ICT news

• Rust-Written 'Redox OS' Now Has a Working Web Server

  04-08-2024 23:26 via tech.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous Slashdot reader shared this report from Phoronix:The Redox OS project that is a from scratch open-source operating system written in the Rust programming language now has a working web server, among other improvements achieved during the month of July...
  Notable new software work includes getting the Simple HTTP Server running as the first web (HTTP) server for the platform. Simple HTTP Server itself is written in Rust as well. There is also an ongoing effort to bring the Apache HTT
  
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• Is the 'Kids Online Safety Act' Losing Momentum?

  04-08-2024 22:26 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  America's Senate "overwhelmingly passed major online safety reforms to protect children on social media," reports the Guardian.
  "But with ongoing pushback from the tech industry and freedom of speech organizations, the legislation faces an uncertain future in the House."
  "It's a terrible idea to let politicians and bureaucrats decide what people should read and view online," freedom of speech group the Electronic Frontier Foundation said of the Senate's passage of Kosa... Advocates of Kosa rejec
  
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• What's the 'Smartest' City in America - Based on Tech Jobs, Connectivity, and Sustainability?

  04-08-2024 21:16 via slashdot.org
  
  Seattle is the smartest city in America, with Miami and then Austin close behind. That's according to a promotional study from smart-building tools company ProptechOS. Newsweek reports:
  The evaluation of tech infrastructure and connectivity was based on several factors, including the number of free Wi-Fi hot spots, the quantity and density of AI and IoT companies, average broadband download speeds, median 5G coverage per network provider, and the number of airports. Meanwhile, green infrastructu
  
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• Revolutionary Dual Action Antibiotic Makes Bacterial Resistance Nearly Impossible

  04-08-2024 20:04 via science.slashdot.org
  
  A new type of antibiotic "targets bacteria in two ways," writes SciTechDaily, which "could make it 100 million times harder for bacteria to develop resistance, according to recent research from the University of Illinois Chicago."Their experiments demonstrate that [a class of synthetic drugs called] macrolones can work two different ways — either by interfering with protein production or corrupting DNA structure. Because bacteria would need to implement defenses to both attacks simultaneou
  
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• NIST Releases an Open-Source Platform for AI Safety Testing

  04-08-2024 19:04 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  America's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a new open-source software tool called Dioptra for testing the resilience of machine learning models to various types of attacks.
  "Key features that are new from the alpha release include a new web-based front end, user authentication, and provenance tracking of all the elements of an experiment, which enables reproducibility and verification of results," a NIST spokesperson told SC Media:Previous NIST research identifi
  
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• Silicon/Perovskite Solar Panels Can Reach 34% Efficiency, Researchers Show

  04-08-2024 18:04 via hardware.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous reader shared this report from Ars Technica:[I]t might be worth spending more to get a panel that converts more of the incoming sunlight to electricity, since it allows you to get more out of the price paid to get each panel installed. But silicon panels are already pushing up against physical limits on efficiency. Which means our best chance for a major boost in panel efficiency may be to combine silicon with an additional photovoltaic material.
  Right now, most of the focus is on p
  
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• Artist and Musician Sue SEC Over Its NFT Regulatory Jurisdiction

  04-08-2024 16:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  "Five years ago, Brian Frye set an elaborate trap," writes Decrypt.co. "Now the law professor is teaming up with a singer-songwriter to finally spring it" on America's Security and Exchange Commission "in a novel lawsuit — and in the process, prevent the regulator from ever coming after NFT art projects again."
  Over and again, the SEC has sued cherry-picked NFT projects it says qualify as unregistered securities — but never once has the regulator defined what types of NFT projects ar
  
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• Apple Is Finally Sending Out Payments For Its Defective Macbook Butterfly Keyboards

  04-08-2024 13:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  An anonymous Slashdot reader shared this report from the blog 9to5Mac:In 2022, Apple agreed to pay a $50 million dollar settlement for certain eligible 2015-2019 MacBook owners who experienced problems with their butterfly keyboards. The claims process opened in late 2022, and the settlement got final approval last May. Starting today, eligible MacBook owners are finally receiving their payouts...
  Apple finally moved away from the butterfly keyboard on the 16-inch MacBook Pro in late 2019. By mi
  
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• Coders Don't Fear AI, Reports Stack Overflow's Massive 2024 Survey

  04-08-2024 09:34 via developers.slashdot.org
  
  Stack Overflow says over 65,000 developers took their annual survey — and "For the first time this year, we asked if developers felt AI was a threat to their job..."
  Some analysis from The New Stack:
  Unsurprisingly, only 12% of surveyed developers believe AI is a threat to their current job. In fact, 70% are favorably inclined to use AI tools as part of their development workflow... Among those who use AI tools in their development workflow, 81% said productivity is one of its top benefits
  
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• Should We Fight Climate Change by Releasing Sulfur Dioxide into the Stratosphere?

  04-08-2024 06:34 via news.slashdot.org
  
  A professor in the University of Chicago's department of geophysical sciences "believes that by intentionally releasing sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, it would be possible to lower temperatures worldwide," reports the New York Times.
  He's not the only one promoting the idea. "Harvard University has a solar geoengineering program that has received grants from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. It's being studied by
  
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• Why DARPA is Funding an AI-Powered Bug-Spotting Challenge

  04-08-2024 03:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Somewhere in America's Defense Department, the DARPA R&D agency is running a two-year contest to write an AI-powered program "that can scan millions of lines of open-source code, identify security flaws and fix them, all without human intervention," reports the Washington Post. [Alternate URL here.]
  But as they see it, "The contest is one of the clearest signs to date that the government sees flaws in open-source software as one of the country's biggest security risks, and considers artifici
  
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• Epic Games CEO Criticized For Calling Apple's 'Find My' Feature 'Super Creepy'

  04-08-2024 00:34 via yro.slashdot.org
  
  Slashdot reader Applehu Akbar shared this report from MacRumors:Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney commented on Apple's 'Find My' service, referring to it as "super creepy surveillance tech" that "shouldn't exist." Sweeney went on to explain that several years ago, "a kid" stole a Mac laptop out of his car. Years later, Sweeney was checking Find My, and as the Mac was still connected to his Apple ID account, it showed him the location where the thief lived.
  When someone asked Sweeney if he'd at least go
  
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