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fliptop writes:FYI: SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.Orit Hazzan at ACM.org says:

An Anonymous Coward writes:https://torrentfreak.com/lawsuit-accuses-annas-archive-of-hacking-worldcat-stealing-2-2-tb-data-240207/

Freeman writes:https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/02/daily-telescope-a-solar-eclipse-from-the-surface-of-mars/

owl writes:https://a.wholelottanothing.org/2024/02/05/todays-youtubers-are-repeating-the-mistakes-of-yesterdays-bloggers/

upstart writes:17% of U.S. adults have noise-induced hearing loss. A new Pitt study uncovers a biologic reason:

Freeman writes:Flipper's new Video Game Module is powered by Raspberry Pi

owl writes:https://blog.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-defeats-patent-troll-sable-at-trial

DannyB writes:From The Register: 'Literally bulletproof' but needs constant cleaning to stave off corrosion

Freeman writes:https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/rare-bubonic-plague-case-in-oregon-spread-from-very-sick-pet-cat/

fliptop writes:Ovrdrive does not encrypt its contents by default but has a uniquely physical security mechanism and can be rigged to self-destruct - by heating itself to over 100 degrees C:

takyon writes:Damn Small Linux returns after a 12-year break - grows from 50MB to 700MB

taylorvich writes:https://phys.org/news/2024-02-ancient-dna-elucidate-prehistoric-community.html

mendax writes:Ars is reporting:

upstart writes:Contents of Charles Darwin's entire personal library revealed for first time:

canopic jug writes:Multiple sites have covered the 100 anniversary of the premier of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

taylorvich writes:https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-02-odors-prompt-brain-cells-decisions.html

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Anonymous Coward writes:US climate scientist Michael Mann wins $1m in defamation lawsuit

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fliptop writes:In 2024 we are not yet completely inured to the latest technology - smart sex toys that track your orgasms, virtual-reality hookups, chatbot sexting - but we may be on our way. In less than 10 years' time, "app dating" became simply "dating."What will seem routine at the end of the next decade?

owl writes:https://rep-lodsb.mataroa.blog/blog/intel-286-secrets-ice-mode-and-f1-0f-04/

taylorvich writes:https://phys.org/news/2024-02-alien-invasion-native-earthworms-threaten.html

Arthur T Knackerbracket wrote in with the following story: following story:

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taylorvich writes:https://phys.org/news/2024-02-laser-driven-lightsails-stable.html

AnonTechie writes:

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SomeGuy writes:Seth Lavin, a school principal in Chicago, reports his experience switching from a smart phone in this opinion piece that originates from the LA Times.

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Freeman writes:https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/02/humanitys-most-distant-space-probe-jeopardized-by-computer-glitch/

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

tekk writes:Everyone knows we should be doing backups. While the standard these days is an online backup (too expensive for a full backup, I use it for important, small things,) or using an external hard drive, SSDs can lose their data after a few years of not being powered on and hard drives are complicated mechanical beasts susceptible to their grease hardening, bearings seizing, etc.The best option if I want long term backups is to grab good quality blurays and a burner. Is anyone else out there doing this? How are you handling splitting up your data (who only has 32gb of data these days?) Do you just have a dedicated spot on your hard drive to stage backups before burning or are there some software tricks on modern computers like the old days to burn a single "file" across multiple discs? How far back a backup have you recovered, now that bluray's going on 20 years old?Original SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.

taylorvich writes:https://spectrum.ieee.org/non-line-of-sight-infrared

Freeman writes:https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/trio-wins-700k-vesuvius-challenge-grand-prize-for-deciphering-ancient-scroll/

taylorvich writes:https://newatlas.com/medical/neuropathy-chronic-nerve-pain-non-opioid-compound/

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owl writes:https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/07/failed_usb_sticks/

Documents show industry-backed Air Pollution Foundation uncovered the severe harm climate change would wreak

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Freeman writes:https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/02/microsoft-in-deal-with-semafor-to-create-news-stories-with-aid-of-ai-chatbot/

PiMuNu writes:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68172162

taylorvich writes:https://www.science.org/content/article/electrifying-new-ironmaking-method-could-slash-carbon-emissions

canopic jug writes:The majority residents of Paris have voted in favor of heavy parking fees for suburban utility vehicles over 1.6 tons or more. These new fees rise to 18 an hour in the city center, with lower rates further out. The goals are to improve air quality, road safety, and provide for better commuting by bicycle.

