fliptop writes:The ubiquitous phone feature has powered a surveillance technique used to catch suspected kidnappers and pedophiles. It's also fueled fears of a 'privacy nightmare' at a time when abortion is criminalized:
canopic jug writes:Bruce Perens is working on licensing for a new, post-Open Source era to take open source licensing past the apparent stalling point it has reached on its way towards software freedom. As he noted earlier, current licenses are not meeting that goal and businesses have either found loophole or just plain been allowed to ignore the licensing. A move more towards a contract is needed.
Unixnut writes:After 5 years of development by dangerousprototypes, a new version of Bus Pirate has been released for sale. An open source universal bus interfacing device, the previous versions have proven themselves useful for reverse engineering, debugging, restoring bricked devices and flashing the libreboot open source bios on your machines.Original SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.
canopic jug writes:Multiple sites are reporting that the former Twitter (now called X but not that X) executives who were apparently stiffed on severance pay are now suing Elon Musk over the missing severance pay.
hubie writes:In a blind taste test 25% reduced-sugar chocolates made with oat flour were rated equally, and in some cases preferred, to regular chocolate:
So, just a follow up. According to matt, we got around $2,000 USD right now in the PBC overnight, and there are still more payments processing. I paid the Linode bill this morning. So, funding problem: solved. We should be set for the foreseeable future as far as money goes!Seriously guys, you stepped up, and I am thankful. Since I'm here, a quick update on what's going on: Right now, we're mostly just waiting for paperwork to go through as far as handing the site to a newly-created, not-for-profit. It's slow work and I'm not directly involved, but I've seen that there has been a fair number of articles on the subject so I'm pretty happy that everyone is aware of what's going on.I could write more, but I think I'm going to keep this short and sweet for now. Once I have a final total, I'll post it.- NAddition: We have been asked if people can donate anonymously without having an account. The answer is "Yes". Click the subscription link and then make a gift subscription to another account (It defaults to NCommander but you can choose any account). Pay via stripe using an anonymous username.Read more of this story at SoylentNews.
upstart writes:I used generative AI to turn my story into a comic:I wonder how much actual, published short stories (think aimed at 4-year olds) would match the generated stories' images' match?
canopic jug writes:Linuxiac has noticed that desktop GNU/Linux has surpassed 4% global market share. This is notable for two reasons. First, it is notable because the move from 3% to 4% took months and not years. Second, there are so many barriers to getting Linux on the desktop that this is a substantial change.
canopic jug writes:Some sites are reporting on the European Commission's enforcement of anti-trust regulations against Apple over their abuse of their app store. The European Commission has fined Apple over 1.8 billion for abuse of its app store for having placed restrictions over the last decade on app developers to prevent them from even informing iOS users about alternative, cheaper music subscription services, a restriction which is illegal.
So, in the background, the owners of the PBC have been working with staff to get the site moved over to a new legal entity and continue operations. This process is moving slowly, but it is moving, with the expectation that we should be able to fully hand off SN in the next month or so. However, the PBC has burned through its cash reserves, and we have an overdue Linode bill as is for $268 USD. I could write more, but the tl;dr, without money, SN will disappear off the Internet.Most of the subscriptions understandably stopped due to the uncertainty with site ownership and management. However, we're not able to pay the bills with the trickle coming in. At this point, everyone involved has agreed with and are working towards a solution to move SN to a not-for-profit and 501(c)3, but we do need the communities financial support to get there. If we can raise $500 USD via subscriptions, direct donations, or other means, that would keep the site up past May. As such, if you have let your subscription lapse, or otherwise are able to support SN, please do so now.Any funds raises will be donated to the *new* NFP as soon as it is able to accept funds. We'll run an update if/when we reach our funding goal.- NCommanderRead more of this story at SoylentNews.
anubi writes:Looks like VISA credit card has developed a way of storing biometric data on our cellphones, then use that as an authenticator.https://reclaimthenet.org/visa-applies-for-biometric-authentication-patentWhat could possibly go wrong here?I guess I am really leery of cellphone security and app resilience. Is it so complex that it's too finicky to use? Does it require a good internet connection to work? ( Can you hear me now? ), or maybe it's based on QR codes?I have been wrestling with a fast-food burger app over login issues. I am quite jaded over trusting anything I have to log on to to get a fresh timeout permission. For this, all I am risking is the cost of a trip to the restaurant vs. the liklihood the coupon offer will still work when I present at the register. ( The Wendy's Story already discussed here ).How much impact would a denial-of-service cause for you? How robust is this technology. I've already seen the most expensive cars shut down for the most trivial crap. That's why I drive an old one made before their design became enshittified.Cut n paste snippets below.Read more of this story at SoylentNews.
Username writes:The German frigate Hessen, which was deployed to the Red Sea as part of an EU mission, mistakenly fired on an American drone earlier this week, the German Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.Berlin had previously disclosed the Hessen's first successful engagement, in which the vessel shot down two Houthi drones within 15 minutes of one another on Tuesday.On Monday evening, however, the frigate used two SM-2 missiles to target an unidentified drone, but both failed to hit the target, according to German Defense Ministry spokesman Michael Stempfle."The case was resolved in the sense that it was not a hostile drone, which only became clear afterwards," Stempfle said.Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed Stempfle's statement while visiting a military base in Bavaria on Wednesday evening, telling reporters that there had been an incident "in which shots were fired, but no one was hit."According to the German military blog Augen geradeaus, the US-made missiles failed for "technical reasons," which prompted the Hessen to use its 76mm main gun to engage the Houthi drones on Tuesday. The German warship then used short-range RAM missiles to shoot down another Houthi drone on Wednesday morning.Read more of this story at SoylentNews.