An anonymous reader shares a report: Meta's latest whistleblower, Sarah Wynn-Williams, got a warm reception on Capitol Hill Wednesday, as the Careless People author who the company has fought to silence described the company's chief executive as someone willing to shapeshift into whatever gets him closest to power. The message was one that lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on crime and counterterrorism were very open to. Their responses underscore that amid CEO Mark Zuckerberg's latest pivot in cozying up to the right, his perception in Washington has not yet totally changed, even as he reportedly lobbies President Donald Trump to drop the government's antitrust case against the company.

"He's recently tried a reinvention in which he is now a great advocate of free speech, after being an advocate of censorship in China and in this country for years," subcommittee Chair Josh Hawley (R-MO) said, pointing to longtime conservative allegations that Meta has suppressed things like vaccine skepticism and the Hunter Biden laptop story. "Now that's all wiped away. Now he's on Joe Rogan and says that he is Mr. Free Speech, he is Mr. MAGA, he's a whole new man, and his company, they're a whole new company. Do you buy this latest reinvention of Mark Zuckerberg?"

"If he is such a fan of freedom of speech, why is he trying to silence me?" Wynn-Williams asked in response. Meta convinced an arbitrator to order her to stop making disparaging statements and halt further publishing and promotion of the book, which details Meta's alleged dealings with the Chinese government and claims of sexual harassment from a top executive.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/10/0256257/lawmakers-are-skeptical-of-zuckerbergs-commitment-to-free-speech?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

BrianFagioli writes: In a move that is sure to make longtime PC users do a double take, the Library of Congress has added two very unexpected sounds to its National Recording Registry. No, it's not another classic rock album or jazz staple. Believe it or not, it's actually the "Reboot Chime" from Windows 95 (that played when the operating system started) and the soundtrack from Minecraft!

[ Read more of this story ]( https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/04/10/0011250/microsoft-windows-95-reboot-chime-and-minecraft-soundtrack-inducted-into-national-recording-registry?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

The U.S. Army told the government it had a lot of success using AI to "process targets" during a recent deployment. It said that it had used AI systems to identify targets at a rate of 55 per day but could get that number up to 5,000 a day with "advanced artificial intelligence tools in the future." 404 Media: The line comes from a new report from the Government Accountability Office -- a nonpartisan watchdog group that investigates the federal government. The report is titled "Defense Command and Control" and is, in part, about the Pentagon's recent push to integrate AI systems into its workflow.

Across the government, and especially in the military, there has been a push to add or incorporate AI into various systems. The pitch here is that AI systems would help the Pentagon ID targets on the battlefield and allow those systems to help determine who lives and who dies. The Ukrainian and Israeli military are already using similar systems but the practice is fraught and controversial.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/2034234/us-army-says-it-could-acquire-targets-faster-with-advanced-ai?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Опубликован релиз Proxmox Virtual Environment 8.4, специализированного Linux-дистрибутива на базе Debian GNU/Linux, нацеленного на развертывание и обслуживание виртуальных серверов с использованием LXC и KVM, и способного выступить в роли замены таких продуктов, как VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V и Citrix Hypervisor. Размер установочного iso-образа 1.5 ГБ.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63043

Anthropic has unveiled a new premium tier for its AI chatbot Claude, targeting power users willing to pay up to $200 monthly for broader usage. The "Max" subscription comes in two variants: a $100/month tier with 5x higher rate limits than Claude Pro, and a $200/month option boasting 20x higher limits -- directly competing with OpenAI's ChatGPT Pro tier.

Unlike OpenAI, Anthropic still lacks an unlimited usage plan. Product lead Scott White didn't rule out even pricier subscriptions in the future, telling TechCrunch, "We'll always keep a number of exploratory options available to us." The launch coincides with growing demand for Anthropic's Claude 3.7 Sonnet, the company's first reasoning model, which employs additional computing power to handle complex queries more reliably.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/203231/anthropic-launches-its-own-200-monthly-plan?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Опубликован релиз OpenSSH 10.0, открытой реализации клиента и сервера для работы по протоколам SSH 2.0 и SFTP. Основные.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63042

WordPress.com has released an AI-powered site builder in early access that constructs complete websites with generated text, layouts, and images. The tool operates through a chatbot interface where users input specifications, resulting in a fully formed site that can be further refined through additional prompts.

While WordPress.com claims the builder creates "beautiful, functional websites in minutes," it currently cannot handle ecommerce sites or complex integrations. Users need a WordPress.com account for the free trial, but publishing requires a hosting plan starting at $18 monthly (less with annual subscriptions). The builder only works with new WordPress instances, not existing sites.

