ICT news

• 'Feedback' Is Now Too Harsh. The New Word is 'Feedforward'

  16-09-2023 23:24 via it.slashdot.org
  
  The Wall Street Journal reports that more companies are phasing out "feedback" bosses give to workers — and replacing it with "feedforward.""The idea is that 'feedforward' gives people less anxiety," the Journal's reporter said in a video interview. "It's a little bit gentler. When people hear 'feedback', they think immediately, 'What have I done wrong? What are the bad things my boss is going to tell me to fix?'"And another reason that we're hearing "feedforward" at these companies over a
  
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• What Will the Next Tech Rebellion Look Like? Ask the Luddites

  16-09-2023 21:34 via it.slashdot.org
  
  In 1811 working men felt threatened by the arrival of wooden, waterâpowered looms. And yet "The Luddite rebellion came at a time when the working class was beset by a confluence of crises that today seem all too familiar..." writes Los Angeles Times technology columnist Brian Merchant. In an upcoming book called Blood in the Machine, he writes that "amid it all, entrepreneurs and industrialists pushing for new, dubiously legal, highly automated and laborâsaving modes of production."
  
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• How Exxon Tried to Undermine Climate Change Science

  16-09-2023 20:34 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shared this report from the Guardian:
  ExxonMobil executives privately sought to undermine climate science even after the oil and gas giant publicly acknowledged the link between fossil fuel emissions and climate change, according to previously unreported documents revealed by the Wall Street Journal.
  The new revelations are based on previously unreported documents subpoenaed by New York's attorney general as part of an investigation into the company announced in 2015. They ad
  
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• KSMBD Finally Reaches 'Stable' State in Release Candidate for Linux Kernel 6.6

  16-09-2023 19:34 via linux.slashdot.org
  
  When Linus Torvalds announced Linux kernel 6.6's first release candidate, it included a newly-stable version of KSMBD, which is Samsung's in-kernel server for the SMB protocol (for sharing files/folders/printers over a network).
  An announcement in 2021 had said that "For many cases the current userspace server choices were suboptimal either due to memory footprint, performance or difficulty integrating well with advanced Linux features."
  LWN noted at the time that Linux has been using "the user-
  
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• EFF Recognizes Signal, Library Freedom Project for Protecting Privacy

  16-09-2023 18:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  For over 30 years the EFF has presented awards recognizing those "advancing innovation and championing digital rights," according to its web site, celebrating "the accomplishments of people working toward a better future... both in the public eye and behind the scenes."
  This year's ceremony — hosted by Cory Doctorow — didn't just recognize Sci-Hub's founder. The EFF also gave its award for "Communications Policy" to the Signal Foundation — and its "Information Democracy" award
  
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• New 'Inverse Vaccine' Shows Potential to Treat MS and Other Autoimmune Diseases

  16-09-2023 17:34 via science.slashdot.org
  
  This week saw an announcement from the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. A new type of vaccine "has shown in the lab setting that it can completely reverse autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes — all without shutting down the rest of the immune system."A typical vaccine teaches the human immune system to recognize a virus or bacteria as an enemy that should be attacked. The new "inverse vaccine" does just the opposite: it removes th
  
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• Researchers Including Microsoft Spot Chinese Disinformation Campaign Using AI-Generated Photos

  16-09-2023 16:34 via slashdot.org
  
  "Until now, China's influence campaigns have been focused on amplifying propaganda defending its policies on Taiwan and other subjects," reports the New York Times.
  But a new piece co-authored by the newspaper's national security correspondent and its misinformation investigative reporter notes a new effort identified by researchers from Microsoft, the RAND Corporation, the University of Maryland, the intelligence company Recorded Future, and news-rating service NewsGuard. And that newly-discove
  
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• Firefly Aerospace Sets Launch Speed Record For US Space Force

  16-09-2023 15:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Space.com: Firefly Aerospace just set a new responsive-launch record. The company's Alpha rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Thursday (Sept. 14) at 10:28 p.m. EDT (7:28 p.m. local California time; 0228 GMT on Sept. 15), kicking off a mission for the U.S. Space Force called Victus Nox. The rocket roared off the pad just 27 hours after the U.S. Space Force gave the order -- less time than on any previous national security mission. The whe
  
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• Abandoned Apollo 17 Lunar Module Is Causing Tremors On the Moon

  16-09-2023 12:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A spacecraft left behind by U.S. astronauts on the lunar surface could be causing small tremors known as moonquakes, according to a new study. CNN reports: Researchers revealed the previously unknown form of seismic activity on the moon for the first time through an analysis of Apollo-era data using modern algorithms. Massive temperature swings that occur on the moon can cause human-made structures to expand and contract in a way that produces these vibrations, the report suggests. The lunar sur
  
