Apple has quietly added a Thread radio to nearly all of its newest iPads, MacBooks, and iMacs. The Verge reports: While the company doesn't list Thread on the specs of any of these products, FCC reports indicate that many of Apple's latest devices have had Thread radios tested for compliance. Generally, you don't test a radio that's not there. We found evidence of Thread testing in the following models: iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) (Wi-Fi + Cellular), iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) (Wi-Fi + Cellular), iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) (Wi-Fi), iPad Air 11-inch (M2) (Wi-Fi + Cellular), iPad Air 13-inch (M2) Wi-Fi, MacBook Air 15-inch (M3), MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3), MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3 Pro or M3 Max), MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Pro or M3 Max), iMac (M3, two ports), and iMac (M3, four ports). The FCC requires manufacturers to list every radio contained in a device and to test them in every possible scenario to make sure they comply with its transmission regulations. Tom Sciorilli, director of certification for Thread Group, told The Verge that the FCC reports reference FCC 15.247, "which confirms the device will essentially 'stay in its lane' and not interfere with other radios when operating." The reports we found are tests of the IEEE 802.15.4 transmitter functionality -- 802.15.4 is the radio standard Thread runs on. While it supports a number of technologies, the reports mention Thread explicitly. Thread is the primary wireless protocol for the new smart home standard Matter, which Apple helped develop and that is now the underlying architecture for its Apple Home smart home platform. A low-power, low-bandwidth, mesh networking protocol specifically designed for IoT devices, Thread is shown to be faster than Bluetooth and offers better range, making it ideal for connecting products like smart lights, locks, thermostats, and sensors. [...] So why is it there? The Apple Home app runs on Macs and iPads, and Thread radios could allow them to communicate directly with smart home devices and act as Thread border routers. It's possible Apple is planning to turn your Mac or iPad into a home hub, but iPads used to be home hubs, and the company discontinued that capability for its new Apple Home architecture. Those iPads didn't have Thread radios, though.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Richard Speed reports via The Register: A study has found that software projects adopting Agile practices are 268 percent more likely to fail than those that do not. Even though the research commissioned by consultancy Engprax could be seen as a thinly veiled plug for Impact Engineering methodology, it feeds into the suspicion that the Agile Manifesto might not be all it's cracked up to be. The study's fieldwork was conducted between May 3 and May 7 with 600 software engineers (250 in the UK and 350 in the US) participating. One standout statistic was that projects with clear requirements documented before development started were 97 percent more likely to succeed. In comparison, one of the four pillars of the Agile Manifesto is "Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation." According to the study, putting a specification in place before development begins can result in a 50 percent increase in success, and making sure the requirements are accurate to the real-world problem can lead to a 57 percent increase. Dr Junade Ali, author of Impact Engineering, said: "With 65 percent of projects adopting Agile practices failing to be delivered on time, it's time to question Agile's cult following. "Our research has shown that what matters when it comes to delivering high-quality software on time and within budget is a robust requirements engineering process and having the psychological safety to discuss and solve problems when they emerge, whilst taking steps to prevent developer burnout." [...] Projects where engineers felt they had the freedom to discuss and address problems were 87 percent more likely to succeed. Worryingly, workers in the UK were 13 percent less likely to feel they could discuss problems than those in the US, according to the study.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Last Christmas Eve, NewsBreak, a free app with roots in China that is the most downloaded news app in the United States, published an alarming piece about a small town shooting. It was headlined "Christmas Day Tragedy Strikes Bridgeton, New Jersey Amid Rising Gun Violence in Small Towns." The problem was, no such shooting took place. The Bridgeton, New Jersey police department posted a statement on Facebook on December 27 dismissing the article -- produced using AI technology -- as "entirely false." "Nothing even similar to this story occurred on or around Christmas, or even in recent memory for the area they described," the post said. "It seems this 'news' outlet's AI writes fiction they have no problem publishing to readers." NewsBreak, which is headquartered in Mountain View, California and has offices in Beijing and Shanghai, told Reuters it removed the article on December 28, four days after publication. The company said "the inaccurate information originated from the content source," and provided a link to the website, adding: "When NewsBreak identifies any inaccurate content or any violation of our community standards, we take prompt action to remove that content." As local news outlets across America have shuttered in recent years, NewsBreak has filled the void. Billing