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Submission + - Cameron tells pornography websites to block access by children or face closure (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: David Cameron is to give pornography websites one last chance to produce an effective voluntary scheme for age-restricted controls on their sites or he will introduce legislation that could see them shut down.

At the election the then culture secretary, Sajid Javid, said the party would act to ensure under-18s were locked out of adult content and the Conservative election Facebook page in April promised legislation to achieve this.

It followed a Childline poll that found nearly one in 10 12-13-year-olds were worried they were addicted to pornography and 18% had seen shocking or upsetting images.

In a consultation to be launched in the autumn, the government will seek views on how best to introduce measures to further restrict under-18s’ access to pornographic websites.

Submission + - Google to measure air quality through Street View (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Eloking
Eloking writes: Google has teamed up with Aclima to incorporate environmental sensors into its Street View cars. Initially tested on three vehicles in the Denver metro area, the partnership should lead to a better understanding of overall air quality in urban environments.

Since its introduction back in 2007, Google's Street View platform has become a reliable and versatile tool. Quite aside from providing its 360-degree views from our roads, it's taken us underwater, across hiking trails and even to the top of mountains. The latest endeavor aims to deliver useful data on the air we breathe.

The goal of the project is to create high resolution maps of air quality across cities. It will see Street View cars equipped with sensors that allow them to take measurements of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, ozone, methane, black carbon, particulate matter and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) – all of which can have a negative impact on health.

Submission + - Britain shuts off 750,000 streetlights with no impact on crime or crashes (astronomy.com)

Submitted by Flash Modin
Flash Modin writes: English cities are hard up for cash as the national government dolls out cuts. And in response, the country's councils — local governing bodies — have slashed costs by turning off an estimated 750,000 streetlights. Fans of the night sky and reduced energy usage are happy, but the move has also sparked a national debate. The Automobile Association claims six people have died as a direct result of dimming the lights. But a new study released Wednesday looked at 14 years of data from 63 local authorities across England and Wales and found that residents' chances of being attacked, robbed, or struck by a car were no worse on the darker streets.

Comment Re:ONVIF (Score 1) 134

by ChrisSlicks (#50178549) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Are There Any Open and Affordable IPCams?
HIKVision is an Onvif partner, so that's a little disturbing.
Vivotek worked quite well for us in testing and appeared to do fine with streaming, did not get a chance to test out motion detection. Primarily we have been using Bosch and Axis, but there have been implementation shortcomings in just about all of the manufacturers including Sony and Axis.

Comment Re:Cutting edge journalism (Score 5, Informative) 179

by ChrisSlicks (#49451065) Attached to: Google Lollipop Bricking Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 Devices
The whole point of the Nexus branded devices is that they are a plain vanilla version of Android directly from Google, and yes these plain vanilla versions call home directly to Google for updates. Carriers are not supposed to alter the OS at all other than the standard provisioning info. Google designed the specs for the device and then contracted each one with a manufacturer.

It takes a few weeks for the various devices to get the update as Google does a staggered release by device. Not sure on the exact order but it does seem to be somewhat by the device's original release date.

Submission + - Problem Solver Beer Tells How Much to Drink to Boost Your Creativity

Submitted by mrspoonsi
mrspoonsi writes: When you've been stuck on a problem or that creative spark just won't come, the chances are you've turned to a cup of coffee to get things moving. A quick java infusion can certainly help, but studies also suggest that alcohol can also have a positive impact on your creative cognition. University of Illinois Professor Jennifer Wiley determined that a person's "creative peak" comes when their blood alcohol level reaches 0.075, lowering their ability to overthink during a task. Medical Daily reports that marketing agency CP+B Copenhagen and Danish brewery Rocket Brewing wanted to help drinkers reach their imaginative prime, so they decided to create their own beer to do just that. The result is he Problem Solver. It's a 7.1 percent craft IPA that its makers say offers a "refined bitterness with a refreshing finish." To ensure you reach the optimum creative level, the bottle includes a scale, which determines how much of the beer you need to drink based on your body weight. The agency does offer a word of warning though: "Enjoying the right amount will enhance your creative thinking. Drinking more will probably do exactly the opposite."

Submission + - Bicycle Bottle System Condenses Humidity From Air Into Drinkable Water (thescienceworld.com)

Submitted by Diggester
Diggester writes: The weight of water limits how much can be brought on a long bike ride. There isn’t always an option to stop and fill up from a clean stream or drinking fountain, but water could be obtained from a different source: the air. Austrian industrial design student Kristof Retezár has created Fontus: a prototype of a water bottle system that condenses humid air into clean, drinkable water. His design made him a finalist for the 2014 James Dyson Award.

Submission + - Head of FCC Proposes Increasing Internet School Fund

Submitted by Rambo Tribble
Rambo Tribble writes: The commissioners at the FCC are expected to vote, on December 11, on a proposal by Chairman Tom Wheeler to increase the funding for the nation's largest educational technology subsidy program, E-Rate, by 62 percent. The proposal is intended to be paid for by higher fees on phone service. The increased cost is pegged at $1.92 a year, per telephone line. Support for the proposal, or lack thereof, appears to be falling along partisan lines. To quote Wheeler, however, "Almost two-thirds of American schools cannot appropriately connect their students to the 21st century." National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García adds, "Today's announcement will go a long way to help level the digital playing field for our country's students and ensuring equity."

Submission + - Lunar Mission One proposes to take core sample, plant time capsule on the moon (examiner.com)

Submitted by MarkWhittington
MarkWhittington writes: The United States may have foresworn the moon, the venue of its greatest space triumph during the Apollo program, by presidential directive, but that does not mean that other countries and even private organizations are uninterested. The latest proposal for a private moon landing is a British effort called Lunar Mission One, according to a Wednesday story in the New Scientist. Its goal is twofold. The undertaking proposes to drill a 20 meter core sample below the lunar surface for analysis. Lunar Mission One will also deploy the first moon based time capsule. A Kickstarter effort has begun for initial funding.

Submission + - Microsoft Azure fails across the globe (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by hawkinspeter
hawkinspeter writes: The BBC has reported that Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform has taken down many third-party sites that rely on it in addition to disrupting Microsoft's own products. Office 365 (maybe they were optimistic with choosing that name) and Xbox Live services were affected.

This has happened at a particularly inopportune time as Microsoft has recently been pushing its Azure services in an effort to catch up with other providers such as Amazon, IBM and Google. Just a couple of hours previously, Microsoft had screened an Azure advert in the UK during the Scotland v England soccer match.

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