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liar and Isia wrote in with the same story:

Companies are willing to make their products less reliable, less attractive, less safe and less resilient in pursuit of rents.
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/

Forget F1: the only car race that matters now is the race to turn your car into a digital extraction machine, a high-speed inkjet printer on wheels, stealing your private data as it picks your pocket. Your car's digital infrastructure is a costly, dangerous nightmare – but for automakers in pursuit of postcapitalist utopia, it's a dream they can't give up on.

[...] Don't drive a cab, create Uber and extract value from every driver and rider. Better still: don't found Uber, invest in Uber options and extract value from the people who invest in Uber. Even better, invest in derivatives of Uber options and extract value from people extracting value from people investing in Uber, who extract value from drivers and riders.
Go meta.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Ubisoft will delete your account, along with your game library, if it's inactive for too long:

Has it been a while since you signed into your Ubisoft account? It might be prudent to log in as soon as possible; otherwise, there's a risk of it being deleted and your purchased games along with it.

Twitter user @PC_enjoyer, a piracy and anti-DRM advocate, tweeted a very phishing-like email from Ubisoft informing them that they have not been using their Ubisoft account. As such, the company has temporarily suspended the inactive account and said it would be closed in 30 days in accordance with the Terms of Use.

UBISOFT closes your account if you haven't logged in for some time.

You will lose all your games purchased forever. pic.twitter.com/exC78bUt93

– AntiDRM (@PC_enjoyer) July 19, 2023

The message includes a Cancel button for the user to keep their Ubisoft account open. Again, this all looks pretty suspicious, but the company's support staff later confirmed it's not a scam.

Hey there. We just wanted to chime in that you can avoid the account closure by logging into your account within the 30 days (since receiving the email pictured) and selecting the Cancel Account Closure link contained in the email. We certainly do not want you to lose access to...

– Ubisoft Support (@UbisoftSupport) July 20, 2023

hubie writes:

Although the two types of training produce similar metabolic stress, muscle activation is different:

Which kind of resistance training promotes more muscle growth: low load with many repetitions or high load with fewer repetitions? According to a study conducted at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo state, Brazil, it makes no difference.

The study lasted eight weeks and involved 18 volunteers in two different training protocols. One group performed high-load (HL) exercises with fewer repetitions, while the other did low-load (LL) exercises with more repetitions. Muscle mass was measured in the first and last exercise sessions. A comparison of the two groups did not show any difference in muscle growth or metabolic stress, measured in an analysis of substances released into the bloodstream by the exercises.

In the HL group, each individual lifted up to 80% of their own weight. In the LL group, the limit was 30%, but they repeated the exercises until their muscles could no longer lift the loads.

[...] "Resistance training is known to promote muscle growth, but it's still not completely clear whether the key to muscle hypertrophy is the load or the number of repetitions. Our study supports the theory that both types have the same effect. We also showed that muscle activation occurs in a different manner in each type, although metabolic stress is the same and the effect on hypertrophy is therefore also the same," said Renato Barroso, a professor at UNICAMP's School of Physical Education.

[...] Although the researchers found no differences in the overall metabolic response, they observed that some metabolites correlated with muscle hypertrophy in both groups. Some of these correlations, they concluded, may be associated with the characteristics of the muscle fibers activated by exercise (type 1 or type 2) as well as the metabolic demands of the training protocols used in the study.

upstart writes:

Thousands of Chromebooks Are 'Expiring,' Forcing Schools to Toss Them Out:

As thin, light, and inexpensive as Chromebooks can be, they come with a major caveat: short life expectancies. Chromebooks aren't just a little flimsier than the average laptop—they're shipped with software "death dates" that render them useless three to six years after release. And because schools are some of Chromebooks' biggest customers, they're now swamped with bricked hardware.

The Chromebook crisis is apparent at northern California's Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), where thousands of laptops have reportedly stopped working. Sam Berg, the district's computer science coordinator, told Silicon Valley's Mercury News that while Oakland students can gain tech repair experience through an OUSD internship, the expired Chromebooks simply aren't fixable. "They're designed to be disposable," Berg said.

The district was forced to replace 3,851 laptops last year after the Chromebooks reached their built-in death dates. Over the next five years, that number will skyrocket to 40,000 as more than 60 Chromebook models expire. The district's tech internship for teenagers will attempt to salvage as much hardware as possible, but most will need to be recycled.

Google told OUSD the baked-in death dates are necessary for security and compatibility purposes. As Google continues to iterate on its Chromebook software, older devices supposedly can't handle the updates. But this illustrates a particularly contentious issue in modern technology: planned obsolescence. From smartphones and computers to printers and even kitchen appliances, consumers have learned to purchase things with the knowledge that they'll need to be replaced in just a few years. Not only is this expensive, but it produces a shocking amount of e-waste, less than a quarter of which is recycled.

