Anyone who works as a freelancer these days has to be at least a bit familiar with techie things. But it isn’t just that. When I was a kid and those vaguely SF puppet shows were on the television and all the other kids wanted to be Greg Gogetem or Steve Savetheuniverse, I wanted to be the guy in a white coat and glasses called Doc or Brains. Here are some technology-related feeds I find useful and/or entertaining.
Slashdot » Valve Makes All Steam Audio SDK Source Code Available Under Apache 2.0 License
Michael Larabel reports via Phoronix: With Valve's release today of the Steam Audio SDK 4.5.2 they have made the software development kit fully open-source under an Apache 2.0 license. Steam Audio 4.5.2 may not sound exciting in the context of a version number but as described in the release announcement is now "the first open source release of the Steam … [Link]
Slashdot » Vietnam To Collect Biometrics For New ID Cards
Starting in July, the Vietnamese government will begin collecting biometric information from its citizens when issuing new identification cards. The Register reports: Prime minister Pham Minh Chinh instructed the nation's Ministry of Public Security to collect the data in the form of iris scans, voice samples and actual DNA, in accordance with amendments to Vietnam's Law on Citizen Identification. The … [Link]
Slashdot » EU Opens Formal Investigation Into TikTok Over Possible Online Content Breaches
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: The European Union will investigate whether ByteDance's TikTok breached online content rules aimed at protecting children and ensuring transparent advertising, an official said on Monday, putting the social media platform at risk of a hefty fine. EU industry chief Thierry Breton said he took the decision after analyzing the short video app's … [Link]
Slashdot » Microsoft Publisher Books Its Retirement Party for 2026
Microsoft is confirming plans to deprecate its Publisher application in 2026. From a report: This writer has fond memories of Microsoft Publisher, which started life in 1991 as a desktop publisher for Windows 3.0. While alternatives existed in the form of Ventura Publisher, Timeworks, and later QuarkXPress, Microsoft Publisher was a useful tool to write newsletters. Unlike Word, Publisher was … [Link]
Slashdot » Making Alarms More Musical Can Save Lives
Medical alarms don't have to be louder to be more effective. Scientific American: Beeping alarms in hospitals are a life-or-death matter — but with so many going off all the time, medical professionals may experience alarm fatigue that impairs care. Researchers now report that changing an alarm's sound to incorporate properties of musical instruments can make it more helpful amid … [Link]
Slashdot » Microsoft Develops AI Server Gear To Lessen Reliance on Nvidia
Microsoft is developing a new network card that could improve the performance of its Maia AI server chip and potentially reduce the company's reliance on chip designer Nvidia, The Information reported on Tuesday. Reuters: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has tapped Pradeep Sindhu, who co-founded networking gear developer Juniper Networks, to spearhead the network card effort, the report said citing a … [Link]
Slashdot » Apple Officially Warns Users To Stop Putting Wet iPhones in Rice
An anonymous reader shares a report: In a recent support document, Apple states that putting wet devices in a bag of rice could "allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone," although it doesn't go into further detail. The company also recommended against using other well-known hacks, such as using an external heat source to dry the phone or … [Link]
Slashdot » Signal Finally Rolls Out Usernames, So You Can Keep Your Phone Number Private
Encrypted messaging app Signal has launched new feature allowing users to conceal their phone numbers and instead use usernames, in a move aimed at boosting privacy protections long sought by cybersecurity experts and privacy advocates. From a report: Rather than give your phone number to other Signal contacts as the identifier they use to begin a conversation with you, in … [Link]
Slashdot » This Tiny Website Is Google's First Line of Defense in the Patent Wars
A trio of Google engineers recently came up with a futuristic way to help anyone who stumbles through presentations on video calls. They propose that when algorithms detect a speaker's pulse racing or "umms" lengthening, a generative AI bot that mimics their voice could simply take over. That cutting-edge idea wasn't revealed at a big company event or in an … [Link]
Slashdot » Cox Communications Wins Order Overturning $1 Billion US Copyright Verdict
Cox, the cable television and internet service provider, convinced a U.S. appeals court to throw out a $1 billion jury verdict in favor of several major record labels that had accused it of failing to curb user piracy, setting the stage for a new trial on the matter. From a report: The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, … [Link]
Slashdot » Neuralink's First Human Patient Able To Control Mouse Through Thinking, Musk Says
The first human patient implanted with a brain-chip from Neuralink appears to have fully recovered and is able to control a computer mouse using their thoughts, the startup's founder Elon Musk said late on Monday. From a report: "Progress is good, and the patient seems to have made a full recovery, with no ill effects that we are aware of. … [Link]
Slashdot » Astronomers Discover Universe's Brightest Object
The brightest known object in the universe, a quasar 500tn times brighter than our sun, was "hiding in plain sight," researchers say. From a report: Australian scientists spotted a quasar powered by the fastest growing black hole ever discovered. Its mass is about 17bn times that of our solar system's sun, and it devours the equivalent of a sun a … [Link]
