Day: October 31, 2021

Commercial and Military Applications and Timelines for Quantum Technology | RAND

Posted on by Robin Edgar

This report provides an overview of the current state of quantum technology and its potential commercial and military applications. The author discusses each of the three major categories of quantum technology: quantum sensing, quantum communication, and quantum computing. He also considers the likely commercial outlook over the next few years, the major international players, and Read more about Commercial and Military Applications and Timelines for Quantum Technology | RAND[…]

Google pays fines to Russia over banned content – because fine is paltry

Posted on by Robin Edgar

 U.S. tech giant Google has paid Russia more than 32 million roubles ($455,079) in fines for failing to delete content Moscow deems illegal, the company and a Russian lawmaker said after talks on Monday. […] In 2020, Google’s compliance with requests to delete content was 96.2%, Pancini said, and in the first half of this Read more about Google pays fines to Russia over banned content – because fine is paltry[…]

5 notable Facebook fuckups in the recent relevations

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Facebook Papers are based on leaks from former Facebook staffer Frances Haugen and other inside sources. Haugen has appeared before US Congress, British Parliament, and given prominent television interviews. Among the allegations raised are that Facebook: Knows that its algorithms lead users to extreme content and that it employs too few staff or contractors Read more about 5 notable Facebook fuckups in the recent relevations[…]

Google deliberately throttled ad load times to promote AMP, locking advertisers into it’s own advertising market place

Posted on by Robin Edgar

More detail has emerged from a 173-page complaint filed last week in the lawsuit brought against Google by a number of US states, including allegations that Google deliberately throttled advertisements not served to its AMP (Accelerated Mobile) pages. The lawsuit – as we explained at the end of last week – was originally filed in December Read more about Google deliberately throttled ad load times to promote AMP, locking advertisers into it’s own advertising market place[…]

UK government hands secret services cloud contract to AWS

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The UK’s intelligence services are to store their secret files in the AWS cloud in a deal inked earlier this year, according to reports. The GCHQ organisation (electrical/radio communications eavesdropping), MI5 (domestic UK intelligence matters), MI6 (external UK intel) and also the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will access their data in the cloud, albeit in Read more about UK government hands secret services cloud contract to AWS[…]

Hackers steal $130 million from Cream Finance; the company’s 3rd hack this year

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Hackers have stolen an estimated $130 million worth of cryptocurrency assets from Cream Finance, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that allows users to loan and speculate on cryptocurrency price variations. The incident, detected earlier today by blockchain security firms PeckShield and SlowMist, was confirmed by the Cream Finance team earlier today. The attackers are believed to have found a vulnerability Read more about Hackers steal $130 million from Cream Finance; the company’s 3rd hack this year[…]

Ultraleap launches its 5th Gen hand tracking platform Gemini

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ultraleap’s fifth-generation hand tracking platform, known as Gemini, is fully available on Windows. The most robust, flexible hand tracking ever, it’s already powering amazing experiences from Varjo, been integrated into Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 platform, and is bringing touchless technology to self-service solutions around the world.  The Gemini Windows release is the first step in making the world’s best hand tracking easier to access and more flexible for multiple platforms, camera systems and Read more about Ultraleap launches its 5th Gen hand tracking platform Gemini[…]

Giant, free index to world’s research papers released online

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In a project that could unlock the world’s research papers for easier computerized analysis, an American technologist has released online a gigantic index of the words and short phrases contained in more than 100 million journal articles — including many paywalled papers. The catalogue, which was released on 7 October and is free to use, Read more about Giant, free index to world’s research papers released online[…]

Location Data Firm Got GPS Data From Apps Even When People Opted Out

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Huq, an established data vendor that obtains granular location information from ordinary apps installed on people’s phones and then sells that data, has been receiving GPS coordinates even when people explicitly opted-out of such collection inside individual Android apps, researchers and Motherboard have found. The news highlights a stark problem for smartphone users: that they Read more about Location Data Firm Got GPS Data From Apps Even When People Opted Out[…]

5-Day Brain Stimulation Treatment Highly Effective Against Depression, Stanford Researchers Find

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Stanford researchers think they’ve devised an effective and quick-acting way to treat difficult cases of depression, by improving on an already approved form of brain stimulation. In a new trial published this week, the researchers found that almost 80% of patients improved after going through treatment—a far higher rate than those who were given a Read more about 5-Day Brain Stimulation Treatment Highly Effective Against Depression, Stanford Researchers Find[…]

Scientists discover new phase of water, known as “superionic ice,” inside planets

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Scientists have discovered a new phase of water — adding to liquid, solid and gas — know as “superionic ice.” The “strange black” ice, as scientists called it, is normally created at the core of planets like Neptune and Uranus. In a study published in Nature Physics, a team of scientists co-led by Vitali Prakapenka, Read more about Scientists discover new phase of water, known as “superionic ice,” inside planets[…]

What Else Do the Leaked ‘Facebook Papers’ Show? Angry face emojis have 5x the weight of a like thumb emoji… and more other stuff

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The documents leaked to U.S. regulators by a Facebook whistleblower “reveal that the social media giant has privately and meticulously tracked real-world harms exacerbated by its platforms,” reports the Washington Post. Yet it also reports that at the same time Facebook “ignored warnings from its employees about the risks of their design decisions and exposed Read more about What Else Do the Leaked ‘Facebook Papers’ Show? Angry face emojis have 5x the weight of a like thumb emoji… and more other stuff[…]

‘A Mistake by YouTube Shows Its Power Over Media’ – and Kafka-esque arbritration rules

Posted on by Robin Edgar

“Every hour, YouTube deletes nearly 2,000 channels,” reports the New York Times. “The deletions are meant to keep out spam, misinformation, financial scams, nudity, hate speech and other material that it says violates its policies. “But the rules are opaque and sometimes arbitrarily enforced,” they write — and sometimes, YouTube does end up making mistakes. Read more about ‘A Mistake by YouTube Shows Its Power Over Media’ – and Kafka-esque arbritration rules[…]