Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Submission + - The driverless future is here: Waymo will release autonomous cars in 2017

Submitted by Artem Tashkinov
Artem Tashkinov writes: Waymo, what used to be a Google division and now is a new division in Alphabet, has revealed its first production ready fully autonomous car based on Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The new vehicle for six passengers will retain all its human driving features such as a steering wheel and foot pedals. A limited production, a fleet of 100 cars, is expected to hit the road in 2017.

Comment Re:Freedom, horrible freedom! (Score 1) 286

by archatheist (#52405237) Attached to: New C++ Features Voted In By C++17 Standards Committee

Certainly, because nesting the declaration and if statement in curly braces to use the existing scoping rules of C and not pollute the syntax space is completely impractical. Much better to solve a specific instance of a problem than to use the existing simple solution that solves the entire class of problems.

Submission + - Cisco Finds Backdoor Installed on 12 Million PCs (securityweek.com)

Submitted by wiredmikey
wiredmikey writes: Security researchers from Cisco have come across a piece of software that installed backdoors on 12 million computers around the world. Researchers determined that the application, installed with administrator rights, was capable not only of downloading and installing other software, such as a known scareware called System Healer, but also of harvesting personal information. The software, which exhibits adware and spyware capabilities, was developed by a French online advertising company called Tuto4PC. The “features” have led Cisco Talos to classify the Tuto4PC software as a “full backdoor capable of a multitude of undesirable functions on the victim machine.”

Tuto4PC said its network consisted of nearly 12 million PCs in 2014, which could explain why Cisco’s systems detected the backdoor on 12 million devices. An analysis of a sample set revealed infections in the United States, Australia, Japan, Spain, the UK, France and New Zealand.

Submission + - Microsoft's Windows 10 Upgrade Screen Interrupts Meteorologist's Live Forecast (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: If you're a Windows 7 or Windows 8 user that hasn't yet upgraded to Windows 10 you've probably been bombarded at some point by Microsoft to upgrade, and not always at the most convenient times. At least for one meteorologist, the Windows 10 upgrade prompt came during a very inopportune time — right in the middle of a live weathercast. Metinka Slater, a meteorologist with Des Moines CBS affiliate KCCI 8, was going about her business, giving viewers a rundown of the 12-hour rainfall totals in the area when a nagging Windows 10 upgrade screen popped up, just like it has for thousands of everyday Windows users. But rather than get flustered or give into Microsoft's demands, Slater laughed off the annoyance. "Ahh, Microsoft recommends upgrading to Windows 10. What should I do?" Slater joked. "Don't you love when that pops up?" Some viewers later likened this to some sort of publicity stunt by Microsoft but it seems highly unlikely Redmond would want this kind of press.

Submission + - Language Creation Society filed amicus against Paramount Klingon copyright claim

Submitted by saizai
saizai writes: The LCS has filed an amicus brief in Paramount v. Axanar, opposing Paramount’s claim to copyright in the Klingon language. The brief itself uses copious amounts of Klingon to make the point that a language cannot be copyrighted. (Disclosure: I'm founder of the LCS, directed the litigation, and am press contact for this story. Marc Randazza wrote the brief, pro bono.)

Submission + - Smart Antenna Could Double Smartphone Battery Life By 2018

Submitted by Mickeycaskill
Mickeycaskill writes: Scottish startup Sofant has received €2m from the EU to commercialise smart antenna technology that promises to significantly improve Wi-Fi performance and halve energy consumption.

The antenna, a product of a programme to create miniaturised satellites, uses software to 'steer' the antenna to the best available signal. Conventional antennas use power less efficiently by simply seeking all channels.

“We call this a smart antenna because it has been designed to seek out the strongest signal and focus on it, rather than the current model that constantly radiates energy in all directions,” said COO Ahmed El-Rayis.

The company says the EU funding will help it bring its technology to mobile devices as early as 2018.

Submission + - German Nuclear Plant Infected with Computer Virus (reuters.com)

Submitted by archatheist
archatheist writes: A nuclear power plant in Germany has been found to be infected with computer viruses, but they appear not to have posed a threat to the facility's operations because it is isolated from the Internet, the station's operator said on Tuesday.

Comment Blockly! (Score 1) 414

by archatheist (#51356725) Attached to: Favorite "toy" language?

Toy? My kids are all immersed in "learn to mod" writing Minecraft extensions using Google's Blockly (https://developers.google.com/blockly/). Their other toys get very little love these days.

Slashdot Top Deals

The road to hell is paved with NAND gates. -- J. Gooding

Close