A fairly big moment for the ReactOS project: it has just received its very first system call from NT6. The system call that has been added is NtGetCurrentProcessorNumberEx, which is used for returning the processor number of the logical processor that a caller is running on. It’s unclear how long it will take ReactOS to become compatible with Windows Vista software, but it took Microsoft around half a decade to develop Vista after the release of XP and marked a major upgrade, even if it didn’t land well with users at the time. ↫ Paul Hill at Neowin It’s a milestone for sure, but not one that’s going to make a huge difference for ReactOS at this moment in time. Still, it’s a sign of things to come, even if the very nature of the ReactOS project means that whatever things are coming tend to take a while to arrive.

At 4 a.m., long before the opening bell rings on Wall Street, a small number of traders are already watching numbers shift on a screen. They aren’t guessing. They’re reading a Dow futures chart, and in many cases, they already have a rough idea of how the trading day will unfold before most investors have finished their coffee. That head start is exactly why futures data draws so much attention from professional traders, portfolio managers, and increasingly, everyday investors who want to understand market direction before it becomes obvious. Why Futures Move Before the Market Opens The Dow Jones Industrial Average itself only trades during regular market hours. Futures contracts tied to the index, however, trade almost around the clock. This gap in trading windows is what gives futures their predictive reputation. Overnight news, economic data releases, corporate earnings, and geopolitical developments all get priced into futures contracts long before the cash market opens. A strong jobs report at 8:30 a.m. or an unexpected rate decision from a central bank overseas can send futures sharply higher or lower within minutes, setting the tone for the entire trading session. This is why financial professionals rarely check stock prices alone in the morning. They check futures first. Reading the Chart: More Than Just a Number A common mistake among newer investors is treating futures as a single data point, up or down, and stopping there. The real value lies in the pattern, not the snapshot. Volume tells a parallel story. A price move on thin overnight volume carries far less weight than the same move accompanied by heavy participation. Common Misreadings Worth Avoiding Several mistakes can affect futures analysis, especially for beginners. Common errors include ignoring market context, focusing only on price movements, and overlooking risk management while interpreting data. Treating premarket moves as guarantees: Futures indicate sentiment, not certainty. A market that looks strong at 6 a.m. can reverse entirely by 9:30 a.m. once actual trading volume returns and institutional desks begin executing orders based on the full picture, not just overnight headlines. Ignoring the broader context: A move in Dow futures rarely happens in isolation. Bond yields, currency markets, and commodity prices often shift in tandem, and a chart that’s read without that context can be misleading. A rising futures price alongside falling Treasury yields tells a different story than the same price move alongside rising yields. Overreacting to small percentage changes: Because futures trade continuously, minor fluctuations are constant. Distinguishing between routine overnight noise and a genuinely significant move is a skill that develops with experience, not something that shows up automatically on the screen. Here’s that section reworked with a shorter intro paragraph and pointers added: How Professional Traders Actually Use This Data For institutional desks, futures charts serve as a planning tool rather than a prediction machine, guiding decisions long before the market officially opens. Retail traders have gained similar access in recent years. What was once a tool reserved for trading floors is now available on ordinary laptops and phones, complete with historical comparisons, volume overlays, and customizable timeframes. This shift has narrowed the information gap between institutional and individual investors considerably, though interpretation still separates those who profit from those who merely watch. Putting the Pieces Together None of this data means much in isolation. A Dow futures chart becomes genuinely useful only when it’s read alongside broader market signals, historical context, and a clear understanding of what’s driving that particular session’s sentiment. The traders who use this information well aren’t necessarily the ones staring at screens the longest. They’re the ones asking the right questions about what the movement actually represents. That distinction, between watching numbers and understanding them, is what separates reactive trading from informed decision-making. Final Thoughts Futures data will always carry an element of uncertainty since it reflects sentiment ahead of full market participation, not a finished outcome. What matters most is developing the discipline to read it in context rather than in isolation, weighing volume, correlated markets, and recent history before drawing conclusions. Investors who build that habit tend to make steadier decisions once the opening bell rings, regardless of which direction the overnight numbers pointed. For those looking to track this data directly, platforms like TradingView provide a Dow futures chart with historical comparisons and customizable tools that make it easier to move from simply watching the market to actually understanding it.

