Just another news site
Was wäre, wenn wir in Deutschland und Westeuropa ein gemeinsames europäisches Haus erreichtet hätten. Und welche Rolle das Zerrbild der Medien spielt. (Teil 2 und Schluss)
Universal masking prevents some school outbreaks and lowers case rates.
Enlarge / A second-grade teacher talks to her class during the first day of school at Tustin Ranch Elementary School in Tustin, CA on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. (credit: Getty | Paul Bersebach)
Schools with universal masking were 3.5 times less likely to have a COVID-19 outbreak and saw rates of child COVID-19 cases 50 percent lower in their counties compared with schools without mask requirements. That's according to two new studies published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new data lands as masks continue to be a political and social flash point in the US. And children—many of whom are still ineligible for vaccination—have headed back into classrooms.
In one of the newly published studies, health researchers in Arizona looked at schools with and without mask policies in Maricopa and Pima Counties. Together, the counties account for more than 75 percent of the state's population. The researchers identified 210 schools that had universal masking requirements from the start of their school years. They compared those to 480 schools that had no mask requirements throughout the study period, which ran from July 15 to August 30.
Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments
The academic community platform ResearchGate has removed 200,000 files in response to a wave of copyright complaints from publishers ACS and Elsevier. The takedowns go against ResearchGate’s open-access philosophy but, legally, it saw no other option than to comply.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
One of the core pillars of academic research is sharing. By letting other researchers know what you do, ideas are criticized, improved upon, and extended.
Unfortunately, it’s not always easy for academics to share their work. Most of the top publications are monetized by major publishers, which means that they are locked behind a paywall.
To make their work easier to access, many researchers place copies of their work on their personal profiles, often hosted by their university. There are also more organized ways to share research, by using ResearchGate for example.
Based in Germany, ResearchGate promotes itself as a professional network for scientists and researchers. The site claims 20 million members, who use the platform to “share, discover, and discuss research.”
In addition to simply connecting to other academics, the site also allows members to share ‘their’ publications. While many see this as a great feature, some academic publishers are not pleased with this activity.
Researchers often share articles they have written themselves but they don’t necessarily own the rights. This is because most of the top publications ask the authors to sign away all of their copyrights if they want their papers to be published.
This is also true for Elsevier and the American Chemical Society (ACS), which overloaded ResearchGate with takedown requests recently. The site is certainly not a newcomer when it comes to copyright infringement complaints but the scope of the most recent takedown wave is something different.
“[T]he demands by Elsevier and ACS resulted in the removal of around 200,000 public files. In the context of a community of over 20 million researchers this is unfortunate, rather than existential, but it has sparked an acute reaction from many of our members who believe in the importance of open science,” ResearchGate writes.
The platform’s ultimate mission is to make research “open to all.” Therefore, ResearchGate is disappointed to see all of this knowledge being removed from the site. However, it saw no other option than to comply.
The publishers will have the law on their site in most cases. However, ResearchGate doesn’t believe that the takedowns are in the best interest of science. It would have preferred to cooperate instead.
“The decision by Elsevier and ACS to simply remove content is disappointing to the entire research community, not just because of the loss to science and researchers, but because there is a better way.”
ResearchGate has already partnered with other publishers such as Springer Nature and Wiley, who use the site’s network to reach a broader audience. These companies publish their content on the platform as part of a syndication agreement.
Many academics and researchers are disappointed that their work has been removed over copyright claims and some are plain angry. However, ResearchGate’s hands are tied.
Interestingly, the platform also heard from researchers who had content removed that should have remained online. Because the rights were already bought out, for example, or when files are in the public domain.
Some researchers even said that they never transferred their copyrights to the publishers, which would mean that they have no say over the matter. ResearchGate can’t independently verify these claims but the organization sees them as a serious concern.
The present legal environment forces ResearchGate to simply take content offline. And enforcement is only expected to get stricter, as the platform is implementing an upload filter system, to prevent researchers from sharing content they don’t own the rights to. This can include their own publications.
In closing, ResearchGate urges its users not to upload content without permission or in violation of licensing terms. At the same time, the platform hopes that publishers will recognize the potential of the site and seek collaboration where possible.
“To all publishers: the future of academic publishing is open. Let’s work together to unlock its true potential,” ResearchGate writes.
