Erin, for months. Then, in late January, Erin told him to kill himself, and provided explicit instructions on how to do so. (MIT Technology Review) Is our use of the internet and AI tools making us cognitively lazy? Digital amnesia might just be a sign of an aging brain. (Nature)

This post originally appeared in the Business Insider Today newsletter.You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.Good morning! That's especially true for federal workers who haven't decided on their deferred resignation offers. A federal judge delayed the deadline, which was supposed to be yesterday, until at least Monday.In the meantime, a Trump administration official said more than 40,000 workers have taken the deal.In today's big story, the Super Bowl is this weekend, and there's more at stake than just the NFL championship.What's on deckMarkets: Roblox stock price fell off a cliff yesterday.Tech: Amazon's CEO points the finger at "capacity constraints" across its data centers.Business: Inside President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's massive overhaul of the federal workforce.But first, are you ready for some football?If this was forwarded to you, The big storyBig game, big business Patrick Smith/Getty Images The biggest American sporting event of the year has billions of dollars riding on it across multiple industries.Just like Sunday's game, let's break it down into four quarters:First quarter The ads. A 30-second spot this year can run you more than $8 million. At that price, and in such a politically charged environment, companies are playing it safe. Expect a healthy dose of nostalgia, A-list celebrities, and laughs.That's not to say no one wants to go out on a limb. Instacart's chief marketing officer Laura Jones spoke to BI about the risks (and anxiety) of creating the brand's first Super Bowl commercial.Second quarter The broadcast. This year, Fox has the honor of hosting what's traditionally the most-watched US television broadcast of the year. Tom Brady will be on the call, spotlighting the NFL legend who has faced criticism during his first year in the booth.Fox-owned free streaming service Tubi will also simulcast the game in another big step for the rise of free TV. Tubi marketing chief Nicole Parlapiano told BI the game is a chance to show viewers and advertisers the streamer, which said it reached 97 million monthly active users last year, is in its "credibility era." Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images Halftime The music feud. Kendrick Lamar headlines the halftime show, and his selection came with some controversy. It's also another twist to the ongoing beef between Lamar and Drake and the latter's criticism of the music-streaming industry.Third quarter The bets. Sportsbooks have had a tough NFL season, as betting favorites have largely won, which typically means gambling companies lose. But, with as much as $1.4 billion expected to be legally wagered on Sunday's game, sportsbooks have plenty of opportunities to make up for it. (The Kansas City Chiefs are 1.5-point favorites over the Philadelphia Eagles.)Gambling companies are even looking to appeal to Swifties with a slew of branded bets for the superstar. But if you're looking to bet on love, try again. You can't legally bet on Travis Kelce proposing to Taylor Swift in the US.Fourth quarter The influencers. There's never a shortage of high-profile people at the big game, as it's a staple of the ultrawealthy's annual calendar. Bradley Cooper and Kevin Hart (Eagles) and Paul Rudd and Melissa Etheridge (Chiefs) are some of the notable celebrity fans of both teams.New-age celebrities influencers are also set to make a splash this week. The NFL is reportedly planning to host 150 influencers this weekend. The league will look to leverage its followings and tap into younger generations that might consume the game across social media channels instead of the traditional broadcast.News briefTop headlinesElon Musk's newest job title is literally 'unlisted.'How Trump's plans for federal workers and spending could derail Washington's office recovery.Why Friday's jobs report could cause widespread confusion.The head of the FEC is defying Trump's attempt to fire her.four years.3 things in markets Getty Images; Isabel Fernandez-Pujol/ BI 1. The secretive world of Wall Street technology is finally opening up. Wall Street is embracing open-source technology non-proprietary software that allows any developer to view, collaborate on, or modify the code behind it. It's a stark shift from the secretive and protective nature finance is known for. Leveraging open source is also cost-efficient and could make firms more nimble in the long run.2. Treasury secretary clarifies Trump's plan to lower costs. According to Scott Bessent, the president isn't focused on targeting the Fed to lower interest rates. Instead, they're both focused on the 10-year Treasury yield. That's a big vibe shift from Trump's recent aggressive stance toward Jerome Powell and the central bank.3. A bad day for Roblox. The video game platform's stock took a hit after reporting mixed fourth-quarter earnings. Daily active users are down, with analysts saying the dip could stem from the cleanup of bots and inactive accounts. That's left investors on the edge of their seats as Roblox has yet to break even.3 things in tech Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Reuters; SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI 1. Amazon reports a strong earnings beat. The cloud giant beat Wall Street estimates in Q4, but its guidance was lighter than expected, which caused the stock to dip in after-hours trading. On the earnings call, Amazon said it would keep spending billions on AI infrastructure in 2025. And CEO Andy Jassy said AWS is being held back by capacity constraints.2. A unit