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"Arthur T Knackerbracket" writes:

https://www.theregister.com/systems/2026/09/23/europes-fastest-supercomputer-is-finally-getting-its-domestic-silicon-infusion/5298665

Talk about digital sovereignty! Europe's most powerful supercomputer, Jupiter, is finally getting the domestic silicon infusion it's been waiting for.

On Tuesday, French chip designer SiPearl began delivery of its long-anticipated Rhea1 CPUs to Bull for integration into the system.

Jupiter, which came online last year, became the European Union's first exascale supercomputer. It currently holds the designation of being the fifth most powerful system on the Top500 ranking of publicly known supercomputers.

But that feat wasn't achieved using European silicon. The Jupiter Booster, which set the EU record, was powered by 24,000 American-made GH200 superchips from GPU giant Nvidia. These high-end accelerators were the precursor to the Grace Blackwell superchips used in its AI rack systems and featured a single Grace CPU and H200 GPU.

However, the Booster section is only part of the larger Jupiter system. SiPearl's chips will power a second CPU-only partition.

Rhea1 has been under development for several years and marks a turning point for sovereign supercomputing.

Based on Arm's Neoverse V1 core designs, the chip is already showing its age. Even the Grace CPUs powering the booster section use Arm's newer V2 cores. Yet, the Rhea1 is still notable.

With 61 billion transistors, the 80-core chip was designed specifically for running HPC and scientific workloads not well suited to GPUs.

In many respects, the chip is reminiscent of the Fujitsu A64FX CPUs that propelled Japan's Fugaku supercomputer to the number one spot on the Top500 back in early 2020.

Each Rhea1 processor is equipped with four stacks of HBM2e totaling 64 GB and achieving 1.8 TB/s of bandwidth. Along with the HBM, each Rhea1 CPU has four DDR5 memory channels.

"Arthur T Knackerbracket" writes:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/the-faa-is-testing-an-ai-powered-air-traffic-management-tool/

For years, there have been shortages of air traffic control personnel, leading to delays and congestion. To remedy these troubles, the Federal Aviation Administration and the US Department of Transportation are turning to a new tool: AI.

On Monday, these agencies announced that they’re beginning a trial of the new system, called Strategic Management of Airspace Routes and Trajectories, at three airports around the nation's capital – Reagan National Airport, Dulles International Airport and BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.

This $875 million software overhaul is not a replacement for human air traffic control operators, the DOT said, but is intended to reduce pressure on personnel by predicting delays and cancellations, and providing recommendations to the humans who retain control over flight operations.

Margaret Wallace, an assistant professor of aviation management at the Florida Institute of Technology, said meaningful action is necessary to address the aging air traffic control infrastructure, and calls to modernize the system have been ongoing – yet unanswered – for years.

While SMART is an important first step, she says, it "does not eliminate the human element," and controllers need to remain at the forefront of every stage of implementation.

"If implemented carefully, however, the technology behind this initiative has the potential to begin a significant transformation in the efficiency and modernization of the US air traffic system," Wallace said in an email.

It may be alarming to read "artificial intelligence" and "air traffic management" in the same sentence. So let's unpack what this system actually is before deciding to never get on another flight again.

Each day, the FAA manages close to 45,000 flights in the US. Even slight delays, changes in weather conditions, and reroutes can lead to airspace congestion and overcapacity. SMART was designed to centralize 200 data streams of flight paths, wind, weather, staffing metrics and more into one platform for a comprehensive overview of what's happening in the sky and on the ground at airports for better management of these flights.

From this consolidated data, human controllers can "anticipate demand, weather and airspace constraints and plan hours, days and even weeks ahead," according to the press release.

The US DOT says these measures are to upgrade "the FAA from a reactive approach to a predictive one."

“By fundamentally reshaping how we manage our airspace and preventing problems before they happen, SMART will slash those frustrating delays, reduce stress on air traffic controllers and lower travel prices,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.

Source: BBC Television.

The UK Police have announced that all 5 men arrested in connection with the suspected terrorist attack attempt at RAF Fairford are UK nationals in their 20s from the London area.