This launch comes as parent company Automattic recently cut 16% of its workforce and faces a lawsuit from hosting company WP Engine, which offers competing site-building tools.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/1834225/wordpress-launches-ai-site-builder-amid-company-restructuring?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Опубликовано: 2025-04-09T17:44:49+00:00



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m8CFw_kiT8

The battle for AI talent is so hot that Google would rather give some employees a paid one-year vacation than let them work for a competitor. From a report: Some Google DeepMind staff in the UK are subject to noncompete agreements that prevent them from working for a competitor for up to 12 months after they finish work at Google, according to four former employees with direct knowledge of the matter who asked to remain anonymous because they were not permitted to share these details with the press.

Aggressive noncompetes are one tool tech companies wield to retain a competitive edge in the AI wars, which show no sign of slowing down as companies launch new bleeding-edge models and products at a rapid clip. When an employee signs one, they agree not to work for a competing company for a certain period of time. Google DeepMind has put some employees with a noncompete on extended garden leave. These employees are still paid by DeepMind but no longer work for it for the duration of the noncompete agreement.

Several factors, including a DeepMind employee's seniority and how critical their work is to the company, determine the length of noncompete clauses, those people said. Two of the former staffers said six-month noncompetes are common among DeepMind employees, including for individual contributors working on Google's Gemini AI models. There have been cases where more senior researchers have received yearlong stipulations, they said.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/1717210/google-deepmind-has-a-weapon-in-the-ai-talent-wars-aggressive-noncompete-rules?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Опубликовано: 2025-04-09T14:11:36+00:00

Эти огромные саркофаги, каждый весом 100 тонн – кость в горле официальной науки! А всю инфомацию о них историки тщательно скрывают... от «Исторического Вольнодумца», но не от тех, кто умеет читать и думать.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDQkYYHNhvA

Google is opening up its Google Maps Platform data so that cities, developers, and other business decision makers can more easily access information about things like infrastructure and traffic. The Verge: Google is integrating new datasets for Google Maps Platform directly into BigQuery, the tech giant's fully managed data analytics service, for the first time. This should make it easier for people to access data from Google Maps platform products, including Imagery Insights, Roads Management Insights, and Places Insights.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/1512236/google-maps-is-launching-tools-to-help-cities-analyze-infrastructure-and-traffic?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Scientists have recreated in a laboratory the sensory pathway that transmits feelings of pain to the human brain, in a breakthrough that could lead to better treatments. Financial Times: A team at Stanford University in California is the first to combine different neurons grown from human stem cells into a functioning brain circuit in a lab dish. Their experiments, published in Nature on Wednesday, illustrate scientists' rapid progress in replicating living tissues and organs through synthetic biology.

When the Stanford scientists exposed the brain circuit they had created to sensory stimulants, they observed waves of electrical activity travelling along it. The molecule that makes chilli peppers hot, capsaicin, immediately induced a strong response.

[...] The synthetic brain circuits could be used to screen for better-targeted therapies for pain that tone down excessive waves of neurotransmission, without affecting the brain's reward circuitry as opioids do, project leader [Sergiu] Pasca said. The assembloids themselves cannot be said to "feel pain," he emphasised: "They transmit nervous signals that are processed by a second pathway going deeper into the brain and giving us the aversive, emotional component of pain."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/1521244/scientists-recreate-brain-circuit-in-lab-for-first-time?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

New research suggests that given the right kind of training, AI bots can deliver mental health therapy with as much efficacy as -- or more than -- human clinicians. From a report: The recent study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows results from the first randomized clinical trial for AI therapy. Researchers from Dartmouth College built the bot as a way of taking a new approach to a longstanding problem: The U.S. continues to grapple with an acute shortage of mental health providers. "I think one of the things that doesn't scale well is humans," says Nick Jacobson, a clinical psychologist who was part of this research team. For every 340 people in the U.S., there is just one mental health clinician, according to some estimates.

While many AI bots already on the market claim to offer mental health care, some have dubious results or have even led people to self-harm. More than five years ago, Jacobson and his colleagues began training their AI bot in clinical best practices. The project, says Jacobson, involved much trial and error before it led to quality outcomes. "The effects that we see strongly mirror what you would see in the best evidence-based trials of psychotherapy," says Jacobson. He says these results were comparable to "studies with folks given a gold standard dose of the best treatment we have available."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/155247/the-ai-therapist-can-see-you-now?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Samsung Electronics and Google Cloud are jointly entering the consumer robotics market with Ballie, a yellow, soccer-ball-shaped robot equipped with a video projector and powered by Google's Gemini AI models. First previewed in 2020, the long-delayed device will finally launch this summer in the US and South Korea. The mobile companion uses small wheels to navigate homes autonomously and integrates with Samsung's SmartThings platform to control smart home devices.

