Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Submission + - Non-invasive spinal cord stimulation gets paralyzed legs moving again (gizmag.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Five men with complete motor paralysis have regained the ability to move their legs voluntarily and produce step-like movements after being treated with a non-invasive form of spinal cord stimulation. The new treatment builds on prior work to generate voluntary movements in paralyzed people through electrical stimulation â" in particular, two studies (one completed in 2011, the other in 2014) that involved surgically implanting an electrode array on the spinal cord. This time, however, the researchers found success without performing any invasive surgery.

The new treatment uses a technique called transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, which involves strategically placing electrodes on the skin of the lower back. While receiving stimulation, the men's legs were supported by braces that hung from the ceiling. At first their legs only moved involuntarily, if at all. But they soon found they could voluntarily extend the distance their legs moved during stimulation. They doubled their range of voluntary motion after four treatment sessions.

Submission + - FireChat Weaves Smartphones Into an Alternative Internet (technologyreview.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: What do people in Manila watching the Pope give Mass, Russian and Hong Kong protesters, and U.S. festivalgoers have in common? They have all turned to FireChat, an app that creates hyperlocal chat rooms that work even when cell networks are down by connecting phones within Wi-Fi range of one another (see "The Latest Chat App for the iPhone Needs No Internet Connection").

An upgrade to FireChat released today could make the app much more useful and powerful. It makes it possible to communicate with other FireChat users beyond the roughly 70 meters that your device can reach with Wi-Fi. Private and public messages can now travel longer distances by hopping between FireChat users until they get to the intended recipient-an approach known as mesh networking. Messages are encrypted as they travel through intermediate devices.

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Can you permanently disable Windows 10 privacy invading features?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I really want to upgrade to Windows 10, but have begun seeing stories come out about the new Terms and how they affect your privacy. It looks like the default Windows 10 system puts copies of your data out on the "cloud", gives your passwords out, and targets advertising to you. The main reason I am looking to upgrade is that Bitlocker is not available on Windows 7 Pro, but is on Windows 10 Pro, and Microsoft no longer offers Anytime Upgrades to Windows 7 Ultimate. However, I don't want to give away my privacy for security. The other option is to wait until October to see what the Windows 10 Enterprise version offers, but it may not be available through retail. Are the privacy minded Slashdot readers not going with Windows 10?

For reference, I am referring to these articles:
http://www.theguardian.com/tec...
http://betanews.com/2015/07/31...

Submission + - Bill allows government to revoke Americans' passports without charges or trial (policestateusa.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: A bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would allow the government to restrict Americans' travel through the revocation of passports based upon mere suspicions of unscrupulous activity. This bill represents another dangerous step forward in the war on terror and the disintegration of American due process.

H.R. 237, the "FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organization) Passport Revocation Act of 2015," will allow the U.S. Secretary of State the unchecked authority to prohibit individuals from traveling internationally. According to the bill, the Secretary may unilaterally revoke (or refuse to issue) a passport from "any individual whom the Secretary has determined has aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise helped an organization the Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189)."

The bill did not bother to define what the terms "aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise helped" actually mean, in legal terms. The power has been left open-ended so that it can mean whatever the secretary wants it to mean. Needless to say, a bill like this would be easily abused.

The travel restriction requires no presumption of innocence for the targeted individual; no explanation; no public presentation of evidence; no opportunity for a defense; no checks and balances on the power. The bill does not outline any appeals process for the targeted individual. The only stipulation is that the Secretary of State must issue a report to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs — "classified or unclassified." The bill does not state that either committee can reverse the secretary's decisions.

Submission + - Chris Beard's open letter to Nadella (cnn.com)

Submitted by puddingebola
puddingebola writes: Chris Beard at Mozilla has sent an open letter to Satya Nadella complaining about the default settings in Windows 10. Users who upgrade to 10 will have their default browser automatically changed to the new Edge browser. From the article, "The upgrade process, as he explained it, "appears to be purposely designed to throw away the choices its customers have made about the Internet experience they want, and replace it with the Internet experience Microsoft wants them to have." "

Submission + - Hackers Trick Email Systems Into Wiring Them Large Sums (wsj.com) 1

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Cybercriminals are exploiting publicly available information and weaknesses in corporate email systems to trick small businesses into transferring large sums of money into fraudulent bank accounts, in schemes known as "corporate account takeover" or "business email fraud."

