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 » Biden Considering Request To Drop Assange Charges
President Joe Biden said he is "considering" a request from Australia to drop the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The BBC reports: The country's parliament recently passed a measure — backed by PM Anthony Albanese — calling for the return of Mr Assange to his native Australia. The US wants to extradite the 52-year-old from the UK on criminal … [Link]
Slashdot » New Bill Would Force AI Companies To Reveal Use of Copyrighted Art
A bill introduced in the US Congress on Tuesday intends to force AI companies to reveal the copyrighted material they use to make their generative AI models. From a report: The legislation adds to a growing number of attempts from lawmakers, news outlets and artists to establish how AI firms use creative works like songs, visual art, books and movies … [Link]
Slashdot » MPA Has Big Plans To Crack Down on Movie Piracy Again
The Motion Picture Association is going off on piracy again. During CinemaCon in Las Vegas, MPA CEO Charles Rivkin announced that the organization plans on working with Congress to pass rules blocking websites with pirated content. The Verge: The MPA is a trade association representing Hollywood studios, including Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Disney (it's also behind the ratings board that … [Link]
Slashdot » More Books Than Ever Targeted For Bans
An anonymous reader writes: More books were called to be banned in 2023 across US schools and libraries than any other year on record, according to a new report from the American Library Association (ALA). Building on a surge that started in 2021, some 4,240 unique book titles were challenged last year — a 65% increase from 2022, and the … [Link]
Slashdot » Auto Insurance Prices Have Gone Nuts
An anonymous reader shares a report: It's getting to be a bit much. Auto insurance prices have surged over the last couple years. March consumer inflation out Wednesday shows them up 22% compared to last year. Since the end of 2019 — just before Covid hit — they're up 45%. Why? That's where things get complicated. In a prophylactic press … [Link]
Slashdot » SEC Moves To Sue Uniswap in Bid To Hobble Fast-Growing DeFi Sector
The Securities and Exchange Commission warned Uniswap on Wednesday that it intends to bring an enforcement action against the company, which is the leading platform for DeFi — a segment of the crypto market where traders rely on computer protocols that act as automated market makers for exchanging various tokens. From a report: The warning came in the form of … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Watch mini humanoid robots showing off their football skills
These soccer-playing robots can respond faster than ones trained in a standard way because they improved their skills via an artificial intelligence-based technique called deep reinforcement learning [Link]
New Scientist – News » Some of our favourite songs make us sad, which may be why we like them
Our favourite sad songs seem to become less enjoyable when we try to take the emotion out of them [Link]
New Scientist – News » Post-surgery infections may mainly be caused by skin bacteria
The skin microbiome may be a bigger cause of post-operative wound infections than bacteria contaminating hospital equipment [Link]
Slashdot » EU's New Tech Laws Are Working; Small Browsers Gain Market Share
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Independent browser companies in the European Union are seeing a spike in users in the first month after EU legislation forced Alphabet's Google, Microsoft and Apple to make it easier for users to switch to rivals, according to data provided to Reuters by six companies. The early results come after the EU's … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Bizarre crystal made only of electrons revealed in astonishing detail
To capture the clearest and most direct images of a “Wigner crystal”, a structure made entirely of electrons, researchers used a special kind of microscope and two pieces of graphene unusually free of imperfections [Link]
New Scientist – News » Fractal pattern identified at molecular scale in nature for first time
An enzyme in a cyanobacterium can take the unusual form a triangle containing ever-smaller triangular gaps, making a fractal pattern [Link]
Slashdot » The US is Right To Target TikTok, Says Vinod Khosla
Vinod Khosla, the founder of venture capital firm Khosla Ventures, opines on the bill that seeks to ban TikTok or force its parent firm to divest the U.S. business: Even if one could argue that this bill strikes at the First Amendment, there is legal precedent for doing so. In 1981, Haig vs Agee established that there are circumstances under … [Link]
Slashdot » Kobo Adds Color To Its E-reader Lineup For the First Time
Kobo, a leading e-reader company, is set to release its first color e-readers on April 30: the Kobo Clara Colour ($149.99) and Kobo Libra Colour ($219.99). These devices feature colorful screens, waterproofing, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth, USB-C, and an adjustable frontlight. The Clara has a 6-inch screen, while the Libra boasts a 7-inch display and supports the Kobo Stylus. Both utilize … [Link]
Slashdot » Amazon To Stop Paying Developers To Create Apps For Alexa
