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Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/09/microsoft-releases-a-new-windows-app-called-windows-app-for-running-windows-apps/

Microsoft announced today that it's releasing a new app called Windows App as an app for Windows that allows users to run Windows and also Windows apps (it's also coming to macOS, iOS, web browsers, and is in public preview for Android).

On most of those platforms, Windows App is a replacement for the Microsoft Remote Desktop app, which was used for connecting to a copy of Windows running on a remote computer or server—for some users and IT organizations, a relatively straightforward way to run Windows software on devices that aren't running Windows or can't run Windows natively.
[...]
Microsoft says that aside from unifying multiple services into a single app, Windows App's enhancements include easier account switching, better device management for IT administrators, support for the version of Windows 365 for frontline workers, and support for Microsoft's "Relayed RDP Shortpath," which can enable Remote Desktop on networks that normally wouldn't allow it.
[...]
For connections to your own Remote Desktop-equipped PCs, Windows App has most of the same features and requirements as the Remote Desktop Connection app did before, including support for multiple monitors, device redirection for devices like webcams and audio input/output, and dynamic resolution support (so that your Windows desktop resizes as you resize the app window).

[Obligatory: Which Windows App did you want?]

Original Submission

gnuman writes:

Earlier we reported that Twitter has been blocked in Brasil after non-compliance with court orders. Good news for everyone trying to fevereshy switch to competitors, it seems that Twitter will indeed comply with the orders, pay fines and appoint a legal representative to be unblocked in the country. Based on reporting from New York Times, Musk Backs Down In Brazil: X May Return After Complying With Court Orders

X's lawyers said in a Friday court filing cited by the Times that X complied with the orders asking the social network to remove accounts accused of engaging in disinformation, as well as demands from the Supreme Court regarding fines and the assignment of a new legal representative for X in Brazil. The Brazilian Supreme Court confirmed the compliance in its own filing Saturday, though it noted X has yet to file the proper documents to move forward with its case and will have five days to do so, the Times reported. André Zonaro Giacchetta, one of X's new lawyers in Brazil, told the Times the conditions for X's return in Brazil "have already been met, but it depends on the assessment of" the country's supreme court.

[Editor's Note: Thanks, gnuman.]

Original Submission

owl writes:

https://hackaday.com/2024/09/12/review-ifixits-fixhub-may-be-the-last-soldering-iron-you-ever-buy/

Like many people who solder regularly, I decided years ago to upgrade from a basic iron and invest in a soldering station. My RadioShack digital station has served me well for the better part of 20 years. It heats up fast, tips are readily available, and it's a breeze to dial in whatever temperature I need. It's older than both of my children, has moved with me to three different homes, and has outlived two cars and one marriage (so far, anyway).

As such, when the new breed of "smart" USB-C soldering irons started hitting the scene, I didn't find them terribly compelling. Oh sure, I bought a Pinecil. But that's because I'm an unrepentant open source zealot and love the idea that there's a soldering iron running a community developed firmware. In practice though, I only used the thing a few times, and even then it was because I needed something portable. Using it at home on the workbench? It just never felt up to the task of daily use.

So when iFixit got in contact a couple weeks back and said they had a prototype USB-C soldering iron they wanted me to take a look at, I was skeptical to say the least. But then I started reading over the documentation they sent over, and couldn't deny that they had some interesting ideas. For one, it was something of a hybrid iron. It was portable when you needed it to be, yet offered the flexibility and power of a station when you were at the bench.

Question from the editor: Has anyone used the Pinecil and how do you think this compares?

Original Submission

janrinok writes:

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

On Tuesday, Chief US District Judge Robert Shelby granted a preliminary injunction to block Utah from limiting the social media usage of minors. Republican Governor Spencer Cox had signed the Utah Minor Protection in Social Media Act earlier in March. It was supposed to take effect on October 1, but the court’s decision to block the law is a victory for young social media users in Utah.

