ICT news

• UK Police Force Loses 3 Years of Body Camera Footage

  26-08-2023 22:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Slashdot reader Bruce66423 shared this report from the Independent:South Yorkshire Police (SYP) has apologised after revealing more than three years' worth of officer body cam footage has been deleted from its computer systems. SYP said it had referred itself to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) after the footage, recorded between July 2020 and May 2023, was found to be missing. The force initially said the incident had been caused by a "significant and unexplained reduction" in stored
  
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• Perseverance Mars Rover Spies Big Sunspot Rotating Toward Earth

  26-08-2023 21:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Long-time Slashdot reader SonicSpike shares a new perspective on sunspots (those dark, cool areas where the sun's magnetic field is particularly strong, and which often launch solar flares).
  "NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has given us a sneak peek of an intriguing patch of the sun that's not yet visible from Earth," reports Space.com:Perseverance photographs the sun daily with its Mastcam-Z camera system to gauge the amount of dust in the Martian atmosphere. Such an effort captured a big sunspo
  
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• Is 'CS In Every School' the 2024 Presidential Campaign's 'Chicken In Every Pot'?

  26-08-2023 20:34 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes:
  During the U.S. presidential campaign of 1928, a circular published by the Republican Party claimed that if Herbert Hoover won there would be "a chicken in every pot". Times change. When talk turned to education at Wednesday night's 2024 Republican U.S. Presidential Candidate Debate, candidate Asa Hutchinson promised there will be 'CS in every school' if he wins (YouTube). "Look at Arkansas," the former Arkansas Governor explained. "We have to compete wit
  
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• Marketers Overstate Fish Oil Claims for Heart Health, Study Shows

  26-08-2023 19:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shared this report from the Washington Post:Most research shows that over-the-counter fish oil supplements don't offer cardiovascular benefits, but that hasn't stopped marketers from touting them for heart health, a new study shows.
  The sale of fish oil supplements is a multibillion-dollar industry, and many people take fish oil capsules daily, believing the omega-3 fatty acids they contain are good for their overall health, particularly for their heart. While it's true peopl
  
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• Could Sand Be the Next Lithium? Searching for Better Renewable Energy-Storing Batteries

  26-08-2023 18:34 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  "The green energy revolution still faces a huge obstacle: a lack of long-term, cost-efficient renewable storage," writes the Washington Post.
  But then they check in on a Finnish start-up running the world's first commercial-scale sand battery, which uses solar panels and wind turbines to heat sand-filled vats (up to 1,000 degrees) to back up district heating networks:The sand can hold onto the power for weeks or months at a time — a clear advantage over the lithium ion battery, the giant o
  
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• 72-Year-Old C++ Creator Bjarne Stroustrup Shares Life Advice

  26-08-2023 17:34 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  72-year-old Bjarne Stroustrup invented C++ (first released in 1985). 38 years later, he gave a short interview for Honeypot.io (which calls itself "Europe's largest tech-focused job platform") offering his own advice for life:
  Don't overspecialize. Don't be too sure that you know the future. Be flexible, and remember that careers and jobs are a long-term thing. Too many young people think they can optimize something, and then they find they've spent a couple of years or more specializing in some
  
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• Threads is Now Available on the Web

  26-08-2023 16:34 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Tuesday Mark Zuckerberg shared a photo on Instagram with "actual footage of me building Threads for web." And now ZDNet reports that Zuckerberg's photo is available on his new Threads page on the web.
  "As of Thursday, Meta's new platform is fully accessible to all users from any computer and desktop browser, Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed in a new Threads post."
  "Use your Instagram account to log in: threads.net," explains the official Threads account. "Scroll to catch up on the conversat
  
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• Crypto Startup Bankrupt After Losing Password To $38.9 Million Physical Crypto Wallet

  26-08-2023 15:00 via slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from 404 Media: A buzzy startup offering financial infrastructure to crypto companies has found itself bankrupt primarily because it can't gain access to a physical crypto wallet with $38.9 million in it. The company also did not write down recovery phrases, locking itself out of the wallet forever in something it has called "The Wallet Event" to a bankruptcy judge. Prime Trust pitches itself as a crypto fintech company designed to help other startups offer cr
  
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• 90% of Paper Straws Contain Toxic Forever Chemicals, Study Finds

  26-08-2023 12:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A European study reveals that around 90% of eco-friendly paper straws contain "forever chemicals" called PFAS, which do not easily break down and can accumulate in the body, potentially causing health issues. New Atlas reports: "Forever chemicals" is the colloquial name given to a class of more than 12,000 chemicals, more formally known as poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), that barely break down in the environment or in our bodies. Hence, the "forever" part. [...] The researchers teste
  
