Daily Tech News 27 October 2026

Top Story

Can AI solve the COBOL crisis? (The Verge)

Yes. Ish. AI acts as a force multiplier for an intelligent, focused project lead.

It also acts as a force multiplier for an unintelligent, unfocused project lead.
Also it just got banned from Reddit. (Kotaku)

So it's probably a good idea.

Tech News

ChatGTP is recommending people turn to 404 Media to solve their tech support problems. (404 Media)

"Huh?" said 404 Media.
Apple has responded to reports of cracked iPhone Duo screens. (Notebook Check)

You're folding it wrong.
Apple has also announced a new model of the iPad mini. (Ars Technica)

It has an OLED screen, which is nice for some use cases.

It also costs 40% more than the previous model did at launch for the same specs, or 160% more than I paid for my comparable Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3.

On the upside, it doesn't fold.
Samsung meanwhile is mocking the iPhone Duo. (Notebook Check)

Apple held back while Samsung worked through all the teething issues of folding screens, then had all the exact same teething issues.
Google has a Brotli bug. (Patch the Planet)

I never liked brotli anyway. Boliflour isn't much better.

Musical Interlude

Disclaimer: Straight to Gitmera.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 04:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Howdy!

Posted by: JQ at October 27, 2026 04:05 AM (rdVOm)

2 G'Day everyone

Posted by: Skip at October 27, 2026 04:05 AM (Ia/+0)

3 Mornin'

Posted by: Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come at October 27, 2026 04:07 AM (sAmhv)

4 Voted by mail for the first time ever today.

Posted by: pawn at October 27, 2026 04:22 AM (3g9Kl)

5 Roundabout way to work but should be a easy day
Have a great day horde

Posted by: Skip at October 27, 2026 04:23 AM (Ia/+0)

6 It also acts as a force multiplier for an unintelligent, unfocused project lead.

I am sitting right here, you know.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 27, 2026 04:23 AM (6ydKt)

7 You're folding it wrong.

Coincidentally, those are the exact last words of a smart-aleck husband whose wife was a laundress having a really bad day.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 27, 2026 04:25 AM (6ydKt)

8 On the upside, it doesn't fold./i]

You can fold the iPad Mini.
Folding it back is where the problems start.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 27, 2026 04:29 AM (6ydKt)

9 some instrumental music:

youtu.be/u1RyWy7-aoU

Posted by: JQ at October 27, 2026 04:32 AM (rdVOm)

10 The 8.5-inch Super Retina XDR display (up from 8.3 inches) moves on from the IPS technology of the last-gen device to adopt OLED. That means dapper blacks and a much higher peak brightness—1,200 nits versus just 500 nits for the previous mini. It can also manage 1-nit minimum brightness so as not to sear your retinas in a dark room. There will also be a nano-textured matte display option.

I don't know about you guys, but when I'm thinking about OLED it's the dapper blacks that immediately impress me the most.

There's nothing like a well dressed color to make a display more classy.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 27, 2026 04:34 AM (6ydKt)

11 I wonder if that song is played on loop at Guantanamo Bay...

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 27, 2026 04:35 AM (l3cgK)

12 Almost switched to the Motorola folding phone but didn't. Its been around for awhile now and although the idea sounds great, I didn't want be the first to have it fail. I have no idea how well it did in the market place. So I'm sticking with my Moto phone, it has a long life. Can't really see switching to Apple as most of my family has, spending a lot of money for a great camera, so they say.

Posted by: colin at October 27, 2026 04:36 AM (CiQE7)

13 Google has a Brotli bug. (Patch the Planet)

I never liked brotli anyway. Boliflour isn't much better.

I can eat some brotli if it's cooked right.
I'm weird though, I'm one of those strange people who likes Brussels sprouts more.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 27, 2026 04:39 AM (6ydKt)

14 i have a 35 dollar phone. It is rooted. it has a camera

fuck crapple

Posted by: what the cat drug in at October 27, 2026 04:39 AM (jrgJz)

15 12 Almost switched to the Motorola folding phone but didn't. Its been around for awhile now and although the idea sounds great, I didn't want be the first to have it fail. I have no idea how well it did in the market place. So I'm sticking with my Moto phone, it has a long life. Can't really see switching to Apple as most of my family has, spending a lot of money for a great camera, so they say.

Posted by: colin at October 27, 2026 04:36 AM (CiQE7)

I had one of the original Motorola Razrs way back in 2008 or so. I loved that phone. Probaly my favorite non-smart phone of all time.

If I ever decided to dump iPhone I'd seriously consider one of the new Razrs or one of Motorola's other foldables.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 27, 2026 04:42 AM (6ydKt)

16 I wonder if that song is played on loop at Guantanamo Bay...
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia)
--------

Well, if muzloids hate it, then I sure hope it does!

