# I am the Watcher. I am your guide through this vast new twtiverse.
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Heat Waves In North Pacific May Be Due To China Reducing Aerosols
Computer models have found that recent heat waves in the north Pacific may be due to a large reduction in aerosols emitted by factories in China. The findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Phys.Org reports: In this new effort, the research team noted that the onset of the heat waves appeared to foll ... ⌘ Read more
Renewable Energy Passes 30% of World's Electricity Supply
Renewable energy accounted for more than 30% of the world's electricity for the first time last year, according to climate thinktank Ember. The Guardian reports: Clean electricity has already helped to slow the growth in fossil fuels by almost two-thirds in the past 10 years, according to the report by climate thinktank Ember. It found that renewables have g ... ⌘ Read more
FTX Customers Poised to Recover All Funds Lost in Collapse
Lawyers for the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX said customers would receive all the money they lost when the firm collapsed in 2022 and receive interest on top of it. "But the recoveries come with a caveat," reports the New York Times. "The amount owed to customers was calculated based on the value of their holdings at the time of FTX's bankruptcy in No ... ⌘ Read more
Defense Think Tank MITRE To Build AI Supercomputer With Nvidia
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Washington Post: A key supplier to the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies is building a $20 million supercomputer with buzzy chipmaker Nvidia to speed deployment of artificial intelligence capabilities across the U.S. federal government, the MITRE think tank said Tuesday. MITRE, a federally funded, not ... ⌘ Read more
Study Suggests Genetics as a Cause, Not Just a Risk, for Some Alzheimer's
Pam Belluck reports via the New York Times: Scientists are proposing a new way of understanding the genetics of Alzheimer's that would mean that up to a fifth of patients would be considered to have a genetically caused form of the disease. Currently, the vast majority of Alzheimer's cases do not have a clearly identified cause. ... ⌘ Read more
OpenAI Exec Says Today's ChatGPT Will Be 'Laughably Bad' In 12 Months
At the 27th annual Milken Institute Global Conference on Monday, OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap said today's ChatGPT chatbot "will be laughably bad" compared to what it'll be capable of a year from now. "We think we're going to move toward a world where they're much more capable," he added. Business Insider reports: Lightcap says large language model ... ⌘ Read more
Minor Car Crashes Mean High Tech Repairs
"With all the improvements in car safety over the decades, the recent addition of a plethora of high tech sensors and warnings comes with increased costs," writes longtime Slashdot reader smooth wombat. "And not just to have to have them on your car. Any time you get into an accident, even a minor one, it will most likely require a detailed examination of any sensors which may have been affect ... ⌘ Read more
Amazon's Delivery Drones Won't Fly In Arizona's Summer Heat
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Amazon plans to start flying delivery drones in Arizona this year -- but don't count on them to bring you a refreshing drink on a hot day. The hexacopter can't operate when temperatures top 104 degrees Fahrenheit, or 40 degrees Celsius, the company says, and average daily highs exceed that for three months of th ... ⌘ Read more
UK Startup 'Wayve' Gets $1 Billion Funding For Self-Driving Car Tech
Wayve, a UK-based AI firm focused on developing self-driving car technology, has secured a record $1.05 billion in funding, with Microsoft and Nvidia participating in the round led by SoftBank. According to the BBC, this investment is the largest for an AI company in Europe. The BBC reports: Wayve says the funding will allow it to help build ... ⌘ Read more
Theranos Fraudster Elizabeth Holmes Has Prison Sentence Reduced Again
For the second time, the disgraced former CEO of Theranos has had her federal prison sentence shortened. In July, it was reduced by two years. Now, 40-year-old Holmes is scheduled for release on August 16, 2032 instead of December 29, 2032 -- a reduction of more than four months. The Guardian reports: People incarcerated in the U.S. c ... ⌘ Read more
Apple Announces M4 With More CPU Cores and AI Focus
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: In a major shake-up of its chip roadmap, Apple has announced a new M4 processor for today's iPad Pro refresh, barely six months after releasing the first MacBook Pros with the M3 and not even two months after updating the MacBook Air with the M3. Apple says the M4 includes "up to" four high-performance CPU cores, ... ⌘ Read more
Google's Pixel 8A is a Midrange Phone That Might Actually Go the Distance
The Pixel 8A is officially here. The 8A gets Google's latest processor, adds a bunch of new AI features, and still starts at $499 in the US. But the very best news is that the 8A adopts the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro's seven years of software support, which is just unheard of in a midrange phone. From a report: The 8A retains the same gen ... ⌘ Read more