Amazon will no longer pay developers to create applications for Alexa, scrapping a key element of the company's effort to build a flourishing app store for its voice-activated digital assistant. From a report: Amazon recently told participants of the Alexa Developer Rewards Program, which cut monthly checks to builders of popular Alexa apps, that the offering would end at the … [Link]
Slashdot » EPA Announces First-Ever National Regulations For 'Forever Chemicals' in Drinking Water
For the first time ever, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it is issuing a national regulation limiting the amount of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, found in drinking water. From a report: Commonly called "forever chemicals," PFAS are synthetic chemicals found nearly everywhere — in air, water, and soil — and can take thousands of years … [Link]
Slashdot » Consumers Will Finally See FCC-Mandated 'Nutrition Labels' For Most Broadband Plans
It appears that a nearly eight-year-long battle by the FCC to require internet companies to display information on the costs, fees, and speeds of their broadband services is finally over. From a report: Starting on Wednesday, all but the smallest ISPs will be required to publish broadband "nutrition labels" on all of their plans, the regulator announced. […] Each label … [Link]
Slashdot » Proton Acquires Standard Notes
Privacy startup Proton already offers an email app, a VPN tool, cloud storage, a password manager, and a calendar app. In April 2022, Proton acquired SimpleLogin, an open-source product that generates email aliases to protect inboxes from spam and phishing. Today, Proton acquired Standard Notes, advancing its already strong commitment to the open-source community. From a report: Standard Notes is … [Link]
Slashdot » Waymo Launches Paid Robotaxi Service In Los Angeles
Beginning today, Waymo said it would start offering paid robotaxi rides in Los Angeles. It's been offering free "on tour" rides since it announced plans for the service in January, and last month it received regulatory approval for the expansion to a paid service. NBC News reports: Waymo said Tuesday that more than 50,000 people were on its waitlist to … [Link]
Slashdot » Cox Plans To Take Piracy Liability Battle To the Supreme Court
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: Cox Communications doesn't believe that ISPs should be held liable for the activities of their pirating subscribers. After a disappointing verdict from a Virginia jury and an unsatisfactory outcome at the Court of Appeals, the internet provider now intends to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court. If the present verdict stands, … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Treating gum disease may ward off an irregular heartbeat
Inflamed gum tissue may allow bacteria in the mouth to enter the bloodstream, which could affect the heart [Link]
New Scientist – News » Mathematician wins Turing award for harnessing randomness
Avi Wigderson has won the 2023 Turing award for his work on understanding how randomness can shape and improve computer algorithms [Link]
Slashdot » Synchron Readies Large-Scale Brain Implant Trial
A brain implant startup called Synchron is preparing to recruit patients for a large-scale clinical trial to seek commercial approval for its device. Reuters reports: Synchron on Monday plans to launch an online registry for patients interested in joining the trial meant to include dozens of participants, and has received interest from about 120 clinical trial centers to help run … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Phone batteries could last 50% longer if more 5G towers are built
Adding more masts could reduce the overall energy use of phone networks by two-thirds and boost handset battery life by 50 per cent [Link]
Slashdot » ULA Launches Final Delta Rocket After 64 Years
After 64 years of service, ULA on Tuesday launched its last-ever Delta rocket carrying a classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). "The powerful booster departed Space Launch Complex-37 (SLC-37) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 12:53 p.m. EDT (1653 GMT), literally setting itself on fire for the 16th and final time," reports Space.com. From … [Link]
Slashdot » AI Hardware Company From Jone Ive, Sam Altman Seeks $1 Billion In Funding
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Former Apple design lead Jony Ive and current OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are seeking funding for a new company that will produce an "artificial intelligence-powered personal device," according to The Information's sources, who are said to be familiar with the plans. The exact nature of the device is unknown, but it … [Link]
Slashdot » March Marks Yet Another Record In Global Heat
According to the European Union, Earth has reached its warmest March on record, capping a 10-month streak in which every month set a new temperature record. Reuters reports: Each of the last 10 months ranked as the world's hottest on record, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly … [Link]
Slashdot » Texas Will Use Computers To Grade Written Answers On This Year's STAAR Tests
Keaton Peters reports via the Texas Tribune: Students sitting for their STAAR exams this week will be part of a new method of evaluating Texas schools: Their written answers on the state's standardized tests will be graded automatically by computers. The Texas Education Agency is rolling out an "automated scoring engine" for open-ended questions on the State of Texas Assessment … [Link]
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