Microsoft Launches Power Fx, a New Open Source Low-Code Language

Microsoft today announced Power Fx, a new low-code language that “will become the standard for writing logic customization across Microsoft’s own low-code Power Platform,” reports TechCrunch. “[S]ince the company is open-sourcing the language, Microsoft also hopes others will implement it as well and that it will become the de facto standard for these kinds of use cases.” From the report: Microsoft…

Google-Free /e/ OS Is Now Selling Preloaded Phones In the US, Starting At $380

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: /e/ OS, the “open-source, pro-privacy, and fully degoogled” fork of Android, is coming to Canada and the USA. Of course, you’ve always been able to download the software in any region, but now (as first spotted by It’s Foss News) the e Foundation will start selling preloaded phones in North America. Previously,…

EU Law Requires Companies To Fix Electronic Goods For Up To 10 Years

Companies that sell refrigerators, washers, hairdryers, or TVs in the European Union will need to ensure those appliances can be repaired for up to 10 years, to help reduce the vast mountain of electrical waste that piles up each year on the continent. Euronews reports: The “right to repair,” as it is sometimes called, comes into force across the 27-nation bloc…

China Charges Ahead With a National Digital Currency

The electronic Chinese yuan is now being tested in cities such as Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. No other major power is as far along with a homegrown digital currency. From a report: Annabelle Huang recently won a government lottery to try China’s latest economics experiment: a national digital currency. After joining the lottery through the social media app WeChat, Ms. Huang,…

Introducing Crowdsec: a Modernized, Collaborative Massively Multiplayer Firewall

Slashdot reader b-dayyy writes: CrowdSec is a massively multiplayer firewall designed to protect Linux servers, services, containers, or virtual machines exposed on the Internet with a server-side agent. It was inspired by Fail2Ban and aims to be a modernized, collaborative version of that intrusion-prevention tool. CrowdSec is free and open-source (under an MIT License), with the source code available on GitHub….

SolarWinds’ Former CEO Blames Intern for ‘solarwinds123’ Password Leak

“Current and former top executives at SolarWinds are blaming a company intern for a critical lapse in password security that apparently went undiagnosed for years,” reports CNN. The password in question, “solarwinds123,” was discovered in 2019 on the public internet by an independent security researcher who warned the company that the leak had exposed a SolarWinds file server… It is still…

The Mars Perseverance Rover’s Parachute Contained a Secret Message

“The huge parachute used by NASA’s Perseverance rover to land on Mars contained a secret message,” reports the Associated Press — thanks to the rover’s puzzle-loving systems engineer Ian Clark. “During a live stream discussing the landing, one Nasa commentator said: ‘Sometimes we leave messages in our work for others to find. So we invite you all to give it a…

Did you find the message hidden in Perseverance’s parachute?

The striped pattern on the parachute used by the Perseverance rover to land on Mars contained a hidden message. Internet sleuths were able to figure it out within a few hours. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/perseverance-secret-message-dare-mighty-things…

Electronic Arts Cancels ‘Gaia’ Game After Years in Development

Video game publisher Electronic Arts has canceled a game that was in development at its Montreal office for nearly six years, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. From a report: The game, code named Gaia, was first hinted at in 2015, but was never officially announced or given a title. Since then, EA executives have released a drip…

Amazon Gives Code.org $15 Million To ‘Reimagine’ Advanced Placement CSA

theodp writes: Amazon on Wednesday announced it has lined up the support of Governors and State School Superintendents from five ‘key states’ for a pilot that aims to reimagine the Java-based Advanced Placement Computer Science A (AP CS A) course taken by high school students for college credit. By doing so, Amazon indicated it hopes to address “the diversity gaps in…