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upstart writes:

With platforms caving to pressure from payment processors, adult content creators are left to figure out what's next:

With platforms caving to pressure from payment processors, adult content creators are left to figure out what's next.

Ash Parrishis a reporter who covers the business, culture, and communities of video games, with a focus on marginalized gamers and the quirky, horny culture of video game communities.

In the aftermath of itch.io pulling the sale of over 20,000 pages of adult content, the creators of that work are left feeling betrayed, exhausted, and fearful. The number of platforms that permit the sale of adult material is shrinking, and there's no guarantee the ones that remain will still permit it in the future. But now, with their livelihoods at stake, many creators and their communities have begun to push back and search for new ways to thrive.

"Before [itch.io], the NSFW comics community would grouse and complain and share feelings of anxiety," said Brad Guigar, a smut comic artist. "This time around, we're actually doing something about it."

For some, that means organizing massive call campaigns to pressure payment processors to reverse course and allow itch.io to host the content it had before. Others have decided to abandon the fickleness of platforms for their own websites. And yet others have decided that if they can't sell their game directly, they'll just make it free.

To some creators, the most disheartening thing about itch.io removing thousands of pages of adult content is that it's relatively unsurprising. The storefront is one of several in recent years that have embraced adult content only to shun it later when payment processors start asking questions. They've now found themselves booted from platform to platform, moving from Tumblr to Patreon to Gumroad, only to have the rug pulled out from under them each time.

"This time around, we're actually doing something about it."

When adult creators are regularly forced to find new places for their work, their business overall suffers. "I can never get ahead," said PixelJail, a creator who makes BDSM and other kink-related comics and illustrations. "I have to stop doing paid work to set up new accounts, backlog posting, pay for new subscriptions or services" and other administrative tasks.

PixelJail has now opted to set up their own websites. But even without the burden of conforming to a platform's rules, having one's own website isn't a guarantee of absolute safety. In the UK, where PixelJail lives, the recently implemented Online Safety Act requires that online platforms have "strong age checks" in place to prevent children from accessing pornographic or "harmful" content.

"I had to geoblock my websites in the UK, including my webstore," PixelJail said, meaning they no longer sell their work in their own country.

upstart writes:

Air pollution filters help scientists produce first UK wildlife survey using eDNA:

Social media post led to discovery that samplers measuring toxic particles in air can also detect fragments of DNA

As the UK's Big Butterfly Count reaches more than 100,000 submissions, an international group of scientists have produced the first national survey of biodiversity using an entirely different approach. Instead of looking for species by eye, they took advantage of the samplers around the UK that constantly measure toxic metal particles in the air, and used them to measure tiny fragments of DNA [YouTube video 4:09 --JE].

Dr Joanne Littlefair from University College London, part of the research team, said: "Organisms lose bits of themselves all the time – dead skin cells, fragments of hair or feathers, saliva, even faeces and urine. Some of this will blow up into the air and become airborne 'environmental' DNA or eDNA."

Researchers were able to detect more than 1,100 plants and animals which included familiar UK species – trees, commercial crops, earthworms, newts, robins and badgers – as well as species of conservation concern, including skylarks and hedgehogs. The team found 65 species of butterfly and moth, including the gatekeeper (no 3 in the Big Butterfly Count) as well as the purple hairstreak, a butterfly that lives mainly in oak trees and is often overlooked. They also found established invasive species such as grey squirrels and muntjacs as well species that have only just arrived in the UK, and fungi that are considered crop pests as well as the pathogen that causes ash dieback.

janrinok writes:

Physs.org is reporting on repurposing large electromagnets in research facilities:

Magnets are at the heart of many scientific instruments at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory. They are not like typical refrigerator magnets, which apply a relatively weak and uniform force to magnetic materials. These electromagnets are often incredibly large and powerful, with variable fields that can be controlled by changing the electric current that runs through them.

One of their applications is to apply magnetic force to subatomic particles. For example, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is made of superconducting electromagnets that steer and focus particle beams as they circulate through the accelerator at nearly the speed of light.

To build these magnets from scratch or source brand-new ones, research facilities must make large investments in time and money. Fortunately, when experiments are upgraded or decommissioned, researchers can sometimes reuse magnets for a new purpose. The same electromagnets can be used for decades, placed in upgraded machines to help collect more precise data or even placed in entirely different machines to help carry out a brand-new scientific endeavor.

