Tootfinder

from my link log —
Mutation testing for librsvg with cargo-mutants.
https://viruta.org/mutation-testing-librsvg.html
saved 2025-12-03 https://…

UK Unveils Roadmap to Phase Out Animal Testing, Commits £75M to Develop Alternative Methods https://vegconomist.com/science/uk-unveils-roadmap-phase-out-animal-testing-commiting-develop-alternative-methods/

UK Unveils Roadmap to Phase Out Animal Testing, Commits £75M to Develop Alternative Methods - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine
The UK government has unveiled a comprehensive roadmap that will allow animal testing to be phased out more quickly. Where possible, the strategy will empower

https://cyberscoop.com/bugcrowd-mayhem-security-acquistion-ai-security-testing/
Omg so happy for the great David Brumley!

Gamification enhances user engagement and task performance in prosthetic vision testing https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.20.25342740v2 "Three Argus II users completed circle localization and motion direction discrimination in clinical and gamified ver…

Gamification Enhances User Engagement and Task Performance in Prosthetic Vision Testing
Purpose Visual function testing in retinal prosthesis users relies on repetitive psychophysical tasks that are cognitively demanding and fatiguing. Gamification may increase engagement, but its effects on perceptual performance in implanted users remain unclear. Methods Three Argus II users completed circle localization and motion direction discrimination in clinical and gamified versions. Visual stimuli, trial structure, and response requirements were matched within each participant; gamified…

Eglinton LRT apparently enters its last day of testing today according to Metrolinx CEO
There was never truly transparency as when they started true revenue testing and if they stopped or reset the testing after the ward accident, but i guess we will take every good news.

Software testing startup Antithesis raised $105M led by trading firm Jane Street, as demand grows for software to vet code generated by AI coding tools (Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/613bf123-b99a-4d18-b6d8-1ab453a8f2c6

FDA official proposes ‘impossible’ standards for vaccine testing that could curtail access to immunizations: Trying to ensure that nobody gets immunized. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-vaccines/fda-official-proposes-impossible-standards-vaccine-testing-could-curtail-access

Rust unit testing: basic HTTP testing
Real-world application testing - Beginning with Axum
🦀 #rust

Probably nothing to worry about
#fda

The FDA Often Doesn’t Test Generic Drugs for Quality Concerns, So ProPublica Did
Billions of prescriptions for generic drugs are filled in the U.S. annually. The FDA tests only a few dozen of them every year, its own records show, and it has largely dismissed warnings about contaminants, irregularities and other issues.

The only positive I can currently see with the USA starting nuclear testing again after 30 years is that I won't have to pay back the remainder of my school loans

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey wants to eliminate the 15-year deadline to prosecute rape in cases with a DNA match. 
The proposal is part of her budget recommendation for the 2027 fiscal year.
Current Massachusetts law bars rape prosecutions in older cases, even when DNA testing has identified a suspect.
An investigation last year by WBUR and ProPublica found that nearly all other states allow more time to charge rapes or similar assaults of adults than Massachusetts.
…

Gov. Healey proposes eliminating deadline to prosecute rapes when there's a DNA match
Current Massachusetts law bars rape prosecutions in cases older than 15 years, even when there’s a DNA match. The governor wants to change it.

2026 Nissan Leaf Charging Test! 0–100% DC Fast Charging Analysis by Out of Spec Testing
#ev

Doing some LEGO lights testing with glow in the dark bricks.
#LEGO #GlowInTheDark

My friend Brad Bazemore KK4PWJ wanted a totally free — zero cost, 100% open source — comprehensive US Amateur Radio study app. His day job is in testing, and he really knows his stuff.
So he built Open Ham Prep.
I'm super grateful for Hamstudy — it's how I passed all three tests, and I contributed to a bunch of explanations, especially improving ones that were just mn…

I need to do some load testing later this week, and I think a simple post of the URL to fedi will be a good start 😓

Quick and easy #PHP code generation testing.
https://peakd.com/php/@crell/quick-and-easy-php-code-generation-testing

OpenAI is testing training LLMs to produce "confessions", or self-report how they carried out a task and own up to bad behavior, like appearing to lie or cheat (Will Douglas Heaven/MIT Technology Review)
https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/0<…

OpenAI has trained its LLM to confess to bad behavior
Large language models often lie and cheat. We can’t stop that—but we can make them own up.

