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Submission + - Malware Found In The Ubuntu Snap Store (linuxuprising.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Oh, snap! Just because some packages are available to install directly from the Ubuntu Software Center doesn't make them safe. This is proved by a recent in some snap packages from the Ubuntu Snaps Store.

At least two of the snap packages, 2048buntu and hextris, uploaded to the Ubuntu Snaps Store by user Nicolas Tomb, contained malware. All packages by Nicolas have since been removed from the Ubuntu Snaps Store, "pending further investigations".

Submission + - Own an Open Source RISC-V micro-controller (crowdsupply.com)

Submitted by hamster_nz
hamster_nz writes: By now you have come across Arduino, the popular Open Source micro-controller platform. Did you ever think it would be great if hardware was open to the transistor level, not just the chip level? If so Crowd Supply is running the project for you!

With a completely open ISA and no license fees for the CPU design, the RISC-V architecture is well positioned to take the crown as the 'go to' design for anybody needing a 32-bit in their silicon, and Open-V are crowd-sourcing their funding for an initial manufacturing run of 70,000 chips, offering options from a single chip to a seat in the design review process.

This project is shaping up to be milestone for the coming Open Source Silicon revolution, and they are literally offering a seat at the table. Even if you don't end up backing the project, it makes for very interesting reading.

Submission + - Harnessing EVE Online For Science (mmorpg.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Scientists and the developers of space MMORPG EVE Online are working on a project to harness the power of the game's huge playerbase to do useful scientific work. The Human Protein Atlas has 13 million images to map, and there's no way a small team of scientists can manage that task alone. CCP Games, the makers of EVE, will try to get players to contribute by creating a mini-game within EVE to train players and get them to do some cataloging. To start, "Project Discovery will feed about a 250,000 images of microscopic cells and tissue that players will then study to identify basic shapes and structures, categorizing the images in a way that will help scientists deduce a given protein's purpose." The developers are confident that the EVE community, which has already come together to support various charity endeavors, will rally behind this noble cause as well. To encourage participation, they'll reward players with loyalty points that have some sort of positive effect within EVE.

Comment Re:Survivalist (Score 1) 358

by epall (#38141148) Attached to: Ham Radio Licenses Top 700,000, An All-Time High

There's been talk of building an alternative "hinternet" using ham radio technology, but it's not really viable for both economic and technical reasons. Short of that, being able to communicate via voice with anybody in the world using something other than the internet / large telcos as an intermediary is pretty good. Sure, you can't watch Netflix via your 10-meter radio, but basic communication and information sharing is totally doable, and it's going to be very hard for governments to shut such behavior down.

Comment Re:Survivalist (Score 4, Insightful) 358

by epall (#38137192) Attached to: Ham Radio Licenses Top 700,000, An All-Time High

I first got my ham license precisely as a hedge against the apocalypse. If things really go bad, what use is a programmer? Anything requiring a $6 billion fab to get going will be out the window, so I've got to have some other useful talent. Ham radios can be built from scratch fairly easily, so I figured I'd learn to build and use radios so I'd be useful post-apocalypse.

What ended up happening is that I got into my first real hobby, and I've been enjoying making contacts with my little handheld radio. Soon I'm going to be putting together a rig for talking to people around the world! Sure, you can use the internet, but it's not about the messages: it's about the medium. Being able to build your very own personal communications device that can reach around the world feels awesome.
Space

X-37B Robotic Space Plane Returns To Earth 55

Posted by Soulskill from the down-to-earth dept.
Kozar_The_Malignant writes "The secretive X-37B robotic space plane has returned to Earth after a seven-month mission. This was the vehicle's first flight. Looking like a cross between a Predator Drone and the Space Shuttle, it landed at Vandenberg AFB in California, which was to have been the military's shuttle launch facility. Speculation is that the X-37B is an orbital spy platform."

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