itself as "the go-to source for all things local," Newsbreak says it has over 50 million monthly users. It publishes licensed content from major media outlets, including Reuters, Fox, AP and CNN as well as some information obtained by scraping the internet for local news or press releases which it rewrites with the help of AI. It is only available in the U.S. But in at least 40 instances since 2021, the app's use of AI tools affected the communities it strives to serve, with Newsbreak publishing erroneous stories; creating 10 stories from local news sites under fictitious bylines; and lifting content from its competitors, according to a Reuters review of previously unreported court documents related to copyright infringement, cease-and-desist emails and a 2022 company memo registering concerns about "AI-generated stories." Five of the seven former NewsBreak employees Reuters spoke to said most of the engineering work behind the app's algorithm is carried out in its China-based offices. "The company launched in the U.S. in 2015 as a subsidiary of Yidian, a Chinese news aggregation app," notes Reuters. "Both companies were founded by Jeff Zheng, the CEO of Newsbreak, and the companies share a U.S. patent registered in 2015 for an 'Interest Engine' algorithm, which recommends news content based on a user's interests and location." "NewsBreak is a privately held start-up, whose primary backers are private equity firms San Francisco-based Francisco Partners, and Beijing-based IDG Capital."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Michael 'Mike' Karels, one of the authors of "The Design and Implementation of the 4.4Bsd Operating System" and a part of the Computer Systems Research Group at Berkeley, who received the USENIX Association Lifetime Achievement Award, has died. Longtime Slashdot reader bplipschitz shared the news. The FreeBSD Foundation issued a statement in memory of Karels: "We are deeply saddened about the passing of Mike Karels, a pivotal figure in the history of BSD UNIX, a respected member of the FreeBSD community, and the Deputy Release Engineer for the FreeBSD Project. Mike's contributions to the development and advancement of BSD systems were profound and have left an indelible mark on the Project. Mike's vision and dedication were instrumental in shaping the FreeBSD we know and use today. His legacy will continue to inspire and guide us in our future endeavors."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Marubo people, an isolated Indigenous tribe in the Amazon, have gained high-speed internet access through Elon Musk's Starlink service, drastically altering their traditional way of life. While the internet has brought significant benefits like improved communication and emergency response, it has also introduced challenges such as social media addiction, exposure to inappropriate content, and cultural erosion. The New York Times reports: After only nine months with Starlink, the Marubo are already grappling with the same challenges that have racked American households for years: teenagers glued to phones; group chats full of gossip; addictive social networks; online strangers; violent video games; scams; misinformation; and minors watching pornography. Modern society has dealt with these issues over decades as the internet continued its relentless march. The Marubo and other Indigenous tribes, who have resisted modernity for generations, are now confronting the internet's potential and peril all at once, while debating what it will mean for their identity and culture. The internet was an immediate sensation. "It changed the routine so much that it was detrimental," [admitted one Marubo leader, Enoque Marubo]. "In the village, if you don't hunt, fish and plant, you don't eat." Leaders realized they needed limits. The internet would be switched on for only two hours in the morning, five hours in the evening, and all day Sunday. During those windows, many Marubo are crouched over or reclined in hammocks on their phones. They spend lots of time on WhatsApp. There, leaders coordinate between villages and alert the authorities to health issues and environmental destruction. Marubo teachers share lessons with students in different villages. And everyone is in much closer contact with faraway family and friends. To Enoque, the biggest benefit has been in emergencies. A venomous snake bite can require swift rescue by helicopter. Before the internet, the Marubo used amateur radio, relaying a message between several villages to reach the authorities. The internet made such calls instantaneous. "It's already saved lives," he said. In April, seven months after Starlink's arrival, more than 200 Marubo gathered in a village for meetings. Enoque brought a projector to show a video about bringing Starlink to the villages. As proceedings began, some leaders in the back of the audience spoke up. The internet should be turned off for the meetings, they said. "I don't want people posting in the groups, taking my words out of context," another said. During the meetings, teenagers swiped through Kwai, a Chinese-owned social network. Young boys watched videos of the Brazilian soccer star Neymar Jr. And two 15-year-old girls said they chatted with strangers on Instagram. One said she now dreamed of traveling the world, while the other wants to be a dentist in Sao Paulo. This new window to the outside world had left many in the tribe feeling torn. "Some young people maintain our traditions," said TamaSay Marubo, 42, the tribe's first woman leader. "Others just want to spend the whole afternoon on their phones."