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Submission + - Tweets And Threats: Gangs Find New Home On The Net (ap.org)

Submitted by cold fjord
cold fjord writes: Associated Press reports, "Social media has exploded among street gangs ... They're turning to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to flaunt guns and wads of cash, threaten rivals, intimidate informants ... sell weapons, drugs — even plot murder. "What's taking place online is what's taking place in the streets," says David Pyrooz, an assistant professor at Sam Houston State University ... "The Internet does more for a gang's brand or a gang member's identity than word-of-mouth could ever do. It really gives the gang a wide platform to promote their reputations. ... On the crime-fighting side ... this activity ... is transforming how police and prosecutors pursue gangs. Along with traditional investigative techniques, police monitor gangs online ... a Cincinnati police officer who trains other law enforcement about social media, says by the time gang members appear in court, authorities have a dossier of their words and videos online that challenge how they want to portray themselves. "If a guy goes in and says, `I'm a good person. I've never held a gun,' we can say, `Look at what he puts out about himself on social media. Here he is with a gun.' ..." ... police say monitoring social media is time-consuming and frustrating."

Submission + - Valve's Steam Machines Are More About Safeguarding PCs Than Killing Consoles (eurogamer.net)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: CES has come and gone, and we've gotten a chance to see many different models of Valve's Steam Machines. They're being marketed as a device for a living room, and people are wondering if they'll be able to compete with the Big-3 console manufacturers. But this article argues that Valve isn't going after the consoles — instead, Steam Machines are part of a long-term plan to keep the PC gaming industry healthy. Quoting: 'Over the years, Valve has gone from simply evangelising the PC platform — it once flew journalists in from around the world pretty much just to tell them it was great — to actively protecting it, and what we're seeing now is just the beginning of that push. Take SteamOS. To you and me, it's a direct interface for Steam based on Linux that currently has poor software support. To Valve, though, it's a first step in levering development, publishing, gameplay and community away from their reliance on Windows and DirectX (and to a lesser extent Mac OS), systems that cannot be relied upon in the long term. ... As for Steam Machines, they are a beachhead, not an atom bomb. They are meant to sell modestly. ... The answer is that Valve is thinking in decades, not console generations.'

Submission + - Why we think there's a multiverse, not just our Universe.

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Are you ready to have your mind blown? It's generally accepted that the Universe's history is best described by the Big Bang model, with General Relativity and Quantum Field Theory as the physical laws governing the underlying framework. It's also accepted that the Universe probably started off with an early period of cosmic inflation prior to that. Well, if you accept those things — as in, the standard picture of the Universe — then a multiverse is an inevitable consequence of the physics of the early Universe, and this is probably the best explainer of how-and-why I've ever seen. Mind = blown.

Submission + - Hackers Steal Card Data from Neiman Marcus (krebsonsecurity.com)

Submitted by Fnord666
Fnord666 writes: Another day another data breach. Apparently high end retailer Neiman Marcus has also suffered a breach of credit card data. Krebs on Security has the news:.
"Responding to inquiries about a possible data breach involving customer credit and debit card information, upscale retailer Neiman Marcus acknowledged today that it is working with the U.S. Secret Service to investigate a hacker break-in that has exposed an unknown number of customer cards."

Comment Gautama Buddha said... (Score 1) 44

by Andy Prough (#45920791) Attached to: Stormy Alien Atmospheres May Spark Seeds of Life
"There is no God or Brahma, Who is the Creator of this world, Empty Phenomena roll on all, Subject to causality". The universe, and life, are cyclic - there is no point of origin. This universe will decay and be destroyed, and its energy and matter will give rise to another. This life will fail, and its energy will give rise to another. Samsara - the endless cycle of rebirth.

Submission + - Xbox One sales top 3 million in 2013

Submitted by recoiledsnake
recoiledsnake writes: Microsoft Corp. said on Monday that sales of its new Xbox One game console topped three million at the end of last year after launching in November and selling one million consoles in less than a day. The third generation of the Xbox is competing head-to-head with Sony Corp's PlayStation 4, also launched in November. Sony said it had sold 2.1 million PS4s by the first week of December. It will not be clear which company is leading the console battle until Sony updates that figure. However, the Xbox One seems to be selling quite well despite numerous obstacles including being over 25% more expensive than the PS4, the always-on Internet requirement that was controversial and was rolled back, and being sold in only 13 countries compared to the 48 countries that the PS4 is selling in.

