If you’re reading this, odds are you’ve sent a nude or suggestive photo to someone at some point in your life—and you wouldn’t be alone. A third of Americans have shared a nude photo, an intimacy expert and certified sexologist told the New York Post. In fact, they send 1.8 million nudes per day (20 per second),…
Source: LifeHacker – What to Do If You Become a Victim of ‘Sextortion’
WhatsApp introduced a new automatic call-silencing feature intent on targeting potential spam calls this week. The feature, plainly dubbed “silence unknown callers” in the WhatsApp settings menu, is bringing another layer of protection to calls and messages from unknown numbers to combat an increase in unwanted calls.
Source: Gizmodo – WhatsApp Releases ‘Silence Unknown Callers’ Feature to Take Down Spammers
Enlarge / Very few modern smartphones can be considered to have a “readily removable” battery, but the Fairphone 4 is one of them. (credit: Fairphone)
Whenever regulation passes that seems to herald the dawn of a new age of repairable devices, there is almost always a catch, a loophole, or at least an “it depends.” In the case of recent headline-grabbing battery legislation out of the European Union, we’re waiting to see what counts as “readily” when it comes to removing and replacing device batteries.
Last week, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of new rules for handling batteries of all sizes in the EU, due to be implemented within 3.5 years of passage or as early as 2027. Along with measures addressing carbon footprints for electric vehicle and industrial batteries and stricter waste and recycling targets, there was a particular line in Article 11 regarding the “Removability and replaceability of portable batteries,” that likely got smartphone, tablet, and laptop manufacturer lobbyists moving:
Portable batteries incorporated in appliances shall be readily removable and replaceable by the end-user or by independent operators during the lifetime of the appliance, if the batteries have a shorter lifetime than the appliance, or at the latest at the end of the lifetime of the appliance.
“Readily replaceable,” as addressed in the next paragraph, is when, after removing a battery, you can substitute a similar battery “without affecting the functioning or the performance of that appliance.” For all the things specifically defined, outlined, and estimated in the 129-page “COM(2020) 798 final,” there’s not much more about what the phrase exactly means.
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Source: Ars Technica – EU wants “readily removable” batteries in devices soon—but what does that mean?
Halo Infinite is a good game that’s only become better over the last year or so thanks to smart updates and new content being added each season. Yet the Xbox and PC shooter’s latest season is missing something: cutscenes. But fans don’t seem to mind, because 343 says their omission is so the team can work on creating…
Source: Kotaku – Halo Infinite Axes Season Cutscenes So Devs Can Improve Other Things
SUSE’s latest release of SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 Service Pack 5 (SLE 15 SP5) has a focus on security, claiming it as the first distro to offer full support for confidential computing to protect data. From a report: According to SUSE, the latest version of its enterprise platform is designed to deliver high-performance computing capabilities, with an inevitable mention of AI/ML workloads, plus it claims to have extended its live-patching capabilities. The release also comes just weeks after the community release openSUSE Leap 15.5 was made available, with the two sharing a common core. The Reg’s resident open source guru noted that Leap 15.6 has now been confirmed as under development, which implies that a future SLE 15 SP6 should also be in the pipeline.
SUSE announced the latest version at its SUSECON event in Munich, along with a new report on cloud security issues claiming that more than 88 percent of IT teams have reported at least one cloud security incident over the the past year. This appears to be the justification for the claim that SLE 15 SP5 is the first Linux distro to support “the entire spectrum” of confidential computing, allowing customers to run fully encrypted virtual machines on their infrastructure to protect applications and their associated data. Confidential computing relies on hardware-based security mechanisms in the processor to provide this protection, so enterprises hoping to take advantage of this will need to ensure their servers have the necessary support, such as AMD’s Secure Encrypted Virtualization-Secure Nested Paging (SEV-SNP) and Intel’s Trust Domain Extensions (TDX).