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Cailey Gleeson reports via Forbes: A group backed by more than two dozen investors -- including Citadel Securities and BlackRock -- is planning to start its own stock exchange in Texas, it said Wednesday, in an attempt to compete with the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. The Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) -- owned by TXSE Group Inc. and founded in 2023, per its LinkedIn -- will be a "fully electronic national securities exchange" that seeks to expand access to markets for all investors and those seeking access to public capital, according to Wednesday's press release. The TXSE aims to have primary listings, dual listings and exchange-traded products, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news. The stock exchange has raised $120 million in capital and plans to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission later this year, according to the press release, while it will also have a physical headquarters in Dallas, and the company will employ about 100 people, The Dallas Morning News reported. It plans to start facilitating trades in 2025 and host its first listing the following year, multiple outlets reported. The Wall Street Journal notes that past attempts at regional stock exchanges have failed, such as the Chicago Stock Exchange and Philadelphia Stock Exchange -- both of which combined with the NYSE and Nasdaq. "The NYSE considered relocating its electronic trading systems to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in late 2020, amid a proposed financial transaction tax on stocks in New York," adds Forbes. "But the move did not go through, nor the proposed tax,."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Israel organized and paid for an influence campaign last year targeting U.S. lawmakers and the American public with pro-Israel messaging, as it aimed to foster support for its actions in the war with Gaza, according to officials involved in the effort and documents related to the operation. The covert campaign was commissioned by Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, a government body that connects Jews around the world with the State of Israel, four Israeli officials said. The ministry allocated about $2 million to the operation and hired Stoic, a political marketing firm in Tel Aviv, to carry it out, according to the officials and the documents. The campaign began in October and remains active on the platform X. At its peak, it used hundreds of fake accounts that posed as real Americans on X, Facebook and Instagram to post pro-Israel comments. The accounts focused on U.S. lawmakers, particularly ones who are Black and Democrats, such as Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader from New York, and Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, with posts urging them to continue funding Israel's military. ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, was used to generate many of the posts. The campaign also created three fake English-language news sites featuring pro-Israel articles. The Israeli government's connection to the influence operation, which The New York Times verified with four current and former members of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and documents about the campaign, has not previously been reported. FakeReporter, an Israeli misinformation watchdog, identified the effort in March. Last week, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, and OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, said they had also found and disrupted the operation. The secretive campaign signals the lengths Israel was willing to go to sway American opinion on the war in Gaza.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Nvidia has reached a market cap of $3 trillion, surpassing Apple to become the second-largest public company behind Microsoft. CNBC reports: Nvidia's milestone is the latest stunning mark in a run that has seen the stock soar more than 3,224% over the past five years. The company will split its stock 100-for-1 later this month. Apple was the first U.S. company to reach a $3 trillion market cap during intraday trading in January 2022. Microsoft hit $3 trillion in market value in January 2024. Nvidia, which was founded in 1993, passed the $2 trillion valuation in February, and it only took roughly three months from there for it to pass $3 trillion. Nvidia's surge in recent years has been powered by the tech industry's need for its chips, which are used to develop and deploy big AI models such as the one at the heart of OpenAI's ChatGPT. Companies such as Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and OpenAI are buying billions of dollars worth of Nvidia's GPUs.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: As we're currently seeing with AI, when a new technology becomes buzzy, companies will do almost anything to cram that tech into their products. Trends fade, however, and corporate priorities shift -- resulting in bricked gadgets and buyer's remorse. That's what's happening to some who bought into Oral-B toothbrushes with Amazon Alexa built in. Oral-B released the Guide for $230 in August 2020 but bricked the ability to set up or reconfigure Alexa on the product this February. As of this writing, the Guide is still available through a third-party Amazon seller. The Guide toothbrush's charging base was able to connect to the Internet and work like an Alexa speaker that you could speak to and from which Alexa could respond. Owners could "ask to play music, hear the news, check weather, control