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Leading childcare management software provider Kidsoft, in partnership with the Queensland branch of the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA Qld) has launched a free, user-friendly calculator designed to streamline fee calculations for Queenslands Free Kindy program.

The tool, which was actively developed with the support of the ACA Qld, is aimed at helping the wider early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector across the state navigate the sometimes complex calculations required to work out fees that also account for Free Kindy, especially for children participating in a kindergarten program within a long day care (LDC) setting.

To make the process simpler, Kidsoft has designed a tool that empowers LDC services to easily determine the gap fee for each child within their kindergarten program.

This innovative calculator will not only help childcare services in Queensland but also streamline the implementation process for the Queensland Government.

Whilst we are thrilled to see Queensland launch this initiative, we recognise the challenges faced by both ECEC services and families in adapting to the Free Kindy program, Kidsofts Chief Executive Officer, Di Girvin said.

By developing this calculator, Kidsoft is proud to provide support to the sector we are dedicated to serving.

ACA Qld Vice President Jae Fraser welcomed the commitment Kidsoft has shown to the ECEC sector in creating the calculator, saying this valuable tool aligns with our mission to support the sector and ensure that families receive the full benefits of the Free Kindy program.

The free calculator is available for all childcare services in Queensland. For further information and to download the calculator, visit Kidsofts blog post: Navigating Queenslands Free Kindy Program with Kidsofts Free Calculator.

For more information about the Queensland Governments Free Kindy initiative please see here.

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Kidsoft launches free calculator to simplify "Free Kindy" fee working - The Sector

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: GSK will pay 23andMe $20 million for access to the genetic-testing company's vast trove of consumer DNA data, extending a five-year collaboration that's allowed the drugmaker to mine genetic data as it researches new medications. Under the new agreement, 23andMe will provide GSK with one year of access to anonymized DNA data from the approximately 80% of gene-testing customers who have agreed to share their information for research, 23andMe said in a statement Monday. The genetic-testing company will also provide data-analysis services to GSK.

23andMe is best known for its DNA-testing kits that give customers ancestry and health information. But the DNA it collects is also valuable, including for scientific research. With information from more than 14 million customers, the only data sets that rival the size of the 23andMe library belong to Ancestry.com and the Chinese government. The idea for drugmakers is to comb the data for hints about genetic pathways that might be at the root of disease, which could significantly speed up the long, slow process of drug development. GSK and 23andMe have already taken one potential medication to clinical trials: a cancer drug that works to block CD96, a protein that helps modulate the body's immune responses. It entered that testing phase in four years, compared to an industry average of about seven years. Overall, the partnership between GSK and 23andMe has produced more than 50 new drug targets, according to the statement.

The new agreement changes some components of the collaboration. Any discoveries GSK makes with the 23andMe data will now be solely owned by the British pharmaceutical giant, while the genetic-testing company will be eligible for royalties on some projects. In the past, the two companies pursued new drug targets jointly. GSK's new deal with 23andMe is also non-exclusive, leaving the genetic-testing company free to license its database to other drugmakers.

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Drugmakers Are Set To Pay 23andMe Millions To Access Consumer ... - Slashdot

President Joe Biden signed a wide-ranging executive order on artificial intelligence Monday, setting the stage for some industry regulations and funding for the U.S. government to further invest in the technology. From a report: The order is broad, and its focuses range from civil rights and industry regulations to a government hiring spree. In a media call previewing the order Sunday, a senior White House official, who asked to not be named as part of the terms of the call, said AI has so many facets that effective regulations have to cast a wide net. "AI policy is like running into a decathlon, and there's 10 different events here," the official said. "And we don't have the luxury of just picking 'we're just going to do safety' or "we're just going to do equity' or 'we're just going to do privacy.' You have to do all of these things."

The official also called for "significant bipartisan legislation" to further advance the country's interests with AI. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., held a private forum in September with industry leaders but has yet to introduce significant AI legislation. Some of the order builds on a previous nonbinding agreement that seven of the top U.S. tech companies developing AI agreed to in July, like hiring outside experts to probe their systems for weaknesses and sharing their critical findings. The order leverages the Defense Production Act to legally require those companies to share safety test results with the federal government.

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Biden Signs Executive Order To Oversee and Invest in AI - Slashdot

Meta Platforms is preparing to launch software to help developers automatically generate programming code, a challenge to proprietary software from OpenAI, Google and others, according to two people with direct knowledge of the product. Metas code-generating artificial intelligence model, dubbed Code Llama, will be open-source and could launch as soon as next week, one of these people said.

The new coding model rivals OpenAIs Codex model and builds on Metas Llama 2 software, a large-language model that can understand and generate conversational text. Llama 2, which is open-source, upended the AI field by making it easier for companies to make their own AI apps without paying for software from OpenAI, Google or Microsoft. Code Llama will make it easier for companies to develop AI assistants that automatically suggest code to developers as they type, and it could siphon customers from paid coding assistants such as Microsofts GitHub Copilot, which is powered by Codex.

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Meta's Next AI Attack on OpenAI: Free Code-Generating Software - The Information

We all love getting something for free, and if you're reading this and use a Samsung Galaxy S23 series device, chances are you just have. That's because a major update has just been made available for users in a host of new territories.

The One UI 6 beta program opened late last week, offering users the chance to test out the latest version of Samsung's software before it gets a public release. The new operating system runs on the latest Android 14 software, with a few additional lashings of Samsung flair for good measure.

Previously, the beta software was only available to users in the USA, South Korea and Germany. But now, users in China, India, Poland and the UK can also get access.

It's a great upgrade. While there's not really a headline feature upgrade this time out, it does come with a suite of smaller changes which should add up to a decent boost for users.

Among the most notable features are a new back arrow for easier navigation. That hovers on the left-hand side of the screen, and should give users a better idea of whether they're heading back a single page, or to the home screen something which hasn't always been abundantly clear, before now. There are also upgrades to accessibility features, more detailed control for media sharing and more.

On top of that, Samsung have had some fun with things. There's a new default font, which will likely be the most noticeable change. They've also redesigned the quick panel, and made it easier to access the panel in a hurry.

The new update means that users with a base model S23, a Samsung Galaxy S23+ or a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra can gain access to the new operating system. Don't panic if you're still using an older Samsung phone, either.

Generally, the brand debut the beta access on their most recent device range, before moving on to older, supported handsets. It may take a little longer generally the roll out happens over the space of a few weeks but you'll get the same opportunity before long.

If you'd prefer to wait for the full public release, you can. There's currently no date set in stone for that to be released, with Samsung only saying that it will come out after feedback from the beta is implemented.

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Millions of Samsung Galaxy S23 users just got a sweet free software ... - Yahoo Life