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upstart writes:

Court says non-open 'open source' code is false advertising:

Last year, the Graph Foundation had to rethink how it develops and distributes its Open Native Graph Database (ONgDB) after it settled a trademark and copyright claim by database biz Neo4j.

The Graph Foundation agreed [PDF] it would no longer claim specific versions of ONgDB, its Neo4j Enterprise Edition fork, are a "100 percent free and open source version" of Neo4J EE. And last month, two other companies challenged by Neo4j – PureThink and iGov – were also required by a court ruling to make similar concessions.

ONgDB is forked from Neo4j EE, which in May 2018 dropped the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL) and adopted a new license that incorporates the AGPLv3 alongside additional limitations spelled out in the Commons Clause license. This new Neo4j EE license forbade non-paying users of the software from reselling the code or offering some support services, and thus is not open source as defined by the Open Source Initiative.

The Graph Foundation, PureThink, and iGov offered ONgDB as a "free and open source" version of Neo4j in the hope of winning customers who preferred an open-source license. That made it more challenging for Neo4j to compete.

So in 2018 and 2019 Neo4j and its Swedish subsidiary pursued legal claims against the respective firms and their principals for trademark and copyright infringement, among other things.

upstart writes:

Daring NASA helicopter captures stunning view of the Martian desert:

NASA's trusty helicopter will soon enter some precarious terrain.

The aerial craft Ingenuity is headed to a dried-up river delta in the Jezero Crater, a land filled "with jagged cliffs, angled surfaces, projecting boulders, and sand-filled pockets that could stop a rover in its tracks (or upend a helicopter upon landing)," says NASA.

But first, it must fly there.

Over a series of at least three flights, NASA will send Ingenuity across an expanse of desert dubbed "Séítah." The space agency released an image from a trip across this terrain, captured in midair using Ingenuity's high-resolution color camera.

The Ingenuity helicopter, an experimental robot, has vastly exceeded engineers' expectations. NASA hoped to prove it could fly something on Mars. Now, the helicopter has flown over 21 times, and its next journey is expected to span some 1,150 feet — while avoiding a hill.

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upstart writes:

Heineken launches virtual beer in self-mocking metaverse 'joke':

A brewer has created a virtual beer to highlight the extremes businesses will go to to grab a slice of the next big thing - the metaverse. Heineken set up a virtual launch to promote the "product" - an experience described by one attendee as surreal. The metaverse does not yet exist but many believe people will one day spend their time in inter-connected virtual worlds, accessed via a VR headset.

The firm said it was "an ironic joke... that pokes fun at us and other brands".

The mock launch - to which real journalists were invited - took place in a virtual brewery in Decentraland - a virtual world owned by its users. And the beer was described as being brewed with "binary-coded hops grown by NPC (non-player character) farmers".

The firm's global head of brand, Bram Westenbrink, said: "We know that the metaverse brings people together in a light-hearted and immersive way but it's just not the best place to taste a new beer.

"Our new virtual beer is an ironic joke. It is a self-aware idea that pokes fun at us and many other brands that are jumping into the metaverse with products that are best enjoyed in the real world."

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Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2022/03/better-rollover-safety-may-be-to-blame-for-more-pedestrian-deaths/

It's a dangerous time to be on American roads, and that's especially true if you're on foot.

Pedestrian deaths on our roads went up by more than 50 percent in a decade, and it looks like last year may have been even worse than 2020. The problem is complex, as road design, poor standards of driving training, and inadequate enforcement of existing traffic laws all contribute to the death toll.

But a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has figured out why drivers of some types of vehicles are disproportionately more likely to hit pedestrians. Previous research has shown that cars are much safer for pedestrians than light truck vehicles, a catch-all category that includes SUVs, pickups, and vans (mini- or otherwise). And there has been speculation that the high fronts of these vehicles are more likely to mangle a pedestrian.

