Comment Re:$57 Million exit package! (Score 1) 43
Perhaps the inevitable civil suit will include Wenig specifically, and a number like $57 million sounds about right for his contribution.
Comment Theatrical Experience (Score 1) 41
"We support the theatrical experience as integral to the art of motion pictures, and this weighed heavily in our discussions,"
And do they require the voters to have seen the nominees in a theater? With an audience?
And do they require the voters to have seen the nominees in a theater? With an audience?
Comment Re:Speaking of phones ... (Score 1) 312
unless it is Classical or Jazz.
Precisely. Some kinds of source material--concert hall presence during quiet passages, challenging transients in the sound of a harpsichord--get trashed in lossy recording. A lot of it depends on whether you know what real musical instruments in an acoustic environment sound like. If you've had that experience then you will be less tolerant of even high bit-rate lossy compression. You'll probably be somewhat critical of the whole recording process, but that's the price we must pay just to hear a lot of music. Use FLAC to keep that price to a minimum.
Eric Schmidt Is Stepping Down As Executive Chairman of Alphabet (cnbc.com) 47
Eric Schmidt will be stepping down as the executive chairman of Alphabet's board of directors and transitioning to a technical adviser, the company announced. He will continue to serve on the company's board. CNBC reports: Schmidt first joined Google as CEO in 2001, back when the company only had several hundred employees, and become its executive chairman 10 years later. He maintained that role when Google restructured to become Alphabet in 2015.
"Larry, Sergey, Sundar and I all believe that the time is right in Alphabet's evolution for this transition," Schmidt said in a statement. "The Alphabet structure is working well, and Google and the Other Bets are thriving. In recent years, I've been spending a lot of my time on science and technology issues, and philanthropy, and I plan to expand that work."
"Larry, Sergey, Sundar and I all believe that the time is right in Alphabet's evolution for this transition," Schmidt said in a statement. "The Alphabet structure is working well, and Google and the Other Bets are thriving. In recent years, I've been spending a lot of my time on science and technology issues, and philanthropy, and I plan to expand that work."
Comment Rasberry Pi, IQaudio, squeezeboxserver (Score 1) 118
I use Rasberry Pis running Logitech Media Server (free as in gratis, don't know if libre), and squeezelite (libre) player software. The d/a and amps for the Pis come from IQaudio. There is at least one other supplier of comparable-spec Pi audio hardware, but I haven't tried them. Use the d/a for line out to existing audio systems; use the d/a-amp combo to drive fairly substantial speakers. I use the various computers and smartphones around the house to control it. They can also run the squeezelite player software. Synchronizing works well with squeezelite software players on the pis and linux machines. It doesn't work well with Java-based players.
I found this approach when I was looking to back up my slimserver hardware after slimserver was bought by Logitech and then dropped, although they continue to maintain the server software now called Logitech Media Server.
CDs are stored in lossless format (flac) on the server (which could also host a player, but I don't.)
You could use your iPods as controllers and players (see the app store). What I don't know is how well synchronizing works for iPod players--haven't tried it.
Comment Re:What can we do with it? (Score 1) 94
Multics suffered due to its scale--ultimately time-sharing on minicomputers became much more cost-effective compared to Multics. The cost of the hardware it ran on limited its market. Its niche disappeared. OSes like Unix could run on small computers in small companies and big computers (or lots of small computers) in big companies.
It also suffered slow development due to tackling new hardware, a new (and complex, bloated) programming language, PL/I, and several new architectural concepts in one project. That it didn't out-and-out collapse with this combination is a miracle, in itself.
Comment Re:What can we do with it? (Score 3, Interesting) 94
The 360 wasn't particularly slow--the time-sharing operating system TSS/360 was initially a mess (so was OS/360--at first--see Brooks,"The Mythical Man Month") and I don't recall that they improved the TSS to where it was usable. There was a project in (as I recall) the IBM lab in Cambridge MA that did an interesting and credible virtual machine OS for the 360 (I vaguely recall it was for a middling level 360) that was developed because the "official" time-sharing system TSS/360 was such a mess.
Kentucky Hospital Calls State of Emergency In Hack Attack (cnbc.com) 265
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: A Kentucky hospital is operating in an internal state of emergency following an attack by cybercriminals on its computer network, Krebs on Security reported. Methodist Hospital, based in Henderson, Kentucky, is the victim of a ransomware attack in which hackers infiltrated its computer network, encrypted files and are now holding the data hostage, Krebs reported Tuesday. The criminals reportedly used new strain of malware known as Locky to encrypt important files. The malware spread from the initial infected machine to the entire internal network and several other systems, the hospital's information systems director, Jamie Reid, told Krebs. The hospital is reportedly considering paying hackers the ransom money of four bitcoins, about $1,600 at the current exchange rate, for the key to unlock the files.
