Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the another-nail-in-the-coffin-for-coal department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Energy ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies reached a deal to shut down their coal-fired power plants in the first half of the 2030s, in a significant step towards the transition away from fossil fuels. "There is a technical agreement, we will seal the final political deal on Tuesday," said Italian energy minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, who is chairing the G7 ministerial meeting in Turin. On Tuesday the ministers will issue a final communique detailing the G7 commitments to decarbonize their economies. Pichetto said the ministers were also pondering potential restrictions to Russian imports of liquefied natural gas to Europe which the European Commission is due to propose in the short-term.
The agreement on coal marks a significant step in the direction indicated last year by the COP28 United Nations climate summit to phase out fossil fuels, of which coal is the most polluting. Italy last year produced 4.7% of its total electricity through a handful of coal-fired stations. Rome currently plans to turn off its plants by 2025, except on the island of Sardinia where the deadline is 2028. In Germany and Japan coal has a bigger role, with the share of electricity produced by the fuel higher than 25% of total last year. "This is another nail in the coffin for coal," said Dave Jones, Ember's Global Insights program director. "The journey to phase out coal power has been long: it's been over seven years since the UK, France, Italy, and Canada committed to phase out coal power, so it's good to see the United States and especially Japan at last be more explicit on their intentions."
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Posted by from MMO Champion
Dragonflight and Season of Discovery Hotfixes - April 29, 2024
Originally Posted by Blizzard
(
Blue Tracker /
Official Forums)
Dungeons and Raids
Algeth’ar Academy
Fixed an issue where Vile Lasher’s Detonation Seed was not spawning on the ground.
Neltharus
Lava Flare’s Melt now goes on cooldown after the cast is interrupted.
Chargath, Bane of Scales
Fiery Focus's Fire damage reduced by 25%.
Uldaman: Legacy of Tyr
The Mythic+ timer increased by 1 minute.
Vault of the Incarnates
Cuzolth now provides their item upgrade services to players in Vault of the Incarnates.
Terros
Fixed an issue where Explosive Reaction was hitting pets on Mythic difficulty.
Items
Libergo, Head Librarian of the Azure Archives Annex in Valdrakken, has been watching your actions closely and now offers to reacquaint you with your legendary weapon if you happened to misplace it.
PvP staves now properly filter for Warlocks on vendors.
Season of Discovery
Shaman
Rolling Thunder can now trigger from Overload versions of Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning.
Warlock
Felguards summoned by Warlocks will now have their appropriate demon names, instead of just 'Felguard'. This name will not be permanent like other Warlock pets, and the Felguard's name will change upon every summon.
Posted by from MMO Champion
Notable Differences Between Cataclysm Classic 4.4.0 and Original Cataclysm 4.0.3a
Originally Posted by Blizzard
(
Blue Tracker /
Official Forums)
As Deathwing approaches, we want Classic progression players to know about some features from original Cataclysm (4.0.3a) that are going to differ in the Cataclysm Classic pre-patch (4.4.0).
Hunter Pets
Hunter pets will function differently in the 4.4.0 Cataclysm Classic Pre-patch than they did in original Cataclysm patch 4.0.3a.
In original Cataclysm, Hunter players were able to place 5 pets in their stable and summon them anywhere in the world.
Initially in patch 4.4.0, Hunter pets will work the same way they do in Wrath Classic. Hunters will continue to be able to summon 1 pet and will need to go to a Stablemaster to switch to a different one. We will update this Hunter functionality with the Cataclysm Classic expansion content launch (or sooner).
Additionally, original Cataclysm launched with Pet Aggressive stance, and Pet Assist stance later replaced Pet Aggressive stance in patch 4.2.0. We plan to have Pet Aggressive stance in place with 4.4.0, and then add Pet Assist stance in a future update.
Void Storage
Void Storage was originally added to World of Warcraft in the 4.3.0 patch. In Cataclysm Classic, we’re implementing a new Collections feature, as well as account-wide Transmogrification. This makes Void Storage largely unnecessary for holding your Transmog items.
It is our intention to not add the Void Storage feature to Cataclysm Classic.
Guild Perks
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Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the future-nostalgia department: ReneR writes: A major T2 Linux milestone has been released, shipping with full support for 25 CPU architectures and several C libraries, as well as restored support for Intel IA-64 Itanium. Additionally, many vintage X.org DDX drivers were fixed and tested to work again, as well as complete support for the latest KDE 6 and GNOME 46.
T2 is known for its sophisticated cross compile support and support for nearly all existing CPU architectures: Alpha, Arc, ARM(64), Avr32, HPPA(64), IA64, M68k, MIPS(64), Nios2, PowerPC(64)(le), RISCV(64), s390x, SPARC(64), and SuperH x86(64). T2 is an increasingly popular choice for embedded systems and virtualization. It also still supports the Sony PS3, Sgi, Sun and HP workstations, as well as the latest ARM64 and RISCV64 architectures.
The release contains a total of 5,140 changesets, including approximately 5,314 package updates, 564 issues fixed, 317 packages or features added and 163 removed, and around 53 improvements. Usually most packages are up-to-date, including Linux 6.8, GCC 13, LLVM/Clang 18, as well as the latest version of X.org, Mesa, Firefox, Rust, KDE 6 and GNOME 46!
