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Submission + - Law Repressing Social Media, Bloggers Now in Effect in Russia

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: On Friday, Russia implemented a new law that significantly limits its citizens' online free speech. Under this new law, social media sites must "retain user data for at least six months...within the country's boundaries so it can be available for government inspection." Also, "bloggers with at least 3,000 daily readers must register with Roskomnadzor, the regulator that also oversees Russia's main media outlets." This, of course, means that popular bloggers will no longer be able to remain anonymous.

Submission + - Hitchbot, the hitchhiking robot, bums 1st ride (www.cbc.ca)

Submitted by bayduv1n
bayduv1n writes: It didn't take long for a little robot attempting to hitchhike across the country relying on the kindness of strangers to get its first ride.

The little traveller, about the size of a six-year-old child, was made using pool noodles, an old bucket, Wellington boots, rubber gloves, solar panels and a computerized "brain."

Hitchbot is entirely dependent on human beings for its survival. It's part of a Canadian research project looking into the evolving relationship between people and technology.

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Where can I obtain resources to program for Palm OS 5?

Submitted by baka_toroi
baka_toroi writes: I got a Tungsten E2 from a friend and I wanted to give it some life by programming for it a little bit. The main problem I'm bumping with is that HP thought it would be awesome to just shut down every single thing related to Palm OS development. After googling a lot I found out CodeWarrior was the de facto IDE for Palm OS development... but I was soon disappointed as I learned that Palm moved from the 68K architecture to ARM, and of course, CodeWarrior was just focused on Palm OS 4 development.

Now, I realize Palm OS 4 software can be run on Palm OS 5, but I'm looking to use some of the "newer" APIs. Also, I have the Wi-fi add-on card so I wanted to create something that uses it. I thought what I needed was PODS (Palm OS Development Suite) but not only I can't find it anywhere but also it seems it was deprecated during Palm OS's lifetime. It really doesn't help the fact that I'm a beginner, but I really want to give this platform some life.
Any general tip, book, working link or even anecdotes related to all this will be greatly appreciated.

Submission + - Apple Acqui-Hires "Pandora for Books" Booklamp for $15 million (the-digital-reader.com)

Submitted by Nate the greatest
Nate the greatest writes: Apple stunned the tech world Friday night when news broke that the gadget maker had acquired a little known ebook company called Booklamp, a small Idaho-based ebook startup which is best known for the Book Genome Project. First shown off to the world in 2008, this project was conceived by Booklamp founder and CEO Aaron Stanton as a way of analyzing a book's pacing, dialog, perspective, genre, and other details in order to identify a book's unique DNA. Booklamp has been using the tech to sell various services to publishers, tech companies, and the like, but Booklamps's existing contracts were apparently cancelled earlier this year.

According to one industry insider the deal happened in April, but Apple managed to keep the news under wraps until just last night. No one knows for sure how Apple will use booklamp but there is speculation that Apple could launch an ebook subscription service similar to the week-old Kindle Unlimited, or they could just use Booklamp to drive ebook recommendations in what some are speculating is the world's second largest ebookstore.

Submission + - Researchers fully 'delete' HIV from human cells for the first time

Submitted by mrspoonsi
mrspoonsi writes: So far, HIV has eluded a cure because it installs its genome into human DNA so insidiously that it's impossible for our immune system to clear it out. While current treatments are effective, a lifetime of toxic drugs are required to prevent its recurrence. But researchers from Temple University may have figured out a way to permanently excise it using a highly-engineered HIV "editor." Here's how it works: the team analyzed a part of our immune system that fights infection and built a "guide RNA" strand consisting of 20 nucleotides (RNA building blocks). Those strands were then injected into cells typically infected with HIV, like T-cells. There, they targeted the end parts of the virus's gene and snipped out all 9,709 nucleotides that made up its genome. Since the guide RNA strand contained no human DNA sequences, it left the host cell intact — but free from HIV.

Submission + - Can the Multiverse be Tested Scientifically? (discovery.com)

Submitted by astroengine
astroengine writes: Physicists aren’t afraid of thinking big, but what happens when you think too big? This philosophical question overlaps with real physics when hypothesizing what lies beyond the boundary of our observable universe. The problem with trying to apply science to something that may or may not exist beyond our physical realm is that it gets a little foggy as to how we could scientifically test it. A leading hypothesis to come from cosmic inflation theory and advanced theoretical studies — centering around the superstring hypothesis — is that of the "multiverse," an idea that scientists have had a hard time in testing. But now, scientists at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, in Ontario, Canada, have, for the first time, created a computer model of colliding universes in the multiverse in an attempt to seek out observational evidence of its existence.

Submission + - Giant crater appears at Siberia's 'world's end' (siberiantimes.com)

Submitted by stkpogo
stkpogo writes: "The giant hole appeared close to a forest some 30 kilometres from Yamal's biggest gas field Bovanenkovo. Experts are confident that a scientific explanation will be found for it and that it is not — as one web claim suggested — evidence 'of the arrival of a UFO craft' to the planet.

A report and footage highlighted by Zvezda TV says the dark colour of the crater indicates 'some temperature processes', without explaining more what they may mean. Others say that the darkening around the inner rim indicates its formation was accompanied by severe burning scorching the edges.

Some observers believe water or dry soil is seen falling into the cavity."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Submission + - Austria dumps provider protection, TOR exit nodes illegal (network23.org) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Austria: The operation of TOR exit nodes was declared a criminal offense by a regional criminal court. The ruling of the court affects not only TOR Exit nodes but all servers which could be used for fraud.

