Day: February 22, 2020

Did ‘The SImpsons’ Accurately Portray STEM Education and the Gig Economy?

Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes: On Sunday, The Simpsons aired The Miseducation Of Lisa Simpson, an episode in which Marge — with the help of a song from John Legend (“STEM, it’s not just for dorks, dweebs and nerds / It’ll turn all your dumb kids to Zuckerbergs”) — convinces Springfield to use a windfall…


Czinger 21C shoots for supercar glory – Roadshow

1,250 horsepower, lightweight and it’s a hybrid of all things. …read more Source:: CNet


Fun-Size Tesla Might Be The World’s Smallest

We get all kinds of tips about “the world’s something-est” widget, which normally end up attracting the debunkers in droves. So normally, we shy away from making superlative claims about a project, no matter how they bill themselves. But we’re comfortable that this is the world’s smallest Tesla, at least if we have to stretch…


Funko’s Snapsies vending machines to entice kids in the toy aisle – CNET

Funko is putting a twist into retail shopping with a new toy for little kids. We try out the touchscreen machines coming soon to Target stores. …read more Source:: CNet


‘Hutter Prize’ for Lossless Compression of Human Knowledge Increased to 500,000€

Baldrson (Slashdot reader #78,598) writes: First announced on Slashdot in 2006, AI professor Marcus Hutter has gone big with his challenge to the artificial intelligence [and data compression] community. A 500,000€ purse now backs The Hutter Prize for Lossless Compression of Human Knowledge… Hutter’s prize incrementally awards distillation of Wikipedia’s storehouse of human knowledge to…


The first Alexa toy is a $300 kitchen for kids, packed with dad jokes – CNET

We check out a prototype at New York Toy Fair to see how Amazon’s voice assistant plays with preschoolers. …read more Source:: CNet


Star Wars Retro Collection throws back to The Empire Strikes Back – CNET

Exclusive: Yoda with a snake, Leia on Hoth, Lando and more. …read more Source:: CNet


A Ransomware Attack Shut a US Natural Gas Plant and Its Pipelines

Long-time Slashdot reader Garabito writes: The Department of Homeland Security has revealed that an unnamed U.S. natural gas compression facility was forced to shut down operations for two days after becoming infected with ransomware. The plant was targeted with a phishing e-mail, that allowed the attacker to access its IT network and then pivot to…


How to watch the Nevada caucus results without cable – CNET

Sanders leads in the polls, followed by Biden, Warren, Buttigieg, Steyer, Klobuchar and Bloomberg. …read more Source:: CNet


Twitter suspends some pro-Mike Bloomberg accounts – CNET

Numerous accounts reportedly posted identical messages, violating the site’s rules about manipulating Twitter to “amplify conversations.” …read more Source:: CNet