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Submission + - Can living in total darkness for 5 days "reset" the visual system? (nautil.us)

Submitted by the_newsbeagle
the_newsbeagle writes: That's what one neuroscientist is aiming to find out. He wants to put patients with a type of amblyopia, the vision problem commonly called lazy eye, into the dark for 5 days. His hypothesis: When they emerge, their brains' visual cortices will be temporarily "plastic" and changeable, and may begin to process the visual signals from their bad eyes correctly. Before he could do this study, though, he had to do a test run to figure out logistics. So he himself lived in a pitch black room for 5 days. One finding: Eating ravioli in the dark is hard.

Submission + - Kansas Secretary of State Blocks Release of Voting Machine Tapes (ksn.com)

Submitted by PvtVoid
PvtVoid writes: Wichita State University statistician Beth Clarkson has filed a lawsuit under Kansas' open records law to force the state to release paper tape records from voting machines, to be used as data in her research on statistical anomalies in voting patterns in the state.

Clarkson, a certified quality engineer with a Ph.D. in statistics, has analyzed election returns in Kansas and elsewhere over several elections that indicate “a statistically significant” pattern where the percentage of Republican votes increase the larger the size of the precinct. The pattern could be voter fraud or a demographic trend that has not been picked up by extensive polling. Secretary of State Kris Kobach argued that the records sought by Clarkson are not subject to the Kansas open records act, and that their disclosure is prohibited by Kansas statute.

Submission + - Government Warrantless Electronic Surveillance Rising

Submitted by dkatana
dkatana writes: License plate scanners mounted on garbage trucks, Dirtbox and Stingray "IMSI catchers", WiFi snooping, and now Jugular, PocketHound, and Wolfhound handheld cellphone tracking devices.. Government agencies are piling up the latest technologies to track cars, phones and individuals without judicial oversight.

In 1972, the US Supreme Court ruled in a the case: "The Fourth Amendment contemplates a prior judicial judgment, not the risk that executive discretion may be reasonably exercised."

What happened after that?

Comment Interesting, but I'd rather just buy overlays (Score 2) 76

by mbourgon (#50395377) Attached to: Modular Touchpad Aims To Replace Most Input Devices

Honestly, the part that I dig the most is the tactile overlays. Interesting concept, but too limited for me for the price. That being said, I'd buy the heck out of a $15/$20 overlay that gives you the tactile sensation, but using my Tablet of Choice as a controller. I've seen them for keyboard replacements for the ipad; unsure what else is out there.

Submission + - 22 Years Later an Update Arrives! (callapple.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: After 22 year, the Apple IIGS finally gets an update to its operating system GS/OS. Apparently, leaked source code allowed the community to give a beloved retro machine a badly needed upgrade. Who needs Windows 10? We got GS/OS 6.0.2. Long live the Apple IIGS!

Submission + - Critical vulnerability in all windows versions allowing remote code execution (microsoft.com)

Submitted by QuantumReality
QuantumReality writes: A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Windows when the Windows Adobe Type Manager Library improperly handles specially crafted OpenType fonts. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

Submission + - Little Girl Moves Her Arms for the First Time Thanks to 3D Printed 'Angel Arms' (3dprint.com)

Submitted by ErnieKey
ErnieKey writes: Two Grand Valley State University students, named Joseph Kissling and Samuel Brooks, have helped a little girl move her arms for the first time, thanks to their 3D printed "Angle Arms" exoskeleton. Lylah, who suffers from a condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy, is now able to play around with her toys, thanks to these two young men.

Submission + - Bruce Schneier says: "Encryption should be enabled for everything by default." (schneier.com)

Submitted by snowder
snowder writes: This is important. If we only use encryption when we're working with important data, then encryption signals that data's importance. If only dissidents use encryption in a country, that country's authorities have an easy way of identifying them. But if everyone uses it all of the time, encryption ceases to be a signal. No one can distinguish simple chatting from deeply private conversation. The government can't tell the dissidents from the rest of the population. Every time you use encryption, you're protecting someone who needs to use it to stay alive.

Submission + - UK's Legalization of CD Ripping is Unlawful, Court Rules (torrentfreak.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Several music industry organizations in the UK have won a judicial review which renders the Government's decision to allow copying for personal use unlawful. According to the High Court, there's insufficient evidence to prove that the legislation doesn't hurt musicians and the industry at large.

Late last year the UK Government legalized copying for private use, a practice which many citizens already believed to be legal.

However, until last October, anyone who transferred music from a purchased CD to an MP3 player was committing an offense.

Submission + - Yes, androids do dream of electric sheep

Submitted by hmckee
hmckee writes: Thought this was a really interesting story from the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/tec... "Google sets up feedback loop in its image recognition neural network — which looks for patterns in pictures — creating hallucinatory images of animals, buildings and landscapes which veer from beautiful to terrifying"

Submission + - Hot Topic Buys Geeknet (scnow.com)

Submitted by jones_supa
jones_supa writes: The clothing and music retailer Hot Topic is buying Geeknet for $117.3 million. Geeknet, the firm behind the legendary establishments SourceForge and VA Linux, is currently the parent company for ThinkGeek and ThinkGeek Solutions. ThinkGeek sells clothing, toys, gadgets and other products mostly based on popular movies, television shows and brands with geek appeal. ThinkGeek Solutions is a distributor of video-game themed merchandise through licensed web stores. Hot Topic Inc. will pay $17.50 per Geeknet share. Privately held Hot Topic, based in Los Angeles, has more than 650 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Geeknet will become a Hot Topic subsidiary.

Submission + - European Internet Users Urged To Protect Themselves Against Facebook Tracking 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: In the wake of the revelations about Facebook's tracking of users who do not own a Facebook account, the Belgian Privacy Commission has issued a set of recommendations for both Facebook, website owners and end users. The recommendations are based on the results of an extensive analysis of Facebook’s revised policies and terms (rolled out on January 30, 2015) conducted by the inter-university research center EMSOC/SPION, which concluded that the company is acting in violation of European law. According to them Facebook places too much burden on its users to protect their privacy, and then doesn't offer simple tools and settings to do so, and sets up some problematic default settings. They also don't provide adequate information for users to make informed choices.

Submission + - Microsoft Announces Surface 3 Tablet (surface.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Today Microsoft announced the latest device in their line of Windows tablets: the Surface 3. The tablet runs a full version of Windows (the troublesome "RT" line has been deprecated), and aims to compete with Apple's iPad. The Surface 3 has a 10.8" screen running at 1920x1280 (note the 3:2 ratio). It's 8.7mm thick and weighs 622 grams (1.27 lbs). They're somewhat vague about the battery life, but they say it will last up to 10 hours "based on video playback." They've also made it possible to charge the device with a standard micro-USB charger. The base device with 64GB storage, 2GB RAM, and Wi-Fi only will cost $500, and it'll scale up with more storage, more ram, and 4G LTE connectivity. The keyboard is still a separate $130 accessory as well.

Submission + - Best Program to Organize Photos

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I'm a long time reader first time writer. What is the best program available to organize and sort your photos. I've tried a bunch of different one's with varying degrees of success. Does anybody have any suggestions.

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