Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has shared his thoughts on Xbox’s latest round of struggles and identity crises. And it is safe to say he not exactly sound convinced that Microsoft’s gaming leadership known what it is doing.

Layden recently responded to a post on LinkedIn from game designer and consultant Tadhg Kelly, who shared multiple decisions from the company that showed how it is stuck in an identity crises made worse by contradictory messaging, executive changes, financial pressure, studio closures, and repeated promises of a reset that might not work the way they hope it would.

At the risk of sounding like a ‘hater’ (which, I’m really not), the moves evince a basic misunderstanding of how the interactive entertainment world moves, Layden wrote. IYKYK, which also means if you don’t you don’t.

Fairly brutal assessment I would say.

And coming from someone who once ran PlayStation and gave the company some of the most successful years. Layden is not just questioning one bad decision from Microsoft but whether the people running Xbox actually understand how the gaming business works. Harsh thing to say but at point it is a fair question to ask; do they even know what they are doing? Plethora of people are about to lose their jobs because of the decisions made by Xbox leadership.

The comment arrives at an especially awkward moment for Microsoft’s gaming business. Asha Sharma took over as CEO of Microsoft Gaming in February following Phil Spencer’s retirement, promising urgency, clarity, and a return to the “renegade spirit” that originally built Xbox. Since then, the company has been talking openly about resetting a business that Sharma reportedly described as being “not in a healthy spot.”

Xbox has warned its employees that its current financial direction cannot continue. Microsoft CEO recently state that they need to make Xbox a sustainable business, and in an internal memo Asha Sharma revealed that her division has fallen to a measly 3% accountability margin.

Now, reports claim a major layoff wave is about to his Xbox studios once Microsoft’s fiscal year ends on June 30th. Internal discussions around turning Xbox into a wholly owned subsidiary or spinning off the business are reported in the media as well.

None of that means Sharma caused Xbox’s problems. She inherited a division shaped by years of acquisitions, shifting platform strategies, declining console sales, canceled projects, and damaged morale. It appears as if she was given the keys to a fallen kingdom and asked to rebuild it with little to no resources but all the blame if things fall apart completely.

Sharma is now responsible for convincing employees and players that this “reset” is not just a corporate rebrand followed by a round of job cuts. That is where Layden’s comment hits hardest. Xbox keeps saying it understands the problem. A former PlayStation boss is suggesting the decisions themselves prove otherwise.

If you want voice, why not go Jabber (XMPP) with Prosody or Snikket or something? e2ee too! Works decently well!

You will not catch me using anything Screwgle, I’m not paying for a $100 speaker with subsidized personal data… Got rid of Google back when they bought out Nest and fucked up all my devices.

June 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. has held off adding China’s AI startup DeepSeek, memory chipmaker CXMT and more than 100 other companies flagged as national security risks to a trade blacklist, according ‌to two people familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration tries to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing.

DeepSeek, CXMT and other companies were approved by an interagency committee last year for addition to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, which is being reported for the first time. Reuters is also exclusively reporting the large number of companies awaiting publication on the list.

DeepSeek, whose low-cost AI model sent shockwaves through the technology world in January 2025, has supported China’s military and intelligence operations, a senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters last year, adding that the ​startup tried to use Southeast Asian shell companies to illegally access advanced U.S. chips.

This year, Anthropic said it identified a campaign by DeepSeek and two other Chinese AI labs to illicitly extract capabilities from its ​Claude AI platform to improve their own models, and OpenAI warned lawmakers that DeepSeek also was targeting its models.

ChangXin Memory Technologies, China’s top memory chipmaker, was designated as a Chinese ⁠military company by the Defense Department under the Biden administration. The Commerce Department considered placing it on its Entity List more than a year ago, Reuters and others reported.

DeepSeek and CXMT could not be reached for comment outside normal business hours. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees the list, did not directly respond to ​questions about why updates to the Entity List had not been published since last year, or comment on DeepSeek and CXMT.