taylorvich writes:https://spectrum.ieee.org/aluminum-nitrideOver the past decade, one of the biggest stories in semiconductors has been a surprise eclipsing of traditional silicon-in the field of power electronics, where silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) have raced past silicon to capture multibilllion-dollar segments of the market. And as major applications fell to these upstarts, with their superior attributes, a question naturally arose. What would be the next new power semiconductor-the one whose superior capabilities would grab major market share from SiC and GaN?Attention has focused on three candidates: gallium oxide, diamond, and aluminum nitride (AlN). All of them have remarkable attributes, as well as fundamental weaknesses that have so far precluded commercial success. Now, however, AlN's prospects have improved enormously, thanks to several recent breakthroughs, including a technological advance at Nagoya University reported at the most recent IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, held this past December in San Francisco.The IEDM paper describes the fabrication of a diode based on alloys of aluminum nitride capable of withstanding an electric field of 7.3 megavolts per centimeter-about twice as high as what's possible with silicon carbide or gallium nitride. Notably, the device also had very low resistance when conducting current. "This is a spectacular result," says IEEE Senior Member W. Alan Doolittle, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech. "Particularly the on-resistance of this thing, which is ridiculously good." The Nagoya paper has seven coauthors, including IEEE Member Hiroshi Amano, who won a Nobel Prize in 2014 for his role in inventing the blue LED.[...] "This is a new concept in semiconductor devices," says Jena, of the Nagoya device. The next step, he adds, is fabricating a diode that has a layer of pure AlN at the junction, rather than 95 percent AlN. A layer of AlN just 2 micrometers thick would suffice to block 3 kilovolts, according to his calculations. "This is exactly where this will go in the very near future," he says.At Georgia Tech, Doolittle agrees that there is still room for enormous improvement by incorporating higher levels of pure AlN in future devices. For example, the breakdown electric field of the Nagoya diode, 7.3 MV/cm, is impressive, but the theoretical maximum for an AlN device is about 15. Thermal conductivity, too, would be greatly improved with more AlN. The ability to conduct heat is vitally important for a power device, and the thermal conductivity of the AlGaN alloy is mediocre-below 50 watts per meter-kelvin. Pure aluminum nitride, on the other hand, is very respectable at 320, in between GaN, at 250, and SiC, at 490.Original SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.

Freeman writes:https://www.pcmag.com/news/starlinks-laser-system-is-beaming-42-million-gb-of-data-per-day

In order to create a new company it is necessary to provide bylaws which state how that company will be governed. Draft 8 of the bylaws received one suggested change when it was presented to the community. However, there were a few problems that have been identified since Draft 8 was published in a Meta. One was the waiving of anonymity by anyone who wished to serve on the board. As the idea behind all seats on the board was that they should be elected by the community from volunteers in the community, and would periodically be replaced by subsequent volunteers and election, over time many of our community would have had their anonymity compromised. This was unpopular and made it difficult to envisage the long-term support of the community for such roles.The board has, as a minimum, three members. The President, a Secretary and an Accountant. These posts must waive anonymity as their identities have to be declared at incorporation and periodically thereafter. There is no escaping this requirement. However, the Governance Committee was also formed from community members and they have not had to waive their right to anonymity. The solution to the problem is relatively straight forward. The board will be established to fill the 3 necessary posts by volunteers, and will be responsible for fulfilling the legal requirements that such posts require. The operational control will be vested in a new group (or committee if you insist) which will comprise of a board member, the Team Leaders and the 5 Community Representatives, and others with specialist knowledge where necessary, thus removing the need for these people to be identified. They can use their regular usernames. The Management Group will provide operational guidance to the board. The community will be represented by their chosen representatives who will be looking after their interests and they will have direct access to the board during all discussions and communications. The Management Group will not hold regular meetings as issues that need resolving occur frequently and irregularly. They will use email and IRC as we have always done, thus removing the burden of meetings that, no matter when they were scheduled, proved to inconvenient to many members to say the least and have taken lot of man hours that could have been more usefully spent.To see us over the transition we need to have a set of bylaws (Draft 9) approved by the community. We have volunteers who will create a temporary board and community representatives, while we sort out policy and prepare for the election process so that the community can be involved in the election of all posts. This will be a temporary arrangement and the bylaws below - which are very heavily based upon Draft 8 which was provided by k0lie/replic8tor - can and will be changed over the next few months to reflect whatever is deemed to be the best arrangement for the long term.Please remember that the bylaws are only concerned with the board and site governance. Policy matters, management of the site on a daily basis, etc are not part of the bylaws and you will all have your chance to give your views once the transition has taken place. I welcome your comments but I will repeat - these bylaws are temporary and can be changed over the coming months as people see fit. I am more concerned at the moment with getting something that will work and allow us to move forward rather than reflecting each and every nuance of our future operation.Time is of the essence. Please make your comments promptly because as soon as we know that we have something that will work we would like to move on to incorporation.I gratefully acknowledge and thank k0lie/replic8tor for Draft 8. To ease the problem of assessing the bylaws I can identify the following sections as having been edited to reflect what is possible rather than what might have been ideal under other circumstances.