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Updated 2026-04-25 09:01
Physicists Witness Pinpricks of Darkness Moving Faster Than the Speed of Light
"c0lo" writes:Physicists witness pinpricks of darkness moving faster than the speed of light - without breaking the laws of relativity:
Linux Mint Plans for Longer Development Cycle
An Anonymous Coward writes:https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20169
With Navigating Nematodes, Scientists Map Out How Brains Implement Behaviors
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:MIT scientists create a detailed map of exactly what happens in the brains of C. elegans worms:
They Built the ‘Cursor for Hardware.’ Now, Anthropic Wants in
"Fnord666" writes:Schematik is a program that aims to help people vibe code for physical devices. Hopefully, it won't blow anything up:
This Pasta Sauce Wants to Record Your Family
An Anonymous Coward writes:Prego's Connection Keeper is a screen-free voice recorder designed to capture and preserve dinner table conversation:
NASA Inspector Fears New Spacesuits Won't be Ready for Moon Landing
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:Dud contracts, proprietary designs, and zero-experience supplier make for quite the mess:
Linux 7.1 Will Have an Optional New NTFS Driver
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:Good news for those working with Windows, bad news for Paragon Software:
Scientists Load Quantum Computer With First Complete Genome to Crack Biology's 'Impossible' Puzzle
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:It's an important step towards managing large and complex genetic data:
Europe's EV Sales Jump 51% as Iran War Sends Gasoline Prices Soaring
fliptop writes:Registrations of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in Europe's key automotive markets surged by 51% in March as the Iran war pushed gasoline prices to multi-year highs, data published by research firm New Automotive and trade association E-Mobility Europe showed on Monday:
Bluetooth Tracker Hidden in a Postcard and Mailed to a Warship Exposed its Location
An Anonymous Coward writes:A postcard spy:
The NAND Gate of Continuous Math
VLM writes:Here's one that's been making the rounds:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.21852"A single two-input gate suffices for all of Boolean logic in digital hardware. No comparable primitive has been known for continuous mathematics: computing elementary functions such as sin, cos, sqrt, and log has always required multiple distinct operations. Here I show that a single binary operator, eml(x,y)=exp(x)-ln(y), together with the constant 1, generates the standard repertoire of a scientific calculator. This includes constants such as e, pi, and i; arithmetic operations including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponentiation as well as the usual transcendental and algebraic functions."Discussion ideas:1) Yes everyone knows there's not one, but two universal logic gates, anything made of NAND gates can be made of NOR gates and vice versa. So there's possibly at least one other "universal computation" for continuous math.2) Who's playing with the idea of computer/microcontroller FPUs that use nothing but this operation, super optimized? I think this is funny to think about even if impractical.3) Ditto analog computation. Analog opamp subtraction ain't rocket surgery, and old fashioned bipolar transistors can output logs and exponentials or you can use single chip devices to calculate logs and exponentials. I'm trying to wrap my head around using the AD633 universal multiplier... This could get expensive.4) You can do this on a slide rule for educational purposes. You need a rule with LL scales or at least L and C/D. I have to think about this some more.Original SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.
WebinarTV’s Rampant Scraping of Online Meetings
dw861 writes:As recently reported by CyberAlberta:A webinar hosting platform known as WebinarTV is actively scraping and redistributing both public and private Zoom webinars without knowledge or consent of organizers. Initial access is typically gained through third-party browser extensions such as AI-powered transcription or auto-join tools. These extensions are inadvertently provided calendar permissions by their users and, in some cases, users are willfully submitting meeting details to the WebinarTV platform without the knowledge or consent of the organizers.There have been many reports on social media as well as online review boards indicating hidden scraping of not just publicly advertised webinars, but supposedly private meetings as well. Many organizers reported first learning that their webinars had been made publicly available through a notification email from WebinarTV themselves.Once these tools join a meeting-either with or on behalf of a user-the session content is captured and subsequently published on WebinarTV.us. By analysing previews of uploaded webinars, CyberAlberta validated claims made by online users that WebinarTV uses screen capture to scrape content, rather than using Zoom's built-in "Record" function. The available previews display screenshots consistent with a screen-captured view, rather than the format produced by a native Zoom recording.WebinarTV appears to operate a business model centered around a promotional service called "Lead Advantage", which it offers for a fee. The platform scrapes webinars en masse and positions itself as a facilitator to help these webinars reach a broader audience, which in the case of private webinars is the opposite intention. According to WebinarTV's FAQs, Lead Advantage enables "hosts" (a term it uses to refer to individuals whose content has been scraped) to "promote their webinars through web placements, email distribution, and higher prominence directory listings". The service encourages these hosts to bid for increased exposure, with bidding starting at USD $20.Read more of this story at SoylentNews.