I got into an argument with #Microsoft #Copilot today.
I asked for PowerShell code to trim the first N digits from every filename in a directory. Testing showed it actually removed 2·N characters. When I reported the bug, Copilot insisted that was impossible and said I must have run it twice.

Yes. Mona app on an Apple iPad. https://beige.party/@Alice/115647980819371778

Pretty much all the main culprits here are vehicles being dumped in Australia because Australia lacks international standard emission control. My last two vans were European diesels which use AdBlue to reduce pollutants .
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2025-1

Real-world testing shows which vehicle models emit more of the deadly pollutant NOx
New rules around NOx, the most deadly form of vehicle pollution, come into force today, as testing reveals which popular models are pumping out more than others.      

from my link log —
A distributed systems reliability glossary.
https://antithesis.com/resources/reliability_glossary/
saved 2025-12-03 https://…

A distributed systems reliability glossary
A list of key concepts for building and testing reliable distributed systems, with basic definitions and deep references.

LED Lighting: Mini Reviews - Real-world testing! - https://m.earth.org.uk/LED-lighting.html

LED Lighting: Mini Reviews
Real-world testing!

RE: https://mstdn.ca/@NMBA/116001829202708206
And people wonder what all these federal bureaucrats do.
It really rankles me when small-goverment cons and supporters go "why do we need all these people inspecting gas pumps or testing cosmetics or inspecti…

Sources: Apple plans to launch a low-cost laptop in H1 2026 to rival Chromebooks, aimed at students and casual users, codenamed J700, currently in testing (Mark Gurman/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20

RE: #biodrones"

Numbers say opposing QBs are feasting when testing Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/onsi/news/numbers-say-opposing-qbs-feasting-when-testing-dallas-cowboys-trevon-diggs

The study involved leading laboratories across multiple countries testing identical samples of gut microbiome bacteria. Results revealed startling inconsistencies, with accuracy measures varying dramatically between laboratories – despite analysing the same samples.
MHRA-led study reveals major inconsistencies in global microbiome research

MHRA-led study reveals major inconsistencies in global microbiome research
International collaboration establishes new quality standards to improve reliability of gut health studies – improving accuracy to provide better diagnosis and treatment.

OpenAI says it is asking select advertisers to commit at least $200K as it rolls out beta ads on ChatGPT; two sources say their firms were pitched lower amounts (Trishla Ostwal/Adweek)
https://www.adweek.com/media/exclusive-openai-confirms-20…

EXCLUSIVE: OpenAI Confirms $200,000 Minimum Commitment for ChatGPT Ads
For some brands, ad testing starts as early as February 6.

Anselm Hannemann has largely come to the same conclusions as I in his post “Tools won’t solve it entirely for you” (and used some LLMs):
https://helloanselm.com/writings/tools-won-t-solve-it-for-you
I’ve linked it from my 2023 post comparing automated testing to…

Tools won’t solve it entirely for you — Anselm Hannemann

The level of vicious bigotry is extreme and we can cannot give an inch.
There is a movement on the far right,
supported by billionaires and powerful people in the White House,
who want to ethnically cleanse the U.S.,
and we must describe it as such and treat it as such
https://bsky.a…

Parker Molloy (@parkermolloy.com)
This is the "testing the waters" phase of the playbook. The GOP ecosystem targets groups like Somalis, Haitians, and trans people specifically because they've calculated that the average person's passive disapproval won't ever turn into active defense. They're exploiting public apathy. [contains quote post or other embedded content]

