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Submission + - DSLreports new bufferbloat test (internetsociety.org)

Submitted by mtaht
mtaht writes: While I have long advocated using professional tools like netperf-wrapper's rrul test suite to diagnose and fix your bufferbloat issues, there has long been a need for a simpler web based test for it. Now dslreports has incorporated bufferbloat testing in their speedtest. What sort of bloat do slashdot readers experience? Give the test a shot at http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest

Has anyone here got around to applying fq_codel against their bloat?

Submission + - Something Smells: Cities Use High Tech to Investigate Intrusive Odors 1

Submitted by HughPickens.com
HughPickens.com writes: Kate Murphy reports at the NYT that local governments are beginning to regulate intrusive and unpleasant smells using high tech devices. If you time-traveled back 200 years or so, you’d likely scrunch up your nose because our forebears threw sewage out their windows, and the primary mode of transport — horses — relieved themselves in the streets. These days 'we have so reduced the level of background odor pollution, we are becoming more sensitive to anything we smell,” says Pamela Dalton, an olfactory researcher at Monell Chemical Senses Center, a nonprofit group in Philadelphia that studies smell and taste. In the past offenders were typically livestock operations and wastewater treatment plants, but more recently odor inspectors are getting calls about smells emanating from ethnic restaurants, coffee roasters and candle and bath shops. In an effort to be objective, a growing number of locales have begun using a device called a Nasal Ranger, which looks like a megaphone for the nose and measures the intensity of smells according to a so-called dilution ratio (PDF). An odor is considered intrusive if the average person can smell it when it is diluted with seven parts clean air — a decades-old threshold of stinky.

New York City received more than 10,000 odor complaints last year, many from residents upset about cooking smells wafting into their apartments from restaurants and coffeehouses — smells that might be pleasing when patronizing those same establishments. “A lot of it has to do with tolerance level in neighborhoods that are getting gentrified,” says Ben Siller. “People at lower socioeconomic levels may tolerate something much better than someone who moves into the same area and buys a house, sinks a fortune into remodeling and then goes out in the backyard and smells a pot grower, charbroiler, pet food manufacturer or something stinky like that.”

Submission + - Is iPhone's Lack of FM Support Increasing Your Chances of Dying in a Disaster?

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: "You may not know it," reports NPR's Emma Bowman, "but most of today's smartphones have FM radios inside of them. But the FM chip is not activated on two-thirds of devices. That's because mobile makers have the FM capability switched off. The National Association of Broadcasters has been asking mobile makers to change this. But the mobile industry, which profits from selling data to smartphone users, says that with the consumer's move toward mobile streaming apps, the demand for radio simply isn't there." But FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate says radio-enabled smartphones could sure come in handy during times of emergency. So, is it irresponsible not to activate the FM chips? And should it's-the-app-way-or-the-highway Apple follow Microsoft's lead and make no-static-at-all FM available on iPhones?

Submission + - Who is Discouraging Women From STEM Careers? (blogspot.com)

Submitted by Press2ToContinue
Press2ToContinue writes: Having worked in a STEM field (computer programming) for over a quarter of a century, I have found the idea that girls are discouraged from entering STEM fields to be curious. It certainly didn't line up with my experience in the industry. Schools have been pushing girls into math and science, not discouraging them. In my experience technology companies have been bending over backwards and jumping through hoops to get more women into IT (information technology). From programs aimed at getting high school students involved in technology to hiring decisions, there has always been a blunt, out-in-the-open emphasis on getting more women into IT.

So, if it's not “the patriarchy” pushing women down and denying them a chance to enter technology fields, what does account for women being underrepresented in technology fields? After a little research into personality types and career fields, I think I found the answer.

The Myers-Briggs personality test places people into 16 personality type categories. One researcher surveyed computer programmers to determine what personality types were represented. I compared how common the personality types were among programmers compared to how common they were in the general population, and although there is always room for error, a clear pattern emerged from my analysis placing programmers, men, and women, into a clearer picture for me to understand their under-representation.