This isn’t the first time Utah’s governor has attempted to limit social media use among the youths in the state. Last year, he signed two bills that required parents to grant permission for teens to create social media accounts, and these accounts had limitations like curfews and age verification. He replacing the older laws in March due to lawsuits challenging their legality.

Under the law, social media companies would have been forced to verify the age of all users. If a minor registers for an account, they are subject to various limitations. The content they share would be seen only by connected accounts. Additionally, minor accounts could not be searched for or messaged by non-followers or friends, effectively nonexistent to strangers.

The primary reason for the preliminary injunction is due to NetChoice’s claim that the law constitutes a violation of the First Amendment. NetChoice is a trade association formed by tech giants such as X (formerly Twitter), Snap, Meta and Google. The association has managed to win in court battles and block similar laws entirely or in part in states like Arkansas, California and Texas.

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Plenty of ups-and-downs are key to a great story, new research finds:

Since at least Aristotle, writers and scholars have debated what makes for a great story. One of them is Samsun Knight, a novelist who is also an economist and assistant professor of marketing at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. With a scientist's tools, he's done what previous theorizers have failed to: put theory to the test and demonstrate the key factor for empirically predicting which stories will be snore fests and which will leave audiences hungry for more.

It turns out to be "narrative reversals" -- lots of them and the bigger the better. Commonly known as changes of fortune or turning points, where characters' fortunes swing from good to bad and vice versa, Prof. Knight and fellow researchers found that stories rich in these mechanisms boosted popularity and engagement with audiences through a range of media, from television to crowdfunding pitches.

"The best-written stories were always either 'building up' a current reversal, or introducing a new plot point," says Prof. Knight. "In our analysis, the best writers were those that were able to maintain both many plot points and strong build-up for each plot point across the course of the narrative."

The researchers analyzed nearly 30,000 television shows, movies, novels, and crowdfunding pitches using computational linguistics, a blend of computer science and language analysis. This allowed them to quantify not only the number of a reversals in a text but also their degree or intensity by assigning numerical values to words based on how positive or negative they were.

Movies and television shows with more and bigger reversals were better rated on the popular ratings site IMDb. Books with the most and biggest reversals were downloaded more than twice as much as books with the fewest reversals from the free online library Project Gutenberg. And GoFundMe pitches with more and larger reversals were more likely to hit their fundraising goal, by as much as 39 per cent.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first to identify peripeteia, the sudden reversal of circumstances, as a key feature of a good story. Other thinkers have added their ideas since then, including American playwright and dramaturg Leon Katz whose scholarship particularly inspired Prof. Knight's research. Katz "described the reversal as the basic unit of narrative, just as a sentence is the basic unit of a paragraph, or the syllogism is the basic unit of a logical proof," says Prof. Knight.

In addition to helping psychologists understand how narrative works to educate, inform and inspire people, the findings may also benefit storytellers of all kinds.

"Hopefully our research can help build a pedagogy for writers that allows them to rely on the accumulated knowledge of Aristotle et al. without having to 'reinvent the wheel' on their own every time," says Prof. Knight.

Journal Reference:Samsun Knight, Matthew D. Rocklage, and Yakov Bart, Narrative reversals and story success, Sci. Adv., 21 Aug 2024
Vol 10, Issue 34. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl2013

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Plan would power new Microsoft AI data center with electricity from Pa.'s Three Mile Island nuclear reactor:

One of the two nuclear reactors at Three Mile Island, the Pennsylvania site of a notorious partial meltdown 45 years ago, could be brought back online in the coming years to provide power to a new Microsoft artificial intelligence data center, officials said Friday.

Constellation Energy, the Baltimore-based provider that spun off Exelon two years ago, has signed a 20-year power purchasing agreement with the tech giant to draw electricity generated at the plant along the Susquehanna River outside Harrisburg and about 85 miles west of Philadelphia.

Pending regulatory approvals, the newly created Crane Clean Energy Center would become the first nuclear plant in the United States to return to service after being shut down.