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• SpaceX Test-Fires Booster For Second Starship Launch

  26-08-2023 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  SpaceX says it successfully test-fired the booster for its next Starship launch, although that liftoff may still be weeks away. SpaceNews reports: SpaceX fired the Raptor engines in the Super Heavy booster designated Booster 9 in a static-fire test at its Starbase test site in Boca Chica, Texas, at approximately 1:35 p.m. Eastern Aug. 25. SpaceX said it conducted a "full duration" firing, which appeared to last about five to six seconds. SpaceX later stated that all 33 engines successfully ignit
  
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• The 'Weird' Male Y Chromosome Has Finally Been Fully Sequenced

  26-08-2023 05:30 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Conversation: The Y chromosome is a never-ending source of fascination (particularly to men) because it bears genes that determine maleness and make sperm. It's also small and seriously weird; it carries few genes and is full of junk DNA that makes it horrendous to sequence. However, new "long-read" sequencing techniques have finally provided a reliable sequence from one end of the Y to the other. The paper describing this Herculean effort has been pu
  
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• Graphene Surprise Could Help Generate Hydrogen Cheaply and Sustainably

  26-08-2023 04:02 via science.slashdot.org
  
  echo123 shares a report from SciTechDaily: Researchers have discovered that graphene naturally allows proton transport, especially around its nanoscale wrinkles. This finding could revolutionize the hydrogen economy by offering sustainable alternatives to existing catalysts and membranes. [...] In a recent publication in the journal Nature, a joint effort between the University of Warwick, spearheaded by Prof. Patrick Unwin, and The University of Manchester, led by Dr. Marcelo Lozada-Hidalgo and
  
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• Google Chrome's Useless Reading Mode To Get a Useful Audio Upgrade

  26-08-2023 03:25 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Google Chrome is adding a read-aloud option to its reading mode, allowing users to have articles read to them like an audiobook. Android Police reports: Google is actively working to bring additional features to its reading mode, and a handy read-aloud option is already on the way for the Chrome browser. As the name suggests, read aloud basically reads out the entire article, as if you're listening to an audiobook, with text-to-speech (TTS) capabilities. Again, a few mainstream browsers and apps
  
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• Denuvo Security Is Now On Switch, Including New Tech To Block PC Switch Emulation

  26-08-2023 02:45 via games.slashdot.org
  
  Denuvo has become the first security partner to be added to the Nintendo Developer Portal. According to Video Games Chronicle, Switch developers can use Denuvo's tools for their games to block users from playing them on PC emulators. From the report: "Even if a game is protected against piracy on its PC version, the version released on Nintendo Switch can be emulated from day one and played on PC, therefore bypassing the strong protections offered on the PC version," the company says. "This can
  
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• Leaked Wipeout Source Code Leads To Near-Total Rewrite and Remaster

  26-08-2023 02:02 via games.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: There have been a lot of Wipeout games released since the 1995 original, including Wipeout HD and the Omega Collection, but only the original has the distinction of having its Windows port source code leaked by (since defunct) archive Forest of Illusion. Dominic Szablewski grabbed that code before it disappeared and set about creating a version that's not just a port. He rewrote the game's rendering, physics, sound, and generally "everything
  
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• New Windows Updates Cause UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR Blue Screens

  26-08-2023 01:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Microsoft's August 2023 preview updates for Windows 11 and Windows 10, labeled as KB5029351 and KB5029331 respectively, have led to blue screen errors citing an unsupported processor problem. BleepingComputer reports: "Microsoft has received reports of an issue in which users are receiving an 'UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR' error message on a blue screen after installing updates released on August 2," Redmond said. The company also added that the problematic cumulative updates "might automatically unins
  
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• The EU's Digital Services Act Goes Into Effect Today

  26-08-2023 00:40 via slashdot.org
  
  The European Union's Digital Services Act has gone into effect today, requiring tech giants to comply with sweeping legislation that holds online platforms accountable for the content posted to them. The Verge reports: The overarching goal of the DSA is to foster safer online environments. Under the new rules, online platforms must implement ways to prevent and remove posts containing illegal goods, services, or content while simultaneously giving users the means to report this type of content.
  
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• Judge Tears Apart Republican Lawsuit Alleging Bias In Gmail Spam Filter

  26-08-2023 00:00 via politics.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A federal judge yesterday granted Google's motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee (RNC), which claims that Google intentionally used Gmail's spam filter to suppress Republicans' fundraising emails. An order (PDF) dismissing the lawsuit was issued yesterday by US District Judge Daniel Calabretta. The RNC is seeking "recovery for donations it allegedly lost as a result of its emails not being delivered to its su
  
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