What Happens When an 'Infinite-Money Machine' Unravels Michael Saylor's software company Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, built a financial model that some observers called an "infinite-money machine" by stockpiling hundreds of thousands of bitcoins and issuing stock and debt to buy more, but that machine appears to be breaking down. The company's stock peaked above $450 in mid-July and ended November at $177.18, a 60% decline. Bitcoin fell only 25% over the same period. The gap between Strategy's market cap and the value of its bitcoin holdings has nearly vanished. At one point last week, the company's market value dipped below the value of its bitcoins after accounting for debt. Strategy announced it had built a $1.4 billion dollar reserve by selling more stock to cover required dividend payments to preferred shareholders over the next twelve months. The company also disclosed it might sell some of its coins if its value continues to fall, a reversal from Saylor's February tweet declaring "Never sell your Bitcoin." Professional short seller Jim Chanos, who had questioned the strategy's sustainability, told Sherwood he made money by shorting the stock and buying bitcoins. https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/09/173219/what-happens-when-an-infinite-money-machine-unravels?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed at Slashdot. https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/09/173219/what-happens-when-an-infinite-money-machine-unravels?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

Xbox Is Bleeding Out Microsoft's Xbox consoles were conspicuously absent from Black Friday's winners, failing to crack the top three in U.S. sales during one of the retail calendar's most important weeks. According to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, the PlayStation 5 captured 47% of Black Friday week console sales ending November 29, followed by the Nintendo Switch 2 at 24% and -- somewhat remarkably -- the NEX Playground, a Kinect-like Android device aimed at children, at 14%. Microsoft ran no promotions on its consoles during the period. The Xbox Series X currently retails for $650 following this year's price increase, up from its $500 launch price in 2020. Sony, by contrast, discounted the PS5 by roughly 40% at some retailers. Piscatella noted on Bluesky that products without price promotions typically see no seasonal lift. Costco has removed Xbox consoles from its U.S. and UK websites. https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/12/09/1630206/xbox-is-bleeding-out?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed at Slashdot. https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/12/09/1630206/xbox-is-bleeding-out?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

'Colleges Oversold Education. Now They Must Sell Connection' A tenured USC professor is arguing that universities need to fundamentally rethink their value proposition as AI rapidly closes the gap on human instruction and a loneliness epidemic grips the generation most likely to be sitting in their lecture halls. Eric Anicich, an associate professor at USC's Marshall School of Business, wrote in the Los Angeles Times that nearly three-quarters of 16- to 24-year-olds now report feeling lonely, young adults spend 70% less time with friends in person compared to two decades ago, and a growing majority of Gen Z college graduates say their degree was a "waste of money." Anicich points to a recent Harvard study finding that students using an AI tutor learned more than twice as much as those in traditional active-learning classes, and did so in less time. The implication is stark: if instruction becomes abundant and cheap, colleges must sell what remains scarce -- genuine human community. He notes that his doctoral training included zero coursework on teaching, a norm he says persists across academia. His proposal: fund student life as seriously as research labs, hire professional "experience designers," and treat rituals and collaborative projects as core curriculum rather than amenities. https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/09/1511224/colleges-oversold-education-now-they-must-sell-connection?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed at Slashdot. https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/09/1511224/colleges-oversold-education-now-they-must-sell-connection?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

Claude Code Is Coming To Slack Anthropic is bringing Claude Code directly into Slack, letting developers spin up coding sessions from chat threads and automate workflows without leaving the app. TechCrunch reports: Previously, developers could only get lightweight coding help via Claude in Slack -- like writing snippets, debugging, and explanations. Now they can tag @Claude to spin up a complete coding session using Slack context like bug reports or feature requests. Claude analyzes recent messages to determine the right repository, posts progress updates in threads, and shares links to review work and open pull requests. The move reflects a broader industry shift: AI coding assistants are migrating from IDEs (integrated development environment, where software development happens) into collaboration tools where teams already work. [...] While Anthropic has not yet confirmed when it would make a broader rollout available, the timing is strategic. The AI coding market is getting more competitive, and differentiation is starting to depend more on integration depth and distribution than model capability alone. https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/12/09/0417242/claude-code-is-coming-to-slack?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed at Slashdot. https://developers.slashdot.org/story/25/12/09/0417242/claude-code-is-coming-to-slack?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

