With the Xbox Series X on the horizon, Microsoft’s head of videogame hardware sees a future where consoles may no longer be front and center. Wired reports: Despite its massive push for the Xbox Series X, Microsoft is hedging its bets that a decade from now more and more gamers will be taking a “no gods, no masters” approach to where…
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Microsoft Dropped for Open Source Again in Germany: Hamburg Follows Munich’s Lead
“The trend towards open-source software on government computers is gathering pace in Germany,” reports ZDNet: In the latest development, during coalition negotiations in the city-state of Hamburg, politicians have declared they are ready to start moving its civil service software away from Microsoft and towards open-source alternatives. The declaration comes as part of a 200-page coalition agreement between the Social Democratic…
Bird Is Scrapping Thousands of Electric Scooters In the Middle East
Hot on the heels of Uber scrapping thousands of e-bikes and e-scooters, Bird is taking similar action. The micromobility company is reportedly disposing of thousands of e-scooters in the Middle East and shutting down its operations in the majority of the region as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. CNBC reports: The e-scooters being scrapped belong to Circ, which was acquired…
The 50 Years of Crowd Control Research Police Are Ignoring
Thelasko shares an excerpt from FiveThirtyEight: Researchers have spent 50 years studying the way crowds of protesters and crowds of police behave — and what happens when the two interact. One thing they will tell you is that when the police respond by escalating force — wearing riot gear from the start, or using tear gas on protesters — it doesn’t…
After 37 Years Microsoft Open Sources GW-BASIC
“Having re-open-sourced MS-DOS on GitHub in 2018, Microsoft has now released the source code for GW-BASIC, Microsoft’s 1983 BASIC interpreter,” reports ZDNet, adding that GW-BASIC “can trace its roots back to Bill Gates’ and Paul Allen’s implementation of Microsoft’s first product, the BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800 computer.” “Interested to look at thousands of lines of glorious 8088 assembly code…
University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Wall Street Journal: The University of California board of regents voted Thursday to stop using the SAT and ACT college admissions exams (Warning: source paywalled; alternative source), reshaping college admissions in one of the largest and most prestigious university systems in the country and dealing a significant blow to the multibillion-dollar college admission…
Milky Way could be catapulting stars into its outer halo
Scientists used computer simulations to learn that our Milky Way galaxy may sometimes launch newly forming stars into the space around itself – that is, into the halo of our galaxy – via outflows triggered by supernova explosions. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/milky-way-catapulting-stars-into-its-outer-halo…
10 Kinds of Apples That Were Thought to Be Extinct Have Been Rediscovered
“Ten apple varieties that were thought to be extinct have been recovered thanks to a non-profit group of apple hunters,” reports CNN: Founder of the Lost Apple Project, David Benscoter, told CNN that it all started when he helped a disabled neighbor with some chores. “She lives on her family’s property, and they have lived here since the 1900s. She asked…
Australia Will Force Google and Facebook to Pay for News Content
“Social media giants Facebook and Google will be forced to pay Australian media companies for sharing their content or face sanctions under a landmark decision…” reports the New Zealand Herald: The move comes as the media industry reels from tumbling advertising revenue, already in decline before the Covid 19 coronavirus outbreak collapsed the market. Australia will become the first government to…
Minecraft Ray Tracing Launches April 16, and It Is Breathtaking
Microsoft and Nvidia are releasing Minecraft with RTX in beta for everyone April 16. This update adds ray-tracing effects like lighting, reflections, shadows, and more. And this is potentially the next generation for Minecraft visuals. VentureBeat reports: Nvidia and Microsoft developed the game together, and they are finally ready to let everyone see it for themselves. You can get the game…