"RFK Jr Speaks Out Against Animal Testing, Says Alternatives Are ‘Better’ And ‘More Efficient’"
#Animals
https://plantbasednews.org/news/science/rfk-jr…

RFK Jr Speaks Out Against Animal Testing, Says Alternatives Are 'Better' And 'More Efficient'
US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr (RFK Jr) has said that he is working to wind down animal testing in the US

Caught a bug over the holidays so I’m mostly resting, feeling sorry for myself, and taking the time to at least carry out some mindless housekeeping tasks (updating dependencies, etc.) on some of my Node modules.
Released updates to the following packages yesterday:
Tape-based Node.js testing:
• Tap monkey (https://

tap-monkey
A tap formatter that’s also a monkey.

First release candidate for #Jellyfin for #Roku 3.1.2 has been released and is now in pre-release testing 🤘
Wait, let me say "release" one more time... release.

Raiders Hit With Blunt Admission Over Colts’ Alec Pierce https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/las-vegas-raiders/colts-alec-pierce-blunt-admission/

Back in the day, we called this sort of thing a "Chaos Monkey" and it was an essential part of testing backups.
https://www.reddit.com/r/google_antigravity/comments/1p82or6/google_antigravity_just_deleted_the_contents_of…

These goofs want to use "drones that would fly up to 150 feet and eventually deliver some of the orders that today are transported by the company’s drivers."
We have a technology that efficiently delivers goods to homes in an urban neighborhood. It's called bicycles. https://

DoorDash wants to test drones in the Mission. Some are pushing back. 
DoorDash plans to launch a drone testing site on Folsom Street, but the Teamsters Union Local No. 665 is pushing back. 

We're back tomorrow with our returning guest @…. Wanna find out how to automate testing release versions? Come join us on Twitch tomorrow

January recap blog post: #MastodonDev

GitHub Actions for the R language: Makes automatic testing of your R package much easier and making sure your package works on different OS and R versions is a matter of just a few lines of yaml: #rstats

GitHub - r-lib/actions: GitHub Actions for the R community
GitHub Actions for the R community. Contribute to r-lib/actions development by creating an account on GitHub.

PSA about food labeling in the US
We have a gluten detection service dog because many things that should be gluten free/say they’re gluten free are not actually gluten free.
Stuff gets contaminated when growing (e.g. next to wheat field), by shared equipment, in factories, from packaging, during transport and in-store.
Every US consumer should know:
1. The list of ingredients on food isn't exhaustive
2. Allergen labeling:
a) limited to just some allergens
b) manufacturers don't actually have to test
c) "certified" foods are tested—but not continuously
d) testing only works with enough contamination
Some certifications may require batch-testing, but usually they don't.
A "certified gluten free" product may e.g. contain oats which sometimes are contaminated with gluten—but as not every batch is tested it's impossible to know unless you test yourself (hence the service dog).
Even if the product is properly batch-tested, you might get a part of the product that has the allergen in it, whereas the tested part didn't.
Or the threshold was too low (our dog can detect gluten better than any available lab testing equipment; yes, dogs are amazing).
Food products also contain ingredients that do not have to be included on the label when they're "incidental" (included in an another ingredient) or if they're considered part of the manufacturing process but not of the final product (e.g. various coatings on factory equipment).
Don't need to list flavors or specific spices either. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
As for allergens, only those responsible for ~90% of food allergies* have to be specifically declared, and they're not tested for as it's simply based on the ingredients list.
Good luck if you have other allergies.
*milk, egg, egg, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans

2026 Web Engines Hackfest
https://webengineshackfest.org/

Donald Trump abruptly, and very imprecisely announced in a social media post,
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.”
The suggestion that the United States might break with a more than three decade-long moratorium on explosive tests sparked a global wave of uncertainty, anxiety, and speculation about the impacts of a potential return to explosive nuclear testing.
This com…

Scientists Say Public Engagement and Pressure Are Key to Reducing Nuclear Risks
Nuclear experts are urging the public to demand concrete steps to reduce the risk of devastation due to nuclear weapons.

