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Submission + - Google Removes Over 70 Chrome Malware Extensions for Extracting User Data

Robotron23 writes: Alphabet Inc. was left reeling after over 70 malicious apps in Chrome's web store were exposed by researchers at Awake Security. Users of Google's Chrome browser had downloaded the various malware apps a total of 32 million times; several apparently offered privacy protecting features, only to directly send Chrome user data to a network of 15,000 websites hosted by Galcomm, an Israeli registrar. Google spokesperson Scott Westover responded: “When we are alerted of extensions in the Web Store that violate our policies, we take action and use those incidents as training material."

Submission + - Patrick Stewart to Return as Jean-Luc Picard 1

Robotron23 writes: Veteran actor Patrick Stewart has announced he will return in a new television series exploring the later years of Jean-Luc Picard. Stewart's decision was influenced by feedback over the years from fans, as well as current events: "Jean-Luc inspired so many to follow in his footsteps, pursuing science, exploration and leadership. I feel I’m ready to return to what comforting and reforming light he might shine on these often very dark times."

Submission + - Elon Musk calls someone 'pedo guy', media sense he's vulnerable

Hal_Porter writes: Musk has previously got in a spat with the media where he called them 'fake news'. Now he offered a mini sub to help rescue the Thai kids trapped in a cave. That caused another row where someone called his offer 'PR stunt'. Musk responded with a video of the sub traversing the cave and ended with "Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it".

https://www.cnet.com/news/elon...

I've got a nasty feeling the journalists which hate Musk for criticising them will now pile on to prejudice any law suit against him.

Submission + - The Second Gilded Age Is Upon Us

Robotron23 writes: Wealth inequality is at its highest since the turn of the 20th century — the so-called 'Gilded Age' — as the proportion of capital held by the world's 1,542 dollar billionaires swells further. The report, commissioned by the Swiss banking giant UBS and UK accounting company PwC, discusses the impacts of technology and globalization on the situation, and arrives weeks after the IMF recommended that the world's richest pay higher taxes to ease the disparity of wealth.

Submission + - Plastics Found in 80% of Tap Water and Mineral Water, Worldwide

Robotron23 writes: Research published by Orb Media, a nonprofit journalism group, has revealed that microplastics have contaminated high proportions of drinking water and bottled water. Samples from the United States tested positive in 94% of instances, while Europe's contamination averages around 73%. Tests were undertaken at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, with lead researcher Dr. Anne Marie Mahon noting the risk of plastics carrying bacteria, and commenting: "In terms of fibres, the diameter is 10 microns across and it would be very unusual to find that level of filtration in our drinking water systems."

Submission + - Silicon Valley Billionaire Fails to Prevent Access to Public Beach

Robotron23 writes: Vinod Khosla, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, has lost his appeal to privatize Martins Beach; a publicly-owned strip of coastline in California. Having previously fenced off the land in a bid to render the area private, Khosla has been ordered to restore access by a California court. Khosla had previously demanded the government pay him $30 million to reopen the gate to the beachfront.

Comment Re: Popcorn time! (Score 1) 1321

A superb, thorough, and well-informed post. If there was one summary of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election I could give to someone just back from a year in the wilderness or on a desert island, it would be this. Disillusionment was the deciding emotion, and even though Trump got in I'm unsure the elites will realise it's past time to throw the rest of humanity far more than an occasional bone.

Comment Necessary (Score 4, Interesting) 2837

Donald Trump's victory is a much-needed wake up call to the elites of the USA and the wider world. Hillary Clinton remembered the affluent east and west coasts and forgot those in-between. Trump did not persuade voters; voters persuaded Trump to represent them. The orchestrated anti-Trump narrative in the media did not achieve the desired effect of promoting Clinton, who is popularly viewed as untrustworthy and corrupt.

The 'status quo' candidate representing the interests of high finance and corporations lost and the change candidate emerged victorious. The House, Senate and Presidency are all in Republican hands, thanks to the votes of people inhabiting cities and towns of the USA which have been in decline for decades due to a lethal combination of unhindered free trade, advancing technology, and outsourcing of labour. Millions of desperate people were left to drown by a disdainful elite, and would grasp any life raft offered; it was Trump who made that offer. Whether he'll follow through and actually help those left behind, only time will tell.

The U.S. election result is further evidence that the majority of the mass media lives in a self-perpetuated bubble, insulated from the harsh and grim realities ordinary people face every day. Huge frustration and discontentment in modern politics manifested in the UK with the Brexit vote to leave the European Union, and it is manifest in the U.S. Presidential election. In Bernie Sanders the Democratic Party had a more palatable populist, but preferred to nominate their Establishment candidate instead.

So they did...and so she lost.

Submission + - Y Combinator's Basic Income Experiment Draws Closer

Robotron23 writes: The much anticipated research into basic income by Silicon Valley finance company Y Combinator appears to be progressing well. The company has appointed Elizabeth Rhodes as its Research Director, choosing the little-known recent PHD graduate over several applications from senior tenured professors. The location where the research will take place has been revealed as Oakland, California — chosen for its proximity to the Y Combinator headquarters, and the high inequality reported in the region.

Submission + - Erik Bauersfeld, Voice of Admiral Ackbar, Dies at 93

Robotron23 writes: Voice actor and radio dramatist Erik Bauersfeld has died, leaving behind a decades-long broadcasting legacy. He became most famous for his character in the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi, Admiral Ackbar. The line 'It's a Trap!', spoken as the Rebel fleet engages in combat with the Empire, spawned a popular following which persists to this day. As well as Ackbar, Bauersfeld also voiced Jabba the Hutt's majordomo Bib Fortuna, and was among those who read for the iconic role of Jedi master Yoda, which was eventually granted to Frank Oz.

Submission + - Startup Financer Y Combinator Considers the Universal Basic Income (fastcoexist.com)

Gordon_Shure writes: Silicon Valley startup financer Y Combinator, remembered for successes like Airbnb and Dropbox, is launching an experiment to give people a Universal Basic Income. At present, the plan is for hundreds of participants to get repeated cash payments unconditionally. Then, assessors will record life consequences like changes in work patterns, self-employment, artistic endeavors, or idleness.

Recent focus on UBI in Finland, Switzerland and other countries see proponents claim a basic income will — in a world facing structural unemployment due to jobs taken by automated AI, robotics and machines — combat poverty and work insecurity. Others remain unconvinced.

Submission + - Automation of Jobs Accelerates in USA and India

Robotron23 writes: Portentous changes to the labour economies of India and the USA due to job automation by machines and robots continue to make headlines. Demand for hardware and software automation is seeing implementation burgeon in both countries, as companies seek efficiency by exchanging human labour for machines. Generally the trend sees erosion of wages in areas previously unaffected by automation — including varieties of programming — while new, albeit highly specialized, engineering jobs are created. Both articles encourage mindful changes in education, although how schools either side of the world can adapt to automation's blistering pace is unclear.

The latest volley of job automation news has arrived in the weeks since the Davos' forum predicted that machine automation will result in a net loss globally of over 5 million jobs before 2020.

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