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Submission + - GNU Project Release - GNOME Desktop Project - GNOME 46 (Kathmandu) (gnome.org)

Submitted by ole
ole writes: The GNU Project is proudly pre-announcing the upcoming release of GNOME 46 from GNOME Foundation, Inc. dubbed 'Kathmandu'.

See GNOME Release Calendar at https://release.gnome.org/cale... for the release schedule and https://www.gnome.org/ for the GNOME Desktop Project.

Watch https://release.gnome.org/ for the GNOME 46 ('Kathmandu') release.

Submission + - Lead from gasoline blunted the IQ of about half the U.S. population, study says (nbcnews.com)

Submitted by ArchieBunker
ArchieBunker writes: Exposure to leaded gasoline lowered the IQ of about half the population of the United States, a new study estimates.

The peer-reviewed study, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focuses on people born before 1996 — the year the U.S. banned gas containing lead.

Overall, the researchers from Florida State University and Duke University found, childhood lead exposure cost America an estimated 824 million points, or 2.6 points per person on average.

Certain cohorts were more affected than others. For people born in the 1960s and the 1970s, when leaded gas consumption was skyrocketing, the IQ loss was estimated to be up to 6 points and for some, more than 7 points. Exposure to it came primarily from inhaling auto exhaust.

Comment Moment (Score 1) 144

by darenw (#64284044) Attached to: Worldwide Obesity Tops 1 Billion

In possibly related news, Earth's day is one billion nanoseconds longer than it was three decades ago. "The Earth's moment of inertia seems to have increased for some mysterious reason" explained some scientist.

Submission + - ask slashdot: Roll you own home router 2

Submitted by eggegick
eggegick writes: I'm looking for a cheap mini PC I can turn into a headless Linux based
wireless and Ethernet router. The setup would be a cable modem on the
Comcast side, Ethernet out from the modem to the router and Ethernet
and WiFi out to the home network. My goal is to have a firewall that
I trust, not a firewall that comes from the manufacture that might
have back doors.

Submission + - Paper Trail: Firms churning out fake papers now bribing journal editors (science.org)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: “Rather than targeting potential authors and reviewers, someone who called himself Jack Ben, of a firm whose Chinese name translates to Olive Academic, was going for journal editors—offering large sums of cash to these gatekeepers in return for accepting papers for publication. . . . So cash-rich paper mills have evidently adopted a new tactic: bribing editors and planting their own agents on editorial boards to ensure publication of their manuscripts. An investigation by Science and Retraction Watch, in partnership with Wise and other industry experts, identified several paper mills and more than 30 editors of reputable journals who appear to be involved in this type of activity. Many were guest editors of special issues, which have been flagged in the past as particularly vulnerable to abuse because they are edited separately from the regular journal. But several were regular editors or members of journal editorial boards. And this is likely just the tip of the iceberg.”

Submission + - MOND isn't dead yet: Paper argues that gravity changes at very low accelerations 6

Submitted by porkchop_d_clown
porkchop_d_clown writes: MOND — MOdified Newtonian Dynamics is a hypothesis that Newton's law of gravity is incorrect under some conditions. Now a paper published at https://iopscience.iop.org/art... (and summarized at https://phys.org/news/2024-01-...) claims that a study does indeed show that pairs of widely separated binary stars do show a deviation from Newton's Second Law, arguing that, at very low levels, gravity is stronger than the law predicts.

Comment Re:Illinois (Score 1) 43

by darenw (#64067917) Attached to: Particle Physicists Offer a Road Map for the Next Decade

Stanford's SLAC is real close to the San Andreas fault. I could see a gully marking it from my window in one of the electronics labs. After a mild rumble one time, though it was after my time there, my contacts there said it was an opportunity to re-align magnets and instrumentation. Things ran better after than before.

Comment Zero Printers (Score 1) 86

I figured a long time ago that owning a printer was 99% useless. Being into graphics, technical diagrams, writing math papers in LaTeX, I thought that being able to print out stuff would be useful, but I don't do it often enough. Ink cartridges, overpriced or not, dry out! I found it was cheaper to take a USB memory stick to a nearby Office Max, Staples, or whatever shipping store I lived near, pay to have them print it out, and also I get a bit of exercise walking there and back. I can't imagine ever owning a printer again, unless I start a business. I just put up my feet, sip some tea and laugh at all those fools out there paying $$$ for ink cartridges.

Comment Re: A foot in the door (Score 1) 101

by darenw (#64006235) Attached to: Do Programming Certifications Still Matter?

Yep, in the early 1990s, and any decade before. I could program a microprocessor to make an LED blink, and also design and build the circuitry - that meant instant hire anywhere! These days, it's not enough to have a project to show, but you need to carry out a whole slick marketing campaign to get a job.

Submission + - Emergency Declared in Iceland over Fagradalsfjall Volcano (bbc.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Iceland has declared a state of emergency after a series of earthquakes related to the Fagradalsfjall Volcano. Thousands of people living in the southwestern town of Grindavík have been ordered to leave as a precaution. An eruption could start at any time in the next few days, according to a statement from the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO).

A professor of volcanology at the University of Iceland said a 15km-long river of magma running under the peninsula was still active. Iceland's Civil Protection Agency said the decision to evacuate came after the IMO could not rule out a "magma tunnel that is currently forming could reach Grindavík".

Submission + - 2023 Hour of Code Suggests Kids Skip Coding, Watch an Hour of AI Videos Instead 2

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: The FAQ page for the upcoming Hour of Code describes the event for K-12 students as "a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities." And while coding activities will still be offered for this year's Hour of Code, the theme of which is Creativity With AI, unlike last year's Hour of Code, it's being suggested that kids and teachers participating in this December's event consider skipping the coding and instead use the hour to Learn How AI Works by watching a new Code.org video series featuring leaders from OpenAI and Runway, AI companies that Code.org Platinum Supporter Microsoft and Gold Supporter Google respectively have reportedly invested $13 billion and $100 million in.

For those already lamenting the deemphasis of programming in K-12 CS education, a code-less Hour of Code certainly takes things to a new level, even if it is apparently just sparked by AI madness. Code.org's Lesson Planner GPT was recently showcased in OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's DevDay keynote. And Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott, who is credited with forging Microsoft's $13B OpenAI investment and sits on Code.org's Board, earlier this year announced a partnership between Code.org co-founder Ali Partovi's Neo Accelerator, OpenAI, and Microsoft. Neo's investors include a who's who of tech leaders, including Scott, Code.org CEO and co-founder Hadi Partovi (Ali's twin), and Microsoft President Satya Nadella, who is featured in one of the Code.org AI videos recommended for Hour of Code participants.

Submission + - E.U. Moving Aggressively to Digitize Its Citizens 3

Submitted by Press2ToContinue
Press2ToContinue writes: The European Parliament and Member States have reached an agreement on introducing the Digital Identity.

Also reported this week was that the United Nations, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and partners of the Rockefeller Foundation are launching a campaign to accelerate digital ID, digital payments, and data sharing rollouts in 50 countries by 2028, all under the umbrella of digital public infrastructure (DPI). They call it the “50-in-5 Agenda.”

It appears the European Union will be one of the more aggressive governmental bodies to move in the direction of digitizing its citizens. Once this is accomplished, the next step will be the digital currency. And the digital euro (cbdc) is due to be rolled out very soon

It seems a small leap to imagine that the social credit system is coming next. Although governments have enjoyed a long history of abusing their powers in the past, it appears we are very confident our governments will treat us fairly in the future.

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