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Comment Re:Is it really better to let only wealthy in? (Score 2) 75

The problem with the "paid-by-advertising" model is the advertisers only want people with money. People who can't pay for internet access are "not in their demographic".

Anyone who prefers to view the internet as a wealth-enabling resource rather than a wealth-draining private hunting ground can see through this facade in an instant.

Submission + - The car that knows when you'll get in an accident before you do (fusion.net)

Submitted by aurtherdent2000
aurtherdent2000 writes: I’m behind the wheel of the car of the future. It’s a gray Toyota Camry, but it has a camera pointed at me from the corner of the windshield recording my every eye movement, a GPS tracker, an outside-facing camera and a speed logger. It sees everything I’m doing so it can predict what I’m going to do behind the wheel seconds before I do it. So when my eyes glance to the left, it could warn me there’s a car between me and the exit I want to take. More at Robot Learning lab at Cornell University and Stanford University: Brain4Cars project.

Submission + - Longer video shows How Incredibly Close Falcon Stage Came to Successful Landing (spaceflightnow.com)

Submitted by Bruce Perens
Bruce Perens writes: In the video here, the Falcon 9 first stage is shown landing with a tilt, and then a thruster keeps the rocket vertical on the barge for a few seconds before it quits, followed by Kabooom with obvious significant damage to the barge. It looks like this attempt was incredibly close to success. Given fixes, a successful first-stage recovery seems likely.

Submission + - India's net neutrality campaign picks up steam, sites withdraw from internet.org 2

Submitted by arvin
arvin writes: The Huffington Post reports on prominent Indian websites withdrawing from Facebook's internet.org initiative.

The net neutrality debate in the country has focused on zero-rating, where ISPs offer a free data plan which provides access to a set of websites that pay to be included. Internet.org provides free access to Facebook, Bing, Wikipedia and a few other websites. Another similar service, Airtel Zero, lost its flagship partner as e-commerce company Flipkart withdrew following a social media backlash.

Net neutrality activists believe that as these plans proliferate, access to the open internet will become extremely expensive or unavailable, innovation will slow as for startups are prevented from reaching the market, and the competitive consumer ISP market will be replaced with a cartel negotiating against internet companies.

In a campaign similar to that in the US, over 630,000 Indians sent responses to their regulator through the website savetheinternet.in.

Submission + - How deep brain stimulation actually works (ieee.org)

Submitted by the_newsbeagle
the_newsbeagle writes: Pharmaceutical research for neuropsychiatric disorders hasn't produced many breakthroughs lately, which may explain why there's so much excitement around "electroceutical" research. That buzzy new field encompasses deep brain stimulation (DBS), in which an implanted stimulator sends little jolts through the neural tissue. DBS has become an accepted therapy for Parkinson's and other motor disorders, even though researchers haven't really understood how it works. Now, new research may have found the mechanism of action in Parkinson's patients: The stimulation reduces an exaggerated synchronization of neuron activity in the motor cortex.

Submission + - World's oldest stone tools discovered in Kenya (sciencemag.org) 1

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: Researchers say they have found the oldest tools made by human ancestors—stone flakes dated to 3.3 million years ago. That’s 700,000 years older than the oldest-known tools to date, suggesting that our ancestors were crafting tools several hundred thousand years before our genus Homo arrived on the scene. If correct, the new evidence could confirm disputed claims for very early tool use, and it suggests that ancient australopithecines like the famed “Lucy” may have fashioned stone

Submission + - We the people petition to revoke Scientology's Tax exempt status (whitehouse.gov)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: There has been a lot of interest in the activities of the Church of Scientology recently, especially since the release of Alex Gibney's documentary "Going Clear". A petition against tax-exempt status for Scientology, has been started on the United States white house petition website. If it receives more than 100,000 signatures, it will qualify for an official white house response. Even slashdot has had its own run-ins with Scientology in the past. Has the time come for Scientology go "clear"?

Submission + - Denver TSA Screeners Manipulated System in order to Grope Men's Genitals (cbslocal.com)

Submitted by McGruber
McGruber writes: The CBS affiliate in Denver reports: "Two Transportation Security Administration screeners at Denver International Airport have been fired after they were discovered manipulating passenger screening systems to allow a male TSA employee to fondle the genital areas of attractive male passengers."

According to law enforcement reports obtained during the CBS4 investigation, a male TSA screener told a female colleague in 2014 that he “gropes” male passengers who come through the screening area at DIA.

“He related that when a male he finds attractive comes to be screened by the scanning machine he will alert another TSA screener to indicate to the scanning computer that the party being screened is a female. When the screener does this, the scanning machine will indicate an anomaly in the genital area and this allows (the male TSA screener) to conduct a pat-down search of that area.”