smart home devices, and even order more brush heads by saying, 'Alexa, order Oral-B brush head replacements,'" per Procter & Gamble's 2020 announcement. Oral-B also bragged at the time that, in partnering with Alexa, the Guide ushered in "the truly connected bathroom." On February 15, Oral-B bricked the Guide's ability to set up Alexa by discontinuing the Oral-B Connect app required to complete the process. Guide owners can still use the Oral-B App for other features; however, the ability to use the charging base like an Alexa smart speaker -- a big draw in the product's announcement and advertising -- is seriously limited. The device should still work with Alexa if users set it up before Oral-B shuttered Connect, but setting up a new Wi-Fi connection or reestablishing a lost one doesn't work without Connect. Oral-B owner, Proctor & Gamble, said in a statement: "The Oral-B Connect app was originally developed to support Oral-B Guide and Oral-B Sense electric toothbrushes, which were discontinued ... While some features are no longer supported on these brushes, the Oral-B app does remain compatible with both devices. Consumers are invited to contact Oral-B customer service where they can get additional support for these brushes." Meanwhile, an Amazon spokesperson told Ars: "The Oral-B Guide still has Alexa built-in and customers can keep using the Alexa experience on devices that were set up through the Oral-B Connect app. The Oral-B Guide is currently sold by an independent seller on Amazon.com. Please contact Oral-B for any further questions about their app."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Slashdot readers destinyland and LazarusQLong share a report from CNN: The third attempt was the charm for Boeing's Starliner mission after launching its first crewed flight test Wednesday in a milestone that has been a decade in the making. The new spacecraft's maiden voyage with humans on board lifted off atop an Atlas V rocket at 10:52 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Veteran NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are riding aboard the Starliner capsule on a journey that takes them to the International Space Station. The mission, known as the Crew Flight Test, is the culmination of Boeing's efforts to develop a spacecraft to rival SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule and expand the United States' options for ferrying astronauts to the space station under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The federal agency's initiative aims to foster collaboration with private industry partners. The flight marks only the sixth inaugural journey of a crewed spacecraft in US history, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson noted in a May news conference. "It started with Mercury, then with Gemini, then with Apollo, the space shuttle, then (SpaceX's) Dragon -- and now Starliner," Nelson said. Williams also made history as the first woman to fly aboard such a mission. NASA has a live recording of the launch on YouTube.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: When Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed the new Windows AI tool that can answer questions about your web browsing and laptop use, he said one of the"magical" things about it was that the data doesn't leave your laptop; theWindows Recall system takes screenshots of your activity every five seconds and saves them on the device. But security experts say that data may not stay there for long. Two weeks ahead ofRecall's launch on new Copilot+ PCs on June 18, security researchers have demonstrated how preview versions of the tool store the screenshots in an unencrypted database. The researchers say the data could easily be hoovered up by an attacker. And now, in a warning about how Recall could be abused by criminal hackers, Alex Hagenah, a cybersecurity strategist and ethical hacker, has released a demo tool that can automatically extract and display everything Recall records on a laptop. Dubbed TotalRecall -- yes, after the 1990 sci-fi film -- the tool can pull all the information that Recall saves into its main database on a Windows laptop. "The database is unencrypted. It's all plain text," Hagenah says. Since Microsoft revealed Recall in mid-May, security researchers have repeatedly compared it to spyware or stalkerware that can track everything you do on your device. "It's a Trojan 2.0 really, built in," Hagenah says, adding that he built TotalRecall -- which he's releasing on GitHub -- in order to show what is possible and to encourage Microsoft to make changes before Recall fully launches. [...] TotalRecall, Hagenah says, can automatically work out where the Recall database is on a laptop and then make a copy of the file, parsing all the data as it does so. While Microsoft's new Copilot+ PCs aren't out yet, it's possible to use Recall by emulating a version of the devices. "It does everything automatically," he says. The system can set a date range for extracting the data -- for instance, pulling information from only one specific week or day. Pulling one day of screenshots from Recall, which stores its information in an SQLite database, took two seconds at most, Hagenah says. Included in what the database captures are screenshots of whatever is on your desktop -- a potential gold mine for criminal hackers or domestic abusers who may physically access their victim's device. Images include captures of messages sent on encrypted messaging apps Signal and WhatsApp, and remain in the captures regardless of whether disappearing messages are turned on in the apps. There are records of websites visited and every bit of text displayed on the PC. Once TotalRecall has been deployed, it will generate a summary about the data; it is also possible to search for specific terms in the database. Hagenah says an attacker could get a huge amount of information about their target, including insights into their emails, personal conversations, and any sensitive information that's captured by Recall. Hagenah's work builds on findings from cybersecurity researcher Kevin Beaumont, who has detailed how much information Recall captures and how easy it can be to extract it.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

