C++ Creator Rebuts White House Warning
An anonymous reader quotes a report from InfoWorld: C++ creator Bjarne Stroustrup has defended the widely used programming language in response to a Biden administration report that calls on developers to use memory-safe languages and avoid using vulnerable ones such as C++ and C. In a March 15 response to an inquiry from InfoWorld, Stroustrup pointed out strengths of C++, which was designed in … ⌘ Read more
Astronaut Thomas Stafford, Commander of Apollo 10, Dies At 93
The Associated Press reports on the passing of astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, the commander of a dress rehearsal flight for the 1969 moon landing and the first U.S.-Soviet space linkup. He was 93. From the report: Stafford, a retired Air Force three-star general, took part in four space missions. Before Apollo 10, he flew on two Gemini flights, includin … ⌘ Read more
Global Ocean Heat Has Hit a New Record Every Single Day For the Last Year
According to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the world’s oceans have hit a new temperature record every day since mid-March last year, fueling concerns for marine life and extreme weather across the planet. From a report: Global average ocean temperatures in 2023 were 0.25 degrees Celsius … ⌘ Read more
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Glitch Lets Customers Withdraw Millions
Ethiopia’s biggest commercial bank is scrambling to recoup large sums of money withdrawn by customers after a “systems glitch.” From a report: The customers discovered early on Saturday that they could take out more cash than they had in their accounts at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE). More than $40m was withdrawn or transferred to ot … ⌘ Read more
EPA Bans Chrysotile Asbestos
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a comprehensive ban on asbestos, a carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year but is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products. The final rule marks a major expansion of EPA regulation under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled regulations governing tens of … ⌘ Read more
Nvidia Reveals Blackwell B200 GPU, the ‘World’s Most Powerful Chip’ For AI
Sean Hollister reports via The Verge: Nvidia’s must-have H100 AI chip made it a multitrillion-dollar company, one that may be worth more than Alphabet and Amazon, and competitors have been fighting to catch up. But perhaps Nvidia is about to extend its lead – with the new Blackwell B200 GPU and GB200 “superchip.” Nvidia says … ⌘ Read more
Hertz CEO Resigns After Blowing Big Gamble On EVs
Press2ToContinue quotes a report from the Gateway Pundit: Stephen Scherr, chief executive officer of Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and a member of its board of directors, will step down on March 31, following the car rental company’s largest quarterly loss since 2020 after a risky bet on electric vehicles. According to Fox Business, Scherr is working with Gil West, former chief … ⌘ Read more
Indiana Becomes 9th State To Make CS a High School Graduation Requirement
Longtime Slashdot reader theodp writes: Last October, tech-backed nonprofit Code.org publicly called out Indiana in its 2023 State of Computer Science Education report, advising the Hoosier state it needed to heed Code.org’s new policy recommendation and “adopt a graduation requirement for all high school students in computer sc … ⌘ Read more
BitTorrent Is No Longer the ‘King’ of Upstream Internet Traffic
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: Back in 2004, in the pre-Web 2.0 era, research indicated that BitTorrent was responsible for an impressive 35% of all Internet traffic. At the time, file-sharing via peer-to-peer networks was the main traffic driver as no other services consumed large amounts of bandwidth. Fast-forward two decades … ⌘ Read more
Cisco Completes $28 Billion Acquisition of Splunk
Cisco on Monday completed its $28 billion acquisition of Splunk, a powerhouse in data analysis, security and observability tools. The deal was first announced in September 2023. SecurityWeek reports: Cisco plans to leverage Splunk’s AI, security and observability capabilities complement Cisco’s solution portfolio. Cisco says the transaction is expected to be cash flow positive and … ⌘ Read more
Sony Reportedly Pauses PSVR 2 Production Due To Low Sales
According to Bloomberg, Sony has paused production of its PlayStation VR 2 virtual reality headset, as sales have “slowed progressively” since its February 2023 launch. Road to VR reports: Citing people familiar with the company’s plans, Sony has produced “well over 2 million units” since launch, noting that stocks of the $550 headset are building up. The repo … ⌘ Read more
5-Year Study Finds No Brain Abnormalities In ‘Havana Syndrome’ Patients
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBC News: An array of advanced tests found no brain injuries or degeneration among U.S. diplomats and other government employees who suffer mysterious health problems once dubbed “Havana syndrome,” researchers reported Monday. The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) nearly five-year study o … ⌘ Read more
Chinese and Western Scientists Identify ‘Red Lines’ on AI Risks
Leading western and Chinese AI scientists have issued a stark warning that tackling risks around the powerful technology requires global co-operation similar to the cold war effort to avoid nuclear conflict. From a report: A group of renowned international experts met in Beijing last week, where they identified “red lines” on the development of AI, in … ⌘ Read more