When asked for comment, China’s foreign ministry said the U.S. should cease “politicizing, instrumentalizing, and weaponizing” economic, trade and technological issues.

“China has consistently opposed the U.S.’s broad interpretation of the concept of national security and its abuse of export control measures, such as the Entity ​List, to contain and suppress Chinese enterprises,” spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular news briefing on Wednesday.

The United States and China are locked in a tense rivalry over technology, trade and national security, with Washington using tariffs ​and export controls to keep Beijing at bay while China maintains a stranglehold on rare earth minerals that defense, auto and chipmaking firms need.

The U.S. has not posted any additions to its Entity List since October, the longest stretch between new postings in ‌more than a ⁠decade, said Philip Luck, who studies global supply chains at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“The Entity List is like whack-a-mole and you’ve got to keep whacking the moles,” Luck said, referring to an arcade game.

The lack of new listings is likely allowing American technology to reach adversaries who could use it against the U.S., he added.

“The fact the U.S. hasn’t put any companies on the Entity List since October demonstrates that trade policy is overshadowing the use of a critical national security tool,” said Kevin Kurland, a former Commerce Department official.

Multiple Chinese companies were slated for the list for supplying Russian drones that were recovered in Poland last September, one of the people said. Listing those lesser-known companies ​is even more important to U.S. suppliers who may ​not know the nature of their business, the person ⁠said.

Dozens of other Chinese companies were identified last year as national security risks for selling restricted Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab chips to Chinese universities, but were not added to the list, a third source said.

Chinese companies that make and sell drones and robot dogs for the country’s military were also selected as potential targets, according to the third person.

Since late 2025, Jeffrey ​Kessler, under secretary of commerce for industry and security, has sought to avoid listing Chinese parties for fear of escalating tensions between the U.S. and China, according to ​the first source and other people ⁠familiar with the matter.

The dearth of listings offers a window into what many see as a larger problem at the Bureau of Industry and Security under the second Trump administration — an inability to act or issue new rules to combat threats that can be reduced by restricting exports. Early last year, for instance, the bureau said it would replace a regulation created under former President Joe Biden to govern global access to U.S.-origin AI chips. But it has still not published a replacement, and is not ⁠enforcing the earlier ​rule, opening a potential loophole that may have allowed the chips to be exported to Chinese companies outside China.

Decisions regarding whether to add an ​entity to the list are made by an interagency committee, which includes officials from the departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, State and sometimes Treasury. But the first two sources said the committee has approved companies for the list and Commerce has not published them.

At least 75 Chinese entities in ​advanced semiconductor production, semiconductor manufacturing equipment production and AI modeling have gone through the committee and were slated for blacklisting, one of the sources said.

Bug bounties? Guy started with how they reached out over 100 days ago. It’s also bringing to light how many APIs are also exposed as I call into question some stuff I use too.

I’m no expert, but having that data exposed is not using HTTPS then, right? Didn’t a bid for Frontier come from a public group after they filed for bankruptcy? Or maybe that’s Spirit, idc. Either way, not good, however, OP isn’t exposing the actual customer’s information, either.

Gun people insisting that the word “assault rifle” only applies to automatic or select fire rifles (or better yet, doesn’t apply to carbines or submachine guns)

Um… In this example, a rifle is still semi-auto only*. A carbine is >16" barrel while still retaining functionality of a full-sized rifle. And an SMG is similar to a carbine but fires smaller pistol ammunition.

Theoretically, a carbine and/or SMG would in fact still qualify by it’s “select fire” rate if they had one. A lot of reproduction firearms are made to look like the military counterpart (like an MP5 or AK-47 can’t be legally bought, so they make clones in a semi auto-only). You cannot legally own any firearm that has more than 1 round fired per trigger action (without going through a lot of work to obtain a FFL). Aka you squeeze the trigger and only 1 round is fired. Select-fire would apply to military-grade where you could have select fire to burst or full-auto…

A detachable magazine doesn’t define “assault” rifle. In this case being semi-automatic and not bolt-action (where you manually work a lever to unload and reload rounds) but either could still be fed by a detachable magazine or individually for the BA.