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Latest SUSE Linux Enterprise Goes All in With Confidential Computing
Roblox, the build-your-own gaming platform that’s wildly popular among kids, is making a push to grow its audience beyond the bounds of childhood. The company will now allow content intended for people aged 17 or older, as announced in a Tuesday press release.
Source: Gizmodo – Roblox to Officially Allow 17+ Restricted Content on Its Gaming Platform
Immortals of Aveum is a Doom-like shooter where you wield magic spells instead of guns. There’s something about it that feels unmistakably like an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 throwback, but it’s actually a new, big budget indie game from the same EA Originals label that brought us It Takes Two and, more recently, Wild…
Source: Kotaku – 2023’s Most Unusual Shooter Just Got Delayed To The Worst Possible Time
When you get a new job, you’re thinking about the future: New responsibilities, a new office, a new title, new coworkers. But you also have to show a little respect to the past, even if it was miserable. That means you may have to write a resignation letter to accompany the more informal discussion you’re going to…
Source: LifeHacker – What to Write in a Resignation Letter (and What Not To)
A probe is familiarizing itself with the closest planet to the Sun, gearing up to explore Mercury’s heavily cratered surface. The BepiColombo mission recently captured stunning new images of Mercury during a close flyby, which resulted in the naming of an impact crater after a pioneering Jamaican artist.
Source: Gizmodo – Mercury Probe Captures Breathtaking New Images During Latest Flyby
The messy aftermath of Reddit’s controversial API price increase might get messier. The ransomware hacker group BlackCat, which claimed responsibility for snatching 80GB of company data in February, is now demanding the news aggregator and community platform fork over $4.5 million and rescind its latest policy…
Source: Kotaku – Reddit Hackers Demand .5 Million Ransom For Stolen Company Data
Enlarge (credit: zf L | Moment)
Child safety experts are growing increasingly powerless to stop thousands of “AI-generated child sex images” from being easily and rapidly created, then shared across dark web pedophile forums, The Washington Post reported.
This “explosion” of “disturbingly” realistic images could help normalize child sexual exploitation, lure more children into harm’s way, and make it harder for law enforcement to find actual children being harmed, experts told The Post.
Finding victims depicted in child sexual abuse materials is already a “needle in a haystack problem,” Rebecca Portnoff, the director of data science at the nonprofit child-safety group Thorn, told The Post. Now, law enforcement will be further delayed in investigations by efforts to determine if materials are real or not.
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Source: Ars Technica – Thousands of realistic but fake AI child sex images found online, report says
Anyone who keeps up with The Mandalorian can surely agree that season three had as many highs as it did lows. And those lows could be pretty low. But the highs? Well, they could also be pretty high, and by far one of the best moments of the season was when Grogu took the body of his old friend IG-12 for a joyride. It…
Source: Gizmodo – This New Grogu Collectible Will Have You Saying Yes, Yes, Yes
With artificial intelligence hype leaving venture capitalist firms foaming at the mouth, ready to buy into any new company that sticks an “A” and “I” in its name, we sure as hell need a new way of defining what constitutes an AI. The Turing Test fails to define real intelligence in today’s world of large language…
Source: Gizmodo – DeepMind Co-Founder Wants the ‘New Turing Test’ to Be Based on How Good an AI Is at Getting Rich
A US Senate committee is investigating Amazon’s warehouse safety practices. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy today, initiating the probe. Sanders urged Jassy to address health and safety issues at the company’s warehouses and requested additional information about its response to various safety issues. In a statement to Engadget, Amazon said, “We’ve reviewed the letter and strongly disagree with Senator Sanders’ assertions,” while adding that it has extended an invitation for the Senator to tour one of its facilities.
