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Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai's remarks from Q1 2024 earnings callGoogle and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai's remarks from Q1 2024 earnings call

prisoninmate shares a report from 9to5Linux: Canonical released today Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) as the latest version of its popular Linux-based operating system featuring some of the latest GNU/Linux technologies and Open Source software. Powered by Linux kernel 6.8, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS features the latest GNOME 46 desktop environment, an all-new graphical firmware update tool called Firmware Updater, Netplan 1.0 for state-of-the-art network management, updated Ubuntu font, support for the deb822 format for software sources, increased vm.max_map_count for better gaming, and Mozilla Thunderbird as a Snap by default. It also comes with an updated Flutter-based graphical desktop installer that's now capable of updating itself and features a bunch of changes like support for accessibility features, guided (unencrypted) ZFS installations, a new option to import auto-install configurations for templated custom provisioning, as well as new default installation options, such as Default selection (previously Minimal) and Extended selection (previously Normal)."

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prisoninmate shares a report from 9to5Linux: Canonical released today Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) as the latest version of its popular Linux-based operating system featuring some of the latest GNU/Linux technologies and Open Source software. Powered by Linux kernel 6.8, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS features the latest GNOME 46 desktop environment, an all-new graphical firmware update tool called Firmware Updater, Netplan 1.0 for state-of-the-art network management, updated Ubuntu font, support for the deb822 format for software sources, increased vm.max_map_count for better gaming, and Mozilla Thunderbird as a Snap by default. It also comes with an updated Flutter-based graphical desktop installer that's now capable of updating itself and features a bunch of changes like support for accessibility features, guided (unencrypted) ZFS installations, a new option to import auto-install configurations for templated custom provisioning, as well as new default installation options, such as Default selection (previously Minimal) and Extended selection (previously Normal)."

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AMD Ryzen 9 7950X & Intel Core i9 14900K: Ubuntu 22.04 vs. 23.10 vs. 24.04 Linux Performance  Phoronix

Jeff Lawson, the cofounder of cloud computing company Twilio, appears to have purchased the satirical news website The Onion from G/O Media. Business Insider reports: A trust linked to Lawson is behind a San Francisco-based company called Global Tetrahedron, which shares the name of a fictional evil megacorporation in a long-running Onion gag, business records show. G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller confirmed the sale of The Onion to Global Tetrahedron in an email Thursday to staff, first reported by New York Times journalist Katie Robertson. "This company is made up of four digital media veterans with a profound love for The Onion and comedy based content," Spanfeller wrote. "The site's new owners have agreed to keep The Onion's entire staff intact and in Chicago, something we insisted be part of the deal." When asked about the purchase, Lawson replied: "What's The Onion?" Then, "What's a Tetrahedron?"

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Red Hat Offering Up To 4 Years Extra Support For RHEL7  Phoronix

Fintech giant Stripe announced on Thursday that it would let customers accept cryptocurrency payments, starting with USDC stablecoins, initially only on Solana, Ethereum and Polygon. TechCrunch reports: This will be the first time that Stripe has taken crypto payments since 2018, when it dropped support for Bitcoin due to it being too unstable. Stripe in 2022 tried its first reentry into the crypto market when it announced payouts (but not payments) in USDC, with Twitter as its marquee customer for the service. Thursday's news has no customer names attached to it. On Wednesday the company unveiled a long list of other launches, the most significant update being that Stripe, for the very first time, would let customers integrate competing payment providers with Stripe's other financial services tooling. Thursday's nod to expanding crypto support is also part of that bigger strategy to open up its walled garden. A brief timeline of Stripe's dance with crypto underscores the tricky line that Stripe has walked over the years when it comes to cryptocurrency. True to its disruptive roots as a fintech, the company has wanted to be in the middle of the conversation around how blockchain-based technologies will affect financial services. But it runs the risk of subverting its bigger business and positioning as a stable and sensible financial powerhouse if it dabbles too deeply or for too long in periods of instability. The company processed $1 trillion in transactions last year, and it's still growing; it is currently worth $65 billion on paper.

