John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons

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Geekish

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.

New Scientist – News » CRISPR could disable and cure HIV, suggests promising lab experiment

Tuesday 19 March 23:31:48 UTC 2024

The gene-editing strategy could be a way to disable HIV that lies dormant in immune cells, meaning people would no longer need to take daily medication [Link]

Slashdot » Job Boards Are Rife With 'Ghost Jobs'

Tuesday 19 March 23:20:00 UTC 2024

"Job openings across the country are seemingly endless," writes longtime Slashdot reader smooth wombat. "Millions of jobs are listed, but are they real? Companies may post job openings with no intent to ever fill it. These are known as ghost jobs and there are more than most people realize. The BBC reports: Clarify Capital, a New York-based business loan provider, … [Link]

Slashdot » Kids' Cartoons Get a Free Pass From YouTube's Deepfake Disclosure Rules

Tuesday 19 March 22:40:00 UTC 2024

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: YouTube has updated its rulebook for the era of deepfakes. Starting today, anyone uploading video to the platform must disclose certain uses of synthetic media, including generative AI, so viewers know what they're seeing isn't real. YouTube says it applies to "realistic" altered media such as "making it appear as if a … [Link]

Slashdot » Saudi Arabia Plans $40 Billion Push Into Artificial Intelligence

Tuesday 19 March 22:02:00 UTC 2024

According to the New York Times, Saudi Arabia's government plans to create a fund of about $40 billion to invest in artificial intelligence. Reuters reports: Representatives of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) have discussed a potential partnership with U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and other financiers in recent weeks, the newspaper reported. Andreessen Horowitz and PIF governor Yasir … [Link]

Slashdot » AI Researchers Have Started Reviewing Their Peers Using AI Assistance

Tuesday 19 March 21:25:00 UTC 2024

Academics in the artificial intelligence field have started using generative AI services to help them review the machine learning work of their peers. In a new paper on arXiv, researchers analyzed the peer reviews of papers submitted to leading AI conferences, including ICLR 2024, NeurIPS 2023, CoRL 2023 and EMNLP 2023. The Register reports on the findings: The authors took … [Link]

Slashdot » AT&T Says Leaked Data of 70 Million People Is Not From Its Systems

Tuesday 19 March 20:45:00 UTC 2024

An anonymous reader quotes a report from BleepingComputer: AT&T says a massive trove of data impacting 71 million people did not originate from its systems after a hacker leaked it on a cybercrime forum and claimed it was stolen in a 2021 breach of the company. While BleepingComputer has not been able to confirm the legitimacy of all the data … [Link]

Slashdot » Nicholas Hawkes, 39, Becomes First in England To Be Jailed for Cyber Flashing

Tuesday 19 March 18:40:00 UTC 2024

A man has been sentenced for cyber flashing in England for the first time. From a report: Nicholas Hawkes, 39, from Basildon in Essex, was jailed for 66 weeks at Southend Crown Court today after he sent unsolicited photos of his erect penis to a 15-year-old girl and a woman on 9 February. The older victim took screenshots of the … [Link]

Slashdot » Google DeepMind's New AI Assistant Helps Elite Soccer Coaches Get Even Better

Tuesday 19 March 18:00:00 UTC 2024

Soccer teams are always looking to get an edge over their rivals. Whether it's studying players' susceptibility to injury, or opponents' tactics — top clubs look at reams of data to give them the best shot of winning. They might want to add a new AI assistant developed by Google DeepMind to their arsenal. From a report: It can suggest … [Link]

New Scientist – News » Common antibiotics can regenerate heart cells in animals

Tuesday 19 March 17:30:17 UTC 2024

A combination of widely available antibiotics may be able to treat heart failure after researchers found that the therapy regenerates heart cells in animals [Link]

Slashdot » Mozilla Firefox 124 Is Now Available for Download

Tuesday 19 March 17:20:00 UTC 2024

An anonymous reader writes: Mozilla Firefox 124 looks like a small update that only updates the Caret Browsing mode to also work in the PDF viewer and adds support for the Screen Wake Lock API to prevent devices from dimming or locking the screen when an application needs to keep running. The Firefox View feature has been updated as well … [Link]

New Scientist – News » DeepMind and Liverpool FC develop AI to advise on football tactics

Tuesday 19 March 16:30:11 UTC 2024

An AI model trained on data from Premier League matches can help football coaches devise tactics for attacking or defending corner kicks [Link]

Slashdot » Microsoft Hires DeepMind Co-Founder Suleyman To Run Consumer AI, Hires Most of Inflection AI Startup Staff

Tuesday 19 March 16:13:00 UTC 2024

Microsoft has named Mustafa Suleyman head of its consumer artificial intelligence business, hiring most of the staff from his Inflection AI startup as the software giant seeks to fend off Alphabet's Google in the fiercely contested market for AI products. From a report: Suleyman, who co-founded Google's DeepMind, will report to Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella and oversee a range … [Link]

