Linux Lite 6.4 to Adopt Zstd Compression for Lightning Fast App Updates

Linux Lite 6.4 will be based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS but with the long-term supported Linux 5.15 LTS kernel series instead of Linux 5.19 HWE.

The post Linux Lite 6.4 to Adopt Zstd Compression for Lightning Fast App Updates appeared first on Linux Today.



Source: Linux Today – Linux Lite 6.4 to Adopt Zstd Compression for Lightning Fast App Updates

Artificial Sweetener Erythritol Linked To Heart Attack and Stroke, Study Finds

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBS News: Erythritol, a zero-calorie sugar substitute used to sweeten low-cal, low-carb and “keto” products, is linked to higher risk of heart attack, stroke and death, according to a new study. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic studied over 4,000 people in the U.S. and Europe and found those with higher blood erythritol levels were at elevated risk of experiencing these major adverse cardiac events. The research, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, also found erythritol made blood platelets easier to form a clot.

“Our study shows that when participants consumed an artificially sweetened beverage with an amount of erythritol found in many processed foods, markedly elevated levels in the blood are observed for days — levels well above those observed to enhance clotting risks,” said Dr. Stanley Hazen, senior author of the study and chairman for the department of cardiovascular and metabolic sciences at Cleveland Clinic, in a press release.

While the study doesn’t definitively show causation, CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus says there’s “certainly enough data to make you very worried.” “Most artificial sweeteners bind to your sweet receptors but aren’t absorbed. Erythritol is absorbed and has significant effects, as we see in the study,” Agus explains. Sweeteners like erythritol have “rapidly increased in popularity in recent years,” Hazen noted, and the researchers say more in-depth study is needed to understand their long-term health effects. “Cardiovascular disease builds over time, and heart disease is the leading cause of death globally. We need to make sure the foods we eat aren’t hidden contributors,” he said. “In the study, researchers looked at the levels of erythritol in the blood of around 4,000 people from the United States and Europe and found that those with the highest blood concentration of the sugar substitute were more likely to have a stroke or heart attack,” adds the New York Times in their reporting. “The participants, who mostly were over the age of 60, either already had or were at high risk for cardiovascular diseases because of conditions like diabetes and hypertension.”

“The researchers also found that when they fed mice erythritol, that promoted blood clot formation. Erythritol appeared to induce clotting in human blood and plasma as well. Among eight people who consumed erythritol at levels typical in a pint of keto ice cream or a can of an artificially sweetened beverage, the sugar alcohol lingered in their blood for longer than two days.”

Dr. Hazen said: “Every way we looked at it, it kept showing the same signal.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Artificial Sweetener Erythritol Linked To Heart Attack and Stroke, Study Finds

Linux 6.2, Linux 6.3 Developments, KDE Plasma 5.27 & More Made For An Exciting Month

While a short month there still were 243 original news articles on Phoronix written by your’s truly about various open-source and Linux topics. There were also nine additional Linux hardware reviews looking at the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, the long-awaited NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080/4090 Linux performance results, and more. Here is a look back at what excited open-source/Linux enthusiasts in February…

Source: Phoronix – Linux 6.2, Linux 6.3 Developments, KDE Plasma 5.27 & More Made For An Exciting Month

Nvidia's Latest GPU Drivers Can Upscale Old Blurry YouTube Videos

Nvidia is releasing new GPU drivers today that will upscale old blurry web videos on RTX 30- and 40-series cards. The Verge reports: RTX Video Super Resolution is a new AI upscaling technology from Nvidia that works inside Chrome or Edge to improve any video in a browser by sharpening the edges of objects and reducing video artifacts. Nvidia will support videos between 360p and 1440p up to 144Hz in frame rate and upscale all the way up to 4K resolution.

This impressive 4K upscaling has previously only been available on Nvidia’s Shield TV, but recent advances to the Chromium engine have allowed Nvidia to bring this to its latest RTX 30- and 40-series cards. As this works on any web video, you could use it to upscale content from Twitch or even streaming apps like Netflix where you typically have to pay extra for 4K streams.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Nvidia’s Latest GPU Drivers Can Upscale Old Blurry YouTube Videos

Google adds client-side encryption to Gmail and Calendar. Should you care?

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Source: Ars Technica – Google adds client-side encryption to Gmail and Calendar. Should you care?

Gorgeous Pokémon, Anime Sneakers Are Too Good For Nike

While Nike likes to dabble in the out-and-out nerd market sometimes, from Doraemon to Hello Kitty, for the most part the company likes to keep its collabs subtle, and has not worked with Nintendo for a long time. Meaning it will likely never officially release shoes this nice.