Nintendo Confirms It Will Announce Switch Successor Console 'Within This Fiscal Year'
Nintendo has said it will finally announce its Switch successor console "within this fiscal year," so at some point before March 31, 2025. From a report: In a statement published to X / Twitter, Shuntaro Furukawa, President of Nintendo, confirmed the new console as Nintendo published its financial report fo ... ⌘ Read more
Boeing Says Workers Skipped Required Tests on 787 But Recorded Work as Completed
An anonymous reader shares a report: The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether Boeing failed to complete required inspections on 787 Dreamliner planes and whether Boeing employees falsified aircraft records, the agency said this week. The investigation was launched after an employee reported the ... ⌘ Read more
Apple Quietly Kills the Old-school iPad and Its Headphone Jack
Along with introducing a new iPad Air and iPad Pro during its Let Loose event, Apple quietly killed its ninth-gen iPad -- also known as the last iPad with a headphone jack. From a report: The 10th-gen iPad is now the sole entry-level iPad in Apple's official lineup and, as such, has received a $100 price cut. Released in late 2022, the 10th-generatio ... ⌘ Read more
Jane Street Gets Into Mobile Gaming
Financial Times Alphaville: Look, we know we write a lot about Jane Street, but it's a fascinating place, and people seem interested in it. So it was hard to resist writing about the trading shop entering the mobile phone game space (kinda). Back in 2013 Jane Street developed a card game called "Figgie," which it made to simulate open outcry trading, teach trading nous, and generally burnish its reputa ... ⌘ Read more
Motional Delays Commercial Robotaxi Plans Amid Restructuring
Motional, the autonomous vehicle startup borne out of a $4 billion joint venture between Hyundai and automotive supplier Aptiv, will pause its commercial operations and delay plans to launch a driverless taxi service as it undergoes a restructuring, TechCrunch reported Tuesday. From a report: The aim is make progress on the core technology and the busines ... ⌘ Read more
Microsoft Creates Top Secret Generative AI Service Divorced From the Internet for US Spies
Microsoft has deployed a generative AI model entirely divorced from the internet, saying US intelligence agencies can now safely harness the powerful technology to analyze top-secret information. From a report: It's the first time a major large language model has operated fully separated from the ... ⌘ Read more
TikTok Sues US Government Over Law Forcing Sale or Ban
Less than two weeks after President Biden signed a bill that will force TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the popular social media app or face a ban in the United States, TikTok said it sued the federal government on Tuesday, arguing the law was unconstitutional. From a report: TikTok said that the law violated the First Amendment by effectively removing an ... ⌘ Read more
US, UK Police Identify and Charge Russian Leader of LockBit Ransomware Gang
The identity of the leader of one of the most infamous ransomware groups in history has finally been revealed. From a report: On Tuesday, a coalition of law enforcement led by the U.K.'s National Crime Agency announced that Russian national, Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev, 31, is the person behind the nickname LockBitSupp, the ad ... ⌘ Read more
Marvel Will Release No More Than Three Movies and Two Shows Per Year, Bob Iger Says
Disney CEO Bob Iger says the company is shrinking the MCU with a new mission to drop the number of Marvel TV series to two a year and the film output to no more than three movies per year. The comment follows Iger conceding last year that Marvel had diluted audience's focus by making too many TV shows. ... ⌘ Read more
Apple Unveils Redesigned iPad Pro with OLED Display and M4 Chip
Apple revealed its refreshed iPad Pro lineup at its "Let Loose" virtual event Tuesday, featuring a slimmer design, OLED displays, and the company's latest M4 chip. The new 13-inch and 11-inch models boast enhanced brightness, color saturation, and contrast, with the 13-inch model measuring just 5.1 millimeters thick, making it Apple's thinnest dev ... ⌘ Read more
Microsoft Shuts Down Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and More in Devastating Cuts at Bethesda
Wesley Yin-Poole, reporting for IGN: Microsoft has closed a number of Bethesda studios, including Redfall maker Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush and The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks, and more in devastating cuts at Bethesda, IGN can confirm. Alpha Dog Studios, maker of mobile game Mighty ... ⌘ Read more
Microsoft Shuts Down Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, and More in Devastating Cuts at Bethesda
Wesley Yin-Poole, reporting for IGN: Microsoft has closed a number of Bethesda studios, including Redfall maker Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush and The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks, and more in devastating cuts at Bethesda, IGN can confirm. Alpha Dog Studios, maker of mobile game Mighty ... ⌘ Read more