For previous reporting see: https://soylentnews.org/breakingnews/article.pl?sid=26/09/27/115249

The Head of Counter Terrorism Police (CTP) has given an public announcement at 15:45 BST:

The 5 individuals who have been arrested are being released on police bail with significant restrictions on who they may contact, on reporting regularly and movement. They remain under investigation.

They are currently being released while remaining under charges relating to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE). No mention was made relating to earlier charges.

The CTP have numerous new leads that they are following. They are keeping an open mind about who might ultimately be behind the attempt. They stress that it must be remembered that individuals may be used as proxies without necessarily knowing who is directing the attempt, or even knowing that they were being manipulated.

The alert states at both Fairford and Lakenheath remain as previously announced.

The Head of CTP stated that the alert was raised by 2 phone calls made by civilians. Nothing was said about any prior intelligence.

hubie writes:

Moon's water reserves insufficient to sustain a lunar city, astronomers find:

Some countries and even wealthy individuals are setting their sights on the Moon, with ambitious plans to create a lunar colony.

That would require a lot of resources launched from Earth, but how much water and power would be required to keep a lunar city going?

Astronomers Martin Elvis and Jonathan McDowell from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory have now taken a look at the resources required for several population sizes.

When it comes to power, the pair think it should be possible to generate sufficient energy even for a large city and without the need for nuclear power.

They estimate it would be possible to generate 3 GW of electricity using kilometre-tall towers covered with photovoltaic arrays. Not only that but it would be possible to manufacture solar panels on the Moon given the amount of silicon on the surface.

Yet it is not good news when it comes to water consumption. We have known for well over a decade that the Moon's poles contain water ice, possibly as much as a billion tonnes, with Moon-orbiting craft mapping out likely locations in great detail.

Even assuming one billion tonnes of water on the Moon, if nothing was recycled then a city of a million would last only a few years, while a population of 100,000 would run for 20 years before running dry.

Even when recycling the water with an efficiency of 98% – as performed on the International Space Station – a city of a million would only have enough water for around a century.

The authors say that to sustain a lunar city of that size would require improving water-recycling efficiencies beyond 99.5%, reducing water usage through vertical farming or simply finding more water on the Moon.

So for now it sounds like a Moon village may be the only possibility. The authors state that a town of around 10,000 people, for example, may be sustainable for several centuries.

Journal Reference: https://doi.org/10.3389/frspt.2026.1894104

Original Submission

owl writes:

https://www.righto.com/2026/09/8087-tangent-cordic.html

I hope you're not tired of the 8087, because I have another article about Intel's floating-point chip.1 In 1980, Intel introduced the 8087, making floating-point operations much faster in the IBM PC and other systems. In this article, I look at the algorithm behind the chip's tangent instruction. One popular approach for trigonometric functions is an algorithm called CORDIC. Another approach is a polynomial approximation. The 8087 combined the two to obtain both high accuracy and high performance. The 8087 provided an enormous speedup over the 8086 microprocessor, computing a tangent in 90 microseconds rather than 13,000 microseconds.2

By examining the circuitry and microcode of the 8087, I can explain the algorithm behind the tangent instruction, called FPTAN. To explore the 8087's circuitry, I popped the lid off a chip with a chisel and created a high-resolution image with a microscope.

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Experts have warned of the hidden health risks associated with the unregulated global trade of mummified remains:

A new study, led by University of Staffordshire, has found evidence of potentially hazardous microbial growth on mummified human and animal remains advertised for sale online – posing risks to both sellers and buyers.

The analysis of 128 online posts and auction listings also highlighted non-compliance with postal regulations, potentially putting delivery workers, customs officials and other members of the public at risk.

Isolated human body parts, including hands and feet, were the most frequently listed items, while more than half of the sample involved heads in varying states of completeness and preservation.

Sellers were found to provide little information about the safe handling of remains, while some posts showed people handling mummified human remains without gloves.

Although not all items in the study had visible signs of possible fungal growth or extensive deterioration, the researchers warn that microbial colonisation may not always be visible, meaning apparently well-preserved remains can still present potential risks.

Lead author Dr Kirsty Squires, Professor of Human Bioarchaeology at University of Staffordshire, conducted the research with international colleagues from Vilnius University, the University of Salento, the University of Messina, and Adelaide University.

"The rise of the internet, especially social media, has amplified international trafficking and driven demand for unique cultural heritage, including mummified humans and animals," she explained.

