The Linkielist

Linking ideas with the world

Canon Stabs Tradition in the Back With Camera That Supports Vertical Video

Canon’s G7 X line has long been a favorite of photographers who wanted a travel-friendly camera that could still capture high-quality images. But with the rise of smartphones and the decline of point-and-shoots, Canon began pushing its compact cameras towards vloggers, who I’ve seen use cameras like the G7 X and Sony’s RX100 line as Read more about Canon Stabs Tradition in the Back With Camera That Supports Vertical Video[…]

Indoor carbon dioxide levels could be a health hazard, scientists warn

Indoor levels of carbon dioxide could be clouding our thinking and may even pose a wider danger to human health, researchers say. While air pollutants such as tiny particles and nitrogen oxides have been the subject of much research, there have been far fewer studies looking into the health impact of CO2. However, the authors Read more about Indoor carbon dioxide levels could be a health hazard, scientists warn[…]

Serious Security Flaw With Teleconferencing App Zoom Allows Websites to Hijack Mac Webcams – and you can’t fix it by uninstalling

On Monday, security researcher Jonathan Leitschuh publicly disclosed a serious zero-day vulnerability in conferencing software Zoom—which apparently achieves its click-to-join feature, which allows users to go directly to a video meeting from a browser link, on Mac computers by installing a local web server running as a background process that “accepts requests regular browsers wouldn’t,” Read more about Serious Security Flaw With Teleconferencing App Zoom Allows Websites to Hijack Mac Webcams – and you can’t fix it by uninstalling[…]

More than 1,000 Android apps harvest data even after you deny permissions

Permissions on Android apps are intended to be gatekeepers for how much data your device gives up. If you don’t want a flashlight app to be able to read through your call logs, you should be able to deny that access. But even when you say no, many apps find a way around: Researchers discovered Read more about More than 1,000 Android apps harvest data even after you deny permissions[…]

UK data regulator threatens British Airways with 747-sized fine for massive personal data blurt

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has warned BA it faces a whopping £183.39m following the theft of million customer records from its website and mobile app servers. The record-breaking fine – more or less the lower end of the price of one of the 747-400s in BA’s fleet – under European General Data Protection Regulation Read more about UK data regulator threatens British Airways with 747-sized fine for massive personal data blurt[…]

AMD Ryzen 7 3700X + Ryzen 9 3900X Offer Incredible Linux Performance – if you can get it to boot. Which newer distros seemingly can’t

On newer Linux distributions, there’s a hard regression either within the kernel but more likely some cross-kernel/user-space interaction issue leaving newer Linux distributions unbootable. While Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and older Linux distributions boot Zen 2, to date I have not been able to successfully boot the likes of Ubuntu 19.04, Manjaro Linux, and Fedora Workstation Read more about AMD Ryzen 7 3700X + Ryzen 9 3900X Offer Incredible Linux Performance – if you can get it to boot. Which newer distros seemingly can’t[…]

Dynamic Wood Sculptures Carved to Look Like Pixelated Glitches

Taiwanese artist Hsu Tung Han, however, uses them for inspiration in his latest series of stunning wooden sculptures. By carving delicate block-shaped details that separate from various parts of the sculpture, Han successfully creates the bizarre yet magnificently original illusion of pixelation in 3D form. He applies this technique masterfully on his most recent finished Read more about Dynamic Wood Sculptures Carved to Look Like Pixelated Glitches[…]

Posted in Art

Ancient life awakens amid thawing ice caps and permafrost

Researchers in a warming Arctic are discovering organisms, frozen and presumed dead for millennia, that can bear life anew. These ice age zombies range from simple bacteria to multicellular animals, and their endurance is prompting scientists to revise their understanding of what it means to survive. “You wouldn’t assume that anything buried for hundreds of Read more about Ancient life awakens amid thawing ice caps and permafrost[…]

The next generation of GaN wall chargers is getting smaller and better

The tech world is probably sitting on the edge of a charger revolution, and most of us just haven’t realized it yet. No, I’m not talking about USB-C (sadly); I’m talking about GaN (gallium nitride) chargers, a material that’s started to replace silicon in chargers. I’ve had the chance to try out two of the Read more about The next generation of GaN wall chargers is getting smaller and better[…]

King’s College London breached GDPR by sharing list of activist students with cops – wait, it has a list of activist students?!

