kheldan quotes a report from BBC: Researchers say they have found the first clear evidence that the thinning in the ozone layer above Antarctica is starting to heal. The scientists said that in September 2015 the hole was around 4 million sq km smaller than it was in the year 2000 — an area roughly the size of India. The gains have been credited to the long term phasing out of ozone-destroying chemicals. [The study also sheds new light on the role of volcanoes in making the problem worse.] The ozone-destroying chemicals, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), have been shown to be declining in their influence, causing the ozone layer to grow once more. “Even though we phased out the production of CFCs in all countries including India and China around the year 2000, there’s still a lot of chlorine left in the atmosphere,” Prof Solomon told the BBC World Service Science in Action program. “It has a lifetime of about 50-100 years, so it is starting to slowly decay and the ozone will slowly recover.” Scientists also believe that volcanic sulphur can form tiny particles that act as seeds to Polar Stratospheric Clouds, where chlorine chemistry occurs that destroys the ozone.

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Source: Slashdot – ‘Healing’ Detected In Antarctic Ozone Hole, Says Study

An anonymous reader writes from a report via The Verge: Facebook’s Paper app for iOS is scheduled to shut down on July 29th. While the app impressed critics, it failed to impress the general public. The Verge reports: “The app transformed the core Facebook experience into a kind of newsreader, with customizable sections for politics, technology, food, and other subjects. When it was introduced in January 2014, Paper signaled the beginning of a design renaissance at Facebook. The look and feel of the app were orchestrated by Mike Matas, whose design firm Push Pop Press was acquired by Facebook in 2011. Paper was notable for the novel animations it used to guide you through the app — tap on a link and it would unfold like a letter; pull down on the story and it would fold back up, returning you to the feed. But despite the enormous growth of Facebook, which surged to 1.09 billion daily users this year, Paper has not been among the 1,500 most-downloaded apps since December 2014, according to research firm App Annie. It never came to Android, and the iOS version was last updated in March 2015. Facebook says that ideas from Paper have made their way into other Facebook apps, most notably Instant Articles, the fast-loading story format that the company introduced last year. Instant Articles borrowed several design elements from Paper, including full-bleed images and custom designs for individual publishers’ articles.”

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Source: Slashdot – Facebook To Shred ‘Paper’ News-Reading App On July 29th

An anonymous reader writes: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is in talks to acquire the Jay Z owned streaming service, Tidal. 9to5Mac reports: “While specific details are unclear at this point, Apple acquiring Tidal would give it an incredible leg up when it comes to negotiating for exclusive streaming rights. Tidal is currently owned by Jay Z and a variety of other artists, including Kanye West, Beyonce, Chris Martin, Jack White, and many more. Negotiations between Apple and Jay Z are reportedly still early and ‘may not result in a deal,’ according to the report. Apple is interested in Tidal because of its strong ties to artists, many of which are owners. Tidal has secured the exclusive streaming rights to a handful of notable albums in recent months, including Beyonce’s Lemonade and Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo.” Earlier this year, a report claimed that Samsung, Google and Spotify had all considered buying the streaming service.

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Source: Slashdot – Apple In Talks To Buy Jay Z-Owned Tidal Streaming Service

An anonymous reader writes: A file named “UpgradeSubscription.exe” is found buried in the System32 folder of Windows 10 build 14376, alongside 590 other .exe files. ZDNet reports the file has been part of other recent preview builds, but just recently uncovered. “In the file’s properties, it’s described as the Windows Upgrade to Subscription Tool, and its date and time stamp corresponds to other administrative tools in the same build,” reports ZDNet. You can view the screenshot here. Microsoft responded to ZDNet saying: “The Windows Upgrade to Subscription tool, found in the latest Windows Insider builds, helps to manage certain volume licensing upgrades from Windows 10 Pro Anniversary Update to Windows 10 Enterprise. This binary file is not associated with the free consumer upgrade offering nor is it applicable to consumer Windows editions.” When pressed for additional details, Microsoft responded with, “No further comment.” While the file does nothing, it does appear to confirm that it’s related to licensing, referencing a registry value called AllowWindowsSubscription. Build 14376 reveals a few references to servicing packages named Microsoft-Client-License-Platform-Upgrade-Subscription-Package. Last year, there was some talk about Windows 10 being the last version of Windows as Microsoft is pushing a “Windows as a service” vision. When news broke in April about Windows Phone’s sharp revenue declines, PCWorld reported that CEO Satya Nadella’s strategy is to grow Microsoft’s revenues by convincing customers to adopt its paid subscription services.

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Source: Slashdot – ‘UpgradeSubscription.exe’ File In Preview Build Hints At Windows 10 Subscriptions