canopic jug writes:The Signal messaging progam is now the favored messaging program for the European Commission instead of proprietary messaging programs. The decision was made last month, in February, to prefer it for both internal and external communication.
An Anonymous Coward writes:How much is too much? Are these portable computers we carry around that just happen to be able to make phone calls really worth a small fortune? Would you pay over $2000 for a mobile phone that can fold in half?
[20200318_124615 UTC Update: Booster recovery unsuccessful. I have seen no report, yet, on fairing recovery. Successful deployment of 60 Starlink satellites. Also, I apologize for the very late original posting of this story. --martyb]martyb writes:SpaceX will make another attempt at launching Starlink satellites at 08:16 ET today.YouTube live stream.Cf: SpaceX Attempts Fifth Launch of Same Falcon 9 Sun 2020-03-15 09:22 EDT - Aborted.Original SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.
martyb writes:A lot has already happened this year. SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) which can cause COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease 2019) has been making headlines shortly after it was first reported. The first cases were reported to WHO (World Health Organization) on 2019-12-31. The virus spread. It began as an epidemic in China . The world watched apprehensively. Reports surfaced of cases in other countries and the the apprehension grew. For many folk, it turned to fear when it was upgraded to a pandemic: WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 11 March 2020: "We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic."We have seen increasing efforts to stem the spread of the disease. Efforts have run the gamut. Closing of borders. Cancellation of sporting events. Conferences cancelled. Churches and other places of worship also closed. Schools closed. Panic buying of household goods and supplies. Supply chain disruptions affecting manufacturers. Restaurant, bars, and other such establishments closed. Work-from-home policies established and enacted.The changes have been many, widespread, and continuing.Reading about all the ways that "other people" have been affected is one thing. It seems different, somehow, when it hits closer to home and affects us directly. With many of our usual social activities curtailed or cancelled, it is easy to begin isolating and lose perspective. SoylentNews arose from a troubled period (the SlashCott) and a community has formed from that challenging period.How have you been affected? Have you been infected? Had a family member or friend who was? Helped neighbors who are struggling? Hunkering down and isolating? (In a basement is optional.) Are you suddenly working from home and finding it challenging to manage your time? Still working on site, but now have a faster commute due to all the other people staying home? Catching up on watching TV shows? Reading more SoylentNews? How has your life changed?From a somewhat different perspective, how have others helped you to cope... and how have you been able to help others? One of the potential impacts of social distancing is isolation and depression. I count myself fortunate, indeed, to have served this site for over 6 years and for all the people I have gotten to know, here. For those who may not be aware, SoylentNews has its own IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server. Feel free to drop in to #Soylent and just say "Hi!"Social distancing is permanent when you're dead. So, practice good hygiene and stay safe.Previously (oldest first):
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for AnonymousCoward:Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, UNIST, announce a breakthrough made towards building the world's most powerful particle accelerator:
Don't worry; they'll make more.Runaway1956 writes:[Editor's preface: SoylentNews has a Folding@Home team (#230319) As of this writing, SoylentNews.org is ranked at number 210 in the entire world! My current Core 2 Duo laptop would do little to support the effort compute-wise, so I assist as best I can by cheerleading, communicating our team's progress, and similar activities. We have a channel on our IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server "#folding" where there is sporadic discussion about progress. Check out the list of previous stories at the bottom of this story... to get involved, just mention it in the comments and come join our team!If you are wondering what in the world F@H is, Wikipedia has a nice summary of Folding@Home . And, of course, there is F@H's "About" page, too. --martyb]Intro:
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for AnonymousCoward:[Ed. note: For those who are unfamiliar or need a reminder, a quick search brought up this YouTube video.]Scientists analyze Monty Python's silly walks, determine they are indeed silly:
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for SoyCow4275:FYI: When Virgin Media said it leaked 'limited contact info', it meant p0rno filter requests, IP addresses, IMEIs as well as names, addresses and more:
quietus writes:German company CureVac has received a rather strange offer from the current White House.On March 3, CureVac's CEO was invited to the White House, for a meeting with President Trump, Vice Pence and several members of the Coronavirus Task Force. Asked for when a vaccine could be ready, he estimated that a potential candidate could be ready within a few months. Apparently, that triggered the members of the meeting so much, that they've now offered to buy the company, at whatever price.One condition though: production would be exclusively for the United States.The move is not exactly one to gain popularity, and follows on the heels of the President's worrying statement that "a large number of new clusters in the United States were seeded by travelers from Europe".Original SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.
martyb writes:[Update 1: 20200315_130751 UTC: Updated to add alternate YouTube links. --martyb][Update 2: 20200315_133158 UTC: Today's launch was aborted at T:+0:00, due to "Launch abort on engine high power". No word, yet, on when a retry will be attempted.--martyb][Update 3: 20200315_195221 UTC: SpaceX tweet: "Standing down today; standard auto-abort triggered due to out of family data during engine power check. Will announce next launch date opportunity once confirmed on the Range". In response to a query "Out of family?", User Viv replied: "Data from sensors & system isn’t always the same, but if you plot it on a graph, all nominal data will be one big cluster aka family. If readings from sensors or systems are not within this cluster, they’re out of family, eg something might be wrong w sensors or system itself". For those who missed it, here is a brief video that shows a few seconds bracketing the scheduled launch countdown and abort. Follow the main SpaceX twitter feed for date and time of next launch attempt. --martyb]Watch Live: SpaceX attempts to launch the same Falcon 9 a fifth time:
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