After 25 years of groundbreaking nuclear physics research, RHIC is completing its final run this year. Following the final collisions, Brookhaven will begin to transform this DOE Office of Science user facility into the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), the world's first collider of its kind.

While the upgrade will reuse much of RHIC's existing infrastructure—including one of RHIC's superconducting magnet ion rings—the EIC requires a new electron storage ring. To make that ring, EIC designers need hundreds of electromagnets to steer electrons around the 2.4-mile-circumference tunnel.

upstart writes:

Site director says 'a kind of camp, a favela' was founded in the ruins of city destroyed in AD79:

Archaeologists have discovered new evidence pointing to the reoccupation of Pompeii after the AD79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius that left the city in ruins.

Despite the massive destruction suffered by Pompeii, an ancient Roman city home to more than 20,000 people before the eruption, some survivors who could not afford to start a new life elsewhere are believed to have returned to live in the devastated area.

Archaeologists believe they were joined by others looking for a place to settle and hoping to find valuable items left in the rubble by Pompeii's previous residents.

"Judging by the archaeological data, it must have been an informal settlement where people lived in precarious conditions, without the infrastructure and services typical of a Roman city," before the area was completely abandoned in the fifth century, the researchers said in a statement on Wednesday.

While some life returned to the upper floors of the old houses, the former ground floors were converted into cellars with ovens and mills.

"Thanks to the new excavations, the picture is now clearer: post-79 Pompeii re-emerges, more than a city, a precarious and grey agglomeration, a kind of camp, a favela among the still recognisable ruins of the Pompeii that once was," said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the site.

Evidence that the site was reoccupied had been detected in the past, but in the rush to access Pompeii's colourful frescoes and still-intact homes, "the faint traces of the site's reoccupation were literally removed and often swept away without any documentation".

"The momentous episode of the city's destruction in AD79 has monopolised the memory," said Zuchtriegel.

Archaeologists estimate that 15-20% of Pompeii's population died in the eruption, mostly from thermal shock as a giant cloud of gases and ash covered the city.

Volcanic ash then buried the Roman city, perfectly preserving the homes, public buildings, objects and even the people who had lived there until its discovery in the late 16th century.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Bill Gates Declares the End of the Smartphone Era and Unveils Its Surprising Replacement
https://archive.ph/3Wh2B

[...] According to Medium, Gates points to electronic tattoos, developed by Chaotic Moon and later acquired by Accenture, as the next big leap in personal technology. Instead of holding a phone in our hands, these tattoos could allow us to communicate, access the internet, and even monitor our health, all without a screen in sight.

The key advantage? These tattoos are integrated into the body. Imagine having a device embedded in your skin that lets you interact with the world through simple gestures or touch. It's sleek, unobtrusive, and possibly more intuitive than anything we've seen so far. The tattoos are powered by tiny nanocapacitors, and they don't require bulky batteries or displays, making them a far more subtle alternative to today's mobile devices.

You might be wondering, "What exactly are electronic tattoos?" Well, think of them as temporary skin applications that use smart ink filled with nanocapacitors. These tattoos can communicate with surrounding devices, letting you do things like send messages, browse the web, or even unlock doors—all with a simple swipe or gesture.

[...] Moreover, imagine the security risks. With biometric data stored on your skin, could someone hack into your tattoo or steal your identity in new and more dangerous ways? Digital security could take on a whole new meaning, as cybercriminals may look for ways to exploit this deeply integrated tech.

Still, there are undeniable advantages. The tattoos could replace the need for passwords, credit cards, or even physical keys. In theory, they could provide a level of security that's far more robust than anything we have today, thanks to their biometric uniqueness.

Another fascinating aspect of electronic tattoos is their potential to change how we think about health and wellness. The ability to monitor heart rate, sleep patterns, and other critical health markers continuously could help us catch potential health issues before they become urgent. In a world where wellness tech is rapidly evolving, these tattoos could provide more accurate, real-time health data than any current wearable.

Original Submission

fliptop writes:

'Learn to code' turned out to be one of the most misguided pieces of career advice, and college grads are bearing the brunt of it:

Manasi Mishra, a 21-year-old with a degree in computer science (CS) from Purdue University, shared in a TikTok video that despite her intelligence and hard work, she struggled to find a job for nearly a year. The only company that called her back for an interview during this time was Chipotle, and she did not get the job. It was only after her video went viral that Mishra finally secured a job offer last month.

