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Submission + - A $350 'Anti-5G' Device Is Just a 128MB USB Stick, Teardown Finds (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Believers of 5G conspiracy theories have apparently been buying a $350 anti-5G USB key that—not surprisingly—appears to just be a regular USB stick with only 128MB of storage. As noted by the BBC today, the "5GBioShield" USB stick "was recommended by a member of Glastonbury Town Council's 5G Advisory Committee, which has called for an inquiry into 5G." The company that sells 5GBioShield claims it "is the result of the most advanced technology currently available for balancing and prevention of the devastating effects caused by non-natural electric waves, particularly (but not limited to) 5G, for all biological life forms." The product's website charges 283 British pounds for a single 5GBioShield, which converts to nearly $350. That's what it costs to get "protection for your home and family, thanks to the wearable holographic nano-layer catalyser, which can be worn or placed near to a smartphone or any other electrical, radiation or EMF emitting device." The USB stick apparently doesn't need to be plugged in to anything to work its magic. "It is always ON and working—that's why we used quantum nano-layer technology," the company says in an FAQ.

But what does the 5GBioShield actually consist of? The BBC pointed to a recent teardown by security company Pen Test Partners, which found that the device is just a USB stick with 128MB of storage. The company wrote: "When plugged in to our test machine we may have missed the bubble of 'quantum holographic catalyzer technology' appearing. The stick comes loaded with a 25 page PDF version of the material from 5GBioShield's website. It included a Q&A of distances for the "bubble" and how to know if it is working. It's an "always on" system apparently, is always working, powered or not, so no visual checks needed. A review of the stick's properties revealed nothing more than what you'd expect from a regular 128MB USB key. We weren't even sure that 128s are still in production!"

Submission + - 43% Of U.S. Deaths Are From 0.6% Of The Population (forbes.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: 2.1 million Americans, representing 0.62% of the U.S. population, reside in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. (Nursing homes are residences for seniors needing help with activities of daily living, such as taking a shower or getting dressed, who also require 24/7 medical supervision; assisted living facilities are designed for seniors who need help with activities of daily living, but don’t require full-time on-site medical supervision.)

According to an analysis conducted for the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, as of May 22, in the 39 states that currently report such figures, an astounding 43% of all COVID-19 deaths have taken place in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

State governments bear much more of the responsibility for the depth of the COVID-19 pandemic than many Americans appreciate. But that also means that states have the opportunity to learn from their own mistakes and do the right thing: by protecting vulnerable seniors, and letting millions of Americans get back to work.

Submission + - As Russia stalks US satellites, a space arms race may be heating up

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: 12 years (and billions of rubles) after skirmishes between pro-Russian separatists and government forces in Georgia and the subsequent invasion of the former Soviet republic by Russian forces, Russia has heeded the lessons learned from that conflict: The Russian military had gone to war in using World War II-era compasses for navigation and outmoded equipment for weapons targeting, a far cry from the capabilities of the US military. But Russia is now challenging the United States’ long-standing supremacy in space, working to exploit the US military’s dependence on space systems for communications, navigation, intelligence, and targeting.

Aaron Bateman of Johns Hopkins, a former US Air Force intelligence officer who has published on technology and military strategy, Cold War history, and European security affairs, writes about a coming space arms race, with Moscow’s aggressive behavior in space potentially inducing the United States to pursue more assertive policies, like the reinvigoration of Cold War-era anti-satellite weapons programs.

Submission + - University of California Will Stop Using SAT, ACT (wsj.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The University of California board of regents voted Thursday to stop using the SAT and ACT college admissions exams, reshaping college admissions in one of the largest and most prestigious university systems in the country and dealing a significant blow to the multibillion-dollar college admission testing industry. The unanimous 23-to-0 vote ratified a proposal put forward last month by UC President Janet Napolitano to phase out the exams over the next five years until the sprawling UC system can develop its own test.

The battle against standardized tests has raged for years because minority students score, on average, lower than their white classmates. Advocates argue that the exams are an unfair admission barrier to those students because they often cannot pay for pricey test preparation. [...] Ms. Napolitano’s proposal allows four years for the UC system to develop a new exam. If it fails to create or adopt one, then it likely would cease to use any exam, said Robert Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, known as FairTest, which has fought against standardized testing for 30 years. Mr. Schaeffer said he doesn’t believe a new exam will be implemented.

Submission + - SPAM: U.S. secures 300M doses, almost 1/3, of potential AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The United States has secured almost a third of the first one billion doses planned for AstraZeneca’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine by pledging up to $1.2 billion, as world powers scramble for medicines to get their economies back to work.

While not proven to be effective against the coronavirus, vaccines are seen by world leaders as the only real way to restart their stalled economies, and even to get an edge over global competitors.

The U.S. Department of Health agreed to provide up to US$1.2 billion to accelerate AstraZeneca’s vaccine development and secure 300 million doses for the United States.

“This contract with AstraZeneca is a major milestone in Operation Warp Speed’s work toward a safe, effective, widely available vaccine by 2021,” U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar said.

