Lockheed Martin’s F-35 combat aircraft is a supersonic stealth “strike fighter.” But this week the military news site TWZ reports that the fighter’s “computer brain,” including “its cloud-based components, could be cracked to accept third-party software updates, just like ‘jailbreaking’ a cellphone, according to the Dutch State Secretary for Defense.”
TWZ notes that the Dutch defense secretary made the remarks during an episode of BNR Nieuwsradio’s “Boekestijn en de Wijk” podcast, according to a machine translation:
Gijs Tuinman, who has been State Secretary for Defense in the Netherlands since 2024, does not appear to have offered any further details about what the jailbreaking process might entail. What, if any, cyber vulnerabilities this might indicate is also unclear. It is possible that he may have been speaking more notionally or figuratively about action that could be taken in the future, if necessary…
The ALIS/ODIN network is designed to handle much more than just software updates and logistical data. It is also the port used to upload mission data packages containing highly sensitive planning information, including details about enemy air defenses and other intelligence, onto F-35s before missions and to download intelligence and other data after a sortie. To date, Israel is the only country known to have successfully negotiated a deal giving it the right to install domestically-developed software onto its F-35Is, as well as otherwise operate its jets outside of the ALIS/ODIN network.
The comments “underscore larger issues surrounding the F-35 program, especially for foreign operators,” the article points out. But at the same time F-35’s have a sophisticated mission-planning data package. “So while jailbreaking F-35’s onboard computers, as well as other aspects of the ALIS/ODIN network, may technically be feasible, there are immediate questions about the ability to independently recreate the critical mission planning and other support it provides. This is also just one aspect of what is necessary to keep the jets flying, let alone operationally relevant.”
“TWZ previously explored many of these same issues in detail last year, amid a flurry of reports about the possibility that F-35s have some type of discreet ‘kill switch’ built in that U.S. authorities could use to remotely disable the jets. Rumors of this capability are not new and remain completely unsubstantiated.”
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At that time, we stressed that a ‘kill switch’ would not even be necessary to hobble F-35s in foreign service. At present, the jets are heavily dependent on U.S.-centric maintenance and logistics chains that are subject to American export controls and agreements with manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Just reliably sourcing spare parts has been a huge challenge for the U.S. military itself… F-35s would be quickly grounded without this sustainment support. [A cutoff in spare parts and support”would leave jailbroken jets quickly bricked on the ground,” the article notes later.] Altogether, any kind of jailbreaking of the F-35’s systems would come with a serious risk of legal action by Lockheed Martin and additional friction with the U.S. government.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader Koreantoast for sharing the article.
As a smart home reviewer, you can well imagine that my home is properly kitted out with connected devices.
What’s become clear over the years is the dearth of smart fire detection products that are actually suitable for UK homes. It’s a perplexing black hole.
Hunt around, and it’s easy to find enough smart smoke detectors: the Aqara Smoke Detector, for example, or the Drayton Wiser Smoke Alarm, compatible with the company’s new bridge, which allows for a wider range of devices, not just the heating products (review coming shortly).
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All of them have the issue that they’re just smoke alarms. That is, they detect smoke in the air, and then sound the alert.
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For most rooms, this is fine. That old adage, “there’s no smoke without fire,” doesn’t actually apply to smoke detectors installed in kitchens, as their sensors can be fooled by cooking fumes and steam.
That’s particularly true of ionisation smoke detectors, which are more prone to false alerts; photoelectric smoke alarms are better, but can still be triggered by general cooking.
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While photoelectric smoke alarms can be placed in a kitchen, it’s recommended that they be placed 3m from a stove or cooking appliance. Given that I live in a narrow Victorian terrace, and the hob is in the middle of one wall, and the ovens are in the middle of the opposite wall, it’s impossible to place a smoke alarm in the right place.
Heat alarms are best for kitchens
For kitchens, heat alarms are recommended. Rather than reacting to smoke, these alarms detect temperature changes: either when a fixed temperature is hit (typically, 58°C), or by measuring a rapid rate-of-rise (ROR) in the temperature.