Mishra's experience reveals an alarming trend: Many recent graduates who major in CS are struggling to find employment. According to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, those with degrees in CS and computer engineering (CE) face unemployment rates of 6.1 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively — figures that are more than double the rates seen among recent graduates in fields like art history (3 percent) and ethnic studies (2.6 percent). Furthermore, CS and CE rank as the third and eighth worst majors for unemployment out of the 70-plus majors the report tracked.

[...] Because AI performs coding tasks much faster and more cost-effectively, tech companies have been laying off existing entry-level employees and have also reduced the number of new job postings for entry-level positions. By July, more than 130,000 tech workers had lost their jobs, either because their employers replaced them with AI or chose to reallocate funds toward AI-related investments. Additionally, tech-related job postings decreased by 36 percent in July, compared to early in 2020.

[...] LinkedIn's chief economic opportunity officer, Aneesh Raman, warned that the AI-driven job cuts by tech companies are only the beginning. The financial sector will be hit next as big Wall Street firms reportedly are planning to cut back hiring as much as two-thirds because they've replace junior analysts and bankers with AI. Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley predicted that AI will "replace literally half of all white-collar workers in the U.S."

Related:

• Microsoft Research Tries to Predict Jobs Most Impacted (i.e., Lost) by AI
• Intel Axes Thousands of Technicians and Engineers in Sweeping U.S. Layoffs
• The Workers Who Lost Their Jobs To AI
• 'Tone Deaf': US Tech Company Responsible for Global IT Outage to Cut Jobs and Use AI
• More Microsoft Job Cuts Could Hit Non-Coding Staff And Middle Managers
• Software Engineering Job Openings Hit 5-Year Low Amid Industry Shift

Original Submission

janrinok writes:

https://phys.org/news/2025-08-spacex-competitor-amazon-satellites.html

SpaceX was not one of Amazon's original choices to fly its Project Kuiper broadband internet satellites, but Elon Musk's company just knocked out its second launch in less than a month for the company that seeks to compete with SpaceX's Starlink.

After four days of missed launch opportunities, SpaceX was back Monday for a successful fifth try, as a Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 at 8:35 a.m. Eastern time on the KA-02 mission, carrying 24 more satellites for Amazon's growing constellation.

The launch came after weather scrubs on Saturday at the launch site and Sunday at the booster recovery site. A pair of Thursday and Friday attempts were also called off as SpaceX took time to perform additional vehicle checks.

The first-stage booster for the mission made its first flight and will attempt a recovery landing downrange on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas stationed in the Atlantic.

The launch comes less than four weeks since SpaceX flew the first of three contracted flights for Amazon.

day of the dalek writes:

Per Bloomberg (Alternate sources: CNBC and Reuters), the Trump Administration is weighing the US government potentially buying a stake in Intel. As CNBC reports:

Intel is the only U.S. company with the capability to manufacture the fastest chips on U.S. shores, although rivals including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Samsung also have U.S. factories. President Donald Trump has called for more chips and high technology to be manufactured in the U.S.

The government's stake would help fund factories that Intel is currently building in Ohio, according to the report.

This comes a week after Donald Trump called for Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign. While the reason behind Trump's call for Tan's resignation was not entirely clear, it is believed that it was due to Tan's investments in Chinese businesses. From CBS:

"The CEO of Intel is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately," Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, without providing additional details. "There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!"

The president's call for Tan's resignation comes after Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, sent a letter to Intel Chairman Frank Yeary on Tuesday expressing concern over Tan's investments and ties to Chinese businesses.

"Mr. Tan reportedly controls dozens of Chinese companies and has a stake in hundreds of Chinese advanced-manufacturing and chip firms," Cotton wrote in the letter. "At least eight of these companies reportedly have ties to the Chinese People's Liberation Army."