US Supreme Court Seems Wary of Curbing US Government Contacts With Social Media Platforms
U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared skeptical of a challenge on free speech grounds to how President Joe Biden’s administration encouraged social media platforms to remove posts that federal officials deemed misinformation, including about elections and COVID-19. From a report: The justi … ⌘ Read more
Games Are Coming To LinkedIn
Soon you might be able to compete in games against friends and colleagues and even the office next door on LinkedIn. From a report: The Microsoft-owned company is reportedly planning to add a new game experience to the platform. According to TechCrunch, the experience is designed to tap into the same popularity of games like Wordle. Players’ scores will be sorted by their workplace and ranked, allowing you to take o … ⌘ Read more
Investment Advisors Pay the Price For Selling What Looked a Lot Like AI Fairy Tales
Two investment advisors have reached settlements with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly exaggerating their use of AI, which in both cases were purported to be cornerstones of their offerings. From a report: Canada-based Delphia and San Francisco-headquartered Global Predictions will coug … ⌘ Read more
Apex Legends Streamers Warned To ‘Perform a Clean OS Reinstall as Soon as Possible’ After Hacks During NA Finals Match
An anonymous reader shares a report: The Apex Legends Global Series is currently in regional finals mode, but the North America finals have been delayed after two players were hacked mid-match. First, Noyan “Genburten” Ozkose of DarkZero sudd … ⌘ Read more
AI-Generated Science
Published scientific papers include language that appears to have been generated by AI-tools like ChatGPT, showing how pervasive the technology has become, and highlighting longstanding issues with some peer-reviewed journals. From a report: Searching for the phrase “As of my last knowledge update” on Google Scholar, a free search tool that indexes articles published in academic journals, returns 115 results. The phrase is often … ⌘ Read more
Fujitsu Says It Was Hacked, Warns of Data Breach
Multinational technology giant Fujitsu confirmed a cyberattack in a statement Friday, and warned that hackers may have stolen personal data and customer information. From a report: “We confirmed the presence of malware on multiple work computers at our company, and as a result of an internal investigation, we discovered that files containing personal information and customer infor … ⌘ Read more
Google Researchers Unveil ‘VLOGGER’, an AI That Can Bring Still Photos To Life
Google researchers have developed a new AI system that can generate lifelike videos of people speaking, gesturing and moving – from just a single still photo. From a report: The technology, called VLOGGER, relies on advanced machine learning models to synthesize startlingly realistic footage, opening up a range of potent … ⌘ Read more
Grok AI Goes Open Source
xAI has opened sourced its large language model Grok. From a report: The move, which Musk had previously proclaimed would happen this week, now enables any other entrepreneur, programmer, company, or individual to take Grok’s weights – the strength of connections between the model’s artificial “neurons,” or software modules that allow the model to make decisions and accept inputs and provide outputs in the form of text – an … ⌘ Read more
YouTube Now Requires Creators To Label AI-Generated Content
Starting Monday, YouTube creators will be required to label when realistic-looking videos were made using artificial intelligence, part of a broader effort by the company to be transparent about content that could otherwise confuse or mislead users. From a report: When a user uploads a video to the site, they will see a checklist asking if their content mak … ⌘ Read more
Microsoft Office 2024 Will Be Available Without Subscription
SofiaWW writes: Microsoft has announced that the next subscription-free version of its Office suite will launch later this year. A commercial preview of Office LTSC 2024 will be available from next month, with a full launch scheduled for later in the year.
The Office Long-Term Servicing Channel is supported for five years, and it holds great appeal for th … ⌘ Read more
Was Nosediving Boeing Plane Caused By a Flight Attendant Hitting a Motorized Seat Switch?
Last week 50 people were injured when a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner experienced a sudden mid-air drop — raising concerns about the possibility of a new safety issue. But the Wall Street Journal offers a follow-up report.
“A flight attendant hit a switch on the pilot’s seat while serving a meal, leadin … ⌘ Read more
32-Hour Workweek for America Proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders
The Guardian reports that this week “Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who twice ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, introduced a bill to establish a four-day US working week.”
“Moving to a 32-hour workweek with no loss of pay is not a radical idea,” Sanders said on Thursday. “Today, American workers are over 400% more … ⌘ Read more
Nvidia in Talks To Acquire AI Infrastructure Platform Run:ai
Israeli outlet Calcalist: Nvidia is in advanced negotiations to acquire AI infrastructure orchestration and management platform Run:ai, Calcalist has learned. The value of the deal is estimated at many hundreds of millions of dollars and could even reach $1 billion. The companies did not respond to Calcalist’s request for comment.
