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 » Reddit Discloses Bitcoin and Ether Investments In IPO Filing
As part of its IPO filing with the SEC, Reddit disclosed that it has invested some of its excess cash in bitcoin, ether and Polygon. From a report: Based on the document, the firm now holds BTC and ETH in its balance sheet. Notably, Reddit filing came as part of the IPO registration statement with the SEC. Apart from ETH … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Benefits of hyaluronic acid in skincare products have been oversold
Hyaluronic acid's skincare benefits are often attributed to its supposed ability to hold 1000 times its weight in water, which new research has discredited [Link]
New Scientist – News » Does getting even mild covid-19 affect our cognitive skills?
A large UK study suggests people who had been infected with covid-19 experienced some cognitive decline, but the findings are far from definitive [Link]
Slashdot » KDE Plasma 6 Released
"Today, the KDE Community is announcing a new major release of Plasma 6.0 and Gear 24.02," writes longtime Slashdot reader jrepin. "The new version brings new windows and desktop overview effects, improved color management, a cleaner theme, better overall performance, and much more." From the announcement: KDE Plasma is a modern, feature-rich desktop environment for Linux-based operating systems. Known for … [Link]
Slashdot » SBF Asks For 5-Year Prison Sentence, Calls 100-Year Recommendation 'Grotesque'
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Convicted FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded for a lenient prison sentence in a court filing yesterday, saying that he isn't motivated by greed and "is already being punished." Bankman-Fried requested a sentence of 63 to 78 months, or 5.25 to 6.5 years. Because of "Sam's charitable works and demonstrated commitment to … [Link]
Slashdot » Intel Puts 1nm Process (10A) on the Roadmap For 2027
Intel's previously-unannounced Intel 10A (analogous to 1nm) will enter production/development in late 2027, marking the arrival of the company's first 1nm node, and its 14A (1.4nm) node will enter production in 2026. The company is also working to create fully autonomous AI-powered fabs in the future. Tom's Hardware: Intel's Keyvan Esfarjani, the company's EVP and GM and Foundry Manufacturing and … [Link]
Slashdot » EU Lawmakers Back Draft Rules on Patents for Connected Cars, Telecom Equipment
EU lawmakers on Wednesday approved draft rules governing patents key to technologies for telecom equipment and connected cars in the face of criticism from Nokia, Ericsson and other patent holders. From a report: The draft rules proposed by the European Commission in April last year seek to end costly and lengthy litigation over patents used in technologies for telecom equipment, … [Link]
New Scientist – News » We now know what makes oranges taste of oranges
Researchers have identified 26 chemical compounds responsible for the flavour of oranges, which could help efforts to develop disease-resistant hybrids [Link]
New Scientist – News » What causes a total solar eclipse and how often do they occur?
Ahead of the total solar eclipse in North America, here is everything you need to know about solar and lunar eclipses [Link]
Slashdot » AI, Drones, Security Cameras: San Francisco Mayor's Arsenal To Fight Crime
San Francisco will vote next week on a divisive ballot measure that would authorize police to use surveillance cameras, drones and AI-powered facial recognition as the city struggles to restore a reputation tarnished by street crime and drugs. From a report: The Safer San Francisco initiative, formally called Proposition E, is championed by Mayor London Breed who believes disgruntled citizens … [Link]
Slashdot » White House Looks To Curb Foreign Powers' Ability To Buy Americans' Sensitive Personal Data With Executive Order
President Joe Biden will issue an executive order on Wednesday aimed at curbing foreign governments' ability to buy Americans' sensitive personal information such as heath and geolocation data, according to senior US officials. From a report: The move marks a rare policy effort to address a longstanding US national security concern: the ease with which anyone, including a foreign intelligence … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Light and sound may slow Alzheimer’s by making the brain remove toxins
An experimental treatment for Alzheimer's disease involving sounds and flickering lights has shown promise in mice and people. Now, research suggests the novel approach ramps up our brain’s waste disposal networks [Link]
New Scientist – News » Battery breakthrough lets electric cars run longer in extreme cold
A new formula for lithium-ion batteries could help electric vehicles drive farther and charge faster even at extreme sub-zero temperatures [Link]
Slashdot » Klarna Claims AI Is Doing Agents' Jobs
Buy-now-pay-later lender Klarna said its AI assistant, powered by OpenAI, is doing the equivalent work of 700 full-time agents and has had 2.3 million conversations, equal to two-thirds of the company's customer service chats, within the first month of being deployed. The AI tool resolved errands much faster and matched human levels on customer satisfaction, Klarna said. 