This isn’t the first time that ResearchGate has squared off with major publishers. The company was also sued by Elsevier and ACS three years ago and this case remains ongoing. It’s possible that the recent takedown spree is, at least indirectly, linked to that lawsuit.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
Bitcoin is breathing new life into another ailing power plant.
Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty)
Bitcoin’s massive power consumption is the cryptocurrency’s dirty secret. To mine bitcoin, computers across the globe chew through enough electricity to power a medium size country, somewhere on the order of the Netherlands or Poland depending on the estimate.
In fact, electricity has become such a significant factor that one private equity firm bought an entire power plant to mine bitcoin. The company, Greenidge Generation, said at one point that they could mine one bitcoin for less than $3,000. Even today—at $40,000 per bitcoin, some 30 percent off its peak—the potential for profit is real.
Which is why an investor-owned utility has dropped a containerized data center outside a coal-fired power plant 10 miles north of St. Louis. Ameren, the utility, was struggling to keep the 1,099 MW power plant running profitably when wholesale electricity prices dropped. But it wasn’t well suited to running only when demand was high, so-called peaker duty. Instead, they’re experimenting with running it full-time and using the excess electricity to mine bitcoin.
Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Bitcoin is breathing new life into another ailing power plant.
Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty)
Bitcoin’s massive power consumption is the cryptocurrency’s dirty secret. To mine bitcoin, computers across the globe chew through enough electricity to power a medium size country, somewhere on the order of the Netherlands or Poland depending on the estimate.
In fact, electricity has become such a significant factor that one private equity firm bought an entire power plant to mine bitcoin. The company, Greenidge Generation, said at one point that they could mine one bitcoin for less than $3,000. Even today—at $40,000 per bitcoin, some 30 percent off its peak—the potential for profit is real.
Which is why an investor-owned utility has dropped a containerized data center outside a coal-fired power plant 10 miles north of St. Louis. Ameren, the utility, was struggling to keep the 1,099 MW power plant running profitably when wholesale electricity prices dropped. But it wasn’t well suited to running only when demand was high, so-called peaker duty. Instead, they’re experimenting with running it full-time and using the excess electricity to mine bitcoin.
Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments
The new laptops are still expected to launch by the end of the year.
Enlarge / The 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro. (credit: Samuel Axon)
The seventh beta of macOS Monterey contains what appear to be references to new screen resolutions suitable for the MacBook Pro line, as discovered by MacRumors.
In a list of supported graphics resolutions within macOS, there are two new resolutions: 3,456 by 2,234 and 3,024 by 1,964. Each carries a "Retina" marker, which Apple typically only applies to its own devices' screens.
The aspect ratio for these new resolutions is very close to the current aspect ratios on the MacBook Pro computers sold today, but they're lower than what we currently see in the iMac line, suggesting that they aren't for Apple's desktops. Further, the numbers fit nicely with a move to true 2x Retina, as opposed to the scaling approach presently used for Retina displays.
Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments
The new laptops are still expected to launch by the end of the year.
Enlarge / The 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro. (credit: Samuel Axon)
The seventh beta of macOS Monterey contains what appear to be references to new screen resolutions suitable for the MacBook Pro line, as discovered by MacRumors.
In a list of supported graphics resolutions within macOS, there are two new resolutions: 3,456 by 2,234 and 3,024 by 1,964. Each carries a "Retina" marker, which Apple typically only applies to its own devices' screens.
The aspect ratio for these new resolutions is very close to the current aspect ratios on the MacBook Pro computers sold today, but they're lower than what we currently see in the iMac line, suggesting that they aren't for Apple's desktops. Further, the numbers fit nicely with a move to true 2x Retina, as opposed to the scaling approach presently used for Retina displays.
Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Public disclosure comes in wake of other grumblings about Apple’s bug bounty behavior.
Enlarge / Pseudonymous researcher illusionofchaos joins a growing legion of security researchers frustrated with Apple's slow response and inconsistent policy adherence when it comes to security flaws. (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)
Yesterday, a security researcher who goes by illusionofchaos dropped public notice of three zero-day vulnerabilities in Apple's iOS mobile operating system. The vulnerability disclosures are mixed in with the researcher's frustration with Apple's Security Bounty program, which illusionofchaos says chose to cover up an earlier-reported bug without giving them credit.
This researcher is by no means the first to publicly express their frustration with Apple over its security bounty program.
illusionofchaos says that they've reported four iOS security vulnerabilities this year—the three zero-days they publicly disclosed yesterday plus an earlier bug that they say Apple fixed in iOS 14.7. It appears that their frustration largely comes from how Apple handled that first, now-fixed bug in analyticsd.
