• Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 review: Incrementally better than its predecessor...again
    www.engadget.com
    We called 2023s Galaxy Watch 6 a modest upgrade from the Galaxy Watch 5, which itself also got described as very similar to its predecessor, the Watch 4. So its perhaps not surprising that Samsungs latest smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 7, represents yet another minor improvement over the last generation. Thats just the nature of a yearly update cycle for a device that is already doing most things right. Samsung released the Galaxy Watch 7 in late July of 2024 and I started testing the watch in October. A series of events (Black Friday, the holidays, CES) pushed this review onto the back burner, which means I spent a lot of time with the watch in a less formal capacity, wearing it on and off for around three months before formally evaluating it for this review. Design and hardware Samsung stuck with a flat, round face and super thin aluminum bezels that give the Galaxy Watch 7 a more classic timepiece vibe than the square Im a computer Apple Watch or the futuristic orb that is the Google Pixel Watch 3. The Watch 7 retains the curved case design introduced with the Watch 5, which is supposed to allow better contact between the sensors and your wrist. Unfortunately, the sensor node sticks out from the underside quite a bit. It took about a week of wearing the watch before it felt comfortable, and the first night I attempted to sleep with it, I was so bothered by it that I wrenched it off in the middle of the night. That convex sensor node now houses 13 heart rate sensor LEDs, compared to just four on the Watch 6. We didnt find anything lacking with the heart rate detection on the previous model and, when comparing the same workout on my personal Apple Watch Series 9 with the Galaxy Watch 7, I saw nearly the same beats-per-minute (bpm) readings. Performing a heart rate check manually on each watch gave the same result as well. Just like last year, the watch is available in a 40mm or 44mm case, which have a 1.3-inch and 1.5-inch screen, respectively. I tested the smaller model and was impressed with how readable I found it. Personally, I use a 45mm Apple Watch because the 41mm version is too hard to read, but despite being seemingly smaller, the Galaxys screen was nearly as easy. Holding the two side by side, I saw why: across the middle (where the bulk of text is displayed) the 40mm Samsung watch is actually wider than the 45mm Apple wearable. Thats because rectangular screens are measured on the diagonal, but the diameter of a circle is the same length from any angle. The Galaxy Watch has a thicker bezel, but running your finger along it is one way of interacting with the screen, so its helpful to have extra space for that. Two new colors, green and cream, add to the silver hue from last year. My silver review model is classy and the updated sport band has a scalloped texture (very reminiscent of the Apple Watch Ultras Ocean band, but much less bulky). Four pops of color thread just past the attachment points add a little personality. You can also customize the heck out of the watch faces, from background colors to clock fonts and complications. I was a fan of the new Ultra Info Board face and, overall, I felt like I had more appealing options in the faces gallery than with the Apple Watch even before heading to the Play Store to look for more options. Amy Skorheim for Engadget The upgraded processor in the Galaxy Watch 7, Samsungs own Exynos W1000, has one main CPU core and four smaller efficiency cores to run and switch between apps faster. We didnt find the Watch 6 to be particularly slow, and I found the Watch 7 to be impressively fast when skimming through notifications, controlling Spotify, starting a workout and haphazardly opening and closing apps as I got to know the interface. RAM is the same at 2GB, but storage has doubled to 32GB (with 21GB available out of the box). I didnt have long enough with the watch to put the capacity to the test, but the RAM seemed to keep the watch zipping along. There are two new components on the Watch 7: a dual-band GPS receiver and a sensor that measures your advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) index. The AGEs index is assessed as you sleep and gauges your metabolic health by detecting accumulated sugar/lipid compounds in your skin. Higher levels are associated with faster aging and adverse health conditions. Instead of a number, the result is a dot on a spectrum. Mine was just to the high side of the middle, and suggestions for improving my levels included eating vegetables, limiting processed foods, getting more sleep and being more active. Yes, little watch, I know. As for the GPS, it took a little effort to get it working the way I wanted. I was getting reliably accurate cadence and distance measurements (as checked against my Apple Watch and just looking at a map) but the mapping component was missing when I looked at the workout on my phone. After some research (thank you, Reddit) I learned that precise mapping is off by default. To turn it on, you need to first turn on Location Information in Samsung Health Settings on your phone. Then, in the Wear app, tap Watch Settings, Samsung Health settings, turn on Activities to detect, then tap Precise Location under the workout type you want to track. After that fix, I saw accurate routes in the workout details section. y. Sleep tracking I am happy to report I (probably) do not have sleep apnea. After setting up the sleep apnea detection feature, you only have to wear your watch to bed for two nights for it to log signs of the condition. Sleep apnea detection is a new feature that debuted with the Watch 7, but Samsung has said it will roll out to earlier compatible models in the future. After the watch tracks seven nights of sleep, itll award you one of eight sleep animals, which come with a description of the type of sleeper you are. This has been a feature since the Watch 4 and something the Pixel Watch does as well. I enjoyed finding out that Im a lion (thats the best sleeper and I will take a win wherever I can find it). Those who rate lower on the sleep animal food chain, can find sleep coaching tips within the Health app on ways to improve their sleep. Not surprisingly, this involves reminding you to keep a consistent bedtime while limiting distractions, alcohol and caffeine before sleep. For the sake of science, I slept for three nights in a row wearing both the Galaxy Watch 7 and my Apple Watch Series 9 so I could compare what they tracked. The two seemed to log the same patterns of awakeness and sleep, but Samsung was much more generous, telling me I got an average of about 45 more minutes of sleep and about three times as much deep sleep. I know much of our feelings about health are a matter of perspective, so I have to say I prefer the Galaxy Watchs assessments. Though, I wish Samsung would call the light sleep stage core sleep like Apple does that makes it feel more beneficial. After testing the Watch 7, however, I dont think Id wear it (or any watch, really) to bed voluntarily again. The dimmest the screen gets is 5 nits, which is much brighter than the single nit the Apple Watch and Pixel Watch can hit. When you go into sleep mode, the watch face stays off until you tap it, but the LED sensors underneath are also much brighter than the competition and were enough to wake me. One night, I turned on sleep mode early because the screen was too bright as I was putting my kid to bed at around 8PM. I kept sleep mode on as I watched TV then went to bed a few hours later. At four in the morning, I got a congratulatory vibration that woke me up to tell me Id met my sleep goal. Of course, I couldnt get back to sleep after that and I was, to put it mildly, displeased. That didnt happen again, despite leaving sleep mode on for longer than eight hours on a few occasions, so either it was a fluke or the January 2025 software update fixed the flaw. Health and activity tracking One of the new health features for the Galaxy Watch 7 is a daily Energy Score, which is calculated in the Samsung Health app, but readily available on the watch. The score considers sleep metrics and yesterdays activity levels to tell you how to approach the day ahead. On mornings when I got a higher number, the watch suggested I push myself by increasing the intensity of my workouts or trying something new. On days with a lower score, I was able to see why. This feature is nothing new in the industry, of course. Garmin has its Training Readiness score and Fitbit has been giving people Daily Readiness scores for years (and its finally free). Amy Skorheim for Engadget The measurement, along with other insights and commentary within the Health app, is where Samsung has put most of the AI-powered tricks for the Galaxy Watch 7. I saw various tips such as a suggestion to lower my activity goals (so I could actually reach them) after a few days of being a bit of a slug. All of the workout and health features from the previous models are here our review of the Galaxy Watch 6 goes into those in depth. But in short, like any fitness tracker, the Galaxy Watch records your overall activity levels using different metrics. In this case, its three things: steps, active time (how many minutes in which you move with an elevated heart rate) and activity calories (those you burn in addition to the energy used from just existing). You can adjust your goals and decide whether you want the watch to nudge you to meet them. There are around 90 workouts the watch can track and it can auto-detect a few of those including walking, running, bike riding, high-intensity interval training and swimming. Overall, I found the activity tracking to be accurate and I appreciated how much quicker the Galaxy Watch was at detecting I was out on a walk compared to my Apple Watch. Also, unlike the Apple Watch, which will ask me whether I wanted to track my exercise, the Galaxy Watch just goes ahead and automatically tracks it. The Galaxy Watch is on par with the Pixel