Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes:



Last July, as Microsoft pledged $4 billion to advance AI education in K-12 schools, Microsoft President Brad Smith told nonprofit Code.org CEO/Founder Hadi Partovi it was time to "switch hats" from coding to AI. He added that "the last 12 years have been about the Hour of Code, but the future involves the Hour of AI." On Friday, Code.org announced leadership changes to make it so.




"I am thrilled to announce that Karim Meghji will be stepping into the role of President & CEO," Partovi wrote on LinkedIn. "Having worked closely with Karim over the last 3.5 years as our CPO, I have complete confidence that he possesses the perfect balance of historical context and 'founder-level' energy to lead us into an AI-centric future."

In a separate LinkedIn post, Code.org co-founder Cameron Wilson explained why he was transitioning to an executive advisor role. "Our community is entering a new chapter as AI changes and upends computer science as a discipline and society at large. Code.org's mission is still the same, however, we are starting a new chapter focused on ensuring students can thrive in the Age of AI. This new chapter will bring new opportunities, new problems to solve, and new communities to engage."



The Code.org leadership changes come just weeks after Code.org confirmed laid off about 14% of its staff, explaining it had "made the difficult decision to part ways with 18 colleagues as part of efforts to ensure our long-term sustainability." January also saw Code.org Chief Academic Officer Pat Yongpradit jump to Microsoft where he now helps "lead Microsoft's global strategy to put people first in an age of AI by shaping education and workforce policy" as a member of Microsoft's Global Education and Workforce Policy team.

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Berlin-based T2 Linux developer René Rebe (long-time Slashdot reader ReneR) is announcing that their Xorg display server has now restored its XAA acceleration architecture, "bringing fixed-function hardware 2D acceleration back to many older graphics cards that upstream left in software-rendered mode."


Older fixed-function GPUs now regain smooth window movement, low CPU usage, and proper 24-bit bpp framebuffer support (also restored in T2). Tested hardware includes ATi Mach-64 and Rage-128, SiS, Trident, Cirrus, Matrox (Millennium/G450), Permedia2, Tseng ET6000 and even the Sun Creator/Elite 3D.

The result: vintage and retro systems and classic high-end Unix workstations that are fast and responsive again.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

De 76ste editie van filmfestival Berlinale was nog politieker dan anders, met een open brief over Gaza en ophef over juryvoorzitter Wim Wenders die stelde dat films „niet expliciet politiek” zijn. Winnaar Yellow Letters is dat duidelijk wel.

Het veelbesproken Canadese curlingteam heeft zaterdagavond goud gewonnen, door in de finale Groot-Brittanië met 9-6 te verslaan.

on the water photography has added a photo to the pool:

This image shows the modern main building of the Torikai Hachimangu Shrine located in Fukuoka City, Japan.
The shrine has a history spanning approximately 1,800 years, with roots traced back to Empress Jingu and is known as the home to the deity of matchmaking.
The contemporary architectural design features a striking split-wall entrance framed by traditional stone lion-dog guardian statues.
The shrine grounds also feature a massive 3,000-square-meter wisteria trellis, designated as a Natural Monument of Japan.


The thatched Torikai Hachimangu shrine was designed by Ninomiya Sekkei Architects. Recently completed the compound consists of a thatched structure, wood prayer room, a concrete columbarium (a structure used to store urns containing cremated remains) and an inner shrine constructed in an early, iconic, simple style, similar to the inner shrines of Ise, known as shinnei-zukuri.
Source: galen_lowe

SergioQ79 - Osanpo Photographer - has added a photo to the pool:

Sotto il sole fermo di aprile, in un angolo silenzioso di Fukuoka, una vending machine rossa resta accesa accanto a una porta che sembra non aprirsi da tempo. La casa alle sue spalle è immobile, segnata, quasi dimenticata, mentre il distributore continua a offrire bevande fredde a un passaggio che forse non arriva mai. Non c’è folla, non c’è rumore, solo cemento, ombre nette e fili elettrici che attraversano il cielo. È un frammento di quotidianità sospesa: il commercio che resiste, la vita che scorre altrove, e questo piccolo presidio automatico che rimane lì, testimone silenzioso di un quartiere che cambia senza annunciarsi.

四月の止まったような陽ざしの下、福岡の静かな一角で、赤い自動販売機が、長い間開かれていないような扉の横に灯りをともして立っている。背後の家は動きを止め、少し忘れられたように見えるが、自販機は冷たい飲み物を差し出し続ける。そこに人の気配はない。コンクリートと鋭い影、空を横切る電線だけがある。これは、宙に浮いた日常の断片。どこかで進み続ける生活と、何も語らずに変わりゆく町を静かに見守る、小さな存在の記録である。

Under the still April sun, in a quiet corner of Fukuoka, a red vending machine stands lit beside a door that seems long unopened. The house behind it feels motionless, worn, almost forgotten, while the machine keeps offering cold drinks to a passerby who may never come. There is no crowd, no noise—only concrete, sharp shadows, and power lines cutting across the sky. It is a suspended fragment of everyday life: commerce that persists, life unfolding somewhere else, and this small automatic presence remaining there, a silent witness to a neighborhood that changes without ever announcing it.