💥 Bubble wrap bursts enable power-free acoustic testing
#sensors

Bubble wrap bursts enable power-free acoustic testing
Non-destructive testing allows engineers to evaluate the integrity of structures such as pipelines, tanks, bridges, and machinery without dismantling them. Conventional approaches rely on loudspeakers, lasers, or electric sparks. While effective, these systems can be difficult or dangerous to use in flammable or confined areas and require considerable power to function effectively.

> The upshot is that, whereas it used to take upwards of 12 minutes to join Matrix HQ […] now down to about 30 seconds
In #matrix , room joins occur after you start to enjoy the loading spinner.
https://

STM32MP2 update: seems like running components at Fmax using odd clock dividers is problematic, I'm measuring about a 45% duty cycle on MCO in some of my testing.
Was having a bit of instability that mostly seems to have gone away when I doubled the PLL multiplier and the output divider so I'm generating 400 MHz for the M33 as 2400/6 rather than 1200/3.

LED Lighting: Mini Reviews - Real-world testing! - https://www.earth.org.uk/LED-lighting.html

LED Lighting: Mini Reviews
Real-world testing!

**Todo : **
1. Make sure webmentions and syndication data is displayed on all post types
2. Do more testing of indieweb interactions on mobile/desktop
3. Audit security of indiekit fork & developed extensions
4. Fix the issues with pictures not displaying on photo post type
5. Fix the access to profile metadata for indieauth/indielogin
6. Add rel-me for mastodon/blueksy
7. Keep improving indiekit-microsub
8. update PR with new indiekit-mic…

The FDA Often Doesn't Test Generic Drugs for Quality Concerns, So ProPublica Did (ProPublica)
https://www.propublica.org/article/fda-generic-drug-testing
http://www.memeorandum.com/251222/p66#a251222p66

Meta is testing limiting Facebook professional accounts and Pages to posting just two links per month, unless they subscribe to $14.99 /month Meta Verified (Ivan Mehta/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/facebook-is-te…

Facebook is testing a link posting limit for professional accounts and pages | TechCrunch
Meta said that the test impacts professional accounts and pages on Facebook.

A useful tidbit that stood out to me in this article:
“Noem [by lying] is training and testing the MAGA base”
Huh − “training and testing”
There’s a dance here: the regime is training its supports in how to think about and talk about current circumstances — but also testing the waters, seeing what sticks, what they’re willing to believe. Recognizing this as a bidirectional dance seems useful. Framing it as “training” instead of “telling” seems useful. Recognizing it as “testing” seems useful.
https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/ice-noem-dangerous-playbook

Don’t let the headline fool you, it’s just boring testing results:
“The Value of Selecting Selects by Value”
https://adrianroselli.com/2025/11/the-value-of-selecting-selects-by-value.html

The Value of Selecting Selects by Value
This is meant to use voice control to test select menus (and other fields, but the title would be less weird) by their value because their accessible names are hidden. I’m sharing results of that testing. This was partially driven by: WCAG issue #3808 SC 3.3.2: Labels or Instructions and…

Stop the Government Redefining Animal Testing Sites as “National Infrastructure” #AnimalRights

Animal testing petition - Protect the Wild
Stop the Government Redefining Animal Testing Sites as “National Infrastructure” The Government is quietly pushing through a change to the law that would dramatically restrict the public’s right to protest. A new Statutory Instrument, due to be considered by MPs this week, would amend the Public Order Act 2023 to…

Tinder is Testing AI Features That Look Through Your Camera Roll
https://gizmodo.com/tinder-is-testing-ai-features-that-look-through-your-camera-roll-2000682170

OpenAI says it is asking select advertisers to commit at least $200K as it rolls out beta ads on ChatGPT; two sources say their firms were pitched lower amounts (Trishla Ostwal/Adweek)
https://www.adweek.com/media/exclusive-openai-confirms-20…