Ten Years Ago Microsoft Bought Nokia's Phone Unit, Then Killed It As a Tax Write-Off
The Register provides a retrospective look at how Microsoft "absorbed the handset division of Nokia" ten years ago, only to kill the unit two years later and write it off as a tax loss. What went wrong? "It was a fatal combination of bad management, a market evolving in ways hidebound people didn't predic ... ⌘ Read more
Boeing Starliner's First Crewed Mission Scrubbed
"Out of an abundance of caution," Boeing says its historic Starliner launch has been postponed, citing an issue with the oxygen relief valve on the Atlas V rocket's upper stage. It was expected to launch tonight at 10:34 p.m. ET. TechCrunch reports: There are backup launch opportunities on May 7, 10 and 11. After years of delays and over $1 billion in cost overruns, the missi ... ⌘ Read more
Apple's iPhone Spyware Problem Is Getting Worse
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: In April, Apple sent notifications to iPhone users in 92 countries, warning them they'd been targeted with spyware. "Apple detected that you are being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID," the notification reads. Users quickly took to social media site ... ⌘ Read more
Stockholm Exergi Lands World's Largest Permanent Carbon Removal Deal With Microsoft
Swedish energy company Stockholm Exergi and Microsoft have announced a 10-year deal that will provide the tech giant with more than 3.3 million tons of carbon removal certificates through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. While the value of the deal was not disclosed, it stands as the largest of its k ... ⌘ Read more
Novel Attack Against Virtually All VPN Apps Neuters Their Entire Purpose
Researchers have discovered a new attack that can force VPN applications to route traffic outside the encrypted tunnel, thereby exposing the user's traffic to potential snooping or manipulation. This vulnerability, named TunnelVision, is found in almost all VPNs on non-Linux and non-Android systems. It's believe that the vulnerabi ... ⌘ Read more
Google Fit Dev APIs Shutdown Set, Fate of Android and Wear OS Apps Go Unannounced
Abner Li reports via 9to5Google: Since the launch of Health Connect in 2022, Google has been winding down the Google Fit developer APIs. Earlier this week, the company fully detailed how the "Google Fit APIs have been deprecated and will be supported until June 30, 2025." Fitness and exercise apps that previously ... ⌘ Read more
Pokemon Go Players Are Vandalizing Real Maps With Fake Data To Catch Rare Pokemon
An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: Pokemon Go players are creating a headache for members of the open source map tool OpenStreetMaps by adding fake beaches where they don't exist in hopes of more easily catching Wigletts, a Pokemon that only spawns on beaches. OpenStreetMaps is a free, open sour ... ⌘ Read more
Jack Dorsey Departs Bluesky
Jack Dorsey is no longer on the board of Bluesky, the Twitter alternative he helped start. The announcement comes shortly after Dorsey unfollowed all but three accounts on X and referred to Elon Musk's platform as "freedom technology." The Verge reports: In two posts today, Bluesky thanked Dorsey while confirming his departure and adding that it's searching for a new board member "who shares our commitment to building a ... ⌘ Read more
The Rabbit R1 Could've Just Been a Mobile App
The Rabbit R1 is one of the first standalone AI companion devices to hit the market, offering the ability to translate languages, identify objects in your environment, and order DoorDash, among other things. It's been in the news last week for its all around poor reviews that cite poor battery life, painfully slow responses, and missing features (sound familiar?). Now, it's been confirmed ... ⌘ Read more
Alternative Clouds Are Booming As Companies Seek Cheaper Access To GPUs
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: CoreWeave, the GPU infrastructure provider that began life as a cryptocurrency mining operation, this week raised $1.1 billion in new funding from investors, including Coatue, Fidelity and Altimeter Capital. The round brings its valuation to $19 billion post-money and its total raised ... ⌘ Read more
OpenAI and Stack Overflow Partner To Bring More Technical Knowledge Into ChatGPT
OpenAI and the developer platform Stack Overflow have announced a partnership that could potentially improve the performance of AI models and bring more technical information into ChatGPT. From a report: OpenAI will have access to Stack Overflow's API and will receive feedback from the developer community to ... ⌘ Read more
'The Good Enough Trap'
An anonymous reader shares an essay: Software designers refer to "the good enough principle." It means, simply put, that sometimes you should prioritise functionality over perfection. As a relentless imperfectionist, I'm inclined to embrace this idea. I gave this newsletter its name to encourage myself to post rough versions of my pieces rather than not to write them at all. When it comes to parenting, I'm a Winnicottian: I believ ... ⌘ Read more
Shell Sold Millions of 'Phantom' Carbon Credits