Companies across the globe lost more than $1 billion from October 2013 through June 2015 as a result of such schemes, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The estimates include complaints from businesses in 64 countries, though most come from U.S. firms. Both "organized crime groups from overseas and domestic-based actors" are typical perpetrators, said Patrick Fallon, a section chief in the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division.

Submission + - CISA: the dirty deal between Google and the NSA that no one is talking about (thehill.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: It's hard to find a more perfect example of this collusion than in a bill that's headed for a vote soon in the U.S. Senate: the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, or CISA.

CISA is an out and out surveillance bill masquerading as a cybersecurity bill. It won't stop hackers. Instead, it essentially legalizes all forms of government and corporate spying.

Here's how it works. Companies would be given new authority to monitor their users — on their own systems as well as those of any other entity — and then, in order to get immunity from virtually all existing surveillance laws, they would be encouraged to share vaguely defined "cyber threat indicators" with the government. This could be anything from email content, to passwords, IP addresses, or personal information associated with an account. The language of the bill is written to encourage companies to share liberally and include as many personal details as possible.

That information could then be used to further exploit a loophole in surveillance laws that gives the government legal authority for their holy grail — "upstream" collection of domestic data directly from the cables and switches that make up the Internet.

Submission + - The Evidence Supports Artificial Sweeteners Over Sugar (nytimes.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: In the last few years, I've watched a continuing battle among my friends about which is worse for you: artificial sweeteners or sugar. Unless you want to forgo all beverages that are sweet, you're going to run into one of these. Rather than rely on anecdote or myth, we can inform this debate with research.

The available evidence points to the fact that there appears to be a correlation between sugar consumption and health problems; none can be detected with artificial sweeteners.

Submission + - Currently Quantum computers might be where Rockets were at the time of Goddard (nextbigfuture.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: If quantum computing is at the Goddard level that would be a good thing for quantum computing. This means that the major fundamental breakthrough that would put them over the top was in hand and merely a lot of investment, engineering and scaling was needed.

The goal of being able to solve NP-hard or NP-Complete problems with quantum computers is similar to being able to travel to the moon, mars or deeper into space with rockets. Conventional flight could not achieve those goals because of the lack of atmosphere in space. Current computing seems like they are very limited in being able to tackle NP-hard and NP Complete problems. Although clever work in advanced mathematics and approximations can give answers that are close on a case by case basis.

Submission + - State Of Georgia Sues for Copyright Infringement For Publishing The State's Laws (techdirt.com) 1

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The state of Georgia has sued sued Carl Malamud and his site Public.Resource.org. It is about as ridiculous as you would expect focusing on the highly questionable claim that the Official Code of Georgia Annotated is covered by federal copyright law — and that not only was Malamud (*gasp*) distributing it, but also... creating derivative works! Oh no! And, he's such an evil person that he was encouraging others to do so as well!

Submission + - The National Security Agency require Adobe Flash (nsa.gov)

Submitted by forgotmylogin
forgotmylogin writes: I felt a ripple of cognitive dissonance when I saw that the NSA, who is categorically tasked with information security in the United State, requires Adobe Flash on its gateway. Really--NSA endorses Abode Flash Player? Is this a NSA troll?

Submission + - Stretchable Conducting Fiber Provides Super Hero Capabilities (ieee.org)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The list of potential applications for a new electrically conducting fiber-artificial muscles, exoskeletons and morphing aircraft-sounds like something out of science fiction or a comic book. With a list like that, it's got to be a pretty special fiber... and it is. The fiber, made from sheets of carbon nanotubes wrapped around a rubber core, can be stretched to 14 times its original length and actually increase its electrical conductivity while being stretched, without losing any of its resistance.

Slashdot Top Deals

I've noticed several design suggestions in your code.

Close