The vaccine, previously known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and now as AZD1222, was developed by the University of Oxford and licensed to British drugmaker AstraZeneca. Immunity to the new coronavirus is uncertain and so the use of vaccines unclear.
Link to Original Source

Submission + - GitHub Reinstates Popcorn Time Code Despite MPA 'Threat' (torrentfreak.com)

Submitted by AmiMoJo
AmiMoJo writes: Earlier this month, an MPA takedown notice pulled Popcorn Time's GitHub repository offline. The Hollywood group argued that the code facilitates mass copyright infringement. While that may be the case, Popcorn Time filed a counternotice arguing that they own the code. Faced with contradicting requests, Github has now reinstated the repository.

Submission + - AMD to Support Zen 3 and Ryzen 4000 CPUs on B450 and X470 Motherboards (anandtech.com)

Submitted by FallOutBoyTonto
FallOutBoyTonto writes: AMD today is reversing its decision to limit the BIOSes on the 400-series chipsets. To cut a long story short, the TL;DR mantra from AMD is:

        ‘We’ve heard our audience, and we understand the concerns. We are going to work out a way to support Zen 3 on our 400-series chipsets between now and launch – we’re still working out the what and the how, but we will update you closer to Zen 3 launch’.

1) We will develop and enable our motherboard partners with the code to support “Zen 3”-based processors in select beta BIOSes for AMD B450 and X470 motherboards.
2) These optional BIOS updates will disable support for many existing AMD Ryzen Desktop Processor models to make the necessary ROM space available.
3) The select beta BIOSes will enable a one-way upgrade path for AMD Ryzen Processors with “Zen 3,” coming later this year. Flashing back to an older BIOS version will not be supported.
4) To reduce the potential for confusion, our intent is to offer BIOS download only to verified customers of 400 Series motherboards who have purchased a new desktop processor with “Zen 3” inside. This will help us ensure that customers have a bootable processor on-hand after the BIOS flash, minimizing the risk a user could get caught in a no-boot situation.
5) Timing and availability of the BIOS updates will vary and may not immediately coincide with the availability of the first “Zen 3”-based processors.
6) This is the final pathway AMD can enable for 400 Series motherboards to add new CPU support. CPU releases beyond “Zen 3” will require a newer motherboard.
7) AMD continues to recommend that customers choose an AMD 500 Series motherboard for the best performance and features with our new CPUs.

Comment Re: Enlightenment (Score 1) 205

by bluelip (#60052324) Attached to: Which Linux Desktop Environment is the Best?

I think it's very quick. I do turn off most of the eye candy, but even all of that doesn't take up much in the CPU/Memory area. I think it's more responsive than the other larger names in the arena. Resource requirements are not motif levels, but they are minimal.

It also fits my workflow better as it keeps to itself instead of wanting to be integrated into every aspect of the operating system.

Comment Their WiFi isn't already 'open' (Score 1) 99

Set up an AP with the SSID of xfinitywifi. Gather the MAC addresses of those that connected. Change your MAC to one of those.

If that hole is closed, throw up a splash screen with prompts for a username and password.

From what I can see, this is only illegal if you actually use the credentials. Definitely open to other interpretations though.

If you ever have to connect to Comcast, it should be considered a 'hostile network'. They really need to get their act together.

Submission + - Sidewalk Labs cancels plan to build high-tech neighbourhood in Toronto (www.cbc.ca)

Submitted by Bradmont
Bradmont writes: From the CBC:

Sidewalk Labs, a Google-affiliated company, is abandoning its plan to build a high-tech neighbourhood on Toronto's waterfront, citing what it calls unprecedented economic uncertainty. The project, dubbed Quayside, still didn't have all of the government approvals it needed to go ahead. Many had raised concerns about the privacy implications of the project and how much of the city's developing waterfront Sidewalk Labs wanted to control. The so-called "smart city" was set to feature a range of cutting edge technology, from residential towers made of timber to the use of autonomous cars and heated sidewalks. "As unprecedented economic uncertainty has set in around the world and in the Toronto real estate market, it has become too difficult to make the 12-acre project financially viable without sacrificing core parts of the plan we had developed," the company said in a statement.

Submission + - Wink, home hub maker, gives seven days to pay up or turn off the lights

Submitted by Xygon
Xygon writes: In the wake of an era with little shopping options, and orders for utilities not to shut off the lights, Wink has made a move to take all existing customers to a subscription model, giving one week to begin paying monthly or lose all services. Announced via their blog and an app notification, users have until March 13th to start paying subscription, or lose all services.

Submission + - SPAM: Untangling the spaghetti code used to justify lockdowns

Submitted by joeblog
joeblog writes: A team from Microsoft and others have open sourced a rewritten version of the program Neil Ferguson and his team at Imperial College London used to create alarming projections of what Covid-19 would do. The original single file containing 15,000 lines "from over a decade of amateur hobby programming" remains hidden.
Link to Original Source

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