The IIHS study identifies another factor. IIHS Senior Transportation Engineer Wen Hu and IIHS Vice President of Research Jessica Cicchino looked at crash data from North Carolina (from 2010 to 2018) and data from the national Fatality Analysis Reporting System, or FARS, (from 2014 to 2018) to try to understand the problem.
[...]
Ironically, the problem may be partly of IIHS' making. When Ars visited IIHS's crash-testing center in 2019, the organization was proud of the fact that the auto industry had responded to its tougher rollover test. In order to protect occupants during a rollover, OEMs had to strengthen their A-pillars in order to pass. That resulted in safer cars for their occupants, but at the cost of worse visibility—and perhaps more dead pedestrians.

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upstart writes:

BIG sabotage: Famous npm package deletes files to protest Ukraine war:

This month, the developer behind the popular npm package 'node-ipc' released sabotaged versions of the library in protest of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War.

Newer versions of the 'node-ipc' package began deleting all data and overwriting all files on developer's machines, in addition to creating new text files with "peace" messages.

With over a million weekly downloads, 'node-ipc' is a prominent package used by major libraries like Vue.js CLI.

Select versions (10.1.1 and 10.1.2) of the massively popular 'node-ipc' package were caught containing malicious code that would overwrite or delete arbitrary files on a system for users based in Russia and Belarus. These versions are tracked under CVE-2022-23812.

On March 8th, developer Brandon Nozaki Miller, aka RIAEvangelist released open source software packages called peacenotwar and oneday-test on both npm and GitHub The packages appear to have been originally created by the developer as a means of peaceful protest, as they mainly add a "message of peace" on the Desktop of any user installing the packages.

takyon writes:

NASA's Webb Reaches Alignment Milestone, Optics Working Successfully

Following the completion of critical mirror alignment steps, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope team expects that Webb's optical performance will be able to meet or exceed the science goals the observatory was built to achieve.

On March 11, the Webb team completed the stage of alignment known as "fine phasing." At this key stage in the commissioning of Webb's Optical Telescope Element, every optical parameter that has been checked and tested is performing at, or above, expectations. The team also found no critical issues and no measurable contamination or blockages to Webb's optical path. The observatory is able to successfully gather light from distant objects and deliver it to its instruments without issue.

[...] Over the next six weeks, the team will proceed through the remaining alignment steps before final science instrument preparations. The team will further align the telescope to include the Near-Infrared Spectrograph, Mid-Infrared Instrument, and Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph. In this phase of the process, an algorithm will evaluate the performance of each instrument and then calculate the final corrections needed to achieve a well-aligned telescope across all science instruments. Following this, Webb's final alignment step will begin, and the team will adjust any small, residual positioning errors in the mirror segments.

The team is on track to conclude all aspects of Optical Telescope Element alignment by early May, if not sooner, before moving on to approximately two months of science instrument preparations. Webb's first full-resolution imagery and science data will be released in the summer.

Image (5.74 MB).

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Both girls and boys are subjected to digital sexual harassment from schoolmates in the form of unwanted nude images and sexual videos. A new thesis shows that young people often lack strategies to protect themselves, and that this can lead to shame, bullying and mental health problems. However, some young people find ways to resist.

"Schoolchildren describe receiving unwanted nude images as a relatively common phenomenon that affects their everyday social relationships at school," says Kristina Hunehäll Berndtsson. "Previous research has mainly focused on the vulnerability of girls. But this thesis shows that boys are also vulnerable."

Kristina investigated students' experiences of digital sexual harassment by interviewing around 80 year 9 students [age 14/15 years] at three schools located in different geographic and socio-economic areas. Students described examples such as photos and videos that were shared with consent being passed on to others, being tricked or threatened into sending photos that are then circulated, and receiving unsolicited 'dick pics' and 'nudes.'

"Young people tend to lack strategies for dealing with digital sexual harassment. It's a sensitive subject that's hard to talk about. Some don't even talk to their closest friends about it. There's a risk of rumors spreading if it gets out. And they don't talk to adults about it, either. They don't think that adults know about the phenomenon.

upstart writes:

'Remarkable' find under Notre-Dame:

Archaeologists at Notre-Dame in Paris have made a "remarkable" discovery under the medieval Catholic cathedral in Paris. Several tombs and a leaden sarcophagus likely dating from the 14th century have been uncovered by archaeologists at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.