How Museums Can Use Biomolecular Archaeology to Bring Ancient Scents to Life
hubie writes:A study introduces an innovative framework for translating biomolecular data from archaeological materials into scent recreations:
Tech Companies Are Trying to Neuter Colorado's Landmark Right-to-Repair Law
hubie writes:A state bill is a glimpse of how corporations are limiting people's ability to make their own fixes and upgrades:
Sperm Whales Speak With a Complex Alphabet and Even Have ‘Vowels,’ Study Finds
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://gizmodo.com/sperm-whales-speak-with-their-own-unique-alphabet-scientists-found-they-even-have-vowels-2000746968
The Friction We Forgot
owl writes:https://bravenewteams.substack.com/p/the-friction-we-forgot
Total Solar Eclipse Led to Seismic Quiet for Cities Within its Path
hubie writes:Total Solar Eclipse Led to Seismic Quiet for Cities Within its Path:
A Fresh Scar on the Moon: Newly Discovered Crater Reveals Recent Impact
c0lo writes:A Fresh Scar on the Moon: Newly Discovered Crater Reveals Recent Impact:
Europol Launches Operation PowerOFF — Warns 75,000 DDoS Users and Takes Down 53 Domains
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/europol-launches-operation-poweroff-warns-75-000-ddos-users-and-takes-down-53-domains
Soviet CDs and CD Players Existed, and They Were Strange
An Anonymous Coward writes:https://hackaday.com/2026/03/29/soviet-cds-and-cd-players-existed-and-they-were-strange/
Chinese Carmaker Patents Voice-Controlled 'in-Vehicle Toilet'
Chinese carmaker patents voice-controlled 'in-vehicle toilet'AnonTechie writes:
In the Face of Rampant AI, is ‘Data Poisoning’ a New Form of Civil Disobedience?
"c0lo" writes:In the face of rampant AI, is 'data poisoning' a new form of civil disobedience?:
The Quiet Colossus
owl writes:https://www.iqiipi.com/the-quiet-colossus.html
How Much Does Chatbot Bias Influence Users? A Lot, It Turns Out
hubie writes:Researchers quantified how much user behavior is impacted by the biases in content produced by large language models:
Russia Hits European Thermal Power Plant in Attempted ‘Destructive’ Cyberattack
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:Russia is engaging in 'reckless behavior':
How Two Motorola Transistors Became the World's Default NPNs
owl writes:https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/how-two-motorola-transistors-became-the-worlds-default-npns/
10 Math Books That Sharpen Your Thinking
Snotnose writes:I've noticed 2 broad groups of people: those who can troubleshoot problems, and those who don't know where to start. I'm in the former group, my wife was firmly in the latter even though she was smarter than me.Math forces you to think logically, and use seemingly disparate chunks of information to solve a problem.
“TotalRecall Reloaded” Tool Finds a Side Entrance to the Windows 11 Recall Database
Freeman writes:https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/04/totalrecall-reloaded-tool-finds-a-side-entrance-to-windows-11s-recall-database/
Pentagon Reportedly Asks Detroit to Use More Car Factories as Arms Factories
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://gizmodo.com/pentagon-reportedly-asks-detroit-to-use-more-car-factories-as-arms-factories-2000746017
The "Passive Income" Trap Ate a Generation of Entrepreneurs
owl writes:https://www.joanwestenberg.com/the-passive-income-trap-ate-a-generation-of-entrepreneurs/
Why the Phrase 'Super El Niño' Makes Australian Climate Scientists Roll Their Eyes
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://phys.org/news/2026-04-phrase-super-el-nio-australian.html
Irish Bog Plant Revives Ancient Remedy as a New Weapon Vs Superbugs
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://phys.org/news/2026-04-irish-bog-revives-ancient-remedy.html
Netgear Routers Seemingly Won't be Banned in the US After All
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:And this just proves the ban was never about securityhttps://www.techradar.com/computing/wi-fi-broadband/netgear-routers-seemingly-wont-be-banned-in-the-us-after-all-and-this-just-proves-the-ban-was-never-about-security
Scientists Invented a Fake Disease. AI Told People It Was Real
hubie writes:Bixonimania doesn't exist except in a clutch of obviously bogus academic papers. So why did AI chatbots warn people about this fictional illness?
