The Cross Heads

Splash pads really are fountains of fecal material; CDC reports 10K illnesses

Once infectious material gets into the water, disinfection systems that aren’t working properly or are inadequate can allow pathogens to gush from every nozzle. Splash pads aren’t unique in having to handle sick children in poopy swim diapers—but they are unique in how they are regulated. That is, in some places, they’re not regulated at […]

December 3, 2024 | CDC, cyrptosporidium, gastrointestinal diseases, Health, Infectious disease, kids, public health, Science, splash pads | No comments

Zipcar outage a warning against total app reliance

Zipcar’s rep declined to specify how many people were affected by the outage. A warning against total app reliance Zipcar’s app problems have not only cost it money but also traumatized some users who may think twice before using Zipcar again. The convenience of using apps to control physical products only exists if said apps […]

December 3, 2024 | apps, outage, software, Tech, Zipcar | No comments

Intel’s second-generation Arc B580 GPU beats Nvidia’s RTX 4060 for $249

Turnover at the top of the company isn’t stopping Intel from launching new products: Today the company is announcing the first of its next-generation B-series Intel Arc GPUs, the Arc B580 and Arc B570. Both are decidedly midrange graphics cards that will compete with the likes of Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4060 and AMD’s RX 7600 […]

December 3, 2024 | Alchemist, arc b570, arc b580, battlemage, Gaming, Intel, Intel Arc, rtx 4060, rx 7600 xt, Tech | No comments

Four desk-organizing gifts you don’t technically need but might very much want

The drawer-sized label maker that will convert you My quirky wireless keyboard can keep up to three Bluetooth connections memorized. Can I, a human being, remember which of those three connections corresponds to which device and which number? No, I cannot. That’s why there is a little label on the back of my keyboard, reminding […]

December 3, 2024 | cable management, cable wrangler, flic buttons, home automation, label maker, label makers, Shopping, Tech, USB-C accessories, usb-c charging | No comments

A peek inside the restoration of the iconic Notre Dame cathedral

Thanks to the efforts of preservationists like Philippe Villeneuve, chief architect of historic monuments, the cathedral has been rebuilt nearly exactly as it was before the fire. The interior is most transformed since the walls, stained glass, paintings, and sculptures were all cleaned and restored for the first time since the 19th century. All the […]

December 3, 2024 | architecture, National Geographic, notre dame, Notre Dame restoration, photography, Science | No comments

Join us tomorrow for Ars Live: How Asahi Linux ports open software to Apple’s hardware

One of the key differences between Apple’s Macs and the iPhone and iPad is that the Mac can still boot and run non-Apple operating systems. This is a feature that Apple specifically built for the Mac, one of many features meant to ease the transition from Intel’s chips to Apple’s own silicon. The problem, at […]

December 3, 2024 | Apple, Apple M1, Apple M2, Apple M3, apple m4, Apple silicon, arm linux, asahi linux, Fedora, Linux, Tech | No comments

The Raspberry Pi 5 now works as a smaller, faster kind of Steam Link

The Steam Link was a little box ahead of its time. It streamed games from a PC to a TV, ran 1,500 0f them natively, offered a strange (if somewhat lovable) little controller, and essentially required a great network, Ethernet cables, and a good deal of fiddling. Valve quietly discontinued the Steam Link gear in […]

December 3, 2024 | Gaming, Raspberry Pi, single board computers, Steam, steam link | No comments

US plan to protect consumers from data brokers faces dim future under Trump

Plan unlikely to survive Trump administration CFPB Director Rohit Chopra touted the proposed rule, saying it targets brokers who sell “our most sensitive personal data without our knowledge or consent” and “profit by enabling scamming, stalking, and spying.” But whether the proposal ever becomes a rule is doubtful because of the impending leadership change in […]

December 3, 2024 | consumer financial protection bureau, data brokers, Policy | No comments

China hits US with ban on critical minerals used in tech manufacturing

Although China’s response to the latest curbs was swift and seemingly strong, experts told Ars that China’s response to Biden’s last round of tariffs was relatively muted. It’s possible that this week’s ban on exports into the US could also be a response to President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to increase tariffs on all Chinese goods […]

December 3, 2024 | biden administration, china, china tariffs, Donald Trump, export ban, Policy, rare earth metals, tech manufacturing, us-china trade war | No comments

Cheerios effect inspires novel robot design

There’s a common popular science demonstration involving “soap boats,” in which liquid soap poured onto the surface of water creates a propulsive flow driven by gradients in surface tension. But it doesn’t last very long since the soapy surfactants rapidly saturate the water surface, eliminating that surface tension. Using ethanol to create similar “cocktail boats” […]

December 3, 2024 | 3D printing, active matter, Cheerios effect, fluid dynamics, Marangoni effect, Physics, Robotics, Science | No comments

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