Shell sold millions of carbon credits tied to CO2 removal that never took place [non-paywalled link] to Canada's largest oil sands companies, raising new doubts about a technology seen as crucial to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. FT: As part of a subsidy scheme to boost the industry, the Alberta provincial government allowed Shell to register and sell carbon credits equivalent ... ⌘ Read more
North Yorkshire Apostrophe Fans Demand Road Signs With Nowt Taken Out
A council has provoked the wrath of residents and linguists alike after announcing it would ban apostrophes on street signs to avoid problems with computer systems. From a report: North Yorkshire council is ditching the punctuation point after careful consideration, saying it can affect geographical databases. The council said all new s ... ⌘ Read more
Google is Changing How You Set Up 2FA
Google is streamlining the process of setting up two-factor authentication (2FA). From a report: Instead of entering your phone number first to enable 2FA, you can now add a "second step method" to your account such as an authenticator app or a hardware security key to get things set up. This should make it safer to turn on 2FA, as it lets you avoid using less secure SMS verification. You can choose t ... ⌘ Read more
40,000 AI-Narrated Audiobooks Flood Audible
A new breed of audiobook is taking over digital bookshelves -- ones narrated not by professional voice actors, but by artificial intelligence voices. It's an AI audiobook revolution that has been turbo-charged by Amazon. From a report: Since announcing a beta tool last year allowing self-published authors to generate AI "virtual voice" narrations for their ebooks, over 40,000 AI-narrated title ... ⌘ Read more
Poorer Nations Must Be Transparent Over Climate Spending, Says Cop29 Leader
Poor countries must demonstrate clearer accounting and transparency to back up their calls for trillions of dollars of climate finance, the president of global climate negotiations has said. From a report: Mukhtar Babayev, the ecology minister of Azerbaijan, who will lead the Cop29 UN climate summit in November, urged governm ... ⌘ Read more
Police Resurrect Lockbit's Site and Troll the Ransomware Gang
An international coalition of police agencies have resurrected the dark web site of the notorious LockBit ransomware gang, which they had seized earlier this year, teasing new revelations about the group. From a report: On Sunday, what was once LockBit's official darknet site reappeared online with new posts that suggest the authorities are planning to ... ⌘ Read more
PlayStation Reverses Course on Helldivers 2 PSN Account Requirement
PlayStation has reversed course on the Helldivers 2 PSN account requirement, walking back the unpopular policy after a weekend long backlash that included tens of thousands of negative reviews, some of which spread to Sony's other Steam games. From a report: "Helldivers fans -- we've heard your feedback on the Helldivers 2 account linking ... ⌘ Read more
Microsoft Readies New AI Model To Compete With Google, OpenAI
For the first time since it invested more than $10 billion into OpenAI in exchange for the rights to reuse the startup's AI models, Microsoft is training a new, in-house AI model large enough to compete with state-of-the-art models from Google, Anthropic and OpenAI itself. The Information: The new model, internally referred to as MAI-1, is being oversee ... ⌘ Read more
More Than 90% of Stablecoin Transactions Aren't From Real Users, Visa Study Finds
More than 90% of stablecoin transaction volumes aren't coming from genuine users, according to a new metric co-developed by Visa, suggesting such crypto tokens may be far away from becoming a commonly used means of payment. Bloomberg: The dashboard from Visa and Allium Labs is designed to strip out transactions initi ... ⌘ Read more
In Argentina, Facing Surging Inflation, 500K Accept Worldcoin's Offer of $50 for Iris-Scanning
Wednesday Rest of World noticed an overlooked tech story in Argentina:
Olga de León looked confused as she walked out of a nightclub on the edge of Buenos Aires on a recent Tuesday afternoon. She had just had her iris scanned. "No one told me what they'll do with my eye," de León, 57, told ... ⌘ Read more
Elon Musk's X Launches Grok AI-Powered 'Stories' Feature
An anonymous reader shared this report from Mint:
Elon Musk-owned social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has launched a new Grok AI-powered feature called 'Stories', which allows users to read summaries of a trending post on the social media platform. The feature is currently only available to X Premium subscribers on the iOS and web versions, and hasn't found its ... ⌘ Read more
How 'Star Wars' was Influenced by San Francisco - and Architecture
"Without San Francisco, Star Wars wouldn't exist," says David Reat, the culture studies director of the architecture department at Glasgow's University of Strathclyde.
SFGate reports:
Lucas was born and raised in Modesto, where his father expected him to run the family stationery store once he turned 18, but Lucas instead left for Lo ... ⌘ Read more
Scientists Find a 'Missing Link' Between Poor Diet and Higher Cancer Risk
Science Alert reports that a team of researchers found "that changes in glucose metabolism could help cancer grow by temporarily disabling a gene that protects us from tumors called BRCA2."