Also submitted as: Built-in software 'death dates' are sending thousands of schools' Chromebooks to the recycling bin

Original Submission #1  Original Submission #2 

upstart writes:

Scientists are trying to give AI human brains, quite literally:

AI researchers and neurologists are working together the world over to give humans the power of AI, and to give AI the capacity of the human brain. The ultimate idea, is to give AI enough processing or "thought" power using a non-silicon based processor.

A group of researchers has secured a $600,000 grant from Australia's Office of National Intelligence to explore the integration of human brain cells with artificial intelligence (AI).

[...] The researchers are confident in their work and have ambitious goals for the technology. Adeel Razi, the team lead and associate professor at Monarch University, stated that this new technology may eventually surpass the performance of traditional silicon-based hardware.

"This new technology capability in the future may eventually surpass the performance of existing, purely silicon-based hardware," said Adeel Razi, team lead and associate profess at Monarch University, in a statement.

The potential applications of this research span multiple fields, including planning, robotics, advanced automation, brain-computer interfaces, and drug discovery, granting Australia a significant strategic advantage.

[...] This ambitious project will undoubtedly require considerable time and effort to complete. With the grant, they aim to develop AI machines that can replicate the learning capacity of biological neural networks. Ultimately, they hope to scale up the hardware and methods to a level where these systems can viably replace traditional in silicon computing.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

We use technology in work more than ever before, but it isn't making us more productive:

We are often told that we are in the midst of a technological revolution.

That business and the world of work continue to be transformed and improved by computers, the internet, the increased speed of communication, data processing, robotics, and now - artificial intelligence.

There is only one small problem with all this - none of it seems to show up in the economic data. If all this technology really is making us all work faster and better, there is precious little evidence.

Between 1974 and 2008 the UK's productivity - the amount of output you get per worker - grew at an annual rate of 2.3%. But between 2008 and 2020 the rate of productivity growth collapsed to around 0.5% per annum.

[...] It feels like we are continuing to go through a huge period of innovation and technological advancement, but at the same time, productivity has slowed to a crawl. How can you explain this apparent paradox?

[...] Productivity is something economists look at very closely. And while it is a complicated issue, with the 2008 financial crisis and current high inflation having a negative impact, there are said to be two main explanations for why technology is not boosting productivity.

The first is that we are just not measuring the impact of technology properly. The second is that economic revolutions tend to be rather slow-burning affairs. And therefore, technological change is happening, but it just might be decades before we see the full benefits.

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/07/ready-for-your-eye-scan-worldcoin-launches-but-not-quite-worldwide/

Sam Altman's cryptocurrency project, the Worldcoin Foundation, is rolling out its services globally even as the company cofounded by the OpenAI chief faces regulatory pushback in the US.

The Berlin and San Francisco-based start-up announced on Monday that its technology, including its Worldcoin token—a cryptocurrency traceable on the blockchain that requires users to first prove their identity—will be available in 35 cities across 20 countries.

Central to the effort is an eye-scanning physical "orb," which Worldcoin's founders say is necessary for a future in which distinguishing between humans and robots becomes increasingly challenging due to a surge in artificial intelligence technology. Once users have proven they are not robots, they can be issued one of the company's tokens.

[...] Altman admitted that eye-scanning technology has "a clear ick factor," but he is confident that with proper explanation the company can attract users.

"On crypto, there have been a lot of bad actors and that's a real shame... we have to earn people's trust, which is why we're explaining so much about how the technology works and the road map for decentralizing the company," he said.

Original Submission

fliptop writes:

A federal judge ruled on Friday that Arizona’s law limiting how close people can get to recording law enforcement is unconstitutional:

In his three-page ruling, [U.S. District Judge] John J. Tuchi said the law violated the First Amendment and “there is a clearly established right to record law enforcement officers engaged in the exercise of their official duties in public places.” He also said the law was too vague.

The judge cited infringement against a clear right for citizens to film police while doing their jobs in his ruling:

“The law prohibits or chills a substantial amount of First Amendment protected activity and is unnecessary to prevent interference with police officers given other Arizona laws in effect,” Tuchi wrote.

Tuchi suspended the implementation of the law last year. Now, his ruling permanently blocks enforcement.

Previously:

• Federal Judge Blocks Arizona Law Limiting Filming of Police
• Arizona Makes It Illegal for Bystanders to Record Cops at Close Range

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Researchers have created an edible power resource that could boost healthcare and help preserve the environment:

Most examinations of the gastrointestinal region involve sending a thin tube with a camera affixed to the tip either down your throat to the small intestine or through the rectum to the colon, neither of which are pleasant experiences.