In other words, heat alarms are looking for temperature signs that demonstrate there’s a fire, and ignore steam and smoke, so are ideal for kitchens. Or garages, in fact.
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It’s the combination that counts
It’s safer to have fire detectors spread through you home, interlinked so that one alarm going off sets all off. By placing detectors around the house, you stand a greater chance of waking people in an emergency and detecting a fire at its origin.
In some cases, regulations even require multiple fire alarms. When I had a loft conversion, we were required to have a smoke detector in every habitable room and each corridor, and a heat alarm in the kitchen.
The ideal thing would be to have these as a smart system for two reasons. First, I can monitor them remotely and get warned of issues when I’m out. Secondly, a smart system tells you which alarm triggered the event, so I can check it out quickly.
Getting such a mixed system is far harder than you’d think. As mentioned, most companies only sell smoke detectors. And, you can’t mix-and-match components from different manufacturers if you need an integrated alarm system that triggers everything to go off at once.
FireAngel is a system that hasn’t been updated in a long time, and the software and app aren’t very good, although the quality of the individual smoke, heat and CO detectors is excellent. I was originally happy with the system, as it replaced my old dumb system and gave me alerts, but when I had to change a couple of sensors, I found the app had duplicates and dead devices I couldn’t remove. Unless the app gets a major overhaul, I wouldn’t bother with it.
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X-Sense is much better with a wide choice of wired and wireless detectors (smoke, CO and heat), all for very reasonable prices. It’s my smart fire detection system of choice, but I’d like it if the system were Matter compatible or at least a bit easier to port into other smart home systems.
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This does leave a massive gap, and I don’t really understand why there’s no more competition. Heat alarms are a much-needed component, so why don’t more smart companies manufacture them?
Imagine you’re in a meeting, watching a movie at the cinema, or attending an event when your Apple Watch starts beeping or vibrating. It is very embarrassing when everyone around you is quiet. Thankfully, you silence the notifications and taps without missing a step. In this guide, we’ll show you a few different ways to silence your Apple Watch.
Different Methods to Silence Your Apple Watch
1. Quick Mute Using Your Palm
You don’t always have time to tap buttons when your watch goes off. Just cover the screen with your hand, and the sound will stop. However, you need to ensure that the gesture feature is enabled first. To activate this feature:
Go to the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
Tap on Gestures from the list.
Turn on the Cover to Mute option.
2. Keep Things Quiet with Theater Mode
If you want your Apple Watch to remain quiet and not display notifications when you move your wrist, Theater Mode is ideal. It’s perfect for dark places like cinemas or late-night events. To turn it on:
Open the Control Center by swiping up.
Find the icon that looks like “Comedy and Tragedy Masks.”
Tap it once. It will turn orange to show it’s active.
3. Quickly Silence Sounds with Control Center
Unlike Do Not Disturb, Silent Mode has to be turned on directly from your Apple Watch. It’s great when you want a sound-free experience but still want to receive alerts quietly. To turn it on:
Press the Side Button to open the Control Center.
Tap on the bell icon once.
When the icon shows a line through it, Silent Mode is active.
4. Keep Distractions Away with DND Mode
If you want complete silence from your Apple Watch, Do Not Disturb is a great option. It stops all notifications from making noise or lighting up the screen until you decide to turn it off. To turn it on:
Swipe up from the bottom of your Apple Watch screen to open Control Center.
Tap the Moon symbol.
Select Do Not Disturb.
Each option provides something slightly different. Use Silent Mode for regular silencing, Do Not Disturb for quiet time, Theater Mode when darkness and quiet are preferred, and Cover to Mute for fast, in-a-hurry situations. Choose what suits you best, based on your current location and activities.
You might not have noticed, but we here at Hackaday are pretty big fans of Open Source — software, hardware, you name it. We’ve also spilled our fair share of electronic ink on things people are doing with AI. So naturally when [Jeff Greerling] declares on his blog (and in a video embedded below) that AI is destroying open source, well, we had to take a look.
