Open-Source Developer and Manager David Recordon Named White House Director of Technology

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team announced that David Recordon, one of OpenId and oAuth’s developers, has been named the White House Director of Technology. Recordon most recently was the VP of infrastructure and security at the non-profit Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation. Before that, Recordon was Facebook’s engineer director. There, he had led Facebook’s…

Photos of the last full moon of the year and decade

Photographers around the world are sharing their pics of the last full moon of 2020 and this decade, which occurred on December 29 or 30, depending on your location. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photos-of-the-last-full-moon-of-the-year-and-decade…

Hundreds More Movie Theatres Close As Attendance Plummets

Long-time Slashdot reader destinyland writes: It seems like it’s inadvisable to sit in a movie theatre during a pandemic. Thousands of theatres still tried showing movies this weekend — but the number of open theatres is dropping, perhaps because the number of people actually buying tickets appears to be plummeting. For example, there were 2,154 movie theatres open in America this…

More Covid-19 Reinfections Found, But Researchers Urge Caution

That Covid-19 reinfection in Hong Kong was followed by similar reports in Belgium and the Netherlands. It was announced today that a 27-year-old woman in Karnataka, India also tested positive for the disease a second time (though the government is still seeking confirmation), and now researchers in Nevada are also reporting a “likely” case of reinfection. The health-news site Stat reports:…

How Bill Gates Celebrated Warren Buffett’s 90th Birthday

The seventh-wealthiest man in the world, Warren Buffett, turns 90 today. Famously the tycoon/philanthropist pledged to give away 90% of his wealth, founding with Bill and Melinda Gates “The Giving Pledge,” a campaign urging the world’s wealthiest individuals to dedicate the majority of their wealth to giving back. Over $1.2 trillion has now been pledged, with participants including Elon Musk, Ted…

Wildfire sunsets and sunrises

The western half of North America is getting some spectacular sunrises and sunsets now, as wildfires rage. Photos here from the EarthSky Community. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/photos-wildfire-sunsets-us-west-aug-sep-2020…

Can You Get Covid-19 Again? It’s Very Unlikely, Experts Say

An anonymous reader shares a report: The anecdotes are alarming. A woman in Los Angeles seemed to recover from Covid-19, but weeks later took a turn for the worse and tested positive again. A New Jersey doctor claimed several patients healed from one bout only to become reinfected with the coronavirus. And another doctor said a second round of illness was…

Hong Kong Government Tells Schools To Remove Books Breaching Security Law

Hong Kong’s government on Monday ordered schools to review and remove any books that might breach a sweeping new security law that Beijing imposed last week on the restless city. From a report: “In accordance with the four types of offences clearly stipulated in the law, the school management and teachers should review teaching and learning materials in a timely manner,…

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Sets Aside $1 Billion In Square Equity For Coronavirus Relief

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: Square and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said Tuesday he will set aside $1 billion in his Square equity to support relief efforts for COVID-19 and other causes once the pandemic is over. In a series of tweets, Dorsey said that after the pandemic is over, he will dedicate the money to causes like…

SF Businesses Decline Cash, Fearing it Could Spread the Virus

When customers step in for a cup of coffee at Ritual Coffee Roasters on Valencia Street, a sign informs them that cash is no longer welcome. The coffee shop wants customers to use contactless forms of payments to pick up their cups of joe, in an effort to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. More and more businesses are turning…