iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:
iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:
WinRuWorld has added a photo to the pool:
Grevillea rosmarinifolia, commonly known as rosemary grevillea.
This is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-east of this country. It is usually an erect, compact to open shrub with linear, narrowly elliptic leaves and loose clusters of pink to red flowers.
Here we can see both mature and immature flowers.
Can grow to a height of 2 m.
© All rights reserved.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Google's meme-friendly Nano Banana image-generation model is getting an upgrade. The new Nano Banana Pro is rolling out with improved reasoning and instruction following, giving users the ability to create more accurate images with legible text and make precise edits to existing images. It's available to everyone in the Gemini app, but free users will find themselves up against the usage limits pretty quickly. Nano Banana Pro is part of the newly launched Gemini 3 Pro -- it's actually called Gemini 3 Pro Image in the same way the original is Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, but Google is sticking with the meme-y name. You can access it by selecting Gemini 3 Pro and then turning on the "Create images" option.
Google says the new model can follow complex prompts to create more accurate images. The model is apparently so capable that it can generate an entire usable infographic in a single shot with no weird AI squiggles in place of words. Nano Banana Pro is also better at maintaining consistency in images. You can blend up to 14 images with this tool, and it can maintain the appearance of up to five people in outputs. Google also promises better editing. You can refine your AI images or provide Nano Banana Pro with a photo and make localized edits without as many AI glitches. It can even change core elements of the image like camera angles, color grading, and lighting without altering other elements. Google is pushing the professional use angle with its new model, which has much-improved resolution options. Your creations in Nano Banana Pro can be rendered at up to 4K.
Google says the new model can follow complex prompts to create more accurate images. The model is apparently so capable that it can generate an entire usable infographic in a single shot with no weird AI squiggles in place of words. Nano Banana Pro is also better at maintaining consistency in images. You can blend up to 14 images with this tool, and it can maintain the appearance of up to five people in outputs. Google also promises better editing. You can refine your AI images or provide Nano Banana Pro with a photo and make localized edits without as many AI glitches. It can even change core elements of the image like camera angles, color grading, and lighting without altering other elements. Google is pushing the professional use angle with its new model, which has much-improved resolution options. Your creations in Nano Banana Pro can be rendered at up to 4K.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
alternative_right shares a report from Phys.org: New research from the Human Capital Development Lab at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School analyzes the state of the American workforce in 2024 and shows an overall decline in employee well-being compared to years prior. [...] The latest research confirms a decline in general employee well-being since 2020. In 2024, employees reported the lowest well-being scores on record, as opposed to 2020, when employees reported the highest well-being scores.
"In some cases, the lower scores represent a reduction in employee flexibility for either flexible hours or remote work," the latest research states. "In other cases, these scores could be related to challenges associated with greater economic shifts related to inflation or productivity needs." In prior years, well-being scores for managers and employees were comparable to one another, and during the pandemic, managers and top leaders often reported lower scores due to the extra burden of that time period. However, one of the most noteworthy shifts the current data shows is a rise in well-being scores for managers and senior leaders, while well-being for employees and individual contributors decreased in 2024.
Rick Smith, director of the Human Capital Development Lab and author of the study, says that the increase in well-being scores for managers could reflect the return to regular operating conditions since the pandemic, which may be indicative of the distance between leadership and workers. "What we're seeing is a growing gap between how leaders and their teams experience the workplace," said Smith. "Managers may feel a return to normalcy, but that doesn't mean their employees do. Leaders must be cautious not to assume their own well-being reflects the broader workforce at their organization. The data shows a potential disconnect, and that's a signal for action."
"In some cases, the lower scores represent a reduction in employee flexibility for either flexible hours or remote work," the latest research states. "In other cases, these scores could be related to challenges associated with greater economic shifts related to inflation or productivity needs." In prior years, well-being scores for managers and employees were comparable to one another, and during the pandemic, managers and top leaders often reported lower scores due to the extra burden of that time period. However, one of the most noteworthy shifts the current data shows is a rise in well-being scores for managers and senior leaders, while well-being for employees and individual contributors decreased in 2024.