Submission + - Chimpanzees Develop A Grass-in-ear Fashion Trend

Submitted by jones_supa
jones_supa writes: Just in time for this year's primate-starring film event, the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, comes news from Zambia that also chimpanzees seem to form fashion trends. The behaviour appears to be "non-adaptive", i.e., motivated by frivolous rather than functional reasons. Dutch primate specialist Edwin van Leeuwen describes it as "quite unique". He first spotted the trend-setting chimp in 2010 when Julie, an elderly female, repeatedly popped long pieces of grass in her ear and left it there for several hours. The quirky idea was adopted by seven other chimps in her troop, who still continue to do it after her death. This may be the first fashion trend documented in the animal world, according to the study published recently in science journal Animal Cognition.

Submission + - Citing "Terrorism," Illinois spent $250k on Stingray to fight regular crime

Submitted by v3rgEz
v3rgEz writes: New documents released on MuckRock show the Illinois State Police crying "Terrorist" in order to get funding and approval for a $250,000 Stingray cell snooping system, even though, as Mike Masnick at Techdirt notes, the technology is being used to fight regular crime. The ToS on the device actually prevent officers from seeking a warrant to use it, because doing so would disclose the device's use to the courts. MuckRock currently has a crowdfunding campaign to fund similar requests across the country.

Submission + - NIgerian born UK TV repairman sentenced 16 months prison for 91% reuse (theguardian.com) 1

Submitted by retroworks
retroworks writes: The Guardian uses a stock photo of obvious electronic junk in its coverage of the sentencing of Joseph Benson of BJ Electronics. But film of the actual containers showed fairly uniform, sorted televisions which typically work for 20 years. In 2013, the Basel Convention Secretariat released findings on a two-year study of the seized sea containers containing the alleged "e-waste", including Benson's in Nigeria, and found 91% working and repaired product. The study, covered in Slashdot last February, declared the shipments legal, and further reported that they were more likely to work than new product sent to Africa (which may be shelf returns from bad lots, part of the reason Africans prefer used TVs from nations with strong warranty laws).

Director of regulated industry Harvey Bradshaw of the UK tells the Guardian: "This sentence is a landmark ruling because it's the first time anyone has been sent to prison for illegal waste exports." But 5 separate university research projects question what the crime was, and whether prohibition in trade is really the best way to reduce the percentage of bad product (less than 100% waste). Admittedly, I have been following this case from the beginning and interviewed both Benson and the Basel Secretariat Executive Director, and am shocked that the UK judge went ahead with the sentencing following the publication of the E-Waste Assessment Study last year. http://retroworks.blogspot.com... But what do Nerds at Slashdot think about the campaign to arrest African geeks who pay 10 times the value of scrap for used products replaced in rich nations?

Submission + - Yale University Scientists successfully grow full head of hair on bald man

Submitted by realized
realized writes: The patient had previously been diagnosed with both alopecia universalis, a disease that results in loss of all body hair, and plaque psoriasis, a condition characterized by scaly red areas of skin. The only hair on his body was within the psoriasis plaques on his head. He was referred to Yale Dermatology for treatment of the psoriasis. The alopecia universalis had never been treated.

After two months on tofacitinib at 10 mg daily, the patient’s psoriasis showed some improvement, and the man had grown scalp and facial hair — the first hair he’d grown there in seven years. After three more months of therapy at 15 mg daily, the patient had completely regrown scalp hair and also had clearly visible eyebrows, eyelashes, and facial hair, as well as armpit and other hair, the doctors said.

Submission + - Google confirms indie musicians must join streaming service or be removed

Submitted by Sockatume
Sockatume writes: In a statement to the Financial Times and reported by the BBC, Google has confirmed that it will remove the music videos of independent artists unless they sign up to its upcoming subscription music service. Many independent musicians and labels have refused to do so, claiming that the contracts offer significantly worse deals than the likes of Spotify and Pandora, and that Google is unwilling to negotiate on the rates it offers artists. A Google spokesperson indicated that the company could start removing videos within days.

Submission + - Ikea attacks IkeaHackers blog with C&D order (ikeahackers.net)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Ikea has attacked the IkeaHackers blog with a C&D order over the usage of the Ikea name. IkeaHackers hosts articles on how to hack Ikea furnature to make it more useful in daily life.

Submission + - Zuckerberg PAC Declares Hunting Season on Republican Voters

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: "We are excited to announce that FWD.us and Hackers/Founders are joining forces to host the 'DEBUG DC' Growthathon on June 21st & June 22nd," reads the blog over at FWD.us [Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's PAC]. "This is a unique opportunity to push the envelope in online advocacy for immigration reform." The blog entry explains, "The machine of government is wedged, and is in desperate need of debugging. How do we DEBUG DC? Step One: Target critical legislative districts. Step Two: Data mine these districts to find registered voters who are registered Republicans who we think are likely to support immigration reform. Step Three: Growth hack ways to motivate these people to effectively engage their legislators to tell them they want them to call for a vote on immigration reform. Step Four: Measure results. Step Five: Iterate." The Eventbrite invitation for the event includes a call for Data Scientists who are "pissed off about immigration and want to fix it," are "well versed in statistics and data analysis," and can "infer voter sentiment from sparse data." "To keep things interesting," the invite explains, "we've lined up a few really cool prizes," i.e., one hour meetings with VC Vinod Khosla, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, and Dan'l Lewin, Microsoft's Corporate VP of Technology and Civic Engagement (Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith are all FWD.us supporters). So, with speculation that Mark Zuckerberg was the kiss of death for [House Majority Leader] Eric Cantor, who went down to defeat in spectacular fashion in Tuesday's primary, could the planned data mining of Republican voters backfire and put off politicians?

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