However, an innovative, and increasingly attractive -- albeit less common -- method is to dispatch a camera housed in a small, vitamin pill-shaped capsule along with silver oxide batteries on its maiden voyage down into your gut.

[...] While this process sounds great so far, there's a problem. Ingestible devices, as amazing as they are, require medical oversight while they're administered and they sometimes get lodged into the mountainous crevices of your innards.

Out of nowhere, you've gone from a routine, affordable cancer test to surgery and a humongous medical bill.

But what if the pill camera was made of substances that were not harmful and somehow quietly melded away into nothingness once it served its tour of duty?

Italian researchers from Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) have engineered a battery that could power devices, such as the pill camera, using ingredients you may find in any food lover's pantry.

[...] This carefully crafted work of ingenuity is able to operate at 0.65 Volts, low enough to not affect humans when they swallow it, but with enough juice to power a tiny LED for a short while.

Journal Reference:
Ivan K. Ilic, Valerio Galli, et. al. An Edible Rechargeable Battery, Advanced Materials (DOI: 10.1002/adma.202211400)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

AMD is considering broadening chip production suppliers as it believes it is too reliant on semiconductor giant TSMC and this places the supply chain at risk of disruption:

The latest 4th generation Epyc processor from AMD is manufactured using TSMC's 5nm production node technology. However, while previous generations used an I/O die produced by GlobalFoundries, the latest CPU also has its I/O die manufactured by TSMC.

During a visit to Tokyo late last week, AMD CEO Lisa Su told Nikkei Asia that her company would consider "other manufacturing capabilities" besides TSMC to produce its chips to ensure it has a more resilient supply chain. As a so-called "fabless" chip company, AMD relies on others to manufacture its products.

[...] Other semiconductor manufacturing companies that could have the fabrication capabilities that AMD needs to make its processor chips include Samsung Electronics and GlobalFoundries. However, AMD effectively shifted from GlobalFoundries to TSMC several years ago when the former halted work on its 7nm process technology.

[...] There is another alternative, of course. Intel has ambitions to ramp up Intel Foundry Services as a contract manufacturing business to help revitalize the company's fortunes as part of its IDM [Integrated Device Manufacturing] 2.0 strategy, and the previous head of the business unit, Randhir Thakur, said he expected Intel Foundry Services to overtake Samsung's contract chip manufacturing business by 2030, which would make it second to TSMC.

Intel signed an agreement with Brit chip designer Arm earlier this year to enable Arm licensees to have their products manufactured by Intel Foundry Services despite some of these being competitors for Intel's own products, so the unthinkable is possible.

We asked Intel if it would consider becoming AMD's silicon manufacturing partner, and we await its response with interest.

The US disclosed earlier this year that it would sooner see TSMC's semiconductor facilities in Taiwan destroyed than allow them to fall into Chinese hands in the event of an invasion. Not surprisingly, Taiwanese officials have asked Washington to row back on some of its anti-Beijing rhetoric.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Last year, we made an intriguing discovery—a radio signal in space that switched on and off every 18 minutes:

Astronomers expect to see some repeating radio signals in space, but they usually blink on and off much more quickly. The most common repeating signals come from pulsars, rotating neutron stars that emit energetic beams like lighthouses, causing them to blink on and off as they rotate towards and away from the Earth.

Pulsars slow down as they get older, and their pulses become fainter, until eventually they stop producing radio waves altogether. Our unusually slow pulsar could best be explained as a magnetar—a pulsar with exceedingly complex and powerful magnetic fields that could generate radio waves for several months before stopping.

Unfortunately, we detected the source using data gathered in 2018. By the time we analyzed the data and discovered what we thought might be a magnetar it was 2020, and it was no longer producing radio waves. Without additional data, we were unable to test our magnetar theory.

[...] So, we used the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope in Western Australia to scan our Milky Way galaxy every three nights for several months.

We didn't need to wait long. Almost as soon as we started looking, we found a new source, in a different part of the sky, this time repeating every 22 minutes.

At last, the moment we had been waiting for. We used every telescope we could find, across radio, X-ray, and optical light, making as many observations as possible, assuming it would not be active for long. The pulses lasted five minutes each, with gaps of 17 minutes between. Our object looked a lot like a pulsar, but spinning 1,000 times slower.

upstart writes:

From package signing to SBOMs to new developer toolchains, the pieces for securing the software supply chain are starting to come together:

The Log4j vulnerability in December 2021 spotlighted the software supply chain as a massively neglected security surface area. It revealed just how interconnected our software artifacts are, and how our systems are only as secure as their weakest links. It also reinforced the idea that we may think security is something we can buy, but really it's about how we function as development teams.

Ever since, we've been sprinting to improve.