[Jeff]’s article highlights a problem he and many others who manage open source projects have noticed: they’re getting flooded with agenetic slop pull requests (PRs). It’s now to the point that GitHub will let you turn off PRs completely, at which point you’ve given up a key piece of the ‘hub’s functionality. That ability to share openly with everyone seemed like a big source of strength for open source projects, but [Jeff] here is joining his voice with others like [Daniel Stenberg] of curl fame, who has dropped bug bounties over a flood of spurious AI-generated PRs.
It’s a problem for maintainers, to be sure, but it’s as much a human problem as an AI one. After all, someone set up that AI agent and pointed at your PRs. While changing the incentive structure– like removing bug bounties– might discourage such actions, [Jeff] has no bounties and the same problem. Ultimately it may be necessary for open source projects to become a little less open, only allowing invited collaborators to submit PRs, which is also now an option on GitHub.
Combine invitation-only access with a strong policy against agenetic AI and LLM code, and you can still run a quality project. The cost of such actions is that the random user with no connection to the project can no longer find and squash bugs. As unlikely as that sounds, it happens! Rather, it did. If the random user is just going to throw their AI agent at the problem, it’s not doing anybody any good.
A transaction in October of 2024, between an American company and a Mexican one, resulted in a chain of U.S.-located gas station convenience stores being owned by the Mexican firm. The American company is Delek US Holdings, Inc., which sold its retail operations for $385 million. These retail operations consisted of 249 convenience stores that operated under the DK brand, located in New Mexico, Arkansas, and Texas. Delek is an energy company involved in petroleum and renewable fuels. As an oil products producer, it has a refining capacity of 302,000 barrels each day. It is also one of five owners of the 650-mile oil pipeline that goes from Wink to Webster in the Permian Basin in Texas, moving over one million barrels per day of crude oil and condensate to the Gulf Coast.
The Mexican company that bought the convenience stores at Delek’s gas stations is called FEMSA. It’s a huge conglomerate that includes the OXXO chain of 28,800 convenience stores located in Mexico, Chile, Peru, Brazil, and Colombia. FEMSA also owns the largest volume Coca-Cola products franchise bottler in the world. It has a total of over 392,000 employees located in 18 countries, including Europe, having purchased the food retail company Valora in 2022. FEMSA is also involved in many other business ventures, including retail drugstores and digital financial services.
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How FEMSA’s acquisition affected DK convenience stores
JRomero04/Shutterstock
FEMSA has now rebranded many DK stores, which now operate as OXXO, a well-known brand near the Mexican border. By 2027, all of the stores in the El Paso area, which adjoins the border, will be rebranded as OXXO stores. Once the OXXO brand starts to expand beyond its initial footprint, it may build even larger stores, following the trend of U.S. gas stations turning into massive convenience stores.
As far as the supply of fuel products to the stores, FEMSA has continued to purchase them from Delek after the ownership change. Delek continues to operate hundreds of gas stations under both the DK and Alon brands, positioning itself as a locally sourced, high-quality fuel supplier with a lower carbon footprint. While this acquisition may have been FEMSA’s first attempt to plant its flag in the U.S., the company has said it has plans to become a major player in the U.S. market. FEMSA is not the only foreign operator to land here; the Speedway gas station chain is owned by a Japanese company.
Get caught up on the latest technology and startup news from the past week. Here are the most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of Feb. 15, 2026.
In addition to events such as demo nights, founder dinners, and hackathons, Bili House is looking into partnerships, perhaps with a venture capital firm that could help defer some costs for startup founders. … Read More
The idea for Legata grew out of frustration with Washington’s estate tax and how little many families understand about the risk to their assets if they don’t plan. … Read More
Paul Brainerd, who coined the term “desktop publishing” and built Aldus Corporation’s PageMaker into one of the defining programs of the personal computer era, died Sunday at his home on Bainbridge Island. … Read More
The ubiquitous tap-to-pay technology that has become commonplace in grocery stores and coffee shops is coming to Seattle-area buses and trains beginning Feb. … Read More
Cloud cost consultant Duckbill, known for co-founder Corey Quinn’s sharp takes on AWS, raises $7.75M and launches Skyway, a financial planning and forecasting platform for enterprise cloud spending. … Read More
The latest round, led by Andreessen Horowitz, doubles the company’s valuation from October and reflects surging demand for infrastructure that keeps AI running reliably in production as agentic systems move from pilot projects to mission-critical deployments. … Read More
If you’re wondering what happened to the Starship, then rest assured, SpaceX engineers are still working to get it airborne again soon.