"However, these preserved remains pose health and biosecurity risks, due to the toxicity of embalming methods and/or suboptimal storage that can promote microbial growth.

Our research revealed that mummified remains sold online exhibit signs of biodeterioration, yet sellers provide no safety guidance, suggesting limited awareness or deliberate disregard of hazards.

"There is also evidence to show that mummified remains are being mailed to buyers, both nationally and internationally, with little (if any) consideration of the health and safety implications of these actions. Clearer, more prominent guidelines are needed to ensure buyers and sellers are unable to misinterpret or find loopholes in shipping policies."

"Arthur T Knackerbracket" writes:

Pew finds growing concern over their effects on energy bills, the environment, and nearby communities:

Americans are growing more and more wary of datacenters, with a Pew Research Center survey finding sharp rises since January in those who view the effect on the environment, energy bills, and nearby communities negatively.

Pew surveyed 10,548 US adults between July 20 and August 9. Fifty-four percent said datacenters were mostly bad for the environment, up from 39 percent in January. Half said they were mostly bad for household energy costs, up from 38 percent, while 49 percent viewed them negatively for the quality of life of nearby residents, up from 30 percent.

In each category, only 4 percent described their impact as mostly good. Views were more evenly divided on local employment and tax revenue, while 12 percent of respondents said they had not heard of datacenters.

The shift spans demographic groups: men and women, adults of every age and education level, and urban, suburban, and rural residents have all grown more negative since the start of the year.

The movement also crosses party lines. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents remain more negative than Republicans and Republican leaners, but among the latter group, 42 percent now say datacenters are mostly bad for nearby residents' quality of life, up from 24 percent in January.

The research comes amid growing scrutiny of datacenters' electricity and water consumption and their effects on household utility bills.

The Register has reported on US senators investigating rising energy bills, gaps in operators' disclosure of emissions, and allegations that compute sheds consume more water than their owners acknowledge.

Amazon's chief sustainability officer this week said communities should hold the company accountable over datacenters and called for greater transparency about their effects.

The industry has long recognized its image problem. At last year's Datacloud Global Congress, executives discussed ways to win over communities increasingly wary of new facilities.

Republican officials have taken differing positions. Trump has consistently supported datacenter construction, arguing that it is needed to help the US compete with China, while Texas Governor Greg Abbott imposed a statewide moratorium in August after previously backing expansion. Trump has also blamed opposition to datacenters on Chinese propaganda.

Whatever the cause, 60 percent of respondents said they would be not too or not at all comfortable with a new datacenter operating nearby. Majorities of urban, suburban, and rural Americans agreed.

Original Submission

"Arthur T Knackerbracket" writes:

Discord will try to automatically estimate ages, require verification when it can't:

Discord today [Sept. 23] is rolling out an age-verification system that estimates each user's age and requires some users to prove they are old enough to access age-restricted content. Discord said it will take a few days for the global system to reach all user accounts.

Discord had announced a somewhat different plan for age checks in February, but scrapped it amid backlash from users concerned about privacy. The privacy concerns were heightened by a 2025 incident in which hackers stole government IDs of 70,000 Discord users from a third-party service that Discord used to verify ages in the UK and Australia.

The original plan was to require ID uploads or face scans from users seeking to access age-restricted servers and channels. The revised system, detailed yesterday by Discord CTO and co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy, will provide several additional options.

"In February, the only methods we'd planned for to confirm your age were facial age estimation or an ID scan. Based on your feedback, we committed to giving you more options that meet our high privacy standards," Vishnevskiy wrote.

A Discord system will automatically estimate user ages and place each user into an adult age group (18+), a teen group (13-17), or an "unconfirmed" group for which there isn't enough data to determine whether a person is an adult or teen.

[...] Discord estimates that more than 90 percent of users will not be asked to confirm their age. Adults who want to access age-restricted content, but are incorrectly placed in the 13-17 age group or put into "unconfirmed," will have several options to prove they are old enough.

"Arthur T Knackerbracket" writes:

Someday, AI agents will buy you anything you want — or what they think you want:

The keynote kicking off Snapdragon Summit 2026 in Maui had the latest forecast for how AI agents will organize our lives through the phones in our pockets. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon spent some time walking viewers through how the agents will buy things for them, preparing for the day when AI will have access to our bank accounts or credit cards — and why that’s a good idea.