UPDATE 6/4/2024: Google has changed its repair policy in response to the controversial clause that was brought to light. Google says it will not keep phones sent in for repair and that it's changing the wording of its ToS agreement to reflect this. Here's a statement from a Google spokesperson: "If a customer sends their Pixel to Google for repair, we would not keep it regardless of whether it has non-OEM parts or not. In certain situations, we won't be able to complete a repair if there are safety concerns. In that case, we will either send it back to the customer or work with them to determine next steps. Customers are also free to seek the repair options that work best for them. We are updating our Terms and Conditions to clarify this." An anonymous reader quotes a report from Android Authority: Like many other phone makers, Google has a self-repair program for servicing your damaged or malfunctioning Pixel device. As its support site explains, there are options to get repair tools, manuals, and certified parts so you can fix up your Pixel like new. Owners can also choose to simply send their device in to have it repaired professionally. As replacement parts can be expensive, some DIYers choose to use parts from third-party suppliers. But if you go down this route, you may want to avoid sending your device to Google if there's a problem you don't have the skills to fix on your own. As YouTuber Louis Rossmann discovered, Google's service and repair terms and conditions contain a concerning stipulation. The document states that Google will keep your device if a non-OEM part is found. Apparently, this rule has been in effect since July 19, 2023, as marked on the page. Last week, iFixit said they are parting ways with Samsung because the company "does not seem interested in enabling repair at scale." A separate report from 404 Media found that Samsung requires independent repair shops to give them the name, contact information, phone identifier, and customer complaint details of everyone who gets their phone repaired at these shops. "Stunningly, it also requires these nominally independent shops to 'immediately disassemble' any phones that customers have brought them that have been previously repaired with aftermarket or third-party parts and to 'immediately notify' Samsung that the customer has used third-party parts," reports 404 Media.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The 34-year-old Hubble Space Telescope is now operating with its final two working gyroscopes, necessitating a switch to a less productive "one-gyro" mode to extend its operational life. This contingency plan will reduce Hubble's productivity by over 12%, limit its ability to track fast-moving objects, and decrease the portion of the sky it can observe. That said, NASA expects it to keep functioning through 2035. Science.org reports: Normally, Hubble measures its location in space with a system that includes three gyroscopes -- rapidly spinning wheels that can sense forces in three directions. But in a 4 June press conference, NASA officials said one of the telescope's three remaining gyroscopes is on the fritz. The agency is now invoking a contingency plan: a "one-gyro" mode that keeps the other functioning gyroscope in reserve. The mode will reduce the telescope's productivity by more than 12% but preserve its ability to observe for years to come, Mark Clampin, NASA's astrophysics division director, said at the press conference. "We believe this is our best approach to support Hubble science through this decade and into the next." Hubble's gyroscopes, which spin at 19,200 revolutions per minute, are extremely precise but finicky. The agency has flown a total of 22 gyroscopes across various servicing missions and is now down to the last two of the six currently onboard. In one-gyro mode, Hubble must rely on its less precise star trackers and other sensors to verify its position, a slower process that leads to reduced productivity. "It will take us more time to slew from one target attitude to the next, and to be able to lock on to that science target," said Patrick Crouse, Hubble's project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. A one-gyro Hubble will also struggle to track fast-moving targets, such as asteroids within the orbit of Mars, and to swivel to spot transient distant phenomena such as supernovae, according to a 2016 report (PDF) from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which operates Hubble. In addition, the inefficiencies of one-gyro mode will reduce the portion of the sky that Hubble can safely point to at any given moment, from 82% to roughly 40%, including a larger avoidance zone near the Sun. It won't be able to observe Venus or the Moon, nor will it be able to reliably spot comets when they're near the Sun. Its ability to scrutinize distant exoplanets will also be hampered, especially in gathering the spectral measurements used to discern alien atmospheres. Furthermore, a one-gyro Hubble won't be able to perform as many simultaneous observations with the new JWST space observatory. Moving forward, the two telescopes' fields of view at any given moment may overlap by less than 20%, according to a 2019 estimate anticipating this event from a Hubble advisory committee.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Young people with internet addiction experience changes in their brain chemistry which could lead to more addictive behaviors, research suggests. The study, published in PLOS Mental Health, reviewed previous research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine how regions of the brain interact in people with internet addiction. They found that the effects were evident throughout multiple neural networks in the brains of young people, and that there was increased activity in parts of the brain when participants were resting. At the same time, there was an overall decrease in the functional connectivity in parts of the brain involved in active thinking, which is the executive control network of the brain responsible for memory and decision-making. The research found that these changes resulted in addictive behaviors and tendencies in adolescents, as well as behavioral changes linked to mental health, development, intellectual ability and physical coordination. "Adolescence is a crucial developmental stage during which people go through significant changes in their biology, cognition and personalities," said Max Chang, the study's lead author and an MSc student at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (GOS ICH). "As a result, the brain is particularly vulnerable to internet addiction-related urges during this time, such as compulsive internet usage, cravings towards usage of the mouse or keyboard and consuming media. The findings from our study show that this can lead to potentially negative behavioral and developmental changes that could impact the lives of adolescents. For example, they may struggle to maintain relationships and social activities, lie about online activity and experience irregular eating and disrupted sleep." Chang said he hopes the findings allow early signs of internet addiction to be treated effectively. "Clinicians could potentially prescribe treatment to aim at certain brain regions or suggest psychotherapy or family therapy targeting key symptoms of internet addiction," said Chang. "Importantly, parental education on internet addiction is another possible avenue of prevention from a public health standpoint. Parents who are aware of the early signs and onset of internet addiction will more effectively handle screen time, impulsivity, and minimize the risk factors surrounding internet addiction."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Solar power in California has reached a new record output, briefly surpassing 100% of power demand. It comes just days after the state exceeded 100% of energy demand with renewables (wind, solar and hydro) over a record 45 days straight, and 69 out of 75. CleanTechnica reports: As you can see [here], at its peak, solar power was providing 102.1% of electricity demand in California. Together, wind, water, and solar peaked at 136.4% of electricity demand! [...] The best news is that California seems to quickly be chopping the duck curve down to size. [...] The solution for the duck curve is clear: energy storage. Store that bursting solar energy produced in the middle of the day and gradually use it in the evening as the sun goes down and electricity demand rises. The good news is that California has been making progress on this very fast! Look at the graph [here] regarding electricity generation from natural gas and note the line for 2023 versus the line for 2024. [...] The overall story is that California renewable energy continues to lead the way forward. Solar power is now peaking at more than 100% of electricity demand, renewables as a whole are peaking at 134% electricity demand, the duck curve has been shaved down to basically no duck curve at all (but you could now call the battery charge/discharge curve a duck curve), and the whole state (and world) is benefitting. Get ready for more records in the days to come. We're still a few weeks away from the summer solstice. Further reading: Battery-Powered California Faces Lower Blackout Risk This Summer

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Today, Raspberry Pi introduced a new kit that adds AI functionality to the Raspberry Pi 5. ZDNet reports: The Raspberry Pi AI kit combines an M.2-format Hailo 8L AI accelerator with the Raspberry Pi M.2 HAT+ to create a powerful yet power-efficient solution. The Hailo-8L NPU (Neural Processing Unit) chip, capable of 13 trillion operations per second (TOPS), is built into an M.2 2242 form factor module that attaches to the M.2 HAT+. When connected to a Raspberry Pi 5 board running the latest Raspberry Pi OS, the NPU is automatically available for AI computing tasks. The AI module also has direct access to the Raspberry Pi's camera software stack and works with both first-party and third-party cameras. The NPU allows the Raspberry Pi 5 to perform AI tasks such as object and facial recognition, human pose analysis, and more. Using an NPU frees up the Raspberry Pi 5's CPU, allowing it to focus on other tasks, making your projects more efficient and powerful. The Raspberry Pi AI kit is also compatible with the Raspberry Pi Active Cooler, ensuring optimal performance without overheating. Additionally, you can purchase a clear protective layer to prevent damage to the board, giving you peace of mind while working on your projects. The AI kit is priced at $70. It's available from Raspberry Pi Approved Resellers, including PiHut, PiShop.us, and CanaKit.