Submission + - Corning unveils bacteria-resistant Gorilla Glass (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by nk497
nk497 writes: Good news for everyone who carries their smartphone into the washroom with them: Corning has unveiled germ-resistant Gorilla Glass for smartphones and tablets. At CES 2014, the company revealed its latest version of the strengthened glass will feature antimicrobial properties, thanks to the inclusion of ionic silver. The ionic silver is embedded in the glass, but doesn't affect the clarity of the glass or with touchscreen operations, Corning said.

"Corning’s antimicrobial Gorilla Glass inhibits the growth of algae, mold, mildew, fungi, and bacteria because of its built-in antimicrobial property, which is intrinsic to the glass and effective for the lifetime of a device," said James R Steiner, senior vice president and general manager for Corning Specialty Materials.

Submission + - AOL Sells Winamp And Shoutcast Music Services To Online Radio Aggregator Radiono (techcrunch.com)

Submitted by VISBOT NETWORK
VISBOT NETWORK writes: Some more detail on the fate of Winamp and Shoutcast, the legacy digital music services that owner AOL originally planned to shut down but then halted pending a sale. The properties are instead being acquired by Radionomy — an international aggregator of online radio stations headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

Submission + - BlackBerry sues Ryan Seacrest's Typo over 'iconic' keyboard design (networkworld.com)

Submitted by alphadogg
alphadogg writes: BlackBerry, in an effort to protect one of its key designs, has filed a copyright infringement suit against a company co-founded by Ryan Seacrest that makes a keyboard case for the iPhone.
On Friday the struggling smartphone maker filed a lawsuit against Typo Products LLC, a company that makes a slip-on keyboard designed to fit the iPhone 5 and 5S. The company, which is based in Los Angeles, was founded by entrepreneur Laurence Hallier and television personality Ryan Seacrest. The company's flagship product, the "Typo Keyboard," was conceived to make typing on the iPhone quicker and less prone to typos.

Submission + - DIY security system? 3

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: For geeks that want to secure their home, it seems that the choice of Do It Yourself solutions are limited. And in case you prefer to use a company, most of them require to subscribe to a contract for 3 years that costs at least $20 a month. In case you want to make a DIY security system without a monthly fee, few options are available. Some products (such as ismartalarm, Lowe's Iris system or also the fortress security) let you install your own system but seem not to be very mature (for some the alarm is not loud, for others they do not use the internet and only a land line, etc.).

Is there any recommendation for a basic DIY home security system for monitoring the house and just have notification by e-mail or through a mobile application? Is there any open standard for home automation and security devices? Any suggestion about how to build something simple, affordable and efficient?

Submission + - SeaWorld canvasses employees for online poll

Submitted by Jim Efaw
Jim Efaw writes: Probably just par for the course these days: Orlando Business Journal held an online poll asking "Has CNN's 'Blackfish' documentary changed your perception of SeaWorld?" (a show that was previously discussed on Slashdot). SeaWorld decided to respond by going to "team members" and "encourage them to make their opinions known". 54% of votes cast were from the same SeaWorld IP address. Turns out that even without that IP, less than 10% had said it changed their perception, but no word on whether the other voters were just SeaWorld staff from somewhere else. Since the canvassing story broke, however, the votes have gone heavily towards "Yes". (I don't suppose having it on Slashdot will help, either.)

Submission + - City Councilman Resigns Using Klingon (wral.com) 1

Submitted by Virtucon
Virtucon writes: A city councilman in Indian Trail Town, North Carolina has resigned and opted to write his letter of resignation in Klingon. David Waddell is obviously a fan of Star Trek. I wonder if the other council members know what the hell he wrote? I'm sure a nice Qu'vatlh would have sufficed.

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What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite. -- Bertrand Russell, "Skeptical Essays", 1928

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