More Than 200 Environmental Groups Demand Halt To New US Datacenters An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: A coalition of more than 230 environmental groups has demanded a national moratorium on new datacenters in the U.S., the latest salvo in a growing backlash to a booming artificial intelligence industry that has been blamed for escalating electricity bills and worsening the climate crisis. The green groups, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Food & Water Watch and dozens of local organizations, have urged members of Congress to halt the proliferation of energy-hungry datacenters, accusing them of causing planet-heating emissions, sucking up vast amounts of water and exacerbating electricity bill increases that have hit Americans this year. "The rapid, largely unregulated rise of datacenters to fuel the AI and crypto frenzy is disrupting communities across the country and threatening Americans' economic, environmental, climate and water security," the letter states, adding that approval of new data centers should be paused until new regulations are put in place. The push comes amid a growing revolt against moves by companies such as Meta, Google and Open AI to plow hundreds of billions of dollars into new datacenters, primarily to meet the huge computing demands of AI. At least 16 datacenter projects, worth a combined $64 billion, have been blocked or delayed due to local opposition to rising electricity costs. The facilities' need for huge amounts of water to cool down equipment has also proved controversial, particularly in drier areas where supplies are scarce. [...] At the current rate of growth, datacenters could add up to 44m tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2030, equivalent to putting an extra 10m cars on to the road and exacerbating a climate crisis that is already spurring extreme weather disasters and ripping apart the fabric of the American insurance market. But it is the impact upon power bills, rather than the climate crisis, that is causing anguish for most voters, acknowledged Emily Wurth, managing director of organizing at Food & Water Watch, the group behind the letter to lawmakers. "I've been amazed by the groundswell of grassroots, bipartisan opposition to this, in all types of communities across the US," said Wurth. "Everyone is affected by this, the opposition has been across the political spectrum. A lot of people don't see the benefits coming from AI and feel they will be paying for it with their energy bills and water." "It's an important talking point. We've seen outrageous utility price rises across the country and we are going to lean into this. Prices are going up across the board and this is something Americans really do care about." https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/2158223/more-than-200-environmental-groups-demand-halt-to-new-us-datacenters?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed at Slashdot. https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/2158223/more-than-200-environmental-groups-demand-halt-to-new-us-datacenters?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

Taiwan Cries Censorship As Government Bans Rednote Longtime Slashdot reader hackingbear writes: Taiwan's government has ordered a one-year block of a popular, mainland Chinese-owned social media app Xiaohongshu, also known as The Little RedNote, citing its failure to cooperate with authorities over fraud-related concerns. Taiwan's Ministry of the Interior on Thursday cited Xiaohongshu's, which does not have business presence on the island, refusal to cooperate with authorities as the basis for the ban, claiming that the platform has been linked to more than 1,700 fraud-related cases that resulted in financial losses of 247.7 million Taiwanese dollars ($7.9 million). "Due to the inability to obtain necessary data in accordance with the law, law enforcement authorities have encountered significant obstacles in investigations, creating a de facto legal vacuum," the ministry said in a statement. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Taiwan's opposition party, Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun decried the government plan to suspend access to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu for one year as censorship. "Many people online are already asking 'How to climb over the firewall to access Xiaohongshu,'" Cheng posted on social media. Meta was facing fines earlier this year for failing to disclose information on individuals who funded advertisements on its social media platforms, marking the second such penalty in Taiwan for violating the anti-fraud act. "Meta failed to fully disclose information regarding who paid for the advertisement and who benefited from it," Depute Minister Lin of Ministry of Digital Affairs said at a news conference on June 18. If MODA decides to impose the fine, it would mark the second such penalty against Meta in Taiwan, following a NT$1 million ($33,381) fine issued in May for violating the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act by failing to disclose information on individuals who commissioned and funded two Facebook advertisements. Meta's Threads were also included in the regulatory framework following nearly 1,900 fraud-related reports associated with the platform, with 718 confirmed as scams. Xiaohongshu has surged in popularity among young Taiwanese in recent years, amassing 3 million users in the island of 23 million. https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/2148249/taiwan-cries-censorship-as-government-bans-rednote?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed at Slashdot. https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/2148249/taiwan-cries-censorship-as-government-bans-rednote?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

