SiFive’s HiFive Unmatched is the best, readily available RISC-V developer board at the moment with enough horsepower for modest development/porting work and continues seeing improvements with the mainline Linux kernel. But availability on HiFive Unmatched is beginning to dry up and SiFive isn’t planning on any further production runs as it begins focusing on the board’s successor…
Source: Phoronix – SiFive Shifting Production Focus To Next-Gen HiFive Development Board
Monthly Archives: January 2022
Rabbits Across the U.S. Are Dealing With Their Own Deadly Viral Disease
Wild and domestic rabbits across the country are dealing with a deadly and highly contagious viral illness that can kill up to 80% of victims. Known as rabbit hemorrhagic disease, cases of a relatively new type of the illness have been spotted in over a dozen different states since 2020. Officials are warning bunny…
Source: Gizmodo – Rabbits Across the U.S. Are Dealing With Their Own Deadly Viral Disease
Court orders persistent 'Roblox' troll to stay off the platform
A court in California has ordered Benjamin Robert Simon to pay $150,000 in damages to the creator of Roblox, reports Polygon. Roblox Corporation sued Simon in November, accusing the YouTuber of harassing its player base and repeatedly skirting its efforts to keep him off the platform. At the time, the company initially sought $1.65 million in damages from Simon.
Roblox Corporation’s allegations against Simon, who is better known as Ruben Sim on YouTube, were numerous. The company said it had originally banned him from Roblox for using homophobic and racist slurs, as well as sexually harassing other players and uploading photos of Adolf Hitler.
The court ordered Simon to stay off the platform. He has also agreed not to make or publish “false threats of terrorist activity relating to Roblox.” One of the most serious accusations the game’s developer leveled against Simon was that he posted “false and misleading terrorist threats” that led to a temporary shutdown of the 2021 Roblox Developers Conference in San Francisco. The company claims it cost $50,000 to investigate the threat and secure the venue.
Simon has also been ordered not to go near the company’s offices. In its original complaint, Roblox Corporation accused Simon of glamorizing a 2018 shooting incident at YouTube’s headquarters in San Bruno, California, and threatening a copycat act of violence at its own office in nearby San Mateo.
Simon told Polygon he plans to upload a video about the complaint on his YouTube channel sometime in the “next couple months.” The Roblox Corporation declined to comment on the outcome of the case.
Source: Engadget – Court orders persistent ‘Roblox’ troll to stay off the platform
How to Install and Use Telnet on Linux Systems
Telnet is a popular application protocol that can be used to achieve remote access to operating systems. Learn how to install and use Telnet on Linux here.
The post How to Install and Use Telnet on Linux Systems appeared first on Linux Today.
Source: Linux Today – How to Install and Use Telnet on Linux Systems
Oh No, I’ve Maxed Out Halo Infinite’s Battle Pass
A lot can happen in two months. You could spark a whirlwind romance with the love of your life. You could get a new gig and move across the country. Or you could complete the 100 levels of a first-person shooter’s battle pass intended to stretch out thrice that time.
Source: Kotaku – Oh No, I’ve Maxed Out Halo Infinite’s Battle Pass
The Easiest Way to Calculate Your Cocktail’s ABV
Most years, at least a couple of my friends participate in Dry January. The last few years have not been like most years. I don’t know a single person (who wasn’t already sober) who is abstaining from alcohol completely this month, but I do know a few who are trying to drink less, or at least drink more thoughtfully.
Source: LifeHacker – The Easiest Way to Calculate Your Cocktail’s ABV
Facebook Explores Eye Tracking Tech To Monetize The Metaverse, Creeped Out Yet?
Facebook is looking into how it can use things like your body language and eye tracking, in order to send you targeted virtual ads. The patent documents provide more insight into how the company plans on monetizing the metaverse.
Meta, parent company of Facebook, has made no secret of its intention to move into the metaverse since its rebranding.
Source: Hot Hardware – Facebook Explores Eye Tracking Tech To Monetize The Metaverse, Creeped Out Yet?
