Month: September 2020

‘Linusgate’: Namby pamby doesn’t like Linus calling FSF names at debconf, feels cancel cultury about it.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

253 emails have been leaked from private (high-level) mailing lists of Debian, in which its representatives vocally complain about the talk Linus Torvalds gave at the most recent DebConf conference. Some people insist that he should be permanently banned from future conferences because the language he uses is inappropriate and infringes on the project’s Code Read more about ‘Linusgate’: Namby pamby doesn’t like Linus calling FSF names at debconf, feels cancel cultury about it.[…]

TCL Announces E Ink Color Display That Can Handle Video

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Known for its tablets, TVs, and phones, TCL has this week announced a new technology, NXTPAPER, that could totally change how you think about e ink. E ink displays are known for being great to stare at for hours and perfect for reading books (and sometimes even comics), but the latest color displays from E Read more about TCL Announces E Ink Color Display That Can Handle Video[…]

7 years later, US court deems NSA bulk phone-call snooping illegal, possibly unconstitutional, and probably pointless anyway

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled [PDF] that the National Security Agency’s phone-call slurping was indeed naughty, seven years after former contractor Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the tawdry affair. It’s been a long time coming, and while some might view the decision as a slap for officials Read more about 7 years later, US court deems NSA bulk phone-call snooping illegal, possibly unconstitutional, and probably pointless anyway[…]

European ISPs report mysterious wave of DDoS attacks

Posted on by Robin Edgar

More than a dozen internet service providers (ISPs) across Europe have reported DDoS attacks that targeted their DNS infrastructure. The list of ISPs that suffered attacks over the past week includes Belgium’s EDP, France’s Bouygues Télécom, FDN, K-net, SFR, and the Netherlands’ Caiway, Delta, FreedomNet, Online.nl, Signet, and Tweak.nl. Attacks lasted no longer than a day and were all eventually mitigated, but ISP services were Read more about European ISPs report mysterious wave of DDoS attacks[…]

These students figured out their tests were graded by AI — and the easy way to cheat – The Verge

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Simmons, who is a history professor herself. Then, Lazare clarified that he’d received his grade less than a second after submitting his answers. A teacher couldn’t have read his response in that time, Simmons knew — her son was being graded by an algorithm. Simmons watched Lazare complete more assignments. She looked at the correct Read more about These students figured out their tests were graded by AI — and the easy way to cheat – The Verge[…]

Bill Barr to destroy antitrust case vs Google by forcing DoJ complaint filed before case is ready but before Trump re-election voting

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Several interested parties in the U.S. government have been looking to put Google’s head on a spike, and while undoubtedly there’s been some degree of jockeying between them for which will ultimately get the credit, they’ve been proceeding with care and caution in the interest of building an ironclad case against a particularly canny opponent. Read more about Bill Barr to destroy antitrust case vs Google by forcing DoJ complaint filed before case is ready but before Trump re-election voting[…]

After Facebook Balks, Apple Delays “Privacy” (ie only Apple spies on you) Feature

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In June, Apple unveiled plans for an iOS 14 privacy update that forces developers to gather users’ consent before tracking their activities across third-party apps and websites. Needless to say, giving users more control over how their information is gathered and trafficked is expected to bruise advertisers—especially Facebook, which uses that information to narrow its Read more about After Facebook Balks, Apple Delays “Privacy” (ie only Apple spies on you) Feature[…]

Facebook finally joins responsible disclosure for bugs they find

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook has published its first Vulnerability Disclosure Policy and given itself grounds to blab the existence of bugs to the world if it thinks that’s the right thing to do. “Facebook may occasionally find critical security bugs or vulnerabilities in third-party code and systems, including open source software,” the company writes. “When that happens, our Read more about Facebook finally joins responsible disclosure for bugs they find[…]

The Big Tesla Hack: A hacker gained control over the entire fleet, but fortunately he’s a good guy

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In July 2017, Tesla CEO Elon Musk got on stage at the National Governors Association in Rhode Island and confirmed that a “fleet-wide hack” is one of Tesla’s biggest concerns as the automaker moves to autonomous vehicles. He even presented a strange scenario that could happen in an autonomous future: “In principle, if someone was able Read more about The Big Tesla Hack: A hacker gained control over the entire fleet, but fortunately he’s a good guy[…]

Academic Study Says Open Source Has Peaked: But Why?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Open source runs the world. That’s for supercomputers, where Linux powers all of the top 500 machines in the world, for smartphones, where Android has a global market share of around 75%, and for everything in between, as Wired points out: When you stream the latest Netflix show, you fire up servers on Amazon Web Read more about Academic Study Says Open Source Has Peaked: But Why?[…]

Private Intel Firm Buys Location Data to Track People to their ‘Doorstep’ sourced from innocuous seeming apps

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A threat intelligence firm called HYAS, a private company that tries to prevent or investigates hacks against its clients, is buying location data harvested from ordinary apps installed on peoples’ phones around the world, and using it to unmask hackers. The company is a business, not a law enforcement agency, and claims to be able Read more about Private Intel Firm Buys Location Data to Track People to their ‘Doorstep’ sourced from innocuous seeming apps[…]

Amazon Prime Air drone delivery fleet gets FAA approval

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Amazon received federal approval to operate its fleet of Prime Air delivery drones, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday, a milestone that allows the company to expand unmanned package delivery. The approval will give Amazon broad privileges to “safely and efficiently deliver packages to customers,” the agency said. The certification comes under Part 135 of FAA Read more about Amazon Prime Air drone delivery fleet gets FAA approval[…]

How Face Shields and Valve Masks Fail to Stop Infectious Droplets, as Shown by Lasers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A new study using lasers suggests that face shields and masks outfitted with an exhaust valve aren’t particularly great at protecting others from tiny respiratory droplets containing contagious germs like the coronavirus that causes covid-19. These aerosols can spill through and around these types of face equipment, the study found, weakening their potential to keep Read more about How Face Shields and Valve Masks Fail to Stop Infectious Droplets, as Shown by Lasers[…]

Engineers Have Figured Out How to Make Interactive Paper

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Engineers at Purdue University have created a printing process by which you can coat paper or cardboard with “highly fluorinated molecules.” This then makes the coated paper dust, oil, and water-repellent, meaning you can then print multiple circuit layers onto the paper without smudging the ink. According to a paper the engineers published in Nano Read more about Engineers Have Figured Out How to Make Interactive Paper[…]

COVID-19 tracing without an app? Google and Apple will ram it down your throat

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Google and Apple have updated their COVID-19 contact-tracing tool to make it possible to notify users of potential exposures to the novel coronavirus without an app. The new Exposure Notifications Express spec is baked into iOS 13.7, which emerged this week and will appear in an Android update due later this month. This is not, Read more about COVID-19 tracing without an app? Google and Apple will ram it down your throat[…]

Philips Hue Bridge updates actually kills your old Bridge

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Wow, I really really hate that this is a possibility. You spent money on hardware – not some monthly subscription service – where it’s really nice that they add more than just security updates but then: BANG! They kill the hardware, rendering it little more than scrappable junk. Suddenly, it won’t do any of the Read more about Philips Hue Bridge updates actually kills your old Bridge[…]