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• Space Industry Is Growing Faster Than Its Workforce, Analysts Say

  16-09-2023 09:00 via science.slashdot.org
  
  Analysts are concerned that a lack of skilled labor in the space industry "could impact aerospace's growth in recent years, putting key projects on hold or preventing space startups from gaining traction," reports ExtremeTech. From the report: According to the Space Foundation's annual Space Report, job opportunities within the U.S. space industry have grown 18% over the past five years. Meanwhile, American colleges saw a decline in engineering students across the same period, prompting the indu
  
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• CubeSat Rocket Thruster Is So Small It Has To Be Made Like Microchips

  16-09-2023 05:30 via science.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from New Atlas: Imperial College is developing a rocket thruster called the Iridium Catalysed Electrolysis CubeSat Thruster (ICE-Cube Thruster) that is so small that it can only be fabricated using techniques originally designed for making silicon chips. The entire thruster chip is about the length of a fingernail, with the combustion chamber and nozzle only measuring 1 mm long. It also requires only 20 watts of electric current to operate and in a test campai
  
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• Honda's '80s Microscooter Is Back and Electrified For the 21st Century

  16-09-2023 04:02 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  Honda's new Motocompacto is a throwback all-electric ridable inspired by the short-lived scooter of the '80s. Engadget reports: The vehicle, folded up, resembles one of those Costco folding tables but with little aluminum wheels poking out the bottom. To transform it into a scooter, you extend the handlebars, seats and back wheel, and ride away on something vaguely approximating a bike. (To give you some perspective on the design, this thing is just over three feet long.)Honda says its aluminum
  
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• Oregon's Novel Psilocybin Experiment Takes Off

  16-09-2023 03:25 via news.slashdot.org
  
  Thousands of people in Oregon have signed up to experience tripping on magic mushrooms at America's first license psilocybin service center. The Associated Press reports: Epic Healing Eugene -- America's first licensed psilocybin service center -- opened in June, marking Oregon's unprecedented step in offering the mind-bending drug to the public. The center now has a waitlist of more than 3,000 names, including people with depression, PTSD or end-of-life dread. No prescription or referral is nee
  
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• North American Airspace Defense Getting Cloud-Based Backbone Next Month

  16-09-2023 02:45 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  The cloud-based system the Air Force is co-developing with Canada to enable instantaneous combat data-sharing is just about ready for prime time, although the looming threat of a budget gap may slow its global deployment. The Drive reports: Cloud-based command-and-control (CBC2), a pillar of the service's Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), will hit initial operating capability roughly on schedule next month, Brig. Gen. Luke Cropsey, integrating program officer for Command, Control, Commun
  
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• California Legislature Passes Delete Act Regulating Data Brokers

  16-09-2023 02:02 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from the International Association of Privacy Professionals: The California State Legislature passed Senate Bill 362, the Delete Act, which is designed to streamline consumers' ability to request the deletion of their personal information collected by data brokers. The bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., though he reportedly has given no indication whether he will sign the bill, according to CBS News. Newsom has until 14 Oct. to sign
  
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• Google Nears Release of Conversational AI Software 'Gemini'

  16-09-2023 01:20 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  According to The Information, Google is nearing the release of Gemini, its conversational artificial intelligence software intended to compete with OpenAI's GPT-4 model. Reuters reports: For Google, the stakes of Gemini's launch are high. Google has intensified investments in generative AI this year as it plays catch-up after Microsoft-backed OpenAI's launch of ChatGPT last year took the tech world by storm. Gemini is a collection of large-language models that power everything from chatbots to f
  
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• iPhone 15 Models Have 'Completely Standard' USB-C Port

  16-09-2023 00:40 via mobile.slashdot.org
  
  According to Ars Technica's Andrew Cunningham, the iPhone 15 devices "have completely standard USB-C ports that work just fine with all existing USB 3 and USB-PD (Power Delivery) compliant cables, chargers, and accessories, just like Apple's other devices." It contradicts rumors that Apple's implementation of USB-C would limit data and charging speeds for any accessories not certified through its Made for iPhone (MFI) program. From the report: We'll still need to test the phones to know for sure
  
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• Google To Pay $155 Million In Settlements Over Location Tracking

  16-09-2023 00:00 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Google agreed to pay $155 million to settle claims by California and private plaintiffs that the search engine company misled consumers about how it tracks their locations, and used their data without consent. Both settlements resolve claims that the Alphabet unit deceived people into believing they maintained control over how Google collected and used their personal data. The company was accused of being able to "profile" people and target them
  
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