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Ubuntu 24.04 'Noble Numbat' brings 12 years of Linux support for enterprise deployments  SDxCentral

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to restore regulations that expand government oversight of broadband providersand aim to protect consumer access to the internet, a move that will reignite a long-running battle over the open internet. Known as net neutrality, the regulations were first put in place nearly a decade ago under the Obama administration and are aimed at preventing internet service providers like Verizon or Comcast from blocking or degrading the delivery of services from competitors like Netflix and YouTube. The rules were repealed under President Donald J. Trump, and have proved to be a contentious partisan issue over the years while pitting tech giants against broadband providers. In a 3-to-2 vote along party lines, the five-member commission appointed by President Biden revived the rules that declare broadband a utility-like service regulated like phones and water. The rules also give the F.C.C. the ability to demand broadband providers report and respond to outages, as well as expand the agency's oversight of the providers' security issues. Broadband providers are expected to sue to try to overturn the reinstated rules. The core purpose of the regulations is to prevent internet service providers from controlling the quality of consumers' experience when they visit websites and use services online. When the rules were established, Google, Netflix and other online services warned that broadband providers had the incentive to slow down or block access to their services. Consumer and free speech groups supported this view. There have been few examples of blocking or slowing of sites, which proponents of net neutrality say is largely because of fear that the companies would invite scrutiny if they did so. And opponents say the rules could lead to more and unnecessary government oversight of the industry.

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Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Noble Numbat, overhauls its installation and app experience  Ars Technica

Z went to a Duke recruiting weekend where accepted kids can get a feel for the university. He hung out with some kids who decided to go to Harvard and Stanford, and a bunch of kids who decided on Duke. What was similar about all of them? They talked openly about having autism.

At lunch one kid said to Z, “Do you know you have autism?”

And Z said, “Yeah. Do you?”

And then a bunch of the kids at the table said they had it. That’s all. Then everyone moved on to another topic.

Kids are so far ahead of parents in how they think about autism. So I’ve been trying to focus my own research on what makes autistic people so special. Why are they overrepresented among top colleges, top earners, artistic success stories?

OCD means inventive

The idea of disability is contextual, and culture determines what we think is useful. For example, OCD is a label for obsessive people, but expertise comes from obsessive interests as well. Each of the kids asked each other, “how did you get in” or “what was your main essay about?” and they were really answering the question “what were you obsessed with in high school?”

We can also think of OCD as a way to find fulfillment through consistency. For example Z was able to succeed at cello because he had an obsession with playing in tune — which is very difficult to do but fulfilling to people who play string instruments very well .

Also, the process for invention is trial and error. Another word for that is OCD. Few people have enough patience for trial and error to actually invent something. But someone with OCD doesn’t need patience to be inventive — they feel fulfilled even when they’re failing because they focus on process.

ADHD means hyperfocused

ADHD means it’s impossible to focus on something boring, but the ability to focus on something interesting is extraordinary. Among kids with ADHD interestingness is the highest value.

Top colleges look for spiked applicants which means admissions committees don’t want well-rounded kids but rather kids who have a natural tendency to become an expert. Because experts make a community more interesting and they are more likely to place high value on other interesting kids.

Z stayed overnight in a dorm room and his host was a soccer player who just received a multi-million dollar contract to play in England. Z said, “He’s 7’2″ and I almost never saw him because he was at soccer practice.” Other kids might be sad about the lack of interaction but Z loved being surrounded by kids who were hyper focused on their interest.

Dyslexia means information-driven

The type of dyslexia autistic kids have is around reading comprehension. We are great at finding the answer to reading comprehension questions, but we have a hard time with open-ended questions about characters e.g. class discussion. We just don’t care.

While neurotypical people connect to others by narrating daily life or sharing personal feelings, autistic people connect with people by sharing ideas and knowledge. Each group has the same level of drive to connect to other people, but to different ends.

The way this tendency translates to reading is we get the information we need and move on. The way it looks in college is lots of kids at top schools connecting by sharing ideas.

Social awkwardness means social activist

Cognitive empathy is understanding how someone feels and why they feel that way. Autistic people are not very good at this type of empathy. But caring about someone is different — that’s affective empathy which is intact in autistic people. The result is autistic kids can feel empathy for people as a whole but we have trouble empathizing with individual experiences.

This explains the autistic tendency toward social justice.  Autistic people have empathy for the greater good and this makes autistic kids most likely to act in a leadership role to instigate change. When colleges say they’re looking for leaders, they are, in effect, looking for people with empathy for the whole rather than for individuals.

Autistic kids also have compromised person-perception which means we can’t accurately predict an individual’s intentions, emotions, or thoughts. But, like all deficits in our brain, it makes room for our brain to focus on something else. And in this case it’s understanding societal intentions and needs.

Autistic social-cognitive skills are extremely high. This means we can predict the needs of a group before the individuals are aware of those needs. Our ability to predict social phenomena and psycho-social trends enables us to come up with ideas like “social loafing” and “group think”.

Pattern seeker means problem solver

Autistic people are drawn to patterns and the systems that create those patterns. This can be the way a frisbee moves, how tidal waves emerge, coin collecting, or office politics. The need for systematic thinking in society is huge, and autistic people can solve problems because they see the systems differently.