EXCLUSIVE: OpenAI Confirms $200,000 Minimum Commitment for ChatGPT Ads
For some brands, ad testing starts as early as February 6.

from my link log —
Saving Skylab.
https://www.airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/saving-skylab
saved 2025-11-30 https://

Saving Skylab
During launch, the micrometeoroid shield surrounding the Skylab Workshop ripped loose. Designed to protect the workshop from tiny space particles and the sun's scorching heat, its loss caused sunlight to raise internal temperatures to over 130° F, making the station uninhabitable and threatening foods, medicines, films, and experiments that were onboard. Astronaut Rusty Schweickart was responsible for testing a parasol on Earth and developing procedures for deploying it in space in an effort …

Discover the power of property-based testing in R with the #quickcheck package! Seamlessly integrates with #testthat and offers a variety of generators for atomic vectors, lists, and tibbles. Perfect for ensuring your code's reliability. Check it out:

@…
> I don't think this is normal installation method on linux
Correct. This is an installer I wrote to allow multiple side by side installs, that we use for testing
> and it's not complaint with free desktop standard.
Actually to some extent it is, I am registering with the desktop environment, which is why it has dock …

So apparently Unreal Engine is built to sell AIOs, lol.
I recently started playing The Alters. Haven't gotten super far yet. Just re-cased my PC and was testing things to make sure everything was good. Saw my CPU (AMD 7600X, 105w TDP) was hitting 90c. Eep. Realized the new case fans were all 3 pin, so no PWM. Bought all new 4pin case fans and installed them. Tested again.. still 90c. Wtf?
Didn't think the thermal paste was an issue, but I also didn't have any more so…

😰 Miami Is Testing a Self-Driving Police Car That Can Launch Drones
https://www.thedrive.com/news/miami-is-testing-a-self-driving-police-car-that-can-launch-drones

Miami Is Testing a Self-Driving Police Car That Can Launch Drones
Meet the new surveillance state trooper!

Help test #deltachat calls
https://support.delta.chat/t/help-testing-upcoming-delta-chat-release-with-calls/4220

Greg Peters says Netflix plans to bring new content types like video podcasts to its vertical video feed, and plans to roll out a new mobile UI later in 2026 (Caitlin Huston/The Hollywood Reporter)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business

Netflix Is Testing Vertical Video Features For Mobile
The streamer plans to add video podcasts into its mobile feed and upgrade its mobile user interface.

A tiny patch to boost vision in patients with dry AMD https://www.aop.org.uk/ot/news/2026/01/23/a-tiny-patch-to-boost-vision-in-patients-with-dry-amd "An early study testing the effects of a stem cell implant has found that the device…

A tiny patch to boost vision in patients with dry AMD
An early study testing the effects of a stem cell implant has found that the device is safe and helped some patients see better

The rolling grasslands and rocky beaches of
"Vandenberg Space Force Base",
— home to more than a dozen at-risk species,
easily could pass for a peaceful nature preserve
— but that's an illusion.
The nearly 100,000-acre base was a testing ground in the 1960s for early-generation ballistic missiles,
and today it's a launch site for satellites, classified missions and other payloads key to a new type of war: one fought far above the Earth.

Meta is testing limiting Facebook professional accounts and Pages to posting just two links per month, unless they subscribe to $14.99 /month Meta Verified (Ivan Mehta/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/facebook-is-te…

Facebook is testing a link posting limit for professional accounts and pages | TechCrunch
Meta said that the test impacts professional accounts and pages on Facebook.

I regularly warn that content on Forbes is pay-for-play.
Here an overlay vendor shares prompts to feed an LLM for testing code, demonstrating LLMs on their own can’t do it without extensive coaching _and_ that coaching needs to be correct (the examples have issues):
https://www.

AI Prompts For Web Accessibility Testing
Accessibility should never be treated as just a compliance checkbox; it should be about creating digital experiences that work for everyone.