IBM To Buy Confluent For $11 Billion To Expand AI Services IBM is buying Confluent for $11 billion in a major push to own real-time data streaming infrastructure essential for enterprise AI workloads. It marks Big Blue's biggest acquisition since Red Hat in 2019. Bloomberg reports: The AI boom has touched off billions of dollars in deals for businesses that build, train or leverage the technology, propelling the value of an entire ecosystem of data center developers, software makers, generative AI tool developers and data management firms. Mountain View, California-based Confluent sits in the data corner of that world, providing a platform for companies to gather -- or "stream" -- and analyze data in real time as opposed to shipping data in clunkier batches. Manufacturers such as Michelin, for example, have used Confluent's platform to optimize their inventories of raw and semi-finished materials live. Instacart adopted Confluent to develop real-time fraud detection systems and gain more visibility into the availability of products sold on its grocery delivery platform. Businesses are increasingly tapping AI systems that manage tasks like this in real-time and require live flows of data to do so. IBM, which pioneered mainframe computers, has been trying to reposition its business around AI over the past few years. Under Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna, it's been buying software companies and selling generative AI-related services to enterprise clients. Software now makes up almost half its total revenue and continues to grow at a steady rate. https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/2141229/ibm-to-buy-confluent-for-11-billion-to-expand-ai-services?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed at Slashdot. https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/2141229/ibm-to-buy-confluent-for-11-billion-to-expand-ai-services?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

Lenovo's Next Gaming Laptop May Have a Rollable OLED Screen That Stretches Ultrawide Lenovo may be preparing to unveil a gaming laptop that uses rollable OLED technology to expand horizontally into an ultrawide 21:9 display, according to a Windows Latest report suggesting the device could appear at CES 2026 in January. The Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable would differ from the company's existing ThinkBook Plus Gen 6, which expands its screen vertically. The new gaming-focused design would see the left and right edges of the display extend beyond the laptop's base chassis when unrolled. Specific details remain scarce. Windows Latest doesn't know the display resolution, refresh rate, screen dimensions in either state, pricing, or release timing -- though it does mention an Intel Core Ultra processor. The ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 currently sells for $3,500. https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/2028217/lenovos-next-gaming-laptop-may-have-a-rollable-oled-screen-that-stretches-ultrawide?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed at Slashdot. https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/2028217/lenovos-next-gaming-laptop-may-have-a-rollable-oled-screen-that-stretches-ultrawide?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

Denmark Posts Its Last Letters as Hallowed National Mail Ends Denmark's postal service, established by King Christian IV four centuries ago as one of Europe's first modern mail systems, will stop delivering letters on December 30, ending a tradition that once saw riders given a maximum of 45 minutes to cover each 10-kilometer stretch of routes running from Hamburg to Norway. PostNord, the postal service Denmark has shared with Sweden since 2009, started removing its 1,500 remaining red post boxes in June; a handful will go to museums. Letter volumes collapsed from nearly 1.5 billion in 2000 to 110 million last year. A standard stamp now costs 29 Danish kroner ($4.52). A private logistics firm called DAO will take over letter delivery. PostNord will continue handling parcels. The decision has rattled postal services elsewhere in Europe. Deutsche Post in Germany, still delivering 61 million letters daily, has warned it faces the same trends. https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/197230/denmark-posts-its-last-letters-as-hallowed-national-mail-ends?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed at Slashdot. https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/197230/denmark-posts-its-last-letters-as-hallowed-national-mail-ends?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed

How a Cryptocurrency Helps Criminals Launder Money and Evade Sanctions An investigation has revealed how stablecoins -- cryptocurrencies pegged to the US dollar that exist largely beyond traditional financial oversight -- have become a practical tool for criminals and sanctioned individuals to move funds across borders almost instantly and convert them back into spendable money, often without detection. A Chainalysis report from February estimated that up to $25 billion in illicit transactions involved stablecoins last year. A New York Times reporter tested the system by converting $40 cash at a crypto ATM in Weehawken, New Jersey, into stablecoins and then using a Telegram bot to generate a Visa payment card without any identity verification. The card-issuing service, WantToPay, is incorporated in Hong Kong and led by a Russian entrepreneur in Thailand; it advertises to Russians blocked by US sanctions. Britain last month arrested members of a billion-dollar money laundering network that had purchased a bank in Kyrgyzstan to convert proceeds from drug trafficking and human trafficking into Tether, the most popular stablecoin. Further reading: China's Central Bank Flags Money Laundering and Fraud Concerns With Stablecoins. https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/1545253/how-a-cryptocurrency-helps-criminals-launder-money-and-evade-sanctions?utm_source=rss1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed at Slashdot. https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/08/1545253/how-a-cryptocurrency-helps-criminals-launder-money-and-evade-sanctions?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed