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Submission + - Linux Journal ceases publication

Submitted by linuxwrangler
linuxwrangler writes: A few years ago long time Linux publication Linux Journal made the switch from print to digital to save money. Citing financial difficultiy, they announced today that thay are ceasing publication. A sad but not entirely unexpected end to the first Linux-specific publication I received.

Submission + - China's Dark Matter Probe Detects Tantalizing Signal (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by hackingbear
hackingbear writes: Results reported by a China-led space science mission provide a tantalizing hint—but not firm evidence—for dark matter. In its first 530 days of scientific observations, DAMPE detected 1.5 million cosmic ray electrons and positrons above a certain energy threshold. When researchers plot of the number of particles against their energy, they saw hints of an anomalous break in the curve. Now, DAMPE has confirmed that deviation. “It may be evidence of dark matter,” but the break in the curve “may be from some other cosmic ray source,” says astrophysicist Chang Jin, who leads the collaboration at the Chinese Academy of Science’s Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing. DAMPE's life span will be extended to 5 years given the excellent conditions of this Chinese spacecraft, then it can record over 10 billion cosmic events, allowing researchers to confirm if it is indeed dark matter. Perhaps more significantly, the first observational data produced by China’s first mission dedicated to astrophysics shows that the country is set to become a force in space science, says David Spergel, an astrophysicist at Princeton University. China is now "making significant contributions to astrophysics and space science," he says.

Submission + - Lawfare Blog: We Need to Secure Voting Machines. But from What?

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: Susan Hennessey of Lawfare Blog maps out long-overdue steps toward securing federal and state elections in the US, This excellent post defines the election security threat, surveys recent threats worldwide, and recommends Congressional actions on the issue. Great read.

Submission + - This Guy Built an Anonymous DIY Cell Phone Network. It's Free and Easy to USe (vice.com) 3

Submitted by dmoberhaus
dmoberhaus writes: Motherboard's Daniel Oberhaus spoke to Denver Gingerich, the programmer behind Sopranica, a DIY, community oriented cell phone network.

As Gingerich described it, "Sopranica is a project intended to replace all aspects of the existing cell phone network with their freedom-respecting equivalents. Taking out all the basement firmware on the cellphone, the towers that track your location, the payment methods that track who you are and who owns the number, and replacing it so we can have the same functionality without having to give up all the privacy that we have to give up right now. At a high level, it’s about running community networks instead of having companies control the cell towers that we connect to."

Motherboard interviews Gingerich and shows you how to use the network to avoid cell surveillance.

Submission + - UK Supermarket Chain Found Liable for Employee Data Leak (bbc.com)

Submitted by sqorbit
sqorbit writes: The High Court has ruled in favor of a class action lawsuit brought against Morrison's Supermarkets. The data leak happened in 2014 when a internal auditor leaked payroll data of employees. The ruling allows those affected to seek compensation for "upset and distress" . This case was the first class action lawsuit in the UK dealing with data leaks.

Submission + - Disney Sues RedboxTo Block Them From Selling Digital Movie Download Codes (marketwatch.com)

Submitted by phalse phace
phalse phace writes: About 1 month ago, Redbox started selling through their kiosks slips of paper with codes on them that lets the buyer download a digital copy of a Disney movie.

But Disney says that's a no-no and today sued Redbox in an attempt to stop the code sales.

According to Marketwatch: "Walt Disney Co. sued Redbox on Thursday in an attempt to stop the DVD rental company from selling digital copies of its movies.

Privately held Redbox last month began offering consumers codes they can use to download a digital copy of a Disney movie.

Redbox charges between $7.99 and $14.99 for slips of paper with the codes to download Disney films such as “Cars 3” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” That is less than those movies cost to buy and download from Apple Inc.’s iTunes Store.

Redbox is only offering digital copies of Disney movies because it doesn’t have a distribution arrangement with the studio and buys retail copies of its discs to rent to customers. Those retail DVDs come with digital download codes. Redbox receives special copies of DVDs and Blu-ray discs from other studios with which it has deals that don’t contain digital codes."

Submission + - SPAM: Russia Wants to Launch Backup DNS System by August 1, 2018

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Russian government plans to build its own "independent internet infrastructure" that will be used by BRICS member states — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The plan was part of the topic list at the October meeting of the Russian Security Council, and President Vladimir Putin approved the initiative with a completion deadline of August 1, 2018.

The Russian Security Council cited the "increased capabilities of western nations to conduct offensive operations in the informational space." Russia, China, and many other countries have criticized the US for hoarding control over the domain naming system (DNS), a position they claim has allowed the US to intercept and tap global Internet traffic. The US has relinquished control over the DNS system last year.
Link to Original Source

Submission + - Verizon will launch 5G home internet access in 2018 (engadget.com)

Submitted by wyattstorch516
wyattstorch516 writes: Real competition may finally be on the way for the residential broadband market. Verizon will be the first company to introduce 5G wireless broadband in a select number of cities. This will give residential customers an alternative to cable/fiber offerings.

5G wireless can offer speeds in the range of hundreds of megabits per second. Full technical specifications as well as pricing plans have yet to be determined. The launch is scheduled for the second half of 2018.

Submission + - Elon Musk's Boring Company Bids On Chicago Airport Transit Link (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: On Wednesday, the city of Chicago opened a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for an express train that would take passengers from the city’s O’Hare airport to downtown. The system would have to be completely privately funded—Chicago says no taxpayer money would be used for it. Elon Musk’s Boring Company—a tunneling company that the SpaceX and Tesla CEO started last year—will respond to the request. Musk hopes to get to the second round when bidding will take place. On Wednesday evening, he tweeted that his company “will compete to fund, build & operate a high-speed Loop connecting Chicago O’Hare Airport to downtown.”

Musk’s reference to a “Loop” is explained more clearly on The Boring Company’s FAQ page: “Loop is a high-speed underground public transportation system in which passengers are transported on autonomous electric skates traveling at 125-150 miles per hour. Electric skates will carry between 8 and 16 passengers (mass transit), or a single passenger vehicle.” Unlike Musk’s idea for a Hyperloop, a Loop won’t draw a vacuum. “For shorter routes, there is no technical need to eliminate air friction,” The Boring Company states. The company also clarifies the concept of an “electric skate:” that is “a platform on wheels propelled by multiple electric motors.” The platform would operate autonomously without a rail or rails to which the skate would connect. The skate would operate in the tunnel’s main artery, and it would enter and exit from side tunnels. With this system, The Boring Company says, the skate’s average speed would theoretically be able to operate close to maximum speed.

Submission + - CNN Visualizes Climate Change Driven Arctic Melt With 360 Degree VR Video (cnn.com)

Submitted by dryriver
dryriver writes: CNN has put up a slickly produced and somewhat alarming 360 degree browser video experience that allows the viewer to see firsthand what arctic melt looks like in Greenland. The video takes the viewer to the "Ground Zero" of climate change. Throughout the 7 minute long video, the viewer can interactively look around the locations visited. Voice narration and various scientists featured in the video explain what is happening in the Arctic, what causes the melting, and what the potential consequences are for the world.

Submission + - Stephen Hawking Criticizes The Duopoly Of Facebook And Google (wired.co.uk)

Submitted by dryriver
dryriver writes: Wired magazine recently asked physicist Stephen Hawking what he thinks of everything from AI to the Anti Science Movement. One of the subjects touched on was the control large corporations have over information in the 21st Century. In Hawking's own words: "I worry about the control that big corporations have over information. The danger is we get into the situation that existed in the Soviet Union with their papers, Pravda, which means "truth" and Izvestia, which means "news". The joke was, there was no truth in Pravda and no news in Izvestia. Corporations will always promote stories that reflect well on them and suppress those that don't." And since this is Slashdot, here's what Stephen Hawking said about Artificial Intelligence: "The genie is out of the bottle. We need to move forward on artificial intelligence development but we also need to be mindful of its very real dangers. I fear that AI may replace humans altogether. If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that replicates itself. This will be a new form of life that will outperform humans."

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 + - New study suggests dogs are smarter than cats (newatlas.com)

Submitted by future guy
future guy writes: Throwing some scientific evidence into the dogs versus cats debate is a new study from an international team of scientists attempting to quantify an animal's smarts by calculating the number of neurons in their cerebral cortex. The results don't bode well for our feline friends.

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.

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