BrianFagioli quotes BetaNews: Today, Microsoft further pledges its loyalty to Linux and open source by becoming a platinum member of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. If you aren’t familiar, the CNCF is a part of the well-respected Linux Foundation (of which Microsoft is also a member). With the Windows-maker increasingly focusing its efforts on the cloud — and profiting from it — this seems like a match made in heaven. In fact, Dan Kohn, Executive Director of the foundation says, “We are honored to have Microsoft, widely recognized as one of the most important enterprise technology and cloud providers in the world, join CNCF as a platinum member.” “CNCF is a part of the Linux Foundation, which helps govern for a wide range of cloud-oriented open source projects, such as Kubernetes, Prometheus, OpenTracing, Fluentd, Linkerd, containerd, Helm, gRPC, and many others,” says John Gossman Azure Architect, Microsoft. “Since we joined the Linux Foundation last year, and now have decided to expand that relationship to CNCF membership as a natural next step to invest in open source communities and code at multiple levels, especially in the area of containers.”
The announcement notes that Microsoft has already been contributing code to the Kubernetes project, “as well as running Kubernetes as part of the Azure Container Service.”

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Source: Slashdot – Microsoft Further Pledges Linux Loyalty, Joins Cloud Native Computing Foundation

Long-time Slashdot reader Theaetetus writes:

I recently bought a house and the previous owner left some coax (mostly RG59) running between rooms for cable distribution. I’m a cord cutter and don’t need cable, and I’ve already run CAT6e everywhere. But before I pull the RG59 out and try to seal the various holes he left, I figured I’d pick Slashdot’s brain: can anyone think of a good non-cable use for spare coax lines?

Leave your best answers in the comments. What can you do with old coaxial cable?

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Source: Slashdot – Ask Slashdot: What Can You Do With Old Coaxial Cable?

Here’s how the Volkswagen emissions scandal ends in California — and the rest of America. An anonymous reader quotes the Bay Area News Group:
In a decision with lasting implications for the growth of electric vehicles, state regulators on Thursday approved Volkswagen’s plan to invest nearly $1 billion in California’s EV network as penalty for its diesel-emission cheating scandal… San Jose and San Francisco are two of six cities slated for expanded community charging stations. A Volkswagen subsidiary, Electrify America, also will target low-income communities for at least 35 percent of the projects… The first phase calls for $120 million to build 400 charging stations with between 2,000 and 3,000 chargers. About $75 million will be used to develop a high-speed, highway charging network, mostly consisting of 150 kilowatt fast-chargers. The other $45 million will build community charging stations in six metro areas: San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Los Angeles and San Diego. Another $44 million will build a “Green City” in Sacramento. It will provide access to zero-emission vehicles to low-income residents, through ride-sharing and other programs. As part of the 10-year comprehensive plan, Electrify America will build a nationwide network of fast-charging stations with universal technology.

That nationwide network is expected to cost another $2 billion.

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Source: Slashdot – After Emissions Scandal, Volkswagen Pledges Charging Stations Across The US

An anonymous reader quotes Computerworld’s article on the implications of New York City’s plan to blanket the city with “smart” kiosks offering ultrafast Wi-Fi.
The existence of smart-city implementations like Intersection’s LinkNYC means that New Yorkers won’t actually need mobile contracts anymore. Most who would otherwise pay for them will no doubt continue to do so for the convenience. But those who could not afford a phone contract in the past will have ubiquitous fast connectivity in the future. This strongly erodes the digital divide within smart cities. A 2015 study conducted by New York City found that more than a quarter of city households had no internet connectivity at home, and more than half a million people didn’t own their own computer…
Over the next 15 years, the city will go through the other two phases, where sensor data will be processed by artificial intelligence to gain unprecedented insights about traffic, environment and human behavior and eventually use it to intelligently re-direct traffic and shape other city functions… And as autonomous cars gradually roll out, New York will be well positioned to be one of the first cities to legalize them, because they’ll be safer thanks to 5G, sensors and data from all those kiosks.
Intersection, a Google-backed startup, has already installed 1,000 of the kiosks in New York, and is planning to install 7,000 more. The sides of the kiosk have screens which show alerts and other public information — as well as advertisements, which cover all the costs of the installations and even bring extra money into the city coffers.
New York’s move “puts pressure on other U.S. cities to follow suit,” the article also points out, adding that privacy policies “are negotiated agreements between the company and the city. So if a city wants to use those cameras and sensors for surveillance, it can.”

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Source: Slashdot – Will ‘Smart Cities’ Violate Our Privacy?