NetBSD is the only BSD without a Vulkan stack (Mesa and Lavapipe), but that’s about to change. The effort to bring Vulkan to NetBSD is now in beta, with prebuilt binaries coming soon. Mesa configures, compiles, links, installs, and registers the Lavapipe software Vulkan driver on NetBSD 10.1 amd64, against LLVM 19.1.7. The driver (libvulkan_lvp.so, ~17 MB) installs into /usr/pkg/lib, and its ICD manifest (advertising Vulkan API 1.4) installs into /usr/pkg/share/vulkan/icd.d/, so a Vulkan loader on the system can discover it. ldd resolves every dependency cleanly. The entire process — environment setup, dependency builds, the Mesa build, and installation — is automated end to end and reproducible on a fresh install. ↫ vulkan-netbsd GitHub page It’s important to note that the next step in the process is to port the Vulkan loader, which is required to actually run Vulkan applications. This entire effort is still ongoing and seems to be handled mostly by Dean Howell alone, so expect breakage and incomplete documentation as development progresses. Still, this is a hugely important effort, and seeing it this far along is great news.

EveryMac turned 30. On July 2, 1996, EveryMac.com launched. Thirty years is a long time — and a great deal has changed since then — but what has not changed is that EveryMac.com has been there to provide you with detailed info on every Mac from the original 128k to the current line. Thank you very much for your support through the years. ↫ EveryMac news item I thought OSNews was pretty unique with its founding in 1997, so it’s great to see another enthusiast’s website as old as ours. Amazing company to be in, too – EveryMac is an indispensable, tirelessly maintained, and stupidly accurate resource that I use countless times each year. Here’s to another 30 years.

What if you need to do very low-level testing involving the very guts of Windows NT, but don’t need most of the userland that sits on top? In fact, what if that userland only slows you down and complicates the work you’re trying to do? The solution is Windows PE (Windows Preinstallation Environment). It is an official, stripped-down environment distributed with every Windows ISO image. It runs entirely in RAM, requires as little as 512 MB of memory, and lacks support for DirectX, the PowerShell subsystem, or the standard graphical shell (Explorer). Booting by default with NT AUTHORITY\\SYSTEM privileges makes it an ideal test harness for both of these tasks. The following analysis focuses on the low-level mechanisms of WinPE, as well as BCD and QEMU modifications that allow transforming this system into an ultra-fast, idempotent testing environment. ↫ Piotr Bednarski Now, the kind of work Bednarski does isn’t the most common of tasks, but I’ve often wondered just how far you can get by bolting on whatever WinPE will allow you to. There were various unofficial third-party tools that built Windows live CDs based on WinPE, but I think most of those have died out by now. If you look hard enough, you can also find some other utilities people made for WinPE, including even some rudimentary web browsers. Regarding web browsers, modern efforts seem to run into issues. WinPE is not really meant for any advanced functionality, but I really do wonder how capable you can make it without turning it into regular Windows.

M/PC is a concatenative operating system for Varvara, inspired by Openfirmware, designed to manage files on system without a file browser. It uses the postfix notation, meaning that the function success their operands. ↫ M/PC website I’m not going to pretend to really understand what any of this means.

European governments are rolling out digital identity wallets, which are to be used by citizens to access services, and to verify their age online. As reported by Follow the Money and Android Authority, there is a serious problem with this: these wallets rely on safety services of Google and Apple. These are known as Google Play Integrity API, and Apple’s Managed Device Attestation. Such safety services (known as “remote attestation”) are used to ensure that wallet apps run on hardware that is not tampered with. In this article we explain why the EU-wallet case is part of a bigger problem: by embedding these safety services in public infrastructure, Europe risks making society dependent on private companies while serving their corporate interests. ↫ Danny Lämmerhirt Setting aside the age verification nonsense, the fact that some European government are tying their identification services to iOS and Google Android is absolutely bonkers, especially in this day and age. There’s endless talk about reducing European dependence on the American tech giants who seem all too eager to do roll over when the Trump regime so much as glances in their general direction, and yet, they seem to want to effectively force us citizens to use American tech products. Essential online tools, like banking, government services, communication services, digital driver’s licenses, and more, should not require the use of iOS or Google Android.

There’s a lot you can say about macOS, but one thing Apple used to be incredibly good at were making beautifully crafted, detailed icons. As with almost every other aspect of macOS, this deteriorated sharply over the years, with the recent macOS releases with Liquid Glass being an absolute low point. Not only have they become bland and featureless, Apple also started forcing every icons to have the exact same rounded-rectangle shape, making them even harder to distinguish from one another. Rogue Amoeba, a company with a long history of developing applications with beautiful iconography, published a blog post pleading Apple to go back to proper icon design. With last year’s release of MacOS 26 (Tahoe), Apple made a mess of app icons. In the first betas of MacOS 27 (Golden Gate), however, there are signs of a turnaround. We’re urging Apple to continue making improvements, by restoring the ability for MacOS app icons to have distinct shapes. ↫ Paul Kafasis at the Rogue Amoeba blog I really hope Apple will turn its icon ship around.