Online Response to the Attack on Sam Altman's House Shows a Generational Divide
"Fnord666" writes:Online response to the attack on Sam Altman's house shows a generational divide:
Meet Orpheus—a Hopper Mission Built to Hunt for Life in Martian Volcanoes
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://phys.org/news/2026-04-orpheus-hopper-mission-built-life.html
IPv6 Adoption Reaches 50% - The Long Journey Toward Internet's Next Generation
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://techplanet.today/post/ipv6-adoption-reaches-50-the-long-journey-toward-internets-next-generation
Back Button Hijacking to be Penalised in Google Crackdown
"Fnord666" writes:Google to punish sites that trap people in with back button tricks:
Physicists Think They've Resolved the Proton Size Puzzle
Freeman writes:https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/04/physicists-think-theyve-resolved-the-proton-size-puzzle/
Claude Mythos Preview Has Officially Frightened the British
"Fnord666" writes:Bankers and bank regulators are scrambling to figure out what to do:
Meta Zuckerberg Becomes the New Clippy
looorg writes:https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/apr/13/meta-ai-mark-zuckerberg-staff-talk-to-the-bossMeta is turning Zuckerberg into Clippy so he can answer all your queries and gives you feedback and support ... I'm sure the staff will just feel the motivation flow over them as their great leader appears to them in person, or in avatar form as their very own Clippy. Zucky?
Ukraine's Military Robot Surge Aims to Offset Drone Risks to Humans
Freeman writes:https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/04/ukraines-military-robot-surge-aims-to-offset-drone-risks-to-humans/
The Entity That Has Been Watching Bitcoin for 14 Years
JamesWebb writes:Bitcoin's blockchain is a public ledger. Every block header, every nonce, every coinbase transaction, every timestamp is visible to anyone running a full node. Most people look at the price. The data itself tells a different story.Starting at block 142,312 (approximately early 2011), a persistent anomaly appears in the chain: 37,393 blocks with no pool tag in the coinbase, spanning 14 years, appearing in 2,877 distinct burst episodes that cluster around moments when the mining pool coordination graph is restructuring. These are not scattered solo miners picking up scraps. They are a structured, continuous presence.Every mining pool has a distinctive nonce distribution - the hardware, work distribution software, and stratum proxy configuration create a statistical fingerprint. KL divergence measures how different two distributions are. The anonymous miner scores 0.0003 against F2Pool. The next closest pool scores 0.01+. The coinbase data confirms it: same template, same extra-nonce encoding, same byte layout - with the pool identification tag stripped out. These are F2Pool blocks with the name removed.Someone has had the comprehension to read Bitcoin's 587 miner-controlled bits per block header - reconstructing pool attribution, coordination patterns, and regime shifts in real time - for 14 years. Every number in the article is derivable from publicly available blockchain data. The data is there. Look at it: https://subtracted.org/bitcoin-overseerOriginal SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.
US Appeals Court Declares 158-Year-Old Home Distilling Ban Unconstitutional
hubie writes:Judge said ban, which originated in Reconstruction era to thwart liquor tax evasion, actually reduced tax revenue:
AI Token Freeloaders Manipulating Customer Support Bots
looorg writes:https://www.cio.com/article/4155404/ai-token-freeloaders-are-coming-for-your-customer-support-chatbot.htmlConversation framing or Social-engineering the Customer support AI bots. Making them do things to burn company tokens. One just can't stop laughing.
OpenAI Says Elon Musk is ‘Injecting Chaos’ With Recent Legal Maneuver
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:An amendment to a recent lawsuit could change the narrative significantly, and just weeks before trial:
This Memory Chip Survives Temperatures Hotter Than Lava
liar writes:https://gizmodo.com/this-memory-chip-survives-temperatures-hotter-than-lava-2000745819
Blaming Kids for Poor Security
Snotnose writes:In a classic case of blame the messenger teenagers are being sent to prison because of poor security.
South Korea's Telecom Giants Surprise 7 Million Users With Unlimited, Universal Internet
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:The scheme follows a string of security failures at SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus:
Electrode Technology Achieves 86% Efficiency for Converting CO₂ Into Plastic Precursors
Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:https://phys.org/news/2026-04-electrode-technology-efficiency-plastic-precursors.html
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