Month: June 2020

Dutch Justice minister wants to put webhosters that won’t do what he wants on a shaminglist, unburdened by proof and using kiddie porn as an excuse

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The stance seems to be: If minister Grapperhaus tells a webhost to remove content, they should do it without the court system intervening. As soon as they invoke kiddie porn you know that something totalitarian is being justified. Because once that is allowed, then they expand the powers to all content. And noboday can be Read more about Dutch Justice minister wants to put webhosters that won’t do what he wants on a shaminglist, unburdened by proof and using kiddie porn as an excuse[…]

Space Force Losing Trademark Battle With Netflix’s Space Force

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The real Space Force may be going down in flames against the fictional Space Force: According to the Hollywood Reporter, the newly founded military branch appears to be losing a trademark battle with the Netflix comedy show of the same name. Netflix “has outmaneuvered the U.S. government to secure trademark rights to ‘Space Force’ in Read more about Space Force Losing Trademark Battle With Netflix’s Space Force[…]

deepart.io turns your picture into versions of existing art pictures

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Artificial intelligence turning your photos into art It uses the stylistic elements of one image to draw the content of another. Get your own artwork in just three steps. Upload photo The first picture defines the scene you would like to have painted. Choose style Choose among predefined styles or upload your own style image. Read more about deepart.io turns your picture into versions of existing art pictures[…]

Bug bounty platforms buy researcher silence, violate labor laws, critics say

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Used properly, bug bounty platforms connect security researchers with organizations wanting extra scrutiny. In exchange for reporting a security flaw, the researcher receives payment (a bounty) as a thank you for doing the right thing. However, CSO’s investigation shows that the bug bounty platforms have turned bug reporting and disclosure on its head, what multiple Read more about Bug bounty platforms buy researcher silence, violate labor laws, critics say[…]

Smart fridges are cool, but after a few short years you could be stuck with a big frosty brick in the kitchen

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A report from consumer advocates Which? highlights the shockingly short lifespan of “smart” appliances, with some losing software support after just a few years, despite costing vastly more than “dumb” alternatives. That lifespan varies between manufacturers: Most vendors were vague, with Beko offering “up to 10 years” and LG saying patches would be issued as Read more about Smart fridges are cool, but after a few short years you could be stuck with a big frosty brick in the kitchen[…]

Secure the software development lifecycle with machine learning

Posted on by Robin Edgar

At Microsoft, 47,000 developers generate nearly 30 thousand bugs a month. These items get stored across over 100 AzureDevOps and GitHub repositories. To better label and prioritize bugs at that scale, we couldn’t just apply more people to the problem. However, large volumes of semi-curated data are perfect for machine learning. Since 2001 Microsoft has Read more about Secure the software development lifecycle with machine learning[…]

Belg opent lijnvlucht met private jets naar Ibiza

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Voor 495 euro in een private jet naar Ibiza vliegen, met 25 kilogram bagage, luxesnacks en een glaasje champagne. Dat wil de Limburgse luchtvaartondernemer Philippe Bodson vanaf 4 juli onder de naam Flying Executive in de markt zetten. Op wekelijkse basis vanuit Brussel. Een lijnvlucht voor private jets is geen primeur in Europa. Maar de Read more about Belg opent lijnvlucht met private jets naar Ibiza[…]

Guides for Visualizing Reality – and checking on the charts

Posted on by Robin Edgar

We like to complain about how data is messy, not in the right format, and how parts don’t make sense. Reality is complicated though. Data comes from the realities. Here are several guides to help with visualizing these realities, which seem especially important these days. Visualizing the Uncertainty in Data For when you don’t know Read more about Guides for Visualizing Reality – and checking on the charts[…]

Astronomers have found a planet like Earth orbiting a star like the sun

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Three thousand light-years from Earth sits Kepler 160, a sun-like star that’s already thought to have three planets in its system. Now researchers think they’ve found a fourth. Planet KOI-456.04, as it’s called, appears similar to Earth in size and orbit, raising new hopes we’ve found perhaps the best candidate yet for a habitable exoplanet Read more about Astronomers have found a planet like Earth orbiting a star like the sun[…]

