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Submission + - Nasdaq Plans To Offer Bitcoin Futures In Early 2018 (engadget.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Nasdaq is planning to launch contracts for bitcoin futures in the first half of 2018, according to The Wall Street Journal, which will enable investors to predict and put money on the future price of the currency. The Wall Street Journal also reports that broker Cantor Fitzgerald will be launching bitcoin derivatives on its own exchange in the first half of next year as well, making for yet another brokerage to help make bitcoin a more mainstream financial instrument. The relative youth and volatility of the currency still keeps many investors away, of course, but bitcoin is probably here to stay, even if this is just a bubble. New uses for regular folks to spend with the currency continue to rise, like the UK Visa card based on bitcoin and Square's testing of the currency in its payment app.

Submission + - Ex-Employee Claims Uber Has Department Set Up To Steal Trade Secrets...

Submitted by ytene
ytene writes: As reported by Reuters earlier today, a former Uber Security Researcher went on record with a 37-page Memo to Uber's own in-house Counsel alleging that Uber operates an internal department, called Marketplace Analytics that was set up with the aim of "acquiring trade secrets, code base and competitive intelligence".

Neither the letter nor the existence of the department were disclosed to Waymo in the on-going case over theft of intellectual property. Despite the fact that Angela Pedilla, Uber's in-house Legal Counsel, claiming that there was no attempt to "cover this up" and that the security specialist's claims were meritless, the company then paid that individual $4.5 million, plus another $3 million for the specialist's lawyer.

Funnily enough, Judge William Alsup doesn't seem so convinced by Uber's explanation that this was all an attempt at extortion by a disgruntled ex-employee...

Submission + - Snapchat Is Becoming the Anti-Facebook (qz.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Snap announced today (Nov. 29), that it was rolling out a redesign for Snapchat that’s intended to separate users’ feeds between their friends from the brands that publish content on the app. Founder and CEO Evan Spiegel published an op-ed in Axios this morning about the direction that social media has taken over the last few years, where content from brands and influencers has been given the same weight and placement as content from friends and loved ones in users’ feeds. Spiegel also took to YouTube, for the second time in about two years, to explain how the new Snapchat works.

The new structure seems like a positive move. It’s sort of solidifying the app, which turned down $3 billion from Facebook in 2013, as the “anti-Facebook.” Facebook has muddled the line between content, news about friends, and pure internet garbage to the point where it’s become nearly impossible for the average user to know what’s important, or even true—on purpose. Snapchat is reaffirming the value of staying connected to your friends, and enjoying news and entertainment content, but showing that the two activities should not be the same thing. Whether this restructuring will convince more people to start using Snapchat, however, is unclear.

Submission + - Google's street view could reveal more than you think (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: How many people in your city voted for Barack Obama? How many have college degrees? And how much money does everyone make? Collecting such data could take years—if it weren’t for Google Maps. In a new study, researchers downloaded 50 million photos of street scenes taken by the tech company’s vehicles as they mapped 200 U.S. cities. They then used a couple of machine-learning algorithms—software tools that learn from examples—to determine the make, model, and year of 22 million cars in the images. From this, other algorithms were able to estimate local demographics by learning that certain vehicle types were more common in areas that census and election data said were, say, wealthier or more conservative. The algorithms became surprisingly accurate at determining the median household income of the area; the percentage of white, black, and Asian people there; the share of people with various levels of education; and the rate of voting for Obama versus John McCain in 2008.

Submission + - Scientists Call For Ban On Glitter, Say It's a Global Hazard That Pollutes Ocean (cnet.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Whether you love to add a little sparkle to your skin, or you think glitter truly is the herpes of the craft world (once it's on you, it never comes off), some scientists are now claiming that glitter is a hazard to the environment. Glitter, along with microbeads, are considered to fall under the category of microplastics, which are defined as plastics which are less than five millimeters in length. Microbeads are often found in facial scrubs, toothpaste, soaps, cosmetics and more. These microbeads pass through water filtration systems after usage but don't disintegrate, and often end up being consumed by marine life, causing concern among scientists keeping a close eye on how pollution effects fish.