Slashdot » International Nest Aware Subscriptions Jump in Price, as Much As 100%
Google's "Nest Aware" camera subscription is going through another round of price increases. From a report: This time it's for international users. There's no big announcement or anything, just a smattering of email screenshots from various countries on the Nest subreddit. 9to5Google was nice enough to hunt down a pile of the announcements. Nest Aware is a monthly subscription fee … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Deadly plant kills its pollinators but nurses their young
A deadly flower kills the gnats that pollinate it but may help the insects’ offspring in return, which indicates that plant-pollinator relationships may be more complex than previously thought [Link]
Slashdot » Adobe Acrobat Adds Generative AI To 'Easily Chat With Documents'
Adobe is adding a new generative AI experience to its Acrobat PDF management software, which aims to "completely transform the digital document experience" by making information in long documents easier to find and understand. From a report: Announced in Adobe's press release as "AI Assistant in Acrobat," the new tool is described as a "conversational engine" that can summarize files, … [Link]
Slashdot » Sony's PlayStation Portal Hacked To Run Emulated PSP Games
An anonymous reader shares a report: Sony's new PlayStation Portal has been hacked by Google engineers to run emulated games locally. The $199.99 handheld debuted in November but was limited to just streaming games from a PS5 console and not even titles from Sony's cloud gaming service. Now, two Google engineers have managed to get the PPSSPP emulator running natively … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Bitcoin halving: When is it and what does it actually mean?
The bitcoin halving, which occurs once every four years, will reduce rewards for miners and some investors think it will push prices higher [Link]
New Scientist – News » Quantum computers are constantly hampered by cosmic rays
Investigations into quantum computing mishaps caused by high-powered particles from space have revealed that these cosmic rays are responsible for a significant number of errors [Link]
Slashdot » Walmart To Buy TV Maker Vizio For $2.3 Billion
Walmart has agreed to buy TV maker Vizio, the companies announced Tuesday, as the largest U.S. retailer grows its high-profit ad business. From a report: Walmart will acquire Vizio for $2.3 billion, or $11.50 per share, in cash. Vizio shares, which spiked after reports of the deal first emerged last week, closed at $9.53 on Friday. Walmart and its Sam's … [Link]
Slashdot » Wikileaks Founder in Last-Ditch Bid To Avoid US Extradition
An anonymous reader shares a report: Lawyers for Julian Assange have launched what could be his final bid to avoid extradition to the US to face trial over leaking military secrets. The two-day hearing at the High Court in London is hearing his team argue he should be allowed a full appeal. Edward Fitzgerald KC told the court his client … [Link]
New Scientist – News » ChatGPT can tailor political ads to match users' personalities
Generative AI can rewrite political adverts on social media to target users with different personality types, making it easier to manipulate elections using personal data on a large scale [Link]
Slashdot » International Law Enforcement Disrupts LockBit Ransomware
A coalition of global law enforcement agencies including the FBI and UK National Crime Agency have taken control of the LockBit ransomware gang's dark web site, replacing it with a notice saying their services had been disrupted by joint international action. The "Operation Cronos" task force includes Europol and enforcement agencies from a dozen countries across Europe, Asia and North … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Electronic music appears to alter our state of consciousness
Listening to electronic music makes neurons in our brain fire in time with the beat, which appears to alter our reaction time and sense of unity [Link]
Slashdot » 'Step Away From CNBC'
Andrew Feinberg, writing for Slate: If you wanted to design a financial channel that would cause investors to underperform the stock market, you'd create CNBC, NBC's financial counterpart that runs on cable news and ostensibly tries to make viewers better investors. You'd make it sober and rational (well, there is Jim Cramer, but we'll get to him later), no need … [Link]
Slashdot » AI Not Hyped Enough, Says Microsoft Exec
Puneet Chandok, Microsoft India and South Asia head, at an event this week: "People say AI is overhyped, but I think it's not hyped enough. The next generation who will use this in the next few years will have a much higher bar on what technology can do for them. So how you build it for that generation, how you … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Ancient bronze hand may offer clue to the origins of Basque language
Archaeologists say a mysterious language inscribed on a 2000-year-old metal hand may be related to Basque, but linguists aren't convinced [Link]
Slashdot » Microsoft Fixes Edge Browser Bug That Was Stealing Chrome Tabs and Data
An anonymous reader shared an news report: Microsoft has fixed an issue where its Edge browser was again misbehaving, this time by automatically importing browsing data and tabs from Chrome without consent. I personally experienced the bug last month, after I rebooted my PC for a regular Windows update and Microsoft Edge automatically opened with the Chrome tabs I was … [Link]
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