An independent review found that at least ten technical and process failures during a routine firewall upgrade at Australia's Optus prevented emergency calls from reaching Triple Zero for 14 hours, during which 455 calls failed and two callers died. The Register reports: On Thursday, Optus published an independent report (PDF) on the matter written by Dr Kerry Schott, an Australian executive who has held senior management roles at many of the country's most significant businesses. The report found that Optus planned 18 firewall upgrades and had executed 15 without incident. But on the 16th upgrade, Optus issued incorrect instructions to its outsourced provider Nokia. [...] Schott summarized the incident as follows: "Three issues are clear during this incident. The first is the very poor management and performance within [Optus] Networks and their contractor, Nokia. Process was not followed, and incorrect procedures were selected. Checks were inadequate, controls avoided and alerts given insufficient attention. There appeared to be reticence in seeking more experienced advice within Networks and a focus on speed and getting the task done, rather than an emphasis on doing things properly."

The review also found that Optus' call center didn't appreciate it could be "the first alert channel for Triple Zero difficulties." The document also notes that Australian telcos try to route 000 calls during outages, but that doing so is not easy and is made harder by the fact that different smartphones behave in different ways. Optus does warn customers if their devices have not been tested for their ability to connect to 000, and maintains a list of known bad devices. But the report notes Optus's process "does not capture so-called 'grey' devices that have been bought online or overseas and may not be compliant." "To have a standard firewall upgrade go so badly is inexcusable," the document states. "Execution was poor and seemed more focussed on getting things done than on being right. Supervision of both network staff and Nokia must be more disciplined to get things right."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Elite computer science degrees are no longer a guaranteed on-ramp to tech jobs, as AI-driven coding tools slash demand for entry-level engineers and concentrate hiring around a small pool of already "elite" or AI-savvy developers. The Los Angeles Times reports: "Stanford computer science graduates are struggling to find entry-level jobs" with the most prominent tech brands, said Jan Liphardt, associate professor of bioengineering at Stanford University. "I think that's crazy." While the rapidly advancing coding capabilities of generative AI have made experienced engineers more productive, they have also hobbled the job prospects of early-career software engineers. Stanford students describe a suddenly skewed job market, where just a small slice of graduates -- those considered "cracked engineers" who already have thick resumes building products and doing research -- are getting the few good jobs, leaving everyone else to fight for scraps.

"There's definitely a very dreary mood on campus," said a recent computer science graduate who asked not to be named so they could speak freely. "People [who are] job hunting are very stressed out, and it's very hard for them to actually secure jobs." The shake-up is being felt across California colleges, including UC Berkeley, USC and others. The job search has been even tougher for those with less prestigious degrees. [...] Data suggests that even though AI startups like OpenAI and Anthropic are hiring many people, it is not offsetting the decline in hiring elsewhere. Employment for specific groups, such as early-career software developers between the ages of 22 and 25 has declined by nearly 20% from its peak in late 2022, according to a Stanford study. [...]

A common sentiment from hiring managers is that where they previously needed ten engineers, they now only need "two skilled engineers and one of these LLM-based agents," which can be just as productive, said Nenad Medvidovic, a computer science professor at the University of Southern California. "We don't need the junior developers anymore," said Amr Awadallah, CEO of Vectara, a Palo Alto-based AI startup. "The AI now can code better than the average junior developer that comes out of the best schools out there." [...] Stanford students say they are arriving at the job market and finding a split in the road; capable AI engineers can find jobs, but basic, old-school computer science jobs are disappearing. As they hit this surprise speed bump, some students are lowering their standards and joining companies they wouldn't have considered before. Some are creating their own startups. A large group of frustrated grads are deciding to continue their studies to beef up their resumes and add more skills needed to compete with AI.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Earlier this month, Strava, the popular fitness-tracking app, released its annual "Year in Sport" wrap-up -- a cutesy, animated series of graphics summarizing each user's athletic achievements. But this year, for the first time, Strava made this feature available only to users with subscriptions ($80 per year), rather than making it free to everyone, as it had been historically since the review's debut in 2016. This decision has roiled numerous Strava users, particularly those who have relished the app's social encouragement features.

One Strava user in India, Shobhit Srivastava, "begged" Strava to "let the plebs see their Year in Sport too, please." He later explained to Ars that having this little animated video is more than just a collection of raw numbers. "When someone makes a video of you and your achievements and tells you that these are the people who stood right behind you, motivated you, cheered for you -- that feeling is of great significance to me!" he said by email. "Our goal was to give our users ample notice before the personalized Year In Sport was released," said Strava spokesperson Chris Morris. "With the relaunch of our subscription this year, we wanted to clarify the core benefits of Strava -- uploading activities, finding your community, sharing and giving kudos -- remain as accessible as possible."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The White House says it's investigating how a personal-finance YouTuber's livestream briefly appeared on the White House's official live video page. The creator says he has no idea how his video ended up there. The Associated Press reports: The livestream appeared for at least eight minutes late Thursday on whitehouse.gov/live, where the White House usually streams live video of the president speaking. It's unclear if the website was breached or the video was linked accidentally by someone in the government. The White House said in a statement that it was "aware and looking into what happened." The video that appeared on the government-run website featured some of a more than two-hour livestream from Matt Farley, who posts as @RealMattMoney, as he answered financial questions.

Farley told The Associated Press on Friday that he had no idea what happened and learned about it after the fact. He said he had not been contacted by the government and didn't have any theories about how his livestream ended up on the website. He joked that he hoped President Donald Trump and his youngest son, Barron Trump, "are watching my streams and taking advice."