In fact, in a post on X on Saturday, SpaceX chief Elon Musk confirmed an earlier stated target window for the 12th launch of the most powerful rocket: next month.
In that case, the Starship could be blasting off from SpaceX’s Starbase site in near Boca Chica, Texas, in a matter of weeks, treating onlookers and those watching online to a spectacular display of raw rocket power.
The 12th Starship flight is particularly special because it involves a new version — the third — of the first-stage Super Heavy booster, which lifts the upper-stage Ship to space.
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Version 3 of the Starship rocket is 124.4 meters tall, making it just over a meter taller than its predecessor. Its engines have also been given a power upgrade, together with a number of design tweaks that will improve the rocket’s overall performance.
This year promises to be an exciting one for the Starship as SpaceX is heavily focused on getting it ready for a trip to the moon in the Artemis III mission.
First, it needs to achieve a number of important milestones, including getting the Ship to orbit, refueling the Ship in Earth orbit, and then landing it back at Boca Chica in a similar way to how it’s already landed the Super Heavy booster.
The Artemis III mission is currently set for 2027, though that date could slip due to technical challenges with the rocket. NASA wants to use a modified version of the Ship to land two astronauts on the lunar surface in what would be the first crewed moon landing since 1972.
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The astronauts won’t travel to lunar orbit aboard the Ship, flying instead aboard an Orion spacecraft launched by NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. Once in lunar orbit, they’ll transfer to SpaceX’s Ship and descend to the lunar surface.
The same Orion spacecraft is about to carry its first crew on a voyage around the moon in the Artemis II mission, which will pave the way for the Artemis III lunar landing in a few years’ time.
A political group funded by Anthropic is backing New York Assembly member Alex Bores in a high-profile House race that’s turned into a proxy fight over how AI should be regulated. (As of Feb 2026.)
Bloomberg reports Public First Action’s Democratic arm is spending $450,000 to boost Alex Bores in New York’s 12th congressional district.
Bloomberg also reports that Leading the Future, a rival super PAC, has already spent $1.1 million on TV ads and messages attacking Bores.
Leading the Future has been reported as backed by more than $100 million from prominent tech investors and executives, including Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman.
The dispute is tied to an ongoing policy fight over AI rules, including New York’s RAISE Act, which (per New York State) requires large AI developers to publish safety protocol information and to report AI incidents to the state within 72 hours of determining an incident occurred.
What’s not confirmed
Whether Public First Action will expand spending beyond the reported $450,000 in NY-12, or move significant money into other specific races. (Watch for new filings, public statements, and follow-up reporting.)
Whether Leading the Future will increase, pause, or redirect ad spending in response, and what the next wave of ad creative will claim. (Verify via ad libraries where available and reputable reporting.)
How voters will respond, and whether this race becomes a durable template for AI-focused political spending in 2026. (This is outcome-dependent and can’t be stated as fact today.)
Timeline
Aug 2025: TechCrunch reports Leading the Future’s pro-AI PAC network had backing of “more than $100 million,” including Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman.
Feb 19, 2026: Bloomberg reports Public First Action’s Democratic arm spending $450,000 for Bores and notes $1.1 million already spent attacking him by Leading the Future.
Impact and why it matters (analysis)
This isn’t just a normal “outside money” story—it’s a preview of how the AI policy debate may be fought in 2026: by funding competing political operations that reward different regulatory instincts (stronger public oversight vs. lighter-touch rules).
For readers tracking AI regulation, the practical signal is that state-level legislation like New York’s RAISE Act is becoming a political flashpoint, not just a policy document—so future changes may be driven as much by elections as by technical risk arguments.
Updates
Last updated: Feb 21, 2026.
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How to verify future changes: Look for (1) follow-up reporting from outlets with campaign-finance reporters, (2) official statements from the groups involved, and (3) public campaign-finance filings that match the spending claims.
