Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Submission + - Does USB Type C herald the end of Apple's proprietary connectors?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Verge has an interesting editorial about the USB Type C connector on the new Macbook, and what this might mean for Apple's Lightning and Thunderbolt connectors. The former is functionally identical to USB Type C, and the latter has yet to prove popular in the external media and "docking" applications for which it was originally intended. Will Apple phase out these ports in favour of a single, widely-accepted, but novel standard? Or do we face a dystopian future where Apple sells cords with USB Type C on one end, and Lightning on the other?

Submission + - The game of Go turned into a musical instrument (youtube.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The classic game of Go (Japanese: / "Igo") is turned into a musical instrument that can be played like a step-sequencer.

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

An industrial camera and computer-vision algorithms are used to detect unmodified go-stones on the go-board.The position and color of the stones on the board is analyzed in software and used to control NI MASCHINE as a sound generator. Sounds and effect parameters can be temporarily muted and unmuted by covering parts of the board during live performances.

Different areas on the go-board control different aspects of the sound:

- A 16x16 grid (top left) can be used to create drum patterns (black stones) or play notes on a synthesizer (white stones). The horizontal axis represents time (16th notes), the vertical axis is associated to musical notes on a japanese scale for the white stones, or to a set of drum-sounds for the black stones.

- The 16x3 grid below (bottom left) is used to trigger notes on a bass-synthesizer.

- Two 3x8 grids (top and middle right) enable control over six parameters such as the length of the synthesizer notes, audio effects and filters.

- A 3x3 grid (bottom right) is used to play additional percussion loops.

The Team:
Kristian Gohlke, Bauhaus-University, Weimar, Germany.
Michael Hlatky, Native Instruments GmbH, Berlin, Germany.

Presented at the opening night of the Red Bull Studios Tokyo, Japan. February 28th, 2015.

Special thanks to Morley Robertson for sharing a fun time on the go-board!

Filmed at a point where the image recognition got a bit wonky cause the sun just went down and we hadn't recalibrated the thing. But you get the idea

Some pictures can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/krigoo...

Submission + - Hacking Nest Thermostat

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: TrapX confirmed the design flaws discovered in the Nest Learning Thermostat. Once it was installed, researchers used it as an initial point of attack and were easily able to compromise an entire home network. During their analysis, they found an ARM processor that was running under a hardened Linux operating system. They gained root access and then were able to control the Nest Learning Thermostat from the attacking server. They were able to track the user’s Internet surfing activity and get access to their private credentials as well as data such as whether anyone was at home.

Submission + - Listen To a Microsoft Support Scam As It Happened (csoonline.com)

Submitted by itwbennett
itwbennett writes: You know full well that Microsoft will never call you and ask to 'access your computer' to help fix a problem. Yet this is a ruse that many unsuspecting computer users fall for and wind up with their machine hacked. CSO writer Steve Ragan, turns the tables during a phone call with a scammer — and he records it all for us to hear. Do yourself a favor and play it for your parents.

Submission + - Adventure Video Game about Cancer (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Vlado
Vlado writes: A couple of creative parents have been struggling with their toddlers' terminal diagnosis. Mother wrote a book to help her explain the situation to her other children. Father, a game designer, on the other hand decided to turn the experience into a point-and-click adventure.
It's definitely a new way of presenting a troubling subject to the audience. While video games have long past reached a maturity and are not considered just entertainment for kids, it's not everyday that we can come across one that dares to take us into themes that cannot easily be referred to as "entertainment".

Submission + - Britain's oldest human brain preserved for 2500 years by mud (techienews.co.uk)

Submitted by hypnosec
hypnosec writes: Oldest human brain in the UK is believed to have been preserved for over 2,500 years by mud, archaeologists have revealed. The brain was found inside a decapitated skull, with the jaw and two vertebrae still attached, at an Iron Age dig site near York, UK, in 2008. Based on radiocarbon dating of a sample of the jaw bone, researchers have determined that the person lived in the 6th century BC and is likely to be a man between 26 and 45 years old. A team of 34 experts have been working to study and conserve the brain since its discovery. An examination of the vertebrae in the neck shows that he was first hit hard on the neck, and then the neck was severed with a small sharp knife. York Archaeological Trust said the skull had been buried in wet, clay-rich ground providing an oxygen-free burial.