"I think all glitter should be banned, because it's microplastic," Dr. Trisia Farrelly of New Zealand's Massey University told the Independent. Historically, glitter was made from mica rock particles, glass and even crushed beetles. Modern-day crafting glitter is made primarily from metals, while fine-milled cosmetic glitter is made from polyester, foil and plastics.

Submission + - Microsoft: We're razing our Redmond campus to build a mini city (zdnet.com)

Submitted by Armand Winter
Armand Winter writes: First Tonapah, AZ... now this.

Microsoft's renovation budget is modest compared with the $5bn Apple spent on its new spaceship headquarters in Cupertino, while Microsoft's Washington neighbor and cloud rival, Amazon, will spend $5bn on a second North American headquarters, which will offer space for 50,000 people.

Submission + - Android Oreo could eat through your data allowance, even with Wi-Fi enabled (betanews.com)

Submitted by Mark Wilson
Mark Wilson writes: An apparent bug with Android Oreo has been discovered which means Google's mobile operating system could be munching its way through your data allowance, even if you're connected to a wireless network.

A thread on Reddit highlighted the issue, with many people pointing out that it could prove expensive for anyone not using an unlimited data plan. Google is apparently aware of the problem and is working on a patch, but in the meantime Oreo users are being warned to consider disabling mobile data when they are at home or using a wireless connection elsewhere.

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

Submitted by Robotron23
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 + - Linux Kernel 4.13 Officially Released

Submitted by prisoninmate
prisoninmate writes: From a Softpedia report:

"Work on Linux kernel 4.13 started in mid-July with the first Release Candidate (RC) milestone, which already gave us a glimpse of the new features coming to this major kernel branch. There are, of course, numerous improvements and support for new hardware through updated drivers and core components. Highlights of Linux kernel 4.13 include Intel's Cannon Lake and Coffee Lake CPUs, support for non-blocking buffered I/O operations to improve asynchronous I/O support, support for "lifetime hints" in the block layers and the virtual filesystem, AppArmor enhancements, and better power management. There's also AMD Raven Ridge support implemented in the AMDGPU graphics driver, which received numerous improvements, support for five-level page tables was added in the s390 architecture, and the structure randomization plugin was added as part of the build system."

Submission + - President Obama Signs Legislation Establishing Information Control Agency

Submitted by stephenmac7
stephenmac7 writes: President Obama has recently signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, which "authorizes FY2017 appropriations and sets forth policies regarding the military activities of the Department of Defense (DOD), military construction, and the national security programs of the Department of Energy (DOE)." Perhaps more notably, it establishes a new Department of State agency, the Global Engagement Center, that some claim may be the beginning of an Orwellian propaganda agency. Its task is to “understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation aimed at undermining United States national security interests" and support “the development and dissemination of fact-based narratives and analysis to counter propaganda and disinformation directed at the United States and” its partners and allies. It is also authorized to gather information from intelligence agencies and financially support various groups, apparently of its own choosing, including “civil society groups, media content providers, nongovernmental organizations, federally funded research and development centers, private companies, or academic institutions.”

Submission + - VW's ID Buzz electric microbus concept looks like a 21st century Mystery Machine (ibtimes.co.uk)

Submitted by drunkdrone
drunkdrone writes: Given the emissions scandal that rocked Volkswagen in 2015, we reckon Scooby Doo and the gang would opt for something a little more environmentally-sound were they to be reinvented for the 21st Century. VW's new ID Buzz electric concept car, unveiled at the International Auto Show in Detroit on 8 January, is exactly the sort of thing we can imagine the overbearing talking dog and four meddlesome kids driving around in today.