Run:ai raised $75 millio … ⌘ Read more
Apple Is in Talks To Let Google’s Gemini Power iPhone Generative AI Features
Apple is in talks to build Google’s Gemini AI engine into the iPhone, Bloomberg News reported Monday, citing people familiar with the situation, setting the stage for a blockbuster agreement that would shake up the AI industry. From the report: The two companies are in active negotiations to let Apple license Gemini, Googl … ⌘ Read more
Database-Based Operating System ‘DBOS’ Does Things Linux Can’t
Databricks CTO Matei Zaharia “said that Databricks had to keep track of scheduling a million things,” remembers adjunct MIT professor Michael Stonebraker. “ He said that this can’t be done with traditional operating system scheduling, and so this was done out of a Postgres database. And then he started to whine that Postgres was too slow, and I to … ⌘ Read more
Why Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Failed
In 2020 Oregon passed Measure 110, decriminalizing possession of small amounts of drugs.
But now “America’s most radical experiment with drug decriminalization has ended,” writes the Atlantic, “after more than three years of painful results.”
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has pledged to sign legislation repealing the principal elements of the ballot initiative… Possessing hard drugs is again … ⌘ Read more
Did the Plastic Industry Knowingly Push Recycling Myths For Decades?
A PBS reporter “digs into a new report covering the plastic industry’s tactics to push recycling — and avoid regulation,” according to a new video from PBS News Weekend:
A new report by the Center for Climate Integrity, an environmentalist group, says newly uncovered statements from oil and plastics executives underscore the industry’s de … ⌘ Read more
Mozilla Ends its Privacy-Friendly GPS-Style Location Service
Mozilla Location Service offered “a free, open way to offer GPS-style location detection features” for developers on devices without GPS hardware, remembers the Linux blog OMG Ubuntu. It used signals like Wi-Fi access points and Bluetooth beacons “without any of the privacy implications most competing geolocation services have.”
But Friday they reported … ⌘ Read more
Dell Workers Can Stay Remote - But They’re Not Going to Get Promoted
“Dell’s strict new RTO mandate excludes fully remote workers from promotion,” reports Business Insider.
The site calls it “one of the most abrupt changes to remote work policies,” noting that Dell “has had a hybrid working culture in place for more than a decade — long before the pandemic struck.”
“Dell cared about the work, not the locat … ⌘ Read more
Why Are So Many AI Chatbots ‘Dumb as Rocks’?
Amazon announced a new AI-powered chatbot last month — still under develoipment — “to help you figure out what to buy,” writes the Washington Post. Their conclusion? “[T]he chatbot wasn’t a disaster. But I also found it mostly useless…”
“The experience encapsulated my exasperation with new types of AI sprouting in seemingly every technology you use. If these chatbots are supposed to be magi … ⌘ Read more
Free/Libre ‘GnuCOBOL’ Compiler Reaches Maturity, Can Compete with Proprietary Offerings
An anonymous reader shared this report:
After 20 years of development, the open source GnuCOBOL “has reached an industrial maturity and can compete with proprietary offers in all environments,” said OCamlPro founder and GnuCOBOL contributor Fabrice Le Fessant, in a FOSDEM talk about the technology. … ⌘ Read more
What’s Next for SpaceX’s Starship?
The Street interviewed Chad Anderson, founder/managing partner of the “space economy” investment firm Space Capital, who calls SpaceX’s progress “unprecedented,” and believes their next launch could carry “operational” payloads like Starlink satellites.
Anderson added that Starship reaching orbital velocity and reentering the atmosphere at those speeds (roughly 16,000 miles per hour) was “a really big de … ⌘ Read more
EFF Opposes America’s Proposed TikTok Ban
A new EFF web page is urging U.S. readers to “Tell Congress: Stop the TikTok Ban,” arguing the bill will “do little for its alleged goal of protecting our private information and the collection of our data by foreign governments.”
Tell Congress: Instead of giving the President the power to ban entire social media platforms based on their country of origin, our representatives should focus on … ⌘ Read more
Boeing Whistleblower Found Dead in Apparent Suicide
A Boeing quality manager for more than 30 years “learned of and exposed very serious safety problems with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner,” according to his lawyers, “and was retaliated against and subjected to a hostile work environment.”
After retiring in 2017 he’d filed a whistleblower retaliation case, and “was in the middle of giving deposition testimony… when he died, … ⌘ Read more
US Investigates Fatal Crash of Ford EV With Partially Automated Driving System
America’s National Transportation Safety Board “is investigating a fatal crash in San Antonio, Texas, involving a Ford electric vehicle that may have been using a partially automated driving system,” reports the Associated Press:
The NTSB said that preliminary information shows a Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV equipped with t … ⌘ Read more
Tiny Sea Creatures Could Help Unravel Flight MH370’s Mysterious Disappearance.
