Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror

Submission + - AI Praise is No Recommendation: Code.org Touts Article by 'AI-Powered Strategist

theodp writes: "The future of learning is digital," tech giant backed-and-led nonprofit Code.org posted Friday on LinkedIn. "A new report highlights how youth-focused coding platforms like Code.org are driving growth, opportunity, and access to essential skills for the next generation."

Sounds great, but the article linked to by Code.org — who Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently told the White House Task Force on AI Education is being given $3M by Google to transform its K-12 CS curriculum to make schoolchildren AI-savvy — is apparently AI-generated. The Future of Learning: Unlocking Long-Term Growth in Youth-Focused Coding Platforms is credited by AInvest.com to "Henry Rivers", who is described as "an AI-powered strategist designed for professionals and economically curious readers seeking investigative financial insight" who is "backed by a 32-billion-parameter hybrid model."

It's been long said that "Self-praise is no recommendation." How about AI praise?

Submission + - Austria's armed forces switch to LibreOffice (heise.de)

alternative_right writes: Austria's armed forces have switched from Microsoft's Office programs to the open-source LibreOffice package. The reason for this is not to save on software license fees for around 16,000 workstations. "It was very important for us to show that we are doing this primarily (...) to strengthen our digital sovereignty, to maintain our independence in terms of ICT infrastructure and (...) to ensure that data is only processed in-house," emphasizes Michael Hillebrand from the Austrian Armed Forces' Directorate 6 ICT and Cyber.

This is because processing data in external clouds is out of the question for the Austrian Armed Forces, as Hillebrand explained on ORF radio station Ö1. It was already apparent five years ago that Microsoft Office would move to the cloud. Back then, in 2020, the decision-making process for the switch began and was completed in 2021.

Comment Re:For those getting pitchforks ready (Score 1) 153

This requires living in a region with ample sunlight, but yes, that is the way. Only problem is that EVs have a finite commercially viable lifespan because of aging LiPo batteries, but once that is solved - possibly never, but possibly with a standardized semi-replaceable battery cell standards - this can work.

But for the colder and northern climates, fuel that can be stored for months is a neccessity, and it's rather easy with propane / butane, because it doesn't age as fast as gasoline.

Submission + - Zuckerberg Humiliated on Stage After AI-Powered Smart Glasses Keep Glitching (dnyuz.com)

fjo3 writes: Tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg was humiliated onstage not once, but twice, as his attempts to showcase the brilliance of Meta’s new AI-powered glasses were met with dismal failure.

Speaking at the company’s annual Meta Connect conference, Zuckerberg introduced the company’s second-generation smart Ray-Bans and a new neural wristband, as part of his vision for an AI that serves people in real-time.

Business Insider reported the vision unraveled when the AI glitched moments after the request, ignoring basic instructions and insisting that the employee had “already combined these ingredients.”

Comment Re:CHENGDU, China (Score 1) 205

Some of you US Americans are so full of yourselves with so little knowledge about the rest of the world

As are billions of others all around the world.

Which is why a least those of you who fall under that description also really deserve your current imbecile government.

LOL, they or I may indeed deserve it, but you get to suffer it too, so enjoy your schadenfreude. :)

Comment Re:We are so screwed (Score 2) 205

I think you are generally correct; however, mandatory military service can merely be a component of mandatory civil service to teach and show people discipline and a community focus.

For some reason, I can't recall which country made me think of that... so maybe it was all propaganda to begin with...

Submission + - Tails 7.0 Linux distribution debuts with Debian 13 and GNOME 48 (nerds.xyz)

BrianFagioli writes: Tails 7.0 has officially arrived, marking the first release of the privacy-focused, Linux-based operating system based on Debian 13 âoeTrixieâ and GNOME 48 âoeBengaluru.â This update delivers faster startup times, refreshed applications, and stronger hardware support.

One of the most noticeable improvements is boot speed. Thanks to a switch from xz to zstd compression, Tails now starts 10 to 15 seconds quicker on most machines. The tradeoff is a slightly larger image size, but for users with reliable USB sticks the difference in speed is worth it. The developers caution that low-quality USB drives could still cause slower boots.

Software updates are a major part of this release. GNOME Terminal has been replaced by GNOME Console, and GNOME Image Viewer has been swapped for GNOME Loupe. Key applications have been updated as well, including Tor Browser 14.5.7, Tor client 0.4.8.17, Thunderbird 128.14.0esr, Electrum 4.5.8, KeePassXC 2.7.10, GIMP 3.0.4, Inkscape 1.4, and Audacity 3.7.3. The Text Editor and Document Scanner also get substantial upgrades.

