Tag: reliability

Texas Was ‘Seconds and Minutes’ Away From Catastrophic Monthslong Blackouts, Officials Say

Texas’ power grid was “seconds and minutes” away from a catastrophic failure that could have left Texans in the dark for months, officials with the entity that operates the grid said yesterday. Texas Tribune reports: As millions of customers throughout the state begin to have power restored after days of massive blackouts, officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or…

Who’s Actually To Blame For the Texas Power Disaster?

With millions of Texans still without power in the wake of a winter storm and frigid temperatures, everyone is looking for someone to blame. From a report, shared by a reader: Many Democrats are blaming Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for failing to adequately prepare for the storm. Many conservatives are blaming the environmental movement — insisting that frozen wind turbines show…

Accused Murderer Wins Right To Check Source Code of DNA Testing Kit

“A New Jersey appeals court has ruled that a man accused of murder is entitled to review proprietary genetic testing software to challenge evidence presented against him,” reports The Register. Long-time Slashdot reader couchslug shared their report: The maker of the software, Cybergenetics, has insisted in lower court proceedings that the program’s source code is a trade secret. The co-founder of…

Apple’s iPhone 13 Could Ditch the Lightning Port, Feature Next-Gen Vapor Chamber Cooling and In-Screen Fingerprint Sensor

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s upcoming iPhone 13 could feature vapor chamber cooling, as well as an in-screen fingerprint sensor. It may also completely ditch the Lightning port in favor of wireless charging. Apple Insider reports: Kuo believes Apple is highly likely to incorporate vapor chamber tech into an upcoming iPhone model, though it is not clear if the system…

Court Rules Deliveroo Used ‘Discriminatory’ Algorithm

An algorithm used by the popular European food delivery app Deliveroo to rank and offer shifts to riders is discriminatory, an Italian court ruled late last week, in what some experts are calling a historic decision for the gig economy. The case was brought by a group of Deliveroo riders backed by CGIL, Italy’s largest trade union. From a report: A…

Edmund Clarke, 2007 Winner of the Turing Award, Dies of Covid-19

“Edmund M. Clarke, the FORE Systems Professor of Computer Science Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University, has died of Covid-19,” writes Slashdot reader McGruber. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Professor Clarke was best known for his work in model checking, an automated method for detecting design errors in computer hardware and software. CMU president Farnam Jahanian said the world had “lost a…

Quantum Computer Makers Like Their Odds For Big Progress

For years, quantum computing has been the preserve of academics. New advances, however, are pushing this potentially revolutionary technology toward practical applications. From a report: At the Q2B conference this month, quantum computer makers Google, IBM, Honeywell, IonQ and Xanadu detailed specific steps they expect by 2024 that will push their machines further down the road of commercial practicality. Those achievements…

New Electric Cars Have Problems In Latest Consumer Reports Survey

schwit1 shares a report from Autoblog, adding: “And CR decides to predict poor reliability on EVs it hasn’t even evaluated yet.” From the report: The latest auto survey from Consumer Reports shows several newer electric cars to be beset with problems, contradicting the conventional wisdom that EVs with their simpler powertrains should have fewer issues than gasoline- or diesel-powered cars. The…

Scientists predicted a large sunspot. Now it’s here

Last week, scientists from the National Solar Observatory predicted a large sunspot would emerge before Thanksgiving. Now the sunspot – AR2786 – is in view. Here’s how they did it. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/nso-predicts-large-sunspot-thanksgiving-nov2020…