Watch 3 in terms of how quickly it assumes Im on a walk but, like the Apple Watch, the Pixel wants me to confirm I want the workout tracked. So if Im on a walk with the dog and have gloves on, I have to do some finagling to tap the start button before seeing my stats. Galaxys screen on the other hand (literally) just goes ahead and displays duration, steps and heart rate details. Samsungs wearable is also quicker to give me credit for getting up and walking around after it prompts me to get moving. All activity and health tracking runs through the Samsung Health app, which is colorful and intuitive I actually found it more enjoyable to browse than Apples Health app. I spotted a medication widget that not only reminded me to take a pill at the same time each day, it also told me about potential drug and allergy interactions. When its time to take the med, the watch buzzes and lets me mark it as taken without pulling out my phone. Samsung introduced the feature at the end of 2023 and, as it turns out, Apple came out with its version a full year earlier, but I credit the more navigable interface of Samsung Health for allowing me to actually find and use it Id just never noticed it in Apples app. Instead of a separate app, like Fitness from Apple (in which youll also find the companys subscription-based workouts), theres simply a tab (also called Fitness) within Samsung Health. There are dozens of videos to try for free on your phone, from providers like Zumba, Pocket Gym, FitOn and more. And when you play the videos from here, heart rate metrics from your watch will show up on your phones screen, just like Fitness+ workouts with the Apple Watch and Fitbit Premium classes with the Pixel Watch. Eventually, youd need to pay to access all the videos a given provider offers, but its nice to have a little free content you can dip into as needed. One thing I have to point out is that even if the watch is on silent, by default it will still audibly coach you when you hit or approach certain metrics after you start a workout. The first time I tracked a yoga workout, the watch started blurting out calories burned and goals achieved while the entire class was silently lying in shavasana. I was even more red-faced than usual. Save yourself the embarrassment and disable audio guides in the settings when you start a workout. Performance and use The Watch 7 was the first to run Googles new Wear OS 5 before the Pixel Watch 3, even. Samsung layers its own One UI over Googles software so the experience is a little different from the Pixel Watch. For example, you can either swipe from the left or right edge of the screen to pull up notifications or tiles (respectively) or you can drag your finger around the screen's bezel, a movement meant to complement the physical spinning bezel of the Galaxy Watch Classic variant. On a screen-only interface, I found my finger was often in the way of what I was trying to look at, so I ended up just swiping, as on a Pixel or Apple Watch. Back in 2023, Samsung introduced gesture controls to the Galaxy Watch through an update to One UI 5, but the feature, which started as an accessibility aid, didn't get much attention until Apple highlighted and expanded such functions with the release of the Series 9. The double tap feature on the Galaxy Watch 7 works similarly to how it does on the Apple Watch, performing simple functions like pausing timers, answering calls and so on. Both watches performed the same in terms of detecting when I was making the gesture but I actually used the gesture more often with the Galaxy Watch because a little pinch animation displayed over icons that the gesture could control. The Galaxy Watch 7 also supports a knock knock feature, in which you dip your fist downward twice like youre rapping on a table and itll open an app you designate in the Buttons and Gestures menu from the Wear apps watch settings. I set it to open the timer app and, later, the Google Assistant, which I found pretty convenient. Speaking of the Google Assistant, since the Galaxy Watch 4, users have been able to swap the default assistant to Googles instead of Bixby. I recommend doing that. Asking Bixby a question (like, perhaps, Whats the capital of Finland?) directed me to look at my phone. When I posed the same query to Google Assistant, the word Helsinki appeared across the watch screen. None of these are brand new features previous models allowed you to swap the assistant and gestures started with the Galaxy Watch 4. But the better processor and new sensors on the Galaxy Watch 7 have no doubt helped boost the accuracy and responsiveness. Notifications could use some work, however. Often, Id feel a vibration, but when I lifted my wrist to check what it was, Id just see the regular watch face. I could swipe to see what had triggered the ping, but I would prefer to just see it immediately. Battery and recharging I was surprised to see how many people complained about the Galaxy Watch 7s battery life when I read users' impressions at other review sites and on Reddit. At first, I found