[...] What's starting to pull all of this together—and create more urgency to create a cohesive strategy around software signing, SBOMs, and developer workflow—is regulation, which would demand stricter ownership of the integrity of software security.

Back in April, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) published a request for comment on a newly proposed Secure Software Development Attestation Form that will put the onus on the CEOs of software companies to attest that their software has been built in secure environments and that good-faith, reasonable efforts have been made to maintain trusted source code supply chains.

What counts as "reasonable?"

Thus far, "reasonable" efforts seem to be the guidelines set forth in FedRAMP's Vulnerability Scanning Requirements for Containers and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Secure Software Development Framework. But the far more nuanced, read-between-the-lines interpretation of the new self-attestation requirements is in the clauses that cover third-party code incorporated into the software. In short, software providers will be held liable for the unfunded, unmaintained popular open source they use in their supply chains.

Wait, what? Responsible for some random project maintainer's code? Apparently, yes. Is that "reasonable"?

This is a somewhat shocking, if necessary, check on unfettered adoption of open source. I'm not suggesting that companies shouldn't be using open source, quite the contrary. I'm reminding you that there is no free lunch, including when it comes packaged as free (and open source) software. Someone needs to pay to keep the lights on for maintainers, and someone needs to help developers make sense of all this inbound, open source software.

I wanted to post a reminder to the community that the SoylentNews PBC has it’s upcoming meeting at the end of July on the 31st ( #meeting on irc.sylnt.us @ 1:30 PDT - web access via https://irc.staging.soylentnews.org/ ). I believe that this event is the continuation and result of a very hard push by myself and others to bring about necessary changes to the management and structure of SoylentNews.

The upcoming meeting will be to nominate one or more qualified candidates to serve on the Board. The PBC exists to define what and how SoylentNews will be and to enforce that vision. Ultimately the Board is responsible for the high-level oversight that ensures the bylaws are fulfilled. The purpose of the expansion is to include more voices from the community so they will be directly represented in the decision making effecting the community. The next meeting will be held over IRC and will be answering and addressing your questions and concerns from any of the comments posted in this article.

hubie writes:

Plants remove cancer causing toxins from air:

A ground-breaking study has revealed that plants can efficiently remove toxic petrol fumes, including cancer causing compounds such as benzene, from indoor air.

The study was led by University of Technology Sydney (UTS) bioremediation researcher Associate Professor Fraser Torpy, in partnership with leading plantscaping solutions company Ambius.

The researchers found that the Ambius small green wall, containing a mix of indoor plants, was highly effective at removing harmful, cancer-causing pollutants, with 97 per cent of the most toxic compounds removed from the surrounding air in just eight hours.

[...] Ambius General Manager Johan Hodgson said the research presented new evidence into the critical role played by indoor plants and green walls in cleaning the air we breathe quickly and sustainably.

"We know that indoor air quality is often significantly more polluted than outdoor air, which in turn impacts mental and physical health. But the great news is this study has shown that something as simple as having plants indoors can make a huge difference," Mr Hodgson said.

Previous studies on indoor plants have shown they can remove a broad range of indoor air contaminants, however this is the first study into the ability of plants to clean up petrol vapours, which are one of the largest sources of toxic compounds in buildings worldwide.

[...] "At Ambius, we see over and over again the effects plants have in improving health, wellbeing, productivity and office attendance for the thousands of businesses we work with. This new research proves that plants should not just be seen as 'nice to have', but rather a crucial part of every workplace wellness plan.

"The bottom line is that the best, most cost effective and most sustainable way to combat harmful indoor air contaminants in your workplace and home is to introduce plants," Mr Hodgson said.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Amazon is asking some employees to move closer to its Seattle headquarters and other hubs around the country, as part of its requirement for corporate and tech workers to be in the office three days a week:

Doubling down on its efforts to bring corporate and tech employees back to the office, Amazon is asking some workers to relocate to ensure they're close enough to work in person with others on their teams.

Decisions about who will need to relocate are being made at a department level, and the number of employees impacted isn't yet known, Bloomberg News reported. Unless they can get an exception, the choice facing some employees is to relocate or resign, the Seattle Times reported, citing internal Slack messages.

Amazon says it has a process in place for requesting exceptions, and those requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The company says employees who are asked to move will be given relocation benefits.

"There's more energy, collaboration, and connections happening since we've been working together at least three days per week, and we've heard this from lots of employees and the businesses that surround our offices," Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser said. "We continue to look at the best ways to bring more teams together in the same locations, and we'll communicate directly with employees as we make decisions that affect them."

[...] Community leaders in Seattle have lauded Amazon's policy as a boost for the city's struggling downtown. Amazon this week released new numbers that it said showed the economic benefits in the area around its Seattle headquarters.

Original Submission