54808193
submission
whoever57 writes:
According to an orginal report in Der Spiegel, and
secondary reporting in the Washington Post, the NSA intercepts deliveries of PCs and installs logging software or hardware on them before the customer receives them. According to a document cited by Der Spegel, interception is one of the NSA's "most productive operations"
Der Spiegel also reported that the NSA intercepts and uses Windows crash reports in order to gather information that is used to develop new methods to crack Windows machines.
54534387
submission
whoever57 writes:
On Decemer 10, Microsoft released a firmware update for Surface Pro 2. Now, due to widespread issues with battery life, charging, sleeping, etc., Microsoft has pulled the update. It appears that some of the tablets failed to completely install the update. The number of people posting about the the problem in the Microsoft Community site shows that there are at least hundreds of users with this problem. What propeortion of the Surface Pro 2 user base does this represent?
53958797
submission
whoever57 writes:
The technique most commonly used by police in the USA for interrogations produces a shockingly high rate of false confessions. People who have solid alibis tend to be found guilty purely because of their confession. This technique was developed by John Reid and the defendant who confessed in the case that made Reid's reputation was shown, years later, to be innocent. The technique discussed in an article in the New Yorker magazine (subscription required). The author of the article also discuses it in an interview on NPR's Fresh Air program. The underpinnings of the Reid technique have been shown to be based on pseudo-science. The UK police now use a different technique, which is not focussed on obtaining a confession, but rather eliciting information which may be used to show the guilt or innocence of the interviewee: the PEACE technique, which is closer to the way journalists conduct interviews. Good cop/bad cop doesn't seem to feature in any techniques.
52891911
submission
whoever57 writes:
Almost 150 years ago, the Church of England rejected Charles Darwin's theories. Now, 150 years later, the church is comparing that rejection to the rejection of Galileo's work. The CoE will publish an apology, written by the Rev Dr Malcolm Brown, the Church's director of mission and public affairs. The apology will be on a CoE website, going live on Monday, which will promote Charles Darwin's ideas.
50210107
submission
whoever57 writes:
On Saturday, Oracle Team USA and Team New Zealand begin racing for the America's Cup in the amazing AC72 boats. However, the Oracle team starts with a siginficant handicap. It was recently discovered that members of Oracle Team USA made illegal changes to the boats used in the Americas Cup Series (which is sailed in the smaller AC45 boats). After a hearing on Friday, the International Jury has decided on the penalty: Team Oracle will have to pay a fine, sail without some team members and more significantly, loses 2 points before starting the Americas Cup races against Team New Zealand. A tiny amount of weight had been added to the kingposts, in violation of the measurement rules for the class. This was reported to the measurement committee some weeks ago after its discovery by boatbuilders working for America's Cup Regatta Management (ACRM), not members of Oracle Team USA.
48925051
submission
whoever57 writes:
The NSA responded to an FOI request asking that the requestor narrow the information required because its email system is "a little antiquated and archaic". This followed a request for information on emails between the NSA and the National Geographic channel, following the latter broadcasting a documentary that was very friendly to the NSA. The intent was to investigate the NSA's PR efforts. Apparently the NSA can only search individual employees' mailboxes and cannot search all emails across the agency.
46353029
submission
whoever57 writes:
According to a report in Techcrunch, Microsoft is considering buying out the remaining shares in Nook Media. Microsoft already owns 17% of Nook Media. Documents reveal that Nook Media plans to discontinue selling tablets and transition to a model under which media is distributed through partners.
45790163
submission
whoever57 writes:
The Prime Minister of the UK is proposing that porn should not be available through WiFi hotspots in public areas. Exactly how this will be implemented has not been identified, even to the extent of whether the ISP or the hotspot operator should implement the blocking. The Children’s Charities Coalition has demanded urgent action on the issue.
45650107
submission
whoever57 writes:
Galen Gruman writes in InfoWorld about the persistence of Microsoft technologies in the enterprise. He notices that IT groups are the most likely buyers fro Windows tablets, despite their users preference for Android and IOS tablets. He blames this on "in-breeding" within IT groups — who simply expect Microsoft technologies "to extend into the newfangled technologies such as mobile and cloud". IT groups, he writes, will wait for Microsft to deliver the technologies that are already available from other sources. He summarizes the status of Microsoft's offerings thus:
"It's clear Microsoft's strategy is to withhold its better technologies to force users to stick with the inferior Windows platforms. IT is waiting for that magic day when Microsoft's Windows delivers beyond the legacy desktop.
Users, meanwhile, have moved on. They'll buy more tablets than PCs this year, and adoption will only accelerate as users start augmenting their PCs at work with tablets, not just buy them for home use as is usually the case today"
44400521
submission
whoever57 writes:
Several European phone carriers have complained to the EU about the contracts that Apple imposes on them if they want to sell the iPhone. Because the contracts stipulate a minimum purchase, and the carier must compensate Apple if they fail to sell through that minimum, it has the effect of forcing the carrier to promote iPhones ahead of alternative phones. The European Commission is monitoring the situation. Apple claims that its "contracts fully comply with local laws wherever we do business, including the E.U"
44110033
submission
whoever57 writes:
A report in ExtremeTech (quoting an article in the Wall Street Journal) details price cuts that Microsft has made for sales of Windows 8 and Office to OEMs in response to slow adoption. According to the report, the price of a dual pack of Windows 8 and Office for touchscreen devices under 10.8 inches has been cut to only $30 from the prior price of $120. The Wall Street Journal attributes the claim to anaonymous sources, hwever, other sites, including Digitimes report information that tends to confirm the original claim.
43510559
submission
whoever57 writes:
Microsoft's Azure storage appears to be down worldwide. Indications are that the problem lies in an
expired ssl certificate. Recovery is in progress.
43326039
submission
whoever57 writes:
Patent trolls like to claim that patent laws provide a way that small inventors can create products and benefit financially from their invention. One such inventor faces selling his house, despite inventing a product that has sold tens of millions worldwide.
41405761
submission
whoever57 writes:
The yacht that Steve Jobs commissioned has been held over a claim that the architect's bill has not been paid in full. Co-designer Philippe Starck claims that Job's estate has paid him only $6M out of a $9M bill. The court of Amsterdam has allowed Starck's lawyers to impound the yacht.
40511813
submission
whoever57 writes:
In a follow-up to stories about the non-existent Sandy Island, a librarian in New Zealand looked for Sandy Island on the library's colection of charts. Sandy Island was
found on a 1908 British Admiralty chart. On the chart, it was reported that the island was discovered in 1876. According to the report, another person found a record of Sandy Island on his copy of The Times Atlas of 1897.
