ICT news

• 15 Months Ago, a Melting Iceberg Released 152 Billion Tonnes of Water

  23-01-2022 23:18 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Space.com reports:
  A rogue iceberg that drifted dangerously close to an Antarctic penguin population in 2020 and 2021 released billions of tons of fresh water into the ocean during its breakup.
  A new study, based on satellite data, tracks the aftermath of the once-mighty iceberg A-68a, which held the title of world's largest iceberg for more than three years before shattering into a dozen pieces.... [T]he new research shows that the iceberg flooded the region with fresh water, potentially affect
  
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• Saturn's 'Death Star'-Shaped Moon Mimas May Be Hiding an Ocean

  23-01-2022 22:18 via science.slashdot.org
  
  CNET reports:Saturn has some famous moons, like Enceladus (a plume-spewing moon of mystery) and Titan (the intriguing target of NASA's future Dragonfly mission). But what about dainty Mimas, a moon that's mostly known for its resemblance to the Star Wars Death Star?
  Turns out it might be hiding an ocean.
  A study published in the journal Icarus lays out evidence that suggests Mimas has liquid deep under its icy surface. "If Mimas has an ocean, it represents a new class of small, 'stealth' ocean w
  
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• Researchers Find Evidence of Boulders Tumbling After Recent Earthquakes on Mars

  23-01-2022 21:48 via science.slashdot.org
  
  "If a rock falls on Mars, and no one is there to see it, does it leave a trace?" jokes the New York Times, answering "Yes, and it's a beautiful herringbone-like pattern, new research reveals."
  Scientists have now spotted thousands of tracks on the red planet created by tumbling boulders. Delicate chevron-shaped piles of Martian dust and sand frame the tracks, the team showed, and most fade over the course of a few years.
  Rockfalls have been spotted elsewhere in the solar system, including on the
  
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• All Charges Dropped Against MIT Professor Accused of Hiding Ties to China

  23-01-2022 20:23 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Remember that MIT professor accused of hiding the work he did for the Chinese government? (He was arrested for not disclosing it on federal grant applications, with a U.S. attorney announcing "It is not illegal to collaborate with foreign researchers. It is illegal to lie about it.")
  All charges have been dropped. Mass Live reports:
  Chen, 56, was arrested a year ago for failing to disclose millions of dollars in contracts, appointments and awards from the Chinese government when he applied for a
  
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• Blender 3.0 Released With More New Features and Improvements

  23-01-2022 19:04 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Long-time Slashdot reader Qbertino writes: The Free Open Source 3D production software Blender has been released in version 3.0 (official showreel) with more new features, improvements and performance optimizations as well as further improved workflows.
  In recent years Blender has received an increasing rate of attention from the 3D industry, with various larger businesses such as Epic, Microsoft, Apple and most recently Intel joining the blender foundation and donating to its development fund.
  
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• KDE-Powering Qt's New Framework Lets Developers Bring Ads Into Their Apps

  23-01-2022 18:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  "Qt, the framework that powers the KDE desktop, is announcing support for ads in client-side applications," reports Neowin:This means that application developers will now be able to serve ads in traditional desktop applications.... Windows users have been dealing with this in Metro UI apps since Windows 8 and it's something that's never gone over well on the desktop.
  While it's doubtful you'll see ads in KDE's core applications, it would be possible for distributions that wish to further monetiz
  
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• A Conway 'Game of Life' Conjecture Settled After 29 years

  23-01-2022 16:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  In 1992 John Conway raised a question about the patterns in his famous mathematical Game of Life: "Is there a Godlike still-life, one that can only have existed for all time (apart from things that don't interfere with it)?"
  Conway closed his note by adding "Well, I'm going out to get a hot dog now..." And then, nearly 30 years later, a mathematical blog reports:Ilkka Törmä and Ville Salo, a pair of researchers at the University of Turku in Finland, have found a finite configuration in
  
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• Is the Five-Day Work Week Dying?

  23-01-2022 13:34 via it.slashdot.org
  
  "The traditional idea of going to the office five days a week or working 9 to 5 may be dying," reports the Washington Post:Zoom, which many workplaces and workers relied on during the pandemic, is starting to allow its more than 6,000 workers to choose whether to work in the office, work remotely, or go hybrid, as in working remotely a certain number of days per week or month at their choosing. Bolt, a San Francisco-based e-commerce start-up boldly introduced a permanent four-day workweek for it
  
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• El Salvador's Government Buys More Bitcoin as Its Price Drops to $35,149

  23-01-2022 09:59 via news.slashdot.org
  
  As the price of bitcoin drops to $35,149, "The entire country of El Salvador is riding the cryptocurrency wave," reports The Street, "even in its choppiest waters."The first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, the Central American nation just "bought the dip" once again and acquired 410 bitcoin (roughly $14.8 million USD), its president tweeted Friday....
  Bitcoin, which nearly topped $70,000 in November, has now lost more than 40% of its value... El Salvador had previously "bo
  
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• The EU Approves Sweeping Draft Regulations On Social Media Giants

  23-01-2022 06:31 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  "The European Union took a significant step Thursday toward passing legislation that could transform the way major technology companies operate," reports the Washington Post, "requiring them to police content on their platforms more aggressively and introducing new restrictions on advertising, among other provisions...."
  "The legislation is the most aggressive attempt yet to regulate big tech companies as the industry comes under greater international scrutiny."The version approved Thursday woul
  
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• Analysts Weigh In: Will We Ever See the Year of the Linux Desktop?

  23-01-2022 04:36 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  How popular is Linux? The Windows Central site admits Linux is starting to tempt them. "It made such an imprint on Windows Central that not all of us even bother much with Windows anymore."
  "Heck, Germany (part of it, to be specific) is taking another stab at ditching Windows for Linux..."
  But what are the odds really that Linux overtakes Windows' market share? "That is the tantalizing question at the kernelled core of the great Linux debate, and it's the one we reached out to analysts to hear t
  
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• Ask Slashdot: Do We Need Better Computer Programming Courses For Visual Learners?

  23-01-2022 02:36 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Two-thirds of technology firms are experiencing a shortage of skilled workers, reports the BBC (citing a recent report from recruitment firm Harvey Nash).
  But what's the solution? In an article shared by Chrisq, the BBC's business technology reporter field-tested some computer programming training:
  I attended Teach the Nation to Code, a free one-day Python coding workshop run by UK training firm, QA... But when it works, there's not much pay-off — just some lines on a screen. I also took c
  
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• In High-Tech San Francisco, a Pilot Program Tries Guaranteed Incomes for Artists

  23-01-2022 00:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  In 2015 the San Francisco Arts Commission surveyed nearly 600 local artists. "More than 70% of them had either already left San Francisco or were about to be displaced from their work, home or both," reports SFGate.com, adding "The pandemic has only intensified these problems. A report by Americans for the Arts found that 53% of artists have no savings whatsoever as a result of the pandemic."
  Would it help to give over 100 artists their own Universal Basic Income?In an effort to mitigate what ap
  
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