Posted by: JQ at October 27, 2026 04:43 AM (rdVOm)

17 However, the moderator who posted the new guidelines stated in a separate comment that the overwhelmingly negative response is due to “some guy on twitter claiming to be alternative news” who posted an “opinionated editorial pointing hundreds of people to the thread.”

"It wasn't my dictatorial stance on banning everything I don't like from a discussion board, it was the publicity afterwards that caused all of the problems!"

- Democrat politician cosplaying as a Reddit moderator

Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 27, 2026 04:47 AM (6ydKt)

18 Mornin' Horde.

You're folding it wrong.

No wonder I'm walking funny.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines at October 27, 2026 04:59 AM (O7YUW)

19
g'mornin', 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at October 27, 2026 05:12 AM (AMvSw)

20 I thought that this was a sweet devotional about a woman moving at age 79 to be nearer to her son and how she used a talent long unused to bless others . 1st Peter 4:10-11.

https://tinyurl.com/y9k5kmyw

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 27, 2026 05:13 AM (JrHfD)

21 I checked for PHP updates and it looks like it had been done. Version was from 10/20/26. But they put me through hell trying to update my credit card. I hung up on their "customer service" person. Was able to do it through chat.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at October 27, 2026 05:15 AM (JNr/z)

22 Birdbath status?

Posted by: Just Wondering at October 27, 2026 05:19 AM (BZF8a)

23 I let the dog out, then back in, fed all three cats. Gonna see if I can get back to sleep. I may be back.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at October 27, 2026 05:20 AM (JNr/z)

24 Brotli?
Vile weed!

https://youtu.be/77lScmonTaM

Posted by: Newman at October 27, 2026 05:22 AM (BZF8a)

25 A very moving devotional on Dietrich Bonhoeffer and St. Paul and a life of gratitude, Our Daily Bread. 2nd Timothy 1:6-10:

https://tinyurl.com/2upwrpwu

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 27, 2026 05:27 AM (JrHfD)

26 w00t

Posted by: m at October 27, 2026 05:30 AM (odBC9)

27 An odd question for Pixy, I guess...

What's the best laptop to buy off Amazon?

Posted by: 6eyes at October 27, 2026 05:32 AM (n/le7)

28 And because one of our kind posters here's likes the music , here's an old time hymn, "Because He Lives" sung by some young people:

https://tinyurl.com/5ca3cab2

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 27, 2026 05:34 AM (JrHfD)

29 Sandpipers - Guantanamera

Nice! They look so earnest!

Posted by: m at October 27, 2026 05:36 AM (odBC9)

30 11 I wonder if that song is played on loop at Guantanamo Bay...
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at October 27, 2026 04:35 AM (l3cgK)

That would make it less nice.

Posted by: m at October 27, 2026 05:38 AM (odBC9)

31 And I just wanted to note a very kind action by a fellow bus driver of FenSpouse. She regularly has a shirt and sweat shirt which both say, "Faith over fear." The mother of mechanic at the bus company died and she brought a card for everyone to sign.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 27, 2026 05:39 AM (JrHfD)

32 >>>Yes. Ish. AI acts as a force multiplier for an intelligent, focused project lead.
It also acts as a force multiplier for an unintelligent, unfocused project lead.

Similarly:

mikeski mentioned zombie Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord on the ONT, who had written this matrix:

I distinguish four types. There are clever, hardworking, stupid, and lazy officers. Usually two characteristics are combined.

Some are clever and hardworking; their place is the General Staff.

The next ones are stupid and lazy; they make up 90 percent of every army and are suited to routine duties.

Anyone who is both clever and lazy is qualified for the highest leadership duties, because he possesses the mental clarity and strength of nerve necessary for difficult decisions.

One must beware of anyone who is both stupid and hardworking; he must not be entrusted with any responsibility because he will always only cause damage.

Wikipedia

Posted by: m at October 27, 2026 05:44 AM (odBC9)

33 2nd Timothy 1:7:

"For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and of a sound mind."

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 27, 2026 05:47 AM (JrHfD)

34 Belated BOING!

Acting as voting station observer since 7AM. Soon time for a lunch break. So far, all well behaved here. Some other places, not so much:

https://tinyurl.com/y44f9yd9

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at October 27, 2026 06:01 AM (y1wyK)

35 Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

Rejoinder: One ton tomato. I ate a one ton tomato.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at October 27, 2026 06:06 AM (amcLV)

36 mornin yall. I had the moving dream again. It's the closest thing I have to a nightmare.