2FA still adds useful protection, but it cannot stop every account takeover. Passkeys, security keys, and phishing-resistant MFA are harder to bypass. Why 2FA Was Once Considered the Gold Standard Passwords had an obvious weakness: anyone who obtained one could try to log in. 2FA changed that by asking for another form of proof, such as a code sent to the user’s phone. This made 2FA a practical choice for both businesses and users. However, SMS codes and other traditional methods are easier to bypass than passkeys or hardware security keys. Why Traditional 2FA Is No Longer Enough 2FA has significantly improved account security over the years, but certain 2FA solutions can still be compromised through more advanced techniques. Threat actors have found creative ways to exploit human psychology, poorly designed account recovery processes, and weaker verification methods. Attack Method How It Works Why Traditional 2FA May Not Stop It Phishing Attackers create fake websites or messages to trick users into revealing login details and verification codes. Users may unknowingly provide both their password and 2FA code to attackers. SIM swapping A criminal takes control of the victim’s phone number by having it moved to another SIM card. SMS-based 2FA codes can be received by the attacker instead of the account owner. Session hijacking Attackers steal or misuse session cookies or tokens from an already authenticated browser or device, allowing them to access an account without repeating the original login and 2FA process. A second verification step may not protect an already authenticated session. The presence of such threats does not, however, make 2FA ineffective – it would still have prevented many cases of unauthorized access. The fact remains that older forms of 2FA should be supported by stronger security measures to provide more robust protection. How Online Casinos Protect Player Accounts Licensed online casinos rarely depend on 2FA alone. They may also verify a player’s identity and device, encrypt connections and payments, flag unusual activity, and send login alerts, although measures vary by operator and jurisdiction. Before registering or depositing, players should review an operator’s licence, privacy policy, payment security, login controls, and verification procedures. The Slotozilla mainpage provides online casino reviews, casino bonus information, free slot demos, and practical gambling guides. Slotozilla does not operate casino accounts or accept real-money wagers; it is an independent informational and entertainment website. These resources can support preliminary research, but players should still verify the operator’s licence, terms, security settings, and responsible gambling tools directly on its website. What Provides Better Protection Today? One login check is no longer enough for every situation. Many services now add passkeys, security keys, and checks for unusual activity to their existing 2FA systems. CISA recommends phishing-resistant MFA, particularly FIDO/WebAuthn authentication. The FIDO Alliance explains that passkeys use public-key cryptography and are tied to the correct website, making them resistant to conventional phishing. Practical Steps Users Can Take to Improve Account Security Improving account security requires several protective measures. Strong authentication should be combined with safe digital habits. These steps can significantly reduce account security risks. Regular reviews help keep protection effective as threats evolve. FAQ Is SMS 2FA still safe? SMS codes still add a useful barrier if someone gets hold of your password. The weak point is the phone number itself, which can be taken over through SIM swapping or recovery scams, so an authenticator app, passkey, or security key is a better choice when offered. What is 2FA versus MFA? 2FA is a form of MFA that uses exactly two authentication factors. MFA is the broader term for systems requiring two or more factors, such as something you know, something you have, or something you are. Are passkeys safer than passwords? A passkey cannot be reused or entered on a fake login page in the way a password can. It works only with the service that created it, so ordinary phishing and credential stuffing are far less effective. Should I still enable 2FA? Yes, turn on 2FA whenever an account offers it. If the account offers the option of passkeys or hardware security keys, it’s usually the most secure against phishers and account takeovers. Authenticator apps will still help, compared to text message (SMS) codes, and if none of those stronger methods is available, then SMS 2FA is still much better than using just your password. Which authentication method is best? Passkeys and FIDO security keys are difficult to steal through a fake login page. Even so, an account may still be exposed through weak recovery settings, an unprotected device, or a stolen active session.

There’s something poetic about the World Cup taking place in North America while Microsoft keeps scoring own goals like this. Microsoft updated its Surface buying guide to describe 8GB RAM as “great for everyday use like browsing, streaming, schoolwork, and productivity apps.” A companion FAQ adds that 16GB or more is what unlocks Copilot+ PC features. No acknowledgment that, for two years, Microsoft was the loudest voice telling everyone that 16GB was non-negotiable for a good Windows 11 experience. What makes this infuriating is that Microsoft is one of the biggest reasons why the RAM situation got so bad in the first place. ↫ Abhijith M B at Windows Latest This industry is a joke.

