ICT news

• Are Electric Vehicles Killing the Spare Tire?

  20-08-2023 23:36 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The "vast majority of battery-powered and hybrid cars" don't have a spare tire, reports the Los Angeles Times.
  Honda told one complaining customer that "if the vehicle is in an accident, the spare tire can cause damage to the electric battery which could cause a failure in the battery." But according to the Times, "car design experts said that explanation was plausible but far-fetched."There's a simpler explanation for the move away from spare tires: They're too big and heavy, and people don't r
  
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• 'Demoralized' Amazon Workers Demand Data, Not Anecdotes, Supporting Return-to-Office Policy

  20-08-2023 22:36 via it.slashdot.org
  
  Amazon held an all-hands meeting where Adam Selipsky, head of Amazon's cloud computing business, "wouldn't give employees any data to back up the decision to require workers to come back to the office," reports the Seattle Times.
  "But he did have some stories to share, according to an Amazon Web Services employee who attended the all-hands meeting," with one anecdote highlighting "the serendipity" that can happen with a return to the office.
  For some Amazon employees, "serendipity" isn't enough.
  
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• Fan-Made Game Reimagines 'Twin Peaks' with PS1-Style Graphics

  20-08-2023 21:35 via games.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shared this report from IGN:
  A demo for the unofficial fan game Twin Peaks: Into the Night has been released, allowing players to explore the weird and wonderful world of David Lynch and Mark Frost's '90s TV show in a PS1-style adaptation... developed by Jean Manzoni and Lucas Guibert of the Blue Rose Team. The game is now available to download on PC via itch.io, with its creators welcoming feedback on the gameplay experience... "We hope you'll enjoy playing it. As a quick re
  
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• Russia's First Lunar Mission in Decades Crashes Into the Moon

  20-08-2023 20:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  "Russia's first lunar mission in decades has ended in failure with its Luna 25 spacecraft crashing into the moon's surface," reports CNN:The incident, a blow to Russia's space ambitions, happened after communication with the robotic spacecraft was interrupted, a blow to Russia's space ambitions. Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, said it lost touch with Luna 25 on Saturday around 2:57 p.m. Moscow time... According to a "preliminary analysis," Luna-25 "switched to an off-design orbit" before the c
  
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• 68 Years After His Death, James Dean Is Reportedly Starring in a New Movie - Thanks to AI

  20-08-2023 19:34 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  Nearly seven decades after he died, James Dean "has been cast as the star in a new, upcoming movie," reports the BBC:A digital clone of the actor — created using artificial intelligence technology similar to that used to generate deepfakes — will walk, talk and interact on screen with other actors in the film...
  This is the second time Dean's digital clone has been lined up for a film. In 2019, it was announced he would be resurrected in CGI for a film called Finding Jack, but it was
  
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• Before Delivery-Service Shutdown, Netflix Offers Remaining Customers Up to 10 Free 'Mystery' DVD Rentals

  20-08-2023 18:34 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  Netflix's 25-year-old delivery service for DVDs (in red envelopes) will go dark on September 29th. But that delivery service's final remaining customers can opt-in "to potentially receive up to 10 extra discs," reports NPR. "Let's have some fun for our finale!" says an email from the company. (Though Business Insider points out that "Customers won't know what movies they'll get; the films will be chosen from what's in their queue.")
  NPR notes there's an even bigger mystery:Netflix's promotional
  
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• Lenovo's Handheld 'Legion Go' Gaming Computer: Detachable Controls and AR Glasses?

  20-08-2023 17:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  To one-up Valve's Steam Deck, Lenovo's handheld gaming device, the "Legion Go," will have "Switch-style detachable controllers," reports Ars Technica"The Legion Go wouldn't be the very first portable PC gaming device with removable controllers; the crowd-funded OneXplayer sported a similar design last year, for instance. But few other PC-based portables have similarly mimicked the Switch Joy-cons in their ability to slide smoothly off from the main screen of the system for detached play.
  Combine
  
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• 40% of Workers Will Have to Reskill in the Next Three Years Due to AI, Says IBM Study

  20-08-2023 16:34 via it.slashdot.org
  
  IBM's business research organization (the IBM Institute for Business Value), released results from a new global study. Its conclusion? "The world of work has changed compared to even six months ago."
  Executives surveyed estimate that 40% of their workforce will need to reskill as a result of implementing AI and automation over the next three years. That could translate to 1.4 billion of the 3.4 billion people in the global workforce, according to World Bank statistics. Respondents also report th
  
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• Is 'Blue Beetle' the Best Modern DC Superhero Movie?

  20-08-2023 13:34 via entertainment.slashdot.org
  
  At the Washington Post, David Betancourt's title is "reporter focusing on comic book culture."Saturday he wrote that the Blue Beetle movie "isn't just a good superhero movie, it's the best film from DC in its modern era, this past decade marked by their struggle to catch up to Marvel Studios...""Blue Beetle" has heart. "Blue Beetle" has soul... There's a feeling that those of us who love superhero cinema get when we know we've seen something special. The feeling that compelled us to buy a ticket
  
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• AlmaLinux Leader Says Red Hat's Code Crackdown Isn't a Threat

  20-08-2023 09:34 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  Yes, Red Hat Enterprise Linux changed its licensing last month — but how will that affect AlmaLinux? The chair of the nonprofit AlmaLinux OS Foundation, benny Vasquez, tells SiliconANGLE that "For typical users, there's very, very little difference. Overall, we're still exactly the same way we were, except for kernel updates."Updates may no longer be available the day a new version of RHEL comes out, but developers still have access to Red Hat's planned enhancements and bug fixes via CentO
  
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• On Bill Waterson's Upcoming Book - And Why He Vanished

  20-08-2023 06:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  In 1995 Bill Watterson walked away from "the madness that had consumed him for practically his entire adulthood," writes the American Conservative.
  Though everyone loved his Calvin & Hobbes comic strip, "I had virtually no life beyond the drawing board," he said of the years leading up to the decision...
  So it came as some surprise earlier this year when Watterson's publisher announced his first new book in nearly thirty years. The Mysteries is a "modern fable"... ["For the book's illustrati
  
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• Schools are Now Teaching About ChatGPT and AI So Their Students Aren't Left Behind

  20-08-2023 03:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Professors now fear that ignoring or discouraging the use of AI "will be a disservice to students and leave many behind when entering the workforce," reports CNN:According to a study conducted by higher education research group Intelligent.com, about 30% of college students used ChatGPT for schoolwork this past academic year and it was used most in English classes. Jules White, an associate professor of computer science at Vanderbilt University, believes professors should be explicit in the firs
  
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• Can You Measure Software Developer Productivity?

  20-08-2023 00:34 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes: Measuring, tracking, and benchmarking developer productivity has long been considered a black box. It doesn't have to be that way." So begins global management consulting firm McKinsey in Yes, You Can Measure Software Developer Productivity...
  "Compared with other critical business functions such as sales or customer operations, software development is perennially undermeasured. The long-held belief by many in tech is that it's not possible to do it corre
  
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