For years, Qualcomm has pitched a future where AI agents on your devices know your habits and preferences well enough to make informed decisions on your behalf. Eventually, this will include the capability to spend your money on things such as necessities, gifts and travel. The question is how agents will decide whether or not to pull the trigger on a purchase — and how much input you’ll have on what decisions they make.

Nobody’s figured this out yet, and might not for some time. The fear is that an AI agent would run off with your bank account numbers, clear out your savings and run up your credit card. But at this year’s summit, Qualcomm suggested how this might actually work, wherein agents would repeatedly check in before they spend your money.

“When an agent is acting as a proxy of you, you need to trust the agent, and you need to trust the device, especially for something like shopping,” Amon said on the keynote stage. 

Naturally, the CEO was pitching a method with his company’s technology at the center, but it was at least sensitive to the uncertainties people likely have about an AI buying things for them. He said that the company is developing technologies to protect personal information and provide a secure device environment.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/27/uk/fairford-arrests-uk-raf-us-intl

UK counter-terrorism police are leading an investigation after several men were arrested on suspicion of explosives offenses near an air base used by US forces.

A number of properties were evacuated in the Whelford area in the county of Gloucestershire "following the declaration of a major incident," a police statement said.

"The Army's specialist explosive ordnance disposal team are currently examining a number of vehicles," the statement said

Whelford is close to the Royal Air Force base at Fairford which has been used by US B-1 bombers involved in targeting Iran and is a forward operating location for US Global Strike Command, which is tasked with managing long-distance strikes.

A US air force spokesperson at Fairford - where the 501st ​Combat Support Wing is based - told CNN: "For operational security reasons we will not discuss specific force protection measures."

The unit "remains vigilant and will take appropriate actions to ensure the safety and security of our US service ⁠members, civilians, contractors, and their families," the spokesperson said.

The threat level at RAF Fairford has been raised to Delta. The threat level at RAF Lakenheath, which is also used by the USAF, has been raised to Charlie.

Threat level Delta suggests that there was prior intelligence to the potential attack and there is a large police presence deployed around the base.

As yet there has been no statement attributing the disrupted attack to any specific nation or organisation.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqrm99mm9l84o

UK counter-terrorism police are leading an investigation in which several men were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences near an RAF station which hosts the United States Air Force (USAF).

An Army explosive ordnance disposal team has been examining vehicles near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and homes in the nearby village of Whelford have been evacuated while investigations continue, police said.

The men were detained early on Sunday and a Hazardous Area Response Team has been deployed inside a security cordon at the base but officers believe the incident is contained.

The base has been recently used to deploy USAF bombers since the country's conflict in Iran began in February.

In March, four USAF bombers landed at RAF Fairford and the US started using British bases for "specific defensive operations" against Iranian missile sites after then prime minister Sir Keir Starmer granted permission for "defensive" US action from UK bases.

A government spokesperson said Prime Minister Andy Burnham was receiving regular updates on the evolving situation.

A police statement has just been made (13:56 BST):

Three suspicious white vans were reported by a telephone call to be heading towards the Fairford area at 12:45 am

Police stopped the vehicles and have detained 5 men, who remain in custody. They are held under suspicion of committing offences related to the Explosives Act.

The vehicles are being investigated by a military Explosive Ordnance Disposal team.

The police have just announced that the 5 detained men have been further charged with preparation of a terrorist act. [Corrected at 1427BST--JR]

"Arthur T Knackerbracket" writes:

Post-eruption imaging of the Hunga caldera gives new details of its collapse:

Krakatau, a volcanic island in Indonesia, killed more than 30,000 people when it erupted in 1883. One might assume that volcanic debris posed the major threat, yet many of the victims died from a tsunami caused by the volcanic eruption instead.

Volcanoes at sea can pose hazards quite different from those on land, as their impact can vary depending on how the volcanic activity interacts with seawater. In the deep ocean, high water pressure can suppress explosive volcanic activity, making eruptions less destructive. But closer to the surface, the lower water pressure and the high temperatures of volcanic material can cause violent explosions. Yet scientists still do not fully understand the conditions under which volcanic activity can cause a tsunami.