Running on Samsung's Tizen operating system, Ballie can manage calendars, answer questions, handle phone calls, and project video content from services including YouTube and Netflix. Samsung EVP Jay Kim described it as a "completely new Ballie" compared to the 2020 version, with Google Cloud integration being the most significant change. The robot leverages Gemini for understanding commands, searching the web, and processing visual data for navigation, while using Samsung's AI models for accessing personal information.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/146254/samsung-and-google-partner-to-launch-ballie-home-robot-with-built-in-projector?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

China retaliated against the US after new tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, announcing it would raise the tariff on US goods to 84%, escalating the trade conflict between the world's two largest economies. From a report: The Chinese countermeasures are effective April 10, according to a government statement Wednesday. China's move came after Trump's latest tariffs went into force at midday Wednesday in Beijing, taking the cumulative rate announced this year to 104%. A day earlier, China vowed to "fight to the end" if the US insists on new tariffs. Where US-China Decoupling Is Hardest: After decades of trade integration, Chinese companies have become increasingly essential suppliers of goods and materials that range from niche to ones many Americans can barely do without.

At $41 billion last year, smartphones -- largely consisting of Apple's iPhones -- were the single largest US import from China. More than 70% of all smartphone imports are from China, according to Bloomberg analysis of 2024 trade data from the US International Trade Commission.

Farther afield, China supplies the entirety of hair from badgers and other animals imported into the US for brush-making. It also delivers almost 90% of the gaming consoles US consumers buy from overseas.

Over 99% of the electric toasters, heated blankets, calcium, and alarm clocks the US imports are from China. Ditto for more than 90% of folding umbrellas, vacuum flasks, artificial flowers, LED lamps, and wooden coat-hangers.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/1131225/china-raises-tariffs-on-us-goods-to-84-as-rift-escalates?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Когда-нибудь всё приходит к концу. Теперь настало время начала конца этого инстанса.
В течение следующих месяцев мы будем постепенно сворачивать дела, и закроем сервер где-то в июле.
Всем спасибо.
– dump_stack

Сервер LOR является самым крупным в русскоязычном федиверсе. Он функционирует с 2019 года, на нём зарегистрировано 4578 пользователей (668 активных за последние полгода), которые написали 830 с половиной тысяч постов.

Также неясна судьба Peertube-сервиса [ v.lor.sh ]( https://v.lor.sh ) , которым пользовалось 76 людей (11 за последние полгода).

До выключения сервера у всех пользователей остаются возможности [ экспорта данных и миграции аккаунта ]( https://docs.joinmastodon.org/user/moving/ ) со всеми подписчиками на другие инстансы федеративной сети. Для импорта истории постов можно попробовать стороннюю консольную утилиту [ slurp ]( https://github.com/VyrCossont/slurp ) .

https://www.linux.org.ru/news/russia/17936896

Опубликован релиз web-браузера Pale Moon 33.7.0, ответвившегося от кодовой базы Firefox для обеспечения более высокой эффективности работы, сохранения классического интерфейса, минимизации потребления памяти и предоставления дополнительных возможностей по настройке. Сборки Pale Moon формируются для Windows и Linux (x86_64). Код проекта распространяется под лицензией MPLv2 (Mozilla Public License).

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63037

После трёх лет разработки опубликована стабильная версия операционной системы FreeDOS 1.4, развивающей свободную альтернативу DOS с окружением из утилит GNU. Код FreeDOS распространяется под лицензией GPLv2. Для загрузки доступны сборки для загрузки с дискет, CD и USB Flash, размером от 17 МБ до 638МБ.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63041

Established software companies hoping to ride the AI wave are facing a stiff headwind: many of their potential customers are building AI tools themselves. This do-it-yourself approach is channeling billions in spending towards cloud computing providers but leaving traditional software vendors struggling to capitalize, complicating their AI growth plans.

Cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services are pulling in an estimated $22 billion from AI services, with Azure alone capturing $11.3 billion. Yet, software application vendors have collectively garnered only about $2 billion from selling AI products. Stripping out Microsoft's popular Copilot tools, that figure drops to a mere $450 million across all other vendors combined.

Why are companies choosing the harder path of building? Feedback gathered by UBS points to several key factors driving this "persistent DIY trend." Many business uses for AI are highly specific or narrow, making generic software unsuitable. Off-the-shelf AI products are often considered too expensive, and crucially, the essential ingredients -- powerful AI models, cloud computing access, and the company's own data -- are increasingly available directly, lessening the need for traditional software packages.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/0912235/enterprises-are-shunning-vendors-in-favor-of-diy-approach-to-ai-ubs-says?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

The world used clean power sources to meet more than 40% of its electricity demand last year for the first time since the 1940s, figures show. The Guardian: A report by the energy thinktank Ember said the milestone was powered by a boom in solar power capacity, which has doubled in the last three years. The report found that solar farms had been the world's fastest-growing source of energy for the last 20 consecutive years.

Phil MacDonald, Ember's managing director, said: "Solar power has become the engine of the global energy transition. Paired with battery storage, solar is set to be an unstoppable force. As the fastest-growing and largest source of new electricity, it is critical in meeting the world's ever-increasing demand for electricity."