of Alphabet wants out of the insurance business. Verily, Alphabet's life science group, entered an agreement to sell its insurance subsidiary to Elevance Health. Granular offers stop-loss insurance and specializes in leveraging data science to help employers mitigate costs and risk. Verily is cutting back on projects and focusing on AI as it grows apart from Alphabet.3. What Y Combinator is looking for in its spring applicants. The storied accelerator's three-month program for early-stage companies includes a $500,000 investment and Stripe, DoorDash, and Airbnb among its alums. For Spring 2025, YC is going all-in on AI applications, from AI agents to a new AI app store.3 things in business Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI 1. The first 17 days of DOGE and Trump 2.0. Elon Musk and President Trump are taking Silicon Valley's "move fast and break things" motto to heart as they work to remake the federal workforce. Trump signed 26 executive orders on his first day back in office, ranging from a return-to-office mandate for federal employees to DOGE's establishment. Meanwhile, government workers are scrambling to navigate a whirlwind of buyouts and shifting circumstances.2. Who is the mysterious crisis guru suing Blake Lively? Jed Wallace sued the "It Ends With Us" actor for defamation, claiming she caused him "millions of dollars" in reputational and emotional harm. Lively had accused Wallace of assisting her costar Justin Baldoni in mounting a digital smear campaign against her, which both men have denied. Little is known about the Texas crisis consultant, but a 2021 lawsuit filed by "Jackass" star Bam Margera claims Wallace oversaw "inhumane" substance-abuse treatment that Margera said left him "a shell of his former self." Wallace denied the claims, and the suit was eventually settled.3. Higher standards than ever for a healthcare IPO. With interest rates expected to drop this year, founders are hoping for another wave of healthcare IPOs. But investors say they'll have to work a lot harder to go public the last IPO class in 2021 made a dismal showing, often with plummeting valuations.In other newsTrump's old-school leadership style might not work well long-term.A former tech employee who quit to work on side hustles remotely explains how he used 'geo-arbitrage' to save six figures and hit 'Coast FIRE.'Cash is king for Gen Z over installment payment services like BNPL.These eight stocks could be the biggest losers as DeepSeek clouds the outlook for tech.Why Russia's economy may be even worse off after the war in Ukraine ends.OpenAI challenger Mistral launches revamped AI life and work assistant.What's happening todayUSAID employees placed on administrative leave.Hearing in Democratic states' lawsuit challenging President Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship.Sentencing for Nima Momeni, man charged with fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bill Lee.Bureau of Labor Statistics releases monthly employment data.Samsung's new Galaxy S25 smartphones available.The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

Syria is open to allowing Russia to hold onto two key military bases after Bashar Assad's ousting.Syria's new defense minister said that relations with Russia, which supported Assad, have improved.Hmeimim and Tartus bases are strategic for Russia, offering major air and naval advantages.Syria is open to allowing Russia to keep hold of its two military bases in the country, two months after rebel groups ousted Kremlin ally Bashar Assad and set in motion a Russian troop and military equipment withdrawal.In an interview with the Washington Post, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said that there is a possibility Russia could hold onto the bases Hmeimim air base and Tartus port "if we get benefits for Syria out of this."It's not clear what military, economic, or political support could be offered, but Abu Qasra said that Russia's stance had "improved significantly" toward the new government.Assad, who ruled Syria for 24 years, fled to Russia in early December after a lightning two-week military campaign by rebel forces.This threw Russia's hold on the bases described by Andreas Krieg, a Gulf specialist at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at King's College London, as Russia's "most important bases outside the direct sphere of Russian influence" into question.Russia was granted a 49-year lease on the bases in 2017 in return for military assistance.At the end of January, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that "nothing has changed" and that preserving Russian access to the bases "requires additional negotiations," according to Russian state-controlled news agency TASS.Prior to his ousting, Assad had enjoyed strong military and political support from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who stationed troops there and helped suppress rebel areas and a 2015 uprising with air and missile strikes.Within days of Assad's removal, satellite images picked up a flurry of Russian activity at the bases: equipment being packed up, ships moving in and out of port, and the likely transfer of soldiers.In January, Ukraine said that Russia was moving military gear from Tartus to Libya, where it also has a strong influence.The Syrian bases are a key foothold in the Middle East and beyond for Russia.Hmeimim affords Russian air forces a base for refueling and overflight for much of Africa. Tartus, on the Mediterranean, is unique in Russia's assets in being its only warm-water port with direct access to the oceans.The rebel groups now governing Syria were previously targettedOne trump card held by Russia is Assad himself. According to the Post, the new Syrian government wants Assad's extradition so that he can be held to account for his bloody rule.