More information, source and binary distribution are open source and free at T2 SDE.
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the open-sesame department: As reported by Bloomberg (paywalled), Apple's iPadOS will need to abide by EU's DMA rules, as it is now designated as a gatekeeper alongside the Safari web browser, iOS operating system and the App Store. "Apple now has six months to ensure full compliance of iPadOS with the DMA obligations," reads the EU's blog post about the change. Engadget reports: What does Apple have to do to ensure iPadOS compliance? According to the DMA, gatekeepers are prohibited from favoring their own services over rivals and from locking users into the ecosystem. The software must also allow third parties to interoperate with internal services, which is why third-party app stores are becoming a thing on iPhones in Europe. The iPad, presumably, will soon follow suit. In other words, the DMA is lobbing some serious stink bombs into Apple's walled garden. In a statement published by Forbes, Apple said it "will continue to constructively engage with the European Commission" to ensure its designated services comply with the DMA, including iPadOS. "iPadOS constitutes an important gateway on which many companies rely to reach their customers," wrote Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy at the European Commission. "Today's decision will ensure that fairness and contestability are preserved also on this platform."
Posted by from MMO Champion
Cataclysm Classic Test Weekends - Raids & Tol Barad
Originally Posted by Blizzard
(
Blue Tracker /
Official Forums)
Hello!
As we head towards our Cataclysm Classic launch in late May, we’re planning some special test weekends in the Cataclysm Beta.
May 3-6 – Cataclysm Raids Test 1
We’re opening the doors to the new raids that will launch shortly after the expansion, and your testing will help to ensure it’s a great experience.
Take on the pit Lord Argaloth deep in the prison of Tol Barad.
Battle the cult of the Twilight’s Hammer in Bastion of Twilight.
Storm the personal lair of the Windlord in Throne of the Four Winds.
Survive the gruesome draconic experiments and the reanimated Nefarian, son of Deathwing, in Blackwing Descent.
May 10-13 – Tol Barad Battleground
Tol Barad, once an outdoor PvP zone, has been reimagined as an instanced 80 v 80 battleground, similar to Wintergrasp in Wrath Classic.
We’re also planning a Brawl with the Blues event for Tol Barad. We’ll let you know exactly when.
May 14-17 – Cataclysm Raids Test 2
We’re planning a second raid test to make sure we’re ready for raids to open shortly after launch.
This weekend will include the same raids as weekend 1.
Thank you for all of your testing and feedback. We hope to see you there!
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the back-at-it-again department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from Business Insider: WeWork has a new plan to get out of bankruptcy -- and it doesn't involve Adam Neumann, who wants to acquire the flexible office provider he created. WeWork announced Monday that it has raised $450 million in equity funding, which it could use to emerge from Chapter 11. The company also said it has a plan in place to "eliminate all of its $4 billion of outstanding, prepetition debt obligations." A vote on the plan -- which has support from the owners of most of WeWork's debt -- is scheduled for May 30, according to Bloomberg.
The majority of the funding -- $337 million, to be exact -- would come from Cupar Grimmond, and SoftBank would still own a stake in the company, according to the outlet. But Neumann, who has recently expressed interest in purchasing WeWork for more than $500 million, doesn't plan to go down without a fight. "After misleading the court for weeks, WeWork finally admitted it is trying to sell the company to a group led by Yardi for far less than we are continuing to propose," Susheel Kirpalani, an attorney for Neumann's new real estate startup Flow Global, told Business Insider in a statement, adding, "so we anticipate there will be robust objections to confirming this plan."
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the arrested-in-absentia department: Longtime Slashdot reader ArchieBunker shares a report from The Mirror: The city court in Syktyvkar, the largest city in Russia's northwestern Komi region, announced it had arrested [former world chess champion Garry Kasparov] in absentia alongside former Russian parliament member Gennady Gudkov, Ivan Tyutrin co-founder of the Free Russia Forum -- which has been designated as an "undesirable organization in the country -- as well as former environmental activist Yevgenia Chirikova. All were charged with setting up a terrorist society, according to the court's press service. As all were charged in their absence, none were physically held in custody.
"The court has selected a measure of restraint for Garry Kasparov, Gennady Gudkov, Yevgenia Chirikova and Ivan Tyutrin, charged with establishing and heading a terrorist society, funding terrorist activity and justifying it publicly," the court said according to Kremlin-backed outlet TASS. "The court granted the investigative bodies' motions to remand Kasparov, Gudkov, Chirikova and Tyutrin in custody as a measure of restraint."
Kasparov responded to the court's bizarre arrest statement in an April 24 post shared on X, formerly Twitter. "In absentia is definitely the best way I've ever been arrested," he said. "Good company, as well. I'm sure we're all equally honored that Putin's terror state is spending time on this that would otherwise go persecuting and murdering."