But whatever you want to call two-handed firearms with detachable magazines

I would call every pistol a “two-handed firearm with a detachable magazine”, because this isn’t the movies! You should have one hand gripping while the other hand secures/steadies. Unless you’re wounded, uneducated or inexperienced, a thug, or in a movie, I don’t recommend 1-handing any of them!

Even if it’s technically a carbine or a submachine gun or a pistol with a foregrip.

I don’t know of too many people willing to install a foregrip on a pistol, but you do you 😁

Look, calling all of them by a generic name like “assault rifle” is only meant to sound big and scary to everyone who doesn’t understand otherwise. So claiming “it’s all the same” actually isn’t. I wouldn’t call a motorcycle a car just because it’s motorized and has wheels, same with a bigger van, truck, or RV. I don’t think you would either, because you’re educated enough and experienced enough you call them by their proper classifications.

Edited missing words

Ranges from €7.99/mo to €74.99/year…

Are you saying self-hosting this for free? I don’t understand your point posting here

I’ll check that out

Why are we posting links with no further detail? I’m seeing this more and more. Let’s avoid ads, popups, paywalls, etc

Police investigators in Toronto have said that dozens of shootings – including one at the US consulate in March – are linked to a “multilayered” gun-for-hire network that is also responsible for attacks on synagogues around Canada’s largest city.

Toronto’s police chief, Myron Demkiw, told reporters on Tuesday that young adults and teenagers are being recruited through encrypted messaging apps such as Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp by “bad actors” and paid by the networks to carry out the attacks. Shooters are required to film their attacks in order to get paid.

“Who is paying for this?” he said. “This is what we are trying to determine.”

A veteran Toronto police officer was killed last week during a raid linked to the shootings. Constable Marc Pinizzotto, 43, was shot early on Thursday morning while a team of officers executed a search warrant at an apartment building in the city’s north-west. Police have charged 19-year-old Nicholas Bennett, who remains in hospital, with first-degree murder.

They also announced charges against Jayon Burgher and Sheldon Tracey-Stewart for their roles in some of the shootings. Both are 18 years old. Police are still searching for 19-year-old Zara Jabbi, who they say is linked to the attack at the consulate. No one was injured in the March attack.

Police said two handguns seized during dawn raids last week could be connected to 27 separate shootings across the Greater Toronto Area and investigators believe the seized guns were being passed between multiple shooters.

“While we’ve been able to connect these firearms to numerous instances, we are still working to identify not only the individuals responsible for pulling the triggers but also those who may have directed or organized these acts of violence,” said Joe Matthews, the Toronto police service’s chief superintendent.

Demkiw said the shootings were part of a “broader” trend that police are seeing in the city and in other regions, adding the investigators were working with the FBI.

“What we are dealing with in this case and in other unrelated incidences, including shootings at synagogues and Jewish schools, is a recurring and similar modus operandi and that is criminals for hire,” Demkiw said. “It is clear that some of the people hiring these criminals want to create a sense of fear in our communities, including in the Jewish community.”

Investigators have been looking at the possibility that the shooting of the US consulate was linked to a global terror network that has threatened retribution for US attacks on Iran.

In May, US authorities charged Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an Iraqi national, with terrorism. He is alleged to be the architect of nearly 20 attacks in Europe.

US court documents suggest he has also claimed responsibility for the Toronto consulate shooting. In a criminal complaint, the FBI alleged that in a recorded telephone call al-Saadi suggested that “our people” were behind the attack.

“I know there’s been a lot of reporting about criminal groups and foreign actors,” said Demkiw. “But what I can tell you is that we are still working actively to investigate who is responsible for orchestrating these criminal acts.”

Never got into discord, what is so great about it? Is it just a game chat room pretty much?

Might be worth looking into a Trust or LLC to put everything under, so the trust/company would own the land and utilities, and you pay the trust “rent, etc” . you could do the same for autos like plates or registration.

