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Comment Re:Can != did (Score 3, Insightful) 664

Did it actually happen? That is the question.

From an engineering standpoint, it's not really the question - if there is a design flaw so that the system can fail with a non-negligible probability, it will eventually fail. Bits flip everyday, everywhere, but there should be mitigation in place to take care of that (at least a watchdog).

Comment Re:How it happened: very encouraging for anti-swpa (Score 1) 235

It's not absurd at all if you think about the different workflows that could be used. If the video was edited on a desktop-based software, some time was already spent transferring the video from the recorder to the desktop, and a wide choice of video codecs are available.
But it's a bit different if the video was taken on a mobile device. Here, the "editing" part might have been much quicker (just a few clippings with the built-in app), and very few codecs might be available.
So it's not really about decoding, but encoding. The idea was to allow people shooting from mobile devices to easily upload content to wikimedia. You might think that this content would have been low quality anyway, but it might be better than no content.

Submission + - Arduino + Beagleboard + Goldfish = Fish On Wheels

cartechboy writes: Remember when you were a kid and goldfish were, for at least a few months, a central part of life? It turns out goldfish aren't just good pets--or a good introduction to mortality--they're capable of driving as well. Yes, you read that correctly, goldfish can drive, and there's video to prove it. Well, we should rephrase that, goldfish can drive with the help of the insane geniuses at Studio Diip. They combined Arduino and Beagleboard circuits with a webcam, a battery, a fish tank, and a robot vehicle, freeing the goldfish from its boring life on a shelf. The system uses the webcam to see where the goldfish is going, then directs the robot car to follow. Turns out the goldfish is a bit more capable than you though, eh?

Submission + - October 2015: The End of the Swipe-and-Sign Credit Cards in USA (wsj.com)

schwit1 writes: US banks and merchants are shifting to a more secure way of authorizing credit card transactions in which customers will enter a personal identification number (PIN) at checkout instead of signing a receipt.

The US is the last major market in the world using the signature system, which is part of the reason why a disproportionate amount of credit card fraud happens here. The change is especially relevant given the massive fraud perpetrated against customers of Target in the fall. During a Congressional hearing last week, Target CFO John Mulligan said the company is accelerating the $100 million effort to switch to the so-called "chip and pin" system.

The change won't happen all at once. Banks must issue cards with microprocessors and merchants need the right equipment to process the so-called "chip and PIN transactions," which is likely to happen gradually. But Visa, American Express, and MasterCard have announced that banks and merchants that have not adopted the technology for face-to-face transactions by October 2015 will be liable for fraudulent purchases. That's a strong incentive to get up to date. The new system will also prepare merchants and banks to transition to contactless payments in the near future.

Comment Re:Not Obsolete At All (Score 1) 365

Indeed, along similar lines, it can be argued that the existence of submarine missile platforms such as the Oscar 2 has made carrier battle groups obsolete. However, just like ICBMs, such weapons are available to a very limited number countries, and are only used in an all-out war. They will not be deployed in the kind of wars that have taken place in the recent history.

Submission + - Gates returns to Windows 7 after being unable to install the Windows 8.1 upgrade 3

Artem Tashkinov writes: According to rumors Bill Gate's first day at his office in Redmond turned out to be a complete disaster mixed with ostensibly curse words no one had expected from him. He tried to install the Windows 8.1 upgrade but the updater failed continuously asking to reboot the PC. Microsoft's new C.E.O. Satya Nadella who came to help resolve the situation couldn't sort it out. In the end Gates said he would be returning to Windows 7 for the foreseeable future.

Submission + - Google reportedly asked for 1 billion euros for tax evasion in France

Cochonou writes: French tax authorities have reportedly submitted a record-setting tax claim of 1 billion euros to Google. The company is accused to have channeled most of its French revenue through a Dutch intermediary and then to a Bermuda-registered holding, before finally reporting it in Ireland in order to avoid French taxes.
This claim follows a two year-long probe during which Google offices in Paris were searched, and evidence of abusive tax optimization techniques were discovered. On its side, Google maintains that it is in compliance with French national legislation.
Other internet giants keep a close eye on the development of this situation.

Comment To fork or not to fork ? (Score 1) 249

I see a lot of comments about the merits or drawbacks of CSS regions. But in the end, isn't the real issue to be discussed here is the fork of Blink from Webkit ? With the CSS regions and MathML examples, we can see the clear benefit of using a common, open source layout engine. Even if Google was not interested in these features (or rather did not want to commit the resources needed to maintain them), they would have got them "for free" through the work of other contributors to Webkit. I wonder if the gains Google got from forking Blink are really worth these kinds of losses.

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