Submission + - Columbia University doctors ask for Dr. Mehmet Oz's dismissal from faculty

Submitted by circletimessquare
circletimessquare writes: Dr. Mehmet Oz serves as vice chairman of Columbia University Medical Center's department of surgery. He is a respected cardiothoracic surgeon but his television show has been accused of pushing snake oil. Now other doctors at Columbia University want Dr. Oz kicked off the medical school faculty. Dr. Oz has responded on his Facebook account: 'I bring the public information that will help them on their path to be their best selves. We provide multiple points of view, including mine which is offered without conflict of interest. That doesn't sit well with certain agendas which distort the facts. For example, I do not claim that GMO foods are dangerous, but believe that they should be labeled like they are in most countries around the world.' In their letter, the doctors accuse Dr. Oz of quackery: 'Dr. Oz has repeatedly shown disdain for science and for evidence-based medicine, as well as baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops. Worst of all, he has manifested an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain.'

Submission + - An alternative to SoundCloud, MixCloud and similar services (blogologue.com)

Submitted by blogologue
blogologue writes: I've been creating music and doing cover songs the last couple of years, but have run into some issues when it comes to sharing the things I've created. Basically I can't find a place where I can share cover songs, adaptations etc. of existing works and still keep control of what I've created (details here). Does anyone have suggestions on what one can do?

Submission + - Drone show to replace Top Gear (suasnews.com)

Submitted by garymortimer
garymortimer writes: Airheads, will pit teams of drone constructors against each other in building and flying challenges. Much like Robot Wars, did in the 80s. The program is produced by Graham Nortons SO Television and will take Sunday nights Top Gear slot

Submission + - China overwhelming sites hosting Censored Content (nytimes.com)

Submitted by puddingebola
puddingebola writes: The New York times reports that China is using a "new weapon" called the "Great Cannon" to overwhelm sites such as GitHub and GreatFire.org that host censored websites. The story is based on a report from UC Berkley and the University of Toronto, found here https://citizenlab.org/2015/04... From the story, "China’s new Internet weapon, the report says, is similar to one developed and used by the National Security Agency and its British counterpart, GCHQ, a system outlined in classified documents leaked by Edward J. Snowden, the former United States intelligence contractor. "

Submission + - Slashdot site redesign (slashdot.org) 6

Submitted by Sits
Sits writes: The Slashdot site has undergone some web design changes (such as altering the menu at the top). What do readers think of the changes and are you seeing any issues (e.g. lack of space)?

Submission + - Gemalto Hack Could Compromise Contactless And ID Cards 1

Submitted by dkatana
dkatana writes: A recent article published by The Intercept reports that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) stole millions of encryption keys used in SIM cards manufactured by Gemalto. While the article focuses on the possibility that those keys could be used by the agencies to monitor communications and possibly hack mobile devices using the SIM cards, it also gives some room to the possibility that other IC security modules based on Gemalto technology could be compromised.

Gemalto not only manufacturers Subscriber Identity Modules (SIM) cards for cellular providers, it is also the world’s largest manufacturer of contactless credit card ICs and a leading provider of identity modules used in government documents such as passports, driving licenses and ID cards.

Submission + - The Ghosts in the MP3s (askaudiomag.com) 1

Submitted by el_flynn
el_flynn writes: Continuing the debate about whether there's really any difference between lossless and lossy audio codecs, as well as the whole Pono debacle, Ryan Maguire, a Ph.D student at the University of Virginia, has found a way to "hear" what we're not hearing. From TFA, Ryan goes on to ask "what does the music which this codec delete sound like?", and builds a technique to recover these "lost" sounds... the ghosts in the MP3, so to speak.

Submission + - Notorious 8chan board has history wiped after federal judge's doxing 1

Submitted by AmiMoJo
AmiMoJo writes: On Monday, imageboard site 8chan's "baphomet" subboard, an Internet destination known for hosting aggressive "doxing" posts, received a major history wipe the day after one of its users posted the personal information of a federal judge in the Silk Road case. A follow-up post by baphomet's "Board Owner" account stated that "HW," a reference to site founder Frederick "hotwheels" Brennan, deleted "the SSN posts" and told the baphomet board founder, previously identified via an associated Twitter handle as Benjamin Biddix, to "lay low." The same day baphomet's "Board Owner" announced a "doxing for hire" service due to "running low on funds."

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