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Submission + - We need to speak out against the TPP (fsf.org) 1

Submitted by sticks_us
sticks_us writes: Lobbyists and officials from twelve countries, including the US, are currently bickering over the details of this massive international "free trade" treaty. They are creating the TPP to strongly promote Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) and enforce draconian copyright law, which will hinder free software development.

Submission + - Tesla's Having Issues Charging In The Cold 3

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: It's winter, and apparently meteorologists have just discovered the term Polar Vortex, as that seems to be the only thing they can talk about these days. But seriously, it's cold, and apparently the darling child of the automotive industry the new Tesla Model S electric car is having issues charging in the cold weather. It's being reported that the charging cables that come with the car are unable to provide a charge when the temperature dips below zero. As you can imagine, this is an issue in a country like Norway where the Model S is one of the most popular cars. In fact, it seems this issue has already left one Model S owner stranded with a dead battery nearly 100 miles from the nearest charging station. Other owners are reporting issues charging. Tesla's European sales chief Peter Bardenfleth-Hansen apologized for he inconvenience owners are facing, and said it's "trying hard to resolve" the issue. Apparently the issues are simply down to the differences in the Norwegian network as Norway uses a slightly different charging adapter than other countries in Europe. Tesla hasn't experienced this issue outside of Norway, yet. Is this just the beginning of Tesla Model S cold weather related issues, or is this a simple problem that will be resolved quickly? Time will tell.

Submission + - Cloud Providers Being Asked To Wall Off Data From US (itworld.com)

Submitted by chicksdaddy
chicksdaddy writes: The U.S. government is giving large Internet firms more leeway to discuss secret government requests for data.(http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/business/government-to-allow-technology-companies-to-disclose-more-data-on-surveillance-requests.html?hp) But when it comes to trust, the battle may already be lost. IT World reports that U.S. hosting companies and cloud providers say they now face pressure from international customers to keep data off of U.S. infrastructure – a request many admit is almost impossible to honor.

The article quotes an executive at one, prominent U.S. hosting firm who says that the picture of NSA spying that has come as a result of leaks by Edward Snowden prompted a slew of requests from European customers to have data cordoned off from U.S. infrastructure. Customers in Germany are often the source of the requests, he said, but the phenomenon isn't limited to Germany, where revelations of NSA spying there, including a tap on the phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have stoked a kind of economic nationalism.

Chris Swan, the chief technology officer at Cohesive FT, a cloud networking company, said that his company began fielding calls from European clients, Germany companies, in particular, last year. "They were asking for help finding and using non U.S.-affiliated infrastructure," he said.

"It’s a bit of a gradient with Germany at the top of the hill and the Swiss standing right alongside them," said Swan.

The requests take a couple different forms, according to the hosting company executive. Customers have asked for their data to be kept 'locally,' segregating it on infrastructure located within the geographic border of Germany or other EU nations that are not perceived to be subject to access from U.S. intelligence agencies. Others are asking for changes that at least give them plausible deniability with local press and government officials. For example, they might ask for hosting firms to transfer the registration IP addresses used to host content from U.S.–based entities to a German or EU-based subsidiary, according to the report.

Submission + - Congressmen Say Clapper Lied to Congress, Ask Obama to Remove Him

Submitted by Trailrunner7
Trailrunner7 writes: A group of six Congressmen have asked President Barack Obama to remove James Clapper as director of national intelligence as a result of his misstatements to Congress about the NSA’s dragnet data-collection programs. The group, led by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), said that Clapper’s role as DNI “is incompatible with the goal of restoring trust in our security programs”.

Clapper is the former head of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and has been DNI since 2010. In their letter to Obama, the group of Congressmen calling for his ouster said that he lied to Congress and should no longer be in office.