The $1.6 billion project will restart Three Mile Island Unit 1, which stopped generating power five years ago because it could not compete with cheaper energy being produced by Pennsylvania's natural gas industry. The reactor can be run independently from Unit 2, where the plant's partial meltdown occurred resulting in the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history on March 28, 1979. That reactor is still in the process of being decommissioned by owner Energy Solutions.

"Before it was prematurely shuttered due to poor economics, this plant was among the safest and most reliable nuclear plants on the grid, and we look forward to bringing it back with a new name and a renewed mission to serve as an economic engine for Pennsylvania," Joe Dominguez, president and CEO of Constellation, said in a statement.

[...] In the race to develop artificial intelligence applications, tech companies are scrambling to build data centers, which require enormous amounts of electricity to operate. Such facilities are forecast to make up a growing share of the nation's electricity use in the years to come, prompting companies to look at tapping into existing infrastructure to help meet their needs.

Nuclear power is being touted as a cost-effective solution for these data centers that also limits reliance on carbon-producing power sources. Building and directly connecting data centers to nuclear plants is known as co-location, a strategy that industry leaders favor because it's cheaper and faster to do. Proponents also claim it reduces stress on the transmission grids.

During the years the 837-megawatt unit operated at Three Mile Island, the reactor powered about 830,000 homes and businesses. Constellation officials did not say how much of the reactor's power-producing capacity would be dedicated to powering Microsoft's AI data center, but it's not uncommon for such facilities to have energy demands of 1,000 megawatts – or 1 gigawatt.

An economic impact study commissioned by the Pennsylvania Building & Construction Trades Council estimates the restart of Three Mile Island would create 3,400 jobs directly and indirectly related to the plant and generate about $3 billion in state and federal tax revenue.

upstart writes:

NHS scientists find new blood group solving 50-year mystery:

Thousands of lives could be saved around the world after NHS scientists discovered a new blood group system - solving a 50-year-old mystery.

The research team, led by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) scientists in South Gloucestershire and supported by the University of Bristol, found a blood group called MAL.

They identified the genetic background of the previously known AnWj blood group antigen, which was discovered in 1972 but unknown until now after this world-first test was developed.

Senior research scientist at NHSBT Louise Tilley said the discovery means better care to rare patients can be offered.

Ms Tilley, who has worked on the project for 20 years, told the BBC it is "quite difficult to a put a number" on how many people will benefit from the test. However, the NHSBT is the last resort for about 400 patients across the world each year.

Everyone has proteins outside their red blood cells known as antigens, but a small number might lack them.

Using genetic testing, NHSBT's International Blood Group Reference Laboratory in Filton have for the first time developed a test that will identify patients missing this antigen.

The test could prove a lifesaver for those who would react against a blood transfusion, and will make it easier to find potential blood developers for this rare blood type.

Philip Brown, who works at the laboratory, was diagnosed with a form of leukaemia about 20 years ago.

He had blood transfusions and a bone marrow transplant - without that, he would have died.

"Anything we can do to make our blood much safer and a better match for patients is a definite step in the right direction," he said.

Head of the laboratory Nicole Thornton said: "Resolving the genetic basis for AnWj has been one of our most challenging projects.

"There is so much work that goes into proving that a gene does actually encode a blood group antigen, but it is what we are passionate about, making these discoveries for the benefit of rare patients around the world.

"Now genotyping tests can be designed to identify genetically AnWj-negative patients and donors.

"Such tests can be added to the existing genotyping platforms."

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

A music historian at the Austrian state archives, Paul Duncan, has completed the final component of an investigation into a lost Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) piece. It was determined the authentic Mozart manuscript originated from a Vienna-based copyist named Johannes Traeg and was written by Mozart when still a teen.

An obscure piano manuscript that had been ignored for centuries is now believed to have been authored by one of the world's most famous composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The sensational discovery was revealed by Austrian officials on Sept. 8, following an extensive investigation into the document.