Sanders’ nearly 2,400-word letter takes the retailer to task for reported injuries and unsafe practices at its warehouses. “The company’s quest for profits at all costs has led to unsafe physical environments, intense pressure to work at unsustainable rates, and inadequate medical attention for tens of thousands of Amazon workers every year,” Sanders wrote. “At every turn — from warehouse design and workstation setup, to pace of work requirements, to medical care for injuries and subsequent pressure to return to work — Amazon makes decisions that actively harm workers in the name of its bottom line.”
The letter contrasts Amazon’s history of warehouse injuries and safety complaints with its $1.3 trillion market value, founder Jeff Bezos’ net worth of nearly $150 billion and Jassy’s $289 million in compensation over the last two years. It cites figures from the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), a coalition of North American labor unions, that paint the company’s patterns as “uniquely dangerous.” “In 2022 alone, Amazon warehouse workers suffered nearly 39,000 injuries, 95 percent of which were so serious that they required workers to either lose time at work or switch to modified duty,” Sanders wrote. “Amazon’s rate of serious injuries at its warehouses, at 6.6 injuries per 100 workers, was more than double the rate at non-Amazon warehouses. And despite constituting only a little more than a third of the warehouse workers in the country, Amazon workers suffered more serious injuries than all of the other warehouse workers in the United States combined.”
In an email to Engadget, Amazon disputed SOC’s data. “There will always be ways for our critics to splice data to suit their narrative, but the fact is, we’ve made progress and our numbers clearly show it. Since 2019, we’ve reduced our rate of recordable injuries across our global network by more than 23%, and we’ve reduced our Lost Time Incident Rate by 53%. This is easily verifiable by examining the data we report to OSHA.” In addition, the company highlighted a report detailing its “meaningful and measurable progress,” while pointing us to a blog post regarding its efforts to help combat the effects of summer heat.
Sanders’ letter asks Jassy to explain why Amazon’s injury rates are “significantly higher than the warehouse industry average” despite regulators repeatedly identifying measures Amazon could take to improve safety. It also asks the company to address why Amazon’s claims of robotics improving safety don’t align with data that says its robotic facilities have 28 percent higher injury rates than non-robotic ones. Finally, it asks for communications about a connection between workers’ pace of work and the prevalence of injuries.
In addition to his letter, the Senator created a website for current and former Amazon workers to submit stories about their experiences with the company. Sanders asked Jassy to respond by July 5th.
This is far from the first complaint about Amazon’s safety practices. A company warehouse collapsed in December 2021, spurring Congressional action that described Amazon’s response as “disappointing” and part of a “wholly inadequate safety culture.” In response to the collapse, Amazon tweaked its severe-weather strategy but refused to build storm shelters at its warehouses. In addition, federal prosecutors and the US Department of Labor announced an investigation last year over the company’s workplace conditions — a move that included OSHA inspections. In April, the SOC said Amazon was responsible for 53 percent of all severe warehouse injuries in the US despite employing around one-third of the country’s warehouse workers.
“When faced with worker injuries, Amazon provides minimal medical care while hiding those injuries from regulators and workers’ compensation programs,” said Sanders. “This system forces workers to endure immeasurable long-term pain and disabilities while Amazon makes incredible profits from their labor. That cannot be allowed to continue.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/us-senate-is-the-latest-to-look-into-amazons-warehouse-safety-practices-200029313.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – US Senate is the latest to look into Amazon’s warehouse safety practices
OBS Studio 29.1.3 improves the Source Record plug-in as well as the AMF encoder’s reconfiguration and dynamic bitrate. Learn more here.
The post OBS Studio 29.1.3 Improves Source Record Plug-In, AMF Encoder appeared first on Linux Today.
Source: Linux Today – OBS Studio 29.1.3 Improves Source Record Plug-In, AMF Encoder
Taking a short nap during the day may help to protect the brain’s health as it ages, researchers have suggested after finding that the practice appears to be associated with larger brain volume. From a report: While previous research has suggested long naps could be an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease, other work has revealed that a brief doze can improve people’s ability to learn. Now researchers say they have found evidence to suggest napping may help to protect against brain shrinkage. That is of interest, the team say, as brain shrinkage, a process that occurs with age, is accelerated in people with cognitive problems and neurodegenerative diseases, with some research suggesting this may be related to sleep problems.
