Comment YouTube for me, but not for thee (Score 1) 10
without a shred of irony, given YouTube's lawsuit with youtube-dl. Google "won't protect content from pirates" but we will protect ourselves from the same.
Submission + - China's Dystopian "New IP" Plan Shows Need for Renewed US Commitment to Internet (justsecurity.org)
schwit1 writes: “Huawei’s plans for 6G and beyond make U.S. concerns over 5G look paltry: Huawei is proposing a fundamental internet redesign, which it calls “New IP,” designed to build ‘intrinsic security’ into the web. Intrinsic security means that individuals must register to use the internet, and authorities can shut off an individual user’s internet access at any time. In short, Huawei is looking to integrate China’s ‘social credit,’ surveillance, and censorship regimes into the internet’s architecture.”
Submission + - SPAM: 99.992% of Fully Vaccinated People Have Dodged COVID, CDC Data Shows
An anonymous reader writes: Cases of COVID-19 are extremely rare among people who are fully vaccinated, according to a new data analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among more than 75 million fully vaccinated people in the US, just around 5,800 people reported a “breakthrough” infection, in which they became infected with the pandemic coronavirus despite being fully vaccinated. The numbers suggest that breakthroughs occur at the teeny rate of less than 0.008 percent of fully vaccinated people—and that over 99.992 percent of those vaccinated have not contracted a SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The figures come from a nationwide database that the CDC set up to keep track of breakthrough infections and monitor for any concerning signs that the breakthroughs may be clustering by patient demographics, geographic location, time since vaccination, vaccine type, or vaccine lot number. The agency will also be keeping a close eye on any breakthrough infections that are caused by SARS-CoV-2 variants, some of which have been shown to knock back vaccine efficacy. [...] The extraordinary calculation that 99.992 percent of vaccinated people have not contracted the virus may reflect that they all simply have not been exposed to the virus since being vaccinated. Also, there are likely cases missed in reporting. Still, the data is a heartening sign.
Link to Original Source
The figures come from a nationwide database that the CDC set up to keep track of breakthrough infections and monitor for any concerning signs that the breakthroughs may be clustering by patient demographics, geographic location, time since vaccination, vaccine type, or vaccine lot number. The agency will also be keeping a close eye on any breakthrough infections that are caused by SARS-CoV-2 variants, some of which have been shown to knock back vaccine efficacy. [...] The extraordinary calculation that 99.992 percent of vaccinated people have not contracted the virus may reflect that they all simply have not been exposed to the virus since being vaccinated. Also, there are likely cases missed in reporting. Still, the data is a heartening sign.
Link to Original Source
Submission + - SPAM: Striking Charter Workers Build ISP Where 'Profits Are Returned To Users'
An anonymous reader writes: Charter Communications employees who have been on strike since 2017 are building an Internet service provider in New York City called "People's Choice." "People's Choice Communications is an employee-owned social enterprise launched by members of IBEW Local #3 to bridge the digital divide and help our neighbors get connected to the Internet during the COVID-19 pandemic," the ISP's website says. "We are the workers who built a large part of New York City's Internet infrastructure in the first place. We built out [Charter] Spectrum's cable system, until in 2017, the company pushed us out on strike by taking away our healthcare, retirement, and other benefits. It's now the longest strike in US history."
So far, People's Choice says it has completed rooftop antenna installations at two schools in the Bronx and installed "hardline connections to wireless access points connecting 121 units" at housing for survivors of domestic violence who have disabilities. A Gizmodo article said the system is equipped to offer minimum speeds of 25Mbps downstream and 3Mbps upstream, meeting a broadband standard that has been used by the Federal Communications Commission since 2015. "We have a big portion of most of the Bronx covered with our antenna," IBEW Local #3 steward Troy Walcott told Gizmodo. "Now we have to go building by building to let people know we're out there and start turning them on." "A few dozen Spectrum strikers have been actively involved in the installations, but Walcott expects that at least one hundred workers are waiting in the wings for the project to scale up," the Gizmodo article said.
Link to Original Source
So far, People's Choice says it has completed rooftop antenna installations at two schools in the Bronx and installed "hardline connections to wireless access points connecting 121 units" at housing for survivors of domestic violence who have disabilities. A Gizmodo article said the system is equipped to offer minimum speeds of 25Mbps downstream and 3Mbps upstream, meeting a broadband standard that has been used by the Federal Communications Commission since 2015. "We have a big portion of most of the Bronx covered with our antenna," IBEW Local #3 steward Troy Walcott told Gizmodo. "Now we have to go building by building to let people know we're out there and start turning them on." "A few dozen Spectrum strikers have been actively involved in the installations, but Walcott expects that at least one hundred workers are waiting in the wings for the project to scale up," the Gizmodo article said.
