SoftBank posted a 2.93 trillion Japanese yen loss at its Vision Fund investment unit for the June quarter. The company posted a total net loss of 3.16 trillion yen for the quarter, a record quarterly loss for SoftBank. SoftBank authorized a 400 billion yen share buyback program on Monday. The company will go into a defensive mode and be more conservative with the pace of its investments. It has sold its stake in some of its companies to raise funds.
Google has apologized for a major international outage. Users from all over the world reported outages with Google's services, including Search, Google Maps, and Gmail. The outage affected at least 1,338 servers across more than 40 countries. Users trying to use Search were presented with 502 or 500 errors. The outage was caused by a software update and the issue was quickly resolved.
A gigantic jet lightning bolt recorded over Oklahoma in May 2018 carried 100 times as much charge as an average lightning bolt and reached 50 miles into the air, almost to the official boundary of outer space. These types of lightning bolts remain a mystery to scientists as they occur so rarely. The bolt in 2018 was recorded using cutting-edge mapping technologies. It was mapped in three dimensions with really high-quality data, allowing the scientists to see the phenomenon with a new level of detail.
Jumbo phages are viruses, named for their large genomes, that infect bacteria. Some jumbo phages are able to grow a shield around their genetic material, preventing bacterial immune systems from attacking their DNA. These protective casings are constructed from a single type of protein called chimallin. They can selectively allow molecules to pass through and grow as the phage's genome replicates. Research into these barriers could help scientists develop better therapies against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
This article looks at data on how much companies pay for oncall. It discusses oncall philosophies across the industry, which companies pay for oncall, how much companies pay, which companies don't pay, and poor oncall cultures. Employers who pay higher compensation tend to expect oncall work as a given. Companies that care about healthy oncall practices or want to minimize attrition usually make oncall additional and offer compensation for oncall work.
Apprise is a library that allows developers to send notifications to almost all of the most popular notification services available. It features a common and intuitive notification syntax and it supports the handling of images and attachments. A list of notification types and services supported by Apprise is available.
This Hacker News thread talks about trends that few people are talking about. The top replies discuss preimplantation polygenetic testing (genetically screening embryos before implantation), issues with abandoning internal combustion engine vehicles (there are still many problems to solve to make the switch to electric cars sustainable), and deglobalization (countries dependent on imported food or energy need to look for more sustainable solutions).
Taiwan has become indispensable to both the US and China due to its ability to fabricate advanced semiconductors. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd (TSMC) has technology crucial to cutting-edge digital devices and weapons. A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would threaten US military and technological leadership. Both the US and China are spending billions to break their dependency on TSMC's Taiwanese foundries. This could affect Taiwan's future position in the global supply chain.