Imagine your favorite team just scored an incredible, last-second goal at the World Cup. So you log online to celebrate with other fans. But, using data it’s already collected on you, the social media platform you like to post on wrongly guesses that you’re under 16 so it forces you to go to a third-party verification app and provide images of your face or your government-issued ID. You don’t really know much about the verification app, what country it’s based out of, what happens with your information, and whether you’re protected from hackers or data breaches. You’re not happy about it, but you hand over a photo of your passport and hope it doesn’t come back to haunt you. Now imagine that instead of posting about sports, you’re criticizing a powerful politician, or talking about your experiences with abuse or addiction, or discussing embarrassing medical issues you’re facing. Suddenly this “papers, please” approach to the internet sounds even more invasive, right? Unfortunately, that’s the direction we’re all headed — even here in the United States — and we have good reason to be wary of the global rush to sacrifice user privacy on the altar of age verification. ↫ Sarah McLaughlin at Expression The insane push for age verification on the internet is the biggest threat to whatever’s left of the free internet. I have two young children – 3 and 5, currently – and I’m diametrically opposed to any kind of creepy verification processes that they claim are designed to keep kids like mine “safe”. Not only is their safety not predicated on giving up their privacy, my children are also not my or anyone else’s property; they have rights, and the right to privacy is one of them. Nobody mentioned in the Epstein files has been charged, by the way.

It’s been quiet for a few days since I’ve been sick, but I’m feeling a bit better since today marks the official end of my one month of using Windows 11 that you people donated for. An article about my experience is definitely upcoming, including whether or not I’ll actually stick with Windows 11 on my laptop or go back to Linux, but before we get there, let’s talk about Microsoft once again capitulating to the reality that a lot of people really don’t want to let go of Windows 10. In a surprising move, Microsoft has quietly confirmed that it’s extending Windows 10 support until October 12, 2027, which is one full year beyond the October 2026 cutoff that home users had been planning around. ↫ Abhijith M B at Windows Latest Hundreds of millions of people are still using Windows 10, and with the “AI” techbros buying up all the RAM and other chips for their pachinko machines – making this whole thing a bit of an own goal for prime “AI” booster Microsoft – buying new PCs that are actually compatible with Windows 11 isn’t exactly a fun prospect for the vast majority of us normal folk dealing with the cost-of-living crisis. As such, Microsoft really doesn’t have any other choice but to keep extending support for Windows 10. It ain’t much, but I’ll take any morsel of justice I can get. While everyone else has to pay for getting access to these Windows 10 updates, users in the European Union get them entirely for free thanks to the Digital Markets Act. This additional year, too, can be partially attributed to the DMA, as the very same consumer rights organisations who pressured Microsoft into giving EU users truly free access to the Extended Security Updates also put pressure on the company to offer these for more than just one year. Basic consumer protection legislation works.

I’ve had my share of issues with network shares on any operating system, but since I mostly use KDE these days I found this deep dive into how, exactly, network shares work in KDE quite interesting. It turns out that while network shares in KDE’s Dolphin mostly work, it does involves a few layers that sometimes don’t interact well with each other, leading to really curious and annoying problems with mounted shares not appearing, permission issues, and so on. The biggest cause of problems is when using a non-KDE application in KDE that also happens to use a non-KDE save/open dialog. Such a non-KDE save/open dialog won’t be able to see any network shared mounted by KDE, and sadly, quite a few applications you’re likely to use on a KDE installation use non-KDE open/save dialogs, like Blender, GIMP, LibreOffice, OnlyOffice, Inkscape, Audacity, DaVinci Resolve, and more. That’s one hell of a list of applications to offer inconsistent or outright broken access to network shares you’ve set up and mounted in KDE. Luckily, this issue seems to be getting a ton of attention soon. All is not lost. Happily, KDE just received an investment of over €1.2 million from the Sovereign Tech Fund, and it includes funding for improvements to KDE’s network share handling! ↫ Nate Graham The project is in the planning phases at the moment, but they’re considering a whole slew of possible changes, fixes, and workarounds to make this stupid and annoying problem just go away. In 2026, nobody should be dealing with manually editing /etc/fstab or getting frustrated over supposedly disappearing network shares.

The developer working on Xfwl4, the Wayland compositor for Xfce, has published the new compositor’s very first alpha release. Considering it’s only been six months or so of work, it’s impressive to see the effort reach this state already. The end goal of xfwl4 is to behave as closely as possible to an Xfce desktop running on an X server. Ideally a user could switch between the two without even knowing there’s a difference. In reality, of course, it won’t be quite that seamless, and there’s still more work to be done to get as close as possible to that ideal. This is a first solid cut at it, at the very least. ↫ Brian Tarricone Being the very first alpha release, it won’t surprise you there’s a few things missing or broken at this point. Still, if you’re brave, you can download and build the release and try it out.