Brave Browser Mistake Adds Its Referrer Code For Cryptocurrency Sites – quite a big oops also for privacy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The following report appeared on Yahoo! Finance: Privacy-focused browser Brave was found to autocomplete several websites and keywords in its address bar with an affiliate code. Shortly after a user published his findings, Brave CEO and co-founder Brendan Eich addressed the incident and called it “a mistake we’re correcting.” Eich said that while Brave is Read more about Brave Browser Mistake Adds Its Referrer Code For Cryptocurrency Sites – quite a big oops also for privacy[…]

Boffins step into the Li-ion’s den with sodium-ion battery that’s potentially as good as a lithium cousin

Posted on by Robin Edgar

scientists in America and China have created a sodium-ion-based battery that can potentially perform at close to the levels of Li-ion, paving the way for a cheaper, commercially viable alternative to lithium. The key challenge in creating this battery is that sodium-ion cells tend to break down faster than their lithium-ion cousins. Sodium crystals collect Read more about Boffins step into the Li-ion’s den with sodium-ion battery that’s potentially as good as a lithium cousin[…]

Lenovo certifies all desktop and mobile workstations for Linux – and will even upstream driver updates

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Lenovo has decided to certify all of its workstations for Linux. “Our entire portfolio of ThinkStation and ThinkPad P Series workstations will now be certified via both Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Ubuntu LTS – a long-term, enterprise-stability variant of the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution,” said a Tuesday statement from GM and executive director of Read more about Lenovo certifies all desktop and mobile workstations for Linux – and will even upstream driver updates[…]

Zoom won’t encrypt free calls because it wants to comply with law enforcement

Posted on by Robin Edgar

If you’re a free Zoom user, and waiting for the company to roll out end-to-end encryption for better protection of your calls, you’re out of luck. Free calls won’t be encrypted, and law enforcement will be able to access your information in case of ‘misuse’ of the platform. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan today said that the Read more about Zoom won’t encrypt free calls because it wants to comply with law enforcement[…]

GSMA suggests mobile carriers bake contact-tracing into their own apps – if governments ask for it

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The GSM Association, the body that represents mobile carriers and influences the development of standards, has suggested its members bake virus contact-tracing functionality into their own bundled software. The body today popped out a paper [PDF] on contact-tracing apps. After some unremarkable observations about the need for and operations of such apps, plus an explanation Read more about GSMA suggests mobile carriers bake contact-tracing into their own apps – if governments ask for it[…]

Marketers Bring Antitrust Suit Against Google

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Three online advertisers are suing Google for allegedly violating antitrust laws by monopolizing “digital advertising markets.” “Google leveraged its stranglehold on online search and search advertising to gain an illegal monopoly in brokering display advertising on other companies’ websites,” the marketers allege in a class-action complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Read more about Marketers Bring Antitrust Suit Against Google[…]

Have I Been Pwned breach report email pwned entire firm’s helldesk ticket system

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A hapless IT bod found the Have I Been Pwned service (HIBP) answering its own question in a way he really didn’t want – after a breach report including a SQL string KO’d his company’s helpdesk ticket system. A pseudonymous blogger posting under the name Matt published a tortured account of what happened when a Read more about Have I Been Pwned breach report email pwned entire firm’s helldesk ticket system[…]

Trump’s Make Space Great Again video pulled after former ‘naut says: Nope

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A funny thing happened overnight in the world of space and politics as a campaigning video featuring SpaceX’s commercial crew launch and promoting US President Donald Trump was abruptly pulled from YouTube. “Make Space Great Again” was uploaded to YouTube following the successful launch, attended by Trump, and featured a mix of footage including some Read more about Trump’s Make Space Great Again video pulled after former ‘naut says: Nope[…]

Did Instagram Just Say It’s Rewriting Online Copyright? Use their embedded API at your peril

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In one fell swoop, Facebook may have changed its mind about how the online news media will operate from here on out. Undermining a now age-old assumption, Facebook told Ars Technica on Thursday that embedding from Instagram may not shield news organizations from freely cross-posting on their sites. A spokesperson said: While our terms allow Read more about Did Instagram Just Say It’s Rewriting Online Copyright? Use their embedded API at your peril[…]

Publishers bizarrely File Suit Against Internet Archive for Systematic Mass Scanning and Distribution of Literary Works

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Today, member companies [Note only four members – ed] of the Association of American Publishers (AAP) filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Internet Archive (“IA”) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The suit asks the Court to enjoin IA’s mass scanning, public display, and distribution of entire literary Read more about Publishers bizarrely File Suit Against Internet Archive for Systematic Mass Scanning and Distribution of Literary Works[…]