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Source: Kotaku – Gorgeous Pokémon, Anime Sneakers Are Too Good For Nike

Is The Mandalorian's Armorer Trustworthy? Producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni Weigh In

This is the way. But is it really? On The Mandalorian, the titular character has always put a ton of faith into the words of the Armorer, a wise Mandalorian who can not only craft armor but knows all about the histories and customs of the galaxy. It was the Armorer who, on The Book of Boba Fett, told Mando that he was…

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Source: io9 – Is The Mandalorian’s Armorer Trustworthy? Producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni Weigh In

Dish Network Confirms Network Outage Was a Cybersecurity Breach

Dish Network, one of the largest television providers in the United States, confirmed on Tuesday that a previously disclosed “network outage” was the result of a cybersecurity breach that affected the company’s internal communications systems and customer-facing support sites. CNBC reports: “Certain data was extracted,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. The acknowledgment is an evolution from last week’s earnings call, where it was described as an “internal outage.” Dish Networks’ website was down for multiple days beginning last week, but the company has now disclosed that “internal communications [and] customer call centers” remain affected by the breach. Dish said it had retained outside experts to assist in evaluating the problem.

The intrusion took place on the morning of Feb. 23, the same day the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings. “This morning, we experienced an internal outage that’s continuing to affect our internal servers and IT telephony,” Dish CEO W. Erik Carlson said at that time. “We’re analyzing the root causes and any consequences of the outage, while we work to restore the affected systems as quickly as possible.” According to Bleeping Computer, the Black Basta ransomware gang is behind the attack, first breaching Boost Mobile and then the Dish corporate network.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Dish Network Confirms Network Outage Was a Cybersecurity Breach

Activision Accused Of Illegally Firing QA Testers Over Remote Work Protest

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) have today filed charges against publisher Activision—a company with a long track record of alleged union-busting—claiming the publisher violated several workplace laws in relation to the firing of two QA testers.

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Source: Kotaku – Activision Accused Of Illegally Firing QA Testers Over Remote Work Protest

YouTube Video Causes Pixel Phones To Instantly Reboot

An anonymous reader writes quotes a report from Ars Technica: Did you ever see that movie The Ring? People who watched a cursed, creepy video would all mysteriously die in seven days. Somehow Google seems to have re-created the tech version of that, where the creepy video is this clip of the 1979 movie Alien, and the thing that dies after watching it is a Google Pixel phone. As noted by the user ‘OGPixel5″ on the Google Pixel subreddit, watching this specific clip on a Google Pixel 6, 6a, or Pixel 7 will cause the phone to instantly reboot. Something about the clip is disagreeable to the phone, and it hard-crashes before it can even load a frame. Some users in the thread say cell service wouldn’t work after the reboot, requiring another reboot to get it back up and running.

The leading theory floating around is that something about the format of the video (it’s 4K HDR) is causing the phone to crash. It wouldn’t be the first time something like this happened to an Android phone. In 2020, there was a cursed wallpaper that would crash a phone when set as the background due to a color space bug. The affected phones all use Google’s Exynos-derived Tensor SoC, so don’t expect non-Google phones to be affected by this. Samsung Exynos phones would be the next most-likely candidates, but we haven’t seen any reports of that. According to CNET, the issue has been addressed and a full fix will be deployed in March.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – YouTube Video Causes Pixel Phones To Instantly Reboot

Here's One Last Round of Indie Games Crowdfunding During Zine Month

Zine Month always sees a slew of creativity in the space, from TikTok filters to clever reveals when funding goals are hit, and while we’re wrapping up ZiMo, we still have a ton of great games that deserve your attention. There’s been a lot of movement in the TTRPG space and I’m excited to get back to reporting news…

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Source: Gizmodo – Here’s One Last Round of Indie Games Crowdfunding During Zine Month

Google Rolls Out Fall Detection To All Pixel Watch Users

Starting today, Google is rolling out fall detection to all Pixel Watches. The Verge reports: Google’s version of fall detection is similar to those you’ll find on other smartwatches, like the Apple Watch and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 lineups. It uses the device’s motion sensors and machine learning to figure out when someone’s taken a tumble and might need some help. The feature will purportedly kick in about 30 seconds after it detects a hard fall. At that point, the watch will vibrate, sound an alarm, and flash a notification asking if the Pixel Watch owner needs help. If users don’t respond after a minute, the watch will automatically call emergency services and share their location.

According to Google, the Pixel Watch ought to be able to differentiate between a hard fall, stumble, or physical activity that may mimic falling — like the dreaded burpee. Whether that claim holds water is another matter that we’ll have to test for ourselves. […] The feature is opt in, so you’ll have to turn it on manually if it’s something you want. Google says Pixel Watch owners may see a promotional card pop up in the Updates page within the Watch Companion app. If you don’t see it there, you can also check directly from the wrist in the Personal Safety app.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Google Rolls Out Fall Detection To All Pixel Watch Users