Camel Pilot (Slashdot reader #78,781) writes: Leannart Poettering is proposing homed to alter the way Linux systems handle user management. All user information will be placed in a cryptographically signed JSON record, such as username, group membership, and password hashes. The venerable /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow will be a thing of the past. One of the claimed advantages will be home directory…
Tag: good news
Microsoft Is Bombarding Chrome-Using Outlook.com Visitors With Ads For Edge
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BetaNews: Microsoft is no stranger to hitting its customers with ads for its products and services, and it seems that the company is so keen that people make the switch to the new Chromium-based version of Edge that it is now bombarding Outlook.com users with banner ads. The ads are targeting people who visit…
Watch for Lyrid meteors this week
Assuming ideal conditions, you might catch 10 to 15 meteors per hour in 2020’s Lyrid meteor shower. The peak is probably Wednesday morning – April 22 – but watch the mornings before and after, too. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/lyrid-meteors-best-before-dawn…
Vint Cerf Explains Why the Internet is Holding Up
In a video interview over Google Hangouts this week, 76-year-old Vint Cerf explained to the Washington Post why the internet’s 50-year-old architecture is still holding up, “with a mix of triumph and wonder in his voice.” “Resiliency and redundancy are very much a part of the Internet design,” explained Cerf, whose passion for touting the wonders of computer networking prompted Google…
Sheltering in Place Works: New Statistics Show Fewer COVID-19 Hospitalizations In New York, California
Yahoo News shares an encouraging report from former Newsweek correspondent Andrew Romano: Until very recently, nationwide data about how many COVID-19 patients are currently receiving treatment in hospitals was hard to come by. It’s still incomplete and inconsistent. But on April 7, researchers at the University of Minnesota launched the U.S. COVID-19 Hospitalization Tracking Project, which is just what it sounds…
Coronavirus seems to mutate much slower than seasonal flu
The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, seems to mutate its genes four times slower than seasonal flu, which is good news for the potential of a successful vaccine. Source: https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-mutation-rate.html
Vint Cerf ‘No Longer Contagious’ With Covid-19
DevNull127 writes: Good news — VA Public Health has certified my wife and me as no longer contagious with COVID19,” tweeted 76-year-old Vint Cerf, one of the creators of the modern internet. He added one word. “Recovering!” It seemed especially appropriate that Cerf shared his news online — and that it drew positive responses from grateful people around the world, including…
88 Out of Top 200 US Cities Have Seen Internet Speeds Decline This Past Week
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: The impacts of telecommuting, shelter-in-place laws and home quarantines resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak are starting to impact broadband speeds across a number of U.S. cities, a new report has found. According to broadband analysis site BroadbandNow, 88 out of the top 200 most populous U.S. cities analyzed have now experienced some form…
Last quarter moon and planets before sunrise March 16
Look outside before dawn on March 16, 2020 for the last quarter moon. Its illuminated side will be pointing at the planets Jupiter, Mars and Saturn. Some people will catch Mercury, too, shortly before sunrise. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/last-quarter-moon-4-planets-before-sunrise…
Top tips for feeding wild birds
It’s OK to feed wild birds. Here are some tips for doing it the right way from a wildlife ecologist. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/top-tips-feeding-wild-birds…