Latest News

Last updated 21 Apr, 10:18 AM

BBC News

Unemployment rate unexpectedly falls as fewer students look for work - The drop has been largely driven by a rise in the number of people not actively seeking work.

Petrol thefts surge as Iran war pushes up fuel costs - One petrol retailer says he is experiencing about five drive-offs a week at each forecourt, costing him thousands.

Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed - The "landmark" legislation aims to stop anyone born after 1 January 2009 from taking up smoking to create a smoke-free generation.

Boy, 17, charged with Kenton synagogue arson - A bottle containing a type of accelerant was thrown through the window of the synagogue.

Apple names new boss to replace Tim Cook after 15 years - Ternus will take over running the technology giant in September as Cook steps up to become executive chairman.

The Register

England's school phone ban gets teeth, just in time to bite no one - 90% of schools already compliant, but at least now there's paperwork Ministers are moving to turn England's patchwork of school phone bans into law, after peers backed fresh changes to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill in a Monday vote.…

Task Manager's CPU meter is an obituary for the recent past, says the engineer who built it - Spoiler: There's no magic value. Just a timer, some kernel calls, and too much coffee Windows has always had a built-in portal to the very recent past: Task Manager's CPU usage meter.…

Adaptavist Group breach spawns imposter emails as ransomware crew claims mega-haul - Fake emails already doing the rounds as ransomware crew boasts about what it allegedly stole UK enterprise software consultancy The Adaptavist Group is investigating a security breach after an intruder logged in with stolen credentials, while a ransomware crew claims it grabbed far more than the company is currently admitting.…

Panasonic creates device-locked QR codes to speed facial biometric capture - Admins are tired of taking photos, so this enables secure on-site unattended enrolment Japanese industrial giant Panasonic has created a new form of QR code it says will only work on designated devices and environments.…

Iran claims US used backdoors to knock out networking equipment during war - And China is loving it Iranian media is claiming that the US used backdoors and/or botnets to disable networking equipment during the current war, and Chinese state media is dining out on the allegations.…

New Scientist - Home

Diamonds are surprisingly elastic when you make them tiny - Experiment with nanodiamonds reveals that they are less rigid than other diamonds, adding to our understanding of how they could be used in new technologies

Can we ‘vaccinate’ ourselves against stress? - A traditional vaccine primes the immune system to build better defences. Researchers think we can do something similar to increase our resilience to the pressures and worries of life

Parrot uses his broken beak to become a dominant male - An injured kea with just half a beak has used what's left as a weapon that gives him dominance over a captive colony of the birds

Can you determine your personalised stress score? - “I’m stressed” is a phrase that many of us use, but now there are ways to shed light on how stressed you actually are

The biggest threat to Chernobyl is no longer radiation - Forty years after the world’s biggest nuclear disaster, the safety of Chernobyl hangs in the balance – though not because of the radiation risk

Hacker News

John Ternus to become Apple CEO - Comments

Anthropic says OpenClaw-style Claude CLI usage is allowed again - Comments

Louis Zocchi, inventor of the d100, has died - Comments

MNT Reform is an open hardware laptop, designed and assembled in Germany - Comments

The Beauty of Bonsai Styles - Comments

Slashdot

iPhone Video Shows 'Earthset' From Space - NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman posted an out-of-this-world iPhone video on Sunday, showing Earth disappear behind the Moon at 8x zoom. "I could barely see the Moon through the docking hatch window but the iPhone was the perfect size to catch the view," said Wiseman, noting that this video is "uncropped, uncut with 8x zoom" and "quite comparable to the view of the human eye." The New York Times says the video marks the first time an "Earthset" has been captured on video. "We've seen our fair share of remarkable images and videos from NASA's Artemis II mission around the Moon. Some of those were even captured on iPhone," notes 9to5Mac. "But Reid Wiseman, astronaut and commander for the Artemis II mission, just posted a new video that might take the crown for the most impressive yet." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