Submission + - The reason a Surface Phone won't fix Microsoft's mobile problem (windows10update.com)
Ammalgam writes: Microsoft’s CMO recently admitted that Microsoft was behind in the mobile arena and needed time to build a competitive phone. In the Windows community however, some feel that the Windows Phone platform is out of time. On Windows10Update.com, the author discusses some of the reasons why a “Surface Phone” might not be enough to fundamentally change public perception about Microsoft mobile phones.
Submission + - Malware Infects Computers, Adds Them to Russian Proxy Service
An anonymous reader writes: A new malware family called ProxyBack infects PCs and transforms them into a Web proxy. ProxyBack malware works by infecting a PC, establishing a connection with a proxy server controlled by the attackers, from where it receives instructions, and later the traffic it needs to route to actual Web servers. Each machine infected with ProxyBack works as a bot inside a larger network controlled by the attackers, who send commands and update instructions via simple HTTP requests. Some of the people infected with this malware, mysteriously found their IP listed on the buyproxy.ru Web proxy service.
A technical write-up of the infection steps and various malware commands is available on the Palo Alto Networks blog.
A technical write-up of the infection steps and various malware commands is available on the Palo Alto Networks blog.
Submission + - Reluctance To Go Mobile Inhibiting Innovation in Financial Services
Lemeowski writes: Compliance concerns have long prevented financial services businesses from adopting mobile capabilities as quickly as other industries. But Yvette Jackson of Thomson Reuters argues that technology advancements have made compliance worries of the past now obsolete, and financial services companies are running out of excuses for not going mobile. She stresses that holding onto this reluctance will cause businesses to miss opportunities, limit innovation, and turn away talent by restraining their workflow. She says, "Any millennial joining the financial services industry, who expects a flawless user experience both at home and at work, is – I’m sure – surprised on their first day in the office when they get to their desk and are transported back in time by the technology they’re expected to use."
Submission + - Fixing JavaScript's Broken Random Number Generator (hackaday.com)
szczys writes: It is surprising to learn how broken the JavaScript Random Number Generator has been for the past six years. The problem is compounded by the fact that Node.js uses the same broken Math.random() module. Learning about why this is broken is interesting, but perhaps even more interesting is how the bad code got there in the first place. It seems that a forum thread from way back in 1999 shared two versions of the code. If you read to the end of the thread you got the working version, if you didn't make it that far (perhaps the case with JavaScript devs) you got the bad version of the code whose fix is just now being rolled out.
Submission + - On the coming chatbot revolution (computerworld.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Facebook, Google, and Microsoft are all pursuing AI-powered chatbots — an intersection between several popular technologies: personal assistant software, search engines, and social tools. Right now, while they're still building these chatbots, they're cheating a bit. Facebook is using real humans to answer questions the AI can't. Google answers tough questions from a database populated with movie dialog. Microsoft scans social media to find the most popular answer, and offers that to inquisitive users. But software becoming conversational comes with hazards: "Because human beings are complex creatures plagued by cognitive biases, irrational thinking and emotional needs, the line between messaging with a friend and messaging with AI will be fine to nonexistent for some people." It sounds like an Asimov-era sci-fi trope, but it's already happening in China.
Submission + - Ask Slashdot: How to get into Machine Learning?
An anonymous reader writes: I know this is a vague question, but hoping to get some useful feedback anyway. I'm an experienced SW Engineer/Developer who is looking to get into the Machine Learning arena. I have an MS in CS and a solid 15 years of experience in a variety of areas, but no experience in Machine Learning.
With that as background, my question is: What is the most time-efficient (and reasonable cost) way to:
(1) Decide whether Machine Learning is for me and
(2) Make myself employable in the field.
An additional constraint is that I can't afford to quit my full-time day job.
Thanks.
With that as background, my question is: What is the most time-efficient (and reasonable cost) way to:
(1) Decide whether Machine Learning is for me and
(2) Make myself employable in the field.
An additional constraint is that I can't afford to quit my full-time day job.
Thanks.
Submission + - Obama backs away from law to access encrypted information
An anonymous reader writes: The Obama's administration has changed course and is backing away from seeking legislation that would give law enforcement agencies access to individuals' encrypted messages. "We are actively engaged with private companies to ensure they understand the public safety and national security risks that result from malicious actors’ use of their encrypted products and services," said White House spokesman Mark Stroh. "However, the administration is not seeking legislation at this time."
