Microsoft, SolarWinds Face New Criticism Over Russian Breach of US Networks

After Russia’s massive breach of both government and private networks in the U.S., American intelligence officials “have expressed anger that Microsoft did not detect the attack earlier But new criticisms are also falling on SolarWinds: Some of the compromised SolarWinds software was engineered in Eastern Europe, and American investigators are now examining whether the incursion originated there, where Russian intelligence operatives…

Disney Will Test the Limits of ‘Franchise Fatigue’ in 2021 and 2022

An anonymous reader shares a report: In November 2019, just a few days after Disney+ launched, Netflix (NFLX) content chief (now co-CEO) Ted Sarandos, speaking at a Paley Center for Media event, said that Disney (DIS) is “bound by” its content universes, a reference mostly to Marvel and Star Wars. He continued: “I do think the risk of being bound in…

Japan To Phase Out Gasoline-Powered Cars, Bucking Toyota Chief

Japan said it planned to stop the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by the mid-2030s, bucking criticism by Toyota’s chief that a hasty shift to electric vehicles could cripple the car industry. From a report: The plan released Friday followed similar moves by the state of California and major European nations, but it has faced resistance from car executives in a…

Facebook’s Criticism of Apple’s Tracking Change Called ‘Laughable’ by EFF

The MacRumors site writes:
Facebook’s recent criticism directed at Apple over an upcoming tracking-related privacy measure is “laughable,” according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a non-profit organization that defends civil liberties in the digital world. Facebook has claimed that Apple’s new opt-in tracking policy will hurt small businesses who benefit from personalized advertising, but the EFF believes that Facebook’s campaign against…

High-Frequency Traders Push Closer To Light Speed With Cutting-Edge Cables

High-frequency traders are using an experimental type of cable to speed up their systems by billionths of a second, the latest move in a technological arms race to execute stock trades as quickly as possible. From a report: The cable, called hollow-core fiber, is a next-generation version of the fiber-optic cable used to deliver broadband internet to homes and businesses. Made…

AstraZeneca Tries Combining Its Covid-19 Vaccine With Russia’s ‘Sputnik V’ Vaccine

Slashdot reader Hmmmmmm shared this report from Reuters: AstraZeneca is to start clinical trials to test a combination of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine with Russia’s Sputnik V shot to see if this can boost the efficacy of the British drugmaker’s vaccine, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said on Friday. Trials will start by the end of the year and Russia wants to…

Elementary particles part ways with their properties

“Spooky action at a distance,” Einstein’s summation of quantum physics, has been a criticism of quantum mechanics since the field emerged. So far, descriptions of entangled particles to explain their apparently faster-than-light responses, and even explanations for the phase shifts induced by an electromagnetic field in regions where it is zero—the “Aharonov-Bohm” effect—have mostly addressed these concerns. However, recent theoretical and…

What Happened After Silicon Valley Tried to Make Telecommuting Permanent

California’s state air quality mandates require each region to have a feasible plan for a 19% reduction in emissions by 2035. But “after a barrage of criticism from Silicon Valley businesses and Bay Area mayors, Metropolitan Transportation Commission planners have backed off a requirement to have employees from big companies work from home three days a week,” reports the Bay Area…

Indian Coding Startup WhiteHat Jr Sues Critics

Karan Bajaj, an Indian entrepreneur who teaches meditation and in his recent book invites others to live a life away from the noise, is going after the most vocal critics of his startup. From a report: Bajaj, founder of coding platform WhiteHat Jr, has filed a defamation case against Pradeep Poonia, an engineer who has publicly criticized the firm for its…

Werner Herzog On Asteroids, Star Wars, and the ‘Obscenity’ of a City On Mars

78-year-old filmmaker Werner Herzog shared some interesting thoughts before the release of his new documentary on asteroids, Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds now available on Apple TV+. From Herzog’s new interview with the science site inverse: Herzog tells Inverse he’s less concerned than ever that a meteorite will destroy the Earth, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still be worried about…