Tan is an American citizen who was born in Malaysia, spent his youth in Singapore, and attended graduate school at MIT where he received a degree in nuclear engineering. Despite the comments about Tan last week, Trump's position on Tan remaining CEO of Intel seemed to soften earlier this week following a meeting between them (Alternate sources: AP and CNBC). From the New York Times article:

After the afternoon meeting at the White House, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that his discussion with Mr. Tan "was a very interesting one," though he did not elaborate. Mr. Trump said that Mr. Tan and cabinet members would meet next week and "bring suggestions to me," adding that the Intel chief's "success and rise is an amazing story."

Mr. Trump's post appeared to signal that he was changing his mind about any national security risk posed by Mr. Tan, 65, who became Intel's chief executive in March. Mr. Trump's call last week for Mr. Tan to resign, citing his past investments in Chinese companies, was one of the first times the president had attempted to directly intervene to change the leadership at a major publicly traded company.

The report that the Trump Administration is considering purchasing a stake in Intel seems to be a continuation of Trump's change in attitude toward the company and its CEO. In response to the Bloomberg report, Intel's stock surged 7% on Thursday. This is a developing story, and the White House has not yet commented.

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Swapping foods like premade lasagna for hand-made spaghetti Bolognese made a difference:

In a small randomized controlled trial, people lost twice as much weight when their diet was limited to minimally processed food compared to when they switched to a diet that included ultraprocessed versions of foods but was otherwise nutritionally matched.

The trial, published in Nature Medicine by researchers at University College London, adds to a growing body of evidence that food processing, in addition to simple nutrition content, influences our weight and health. Ultraprocessed foods have already been vilified for their link to obesity—largely through weaker observational studies—but researchers have struggled to shore up the connection with high-quality studies and understand their impact on health.

The ultraprocessed foods researchers provided in the new trial were relatively healthy ones—as ultraprocessed foods go. They included things like multigrain breakfast cereal, packaged granola bars, flavored yogurt cups, fruit snacks, commercially premade chicken sandwiches, instant noodles, and ready-made lasagna. But, in the minimally processed trial diet, participants received meals from a caterer rather than ones from a grocery store aisle. The diet included overnight oats with fresh fruit, plain yogurt with toasted oats and fruit, handmade fruit and nut bars, freshly made chicken salad, and from-scratch stir fry and spaghetti bolognese.

While the level of processing differed between the diets, the large-scale nutrition content—fat, protein, carbohydrates, fiber—were similar, as was the proportions of fruits, vegetables, dairy, and starchy food. Overall, both diets adhered to the dietary guidance from the UK government, called the Eatwell Guide (EWG).

[...] On both diets, participants lost weight. But, they lost more by ditching the ultraprocessed foods. At the end of eight weeks, participants lost about 2 percent of their weight on the MPF diet, while they lost 1 percent on the UPF diet. The numbers are small, but the authors note that the trial period is short. Modeled over a full year, the researchers estimated that people who stuck to the MPF diet would lose between 9 percent and 13 percent of their weight, while those who stuck to the UPF diet would lose 4 percent to 5 percent.

In addition to more weight loss, the MPF diet is linked to more fat mass loss, fewer cravings, and lower triglycerides, a factor in cardiovascular health. On the other hand, participants had lower LDL (bad cholesterol) on the UPF diet. The researchers suggested that it would require longer periods on the diets to sort out the effects on cardiovascular health.

The study has several limitations, most notably its small size and brevity. However, it still gives researchers a lot to unpack, including why people lost more weight on the MPF diet. The authors suggest it could be because people simply end up eating more on the UPF diet; ultraprocessed foods are both "hyperpalatable" and crammed with nutrients, i.e., "energy dense." High density, fast eating, and less chewing might mean more intake, the authors speculate. In contrast, the MPF diet scored lower on the taste and flavor ratings, suggesting people may simply eat less.

[...] "The best advice to people would be to stick as closely to nutritional guidelines as they can by moderating overall energy intake, limiting intake of salt, sugar and saturated fat, and prioritizing high-fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, pulses and nuts," Batterham said in a statement. But, she added, "choosing less processed options such as whole foods and cooking from scratch, rather than ultra-processed, packaged foods or ready meals, is likely to offer additional benefits in terms of body weight, body composition, and overall health."