Read 15 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Amazon is holding an event on September 28, 2021 when the company is expected to announce new hardware including updates to its Echo line of smart speakers and displays. According to a new report from Bloomberg, some of those devices could be a 15 inch smart display designed to be mounted to a wall and/or […]
The post Lilbits: Amazon’s Echo plans leaked, SiFive HiFive RISC-V dev board benchmarked, and more appeared first on Liliputing.
Amazon is holding an event on September 28, 2021 when the company is expected to announce new hardware including updates to its Echo line of smart speakers and displays. According to a new report from Bloomberg, some of those devices could be a 15 inch smart display designed to be mounted to a wall and/or a TV sound bar with built-in support for the Alexa voice assistant. Those are just two of the new products Amazon is said to be developing, although it’s unclear if everything mentioned in the Bloomberg report will be officially announced as soon as next week.
In other recent tech news from around the web, Phoronix has run some benchmarks on SiFive’s new HiFive Unmatched RISC-V computer/dev board and found that while it’s a promising platform, it’s also not nearly as fast as an ARM-based Raspberry Pi, Google has revealed plans to bring the Linux kernel used for Android closer to the upstream Linux kernel, and Nintendo plans to bring Nintendo64 and Sega titles to its Switch Online service soon.
Amazon is allegedly developing an Alexa device with a 15 inch display designed for wall-mounting, an Alexa sound bar for TVs, and a 2nd-gen Echo Auto for cars. Alexa could also be built into some car systems. Some new devices could be announced next week.
The SiFive HiFive Unmatched is one of the most powerful RISC-V dev boards/single-board PCs available to date. But RISC-V is still in its infancy. Initial Linux benchmarks show that a $70 Raspberry Pi 400 runs circles around the $700 HiFive Unmatched.
Google’s Android operating system uses a Linux kernel, but it’s usually forked first by Google and then by device makers, which makes applying bug fixes and updates a headache. But Google is working to bring it closer to the upstream Linux kernel.
Ubuntu 21.10 Beta Impish Indri is now available for download ahead of an October launch. It includes Linux kernel 5.13, a customized GNOME 40.2 desktop environment, a new desktop installer, and updated packages for things like Firefox, LibreOffice, etc.
Update: GPD has provided some specs for the upcoming Pocket 3 handheld PC. Expect an 8 inch display, Pentium N6000 and Core i7-1195G7 processor options, 16GB RAM, and up to 1TB of NVMe storage.
Nintendo Switch Online is getting an “Expansion Pack” offering that will bring N64 and Sega games to the console. Nintendo will also sell $50 N64 and Sega Genesis-style controllers for the Switch to Switch Online subscribers.
Relive the glory days with authentic Nintendo 64 and SEGA Genesis wireless controllers. Both will be available for purchase for $49.99 each to any #NintendoSwitchOnline members. Stay tuned for more information to come. pic.twitter.com/MENafDLLRs
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 23, 2021
Keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter and Facebook and follow @LinuxSmartphone on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news on open source mobile phones.
The post Lilbits: Amazon’s Echo plans leaked, SiFive HiFive RISC-V dev board benchmarked, and more appeared first on Liliputing.
How much you like the series may depend on whether you’re a stickler for staying faithful to the source material.
Jared Harris stars as visionary mathematician Hari Seldon. [credit: Apple TV+ ]
Isaac Asimov's hugely influential Foundation series of science fiction novels is notoriously difficult to adapt to the screen. The author himself admitted that he wrote strictly for the printed page, and he always refused invitations to adapt his work for film or TV. But Asimov was more than happy to let others adapt his work to a new medium, and he was wise enough to expect that there would—and should—be significant departures from the print version.
That's just what showrunner David S. Goyer (Dark Knight trilogy, Da Vinci's Demons) has done with Foundation, Apple TV+'s visually stunning, eminently bingeable new series. Goyer describes it as more of a remix than a direct adaptation, and to my taste, it is a smashing success in storytelling. This series respects Asimov's sweeping visionary ideas without lapsing into slavish reverence and over-pontification. That said, how much you like Goyer's vision might depend on how much of a stickler you are about remaining faithful to the source material.
(Some spoilers below, but no major reveals.)
Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.