The team first examined people who inherited one faulty copy of BRCA2. They found that cells from these people were more sensitive to meth ... ⌘ Read more
Microsoft's 'Responsible AI' Chief Worries About the Open Web
From the Washington Post's "Technology 202" newsletter:
As tech giants move toward a world in which chatbots supplement, and perhaps supplant, search engines, the Microsoft executive assigned to make sure AI is used responsibly said the industry has to be careful not to break the business model of the wider web. Search engines citing and linking to the websit ... ⌘ Read more
Can Technology Help Reduce Drunk-Driving Deaths?**
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Wall Street Journal:
Drunken-driving deaths in the U.S. have risen to levels not seen in nearly two decades, federal data show, a major setback to long-running road-safety efforts. At the same time, arrests for driving under the influence have plummeted, as police grapple with challenges like hiring woes and heightened concern aroun ... ⌘ Read more
America's Federal Regulators Are Preparing More Lawsuits Against Crypto Companies
A "string of legal victories" by America's market-regulating Securities and Exchange Commission "has jolted some of crypto's biggest players," reports Politico — even as they're seeking more credibility with U.S. lawmakers:
Judges have recently rebuked claims that the SEC lacks authority to police the market. Coinb ... ⌘ Read more
Could Better Data Protections Reduce Big Tech's Polarizing Power?**
"What if the big tech companies achieved their ultimate business goal — maximizing engagement on their platforms — in a way that has undermined our ability to function as an open society?"
That's the question being asked by Chuck Todd, chief political analyst for NBC News:
What if they realized that when folks agree on a solution to a problem, ... ⌘ Read more
Some San Francisco Tech Workers are Renting Cheap 'Bed Pods'
An anonymous reader shared this report from SFGate:
Late last year, tales of tech workers paying $700 a month for tiny "bed pods" in downtown San Francisco went viral. The story provided a perfect distillation of SF's wild (and wildly expensive) housing market — and inspired schadenfreude when the city deemed the situation illegal. But the provocative living ... ⌘ Read more
AI-Operated F-16 Jet Carries Air Force Official Into 550-MPH Aerial Combat Test
The Associated Press reports that an F-16 performing aerial combat tests at 550 miles per hour was "controlled by artificial intelligence, not a human pilot."
And riding in the front seat was the U.S. Secretary of the Air Force...
AI marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of st ... ⌘ Read more
Will Calls to Scrutinize Digital-Currency Purchases of Oil Bring New Regulations For Crypto?**
Last month Reuters reported that Venezuela's state-run oil company "plans to increase digital currency usage in its crude and fuel exports as the U.S. reimposes oil sanctions on the country, three people familiar with the plan said."
[The oil company] since last year had been slowly moving o ... ⌘ Read more
Is Mastodon's Link-Previewing Overloading Servers?**
The blog Its FOSS has 15,000 followers for its Mastodon account — which they think is causing problems:
When you share a link on Mastodon, a link preview is generated for it, right? With Mastodon being a federated platform (a part of the Fediverse), the request to generate a link preview is not generated by just one Mastodon instance. There are many instances connected to it ... ⌘ Read more
Plato's Final Hours Recounted In Scroll Found In Vesuvius Ash
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Guardian:
Newly deciphered passages from a papyrus scroll that was buried beneath layers of volcanic ash after the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius may have shed light on the final hours of Plato, a key figure in the history of western philosophy. In a groundbreaking discovery, the ancient scroll was fo ... ⌘ Read more
Breakthrough Achieved In Nanometer-Resolution Imaging of 3D Chemistry
"A leap in our ability to see the chemistry of matter in three-dimensions at the nanoscale was achieved, allowing scientists to understand how nanomaterials are chemically arranged," writes Slashdot reader Hovden:
Traditionally, seeing matter at the smallest sizes requires too many high-energy electrons for 3D chemical imaging. The ... ⌘ Read more
Microsoft Details How It's Developing AI Responsibly
Thursday the Verge reported that a new report from Microsoft "outlines the steps the company took to release responsible AI platforms last year."
Microsoft says in the report that it created 30 responsible AI tools in the past year, grew its responsible AI team, and required teams making generative AI applications to measure and map risks throughout the development cycle. Th ... ⌘ Read more
The US Just Mandated Automated Emergency Braking Systems By 2029
Come 2029, all cars sold in the U.S. "must be able to stop and avoid contact with a vehicle in front of them at speeds up to 62 mph," reports Car and Driver.
"Additionally, the system must be able to detect pedestrians in both daylight and darkness. As a final parameter, the federal standard will require the system to apply the brakes automatical ... ⌘ Read more
AI-Powered 'HorseGPT' Fails to Predict This Year's Kentucky Derby Winner
In 2016, an online "swarm intelligence" platform generated a correct prediction for the Kentucky Derby — naming all four top finishers, in order. (But the next year their predictions weren't even close, with TechRepublic suggesting 2016's race had an unusual cluster of just a few top racehorses.)
