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Reddit's Teach-the-Controversy Stance On COVID Vaccines Sparks Wider Protest Published on September 01, 2021 at 09:00AM An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica, written by Jon Brodkin: Over 135 subreddits have gone dark this week in protest of Reddit's refusal to ban communities that spread misinformation about the COVID pandemic and vaccines. Subreddits that went private include two with 10 million or more subscribers, namely r/Futurology and r/TIFU. The PokemonGo community is one of 15 other subreddits with at least 1 million subscribers that went private; another 15 subreddits with at least 500,000 subscribers also went private. They're all listed in a post on "r/VaxxHappened" which has been coordinating opposition to Reddit management's stance on pandemic misinformation. More subreddits are being added as they join the protest. Last week, the moderators of over 450 subreddits joined an open letter urging Reddit to "take action against

Rugby: Head Impact Study Shows Cognitive Decline After Just One Season Published on September 01, 2021 at 07:32AM Researchers from the University of South Wales found that over just one season a team of professional rugby players saw a decline in blood flow to the brain and cognitive function -- the ability to reason, remember, formulate ideas and perform mental gymnastics. The paper also suggests that rather than only concussions, repetitive contacts, or sub concussions, sustained through rugby have caused the declines seen in the players. The BBC reports: Some studies suggest professional rugby players may be exposed to 11,000 contact events per season, and more research is beginning to show evidence that it may not be concussions alone that could impact the brain, but the cumulative effect and volume of contact events too. The peer reviewed University of South Wales study, which is funded by the Royal Society Wolfson Research Fellowship, recorded six concussion incidents among all

Judge In Nokia and Apple Lawsuit Owned Apple Stock During Proceedings Published on September 01, 2021 at 06:55AM A federal judge was recently found to have owned Apple stock while presiding over a case brought against the tech giant by Nokia, though the discovery is unlikely to lead to further legal action. AppleInsider reports: Apple and Nokia were embroiled in a bitter patent dispute from 2009 to 2011, with both companies filing a series of legal complaints and regulatory challenges as competition in the smartphone market came to a head. The issue was ultimately settled in June 2011, and while terms of the agreement were kept confidential, Apple was expected to make amends with a one-time payment and ongoing royalties. According to a new court filing on Monday, a federal judge presiding over one of many scattershot legal volleys filed by Nokia owned stock in Apple when the suit was lodged in 2010. Judge William M. Conley of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wiscon

Fake Banksy NFT Sold Through Artist's Website For $336,000 Published on September 01, 2021 at 06:15AM A hacker has returned $336,000 to a British collector after he tricked him into buying a fake NFT advertised through the artist's official website. The BBC reports: A link to an online auction for the NFT was posted on a now-deleted page of banksy.co.uk. The auction ended early after the man offered 90% more than rival bidders. The Banksy fan who got duped says he thought he was buying the world-famous graffiti artist's first ever NFT. The man who is in his 30s and wanted to remain anonymous explained over Twitter direct messages that he suspects Banksy's site was hacked, and that he was the victim of an elaborate scam. He says the hacker returned all the money except for the transaction fee of around 5,000 pounds on Monday evening. "It does seem to be some hack of the site. I confirmed the URL on PC and mobile before bidding. I only made the bid because it was h

Why the Solana Cryptocurrency Is Surging Published on September 01, 2021 at 05:32AM An anonymous reader shares a report from Fast Company, written by Michael Grothaus: One of the biggest movers on the cryptocurrency market in the past 24 hours is Solana. As of the time of this writing, Solana is up almost 20% over the past day, according to Coinbase. In the past week, it's up over 58%, and in the past month, it's up 275%. As for the past year, Solana has surged over 2,348%. What is Solana? Solana is a decentralized blockchain platform. It facilitates the transactions of the SOL coin as well as digital assets like non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Is Solana a bitcoin competitor? Sure, because it's another cryptocurrency. But it's more apt to liken Solana to Ethereum since both are blockchain platforms that handle smart contracts. Why is Solana surging? This is always a hard question to answer. Though Solana is holding some kind of mysterious "Ignition" event today.

