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TUESDAY, 20 JANUARY 2026, 15:37

Science/Tech

The Fastest Human Spaceflight Mission In History Crawls Closer To Liftoff

Today at 05:30 AM, via Slashdot

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Preparations for the first human spaceflight to the Moon in more than 50 years took a big step forward this weekend with the rollout of the Artemis II rocket to its launch pad. The rocket reached a top speed of just 1 mph on the four-mile, 12-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space...

The World’s Longest-Running Lab Experiment Is Almost 100 Years Old

Today at 04:30 AM, via Slashdot

alternative_right shares a report from ScienceAlert: It all started in 1927, when physicist Thomas Parnell at the University of Queensland in Australia filled a closed funnel with the world’s thickest known fluid: pitch, a derivative of tar that was once used to seal ships against the seas. Three years later, in 1930, Parnell cut the funnel’s stem, like a ribbon at an event, heralding the start...

Germany’s EV Subsidies Will Include Chinese Brands

Today at 03:50 AM, via Slashdot

Germany is reinstating EV subsidies after a sharp sales drop, rolling out a 3 billion-euro program offering 1,500-6,000 euros per buyer starting in May and running through 2029. Unlike some neighboring countries, the incentives are open to all manufacturers with a focus on low- and middle-income households. From a report: “I cannot see any evidence of this postulated major influx of Chinese car...

A Second US Sphere Could Come To Maryland

Today at 03:10 AM, via Slashdot

Sphere Entertainment plans to build a second U.S. Sphere near Washington, D.C., with a smaller 6,000-seat “mini-Sphere” proposed for National Harbor in Maryland. The venue would retain the signature LED exterior and immersive 4D tech of the Las Vegas Sphere, just at a more compact scale. The Verge reports: The second US sphere would be built in an area known as National Harbor in Prince...

Intense geomagnetic storms could make auroras visible in southern US

Today at 02:51 AM, via The Guardian

Major disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field may make northern lights visible far more south than usual

The aurora could be visible across Canada and much of the northern tier of US states on Monday night, and possibly even further south, following a major disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field, a forecast shows.

The forecast, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s...

Nvidia Contacted Anna’s Archive To Secure Access To Millions of Pirated Books

Today at 02:30 AM, via Slashdot

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: NVIDIA executives allegedly authorized the use of millions of pirated books from Anna’s Archive to fuel its AI training. In an expanded class-action lawsuit that cites internal NVIDIA documents, several book authors claim (PDF) that the trillion-dollar company directly reached out to Anna’s Archive, seeking high-speed access to the shadow...

OpenAI CFO Says Annualized Revenue Crosses $20 Billion In 2025

Today at 01:50 AM, via Slashdot

According to CFO Sarah Friar, OpenAI’s annualized revenue surpassed $20 billion in 2025, up from $6 billion a year earlier with growth closely tracking an expansion in computing capacity. Reuters reports: OpenAI’s computing capacity rose to 1.9 gigawatts (GW) in 2025 from 0.6 GW in 2024, Friar said in the blog, adding that Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s weekly and daily active users figures continue...

Threads Usage Overtakes X On Mobile

Today at 01:10 AM, via Slashdot

New data from Similarweb shows Threads has overtaken X in daily mobile users. However, X still dominates on the web with around 150 million daily web visits compared to Threads’ 8.5 million daily visits. TechCrunch reports: Similarweb’s data shows that Threads had 141.5 million daily active users on iOS and Android as of January 7, 2026, after months of growth, while X has 125 million daily...

Congress Wants To Hand Your Parenting To Big Tech

Today at 00:22 AM, via Slashdot

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Lawmakers in Washington are once again focusing on kids, screens, and mental health. But according to Congress, Big Tech is somehow both the problem and the solution. The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing [Friday] on “examining the effect of technology on America’s youth.” Witnesses warned about...

Rackspace Customers Grapple With ‘Devastating’ Email Hosting Price Hike

Yesterday at 23:30 PM, via Slashdot

Rackspace’s new pricing for its email hosting services is “devastating,” according to a partner that has been using Rackspace as its email provider since 1999. From a report: In recent weeks, Rackspace updated its email hosting pricing. Its standard plan is now $10 per mailbox per month. Businesses can also pay for the Rackspace Email Plus add-on for an extra $2/mailbox/month (for “file...