"Washing machine filter captures microfibers as small as 20 micrometers in size"
#Plastic #Plastics
https://

Washing machine filter captures microfibers as small as 20 micrometers in size
A single laundry load containing synthetic clothing can release thousands of plastic microfibers from nylon, acrylic and polyester materials. Lab testing of an SA-made washing machine filter at Flinders University shows it can be a useful new way to help protect waterways from polyester and other synthetic microparticles.

LED Lighting: Mini Reviews - Real-world testing! - https://m.earth.org.uk/LED-lighting.html

LED Lighting: Mini Reviews
Real-world testing!

#New_Public is testing their nonprofit alternative to #NextDoor / Local #Facebook Groups. This could be very good! <…

Donation to your mastodon server will be cheaper https://techhub.social/@Techmeme/115737372852805627

After a few iterations of 3d printed prototyping I have an external enclosure for my ThunderScope PCIe prototype to enable future testing without being too dangerously exposed to shorts from random tools and cables on the bench.
And to more firmly secure the card in the slot so it doesn't wobble around when I'm mating and unmating cables.
ProtoPasta ESD CF-PLA on a friend's printer.

Putin orders nuclear testing preparations after Trump's surprise shift (Avery Lotz/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/05/putin-trump-nuke-testing-russia
http://www.memeorandum.com/251105/p86#a251105p86

Just added Web Reachability API (at least that’s what I’m calling it) support to https://ip.small-web.org.
It’s for testing the reachability of your Small Web servers (using a domain or, more importantly, an IPv4/IPv6 address). I’m using it to implement Web Numbers¹ support in Auto Encrypt² and Kitten³.
…

Greg Peters says Netflix plans to bring new content types like video podcasts to its vertical video feed, and plans to roll out a new mobile UI later in 2026 (Caitlin Huston/The Hollywood Reporter)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business

Netflix Is Testing Vertical Video Features For Mobile
The streamer plans to add video podcasts into its mobile feed and upgrade its mobile user interface.

from my link log —
k6: a web load testing tool, written in Golang and configured in JavaScript.
https://github.com/loadimpact/k6
saved 2020-11-28 https://

GitHub - grafana/k6: A modern load testing tool, using Go and JavaScript
A modern load testing tool, using Go and JavaScript - grafana/k6

There are frameworks like {golem} and {rhino} to make shiny development more robust, but I like the concept of {shinytest2} in providing a testing framework for pure shiny. https://rstudio.github.io/shinytest2/index.html

Reddit starts a limited test of verified profiles, an opt-in feature that places a gray checkmark beside the usernames of notable people or businesses (Amanda Silberling/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/10/reddit-is-testing-verification-badges/

Reddit is testing verification badges | TechCrunch
Verified users will actually be notable figures, not just people who paid for the checkmark.

Speaking to a room full of generals and admirals late last month, Hegseth derided
“stupid rules of engagement,”
and urged those assembled to get on board with his vision to
“untie the hands of our war fighters.”
He also said he wanted to raise the bar for troops to be investigated for misconduct.
“The rule of law at DoD has been under attack since day one of this administration,”
one of the current JAGs told CNN.
“There is a real dismissiveness of la…

How the Pentagon sidelined lawyers while testing the legal limits of military action
For weeks earlier this year, the Army’s top uniformed lawyer had been raising legal concerns inside the Pentagon about some of the new policies being rolled out dictating how the military can be used and staffed.

Advantages of human opsins in optogenetic visual restoration #optogenetics

Frontiers | Advantages of human opsins in optogenetic visual restoration
Optogenetic vision restoration has progressed from proof-of-concept to early clinical testing, yet most programmes rely on microbial channels that demand hig...

OpenAI will match ads to conversation topics using some personalization data, but claims it will not sell user data or expose user conversations to advertisers (Maxwell Zeff/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/openai-testing-ads-us/

Ads Are Coming to ChatGPT. Here’s How They’ll Work
OpenAI says ads will not influence ChatGPT’s responses, and that it won’t sell user data to advertisers.