The manuscript has been housed in an state archive since 2005 but was donated by a private collector to the Styrian Music Association in 1877.

Previously:
(2016) Lost Mozart-Salieri Composition Performed

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

By committing the Kconfig knobs, Linux is now capable of being configured into a Real-time Operating System. The result, due to an ongoing effort of just over 20 years, now allows for the all developers and users to utilize real-time computing without having to target a completely separate OS. Embedded systems and live processing will likely see more immediate improvements. This support is limited to X86, X86_64, ARM64, and RISCV and only capable of hard real time on hardware that supports it. However, the new competition and interest will likely spur on more developments in Real-Time Computing the future.

One final note is that enabling PREEMPT_RT is not a panacea leading to better performance. Real time computing and real-time OSes sacrifice maximum throughput for guaranteed latency with minimal jitter. Real time does not mean "as fast as possible." Real time means "not too slow." In the wrong situation, it can actually make your performance worse.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

U.S. finds the golden hydrogen in this region: trillions of dollars of this futuristic energy here:

The search for the energy of the future continues in all parts of the world, from Antarctica to outer space (yes, also outside our planet). However, it seems that this new race has been won by America, where we have found what all countries are looking for: this is the region that is going to earn trillions of dollars for the energy of the future: the enigmatic golden hydrogen.

The United States has recently, as you know discovered rich hydrogen resources within the country that would alter the current energy situation. The use of hydrogen is gradually becoming an indispensable measure in the shift towards the non-utilization of fossil resources.

The DoE has noted massive under ground pool of hydrogen energy in various places across the country. Hydrogen, the first, lightest element on the periodic table of elements, is the most abundant element in the universe and yet, the discovery of hydrogen in concentrated form in this planet has been a task.

New assessments hence show the prospect that these domestic supplies can be used to fuel automobiles, factories and even electrification. Promising innovation and development in infrastructure, hydrogen is capable of powering America's tomorrow.

Scientists in United States have found that there exist very huge resources of hydrogen gaseous fuel trapped beneath the surface of the earth, that can sustain all consumers for hundreds of years. The Department of Energy has claimed that the resources of hydrogen in some parts of the country to be in trillions of dollars.

This natural hydrogen was generated through geo-chemical processes, it has been confined within underlying rocks and sediments. Though hydrogen is present in immensely massive quantities in the universe, localized, denser sources here on Earth are relatively scarce.

If one uses the correct technology then one can know that this enormous source of clean energy could fuel the society for ages. A key advantage here is that the hydrogen does not have to be produced, which means there is no environmental and economic cost associated with its production.

Accessing these hydrogen resources is one of the prospects for shifting the oil and gas industry to a new level of energy production. However, it must be noted that there are technical issues that can be associated with scaling of hydrogen release and the efficient harvesting of hydrogen in a safe and sustainable manner.

Signs of huge deposits of hydrogen have known to exist underground in different sedimentary basins in the United States of America. They contain the world's largest deposits mainly in the western part of the USA in Texas, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.

These areas contain trillions of cubic feet of hydrogen gas dislocated in rock structures at depths of the earth crust. These hydrogen sources were generated from deposits of natural gas that over millions of years interacted with water and rock to create whatis referred to as hydrostatic hydrogen or hydrostatic pressure.

The largest Onshore Basin in the View of Oil and Gas Resources is the Gulf Coast Basin which Texas possesses some of the greatest extents. San Juan Basin is endowed with the major natural resources in New Mexico. Another region that holds extensive amounts is the Uinta Basin of Utah.

See Also:

• https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26134760-500-the-gold-hydrogen-rush-does-earth-contain-near-limitless-clean-fuel/
• https://greenly.earth/en-us/blog/company-guide/what-is-gold-hydrogen
• https://thebulletin.org/2024/03/golden-hydrogen-or-fools-gold/

Original Submission

hubie writes:

How Hope Beats Mindfulness When Times Are Tough:

A recent study finds that hope appears to be more beneficial than mindfulness at helping people manage stress and stay professionally engaged during periods of prolonged stress at work. The study underscores the importance of looking ahead, rather than living "in the moment," during hard times.