Overall, solar power remains a relatively small part of the global energy system. It made up almost 7% of the world's electricity last year, according to Ember, while wind power made up just over 8% of the global power system. The fast-growing technologies remain dwarfed by hydro power, which has remained relatively steady in recent years, and made up 14% of the worldâ(TM)s electricity in 2024.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/0451237/clean-energy-powered-40-of-global-electricity-in-2024-report-finds?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

TOP10 VISITORS:

[1] 45.135.180.x point=215 web=0 up=17.9MB (31%) <--- yesterlink (9/hr)
[2] 37.252.14.x point=144 web=0 up=17.7MB (31%) <--- ake (6/hr)
[3] Google point=17 web=701 up=5.1MB (9%) <--- Google (1/hr)
[4] PetalBot point=102 web=557 up=3.6MB (6%) <--- PetalBot (4/hr)
[5] Facebook point=0 web=360 up=3.3MB (5%)
[6] 47.82.11.x point=0 web=141 up=2.9MB (5%)
[7] 24.130.121.x point=25 web=11 up=2.1MB (3%) <--- spnet (1/hr)
[8] TikTok point=0 web=240 up=1.4MB (2%)
[9] 217.114.158.x point=24 web=0 up=0.8MB (1%) <--- fox (1/hr)
[10] Amazon point=0 web=43 up=0.4MB (<1%)

TOTAL TRAFFIC: 56MB

Fake job seekers using AI tools to impersonate candidates are increasingly targeting U.S. companies with remote positions, creating a growing security threat across industries. By 2028, one in four global job applicants will be fake, according to Gartner. These imposters use AI to fabricate photo IDs, generate employment histories, and provide interview answers, often targeting cybersecurity and cryptocurrency firms, CNBC reports.

Once hired, fraudulent employees can install malware to demand ransoms, steal customer data, or simply collect salaries they wouldn't otherwise obtain, according to Vijay Balasubramaniyan, CEO of Pindrop Security. The problem extends beyond tech companies. Last year, the Justice Department alleged more than 300 U.S. firms inadvertently hired impostors with ties to North Korea, including major corporations across various sectors.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/0134223/fake-job-seekers-are-flooding-us-companies?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Hackers intercepted about 103 bank regulators' emails for more than a year, gaining access to highly sensitive financial information, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the matter and a draft letter to Congress. From the report: The attackers were able to monitor employee emails at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency after breaking into an administrator's account, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn't public. OCC on Feb. 12 confirmed that there had been unauthorized activity on its systems after a Microsoft security team the day before had notified OCC about unusual network behavior, according to the draft letter.

The OCC is an independent bureau of the Treasury Department that regulates and supervises all national banks, federal savings associations and the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks -- together holding trillions of dollars in assets. OCC on Tuesday notified Congress about the compromise, describing it as a "major information security incident."

"The analysis concluded that the highly sensitive bank information contained in the emails and attachments is likely to result in demonstrable harm to public confidence," OCC Chief Information Officer Kristen Baldwin wrote in the draft letter to Congress that was seen by Bloomberg News. While US government agencies and officials have long been the targets of state-sponsored espionage campaigns, multiple high-profile breaches have surfaced over the past year.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/0034251/hackers-spied-on-100-us-bank-regulators-emails-for-over-a-year?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

New submitter toutankh writes: The UK government is developing a tool to predict murder. The scheme was originally called the "homicide prediction project", but its name has been changed to "sharing data to improve risk assessment". The Ministry of Justice hopes the project will help boost public safety but campaigners have called it "chilling and dystopian".The existence of the project was uncovered by Statewatch rather than announced by the UK government. PR following this discovery looks like uncoordinated damage control: one stated goal is to "ultimately contribute to protecting the public via better analysis", but a spokesperson also said that it is "for research purpose[s] only". One criticism is that such a system will inevitably reproduce existing bias from the police. What could go wrong?

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/0028213/uk-creating-murder-prediction-tool-to-identify-people-most-likely-to-kill?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Microsoft has scrapped plans to build three data center campuses in Licking County, Ohio, in a $1 billion investment pullback, the company said. The canceled developments in New Albany, Heath, and Hebron join a growing list of Microsoft data center project cancellations across the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the United Kingdom.

Microsoft will retain ownership of the land and plans to eventually develop the sites at an unspecified future date. Two properties will remain available for farming in the interim.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://slashdot.org/story/25/04/09/009213/microsoft-cancels-1-billion-ohio-data-center-projects?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Razer's upcoming Blade 16 and other laptops are no longer available for preorder or purchase on its US site. From a report: The configurator for preordering its new Blade 16 laptop was available as recently as April 1st, according to the Internet Archive -- one day before the Trump administration announced sweeping US tariffs on China, Taiwan, and others that make laptop components.

