Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed legislation requiring all smartphones, computers and smart TV sets sold in the country to come pre-installed with Russian software. Reuters reports: The law, which will come into force on July 1 next year, has been met with resistance by some electronics retailers, who say the legislation was adopted without consulting them. The law has…
Tag: mandatory
Guido van Rossum Explains How Python Makes Thinking in Code Easier
Dropbox’s Work in Progress blog shared a 2000-word “conversation with the creator of the world’s most popular programming language,” noting that many computer science schools are switching over from Java to Python, and arguing that “JavaScript still owns the web, and Java runs 2.5 billion Android phones, but for general purpose programming and education, Python has become the default standard.” They…
Declaring State of Emergency, Samoa Makes Measles Vaccinations Compulsory
“Samoa was finalising plans for a compulsory measles vaccination programme Monday, after declaring a state of emergency as a deadly epidemic sweeps the Pacific nation,” reports the International Business Times:
At least six fatalities, including five children, have been linked to the outbreak of the virus, which has also hit other island states such as Tonga and Fiji. Samoa is the worst…
China Has Gained the Ability To Spy On More Than 100 Million Citizens Via a Heavily Promoted Official App, Report Suggests
Security researchers believe the Chinese Communist Party’s official “Study the Great Nation” app has a backdoor that could help monitor use and copy data from those who have it installed on their devices. The BBC reports: Released in February, Study the Great Nation has become the most downloaded free program in China, thanks to persuasive demands by Chinese authorities that citizens…
Stack Exchange Removes Moderator For Preferred Pronouns Policy
An anonymous reader shares a report: In the past month or so, about 20 volunteer moderators out of about 600 have distanced themselves from Stack Exchange, the online network of Q&A communities, to protest corporate policy changes and the removal of a moderator, Monica Cellio, over alleged violations of as-yet unpublished Code of Conduct changes. Cellio on Friday posted her account…
Should the UK make childhood vaccinations mandatory?
With rates of routine vaccinations falling in England, health secretary Matt Hancock has called for them to be mandatory. Is that a good idea? Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2218087-should-the-uk-make-childhood-vaccinations-mandatory/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Electric Car Charge Posts To Be Installed In Every New Home In England
England is introducing a mandatory electric car charging point for each newly built home. “This means that every brand new home, by law, will have to have a charging port for your electric vehicle — even if you don’t yet own one,” reports CleanTechnica. From the report: This would make it easier on both fully electric and plug-in hybrid owners in…