So this year Decrypt.co tried crafti ... ⌘ Read more
U.S. Seeks to Build World Pressure on Russia Over Space Nuclear Weapon
An anonymous reader shared this report from the New York Times:
American officials are trying to increase international pressure on Russia not to deploy an antisatellite nuclear weapon in space, and have obtained information that undermines Moscow's explanation that the device it is developing is for peaceful scientific purposes, a s ... ⌘ Read more
Multinational ISP Offers $206M In Secured Notes Backed By IPv4 Addresses
CircleID reports that Multinational internet service provider Cogent recently announced that it was offering $206 million in secured notes (a corporate bond backed by assets). "The unusual part is what it's using as security: some of its IPv4 addresses and the leases on those IPv4 addresses."
All internet service providers (ISPs) ... ⌘ Read more
Ubuntu Criticized For Bug Blocking Installation of .Deb Packages
The blog It's FOSS is "pissed at the casual arrogance of Ubuntu and its parent company Canonical..... The sheer audacity of not caring for its users reeks of Microsoft-esque arrogance."
If you download a .deb package of a software, you cannot install it using the official graphical software center on Ubuntu anymore. When you doubl ... ⌘ Read more
NASA's Moon Capsule Suffered Extensive Damage During 2022's Test Flight
An anonymous reader shared this report from the Washington Post:
The heat shield of the Orion spacecraft intended one day to carry astronauts to the moon under NASA's Artemis program suffered unexpected damage in more than 100 places as the spacecraft returned to Earth during an uncrewed test flight in 2022, according to a watchdog ... ⌘ Read more
Finding Land for US Wind Farms Might Be Easier Than We Thoughth
The Washington Post reports that wind turbines "only take up five percent of the land where they've been built, new research shows."
The rest of the space can be used for other purposes, such as agriculture, according to a study published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Technology. This means developers could f ... ⌘ Read more
Jack Dorsey's Block Is Investing 10% Of Its Bitcoin Profits Into Monthly Bitcoin Purchases
An anonymous reader shared this report from the blog Bitcoinist:
Jack Dorsey's financial services and digital payments company, Block Inc., announced it will begin investing 10% of its monthly Bitcoin-related gross profits into BTC purchases. This announcement was made following the release of Block's ... ⌘ Read more
When a Politician Sues a Blog to Unmask Its Anonymous Commenter
Markos Moulitsas is the poll-watching founder of the political blog Daily Kos. Thursday he wrote that in 2021, future third-party presidential candidate RFK Jr. had sued their web site.
"Things are not going well for him."
Back in 2021, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sued Daily Kos to unmask the identity of a community member who posted a critical story ab ... ⌘ Read more
The Highest Observatory On Earth Is Now Open
The world's highest astronomical site is officially open for business after being in the works for 26 years. Space.com reports: The Japanese University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory, or TAO, which was first conceptualized 26 years ago to study the evolution of galaxies and exoplanets, is perched on top of a tall mountain in the Chilean Andes at 5,640 meters (18,500 feet) above sea lev ... ⌘ Read more
Geek-Friendly 'Free Comic Book Day' Titles Include Two Star Wars Books for May the Fourth
This year's Free Comic Book Day coincided with Star Wars Day. So there's two new free Star Wars titles being handed out today in comic shops around the world.
They're among several geek-friendly titles among the 48 free comics that fans will get to choose from during this once-a-year event ... ⌘ Read more
Extremist Militias Are Coordinating In More Than 100 Facebook Groups
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Join your localMilitia or III% Patriot Group," a post urged the more than 650 members of a Facebook group called the Free American Army. Accompanied by the logo for the Three Percenters militia network and an image of a man in tactical gear holding a long rifle, the post continues: "Now more ... ⌘ Read more
Lithium-Free Sodium Batteries Exit the Lab, Enter US Production
Natron Energy, a pioneer in sodium-ion battery technology, has officially commenced mass production of its lithium-free sodium batteries in its Holland, Michigan facility, offering an alternative energy storage solution with benefits such as faster cycling, longer lifespan, and safer usage compared to lithium-ion batteries. New Atlas reports: No ... ⌘ Read more
Star Wars Day 2024 Celebrated With Videogames, Movie Marathons, Cartoons, and Mark Hamill
"It all started with the fans," says 72-year-old actor Mark Hamill, in a montage of fans and actors in a newly-released video commemorating this year's Star Wars day.