The discovery comes after a devastating fire tore through the medieval Catholic cathedral in 2019.

The burial sites "of remarkable scientific quality" were unearthed during preparatory work for rebuilding the ancient church's spire at the central spot where the transept crosses the nave, the culture ministry announced late Monday. Among the tombs was the "completely preserved, human-shaped sarcophagus made of lead". It is thought the coffin was made for a senior dignitary in the 1300s — the century following the cathedral's construction.

As well as the tombs, elements of painted sculptures were found just beneath the current floor level of the cathedral, identified as parts of the original 13th-century rood screen — an architectural element separating the altar area from the nave.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

AWS is making a billion-dollar investment into the UK:

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is set to pump billions into the UK as it looks to make a long-term commitment in the region.

The cloud computing giant has announced it will spend more than £1.8 billion over the next two years on UK-related expansion, more than double its existing total investment in the country.

The funding will go towards building and operating data centres in the UK, including an expansion of the AWS London Region that was first launched in December 2016.

[...] The news follows an announcement by AWS earlier this year that will see the company create 25,000 permanent jobs across the UK, taking its total workforce in the country to over 70,000.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Intel plans to build a $19 billion chip plant in Germany:

Intel has confirmed plans to build a semiconductor plant in Germany as part of an investment of up to €80 billion ($88 billion) in Europe over the next decade. The initial outlay for the facility in Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt, is €17 billion ($19 billion).

The so-called "mega-site" will actually comprise two factories. Planning will start right away with construction expected to get under way in the first half of next year, as long as Intel gets the thumbs up from the European Commission. Production should commence at what Intel is calling "Silicon Junction" in 2027. As such, the plant won't help offset the global chip shortage any time soon.

Intel says the dual plants will build chips using its top-of-the-line Angstrom-era transistor tech. It expects to create 7,000 construction jobs for the duration of the build, 3,000 permanent positions and thousands more jobs across partners and suppliers.

Elsewhere, Intel will invest another €12 billion ($13 billion) to expand a factory in Leixlip, Ireland. It will double the manufacturing space and expand foundry services there. The company's also in discussions with Italy to build an assembly and packing facility there at a cost of up to €4.5 billion ($4.9 billion).

Intel plans to build its European research and development hub near Plateau de Saclay, France. It expects to create 1,000 jobs as a result, with 450 of those opening up by the end of 2024. Intel aims to set up its main European foundry design center in France too. Further investments are earmarked for Poland and Spain.

Hat-tip to takyon for also sumitting Intel to announce its manufacturing and R&D plans for European Union tomorrow.

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upstart writes:

RISC-V house SiFive is coming for Arm's crown:

SiFive has announced plans to utilize a new cash injection to challenge the dominance of Arm with its RISC-V CPU cores.

The company has sealed an additional $175 million in funding in a recent investment round, which will combine with the takings from the sale of its connectivity business, OpenFive, to create a $350 nest egg.

According to Patrick Little, SiFive CEO, the firm will use the funds to accelerate the development of new RISC-V based cores capable of besting Arm across performance and efficiency metrics.

In today's market, Arm-based processors are ubiquitous. The company dominates the mobile computing landscape, and the success of Apple's M1 series shows Arm has a promising future inside laptops and desktops too. Arm designs also feature in chips for TVs, smart cars, drones, various IoT devices and some data center servers.

RISC-V is a free, open source instruction set architecture (ISA) built around the same design principles as Arm's proprietary designs, which command royalties each time they are integrated into an SoC. Although RISC-V-based processors are currently far less common, data from Deloitte suggests the number of RISC-V cores in circulation will double in each of the next two years.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Scientists Warn: Nutritious Fish Stocks Are Being Squandered by Salmon Farming:

Scientists studying the Scottish salmon farming industry say that using only fish by-products — such as trimmings — for salmon feed, rather than whole wild-caught fish, would deliver significant nutritional and sustainability gains.