PlayStation To Require Age Verification For Messages and Voice Chat - A new email from Sony says that PlayStation will require players to verify their age later this year to keep using communication features like messages and voice chat. Insider-Gaming reports: The initiative comes from the goal of providing "safe, age-appropriate experiences for players and families while respecting their privacy" and providing "meaningful control over their gaming experiences." The age-verification process will be implemented globally, and players will need to verify their age to continue using PlayStation communication services, such as messages and voice chat. If the player opts not to verify their age, they can still use other services, such as games, trophies, and the store. Only the communication experience will be affected if you choose not to verify your age. PlayStation didn't provide a date for when players will need to begin the verification process. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Mobile Phones To Be Banned In Schools In England Under New Plans - An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: A ban on mobile phones in schools in England is to be introduced by the government to ensure that "critical safeguarding legislation" is passed. The government will table an amendment to the children's wellbeing and schools bill in the House of Lords after the bill was held up by peers on opposition benches. It will make existing guidance on mobile phone bans in schools statutory, a move that ministers have resisted until now. The government had consistently argued that the vast majority of schools had already banned mobile phones, and that there was no need to add a legal requirement. They finally capitulated, however, describing it as "a pragmatic measure" to get the bill through. [...] The bill is regarded by many as the biggest piece of child protection legislation in decades and includes proposals for a compulsory register for children who are not in school, a crackdown on profiteering in children's social care, and a "single unique identifier" to help agencies track a child's welfare. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple CEO Tim Cook Is Stepping Down - Apple announced that Tim Cook will step down as CEO in September after 15 years in the role, handing the job to hardware chief John Ternus. Longtime Slashdot reader sinij shares the news from MarketWatch: Cook leaves an impressive legacy after growing the company to a $4 trillion market capitalization from just $300 billion 15 years ago. Over Cook's 15-year tenure as CEO, Apple's stock has risen 1,932%, beating the S&P 500's 504% increase, according to Dow Jones Market Data. That places Apple's stock as the 38th best-performing member of the index over that period of time. Cook had big shoes to fill, replacing Apple's iconic founder, Steve Jobs, as CEO. Cook's successor, John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, will need to guide Apple's through uncharted waters as the company navigates its artificial-intelligence transition and supply-chain constraints. Cook will remain at Apple as executive chairman. "It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company. I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the best products and services in the world," said Cook. "John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor. He is a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous to count, and he is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future. I could not be more confident in his abilities and his character, and I look forward to working closely with him on this transition and in my new role as executive chairman." As for Ternus' replacement, the role of Chief Hardware Officer will be awarded to Apple executive Johny Srouji. "Srouji, who most recently served as senior vice president of Hardware Technologies, will assume an expanded role leading Hardware Engineering, which John Ternus most recently oversaw, as well as the hardware technologies organization," said Apple in a press release. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Former Palantir Employee Running For Congress Unveils 'AI Dividend' Plan - Alex Bores, a former Palantir employee and current Democratic House candidate in New York, is proposing an "AI dividend" that would send direct payments to Americans if AI drives major job losses. "At its core, the AI Dividend is simple: if AI dramatically increases productivity and concentrates wealth, the American people have a stake in those gains," a memo on the policy reads. Axios reports: The dividend would fund direct payments to Americans. It would also be invested into workforce training and education, as well as government capacity to "govern AI safely and fund independent oversight," per the plan memo. "You don't take out fire insurance because you expect your house to burn down -- you have insurance in case something goes awry," Bores told Axios in an interview. "Here we have, for the first time, a technology where the makers of the technology are explicitly saying that their goal is to replace all human labor." "The fact that they've put it out there means government needs to take it seriously." [...] The proposal would be funded through: - A token tax, described in the memo as a "modest tax on AI consumption" - Equity participation in frontier AI firms - Changes to the tax code that would reduce incentives to invest in AI "when it leads to less work" "If [AI companies] they can support this plan, that would show that they actually believe in what they're putting out there," Bores said. "If they're not doing it, then I think it shows that they're really putting window dressing out there." Further reading: Palantir Posts Bond Villain Manifesto On X Read more of this story at Slashdot.