While Recreating CentOS as ‘Rocky Linux’, Gregory Kurtzer Also Launches a Sponsoring Startup

“Gregory Kurtzer, co-founder of the now-defunct CentOS Linux distribution, has founded a new startup company called Ctrl IQ, which will serve in part as a sponsoring company for the upcoming Rocky Linux distribution,” Ars Technica reports:
Kurtzer co-founded CentOS Linux in 2004 with mentor Rocky McGaugh, and it operated independently for 10 years until being acquired by Red Hat in 2014. When…

Amazon Can Make Just About Anything — Except a Good Video Game

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg, which is “based on interviews with more than 30 current and former Amazon employees, most of whom spoke under the condition of anonymity citing fears of litigation or career repercussions.” From the report: Mike Frazzini had never made a video game when he helped start Amazon Game Studios. Eight years later, he has…

One-Third of Tech Workers Admit To Working Only 3 To 4 Hours a Day, Report Finds

According to a survey by Blind, 31% of professionals from 42 tech companies said they’re only putting in between three and four hours a day. Fast Company reports: Additionally, the survey found, 27% of tech professionals said they work five to six hours a day, and 11% reported only working one to two hours per day. In contrast, 30% said they…

Amazon’s Alexa Can Now Act On Its Own ‘Hunches’

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Amazon is enabling a new feature today that allows Alexa to proactively complete tasks around the house, such as turning off lights, based on your habits and frequent requests. Alexa has been able to sense these habits and ask about them since 2018 — the company calls them “hunches” — but before…

Despite SolarWinds Cyberattack, Microsoft’s Azure Business Predicted to Benefit

“Microsoft Corp. was wrapped into a massive cybersecurity attack late last year,” reports MarketWatch, “but the unprecedented intrusion may actually end up being a positive for the company’s bottom line.” UBS analyst Karl Keirstead, who has a buy rating and a $243 price target, said while Microsoft products were leveraged by hackers in the attack on SolarWinds Corp.’s Orion IT management…

Why AWS Is Forking Elasticsearch and Kibana

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols writes at ZDNet: When Elastic, makers of the open-source search and analytic engine Elasticsearch, went after Amazon Web Services (AWS) by changing its license from the open-source Apache 2.0-license ALv2) to the non-open-source friendly Server Side Public License, I predicted “we’d soon see AWS-sponsored Elasticsearch and Kibana forks.” The next day, AWS tweeted it “will launch new forks…

Federal Judge Blocks Parler’s Bid To Be Restored on Amazon Web Services

A federal judge has denied Parler’s request for a court order blocking Amazon from kicking the social media app off its platform, marking yet another setback in Parler’s efforts to get back online. From a report: Judge Barbara Rothstein issued a ruling on Thursday saying that Parler had not met the legal requirements for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction….

DDoS-Guard To Forfeit Internet Space Occupied By Parler

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Krebs On Security: Parler, the beleaguered social network advertised as a “free speech” alternative to Facebook and Twitter, has had a tough month. Apple and Google removed the Parler app from their stores, and Amazon blocked the platform from using its hosting services. Parler has since found a home in DDoS-Guard, a Russian digital…

Amazon Offers Biden Help With Covid-19 Vaccine Distribution

Amazon has extended an offer to President Joe Biden to assist with the national distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, a move that could expedite the federal effort to combat the pandemic. From a report: Dave Clark, the CEO of Amazon’s consumer business, and one of the company’s highest-ranking executives, sent a letter to the president shortly after he was sworn in Wednesday….

SpaceX’s 1st Starlink launch of 2021 is now set for Wednesday

SpaceX intends to launch tens of thousands of Starlink satellites, with lifespans of around 5 years, into low-Earth orbit. The goal is global internet access. Astronomers are concerned. Here’s how to watch Wednesday’s launch. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/spacexs-1st-starlink-launch-of-2021…