When asked recently if tariffs might affect Razer's prices or availability, its Public Relations Manager, Andy Johnston, told The Verge, "We do not have a comment at this stage regarding tariffs." Razer may not be openly talking about the impact of tariffs, but Framework halted sales of its entry-level Laptop 13 in the US on April 7th, and Micron reportedly confirmed surcharges for its memory chips will apply once the tariffs take effect after midnight tonight.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/2343230/razer-pauses-direct-laptop-sales-in-the-us-as-new-tariffs-loom?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

2 апреля состоялся выпуск 1.7.5 высокопроизводительной системы автоматического распознавания речи [ whisper.cpp ]( https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp ) , реализующей модель [ Whisper ]( https://github.com/openai/whisper ) от OpenAI, написанной на языках C и C++ и распространяемой по лицензии MIT.

В проекте используется авторская тензорная библиотека машинного обучения [ GGML ]( https://github.com/ggml-org/ggml ) , написанная на языке C и оптимизированная для использования различных бэкендов (CUDA, Vulkan, BLAS, SYCL, OpenCL и др.).

Это довольно большое обновление с различными улучшениями сборки и CI, особенно для iOS и WASM. Также есть некоторый прирост производительности, особенно для бэкенда Metal и, возможно, для устройств на базе Arm.

( [ читать дальше... ]( https://www.linux.org.ru/news/opensource/17936584#cut ) )

Сформирован первый альфа-выпуск пакетного менеджера RPM 6.0, который будет задействован в осеннем выпуске дистрибутива Fedora Linux 43. Проект развивается компанией Red Hat и используется в таких дистрибутивах, как RHEL, Fedora, SUSE, openSUSE, ALT Linux, OpenMandriva, Mageia, PCLinuxOS и Tizen. Код проекта распространяется под лицензиями GPLv2 и LGPLv2. Версии RPM 5 пропущена для исключения пересечений с проектом RPM5, который не связан с RPM от Red Hat и развивался независимыми разработчиками.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63040

Состоялся релиз библиотеки OpenSSL 3.5.0 с реализацией протоколов SSL/TLS и различных алгоритмов шифрования. OpenSSL 3.5 отнесён к выпускам с длительным сроком поддержки (LTS), обновления для которых выпускаются в течение 5 лет (до апреля 2030 года). Поддержка прошлых веток OpenSSL 3.3, 3.2 и 3.0 LTS продлится до апреля 2026 года, ноября 2025 года и сентября 2026 года соответственно. Код проекта распространяется под лицензией Apache 2.0.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63039

Children in a small Japanese town are obsessively collecting trading cards featuring local elderly men rather than popular fantasy creatures, helping bridge generational gaps in an aging rural community.

In Kawara, Fukuoka Prefecture, the "Ojisan TCG" (Middle-aged Man Trading Card Game) features 28 local men with assigned elemental types and battle stats. The collection includes a former fire brigade chief and a prison officer-turned-volunteer whose card has become so sought-after that children request his autograph.

Created by Eri Miyahara of the Saidosho Community Council, the initiative has doubled participation in town events. "We wanted to strengthen the connection between children and older generations," Miyahara told Fuji News Network. "So many kids are starting to look up to these men as heroic figures."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/184226/middle-aged-man-trading-cards-go-viral-in-rural-japan-town?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Опубликован выпуск пакета wayland-protocols 1.43, содержащего набор протоколов и расширений, дополняющих базовый протокол Wayland и предоставляющих возможности, необходимые для построения композитных серверов и пользовательских окружений.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63038

China is moving fast to dominate biotechnology, and the U.S. risks falling behind permanently unless it takes action over the next three years, a congressional commission said. WSJ: Congress should invest at least $15 billion to support biotech research over the next five years and take other steps to bolster manufacturing in the U.S., while barring companies from working with Chinese biotech suppliers, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology said in a report Tuesday. To achieve its goals, the federal government and U.S.-based researchers will also need to work with allies and partners around the world.

"China is quickly ascending to biotechnology dominance, having made biotechnology a strategic priority for 20 years," the commission said. Without prompt action, the U.S. risks "falling behind, a setback from which we may never recover." The findings convey the depth of worry in Washington that China's rapid biotechnology advances jeopardize U.S. national security. Yet translating the concern into tangible actions could prove challenging.

[...] China plays a large role supplying drug ingredients and even some generic medicines to the U.S. For years, it produced copycat versions of drugs developed in the West. Recent years have seen it become a formidable hub of biotechnology innovation, after the Chinese government gave priority to the field as a critical sector in China's efforts to become a scientific superpower.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/1559250/chinas-biotech-advances-threaten-us-dominance-warns-congressional-report?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke is changing his company's approach to hiring in the age of AI. Employees will be expected to prove why they "cannot get what they want done using AI" before asking for more headcount and resources, Lutke wrote in a memo to staffers that he posted to X. From a report: "What would this area look like if autonomous AI agents were already part of the team?" Lutke wrote in the memo, which was sent to employees late last month. "This question can lead to really fun discussions and projects." Lutke also said there's a "fundamental expectation" across Shopify that employees embrace AI in their daily work, saying it has been a "multiplier" of productivity for those who have used it.

