These are the articles, videos and more that caught the attention of TechCentral’s editorial team in the past 24 hours.
- The world according to Google Street View: This map shows Google’s official Street View coverage as of 15 October 2024. The US, Western Europe, Japan and India, among others, are all really well covered. However, China, most of Africa, and large parts of South America, Canada and Australia are all missing. See more at brilliantmaps.com. DM
- Tech’s race to go nuclear is exciting. It’s also going to be really frickin’ hard: Google, Amazon and Microsoft are investing in small modular nuclear reactors to meet growing energy demands from AI and data centres. Despite nuclear power’s efficiency, past projects have been plagued by high costs, long build times and safety concerns. These new reactors promise faster, cheaper and safer construction, though none has yet come online, making the investments risky but potentially transformative. Read more on Gizmodo. DM
- Winamp deletes entire GitHub source code repo after a rocky few weeks: Recently on Bookmarks we posted about Winamp putting its code on GitHub. Well, it didn’t last long. The repository has been entirely deleted after it either bumped up against or broke its strange hodgepodge of code licences, seemingly revealed the source code for other non-open software packages and left a poor impression on the open-source community. Read more on Ars Technica. TS
- 200 Bandai Namco employees reportedly moved into ‘expulsion rooms’ designed to bore them into quitting: Some 200 of 1 300 Bandai Namco employees have been sent to “expulsion rooms”. Rather than butting up against stringent dismissal laws, practicing companies instead transfer their employees to rooms or floors that are designed to bore them out of their minds or culturally shame them into accepting severance deals. More on PC Gamer. TS
- What are the myths and facts behind ADHD?: ADHD is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder in children and affects some people well into adulthood. Often misdiagnosed and riddled with co-morbidities, ADHD is often misunderstood. Learn more about the facts in this Agenda episode on YouTube. NN
- China security group urges review of Intel’s chips as tech tension with US rises: Intel’s woes may be compounded by calls by a Chinese industry group for the evaluation of the chip maker’s products due to high failure rates and security vulnerabilities. Read more in the The Wall Street Journal. NN
- A rare comet sighting, and more from around the world: A rare comet hurling through space more than 76 million kilometres away from Earth was seen crossing the sky over Salgotarjan, Hungary this week. Check out the picture and others showing weird and wonderful events from around the world on Daily Maverick. NN
- Breakthrough eye scanner can detect diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s: A team of researchers from Indiana University, Northwestern University, Stanford University and the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary are at the forefront of this research. The eye can reveal clues about conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, sickle cell anaemia and even Alzheimer’s disease. More on Interesting Engineering. TS
Top stories on TechCentral in the past 24 hours:
- We drove five electric cars across South Africa – a photo essay
- South African online fashion retailer Zando to close down
- Massive fraud in Sassa grant system uncovered
- The extraordinary cost of bailing out South Africa’s SOEs
Bookmarks is a daily feature on TechCentral and published Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.
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