To better understand these risks, an international team of researchers examined the 2022 Hunga eruption in Tonga, focusing on the rapid caldera collapse that may have amplified its powerful tsunami. Calderas form when the ground above a magma reservoir collapses as the magma drains away. Comparisons of seafloor topography before and after the eruption showed that a roughly 4-kilometer-wide caldera sank by about a kilometer during the eruption.

The researchers argue that the rapid collapse of the entire caldera may have enhanced the massive tsunami. Even a relatively small caldera like Hunga may be capable of producing a dangerous tsunami, depending on the speed and nature of its collapse. This suggests that other underwater volcanoes may also have the potential to generate dangerous tsunamis. Still, the paper warns: "The dynamics of submarine caldera-forming eruptions and, thus, the hazards they pose are not well understood, owing to the relative inaccessibility of the resulting calderas and eruption products."

The Hunga volcano's eruption on January 15, 2022, ranks among the most powerful volcanic events this century. The eruption column soared more than 55 km, pushing vaporized seawater up into the stratosphere, and the pressure wave from the explosion was detected across the globe. The accompanying tsunami is estimated to have reached heights of 40 meters within about 100 km from the source. It is the highest tsunami ever recorded from an underwater volcanic eruption.

For all its impact, Hunga's caldera is quite small. The caldera left after the eruption is about 4 kilometers in diameter, making it one of the smallest of the 177 known calderas in a global database. What sets Hunga apart is that its caldera is unusually deep relative to its size. Relative to its diameter, the subsidence depth was comparable to that of famous calderas like Newberry in the United States.

The researchers suspect that the speed of the caldera collapse may have been one of the factors behind the massive tsunami. In general, when a submarine caldera collapses, the sinking seafloor pulls the seawater above it along with it. If the seafloor hundreds of meters below the surface drops abruptly, as it did at Hunga, a large volume of water can be displaced in a short time, potentially creating a tsunami.

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

Crew-15 through Crew-17 shore up astronaut access to ISS while Starliner's future remains uncertain:

NASA has added almost $1 billion to SpaceX's commercial crew contract for three more Crew Dragon missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

The $946 million contract modification covers Crew-15, Crew-16, and Crew-17, along with ground operations, launch, in-orbit services, return and recovery, cargo transportation, and lifeboat capability while the spacecraft is docked to the ISS.

The addition brings the value of SpaceX's Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract to $5.92 billion.

Whether there will be more remains unclear. NASA explicitly said the award does not prevent it from buying additional transportation services if needed.

SpaceX has said it ultimately intends to retire Dragon and Falcon 9 in favor of Starship, assuming it can get the vastly larger vehicle operating reliably. NASA plans to retire the ISS around 2030 and use a SpaceX-developed vehicle to perform its controlled deorbit.

NASA lists mission readiness dates in 2027 and 2028, with the contract's period of performance running through 2030.

NASA awarded CCtCap contracts to SpaceX and Boeing in 2014. SpaceX has since flown numerous crews to the ISS. Boeing, not so much. The aviation giant's calamity capsule, Starliner, finally carried two astronauts to the outpost in 2024. They remained there until a SpaceX Crew Dragon brought them home after NASA decided that returning them aboard the Boeing vehicle posed too much risk. Starliner later returned safely to Earth without a crew.

If these missions prove to be Crew Dragon's last hurrah, NASA and its partners will face a challenge in maintaining crewed access to low Earth orbit and the commercial stations planned to succeed the ISS.

A report from NASA's Office of Inspector General identified multiple problems with the Starliner program and faulted both Boeing and the agency. SpaceX has had problems of its own, not least the explosion of a Crew Dragon capsule during ground testing in 2019. Starliner nevertheless earned its calamity capsule nickname through repeated uncrewed test failures and a 2024 Crew Flight Test that ended with the spacecraft returning without its astronauts.

Despite the billions spent on Starliner, there is no guarantee that it will ever enter regular crew rotation service. Crew Dragon, meanwhile, could be approaching the end of its run, with one of these newly ordered flights potentially carrying the final astronauts to or from the ISS.