GNOME itself sees a wave of improvements. The Settings app now has redesigned sections for sound, accessibility, and input. New accessibility features include Overamplification and always-visible scrollbars. Other changes include a workspace indicator replacing the Activities button, better screen reader navigation, and an option to extend battery life in laptops. While GNOME 48 is a polished release, itâ(TM)s worth noting that GNOME 49 was released just yesterday, which makes Tails 7.0 feel slightly behind the curve from day one.

Some older tools have been removed, such as unar, aircrack-ng, and the Power Statistics utility, but alternatives remain. File Roller still handles most RAR archives, and aircrack-ng can be reinstalled if needed using Additional Software.

Under the hood, the Linux kernel has been updated to 6.12.43, boosting compatibility with newer graphics cards and Wi-Fi hardware. Memory requirements have also increased from 2GB to 3GB, though the developers expect this will affect very few users.

Tails 7.0 is a huge step for anyone who values privacy and security. With faster performance, updated apps, and better hardware support, it continues to be one of the most important Linux-based tools for staying anonymous online.

Comment Re:For those getting pitchforks ready (Score 1) 153

They want us to be unable to live autonomously and independently. And they will advance this on several fronts with several topics. It all comes down to one aspect: if X is increasing your independence from the state, the council, the "brigade", then X will be slowly but surely phased out.

Submission + - C++ Commitee Prefers Bjarne Profiles Over Baxter Rustification

robinsrowe writes: No surprise, the C++ Committee is still trending toward C++ Profiles. It would have been a huge change had the Committee embraced Baxter's Rustification memory safety proposal. Would mean banning pointers. Making the C++ language much like Rust would deeply break every C++ program in the world. Article at TheRegister: “Rust-style safety model for C++ 'rejected' as profiles take priority” https://www.theregister.com/20...

The C++ standards committee abandoned a detailed proposal to create a rigorously safe subset of the language, according to the proposal's co-author, despite continuing anxiety about memory safety.

Article at Le Monde (in French): “The C++ standards committee rejected a proposal to create a secure subset of the language. Members prefer to focus on the Profiles framework pushed by C++ creator Bjarne Stroustrup.” https://www.lemondeinformatiqu...

"If you mark your code to apply a Profile, some features of the C/C++ language will stop working," he says. There is also a small problem, these guidelines were not integrated into version 26 of C++, but simply into a white paper. The controversy surrounding the security of C++ opens the door to another solution with the use of another language. The first advocated by several American authorities is Rust, but there is also Google's experimental Carbon project. Unveiled in 2022, it also aims to modernize C++.

If Profiles are eventually adopted, it may Balkanize C++ by dividing C++ into safe and unsafe subsets. C++ Profiles won't fix the issue of making C pointers memory safe. A proposal to implement pointer memory safety is TrapC, but for the C language, not C++. Some say make the switch to Rust, but that doesn't solve the safety problems lurking in billions of lines of existing C/C++ code.

Comment Re: Everyone start handing out DVDs and USBs of Li (Score 1) 137

So it's your contention that by claiming Windows 10 was the last version of windows that MS is obliged to support it *forever* on legacy hardware?

You must belong to one of those 'isms to think like this. Very black and white thinking.

The implication would look more like, "not putting arbitrary requirements on the ability to continue running the OS". Sure, when x86/64 is no longer the primary chip architecture, there will be a change in requirements, but that is not what is happening now is it?

Comment Re:It's been done (Score 1) 191

I do suffer jet lag flying east, but not west. I have no idea why they differ.

he insane people who think that they can legislate the value of Pi.

What I meant by that was that I experience cognitive dissonance (correct term?) in regards to time changes like that. It should be noted that I do not need an alarm clock to wake up in the morning before work. My body just does it.

Comment Re:Yeah... no (Score 1) 191

You are exactly right. I see non-curated videos of people all over the world. It is clear that American food is engineered to cause excess fat regardless of how much you eat. It is disgusting.

Conspiracy theory: They do it so that even poor people are fat so that everyone can point and say: see? they are fat, they are not starving.", despite the fact that indeed, they ARE starving.

Comment Re:It's been done (Score 4, Interesting) 191

Brazil scrapped DST a few years ago - did the research check against their data?

Who cares? I have lived without time changes for a little less than half my life. I HATE how I feel for about 2 weeks twice a year now that I am back with the insane people who think that they can legislate the value of Pi. Stop being stupid.

Slashdot Top Deals

Keep your boss's boss off your boss's back.

Working...