The US navy knew of potentially dangerous levels of airborne plutonium in San Francisco
for almost a year
before it alerted city officials
after it carried out testing that detected radioactive material in November last year, public health advocates allege.
The plutonium levels exceeded the federal action threshold
at the navy’s highly contaminated, 866-acre Hunters Point Naval Shipyard.
It was detected in an area adjacent to a residential neighborhood fil…

If I didn't need iOS 26 for testing, I’d have waited a few point releases. Fixing years of tech debt is good, but has to frustrate those who updated but might have wanted to wait.
“Apple to focus on ‘quality and underlying performance’ with iOS 27 next year: report”
https://

Apple to focus on 'quality and underlying performance' with iOS 27 next year: report - 9to5Mac
This past year, Apple overhauled its design language across all of its major software platforms with the introduction of Liquid...

Reddit starts a limited test of verified profiles, an opt-in feature that places a gray checkmark beside the usernames of notable people or businesses (Amanda Silberling/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/10/reddit-is-testing-verification-badges/

Reddit is testing verification badges | TechCrunch
Verified users will actually be notable figures, not just people who paid for the checkmark.

Russia says a crypto regulatory framework will come into force July 1, 2027; it will ban privacy coins like monero and cap retail investor purchases at ~$4K (Olivier Acuna/CoinDesk)
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/01/29

Russia plans to cap retail crypto buys at $4,000 as it brings digital assets into the legal fold
Qualified investors in Russia will face mandatory testing but gain unrestricted access to top tokens like BTC and ETH. Privacy tokens will be banned.

LED Lighting: Mini Reviews - Real-world testing! - https://m.earth.org.uk/LED-lighting.html

LED Lighting: Mini Reviews
Real-world testing!

Bluesky says it is working to make feeds more "live", interactive, and timely during live events, and teases improvements to posting and follow suggestions (Jess Weatherbed/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/news/869235/bluesky-roadmap-2026-feed…

Bluesky is testing ‘live’ features to take on X
Bluesky says it’s planning to make the app feel more “live” this year as part of ongoing efforts to build a competent rival to Elon Musk’s X platform.

OpenAI will match ads to conversation topics using some personalization data, but claims it will not sell user data or expose user conversations to advertisers (Maxwell Zeff/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/openai-testing-ads-us/

Ads Are Coming to ChatGPT. Here’s How They’ll Work
OpenAI says ads will not influence ChatGPT’s responses, and that it won’t sell user data to advertisers.

Oh goody, a LinkedIn connection request with a message!
Let’s break this down:
> …vc backed…
Focused on quarterly profits / RoI instead of outcomes.
> …invite-only…
NDAs and other gag agreements.
> …openAI browser…
Chromium that begs authors for ARIA to parse content.
> …seeing promising results…
Which aren’t genuine results.
> …goal is 100% WCAG testing…
Ah, snake oil.
> …with high capture rates.
Sales…

Amazon is testing an AI tool called Kindle Translate that automatically translates books into other languages, for authors that self-publish on the platform (Lawrence Bonk/Engadget)
https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazon-is-test

Amazon is testing an AI tool that automatically translates books into other languages
Amazon is introducing an AI tool that will automatically translate books into other languages. This should be useful for authors who self publish.

Bluesky says it is working to make feeds more "live", interactive, and timely during live events, and teases improvements to posting and follow suggestions (Jess Weatherbed/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/news/869235/bluesky-roadmap-2026-feed…

Bluesky is testing ‘live’ features to take on X
Bluesky says it’s planning to make the app feel more “live” this year as part of ongoing efforts to build a competent rival to Elon Musk’s X platform.

