64760691
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
Back in 2012, Google had made it mandatory for new Gmail users to simultaneously create Google+ (G+) accounts. This is no longer so. Following the departure of G+ founder Vic Gundotra in April 2014, Google has been quietly decoupling its social media site from its other services. First, YouTube was freed, then Google+ Photos. Now, anyone who wants to create a new Gmail account unencumbered with a G+ profile can also do so.
64756323
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
Little known fact about the recent round of Microsoft layoffs is that it eliminated its entire Robotics research lab in Redmond. This is bizarre, considering that the company was the largest corporate sponsor at International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems 2014. in Chicago, presenting papers and Running an indoor navigation challenge. The surprise news came even before the conference was over.
64734401
submission
redletterdave writes:
Police discovered Rex Chapman, the former Kentucky Wildcats star and NBA player, had stolen over $14,000 worth of goods from an Apple Store in Scottsdale, Ariz., and offloaded the lifted items at a nearby pawn shop. Chapman was arrested Friday on nine counts of organized retail theft and five counts of trafficking stolen property. According to police, Chapman, 46, repeatedly visited the Apple Store in the Scottsdale Quarter retail center and made it seem like he was paying for items with his iPhone’s Apple Store application, which contains a self-checkout system called 'Easy Pay' so customers can buy Apple products without an employee. Chapman, however, would then leave the store without actually paying for the items, and visit a local pawn shop to exchange the goods for cash. Police said these occurrences happened over period of 'a few months.'
64733803
submission
Diggester writes:
Folks at 4Chan seem to have successfully trolled plenty of Apple iPhone owners. Some witty people spread the rumour that the new iPhone can now be charged in any microwave courtesy of the new and improved iOS 8. They decided to name this ‘hot’ feature the Apple Wave which was said to be a super-fast way of charging the device. It’s obvious how cleanly they went about advertising it the ‘Apple’ way.
64625305
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
Android users have always had the ability to switch the native keyboard software on their devices. But iOS 8 finally brings that feature to iPhone users. TechCrunch has rounded up a neat selection of alternative keyboard apps for iDevice users to wrap their fingers around.
64596421
submission
mikejuk writes:
When Google Labs closed there was an outcry. How could an organization just pull the rug from under so many projects?
At least Google announced what it was doing. Mozilla, it seems since there is no official record, just quietly tiptoes away — leaving the lights on since the Mozilla Labs Website is still accessible. It is accessible but when you start to explore the website you notice it is moribund with the last blog post being December 2013 with the penultimate one being September 2013.
The fact that it is gone is confirmed by recent blog posts and by the redeployment of the people who used to run it. The projects that survived have been moved to their own websites. It isn't clear what has happened to the Hatchery -the incubator that invited new ideas from all and sundry.
One of the big advantages of open source is the ease with which a project can be started. One of the big disadvantages of open source is the ease with which projects can be allowed to die — often without any clear cut time of death. It seems Mozilla applies this to groups and initiatives as much as projects. This isn't good.
64575091
submission
MojoKid writes:
Facebook has become too crowded and too mundane. With around 1.3 billion Facebook users, it's understandable to be overwhelmed by everything and want to get away from it all. However, unlike Facebook which is looking to connect everyone to the internet, there is a new site called Netropolitan that focuses more on exclusivity and privacy. The site was founded by composer and former conductor of the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra James Touchi-Peters who wanted to provide a social media site for affluent and accomplished individuals. People wishing to join need only pay a mere $9,000 to join. Of that amount, $6,000 is the initiation fee and the remaining $3,000 is for the annual membership fee which users will continue to pay. So what does the initiation and annual fee get you? For starters, Netropolitan will offer an ad-free experience and will not promote any kind of paid promotions to its members. However, it will allow the creation of groups by businesses in which members can advertise to each other under certain guidelines. $9K just to join? There must be another hook...
64477895
submission
stephendavion writes:
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US have come up with a new algorithm that could aid in analysing the rotation of objects in space, which will help in cleaning up debris in the geosynchronous orbit. The algorithm was tested using two small satellites deployed to the International Space Station (ISS) through MIT's SPHERES project. One of the SPHERES satellite rotated in place, while the other captured photographs of the spinning satellite.