"Had I known it would have been on the White House website, I probably would have had other things to talk about than personal finance," Farley said. When asked what other things he would discuss, Farley responded with a laugh and said: "What would you talk about with the world for eight minutes if you had an opportunity? I'm just some guy making YouTube videos about stocks."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

TikTok's owner ByteDance has signed a deal creating a U.S.-focused joint venture majority-owned by American and global investors, allowing the app to avoid a U.S. ban while ByteDance retains a minority stake. The BBC reports: Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive Shou Zi Chew. The deal, which is set to close on January 22, would end years of efforts by Washington to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns. It is in-line with a deal unveiled in September, when US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.

TikTok said in the memo that the deal would enable "over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community." Under the agreement, ByteDance will retain 19.9% of the business, while Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will hold 15% each. Another 30.1% will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, according to the memo.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

fu.miki has added a photo to the pool:

uchi uchi has added a photo to the pool:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

uchi uchi has added a photo to the pool:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

date stamped on slide January 1967

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

handwritten on back of photograph, “Mildred Junger, 1941"

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Veronica Williams PHOTOGRAPHER has added a photo to the pool:

© Veronica Williams (PHOTOGRAPHER)

iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:

iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:

HILVERSUM (ANP) - Oud-premier Jan Peter Balkenende en voormalig minister voor Vreemdelingenbeleid en Integratie Rita Verdonk wisten niet dat toenmalig VVD-voorzitter Bas Eenhoorn en partijleider Gerrit Zalm al jaren eerder op de hoogte waren van onwaarheden in de asielaanvraag van Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Dat blijkt uit het NTR-premiersportret 'De storm van Balkenende', een tweedelige documentaireserie die de NTR op 27 en 28 december uitzendt.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, voormalig Tweede Kamerlid voor de VVD, werd in 2006 door het programma Zembla geconfronteerd met haar verleden. Ze zou tijdens haar asielaanvraag onder meer een verkeerde naam en geboortedatum hebben opgegeven. Hoewel ze dat al eerder in de media had gemeld, werd het groot nieuws. Het was daarna aan Rita Verdonk om als minister te beslissen of Hirsi Ali haar Nederlanderschap kon behouden.

Partijvoorzitter Bas Eenhoorn had haar gerustgesteld over de kwestie: "Volgens mij gaat het allemaal goed. Je moet gewoon niet bewegen, rustig aan, gewoon doorgaan." Geconfronteerd met dat fragment uiten Verdonk en Balkenende hun verbazing. Ze zijn destijds nooit direct door de VVD-top op de hoogte gesteld van de informatie.

Balkenende komt ook terug op zijn uitspraak over de controverse rond het huwelijk tussen prins Johan Friso en Mabel Wisse Smit. Ze bleek contacten te hebben gehad met de toen beruchte drugsbaas Klaas Bruinsma.

Toen prins Friso zich wilde verloven met Smit, moest de regering volgens de Grondwet toestemming van de Staten-Generaal vragen om het huwelijk goed te keuren. Dat werd problematisch, omdat de informatie over haar verleden niet volledig of niet naar behoren was verstrekt aan de regering en de Kamer.

Op een persconferentie over de kwestie zei Balkenende: "Wanneer onwaarheid wordt gesproken, is daar natuurlijk geen kruid tegen gewassen." Volgens de oud-premier was deze uitspraak "te hard".

WASHINGTON (ANP/RTR) - In de honderdduizenden stukken die het Amerikaanse ministerie van Justitie vrijdag heeft vrijgegeven over de overleden zedendelinquent Jeffrey Epstein wordt nauwelijks verwezen naar president Donald Trump. Oud-president Bill Clinton komt er veelvuldig in voor.

In de vrijgegeven documenten zitten meerdere foto's van Clinton. Op een daarvan is hij te zien in een zwembad met Epsteins voormalige partner Ghislaine Maxwell en een onbekende persoon. Andere beelden tonen hem in een jacuzzi en op nog een foto zit een jonge vrouw op de armleuning van zijn stoel met haar arm om zijn schouders; haar gezicht is onherkenbaar gemaakt. Ook is er een foto van een opvallend schilderij van Clinton in een blauwe jurk dat hing in Epsteins woning in New York.

De publicatie van de foto's kan strijdig zijn met het beleid van de Amerikaanse justitie om geen materiaal te publiceren over lopende onderzoeken. Trump heeft justitie opgedragen de banden tussen Clinton en Epstein te onderzoeken, volgens critici een poging de aandacht af te leiden van zijn eigen vriendschap met Epstein in de jaren negentig en begin jaren 2000.

Opvallend is dat er weinig tot geen foto's of documenten zijn waarin Trump voorkomt. Wel is er één foto waarop Epstein een cheque met Trumps naam vasthoudt, en een andere waarop in Epsteins huis in Manhattan een exemplaar van Trumps boek The Art of the Comeback (1997) in een boekenkast te zien is.

In eerdere publicaties dook Trumps naam wel op, onder meer op vluchtlijsten van Epsteins privévliegtuig en in een contactboek dat tijdens het proces tegen Ghislaine Maxwell openbaar werd.

Volgens plaatsvervangend procureur-generaal Todd Blanche wordt de komende twee weken nog meer materiaal vrijgegeven, waardoor Trump mogelijk alsnog prominenter in latere documenten kan voorkomen.