On today’s episode of You Asked, we cover what to do about an 83-inch TV that’s too bright, whether it’s time to upgrade a 10-year-old TV, and whether a calibration can extend the life of your OLED.
Is an 83-inch TV too bright?
Douglas Murray / Digital Trends
@msbgone asks: I went with an 83-inch TV, and it’s so bright that at times I have to close my eyes. I love the size, but man, being so bright is not always great, and I do not have it at max brightness. Also, when there are shows with flashing, wow, it can be a hard watch. So would I go smaller? Well, I’m not sure. Larger seems overall better in most cases.
Well, to answer your last question first: Yeah. Larger is usually better when you want to be fully immersed in what you’re watching. However, I would say there is such a thing as too large of a TV. Like, if you’re within 10–12 feet, 83 inches feels like a little bit of overkill.
At that distance, 65 inches should be fine. 77 inches is probably all you need. And both would save you a considerable amount of money versus an 83-inch TV. And I’m gonna assume you’re talking about an OLED TV in response to a recent episode of You Asked.
Anyway, I think if you’re finding the TV too bright and you aren’t at max brightness, there could be a few things at play.
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One: Picture mode matters a lot. Especially in a Vivid or Dynamic mode, but even sometimes just in its Standard or Eco mode out of the box, you’re getting a cooler or more blue color temperature than you would in a Movie or Filmmaker mode. Those modes, movie and filmmaker, tend to give you a warmer color temperature that’s easier on the eyes regardless of where your brightness is set. So if you’re not in one of those modes, it’s worth making that change and getting rid of that harsh blue light that can cause a little more eye discomfort.
Another thing could be your Local Dimming setting. Set to High, it’s going to push the highlights a little harder and darken the shadows to create more contrast. If you were to lower that setting, while it would take away a bit from the higher contrast HDR experience, it would probably be another step toward lowering the brightness.
And the third thing: it could just be the size. If it’s too big, it’s too big and there’s just too much light coming at you at a close distance. So maybe going smaller would be the answer.
Should you upgrade a 10-year-old TV?
TCL Q671GTCL
@petekropf5335 asks: I need your help on if I would see a huge improvement buying a new low-cost TV versus my current 10-year-old TV. I currently have a 65-inch LG UH6150… that’s an LED TV if you didn’t know… Peter continues… It’s still working, but hard to see dark scenes in shows, and the ethernet / wireless have not worked in years. So I have not been able to update the TV. I was wondering if the picture quality would be worth it if I got a low-cost TV such as the TCL 75-inch Q671G or Hisense QD7N. When you have watched the same TV for a decade, it’s hard to know if the one I got has better picture quality than a cheaper new one. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Hey Peter, before getting into the details, I would say straight up, yes, you’re due for a new TV. I know it’s a badge of honor for us to boast about how long we’ve had something and how well it’s aged, and how good of a value it is since you haven’t had to spend money on an upgrade in a decade. But at some point, if you do value picture quality and a lot of the quality of life improvements that have come in the last 10 years, it’s time to say a respectful farewell to the TV and upgrade. And this is coming from someone, me, who had the same LG LED TV in my living room from 2011 until 2023. I used a Roku streaming stick to keep up with the times and quickly access and update my favorite apps, but I was long overdue.
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So, to you, I would say you can confidently upgrade and know that you’ll see a difference in picture quality and how quickly the TV operates and the smart TV interface.
In terms of the TVs you’re looking at upgrading to, I’m sure you’re well aware that as budget models, both have their compromises, but it really comes down to a few key differences, with a caveat I’ll mention at the end.
Hisense QD7NHisense
The TCL uses a VA panel, which will have better contrast, and that’s its biggest advantage.
The Hisense, on the other hand, is brighter and uses an IPS panel, which gives it a much wider viewing angle. But that comes at the cost of contrast.
So if you and your viewing party are primarily watching the TV from straight on and the room dimly lit, or better yet, just straight up dark, the TCL Q671G is probably the way to go. But if you’re in a brighter room or someone will be frequently watching TV from a side angle, I lean toward the Hisense.