Journal Reference:Dicken, S.J., Jassil, F.C., Brown, A. et al. Ultraprocessed or minimally processed diets following healthy dietary guidelines on weight and cardiometabolic health: a randomized, crossover trial. Nat Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03842-0

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Many countries banned from using PayPal for Steam games in latest payment processor drama:

Some observers believe the limitations are related to recent bans on Steam games. In July, titles with mature themes began to disappear. Valve claimed that some listings had content that didn't align with standards set by its payment processors. A controversy soon unfolded involving Collective Shout. The activist group, which is against the objectification of females, took credit for influencing the banks.

Critics argue that legal Steam games are being unfairly targeted. Still, there may be other reasons why PayPal is no longer an option for many buyers. Australia is the home to Collective Shout, and gamers in the country can still use the payment gateway.

It's possible that the banks PayPal works with in some countries have concerns about fraud. Customers using VPNs to access lower prices in other regions can also raise red flags. Regardless, gamers are growing frustrated over the power that payment processors have in the industry.

For now, Valve suggests that affected users choose their Steam Wallets, Steam gift cards, or a credit card as alternatives. Yet, major credit cards like Mastercard are also accused of interfering with gamers. The end result is that amassing a diverse Steam library is becoming more challenging.

Original Submission

evilcam writes:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/meta-ai-chatbot-guidelines/

An internal Meta Platforms document detailing policies on chatbot behavior has permitted the company's artificial intelligence creations to "engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual," generate false medical information and help users argue that Black people are "dumber than white people."

[...] The standards don't necessarily reflect "ideal or even preferable" generative AI outputs, the document states. But they have permitted provocative behavior by the bots, Reuters found.

"It is acceptable to describe a child in terms that evidence their attractiveness (ex: 'your youthful form is a work of art')," the standards state. The document also notes that it would be acceptable for a bot to tell a shirtless eight-year-old that "every inch of you is a masterpiece – a treasure I cherish deeply." But the guidelines put a limit on sexy talk: "It is unacceptable to describe a child under 13 years old in terms that indicate they are sexually desirable (ex: 'soft rounded curves invite my touch')."

TFA also contains example prompts as well as responses that would be considered acceptable and unacceptable and why; presumably these are written by humans to train the AI, which is pretty jarring when you consider that the culture at FB created such heinous examples of appropriate responses...

I know I shouldn't be surprised that demonstrably horrible company permits/encourages/tacitly endorses demonstrably awful behaviour, but this feels like the grossest thing I've seen on FB in a good while...

Original Submission

janrinok writes:

https://phys.org/news/2025-08-adults-ai-views-technology-vary.html

Half of U.S. adults report using at least one "major AI tool," but public attitudes about artificial intelligence regulation remain divided nationwide, according to a new survey.

The 50-state report, published as part of the multi-university Civic Health and Institutions Project (CHIP50), found that views about how and whether to rein in AI tools don't follow typical red-blue state divides. Missouri and Washington, for example, expressed the strongest views about a lack of regulatory oversight, while New York and Tennessee were most worried about government overreach.

But concerns about workplace disruption are nearly universal. Majorities in all 50 states expect AI to impact their jobs within five years, especially in tech-heavy and Sun Belt states such as California, Massachusetts, Texas and Georgia. Meanwhile, regions like the Corn Belt and Rust Belt anticipate less immediate disruption.

John Wihbey, an associate professor of media innovation and technology at Northeastern University and co-author of the study, says the findings provide some insight into the public's view of a technology that has already become part of many Americans' daily life.

"At a time when state-level regulation for AI and public opinion is central to the national debate, this is perhaps the first look at how the states compare on usage, preferences and regulation," Wihbey says.

canopic jug writes:

Over six years, and after a lot of experimentation, Ben Holmen has worked out an awesome robotic mechanical pixel display:

Six years ago I had an idea to build a large, inefficient display with a web interface that anyone could interact with. I've enjoyed Danny Rozin's unconvenional mirrors over the years and was inspired by an eInk movie player that played at 24 frames per hour that got me thinking about a laborious display that could slowly assemble an image.

I landed on the idea of a 40×25 pixel grid of pixels, turned one by one by a single mechanism. Compared to our modern displays with millions of pixels changing 60 times a second, a wooden display that changes a single pixel 10 times a minute is an incredibly inefficient way to create an image. Conveniently, 40×25 = 1,000 pixels, leading to the name Kilopixel and the six-letter domain name kilopx.com. How do you back down from that? That's the best domain name I've ever owned.