After the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, barnacles offer “a potential breakthrough” in the search for its wreckage, reports WION:
These barnacles were discovered clinging to the initial piece of debris conclusively linked to MH370 — a flaperon bearing the distinctive marking “657 BB,” which w … ⌘ Read more
Social Psychologist Urges ‘End the Phone-Based Childhood Now’
“The environment in which kids grow up today is hostile to human development,” argues Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and business school ethics professor, saying that since the early 2010s, “something went suddenly and horribly wrong for adolescents.”
The Atlantic recently published an excerpt from his book The Anxious Generation: How the Great … ⌘ Read more
Pornhub Disables Website In Texas After Age-Verification Lawsuit
“Pornhub has disabled its site in Texas,” reports the Hill, “to object to a state law that requires the company to verify the age of users to prevent minors from accessing the site.”
Texas residents who visit the site are met with a message from the company that criticizes the state’s elected officials who are requiring them to track the age of … ⌘ Read more
Pi Calculated to 105 Trillion Digits. (Stored on 1 Petabyte of SSDs)
Pi was calculated to 100 trillion decimal places in 2022 by a Google team lead by cloud developer advocate Emma Haruka Iwao.
But 2024’s “pi day” saw a new announcement…
After successfully breaking the speed record for calculating pi to 100 trillion digits last year, the team at StorageReview has taken it up a notch, revealing all the … ⌘ Read more
TikTik is Banned in China, Notes X User Community - Along With Most US Social Media
Newsweek points out that a Chinese government post arguing the bill is “on the wrong side of fair competition” was flagged by users on X. “TikTok is banned in the People’s Republic of China,” the X community note read. (The BBC reports that “Instead, Chinese users use a similar app, Douyin, which is only avail … ⌘ Read more
Microsoft Criticized For Chrome Popup Ads Resembling Malware That Urge Users to Switch to Bing
“Multiple users around the world have started to notice new Microsoft Bing pop-up ads that look a lot like malware…” reports Lifehacker, describing the adds as “very low quality” and “extremely pixelated…”
“It’s just Microsoft doing a bad job of trying to get you to switch to its product … ⌘ Read more
Pet DNA Testing Company Mistakenly Identifies a Human as a Dog
“A pet company has twice sent back dog breed results for human swab samples,” reports the Guardian, “prompting doubts surrounding the accuracy of dog breed tests.”
On Wednesday, WBZ News reported its investigations team receiving dog breed results from the company DNA My Dog after one of its reporters sent in a swab sample — from her own cheek. A … ⌘ Read more
Aging Voyager 1 Sends Back Response After ‘Poke’ Signal From Earth
“Engineers have sent a ‘poke’ to the Voyager 1 probe,” reports CNN, “and received a potentially encouraging response…”
“A new signal recently received from the spacecraft suggests that the NASA mission team may be making progress in its quest to understand what Voyager 1 is experiencing…”
[T]hey hope to fix a communication issue with th … ⌘ Read more
Amazon Violated Rights of Workers Trying to Unionize, Labor Regulators Find
“Workers at an Amazon air hub in Kentucky celebrated a victory Thursday,” reports the Washington Post, “after federal labor regulators found that Amazon violated labor law by trying to prevent workers there from unionizing.”
The employees have been demanding higher pay, more flexible schedules and safer working conditions sin … ⌘ Read more
Can Interlune Mine Helium-3 on the Moon?
The Washington Post reports:
Nearly a decade ago, Congress passed a law that allows private American space companies the rights to resources they mine on celestial bodies, including the moon.
Now, there’s a private venture that says it intends to do just that.
Founded by a pair of former executives from Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Jeff Bezos, and an Apollo astronaut, the comp … ⌘ Read more
After Flight to Oregon, Boeing 737-800 Lands with a Missing External Panel
A Boeing 737-800 “was discovered to be missing an external panel” on the bottom of its fuselage, reports CNN, “after it landed in Medford, Oregon, Friday afternoon after taking off from San Francisco.”
They stress that it’s not a 737 Max, but the previous generation of Boeing aircraft.
The plane carrying 145 passengers and cr … ⌘ Read more
Linux Distributors’ Alliance Continues Long-Term Support for Linux 4.14
“Until recently, Linux kernel developers have been the ones keeping long-term support (LTS) versions of the Linux kernel patched and up to date,” writes ZDNet.
“Then, because it was too much work with too little support, the Linux kernel developers decided to no longer support the older kernels.”
Greg Kroah-Hartman, the Linux kerne … ⌘ Read more