• Great Britain 6-9 Canada

• Mouat’s side take silver after falling short in last end

Sometimes the silvers you win feel more like the golds you lose. After an excruciatingly tense three-hour final, there’s no doubt which way Bruce Mouat and the British men’s curling team will see this one. They were beaten 9-6 by Canada, in a game that took several twists and turns on its way to the very last stone of the 10th end. It is their second Olympic silver medal, after the one they won when they lost to Sweden in Beijing in 2022. After 10 days of competition, the Olympic title is still the one thing in the sport that this world champion team haven’t won, and that will sting.

The British rink had the better start. They forced Canada to settle for one from the 1st end, even though they had last stone advantage. But Grant Hardie is a gnarly competitor and he and his team worked their way into a 4-3 lead at halfway with a couple of double take-outs in the 3rd and 5th ends. In the 4th, when Britain had the hammer, they were made to play the same clearing shot four times in a row, before Hardie finally nailed it. Then Mouat missed with his penultimate stone, which clipped his own guard on its way home.

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Wim Wenders says German director İlker Çatak’s Turkey-set warning against creeping authoritarianism gave jury ‘chills’

Yellow Letters, a drama set in Turkey about creeping authoritarianism, has won the Golden Bear top prize at the Berlin film festival, after a 10-day event overshadowed by a row over politics in cinema.

The film by the German director İlker Çatak, born in Berlin to Turkish immigrants, tells the story of two luminaries of the Ankara theatre scene whose marriage comes under severe strain when they lose their jobs after falling out of political favour. Its title comes from the colour of the official dismissal notices.

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Tottenham have rolled the dice and an injury-ravaged side’s anxiety may only get worse as West Ham close the gap

When did the reality dawn? Perhaps it was towards the end of the first half of West Ham’s game at Chelsea at the end of January with the away side leading 2-0. Or perhaps it was when West Ham took the lead against Manchester United 10 days later. As it turned out, West Ham won neither fixture; had they done so they would have had five points more and so been level with Tottenham going into this weekend. And then Tottenham’s proximity to relegation could not have been denied.

West Ham’s revival means this isn’t like last season, when a win at Ipswich at the end of February took Tottenham to 33 points and as good as confirmed their continued presence in the Premier League, allowing Ange Postecoglou to focus on Europe. Were Spurs to pull off something extremely unlikely and beat Arsenal on Sunday, they would move to 32 and, for all the glee their fans would feel, nobody would feel secure.

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Mr Mikage (ミスター御影） posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Hollywood is in paniek door een hyperrealistisch AI‑filmpje waarin Tom Cruise en Brad Pitt elkaar te lijf gaan – en dat zegt veel over de toekomst van film én beroemdheid.

In een video van vijftien seconden vechten Tom Cruise en Brad Pitt op een vervallen dak, compleet met filmische camerabewegingen, stunts en sounddesign. De clip is gemaakt met Seedance 2.0, een nieuw AI‑videomodel van ByteDance (het moederbedrijf van TikTok), op basis van niet meer dan een korte prompt. Het resultaat oogt zo echt dat scenarist Rhett Reese (“Deadpool”) publiek verzuchtte: “Het is waarschijnlijk voorbij voor ons.”

Seedance 2.0: speelgoed of sloopkogel?

Seedance 2.0 is ontworpen om met een paar regels tekst “bioscoopwaardige” scènes te genereren, compleet met fysiek realistische bewegingen en controle over stijl en camerastandpunten. Fans gebruiken het om alternatieve eindes te maken voor series als “Game of Thrones” en “Stranger Things”, of om superhelden als Batman en Wolverine tegen elkaar te laten vechten. Voor studio’s is dat geen onschuldig fandom meer, maar een AI‑sloopkogel die hun verdienmodel en auteursrecht ondermijnt.

Studio’s trekken de juridische noodrem

Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery en Paramount hebben ByteDance inmiddels formeel gesommeerd om te stoppen. In de brieven staat dat Seedance op grote schaal zonder toestemming is getraind op hun films en series, en dat er massaal wordt gestrooid met Marvel‑helden, Star Wars‑figuren en andere iconische personages alsof het gratis clip‑art is. De Motion Picture Association spreekt van “grootschalige, ongeautoriseerde benutting van Amerikaanse auteursrechtelijk beschermde werken” en dreigt met rechtszaken.

Wie is de baas over je gezicht?

Naast auteursrecht speelt er nog iets fundamentelers: wie is eigenaar van een gezicht dat iedereen herkent. Seedance‑clips laten zien hoe makkelijk het is om beroemdheden in nieuwe contexten te plaatsen zonder dat ze ooit op de set zijn geweest, met alle risico’s op reputatieschade, nepnieuws en deepfake‑porno. Acteursvakbond SAG‑AFTRA noemt dit “blatante inbreuk” en ziet het als een aanval op de bestaanszekerheid van makers.artisanosalpha.

Het begin van het einde – of een nieuw hoofdstuk?

2026 dreigt zo een kanteljaar te worden waarin rechters moeten bepalen of het “fair use” is om AI te trainen op bestaande films en gezichten, of dat dit simpelweg digitale heling is. Tegelijk bereiden sommige sterren zich voor op een toekomst waarin ze hun stem en gezicht actief als merk beheren en licenties uitonderhandelen met AI‑producenten. Voor Hollywood is het AI‑schandaal rond Seedance 2.0 in elk geval een waarschuwing: niet de volgende blockbuster, maar het auteursrecht zelf staat nu in de hoofdrol.l