Comment Re:AI? (Score 1) 3
It pretty obviously is AI.
Submission + - Work-from-office mandate? Expect top talent turnover, culture rot (cio.com)
snydeq writes: Work-from-office mandates are accelerating but the push toward in-person work environments will make it more difficult for IT leaders to retain and recruit staff, some experts say. Over the past year, many companies, including IT giants Amazon and Microsoft, have required employees to work from the office. Advocates of in-person work expect increased productivity and improved collaboration, although several studies suggest that workers can be just as productive when working remotely, and employment experts say collaboration gains can be difficult to measure. Organizations requiring IT workers to commute to an office need to ground decisions in value creation, focus on data-driven results, and avoid badge-swipe metrics, employment experts say. “In addition to resistance, there would also be the risk of talent turnover,” Converge CTO Lawrence Wolfe says. “The truth is, both physical and virtual collaboration provide tremendous value.”
Comment Re: Price too low = no supply (Score 1) 309
You absolutely can rent a car or stay at a hotel without a credit card. There are companies in both businesses that will happily put holds on a debit card. My phone company gives me a credit for paying my bill with a debit card instead of a credit card.
True, it's more convenient to use a credit card, but lack of convenience doesn't mean it's impossible to function without one.
Submission + - FCC Approves 7,500 More Starlink Gen2 Satellites (broadbandbreakfast.com)
schwit1 writes:
The Federal Communications Commission on Friday approved SpaceX’s request to launch an additional 7,500 of its Starlink Gen2 satellites, bringing the total allowed Gen2 constellation to 15,000. The agency also granted the company’s request to operate in additional spectrum bands and to operate at higher power in other bands between 10.7-30 GigaHertz (GHz), pending the completion of an existing FCC rulemaking where the question is being considered.
The order also allows SpaceX satellites to use lower orbits, down to 340 kilometers, and provide direct-to-cell service. The company is seeking approval for a separate 15,000-satellite constellation that would provide upgraded direct-to-cell service using spectrum it’s purchasing from EchoStar.
The article notes that under the Trump administration has also revamped the FCC’s grant program, that under Biden canceled an $886 million grant, claiming absurdly that Starlink did not provide service to rural areas. Under the new program “SpaceX is set to serve the most locations of any ISP under the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program after new Trump administration rules that made it easier for satellite providers to compete for funding.”
Submission + - Firefox Will Ship with an "AI Kill Switch" to Completely Disable all AI Features (9to5linux.com) 2
An anonymous reader writes: From a report on 9to5Linux.com:
"On Tuesday, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo was named the new CEO of Mozilla Corporation, the company behind the beloved Firefox web browser used by almost all GNU/Linux distributions as the default browser."
"In his message as new CEO, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo stated that Firefox will grow from a browser into a broader ecosystem of trusted software while remaining the company’s anchor, and that Firefox will evolve into a modern AI browser and support a portfolio of new and trusted software additions."
"What was not made clear is that Firefox will also ship with an AI kill switch that will let users completely disable all the AI features that are included in Firefox. Mozilla shared this important update earlier today to make it clear to everyone that Firefox will still be a trusted web browser."
"On Tuesday, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo was named the new CEO of Mozilla Corporation, the company behind the beloved Firefox web browser used by almost all GNU/Linux distributions as the default browser."
"In his message as new CEO, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo stated that Firefox will grow from a browser into a broader ecosystem of trusted software while remaining the company’s anchor, and that Firefox will evolve into a modern AI browser and support a portfolio of new and trusted software additions."
"What was not made clear is that Firefox will also ship with an AI kill switch that will let users completely disable all the AI features that are included in Firefox. Mozilla shared this important update earlier today to make it clear to everyone that Firefox will still be a trusted web browser."
Comment Re:It is football season (Score 1) 21
Not certain about the NFL service, but MLB.tv blacks out the local teams' games, I think to keep the local affiliates happy. So for example, if you live in NY and want to watch the Yankees or the Mets, you're out of luck when it comes to the streaming service.
I wouldn't be surprised if the NFL streaming service is the same.
Submission + - The UK's Ministry of Truth 4th attempt to go after 4chan (prestonbyrne.com) 2
sinij writes:
The United Kingdom's Ofcom has sent yet another threatening letter to 4chan (a US company). After 4chan refused to pay fines to a foreign government, the United Kingdom says they are "expanding the scope of the investigation into 4chan".
Australia, UK, Germany are all working in different ways to undermine one of the core principles of Western Civilization — the right of free speech.
Submission + - Parents say school-issued iPads are causing chaos with their kids (nbcnews.com)
schwit1 writes: A growing contingent of public school parents say school-mandated iPads, particularly in elementary and middle schools, are leading to behavior problems.
Submission + - European Union May Not Ban Combustion Cars After All (caranddriver.com)
sinij writes:
The European Union's plan to ban new combustion cars starting in 2035 may be over before it has a chance to go into effect, if Germany's leader has anything to say about it.
2035 target was simply infeasible with current technology. While some promising new developments, like solid state batteries, are being worked on, they are not yet ready for mass production.
Submission + - Why meetings can harm employee well-being (phys.org) 1
alternative_right writes: On average, managers spend 23 hours a week in meetings. Much of what happens in them is considered to be of low value, or even entirely counterproductive. The paradox is that bad meetings generate even more meetings in an attempt to repair the damage caused by previous ones.
A 2015 handbook laid the groundwork for the nascent field of "Meeting Science". Among other things, the research revealed that the real issue may not be the number of meetings, but rather how they are designed, the lack of clarity about their purpose, and the inequalities they (often unconsciously) reinforce.
Faced with what we call meeting madness, the solution is not to eliminate meetings altogether, but to design them better. It begins with a simple but often forgotten question: why are we meeting?