64477721
submission
jbernardo writes:
One thing I have yet to see discussed about systemd and the "unified package manager" proposed by Poettering is the stated objective of tivoisation of linux:
"We want our images to be trustable (i.e. signed). In fact we want a fully trustable OS, with images that can be verified by a full trust chain from the firmware (EFI SecureBoot!), through the boot loader, through the kernel, and initrd. Cryptographically secure verification of the code we execute is relevant on the desktop (like ChromeOS does), but also for apps, for embedded devices and even on servers (in a post-Snowden world, in particular)."
Am I the only one who is scared of this "tivoisation" by design? If this ever makes it to arm devices, say goodbye to DD-WRT, OpenWRT, Tomato, etc. And that will be just the beginning. Be ready for all your devices becoming appliances, non-customizable and to be thrown out as soon as they become obsolete by design. Being allowed to only run signed code will probably be good for redhat, but will it be good for the user?
Strange that a few years ago "trusted computing" was stopped, and now it seems almost inevitable even in Linux.
64475725
submission
Daniel_Stuckey writes:
A little over a year ago, the New Zealand government passed legislation that legally authorized its version of the NSA, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), to spy on its own citizens. Narrowly, the law passed after a heated debate between lawmakers, rights groups, and local internet tycoon Kim Dotcom. At the time, Prime Minister John Key commented the new law “is not, and never will be, about wholesale spying on New Zealanders.”
But a set of secret documents provided by Edward Snowden indicates that New Zealand officials had already begun to design mass surveillance programs before such a law had ever gone to parliament. According to the new documents, published by Glenn Greenwald Monday, the GCSB had already begun cooperating with the US National Security Agency as early as 2012. Even as it sought legal authorization before full implementation, as part of a spying program code-named “Speargun,” the bureau was planning to grant NSA access to its major undersea cable network that connects New Zealand to the rest of the world sometime in "mid-2013."
64470215
submission
NetAlien writes:
QUESTION: Is Adobe dropping all Linux support? Flash. Now Reader...
Preparing for US naturalization, one is immediately hindered by the US Government's use of Adobe's PDF XFA format — the form loads only to recommend that the user download Adobe Reader "for Windows, Mac or Linux". Attempting to download Reader, the first option is to select the OS — SURPRISE! Linux is absent. OK... so download a Windows version (I selected 7) and install with Wine. Sigh... that fails.
Another case for free and open formats...
64466369
submission
Zanadou writes:
Apple may have succeeded at breaking two records at once with the free release of U2’s latest album, titled Songs of Innocence, via iTunes. But now, it looks like it’s also on track to become one of the worst music publicity stunts of all time.
Users who have opted to download new purchases to their iPhones automatically have found the new U2 album sitting on their phones. But even if iTunes users hadn’t chosen automatic downloads, Songs of Innocence will still be displayed as an “iTunes in the Cloud” purchase. That means it will still be shown as part of your music library, even if you delete all the tracks. The only way to make the U2 album go away is to go to your Mac or PC and hide all of your “iTunes in the Cloud” purchases, or to use iTunes to manually hide each track from your purchased items list.
Other reactions include rapper, Tyler, The Creator, saying that having the new U2 album automatically downloaded on his iPhone was 'like waking up with herpes', while Twitter user Mez pondered 'If Apple can forcefully download a U2 album onto everyone's phone, imagine what else they can do.. and see.'
64445427
submission
rinka writes:
There's been progress since: http://science.slashdot.org/st...
The Indian Mars mission is on target has completed 95% of it's journey and will reach its destination before the month end. Indian scientists have successfully restarted the Mars orbiter. Meanwhile there are reasons to believe that NASA and ISRO, both space agencies that have sent Mars rovers, have decided to coordinate their mars missions: http://nvonews.com/india-mars-...
64435209
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
Stepping Down from Bodhi Linux Lead
Friday, September 12, 2014
http://jeffhoogland.blogspot.n...
http://forums.bodhilinux.com/i...