One excavator,
10,000 bodies,
a sea of rubble:
inside Gaza’s effort to retrieve and bury its dead
Under the relative calm of a ceasefire,
Civil Defense crews in Gaza are undertaking the monumental feat of recovering thousands of bodies still trapped under the rubble.
The level of decomposition in the bodies is very high,
which makes it difficult for families to identify them.
The lack of tools and technology for advanced DNA testing has also …

One excavator, 10,000 bodies, a sea of rubble: inside Gaza’s effort to retrieve and bury its dead
Under the relative calm of a ceasefire, Civil Defense crews in Gaza are undertaking the monumental feat of recovering thousands of bodies still trapped under the rubble.

Amazon is testing an AI tool called Kindle Translate that automatically translates books into other languages, for authors that self-publish on the platform (Lawrence Bonk/Engadget)
https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazon-is-test

Amazon is testing an AI tool that automatically translates books into other languages
Amazon is introducing an AI tool that will automatically translate books into other languages. This should be useful for authors who self publish.

Google tests AI-powered overviews on some publications' Google News pages; publishers like Der Spiegel, El País, and WaPo in commercial partnerships get paid (Aisha Malik/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/10/goog

Google is testing AI-powered article overviews on select publications’ Google News pages | TechCrunch
By adding AI-powered article overviews, Google says users will get more context before they click through to read an article.

Estimates suggest that hundreds of ⭐️psychedelic churches operate illegally in the US.
As court interpretations evolve, religious freedom claims expand and more Americans drift away from traditional religion,
these groups are increasingly emerging from the underground to push boundaries over which substances – and beliefs – deserve protection.
The Church of Gaia recently became the first psychedelic church to win government recognition by petition rather than suing.
C…

Google tests AI-powered overviews on some publications' Google News pages; publishers like Der Spiegel, El País, and WaPo in commercial partnerships get paid (Aisha Malik/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/10/goog

Google is testing AI-powered article overviews on select publications’ Google News pages | TechCrunch
By adding AI-powered article overviews, Google says users will get more context before they click through to read an article.

For weeks earlier this year, the Army’s top uniformed lawyer had been raising legal concerns inside the Pentagon about some of the new policies being rolled out dictating how the military can be used and staffed.
In late January, Lt. Gen. Joe Berger, who had taken the top posting in July 2024, was asked for his advice about the legality of using Texas National Guard soldiers for immigration enforcement.
Berger told Army chief of staff Gen. Randy George that he was skeptical and wa…

How the Pentagon sidelined lawyers while testing the legal limits of military action
For weeks earlier this year, the Army’s top uniformed lawyer had been raising legal concerns inside the Pentagon about some of the new policies being rolled out dictating how the military can be used and staffed.

Shares of Tesla closed at a 2025 high on Monday after the company confirmed it is testing driverless vehicles in Austin without a human safety operator (Lora Kolodny/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/15/tesla-tests-driverless-cars-in-austin…

Tesla stock closes at 2025 high after Musk confirms driverless Robotaxi tests underway in Austin
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a social media post that his company is testing driverless cars in Austin without a safety driver in the vehicle.

How Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google are testing AI models by having them play Pokémon Blue on Twitch to track a model's ability to reason and make decisions (Isabelle Bousquette/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/art…

Spotify expands its AI-powered Prompted Playlists beta to Premium subscribers in the US and Canada, following initial testing in New Zealand (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/22/spotify-brings-ai-powered-prompted-pla…

Spotify brings AI-powered Prompted Playlists to the U.S. and Canada | TechCrunch
Now available in the US and Canada, Spotify's AI-powered Prompted Playlists let users describe what they want to hear using natural language commands.

Sources: Meta plans to test an AI-powered personalized daily briefing, designed to compete with ChatGPT's Pulse, with some Facebook users in NYC and SF (Naomi Nix/Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/11/21/meta-ai-powered-daily…

Meta is building an AI-powered morning brief in push to compete with ChatGPT
Meta is testing a new product that would give Facebook users a personalized, AI-powered briefing of information relevant to their daily lives.