Launching Academies: Accelerate Digital Transformation with Job-Based Learning

Over 100 SkillSets help employees develop exact skills needed for their role By Shwetabh Mittal, Senior Director, Product Management This past year, as the pandemic forced companies to move online, digital transformation that may have required years took mere months. According to the World Economic Forum, the double disruption caused by automation and the pandemic […]
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How Canadians Derailed a Train in 1998 and Drove It to City Hall for Power After a Brutal Ice Storm

James Gilboy, writing at The Drive: Over the week spanning Jan. 4-10, 1998, a trio of massive ice storms wracked the northeastern United States and parts of Canada. Knocking over transmission towers, the storms deprived up to 1.35 million people of electricity, in some cases for weeks (sound familiar?). Rather than leave town, though, one Canadian mayor stepped up to bring…

Scott Hanselman’s 2021 Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for Windows

Scott Hanselman: Everyone collects utilities, and most folks have a list of a few that they feel are indispensable. Here’s mine. Each has a distinct purpose, and I probably touch each at least a few times a week. For me, “util” means utilitarian and it means don’t clutter my tray. If it saves me time, and seamlessly integrates with my life,…

Japan To Begin Experiments Issuing Digital Yen

More than 30 major Japanese firms will begin experiments next year towards issuing a common, private digital currency to promote digitalisation in one of the world’s most cash-loving countries, the group’s organising body said on Thursday. From a report: The move follows the Bank of Japan’s recently announced plan to experiment with issuing a digital yen, underscoring a growing awareness of…

Obama Says Social Media Companies ‘Are Making Editorial Choices, Whether They’ve Buried Them in Algorithms or Not’

Former U.S. President Barack Obama said that the extent to which social media companies claim they “are more like a phone company than they are like The Atlantic” is not “tenable,” he told the publication in an interview published Monday. From a report “They are making editorial choices, whether they’ve buried them in algorithms or not,” the former president said in…

Occidental Is First US Oil Major To Target Net Zero Emissions

An anonymous reader quotes a report from BNN Bloomberg: Occidental Petroleum Corp. became the first major U.S. oil producer to aim for net zero emissions from everything it extracts and sells, accelerating an industry trend that’s become commonplace in Europe. The Houston-based company announced a target to reach net zero emissions from its own operations by 2040 and an ambition to…

Several US Utilities Back Out of Deal To Build Novel Nuclear Power Plant

Eight of the 36 public utilities that had signed on to help build an innovative new nuclear power plant in the U.S. have backed out of the deal. Science Magazine reports: The withdrawals come just months after the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS), which intends to buy the plant containing 12 small modular reactors from NuScale Power, announced that completion…

FCC Defends Helping Trump, Claims Authority Over Social Media Law

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Federal Communications Commission’s top lawyer today explained the FCC’s theory of why it can grant President Donald Trump’s request for a new interpretation of a law that provides legal protection to social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Critics of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan from both the left and right…

Virginia’s Voter-Registration Site Goes Offline on Last Day To Register

Virginia’s voter-registration website went offline Tuesday on the state’s last day to register before the Nov. 3 election, in what officials attributed to an accidental cutting of a fiber-optic cable. From a report: The Virginia Information Technologies Agency said that the Verizon cable was inadvertently struck during work for a roadside utilities project and that several agencies were affected. The Virginia…

Eric S. Raymond: Is Microsoft Switching To a Linux Kernel That Emulates Windows?

Most of Microsoft’s money now comes from its cloud service Azure, points out open-source advocate Eric S. Raymond. Now he posits a future where Windows development will “inevitably” become a drag on Microsoft’s business: So, you’re a Microsoft corporate strategist. What’s the profit-maximizing path forward given all these factors? It’s this: Microsoft Windows becomes a Proton-like emulation layer over a Linux…