Submission + - AMD Announces X300 And X370 AM4 Motherboards For Ryzen, All CPUs Unlocked (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: AMD has a lot riding on Ryzen, its new generation CPU architecture that is supposed to return the chip designer to a competitive position versus Intel in the high-end desktop X86 processor market. Late last week, at CES 2017, AMD has lined up over a dozen high-performance AM4 motherboards from five hardware partners, including ASRock, ASUS, Biostar, Gigabyte, and MSI. All AM4 motherboards are built around one of two desktop chipsts for Ryzen, the AMD X370 or X300. Motherboards based on the X370 chipset are intended for power users and gamers. These boards bring more robust overclocking controls and support for dual graphics cards, along with more I/O connectivity and dual-channel DDR4 memory support. The X300 is AMD's chipset for mini-ITX motherboards for small form factor (SFF) system platforms. The X300 also supports dual-channel DDR4 memory, PCIe 3.0, M.2 SATA devices, NVMe, and USB 3.1 Gen 1 and Gen 1. Finally, AMD representatives on hand at CES also reported that all Ryzen processors will be multiplier unlocked, hopefully for some rather flexible overclocking options. There will also be several processors in the family, with varying core counts depending on SKU, at launch.

Submission + - Buh-bye, H-1B's 1

Submitted by DogDude
DogDude writes: From the Washington Post: Trump and Sessions plan to restrict highly skilled foreign workers. Hyderabad says to bring it on.
"Trump has described H-1Bs as a “cheap labor program” subject to “widespread, rampant” abuse. Sessions co-sponsored legislation last year with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) to effectively gut the program; Issa, a congressman with Trump’s ear, released a statement Wednesday saying he was reintroducing similar legislation called the Protect and Grow American Jobs Act."

Submission + - Defense Budget Analysis Market worth $1,748.46 Billion by 2020 (marketsandmarkets.com)

Submitted by Abhijeet81
Abhijeet81 writes: The western countries’ defense budget has seen a substantial decline, in the recent years. This has resulted in reduced army capabilities such as fewer military personnel, lesser weapon systems, and delayed modernization. However, increased productivity in defense is leading to increased cost savings, while also securing the combat power of the country. Factors such as the shift to high-tech conventional warfare tactics, rapid adoption rate of advanced technologies, and protection against cybercrimes is expected to drive the defense spending by the U.S.

However, compared to developed countries, China, and Saudi Arabia are expected to grow at the highest rate over the next six years. Growth in the defense spending in these countries is projected to be propelled by factors such as growing internal security needs, improving the border security, rising focus on neighboring countries’ defense spending, and increase in government initiatives to raise the living standards of soldiers.

The top 10 defense spending analysis market is estimated to be $ 1,160.58 billion in 2014, and is expected to register a CAGR of 7.07%, to reach $1,748.46 billion in 2020

This report describes the analysis and forecast of the defense spending. The defense spending has been segmented on the basis of expenditure and platforms. The report highlights the factors driving the market, along with the restraints. It addition to this, it contains a brief about the recent technology, market, and industry trends.

The global top 10 defense spending analysis market is a diversified and competitive market with a large number of players. The report details the leading competitors in the defense systems market along with, the general overview of companies, and their financial position, key products, and market sizes. The key players in this market include Lockheed Martin Corporation (U.S.), The Boeing Company (U.S.), BAE Systems Plc. (U.K.), Raytheon Company (U.S.), Northrop Grumman Corporation (U.S.), and General Dynamics Corporation(U.S.).

Submission + - Colombia finds drone used to transport drugs (dronesreviews.xyz)

Submitted by MelloD
MelloD writes: In Colombia, authorities seized a drone accompanied by cocaine. It seemed that this UAV had been used to carry drugs to Panama

Last November, the Colombian authorities have captured what may be the future of drug trafficking: drones . Authorities are wary that this vehicle was being used to transport drugs from the northern part of Colombia to Panama.

The drone, dismantled, was found in Bahía Solano, on the coast of Colombia. Along with its pieces were 130 kilograms of cocaine. All of this was buried under the sand.

One of those involved in the arrest, General Jose Acevedo, states. "it had the capacity to carry ten kilograms per trip and could travel for 100 kilometers,".

This is not the first time a drone has been seen doing drug hauling. Previously , a drone carrying 2.7 kilos of cocaine fell on the border between Mexico and the US.
In London , this type vehicle was seen carrying drugs and cell phones into a prison.

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