The Rise and Fall of the American Monoculture

Yesterday at 22:45 PM, via Slashdot

The American monoculture — the era when three television networks, seven movie studios, and a handful of record labels determined virtually everything the country watched and heard — is collapsing under the weight of algorithmic recommendation engines and infinite streaming options. An estimated 200 million tickets were sold for “Gone With the Wind” in 1939 when the U.S. population was 130...

Asus Confirms It Won’t Launch Phones in 2026, May Leave Android Altogether

Yesterday at 22:05 PM, via Slashdot

Asus won’t release any new smartphones this year, and that may signal the brand’s exit from the Android space altogether. From a report: Asus Chairman Jonney Shih confirmed the news at an event in Taiwan on Jan. 16. According to a machine-translated version of quotes reported by Inside, Shih said, “Asus will no longer add new mobile phone models in the future.” Shih said Asus will continue to...

WhatsApp Texts Are Not Contracts, Judge Rules in $2M Divorce Row

Yesterday at 21:25 PM, via Slashdot

A British painter who argued that her ex-husband had signed over their $2 million north London home through WhatsApp messages has lost her High Court appeal after the judge ruled that the sender’s name appearing in a chat header does not constitute a legal signature. Hsiao-mei Lin, 54, presented messages from her former husband Audun Mar Gudmundsson, a financier, in which he stated he would...

Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming May Soon Let You Stream Your Own Games for Free – If You Watch Ads

Yesterday at 20:45 PM, via Slashdot

Microsoft appears to be preparing an ad-supported tier for Xbox Cloud Gaming that would let players stream games they’ve purchased digitally without needing a Game Pass subscription, according to a Windows Central report citing sources familiar with the plans. Users last week began noticing a new message pop up while launching cloud games that referenced “1 hour of ad supported play time per...

ERP Isn’t Dead Yet – But Most Execs Are Planning the Wake

Yesterday at 20:10 PM, via Slashdot

Seven out of ten C-suite executives believe traditional enterprise resource planning software has seen its best days, though the category remains firmly entrenched in corporate IT and opinion is sharply divided on what comes next. A survey of 4,295 CFOs, CISOs, CIOs and CEOs worldwide found 36% expect ERP to give way to composable, API-driven best-of-breed systems, while 33% see the future in...

Nasa boldly goes as far away as possible | Brief letters

Yesterday at 19:53 PM, via The Guardian

Alien lifeforms | Power of prayer | Corned beef | Remembering birthdays | Celebrity old-age home

Your article (Nasa moon rocket creeps to its launchpad in preparation for astronaut flight, 18 January) quotes the crew commander of Artemis II, Reid Wiseman: “They are so fired up that we are headed back to the moon. They just want to see humans as far away from Earth as possible.” I imagine...

Valve Has ‘Significantly’ Rewritten Steam’s Rules For How Developers Must Disclose AI Use

Yesterday at 19:35 PM, via Slashdot

Valve has substantially overhauled its guidelines for how game developers must disclose the use of generative AI on Steam, making explicit that tools like code assistants and other development aids do not fall under the disclosure requirement. The updated rules clarify that Valve’s focus is not on “efficiency gains through the use of AI-powered dev tools.” Developers must still disclose two...

Haims Capital to Launch RKM 6.0 Intelligent Investment System for U.S. Market as Global Volatility Intensifies

Yesterday at 19:20 PM, via Tech Financials

Haims Capital, a financial technology firm specializing in data-driven investment analytics, announced plans to launch RKM 6.0, the latest version of its Real-time Kernel Matrix (RKM) intelligent investment decision system, in June 2026. The updated platform is designed to support investors in the U.S. market by integrating real-time market data, behavioral finance analysis, and adaptive […]

Kili Technologies: Unlocking Africa’s Clean Energy Potential With Trusted Data

Yesterday at 19:11 PM, via Tech Financials

Africa is well positioned to lead the global renewable energy transition, given its abundant solar, wind, and hydropower resources. However, despite this potential, the sector continues to face significant structural barriers. One of the most critical challenges is access to climate finance, with African renewable energy projects currently attracting only about 2% of global climate […]

Netflix Wants Plots Explained Multiple Times Because Viewers Are on Their Phones, Matt Damon Says

Yesterday at 19:08 PM, via Slashdot

Netflix has begun asking filmmakers to adjust their storytelling approach to account for viewers who are scrolling through their phones while watching, according to Matt Damon. The traditional action movie formula involves three major set pieces distributed across the first, second, and third acts. Netflix now wants a large action sequence in the opening five minutes to hook viewers. The...

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