However, its more so privacy through obscurity because technically a lot of that would be available via public record. All you’re doing is creating more work for someone, but it would still eventually lead back to you. Could be worth it if not too expensive or you know a lawyer.

Personally, once you pull a game server because you no longer want to support it, that should become free and available to the community, no strings attached! I would love to put some hardware to use to run some old games I no longer can. My wife would probably enjoy severs no longer taking up space on the basement floor, too. Now I need a bigger rack!

Dude, yeah, he was so good in that role!! Loved that whole show

The amount of upvotes is pretty hilarious considering you can’t buy assault rifles anywhere. Shows how uneducated people truly are on the subject.

“Assault rifles” aren’t available without special federal licensing and several hoops to jump through with ATF-- assuming you’re trying to describe a rifle that’s tactical in appearance and is “full auto”.

An “AR-15” is Armalight Rifle, not assault rifle. They’re actually a smaller caliber than pretty much every hunting rifle out there. While tactical in appearance, they’re still 100% semi-auto, as are all firearms purchased by anyone in the US.

I’d also like to point out several places like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart, and a few others have reduced or completely eliminated carrying firearms all together, and might only carry ammunition (which you do need to be at least 18 to buy with ID or 21 in some instances). Other retailers have started adopting stricter rules on sales to reduce liabilities as well.

The issues with firearms has primarily been laxed storage by family/parents making easy access, lack of education in safety (where accidents often happen from mishandling), or the glorification in the media giving those seeking the attention their “15 minutes of fame”… (Personally, for the ‘mass shooters’ I feel its less to do with mental health issues like the media tries to claim it is, while realistically, I think a lot of it is desensitizing and glorification having made a name for themselves, however wrong/bad it is, and again, getting that spotlight).

I’ll just add, both my son and daughter had firearms exposure in a safe and controlled environment and know how to handle them. The point is, if a friend ever says, “wanna see my dad’s Gun?” They’ll know how to handle the situation by understanding the dangers, walking away and telling an adult. If they’re ever facing a school situation they’ll better understand what one looks like and tell the nearest adult, etc.

More than you’d think.

Lmao love seeing the IT crowd memes still all these years later

ZimaOS was a love/hate relationship for me. I setup a i7-7700K, 32GB DDR4, dualc10Gb SFP+, 24-bay SAS with x2 LSI 9300-16i raid cards… Technically that’s only 12 PCIe lanes (8 for x2 cards and 4 for NVMe’s) but ZimaOS, even after paying for the premium upgrade (< 4 drives supported), couldn’t handle large quantity disks with large capacity… I had 10x 8TB drives and 8x 16TB drives, each in raid5 with a hot spare, and Zima would constantly become unresponsive with <50TB of data.

Idk if it was a power issue (850w PSU), raid card, or the OS, but I found myself struggling to keep it usable. I had attempted the arrs stacks but ran into issues. Idk if it was corrupted eventually, but I went back to my old server shell until I can resolve it and make it stable. Lemme tell you, moving 50TB+ across 2x 1GbE is excruciatingly slow… I was so thrilled to be on 10Gb for the short time 😢

RIP Andre

From another article:

“On the hardware side of things, there seem to be enough modern features to satisfy users who fit the profile of desiring an in-between smart and dumb-phone solution. It supports global LTE cellular connectivity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth wireless, and even GPS. At the heart of the Callback is a MediaTek Helio G81 SoC, with 4GB/64GB on board. A 32GB microSD card is included to get you started, too.”

https://www.tomshardware.com/phones/commodore-announces-linux-based-flip-phone-with-no-social-media-no-browser-the-callback-8020-will-be-available-in-five-retro-colorways-starting-at-usd499-runs-99-percent-of-android-apps

To me, that’s pretty low spec for $500 all things considered. Now, there is a price to privacy and the fact they’re not monetizing data is a pretty huge incentive. So, probably worth the $500 after all.

Hell yeah! But $500 is a price I’m torn on… Not terrible, but not great