Day: February 20, 2021

Bill Gates Questions Societal Value of ‘GameStop’ Mania, Argues It’d Be ‘Good to Get Rid of’ Bitcoin

The price of bitcoin — now over $57,000 — has nearly doubled in the last 7 weeks. Even Elon Musk tweeted that its price seems high — though one analyst tells Bloomberg that Tesla has already made a profit of nearly $1 billion from its recent Bitcoin investment, more than it earned selling electric cars…


A Look at The “Risky” Tech in NASA’s Martian Helicopter

On February 18th, the Perseverance rover safely touched down on the Martian surface. In the coming days and weeks, the wide array of instruments and scientific payloads tucked aboard the robotic explorer will spring to life; allowing us to learn more about the Red Planet. With a little luck, it may even bring us closer…


Twitch Censors Live Metallica Performance with Dorkiest Music Imaginable

In the year 2000, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich answered questions from Slashdot’s readers. Late Friday night, the AV Club described Metallica’s appearance at the opening ceremonies for the (now online) version of Blizzard Entertainment’s annual event BlizzCon: The opening ceremonies were being broadcast online, both through the official BlizzCon page, YouTube, and Twitch. And you…


NASA’s Perseverance rover landing: Why going to Mars should matter to you – CNET

Commentary: Our world is a mess, why bother with another? CNET’s Eric Mack has three reasons. …read more Source:: CNet


WandaVision episode 7 recap: Marvel show goes off the rails in the best way – CNET

Wanda takes a me day, but it might be a bad idea. Also, stick around for the credits. …read more Source:: CNet


Linux Is Now on Mars, Thanks to NASA’s Perseverance Rover

“When NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars this week, it also brought the Linux operating system to the Red Planet,” reports PC Magazine: The tidbit was mentioned in an interview NASA software engineer Tim Canham gave to IEEE Spectrum. The helicopter-like drone on board the Perseverance rover uses a Linux-powered software framework the space agency…


Could Earth’s Reversing Magnetic Poles Accelerate Climate Change?

A team of researchers from Sydney’s University of New South Wales and the South Australian Museum have investigated how the reversal of Earth’s magnetic pole about 42,000 years could have changed earth’s atmosphere. CNN reports: “Using the ancient trees we could measure, and date, the spike in atmospheric radiocarbon levels caused by the collapse of…


4 Saturday deals you shouldn’t miss – CNET

A few low-key deals for a lazy Saturday. They won’t rock your universe, but they might make your life a little nicer. …read more Source:: CNet


Be prepared for the worst: This top-rated portable car jump-starter is on sale for $56 – CNET

The Tacklife T8 is also an 18,000-mAh power bank for your phone and other devices. …read more Source:: CNet


Google-Inspired USB-PD Sniffer for the DIY Crowd

If you want to hack around with the communication protocol that USB Power Delivery devices use to negotiate their power requirements with the upstream source, a tool like Google’s Twinkie really helps. With it you can sniff data off the line, analyze it, and even inject your own packets. Luckily for us, the search giant…