“The continued role of James Clapper as Director of National Intelligence is incompatible with the goal of restoring trust in our security programs and ensuring the highest level of transparency. Director Clapper continues to hold his position despite lying to Congress, under oath, about the existence of bulk data collection programs in March 2013. Asking Director Clapper, and other federal intelligence officials who misrepresented programs to Congress and the courts, to report to you on needed reforms and the future role of government surveillance is not a credible solution,” the letter from Issa, Ted Poe, Paul Broun, Doug Collins, Walter Jones and Alan Grayson says.

Submission + - Does Google Dream of a Nexus 6? The end of the Android experiment (ibtimes.co.uk)

Submitted by DavidGilbert99
DavidGilbert99 writes: Google is reportedly about to can its Nexus range of smartphones and tablets. While initially this sounds like a crazy decision considering the positive response to the Nexus 4, 5 and 7 — but as David Gilbert at IBTimes UK points out, Google has pretty much completed everything its set out to do with the Nexus programme — showcasing Android, getting people using Android and helping to drive down phone prices.

Submission + - Bitcoin is 'Massively Overhyped Noise': Gartner (eweek.com)

Submitted by darthcamaro
darthcamaro writes: Research firm Gartner has literally made a business out of determining the hype cycle of technology trends. As it stands, a leading Gartner analyst has pegged Bitcoin as being at the pinnacle of hype.
"Bitcoin is a massively overhyped piece of noise in the marketplace in and of itself, " David Furlonger, vice president and Fellow at research firm Gartner said.
That said, Gartner is recommending that retailers pay attention to Bitcoin, because if a consumer want to use Bitcoin for payment and can't, they'll just go somewhere else, and the retailer will lose the business.

Submission + - Daily Pot Tied To Age Of First Psychotic Episode (yahoo.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Yahoo! News Canada reports, "In a study of adults who experienced psychosis for the first time, having smoked marijuana daily was linked to an earlier age of onset of the disorder ... "This is not a study about the association between cannabis and psychosis, but about the association between specific patterns of cannabis use . . . and an earlier onset of psychotic disorders," Dr. Marta Di Forti, who led the research at the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College, said in an email. Among more than 400 people in South London admitted to hospitals with a diagnosed psychotic episode, the study team found the heaviest smokers of high-potency cannabis averaged about six years younger than patients who had not been smoking pot. Psychosis is a general term for a loss of reality, and is associated with several psychiatric diseases, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. ... "The thorny question is whether they might otherwise have developed the disease or would have not had mental illness. It's a distinction we haven't figured out yet," Compton said. ... It is still unclear whether there are safe levels of use for cannabis, she added. ""

Comment Re:price (Score 2) 110

by elrous0 (#45925863) Attached to: Dell Joins Steam Machine Initiative With Alienware System

Not for me, thanks. Two of the things I love about consoles are never having to check "System Requirements" or upgrade to support a new game. If I wanted that, I would just go back to PC gaming and playing the never-ending videocard chase.

To me, the Steambox looks like the worst of both worlds.

Submission + - Streaming and Cord-Cutting Take a Toll on the Pay-TV Industry (deadline.com)

Submitted by ClarkSchultz
ClarkSchultz writes: Harris Interactive confirms that consumers streaming video content prefer the practice of binge viewing.The news isn't a big shocker to streaming concerns such as Netflix, Amazon, and Redbox Instant which have been mining viewer habits data, but it has an important read-through for broadcasters like CBS, NBC, Fox, and ABC. Though ad rates could fall if more viewers wait until series are available for streaming, the payoffs for quality content are proving lush: 1) CBS says it paid $700K per episode for streaming rights to Under the Dome 2) AMC Networks has pointed to Netflix as contributing to the success of Breaking Bad after initial ratings were soft. If streaming wins, who loses? Front and center is the Pay-TV industry. A wave of merger rumors (Charter/Cox/Time Warner Cable/Comcast/Dish Network) indicates the industry knows the trend of subscriber losses to the cord-cutting phenomenon will continue. An online TV initiative from a tech heavyweight like Sony, Apple, Google, or Intel could also disrupt the industry enough to put cable and satellite companies into an even bigger tailspin.

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