"I've seen many of these people approach implausible tasks, ones we wouldn't even have chosen to tackle before, with reflexive and brilliant usage of AI to get 100X the work done," Lutke wrote. The company, which sells web-based software that helps online retailers manage sales and run their operations, will factor AI usage into performance reviews, he added.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/1518213/shopify-ceo-says-staffers-need-to-prove-jobs-cant-be-done-by-ai-before-asking-for-more-headcount?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Micron has informed US customers it will implement surcharges on memory modules and solid-state drives starting Wednesday to offset President Trump's new tariffs, according to Reuters. While semiconductors received exemptions in Trump's recent trade action, memory storage products didn't escape the new duties.

Micron, which manufactures primarily in Asian countries including China and Taiwan, had previously signaled during a March earnings call that tariff costs would be passed to customers.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/154257/micron-to-impose-tariff-related-surcharge-on-ssds-other-products?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Meta released two new Llama 4 models over the weekend -- Scout and Maverick -- with claims that Maverick outperforms GPT-4o and Gemini 2.0 Flash on benchmarks. Maverick quickly secured the number-two spot on LMArena, behind only Gemini 2.5 Pro.

Researchers have since discovered that Meta used an "experimental chat version" of Maverick for LMArena testing that was "optimized for conversationality" rather than the publicly available version.

In response, LMArena said "Meta's interpretation of our policy did not match what we expect from model providers" and announced policy updates to prevent similar issues.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/133257/meta-got-caught-gaming-ai-benchmarks?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

In Delhi's Nehru Place and Mumbai's Lamington Road, technicians are creating functional laptops from salvaged parts of multiple discarded devices. These "Frankenstein" machines sell for approximately $110 USD -- a fraction of the $800 price tag for new models. Technicians extract usable components -- motherboards, capacitors, screens, and batteries -- from e-waste sourced locally and from countries like Dubai and China.

"Most people don't care about having the latest model; they just want something that works and won't break the bank," a technician told Verge. This repair ecosystem operates within a larger battle against tech giants pushing planned obsolescence through proprietary designs and restricted parts access. Many technicians source components from Seelampur, India's largest e-waste hub processing 30,000 tonnes daily, though workers there handle toxic materials with minimal protection. "India has always had a repair culture," says Satish Sinha of Toxics Link, "but companies are pushing planned obsolescence, making repairs harder and forcing people to buy new devices."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/1116241/indias-frankenstein-laptop-economy-thrives-against-planned-obsolescence?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

On Bluesky, the joke's on you if you don't get the joke. The social network has become a "refuge" for those fleeing X and Threads, but its growing pains include a serious case of humor-impairment. When Amy Brown jokingly posted she was "screaming, crying, and throwing up" about price differences between Ohio and California Walgreens, literal-minded users scolded her for exaggerating. Brown, a former Wendy's social media manager who got banned from X after impersonating Elon Musk, puts it simply: "We're both speaking English, but I'm speaking internet."

This clash stems from Bluesky's oddly mixed population: irony-steeped Twitter refugees mingling with earnest Facebook transplants and MSNBC viewers who took the plunge after seeing the platform mentioned on shows like Morning Joe. "It's riff collapse," says cartoonist Mattie Lubchansky, describing how her obviously absurd Oscar post triggered sincere movie recommendations.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/0524221/bluesky-cant-take-a-joke?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

В просмотрщике Yelp, применяемом по умолчанию в GNOME для работы со справочными руководствами (GNOME Help), выявлена уязвимость (CVE-2025-3155), позволяющая выполнить произвольный JavaScript-код при открытии специально оформленных page-файлов. Выполнение подобных скриптов даёт возможность отправить файлы пользователя на сервер атакующего. Проследить за устранением уязвимости в дистрибутивах можно на следующих страницах: Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, SUSE/openSUSE, Fedora, Arch, FreeBSD.

https://www.opennet.ru/opennews/art.shtml?num=63035

TOP10 VISITORS:

[1] 45.135.180.x point=221 web=0 up=18.4MB (33%) <--- yesterlink (9/hr)
[2] 37.252.14.x point=144 web=0 up=17.7MB (31%) <--- ake (6/hr)
[3] Google point=2 web=902 up=10.1MB (18%) <--- Google
[4] Facebook point=0 web=327 up=3.4MB (6%)
[5] 24.130.121.x point=21 web=3 up=1.6MB (2%) <--- spnet (1/hr)
[6] PetalBot point=40 web=237 up=1.5MB (2%) <--- PetalBot (2/hr)
[7] 217.114.158.x point=24 web=0 up=0.9MB (1%) <--- fox (1/hr)
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TOTAL TRAFFIC: 55MB

The U.S. is still the global leader in state-of-the-art AI, but China has closed the gap considerably, according to a new report from Stanford. Axios: Institutions based in the U.S. produced 40 AI models of note in 2024, compared with 15 from China and three from Europe, according to the eighth edition of Stanford's Artificial Intelligence Index, released on Monday.

