ICT news

• Judge Tosses Criminal Charges Against South Carolina Nuclear Executive - But Case May Continue

  05-08-2023 23:34 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shared this report from the Associated Press:A judge has ordered criminal charges dropped against the final executive accused of lying about problems building two nuclear reactors in South Carolina that were abandoned without generating a watt of power.The judge tossed the charges Wednesday because ratepayers of the utility that lost billions of dollars on the project were improperly allowed on the grand jury that indicted Westinghouse Electric Co. executive Jeffrey Benjamin.
  
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• Are the Reddit Protests Over?

  05-08-2023 22:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  "Three of Reddit's biggest communities are no longer focused entirely on John Oliver in a form of protest against Reddit," reports the Verge.
  Gizmodo argues that this means "the Reddit protest is finally over. Reddit won."
  Despite the infinite blackout threats, most moderators relented as the weeks rolled by. Three major holdouts were r/aww, r/pics, and r/videos, some of Reddit's largest communities that account for more than 91 million subscribers. The three subreddits reopened weeks ago but ad
  
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• SpaceX Studies Use of Starship as a Space Station

  05-08-2023 21:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Recently Ars Technica reported on "another application for SpaceX's Starship architecture that the company is studying," adding that NASA "is on board to lend expertise.
  "Though still in a nascent phase of tech development, the effort could result in repurposing Starship into a commercial space station, something NASA has a keen interest in because there are no plans for a government-owned research lab in low-Earth orbit after the International Space Station is decommissioned after 2030."
  NASA a
  
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• Federal Judge Clears Way for US Antitrust Case Against Google

  05-08-2023 20:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  The Washington Post reports:A federal judge said the Department of Justice's landmark case alleging Google's dominance over the online search business is anti-competitive can go ahead, throwing out some of the government's claims but ruling that a trial is still necessary.
  Google had asked for the judge to make a ruling before the trial, which is scheduled for September.
  Some of the government's claims, including those put together by a consortium of state attorneys general that argued the way G
  
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• Scientists in Japan Develop Experimental Alzheimer's Vaccine Showing Promise in Mice

  05-08-2023 19:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  "Scientists in Japan may be at the start of a truly monumental accomplishment: a vaccine that can slow or delay the progression of Alzheimer's disease," reports Gizmodo:In preliminary research released this week, the vaccine appeared to reduce inflammation and other important biomarkers in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's-like illness, while also improving their awareness.
  More research will be needed before this vaccine can be tested in humans, however. The experimental vaccine is being deve
  
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• Vim's Creator Bram Moolenaar Dies at Age 62

  05-08-2023 18:35 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Bram Moolenaar was Vim's creator/maintainer/benevolent-dictator for life. Early this morning his family shared sad news on the Vim-announce Google Group. "It is with a heavy heart that we have to inform you that Bram Moolenaar passed away on 3 August 2023." Moolenaar was 62 years old, and died from "a medical condition that progressed quickly over the last few weeks.""Bram dedicated a large part of his life to VIM and he was very proud of the VIM community that you are all part of."
  Anyone who's
  
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• NASA Finally Restores Communication with Voyager 2 After Two Weeks

  05-08-2023 17:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  "NASA has reestablished full communications with Voyager 2," according to a mission update posted Friday:
  The agency's Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia, sent the equivalent of an interstellar "shout" more than 12.3 billion miles (19.9 billion kilometers) to Voyager 2, instructing the spacecraft to reorient itself and turn its antenna back to Earth. With a one-way light time of 18.5 hours for the command to reach Voyager, it took 37 hours for mission controllers to learn whether
  
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• A New Mode of Cancer Treatment

  05-08-2023 16:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  As detailed in a paper published in Cell Chemical Biology, researchers have developed a "cancer-killing pill" capable of destroying solid tumors while leaving healthy cells unaffected. The new drug has been in development for 20 years and is now undergoing pre-clinical research in the U.S.. Derek Lowe, a medicinal chemist and freelance writer on science and pharmaceutical topics, writes about the new paper via Science Magazine: It's about a molecule designated AOH1996, which seems to have a uniq
  
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• EPA Approved a Chevron Fuel Ingredient That Has a Lifetime Cancer Risk

  05-08-2023 15:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from ProPublica: The Environmental Protection Agency approved a component of boat fuel made from discarded plastic that the agency's own risk formula determined was so hazardous, everyone exposed to the substance continually over a lifetime would be expected to develop cancer. Current and former EPA scientists said that threat level is unheard of. It is a million times higher than what the agency usually considers acceptable for new chemicals and six times wor
  
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• Google Offers Employees On-Campus Hotel 'Special' To Lure Workers Back To the Office

  05-08-2023 12:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  For $99 a night, full-time employees of Google can stay at an on-campus hotel in Mountain View in what the company is deeming a "Summer Special." According to CNBC who obtained the materials, "the special will run through Sept. 30 in hopes it'll 'make it easier for Googlers to transition to the hybrid workplace.'" From the report: Since the promotion is for unapproved business travel, the company will not reimburse their stays, but will require employees to use their personal credit cards, the s
  
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• Capella's Earth-Imaging Satellites Are Deorbiting Faster Than Expected

  05-08-2023 09:00 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Capella Space's synthetic aperture radar satellites are falling back to Earth much sooner than than the three years they were anticipated to operate, according to publicly available satellite data. TechCrunch reports: The startup has launched a total of ten small satellites to low Earth orbit since 2018, including eight in its family of "Whitney"-class spacecraft. Five of these satellites have reentered the atmosphere since the end of January of this year, including three of the Whitneys. Those
  
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• One of Gaming's Biggest YouTubers Wants To Replace Himself With AI

  05-08-2023 05:30 via games.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: Jordi Van DenBussche used to devote every waking hour to building his presence on social media. The gaming creator, better known as Kwebbelkop, would labor 24/7 onhis YouTube channelcoming up with video ideas, shooting them, distributing them. He did this while courting brand deals and doing the other work integral to his survival on the platform. Five years ago, he ran into a problem. "Every time I wanted to take a holiday or I needed some time fo
  
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• Twitch Streamer in Custody After Giveaway Clogs Downtown NYC with Crowd of Thousands

  05-08-2023 04:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shared this report from CNN:The New York Police Department took social media influencer Kai Cenat into custody Friday and is considering charges such as "inciting a riot" after thousands-strong crowds gathered in Union Square for a giveaway, leaving multiple people arrested and several police officers injured.
  Cenat, who has over 4 million followers on YouTube, over 5 million on Instagram, and 6.5 million on Twitch, said during a Wednesday Twitch stream that he would be hosti
  
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• MIT Boffins Build Battery Alternative Out of Cement, Carbon Black, and Water

  05-08-2023 03:25 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  Long-time Slashdot reader KindMind shares a report from The Register: Researchers at MIT claim to have found a novel new way to store energy using nothing but cement, a bit of water, and powdered carbon black -- a crystalline form of the element. The materials can be cleverly combined to create supercapacitors, which could in turn be used to build power-storing foundations of houses, roadways that could wirelessly charge vehicles, and serve as the foundation of wind turbines and other renewable
  
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• TikTok's Algorithm Will Be Optional In Europe

  05-08-2023 02:45 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  TikTok users in Europe will be able to switch off the personalized algorithm behind its For You and Live feeds as the company makes changes to comply with the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA). The Verge reports: According to TikTok, disabling this function will show users "popular videos from both the places where they live and around the world" instead of content based on their personal interests. These changes relate to DSA rules that require very large online platforms to allow their users to
  
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• Austrian Leader Proposes Enshrining the Use of Cash In His Country's Constitution

  05-08-2023 02:02 via news.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Associated Press: Austria's leader is proposing to enshrine in the country's constitution a right to use cash, which remains more popular in the Alpine nation than in many other places. Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a statement on Friday that "more and more people are concerned that cash could be restricted as a means of payment in Austria." His office said that the "uncertainty" is fueled by contradictory information and reports. "People in Austri
  
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• Z-Library Rolls Out Browser Extensions In Anticipation of Domain Name Troubles

  05-08-2023 01:20 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Pirate eBook repository Z-Library has launched browser extensions that should make it easier for users to find the site if its current domains are seized in the future. While the site doesn't explicitly mention the U.S. Government crackdown, it likely plays a key role in the decision to make these extensions available. TorrentFreak reports: Since the shadow library is now well aware that its domain names could be taken away at any moment, numerous precautions are being taken to mitigate the risk
  
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• Canadian Telecom Giant Telus To Cut 6,000 Jobs

  05-08-2023 00:40 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Telecommunications giant Telus says it is trimming 6,000 jobs, citing its need to free up cash flow and remain competitive. CBC.ca reports: The cuts involve 4,000 positions at its main Telus business and 2,000 at Telus International and include offers of early retirement and voluntary departure packages, the Vancouver-based company said Friday. Financial markets data firm Refinitiv says Telus had 108,500 workers at the end of last year. The cuts were made with "a very heavy heart" and prompted b
  
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• Qualcomm, One of Arm's Biggest Customers, Starts a RISC-V Joint Venture

  05-08-2023 00:00 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Arm is facing down its biggest competition ever, with the up-and-coming RISC-V architecture threatening to unseat it as the CPU at the center of almost every portable device. Now, one of Arm's biggest customers is trying out RISC-V, as Qualcomm is getting involved in a joint venture dedicated to the architecture. The joint venture doesn't have a name yet, but Qualcomm, NXP, Nordic Semiconductor, Bosch, and memory giant Infineon are all teami
  
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