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 » 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 available in China and subject to … [Link]
Slashdot » 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 products." The Register explains: [W]hile using Google's desktop browser on Windows 10 … [Link]
Slashdot » 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. According … [Link]
Slashdot » 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 the aging spacecraft that has persisted … [Link]
Slashdot » 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, … [Link]
Slashdot » 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 crew landed safely and was parked … [Link]
Slashdot » 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 kernel maintainer for the stable branch, announced that … [Link]
Slashdot » What Happened to Other China-Owned Social Media Apps?
When it comes to TikTok, "The Chinese government is signaling that it won't allow a forced sale…" reported the Wall Street Journal Friday, "limiting options for the app's owners as buyers begin lining up to bid for its U.S. operations…" "They have also sent signals to TikTok's owner, Beijing-based ByteDance, that company executives have interpreted as meaning the government would … [Link]
Slashdot » Florida Man Sues G.M. and LexisNexis Over Sale of His Cadillac Data
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: When Romeo Chicco tried to get auto insurance in December, seven different companies rejected him. When he eventually obtained insurance, it was nearly double the rate he was previously paying. According to a federal complaint filed this week seeking class-action status, it was because his 2021 Cadillac XT6 had … [Link]
Slashdot » Is AI Ruining Etsy?
Emily Dreibelbis reports via PCMag: Etsy's reputation as a haven for small, independent creators has come into question as tools like Midjourney have made it easy to list art without disclosing that it's been AI-generated, and shoppers are not happy. "The fact that it's AI isn't listed anywhere," says one Reddit user who purchased a stock photo on Etsy that … [Link]
Slashdot » Scientists Reveal Never-Before-Seen Map of the Milky Way's Central Engine
With funding from NASA, researchers from Villanova University have obtained a never-before-seen view of the central engine at the heart of our galaxy. Space.com reports: The new map of this central region of the Milky Way, which took four years to assemble, reveals the relationship between magnetic fields at the heart of our galaxy and the cold dust structures that … [Link]
Slashdot » First Large Offshore US Wind Farm Delivers Power To Local Grid
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: America's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm is officially open, a long-awaited moment that helps pave the way for a succession of large wind farms. Danish wind energy developer Orsted and the utility Eversource built a 12-turbine wind farm called South Fork Wind 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Montauk Point, New York. … [Link]
Slashdot » Tech Layoffs Highest Since Dot-Com Crash
Alex Koller reports via CNBC: Since the start of the year, more than 50,000 workers have been laid off from over 200 tech companies, according to tracking website Layoffs.fyi. It's a continuation of the predominant theme of 2023, when more than 260,000 workers across nearly 1,200 tech companies lost their jobs. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft have all taken part … [Link]
Slashdot » FTC Launches Inquiry Into Reddit's AI Deals, Ahead of IPO
Days before Reddit's upcoming initial public offering (IPO), the company announced that the FTC has launched an inquiry into the company's licensing of user data to AI companies. Reddit says that it's "not surprised" by the FTC's inquiry, given the novel nature of these agreements. Axios reports: Reddit says it received a letter on Thursday, March 14, in which the … [Link]
Slashdot » Apple Acquires Startup DarwinAI As AI Efforts Ramp Up
According to Bloomberg, Apple has acquired Canada-based AI startup DarwinAI for an undisclosed sum. Macworld reports: Apple has reportedly folded the DarwinAI staff into its own AI team, including DarwinAI co-founder Alexander Wong, an AI researcher at the University of Waterloo who "has published over 600 refereed journal and conference papers, as well as patents, in various fields such as … [Link]
Slashdot » McDonald's IT Systems Outage Shuts Some Restaurants Globally
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BleepingComputer: McDonald's restaurants are suffering global IT outages that prevent employees from taking orders and accepting payments, causing some stores to close for the day. The outages started overnight and are impacting restaurants globally, including those in the USA, Japan, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, New Zealand, and the UK. "We are aware … [Link]
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