However, the report found that Chinese models have rapidly caught up in quality, noting that Chinese models reached near parity on two key benchmarks after being behind leading U.S. models by double digit percentages a year earlier. Plus, it said, China is now leading the U.S. in AI publications and patents.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/053232/uss-ai-lead-over-china-rapidly-shrinking-stanford-report-says?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Colossal Biosciences has claimed it "successfully restored" the extinct dire wolf after a "10,000+ year absence," but scientists clarify these are actually genetically modified grey wolves. The U.S. company announced three pups -- males Remus and Romulus born in October, and female Khaleesi born in January -- as dire wolves, but made only 20 genetic edits to grey wolves.

Beth Shapiro of Colossal told New Scientist that just 15 modifications were based on dire wolf DNA, primarily targeting size, musculature and ear shape. Five other changes involve mutations known to produce light coats in grey wolves. A 2021 DNA study revealed dire wolves and grey wolves last shared a common ancestor about 6 million years ago, with jackals and African wild dogs more closely related to grey wolves.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/0215244/no-the-dire-wolf-has-not-been-brought-back-from-extinction?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

New Mexico's legislature passed bills last week that would ban consumer products containing PFAS, joining a small but growing number of states taking action against these persistent "forever chemicals." If signed by the governor, the legislation would prohibit the sale of many products with added per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in New Mexico, making it the third state after Maine and Minnesota to enact such comprehensive restrictions.

At least 29 states have PFAS-related bills before state legislatures this year, according to Safer States, a network of advocacy organizations. Research shows PFAS accumulate in the environment and human bodies, potentially causing health problems from high cholesterol to cancer. EPA figures indicate almost half of Americans are exposed to PFAS in their drinking water.

Wired reports that chemical and consumer products industries are aggressively fighting state-level bans on "forever chemicals" through lobbying and legal action as regulations spread across the United States. The Cookware Sustainability Alliance, formed in 2024 by major cookware manufacturers, has testified in 10 statehouses against PFAS restrictions and sued Minnesota in January, claiming its ban is unconstitutional. (The New Mexico bills include notable exemptions, particularly for fluoropolymers used in nonstick cookware, following successful lobbying by industry groups.)

Industry groups are also targeting federal regulators, with the American Chemistry Council and others recommending the EPA adopt a narrower definition of PFAS. "The federal regulatory approach is preferable to a patchwork of different and potentially conflicting state approaches," said Erich Shea from the American Chemistry Council.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/0126258/states-are-banning-forever-chemicals-industry-is-fighting-back?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Framework -- a company that makes upgradeable and repairable laptops -- will pause sales on several versions of one of its models in America thanks to Trump's tariffs, it said. From a report: "Due to the new tariffs that came into effect on April 5th, we're temporarily pausing US sales on a few base Framework Laptop 13 systems (Ultra 5 125H and Ryzen 5 7640U). For now, these models will be removed from our US site. We will continue to provide updates as we have them," Framework said in a post on X.

A spokesperson for Framework told 404 Media in an email that the company was pausing sales on their six lowest priced units in the U.S. They clarified that those models are still available to customers that are ordering the machines outside of America.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/08/0110226/framework-stops-selling-some-of-its-laptops-in-the-us-due-to-tariffs?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

AmiMoJo writes: The Shenzhen 8K UHD Video Industry Cooperation Alliance, a group made up of more than 50 Chinese companies, just released a new wired media communication standard called the General Purpose Media Interface or GPMI. This standard was developed to support 8K and reduce the number of cables required to stream data and power from one device to another. According to HKEPC, the GPMI cable comes in two flavors -- a Type-B that seems to have a proprietary connector and a Type-C that is compatible with the USB-C standard.

Because 8K has four times the number of pixels of 4K and 16 times more pixels than 1080p resolution, it means that GPMI is built to carry a lot more data than other current standards. There are other variables that can impact required bandwidth, of course, such as color depth and refresh rate. The GPMI Type-C connector is set to have a maximum bandwidth of 96 Gbps and deliver 240 watts of power. This is more than double the 40 Gbps data limit of USB4 and Thunderbolt 4, allowing you to transmit more data on the cable. However, it has the same power limit as that of the latest USB Type-C connector using the Extended Power Range (EPR) standard. GPMI Type-B beats all other cables, though, with its maximum bandwidth of 192 Gbps and power delivery of up to 480 watts.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://it.slashdot.org/story/25/04/07/1917215/china-launches-gpmi-a-powerful-alternative-to-hdmi-and-displayport?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Waymo is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including video from interior cameras tied to rider identities, to train generative AI models, according to an unreleased version of its privacy policy found by researcher Jane Manchun Wong.