Kings College London breached the General Data Protection Regulations when it shared a list of student activists with the police and barred the activists from campus during a visit by the Queen, an independent report (PDF) has found. Some 13 students and one member of staff were unable to access any of the campus sites Read more about King’s College London breached GDPR by sharing list of activist students with cops – wait, it has a list of activist students?![…]

Internet group brands Mozilla ‘internet villain’ for supporting DNS privacy feature which may also allow users access to porn in the UK, make it hard for the great filter there to see where everyone is surfing

An industry group of internet service providers has branded Firefox browser maker Mozilla an “internet villain” for supporting a DNS security standard. The U.K.’s Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA), the trade group for U.K. internet service providers, nominated the browser maker for its proposed effort to roll out the security feature, which they say will Read more about Internet group brands Mozilla ‘internet villain’ for supporting DNS privacy feature which may also allow users access to porn in the UK, make it hard for the great filter there to see where everyone is surfing[…]

Privacy-first browsers look to take the shine off Google’s Chrome

Before Google, Facebook and Amazon, tech dominance was known by a single name: Microsoft. And no product was more dominant than Microsoft’s web browser, Internet Explorer. The company’s browser was the gateway to the internet for about 95 percent of users in the early 2000s, which helped land Microsoft at the center of a major Read more about Privacy-first browsers look to take the shine off Google’s Chrome[…]

Google Gmail purchase history can’t be deleted

Google and other tech companies have been under fire recently for a variety of issues, including failing to protect user data, failing to disclose how data is collected and used and failing to police the content posted to their services. […] n May, I wrote up something weird I spotted on Google’s account management page. Read more about Google Gmail purchase history can’t be deleted[…]

Fake Samsung firmware update app tricks more than 10 million Android users

Over ten million users have been duped in installing a fake Samsung app named “Updates for Samsung” that promises firmware updates, but, in reality, redirects users to an ad-filled website and charges for firmware downloads. “I have contacted the Google Play Store and asked them to consider removing this app,” Aleksejs Kuprins, malware analyst at Read more about Fake Samsung firmware update app tricks more than 10 million Android users[…]

Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3,236 Internet Satellites – awesome! more trash metal in low earth orbit!

Amazon wants the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to give it the go-ahead to launch 3,236 satellites that would be used to establish a globe-spanning internet network. Seeking Alpha reported that Amazon expects “to offer service to tens of millions of underserved customers around the world” via the network, which the company is developing under the Read more about Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3,236 Internet Satellites – awesome! more trash metal in low earth orbit![…]

OpenPGP Certificate Attack Worries Experts, due to same symptoms bothering other Open Source projects – not enough contributors

There’s an interesting and troubling attack happening to some people involved in the OpenPGP community that makes their certificates unusable and can essentially break the OpenPGP implementation of anyone who tries to import one of the certificates. The attack is quite simple and doesn’t exploit any technical vulnerabilities in the OpenPGP software, but instead takes Read more about OpenPGP Certificate Attack Worries Experts, due to same symptoms bothering other Open Source projects – not enough contributors[…]

UChicago and Google Sued in Federal Class Action Suit for Patient Data Sharing between 2009 – 2016

A former patient at the University of Chicago Medical Center is suing UChicago, the medical center, and Google, accusing them of violating the privacy rights of patients at UChicago Medicine through the sharing of patient records containing identifiable information. The class action lawsuit, filed by Matt Dinerstein in the Northern District of Illinois on Wednesday, claims Read more about UChicago and Google Sued in Federal Class Action Suit for Patient Data Sharing between 2009 – 2016[…]

How to Track the LightSail 2 as It ‘Sails’ Around Earth

Last week, the LightSail 2 officially made its first contact with Earth. The solar-powered spacecraft will be sailing around Earth’s orbit for the next year, all part of a mission to prove that solar sailing is a viable mode of space exploration. If successful, the hope is that solar sailing could be used in other Read more about How to Track the LightSail 2 as It ‘Sails’ Around Earth[…]

Hong Kong Protests Show Dangers of a Cashless Society

Allowing cash to die would be a grave mistake. A cashless society is a surveillance society. The recent round of protests in Hong Kong highlights exactly what we have to lose. The current unrest concerns a proposed change to Hong Kong’s extradition laws that would allow island fugitives to be transferred to Taiwan, Macau, and mainland Read more about Hong Kong Protests Show Dangers of a Cashless Society[…]

Microsoft Issues Warning For 50M Windows 10 Users – VPNs are now broken

Windows 10 continues to be a danger zone. Not only have problems been piling up in recent weeks, Microsoft has also been worryingly deceptive about the operation of key services. And now the company has warned millions about another problem. Spotted by the always excellent Windows Latest, Microsoft has told tens of millions of Windows Read more about Microsoft Issues Warning For 50M Windows 10 Users – VPNs are now broken[…]

Are Plants Conscious? Researchers Argue, but agree they are intelligent.

The remarkable ability of plants to respond to their environment has led some scientists to believe it’s a sign of conscious awareness. A new opinion paper argues against this position, saying plants “neither possess nor require consciousness.” Many of us take it for granted that plants, which lack a brain or central nervous system, wouldn’t Read more about Are Plants Conscious? Researchers Argue, but agree they are intelligent.[…]

UK Gov launches study into Online platforms and digital advertising market and possible monopolies antitrust

3 July 2019: The CMA has launched a market study into online platforms and the digital advertising market in the UK. We are assessing three broad potential sources of harm to consumers in connection with the market for digital advertising: to what extent online platforms have market power in user-facing markets, and what impact this Read more about UK Gov launches study into Online platforms and digital advertising market and possible monopolies antitrust[…]