I was getting through a whole day and night, plus partway into the next day before needing a recharge. That was on par with my Apple Watch Series 9 (both have around a 300mAh battery). But I didnt have the always-on display (AOD) enabled on the Galaxy Watch. Once I turned that on, the batterys capacity steadily dove towards empty. One Sunday, I left the house around noon with the watch at 40 percent. I walked for 20 minutes, hung out at a coffee shop and played with a few features on the watch and the paired Galaxy phone. By the time I headed home at 3PM, the watchs battery had dropped to four percent, prompting it to suggest I turn on watch-only mode. After that, I only used the watch with the AOD off. That said, using the watch without AOD isnt terribly inconvenient. When I lift my wrist, the display wakes quickly. I remember being frustrated at how ridiculously hard it was to check the time on my Apple Watch Series 4, feeling dumb as I lifted my arm three or four times before the face lit up (I know I could tap to wake it, but it was the principle of the thing). If you plan to use the watch as a sleep tracker and also want to use the AOD, you may need to set aside time at the end of the day to recharge your watch before heading off to dreamland (or toss-and-turn land, depending on your sleep animal). The good news is that the watch recharges relatively quickly. I clocked it going from 4 percent to 75 percent in under 40 minutes. Both the Apple Watch Series 10 and the Pixel Watch 3 have been shown to recharge faster in other tests, but I didnt find the Galaxy Watch to take unreasonably long. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (middle) compared to the 45mm Apple Watch Series 9 (right) and 45mm Google Pixel Watch 3 (left) Amy Skorheim for Engadget Price One positive carry-over from last year is price. Like the Watch 6 at launch, the Watch 7 starts at $300 for the 40mm model. Thats $49 cheaper than the base price for the Pixel Watch 3 and $99 cheaper than the Apple Watch Series 10. The Garmin Forerunner 165, our top pick for a running smartwatch, is $250. Theres no spinning-bezel Classic variant of the Galaxy Watch 7 (there wasnt a Galaxy Watch 5 Classic, either). Instead, when announcing the seventh gen watch, Samsung also launched the $650 Watch Ultra and $400 Galaxy Ring both of which make the flagship watch feel like a bargain. Of course, if youre after a true budget smartwatch by Samsung, theres the Galaxy Watch FE with a slightly smaller display, less powerful processor and fewer sensors. Wrap-up While the Galaxy Watch 7 may look nearly identical to its predecessor, a couple of internal improvements and software additions (and yes, some AI stuff) make it an appealing companion for a Samsung phone. It even does a few things better than the Apple Watch Series 10 (our current pick for the best overall smartwatch). As with most new releases, you probably dont need to upgrade if you already have the prior model. But if youre a fan of Samsungs handsets and are looking for an attractive accessory with solid sleep insights, helpful fitness tools and surprisingly approachable health data, this could be it. For a long time, the Galaxy Watch was our pick for the best Android watch you could buy. But with the release of the Pixel Watch 3, Samsungs wearable was knocked off its podium. The Galaxy Watch 7 does many things right and its classic looks and customizable watch faces will be a favorite for some, me included. Samsung also seems to be steadily improving the Health app I was especially excited about the beta Meditation and Mood-tracking features, and hope they make their way from the phone to the watch. The effort the company has put into the Health app is only making the Galaxy Watch more useful and Samsung has developed an effective set of wearable sensors that can provide more advanced health metrics like AGEs index, EKGs and body composition. The heart rate and distance accuracy was on par with my Apple Watch Series 9 but the Galaxy Watch was actually quicker to detect I was out on a walk it also automatically logged the workout for me. But if an always-on display is important to you and you want to use the watch for sleep tracking, you may want to look elsewhere. Still, this is a capable watch that makes a fun companion for an Android phone, particularly Samsung handsets, and I was sad to take it off when the review was over. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/samsung-galaxy-watch-7-review-incrementally-better-than-its-predecessoragain-133038627.html?src=rss
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  • Sophos is cutting staff following Secureworks deal
    www.techradar.com
    Sophos is cutting 6% of its jobs following its $859 million acquisition of Secureworks.
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  • Prime Video just launched a new app for Apple TV devices with 6 major improvements
    www.techradar.com
    Prime Video has released a new and improved app for Apple TV devices here are the 6 key differences to expect.