Apple Bans Pay Equity Slack Channel Published on September 01, 2021 at 04:50AM Apple has barred employees from creating a Slack channel to discuss pay equity. The Verge reports: A member of the employee relations team, Apple's version of HR, said that while the topic was "aligned with Apple's commitment to pay equity," it did not meet the company's Slack Terms of Use. "Slack channels are provided to conduct Apple business and must advance the work, deliverables, or mission of Apple departments and teams," the employee relations representative told employees. The company's rules for the in-office chat app say that "Slack channels for activities and hobbies not recognized as Apple Employee clubs or Diversity Network Associations (DNAs) aren't permitted and shouldn't be created." But that rule has not been evenly enforced. Currently, Apple employees have popular Slack channels to discuss #fun-dogs (more than 5,000 members), #gaming (

Docker Desktop No Longer Free For Large Companies Published on September 01, 2021 at 04:10AM Docker will restrict use of the free version of its Docker Desktop utility to individuals or small businesses, and has introduced a new more expensive subscription, as it searches for a sustainable business model. The Register reports: The company has renamed its Free plan to "Personal" and now requires that businesses with 250 or more employees, or higher than $10m in annual revenue, must use a paid subscription if they require Docker Desktop. There are no changes to the command-line Docker Engine. The $5/month Pro and $7/month Teams subscriptions continue as before, but a new $21/month Business subscription adds features including centralized management, single sign-on, and enhanced security. The Docker platform has a number of components, of which Docker Desktop is just one part. Docker images define the contents of containers. Docker containers are runnable instances of images.

Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes On Trial As Jury Selection Begins Published on September 01, 2021 at 03:30AM An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica, written by Tim De Chant: Nearly a decade ago, Theranos touted a revolutionary diagnostic device that could run myriad medical tests without having to draw blood through a needle. Today, the startup's founder, Elizabeth Holmes, goes to court, where she's facing 12 criminal counts for statements she made to investors and consumers about her company's technology. Holmes founded Theranos in 2003 after dropping out of Stanford University at the age of 19. Driven by her phobia of needles, Holmes wanted to create diagnostic tests that use blood from finger pricks rather than from needles. The idea caught on, attracting well-connected board members like Henry Kissinger and James Mattis, drawing over $400 million in investments from wealthy investors including Larry Ellison and Rupert Murdoch, and securing lucrative p

Wall Street Is Looking To Reddit for Investment Advice Published on September 01, 2021 at 02:50AM Wall Street professionals tell everyday investors what stocks to buy. But now they have to follow some of these amateurs for signs of where the market is headed next. From a report: Venerable institutions Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley are tracking the retail trading frenzy, and hedge funds in New York and London have employees combing through the internet forum of Reddit, Twitter or chat startup Discord in search of trading opportunities. They turned to these sources following a period of market mayhem dominated by amateurs on Reddit's WallStreetBets and the Robinhood Markets Inc. trading app who collectively boosted the shares of GameStop Corp. and other companies that had fallen out of Wall Street's favor. "It's more art than science because it's uncharted territory," said Simeon Siegel, a BMO Capital Markets analyst who has spent his career covering

Zoom-Call Gaffes Led To Someone Getting Axed, 1 in 4 Bosses Say Published on September 01, 2021 at 02:13AM Zoom-call blunders can be hazardous to your career. From a report: Nearly 1 in 4 executives have fired a staffer for slipping up during a video or audio conference, and most have levied some sort of disciplinary action for gaffes made in virtual meetings, a survey of 200 managers at large companies found. The survey, commissioned by Vyopta, which helps companies manage their workplace collaboration and communication systems, also found that executives don't fully trust a third of their staff to perform effectively when working remotely. The pessimistic findings illustrate how workers are still getting accustomed to working remotely, which has become commonplace during the Covid-19 pandemic. Daily participants in Zoom calls surged from 10 million a day at the end of 2019 to 300 million in April 2020, the conferencing company has said, and in recent weeks many companies have p

New York Times' Wirecutter Product-Review Site Moves Behind Paywall Published on September 01, 2021 at 01:38AM The New York Times plans to put its consumer product-review site Wirecutter behind a paywall as the publisher looks to further diversify its subscription business beyond its flagship news product. From a report: Starting Wednesday, readers can purchase a stand-alone Wirecutter subscription for $5 every four weeks, or $40 annually. Those who already pay for the Times' premium digital subscriptions or home delivery will continue to get unlimited access to Wirecutter, with no change to the subscription's price. The Times, in its digital incarnation, is seeking to serve some auxiliary needs that traditional print newspapers once served, including by providing recipes and games and by helping users decide what products to buy, said David Perpich, head of the Times' stand-alone products group. Wirecutter, which the Times Company bought in 2016, is a consumer guide

Satellites Spot Oceans Aglow With Trillions of Organisms Published on September 01, 2021 at 01:05AM A new generation of detectors let scientists identify a dozen large episodes of bioluminescence, one a hundred times larger than Manhattan -- and that's the smallest. From a report: The ocean has always glowed. The Greeks and Romans knew of luminous sea creatures as well as the more general phenomenon of seawater that can light up in bluish-green colors. Charles Darwin, as he sailed near South America on a dark night aboard the H.M.S. Beagle, encountered luminescent waves. He called it "a wonderful and most beautiful spectacle." As far as the eye could see, he added, "the crest of every wave was bright" -- so much so that the "livid flames" lit the sky. Now, scientists report that ocean bioluminescence can be so intense and massive in scale that satellites orbiting five hundred miles high can see glowing mats of microorganisms as they materialize in th