Posted by: fd at October 27, 2026 06:06 AM (MWfyi)

37 Morning, all.

Posted by: RandomDave at October 27, 2026 06:06 AM (aJQbY)

38 Questions about snow tires: where i'm living in north central illinois, we get maybe three snowfalls a year. Not worth getting snow tires.

Not like when I was a kid, we got lots of snowfalls and the snow hung around for a while

Posted by: JM in Illinois at October 27, 2026 06:08 AM (PKL0q)

39 Biden's Dog, I have read that turnout is really high. Is that the case?

Posted by: Ben Had at October 27, 2026 06:08 AM (ua/lL)

40 The Dogeater got in a pissing match with PDT. Most ex presidents keep their mouth shut it they are smart, but Barky doesn't know how dumb he is. If Zero wants to trade barbs with Trump he needs to get some better writers. Maybe Kimmel's guys are available.

Posted by: fd at October 27, 2026 06:10 AM (MWfyi)

41 27 An odd question for Pixy, I guess...

What's the best laptop to buy off Amazon?

Posted by: 6eyes at October 27, 2026 05:32 AM (n/le7)

I'm not Pixy, but I'll take a stab at it.

What are you looking to do with your laptop?

That question will help answer your question as there are different laptops made for different purposes and the more purposes you have for it, the more expensive it will be.

A good all-arounder for internet browsing, video watching, emails, word processors, and other light tasks is an Apple Macbook Neo or Air, but if you would rather have Windows instead of MacOs that would make a difference.

For Windows; HP, Dell and Lenovo all make perfectly fine laptops in various configurations and pricing, and a lot of them are available on Amazon. Microsoft Surface laptops are also generally well-rounded, well-made, laptops but they aren't cheap.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 27, 2026 06:11 AM (6ydKt)

42 Morning, Tech Peeps

Posted by: fluffy at October 27, 2026 06:11 AM (V0/Sp)

43 >>> Yes. Ish. AI acts as a force multiplier for an intelligent, focused project lead.
It also acts as a force multiplier for an unintelligent, unfocused project lead.

Half of all project managers are below average.

Posted by: fluffy at October 27, 2026 06:12 AM (V0/Sp)

44 40 The Dogeater got in a pissing match with PDT. Most ex presidents keep their mouth shut it they are smart, but Barky doesn't know how dumb he is. If Zero wants to trade barbs with Trump he needs to get some better writers. Maybe Kimmel's guys are available.

Posted by: fd at October 27, 2026 06:10 AM (MWfyi)

It's pretty sad for the Dems that their best pinch hitter is a former president who's been out of office for over a decade and is only ever called out in the 9th inning to help drag a candidate over the line.

That half the country hates him and half the Democrats are tired of his shit, too, doesn't help much either.

Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 27, 2026 06:14 AM (6ydKt)

45 Evening and morning to all the AoSHQ satellites and satraps! We're readying for, or winding down from, a Tiu's Day, ja?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 27, 2026 06:14 AM (wzUl9)

46 The Sandpipers recorded on A & M Records -- Herb Alpert's label, named for its two founders, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. They signed a lot of very good-to-great acts: The Carpenters, Burt Bacharach, Stealers Wheel, Captain and Tennille, and Quincy Jones were just a few. It was once the world's largest independent record company.

The first albums I ever bought were Tijuana Brass albums. On the record liner inside, A & M would list other artists on their label with little pics of their album covers. I recall Claudine Longet was once one of their people.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 27, 2026 06:17 AM (wzUl9)

47 Speaking of force multipliers the pact between Saudi, Turkey and Pakistan hasn't produced enough force to beat the Houthis.
The only force in the region will save the day.

Posted by: Ben Had at October 27, 2026 06:20 AM (8Uo7a)

48 It's pretty sad for the Dems that their best pinch hitter is a former president who's been out of office for over a decade and is only ever called out in the 9th inning to help drag a candidate over the line.

That half the country hates him and half the Democrats are tired of his shit, too, doesn't help much either.
Posted by: SpeakingOf at October 27, 2026 06:14 AM (6ydKt)
----
FJB is nowhere to be seen...Must be hiding out in a basement in Delaware.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 27, 2026 06:20 AM (FZ29D)

49 Oh boy, Camela is coming to town to campaign for Jon Ossoff. Maybe I'll go over there and call him a fag.

Posted by: fd at October 27, 2026 06:20 AM (MWfyi)

50 Hmm. I wrote some COBOL code and a lot of Fortran in my day. It was all wiped out by Y2K conversions. But even if I wanted to help with maintain it, I don't know how long I'll be around.