Slashdot » Apple Working on Solution for App Store Fee That Could Bankrupt Viral Apps

Tuesday 19 March 16:00:00 UTC 2024

Joe_Dragon shares a report: Since Apple announced plans for the 0.50 euro Core Technology Fee that apps distributed using the new EU App Store business terms must pay, there have been ongoing concerns about what that fee might mean for a developer that suddenly has a free app go viral. Apple's VP of regulatory law Kyle Andeers today met with … [Link]

New Scientist – News » Gene variants may protect against brain disease linked to cannibalism

Tuesday 19 March 15:30:25 UTC 2024

Remote tribes in Papua New Guinea were ravaged in the 20th century by kuru, which was spread when people ate their dead relatives as part of funeral rituals – but some individuals may have had genetic resistance to the condition [Link]

Slashdot » Intermittent Fasting Linked To Higher Risk of Cardiovascular Death, Research Suggests

Tuesday 19 March 15:20:00 UTC 2024

Several readers shared the following report: Intermittent fasting, a diet pattern that involves alternating between periods of fasting and eating, can lower blood pressure and help some people lose weight, past research has indicated. But an analysis presented Monday at the American Heart Association's scientific sessions in Chicago challenges the notion that intermittent fasting is good for heart health. Instead, … [Link]

Slashdot » Nokia Tells Reddit It Infringes Some Patents in Lead-Up To IPO

Tuesday 19 March 14:45:00 UTC 2024

An anonymous reader shares a report: Reddit, the social media platform gearing up for an initial public offering this week, said Nokia has accused it of infringing some of their patents. Nokia Technologies, the company's licensing business, sent Reddit a letter on Monday with the claims, and Reddit is evaluating them, according to a filing made Tuesday. Nokia's claims come … [Link]

New Scientist – News » 'Red alert' after key global warming records were smashed in 2023

Tuesday 19 March 13:30:46 UTC 2024

2023 wasn't just the hottest year on record by far, it also saw record glacier loss, sea level rise, ocean heat and sea ice loss, says World Meteorological Organization report [Link]

Slashdot » C++ Creator Rebuts White House Warning

Tuesday 19 March 13:00:00 UTC 2024

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++, … [Link]

New Scientist – News » 'Forever chemicals' have infiltrated food packaging on a wide scale

Tuesday 19 March 12:30:18 UTC 2024

Nearly 70 "forever chemicals", also known as PFAS, are commonly found in materials that come into contact with food, some of which have been linked to negative health outcomes [Link]

New Scientist – News » ‘Running of the bulls’ festival crowds move like charged particles

Tuesday 19 March 10:30:18 UTC 2024

Researchers have studied the movements of thousands of people waiting for the opening of the San Fermín festival and found they behave like electrons circling in a magnetic field [Link]

New Scientist – News » Nvidia's Blackwell AI 'superchip' is the most powerful yet

Tuesday 19 March 10:13:37 UTC 2024

A computer chip featuring over 400 billion transistors can train artificial intelligence models faster and using less energy, says Nvidia – but it is yet to reveal the price tag [Link]

New Scientist – News » Cannabis vaping liquids contain lead and other toxic metals

Tuesday 19 March 10:00:31 UTC 2024

The heating elements in vapes can release toxic metals. Now an analysis of cannabis vaping liquids shows metals like lead are present at dangerous levels – even before the vape is used [Link]

Slashdot » Astronaut Thomas Stafford, Commander of Apollo 10, Dies At 93

Tuesday 19 March 10:00:00 UTC 2024

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, including the … [Link]

Slashdot » Global Ocean Heat Has Hit a New Record Every Single Day For the Last Year

Tuesday 19 March 7:00:00 UTC 2024

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 warmer than the previous year, said Gregory C. Johnson, … [Link]

Slashdot » Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Glitch Lets Customers Withdraw Millions

Tuesday 19 March 6:26:00 UTC 2024

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 other banks, local media … [Link]

Slashdot » EPA Bans Chrysotile Asbestos

Tuesday 19 March 3:30:00 UTC 2024

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 … [Link]

Slashdot » Nvidia Reveals Blackwell B200 GPU, the 'World's Most Powerful Chip' For AI

Tuesday 19 March 2:02:00 UTC 2024

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 the new B200 GPU offers … [Link]

Slashdot » Hertz CEO Resigns After Blowing Big Gamble On EVs

Tuesday 19 March 1:25:00 UTC 2024

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 … [Link]

Slashdot » Indiana Becomes 9th State To Make CS a High School Graduation Requirement

Tuesday 19 March 0:45:00 UTC 2024

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 science." Having already joined 49 other Governors who signed a Code.org-organized compact calling … [Link]

Slashdot » BitTorrent Is No Longer the 'King' of Upstream Internet Traffic

Tuesday 19 March 0:02:00 UTC 2024

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 and these statistics are ancient history. … [Link]

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