The report notes that Kasparov "found himself in Russian President Vladimir Putin's firing line after he voiced his opposition to the country's leader." The report continues: "He has also pursued pro-democracy initiatives in Russia. But he felt unable to continue living in Russia after he was jailed and allegedly beaten by police in 2012, according to the Guardian. He was granted Croatian citizenship in 2014 following repeated difficulties in Russia."
Posted by from MMO Champion
Season of Discovery Class Tuning - April 30, 2024
Originally Posted by Blizzard
(
Blue Tracker /
Official Forums)
With scheduled weekly maintenance (tomorrow, April 30 in this region), we’ll make the following adjustments to classes in Season of Discovery:
Hunter
Raptor Fury now increases the damage done of Raptor strike and Mongoose Bite by 10% per stack (was 15%).
The Beast Mastery rune now increases pet damage by 10% (was 20%).
Shaman
The Burn rune now also grants a significant bonus to spell power when Flametongue Weapon is imbued on your weapon.
Rolling Thunder now has a 50% chance to trigger (was 30%).
Fixed a bug causing overload procs to not add a charge to Lightning Shield when the Shaman has the Rolling Thunder rune active.
Warlock
Invocation now also applies to Unstable Affliction.
Invocation damage can now deal critical strikes if the Warlock also has the Pandemic rune active.
Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the budget-cuts department: Ahead of its annual I/O developer conference in May, Google has decided to lay off staff across key teams like Flutter, Dart, Python and others. "As we've said, we're responsibly investing in our company's biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead," said a Google spokesperson. "To best position us for these opportunities, throughout the second half of 2023 and into 2024, a number of our teams made changes to become more efficient and work better, remove layers, and align their resources to their biggest product priorities. Through this, we're simplifying our structures to give employees more opportunity to work on our most innovative and important advances and our biggest company priorities, while reducing bureaucracy and layers." TechCrunch reports: The company clarified that the layoffs were not company-wide but were reorgs that are part of the normal course of business. Affected employees will be able to apply for other open roles at Google, we're told. [...] Though Google didn't detail headcount, some of the layoffs at Google may have been confirmed in a WARN notice filed on April 24. WARN, or the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires employers with more than 100 employees to provide 60-day notice in advance of layoffs. In the filing, Google said it was laying off a total of 50 employees across three locations in Sunnyvale.
On social media, commenters raised concerns with the Python layoffs in particular, given the role that Python tooling plays in AI. But others pointed out that Google didn't eliminate its Python team; it replaced that team with another group based in Munich -- at least according to Python Steering Council member Thomas Wouters in a post on Mastodon last Thursday.
Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the tens-of-billions-of-dollars department: If 2023 was the tech industry's year of the A.I. chatbot, 2024 is turning out to be the year of A.I. plumbing. From a report: It may not sound as exciting, but tens of billions of dollars are quickly being spent on behind-the-scenes technology for the industry's A.I. boom. Companies from Amazon to Meta are revamping their data centers to support artificial intelligence. They are investing in huge new facilities, while even places like Saudi Arabia are racing to build supercomputers to handle A.I. Nearly everyone with a foot in tech or giant piles of money, it seems, is jumping into a spending frenzy that some believe could last for years.
Microsoft, Meta, and Google's parent company, Alphabet, disclosed this week that they had spent more than $32 billion combined on data centers and other capital expenses in just the first three months of the year. The companies all said in calls with investors that they had no plans to slow down their A.I. spending. In the clearest sign of how A.I. has become a story about building a massive technology infrastructure, Meta said on Wednesday that it needed to spend billions more on the chips and data centers for A.I. than it had previously signaled. "I think it makes sense to go for it, and we're going to," Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive, said in a call with investors.
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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the know-your-rights department: Millions of Americans pay for Netflix, doling out anywhere from $6.99 to $22.99 a month. It's a common belief that you can get out of recurring charges like this by canceling your credit card. Netflix won't be able to find you, and your account will just go away, right? You wouldn't be crazy for believing it, but it's a myth that canceling a credit card will definitely stop your recurring charges. From a report: Nearly 46% of Americans opened a new credit card last year, according to Forbes, which means millions of Americans also canceled old ones. When you switch cards, Netflix doesn't just stop your service -- they just start charging your new card. Granted, it might be easier to just cancel your Netflix subscription directly. There's a largely hidden service that enables Netflix and most other subscription services to keep throwing charges at you indefinitely.
"Banks may automatically update credit or debit card numbers when a new card is issued. This update allows your card to continue to be charged, even if it's expired," Netflix says in its help center. Most major card providers offer a feature that enables this, including Visa. In 2003, Visa U.S.A. started offering a new software product to merchants called Visa Account Updater (VAU), according to a 2003 American Banker article. The service works with a network of banks to create a virtual tracking service of Americans' financial profiles. Whenever someone renews, or switches a credit card within their bank, the institution automatically update the VAU. This system lets Netflix and countless other corporations charge whatever card you have on file.
Fallout 76, Bethesda’s MMORPG set in the Fallout universe, is probably more popular today than ever thanks to Amazon’s new TV series. So it makes sense that in a recent interview, Bethesda executive producer Todd Howard was asked about Fallout 76and crossplay. And while the ability for PC and console players to… 