For example, a kid Z met applied from one of the poorest areas on earth. The kid got to learning everything there is about US colleges and the application process, and then systemizing his efforts. He applied to the top 20 schools, and schools that offer international scholarships. He got into two colleges: Duke and Princeton. That’s a great example of how systematizing is a huge advantage.

I listened to Z talk about the kids, and it was so fun to hear how their process for becoming experts. Teaching me about patterns is my love language. I think that’s what autistic kids think when they meet each other: relief, and excitement. And that’s what makes being together at college so fun.

Want to learn more about these topics and next-generation autism? I’m doing a four-day course May 21 – 24 at 5pm EST and I’d love for you to join. The cost is $195 now and $295 in five days. Sign up now. 

 

 

The post What explains the outsized success of autistic applicants to college appeared first on Penelope Trunk Careers.

TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer shutting down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., Reuters reported Thursday, citing sources. From the report: The algorithms TikTok relies on for its operations are deemed core to ByteDance overall operations, which would make a sale of the app with algorithms highly unlikely, said the sources close to the parent. TikTok accounts for a small share of ByteDance's total revenues and daily active users, so the parent would rather have the app shut down in the U.S. in a worst case scenario than sell it to a potential American buyer, they said. A shut-down would have limited impact on ByteDance's business while the company would not have to give up its core algorithm, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media. It said late on Thursday in a statement posted on Toutiao, a media platform it owns, that it had no plan to sell TikTok, in response to an article by The Information saying ByteDance is exploring scenarios for selling TikTok's U.S. business without the algorithm that recommends videos to TikTok users.

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Bazzite 3.0: updated gaming Linux OS polishes support for Steam Deck OLED, Legion GO, Asus ROG Ally among ...  Notebookcheck.net

Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a rule issued on Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). From a report: New limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric plants are the Biden administration's most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from the power sector, the nation's second-largest contributor to the climate crisis. The rules are a key part of Joe Biden's pledge to eliminate carbon pollution from the electricity sector by 2035 and economy-wide by 2050. The rule was among four separate measures targeting coal and natural gas plants that the EPA said would provide "regular certainty" to the power industry and encourage them to make investments to transition "to a clean energy economy." They also include requirements to reduce toxic wastewater pollutants from coal-fired plants and to safely manage so-called coal ash in unlined storage ponds. The new rules "reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants, protect communities from pollution and improve public health -- all while supporting the long-term, reliable supply of the electricity needed to power America forward," the EPA administrator, Michael Regan, told reporters at a White House briefing.

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Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) is now available  GamingOnLinux

An anonymous reader shares a report: Consumer Intelligence Research Partners is out with a report on how iPhone activations compare to Android in the US. The latest data shows a notable drop over the last year bringing Apple's US smartphone market share of new activations back in time six years. CIRP shared its new iPhone report on its Substack this morning. The firm notes that while it believes Apple's installed smartphone base is higher than the recent share of US smartphone activations, the latter has taken a dive. As shown below, the metric peaked at 40% for Q1 and Q2 in 2023 with Apple seeing a decline to 33% of new smartphone activations in the US as of Q1 2024, says CIRP. That means 2 out of 3 new smartphone activations in the US are Android devices. Per CIRP's data, Apple hasn't seen numbers that low since 2017.

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Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Linux is Now Available  How-To Geek

A new report from inaugural Technology & Society Visiting Fellow Andrew McAfee looks at the potential economic impacts of generative AI.A new report from inaugural Technology & Society Visiting Fellow Andrew McAfee looks at the potential economic impacts of generative AI.

Over the next year, Keep reminders will automatically save to Google Tasks so you can also access them from Calendar, Tasks and Assistant.Over the next year, Keep reminders will automatically save to Google Tasks so you can also access them from Calendar, Tasks and Assistant.

The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote to restore net neutrality on Thursday in the latest volley of a yearslong game of political ping-pong. From a report: The commission is expected to reclassify internet service providers (ISPs) -- e.g., broadband companies like AT&T and Comcast -- as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. That classification would open ISPs up to greater oversight by the FCC. The vote is widely expected to go in favor of reinstating net neutrality since FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, controls the agency's agenda. Rosenworcel moved forward with the measure after a fifth commissioner was sworn in, restoring a Democratic majority on the panel. Net neutrality proponents say that oversight can help ensure fair access to an open internet by upholding principles like no blocking or throttling of internet traffic. Opponents, including industry players, fear it could halt innovation and subject ISPs to onerous price regulations. Update FCC Votes To Restore Net Neutrality.

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