A 2015 handbook laid the groundwork for the nascent field of "Meeting Science". Among other things, the research revealed that the real issue may not be the number of meetings, but rather how they are designed, the lack of clarity about their purpose, and the inequalities they (often unconsciously) reinforce.
Faced with what we call meeting madness, the solution is not to eliminate meetings altogether, but to design them better. It begins with a simple but often forgotten question: why are we meeting?
Submission + - UK to remove right to trial by jury for most charges (theguardian.com)
DesScorp writes: The UK Ministry of Justice will move to eliminate the right to trial by jury for all but the most serious charges in a controversial overhaul of the British court system:
Criminals will be stopped from “gaming the system” by choosing trial by jury in order to increase the chances of proceedings collapsing, the courts minister has said, promising to enact radical changes to limit jury trials by the next election. Drug dealers and career criminals were “laughing in the dock” knowing cases can take years to come to trial, Sarah Sackman said, while warning that inaction would be a road to “chaos and ruin”. Ministers will legislate to remove the right to trial by jury for thousands of cases in one of the biggest and most controversial overhauls of the justice system in England and Wales in generations – promising the changes will significantly shrink the court backlog by 2029. The Ministry of Justice is braced for a backlash from barristers and the judiciary as it presses ahead with the measures to tackle a backlog of nearly 80,000 cases, which will create a proposed new judge-only division of the crown court to hear some cases. Sackman said the “stakes are incredibly high” as she prepared to announce early next month that vast numbers of cases will now be heard by judges and magistrates rather than juries, a response to recommendations in a review by Sir Brian Leveson.
Comment Re: Japan's high speed trains (Score 1) 222
And you think that would be any different at a HSR station? For the exact reasons to previous poster mentioned, you would still need to show up 2 hours early.
Who's really being disingenuous here?
Submission + - Google will leave open the option to sideload apps on Android (googleblog.com)
Artem S. Tashkinov writes: A few months ago, Google proposed that every Android developer, including those distributing apps outside the Google Play Store, such as popular third-party stores like F-Droid, must verify their identity to have their apps installable on "certified Android devices," starting circa 2026 in countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. This triggered strong push-back from indie developers and open-source advocates, who saw it as a shift toward a more closed ecosystem, raising fears that sideloading would be free in name only and making Android essentially an iOS clone.
In response, Google clarified in its November 2025 blog post that while verification is moving forward, there will be lighter-weight paths for students and hobbyists, and an "advanced flow" for power users to install unverified apps with full warning of the risks, essentially backtracking on its initial proposal.
In response, Google clarified in its November 2025 blog post that while verification is moving forward, there will be lighter-weight paths for students and hobbyists, and an "advanced flow" for power users to install unverified apps with full warning of the risks, essentially backtracking on its initial proposal.
Submission + - Student handcuffed by police after AI 'mistakes bag of Doritos for gun' (independent.co.uk)
Bruce66423 writes: 'Taki Allen was approached by armed officers at Kenwood High School following football practice, who ordered him to the ground and cuffed him before realising he had no weapon.
'The school's Omnilert AI gun detection system, which uses cameras to identify potential weapons, generated an alert that was then forwarded to the school resource officer and police.
'While the student's family and local officials have expressed concern and called for a review of the system, the school superintendent defended its operation, stating it "did what it was supposed to do".
'This incident follows a previous failure of the Omnilert system in January, where it did not detect a gun used in a fatal shooting at a Nashville high school due to camera proximity issues.'
A false positive follows a catastrophic false negative. The price we pay for safety? How big a price should we pay?
'The school's Omnilert AI gun detection system, which uses cameras to identify potential weapons, generated an alert that was then forwarded to the school resource officer and police.
'While the student's family and local officials have expressed concern and called for a review of the system, the school superintendent defended its operation, stating it "did what it was supposed to do".
'This incident follows a previous failure of the Omnilert system in January, where it did not detect a gun used in a fatal shooting at a Nashville high school due to camera proximity issues.'
A false positive follows a catastrophic false negative. The price we pay for safety? How big a price should we pay?
Submission + - CCP GOTION DEAD: Whitmer-funded Chinese battery maker pulls plug on project (themidwesterner.news)
schwit1 writes: While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Michigan Economic Development Corporation contends it’s “not the outcome we hoped for,” residents in Mecosta County are celebrating its decision to nix $715 million in taxpayer-funded incentives for Gotion.
MEDC officials on Thursday notified lawmakers that the company with strong ties to the Chinese Communist Party is in breach of its economic development contract, which was negotiated in secret by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration and select lawmakers just three years ago.
“It’s about damn time,” Marjorie Steele, founder of the Economic Development Responsibility Alliance that opposed Gotion’s planned $2.4 billion EV battery plant, told Bridge Michigan. “What the MEDC tried to pull here in Big Rapids was just so egregious.”
Whitmer claimed in 2022 that the agreement, which included $715 million in taxpayer-funded incentives and tax breaks, would fuel “the biggest ever economic development project in Northern Michigan” and create “2,350 good-paying jobs in Big Rapids.”
MEDC officials on Thursday notified lawmakers that the company with strong ties to the Chinese Communist Party is in breach of its economic development contract, which was negotiated in secret by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration and select lawmakers just three years ago.
“It’s about damn time,” Marjorie Steele, founder of the Economic Development Responsibility Alliance that opposed Gotion’s planned $2.4 billion EV battery plant, told Bridge Michigan. “What the MEDC tried to pull here in Big Rapids was just so egregious.”
Whitmer claimed in 2022 that the agreement, which included $715 million in taxpayer-funded incentives and tax breaks, would fuel “the biggest ever economic development project in Northern Michigan” and create “2,350 good-paying jobs in Big Rapids.”
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