ICT news

• Dispute Over Database Use Could Disrupt US Organ Transplant System

  08-07-2023 23:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  "The flow of lifesaving organs to 63 U.S. transplant centers could be disrupted..." reported the Washington Post on Monday, "by a dispute over the use of data."
  Or, as a local news station WRIC puts it, "Two entities dedicated to fighting to save lives through organ transplant operations are now fighting with each other."
  Buckeye Transplant Services filed a lawsuit against the United Network for Organ Sharing — or UNOS — on July 3 after the Richmond-based non-profit accused the trans
  
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• 'Forever Chemicals' Taint Nearly Half of US Tap Water, Study Estimates

  08-07-2023 22:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Equuleus42 (Slashdot reader #723) shares the Washington Post's article on "the latest evidence of the pervasiveness of 'forever chemicals'."A new study from the United States Geological Survey estimates that these 12,000 "PFAS" contaminants "taint nearly half" of America's tap water:
  Studies are steadily documenting the ubiquity of this class of chemicals. A 2015 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found PFAS in the blood of over 95 percent of Americans. Exposure to PFAS has
  
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• China's Workers and the Curse of (Turning) 35

  08-07-2023 21:34 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Long-time Slashdot reader 93 Escort Wagon writes:Age discrimination is something many tech workers think about — especially once they get into their 40s and 50s. But imagine what it would be like if you thought that every job in every field shunned you at an even earlier age. In China, you apparently don't have to imagine, the New York Times reports...
  "When Sean Liang turned 30, he started thinking of the Curse of 35 — the widespread belief in China that white-collar workers like hi
  
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• EFF Says California Cops Are Illegally Sharing License Plate Data with Anti-Abortion States

  08-07-2023 20:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Slashdot reader j3x0n shared this report from California newspaper the Sacramento Bee:In 2015, Democratic Elk Grove Assemblyman Jim Cooper voted for Senate Bill 34, which restricted law enforcement from sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with out-of-state authorities. In 2023, now-Sacramento County Sheriff Cooper appears to be doing just that. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) a digital rights group, has sent Cooper a letter requesting that the Sacramento County Sheriff's
  
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• Why a Sudden Surge of Broken Heat Records is Scaring Scientists

  08-07-2023 19:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Monday was Earth's hottest day in at least 125,000 years — and Tuesday was hotter.
  The Washington Post reports that the director of Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service has a term for it: "uncharted territory."It's not just that records are being broken — but the massive margins with which conditions are surpassing previous extremes, scientists note. In parts of the North Atlantic, temperatures are running as high as 9 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, the warmest observed there
  
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• 22-Year-Old Gamer Sentenced in France for 2020 Swatting of Ubisoft's Montreal Office

  08-07-2023 18:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes this report from Engadget:A disgruntled Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege gamer who called in a fake emergency to Ubisoft's Montreal office was sentenced this week to three years of community service, according to The Montreal Gazette. Yanni Ouahioune, 22, was handed the sentence on Monday in Paris following his call to authorities about a fake hostage situation in November 2020.
  Police say Ouahioune called in the hoax because he was angry he had been banned several times
  
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• Perl 5.38 Released with New Experimental Syntax for Defining Object Classes

  08-07-2023 17:34 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  Perl 5.38 was released this week "after being in development for more than one year," reports Phoronix. "Perl 5.38 brings a new experimental syntax for defining object classes where per-instance data is stored in 'field' variables that behave like lexicals."
  "Maybe, just maybe, the new features introduced into the language in this newest version will attract much sought new talent," writes the site I Programmer, noting the argument that Perl is installed by default everywhere — and has the
  
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• Reddit Gives Final Warning to Subreddits Using NSFW Protest Tactic

  08-07-2023 16:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  2096 subreddits were still dark on Friday, as PC Magazine shared this update about ongoing protests at Reddit:To stamp out any remaining protests, Reddit is sending "final warnings" to subreddits that decided to permit NSFW content as a way to derail the company's advertising business.
  Reddit sent warnings to subreddits including r/PICs, r/Military, r/dndmemes, and r/JustNoMil, which was first noticed by The Verge. The message states: "This is a final warning for inaccurately labeling your commu
  
