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Submission + - DEA Cameras Tracking Hundreds of Millions of Car Journeys Across the US (itworld.com)

Submitted by itwbennett
itwbennett writes: A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration program set up in 2008 to keep tabs on cars close to the U.S.-Mexican border has been gradually expanded nationwide and is regularly used by other law enforcement agencies in their hunt for suspects. The extent of the system, which is said to contain hundreds of millions of records on motorists and their journeys, was disclosed in documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.

Comment Re:Their excuse sucks (Score 1) 579

Microsoft lets you install patches for their previous OSes. Google has said they won't even bother making a patch - you have to upgrade. For most users, that's not going to happen.

Why? They say that they haven't got the resources. Of course they don't - only about 10% - 12% of their employees are engineers, and many of those are involved in the ad side of things. Google works for advertisers, not users. Both Apple and Microsoft know that pissing off users has a direct effect on their bottom line. Google? Not so much, eh?

I guess free isn't that free after all.

Submission + - Two Data Driven Investigations of Inflate Gate 1

Submitted by vortex2.71
vortex2.71 writes: In light of the NFL 'Deflate Gate' scandal, Slate.com has a pair of articles on the [New England Patriots’ statistically unlikely prevention of fumbles](http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2015/01/ballghazi_the_new_england_patriots_lose_an_insanely_low_number_of_fumbles.html) and on the [change in their fumble rates after Tom Brady lobbied the NFL to allow teams to provide the balls for their own offenses in 2007](http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2015/01/stats_show_the_new_england_patriots_became_nearly_fumble_proof_after_a_2006.html). Regardless of your team allegiance, the articles provide interesting statistical insight into the debate from a data science perspective.

Submission + - Davos 2015: Less innovation, more regulation, more unrest. Run away!

Submitted by Freshly Exhumed
Freshly Exhumed writes: Growing income inequality was one of the top four issues at the 2015 World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ranking alongside European adoption of quantitative easing and geopolitical concerns. Felix Salmon, senior editor at Fusion, said there was a consensus that global inequality is getting worse, fueling overriding pessimism at the gathering. The result, he said, could be that the next big revolution will be in regulation rather than innovation. With growing inequality and the civil unrest from Ferguson and the Occupy protests fresh in people’s mind, the world’s super rich are already preparing for the consequences. At a packed session, former hedge fund director Robert Johnson revealed that worried hedge fund managers were already planning their escapes. “I know hedge fund managers all over the world who are buying airstrips and farms in places like New Zealand because they think they need a getaway,” he said. Looking at studies like NASA's HANDY and by KPMG, the UK Government Office of Science, and others, Dr Nafeez Ahmed, executive director of the Institute for Policy Research & Development, warns that the convergence of food, water and energy crises could create a 'perfect storm' within about fifteen years.

Submission + - Why Coding is not the new literacy (chris-granger.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: There has been a furious effort over the past few years to bring the teaching of programming into the core academic curricula. Enthusiasts have been quick to take up the motto: "Coding is the new literacy!" But long-time developer Chris Granger argues that this is not the case: "When we say that coding is the new literacy, we're arguing that wielding a pencil and paper is the old one. Coding, like writing, is a mechanical act. All we've done is upgrade the storage medium. ... When we say that coding is the new literacy, we're arguing that wielding a pencil and paper is the old one. Coding, like writing, is a mechanical act. All we've done is upgrade the storage medium."

He further suggests that if anything, the "new" literacy should be modeling — the ability to create a representation of a system that can be explored or used. "Defining a system or process requires breaking it down into pieces and defining those, which can then be broken down further. It is a process that helps acknowledge and remove ambiguity and it is the most important aspect of teaching people to model. In breaking parts down we can take something overwhelmingly complex and frame it in terms that we understand and actions we know how to do."

Submission + - As real Flash patches go out, fake ones hit thousands of Facebook users (cso.com.au)

Submitted by River Tam
River Tam writes: On the heels of two real Flash Player security updates being distributed by Adobe Systems this week, hackers are spreading a fake update for the media player via a scam on Facebook that has exposed at least 5,000 users to the threat.

Fake Flash Player update through a three-day Facebook scam beginning Friday. The hackers are targeting the social network’s users by tagging would-be victims in photos that purport to be racy videos.

Comment Seems to me that the cops getsit backwards (Score 2) 468

by BarbaraHudson (#48909077) Attached to: Police Organization Wants Cop-Spotting Dropped From Waze App

Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, said his members had concerns as well. 'I can think of 100 ways that it could present an officer-safety issue,' Pasco said. 'There's no control over who uses it. So, if you're a criminal and you want to rob a bank, hypothetically, you use your Waze.'"

If bank robbers only rob banks far away from where the cops are, and are gone by the time the cops get there, doesn't that LOWER the chances of an armed confrontation? Just saying ...

Submission + - FCC Fines Verizon for Failing to Investigate Rural Phone Problems

Submitted by WheezyJoe
WheezyJoe writes: Verizon agreed to a $5 million settlement after admitting that it failed to investigate whether its rural customers were able to receive long distance and wireless phone calls. The settlement is related to the FCC's efforts to address what is known as the rural call completion problem. Over an eight-month period during 2013, low call answer rates in 39 rural areas should have triggered an investigation, the FCC said. The FCC asked Verizon what steps it took, and Verizon said in April 2014 that it investigated or fixed problems in 13 of the 39 areas, but did nothing in the other 26.

"Rural call completion problems have significant and immediate public interest ramifications," the FCC said in its order on the Verizon settlement today. "They cause rural businesses to lose customers, impede medical professionals from reaching patients in rural areas, cut families off from their relatives, and create the potential for dangerous delays in public safety communications." Verizon has been accused of letting its copper landline network decay while it shifts its focus to fiber and cellular service. The FCC is working a plan to protect customers as old copper networks are retired.

Comment Re:The solution is obvious (Score 1) 579

Phones used to last 5-6 years. The worst you had to do was change the battery after 3 years. Now it's OMG you need to buy a new phone every year. PCs still (mostly) last more than half a decade, and are supported for longer - and they frequently cost less, not more, than the latest hotness from a smartphone vendor.

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