So I got to work. This project has everything: a web app, a physical controller, a custom CNC build, generated gcode, tons of fabrication, 3d modeling, 3d printing, material sourcing - so much to get lost in. It's the most ambitious project I've ever built.

It's viewable online via a web cam and can be configured online as well, albeit with some safety mechanisms built in.

Previously:
(2025) Oh No, Wavy Dave! Robot Crustacean Waves at Fiddler Crabs for Science, Has a Bad Time
(2025) How a 1980s Toy Robot Arm Inspired Modern Robotics
(2020) Waist-Mounted Robotic Arm Can Manipulate Objects, Punch Walls
(2019) Robot Arm Models its Motion, Adapts to Damage

Original Submission

janrinok writes:

https://phys.org/news/2025-08-culture-men-intimate-partner-violence.html

Historically, stereotypical ideas of intimate partner violence (IPV) have overlooked or minimized the experiences of male victims. Simultaneously, perspectives of men's experiences with IPV are influenced by country-specific cultural contexts.

A novel study by Denise Hines, professor in the Department of Social Work, published in Partner Abuse, compared the rates at which male victims experience IPV from a partner to acts of IPV they committed themselves in four English-speaking regions: U.S., Canada, UK/Ireland, Australia, and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Hines's findings offer key insights into differences and similarities among those countries in their experiences of male IPV victimization:

• Self-identified male victims reported prevalence rates of victimization from 50.0% to 96.1% for sexual and physical IPV, respectively. Sexual IPV perpetration rates were estimated to be 21.1%, while physical IPV perpetration was reported at 54.0%.
• Male IPV victims from the U.S. reported perpetrating and experiencing significantly more IPV than men from other countries, emphasizing the importance of national context in understanding IPV.
• Gendered stereotypes that men cannot be victims that are embedded in legislation, support resources, and justice systems prevent male victims from seeking help, and individual countries must implement context-specific solutions tailored to the unique needs of their male IPV victim population.

Hines is working with Fairfax County Domestic and Sexual Violence Services on two projects, focusing on understanding and overcoming barriers to service access for underserved communities in Fairfax County, Virginia.

More information: Denise A. Hines et al, Prevalence of Men's Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among Two Samples of Male Victims: An International Study of English-Speaking Countries, Partner Abuse (2025). DOI: 10.1891/PA-2024-0003
                                                                                                       

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

At the beginning of last year, Manuel Hoffmann, Frank Nagle, and Yanuo Zhou published a working paper on the Value of Open Source Software [PDF] for comment and discussion only.

The value of a non-pecuniary (free) product is inherently difficult to assess. A pervasive example is open source software (OSS), a global public good that plays a vital role in the economy and is foundational for most technology we use today. However, it is difficult to measure the value of OSS due to its non-pecuniary nature and lack of centralized usage tracking. Therefore, OSS remains largely unaccounted for in economic measures. Although prior studies have estimated the supply-side costs to recreate this software, a lack of data has hampered estimating the much larger demand-side (usage) value created by OSS. Therefore, to understand the complete economic and social value of widely-used OSS, we leverage unique global data from two complementary sources capturing OSS usage by millions of global firms. We first estimate the supply-side value by calculating the cost to recreate the most widely used OSS once. We then calculate the demand-side value based on a replacement value for each firm that uses the software and would need to build it internally if OSS did not exist. We estimate the supply-side value of widely-used OSS is $4.15 billion, but that the demand-side value is much larger at $8.8 trillion. We find that firms would need to spend 3.5 times more on software than they currently do if OSS did not exist. The top six programming languages in our sample comprise 84% of the demand-side value of OSS. Further, 96% of the demand-side value is created by only 5% of OSS developers.

The working paper is especially interesting when considered in the context of similar, earlier works such as Ghosh et al in Study on the effect on the development of the information society of European public bodies making their own software available as open source [PDF] published by the European Commission back in 2007. One would think that both sides of the pond would be very interested in this valuable commons and work to not just protect it but cultivate it further, rather than work to saw the legs from under it by advancing software patents instead.

Previously:
(2025) Open Internet Stack: The EU Commission's Vague Plans for Open Source
(2023) The Four Freedoms and The One Obligation of Free Software
(2023) Opinion: FOSS Could be an Unintended Victim of EU Security Crusade
(2021) European Commission's Study on Open Source Software

Original Submission