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• Netflix Invents New Green-Screen Filming Method Using Magenta Light

  08-07-2023 15:00 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from NewScientist: Netflix researchers have created a new type of AI-powered green-screen technology that can produce realistic visual effects for film and television in real time. Green-screen technology is routinely used to capture footage of actors that can then be inserted in the foreground of virtual or prerecorded scenes. To do this, actors are filmed against a bright green background, which is easily isolated and removed digitally. This process can be d
  
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• 'World War III Will Be Fought With Viruses'

  08-07-2023 12:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Long-time Slashdot reader hpickens writes: Richard A. Muller Has an interesting op-ed in the WSJ that asserts that World War III may not be what you expect (Source paywalled; alternative source) and that a two-front biological and cyberattack could lead to a U.S. defeat before we know what hit us. Muller paints a picture of what such a dual attack would look like. "The great value to the attacker of a two-pronged biological and cyber attack is the possibility of achieving destructive goals while
  
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• Harvard Professor Believes He's Found Fragments of Alien Technology

  08-07-2023 09:00 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  Harvard professor Avi Loeb believes he may have found fragments of alien technology from a meteor that landed in the waters off of Papua, New Guinea in 2014. CBS News reports: Loeb and his team just brought the materials back to Harvard for analysis. The U.S. Space Command confirmed with almost near certainty, 99.999%, that the material came from another solar system. The government gave Loeb a 10 km (6.2 mile) radius of where it may have landed. "That is where the fireball took place, and the g
  
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• AI Tool Decodes Brain Cancer's Genome During Surgery

  08-07-2023 05:30 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Harvard Medical School: Scientists have designed an AI tool that can rapidly decode a brain tumor's DNA to determine its molecular identity during surgery -- critical information that under the current approach can take a few days and up to a few weeks. Knowing a tumor's molecular type enables neurosurgeons to make decisions such as how much brain tissue to remove and whether to place tumor-killing drugs directly into the brain -- while the patient is sti
  
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• After Riots In France, Macron Partially Blames Video Games On Violence

  08-07-2023 02:30 via games.slashdot.org
  
  President Emmanuel Macron is partially blaming video games for the spread of violence in France following the shooting death of a teenager during a police traffic stop in a Paris suburb last week. NPR reports: "It sometimes feels like some of them are experiencing, on the streets, the video games that have intoxicated them," Macron said in a press conference on July 1. He added that protesters are using Snapchat and TikTok to organize themselves and spread "a mimicking of violence, which for the
  
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• Mercedes-Benz Is the First German Automaker To Adopt Tesla's EV Charging Standard

  08-07-2023 01:50 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Mercedes-Benz is the latest automaker to commit to adopting Tesla's electric vehicle charging connectors for its vehicles. The Verge reports: Starting in 2024, the German automaker will offer adapters to its customers so they can access Tesla Supercharger stations, which use the company's North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug and outlet. And in 2025, Mercedes will begin to manufacture EVs with Tesla's charging port, obviating the need for an adapter. The company joins Ford, GM, Volvo, Pol
  
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• Bangladesh Government Website Leaks Citizens' Personal Data

  08-07-2023 01:10 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  A Bangladeshi government website leaked the personal information of citizens, including full names, phone numbers, email addresses and national ID numbers. TechCrunch reports: Viktor Markopoulos, a researcher who works for Bitcrack Cyber Security, said he accidentally discovered the leak on June 27, and shortly after contacted the Bangladeshi e-Government Computer Incident Response Team (CERT). He said the leak includes data of millions of Bangladeshi citizens. TechCrunch was able to verify that
  
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• Denuvo Wants To Convince You Its DRM Isn't 'Evil'

  08-07-2023 00:30 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Simply mentioning the name "Denuvo" among some gamers is pretty much guaranteed to get you an instant, strong reaction. Just look at the comment threads underneath any Ars article covering Denuvo and you'll see plenty of complaints about the DRM-enhancing anti-piracy technology. Irdeto, the company that acquired Denuvo in a 2018 purchase, doesn't generally make a habit of commenting at length on this reputation (or its secretive DRM schemes)
  
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