Original Submission

"Arthur T Knackerbracket" writes:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/stolen-sensitive-fbi-employee-data-significant-intelligence-risk/

Hackers from the group ShinyHunters claim to have stolen personal data of "all" FBI employees and applicants, according to a report published Tuesday by 404 Media.

The group, which was also behind a breach that disrupted software used by 9,000 schools during final exams in May, reportedly gained access to the FBI's recruitment site via an exploit in Oracle’s PeopleSoft product. ShinyHunters says it now has sensitive data on individuals who applied for FBI jobs as well as current employees, according to 404 Media. ShinyHunters couldn’t be reached for comment.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the apply.fbijobs.gov site shows a maintenance page reading, "We're sniffing out site updates for you!" The main FBI Jobs home page serves up a "503 Service Temporarily Unavailable" error page. The bureau's page highlighting eligibility for new applicants is live with a "System Unavailable" banner reading, "Apply.fbijobs.gov and the Special Agent Application Portal are currently unavailable."

"The FBI is aware of a cyber-criminal enterprise group claiming a compromise of the FBIJobs.gov portal and alleged impact to FBI employee personally identifiable information,” a spokesperson for the FBI told CNET via email. “While the point of breach is still undetermined — whether a third-party or the FBI's enterprise — we are actively and aggressively investigating this matter and working closely with those third-party providers that support FBIJobs.gov to mitigate any and all risk."

ShinyHunters has been linked to numerous ransomware attacks, including a breach of 4.4 million TransUnion credit records and access to servers belonging to Rockstar Games, the developer of the Grand Theft Auto series. The group usually demands extortion payments to prevent it from leaking the stolen information.

However, the attack on the FBI's data is different and has potentially much more serious implications.

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/09/22/california-tightens-datacenter-rules-on-water-and-power/5298028

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday signed seven state bills that require datacenter operators to report more info about their operations, and to involve communities as they plan future facilities.

The California Assembly Bills (AB) and Senate Bills (SB) signed by Newsom require greater disclosure of datacenter water and electricity use, address who pays for grid connections and other power infrastructure, and introduce rules covering electricity rates, water resources, and environmental review. They include:

California state senator Steve Padilla, who authored two of the bills, said the bills will ensure that datacenters pay for energy grid connection, for electricity generation costs, and for a larger share of wildfire mitigation and liability costs.

The governor's office cited the Trump administration's dismissal of Americans' concerns about AI and datacenters to emphasize Newsom's willingness to constrain an industry of major significance to California's economy.

"While the Trump administration moves toward deregulation, communities are left to deal with the consequences — higher electricity demand, grid constraints, water use, and pollution," said Newsom in a statement. 

"Today we are once again laying the groundwork for a stronger approach, because we know that we don't have to sell out Californians or sacrifice our well-being to innovate and succeed. California has proven that time and time again."

Dr. Nathan Wangusi, who runs the independent water data transparency platform Data Center Water Leaks, sent a statement to The Register in which he observed that California's new disclosure requirements could improve transparency around how much water datacenters use, help communities understand the bit barns' impact on local water supplies, and protect ratepayers from infrastructure costs.

Much has been said about the need to regulate the safety of AI services, and the environmental impact of the datacenters that host them.

The White House has pushed to accelerate datacenter deployment with executive orders and President Trump has insisted regulation is not necessary.

owl writes:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/09/owners-mourn-spoiled-food-after-firmware-update-bricks-samsung-smart-fridges/

Some Samsung smart fridges stopped working on Tuesday due to a firmware update.

Korean outlets were the first to report the problems, which affect Samsung's Bespoke AI line of fridges. Star News Korea, per a Google-provided translation, said that most of the affected devices were four-door fridges from 2024 or later.

Affected fridges "suddenly lost power and stopped functioning immediately after" trying to issue a firmware update through SmartThings, Samsung's smart home platform, per Star News Korea. The SmartThings app then showed the devices as offline. Some users said that their fridge's internal display was stuck showing the message "Checking SmartThings app during update."

There are numerous reports on Samsung's Korean community forum detailing the problem. Some users claim that they have owned their affected fridge for just a year or less.

"[T]he refrigeration and refrigeration functions themselves did not work normally, so all the food in the refrigerator had to be disposed of," one user wrote, per a translation.

Original Submission