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  • Bring back the inspectors general Trump fired
    www.fastcompany.com
    If President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are serious about making the U.S. government more efficient, then Trump needs to reinstate the dozen-plus independent inspectors general who were recently fired from his administration. These independent inspectors were tasked with uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse, and they did it irrespective of White House partisanship and party control.Not only did the firingsbreak the law but this move also goes against what Americans say they want. Americans overwhelminglywanta more efficient governmenta reality made possible with independent and apolitical inspectors general in each department, versus loyalists disinclined to blow the whistle on their boss.For background, inspectors general have been around for almost 50 years. They were created when President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Inspector General Act of 1978. Carter described the role of inspectors general then as perhaps the most important new tools in the fight against fraud. Hes right. With direct access to all department records and agency heads, inspectors general can conduct investigations, issue subpoenas, and hire and control their own staff. Its their independence that makes them so effective.Currently, there are more than 70 inspector general offices across the federal government. And while a U.S. president is, in fact, allowed to fire an inspector general, terminations have to be communicated to Congress 30 days in advance. Congressstrengthened the lawrecently, requiring any White House to provide detailed reasoning for a firing.Before Trump places loyalists in these positions, as he did with his cabinet appointees, we must protect the integrity and independence of these inspectors. There are three reasons why we need politically unbiased inspectors who are emboldened in their task of keeping the U.S. government accountable.1: An independent inspector general is essential in identifying and recovering misspent U.S. taxpayer dollarsThese watchdogs are working on Americans behalf. In the most recent annual report by the Council of the Inspectors General, which represents the 70-plus inspector general offices across the federal government, more than $90 billion was identified in potential savings as part of its annual audit. If and when Congress acts on those recommendations, thats a return of $26 for every $1 spent on the inspectors general.Beyond their recommendations for savings, over the last 10 years inspectors general have been able to claw back more than $140 billion in receivables and recoveries through criminal and civil cases. At the departmental level, the returns from investigations can be substantial. A recent report from the inspector generals office in the Department of Health and Human Services cited almost $4 billion in investigative receivables.In addition to the permanent inspectors within federal departments, so-called special inspectors can also provide an immediate and targeted review of a government operation. The special inspector general for pandemic recovery, for example, spearheaded 42 indictments and 33 arrests and recovered more than $60 million. The special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, as another example,identified nearly $2 billion in financial benefits, including nearly $645 million in direct savings and more than $192 million in court-ordered recoveries. There are many examples like this, all across the federal government.2: Government accountabilityand the act of rooting out waste, fraud, and abuseis historicallyverybipartisanTheres a history of bipartisan efforts in Congress to minimize unnecessary federal spending, identify poorly planned and poorly executed programming, and claw back on behalf of the taxpayer wasted dollars by government departments and private industry consultants.That bipartisanship was on full display shortly before Trump was inaugurated. A week before Trumps firings in January, a bipartisan Inspector General Caucus was launched in Congress to support inspectors in their effort to root out waste, fraud, and abuse within the federal government. And immediately after Trumps firings, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee submitted a bipartisan letter to the White House demanding an explanation.U.S. polling by Gallup further backs up this bipartisanship in Congress, showing how both Republican and Democratic voters want the U.S. government to be more accountable. Theres bipartisan support for this work, to be clear.3: Accountability is an essential next step in rebuilding Americans trust in governmentTrust in national government in the U.S. is at historically lowlevels. Any effort to reduce federal inefficiencies and waste will be essential in restoring American voters faith in the system. Having a set of independent watchdogs helps ensure that every politician legitimately walks the campaign talk when elected to office.Yet Trumps government efficiency campaign promise cant be taken seriously when firing the very independent watchdogs hired to help recover taxpayer dollars, improve efficiencies, reduce redundancies, and zero out waste, fraud, and abuse. Without independent inspectors, we can expect more misspent taxpayer dollars and, as a result, more mistrust.Going forward, whats clear here is that independent inspectors general are essential to every aspect of a healthy American democracy. To remove them not only reduces citizens trust in government but allows waste, fraud, and abuse to continue unchecked. Its time to reinstate the watchdogs. American taxpayers want it, our democracy demands it, and our trust depends on it.
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  • Elon Musks DOGE team may need a crash course in COBOL
    www.fastcompany.com
    Young software engineers from Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continue to infiltrate U.S. government agencies with the stated goal of eliminating what the Trump White House deems wasteful (or woke) spending. Theyre already on the ground at the Labor Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. And theyre spreading further every day.DOGE has also said it aims to modernize government systems, which implies altering the code within those government systems. That could bring members of the organization face-to-face with something theyve potentially never seen before: COBOL, or common business-oriented language.COBOL was developed in the 1950s by a private-public partnership that included the Pentagon and IBM. The goal was to create a universal, English-like programming language for business applications. In the decades since, private-sector businesses have moved away from the language. The code is difficult and costly to maintain, and was built for batch processing, which means it doesnt integrate well with more