The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

AFRL tests in-house, rapidly developed small engine

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Air Force Research Laboratory demonstrated a new and ultra-responsive approach to turbine engine development with the initial testing of the Responsive Open Source Engine (ROSE) on Nov. 6, 2019, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The Aerospace Systems Directorate’s ROSE is the first turbine engine designed, assembled, and tested exclusively in-house. The entire effort, from Read more about AFRL tests in-house, rapidly developed small engine[…]

Fighting Disinformation Online: A Database of Web Tools

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The rise of the internet and the advent of social media have fundamentally changed the information ecosystem, giving the public direct access to more information than ever before. But it’s often nearly impossible to distinguish between accurate information and low-quality or false content. This means that disinformation — false or intentionally misleading information that aims Read more about Fighting Disinformation Online: A Database of Web Tools[…]

Facebook bug shows camera activated in background during app use – the bug being that you could see the camera being activated

Posted on by Robin Edgar

When you’re scrolling through Facebook’s app, the social network could be watching you back, concerned users have found. Multiple people have found and reported that their iPhone cameras were turned on in the background while they were looking at their feed. The issue came to light through several posts on Twitter. Users noted that their Read more about Facebook bug shows camera activated in background during app use – the bug being that you could see the camera being activated[…]

Facebook has to stop fake ads of celebrity endorsement of Cryptocurrencies in NL

Posted on by Robin Edgar

John de Mol has successfully sued FB and forced them to remove fake ads in which it seems he endorses bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies (he doesn’t).  They will not be allowed in the future either and FB  must give him the details of the parties who placed the adverts on FB. FB is liable for Read more about Facebook has to stop fake ads of celebrity endorsement of Cryptocurrencies in NL[…]

The EU Has Approved an Ebola Vaccine

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The first human vaccine against the often-fatal viral disease Ebola is now an official reality. On Monday, the European Union approved a vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company Merck, called Ervebo. The stage for Ervebo’s approval was set this October, when a committee assembled by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended a conditional marketing authorization Read more about The EU Has Approved an Ebola Vaccine[…]

Your Apple Mac Makes Plain-Text Copies of Your Encrypted Emails. Here’s how to stop it.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

IT guru Bob Gendler took to Medium last week to share a startling discovery about Apple Mail. If you have the application configured to send and receive encrypted email—messages that should be unreadable for anyone without the right decryption keys—Apple’s digital assistant goes ahead and stores your emails in plain text on your Mac’s drive. Read more about Your Apple Mac Makes Plain-Text Copies of Your Encrypted Emails. Here’s how to stop it.[…]

Study of over 11,000 online stores finds ‘dark patterns’ on 1,254 sites

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A large-scale academic study that analyzed more than 53,000 product pages on more than 11,000 online stores found widespread use of user interface “dark patterns”– practices meant to mislead customers into making purchases based on false or misleading information. The study — presented last week at the ACM CSCW 2019 conference — found 1,818 instances Read more about Study of over 11,000 online stores finds ‘dark patterns’ on 1,254 sites[…]

Lithium Sulfur Battery Project Aims To Double The Range Of Electric Airplanes – good to see another new type of battery apparently maturing, but is it as green as alu-air?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Today’s Tesla Model 3’s lithium-ion battery pack has an estimated 168 Wh/kg. And important as this energy-per-weight ratio is for electric cars, it’s more important still for electric aircraft. Now comes Oxis Energy, of Abingdon, UK, with a battery based on lithium-sulfur chemistry that it says can greatly increase the ratio, and do so in a Read more about Lithium Sulfur Battery Project Aims To Double The Range Of Electric Airplanes – good to see another new type of battery apparently maturing, but is it as green as alu-air?[…]

Google Reportedly Amassed Private Health Data on Millions of People Without Their Knowledge – a repeat of October 2019 and 2017 in the UK

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the tech giant partnered with Ascension, a non-profit and Catholic health systems company, on the program code-named “Project Nightingale.” According to the Journal, Google began its initiative with Ascension last year, and it involves everything from diagnoses, lab results, birth dates, patient names, and other personal health data—all Read more about Google Reportedly Amassed Private Health Data on Millions of People Without Their Knowledge – a repeat of October 2019 and 2017 in the UK[…]

EU beurocracy, One man’s mistake, missing backups and complete reboot: What we can figure out about Europe’s Galileo satellites going dark

Posted on by Robin Edgar

While one key official has sought to blame a single individual for the system going dark, insiders warn that organizational chaos, excessive secrecy and some unusual self-regulation is as much to blame. Combined with those problems, a battle between European organizations over the satellite system, and a delayed independent report into the July cock-up, means Read more about EU beurocracy, One man’s mistake, missing backups and complete reboot: What we can figure out about Europe’s Galileo satellites going dark[…]

Sure, we made your Wi-Fi routers phone home with telemetry, says Ubiquiti. What of it?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Ubiquiti Networks is fending off customer complaints after emitting a firmware update that caused its UniFi wireless routers to quietly phone HQ with telemetry. It all kicked off when the US-based manufacturer confirmed that a software update released this month programmed the devices to establish secure connections back to Ubiquiti servers and report information on Read more about Sure, we made your Wi-Fi routers phone home with telemetry, says Ubiquiti. What of it?[…]