Car Owners' New Gripe: Lousy Wireless Service Published on September 01, 2021 at 12:35AM The biggest frustration among new car owners is that they can't get their car and smartphone to talk to one another, a new J.D. Power study finds. From a report: Consumers want their digital lives to follow them seamlessly in the car, which is why Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have become so popular. But if the wireless connection is glitchy, such features don't work, leaving car owners unhappy. "Owners are caught in the middle when vehicle and phone technologies don't properly connect," says Dave Sargent, vice president of automotive quality at J.D. Power. 1 in 4 problems cited by car buyers in the first 90 days of ownership involves infotainment, according to the J.D. Power 2021 Initial Quality Study (IQS), released Tuesday. For the first time in a decade, voice recognition is not the top problem; instead, it's Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity, which worsen

LinkedIn is Shutting Down Stories Published on August 31, 2021 at 11:35PM LinkedIn is telling advertisers to prepare for the end of its short-lived experiment with Stories, after the ephemeral videos failed to catch on among the professional social media set. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google Delays Mandatory Office Return To 2022 on Covid Surge Published on August 31, 2021 at 10:56PM Google pushed back the date when its employees must return to the office until after Jan. 10, citing uncertainty related to the pandemic amid a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in various countries around the world. From a report: It will be optional for Google's staffers to work on campus until at least Jan. 10, Alphabet Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai wrote Tuesday in a memo to employees. The company will give workers 30 days notice before they're expected to go back to offices, but Pichai didn't specify a date when employees, based in the U.S. or elsewhere, must return. "Beyond January 10, we will enable countries and locations to make determinations on when to end voluntary work-from-home based on local conditions, which vary greatly across our offices," Pichai wrote. Google previously delayed a compulsory office return to Oct. 18. The internet giant has sa

Toxic 'Forever Chemicals' Contaminate Indoor Air at Worrying Levels, Study Finds Published on August 31, 2021 at 10:19PM Toxic PFAS compounds are contaminating the air inside homes, classrooms and stores at alarming levels, a new study has found. From a report: Researchers with the University of Rhode Island and Green Science Policy Institute tested indoor air at 20 sites and detected the "forever chemicals" in 17 locations. The airborne compounds are thought to break off of PFAS-treated products such as carpeting and clothing and attach to dust or freely float through the indoor environment. Experts previously considered food and water to be the two main routes by which humans are exposed to PFAS, but the study's authors note that many humans spend about 90% of their time indoors, and the findings suggest that breathing in the chemicals probably represents a third significant exposure route. "It's an underestimated and potentially important source of e

Apple Plans To Add Satellite Features To iPhones for Emergencies Published on August 31, 2021 at 09:32PM Apple's push to bring satellite capabilities to the iPhone will be focused on emergency situations, allowing users to send texts to first responders and report crashes in areas without cellular coverage. From a report: The company is developing at least two related emergency features that will rely on satellite networks, aiming to release them in future iPhones, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Apple has been working on satellite technology for years, with a team exploring the concept since at least 2017, Bloomberg has reported. Speculation that the next iPhone will have satellite capabilities ramped up this week after TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the phone will probably work with spectrum owned by Globalstar. That's led to conjecture that the iPhone will become something akin to a satellite phone, freeing users from having to

Microsoft Will Release Windows 11 on October 5 Published on August 31, 2021 at 08:56PM Microsoft is announcing that Windows 11 will be released on October 5. The new operating system will be available as a free upgrade for eligible Windows 10 PCs, or on new hardware that ships with Windows 11 pre-loaded. From a report: The free upgrade to Windows 11 will start rolling out on October 5th, but like many Windows upgrades in the past, it will be available in phases. New eligible devices will be offered the upgrade first, and then Windows 11 will become available for more in-market devices in the weeks and months following October 5th. "Following the tremendous learnings from Windows 10, we want to make sure we're providing you with the best possible experience," explains Aaron Woodman, general manager of Windows marketing at Microsoft. "We expect all eligible devices to be offered the free upgrade to Windows 11 by mid-2022." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google, Apple Hit by First Law Threatening Dominance Over App-Store Payments Published on August 31, 2021 at 08:11PM Google and Apple will have to open their app stores to alternative payment systems in South Korea [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source], threatening their lucrative commissions on digital sales. From a report: A bill passed Tuesday by South Korea's National Assembly is the first in the world to dent the tech giants' dominance over how apps on their platforms sell their digital goods. It will become law once signed by President Moon Jae-in, whose party strongly endorsed the legislation. The law amends South Korea's Telecommunications Business Act to prevent large app-market operators from requiring the use of their in-app purchasing systems. It also bans operators from unreasonably delaying the approval of apps or deleting them from the marketplace -- provisions meant to head off retaliation against app makers. Companies that fai