Link to Original Source
Submission + - SPAM: The Looming Software Kill-Switch Lurking In Aging PlayStation Hardware
An anonymous reader writes: Unless something changes, an issue lurking in older PlayStations' internal timing systems threatens to eventually make every PS4 game and all downloaded PS3 games unplayable on current hardware. Right now, it's not a matter of if but when this problem will occur. [...] The root of the coming issue has to do with the CMOS battery inside every PS3 and PS4, which the systems use to keep track of the current time (even when they're unplugged). If that battery dies or is removed for any reason, it raises an internal flag in the system's firmware indicating the clock may be out of sync with reality. After that flag is raised, the system in question has to check in with PSN the next time it needs to confirm the correct time. On the PS3, this online check happens when you play a game downloaded from the PlayStation Store. On the PS4, this also happens when you try to play retail games installed from a disc. This check has to be performed at least once even if the CMOS battery is replaced with a fresh one so the system can reconfirm clock consistency.
Why does the PlayStation firmware care so much about having the correct time? On the PS3, the timer check is used to enforce any "time limits" that might have been placed on your digital purchase (as confirmed by the error message: "This content has a time limit. To perform this operation go to settings date and time settings set via internet"). That check seems to be required even for downloads that don't have any actual set expiration date, adding a de facto one-time online check-in requirement for systems after their internal batteries fail. On the PS4, though, the timing check is apparently intended to make sure PSN trophy data is registered accurately and to prevent players from pretending to get trophies earlier than they actually had. You'd think this check could be segregated from the ability to load the non-trophy portions of the game, but player testing has shown that this seems to be a requirement to get PS4 games to load at all.
Link to Original Source
Why does the PlayStation firmware care so much about having the correct time? On the PS3, the timer check is used to enforce any "time limits" that might have been placed on your digital purchase (as confirmed by the error message: "This content has a time limit. To perform this operation go to settings date and time settings set via internet"). That check seems to be required even for downloads that don't have any actual set expiration date, adding a de facto one-time online check-in requirement for systems after their internal batteries fail. On the PS4, though, the timing check is apparently intended to make sure PSN trophy data is registered accurately and to prevent players from pretending to get trophies earlier than they actually had. You'd think this check could be segregated from the ability to load the non-trophy portions of the game, but player testing has shown that this seems to be a requirement to get PS4 games to load at all.
Link to Original Source
Submission + - Request FTC to enforce the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act (repair.org)
Z00L00K writes: It's time to speak out for your right to repair
U.S. PIRG, Repair.org and iFixit are calling on the FTC to take real action to protect your right to repair. Add your voice and tell the FTC that it’s time to act.
We’re asking the FTC to:
U.S. PIRG, Repair.org and iFixit are calling on the FTC to take real action to protect your right to repair. Add your voice and tell the FTC that it’s time to act.
We’re asking the FTC to:
- Enforce the law against companies who use illegal tying arrangements to force consumers to purchase connected repair services.
- Enforce the law against companies who violate the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act by voiding warranties when a consumer fixes something themselves or uses third-party parts or repair services.
- Enforce the law against companies who refuse to sell replacement parts, diagnostic and repair tools, or service information to independent repair providers.
- Publish new guidance on unfair, deceptive, and abusive terms in end user license agreements (EULAs) that: restrict independent or self repair; restrict access to parts and software; prohibit the transfer of user licenses; that and that purport to void warranties for independent or self repair.
- Issue new rules prohibiting exclusivity arrangements with suppliers, customers, and repair providers that exclude independent repair providers and suppress competition in the market for repair services.
- Issue new rules prohibiting companies from deceiving customers by selling products which cannot be repaired without destroying the device or cannot be repaired outside of the company’s own service network, without disclosing that fact at the point of sale.
Submission + - Logitech discontinues Harmony universal remote (techhive.com)
FuzzyFox writes: After years of speculation about the fate of its Harmony line of universal remotes, Logitech has announced that it will stop making the devices effective immediately.
In a post on its support site, Logitech said that its remaining stock of Harmony remotes will continue to be available through retail channels until stocks run out, and that it will continue to support the remote for the foreseeable future.
In a post on its support site, Logitech said that its remaining stock of Harmony remotes will continue to be available through retail channels until stocks run out, and that it will continue to support the remote for the foreseeable future.
Re-Engineering the Immune System 175
destinyland notes a microbiology professor describing "Immunity on Demand" (or "Immunity 2.0") and wonders whether we could genetically engineer all the antibodies we need. "...there's a good chance this system, or something like it, will actually be in place within decades. Caltech scientists have already engineered stem cells into B cells that produce HIV-fighting antibodies — and an NIH researcher engineered T cells that recognize tumors which has already had promising clinical trials again skin cancer. Our best hope may be to cut out the middleman. Rather than merely hoping that the vaccine will indirectly lead to the antibody an individual needs, imagine if we could genetically engineer these antibodies and make them available as needed?"