“In line with these studies, we found an association between habitual daytime napping and larger total brain volume, which could suggest that napping regularly provides some protection against neurodegeneration through compensating for poor sleep,” the researchers note. Writing in the journal Sleep Health, researchers at UCL and the University of the Republic in Uruguay report how they drew on data from the UK Biobank study that has collated genetic, lifestyle and health information from 500,000 people aged 40 to 69 at recruitment. The team used data from 35,080 Biobank participants to look at whether a combination of genetic variants that have previously been associated with self-reported habitual daytime napping are also linked to brain volume, cognition and other aspects of brain health.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Short Daytime Naps May Keep Brain Healthy as It Ages, Study Says
Your tech tools are great for managing your day, but nothing really beats writing things down in an old-fashioned planner. Writing manually helps you remember more, for instance, and there’s something fulfilling about putting a big X through tasks you’ve completed. Different planners do different things, so as you…
Source: LifeHacker – Five of the Best Day Planners for Any Need
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | numbeos)
Internet service providers in both the US and Europe are clamoring for new payments from Big Tech firms.
European broadband providers are much closer to realizing the long-held goal of payments from tech companies, as the European Union government is holding an official consultation on the proposal. As the EU process unfolds, the telco lobby group USTelecom is hoping to push the US down a similar but not quite identical path.
In a blog post on Friday, USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter argued that the biggest technology companies should contribute toward a fund that subsidizes the building of broadband networks. Spalter wrote that Amazon and similar Internet companies should fill what he called a “conspicuously empty seat at the collective table of global high-speed connectivity.”
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Source: Ars Technica – ISPs say US should force Big Tech firms to pay for broadband construction
Roblox has traditionally been most popular among kids and pre-teens, despite it claiming to be a “platform for all ages.” Now, in a departure from its family-friendly reputation, the company says it will allow creators to make content specifically for users 17 and older. This isn’t an insignificant portion of Roblox’s user base either – the platform said in its press release Tuesday that in 2022, 38 percent of its daily active users were over 17.
In particular, Roblox says that creators will be able to “feature more mature themes and storylines in TV shows and stand-up comedy.” According to the company, this may include violence, blood, crude humor, romantic themes and alcohol. Players may see “unplayable” gambling content as well, though it is not immediately clear what that would entail. We have asked Robox to clarify.
To access this content you’ll need to verify your age by uploading a photo of your driver’s license or ID along with a selfie to verify that you are who you say you are. Roblox says that this system will provide “greater confidence in people’s age and identity,” and that more age verification methods may be added in the future.
Eligible creators can start making these experiences starting today. These experiences will start rolling out to “eligible” users in the coming weeks. Roblox says that its goal is to provide a safe and engaging experience for people ages 17 or older. The company isn’t being specific on what qualifies as an “eligible” creator or user. We’ve reached out to Roblox for comment and will update this story if we’ve heard back.
Roblox has traditionally marketed itself to younger audiences. For example, earlier this year, the company partnered with Razer to release kid-specific Roblox Edition gaming gear. But with a little over a third of that user base being over the age of 17, it makes sense that the company wants to provide more content geared toward adults.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/roblox-now-allows-creators-to-build-content-for-people-17-and-older-195024163.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – Roblox now allows creators to build content for people 17 and older
Although satnavs and smartphones with GPS have made work easier for pizza delivery drivers, Domino’s wants to make sure they’re earning their minimum wage with a new app feature allowing pizzas to be ordered from almost anywhere customers can get a GPS signal, and no longer just specific addresses.
Source: Gizmodo – Work Is Going to Get a Lot Harder for Domino’s Drivers, Who Now Have to Deliver to GPS Pin Drops