FCC Moves To Boost Cable Competition in Apartment Buildings
Cable operators would face more competition for the roughly one-third of Americans living in apartment buildings under an order advanced Friday at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. From a report: FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel asked fellow commissioners to approve a measure that she said would “crack down on practices that lock out broadband competition and consumer choice.” The order would prohibit cable service providers from entering into certain revenue sharing agreements with a building owner, and seek to ease alternative providers’ access to the wiring of buildings, Rosenworcel said in a news release. The order would affect more than one-third of the U.S. population who live in apartments, mobile home parks, condominiums and public housing, Rosenworcel said. The order needs to succeed in a vote before the FCC, which is split with two Democrats and two Republicans as a Democrat nominated by President Joe Biden awaits Senate confirmation.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – FCC Moves To Boost Cable Competition in Apartment Buildings
The Arrowverse Returns to Comics, But With a Few Surprises
Of all the different DC superhero shows airing on the CW, only Arrow, Supergirl, and The Flash have managed to transition (briefly) back into comics, and you’ll note that two of those shows are already over. This makes Earth-Prime, a new series from DC that will explore the other TV series in the Arrowverse before…
Source: Gizmodo – The Arrowverse Returns to Comics, But With a Few Surprises
Good News, Mech Fans: Armored Core Spiritual Successor Will Soon Be Free
Is Daemon X Machina a “good” video game? Yes (no). Well. Daemon X Machina was recently described by a friend of mine as a 7/10 Armored Core spiritual successor, with the important note that every Armored Core game is a 7/10. This means that it is a good game by the Renata Price “B-Games Are The Best Kind Of Video…
Source: Kotaku – Good News, Mech Fans: Armored Core Spiritual Successor Will Soon Be Free
Contribute at the Fedora Linux 36 Test Week for Kernel 5.16
Test day for Fedora Linux 36 Kernel 5.16
Source: LXer – Contribute at the Fedora Linux 36 Test Week for Kernel 5.16
Mesa 22.0 Gets RADV Ray-Tracing Performance Boost By Using Wave32 Mode
Landing today for Mesa 22.0 was a fix for Vulkan ray-tracing with the RADV driver in the RDNA Wave32 shader mode and then switching to Wave32 by default for ray-tracing on RDNA/RDNA2 GPUs…
Source: Phoronix – Mesa 22.0 Gets RADV Ray-Tracing Performance Boost By Using Wave32 Mode
You Can Help NASA Get to Mars
NASA—the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,—would like to send astronauts to Mars, and it needs your help to do so. Especially if you have a novel solution to the problem of recycling waste in space.
Source: LifeHacker – You Can Help NASA Get to Mars
Court Urges YouTuber Banned From Roblox To Stop Making Terrorist Threats
Controversial YouTuber Benjamin “Ruben Sim” Simon has been banned from gaming platform Roblox after allegedly leading an in-game “cybermob” to harass its predominantly younger player base with racist and homophobic slurs, and some sexual harassment to boot. According to the Oakland, CA court that issued the years-long…
Source: Kotaku – Court Urges YouTuber Banned From Roblox To Stop Making Terrorist Threats
Activision Blizzard Buyout Could See King's Quest, HeXen And Other Classic Games Rebooted
There are plenty of opinions to go around on Microsoft’s deal to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, but I’ll say this—if Microsoft goes on to reboot franchises like King’s Quest and other classics, I’ll be ecstatic. It may very well happen, too. Xbox boss Phil Spencer alluded to the possibility when gushing over the IP that Microsoft
Source: Hot Hardware – Activision Blizzard Buyout Could See King’s Quest, HeXen And Other Classic Games Rebooted
Godzilla is headed to Apple TV+ in the MonsterVerse’s first live-action series
Legendary Pictures has been trying to make the MonsterVerse a thing for a while now, and following Godzilla and King Kong’s return to the movie theaters back in 2014, kaiju are now heading to the small screen in an upcoming series on Apple TV+.
Not content to simply feature the King of Monsters, the still-untitled show is set after a battle between Godzilla and other Titans reveals new info linking the monsters’ attacks to a secretive organization called Monarch. In case you haven’t kept up with the MonsterVerse, Monarch has made an appearance in a number of recent Godzilla and King Kong movies dating back to 2014’s Godzilla, with Monarch typically serving as the multi-national organization overseeing the research and tracking of MUTOs (massive unidentified terrestrial organisms).