Windows 11 Won't Include Android App Support at Launch Published on August 31, 2021 at 07:38PM Microsoft won't ship support for Android apps on Windows 11 in time for the operating system's launch on October 5th. While Android apps running on Windows 11 is one of the big new features of the OS, Microsoft will only start previewing this feature in the coming months. From a report: "We look forward to continuing our journey to bring Android apps to Windows 11 and the Microsoft Store through our collaboration with Amazon and Intel; this will start with a preview for Windows Insiders over the coming months," says Aaron Woodman, general manager of Windows marketing at Microsoft. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Chrome 94 Beta Adds WebGPU API With Support For Apple's Metal Published on August 31, 2021 at 06:30PM An anonymous reader quotes a report from 9to5Mac, written by Filipe Esposito: Google this week announced the beta release of Chrome 94, the next update to Google's desktop web browser. In addition to general improvements, the update also adds support for the new WebGPU API, which comes to replace WebGL and can even access Apple's Metal API. As described by Google in a blog post, WebGPU is a new, more advanced graphics API for the web that is able to access GPU hardware, resulting in better performance for rendering interfaces in websites and web apps. For those unfamiliar, Metal is an API introduced by Apple in 2014 that provides low-level access to GPU hardware for iOS, macOS, and tvOS apps. In other words, apps can access the GPU without overloading the CPU, which is one of the limitations of old APIs like OpenGL. Google says WebGPU is not expected to come enabled by de

All California National Forests To Temporarily Close Due To 'Wildfire Crisis' Published on August 31, 2021 at 03:30PM All of California's national forests will be closed starting late Tuesday until mid-September to help "better provide public and firefighter safety due to the ongoing California wildfire crisis," said the U.S. Forest Service in an order (PDF). CBS News reports: The closures will be in effect from August 31 at 11:59 p.m. local time until the same time on September 17, according to the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region. The order doesn't affect the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, the Forest Service said, because it's not in the Pacific Southwest Region. The Forest Service listed in its notice a variety of factors that went into making its decision, including public safety during emergency circumstances, along with decreasing "the potential for new fire starts at a time of extremely limited firefighting resources." Off

One-Third of Sun-Like Stars May Have Eaten Their Planets Published on August 31, 2021 at 12:30PM sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine, written by Adam Mann: Like the Greek god Chronos, a good number of stars devour their children. As many as one-third of them have swallowed one or more of their own planets, a new study suggests. The findings could help astronomers rule out stellar systems unlikely to contain Earth-like worlds. The team investigated how often this happens by looking at 107 binary systems containing two Sun-like stars -- akin to the fictional two-sunned world Tatooine in Star Wars. In 33 of these pairs, one of the companions showed elevated levels of iron compared with the other, a sign of planetary cannibalism. These same partners were also rich in lithium, giving further credence to the world-munching hypothesis. Although Sun-like stars are born with substantial amounts of lithium, they burn it away within the first 100 million years of their lives, so

Fox News Breaking News Alert US Embassy in Kabul suspends operations 08/30/21 11:44 PM

Biden Launches US Digital Corps To Bring Young Tech Talent To Government Published on August 31, 2021 at 09:00AM An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fast Company, written by Mark Sullivan: On Monday the Biden administration announced a new program, called the U.S. Digital Corps, designed to attract young tech talent to roles in the government. The Corps offers early-career technologies a chance to get engaged in government via a two-year fellowship focused on major Biden administration priorities, including coronavirus response, economic recovery, cybersecurity, and streamlining government services. The program will begin by recruiting 30 people with skill sets in software engineering, data science, design, cybersecurity, and other critical technology fields this fall. It'll place them in one of five agencies -- the General Services Administration (GSA), Veterans Affairs, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau -- where they&#

Russian Cosmonauts Find New Cracks In ISS Module Published on August 31, 2021 at 07:00AM Mr.Fork shares a report from Live Science: Russian cosmonauts discovered cracks on the Zarya module of the International Space Station (ISS) and are concerned that the fissures could spread over time, a senior space official reported on Monday. "Superficial fissures have been found in some places on the Zarya module," Vladimir Solovyov, chief engineer of rocket and space corporation Energia, told RIA news agency, according to Reuters. "This is bad and suggests that the fissures will begin to spread over time." The Zarya module, also called the Functional Cargo Block, was the first component of the ISS ever launched, having blasted into orbit on Nov. 20, 1998, according to NASA. Solovyov recently stated that the ISS is beginning to show its age and warned that there could potentially be an "avalanche" of broken equipment after 2025, according to Reuters. Read more o