Mindfulness refers to the ability of an individual to focus attention on the present, in a way that is open, curious and not judgmental. Essentially, the ability to be fully in the moment.

"There's a lot of discussion about the benefits of mindfulness, but it poses two challenges when you're going through periods of stress," says Tom Zagenczyk, co-author of a paper on the work and a professor of management in North Carolina State University's Poole College of Management. "First, it's hard to be mindful when you're experiencing stress. Second, if it's a truly difficult time, you don't necessarily want to dwell too much on the experience you're going through.

[...] "Fundamentally, our findings tell us that hope was associated with people being happy, and mindfulness was not," says Kristin Scott, study co-author and a professor of management at Clemson University. "And when people are hopeful – and happy – they experience less distress, are more engaged with their work, and feel less tension related to their professional lives."

"Being mindful can be tremendously valuable – there are certainly advantages to living in the moment," says Sharon Sheridan, study co-author and an assistant professor of management at Clemson. "But it's important to maintain a hopeful outlook – particularly during periods of prolonged stress. People should be hopeful while being mindful – hold on to the idea that there's a light at the end of the tunnel."

While the study focused on musicians during an extreme set of circumstances, the researchers think there is a takeaway message that is relevant across industry sectors.

"Whenever we have high levels of job stress, it's important to be hopeful and forward looking," says Emily Ferrise, study co-author and a Ph.D. student at Clemson. "And to the extent possible, there is real value for any organization to incorporate hope and forward thinking into their corporate culture – through job conditions, organizational communications, etc."

"Every work sector experiences periods of high stress," says Zagenczyk. "And every company should be invested in having happy employees who are engaged with their work."

Journal Reference: Kristin L. Scott, Emily Ferrise, Sharon Sheridan, Thomas J. Zagenczyk, Work-related resilience, engagement and wellbeing among music industry workers during the Covid-19 pandemic: A multiwave model of mindfulness and hope, Stress and Health, 30 August 2024
https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3466

Original Submission

fliptop writes:

Potential agreement comes despite fears Beijing will choke critical minerals supplies in response:

The US and Japan are close to a deal to curb tech exports to China's chip industry despite alarm in Tokyo about Beijing's threat to retaliate against Japanese companies.

The White House wants to unveil new export controls before November's presidential election, including a measure forcing non-US companies to get licences to sell products to China that would help its tech sector.

Biden administration officials have spent months in intense talks with their counterparts in Japan — and the Netherlands — to establish complementary export control regimes that would mean Japanese and Dutch companies are not targeted by the US "foreign direct product rule".

People in Washington and Tokyo familiar with the talks said the US and Japan were now close to a breakthrough, although a Japanese official cautioned the situation remained "quite fragile" because of fears of Chinese retaliation.

[...] The US export controls are designed to close loopholes in existing rules and add restrictions that reflect the fast progress of Huawei and other Chinese groups in chip production over the past two years.

[...] China said it "firmly opposes the abuse of export controls" and urged "relevant countries" to abide by international economic and trade rules.

Also at ZeroHedge.

Related:

• Teradyne Is The Latest Victim Of The Us-China Chip War
• China Officially Files a Trade Dispute Claim With the WTO Against the US
• China Relents, Lets U.S. Export Control Inspect 3D NAND Maker YMTC

Original Submission

upstart writes:

A visual neuroscientist realized he saw green and blue differently to his wife. He designed an interactive site that has received over 1.5m visits:

It started with an argument over a blanket.

"I'm a visual neuroscientist, and my wife, Dr Marissé Masis-Solano, is an ophthalmologist," says Dr Patrick Mineault, designer of the viral web app ismy.blue. "We have this argument about a blanket in our house. I think it's unambiguously green and she thinks it's unambiguously blue."