Hardware TPM Hacked 327
BiggerIsBetter writes "Christopher Tarnovsky has pulled off the 'near impossible' TPM hardware hack. We all knew it was only a matter of time; this is why you shouldn't entrust your data to proprietary solutions. From the article: 'The technique can also be used to tap text messages and email belonging to the user of a lost or stolen phone. Tarnovsky said he can't be sure, however, whether his attack would work on TPM chips made by companies other than Infineon. Infineon said it knew this type of attack was possible when it was testing its chips. But the company said independent tests determined that the hack would require such a high skill level that there was a limited chance of it affecting many users. ... The Trusted Computing Group, which sets standards on TPM chips, called the attack "exceedingly difficult to replicate in a real-world environment."'"
Submission + - Send a Valentine's Day card to your system admin? (everythingsysadmin.com)
JerseyTom writes: Sure, there's plenty of jokes about the "office IT guy" that everyone hates, but the truth is that the majority of us are respected and appreciated. The organizers of a system administrators conference in New Jersey are encouraging people to send a Valentine's Day card to their system administrator. Time to show your SA some love?
Comment Its! Its! Not it's! (Score 1, Flamebait) 494
If only we could invent a version of Linux that had a spellchecker which would shoot the user in the head for not one but two typos of "it's". Jesus Christ folks, YOU CAN'T EVEN FUCKING CUT AND PASTE THE CORRECT SPELLING FROM THE ORIGINAL FUCKING ARTICLE!?
Submission + - Xbox 360 Deaths are caused by.. surge protectors? (theinquirer.net)
Monk writes: "Microsoft is claiming the hardware failures of Xbox 360's are not caused by heat, rain, solar flares, but they die because of electricity protection.
More info here: http://lawofthegame.blogspot.com/2007/07/xbox-360- repair-saga-shoot-surge.html"
Submission + - Delay in new releases cause MS partners to bail (nojailforpot.com)
Frosty Piss writes: "A new study says past delays in Microsoft Corp.'s products are causing some businesses to think twice about renewing the long-term service agreements that include rights to upgrade to future versions of its programs. 26 percent of the 61 information technology professionals surveyed by Forrester Research said they had decided not to renew their Microsoft Software Assurance agreements when they expire, opting instead to buy the software as needed."
Submission + - 300mpg! and street legal - the Enertia Motorcycle (enertiabike.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Brammo launches the Enertia, world's first production electric motorcycle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Brammo Launches the Enertia, World's First Production Electric Motorcycle
Ashland, Oregon — July 10th — Brammo Motorsports today announced the Enertia, the world's first production, zero-emissions and battery powered plug-in electric motorcycle. (http://www.enertiabike.com/ http://press.enertiabike.com/ )
With the goal of creating momentum for change in the way vehicles are conceived and created, Brammo has delivered this groundbreaking motorcycle.
The Enertia's range of 45 miles significantly exceeds the daily commute for the average U.S. consumer of 29 miles. Battery charge time is 3 hours to full re-charge.
Borrowing from racing technology, the Enertia utilizes a carbon fiber chassis producing an ultra strong, light-weight vehicle platform of just 275 lbs. The chassis integrates six lithium-phosphate batteries from supplier Valence Technology that together produce the power to propel the Enertia to a top speed of over 50 mph.
Paul Seredynski, MSN autos said, "For those looking to make a lifestyle change, or for a cool "green" machine to get around town on, few options exist that can compete on so many levels."
"We believe consumers are eager to adopt vehicles that have a fraction of the carbon footprint of a today's cars", says Craig Bramscher, Chairman & CEO of Brammo Motorsports, "Our Enertia electric motorcycle empowers people to make this choice today."
Brian Wismann, Brammo Director of Design said, "It is extremely satisfying to design a vehicle that people can both feel good about using and appreciate the way it looks."
Brammo's Enertia is the first of a line of plug-in electric commuter, commercial and recreational vehicles under development.
About Brammo
Brammo (http://www.brammo.com/) is a premier specialty vehicle manufacturer developing sustainable performance products for the next generation of transportation. Through integration of digital engineering and high impact design, Brammo transforms ideas into compelling products. Located in Ashland, Oregon the company was founded in 2002 and is a privately held.
PR contact — press@brammo.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it — (888) 201-6204
http://www.brammo.com/
http://www.enertiabike.com/
http://press.enertiabike.com/
Brammo Motorsports
Submission + - Microsoft demands conformity from its biz partners (redmondmag.com)
christian.einfeldt writes: "Are you planning to start or expand a new line of business based on Microsoft products? If so, be prepared to 'drink the cool-aid' when you travel to Redmond for meetings with Microsoft staff. Despite its recent public claims to be interested in enhancing 'interoperability,' Microsoft favors business partners who are 100% devotees of all things Microsoft, according to Lee Pender's recent column in the July issue of RedmondMag. Mentioning how Vista has helped increase your productivity will increase your chances of landing favorable promotional treatment, as will dropping references to anything "Live". Using products by Microsoft competitors hurts your chances of inking a good deal with Microsoft (leave the iPod at home), and don't even think about mentioning Google. In fact, you might want to practice saying 'searching' rather than 'googling' before your visit, so as to not loose a deal over a slip of the tongue."