While neither Apple nor Legendary has yet to provide a cast list or release date for its upcoming Godzilla series, the show will be helmed by showrunner Chris Black (Outcast, Star Trek: Enterprise) and Matt Fraction, who is best known for his writing on the 2012 run of Marvel’s Hawkeye comics. However, the big deal for kaiju-lovers is that the upcoming Godzilla show on Apple TV+ will be the first live-action series set in the MonsterVerse, and only the second TV show following the upcoming Skull Island anime on Netflix.
Currently, it’s unclear how the new Apple TV+ series will tie into existing MonsterVerse movies – particularly last year’s Godzilla vs. Kong which saw the big green dino team up with King Kong to battle a range of foes both ancient and modern. And despite 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters sometimes being deemed a disappointment due to middling ticket sales, Godzilla vs. Kong still managed to become one of the top 10 box office draws of 2021 while in the midst of a pandemic, which looks like a good sign ahead of Godzilla’s upcoming move to the small screen.
Source: Engadget – Godzilla is headed to Apple TV+ in the MonsterVerse’s first live-action series
Peloton Is Spinning Out of Control
After enjoying rapid growth during the pandemic, which boosted sales of its at-home exercise equipment, Peloton is now careening off the rails. Internal documents obtained by CNBC suggest Peloton will soon take drastic measures to control costs and account for declining demand.
Source: Gizmodo – Peloton Is Spinning Out of Control
Binance Kept Weak Money-laundering Checks Even as it Promised Tougher Compliance, Documents Show
In public, Binance — by far the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange — said it welcomes government oversight. At the same time, the firm was withholding information from regulators, maintaining weak checks on customers and acting against its own compliance department’s recommendations, a Reuters investigation has found. From the report: The reporting shows Binance has operated outside rules that govern traditional financial firms and many crypto rivals. An opaque corporate structure has enabled Binance to offer products that many national regulators don’t allow locally registered firms to sell. Binance has repeatedly declined to specify in which jurisdiction its main online exchange is based, complicating regulators’ efforts to oversee its activities. And it has minimised costly client background checks. On at least four occasions, Binance declined to provide detailed answers about its operations when asked by financial authorities and business partners, according to regulatory filings and people with direct knowledge.
In encrypted Telegram messages seen by Reuters, Binance staff, including Chief Compliance Officer Samuel Lim and former Global Money Laundering Reporting Officer Karen Leong, raised worries about weak “know-your-customer” checks aimed at preventing money laundering. Three former senior Binance employees told Reuters they voiced such concerns to Zhao himself but he ignored them. Binance acted against its own compliance department’s assessment by continuing to recruit customers in seven countries, including Russia and Ukraine, judged to be of “extreme” money-laundering risk in an internal report circulated in early 2020 that was seen by Reuters. Last year, Binance watered down compliance rules arranged with a German business partner, causing disquiet among some Binance staff.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Binance Kept Weak Money-laundering Checks Even as it Promised Tougher Compliance, Documents Show
Machine to melt Moon rocks and derive metals may launch in 2024
Enlarge / If all goes well, this is how Lunar Resources’ extractor could appear on the lunar surface in a few years. (credit: Lunar Resources)
In recent years, much has been said about mining water ice in shadowed craters at the Moon’s South Pole for use as rocket propellant. Enthusiasm for this idea has led NASA to begin planning the first human missions of its Artemis Program to land near the South Pole instead of the mid-latitudes.
However, a Houston-based company says there is value in the gray, dusty regolith spread across the entire lunar surface. The firm, Lunar Resources, is developing technology to extract iron, aluminum, magnesium, and silicon from the Moon’s regolith. These materials, in turn, would be used to manufacture goods on the Moon.
“There are all of these valuable metals on the Moon, just there for the taking,” said Elliot Carol, chief executive officer of Lunar Resources.
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Source: Ars Technica – Machine to melt Moon rocks and derive metals may launch in 2024
Star Trek: Picard Season 2 Trailer Teases Old Friends and Older Threats
Jean-Luc’s next trip is going to throw him all over Star Trek’s realities and timelines, so it’s probably for the best that he knows a few folks who can help puzzle that stuff out. Problem is: he knows a few enemies that can do just that, too.
Source: Gizmodo – Star Trek: Picard Season 2 Trailer Teases Old Friends and Older Threats