modern cloud-based and real-time applications. But its a totally different story in Washington, D.C. Indeed, despite a number of modernization pushes in recent decades, the language is still widely used within government mainframe systems that manage all kinds of government financial transactions, from tax payments and refunds to Social Security benefits to Medicare reimbursements.The systems, if maintained correctly, are extremely reliable. COBOL acts as the glue that holds the components of the mainframe together, the code that orchestrates its work with apps and databases, as one expert told me. The mainframes themselves are loaded with redundancy and fault-tolerance features so they never break down. COBOL-based mainframe systems are also still widely used in regulated industries such as financial services, telecommunications, and healthcare.Some people worry that Musks young engineers might blunder into the COBOL code base and make changes without understanding the full effects. Normally, any changes to the code underlying government systems has to follow a set of detailed business requirements written by other agency staffers. Any delays or downtime in these systems has direct effects on real peoples lives.Its also very possible that software engineers and others within the agencies will impress upon Musk and his DOGE advisers the importance of respecting established norms. But Musk and his people are, if anything, unpredictable. Should the DOGE staffers attempt to rewrite sections of the COBOL code, it could lead to unintended consequences, including major disruptions to critical government services. And unintended consequences are very possible, if not probable.Itll break and then well figure out what to fixIn a way, the COBOL language symbolizes the disconnect of worldviews of the players in the DOGE drama. Maintaining the COBOL code is a process of translating new policies or regulations into detailed business requirements, translating the requirements into computer code, arduously testing the code in a safe environment, putting the final product into production, and documenting its purpose in the system. Since COBOL hasnt been part of the computer science curriculum since the 1990s, the people who do this work are usually older, and their numbers are diminishing.Musk and the DOGE staff, most of whom are young software engineers from Silicon Valley circles, are used to a very different move fast and break things process, says Don Hon, principal of Very Little Gravitas, which helps governments modernize complex services and products. You look at the way, for example, the early Tesla full self-driving software was put together, and we have a culture in the tech industry of, Lets hack it together, lets get something that works well enough, and then itll break and then well figure out what to fix, says Hon, who has helped troubleshoot and modernize state and federal government systems, including Medicaid and logistics at the Defense Department.To be sure, that philosophy has yielded a lot of success for entrepreneurs like Musk in the past, Hon says. But that sort of calculated risk means something very different for government systems on which hundreds of millions of people rely. Engineers whove spent their entire professional life developing consumer-facing software may not be equipped to draw a correct risk profile for implementing changes to a government payments system.Youve got someone who might say, Whats one missed Social Security payment or whats one missed Medicaid payment, because we can fix it later, right? Hon says. Whats one missed federal payment that the states then disperse weekly to, for example, a service provider for social services? (DOGE did not respond to Fast Companys request for comment.)The COBOL software is brittle. If, for instance, the code is updated with a new policy that conflicts with an existing one, the whole system can crash. Some systems dont have automated testing routines, so software engineers must program tests by hand and go through the time-consuming task of testing new code before it gets implemented. This is complicated by the fact that some parts of the code arent properly documented, so people whove not yet seen itsuch as DOGE engineersmay not know what the code was written to do.Without whistleblowers from inside the agency, it may be hard to know if the DOGE people are attempting to alter system code. Earlier this month the Trump administration and the Treasury Department claimed that Musk and his cadre of DOGE operatives have merely read only access to government computer systemsand will make no changes to government systems or operations without the express consent of the president. But in a recent court filing, the highest-ranking DOGE point person at the Treasury Department, Thomas Krause, admitted that another DOGE staffer at the department, Marko Elez, had indeed been granted read and write access to the code, allowing him to alter it. (Krause said this access was given by accident.)Krause also said in the same court filing that his job is to understand how the agencys end-to-end payment systems and financial report tools work, [and] recommend ways to update and modernize those systems. This implies an intent to alter system code. Such an effort could easily touch the COBOL code working within the mainframe systems.In the court filing, Krause said hes been working closely with Treasury staffers to find ways of advancing Trumps and Musks objectives while still respecting the agencys data privacy and security guidelines. But DOGE officials already pushed out the Treasurys highest-ranking career staffer, David Lebryk, after he refused them access to the agencys payment systems. Krause likely can dispatch any internal objector with one phone call if they dont comply with DOGEs wishes.But the DOGE team may think twice before firing the veteran staffers who speak COBOL and know where the bodies are buried. In the end, COBOLs incomprehensibility and brittleness maybe features, not bugs.
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  • Elon Musks Toxicity Could Spell Disaster for Tesla
    www.wired.com
    Staggering sales drops, swastika-daubed EVs, companies culling fleet models, and fan-forum owners selling their carsElon Musk's alt-right antics are seriously impacting his electric car business in Europe.
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  • Federal EV Charger Freeze Sows Chaos, but Chargers Are Still Getting Built
    www.wired.com
    Chargers funded through the program were due to be just a small share of those opening this year. The longer-term effects arent yet clear.
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  • Whats Best, According to the Italian Mathematician Alessio Figalli
    www.nytimes.com
    Alessio Figalli studies optimal transport, a field of math that ranges from the movements of clouds to the workings of chatbots.
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