Rick Smith, director of the Human Capital Development Lab and author of the study, says that the increase in well-being scores for managers could reflect the return to regular operating conditions since the pandemic, which may be indicative of the distance between leadership and workers. "What we're seeing is a growing gap between how leaders and their teams experience the workplace," said Smith. "Managers may feel a return to normalcy, but that doesn't mean their employees do. Leaders must be cautious not to assume their own well-being reflects the broader workforce at their organization. The data shows a potential disconnect, and that's a signal for action."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
An anonymous reader shares a report: Epishine, a company that makes solar cells optimized for indoor lighting, has announced its technology is being used in a new remote control for Google TV devices, as spotted by 9to5Google. The remote will rely on rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones, and thanks to the use of solar cells on both sides it may only run out of power when it gets buried and forgotten in the dark abyss of your couch cushions.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Ik bestel kaartjes voor het documentairefestival IDFA voor een documentaire over George Orwell, getiteld Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5.
:format(jpeg):fill(f8f8f8,true)/s3/static.nrc.nl/bvhw/wp-content/blogs.dir/114/files/2019/07/ikje5bij3-1.png)
Onlangs ontving ik een appje met de tekst: „Hoi pap, ik ben overgestapt van provider en heb een nieuw telefoonnummer. Kun je mij een whatsappje sturen op…’’ Er volgde een link met een nummer en de toevoeging: „Oude nummer kan weg.”
:format(jpeg):fill(f8f8f8,true)/s3/static.nrc.nl/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/fritshome.png)
Company 'clearly delighted' with the outcome
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has abandoned the lawsuit it pursued against SolarWinds and its chief infosec officer for misleading investors about security practices that led to the 2020 SUNBURST attack.…
DEN HAAG (ANP) - PME, het pensioenfonds voor de metaal- en technologische industrie, verhoogt de pensioenen vanaf 1 januari met 2,8 procent. Daardoor krijgen ongeveer 170.000 gepensioneerden vanaf begin volgend jaar een hoger bedrag op hun bankrekening.
Voorzitter van het uitvoerend bestuur Alae Laghrich meldt dat dit het vijfde jaar op rij is dat PME de pensioenen verhoogt. Dat kan dankzij de momenteel "sterke" financiële positie van het fonds. "Tegelijkertijd realiseer ik me dat de inflatie in de afgelopen jaren hoog is geweest en dat dit voor veel mensen betekent dat dagelijkse uitgaven, zoals boodschappen, flink duurder zijn geworden." De verhoging compenseert volgens het fonds de inflatie tussen juli 2024 en juli 2025.
De zogeheten dekkingsgraad van PME is eind oktober gestegen naar 125,2 procent. Dat betekent dat het fonds voor elke 100 euro die het nu en later aan pensioenen moet uitkeren, 125,20 euro in kas heeft. Daarmee is dit percentage toegenomen vergeleken met een maand eerder. Bestuurder Eric Uijen verwachtte vorige maand al dat de pensioenen bij PME omhoog zouden kunnen als de dekkingsgraad op niveau blijft.
Nieuw pensioenstelsel
De ruim 450.000 werknemers die nu pensioen opbouwen bij PME of dit in het verleden hebben gedaan en recht hebben op hun toen opgebouwde pensioen, zien de verhoging in februari terug op hun pensioenoverzichten. De premie blijft op hetzelfde percentage.
PME wil op 1 januari 2027 overstappen op het nieuwe pensioenstelsel. Laghrich zegt erop te vertrouwen deze datum te halen.
Businessman and endurance racer George Kurtz has become a co-owner of the Mercedes Formula 1 Team after securing a 15% minority acquisition in the ownership entity controlled by the squad's CEO and Team Principal Toto Wolff.