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Submission + - Honda Pulls a Steve Jobs: Ships Car With No Transmission (greencarreports.com)

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: Steve Jobs simply removed features he thought users didn't need in the name of efficiency. But those removed features better be non-essential right? Can a car work with no transmission? Turns out, the answer is yes—if it's a new kind of hybrid. Honda's 2014 Accord Hybrid has no conventional automatic transmission, no automated dual-clutch system, and no belt-and-pulley continuously variable transmission either. There's also no torque converter or even a drive clutch to slip the engine from a standing start. Okay, so how does the thing drive? Four gearsets sit between the electric and gas power sources and the front wheels, but all those drive ratios are fixed. Add in some sophisticated controls and a small clutch pack to engage the engine and the powertrain provides three propulsion modes: electric, gas, and and blended — all without shifting any gears. The main reason for all the effort? Efficiency. Honda claims its direct-driver has 46 to 80 percent less friction than a conventional automatic, depending on the drive mode. As for the name – "Two-motor Sport Hybrid Intelligent Multi Mode Drive/Plug-in" – well, that's one thing we don't think Steve Jobs would have approved of.

Submission + - 5 ridiculous tech fees you're still paying

Submitted by Esther Schindler
Esther Schindler writes: None of us like to spend money (except on shiny new toys). But even we curmudgeons can understand that companies need to charge for things that cost them money; and profit-making is at the heart of our economy.

Still, several charges appear on our bills that can drive even the most complacent techie into a screaming fit. How did this advertised price turn into that much on the final bill? Why are they charging for it in the first place? Herewith, five fees that make no sense at all — and yet we still fork over money for them.

For example: "While Internet access is free in coffee shops, some public transit, and even campsites, as of 2009 15% of hotels charged guests for the privilege of checking their e-mail and catching up on watching cat videos. Oddly, budget and midscale hotel chains are more likely to offer free Wi-Fi, while luxurious hotels — already costing the traveler more — regularly ding us."

Submission + - London UK Police demand summary domain takedown, hijack traffic to competing www (easydns.org)

Submitted by Stunt Pope
Stunt Pope writes: This morning Toronto based domain registrar easyDNS received a request from the City of London (UK) police demanding that they summarily take down a bittorrent search site based out of Singapore — or else they would "refer the matter to ICANN" — suggesting easyDNS could lose its accreditation.

They directed them to point all traffic for the domain at an IP address that promoted competing commercial online music services based out of London, UK.

Submission + - President Obama refuses to veto import ban on Samsung products (bloomberg.com)

Submitted by Chris453
Chris453 writes: In August 2013, President Obama issued a veto to an import ban of the iPhone 4S after Samsung won several court battles against Apple claiming that the iPhone 4S violated several of Samsung's patents. Despite the hypocracy in a very similar case, the Obama administration today announced that it would not veto the International Trade Commission import ban against Samsung products (filed by Apple) in a move that could spark a trade dispute between the US and South Korea.

Submission + - NSA's new Utah Data Center Suffering Meltdowns

Submitted by linuxwrangler
linuxwrangler writes: NSA's new Utah data-center has been sufferering numerous power-surges that have caused as much as $100,000 damage per event. The root cause is "not yet sufficiently understood" but may is suspected to relate to the site's "inability to simultaneously run computers and keep them cool." Frustrating the analysis and repair are "incomplete information about the design of the electrical system" and the fact that "regular quality controls in design and construction were bypassed in an effort to fast track the Utah project."

Comment Re:This happens a lot (Score 1) 427

by AceCaseOR (#36643800) Attached to: Calling BS On Unpaid Internships

Did you miss adjective "UnPaid" in his sentence with respect to the types of internships being discussed? There are paid internships too.

However, IANAL, but from what I recall there are no legal differentiations between "paid" and "unpaid" internships. Under the law they're both the same thing - which means there's nothing stopping employers from making all their internships unpaid.
OS X

Beware the Garden of Steven 580

Posted by kdawson from the binding-with-briars dept.
theodp writes "With its forthcoming Lion Mac OS and new Apple-curated Mac Apps Store, Apple will be locking down top tier applications on the Mac similar to the way apps are locked down on the iPad and iPhone. Only by submitting their apps to Apple's store and giving up 30% of their receipts will developers get to take advantage of two new OS features. The first is Apple's new 'Launchpad,' a tool for easily opening application; the second is the ability to update apps to new versions with one click. It will be a lot easier to use apps bought from the Mac App Store than ones downloaded in the wild. It didn't have to be that way, says Valleywag's Ryan Tate: 'Apple could have enabled its Launchpad and auto-update features for all applications, sold through the Apple Store or not. For example, an open system for updating applications has been in use for years on Ubuntu... Ubuntu's 'Apt' (Advanced Packaging Tool) lets users install, update, and remove software of their choosing with a single command. There's a central list of apps curated by Ubuntu's maintainers, but users are free to add and install from other lists... But Apple seems to have made a very clear choice not to take the open route.' Longtime Apple developer Dave Winer was also concerned, tweeting during Apple's presentation 'Is this the end of the Mac as an open platform?' The news also prompted developer Anil Dash to call for an open alternative to the Mac App Store."

Comment Pay attention class... (Score 1) 136

by AceCaseOR (#33967314) Attached to: Canada Says Google Wi-Fi Sniffing Collected Personal Data
This is why you encrypt your wireless network. Now, I'm hoping that Google has the good sense to implement the changes requested by Ms. Stoddart, and to go the extra mile and delete any collected data from other countries as well. If they don't delete it, I won't be surprised. Disappointed, but not surprised.
Security

Hacker Business Models 96

Posted by CmdrTaco from the doing-what-they-can dept.
wiredmikey writes "The industrialized hackers are intent on one goal — making money. They also know the basic rules of the business of increasing revenues while cutting costs. As hackers started making money, the field became full of 'professionals' that inspired organized cyber crime. Similar to industrial corporations, hackers have developed their own business models in order to operate as a profitable organization. What do these business models look like? Data has become the hacker's currency. More data, more money. So the attack logic is simple: the more attacks, the more likely victim — so you automate ..."

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