Submission + - "Climate Change" discussion in Florida (miamiherald.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting has an article in the Miami Herald about there being certain words state employees have been ordered to avoid.

"We were told not to use the terms 'climate change', 'global warming', or 'sustainability'," said Christopher Byrd, an attorney with the DEP's Office of General Counsel in Tallahassee from 2008 to 2013. "That message was communicated to me and my colleagues by our superiors in the Office of General Counsel."

Submission + - Germany says using tax money for nuclear power 'out of the question' (reuters.com) 1

Submitted by mdsolar
mdsolar writes: Using taxpayers' money to fund nuclear power is "absolutely out of the question", German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Thursday, in an apparent swipe at British plans to finance new atomic generation.

Gabriel was arriving for talks in Brussels on the European Commission's proposal for an energy union, which would deepen cross-border cooperation on energy across the 28-member EU.

Previous efforts to harmonize energy policy have faltered as member states have jealously guarded their right to decide on the kind of energy they use.

Germany's decision to phase out nuclear power sets it at odds with plans by Britain and France to invest in the emissions-free fuel source, which they say plays a major role in combating climate change.

Germany has instead focused on renewable energy, such as wind and solar.

"There are countries in the EU that want to support nuclear power with tax money. We think that is absolutely out of the question," Gabriel said.

"We will not agree by any means that nuclear energy be supported by public money. Nuclear energy is the most expensive kind of generation. It has now been around for 50 years, it is not new and it is dangerous."

Submission + - Back to the Future's Hoverboard is HERE! (indiegogo.com)

Submitted by gurps_npc
gurps_npc writes: A company has started an Indiegogo campaign to raise money to build something they call an "airboard". Basically it is a souped-up, MORE powerful version of Marty's McFlyh;s hoverboard. Software limits how high above ground it can go and it has "power" as the movie says, so you don't need to push it with your feet. Yes, it's a bit bulkier and more expensive than the movie version, but maybe they can fix that on version 2.0.

Submission + - Twitter adds "report dox" option

Submitted by AmiMoJo
AmiMoJo writes: Twitter announced that its abuse-report system, which was recently refined to simplify and shorten the reporting process, has now expanded to allow users to report content such as self-harm incidents and "the sharing of private and confidential information" (aka doxing). The announcement, posted by Twitter Vice President of User Services Tina Bhatnagar, explained that December's report-process update was met with a "tripling" of the site's abuse support staff, which has led to a quintupling of abuse report processing. Chat logs recently revealed how Twitter is used by small groups to create vast harassment campaigns, thanks to sock puppet account and relative anonymity.

Submission + - EFF Unearths Evidence of Possible Superfish-style Attacks in the Wild (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It's starting to look like Superfish and other software containing the same HTTPS-breaking code library may have posed more than a merely theoretical danger to Internet users. For the first time, researchers have uncovered evidence suggesting the critical weakness may have been exploited against real people visiting real sites, including Gmail, Amazon, eBay, Twitter, and Gpg4Win.org, to name just a few.

In a blog post published Wednesday, Researchers Joseph Bonneau and Jeremy Gillula wrote:

        We searched the Decentralized SSL Observatory for examples of certificates that Komodia should have rejected, but which it ended up causing browsers to accept, and found over 1600 entries. Affected domains included sensitive websites like Google (including mail.google.com, accounts.google.com, and checkout.google.com), Yahoo (including login.yahoo.com), Bing, Windows Live Mail, Amazon, eBay (including checkout.payments.ebay.com), Twitter, Netflix, Mozilla’s Add-Ons website, www.gpg4win.org, several banking websites (including mint.com and domains from HSBC and Wells Fargo), several insurance websites, the Decentralized SSL Observatory itself, and even superfish.com.

        While it’s likely that some of these domains had legitimately invalid certificates (due to configuration errors or other routine issues), it seems unlikely that all of them did. Thus it’s possible that Komodia’s software enabled real MitM attacks which gave attackers access to people’s email, search histories, social media accounts, e-commerce accounts, bank accounts, and even the ability to install malicious software that could permanently compromise a user’s browser or read their encryption keys.

Slashdot Top Deals

"There is such a fine line between genius and stupidity." - David St. Hubbins, "Spinal Tap"

Close