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The only potential flaw in this logic is this: in the United States, we have the TCL Q651G, which is what I’m basing my advice from. You’re talking about the Canadian Costco version, which is the Q671G. From what I can find, they’re pretty much the same, but just wanted to have that in there so you know in case you’re doing further research.
Can a calibration extend the life of your OLED?
Sony A8HDan Baker / Digital Trends
John Craig asks: I have a Sony A8G OLED that I bought after watching a Digital Trends review. It’s been great, and I still enjoy it even more than the newer Sony X90L, which was also a Digital Trends recommendation. Recently, the A8G seems to have lost some of its pop. I’ve tried adjusting some settings based on YouTube channel recommendations, but it still seems like it has lost some of its luster. My questions: Would getting a professional calibration be worthwhile at this point? Can the picture on an older TV be revitalized through those adjustments? Or is the OLED just fading with age?
Oh this is a good one John. First of all, I think that speaks volumes about OLED TVs and how even older models still turn out a superior image compared to newer LED TVs. Glad to hear you’re still enjoying your A8G.
As for your question though, if you’ve gone through the suggested advice, which is probably some of the same stuff I’d say, I’ll save you the time and say that a professional calibration is the next logical choice, but is it worth it?
If you can really tell that it’s lost some of its pop, and you would know better than anyone online because it’s YOUR EYES that have been on it for more than half a decade, then maybe it is too far gone.
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Sony A8HDan Baker / Digital Trends
But a calibration from a professional can make a big difference. What a pro can do is adjust the TV to what best fits your room and viewing environment. Everything from color to black levels and brightness can be tuned to improve the image. And again, I think it would help.
But consider the price of the calibration and the age of the TV. That professional is probably gonna cost anywhere from 200 to 500 dollars… maybe more. It’s not cheap, but it is less expensive than a new Sony OLED. I’m just assuming you’re Team Sony since you have two of them and like the processing of the A8G.
Sony Bravia 8 OLEDZeke Jones / Digital Trends
At one point, I probably would’ve just recommended the Bravia 8 Mark 1 when it was on a bigger sale during the holidays, but a 65-inch model is nearly 2,000 dollars again, and that’s a lot more than it would cost you to get your current TV calibrated.
All that to say, I’d say go for the calibration if you want to see the improvement and put off buying a new OLED… OR… If you were to venture from Team Sony, check out the LG B5. At 65 inches, I’m seeing it for 1,000 dollars right now, and THAT might be worth it for a new OLED TV instead. I hope that helps.
A new report claims that Apple will repeat the vibrant color of the iPhone 17 Pro Max and offer options including a return to a deep red for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, but not the iPhone Fold.
Mockup of a deep red iPhone 18 Pro Max
It has traditionally been that lower-end iPhones can get bright colors such as the purple iPhone 12, while with exceptions, the Pro models have more muted ones. Now according to Bloomberg, the iPhone 18 Pro line will also get stronger than usual colors. This is said to be specifically because the orange iPhone 17 Pro Max has allegedly been particularly popular in China. Consequently, the claim is that deep red is in consideration as the color of the two Pro models in the iPhone 18 range. Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Mega Man is a popular video game character who is perhaps most notable for having a sort of lasery-type blaster for an arm. A real hand cannon, if you will. It’s officially called the Mega Buster, and [Arnov Sharma] recently recreated it for cosplay purposes.
Key to any good cosplay build is getting the visuals right, and [Arnov] achieved that well. The Mega Buster was first recreated in Fusion 360, scaled to an appropriate size to fit [Arnov]’s arm. It was 3D printed in several sections, with the body including a grab handle and fire button inside, and the side panel and blaster nozzle having provision for installing LEDs. The former is the blaster’s “power meter” which shows how many shots it has left until it runs out of energy, with the blaster able to fire six times before needing to cooldown. A Raspberry Pi Pico controls the LEDs and provides sound effects with the aid of a PAM8403 class D amplifier module and a small speaker.
The 3D files are available on Instructables for the curious. Perhaps by virtue of its arm-mounted nature, this build reminds us of the venerable Pip Boy from Fallout, of which we’ve seen many grand recreations before. Video after the break.