Although the TSA learned of the accusation on Nov. 18, 2014 via an anonymous tip from one of the agency’s own employees, reports show that it would be nearly three months before anything was done.

Submission + - A virtually unknown but safe and effective treatment for depression

Submitted by NichardRixon
NichardRixon writes: The government of the United States has been enormously effective in warning citizens about the dangers of opiate abuse, while at the same time recognizing the fact that these drugs have their place in medicine in treating physical pain. This is common knowledge. However, what is virtually never discussed, and almost unknown even among therapists, is the fact that opiates are also the most effective known treatment for major depression. When use is properly managed opiates often allow people with physical or emotional pain to live reletively normal lives, and it is far more effective, even, than electroconvulsive therapy. (http://www.opioids.com/antidepressant/opiate.html) is one example of available information. Although written by physicians, it's barely more than anecdotal.

The reasons that opiate efficacy is not often discussed is unknown to this author. Logic would suggest that the FDA must have determined that emotional pain is less severe than physical pain, but the fact that 90% of suicides are caused by mental illness--most commonly depression--rather thoroughly refutes this particular misconception. (http://www.suicide.org/suicide-causes.html)

Furthermore, the drugs currently used to treat depression are addictive, the only difference being that the person coming off antidepressants generally is glad to be doing so because of the many side effects. There's also no "high" that they might miss. That difference is probably not as true as it might at first seem, however, because people dependant upon medically prescribed opiates have mostly left that part of the experience behind them as they became tolerant to the drug. In fact studies show that less than 5% of people prescribed opiates become dependent, and it's important to understand that dependency is NOT the same as addiction! (http://www.rsdhope.org/drug-therapies-for-crps.html)

When searching the internet for information on the subject, one gets the feeling that much of what is known on the subject has been supressed. With persistence the data can be found, though, and one of the best I've seen can be found in documentation on development of a new drug, ALKS-5461 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALKS-5461). The FDA has reportedly placed this drug on the fast track for approval. It contains a strong narcotic in combination with another drug that supresses any euphoria the patient might otherwise experience from taking it. I don't personally like the idea of taking a drug with it's own set of side effects, that I don't need, for the purpose of making it difficult to abuse. If approved it will also undoubtably be very expensive, but it may be a step in the right direction.

Incidence of depression is increasing at an alarming rate in the U.S., so don't dismiss the possibility that you or a loved one may at some point become a victim. (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/major-depression-among-adults.shtml)

NR

Submission + - Schneier on 'really bad' IoT security: 'It's going to come crashing down' (networkworld.com)

Submitted by alphadogg
alphadogg writes: Security expert Bruce Schneier has looked at and written about difficulties the Internet of Things presents — such as the fact that the “things” are by and large insecure and enable unwanted surveillance– and concludes that it’s a problem that’s going to get worse before it gets better. After a recent briefing with him at Resilient Systems headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., where he is CTO, he answered a few questions about the IoT and what corporate security executives ought to be doing about it right now.

Submission + - Linux Getting Extensive x86 Assembly Code Refresh 1

Submitted by jones_supa
jones_supa writes: A massive x86 assembly code spring cleaning has been done in a pull request that is to end up in Linux 4.1. The developers have tried testing the code on many different x86 boxes, but there's risk of regression when exposing the code to many more systems in the days and weeks ahead. That being said, the list of improvements is excellent. There are over 100 separate cleanups, restructuring changes, speedups and fixes in the x86 system call, IRQ, trap and other entry code, part of a heroic effort to deobfuscate a decade old spaghetti assembly code and its C code dependencies.

Submission + - Google and Amazon Want to Send You a Plumber

Submitted by HughPickens.com
HughPickens.com writes: Caroline O'Donovan reports at Buzzfeed that Google plans to announce a new product aimed at connecting Google search users with local home-service providers — like plumbers and electricians. Currently, Google searches for things like plumbers and electricians return links to service providers along with associated AdWord advertisements. Sources said the new product would go beyond this presentation format to actually connect search users with service providers

Google isn’t the only tech company looking to tap into the huge and rapidly expanding home services industry. Amazon just launched its new Home Services site, which allows Amazon shoppers to search, select, and pay for things like landscapers and car mechanics without ever leaving the site. Amazon is offering more than 700 services that include just about anything that might require a professional to come to your door. Tasks are searchable on Amazon, just like any other product, and there are no estimates — offers will be priced by the professional before the job takes place. Amazon says it vets all the professionals for the invite-only program before inclusion. “It’s a pretty natural extension of our business to move into the service space,” says Peter Faricy, vice president of Amazon Marketplace. “In talking to customers, they don’t feel like anyone serves their needs end to end. You can pay a subscription to get reviews, but why not just do that on Amazon for free?”

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