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google Maps has introduced a new layer to help individuals find public restrooms in New York City. The Verge reports: As part of a new program called "Ur in Luck," the city has introduced a Maps view dotted with 1,000 public restrooms across the five boroughs. Users can view the map on their phones and locate the closest restroom that's accessible to the public. "Everyone -- seniors, parents with kids, anyone enjoying the day outdoors, needs access to a public bathroom without having to buy anything or beg for a code," Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi said in a press release. The city will also build 46 new restrooms and renovate 36 existing locations over the next five years.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: A popular GitHub repo and over 120 forks containing Switch emulation tutorials have been targeted by Nintendo. While most forks are now disabled, the main repository has managed to survive after being given the opportunity to put things right. Whether Nintendo appreciated the irony is unclear, but it appears that use of encoding as a protection measure to obfuscate links, was no match for the video game company's circumvention skills. [...] The Switch Emulators Guide was presented in the context of piracy, something made clear by a note on the main page of the original repo which stated that the tutorial was made, in part, for use on the /r/NewYuzuPiracy subreddit. Since the actions of Yuzu and its eventual demise are part of the unwritten framework for similar takedowns, that sets the tone (although not the legal basis) in favor of takedown. When asked to provide a description and URL pointing to the copyrighted content allegedly infringed by the repos, Nintendo states that the works are the 'Nintendo Switch firmware" and various games protected by technological protection measures (TPM) which prevent users from unlawfully copying and playing pirated games. The notice states the repos 'provide access' to keys that enable circumvention of its technical measures. "The reported repositories offer and provide access to unauthorized copies of cryptographic keys that are used to circumvent Nintendo's Technological Measures and infringe Nintendo's intellectual property rights. Specifically, the reported repositories provide to users unauthorized copies of cryptographic keys (prod.keys) extracted from the Nintendo Switch firmware," Nintendo writes. "The prod.keys allow users to bypass Nintendo's Technological Measures for digital games; specifically, prod.keys allow users to decrypt and play Nintendo Switch games in unauthorized ways. Distribution of keys without the copyright owner's authorization is a violation of Section 1201 of the DMCA." Nintendo further notes that unauthorized distribution of prod.keys "facilitates copyright infringement by permitting users to play pirated versions of Nintendo's copyright-protected game software on systems without the Nintendo Technological Measures or systems on which Nintendo's Technological Measures have been disabled." Since the prod.keys are extracted from the Nintendo Switch firmware, which is also protected by copyright, distribution amounts to "infringement of Nintendo Switch firmware itself." Given that the repo's stated purpose was to provide information on how to circumvent Nintendo's technical protection measures, it's fairly ironic that it appears to have used technical measures itself to hinder detection. "The reported repositories attempt to evade detection of their illegal activities by providing access to prod.keys and unauthorized copies of Nintendo's firmware and video games via encoded links that direct users to third-party websites to download the infringing content," Nintendo explains in its notice. "The repositories provide strings of letters and numbers and then instruct users to 'use [private] to decode the lines of strings given here to get an actual link.' The decoded links take users to sites where they can access the prod.keys and unauthorized copies of Nintendo's copyright-protected material." The image below shows the encoded links (partially redacted) that allegedly link to the content in question on third-party sites. To hide their nature, regular URLs are encoded using Base64, a binary-to-text encoding scheme that transforms them into a sequence of characters. Those characters can be decoded to reveal the original URL using online tools.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apollo Global announced today that it will acquire a 49% equity interest in Intel's manufacturing facility in Ireland for $11 billion, in a deal expected to close in the second quarter. The deal "would allow Intel to redeploy parts of its investment in the project to other parts of its business," reports Reuters. "Intel has invested $18.4 billion in the facility till date." From the report: Apollo will acquire the stake in the Fab 34 facility in Leixlip, Ireland, the U.S. chipmaker's first high-volume location for its Intel 4 manufacturing process using extreme ultraviolet lithography machines. The company announced plans in 2022 to build chip factories in Ireland and France as it seeks to benefit from easier European Commission funding rules and subsidies as the bloc looks to cut its dependence on U.S. and Asian supply. Intel will retain full ownership and operational control of Fab 34 and its assets.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.