The draft language reveals Waymo may also share this data to personalize ads, raising fresh questions about how much of a rider's behavior inside autonomous vehicles could be repurposed for AI training and marketing. The privacy page states: "Waymo may share data to improve and analyze its functionality and to tailor products, services, ads, and offers to your interests. You can opt out of sharing your information with third parties, unless it's necessary to the functioning of the service."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/07/196200/waymo-may-use-interior-camera-data-to-train-generative-ai-models-sell-ads?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

The United Kingdom has banned "outrageous fake reviews and sneaky hidden fees" to make life easier for online shoppers. From a report: New measures under the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumer Act 2024 came into force on Sunday that require online platforms to transparently include all mandatory fees within a product's advertised price, including booking or admin charges.

The law targets so-called "dripped pricing," in which additional fees -- like platform service charges -- are dripped in during a customer's checkout process to dupe them into paying a higher price than expected. The ban "aims to bring to an end the shock that online shoppers get when they reach the end of their shopping experience only to find a raft of extra fees lumped on top," according to Justin Madders, the UK's Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/07/1729229/uk-bans-fake-reviews-and-sneaky-fees-for-online-products?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

The internet's physical mass remains contested among scientists, with estimates ranging from a strawberry to something almost unimaginably small. In 2006, Harvard physicist Russell Seitz calculated the internet weighed roughly 50 grams based on server energy, a figure that would now equate to potato-weight given internet growth.

Christopher White, president of NEC Laboratories America, has dismissed this calculation as "just wrong." White suggests a more accurate method that accounts for the energy needed to encode all internet data in one place, yielding approximately 53 quadrillionths of a gram at room temperature. Alternatively, if the internet's projected 175 zettabytes of data were stored in DNA -- a storage medium scientists are actively exploring -- it would weigh 960,947 grams, equivalent to 10.6 American males. Though scientists debate measurement methods, White asserts the web's true complexity makes it "essentially unknowable."

[ Read more of this story ]( https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/04/07/1740251/scientists-debate-actual-weight-of-the-internet?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

Apple rushed five planeloads of iPhones from India to the U.S. in just three days to beat new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, Times of India reported Monday, citing sources. The urgent shipments during the final week of March aimed to avoid the 10% reciprocal tariff that took effect on April 5.

The stockpiling will allow Apple to maintain current pricing temporarily. "The reserves that arrived at lower duty will temporarily insulate the company from the higher prices that it will need to pay for new shipments," the Indian daily cited a source as saying. The Trump administration also announced a 26% reciprocal tariff to be implemented on April 9, potentially accelerating Apple's manufacturing shift away from China. India offers a significant tariff advantage, with Indian exports facing a 26% tariff to the U.S. compared to 54% on Chinese goods.

Further reading: India's Economic Chess Against Twin US Economic Threats.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/04/07/1542257/apple-rushes-shipments-from-india-to-dodge-tariffs?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

President Donald Trump signaled a potential diplomatic opening amid his aggressive tariff strategy on Monday, threatening China with an additional 50% tariff while simultaneously offering other nations a path to negotiate lower trade barriers.

The ultimatum to Beijing demands China withdraw a 34% increase by April 8, 2025, or face supplementary tariffs effective April 9, which would push total levies on Chinese goods to 104% or higher. Trump has already imposed a 20% tariff over fentanyl concerns and a 34% tariff related to trade issues. "Negotiations with other countries, which have requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately," Trump wrote on social media, marking a shift from the administration's previously unyielding stance.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/04/07/1558211/trump-opens-trade-talks-window-while-threatening-china-with-steeper-tariffs?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.

A court has blocked a British government attempt to keep secret a legal case over its demand to access Apple user data. From a report: The UK Investigatory Powers Tribunal, a special court that handles cases related to government surveillance, said the authorities' efforts were a "fundamental interference with the principle of open justice" in a ruling issued on Monday. The development comes after it emerged in January that the British government had served Apple with a demand to circumvent encryption that the company uses to secure user data stored in its cloud services.

Apple challenged the request, while taking the unprecedented step of removing its advanced data protection feature for its British users. The government had sought to keep details about the demand -- and Apple's challenge of it -- from being publicly disclosed. Apple has regularly clashed with governments over encryption features that can make it difficult for law enforcement to access devices produced by the company. The world's most valuable company last year criticized UK surveillance powers as "unprecedented overreach" by the government.

[ Read more of this story ]( https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/04/07/1444256/uk-effort-to-keep-apple-encryption-fight-secret-is-blocked?utm_source=atom1.0moreanon&utm_medium=feed ) at Slashdot.