Or, as Tom's Guide writes, "It's such a nice feeling to be a part of a huge community since fans are the ones who created th ... ⌘ Read more
Methane Emissions From Gas Flaring Being Hidden From Satellite Monitors
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Oil and gas equipment intended to cut methane emissions is preventing scientists from accurately detecting greenhouse gases and pollutants, a satellite image investigation has revealed. Energy companies operating in countries such as the US, UK, Germany and Norway appear to have ... ⌘ Read more
US Official Urges China, Russia To Declare AI Will Not Control Nuclear Weapons
Senior Department arms control official Paul Dean on Thursday urged China and Russia to declare that artificial intelligence would never make decisions on deploying nuclear weapons. Washington had made a "clear and strong commitment" that humans had total control over nuclear weapons, said Dean. Britain and France have m ... ⌘ Read more
Apple Announces Largest-Ever $110 Billion Share Buyback As iPhone Sales Drop
Apple reported fiscal second-quarter earnings that topped estimates, despite a 10% drop in iPhone sales. The company also announced that its board had authorized $110 billion in share repurchases, "a 22% increase over last year's $90 billion authorization," notes CNBC. "It's the largest buyback in history, ahead of Apple's ... ⌘ Read more
Humans Now Share the Web Equally With Bots, Report Warns
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Independent, published last month: Humans now share the web equally with bots, according to a major new report -- as some fear that the internet is dying. In recent months, the so-called "dead internet theory" has gained new popularity. It suggests that much of the content online is in fact automatically generated, and ... ⌘ Read more
Sony Will Soon Require 'Helldivers 2' PC Gamers To Link Their Steam Accounts To PSN, Angering Users
"Players who made Steam purchases of Helldivers 2 are now, months after the fact, being told by Sony that their games will be useless unless linked to a PSN account," writes longtime Slashdot reader Baron\\_Yam. From a report: Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment announced tod ... ⌘ Read more_
Senators Want Limits On TSA Use of Facial Recognition Technology For Airport Screening
A bipartisan group of senators, led by Jeff Merkley, John Kennedy, and Roger Marshall, is advocating for limitations on the Transportation Security Administration's use of facial recognition technology due to concerns about privacy and civil liberties. PBS reports: In a letter on Thursday, the group of 1 ... ⌘ Read more
AI Engineers Report Burnout, Rushed Rollouts As 'Rat Race' To Stay Competitive Hits Tech Industry
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: Late last year, an artificial intelligence engineer at Amazon was wrapping up the work week and getting ready to spend time with some friends visiting from out of town. Then, a Slack message popped up. He suddenly had a deadline to delive ... ⌘ Read more
Germany Says Russia Will Face Consequences For 'Intolerable' Cyberattack
An anonymous reader shares a report: Relations between Russia and Germany were already tense, with Germany providing military support to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russian state hackers were behind a cyberattack last year that targeted the Social Democrats, the leading party i ... ⌘ Read more
Florida Bans Lab-Grown Meat
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill this week banning and criminalizing the manufacture and sale of lab-grown meat in the state. From a report: The legislation joins similar efforts from three other states -- Alabama, Arizona and Tennessee -- that have also looked to stop the sale of lab-grown meat, which is believed to still be years away from commercial viability. "Florida is fighting back against the global elit ... ⌘ Read more
Britain's Climate Action Plan Unlawful, High Court Rules
The UK government's climate action plan is unlawful, the high court has ruled, as there is not enough evidence that there are sufficient policies in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. From a report: The energy secretary, Claire Coutinho, will now be expected to draw up a revised plan within 12 months. This must ensure that the UK achieves its legally bindin ... ⌘ Read more
China Launches Moon Probe
China launched an uncrewed lunar mission Friday that aims to bring back samples from the far side of the moon for the first time, in a potentially major step forward for the country's ambitious space program. From a report: The Chang'e-6 probe -- China's most complex robotic lunar mission to date -- blasted off on a Long March-5 rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China's Hainan island, where space fan ... ⌘ Read more
Firefox Power User Keeps 7,400+ Browser Tabs Open for 2 Years
An anonymous reader shares a report: A software engineer has been keeping nearly 7,500 Firefox tabs open on her Mac computer for over two years -- and doesn't plan on closing them anytime soon. The Firefox power user, who goes by the pseudonym "Hazel" online, posted a screenshot showing 7,470 tabs open earlier this week after finding the browser initiall ... ⌘ Read more
Microsoft Overhaul Treats Security as 'Top Priority' After a Series of Failures
Microsoft is making security its number one priority for every employee, following years of security issues and mounting criticisms. The Verge: After a scathing report from the US Cyber Safety Review Board recently concluded that "Microsoft's security culture was inadequate and requires an overhaul," it's doing just that ... ⌘ Read more
German Police Bust Europe's 'Largest' Scam Call Center
Plumpaquatsch writes: Investigators teamed up with colleagues from the Balkans and Lebanon in raids set up by months of intense surveillance. Authorities say the operation thwarted over 10 million euro in damages and led to 21 arrests.