Read more of … [Link]
Slashdot » The Strange and Turbulent Global World of Ant Geopolitics
Over the past four centuries quadrillions of ants have created a strange and turbulent global society that shadows our own. An excerpt from an Aeon article: In their native ranges, these multi-nest colonies can grow to a few hundred metres across, limited by physical barriers or other ant colonies. This turns the landscape to a patchwork of separate groups, with … [Link]
Slashdot » White House Urges Devs To Switch To Memory-Safe Programming Languages
Tontoman shares a report: The White House Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) urged tech companies to switch to memory-safe programming languages, such as Rust, to improve software security by reducing the number of memory safety vulnerabilities. Such vulnerabilities are coding errors or weaknesses within software that can lead to memory management issues when memory can be accessed, written, … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Magnetic particles turn water droplets into tightrope-walking acrobats
Placing magnetic particles inside water droplets lets the liquid climb steps, hop over small objects and jump-start chemical reactions [Link]
New Scientist – News » Melting of Greenland ice could cause European heat extremes this year
When lots of freshwater from Greenland pours into the North Atlantic Ocean, it triggers feedback loops that lead to hotter and drier weather in Europe, according to a study of the past 40 years [Link]
Slashdot » Meta Wants Llama 3 To Handle Contentious Questions as Google Grapples With Gemini Backlash
An anonymous reader shares a report (paywalled): As Google grapples with the backlash over the historically inaccurate responses on its Gemini chatbot, Meta Platforms is dealing with a related issue. As part of its work on the forthcoming version of its large language model, Llama 3, Meta is trying to overcome a problem perceived in Llama 2: Its answers to … [Link]
Slashdot » Google CEO Calls AI Tool's Controversial Responses 'Completely Unacceptable'
Google CEO Sundar Pichai addressed the company's Gemini controversy Tuesday evening, calling the AI app's problematic responses around race unacceptable and vowing to make structural changes to fix the problem. The memo: I want to address the recent issues with problematic text and image responses in the Gemini app (formerly Bard). I know that some of its responses have offended … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Boiling tap water can remove 80 per cent of the microplastics in it
Tap water contains tiny particles of plastic and we don’t know how they affect our health – now it seems that boiling the water for 5 minutes can remove most of them [Link]
New Scientist – News » Strange animals called pyrosomes are thriving as the Pacific heats up
Sausage-shaped pyrosomes are blooming in great numbers during marine heatwaves, but their success comes at the cost of other animals, including fish [Link]
Slashdot » Zurich Paid 30,000 Workers Double In $200 Million Bank Glitch
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fortune: Zurich authorities have apologized to city employees after a technical glitch caused a double payment of monthly salaries that local officials are now trying to claw back. About 175 million francs ($200 million) was sent in error on Monday, which was the payday for February, according to a statement. Workers can't keep … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Pythagoras was wrong about the maths behind pleasant music
It is said that the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras came up with the idea that musical note combinations sound best in certain mathematical ratios, but that doesn't seem to be true [Link]
Slashdot » Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' Began Melting In Mid-20th Century, Study Finds
According to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, West Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier began rapidly receding in the 1940s — much earlier than scientists had previous thought. The Hill notes that it's often referred to as the "doomsday glacier" due to the potentially catastrophic consequences of its hypothetical collapse. From the report: While … [Link]
Slashdot » Amazon Aggregator Thrasio Files For Bankruptcy
Thrasio, which acquires third-party Amazon sellers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and received commitments for $90 million in new financing from existing shareholders, it said on Wednesday. From a report: Thrasio also entered into a restructuring agreement with some of its lenders to reduce debt of $495 million from its existing debt pile, it said in a statement. It … [Link]
Slashdot » Nintendo Suing Makers of Open-Source Switch Emulator Yuzu
Nintendo has filed a 41-page lawsuit against the makers of Yuzu, an open-source Nintendo Switch emulator, accusing them of "facilitating piracy at a colossal scale." Polygon reports: Yuzu is a free emulator that was released in 2018 months after the Nintendo Switch originally launched. The same folks who made Citra, a Nintendo 3DS emulator, made this one. Basically, it's a … [Link]
Slashdot » Microplastics Found In Every Human Placenta Tested In Study
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Microplastics have been found in every human placenta tested in a study, leaving the researchers worried about the potential health impacts on developing fetuses. The scientists analyzed 62 placental tissue samples and found the most common plastic detected was polyethylene, which is used to make plastic bags and bottles. A second … [Link]
Slashdot » US Judge Halts Government Effort To Monitor Crypto Mining Energy Use
A federal judge in Texas has granted a temporary order blocking the U.S. government from monitoring the energy usage of cryptocurrency mining operations, stating that the industry had shown it would suffer "irreparable injury" if it was made to comply. The Guardian reports: The US Department of Energy had launched an "eemergency" initiative last month aimed at surveying the energy … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Thousands of humpback whales starved to death after marine heatwave
A study estimating humpback whale numbers in the North Pacific Ocean from crowdsourced photos reveals a sharp decline from 2012 to 2021 after decades of slow population growth [Link]
Slashdot » 'Open Documentation Academy' Offers On-Ramp To OSS
"Documentation authors at Canonical have launched the Open Documentation Academy to offer an easy way to get started contributing to open-source projects," writes longtime Slashdot reader tykev. From the blog post: Open and inclusive collaboration, and the sharing of ideas, remains the best way to develop software (and to do many other things!), but we also recognise that this "getting … [Link]
Slashdot » Uber-Like Surge Pricing Is Coming For Fast Food
Fast food chain Wendy's announced it's adopting a similar approach to Uber's Surge Pricing policy by dynamically adjusting the prices of its menu items during peak demand periods at certain locations. The controversial strategy seeks to leverage real-time data to align pricing and demand, enhancing efficiency and potentially improving customer satisfaction. From a report: During a conference call earlier this … [Link]
Slashdot » Hackers Backed By Russia and China Are Infecting SOHO Routers Like Yours, FBI Warns
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The FBI and partners from 10 other countries are urging owners of Ubiquiti EdgeRouters to check their gear for signs they've been hacked and are being used to conceal ongoing malicious operations by Russian state hackers. The Ubiquiti EdgeRouters make an ideal hideout for hackers. The inexpensive gear, used in homes … [Link]
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