This would allow 3.7 million tonnes of fish to be left in the sea, and enable global annual seafood production to increase by 6.1 million tonnes.

"If we want to feed the growing global population well and sustainably, we must stop catching wild fish to feed farmed fish." — David Willer

[...] As the world's fastest growing food sector, aquaculture is often presented as a way to relieve pressure on wild fish stocks. But many aquaculture fish — such as Atlantic salmon — are farmed using fish oil and meal made from millions of tonnes of wild-caught fish, most of which is food-grade and could be eaten directly to provide vital nutrition.

The team collected data on fish nutrient content, fishmeal, and fish oil composition, and salmon production, and examined the transfer of micronutrients from feed to fish in Scotland's farmed salmon industry. They found that over half of the essential dietary minerals and fatty acids available in wild fish are lost when these fish are fed to farmed salmon.

upstart writes:

Hundreds of GoDaddy sites caught up in hacking campaign:

A new hacking campaign infecting hundreds of sites hosted by GoDaddy-hosted sites has been uncovered.

An investigation by the Wordfence Incident Response team found more than 280 websites hosted with GoDaddy's Managed WordPress service were infected with a backdoor.

Among the compromised services are MediaTemple, tsoHost, 123Reg, Domain Factory, Heart Internet, and Host Europe, with a total of 298 sites found to be infected.

[...] This unnamed backdoor, it was further explained, has been in use for at least seven years. The threat actors add it to the beginning of wp-config.php and its goal seems to be to generate spammy Google search results, including resources customized to the infected site.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Russia is risking the creation of a "splinternet":

[...] So what would a real splinternet look like in practice? And how close are we to it? An actual splintering of the internet—rather than different countries using different platforms on the same underlying architecture—could take one of two forms, according to Milton Mueller of the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

"A major, serious splintering of the internet would involve a technically incompatible protocol used by a critical mass of the world's population," he says. This first type of splintering would not be catastrophic. "Technologists would probably find a way to bridge the two protocols in short order," says Mueller.

The second form of splintering would be to continue using technically compatible protocols, but to have different governing bodies managing those services.  This might prove trickier to reverse.

If Russia, China, or some other countries formed rivals to the bodies that manage IP addresses and DNS and got them established, that could be even harder to put back together than if they built rival technological protocols. Vested interests would form, wanting to stay with one or the other body, making the politics of reconnection almost impossible.

The problem of reconnecting these disparate networks into one global internet would thus be a political one, not a technical one—but it's often the political problems that are the most difficult to solve.

Famous Navy UFO Video Was Actually Camera Glare, Evidence Suggests

upstart writes:

Famous Navy UFO Video Was Actually Camera Glare, Evidence Suggests:

The footage in question appears to show a UFO defying modern aerodynamics off the coast of San Diego before it appears to vanish into the ocean. The footage was captured in 2004 and was originally leaked in 2017 before it was officially released in 2019.

The video was supposedly never supposed to be made public and has been one of the poster child pieces of the footage used to definitively point to the existence of extraterrestrials. The Pentagon performed a detailed analysis of the footage and found that there was no evidence that it came from a source outside of Earth, but was unable to eliminate the possibility either. This, of course, continued to fuel conspiracy theories about the existence of aliens.

But a new detailed analysis by self-described debunker, skeptic, and UFO investigator Mick West focuses on four aspects of the footage to demonstrate that what is likely being seen is actually a camera artifact. West says his primary focus is investigating the claims of evidence around conspiracy theories and he does so in this recent video using facts and science.

[...] West contends that what is being seen in the video is actually infrared glare that hides a hot object behind it and only rotates in the way it does because the camera rotates when tracking the target from left to right.

[...] As detailed as West's analysis is, it very likely won't convince those who have decided that it is footage of a UFO.