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Internet Explorer

Microsoft Is Killing Off the Internet Explorer Brand 317

Posted by Soulskill from the unpoisoning-the-well dept.
An anonymous reader writes: The Verge reports that Internet Explorer as we know it will be taking a back seat to Microsoft's new browser, Project Spartan, in Windows 10 and future projects. IE will still exist, and stick around for compatibility issues, but Project Spartan will be the default way users interact with the internet. Microsoft wants to distance itself with the negative connotations Internet Explorer has acquired through the years. They still haven't decided on an official name for Project Spartan, but it will probably have the company name in it.

Comment Re:commercials and young kids (Score 1) 163

by Carewolf (#49275975) Attached to: "Hello Barbie" Listens To Children Via Cloud

OR, you know ... good parenting, not allowing them to watch TV except when appropriate

OR you know ... teaching your kids about how commercials work, trying to get them to buy useless toys and crappy "food" products.

Why did you allow your kids to be bombarded with commercials at an age where they couldn't cope?

Being an overprotecting helicopter parent is also harming your child.

Comment Re:Requires Almost Direct Access (Score 1) 93

...an attacker on the same network...

In most scenarios, unless you have an NSA mole in your home/business, Isn't that basically the same as requiring direct access to the machine? Or are we just talking about "on the same planet" type of access?

No, it means someone has replaced your access point, impersonated it or you are connecting to a network that isn't yours.

And no an encrypted WiFI doesn't help, the AP still has access to the unencrypted data.
United States

White House Office of Administration Not Subject to FOIA, Says White House 334

Posted by timothy from the well-they-certainly-are-transparent dept.
An anonymous reader writes with this story at USA Today: The White House is removing a federal regulation that subjects its Office of Administration to the Freedom of Information Act, making official a policy under Presidents Bush and Obama to reject requests for records to that office. The White House said the cleanup of FOIA regulations is consistent with court rulings that hold that the office is not subject to the transparency law.

Comment Re:Nipples and terrorism? (Score 1) 134

Freedom of speech is not the only right there is, and it is not some sort of 'super right' that trumps all others.

FCC rules - an argument could be made that this is a restriction of speech. However, an argument could also be made that the public should have the freedom to decide how a scare public resource (airwaves) can be used. Does Germany have no such freedom for the public to influence use of public resources? If not, score one more freedom for the US.

Lawyers - I guess you mean libel/slander laws. Does Germany have no right of a person to seek redress for being lied about? If not, score one more freedom for the US

Facebook - Does Germany have no freedom of the press, that is, the right to decide what you will and will not publish using your private property? If not, score one more freedom for the US

General politeness - wtf? Is there some kind of law in Germany that says I must still associate with you and not think ill of you just because you make repugnant or just stupid speeches? If so, score another freedom for the US

School district rules - should the public have no say in the environment that is created, using its tax money, in the place where its children must attend each day by law?

Are you being sarcastic, and pointing out how little freedom the US has?

Comment Re:Duct tape (Score 1) 188

I use regular cellophane tape. It is opaque enough to destroy the image, clear enough not to be exactly sure why. Looks like a heavy smudge of grease/oil, like you touched it while eating fries or something.

Just remember to remove it before starting a video conference, otherwise the rest of the participants will start complaining about a poor connection.
Transportation

Elon Musk Pledges To End "Range Anxiety" For Tesla Model S 286

Posted by Soulskill from the update-will-burn-out-your-amygdala-with-lasers dept.
An anonymous reader writes: Elon Musk has used his Twitter account to announce a press conference on Thursday which he claims will end "range anxiety" for Tesla's Model S sedan. Whatever change they're making will be implemented through an over-the-air software update to the cars, affecting the entire fleet. Range anxiety is the term for a fear that your vehicle won't have enough fuel/charge to reach its destination. It's a common reason for people to avoid buying electric cars, given the much smaller infrastructure build-out compared to gas stations. If Tesla is improving the Model S's range through a software update, then it likely involves optimizations to the battery and to the ways in which power is used. Tesla has also talked about developing a feature called "torque sleep," which puts one of the drive units to sleep while not needed. They say it can wake up and begin delivering torque again "so fast that the driver can't perceive it."
Science

Scientific Study Finds There Are Too Many Scientific Studies 112

Posted by Soulskill from the my-study-can-beat-up-your-study dept.
HughPickens.com writes: Chris Matyszczyk reports at Cnet that a new scientific study concludes there are too many scientific studies — scientists simply can't keep track of all the studies in their field. The paper, titled "Attention Decay in Science," looked at all publications (articles and reviews) written in English till the end of 2010 within the database of the Thomson Reuters (TR) Web of Science. For each publication they extracted its year of publication, the subject category of the journal in which it is published and the corresponding citations to that publication. The 'decay' the researchers investigated is how quickly a piece of research is discarded measured by establishing the initial publication, the peak in its popularity and, ultimately, its disappearance from citations in subsequent publications.

"Nowadays papers are forgotten more quickly. Attention, measured by the number and lifetime of citations, is the main currency of the scientific community, and along with other forms of recognition forms the basis for promotions and the reputation of scientists," says the study. "Typically, the citation rate of a paper increases up to a few years after its publication, reaches a peak and then decreases rapidly. This decay can be described by an exponential or a power law behavior, as in ultradiffusive processes, with exponential fitting better than power law for the majority of cases (PDF). The decay is also becoming faster over the years, signaling that nowadays papers are forgotten more quickly." Matyszczyk says,"If publication has become too easy, there will be more and more of it."

Comment Re:Wireless charging hit mainstream ~ 1-2 years ag (Score 4, Interesting) 184

by Carewolf (#49255339) Attached to: Why Apple Won't Adopt a Wireless Charging Standard

It's not like you can charge your phone from a distance.

That's coming, and soon. There's a standard coming now which does it at up to 10W, which is enough to run many small devices outright.

I doubt it. You either have to point a beam very accurately or you lose efficiency to cube of distance. Using a 100W to get 10W a meter away is just not very acceptable.

Comment Re:Yes, that's the claim of the prosecutor. (Score 1) 169

by Carewolf (#49251523) Attached to: Swedish Authorities Offer To Question Assange In London

Unless you're trying to work out how it MUST be rape, either

a) because the accusation cannot be allowed to be questioned, since that's telling a woman who claimed she was raped is wrong.
b) because Assange must be evil, because WL only exposes hateful things done by the USA, not any other country.

False rape allegations happen a lot.

The girl has not accused him of rape. She wanted him to have a STD test, and asked the police if they could force him. A Swedish DA decided to take the case and press rape charges, though the girl denies being raped.

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