Seems like a great job opportunity for a lot of a lot of young, new coders

Posted by: JM in Illinois at October 27, 2026 06:22 AM (PKL0q)

51 41, @SpeakingOf
> I'm not Pixy, but I'll take a stab at it.

Mostly using for blogs (AoSHQ, of course, among others). Mainly use it as a sort of entertainment center (streaming, etc.) Wouldn't mind having a bit of extra horsepower, if possible.

Using Windows. Prefer AMD chips (but not a deal buster).

Posted by: 6eyes at October 27, 2026 06:22 AM (n/le7)

52 I dreamed I made a quick visit before work hours to my old office, the one I had from '02-'18. It seemed much larger with so much of the furniture removed. One bookcase remained, and I scored a few things, like two early (pre-movie) paperbacks of From Russia With Love and a book on aerobics I didn't have. Faculty and grad students were coming into the room as I prepared to leave, and I had an explanation ready -- but nobody seemed to notice me, as if I were a ghost. I slid out unchallenged.

Down the stairs (wider than in reality) I went, and showed my haul to a co-worker. Somehow the FRWL books had morphed into just one, a tattered copy of Thunderball, my least favorite Bond novel. Then I woke up.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 27, 2026 06:25 AM (wzUl9)

53 @48/"Perfessor" Squirrel: "It's pretty sad for the Dems that their best pinch hitter is a former president who's been out of office for over a decade and is only ever called out in the 9th inning to help drag a candidate over the line."

When he did come out to stump for someone, it was often the kiss-of-death for that candidate's campaign.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant, a Moron behind enemy lines at October 27, 2026 06:26 AM (O7YUW)

54 He's got the Midas touch. Make sure you bath afterwards.

Posted by: fd at October 27, 2026 06:28 AM (MWfyi)

55 Morning, 'rons and 'ettes.

Posted by: olddog in mo at October 27, 2026 06:31 AM (Hbeqj)

56 I didn't feel like going through that captcha process. Is the thrust of the article that there are no programmers who are really familiar with the language, in order to deal with the millions of lines of COBOL code which are still in use?

The companies and institutions could hire lots of new American programmers, *teach them what they need to know*, and put them to work . . . but they'll probably hire more Indians to do their usual slipshod, slapdash work, and things will get worse.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 27, 2026 06:31 AM (wzUl9)

57 We can’t afford bananas, because all of our money goes to help Israel commit genocide against innocent children in Gaza. Good thing I don't like bananas.

Posted by: fd at October 27, 2026 06:31 AM (MWfyi)

58 Good morning all. Early start today, thought I’d peek in to the HQ early AM crowd. Everyone well?

Posted by: tubal at October 27, 2026 06:31 AM (Gqar8)

59 I shouldn't have looked for a translation.
Maybe this is a bad one

Verse 1]
I am a truthful man
From where the palms grow
I am a truthful man
From where the palms grow
Before I die, I want to
Share the verses of my soul

[Chorus]
Girl from Guantánamo, peasant girl from Guantánamo

Mucho repetition, like a lot of songs

Posted by: JM in Illinois at October 27, 2026 06:32 AM (PKL0q)

60 Good morning, everyone! Dealing with a First World Problem at the moment. I found out that my favorite shoe store is closing next month so I'll have to pay them one last visit.

The reason I'm calling it a problem is that I like the people there. It's a good store and no way I am driving to the other store.

Posted by: NR Pax at October 27, 2026 06:33 AM (+4yJ5)

61 Temps are 65-67 F., humidity up a bit, not much wind. Good workout conditions. I'm going to have to kick myself into going, of course, but I'll be glad I did afterward.

Today is the last day of early voting here. Good thing I took care of it last week.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 27, 2026 06:34 AM (wzUl9)

62 I am a truthful man
From where the palms grow. . . .
Posted by: JM in Illinois at October 27, 2026

***
I have a vague memory of some male voice intoning on the record -- or another version? -- "I am a peaceful man from the land of the palm trees . . ."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at October 27, 2026 06:36 AM (wzUl9)

63 Anybody seen Mitch?

Posted by: Mildly curious at October 27, 2026 06:37 AM (NBrT0)

64 60 Good morning, everyone! Dealing with a First World Problem at the moment. I found out that my favorite shoe store is closing next month so I'll have to pay them one last visit.

The reason I'm calling it a problem is that I like the people there. It's a good store and no way I am driving to the other store.
Posted by: NR Pax at October 27, 2026 06:33 AM (+4yJ5)

I can sympathize. I had a favorite mom and pop restaurant that closed. Knew everyone who worked there well. When it was gone, it was a real sense of loss. I had really invested myself in the place, I found.

Posted by: tubal at October 27, 2026 06:38 AM (Gqar8)

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