A Lenovo X1 Carbon that had been reliable for years began crashing browser tabs and remounting its root filesystem read-only, with Btrfs reporting data checksum failures. A Memtest86+ boot test quickly confirmed faulty physical memory. On a laptop with replaceable memory, the usual fix would be to identify and swap the bad DIMM; on this machine, the RAM is soldered to the motherboard, making repair impractical without specialist chip-replacement skills. The experience frames soldered RAM as a costly, anti-repair design choice: a still-capable computer may need replacing because one component has failed, a concern amplified by high memory prices.
To keep the laptop usable temporarily, the author used Linux’s built-in memmap option to prevent the kernel from allocating the defective memory ranges. Fedora does not normally include badram, an alternative requiring an out-of-tree kernel patch. Memtest86+ can provide the needed address ranges, but exporting them from the Ventoy boot setup failed, so they had to be copied manually. Putting the long list directly in Fedora’s GRUB configuration caused dollar signs in the values to be expanded incorrectly; saving the list as a GRUB environment variable and referencing it from the kernel command line allowed the system to boot with the exclusions applied. This is a stopgap, not a repair: the author plans to back up important files, investigate the filesystem damage, and replace the laptop.
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More than 300 Boston Dynamics employees urged executives to stop a deal supplying ICE with modified robot dogs, citing risks to the company and its workers. Executives stood by the sale, saying the robots would not be weaponized. (arstechnica.com)
Micron Taiwan’s new labor agreement raises pay for more than 80% of employees, with production workers’ annual salaries increasing from NT$630,000 to over NT$2 million. It also boosts employer pension contributions to 10% and triples day-shift allowances for production workers. (ec.ltn.com.tw)
Boston Dynamics employees petitioned the company to cancel a $1.3 million ICE contract for four Spot robot dogs and related technology. ICE says the robots will help assess dangerous scenes before agents enter, while workers argue the sale damages the company’s reputation. (wbur.org)
Linux 7.4 adds initial support for Apple’s M4 and A18 Pro chips, enough to boot and display a console, while most hardware features remain unsupported. The kernel also adds support for Google Tensor G5, Qualcomm chips and boards, and Valve’s Steam Frame headset. (phoronix.com)
AI coding tools are making it easier for hobbyists to modify smart TVs and revive abandoned gadgets, including removing ads and replacing outdated interfaces. These changes can improve old devices but also introduce security and reliability risks. (zdnet.com)
Intel agreed to acquire quantum software company Classiq, combining its synthesis platform with Intel’s spin-qubit hardware and software. The deal aims to create an accessible, full-stack quantum computing platform that can scale toward mainstream use. (intc.com)
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