361
Thatcher killed the UK’s superfast broadband before it even existed
Grrrh! I could get really annoyed about this! Living and working in rural Stirlingshire has its advantages for sure, but fast broadband is not one of them.
Topics /
Society, Policy & Culture
The most popular blog posts about society, policy & culture on Hacker News. 1,047 posts.
362
I'm retiring from the engineering profession
To protect our advocacy work against future harassment from the Minnesota licensing board, Strong Towns President Charles Marohn is retiring as a professional engineer.
363
One in three young people say they felt happier during lockdown
One in three young people say their mental health and wellbeing improved during COVID-19 lockdown measures, with potential contributing factors including feeling less lonely, avoiding bullying and getting more sleep and exercise, according to researchers at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
364
An Investigation of the Facts Behind Columbia's U.S. News Ranking
Michael Thaddeus Professor of Mathematics mt324@columbia.edu thaddeus@michaelthaddeus.org February 2022, revised March 2022
365
My deepfake DALL-E 2 vacation photos passed the Turing Test
I went on a real vacation, and created photos of a fake vacation using DALL-E 2. Most people couldn't tell the difference.
366
Internet Archive Seeks Material for Library of Amateur Radio and Communications
Internet Archive has begun gathering content for the Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications (DLARC), which will be a massive online library of materials and collections related to amateur radio and early digital communications. The DLARC is funded by a significant grant from the Amateur Radio Digital…
367
In defense of cryptocurrency
Last week a group of technologists, including Bruce Schneier, sent a letter to Congress outlining their concerns around cryptocurrency and urging Congress to regulate the space. Now let me be the f…
368
The war on gifted education
Why the landslide loss for San Francisco's school board is a victory for American meritocracy
369
High beef prices and the destruction of independent cattle ranching
Agricultural economists manipulated data to block Congress from acting on high beef prices and the destruction of independent cattle ranching. Why? Because they think monopolies are good.
370
No, you can’t save £30 per year by switching off your “standby” devices
Every few years, a dodgy stat does the rounds claiming you can save £££ if you switch off all your gadgets at the wall. The standby mode of your TV is bleeding you dry!!! Energy Saving Trust@EnergySvgTrustA quick way to #saveenergy at home is to turn off tablets, laptops and consoles as soon as you stop using them…
371
You can build a skyscraper anywhere in Davis, California
Update: Everything in this article about Davis is also currently true in the following cities:
372
Humans can't endure temperatures and humidities as high as previously thought
Penn State researchers found that the maximum wet-bulb temperature humans can endure is lower than previously thought — about 31°C wet-bulb or 87°F at 100% humidity — even for young, healthy subjects. The temperature for older populations, who are more vulnerable to heat, is likely even lower.
373
Please save Hacker Lab
July 31 st 2022 has come and gone. Hacker Lab has closed but the community in Sacramento and the need for these kinds of inspiring and supportive makerspaces is still very much alive.
374
375
Discord fined €800k for failing to comply with several obligations of the GDPR
This page is no longer available. Order to comply or sanctions issued by the CNIL may be made public. In this case, a time limit shall be specified in the decision. Once this time period has expired, the organisations that have been given formal notice or sanctioned are no longer identified in the public decision. For…
376
IRS audits poorest families at five times the rate for everyone else
Beck will use the $25,000 grant to examine the Justice Department’s shutdown of civil rights investigations into local law enforcement and carceral facilities during the second Trump Administration, building the first comprehensive public accounting of the Civil Rights Division’s retreat.
377
Wartime Is a Bad Time to Mess with the Internet
Like most people, we at EFF are horrified by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Also like most people, we are not experts on military strategy or international diplomacy. But we do have some expertise with the internet and civil liberties, which is why we are deeply concerned that governments around the...
378
Why does science news suck so much?
Science News, Physics, Science, Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
379
380
Court Ruling shows the GPL is both copyright license and contractual agreement
For Immediate Release — IRVINE, CA, USA — Software Freedom Conservancy announces it has succeeded in federal court with its motion to have its lawsuit against Vizio, Inc. remanded back to Superior Court in Orange County, California. Vizio, Inc. previously filed a request to “remove” the case from California State…
381
It looks like I’m moving to Mastodon
Elon Musk laid off about half of Twitter this morning. There are many terrible stories emerging about how this went down, but one that particularly struck me was that he …
382
The U.S. military is poisoning Okinawa
Blood testing confirms high levels of carcinogen PFAS in the blood of hundreds living close to US bases Japanese demand answers while Americans deny responsibility By Pat Elder December 1, 2022
383
384
Senators Urge FTC to Probe ID.me over Selfie Data
Some of more tech-savvy Democrats in the U.S. Senate are asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate identity-proofing company ID.me for “deceptive statements” the company and its founder allegedly made over how they handle facial recognition data collected on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service …
385
Schroedinger's streaming service just died
The sex industry has pioneered every new communications tool since the printing press: in my own lifetime, I've watched it take the lead in VCRs, desktop publishing, BBSes, digital text, digital images, digital videos, live streaming services, cryptocurrency, and VR. It would be easy to conclude that being interested…
386
387
388
389
Denmark bans Gmail and Co from schools due to privacy concerns
Denmark's data protection authority follows Dutch and German authorities by raising concerns about Google's GDPR compliance.
390
Austrian DSB: EU-US Data Transfers to Google Analytics Illegal
In a groundbreaking decision, the Austrian Data Protection Authority has decided on a model case by noyb that the continuous use of Google Analytics violates the GDPR.