Dubbed 'Operation Pandora,' the sting began in Germany in December 2023, after a suspicious bank teller contacted police when a 76-year- ... ⌘ Read more
An Open Database Leaked Submissions To Utah's 'Bathroom Bill' Snitch Form
samleecole writes: Utah set up an online form for people to accuse other citizens and public establishments of violating the state's recently-enacted transphobic "bathroom bill." The submission form is being flooded with memes and troll comments, and the auditor also left the submissions database open to the public -- without a passw ... ⌘ Read more
Google Defends App Store, Fighting Epic Games' Bid For Major Reforms
Google has asked a U.S. judge not to impose sweeping changes to the Alphabet unit's app store Play that were proposed by "Fortnite" maker Epic Games in the companies' closely-watched antitrust fight. From a report: Google made its filing late on Thursday in San Francisco federal court, where Epic last year persuaded a jury that the tech gia ... ⌘ Read more
Individual Gets 6 Years in Prison for Selling Fake Cisco Gear on Amazon, eBay
A Miami-based CEO will serve over six years in prison for selling counterfeit Cisco equipment to numerous buyers on Amazon and eBay, with some of the shoddy hardware ending up in sensitive US government systems. From a report: On Wednesday, 40-year-old Onur Aksoy was sentenced to six years and six months in prison for rak ... ⌘ Read more
Hyundai Spending Nearly $1 Billion To Keep Self-Driving Startup 'Motional' Alive
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Hyundai has agreed to spend nearly $1 billion on Motional, an investment that will give the automaker a majority stake while providing the self-driving startup with the necessary capital to keep operating. The Korean automaker invested $475 million directly into Mot ... ⌘ Read more
Back From the Dead: Amarok 3.0 Music Player Released
"Aamrok 3.0, ported to Qt5/KDE Frameworks 5, has been released," writes Slashdot reader serafean. "With the heavy lifting being done, the Qt6/KF6 version is expected later in the year." Originally developed for Linux as part of the KDE desktop environment, Amarok is a free, cross-platform music player that supports various audio formats and a user interface that ... ⌘ Read more
Hubble Network Makes Bluetooth Connection With a Satellite For the First Time
Aria Alamalhodaei reports via TechCrunch: Hubble Network has become the first company in history to establish a Bluetooth connection directly to a satellite -- a critical technology validation for the company, potentially opening the door to connecting millions more devices anywhere in the world. The Seattle-based start ... ⌘ Read more
FDA Qualifies Apple Watch's AFib History For Use In Clinical Studies
In a first for "digital health technology," the Apple Watch's atrial fibrillation (AFib) history feature has been approved by the FDA to join the FDA's Medical Device Development Tools (MDDT) program. This means the wearable is now usable in clinical studies. The Verge reports: The FDA announcement describes using it as a noninvasive wa ... ⌘ Read more
Pet Parrots Prefer Live Video-Calls Over Watching Pre-Recorded Videos
When given the choice, pet parrots prefer to video-call each other instead of watch pre-recorded videos of other birds. Those are the findings from a new paper (PDF) set to appear next week at a conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Hawaii. Phys.Org reports: The study, led by animal-computer interaction specialists at t ... ⌘ Read more
Spotify Hides Song Lyrics Behind Paywall
Several users on Reddit have noticed that Spotify has started hiding song lyrics behind a paywall. "This means you won't be able to sing along unless you know the lyrics already, or are willing to look them up in another app," reports Android Police. From the report: Still, you lose the convenience of real-time sync with the track and automatic scrolling. Like skips per hour, it appears Spotif ... ⌘ Read more
Nurses Say Hospital Adoption of Half-Cooked 'AI' Is Reckless
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Techdirt: Last week, hundreds of nurses protested the implementation of sloppy AI into hospital systems in front of Kaiser Permanente. Their primary concern: that systems incapable of empathy are being integrated into an already dysfunctional sector without much thought toward patient care: "No computer, no AI ca ... ⌘ Read more
Sony, Apollo Offers To Buy Paramount For $26 Billion
Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management have made a bid to acquire Paramount for $26 billion and take it private. Variety reports: Sony and private-equity giant Apollo submitted a letter with the non-binding offer Wednesday to Paramount Global, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The bid, which would include the assumption of debt and c ... ⌘ Read more