Amazon Ring doorbells exposed home Wi-Fi passwords over cleartext

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Security researchers have discovered a vulnerability in Ring doorbells that exposed the passwords for the Wi-Fi networks to which they were connected. Bitdefender said the Amazon-owned doorbell was sending owners’ Wi-Fi passwords in cleartext as the doorbell joins the local network, allowing nearby hackers to intercept the Wi-Fi password and gain access to the network Read more about Amazon Ring doorbells exposed home Wi-Fi passwords over cleartext[…]

DHS expects to have detailed biometrics on 260 million people by 2022 – and will keep them in the cloud, where they will never be stolen or hacked *cough*

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expects to have face, fingerprint, and iris scans of at least 259 million people in its biometrics database by 2022, according to a recent presentation from the agency’s Office of Procurement Operations reviewed by Quartz. That’s about 40 million more than the agency’s 2017 projections, which estimated 220 Read more about DHS expects to have detailed biometrics on 260 million people by 2022 – and will keep them in the cloud, where they will never be stolen or hacked *cough*[…]

House plants have little effect on indoor air quality, study concludes

Posted on by Robin Edgar

New research from a duo of environmental engineers at Drexel University is suggesting the decades-old claim that house plants improve indoor air quality is entirely wrong. Evaluating 30 years of studies, the research concludes it would take hundreds of plants in a small space to even come close to the air purifying effects of simply Read more about House plants have little effect on indoor air quality, study concludes[…]

This Trippy T-Shirt Makes You Invisible to AI

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In modern cities, we’re constantly surveilled through CCTV cameras in both public and private spaces, and by companies trying to sell us shit based on everything we do. We are always being watched. But what if a simple T-shirt could make you invisible to commercial AIs trying to spot humans? A team of researchers from Read more about This Trippy T-Shirt Makes You Invisible to AI[…]

The ‘Three-Body Problem’ Has Perplexed Astronomers Since Newton Formulated It. A.I. Just Cracked It in Under a Second.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The mind-bending calculations required to predict how three heavenly bodies orbit each other have baffled physicists since the time of Sir Isaac Newton. Now artificial intelligence (A.I.) has shown that it can solve the problem in a fraction of the time required by previous approaches. Newton was the first to formulate the problem in the Read more about The ‘Three-Body Problem’ Has Perplexed Astronomers Since Newton Formulated It. A.I. Just Cracked It in Under a Second.[…]

T-Mobile says it owns exclusive rights to the color magenta and the letter T. German court agrees.

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Startup insurance provider Lemonade is trying to make the best of a sour situation after T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom claimed it owns the exclusive rights to the color magenta. New York-based Lemonade is a 3-year-old company that lives completely online and mostly focuses on homeowners and renter’s insurance. The company uses a similar color to magenta — Read more about T-Mobile says it owns exclusive rights to the color magenta and the letter T. German court agrees.[…]

Facebook says 100 developers may have improperly accessed user data, like Cambridge Analytica did

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook on Tuesday disclosed that as many as 100 software developers may have improperly accessed user data, including the names and profile pictures of people in specific groups on the social network. The company recently discovered that some apps retained access to this type of user data despite making changes to its service in April Read more about Facebook says 100 developers may have improperly accessed user data, like Cambridge Analytica did[…]

Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A Boeing whistleblower has claimed that passengers on its 787 Dreamliner could be left without oxygen if the cabin were to suffer a sudden decompression. John Barnett says tests suggest up to a quarter of the oxygen systems could be faulty and might not work when needed. He also claimed faulty parts were deliberately fitted Read more about Boeing whistleblower raises doubts over 787 oxygen system[…]

Hottest October ever: Earth just experienced its hottest October ever

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Last month was the hottest ever October on record globally, according to data released Friday by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, an organization that tracks global temperatures. The month, which was reportedly 1.24 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the average October from 1981-2010, narrowly beat October 2015 for the top spot. According to Copernicus, most of Europe, Read more about Hottest October ever: Earth just experienced its hottest October ever[…]

A network of ‘camgirl’ sites exposed millions of users and sex workers data

Posted on by Robin Edgar

A number of popular “camgirl” sites have exposed millions of sex workers and users after the company running the sites left the back-end database unprotected. The sites, run by Barcelona-based VTS Media, include amateur.tv, webcampornoxxx.net, and placercams.com. Most of the sites’ users are based in Spain and Europe, but we found evidence of users across Read more about A network of ‘camgirl’ sites exposed millions of users and sex workers data[…]

NL ISP Ziggo doesn’t have to share customer details of downloaders

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Dutch Filmworks demanded the subscriber data linked to 377 IP adresses they determined illegally downloaded a movie. The judge said no, due to a complete lack of transparency by DFW on how their decision tree works and the amount of money they want to fine the suspects. Source: Ziggo hoeft geen klantgegevens downloaders te delen Read more about NL ISP Ziggo doesn’t have to share customer details of downloaders[…]

Thousands of Scientists Declare a Climate Emergency

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It only Tuesday, but more than 11,000 scientists around the world have come together to declare a climate emergency. Their paper, published Tuesday in the journal Bioscience, lays out the science behind this emergency and solutions for how we can deal with it. Scientists aren’t the first people to make this declaration. A tribal nation in the Read more about Thousands of Scientists Declare a Climate Emergency[…]