Month: May 2020

Microsoft Replaces Dozens of Staff With AI for News Stories on MSN

“Workforce automation is about to cost dozens of news contractors their jobs,” writes Engadget: The Seattle Times and The Guardian report that Microsoft is letting go of dozens of news contractors (about 50 in the US, 27 in the UK) after June 30th due to a shift to AI news production on MSN. The workers…


SpaceX, NASA make history with first launch of astronauts from US soil in years – CNET

We have liftoff for the Demo-2 mission. …read more Source:: CNet


A Tasty Output Device

We have headphones for your ears, and monitors for your eyes. Some computers even have tactile feedback. Now researchers have an output device for taste. The decidedly odd device uses five gels, one for each of the tastes humans can sense. If we understand the paper, the trick is that ionizing the gels inhibits the…


What Would The Internet Look Like If America Repeals Section 230?

“REVOKE 230!” President Trump tweeted Friday, and NPR reports that the movement to revoke its safeguards “is increasingly becoming a bipartisan consensus… But experts caution that eliminating the legal protections may have unintended consequences for Internet users that extend far beyond Facebook and Twitter.” “We don’t think about things like Wikipedia, the Internet Archive and…


Swap Your Microwave for a High Voltage Stereo

When building a new project, common wisdom suggests to avoid “reinventing the wheel”, or doing something simple from scratch that’s easily available already. However, if you can build a high-voltage wheel, so to speak, it might be fun just to see what happens. [Dan] decided to reinvent not the wheel, but the speaker, and instead…


Google Doodle slideshow celebrates Galapagos Islands – CNET

The archipelago is famous for inspiring Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. …read more Source:: CNet


Apple Opens 100 More US Stores — With Mandatory Temperature Checks For Customers

“Apple is in the process of reopening 100 U.S. retail stores,” reports Apple Insider, adding “as expected, those outlets look a lot different post-coronavirus.” For example, the company is performing temperature-checks at the door and requiring facial coverings before entering the store. Apple has also indicated that it will provide facial coverings to customers if…


SpaceX launch: William Shatner, George Takei join astronaut accolades – CNET

The historic manned launch of NASA astronauts from US soil lifts spirits. And a gravity-defying stuffed dino steals a heart or two. …read more Source:: CNet


NASA-SpaceX mission, stuffed dinosaur float across Twitter – CNET

The historic manned launch from US soil inspires responses on the social media site. And a gravity-defying stuffed dino steals a heart or two. …read more Source:: CNet


GitHub Warns Java Developers of New Malware Poisoning NetBeans Projects

GitHub issued a security alert Thursday warning about new malware spreading on its site via boobytrapped Java projects, ZDNet reports: The malware, which GitHub’s security team has named Octopus Scanner, has been found in projects managed using the Apache NetBeans IDE (integrated development environment), a tool used to write and compile Java applications. GitHub said…