Mineault, also a programmer, was fiddling with new AI-assisted coding tools, so he designed a simple colour discrimination test.

If you navigate to ismy.blue, you'll see the screen populated with a colour and will be prompted to select whether you think it's green or blue. The shades get more similar until the site tells you where on the spectrum you perceive green and blue in comparison with others who have taken the test.

"I added this feature, which shows you the distribution, and that really clicked with people," says Mineault. "'Do we see the same colours?' is a question philosophers and scientists – everyone really – have asked themselves for thousands of years. People's perceptions are ineffable, and it's interesting to think that we have different views."

Apparently, my blue-green boundary is "bluer" than 78% of others, meaning my green is blue to most people. How can that be true?

Our brains are hard-wired to distinguish colours via retinal cells called cones, according to Julie Harris, professor of psychology at the University of St Andrews, who studies human visual processing. But how do we do more complex things like giving them names or recognising them from memory?

"Higher-level processing in terms of our ability to do things like name colours is much less clear," says Harris, and could involve both cognition and prior experience.

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/09/amazon-accused-of-using-false-and-misleading-sales-prices-to-sell-fire-tvs/

A lawsuit is seeking to penalize Amazon for allegedly providing "fake list prices and purported discounts" to mislead people into buying Fire TVs.

As reported by Seattle news organization KIRO 7, a lawsuit seeking class-action certification and filed in US District Court for the Western District of Washington on September 12 [PDF] claims that Amazon has been listing Fire TV and Fire TV bundles with "List Prices" that are higher than what the TVs have recently sold for, thus creating "misleading representation that customers are getting a 'Limited time deal.'" The lawsuit accuses Amazon of violating Washington's Consumer Protection Act.
[...]
Camelcamelcamel, which tracks Amazon prices, claims that the cheapest price of the TV on Amazon was $280 in July. The website also claims that the TV's average price is $330.59; the $300 or better deal seems to have been available on dates in August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, as well as in July, August, and September 2024. The TV was most recently sold at the $449.99 "List Price" in October 2023 and for short periods in July and August 2024, per Camelcamelcamel.
[...]
The lawsuit claims that in some cases, the List Price was only available for "an extremely short period, in some instances as short as literally one day."
[...]
Further, Amazon is accused of using these List Price tactics to "artificially" drive Fire TV demand, putting "upward pressure on the prices that" Amazon can charge for the smart TVs.

The legal document points to a similar 2021 case in California [PDF], where Amazon was sued for allegedly deceptive reference prices. It agreed to pay $2 million in penalties and restitution.

Other companies selling electronics have also been scrutinized for allegedly making products seem like they typically and/or recently have sold for more money. For example, Dell Australia received an AUD$10 million fine (about $6.49 million) for "making false and misleading representations on its website about discount prices for add-on computer monitors," per the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.

Original Submission

owl writes:

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/denis-villeneuve-rendezvous-with-rama-update

Denis Villeneuve can't stop making movies based on books. The Arrival and Blade Runner 2049 director has delivered two high-budget and polished Dune blockbusters in a row, while a third is on the way. He also has three other book adaptations in the works for when he's finished with Paul Atreides, and the director finally gave a promising update on one of those projects that could be the perfect follow-up to Dune.

In a conversation with Vanity Fair, Villeneuve addressed the three other book-based movies he has in development: Cleopatra, based on the biography by Stacy Schiff, Nuclear War: A Scenario, based on the nonfiction book by Annie Jacobsen, and Rendezvous With Rama, based on the sci-fi novel by Arthur C. Clarke. "I'm working on Rendezvous With Rama and that screenplay is slowly moving forward," he said.

Rendezvous with Rama isn't nearly as well known as Clarke's best-known novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it's definitely well-suited to Villeneuve's mystical, epic style. The first book in a series, Rendezvous with Rama follows a group of human explorers in the distant future as they explore a mysterious alien spaceship that's hurtling towards the sun.

Original Submission